The Heavenly Secret Lock Bound Mortal Lives; Ascension Began at the Tribulation Crossing Gate

Wu Xing lay faceup, his chest charred black.

Mo Chen lay facedown in the muddy water, his clothes torn and his back covered in bruises.

Silence fell below the arena. Everyone craned their necks, their Divine Senses sweeping back and forth between the two men.

"Could they have killed each other?"

"Stop talking nonsense! How could Senior Brother Wu perish together with some nameless nobody?"

Suddenly, Wu Xing braced his arms against the mire and pushed himself up.

"Look! Senior Brother Wu is getting up!"

"Exactly! With his profound cultivation, how could Senior Brother Wu lose to a junior like this?"

There were plenty of people close to the Wu Household among the spectators. Delight spread across their faces as they frantically scraped their minds for flattering words, planning how to seize the opportunity afterward to curry favor with the Wu Household and secure some benefits.

Yet just then, Mo Chen gritted his teeth and slowly sat up in the mire as well, summoning his white Flying Sword to guard him.

"You still have Dharma Power left... and you've practiced body tempering?"

Though surprised, Mo Chen still replied politely, "My abilities are modest, but I have indeed dabbled in body-tempering methods."

"So that's it." A note of understanding entered Wu Xing's voice.

With that, Wu Xing tilted his head toward the sky and raised his right hand slightly. A Mystic Pearl floated up from his palm.

With a crack, he crushed the Mystic Pearl.

"My Dharma Power is depleted. I concede."

Wu Xing spoke slowly. His voice was soft, yet it reached the examiner's ears clearly.

The examiner flicked a finger, and the arena's formation stopped at once, its curtain of light vanishing instantly.

With a sweep of the examiner's sleeve, the wreckage on the platform disappeared into thin air. The withered vines and mire dissolved into spiritual energy and drifted away, leaving the arena pristine once more.

Only when the examiner announced Mo Chen's victory did the spectators awaken as if from a dream. Forced to accept the result, they launched into a fresh wave of discussion.

"Just where did this Mo Chen come from?"

"Exactly. He looks like he's proficient in nothing, yet he's beaten Wu Household disciples one after another. Something's strange here."

"Stranger still, he faced Wu Household cultivators in two consecutive rounds."

"And not only that, he came through the first round completely unscathed."

"Could it be... even a force like the Wu Household has reason to hold back?"

Mo Chen heard every word but gave nothing away. He merely put away his Contest Token and walked down from the arena, rubbing his aching shoulders.

Though he had practiced a body-tempering art, the mud had struck with tremendous force, and his back still burned with pain.

Fortunately, it had already softened into a huge mass of mud by then.

He dared not imagine how badly he would have been injured if an intact stone axe had smashed into him.

Back at his Cave Abode, he removed his clothes. The bronze mirror reflected an enormous patch of bruising and pooled blood across his back.

Mo Chen grimaced, dug out some medicinal preparations for external use, and applied them himself.

Over the next half month, the preliminary matches continued, round after round.

The ridiculous part was that selecting each group's top eight required six rounds in total, and five of Mo Chen's opponents had the surname Wu.

From Wu Wen and Wu Xing to Wu Ji, Wu Ning, and Wu Zhong afterward, it was as though all the Wu Household disciples had lined up to fight him.

The only exception was the sixth round, when he encountered a cultivator of another surname who used poison. That battle was actually more dangerous than his fights against the Wu Household.

Fortunately, he won them all.

Every victory was narrow, every match decided by a hair's breadth, but a win was a win.

After six rounds, he had advanced to the top eight. Becoming a disciple of Emerging Cloud Peak was now assured.

With that, he finally had a chance to approach the sect's guardian treasure, the Sky-Climbing Vine.

Since he would be stealing it anyway, he would certainly have to steal some for himself too.

Mo Chen felt somewhat reassured, but then he thought of how five of his six opponents had been Wu Household disciples. Those odds...

Forget it. No amount of thinking had yielded an answer, so he simply stopped dwelling on it.

But while Mo Chen stopped thinking about it, the people outside were far from idle.

At some point, Mo Chen's name began circulating below the mountain gate.

Initially, only a few cultivators who had witnessed the matches mentioned him in their idle conversations, saying that some young fellow had beaten the Wu Household several times in a row.

Then more and more people spread the story, embellishing it until it grew increasingly outrageous.

Some claimed he was actually a direct descendant of a great lineage, practiced a superior cultivation art, and had only come to the recruitment event for amusement.

Someone even set up a little tea stall in the market below the mountain, specifically to recount the course and details of Mo Chen's battles with the Wu Household to cultivators from other groups. Admission cost one spirit stone per person, and business was reportedly quite good.

Now rumors about Mo Chen filled the area outside the mountain gate, and countless cultivators speculated wildly about this young fellow.

As the matter continued to spread, Mo Chen actually began gaining a reputation. Quite a few people even sought out his Cave Abode to pay their respects.

When Mo Chen heard about this, his expression was difficult to describe.

He had no intention of paying it any attention, but over the half month, more and more cultivators requested an audience, and visiting cards piled up outside his door.

Mo Chen knew these people had either come to forge connections and attach themselves to him or to probe his true capabilities.

But tonight's banquet was a joint invitation from more than twenty people. After refusing seven or eight times, he could no longer turn them down.

Looking at the invitation covered in names, Mo Chen sighed, changed into clean robes, and left his Cave Abode.

The moment he stepped outside, a crowd of cultivators surrounded him, each wearing a broad smile.

"Fellow Daoist Mo, we've long admired your reputation."

"To reach the top eight at such a young age, Fellow Daoist Mo, your prospects are boundless."

Mo Chen nodded in acknowledgment and followed them down the mountain to the Jiliao Tavern.

At the banquet, people came to toast him in an endless stream.

"Fellow Daoist Mo, with your youthful talent, you deserve this toast." A middle-aged man in brocade robes raised his cup with both hands and drained the spirit wine.

The cultivators took turns approaching him, and wine jug after wine jug was replaced. Had Mo Chen not secretly circulated his Dharma Power to dispel the alcohol, he would likely have been under the table by now.

During the meal, someone patted Mo Chen's shoulder and said with a smile, "Brother Mo, once you've reached the top eight, you'll most likely catch a sect elder's eye and become a personal disciple. That's something to bring glory to your ancestors."

"Really?"

"Of course."

The man poured himself a cup. "This is your first tournament, brother. There's still plenty you don't know."

"Of course there is. He only needs to come once, unlike you, who's been here four or five times."

Someone nearby interjected, drawing laughter from the whole table.

The man's face reddened further. He gave a couple of awkward chuckles. "In any sect of the Immortal Alliance, reaching the top eight in the Recruitment Tournament guarantees you'll at least be an Inner Disciple. Inner Disciples are different from outer disciples. Their monthly spirit stones and pills are provided free of charge, and their cultivation resources are far beyond what the outer disciples receive."

Having finished, he gave Mo Chen a meaningful look.

Mo Chen understood, but he did not want to agree. He could only decline politely. "I wouldn't dare presume. I'm merely a disciple who has yet to enter the sect. How could I shelter all of you? Besides, I was originally just a mortal. Only through a fortunate opportunity was I able to shed my mortal state and set foot on the path of immortality. Compared with those of you who have cultivated since childhood, my foundations are very shallow."

At these words, several people around him suddenly fell silent and exchanged glances.

The man who had toasted him set down his cup, looking astonished. "Fellow Daoist Mo... you were originally a mortal?"

Mo Chen looked around, sensing something wrong with the atmosphere.

Did I say something wrong?

But I haven't revealed any real secrets.

"What is it, everyone...?"

Seeing that Mo Chen did not appear to be feigning ignorance, one cultivator stepped forward and asked, "Fellow Daoist Mo, were you truly a mortal? Not a blood descendant of some senior?"

Not understanding, Mo Chen answered honestly, "Both my parents were mortals, and there were no cultivators in the three generations before me either. I entered this path only after chancing upon an opportunity."

"A mortal... who simply managed to cultivate? Was it the heavenly secret lock or the tribulation crossing gate?"

"That's impossible, isn't it...?"

Growing increasingly confused, Mo Chen cupped his hands. "Fellow Daoists, I truly don't know what the heavenly secret lock and the tribulation crossing gate refer to."

The man in brocade pondered for a moment, then lowered his voice. "You really don't know, Fellow Daoist Mo?"

"I don't."

"That makes sense. Without anyone to guide you, it's natural not to know."

The man's expression turned solemn. "The true reason mortals struggle to enter the path of immortality is neither poor aptitude nor the difficulty of finding cultivation arts. The real impediments are two barriers. We cultivators call one the heavenly secret lock, and the other the tribulation crossing gate."

"The heavenly secret lock?"

This was the first time Mo Chen had heard the term.

"A barrier of heavenly secrets exists between heaven and earth. Complete cultivation methods are sealed by the Heavenly Dao. In mortal eyes, cultivation manuals appear either as wordless heavenly books or as obscure, incomprehensible formulas. Without a cultivator's help, it's almost impossible to accomplish even the step of qi drawing into the body."

So even if mortals obtained a genuine cultivation art, they could not read it.

This was not a matter of comprehension. The Heavenly Dao forbade it!

Mo Chen's heart jolted.

He recalled what had happened when he first obtained that cultivation manual. He had indeed been able to see its words.

Not only had he seen them, he had understood them.

Why was that?

"Then how did all of you...?"

"A bloodline key! All of us used a bloodline key to unlock the heavenly secret lock."

A middle-aged cultivator beside him took up the explanation.

"What cultivator lineages and sects possess isn't the contents of cultivation arts, but the method for seeing them. This method is passed down through generations and never divulged. If a mortal lineage once had a cultivator among its ancestors, that ancestor might have used a secret art to leave ancestral instructions, making it easier for their descendants to unlock the heavenly secret lock."

So unlocking the heavenly secret lock was this troublesome. Then how... had mine been unlocked back then?

Was it Jiang Jiuyao?

But she and I had no entanglement of interests...

Could it be related to the Longevity I mysteriously obtained?

A few theories began forming in Mo Chen's mind, but he still had too little information, so he continued listening to the cultivator.

"As for exactly how to unlock it, each lineage has its own method. Some require a particular time, others a specific direction. But these methods are never shared outside, so outsiders have no way of knowing."

Mo Chen pressed further. "Then does that mean mortals have no way to begin cultivating other than through bloodline inheritance or a sect's guidance?"

"It isn't entirely impossible. When unusual phenomena appear in heaven and earth and the stars shift their positions, the heavenly secret barrier in some places temporarily loosens. During that time, mortals might happen to glimpse the true form of certain low-level cultivation arts. But such opportunities can only be encountered, never sought. Whether they can immediately memorize what they see and comprehend it is another trial altogether."

Unusual phenomena in heaven and earth?

Mo Chen was startled. He recalled hearing at the Four Directions Teahouse in Tongwu City that an unusual phenomenon had occurred in the year he was born.

Southward Fire Movement!

And, coincidentally, that Southward Fire Movement had occurred in Haiyanhui to the south...

There was definitely a connection here.

"Thank you for explaining, Fellow Daoist."

"That's why we were so surprised when you said you were originally a mortal and entered the path of immortality entirely through a fortunate opportunity. You have no bloodline key and weren't born into a sect, yet you crossed the heavenly secret lock. That alone defies reason."

"Defies reason?"

Mo Chen pressed further. "Is there no other method?"

"Of course there is. It's called the tribulation crossing gate. They say that when someone is grievously injured or close to death, their Conception and Governing Vessels can open in the final flare of life, thereby weakening the heavenly secret lock."

"If you want the details, Fellow Daoist Mo, you might seek out the Divination Cultivators in fortune-telling shops later. They understand these matters better than ordinary cultivators."

Mo Chen committed every word to memory.

The conversation had lasted only a short while, and the banquet continued, but Mo Chen no longer had any desire to drink.

The heavenly secret lock, the bloodline key, the tribulation crossing gate... these things he had never heard of before refused to leave his mind.

How exactly had I crossed that barrier?

Late that night, before he left the table, another group brought Mo Chen a fresh jug of spirit wine and offered him a toast.

Mo Chen thought little of it. He simply assumed it was a final courtesy before they departed and harbored no suspicions.

After the last round of wine, everyone began leaving one after another.

Mo Chen had never liked such insincere social gatherings. With the wine going to his head, he only wanted to return to his Cave Abode quickly and meditate to regulate his energy.

Just as he reached the door, Mo Chen noticed that the people at the table who had offered the final toast had not left. Instead, they were following him.

"Leaving already, Fellow Daoist Mo?"

One of them asked with apparent concern and approached to support him.

Mo Chen cupped his hands and declined. "I've had a little more wine than I can handle and would like to go back to regulate my energy. Though the preliminaries are over, the finals are close. I must make the most of my time to cultivate and dare not slack off."

"Come now, Fellow Daoist, what's the rush?"

Another man sidled up with a grin. "Why not let your older brother take you for a look around the Elegant Moon Pavilion? There's sure to be something to your taste."

"No, thank you. I'll just return to my Cave Abode."

"Don't be so reluctant, Fellow Daoist Mo. You hardly ever come out..."

Mo Chen turned and headed out of the tavern, but the men behind him followed even more closely.

No matter how careless someone might be, they would have realized by now that something was wrong with these men.

These men definitely had ulterior motives!

Mo Chen was just about to cast a spell and flee into the distance when he suddenly discovered that the range of his divine sense was shrinking.

Something's wrong.

That wine...

There was definitely something wrong with the last wine.

Mo Chen tried circulating his Dharma Power, only to discover that he could not muster even a trace of it.

His entire body felt limp, unable to exert the slightest strength.

Mo Chen still hoped to hold them off for a while with his tempered body and martial blade techniques, but suddenly his vision went black and he collapsed.

The men following him swiftly stepped forward to catch him. Their practiced movements made it clear they had rehearsed this many times.

One swept the surroundings with his divine sense and said quietly, "The drug's taken effect. Hurry, put him in the Spirit Beast Pouch while no one's around."

"Make it quick! Don't let anyone see," another replied in a low voice.

After stuffing Mo Chen into the Spirit Beast Pouch, the men hurried into a small alley behind the tavern.

Before long, a faint tremor inside Mo Chen's body jolted him awake.

The Teleportation Talisman had activated automatically!

It looked like they had passed through a Teleportation Array after tying me up. Now I couldn't deduce where I was.

Mo Chen seized the opportunity to quickly turn his perception inward and examine his condition.

He discovered that although there was still Dharma Power in his meridians, he could not muster even a trace of it. His divine sense could not leave his body either, making him little different from an ordinary mortal.

Suddenly, Mo Chen noticed the space inside the Spirit Beast Pouch blazing with spiritual light. Realizing he was about to be let out, he hurriedly closed his eyes and played dead.

Someone placed Mo Chen on the ground, and then he heard a middle-aged man's voice.

"Was it... taken care of?"