This youth of the Celestial Clan's tenth sequence was exceedingly clear on the matter.
This realm was simply extraordinary.
It had been magnificently glorious in the ancient era; the Heavenly Court had been founded here, and several Heavenly Emperors had emerged from this very land.
Though it had been sealed away for a vast stretch of time—to the point where the transcendent had vanished without a trace—its sudden resurgence now would be utterly terrifying.
All manner of fortunes,
and countless unimaginable divine artifacts would appear one after another.
Among the famous mountains and great rivers here, certain places contained mythological secret realms holding the supreme fortunes of ancient human paragons. Obtaining even one, combined with the environment of this realm, offered unimaginable benefits.
Otherwise, the great clans across the various star sectors would never have chosen to journey here.
He had paid a massive price, going so far as to suppress his bloodline talent just to arrive a step ahead of the rest. The opportunity was right before his eyes.
Beside him, Zhou Yunqiong’s gaze remained glued to that jade box. She knew the chance to completely rewrite her destiny was now clutched in her hands. Everything else seemed insignificant by comparison.
Even so,
she was meticulous by nature.
Lifting her head shortly after, she said with a smile, "With that great figure's backing and the support of the Celestial Clan, we will be the ones who laugh last."
The Celestial Clan youth nodded without saying more. Looking past the mountain forest, he resolved to use a special method after today to contact the Nether Bull Clan, as well as several other star sector races.
In his calculations, Lu Yuan had to pay the price.
***
In the outside world,
ever since Lu Yuan had slain the three Sovereign King Realm Nether Bulls,
those descended extraterrestrial beings seemed to quiet down in an instant, causing no further disturbances.
As a result, both the anxious citizens and the Awakened across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Naturally, they also began paying close attention to events in outer space.
Official sources had recently released new information:
the passage outside the solar system
had suddenly shown anomalies once again. Extraterrestrial beings had appeared yet again, their target set squarely on Earth.
Just as stated before, everything was only just beginning. As time marched on,
those mighty entities would only grow more numerous.
Yet the people still believed
that as long as King Lu stood guard over Huaxia, nothing would go wrong.
That was until one day, when equipment launched into outer space captured a segment of video footage.
It showed a giant standing a thousand meters tall, his entire body shrouded in thick black mist. The giant walked through the starry sky and survived in the vacuum of space; smaller asteroids looked like pebbles in his hands.
Before him stood a man with three heads, whose face resembled a vicious ghost, wielding a heavenly weapon; though not large in stature,
every head could spit forth brilliant seven-colored radiance with devastating destructive power.
A comet over a dozen kilometers in diameter was swept by the blast and disintegrated instantly.
Two extraterrestrial beings were locked in a ferocious clash.
The battle raged for several days without a clear victor, yet several small celestial bodies in the vicinity were shattered into dust. It was terrifying to the utmost degree.
That was a level of power that not even the fifth stage of evolution—the Sovereign King Realm—could ever display: waging war at will across the cosmos.
Upon seeing the footage, everyone panicked, seized by sheer terror.
It surpassed anything they could imagine,
even now that they had embarked on the path of evolution.
The authorities treated the matter with absolute gravity. Who could withstand a battle of such magnitude?
King Lu was undeniably strong, but could he destroy a small celestial body with a single blow?
What if such beings descended?
For a time,
both Elder Ji and Elder Yun were struck speechless, sprouting numerous white hairs overnight from sleepless worry.
Only a few days later, when Jiang Ningxian stepped out of her quarters, did she explain the situation upon seeing their distress: "Those are the Origin Demon Clan and the Three-Headed Ghost Clan. They harbor ancient grudges, so a battle is inevitable whenever they cross paths. The two fighters have reached the sixth and seventh stages of evolution—the Saint Domain Realm.
"The Saint Domain Realm is extraordinarily formidable. Truly transcending the mundane to achieve sainthood, they can withstand stars and cross the cosmos unaided. Yet precisely because they are so strong, they cannot descend.
"Earth possesses protective measures left behind by ancient paragons. Forcing a descent would demand an immense price and inflict grievous damage upon their physical bodies."
Hearing this, Elder Ji and Elder Yun breathed easier.
After all, those displays of power were simply too dreadful.
Fortunately,
such beings could not land on Earth.
They could not help but feel profound gratitude toward the ancient paragons.
Yet soon, another question surfaced in their minds:
Would the protective measures of those ancient paragons eventually lose their potency?
To this, Jiang Ningxian gave an affirmative answer: they would, but not anytime soon.
Moreover, the real threat at present did not stem from figures of that caliber.
Calculating based on the intel gathered by the authorities, she noted that over a dozen extraterrestrial races had already appeared outside Earth.
Among them were four major clans: the Celestial Clan, the Origin Demon Clan, the Three-Headed Ghost Clan, and another clan lurking in the shadows.
The designation "major clan" was reserved strictly for the overlords who held a place among the top hundred star sectors.
Races like the Nether Bull Clan could not even be called major clans.
While entities at the three realms of the Saint Domain from those major clans could not descend,
their subordinates certainly could. Each of those underlings was remarkably powerful and demanded utmost caution.
Upon hearing this, the hearts of Elder Ji, Elder Yun, and the others sank once more.
Still, they did not despair.
At the very least,
they still had time.
Once the members of the Heavenly Court were nurtured, they might not be incapable of contending with them in the future.
Moreover, King Lu had already done so much; they wanted to rely on their own strength to resist outside invaders.
Naturally, regarding the information Jiang Ningxian provided, the authorities issued an announcement to the nation.
The video had been so shocking that to prevent widespread panic, everything had to be explained clearly.
When the public and the Awakened heard the news, their anxiety subsided somewhat.
"Thank goodness such terrifying entities cannot descend, or we truly wouldn't know how to resist them."
"We must quicken our pace of evolution as well. I have a hunch that many unpredictable disasters lie ahead."
"Indeed. Thankfully, the beings that did descend are temporarily deterred by King Lu, so we don't have to worry in the short term."
"Huaxia is fortunate to have King Lu."
Such were the truest thoughts in the hearts of many Awakened.
Yet not long after, another piece of news spread—this one concerning the Nether Bull Clan.
Someone discovered that the Nether Bulls had resumed their activities. Thirteen of them had descended in total, and excluding the three slain by Lu Yuan, the remaining ten had gathered together. It was unclear what they intended, but they had neither assaulted human cities nor seized famous mountains and great rivers.
Puzzled, observers decided to track them to see what the Nether Bulls were actually scheming.
A few days later, a video clip surfaced on the internet.
It was brief, lasting only several dozen seconds.
Several Nether Bulls had appeared along the coastal region, relentlessly hunting a great bird of prey.
The bird was in a sorry state, but thanks to its extreme speed, it managed to flee.
"That's the Golden-Winged Great Peng—King Lu's mount, the Golden-Winged Great Peng!" someone recognized it.
Its appearance was simply too striking, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng had participated in several major events alongside Lu Yuan.
Nearly everyone recognized it. Seeing it hunted, the public erupted in fury.
"Has the Nether Bull Clan gone mad? Aren't they afraid King Lu will be enraged and slaughter them all?"
"There's more to this. They stayed quiet for so long; they wouldn't strike out of nowhere."
"Could some entity be orchestrating this behind the scenes?"
People were astonished and suspicious, deducing that the Nether Bull Clan could not possibly be so foolish as to hunt the Golden-Winged Great Peng on a whim. Some higher power had surely issued the order.
Regardless, the incident drew everyone's attention. The military command responded immediately, ordering garrison units across the area to make preparations, as their trajectory analysis revealed that the Golden-Winged Great Peng was fleeing toward Mount Tai.
To ensure it came to no harm, units entered a state of emergency, even deploying nuclear warheads onto mobile launch vehicles.
As King Lu's mount, it held profound significance; they had to step in to help.
Sure enough,
scouts tracked the trajectory and located the Golden-Winged Great Peng alongside several Nether Bulls.
Without hesitation, the commander of a nearby unit fired a nuclear warhead.
Boom!
A mushroom cloud billowed into the sky,
striking one of the Nether Bulls dead-on.
The power of a nuclear warhead was truly immense—even a Beast King would perish.
Yet the target was an extraterrestrial creature in the Sovereign King Realm; it merely sustained some injuries.
Because of the strike, the Nether Bulls grew vigilant, causing subsequent nuclear missiles to miss their marks.
Fortunately, it slowed their pace, buying vital time for the Golden-Winged Great Peng to escape.
As for the radiation released by nuclear detonations,
it had virtually no adverse effect under the altered environment of the New Era.
That was why the authorities now dared to deploy them boldly.
"What's the status? Where is King Lu's mount, the Golden-Winged Great Peng? How far from Mount Tai?" a commander barked into his communicator. He knew Lu Yuan was at Mount Tai; the bird did not need to enter the mountain itself, as safety would be assured the moment it drew close.
"Reporting: it's still very far away! Furthermore, we've detected additional life signatures—it seems other extraterrestrial beings are active in the area!" a voice replied from the other end.
Instantly, the commander's heart sank. King Lu had accomplished so much for Huaxia.
Could it be that they couldn't even protect his mount?
"At all costs, by any means necessary, ensure the Golden-Winged Great Peng is protected!" he barked, issuing an absolute order.
"Yes, sir!"
the reply came.
Meanwhile, at the Mount Tai Trial Academy,
Lu Yuan sat cross-legged in his room, not cultivating,
but focused on attuning to and studying the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token.
The purple aura wafting from it grew increasingly dense, yet strangely enough,
no matter how hard he tried, he could not trigger any distinct transformation in the token.
"The ancient token's power can confer titles upon celestials and gods, but how exactly is that accomplished?" Lu Yuan opened his eyes, falling into deep contemplation.
According to Jiang Ningxian, the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token represented the Heavenly Emperor to a certain degree. Could it be that only by reaching that realm could one unlock its abilities?
How long would that take?
Or perhaps
it was simply incomplete.
Yet how was one supposed to assemble a complete Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token? Could the remaining pieces be in this world?
Lu Yuan sighed. Choosing to abandon his attempts at attunement for now, he turned his thoughts to other matters.
"The second wave of resurgence is nearing its end, and certain mysterious grounds are about to open. Going forward, I cannot remain sitting idly on Mount Tai; I must take action. Fortunes, ancient relics, and inheritances in many places will be of great use to me."
He had remained here previously because he knew the time was not ripe, but now conditions were mature.
For example, Kunlun, the Realm of Ten Thousand Gods—where a Yinglong was rumored to have appeared—was a place he had to see.
In addition, Daoist Mount Kongtong, Mount Wutai representing Buddhism,
Mount Jiuhua where Monk Huikong resided, and various other places
were all destinations he needed to visit.
There lay the Daoist immortals' domains and Buddhist Bodhisattvas' and Arhats' sanctuaries, which would gradually open.
Naturally, they would come with danger, yet the memories from his past life could once again serve him on his evolutionary path.
With his thoughts settling here, Lu Yuan prepared to carefully devise his next moves.
Yet in the very next instant, he suddenly felt a chill creep over him.
It was not caused by the surrounding environment.
"The Golden-Winged Great Peng!"
Lu Yuan spoke, his gaze turning razor-sharp. The bloodline contract signed between them signaled that the Golden-Winged Great Peng was injured.
Chapter 133