Chapter 134. The Secret of the Nine-Colored Altar, The Celestial Emperor's Ancient Token!

When the smoke finally dissipated, the figure became increasingly clear—a solitary figure standing ramrod straight. The terrifying explosion had not affected him at all, and even the corners of his clothing remained clean, with nary a single speck of dust clinging to them.

「King Lu! It's King Lu!」

「What? King Lu is completely unharmed despite all those missiles?」

「T-This is just absurd. Can humans truly evolve to the point of taking on literal missiles?」

Everyone watching the live broadcast was stunned. Their faces twisted in disbelief, and some had their jaws on the floor.

No one had anticipated this outcome, especially when they had witnessed dozens of missiles hitting their mark.

The explosion had shaken both heaven and earth. If it hadn't been for Mount Tai's special nature, half of it would have been obliterated. Despite that, Lu Yuan remained unscathed.

This wasn't merely a miracle; it was divine intervention at this point.

Ji Huaiyuan and the others froze at the sight. They felt their scalps tingling, and their mouths becoming dry as dust. Could humans truly survive so many ICBMs?

Just how far had Lu Yuan ventured on the path of evolution?

Could any Unfettered Realm expert do such a thing, or was it just him? Just as the people became eager to find the answer, the broadcast ended. The last remaining drone could no longer stay in midair and crashed to the ground.

"Elder Ji, should we deploy more drones?" Elder Yun asked immediately.

"No need." Ji Huaiyuan shook his head. "As long as we've confirmed King Lu is safe, it's all fine. Nothing is more important than him."

His agreement with Lu Yuan stipulated that the latter was allowed to take out one item from Mount Tai. He still had no idea what Lu Yuan would take, but he had no plans of prying, as he knew it had to remain a secret.

Ji Huaiyuan's attitude toward Lu Yuan had changed once more.

As for Zhu Qingyu, Northern Emperor, Ice Fairy, and Chunyang, they were still in shock. After the bombardment, Lu Yuan remained without a scratch.

Was he still human?

The young elites looked at each other, feeling as if they were in a dream. Could the gap between humans truly be

this

vast?

***

The Bloodforce Pagoda enveloping Lu Yuan vanished, but his gaze remained sharp. Humanity's weapons of mass destruction were indeed powerful; even he had to treat them seriously.

Lu Yuan had activated the Bloodforce Pagoda to withstand the attack, but the exertion still consumed a huge portion of his power, which was unprecedented.

"The West..." Lu Yuan muttered with his eyes glimmering coldly. He decided to settle the scores with the West after leaving Mount Tai.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the Spirit Monkey. The beast was shocked by the explosion. Though not enough to kill it, the explosion was troublesome for it if it were caught off guard.

The Spirit Monkey couldn't help but stare at Lu Yuan.

"Could that be considered humanity's power, too?" it asked.

"You could say that." Lu Yuan nodded. Then, he pointed at the nine-colored altar on the platform. "Has that thing been there since the awakening?"

He had seen one at Shennong's Altar, and the fact that he encountered it again here told him that there was something more to it than on the surface.

"I'm not sure." The Spirit Monkey shook its head. "But maybe. I've just awakened my inherited memories. All I know is that the altar seems to be some kind of passageway, or you could say, an ancient road? I don't know more than that."

Beasts with powerful bloodlines generally had inherited memories, and those memories would surface upon their awakening. It was in a similar situation to the Golden-Winged Great Peng. If it wanted to unlock more of its inherited memories, it had to become even stronger.

After hearing that, Lu Yuan couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

A passageway? An ancient road?

It could mean many things.

Is it related to the Outer Cosmos?

Lu Yuan thought, knowing that mysterious beings from the Outer Cosmos would soon descend. In his previous life, they appeared like a bolt out of the blue, with very few warning signs.

By the time they were discovered, they had long infiltrated this world.

There was no shortage of terrifying figures capable of surviving in the cosmos.

Could the nine-colored altars be related to them?

Lu Yuan wondered, yet he couldn't be certain. This world held too many secrets, after all. Even he couldn't uncover them all.

Shennong's Altar, the Mausoleum... each of these harbored many great secrets. Some were related to great figures in ancient times, while some were connected to a legendary Human Sovereign.

Clearly, Mount Tai was the same.

"Forget it." Lu Yuan shook his head.

He was strong, but he was still not strong enough to explore such secrets. Perhaps he would understand something when those beings from the Outer Cosmos were finally here.

Emptying his mind, he looked at the Spirit Monkey and said, "Rest here for now. I held back earlier, so your injuries aren't that serious. You'll recover in a few hours."

Having said that, he turned and left without waiting for the Spirit Monkey's reply.

Now that he had accomplished one of his two objectives, it was time to tackle his second objective.

"You..." The Spirit Monkey stared at Lu Yuan's retreating figure. It was at a loss for words. It scratched its fur and bared its teeth, looking quite annoyed. Lu Yuan's words told the Spirit Monkey that the former had not gone all out.

Despite not going all out, he overwhelmed the Spirit Monkey. To make matters even more shocking, Lu Yuan was an entire realm lower than the Spirit Monkey.

The Spirit Monkey had its pride, but against Lu Yuan, it was helpless. Finally, it tossed aside its black iron cudgel and sat cross-legged. It seemed to know Lu Yuan still had business on Mount Tai.

The Spirit Monkey closed off its perception of the outside world. Then, its chest rose and fell as wisps of white vapor rushed in and rushed out of its mouth and nose. Its golden fur emanated light, appearing quite extraordinary.

Its organs pulsed and hummed in resonance. Clearly, the Spirit Monkey had its own breathing technique, and it was of excellent quality, even in Lu Yuan's eyes.

Lu Yuan smiled at the sight. The Spirit Monkey was one of the few mutated beasts harboring goodwill toward humanity. Even though it was aggressive in nature, it wasn't an unreasonable beast.

Thanks to its level of intelligence comparable to a human being, interaction with it proved simple. In his previous life, the Spirit Monkey even represented this world in battles against beings from the Outer Cosmos.

Having remembered that, Lu Yuan decided to subdue it instead of dealing with it.

In the future, he wouldn't be able to manage everything on his own, and he would need capable allies to stand on his side. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to work with Huaxia's top echelons.

Lu Yuan turned and swept his gaze across the Jade Emperor Peak.

The place was vast, nearly as big as a small city. The ruins before him were littered with many boulders weighing tens of thousands of tons. Finding the divine artifact he sought here was like searching for a needle in a haystack. In fact, even using the Meridian Heavenmend Furnace wouldn't work.

Fortunately, he was prepared.

With a slight turn of his hand, Fuxi's Bagua Diagram appeared and slowly unfurled before him.

The sun, the moon, and the stars depicted within emitted faint light as they slowly revolved and turned. Lu Yuan drew his sword embryo to cut his finger. Then, he allowed a drop of his blood to fall into the diagram.

Buzz!

The sun, the moon, and the stars depicted within the diagram vibrated. The

bagua

diagram shifted slowly until a bright dot appeared. The bright dot essentially acted as a waypoint.

"As expected of an artifact from Human Sovereign Fuxi," Lu Yuan remarked with bright eyes.

Fuxi's Bagua Diagram was like a navigation system that allowed him to locate divine artifacts quickly and without any fuss at all. If he had used the Meridian Heavenmend Furnace, it would have taken him forever to find one, and the indicated position wouldn't have been as accurate as Fuxi's Bagua Diagram.

Moreover, Fuxi's Bagua Diagram was more than just a navigation system.

Unfortunately, it could only find divine artifacts. It would ignore all spiritual fruits, exotic herbs, and ancient trees unless they were as exceptional as the Bodhi Tree.

Still, Lu Yuan remained satisfied. Just how many great boons existed all over the world? They couldn't all belong to him alone, could they?

Upon confirming the location of his target, Lu Yuan held Fuxi's Bagua Diagram and headed toward the waypoint.

He ventured deeper into the palace ruins, surrounded by broken walls and rubble. It felt as if he had left the mortal realm to enter the heavenly palace, but unfortunately, the heavenly palace had collapsed, becoming a part of some desolate ruins.

Neither gods nor immortals remained here. Apart from a shroud of mysterious power, the place felt utterly lifeless.

"

Oh?

" Lu Yuan paused, a realization striking him as he observed the ruins. It seemed the vast ruins weren't built atop Jade Emperor Peak but had fallen from high above instead. Traces of swords, spears, and halberds scarred the walls, suggesting an earth-shattering battle from a long time ago.

If this were truly the ruins of a heavenly palace, how had it fallen? Had there been a war, and it had been dragged down from high up?

The thought crossed Lu Yuan's mind, but it felt absurd.

Buzz!

Fuxi's Bagua Diagram trembled gently.

Lu Yuan realized that he was close; the divine artifact was near.

Judging by the layout, he stood within a great hall. Eight enormous white pillars rose beside him, carved with coiling dragons. Due to their age, however, cracks riddled the pillars.

Eventually, Lu Yuan arrived before a massive plaque. Only half of the plaque remained; the characters on it had peeled off, making it impossible to discern.

Fuxi's Bagua Diagram indicated that the divine artifact lay beneath the plaque.

Lu Yuan gripped the plaque with both hands. It weighed as much as a small mountain, and even an Unfettered Realm cultivator couldn't move it.

However, Lu Yuan was different. Golden light encircled his arms as formidable strength burst out within him.

Crack, crack, crack!

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The plaque was lifted, raising clouds of dust. Then, Lu Yuan saw it—a purple-gold ancient token emitting a soft glow. However, what caught his attention was the majestic and inviolable aura emanating from the token.

Lu Yuan took a closer look and saw two words inscribed on its surface—"Celestial Emperor".