Chapter 183. Fog of Mystery, the Age of Myths, Another Celestial Emperor's Ancient Token

Yinglong had lost.

Even the physique it took pride in could not hold out. It was suppressed and forced to retreat right before everyone's eyes.

Zhu Qingyu and Ice Fairy couldn't help but cover their mouths in shock. They had indeed embarked on the path of evolution, becoming Awakened with considerable talent.

However, a dragon was still a being of myths. Its presence was significant to the people of Huaxia, but now, it looked rather disheveled upon being forced to eat Lu Yuan's knuckle sandwiches.

Right now, they truly believed that Lu Yuan could even slay a dragon if he wished.

They had already made a generous estimation of his strength, but it seemed their estimation was still far from enough. He was indeed unfathomable.

Lu Yuan rushed forward. His organs rumbled, his flesh radiated light, and his vital qi churned so fiercely that the seawater around him was dyed a golden hue.

"I'm done. I'm done." Yinglong shrank back at the sight. "You are really strong."

These were its honest words. It had been sealed by its kin precisely because its potential was immense, and its power ranked among the best of its generation.

It had just been released, but a human immediately defeated it through sheer overwhelming power rather than some tricks.

Yinglong acknowledged its defeat. Besides, it never really wanted to fight to the death.

"You're not bad yourself." Lu Yuan stopped, withdrawing his aura. The terrifying pressure from before vanished completely, making him appear no different from an ordinary person.

He was being honest as well. The dragon before him was truly worthy of the name "Yinglong," as it managed to withstand his attacks for so long.

Of course, Lu Yuan also knew the dragon only wanted a good fight and nothing more. This was why he had never used lethal force against the dragon.

With that in mind, he smiled. "Now then, can we proceed with our trade?"

He was referring to trading something for that pool of blood.

"I'll just give it to you," Yinglong replied, "I, Ao Ze, have always admired those stronger than myself ever since I was born. Your strength surpasses mine. As the saying goes, the capable should possess what they deserve.

"Besides, I'm done using it, and the blood pool is useless to me now. If you want it, it's yours."

Ao Ze was its name, and it was pretty generous, as evidenced by how it decided to gift the blood pool to Lu Yuan rather than exchange it with something else.

Hearing that, Lu Yuan nodded. Since things had already reached this point, there was no need for him to stand on ceremony. Perhaps they could even make Yinglong join the Celestial Court.

"Ao Ze? The dragon clans of the Four Seas also bear the surname Ao. Are we really in one of the Dragon Palaces of the Four Seas?" Zhu Qingyu asked, realizing the crux of the matter.

"Why wouldn't it be? The dragon clans of the Four Seas have always existed. It's just that a great calamity forced them out of this world." Ao Ze shrank its body down to about three meters in length, then spoke. It clearly knew many things.

"A great calamity?" Lu Yuan recalled the stone stele Shennong had left behind in Shennongjia. The words "Great Calamity" were written on it. He immediately looked at Ao Ze, asking, "What do you mean by 'great calamity'? And you mentioned being sealed. Why would the dragons do such a thing?"

He had already gathered a great deal of information, and all of it pointed to the same question: a great calamity had occurred a long time ago. The so-called "great calamity" was very likely one of Earth's greatest secrets, so Lu Yuan wanted to learn more.

"I don't know the specifics. I'm one of those my dragon clan had left behind here." Ao Ze shook its head and explained. "In the millennia following the Separation of Heaven and Earth, all living things were suppressed.

"The bloodlines of all divine beings regressed, including mine. Before my father sealed me, he said I should not have been born in this era. Less than three years after my birth, he sealed me away. And it wasn't just my dragon clan. Many beings in this world migrated to the Outer Cosmos.

"My kin left this blood pool behind many years ago."

Ao Ze glanced at the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the Spirit Monkey. Its gaze turned strange when it landed on the Golden-Winged Great Peng.

According to ancient tales and myths, the two races preyed upon each other and could be considered natural enemies to a certain extent. Even though Ao Ze had never encountered one before, it could feel its identity deep within its bloodline.

Everyone present was slightly stunned upon hearing that. In other words, Ao Ze was only three or four years old?

"What's so strange about that?" The Golden-Winged Great Peng spoke up. "I'm only about five or six years old myself."

The Spirit Monkey nodded. In truth, any mutated beast with a powerful bloodline was generally quite young.

The Separation of Heaven and Earth,

Lu Yuan thought. When he combined what Jiang Ningxian had told him, many ideas came to his mind.

In ancient times, and even afterward, Earth once had a brilliant civilization. Perhaps it was the legendary Age of Myths, but for some unknown reason, the sages of humanity actively decided to seal Earth.

"Wait, that doesn't add up." Zhu Qingyu voiced her confusion. "The Separation of Heaven and Earth was supposedly carried out by Zhuanxu, one of the Five Emperors.

"And according to historical records, Emperor Zhuanxu lived less than five thousand years ago."

Zhu Qingyu found it strange. According to Ao Ze, it was sealed after the Separation of Heaven and Earth. But by that time, there had already been some degree of historical documentation. The timeline didn't really match the historical records.

"It seems those records were deliberately concealed. If we refer only to the official history, many things shouldn't have happened at all," Chunyang said, sounding solemn. He had learned many things from the ancient texts in the Celestial Master's Residence on Mount Hulong.

"Indeed. My sect has some relevant records about that, too." Monk Huikong agreed, believing that everything could not be explained by history alone.

Lu Yuan fell into brief silence, many questions arising in his mind. Were the figures recorded in history, such as Guang Chengzi and Laozi, truly people of those eras? Or had they lived until those times and simply happened to be recorded?

No one could know for sure. According to Jiang Ningxian, no one could uncover the truth except for beings like the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

There was also the matter of a group of people who were originally from Earth but had migrated out of this world. For example, the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan, which were about to return to Earth.

"It seems you all know more than I expected." Ao Ze appeared somewhat surprised upon hearing them speak. It knew that a time had passed since it was sealed, but it didn't know exactly how long it had been since then.

After all, it was still considered a child.

"Very well." Ao Ze turned toward Lu Yuan. "I'm quite pleased to stumble upon someone as powerful as you, even though I had just emerged.

"Once my transformation is truly complete, my bloodline will advance another level, and my strength will increase drastically. I'll come and find you for another sparring by then.

"I made a promise to someone and have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."

With that, it nodded to Lu Yuan in acknowledgement and shot toward the exit.

As a dragon, it could easily leave this distorted folded space.

Thanks to the Separation of Heaven and Earth, all living things on Earth regressed in all aspects. Now that suppression is fading away, does that mean they can evolve even further beyond?

Lu Yuan pondered, thinking of his mount, the Golden-Winged Great Peng.

Since it had a Mythical Bloodline, it couldn't be

this

weak. The same was true for Ao Ze. Its innate bloodline talent was suppressed, and it needed the dragon blood left behind by its kin to purify its bloodline.

Indeed, the stronger he became, the fog of mystery around the world only seemed to become even thicker rather than the opposite.

Without dwelling on it any further, Lu Yuan addressed everyone.

"Anyway, let's go and collect that blood pool."

Their expedition to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace had gone smoothly. They hadn't encountered much danger and had obtained all sorts of unexpected rewards.

Moreover, Zhu Qingyu, Chunyang, and the others had gained valuable experience.

In the future, they could begin handling matters on their own. The rapidly changing conditions of this world meant that the Celestial Court would only grow stronger from here on.

Lu Yuan's gaze was already on the universe itself.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The Milky Way Starfield had once been an incomparably glorious starfield, as the Celestial Court of ancient times was founded here. Those who had migrated from the starfield became overlords of the universe and were among the top hundred starfields of today.

Why couldn't he restore the Celestial Court to its former glory?

Following Lu Yuan's command, everyone walked into the Water-Crystal Palace again.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng devoured the blood pool to collect it. Ao Ze had already used it, so not much dragon blood essence remained, but it was still more than enough for all of them.

The others searched the palace, looking for anything to collect.

Unfortunately, there was nothing aside from the palace itself.

The throne at the highest point of the hall looked rather impressive.

Since it couldn't claim that iron pillar for itself, the Spirit Monkey thought about taking that throne away instead. It could just throw a throne chair at its enemies and catch them off guard.

It tried to take the thone away, but it wouldn't budge even an inch.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but laugh at the sight. It seemed the Spirit Monkey was still a monkey at heart.

He flipped his hand, producing Fuxi's Bagua Diagram. He suspected that there wasn't anything left here, but he still wanted to try. He dripped fresh blood onto the diagram, and it began moving on its own.

Hum!

The next moment, a tiny point of light appeared on the diagram.

This Bagua Diagram came from Human Sovereign Fuxi himself, so anything it could detect had to be at least a divine artifact.

Without hesitation, Lu Yuan walked toward the tiny point of light.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng and the Spirit Monkey exchanged glances with the Ice Fairy and the others. Since there was nothing else here, they all headed outside together.

At times like these, it was best to leave of their own accord.

Everyone had secrets to hide, and it would be inappropriate to pry.

Chunyang and Monk Huikong had no objections either. Lu Yuan was the Lord of the Celestial Court, after all. In other words, they all had to follow his orders.

Soon, only Lu Yuan remained in the entire Water-Crystal Palace. Following the Bagua Diagram's guidance, he walked to the very center of the palace.

The blood pool was once here, but the Golden-Winged Great Peng had already collected it, leaving only a shiny floor.

The floor seemed to be made of blocks of crystals, but they didn't really look like anything special. It wouldn't have attracted anyone's attention. Had it not been for the Bagua Diagram, even Lu Yuan wouldn't have come here.

"It's beneath this?" Lu Yuan suddenly found himself in a difficult position.

The palace was crafted by dragons, and the materials used to build it were far too unique and sturdy. He wanted to move the crystals away, but he was too weak to do it.

Still, Lu Yuan decided to give it a try. He pressed his palm on the floor.

Rumble!

The blood inside him churned, and the crystal block beneath his hand actually rose on its own.

Lu Yuan's face changed upon seeing the so-called treasure.

It was an ancient-looking token with a purple-gold hue. It emanated a majestic aura, and two distinct words were written on it, saying, "Celestial Emperor"!

It was another Celestial Emperor's Ancient Token!