After arriving in the Upper Worlds, Ye Futian and the others found an inn to stay at.
The Upper Worlds and the Lower World were different. Although the Upper Worlds were vast, the population was very closely crowded together, and there were endless grand palaces located there.
After settling in, Ye Futian and the Village Chief went over to Emperor Xia’s Palace. The news about Jieyu had been hanging in his mind for the past few days, and now that the palace’s affairs had been properly arranged, the first thing he would do while in the Upper Worlds was go see Xia Qingyuan.
The others all took the time to stroll around and become familiar with Emperor Xia’s realm, and at the same time learn about the distribution of the top forces in the Upper Worlds so they could form a complete map of them.
But what Ye Futian did not know was that from the first moment when they had entered the inn they were staying at, they were already being watched.
In Emperor Xia’s realm there was a grand community of palaces that an extremely sharp willpower emanated from.
This was Jueying Palace, the place where the Jueying Sword Saint cultivated.
At that moment, the Jueying Sword Saint was sitting upright in the middle of a giant diagram cultivating. Invisible sword wills flowed all around him. He opened his eyes and asked, “What is it?”
“My Lord, someone from Tianji Pavilion is here, saying he has news of Ye Futian,” said the person bowing in front of him. A sword will flashed in the Jueying Sword Saint’s eyes.
“Show him in.” His expression was cold. Ever since Pei Qianying’s defeat, he had paid close attention to Ye Futian’s movements. But the Nine States were directly governed by Emperor Xia, and he set the rules there. The Jueying Sword Saint did not dare do anything rash.
But his most cherished disciple had been destroyed right in front of his face. How could he forget that?
These days his sword was unstable, and often wavered, and he was getting tired of it. Thus he had paid Tianji Pavilion to inquire after news of Ye Futian.
Tianji Pavilion did not originally worry about the affairs of the Lower World because it was not worth it. No one ever asked them to pay attention to them, and so there was no profit in it for them. Thus they would not do it. But the Jueying Sword Saint had paid them a lot, and so they had personally sent someone to the Lower World to observe the movements down there. They knew everything that happened in the Lower Worlds.
Soon, a figure in a white robe embroidered with two fish representing Yin and Yang appeared. He squinted at the Jueying Sword Saint and then bowed, saying, “Greetings, Senior Jueying Sword Saint.”
The Jueying Sword Saint continued to sit there, and said, “Get to the point.”
“Ye Futian has arrived in the Upper Worlds along with many of the cultivators from the Holy Zhi Palace. There are three Saints among them, including Yaya, the sword servant of the Sword Saint of the Void who may have inherited his position. You have seen her before. There is also the lord of Lapis Lazuli Holy Temple. Besides them, there are many Sages who are very powerful. Almost all of those who went to the trials with Xia Qingyuan are there. This group made it up the Sky Stairwell into the Upper Worlds.” The man from Tianji Pavilion smiled slightly as he said this. His report was very detailed. He had investigated those who had come very thoroughly.
The Jueying Sword Saint’s brow tightened suddenly. So there were three Saints with him, including the heir of the Sword Saint of the Void.
He had no way of shaking such a powerful battle array.
“Where are they now?” asked the Jueying Sword Saint.
“They’ve taken up residence at an inn. You may not have heard, but Ye Futian has gone to Emperor Xia’s Palace with one of the Sword Saint of the Void’s sword servants, probably to pay his respects. As for the real reason for his visit, we don’t know yet, but we will find out as soon as possible,” continued the man.
The Jueying Sword Saint nodded as he listened to his visitor continue. “There is one more thing I must remind you of. Ye Futian’s performance in the sacred war in the Nine States was outstanding, and it is being said that there is no one who can match him below the Saint level, and in terms of combat prowess he is said to be without rival. Emperor Xia is probably already paying attention to him, and as far as we know, Princess Xia Qingyuan has paid a visit to the Holy Zhi Palace.”
The Jueying Sword Saint frowned. Ye Futian was a Palace Lord of a palace in the Lower World, a vassal of Emperor Xia. If what his visitor said was true and Ye Futian had indeed attracted Emperor Xia’s attention, then if he killed him it would displease the Emperor.
But many cultivators from the Holy Zhi Palace had come. Perhaps he could start with them and find out Emperor Xia’s attitude that way?
“Father,” came a voice. He looked and saw Pei Qianying coming towards him. He no longer had the same temperament that he’d had before. His hair was messy and his eyes were hazy.
After his life spirit had been destroyed, his path of cultivation had been interrupted. Everyone looked at each other coldly. His former fellow disciples of the Lihen Heaven looked at him and saw that his eyes were full of only sorrow. He had lost the right to cultivate with them.
Even though he was a member of the Jueying Sword Saint’s family, you could see in his eyes that things were different now. Once everyone had worshipped and respected him, but now all that was left was contempt and pity.
“I want him to die.” Pei Qianying’s voice was full of poison.
The Jueying Sword Saint looked at Pei Qianying with displeasure. But he did not say anything. He only sighed. He had after all once been his most cherished son. He could understand his pain.
“Come with me to Lihen Heaven,” he said.
Pei Qianying saw his father’s intention at once. He nodded and said, “Alright.”
…..
The Lihen Sword Palace in Lihen Heaven was the foremost holy land dedicated to swordsmanship in Emperor Xia’s realm.
Its current master was Emperor Xia’s foremost Sword Saint, the most powerful swordsman. His fame was not limited to Emperor Xia’s realm.
From this it could be seen how high a position Lihen Heaven occupied in Emperor Xia’s realm.
Lihen Heaven was like a fairyland. Clouds drifted by this place that looked like a home for immortals.
At that moment there was a Saint cultivating in front of the palace. Pei Qianying knelt on the ground and kowtowed, weeping bitterly. In front of him was a man with an incredibly swift and sturdy aura about him. He was clearly also a Saint.
“I have always practiced hard in order to strive for glory to repay the debt of gratitude I have for my Master. No matter where I was, I could always turn to you for guidance in my swordsmanship. Now my cultivation has been ruined, and I am no longer worthy to study under you. I did not dare to taint your vision, Master, and so I have not come to visit you these past few years. I hope that you can forgive me.”
Pei Qianying’s voice was sincere. In the past he would not have been able to do this, but now honor and dignity were worthless for him. All he wanted was revenge.
“Rise and speak,” said Pei Qianying’s master.
But Pei Qianying stayed bowing. He said, “I am ashamed. I have come to you because I heard that the man who did this to me has come to the Upper Worlds. I was defeated in that battle at Jiutian Temple. I was weaker than him, so there was no dignity in me bringing up this matter, and even less dignity in asking you to deal with it. But because of this battle I have affected the reputation of Lihen Heaven. I was humiliated in front of a crowd, and my life spirit was destroyed. Many people have been talking about this. I hope to one day see a cultivator from Lihen Heaven crush Ye Futian and wipe away the shame that I have caused.”
After saying this, he touched his head to the floor again and said, “I have no power. I cannot wipe away my own shame. Please forgive me master.”
The man in front of him looked at him. Although Pei Qianying’s voice was sincere, and everything he said seemed to be for the benefit of Lihen Heaven’s reputation, he also knew that Pei Qianying was seeking revenge.
But that was understandable.
“What level has he cultivated to?”
“He is an upper level Sage. This man considers everyone to be beneath his notice, and boasts that he has no rivals below the Saint level. He is called the foremost figure in the Nine States who is not a Saint. His combat ability is impressive, none in the Nine States can match it. The people of the Lower World say that even in Emperor Xia’s realm there is no one below the Saint level who can beat him,” said Pei Qianying as he looked up at his master.
The youths on both sides of him frowned and gazed at Pei Qianying coldly. There was a little bit of hatred in their eyes.
Pei Qianying had once been the star of Lihen Heaven, and had entered Jiutian Temple.
Now, he had abandoned all dignity just for a chance at revenge. He was deliberately provoking them, trying to make them take action.
“Feng Xiao and Mo Li have been to the Lower World. They were there at the Imperial Mausoleum. Is this the person who won Renhuang’s Inheritance for his holy land?” asked an elder.
“Yes. He possesses an extremely powerful divine implement, said to be number three on the Divine Implements Ranking of the Nine States. He was surrounded, and yet he managed to fight his way out of an encirclement of top Sages all by himself,” answered someone beside him.
“The one who stole Renhuang’s sword will, Ye Wuchen, and the one that received Renhuang’s inheritance have come with Ye Futian to the Upper Worlds,” said Pei Qianying.
The elder looked at Pei Qianying, then turned to the man beside him and said, “Since he was defeated at Jiutian Temple, let’s do this according to Jiutian Temple’s rules.”
When he heard these words, Pei Qianying clenched his fists and bowed to the floor again.
The Jueying Sword Saint said nothing, standing there quietly all along. When he saw Pei Qianying bowing there he sighed to himself.
However, he was giving up his dignity for the sake of revenge.
He knew that no matter who won and who lost, the ending was already determined the moment that Lihen Heaven decided to act.
……
Ye Futian did not know that he had been watched ever since he had set foot in the Upper Worlds. Of course, he knew that the Jueying Sword Saint and Lihen Heaven would send people against him. That was why he had brought Yaya and Glass Saint, to protect him.
At that moment he had arrived in front of Emperor Xia’s Palace and was looking up at it. He was a bit uneasy. Was this really Renhuang’s palace? It was so impressive and dignified, truly supernatural.
He stepped forward to the foot of the palace. Cultivators were guarding the gate, and when they saw Ye Futian and the Village Chief several of them stepped forward and blocked the path.
“Who are you?” asked a guard.
Ye Futian took a deep breath and said, “Ye Futian, Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace in the Barren State, and a vassal of Emperor Xia. I’ve come to seek an audience with Princess Xia Qingyuan.”
The guard stared at him. There was no doubt that this was indeed Ye Futian. Who would dare stand in front of Emperor Xia’s Palace and tell lies? That would be looking for death.
“Let me report to my superior,” said one of the guards.
“Alright,” Ye Futian nodded. He stood there in front of the gate, quietly waiting.
Emperor Xia’s Palace was so strict that even small matters needed to be reported from the lowest levels to the highest, all throughout the palace. Ye Futian was a little anxious, but he kept his eyes fixed ahead of him.
After a while, a maid came out. She looked at Ye Futian extremely coldly and said, “You are Ye Futian.”
“Yes,” Ye Futian nodded.
“The Princess says that she is not receiving guests today, and has asked me to personally see you off,” said the maid.
“……..”