It was already the evening of the second day when the Tianyuan Region’s great army rushed back to Hunyuan Heaven Town.

Although everyone looked worn-out, unconcealable joy and excitement were gushing from their eyes. Their first harvest in Guyuan Heaven had already exceeded their expectation.

This was especially the case for unaffiliated cultivators. Although unaffiliated cultivators obeyed orders, they always appeared slack and resisted discipline. But this was normal. After all, they were carefree and were not used to being controlled all the time. However, they had become very different after experiencing the impact of the ancestral qi.

The massive increase in their Genesis Qi foundation thoroughly stirred up the morale of the unaffiliated cultivators.

In the past, they had to fight with their lives to slightly improve their Genesis Qi foundation, but the harvest they had received from the ancestral qi’s influence was much greater than all those resources that they had exchanged for with their lives.

After personally experiencing it, they completely understood how great the opportunities in Guyuan Heaven were.

One after another, they cast their gaze to the young figure at the forefront, their eyes full of obedience and admiration. They didn’t forget that it was Zhou Yuan who had brought about all this.

Their leader indeed possessed unimaginable ability. It was indeed an opportunity and blessing to be able to follow Zhou Yuan.

They needed to firmly hold onto this opportunity!

Many unaffiliated cultivators glanced at one another, and they all saw the blazing look in each other’s eyes.

Han Jinhe, Xue Qingmei and Wang Su, the deputy captains of the unaffiliated cultivators, also noticed the change in their attitudes. Their expressions turned complex. After all, the unaffiliated cultivators respected and admired them the most, and they would carry out whatever tasks the three told them. This was also the main reason why Zhou Yuan had appointed them deputy captains.

But after this matter, Han Jinhe and the others understood that Zhou Yuan’s status might have surpassed theirs in many unaffiliated cultivators’ hearts. Although they sighed emotionally, they weren’t unhappy because they agreed about Zhou Yuan's ability. They all came to Guyuan Heaven to improve their strength, and if Zhou Yuan could lead them to obtain greater harvests, they truly didn’t mind who led them.

The Tianyuan Region’s great army naturally attracted a lot of attention when they entered the city. Many couldn’t help feeling puzzled and surprised to see the unconcealable excitement on the Tianyuan Region faces. After all, the matter that the Tianyuan Region had chosen an area weak in ancestral qi under Wang Xuanyang's scheming had spread all around in the past few days.

Many forces gloated over the Tianyuan Region’s misfortune when they had learned of the matter. After all, without the Tianyuan Region competing for a good area, it meant they had a stronger chance. Although they were all fighting for ancestral qi for Hunyuan Heaven, who wouldn’t want people from their side to do better?

Additionally, those who guided the ancestral qi to Hunyuan Heaven could also enjoy the first wave of ancestral qi, and their region or force would benefit more. Therefore, many forces had hoped the Tianyuan Region would choose wrong every time.

But why is everyone from the Tianyuan Region team full of joy, and why don’t they look disappointed?

Zhou Yuan paid no attention to the puzzled and investigative gazes. He directly led his team back to the Tianyuan Region’s resting area and said, “Everyone, take a break while we wait for the next opening of the Qi Observation Platform.”

Everyone responded and then dispersed. The majority returned to the resting place to make the best use of the time to train and adapt to their increased Genesis Qi. In Guyuan Heaven, a place full of hidden dangers, the stronger one was, the higher chance one had of surviving.

They didn't want to suffer the same outcome as their comrades who were buried in the mountains.

Zhou Yuan watched everyone disperse and then turned to say to Qin Lian, “Go and inquire about the other forces’ situation and see how many forces have returned successfully.”

The Qi Observatory Platform could observe the flow of ancestral qi between heaven and earth within a radius of tens of thousands of miles. It was impossible to scan such a huge area in one detection, so there were always no fewer than five detections before the entire area was scanned.

Qin Lian nodded, but she didn’t dare to look at Zhou Yuan. She turned around and darted away.

She had treated the dragon rune on her Heavenly Sun as a virus she had caught from Zhou Yuan. Later, after Zhou Yuan’s explanation, Qin Lian almost searched for a crack to hide into. She was so embarrassed that she didn’t dare to look at Zhou Yuan on the way back.

Zhou Yuan wasn’t bothered. After all, the Dragon Claw Heavenly Sun was extremely rare. If his senior brother Zhuan Zhu hadn’t explained it to him, he likely wouldn’t have known that his rune-marked Heavenly Sun was actually a Dragon Claw Heavenly Sun, which was superior to a glass Heavenly Sun.

Although Qin Lian was a top figure in the Heavenly Sun stage, she had never heard of a Dragon Claw Heavenly Sun before and thus didn’t know much about it. On the other hand, the glass Heavenly Sun was known for its purity, so when she suddenly saw strange markings on her Heavenly Sun, she understandably lost her mind.

Zhou Yuan couldn’t help smiling as he watched Qin Lian dart away in embarrassment. Then, he turned around and went back to his room for closed-door cultivation to adapt to his increased Genesis Qi foundation.

When night enveloped the earth like a black screen, Qin Lian successfully brought back information.

“About 60% of the forces have returned. Four of the other eight regions have also returned smoothly. All parties have agreed to start up the Qi Observation Platform once around 80% of the forces have returned, which should be within two days.” Qin Lian told Zhou Yuan all the information she had obtained.

Zhou Yuan nodded. “How are the other four regions’ harvests?”

“The first teams to return were from the Wushen Region, the Zixiao Region, the Xuanji Region and the Xuehai Region. It is said that the first three were very lucky and found an ancestral qi vein in their chosen area, but the Xuehai Region wasn’t as successful. The ancestral qi vein they found was weak and was almost nothing.”

This didn’t surprise Zhou Yuan because he had already predicted the outcome when those four regions had selected their areas. The areas that the Wushen Region, Zixiao Region and Xuanji Region had chosen were all rich in ancestral qi, and the probability of their area containing an ancestral qi vein was particularly high. However, although the area chosen by the Xuehai Region seemed abundant in ancestral qi, that appearance was only superficial. Perhaps it would give birth to an ancestral qi vein in one hundred years, but not now.

“The Wanzu Region hasn’t returned?” Zhou Yuan asked with a smile.

Qin Lian shook her head.

Zhou Yuan didn't ask further, and he said with a mocking gaze in his eyes, “Let’s wait. Maybe there will be a good show soon.”

"What do you mean?" Qin Lian rolled her eyes. The area that the Wanzu Region team went to was the map fragment that Wang Xuanyang had taken from her, which meant that it could have been the Tianyuan Region’s area.

Qin Lian still held a grudge about this matter. But from what Zhou Yuan said, it seemed the area was a bit tricky.

Zhou Yuan didn't elaborate and said mysteriously, “You’ll know when they return.”

Qin Lian rolled her eyes at Zhou Yuan. They chatted a little more and then she left.

In the next two days, Zhou Yuan gradually learned to control his increased Genesis Qi, and during those two days, many forces returned to the city one after another. Among them, some were joyful, and of course, more came back empty-handed.

The city gradually became lively.

It was then that the Wanzu Region, the only one of the nine regions missing, finally returned to the city.

Bang!

Zhou Yuan's door was violently pushed open, and Qin Lian stormed in, staring at Zhou Yuan with blazing eyes and exclaiming, “The Wanzu Region team is back!”

Zhou Yuan opened his eyes and smiled. “How was their outcome?”

"It is said that when they arrived, they suffered countless violent attacks from ancient beasts, and it resulted in heavy casualties. The key point is that after they got rid of all the ancient beasts and dug three feet into the ground—” Qin Lian took a deep breath. Looking at Zhou Yuan's eyes that were shining brightly, it was the first time she felt a little admiration. “They found nothing!”

Qin Lian’s full chest heaved. It was obvious that her emotions weren’t stable because she knew this could have been the Tianyuan Region’s outcome. At that time, as the person responsible for choosing an area, she was inevitably under great pressure. And this had changed because Zhou Yuan had intervened.

Therefore, Qin Lian, who was always cold and arrogant, stared at Zhou Yuan sincerely. "Zhou Yuan, thank you. You are the most suitable leader for the Tianyuan Region team.”