The Legend of Futian

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The master cultivators stood in different directions and seemed extremely cautious. Even people as powerful as them didn’t dare to look. One could well imagine what kind of horrific thing was lying inside the divine casket.

“Is it him?” someone asked the clan leader of the Nanhai family. He was awfully afraid and didn’t have the courage to look himself.

“Yes,” the clan leader of the Nanhai family nodded and replied.

“I’m surprised that the remains of an ancient legend are preserved till today,” the person exclaimed.

“Father-in-law, whose body was it?” Muyun Lan asked. It turned out that his guess was right. It was sacred remains indeed. However, how could a corpse contain so much terrifying power that even the master cultivators had to stay away?

“If I’m correct, this should be Shenjia the Great Emperor,” the clan leader of the Nanhai family said in a low and solemn voice. Even he felt deep respect and admiration for such a legendary figure.

The majority of the world had never heard about Shenjia the Great Emperor. Only the master cultivators vaguely knew something about him. It was arcane history from ancient times. Ordinary cultivators outside of the most influential families couldn’t possibly obtain such information.

On top of that, even the families that rose to prominence in recent years didn’t have chances to access the secret stories from ancient times. It had to be aristocratic families with a long lineage.

“Shenjia the Great Emperor who didn’t believe in the Heavenly Path?” Muyun Lan was taken aback. He had learned about the little-known stories of many mighty figures in ancient times since he married into the Nanhai family. Many supreme cultivators achieved spectacular feats and left a mark in the history of time.

Shenjia the Great Emperor was one of them. He didn’t worship the Heavenly Path and dared to challenge the mainstream belief. He once carved the words “heaven” and “earth” to demonstrate unmatched confidence and firm resolve to confront heaven.

“He didn’t believe in the Heavenly Path.” Ye Futian silently repeated Muyun Lan’s words. Astonished, he looked at the runes on the stone pillars. This supreme cultivator in ancient times didn’t believe in the Heavenly Path and built these stone pillars to destroy the established Great Path.

What kind of bold vision and elevated state of mind he had?

Ye Futian could hardly imagine.

What on earth was the highest level of cultivation?

He once heard that the Heavenly Path collapsed because it was broken during the great war from the distant past. Now he couldn’t help but wonder if the Heavenly Path came apart because there were too many marvelous cultivators competing against heaven at that time.

It would be a shocking history if his speculation were true.

Nevertheless, no one knew what exactly happened in the past. At least Ye Futian couldn’t figure it out yet.

He had cultivated for such a long time and thought that he had acquired plenty of knowledge. Nowadays, however, it was becoming clear to him that there were much more that he didn’t know. He felt like an ignorant child.

Now, almost all the master cultivators in the Shangqing Domain were daunted by a corpse of an ancient legend. They couldn’t even take a brief look without undergoing tremendous pressure and risk. Who could come near the sacred remains?

At this moment, another person stepped forward and looked down into the divine casket. It was the Overlord of the Shangyu Deity Nation. His body was releasing terrifying energy, and his eyes glowed with the divine light. His gaze penetrated the space and focused on the sacred remains directly.

Nonetheless, even with his dominant power and thorough preparation, he only held on for a short moment before shifting his eyes away. Although he managed to look at the sacred remains for a longer time than the clan leader of the Nanhai family did, it didn’t mean that he was stronger than him. He was more prepared.

“It’s undoubtedly Shenjia the Great Emperor,” the Overlord of the Shangyu Deity Nation said. “Rumor has it that Shenjia the Great Emperor was able to transform the Great Emperor into runes. His physical body was invincible and imperishable as a result of longtime and high-level cultivation. I would have never thought that I could see his sacred remains so many years later. Even though Shenjia the Great Emperor has already passed on, his body here is probably still in a class of its own.”

His remarks tantalized many people. Overlord Shangyu had a point. Anyone who could control the sacred remains would be unrivaled in the Divine Prefecture. Apart from Donghuang the Great Emperor, who could prevail over the sacred remains of Shenjia the Great Emperor of ancient times?

Although the sacred remains could be used as the ultimate weapon, ordinary folks could barely take a look, let alone control it.

Notwithstanding, the lack of ability didn’t stop people from fantasizing about it.

Who didn’t want to become the unparalleled fighter in the world?

All of a sudden, the wind started to gust, and the clouds rolled in. Another person arrived while carrying intimidating power with him. The crowd looked up at the sky. The master cultivators already realized who just turned up.

It seemed that it would be difficult for them to seize hold of the sacred remains for themselves now.

“I invited all of you to come to the Shangqing Continent. Yet it looks like you are all gathered here instead.” The crowd heard his voice before seeing his face.

Everyone raised their heads and saw a middle-aged man emerging in the sky. His hair was completely grey even though he seemed to be only 40 years old. Judging by his handsome face and majestic bearing, it was not hard for people to guess his identity. He was the Domain Chief of the Shangqing Domain.

“Domain Chief, you’re here too.” The master cultivators greeted him one after another. The chief nodded and looked in the direction of the divine casket. He said, “Who would have thought that there are sacred remains hidden in a relic on the Cangyuan Continent in the Shangqing Domain? We would have turned the Cangyuan Continent upside down if we knew that the body of Shenjia the Great Emperor still existed.”

The top forces surely would do their utmost to thoroughly search through the Cangyuan Continent if they had known before.

However, things would become tricky now that the Domain Chief had personally come. Everyone was conceiving all sorts of sinister plots in their heads before the chief’s arrival. But it would be even harder for them to get their hands on the sacred remains now.

The Domain Chief shot a glance at the divine casket and said, “It’s Shenjia the Great Emperor indeed.”

He bowed slightly to the divine casket below to show his respect for the ancient legend. Then, he scanned the crowd and announced, “Let’s head to the Shangqing Continent together since you are all here. I will bring the divine casket to the Domain Chief’s Manor and report to the Donghuang Imperial Palace later.”

Everyone’s heart sunk upon hearing his decision. The Domain Chief’s plan was indisputable. The others might be able to question him if he only said to bring the casket back to the Domain Chief’s Manor. But he specifically added that he would report it to the Donghuang Imperial Palace later, which meant that he would only hold the divine casket temporarily for safekeeping. Who could challenge his decision after he stated his intention of waiting for Donghuang the Great Emperor’s instruction?

That being said, it was unclear how long he planned to keep the divine casket in the Domain Chief’s Manor before reporting to the Donghuang Imperial Palace. He might hold on to it for a while.

Either way, his argument was watertight.

“It’s extremely rare to encounter the sacred remains of the Great Emperor in early ancient times. Domain Chief, after you bring the casket back to the Shangqing Continent, can we study it together for a while to make some progress in cultivation?” the Overlord Shangyu suggested. They had to compromise at this point for a chance to study the sacred remains. At the very least, they couldn’t let the Domain Chief hog it for himself.

“No problem, of course. Any cultivator would be eager to study such a divine body from the early ancient times,” the Domain Chief nodded and said. “I understand what you mean.”

“Thank you, Domain Chief.” Everyone nodded in agreement. It would be inappropriate for them to push further at this point.

Nonetheless, none of them was satisfied with the arrangement. The Domain Chief settled the issue of jurisdiction over the sacred remains moments after his arrival. The last word belonged to the most powerful person for sure. No one cared or inquired about the person who discovered the relic in the first place as if it didn’t matter at all. Of course, it was only a trivial detail indeed.

“Let’s go back to the Shangqing Continent together since we’re all here,” the Domain Chief said. Then he turned his eyes to the area below. With a deafening sound, the earth quaked violently. Cracks appeared one by one as though the ground was about to be split open.

The intense divine light of the Great Path illuminated the area. The Domain Chief made a grabbing gesture with his hand, and the entire relic was uprooted, creating a series of thundering noises.

The onlookers were stunned to see the Domain Chief attempting to move the relic away in one piece.

The whole site slowly rose into the air like a castle. It was encased in the form of fearsome energy. The power of the casket was contained and did not affect the movement.

“Let’s go,” the Domain Chief said. He set out right away while carrying the relic. The clan leader of the Nanhai family looked down at Nanhai Qianxue and Muyun Lan. “Come up.”

“Yes.” They joined him and left together. Othe master cultivators also brought their youngsters along with them.

“Let’s set off too.” Old Ma, who had been standing by the side quietly, finally spoke to Ye Futian and the others.

Duan Tianxiong was right next to Old Ma. He nodded slightly at Ye Futian and joined them as well.

Everyone from the top forces left the scene before long. Many cultivators who had no one to bring them along with could only lament the lack of chance to even go near the Divine Relic.

People of Four Corner Village were traveling together with cultivators from the ancient royal family of Duan. Ye Futian asked Duan Tianxiong, “Your Majesty, have you heard about Shenjia the Great Emperor before?”

“Only a little,” Duan Tianxiong nodded and replied. “He didn’t believe in the Heavenly Path and challenged the Gods. The supreme cultivators in early ancient times were often determined to compete against heaven since they had reached the pinnacle of cultivation. Shenjia the Great Emperor was one of them. Nevertheless, even I couldn’t imagine that kind of ultimate power. We don’t have people like that anymore.”

Ye Futian was deeply moved by the story. Cultivation had no limit. But did it mean that a cultivator had to take on the Gods when he reached the peak? To challenge the Heavenly Path.

Even Duan Tianxiong could hardly imagine a spirit like that.

How would the contemporary Great Emperor compare with the Great Emperors in ancient times?