The ritual required all six gates to be sealed at the same moment.
Xin had five cultivators. He needed six.
Sen pointed at the map. "There is a sixth gate. Under the eastern school. Wei Long built it sixty years ago. It connects to the Old One directly."
"Wei Long built a gate?"
"He wanted direct access. A way to feed the Old One without using the mass." Sen traced the lines. "The gate is small. But it is active. And it is the key."
"The key to what?"
"If we seal the six city gates but not Wei Long's gate, the Old One can still push through. The eastern gate is its emergency exit."
Xin looked at the map. "Where exactly?"
"Under Master Chen's school. The main hall."
---
They rode east.
Shen Bao was weak. First Gate only. But he rode. Dao Chen was down to Third Gate. His shoulder
