Chapter 142: A Day in the Cave, a Thousand Years in the World, The Alliance of Three Clans

That is correct, it is indeed the Ancient Token of the Heavenly Emperor.

Whether it was the light it emitted or the aura it radiated, along with the continuously surging majesty—from every aspect, Lu Yuan could confirm that it was exactly the same as the one he had obtained earlier on Mount Tai. He had not expected to find a second Heavenly Emperor’s Ancient Token here.

Without pausing to overthink, he picked it up directly. As he made contact, that aura which could sweep across the eight wastelands surged forth, but unlike his first encounter, there was no rejection whatsoever. It even resonated with the one already in his mind. Because he had not yet refined it, the token only trembled slightly before slowly retracting its light.

"The second Heavenly Emperor’s Ancient Token. I wonder what kind of influence it will have once refined." Lu Yuan pondered. He knew this belonged to a category of forbidden items; according to Jiang Ningxian, this object possessed the power to canonize immortals and gods, making it both highly mysterious and powerful. It was said that obtaining this item granted one the qualification to be called a Human Emperor or Heavenly Emperor.

In short, the Heavenly Emperor’s Ancient Token was of immense importance. Even among the top ten great races in the universe, all were searching for it, desperate to possess it. Yet, he had managed to get his hands on two of them. Of course, he would not choose to refine it now. He would wait until he was in an environment that was absolutely safe and free from disturbance.

Immediately, Lu Yuan put the token away and looked at the crystal-crafted stone slab. He had observed that after special refining, the texture of this object was extremely hard; even he could not leave a mark on it. Originally, he had worried that if a divine object were hidden underground, he might never be able to retrieve it, but the situation had taken an unexpected turn.

"When I touched it, the blood in my body surged. Is this the reason?" This was Lu Yuan’s conjecture, and he felt it was very likely. The blood flowing through his entire body had been transformed by the refinement of the Human Emperor’s essence blood left behind by Shennong. Perhaps this object had been waiting for someone specifically to come and claim it.

But who exactly was the person who left the Heavenly Emperor’s Ancient Token? Was it the Dragon Race? Regarding this, Lu Yuan was not sure, but it was certainly an extraordinary existence.

"Forget it, thinking too much is useless. Let's get out of here first." Shaking his head, he placed the crystal slab back into its original position. He then used the Fuxi Bagua Chart to scan the area again, and once he was certain there were no omissions, he walked out of this immortal abode.

Zhu Qingyu, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, and the others were waiting outside. The fortuitous opportunities within the Dragon Palace had been mostly collected. No one said much, deciding to leave, as the best items were already in their hands. As for the rest, because the sea chart was incomplete, even though there were many unexplored areas, they could not access them. There was no need to go for now; perhaps at some point, another opportunity would arise.

The journey coming in had been slow because they had to deal with exotic beasts and exploration, but the journey out was much faster. The Dragon Palace was vast. On their way out, they did not encounter that group of extraterrestrial beings. Lu Yuan was very clear that any fortuitous opportunities worth taking had already been secured; no matter how much those people searched, they would find nothing.

Zhu Qingyu and the others felt no moral burden regarding this. The reason was very simple: the Dragon Palace was located on Earth. In other words, if they didn't take it, were they supposed to leave it for those outsiders? Moreover, the fortunes of the Dragon Palace—not to mention the spiritual fruits, exotic herbs, and various divine weapons—the Dragon Blood Pool alone was a massive gain for them. It could create a batch of truly powerful awakened individuals in a short period. Currently, they needed to accumulate strength to deal with those even more terrifying extraterrestrial beings.

Before long, the group burst out of the sea surface, where official warships had been patrolling and waiting to receive them.

Upon boarding the warship, they were suddenly informed that more than a month had passed since they first fell into the seabed. Just as the ancients said, "A day in the cave is a thousand years on earth." Although that was an exaggeration, such things were now truly possible.

"More than a month? But we were in the forbidden zone for less than a few hours!" The Ice Fairy was shocked, finding it incredible. This was her personal experience, and she had not noticed time passing so quickly. The Spirit Monkey and the Golden-Winged Great Peng also found it strange, but they did not doubt it.

"Folded space—perhaps the flow of time within differs from the outside," the Pure Yang Little Celestial Master said, offering his judgment. However, the Three Immortal Islands had also been a folded space, so why was there no difference there?

"Master, what should we do next?" the Golden-Winged Great Peng asked.

"Let's go back first." He could guess some of the reasons. The space where the Dragon Palace was located was completely shattered. Perhaps it was the result of some great war many years ago. Of course, this was only a judgment; to know for sure, he would have to ask Jiang Ningxian, as she knew more. Besides, he had nothing else to do for the moment, and the alchemy in the Zi-Wu Heaven-Mending Furnace had reached a critical stage. It was better to return, rest, and then make further plans.

The group had no objections and chose to head toward the Mount Tai Trial Academy. That location had basically become the headquarters for the high-level officials of China, serving as a hub to manage the five major super-cities with its abundant resources. Now, virtually all supreme commands were issued from there.

Meanwhile, on the other side, high in the sky, the Yinglong Ao Ze soared, its wings vibrating slightly and leaving a trail of light across the firmament. Its speed was immense, second only to the Golden-Winged Great Peng.

"According to the information they provided, it should be here." Ao Ze muttered to itself. Passing through layers of clouds and mist, it finally arrived at a remote mountain forest. Below were rows of antique-style buildings that looked somewhat otherworldly. Among the buildings were humans, all of whom were awakened. They discovered the Yinglong, but they did not panic; instead, they reported it upward.

Before long, a middle-aged man and a tall man in black stood below. It was the head of the Zhou family of the Wuzhou Group and the Tenth Sequence of the Celestial Race. Seeing this, the Yinglong did not hesitate and descended.

"You finally arrived." The head of the Zhou family looked at the Yinglong with a warm, welcoming smile. He knew this was the legendary Yinglong. Even if its bloodline had been suppressed, as it grew and its bloodline continued to be purified, it would definitely become a great asset to the Zhou family, perhaps even their primary fighting force.

"Don't be so polite. Between us, there is only some connection between our ancestors." Ao Ze was very calm, continuing, "Because of these connections, I only came because you said you needed my help." In myths, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan ascended to heaven riding an Yinglong, and the Zhou family belonged to a branch of the Ji bloodline. It was for this reason that it spoke thus. Ao Ze was also quite aware that the other party was merely one of the minor branches of the Ji clan.

"Yes, yes, we are well aware of the sentiment that you have come," the head of the Zhou family replied, his smile undiminished.

"Speak, what do you need me to do?" the Yinglong asked. With the connection of ancestors, helping with small tasks was not a problem. After all, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan had shown kindness to the Dragon Race, and as a descendant, it should remember that.

"In a short while, we will be hunting down a person, and we hope you can take action when the time comes." At this moment, the Tenth Sequence of the Celestial Race, named Lei Xuan, spoke up. He was naturally aware of the decision Lei You had made in the extraterrestrial realm, and now, they were preparing to execute it. As the Tenth Sequence, his own strength was very high, surpassing Ao Ze's. Even though the latter had just emerged and was not very old, if it could join them, it would be like adding an insurance policy.

"We? Are there others?" Ao Ze's eyes flickered. "Are they also from the extraterrestrial realm?" Its tone was cold; it seemed to dislike the Celestial Race. Even when facing the Zhou family, it showed this clearly. In its eyes, the relationship between the Celestial Race and the Ji clan was no secret at all.

"That's right. There are also the Sequence prodigies from the Primal Demon Race and the Three-Headed Ghost Race." Lei Xuan did not seem to mind this, continuing, "Soon, a mysterious place will open, which will gather the eyes of the world. My three great races will take this opportunity to launch a joint attack and hunt down that person. This is an order issued by our race's Saint; that person might hinder our subsequent plans and must die."

"The Sequence prodigies of the three great races are joining forces? You are dealing with someone from this world?" Ao Ze immediately deduced this, its eyes filled with disdain. In its view, even if there were grievances, they should be settled by oneself. Why join forces? From what the other party said, that person must be very strong; otherwise, there would be no need for the three races to unite.

"That's right. The name of that person is Lu Yuan. I heard he recently went to the East Sea; you must have seen him." Lei Xuan said, his eyes emitting a faint glow.

*What?* Upon hearing this name, the Yinglong felt a jolt. But it quickly calmed down and chose to look directly at the Tenth Sequence of the Celestial Race. No wonder so many people needed to join forces; Lu Yuan's strength was indeed formidable.

However, Ao Ze shook its head directly: "If you want to deal with this person, you must first consider clearly whether you can actually succeed. Furthermore, no matter what decision is made in the end, I will not choose to take action this time. You had better look for someone else. At the same time, because of my ancestors, I will treat this as if I never heard it."

Although it had only met Lu Yuan once, his strength had won its respect. Therefore, it would not agree under any circumstances. Even if someone else were involved, Ao Ze would certainly find a way to notify Lu Yuan upon receiving this news. But after all, the Yinglong race had ties to the Ji clan, so it could only choose to express ignorance, which would be a form of closure. It had its own thoughts and would not do certain things for the sake of so-called sentiment and connections. Of course, as for what to do later, Ao Ze had its own plans.

After speaking, it ignored the head of the Zhou family and the Tenth Sequence of the Celestial Race, soared into the sky, and vanished into the horizon. It had thought it was something important; since it was only this, the Yinglong naturally did not want to stay any longer.

"This..." The head of the Zhou family was stunned. He had not expected that, given the relationship between their ancestors, the other party would refuse so bluntly. Things should not have turned out this way. Could it be that Lu Yuan did something in the East Sea? But what could it be that would make the usually arrogant Yinglong act this way?

"The Dragon Race is just like it was before; they are truly unreliable." Lei Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly dissatisfied. "Forget it. We have been planning for a long time, and all preparations are complete. As long as no one interferes, that Lu Yuan will surely die this time!"