Lu Yuan sat cross-legged upon the First Grade Enlightenment Ground, gazing at the Gate of Eternity. The phantom image of the Gate seemed to grow more tangible with every moment. Influenced by this, the Eternal Power within Lu Yuan also began to surge, swiftly ascending from 1.9 tenths to a full 20 percent without much effort.

So fast!

The Lord of the Transformation Civilization and the Lord of the One Civilization, standing nearby, both inwardly admitted their defeat.

They were utterly convinced.

They now truly understood what an Eternal Genius meant; simply comparing the speed at which they cultivated their Eternal Power, they were far inferior.

After cultivating his Eternal Power to 20 percent, Lu Yuan felt he could not advance further for the time being. Enhancing the Eternal Power was no easy feat, and besides, Lu Yuan was never one for relentless grinding. He promptly unscrewed a bottle of wine, took a casual swig, and asked the Lord of the Transformation Civilization and the Lord of the One Civilization, "Do you two want some?"

The Lord of the One Civilization declined; he rarely drank.

The Lord of the Transformation Civilization, being a fellow drinker, accepted an unopened bottle from Lu Yuan, and the group settled onto the First Grade Enlightenment Ground for a chat.

Lu Yuan remarked, "These Divine Artifacts are supposed to be consumed. How is it that everyone still occasionally possesses them?"

"Because the Gate of Eternity erupts periodically. Of course, this 'period' could be a hundred million years, a billion, ten billion, or even a trillion years—nothing is certain."

"Each minor eruption of the Gate of Eternity only yields one Low-Grade Divine Artifact, one Mid-Grade Divine Artifact, and one High-Grade Divine Artifact—exactly three in total, no more."

"Then, during the demise of each Era, there is a grand eruption, which generates far more Divine Artifacts."

"This is the rule of the Era. Therefore, the junction between an Era’s life and death is actually a massive opportunity," the Lord of the Transformation Civilization said after taking a sip of wine to moisten his throat. "Of course, there’s also a more esoteric theory that few believe: when an Era ends, an incomprehensible number of beings perish, everyone below the Civilization Lord realm is annihilated. Thus, for there to be birth, there must be death, and the death of myriad life forms gives rise to numerous Divine Artifacts."

"That theory is essentially just someone talking nonsense; no one has been able to research the cause. The Gate of Eternity is not something we can study," the Lord of the Transformation Civilization rambled casually. "Speaking of which, let's talk about Dou Tian. Due to Dou Tian, this Era is different from many others. In previous Eras, there were only minor eruptions—one of each of the low, mid, and high-grade artifacts. However, several exceptionally powerful Civilization Lords have already detected that in this current Era, a medium-level eruption will occur. This medium eruption should be significantly larger than a minor one, though likely still less potent than the grand eruption at the end of an Era. Many are sharpening their claws, waiting for this intermediate burst to seize countless Divine Artifacts and bolster their strength."

"There’s such a thing?" Lu Yuan was indeed intrigued, listening to the Lord of the Transformation Civilization describe matters of the Eternal Star Domain.

To Lu Yuan, everything in the Eternal Star Domain was unfamiliar.

And now, Lu Yuan was gradually realizing that everything in the Eternal Star Domain revolved around the Gate of Eternity.

Whether it was the Enlightenment Grounds or the eruptions of the Gate itself, it was all the same.

The Lord of the Transformation Civilization, the Lord of the One Civilization, and Lu Yuan sat together on the First Grade Enlightenment Ground. At that moment, Lu Yuan suddenly noticed a brilliant light ahead and gasped in surprise, realizing the illumination stemmed from the Gate of Eternity. Because the First Grade Enlightenment Ground was quite far, Lu Yuan could only vaguely perceive the Gate radiating light, streaks of brilliance pouring forth, some of which seemed on the verge of bursting through the Gate.

The Lord of the Transformation Civilization couldn't help but startle: "What is that?"

The Lord of the One Civilization also nodded heavily: "It seems the medium-level eruption of the Gate of Eternity, spoken of in prophecy, is about to begin. But wasn't the prophecy that it would be in thirteen thousand years? Why is it emerging now?" The Lord of the One Civilization was clearly taken aback.

The Lord of the Transformation Civilization nodded: "It seems to have arrived early. Let's return to the City of the Instant and see what the Lord of the Instant Civilization plans."

Lu Yuan’s interest was immediately piqued. Huh, the medium eruption of the Gate of Eternity, which wasn't supposed to happen for another thirteen thousand years, was actually advancing? Regardless of the reason for the early timing, this event promised the emergence of Divine Artifacts, and the weakest of those were precisely what he needed. In that case, he certainly wouldn't be modest; he had to participate in this medium eruption of the Gate of Eternity.

Immediately, the three Civilization Lords, including Lu Yuan, flew back towards the City of the Instant.

Inside the City of the Instant, there were also many overwhelmingly powerful auras.

Clearly, everyone had been startled by the Gate of Eternity erupting thirteen thousand years ahead of schedule.

Now, everyone wanted to hear the perspective of the Lord of the Instant Civilization, as he was the strongest figure in their faction, rumored to have already lived through nineteen Eras, just a step away from the true eternity of twenty Eras. Lu Yuan noticed that many powerful figures, usually secluded in the City of the Instant, had now emerged. There were easily sixty or seventy Civilization Lords gathered—not fearsome, but numerous.

Among them, he recognized the Lord of the Martial God Civilization, the Lord of the Ancient Martial Civilization, the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization, and Chang'e. He recognized almost no one else. Of course, while Lu Yuan might not know the others, most of them knew Lu Yuan.

Firstly, Lu Yuan was the Eternal Genius.

Secondly, Lu Yuan had recently defeated the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization.

Thirdly, Lu Yuan had displayed the ultimate limits of one hundred and forty-one techniques.

These factors, among others, ensured that Lu Yuan became instantly famous throughout the Eternal Star Domain upon his arrival.

Lu Yuan also spotted the Lord of the Net Civilization. The Lord of the Net Civilization showed no sign of awkwardness now. He thought to himself that even if he had held them back during the battle at the First Grade Enlightenment Ground, he hadn't remained there afterward, so he owed Lu Yuan nothing.

The Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization suddenly approached Lu Yuan: "You need to be careful. You've become famous right after entering the Eternal Star Domain. Be wary of the Anti-Eternity faction making a move against you." The Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization merely offered a warning; in truth, few could truly harm Lu Yuan. If the assailant were the Lord of the Undying Civilization, then their own Lord of the Instant Civilization would intervene. If the opponent wasn't the Lord of the Undying Civilization, with the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization protecting him, who could touch Lu Yuan? The Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization was an eighteen-Era powerhouse; otherwise, he wouldn't have intimidated the sixteen-Era Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization back then.

The Lords of the Four Great Ancient Civilizations—Ancient Law, Ancient Martial, Ancient Immortal, and Ancient Buddha—were all eighteen-Era experts. Their strength placed them just below the absolute strongest figures in the Eternal Star Domain. Chang'e's power was slightly less, at sixteen Eras.

At this moment, Lu Yuan involuntarily looked up at the sky.

Above, a powerful aura descended.

In that instant, it seemed like a fleeting moment, yet it felt like ten thousand years.

This was no illusion on Lu Yuan's part; time was genuinely flowing in this paradoxical manner, capable of deceiving Civilization Lords, rendering it elusive.

And then, a figure descended from the sky.

It was a person with long, flowing silver hair, but this was not an old man; it was a youth, appearing no older than fifteen or sixteen. The youth's face was filled with boyish innocence, showing not a trace of worldly experience. His skin was incredibly smooth, and he wore pure white robes.

What a handsome youth.

Lu Yuan, who was already quite young, felt suddenly old when compared to this exquisite boy. Lu Yuan’s chin was nearly sprouting stubble.

However, truthfully, this youth had deliberately fixed his form to this appearance; his true age spanned over ten Eras.

This was the Lord of the Instant Civilization, one of the two strongest beings in the Eternal Star Domain, arguably ranking among the top five figures in the Central Celestial Dynasty. Apart from the Undying and the reclusive Ancestral Dragon, no one could truly contend with him.

Descending with a displacement of time, this childish-faced Lord of the Instant Civilization stated, "The Gate of Eternity advancing by thirteen thousand years suggests something strange is afoot. But whatever the strangeness, the fact remains that it is about to erupt, and since this is a medium-level one, we must seize this opportunity and prevent the Anti-Eternity faction from gaining the upper hand."

"Let's depart now." The gaze of the Lord of the Instant Civilization swept over the assembled figures, lingering particularly on Lu Yuan: "You are Lu Yuan? The current successor of the Sword Dao?"

Lu Yuan nodded.

The Lord of the Instant Civilization said no more, turning to leave.

The sixty or seventy Civilization Lords followed suit, flying straight ahead.

Lu Yuan kept pace, soaring along. At first, many of the other Civilization Lords secretly assumed Lu Yuan, having just reached the realm of Civilization Lord, would be slow. To their surprise, Lu Yuan had learned the Supreme Footwork; his speed was astonishing, like lightning, placing him somewhere in the lower-middle tier among the group of Civilization Lords, faster than many veteran Lords. Those Lords who were overtaken felt a sense of shame—how could the elder generation be outpaced by the younger?

The group of sixty or seventy moved rapidly through the turbulent flow of Eternity, finally halting above a vast Third Grade Enlightenment Ground. This type of ground could only accommodate a few people for true enlightenment, but here, enlightenment was not the goal; they chose this spot simply because it was close to the Gate of Eternity and provided a solid landing platform.

Now situated on the Third Grade Enlightenment Ground, they were much nearer the Gate of Eternity, allowing Lu Yuan to see its form clearly.

Lu Yuan had heard the name of the Gate of Eternity often, but this was the first time he was seeing it so distinctly.

This is the Gate of Eternity!

(Apologies for the late update as time was spent conceptualizing the conclusion of this book.)