Life-Door Opens

Two years went by, and over that time, Han Sen sent out Purple Emperor to take down a number of shelters to pave the realm for more common human occupation. While he had managed to take down many shelters of a lesser rank, he had also been able to take down three emperor shelters.

Han Sen had maxed out his geno points and practiced enough to open nine gene locks for the Dongxuan Sutra and Jadeskin.

For some reason, no matter what he tried, he was unable to open his tenth. And his inability to do so, after so much time had elapsed, was rather frustrating. The same applied for the Blood-Pulse Sutra, as well. That, the Dongxuan Sutra, and Jadeskin were all stuck with nine gene locks open.

Han Sen had almost managed to collect one thousand geno points. Once he reached four digits, he theorized, he could unlock the elusive tenth gene locks that had escaped him. Of course, that was all just educated guesswork. But everyone needed a target or goal to aim for, and that was his for the meantime.

But Han Sen had been practicing Life Door consistently throughout the two years, as well, and he desperately wanted a breakthrough with it by this point. This was something else that was refusing to budge.

Purple Emperor wanted more and more shelters to conquer and expand their influence and strength, but they soon moved as far as they could go.

The human-occupied portion of the Third God's Sanctuary they had managed to etch out was eventually bordered by mighty enemies not even they were able to overcome. It was a shame their expansion had come to an end, but Han Sen valued the prospect that there were still greater challenges for him to overcome some day.

Needless to say, over the course of those two years, Han Sen had saved countless humans from the clutches of tyrannical spirits and made a name for himself far and wide across the sanctuary. To the spirits, he was an absolute menace of an emperor, and not a person looked on fondly. That, of course, was a result of him being a human, more than anything.

And because of these deeds, new surpassers were able to spawn safely inside liberated shelters. The looming threat of doom after entering the sanctuary was no longer too strong, and evolvers were keener than ever to make the jump. Han Sen was hailed as a hero, and rightly so.

Knowing he had gone as far as he could go in terms of strength, Han Sen decided it would be best to spend more time with his family. Going out with his family often, he found himself happier than he had been in a long time. Life was, for all intents and purposes, good.

Han Sen asked Uncle Bug how he might open Life Door, but he didn't receive an answer that helped. It took him twenty years to open it, and he was never sure what instigated the success, and he had no clue if there was an easier or better way to open it, either.

Uncle Bug did say he taught his family Life Door, though. And strangely, no matter how much they tried to master it, no one had been successful.

So, even though Han Sen continued his practice with it, he put it on the back-burner most of the time. He wasn't going to focus on it 100%, and instead, he opted to spend more time with his family.

Han Sen, Ji Yanran, and Bao'er were currently playing. Bao'er was on a swing, which Han Sen merrily pushed.

He suddenly froze, for some strange reason, despite having a blank mind that was not occupied with the thought of anything.

Han Sen stopped pushing the swing, which prompted Bao'er to suddenly leap onto Han Sen's back and ask, "Dad, why are you ignoring me?"

Her voice was like an explosion, sounding directly in his ear drum. It made him shiver. But the shiver seemed to extend beyond a mere goosebump-raising. He felt his Life Door open.

All of a sudden, he felt revitalized. He felt as if he had been reborn anew.

Han Sen had no idea how his Life Door had opened.

"What are you laughing at?" Ji Yanran asked, noticing his sudden burst of merriment and laughter.

"You guys are my lucky charms!" Han Sen kissed Bao'er and kissed Ji Yanran with a thick smooch.

It really was just as Uncle Bug said. How it unlocked, he had no idea. This was the strangest thing Han Sen had ever taken the time to learn. But Han Sen wasn't one to question his blessings. He was grateful for its opening, and that was it. He wasn't keen on learning the specifics.

When Life Door finished, Han Sen's body felt much better, yes, but no standout change could be noticed. Han Sen could feel the Nine-Life Cat pendant pulsate with a certain energy, though.

It was different from the power he occasionally felt when practicing the Blood-Pulse Sutra. Now, the Nine-Life Cat pendant felt like an actual creature, with its very own lifeforce.

It was just a pendant, so how or why it might have been alive confused Han Sen.

Han Sen examined the pendant in closer detail, but he couldn't really learn anything new about it. And the technology available didn't elucidate anything for him, either. Han Sen borrowed Bai Yishan's machine for the test. It was an inanimate object, as it should have been.

Back in the sanctuary, just as Han Sen was going to check-out another shelter, he frowned as he noticed something else. Han Sen felt a strong creature inside the shelter, and it wasn't one that belonged to him.

The scariest thing was that it was lurking someplace near the spirit hall.

This was Han Sen's favorite shelter, so intruders weren't the sort of thing to bring a smile to his face. Thinking unwelcome guests had come to invade, Han Sen's attitude quickly turned sour.

"Why are you hiding?" Han Sen called out, as he looked at a pile of bones.

Nothing responded, so Han Sen threw his fist into the bones to see if something was inside.

A light flashed away from his incoming punch to evade it.

He was keen to throw another punch, but something stayed his hand. It was the voice of a female, and it said, "I came all this way with an invitation, that is all. I came here to invite you to partake in the dining of Holy Baby Fruit. Perhaps you are as brutish as the tales suggest, and had I known your behavior would be this wild, I wouldn't have come."