Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates
Chapter 175 - 173: The Desire to Claim the Throne

Chapter 175: Chapter 173: The Desire to Claim the Throne

(Chapter Two has arrived. Starting tomorrow, all three Chapters will be released at a fixed time every day to spare everyone from waiting. The time will temporarily be around seven in the evening, but it will soon be earlier.)

At the instant when he saw those words, Xiao Ye’s face turned deathly pale, his mind thundered, and an overwhelming sense of crisis swept through his body, causing him to shiver involuntarily, cold sweat pouring down his back.

Boom!

The writing on the stele suddenly erupted with fierce divine light, its terrifying power shattered the void, piercing through the heavens, engulfing Xiao Ye.

In his vision, a magnificent figure with a blurred appearance emerged, standing amongst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, seemingly trampling the heavens underfoot, while all things in heaven and earth became insignificantly small—this scene could almost be compared to when he experienced the Emperor’s Evil Fruit.

Rumble!

An endless sea of blood roared, countless peerless strong figures emitted terrifying auras, struggling powerlessly, then were all eventually swallowed by the surging sea of blood, leaving behind only desiccated corpses.

Rumble!

The turbid sea surged endlessly, raising monstrous waves, then swept towards Xiao Ye, transforming into dreadful blood pythons intending to devour him.

"No!"

Xiao Ye shouted, this scene was too real. He unleashed all his strength desperately trying to resist.

Yet all his efforts were in vain—those stronger than Xiao Ye were devoured, so what chance did he have?

All his attacks proved useless in front of the blood pythons; he could only watch helplessly as a massive blood-snake maw lunged toward him.

"I really shouldn’t have come to the Fierce Beast Mountain!"

"Am I going to die here?"

At this moment, Xiao Ye was filled with regret. If it weren’t for his curiosity, he wouldn’t be facing the current crisis.

Even if a Xuanwu Realm expert arrived here, they would perish with regret—this place was too terrifying, not somewhere he should enter.

Boom!

At the critical moment, the Four Tripod Heavenly Technique activated automatically, surging blood Qi wove together three giant cauldrons, radiating the aura of suppression over all heavens.

These three giant cauldrons seemed to be provoked by something insignificant, like three suns bursting forth scorching light, piercing the Nine Heavens above and subduing the Netherworld below, kicking up gales.

Bang bang bang!

Everything before Xiao Ye’s eyes shattered like a broken mirror, and when he regained his sight, he found himself standing in front of the stele.

"Supreme Empress!" Xiao Ye’s face was full of gratitude.

Were it not for cultivating the technique created by the Supreme Empress, he would have died for sure with no chance of survival.

"This place is too terrifying, I must leave immediately!"

Xiao Ye didn’t dare to look at the stele again and quickly turned away.

Swish!

Xiao Ye moved swiftly, knocking away all the fierce beasts lunging at him with a punch—he no longer wanted to stay here for another moment.

"What a terrifying place, what do the words on that stele mean? And why do these ferocious beasts bring human martial artist corpses here?"

Approaching the exit of the Fierce Beast Mountain, Xiao Ye was still filled with lingering fear from what he had just witnessed.

The one who left those words must have a cultivation he couldn’t even imagine, and anyone capable of proclaiming themselves as Emperor must surely be extraordinary.

Suddenly, Xiao Ye had a spark of inspiration, he shot upward toward a high peak, gazing into the distance in the direction of the stele.

From this vantage point, he could see the unique mountain range behind the stele—nine verdant peaks undulating like nine Qiu Long dragons in the land, supporting the heavens and earth.

The Nine Dragons seemed to be roaring skyward, and the direction their heads faced was entirely toward the stele!

"Nine Dragons guarding, the entire Fierce Beast Mountain is actually a tomb!"

Xiao Ye’s body trembled, his scalp tingled with numbness.

When he was a child in the Xiao Family Village, he heard the elders say that many strong individuals would choose unique locations as their burial grounds after death.

And the Nine Dragons Gu Wei is a burial site with excellent feng shui, and that stele was an unimaginably massive gravestone!

Connecting the writing on the stele with this, a thought formed in Xiao Ye’s mind.

"That mighty figure aspiring to be an Emperor buried themselves here, waiting for an opportunity to revive and proclaim Emperor once more! And those beasts bringing human corpses are likely related to reviving this formidable one."

This deduction caused Xiao Ye’s scalp to tingle—could the dead really be brought back to life?

"What kind of great being is this?" Xiao Ye mumbled, utterly shocked.

"This place is an Unlucky Land, I better leave quickly." Xiao Ye dared not linger any longer, leaping down the mountain, heading toward Fierce Beast City.

"Brother Wang Lin!"

Suddenly, the Wu’an County Master and Jiang Yunfan descended from the sky, accompanied by a group of young talents and independent practitioners behind them.

"After we heard about your situation, Brother Jiang and I immediately teamed up with others to kill those two ferocious beasts and hurried over; are you okay?" The Wu’an County Master visibly sighed in relief.

He was immensely grateful to Xiao Ye—if Xiao Ye hadn’t lured away the forty beasts, Fierce Beast City would have been doomed this time.

"I’m fine. After I lured them away, a mysterious stranger appeared and killed those beasts, allowing me to survive," Xiao Ye said.

This was the excuse he had prepared long in advance—if others saw those forty beasts’ corpses, he couldn’t say he killed them all; otherwise, wouldn’t that expose his strength?

After the previous Sun and Moon Sect incident, Xiao Ye decided he wouldn’t reveal his identity before reaching the Xuanwu level.

"A mysterious stranger, where is he now?" The Wu’an County Master asked, bewildered.

"He left after saving me," Xiao Ye calmly said.

The Wu’an County Master seemed disappointed: "It must be a strong figure sent by the King to specifically deal with the crisis at Fierce Beast City."

Xiao Ye didn’t want to dwell on this topic further and quickly changed the subject, leading everyone back to Fierce Beast City.

That very day, the Wu’an County Master hosted a victory banquet to celebrate with everyone, the entire city was in an uproar, almost as lively as the New Year.

This time, they had achieved a significant victory; a large number of ferocious beasts at the Innate Limit were dead, temporarily relieving the city’s crisis.

Xiao Ye became a hero, with everyone toasting him, even Jiang Yunfan, who usually remained detached, joined in due to seeing Xiao Ye’s tremendous potential, not inferior to his past self.

"Once your True Qi achieves Perfection, you can be my opponent," Jiang Yunfan raised his glass towards Xiao Ye.

Yet little did he know, Xiao Ye wasn’t much weaker than him already.

Xiao Ye smiled slightly, raised his glass without explanation.

The young talents looked at Xiao Ye with heavy expressions, believing he could become one of the Five Young Supreme in the Heavenly Pride Battle a year later.

The banquet lasted until deep into the night. After everyone left, Xiao Ye intentionally stayed behind.

"County Master, what exactly is the deal with Fierce Beast Mountain?" Xiao Ye asked.

Regarding the mighty figure buried in the mountain, he couldn’t shake his uneasy feeling and wanted to find out more.

"You entered Fierce Beast Mountain?" The Wu’an County Master was visibly shocked.

Seeing the County Master’s reaction, Xiao Ye shook his head, saying, "No."

Based on his speculation, even a Xuanwu Realm expert encountering that stele would die regretfully. If he explained everything he had undergone, it would surely shock the entire Black Dragon Country.

"Indeed, with your strength, if you entered, you absolutely wouldn’t come out. I advise you never to set foot in Fierce Beast Mountain in this lifetime," the Wu’an County Master solemnly cautioned.

"Eighty years ago, after the old King of Black Dragon Country reached the Xuanwu level, he sought to understand the cause of the beast riots, entered Fierce Beast Mountain, and never returned. Hence, it became a Forbidden Land."

"So every time there’s a beast riot, we have no choice but to resist, fortunately, the beasts in the mountain aren’t very strong," the Wu’an County Master remarked with relief.

Xiao Ye’s heart skipped a beat; he had guessed right—the only one in Black Dragon Country who might know the mountain’s secret was likely him.

"Actually, there are Xuanwu Realm beasts within Fierce Beast Mountain, but they are already dead," Xiao Ye thought secretly, then chatted with the County Master a bit more before returning to his room.

"It’s time to leave Fierce Beast City," Xiao Ye sat cross-legged on his bed, carefully storing the blood of the fierce beasts.

To refine the Ten Treasures Pill, he needed to find a quiet and isolated place.

"There’s still a year to see how much I can improve my strength!" Xiao Ye’s eyes beamed brightly; the Primordial Stone he held was enough to cultivate to Perfect Innate True Qi.

The thought of the upcoming Heavenly Pride Battle filled Xiao Ye with excitement.

Among the younger generation of Black Dragon Country, only those ranked in the top five of the Hidden Dragon List were worthy opponents.

The whistling cold wind enveloped all of Fierce Beast City, causing the leaves to wither.

The next morning, at the city’s gate.

"Wang Lin, I hope a year from now, on Black Dragon Country’s premier stage, you can be my opponent!" The silver-haired talent Jiang Yunfan’s eyes blazed, speaking to Xiao Ye, then turning to leave.

"Brother Wang Lin, I’ll be awaiting you in the Imperial City, be sure to enjoy my hospitality then." Long Yu said with a graceful demeanor.

After witnessing Xiao Ye’s tremendous potential, he had grown very enthusiastic; as a royal disciple, he was skilled at winning hearts.

"Certainly!" Xiao Ye cupped his fists and smiled.

Gone, they were all gone—a group of young talents and independent practitioners had all left, and now Fierce Beast City, even without them, could stand firm.

As for Xie Fei, not participating in the defense, he left disgracefully, becoming a complete joke this time.

As Xiao Ye bid farewell and left after being urged multiple times by the residents of Fierce Beast City, the Wu’an County Master personally saw him off at the gates.

"Wang Lin, I have high hopes for you. I wish you become one of the Five Young Supreme a year from now in the Heavenly Pride Battle, making your mark in the Black Dragon Country," said the Wu’an County Master with a smile.

His attitude toward Xiao Ye was no different from Jiang Yunfan.

"County Master, take care," Xiao Ye replied with a slight smile, carrying his bundle as he strode away.

He must become one of the Five Young Supreme so that when the Vice Sect Leader of the Chongyang Sect learns of his true identity, he wonders what their reaction would be?