Looking at the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token in his hand, before Lu Yuan could say anything, he found wisps of purple radiance suddenly surging from his body.
"Oh? You already have two Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens in your possession? It seems We truly found the right person this time." The Ancestral Dragon still had his back turned, but he had noticed Lu Yuan's anomaly, wonder in his voice.
"In other words, you possess three Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens. Perhaps you can accomplish what none of us could."
Toward the end, a trace of desolation crept into his tone, yet it also held a glimmer of hope.
Lu Yuan clearly felt this emotion—it was... gratification.
Lu Yuan was even more puzzled. His mind was filled with questions, yet he did not know how to begin, for this matter truly left him baffled.
The Ancestral Dragon spoke once more, as if seeing through Lu Yuan's thoughts, bidding him to ask.
"We know you have many questions in your heart. Now, you may ask three questions. Be swift; We shall answer what We can."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan steadied his mind, calming down while thinking rapidly.
Naturally, regardless of what had happened, the figure before him was an ancestor of his people, an emperor who had achieved supreme merits and deserved utmost respect. Thus, he addressed him with reverence.
Taking a deep breath, Lu Yuan asked directly, "I would like to ask: are you truly dead?"
Indeed, this was his first question. It was simply too bizarre—he had never imagined that entering the Kunlun secret realm would lead to such an encounter, meeting the Ancestral Dragon from over two thousand years ago, the first emperor in Huaxia's history.
Upon stepping onto the evolutionary path, even those in the Saint Realm could live for an immense span of time, let alone immortals.
Earlier, Jiang Ningxian had explained death qi—it was something that only arose after an existence at or above the immortal realm fell.
Yet the Ancestral Dragon, with merely a wisp of residual will, possessed such terrifying strength. His true body would undoubtedly have been even more formidable.
"On this point, We actually do not know either," the Ancestral Dragon answered with a faint smile. "After discovering the great enemy, We led Our grand army and departed this realm. But We knew We were no match for them, so We left behind this measure. Our will has long since perished, but whether Our true body is dead, We do not know."
Hearing this explanation, Lu Yuan pondered for a moment before speaking again: "Just now, you said you had finally encountered a descendant of Huaxia bloodline. But that woman, by all accounts, should possess a purer bloodline than mine. Why did you choose to bestow the ancient token upon me?"
In terms of bloodline purity, Jiang Ningxian was a descendant of the Human Sovereign, Shennong. It was purer than anyone currently within the nation.
Though Lu Yuan was not the scion of some great ancient figure, he was native-born to Earth.
"Young man, you have asked two questions," the Ancestral Dragon said with a chuckle, continuing, "However, they are essentially the same matter."
"It is not the same. Her ancestors left their homeland in the distant ancient era, though that too was to wage war.
"Yet in the end, they left and did not remain to hold the line. Whom We trust more are the descendants who stayed behind.
"Thus, you are more worthy of Our favor."
The Ancestral Dragon replied, seemingly holding some displeasure toward those who had departed and crossed the universe, which was why he had chosen not to converse with Jiang Ningxian.
Lu Yuan nodded, then took a deep breath. "For my final question: what exactly is the great enemy you spoke of? I once visited Immortal Guangchengzi's Dao arena and Shennong's Altar; both mentioned a 'great catastrophe.' Is it related to this?"
"War? Enemies beyond the realm?"
Perhaps this was also something the Jiang clan wished to know. Presumably, the Jiang clan must know some things as well.
"Those great enemies do not belong to this realm. As for what they truly are, We cannot clearly say either. But what can be certain is that they are the symbols of calamity, the common enemy of all star domains in the universe since ancient times, and the foes the Heavenly Court campaigned against. At certain intervals, they will appear...
"The ancient sages of humanity have always been fighting, holding them back from invading..."
As his voice fell, the Ancestral Dragon's figure began to turn translucent, slowly dissipating, leaving behind his final words.
When Lu Yuan opened his eyes again, he found himself still standing before the imperial throne in Lingxiao Palace.
All sounds had vanished.
It was as if everything before had merely been an illusion.
However, the Ancestral Dragon's imperial body was gone, leaving the vast hall completely empty.
Indeed, an existence of the Ancestral Dragon's stature would never harm a junior.
As for Jiang Ningxian, she lay collapsed nearby, unconscious.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan sensed her condition slightly and found she had sustained no major harm or injuries; she would likely wake in a short while.
Lu Yuan glanced at Jiang Ningxian. Her initial goal had been to discover why the Ancestral Dragon's campaign had failed.
Yet now, he had discovered far more.
At this time, Lu Yuan began to reflect upon what he had just experienced.
For now, two things could be confirmed.
First, the Ancestral Dragon had indeed gone to war back then, but instead of heading to the outer domains, he encountered a true great enemy. Feeling he was no match, he left behind the ancient token for posterity.
Second, there were formidable enemies beyond the realm, which were the very catastrophe spoken of by Immortal Guangchengzi and Human Sovereign Shennong.
Originally, he had thought the true crisis lay with the myriad races in deep space.
Yet the information he received was simply too vast and convoluted. There was no way to analyze it or sort through the tangled threads right now.
The stronger one became, the more secrets one encountered.
Just what could make mythic figures treat it with such solemn gravity?
Without dwelling further on it, he looked down at the ancient token in his hand.
Now that the third token was in his possession, it was time to uncover its true function; after all, it wouldn't take long.
While Jiang Ningxian was still unconscious, Lu Yuan sat down cross-legged.
He sliced his finger and dripped blood onto it.
As the blood dripped down—
*Buzz, buzz, buzz!*
An inscrutable, mighty power emerged from within.
It merged directly with the previous two tokens into a single whole, and immediately erupted with an even denser purple radiance.
Yet just like before, this aura did not linger long before the ancient token vanished, reappearing beneath the Ancient Bodhi Tree and completely enveloping the golden miniature figure that represented Lu Yuan's will.
The draped purple qi surged with an enigmatic power, seemingly representing a supreme Dao.
Previously, in his perception, there had only been one Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token here.
Yet remarkably, both sides now each bore ancient characters.
On the front, the very first line read: Di Yuan!
Yuan. The 'Yuan' of Lu Yuan.
Likewise sweeping across the eight wastes, supreme under heaven and earth, peerless in the universe!
Those two words felt like someone reclining high above the nine heavens, gazing down upon the mortal world, uniquely supreme between heaven and earth!
On the reverse side was: Investiture of the Gods!
Beneath it, all manner of profound runes surfaced.
The previously etched auspicious beasts, such as the qilin and true dragon, vanished as well. The entire token was purple, yet completely blank.
At the same time, the translucent purple scroll floating above also fully materialized into a real, physical entity.
The scroll had transformed.
It had become, in every true sense, an Ancestral Dragon Imperial Decree!
Seeing this, curiosity arose in Lu Yuan's heart. The golden miniature figure representing his will rose to its feet, walked up to the ancient token and the scroll, and reached out to touch them.
*Decree—!*
A voice that seemed to hail from the primeval era echoed in his mind once again.
Lu Yuan felt a jolt run through his soul.
An eternal beam of light manifested in his mind, finally merging directly with Lu Yuan.
Chapter 181