Saint Xia saw that they both agreed, and nodded with a smile, saying, “My original intention was to calm the Sacred War. After all, a continuous battle will only hurt both sides. But since the two sides can’t see eye to eye, you will have to abide by the agreement you just reached.”
He looked to Xia Qingyuan sitting beside him and said, “Do you have any objections, Supervising Inspector?”
Xia Qingyuan had been sitting there quietly all along. Seeing that Saint Xia had asked her opinion, she remained very calm, without the least bit of perturbation.
“Since both sides have agreed, you will be given a chance to amend the rules of the Sacred War. The rules of the Sacred War will be re-established according to what you have said, and they cannot be changed in the future. If anyone violates them, the Nine State Guard will arrest them,” said Xia Qingyuan calmly. Her voice was clear, cold, and feminine. Although she was dressed as a man, she did not hide the fact that she was a woman, and indeed she could not hide it.
She had not said that she was going to report to Emperor Xia. She had directly made the decision on his behalf.
Everyone looked at her. Her face was unsurpassed in its delicateness, without a single blemish. But she gave people a feeling of an unapproachable coldness. It was a kind of extreme pride. She was definitely quite young, but sitting before the Saints, there was no trace of disturbance from her. She was so calm it was frightening.
It seemed she was already very used to this kind of situation. This was by no means something that ordinary people could do. The auras of people at the Saint Plane were so strong that even Ye Futian felt the pressure when Saint Ji spoke.
The implications of Xia Qingyuan being able to sit there calmly were self-evident.
The Great Zhou Sacred King nodded. Although he was extremely arrogant, he still did not dare to violate the will of Emperor Xia. As the king of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, he naturally had a deep understanding of the world of cultivators. And the more he knew, the more reverence he felt for them.
Ye Futian was the least reverent person he had ever seen.
It was just five years. The Village Chief of Tombkeeper Village had been one of the people who followed him into Nether Sword Mound. He had cultivated for years, but his potential was limited to this. Unless there was an opportunity to defy the natural order, he would never reach the level he was at now.
As for Douzhan, it was said that even in 50 years, he wouldn’t even reach the steps of the Divine Path.
The reason he had not agreed to ten years was that he was impatient. He couldn’t wait that long. Other than that, as far as he was concerned, there was no difference between five years and ten years. Once the five years were up, he would grab Douzhan and sacrifice him to those of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty who had fallen. And once Ye Futian lost the Divine Sword and his battle matrix, he would be able to kill him within five years. Unless Ye Futian hid within the Holy Zhi Palace and did not come out, he would kill him in five years, if not sooner.
So, from any perspective, he was the winner in this trade.
Ye Futian waved his hand, and suddenly, the Golden Phoenix Sword went towards the Great Zhou Sacred King. At the same time, the Village Chief down below also waved his hand, and the Divine Sword flew towards him, swallowing up the powerful sword will.
The Great Zhou Sacred King grabbed it, and it seemed like the image of a phoenix appeared in his hand. It trapped the Divine Sword, that was swallowing up the sword will, and then accepted it.
“Get out of here,” the Village Chief said coldly. Zhou Huang and the other two looked embarrassed as they moved over to the group of people from the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty.
As for Sage Douzhan, he had not been sitting with the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty. He had been beside the Holy Zhi Palace people all along. Which of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty people could have bound him beside the Great Zhou Sacred King?
And the Great Zhou Sacred King had no need to guard him. With Saint Li’s guarantee, and Saint Xia mediating, the Great Zhou Sacred King was not worried that Douzhan would dare to escape. And now, there was, of course, no need to worry.
Seeing this solution, Saint Xia said, “Then let us end the affair between the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty and the Holy Zhi Palace here. I have sent invitations to people from all the holy lands, should I tell them all one more thing?”
“Are you referring to bringing the talents from the younger generations?” a Saint asked.
“Mhm.” Saint Xia nodded.
“Yes, tell them, they naturally will not forget.” The Saints nodded one by one. This time, when they came, they would bring their young talents. At this banquet there would not only be cultivators from the Saint Plane but also almost all of the top talents from the Holy Lands. It could be said that the people coming to the banquet represented both the present and the future of the Nine States.
The only thing was, the people of the holy lands did not understand why Saint Xia had done this. The elders of the Nine States had the Nine State Forum to exchange their training and views. As for the top talents of the Sage Plane, there was the Battle of Proving Holiness. Would Saint Xia really arrange a battle at his banquet?
No, there must be another reason.
Everyone gazed at Saint Xia. They would probably find out soon.
“I’m sure everyone would like to know where the Supervising Inspector has come from,” said Saint Xia. The Saints all nodded one by one. As cultivators of the Saint Plane, they naturally knew where Emperor Xia was. It wasn’t a secret, but people would rarely speak of it out of respect.
Ye Futian sat there quietly. When he was Palace Lord he had asked that same question. Later, he had learned a little bit. Thus, he also knew a little bit about where Emperor Xia was.
The world was bigger and crueler than he had imagined.
“Why don’t you tell us, Supervising Inspector?” said Saint Xia. Suddenly everyone looked at her delicate and flawless face. Many people imagined how beautiful she would be if she put on women’s clothing.
Xia Qingyuan stood up and stepped away from her seat. She faced away from Saint Xia and walked step by step out of the group of people. Even though the people on both sides of her were Saints, she was still very indifferent. She quietly walked to the edge of the steps and looked out at the crowd.
Many powerful people from the Nine States were there, and now, their gazes all fell on Xia Qingyuan. Her eyes were as cold as frost as she swept them over everyone. At that moment, all the supernatural figures had a wonderful feeling, as if the woman there before them was the most outstanding figure in the holy lands and that they must lower their proud heads.
She seemed to have been born with this disposition.
Xia Qingyuan waved her hand and a brilliant light shone. A pagoda appeared before her and flew into the air.
At this banquet, the Saints sat in a ring shape below the steps. There was an empty area in between them, and it seemed that Xia Qingyuan had arranged for it to be there.
The pagoda kept expanding until it was 30 meters high. An incomparable brilliance bloomed from within it like a Holy Light. The will of the Great Path seemed to spill out from it, enveloping everything. There seemed to be a glazed lamp within that illuminated the pagoda.
“A divine implement.” Everyone’s eyes flashed. This glazed pagoda was a divine implement.
“This is the Lapis Lazuli Pagoda. As long as you are standing beneath it, it can sense your breath and release a repressive power. Any Nine States cultivator of the Saint or Sage Plane who can light up the pagoda will be able to undergo a special assessment. Those who pass the assessment can enter upper-level cultivation.”
Xia Qingyuan spoke calmly, but when they heard her words, the Saints’ hearts trembled fiercely. As Saint level cultivators, they naturally understood the import of Xia Qingyuan’s words. And it was not only them. Many powerful figures from the various holy lands’ eyes flashed brilliantly. They obviously understood as well.
This was a qualification possessed only by cultivators of the Saint Plane.
In the land of the Nine States, what did Emperor’s Xia’s orthodoxy, and the orthodox Battles of Proving Holiness, amount to? The common folk of the Nine States did not understand, but how could the people of the holy lands not understand?
The world of cultivators was far sterner than common people could imagine, and far crueler.
In particular, Saints who had lived for many years knew this very clearly. They had experienced an entire era.
It was rumored that centuries ago, Donghuang the Great and Emperor Ye Qing wanted to change something and so launched a Sacred War. The Divine Prefectures of the East experienced unprecedented turmoil. Afterward, the world was unified. But there were some things that could not be changed.
When he heard this, Ye Futian’s heart was also in turmoil. The youth who came out of the city of Qingzhou had cultivated himself and raised his status, and had gradually begun to come into contact with the world of cultivators.
The Nine States were all under Emperor Xia’s orthodoxy, but Emperor Xia did not cultivate in the land of the Nine States. Once he had thought to go and see for himself, but due to the Sacred War he had not had time. But in the future, he would probably have the opportunity.
Many of the cultivators’ eyes flashed. They knew that this was an opportunity to change their destiny.
Xia Qingyuan had provided them with another means other than Battles of Proving Holiness to change their fate.
Was this Emperor Xia’s command?
Who was Xia Qingyuan?
She clearly had fearsome power.
At this moment, a line of figures walked out from both sides. They wore extremely beautiful golden robes. They came to the area under the Lapis Lazuli Pagoda. They looked at everyone, and one of them said, “Who is first?”