Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates
Chapter 441 - 437 Challenger

Chapter 441: Chapter 437 Challenger

Boom!

The Skull Bridge suddenly began to shake, and the skulls that made up the bridge seemed to come to life, with ghost fire flickering inside their hollow craniums. They stretched out their bone-chilling skeletal hands, reaching for Xiao Ye.

Simultaneously, a chilling aura erupted from these innumerable skulls, vast and overwhelming, stirring up gusts of sinister wind, and the moaning sounds became even more piercing, causing Xiao Ye’s complexion to instantly pale, his head to throb painfully, and his figure to stagger. In a moment of carelessness, he was almost blasted into the air.

"No wonder those seven Prince Level powerhouses from the outside could only hold on for a few breaths of time before being blown away," Xiao Ye activated the Ten Thousand Refinement Golden Body Second Layer, opening up a golden domain that illuminated everything around him.

These sinister winds seemed to have no attack power, but they were immensely powerful, creating a strong wind pressure that was like knives, enough to blow away talents of Prince Level.

As for the moaning sounds in the void, it was even more astonishing, as they were able to actively attack a Martial Artist’s soul, making it hard to calm one’s mind.

Under this dual effect, Prince Level powerhouses were absolutely unable to withstand it.

"Hmph, but it’s useless against me, Xiao Ye!" Xiao Ye’s eyes intertwined with brilliant divine light, his body erupting like a sun, emitting billions of rays of golden light, directly blocking those sinister winds.

As for the attacks on the soul caused by the moaning sounds, Xiao Ye was utterly indifferent, using his power to create a barrier at his ears, significantly reducing the power of the moaning sounds.

Swoosh!

Xiao Ye’s body dashed out like a beam of light, aiming to directly fly across the Skull Bridge.

Boom!

Just at that moment, a terrifyingly boundless suppression swept over, striking Xiao Ye fiercely, causing his vision to darken and his soul to tremble as he somersaulted in mid-air, almost falling into the abyss below the bridge.

"If I want to reach the peak of Martial Arts and compete with the strongest Ancient Geniuses, I must pass this Skull Bridge based on my abilities. This is the test. If you’re incapable, please retreat early, otherwise falling into the Wanling Abyss below the bridge, you will never recover," a voice devoid of any emotion came from mid-air.

"It seems the person who attacked me when I released the Void Martial Thought to scout earlier is the owner of this voice."

Hearing this, Xiao Ye couldn’t help but smirk, realizing that simply flying across the Skull Bridge wasn’t feasible.

However, the ’strongest Ancient Genius’ mentioned by that voice made him even more certain that the Fifth Zone was very likely the place where the Iron Blood Emperor during his youth resided.

"Let’s break through then." Xiao Ye landed down, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and his foot stomped down like lightning.

Instantly—

Crack crack crack!

Over ten skeletons all shattered into pieces, turning into powder.

Xiao Ye rebounded off the force, blasting forward, swinging his fists simultaneously, activating the Infinite Radiant Sun Fist, crushing all the skeletons reaching for him into pieces.

The utterly rigid and yang momentum of the Infinite Radiant Sun Fist even caused the moaning sounds to lessen, and even the skeletons seemed somewhat fearful, slowing down their speed as they grasped towards Xiao Ye.

"As long as there’s a way to withstand the intense sinister wind, with the strength of a Prince Level, passing this Skull Bridge is not difficult." Xiao Ye’s heart instantly lightened up, it seemed entering the Fifth Zone and meeting the Iron Blood Emperor in his youth would be effortless.

Crackle!

Crackle!

Just then, those skeletons shattered by Xiao Ye suddenly began vibrating, emitting streaks of black qi which blanketed the sky, instantly engulfing Xiao Ye.

"What is this?" Xiao Ye was startled, his body breaking out in goosebumps.

He saw the void suddenly filled with ghostly figures, his vision blurred as if he had entered a different dimensional space, standing on corpses that were vivid and fresh.

Looking around, mountains made entirely of corpses appeared in his sight, the one beneath his feet being merely one of them.

This scene was too shocking, it was unknown how many had fallen here, the fresh blood flowing from those corpses converged into a vast Blood River that stretched thousands of miles, roaring and surging furiously.

"Could this also be a scene from the period when the Ultimate Palace reigned? The Ultimate Palace was quite ruthless, but for what reason did they do this?" Xiao Ye was slightly distracted.

On the Skull Bridge, Xiao Ye’s eyes became hollow, and even his Ten Thousand Refining Golden Body temporarily ceased operating, and those skeletons took the opportunity to pounce, their sharp skeletal hands tearing through the void.

Pfft!

A surge of pain woke Xiao Ye up, instantly bringing him back to alertness.

"Hmph, mere ghosts dare injure me!" Xiao Ye’s eyes emitted two cold gleams, unleashing a Mountain River Print that slammed down, the Ancient Divine Mountain emerging from the void, suppressing countless skeletons rushing at him, turning them into dust.

While Xiao Ye advanced step by step, invincible in his path, every skeleton that dared to pounce on him was shattered, and the ghostly figures formed from the black mist could no longer distract him.

At this moment, from the ten palaces in the Talent Cemetery, exclaims of surprise were heard.

"It’s really unexpected, not only is this young man’s strength exceptional, comparable to the least of the geniuses in Central State, but his Martial Arts Heart is also incredibly strong. It only took him moments to free himself from the ghostly figures. It’s rare for someone like this to emerge from East State."

"It’s indeed rare."

"This young man has comprehended the Slaughter Principle, and has even reached the Third Level Realm. Without a strong Martial Arts Heart, he would have long been controlled by the backlash of the Slaughter Principle. It’s no wonder his Martial Arts Heart is so formidable," a man from the Sword Sect remarked leisurely.

"In any case, this young man is qualified to be called the most amazing genius in the history of the Dynasty Battles, and he is likely to set a new record."

"What do you think, how long can this young man last against him before he is defeated?" An elder from the Taiyi Palace, hearing the praises, couldn’t help but ask proudly with a smile.

Immediately, the representatives of the Ten Great Forces of Central State began a heated debate.

At this time, Xiao Ye was already almost across the Skull Bridge. He had destroyed a large number of skeletons; luckily, the bridge was formed from a vast number of skeletons, otherwise, it might have collapsed even before he could finish crossing.

"There should be an exit ahead." Xiao Ye looked up and saw at the end of the Skull Bridge a space rift emitting strange fluctuations, vastly different from the previous four zones.

"Brother East Emperor and Brother Nangong, with their strengths, should not find it difficult to cross this Skull Bridge. They must have already gone through," Xiao Ye thought, and immediately felt reassured.

As Xiao Ye approached the end, the skeleton attacks became even more frenzied, trying to block his passage.

"Hmph, all of you get out of my way, how can mere ghosts block my invincible path?" Xiao Ye snorted coldly. A three-in-one Grotto Heaven rose behind him, suppressing all heavens and overlooking the Nine Desolates.

Bang, bang, bang!

Wherever Xiao Ye’s body went, large quantities of skeletons were sent flying. He did not even pause his steps as he traversed the final stretch and stepped into the space rift.

Beyond the space rift was an extremely narrow passage, filled with flowing light and beauty, where one could see meteors streaking across, creating a dazzling scene.

Xiao Ye merely felt his body being pulled by an immense and unbounded force, rapidly flying through the passage.

"What could the Fifth Zone be like?" Xiao Ye’s eyes filled with intense anticipation.

After what felt like an eternity, when Xiao Ye was beginning to grow impatient, he finally saw a Light Gate radiating silver-white light, leading to an unknown destination.

Xiao Ye’s spirits lifted, and his body, moved by the pull, flew directly into it. The intense brightness stabbed his eyes painfully, forcing him to involuntarily close them.

When he reopened his eyes, he was stunned.

"Is... is this the Fifth Zone?"

He looked around and found himself standing on a very strange altar. The sky was azure, the sunlight brilliant, the air clear, and the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was even denser than in the Heavenly God Emperor Realm, feeling nothing like being inside the Talent Cemetery.

He rose into the sky, flew up to the heavens, and looked towards the distant places, catching his breath in shock.

He saw mountains undulating endlessly, vast green forests, and enormous fierce birds soaring in the sky. He could vaguely see stone houses built against the mountains, occasionally hidden within the greenery.

"Huh? Someone is fighting!" Xiao Ye stood midair, heard the sounds of the fight, and couldn’t help but look in that direction.

He saw two figures on a mountain peak, darting towards each other like lightning, both garbed in beast armor, both extremely powerful, each with at least a Virtual Martial Level 5 cultivation. However, their usage of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was too crude, in other words, the combat techniques they deployed were too common and failed to bring out their full potential. Xiao Ye watched for a moment and then lost interest.

"This..." Xiao Ye glanced at the cave and looked around, suddenly overwhelmed by a vast ancient aura, as if he had arrived in a wilderness era.

"Where exactly is this?" Xiao Ye felt his mind in a whirl.

"Hmph, another challenger? Come down quickly." Just then, a cold voice called from below.

Xiao Ye looked down to see a young man in a beast robe, wielding a spear, standing beside the altar, looking coldly at him.

"Challenger?" Xiao Ye frowned slightly, descending to look at the youth.

"Everyone who comes out from the altar is here to challenge my lord. Aren’t you the same? Stop talking nonsense and come with me," the Beast-Robed Youth said coldly, his disdain for Xiao Ye apparent, then he turned and walked towards the distance holding his spear.

"Challenge?" Xiao Ye frowned and pondered for a moment, a spark of realization flashing through his mind.

Combining everything he had seen and the words of the Beast-Robed Youth, could it be that this world was constructed by the energy of the Ancient Battlefield, and was set in the era of the Iron Blood Emperor in the True Spirit Continent?