There were too many cities and forces in the vast Barren State. Apart from the capitals which ruled their own regions, there were also many places that were filled with countless clans.
The people of the Barren State mostly divided the state according to the four cardinal directions. Apart from the four obvious regions, the largest area at the center of the Barren State was called the Zhongzhou City Region. However, in reality, apart from the capital at the heart of the region, there were also many pieces of lands, mountains, oceans, and demon forests spread out across the place.
At the moment, somewhere in the boundless region, a group of cultivators was traveling in the sky. All the members of the group looked extraordinary. The male members were either handsome or burly-looking, while the lady in the team was charming and had snow-like silver hair. It was precisely Ye Futian and his friends. They had already left Divine Sky City for quite a long time. Along the tiring journey, they had also experienced many things.
At the moment, there was a flying boat beneath their feet, around which there was a mighty wind-elemental force. This was a sage-level traveling ritual implement and did not have any offensive powers, but its speed was extremely fast. Of course, their levels were not actually high enough to unleash the full power of the sage ritual implement, even if it was only used for traveling. Nevertheless, this flying boat was somewhat special and it was still incredibly fast. Otherwise, even though the Black Wind Condor was fast, it was still insufficient for them to travel in the huge Barren State.
After traveling for a few months, they also realized that the Barren State was way too enormous. Given that they were only in the Upper Arcana Plane, it was literally boundless.
In the Barren State, cultivators in the Arcana Plane would ordinarily not attempt to cross over to another region, unless they were brought along by their seniors. Nobles were strong enough to travel to another region, but just barely. Only sages could go to whatever places they wished freely.
"Loulan, where are we?" On the flying boat, Ye Futian looked below him. They were surrounded by clouds, and vaguely, he could see a chain of mountains below them.
Loulan Xue took out the detailed map which they received from Chen Yuan. The map turned directly into a beam of light that floated before them. It was densely packed with information, such as the topography of the Barren State, as well as its regions and those clans with sages.
In the world of cultivation, one's power was of utmost importance. Therefore, even in the division of regions, it depended on whether a place had sages. If a place did not have a glorious history or a sage, it would only remain unknown.
"Mount Jiuxian," Loulan Xue replied. "The most famous place in this region is Mount Jiuxian, so the map refers to the region as the Mount Jiuxian Region directly. Here, there are five major cities and numerous smaller cities. There are sages in all of the five major cities who are the city lords. They have the most powerful influences in this region. Mount Jiuxian is like the holy place of this area."
Ye Futian nodded gently. The closer they got to the Central Region, the stronger the clans would become. When he first came to the Barren State, the first major city he went to was Yunyue City. In the four main factions of Yunyue City, the most powerful people were only at the peak of the Noble Plane. However, when they stepped into the Zhongzhou City Region, the most powerful people from major forces were no longer nobles, but sages. Of course, they might be ordinary sages instead of those at the peak of the plane.
Among the clouds, purple lightning was glittering and appeared once in a while. Ye Futian frowned and said, "This is not caused by the weather. I think it's from a cultivator."
"Should we make a detour?" Loulan Xue asked.
Ye Futian lowered his head and glanced below him. Beneath the clouds, there was a vast range of mountains, and he could faintly see many palaces.
"Yup." Ye Futian suddenly had an ominous feeling. It seemed as if they were in the sky right above some clan, which was a taboo for many powerful forces even if they were really high up. However, they would not be able to remain so cautious all the time during the journey. They clearly would not stare below them all the time just to see if there was a clan. Furthermore, even with the map, they would only know roughly where they were and not their exact location, especially when they were flying in the sky.
The flying boat was extremely quick. Immediately, it turned around and was ready to leave the place.
Sizzle… Purple lightning flashed and penetrated across the clouds. They increased in number and quickly enveloped every corner of the place.
'Sh*t!" Feeling the power of the bolts of lightning, Ye Futian shouted, "It looks like a matrix."
The purple bolts of lightning came with the clouds. Slowly, many bolts of lightning charged towards them and there was no place to dodge at all. Ye Futian controlled the boat himself, attempting to avoid the lightning, but it seemed as though they were able to sense the flying boat. At once, a huge wave of lightning which blotted out the sky blasted onto the flying boat.
Although the flying boat did not have any offensive abilities, its defense was impressive. A wind-elemental radiance appeared around it. However, after being hit by the lightning, it still trembled and started to fall down. Ye Futian and his friends also rocked with the boat.
"Be careful! I will descend and withdraw the ritual implement," Ye Futian said. He had already experienced in Divine Sky City how wealth alone could get him into serious trouble. Therefore, it was better for them not to display the ritual implement, especially when they were only in the Arcana Plane. Otherwise, it would clearly ignite the greed of some other people.
Boom! Accompanied by another loud bang, a bolt of lightning dropped from the sky and landed onto the flying boat. With the help of this force, Ye Futian descended from the sky rapidly like a straight sword.
"So this is Mount Jiuxian." Loulan Xue scanned below her and her expression also changed. None of them expected themselves to pass right above Mount Jiuxian. If they had known this earlier, they would have made a detour.
Boom! Another bolt of lightning landed. Ye Futian and his friends turned into several beams of light and descended quickly. The flying boat disappeared, but the group dived down at the same speed as if they were meteors. Mountains and palaces flashed rapidly before their eyes, and they could even see many people in the clan. Moreover, the image before them was getting clearer and clearer.
Thud, thud… Following several sounds, the group landed on the ground and dust was thrown up into the air. The lightning in the sky was already gone as if they had never appeared. However, Ye Futian and his friends remained cautious. After standing still and noticing the situation around them, their faces turned extremely awkward.
At the moment, Mount Jiuxian was filled with countless people.
At the top the mountain, there was a group of people staring at them from above. The cultivators below the mountain were clearly divided into many factions. Similarly, everyone was staring at them.
The group of people closest to Ye Futian and his friends looked extraordinary, especially the few people at the front of the group. They looked gentlemanly and were dressed in elegant-looking clothes. In addition, there were also noble-level generals wearing armors. Everyone gazed coldly at Ye Futian and his team, and the entire atmosphere seemed to be very tense.
At the moment, the whole place was exceptionally quiet because of the unique way in which Ye Futian and his friends appeared.
Did they do so deliberately? everyone thought. They fell down from the sky with the help of the lightning, as if they were heavenly gods… Were they deliberately trying to attract the attention of the people on Mount Jiuxian?
If they really did so on purpose, they would really be too arrogant.
After all, the people before them at the moment we're under the young city lord of Longyuan City, one of the five major cities. It was, therefore, one of the top five teams present this time. These people actually chose Longyuan City to be their opponent. Were they really that strong or just ignorant?
Today, a few sages of Mount Jiuxian would choose their personal disciples. More importantly, the beloved daughter of Wind Sage had grown up and was extremely stunning. She might choose her partner using this opportunity. Therefore, the vast region was astonished and everyone gathered here for this grand occasion. However, there were some restrictions this time; Mount Jiuxian would not choose anyone whose level was higher than the Lower Noble Plane. Everyone knew well why this was the case.
Mount Jiuxian was preparing for the opening of the Holy Road. They wanted to gather the most outstanding people in these few levels here in advance, after which they would head for the Holy Road.
Hence, owing to such a background, the brightest young cultivators of the Mount Jiuxian Region were all present at the moment. The foot of the mountain was jam-packed with people and there were countless factions.
Among them, the young city lords of the five major cities had attracted the most attention as their teams were the most powerful.
All the cultivators were divided into various groups for combat.
Initially, nobody dared to challenge any of the teams from the five major cities.
Ye Futian and his friends descended from the sky, causing the young lord of Longyuan City to be the first one to be challenged in the five cities. In addition, they had appeared in such a unique way. How could they not be in the spotlight?
At the moment, Ye Futian and his friends were totally clueless about what was happening, and they could only see everyone staring at them. They scanned around them to observe the situation and realized that there were many cultivators present. The people on the mountain were extremely powerful and hence they did not act rashly.
"Your levels." The young city lord of Longyuan City was called Qi Yuan. A superior aura was spreading out from his body, along with some noble will. He stared coldly at Ye Futian and his friends. He was a grade eight noble. Being the first team among the five cities to be challenged, he felt that he had been humiliated. However, he still maintained his elegance and asked Ye Futian and his friends calmly.
Ye Futian frowned, feeling the noble will from Qi Yuan. At the same time, he also noticed the coldness in Qi Yuan's eyes.
"Upper Arcana Plane," Ye Futian replied. At the moment, they had all already entered the Upper Arcana Plane.
Qi Yuan's eyes sparkled, and everyone around also seemed to be interested. Why did these Upper Arcana Plane cultivators dare to descend from the sky like this and challenge the young city lord of Longyuan City?
Qi Yuan smiled, after which he waved his hands. Immediately, four people walked out behind him. They were also in the Upper Arcana Plane. With his level and status, Qi Yuan would not think about bullying Ye Futian and his friends.
"Let's begin," Qi Yuan said emotionlessly.
"Begin?" Ye Futian stared at Qi Yuan. At the moment, he had also realized that a challenge seemed to be ongoing. They were standing on an array which was in the same region as Qi Yuan but in the direct opposite corner. Were the people present here to fight each other?
Noticing Ye Futian's silence, Qi Yuan frowned and was somewhat impatient.
"Can we admit defeat?" Ye Futian suddenly said. These abrupt words caused everyone to freeze and stare blankly at them, stunned.
What was happening?