99: Chapter 99 The First Ray of Light in the Darkness

Old Soldier Cang's voice trembled.

The ruins of the Southern Heaven Gate were deathly silent, and the Death Qi in the air seemed to grow heavier, as if wanting to turn this family into a part of the ruins as well.

On the deck of the zhou tian star boat, several concubines shielded their children behind them, their faces pale.

They could accept battle and death, but they could not accept their own children being used as Alchemy Materials.

This was even harder for them to accept than being killed themselves.

Old Soldier Cang remained kneeling, a pleading look on his face.

He felt that any normal person, after hearing this bloody story, should know to make the right choice.

Run.

Run as far away as possible.

Never come back.

Just in this oppressive atmosphere, a calm voice broke the silence of the place.

"Is that it?"

Li Xuan picked his ear, his face showing no signs of fear, but rather a bit of disappointment.

"I thought it would be some grand, incredible scene."

His understated words left Old Soldier Cang completely stunned.

The women on the ship were also dumbfounded, all looking toward their husband.

He... didn't understand?

Or did he simply not care?

"My Lord! You..."

Cang was so anxious he nearly jumped up, feeling that Li Xuan was too arrogant and completely unaware of the danger.

But Li Xuan did not let him continue.

He turned around, facing away from everyone, and looked once again at that dilapidated Southern Heaven Gate.

That gate which seemed to have been forgotten by the entire world.

His gaze was strange, as if he were reminiscing, and yet also as if he were appraising it.

Just then, a mechanical notification sound rang in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the host for arriving at the final check-in location—the broken Southern Heaven Gate!]

[This place is a location of special Karma, tainted with an aura surpassing the Immortal Emperor level and trouble from the previous era; the check-in reward will undergo unknown changes!]

[Detected that the host has arrived at an Immortal Domain-level check-in location for the first time, triggering a special check-in mechanism!]

[Generating check-in options based on the current location's Karma... Generation complete!]

Then, two paths appeared in Li Xuan's mind.

One was a safe check-in, which would not cause any trouble, with the reward being an Immortal King-level treasure.

The other path was to become the new owner of these ruins, taking on all the trouble here, including the pursuit from across the Boundary Sea.

From then on, he would become the first target the dark forces wanted to eliminate, never stopping until death.

The reward was unknown but related to the risks undertaken.

Looking at these two paths, Li Xuan smiled.

An Immortal King-level supreme treasure?

Placed in the Lower Realm, it could make countless Saints fight to the death for it.

But in Li Xuan's eyes, it was just so-so.

It wasn't even fun enough to be a toy for his children.

Why did he come to the Immortal Domain?

It certainly wasn't to find a place to continue living that boring life where he had to do everything himself.

Hell mode?

Take on all the Karma?

Become the number one target?

That sounded interesting at last.

When playing a game, if you don't crank the difficulty to the max, what fun is there?

Li Xuan did not hesitate; he quickly made a decision in his heart.

"System, I choose the second one!"

The moment he confirmed his choice.

Boom!

The entire Southern Heaven Gate ruins shook violently.

On those two broken, sky-supporting gate pillars, countless dim runes suddenly lit up, as if responding to their king.

"W-what happened?"

Old Soldier Cang's heart, which had already gone dormant, gave a sudden jolt.

He looked around in fear; the instinct of his remnant Immortal King soul made him feel that an extremely terrifying change was happening in this world.

In Li Xuan's mind, the System's notification sounds continued to ring.

[Ding! The host has chosen "Destiny Check-in"!]

[You have successfully taken on all the Karma of the "broken Southern Heaven Gate"! You have become the sole Lord of Destiny of this place!]

[Calculating the final reward based on the intensity of the Karma you have accepted...]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the unique Great Dao supreme treasure—imperial decree for the reconstruction of the heavenly court (fragment x1)!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the supreme Divine Ability—One Qi Transforming into Three Pure Ones!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the special building—Immortal Recruitment List!]

A series of rewards rained down, and Li Xuan's heart also gave a heavy thud.

This haul was huge.

The imperial decree for the reconstruction of the heavenly court; just hearing the name suggested administrator privileges. Even if it was just a fragment, it was terrifying enough.

One Qi Transforming into Three Pure Ones; this Divine Ability was a Heaven-Defying existence in mythology.

With it, he wouldn't even need to act himself in the future; just sending out a Clone would be enough to give an Immortal King a headache.

He hadn't yet carefully studied how to use these rewards.

Hum!

In the palm of Li Xuan's right hand, a ball of golden light emerged.

Inside the golden light, an illusory decree slowly took shape.

On the decree, four ancient characters exuded a great sense of majesty.

Reconstruct the Heavenly Court!

This was the imperial decree for the reconstruction of the heavenly court.

The moment it appeared, an aura of authority, more vast and ancient than Li Xuan's own Immortal Emperor might, spread from him.

This was not power, but a kind of rule—a supreme authority to set rules and reorganize order.

Under this pressure, the entire Southern Heaven Gate ruins were buzzing.

Old Soldier Cang, kneeling on the ground, was pressed firmly down, unable to even move, feeling his Immortal King Dao Heart receiving an unprecedented impact.

This physical pressure was far less than the impact his Divine Soul was suffering.

His cloudy eyes widened sharply, staring fixedly at the golden decree in Li Xuan's hand; his cheeks were trembling, and inarticulate sounds came from his throat.

"H-H-Heavenly Emperor Decree!"

He used all his strength to squeeze these four words out from the deepest part of his throat.

Boom.

He was completely stunned, and completely bewildered.

As an old subordinate of the Ancient Heavenly Court, he had once seen the appearance of the Heavenly Emperor from afar, and he knew best what this decree represented.

This was Destiny.

It was the true belonging of Destiny, which had vanished for several eras after the fall of the Heavenly Court.

For this thing, the remaining Immortal King Families and Ancient Sects in the Immortal Domain did not know how many battles they had fought, and how many top-tier figures had died, yet they hadn't even touched the edge of Destiny.

Everyone said that the Heavenly Dao had collapsed and Destiny had dispersed; unless the era restarted, it was impossible for anyone to be acknowledged again.

Yet now, a person from the Lower Realm—the moment he checked in, Destiny acknowledged its master?

"Thump!"

This time, Old Soldier Cang was no longer kneeling on one knee, but prostrated himself completely at Li Xuan's feet.

His aged body trembled violently due to excitement.

"Old subordinate divine general, Cang!"

"Paying respects... to the Heavenly Emperor!"

He used all his strength to roar from the depths of his Divine Soul.

His hoarse voice was filled with excitement and hope suppressed for hundreds of millions of years, sweeping away his previous despair and numbness.

Li Xuan ignored the extremely excited Old Soldier behind him; holding the imperial decree for the reconstruction of the heavenly court, he walked forward.

He walked very slowly; with every step, the cracks in the white jade plaza beneath his feet healed by a fraction, and the Death Qi emerging from the ground also quickly vanished.

Just like this, he walked step by step to that dilapidated Southern Heaven Gate.

He raised his head, looking at the terrifying slash mark that ran through the entire lintel.

In that mark, the destruction Laws of a forbidden existence remained, continuously eroding the Origin of the Southern Heaven Gate for hundreds of millions of years, making it forever unable to heal, and forcing it to slowly decay in time.

"It's just a scar."

"Leaving it here is too ugly."

Li Xuan spoke, his voice not loud, yet it spread throughout this quiet world.

He raised his hand and pressed the golden decree onto the hideous slash mark.

"I am Destiny."

"I say, let there be light here."

Hum!

The moment the imperial decree for the reconstruction of the heavenly court touched the Southern Heaven Gate, a golden pillar of light shot into the sky with Li Xuan at its center.

The golden light dispersed the long-lingering dark clouds and Death Qi above the Immortal Domain, bringing a trace of warmth to this silent world.

Under the illumination of the light, the terrifying slash mark began to quickly disappear and heal.

The Chaos Immortal Gold that made up the Southern Heaven Gate shone once again, and those ancient array patterns that had been obliterated also lit up again, emitting a buzzing sound.

Even the "Heaven" character on the lintel, which had been slashed, was restored to its original state under the repair of the golden light.

Wisps of pure Immortal Spirit Qi emanated from the repaired Southern Heaven Gate, washing away the filth in the surroundings.

The sky was still that broken sky, and the land was still that barren land.

But at this moment, that gate, once again complete, tall, and sacred, illuminated this long-silent darkness.

Old Soldier Cang, prostrate on the ground, lifted his tear-streaked face.

He looked at the figure in the light, one hand behind his back, the other pressing against the Heavenly Gate.

This figure slowly overlapped with the existence from his memories during the peak of the Ancient Heavenly Court.

The dark era would eventually pass.

Because, he had come.