Chapter 374. Final Destination of All Souls, Return, True Stability
Fengdu was the final destination of all souls.
In the old era, people would have dismissed such a thing as part of a myth, nothing more. However, the world had changed. Many now believed that both the Celestial Court and the Netherworld truly existed.
Of course, only a few people actually felt that way, but the stronger an Awakened became, the more secrets they would uncover. The more secrets they uncovered, the more they would realize that the waters of the universe were far deeper than they could fathom.
The Celestial Court's existence could be rationalized. After all, it was established by formidable beings in ancient times, which made its existence easier to accept, but the Netherworld was a different story. Even now, virtually everyone understood that when a living being died, it was truly dead, and it would eventually return to nothingness.
How could there be some final destination for the soul, where they would enter the cycle of the Six Paths of Reincarnation? The idea alone was so unimaginable that anyone would surely reel at the mere thought of it.
In fact, Jiang Ningxian and her brother were no different. Their clan ranked among the top ten powers in the Outer Cosmos, and they also believed that death was the end. They believed that once someone was dead, there was no starting over.
Yet this was now the second time Jiang Ningxian had heard of the so-called Netherworld. Moreover, she had witnessed it personally the first time around, which made Jiang Ningxian feel even more doubtful. Was there really a final destination for the souls of the deceased?
"Lu Yuan, what do you think?" Jiang Ningxian asked. She couldn't be sure. In the end, all she could do was ask once more, as the idea was genuinely hard to accept.
"I don't know either. But even if it isn't the real thing, it's certainly closely tied to the so-called Netherworld," Lu Yuan replied. If the first time could be written off as a coincidence, what about the second time? That would be harder to dismiss.
One thing he could say with certainty was that those ruins were built by the sages of ancient times. They had chosen to name the place Fengdu, and there had to be a reason behind it.
"The ancient era really does hold too many secrets," Jiang Haokong said with a grave face. He had assumed that a world that had just awakened wouldn't hold anything particularly remarkable. Upon his descent, however, he realized that it was no wonder the Celestial Court was founded here. It was not strange that a Human Sovereign and Celestial Emperor had once reigned here.
There were many things here that were unknown to him, even though the Jiang Clan had only chosen to cross the universe and settle in another starfield after the ancient era.
"We've done what we came to do. Let's head back. The Separation of Heaven and Earth is weakening, and it won't be long before we see more invaders," Lu Yuan said. He had obtained another one of the Nine Cauldrons. The sooner he refined it with the Celestial Emperor's Ancient Token, the sooner he could strengthen both himself and the Celestial Court to face whatever came next.
"All right." Jiang Ningxian had no objections.
Everyone stayed silent as they set off in a single direction. There was a high chance of them getting lost in Shennongjia, but leaving it was considerably easier than navigating its depths. Before long, they exited Shennongjia.
Jiang Ningxian and her brother paused at the periphery and looked back. Without hesitation, they bowed slightly. They hadn't found anything tied to their lineage here, but this place was deeply connected to their ancestors. Paying their respects before leaving was only proper.
Lu Yuan gazed toward the direction of Shennong's Altar with a pensive face.
Unbeknownst to them, wisps of what looked like black otherworldly energy had begun creeping out of the abyss. There weren't many of them, but they corroded the surrounding plants at alarming speeds.
All of a sudden, they paused and retreated back into the depths of the forest.
Lu Yuan and the others soon returned to the Trials Academy. The two beast kings ascended to Jade Emperor Peak. Jiang Ningxian and her brother chose to depart, clearly intending to contact their clan and relay what they had learned.
Lu Yuan, for his part, met with the Celestial Court's top officials to get an update on the current state of affairs outside Earth.
In short, ever since his last display of force, the beings from the Outer Cosmos had temporarily stopped entering the solar system, and even across the Milky Way Starfield, their numbers weren't particularly large.
Everyone realized that Lu Yuan's strength had become far too overwhelming for them to handle. The only beings who could face him and come out decisively on top were likely those legendary Immortals.
As a result, Earth remained at peace. The beings who had already descended were keeping their heads down. There had been a few skirmishes over blessed lands, but none of them escalated. None of those invaders dared to provoke Lu Yuan at this point. None of them wanted to bring that kind of disaster upon themselves.
So everything is still under control. Lu Yuan relaxed slightly after receiving these reports. Earth's overall situation was truly nothing like in his past life. The Celestial Court's existence, combined with his power, meant the beings from the Outer Cosmos could no longer sow chaos.
The horrors of his previous life, where countless humans were enslaved, would not happen again. After instructing the officials to continue monitoring the situation, Lu Yuan quietly returned to his room.
After resting for a bit, he took out the cauldron he had retrieved from the bottom of the abyssal rift in Shennongjia. Among the Nine Tripod Cauldrons, its appearance narrowed things down considerably for Lu Yuan, as the cauldrons came in two basic forms—square and round. Three legs and two handles meant round, while four legs and two handles meant square.
Lu Yuan opened his Martial Dao Heavenly Eyes and looked past the scars left by the many different weapons and the blackened bloodstains. Eventually, he made out the patterns etched across it, confirming its identity—the Yangzhou Cauldron.
This was the sixth one he had obtained, and he now had well past the halfway mark. Only three remained. However, he hadn't received any new reports from the other beast kings.
Of course, Lu Yuan knew that he would eventually struggle to find the rest of the cauldrons. Moreover, he couldn't even be sure whether the last three were on Earth.
He emptied his mind and placed the Yangzhou Cauldron before him.
The reason he chose to refine the cauldron first was simple. He had done this multiple times before, so there was no risk of complications. The Celestial Emperor's Ancient Token was a different matter. It required utmost care and attention, as there was no telling what could happen during the process.
Given Lu Yuan's cautious nature, he wasn't going to act recklessly. He drew the Great Luo Sword Embryo and cut his palm. Blood flowed, dripping onto the Yangzhou Cauldron in a steady stream. Above it, a powerful aura manifested, and the room was suffused with an inexplicable power—the power of Providence.
The Nine Cauldrons were considered to be the anchor of the nation's Providence, which meant that each of them contained boundless Providence.
During the refinement process, the Providence inside them would be channeled into the Investiture Edict. Those whose names were on the edict would benefit from the added Providence. Yet Lu Yuan, whose name was at the very top of the Investiture Edict, felt no change in himself whatsoever.
