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Chapter 280 The Demon Bat Emperor, His Name Inscribed on the Martial Stele (5K)

The demon, known as the Demon Bat Emperor, was over six feet tall, standing out among all the other demons.

Its shape resembled a withered tree trunk, and its dark skin appeared even more somber against the backdrop of its black robe.

"How are the preparations going?"

The Demon Bat Emperor surveyed the entire scene, his indifferent voice ringing out.

A mountain-moving ant, equally short but even thinner, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, everything is ready. We are just waiting for the opening of the Longevity Secret Realm so that we can enter the Martial Dao Mountain and destroy the Ten Directions Martial Stele."

Next, the demons reported their respective responsibilities to the Demon Bat Emperor.

The Demon Bat Emperor nodded in satisfaction after hearing this: "Very good. This plan has been in preparation for many years and cannot afford to fail. If it succeeds, I will definitely report your contributions to the clan. It is not impossible that I will even bestow upon you the Dragon Transformation Pill!"

Dragon Transformation Pill!
Upon hearing this, the breathing of all the demons became more rapid.

"For the demon race, I would go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Suddenly, a loud sound erupted throughout the cave.

Once the voices subsided, the Demon Bat Emperor changed the subject: "However, if the plan fails this time due to some reason, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"My subordinates dare not."

Sensing the Demon Bat Emperor's piercing gaze, the demons all replied in fear.

The Demon Bat Emperor simply issued a warning and did not dwell on the topic for long.

He continued, "There is another matter I have gathered you all here today."

All the demons listened attentively, none of them showing any disrespect.

The Demon Bat Emperor chuckled, "Since everything is ready, let's make this quick and decisive. We'll take action tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, all the demons' expressions changed slightly.

According to the original plan, the operation was scheduled to take place on the day the Myriad Longevity Realm opened.

There are now two days left until the opening of the Longevity Secret Realm, which means the plan has been moved up by one day.

"Your Majesty, wouldn't it be too risky to do it ahead of schedule? Putting aside everything else, if the Golden Armor Guards discover us beforehand, we might fail at the last minute!"

The demon spoke very steadily.

They chose the day the Longevity Secret Realm opened because it would be easier for them to sneak into Martial Arts Mountain on that day.

Normally, just entering Martial Arts Mountain would be extremely difficult, let alone climbing up the mountain to destroy the Ten Directions Martial Stele.

On the day the Longevity Secret Realm opened, both the Holy Dragon Guards and the Golden Armor Guards gathered around Martial Arts Mountain.

Any disturbance would cause chaos, at which point they could take the opportunity to enter Wudao Mountain.

The troops were divided into eight routes. As long as the main route was not discovered, it would not matter if the other routes were discovered.

This might even attract the attention of the Golden Armor Guards, allowing the main road to complete its mission more effectively.

However, if it's done a day earlier, it means all plans are moved forward, and the risks will be magnified exponentially.

Once discovered, they will face not only the Golden Armor Guards, but also the Holy Dragon Guards.

Wouldn't this be like inviting someone into a trap, letting them walk right into a snare?

It wasn't just one monster that had this idea.

Although the other demons remained silent, their gazes toward the Demon Bat Emperor were solemn, subtly suggesting that he should reconsider.

Upon hearing this, the Demon Bat Emperor's expression darkened slightly, and he retorted, "What, do I need your permission to do anything?"

"My subordinates dare not!"

Under the immense pressure, all the demons were filled with fear and trepidation.

The Demon Bat Emperor snorted coldly: "Then do as I say!"

"Yes!"

……

The sky was clear and bright, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

After traveling for several days, the eighteenth prince and his entourage finally arrived at the foot of Wudao Mountain.

As soon as everyone stepped off the divine weapon ship, they felt a heavy pressure descend upon them.

"Everyone, we've arrived at Martial Arts Mountain!"

The eighteenth prince chuckled and looked at the towering mountain peaks not far away.

Everyone's gaze followed the towering peak, awestruck by its grandeur.

For a moment, they stood frozen in place.

"This oppressive force can actually temper my martial arts essence!"

Just then, a martial artist sensed the unusual pressure and exclaimed in surprise.

Immediately afterwards, the others also began to carefully contemplate and understand.

"Really? I don't feel anything."

Nie Long looked at the astonished expressions on everyone's faces, his own face filled with confusion.

He didn't feel anything!

At this moment, the eighteenth prince spoke up to explain: "As you all may not know, this oppressive aura originates from the Ten Directions Martial Stele."

Although we have not yet reached our base, this place is actually considered to be on the outer edge of Wudao Mountain.

The martial arts essence on the Ten Directions Martial Stele covers an extremely wide area; even in the outer areas, we can feel its martial arts essence.

Once we reach the outer central area, we will have a deeper understanding of the true essence of martial arts from those powerful figures whose names are inscribed on the Martial Stele.

Everyone suddenly realized what was happening, and were also somewhat startled.

This place is ten thousand meters away from the mountain peak, yet it still exudes such profound martial arts essence.

How vast must the martial arts essence of that outer region be?
What about the inner circle, which is even deeper than the outer circle? How vast must its martial arts essence be?
Thinking of this, everyone's hearts sank slightly.

The eighteenth prince paid no attention and, after letting everyone experience it for a while, led them forward.

Before long, they arrived at the outer area.

"stop!"

The outer area was also surrounded by city walls, with golden-armored guards patrolling every hundred meters, making the defense extremely tight.

Upon seeing the Eighteenth Prince and his entourage, they were intercepted by golden-armored guards.

The eighteenth prince didn't care, and instead took out his token: "I am the leader of the 180th squad of the Holy Dragon Guard."

The people behind him all took out their identity tokens.

Upon hearing this, the Golden Armor Guard waved his hand, and immediately hundreds of beams of light shot out, landing on everyone's tokens.

The token responded quickly, illuminating itself with streaks of golden light.

This indicates that no members of the Demon Alliance had infiltrated the group.

After verification, the golden-armored guard returned the token and said indifferently, "Follow me!"

After walking for a short while, what came into view was a row of magnificent buildings standing side by side.

Like palaces, they stand tall in the mountain valley.

Everyone was surprised to find such a building hidden in the valley.

The golden-armored guard pointed to one of the large courtyards and said, "This is your post."

Everyone's gaze pierced through the layers of void and landed outside the courtyard.

The eighteenth prince nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

The golden-armored guard shook his head, said nothing more, and quickly led everyone outside the courtyard.

Before leaving, he looked at the eighteenth prince solemnly and said, "Here, you must remember one thing: never enter the inner perimeter of Martial Dao Mountain."

The Eighteenth Prince was already familiar with the rules of Martial Arts Mountain, and nodded solemnly.

After the golden-armored guards left, the eighteenth prince said to everyone, "Everyone, let's go."

"Your Highness, may I ask when we may leave our names here?"

Suddenly, someone asked urgently, seemingly eager to leave their name on the Ten Directions Martial Stele.

Upon hearing this, the eighteenth prince chuckled and said, "How about this, everyone gather here in one hour."

He didn't keep them in suspense, but announced the time, saying he would take them to experience it when the time came.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" everyone said gratefully.

A long hour slowly passed, and after everyone was settled, they arrived at the courtyard and waited expectantly.

As soon as the time came, the eighteenth prince appeared.

He glanced around and, seeing that almost everyone had arrived, chuckled and said, "Let's go."

Everyone smiled and followed closely behind.

After passing through layers of golden-armored guards, the eighteenth prince led everyone to a mountain path, where he suddenly stopped.

Before anyone could ask, their expressions suddenly changed, and an even more terrifying pressure descended upon them.

Caught off guard, everyone present swayed slightly.

"So strong!"

At this moment, Nie Long personally experienced the vast and profound martial arts essence, and his face showed fear.

Completely different from the martial arts essence I experienced at the beginning; the previous feeling was like being tickled, but this one felt like being hammered.

After a while, everyone calmed down.

The eighteenth prince spoke up at the opportune moment: "Let's go, this is just the beginning. Only when we reach the summit of this small mountain will we be qualified to see the Ten Directions Martial Stele!"

The group, who had been full of enthusiasm, felt their hearts sink even further after hearing these words.

The mountain air was slightly cool, and the breeze was slightly chilly, yet the scenery had a unique charm.

No one had time to appreciate it.

As they reached the halfway point up the mountain, the gap widened; some remained unfazed, while others struggled to move forward.

However, the eighteenth prince's travel speed did not slow down much as a result.

He remained far ahead, walking slowly forward at the very front of the group.

However, even he, under the pressure of such martial arts essence, had his aura become disordered.

"It's not that easy to leave your name on the Ten Directions Martial Stele!"

Looking back, he saw that most of the martial artists were struggling to move, and the eighteenth prince gently shook his head. There was no disappointment in his eyes; everyone's performance was within his expectations.

Countless people want to leave their names on the Ten Directions Martial Stele, but very few can actually do it.

Most people can't even take the first step.

Even the Holy Dragon Guards are no exception.

The Holy Dragon Guard team he led this time was not entirely composed of official Holy Dragon Guards.

Most of them are preparing to become Holy Dragon Guards, that is, those martial artists who have not yet condensed their Dharma Form.

Among these martial artists, there may be truly gifted individuals whose understanding of the true essence of martial arts is sufficient to withstand the true essence of martial arts emanating from the martial stele.

But the probability of that is too low.

Most people can't even reach the top of this small hill, let alone see the face of the Ten Directions Martial Stele.

How can I possibly leave my mark?

This applies not only to martial artists at the Divine Intent Realm, but also to many martial artists at the Dharma Aspect Realm.

At least in his estimation, only about a dozen people in this team would actually be able to see the Ten Directions Martial Stele.

After a brief pause, the eighteenth prince continued on his way.

The further along the journey, the fewer martial artists there are to keep up.

Even the eighteenth prince himself was affected, and his speed was greatly reduced.

After crawling for nearly two hours, the eighteenth prince's face lit up with joy. He knew that once he rounded the next bend, he would reach the summit.

With renewed vigor, the eighteenth prince roused himself, using his martial arts essence to protect himself and resist the pressure around him.

Finally, he successfully reached the summit, and a great sense of accomplishment welled up inside him.

Looking into the distance, a huge stone tablet stands tall and imposing.

Above it, layers of clouds and mist can be faintly seen floating.

Many names are engraved on the stone tablet.

These names seem to contain a mysterious power, allowing one to see them clearly even when the view is obscured by clouds and mist.

"Yuan Hongtu, Yu Qingtian, Yuan Sifang..."

The eighteenth prince gazed at the names that shone like stars, his eyes gleaming.

These people are all geniuses from the opposite side of the Ten Directions Martial Stele, and the number one ranked one is none other than Yuan Hongtu, the first ruler of the Holy Yuan Kingdom.

"Huh, finally up."

There was still some distance to the summit. Nie Long was panting heavily, but his face showed great joy.

He looked down at Yin Sisi beneath him and grinned, "Sisi, I was able to get up here thanks to you carrying me."

"Do not talk!"

Yin Sisi blushed and her breath was sweet as orchids as she interrupted Nie Long.

Carrying Nie Long on her back already put her under undue pressure; if she were to be further affected by him, her aura would likely leak out, and all her efforts would be in vain.

Nie Long obediently shut up.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long. With Yin Sisi's difficult steps, the two finally reached the mountain peak.

After a period of adjustment, the two regained their strength and looked towards the Martial Stele.

"Hmph, Nie Long, you've wasted such a body, yet you're not even as good as a woman."

Jue Wuya, who followed the Eighteenth Prince to the top of the mountain, saw that it was Yin Sisi carrying Nie Long up the mountain and couldn't help but mock him.

Nie Long, unashamed, retorted, "If you're so capable, why don't you find a strong woman who's willing to carry you on her back!"

"I'm not as useless as you!" Jue Wuya sneered.

The laughter didn't last long. After Yin Sisi glared at him, he grunted and shut up.

After the two arrived, several more martial artists followed suit and reached the summit.

"Look, someone wants to leave their name!"

A voice drew everyone's attention.

On a small hill not far away, a martial artist unleashed his true martial intent, blasting it towards the Ten Directions Martial Stele.

"It's Yang Qian from the 100th team. Rumor has it that his strength has reached the perfect Dharma Aspect Realm. He is very famous in the entire Holy Dragon Guard and his strength ranks among the top 100. I wonder if he can make a name for himself."

Before the eighteenth prince arrived, other teams of the Holy Dragon Guards had already climbed other hilltops, preparing to leave their mark.

Yang Qian is one of them.

Unlike the 108th team of the 18th Prince, the 100th team and the teams before that were all composed of martial artists at the Dharma Aspect Realm.

Their overall strength is worlds apart from teams like Team 108.

boom!
Not long after the exclamations subsided, everyone saw a dazzling light strike the Martial Stele.

Three full breaths passed, but the Martial Stele still did not react.

Five breaths later, the Martial Stele shot out a beam of light, splitting into two. One beam landed on Yang Qian, and the other landed a hundred meters behind him.

The two beams of light, the former being the ranking that the Ten Directions Martial Stele informed Yang Qian of, and the latter being the position of the Ten Directions Martial Stele among all the true martial arts essences after absorbing Yang Qian's martial arts essence.

"Even Yang Qian couldn't make it into the top 10,000!"

Although everyone had expected it, their expressions changed when it was actually revealed.

Unlike the others, the eighteenth prince wore a solemn expression.

Although Yang Qian's ranking failed to enter the top 10,000 of the Ten Directions Martial Stele, this position is by no means low.

"Around 50,000!"

Based on his position, the eighteenth prince roughly estimated his ranking.

A ranking that may seem low, but is actually quite impressive.

Among the countless martial arts principles in the Ten Directions Martial Stele, a ranking of 50,000 is enough to be considered outstanding.

Looking back, when he first took the test, there were only about 200,000 participants.

"I'll try!"

At that moment, Jue Wuya took a step forward.

With a slight movement of his palm, the true meaning of martial arts leaped into his palm. With a push of his palm, the true meaning of martial arts struck the Ten Directions Martial Stele.

Everyone's attention was quickly drawn to Jue Wuya, who stared blankly at the changes in the Ten Directions Martial Stele.

"Bright!"

Suddenly, the Ten Directions Martial Stele trembled slightly, and a dazzling golden light shone on it.

The appearance of golden light signifies that someone's true martial arts essence has entered the ranks of the top ten thousand.

"Could it be this guy's?"

Nie Long muttered to himself, disbelieving that this reaction was caused by Jue Wuya.

After hearing this, Jue Wuya snorted and refused to talk to him.

Just as he was about to receive the radiance of the Ten Directions Martial Stele, neither of the two beams of light landed on him.

"It's Yuan Hu!"

A commotion arose from the hilltop not far away, revealing the true source of the golden light.

"Tsk tsk, I knew it." Nie Long muttered again upon seeing this.

Completely oblivious to Jue Wuya's gloomy expression.

Soon, a beam of light fell upon Jue Wuya, while another beam landed further away than Yang Qian.

This made Jue Wuya's face even darker.

Upon seeing this, the eighteenth prince nodded slightly. For Jue Wuya, this position was not too bad.

"Hmm? Xu Qingshan?"

His gaze fell on the others, wanting to see how their tests went.

In a fleeting glance, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure.

Upon seeing Xu Qingshan, his expression darkened slightly, as he hadn't expected the other party to be on the same mountain as him.

His anger intensified, especially when he saw Bai Luoxue standing with him.

Xu Qingshan also noticed the Eighteenth Prince's gaze, and his expression changed slightly.

"Luo Xue".

The eighteenth prince composed himself, put on a calm smile, and walked over to greet Bai Luoxue.

As for Xu Qingshan next to Bai Luoxue, sorry, I didn't see him.

Bai Luoxue nodded in response.

Xu Qingshan ignored it, pursed his lips, and continued to observe the other people's tests.

Tomorrow is the opening day of the Longevity Secret Realm, so there will be an unusually large number of people taking the test today.

With a large population, a group of top talents will naturally emerge.

Although they may not reach the level of Yuan Cangming, there are still geniuses who can make it onto the Martial Stele.

As in previous openings of the Longevity Secret Realm, approximately fifty people would leave their names on the Martial Stele.

Xu Qingshan didn't know the exact amount this time, but he guessed it would be around the same figure.

"I estimate my ranking to be around 30,000. I wonder what Xiang Shaolong's ranking would be if he were to take the test?"

Feeling the true essence of martial arts from everyone, Xu Qingshan suddenly thought of Su Chen and inexplicably felt a sense of anticipation for him.

Su Chen's martial arts essence surpasses his, so his ranking should be higher.

"I just don't know if he has the strength to ascend the Ten Directions Martial Stele."

Xu Qingshan thought to himself, then chuckled and shook his head, "At present, it's probably a bit difficult, but maybe there will be an opportunity in a few years."

After all, Su Chen's current strength is only at the Divine Intent Realm. Once he reaches the Dharma Aspect Realm, his understanding of the true meaning of martial arts will be further enhanced, and he may even be able to leave his name on the Ten Directions Martial Stele.

"Look, Yuan Tong is about to make his move!"

Just then, a commotion arose from all around.

(End of this chapter)