Chapter 19. The Final Divine Treasure And a Lurking Shadow

Lu Yuan sped down the highway. In the trunk behind him, the Wordless Stone Stele lay in still silence.

After last night's phenomenon, Mount Hulong had been thrown into chaos. Everyone was busy dealing with the aftermath, and no one was concerned about Lu Yuan's departure. He merely informed one of the disciples and left.

"It's August 10th," Lu Yuan muttered to himself. "The global awakening will be arriving in about twenty days. And that meteor shower near Zhouwu City's outskirts should happen around the 20th. I should be able to make it in time."

According to his plan, he was heading to his next destination—the remote farmland that he had already purchased in Zhouwu City.

One of the meteorites contained the Celestial Sword Embryo—a truly supreme divine treasure.

That was also the final item he needed to acquire before the global awakening arrived.

Fortunately, Zhouwu City wasn't far from Hu City. Once he got the Celestial Sword Embryo, he could hurry back as soon as possible.

While mapping out his next steps, Lu Yuan turned on the car radio to see if there was any latest news. But clearly, the various information regarding any strange occurrences or the global awakening had been censored.

Every station broadcast the same usual. It was either traffic updates or old pop songs. Of course, there were also scattered fragments of odd news slipped through.

One report mentioned that a group of hikers was climbing a familiar trail. But they swore that the route was mysteriously longer than usual. Previously, they only needed two days to complete the hike, but it became a grueling weeklong expedition. It was as if the land itself had been stretched beyond recognition.

Then there was another remote village. The villagers claimed that the mountain behind it had inexplicably grown taller overnight. And the forest had turned lush and denser than before. Some curious villagers ventured in and went missing. They never came out of the mountains.

There was also a segment about Lop Nur. According to ancient tales, it was a vast marshland, but after thousands of years, it dried up and became a desolate basin. However, just recently, aerial footage captured an endless stretch of sea appearing there. Eventually, the drone lost connection mid-flight and crashed. No images were ever recovered.

Strange signs kept happening, one after another. However, most of them were fragmented and scattered pieces. It was difficult for most people to put two and two together.

So, even when these stories made the news, few paid sustained attention. They quickly lost interest and chased after the next trending topic.

"The closer we are to the global awakening, the more unpredictable things become..." Lu Yuan couldn't help but sigh as he listened to the news.

Thankfully, he had been making his preparations since his return. Otherwise, it would be hard for him to adapt to the new era.

He turned off the radio and focused on the road. It would take seven to eight hours for him to drive from Mount Hulong to Zhouwu City. There was no time for him to rest.

But soon, he realized something strange. The distance seemed to have gotten oddly longer. He felt like he had encountered the same situation as that group of hikers.

Along the way, he saw many cars stranded on the roadside due to empty fuel tanks. They could only wait for rescue.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan had come fully prepared. After more than ten hours of uninterrupted driving, he finally arrived at his destination.

***

"Boss Lu, you really snatched this place up fast. You have no idea that right after you bought the land from me, a big company reached out and offered a higher price for the same plot."

In the middle of the large farmland on the outskirts of Zhouwu City, two figures were walking side by side. The middle-aged man continued, "But I have already signed the contract with you then and so, I rejected them outright."

The man, Zhang, was the previous owner of this farmland. His skin was dark from years under the sun and though he wasn't tall, he had the sharp, calculating air of a seasoned businessman.

"Boss Zhang, even if you hadn't turned them down, you wouldn't have the authority to sell this land either," Lu Yuan replied in a calm tone. He knew exactly what the man was hinting at.

At that point in time, the land had already been signed over and belonged to Lu Yuan. All this talk now was that Zhang felt that he had sold at a loss and was trying to grab some last-minute advantage now that the land's value had risen.

Zhang let out a dry chuckle. "Boss Lu, I was just messing around. Come, let me show you around somemore." His attempt at a joke had been seen through, and now he was scrambling to divert the topic and resolve the awkwardness surrounding them.

Even so, his heart was filled with regret.

If only he had waited a little longer, he could have made a larger fortune. But who could have predicted the future?

Now, there was no place for regret. The papers were signed. And Lu Yuan was the current owner of the farmland.

The farmland wasn't particularly large—around two to three hectares—but since it was located on the outskirts of Zhouwu City, where land prices remained high, it still came at a hefty cost.

Originally, the land had been used for greenhouse vegetables and small-scale livestock farming, but business had been poor in recent years. In the end, Zhang decided to cut his losses and put the property up for sale.

Eventually, the land ended up in Lu Yuan's hands.

"Boss Lu, that villa there was built by yours truly. It's small but the interior is done up pretty nicely. If you ever have time, you can stay there too," Zhang explained the situation around the farmland. Since what was done was done, he figured he might as well be enthusiastic about it.

And who knew? Maybe if he left a good impression in front of Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan might loop him in when there was a profitable business in the future.

Lu Yuan had already noticed the building the moment he arrived. He gave a slight nod. He planned to stay there for the next few days while waiting for the meteor shower. Once the meteorite landed, he could retrieve it immediately.

Afterward, once the handover procedures were completed, Zhang took his leave. The remaining balance would be transferred to his account later.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan tidied up the house and brought the Wordless Stone Stele inside. The stele was far too precious and until he returned home, it was much safer to keep it within sight just in case anything went wrong.

For the next few days, Lu Yuan basically stayed within the villa and rarely left. However, he hadn't slacked off in his training to improve his physique, either.

His body had completely absorbed the pill essence from the Meridian Heavenmend Furnace. Now, the only thing left was to fully digest the lingering effects. Once that was done, every aspect of his physical capabilities would rise to an even greater level.

Just that, for the longest time, Lu Yuan had this feeling that someone was loitering around him. However, when he tried to focus and seek the source, he couldn't find anything. No sound, no shadow, no trace.

Initially, he thought it might just be a hallucination on his part but he dismissed that thought eventually. After all, his five senses had far surpassed those of an ordinary human. To a certain extent, he could even sense danger before it happened. It was a primal instinct that had been unlocked after his physical limits had been enhanced.

But now the issue was that, he felt that something was definitely amiss, but he couldn't catch whoever it was.

Which made this all the more bizarre.

Boss Zhang mentioned that after I signed the contract, a big company approached him but they didn't manage to get the land. Those presence that I have been feeling... could it be them?

It was a plausible theory but Lu Yuan couldn't confirm it. If they had been ordinary people there was no way they would be able to hide from him in such a confined area.

Unless they weren't ordinary, an Awakened for example. But then, the global awakening had yet to happen. Existences like Awakened shouldn't exist yet.

And if there was really someone loitering around and watching him, what were they after? Could it be they also knew about the meteorite and the Celestial Sword Embryo hidden within?

Lu Yuan had many questions, but no answers.

In the end, he decided not to dwell on it and chose to ignore it outright. Whatever their motive was, all would become clear once the meteorite landed.

So for the next few days, Lu Yuan went about his usual routine. He rarely went out, keeping his true strength off the radar. Even though the persistent feeling of being watched remained, he paid it no mind.

Very soon, August 21st arrived.

According to his memories, today was the day the meteor shower would happen. Lu Yuan had finished all his preparations and could act at a moment's notice. However, because he suspected that someone was watching, he chose to lie low.