Chapter 443: The White King

Several days passed. Ah Xiu, serving as their guide, proved dutiful and reliable throughout. Though the desert terrain was complex and ever-changing, under her guidance the group never once lost their way.

Li Musheng's party arrived smoothly at the vicinity of White Emperor City, the destination of this journey.

Though White Emperor City and the Yellow Spring Tribe were both counted among the six great powers of the Western Desert, in terms of prosperity, White Emperor City clearly surpassed the Yellow Spring Market by a considerable margin.

Of course, the circumstances of the Western Desert's six great powers varied widely. The Hill Market, for instance, was situated within caves beneath a range of hills, while the even more mysterious Mirage Tower's actual location remained essentially unknown to anyone.

"Once we cross the Muli River ahead, that will be White Emperor City."

Ah Xiu stood atop a stretch of rocky desert terrain, leading her camel, and pointed toward an oasis roughly a dozen or so li ahead.

Li Musheng and the others followed the direction of Ah Xiu's outstretched finger. In the distance, the oasis spread out like a cluster of emerald jade, encircled by a great river that flowed through the surrounding desert wastes, and at the very heart of the oasis stood the towering, imposing White Emperor City, rendered entirely in black and white.

For Li Musheng's group, who had grown accustomed to nothing but endless yellow sand these past several days, the sight was undeniably a refreshing change.

"This is truly remarkable. Who would have thought such a place, like something out of the lands south of the river, could exist in such a barren and arid region?"

Cang Yinyue spoke with a tone of genuine wonder. Having traveled through no small number of regions of the martial world herself, she had nonetheless never before set foot in the Western Desert, and the landscape here was entirely unlike anything she had ever seen.

"This is actually nothing remarkable, in truth. A thousand years ago, the Western Desert was far more prosperous and abundant than it is today. Back then there were many more oases like this one, lush with water and vegetation, with forests stretching across the land, and there were even cities grander than White Emperor City."

Ah Xiu gazed into the distance, her expression noticeably complicated, then withdrew her gaze and shook her head, "Unfortunately, the Western Desert suffered a great calamity at some point. The blowing sands have eroded the land for a thousand years since, swallowing up heaven and earth alike, and it has never returned to its former splendor."

At those words, Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue showed expressions of curiosity, clearly developing some interest in the Western Desert's past history.

But just then, the Fifth Elder, standing nearby, suddenly let out a few quiet coughs, clearly reminding Ah Xiu not to say too much, lest she let something slip and reveal their true identities.

Ah Xiu glanced at the Fifth Elder, then turned her gaze toward Li Musheng, seated atop his camel.

Li Musheng had already used the Soul-Searching Technique to go through their memories, and almost certainly already knew their true identities. Whether their identities were revealed or not was now essentially irrelevant, making the Fifth Elder's concern entirely unnecessary.

Even so, Ah Xiu did not continue pursuing this particular topic. Instead, she looked at Li Musheng, considered for a moment, and suddenly spoke up, "Your Highness, I understand that your purpose in coming to White Emperor City this time is for the position of Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion."

"Though, given Your Highness's strength, this matter should proceed quite smoothly, since you saved all of our lives, there are some circumstances I would still like to bring to Your Highness's attention before we enter White Emperor City."

At those words, the Fifth Elder furrowed his brow slightly, casting a long look at Ah Xiu. In the end, though, he remained silent and took no further action.

At this point, Li Musheng turned to look at Ah Xiu and gave a slight nod, "Let's continue on the road first, then talk. It happens to work well for me to learn about the situation in White Emperor City along the way as well."

With that, Li Musheng reached down and patted the camel beneath him, then continued along the rocky terrain toward the distant oasis below.

Seeing this, Ah Xiu gave a slight nod and immediately followed.

Before long, Li Musheng's group continued on their way toward White Emperor City, with the three Yellow Spring Holy Lords still riding crammed together on a single camel behind them.

Having lost their martial cultivation and the protection of their true qi, the three of them looked utterly disheveled and bedraggled from the bumpy ride along the way.

Even so, the moment the three of them caught sight of White Emperor City now drawing close before them, a sharp glint of renewed energy suddenly appeared in their previously weary, listless eyes.

The Yellow Spring Tribe's remaining two Holy Lords were currently within White Emperor City, and Li Musheng had already promised them that their martial cultivation would be restored once they reached the city.

When that time came, with the three of them joining forces with the other two Holy Lords, all five Holy Lords combining their power to drive the Yellow Spring Holy Technique, they would have no need to fear even White Emperor City itself, formidable as it was.

Even so, what the Rakshasa Holy Lord and the other two found themselves genuinely torn over at this moment was whether, once all five Holy Lords had joined forces, they should seek revenge against Li Musheng.

By any reasonable measure, given their status as Holy Lords ruling over one of the Western Desert's six great powers, in the past they would have had no reason to fear anyone in the entire Western Desert's martial world, let alone hold every martial expert there in contempt.

But the pressure Li Musheng, this Eighth Prince of Great Li, had brought to bear on them was simply too overwhelming. Even now, the Blood Spring Holy Lord and the other two could not forget the moment Li Musheng had subdued all three of them with nothing more than the casual raising of a hand.

This had become an indelible shadow lingering in all three Holy Lords' hearts, leaving them genuinely unwilling, deep down, to ever raise a hand against Li Musheng again.

Though the humiliation they had endured throughout this journey was something none of the three had experienced in the better part of their lives, a small, fearful voice kept whispering within each of their hearts, urging them to simply endure it and not risk their lives over the matter.

Throughout the journey to White Emperor City, the Rakshasa Holy Lord and the other two remained deeply conflicted, their emotions in constant turmoil, unable to settle on any firm resolve.

Ahead, Ah Xiu rode up alongside Li Musheng's camel and, as they traveled together, began giving him a general account of the situation in White Emperor City.

"Legend has it that White Emperor City was once the dwelling place of an ancient savage beast. However, the city's true founding actually traces back to a particular individual who lived a thousand years ago."

"This person had a close relationship with the founding emperor of the Great Qi dynasty, the Tianqi Emperor, being none other than his younger brother. He was granted the title of 'White King' by the Tianqi Emperor himself."

"The White King was not only the Tianqi Emperor's brother, but also one of the most formidable military commanders of his era, his martial cultivation extraordinarily powerful and his strategic brilliance unmatched. It was said that he was only slightly inferior to the Tianqi Emperor himself, the legendary ruler for the ages."

"During the Tianqi Emperor's conquest of the realm, the White King followed closely behind him, fighting in countless campaigns across the land and earning extraordinary merit, which won him the Tianqi Emperor's deep trust and regard. After the Great Qi dynasty had unified the realm, pockets of rebel resistance still remained scattered throughout the empire, and the Tianqi Emperor dispatched the White King to the Western Desert's border regions to suppress the uprisings there."

"And this is precisely what gave rise to the thousand-year connection between the Western Desert and the White King. It's said that the White King, while pursuing rebel forces deep into the Western Desert, found himself isolated due to advancing too far ahead of his main army, and was ultimately surrounded in this very region by the rebellion's top martial experts, who deployed the 'Heaven-Sealed Earth-Bound Heavenly Martial Formation' against him."

"No one knows the exact level of the White King's martial cultivation at that time, but he must have already had at least one foot in the Transcendent Realm. Even so, the rebel forces had planned this meticulously, with the sole purpose of killing the White King, and despite his overwhelming martial strength, he found himself trapped within the formation, facing certain death."

"But heaven leaves no path entirely closed. Legend has it that, just as the White King faced certain death, he received aid from the ancient savage beast White Tiger at that very location, and in the end not only broke free of the formation, but slew every one of the rebel forces' top martial experts as well."