Stars adorned the night sky.

From atop a hill, Zhou Yuan gazed at the camp’s rising bonfires as he stretched his arms towards the sky. The decision to rescue Cangxuan Heaven had already been made. Next, they only needed to notify Hunyuan Heaven’s other eight regions, and they would be able to begin their operation.

Although the Cangxuan Heaven main force was in quite a predicament, Zhou Yuan was still happy that he would soon see many familiar faces.

The friends that had worked hard together back then had begun to reveal their brilliance.

Soft footsteps were suddenly heard behind him.

Zhou Yuan tilted his head back and saw Zuoqiu Qingyu and Luluo approach. The alluring beauty and the sweet and cute young lady seemed to make even the moonlight full of flavor.

They sat down beside Zhou Yuan.

“Zhou Yuan, we really have to thank you for this.” Zuoqiu Qingyu’s expression was much more relaxed, evidently no longer carrying a heavy burden. She knew that the Tianyuan Region would not have accepted so easily if not for Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said, “There’s no need to be polite. I’m from Cangxuan Heaven too, after all, and I also have many friends in the Cangxuan Sect. How can I sit by while they’re in danger?”

Zhou Yuan had deep feelings for the Cangxuan Sect. Beautiful memories of a certain tiny cave dwelling in the sect were still carved deep in his mind.

While Zhou Yuan was reminiscing, Luluo suddenly asked, “Right, where’s Yaoyao? Your Tianyuan Region friends don’t seem to know her.”

Zhou Yuan’s hand went rigid. He was silent for a moment before he answered, “In that great battle years ago, Yaoyao fought with palace master Sheng Yuan to protect me and ended up sustaining serious injuries. She has been in a deep slumber since then, and I’ve been working to awaken her for the past few years.”

Zuoqiu Qingyu’s expression changed, while worry appeared in Luluo’s eyes.

Zuoqiu Qingyu comforted him, “Don’t worry, Yaoyao will be okay.”

“I also believe so.” Zhou Yuan smiled. He quickly changed the topic, “Right, I wasn’t able to ask because there were too many people around earlier, but how has the Great Zhou Empire been? And my parents?”

His expression was somewhat nervous.

This was a worry that had plagued Zhou Yuan ever since he left Cangxuan Heaven. After all, he and the Sacred Palace were akin to fire and water. If the Sacred Palace wanted revenge, there was no way the Great Zhou Empire would be able to survive.

He had asked the Cangxuan Sect to take care of the Great Zhou Empire before he left, but who knew what happened since then.

Zuoqiu Qingyu displayed a faint smile and said, “Nothing much has happened in the Great Zhou Empire. The Cangxuan Sect has done an excellent job protecting your parents. In fact, they even stationed an elder in the capital city. Although the Sacred Palace hates you to the bone, they’ve been concentrating all of their energy on searching for the Cangxuan Saint Stamp fragments and do not have the time to cause trouble for the Great Zhou Empire in the remote Cangmang Continent.”

Zhou Yuan breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

This favor is as heavy as a mountain. Zhou Yuan sighed inwardly. The Cangxuan Sect had safeguarded the Great Zhou Empire for several years. To them, it might merely be dispatching a single elder, but Zhou Yuan was deeply grateful.

This was why he had to go when senior Chu Qing and the others were in trouble.

Zhou Yuan asked, “Are Li Chunjun, Zhen Xu and the others also here?”

Zuoqiu Qingyu nodded as she displayed a beautiful smile. “They’re currently the pillars of the younger generation in their respective sects, and they also managed to advance to the Heavenly Sun stage due to Guyuan Heaven’s emergence.

Luluo excitedly elaborated, “The most amazing one is Li Chunjun...he’s created quite a name for himself in Cangxuan Heaven. Besides you and the deceased Wu Huang, he’s the finest in our generation.”

Zhou Yuan revealed a smile. The truth was he had the highest expectations of Li Chunjun among their small group that had left the Cangmang Continent together. The tenacity and strong will he displayed in pursuing the sword had earned the respect of even Zhou Yuan himself.

If such a person was placed in Hunyuan Heaven, he would certainly be an unparalleled genius that even the nine regions would fight over.

“The Sacred Palace’s Li Xuan. What is his Genesis Qi foundation?” asked Zhou Yuan. Li Xuan was known to be the strongest Heavenly Sun expert in Cangxuan Heaven, and Zhou Yuan was very curious about what level he was at.

Zuoqiu Qingyu pondered for a brief moment and answered, “From the fight between him and senior brother Chu Qing, Li Xuan’s Genesis Qi foundation has likely reached 2.5 billion.”

2.5 billion...if he has some kind of Genesis Qi boosting art, it will likely approach 2.8 billion. Zhou Yuan secretly estimated. Li Xuan was not inferior to Qin Lian. It was no wonder that he could become the number one Heavenly Sun expert in Cangxuan Heaven.

The Sacred Palace’s capabilities were extraordinary, and the heaven pride they had poured their resources into nurturing was not to be underestimated. Of course, the Sacred Palace was only able to nurture at most one or two disciples like Li Xuan every generation.

This was one of the differences between the apex-level factions of Cangxuan Heaven and Hunyuan Heaven. At the very least, the nine regions seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of top-tier disciples. Take the Wanzu Region for example; when Wang Xuanyang died, there was an even stranger and more unfathomable Zhao Mushen to replace him.

“It seems that senior brother Chu Qing must have been very blessed over the years to have become powerful enough to exchange blows with Li Xuan.” Zhou Yuan was both surprised and curious. When he left Cangxuan Heaven, Chu Qing had been roughly on the same level as him. But from what he had heard, Chu Qing had likely stepped into the advanced Heavenly Sun stage. There had to be some unimaginable story behind such rapid progress.

Zhou Yuan did not feel this was unfair. Chu Qing would certainly be an individual that could give Guan Qinglong a run for his money if he were instead raised in Hunyuan Heaven. After all, Chu Qing was one of the most talented individuals Zhou Yuan had ever encountered.

Moreover, Zhou Yuan’s cultivation path was seeking the pinnacle and was much harder to walk than normal. However, effort would naturally be rewarded. It was why he was able to easily destroy advanced Heavenly Sun experts at the intermediate Heavenly Sun stage.

In fact, if Wang Xuanyang was somehow reborn, Zhou Yuan was confident in sending him back to the afterlife with the Rainbow Sky Severing Sword Light.

Zuoqiu Qingyu let out a lovely laugh and said, “I heard that in preparation for Guyuan Heaven, the Cangxuan Sect opened the Saint tower that had been sealed away for many years. The tower was constructed by patriarch Cang Xuan long ago. It is rumored that one can obtain some knowledge of a Saint from it, and it can even fix any flaws in one’s cultivation. It holds endless wonders and mysteries. It is an extremely rare opportunity. Senior brother Chu Qing borrowed its powers to reach his current state.”

“A tower left by patriarch Cang Xuan?” Zhou Yuan wet his lips. He had only been a mere disciple in the Cangxuan Sect previously and was naturally unaware of such a treasure. It seems that he had underestimated the Cangxuan Sect’s foundations. After all, it was a sect founded by patriarch Cang Xuan.

Luluo regretfully said, “If you had stayed in the Cangxuan Sect, you may have obtained even greater benefits from the tower.”

Zuoqiu Qingyu could not help but roll her eyes. “What’s there to be regretful about? He has already become a Saint expert’s direct disciple. Why would he care about a Saint’s tower?”

Zhou Yuan was calm and smiling on the outside, but his heart was being torn to pieces. Although Cang Yuan was his master, his master was constantly on the run and could only hide and wander about in the spaces between the heavens. Cang Yuan did not have any time to instruct Zhou Yuan personally. His accomplishments were mostly earned through his own efforts!

“Sect master Qing Yang and the others are too much. Why didn’t they reveal such a treasure while I was in the Cangxuan Sect?” Of course, Zhou Yuan was joking. A Saint’s tower was extremely precious and would definitely lose a little of its power each time it was opened. Hence, it would not be opened unless absolutely necessary.

While he amused himself with such thoughts, Zhou Yuan smiled at the two girls and said, “We should be able to move in two days and head straight for the area the Cangxuan Heaven team is at.”

“Great,” Luluo cheered. They had been carrying a heavy burden all this time, and they would at least not disappoint everyone when they finally returned with reinforcements.

Zhou Yuan enjoyed the smiles that blossomed on their faces before he peered into the distance with expectant eyes.

After so many years, he could finally see those familiar faces again.

Senior brother Chu Qing, senior sister Li Qingchan, and all the fellow disciples that had protected me on the way back to the Great Zhou Empire, I hope that all of you are still doing well.

...

After two days, the Tianyuan Region main force finally received a response from the other eight regions. With Zuoqiu Qingyu and Luluo guiding them, they began heading towards the north with one goal in mind: rescue Cangxuan Heaven.