Buzz, buzz, buzz—
As time ticked past, waves of powerful auras steadily surged from the lake.
Beams of brilliant light converged into a dazzling spectacle that bathed the entire valley. Lu Yuan and Jiang Haokong stood side by side, watching the scene before them. Both possessed profound cultivation, so none of this came as any surprise; their interest was drawn solely by the presence of people they knew.
Finally, after a while longer, figures began bursting out from the lake.
The first to emerge was Zhu Qingyu, enveloped in radiant clouds of multicolored mist. Her aura was far more formidable than before, and faint wisps of divine light flickered in her eyes.
"Peak Sovereign King Realm, with an even more powerful energy stored within her. As long as she can assimilate it, she definitely has a chance to step straight into the Saint Realm?" Possessing the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye, Lu Yuan discerned her state immediately, and a smile surfaced on his face.
He knew Zhu Qingyu had obtained immense benefits and fortune from the depths of that lake. Now, once she thoroughly absorbed everything she had gained, making another breakthrough would be inevitable.
Based on his experience from his past life, no one on Earth besides himself should have been able to reach the Saint Realm in such a short time. Clearly, the harvest from this journey into the Immortal Cave exceeded all imagination. After all, Lu Yuan's goal was to make the entire Heavenly Court grow strong, and it seemed considerable progress had already been achieved.
The Saint Realm was a monumental chasm in the evolution of the Awakened. Once crossed, the horizon truly opened wide.
"That's right, King Lu. And I feel I can push even further," Zhu Qingyu said, excitement shining in her eyes. She knew full well how much she had gained on this trip. Turning toward Jiang Haokong beside him, she added, "Thank you, Divine Son Jiang."
She understood that much of this fortune was thanks to the aid of the Jiang clan's Divine Son. Offering her thanks was simply a matter of proper courtesy, something she felt was only right.
As for the true source of her excitement, it was the realization that as long as she continued to evolve, the distance between her and Lu Yuan would grow ever smaller.
Soon afterward, Ice Fairy, Little Heavenly Master Chunyang, Monk Huikong, and the others emerged from the lake in succession. Though their gains were slightly lesser than Zhu Qingyu's, they were not far behind. Each of them now had a real chance of reaching the Saint Realm.
Then came the hundreds of members from the Heavenly Court's Four Divisions who had followed along. Every one of them beamed with joy, having reaped immense benefits.
"Truly worthy of Innate Spirit Water. It indeed possesses marvelous effects. What a pity, though," Jiang Haokong remarked after examining the crowd. While the Innate Spirit Water was exceptional, it was useless to someone at his level, which left him feeling a touch of regret.
Lu Yuan stepped forward and sensed the surroundings briefly, discovering that the lake was linked to the entire valley. A hidden array formation operated within it, which was why he had been unable to detect Jiang Haokong, Zhu Qingyu, and the rest earlier. Naturally, for that same reason, his current strength was not enough to carry the entire lake away.
Indeed, Lu Yuan had previously entertained the thought of transplanting the whole lake so that every member of the Heavenly Court could soak in it, which would have drastically elevated their overall strength in a short span.
Now, however, that was simply impossible. Even so, Lu Yuan did not feel too disappointed; he knew one could not be overly greedy. He and the Heavenly Court's forces had already reaped plenty from this mythological secret realm.
Without dwelling on it, he turned to the crowd and said, "Alright, time is running short. Let us leave this place and head back."
Calculating the time in his head, Lu Yuan knew this mythological secret realm would not remain open for much longer. They had to exit beforehand, or they would be trapped inside.
"Yes, King Lu!"
Naturally, no one had any objection. Led by Lu Yuan, the entire group departed the valley. The Golden-Winged Great Peng had not entered and was waiting outside, so the journey out would take a bit longer.
"Wait, why haven't I seen anyone from the Yin Sparrow Clan or the Celestial Clan? Didn't they come in as well?" the observant Little Heavenly Master Chunyang suddenly asked. Along the way, he had spotted quite a few extraterrestrial beings, yet members of the Celestial Clan and their allies were nowhere to be found, as if they had vanished into thin air.
Hearing this, the others nodded in confusion.
After all, they knew full well that those extraterrestrial beings harbored malicious intent and wanted to target King Lu. Failing to spot them left only two possibilities: either they had left early, or they were lying in ambush, waiting to strike.
The Heavenly Court members immediately raised their guard. In their hearts, whenever King Lu was threatened, they would defend him even at the cost of their lives.
In the next moment, however, Jiang Haokong spoke up nonchalantly. "Those people? Every single one of them was slaughtered by your King Lu. No need to worry about them—just focus on walking out safely."
With that, he glanced at Lu Yuan again and let out a sigh.
Jiang Haokong had been turning the matter over in his mind. Put in the same position, he would certainly fight, but annihilating every single one of them meant offending several major clans by extension, which would have made him hesitate. Yet Lu Yuan had done precisely that, entirely unburdened by taboos.
*All... slaughtered?*
When those words dropped, Zhu Qingyu, Ice Fairy, and the others froze.
Yet the stunned silence lasted only a breath before they snapped back to reality. The reason was simple: King Lu had always been this overbearing, acting entirely without restraint. Wiping them all out seemed... perfectly in character for him.
Even so, the crowd could not help feeling shaken.
Lu Yuan paid no mind to their thoughts. Looking up, he said calmly, "Alright, we can leave now."
Only then did everyone realize they had already reached the exit of the secret realm. The surrounding space was extremely unstable, appearing as though it might collapse shut at any second. At the same time, numerous extraterrestrial beings were choosing this moment to make their exit as well. Given their cultivation, none of them could escape once the realm closed completely—only immortals could hope to manage such a feat.
Hearing Lu Yuan's words, everyone nodded. Hesitating no longer, they stepped out through the exit.
Though each of them knew other fortunes remained within the secret realm of the Immortal Cave, time no longer permitted further searching, nor could anyone hoard every blessing for themselves. For them, being able to cultivate in that lake was already the greatest reward of the expedition.
As for Lu Yuan, he turned his head to look back one last time at that ultimate ground.
A mythological secret realm—yet also a burial ground.
Chapter 284