Chapter 967: Their Light

The glacier, perpetually frozen for countless miles, should have been an endless expanse of white, crystal-clear and cold.

But now, it was a sea of crimson.

As far as the eye could see, not a single speck of white remained.

It was as if blood-red mandrakes had bloomed along the path to the underworld, covering the entire landscape.

The red was blood seeping into the ice.

The air reeked of death, and corpses floated in the icy rivers.

Bodies lay everywhere.

At first glance, it resembled the nearby realm of purgatory.

Both were equally fiery red.

Just one look was enough to feel the cruelty and sorrow of this war.

Only one or two out of ten survived.

And those who survived now wore smiles that seemed out of place on this battlefield.

They had won the war.

Even if it was a narrow victory, it was still a victory.

The Sovereign had said that once this war was won, they could return home!

Countless soldiers in battle robes darted across the glacier, spreading the Sovereign's decree to retreat.

Laughter and cheers spread across the glacier, almost making the blinding blood-red seem like the celebratory red silk their families would drape over them upon their triumphant return.

Some were preparing to depart at their camps.

A young man in silver armor hurriedly passed through the air, soon landing on a patch of ice.

The extreme cold of the Endless Frost had turned his face red, and though he kept rubbing his hands and breathing into them, his expression was filled with rare joy.

As soon as he landed, his general smiled and called out to him.

"Yunchu, come over here and have a sip of General's Return to warm yourself!"

The young man was just a lowly soldier by the general's side, but upon hearing the general call him, his face flushed with embarrassment as he shyly walked over.

"Here, take a drink!" The general heartily handed him a flask.

"After we finish this wine, we'll set off for home!" the general said, his weathered face breaking into an involuntary smile.

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd around them erupted in cheers and shouts of joy. Even the high-ranking cavalry, who rarely had mounts, soared into the sky, circling and celebrating.

The young man also took the flask and smiled warmly.

Then he raised his head and drank it all in one go.

"Home!" the young man's excited shout pierced the sky.

"Home!!" the general's troops immediately echoed with a roar.

"Home!!!" The entire army joined in with a thunderous cry.

The shouts soared into the heavens, as if trying to break through the barrier of this frozen realm.

The soundwaves struck the group standing above the glacier, leaving them stunned and unable to recover for a long time.

Even Nightwind, who was usually quick with flattery and boasts, was solemnly silent.

Not long after, the army below was ready to depart, preparing to leave this place.

The general flew to a higher position, loudly boosting morale.

"The Sovereign said that once this war is over, we can go home."

"Now that the war has ended, we will set off immediately!"

"However, in this Dual Forbidden Universe, to leave, we must pass through the Purgatory Forbidden Land ahead!"

The Dual Forbidden Universe was the battlefield they were in.

One half was the Frozen Universe, perpetually icy, and the other was the Purgatory Universe, scorching hot.

The Purgatory Forbidden Land the general spoke of was the Purgatory Universe on the other side.

Purgatory flames, also known as hellfire.

Beneath the Purgatory Forbidden Land was a turbulent convective layer of incinerating radiation. Within this powerful convective layer lay energy capable of destroying entire galaxies.

However, over millions of years, the convective layer had remained stable, never erupting.

But... when the convective layer occasionally released excess energy, even a small amount could unleash cataclysmic flares for beings like them.

These were the purgatory flames.

Hellfire.

Passing through the Purgatory Forbidden Land... everyone knew it was no simple task.

If they were lucky, they might not encounter a single flare until they reached the end of the Purgatory Realm.

If they were unlucky, a single burst of hellfire could reduce them to ashes.

But at this moment, no one cared.

Their hearts and minds were fixated on one thing—going home.

How long had they been fighting in this battlefield? A thousand years? Ten thousand?

The war had lasted too long.

So long that they had almost forgotten what their homeland looked like.

They were the one or two who had survived this war.

Nine deaths for every life.

But they had survived.

Compared to the countless comrades who had perished on this battlefield, their lives were already a miracle.

After surviving against all odds, the hope of returning home filled them with overwhelming excitement.

Even if it meant passing through hellfire, they would do it!

Because beyond it lay the path back to their homeland.

The freezing air of the Frozen Universe suppressed their cultivation, but the soldiers' eyes burned with determination as they looked up at their general.

The general gazed down at his troops.

He understood their desperate longing to return home.

Wasn't he the same?

The general scanned the army below.

Though battered and worn, nothing could extinguish the light in their eyes.

"The Sovereign also said..." the general spoke slowly, his deep voice echoing through the vast space, "he will send someone to wait for us at the end of the Purgatory Realm."

"And then, he will take us home."

The Sovereign was the supreme being they served. He was their loyalty, their faith, their inviolable deity.

Hearing the Sovereign's personal promise, everyone erupted in excitement.

Every single person trembled with emotion.

He was their light, and where the light was, that was their direction!

It was also where their homeland lay.

As his words fell, the entire battlefield roared.

"Through the Purgatory Realm, the Sovereign will take us home!!!"

"Through the Purgatory Realm, the Sovereign will take us home!!!"

"Through the Purgatory Realm, the Sovereign will take us home!!!"

"..."

The waves of sound, each louder than the last, stirred the winds of the Dual Forbidden Universe, deafening yet filled with wild joy.