I, the Villain, Become Invincible the More Descendants I Have

Chapter 124 Tax Collection at Tianmen, One Strike Deprives a GeneralThe ten-thousand-foot-tall South Heaven Gate stood above the sea of clouds, its golden glazed tiles shimmering in the sunlight, every brick and stone carved with Heavenly Dao runes, radiating a majestic pressure.

The Heavenly Soldiers and Generals on both sides of the gate held long spears, their expressions arrogant, their eyes filled with disdain for the cultivators from the Mortal Realm.

The leading commander was clad in gilded battle armor, wielding a nine-ringed golden blade. A hideous scar marred his face, and he looked down his nose at Emperor Cao Xukun and his party, as if they were nothing more than a group of ants.

”I am Jin Xiaotian, the guardian of the South Heaven Gate of the Central Dynasty, and the Son of Destiny of the Golden Blade in the Immortal Realm!” The commander slapped his chest hard, his voice booming like a great bell, causing the sea of clouds to roil. ”Listen up, you ants from the Mortal Realm! The Immortal Realm is no place for you bumpkins! If you want to enter the South Heaven Gate, you must understand the rules!”

General Black Tiger stepped forward and shouted sternly, ”What rules? We ascended legally; on what grounds are you blocking us?”

”Legally ascended?” Jin Xiaotian sneered and spat on the ground. ”At this South Heaven Gate, my word is the law! If you want to enter, each of you must pay a toll of ten thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones! With one hundred thousand of you, that makes a total of one billion High-Grade Spirit Stones! Furthermore, leave those women and children by your side as hostages for me. Once you’ve gathered enough Spirit Stones, you can come back to redeem them!”

Upon hearing this, the one hundred thousand Great Xuan elites instantly erupted in an uproar.

”Damn it! Have you gone crazy from poverty? One billion High-Grade Spirit Stones? Why don’t you just rob someone!”

”Exactly! And you want to seize His Majesty’s Empress and Prince? I think you’re tired of living!”

”Emperor Xuan, don’t waste your breath on him! Just cut this dog down and we’ll force our way in!”

Jin Xiaotian’s expression darkened. He swung his nine-ringed golden blade violently, sending out a golden blade aura that carved a bottomless trench into the ground. ”Insolent! You mere ants from the Mortal Realm dare to disrespect this general? Let me tell you, this South Heaven Gate is the territory of the Central Dynasty, and Crown Prince Ling Chen is my brother-in-law! If you dare to disobey, I will order my troops to loose their arrows, turn you all into hedgehogs, and throw you to the beasts of the Immortal Realm!”

He lifted his chin triumphantly. ”I am an orthodox Son of Destiny of the Immortal Realm, born with the Golden Blade bloodline, capable of killing an early-stage Golden Immortal with a single slash! If you know what’s good for you, hand over the money and the people obediently, or don’t blame me for being impolite!”

Feng Qingyan held Cao Xuanhuang and frowned slightly. ”Why is this person so unreasonable? Are people in the Immortal Realm all this overbearing?”

Empress Bing Yao said coldly, ”He is merely a clown bullying others by relying on his connections; there is no need to lower yourself to his level.”

Emperor Cao Xukun had remained silent, simply holding Cao Xuanhuang and watching Jin Xiaotian’s performance quietly. Only after Jin Xiaotian finished bragging did he speak calmly. His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone’s ears. ”Are you done? If you’re done, get lost. Don’t block the way.”

”What did you say?!” Jin Xiaotian acted as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, pointing at Emperor Cao Xukun’s nose and roaring, ”You little brat from the Mortal Realm, how dare you tell me to get lost? I think you’re seeking death! Today, I will let you witness the power of a Son of Destiny of the Golden Blade!”

He raised the nine-ringed golden blade abruptly, and dazzling golden light erupted from his body. A phantom of a golden blade dragon emerged behind him, emitting a deafening roar.

”Golden Blade Dragon Slash! Die!”

With the slash, the golden blade aura, carrying the power to tear through space, struck ferociously toward Emperor Cao Xukun. Wherever the blade aura passed, the sea of clouds was split in two, and even the air was ignited.

All the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals wore expressions of schadenfreude. They had seen too many unruly Mortal Realm cultivators who ended up being sliced in two by Jin Xiaotian’s blade. In their eyes, this brat from the Mortal Realm would certainly be no exception.

However, Emperor Cao Xukun remained standing in place, motionless, not even putting down Cao Xuanhuang in his arms. Just as the blade aura was about to strike him, he slowly raised a single finger and tapped it lightly.

”Crack!” The seemingly ferocious golden blade aura shattered instantly, turning into countless golden specks of light that dissipated into the sea of clouds. The blade dragon phantom behind Jin Xiaotian also let out a mournful cry before vanishing into thin air.

”Pfft!” Jin Xiaotian spat out a large mouthful of golden immortal blood and flew backward, crashing heavily onto the steps of the South Heaven Gate. His nine-ringed golden blade also flew from his hand, embedding itself into the ground and vibrating with a humming sound.

”Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!” Jin Xiaotian’s eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. ”I am the Son of Destiny of the Golden Blade! I can kill a Golden Immortal with one slash! How could you break my divine ability with just one finger!”

”With such pitiful tricks, you dare to call yourself a Son of Destiny?” Emperor Cao Xukun walked slowly up to him, his tone icy. ”Is this the kind of trash Crown Prince Ling Chen sends to guard the South Heaven Gate? It seems the Central Dynasty is nothing more than this.”

”You dare to insult the Crown Prince! You are courting death!” Jin Xiaotian struggled to climb to his feet. ”I tell you, the Crown Prince is about to unify the Immortal Realm! If you dare to touch me, the Crown Prince will surely send a million-strong army to trample you all!”

”Crown Prince Ling Chen?” Emperor Cao Xukun sneered. ”He can barely protect himself, let alone you? I originally didn’t want to kill you, since you’re just a gatekeeper. But you shouldn’t have set your sights on my women and child.”

He extended a finger and tapped it lightly on the center of Jin Xiaotian’s brow. The Golden Blade bloodline within Jin Xiaotian was instantly drained, and his entire cultivation of an early-stage Golden Immortal vanished into nothingness. His hair turned gray in an instant, and his face became covered in wrinkles; from a majestic general, he transformed into a decrepit old man on the verge of death.

”Ah! My cultivation! My Golden Blade bloodline!” Jin Xiaotian let out a shrill scream and collapsed on the ground, rolling about. ”I’m crippled! I’ve become a useless person! Emperor Cao Xukun, I’ll fight you to the death!”

He lunged at Emperor Cao Xukun like a madman, but with a casual wave of his hand, Emperor Cao Xukun swatted him away. He crashed heavily into a pillar of the South Heaven Gate and passed out.

The surrounding Heavenly Soldiers and Generals were scared out of their wits. They threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and trembled all over. ”Spare us, Immortal! Spare us! We were all coerced! It was Jin Xiaotian who forced us to do this!”

”We beg you, Immortal, do not kill us! We are willing to submit to you!”

Emperor Cao Xukun didn’t even glance at them; he simply waved his hand at the one hundred thousand elites behind him. ”Move out, enter the South Heaven Gate.”

”As you command!” The one hundred thousand Great Xuan elites roared in unison, the sound shaking the heavens. They formed neat ranks and marched with firm steps toward the South Heaven Gate. The Heavenly Soldiers and Generals kneeling on the ground were too terrified to even lift their heads, hastily clearing a path.

Emperor Cao Xukun, holding Cao Xuanhuang and leading his four Empresses by the hand, was the first to step into the South Heaven Gate. The moment they passed through the gate, a surge of even richer spiritual energy washed over them, ten times denser than in the Ascension Channel. Taking a deep breath, one could feel the spiritual power within their bodies circulating frantically; even Cao Xuanhuang let out a hum of comfort.

Looking out, the scene of the Immortal Realm came into full view. Rolling immortal mountains floated above the sea of clouds, with waterfalls cascading down from their peaks, splashing up countless crystalline droplets. Immortal cranes danced in the air, spiritual deer ran through the forests, and the trees by the roadside were laden with shimmering immortal fruits. The air was filled with a faint fragrance of flowers and spiritual energy.

”Oh my god! Is this the Immortal Realm? It’s so beautiful!” Prince Cao Feng shouted excitedly, pointing to the distant immortal mountains. ”Father, are we going to live there in the future?”

”We will have even better places than this in the future.” Emperor Cao Xukun smiled and patted his head.

General Black Tiger leaned in and asked in a low voice, ”Your Majesty, where shall we go next? The people of the Central Dynasty certainly won’t let this go; we must find a place to settle down quickly.”

Emperor Cao Xukun nodded, his gaze fixed to the south. ”The Central Dynasty is in the center of the Immortal Realm and its influence is too great; it is not suitable for us to clash head-on with them for now. Let’s head to the Southern Domain first. That is the territory of the Qingyun Dynasty, the weakest among the seven Great Dynasties, which makes it perfect for us to develop our forces.”

It turned out that before ascending, Emperor Cao Xukun had learned from a captured Golden Immortal that the Immortal Realm was divided into seven great domains, each corresponding to seven great dynasties: the Central Dynasty occupied the Central Domain and was the strongest; the Eastern Azure Dragon Dynasty, the Western White Tiger Dynasty, the Southern Vermilion Bird Dynasty, and the Northern Black Tortoise Dynasty each occupied one side; there were also the Ancient Demon Clan Dynasty and the Chaos Demon Clan Dynasty, which were entrenched on the edges of the eastern and western domains. The Southern Domain, however, was the territory of the Qingyun Dynasty, the weakest of the seven, plagued by constant warfare and complex power struggles, making it the perfect place for the Great Xuan Dynasty to take root.

”Pass the order down: the entire army is to advance toward the Southern Domain!” Emperor Cao Xukun commanded in a deep voice.

”As you command!” The one hundred thousand troops changed direction and marched majestically toward the south.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the South Heaven Gate, a Heavenly Soldier quietly took out a communication jade talisman and whispered into it, ”Reporting to His Highness the Crown Prince, it is a disaster! Emperor Cao Xukun from the Mortal Realm has broken through the South Heaven Gate with one hundred thousand troops and crippled General Jin Xiaotian! He is now heading in the direction of the Southern Domain!”

From the other end of the jade talisman came the cold voice of Crown Prince Ling Chen. ”Understood. He is merely an ant from the Mortal Realm; he cannot stir up any great waves. Pass the order down: let the people of the Qingyun Dynasty deal with him. If they cannot even handle such a trivial matter, have the Emperor of the Qingyun Dynasty bring me his head.”

”Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince!” The Heavenly Soldier put away the jade talisman and watched the retreating figures of Emperor Cao Xukun and his party, a flash of schadenfreude in his eyes. He seemed to have already envisioned the outcome of Emperor Cao Xukun being surrounded and wiped out by the Qingyun Dynasty’s army, leaving no corpse behind.

But what he did not know was that the ant in his eyes was about to stir up a storm in the Southern Domain that would sweep across the entire Immortal Realm. The banner of the Great Xuan Dynasty was about to be planted on the soil of the Immortal Realm for the first time.