Ye Futian stayed for a few days in the Cottage, accompanying his master and masteress. He did not know when he could return again after he left this time, but seeing the two of them enjoying their time here, Ye Futian felt relieved.
Ye Wuchen had returned to the Cangye Kingdom with Liu Chenyu, then came back to the Book Mountain, preparing to bring Liu Chenyu with him to the Holy Zhi Palace.
Wuchen had entered the Sword Demon's department and was considered a true disciple, so he could bring his family along. He naturally did not plan to continue leaving Liu Chenyu alone here.
After settling these matters, the group of them gathered on the Book Mountain, preparing to leave.
Many people from the Book Mountain had come to send them all, including the lords of every peak and many College disciples. Although the Cottage was no longer around, the Cottage's disciples would forever be immortalized in the Eastern Barren State as the memories of a generation.
Just as Ye Futian was preparing to leave, there were two figures who appeared in the distance, flying among the clouds towards Ye Futian. The College's disciples did not stop them. Evidently, they knew who it was.
The two of them looked weird. One of them was a high monk and the other was a stunning beauty. She was dressed in plain robes and there was not a speck of dust to be found on her. Her complexion was radiant, like a flawless piece of jade and her aura was pure like she had never been troubled by worldly matters.
The girl had a faint smile on her face as she looked towards Ye Futian's group.
"How beautiful." Beside Ye Futian, Long Ling'er mumbled. The lady who had arrived was gorgeous and her innocent and pure aura made her exceedingly pretty, enough to rival Hua Jieyu.
"Master," the Sword Saint saw the high monk and addressed him, nodding. It turned out that the high monk was the abbot of the Qianqiu Temple.
"Benefactor Sword Saint." The Abbot put his hands together and bowed, then his gaze turned towards Ye Futian and he said, "I've heard that Benefactor Ye has returned from the Barren State, so I've specifically come to ask a favor from Benefactor Ye."
"Do tell me, Abbot." Ye Futian's gaze turned away from the lady. Back then, the Donghua Clan had been eradicated and Hua Qingqing had suffered a huge tragedy, causing her to enter the Qianqiu Temple to cultivate. Now, her aura and looks were even more outstanding than before, the Qianqiu Temple must have paid a lot of attention to her.
"Qingqing has a connection with Buddhism. Previously, when I saw her on the Book Mountain, I took her to the Qianqiu Temple to cultivate. Qingqing needed little guidance to understand the Buddhist teachings and her comprehension is the highest of anyone I've met in my life. Now that she has had her first glimpse into Buddhism and entered the Noble Plane, my Qiuqian Temple no longer has any deeper Buddhist teachings to offer her. Benefactor Ye has come from the Barren State, do you know if there are any places that are suitable for her to cultivate?" the Abbot asked.
Ye Futian was slightly taken aback. Ye Qingqing's cultivation level was similar to his back then, he had only just broken through to the Noble Plane by obtaining multiple opportunities in the Holy Road.
Ye Qingqing had also entered the Noble Plane? Could it be that cultivating in Buddhist teachings would cause a person's cultivation speed to increase? That was probably not the only reason.
It should be that Hua Qingqing was indeed destined to pursue Buddhism. When he first saw her, he had already felt that this girl was not affected by mortal desires, like she was not supposed to appear in the world. Perhaps, she was already different from birth and was enlightened after the huge incident.
"The Barren State is vast and boundless, so I am not very familiar with cultivation places in the Barren State," Ye Futian replied. He then turned towards Chen Yuan and asked, "Does Chief Chen know any?"
Chen Yuan looked at Hua Qingqing. He could feel that Hua Qingqing was indeed extraordinary, he had never seen such a pure person before, her unblemished eyes were crystal clear, like a pool of clear water.
"The Barren State indeed has a Buddhist ground, but they emphasize that Buddhism will only be taught to those who are destined for it and rarely take in disciples," Chen Yuan replied.
"If they see her, they will definitely take her in." The Qianqiu Temple Abbot saluted and said, "This benefactor must be an elder from the Barren State, could we have a word in private?"
Chen Yuan looked at Ye Futian and saw him nodding, so he replied, "Sure."
"Qingqing, follow me," the Qianqiu Temple Abbot said, and the three of them left together, making Ye Futian's group curious. Not long after, they came back, but Chen Yuan's expression was peculiar and he kept looking at Hua Qingqing.
"Chief Chen," Ye Futian looked towards Chen Yuan and called out.
"If Hua Qingqing heads there, there will be no problem," Chen Yuan declared certainly this time.
Ye Futian did not know what the Abbot and Chief Chen had discussed to make him this certain.
"I am not well versed enough in the Buddhist teachings, thus my cultivation level is low. I might not have much of a say in this, could I trouble benefactor Chen to help me make the referral?" the Abbot asked Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan's gaze landed on Ye Futian again, as though asking for Ye Futian's opinion.
"Chief Chen, Hua Qingqing is my good friend," Ye Futian said.
"Okay," Chen Yuan agreed to the matter.
"Thank you very much. Since that is so, I will not be following the group." The Qianqiu Temple Abbot looked at Hua Qingqing and said, "Qingqing, this is where we part ways."
"Take care of yourself, Abbot." Hua Qingqing nodded, smiling. Fate would come and go in circles, although she was reluctant, she accepted it nonetheless.
"Benefactor Ye, I'll be troubling you then." The Abbot bowed to Ye Futian.
"Master, there is no need to do that." Ye Futian returned the bow and said, "Since the Master trusts me, I will naturally do my best."
"How could I not trust the character of a Cottage disciple." The Abbot smiled and said his goodbyes.
After doing that, he turned around and left as quickly as he had come. Hua Qingqing bowed in the direction that the monk had left in. The two years that she had spent in the Qingqiu Temple had healed the scars from back then, and she had found that the way of the Buddha appeared to be the most suitable for her.
"Du Ao is dead," Ye Futian looked to Hua Qingqing beside him and said.
Hua Qingqing was shocked and stared at Ye Futian. A teardrop appeared in her eyes and she said silently, "Thank you."
Although she cultivated in Buddhism, how could she be void of emotion? Du Ao had destroyed the Donghua Clan and killed her mother in front of her back then, how could she not hate him.
"It's all over now." Ye Futian smiled tenderly.
"Yes." Hua Qingqing nodded. That year, after they had separated in the snowstorm on the Sky Mountain, she had not expected that they would meet again. She was very thankful for the reunion.
"Let's go," Ye Futian said. He turned around, looking at all the familiar figures. His big brother, master, and masteress, Yi Xiang, Emperor Ye and the rest, then waved to them and said coolly, "I'm leaving."
"Lad, take good care of Jieyu," Hua Fengliu laughed as he reminded him. With this fellow's luck with women, he could not help but worry.
"Yu Sheng, I leave Qingxuan with you," Yi Xiang also told him.
"Alright, rest assured, Master." Yu Sheng nodded solemnly. Yi Qingxuan's eyes were puffy, she would follow Ye Futian and Yu Sheng this time to the distant Barren State and probably not see her father for a long time.
Chen Yuan took out his flight ritual implement and flew into the clouds. The wind blowing on his body, Ye Futian looked at the people around him and broke into a radiant smile. This time, Qingxuan, Chenyu and Liu Feiyang were too. Liu Chenyu would follow Ye Wuchen to the Holy Zhi Palace while Liu Feiyang would follow Chen Yuan to the Starry School to cultivate.
In the following period of time, he was prepared to cultivate seriously in the Holy Zhi Palace and do his best to raise his cultivation level. Now that he was in the Noble Plane, his next target was to become a Sage. If he entered the Sage Plane, he would be considered an influential figure even in the Barren State, capable of setting up his own sect or clan. Even alone, he would be able to make a name for himself in the Barren State.
After Ye Futian's group had left, a group of people continued to stay on the Book Mountain, reluctant to leave.
"Let's go back," the Sword Saint said to the crowd and the College's disciples started to leave. However, there were still people who continued to stare at the disappearing figures.
The witch Gu Biyue sighed softly, "How heartless."
Chu Yaoyao also looked dejected. Hua Qingqing, who had often been mentioned in conjunction with her in the past, had also followed him to the Barren State.
The Sword Saint left and walked to the peak of the Book Mountain. He walked at the edge, looking at the scenery below the mountain and beyond. In the silence, he started to miss his teacher.
Behind the Sword Saint, there was a pavilion. At that moment, beside the pavilion, a figure appeared there abruptly. The figure was dressed in grey robes and had no aura, as though he did not even exist.
The Sword Saint appeared to feel something, causing him to turn around. When he saw the figure, he bowed slightly and called out, "Elder."
"How is your cultivation in the techniques that I taught you?" the grey-robed figure asked.
"I have had some progress, but the technique is too profound, I still need more time," the Sword Saint replied calmly.
"Mm." The grey-robed figure nodded briskly and continued, "Although your potential is ordinary, your mindset is outstanding and your will is firm. Those two will be able to make up for the lacking in your potential. The techniques that I have made you cultivate are also the most suitable for your mindset, decipher it comprehensively and you will reach a high level of attainment."
The Sword Saint nodded, naturally he could feel that too.
"Elder, who are you, why are you doing this?" the Sword Saint asked.
"With your mindset, you should not be asking this. Don't bother asking in the future; just treat this as a surprise opportunity and that I did not exist. Otherwise, I will make you disappear along with the College." The grey-robed figure looked apathetically at the Sword Saint. That one look made the Sword Saint feel as though he had been seen through. He was already in the Sage Plane but he still had such a feeling, it showed how high the other party's cultivation level was.
This mysterious character was likely to be the strongest person he had ever met in his life, even stronger than his teacher.
A gust of wind blew past and the grey-robed figure had disappeared without a trace, like he had never been there. However, in the air, a sound entered the Sword Saint's ear.
"Throughout the ages, countless heroes, however prodigious they were, have faded to dust, but you will be history's witness." The voice was faint and disappeared with the wind. The Sword Saint stared at the disappearing figure with a serious expression, emotions surging from his heart.
Throughout the ages, how many heroes had there been? He naturally could not be considered the genius of a generation, how was he going to witness history. Turning around, the Sword Saint looked in the distance, his expression composed. Nobody knew what he was thinking.
Only time would tell!