Sword City was barren and dead silent but also had an incredibly tense atmosphere. There was sword will everywhere.
Ye Futian had already forged a sword body of the Great Path, so the sword will could not affect him. But many of the people behind him had to actively resist it.
"The whole city is locked down by sword will. What was left here?" whispered Ye Futian. If an apocalyptic war had broken out here in the past, the ruler of the city must have left something behind before he died, which is why he had made the sword will covering the city not dissipate even after thousands of years. He wanted to seal it here.
Perhaps it was just to remind future generations that he had once lived.
Yaya pointed and said, "There is a sword over there." Ye Futian saw it as well. Off in the distance, there was a sword floating in midair. Sword will was falling all around it, forming a terrifying matrix of swordsmanship. The sword will was particularly strong there, much stronger than the sword will where they were standing.
However, the people who had entered the city before them seemed to be much more focused on the Lingtian Sword Will, and they were all heading in that direction.
Ye Futian and the others continued on through the ruins. Powerful sword will would occasionally pass in front of them. "Follow me," said Ye Futian to those behind him, "Only walk where I walk. Do not stray from the path."
Everyone nodded. They had discovered that killing sword will would sometimes fall on them. Some people who had been ahead of them had already been hit, as they found bloodstains on the ground. But there were no bodies. They had been completely destroyed by the sword will. Judging by the bloodstains, they had died not long ago.
"This is getting more and more dangerous," whispered Ye Futian. His eyes were like those of a god, able to pierce through all illusions. Moreover, he had the ability to sense danger in advance. Thus, they had been able to avoid all danger so far.
Up ahead, a large group of figures had stopped and were not continuing on into the city.
There were cultivators from the Yuanyang clan, the Heavenly Sword Hal, and Chixiao Divine Mountain there, as well as some from Brahma's Pure Sky.
They were missing a few people, and some of the people who were there were wounded.
When Ye Futian and the others reached them, all eyes turned on them. Many of them recognized him, as he had once come into conflict with the Heavenly Sword Hall because of the Swordmaster of Lihen and had fought the people of the Yuanyang clan for Little Condor. It was only the people of Chixiao Divine Mountain that he had never come in contact with.
"Have you been here before?" the young head of the Yuanyang clan asked Ye Futian. They naturally knew there would be people behind them. Previously they had not cared, but they had discovered that Ye Futian had marvelous means of avoiding danger.
Thus, they had stopped to wait for him.
"I have not," said Ye Futian.
"No?" The young head of the Yuanyang clan was named Yuan Hong. A look of doubt came over his face when he heard Ye Futian's denial. "How did you avoid the danger then?"
"I can predict threats," answered Ye Futian.
"Then may we walk with you?" asked Yuan Hong. "Then, we can share all our adventures."
The people from Chixiao Divine Mountain and the Heavenly Sword Hall were looking at him as well. If he didn't agree, then something would happen here that was worthy of a story.
Ye Futian thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Alright, all of you may follow me."
"Thank you." Yuan Hong had not thought that Ye Futian would answer so sincerely. He smiled in appreciation.
Ye Futian and the others continued forward through the crowd, with Zhu Qi staring at him and Little Condor. Previously, Yu Sheng's power had shocked her, and she would never have thought that they would come here. She did not know what was going to happen.
"Long time no see, Lord Ye," said Qin He of Brahma's Pure Sky with a nod. Many of the other Goddesses of Brahma's Pure Sky beside her looked at Ye Futian as well. He was obviously very familiar to Qin He. Her memories of the battle of Brahma's Sky City were still fresh.
"You are looking even more elegant than before, Goddess Qin," said Ye Futian. Qin He nodded. Ye Futian was walking in front of the whole group. The people from the other forces were a bit surprised. They had not thought that they might know each other, and it seemed like they were, in fact, relatively close.
However, Ye Futian's formation was really quite weak.
Divine light was still shining in Ye Futian's eyes as he led them through Sword City. After a while, they reached the center of the city. There was a sword palace there, in front of which stood a huge sword matrix. Countless swords were there, blocking the entrance.
Hundreds of feet above the sword matrix, there was another sword floating in the air, with many beams of light shooting out of it in all directions. This was where the sword will was coming from.
Some of the people's faces darkened. The sword will here had put them under a lot of pressure, so much that it had been difficult to bear.
They could faintly see a faint and blurry figure sitting on the sword. It was probably the left-over will from the ruler of the city.
"Some people have already been here," said Yu Sheng. There were six swords stuck into the sword eyes around the sword matrix, leaving sword marks that stretched out in all directions and made the sword matrix light up in many places.
This had clearly all been done by people who had come here before.
However, the matrix was missing three sword eyes and three swords. If they had been taken, it probably would have undone the matrix.
"Of course they have. Some of our elders have been to these ruins before and told us about this place. If we can find the last three swords and put them in the matrix, perhaps we can then inherit the swords themselves." Yuan Hong looked up at the sword floating in the air. "That sword is not as simple as it looks. Perhaps the inheritance of the swordsman who ruled this city lies within it."
"If that's so, then we should go find the last three swords," said Ye Futian.
Yuan Hong nodded. "We will go look for them together. We will activate the sword matrix and see whether or not we can make an adventure out of this."
Yuan Hong was a leader of the Yuanyang clan, but he spoke in a friendly manner, without the least hint of arrogance. Moreover, everything seemed very harmonious here. There was no conflict.
However, this was probably because the ruins were locked down and had not opened up yet. It was also probably because the Yuanyang clan was the strongest force here. Right now, Yuan Hong's only goal was to open the ruins. Once that happened, it was most likely that they would be able to get what was inside.
Ye Futian nodded. "Alright. I know where one of the swords is, I will go get it."
Yaya and the Swordmaster of Lihen looked at him.
"That sword we saw before that was floating in the air," said Ye Futian. "I will go get it. You wait here." He turned and left. His decisive manner made the other cultivators look at him in surprise. Why did he feel like he was free to do as he pleased?
"I will go with you," said Yaya.
"Alright," said Ye Futian with a nod. The two of them left together. The cultivators of the Yuanyang clan and the Heavenly Sword Hall left as well, going to find the other two swords.
"How do you know that that sword is the right one?" Yaya asked him telepathically.
"I sensed it," answered Ye Futian with a smile.
"Why are you doing this?" Yaya did not understand. Everything that Ye Futian was doing was too honest. He did not need to do this.
"I know where the other two swords are as well," said Ye Futian. With his divine eyes, he could see through all illusions. Once he had seen that sword and the matrix, he had known that the whole city was actually within a sword matrix.
Yaya looked at him in shock. If that was true, then she understood even less than she had thought. Wouldn't it be easier to wait until their opponents had been defeated and then come take the swords?
"Yaya, it is likely that I will become a Renhuang here in the God's Relic," said Ye Futian. The color drained from Yaya's face as she looked back at Ye Futian.
Renhuang, the once legendary plane. Would Ye Futian really reach that level?
Since Ye Futian had said that, he must be able to feel how swiftly it was approaching. It was not far now.
"Over the years, the farther and higher I've gone, the harder it has gotten to avoid entanglements with other powerful forces. That is the drawback of strength. The stronger you get, the stronger the people you meet. And similarly, the more talented you are, the more people will pay attention to you," Ye Futian told her. "Once I become a Renhuang, I will no longer be a junior. I will be regarded as powerful by all of the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path. At that time, I will definitely come into contact with the other great forces."
Yaya nodded. Naturally, she understood this.
Once Ye Futian became a Renhuang, things would be different. With his talent and strength, he would truly attract the attention of the people of the Nine Supreme Realms.
"When a man of unparalleled talent walks alone through the world, he could possibly make the whole world his enemy. I faced this situation before in the Barren State. I hope that on my way to dominate the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path, I will make many more friends. Here in the God's Relic, we have many juniors, all of them heirs of many different forces. They will be in charge of their respective forces in the future. They will influence the situation in the Nine Supreme Realms," said Ye Futian. He did not continue explaining. There were still some things he wanted to do. But doing them by himself, even as a Renhuang, would be nearly impossible.
He was probably the most skilled person here in the God's Relic. If he had to fight, he could fight them all. But if he did that, then when he left, he would have made an enemy of all nine supreme realms.
Yaya stared at his handsome profile. Her mood seemed to change.
Would Ye Futian be able to dominate the whole world when he became a Renhuang?
"One can inherit the will of the swordsman who once ruled this place here. It is a wonderful opportunity, but it is also dangerous. In fact, I don't want to put you in danger. As long as you are safe, all will be well. But you and the Swordmaster of Lihen both have a chance to inherit the will. Do you want it, or should it go the Swordmaster of Lihen?" Ye Futian suddenly asked, changing the subject. Now they were talking about who would inherit the will. If the other forces knew of this, who knew how they would feel?
From what he said, it was clear that despite the goodwill that Ye Futian had expressed, he was not going to just give up on the things that he should fight for. There were some things that could only be given to the people that he trusted the most.
"Give it to the Swordmaster of Lihen. Even if it's dangerous, he won't want to miss this opportunity," said Yaya. She had known the Swordmaster of Lihen for many years.
"Very well," said Ye Futian with a nod.