Deep within the Heavenly Palace.
The "gate," woven from endless laws of the Dao, slowly opened.
Beyond it lay a vastness beyond words.
There was no light.
There was no darkness.
Only a profundity that transcended the three thousand Great Daos.
The breathtaking figure seated cross-legged in the void slowly opened her eyes.
Within those eyes, brilliant as stars, galaxies were born and extinguished, and countless ages rose and fell.
Feng Nishang.
The Holy Lord who had ruled the Heavenly Palace for untold years was now walking toward that gate, one step at a time.
With every step she took.
The halos of Dao laws behind her shone a little brighter.
The starlight around her grew a little more concentrated.
Within the Long Life Gate.
Countless motes of starlight slowly gathered.
They formed a towering divine general in golden armor, his features indistinct.
He looked at Feng Nishang.
Then he spoke slowly, his voice shaking heaven and earth like the voice of the Great Dao.
"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on attaining the Dao of immortality. I am Li Shentong of the Li Clan. By decree of the ancestral court of the Supreme Emperor Immortal Palace, I have come to guide the newly ascended Imperial Lord into the ancestral court of the human race, to anchor the fortune of humanity."
Feng Nishang nodded slightly.
"Sorry for the trouble, fellow Daoist."
She lifted her foot.
And stepped across the threshold.
The white-haired elder with the face of a youth looked up at the sight.
Two streams of hot tears rolled from his clouded eyes.
"Farewell, Holy Lord! You have transcended the nine tribulations and attained the Immortal Emperor realm! Congratulations to our human race on gaining another pillar!"
His voice choked with emotion and excitement.
Within the Immortal Palace, throughout this endless star