Within the hall, the blazing sun trembled as brilliant rays of light emerged from its core. A surge of immense power poured forth, causing the entire hall to shudder.
Down below, Jiang Taiyu and the others continued to channel their bloodline power into it. Powerful auras rolled off their bodies, and beads of sweat formed on every elder's forehead.
Evidently, even for beings of their caliber, such a task was far from effortless. Still, none of them chose to stop.
They pushed on until the radiant light of the great sun grew intensely blazing. At the same time, an awe-inspiring, majestic aura rose from within.
Only then did Jiang Taiyu finally open his eyes and slowly rein in his aura. The other Jiang clan elders followed suit.
Everyone rose to their feet. Jiang Taiyu walked over to Lu Yuan, took a deep breath, and said, "This ancestral legacy was left by our forebear, though none of us truly knows its specific purpose. However, our ancestor once left a message: anyone capable of unlocking it will undoubtedly possess the means to turn the tide in the face of great peril.
"Yet, so much time has passed that activating it requires a tremendous amount of our bloodline power. Of course, that was merely the first step. Whether it can actually be unlocked now depends on you."
Beside them, the Jiang clan elders remained silent, saying nothing.
In truth, Lu Yuan had already deduced that over the vast span of history, the Jiang clan had surely tapped into this legacy many times.
After all, it had been left behind by the Human Sovereign Heavenly Emperor. Anyone would know that extraordinary power lay within.
However, it was likely that no one had ever truly succeeded in fully opening it. Otherwise, Jiang Taiyu and the clan elders would not wear such grave, solemn expressions.
"Understood," Lu Yuan replied directly, keeping his words brief. "What should I do?"
"Step straight into that blazing sun. As for whether the legacy will open for you, you will know for yourself," one of the Jiang clan elders explained.
Truth be told, this elder harbored reservations about allowing an outsider to attempt unlocking their ancestor's legacy.
Yet things had already come to this, and there was no turning back. Besides, the situation across the cosmos was growing increasingly dire. More crucially, the Extraterrestrial Demons were watching like predators biding their time.
Even the Domain Lord of the Maha Clan had fallen. One could easily imagine what would happen once those entities truly descended in full force.
Furthermore, no matter what grievances they might have held, they had to acknowledge that Lu Yuan was an authentic favored son of heaven. For him to cultivate to his current height in such a short time was unprecedented; even in their long lives, they had never seen anyone like him. Perhaps he truly could unlock the legacy left by their ancestor.
Given the current state of affairs, there was no need to bicker over such trivial boundaries anymore.
"All right." Having received his answer, Lu Yuan understood what was expected. He glanced at Jiang Taiyu, who nodded back.
Without another word, Lu Yuan turned toward the radiant sun and took a single step forward. The next instant, his figure vanished from the great hall. Even his aura completely disappeared, as if he had stepped straight into an entirely different dimension.
"Do you think he can truly unlock the legacy left by our ancestor?" another elder murmured, a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes.
After all, as elders of the clan, even though they had not left the Desolate Flame Star Domain, they were acutely aware of the situation beyond and the impending crisis bearing down on them.
If Lu Yuan unlocked the legacy and obtained the measures left by their ancestor, combined with his own talent and formidable combat prowess, he could at least lend some strength to the turbulence that was sure to erupt.
Nearby, Jiang Taiyu did not reply immediately. He took a slow, deep breath before finally speaking. "I don't know either. But having hope is far better than having none at all, isn't it?"
He knew very well that despite countless past attempts, the legacy left by the ancestor had never shown the slightest reaction.
Thus, that hope was exceedingly slim, if not nonexistent. Even so, Jiang Taiyu could not shake the feeling that Lu Yuan might just be the one to work a miracle.
For now, Jiang Taiyu instructed the elders to wait together. Though no one knew how long the unlocking process would take, the one thing everyone present had in abundance was time, especially at such a crucial juncture.
Yet soon after they settled in to wait, Jiang Taiyu suddenly received urgent intelligence regarding the Extraterrestrial Demons.
Those formidable beings appeared to have manifested in other star sectors for unknown purposes. The Domain Lords of various other star sectors were preparing to pool their forces, inviting him to join them. Among those involved were the Domain Lords of the Bliss Star Sector and the Heavenly Dragon Star Sector.
Jiang Taiyu gave a few brief instructions to the elders at his side, then departed without delay.
"The balance of the cosmos is truly about to change," an elder murmured, watching Jiang Taiyu's retreating silhouette.
For an eternity, they had lived in a relatively peaceful era. Yet through the ancient texts, they had come to realize that this universe had always rested beneath the shadow of a looming catastrophe.
Under such circumstances, vigilance in times of peace was essential. And now, with the emergence of the Extraterrestrial Demons, everyone knew that peace was slipping away.
Whether they could safely weather this calamity remained entirely uncertain. What was clear, however, was that if they failed to avert it, an absolute catastrophe awaited them all.
Without further words, the elders sat cross-legged where they were and waited.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan had already stepped inside the blazing sun.
A vast expanse of blinding white stretched out before his eyes. Surprisingly, there was none of the scorching heat one might have anticipated; the temperature felt no different from the world outside.
The anomaly, however, was that upon stepping into the great sun, he discovered virtually nothing around him. Even when he sent out his divine sense, it yielded no result whatsoever.
Heaven and earth seemed entirely absent. Calling this place a pocket world felt inaccurate, for it lacked even the laws of space.
More importantly, Lu Yuan realized that his powers of the Creation realm held little utility here.
Even more disconcerting was that his strength had been suppressed. Though his cultivation had not vanished, when combined with this bizarre environment, he found himself feeling almost like an ordinary mortal.
Under normal conditions, going all out would allow him to cross a distance equivalent to Earth in an instant. Yet here, it felt as though he had not moved at all, as if heaven and earth had never even been cleaved open.
At this moment, confusion filled Lu Yuan's mind. He even began to wonder if he had stepped into some completely uncharted realm.
Fortunately, he could sense that he could leave this place whenever he wished. But that was obviously not what he had come for.
Chapter 517