Yinglong had previously been in secluded cultivation at Jade Emperor Peak on Mount Tai.
Left undisturbed the entire time, it had broken through to the Saint Realm during that period. Yet it was well aware that this era was vastly different; if one were merely in the Saint Realm, one remained far too weak. Thus, it had continued pushing its cultivation higher, until now, when it was on the verge of reaching the Demi-Saint Realm.
It had originally planned to step out before the next breakthrough to digest its gains and adjust, only to hear that the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the others had been searching for the Nine Cauldrons and had already found six. Then, it suddenly remembered something.
It seemed to have seen one of the Nine Cauldrons itself, though it had never retrieved it.
Thus, Yinglong had come this time specifically to report news of the Nine Cauldrons.
And the one it had seen was in no other place than the East Sea Dragon Palace.
"The East Sea Dragon Palace?" Lu Yuan asked.
"King Lu, if you need it, I can take you there to retrieve the cauldron," Yinglong said.
Besides, that cauldron was of little use to it anyway; after all, it suppressed the providence of the human race and had nothing to do with the Dragon Clan.
Earlier, Yinglong had felt something odd, sensing an extraordinarily unusual aura emanating from Lu Yuan. But since they had serious business to discuss, it was only now, with the matter concluded, that it remembered.
Only at this moment did it truly register the change. Looking at Lu Yuan, its eyes filled with astonishment, it stammered, "You... you've reached the Immortal Realm?"
The Immortal Realm! When they had first met, both were clearly at roughly the same realm...
Lu Yuan merely smiled and said nothing. After all, Yinglong had already seen through it—what need was there for words?
Yinglong sighed softly. As long as Lu Yuan continued to grow stronger, they would have ways to cope with future crises, which was undoubtedly a good thing.
"When do we set out?" Yinglong asked, indicating that anytime was fine.
"No rush. Let's make it three days from now," Lu Yuan smiled. He still had a few matters to arrange.
"Very well," Yinglong replied, heading off immediately to make preparations.
After chatting a while longer, everyone dispersed.
Lu Yuan proceeded according to his previous plan. After achieving the Immortal Realm, his control over the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token had grown significantly stronger. He could now bestow even more power of providence onto the initial batch of Heavenly Court members he had enfeoffed; this was what he needed to do next.
However, he still had no intention of writing the names of Zhu Qingyu, Ice Fairy, and the others onto the Investiture Decree, as he had different arrangements planned for them later.
There was no alternative; right now, only by making the Heavenly Court stronger could they better weather the coming crises.
Soon, three days flashed by.
The group gathered once more.
Seeing that everything was arranged, Lu Yuan dispensed with unnecessary pleasantries and said straightforwardly, "It's about time. Let's go."
For this trip to the East Sea Dragon Palace, however, only Lu Yuan, Jiang Ningxian, and Yinglong would go; there was no need for a large group.
The reason was simple: searching for the Nine Cauldrons might involve some dangers. Furthermore, the Heavenly Court needed to keep the overall situation stable. With extraterrestrial beings descending in ever-greater numbers, Zhu Qingyu and the others had to take charge of the situation at home.
Additionally, he needed to invite Jiang Ningxian to accompany them, as she had mentioned the East Sea Dragon Palace before.
When the members of the Heavenly Court heard this, none raised objections, and they departed to attend to their respective duties.
Hearing about the destination, Zhu Qingyu and the others had asked in puzzlement, "Why didn't we notice it last time?"
Previously, they had traveled together to the Dragon Palace for experiential training and reached the central Crystal Palace. It could be said that they had found most of the resources and fortunes there, yet they had never seen a Nine Cauldron.
Yinglong had answered, "The East Sea Dragon Palace contains many independent pocket dimensions. When you went, many of the restrictions had not yet unlocked. Only someone of the Dragon Clan like me could enter them. But by my estimation, the time should be about ripe now."
As for the other independent pocket dimensions, they were sealed and required no attention.
"I see," Zhu Qingyu and the others had nodded upon hearing the explanation.
They had traversed many areas within it, so this did not entirely surprise them, yet learning that unexplored areas still remained in the East Sea Dragon Palace was somewhat unexpected.
Still, upon further reflection, it made sense. After all, that was the dwelling of dragons; how could it be as simple as it appeared on the surface?
Ever since the global revival, numerous spaces and even mythological secret realms had emerged throughout famous mountains and great rivers across the land.
In his previous life, Lu Yuan had heard that the place held many secrets and potential dangers, but he had never had the opportunity to properly investigate it.
"Alright. As it happens, I was also thinking of visiting the East Sea Dragon Palace again," Lu Yuan had agreed, nodding without hesitation.
Now that he had reached the Immortal Realm and had Yinglong accompanying them, there would certainly be no problem.
With that, Yinglong acted first, assuming its true form and soaring out of Mount Tai.
Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian stood side by side, and with a simple step, both vanished from the spot.
Seeing Lu Yuan and the others depart, Elder Ji stepped forward and smiled at the crowd. "Disperse, everyone. With King Lu's speed, it won't take long. We can rest easy."
Watching them leave, Ice Fairy said nothing, merely sighing softly.
Zhu Qingyu, on the other hand, kept gazing in the direction of Lu Yuan's departure, seemingly lost in thought. After all, this kind of thing had happened many times before.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian traveled side by side, traversing the void continuously, with Yinglong flanking them.
In reality, with Lu Yuan's current strength, he could have reached the East Sea Dragon Palace in almost an instant, but he chose not to do so.
Right now, as they were traveling:
Jiang Ningxian glanced at Lu Yuan with a smile, then turned her eyes toward Yinglong beside them. After a moment of thought, she spoke: "As a member of the Dragon Clan, you must know about True Dragons, as well as the Heavenly Dragon Star Sector out in the cosmos, right?"
She asked directly, hoping to obtain some information. Even the Jiang clan did not know very much about the Dragon Clan. Now that an opportunity presented itself, there was naturally no harm in asking.
Hearing this, before Lu Yuan could speak, Yinglong turned toward him and was about to respond.
Jiang Ningxian had brought this up because she was pondering a critical question: once the Eternal Clan and the Ji clan moved against the Heavenly Court and Lu Yuan, which side would the Heavenly Dragon Star Sector take?
She could not be certain about the Bliss Star Sector, but at least one party had temporarily expressed goodwill. Next would be the other star sectors ranked in the top ten.
Jiang Ningxian knew clearly that to preserve the current balance of power, they had to secure enough allies. Attempting to recruit them all was both impossible and unnecessary; what they needed were allies truly useful to them. Otherwise, this world might very well be carved up by those extraterrestrial beings, and no existence would be spared—including themselves.
Chapter 358