Passing the Six Gates

Zhou Sheng looked at the sheet of paper in his hand. After reading it, a ripple passed through his eyes, and his heart was far from calm.

Written on it was everything he had experienced in Yang City.

It included the Immortal's Cloud Mica Pill, Lord Bao's Startling Hall Wood, and the so-called one-year pact. The record ended when he set foot upon the Yin-Yang Road.

The signature was... Lu Bingyuan!

"Lu Bingyuan is a wily old fox who has lived for centuries. Do you really think a few words from a green little brat like you could move him?"

"The moment you left, he dispatched another Ghost Messenger to rush this letter to me. He even lavishly praised you for being gifted, upright, and filial. Heh..."

Yu Zhensheng shook his head with a mocking laugh. "He just wanted to tell me that my disciple has already been dragged into this muddy water, so this old fool of a man shouldn't dream of standing by with folded arms."

"Even the entire Yin Opera lineage will have to enter the fray!"

"Master... Lu Bingyuan died in battle to protect the people and cover their retreat. Could you have misunderstood him?"

Zhou Sheng was somewhat dazed. The Lu Bingyuan in his master's words seemed rather different from the Duke Lu he had admired before.

Yu Zhensheng's gaze was profound, his words sharp as blades.

"Don't mistake a wily old fox who has lived for centuries for some saintly gentleman. Even if he was once full of hot blood, after sitting in that position for too long, he would change all the same."

"Have you ever considered that encountering that vicious god midway was precisely what Lu Bingyuan wanted to see?"

Zhou Sheng froze.

"If he could send news of you to me, then he could just as easily send it to others."

"Using you as bait to fish out the true culprit behind the scenes is one reason. As for the second..."

"Brat, you still haven't figured it out by now?"

"I have."

Zhou Sheng gave a bitter smile. "If I survive, I'll thank him for his warning and for the favor of giving me the sedan chair. If I die, Master will stop at nothing to avenge me, leaving himself no way back."

Compared to sending over a formula, hatred was undoubtedly the best way to drive a person.

"Correct. You are indeed clever, but you have too little experience in the martial world. Dealing with Ghosts and Gods is like walking a mountain of blades barefoot. One careless step, and you'll be damned beyond redemption!"

"In Shen Jinhua's case, do you think the victim matters?"

Yu Zhensheng sneered. "We opera performers, even after becoming stars, are no more than slightly larger chess pieces. Lu Bingyuan may be investigating this case with thirty percent of his heart for so-called justice, but the remaining seventy percent..."

He pointed down at the ground.

"Is a struggle among those below."

"Lu Bingyuan himself is merely a pawn at the vanguard of this clash."

Zhou Sheng's heart shook, and for a long while, he said nothing.

According to his master, Shen Jinhua's case was merely a fuse. The true players in the game behind the curtain were great figures of the underworld.

It seemed this so-called underworld was not as sacred, imposing, and orderly as he had imagined. Beneath its surface, dark currents surged.

"Now that I think about it, the reason he gave you Lord Bao's Startling Hall Wood was probably because he felt that Lu Bingyuan was no longer worthy to hold it!"

Yu Zhensheng turned Lord Bao's Startling Hall Wood over in his hand, then casually tossed it to Zhou Sheng.

"That old fox! Back then, I begged him for this thing, but he refused to loosen his grip no matter what. And now, hasn't it still ended up in my disciple's hands?"

"Master, then you can have it—"

"I don't perform Yin Opera anymore. What would I want it for?"

"Keep it safe. When you perform Lord Bao Plays in the future, it will help you greatly."

"Master, and this Mica Formula—I've already made it into medicinal powder. This was specially prepared for you..."

Zhou Sheng took out the medicine from his robes and was about to hand it to his master.

He was not someone who liked to keep things to himself. If he had something good, he naturally wanted to share it with those he trusted. And in this world, the person he trusted most was his master.

Yu Zhensheng sniffed the medicinal fragrance, then shook his head and refused.

"This medicine is useless to me. It is useful only to those who have yet to open the Aperture of the Eye."

"The Aperture of the Eye?"

Zhou Sheng was surprised. This was the first time he had heard of such a thing. In the past, his master had only made him train diligently and rarely spoke of cultivation.

"I didn't tell you before because I feared you would aim too high. Now that you have achieved something, I can explain it to you."

"So-called cultivation is the cultivation of Dao cultivation. As one's Dao cultivation steadily advances, one will gradually open the body's Six Great Acupoints: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. This is called Passing the Six Gates."

"With every acupoint opened, one gains a different divine ability. For instance, once the Aperture of the Eye is opened, the eyes become Dharma Eyes. They can see yin and yang, distinguish demons and evil spirits, see things in darkness as clearly as in broad daylight, and even discern the minute traces left by a bolt of lightning as it strikes..."

"If you wish to play Second Lord Guan, you must first open the Aperture of the Eye."

Zhou Sheng's eyes lit up. If that was the case, then after opening the Aperture of the Eye, even demons renowned for their speed would be unable to escape his sight.

Moreover, he had long looked forward to playing Guan Gong.

Marquis Huan Zhang Fei already possessed the courage to stand against ten thousand men. What if he played the Martial Saint Guan Yunchang instead?

And one had to know that Guan Gong was not merely a famed general of the mortal realm. After death, he had ascended step by step to godhood and ultimately became the Demon-Subduing Emperor of the Three Realms, Lord Guan!

No wonder Master had only been willing to teach him to perform Marquis Huan, yet refused to teach him Guan Gong plays.

"Have your eyes recently felt itchy at times, sore at times, and slightly swollen at other times?"

"Actually, yes. I thought I'd neglected my eye technique lately."

"That means you have already touched the threshold of opening the Aperture of the Eye. Once you take the second dose of medicine seven days from now, it should be about time."

"From this point alone, Lu Bingyuan has at least done one good thing."

"Master, then Shen Jinhua's matter—"

"You are not to concern yourself with anything. Isn't there a one-year pact? Even if the sky falls, wait until a year from now to talk about it. Perhaps if you keep dragging it out, Lu Bingyuan will die."

"When a person dies, their debts are wiped clean. Then you can naturally remove yourself from the matter."

Zhou Sheng: "..."

He suddenly realized that his master's skin was much thicker than his own.

"Master, after Passing the Six Gates, what realm comes next? Can one... become immortal?"

"Heh heh."

Zhou Sheng's question was met with merciless ridicule.

"You haven't even learned to walk, yet you're already thinking of running? If you can successfully pass these Six Gates in your lifetime, that alone will be a fortune beyond ordinary people's imagination. If you reach Longhu Mountain, even the Celestial Master will have to treat you as an honored guest."

"Master, then what realm are you in?"

He could not stop himself from asking. He was truly curious.

In his memories, Master rarely made a move. After settling in Qinggu County, he had completely become a physician and never again displayed the methods of Yin Opera.

Yet from Lu Bingyuan's words, Master Yu Zhensheng was a legendary figure of the Yin Opera lineage, seemingly with an extraordinarily glorious past.

What had he experienced that made such a legendary Ghost Opera Performer willingly hide away in a small county and become a barefoot doctor?

Yu Zhensheng mercilessly rapped him on the head. "Ask less about your master's affairs. Dawn is nearly here. Go train immediately!"

"Huh?"

Zhou Sheng pulled a long face. "Master, I've only just returned. Can't I rest for a day?"

"Rest?"

"When you die at the trial for leaving the master, you'll have all the time in the world to rest!"

"Now, immediately, go train!"

"First, go project your voice. Then practice Blanket Skill. Your eye technique needs extra training too—set the distance to twenty zhang. For every mistake, ten strikes!"

Yu Zhensheng casually grabbed the White Ash Rod beside him. His expression was cold and solemn, utterly unsmiling. Whenever he began teaching opera, he seemed to instantly become a cold-faced, merciless judge, with no trace of affection between master and disciple left.

"Brat, listen carefully. Taking medicine may help you rapidly improve your Dao cultivation, but Dao cultivation alone is not enough if you want to leave your master alive."

"You must train real skill!"

Thanks to Qian Dalai for the ten-thousand tip, thanks to Yanyu Jiangnan Zhou Shangke for the one-thousand-five-hundred tip, thanks to Hamster Can't Eat Enough for the five-hundred tip, and thanks to Blue Spirit Dragon and Sunrise in the East, Rain in the West for the one-hundred tips. Hearts!