Chapter 983: Showdown
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Saint Xihua witnessed the death of Liu Zong from above. His aura grew increasingly restless and his killing intent increasingly thick. However, everyone throughout the Nine States had their eyes on that very battle. If he dared to interfere in the battles between the sages, it would have ended very badly for him. There was no way Emperor Xia would have forgiven him if he were to break the rules that Emperor Xia set out in the open and before the eyes of the public.
There were enforcers who served Emperor Xia and they were terrifying people. It was said that Ji Yuan, who ranked second on the Saint Ranking, disappeared because of those enforcers. While the Upper Worlds seemed to be very far away, he believed that Emperor Xia would know everything happening on his turf. If Emperor Xia intended to watch the battle personally, he would have been able to do so from the Upper Worlds.
Saint Xihua was unable to do anything but the watch as the genius that the three saints of Xihua Sacred Mountain had painstakingly nurtured died miserably on the battlefield.
Liu Zong had immense talent in the way of the Buddha, which enabled him to easily comprehend all manner of training methods, drawing inferences effortlessly from seemingly different methods. That, in turn, enabled him to master many types of powers. Even though he was taught by three different saints, he had learned everything taught to him. As such, Saint Xihua had great hopes for Liu Zong.
“Gu Dongliu and Yang Xiao of the Holy Zhi Palace. Bai Luli of the Jixia Holy Palace.” Saint Xihua’s expression was extremely cold. Yang Xiao was able to have closure and put behind something that had haunted him by killing Liu Zong. However, things were far from over. He intended to witness the utter destruction of Xihua Sacred Mountain, for Saint Xihua had definitely given his permission to carry out what ended up as a tragedy for him a long time ago.
“Lord Yang, will you still be able to fight?” Gu Dongliu asked Yang Xiao.
“I’m fine.” Yang Xiao nodded and stepped forward, heading towards the battlefields with those from Xihua Sacred Mountain.
Gu Dongliu and Bai Luli took a look at each other after seeing him leave. Both of them seemed to have reached a consensus and turned in the opposite direction instead. The scene puzzled the few mighty ones from the Chess Saint Villa who survived. Those two feel rather off.
Things on the battlefield grew increasingly worse. The vast Holy Zhi Palace was filled with the raging aura of rules everywhere from top to bottom. Of all the battlefields there, the one where Ye Futian was was the most intense.
The very targets of the seven holy lands in this Sacred War were Huang Jiuge and Ye Futian, and there were both on the same battlefield. As such, one could only imagine how intense these battlefields were. Layers of battle matrixes locked the space down with Ye Futian and the four mighty ones at the center. They were literally caged.
It was a given that Qin Zhuang, Yun Shang, and the others were not having a good time, being trapped. Qin Zhuang and the other eight formed a matrix with him taking the lead. He was versed in space rules and his killing abilities were unparalleled, capable of moving like a gust of wind. Yun Shang and the others, however, were all sorcerers. They were quickly forced into passivity when surrounded by the mighty ones. Qin Zhuang and his people were only able to keep moving in that space, preventing Yun Shang and the other sorcerers from being taken out altogether.
Even so, Yun Shang and the others continued to be in extreme danger. While she was the lord of the Ice Temple and was ranked second on the Barren Sky Ranking, she was only able to serve adequately as support. Being surrounded by the mighty ones from the many islands of the Endless Ocean’s three holy lands, things turned extremely dire for her. Many in her battle matrix had been killed.
“Yu Sheng, big brother, get to Lord Yun,” Ye Futian said to both Yu Sheng and the Sword Saint. Both of them coursed with raging demonic might and hesitated. Ye Futian was being surrounded as well. The ones from the Endless Ocean were the most numerous and it seemed that they kept coming, no matter how many of them were killed.
“Get to it already,” Ye Futian continued as he sensed how dire things were at Yun Shang’s side.
“Be careful yourself.” The Sword Saint nodded and a bolt of lightning flashed, carving a path from the blockade.
“Let them,” the mighty ones outside said, letting both the Sword Saint and Yu Sheng off the blockade.
Those two demonic art practitioners were incredibly dangerous and many died in their hands. Their target in that battle was Ye Futian and Huang Jiuge. It would have sufficed just to have both of them remain there. Having the Sword Saint and Yu Sheng leave the battlefield had actually made things easier for them. Furthermore, other than Ye Futian and Huang Jiuge, Hua Jieyu—Ye Futian’s wife—was there as well. There was no way they could have escaped.
At the far side of the Holy Zhi Palace, powerful saintly might was sensed and it seemed that a powerful force was growing near. The saints, who watched the battles from above, turned their eyes in that direction and quickly saw a group of goddesses dressed in the same color appearing. The dress billowed and everything else seemed to pale in comparison.
“You.” The Sacred King’s eyes sparkled when he saw the woman taking the lead. It was none other than the number one beauty of the Eastern State—the Glass Saint—entering the battle with mighty ones from the Lapis Lazuli Holy Temple. They had been at the Holy Capital of the Sacred Dynasty, holding the forces of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty back, making it so that only the most powerful force of the Sacred Dynasty—the Golden Phoenix Army—could participate in the war in the Barren State. As such, the Glass Saint simply brought her people into the battlefield instead.
“I never expected the Glass Saint to show up.” The chess piece in Saint Xia’s hand remained in his hand as he looked at the Glass Saint’s direction. Her black hair billowed in the wind, and the usual warm and amicable Glass Saint was nowhere to be found. She looked extremely cold at that moment, but even that was not enough to shadow her immense beauty.
The Glass Saint took a look at the battlefield and cast her gaze at Ye Futian’s direction, then said, “Go help him out.”
“Yes, madam.” The mighty ones from the Lapis Lazuli Holy Temple headed straight to where Ye Futian was.
“What?” The Sacred King stared at the Glass Saint, never having expected her to lend a hand to Ye Futian, who had violated her back in the imperial mausoleum.
“Don’t be anxious, Sacred King. When the battle below is over, you’ll have your woman,” Saint Xihua said coldly, turning his eyes in the Glass Saint’s direction. She actually dares show up here today. Well then, we’ll just take care of them together afterwards.
“Intercept them,” the saints of the Endless Ocean ordered. Huge numbers of mighty ones went on to intercept the mighty ones from the Lapis Lazuli Holy Temple. The Lapis Lazuli Holy Temple forces were of limited numbers, as the Glass Saint disbanded the Lapis Lazuli Holy Temple itself, leaving only a group of elites behind. Furthermore, none of the topmost forces within the region of the Lapis Lazuli Holy Temple dared to follow them into the Sacred War. From their perspective, it was a losing battle and they would rather apologize to her for not going. The Glass Saint did not meet any of them, but she did not fault any of them either.
“Ocean Saint, North Deep, isn’t it time for you people to pull your own weight?” Saint Ji said coldly. The most powerful force of the Hall of Holy Light, helmed by Ji Ya, was being held back by the warrior monks of the Vajra Region. The Golden Phoenix Army was being pushed back by Yuan Hong and his people, while the army of Xihua Sacred Mountain was being fought by the Yue clan. Liu Zong was dead. Furthermore, the main army of the Holy Zhi Palace was at their side, enabling the ones from the Endless Ocean to suppress Qin Zhuang, Yun Shang, and the others.
Presently, only Ye Futian, Huang Jiuge, and Hua Jieyu were left at their side, and the ones from the Endless Ocean still stood by and did nothing. Things would only turn more dire for them if they continued to drag things out. The morale of Xihua Sacred Mountain was shaky. If it had not been for Saint Xihua being present, all of them would have probably left the battlefield. The Yue clan retaliated fiercely and Hua Qingqing turned into a buddhist lamp, shining light onto all of the mighty ones, enabling the army to gain endless power. With the Lapis Lazuli Holy Temple joining the fray, no one knew what would happen if they were unable to take Ye Futian out quickly.
“Will do,” the Ocean Saint replied and turned his eyes to Ye Futian and the other two who were heavily surrounded. If it had not been for Xu Chehan holding them back, things would not have dragged on for so long.
Mighty ones flashed by and arrived above where Ye Futian was. At that moment, Ye Futian and the other two stood in the air, and he had an enormous screen of the stars around him. Terrifying rule spells bombarded it and yet they were unable to shatter the screen.
Three battle matrixes appeared in the air. While there were not actually many, they all consisted of the most elite, the absolute core figures of the three holy lands of the Endless Ocean. It was also the secret weapon prepared specifically for that battle and for taking down Ye Futian.
The mighty ones from the Ocean Palace were right before Ye Futian. The one taking the lead was named Ao Feng, who ranked 17th on the Sage Ranking. He led an elite battle matrix. The ones at the left were of the North Deep, with the one taking the lead being Kun of the North Deep, who was also ranked on the Sage Ranking, the most powerful figure among the North Deep who was not a saint. The one at the right was Yang Qi of the Celestial Cliffs, also a sage ranked on the Sage Ranking.
The most powerful Sage Plane figures of the three holy lands of the Endless Ocean led elite battle matrixes and stood before Ye Futian and the others. It was a testament to how determined they were.
The three armies spread out and surrounded Ye Futian and the other two below in a triangular formation. The three mighty ones held divine implements and pulsed with terrifying holy light. They looked at Ye Futian with eyes saying that there was no way for him to escape. Ye Futian had actually let the Sword Saint and Yu Sheng go the aid of others despite his predicament. It was like he was digging his own grave.
Ao Feng borrowed the power of the matrix, and the aura of the elite army behind him gushed into his body, making him look even taller and more imposing. His huge battle form was a towering height, and a huge divine beast Life Spirit appeared behind him. It was a silver dragon.
Terrifying might swept through the place with him at the center. He held a trident divine implement in his hand. The pointed tip was thrust downwards, bringing terrifying waves with just a single move. Silver lightning bolts crackled and fell downward, bombarding the light screen of stars with raging force. Cracks were heard continuously as the starry defense continued to crumble.
“Ye Futian, hand over the Halberd of Space and Time and Huang Jiuge. Surrender and I shall spare your wife.” Ao Feng pointed the silver trident at Ye Futian like an ocean god. The huge silver dragon continued to circle above his huge body, overflowing with limitless power.
Ye Futian felt the pressure and his expression was solemn. He held the Halberd of Space and Time and amplified his power using the battle matrix. Ao Feng, who was ranked in the top 20 of the Sage Ranking, felt even more overbearing than Ji Ya alone at the moment. Everyone who stood behind Ao Feng was an absolute elite from the Ocean Palace.
Ye Futian’s aura boiled within his body and he took the battle form of a Roc. He seemed to have turned himself into a giant divine bird, imposing and proud. Beams of terrifying light shot through his body as he opened the Seven Star acupoints in his body. His blood howled with the might of the dragon as his body became filled with frightening power. He felt the upcoming battle to be the true showdown.
Saint Zhi stood at the far side, and behind him, Kong Yao and a group of mighty ones were looking down on Ye Futian. They did not go to fight elsewhere and had instead chosen to keep an eye on Ye Futian. They were hoping that they were not so weak as to be taken down by the ones from the three holy lands of the Endless Ocean. It would have complicated things when it was their turn to rob Ye Futian.
“We’ll call it a day.” Saint Xia threw the piece in his hand on the chessboard, messing up the game. Saint Li looked up at Saint Xia feeling rather aghast. So you just give up when you’re about to lose?
Saint Xia did not seem to be aware of Saint Li’s gaze. He was watching the battlefield where Ye Futian was. Not only that, but all of the Holy Zhi Palace’s armies were heading there as well due to them being able to sense each other regardless of position. The entire battlefield was shaken and the whole place seemed to begin to contract to a single point.