Everything that had just happened had been experienced firsthand by the crowd. Terror, despair, with not even the slightest room to resist.
Some had been killed outright, leaving not even a scrap of their bodies behind. And they had all seen Yu Heng's horrific state—that was a member of the Eternal Clan, yet even he had been reduced to such a wretched sight.
Almost everyone present could foresee that if things continued, they would all be buried here. Yet under these very circumstances, Lu Yuan had emerged victorious.
He had captured that monster. That alone demonstrated just how overwhelmingly powerful this man was. Coupled with the fact that earlier, over a hundred Saint Realm experts had joined forces only to be defeated single-handedly by him, it was clear his strength was already beyond imagination.
He appeared to be only in the Demi-Saint Realm, but in reality, he had long surpassed that stage.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan paid no heed to what the extraterrestrial beings were thinking. He merely stared at the blood-red creature in his grasp.
In the battle just now, he had deployed numerous methods in tandem with the Ancestral Dragon Breathing Method before finally subduing this thing. Truth be told, the monster's might had indeed exceeded expectations.
Without lingering in thought, his aura surged even higher. *Buzz, buzz, buzz—*
Golden vitality roiled and surged.
The Great Sun Smelting Furnace manifested once more. Lu Yuan wanted to uncover what this monster truly was, preparing to deliver a fatal strike.
*Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—*
Yet in the very next instant, he suddenly noticed the blood-red monster blazed with dazzling radiance.
An unimaginably violent, torrential power burst directly out of its body. It was a force so formidable that even Lu Yuan could not completely suppress it.
He had no choice but to let the creature break free from his grip. *Whoosh—*
The blood-red monster streaked away. Yet it was not fleeing—it plunged straight into the blood-red coffin.
*Buzz—*
At that precise moment, the crimson hue upon the coffin began to recede. That inexplicable aura, one that did not belong to this world, vanished without a trace.
All the peril and dread dissolved away. More importantly, the coffin was no longer blood-red; it had turned into an ordinary black, as if everything had returned to normal.
Furthermore, within the coffin, brilliant rays of multicolored dawn mist surged forth, breathtakingly resplendent. It was a complete contrast to the previous scene.
*What is going on?*
Now, not only were the extraterrestrial beings baffled by this spectacle, but even Lu Yuan was utterly bewildered, unsure of what had transpired.
After all, this was the first time anyone had encountered such a phenomenon.
*Fortune!*
In the next second, the thought struck everyone almost simultaneously.
Could that blood-red monster have been some sort of trial within the Immortal Cave? Defeating it meant the great fortune would finally reveal itself!
The more they thought about it, the more convinced they became. The scene radiating from the coffin filled everyone with an extraordinary sense of comfort and serenity.
For a moment, they seemed to forget the mortal danger they had just endured, their eyes brimming with wonder. Even Yu Heng, with only half his body remaining, cast his gaze toward it.
A Demi-Saint was a Demi-Saint, after all; even with his physical form mangled so severely, he still clung to life.
"Now that the crisis has passed, the next thing to do is clear the obstacles."
Suddenly, Lu Yuan's voice rang out, instantly sending chills down the spines of the extraterrestrial beings. A bone-piercing killing intent swept over the scene.
"Wh-What are you trying to do? We have already given up opposing you!"
"That's right! We admit defeat! Are you really going to slaughter us all?"
"This is not the conduct of an honorable man! One should show mercy whenever possible!"
Voices rose one after another as they felt the overwhelming murder in Lu Yuan's aura.
None of them wanted to die.
Hearing their pleas, Lu Yuan could not help but let out a cold chuckle.
"Just moments ago, you all joined hands with the intent to put me to death, and now you talk about showing mercy? Where in this world could such a sweet deal exist? Some things, once done, demand a price."
Lu Yuan spoke again. He had never been someone soft-hearted or merciful.
These people had banded together to destroy him. Was he supposed to let them walk away?
With a faint smile, he cast aside any thought of wasting time and took a step forward.
At the same time, the Fantian Seal materialized. Without a single wasted movement, it pressed down upon them in an instant.
Though these extraterrestrial beings were in the Saint Realm, they had already suffered heavy wounds in the earlier battle. Facing Lu Yuan wielding the Fantian Seal, they stood no chance at all.
In just a few breaths, every last one of them was annihilated.
That included Yu Heng of the Eternal Clan. Lu Yuan had not hesitated in the slightest.
As for offending the Eternal Clan, Lu Yuan did not care in the least. Because of the Daluo sword core, a clash between them was inevitable sooner or later.
He would never give up the sword core, so why worry about causing offense? The Eternal Clan was mighty, but so what?
As long as he continued to grow, he had nothing to fear.
Lu Yuan took a deep breath. Now, in this final destination, he was the sole survivor. It was time to attend to proper business.
He quickly turned his gaze toward the coffin, watching the dazzling rays of light that continued to billow from within.
Intuition told him that there was indeed a great fortune inside.
Even so, Lu Yuan did not act rashly. Instead, he channeled the Great Sun Smelting Furnace to probe ahead.
Finding nothing unusual and pondering for a moment, he walked over. It was not out of fear, but after having weathered so many perils, caution was always paramount.
At last, he arrived before the coffin and looked inside, only to freeze in surprise.
The red-furred monster had vanished without a trace. In its place lay the body of a white-haired old man dressed in ancient garments, resting quietly. If not for the complete absence of any aura or life force, one would have thought he was a living person.
*Who is this? Why is he lying here in the final realm of the Immortal Cave?*
Perplexed, Lu Yuan opened his Martial Dao Heavenly Eye, yet he still could not discern anything.
He tried various methods to inspect the coffin from top to bottom, but made no further discoveries.
It appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary corpse lying there.
After brief contemplation, Lu Yuan did not hesitate; he retrieved the small bronze cauldron. Exactly as he had done every time before, he directly began the sacrificial rite.
As fresh blood dripped into the small cauldron, halos of light converged onto the corpse of the elderly man.
In the next instant, an indescribably magnificent and towering aura abruptly surged through the area.
The immense power was so staggering that even Lu Yuan was forced several steps back.
What shocked him even more was what happened next.
Within the coffin, the old man abruptly opened his eyes—a pair of eyes filled with the vicissitudes of ages, ancient and turbid.
"How many years has it been... Has someone finally reached this place?"
The old man murmured to himself, then lowered his head, fixing his gaze upon Lu Yuan. A hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes as he muttered:
"Emperor?"
Chapter 279