"Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token?"
Hearing those four words, Lu Yuan's expression shifted slightly in unexpected surprise. This was the first time he had heard mention of this from an outsider.
Previously, he had constantly wondered where the remaining Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens might be, for they were intimately tied to the Investiture Decree and the power of destiny.
It could be said that collecting all the ancient tokens would be of immense significance, whether to his strength or in every other respect.
Unfortunately, aside from the ones already in his possession, he had virtually no leads regarding the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens. The tokens were simply too mysterious and far too important; far from coming into contact with them, one hardly ever even heard of them.
Even the ones he had obtained had only come into his hands through strokes of fortune. Anyone else might spend an entire lifetime without ever finding a single one.
And now, Lu Yuan was hearing news related to them once more.
"So you're saying both of those factions are searching for an Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token?" he asked. The two of them had spoken of related matters before, though never in depth.
He had not told her how many tokens he already possessed, but that did not hinder him from learning more.
"That's right." Jiang Ningxian nodded before continuing, "In truth, aside from descending upon the Milky Way Star Sector for the great era's providence, the top ten major clans in the cosmos also want to obtain and collect the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens.
"After all, legend holds that this object represents the Human Sovereign Heavenly Emperor. Possessing it would carry extraordinary significance." She had mentioned this before, saying that anyone who obtained the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens could become the Human Sovereign Heavenly Emperor.
Yet so much time had passed without any word of them. She had never expected the two factions to have already taken action in secret. If not for the Jiang clan's own deep foundation, they truly would not have known what their rivals were up to.
"Can you tell where the Eternal Clan and the Ji clan are setting their sights right now?" Lu Yuan asked. If both clans were mobilizing now, they surely had a specific target.
As for that target, it was definitely on Earth rather than in the cosmos beyond. Otherwise, they would have seized it long ago and would have had no reason to descend here. Furthermore, he suspected that the original reason both clans had sought to occupy Mount Tai might have been for the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token there. In fact, the Jiang clan had searched for it as well, only for Lu Yuan to have claimed it long beforehand, leaving their efforts empty-handed.
Lu Yuan had not hidden this out of reluctance to speak, but rather because the matter was of the utmost importance.
The Jiang clan had not been overly preoccupied with it either, placing far greater priority on their cooperation with the Heavenly Court. Now that Lu Yuan had obtained another lead on the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, he naturally had no intention of letting it slip by.
He was confident the Jiang clan would also begin to take action.
"The preliminary estimate points to Mount Emei," Jiang Ningxian said after a moment of thought. "However, they have been keeping tight control over the information, so very few people know about it. Even after finding out, we didn't act immediately for fear of alerting them prematurely."
After all, where the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token was concerned, no one dared to be careless; everyone treated it with the utmost gravity.
Even the Jiang clan was no exception, hoping to catch them off guard during the process. If they could obtain the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, nothing could be better.
At the same time, she intended to invite Lu Yuan to join them.
"Alerting them prematurely?" Hearing this, Lu Yuan only smiled. "I actually think that wouldn't be a bad idea."
Hearing his words, Jiang Ningxian could not help but frown, seemingly puzzled by what he meant.
Lu Yuan explained directly, "The two clans clamped down on the news because they don't want anyone else to know. To secure the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, they didn't even care about the deaths of their divine sons, which means they are making exhaustive preparations.
"But what if we spread this news far and wide, throwing the entire situation into chaos?"
Hearing this, Jiang Ningxian understood at once what he intended.
The idea was exceedingly simple: completely disrupt the plans of the two clans. They wanted to quietly secure the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token.
Yet what if every clan across the starry skies found out? This was an Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, after all! Even for those who knew little about it, the mere words 'Heavenly Emperor' were enough to guarantee that it was nothing ordinary.
Under such circumstances, they would likely cast aside their past deference to the two clans' prestige and make a move. The board would descend into absolute chaos, and in the midst of that chaos, taking action would become far easier.
Soon, however, Jiang Ningxian asked in confusion, "If so, wouldn't it be even more troublesome for us to obtain the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token?"
The more people involved, the more variables there would be, and achieving their goal would hardly be simple.
"Do you think it's harder for us to face two great factions alone, or to navigate a chaotic free-for-all where everyone is fighting?" Lu Yuan smiled and offered his perspective, but said no more.
She was very sharp; she did not need everything spelled out for her.
"True. If we face the two factions alone, we have to bear the brunt of their united strength. But if every clan is embroiled in the melee, it becomes the two factions against everyone else. Even if it's messy, it will be much easier for us." Her thoughts clearing, Jiang Ningxian's eyes brightened, and two dimples appeared on her cheeks as she looked at Lu Yuan. "Not bad at all. I didn't realize you were so clever."
The plan was indeed viable. Carried out properly, it would surely succeed, offering far more opportunities to secure the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token.
Lu Yuan said nothing further on the matter, merely telling her to make preparations as quickly as possible. He was determined to claim the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token.
At the same time, he understood clearly that many things would soon need to be explained to Jiang Ningxian. Keeping secrets indefinitely was not wise, especially regarding something as critically important as the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token.
Whether for himself, this world, or the starry skies beyond, if it were not utilized properly and failed to serve its intended purpose, many things would likely be impacted. Lu Yuan even felt that the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens would be indispensable when facing extraterrestrial celestial demons in the future.
He had already gathered three previously, and now with this fifth token, he would be able to command that destiny power and the Investiture Decree with far greater ease.
Lu Yuan already had a plan of his own mapped out.
Before long, Jiang Ningxian shared the plan with the Jiang clan.
The Jiang clan was thoroughly in favor of it. After all, many of their powerhouses could not arrive in time, making it truly difficult to face the two great factions head-on.
Muddling the waters, however, changed everything. It opened the door to countless possibilities, making it far easier to secure the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token. Once the decision was made, the Jiang clan and the Heavenly Court chose to act together.
As for Lu Yuan, he had unwittingly become something of a chessmaster. With a single remark, he had begun to sway the world's tides, drawing two mighty factions straight into his calculations.
Chapter 398