Chapter 1118: Night Talk

The night sky was dotted with twinkling stars.

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged on the mountaintop. He gazed at the tents below, where bonfires glowed. Stretching, he mused that the rescue mission for Cangxuan Heaven had been largely confirmed. All that remained was to inform the other eight regions of Hunyuan Heaven, and then the forces from Tianyuan Region could depart.

Although the situation for Cangxuan Heaven's main forces might not be ideal at the moment, after so many years, Zhou Yuan still felt a surge of joy at the prospect of seeing those familiar faces again.

His companions, with whom he had striven together years ago, were now beginning to make their mark.

Faint footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.

Zhou Yuan turned his head to see Zuoqiu Qingyu and Lv Luo approaching. Under the moonlight, one was charming and enchanting, while the other was pure and lovely. Their presence seemed to imbue the moonlit scene with a delightful vibrancy.

They sat down on either side of Zhou Yuan.

"Zhou Yuan, we truly have you to thank for this," Zuoqiu Qingyu said, her expression noticeably more relaxed than before, clearly having shed a heavy burden.

She knew that Tianyuan Region's aid would not have been easily given if it weren't for Zhou Yuan's influence.

Zhou Yuan waved his hand. "Why be so formal? After all, I'm also from Cangxuan Heaven, and I have so many friends in the Cangxuan Sect. How could I not help them when they're in trouble?"

Zhou Yuan held deep affection for the Cangxuan Sect. The fond memories from that small cave dwelling within the sect remained etched deep in his mind.

"Oh, by the way, where's Yaoyao? It seems your friends from Tianyuan Region don't know about her?" Lv Luo suddenly asked as Zhou Yuan was lost in thought.

Zhou Yuan's hand stiffened slightly. After a moment of silence, he replied, "During the great battle in Cangxuan Heaven back then, Yaoyao fought against the Saint Yuan Palace Master to protect me. But ultimately, she was severely wounded and has been in a deep slumber ever since. All these years, I've been working to awaken her."

Zuoqiu Qingyu's pretty face changed, and a look of worry appeared in Lv Luo's eyes beside her.

"Don't worry, Yaoyao will be fine," Zuoqiu Qingyu reassured him.

"I think so too."

Zhou Yuan smiled, then quickly changed the subject. "By the way, there were too many people earlier, so I didn't ask: How has the Great Zhou Dynasty been all these years? And how are my father and mother?"

A hint of nervousness showed on his face.

This was something Zhou Yuan had worried about deep down ever since leaving Cangxuan Heaven. After all, his relationship with the Sacred Palace was like fire and water; if the Sacred Palace sought revenge, the Great Zhou Dynasty's power would be utterly insufficient to resist.

Before he left, he had entrusted the Cangxuan Sect with looking after the Great Zhou Dynasty, but he had no idea what had become of it.

Zuoqiu Qingyu offered a slight smile. "The Great Zhou Dynasty has been undisturbed all these years. The Cangxuan Sect protected your father and mother very well, even sending an elder to guard the capital city. Although the Sacred Palace hates you to the bone, all their efforts in recent years have been focused on searching for fragments of the Cangxuan Saint Seal, leaving them no time to trouble the Great Zhou Dynasty on that remote Cangmang Continent."

Hearing this, Zhou Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy weight had been lifted.

"The Cangxuan Sect's kindness is truly as vast as a mountain," Zhou Yuan lamented inwardly. While protecting the Great Zhou Dynasty for several years might have seemed to the Cangxuan Sect like merely assigning an elder, to Zhou Yuan, this kindness was immensely significant.

Precisely because of this, when Senior Brother Chu Qing and the others faced trouble this time, he felt he had no choice but to go.

"Have Li Chunjun, Zhen Xu, and the others also come?" Zhou Yuan asked about the others.

Zuoqiu Qingyu nodded slightly, smiling charmingly. "They are now the leading figures among the younger generation in their respective sects. This time, they also benefited from the fortuitous opportunity in the Ancient Origin Heaven, taking the chance to break through to the Heavenly Sun Stage."

"But the most formidable one is probably Li Chunjun. He has made quite a name for himself in Cangxuan Heaven over the years. Among our generation, besides you and the deceased Wu Huang, he's likely the best," Lv Luo said enthusiastically.

Zhou Yuan also smiled. In fact, among that group of young cultivators who emerged from the Cangmang Continent back then, Li Chunjun was the one he had the highest hopes for. His dedication and tenacity in the way of the sword earned Zhou Yuan's profound admiration.

A person like him, if he were in Hunyuan Heaven, would likely be a peerless talent that all nine regions would vie for.

"To what extent has Li Xuan of the Sacred Palace advanced in his Genesis Qi foundation?" Zhou Yuan inquired. Li Xuan was considered the strongest among the Heavenly Sun Stage cultivators in Cangxuan Heaven, and Zhou Yuan was very curious about the depth of his Genesis Qi foundation.

Zuoqiu Qingyu mused for a moment. "From Senior Brother Chu Qing's previous encounter with him, it seems his Genesis Qi foundation has likely reached 2.5 to 2.6 billion."

"If 2.5 to 2.6 billion is combined with some amplification techniques, it could even approach 2.8 billion," Zhou Yuan silently calculated. In that case, Li Xuan's strength was indeed no less than Qin Lian's. It was no wonder he was considered the foremost Heavenly Sun Stage cultivator in Cangxuan Heaven.

The Sacred Palace's capabilities were still extraordinary. When they gathered resources to cultivate a prodigy, the results were not to be underestimated. Of course, a figure like Li Xuan was probably the only one they could cultivate within one or two generations across the entire Sacred Palace.

This alone revealed the gap between Cangxuan Heaven's top powers and Hunyuan Heaven. At the very least, within the Nine Regions, new top figures emerged continuously in each generation. For instance, in Wanzu Region, when Wang Xuanyang fell, an even more unpredictable Zhao Mu Shen rose to prominence.

"However, for Senior Brother Chu Qing to be able to contend with Li Xuan, who has reached such a level, he must have encountered a great fortuitous opportunity over the years," Zhou Yuan mused, feeling a mix of surprise and curiosity. When he left Cangxuan Heaven back then, Chu Qing was roughly on par with him. But now, it sounded as though Chu Qing had entered the late Heavenly Sun Stage, which meant he must have had an unimaginable encounter.

Zhou Yuan, however, felt no imbalance about this. A figure like Chu Qing, if he were in Hunyuan Heaven, would certainly be capable of contending with Guan Qinglong. His exceptional talent ranked high among all the people Zhou Yuan had met.

Zhou Yuan's own path of cultivation, which pursued the ultimate, was inherently more difficult than that of ordinary people. However, there was a natural give and take; this pursuit of the ultimate had led to his current ability, in the middle Heavenly Sun Stage, to easily defeat other cultivators in the late Heavenly Sun Stage.

Even if Wang Xuanyang were to be reborn, Zhou Yuan now had the confidence to unleash his Seven-Colored Heaven-Severing Sword Light and send him off once more.

Zuoqiu Qingyu chuckled charmingly. "I heard that to cope with this Ancient Origin Heaven contention, the Cangxuan Sect opened the Saint Tower, which had been hidden for many years. It was created by Patriarch Cangxuan himself, and it's said that entering it grants insights from Saints and can even remedy past deficiencies in one's cultivation path. Its profound mysteries make it an extremely rare and valuable opportunity. Senior Brother Chu Qing achieved his current accomplishments thanks to this."

"The Saint Tower left behind by Patriarch Cangxuan?" Zhou Yuan clicked his tongue. Back when he was just a minor disciple in the Cangxuan Sect, he naturally couldn't have known about such high-level sectarian treasures. It seemed he had somewhat underestimated the Cangxuan Sect's profound heritage; after all, it was a sect founded by Patriarch Cangxuan.

"If you had stayed in the Cangxuan Sect all along, perhaps the benefits you would have gained from it would have been even greater," Lv Luo said with a hint of regret.

Zuoqiu Qingyu couldn't help but roll her eyes at her. "What's there to regret? He's become a personal disciple of a Saint; why would he still care about a mere Saint Tower?"

Zhou Yuan maintained a calm smile, though his heart ached. Although Cang Yuan was his master, this master was constantly being hunted and wandered through the void of the heavens, having no time to personally instruct him. His current achievements were, for the most part, hard-earned through his own efforts!

"Grand Elder Qing Yang and the others, really, why didn't they reveal such a treasure when I was in the Cangxuan Sect back then?"

Of course, this was said in jest. Such Saint Towers were incredibly precious, and each activation inevitably incurred a cost. Thus, they would not be opened under normal circumstances unless facing an extremely critical situation.

Amusing himself with these thoughts, Zhou Yuan smiled as he looked at the two women. "Within two days, we should be able to set off and make our way at full speed to the region where Cangxuan Heaven is located."

"That's wonderful!"

Lv Luo cheered. They had been shouldering a heavy burden during this period, and now that they could finally bring back reinforcements, they felt they had not let down everyone's expectations.

Watching the two women's smiles bloom like flowers, Zhou Yuan also gazed into the distance, a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.

After several years, he would finally see those familiar faces again.

Senior Brother Chu Qing, Senior Sister Li Qingchan, and all the sect brothers he had protected on his journey back to the Great Zhou Dynasty from the Cangxuan Sect years ago—indeed, it had been a long time.

Tianyuan Region's main forces remained stationed in their current location. Two days later, when news arrived from the other eight regions, the army, led by Zuoqiu Qingyu and Lv Luo, began their northward expedition.

To rescue Cangxuan Heaven.