Chapter 540

In the midst of intense dizziness, Li Xiao felt an endless darkness engulf his consciousness, and he kept falling within this darkness, as if plunging into an abyss without bottom.

When he finally awoke from the darkness, he found himself standing on an endless white expanse.

White sand and gravel stretched boundlessly across the land, seemingly merging with the horizon.

Just as confusion filled his eyes, cheers erupted from the crowd beside him.

Li Xiao turned his head and saw a group of people shouting, "The Netherworld! This is the Netherworld! The legendary Netherworld eighteen levels beneath Kunxu!"

"The Cult Leader was right; reincarnation after death is real!"

"We can be reborn! We can be reborn!"

Listening to the clamor of these Demon Cult followers, Li Xiao gradually came to his senses.

"I'm dead."

He recalled the scenes at Wanfa University City, remembered Zhang Yu and the others fighting desperately against the Demon Cult's Golden Core cultivators, and remembered being crushed to pieces by Shi Huaiyu.

But the anger and pain in his heart only flashed by, and in the next moment, his face was filled with excitement and anticipation.

"What joy in life? What bitterness in death? A lifetime of bitter cultivation is not as good as shedding this mortal shell and being reborn through reincarnation."

He loudly recited the slogan of the Yuhua Sect and, like the other cult followers beside him, began to laugh heartily.

"Death is not the end."

"No wonder, no wonder they wouldn't let us truly die casually."

"They were afraid we would refuse to keep living like beasts of burden, afraid we would choose reincarnation!"

At this moment, Li Xiao's eyes shone with boundless hope, as if he could already see himself being reborn into the fifth layer of Kunxu, the tenth layer, or even into an immortal womb.

Even if one lifetime didn't work out, there would still be the next, and the one after that.

"One day, I will have a better origin, superior talent, and reach even greater heights on the path of immortality."

Thinking of Zhang Yu, who had better talent than him, and Ji Yuanshu, Gong Shu Jin, and Ying Xin, who had better births... Li Xiao's eyes revealed an intense longing for the future.

At the same time, lines of text began to flicker before him.

"The Reincarnation Immortal Emperor, lamenting the suffering of all beings and their hopelessness in this life, made a great vow to create the Netherworld anew, seeking a thread of immortal opportunity for the world."

"According to the contract, you may begin your 15th reincarnation."

Staring at these words in his excitement, Li Xiao was momentarily stunned.

Then, line after line of text and data appeared before him.

They were items of his property, after deducting debts, taxes, reincarnation service fees, and other necessary expenses—a calculation of his disposable assets after death.

"-2.566 Spirit Coins."

Besides the spirit coin tally, there were various other currencies Li Xiao had heard of or not, as well as things like divine abilities, immortal artifacts, Dao Veins, merits, and other obviously expensive items. But clearly, for all these latter categories, Li Xiao's totals were zero.

As for Level 1 currencies, they weren't even included in the tally.

Seeing these numbers, a terrible foreboding welled up in Li Xiao's heart.

At the same time, an option appeared before his eyes.

"Do you have any additional after-death property to declare? Register omitted assets, hidden wealth, unregistered techniques and knowledge... anything you consider valuable can be attempted for registration."

"Warning: The upcoming reincarnation process involves many costly items. To secure a good rebirth, we hope you will carefully register your property before reincarnation."

Seeing this, Li Xiao's heart sank halfway.

He then tried to register his property, but none of the techniques or knowledge he possessed could be converted into any value. Obviously, Li Xiao had nothing to exchange. Even when he tried to reveal various pieces of information he knew about Zhang Yu and the Demon Cult, he gained nothing.

"Is it beneath their notice? Does the Reincarnation Immortal Emperor disdain these secrets? Or is there mutual compromise at the top? That the secrets of the dead cannot casually interfere with reality?"

Li Xiao had no chance to verify his guesses. After repeated failures, the process of registering additional after-death property was skipped, and he moved on to the formal reincarnation process.

A large number of options immediately appeared before Li Xiao.

For reincarnation, in which layer of Kunxu—Layer 1 or Layer 36?

Li Xiao wanted to choose an upper layer, but he found that every layer except Layer 1 required money. With his disposable assets after death being negative, he could only choose Layer 1.

After selecting layer 1, where exactly is the specific location for reincarnation? Which city? City center or suburbs?

Is the gender male or female?

Is the appearance beautiful or ugly?

And what about immortal path aptitude, physical endowment… is there talent for artifact crafting? Martial talent? A photographic memory? Exceptional intelligence?

Or does the womb already carry a divine spiritual root? An immortal spiritual root? Even an innate sacred body? A fated immortal fetus?

Each choice allows Li Xiao’s next life to legitimately and lawfully possess these, but every adjustment to a trait requires a hefty fee.

Then is the family background good or bad? An ordinary mortal family? Or the descendants of company employees? What industry are the parents in? What realm? How much wealth?

Even one’s own personality can be finely adjusted.

For instance, one of the traits of Li Xiao’s next life is “aspiring toward the immortal path” — deleting this trait, or adding or adjusting other traits, still requires payment.

Below that is a “merit” that Li Xiao can’t understand.