Chapter 19: The Last Divine Artifact, Someone Is Watching

On the highway, Lu Yuan drove forward. In the trunk, the wordless stone tablet lay silently. There had been changes at Mount Dragon and Tiger, and everyone there was busy. So when he left, he merely informed them briefly, and no one paid much attention.

"It's August 10th now, about twenty days before the anomaly arrives. The meteor shower at the outskirts of Wuzhou City should happen around the 20th. I should make it in time," Lu Yuan muttered to himself. His next plan was to head to the farmland he had bought in advance near Wuzhou City.

Within the falling star was a sword embryo from beyond the heavens—the true supreme artifact. It was the last thing he had to obtain before the anomaly descended. Fortunately, Wuzhou was not far from Hu City; after acquiring it, he could rush back quickly.

While planning, Lu Yuan turned on the car radio to check for any latest news. But it was obvious that all information regarding the anomaly seemed to be blocked. The channels were as usual—traffic reports, songs, and so on. There were scattered odd stories: a group of hikers climbing a mountain found the journey much longer than before; what used to take two days now took a week, as if the earth had stretched.

In another village, the mountain behind suddenly grew taller overnight, vegetation flourished. Curious villagers who entered were never seen again. There was more about Lop Nur: legend said it was once a marsh, but dried up over centuries. Recently, someone used a drone and discovered an endless sea had appeared there; the drone lost contact and crashed, so no footage was available.

Strange events kept occurring, one after another, but most were fragmented reports, hard to piece together. Even if they made the news, few paid sustained attention, always chasing the next trending topic.

"The closer the time gets, the more variables there are," Lu Yuan sighed while listening. Thankfully, he had prepared from the beginning; otherwise, it would be hard to adapt to the new era.

He turned off the news and focused on driving. The journey from Mount Dragon and Tiger to Wuzhou City would take seven or eight hours, so he had no intention of resting. Strangely, though, Lu Yuan found the distance seemed to have grown, just like the hikers before.

Along the way, many vehicles had run out of fuel and waited at the roadside for assistance. But Lu Yuan had prepared thoroughly for this trip. After more than ten hours of continuous driving, he finally reached his destination.

...

"Mr. Lu, you acted so quickly," said a middle-aged man walking beside him in the vast farmland just outside Wuzhou City. "You know, not long after you bought my farmland, a big company came knocking, wanting to pay more."

The man was the previous owner, named Zhang—dark-skinned, not tall, but shrewd in appearance. "But I had already signed the contract with you, so I turned them down."

"Even if you hadn't refused, the land couldn't be sold," Lu Yuan replied calmly. He knew exactly what Zhang meant; the ownership was already his. Zhang merely felt he'd lost out and was hoping to gain a little more.

"Heh, Mr. Lu, I was just joking. Come, let me show you around," Zhang laughed awkwardly, trying to change the subject and mask his regret. He could have waited and made a fortune—who would have guessed things would turn out this way? But regret was useless now; the contract was signed, and Lu Yuan was the owner.

The farmland wasn't particularly large, about thirty or forty acres. Wuzhou was a major city, and even suburban land was expensive. It was originally used for growing greenhouse vegetables and livestock, but business had been poor in recent years. So Zhang chose to sell, and it ended up in Lu Yuan's hands.

"Mr. Lu, that's the villa I built myself. It's small, but nicely furnished. You can stay there whenever you like," Zhang said, introducing various details. Since things were settled, he figured it was better to be hospitable—perhaps Lu Yuan would remember him if a lucrative opportunity arose.

Lu Yuan had already noticed the house and nodded, thinking he could stay there for the next few days, quietly await the falling star, and seize it at the first opportunity.

After completing the handover, Zhang departed, expecting his final payment soon. Lu Yuan tidied the house, bringing the wordless stone tablet inside. Such a precious item was best kept close until he returned home, to guard against loss.

For the next several days, he stayed almost entirely indoors, never forgetting to train and strengthen his body. The medicinal essence from the Furnace of Noon and Midnight had already fused with his flesh; now he needed only to fully absorb its effects.

In this way, all his physical attributes would continue to improve.

Yet during this time, for reasons unknown, Lu Yuan constantly felt the presence of someone nearby. Whenever he tried to investigate, he found nothing. At first, he dismissed it as illusion, but later he rejected that notion—his senses were far beyond ordinary, even capable of foreseeing danger. Such instincts arose from pushing his body to its limits.

But the problem remained: he sensed something was wrong, but found no trace of anyone. It was very odd.

"Boss Liu said after the contract was signed, a big company approached him but failed to buy the land. Could those people be the ones I've been sensing?" Lu Yuan wondered, but couldn't be sure. If they were ordinary people, they couldn't escape his scrutiny within such a limited area. Unless they were awakened individuals—but the anomaly hadn't happened yet, so such beings shouldn't exist for now.

If there were people nearby, what was their purpose? Did they also know about the sword embryo hidden within the falling star?

Lu Yuan had many questions, but no answers.

In the end, he stopped pondering and chose to ignore the matter. Whatever the reason, everything would become clear when the falling star arrived.

So over the following days, Lu Yuan went about as usual, rarely leaving the house and concealing his strength. Even though the sense of being watched persisted, he paid it no mind.

Soon, August 21st arrived.

According to his memory, today was the day the falling star would descend. Lu Yuan was already prepared, ready to act at any moment. But suspecting he was being monitored, he chose to stay dormant.