Eternal Holy Emperor
Chapter 178 - 163 Red Sand Scorpion Beast Tide

Chapter 178: Chapter 163 Red Sand Scorpion Beast Tide

The Sixth Princess of the Tianqi Empire appeared, instantly causing a stir, and many were surprised to see her at the Oasis Base Camp, not expecting the only surviving princess of the Tianqi Empire Royal Family to show up.

Moreover, it was mostly because Ye Chen personally spoke to lift the assassination order, a matter that invited deep thought regarding its profound implications.

Even many trialists believed that Ye Chen had some ambiguous relationship with Sixth Princess., otherwise considering his attitude of exterminating the trialists from the affiliated countries, it wouldn’t make sense to spare only Sixth Princess.

"Elder Yan, your lover has arrived; won’t you go up and greet her, or perhaps give her a kiss to show some courtesy," Elder Yan said, fearing the world was not chaotic enough.

Ye Chen didn’t pay attention to Elder Yan’s mischief and also looked towards the Sixth Princess, slightly surprised by her arrival.

Naturally, he couldn’t reveal his true body and just observed the scene.

Amidst many stares, Sixth Princess appeared exceptionally calm and composed as if she was used to it, but at that moment, she looked towards someone, a young woman, Vivian.

For now, Vivian looked back at Sixth Princess and took the initiative to step forward under many gazes, approaching her, extending a fair wrist whiter than frost, her voice sounding heavenly, softly saying, "Hello, I’m glad to meet you, Your Highness."

Sixth Princess naturally knew who this young woman was—a member of Xiafeng Country, even her foolish younger brother, Eighth Prince Yangg Jun, had chased other Xiafeng Country trialists because of her.

But she was somewhat puzzled, as the two of them should have been enemies, yet here the tender and gentle young woman greeted her amicably, catching her off guard; however, she clearly saw a hint of an unusual hostility in the other’s clear dark eyes.

Not the hostility of life and death, but another kind... like the rivalry between women.

Nonetheless, as a Royal Princess of a great empire, she quickly understood, extending her fair wrist friendly, greeting back, "Hello, Miss Vivian, I’m also glad to meet you."

The two women seemed to be greeting each other, but everyone felt as if there was an underlying confrontation.

Elder Yan’s mocking laughter kept resonating in his mind, "Goodness, Little Chenzi, with a little maneuvering, you might be able to enjoy the blessings of everyone here."

Ye Chen simply watched everything calmly, unaffected.

Originally, everyone thought there would be an invisible battle, but these two immensely powerful women only briefly grasped hands, exchanged a smile, and then separated, leaving many utterly stunned.

Ignoring everyone’s stares, Sixth Princess Yangg Miaoxue stood alone on a hill, her charming silhouette appearing somewhat lonely, yet no one dared to approach and disturb her—not even the princesses from Soaring Dragon and other superforces of Jiuhua Empire.

Vivian came back, and Princess Hongs Rong pulled her aside, curiously asking, "Vivian, how was it?"

Vivian shook her head and said, "Sister, this Sixth Princess is formidable. Brother Ye Chen must have a deep relationship with her."

Princess Hongs Rong was astonished; how did Vivian know this.

After the arrival of the Thirteenth Prince and others, Ye Chen remained hidden, but soon everyone understood that he was amongst the large troops.

Afterward, the large troops held a combat meeting, eventually deciding to attack Mysterious Land at sunrise. During this time, Red Sand storms were relatively rare, and Red Sand Scorpions generally did not appear, making it a comparatively safe time.

All of this was decided by the Top 100 Trial Participants, and other trialists had no objections.

Late into the night, many trialists either slept or sat in deep meditation, conserving energy and preparing for the morning advance into Mysterious Heaven and Earth.

At this time, the trialists were unusually united, and no one dared to fight over Identity Tokens, as they chose to stand together before entering Mysterious Heaven and Earth, with many top trialists declaring that anyone who did would face the collective punishment of all.

The night grew darker as clouds quietly covered the moon above the Red Sand Desert, casting darkness over the area, and only the campfires burned slowly at the campsite, lighting up the dark desert, creating a particularly tranquil scene.

Even Sixth Princess returned to the camp, and a tent was specifically left for her to rest.

At this time, only a group of twenty trialists was chosen as security personnel to patrol and ensure the safety of the desert.

It was indeed surprising that for the majority of the night, all was uneventfully silent, unusually calm and bland, which astonished the patrol members. Usually, even at night, at least some small demon beasts would appear, harassing the main troops and being driven away by them. However, this night was distinctly different, eerily tranquil.

This factor made everyone increasingly vigilant, overwhelmed by a foreboding sense, as if something was about to happen, causing an uneasy restlessness.

After an hour had passed and still, nothing had happened. But at that moment, Ye Chen, who had been meditating, suddenly opened his eyes. The Demon Flood Dragon next to him also opened its eyes, letting out a low growl and breathing heavily.

His gaze turned towards the distant direction of the Heavenly Earth Gate, whispering to himself, "Has such a problematic issue come about even before we set off?"

On the other hand, those like the Thirteenth Prince who were meditating heard Ye Chen’s voice in their minds, "Be cautious, prepare to start fighting. When necessary, ride the Scale Armor Golden Lion into the sky for evasion. Do not force it."

The three of them were shocked. What exactly had happened for Ye Chen to warn them so, even to the extent of flying into the sky if necessary? Clearly, a severe battle was imminent, and even Ye Chen felt the need to caution this.

However, among the three, even the Thirteenth Prince didn’t notice anything unusual, not just him, but no one else in the camp, including the other top 100 trial participants who were still meditating, knew anything—only Ye Chen was aware of what was happening.

"What exactly happened, Ye Chen?" the Thirteenth Prince asked anxiously.

"The Red Sand Scorpion Group is about to arrive, we have half an hour," Ye Chen transmitted his message.

The three of them changed color upon hearing this, knowing well that Ye Chen would not personally protect the trial participants here; the most he would do was to warn them. Instantly, the Thirteenth Prince spoke loudly, "The Red Sand Scorpion Group will be here in half an hour. We need to inform everyone else; at this time, we can only resist the Red Sand Scorpions with the strength of everyone combined."

He knew that a normal Red Sand Scorpion group wouldn’t warrant such a personal warning from Ye Chen. The quantity this time must much more than one could possibly imagine.

At this moment, he believed that gathering everyone’s strength to confront them was vital, even though they were competitors. They could use the Scale Armor Golden Lion to comfortably escape into the sky, but entering the Mysterious Heaven and Earth might still require everyone’s collective strength.

Miss Vivian and Princess Hongs Rong both nodded in agreement.

Roar—

A massive beast’s roar echoed above the oasis, waking all the trial participants, including the top 100 participants who promptly stepped out of their tents, looking up at the circling Scale Armor Golden Lion and those like the Thirteenth Prince on its back, appearing bewildered.

A beautiful princess from the Jiuhua Empire wondered, "Why did Xia Teng’s fellow Daoist make the Scale Armor Golden Lion wake us up in the middle of the night? What exactly happened?"

"Brother Xia Teng, we need a reason." Several Princes opened their mouths in succession; such a sudden disruption of their meditation was somewhat displeasing, even for Ye Chen’s friends.

The Thirteenth Prince’s voice, filled with the power of True Essence, bellowed like thunder, "Everyone, please prepare for battle. The Red Sand Scorpions are about to arrive."

The trial participants were initially stunned, and then many burst out laughing. Although Red Sand Scorpions are group-loving demon beasts, they are very weak, only palm-sized, and generally only conform to the Acquired Second and Third Stages, posing no threat to any Innate Cultivator. Even dozens or hundreds could hardly pose a real threat.

Typically, trial participants wouldn’t take Red Sand Scorpions seriously unless they massively swarmed, forming a beast tide in the thousands, although such scales of Red Sand Scorpion groups are rare, and seldom encountered in the Great Desert.

However, those truly prudent participants’ expressions subtly changed. Given that the Thirteenth Prince was among the top 100 participants and also a prince, he wouldn’t make such a low-level mistake. There was only one possibility left—

This was no ordinary Red Sand Scorpion Group; the most fearful Red Sand Scorpion Beast Tide might be approaching!

This kind of Red Sand Scorpion Beast Tide was far from ordinary, not just a couple hundred but often in the thousands or millions, enough to stand against an army of tens of thousands of humans.

"Li Yi, Li Er, Li San, Li Si, Li Wu, all five of you hurry and go to the dunes to observe the far-off situation and report back immediately," commanded the Third Prince of the Jiuhua Empire, sending out his personal protectors who had been with him since childhood. Being a prince, he naturally understood the real crisis at hand.

Other princes and princesses promptly changed their expressions, commanding their men to ascend the towering sand dunes to watch the distance.

Many trial participants changed their expressions too; these princes and princesses wouldn’t act pointlessly without reason. There must be a fearsome horde of beasts approaching.

Soon after, many subordinates of the participants swiftly returned, their faces all drastically changed, reporting, "Your Highness, there is a large number of Red Sand Scorpions about ten miles away closing in fast, roughly estimated, the number exceeds several millions."

"Several million... creatures!?" Numerous trial participants turned pale on the spot.