Chapter 1801 The Lower Worlds
The battle of the Sea of the Path was extremely brutal, filled with massive casualties. Even some of the master cultivators were injured.
However, neither side was interested in dragging out the battle after Ye Futian was taken away. Many cultivators left to chase him and Mei Ting. After all, the main goal of the Shen clan and the Golden Divine Nation was to kill Ye Futian.
To everyone's surprise, Ye Futian was snatched by Mei Ting.
Did the Devil World intend to rope in Ye Futian?
The cultivators on the side of the Heavenly Mandate Academy also wanted to pull back for now. They didn't find Ye Futian and decided to retreat to the Heavenly Mandate Realm for the time being.
Both sides lost plenty of cultivators in the Renhuang Plane before tranquility was restored on the Sea of the Path.
Shangxiao Divine Palace, the preaching holy land that once stood in the middle of the Sea of the Path, was razed to the ground and sunk into the water. Even though some of the cultivators in the Divine Palace survived the battle, the Divine Palace would no longer tower over the Higher Heavens Realm.
A mass of cultivators pulled back to the Heavenly Mandate Academy in the Heavenly Mandate Realm, including Emperor Nan and the Palace Lord of the Divine Palace. The air was tense in the Academy.
The teleportation grand matrix in the Heavenly Mandate Academy played a key role in the battle and was still connecting with other top forces. Therefore, everyone withdrew back to the Heavenly Mandate Academy first.
They flashed and landed in a corner in the Heavenly Mandate Academy. Surprisingly, they saw a man with silver hair hovering in midair and waiting for them. No one expected that Ye Futian would be back before they did.
"Did Mei Ting send you back?" Lord Taixuan landed in front of Ye Futian and asked. A strange look flashed across his face. Only a few people knew that Mei Ting came to the Heavenly Mandate Academy once before. And it seemed like Mei Ting and Yu Sheng had a history.
Did Mei Ting get involved this time to help Ye Futian?
But Mei Ting appeared to be quite rude and disrespectful to Ye Futian last time until Yu Sheng stopped him.
Lord Taixuan was worried about Ye Futian on his way back as he thought that Mei Ting intended to cause big trouble by taking Ye Futian away. It was surprising to learn that Mei Ting sent Ye Futian back to the Heavenly Mandate Academy.
Ye Futian swept the room and felt a little relieved after realizing they didn't lose any master cultivator. Even so, their side still suffered a great loss. The battle at the Sea of the Path was so ruthless that almost a third of their people didn't make it back.
"It's a long story to tell. But Mei Ting didn't make things difficult for me." Ye Futian didn't explain in depth. Lord Taixuan immediately understood that it might pertain to some of Ye Futian's secrets. He didn't make detailed inquiries since Ye Futian was not comfortable with telling the whole story.
Ye Futian looked at the Palace Lord of the Divine Palace and asked, "Palace Lord, what about the Divine Palace...."
They certainly couldn't go back anymore as the Divine Palace had been destroyed. It was unfortunate that they couldn't save the Divine Palace despite their efforts. Their opponents mobilized considerable resources and assembled an exceptionally strong army, to say nothing of their collaboration with forces from other realms. Although Ye Futian managed to kill two high-level Renhuangs, he was lucky to come back in one piece.
"It doesn't matter where we teach and preach. We can stay in the Heavenly Mandate Academy since the Divine Palace is demolished," the Palace Lord of the Divine Palace said with good grace. Of course, he was heartbroken that the Divine Palace was destroyed. But he couldn't change what happened in the past, and he still needed to remain optimistic and keep his eyes on the future.
He surely recognized how the Heavenly Mandate Academy ardently supported the Divine Palace. He also believed that the Heavenly Mandate Academy was a real preaching force that could tide them over the difficulties.
After all, the storm was not over yet.
The cultivators around were moved by what the Palace Lord of the Divine Palace just said. They never expected that the two preaching holy lands would really merge into one. It would be a grand occasion that could cause a great stir if it happened in the past. But no one was in the mood for celebration right now. After all, they hadn't fully pulled through the crisis yet.
"The Palace Lord is indeed wise and clear-sighted. I'm willing to give up my place as the College Chief and let the Palace Lord take over," said Lord Taixuan. He also cultivated on the Taixuan Mountain in the Higher Heavens Realm in the past and perceived the Shangxiao Divine Palace as a preaching holy land.
He met and chatted with the Palace Lord of the Divine Palace during his trip to the Sea of the Path.
He certainly wouldn't cling to his position after the Divine Palace merged with the Heavenly Mandate Academy. The Palace Lord of the Divine Palace was more suitable than him to be the College Chief.
The Palace Lord of the Divine Palace heard Lord Taixuan and shook his head, said, "We're both preaching holy lands. The position means little to us. Lord Taixuan doesn't need to step aside out of modesty."
Lord Taixuan was about to say more when he heard Emperor Nannspeak, "We can discuss the arrangement for the future after this is over. Although the Divine Palace was leveled to the ground, we still successfully retreated to the Heavenly Mandate Academy, and Futian came back unscathed. Our enemies will not give up so easily."
Everyone nodded in agreement with Emperor Nan. It was too early to talk about assigning seats and changing leadership.
"For the time being, let's send away everyone in the Academy who are below the Renhuang Plane," said Lord Taixuan. Ye Futian nodded. He shared the same idea that cultivators below the Renhuang Plane shouldn't remain in the Heavenly Mandate Academy when a big battle was around the corner.
"The grandmaster didn't come back?" Ye Futian asked.
The grandmaster didn't stay with them for his reclusive personality.
"He's alright. He left alone," Shen Luoxue answered. Ye Futian nodded without speaking further.
"I still have some ritual implements. Let's distribute them among the high-level Renhuangs," said Ye Futian. In the past, only several master cultivators in the Heavenly Mandate Realm owned ritual implements. But Ye Futian still had several ones in his possession. He didn't expect the battle to be so fierce and forgot to give out the ritual implements beforehand.
He certainly didn't plan to stash them away now. He was ready to hand around all of the ritual implements he had. It should be able to enhance their abilities to a degree even though each force could only have one or two pieces.
People nodded and accepted without many words of courtesy. The master cultivators from the Heavenly Mandate Realm probably would be clobbered if they didn't have ritual implements. After all, the Heavenly Mandate Realm was weaker than the forces came from the Divine Prefecture. Most of their cultivators were also less powerful than their opponents at the same level from the Golden Divine Nation.
The potent ritual implements made a big difference in this battle.
As people started to make preparations, the Heavenly Mandate Academy became busy and bustling.
The cultivators gathered in the coastal city by the Sea of the Path in the Higher Heavens Realm. They only made a small achievement by demolishing the Divine Palace. However, they couldn't let down their guard now since they didn't kill the master cultivators from the Divine Palace and the Heavenly Mandate Academy.
They also suffered considerable casualties this time. Each force lost some powerful cultivators.
They gathered at the top of a tavern.
"We don't know if Mei Ting took Ye Futian to the Devil World. I guess even Mei Ting is impressed by the inheritance from the Great Emperor displayed in Ye Futian," said Gai Cang. From what he could see, they all appreciated Ye Futian's talents. Ye Futian was such an extraordinary genius. If only he weren't on the opposite side...
"We might have some troubles in the future if he was taken to the Devil World for real," Shen Gao from the Shen clan said. They couldn't go to the Devil World. No one who wished to live could.
Even Donghuang the Great Emperor didn't take the risk to attack the Devil World.
The Golden Divine Nation and the Shen Clan would be in hot water if Ye Futian received training from the Devil World and came back to take revenge.
The thought crossed Shen Gao's mind because he knew that he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to seize Ye Futian if he worked for the Devil World.
"There is another problem," said Gai Qiong.
People turned their eyes to Gai Qiong and heard him say, "The Great Emperor might treasure Ye Futian's talent if he learned that Ye Futian obtained God's inheritance at God's relic."
Gai Qiong cultivated under Donghuang the Great Emperor. Many people frowned in concern after he raised the possibility.
The Great Emperor might appreciate Ye Futian's talent if he learned about him. The Shen Clan and the Golden Divine Nation might not be able to kill Ye Futian if that happened.
"Will the Great Emperor know?" someone asked.
"Don't forget about the Empty Imperial Palace," Gai Qiong said. "Besides, nothing can escape the Great Emperor's notice if he really wants to learn about things in the Void Realm."
That being said, the Great Emperor wouldn't focus his attention on the Void Realm for no reason.
There were millions of cultivators in the Void Realm. How could the Great Emperor have the time to learn about every single incident that happened here? He probably would only pay attention when something unusual occurred.
Buzz. A beam of divine light shone brightly in the distance. A master cultivator came over and reported, "Ye Futian returned to the Heavenly Mandate Academy."
The crowd was stunned.
Ye Futian returned to the Heavenly Mandate Academy?
Mei Ting didn't take him to the Devil World or kill him?
It came as a big surprise.
A cold look flashed in Gai Qiong's eyes. He said, "Ye Futian of the Heavenly Mandate Academy colluded with Mei Ting, the Devil General from the Devil World. We absolutely cannot tolerate him in the Divine Prefecture."
Other people were puzzled for a moment upon hearing Gai Qiong's statement. Then they understood Gai Qiong's intention. He wanted to trump up a charge against Ye Futian.
Colluding with the Devil World.
...
Inside of the Empty Imperial Palace in the Central Emperor Realm.
The Divine Priests gathered in the Empty Imperial Palace and gazed at the blue. Rays of dazzling divine light shone from above as if they pierced through the sky.
A group of people slowly came into sight and descended along with the brilliant divine light.
The divine generals with stately bearing formed a circle. They looked arrogant and vigorous with their penetrating eyes and shining armors.
However, it was a young woman around 20 years old who stood in the center. She looked elegant and dazzling. Her breathtaking beauty was out of this world and made everything around her lose color.
Everyone's eyes ere glued on her.
The Palace Lord of the Empty Imperial Palace took a look at the young woman and realized that she was already in the Renhuang Plane.
This young girl probably was the envy of all the women in the world.
Few people could match her family background. She was the daughter of God; she was born to be extraordinary.
There wasn't a single woman in the Divine Prefecture who didn't wish they were her. Countless talented cultivators had their hearts set on her. But they could only think to themselves secretly as they didn't dare to violate the taboo by talking about it out loud.
It was hard to say if anyone in the world was good enough for this young woman.
"Greetings to the Princess." The Palace Lord of the Empty Imperial Palace bowed deferentially.
"Greetings to the princess." People in the Empty Imperial Palace lowered their heads to show respect as well. Anything more than a glimpse of her would be considered a sacrilegious act. She was the distinguished Princess Donghuang, the sole heir of Donghuang the Great Emperor.