After leaving behind those final words, Jiang Ningxian returned to her room.

Lu Yuan was left alone in the courtyard, still seated where he was. He watched the fallen leaves rustle across the yard, his expression remaining as calm as ever.

"The Great Age... who will be the one to walk to the very end?" he spoke softly, reiterating that same line. Eventually, a faint smile appeared on his countenance.

The New Era—the Era of Evolution—would only grow more dangerous, but at the same time, it would also become more and more magnificent.

He was looking forward to it.

Saying nothing more, he rose directly to his feet, returned to his room and entered seclusion once more.

No matter what the future held, strength was still everything.

Lu Yuan understood that very clearly. The Void Sage Realm was not the end. Neither were the Lesser Sage and Great Sage Realms. Not even the Immortal Realm.

He had long since made every preparation. His ultimate goal was to reach the supreme peak.

And just like that, time continued to flow onward.

The Celestial Court's strength and foundations continued to expand, while Lu Yuan once again inscribed the names of certain individuals on the edict, allowing them to partake in the Providence. Their Talents became greater than before, and their evolution advanced even faster than in the past.

At the same time, the transfer of authority had more or less been completed, though Elder Ji and the others were still the ones managing things.

Now, it was simply under a different name.

The Celestial Court had begun to preside over everything. But aside from steadily accumulating strength, the Four Divisions had also started sending people to monitor the various changes taking place in the outside world.

At the same time, an announcement was issued, urging both the common people and the Awakened to enter the five supercities whenever possible.

The notice made it clear that the future would be dangerous. They should think first of preserving their lives.

By now, the Celestial Court's prestige could be said to eclipse every other power in the world.

As such, once the announcement was released, many people obeyed. So long as they had no pressing matters to attend to, they entered the supercities.

At the same time, the Peacock King, the Spirit Monkey, the Nine-tailed Fox King and other beast kings also began warning the mutated beasts not to stir up trouble at will.

Also, if they encountered unknown experts, then regardless of that person's purpose, they were to retreat at once.

Under such circumstances, the entire world fell into silence.

In the outside world, only certain beings from the Outer Cosmos remained somewhat active.

But that was all. They did not do anything excessive.

However, those beings also understood that the Celestial Court—and that human, Lu Yuan—had likely sensed something.

However, that changed nothing. The trend of the age was not something anyone could reverse.

And so, the days continued to pass in this manner.

Then, one particular day, a group of Outer Cosmos beings headed deep into a certain mountain region.

They were from the Nether Bull Clan, though their strength was not especially great. They were only at the fifth stage, the Venerable King Realm.

After entering, they all gathered together and lowered their heads slightly, appearing deeply respectful.

Buzz!

Before long, layers of spatial ripples suddenly emerged in an open stretch of land in the distance. Then, very quickly, they formed into a spatial passageway.

Within it, one shadow after another appeared.

At the very front was a man dressed in white robes, with white hair and golden pupils. His figure was tall and slender, and a pair of wings sprouted from his back. Arcs of lightning coiled endlessly around his body, and his entire being radiated an overwhelmingly powerful pressure.

He slowly stepped out of the spatial passageway.

The moment his feet touched this land, countless arcs of lightning shot outward.

In an instant, the giant rocks and towering trees around him collapsed with a thunderous crash.

It was as though his body itself carried an unbearable weight.

Behind him stood more than ten others with wings on their backs as well, both men and women.

"Greetings, Lord Lei Xiao. Greetings, esteemed lords of the Celestials."

The moment the Nether Bulls saw those people appear, they did not hesitate in the slightest and bowed their heads at once. Paired with their enormous bodies, the scene looked somewhat bizarre.

"What is the current situation on Earth?" the man at the front asked.

His name was Lei Xiao, a prodigy of the Celestials, and a highly-ranked Ranker. His status was wholly incomparable to Lei Xuan who had descended before him.

At those words, the Nether Bull Clan did not dare conceal anything at all and immediately reported everything in full.

"The human... Lu Yuan?" Lei Xiao spoke slowly, a trace of killing intent surfacing in his eyes. "He can be considered a figure of some note. But unfortunately, he is far too arrogant."

"Anyone who offends the Celestials will be reduced to ashes."

The moment Lei Xiao finished speaking, he stepped forward. The lightning around him burst into violent motion, causing the distant mountains to tremble and the earth itself to split apart.

He was extremely powerful. He had already entered the Sage Realm, and coupled with his terrifying bloodline, his combat strength far surpassed others at the same level.

Yet although Lei Xiao's killing intent toward Lu Yuan was incomparably intense, he did not immediately choose to head for Mount Tai.

Instead, he simply led the other Celestials under him, along with the Nether Bull Clan, and left the region at once.

Their descent this time was not solely for revenge.

As such, Lei Xiao did not act rashly. He would wait until everything had been properly arranged before making further plans.

At the same time, in another mountain range, a spatial passageway was opened once more.

One enormous phantom after another slowly appeared.

There were members of the Yin Sparrow Race, the Three-Headed Ghost Race, and even the Primeval Daemon Race.

Together, they had opened a passageway and chosen to descend.

Every single being among them possessed an exceptionally powerful aura, completely unlike those who had previously come to Earth. In terms of strength and Talent, there was nearly an entire gulf between them.

And that, in turn, meant only one thing.

The great clans of the Outer Cosmos had ended their probing.

Their true descent had begun.

Meanwhile, in the Hengduan Mountains, the same spatial passageway appeared once again.

But unlike before, the ones who emerged this time were not members of the Spirit Clan.

There were three of them. Two men and one woman.

They did not differ much from humans in appearance, their figures tall, slender, and flawless.

Yet behind each of their heads, rings of divine light flickered into view.

They were like true heavenly gods descending into the mortal world. And within their bodies, there lurked an aura so powerful that it was almost terrifying. Brilliant divine radiance continuously surged from them.

"Hmm? Where are those few Spirit Clan people? Why aren't they here?" the woman asked as she examined the surroundings. Her brows couldn't help but crease into a frown.

She seemed rather displeased that no one was present to receive them after their descent.

"Could something have happened to them?" The man on the left spoke and turned to the one in the center.

"My lord?" he called out.

The person in the middle did not answer immediately. He merely closed his eyes.

After about half an hour, he finally opened his eyes.

A sharp gleam flashed within them, and then he slowly said, "I've just received word from the clan. Ling Que and the others are already dead. Based on our preliminary judgment, in this world, the only one capable of killing them is that Lu Yuan."

"The human Lu Yuan who shattered the plan of the Immortals?" the woman spoke. "He does have some skills, then."

She then continued, "Since he grew up in this world, a thread of the Great Age's Providence has likely already been born within him."

With a smile in his eyes, and a trace of amusement in his expression, the man at the front commented, "A person like that is very difficult to kill. Still, for him to have repelled the Immortals truly does exceed my expectations. I'm very interested in him.

"So what if he possesses the Great Age's Providence? For the sake of this world, for the sake of this era, my Eternal Clan has been preparing for a very long time already."

The woman then said, "If that man truly has some ability, and if he knows enough to bow his head and submit, then we need not pursue the matter of what he did before.

"Joining our clan is what he ought to do."