Ye Futian and the others left with the Village Chief by riding on the sword. Their silhouettes quickly disappeared from the Jiutian Temple.
There were countless at the Jiutian Temple who remained shocked and their minds still felt restless. All stages except for the ones at the Eighth and Ninth Layer of Heaven were closed, just so that everyone present would be able to witness those three from the Nine States get to the Ninth Layer of Heaven, and then challenge Pei Qianying.
They saw what they came to see. However, instead of a clash between titans as they had imagined it, the fight turned out to be a one-sided slaughter. Ye Futian, Yu-Sheng, and Gu Dongliu fought their way up to the Ninth Layer of Heaven and overpowered Pei Qianying and the other two mighty ones. They went so far as to destroy Pei Qianying’s Life Spirit.
Pei Qianying, who had been an unparalleled genius, ranked on the Jiutian Ranking, was thoroughly reduced to a product of a tragedy like none other. It was a harrowing sight to behold. No one had expected the Lower Worlds to have some mighty ones who were of such caliber.
Pei Qianying was the favorite son of the Jueying Sword Saint and he was about to send him to Lihen Heaven for training, having high hopes for that son of his, hopes that ended up utterly crushed. The Jueying Sword Saint probably harbored intense resentment over the outcome, but then again, it was Pei Qianying’s fault for robbing others of their Life Spirits in the first place, and he permitted and attempted to refine the stolen Life Spirits as well. With Pei Qianying being defeated and destroyed in a fair fight, as well as having Princess Xia Qingyuan as the witness, there was simply nothing he could do.
Even if the Jueying Sword Saint were to simply go down to the Lower Worlds and commence a killing spree down there, ignoring the princess’ stance in this altogether, he would be fighting a holy land and saints, and they , inturn, could simply come up and wage a war against the Jueying Palace.
As for Lihen Heaven, which was the number one swordsman training ground in the Emperor Xia’s Realm, it went without saying that it was an insult like none other for one of the students from the Lihen Sword Palace to be crushed in such a manner. But then again, it had been a battle that Pei Qianying fixed himself and also one that Princess Xia Qingyuan bore witness to. Countless at the Jiutian Temple also witnessed the fair fight, which Pei Qianying ended up losing and gotten crippled. If Lihen Heaven were to exact revenge by mobilizing their saints, it would be an insult to their status as the number one holy land of swordsmanship.
Lihen Heaven was incapable of bearing such a loss and while they resented the outcome, the most they could have done was to simply have their own from Ye Futian’s generation to fight him in order to regain their lost face. If they were able to cripple Ye Futian in return, no one else would have been able to say anything but to acknowledge the strength of Lihen Heaven. As for someone of such a high status as the Swordmaster of Lihen, he would not have cared for something like that, as it was little petty squabbles between insects.
The truly pathetic one from the incident remained to be Pei Qianying himself. If he had known that Ye Futian from the Nine States was of such prowess, he would not have set up one such battle at the Jiutian Temple.
The battle became the talk of the Emperor Xia’s Realm, but it would eventually subside with time, as Emperor Xia’s Realm was simply too huge and there were too many legendary figures around. Something major took place every single day.
However, Ye Futian, Yu Sheng , and Gu Dongliu would remain names etched in the memories of many. At the very least, those who had been present at the Jiutian Temple that day would remember them.
…
Sword qi filled the Holy Zhi Palace at the Barren State, streaking about like a bolt of lightning above the holy land. Countless below looked up at the sword flash and caught sight of many standing on top of the giant sword.
Ye Futian the Palace Lord, Hua Jieyu, the saint, and the others were all home.
Those who went to study outside were there as well.
Where did the Palace Lord go to get all of them back? Many guessed but no one had expected Ye Futian to spend his days in the Upper Worlds, fighting all the way up to the Ninth Layer of Heaven.
A sword flash glimmered above the Holy Sage Pavilion and many came down. Many elders from the palace came to greet them. Douzhan, the Sword Demon, Huang Xi, Yun Shang, You Chi, Zhuge Qingfeng, and the others were all there.
“Dongliu, Mingyue, I see that you’re home,” Zhuge Qingfeng said to his daughter and son-in-law.
“Father.” Zhuge Mingyue nodded.
“Father-in-law.” Gu Dongliu nodded as well.
“So, did you two rascals grow during your days out there?” You Chi said to Xue Ye and Luo Fan. Xue Yue was his son-in-law while Luo Fan was something like a student to him.
“Of course,” Xue Ye smiled and answered.
“Jiuge.”
“Xu Que.”
“Shuisheng.”
“Huang Xi, Xu Shang, Yun Shang , and the others came up, feeling relieved to see their sons and daughters return. Before that, many who ventured out from the other holy lands of the Nine States returned one after another, with only those from the Holy Zhi Palace not home yet. All of the elders of the Barren State worried sick about their offspring. As such, they came as soon as they saw Ye Futian bring them all home.
It seemed that all had been well.
Hua Fengliu and Nandou Wenyin went up and pulled Hua Jieyu aside.
“Dad, mom, I’m fine.” Hua Jieyu took both of their hands and smiled.
“Yeah.” Nandou Wenyin nodded.
At that moment, Liu Chenyu came beside Ye Wuchen and held his hand.
“I’m fine.” Ye Wuchen smiled at her. He had come to during the journey. While he still felt rather weak, the Undying Old Man was around to tend to him and his own regenerative powers would have him restored before long. As for what Ye Futian did, Ye Wuchen knew everything.
“Right.” Liu Chenyu nodded lightly and leaned on him.
“Hey, you just got home and it’s a bad idea to pull a public display of affection, you know,” Ye Futian teased. Liu Chenyu glared at him, saying, “Your Jieyu is here. No need to get jealous of us.”
“Me? Jealous?” Ye Futian said in a rather disgusted tone.
“I’m taking him home to rest.” Liu Chenyu took Ye Wuchen away, ignoring Ye Futian altogether.
“Yeah, yeah, a short period of separation beats being newlyweds and all that. Have fun,” Ye Futian smiled and said.
“You two, go get some rest yourselves. You’ve been apart for more than three years. I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about,” Zhuge Mingyue smiled and said.
“Right. Save anything else for some other time. Right now, these fellows need a few days of rest.” Everyone departed, leaving for their own residences.
The Holy Zhi Palace became a far more lively place than it had been before. In the compound of the Holy Sage Pavilion, Ye Futian was having a simple but warm dinner with his teacher and the others. They did not talk about what was happening outside and it seemed as if no one cared. Nobody asked anything about the progress of their training as well. Such simple, heart-warming moments were hard to come by with the Sacred War still going on. It was Ye Futian’s biggest wish to simply have everyone around him safe and sound.
Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu returned to their bedchambers. They went to the balcony, leaning against the fence and gazing at the scene before them. Ye Futian took Hua Jieyu’s hand and said gently, “Jieyu, I haven’t been able to talk to you much these days. I sure hope you won’t hold it against me.”
Hua Jieyu turned around and tidied the hair before Ye Futian’s forehead and said gently, “Right, I’m really mad about that.” She naturally knew what was on Ye Futian’s shoulders at the moment. As the Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace, it was only natural for him to have little time to attend to her when they were out there. As the wife of the Palace Lord, she had the duty to share his burden, and there was no way she would have cared little else for anything but their moments alone.
“Is that so? Well, how should I make it up to you then?” Ye Futian smiled sheepishly at her. Hua Jieyu knew what he was thinking when she saw that face, so she stepped on his foot hard.
“Ouch, easy there, honey.” Ye Futian smiled and said, “You must have gone through a lot the past several years.”
“Not at all, actually.” Hua Jieyu shook her head lightly and turned her eyes forward. “But the world outside is sure a big place. I always thought the Nine States were big enough, but Xia Qingyuan brought us places for the past three years or so. Vast lands lie beyond the Nine States, and there are more dynasties and clans and whatever than you could possibly count. There were many more places like Emperor Xia’s Realm. Renhuang’s Realm was at the Upper Worlds, and we even made it to the Renhuang Ruins. Do you know that some places like the Emperor Xia’s Realm and the entire part of its Upper Worlds were reduced to a wasteland? There was a war that wiped out the entire realm and only ruins remain. We even managed to find mighty ones from other realms there.
“We always thought that the world that we live in was everything, but the Divine Prefecture was actually far larger than we imagined it to be. Some were simply born different from all others, like Xia Qingyuan. Her birth designated her vista to be higher than ours. While she is indeed arrogant, but she is truly exceptional,” Hua Jieyu said, smiling.
“You’d be better than her some day in the future.” Ye Futian took her hand and said gently, “Don’t forget that you’re my empress.”
The line from Ye Futian reminded Hua Jieyu of the crackpot called Minister Zuo. She smiled and added, “Futian, do you know what came to mind when I saw everything in the outside world?”
“What indeed?” Ye Futian shook his head and saw Hua Jieyu’s beautiful eyes gazing at him fondly. She then added, “I was thinking that it was your world out there. You were born to be a supreme emperor, destined to conquer one Renhuang Realm after another. One day, you’ll truly stand above the Nine Heavens and gaze upon all of the worlds below.” Hua Jieyu’s eyes shimmered as she uttered those words. Her unparalleled looks appeared even more glittering. The vast, boundless world out there was where Ye Futian belonged.
Ye Futian’s hands caressed Hua Jieyu’s face. He looked at her brimming eyes, then said, “Well then, guess what I’m thinking at the moment.”
Their eyes were on each other and Hua Jieyu blushed when she saw the smile in Ye Futian’s eyes.
She apparently knew the answer.
“I’m going to take a bath.” Hua Jieyu attempted to escape Ye Futian’s devilish grasp.
Ye Futian gazed at her alluring figure and patted at the dirt off him, then said, “It seems like I need to get washed up myself.”
Ye Futian then headed for the back of the compound as well. The rear of the bedchambers was sealed off and there was an independent space. There was a bathing pool at the front and an alluring figure was seen walking into it. Splashes were soon heard, and Ye Futian came to the side of the pool. The flawless figure in the water looked like a goddess bathing under the moonlight.
“Take your eyes elsewhere.” Hua Jieyu turned around and looked embarrassed. Her face was all red.
“It’s not like I haven’t seen any of this before.” Ye Futian sounded nonchalant but his eyes remained true. He took off his clothes and walked into the water. The silhouette with flawless curves and supple skin before him seemed like something that was made in heaven, so much so that it was enough to make any mortal go crazy. There was little doubt as to why many cultivators found it difficult to see past beauty despite their more adamant minds.
“Don’t come any closer.” Hua Jieyu’s heart beat wildly when she saw Ye Futian doing the exact opposite. He actually came all the way here. He really has no shame.
“Darling, let your husband scrub your back for a bit.” Ye Futian’s voice was heard and she felt his claws on her skin. It rendered her face burning red hot.
Everything went in the expected direction afterward and it was beautiful!