There was one person in the crowd who could not restrain him and began walking towards the floating palace.
This was their destination in the G.o.d"s Relic. Moreover, Jian Qingzhu and Ye Futian had had the same idea, that the four directions would all go to the same place in the end. This meant that this place was the actual "G.o.d"s Relic."
Despite their extraordinary minds, they still found it hard to control themselves, and thus this one man rushed forward.
An invisible imperial aura covered the sky above the palace, throwing back the figure who rushed towards it. He landed with wobbly knees.
He looked up at the palace. How could mortals contend with this power that came from the G.o.ds?
The area in front of the palace was completely blocked off. There was absolutely no way to get into the palace from the air. Perhaps the only way was to go up the road of the Great Path and step onto the divine stairway.
Although he had been forced back, the figure could still feel the mighty power coming from the palace. There was so much pressure on him that he felt like he was being crushed by a mountain. There was a roar as the Great Path surged within him. He straightened himself out and stood up, taking a determined step forward towards the road.
Boom! A low roar sounded from the road. He walked up towards the palace while everyone else watched calmly. Although many of them found it hard to restrain themselves as well, they understand when they saw this situation that it would not be easy to get to this palace.
It would probably be even harder than it had been to get here.
There were many statues standing guard in front of the stairway that looked like ancient divine generals. When the figure reached that place, one of the statues lit up with brilliant radiance. A burst of terrible will swept out, making an illusory image appear. It looked like a battlefield.
Bang! There was a loud noise as the figure was sent flying backward. Blood poured from his mouth as he slammed into the ground. The power of the Great Path descended upon him, making so he could not stand up. Crimson blood stained his robes.
All the cultivators frowned when they saw this. It was just as they had guessed. That cultivator was from one of the top forces as well, but even he was being kept outside.
Ye Futian was staring forward as well. He seemed to sense a burst of powerful will. Even though many years had pa.s.sed and they had turned into statues, they still possessed will.
Moreover, there were many statues over there. It would not be easy to pa.s.s them. He was not sure he could do it.
Jian Qingzhu was just like Ye Futian. The genius cultivator, who was known as the foremost young member of Tianshen Academy, did not move. He looked at the celestial palace, then pointed at it and said, "If this palace was left behind by the G.o.ds, then the entrances from the other two directions must be around here too. Go and see if we can open them up from the inside."
"Open them up?" The people around him looked surprised. At a time like this, when the number of people he had to compete with was decreasing, Jian Qingzhu was going to let the cultivators from all the top powers of the Nine Supreme Realms come here?
"Yes," said Jian Qingzhu with a nod. "There is only one chance to obtain the G.o.d"s Relic. Since people have already come here from the divine temple, there must be nothing there. I haven"t been in the other two directions, and I"d like to go see them."
He had chosen to come from the collection of books because that was what he was most skilled in, but that did not mean he didn"t want to see what the other three directions held. All of the areas of the G.o.d"s Relic were extraordinary.
Now that he had a chance, he naturally wanted to go and see the other ones and see if he could get anything from them. Even if he could not get as much out of them as he had at the collection of books, it was still worth going.
The people from Tianshen Academy around him all looked surprised. If anyone else had the advantage of coming here first, they would not have acted like Jian Qingzhu and thought to open up the ways to the other parts of the G.o.d"s Relic.
His way of thinking was truly different from other people"s.
But looking at it from a different perspective, this showed just how absolutely confident Jian Qingzhu was in himself. It seemed like no matter how many people came to the G.o.d"s Relic, it would still be his in the end.
If he could not get it, then no one could.
"Alright." Someone nodded and turned to leave. This person had no desire for the G.o.d"s Relic. This was Jian Qingzhu"s ambition. Other than a few of the other disciples from top forces, no one else at Tianshen Academy could compete with him.
"If the gates can be opened from the inside, I will go to the garden with you in a little bit," said Ye Futian to Xia Qingyuan.
"The garden?" A confused look came over Xia Qingyuan"s face. She looked at him uncomprehendingly.
"Yes, the garden," said Ye Futian with a smile. "For us, and even for the Nine Supreme Realms, this is something that a G.o.d left behind, and thus it is called the G.o.d"s Relic. But for him, it was just his home. Those bones of the demonic beasts and those treasures were probably the remains of beasts that he raised and rode, and some treasures that he collected. And the divine tree and celestial plants in the other direction were probably just his garden."
"..." Xia Qingyuan was speechless at Ye Futian"s words. But he seemed to make some sense.
For the people of the world, this was the G.o.d"s Relic. But to the G.o.d himself, it was just his place of cultivation.
Ye Futian meant that this place was just the home of an incomparably powerful man.
"Why do you want to go to the garden?" asked Xia Qingyuan curiously.
"Is your life spirit not that of a lotus? Of course we should go to the garden to see if there are useful things for you there," said Ye Futian. There was a Purple Gold Rat hidden there who had not fought anyone, so no one had paid attention to it. Thus, he knew more or less what was going on there.
Xia QIngyuan stared at him. Was he showing that he cared for her?
When he saw the way she was looking at him, Ye Futian smiled and said, "Your personality isn"t really that good, Princess, but I won"t hold it against you."
"..." The emotions that had just been born in Xia Qingyuan"s heart instantly evaporated. She looked at Ye Futian coldly.
That b*stard.
Absolutely shameless.
What was wrong with her personality?
At that moment, a voice came from the distance. Another powerful aura was spreading towards them, making a look of surprise come over Ye Futian"s face.
Was it opening?
Could it really be that simple?
Apparently, it was hard to get in from the outside, but easy to get out from the inside. After all, this had been someone"s home.
Boom!
Brilliant light shot towards them as even more powerful auras spread out. Renhuang level cultivators were arriving.
Ye Futian looked up and saw a familiar figure.
It was Huang Zhong, the most powerful young member of Shangxiao Divine Palace and a Renhuang level cultivator.
When he had gone to the Divine Palace to train, Huang Zhong had only been a step away from the Renhuang Plane. He had just wanted to forge a perfect Wheel of the Great Path. Now, here in the G.o.d"s Relic, he seemed to have found his opportunity to do so. He had successfully created the Wheel of the Great Path that he had wanted.
After all, he was said to be number one within the Divine Palace.
"Let"s go," Ye Futian said to Xia QIngyuan. "Let the others do as they will."
On saying this, the two of them left. No one would probably be able to inherit what was left behind in the G.o.ds" Relic for a while, so he wanted to see the other places here. The fruit of the Way that he had gotten while training at the Divine Palace was limited, and he was using them up quickly.
Yu Sheng did not go with him. He wanted to see what would happen here.
Soon, more and more people gathered. The people of all the Nine Supreme Realms were gathering here.
At that moment, Ye Futian reached the gate on the south side. He stepped out as if everything going on behind him had nothing to do with him.
When he stepped out, he saw that there was a willow tree beside him. It seemed to be extremely ordinary, except for the fact that it was very old, and thus very large. Countless branches drooped down from it, and there was a pavilion under it.
At that moment, there was a monk within the pavilion, looking dignified and stately. His eyes were closed as he cultivated a.s.siduously. He seemed to be coming to some realization there under the willow tree.
"Brother," said Ye Futian to the monk. He sensed that the monk had a special aura about him, forming a force field around the area.
He must be a cultivator from a top force from the Mountain Realm, Ye Futian thought to himself. He was the only person there under the tree.
"What are you looking at, sir?" came a voice. Beside him, Xia Qingyuan could hear it too. It was not telepathy, but the monk"s mouth did not move.
"There are many divine trees and celestial plants here. Why are you cultivating under this ordinary willow tree?" asked Ye Futian.
"Perhaps, in your eyes, this willow tree is ordinary, but in my eyes, it is divine," said the monk. "When I look at the mountains, they are not mountains. When I look at the lakes, they are not lakes."
He was speaking of the three levels of zen. At the first level, when one looked at mountains, one saw mountains, and when one looked at lakes, they were lakes. At the second level, when one looked at mountains, they were no longer mountains, and when one looked at lakes, they were no longer lakes. At the third level, the mountains were once again mountains and the lakes were once again lakes.
"I would have thought you would have already gone past the second level, master, and reached the third. I would think that you would see mountains and lakes," said Ye Futian with a smile.
"My body is a bodhi tree, my mind is a mirror," the monk said to Ye Futian with a smile. Although he had not yet opened his eyes, Ye Futian still felt like he was looking at him.
"I did not mean to interrupt you cultivation, master," said Ye Futian. He and Xia Qingyuan began to walk away.
"Why were you two talking in riddles?" asked Xia Qingyuan, a look of confusion in her eyes.
What had they been talking about?
"He had given up all the divine trees and celestial plants and was cultivating under an ordinary willow tree. His mind was as clear as a mirror; thus, he was able to see right through that tree," said Ye Futian. "The willow tree was not as simple as it seemed."
As he said this, a powerful aura suddenly spread out behind him. He stopped and turned around. Xia Qingyuan looked over her shoulder as well. They saw brilliant light s.h.i.+ning under the tree, shooting up into the clouds. They saw a huge golden Buddha form there that then transformed into a divine wheel. The willow tree became golden as well and swayed without stopping. At that moment, countless willow leaves began to swirl around in the air as divine light poured through them, falling upon the monk.
The monk"s body had turned gold, and he slowly rose into the air.
He had entered the Way and become a Buddha.
This was the Renhuang plane.
"He formed a perfect Wheel of the Great Path," whispered Ye Futian. Xia Qingyuan looked at the incomparably bright willow tree in shock, then looked at Ye Futian beside her and asked, "What was that tree?"
"I don"t know. Perhaps the G.o.d who lived here used to cultivate beneath it," said Ye Futian with a smile. "Let"s go and find a chance for you to become a Renhuang!"
...