These rays of light shone with a pure purple radiance, carrying an aura of magnificent grandeur as they permeated Lu Yuan's entire body.
His entire presence seemed to undergo a subtle transformation at this moment, as if shifting in temperament. With the fusion of the eighth Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, both his physique and soul had been strengthened.
A single fusion had brought about a distinct change in Lu Yuan's strength. Yet, he still had not broken through, remaining at the Creation Immortal realm.
Sensing this, Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the shimmering light around him. He could clearly perceive that after fusing this eighth token, the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens had reached a relatively complete state, unleashing far greater power than ever before.
Because of this, conviction grew within his heart. If he truly could gather all the ancient tokens one day, their hidden might and functions would be fully unleashed. On this point, he was entirely certain without a shred of doubt.
Naturally, Lu Yuan still felt a trace of disappointment that breaking through at this juncture was simply impossible. Striving to become a Heavenly Position Immortal and comprehending the laws of the Heavenly Position proved far too difficult relying solely on his current condition.
"I still need a true battle—at the very least, a fight against a Heavenly Position Immortal," Lu Yuan murmured to himself. He was thrilled by the fusion of the eighth Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, of course, but even more than that, he knew that only his own inherent power was truly worth leaning on and trusting.
This truth became all the clearer after the recent fierce clash against the Extraterrestrial Demons. Though such enemies did not seem numerous at present, every single one of them was immensely powerful. To this day, he had never seen an Extraterrestrial Demon whose strength was below the Creation Immortal realm.
Converted into the cultivation stages of the boundless universe, that corresponded to the Heavenly Stage. Lu Yuan was convinced that the Heaven Abandoning Clan—the race of the Extraterrestrial Demons—possessed an abundance of formidable experts, and those who had appeared so far were merely the vanguard.
After all, the Ji clan and the Eternal Clan, who had been the first to ally with the Extraterrestrial Demons, had yet to show themselves. And contending with just a single Celestial Clan combined with a handful of Extraterrestrial Demons already demanded the intervention of a terrifying powerhouse like Jiang Taiyu.
If the day came when every supreme expert of the Heaven Abandoning Universe poured out in full force, what would they do then?
Granted, the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens were of immense help to him, but he could not rely on them indefinitely. Regardless of what it took, he needed to break into the Heavenly Position Immortal realm within a short period.
"Now that I've fused the eighth Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, whether I can smoothly master its power in the future will also depend on whether my own cultivation can reach that level," Lu Yuan mused.
The Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens were deeply tied to the Human Sovereign Heavenly Emperor. Even now, he could not wield all of their destiny power, for the prerequisites were simply too demanding. Only by becoming strong himself could he truly take control of everything. In other words, even without the threat of the Extraterrestrial Demons, the tokens alone required him to grow stronger.
With his thoughts settling on this, Lu Yuan lingered no longer. Stepping straight out of the room, he gave the matter a brief thought before striding forward, setting his course toward the Lei Ji Mountain Range.
A resolute plan had formed in his mind: no matter what, he had to plunge into a life-and-death struggle to push himself to his absolute limits and see if, under such dire pressure, he could take that further step into the Heavenly Position realm.
Time waited for no one. Though he knew this was rushed, he had no choice; the enemy would never grant him the luxury of taking his time.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Lei Ji Mountain Range, the billowing black haze had dissipated entirely. That bizarre, corrupting energy had also been thoroughly eradicated.
It was Jiang Taiyu who had stepped forward to uproot all the lingering power left behind by the Extraterrestrial Demons, securing a genuine advantage on the Celestial Star.
Moreover, gazing down from the void above, one would notice that the half of the Celestial Star previously shrouded in dark mist had receded significantly following the capture of the Lei Ji Mountain Range. Only a third remained under the shadow, meaning the territory controlled by the Extraterrestrial Demons had shrunk considerably.
After all, the Lei Ji Mountain Range was the ancestral land of the Celestial Clan and held pivotal significance on the Celestial Star. Now that the Extraterrestrial Demons had lost control of this region, their position was nowhere near what it had been before.
"To think that little friend Lu's arrival would bring us such tremendous progress." Looking at the current state of affairs, Jiang Taiyu could not help letting out a broad smile.
Naturally, he understood that retaking the Lei Ji Mountain Range could not be credited entirely to Lu Yuan alone. But no matter how one looked at it, this turning point had only come about after the young man appeared here.
"Of course! What Lu Yuan is best at is turning the impossible into the possible."
"You have no idea—he truly has the ability to change the entire tide of battle single-handedly."
"When the Milky Way Star Sector first began its revival, it was supposed to fall under the control of various outer star sectors. But precisely because he was there, things could reach the favorable state they are in today."
Beside them, Jiang Ningxian chimed in. When speaking of Lu Yuan, a radiant smile surfaced across her face, the two faint dimples at the corners of her lips lingering without fading.
"Sis, I admit Lu Yuan is strong, but do you really have to praise him that much? Your own brother isn't weak either, you know!" Hearing this, Jiang Haokong could not resist interjecting, his tone brimming with indignant grumbling. He felt that as her biological brother, why had he never heard such high praise from her since childhood?
"Must you try to compete with Lu Yuan over everything?" Jiang Ningxian said helplessly, shooting her younger brother a stern, glaring look with her lovely eyes.
Seeing their antics, Jiang Taiyu could only shake his head with a chuckle; at times, he truly had no way of handling this pair of siblings.
Soon, however, he suddenly lifted his head and looked in another direction, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Finished already?"
At that moment, Jiang Taiyu sensed an aura settling into place. With his profound cultivation, he naturally recognized who had arrived.
He had originally assumed Lu Yuan would require a considerable amount of time to fuse the eighth Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token. Yet now, it seemed far faster than he had anticipated.
Right on cue, Lu Yuan appeared before the three of them.
Without hesitation, he spoke first. "Senior."
"You're all done?" Jiang Taiyu nodded, wanting to confirm immediately. There was no helping it; the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Tokens were simply too vital to permit the slightest oversight.
"Yes," Lu Yuan replied. "There were no issues during the process. However, I still did not achieve the goal I had hoped for."
His underlying meaning was abundantly clear: breaking through to the Heavenly Position Immortal realm. He had thought the eighth Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token would provide a breakthrough catalyst, but it seemed things were not so simple.
"I understand," Jiang Taiyu said, nodding thoughtfully. "So, what do you plan to do?"
Chapter 498