As Jiang Ningxian stepped forward, the distance between them shrank.
Soon, they could feel each other's breath. Lu Yuan did not step back, merely watching her as she drew near.
"The same goes: what you told me today made me very happy." Jiang Ningxian came to a halt, a radiant smile spreading across her face and bringing out two dimples.
Without another word, she clasped her hands behind her back and skipped away. Even though she had already attained the immortal realm, at this moment she acted just like a young girl.
Seeing this, a smile rose to Lu Yuan's lips as well. Soon after, he left to attend to his own matters.
Just now, neither of them had explicitly voiced anything. Yet without them realizing it, something between them seemed to have grown deeper.
Returning to his room, Lu Yuan settled his mind and resumed his closed-door cultivation. Earlier, he had traveled to various corners of this world, and with the help of the Ancient Bodhi Tree, he had already uncovered the path toward becoming a Creation Immortal. What he needed to do now was to consolidate those insights.
Cultivation and evolution were like rowing upstream: to fail to advance was to drop back. At a critical juncture like this, he could not afford to slacken.
Time trickled past, moment by moment. Lu Yuan's strength climbed steadily upward. Even so, attaining the level of a Creation Immortal was by no means simple.
It was a process that required patience, and Lu Yuan felt no rush. At times he remained in secluded cultivation, while at other times he offered guidance to his subordinates.
Yet the Heavenly Court remained as before, with no one having broken into the immortal realm. During this period, Lu Yuan also learned a few things about the Heavenly Dragon Star Sector from Yinglong.
However, likely because Yinglong's own cultivation realm had not yet reached the required height, its inherited memories were still quite vague.
As a result, it possessed very little information, only knowing that the Heavenly Dragon Star Sector had been established by the first-generation True Dragon. Its founding intention was to secure a foothold for its kind among the myriad races of the starry skies, and should a catastrophic tribulation arise, it would not simply stand by forever with folded arms.
For example, when the Black Dragon wreaked havoc in the mortal realm in the distant past, powerful figures among the dragon race had stepped forward to seal it away. Furthermore, they had collaborated with the Human Sovereign and Heavenly Emperor to accomplish certain deeds.
In short, their current inaction was merely because everything remained under control. This made Lu Yuan realize that under normal circumstances, the Heavenly Dragon Star Sector would never intervene.
Yet if a matter threatened the entire universe, it would be an entirely different story; they would certainly not sit idly by. Naturally, that was the extent of what Yinglong knew.
It knew nothing beyond that. It also intended to journey to the Heavenly Dragon Star Sector once it crossed into the immortal realm.
Lu Yuan naturally had no objections to this, as it was Yinglong's personal freedom. Meanwhile, the forces of the Eternal Clan and the Ji clan were drawing closer and closer to the Milky Way Star Sector.
This left the great clans of the starry skies thoroughly baffled. Through reconnaissance, they discovered that these two major factions had actually deployed their core foundations.
One had to understand that while other top-ten clans had sent experts as well, they had dispatched only a portion of their strength. Now, these two factions seemed poised to deploy Creation Immortals and even Heavenly Position Immortals.
In other words, they were mobilizing in full force. The other races found this incomprehensible. Even for great era providence, surely such extremes were unnecessary?
Naturally, those were merely the thoughts of weaker star sector races. Meanwhile, news regarding the three Domain Lords' battle at the edge of the universe had begun to circulate, though only a small fraction of people knew about it—a revelation intentionally leaked by the Jiang clan.
Their purpose was simple: to warn the major clans that these two factions harbored ulterior motives. Mobilizing their deepest foundations could not possibly be merely for the sake of great era providence.
According to the suspicions of Lu Yuan and the Jiang clan, the Ji clan and the Eternal Clan were very likely deeply entangled with the extraterrestrial heavenly demons.
Though neither wished to jump to such conclusions, caution was never amiss. Guarding against both factions in this manner was an investment in the days ahead.
Several more months slipped by in this way.
One day, Lu Yuan sat cross-legged in his room, streaks of radiant light undulating across his body.
His golden vitality had begun to shift, seeming on the verge of returning to its original color. This was returning to simplicity, and for him, it represented an unprecedented elevation.
As time elapsed, the aura Lu Yuan gave off grew increasingly formidable.
His entire body was enveloped in brilliant light. Not long after, however, everything receded back to its ordinary appearance.
"At this pace, it won't be long before I have the chance to break through into the Creation Immortal realm." Feeling his own condition, Lu Yuan drew a deep breath, rather satisfied with his progress.
After all, through his interactions with the Jiang clan, he had finally come to understand just how difficult it was to take another step forward after reaching the immortal realm.
In particular, advancing from a Grotto-Heaven Immortal to a Creation Immortal often required hundreds or even thousands of years for others. Immortal beings easily lived for ten thousand years or more, so such an expanse of time was not unheard of. Yet for Lu Yuan, from the very beginning until now, only a few short years had passed.
Without dwelling on it further, Lu Yuan rose and left his room. He first took a walk across Jade Emperor Peak to check on the progress of the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the other Beast Kings.
Then he went to inspect the Heavenly Court's ranks, for they were to be the backbone of his forces in the future and could not be neglected. Soon enough, the Jiang siblings arrived once more.
Jiang Haokong was noticeably different from before. At this moment, he seemed exceptionally delighted. Lu Yuan sensed his aura slightly and realized that the young man had made substantial headway in his cultivation and evolution. If he continued like this, he would soon reach the level of a Grotto-Heaven Immortal.
Jiang Ningxian beside him had progressed similarly, though she did not display her joy as openly as her brother. Jiang Haokong walked over to Lu Yuan and was just about to speak when he suddenly froze, noticing something amiss.
He abruptly sensed an even denser, more formidable aura radiating from Lu Yuan.
At this discovery, Jiang Haokong was thoroughly shocked and blurted out, "Don't tell me... are you about to break through to the Creation Immortal realm soon?"
His voice trembled slightly. Even though he had long known that Lu Yuan was far stronger than he was—after all, putting combat prowess aside, Lu Yuan had always been a step ahead in realm—Jiang Haokong had still been overjoyed at the prospect of reaching the Grotto-Heaven Immortal realm soon.
He had assumed that once he broke through, he would finally stand in the same realm as Lu Yuan.
Yet judging from the aura Lu Yuan emanated now, he was about to pull ahead yet again. Worse still, if Lu Yuan advanced to become a Creation Immortal, would that not mean he would be a full two major realms above him?
For a moment, Jiang Haokong felt as though his entire worldview was on the brink of collapse, leaving him speechless. He simply could not fathom it; they were supposed to be peers walking the same path.
His heart churned with anxious hope, desperate to hear a denial so he could breathe a sigh of relief.
Yet upon hearing his question, Lu Yuan gave no lengthy explanation, merely nodding gently before saying, "That's right."
Chapter 423