The Legend of Futian

Tombkeeper Village, outside of the Nether Sword Mound.

Many in the village looked up and cast their gaze in the direction of the Nether Sword Mound in awe. A huge, seemingly boundless sword diagram appeared in midair, covering the place that was usually gloomy and dark.

One look was all it took to make their hearts tremble.

“This is…” The hearts of the villagers of Tombkeeper Village almost leaped out of their chests. Many mighty ones from sacred grounds outside were just as taken aback as those from the village when they saw the frightening sight before then.

What is that?

Does the Nether Sword Mound actually have a Sword Matrix of the Void?

So the Nether Sword Mound has actually been activated?

An ancient aura permeated the place. Terrifying might shrouded the entire village, covering a huge swath of area.

“Look out!” someone said. If such terrifying powers were to burst, no one knew what would have happened afterwards. It would have been fine if the direction of the attack was controlled, but if the attack was to lose control and come for them, there was probably no one capable of fending off such attacks.

The Village Chief remained standing quietly at the entrance of the Sword Mound. His hands shook slightly as he looked at the events unfolding far away. He took a deep breath after closing his eyes. His eyes turned to look rather manic when they opened again.

After all these years, the Sword Matrix of the Void is finally activated again.

This is all just so perfect.

He had incredible luck for being able to find someone capable of beating Yaya in the Nine State Forum. Better still, there was someone even more suitable for the task other than Yu Sheng, and that was none other than Ye Futian.

Ye Futian came to his village, completing all that he had expected to accomplish.

He looked forward eagerly to the future.

…

At the Nether Sword Mound, the Chess Saint came to feel the unforgiving, earth-shaking, devastating power. He finally felt fear for the first time. He never felt such fear, even when he had been trapped by the sword matrixes back then. But at the moment, he felt pure fear.

It was a power that was more than enough to destroy him.

Everything before his eyes was covered by swords. He shouted in anger and sent the Great Path Chessboard forward. At the same time, he fled by streaking through the space at terrifying speed. However, that intense sword beam and the billions of swords in the air destroyed the chessboard effortlessly. The swords, which were capable of destroying everything in their path, ignored the distance between them and their target. Streaks of boundlessly terrifying sword beams penetrated the Chess Saint’s body, striking him right through his head.

The Chess Saint stopped right there and then. The ones running below turned around and saw that scene that was shining brilliantly.

The matrix diagram emanated endless light in the sky. An unparalleled beam of light of the sword gathered at the center of the Great Path Sword Diagram, streaking through the space and penetrating the Chess Saint’s huge saintly body. At that moment, the saint’s body was lit up by the light of the sword. Incredible terror and despair were seen on his usually composed face.

Even a saint would have felt fear.

The god of death had paid him a visit. The Chess Saint, one of the handfuls of saints to be found in his generation, would soon perish right there and then. He had never expected the one to break the matrix would be Ye Futian. If he knew all that, there would have been no need to choose Liu Zong to lay out the chess game and have his own students killed.

If he knew what would have happened, he would have chosen Ye Futian, the man who would have freed him. The Chess Saint might have even been able to catch a glimpse of the true secrets of the Sword Matrix of the Void.

Everything in the world was a game of chess, and he wanted to be the one placing the pieces.

But right now, who is the one ended up being the piece indeed?

And who is the one to lay out the game?

Who is that Yaya?

Why would Ye Futian and Yaya appear at the same time in the Nether Sword Mound?

Is all of this just a coincidence?

No, it can’t be. This is a game and there must be someone playing the game behind the scenes. I’m not a player. I’m now but a piece on the board.

Thoughts poured into the Chess Saint’s mind. Those were his last thoughts. His body gradually turned into light and dissipated under the incredibly bright light of the sword.

The only Saint of Chess of his time, the number one master in matrices in all of the nine states, perished in the Nether Sword Mound, killed by one of the younger generations using the Sword Matrix of the Void.

The Chess Saint had perished. Countless Sword Will continued to rain from the sword diagram hovering in midair. It covered the entire Nether Sword Mound. Swords rained from the sky and stabbed into the ground. The ones fleeing below brought everything they had as their defense to prevent getting caught up in the crossfire. The Sword Matrix of the Void’s only target was the Chess Saint, and whatever was raining down on the others was simply aftershock. Despite the aftershock having only a very small amount of power, it was still frightening for those that had to deal with it.

“Golden Phoenix Protection!” Zhou Du shouted. The people of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty gathered around and activated their ritual implements, bringing their greatest power to bear. A boundlessly huge golden phoenix shadow appeared above their heads, serving as a shield.

The people of the other sacred grounds went on to do the same. Some had even brought holy items to defend against incoming attacks. Even so, there were still those who were unable to flee in time, killed by the rain of swords from above.

Swords rained down over the vast interior of the Nether Sword Mound. Everyone from Tombkeeper Village was able to see the rain of swords, and they trembled violently within.

That light of the sword that cleaved through the heavens, was that the power of the Nether Sword Mound? Who did that sword attack kill?

Ye Futian remained standing in midair. He felt the power of the Nether Sword Mound dissipating, turning into boundless Sword Will, which was then turned into a rain of swords, falling down onto the Sword Mound itself. The light of the Sword Matrix Diagram gradually dimmed. Yaya’s body floated down below, and she surprisingly sat at the center of the sword matrix. In the sky behind her, ancient Sword Will was seen coursing in the eye of the blood-colored sword. A sword matrix was reforged yet again with her at the center. Frightening Sword Will emanated from within and flowed into Yaya’s body.

Everything seemed to have quieted down, returning to the prime point.

Ye Futian turned around and took a look at the sword’s eye. His eyes were incredibly sharp as he activated Freedom Meditation as if he were to see everything there was inside the sword’s eye. However, he only sensed a frightening, ancient power within, as if yet another sword matrix lied within the eye.

Where is the true Nether Sword Mound?

He flashed and went down to a corner. Two figures were seen lying there: the eldest student of the Chess Saint, Yang Xiao, and the youngest, Jiu Gongzi.

The Chess Saint eventually sacrificed Yang Xiao and the others in order to escape, but his action triggered the ultimate sword matrix, devouring the one that had him trapped. As such, Yang Xiao was not killed right on the spot. When the Sword Matrix of the Void attacked, that corner had been in a blind spot, which spared Yang Xiao from being hit by the aftershock.

In actuality, if the people of the other sacred grounds did not scamper outside in a panic and had instead, hid beneath Yang Xiao, they would have been safer. But then again, there was simply no one who dared to stay around in that kind of situation.

“They’ve still got a chance. Phoenix!” Ye Futian sensed their lifeforce and called. Phoenix came to his side to check on the extent of their injuries. Yang Xiao’s injuries were incredibly severe. Worse still, his body had been penetrated all over by the Sword Will. The actions of the Chess Saint, which resulted in his wife’s death, had practically sent him over the edge psychologically. He was in a bad shape, both body and mind.

Jiu Gongzi, on the other hand, was deemed too weak to be worth being used by the Chess Saint. As such, his condition was better than his eldest brother.

“He is the one in the worse state,” Phoenix said in a low voice.

“Do whatever you can,” Ye Futian said. Seven of the nine students of the Chess Saint were killed by their teacher. The remaining eldest and youngest were gravely injured.

Yang Xiao was an incredibly renowned figure. He was the City Lord of the City Lord Office of Yujing City, as well as a mighty one ranked on the Sage and Saint Ranking. His powers were, as such, formidable, and he was definitely one of the top figures at the Sage Plane. He had been unable to hold on for long in the matrix of the Chess Saint, but he would not have survived if he lesser training and power.

But at the moment, he had been used as a sacrifice by his teacher, and his wife was dead. All his other brothers and sisters were gone. It was a harrowing catastrophe that would have dealt a huge blow to anyone.

“Yeah.” Phoenix nodded and took out a pill, feeding it to Yang Xiao. Strong life signs manifested within her body. Jade-green light covered Yang Xiao and seeped into his body bit by bit.

“My power of Rules of Life is rather weak,” Phoenix said to Ye Futian.

Ye Futian placed his hands on Yang Xiao’s body as well. Streaks of green ancient branches glittered as they appeared, covering Yang Xiao’s body. Ye Futian’s Life Spirit—the World Tree—had saved him from death once, and he hoped it would work on Yang Xiao as well.

“Senior Yang, while your teacher and Li Kaishan might be dead, this perhaps might not be the end of your vengeance,” Ye Futian said to Yang Xiao. If Yang Xiao had no intention to come back to the living, there might be no way to actually bring him back.

Yang Xiao’s arm shuddered. Ye Futian felt that and his eyes sparkled. He then continued, “Because of his status, I was unable to kill him then. I beg your forgiveness.”

If Yang Xiao was able to hear Ye Futian, he would know who Ye Futian was talking about.

Who was it who brought Yang Xiao and the others to break the matrix?

Who was it who led the nine students of the Chess Saint into the sacrificial matrix?

At the moment, both Liu Zong and Zhou Ziyi, great figures of the major sacred grounds, were completely unscathed. Anyone who had been following the events knew that it had been Liu Zong’s ploy all along.

He knew what would happen and laid out everything. If he proved incapable of breaking the matrix, he planned to sacrifice the others to help the Chess Saint escape.

Although Ye Futian knew what happened, there was simply no way he could have killed Liu Zong in front of all those from the other sacred grounds.

Unless he was willing to kill everyone else.

But if he were to do so, there was no way his party would have survived.

If he were to do so, it would not just be them in trouble, but the entire Holy Zhi Palace would have probably suffered the wrath of other sacred grounds, bringing about their doom.

There were things that no matter how much one wanted to do it, they just could not bring themselves to do it.

There would perhaps be answers when they were able to make it outside.

Yang Xiao’s eyes opened after a while, staring at the sky. His eyes were filled with blood and were incredibly cold. There was no emotion in them, only a thirst for revenge.

“Senior,” Ye Futian called.

“You’re right. I will live.” Yang Xiao’s voice sounded very calm, but Ye Futian knew what that calmness meant. It was a manifestation of his mind’s resolve and nothing else.

Yang Xiao wanted to live. He wanted revenge. The Chess Saint died. Li Kaishan died. But Liu Zong was still alive. His teacher was the one who set them up, and Liu Zong had been an accomplice. It was a blood debt that he was determined to claim.