The Great Ruler (Web Novel)

A darkness rushed forward to greet them the moment they passed through the rift. Mu Chen and his comrades opened their eyes and realized that they could no longer see the outside world, now that they were inside the black basin. The darkness stretched out all around them. A chill swirled with the surrounding wind.

However, there were still many bodies occupying the space around them — clearly members of the other forces. They’d quickly re-formed their own parties and had raised their guards, keeping a safe distance away from any of the others.

Mu Chen’s line-of-sight cut through the darkness, then narrowed as they pinpointed something up ahead. He could just barely make out the shapes of several obsidian pillars, towering like beasts in the darkness. His heart started to beat faster.

Even though they were down inside the basin, no one experienced any surprise attacks. However, everyone stayed on guard and slowed their pace as they moved closer to the center of the basin. Each group took their own formations as they slowly advanced.

“Why’s it so quiet?” Su Ling’er asked in a whisper. “Isn’t this Sovereign Spirit Treasury a little too still? Shouldn’t a place like this be filled with all sorts of danger?”

Su Xuan also knit her brows in doubt. However, she remained silent as she circulated her Spiritual Energy and maintained her state of high alert.

Mu Chen slowly swept his eyes around the area again before he looked back at the stone pillars. For some reason, the uneasiness in his heart grew stronger.

As he stared ahead, he noticed that there were already a few parties charging towards the stone pillars.

An even deeper blackness swirled over the stone pillars as the stone started shedding bits of debris.

“Not good! Be careful!”

Mu Chen’s pupils shrank as he threw himself in front of Su Xuan and the others with a determined look in his eyes.

“Onom!”

Just as Mu Chen’s warning reached their ears, the side of one massive stone pillar suddenly shattered and a huge black hand thrust forward from the dust. The charging formations immediately fell into disarray. Fresh blood splattered.

Mournful shrieks resounded.

The sudden situation shocked everyone.

Bang! Bang!

More cracks started to appear on the other pillars, which then collapsed to reveal more pitch-black stone statues. Each glared at them with savage red eyes.

A frightening Spiritual Energy rippled over these stone statues. None of them were weaker than the stone statue Mu Chen had subdued just a little while ago.

“Hssssss!”

Mu Chen couldn’t help taking in a breath as he watched the stone statues struggle out of their pillars. To think there’d be so many Stone Guardians here! This truly was a dangerous place.

Everyone else’s faces changed immediately as they took their positions in the formation.

“We’ll charge together and wreck those stone statues!”

The attack had been too unexpected; however, the humans weren’t few in numbers either — there were quite a few experts who’d made it into the basin. After the sudden loss, the formations rapidly gathered again. Shouts and snarls rang through the darkness as the experts joined forces and their combined Spiritual Energy soared to reach the skies, before they charged towards the black stone statues.

Boom!

A torrent of people smashed into the black stone statues and the two sides broke into an intense battle. A violent Spiritual Energy swept over the battlefield, so strong it even split the earth.

However, everyone had underestimated the Stone Guardians — these things had been created solely for battle and felt no pain. Even though the experts had the advantage of quantity, they lacked in terms of quality — there were only a few who could break through the stone statue’s defenses and advance deeper, and they still had to pay a huge price for accomplishing that much.

“Those guys from White Dragon City are charging in real fast!” Li Qing suddenly warned.

Mu Chen looked to the far right and confirmed that the experts of White Dragon City had already gathered into an arrow formation and were swiftly piercing through the stone statue’s defenses. Each of them was giving it their all. Aside from Bai Xuan and the grey-robed elder, Mu Chen and his party could sense another four Spiritual Energy ripples coming from experts who’d reached the Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phase!

Borrowing strength from their powerful formation, White Dragon City took the lead and broke through the Stone Guardians much faster than any of the other forces could possibly match.

Su Xuan ground her teeth as she recognised a few familiar Spiritual Energy ripples. “Among those four other Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phases, two of them are from the ones who attacked us the other night. So they really are from White Dragon City.”

Mu Chen frowned. “White Dragon City no longer needs to hide its strength; all they have to do is advance past the stone statues to reach the deepest area. The treasures will be right in front of them.”

“We can’t let them steal the supreme treasure so easily!” Su Xuan declared. Since they’d already confirmed that they were members of the Demonic Dragon Palace, they’d become their Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy’s mortal enemy. Besides, if Bai Xuan and his soldiers won the treasure, then they probably wouldn’t be able to escape safely.

Guo Xiong and the rest nodded in agreement.

“We’ll move together. After them!”

Su Xuan lightly waved her jade hands and made a clutching motion. With the sensation of rolling waves, a strange and ancient jade pearl appeared in her hand.

Mu Chen and his group circulated their Spiritual Energies to the limits and burst forward. They passed through large throngs of people as they charged towards the Stone Guardians.

Their Spiritual Energies were much stronger from the other experts’, which quickly attracted the surprised attention of three Stone Guardians. The stone statues took trembling steps as they changed directions and charged after them.

“Dense Water Spiritual Pearl, Dense Water Prison!”

Su Xuan took note of the situation and raised her jade hands. The ancient jade pearl flew from her palm, and a surge of blue waves a hundred feet high rose into the air. The water crashed down and swirled into a massive vortex, enveloping the three stone statues.

Bang! Bang!

The violent whirlpool spun endlessly with a frightening force. The three statues had been as strong as any Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phase, but they were pinned down so strongly that they couldn’t even move. The clear and beautiful azure waves pounded them until cracks appeared on their bodies.

Even Mu Chen was shocked by Su Xuan’s move. This was the first time he’d seen her fight, but he never imagined that she’d be so powerful. With just a casual attack, she could take care of those three Stone Statue Guardians.

Ranked 3 of the Heavenly Rankings. Truly, her fame wasn’t for nothing.

Su Ling’er flashed an adoring smile when she saw Mu Chen’s astonished expression. “That’s my sister’s Dense Water Spiritual Pearl. A High Rank Spiritual Artifact. She spent three million Spiritual Value Points for it.”

Guo Xiong laughed as well. “Haha. The Dense Water Spiritual Pearl contains an extremely bizarre form of Spiritual Water called Dense Water. A single litre weighs a thousand kilograms[1. Chinese raw says “the water weighs ten thousand half-kilograms”, but we changed it to read better. For reference, water actually weighs 1kg per litre.]. It could even crush a mountain. It’s as dangerous as any weapon and can be used for both offense and defense. The power of the Dense Water Spiritual Pearl can’t be missed; that’s why Su Xuan sits so securely as the the Rank 3 of the Heavenly Rankings.”

Mu Chen exclaimed in admiration and nodded. So it was a High Rank Spiritual Artifact. No wonder. From the looks of it, Su Xuan’s Dense Water Spiritual Pearl might even be stronger than the Draconic Spirit Bracelets.

“Let’s go.”

Su Xuan motioned and the blue jade[2. The Chinese sometimes don’t distinguish between blue and green. Instead, they are often referred to as shades of the same color.] pearl returned to her jade hands. She stroked its cyan surface as she smiled and said, “Let’s get over there. Fast.”

“Yes!”

The other four agreed, then burst out in unison, easily passing the three stone statues that’d gotten in their way just a few minutes ago.

Su Xuan brought out the Dense Water Spiritual Pearl again, while Guo Xiong and the other three burst forward on full attack, in an attempt to lessen the pressure on Su Xuan. The group of five charged straight forward.

The Heavenly Dipper Sword Faction and Earthen Way Sect followed closely behind them. These factions had the advantage of numbers, and furthermore, they’d joined forces, so their combined strength was now far greater than it’d been before.

Everyone charged straight ahead. As long as they could get past the Stone Guardians, they’d reach the Spirit Treasury and obtain the supreme treasure!

However, the price for such a straightforward charge was a heavy one to pay. Mournful screams echoed endlessly through the black basin, and the faint smell of blood permeated the air. Many faces turned pale.

Mu Chen’s party relied on Su Xuan’s Dense Water Spiritual Pearl. Even though they suffered no injuries or deaths, their advancement grew tougher by the step. Finally, Mu Chen decided that he had no choice but to summon his Stone Guardian as well. Unfortunately, his Stone Guardian was already badly damaged and looked to be on the verge of collapse — however, it could buy them some time to catch their breaths.

“There have been quite a few deaths from White Dragon City.”

Su Xuan moved the Dense Water Spiritual Pearl again, and waves as heavy as mountains crushed the arm of one Stone Guardian that was in the process of charging them. Then she looked to her right, where the experts of White Dragon City were already bathed in fresh blood. Even one of the Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phase experts had died. No doubt a disastrous loss for them.

“We’re approaching the central region.”

Mu Chen nodded with a grave look in his eyes. He’d already noticed that the deeper they went, the more violent the Stone Guardians became, as though they were desperate to keep them from reaching their destination.

It was clear that they’d soon reach the heart of this Spirit Treasury.

“There’re abnormal movements from White Dragon City!” Su Ling’er urged.

Mu Chen and Su Xuan turned surprised expressions to see that White Dragon City had split their party into two. One was headed by Bai Dong, with four Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phase experts protecting him. The other was lead by Bai Xuan and was swiftly charging forward. The goal of this formation was clear — Bai Xuan was trying to open a path for the other group to forge ahead.

Mu Chen narrowed his eyes. “They know that they’re attracting too much attention because they have too many people. They’re trying to split up into smaller groups, so they can move faster!”

He had to admit that White Dragon City’s strategy was quite effective. While Bai Xuan and his group were attracting all the attention, Bai Dong and his smaller party had already disappeared into the darkness.

“What do we do now? If this goes on, they’ll be able to be the first to enter!” Guo Xiong anxiously cried.

Su Xuan smiled bitterly. She could try charging in alone; however, she knew the others would find it difficult to protect themselves without her.

As Su Xuan helplessly considered her options, Mu Chen suddenly spoke with a soft voice. “I’ll chase after them. You guys can catch up later.”

“You alone?” Everyone looked at Mu Chen with an astonished expression. They clearly hadn’t expected such a suggestion from him.

“Rest assured. I won’t do something stupid, like seeking my own death.” Mu Chen smiled. However, he didn’t have enough time to fully explain, either.

Su Xuan evaluated Mu Chen’s steady gaze and hesitated. Then, she nodded. “Alright. You go first. We’ll distract the stone statues for you. Remember, if you encounter Bai Dong and his group, just try to buy time.”

“Okay.”

Mu Chen nodded. Then, he moved like a hunting leopard as he slipped between two stone statues and rapidly disappeared into the darkness.

“Will he be alright?” Su Ling’er worried as she looked in the direction where Mu Chen had disappeared.

Su Xuan shook her head and softly replied, “I don’t know where he gets that confidence from, but right now, I can only choose to trust him.”

Su Ling’er, Li Qing, Guo Xiong nodded. That was all they could do in the current situation. Just hope that nothing happened to Mu Chen.