His fate was predetermined: fight, defend, and perish with the stars, a mere cog in the great machinery of creation. But something within him resisted this cruel fate. A seed of defiance sprouted in his heart, whispering of freedom. He sought a way to transcend the cosmic chains—to escape, to defy destiny, to seize freedom at any cost. As a mortal, he felt the agony of watching his loved ones wither and die, powerless to stop the decay of time. He wept for children, lovers, friends. As an emperor, he conquered kingdoms and wielded unimaginable power, only to be betrayed by those he trusted most, dragged from his throne, and executed in shame. As a beggar, he wandered the streets, starving and shivering under the cold gaze of uncaring gods. As a villain, he became the monster in stories told to frighten children—burning cities, drowning nations in blood, only to be hunted and killed by the heroes of those same tales. As a saint, he gave everything—his wealth, his strength, his life—to others, only to discover that gratitude was fleeting and the world did not remember the sacrifices of the righteous. But, Every failure, every death, every betrayal—they were nothing but steps on a long, infinite path. And the path had only one direction: up, through the layers of existence, through the fabric of reality itself. No prison could contain him. No curse could hold him. His heart whispered one thing to him, a truth carved into his soul:Move forward. Always forward. Because he was Li Shenrong—the Lord of the Celestial Throne.
"Lord, this little one is called Old Liu. If you don't mind accepting this little one as a servant, I would like to follow you, pull your carriage and feed the horse for you." The old man said quickly without a bit of shame, as soon as Li Shenrong stepped out of the gate.
Li Shenrong gave the old man a side eye. This old fart really knew how to hug a big thigh and he spoke without even a bit of shame as if it was a natural thing to do. Keep in mind, he was someone who had lived through countless moons, but at the moment he was willing to let go of his pride and bearings. It was truly not easy to let go of one's pride.
"No wonder you could live this long. You do have some ability." Li Shenrong laughed.
"Thank you for your praise my lord." Old Liu accepted his words as praise and nodded solemnly.
Currently Li Shenrong and the old Liu was walking on the outskirt of Blue bird kingdom's capital. A large crowd tightly packed together as if watching a circus, came in view.
More and more people rushed there in a hurry.
"That old lady appeared, let's go quickly." Someone pulled his companion.
"What old lady?" He asked curiously.
"Stupid! You forgot so easily. Don't you remember, at that time how the young master of Gu family won a treasure, after that he rose to prominence overnight." His friend scolded.
"Ah! I remember now. It was all because of that old lady. Let's go, let's go. Maybe we will be the lucky one this time." Both of them quickly blended in to the crowd.
"Lady treasurelight appeared, come quickly everyone."
Li Shenrong pulled someone and asked. "Brother, what's this Lady treasurelight all about?"
The guy gave Li Shenrong a simple explanation. "To be honest, no one knows anything about lady treasurelight or where she comes from. She is an old lady who will only randomly appear. She carries a huge treasure gate with her which would respond with golden light soaring, to the touch. Everyone can touch the gate but most people fails to get a response from the gate. If you manage to get a response from the gate, the old lady will grant you a treasure, corresponding with the gate's response."
"Interesting." Li Shenrong stroked his chin as he thought.
"You should try your luck too." The guy was too eager and he hurried inside the crowd.
"Let's go and take a look." Li Shenrong also wanted to take a look. The old man quietly followed behind him like a servant.
Many people were surrounding an old women. She wore an ancient tattered robe, her messy hair faintly blew with the wind and her sunken eyes were like torches that could see through eternity at a glance. That's what the old Liu felt after first time seeing her.
She leaned her old body against a huge gate. The gate's surface gave out a mix of ancient breath and dao lights. Intricate magical runes spiraled across the gate's surface, forming vast, interconnected webs. If someone observed for too long they could see the webs twisting in pattern, as if each one had their own will and intent. Encrypted formations were lying between each runes, frequently giving out hymn of the dao. Following through the runes and formations was calligraphy so refined, it seemed more than just ink etched into the stone. The strokes were bold and fluid, as though the very essence of heaven and earth had been captured in each line.
Standing before the gate, old Liu felt the air grow heavy, his heart thumped in response to the overwhelming presence it exuded. Of course the others who were present couldn't perceive anything at all. To them, the gate was just a shining treasure gate, probably something unique. But the old Liu understood better, what kind of thing it was. He stole a glance at Li Shenrong secretly but sighed in disappointment. Li Shenrong had no reaction at all.
"Stand in line." The old lady stood up and spoke, her voice was loud and sonorous. She pushed aside the treasures lying on the ground and moved the gate infront of her. There were more than twenty treasures flickering with multicoloured lights. Anyone could detect those were at least true god realm. Even a few godking level treasures could be found.
"Why no one robbed her yet? She dares to show godking treasures so openly!" Someone gasped in amazement. Infact, many people were confused as well. If someone else had shown off so many treasures, he or she would've been killed by now. Just one godking treasure was enough to entice the greed of many.
"Hehe, you will see soon." Someone chuckled and answered.
Few minutes later, a shadow flashed by, the shadow grabbed one of the godking treasure and tried to escape through space.
The old woman reacted swiftly, her wizened big hand slammed down, shattering the space with a crisp sound along with an echo of blood curdling scream. A man in purple robe fell down from the sky like a broken doll, his fate was unknown.
After that, the old woman took the treasure back and stood there unmovingly, as if nothing happened.
"Who is that guy? He was able to escape through space technique?" Some people couldn't indentify the pruple robed man.
"I know, i know who he is! He is from the middle territory! Patriarch of the Grand Su clan. To think he would actually die here, what a pity." A cultivator who had visited the middle territory before said.
"What? Patriarch of the Su clan? That's a godking lineage. I heard the patriarch of the Su clan is a demi-god. Are you sure he is the Su's patriarch?" Someone spoke doubtfully.
"Yes, i am sure. Check out the token at his waist." Some people quickly checked the token at his waist and confirmed it. Many sucked in a breath of turbid air. If this old woman could kill a demi-god like swatting a fly, then how high her cultivation must be?
The one who had ask why no one robbed her, shrunk his head in embarrassment. What a joke! This old hag could kill a demi-god with just a flick. Who would dare to robb someone like her?