The Ginseng Fruit Tree was a divine object of heaven and earth, one that could perpetually produce more Ginseng Fruit Trees—even Zhen Yuanzi hadn't dared to consume the thing entirely back then. But Lu Yuan was not going to be so polite; Zhen Yuanzi had time to spare, but Lu Yuan did not. He needed to advance his strength quickly. So, Lu Yuan opened his mouth wide and swallowed the entire Ginseng Fruit Tree into his belly. Immediately, a miraculous power erupted from the tree, surging and pushing Lu Yuan’s magical power higher and higher. Lu Yuan felt as if every single mote of dust within his own magical force was imbued with the strength of a divine dragon. At this moment, his entire body must have contained millions of such dragon powers consolidated into a single mass. His magic power surged upward like a torrential flood!

Boom!

Lu Yuan could even vaguely perceive an immensely vast gate—a monumental Heavenly Threshold belonging to the Lord of Civilization. He had not yet touched this threshold, only glimpsed it. The Heavenly Threshold of the Lord of Civilization was an extraordinarily difficult barrier; once entered, one became even more terrifying than the Deputy Lord of Civilization—a true Hegemon of an Epoch.

Putting aside the distant prospect of reaching the Lord of Civilization for now, Lu Yuan had just shattered a minor threshold, officially stepping into the power level of the Fourth Epoch.

The Fourth Epoch was significantly stronger than the Third. Advancing one Epoch within the Civilization Realm brought about a substantial increase in power. Finally, the might of the Fourth Epoch!

Lu Yuan swept his gaze around again, hoping to find other hidden treasures within the Earth Ancestor's Treasury. Perhaps the Ancestor of Earthly Immortals had left something else behind. However, after searching everywhere, he found no other hoard. Forget it for now; perhaps these two items were all the Earthly Ancestor had left behind.

He should now focus on acquiring the Great Seal of Desolation; it was a rare opportunity to assist Senior Brother Yan Cangtian. To obtain the Great Seal of Desolation, he naturally needed to find the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen Civilization.

But where was the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen Civilization right now? Gugū could indeed track residual traces, but only within a limited range. Once the scope widened, tracking became impossible. Where would the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen Civilization have gone? Lu Yuan pondered this, then had a sudden change of thought. The Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen had mentioned the Lord of the Demonic Civilization and the Artifact Civilization; perhaps he should check the Artifact Civilization first.

Lu Yuan immediately set out, first confirming the location of the Artifact Civilization via the personal Jade Token. The display area on the token itself was small, but upon reaching the Civilization Realm, the map of the Central Celestial Dynasty displayed on the token fully illuminated—showing the precise location of every faction, clearly and distinctly.

Lu Yuan stepped out, activating the Nine Heavens Gale Technique, and flew away.

In moments, he had traversed millions of li.

Lu Yuan sped directly toward the Artifact Civilization. The journey to the Artifact Civilization was extremely long, and Lu Yuan occasionally stopped on various star systems along the way. One day, while resting on a planet, just as he planned to fetch some wine, he overheard agitated chatter.

"Did you hear? The Lord of the Demonic Civilization has made a move."

"The Lord of the Demonic Civilization has acted!"

"Yes, it was precisely the Lord of the Demonic Civilization who struck, killing the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Artifact Civilization!"

"The Lord of the Demonic Civilization, who has remained hidden for so many years, suddenly taking action and killing such a critical figure as the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Artifact Civilization—it's terrifying."

Everyone on that star system was buzzing about the incident. The Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Artifact Civilization was a powerhouse at the Ninth Epoch level. The sudden demise of such a top-tier Deputy Lord of Civilization was utterly unexpected, leaving everyone reeling. Lu Yuan was equally shaken. Now that he was in the Civilization Realm, he knew that the death of even an ordinary Civilization Realm expert was a major event, let alone the death of a Ninth Epoch figure like the Deputy Lord of the Artifact Civilization—it was truly dreadful.

Wait!

There seemed to be something related to this in his memory. During the conversation between the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen and the Child of Immortals, clues regarding the Lord of the Demonic Civilization and the Artifact Civilization were mentioned. Could it be!

Lu Yuan suddenly considered a possibility: that the supposed killing of the Artifact Civilization by the Lord of the Demonic Civilization was instigated by forces from the Ancient Desolation or Ancient Immortal eras. In other words, the Ancient Desolation and Ancient Immortal eras had allied with the Demonic Civilization. The more he thought about it, the more plausible this seemed. The Artifact Civilization had always been neutral. As the Great Decisive Battle of the Central Celestial Dynasty approached, even powerful civilizations like the Ancient Phoenix Civilization could maintain neutrality normally. However, other factions were beginning to interfere, the contention over Qing Nü being one example. In normal times, who would dare interfere with the affairs of the Ancient Phoenix Civilization? Other factions stepping in was a blatant slap in the face of the Ancient Phoenix Civilization.

The Ancient Phoenix Civilization understood this was the prevailing trend, so they tacitly accepted the interference of other powers.

But the Artifact Civilization was not as mighty as the Ancient Phoenix Civilization, making it unlikely they could maintain neutrality.

The Great Decisive Battle of the Central Celestial Dynasty was an overwhelming tide, and under its pressure, factions would inevitably be divided into two camps. To remain neutral was to swim against the current. Therefore, the killing of the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Artifact Civilization by the Lord of the Demonic Civilization was likely a maneuver by the Ancient Desolation Civilization to absorb the Artifact Civilization.

Think about it: if the most powerful figure in the Artifact Civilization—their Deputy Lord—is dead, the Ancient Desolation Civilization could send a relatively powerful envoy to coerce or persuade them, using both soft and hard tactics to bring the Artifact Civilization under their control. The more Lu Yuan considered it, the more sense it made. But whom would the Ancient Desolation Civilization send? The Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen was a very strong candidate.

Hearing this news, Lu Yuan flew even faster toward the Artifact Civilization.

Finally arriving, Lu Yuan gazed at the massive gates of the Artifact Civilization, etched with countless representations of artifacts. He paused briefly. He had no prior connection with the Artifact Civilization, so entering posed a problem. As Lu Yuan hesitated, he saw a young woman in white flying rapidly toward him from a distance. This girl originally possessed an extremely cute, baby-faced, chubby look, but now her eyes were swollen red, clearly from excessive crying. Lu Yuan recognized her instantly—wasn't this the Precious Imperial Consort, close friends with Yun Xiuxue? Lu Yuan instantly landed beside the Precious Imperial Consort.

The Precious Imperial Consort was startled at first, but seeing Lu Yuan, she relaxed, "It's you."

"Yes, it's me. I need to enter the Artifact Civilization for something; how about we go in together?" Lu Yuan asked.

"Alright then," the Precious Imperial Consort replied, her voice soft and sweet, habitually adding the particle la at the end of her sentences.

The Precious Imperial Consort had been wandering outside when she suddenly heard the shocking news that her father had been murdered by the Lord of the Demonic Civilization, causing her to rush back to the Artifact Civilization without a second thought. She said, "Lu Yuan, I know you are a person of great strength, now hailed as a peerless genius whose ultimate destiny is likely to reach the Lord of Civilization, provided you don't perish. So, I want to ask you for a favor," she said, sobbing slightly, though her characteristic particle la remained unchanged even through her tears.

Lu Yuan asked, "What is it?"

The Precious Imperial Consort continued, "The Lord of the Demonic Civilization killed my father. With my own ability, even given endless time, I cannot take revenge. Although the Artifact Civilization still has three uncles—the Celestial Strike Deputy Lord of the Fifth Epoch, the Celestial Guard Deputy Lord of the Second Epoch, and the Celestial Deception Deputy Lord of the Third Epoch—and they are very powerful, the gap between them and the Lord of the Demonic Civilization is immense. Among everyone I know, only you possess the future potential to slay the Lord of the Demonic Civilization. So, I beg you for one thing: if your strength reaches that level in the future, will you help me kill the Lord of the Demonic Civilization and avenge my father?" the Precious Imperial Consort pleaded.

Lu Yuan was slightly stunned. He certainly couldn't guarantee he would eventually be able to slay the Lord of the Demonic Civilization, and he was about to speak.

The Precious Imperial Consort quickly added, "If you agree, I am willing to become your concubine la. I heard that many men are lustful, but perhaps that's fine too. Then, after Sister Xiuxue marries you, I can spend time with Sister Xiuxue every day."

Lu Yuan was instantly speechless and replied helplessly, "Where did you hear such nonsense? As for the Lord of the Demonic Civilization, if it is within my power, I will help you slay him. Moreover, he deserves to die; how many people has the Lord of the Demonic Civilization killed just to cultivate his demonic path?" Lu Yuan agreed not because the Precious Imperial Consort implored him, but because of the righteous indignation rising in his own heart.

"Take me into the Artifact Civilization now, and do not reveal my identity temporarily," Lu Yuan said, picking up his bamboo hat and placing it on his head.

"Okay." The Precious Imperial Consort finally found a glimmer of hope for avenging her father, and she felt slightly better. She had felt completely hopeless before; the opponent was simply too formidable.

Upon entering the Artifact Civilization, they inquired and learned that the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen had not yet arrived. Lu Yuan immediately transmitted a message to the Precious Imperial Consort, who nodded and instructed the guards at the main gate: "If anyone from the Ancient Desolation Civilization arrives, especially the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen, notify me immediately."

"Yes, Imperial Consort," the guards responded dutifully.

The Precious Imperial Consort and Lu Yuan entered the Artifact Civilization. The civilization consisted of only one continent, the Artifact Continent, which had no stars above it. Instead, various artifacts of all shapes and sizes—spheres, cubes, blades, straight bars, arcs—floated in the air, some emitting purple light, others red, and some cycling through seven colors.

Lu Yuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, observing the unique landscape of the Artifact Civilization, which was starkly different from the Ancient Phoenix Civilization.

Just then, someone approached rapidly: "Imperial Consort, the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen has just arrived at the Artifact Civilization."

The Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen had arrived, almost at the same time as Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan's heart gave a sudden lurch.

The Precious Imperial Consort immediately looked at Lu Yuan, confused about how he knew the newcomer was the Deputy Lord of Civilization of the Desolation Wen.

(This chapter is late, apologies.) (To be continued)