Chapter 496 - The Altar Alliance

“According to Brother Ding’s list of who we need to pay attention to, Li Muyun and Liang Feixue have never appeared. I’ve never heard of them. Maybe they have never entered the giant city of the Highest Heaven. Moreover, Li Wushuang from Heavenly Sound Valley did not show up in the city. Some people once saw a fairy-like woman in white playing the zither appear in the eastern area, but they only saw at a glance, then lost the trace…”

Shen Buhui spoke about each of them.

Ding Hao was a little disappointed.

However, the result was expected.

Snow Province was a remote and small province, basically isolated from the world. The people there knew very little information about the “Sage Battlefield.” It was as if they had been deserted by the world. Only after arriving at that ancient battlefield in a daze would they realize that they were the lowest of the entire Northern Region. Even the elders of the various major sects from Snow Province did not know what was in the battlefield.

With such a background, it was likely that many disciples had already become food for ferocious beasts.

After all, few people were lucky enough as Li Yiruo to found a pet that could sweep away all opponents at once. There was no news about Fang Tianyi and Li Canyang. They might have died if they had not struggled in the dangerous wilderness.

“No one has ever seen a swordsman with purple hair and silver eyes. It is said that more than 20 days ago, two or three days before you entered ‘the Highest Heaven’, someone once saw a female warrior in a red phoenix-patterned armor in a market of the First Level Heaven. She wore a mask, but she still gave people a feeling of unparalleled beauty. At that time, a demon king who had evil intentions even tried to test her strength, but he was defeated…”

Shen Bugui continued.

Ding Hao’s eyes lit up.

This female warrior should be Xie Jieyu.

“She actually came to the giant city of ‘the Highest Heaven’ a few days earlier. It seems that she also had some special encounters, otherwise, she wouldn’t have learned about the giant city so soon. However, she has been here for such a long time and has never shown up again. Why?”

“Logically speaking, my reputation had spread throughout the whole city since I reclaimed the ‘Heaven Sabre – Peerless Sword Tower’ and killed Ling Shixiong and the others in the Fifth Level Heaven. Xie Jieyu should have heard of my exploits. Why hasn’t she come to the ‘Heaven Sabre – Peerless Sword Tower’ to find me?”

Ding Hao thought. He had some doubts in his heart.

Shen Buhui continued, “That’s all I know. In addition, as you instructed, I’ve already asked to collect the ‘Nine Emperors’ Heart-protecting Bamboo Shoots’, ‘Holy Tears Scindapsus Aureus’ and the other magical herbs, but there’s hasn’t been much progress. Other than the Yaoyao True Tree leave, no one had any of the other magical herbs. It’s not that they’re not interested in your rewards, they don’t have any of them at hand…”

Ding Hao nodded and asked, “What about the materials like Taiyi Star Sand, Heaven and Earth Dragon Bone, and Green Root Ancient Tree?”

Shen Buhui said with a wry smile, “Those items are even rarer. All of them are exclusive divine herbs for supreme experts at the War God realm. Even an expert War Emperor expert might not be able to obtain them, so…”

Ding Hao sighed and said nothing.

This was the mission given to him by Saber Master and Sword Master. It currently seemed that it would take him at least a year and a half to find those things.

While they were talking, footsteps were heard outside, followed by the voice of the youngest of the Three Emperors of Ning Province. He said, “Fairy Li, has Lord Ding finished his closed-door training? Just now, Lord Song sent someone to invite him, saying that forty-five minutes later, all the supreme experts will discuss about the exploration of the mysterious ruins…”

Ding Hao got up with a smile, putting down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands. He shook his head and said with good humor, “You’re urging me again. You’re really an errand boy. Well, let’s go. Tian Neng and the rest should stay here to pack up. I guess we will soon leave the Highest Heaven city…”

In the market of First Level Heaven.

Originally, it was the busiest place in the whole Highest Heaven; it even noisier at the moment. Almost all the masters of the Human Tribe and the Demon Clan were gathered. Dozens of figures with sharp auras stood majestically at the center of the market, near a building more than 50 meters high that looked like an altar.

These dozens of figures were as dazzling as red suns.

They were high up in the sky, and the power of all the surrounding warriors and demons were almost dwarfed by their auras. They were unreachable. The people under the altar could only look up at them with admiration, unable to compare themselves with them.

They were the most outstanding talents from the Human Race and the Demon Clan who had entered the ‘Sage Battlefield’ after its opening. They were also the true favored sons of heaven who would dominate the fate of the Human Race and the Demon Clan in the future!

“Time is pressing. How long do we have to wait?”

“Hehe, he’s still not showing up? Has Ding Hao died of serious injuries after that battle? It has been three days…”

Someone said in a strange tone.

Not everyone was happy to see Ding Hao’s sudden appearance and rise. Some people and demon experts who felt that their status had been threatened always had some hostility toward Ding Hao. In the road of becoming a War God, there was only one winner, and all the others were destined to be stepping stones.

“There’s still half an hour before the appointed time. Why are you in such a hurry?”

The corner of Song Que’s mouth was oily, as if he had just finished a big meal. He was picking his teeth with a light green toothpick.

“It’s very important to gather the map and search for the mysterious ruins, but Ding Hao doesn’t show up yet. Does he think that he can ignore us after killing Ling Shixiong?” Someone spared no effort to sow discord between them.

At this moment, the crowd in the distance was suddenly roused.

The quiet crowd suddenly became noisy, as if a handful of salt had just been sprinkled in a slightly hot pot of oil. Someone shouted loudly, and there were even some cheers and applause. Then the crowd automatically left a path open. A handsome young man in a green robe came out from the path with his friends…

Ding Hao had arrived!

That impressive display clearly showed that he was extremely popular among the martial artists of the Human Clan.

As a matter of fact, it was true.

On that day, a few major demon forces besieged the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, and many human forces were affected. It was a miserable moment for humans. It was Ding Hao who successively defeated the demon masters and killed Ling Shixiong of the Black Evil Sect, as well as the others who colluded with the Demon Clan to kill their compatriots. The lower-level martial artists did not care about fame and influence nor did they have any scruples. In their view, Ling Shixiong and others had brought it upon themselves. Ding Hao defeated the demon masters, and he was the hero of the Human Clan.

In addition, Ding Hao’s family background was not celebrated, which made him win the support of the warriors from the small sects of small provinces.

The eldest of the Three Emperors of Ning Province ran to meet Ding Hao excitedly and led him to the altar.

There were inscriptions of the Human Clan and formations of the Demon Clan around the altar, which could prevent outsiders from prying. There were more than 40 experts at the Martial King Peak realm guarding the altar; among them, there were twenty human warriors and twenty demon kings. One of them kept a human shape, and only had white fur on his neck. He happened to be guarding the passage and blocked Ding Hao and others. His eyes were cold and cruel. He looked up and down at everyone and said, “In the gathering of the altar, only those who hold a piece of the map are qualified to enter. At most, you can take two people. The rest, wait outside!”

The eldest of the Three Emperors of Ning Province looked at Ding Hao.

Ding Hao took Li Yiruo’s little hand and walked up first.

The eldest claimed that he had a piece of the map, so he was qualified to enter the altar. However, in fact, it was Ding Hao who owned the map; he naturally had the right to decide. Since Ding Hao and Li Yiruo had already entered, he could no longer take other people.

After whispering something to the other two brothers in a low voice, the eldest one followed closely.

There were a total of 99 steps on the altar. Ding Hao walked slowly step by step, and it took seven minutes or so. When he climbed to the top of the altar, it was exactly the appointed time. The sundial pointed to the right place.

“Haha, Ding Hao, the ‘Saber and Sword Addict’, you’re so domineering…” someone from the Demon Clan said with a sneer.

Ding Hao just nodded to say hello to Song Que, ignoring such sarcastic remarks.

The eldest of the Three Emperors of Ning Province was pushed forward, and Ding Hao and Li Yiruo were standing behind him. Nominally, they were his guards. The Fat Cat, Evil Moon, and the dolphin, Adorable, stood respectively on the shoulders of the handsome man and the beautiful woman. One of them snored lazily, and the other wagged its tail happily…

However, from those present at the altar, almost no one looked at the eldest of the Three Emperors of Ning Province. Instead, they glanced at Ding Hao and Li Yiruo intentionally or casually. Everyone knew clearly that the reason why the Tianning Dynasty emperor was standing there was all thanks to the Saber and Sword Addict. Otherwise, three days before, there would have been no more Three Emperors of Ning Province in the world.

The eldest of the Three Emperors knew it clearly.

So he didn’t care at all.

“Well, since everyone is here, there is no need to talk nonsense. We are standing together temporarily for the sake of the mysterious ruins. Everyone, show us the piece of the map in your hands. We’ll fit together the map here, and then set off to explore the mysterious ruins together…”

said an expert of the Demon Clan at the Demon Royal realm while glittering with a terrifying demon aura and a blurry face.

“Haha, now if we gather all the maps and look at them, we can learn where the mysterious ruins are. The alliance is meaningless. We can directly fight each other for a while. In the end, those who are still alive can find the mysterious ruins, start the inscription formation, light the divine fire, and gain control of the Sage Battlefield…”

said a human Martial Royal, who was sneering while partially covered by a colorful mask.

“Haha, Young Master Tianyun, you don’t have to worry about this. As far as I know, the way to the mysterious ruins there is full of danger and giant beasts, which can’t be defeated by one man or one sect alone. Only by the joint efforts of both humans and demons can we reach the final destination. Moreover, every stone tablet engraved with the map is a token. Only when we collect all the stone tablets can we open the door to the final mysterious ruins!”

The Demon Royal, who had spoken earlier, calmly said.

After that, he took out a black stone tablet from the storage space and used demon power to directly send it to the center of the altar. After injecting Demon Aura, the green light on the tablet was shot out and imprinted on the void, forming a blurred map.

“In order to show my sincerity, I, Bu Tianjue will show you the map I have.”

The Demon Royal continued.