Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates

"Whoo whoo!"

Little White nodded his head, understanding what Xiao Ye had said, and stood on Xiao Ye's shoulder, his black and agile eyes filled with a grave intensity as he constantly surveyed their surroundings.

Even he could sense a hint of danger in this place.

Swoosh!

Xiao Ye let Little White stand on his shoulder to keep guard, feeling slightly relieved, he transformed into a bolt of lightning darting towards the front.

He occasionally stopped to take out a map to confirm his location and plot his route forward, then he continued to advance deeper into the heart of the Lost Mountain Range.

The deeper Xiao Ye went into the Lost Mountain Range, the more ethereal and dense the fog within the mountains became, and the lower the visibility got, to the point where he could only see things and creatures within a hundred meters.

Looking around, Xiao Ye could see the thick fog drifting by his side, and felt bursts of Qingfeng breeze. Suddenly, a tremendously dangerous presence descended from the heavens, shrouding his entire being.

Xiao Ye felt his hairs stand on end, and Little White, perched on his shoulder, also became visibly restless.

"Could it be that we've already approached the Ancient Relics?" Xiao Ye slowed down his pace and proceeded cautiously.

With the current visibility, the map in his hand had essentially lost its use; he could only rely on his feelings to continue moving forward.

If they really were close to the Ancient Relics, then there would definitely be an encounter with an Array, and naturally, danger would ensue.

Swish!

Suddenly, Xiao Ye's eyes sharpened, fixating on something ahead.

There, lying on a large rock in front of him, was a withered Corpse. Its head was lifted, and a decaying palm stretched towards the Heavenly Dome—its hollow gaze before death was filled with a desperate longing for Life.

"This must be a Martial Artist that forcibly intruded into the Lost Mountain Range!"

Xiao Ye quickly approached, and only then did he realize that the Corpse, for some reason, was not greatly damaged and appeared quite lifelike.

However, Xiao Ye knew that this Martial Artist had been dead for definitely more than a decade.

Xiao Ye crouched down and inspected for a long time but could not determine the cause of death. He found no treasure or Space Ring on the body.

Xiao Ye shook his head and then got up to continue heading forward.

Since there was someone who had died here, it meant he must have already accessed the Ancient Relics. Perhaps this Martial Artist had accidentally broken in and then was killed by a Guardian Array.

Indeed, after Xiao Ye had gone roughly another five li, he came across another Martial Artist's Corpse.

This Corpse, just like the previous one, bore no visible wounds, and the body was not greatly damaged, completely devoid of any treasure.

Xiao Ye did not linger and carried on moving forward.

Very soon, he was shocked.

Because as he continued forward, he would find a Corpse every few hundred meters, and the further he went, the more densely packed they became.

At its most extreme, he saw over a hundred Corpses fallen together, as if a mysterious force had suddenly deprived them of their lives. Their lifelike faces conveyed immense panic and a desperate desire to survive right before death.

Walking this path, Xiao Ye had seen at least over a thousand Corpses by now, and the shock initially felt had turned into numbness.

Xiao Ye no longer paid attention to these Martial Artists and stopped.

Because at this point, the fog was simply too thick; it could almost be described as groping in the dark.

Moreover, the surroundings were extremely quiet; he could only hear the slight breathing of himself and Little White.

"If I haven't miscalculated, then this should be the location of the Ancient Relics, but how come I can't find an entrance?" Xiao Ye searched in a small area, his pitch-black eyes radiating unspeakable Divine Light.

Unfortunately, even after searching this region for a long time, aside from encountering several hundred more Corpses, he found nothing else—just a vast lake like a pool of still water. A Qingfeng breeze blew by, yet it failed to stir up even a ripple.

"It's so strange. I can confirm, if I haven't gone astray along the road, that according to the map, the Ancient Relics should definitely be here." Xiao Ye frowned slightly, frustrated by the lack of further discoveries after searching for quite a while.

He reviewed the route he had taken in his mind, finding no deviation from the path.

"What exactly is going on? Could it be that the Ancient Relics have suddenly disappeared?" Xiao Ye clenched his teeth in discontent.

According to the information from Elder Yang, tonight was the best opportunity to enter the Ancient Relics because tonight, the Guardian Array protecting the Ancient Relics would disappear.

If he missed this chance, once the Ancient Relics' Guardian Array activated again tomorrow, with his current Cultivation, he'd have no way of breaking through unless there was an Emperor Realm expert present.

Crack crack crack!

While Xiao Ye was still resolutely searching for the entrance to the Ancient Relics, suddenly a faint noise caught his attention.

"Whoo whoo!"

Little White, who was standing on Xiao Ye's shoulder, floated up into the air autonomously, his pair of black and spirited eyes looking towards the west, making an urgent sound with his mouth.

"Hmm?"

Xiao Ye's mind tensed up immediately and secretly channeled the King Martial Power into his hands, fixating on the west.

The fog in that direction began to surge wildly as if an unprecedented Ferocious Beast was stirring everything up in a frenzy, causing sheer terror.

"I haven't entered the Ancient Relics yet; it can't be a Guardian entity appearing from within the ruins. Could it be that I've triggered an Array?" Xiao Ye's thoughts raced, and almost instantly, the possibility dawned on him, with a surge of excitement rising in his heart.

Whether it was one possibility or the other, it meant that he was touching upon the Ancient Relics, which was good news for him.

As Xiao Ye was scrutinizing the west, the rolling fog turned even more violent, and even the void began to slightly tremble. A dark figure abruptly stepped out from within the fog.

It was a Puppet-like Martial Artist, yet clad in Armor, wearing a helmet, and holding a black Iron Sword in its hand. Its steps were steady; with each step, Xiao Ye could feel the ground tremble lightly.

"What is this…"

Xiao Ye's pupils contracted sharply.

This Puppet seemed anything but ordinary, but it didn't seem like it was a triggered Array; it resembled more closely the Guardian Elder Yang had mentioned.

"Could it be…"

A thought suddenly surged in Xiao Ye's heart.

As if to affirm his thought, the void around him shook violently, the Star Shifting, and the scene changing, everything around Xiao Ye began to fade slowly away.