Once Lu Yuan spoke, the Peacock King reverted directly into his true form.
Although he had also reached the Sovereign King Realm, his beast form could fly far faster than his human body, and traveling this way would avoid unnecessary delays on the road. In terms of sheer speed, while the Peacock King could not match the Golden-Winged Great Peng, he was not far behind.
The Nine-Tailed Fox King remained in human form. Her enchanting eyes turned toward the nearby Golden-Winged Great Peng with a smile, clearly intending to ride alongside Lu Yuan.
Seeing this, a flicker of irritation flashed in the Great Peng's eyes; he seemed quite unwilling. In the end, however, Lu Yuan intervened on her behalf, leaving the Great Peng with no choice. He had to expand his frame even further, as he now had to carry three passengers: Lu Yuan, the Nine-Tailed Fox King, and Jiang Ningxian.
Lu Yuan boarded the Great Peng's back with Jiang Ningxian and the Nine-Tailed Fox King. He gave a nod to Elder Ji and the others, and the Great Peng unfurled his wings, transforming into a streak of golden light that shot straight into the clouds.
One after the other, the two great beasts ascended into the firmament and vanished in the blink of an eye, moving faster than any military aircraft.
"Old Ji, what should we do next?" Elder Yun asked, turning to look at the comrade who had fought by his side for decades.
Elder Ji considered the matter for a moment before replying, "Following King Lu's instructions, we'll keep a low profile for the time being while gathering intelligence, especially concerning the Zhou family."
The Zhou family was of paramount importance, as they knew that the woman Zhou Yunqiong was anything but simple. He needed to provide Lu Yuan with every piece of relevant news from the outside world.
"Understood." Elder Yun nodded without objection.
As for the younger generation led by Zhu Qingyu, they also recognized that the road ahead would only become more perilous. Only by possessing strength like Lu Yuan's could one face whatever was to come. Under these circumstances, they had to pour everything into their cultivation.
...
High in the heavens, two silhouettes streaked across the sky.
Upon the back of the golden figure, three passengers sat cross-legged, while the Spirit Monkey rode alongside them with the Peacock King. Even with the Golden-Winged Great Peng's remarkable speed, traveling from Mount Tai to Mount Kunlun would take some time. Beneath their powerful auras, the sea of clouds parted before them.
The Nine-Tailed Fox King sat right beside Lu Yuan, her gaze shimmering as she struck up conversation from time to time. The long flight was rather dull, and she was naturally disinclined to stay with the Spirit Monkey and the Peacock King. Of course, her transformed human appearance was striking, and with such a beauty by his side, Lu Yuan had no reason to turn her away. Still, he could not help feeling a touch of exasperation—foxes truly were troublesome creatures.
Time slipped by until Jiang Ningxian, who had been sitting quietly nearby, finally rose and walked over.
The Nine-Tailed Fox King instantly grew guarded. Looking at the woman whose elegance and breathtaking beauty rivaled her own, a spark of competitive spirit flared within her. Jiang Ningxian merely met her gaze with a faint smile, showing no sign of backing down. Her reasoning was simple: she could tell this woman was far from ordinary, and it would be bad if she brought trouble to Lu Yuan.
"It seems the Fox King has taken quite a liking to you," Jiang Ningxian teased as she sat down, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Interested in taking things further? Her bloodline is exceptionally potent, and she is bound to reach the Saint Realm in the future. Once she attains that realm and takes human form, there won't be much difference between a human and a mutated beast."
In the end, the Nine-Tailed Fox King yielded. Knowing that Jiang Ningxian must have matters to discuss with Lu Yuan, she realized that lingering would only make things awkward. Helpless and harboring a faint trace of apprehension, she rose, walked over to another spot, and sat down to focus on cultivating and evolving.
"You jest, Miss Jiang," Lu Yuan said, shaking his head. "Let's speak of serious matters."
Her prompting the Nine-Tailed Fox King to leave had certainly not been for the sake of a joke; otherwise, she would have spoken up long ago.
"Truly, nothing escapes King Lu," the young woman said, her smile undiminished. "There is indeed serious business. My trip to Kunlun this time was no sudden whim—I came to confirm something."
Lu Yuan smiled, looked at Jiang Ningxian, and continued, "The Jiang clan descended to this realm for more than just a few legacies and opportunities, didn't they?"
When the two had first met, she had mentioned that the Jiang clan had ventured out to fight—to wage war across the star sectors. Yet as to why they fought, and who the enemy was, there had never been a clear answer.
"Several thousand years ago, the power of the Severance of Heaven and Earth waned for an extended period, bringing about a small-scale revival in this world," Jiang Ningxian explained. "My clan happened to send scouts to the Milky Way Star Sector at that time. According to your ancient historical records, that period should correspond to the era spanning the Pre-Qin to the Han Dynasty—barely one or two hundred years in total.
"Yet during that brief span, someone cultivated to an extraordinarily profound height and even planned to launch a campaign into the star sectors. He seemed to know many secrets and sought to recreate the glory of the primordial era. But in the end, without any warning, he met with a bizarre, inexplicable defeat."
As she spoke, Jiang Ningxian's tone turned solemn, devoid of its usual lightness.
A thought seemed to strike Lu Yuan. "It seems the various star sectors took notice of this world very early on," he remarked.
Then, immediately seizing upon the crux of her words, he couldn't help asking, "Could the person you speak of be... the Ancestral Dragon?"
Considering Jiang Ningxian's words, it certainly sounded like something the Ancestral Dragon would do. Lu Yuan had visited the Mount Li Imperial Mausoleum himself and knew full well that that era had been far from ordinary. Yet the history books contained not a single trace of this. Had it truly been deliberately expunged?
Hearing his question, Jiang Ningxian nodded. "Indeed. According to my clan's investigations, there appear to be several passages in this world leading to unknown destinations. One of them lies in Kunlun. Back then, the Ancestral Dragon set out from Kunlun, but before he could even begin, he met with failure.
"Furthermore, not only Kunlun, but Shennongjia and Jade Emperor Peak on Mount Tai also house similar passages. My clan refers to them as the Path of Conquest."
She shared many things she had never told Lu Yuan before. He had not expected there to be so many hidden secrets. And having essentially examined the passages at Mount Tai and Shennongjia without finding anything, she had placed her final hopes on Kunlun. Now that they were on their way, Jiang Ningxian hoped he could help her uncover the truth—what had caused the Ancestral Dragon to fail, and what lay on the other side of those passages.
Passages?
A thought struck Lu Yuan.
Back then, the Spirit Monkey had also mentioned that it was some kind of passage, an ancient road.
And wasn't that the very thing he had encountered on Mount Tai and in Shennongjia—the Nine-Colored Altars?
Previously, Lu Yuan had assumed they might lead to the starry skies, but now that seemed unlikely. In his heart, he felt increasingly certain of it, yet what did the Nine-Colored Altars truly signify? Presumably, even Jiang Ningxian did not know.
And that inevitably made Lu Yuan think of what had been spoken of in Shennongjia and in Guangchengzi's dao arena—the great catastrophe, the great tribulation. Could it... be connected to this?
Chapter 172