Chapter 144: Breaking Through the Realm, Strength Further Enhanced, Child of the Great Era

A sharp gleam burst from Lu Yuan's eyes.

His entire body's power surged like a breached river.

The golden blood qi was more resplendent than before, dazzling and brilliant, illuminating the entire room.

A full twenty-eight grotto-heavens were nurtured and born, each containing a true deity.

They were completely connected to his mind and spirit.

With just a thought,

they could be deployed at any moment, directly bestowing twenty-eight times the combat power.

Furthermore, the power radiating from his physical body had now surpassed the Golden Body realm.

It had directly reached the fifth stage of evolution: the Sovereign King realm, profound and majestic.

Even though it had not been fully unleashed,

it was vastly more immense than before.

Fortunately, suppressed by the Ziwu Mending Heaven Cauldron, it did not leak outward.

Yet even so, it was already immensely powerful and terrifying.

Lu Yuan possessed a profound foundation, and with the augmentation of numerous divine treasures, his combat prowess was astonishing to the extreme. The improvement he gained from breaking through his realm was immense. Just as it was now, it was simply impossible to practice cultivation and evolution in peace.

"Given this situation, it seems I will need to find a secluded place specifically for this purpose in the future."

Seeing this, a hint of a smile involuntarily surfaced in his eyes.

He knew that if things continued this way,

even the Ziwu Mending Heaven Cauldron would fail to suppress his surging power from leaking out.

Every shockwave and evolution was bound to cause a certain degree of impact on the surrounding environment.

The path of evolution was the path of becoming a god. The transcendent power grew increasingly terrifying, to the point where eventually even the heavens and earth could no longer suppress it.

Especially upon reaching the Sanctuary stage, it was something else entirely. The word "Saint" carried profound significance, fundamentally differing from the previous realms.

Reaching this stage allowed one to survive in outer space, and walking to the very end could even shatter minor stars. It was a true metamorphosis during evolution, something that human language could no longer adequately describe.

Therefore, even though they were separated by just a single stage, the gap between the Sovereign King realm and the Sanctuary realm was astronomical.

It was difficult to put into words. Just like now, Lu Yuan's next target

was the sixth stage, the Quasi-Saint realm.

Yet to achieve this,

even with his profound foundation, the difficulty was exceedingly high.

Within the various star fields of the deep void, the Sanctuary level belonged to the backbone of core strength.

Do not be fooled by the fact that it only consisted of three sub-realms; in reality, it was further divided into many steps that required one to tread carefully and comprehend step by step.

"Next, I need to stabilize my own realm, and then I can head to some famous mountains and great rivers to seek out inheritance and fortuitous encounters," Lu Yuan muttered to himself, pondering in his heart.

From the very beginning, his goals had been exceptionally clear, and he possessed a well-prepared plan, knowing precisely what to do.

Right now, ordinary people understood that reaching the sixth stage, the Quasi-Saint realm, after attaining the Sovereign King realm was exceptionally difficult.

It required a long period of accumulation, and some might never break through in the end.

But Lu Yuan was different.

He knew that this world was still undergoing recovery and rejuvenation.

He understood that there were numerous inheritances and fortuitous encounters, and as long as he seized the initiative, he could always remain a step ahead.

Currently, less than three years had passed since the initial mutation.

Yet he had already reached the fifth stage of evolution.

No one in his previous life had ever managed to achieve this.

Immediately after,

Lu Yuan stopped dwelling on these thoughts and directly left the room.

Everyone in the trip to the East China Sea Dragon Palace had reaped tremendous benefits.

Presumably, during this process, everyone's strength and realms had undergone significant transformations.

And just as he had anticipated, Zhu Qingyu, Fairy Ice, and the others had successively shattered multiple shackles. The Pure Yang Little Celestial Master in particular had directly shattered ten. By estimation, this group of people would at least manage to break a dozen or twenty shackles.

Although there was still a massive gap between them and Lu Yuan, this was already quite remarkable.

The shattering of genetic shackles was by no means an easy feat.

Especially since they also had the guidance of the Three Immortals Islands,

which was equivalent to receiving a systematic education, allowing them to progress far faster than anyone else.

All in all, the group affiliated with the Heavenly Court was growing sturdily.

Furthermore, the outside world had descended into chaos once more. Many extraterrestrial deities had gained the support and allegiance of domestic factions.

They had seized several famous mountains and great rivers to serve as strongholds, welcoming their future clansmen, which caused dissatisfaction among some citizens.

After all, no matter how one looked at it, those were outsiders; yet the people also knew the reality of the situation.

Even greater and more powerful entities were about to descend, and it was simply impossible to stop them.

Unless an all-out war was triggered.

But with the current strength of China and Earth, how could they possibly resist?

Fortunately, because Lu Yuan had slaughtered a batch of powerful extraterrestrial beings during this period, no outright hostile actions against humans had occurred yet. Relatively speaking, it was somewhat more peaceful than the initial mutation.

Only no one knew that this peace was extremely fragile and could be shattered at any moment.

Earth was currently protected by some mysterious power.

But what if

that power were to vanish?

Everyone carried a deep sense of crisis, knowing that the only way out was to strengthen themselves.

Fortunately, the authorities were not idle either, actively responding by building the Heavenly Court and absorbing more awakened individuals to join.

After coming out of secluded cultivation and understanding all this, Lu Yuan remained very calm. Back when the extraterrestrial beings descended, a massive turmoil had occurred; being able to temporarily maintain stability now was, at the very least, not a bad thing.

As long as he continued to grow stronger, the situation would remain under control.

After taking a stroll around the trial academy,

he prepared to return to his room to consolidate his realm.

Midway, however, he ran into Jiang Ningxian, who was just walking out.

"Stronger again?" Jiang Ningxian's eyes brightened, and then she smiled, "It seems King Lu's harvest in the East China Sea Dragon Palace was quite good."

She seemed to enjoy chatting with Lu Yuan. Supporting her chin with both hands, she leaned over the courtyard wall, two cute dimples appearing on her face.

If one ignored her identity, she easily resembled an exceptionally pretty girl next door.

After interacting with her for a while, he found her personality to be quite pleasant as well, completely lacking any aloof airs.

"Not bad,"

Lu Yuan smiled, then asked about folded spaces.

He and the others had gone to the Dragon Palace, spending only a few hours there from start to finish, yet a full month had passed in the outside world.

He was unfamiliar with this phenomenon, and as various places continued to undergo recovery and mutations in the future, folded spaces and mythological realms would only multiply. He needed to understand them in advance.

"Time dilation?" Hearing this, Jiang Ningxian first fell into contemplation before offering an explanation. Such situations did occur, but generally, it meant that the spatial realm was not very stable, or perhaps it contained some special energy.

The one in the East China Sea Dragon Palace fell under the category of an unstable space, which might have experienced a fierce battle.

However, as for what that place had actually been through, she could not say for sure.

After all, a very long time ago,

Jiang Ningxian's ancestors had migrated to other star fields.

"Is that so? I understand."

Lu Yuan nodded. At the very least, he had acquired information regarding folded spaces from her.

"Right, the restrictions of the heavens and earth are gradually lifting. I may go into secluded cultivation for a period of time next. If anything comes up, look for Uncle Jiang first," Jiang Ningxian said with a smile.

Ever since the second recovery and mutation, her situation had always been like this, because her bloodline talent was no longer suppressed.

Just like now, even though her strength and realm did not appear very high, as time went on,

she would inevitably become immensely powerful.

Lu Yuan could perceive this.

He understood that if she were not suppressed by this realm, her cultivation level would surpass his own.

"Alright." Without saying much else, he nodded in acknowledgment.

Immediately afterward, both returned to their respective rooms.

Jiang Ningxian did not begin her cultivation immediately.

"Father said that the Milky Way Star Field is welcoming a great era, eventually leading the entire cosmos into a brilliant golden age. Prodigies from various star fields will vie for supremacy, stepping onto that ultimate path of evolution. And this world possesses unique conditions that will give birth to several Children of the Great Era. Will this Lu Yuan become one of them?"

She recalled what her father had instructed her before her departure. Put simply, this place was far too extraordinary.

In the future, it might become the center of the entire universe, and the so-called Child of the Great Era

was someone imbued with the convergence of fortune and destiny.

Of course,

this was not limited to the natives of this world.

Anyone who descended would have the opportunity to be favored by fortune and destiny.

Yet such things were profound, illusory, and difficult to articulate or define precisely.

What Jiang Ningxian was thinking now was that, based on Lu Yuan's performance, he truly qualified to be called a Child of the Great Era.

"I must speed up as well. Many acquaintances will soon appear, and it will certainly be interesting when we meet again."

She smiled softly, then waved her hand, causing an unknown light barrier to materialize.

It enveloped her entire body, providing a protective barrier.

With that,

her secluded cultivation could proceed without any issues.

Meanwhile, on the other side,

Lu Yuan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

He had just entered the Sovereign King realm, and with his strength greatly increased, he needed time to properly digest and adapt to it.

At the same time, upon reaching this realm, he had to retrain his five viscera and six bowels, purging all impurities, deifying them, and ultimately achieving a true union of spirit and flesh.

If the path of evolution was likened to sailing across a turbulent sea, the physical body was the boat, and the spirit was the voyager within.

Only when the two achieved true unity could one reach the other shore across the boundless sea of suffering.

Therefore, the Sovereign King realm was exceptionally crucial, acting as the stepping stone before sainthood.

Lu Yuan did not dare to take his cultivation and evolution at this stage lightly.

Especially after completely digesting and adapting to his newfound strength,

he needed to begin retraining his internal organs. Fortunately, this was not too troublesome for him.

Having fused with the eleventh-grade Blood Slaughter Pagoda and the Great Sun Flame Divine Cauldron, Lu Yuan could be said to have reached a near-perfect state regarding his physique and internal organs; he only lacked their ultimate deification.

This would complement the genetic shackles he had previously unlocked,

allowing him to unleash even greater might and more terrifying potential.

Thus, he entered secluded cultivation, though unlike before, he did not need to pour his entire mind and soul into it.

He could still spare a portion of his consciousness to handle other matters,

such as monitoring the development of the external situation

and studying the Heavenly Emperor's Ancient Token.

Just like that,

time ticked away bit by bit.

A few days later, Lu Yuan finally adapted to all his power, wielding it as smoothly as his own fingers.

Yet on that very day, when he once again took out his communicator to check messages and news,

he suddenly spotted a post accompanied by a video. The content was simple: Mount Kongtong had been behaving very unusually recently, emitting boundless auspicious multicolored light day and night that pierced straight into the sky, and various extraterrestrial creatures had begun continuously approaching the area.

At the same time, official institutions responsible for monitoring famous mountains and great rivers had also detected extremely mysterious energy fluctuations at Mount Kongtong.

It seemed that a massive space had been concealed within it,

and it now appeared to be on the verge of manifesting into the world.

(End of this chapter)