380: Chapter 380 The Era of the Heavenly Emperor

The starry sky was mysterious and profound.

In the boundless Universe, on a glowing star, Lin Yang stood with his hands behind his back, his back to all living beings. Around him, layer upon layer of immortal light, as vigorous as rivers and seas, formed a light curtain that blotted out the sky and sun, completely locking the Dark Portal ahead within this space.

Swoosh!

Soon after, a Nine Heavens Immortal King came to pay his respects.

"Reporting to the Heavenly Emperor, the Nine Heavens has been reclaimed, and we are continuing to assist other worlds in reclaiming more lost territory!"

That Immortal King knelt on one knee, respectfully raised his head, cupped his fists, and spoke in a deep voice, his eyes filled with fervor.

For it was precisely this man before him who, at the critical moment of the Nine Heavens' destruction, had stepped forward to strike back the Hundred Eerie Clans in one fell swoop, saving the creatures of the Nine Heavens from the brink of death.

Now, the Eerie Venerable Lords had suffered heavy casualties, and the remaining few had hidden behind the Dark Portal, not daring to come out.

This resulted in the current Hundred Eerie Clans being like a dragon without a head, while the experts of the Nine Heavens had completely united as one after Lin Yang's return.

As one side waxed and the other waned, the Hundred Eerie Clans, despite their superior numbers, were unable to form any effective resistance against the counterattack of the Nine Heavens' experts. Immortal Beings fell in great numbers, and territories once occupied by the Eerie were being reclaimed one after another by the unstoppable experts of the Nine Heavens...

During this period, the Earth Venerable had appeared with the remaining four Venerable Lords, attempting to retrieve some of their clansmen from outside, but they were once again wounded by Lin Yang, and another Venerable Lord was slain. In desperation, the Earth Venerable and the others fled back in panic.

And this time, after they returned, they directly sealed the Dark Portal from the inside, fearing that Lin Yang would fight his way in.

This seal lasted for a thousand years.

For a thousand years, Lin Yang sat before the Dark Portal, preventing the darkness within from seeping out, while the experts of the outside world took the opportunity to launch a massive counteroffensive against the Eerie.

After liberating the Nine Heavens, they continued to charge toward more distant reaches of the starry sky with unstoppable momentum, determined to ensure the Hundred Eerie Clans could never rise again.

Consequently, during this time, a strange sight appeared across the heavens.

The once-arrogant Strange Creatures were like rats crossing the street during these thousand years, hunted by everyone and hiding everywhere.

The number of Strange Creatures plummeted, and star worlds one after another regained new vitality in the process.

"It is hard to imagine that we would actually live to see the day the Eerie are defeated!"

On a planet where withered trees were meeting spring, an old man with white hair held a handful of moist soil, tears streaming down his Face as he spoke.

He was an old king who had lived for an unknown number of years. He was once the leader of the star world beneath his feet, but his home had been occupied by Strange Creatures long ago, forcing him to wander the starry sky and dodge pursuit everywhere.

He thought he would never see the day of his return, never imagining that the Nine Heavens would give birth to a Heavenly Emperor who surpassed all ancient predecessors, dispersed the darkness shrouding the heavens, and allowed the radiance of life to fall upon the stars once more.

"Thank the Heavenly Emperor! For granting us a brand new era!"

In every corner of the Universe, as dim stars were lit once again, many experts who had wandered for years returned to their homelands. Overcome with emotion, they bowed in gratitude toward the high heavens where Lin Yang sat on guard.

"We should choose a new era name for the rebirth of the heavens!" someone suggested.

"The heavens are reborn because of the Heavenly Emperor, so why not call this life... the Era of the Heavenly Emperor?"

"The Era of the Heavenly Emperor!"

...

The year 1001 of the Heavenly Emperor Calendar.

The Hundred Eerie Clans were completely extinguished, the Earth Venerable had closed the Dark Portal, and the legendary strongest Heavenly Venerable of the Hundred Eerie Clans had never appeared from beginning to end.

He could only continue to guard this place; otherwise, once he left, if the Heavenly Venerable and the Earth Venerable took the opportunity to strike, the others would be unable to resist.

"Everyone misses you very much."

On this day, Ai Li came to this place to pass on messages for some old friends.

Because this place was near the Dark Portal and was surging with Dao Exhaustion Level Laws, even Immortal Kings could not approach; only Immortal Emperor experts could appear here.

"Alright, I will go back and take a look."

Finally, Lin Yang condensed a Clone to remain on guard here, while his true body returned with Ai Li.

At his current Realm, the combat power of a Clone was already nearly identical to the true body, sufficient to handle any emergencies.

Lingxiao Heaven.

Once, the Four Desolations of the Lingxiao Heaven's Lower Realm had made Lin Yang feel they were incredibly vast; after reaching the Upper Realm, he felt even more the greatness of the world and his own smallness.

However, now that he stood in the sky above the Lingxiao Heaven, he already had the qualifications to look down upon an entire heavenly domain.

With a single thought, the two of them appeared inside the heavenly domain.

"The Heavenly Emperor is back!"

Upon hearing the news, everyone came to welcome him of their own accord, their cheers unceasing. Having survived the disaster, they were grateful to Lin Yang from the bottom of their hearts.

Without him, the heavens would have perished a thousand years ago; there would be no moment like today for everyone to gather.

This was destined to be a tireless welcoming ceremony, a universal celebration that lasted for three days and three nights without pause.

In the end, Lin Yang really couldn't handle everyone's enthusiasm and found an excuse to escape from the banquet scene.

After leaving, Lin Yang went to the Lower Realm accompanied by Ai Li.

As soon as the two descended into this Realm, Lin Yang heard a familiar voice from tens of thousands of miles away.

It was a middle-aged man, reprimanding the Disciples before him within a mountain gate.

"Xue Changming..." Lin Yang showed a look of surprise.

That middle-aged man was none other than his former fellow Disciple who had joined the Holy Emperor Sect with him, Xue Changming.

Later, the Lower Realm met with great changes, the original Sect Leader of the Holy Emperor Sect died, and the position of Sect Leader was passed to Xue Changming.

He thought that after this Eerie disaster, many old friends would no longer be seen, but he hadn't expected that Xue Changming would miraculously survive and rebuild the Sect in the Lower Realm.

"With your pathetic performance, you have the nerve to serve as Personal Disciples? Eight of you went up to test together, and the best one only got an Orange Lotus Rating. You've completely made me lose Face!" At this time, the middle-aged Xue Changming looked at the young people before him, disappointed that they didn't live up to expectations.

"Master, the Orange Lotus Rating is already the third tier of our Holy Emperor Sect. As for the Red Lotus Rating above it, only eight have appeared in these thousand years. As for the Golden Lotus Rating, we've never even heard of it. Our ratings are already quite good," a Disciple muttered softly.

"Exactly, I think the Golden Rating doesn't exist at all; it's just something Master says to scare us," another young Disciple grumbled.

Slap!

Xue Changming slapped each of the two young Disciples on the forehead and shouted, "What do you know? In the year I entered the Sect, a Golden Lotus Rating appeared. How has it become a lie by the time it gets to you?"

"Hehe..."

Just as his voice fell, he heard a light laugh from not far away. Xue Changming's brow immediately furrowed as he glared over, ready to see who dared to mock him.

Suddenly, he saw the handsome young man standing not far away, as well as the heavenly beautiful blonde girl beside him.

"You..."

The middle-aged man first lost himself for a moment because of Ai Li's beauty, then his eyes widened, and he looked at the young man with shock and joy, saying in total disbelief, "Lin... Lin Yang!?"

"Brother Xue, long time no see," Lin Yang greeted with a smile.

However, facing Lin Yang's politeness, Xue Changming became very restrained and hurriedly gave a solemn bow. "Greetings, Heavenly Emperor!"

"Heavenly... Heavenly Emperor!?"

In an instant, the originally noisy mountain gate suddenly became silent, as countless stunned gazes turned toward the young man not far away.

This person was the legendary Yang Heavenly Emperor!?

Within the mountain gate, countless gazes converged, gradually shifting from disbelief to extreme fervor.

In the current myriad worlds of the heavens, from the Great Venerables of the Nine Heavens down to the Cultivators of the Lower Realm, who did not know the name of the Yang Heavenly Emperor?

With his own power, he suppressed the Hundred Eerie Clans, forcing the Eerie Venerable Lords to hide in the darkness, not daring to show their heads!

Sensing everyone's fervor and Xue Changming's restraint, Lin Yang sighed helplessly in his heart and gave a bitter smile. Then, with a wave of his hand, he channeled thick Grand Dao Qi from beyond the heavens to baptize everyone present.

"I'm Red Lotus!"

"Heavens! Master, look, I'm Golden Lotus!"

A moment later, many young Disciples shouted with excitement, filled with inexplicable joy.

"Why haven't you thanked the Heavenly Emperor yet? If not for the Heavenly Emperor's blessing, would any of you rookies have hoped to obtain a Golden Lotus Rating?"

Just as the group of young Disciples was about to bow in thanks, they found that the figure of the young man who had been standing there had already vanished.

"Master, why would the Lord Heavenly Emperor step in to baptize us?" a Disciple asked in confusion, looking toward the empty distance.

"Nonsense, that is naturally because I was fellow Disciples with the Heavenly Emperor back then, as close as brothers! The Yang Heavenly Emperor was willing to act on account of my Face," Xue Changming said, puffing out his chest.

"Oh... then Master, what was your rating back then?"

Slap!

"I was able to be fellow Disciples with the Yang Heavenly Emperor; what rating do you think I had?" Xue Changming said with a glare.