Chapter 2438: Compromise, Balance
Ye Futian remained silent and didn’t speak. Upon seeing his reaction, Lord Six Desires asked, “Ye Futian, just speak the truth. Did you willingly enter the Six Desires Heavenly Palace? Did I force you to do it?”
Ye Futian stood there and continued to be silent. At such times, not speaking would be more impactful than speaking.
“He’s right—just speak the truth. Did Lord Six Desires imprison you in the Heavenly Palace? Because of his threats, you had to hand over the divine frame?” one of the three cultivators asked in an attempt to pressure Ye Futian.
At this juncture, of course Ye Futian wouldn’t rashly follow what he said; that would be foolish. These people weren’t related to him in any way. Why would they care about his life? They had only come here because they cared about the divine frame and the inheritance of the Great Emperors. The moment he admitted that he was threatened, these people would have an excuse to act. Afterward, it wouldn’t matter if he was alive or not.
“Come over here and tell them,” Lord Six Desires continued. His might shrouded the Six Desires Heaven.
“Six Desires, you are coercing him,” a cultivator said, but Lord Six Desires didn’t care. Ye Futian finally moved. He knew that if he continued to remain silent, it would have the opposite effect of what he wanted. He walked out of Yangxin Mountain and flew through the air. He came before the main hall of the Six Desires Heavenly Palace and chose a position to stand in.
He bowed slightly toward Lord Six Desires and the three great cultivators. “Greetings, Lord and seniors. I was ‘invited’ by the Lord to join the Six Desires Heaven. Lord Six Desires was willing to give me advice on my cultivation, which is why I entered the Heavenly Palace. The divine frame will be much more powerful in the hands of the Lord. It will then be able to protect me better. At the same time, the Lord is willing to teach me about the methods, which I have inherited from the Great Emperors. It will be beneficial towards improving my cultivation.”
It seemed as though Ye Futian’s words came right from his heart. It was sincere, candid, and polite. Yet, the cultivators present could sense that something was wrong with what he said. He was “invited” by Lord Six Desires, the Lord was willing to give him “advice” in his cultivation, and was even willing to “teach” him about the methods inherited from the Great Emperor. Ye Futian needed Lord Six Desires to teach him about the methods of the Great Emperor?
That was certainly a thought-provoking statement.
Lord Six Desires also sensed that there was something wrong with what Ye Futian said, but after all, there weren’t any loopholes in his words. He had admitted that he entered the palace willingly. At this point, Lord Six Desires couldn’t flip on Ye Futian, as that would only prove the three great cultivators right—that he was threatening Ye Futian.
One of the great cultivators said, “I see how it is. If Lord Six Desires can do it, then I can too. I know that you have made many enemies in the Divine Prefecture. If you really get into trouble in the future, I’m afraid Lord Six Desires alone wouldn’t be able to fight them all. Besides, it’s been so many days, yet Lord Six Desires still hasn’t solved the mystery of the divine frame. It’s probably not possible for him to become the greatest cultivator below the Great Emperors.” He continued, “I came from Yemo Heaven, and I’m the lord of a heavenly palace as well. I’m willing to provide aegis for you and teach you cultivation. Are you willing to join my palace for cultivation?”
“Yemo, Ye Futian already joined my Six Desires Heavenly Palace. What’s the meaning of this?” Lord Six Desires asked.
“Who said Ye Futian could only enter one palace?” Another one of the great cultivators said, “Moreover, Six Desires, you said you were going to provide protection for Ye Futian. Do you really think that you alone can fend against all of the forces from the Divine Prefecture? If that’s the case, would you like to take us on—one against three—and try to spar with the three of us?”
This question made Lord Six Desires’s expression turn a little ugly. These three cultivators had clearly come to snatch Ye Futian from him.
One against three. Of course, he couldn’t do it. These three were all on the same cultivation level as him. They’d known each other for years and had battled before. He couldn’t even guarantee that he would win one on one, let alone one on three.
“Lord Ye and Lord Liberty are right. I don’t mind either,” the last person said. He was wearing a kasaya. He was a divine Buddhist monk with an extraordinary aura. The three great cultivators had reached the same conclusion. They were overtly snatching Ye Futian, making him join their palaces while he had already entered the Six Desires Heavenly Palace.
And they believed that Ye Futian wouldn’t reject them.
These three great cultivators were Lord Ye of Yemo Heaven, Lord LIberty of Liberty Heaven, and Lord Initial Zen.
The Western World was vast, nearly boundless. It was said to have various worlds and various small words. All three of the cultivators and Lord Six Desires were powerful beings who stood atop all of these worlds, high above the masses.
Cultivators of their level rarely appear together. Yet today, all four of them had come for Ye Futian. More accurately, they came for the divine item.
In his mind, Ye Futian was a little taken aback by the words of the three cultivators. So this was the wisdom of the cultivators at the top of the pyramid. He only hinted a little, and they immediately knew exactly what to do. They knew that even if he was threatened, he wouldn’t say anything rash and could not have a falling out with Lord Six Desires. They proposed to let him join their palaces so he wouldn’t have to turn on Lord Six Desires. At the same time, these great cultivators could share his divine item. Perhaps they wouldn’t even have to fight each other. As long as Lord Six Desires made some small compromises, everyone would be satisfied.
Such good scheming. Ye Futian couldn’t help but feel impressed.
On top of that, he couldn’t reject them.
It’s a pity that these four cultivators were well matched with each other. According to Mo Yunzi’s memories, not one of them was above the others in any way. As such, they were able to create a balanced situation.
“Ye Futian, do you agree to this?” Lord Ye asked Ye Futian directly.
“I already joined the Six Desires Heavenly Palace, so I need the Lord Six Desires to agree to it,” Ye Futian looked toward Lord Six Desires, appearing very composed. Of course, he wouldn’t reject them. Being controlled by Lord Six Desires alone was far more menacing to him than the four great cultivators forming a system of checks and balances on each other.
But he wouldn’t agree directly. Instead, he let Lord Six Desires make the decision.
“Six Desires, what do you say?” Lord Ye asked Lord Six Desires. Three gazes landed on him, which made his expression turn a little ugly.
“Hmph!” Lord Six Desires snorted and said, “Ye Futian already joined my Six Desires Heavenly Palace, yet the three of you are making such aggressive demands. I will remember what happened today.”
“Does that mean that you agree?” Lord Liberty asked, but Lord Six Desires didn’t answer him. Instead, he turned toward the body of Shenjia the great and continued to study it. He started earlier than the other three cultivators. If he could understand the workings of the divine frame before the three of them, based on the power that Ye Futian could unleash back then, it would be enough to deal with the three of them.
When that happened, he’d let them know who was in charge.
But now, he would have to avoid direct conflict with the three. He had absolutely no confidence in battling them one on three.
“In that case, Ye Futian, from now on, you will be under us,” Lord Ye said toward Ye Futian.
Ye Futian sighed inside. It was a pity that they didn’t start fighting directly. But there was no rush. The seed of conflict had already been planted, and a fallout was a mere matter of time. He needed to wait patiently for some time.
“Thank you for being so gracious.” Ye Futian bowed toward them. “I shall take my leave first.”
He turned and went off, leaving the place. The three great cultivators all stared at the divine frame of Shenjia the Great, then their figures descended and landed before it as their divine consciousness surged toward the divine frame. All of them wanted to study, understand, and obtain the divine frame!