XIAO SHUXIANG'S

240 - Seal of the Nine World Gates

"You're the 'Blind Grandpa', right? Who gave me a scrap book with only two pieces? Right, right?!"

"Brother brash. That book you consider a wreck is a piece of writing I've fought for my entire life. You got your degree too for studying my writing. You should have respected me as your teacher,"

Xiao Shuxiang snorted, he would not consider someone who lost to him as a teacher. Clearly this old monk-like-looking person had only given him the Heaven and Earth Breathing Book as a form of defeat.

"So, why are you in this place, Old Grandpa?"

Xiao Shuxiang said he wanted to go home soon. He could not linger in this unfamiliar place that made him uncomfortable.

The Blind Grandfather said Xiao Shuxiang had to defeat him first in a chess game.

Xiao Shuxiang certainly served him, the first pawn he moved was the King.

He was completely immobile by the rules in the chess game in general, probably because Xiao Shuxiang did not know how to play and instead behaved so arrogantly when accepting the challenge from the Blind Grandfather.

"You never change. Always acting haughty, but there's no smell of pride in you.."

"What do you really want from me, Grandpa?"

Xiao Shuxiang until now had yet to get an answer to his question. He even played around with the chess pawn and used it to attack the opponent's pawn.

The Blind Grandfather in front of him did not touch his black-colored pawn at all. He only asked Xiao Shuxiang about the news and what kind of kindness he had done.

"You can see it, I'm in good health. About kindness, I don't know.. I've never given a favor without asking for a fee,"

"You've always been like this.."

The Blind Grandfather in front of Xiao Shuxiang instantly fell silent. There was no talk between them for about five minutes, only the sound of the chess pawn played by Xiao Shuxiang.

This kind of calm feels good. Even if only for a moment.. But Xiao Shuxiang was getting used to it.

"..."

"..."

"But blind, you haven't answered my question. What do you want from me, hm?"

Xiao Shuxiang said he did not like places that were too quiet. He slowly began to lay his chin on the cot while continuing to play the chess pawn in front of him. It did not last long until Xiao Shuxiang instead turned his sitting into lying down.

He could see his face on the mirror-like sky above him. Xiao Shuxiang several times clucked in admiration, his face too dazzling even to himself.

Grandfather whose appearance of orange clothes mixed with brown and black looks like an old monk. He was indeed blind, but he knew what this young man in front of him was doing.

Xiao Shuxiang was rolling around while tapping on the ground that looked like glass on a puddle, he could also see the reflection of his face.

Xiao Shuxiang began to comment by saying this ground he touched felt cold.

".. Grandpa, you should try it too.."

"You don't know very well manners. Come and sit quietly,"

Xiao Shuxiang rolled towards the Blind Grandpa and started to wake up, he tidied his slightly messy hair and started listening to the speech from Old Bangka in front of him.

Usually, one would maintain an attitude if one knew his soul was summoned in this kind of unfamiliar place. He will certainly be alert, confused, afraid, and the like.

".. But you're acting childish. Even a little kid wouldn't do that in your position,"

"Maybe because they don't like to play and are always serious at all times. Hmph, such a person is very boring. This stone turned out to be real, I think it was artificial.."

Xiao Shuxiang instead tapped on the jade divan in front of him, his actions making the Old Grandpa in front of him smile. He has chosen a unique heir.

"Shuxiang, stop. Now listen to me, the Book of Breathing Heaven and Earth is just an ordinary book of breathing. It has no style whatsoever in it, and it is not special until no one fights over the book.."

Xiao Shuxiang nodded, he himself was actually very annoyed at feeling like he was being tricked. The name of the book sounded great but after he opened the sheet and read the contents..

".. Hiya.. I'm very disappointed.."

Xiao Shuxiang revealed how upset his heart was when he knew that there were only two leaves on the contents of the Heaven and Earth Breathing Book. But when viewed from the outside, the book looks thick with a cover that loves gold.

"But did you get anything from studying it..?"

Xiao Shuxiang exhaled softly and then nodded. He told me about how lazy he was to read a book, but because the Heaven and Earth Breathing Book contained only two pieces of writing.. He read the book more often.

".. It took me a long time to understand what you wrote. Really, your writing is very ugly, my forehead until a few times wrinkled when reading it. You need to practice more.."

"Brother brash, you're the one who commented on my bad writing. Your own writing is even worse than mine. Already, don't discuss that anymore. So what do you understand?"

The Old Grandfather in front of Xiao Shuxiang was neither angry nor upset, he listened carefully to the explanation of the young man before him.

Breathing is the first foundation in the world of warriors. The two breathing techniques in the book that Xiao Shuxiang studied only discussed the general passage. He had to learn on his own to develop it in order to be used in combat.

".. In my first life. I'm just focusing on developing Water Breathing. The Fire Phoenix Dantian I have does not allow me to learn the Fire Respiratory Technique.."

Xiao Shuxiang began to tell how much difficulty he had faced after successfully developing the Water Breathing Technique. He who had been too strong before became stronger and stronger until he began to be feared.

".. Well, I was amazing. But it sucks if they all run away right away after knowing that I'm coming. Geez, I even had to kill some people and threaten them first to be served. So my title is Heretic or whatever, they want it themselves.."

Xiao Shuxiang shook his head as he clucked, he started to fuss and complain how difficult his first life was.

He said he had an adventurous friend, but instead became a traitor because he wanted a heavenly heirloom in his hands.

".. I'm actually talented at processing poison, but my ability is poor at making the antidote. That's why, my talent was never used and instead ended up being a weakness.."

Xiao Shuxiang so remembered about the war between himself and the third flow cultivator in the past. He would rather die slashed by the sword of a swordsman than die from poison, because it was so shameful and tarnished his great name.

".. But now it doesn't matter,"

Xiao Shuxiang smiled, now poison is no longer his weakness. He gets a lot out of his second life. Not only about the various talents he had, but the memories he had long forgotten had also returned.

".. You could say, my present birth is much better than my other birth,"

The blind grandfather who was a listener of Xiao Shuxiang smiled as the story of the young man in front of him was finished. He then said that Xiao Shuxiang seemed to have gained a lot of valuable things.

".. This place is called 'Nirvana'. Only cultivators who were at the late stages of the Sky Level GrandMaster were summoned here. Here, the cultivators tested whether he could reach a higher level and become a True Immortal.."

The grandfather in front of Xiao Shuxiang explained that the Immortal-level cultivators in the various continents had not reached their true level yet.

".. They cannot let go of worldly desires. I won't explain much, because I know the answer you'll give me later.."

Xiao Shuxiang nodded, he guessed that he would be given a test to reach the True Immortal level by Old Bangka in front of him. And of course, he would instantly refuse without blinking.

Ever since the roots on his dantian were released, he had regained his strength. Xiao Shuxiang's practice had actually already reached the Sky Level Foundation Master, yet he suppressed his practice with pills.

Xiao Shuxiang would no longer absorb Qi from nature if he was not forced to. Dividing the Qi on both of his dantians did not suppress the strength he had at all, and it was alarming.

".. The pills I ate could only hold it for a week at most. Too much power can make me lose control.."

"Shuxiang, answer me one question. What did you fill your sword with when you swung it? You never filled it with protective intent and neither did you fill it with vengeance,"

"Hm? Why are you asking that?"

Xiao Shuxiang was astonished that suddenly the Blind Grandfather in front of him asked. But the Grandfather could give him a solution to Xiao Shuxiang's problem with his power that could lose control if he answered the question just now.

"Well, the answer is only one.. Foibles. I filled my sword with weakness. I assume my opponent is a very strong person, stronger than myself.."

Thinking of himself as the weakest of the opponents would make Xiao Shuxiang avoid arrogance.

During this time, Xiao Shuxiang often faced opponents who were always haughty and so arrogant as to show off his prowess.

".. Such people will look down on the opponent and make mistakes like giving him a chance to strike back. This kind of stupidity is unacceptable. Grandfather could probably tell, there were how many strong cultivators who died silly from underestimating their opponents. By filling my sword with weakness, I would feel like I could die if I didn't fight them with all my might from the start.."

Xiao Shuxiang watched his right palm. He then clenched his hands in annoyance and began to curse the humans who never escaped from pride.

The Blind Grandfather in front of him said that Xiao Shuxiang did indeed match the legacy he had.

Slowly, he began to explain that the nine gates of the world had revealed his presence.

The gate was originally made by a cultivator who wanted to bring home the soul of his lover who had died from falling into the Abyss of Hell.

His desire made the cultivator travel painfully to obtain more power.

For hundreds of years, the cultivator was finally able to create a huge gate that he thought was the path to where his lover was.

".. But who would have thought, the gate instead connected the Human World with the Demon World. His lover he did not find and instead made the Demonic Beasts come to this place and make a mess.."

It was hard to close the big gate. The senior cultivators had to cooperate and bring out all their strength, until the nine Immortal cultivators descended from the Deva Realm and broke the gate then spread it to the nine points in the Five Continents.

This Blind Grandfather said the gate could not be destroyed because it had fused with the Human World. Although all five continents were destroyed to dust though.. The gate will remain.

".. So the only thing that can be done is to seal it. It was the first as well as the last favor of Immortal cultivators of the Deva Realm. Before leaving, they left the key of the nine gate seal on one of the cultivators who was considered capable,"

Xiao Shuxiang felt like he was beginning to understand the direction of this Blind Grandfather's conversation. He politely stopped Tua Bangka's speech in front of him by saying it was time for him to go home.

".. You're not going anywhere until I'm done talking,"

"Oh come on, Grandpa..! I'm not a good person, I could have opened all nine gates and let all the creatures in the Demon World out in order to cause chaos. You don't seem to know me.."

The Blind Grandfather in front of Xiao Shuxiang steadily said he had made the right decision. There was no one else better than Xiao Shuxiang.

".. You have the ability to go to the Demon World of your own accord. And I know, you can go to another world too. It is not impossible that one day you can go to the Deva Realm. Humans like you are obviously rare in this world,"

!!

The look on Xiao Shuxiang's face turned serious, he then asked if this Blind Grandfather in front of him was still alive or not. However, the grandfather said he had been dead a long time. His soul was summoned to this place due to the appearance of the Nine World Gates.

".. I know what you're thinking. You want to kill me because I know about you who can go to that world, right?"

"The Elf World. But, what does the nine gates of the world have to do with controlling my powers?"

Xiao Shuxiang was indeed intending to kill the Blind Grandfather in front of him. No one should know about the Demon World and the Elf World other than the person he was allowed to.

The Blind Grandfather said that studying the Nine Gates World Seal would allow Xiao Shuxiang to also be able to study the Soul Restraint Chain Seal.

".. The seal was actually a side effect of the Nine Gate Seal. But I guess the seal can curb your power from getting out of control,"

"Soul Restraint Chain Seal.."

Xiao Shuxiang listened to the explanation of the Blind Grandfather in front of him, This Old Bangka has not closed anything at all. The Soul Restraint Chain Seal includes a strong seal, and if it has been worn.. It will be very difficult to let go.

".. But it's not impossible. The seal will disappear by itself when you are able to control yourself and your strength. So how? Do you want to try it?"

"Pil is not enough. And I can't count on Yinng xiong, that sword can kill me if I'm not careful. But sealing the nine gates that existed in the Five Continents was no easy job,"

The Blind Grandfather understood what Xiao Shuxiang was feeling. This task was obviously burdensome, but no one else could do it other than Xiao Shuxiang.

".. You can start slowly. Don't assume the mission I gave you is a burden. Just live your life and let the heavens decide it,"

Xiao Shuxiang exhaled before saying that he would learn the seal of the nine gates of the world, but did not promise to do this mission as soon as possible because he had some things to do.

"I don't want you to rush either. Alright, now pay attention to the seals of the nine world gates. There are ten hand movements that each have side effects,"

Xiao Shuxiang nodded. He then noticed the movement of the Blind Grandfather's hand in front of him that was too fast, he immediately protested and asked that the Old Bangka slow down his hand movements.

When Xiao Shuxiang started with the first move, both of his legs immediately ached. He continued with the second move and now the pain was on both hands.

Every time Xiao Shuxiang completed a single hand move, there was only a part of his body that was sick. It felt like his hands, legs, thighs, arms, and waist were pierced by an enormous and sharp sword.

Arriving at the last move, a wind-like chain wrapped around Xiao Shuxiang's body from the feet to the neck. The chain moved like a snake and then disappeared.

"In this place, the pain you're experiencing is only a little. But it's gonna be so much different when you wake up.."

This Blind Grandfather was still bidding on whether Xiao Shuxiang was willing to accept the test to become a True Immortal. The young man in front of him refused.

".. You're the kid who never lies. As long as you keep your honesty, you can easily come here any time.."

Xiao Shuxiang did not expect to hear that. He had just felt that he had gained the privilege of entering the Nirvana Realm.

Although this Old Grandfather had previously said that only Sky-level GrandMaster cultivators could come here, but actually for cultivators who practiced that high would have been difficult.

".. Who are you really, Grandpa? You haven't mentioned your name since, not even the first time we met,"

"Why are you asking now? I won't answer you, just think for yourself.."

!!

Xiao Shuxiang flinched, the old geezer in front of him looked sulky. I don't know why he looks happy.

The Nirvana realm should be a desolate place. The soul called to meet the guardian of the realm should be courteous, and the atmosphere will be serious, as well as a little tense.

But in contrast to Xiao Shuxiang, this young man seemed to regard the Nirvana Realm as his own home. He even told me a lot of things as a killer of saturation.

The Blind Grandfather who had once given him the Heaven and Earth Breathing Book could only smile and shook his head slowly. The young man in front of him seemed to have forgotten to ask back his identity.

"Your life now sounds so much better,"

"of course. But it was difficult at first. I rose up with the body of a weak little boy.."

Xiao Shuxiang started again, he recounted the long journey as he got up. The Blind Grandfather in front of him smiled while being a good listener. This was the first time he had met such a chatty young man.

***