Chapter 2527: Made Public
Ye Futian was somewhat hesitant. He looked into Xi Chiyao’s eyes. She had a calm expression, and her smile was comforting.
The West Imperial Palace was the overlord of the West Sea Domain. Its history spanned for decades, and its teachings were unfathomable. Ye Futian speculated that the West Imperial Palace was stronger than the West Sea Domain Chief’s Manor. Moreover, its ability most likely far surpassed that of the West Domain Chief’s Manor. Chief Xihai aimed to weaken West Imperial Palace’s status, but in reality, his goal would probably remain a dream.
The current Ancient God Clan would not simply reveal all their trump cards to others.
If Ye Futian entered West Imperial Palace and the latter planned to harm him, he would most likely not be able to escape even with his proficiency in Celerity. He had faith in Xi Chiyao, but he did not trust the cultivators in the West Imperial Palace entirely.
Even if Xi Chiyao did not have any ill-intention towards him, what would happen if other elders in West Imperial Palace had different ideas?
The consequences might be fatal.
After all, the West Imperial Palace was still part of the forces of the Divine Prefecture. Besides that, Ye Futian carried the teachings of a few Great Emperors with him. He couldn’t be sure that everyone in the West Imperial Palace had no intention of harming him.
Ye Futian said, “I appreciate Goddess Chiyao’s offer, but I will politely decline. Naturally, I have faith in you. That’s why I’m willing to send a copy of the Deity Map to the West Imperial Palace. You can bring the copy back to the palace and use it to locate the ancient imperial celestial mountain. I still have other matters to attend to in Jiuyi City, so I will not follow you back to the palace.”
Now, his safety was not just about himself; it affected the entire Ziwei Segmentum. If anything happened to him, the Ziwei Segmentum would be crushed. All his loved ones and friends would face annihilation. This was something he would not accept.
Hence, his safety was his priority all the time.
Xi Chiyao was clever, so she naturally understood Ye Futian’s way of thinking. She could also understand where he was coming from. She smiled and said, “Alright, I will also accompany Renhuang Ye and remain in Jiuyi City. If you need any assistance, I may be able to lend a hand. I will order the Deity Map to be sent to the West Imperial Palace. Once they figure out the location of the ancient imperial celestial mountain, we will then head over there together.”
“Many thanks, Goddess Chiyao,” Ye Futian said.
“Since we are allies, this is not just your affair. It is also the affair of the West Imperial Palace,” replied Xi Chiyao with a smile. Ye Futian did not elaborate further. He said, “I will make a copy of the Deity Map. Goddess Chiyao, please wait a moment.”
“Alright,” replied Xi Chiyao as she nodded.
Ye Futian’s figure immediately disappeared from where he stood. The Deity Map itself was a key. It did not matter even if he handed over the copy of the Deity Map to West Imperial Palace. Since both sides had become allies, this should be done. He also needed to rely on West Imperial Palace to locate the ancient imperial celestial mountain.
Xi Chiyao waited quietly as she stood on the mountain peak. Behind her, an elder said, “It seems that he still does not trust you.”
“If you were in his shoes, could you trust me?” Xi Chiyao responded with a smile. “The cultivation world is full of intrigue and deceit. The hearts of men are unpredictable. He has the teachings of so many Great Emperors. Countless people in the Divine Prefecture wish to get him with whatever means necessary. The fate of the Ziwei Segmentum rests on his shoulders. How can he possibly put himself at risk?”
The elder nodded his head and said, “What you say is also true. With his talent, the inheritances and treasures he possesses, as well as the Deity Map now, even I would covet what he has. It is normal for him not to be trusting of others.”
“All men are greedy,” Xi Chiyao said. “I am also the same. However, rather than coveting his present, I am more interested in his future. Rather than take all he has from him, why not be friends and help him grow?”
The elder nodded in agreement. Such foresight was something ordinary people did not have. There was naturally a reason why Xi Chiyao was chosen as an heir of the Ancient God Clan.
Not long after, Ye Futian returned. He made a copy of the Deity Map by carving it on a jade slip. He passed it to Xi Chiyao and said, “Goddess Chiyao, you’d better send it to West Imperial Palace with haste. I am worried that there will be changes to the current situation if we wait too long.”
“Alright,” responded Xi Chiyao as she nodded her head. She handed it over to a person behind her. Then, a few of them immediately took to the skies and left.
“Renhuang Ye, why don’t we walk around and see whether we can find anything good?” Xi Chiyao invited Ye Futian.
“Sure,” replied Ye Futian as he nodded. The two of them walked together and headed over towards the trade market in Jiuyi City.
For the next few days, Ye Futian searched for things he needed in Jiuyi City. They were primarily for alchemy purposes. As for other treasures, he mostly had no interest in them. After all, having the teachings of several Great Emperors, few techniques could catch his eye. They would also not appear in Jiuyi City.
Actually, Jiuyi City was not as peaceful as it appeared to be on the surface. Many cultivators from the West Sea Domain and other regions keenly observed Jiuyi City and the Breeze Pavilion. The Breeze Pavilion had been under a lot of pressure recently.
At the moment, many cultivators were gathered at a gazebo in the Breeze Pavilion. Li Qingfeng was there, and the rest of the cultivators present all had strong auras. They were mysterious.
“Pavilion Master, when do you plan to hand the thing over to us?” said one of them. His tone was unfriendly and threatening.
The others also unleashed their might to pressure Li Qingfeng.
Li Qingfeng had an indifferent expression. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Give me three days. I will give everyone what you want in three days.”
“Alright. If that’s the case, we’ll wait for another three days.” After saying this, the speaker left the gazebo. With a flash, the others also disappeared. They moved swiftly, and one could not trace where they went.
Li Qingfeng stood in the gazebo with a cold look on his face. He gazed into the distance. Several cultivators entered the gazebo and bowed towards him.
“Do you have any news from him?” Li Qingfeng asked.
“Pavilion Master, we have not received any word from him,” replied one of them.
Li Qingfeng’s expression turned even uglier. For the past few days, he had been waiting for updates from Daoist Monk Mu. However, he had not heard from Daoist Monk Mu again after letting the other party go last time. It was as though Daoist Monk Mu had gone missing.
A few days had passed. There should have been enough time for Daoist Monk Mu to come and meet Li Qingfeng after retrieving the Deity Map. Yet, he had not done so. Clearly, Daoist Monk Mu intended to pocket the Deity Map without sharing it with anyone.
“We’ll wait a while longer,” snorted Li Qingfeng. His facial expression was ugly beyond comparison. If Daoist Monk Mu planned to decipher the secret of the Deity Map alone, then Li Qingfeng would make sure that no one could obtain it in the end.
…
Three days later, shocking news spread from Jiuyi City – a duplicate of the Deity Map would be auctioned off by the Breeze Pavilion. At the same time, rumors were saying that the real Deity Map had been stolen by Daoist Monk Mu.
As soon as this news got out, the entire Jiuyi City was shaken. This was the first time the Breeze Pavilion openly admitted to the existence of the Deity Map. Moreover, they were going to reveal it to the public. Since Daoist Monk Mu stole the real Deity Map, they only had a copy now that recorded the location of the celestial mountain.
Countless cultivators rushed over to Jiuyi City. Almost all of the more powerful Alchemy Masters of the West Sea Domain had gathered here. It was a grand occasion.
The existence of the Deity Map was related to Great Emperor level alchemy teachings. One could imagine how attractive this was for Alchemy Masters. In the present day, there were almost no top-tier Alchemy grandmasters in the Divine Prefecture anymore.
Ye Futian and Xi Chiyao received this news very quickly. However, this was not a surprise for Ye Futian. He had quickly sought out Xi Chiyao and copied the Deity Map for her to send back to West Imperial Palace because he was worried that such an incident would occur.
Aside from the Deity Map itself being the key to opening the celestial mountain, it was also a map. If he could copy this map, Li Qingfeng could certainly do so as well. If Li Qingfeng was under pressure and could not find Daoist Monk Mu, it was possible that he would reveal the map to the public.
Now, things played out the way Ye Futian expected.
Fortunately, the accurate Deity Map was still in his possession.
“Should we head over to the Breeze Pavilion and take a look?” Xi Chiyao asked Ye Futian. Right now, the Deity Map was about to be auctioned off. All the cultivators in Jiuyi City seemed to be rushing towards the Breeze Pavilion. Looking over there from where they stood, they could see crowds of people swarming the streets. At a glance, the streets from here to the Breeze Pavilion were filled with cultivators. There were also many incredible Renhuangs in the sky.
“It is meaningless,” Ye Futian commented. “Since Li Qingfeng decided to make it public, he certainly plans to maximize the benefits he can obtain from it. Most likely, more than one copy of the Deity Map will be auctioned off.”
“Indeed,” said Xi Chiyao as she nodded. His auctioning off one copy was no different from him exposing the map to the public. There was no way that anyone could keep it a secret. Auctioning off multiple copies would lead to the same result. If that was the case, why wouldn’t he maximize his profits?
“For the top forces in the shadows, they certainly did not need to obtain the Deity Map through the auctions. Li Qingfeng might use them to decipher the location on the Deity Map together,” Ye Futian continued. “Hence, we need to make haste.”
Xi Chiyao nodded her head slightly and said, “I have sent word back and asked them to pick up the pace. On West Imperial Palace’s side, they have found many maps of the West Sea Domain from different eras. They had already locked on a few targets, so the results should soon be out.”
“Alright, I hope that we can make it before everyone else,” said Ye Futian as he nodded his head slightly. Although he held the real Deity Map and possessed the key to opening the ancient imperial celestial mountain, the cultivators from various forces would all make their way over if the location was made public. Once he opened it, the various cultivators would swoop in to snatch the treasures from him. He might end up delivering the spoils into the hands of others.
Just as Ye Futian speculated, while a copy of the Deity Map was being auctioned in the Breeze Pavilion, at the same time in a courtyard of the Breeze Pavilion, many cultivators from the top forces were here. They had all obtained a copy of the Deity Map.
Li Qingfeng looked at them and said, “Everyone, once Daoist Monk Mu knows about this, he will certainly attempt to decipher the map as soon as possible. Until now, the forces of West Imperial Palace have not come looking for me yet. I suspect that Daoist Monk Mu might have sought the aid of West Imperial Palace. If that is the case, it might not be long before they decipher the location on the Deity Map. At such a critical junction, I hope that all of you will put aside your agendas, work together and use our various resources to decipher the map’s secrets. Only then can we find the location of the ancient imperial celestial mountain before Daoist Monk Mu and head over to keep watch. That way, no matter who Daoist Monk Mu is working with, he can only dream about keeping the secret of the ancient imperial celestial mountain to himself.”
“If you knew that it would end up like this, what have you been doing all this while?” someone asked coldly.
“Now is not the time to complain. What Li Qingfeng said is right. Let’s work together. Since West Imperial Palace did not come, I also speculate that Daoist Monk Mu might have joined forces with them,” said an elder. West Imperial Palace was the overlord of the West Sea Domain; they had more favorable resources and support. The rest of them had to unite!