Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates
Chapter 302 - 300: No Simple Task

Chapter 302: Chapter 300: No Simple Task

Xiao Ye finished speaking and then took a step, his figure shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, quickly disappearing into the dense forest.

He didn’t have Fierce Beast Powder on him, so he didn’t need to worry about provoking a ferocious beast’s attack.

"Captain, letting Xiao Ye track alone, could he encounter danger?" Ma Kui, who was entwined with black iron chains, asked.

The other members of the Dragon Hunting Team also showed signs of worry.

Qing Wu’s beautiful eyes twinkled, then she shook her head and said: "Xiao Ye’s Martial Arts True Intent is very unique, his detection range is much broader than ours, he is the best fit for tracking."

"If we don’t want him to encounter danger, we must speed up to catch up with him, and then make Xiang Nan’s Team and Mo Ye Team pay the price!" Qing Wu said, grinding her little tiger teeth.

Being set up by Xiang Nan’s Team and Mo Ye Team, how could she not retaliate?

"Right! We absolutely can’t let those bastards off easily!" everyone in the Dragon Hunting Team shouted angrily, filled with rage.

Then, under Qing Wu’s lead, they moved through the dense forest, starting to search for a water source.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ye released his integrated Martial Arts True Intent, firmly locking onto Ding Yi and Guo Tao, and simultaneously took out the Flame Saber from his Space Ring, leaving marks on the tree trunks along the way to facilitate the Dragon Hunting Team to catch up.

"Humph, using such low tactics against us? Don’t let me catch the chance or I definitely won’t let you off easily."

Xiao Ye’s gaze was icy cold, Xiang Nan’s Team and Mo Ye Team had thoroughly enraged him.

"It seems they really found out from that middle-aged man the hideout of the bandits." Suppressing the anger in his heart, Xiao Ye carefully observed every move of Ding Yi and Guo Tao.

He noticed that these two teams hardly stopped along the way and continued moving forward, but they were not searching around randomly.

In these mountains, if they flew, it would likely alert the bandits and they would become live targets, therefore they were walking and walking very slowly.

"I hope Qing Wu and the others can catch up soon." Xiao Ye thought secretly.

His strength could definitely defeat Early Stage Nine-Revolution Profound Martial artists, but combined, Xiang Nan’s Team and Mo Ye Team had thirty-two people who were all highly skilled. Both captains were at the Peak of Nine-Revolution Profound Martial.

He wouldn’t be able to profit under such circumstances unless the Dragon Hunting Team still had a speck of chance.

"The current plan is to follow them, ascertain the location of the bandits’ den, and then look for the right opportunity," Xiao Ye decided, keeping a distance of ten li behind the two teams. Fortunately, his strength was not weak, which kept him from losing them.

Ding Yi and Guo Tao, naturally, did not realize their every move was detected by Xiao Ye.

"Haha, to let the Dragon Hunting Team be thwarted, truly satisfying. Maybe they are already being attacked by fierce beasts," Guo Tao, in his yellow robe, said with a big laugh.

He released his Martial Arts True Intent, monitoring the area within a five-li radius, and did not detect any trace of the Dragon Hunting Team.

"Qing Wu isn’t a fool; she must have led the team to find water for cleaning. It’s highly unlikely they are being attacked by ferocious beasts," Bald Ding Yi spoke up.

They were all members of the Genius Camp; naturally, he wasn’t going to severely harm the Dragon Hunting Team.

"This mission’s Contribution Points can be evenly split between our two teams," Guo Tao continued.

This mountain range is vast; after the delay of the Dragon Hunting Team, the Lin Hai is vast, where would they go to chase them?

Ding Yi nodded, his eyes shining brightly: "Four million!"

"After deducting what we give to Xiang Nan and Mo Ye, the two monsters, we still have two million Contribution Points to split, which can be exchanged for quite a few items in the Exchange Hall. Perhaps this opportunity will allow us to exchange for treasures to promote us to the Void Martial Realm!"

Their strength was the strongest in the two teams, so naturally, the Contribution Points they received were also the most.

Generally, Contribution Points exchanged after reaching eight hundred thousand are very precious Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, enough to significantly increase their cultivation levels.

"Treasures for advancing to the Void Martial Realm? That’s not so easy, breaking through to a Half-step Void Martial is more like it," Guo Tao shook his head, but his face showed a smile.

The two of them walked and laughed together, leading at the front of the team.

"Roar!"

Two hours later, the ground suddenly trembled, and a terrifying beastly roar came through the boundless trees, causing the branches and leaves to rustle.

"Ferocious beasts!"

Ding Yi and Guo Tao’s expressions changed at the same time. In the area covered by their Martial Arts True Intent, several ferocious beasts appeared, approximately around two hundred.

"Damn, ferocious beasts again!"

Guo Tao cursed; two hundred Mystic Martial Realm ferocious beasts were nothing for him to fear, but they would slow down their progress. Moreover, the noise of the fight might be picked up by the Dragon Hunting Team.

"Stop complaining, let’s fight through!" Ding Yi, wielding an iron rod, already led the Mo Ye Team charging forward.

Cursing, Guo Tao took out a weapon from his Space Ring and led the Xiang Nan Team to follow.

Not long after, a bloody slaughter unfolded in the dense woods.

Having halted ten miles from the site of the melee, Xiao Ye wore a slight smile on his face.

"Looking at it now, having Xiang Nan’s Team and Mo Ye Team take the lead does have its benefits."

Even though he knew the location of the bandits’ lair, he would have encountered ferocious beasts along the way, which would inevitably lead to losses.

But now it was different; those two teams served as pioneers, clearing the path of ferocious beasts for them and also buying time for the Dragon Hunting Team to catch up.

This really was a case of killing two birds with one stone.

In just a short amount of time, two hundred ferocious beasts were slaughtered, leaving the members of Xiang Nan’s Team and Mo Ye Team almost entirely unharmed, which immensely impressed Xiao Ye.

Especially Ding Yi and Guo Tao, whose strength seemed to be at its limits as they could kill a ferocious beast with a single punch.

"The Dragon Hunting Team hasn’t caught up yet, let’s move out quickly," urged Ding Yi and Guo Tao to their team members, not pausing for a moment, continuing their advance.

"If only more waves of ferocious beasts would come," Xiao Ye muttered with a cold smirk, revealing his form as he continued tracking.

Following his words, within two days, Xiang Nan’s Team and Mo Ye Team encountered ferocious beasts increasingly often, and the attacks were extremely frenzied.

Though the number of beasts in each encounter wasn’t high, it significantly slowed their advance, even resulting in injuries for two members, greatly diminishing their combat power.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ye followed them with ease.

"These ferocious beasts are somewhat different from the ones we encountered at the beginning," Xiao Ye paused beside a ferocious beast’s corpse, frowning slightly.

It was a huge beast, mountain-like, its blue scale armor glowing strangely under the sunlight. Its eyes, like lanterns, were filled with hatred, as if it had died with an unfulfilled mission.

Xiao Ye examined it and finally rested his eyes on a small red stone embedded in the back of the beast’s head.

It was a red stone, half-buried in the beast’s skull, engraved with peculiar runes, emitting bizarre energy fluctuations, almost like it was part of the beast’s body.

He mustered his strength to pull out the stone and held it in his hand.

Instantly, the stone turned to dust and fell; the beast, too, with its eyes glaring wide, gradually closed them as if it had been liberated.

"This is..." Xiao Ye trembled, and upon examining other ferocious beasts’ corpses, immediately discovered similar stones at the back of all their heads.

Recalling the beasts’ frenzied attacks on the two teams, a spark of realization flashed through Xiao Ye’s mind, making him gasp.

"Could these ferocious beasts be controlled by someone?" whispered Xiao Ye, his heart churning with shock.

He had never witnessed such a method of using controlled beasts to attack martial artists before.

And in these mountains, to specifically target them, it was very likely the work of those bandits.

"No wonder Lord Jiu Zhu said this mission was extremely dangerous. So, these bandits can control ferocious beasts," Xiao Ye’s eyes were filled with concern.

These mountains were vast, and it was impossible to count how many ferocious beasts were within; if all were controlled by the bandits to swarm them, all three teams would be annihilated.

Unless a Void Martial Realm expert intervened, reversing the disadvantage was impossible; how could King Xingyun use this for their training? This mission was simply unachievable.

"It seems there are only two possibilities. First, the method of controlling the ferocious beasts is unknown even to King Xingyun. Second, the number of beasts the bandits control is small, and there is still a chance to complete the mission."

Xiao Ye’s gaze flickered, hesitant in his thoughts.

If it were the first option, then he could just turn back.

"Let’s follow and see what’s happening; if things seem off, I’ll turn back immediately," Xiao Ye decided, stepping forward to continue tracking the two teams.

In fact, not only Xiao Ye, but also Ding Yi and Guo Tao sensed something was amiss.

"Why do I feel like these ferocious beasts are attacking us because they don’t want us to proceed?" said Ding Yi, a notion Xiao Ye could guess and so could he.

Guo Tao nodded gravely, replying, "I feel it too, seems like we’ll have a tough fight ahead."

Having come this far, they obviously wouldn’t give up; otherwise, they’d return empty-handed and even have to give up many contribution points to Jiu Zhu.

Moreover, they learned from the slain bandits that the bandits’ lair was not far from them.

"The Dragon Hunting Team still hasn’t caught up; let’s speed up, we must complete this mission!" Ding Yi proclaimed loudly, as their pace increased further.

At this moment, in the skies above, Lord Jiu Zhu, carrying a longsword on his back, rarely revealed a slight smile.

Every move of the three teams was under his scrutiny. With his cultivation level, his consciousness could cover most of the mountain range.

"Detecting it but not giving up, these youngsters do have some nerve. But this mission is not simple at all, aside from the explicit four million contribution points, there are many hidden contribution points too," muttered Jiu Zhu softly to himself.

Finally, his gaze surveyed downward, focusing on the agile figure in the dense forest—that was Xiao Ye tracking the two teams.