Chapter 557 - Martial Emperor Yang Ningfeng

After hearing Long Yue’s warning, the whole group immediately held their breaths. This time, the Martial Alliance had not discovered them first, but the other way around. They could exchange some insults with people of the Ancient Demon Domain, but if they encountered the Martial Alliance, due to the enmity between them, it would surely end in a huge fight.

Engaging in a huge fight before the appearance of the Red Emperor Seal was not a wise move.

That was why everyone was extremely tense.

“Lay on your stomachs,” Long Yue instructed softly. If they dropped to their stomachs, held their breaths, and sealed their energies, it would be difficult to find them unless someone had Long Chen’s Soul Swallowing Gaze.

Lying prone did not mean their bodies would touch the mud, since they were all high-level cultivators. In fact, with the pressure from Long Yue’s essence, a large depression formed in the mud. All of them entered the ditch, and only their eyes emerged to look in the direction Long Yue was pointing at.

Indeed, just a few hundred meters away, Long Chen saw a group of people dressed in golden-yellow clothing. These people did not attempt to hide their presence, which was why Long Yue had noticed them with ease. Due to the distance, Long Chen could not see their faces clearly. However, he sensed that they were surely at least as strong as their group.

There were nine of them in total, and one of them was obviously one of the Three Martial Emperors, Yang Ningfeng. Being at the Third Earthly Martial Stage, he was considered one of the highest-level cultivators in the Divine Martial Empire.

Having Third Earthly Martial Stage cultivators was what turned a faction into a major superpower.

Long Chen eyed the group of Martial Alliance members. They were not heading towards the Dragon clan, so as long as they left, they would be safe.

Long Chen could hear their conversation. One of them asked, “Any signs of the Red Emperor Seal?”

Another replied, “The Fire Soul Crystal hasn’t lit up yet. Perhaps the fire energy in this area isn’t strong yet. Martial Emperor Yang, let’s try again when we go deeper.”

Yang Ningfeng replied, “If we go any deeper, we’ll reach the Black Water Viper’s territory. However, anyone who gets in our way, even if it’s that snake, must die. Carry on the search with the Fire Soul Crystal.”

As they spoke, they moved further from Long Chen’s group.

“Fire Soul Crystal? I can’t believe they brought something like that here. Although it’s not very useful, it is very sensitive to fire energy. It'll be much, much easier for them to find the Red Emperor Seal ...” Long Yue said with furrowed brows when they were far away.

At this point, the people of the Martial Alliance had completely disappeared into the mist. Even Long Yue could no longer see them.

“Why don’t we just follow them?” asked Long Chen.

“If we follow too closely, they’ll discover us. If we follow from too far away, it’ll be difficult to find them. Just like right now. I don’t even know where they’ve gone,” Long Yue answered with some frustration.

“I have a way to follow them from afar and not get discovered. You guys can just follow me,” Long Chen said suddenly, standing up.

“Hmm?” Everyone else stood up and peered at him with surprise. Long Yue asked, “You really have a way?”

Long Chen nodded. He would use the Soul Swallowing Gaze.

With the Soul Swallowing Gaze, he could follow them from five hundred meters away, so they would not be found easily. He was decisive, so he immediately set off to follow them. Everyone else trusted him, so they looked at each other and then followed him.

“If we can’t get the Red Emperor Seal, the Martial Alliance must not get it either,” Long Yue said softly. Following the Martial Alliance closely would work; plus, if there was trouble ahead, they would face it first. In the end, the Martial Alliance would be the ones to suffer. This plan served to benefit the Dragon clan!

The only people in the depths of the Cloud Dream Swamp were masters, because people below the Seventh Passage Stage would find it difficult to get here.

From this region onwards, they were in the territory of King-tier beasts. That was why Long Chen no longer saw any beasts in the area, not even tiny venomous insects.

The higher level a beast was, the more territorial they became. Entering their territory was the most severe act of provocation to these creatures. That was why the moment the Martial Alliance group entered this area, the whole muddy swamp trembled.

The people of the Martial Alliance halted and glared ahead menacingly.

A large patch of mud in front of them bubbled furiously, as if boiling, and endless mud flew into the air. Consecutive ear-piercing hisses sounded, making their hairs stand on end. It was clearly the cry of a snake-type demonic beast.

There was a huge boom, and a gigantic beast shot into the air. The portion of its body that was above the mud was already a hundred meters long. Sensing such an immense presence made Long Chen and the rest stop too. A pair of bright, red eyes glared at the Martial Alliance members—it was the Blood Ocean Viper, the same one who had warned Long Chen and the others.

A red line extended from its head to its tail.

They did not know how much of the beast’s body was under the mud. This time, the Blood Ocean Viper was clearly furious. It had already warned the humans once, so why were they still here?

It did not matter how powerful the humans were—they were not allowed in this territory. This was the home of the beasts of the Cloud Dream Swamp, and they saw themselves as powerful. How could they not get furious when puny humans tried to enter their land?

The Blood Ocean Viper let out an earth-shattering hiss and lowered its head. The snake’s head shot towards the Martial Alliance members like an arrow. Whoosh! When it was close to them, it suddenly spat out a cloud of red mist!

This was the Blood Ocean Viper’s venom mist. If a person was caught within, all the blood in their body would turn bad, causing the body to rot and die. It was a terrifying attack. Those beneath the Earthly Martial Realm were basically defenseless against it.

“Just a useless trick.” There was a white-haired old man standing at the very front of the Martial Alliance members. He was not very tall, but his shiny, white hair was tied into a ponytail, making him look clean and elegant. What differentiated him from the rest was the long, white robes he was wearing, which had golden embroidery, signifying that he was highly ranked.

This person was one of the Three Martial Emperors, Yang Ningfeng.

With Yang Ningfeng present, the others were not worried about the Blood Ocean Viper. The red mist quickly shot towards them, but Yang Ningfeng waved his hand gently. A gust of wind blew towards the Blood Ocean Viper’s face, blowing the venom mist back at it!

“Hiss!”

“You’re just looking for death.” Without another word, Yang Ningfeng disappeared in a flash. The next time he appeared, he was already right in front of the Blood Ocean Viper’s eyes. The snake cried out in surprise due to the human’s sudden appearance and retreated in a panic. Unfortunately, it was too late—Yang Ningfeng threw a punch right at its head. There was a loud boom and a ripple traveled from the snake’s head to its tail, along with numerous cracks and snaps. Those were the sounds of the Blood Ocean Viper’s bones breaking in many places.

The snake’s head had taken the most damage from his punch.

The Blood Ocean Viper let out a cry, then it collapsed. Its gigantic body fell on the surface of the mud, causing another loud boom as mud flew in all directions.

The Martial Alliance members cheered.

“You deserve the title of Martial Emperor! Killing a King-tier beast was as easy as chopping vegetables.”

“I might’ve lost to the Blood Ocean Viper even if I put my life on the line to beat it. Yet the Martial Emperor killed it with just one punch! I am completely floored.”

Yang Ningfeng nodded when he listened to their praises and said, “Martial King Zhao, keep the useful parts of the Blood Ocean Viper, especially the Beast Soul. Someone in the Martial Alliance needs a King-tier Beast Soul, right?”

The Martial King in question, whose surname was Zhao, nodded hurriedly and started to deal with the carcass. The rest of them looked around cautiously. Yang Ningfeng had just killed a King-tier beast, an act that was sure to create a grudge between them and the beasts of the swamp. They believed that revenge would come soon.

However, Yang Ningfeng was not worried at all. The Martial Alliance was the number one faction of the Divine Martial Empire. They had always acted like this; what was there to be afraid of?

Very soon, Martial King Zhao finished cutting up the carcass and took everything he wanted to. The remaining flesh and blood were useless to them.

“Let’s go. The Black Water Viper sees this puny thing as its guard dog. I’m just showing him what we’re capable of so that he knows to stay away from us. The only ones who can’t be angered are the Martial Alliance,” said Yang Ningfeng with a smile.

The Martial Alliance members continued to travel ahead.

The Dragon clan looked at each other and immediately followed.

The people they were tailing were indeed crazy.

“Yang Ningfeng was initially one of the top five in the Divine Martial Empire as the Great Priest of the Wind God Sect. However, the Martial Alliance absorbed them and he became just a slave to the Martial Alliance. I can’t believe that he has become their loyal dog after merely ten years. I guess it’s a huge improvement going from slave to dog.” Long Yue’s tone was filled with mockery and contempt.

Since the Martial Alliance continued moving forward, they did the same.

“I don’t know where the people of the Ancient Demon Domain have gone, but with their personalities, they must have also arrived in the King-tier beast area. Now that the Martial Alliance has made an opening here, I’m sure many people will rush in through this hole. We must move quickly so that other people do not notice us.”