The Legend of Futian

At that moment, yet more cultivators stepped out from within the crowd.

"Cultivators from the Human Realm." The multitude turned to look at the group of them. At the front was Di Hao, one of the greatest of his generation from the Human Realm.

He raised his head and looked toward the cultivators gathered on the sky stairwell. He stated, "Heaven Court and Donghuang Imperial Palace shared a deep bond in the past. It is regretful if we have to clash with each other now. Heaven Realm occupies the Old Heaven Court Relics, the Divine Prefecture occupies the Naga Relics, while our Human Realm occupies the Yueshen Relics. If the Heaven Realm is willing to openly share the use of the Old Heaven Court Relics, the Divine Prefecture and Human Realm will do the same for our respective Relics so that all can cultivate at all three places. What do you think?"

The multitude were taken by surprise when they heard this speech. The Human Realm wanted to be a part of this also.

It seemed that they, too, attached high importance to the Old Heaven Court Relics.

Furthermore, Di Hao said that the Heaven Court and Donghuang Imperial Palace shared a deep bond. Was there more to this than meets the eye?

"We're not interested." This was the reply from the heir of the Heaven Realm.

Di Hao looked up at the other party. "Ji Wudao, do we have to face off in war?"

"You people don't cultivate on your own relics but come to invade ours instead. And yet you still ask me this question?" Ji Wudao's gaze swept across Di Hao and then rested upon Donghuang Diyuan. "Princess Diyuan, I have no wish to clash with you, but the Old Heaven Court Relics belong only to the Heaven Realm."

Ye Futian's expression betrayed surprise when he heard Ji Wudao's words. What was the relationship between Ji Wudao and Donghuang Diyuan?

In the past, they had both used the same ability, which was the Heaven Punishing Divine Sword.

Where did they cultivate the ability from?

"Ji Wudao, since you insist, then let's see if the cultivators of the Heaven Realm can hold on to this sky stairwell." Di Hao's tone was calm, but one could still sense the commanding stance behind it.

The surrounding crowd was stirred. Were they about to witness a battle of the greatest from the realms?

"Do I take on you guys one by one, or all at once?"

While looking down upon the cultivators, Ji Wudao's indifferent reply caused a shudder within them.

Currently, the Heaven Realm was weak in power and was thought to be so incapacitated that it was no longer on par with the other greats at the Emperor-level.

Yet here, the heir of the Heaven Realm just threw down a challenge to take them all on at once.

Was the Heaven Realm really that powerful?

Or was it just for show?　

Those from the Human Realm were considerably ignorant concerning this heir of the Heaven Realm as he had been exceedingly secretive as a recluse. Coupled with the low profile maintained by the Heaven Realm these days, not many from the other realms knew much about Ji Wudao.

They had not even so much as heard of his name until now. Only those ranked at Emperor-level knew of his existence from long ago.

This person had extraordinary talents, and as the only heir of the Heaven Realm, was born with a gift hardly seen.

However, the extent of his powers remained to be seen and would probably only be revealed in combat.

After hearing Ji Wudao's outrageous statements, immediately, nine strongmen stepped out from behind Donghuang Diyuan. They were the Nine Divine Generals of the Divine Prefecture Imperial Palace, causing a rush of excitement among the multitude.

When Donghuang the Great unified the Divine Prefecture and knighted the Nine Divine Generals, they were already skilled and full of potential. However, they had yet to reach their full potential until now, and the aura they radiated now as a two-tribulation survivor was frightening.

Amongst them, the Spear Emperor Du You had made his breakthrough while in the relics and overcame the Second Great Divine Tribulation of the Great Path.

The Nine Divine Generals had all passed through two tribulations, and their demeanor had all the markings of those ranked at Emperor-level.

Not only that, there were still many other strong warriors at the side of Donghuang Diyuan.

The Nine Divine Generals were not the strongest combatants in Donghuang Imperial Palace.

Behind Ji Wudao, on the sky stairwell, nine strongmen also stepped out in response. They headed toward the front and were suspended from a high altitude; their auras were blinding as a dazzling divine light shone upon them from the heavens. All nine of them were top-notch cultivators, and like the Nine Divine Generals from Donghuang Imperial Palace, had also been through two tribulations. Their demeanors reflected how menacing they were.

"The Nine Great Lords of the Heaven Realm have also come through two great tribulations." Even though many were unaware of them, the cultivators at Emperor-level had a pretty good grasp of the extent of the strength of the Heaven Court.

The Four Heavenly Kings of the Heaven Court had passed through two tribulations much earlier and influential beyond measure.

Below the Four Heavenly Kings were the Nine Great Lords. They were slightly weaker than the Four Heavenly Kings, but after training in the relics, they also passed through the two tribulations. The appearance of the divine relics had a significant impact on the cultivators. Many of them reached metamorphosis and broke through shackles after training in the relics.

As the nine of them walked out, nine colors of divine lights appeared simultaneously above the Void, resulting in a dazzling sight. Among them, the person in the middle was the most mesmerizing. He was bathed in divine sunlight, which shone from the top of the sky stairwell above the heavens through to the entities below; it was as if he was the Sun God.

He was Lord Taiyang—the leader of the Nine Great Lords.

At his side was a beautiful maiden, who was of a remarkable disposition and had an aura in stark opposition to Lord Taiyang's. She was Lady Taiyin, Lord Taiyang's wife. As the yin to Lord Taiyang's yang, the entangling of their sharply contrasting auras had a substantial impact on people.

The Nine Great Lords were undoubtedly comparable to the Nine Divine Generals.

Just then, Spear Emperor Du You took a step forward, with Golden Spear in his hands. He projected frightening divine light and had shades of the Will of the Emperor encircling above his spear. Although he was one of the lowest-ranked within the Nine Divine Generals and had only made his breakthrough not too long ago, as a direct disciple of Donghuang the Great, and having mastered the Will of the Great Emperor, he was most definitely mighty. He would not have been the first to step out otherwise.

Among the Nine Great Lords too, a warrior also stepped out. He was burly and monstrous, twice the size of Spear Emperor Du You. He stood out from ordinary people, and it felt like he emitted a significant surge of power just with his presence in the Void. It made people feel oppressed.

He was Lord Xuanwu, one of the Nine Great Lords. Just standing there made people feel like he was undefeatable.

Spear Emperor Du You started moving toward the sky stairwell. His aura intensified with each step he took, and the atmosphere quickly became tense. A sudden flash of divine light struck the skies, and a divine shadow appeared behind him. It was as if the Great Emperor had descended.

Boom! Above the Void, a frightening roar sounded, and suddenly, the heads of the people were covered by the gigantic and imposing figure of the Black Tortoise Divine Beast.

At the same time, a rush of torrent gushed downwards, and the Suspended Sea appeared within the Void. The sea roared monstrously and attempted to drown Du You in its waters, but he carried on walking steadily step by step.

However, to the crowd watching his figure, it looked like he had been affected.

Crash! A flash of golden divine light surged through the Void, brilliantly bright and moving at a rapid speed. Yet, within the Suspended Sea, its speed seemed to have been hampered, and Du You's movement slowed. The Black Tortoise Divine Beast struck the space below it, and a humongous Black Tortoise Seal appeared and exploded directly above the Golden Spear.

Bang! The Golden Spear hit the Black Tortoise Seal, and at the spot where they connected, harsh divine light appeared on top of the Seal. Following that, a fissure cut through the Seal accompanied by a loud bang, and the Seal was broken into pieces. Du You, however, also got enveloped and shaken by the menacing waves.

Lord Xuanwu held his ground. The Black Tortoise Divine Beast above the skies contained the Will of the Great Emperor within it, guarding the sky stairwell. It was like nobody could come close with it there.

Du You did not appear to hold any advantage in this match.

The warriors from the Divine Prefecture watched the battle going on inside the Void. With the Nine Great Lords protecting the area, it would be nearly impossible for the Nine Divine Generals of Donghuang Imperial Palace to take it by force. The Nine Great Lords were just as strong as the Nine Divine Generals.

"Princess Diyuan, I'll go." Fang Ru, who was standing adjacent to Donghuang Diyuan, volunteered. As one of the most vital figures in the Divine Prefecture Donghuang Imperial Palace, and ranked on the Demigod List. He was already on the near-deity plane even before entering the Relics. If they wanted to take over the Old Heaven Court, they would need someone of his caliber.

Donghuang Diyuan nodded slightly while still fixing her gaze upon the scene in front of her. Fang Ru took a step and said, "The rest, step back."

In obedience to his words, the Nine Divine Generals took a few steps back, and Fang Ru walked out alone.

Upon seeing him, the Nine Great Lords also consciously stepped back. They were naturally no match for someone on the Demigod List, and someone else would take their place.

Just at that moment, two shadowy figures landed on the sky stairwell, and moved toward Ji Wudao.　　

Of the two figures, one had white hair and beard, and an ephemeral aura. He was elderly and celestial-like. The other was dressed in black, and middle-aged. His aura felt chilling to the bones.

Their appearance caused even Fang Ru's expression to turn grave. He knew he could not afford any slip ups.

All the strongest cultivators from the Heaven Realm and Heaven Court were gathered here, and being the best of the best, Fang Ru naturally recognized his current opponent. They too were on the Demigod List and were very old cultivators. They had previously assisted the former monarch of the Heaven Realm.

They dated back even to the time of the Heavenly Emperor.

The two of them were very important veteran figures in the Heaven Court, and were the Guardian Lords of the Heaven Court, Great Skylords Black and White Almighty.

Great Skylords Black and White Almighty were both of a much higher seniority than Fang Ru, and this time, they were here!