I considered it for a moment before saying, "Let's put it this way. Was the Ao Xue Sect incident a coincidence, or was it prearranged?"

"A bit of both!" Ling said directly. "The Sect Heavenly Gates have existed for a long time, and both the sects and the art world treat the Heavenly Gates with extreme caution."

"This involves not only the grievances between the sects and the art world, but also a greater secret."

"There are countless speculations about this secret, the earliest of which can be traced back to the Feng Shen era."

"If the reincarnation of the Greed Wolf hadn't stirred up the Jianghu turmoil, no one would want to touch the Sect Heavenly Gates. This time..."

Ling hesitated before saying, "This time, the Xue Shan Corpse Demon incident was a test jointly conducted by the upper echelons of the sects and the art world."

"Both the sects and the art world wanted to verify their guesses, so the Ao Xue Sect was chosen. Because the difficulty of the Ao Xue Heavenly Gate is the lowest. The destruction of the sect will also have little impact on the Jianghu. Therefore, the Ao Xue Sect has become a test subject."

I couldn't help but gasp when I heard this: a test subject!

Just to see a result, a sect with a heritage of hundreds of years and more than a thousand people was sacrificed?

The Jianghu is ruthless!

So ruthless!

Ling said lightly, "You find it unacceptable, don't you? This is the Jianghu!"

Ling continued, "We originally planned to launch the plan in half a month. The person who was going to open the Ao Xue Heavenly Gate was not you, but a master cultivated by the Tian Gong Sect."

"Your involvement in this plan was an accident, so we had to launch the plan to step through the Heavenly Gate ahead of schedule."

Ling said "they" launched the plan ahead of schedule, but in fact, the person who really overruled all objections to launch the plan should be Ling herself.

I picked up the wine pot and poured a glass for Ling: "I toast you!"

Sometimes, words don't need to be said too much. Mutual understanding is more important than any language.

Ling put down her wine glass and said, "Are you wondering who Cang Tianji is? And how he calculated that the person with the cross-shaped scar on his shoulder is Gu Bei's life tribulation?"

I nodded and said, "Is it convenient to say?"

"There's nothing inconvenient." Ling said, "Nan Weiyang and Dong Apang each have a leader. Cang Tianji is the leader of Dong Apang. However, we are not the commanders. I can only say so much about this matter."

"Cang Tianji is the most outstanding fate master in the current art world, bar none. His predictions have never been wrong. It's just..."

Ling hesitated and said, "I just think that his deduction about you is wrong. You shouldn't be Gu Bei's life tribulation. Otherwise, Gu Bei should have been reduced to ashes long ago, instead of just damaging a body."

I subconsciously touched my shoulder: "Is there another person with a cross-shaped scar on his shoulder?"

"Maybe!" Ling shook her head and said, "Cang Tianji has always been mysterious, and even I have to fear him."

I nodded slightly: "What was the result of your test?"

"Very dangerous!" Ling said, "Although the Ao Xue Sect has survived the tribulation, the sect's fortune has been divided up. This also includes your Liang Jie Tang."

My brows couldn't help but twitch slightly: "Are you saying that the Ten Great Heavenly Gates are all connected to the sect's fortune, and whoever steps through the Heavenly Gate will seize the fortune?"

"You can say that!" Ling said, "More importantly, there are some deviations in the legends of the Ten Great Heavenly Gates. There may be more than ten Heavenly Gates, perhaps there should be twelve Heavenly Gates, or even more."

Ling seemed unwilling to continue: "Don't think about the Heavenly Gates for the time being, and don't ask about them. This involves a great deal of involvement."

I suddenly looked up and said, "Is the Ao Xue Heavenly Gate destined by heaven, or is it man-made?"

Ling asked with a smile that was not a smile, "Which one do you prefer?"

"Man-made!" I said, "When Xuan Su saw Gu Bei's Yuan Hun (original soul) in the Ao Xue Sect's council hall, he showed a look of horror."

"When Gu Bei broke into the Ao Xue Sect, he shouted about invisible sword Qi. It can be seen that he has confirmed Gu Bei's identity. Gu Bei's identity has some origin with the Ao Xue Sect, right?"

Ling said an answer that was enough to surprise me: "Gu Bei is the Ao Xue Sect's Ci Zu (second ancestor), that is, the second-generation sect master of the Ao Xue Sect. Because she is a woman, her portrait was not listed in the ancestral hall. Instead, it is enshrined by the elders of the Ao Xue Sect's lineage. Xuan Su happened to be the elder of that lineage who had seen Gu Bei's true appearance."

My heart sank again: "Someone is laying out a plan for the art world? No, he is laying out a plan for the world. The Greed Wolf!"

Ling shook a finger and said, "According to the timeline, the exact time when the Sect Heavenly Gates appeared was indeed around the time of the Greed Wolf's first reincarnation. However, no one dares to be sure of this guess."

"So, even if you guess it, don't say it. And don't try to verify it."

I laughed and said, "What does the Greed Wolf have to do with me? No one is paying me, who would verify that damn thing?"

Ling stood up: "Okay, I should go too. I will take care of the loose ends of the Sect Heavenly Gate for you properly. As for you! Take good care of the Liang Jie Tang business, live well, act in a low-key manner, and make money in a high-profile manner. Understand?"

"You're giving me a lecture!" I said with a smile as I got up to see Ling off, but she waved her hand and disappeared into the night, leaving me alone in the house.