Chapter 2405: Seclusion
All the cultivators of the Heavenly Mandate Academy had migrated to the Ziwei Segmentum. Ye Futian ordered them to build a new Heavenly Mandate Academy in Ziwei Imperial—the main city of the Ziwei Segmentum. This allowed the disciples of the academy, who followed him all the way here, to have a place for meditation. This would hopefully make up for their loss.
At the same time, the core members of the academy could enter Ziwei Imperial Palace freely. Besides that, they were allowed to use the palace, and even the starry cultivation court, for cultivation.
Everything proceeded in an orderly manner. After Ye Futian had decided to go into seclusion, he planned to sever the Ziwei Segmentum from the Original Realm. For the next few years, they would quietly cultivate here and stop caring about the matters outside.
However, several days later, Yu Sheng still brought them some news. It was related to the forces involved in spreading the rumors back then. The Ancient God Clan from the Divine Prefecture was not involved. Instead, the forces involved were the top forces from the Divine Prefecture. On top of that, the Shen clan, Nanhai Family, the Shangqing Domain Chief’s Manor, and the Donghua Domain Chief’s Manor had participated too.
After these forces learned of the news, they spread it around immediately, ensuring that Princess Donghuang got wind of it. Actually, Princess Donghuang had known about it beforehand. However, she was forced to meddle in the affair by coming to Ziwei Imperial Palace directly after the news had been spread around.
Ye Futian did nothing after learning the truth, but he kept a list of the forces involved in his mind. The vendetta between the Shen clan and him stemmed from what happened between him and the Shen clan of the Original Realm in the past. His grudges with the Donghua Domain Chief’s Manor went without saying. However, he was surprised that the Shangqing Domain Chief’s Manor was involved in this too. Even though there was some friction between them, Ye Futian had not expected that the other party would want him dead.
From the looks of it, there were indeed many people in the Divine Prefecture who wished for his death. The ones that he knew were only the forces that made their goal apparent. Many other enemies wanted to kill him.
Ye Futian did not put much thought into this matter. Now that the ordeal was over, he did not have much to worry about since Hua Jieyu had returned to his side and he had met Yu Sheng. Ye Futian could fully concentrate on cultivating in peace.
In the starry cultivation court of Ziwei Imperial Palace, there were many cultivators around. After Ye Futian entered the court, he raised his head and glanced at the endless stars in the sky. Hua Jieyu stood beside him quietly. She followed him here, and they prepared to cultivate together for a period of time.
“Jieyu, the teachings of the Great Emperor that you acquired are a little bizarre. During our seclusion this time, I want to work on other aspects aside from improving our cultivation planes. We can rely on each other’s cultivation to deepen our understanding of the art of cultivating,” Ye Futian said gently. There were no secrets between him and Hua Jieyu. The two of them would share what they had mastered separately so that they could improve together.
“Hmm,” Hua Jieyu nodded in agreement. “I agree.”
“However, this time, we might need to cultivate for a long time. I’m afraid that it will be quite boring,” Ye Futian said while staring at her lovingly.
“We have been apart for decades. There was nothing more painful than our separation. With you by my side now, how could I possibly feel bored?” Hua Jieyu replied softly. The two of them exchanged a glance and smiled. Then, their figures flashed, and they dashed towards the stars.
A lot of people were staring at their silhouettes. Some were envious of their relationship, while some wished for their happiness. After going through countless challenges, the two could finally be with each other now.
“Even though we have just experienced a huge disaster, it might be a blessing in disguise. Fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin, after all. Little Brother got rid of one of his worries and can now focus on cultivating. He has Jieyu by his side now too. It can be said that his current situation is rather perfect.” Zhuge Mingyue and Gu Dongliu stood side by side in the sky as they looked at Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu. A glint of joy flashed in Zhuge Mingyue’s eyes as she said this.
“Hmm,” Gu Dongliu nodded and said, “Jieyu has been Little Brother’s concern for all these years. Now, he can finally rest his worry and cultivate quietly for a few years.”
“Unfortunately, someone else has to suffer,” Zhuge Mingyue sighed while smiling wryly. Gu Dongliu looked towards a spot down below upon hearing her words. He saw a beautiful silhouette sitting and meditating there quietly. However, she looked somewhat lonely.
In the starry sky above, Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu went to the highest spot. Then, they sat cross-legged in the high heavens while the rest of the cultivators were cultivating down below.
Not long after, all the stars lit up. Endless starlight shone on Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu, causing them to glimmer.
At the same time, the entire starry cultivation court grew even brighter. Endless starlight rained down, allowing the cultivators beneath to also sense the aura hidden in this place. They could particularly sense the powerful auras hidden in the Imperial Stars as they were showered in starlight.
Lord Taixuan, Sky River Great Elder, Emperor Nan, Old Ma, and many other cultivators looked at the two silhouettes in the starry sky. Ye Futian was the embodiment of all their hopes. The future of all the cultivators present here depended on him.
Lord Taixuan and the elders knew that they had little hope of turning the tide themselves. Aside from Ye Futian, most of his companions had also inherited the teachings of the Great Emperors. Ye Futian, along with Yu Sheng, Hua Jieyu, and Gu Dongliu, were the future of this starry world.
However, they first needed some time.
…
Ye Futian and the others began cultivating in seclusion in the starry cultivation court of Ziwei Imperial Palace. Meanwhile, in the Original Realm, storms were stirring up again. The cultivators of the various worlds were fighting over the fateful encounters that appeared. Regardless if they were relics in the Heavenly Mandate Realm or those that appeared in the Original Realm, all of them were being fought over by the various cultivators.
The cultivators from the Divine Prefecture, the Dark World, the Empty Divine Realm, the Human Realm, and the Devil World were in constant friction with each other. Many small-scale conflicts erupted between them. However, they were still cautious towards one another. Therefore, no large-scale battles had occurred.
However, the Dark World and the Empty Divine Realm were always ready to move. They wanted to attack the Divine Prefecture many times, yet the Human Realm seemed to lean toward siding with the Divine Prefecture. Hence, these two major worlds had yet to seize the opportunity to start a divine war.
The Original Realm was still changing rapidly. This was also one of the reasons why the war had yet to erupt. The various forces wanted to pillage more relics to increase their power. For now, no one wanted to face each other head-on.
Yet, as time passed and there were more and more conflicts between them, many cultivators ended up perishing.
At the same time, the monstrous Renhuangs with exceptional talent were developing more rapidly than before.
However, all this seemed unrelated to Ye Futian’s group.
After several years, in the starry cultivation court of Ziwei Imperial Palace, many cultivators were still cultivating inside. They did not involve themselves with matters of the outside world. They were considered the only top force within the Original Realm that had not participated in the conflict.
Right then, many people looked up high in the sky. Up in the starry sky, many illusory figures appeared. They were all silhouettes of Ye Futian. They seemed to be everywhere, and each one was as real as the original.
Buzz.
Beams of sword light shot across and illuminated the starry sky. The various silhouettes stabbed out at the same time in tens of thousands of permutations.
Ye Futian was obviously comprehending swordsmanship. Many people were watching from below as he practiced. Everyone seemed to have their own comprehension of what they saw.
These past years, aside from comprehending the Great Path and increasing his cultivation Plane, Ye Futian also trained in attack techniques. He cultivated a myriad of techniques, many of which were powerful divine techniques passed down from the Great Emperors. However, since they were not his own power, he could not unleash their full potential.
Hence, he needed to rely on his own ability to comprehend the techniques again in order to better utilize them. He then had to merge them, using his powers of the Great Path to make them even stronger.
These years, the cultivators in the starry cultivation court witnessed Ye Futian’s growth. It was not just Ye Futian; the others were also improving.
As the years passed, the outside world changed swiftly without cease. Only within the starry cultivation court did time seem to stop. Ten years felt like a day.
Just like that, more than ten years went by. It seemed to have passed like the snap of one’s fingers!