Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates
Chapter 396 - 392 Ancient Genius

Chapter 396: Chapter 392 Ancient Genius

Listening to the sighs filled with helplessness and despair, Chen Feng also had a bad feeling, and then he walked with Xiao Ye towards the place where the light was shining.

Before long, the two of them felt a sudden yin wind blowing in their face, and the deep mountain path came to an abrupt end before them. What appeared was a dark bottomless pit with no end in sight, as if an unparalleled ferocious beast had opened its gaping maw.

On both sides of the cave wall, many places were carved out into recesses, forming platforms. On each of these platforms sat youths in meditation.

Xiao Ye glanced over and immediately noticed that there were over a hundred people here, divided into two camps. The smaller group had only around twenty individuals; they were the East State Geniuses that had resonated with the Imperial Dynasty Token in his space ring. Among them were many familiar faces.

As for the other camp, it went without saying that they were the Heavenly Prides from the West State.

"Wang Hu!"

"Zhang Kun!"

"Shen Kuiwen!"

...

"You’re all safe, that’s really great!" Chen Feng’s eyes widened as he stared at the East State Geniuses, with excitement shining in his gaze.

However, the East State Geniuses responded to Chen Feng’s arrival with much less excitement. Instead, sorrow filled their eyes, "Ah, Chen Feng, why did you come in too? To think that the Heavenly Pride King has also been brought to this forest."

Meanwhile, more than twenty East State Geniuses stood up and paid their respects to Xiao Ye with clasped hands.

At this point, Xiao Ye’s status in the Heavenly God Dynasty had transcended that of a young talent, and he was on par with experts from the King Martial Realm.

"Two more walking into death."

The hundred-plus Heavenly Prides from the West State glanced over Xiao Ye and Chen Feng, then withdrew their gaze, lacking even the interest to fight for the Imperial Dynasty Tokens. They merely sat on their platforms, seemingly waiting for something.

Xiao Ye and Chen Feng flew together towards that platform, and after some brief pleasantries, Xiao Ye asked, "What exactly do you mean by your words?"

On the spacious platform, the twenty-plus geniuses from the East State exchanged looks and then started to smile bitterly.

"The Heavenly Pride King, since you too have come in, of course, we will tell you everything," said a green-robed youth with a small stature who looked very capable.

"After being randomly assigned to this forest, we started looking for a way out. When we discovered this cave, we happened to encounter people from the West State."

"There were over a hundred of them, and they also had a powerful talent among them—Wei Yifei. He ranks within the top twenty among the young generation in the West State. Unable to defeat them, we chose to flee into this cave."

"Wei Yifei led his people to chase us in, trying to snatch away our Imperial Dynasty Tokens. However, soon, we discovered something terrifying."

The green-robed youth said this and his body shuddered with cold, his face filled with fear as if he was speaking of something taboo.

"What terrifying thing?" Xiao Ye’s curiosity was immediately piqued. What secret could lie within this cave, apart from its astonishing killing aura?

The green-robed youth spoke deliberately and slowly: "Inside this cave, there are Ancient Geniuses from the Ancient Battlefield. They lived in the same era as the Iron Blood Emperor!"

"How is that possible! How could geniuses from ancient times still be alive?" Chen Feng was dumbfounded upon hearing this, his face filled with disbelief.

Xiao Ye shook as well.

He had heard that this Ancient Battlefield was a place used for the selection of talents by a power known as the Ultimate Palace eight thousand years ago. It contained a special force that could preserve the visages of ancient talents, whereby even the youthful form of the Iron Blood Emperor could be seen.

Could it be that he had just stepped into the Ancient Battlefield and already encountered such a thing?

Xiao Ye had faced the Emperor’s Evil Fruit directly, and his state of mind was naturally not comparable to that of ordinary people; therefore, he quickly calmed down.

He was keenly aware that eight thousand years had passed, and the geniuses of the ancient times had long turned to dust. They couldn’t still be alive. Those seen by these people must be energy bodies influenced by the Ancient Battlefield, similar to the Emperor’s Evil Fruit.

Because these geniuses didn’t understand, they mistook them for geniuses from ancient times.

"That Ancient Genius seems to have no intention of killing us but rather wants to trap us here. We’ve tried many times to escape, but he effortlessly stopped us each time. We can only think of a way while staying here," the green-robed youth continued.

Listening to the explanation, Xiao Ye understood most of the situation.

"How strong exactly is that Ancient Genius?" Xiao Ye asked gravely.

At this point, his mood inevitably darkened. According to what the green-robed youth said, that Ancient Genius should have noticed them the moment they entered the cave.

Yet he had detected nothing. This realization made Xiao Ye’s hair stand on end, feeling as if eyes were watching him from the darkness.

"We don’t know how strong he really is," another youth took over the conversation on the platform. "Numbers alone won’t get us out. Only strong beings at the level of princes from our Heavenly God Dynasty might have a chance to break through."

"Is he that strong?" Xiao Ye frowned slightly, sensing great unease.

The Prince Donghuang is nearly at the Second Realm in his comprehension of the Mysterious, with an incredibly terrifying strength. He is definitely one of the top presences in the entire Ancient Battlefield.

"Heavenly Pride King, I know you might not believe it, but it’s the truth. That Ancient Genius easily defeated Wei Yifei from West State, let alone us," the youth said bitterly, glancing covertly in a certain direction.

Following his gaze, Xiao Ye saw a white-robed youth with an austere face and an appearance majestic as Divine Enthronement, sitting cross-legged on a platform, cultivating with his eyes closed.

His body was suffused with vibrant green light, full of vitality. A green lotus could be vaguely seen as if floating in the ocean, hovering above his head. It was in harmony with the forces of heaven and earth, connecting to the Nine Heavens and containing terrifying power.

That green lotus floated in the void, effectively keeping the frightening killing aura at bay.

"Mysterious Lotus!" Xiao Ye’s eyes sharpened as he observed that green lotus, his expression turning grave.

He had learned from King Xingyun that, apart from the Slaughter Principle, the Three Great Laws all branched into various Mysterious, each with Five Realms. Comprehending each Realm would condense a Mysterious Lotus.

It appeared that the white-robed youth was close to reaching the First Realm of Mysterious comprehension, equivalent to the Two-level Slaughter Principle.

Without needing an introduction, Xiao Ye understood that this person must be Wei Yifei, ranked among the top twenty of the young generation in West State.

"Even he was defeated by that Ancient Genius?" Xiao Ye silently noted. It seemed that Ancient Genius was truly powerful, it’s hard to imagine what that era, eight thousand years ago, was like.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just then, the cliffside suddenly began to shake violently, and deafening noises came from the dark bottomless pit, followed by an unceasing surge of killing intent, like an ocean unleashed, with a dense blood light illuminating the cave.

"He’s... he’s coming!"

A group of youths on the platform jumped in fright, many of them showing fear on their faces as they warily eyed the bottomless pit.

Wei Yifei was also startled awake, standing tall and silent, gazing into the bottomless pit.

"Woosh, woosh!"

The cave was filled with a raging wind, mixed with overwhelming killing intent that swept through like somber wails. Combined with the eerie cave, it made Xiao Ye feel as if he were in the Eighteen Layers of Hell.

"This Ancient Genius has also comprehended the Slaughter Principle, I wonder to which Realm he has reached? The killing aura in this cave comes from him," Xiao Ye’s eyes shot out two beams of bright light, his dark pupils covered with a rich layer of blood light.

"Since ancient times many geniuses have fallen into obscurity. To chase the path of the invincible and compete with the heroes of the age is like a hundred boats vying against each other on the river. But in the end, only one can reach the Other Shore, while the others are destined to fade away, relegated to supporting roles in the age."

"Your talent is too inferior to ascend to the Other Shore of this era. You might as well stay here and accompany me to old age. I shall exert great power and let you live on in a special way, to witness the splendor of this world. Even a Great Emperor couldn’t do this."

Among those whining sounds, a voice brimming with loneliness was heard, raising goosebumps on everyone.

That Ancient Genius had arrived!

A genius from the same era as the Iron Blood Emperor, this was glory, but also sorrow.

Because the Iron Blood Emperor would ultimately claim the throne in that era, all other geniuses would have to yield to him, unable to contend.

Whoosh!

A blood-red river seemed to emerge from Hell, and a figure stood amid it. The boundless killing aura and coldness merged and swept through the cave, bringing gusts of Yin Wind.

He looked like a man dressed in tattered blood-red war armor, holding a decayed battle blade in hand.

He resembled an old man nearing the end of his days, with sparse hair almost entirely gone, a large hole in his chest where even the heart had stopped beating, only dry skin and flesh hanging over brittle bones.

His Blood Qi was dried up, his vitality long gone, with nothing left but the unwillingness from the moment of his fall and the special formidable power of the Ancient Battlefield that had sustained him for eight thousand years, presenting him in front of everyone, looking neither human nor ghost.

"Did the genius of those times end up like this?" Xiao Ye couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness upon seeing this figure.

It was known that eight thousand years ago, the Ultimate Palace reached its peak, unified the True Spirit Continent, and attracted numerous top-level geniuses with several Half-step Emperors among them.

"You’re right, nobody can stop my path to invincibility. I, Xiao Ye, am destined to ascend to the peak of Martial Arts in this era!" Xiao Ye’s eyes flashed, and then he strode forward.

No matter how strong the Ancient Genius, he was determined to fight him. Otherwise, being trapped here, how could he participate in the Dynasty Battle? He must break out.

"I wonder if you can contend with me when my Four Cave Heavens are unleashed!" An invincible War Intent burst forth from Xiao Ye, looking down on all beings in the world.