290: Master, Old Huang is really suffering!

The news of the world's recovery was like a giant stone falling into a calm ancient well, the ripples spreading outward at an incredible speed, eventually forming a massive, world-sweeping tidal wave.

Deep within a medium-sized Spiritual Mine nearing exhaustion, the Cultivator responsible for monitoring the Spiritual Veins stared intently at the compass in his hand—a device that had been silent for years but was now faintly glowing with spiritual light—his wrinkled hand trembling violently.

He scrambled out of the mine, his voice hoarse and distorted: "The Spiritual Qi! The Spiritual Qi is rising!"

Almost simultaneously, in the back mountain Forbidden Ground of a certain ancient Sect, several Core Disciples on duty were stunned by the sight before them.

The ancient Divine Nurturing Tree, which had shown no vitality for three thousand years and was nearly dead, suddenly sprouted tiny, jade-green flower buds on its dragon-like branches, greedily absorbing the faint, fresh aura in the air beneath the sparse morning light.

Within a Holy Land, an old man with white hair and beard and a decaying aura, who had remained at the Peak Saint Realm for a thousand full years, was sadly waiting for death in seclusion, his Lifespan nearing its end and the Great Dao unreachable.

But just now, as he circulated his long-stagnant Cultivation Technique, that rock-solid Bottleneck actually gave way to an extremely subtle, yet utterly real, feeling of loosening!

"Boom!"

The stagnant aura around the old man suddenly surged. He inwardly examined himself in disbelief, and a shocking brilliance erupted from his cloudy old eyes.

"It loosened! It truly loosened! Hahaha! Heaven does not forsake me! Heaven does not forsake me!"

He looked frantic, old tears streaming down his face... "It's real! The Dao principles are no longer obscure, and the spiritual vitality is beginning to recover!"

"Heaven does not forsake my Xuanhuang! The Emperor Road... the Emperor Road might truly have hope of being renewed!"

"The Golden Era! The Golden Era! The Golden Era foretold by the Heavenly Secret Pavilion is truly about to begin!"

The gloom accumulated over countless years was swept away; despair transformed into soaring hope, and the desolate world once again burst forth with astonishing vitality.

Amidst this universal celebration, the leaders of the top powers in the Xuanhuang World began to make calm and rapid arrangements.

Ziwei Holy Land.

In the magnificent Holy Hall, the contemporary Holy Lord's voice was solemn: "The world has changed, and the Opportunity has appeared. Issue the order: immediately open the Secret Treasury. All resources must be allocated toward the Saint, the Saintess, and the Core True Inheritors. Spare no cost to help them advance vigorously!

Furthermore, dispatch all hidden agents to closely monitor anomalies in all regions, especially newly emerging Secret Realms and blessed lands. There must be no mistakes!

Actively seek alliances with the Prodigies of all domains. In such a momentous upheaval, unprecedented in history, standing still means self-destruction!"

Similar directives rang out almost simultaneously in the core territories of all major Holy Lands, Ancient Families, and Supreme Imperial Dynasties.

The resources of the entire Cultivation world were being poured onto the younger generation with unprecedented speed and force.

An invisible sense of urgency permeated the upper echelons. A new round of reshuffling had begun; whoever could seize the initiative at the start of this Great Era and Cultivate a true Child of Destiny would dominate the future landscape.

The hope born from despair was the most fervent and dazzling.

As the idea that the Great Era was approaching and the Emperor Road was attainable spread like wildfire in the hearts of billions of Cultivators, the long-dormant pulse of the entire Xuanhuang Great World began to beat powerfully with unprecedented strength.

The older generation of Cultivators saw a faint light ahead, while the young Prodigies eagerly prepared to write their own legends in this magnificent Golden Flourishing Age.

For a time, the Xuanhuang Continent saw winds and clouds surge, and hidden Dragons ascend from the abyss.

The grand curtain of an era—one defined by both glory and crisis—had been violently pulled open by an invisible hand!

Atop Zizhu Peak, clouds and mist swirled, and Spiritual Qi permeated the air.

Gu Changge's figure silently appeared in the small courtyard.

A streak of black light followed closely and landed on his shoulder; it was Xiao Hei.

Almost simultaneously, the dark gold bracelet on his wrist flashed with light, and a foot-long snake covered in fine dark gold scales obediently coiled around it.

One bird and one Dragon, having restrained all their Imperial Might, appeared to be spirit pets, but were actually two contemporary Great Emperors capable of shaking the ages.

Just then, in the spiritual field next to the courtyard, Old Huang was focused on munching on a Spiritual Plant. Its aura was steady, having reached the Peak Great Saint Realm.

The small snake, into which Xiao Bai had transformed, seemed to sense something. He gently lifted his head, his dark gold vertical pupils catching sight of Old Huang, pausing slightly, and then flashing with a highly humanized look of mockery and smugness.

"Oh? Isn't this Old Huang? After all this time, only the Great Saint Realm? Tsk tsk... Back then, Master often cut our flesh for sacrifices, but now I'm an Emperor, and you, this silly ox, are still stuck in the Great Saint Realm..."

Thinking that he was now a true Dragon Emperor while this old fellow was still lingering in the Great Saint Realm, Xiao Bai’s mischievous impulse arose.

Silently, he suppressed a trace of his aura to the Quasi-Emperor level, then precisely, like ten thousand feet of Dragon Might condensed into a single thread, pressed it toward Old Huang.

This pressure was incredibly concentrated, targeting only Old Huang—oh, wait, only one ox.

Old Huang, who was enjoying the delicious Spiritual Plant, suddenly felt a terrifying pressure descend upon him, originating from the depths of his Bloodline and causing his Soul to tremble!

It felt as if an Ancestral Dragon of the Primordial Era was coldly looking down upon it!

Its four hooves went weak, and it nearly knelt on the spot, the Spiritual Plant in its mouth dropping to the ground with a "patta."

"Moo—!!!"

Terrified to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, Old Huang suddenly stood up on its hind legs, its bronze-bell-sized eyes instantly bloodshot, scanning its surroundings in utter panic.

"Who?! Which Dragon Clan Senior has arrived?! Wait, this aura, it's, it's..."

Its gaze finally locked onto the seemingly obedient dark gold snake coiled around Gu Changge's wrist.

That familiar aura—there was no mistaking it!

"It's you?! That black loach?! You... You, you, you... You reached Quasi-Emperor?!"

Old Huang's voice was filled with unbelievable trembling and collapse.

It clearly remembered that this guy was previously on the reserve list for ingredients just like him! How could he have reached Quasi-Emperor after not seeing him for a year?!

This is impossible! Absolutely impossible! Old Huang's mind buzzed.

It knew the lazy snake’s background too well. A year ago, when he left the back mountain, he was still in the Saint King Realm. How long had it been since then?

Even if he was the Reincarnation of an Ancient True Dragon, Cultivating could not be so trifling!

Furthermore, he, Old Huang, had been consuming enlightenment tea leaves and Innate Spirit Marrow!

Why should this lazy snake get this? Why could he ascend to heaven in one step?!

Unless... a thought, like lightning, split through its chaotic mind, causing its massive ox body to tremble violently.

Unless it was Master! Yes, only Master!

Only that unfathomable, Heaven-Defying figure, the Venerable One, could possibly create such a Heaven-Defying miracle in such a short time!

There was absolutely no second explanation besides Master bestowing a great fortune!

Upon realizing this, all confusion vanished, replaced by a sense of grievance and injustice that erupted like a volcano!

Feeling that undeniable Quasi-Emperor Dragon Might, and comparing it to the Peak Great Saint Realm he had only reached through diligent effort, an unspeakable bitterness, grievance, and immense sense of imbalance instantly shattered its mental defenses.

"Moo—!!! Master! Master! You must uphold justice for your Old Huang!!"

Old Huang couldn't hold back anymore. Tears streamed from its enormous ox eyes like a burst dam. With a thud, its front hooves knelt on the ground, its huge ox head pressed against the soil, crying so hard the earth shook.

"Old Huang is suffering inside! Master! Since I followed you, I have been diligent and conscientious, daring not to slack off even slightly!

I am the one who plows the fields and sows the seeds, I am the one who guards the medicinal garden, and I am the one who provides meat for you to eat... If I have no merit, I have certainly put in the effort!"

While wailing, he secretly glanced at Gu Changge and Xiao Bai out of the corner of his eye, his voice cracking.

"But... but the little snake... all he knew before was eating and sleeping, and he didn't work as much as I did!

Why is he already a Quasi-Emperor while I, Old Huang, am still a Great Saint! Wuwuwu, the Heavenly Dao is unfair, the life of an ox is hard!

Is it because my meat is too tough, Master, that I no longer deserve your knife..."