Chapter 709: The Scheme of the Sacred Origin

Zhou Yuan and Yao Yao stood on a section of charred ruins, their gaze fixed on the desolate tomb. Wu Yao and Zhao Yunxiao, who had been there earlier, had already departed with the black-robed elder.

The place became quiet and desolate once more.

"I never expected that the most troublesome figure in the Wu family wouldn't be Wu Huang or King Wu... but rather this Great Wu Princess," Zhou Yuan said with a deep breath, his eyes serious.

Initially, he had only considered Wu Huang his opponent. As he grew stronger, his target shifted to King Wu.

As for Wu Yao, who also possessed a share of the Sacred Dragon Qi, she had been overlooked by him. Only today did Zhou Yuan realize that this person he had disregarded was the most formidable.

She didn't possess the distorted mentality of Wu Huang or King Wu, but she held an unshakeable conviction.

Such a person, given the opportunity, would undoubtedly soar and become renowned throughout the nine heavens.

Yao Yao's clear eyes gazed into the distance. After a long moment, she slowly said, "In the future, this Wu Yao might just be your greatest adversary."

Though Yao Yao had a detached personality, she was clearly a very proud individual. Among all the people Zhou Yuan had met over the years, she had never given such an evaluation, which showed that she held Wu Yao in extremely high regard.

Zhou Yuan nodded. This time, if Yao Yao hadn't arrived to intervene, with his current early Divine Dwelling stage strength, he would very likely have fallen at Wu Yao's hands.

Wu Yao cultivated in Hunyuan Heaven, which offered better conditions than Cangxuan Sect. So, even though he possessed a Chaos Divine Dwelling, Wu Yao's Nine Divine Dwellings might not be much weaker than his.

If it came down to a real fight, she would have a high chance of victory due to her late Divine Dwelling stage cultivation advantage.

"I've had things too easy lately," Zhou Yuan reflected. He couldn't deny that after becoming the chief saint of Cangxuan Sect, slaying King Wu, advancing to the Divine Dwelling stage, and then defeating King Wu, a mid-Divine Dwelling stage expert, he had become a bit complacent.

However, the appearance of Wu Yao and Zhao Yunxiao had given him a harsh wake-up call, making him truly understand that there's always someone better.

Among the younger generation in Cangxuan Heaven, he might indeed be considered top-tier, but Cangxuan Heaven did not represent the entire vast and endless Tianyuan World.

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and said, "It seems I cannot slack off in my cultivation."

Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to reclaim the two shares of Sacred Dragon Qi from Wu Yao. Moreover, even though they were currently in different heavens, separated by vast distances, they were bound to meet again in the future.

As King Wu had said, in the Dragon-Phoenix struggle, the devourer thrives... As long as the Sacred Dragon Qi was not complete, a life-and-death battle between him and Wu Yao was inevitable.

Today's fatal battle had been stopped by Yao Yao, but what about the future?

He couldn't always avoid this struggle for dragon qi.

"And that Zhao Yunxiao..."

A chill flashed in the depths of Zhou Yuan's eyes. Zhao Yunxiao's sneak attack had directly shattered the Silver Shadow and nearly cost him his life. He would certainly remember this debt.

Yao Yao looked at him and smiled faintly, saying, "However, you don't need to belittle yourself. Wu Yao's lead over you is largely due to her environment. Hunyuan Heaven is indeed a grand era for cultivation, far more vast and expansive than Cangxuan Heaven."

"When you went to Shengzhou Continent and Cangxuan Sect, and then returned to Cangmang Continent, you naturally felt it was a shallow place. Wu Yao, having been to Hunyuan Heaven, views Cangxuan Heaven now just as you view Cangmang Continent."

Zhou Yuan gazed into the void and asked, "Is Hunyuan Heaven truly that powerful?"

Yao Yao nodded slightly. "Tianyuan World is divided into nine heavens. The Sacred Race occupies five heavens exclusively, while the remaining four heavens are where the myriad beings of Tianyuan World reside. And Hunyuan Heaven is the strongest among these four heavens."

"Furthermore, in the long struggle and contention with the Sacred Race, Hunyuan Heaven is on the front lines. It can be said that without Hunyuan Heaven, Tianyuan World might have already been entirely occupied by the Sacred Race, and all other beings would have become their subordinates, their lives controlled by them."

"The Sacred Race..."

Zhou Yuan secretly clicked his tongue. He was no longer the ignorant youth he once was. From some ancient texts of Cangxuan Sect, he had learned about the power of the mysterious Sacred Race.

Moreover, the most powerful Sacred Palace in Cangxuan Heaven was rumored to have subtle traces of Sacred Race support behind it.

Just a single Sacred Palace supported by the Sacred Race was showing signs of dominating Cangxuan Heaven. One could only imagine how terrifying the entire Sacred Race would be.

And that Hunyuan Heaven could serve as the main base for resisting the Sacred Race showed its formidable strength.

Yao Yao didn't elaborate on this. Changing the subject, she said, "Although you didn't achieve complete success this time, you have at least fulfilled a long-held wish."

Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Zhou Yuan's face, a hint of relief in his expression.

King Wu had fallen, and Great Wu, now leaderless, would naturally collapse.

Of course, if he had also reclaimed all the Sacred Dragon Qi from Great Wu and Wu Yao today, it would have been truly perfect.

Nevertheless, by eliminating Great Wu, he was finally free from future worries.

As for the struggle with Wu Yao, that was for the future.

"Congratulations,"

Yao Yao gazed at Zhou Yuan before her. When they first met, he was just a frail youth struggling to open his meridians and cultivate. Yet, who could have imagined that this boy, who was initially unable to cultivate, would reach such a level years later?

Zhou Yuan looked at the Great Wu capital, stunned for a long time, then chuckled softly.

From the moment he learned of the enmity between Great Wu and himself, he had carried a heavy burden. At that time, King Wu was almost an invincible existence in his eyes, and just thinking about him brought immense pressure.

But the young man did not fear or retreat because of this. He made a grand vow that, at the time, seemed impossible to achieve... At that time, perhaps even his own father had considered it merely a momentary boast from a boy.

Yet today...

Zhou Yuan slowly closed his eyes.

"Father, the promise from back then, I've fulfilled it..."

Shengzhou Continent, Sacred Palace.

The chaotic crystal ball before Sacred Master Shengyuan slowly floated up. His profound eyes stared intently. Inside the crystal ball, the chaos was actually fluctuating.

His gaze seemed to pierce through space, directly taking in everything that was happening on the distant Cangmang Continent.

"Heh, this Sacred Dragon Qi is truly peculiar..."

Although the Sacred Dragon Qi had not fully gathered in one body, it had nonetheless converged in one place. It could be said that the moment Zhou Yuan and Wu Yao first clashed, the chaotic heavenly secrets showed signs of disturbance.

Others could not perceive this scene, but Sacred Master Shengyuan, who had been plotting for this, firmly grasped it.

Blood began to trickle from Sacred Master Shengyuan's silver pupils at this moment. Prying into heavenly secrets, even with Sacred Master Shengyuan's power, still required a price.

The blood flowing from his eyes grew thicker, making him appear extremely sinister.

However, the chaotic colors within the crystal ball fluctuated violently. At one particular moment, as if the river of time had frozen for an instant, an ancient image flashed through the chaos.

A brilliant silver light erupted from Sacred Master Shengyuan's eyes. He spat out a mouthful of blood, which then congealed before him, seemingly forming an ancient map.

The ancient map seemed to depict the existence of many powerful sects. However, at that moment, destructive lightning descended from above the map, annihilating all living beings on that land.

At this moment, Sacred Master Shengyuan could no longer restrain himself and burst into thunderous laughter, looking up at the sky. A fervent look emerged in his eyes.

"Hahahaha, the Cangxuan Saint Seal!"

"This Palace Master has finally found you!"

The Origin Qi between heaven and earth seemed to violently fluctuate at this moment, then rapidly spread, as if affecting the entire Cangxuan Heaven.

And at this moment, countless powerful beings across Cangxuan Heaven showed expressions of shock and doubt.

Because the moment Sacred Master Shengyuan stirred the heavenly secrets, they had all faintly sensed it.

Inside Cangxuan Sect.

Sect Master Qingyang, who was currently discussing matters with the various peak masters in the discussion hall, suddenly had his usually gentle face turn ashen. A terrifying surge of Origin Qi erupted from within him.

Inside the hall, Peak Master Lianyue, Peak Master Lingjun, and others looked on with astonishment.

Sect Master Qingyang clenched his five fingers tightly and gritted his teeth, his voice chilling as he said, "I finally know what that Shengyuan wants to do..."

"He's trying to seize the Cangxuan Saint Seal that Master hid!"

As soon as these words were uttered, Peak Master Lianyue and the others' faces changed dramatically in shock, and then intense killing intent surged in their eyes.

"This Shengyuan wants to start a great war in Cangxuan Heaven!"