96: Chapter 96 The Shocking Secret of the Immortal Realm

"Heaven... Heavenly Mandate belongs to... ?!"

Purple-gold Luck converged from all directions.

It all poured into Li Xuan's body.

Old Soldier Cang let out a terrified roar.

He widened his turbid eyes, filled with horror.

His hunched body trembled violently.

Heavenly Mandate!

That is the Heavenly Mandate!

The Ancient Heavenly Court fell in the last epoch, the Immortal Emperor bled, and the Heavenly Dao collapsed.

In this broken Immortal Realm, no one could carry the Heavenly Mandate anymore!

The Heavenly Mandate is the supreme authority to rule a Great World.

It is the only proof of becoming a supreme existence.

For countless epochs, the surviving Immortal King Families and Immortal Legacies in the Immortal Realm—who didn't dream of it?

They launched bloody wars one after another, slaughtered countless living beings, just to collect Luck, reunite the Heavenly Mandate, and recreate the glory of the Ancient Heavenly Court.

But they all failed.

This world is already dead.

Its Heavenly Mandate had long since scattered, completely dissipated, and could never be pieced together again.

But now, what was he seeing?

A young man from the Lower Realm.

He had instantly triggered the last trace of the Origin of the Heavenly Mandate remaining in heaven and earth.

And he even made it voluntarily acknowledge him as its master!

How is this possible?!

This defies common sense.

This is even more absurd than seeing the Taboo Dominator slash the Southern Heaven Gate with a single saber strike back then!

"Who... who exactly are you?! What did you do?!"

Old Soldier Cang's voice was hoarse, staring fixedly at Li Xuan.

That look was as if he were staring at a monster.

Li Xuan was the center of the storm.

He, however, was exceptionally calm.

He even had the leisure to savor the trace of newborn purple-gold Luck within his body.

This thing was completely different from his own Great Emperor Law.

It was not powerful; it was even weak.

But its level was terrifyingly high.

It was a type of authorization, a pass.

As this power flowed through his entire body, he heard it.

The wailing of this world, the shattering of Laws, the dead silence of all things.

They were all pouring their hearts out to him.

Begging him for help.

"Just a lost traveler."

Li Xuan collected his thoughts and looked at the terrified old soldier, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

"Senior, there is no need to panic. I have just arrived and am somewhat curious about this place. Having heard Senior speak of ancient secrets just now, I wonder if you could tell this Junior about them in detail?"

His voice carried a peculiar soothing power.

The old soldier, whose mind was in turmoil and whose Dao Heart was on the verge of collapse, miraculously calmed down.

Cang panted, his turbid gaze sweeping over Li Xuan for a long time, the shock in his eyes eventually turning into deep sorrow and helplessness.

"Fine, fine."

He shook his head, resigned to his fate, and sat back down on the cold steps, his whole person seeming to have aged significantly.

"It would not hurt to tell you. In any case, this world is fast approaching its end."

"To have someone listen to these forgotten stories at the very end can be considered a consolation."

His voice was hollow and distant, instantly returning to that era filled with the flames of war.

On the zhou tian star boat, Consort Xiao Yu and the others held their breath, and the children also widened their eyes, curiously pricking up their ears.

They all had a premonition.

What they were about to hear would be an astonishing secret that would overturn all their previous knowledge.

"That was a golden age you cannot imagine."

Cang's voice carried deep nostalgia and pride.

"At that time, the Immortal Realm was complete and boundless. The Ancient Heavenly Court hung high above the Thirty-Three Heavens, its majesty shrouding the Myriad Realms. The Immortal Emperor sat in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, commanding all Immortals; a single word could determine the life and death of a Universe."

"True Immortals were merely patrolling soldiers."

"Golden Immortals could only be masters of a palace."

"Only Immortal Kings were qualified to stand in the imperial court."

"I was merely an inconspicuous gatekeeping divine general in front of the Southern Heaven Gate."

When he said this, his voice paused, carrying self-mockery.

Consort Xiao Yu and the others on the boat were incomparably shocked.

Only Immortal Kings were qualified to attend court?

The terrifying old man before them, in that era, was just an inconspicuous gatekeeper?

How strong was that Ancient Heavenly Court exactly?!

"The Southern Heaven Gate of that time was not like this either."

Cang used his scarred hand to gently stroke the crack-filled door pillar beside him, his eyes full of tenderness.

"Every inch of it was cast from Chaos Immortal Gold, inscribed with the runes of the Three Thousand Dao. It bore the sword marks of the Eastern Emperor, the Dao seals of the Queen Mother of the West, and even supreme Restrictions personally laid down by the Immortal Emperor—indestructible through ten thousand calamities, eternal and Immortal."

"Every day, Dragons pulled carts, Phoenixes held flowers in their beaks, and Qilins offered auspiciousness. Countless Prodigies ascending from the Lower Realm, filled with excitement and piety, stepped onto the white jade stairs to pay respects to the supreme Holy Land in their hearts."

"Everything was so beautiful."

"So beautiful that it shattered at a single touch."

Cang's voice suddenly became incomparably low, filled with bone-deep pain and hatred.

"Until that day."

"Darkness descended from the other end of the Boundary Sea without warning."

"No one knew where they came from or why they came. We only saw the calm Boundary Sea turn black in an instant. An endless black tide, filled with ominous and dead silence, submerged the starry sky and swept toward the Immortal Realm."

"Countless strange monsters emerged from the black tide. They were bloodthirsty, cruel, and devoured living beings and worlds. Their power was weird to the extreme; they could pollute Immortal Artifacts, corrode Laws, and turn sacred Immortals into fallen monsters."

"The war broke out just like that."

The old soldier's voice was not loud, but everyone present seemed to see the scene of the apocalypse.

"The Ancient Heavenly Court was furious. The Immortal Emperor ordered the mobilization of the Eight Legions of True Gods and billions of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals to go and suppress them. That battle was fought until heaven and earth collapsed, and countless stars were beaten into powder. Countless comrades turned into ashes before my eyes."

"But those monsters were endless, impossible to kill."

"And behind them, there were even more terrifying existences!"

Saying this, Cang's voice trembled uncontrollably, and in his turbid eyes was extreme fear.

"In the deepest part of that black tide, there was a Taboo Dominator."

"No one could see His appearance clearly; we only knew that wherever He passed, time stood still and the Dao wailed. Powerful Immortal Kings were fragile before Him."

"I still cannot forget that day."

"That day, the four peerless Immortal Kings guarding the Southern Heaven Gate—the Heavenly King of Growth, the Heavenly King of Wide Eyes, the Heavenly King of Many Treasures, and the Heavenly King of Dhrtarastra—joined forces to unleash their life-bound Emperor Weapons, forming a supreme killing array, trying to block that Taboo Dominator outside the gate."

"But He merely slashed out a single saber strike from afar, toward the direction of the Southern Heaven Gate."

The old soldier's voice stopped.

He raised his hand and pointed to the hideous slash mark on the lintel.

He could not say a single word.

But everyone understood.

One slash.

Merely one slash.

The four peerless Immortal Kings were destroyed in body and soul.

The Southern Heaven Gate, cast from Chaos Immortal Gold and indestructible through ten thousand calamities, was split from the middle.

That eternal portal that supported the majesty of the Ancient Heavenly Court collapsed halfway in that instant.

On the boat, there was silence.

The children who had previously been full of anticipation for the battle were now quiet.

The First Prince, Li Changsheng, gripped his sword hilt tightly, his small face taut. From that slash mark, a pure will of 'destruction' that transcended his cognition emanated.

That was not a sword, nor was it a Law.

It was a higher-level interpretation of the 'end'.

He felt unprecedented pressure.

And he also felt unprecedented excitement.

In the double pupils of the Third Prince, Li Yuanbao, what was reflected was no longer treasure light, but endless shattered runes and wailing Laws. He saw that the slash did not just shatter the portal; it severed the 'Luck' of this Immortal Realm from the root.

"That slash also completely shattered the last dignity of the Ancient Heavenly Court."

Cang's voice was full of despair.

"The defense line was broken, and the dark army drove straight in. The Immortal Realm fell."

"How long did that war last? No one remembers. Perhaps ten thousand years, perhaps a million years. We only know that the Ancient Heavenly Court fell, the Lingxiao Treasure Hall was beaten into ruins, and the Thirty-Three Heavens collapsed layer by layer."

"Those once high-and-mighty Immortal King giants fell from the firmament in droves. Their blood stained every inch of the Immortal Realm."

"In the end, even that supreme Immortal Emperor who wielded the Heavenly Dao bled to death on the shore of the Boundary Sea."

"The Immortal Emperor also died?"

Consort Xiao Yu exclaimed, subconsciously covering her mouth.

That was the Immortal Emperor.

In myths and legends, the supreme, indestructible existence.

Even He had fallen?

"Yes, He died."

Cang smiled miserably. "We all saw it with our own eyes. The blood of the Immortal Emperor turned into a rain of blood, sprinkling over the entire broken Immortal Realm. The Emperor's body collapsed, and the Emperor's soul dispersed. From that moment on, the epoch that belonged to us ended completely."

"We lost, lost utterly."

"The entire Immortal Realm was beaten into pieces. Ninety-nine percent of the territory sank into the Boundary Sea, turning into eternal darkness. The piece we are on now is merely the most core fragment of the original Ancient Heavenly Court continent."

"Since then, the Heavenly Dao has collapsed, and order no longer exists. Those of us who survived, some chose to continue fighting against the darkness, while others chose to fall. They turned to the darkness, either to survive or to pursue even more bizarre powers. They established their own families and traditions, and on this ruin, they launched endless struggles against us 'old-school factions' and those monsters born from the darkness."

"The Immortal Realm has long since become a veritable Shura field, a place for raising Gu."

Finally, Cang finished telling this earth-shattering secret.

He exhaled a long breath of turbid air that had been accumulated for eternity, his whole person seeming to be drained of all strength, slumping to the ground, motionless.

"Now, do you understand?"

He raised his head, looking at Li Xuan with those hollow eyes.

"The current Immortal Realm is a huge quagmire, a bottomless abyss. Once you enter, don't think about getting out."

"And you and your children" — his gaze swept over the six little ones on the boat whose vitality was dazzlingly vigorous, his eyes full of pity and sympathy — "to the forces of today's Immortal Realm, you are the brightest torches in the darkness."

"Your flawless Dao bodies, your pure and vigorous vitality, are the top-tier 'human-shaped great medicines' in their eyes! If they swallow you, they might be able to repair their Dao injuries, delay their assimilation by the darkness, or even advance further under the collapsed Laws!"

"They will swarm in from every corner of the Immortal Realm! They will spare no cost to capture you and refine you into pills!"

"So"

Cang's voice carried a final, powerless plea.

"Leave."

"While no one has discovered you yet, take your family and return immediately to where you came from, and never, ever set foot here again!"

Silence.

The atmosphere was incomparably oppressive.

After the Old Soldier Cang's despair-filled advice fell, the entire area in front of the Southern Heaven Gate fell into tranquility again.

This newly arrived family seemed destined to be scared away by this desperate reality and flee this land of death in a sorry state.

However.

To everyone's surprise.

The man in black, who had listened with utmost seriousness from beginning to end, after hearing the truth that would make any Immortal despair, not only had no fear or retreat on his face.

Instead, he laughed.

The smile was playful and carried excitement.

"So that's how it is."

Li Xuan nodded, as if he had finished listening to a good story.

He looked around at this ruined world, looking at the broken door pillars, the cracked plaza, and the endless ruins behind the gate eroded by darkness.

"I thought it would be very boring."

He whispered to himself, his voice not loud, yet it clearly entered the ears of the Old Soldier Cang.

The old soldier was stunned.

He completely could not understand what this sentence meant.

The next moment, he saw the man in black turn around, facing him, and reveal a brilliant smile, which caused the old soldier to be momentarily dazed.

"Senior."

Li Xuan's voice was calm and gentle, yet it carried an unquestionable, decisive power.

"Everything you said is correct."

"But you only said half of it."

"This place is indeed not some paradise."

"But it is also not some graveyard."

"In my opinion" — Li Xuan's eyes shone with a captivating light — "this place is a blank sheet of paper."

"A blank sheet of paper upon which I can draw the future as I please."