Lu Yuan did not know what it was, but he understood it was certainly nothing simple.
"I will inform our clan of your stance," Jiang Ningxian spoke up again, referring to the matter of allying with the various races. "I believe they will support it as well."
The Jiang clan took this very seriously since a great deal was at stake, while her father largely did not concern himself with such affairs. Consequently, most decisions were made within the clan itself. She found Lu Yuan's previous reasoning quite sound, seeing no need to waste time seeking alliances everywhere. Those who truly shared good relations with the Jiang clan and were genuinely willing to stand together would have no need for such formalities.
"Very well." Lu Yuan merely nodded, offering no further comment. Whatever the Jiang clan chose to do, he would raise no objection. Though they were allies, each retained their autonomy. Just as before, the Jiang clan had never dictated orders to the Heavenly Court, offering only advice from start to finish.
Afterward, the three conversed for a while longer before going their separate ways. Jiang Haokong remained dispirited throughout. There was no helping it; he had indeed suffered a heavy blow, realizing that surpassing Lu Yuan was likely an impossible feat. Fortunately, he had already resigned himself to every possibility beforehand, so after letting it digest for a bit, he came to terms with it.
Lu Yuan went once more to check on the Heavenly Court's subordinates and see the progress of their cultivation over this period. Since gathering all Nine Cauldrons and integrating the fifth Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, the destiny power under his command had steadily multiplied. His current thought was quite simple: he wished to lend them a helping hand in this regard.
Still, no one had reached the Immortal Realm, which was within expectations, while those in the Saint Realm were growing increasingly numerous. This meant that the backbone combat strength of the Heavenly Court was becoming more formidable by the day.
After some thought, Lu Yuan chose not to confer any further titles for now. It was true that the stronger the Heavenly Court became, the more handily they could deal with future crises. Yet this brought forth another dilemma: from the very beginning until now, the Heavenly Court had been given far too little time to develop—only a handful of years. In contrast, other star sectors with comparable foundations had walked a path spanning vast ages. Put simply, they lacked sufficient accumulation and settling, so slowing the pace was clearly the better course.
As for whatever moves the Eternal Clan and the Ji clan were making, that was not an immediate concern for him. Thus, Lu Yuan entered secluded cultivation once more, intent on reaching the Creation Immortal realm as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, ever since word spread that the foundational forces of the two great powers were set to descend, nearly all extraterrestrial beings grew tense.
None of them knew what the two powers were truly after. To vie for great era providence, was there really any need to mobilize their true foundations? After all, with such forces present, how many could stand as their match? One had to realize that even though the power of the Severing of Heaven and Earth had entirely dissipated by now, those who had descended so far were at most Grotto-Heaven Immortals, with no more powerful Creation Immortals among them. Such beings were simply too formidable, serving as genuine trump cards in major star-sector clans, and would never be deployed lightly. The Eternal Clan and the Ji clan, however, were on a completely different level.
Both powers ranked among the top ten across the starry sky. Setting aside Creation Immortals, they even possessed Heavenly Position Immortals. According to the news circulating now, even Heavenly Position Immortals were coming to the Milky Way Star Sector.
If they decided to strike, who could possibly withstand them? Only existences from fellow top-ten star sectors could counter them. Yet the problem was that, apart from the Jiang clan, virtually all those major clans had chosen to stand by and watch.
For this reason, when the two great powers announced their desire to form a coalition with various parties, a great many extraterrestrial beings promptly responded. After all, they had no wish to make enemies of forces like the Ji clan and the Eternal Clan; joining their alliance eliminated that risk. Within a short span of time, more than half of the extraterrestrial beings had answered the coalition call issued by the two powers—referring, of course, to those who had already descended into the Milky Way Star Sector.
As for the Jiang clan, they appeared to have directly adopted Lu Yuan's suggestion, refraining from scrambling to recruit allies. As the saying went: meet all changes with constancy.
Meanwhile, out in the starry sky, beyond the Milky Way Star Sector, wave after wave of majestic auras surged. Massive stars rotated, casting brilliant, blinding light.
Among them, an enormous star-voyaging warship emerged. It was colossal, rivaling the size of smaller planets. As it drifted continuously through the cosmos, whatever it collided with along its path—be it minor meteorites or massive stars—instantly detonated. This immense warship continuously radiated an overbearingly potent aura.
"The Eternal Warship truly lives up to its reputation," a voice remarked at that moment. The speaker was clad in black robes and hailed from the Ji clan. The aura surging around him in layered waves was extraordinarily vast, already surpassing the scope of a Creation Immortal to reach the Heavenly Position Immortal realm. Yet even with a cultivation of such formidable heights, he could not help but feel awed upon beholding the vessel.
"The Eternal Warship was forged with the utmost effort of our Eternal Clan. There are only three in existence. Its might is limitless; if our Domain Lord were to personally operate it, obliterating an entire minor star system would be effortless," another person spoke. Hailing from the Eternal Clan, his cultivation was likewise at the Heavenly Position Immortal realm.
Aboard this warship stood members from both great powers, and every single one possessed strength at or above the Immortal Realm. This was the foundational force mentioned in the Jiang clan's intelligence. The weakest were at the Immortal Realm, while the strongest had reached the Heavenly Position Immortal realm, second only to the Domain Lords.
Moreover, this Eternal Warship had been constructed with tremendous effort by the Eternal Clan. The Eternal Star Sector was famed for producing all kinds of divine metals, so the warship forged from them was naturally terrifying in strength. Its sheer durability alone was enough to shatter celestial bodies upon impact.
"Our clan lord has instructed us to completely seal off the Milky Way Star Sector when the time comes, preventing any outsiders from entering. Only then can our plan be carried out smoothly—and along the way, we will deal with that man named Lu Yuan," the Ji clan's Heavenly Position Immortal stated. He held a lofty status, revered as the Second Ancestor.
Originally, given their strength, descending into the Milky Way Star Sector would not have taken much time at all. They had spent all this time in preliminary preparation solely to guarantee absolute certainty. Forming an alliance with the beings of various star sectors was merely one link in that grand design. Naturally, neither the Eternal Clan nor the Ji clan had forgotten Lu Yuan—the enemy who had slain multiple clan members and even their divine sons.
This time, they had also received orders: if the opportunity arose, they were to execute him directly; if the matter proved difficult to handle, they could notify the Domain Lord, who would personally intervene.
After all, anyone could see that Lu Yuan's rise was simply too rapid. Even Grotto-Heaven Immortals and Creation Immortals had fallen by his hand. The two great powers had to take things seriously now. In truth, were it not for the need to carry out that secret plan, figures at the Domain Lord level would have stepped in long ago. Yet evidently, compared to Lu Yuan, that hidden undertaking of theirs was far more important!
Chapter 425