Chapter 442: The Gate

On the last 100 kilometers across the desert, Ye Feng and his group overtook nearly twenty people, leaving those extremely powerful warriors in awe.
“So strong! They can still move like this in such a place.”
“Which faction do these guys belong to? Why have we never seen them before?”
“What an overwhelming aura!”
…
It took Ye Feng and his group almost an entire day to cover the 100 kilometers to reach the destination—this was even with Pearl, who was at the peak of the semi-god level, slowing them down. If it were just Ye Feng alone, he wouldn’t have taken so long at all.
Standing beneath a towering gate that reached the sky, another twenty or so people sat in lotus position. Upon seeing Ye Feng and his group arrive, they sized them up. Yet no one was foolish enough to provoke them here, as those who could reach this place were already extremely powerful.
However, Ye Feng knew that these seated individuals couldn’t push open the gate, as most of the powerful warriors he could sense here were only at the peak of the Extreme Stage or the early stage of the semi-god level. Thus, the rest must already be inside the tower.
“The gate looks impossible to push open,” Long Tian said, looking up at the sky. With his eyesight, he could barely make out the edge of the gate. Facing it, he felt profoundly insignificant.
“A body capable of withstanding 2,000 times gravity is needed to push it open!” Ye Feng nodded.
“I’ll give it a try first! My physical strength is the weakest,” Long Tian said as he stepped forward, pressing his palms against the gate. A terrifying force radiated from his arms, causing his sleeves to flutter violently.
“Grrr… grrr…” The sound of gears turning clearly reached everyone’s ears as the massive gate slowly opened a small gap.
“Open it now!!!” Long Tian roared, exerting even more force. Veins bulged on his arms, showing he was giving it his all.
The sound of the gears accelerated slightly, and the small gap gradually widened.
Zhuge Ling’er and the other women watched the scene anxiously, while Ye Feng seemed unimpressed at all.
“You go in first. Don’t worry about us—just wait for us inside!” Ye Feng called to Long Tian, who had already pushed the gate open halfway.
Long Tian turned to look at him, nodded, then turned sideways and squeezed through the gate, disappearing.

The moment Long Tian disappeared, the giant door slammed back with a loud bang.
“I’ll cover the rear. Who wants to go first?” Ye Feng looked at Long Yue and the others.
“I’ll go,” Zhuge Ling’er volunteered.
Seeing Zhuge Ling’er’s confidence, no one else objected.
With her current divine-level cultivation, her true strength was likely even greater than that of the semi-divine Long Tian. Sure enough, under everyone’s watchful eyes, she pushed open the door and entered.
“Next!” Ye Feng smiled slightly. He could clearly see dozens of people sitting around, eyes wide as they stared in their direction.
Long Yue and the others entered one by one.
The last before Ye Feng was Pearl. She had waited until now because she wasn’t very confident about it. Although her soul strength wasn’t weak, after hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation by Long Yue and the others in the refining realm, her cultivation level was the lowest among them. She had seen firsthand how difficult it was for Long Tian to push open the door, and she knew her own strength couldn’t compare to his, so she lacked confidence.
“Sis Pearl, it’s your turn!” Ye Feng urged her. He wasn’t unaware of her concerns, but he thought she might not be able to push open the door.
“I…” Pearl looked troubled.
“Give it a try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll think of another way.”
Reluctantly, Pearl walked toward the door. She knew Ye Feng was trying to help her. Cultivation was inherently a challenging path; if one harbored unresolved worries, they could easily become obstacles. This trial was precisely such a potential stumbling block for her.
Pearl placed her hands on the door and let out a sharp cry, “Ha!”
She concentrated all her energy in her arms and pushed against the door.
“Click, click, click…” Another set of crisp sounds arose, slower than before but still steady.
Hearing this, Pearl felt hopeful. The door might not be as impenetrable as she had thought. She increased her energy output, and the door opened even faster.
Ye Feng watched as a pair of black butterfly wings suddenly appeared behind Pearl, giving him a thoughtful expression.

Pearl seemed utterly unaware of her own changes; she was focusing all her energy on the massive door before her. As she pushed it open bit by bit, she felt an increasing sense of accomplishment. When the door was mostly open, she turned to look at Ye Feng. Ye Feng nodded at her, “Go in. I’ll be there in a moment!” At the same time, the wings behind Pearl vanished without a trace, and she disappeared from Ye Feng’s sight as well, with the door closing tightly again. The people who had been sitting in meditation looked at Ye Feng in astonishment. These thirteen of them had stunned everyone present—after all, those who could enter this tower were all powerful beings at the semi-god level or above, and all thirteen of them were clearly from the same faction. “Which faction are they from? How can they be so powerful?” “What kind of butterfly demon is that? I’ve never heard of it before.” “Thirteen beings at the semi-god level or above—whose followers are they?” Ye Feng ignored the chatter among the crowd. He raised his head again to look at the enormous door, walked over to it, and placed one hand on it. Instead of pushing hard, he sent his spiritual energy through his arm toward the door. From the start, he had tried to use his spiritual energy to probe inside, but it had been blocked. However, using his hand as a medium might help break through that barrier. The moment his spiritual energy reached out, a huge secret pattern flashed through his mind. Almost simultaneously, a powerful rebound force shot out from Ye Feng’s palm, sending him flying back. The people sitting nearby stared at Ye Feng in confusion—they had never seen the door attack on its own. They were utterly bewildered, not knowing what had happened. Ye Feng, however, smiled slightly. He certainly knew what had happened. His spiritual energy had detected a secret pattern the moment it entered, but almost immediately, he was sent flying back. Clearly, the tower hadn’t anticipated anyone using this method to project spiritual energy. “It’s the Gigantization Secret Pattern. No wonder the door is so huge…” Ye Feng grinned and walked back toward the door, extending his hand again and pushing hard. The door flew open abruptly, and Ye Feng disappeared from everyone’s sight in an instant. “That guy used just one hand…” Before the door closed, Ye Feng heard a voice with complex emotions whispering in his ear…