Xu Yang quickly shared his discovery with Gu Jun.

"Teacher, what do you think is going on?"

"..."

Gu Jun fell silent.

How the hell would I know!

I've been asleep for nearly a thousand years, and only after tagging along with this kid have I finally seen the true face of this world.

If you don't know, how could I?

Gu Jun grumbled inwardly, then said in a weary tone, "Anyway, it's definitely got something to do with Can Sutian!"

"It might even be connected to that bizarre river!"

"I suspect that the level above True Monarchs may be tied to that river!"

"Didn't we say before that this world was sealed?"

Hearing this, Xu Yang's pupils shrank: "Can Sutian severed his own body to break the seal and only then saw that river…"

Suddenly his thoughts became much clearer.

Gu Jun nodded slightly, sweeping his gaze across the world, and said, "I just fear Can Sutian died somewhere unknown."

Xu Yang's mouth twitched.

But, well, that wasn't impossible.

"Let's not dwell on this for now."

"Teacher, that Mr. Tang I mentioned to you before is waiting for you." Xu Yang smiled.

"Tang Yan!"

Gu Jun's eyebrows arched, then he said, "I'd like to meet this top-tier artifact refiner myself."

With that, the two of them swept into Tang Yan's grotto heaven.

The seated Tang Yan sensed something immediately, his body flickered, and he stood in the air.

He stared at Gu Jun, pupils contracting, then gave a respectful cupped-fist salute: "Tang Yan, pays respect to the Pill Emperor!"

The Pill Emperor returned the greeting with a smile: "Mr. Tang, I've long heard your great name, today I'm afraid I'm intruding."

"Hahaha."

Tang Yan laughed loudly: "Mr. Gu, please, I just happen to have a few jars of fine wine I've kept for a century!"

"A hundred years?"

Gu Jun's eyes lit up at once, but he quickly frowned: "Pity I'm left with only my soul, I'm afraid I can't enjoy it."

Unexpectedly, Tang Yan grinned mysteriously: "Mr. Gu, my wine works wonders even for the soul."

"Oh?"

Gu Jun's interest instantly soared.

"Please!"

"Let's go!"

The two old men darted straight to the rear.

Xu Yang was left dumbfounded—why does this feel a little hasty?

A Pill Emperor and a top artifact refiner!

Seems like there's a different kind of spark there.

Xu Yang shook his head and laughed, no longer worrying about it.

Time flew by in a flash.

Seven days later.

Gu Jun and Tang Yan finally emerged, faces glowing, hands on each other's shoulders, clearly having hit it off greatly.

For both of them to look like that, they must've both gained a lot.

Suddenly.

The void twisted, and titanic surges swept the world like a resurgent flood from primordial times, raising a sky-shrouding, sun-blocking, mighty tempest, spreading boundlessly with unstoppable force.

Everyone looked up in terror.

"What's going on?"

"Young Master, what happened?"

"Such terrifying waves! It's like the entire world is being engulfed!"

The three women rushed to Xu Yang's side, looking out, and each was left with their heart pounding in terror.

Their cultivation was weaker, so under the endless void's waves, they felt their very souls still and dared not look up!

"Not sure yet."

Xu Yang shook his head gravely: "But I'm afraid something big is happening."

"You girls stay here. My teacher and the others and I will go take a look."

"Okay."

Xu Yang's figure flickered and appeared mid-air.

Gu Jun and Tang Yan also materialized out of nowhere.

The three exchanged glances, then immediately left the grotto valley and sped toward the heavens.

Soon, they saw rays of rainbow light shoot skyward from the direction of the capital, each radiating a heart-stopping aura.

All True Monarchs!

Clearly, they all were shocked by this sudden turn of events.

"Your Highness!"

"Do you know what's happened, Your Highness?"

A True Monarch cupped his hands and asked Xu Yang politely.

All the True Monarchs' gazes landed on him.

Xu Yang gave a wry smile: "I don't know either!"

At this moment, Can Yunxiao arrived.

"Don't panic, it's related to His Majesty!"

The Grand Preceptor's words sent a jolt through everyone's hearts.

Xu Yang silently thought, Just as I thought!

It really is Can Sutian!

"What exactly did he do?" Xu Yang asked slowly.

Can Yunxiao sighed, "I don't know either."

"But with such changes, His Majesty should be returning very soon!"

As soon as his voice fell, the void surged once more.

Boom!

Whoosh!

Heaven and earth twisted into void, silent tremors reaching everyone's mind and soul.

All stared in horror—at the end of that endless void, a speck of spiritual light appeared, then a great river surged forth, expanding at a pace visible to the eye!

In a flash, it spanned the endless void, its destination unknown.

As if materialized by the supreme being, making even the void itself tremble and nearly shatter!

This world shivered all the more under the shadow of the river!

Xu Yang was chilled to the bone, fighting the urge to drop to his knees. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

This feeling was exactly the same as the one he'd had beneath the Barbarian God's spiritual light!

"The mysterious river has fully emerged."

Xu Yang's heart trembled.

"My god, what the hell is that river?"

"I feel like an ant under it!"

"And it sparks a deep longing within me!"

"That river is definitely extraordinary!"

"Maybe it's some higher-level power manifested?"

...

The True Monarchs shuddered uncontrollably, stunned, all staring at the river in a daze.

No one knew how much time passed.

The void settled, hiding the river away!

But to the True Monarchs' senses, even if they couldn't see the river, they knew where it was.

As long as they stepped into the void, they could find it.

And in this world, though everything looked normal again, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surged once more!

"Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi increased again."

"Compared to before, it's risen by at least several dozen times!"

"Next, everyone's cultivation will skyrocket, and tons of rare spiritual objects and treasure medicines will emerge!"

"The space itself is far more stable—even those in the Myriad Phenomena Realm can barely make a scratch!"

"Could His Majesty have started some kind of new golden era?"

Stunned whispers echoed without end!

All the True Monarchs completely lost their composure!

It's easy to see just how astonishing this all was!

From these changes alone, it was clearly a new golden age!

A grand, magnificent era is about to begin!

Poof!

Suddenly, a spiritual light burst forth.

Xu Yang's face changed dramatically.

"Dammit!"

"How is this possible?"

He stared blankly as the Barbarian God's spiritual light forcibly tore open the Cyan Jade Yin Yang Pendant and shot into the sky. For a second he was stunned, then hurried to chase after it.

"That is…" Gu Jun's pupils shrank, hastily following close behind.

Tang Yan hesitated for a moment, then followed suit.

The other True Monarchs didn't understand, but after exchanging glances, they too followed in a rush.

In an instant, close to twenty True Monarchs roared forward like a tidal wave, tearing through the void.

"Kid, what's going on?" Gu Jun caught up and asked.

"I don't know."

"That spiritual light suddenly went berserk. It seems to be heading for the river." Xu Yang's face was grim.

This spiritual light was of great value to him!

Heading for the river…

Xu Yang's whole body trembled: "Could this be the Barbarian God's remnant will's instinctive longing? It was dead silent before, and now that the river has appeared and the world changed, it's been awakened?"

At this moment, Gu Jun struck out, a giant hand of soul force thundering toward the light.

Bam!

The giant hand shattered, the spiritual light like lightning!

Gu Jun grunted, staggering.

"I can't stop it!"

"Let me try."

Tang Yan struck as well.

A massive hammer rose, covering thousands of feet in an instant.

Boom!

Yet the spiritual light showed no change, piercing straight through the thousand phantom hammer shadows locking down the void.

Tang Yan stared in disbelief: "What the hell is that thing?"