The Legend of Futian

At the Empty Imperial Palace, cultivators from all over the Nine Realms gathered once again.

Donghuang the Great, who had unified the Divine Prefecture, was the master of the Original Realm. No matter how the other forces secretly view Donghuang the Great, they still had to obey his orders, at least outwardly.

Of course, in peaceful times, the Great Emperor would never order the various forces in Divine Prefecture to do anything.

After the two emperors unified the land, everything they had done was always in the hope that the cultivators of the Divine Prefecture would be stronger. Their attitude toward the Original Realm was also a protective one, demonstrated by closing off the passageway to the Original Realm.

Now that the Dark Court had invaded the Shadow Realm, this had threatened the safety of the Nine Realms. After all, if they could invade the Shadow Realm, they could invade other realms as well.

At this time, it was a reasonable request that the Princess Donghuang had summoned all the cultivators of the Nine Realms.

After all, to the forces of the Original Realm, they were fighting for themselves too.

The forces of the Central Emperor Realm were the first to arrive, and after them, the Heavenly Mandate Academy. They had directly gone to the Xiao clan through the teleportation grand matrix and came together, so they traveled with incredible speed.

Inside the Empty Imperial Palace were Ye Futian and the others. Many other top forces were standing not too far away, such as the Shen clan, the Martial God Clan, and the Celestial Worthy Temple. However, they just glanced at one another as if they did not know each other; neither did they try to provoke anyone.

Now was not the time to rekindle old grudges.

Other forces arrived successively. During the wait, the cultivators of the Empty Imperial Palace were also there, chatting casually with everyone while continuing waiting for the others.

At this time, the Palace Lord of Empty Imperial Palace came to the side of the Heavenly Mandate Academy. He bowed slightly, saying, “Thank you all for your hard work.”

“As we should. Just as Futian said before, no one from any of the forces in the Original Realm could escape this catastrophe,” Lord Taixuan said, and the palace lord of the Empty Imperial Palace smiled and nodded. He glanced at Ye Futian and thought that he wasn’t too sure what the princess had talked about last time with Ye Futian.

But Ye Futian, as the premier genius talent in the Original Realm, who was summoned by the princess and who had inherited the Will of the Great Emperor in God’s relic, anyone would take note of him. His future was limitless, and the princess should remember his existence.

“Will our little friend be going along as well?” the Palace Lord of Empty Imperial Palace asked. “I am afraid that a fierce battle will be inevitable on this trip to the Shadow Realm. The princess only required those at the very top to go. Based on Emperor Ye’s realm, you don’t really need to go.”

The Palace Lord of Empty Imperial Palace said what he said out of kindness. This battle involved Divine Prefecture and the Dark Court. If the two sides were to go to war, one could only imagine just how strong the participants would be.

It was not that he doubted Ye Futian’s talent and combat effectiveness, but his realm was still slightly lower. No one can guarantee his safety in this kind of major battle.

“Let me take a look first. If the princess needs us to join the battle, we will naturally oblige,” Ye Futian replied. If all the participants in the battle were the topmost characters, then there would be no point for him to go anyway.

But if the army of all realms were to depart for the battle, he would also follow along. Chang Xi was among the crowd from the Heaven Mandate Academy and wanted to join the battle in person.

In the destruction of Youyue Divine Palace, Chang Xi, as its goddess, had lost many of her elders and friends. It was a pity that she had no ability to avenge them on her own.

“That’ll work. In that case, let’s see what the princess has in mind,” said the Palace Lord of the Empty Imperial Palace. Although he was the master of the Empty Imperial Palace, it was Princess Donghuang, who had come to the Lower Worlds in person, whose order ought to be followed by everyone.

Same with any decision made for this battle; the Princess would determine what to do, and his role was to execute.

With the arrival of many cultivators, Princess Donghuang appeared once again. She was bathed in dazzling divine light as her eyes looked at the people below, asking, “Is everyone here?”

“Your Royal Highness, everyone who was here last time has arrived,” answered the Palace Lord of the Empty Imperial Palace.

At this time, in the distance, the Light of Buddha blazed with a lingering Sound of Buddha. There was a peaceful harmony that filled the air.

Instantly, many people raised their heads to look into the distance and saw that the great army of Buddhists had materialized. All of them sat on golden praying mats, like Buddhas that had descended from the heavens.

People of the Mountain Realm had arrived.

When Princess Donghuang summoned all the cultivators, she did not include the Buddhist monks from the Mountain Realm. Princess Donghuang acknowledged that the Mountain Realm had absolute autonomy and was not subject to the rule of the Divine Prefecture. This was a consensus reached centuries ago.

Every cultivator in the Divine Prefecture knew that Donghuang the Great held Buddhism in the highest regard. Even after becoming the Great Emperor, he would still go to the West occasionally to seek advice on Buddhist doctrines. In the Divine Prefecture, there were reports on and off of when Donghuang the Great had gone to the West and listened to Buddhist preaching, as well as listened to the Buddha Lord reciting and discussing the sutras.

Whenever these reports were heard, they were talked about in favorable lights. That even as the Great Emperor ruled the Divine Prefecture, he did not forget favors bestowed in the old days, which impressed everyone.

Therefore, the emergence of Buddhist monks from the Mountain Realm at this time was unexpected, but also completely as it should be.

Ye Futian had seen the cultivator in the lead; he was the abbot of Tianxian Temple, and behind him was Master Pudu.

In addition, there were several young monks next to them. Gui Zang, who had been to the God’s relic with Ye Futian, was among them.

There was also a Buddhist monk in a white robe, pure and spotless. His eyes were particularly beautiful, and he seemed to be out of this world. Many couldn’t help but exclaimed how handsome of a monk that was before them.

Such a handsome monk was a rarity.

The monk was smiling, with his left palm at his chest. Those unusually beautiful eyes looked ahead; they seemed to fall on Princess Donghuang.

Princess Donghuang cast a glance his way as well. Among the group of monks, this one was the most unusual. He easily stood out in the crowd.

“Abbot of Tianxian Temple from the Mountain Realm, here to greet Her Royal Highness.” The old monk put his hands together and bowed to Princess Donghuang in the usual Buddhist salute.

“The abbot need not be so formal.” Princess Donghuang nodded slightly and said, “Is the abbot here as our reinforcement?”

“Mmm.” The abbot nodded and said, “Back then, my senior brother, the Vajra Buddha, had suppressed the King of Hell and expelled the force of darkness. Now that the force of darkness threatens to make its comeback once again, us Buddhist monks ought to take a stand against it.”

“The abbot is most thoughtful.” Princess Donghuang nodded slightly. “I was about to discuss this matter with everyone, just as you arrived. This time the invasion by the Dark Court caused great atrocities in the Shadow Realm, along with the obliteration of several major forces inside the realm. As far as I know, the Dark Court is currently extracting the power from the core of the Shadow Realm, intending on refining its power for their use. If the Dark Court succeeds in doing so, I’m afraid they will only intensify their aggression in the future and continue to invade other realms, and they will be much harder to control by then.

“Therefore, I asked the Empty Imperial Palace to gather all of you here in preparation to go to the Shadow Realm together and confront the army of darkness.” Princess Donghuang said, “If this matter is not settled, peace will be impossible for the Original Realm. Of course, if you don’t want to go, I could cease this operation, but you must accept whatever happens in the future.”

“Your Royal Highness, in the land of the Nine Realms, when the Dark Court invaded and slaughtered the Shadow Realm, all cultivators share the same destiny, for no one can be spared.” Gai Qiong said, “We will wait on the Princess’ order.”

“We also support the Princess taking action.”

“We will follow the Princess’ order.”

All the principalities responded. Now that Princess Donghuang had spoken, if there were really some who said they wouldn’t go, it would sound idiotic.

They had to be involved in this battle no matter what, or else there would not be much of an Original Realm for them in the future.

They were not so foolish to think that the young princess was someone who was easily deceived. As the most beloved princess by Donghuang the Great, she herself was also a Renhuang, and so she was not someone who they dared to trifle with.

“Very well. If so, let’s set off together.” Princess Donghuang said, “Let’s expel the force of darkness once again from the Original Realm.”

“Aye!” Everyone nodded at the same time, spoke in booming unison.

“Depart,” Princess Donghuang commanded. As soon as her voice fell, she was the first one to step out. She did not ask which realm would go and which wouldn’t; however, since the princess was leading them herself, Ye Futian understood and also followed behind.

In the Empty Imperial Palace, the mighty army moved together, which was extremely spectacular.

…

At this time, the Shadow Realm became gloomier, especially the vast area that radiated from where Youyue Divine Palace used to be. Looking down from the firmament, it resembled an apocalyptic world, with an expanse spanning thousands of miles. The area was enveloped by a curious atmosphere, while numerous stone pillars were erected on this land, as currents of destruction raged.

The cultivators from the Dark Court were busy working and had no time to pay attention to the happening in other realms. Their focus was on building this grand super-matrix that required the coordination of many cultivators. Though it looked simple enough, the overall structure was much too complicated, and the task was overwhelming.

They had to seize whatever time they had left so that when it was time for war, they would have more of a chance.

At this time, a dazzling light suddenly lit up above this destructive space, piercing through the darkness, so that the light appeared once again, and even the blazing glory of Buddhism could be seen.

At this moment, the cultivators from all sides in the Dark Court looked up. High above the sky, Princess Donghuang seemed to lead a heavenly army coming at them. The cultivators of the Lower Worlds were greatly impacted by what they were seeing.

“They got here fast.” Sitting on the throne, Lord of the Underworld looked up into the sky above; he didn’t think that they would be here so quickly.

Now it seemed that the Princess, whom Donghuang the Great doted upon, was decisive and moved like lightning, more effective than he had imagined.

Furthermore, the Buddhists had also joined in the war. These bald donkeys had always favored Donghuang the Great and went along with him, no questions asked. These hypocrites probably regarded the achievements of Donghuang the Great as their own pride and joy!