Without giving it any further thought, Lu Yuan returned to his residence. At the same time, he summoned the Golden-Winged Great Peng and instructed it to prepare some spiritual fruits and herbs to deliver to Yinglong Ao Ze.

Ao Ze was injured. Although it could recover through its own strength, that would take time.

Now, the Celestial Court lacked no resources, and it even had the support of the Jiang Clan. Giving out some of those resources so Ao Ze could recover in a short time was hardly an issue. Besides, this was something Lu Yuan had already promised before.

Lu Yuan also ran into Jiang Ningxian on the way. Her younger brother, Jiang Haokong, still seemed to be in seclusion, so there was no sign of him. Of course, Lu Yuan was not especially concerned about that.

As for Jiang Ningxian, the very first thing she said was, "You killed Celestials again?"

There was a trace of surprise in her tone. She had thought it would still take some time before Lu Yuan and them crossed paths again, but who could have expected...

"You should know that things have long since become irreconcilable between them and I." Lu Yuan smiled and then continued, "Since that is the case, rather than wait for them to threaten me, the Celestial Court, or those around me in the future, it would be better to strike first. Besides, the Celestials provoked me again and again before. I have to collect at least some interest, don't I?"

His voice was extremely calm, as though he had merely done something utterly ordinary, something not worth dwelling on at all.

"I think that if this continues, sooner or later you really will end up with the whole world as your enemy. What will you do then?"

Jiang Ningxian sounded a little helpless. She felt that Lu Yuan's temperament truly was somewhat too forceful. But on deeper thought, it also seemed perfectly normal.

The Celestials had already set several killing traps for Lu Yuan. Had his own strength not been sufficient, he would have long since been killed. So in this matter, she understood him, and even supported him.

After all, if it had been her in his place, she might have acted even more extremely.

Lu Yuan merely flashed a smile and said, "So what if the whole world becomes my enemy? From beginning to end, I have never been the one to stir trouble first. Naturally, I will not continue enduring everything without end."

The meaning was very simple. No matter what, it had always been the other side that provoked him first.

"I understand what you mean."

Jiang Ningxian nodded, then continued, "I've already received some news from within my clan. Most of those who have descended this time are the younger generation from the various starfields. Even so, none of them can be underestimated. They are all the finest among their peers.

"Every one of them is a Ranker with their own methods. Especially those ranked near the very top, they are truly extraordinary. I believe that during the next phase of the Awakening, they will begin appearing one after another."

She had come here to tell him this. Though the news was not of critical importance, it still counted as a certain degree of warning. All in all, Jiang Ningxian truly did not want anything to happen to him.

"Many thanks." Lu Yuan nodded, then continued, "The Jiang Clan should also be preparing to act by now, correct?"

The current situation was absolutely unfavorable for Earth. If they relied on their own strength alone, it would likely be very difficult to resist the great clans and races of the starfields.

But if the Jiang Clan made a move, then it would be a different story. At the very least, it would change part of the situation.

"That's right. We've been taking action all these while." Jiang Ningxian's gaze grew solemn. "Don't worry. Since we already decided to cooperate long ago, the Jiang Clan will not merely work behind the scenes. When the time comes to act, we will definitely act."

As the Saintess of the Jiang Clan, the weight of her words was naturally different.

Naturally, Lu Yuan believed what she said. In truth, he had never placed all his hopes upon outsiders. Of course, if such help truly came, then that would be even better.

The two exchanged a few more words before parting ways.

Lu Yuan returned to his residence and continued his seclusion.

After reaching the Lesser Sage Realm, taking another step forward would likely be extremely difficult. But that did not mean he had no way left to improve his strength.

The higher one's realm, the more terrifying one's strength became. Yet sometimes, the two were not directly correlated.

Lu Yuan knew that while his realm could not advance further for the time being, there were still many ways to strengthen his combat power.

Visualization methods, breathing techniques, tempering his physique, and such—as long as he gained improvement in any of them—his strength would rise significantly.

Now, his goal was simple.

It was not to blindly pursue advancement in realm alone. Rather, the more important thing was the increase of actual combat strength.

Without doing anything else, Lu Yuan slowly closed his eyes and began cultivating the Primordial Dragon Breathing Technique.

In an instant, the world force around him continuously converged toward him. Dragon-shaped vital qi emerged from his mouth and nose. Strands of light shrouded his entire being.

At this moment, he seemed to carry an air of sacredness.

Perhaps because the Innate Spirit had remained in contact with the Celestial Emperor's Ancient Token for such a long time, the present Lu Yuan also had strands of purple aura laced with powerful pressure, surrounding him.

Of course, for now, he himself did not sense anything especially obvious.

Just like that, time ticked by.

In the outside world, the deaths of Lei Chong and the other Celestial Sages stirred up a wave of unrest.

Apart from the five supercities, many regions in the current Earth had already basically been occupied by beings from the Outer Cosmos, especially places such as mountains and rivers.

In such places, they had established bases of their own and expanded their forces. It could be said that the situation on Earth had now become extremely complicated.

These Outer Cosmos beings had not yet made their move and still remained in hiding only because they were waiting for the right opportunity.

For example, the slaughter of four Celestial Sages should have been an utter humiliation to the Celestials. Yet, in the end they still chose to swallow the humiliation because they knew that the matter could not be resolved.

Their only choice was to either launch a full-scale war or do nothing. If they chose an all-out war, it remained unknown which side would actually survive the ordeal.

The Celestials' silence also made the other Outer Cosmos beings fall silent. But in truth, everyone understood very clearly that this state of affairs would not last for much longer.

Time continued to flow. The Outer Cosmos beings remained silent, just as before. The Celestial Court continued on much as usual. Neither side made any unusual move because of the deaths of the four Celestial Sages.

Until one day...

In the region of Yellow Mountain within Huaxia, a massive earthquake erupted. At the same time, endless thunder began roaring across the heavens above.

Some nearby Awakened recorded videos of it. It was an extremely terrifying scene.

A crack had opened in the deepest part of Yellow Mountain to reveal the mouth of a cave. From inside, rays of light covering seven different colors shot outward, making the place look like the dwelling place of immortals.

The moment this event emerged, it immediately drew the focused attention of both the Celestial Court and the Outer Cosmos beings, all of whom turned their attention toward it. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Some even chose to head there directly to see what was happening. Speculations started circulating that this might be another wave of the Awakening and that Yellow Mountain surely contained great fortune and boons.

At the same time, the Outer Cosmos beings did not remain idle. They immediately set out as well.

Earlier, they had already recruited a number of people from Earth using breathing techniques and visualization methods.

So once they learned that Yellow Mountain also held many legends within Huaxia, they immediately realized that this change was anything but ordinary, and that they absolutely could not afford to miss the opportunity.

Under such circumstances, many people began to move.

The Third Awakening had officially begun!