The triumph over the Demon's Echo, with its shadowy figures and haunting doubts, had left Li Wei with a fortified spirit, his belief in the Dao unshaken despite the persistent fever and throbbing pain that plagued his frail body. The hidden valley, with its shimmering pool, ancient tree, and glowing blossoms, pulsed with an energy that seemed to affirm the warmth in his dantian—a warmth he believed was his nascent Golden Core, nurturing a fledgling Nascent Soul. Azure Dragon, his scruffy spirit beast, remained a loyal companion, curled by the stone altar as Li Wei pored over the scroll, its worn bamboo slats a sacred guide through his trials. The scroll's latest passage unveiled a tantalizing new challenge: "The Celestial Gate, where the cultivator stands before the portal to the immortal realm, seeking passage through purity of spirit."
In the cultivation novels Li Wei had devoured in Beijing, celestial gates were legendary thresholds—portals to divine realms guarded by trials of power or wisdom, granting access to immortality. The scroll's description was more poetic but equally compelling: "Seek the gate where heaven and earth converge, let qi open its path, and step toward eternity. Beware, for impurity bars the way." Li Wei, tempered by lightning, betrayal, and moments of clarity, felt a surge of excitement. His earlier vision of the Hidden Realm, glimpsed in the valley's hot spring, had hinted at such a portal. Could the spring, with its steaming, glowing waters, be the Celestial Gate? His body, ravaged by hunger, fever, and the infected wounds on his hand and arm, ached with every movement, but the valley's mystical aura and the scroll's promise fueled his determination.
Li Wei prepared with the reverence of a pilgrim approaching a sacred threshold. He reinforced his altar with smooth stones, their surfaces carved with star-like patterns inspired by the Starstone to channel the valley's qi. He placed the scroll, jade slip, Starstone, and stolen booklet at the altar's center, surrounded by the ancient tree's glowing blossoms, their light pulsing like a beacon to the heavens. Azure Dragon watched, head tilted, as Li Wei sipped the valley's crystal-clear water, its coolness a fleeting relief against his persistent fever. The scroll suggested a meditative trance by the gate, so he resolved to return to the hot spring, its steam and glow a perfect match for the scroll's description. He packed his tattered backpack with his notebook and the Starstone, leaving the valley's main clearing with Azure Dragon limping at his side, the trek to the spring a painful but sacred pilgrimage.
The hot spring was hidden behind a curtain of vines, its steam rising like mist from a dream, its waters glowing faintly in the twilight. Li Wei knelt by its edge, the Starstone in one hand, the jade slip pressed to his chest, the heat soothing his aching body. He chanted the scroll's incantations, their rhythmic tones blending with the valley's whispers and the spring's gentle hiss. He focused on his dantian, visualizing his Golden Core as a radiant star, his Nascent Soul a glowing figure ready to step through the gate. The scroll urged him to "open the path," so he imagined his qi flowing into the spring, its steam parting to reveal a shimmering portal. The warmth in his dantian surged, pulsing in rhythm with the spring's glow, and he felt a tingling sensation, as if the gate were opening.
Hours passed, his body trembling from the strain, his fever intensifying, the pain in his infected wounds throbbing with each heartbeat. In his trance, the valley faded, replaced by a vision of a towering gate of light, its surface rippling like the spring's waters, guarded by a radiant figure—his Nascent Soul, or perhaps a celestial warden. A voice, resonant and commanding, echoed: "Is your spirit pure?" Li Wei's heart raced, doubts flooding in—the scroll's jest, the betrayals, Mei Ling's smile. He chanted louder, visualizing his qi as a key, his Nascent Soul stepping forward. "I am worthy," he declared, his voice hoarse but resolute. The gate glowed brighter, but his body faltered, the fever spiking as dizziness gripped him. He collapsed by the spring, gasping, Azure Dragon whining and nudging his face.
The Starstone felt warmer, as if infused with the gate's energy, and the warmth in his dantian pulsed stronger, clearer, as if the trial had refined his qi. Had he truly glimpsed the Celestial Gate, or was it another fevered vision? The scroll promised passage to eternity but warned of impurity, and Li Wei chose to believe he'd passed the test, even at a cost. He scribbled in his notebook, hands trembling: "Celestial Gate glimpsed. Qi opens path, soul steps forward. Body falters, spirit rises." The valley's whispers seemed to approve, their murmurs blending with the spring's steam, the ancient tree's blossoms glowing brighter in the distance.
During the next video call with the Order of the Jade Dawn, Li Wei shared the experience, describing the glowing gate and the warden's challenge. Zhang Wei, eyes wide, called it a "divine threshold," urging him to brew an elixir with the spring's water to solidify the vision. Liu Mei, her serene face lit by moonlight, praised his resolve but insisted he seek medical care: "The gate tests the soul, but the body must endure." Chen Xiu saw it as proof of ascension, while Zhao Feng, skeptical, suggested it was delirium, sparking a heated debate that tested Li Wei's leadership. He hid his worsening fever and the throbbing pain in his wounds, fearing their concern might fracture the sect's unity.
As dawn broke, Li Wei sat by the spring, the Starstone warm in his hands, Azure Dragon snoring softly. The scroll promised that the Celestial Gate opened the path to eternity, but also warned of greater trials. The valley's energy, his sect's support, and the scroll's guidance bolstered him, even as his body weakened. With his Golden Core and Nascent Soul pulsing as beacons, Li Wei felt ready to face the next challenge, his spirit poised at the threshold of immortality, one shimmering gate at a time.