Chapter 150. The Secrets of the Wuzhou Group, the Great Sun’s Flame Divine Furnace

Zhou Yunqiong? Lu Yuan was surprised that Jiang Ningxian brought her up, but he remained calm. What puzzled him was why someone from the Outer Cosmos would care about Zhou Yunqiong.

A certain idea rose in his mind, but he chose not to voice it. He stared at Jiang Ningxian, waiting for her to continue.

“I know a bit about the grievances between the Wuzhou Group and you, King Lu. You two aren’t exactly friendly,” Jiang Ningxian said. She had collected quite a lot of information since arriving as an advance party for her Ancestral Planet.

Without wasting words, she added, “The Wuzhou Group is being controlled by the Zhou Family, but in reality, they have another identity. The Zhou Family consists of descendants of the Ji Clan from back then, and the so-called Winged Celestial God is a remnant left behind by the Celestial Race.

“The two clans once united and overthrew a dynasty; the Ji Clan then became the rulers of the world.”

Jiang Ningxian didn’t say much, but her words contained a ton of information. Even Lu Yuan couldn’t help but narrow his eyes upon hearing the exposition. He knew the Zhou Family had allied with the great clans from the starry sky, but he hadn’t anticipated that the Zhou Family actually descended from the Ji Clan.

It really was unexpected. Historically, the word “Wuzhou” had two interpretations: the Wu Zhou Dynasty established by Emperor Gaozong’s empress during the early Tang Dynasty, and the other referred to King Wu of Zhou’s campaign against the Shang. King Wu of Zhou bore the surname Ji.

The Zhou Family had hidden themselves quite deeply indeed.

The Ji Clan was one of the major surnames in ancient times, with influence as great as the Jiang Clan. For instance, Xuanyuan, one of the Five Emperors, also bore the surname Ji, and he was the Yellow Emperor.

As for the Winged Celestial God, a similar existence appeared during King Wu’s campaign against the Shang.

“So that’s how it is. Thank you for telling me that, Miss Jiang,” said Lu Yuan. It was valuable information that allowed him to understand the future situation.

“Actually, with your level of strength, you needn’t worry about the Wuzhou Group, King Luo. The key is Zhou Yunqiong. Her bloodline isn’t inferior to the members of the main Ji Clan deep in the starry sky. Her potential is limitless.”

As the Saintess of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Ningxian’s insight far surpassed ordinary people. When she investigated Zhou Yunqiong, she was shocked. She hadn’t expected that the Ji Clan here could produce someone like Zhou Yunqiong.

She knew about the grievances between Lu Yuan and Zhou Yunqiong and couldn’t help but mention it. As for whether Lu Yuan would take it to heart, that was another matter.

“I understand.” Lu Yuan remained very calm, his emotions unchanged throughout. To him, whether it was the Jiang Clan or the Ji Clan, no matter how powerful and mysterious they were, they were of little concern to him.

If any conflicts were to arise between them, he’d just sweep them aside with his overwhelming strength.

Jiang Ningxian seemed to have noticed Lu Yuan’s formidable confidence, and her impression of him improved once again. Instead of saying more, she decided to leave.

“We’ll take our leave, then.” Jiang Ningxian nodded and left with the elderly man.

The two walked away with their two feet instead of disappearing like the wind. They truly looked like ordinary people instead of formidable experts.

“Saintess,” the elderly man finally shattered his silence, saying, “That Lu Yuan has great potential, and he’s quite powerful as well, but are you truly prepared to gift the Great Sun’s Flame Divine Furnace to him? That’s one of the few supreme treasures from our Ancestral Planet. It’s an incredibly precious artifact for refining one’s physique and vital qi.”

He felt it’d be too wasteful to gift something like that to Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan was an extraordinary individual, but the price to buy his help was just too high. Moreover, the Great Age hadn’t truly arrived yet, and the path ahead would only become even more difficult.

Whether Lu Yuan would fall short on the path of evolution or reach the apex remained to be seen.

“He was fated to obtain the blood essence of our ancestor, so he’s destined to be extraordinary. The Global Awakening has just started, yet he’s already reached such heights… I think he’s quite remarkable,” Jiang Ningxian answered with a faint smile.

“All right, no need to say more. I have decided. Let’s go,” she added.

The elderly man said nothing more. Since the Saintess had already made a decision, he could only obey. The two quickened their pace until they disappeared into the distance.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan mulled over Jiang Ningxian’s words. The information was limited, but combined with his memories, he reached a vague conclusion. Simply put, this world wasn’t like this in the distant past.

At the time, everyone was an Awakened, and powerful Awakened appeared constantly. Due to wars with ambiguous goals, however, the sages of antiquity separated Heaven and Earth to protect humanity.

They isolated this world from the Outer Cosmos. After that, the Awakened gradually disappeared, and the world eventually became a technologically driven society.

As time went on, the separation between Heaven and Earth began failing, eliciting the Global Awakening. However, there was one thing Lu Yuan still couldn’t. The universe was vast. What made this world so special?

Clearly, there were more secrets hidden behind the scenes, and perhaps even the Jiang Clan of the Desolate Flame Immortal Domain weren’t privy to such secrets.

It seemed he had to take things slow and explore the world step by step.

With that in mind, Lu Yuan left the room to seek out Elder Yun. He then told him about the collaboration Jiang Ningxian had mentioned. When Elder Yun heard that those two came from the Outer Cosmos, he was stupefied, but he quickly calmed down.

Thanks to the New Era, just about anything bizarre became acceptable.

As for Jiang Ningxian’s request for a collaboration, he couldn’t make the decision alone. He chose to gather Elder Ji and the others to discuss it.

When Elder Ji and the others heard about it, they immediately rushed to Mount Tai Trials Academy. This matter concerned the future, and they couldn’t take it lightly.

They held several meetings over the next few days and even summoned Ji Yuzhen and Dean Zheng to hear their opinions. Clearly, it was difficult to make a decision.

They also asked for Lu Yuan’s opinion, but he said nothing. He let everyone decide. After all, he had no official position. Given his formidable strength, if he were to speak, it would influence their decision.

With that in mind, he stated that he would support their decision, whatever it would be.

After holding several more meetings, they decided to talk face-to-face with Jiang Ningxian. Of course, Lu Yuan contacted Jiang Ningxian for them.

Several days later, Jiang Ningxian and the elderly man returned to discuss the collaboration details. They required only a place to settle and establish themselves. In exchange, they promised to provide assistance in the future.

The two sides talked about it for a long time. Elder Ji and the others looked grave upon learning of the imminent descent of beings from the Outer Cosmos.

They realized things would become troublesome in the future. Perhaps they could even lose control of the nation. As a result, they agreed to collaborate but only on the condition that they remained the dominant side. It was a condition born out of helplessness, yet it was necessary.

Jiang Ningxian agreed to their terms.

The result fell within Lu Yuan’s expectations; it mirrored his previous life.

The details of the conversation eluded him, as he had chosen not to participate. Instead, he visited Mount Tai to chat with the Spirit Monkey. From its words, he learned that the world was changing once again.

Places spoken of only in legends and extraordinary beings would soon appear. As for whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, it was yet to be seen.

The Spirit Monkey planned to stay in seclusion until it was strong enough to face the chaotic world.

After finalizing the details of the collaboration, Elder Ji and the others poured a ton of resources into it. They also decided to put even more support into the promising younger generations and elite students of the Aurora Academy.

The frequency of bizarre phenomena all over the nation had increased, and some mutated beasts even became violent.

There weren’t any mutated beast tides just yet, but the presence of these violent mutated beasts was already a threat to humanity. The world was becoming chaotic once again.

Many people and the mutated beasts realized that the second Global Awakening was nigh. Fortunately, the founding of the Alliance of Humankind allowed Huaxia to focus on itself rather than on external threats.

One day, Jiang Ningxian visited Lu Yuan at the Mount Tai Trials Academy with the elderly man still trailing behind her.

“Everything went better than expected, and it was all thanks to you, King Lu,” said Jiang Ningxian with a smile.

Upon finalizing the collaboration with Elder Ji and the other members of Huaxia’s top echelons, the two decided to temporarily reside here; they essentially became Lu Yuan’s neighbors.

“Even without me, you could have still proceeded with the negotiations. I didn’t really help.” Lu Yuan shook his head. He was simply stating the truth. Then, he asked, “May I know why you’ve visited me today, Miss Jiang?”

Jiang Ningxian was busy with many things upon her move to the Mount Tai Trials Academy. This was actually her first visit.

“Of course, I’m here to express my gratitude.” Jiang Ningxian smiled and brought out the Great Sun’s Flame Divine Furnace. Her eyes glimmered with sincerity as she said, “As I said before, once the collaboration is made, I’ll gift this to you, King Lu.

“I hope you won’t refuse me again. There’s no ulterior motive, really. You can consider this as the Jiang Clan’s gesture of goodwill toward you.”

This was her second meeting with Lu Yuan, but she already had a perfect grasp of his personality. Knowing that Lu Yuan definitely wouldn’t accept a gift without any conditions, Jiang Ningxian decided to change her approach.

Of course, she went about it in the most straightforward way possible. After all, conversations between intelligent people need not be so circuitous.

Instead of answering, Lu Yuan stared at Jiang Ningxian. After a long while, he smiled and said, “In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony, then.”

Jiang Ningxian was determined to gift it to him. If he were to refuse, she would come and try again.

Moreover, she had also clearly expressed that it was a gesture of goodwill.

Lu Yuan wasn’t one to be overly coy, so he agreed.

“That’s great. Thank you again, King Lu.” The young woman beamed, revealing two playful dimples on her cheeks. “I still have some things to handle, so I’m going first.”

Having completed her task, Jiang Ningxian felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. With a slight bow, she turned around and walked away.

The elderly man felt helpless. The Saintess looked as if she had just obtained a priceless treasure. However, he ultimately said nothing and simply chased after the young woman.

Left all alone, Lu Yuan looked at the bronze furnace only a few inches in size. There were no special runes all over it, only the engraving of a great sun. A scorching aura emanated from within, raising the room’s temperature.

To make matters even more astonishing, it remained dormant, yet it was already emanating such a scorching aura. Once activated, it would surely melt steel beams with ease.

Just like its name suggested, it was indeed the Great Sun’s Flame Divine Furnace! Lu Yuan even felt like it was probably superior to the Eleven-Tier Blood Pagoda. The vital qi within him stirred upon seeing it.

It was an excellent divine artifact for tempering one’s physique. However, he didn’t plan to use it immediately, as he intended to study it first.

Lu Yuan put away the Great Sun’s Flame Divine Furnace.

“King Lu! King Lu!” Just then, Elder Ji’s voice entered his ears. Then, Elder Ji and Elder Yun appeared at his door, looking anxious. They had clearly run over here in a hurry. Upon entering, they spoke in unison, saying, “King Lu, something happened.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep