Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates
Chapter 141 - 139: The Path the Empress Abandoned

Chapter 141: Chapter 139: The Path the Empress Abandoned

Hearing the words of the Old Madman, Xiao Ye was greatly startled and hurriedly looked forward.

At this moment, the Old Madman stood there, his towering stature like an unscalable mountain peak, his eyes sharp and lucid under his disheveled hair, devoid of any previous madness.

Xiao Ye immediately felt a shiver down his spine.

Rumors said that even the Mystic Martial realm powerhouses could not deal with the Old Madman, yet he had awakened!

If the Old Madman made a move, Xiao Ye believed no one present could escape, thus he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

"Senior." Xiao Ye braced himself and saluted the Old Madman with clasped fists.

"Hehe..." The Old Madman grinned, his clear eyes sizing up Xiao Ye, "You don’t need to be nervous. It’s the aura of your Four Tripod Heavenly Technique that has temporarily woken me up; in fact, I should thank you."

Xiao Ye opened his mouth; he had too many questions to ask the Old Madman.

"It seems you too came to seize the treasure, but the treasures here are not suitable for you, come with me." The Old Madman saw through Xiao Ye’s cultivation level at a glance, then carrying a huge bag, he headed towards the forest.

With each step the Old Madman took, he covered dozens of meters, darting into the forest like shrinking the ground into an inch, with astonishing speed.

"Did the Old Madman leave?" The many Innate Realm Martial Artists in the distance did not understand what had happened and were all stupefied.

"A treasure suitable for me?" Xiao Ye’s eyes blazed with eagerness, just as he was about to follow, a thought struck him.

"Xu Yan is my friend; whoever dares to snatch the treasure from his hands..." Xiao Ye turned and swept his gaze over the crowd, "Kill!"

With Xu Yan only at the Innate Realm Third Level, obtaining a treasure would surely bring disaster, hence Xiao Ye spoke such intimidating words.

As expected, hearing his words, the numerous Innate Realm Martial Artists fell silent as before, withdrawing the feet they had been about to move, even the severely injured Black Heart Elder and Ding Hao displayed a look of fear.

No one doubted Xiao Ye’s strength.

Yet more people’s eyes revealed a hint of frenzy; a single word, "kill," had intimidated all the Innate Realm Martial Artists present, displaying such domineering power.

This was indeed a true Young Genius!

"Ye Xiao..." Xu Yan looked at Xiao Ye with gratitude.

As a low-power Innate Realm Martial Artist, being regarded as a friend by Xiao Ye left him feeling immensely flattered.

...

Swoosh!

Xiao Ye darted into the forest, swiftly moving forward, passing through a lush green path, and a cave appeared in his view, with the Old Madman sitting at its entrance.

"Senior." Xiao Ye approached and saluted.

The Old Madman waved his hand, and suddenly a floating stone landed in front of Xiao Ye: "Sit."

Xiao Ye was astonished internally, feeling no energy fluctuations just now; the act of summoning objects out of thin air was not something an Innate Realm Martial Artist could do.

"The Old Madman must have reached the Mystic Martial by now." Xiao Ye sat down on that huge rock.

In the quiet forest, a breeze blew, rustling the leaves.

The Old Madman’s disheveled hair dancing in the wind, his deep eyes filled with a hint of reminiscence: "I never thought that when I woke up, so many years had already passed."

"Now the times have changed, old friends have gone, and a new generation of Young Genius is on the rise."

At this point, the Old Madman looked deeply at Xiao Ye: "We’ll talk about the treasure later; you must have many questions now, ask them while I am still lucid."

Xiao Ye nodded and hurriedly asked, "Senior, I boldly ask, what exactly did you encounter in the Emperor’s Cultivation Land to turn out this way?"

Xiao Ye had been puzzled for a long time.

Logically speaking, the Old Madman was among the young geniuses who entered the Emperor’s Cultivation Land in the last session, only eight years ago, and should be in his prime. Why did he appear as if he had been deprived of his years, turning into an old man.

"Hehe..." The deep voice of the Old Madman sounded.

"All of us Martial Artists hope for a day we can reach the Mystic Martial. I am no different; I placed all my hopes in the Emperor’s Cultivation Land, even daring to hope for acquiring the Empress Inheritance."

"So, I diligently cultivated hard and with great strength emerged in the last Heavenly Pride Battle of the Black Dragon Country, and entered the Emperor’s Cultivation Land," the Old Madman said slowly, his eyes full of reminiscence.

Xiao Ye held his breath and listened carefully; the more he understood from the Old Madman, the better it would benefit him when he enters the Emperor’s Cultivation Land in the future.

"That is a terrifying place, full of dangers, but also full of countless treasures. I took away a large number of treasures, and luckily, while blindly fumbling about, I discovered the Empress Inheritance," said the Old Madman.

What!

Xiao Ye was shaken. The Old Madman actually discovered the Empress Inheritance, something that, if passed on, would shock the world! He knew that the Emperor’s Cultivation Land had been opened for hundreds of years, yet this was the first time he heard of anyone discovering the Empress Inheritance.

The Old Madman stumbled upon the Empress Inheritance by sheer luck; his fortune was truly defying the heavens.

"I was overjoyed and began to accept the Empress Inheritance. But her inheritance was so grand, it actually consumed my own life force," the Old Madman murmured on, completely lost in his memories.

"By the time the inheritance was completed, I had lost fifty years of my life and aged into an elderly man with white hair."

"However, I didn’t mind because I had received the Empress Inheritance. Yet when I accessed the inheritance, I realized it was a scam, the Supreme Empress deceived us all!"

Xiao Ye’s heart pounded furiously. The Old Madman had acquired the Empress Inheritance, but why did he call it a scam?

"The legacy left by the Empress was a path of Martial Arts she herself had abandoned. That path was fundamentally impassable," the Old Madman explained.

"With the Empress’s talents, if she were to follow that path, she too would lose herself and never reach the peak of Martial Arts to become the Empress."

Xiao Ye suddenly found himself speechless. The Supreme Empress’s talents need no elaboration; through the ancient eras of the True Spirit Continent, she was among the very top.

How difficult must a path be if even the Supreme Empress chose to abandon it?

"Ha ha!" The Old Madman suddenly laughed tragically; his laughter was filled with sorrow.

"For the price of fifty years of my life, all I got was this outcome. My fellow martial artists were still radiant and youthful while I had already become decrepit. My wife and children didn’t even recognize me upon my return home, and my parents looked younger than me."

"I was deeply shocked, and I severed the memories of the Empress Inheritance; from then on, I lived madly and anonymously, wandering through Black Dragon Country." Tears streamed down the Old Madman’s face as his madness resurfaced.

"So that’s how it is," Xiao Ye murmured, understanding how such an experience could drive a person mad.

Unfortunately, the Old Madman had already severed his memories of the Supreme Empress’s inheritance. Xiao Ye knew it was impossible to learn anything more.

"I hate the Supreme Empress, if it weren’t for her, I would have been famous throughout the Black Dragon Country by now!" The Old Madman’s eyes blazed with a terrifying hate, "I wish I had never stepped into the Emperor’s Cultivation Land; I only wanted to quietly be with my family!"

The Old Madman roared, venting the suppressed emotions in his heart, as the fierce wind roared through the forest as if mourning for him.

Xiao Ye’s heart raced, and he quickly moved further away, not wanting to provoke a presumed Mystic Martial-level madman.

After a long while, the Old Madman finally calmed down. He glanced at Xiao Ye and said, "I don’t know when I’ll be lucid again. This treasure, I struggled to snatch it from the Emperor’s Cultivation Land, I hope it can help you, as a way to repay you for awakening me."

With a wave of his hand, the Old Madman sent a treasure flying towards Xiao Ye.

Xiao Ye reached out to catch it and hurriedly looked at it, finding a purple leaf that didn’t seem special.

"Senior, what is this?" Xiao Ye asked curiously. Could a leaf be a treasure?

"Don’t underestimate this leaf, it is a Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures envied even by Mystic Martial-level powerhouses. This item is called a Bodhi Leaf. Just by holding it in your mouth, your understanding will immediately increase tenfold; it’ll definitely be of great use to you," the Old Madman explained.

Boom!

Xiao Ye was struck as if by lightning, his face filled with disbelief.

In True Spirit Continent, both Martial Arts perception and talent are equally important.

Some geniuses cultivate combat techniques very quickly and can grasp the Martial Arts True Intent while still young. Why?

Because they have high perception!

The more powerful the combat technique, the harder it is to cultivate. For example, with the assistance of the Time Tower, Xiao Ye had only managed to cultivate the Great Sun Seal to Great Success Level, not yet Perfect.

Not to mention the even more difficult Lonely Moon Seal, which would be harder to train.

But now with the Bodhi Leaf, he could quickly cultivate it to a Perfect level!

"And also the Martial Arts True Intent, once my perception increases tenfold, entering the Flame Saber World, the Flame True Intent will definitely increase rapidly!" Xiao Ye’s face was filled with excitement; the help from the Bodhi Leaf was immeasurable.

From what the Old Madman said, there should be many Bodhi Leaves in the Emperor’s Cultivation Land. If he could obtain many, wouldn’t it be easy for him to compete for the title of Mystic Martial?

He became even more eager about the prospect of visiting the Emperor’s Cultivation Land.

"Remember, the effect of a single Bodhi Leaf only lasts for three days; you must be careful," the Old Madman spoke, his body trembling, his eyes once again filled with confusion.

"Heh heh... Even the grand Supreme Empress deceives people, a fraudster’s treasure, I should throw them all away, cutting off the past." The Old Madman smiled crookedly, then picked up a bag beside him and strode toward the forest edge.

Xiao Ye sighed; it seemed the Old Madman’s brief moment of lucidity had passed.

"Is the Empress’s inheritance really just a scam?" Xiao Ye wondered silently.

Just the invaluable effect of the Bodhi Leaf meant he must visit the Emperor’s Cultivation Land.

Then, Xiao Ye walked out of the forest and found the Old Madman throwing treasures away on the forest’s edge. Ding Hao and Black Heart Elder had left at some point, and without anyone to keep order, the scene was chaotic.

"There are three months until the Direct Disciple Competition. The Sun and Moon Seal I cultivate is the secret technique from the Sun and Moon Sect, and it’s inconvenient to use it during the competition. Let’s see if the Old Madman has any other Fifth Grade combat techniques." As Xiao Ye thought this, he too started to collect some treasures.

Indeed, he discovered a set of Fifth Grade combat techniques. Xiao Ye picked up the combat technique book and turned to leave.

"Zhao Qian, wait for me to defeat you in the Direct Disciple Competition!" Xiao Ye’s eyes shimmered with sharp intent.