Free Web NovelChapter 492: Chapter 426: Eight Gates of Resentment
"What a wonderful item!" Yang Xiao marveled silently in his heart. Currently, his spiritual power was insufficient to unleash the full potential of the Ghost Duster, but given time, once his spiritual power fully developed, those guys from the Yu Yuan Sect would probably have to walk around him.
Seeing the awkward state of the Malicious Clown, Lu Youdao looked profound, "Little Holy Spirit White-Robed Mother, truly lives up to her reputation." freewebnøvel.coɱ
However, Lu Youdao’s tone shifted as he turned his gaze on Yang Xiao with a strange cadence, "You’ve been here before, haven’t you? Why didn’t you alert the Malicious Clown then?"
Yang Xiao explained unhurriedly, "Have you forgotten? Last time I didn’t bring my backpack, so I left everything in the office."
With that, Yang Xiao bit back with a pretense of delayed realization, expressing his surprise, "Could it be that the danger I encountered last time was a trap you set to test me?"
Caught off guard by the question, Lu Youdao paused, then shook his head, "No, I’m sorry about last time; I didn’t know why the raincoat boy lost control. Alright, keep the horsetail whisk safe. Since it has recognized you as its master, it must be fate. But you must be more careful in the future."
"I remember you have another treasure," Lu Youdao said attentively, "A red Drama Robe, bring it out as well."
"Is that necessary? We already tested it last time," Yang Xiao complained, frowning slightly as he tried to decline.
"Just try it, don’t be so nervous," Lu Youdao said with a smirk.
Yang Xiao was reluctant to present it, but no matter what reason he came up with, he couldn’t deceive Lu Youdao’s keen eyes, so he boldly took out the Underworld Robe and approached the recently normalized Malicious Clown, feeling extremely nervous inside.
However, the Malicious Clown’s behavior left both Yang Xiao and Lu Youdao taken aback—the clown sat on the chair motionless, hands on his knees, back straight, eyes forward without wandering, looking just like a diligent student attentively listening to a lecture.
After about a dozen seconds, accompanied by a soft "puff" sound, the figure of the Malicious Clown dissipated, leaving only a high-backed chair under the glass dome.
"Thud-thud-thud..." Lu Youdao hobbled quickly forward, pressing his face against the glass dome to look inside, but couldn’t make anything out.
In an attempt to break the awkwardness, Yang Xiao bravely laughed twice, "It seems this guy wasn’t all that tough, probably got so scared by the Ghost Duster that he reached his limit."
To his surprise, Lu Youdao actually acknowledged his offhand explanation, nodding silently and after a long while, finally spoke, "Hmm, it seems he has reached the limit of his existence. To last so long in front of the Little Saint White-robed Buddha Mother, has already exceeded my expectations."
Naturally shifting the topic, Yang Xiao inquired, "Mr. Lu, is this treasure really that powerful?"
With a cold snort, Lu Youdao remarked, "If people knew this object had fallen into your hands, even if you spent your lifetime hiding out in the Lin’an Patrol Office, there would still be people knocking on your door."
"Then what about the Black Buddha Mother, isn’t she even stronger?" Yang Xiao suddenly recalled the towering black Buddha statue he had seen in the illusionary realm.
Upon hearing this, Lu Youdao did not respond but merely sighed silently, "Such level of existence isn’t something you should be concerned with at the moment."
After going back and forth, the conversation was diverted, allowing Yang Xiao to take the opportunity to pack away the Underworld Robe and sling his backpack over his shoulder again. Lu Youdao’s expression also relaxed considerably as he led Yang Xiao to the northwest corner of the room where two wooden stools stood. They sat down one after the other.
"I’ve heard about your situation, you managed to acquire the Soul-Capturing Mirror and in turn drew deadly enmity from the Yu Yuan Sect, and you’ve also been entangled by the Mirror Ghost within it," Lu Youdao articulated calmly, "In a way, we are linked by fate. You may have learned a bit about my identity, but certainly not in detail. Those people like Granny Hong aren’t qualified to know my affairs. When I became a Venerable One, she was but an inconsequential junior."
Yang Xiao’s curiosity was piqued, "What was your status within the Yu Yuan Sect initially..."
"I was the Sect Leader of the Gate of Shock," Lu Youdao said in a cold voice.
"Sect Leader?" Yang Xiao was momentarily stunned, he had a rough understanding of the organizational structure of the Yu Yuan Sect from Tong Han, but he hadn’t heard of the title "Sect Leader."
"Above the Venerables are the eight Sect Leaders, following the divinatory arts of Qimen Dunjia, they are divided into the Open Door, the Rest Door, the Life Door, the Wounded Door, the Seal Door, the Scene Door, the Shock Door, and the Gate of Death, which are the Eight Gates."
"According to Qimen arts, the Eight Gates are used not only to differentiate the eight directions in Zhou Yi’s Eight Trigrams but also correspond to human fortune and misfortune, and they are further divided into the Three Auspicious Gates, the Three Evil Gates, and the Zhongping Gate."
"The Three Auspicious Gates are Open, Rest, and Life, symbolizing good fortune and smoothness; The Three Evil Gates are Death, Wounded, and Shock, symbolizing disadvantage and danger; Seal Door and Scene Door belong to the Zhongping Gate, neither auspicious nor inauspicious, neither good nor resentful."
"Within the Yu Yuan Sect, nurturing resentment is revered; therefore, there is a difference: the Eight Gates are further divided into the Upper Three Gates, the Middle Two Gates, and the Lower Three Gates. Among them, the Gate of Death is the leader in killing and ranks at the top of the Eight Gates, the Wounded Door is responsible for consolidating resentment, and all Resentful Eyes are under its custody, while my Shock Door specializes in punishment, primarily in persuing and punishing the rebels to make an example."
"The Middle Two Gates’ Seal Door handles the defense of sect properties inside and outside along with various strongholds, while the Scene Door is responsible for external connections, covertly colluding with major powers in deals, including the three great forces: the Patrol Defense Office, the United Federation, and the Chamber of Commerce, within which are hidden agents of the Yu Yuan Sect."
"The Lower Three Gates undertake basic tasks; among them, the Life Door is responsible for recruitment, attracting talents for the sect and providing fresh blood, the Open Door is in charge of gathering wealth, providing substantial financial support for the sect, and the Rest Door primarily provides logistical and medical services." freewebnovel.cσ๓
"Each of the Eight Gates has its duties, complementing each other, this is the true Yu Yuan Sect."
Listening to all this, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but feel alarmed. After all, the feud between the two was already set, and it was bound to be a life-or-death struggle in the future. As the Yu Yuan Sect grew stronger by one point, his danger increased by one. Thinking of this, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but ask, "Exactly how many experts are there in the Yu Yuan Sect?"
"Our interactions between the Eight Gates are strictly forbidden, so I am not clear about the situation of the other seven gates, but as for the Shock Gate under my jurisdiction at that time, there were at least a dozen people whose strength could match or even surpass that of Granny Hong."
"No less than ten people?" Yang Xiao’s heart trembled.
It’s important to note that the Gate of Shock was not even the strongest; in terms of strength, the Gate of Death, with its focus on execution, definitely had the most masters. By such accounting, there would be dozens of individuals in the entire Yu Yuan Sect who were stronger than Granny Hong, and among them, there would certainly be top-tier experts such as sect and gate leaders.
Yang Xiao roughly calculated, as of now, he was definitely not any less than Granny Hong, and if they were ever to fight to the death, he would likely have a greater chance of victory. Most Venerables probably wouldn’t pose much of a threat to him; his real worry was those top-tier experts among the Venerables, after all, those busy sect and gate leaders might not have the time to bother with someone of his junior standing.
But in the next second, Lu Youdao, who saw through Yang Xiao’s thoughts, threw cold water on him, "Don’t celebrate too soon; you’re an exception. Now that you’ve got the Soul-Capturing Mirror, they will definitely not let you go. The next person that comes after you will undoubtedly be very tricky."
Yang Xiao immediately looked to Lu Youdao for hope, "Mr. Lu, since you were a leader of the Upper Three Gates, you must have powerful methods at your disposal. I hope that you can..."
Before Yang Xiao could finish, Lu Youdao shook his head and sighed, "It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but that I’m powerless. In order to escape the sect that time, I had to fight more than a dozen fierce battles. Do I look like someone who could protect you now?"
Indeed, it’s better to rely on oneself than others. Yang Xiao steeled his heart, armed with the Drama Robe for protection and the Ghost Duster as a fierce weapon, he might not be without a fighting chance, "Mr. Lu, what kind of divine powers do the other seven gate leaders have in their Magic Artifacts, and how do they compare to this horsetail whisk of mine?"
Seeing that the youngster didn’t recognize the true value of his treasure, Lu Youdao couldn’t help but smile bitterly, "The power of a Magic Artifact ultimately depends on who wields it. In your hands now, even if you confront a stronger Venerable, you might not be the victor. But in the hands of the real person in charge of the Southeast Branch Sect, not to mention a few gate leaders, even if the Sect Leader herself were to make an appearance, she might not necessarily be a match."
"The Black Buddha Mother Sect commands countless disciples and is honored as the leader among ten thousand sects, a reputation that is not unfounded."
