Attaining sainthood.
For any Awakened, this was a pivotal stage along the evolutionary path.
Yet at the same time, it was a threshold for most—a bottleneck difficult to surmount. Pass it, and the sky was wide open for the bird to fly, the sea boundless for the fish to leap. Fail to cross, and one might remain stuck at this realm for decades.
In fact, even among those gifted with extraordinary talent whose early cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, many found themselves unable to advance an inch further upon reaching the Sovereign King Realm.
Thus, the Saint Realm served as a formidable trial on the path of evolution. Only after becoming a Saint could one continue forward and become a true powerhouse.
Although Lu Yuan had never reached that realm in his past life, the memories of two lifetimes provided invaluable experience. In his earlier preparations, he had already satisfied most of the prerequisites for becoming a Saint, making the process far less daunting for him.
For instance, his visualization method, physical body, and soul had all reached a state of near perfection.
All that remained was time, coupled with a deeper comprehension of the Saint Realm. Once the timing was ripe, he could step into the sixth stage: Void Saint.
He understood that while becoming a Saint was not difficult for him, he could not treat it lightly either. To attain sainthood, simply working behind closed doors would never suffice. Such matters could not be rushed; they required steady progress.
"It won't take too long," Lu Yuan murmured to himself.
With these thoughts in mind, he prepared to rest briefly before heading outside to take a walk and assess the current situation.
He knew that prior to the seventh global revival and mutation, the strength of Earth's Awakened would likely take another significant leap forward. Those affiliated with the Heavenly Court, such as Zhu Qingyu and the others, would surely make tremendous strides as well.
Of course, the ones who stood to gain the most were likely the mutated beast kings led by the Peacock King. They were inherently gifted and blessed by the world; every revival brought them immense fortune.
Now, many mutated beast kings belonged to the Heavenly Court and cooperated with humanity, having essentially set aside their past grievances. This inevitably reminded Lu Yuan of his previous life, when the two factions had still been locked in brutal warfare. Compounded by the extraterrestrial beings, the situation back then had been utter chaos. Humanity had suffered catastrophic losses, with countless cities destroyed and even megacities ravaged, leaving many high-ranking leaders dead in a true era of calamity.
Yet in this life, he had ultimately prevented such tragedies from repeating. Not to claim any grand merit, he could only say he had not squandered this second chance at life.
Lu Yuan contemplated the road ahead, deep in thought. Following his slaying of the three Saint Realm experts, a prolonged peace had settled, but this peaceful interlude would inevitably draw to a close. Furthermore, he was well aware that as each day passed, the power of the Severance of Heaven and Earth was slowly diminishing. Thus, he had always felt an underlying urgency to grow stronger as swiftly as possible—not merely for himself, but for the greater situation.
Just as Lu Yuan stepped out of his room, a sudden rumble of muffled thunder rolled across the sky. The entire earth seemed to tremble faintly in response, and an inexplicable sensation abruptly surged from the depths of his heart.
In truth, ever since the cataclysmic mutation, earthquakes occurred periodically across the world. Yet the tremors were generally minor and caused little damage, so people were rarely alarmed, having grown accustomed to them.
This time, however, felt distinct. Perhaps another mysterious land was reviving.
At the same time, from another room, Jiang Ningxian emerged, her expression solemn. The two exchanged a glance, reading the gravity in each other's eyes; both sensed that this was anything but ordinary. Clearly, whatever could produce an unusual feeling in both of them was fundamentally different from past occurrences.
Their gazes turned in the same direction: the west.
"King Lu, where do you think has opened up this time?" Jiang Ningxian spoke first, a faint smile coloring her words.
"There are too many famous mountains and great rivers to tell at once," Lu Yuan replied, shaking his head. The world had expanded so much that even he could not pinpoint the exact location; he could only discern the general direction.
Jiang Ningxian sighed softly, disinclined to dwell on it. She had ceased her closed-door cultivation recently, knowing that her kinsfolk would descend before long and requiring preparations in advance. Lately, she had also been coordinating with high-level authorities on certain matters, such as constructing a residence to shelter the forthcoming members of the Jiang clan. This was entirely reasonable, considering she had contributed abundant resources and assistance to both the authorities and the Heavenly Court.
"The power of the Severance of Heaven and Earth is steadily waning. Immense fortune also heralds great crises."
With that, Jiang Ningxian bowed slightly in the archaic manner and returned to her room.
Lu Yuan remained where he was, his thoughts racing as he calculated what might unfold.
"Wait... that direction in the west, could it be... Kunlun?"
The realization struck him suddenly, surprise flashing across his brow.
Kunlun.
Celebrated as the Home of the Myriad Gods, it was the cradle of countless myths and the birthplace of innumerable legends. As almost everyone knew, when the Yinglong had emerged into the world back then, Kunlun had shown relatively few changes during the prior mutations; the most striking event had been nothing more than the appearance of that Yinglong. It had seemed there would be no further disturbances, yet this came completely without warning.
The true shifts were slated before the seventh revival, and this timing aligned well with what he recalled... Even so, he could not be entirely certain yet; he needed definitive intelligence.
Giving up his plan to go outside, Lu Yuan returned to his room to wait, putting further speculation on hold.
Knock, knock.
Not long after, Elder Ji and the others arrived.
The authorities had been monitoring every corner of the world around the clock. While they could not claim zero blind spots, any disturbance within Huaxia was naturally reported to them at the earliest possible moment. Under normal circumstances, they would never trouble Lu Yuan over minor incidents. A place like Kunlun, however, was a completely different matter—its significance was by no means lesser than Mount Tai's. While round-the-clock surveillance was impossible for every famous peak and river, the authorities had monitored Kunlun since the dawn of the mutations. The greatest omen had now manifested in Kunlun's upheaval, and this was the intelligence they had received without delay.
Now, they had come in person.
"King Lu, we detected a colossal energy surge emanating from Kunlun, even stronger than the previous one at Mount Kongtong. We do not know whether it is a mythological secret realm or something else," Elder Ji said solemnly.
Hearing this, Lu Yuan murmured, "So it really is Kunlun?"
Though he had already suspected as much, having it confirmed was another matter entirely. Indeed, since a mutation had occurred in Kunlun, he had to go. It was a crucial part of his prior blueprint!
"Leave the matter of Kunlun alone for now," Lu Yuan told them slowly, looking at the group. "Ordinary people cannot enter that place. I will make a trip there myself in the next couple of days."
Chapter 168