The moment Lu Yuan sensed the commotion outside, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He rose at once and walked out the door. Very soon, he came to meet with the figure outside.

It was none other than Jiang Haokong. After a period of seclusion, he had finally emerged. The aura emanating from him was stronger than before, and his eyes shone with confidence.

"Not bad. You've entered the Lesser Sage Realm," Lu Yuan commented with a warm smile on his countenance. At the same time, he was somewhat surprised.

It seemed like Jiang Haokong's original, unsuppressed realm must have already been above the Lesser Sage Realm. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to reach this realm so directly in such a short span of time.

It was simply too fast. Even for a Ranker, such a feat was still extraordinarily difficult.

At the same time, another thought arose in Lu Yuan's mind. Since Jiang Haokong had already reached the Lesser Sage Realm, then before long—or perhaps even already now—it should be possible for beings from the Outer Cosmos at this realm to descend as well.

As expected, he truly had to stay ahead at every step. Otherwise, things would become troublesome.

"Of course. Enough talk. Now, fight me!"

Jiang Haokong paid no attention to nothing else. He immediately stepped forward as the aura around his body surged forth, then continued, "This time, we'll still compete in terms of physique. We're in the same realm now, so let's see who's stronger."

He cared about this greatly. His pride ran deep, and having just broken through, he could no longer restrain himself.

Lu Yuan, however, merely shook his head slightly and said, "Not now."

"Why not now?" Jiang Haokong looked puzzled.

"In three days, I'll be setting out for a mythical secret realm. By then, many beings will head there. I'll be taking people with me as well. But you also know that the Milky Way Starfield has only just Awakened.

"The people under me are fundamentally incapable of standing against the truly powerful. So I must remain in peak condition at all times," Lu Yuan spoke with the utmost seriousness, and there was even a sincere smile on his face.

He continued, "I know your strength. If we fight, then we'll definitely have to go all out. And if I'm injured, I won't be able to set out three days from now."

That last sentence was extraordinarily pleasing to hear, at least so in Jiang Haokong's ears.

"Is that so? Then we can simply wait until you come back and fight." Jiang Haokong thought for a moment, then said, "I'm not such an unreasonable person."

It was obvious that Lu Yuan's words suited him very well.

"Then I'll have to thank you. It's just that after I return, I'm afraid it still won't be easy to fight right away," Lu Yuan spoke, revealing a hint of his true intention. "You also know that of those who have descended now, if they join forces, it's difficult to rely on just me alone to hold them back.

"And among them, there are likely those who are no weaker than I am. The Eternals, for example. If I'm distracted, then there's a very real chance I'll be injured. That's what I'm most worried about right now."

A troubled look suffused Lu Yuan's face as he continued, "When that happens, I'm afraid I won't be able to fight you at the first opportunity."

Those words caused Jiang Haokong to fall completely silent in thought. But very soon, he spoke again at once.

"And what is so difficult about that? When the time comes, leave those people to me. Just so happens I'd like to see more of this world myself."

The instant those words were spoken, Lu Yuan's heart stirred. He knew his objective had been achieved. Yet he still put on a rather troubled expression and said, "That wouldn't be very good, would it? You also know that I've offended quite a lot of people. If the Ji Clan or the Eternals make a move, then..."

The underlying meaning was simple; he was worried that Jiang Haokong might suffer a loss before such people. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"The Ji Clan? The Eternals?" Jiang Haokong's ego seemed to have taken a hit and immediately retorted, "That's not for you to worry about. Those two races, don't even talk about their so-called Rankers. Even if their Holy Sons or Saintesses came personally, I would not fear them. It's settled, then. In three days, I'll go with you."

Having said that, he no longer paid any attention to Lu Yuan's reaction. He turned and left directly to head back toward his residence.

Not long after, Jiang Ningxian stepped out of her room. Her gaze landed on Lu Yuan before she shook her head and said, "That sort of trick would only work on that brat."

Clearly, she already knew what had just happened, but she said nothing to interfere. Because in her heart, she also felt that her younger brother truly did need some actual combat experience.

Another reason was that at present, in this world, there was still no one who could directly threaten Jiang Haokong's life.

Lu Yuan also knew that she had seen straight through his intentions, and immediately replied with a soft chuckle, "My apologies. I should have discussed it with you beforehand."

"It's fine. The way he is, he really does need someone who can keep him firmly in check."

Jiang Ningxian smiled, then continued, "During this time, I'm afraid I'll be going back into seclusion once more. Of course, if anything major happens, you can use this to notify me at any time."

She took out a jade pendant. Its entire body was pure white without the slightest impurity, flawless and perfect just like her white dress.

A character was engraved on the pendant; it was the character "Xian" in her name, Jiang Ningxian. [1]

"Understood, thank you." Lu Yuan did not turn down the gift. The two of them were already familiar enough by now that some things no longer needed to be spoken outright.

After that, the two chatted for a while longer before parting ways. Lu Yuan also returned directly to his room.

Very soon, three days flew by.

This time, the beast kings like the Peacock King did not follow. Instead, they stayed behind to guard Mount Tai.

Only the Golden-Winged Great Peng remained the same as before and served as their mount. There was no helping it since it was the only one to possess such astonishing speed.

Meanwhile, Zhu Qingyu, Chunyang, and the others had all gathered. In addition, there were several hundred others, all chosen from the Four Divisions, and all of them had cultivated a Daoist visualization method.

Everyone understood that the mythical secret realm within the Immortal's Cave would surely be no ordinary place. If one's strength was too weak, there was a very real possibility of danger. So those selected were, by and large, strong in both cultivation and every other regard.

As for why they all needed to have cultivated a Daoist visualization method, the reason was equally simple. The Immortal's Cave was rumored to have been Guang Chengzi's Dao ground. If they shared a common lineage of visualization methods, then perhaps it might make them somewhat safer inside.

No matter whether that would truly prove useful, there was never anything wrong with being cautious.

Everyone gathered looked in the same direction. Especially those several hundred selected from the Four Divisions, every one of them stood with necks craned, their eyes full of anticipation.

They all knew that the person leading them this time would be King Lu. Naturally, each and every one of them was extremely excited.

Very soon, as time passed bit by bit, two figures slowly approached from the distance. At the front was naturally Lu Yuan.

At his side was a young man in green robes, his hands clasped behind his back. His chin was slightly raised, and he radiated an air of pride. Waves of powerful energy would surge out of him from time to time.

No matter how one looked at him, they would conclude that this person was absolutely no simple figure.

However, at this moment, everyone's attention remained fixed entirely on Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan glanced at the time. He knew very well that this time, they would likely truly be facing off against those beings from the Outer Cosmos. The animosity between both sides would likely be brought fully into the open.

But Lu Yuan had long since prepared for such a day.

Saying nothing more, he took a single step forward and said, "We depart for Yellow Mountain."

1. Just a small cultural note here. In older Chinese settings, giving someone a personal item like a pendant, handkerchief, or similar belonging could carry romantic undertones. It was often used as a kind of token of affection. So yes, Jiang Ningxian handing Lu Yuan her personal pendant can definitely come across as more than just a casual gesture. ☜