Familiarity meant knowing and utilizing something. But what one could accomplish with it was limited; beyond a certain scope, it was practically useless.
Control, however, was an entirely different matter. With a single thought, mountains and rivers could be restored. Furthermore, it was completely unconstrained by various rules; as long as one willed it, one could achieve far more.
Reaching the Immortal Realm marked the beginning of becoming familiar with the powers of the various laws of this world. An Undying Immortal could grant their physical body immortality, which was equivalent to beginning to comprehend the profound mysteries of life. A Grotto-Heaven Immortal comprehended the spatial mysteries of this world, able to create minor spaces and traverse the cosmic expanse beyond the stars.
A Creation Immortal began to familiarize themselves with the laws of creation. In short, with each step upward, one gained a deeper understanding of the world's true essence, which was precisely why such beings were called immortals.
An immortal could accomplish what ordinary mortals could not, wielding mythic methods. In truth, however, it was merely that; the logic behind it was quite simple.
Was an Undying Immortal truly immortal? It was nothing more than living longer. If they encountered a truly supreme powerhouse, they would still be obliterated just the same.
As for Grotto-Heaven Immortals, they merely opened small spaces that could not even house living beings. Thus, Lu Yuan was also beginning to realize that even immortals still had to abide within this world.
It was not true transcendence in the real sense.
However, his thoughts now turned to the two Domain Lords.
Supreme Immortals were at the peak of the Immortal Realm; it was impossible to go any higher. But if one were to transcend it, what kind of sight would that be? Lu Yuan had no knowledge of this, yet within his heart, he yearned for it deeply.
Moreover, from the past to the present, nothing had ever been heard about the true cultivation realm of the Human Sovereign and Heavenly Emperor. Had it been within the immortal stage, or had it completely transcended that limit?
No one knew; only after reaching that realm could one understand. Yet one point was certain: the Human Sovereign and Heavenly Emperor had to be far, far stronger than immortals. If nothing else, it was precisely because of such supreme figures that all those extraterrestrial heavenly demons had been kept at bay outside.
"For now, thinking about this is pointless. The things I've confirmed must also be relayed to the Jiang clan," Lu Yuan muttered to himself, well aware of what was most important next.
Relying on his strength alone would never be enough to resolve this; he needed to ally with the Jiang clan. In fact, an alliance among the great clans of the various star sectors was needed.
Otherwise, there was no telling what the two major factions might do. Furthermore, Lu Yuan knew that going forward, he had to find a way to take another step forward and reach the Heavenly Rank Immortal realm.
The further he progressed, the stronger he had to become.
"Let's go." Without further words, he thrust out a palm. The void once again tore open into an immense passageway.
Zhu Qingyu and the others did not hesitate, stepping straight inside. Lu Yuan, however, did not move immediately. Instead, he sensed outward for a moment.
Once he pinpointed the whereabouts of Jiang Haokong and the others, he took a step forward and vanished from the spot. The two factions had set up many arrangements; now that he had emerged, he would eradicate them all in one fell swoop.
By now, this was naturally not too difficult for Lu Yuan, and he resolved it with ease, slaying several more Grotto-Heaven Immortals of the two factions in passing.
And precisely because of this, the high-end combat forces that the Eternal Clan and Ji clan had sent down to Earth were essentially wiped out by him.
The remainder were merely Undying Immortals. While the foundations of the various star sectors could not compare to those of the two factions, they still had powerhouses of their own.
If it was just Undying Immortals, they were entirely capable of handling them.
Before long, news of this matter spread.
Lu Yuan had struck once more, slaying more than ten Grotto-Heaven Immortals and two Creation Immortals. When this news broke, the extraterrestrial beings were once again utterly shocked.
They knew that whenever Lu Yuan made a move, it was bound to be extraordinary. Yet they had never imagined it could reach such a terrifying level.
After all, scarcely any time had passed between the start and finish of the battle. Before they could even react, it was already over.
For a time, people were at a complete loss for words. And upon learning that Lu Yuan had already reached the Creation Immortal realm, they were left even more stunned.
Too fast—it was truly too fast. It was simply unheard of. They could not understand how Lu Yuan cultivated and evolved.
To actually reach Creation Immortal in such a brief span of time... didn't that mean that given a little more time, he might become a Domain Lord outright? The mere thought made countless people swallow hard.
Yet unlike before, no one doubted it anymore; they believed it. After all, from the beginning until now, Lu Yuan's cultivation and evolution had not even spanned ten years, yet he had reached a realm that others could not attain in an entire lifetime. For him to eventually cultivate into a Supreme Immortal and become the lord of a domain—wouldn't that be only natural?
They had anticipated this before. Now, no one could stop Lu Yuan's rise any longer.
Still, they had never expected it to come so quickly. Some even felt that the Heavenly Court he had established might truly become like the one in legends; perhaps in the future, it was not impossible for Lu Yuan to genuinely become a Human Sovereign and Heavenly Emperor, a supreme powerhouse.
All in all, at this moment, nearly everyone regarded Lu Yuan as a top powerhouse—one who could sway the overarching trends of the entire universe.
Crucially, he was still very young.
Certain star sectors in particular felt deep gratitude toward Lu Yuan. After all, over this period, the two factions had relentlessly employed all manner of schemes to annex various forces.
This had left many on edge, terrified they would be next. Now that Lu Yuan had stepped in and resolved everything, it was a tremendous boon to them.
Some felt that rather than being coerced by the two factions, it was better to proactively ally with the Heavenly Court and the Jiang clan. At the very least, they would never force anyone to do anything.
The various star sectors agreed wholeheartedly with this idea. However, word soon emerged that the Jiang clan and Heavenly Court had no intention of forming a comprehensive alliance with the various star sectors; maintaining the status quo was sufficient.
This left many people baffled. The two factions were bound to clash head-on with Lu Yuan; under such circumstances, whichever side could command greater power would possess greater confidence.
Why, then, were the Heavenly Court and the Jiang clan completely unwilling to accept? Many were thoroughly confused.
Naturally, Lu Yuan did not care about this. He brought Zhu Qingyu, Jiang Haokong, and the others back.
The former was fine, but Jiang Haokong was deeply disgruntled. He had been pinned down by four Grotto-Heaven Immortals and unable to break free, yet he believed that given enough time, he could have resolved everything.
Just then, however, Lu Yuan had appeared and settled it all directly, leaving him thoroughly dejected. But Jiang Ningxian stepped forward and gave him a scolding, saying that even if he could somehow get out of danger on his own, what about the members of the Heavenly Court?
At that, Jiang Haokong fell silent, knowing his elder sister was right. As for Lu Yuan, he stopped the two from arguing further, for he had major matters to attend to!
Chapter 449