The next few days passed in relative peace at Four Corner Village. Everyone cultivated side by side, peacefully and quietly.
Ye Futian was now a member of the Four Corner Village. He was allocated a residence of his own and often gave cultivation lessons to the young people under the ancient tree. Gradually, more and more youths embarked on the journey of cultivation.
Currently, Ye Futian was sitting under the ancient tree, appeared to be at his leisure. In the distance, a woman stood there quietly, looking at Ye Futian. A voice was then transmitted to him, “Do you really have no plan to find an ally?”
Ye Futian looked in the direction where the voice came from and saw An Ruosu there, radiant as ever. Ye Futian responded with voice transmission of his own, “What does the goddess wish to say?”
He had researched the top principalities in Shangqing Domain. An Ruosu came from the An family of the Upper Ninth Heavens, which belonged to the Middle Third Heaven; it was a major principality in its own right.
It was said that once, the An family was an ancient dynastic power. In the past, An Ruosu would be considered a princess from an ancient royal family. Of course, even as a familial principality, it remained an ancient royal family. Its existence was backed by a profound history.
An Ruosu sat far away without looking at Ye Futian. It was as if she didn’t want people to know that they were in communication.
“If you don’t start gathering allies, I’m afraid Four Corner Village will be singled out,” An Ruosu replied.
Many things were not able to be sorted simply by reason. Although this land belonged to the Four Corner Village, many forces had come to this land of great fortune and knew that it was a divine relic. Ask them to give it up now and leave as if nothing had happened would be easier said than done.
“Teacher is in the village,” said Ye Futian. Although the teacher didn’t interfere with affairs regarding the outside world, if someone was to do something to the village, the teacher couldn’t ignore it.
“The teacher is indeed very strong. As far as we know in the Shangqing Domain, the teacher’s strength may be in the top five in the entire domain. However, this time it isn’t just one principality that Four Corner Village is facing. In reality, these people also wanted to see just how powerful the teacher is. If he turned out to be stronger than expected, everything would be resolved. But if that is not the case, what do you think will happen? Do you have an idea of the teacher’s strength?” An Ruosu asked.
“It seems that the goddess knows some things that we don’t.” Ye Futian did not respond directly. From what An Ruosu had said, he could deduce and reach conclusions on his own. Various forces might be allying preparation to deal with Four Corner Village.
However, clearly, these forces had not yet fully reached an agreement, or An Ruosu wouldn’t be here talking to him. After all, they weren’t all of the same force, and their minds and hearts weren’t entirely aligned.
It was not completely implausible that some of these principalities might use the pretense of allying as an attempt to undermine some of them, but at what price?
Would they allow those in the alliance to come and go freely in the future?
An Ruosu did not respond, but it was true that she did know quite a few things. In the past few days, various forces appeared to be comprehending and cultivating quietly, but that was not all they did. There were still people coming from the outside world even now.
Four Corner Village’s attempt to purge these forces from Shangqing Domain might not go quite so easily.
“Thank you, goddess, for the reminder. I will think it over,” Ye Futian added when he saw no response from An Ruosu. And An Ruosu did not try to persuade him further. She merely said, “When you are ready, let me know.”
“I will,” Ye Futian replied.
An Ruosu then got up and left. Ye Futian left soon after as well. He found Old Ma and asked him, “As we expected, these forces may not give up easily this time, and we may yet face their anger. If we can’t find a way to resolve the situation, they might take this opportunity to take over the village for themselves.”
Old Ma narrowed his eyes and said, “Even before Four Corner Village had any contact with the outside world, many in the village met an unfortunate fate. Blind Tie was just a more obvious example among them. In fact, there were some cultivators from the village that never returned once they left. Those people have wanted to return to Four Corner Village for a long time. If they find an opportunity, they will destroy this village without hesitation.”
Old Ma did not doubt the ruthlessness of these people. Such were the rules of the cultivation world.
“So, do we need to recruit a couple of forces?” Ye Futian asked tentatively. Obviously, Old Ma knew more about the village than he did. His impression of Old Ma had long since changed. Old Ma probably knew a thing or two about the true strength of the village.
“No, I want to see what these greedy people are going to do.” Old Ma said coldly, “Wait for me here. I’m going to find someone.”
“Sure,” Ye Futian nodded. It didn’t take Old Ma long to come back with a cultivator who possessed a somewhat chilling aura. It was Gu Huai of the Gu family.
“Clan leader of the Gu family,” Ye Futian got up and paid his respects.
Gu Huai nodded slightly. Previously, he and Ye Futian had some unpleasant exchanges. When Muyun Long wanted to expel Ye Futian, Gu Huai had agreed. It was clear that Gu Huai supported Muyun Long at that time. However, the Muyun family was now out of the picture. Four Corner Village had rejected them.
“The divine technique that the clan leader cultivated is the Ancient Divine Immortal Form?” Ye Futian said.
“It seems that this village could keep no secrets from Master Ye’s prying eyes.” Gu Huai stared at Ye Futian as he spoke. There was great aggression in his eyes, which made those around him a little unsettled.
“People in the village know that I was bestowed with good fortune. Over the years, my luck is indeed much better than most, so I can see many things inside the village that others can’t.” Ye Futian smiled and continued, “Of course, although I could perceive these divine techniques, they belong to Four Corner Village, and only the true descendants of the village may inherit them completely.”
Gu Huai nodded in acknowledgment. It was almost impossible for the others to learn of it completely. After all, this was the inheritance of Four Corner Village.
“Gu Huai, I know that Muyun Long had a good relationship with you before, and you have always wanted to experience the outside world. Now that the teacher has given his permission, the village will be a force in Shangqing Domain in the future. However, various forces now seemed to intend on making Four Corner Village a target, and you must have seen the position taken by the Muyun’s family. I hope you will make your own decisions,” Old Ma said.
Gu Huai looked toward him and heard Old Ma continued, “No matter what, you are a member of the village. The Muyun family has forgotten about this, but I believe you won’t.”
Gu Huai’s expression was somewhat serious. At this time, Ye Futian said, “There were some misunderstandings with the elder before, but now that I am a member of the village, I will endeavor to do my best to assist the young people of Four Corner Village. The potential of Four Corner Village will inevitably shake up the entire Shangqing Domain.”
Looking at Ye Futian and Old Ma, Gu Huai seemed a little displeased. He turned around and walked outside. Old Ma and Ye Futian looked a little surprised. At this time, Gu Huai stopped and said, “Old Ma, you underestimated me.”
As he finished speaking, he went away. But Old Ma smiled instead and said, “In a few days, we will come to you and make amends.”
He knew that this matter had been settled.
He was worried that the conflict would become a thorn between Gu Huai and Ye Futian. Considering that Gu Huai was close to Muyun Long before, he deliberately approached Gu Huai.
However, it seemed that he was overly concerned. Just as he had said himself, no matter what, Gu Huai was still a member of the Four Corner Village.
In a blink of an eye, seven days had passed.
On this day, Fang Gai, Old Ma, and the others came to the ancient tree and saw that the cultivators from all forces gathered here. They were facing different directions. They focused on their cultivation as if nothing was happening.
“Everyone, seven days are up. Our village is small. We won’t keep everyone any longer,” Fang Gai said as he stepped forward.
As if they hadn’t heard it, they remained quietly cultivating. Only in one direction, someone spoke up, “Is this the way of hospitality in Four Corner Village?”
“There are no forces that would wait on their guests as you seemed to expect here. If there is, Four Corner Village surely has done far more,” Fang Gai replied.
However, no one paid any attention to them. The sight disturbed Fang Gai, Old Ma, and the others greatly. Clearly, they were acting this way deliberately.
“Everyone.” Fang Gai’s voice cooled a few degrees. He continued, “The time has come. Please give back Four Corner Village its tranquility.”
“All the forces in Shangqing Domain have gathered in our village. This is supposed to be a grand occasion to be celebrated, and the village should have treated our guests with hospitality. What is the meaning of this, Fang Gai?” Muyun Long asked.
“Muyun Long.” Fang Gai looked at him indifferently. It seemed that Muyun Long was prepared to side with outsiders, after all.
“For many years, this place has always been a holy land of the Shangqing Domain. On this land, there is Four Corner Village, in which the villagers were hospitable and friendly. In return, we also respected Four Corner Village and dared not blaspheme the village in the least. But now, Four Corner Village is ready to take this place for its own, expelling all others for self-interest, purging all dissidents, and depriving the head of the Muyun family of control over the village. It is devious indeed.”
A voice was heard, and it was a cultivator from the Nanhai family. In his words, he separated this space from Four Corner Village. It was as if this place was just a place of cultivation in the Shangqing Domain and Four Corner Village was just a part of the holy land, completely separating the two.
Hearing such words, the people in Four Corner Village were greatly angered as their eyes directed coldly at the speaker.
“That’s right, if you are cultivating in the same space, then let’s not reject each other. It’s much better if you can coexist in peace.” Someone else continued, “But if Four Corner Village insists on having its way, then we will have no choice but to seek justice for the Muyun family.”
