Just as Li Wei was taking stock of the war spoils, a flash of joy suddenly appeared in his eyes. At the same time, Li Kuanghua, who was in front of Prince Qian's cage, also sensed something.
They both left the Heaven-Piercing Coffin in an instant.
At this moment, the Li family's main courtyard was crowded with people. All the family members had gathered outside a single room, their expressions a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.
The family's maids and servants were all tense. The steward, Huang Xiujin, was especially anxious, wringing his hands and constantly whispering instructions to the maids beside him.
Outside the courtyard, many old friends from Azure Cloud were gathered, using their arts to pray for blessings from afar.
The Blood Tree had manifested a humanoid body and stood atop its own crown. A serpent's head, formed from an old root, peeked out from the canopy.
This old serpent was on the verge of a breakthrough but had forcefully suppressed its heavenly tribulation, waiting for this very day. It stared intently at the room upon which everyone's gaze was fixed.
That was Fan Feixuan's room. She had returned after an arduous journey from overseas, pregnant.
The people of Azure Cloud Region were all awaiting the birth of this child.
Elder Tianqing of the Azure Cloud Pavilion's eyes grew moist. He remembered the day he and his old friends from Azure Cloud went to Duravia Trade Prefecture; he, at least, had returned safe and sound.
The old man was murmuring, but in the quiet surroundings, his voice reached everyone's ears.
"The Azure Dynasty has existed for many years, and we of Azure Cloud have existed for many years as well. We have been through so much: the internal strife of Azure Cloud, the invasion of the Wu Clan, the oppression from Changyang Prefecture, being abandoned by the Dynasty, and now, the very brink of the Dynasty's collapse."
"We sacrificed many people in Grand Joy Prefecture. The mortal world is a place of constant change; many things are destined to pass away, but we have, in the end, welcomed a new birth."
All the people of Azure Cloud had complex expressions on their faces.
This was especially true for the many members of the new generation present, like Heavenly Master Jinshou, Wuyazi, Xuan Ji, and Mi Shufeng, who were just beginning to distinguish themselves in Azure Cloud.
Countless seniors had paved the path forward for them with their flesh and blood.
"Waaah!"
In the midst of the silence, a loud and clear cry rang out.
Inside Merit City, Demonic Qi emanated from the Old Tree and the Old Serpent, drifting down towards the baby's room.
In the sky above the Li family's home, Li Yaowen, dressed in a white robe and seated in a wheelchair, moved her slender hands as if playing a zither or weaving cloth, causing a rosy, auspicious light to descend from the heavens into the room.
Within the Endless Sea of the Dead inside the Heaven-Piercing Coffin, the imprisoned Prince Qian looked on in terror as the red sand of the Sea of the Dead churned like boiling water.
The Corpse Emperor, Xuan Tianzi, exchanged a glance with the other zombies and, with a light wave of her hand, sent a wisp of red light from the Sea of the Dead shooting out of the Heaven-Piercing Coffin.
Li Dalong held Xu Cuihua in his arms as she nodded to Mosquito Daoist and the other great demons. Their combined Demonic Qi surged to the heavens, forming the phantom of a nine-tailed fox that galloped across the sky above Merit City.
Li Changsheng closed his eyes, and within his Sea of Consciousness, the pair of eyes that stared at him ceaselessly began to shimmer with a bright light.
The Three Thieves (Li Tianyi, Li Tianqi, and Li Tianming) sat upon their lotus platforms once more; Li Tianyi summoned the Talisman of the Thirteen Profouns Seals and brought out his zither, its music graceful and melodic.
The Seven Ironclads and the Blood Demon Lord floated into the air, each standing atop a totem as their Demonic Qi descended into the room.
There were many, many others as well; most of the people at the Li family's residence were at the Golden Core realm or higher.
They were all using their own unique arts to offer their congratulations.
Before long.
The door to the room opened. Standing upon the Perennis Immortal Platform, which had been borrowed from the Perennis Immortal Palace, Fan Feixuan's pale, sweat-stained face broke into a smile.
Li Yaoqing walked out of the room, holding the baby.
"My child! Hahaha, my..."
Li Xingchen broke the silence, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the child in Li Yaoqing's arms. He rushed forward, but Li Chang'an was faster. He pushed Li Xingchen aside in one move, intending to get a look at his grandson.
"Ahem."
But a soft cough from Li Dalong made Li Chang'an hastily stop in his tracks.
Li Dalong took the child and felt the aura on the baby's body. His expression was complex—filled with the joy of a newborn's arrival, the bitterness of having lost his descendants one by one in the past, and hope for the future.
After a moment, he turned around and faced the children of the Li family and all the people of Azure Cloud.
They were all holding their breath, and like Li Dalong, their expressions were complex.
The path of immortality was long and arduous, and they had all lost so many people along the way.
But...
A new birth. This day wasn't just about the birth of a Li family child; it also represented the rebirth of the entire Azure Cloud Region.
They had lost many people, but they still had to walk the path forward, toward a new future!
The Li family's spirit tablets rose into the air.
Golden characters appeared in the sky—it was the name bestowed by the Old Ancestor.
Li Dalong bowed respectfully toward the Old Ancestor's spirit tablet.
Under the gazes of everyone present, he laughed heartily and announced, "Hahaha, the Li family has a son—Li Xinnian!"
The friends gathered in the Li family's courtyard began to laugh as well.
Xinnian.
A New Era had arrived.
In this year of great chaos, they had charged into the Duravia Trade Prefecture. They had secured their borders from threats in this turbulent world.
In an age of endless natural and man-made calamities, they followed the path paved by the predecessors of Azure Cloud and grew stronger in their new territory.
Just as Li Xinnian would one day grow into an adult.