Chapter 821: Reinforcements from All Around
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the Holy Zhi Palace, everyone was preparing their best for the upcoming battle.
At that moment, in Ye Futian’s quarters in the Sage Palace, the Sword Demon and Sage Daozang were there, looking towards the front.
Ye Futian stood there and, in front of him, there were flocks of avian demonic beasts. These demonic beasts had one similarity, and that was their speed. Among them were wind rocs, gale eagles, and golden-winged condors.
Even the weakest of these demonic beasts were at the pinnacle of the Noble Plane. There were even a few of them who had entered the Sage Plane and were mounts that had been trained by the Palace’s experts. However, at that moment, all of the demonic beasts were being engulfed by a terrifying aura. Ye Futian’s eyes appeared to have become a terrifying storm, endlessly deep and demonic. His gaze shot directly into the beasts’ eyes, into their brains, where he imprinted his Spiritual Will on them.
All the beasts shivered uncontrollably. Long after, they finally regained their composure, lining up in a row and bowing to Ye Futian.
“Go,” Ye Futian gave an order, and the beasts flew into the air, flying towards different directions once they were in the sky.
At that moment, many fields of view appeared in Ye Futian’s head. Through the eyes of the demonic beasts, he could see everything that they could.
The Sword Demon and Sage Daozang looked at each other. They did not expect Ye Futian to have the ability to control demonic beasts. There seemed to be nothing this fellow did not know. This way, the demonic beasts could replace cultivators in providing reconnaissance for them and keep watch over the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty’s movements.
“Uncle-Masters,” Ye Futian looked at Sage Daozang and the Sword Demon and asked, “do the two of you feel that we should adopt a full defensive strategy or send experts to assault the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty in this Sacred War?”
They had already received news that the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty was assembling its army and preparing to head towards the Barren State.
This sacred war was initiated by the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, so they would take the initiative to attack. However, to Ye Futian, he would have the advantage of staying in the Palace. Battling in the Barren State would be battling on their home ground.
As the weaker party in the war, the Holy Zhi Palace, evidently, could not send out their full force to attack the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, so they only had two options now. Just like Ye Futian had said, they could either focus on defense, or send experts to launch a sneak attack on the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty while defending.
“The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty was once the ruler of the Eastern State and has a strong foundation. Since they have initiated the Sacred War, they will be prepared. How could they easily let us launch an attack on their headquarters?” Sage Daozang continued, “If we only send out a portion of our forces to launch an attack on the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, it might be pointless. If we send out a huge army, the Palace’s defenses will be weak and unable to withstand the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty’s invasion. So, I do not suggest a sneak attack.”
“I think so too.” The Sword Demon nodded lightly. Sage Daozang’s analysis was valid; the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty had traveled far to conquer the Barren State, so they would definitely leave people to stand guard. This meant that the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty would not bring its full strength. They had the home ground advantage, so they needed to utilize it fully. If they split their forces to launch a sneak attack, that would be tantamount to giving up their advantageous position and taking unnecessary risks.
“I understand.” Ye Futian nodded and replied, “Palace Lord Yang and I have thought of some battle matrices, but there is still a lack of experts in the Holy Zhi Palace.”
In the Sacred War, battle matrices with little power were useless. Only higher-level matrices would work, but they needed many experts to activate.
“The Palace indeed lacks elite experts, that will be a huge disparity between us and the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty. If they clash during the war, we might…” The Sword Demon’s tone was pessimistic. After all, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty’s foundation was evident for all to see. The army that they had assembled this time would definitely be filled with experts.
At that moment, the Sword Demon and Sage Daozang raised their heads and looked into the distance. A strong aura emanated from the direction they were looking at and Ye Futian also looked towards there. Soon, a group of figures flew rapidly towards them, the Palace’s disciples leading the way.
“Reporting to the Palace Lord, City Lord You has led a group of people to participate in the Sacred War,” a voice said from the air.
Ye Futian then replied, “City Lord You, please.”
“Palace Lord Ye.” You Chi’s voice sounded, and he brought a group of people towards Ye Futian’s direction.
Apart from him, Ye Futian also saw the Fire Emperor Palace’s Yan Jun, the Goddess Pavilion’s unparalleled Goddess, Chu Ji, and the few family heads from the Alchemy Conference that Ye Futian had met in the past.
“Uncle,” Ye Futian called out to him. You Chi was his brother Xue Ye’s father-in-law, so it was only appropriate for him to address him as “uncle.”
“Yan Jun, Palace Lord Chu, elders.” Ye Futian then turned to the others and saluted them. They had all come to provide assistance to the Palace, so he would naturally not put on the air of a Palace Lord. He bowed to them as one from a younger generation would.
“Palace Lord Ye.” They returned the salute, and a glint flashed across Chu Ji’s eyes. This little fellow had unwittingly brought the Barren State to such a position that even Saints were willing to enter the Palace.
“Futian, I have brought Alchemy City’s experts. I have also brought the ritual implements that my Alchemy City has stored over the years, do take stock of them.” You Chi also smiled and changed his tone. When he came, addressing him as “Palace Lord Ye” was etiquette, but since he was already here, he did not need to regard Ye Futian as an outsider.
A glint appeared in Ye Futian’s eyes as he saw You Mu step forward and pass two storage rings to him and say, “One of them contains elite Sage Plane ritual implements while the other contains weaker ritual implements, but they are all for Sage Plane cultivators.”
Nodding his head, Ye Futian’s Spiritual Energy entered the rings as he took a look. An exciting glow appeared in his eyes. As expected of Alchemy City, the two storage rings were the equivalent of a treasure vault.
“Uncle, do not pretend to be a stranger.” Ye Futian did not express his thanks. He did not need to; You Chi leading the south-west’s experts to participate in the war was equivalent to giving his life for the Palace. This was a favor far more valuable than the previous battle in the Palace.
“I haven’t been fighting much these few years. Now that I have the opportunity to fight against the experts from the other states, it’s a good thing,” You Chi smiled and said.
“Do you want to spar with me first to warm up?” A voice sounded. They all looked into the air and saw two groups of experts flying towards them.
The person who had spoken was Tingxue House’s Xu Shang. On the Barren Sky Ranking, You Chi was ranked eighth while Xu Shang was ninth.
“Fighting you is boring,” You Chi said coolly. Xu Shang’s specialization was slaughter, and Xu Que had inherited that.
“This is a rare opportunity. In the Sacred War, we will be able to see what level we are at now,” a person smiled and said. It was the Sovereign Family’s Huang Xi. Huang Jiuge stood behind him.
The Sovereign Family and Tingxue House both resided in Zhongzhou City, and the two of them had led their experts to assist the Palace.
“Long time no see, seniors. You still look as stylish as before,” Ye Futian smiled and said.
“What style can we have when compared to you? Standing out in the Nine State Forum, killing a Saint in the Nether Sword Mound, that is a Saint! You could brag about it for a lifetime,” Xu Shang replied. Ye Futian had killed a Saint.
This fellow could really bear to do it.
How decisive.
“Do you have confidence in this Sacred War?” Huang Xi looked at Ye Futian and asked.
“Not much.” Ye Futian shook his head and did not attempt to hide it.
“I guessed so,” Huang Xi said.
“But senior still came,” Ye Futian smiled and replied.
“Just like You Chi said in his letter, you are the leading figure selected by the Barren State’s will. Now, the Barren State’s factions prosper together with the Palace. How can we survive if the Palace is gone?” Huang Xi said.
In the Sacred War, once the Palace was eliminated, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty would definitely enter the Barren State as the winning party and rule over the entire Barren State.
The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty was an imperial faction. By then, the various factions in the Barren State would only be able to bow down and take orders from them.
Ye Futian was a little ashamed. He was indeed the Palace Lord selected by the Barren State’s common will. Now, the responsibility on his shoulders seemed to have become even larger.
This was a war they could not afford to lose.
“Don’t push it on me. You came because you wanted to, not because of a letter,” You Chi retorted. What he said was the truth, with Huang Xi and Xu Shang’s status, if they were unwilling to come, a letter would definitely be insufficient to persuade them.
Ye Futian felt his heart warm. He turned around to the people behind him and said, “Prepare a banquet.”
“With the Sacred War ahead of us, let us do away with these formalities,” You Chi said. It was not important whether they had a banquet or not.
“It’s fine, I can discuss the matter of the Sacred War with Uncle and the seniors over a banquet as well,” Ye Futian replied.
“Okay.” You Chi nodded. Thereafter, the Palace started to set up a banquet. Soon, it was prepared. The influential figures in the Holy Zhi Palace all arrived, and the Village Chief also attended. Many people saluted him as he entered.
“Chief Chen has arrived,” during the banquet, a voice sounded from outside.
Ye Futian said in a loud voice, “Please enter.”
Soon, Chen Yuan and Mu Chuan entered. Alongside them were the Blazing Sun School’s chief Yang Ding and the Starry Moon School’s chief Gong Kui. The family heads of the Divine Sky City were also there. The West Mountain Dragon Clan’s Long Ling’er and her father Long Ao, as well as Gu Yunxi’s father, had also arrived.
Ye Futian stood up to welcome them.
After that, Zhuge Qingfeng led the Zhuge Family’s experts in. However, there were not many people from the Zhuge Family this time, even less than the Sovereign Family’s experts. When Zhuge Qingfeng had gone to gather experts, there had been objections from within the family. Certain factions within the family were unwilling to participate in the Sacred War and fight for Ye Futian.
“Previously, while I was discussing with my two Uncle-Masters, I had commented that the Palace did not have enough experts. Now that seniors have arrived, we can set up some formidable battle matrices.” Ye Futian said to the rest, “My initial plan was to set up a few battle matrices, and I will need seniors and your men to help in setting up these battle matrices. Different cultivators can contribute in different ways.”
“Just go ahead. Give us the order if you need us to do anything. In this Sacred War, you are the commander,” You Chi replied.
The Sacred War was a war between holy lands, so it naturally needed someone to have absolute control. As the Palace Lord, Ye Futian had assembled the strength of the entire Barren State, so it was only fit for him to be in control.
At this time, they needed to be of one mind and ignore personal benefit, otherwise, many people would die.
The rest of them all nodded. Ye Futian did not need to be modest and started assigning roles.
The Village Chief watched everything silently. The scene before his eyes made him surprised. He had not expected that Ye Futian, who was only in the Sage Plane, had such rallying power in the Barren State!