1590 The City of the Ruins
The City of the Ruins was not a grand ancient city. Although it was called a city, in reality, the City of the Ruins had long become an area of dilapidated ruins.
It was an area that had been abandoned since ancient times. It appeared vast and endless.
This area of ruins was the entrance to G.o.d’s relic. Hence, the denizens of the Central Emperor Realm called this endless place of rundown ruins the City of the Ruins.
However, this area of ruins had now become the most prosperous area in the Central Emperor Realm. Everyone from all the Nine Realms, and even the Three Thousand Realms of the Great Path, went there. The usually abandoned City of the Ruins instantly became an area of bustling activity.
This was a special event that occurred every 50 years. The dilapidated ruins turned into the center of the Nine Realms. Restaurants and inns popped up in many areas. Some people served food and drinks to welcome those who came free of charge. Even so, the people coming to the City of the Ruins were extremely generous. Hence, the providers reaped huge gains.
Among those who had arrived in advance, the daily topic of conversion was always which major force from the Nine Realms had arrived.
However, most of the people arriving there were from the Central Emperor Realm. They were relatively more familiar with the top forces, as well as the prominent figures in the Central Emperor Realm. They were not so familiar with powerful cultivators from other realms unless they specialized in reconnaissance and had investigated all the top forces, as well as the exceptionally prestigious people at and below the level of Renhuang throughout the entire Nine Supreme Regions.
A lot of people were peddling information in the City of the Ruins. After all, many of the people who were entering G.o.d’s relic needed such information.
There was an exceptionally s.p.a.cious open-air tavern that was rather shabby, but the customers there did not seem to mind the place and were very generous.
“To be able to witness the opening of G.o.d’s relic, this grand event of the Nine Realms that only occurs every 50 years, I can die content,” someone said. “It is just a pity that I cannot even tell the top forces of the Nine Realms apart.”
“Buzz!”
In the sky above, a gale swept past. A group of people was traversing the sky.
Far off in the distance, Sword Qi whistled. A group of swordsmen wielding swords in the air was flying over the City of the Ruins.
At a glance, such a scene was playing out everywhere else. The people in the tavern were used to it. When they heard a sound, they raised their heads and looked up with no surprise in their eyes. They had long grown accustomed to it. It had been like this every day for the past few days.
“Indeed, I cannot distinguish between them,” another person beside the first teased. “Even if a member of the top forces from the Nine Realms sat down in front of me, I would not be able to recognize them.”
“The members of the top forces all have an extraordinary temperament. Their auras are extremely powerful. Besides that, they are led by powerful figures. You can still recognize them from these traits,” another person explained. Voices sounded in the tavern one after another as an elder and a young person walked in and sat down.
These two people were Sky River Great Elder and Ye Futian.
No one noticed the two of them. Ye Futian glanced at the silhouette of the person who had just spoken. Sky River Great Elder was a major figure, but the other party could not recognize him. Indeed, even if a prominent figure walked up to you and sat down next to you, you would not know who sat beside you, Ye Futian thought.
Such a situation was common in the City of the Ruins.
“Grandmaster, if you have the time, can you check and see whether Lord Taixuan has arrived?” Ye Futian transmitted his thoughts to Sky River Great Elder. If Lord Taixuan had arrived, they would meet up with him. Taixuan Mountain must have received a prophecy. Before this, Ye Futian had been rejected by three major forces of the Central Emperor Realm. He only followed along Taixuan Mountain to enter G.o.d’s relic.
“Alright.” Sky River Great Elder nodded in agreement. His will swept outward. Instantly, the people in the tavern felt a strange sensation. However, they did not know what was happening. In that instance, Sky River Great Elder’s will had swept past all of the people present.
After a short while, Sky River Great Elder retracted his will and transmitted his thoughts to Ye Futian, saying, “I did not sense him. He is most likely behind us. Many powerful figures have also arrived. It is not too polite to sweep my will across like this. Other people’s wills can also locate us. We should not use this method too frequently.”
As expected, Ye Futian felt a strange sensation. It was as if someone was watching him.
He knew that it was the will of a powerful person sweeping over him.
“We will wait a few more days then,” Ye Futian replied.
“Hmm, since he is coming from another realm, Lord Taixuan would need some time to prepare and choose the disciples that will enter the ruins,” Sky River Great Elder said. “There might be some people who want to enter G.o.d’s relic and will join various top forces to do so. If that is so, it may take Lord Taixuan some time.” Ye Futian understood that.
Prophecies were only bestowed upon the top forces. Ordinary cultivators never received prophecies. Only by joining the top forces was one able to receive the qualification to enter G.o.d’s relic.
There might have even been people from outside the Nine Realms who wanted to seize such an opportunity.
The two of them stayed at the tavern for some time before leaving. Ye Futian prepared to find a place to continue cultivating in peace for a few days while waiting for G.o.d’s relic to open. The members of Taixuan Mountain were bound to arrive sooner or later. Even if Lord Taixuan did not come, some powerful cultivators from the Heavenly Mandate Realm would.
The days pa.s.sed by. The day that G.o.d’s relic would open steadily approached. More and more cultivators also arrived.
The various top forces in the Nine Realms gradually arrived after receiving the prophecy.
The top forces of the Heavenly Mandate Realm also arrived.
Some of the top forces had formed alliances before coming. For example, Heavenly Mandate Dynasty and Violet Heavenly Palace arrived together due to their previous alliance. Overlord of Heavenly Mandate Dynasty made an appearance as the commander. Violet Heavenly Palace’s Palace Lord had not come. The two fellows from the Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven were still out there. Both Heavenly Mandate Dynasty and Violet Heavenly Palace still needed to be on their guard. Heavenly Mandate Dynasty was powerful and had exceedingly strong defenses, so they could still hold off the two fellows. Violet Heavenly Palace was somewhat at risk. Hence, their Palace Lord had stayed behind to hold the fort and had placed the members of Violet Heavenly Palace in the care of Overlord of Heavenly Mandate Dynasty.
Currently, the team formed from the alliance of those two powers had many powerful cultivators. They even had many Renhuang Plane cultivators. Zhan Yuan, the Violet Heavenly Palace’s supreme body of the great path, was also there. However, Yi Tianyu was not among them. Yi Tianyu was set to arrive with members of Divine Palace from the Higher Heavens Realm.
In the City of the Ruins, the members of the Nine Realms had a mutual understanding that the members of each realm would each occupy a domain. After all, members of the same realm were familiar with each other, so it was relatively harder for conflict to arise between them.
When the forces of the Heavenly Mandate Realm arrived one after the other, be it consciously or subconsciously, they gathered together in a domain.
“Lady of Brahma’s Pure Sky has arrived,” Overlord of Heavenly Mandate Dynasty said. “Let’s go for a walk.”
As he spoke, he immediately walked over to a spot. There, Lady of Brahma’s Pure Sky led a group of cultivators. Jiutian G.o.ddess and the various virgins had arrived. Among them, Virgin Qin He was the leader. Her current level was extremely high, almost approaching the level of Renhuang.
Some people from the Heavenly Mandate Realm speculated that it was likely that Qin He could already reach the Renhuang Plane but had stopped herself before ascending on the Great Path.
Becoming a Renhuang was not easy. Achieving this plane was very difficult. Even geniuses usually broke through to the plane naturally and did not hold themselves back unless they had previously decided to enter G.o.d’s relic. Most of the members of the Central Emperor Realm had made such a choice. This was their home turf, so they were the most prepared to be chosen to enter G.o.d’s relic. Among the people from other realms, only those with exceptionally outstanding talent and who were about to break through to a higher plane within the year suppressed themselves from having a breakthrough.
In the end, everyone had to choose for themselves. Many people chose to not suppress themselves to enter the ruins. After all, this also posed a certain risk. Immediately reaching the level of Renhuang smoothly was in and of itself the goal of countless people.
“Brahma’s Pure Queen!” Dynastic Overlord shouted out to her and asked, “Although we have had our differences before, when entering G.o.d’s relic this time, why don’t we, the forces from the Heavenly Mandate Realm, stick together? We can look out for each other and let our juniors have a better chance. How about it?”
“Is Yi Tianyu not around?” Lady of Brahma’s Pure Sky swept a glance at the crowd.
“He is with some friends from Divine Palace,” Dynastic Overlord said. “Although the talents of the members of the Heavenly Mandate Realm are not weak, it is different this time around. In the entire Heavenly Mandate Realm, no one dares claim that they can walk out of G.o.d’s relic alive.”
This time, not just the Heavenly Mandate Realm was involved. The Nine Realms were all involved.
Among the Nine Realms, the Heavenly Mandate Realm was still considered one of the relatively weaker Realms. Even the Higher Heavens Realm was more powerful than the Heavenly Mandate Realm.
On top of that, there was the terrifying Central Emperor Realm, as well as other realms. Even Yi Tianyu was not confident that he could walk out of G.o.d’s relic alive after learning that Ye Futian had entered Divine Palace.
“There is no need for us to do so.” The queen’s figure was dazzling. Her sacredness could not be defiled. Even against Overlord, she nonchalantly said, “When we enter the ruins, even as fellow members of the Heavenly Mandate Realm, there is no trust between us to speak of. Why should we bother with such an alliance? Since we are entering G.o.d’s relic, we will bow to our own fates.”
Such an alliance was too volatile.
“Such boldness from Brahma’s Pure Queen,” Dynastic Overlord calmly replied. He led his men and immediately left. He had already given her face by going over to greet her. Unfortunately, Brahma’s Pure Sky didn’t seem to appreciate the gesture.
After they left, among Brahma’s Pure Sky virgins, Qin He’s gaze looked into the distance. She did not know whether he had come.
Rumor had it that previously he was cultivating in Taixuan Mountain of the Higher Heavens Realm. Right now, she did not know where he was.
The forces from the Higher Heavens Realm arrived one after another. Divine Palace had the largest contingent followed by Golden Divine Nation, which was brilliant and eye-catching.
Taixuan Mountain had also come. Lord Taixuan led a group of powerful cultivators. However, there was still no hope for their Taixuan Mountain this time around. He had come just to meet Ye Futian.
The number of people in the City of the Ruins increased at a terrifying rate. People were seen everywhere.
Another two silhouettes walked into the City of the Ruins. One was an aloof middle-aged figure while another was a woman dressed in male clothes. The latter was very beautiful. Anyone was able to tell that she was a beauty at a glance.
“There sure are a lot of powerful cultivators,” the middle-aged figure said as he walked. His gaze swept from left to right. Cultivators at the Saint Plane were everywhere. As he walked, many were at his level, the Renhuang Plane.
“It should be so for such a grand event of the Nine Realms,” the woman beside him said.
“The Supreme Path Realm truly is different. A place like our Emperor Xia’s Realm pales in comparison. We can only reside in our little corner.” The middle-aged figure laughed and asked, “Are you certain that the brat will come?”
It turned out that the Renhuang who arrived was actually Emperor Xia.
The woman beside him was Xia Qingyuan.
The members of the Celestial Gate of Vast Heaven were all sent to different places. Xia Qingyuan was sent to the Lower Worlds. In a time like this, she was only able to get help from her father, the only person she could contact, Emperor Xia.