Chapter 235. The Secret Realm Closes, Upheaval, and the Era of Conquest

Lu Yuan spoke slowly, but his voice carried power as if the heavens themselves were issuing a decree. The radiance blazing from his figure grew fiercer by the second, and he became so dazzling that he seemed to have transformed into the Celestial Emperor himself.

He was the Celestial Emperor in the middle of ratification!

Rumble!

The great peng’s blood essence merged into the Investiture Edict, and a line of text slowly materialized on its surface. It appeared just beneath the characters “Emperor Yuan.”

[The Emperor’s Mount: Golden-Winged Great Peng.]

The words exuded an ancient and domineering aura, as though they had existed since time immemorial.

Just then, the aura around Lu Yuan gradually faded away. He opened his eyes and turned toward the Golden-Winged Great Peng. A nameless power was surging through the mutated beast’s body, and its figure erupted with dazzling light.

A profound and mysterious force stirred inside Lu Yuan at the same time, nourishing his physique and sending his blood into a roiling boil.

It was the power of heaven and earth, and it converged on him from all directions. It was unnamable, the origin of all things. The attention of the entire universe had turned toward him, and it seemed as if the entire universe had just acknowledged the one who would eventually become the master of all myriad beings.

Yet Lu Yuan couldn’t tap into it—not yet. He turned his gaze back to the Golden-Winged Great Peng. The light enveloping the mutated beast was steadily diminishing as the same power of heaven and earth poured into it from every direction, granting it the same experience as Lu Yuan’s.

However, there was a massive difference between the two.

Once enough of it was accumulated, Lu Yuan would eventually be able to wield it. The Golden-Winged Great Peng was merely receiving it. Only through Lu Yuan’s Edict could it possess this power at all, and Lu Yuan could revoke it at any time.

The phenomenon ran its course before long. The light faded, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng returned to its original appearance.

“How do you feel?” Lu Yuan asked, curious to know what changes came with having one’s true name inscribed upon the Investiture Edict.

“Master, there’s a brand-new power inside me, and it seems to have come from the origin of all things,” the Golden-Winged Great Peng replied, its voice trembling with shock. “With it, I no longer need to absorb dragon blood to refine my bloodline. It will purify on its own until my full potential is completely unlocked.”

The mutated beast could hardly believe it. Its inherited memories had told it that even though its bloodline had no inherent flaws, it still had to refine and purify its bloodline by hunting down creatures with dragon blood, just like what its ancestors had done.

However, the brand-new power that it had just obtained allowed it to bypass its process, which was utterly inconceivable for the Golden-Winged Great Peng.

“It has that kind of effect?” Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised as well. He had known that inscribing a true name on the Investiture Edict wouldn’t boost one’s combat strength, but he hadn’t anticipated that it would let the Golden-Winged Great Peng skip the bloodline purification process entirely.

After a moment of reflection, it made perfect sense. The Celestial Emperor’s Ancient Token represented the throne of the Celestial Emperor, a supreme being of the world. An edict from such a being was bound to be extraordinary.

The only question was whether every creature would receive the same effect, or if the benefits differed based on the individual in question. This was something he would need to verify going forward.

However, one thing was already certain—the Celestial Emperor’s Ancient Token and the Investiture Edict were far more useful than he had imagined.

“Good. From here on, focus on cultivating and evolving. Get stronger as quickly as you can.” Lu Yuan nodded and said nothing more.

Knowing the Peacock King and the others would soon recover from their injuries, it was time to plan their next move.

Before long, the man and the mutated beast returned to the basin.

Kunlun Secret Realm remained open, but when Lu Yuan activated his Martial Dao Heavenly Eyes, he saw that the energy sustaining it was visibly dissipating.

It would likely close soon, which was consistent with what he remembered from his previous life. The realm only stayed open for three months at a time, and the next opportunity to enter wouldn’t come for at least another three years.

Of course, Lu Yuan couldn’t really care less about it at the moment. The two greatest boons the secret realm had to offer were already in his hands. Whether he ever returned was irrelevant, unless something unexpected came up.

“King Lu, where do we head next?” The Peacock King stepped forward in its middle-aged human guise. He looked dignified and imposing, but the faint smile tugging at his lips made him look amiable. He hadn’t gained anything inside the secret realm, but he had voluntarily come here to help, so he had no complaints.

Lu Yuan pondered over the question. After the second Global Awakening, many places in this world became worth exploring, and he was strong enough to explore them all. However, he couldn’t quite decide where to go next.

Just then, Jiang Ningxian came flying in from the distance, her expression grave as she said, “Lu Yuan, something’s about to happen. I just received word from my clan. The major clans from the starfields didn’t come here just to test the waters.

“They’ve prepared ways to prematurely destroy the Separation of Heaven and Earth to carve open a star path, which would allow their people to descend in full force.

“To make this plan work, the clans have joined forces. Immortals will descend alongside them as well,” Jiang Ningxian added, sounding solemn. “Based on the timeline, they’ve already reached the border of the Milky Way. They’re getting ready to move.”

Jiang Ningxian had ways to contact the upper echelons of her clan, but the vast distance made the process cumbersome and difficult. It wasn’t something to be used under normal circumstances, so the fact that her people had contacted her first meant the situation was that grave.

Destroying the Separation of Heaven and Earth to carve open a star path meant creating a direct pathway to Earth, eliminating the need to traverse the cosmos.

No single clan could accomplish that. It required the combined efforts of multiple major clans. The Jiang Clan had just learned of the plan themselves, which was why they had reached out to her.

So it’s finally happening… Lu Yuan felt no surprise.

The earlier arrivals had been nothing more than scouts. The real invasion was here. Nearly every major clan from the Outer Cosmos wanted a piece of the opportunities and boons Earth had to offer.

The second Global Awakening was underway, and the Separation of Heaven and Earth was weakening, so they could no longer hold themselves back.

The so-called “Immortals” Jiang Ningxian had mentioned were beings beyond the Sage Realm. Figures of that caliber could cross the starry expanse of the universe unhindered, and they could annihilate celestial bodies with a single strike.

They were apex powerhouses even across the universe.

In Lu Yuan’s previous life, their arrival marked the dawn of a new era—the Era of Conquest. There was nothing more to say about what would happen during the Era of Conquest. There would be a massive war, big enough to engulf the entire universe, indicating the true beginning of the Great Age.

Countless lives would be snuffed out, and innumerable celestial bodies would shatter into nothingness. Earth itself would suffer devastating wounds.

Looks like we no longer have time to explore, Lu Yuan thought, sighing inwardly.

“My people will also seize this opportunity to descend,” Jiang Ningxian said. “They will protect this world to whatever extent they can.”

The Jiang Clan had always adhered to a single guiding principle—seek out hidden truths and protect the homeland. This was the reason she had sought out Lu Yuan and the officials of Huaxia.

After all, their ancestors once fought for this world.

“Thank you,” Lu Yuan said with a nod and left it at that.

Ring!

Just then, his communicator chimed. He looked down and saw a message from Elder Ji.

— King Lu, a major disturbance has been detected in the Outer Cosmos! You should come back here as soon as possible!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep