Chapter 271 The Ancient Battlefield



"Are you sure he is headed in that direction?" one of the Golden Hall experts asked Envoy Ming rudely.

Envoy Ming didn't mind the rude tone. Even he was surprised by his findings. And he knew how much Duncan liked to take chances. Let alone this Golden Hall expert who knew very little about Duncan.

"Why would I lie?" Envoy Ming asked calmly. "If you forgot, I lost my hand to that demonspawn. This is the longest trail of his I have found so far. And if you take a look, you will see why I came to that conclusion."

The Golden Hall expert frowned and looked at the trail pointed out by Envoy Ming. He had come across a few patches like this prior to this. He knew Envoy Ming was telling the truth. None of the trails he had found went on for this long.

Moreover, Duncan hadn't tried to hide his trail deliberately. It was as if he was daring them to come after him. This displeased the Golden Hall expert a bit. If it was any other location, he would have barged in without thinking much.

But, the Ancient Battlefield was a different story.

The Ancient Battlefield was a well-known forbidden ground for a reason. Even Nascent Soul experts going in will not be able to make it out alive. The dangers in there are wide and varied. If it was just demonic beasts, then it would be fine. But, the dangers inside that region were really difficult to describe.

The history of the Ancient Battlefield is far longer than the hegemonic sects on this continent. Even cultivators from the Central Continent are afraid of stepping in there. There are rumors that some upper-realm cultivators would sometimes come down for the sole purpose of exploring the Ancient Battlefield.

The Golden Hall expert felt suffocated in his heart knowing that Duncan was heading there. Even he didn't have the courage to step foot there. In his mind, it was pure madness to walk into that death trap.

The Ancient Battlefield encompassed a large region. It bordered dozens of small kingdoms on one side and a first-rate kingdom and a second-rate kingdom on the other side. Even the first-rate kingdoms and sects in the continent didn't dare to lay claim to the Ancient Battlefield, despite the numerous advantages it brought forth.

To anyone below the Nascent Soul realm, entering the Ancient Battlefield was almost a death sentence. It is not as if no one had emerged alive from there. But, those who came out always had debilitating injuries on them. Some lost their cultivation, some their minds, and some became even too fearful to hold a weapon after that experience.

Likewise, there are those who benefitted as well. Those who benefitted from the Ancient Battlefield saw their cultivation rise by leaps and bounds after emerging from there. Some obtained very powerful legacies and mystical weapons. But, in the end, these were only in the minority.

The Golden Hall cultivator could guess Duncan's thought process now. Duncan was most probably trying to cut through the Ancient Battlefield and reach the other side towards the small kingdoms before vanishing into the masses present there.

However, such a thing was easy to plan and almost impossible to execute. For that to happen, one must traverse through the Ancient Battlefield and reach the other side. This was a relatively impossible affair for anyone below the Nascent Soul realm.

The reason for this dates back to even before the cultivation world as they know it came into existence in this world. It is rumored that the Ancient Battlefield was present even before the first cultivator appeared in this world. No one knows for sure when the Ancient Battlefield appeared, but everyone could agree on one thing. The Ancient Battlefield existed for as long as one can remember.

Some experts even argue that the first cultivator came into existence in this world because of obtaining a legacy from the Ancient Battlefield. Thus, it can be considered as the origin of this world's cultivation culture. However other experts refuse to accept it and say that the existence of the battlefield alone proved the existence of cultivators prior to that in this world.

These kinds of contrasting information and rumors have created a myth about the Ancient Battlefield. Every cultivator yearned to explore this forbidden ground and see for themselves what could be the truth. So, the interest in the Ancient Battlefield has always been high.

However, interest was just interest. No one dared to go inside due to the various mystical events that happened in that region. If one stood at the entrance to the battlefield and listened keenly, one could hear various sounds echoing from the battlefield to this date.

War cries, moans of despair, angry proclamations, and whatnot. Anything and everything that could be heard on the battlefield could be heard if one stood by and listened patiently for some time.

There were trenches that extended from one end of the region to the other filled with sword intent. There were ponds that created mirages and bewitched the drinkers. There were boneyards that raised chill in the hearts of everyone who saw it. Even the bones present in that boneyard exuded a domineering aura that caused people to be unable to move.

And these were just the things that people have heard others say about the region.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Envoy Ming asked anxiously.

"Hmph, if he enters the Ancient Battlefield, it will be his death sentence. What more do you want us to do?" the Golden Hall expert snorted. "Inform the others as well. This is a waste of time. I am leaving."

The Golden Hall expert didn't waste any more time. He vanished from the spot within the blink of an eye causing Envoy Ming to stare at the empty air and gape. He was beginning to realize that apart from him, not many people were really invested in hunting down Duncan.

Still, Envoy Ming didn't want to give up. Just looking at the Ancient Battlefield made him shiver in fear, but his hatred for the person who took away his arm was not small either. He wanted to see Duncan's dead body before his eyes. So, he reluctantly sent out the message to the other Golden Hall experts as well and waited for them to arrive.

It didn't take long for the other Golden Hall experts to arrive. They were already in the vicinity searching for Duncan. So, when they received the message about Duncan's trail being found, they immediately came here in a hurry.

But, when they realized where the trail led, not many were willing to brave the danger. They did really want to kill Duncan and send a message to the Heavenly Demon Sect, but going into the Ancient Battlefield wasn't on their agenda for that. Very few Golden Hall experts were willing to give chase to Duncan after realizing the direction he was headed in.

"We have already driven him to his death, why bother?" one of the Golden Hall experts from a second-tier sect mumbled dissatisfactorily.

"Hunting that miscreant is one thing. Stepping into the Ancient Battlefield is completely another. I am not that stupid," another Golden Hall expert replied shaking his head.

"If he is headed there, then we have accomplished our goal. Even if he survives, who knows what state he will be in after exiting the Ancient Battlefield? As for trying to hunt him down in there, are you insane!!!?"

"Even protecting ourselves will be hard once we step into the Ancient Battlefield. How can we hunt down someone there? Unless you are Spirit Severance being, forget about hunting people in there," another Golden Hall expert shook his head and smiled wryly.

As each Golden Hall expert spoke, Envoy Ming became more and more anxious. He really wanted to see Duncan dead. But, he didn't have the courage to chase after him into the Ancient Battlefield. However, he was also reluctant to let Duncan go.

"What if he emerges from the Ancient Battlefield even more powerful? Do you think he will let you all off? We need to cull this bad crop right at the beginning. If we let him grow, then we would never know peace in the future," Envoy Ming argued passionately.

"He came back and annihilated the entire Wang Clan for a small slight. He massacred all the young talents just because they hunted him down. Do you think he would leave us alone after he comes back? He will definitely not..."

Even though Envoy Ming spoke passionately, no one was willing to listen to him at all. First, they didn't have such unresolved grudges with Duncan. They only chased after him because they were internally scared about the prospect of leaving such a person alive with the example of Liang Tianye's mad actions in front of them. As for the juniors they lost, the sect might feel angry as a whole, but it didn't affect most of them personally.

Driving Duncan towards a literal dead end was an acceptable situation to them. They didn't have the pressing need to enter the Ancient Battlefield in search of Duncan to exact vengeance. Even their sect couldn't fault them for their actions when it concerned the Ancient Battlefield.

So, they were naturally unwilling to chase Duncan any further.

However, there was also a group of experts who were keen on killing Duncan just like Envoy Ming. These were the experts whose progeny had been killed off by Duncan during the slaughter near the Dark Star City. They wanted revenge and were willing to at least listen to Envoy Ming.

"What do you propose, Envoy Ming?" one of those who yearned to see Duncan dead asked pointedly looking at him.

Envoy Ming realized that he was at a turning point here. If he lost these cultivators as well, then his wish to see Duncan dead can only be left alone to simmer. So, he chose his words carefully.

"I don't suggest we enter the Ancient Battlefield. However, we can try to intercept him before he enters the Ancient Battlefield and kill him off. Why leave things to chance? We can kill him before he enters the forbidden ground," Envoy Ming persuaded softly.

"Hmmm, you make sense," a grizzled old man who was at the peak of the Golden Hall realm agreed. "Let's not waste any time. We will follow the trail immediately and see if we can kill him off before he enters the Ancient Battlefield."

The others who wanted to see Duncan dead naturally agreed to it. This heartened Envoy Ming a bit. He also noticed that Young Master Han and Elder Long were in the group who stayed behind. He didn't think Young Master Han had that much enmity with Duncan. So, his presence intrigued him a bit. But, he didn't probe into it at this moment.

"Let's head off and intercept that miscreant as soon as possible," the grizzled old man harrumphed and immediately set off.

Envoy Ming followed the group in eager anticipation as well, while the rest retreated back to the Dark Star City.

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