Global Awakening: I'm the Only One Ready

”Indeed, we have arrived just in time.” Lu Yuan nodded and added, ”And the space behind those two pillars is vast.”

His Martial Dao Heavenly Eyes could not pierce the entirety of Mount Kunlun, but he could still discern certain details. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be considered one of the most powerful treasures of the human body.

More importantly, his senses also detected something dangerous lurking within.

It seemed entirely different from the Mythical Secret Realm at Kongtong Mountains. In his previous life, he never came to Mount Kunlun, but he knew that danger awaited inside it.

After all, many beings from the Outer Cosmos had perished in it.

They died not from killing each other over opportunities, but from a great crisis. Some of them managed to escape, but it had been a massive incident. Many died, including a significant number of Earth’s Awakened. This was why Lu Yuan had chosen not to bring Zhu Qingyu and the others.

The dangers within exceeded what they could handle.

And I don’t even know exactly what they encountered there, Lu Yuan thought. Then, he set aside his concerns for now and turned to Jiang Ningxian with a faint smile tugging at his lips.

”Miss Jiang, how long do we have until it opens?” he asked.

”Hard to say.” Jiang Ningxian shook her head. ”It could be two hours, four, or even a full day.”

The laws involved were of an extremely high order. It was impossible to see through their profundities unless one were a Great Sage. Yes, one had to reach the eighth stage of the path of evolution, the Great Sage Realm, to mess with them.

Not even Lesser Sages could do anything about them.

Jiang Ningxian was a capable young woman with many tricks up her sleeve, but she remained helpless against such high-level laws.

”Is that so?” Lu Yuan nodded and smiled. ”Then, we’ll wait. We have a lot of time.”

With that, he turned his gaze back to the shining pillars. He focused on the two words that occasionally coalesced from the light emanating from those pillars—Heaven Gate.

Heaven Gate? As far as he could remember, Mount Tai had a Heaven Gate, but to be more precise, it was called ”South Heaven Gate.” How interesting.

Meanwhile, the Spirit Monkey sidled up to the Nine-tailed Fox King and gestured toward Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian. ”Look, look. Those two are both humans; they’re the real match here. You’ve been following them this whole way; tell me, have you actually gained anything from it?”

The Spirit Monkey’s formidable strength and extraordinary bloodline allowed it to tell with just a glance that the young woman surnamed Jiang was powerful. She was the kind of person one could not afford to provoke.

Assuming the Nine-tailed Fox King intended to compete with her for Lu Yuan’s affection, the Spirit Monkey decided to offer a word of caution.

”What does a monkey like you even know? Scram!” Infuriated, the Nine-tailed Fox King snapped. She harbored no particular designs on Lu Yuan. She was simply intrigued, nothing more. Of course, there was also the fact that she knew she could not compare to Jiang Ningxian.

The gap between them was massive, but she would never admit that out loud.

The Peacock King looked a bit exasperated at the sight, but he ultimately decided to let them bicker. He was used to it by now as well.

Just like that, time passed. Earth’s Awakened and mutated beasts occasionally approached Lu Yuan to pay their respects to him. They were exceedingly courteous, and none lingered for too long, giving him the space he deserved.

The beings from the Outer Cosmos were even more subdued. They didn’t even dare to speak.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian continued to observe the changes in Mount Kunlun. Both had their own cards that allowed them to see the finer details, and they exchanged words, gathering more information from one another.

Of course, there was also an unspoken desire to gauge each other’s capabilities, which could be regarded as a type of battle to some extent.

***

Just then, a group of figures appeared in a secluded corner. They kept an extremely low profile as if they were afraid of being noticed. A mysterious power also concealed their auras, ensuring no one noticed them.

”Young Miss, we have no information or records on the woman next to Lu Yuan,” Uncle Zuo said, looking pensive as he gazed at Jiang Ningxian’s distant figure.

”However, in my eyes, she seems rather ordinary. There’s nothing special about her.”

”That’s because your bloodline is not strong enough.” Zhou Yunqiong shook her head with cold eyes. ”That woman is far from ordinary.”

For some odd reason she could not explain, the sight of a young woman whose grace and beauty surpassed her own standing at Lu Yuan’s side stirred a bit of anger within her.

It was an unpleasant feeling, and it only intensified when she sensed that the young woman’s bloodline was so powerful that even she could not fathom its depths.

Lu Yuan, is she the reason why you’ve been ignoring me? So you did have someone backing you after all, she thought as she sized up Jiang Ningxian.

Was she from Earth, or was she from the Outer Cosmos? If it was the latter, which clan did she belong to?

Uncle Zuo noticed her strange face but said nothing and continued observing Mount Kunlun in the distance.

Just then, his eyes narrowed, and he hurriedly said, ”Young Miss, it’s opening.”

Zhou Yunqiong snapped back to attention at once. She set aside her thoughts about Jiang Ningxian and issued orders to her subordinates.

Up above, Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian noticed the change as well. They exchanged a glance and nodded.

”Brother Peacock, Fox King, and Brother Monkey, it’s about to open. It’s a strange and vast secret realm. Even if we enter together, we may be transported to different locations. Once inside, don’t do anything. Focus on regrouping first.”

Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian’s observation wasn’t in vain. They managed to gather a lot of information. In addition to the fact that the folded space was bizarre and highly unstable, it also contained numerous distinct regions.

Upon entry, each person could end up arriving at a different place. Hence, they had to warn the others about it.

”Understood.”

The three beast kings and the Golden-Winged Great Peng responded with solemn expressions.

Rumble!

Just then, a thunderous roar shook both heaven and earth. A boundless aura erupted from the mountain face behind the two pillars. Everyone watched as the mountain seemed to come alive like some primordial beast slowly opening its gaping maw to swallow them all.

The power emanating from within was overwhelming, and they stood in awe at the sight of it.

Soon, the rays of light vanished, and a blood-red space was revealed between the two pillars.

The sky, the earth, and everything were bathed in crimson. Bleached bones littered the ground, and at the very center of that space stood a colossal city. Half of it was bathed in radiant light; its walls were pristine and immaculate.

The other half was awash in a river of blood; its walls were mottled and decayed. Tormented, wronged souls seemed to be crawling across it. Disturbingly enough, the two contrasting sights could be seen in just one city.

”W-what is that place?” someone stammered, their voice trembling. They had never seen anything like it.

”That part shrouded in light... I feel like I have seen it somewhere before. That’s right! At Mount Tai! I saw it at Mount Tai before!”

”If the ruins at Mount Tai are said to be the ruins of the Celestial Court in the Immortal Realm, then what about that other half?”

”Those look like palaces in the Netherworld! The City of the Wrongfully Dead...”

”Are you crazy? How could something like that appear on Mount Kunlun?! Are you actually crazy?!”

”Exactly! If you don’t know what you’re talking about, just stay quiet, man!”

As every manner of speculation spilled forth, a cacophony of noises erupted among everyone.

The Celestial Court in the Immortal Realm and buildings that looked like palaces in the Netherworld. They were two completely different places, but they were all inside one city for some reason.

When Lu Yuan heard their speculation, an idea came to his mind. What if the world within the gate was the junction between the Immortal Realm and the Netherworld, just like what the myths had stated?