Chapter 999: Stirring Speech
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Upon hearing what the Village Chief said, Ye Futian was silent for a while. The ban had been lifted. Emperor Xia had personally summoned all the Saints to the Upper Realms and ordered them not to let any news of the battle get out. Otherwise, their holy land would be destroyed.
The people from the holy lands may not have known the specific reason, but they knew that it had to be related to Emperor Xia, otherwise, why would it be worth it for him to take such an active stance on it?
A Sacred War had broken out, and with merely a word, Emperor Xia had gotten rid of all the rules. Since Emperor Xia had summoned the Saints, everyone was paying close attention, but who would dare to spread rumors? This would not just affect an individual, but their entire holy land. Once Emperor Xia discovered which holy land the rumor had come from, he would make it disappear.
Ye Futian did not understand why Emperor Xia would do this. Was the reason for him sealing off all the news that he did not want to kill him? He didn’t understand. What was behind all this?
Although Emperor Xia controlled an entire realm, he could not be compared with Donghuang the Great. Twice in the past, Donghuang the Great had sent cultivators to seize people, and he did not believe that Emperor Xia did not know about those incidents. He couldn’t even say for sure if Emperor Xia had been involved or not. So why had no one come to seize him this time? Maybe they just hadn’t arrived yet? After all, if Emperor Xia wanted to seize him while he was in the Nine States, he could do it at any time he wanted.
“In addition, Emperor Xia has disposed of Zhisheng Cliffs, striking its name from the holy lands of Yu State, and has given control over it to Stone Saint. Xia Sheng has also imprisoned Saint Ji for ten years. For those ten years, he will not be permitted to leave the Hall of Holy Light,” continued the Village Chief. Zhisheng Cliffs had lost both their Saints and their status as a holy land. They had been punished for Saint Zhi’s betrayal of Emperor Xia’s rules.
Saint Ji had blocked Emperor Xia when Saint Zhi had broken his rules. And for that, he had been imprisoned for ten years.
“Then who were those nine people? And who asked Saint Zhi to get involved? Were they people from the Upper Realms?” Saint Zhi had been at the Saint Plane, and not the beginning of it either, so Ye Futian would not believe it if someone had said he had not had a reason to try and trade his life with his. Those nine cultivators must not have been from Zhisheng Cliffs.
The Village Chief shook his head. “Emperor Xia has probably investigated this and already knows, but we haven’t had any concrete news of this.”
Ye Futian nodded and said nothing.
“After the Saints returned from the Upper Worlds, the holy lands called together all those who had partic.i.p.ated in the battle and did not let cultivators who do not belong to a holy land leave for several days. They had probably already gotten their stories straight for when Emperor Xia questioned them. Saint Ji, Saint Xihua, and the six great holy lands also gathered together, so they probably know the threat,” continued the Village Chief. “The six holy lands lost a lot of their vitality in the battle. In Qi State, the Qi clan has grabbed a lot of land from the Hall of Holy Light. Some of the top forces in Qi State have begun moving closer to the Qi clan, which has alienated the Hall of Holy Light, purposefully or not. In addition, the forces that are near to the territories of the six great holy lands are nervous, so it will probably be impossible for them to raise an army to start a war like they did.”
Ye Futian naturally understood that when the seven great holy lands joined forces and surrounded the Holy Zhi Palace, the people of the Nine States had thought the palace would be destroyed. The forces under the control of the seven holy lands had followed along, hoping to gain some benefits for themselves.
But after the battle, those that had fought knew what had gone wrong, and those that had not fought no longer dared to target the Holy Zhi Palace. Such was the influence of that battle.
Many of the holy lands were now nervous, but some were ready to act. For example, the Qi clan saw that the Hall of Holy Light had lost a lot of power and had made an enemy of the palace, and Saint Ji had been imprisoned by Emperor Xia. Such an opportunity was a once in a lifetime event.
Everyone could feel that the situation in the Nine States had changed, and these changes might spread throughout the world. Now, the Barren State, which had once been the weakest of the Nine States, had four Saints.
There was number 12 on the Saints Ranking, Saint Jiang, and Yaya, who had started the sword matrix that had killed Saint Zhi. Those who had partic.i.p.ated in the battle a.s.sumed that she possessed the spirit from Nether Sword Mound, and it was no simple sword spirit. In addition, there were the Village Chief and Douzhan. Only the Holy Zhi Palace had four saints.
As for those under the Saint plane, Ye Futian had not been killed. He was worth an army by himself, as no one could stand against him on the battlefield.
How could the six holy lands not be panicking?
“When will you return?” asked the Village Chief.
Ye Futian closed his eyes. When would he return? The ban had been lifted, but had the danger to him been lifted?
He didn’t know.
He looked at his master and his sworn sister and whispered, “You go on back. I want to spend a few days at peace.”
“The mastress asked me to follow you,” said the Village Chief. Ye Futian had no one who could oppose him below the Saint level, but if those holy lands did something reckless like Saint Zhi had done, it wouldn’t be good. It would be safer to just watch him. Other than top forces like Saint Xihua and the Great Zhou Sacred King, who if they wanted to trade their lives for his he couldn’t stop them, he was probably safe. And even they would probably not do that.
“Looks like Yaya still sees me as her brother,” said Ye Futian with a warm smile. A strange look came over the Village Chief’s face.
“There’s one more thing. After the Saints came back, the Great Zhou Sacred King and Saint Xihua took a trip to Lapis Lazuli Holy Temple, but Gla.s.s Saint had protected it against them, so they left early. In addition, all the cultivators of the temple were nowhere to be found,” he said.
Ye Futian knew of the Great Zhou Sacred King’s obsession. Nowadays, they couldn’t easily defeat the palace. Even though they had Saints, with Yaya and Saint Jiang stationed in the palace, and them lacking Saint Ji, they wouldn’t dare make a move. After all, no one knew just how powerful Yaya was. So, they had to pick on the weakest Saint—Gla.s.s Saint.
…
Ye Futian did not return but stayed in Qingzhou City. He lived just as he had before. Perhaps it had already become a habit to him. But what was different than before was that he finally once again started cultivating.
Every morning, he practiced martial arts, meditation, sensing the rule power of heaven and earth, and he would occasionally even practice with the halberd. During the day he would talk with his master and sworn sister, play chess, or take a leisurely walk around the city. At night he would go to the lake.
He spent several months in this simple way. The master and his sworn sister were finally willing to go out into the city with him, and these trivial little strolls made him feel better bit by bit.
Of course, he understood that his master and teacher would never forget about Jieyu. He was the same way, so he could understand their feelings. He didn’t leave because he had a good reason to stay: he hoped that one day he would not completely forget her, but would be able to let her go as much as possible and find another reason to live.
The 10,017th year of the Divine Prefecture Calendar gradually came to an end, and at the end of the year, the atmosphere of Qingzhou City became more lively. Many people who had left their homes to train gradually made their way there. The end of every year was the most beautiful time in Qingzhou City, and this year was no exception.
Lanterns shone brightly around the lake as boats traveled back and forth across it. On the sh.o.r.es, commoners were selling fireworks and snacks. After all, Qingzhou City was not like the outside world where everyone was a powerful cultivator. There were many common folks here. The melodious sound of a guqin playing carried across the lake. By now people were used to it.
From time to time a small, brightly painted boat would drift past Ye Futian. The women in the boat would jeer at the white-robed youth, but there would, of course, be no response. They were used to it as well, this had become a routine for many people.
Nowadays, there were fewer people talking about Ye Futian. People are forgetful. No matter how legendary he had been in the past, Ye Futian now was like a commoner. People forgot the stories about him, they just sighed for the end of a hero. They believed that he had met some enemy in the outside world who had ruined his cultivation, and thus he had returned to Qingzhou City to live in seclusion.
Qin Yi and Feng Qingxue often came to the lakeside to talk with him, which made people trust their initial judgment even more. Many people were moved by this. Qin Yi and Feng Qingxue must have once had feelings for Ye Futian, otherwise, why would they be spending so much time by his side now?
But some people laughed and said that Yang Xiu must be really generous. He did not seem to mind and even came with his wife to sit and listen to Ye Futian play the guqin. Some people even secretly said that he was not afraid of being cuckolded by Ye Futian.
His song ended and Ye Futian put away his instrument. Behind him, a woman stepped forward and gently draped a cloak over his shoulders. The people around Qingzhou Lake who saw this said that Ye Futian was truly a legend. Even having fallen into this state, he was still surrounded by beautiful women.
The woman who had placed the cloak on him had an outstanding aura. She had been with him all along these past few days. It was Loulan Xue.
“Futian, the moon and stars are s.h.i.+ning, and they’re reflecting on the lake. Let’s go out in the boat, ok?” said Qin Yi with a smile.
“Alright,” said Ye Futian with a smile. Emperor Xia had not sent anyone to seize him, and it seemed like he did not plan to move against him. His mood had gradually improved over the past few days, and he was not as depressed as before.
“Let’s go find a boat,” said Feng Qingxue, and she pulled Yang Xiu along with her. After a while, the two of them rowed out while the whole group enjoyed the scenery of the lake.
Ye Futian laid in the bow of the boat, looking at the sky that was bright with stars. A few of the stars were extraordinarily bright. Some old people said that when people died they became stars. If the legend was true, then Jieyu must have been the brightest star.
Wind blew across the lake. Ye Futian frowned slightly, and then sat up. He looked forward and saw another boat coming towards them. A figure was standing at the front of the boat. Qin Yi and Feng Qingxue stopped talking when they saw this. It was a beautiful woman, so beautiful they could scarce believe it. She stood there calmly, and seemed to eclipse the entire world.
The woman stepped out of her boat and came towards them. Yu Sheng stood up and started forward, but Ye Futian waved his hand. The woman came up to him.
“You should all be getting back.” Ye Futian made a slight bow to Qin Yi and the others.
“Let’s go,” whispered Yu Sheng. They were all worried, but they still got into the small boat and rowed away, looking at Ye Futian all the while.
“When are you coming back?” the woman whispered as she sat beside Ye Futian.
“How is is that you have time to come to this small city, Gla.s.s Saint?” Ye Futian looked at the enchanting beauty next to him. He was a little surprised. He had not expected Gla.s.s Saint to come here.
“The Nine States are all waiting for news of you, but you are lying here in this small city, playing guqin and spending time with beautiful women. What a leisurely existence,” said Gla.s.s Saint coldly.
“What does that have to do with you?” said Ye Futian indifferently.
“Nothing, of course. Many people died in the battle at the Holy Zhi Palace, and their corpses are not yet cold. Your wife died for you. What are you even doing here? Wallowing in your grief? Turning your hair white to show your deep feelings?” said Gla.s.s Saint coldly. “What a happy life you have, spending it with beauties by the lake.”
Ye Futian’s expression did not change, but the corner of his mouth hooked up in a sinister smile. He reached out and grabbed Gla.s.s Saint by her slender waist. She went stiff as she gazed at Ye Futian coldly.
Ye Futian stared back at her and said, “Back at the Imperial Mausoleum I promised to take you into my harem. Are you so impatient for that?”