On this trip to the West Sea Domain, not only was he able to use the West Sea Domain Chief’s Manor as an example to deter the other principalities, but also now he had procured the Deity Map. He had also successfully recruited an alchemist of the Tribulation Plane.
This was a trip full of rewards.
However, Ye Futian was still not contented.
Now with the Deity Map in hand, if he could find the ancient imperial celestial mountain, he would have the opportunity to create the most powerful alchemy basecamp in all of the Divine Prefecture, making Ziwei Segmentum a holy land for alchemy. As a result, the Ziwei Segmentum was bound to usher in another great transformation.
Of course, even if he did not find the ancient imperial celestial mountain, Ye Futian would form a team of alchemists to help him in the efforts of refining elixirs of all sorts, thus expanding the power of the Ziwei Segmentum.
Now that chaos abounds, the Ziwei Segmentum, in all its uniqueness, must strive to be even stronger in the face of all the powers of the world.
“You have been cultivating alchemy for many years. You must know a lot about the alchemy world. I want to assemble a team of alchemists. Can you help me?” Ye Futian said to Daoist Monk Mu.
“I should do my best. It’s just that alchemists are pretty arrogant by nature. If it is not for a compelling-enough reason, they will not be easily recruited. However, if you can find the ancient imperial celestial mountain, it would be a great incentive to powerful alchemists and would easily attract a powerful group of alchemists to serve you,” Daoist Monk Mu said.
Ye Futian nodded, recognizing that the man was telling the truth.
If Daoist Monk Mu hadn’t tried to take advantage of Ye Futian, he would not be faced with the backlash and forced to submit to Ye Futian in the end. If it weren’t by force, perhaps Daoist Monk Mu would much rather die than surrender.
“Aside from that, I will also need some medicinal materials for refining pills, so I will need to trouble you with the matter of procuring them.” Ye Futian continued, “Also, previously in Jiuyi City, did you and the pavilion master of Breeze Pavilion reach some kind of agreement?”
He knew very well that the pavilion master of Breeze Pavilion did not let Daoist Monk Mu go so easily for no reason. The two had communicated through voice transmission, and they must have reached a tacit agreement. Just now, when he rifled through Daoist Monk Mu’s memory, he had seen something to that effect, although he did not specifically look for it. After all, Daoist Monk Mu’s memory was massive, so Ye Futian simply amplified some useful memory for extraction, those that could be used to make Daoist Monk Mu comply.
“Mmm.” Daoist Monk Mu nodded. “I did reach a consensus with Li Qingfeng before. He let me go, and I will find the Deity Map, then work together to solve the mystery of the Deity Map, and find the ancient imperial celestial mountain.”
He didn’t dare to lie. Ye Futian had rifled through his memories, and he had no idea which ones Ye Futian looked at and which ones he didn’t. He had no idea if Ye Futian was testing him.
Ye Futian didn’t doubt his words. He had seen the memories, and so it was certain that Daoist Monk Mu would not dare to betray him.
“What’s the mystery of the Deity Map?” Ye Futian asked. “Before, when I invaded it with my divine consciousness, what I saw was just a map. However, I can’t seem to find the same exact place anywhere in the Western Sea Domain. I wondered if it was because some islands had disappeared from the changes over time. Besides that, what else is there?”
“Yes, there is.” Daoist Monk Mu nodded. “I have been tracking the Deity Map for many years, and my elders told me that my ancestors were the survivors who once escaped the ancient imperial celestial mountain, so I was from the alchemical branch of the ancient celestial mountain. I have been looking for the whereabouts of the Deity Map all these years until I traced it to the Breeze Pavilion.”
Ye Futian nodded slightly. He knew about this when he looked into Daoist Monk Mu’s memory, carefully discerning the identity of Daoist Monk Mu. Although the specifics could no longer be ascertained, it was true that this man had a deep obsession with alchemy. He also had a strong desire to seek the Deity Map and the ancient imperial celestial mountain.
Daoist Monk Mu waved his hand, and this part of the sea was immediately sealed off. He said to Ye Futian, “Renhuang Ye, please take out the Deity Map for a demonstration.”
Ye Futian nodded as he stretched out his hand and waved. Suddenly, the Deity Map was suspended in the air.
The divine consciousness of Daoist Monk Mu directly invaded inside the Deity Map, as a splendid picture immediately appeared in the air. In an area above the sea, many celestial mountains emerged.
A ray of light shot out of Daoist Monk Mu’s eyes, and the Deity Map suddenly zoomed in. After a while, it seemed to have turned into an unusual treasure, covering the sky and the sun, much like an implement or a magical artifact.
This surprised Ye Futian. He was a little hasty when he examined the Deity Map before and had not had the time to study it carefully.
Was this Deity Map this unusual?
Buzz! At this moment, a flame of the Great Path appeared beneath the Deity Map; it was the green lotus of creation. However, even such a terrible divine fire could not inflict any signs of damage to the Deity Map to indicate that it was burned.
On the contrary, the flames spread and flowed on the Deity Map, gradually spreading to the entire map.
Boom… The violent sound roared from the divine fire, as the flame of the Great Path burning on the Deity Map. The map turned into something else with the help of the divine fire. Under the illumination of the divine fire, and as its light shone on the sea, a mountain-shaped fire appeared in the middle, as an endless flame of the Great Path gathered there, turning into a mountain.
Ye Futian was quite surprised when he witnessed this sight. His heart palpitated slightly faster as his eyes beheld the magnificent spectacle in front of him. It was truly incredible.
It seemed that what he had thought of the Deity Map before was far too simplistic.
“Deity Map may not be just a map, but it may be the key to unlock the ancient imperial celestial mountain,” Daoist Monk Mu remarked to Ye Futian.
“So you had no plan to go back and work with the pavilion master of the Breeze Pavilion?” Ye Futian asked.
“Depending on the situation. If I can’t solve it by myself, I might. But if I can do it alone, why should I ask him for help? Although the treasures that I surrendered to him are very precious indeed, they are not worth mentioning compared to the ancient imperial celestial mountain,” said Daoist Monk Mu.
Ye Futian looked deeply at the other man. This Daoist Monk Mu was extremely cunning and ambitious. Although his strength was lacking, he was an expert at alchemy and concealment, which made up for the lack. He was definitely a powerful character. If it wasn’t that he ran into Ye Futian by mistake, Daoist Monk Mu had good odds in solving this mystery.
It was a pity that this old guy ran into him.
However, the more capable he found Daoist Monk Mu to be, the happier Ye Futian was. This meant that he would be making greater contributions to the Ziwei Segmentum.
This kind of old monster was no gentle creature; he was a crafty trickster.
“Meaning, the map is still a map, but the Deity Map itself may also be the key. No wonder the pavilion master of the Breeze Pavilion went through the trouble of shutting down the whole city to search and retrieve it. If it is just a map, duplicates can easily be made,” Ye Futian whispered. If so, Li Qingfeng could act much more quietly without turning it into such a big deal so that everyone knew about it now.
He didn’t have a choice. Losing the Deity Map meant that he could not unlock the secrets of the ancient imperial celestial mountain.
“Precisely,” said Daoist Mu. Then the flames of the Great Path and his divine consciousness dissipated as the Deity Map returned to how it looked before, floating in the air. Daoist Monk Mu looked at Ye Futian and said, “Renhuang Ye, you can put it away now.”
“Although there were some conflicts between us before, now that you are one of us, you don’t have to be so formal. You can call me by my name.” Ye Futian waved his hand to put away the Deity Map, addressing Daoist Monk Mu at the same time.
Daoist Monk Mu thought about it for a moment, then said, “Renhuang Ye is the lord of Ziwei Segmentum, the palace lord of its imperial palace. Now that I have joined Ziwei Segmentum and become a member, I will address you as Palace Lord Ye.”
“Very well.” Ye Futian didn’t say anything more and merely nodded. He said, “You are an expert in disguise and concealment. Follow me to Jiuyi Celestial Mountain again.”
“Yes, Palace Lord.” Daoist Monk Mu didn’t ask any questions but followed the order readily enough. He seemed to hit the ground running.
The truth was that he had tried resisting before. But, as he was defeated soundly and agreed to submit, the only thing left for him to do was to put down his pride and do what he was supposed to do.
“Let’s go.” Ye Futian did not bother correcting him as the two returned to Jiuyi Celestial Mountain.
…
At Jiuyi Celestial Mountain, Ye Futian and Daoist Monk Mu did not arrive at the same time. They were moving separately.
At this time, Ye Futian appeared in Jiuyi City, but Daoist Monk Mu had changed his identity. Ye Futian had instructed him to collect medicinal materials for alchemy on Ye Futian’s behalf and befriend some alchemists.
With Daoist Monk Mu’s ability, this was not a challenge. He knew that Ye Futian was preparing to form an army of alchemists. Once he found the ancient imperial celestial mountain, he would have the opportunity to make the Ziwei Segmentum the premier holy land for alchemy.
Ye Futian had something else to do. He was standing on an ancient peak, and a middle-aged Renhuang was standing not far away from him. He said, “Renhuang Ye is looking for us?”
“How long before Goddess Chiyao gets here?” Ye Futian asked.
Xi Chiyao should be arriving soon.
“Soon. The goddess has already entered Jiuyi Celestial Mountain, and it will not take her long to come to Jiuyi City,” the other man responded via voice transmission.
“Very well, I’ll wait for her here,” Ye Futian replied.
“I understand.” The man nodded, then turned to leave. Ye Futian proceeded to sit cross-legged and started to cultivate.
After a while, a group of people came, and the person in the lead was beautiful beyond description. It was Xi Chiyao—the goddess of West Imperial Palace.
Ye Futian opened his eyes, then got up. Xi Chiyao smiled brightly and said through voice transmission, “You got it?”
Ye Futian glanced at Xi Chiyao but did not deny it. Instead, he asked via voice transmission, “How did you know?”
“Daoist Monk Mu has traded with you before. This man is pretty clever. He probably wanted to use you to move the item outside undetected by others. Li Qingfeng was fooled by it, and he almost succeeded. Too bad he met you.” Xi Chiyao smiled. “How is Daoist Monk Mu now?”
Although Xi Chiyao was not there, she seemed to have witnessed everything with her own eyes and put the pieces together correctly. This future heir of the West Imperial Palace clearly had more than just talent.
“He decided to join the Ziwei Segmentum,” Ye Futian replied.
“My compliments,” said Xi Chiyao. “It seems that Renhuang Ye wants to gather a group of alchemy masters. If you ever find the ancient imperial celestial mountain…”
“That’s where I need Goddess Chiyao’s help,” Ye Futian said bluntly. “There are some deficiencies in the Deity Map, and I’m guessing it’s probably because of some historical or geographical changes. I need every map of the West Sea Domain from each generation. The more detailed, the better.”
The West Imperial Palace was regarded as one of the oldest principalities in the West Sea Domain. If anyone could come up with every version of the map depicting the West Sea Domain over the years, the West Imperial Palace would definitely be one of them. These items should be kept in their archives.
Xi Chiyao looked at Ye Futian with those beautiful eyes of hers and nodded earnestly. “I will try my best. If Renhuang Ye believes in me, why not go to the West Imperial Palace in person, and we can solve the secret of the Deity Map together?”
