Chapter 558: Team

In the boundless expanse between heaven and earth, thousands of streams of light suddenly appeared out of nowhere, sweeping across the sky like comets, then descended overwhelmingly onto the vast land below.

A streak of light descended from the sky, crashing onto a mountaintop. The impact caused the entire peak to instantly collapse, sending boulders tumbling down and creating a considerable commotion.

Amidst the dust and smoke, a sharp gaze emerged, sweeping across the surroundings.

"Is this the Profound Origin Heavenly Cave?" Zhou Yuan looked up, surveying his surroundings with vigilance in his eyes.

What met his eyes was a boundless landscape. He noticed that everything here seemed unusually vast. Ancient trees stood like colossal pillars between heaven and earth, and even some jungles appeared ancient and magnificent.

Standing among them, one felt exceptionally tiny, unable to help but feel a sense of awe for this land.

An ancient, wild aura permeated the air.

"The Genesis Qi here is incredibly pure and abundant..." Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, and immediately, a wisp of white mist, transformed from the Genesis Qi of heaven and earth, was drawn into his nostrils, then refined and settled into his Qi Dwelling.

What surprised Zhou Yuan most was that when he refined a breath of the Heavenly Cave's Genesis Qi, the Genesis Qi stars within his Qi Dwelling seemed to brighten slightly at that moment.

Zhou Yuan let out a soft exclamation, thinking it was an illusion, and immediately closed his eyes to sense more carefully.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, with even greater surprise.

"The Genesis Qi here actually has the effect of refining Genesis Qi stars!" Zhou Yuan exclaimed in astonishment. Although this refining effect was subtle, if sustained over time, even quietly cultivating within this Profound Origin Heavenly Cave could significantly improve the quality of one's Genesis Qi.

"This is truly a blessed land of the Heavenly Cave..."

Zhou Yuan praised it, then his gaze swept around. With a clench of his hand, a small lantern appeared. He infused it with Genesis Qi, and the lantern immediately shot up into the sky.

As it ascended, the small lantern rapidly expanded, emitting intense light which was clearly visible even in broad daylight from a great distance.

This was a communication signal used among Cangxuan Sect disciples, detectable within hundreds of miles.

With the lantern aloft, Zhou Yuan sat down cross-legged amidst the rubble, closed his eyes to wait, while also absorbing the Genesis Qi of heaven and earth, gradually refining the Genesis Qi stars within his Qi Dwelling.

About half an incense stick's time later.

Throughout this area, the sound of rushing wind continuously echoed, as figures streaked across the sky, finally landing where Zhou Yuan was.

"Greetings, Chief Disciple Zhou Yuan!"

Upon landing, they immediately spotted Zhou Yuan, and without hesitation, all cupped their fists in greeting.

Zhou Yuan's gaze swept over them, and he nodded slightly, then paused on a familiar red figure who was now smiling and looking back at him.

"Hongyi?" Zhou Yuan was a little surprised.

The red figure was indeed Gu Hongyi; Zhou Yuan clearly hadn't expected her to land in his vicinity.

"Chief Disciple Zhou Yuan, I only managed to get in through connections, so please take good care of me, okay?" Gu Hongyi said with a charming smile, drawing the subtle and continuous gazes of some male disciples around her.

Gu Hongyi's reputation in the Cangxuan Sect was considerable. She was beautiful, and her background was influential, leading countless male disciples to favor her.

Furthermore, by Gu Hongyi's side were several junior senior sisters from Cangxuan Peak, who were also charming and pretty. Their appearance immediately made the surrounding male disciples quite excited.

Zhou Yuan looked at the smiling Gu Hongyi and smiled back. The two had been friends since their time in the Outer Mountains, so he was naturally delighted to be reunited.

"Don't worry, there are plenty of people here waiting to be heroes and save a beauty," Zhou Yuan chuckled.

Truth be told, Gu Hongyi's strength might indeed be slightly weaker compared to the others. But as she said, while her strength was a bit lacking, her connections were solid.

Therefore, a spot in the Profound Origin Heavenly Cave was guaranteed for her.

Everyone knew this. However, when Gu Hongyi openly admitted it, they simply smiled knowingly, without any dissatisfaction.

Zhou Yuan reassured them, saying, "Let's wait a little longer to see if any other disciples land in this area."

The disciples nodded upon hearing this, and then sat down cross-legged nearby.

Gu Hongyi also sat down with her junior sisters nearby. Her beautiful eyes swept towards Zhou Yuan, her red lips slightly pursed. The current Zhou Yuan was clearly more composed than when he first entered the Inner Mountains a year ago. And after becoming the Chief Disciple, his bearing had become even more convincing.

In just over a year, Zhou Yuan's growth had undoubtedly surpassed everyone's expectations.

"Hehe, what's wrong? Is your heart fluttering?" Beside Gu Hongyi, a junior senior sister chuckled and poked her slender waist.

"Hongyi, you're the beloved 'sweet bun' of our Cangxuan Peak; countless guys are eyeing you. If you get taken by another peak, those guys will be utterly miserable," another female disciple giggled.

Gu Hongyi's pretty face flushed slightly, and she said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

A beautiful female disciple said calmly and seriously, "However, Hongyi, Chief Disciple Zhou Yuan is indeed quite good. Although he's only been in the Cangxuan Sect for less than two years, his talent and ability are now beyond question. While our Cangxuan Peak has many outstanding individuals, compared to Chief Disciple Zhou Yuan, we truly fall a bit short."

Her words carried a hint of encouragement.

Gu Hongyi glared at these women who seemed to enjoy stirring up trouble, saying, "Stop worrying about me. If you little rascals are interested, then go for it yourselves."

At her words, the group of women chuckled softly again.

At this point, another incense stick's worth of time passed. Finally, about ten more disciples swiftly arrived from various directions. To Zhou Yuan's surprise, Zhou Tai and Lu Yan were among them.

"Junior Brother Zhou Yuan!" The two were quite pleased to see Zhou Yuan, having originally thought they would be separated this time. After all, Zhou Yuan was the Chief Disciple of their Sacred Origin Peak, and following him would clearly be more comfortable.

Zhou Yuan smiled at the two of them, then looked at the other disciples and slowly said, "Senior Sister Li Qingchan has already made it clear that teams will be formed by the Chief Disciples of the seven peaks. Since you've happened to meet me, this team will be led by me. If anyone has objections, you may voice them."

Currently, there were over seventy disciples here, representing all seven peaks, including Sword Cometh Peak.

In the past, Zhou Yuan was accustomed to the criticisms from other peaks directed at their Sacred Origin Peak. Therefore, if he were to lead the team now, he naturally had to establish his authority first.

However, to his slight surprise, after he spoke, not a single disciple voiced an objection; even the disciples from Sword Cometh Peak remained silent.

"We will follow Chief Disciple Zhou Yuan's lead in all matters," the disciples said respectfully, cupping their fists.

Zhou Yuan was slightly surprised by this, as he had grown accustomed to other peaks finding fault with their Sacred Origin Peak, including him, their Chief Disciple.

However, he had somewhat forgotten that Sacred Origin Peak was no longer what it used to be, and he, as Chief Disciple, was not the same person as when he first took office. He had displayed his strength during the Genesis Pool Ceremony.

Everyone knew that among the seven Chief Disciples, Zhou Yuan was strong enough to rank among the top three. Such strength was more than enough to lead everyone. Therefore, not only did the disciples not object, but they were even somewhat relieved that they had directly encountered Zhou Yuan here.

Since everything went smoothly, it saved him a lot of trouble.

Zhou Yuan stood up, his gaze sweeping towards the southwest, and said, "Since everyone is gathered, let's depart with me. In that direction, there is a place containing the essence of three-colored Profound Origin. That is our first objective. If anyone tries to stop us..."

"Then they will have to experience the power of our Cangxuan Sect."

"Let's go!"

The moment his voice fell, his figure shot forward, taking the lead.

Swish! Swish!

Behind him, dozens of disciples from the seven peaks also let out long cries and followed closely.