Covering the Sky: I Prove the Great Dao Through the Gate of Immortality

"The mansions of princes and nobles, adorned with flowers and exuding grandeur, are renowned far and wide, yet they are filled with sordid affairs, far inferior to a small village in the mountains."

Li Chenzhou spoke softly, his voice not loud, yet it was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

He gazed at the magnificent mansion before him—vermilion gates and high walls, soaring eaves and bracket sets, imposing stone lions at the entrance, and the three characters "Wu Wang Fu" (Prince Wu's Mansion) on the plaque, written in bold, powerful strokes, exuding an imposing aura. From within, the faint sounds of string and wind instruments drifted, and the bright lights suggested a lively gathering of guests and hosts.

What a beautiful scene of blooming flowers!

What a majestic and imposing sight!

Renowned far and wide, wielding immense power, countless people would do anything to cross this threshold, just to catch a glimpse of the noble aura of this royal residence.

But what is inside such a mansion, such a prestigious place?

She is a venomous woman who steals people's supreme bones.

They are the clansmen who sit idly by and condone it.

It is those so-called "elders" who know the truth but turn a deaf ear and allow an infant to be harmed.

They are "born prodigies" raised on the blood of their own flesh and blood.

Li Chenzhou thought of Shicun.

That small village, hidden deep in the wilderness, had no high walls or deep courtyards, no vermilion gates or stone lions, only a few rows of simple wooden houses and a patch of willow trees that had been charred but still stood tall.

But what's there?

There was a young couple who were willing to embark on a perilous journey to save a baby.

There was an ordinary woman who fed that child spoonful by spoonful with her rough hands.

There is a little playmate who stays by that child's side, listening to him cry, watching him laugh, and awkwardly patting his shoulder when he is sad.

There was Liu Shen, who could have easily saved the child but chose to let go, so that the child could survive on his own.

There's also Li Chenzhou... who was willing to travel thousands of miles and step into this filthy mansion just to ease the pent-up frustration in that child's heart.

How vivid.

How absurd.

What a ridiculous contrast.

A magnificent gatehouse was filled with filth and depravity.

A poor and simple mountain village, yet it holds the most precious things in the world.

Li Chenzhou withdrew his gaze, a slight smile playing on his lips, but there was no warmth in it.

"How ironic."

He spoke softly, then lifted his foot and walked towards the vermilion gate.

Li Chenzhou paused for a moment, then strode forward, walking unhurriedly toward the Prince Wu's residence.

The moment he moved, he instantly attracted the attention of everyone on the street. Passersby stopped to watch, some surprised, some curious, and most with amusement—anyone who dared to walk towards the Wu King's Mansion on this street was either a distinguished guest or courting death.

The guards at Prince Wu's residence also moved.

"Halt!"

A guard strode forward, his voice booming, and stopped Li Chenzhou. He was clad in armor, his aura imposing, and runes faintly swirled around him, clearly indicating his cultivation level as a Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator!

The Spirit Transformation Realm—placed in those harsh and desolate lands, it's enough to grant one a fiefdom and dominate a region. Even the so-called "marquises" of those remote areas would have to bow their heads before this person.

However, at the Prince Wu's residence, these were merely guards at the gate.

Li Chenzhou didn't stop walking. His gaze swept over the guard, and he couldn't help but admire him.

"As expected of the Prince Wu's Mansion."

He nodded silently, his expression calm, even showing a hint of appreciation.

"Hmm, the ant realm. I'm only one realm higher than a guard."

This praise comes from the heart.

A cultivator at the Spirit Transformation Realm can only guard the gate of the Martial King's Mansion. What kind of foundation does that represent? What kind of prestige does that imply? No wonder they don't take a born supreme being seriously.

One of the guards is almost at the same level as him, a celestial king.

Born a supreme being?

That's nothing.

Reasonable.

Li Chenzhou continued forward, his pace remaining unhurried.

The guard frowned, about to shout again, when he heard Li Chenzhou speak.

"Is it the Wu King's Palace?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

The guard was slightly taken aback. The question was strange—was there a second Martial King's Mansion in the entire capital of the Stone Kingdom?

Before he could react, Li Chenzhou's second question arrived.

"Is it the Martial King's Mansion that produced the person with double pupils?"

Upon hearing this, the guard's expression subtly changed. Shi Yi, with his double pupils, was the pride of the Martial King's Mansion, a naturally gifted genius renowned far and wide. What was this person's intention in mentioning Shi Yi?

However, Li Chenzhou did not stop. His third question followed, his voice still calm, yet it sent a shiver down the spines of everyone present.

"Is it the Wu King's mansion where they murdered their relatives?"

The three questions in succession were like three sharp swords, piercing straight to the foundation of the Wu King's Mansion!

The street fell silent instantly; you could hear a pin drop.

The onlookers stared wide-eyed, some gasping, others quietly taking a few steps back—this was trouble! And it was about the most shameful thing that happened at the Prince Wu's residence!

The guards' expressions changed completely.

The lead guard's gaze suddenly sharpened, runes surged around his body, and he exuded a murderous aura!

"How dare you!"

He roared, and several guards behind him stepped forward at the same time, their swords drawn, their cold light gleaming!

However, Li Chenzhou did not stop.

He remained calm, even with a faint smile on his lips, as if these menacing guards were nothing more than a few weeds by the roadside.

"Those who provoke the Prince Wu's residence deserve to be executed!"

The guard roared, and the swords and spears in his hands suddenly burst forth with dazzling spiritual light. He fully activated his cultivation at the Spirit Transformation Realm, and his killing intent surged as the runes flowed!

The crowd on the street gasped and retreated. No one doubted what would happen next—the man who dared to act so arrogantly in front of the Prince Wu's mansion was about to be killed on the spot!

however--

"This is none of your business, get out of here."

Li Chenzhou waved his hand lightly, as if brushing a fallen leaf off his shoulder.

His movements were so casual as to be almost nonchalant.

But in that instant, those murderous guards were frozen in place as if struck by a spell!

The spiritual light on the swords and spears vanished instantly.

The surging runes came to an abrupt halt.

They remained charging forward, some with their knives raised, some with their feet just off the ground, some with their eyes wide open in anger—yet they stood motionless like statues frozen in ice, only their eyes able to move, revealing deep horror and bewilderment.

What happened?!

they do not know.

All they knew was that just moments before they were roaring to kill the intruders, and the next second, their bodies no longer belonged to them. It felt like their souls were trapped inside their bodies, desperately trying to move a finger, but unable to control even a single hair.

The young man continued walking forward at a leisurely pace, without even glancing at them.

The streets were deathly silent.

Li Chenzhou walked past the frozen guards, his expression calm as still water.

He had investigated and found that these people had nothing to do with what happened back then. They were just gate guards; their cultivation at the Spirit Transformation Realm sounded impressive, but in a place as unfathomable as the Martial King's Mansion, they had no right to get involved in a conspiracy of that level.

As for the obstruction just now—

Li Chenzhou shook his head slightly.

That's their duty. If a grown man barges into the main gate of the Prince's mansion, are they expected to open the gates to welcome him instead of stopping him?

He came to collect debts, not to indiscriminately kill innocent people.

He clearly distinguished this boundary.

Without pausing, Li Chenzhou bypassed the immobilized guards and continued walking towards the open gates of the Wu King's Mansion.

Behind him, the guards, who were trapped in place, could only watch helplessly as that figure walked further and further away, their eyes filled with terror and despair.

Inside the gate, the sounds of string and wind instruments continued to play, completely oblivious to what was happening in front of the gate.

The streets were already packed with a dense crowd, three or four deep, all craning their necks to look towards the Wu King's Mansion. A cacophony of voices rose and fell like a tidal wave.

"Has this guy lost his mind? How dare he trespass into the Prince Wu's residence?"

A middle-aged man who looked like a merchant stared wide-eyed, his face full of disbelief. He had been doing business in the capital for thirty years and had seen all sorts of people, but he had never seen anyone dare to be so presumptuous in front of the Prince Wu's mansion.

"This is no way to court death." An old man next to him shook his head and sighed. "What kind of place is the Martial King's Mansion? The Martial King is renowned and is one of the top kings in our Stone Kingdom. His mansion is filled with countless powerful figures and experts."

"It's said there are over a dozen Spirit Transformation Realm elders alone!" someone chimed in, their tone filled with awe. "And there's more than one Inscription Realm patriarch, and rumors even suggest there's a Array Formation Realm expert overseeing things!"

"The Array Formation Realm?" Someone gasped. "Isn't that someone who has already touched the threshold of godhood?"

"Who can argue with that?"

A collective sigh rippled through the crowd.

"Look at that young man, how old is he? Twenty at most, right?" A scholarly-looking youth pushed up his glasses. "Even if he started cultivating from the womb, what level could he possibly reach? Spirit Transformation? Inscription?"

"So what if it has inscriptions?" someone scoffed. "A random ancestor from the Martial King's Mansion could crush him into dust!"

"But he just waved his hand and froze those guards in place," someone said weakly.

"So what?" the sneer scoffed. "Those guards are just at the early stage of the Spirit Transformation realm, there for them to keep watch. The real experts are all inside the manor, they haven't even made a move yet!"

"Too……"

"How dare he?" A woman holding a child asked, her face full of confusion. "Alone, just one person, daring to break into the Martial King's mansion? Isn't that insane?"

"I bet there's some deep-seated grudge involved," someone guessed. "Otherwise, who would risk their life like that?"

"Deep-seated hatred?" the other sneered. "In front of the Martial Prince's Mansion, you have to swallow all your grudges and hatred! Do you think the Martial Prince's Mansion is a place for reason?"

"Shh—keep your voice down! Are you out of your mind?"

Realizing he had spoken out of turn, the man quickly shut his mouth and shrank into the crowd, no longer speaking.

"If you ask me..." an old man who looked like a fortune teller stroked his beard and slowly said, "This man is probably going to shed blood at the gates of the Wu King's mansion today."

"How so?"

"Look—" the fortune teller pointed in the direction of the Martial King's Mansion, "He hasn't even entered the gate yet, and he's already alarmed so many people. Once he actually steps through that gate, do you think the powerful figures inside will let him go? I bet that in less than half an incense stick's time, his head will be hanging on the city wall for all to see."

"What you say makes sense."

"Indeed."

Everyone nodded, their gazes toward Li Chenzhou filled with pity, mockery, and schadenfreude, but none of them were optimistic about him.

"What you say makes sense."

"Indeed."

Everyone nodded, their gazes toward Li Chenzhou filled with pity, mockery, and schadenfreude, but none of them were optimistic about him.

In their eyes, a person who ventured alone into the Wu King's mansion was already a dead man.

Li Chenzhou had excellent hearing, and he heard every word of the gossip in the streets.

He tilted his head slightly and glanced at the figures pointing and whispering—there were young masters in fine clothes, middle-aged cultivators with composed demeanors, and so-called scholars waving folding fans and pretending to be profound. These people all possessed some level of cultivation, and the power behind them was considerable; they might even be retainers or scions of some marquis's or prince's mansion.

Their knowledge and experience are quite profound.

They all pointed out the flaws in the situation, analyzing it with great clarity, and their conclusions were strikingly consistent—this person was doomed.

Li Chenzhou withdrew his gaze, gently shook his head, and a trace of regret appeared on his face.

It seems that passersby in the Chaotic Ancient Era are not as knowledgeable as those in the Shrouding the Heavens Era.

He felt nostalgic for those years.

If this had happened in the era of "Covering the Sky," the onlookers certainly wouldn't have been so hasty in their judgment. They would have first used their divine sense to investigate, carefully examined the situation, and secretly communicated with each other—and then reached completely opposite conclusions.

"This person is unfathomable; the Wu King's mansion is likely to undergo a major upheaval today."

"I can't see through his cultivation level, and that in itself is the biggest problem."

"Get back as far away as possible, don't get caught in the crossfire."

"This is going to be a good show, a truly spectacular show!"

This is the kind of refinement a passerby should have in the era of "Covering the Sky"! It was an era where even an old farmer selling vegetables might conceal his cultivation level, an age where any random passerby could utter a few profound truths. The passersby there had sharp eyes, were knowledgeable, and never jumped to conclusions easily.

But what about these things right now?

Li Chenzhou glanced again at the crowd that was still discussing amongst themselves, and a faint sense of melancholy welled up in his heart.

Is it because the ancient chaos was too overwhelming, making people more inclined to believe what they see in front of them? Or is it because the sky-covering light was so dazzling that even passersby were made to have exceptional eyesight?

Forget it.

He snapped out of his reverie and ignored the passersby who were destined to be proven wrong.

Anyway—

They'll understand soon enough what it truly means to be "completely ignorant and arrogant."

Li Chenzhou lifted his foot and stepped into the gate of the Wu King's Mansion.

"boom--!"

A deafening roar, like a thunderclap, shook the entire street!

The two vermilion gates of the Wu King's Mansion, which were several meters high, were made of thousand-year-old ironwood and engraved with defensive runes. They shattered with a single kick from Li Chenzhou!

Wood chips flew everywhere, runes crumbled, and the brilliant light exploded like fireworks before quickly fading away.

The entire street fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was stunned, their mouths agape, but no sound came out.

That's the gate of the Prince Wu's residence.

That was the gate of the most powerful among the kings of the Stone Kingdom.

That door represented power, status, and authority, a door that no one had dared to touch for decades.

Now, it's broken.

It was kicked to pieces, completely shattered, so shattered that not even a single intact plank could be found.

"He...he..."

Someone pointed at Li Chenzhou, their fingers trembling and their lips quivering, but they couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"This is utterly trampling on the dignity of the Prince Wu's Mansion..."

Finally, someone murmured, their voice filled with disbelief.

Kicking down the gates of the Prince's mansion was tantamount to declaring war on the entire Prince Wu's mansion, a fight to the death. Everyone living in the capital knew this perfectly well.

But this young man acted so decisively, so readily, so without leaving any room for compromise.

Li Chenzhou glanced down at the shattered door panel at his feet, his expression calm as still water, as if he had just kicked down not the gate of the Wu King's Mansion, but a roadside obstacle.

"If you've lost all sense of shame, what's the point of having this door?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

Then, he raised his eyes and looked at the empty doorway. His tone remained calm, but it carried a kind of unsettling certainty.

"From this day forward, the Prince Wu's residence will be without a facade."

As soon as the words fell—

The world changed color!

A sudden gust of wind howled and swept in from all directions, causing people on the street to lose their footing and retreat! The clouds in the sky churned and rolled, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand!

And that empty place, which should have been the location of the entrance, became eerie in everyone's eyes—

The space there began to distort, as if sealed off by some unseen force. Light and shadow twisted and folded, forming a hazy void. Everyone could clearly sense that from this day forward, no door could ever stand in that location again.

Nothing could stand there.

"Words...words become law?"

A trembling voice rang out from the crowd, filled with barely suppressed fear and disbelief.

These four words exploded like thunder in the crowd!

"What?!"

"Words become law? Isn't that a legendary supernatural power?!"

"How is that possible! That's a method only gods could use!"

"No, even ordinary gods can't do that! That's a realm only supreme beings can reach!"

If words truly become law...

If this person truly possesses such extraordinary abilities...

Therefore, the one who sheds blood here today is probably not this young man, but—

Wu Wangfu.

The thought simultaneously arose in everyone's mind, and then they were startled by their own idea.

But the distorted space, the sealed portal, and the terrifying methods that made their words law—all silently told them—

This young man is no ordinary person.

That's not simple at all.

Today, the Prince Wu's mansion may truly be stained with blood.

The streets were deathly silent, save for the howling wind and the pounding of everyone's hearts.