The Legend of Futian

Having made it so far, none of them wanted to turn back so easily.

Furthermore, all of them were already deep into it and had developed intense yearnings. They each wanted to cross the Fairy Pool and take Yao Xi as their own.

There was no way any of them would simply yield under such circumstances.

It seemed that Ye Futian had thoughts about Yao Xi, given how he wanted the others to give up while he continued making his way forward.

No one else around him heeded his words. Ye Futian turned his eyes forward and sat cross-legged on the boat. He waved and a guqin appeared in front of him.

While he had undoubtedly lost his guqin spirit, he always kept a guqin with him nonetheless.

He began plucking the strings and a tune was heard. Three distinct sounds from guqin were heard mixing, but they retained enough to be told apart. All three of the sounds had extraordinary clarity as they seeped into the ears of those within earshot.

Ye Futian’s mind became exceptionally tranquil and clear as the Ukiyo Song played. It was as if he had entrenched himself in an absolute barrier constructed from his own emotions. The lust dancing in his mind gradually subsided. When his tune was heard by the others, they too were affected, causing the influence of The Heavenly Demon Song of the Six Desires and the tune played by Master of the Hundred Flowers to weaken.

His tune went from tranquil to raging, as if there was a hotblooded force welling up within him, taking apart the passions and lust that had developed. Those who were still at the Fairy Pool had a mystical feeling developing in their minds. Their passions and lust subsided, which seemed to remind them of their paths in training.

At the same time, the notes that were dancing in the world around them seemed to become imbued with the will of the great path of their surroundings.

He flicked his arm and caused dazzling blades to swoop through the air, turning them into Swords of Kasyapa that moved with the dancing notes. They then transmuted into terrifying bolts of lightning that shot at the Master of the Hundred Flowers.

The Master of the Hundred Flowers hastened his playing at the same time. The dancing notes turned into terrifying attacks, clashing in the air.

However, there seemed to be countless dancing notes around him. Every note turned into Swords of Kasyapa and rained down on him in a frenzy.

The Master of the Hundred Flowers’ fingers sped up and intense clashing sounds continued to be heard in the air. The notes, imbued with the power of the great path, continued to be blown up as the water of the Fairy Pool splashed.

A bolt of lightning streaked by and, with a crisp crack, the Master of the Hundred Flowers grunted as the strings of his guqin snapped. He turned to look at Ye Futian and put away his guqin. He took one look ahead before turning around and heading back to where he’d come from.

His silhouette quickly disappeared as if he had never been there in the first place.

“Are none of you going back?” Ye Futian continued asking. Qin Bai and the others took one look at Ye Futian before turning around and leaving, giving up of their own free will.

Before long, only Ye Futian and Xia Lun were left on the Fairy Pool.

Ye Futian was thinking about what would happen if he just gave up right there and then.

“You’re invited to the island, Sir Ye,” a voice said. The island in question then appeared right before Ye Futian’s eyes. It was so near that it seemed like he could reach shore with one step. Xia Lun was unable to see it and remained on the illusory sea, but he was nonetheless able to hear the voice as well.

Ye Futian turned his eyes to look at Xia Lun. Xia Lun nodded and said to him, “Go on ahead.”

At that moment, Xia Lun felt rather conflicted.

He knew that Yao Xi would not have let him get near. If it had to be someone else getting onto that island, he was glad that person would be Ye Futian.

He was wondering if Ye Futian had given up right there and then, Yao Xi have chosen someone else as a substitute.

It was not something he would have wanted to see.

As such, he would have rather had Yao Xi choose Ye Futian.

He was unwilling to think about what would have happened from then on out. He simply hoped Xia Qingyuan would not resent him when she found out.

Ye Futian nodded and his boat moved towards the island. He stepped out of the boat and landed on the island.

Green covered the island completely. Fairy cranes were flying in the air. Ye Futian was even able to catch sight of a phoenix resting on a parasol tree.

There was a woman of striking beauty sitting on the extremely lush and beautiful island, playing the guqin leisurely and looking serene. The scene looked like something out of a dream and felt astounding.

The tune stopped when Ye Futian came by. The woman looked up at Ye Futian and smiled brilliantly. “I hoped that it would be you, Sir Ye, that made it here. I knew that if anyone would make it here, that it would be you, Sir Ye. It would seem that you do not disappoint after all.”

Yao Xi, who was dressed in lavish clothing, did not lose one bit of her alluring beauty as she smiled brilliantly. There seemed to be all manner of beauty manifesting on her, more than enough to mesmerize any man.

“Why would you, Goddess Yao Xi, hope that it would be me that would make it here?” Ye Futian asked.

Yao Xi took one look at him with sheepish eyes and said, “You’re the only one in all of Emperor Xia’s Realm that I could fall for.”

Her eyes locked on Ye Futian’s when she spoke, looking embarrassed.

“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed,” Ye Futian said.

“Because of Xia Qingyuan?” Yao Xi asked with a smile.

Ye Futian shook his head.

“I remember the first time we met. You said that your heart belonged to someone else, and that person was your wife, Sir Ye. However, from what I know, your wife has since passed away. So why would there be a need for you to cling to her? If it is because of Xia Qingyuan, do you think that there is anything about me that is inferior to Xia Qingyuan?” Yao Xi asked.

“I have no such intentions.” Ye Futian continued to shake his head.

Yao Xi smiled. “Your level of intelligence should allow you to learn from Xiao Sheng’s incident. What happened was not something that Xiao Sheng would have been able to pull off on his own. The one who would be able to pull off all of that is someone from the royal palace. I’m sure that Emperor Xia and Xia Qingyuan would have figured out that much. I wonder if Queen Xiao was involved. He was Xiao Sheng’s aunt after all, and perhaps she did not wish to see you and Xia Qingyuan get too close. Are both Emperor Xia and Xia Qingyuan unable to find out anything, or do they just not want to?”

“You played a key role in winning in the Battle of Empty Realm for Emperor Xia. You ventured alone into Emperor Li’s Realm, yet you met with all of that. I do not believe that there is anything in Emperor Xia’s Realm that could have been kept secret from the emperor if he wanted to find out more. You’re not of the Xia clan, after all, Sir Ye. Perhaps they are simply using you due to you having extraordinary talents.”

Ye Futian took a look at Yao Xi and knew deep down that what she said made sense. He was able to come to such conclusions himself and intended to put the matter to rest. He was unable to do anything like what he had done to Xiao Sheng, for he lacked a target.

However, he continued to trust Xia Qingyuan, knowing that she definitely would not want any harm to come to him. The news was leaked when she sent people to pick him from the Lower Worlds. That, coupled with everything else that had happened, meant that the royal palace had something to do with it.

That was the only way anything made sense. There could be no other explanation.

However, Yao Xi was well aware of his relationship with the royal palace, yet she had chosen to say all of that to him. While none of what she’d said seemed out of place, one could have learned that Yao Xi was not on good terms with the royal palace.

Furthermore, she’d gone so far as to mention Emperor Xia and Queen Xiao. If he were to report her to the authorities, he could easily ruin her, yet she did not seem to mind that at all as she chatted away.

What had made her so displeased with the royal palace?

Why was she always at odds with Xia Qingyuan?

Xia Lun had told him to not get near to Yao Xi, yet the prince had then asked for him to come along. It seemed that Xia Lun’s objective for being at the event had been to stop Yao Xi from doing all of that.

Ye Futian thought that, although what Yao Xi was doing was displeasing, he still had no right to interfere with her matters. After all, he was not someone close to her.

“If you have anything that you would like to get off your chest, my ears are all yours, Yao Xi.” Ye Futian did not respond to Yao Xi’s accusations about the royal palace. Deep down he knew about a lot of things already.

When the sacred war had broken out in the Nine States, his imperial will had burned and Emperor Xia had locked down the news, forcefully suppressing the matter. For that, he owed Emperor Xia his life.

Furthermore, since Emperor Xia knew all of that, he would have been able to develop his speculations. As such, Emperor Xia knew Ye Futian better than many others.

Even if Emperor Xia did intend to use Ye Futian, he would not have wanted any harm to come to the young man. Otherwise, it would have been like keeping a hidden threat around him.

Ye Futian knew that much at least.

As for Xia Qingyuan’s temperament, he had a good idea of what hers was due to having been around her for such a long time.

Despite being cold and aloof, her thoughts and intentions were simpler than those of Yao Xi.

“Anything I want to get off my chest?” Yao Xi was dazed as she looked at Ye Futian. Her eyes seemed shifty for a brief moment, yet she quickly concealed it with a smile. “What kind of thing would I want to confess to you?”

“For example, who your parents are,” Ye Futian said.

Yao Xi gazed at him without flinching. Ye Futian did not evade her look as he gazed back at her.

With all that has been going on as of late, between the attitude of both Yao Xi and Xia Qingyuan took when they were around each other, as well as rumors about Queen Xiao and the Holy Mother of the West, Ye Futian was able to arrive at some conclusions.

All of that, coupled with what he had learned of Yao Xi’s status at the Yaotai Divine Palace, enabled Ye Futian to develop a very wild, bold guess.

It was speculation that involved the royal family.

The space they occupied seemed to have ground to a halt and turned extraordinarily quiet. Yao Xi shook her head lightly and her eyes became somewhat reddened as she forced a smile onto her lips. All of that made her look sad and beautiful at the same time.

“Xia Qingyuan is your sister and his majesty is your father, correct?” Ye Futian asked as he looked at Yao Xi.

“I have no father and I do not have what it takes to be a sister of the high and mighty princess.” Yao Xi looked at Ye Futian and continued, “You have heard the Heavenly Demon Song of the Six Desires. Do you know why such a tune appeared in Emperor Xia’s Realm in the first place? It was because someone enjoyed the song alone, yet they’d forbidden the owner of the song from playing it ever again. That someone thought the song would embarrass him. Furthermore, he turned around and married another woman and made her the queen. Do you think such a person would be qualified to be someone I call ‘father,’ Sir Ye?”

Despite not admitting to it outright, what she said had undoubtedly verified Ye Futian’s speculations.

As such, he was able to understand why Yao Xi had done what she did, and the resentment that she harbored deep down.

When he was invited to the Yaotai Divine Feast, he’d heard that the last time the event had been held was decades prior. The Holy Mother of the West had taken leadership of the place back then.

He was wondering if that event had been held after Emperor Xia had made Queen Xiao queen.

Everyone claimed that the Holy Mother of the West had lost to Queen Xiao in the contest of the title of the number one beauty in all of Emperor Xia’s Realm. In truth, however, there were other reasons for it.

Reasons that had changed their lives from then on out.

“If the people of Emperor Xia’s Realm had to choose between Xia Qingyuan and me, who do you think the people would pick?” Yao Xi asked Ye Futian.

Ye Futian did not reply, but then again, there was no doubt about the answer—it would be Xia QIngyuan.

“The people would have naturally wanted you to choose the high and mighty princess, due simply to the fact that the girl in question is the princess.” Yao Xi chuckled in a self-deprecating manner. After all, she’d grown up hearing of Xia Qingyuan’s name.