Saint Xia enjoyed high prestige and commanded universal respect within the Nine States. The Xia clan also had the prestige of having the number one holy land in the Nine States. Therefore, even if there was a Sacred War between two holy lands, Saint Xia was still qualified to mediate between them.
Of course, in many people’s eyes, even if Saint Xia personally came forward, at most, the two sides would take a step back from the current stalemate. It would be basically impossible to write off all the grievances of the holy war at one stroke.
Saint Xia continued, “Since both the Great Zhou Sacred King and Lord Ye are sitting here today, why not talk things out and see if you can resolve this grudge so as to avoid any more bloodshed.” After he said this, he looked at both Ye Futian and the Great Zhou Sacred King.
The Great Zhou Sacred King put down his wine but did not say anything. No one could tell what he was thinking. Ye Futian also sat quietly.
A brief silence once again descended over the banquet.
Many people thought that with the Great Zhou Sacred King’s strong and proud personality, he could not tolerate everything that Ye Futian had done. At the same time, with the decisiveness and ruthlessness that Ye Futian had displayed in the Sacred War, it would probably be impossible for him to pretend like nothing had happened.
Of course it was impossible. This was what both Ye Futian and the Great Zhou Sacred King were thinking at the same time. The Great Zhou Sacred King could not allow his pride to be trampled by a junior, and Ye Futian could not abandon those righteous men who had died for the Barren State. If they agreed to resolve their differences, how could he explain it to them? Did they die merely to let the palace rest easy?
“Right, let me introduce to you the Nine State Supervising Inspector, Xia Qingyuan.” Saint Xia pointed to the first woman to his left and continued, “The Nine State Supervisor is here today and will witness the agreement that the two of you reach, resolving it on behalf of Emperor Xia.”
Many people trembled in their hearts at Saint Xia’s introduction. Even those who were cultivators of the Saint Plane felt uneasy. What he had said was very meaningful. Saint Xia had told them, intentionally or unintentionally, that the Nine State Supervising Inspector sitting there had a background that was much more important than they had thought.
A Nine State Supervising Inspector with the surname Xia, who was empowered to resolve issues on behalf of Emperor Xia. Knowing that the Nine State Supervising Inspector came from Emperor Xia, and was surnamed Xia, was enough to set their minds racing.
No wonder that number four on the Sages and Saints Ranking Saint Li was only sitting in the first place to the right. In the Nine States, the left side was more respected. Many people wondered if today was not a feast held by Saint Xia, would he be sitting in the main seat?
“The turmoil of this Sacred War was started because of Nether Sword Mound. In the past, many people of the Nine States were led to the forbidden land of Nether Sword Mound due to Ye Futian’s decision. Afterward, a Sacred War broke out, and many of the top forces of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, including the Infinite Palace, were wiped out. Even a figure on the Sage Ranking—Sage Wuliang—fell.” The Great Zhou Sacred King spoke slowly as he looked at Saint Xia. “You are being considerate to us, however, our losses in the Sacred War have been so terrible, we cannot let this go so easily unless Ye Futian comes to the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty to make amends to all those who died, and hands over some things.”
Many holy lands had participated in the events at Nether Sword Mound. Although there hadn’t been any figures of the Saint Plane present, they had interrogated their juniors and thus knew some things about it. Many people had indeed lost their lives there, but they could not lay the blame for this on Ye Futian. It was said that Chess Saint was the one who had arranged things.
“Speaking of that, there were indeed many people who lost their lives in the Nether Sword Mound. Xihua Sacred Mountain also lost many of our proud disciples,” said Saint Xihua calmly, as if he was talking about something insignificant.
“On the Nether Sword Mound, you could stimulate the Sword Matrix of the Void, so you had the ability to bring out many people all along.” Saint Ji’s eyes were sharp and fell upon Ye Futian. This was the second thing he had said, and it still put a lot of pressure on others.
Ye Futian seemed to have thought of this. On the Nether Sword Mound, the people of the Hall of Holy Light had been miserable. He faintly understood where Saint Ji’s dissatisfaction with him came from. Did he blame him both for the affair with the Nine State Forum and the one on Nether Sword Mound? Moreover, Saint Xihua’s casual words seemed to no longer disguise his unfriendliness towards him.
The people below looked at the places where the Saints were sitting, up on the stairs. There seemed to be a lot of Saints who were dissatisfied with Ye Futian.
The people of the Barren State were extremely uneasy. To be the tallest tree standing out in the forest was not a good thing. Today, Ye Futian was sitting in a Saint’s seat, and the pressure he was facing came from Saints.
Ye Futian nodded slightly and looked straight at the Great Zhou Sacred King as he said, “When I entered Nether Sword Mound, it was not only I that was able to break through the matrix; someone who had received Chess Saint’s inheritance could have done it as well. Moreover, the deaths of many people of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty seemed to be because they had offered themselves up as sacrifices to free Chess Saint. Perhaps you are blaming the wrong person for this matter?”
Many people looked at Liu Zong sitting below with the people from Xihua Sacred Mountain. They all knew about the affair where Chess Saint had chosen Liu Zong in the mountain village.
Saing Xihua bowed his head and took a sip of wine so his face could not be seen. Ye Futian could not see it, but since Saint Xihua had subtly targeted him, he would not be polite.
After solving the problem of the Master, he had planned to shut himself up in the Holy Zhi Palace for a while. Now that Yang Xiao had laid out a huge matrix around the palace, defending against any attack below the Saint Plane would be no problem. Even if Saint Xihua was secretly scheming, it made no difference.
“The Great Zhou Sacred King launched this Sacred War and wanted to level the Holy Zhi Palace. And now he wants those who fell in the war to be my responsibility? Should we give up our resistance and let the Great Zhou Sacred King slaughter us?” Ye Futian’s eyes were sharp.
Everyone listened quietly. It was just as they had guessed. They wanted to calm the Sacred War, but the two sides could not agree.
“I am alone. I only have one disciple, and I did not participate in the journey to the Nether Sword Mound. However, If I had entered the forbidden land to seize treasure with trickery and had fought with you on equal terms, it would be ridiculous of me to blame you for not protecting my own people.” At this time Sky Saint smiled and spoke lightly. He continued, “Moreover, it seems meaningless to speak of right and wrong now. It is off-topic. Let’s return to talking about the terms.”
Saint Xia nodded slightly. “Tracing this affair back to its source is indeed meaningless now. So, do you agree to the terms that the Great Zhou Sacred King put forth, Lord Ye?”
Ye Futian looked at Saint Xia and bowed slightly. “I thank you for your kindness, but ending the Sacred War is not something that we can discuss.”
Saint Xia looked at the Great Zhou Sacred King again and nodded slightly. “In that case, I won’t force the issue. Unfortunately, although we won’t mention the Sacred War, for the time being, the Nine State Forum struggle is deadlocked. This needs to be solved. If you are still not willing to talk about it, then be clear about it and I won’t ask about it.”
The atmosphere became more serious at Saint Xia’s words. Ye Futian said, “I’ve already agreed to exchange people, but the Great Zhou Sacred King refuses to give up.”
“What do you think, Great Zhou Sacred King?” asked Saint Xia.
“You surely must understand the intentions of someone on the Saint Plane. Previously, Ye Futian rejected all my proposals. Since you are here today, I will take another step back. I want the Sword Matrix of the Void and the Divine Sword.” The Great Zhou Sacred King’s voice was cold. Many people looked uneasy. Everyone knew of the Sword Matrix of the Void. It was the reason the Great Zhou Sacred King had started this Sacred War.
Seeing Saint Xia looking at him, Ye Futian said, “At the Nether Sword Mound, I used the power of the sword to crack the mystery of the matrix, which ignited the Sword Matrix of the Void. With my current level, how could I use my own power to start up the number one matrix in the Nine States and take control of it? Although I would like to agree to the Great Zhou Sacred King’s terms, I cannot. And moreover, are the King’s sons’ lives really so worthless?”
“And one more thing,” Ye Futian continued. “Even if I agreed to these terms, once I let Zhou Huang go and he returns safely to the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty Palace, the Great Zhou Sacred King can once again seek to kill my Master. What should I do?”
“Since you do not agree to the Great Zhou Sacred King’s conditions, tell us your idea,” said Saint Xia.
“In addition to letting Zhou Huang and the others return to the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, I will also return the Golden Phoenix Sword. But the Great Zhou Sacred King can not make any moves against us in the next ten years, and of course, the Barren State will not make any moves against him either,” Ye Futian continued.
The Great Zhou Sacred King had already reached the second level of the Divine Path. He would need some time to ensure his Master’s safety.
Many people’s eyes glimmered as he said this. Did Ye Futian want to remove the Saint Plane level battles from the Sacred War?
“What do you all think?” Saint Xia asked those beside him. But in reality, others couldn’t decide if they didn’t know what Saint Xia was thinking.
“I think Lord Ye is quite sincere,” said Moon Saint with a smile. “A prince who is of the Sage Plane and has the ability to enter the Saint Plane in addition to two others, and a divine implement, all to ensure his Master’s safety.”
“Great Zhou Sacred King, you are an elder, why be so pushy?” Sky Saint said indifferently, speaking for Ye Futian. Obviously, Ye Futian’s visit was still bringing him advantages. Even this cultivator of the Saint Plane was willing to maintain friendly relations with him.
“Why don’t you take a step back, Great Zhou Sacred King? After all, both sides are at an impasse, it’s not like you have the advantage. If you continue like this, you will lose your demeanor,” said Glass Saint with a smile.
The Great Zhou Sacred King glanced at Glass Saint. He knew of Ye Futian’s visit. Three Saints were willing to speak for him. They obviously all valued his potential. Although he was only a low-ranking Sage, Ye Futian was still a threat.
“Since you say so, Glass Saint, I will take a step back.” The Great Zhou Sacred King looked at Glass Saint and then turned his gaze back to Ye Futian. “The Infinite Ruler of the Infinite Palace is also ours, and it must be returned as well, in addition to the Divine Sword from Nether Sword Mound. Also, ten years is too long. I will give you only three. You will not be allowed to intervene and influence the state of the war. I have one more condition. All fighting below the Saint Plane cannot rely on battle matrices, otherwise, I will be able to directly intervene.”
Ye Futian could wield enormous power with a battle matrix and was a serious threat. And if the Village Chief had the Divine Sword, he could force a collision. If Qin Zhuang and the others formed a battle matrix and he wielded the Divine Sword, they could snap him like bamboo and destroy every top force of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty.
If he destroyed his opponent’s advantages like this, then he could directly kill Ye Futian in the Sacred War.
The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty still had three great cultivators of the Sage ranking.
Ye Futian obviously understood what the Great Zhou Sacred King was trying to do. Their battle arrays were now no weaker than the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty’s below the Saint Plane, and so the Great Zhou Sacred King wanted to destroy his two strongest trump cards. Even now, in terms of pure quantity, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty was still much stronger than them.
“The Infinite Ruler was seized by my Palace. And not only do you want the Infinite Ruler and the Golden Phoenix Sword, but also the Divine Sword? This is taking a step back?” asked Ye Futian sarcastically.
“Since there are still points of contention, why don’t I make a suggestion based on what you have already said,” said Saint Xia. “In addition to both sides agreeing not to harm Douzhan, Zhou Huang, and the others, the Infinite Ruler and the Golden Phoenix Sword—all things that belong to the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty—will be returned. The Saint Plane cultivators of both sides will not be able to make any moves. With the Saint Plane of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty making this concession, the Holy Zhi Palace must also agree to the Great Zhou Sacred King’s suggestion that both sides not be able to use battle matrices in the war. How about that?”
Many people nodded slightly. Saint Xia’s proposal was indeed relatively fair. Zhou Huang and the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty’s sacred implements would be traded for Douzhan, and the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty would concede their Saint Plane power while the Holy Zhi Palace would concede their Sage Plane power. Moreover, this was in line with what both sides wanted to achieve. The Great Zhou Sacred King wanted to kill Ye Futian more than he wanted to kill Douzhan. And Ye Futian wanted to protect his Master.
“I basically agree, but I need to change it a little bit. I can do without the Infinite Ruler, and I would like to instead get the Divine Sword,” said the Great Zhou Sacred King. The Divine Sword came from Nether Sword Mound and was clearly more precious than the Infinite Ruler. Moreover, it was more useful to the Barren State.
“What do you think, Lord Ye?” asked Saint Xia.
Ye Futian hesitated. Although he had been the one to bring the Divine Sword out of Nether Sword Mound, in some sense, the Village Chief was more suited to wield it. If it had been the Infinite Ruler, he could have agreed straightaway.
“Agree.” At that time, the Village Chief’s voice reached Ye Futian’s ears. He turned his gaze towards where he was sitting.
“Five years is enough. Give the sword to him and see if he can wield it or not,” continued the Village Chief. His voice was very calm.
Ye Futian’s eyes flashed. Five years was enough? What did he mean by that?
He had a faint feeling that this had to do with Nether Sword Mound and Yaya.
Since the Village Chief had no objections, Ye Futian made a quick decision and nodded. “I agree!”
Many people’s eyes flashed as Ye Futian nodded. The two sides had reached an agreement for the time being!