The Legend of Futian

The fight at Xihua Sacred Mountain was already over when Ye Futian and the Moon Saint got there. The people of the Holy Zhi Palace were cleaning up the battlefield, picking up any leftovers and searching for any treasures in Xihua Sacred Mountain. However, they found that the divine implements and palace library had been almost emptied. It was apparent that Saint Xihua transported items away. He had long prepared to escape the place, and it had not been something he just decided on a whim.

At that moment, Ye Futian, Yu Sheng, the Moon Saint, Saint Jiang, and many others were at the highest peak of Xihua Sacred Mountain, casting their gaze down on many of the shuddering nobles and people of lower training.

“Saint Xihua and the others probably won’t dare to stay behind in the Nine States any longer,” the Moon Saint said coldly. He abandoned Xihua Sacred Mountain and left the holy land to its devices, escaping alone. He really was apathetic and heartless. But then again, it was not something unfathomable. When someone had reached a level as high as Saint Xihua, they would not want to die in battle alongside the holy land. Xihua Sacred Mountain was not the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty and Saint Xihua was not Zhou Zhiming.

The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty was a sovereign and the lineage was passed down through blood. Zhou Zhiming was overbearing and ruthless, making it unthinkable for him to run like a loser. He would have rather died standing, perishing within the royal palace of the sacred dynasty. According to Ye Futian, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty had been burned down by the Sacred King himself. Everyone from the Sacred Dynasty died. He was indeed ruthless, even at the very end.

Ye Futian took one look at the sky, wondering if Saint Xihua had made for the Upper Worlds. “Is there a possibility of that he had left Emperor Xia’s Realm?” he asked.

“Impossible.” The Moon Saint shook his head and continued, “Emperor Xia reigned all over the Nine States and the masters of holy lands were all extensions of his power. If it had been the old times, it would have been possible for Saint Xihua to venture outside and train. But given the times, leaving Emperor Xia’s Realm would be tantamount to walking to his own death.”

Ye Futian knew well about the times that the Moon Saint mentioned. Emperor Xia would have sent people to monitor things in the Nine States. All who had participated in that Sacred War in the Holy Zhi Palace would be put under surveillance.

The Sacred Dynasty was razed and there were only some nobles left in Xihua Sacred Mountain, posing little threat to the victors. Saint Xia had gathered the saints and intimidated them into putting lockdowns on news regarding that battle. The saints would not have dared spread the news as they feared for their own lives. Even if someone from Xihua Sacred Mountain actually learned about news regarding that battle, the level of their training meant that there would be no way for them to make it out of the Nine States alive.

“We’ll deal with the Hall of Holy Light and the three holy lands of the Endless Ocean next,” Ye Futian said with a low voice.

“I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to take the Hall of Holy Light out,” the Moon Saint said.

“Why would that be?” Ye Futian asked.

“The Hall of Holy Light possessed the Grand Matrix of Holy Light Protection, absorbing the essence of powers of the heaven and the earth and boundless power of light, encasing the entire Hall of Holy Light within. With Saint Ji taking the helm, there was no way we would have been able to break the place, even with the saints collaborating to do so, unless the Sword Saint of the Void returned to what he had once been,” the Moon Saint said.

Ye Futian was silent for a bit. While Yaya had broken into Saint Plane, invoking the powers of the Sword Matrix of the Void would cost a lot of energy. She had almost exhausted her powers by breaking the grand matrix of the Sacred Dynasty. If the one at the Hall of Holy Light proved to be more powerful, then not even Yaya would be able to break it. But then again, Saint Ji was put under house arrest for ten years, which meant that he would not be able to pose a threat to the Holy Zhi Palace for the time being as well.

“I’ll take a team with me to the Hall of Holy Light of the Qi State and sit right outside. We’ll take down any sages who dare step outside,” Yu Sheng said. While his aura had been diminished, he was not all that spent and damaged from that battle. While he would not be able to continue doing great battles, he was anything but weak at the moment. He became able to resist recoil of demonization powers better after growing stronger after all.

“We’re in no hurry,” Ye Futian said. While the Hall of Holy Light was protected by a grand matrix, the fact that they had become a rat in a hole remained, robbing them of any ability to cause any further trouble. However, Ye Futian still felt incomplete deep down for not being able to kill Saint Xihua and Saint Ji right away. Saint Ji and Saint Xihua were both the masterminds and root cause for the formation of the alliance of the seven holy lands against the Holy Zhi Palace after all.

One silhouette after another flashed and returned behind Ye Futian.

“Palace Lord, we’re done cleaning up,” the Sword Demon said.

“Well then,” Ye Futian nodded and said, “let’s head back.” He stepped forward as soon as he finished.

“We’re going home,” one voice after another said. Mighty ones from the Holy Zhi Palace took to the air right away and gathered around. The Village Chief summoned huge swords and the grand army stepped onto them, streaking through the skies as they left. Many from Xihua Sacred Mountain had their knees on the ground crying after the ones from the Holy Zhi Palace left.

Xihua Sacred Mountain was no more.

One figure after another stepped forward from Huatian City into Xihua Sacred Mountain. They were just as sentimental and exasperated. Three holy lands stood tall in the Eastern State once. The Lapis Lazuli Holy Temple had disbanded, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty was razed, and the Xihua Sacred Mountain was no more as well.

But then again, those people’s minds were filled with greed as well. The place had once been somewhere they had wanted to step into. What the ones from the Holy Zhi Palace deemed worthless still meant something to common mages. Furthermore, with Xihua Sacred Mountain reigning over Huatian City for so many years, there would have definitely been many people and forces oppressed and bullied by Xihua Sacred Mountain.

With Saint Xihua currently on the run, Xihua Sacred Mountain abandoned, and the sages dead. Any of Sage Plane training would have been able to do whatever they please with the place. It was only natural that many felt their hands itchy in such a situation.

Many mighty ones flashed and charged right inside the mountain to keep pillaging the place. Furthermore, more and more people showed up from Huatian City, turning the place chaotic and there were many from Xihua Sacred Mountain ended up dead in the chaos.

It seemed ironic that Xihua Sacred Mountain, which had been grand and imposing in its heyday, ended up in such tragedy.

…

The news of the demise of both Xihua Sacred Mountain and the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty of the Eastern State spread throughout the Nine States like wildfire. The news caused intense shock.

Many were exasperated. No one had expected that the Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State would be able to take out Zhisheng Cliffs, then the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, and finally, Xihua Sacred Mountain. If it had not been for the Hall of Holy Light being protected by holy light, Ye Futian would have probably sent forces to wipe them out long ago as well.

As for the three holy lands of the Endless Ocean, Ye Futian had no plans to go there. That was because he found from the surveillance of the demonic beasts of the sea, that all three of the holy lands disbanded after he took down the two at the Eastern State. All of the mighty ones from the three holy lands scattered throughout the Endless Ocean, and locating them one by one would have been immensely difficult.

Out of the seven holy lands, three were razed and three disbanded, with the last one shutting its gates to the outside world. That was the outcome of the Sacred War that had been the talk of the Nine States all those years ago.

Many claimed that the Sage and Saint Rankings of the Nine States should be rearranged. It was especially so in the case of the Sage Ranking, given so many had lost their lives in the war, Ye Futian should have been ranked first on the Sage Ranking, for none under the saints were able to beat him. It was also said that he was, at the moment, only a mid-level archmage instead of an upper-level one.

Ye Futian, who had shaken the Nine States all over, was, at the moment, found sitting in a quiet corner of the Holy Sage Pavilion, playing a tune. The tune was a winding one with tinges of sadness in it. With so many of his enemies still alive, razing both the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty and Xihua Sacred Mountain meant little to him. Furthermore, even if he had ended up killing all of his enemies, there was still no way Jieyu could be resurrected.

Loulan Xue listened at the side quietly and did not disturb Ye Futian. She was able to hear the faint sadness in the tune. Though it had been over a year since his return to the Holy Zhi Palace, he was still unable to put the part of his past behind him.

Loulan Xue saw them both being together for over a dozen years right until the end of the war. Those years had been the best years of their lives. While both of them jested a lot when they talked, the bond between the two of them was something that only they could understand. Hua Jieyu’s death was a huge blow to Ye Futian, and Loulan Xue probably knew that better than everyone else.

Zhuge Mingyue and Beitang Xing’er came to her side and listened to Ye Futian play quietly, without any words to say. The tune finally stopped after some time. Ye Futian then looked up and smiled. “Second Sister, Sister Xing’er.”

“You’re still very good at playing the guqin, I see, just like how it was back in the cottage,” Beitang Xing’er quipped. While she was already in her thirties, she still looked as pure and flawless as she had been. Her clear eyes had a simple, rustic feel to them. With the brothers and sisters at the cottage being the ones to take care of things, she had been the one with the least troubles. She was carefree and there had been no need to care about anything going on outside. While her talents were not superb, she had only needed to dedicate herself to her training.

“The state of mind is now different though,” Ye Futian said. He missed those years.

“Don’t get too caught up with wild thoughts.” Zhuge Mingyue then glared at him and said, “Yu Sheng brought a group of people with him and left the Holy Zhi Palace. He’s probably heading to the Hall of Holy Light.”

Ye Futian was dumbfounded for a bit before replying gently, “Let him be.” Yu Sheng’s current level of training was such that no one would have been able to move him but saints. Saint Ji and the others would not have wanted to exchange lives with Yu Sheng unless the situation had been really dire. If it had been Ye Futian standing outside their gates instead, there was a possibility that they might have done so.

“The Glass Saint is awake,” Zhuge Mingyue said.

Ye Futian was unfettered upon hearing that, with little changes in his expressions seen.

“Well, this number one beauty of the Eastern State sure is beautiful indeed. She trained for many, many years and yet still looks like a maiden. If I were to become a saint, I wonder if I will grow younger.” Zhuge Mingyue chuckled and continued, “So, now that the Glass Saint is already in the Holy Zhi Palace, how about you go take her in, little brother? We’ll have yet another saint in the Holy Zhi Palace then.”

Ye Futian wore a bitter smirk.

“You’ve something against old people?” Zhuge Mingyue continued, “Well, Loulan served you for years and you can take her as your concubine, you know. There are a good number of pretty girls in the Holy Zhi Palace who have a thing for you, like Mu Zhiqiu. I’m sure she likes you too.” Loulan Xue, who was behind Ye Futian, shuddered slightly and looked up at Zhuge Mingyue.

“Second sister.” Ye Futian turned to look at Zhuge Mingyue and found her Second Sister’s eyes staring at him as well. “It’s been more than a year. When do you plan to move on? Your hair has gone all grey and you still behave like that all the time. How would Jieyu feel if she were to see you like this?”

“Second Sister, I understand.” Ye Futian sighed. However, there was no way he could have simply let go of their relationship, which had seen more than a dozen years.

Zhuge Mingyue softened up after seeing Ye Futian’s expression, sighing deep down as well. She was having a hard time as well. She had been the one who brought Jieyu to the Zhuge family back then and they had spent a lot of time together. To her, Hua Jieyu was her sister-in-law and someone like her own sister at the same time.

A group of mighty ones came from above. Ye Futian frowned and looked, seeing a group of people dropping from the sky. The one who took the lead was none other than Xia Qingyuan.

“Have you no manners, Princess?” Ye Futian said coldly.