After stabilizing the Young Clans Court, Lu Chen immediately pushed forward the construction of the Three Lives Gate.
This matter could not be delayed.
As the Three-Clan War grew increasingly brutal, new living beings rushed to Dragon-Suppressing Pass every single day.
Wounded soldiers, young clans, remnant troops, fleeing minor clans, and rogue cultivators who had lost their ancestral lands—their numbers grew greater with each passing day.
Relying solely on the Book of Cause and Effect and the Bureau of Cause and Effect's cultivators was no longer enough to keep up.
To make matters worse, the Demon Cult had already set its sights on Abyss.
Since Youdu had managed to deceive the Book of Cause and Effect once with a Demon Shadow Talisman, a second or third demonic cultivator might well appear.
Abyss needed a true entrance.
A gate that all entrants were forced to walk through.
The Three Lives Gate was built under these circumstances.
The site was chosen behind Dragon-Suppressing Pass.
It connected to Dragon-Suppressing Pass on the outside.
It linked to the Abyss Outer City on the inside.
Further inward lay the Northern Darkness Sea, Abyss City, and the Northern Darkness Dao Palace.
Lan Shuang oversaw the construction.
Ancestor Xuan Jia was responsible for the gate's foundation.
Lin Yue channeled the ley lines of Mysterious Peak Mountain.
Lady Mingzhu provided the finest Sea-Calming Water Jade from her treasury.
Feng Li snapped off a wisp of the Frostflame Parasol Tree to purify the fire balefulness within the gate.
Ao Lie introduced the aura of the Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale into the outer layer, retaining only the function of welcoming the young lineage while preventing the Dragon Clan from sensing it in reverse.
The Sea Devourer Beast Spirit entrenched itself by the Northern Darkness Sea, tasked with swallowing the resentment that overflowed when the Three Lives Gate conducted its screenings.
Han Jue led the Realm Guard to stand watch outside the gate, suppressing anyone on the spot who dared to cause trouble.
Construction of the Three Lives Gate lasted a full five hundred years.
Five hundred years later, three ancient gates stood behind Dragon-Suppressing Pass.
The first gate was black and white.
It was covered in karmic patterns.
It was named Causality Illumination.
The second gate was gray.
Its center resembled a water mirror, capable of reflecting the true heart of those who entered.
It was named Heart-Nature Examination.
The third gate was dark gold.
Abyss Water Aura circulated beneath the gate, capable of sensing the extent to which one was entangled in killing tribulations.
It was named Killing-Tribulation Severance.
The three gates were linked.
Behind the gates lay the Abyss Outer City.
From then on, anyone wishing to enter Abyss had to pass through the Three Lives Gate.
On the day the Three Lives Gate was erected, thousands of living beings gathered outside Dragon-Suppressing Pass.
There were members of the Dragon Clan's young lineage who had just fled the battlefield.
There were wounded Phoenix clan members with tattered fire feathers.
There were rogue cultivators of the Qilin Clan.
There were also many weak tribes from the Northern Sea.
They looked at the three ancient gates, their eyes holding both hope and fear.
Because the rules of Abyss had already spread throughout the Northern Sea.
The Three Lives Gate asked no background.
It only illuminated causality, heart-nature, and killing tribulations.
If one's misdeeds were too deep, even the Dragon Clan main lineage could not enter Abyss.
If one's heart-nature was passable and they were willing to abide by the rules, they could secure a thread of survival even with a humble background.
Lan Shuang stood before the Three Lives Gate, her voice echoing across Dragon-Suppressing Pass.
"Today, the Three Lives Gate opens."
"The first gate, Causality Illumination."
"The second gate, Heart-Nature Examination."
"The third gate, Killing-Tribulation Severance."
"Those who pass the three gates may enter Abyss."
"Those who fail to pass will either be refused, punished, or temporarily detained in the rescue zone for observation."
"If any demonic cultivators, spies, or those steeped in heavy blood debts attempt to force their way through, the Realm Guard will suppress them on the spot."
Han Jue's long spear vibrated.
Three thousand Realm Guards responded in unison.
"Understood!"
Lu Chen's dharma body also appeared at that moment.
A ten-thousand-foot Black Tortoise phantom hung above the Three Lives Gate.
He looked at these three gates, feeling quite satisfied in his heart.
From now on, he finally wouldn't have to make the Book of Cause and Effect scramble to check people every single time.
Once this gate was erected, the probability of spies sneaking in would drop drastically.
His sense of security would also increase.
The system's voice rang out.
"The Three Lives Gate has been newly established. Please set the fundamental edicts for the Three Lives Gate, Host."
Lu Chen thought for a moment.
Saying things too complicated made them easy to misunderstand.
The rules of Abyss had always stressed simplicity and practicality.
Thus, he spoke only four phrases.
"Illuminate causality, asking neither rank nor lowliness."
"Examine heart-nature, asking no bloodline."
"Sever killing tribulations, accepting no hegemony."
"Enter Abyss, learn to survive first."
As the four phrases fell, the Three Lives Gate lit up simultaneously.
The black-and-white light of the first gate soared into the sky.
The gray water mirror of the second gate rippled faintly.
The dark-gold water patterns of the third gate spread out like a path leading to the interior of Abyss.
Outside Dragon-Suppressing Pass, countless living beings dropped to their knees.
"We respectfully obey the Emperor's edict!"
Lan Shuang's eyes were filled with awe.
The Emperor's four phrases had thoroughly established the method for the entrance to Abyss.
From then on, Abyss would accept people without regard for the nobility or baseness of their tribe.
Even dragons, phoenixes, and qilins had to be illuminated by the three gates upon entry.
As long as weak water-clan members had manageable karma upon entry, they would find a path to survival.
This was the greatest difference between Abyss and the order of the three clans.
The first to undergo the Three Lives Gate's screening was a young member of the Dragon Clan's young lineage.
It arrived carrying the aura of the Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale.
It was very young, its dragon horns not yet fully grown.
Yet its body bore severe phoenix fire wounds.
It walked timidly into the first gate.
The black-and-white brilliance shone down.
Its karma was very shallow, bearing only the fear of fleeing the battlefield and the traces of having been protected.
The first gate granted passage.
The gray water mirror of the second gate reflected the fear within its heart.
In the water mirror, it clutched a shattered dragon scale, crying and asking where its parents were.
It passed the heart-nature examination.
The third gate sensed its killing tribulations.
The killing tribulations on its body were minimal.
The three gates opened in unison.
The young dragon was sent into the Young Clans Court.
Immediately following was a wounded Phoenix clan member.
She had killed dragon clan members on the battlefield.
She had also saved three young children from minor clans.
Her karma was complex.
The first gate did not directly refuse her, instead sending her to the Calamity-Resolution Hall observation area.
After a three-day life-saving period, the Book of Cause and Effect would conduct a detailed inspection.
The third was a rogue cultivator who claimed to have been persecuted by the Qilin Clan.
He wept bitterly.
Yet the moment he entered the first gate, the black-and-white brilliance illuminated scenes of him slaughtering weak tribes and fabricating a victimized identity.
The Realm Guard stepped forward instantly.
Han Jue pressed his spear down before him.
"Drag him away."
The cultivator tried to resist, but the water mirror of the second gate suddenly projected the malicious thoughts in his heart.
The third gate erupted with dark-gold light, directly blasting him outside the gate.
The onlookers' minds shook.
The Three Lives Gate truly did not fall for sob stories.
However, what truly shocked the crowd was the exposure of a demonic cultivator.
That demonic cultivator had disguised himself as an elderly member of a wounded minor clan.
His entire aura was weak.
His karma was also exceptionally well-concealed by a demon talisman.
When he stepped into the first gate, he actually managed to pass through briefly.
Yet upon reaching the second gate, the gray water mirror suddenly trembled violently.
Deep within his true heart, a patch of Black Lotus Demon Shadows was reflected.
The demonic cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he tried to flee on the spot.
The dark-gold water patterns of the third gate surged wildly.
The light of the killing tribulations coiled around him like chains.
Han Jue stepped out, pinning him to the ground with a single spear strike.
"The Demon Cult again."
Ao Lie said coldly, "It seems they still haven't given up."
Lan Shuang raised her hand, and the Book of Cause and Effect dropped black-and-white brilliance.
The demon talisman on the demonic cultivator shattered instantly.
Before the Three Lives Gate, all the refugees felt their scalps tingle.
They finally understood just how terrifying these three gates truly were.
A demonic cultivator had actually been illuminated on the spot.
This meant Abyss was safer than ever before.
Lu Chen was very satisfied as well.
The Three Lives Gate was useful.
Extremely useful.
He heard the system prompt.
"The Three Lives Gate is operating formally."
"The Abyss entrance system is perfected."
"Demonic spies have been illuminated, increasing Abyss's safety rating."
"Reward: the rudimentary form of the sixth layer of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method."
Lu Chen's mind shook.
The rudimentary form of the sixth layer!
With the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method advancing to this stage, Lu Chen's confidence in handling the future Heaven-Mending Death Tribulation grew stronger once again.
The rudimentary form of the sixth layer involved "the old shell bearing the tribulation, while the true body retreats into Abyss."
In other words, if the old shell were hacked away to prop up the heavens in the future, his true body could use the Abyss Minor World to effect an escape.
This was the key among keys.
Lu Chen was in high spirits.
Just then, a faint golden glow suddenly appeared above the Three Lives Gate.
The golden light descended from the heavens.
There was not much of it.
Yet it was incomparably pure.
Lan Shuang suddenly looked up.
"Merit?"
Outside Dragon-Suppressing Pass, every living being was stunned.
The Three Lives Gate had been established, and the heavens bestowed Merit!
Deep within Abyss.
Lu Chen was stunned as well.
Then panic rose in his heart.
"Merit?"
"Could this draw the Heavenly Dao here to look at me too?"