Chapter 800: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

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

Although the influence of the Nether Sword Mound in Eastern State was far less than that of the Nine State Forum, the rumors regarding the Nether Sword Mound increased as time went by. Moreover, there were even whispers that the Chess Saint did not sit for a peaceful death, but was imprisoned in the Forbidden Land of Nether Sword Mound instead.

There were even claims that the Nether Sword Mound was the where the Nether Swordsman, who was named by the Lord of Nine States— the Xia Emperor—as the Champion Sword, buried his sword.

Presently, there was once again excitement in the air.

At the end of the Divine Prefecture Calendar Year 10011, the area bordering the four states of Eastern State, Summer State, Qi State, and Feng State was a vast and abandoned area, mountainous and rarely inhabited.

Because the borderland of these four states was ungoverned, the cultivators from this area would unlikely be strong, but occasionally, there would be hermits and recluses who were exceptions.

The area close to the borders of the Eastern State was surrounded by mountains, and nested within was a quiet and otherworldly village. This was the Tomb Village that was little known to the outside world.

Tomb Village was isolated, and there were hardly any interactions between the village and the outside world. Even those who cultivated in the holy lands had hardly ever heard of it, much less ordinary civilians. In the vast and boundless Nine States area, place such as Tomb Village was like a speck of dust, unnoticed by anyone. More recently, this isolated village had been visited more often. Since nothing of consequence ever happened, they seemed to be merely passing by.

At this moment, outside the village, a procession came from the sky. The leader was a young man in white, extraordinarily handsome. It was Ye Futian and his companions from Huatian City.

After leaving Xihua Sacred Mountain that day, the old man left a map for him to let him choose whether or not to come to the village after secretly transmitting the message. Ye Futian allowed some from the Barren State to return and then led the rest along with Zhuge Qingfeng to the village.

“So quiet.” Ye Futian directed his gaze downward. No tall buildings or ancient temples, just simple houses built with stones, scattered below.

The village was not small. With about a thousand or so households, it was more like a small town. Accustomed to the excitement of the city, Ye Futian rarely experienced this kind of tranquility.

“Let’s go,” Ye Futian said, as the party landed on a small gravel road, moving forward.

Occasionally, some residents would poke their heads out and look at them, but then they would go about their business as if they had not seen them at all. However, Ye Futian could detect that someone had already secretly reported their arrival to other villagers.

After all, there were quite a few people within their party.

“People coming again. Looks like there is going to be trouble in the village.” an old man who sat next to a house grumbled.

Ye Futian looked at him and asked, “Sir, we are here for the Village Chief. Do you know where we can find him?”

“What business do you have with the Village Chief?” The old man looked up and looked at Ye Futian alarmingly.

“The Village Chief invited us to visit the village as guests.” Ye Futian smiled.

“Mr. Ye?” the old man asked, apparently with knowledge of him.

“Ye Futian, at your service,” Ye Futian greeted him.

“All right.” The old man stroked his goatee and stood up. His seemingly hunchbacked body instantly straightened up, and the gaze that seemed cloudy suddenly gained spirit; the entire aura of his person seemed to have transformed swiftly. Ye Futian and company all showed a touch of amazement.

The ability of hiding his aura was remarkable. It was hard to imagine that an ordinary old man would transform into the one standing in front of them at this moment.

“Please, Mr. Ye,” the old man gestured.

“You first, sir.” Ye Futian nodded as the old man led the way to the village.

Many then came out and watched Ye Futian, Yu Sheng, and the rest of them, with curiosity.

They all knew that a few months ago, the old Village Chief left with Yaya.

And the Village Chief also said that there would be outsiders visiting.

Now, they had arrived.

In the open space right in front of them, there was a procession coming towards Ye Futian and his party. A girl of about 15 years of age was walking in front with great pride, staring at Ye Futian and his companions with menace.

Ye Futian revealed an odd look at this event. He stopped and watched Yaya coming towards them with her group. Those coming toward them wore simple and plain clothing. Some were shirtless and some were even wearing animal skins. As they continued forward, they subtly surrounded Ye Futian and his group.

“Yaya, who bullied you?” Next to Yaya, there was a strong young man clad in a fur coat, whose eye swept towards Ye Futian as he asked.

“Him.” Yaya pointed at Yu Sheng, and then at Ye Futian. “And he’s not much better.”

Ye Futian looking at the girl, speechless. Is she complaining?

Do they mean to brawl?

It seems like that now she’s on her turf, the girl is becoming audacious.

“You two, come out.” Just then, a burly young man came out from behind Yaya. He was shirtless, revealing his muscular build, and he exuded savage power.

Ye Futian felt that the barbaric aura from the other was affecting the power of the surrounding people, and his eyes showed a slight surprise.

It seemed that the villagers in Tomb Village were not ordinary.

Boom! A figure stepping out, and it was Yuan Zhan. From his body, a barbaric aura also exploded forth. Golden radiance flowed above him.

“A Demon Ape?” The shirtless youth looked at Yuan Zhan and let out a roar. Behind him, there appeared an huge black shadow; it was a humongous yak. Wind and thunder danced between heaven and earth, while an even more fierce aura bloomed. Immediately, he started towards Yuan Zhan. Dust flew and the ground shook. He rushed towards Yuan Zhan.

Yuan Zhan also stepped forward and sprinted. There was no magic being used between the two; merely an explosion of their own unfettered strengths, charging each other.

With a loud bang, the instant the two collided. A violent exhalation raged, and cracks appeared on the ground, along with houses collapsing in the distance. A demonic wind swirled in the surrounding area. Yuan Zhan and the shirtless youth both stumbled a few steps backward, rubbing against the ground.

“Big Ox brother,” Yaya shouted.

“I’m okay.” The shirtless figure steadied himself and shook his head at Yaya.

A dazzling golden light flashed across Yuan Zhan’s eyes. The physical strength of his opponent was no lesser than his; this individual possessed compelling brute force.

Likewise, Ye Futian displayed a strange look. Even though Yuan Zhan did not enter the top ten of the Nine State Forum, he was still able to enter the top tier. Even if he did not employ any combat technique and relied only on his own strength, the fortitude of the Golden Ape Clan was still phenomenal. For the youth to have checked Yuan Zhan, he obviously also possessed considerable brute force.

Could any random young man from the village be this strong? Also, “Big Ox” brother?

Yaya? What kind of names are these? and what willful person gave them such names?

At this juncture, Ye Futian glanced around and could detect many streams of consciousness spying on the unfolding scene, and it felt like those were other villagers from the village.

There were more to the people of this village.

“Little girl, who taught you that if you don’t win, you should come back and complain?” Ye Futian said to Yaya with a smile.

Yaya looked at Ye Futian hatefully, then pointed to Yu Sheng. “You, come out and we will fight again. That last time didn’t count.”

Yu Sheng looked at Yaya contemptuously. A powerful aura spilled out, and suddenly, intimidation of the sage rank flourished. Yaya’s expression altered.

“I am afraid you will cry if you are beaten again,” Ye Futian said with scorn. This little punk was too arrogant.

After the Nine State Forum, all those from the Barren State who participated in the battles had a realization. Yu Sheng battled the most, so his realization was the deepest. Soon after the conclusion of Nine States Forum, he had a breakthrough and entered the Sage Plane.

Yu Sheng was now in the realm of the sages.

“You…” Yaya pointed at Ye Futian and gnashed her teeth. “I will fight you then.”

“And if you lost?” Ye Futian asked Yaya. This girl seemed really stubborn, and it looked like she would need to be taught a lesson.

“Then I will take you to the Village Chief,” said Yaya.

“That’s not enough. After you lose, you’ll have to call me ‘Older Brother’ whenever you see me.” Ye Futian laughed.

Yaya stared at Ye Futian.

“If you dare not, then forget it,” Ye Futian said. “Why don’t you just take us to see the Village Chief now?”

“All right, but if you lose, you have to obey my commands,” Yaya squeezed out between her teeth. She must torture these two pompous guys.

“Sure, if you volunteer. Don’t say that I bully little punks.” Ye Futian walked forward with a smile. He did not really intend on fighting; it was just that he found this little girl very interesting.

Yaya stared at Ye Futian. A powerful atmosphere broke out, and suddenly, there seemed to be endless Sword Will hidden within heaven and earth. Yaya seemed to be the sharpest of all swords. She directed her eyes to Ye Futian, and he instantly saw that dreadful picture of a bloody sword cutting away at his spiritual will.

Ye Futian’s pupils sharpened at once, turning into a terrible storm as if to devour that frightening Sword Will. Yaya disappeared in a flash, and all Ye Futian felt was a strong sense of impending danger, as if that endless Sword Will was descending on him.

With a turn of the mind, the space-freezing rules bloomed, slowing down the velocity of the entire space. Yaya’s shadowy figure suddenly reappeared in front of his eyes, and one finger fell down towards him. It seemed that the way of the sword of all heavens dropped down simultaneously and traversed the void.

But the space seemed to be frozen, and there was extremely powerful starry rule power surrounding Ye Futian. When the Sword Will came down, it burst into a brilliant radiance. At the same time, Yaya also felt forceful pressure land on her body, making it difficult for her to move.

An extremely sharp bloody Sword Will flashed across Yaya’s eyes. In an instant, that monstrous Sword Will seemed to break down all defenses, tearing through everything to get to Ye Futian.

Between heaven and earth, countless swords descended in All Heavens Sword Matrix.

Sensing this scene, Ye Futian reached out with both hands, and with his body as the center, an even more powerful force now manifested, turning into an absolute starry zone. All Heavens Sword Matrix fell down like a bomb on the starry light screens, unable to break through. And inside, a thick purple-golden Thundering Ancient Vines stretched out like an arm, smashing towards Yaya.

Instantly, Yaya was held down. She growled, and an even stronger Sword Will exploded, intending to smash through. But the power of the Thunder was attacking her, sapping away her strength little by little, until she was wrapped up tightly in midair.

“Girl, even though your offensive power is strong, you have not yet entered the Sage Plane, therefore, the rule power you are able to use is different from mine, especially when I am specialized in spells of all kinds and multiple rules, and can use many abilities with a mere thought. It was impossible for you to win,” Ye Futian said to Yaya. The girl was still struggling; she was very stubborn.

Boom! Just then, the ground trembled, and a violent force broke out. The young man who was clad in a fur coat and stood previously next to Yaya sprinted towards Ye Futian with incredible speed.

With a loud scream, a humongous great beast appeared in the firmament; it was the monstrous Hou, a fierce creature.

The wind raged, and a storm of destruction swept through the area. Ye Futian only felt the ceaseless shaking of his spiritual will. With a loud sound, the starry light screens burst and shattered. A figure landed in front of Ye Futian like lightning, and delivered a swift punch, more violently than a wild beast.

Ye Futian looked up at the person coming at him, and space-freezing rule once again bloomed, affecting the speed of his opponent. Then, he raised his fist and delivered a punch that was like a meteor.

The shadow of Hou appeared behind the other man, whose roar could pulverize the one’s spiritual will. The incomparable savage power collided with Ye Futian’s. Futian took a couple of steps back while the other man was sent flying by the impact. While stepping back, Ye Futian also took Yaya’s body with him and returned them both to where they were before.

Ye Futian looked up at the other with an amused look in his eyes. This person could move mountains and rivers with a roar that contained unparalleled momentum as well as the ability of spirit attack, in addition to shattering the will of man. Such power was indeed frightening.

Certainly, Tomb Village was a lair of crouching tigers and hidden dragons!