Lu Yuan turned over the old man's words in his mind. It was strange—the elder seemed to hold great expectations for him.
Yet by all logic, the two of them had never met before. Granted, there was nothing surprising about the elder knowing he had obtained the Human Sovereign essence blood and the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token.
After all, back when Lu Yuan entered the pocket realm of Immortal Guangchengzi, the immortal had seen it as well. It was hardly shocking; that old man was a true Human Sovereign and Heavenly Emperor. Even if he was no longer among the living, a mere remnant will of his possessed unfathomable might.
Could all of this be because he had obtained the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token? Thinking back, Immortal Guangchengzi had uttered the word "Emperor" at the time.
Lu Yuan reflected that the only things on his person connected to an emperor were the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token and the Investiture Decree.
The Investiture Decree had only appeared after he gathered three Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens. Even so, why had the elder chosen to speak exclusively with him?
He had gone so far as to seal off his own descendants, leaving the Jiang siblings completely oblivious to what had taken place. At first, Lu Yuan had not considered all these details, but the more he pondered them, the more perplexing it all became.
"Since there are no obvious discoveries, let us see if there is anything else unusual here," Jiang Ningxian said. Naturally, she trusted Lu Yuan implicitly.
Since he had put it that way, she had no suspicions and intended to search further. If there truly was nothing, they could simply leave.
After all, she had only come to pay respects to her ancestor. Jiang Haokong had no objections either. At once, the brother and sister walked to the side of the altar and resumed their inspection.
Lu Yuan sighed inwardly. Aside from the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, he had not wished to keep anything else from them, but the elder had specifically instructed him before departing, leaving him no choice.
Thus, he could only pretend to know nothing for the time being, continuing the search alongside the siblings. Although several spots on the Shennong Altar had undergone slight changes, none were particularly pronounced. The three searched for a long time without finding anything. In the end, Jiang Ningxian and her brother knelt at the very center of the altar and began their rites of worship.
Shennong was the founding ancestor of their Jiang clan, and Earth was their true homeland. Having returned at last and arrived at a place with such profound ties to their forefather, they naturally treated it with the utmost solemnity.
Standing nearby, Lu Yuan was in no hurry to examine the fourth Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token. Instead, he sought a way to contact the Nine-Tailed Fox King to pinpoint her exact location and locate the sixth of the Nine Cauldrons.
Securing it would once again elevate his own strength and that of the entire Heavenly Court.
"We are nearly finished paying our respects and should take our leave. How about it—were you able to determine her position?" Before long, having concluded their rites, Jiang Ningxian walked over and asked.
Aside from paying respects, another objective of this journey was gathering the Nine Cauldrons. Shennongjia was simply too peculiar, differing from the famous mountains and great rivers they had visited before; if they could not pinpoint her location, things could prove troublesome.
"Still no response. I cannot determine her exact location, but the general direction is not an issue," Lu Yuan replied. The last time the Nine-Tailed Fox King had contacted him, she had indicated the general direction.
He had assumed that once they entered, they would be able to pinpoint her position, only to find Shennongjia shrouded in an enigmatic power.
So for now, they could only conduct their search based on the information previously obtained. Waiting idly was no solution either.
Naturally, Jiang Haokong had no objections. Whatever the two decided, he would simply follow along.
Without further delay, Lu Yuan led the pair away from the Shennong Altar. They had known beforehand that distinguishing directions in this region was exceedingly difficult, even for beings of exceptional cultivation. That was the primary reason the trio had proceeded with such caution.
However, this was no obstacle for Lu Yuan. He possessed the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye, and more importantly, he held the Fuxi Bagua Diagram. Both allowed him to navigate accurately.
After leaving the Shennong Altar, Lu Yuan established their general bearing and pressed steadily forward.
Shennongjia truly lived up to its reputation as a forbidden zone. Even with their level of cultivation, they could not deploy divine sense or similar abilities.
Of course, that was of little consequence. With the trio's cultivation realms, virtually nothing in this world posed a genuine threat to them.
As Lu Yuan advanced, he also released the wisp of providence within him to trace the location of the cauldron. After all, the Nine-Tailed Fox King had already found it; as long as they located the cauldron, they would reunite with her.
"As the world continues to revive, I fear this place will become a true forbidden zone. Look at the strange beasts around us—every single one is immensely powerful, and some possess horrifying bloodlines. Given enough time, achieving the Saint Realm or even birthing beasts comparable to immortals will hardly be an issue," Jiang Haokong remarked, observing the surroundings and sighing at the sight of the mutated creatures.
He could sense that the power of heaven and earth here was far denser than outside. The newly revived Earth already surpassed nearly all other star sectors in this regard, yet Shennongjia was even more potent. How could Jiang Haokong not marvel at it?
If other star sectors enjoyed such conditions, how swift would their cultivation and evolutionary progress be?
"That is why, given sufficient time, the Milky Way Star Sector will reenter the universe's top hundred, or even top ten, without question," Jiang Ningxian replied. She understood the unique nature of this star sector.
She had long anticipated such conditions in Shennongjia, knowing this land was the cradle of the entire universe's great era. She even suspected that in the future, the Milky Way Star Sector might become number one in the cosmos! This was no jest, but a deduction made by her and the entire Jiang clan.
"That formidable?" Jiang Haokong stared blankly upon hearing this, his gaze shifting toward Lu Yuan.
He knew full well that cultivating and growing within the Milky Way Star Sector would produce multiple Sons of the Great Era. Endowed with great era providence, their cultivation and evolution would proceed far more smoothly.
Jiang Haokong's thoughts were simple enough: Lu Yuan was already this terrifyingly powerful. If he were blessed with great era providence in the future, how absurd would he become?
He knew that with Lu Yuan's talent and strength, seizing a strand of that great era providence would be effortless.
If that happened, the gap between himself and Lu Yuan would only widen. Involuntarily, Jiang Haokong fell into dejection once more.
There really was no comparison.
Just then, he noticed that his sister and Lu Yuan had halted.
Ahead, Lu Yuan stood still, his eyes turning solemn as he murmured, "Finally... found it."
Chapter 326