Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire.

Chapter 356: Soul Returns to the Holy Dragon
"A word spirit that can only be used once!"

Noah silently comprehended the word spirit he had just obtained, and his expression became more and more strange. It was not that he complained about the restrictions on the use of this word spirit, because using it once was enough.

Word Spirit: Hall of Valor
When this word spirit is activated, a spiritual space that can only accommodate souls will be opened up in the void. This space will be maintained by the existence of the person who activated the word spirit and does not require the consumption of excess energy.

Valhalla will gradually expand as the soul of the initiator becomes stronger, and when the initiator dies, this spiritual space will collapse.

Therefore, this is a word that once used will always exist and cannot be cancelled. Using it once is enough.

However, what really made Noah feel strange was the function and effect of Valhalla. The more Noah looked at it, the more familiar it looked. When Valhalla was successfully built, the souls of all living beings who worshipped the initiator would be attracted and led into it after death.

This is no longer an infringement of the domain of the gods; it is a blatant trampling of the authority of the gods.

Even though he is still in a dormant transformation, Noah is very sure that even after he wakes up, he will still not be out of the scope of creatures in the material world. He may be terribly strong, but he will never be able to reach the realm of the gods.

There is still an insurmountable gap between him and the immortal gods. Although he will cross this gap sooner or later, it is definitely not now.

Noah was aware of this, but before he could gain immortality, he had already mastered the authority that only gods could obtain.

The previous Word Spirit·Emperor had already allowed him to display miracles that were similar to God's descent and blessing, and now the Word Spirit·Valhalla can accept the souls of the dead. To a certain extent, it already possesses some of the characteristics that only the Kingdom of God has. This is no longer in the category of supernatural, but the realm of God.

Although Noah can still deny that he is not a god, these words will undoubtedly greatly reduce the credibility of this statement. Noah himself feels that these words are really too much.

However, although there is some contempt for the existence of gods, the appearance of this word spirit is indeed timely, because Noah has discovered that many of the dragon people who worship him are facing or have faced the threat of death.

Sometimes when he patrolled the territory with the will of the Emperor, he could hear some of his dragon believers chanting his name in the last moments before their death.

However, Noah was powerless at that time and could only watch as the souls of the dragon people, whose devotion to other gods reached the standard of devout believers, were attracted by the Styx and fell into the Styx.

This can be said to be the cruelest thing for the souls of mortal creatures, because in the Styx, everything they have experienced in their lives and the memories they possess will be washed away by the water of the Styx, turning them into blank souls, or simply torn into soul fragments and scattered into the bottomless abyss or hell.

Even if the soul is not torn into pieces and is eventually washed by the water of the Styx, it will be received by the god of death and thrown back into the material world, turning into a new life, but this newly born life will have nothing to do with the original creature.

If mortal creatures want to escape such a cruel fate, they can either rely on practice to achieve immortality, but this is too difficult. The only choice that more creatures can make is to rely on immortal gods and chant the names of the gods.

When the purity of faith reaches that of a devout believer, at the end of life, when the soul falls into the Styx, it will be summoned by the kingdom of gods. Even if it is very unlucky to end up in the kingdom of the god of death, there will be messengers sent by the gods to lead it back.

For gods, souls of this level are not consumables, but the foundation of the kingdom of God and can become one of the foundations of immortality.

However, to be honest, the number of creatures whose faith is devout enough to reach such a level is less than one in ten. The vast majority of intelligent creatures, even if they believe in gods, will probably only remain at the level of shallow believers throughout their lives.

The gods will not respond to all the prayers of believers. In the absence of any way to get actual rewards, the piety of intelligent creatures is destined to be limited.

Most intelligent species are unwilling to spend their time and energy in their lifetime for the sake of their afterlife. That is why the souls of most creatures in the material world eventually end up in the Styx.

This also means that the Abyss and Hell will never disappear. Even if they are physically destroyed, as long as the water of the Styx does not dry up, the destroyed abyss and hell will eventually reappear.

Of course, in reality, neither the Abyss nor Hell has ever been completely destroyed. Even if some levels are damaged occasionally, they will naturally repair themselves over time.

"Hmm, it seems I can use this word spirit right now."

From the outside, the Word Spirit·Hall of Heroes does not improve Noah's combat power at all, and will even cause him a lot of trouble.

A living being in the material world could actually guide souls. The meaning behind this was not only extremely insulting to the gods, but also full of provocation and threats.

Putting himself in his shoes, Noah felt that even if he were a god, he would not be able to tolerate the existence of such a guy.

I don't know how much hardship a god has gone through to achieve immortality. If they see a creature from the material world possessing his own authority, not restricted by the rules of the material world, and acting tyrannically, it would be strange if they didn't target him.

But even so, even though there is no apparent benefit and instead there are endless disadvantages, rationality makes Noah think carefully, but Noah still follows his intuition and activates the words he just obtained.

When the Dragon Domain was not opened up, there was a roar like tearing the void, only a dragon-like purple air rose up, and then dispersed in an unknown place. The purple air turned into a rolling torrent, sweeping in all directions.

A spiritual space that can accommodate the soul is constructed, but it still looks empty and without any material existence.

However, when Noah put his will into it, a bright golden light emerged, and then it shone brightly and turned into a golden sun, hanging in it, completely stabilizing Valhalla.

“It can actually be opened up!”

When Noah's consciousness swept across the spiritual space he had opened up, he was immediately amazed and felt it was unbelievable, but after thinking about it carefully, there was nothing unreasonable about it.

Valhalla exists only to accommodate souls, and the soul is far less troublesome than the body. In order to maintain activities, everything from eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, and sleeping must be taken care of.

"In that case, then..."

When Valhalla was opened up, purple air flowed out from the void under the impetus of golden light, sweeping across the continent of Zealandia, crossing the sea, covering the continent of Alvis, and even sweeping across the material world where Noah was, and finally rushed into the void, reaching far and wide.

"Cough cough~"

On the bed, the haggard and skinny old man coughed twice, and his descendants who had gathered after hearing the news immediately surrounded him.

Two young dragon men with dragon scales on their faces quickly helped the old man up from the bed, and another one adjusted the soft silk pillow on the bed to make the old man sit more comfortably.

"Father!"

"Grandfather, are you feeling unwell?"

The old man's every move made his descendants worried, because the old man had paid too much for the prosperity of the family, almost spent everything he had. If it weren't for the hard work of the old man when he was young, his descendants wouldn't have achieved what they have today. "I'm not uncomfortable, it's just that the time has almost come. You don't need to waste money to hire a priest. Their spells are useless to me."

Even though he could clearly feel that his life was fading away and every word he spoke was wasting his remaining energy, the old man did not feel any fear at this moment. Instead, he had a frank smile on his face.

"When I came to Elisim, I was just a low-level adventurer hanging out in taverns. Thanks to the grace of His Majesty the Holy Dragon, I have been reborn and now I am even more valuable..."

The old man chattered on and on about the things he had done in his youth, his tone full of pride. His light golden eyes gradually became brighter, with a more uplifting look in them, and his haggard face became different.

Because he is indeed worthy of pride. When he came to Elishim, he was alone and had only 17 copper coins in total. But after more than 230 years of struggle, although he did not achieve great success, he made himself and his descendants take root in the holy city.

This was what he was most proud of. Many great nobles could not own a decent residence in Elisim, but he did it.

"Father!"

Although they had heard the old man's story countless times before, and some of the younger generations even expressed boredom, this time no one showed any impatience, because everyone knew that this was the last time they would listen to the old man tell his story.
As he spoke, the old man's voice gradually became lower, and his eyes, which had just brightened, became increasingly dim. Gradually, he began to cry, trying to suppress it. When he heard the low sobs that came one after another, the old man cursed weakly,
"Why are you crying? What's there to cry about? Isn't my life wonderful enough? My story is not over yet. You are my descendants. You will take my place and continue my story. If you achieve brilliant achievements in the future, I will be honored again because of you."

"Great Grandfather, I don't want you to leave us!"

A young boy who looked a bit childish could not help but throw himself on the old man and burst into tears. All the things in the past turned into reluctance at this moment, shocking his heart.
"Can you please not leave?"

"It's just a short separation, don't worry or be afraid."

The old man raised his hand and gently stroked the boy's yellow hair. Then he slowly raised his head and looked in the direction where the Holy Dragon was sleeping. Joy and longing appeared in his eyes.

"I have seen the glory of His Majesty the Holy Dragon. It is truly majestic."

"Father, what do you see?"

The old man's words immediately shocked the descendants gathered in the room.

"I saw it, the golden sun. It was His Majesty the Holy Dragon calling me."

The old man looked at his puzzled children and grandchildren, with a smile of joy from the bottom of his heart.

"What a warm light! Your Majesty is as kind as ever!"

The young dragons looked at each other, wanting to speak but stopping themselves. No one could deny the power of the Holy Dragon, but the Holy Dragon was not a god after all, and this was the perception of many dragons.

However, there are also quite a few dragon people who firmly believe that the Holy Dragon is comparable to the gods. The old man on the bed is one of them. He firmly believes in the Holy Dragon and worships it as a god.

Now, when the old man was at the end of his life, he actually claimed that he saw the golden sun symbolizing the holy dragon and that His Majesty was calling him. This was too absurd.

However, no one refuted the old man, because he had reached the last step and there was no point in arguing. Whether what the old man saw was an illusion or reality had no effect on them at the moment.

If it is true, it is a good thing. It means that the old man's soul has found a home, and it will also allow many dragon people who worship the holy dragon to have a good ending in the future.

"Kids, I'm leaving now."

"Where are you going?"

"I will go to the Holy Dragon."

When the old man finished saying this, he slowly closed his eyes, his chest stopped rising and falling, and he completely stopped breathing. The wailing that he had just suppressed resounded throughout the house at this moment.

"I have not……"

Looking at the group of descendants in front of him with sadness written all over their faces, the old man was about to complain, but he quickly reacted. He turned his head to look at the bed, where there was an old man lying flat on the bed by his descendants. His face was exactly the same as his.

“It turns out that I have passed away.”

The old man accepted his death very calmly, because he found that now that he was free from his old body that had exhausted everything, he felt an unprecedented sense of relief, and his body was as light as a feather.

"Can't you see me?"

The old man walked around the house he had worked so hard for his entire life, but he found that neither his eldest child nor his crying great-grandson could detect his presence.

This also means that he has not been corroded by negative energy and turned into an evil being such as a ghost, because the real soul cannot be seen by mortal eyes.

"I can't say goodbye to you all one by one!"

The old man leaned down and gently kissed his youngest great-grandson on the forehead. Then he looked at all the relatives and descendants in the house with nostalgia and reluctance, and walked out.

A ray of purple air spread from the mountains and fell in front of him. When the old man stretched out his palm and touched the purple air, golden light burst out and instantly dyed the old man's whole body.

"Great-grandfather!"

There were exclamations, but the old man could no longer hear them.

Because everything before his eyes disappeared, only a golden sun hung high above his head, emitting a blazing and warm light.

Under this light, the old man, who originally felt that his body was floating like smoke, once again had the solid feeling of controlling his body, but this body was stronger than when he was young.

(End of this chapter)