The Great Ruler (Web Novel)

Splash.

When Mu Chen rushed into the crimson magma, the terrible temperature burst into a frenzy. Even though he had pushed the Thunder God Physique to the extreme and protected his body with his spiritual energy, the temperature still caused bursts of burning pain on his skin. 

Whoosh.

Mu Chen transformed into a shadow that tore the thick, viscous lava apart. He surged quickly into the depths of the magma, and though he knew it was a very dangerous thing to go deep into the Daluo Blazing Pool, he could not get a high return without taking high risks. In order to advance to the rank of a Third Grade Sovereign, he had to try, no matter how dangerous it was.

In the magma, groups of roaming Spiritual Blazing Serpents could be seen. Mu Chen did not want to get entangled with them, so he carefully avoided them and went deeper. 

In a short period of time, Mu Chen reached a depth of 1,000 feet in the Daluo Blazing Pool. The magma had hints of purple hues because the temperature was overwhelmingly high.

Even Mu Chen's Thunder God Physique could not withstand that degree of heat.

Phew. 

Taking a deep breath, Mu Chen focused, and a dark purple flame emerged from the surface of his body, forming a fire membrane that enveloped his body.

That terrible heat instantly weakened. 

The dark purple flame was, of course, the Unperishable Flame. Although the temperature in the Daluo Blazing Pool was extremely high, it was difficult to penetrate the protection formed by the Unperishable Flame. This was why Mu Chen had to cultivate it despite not activating it, though it was suitable for hunting and killing Spiritual Blazing Serpents with longer lifespans.

Whoosh!

With the help of the Unperishable Flame shielding him from the surrounding high temperature, Mu Chen's speed skyrocketed. In just a few minutes, he went to a depth of 2,000 feet. The spiritual energy contained in the lava was so powerful and violent that some of the magma even solidified and floated in the molten magma like red ice cubes. 

Most oddly of all, it was as if a vacuum had been formed surrounding the solidified magma, and no lava could trickle in. 

Mu Chen fell on a giant magma platform as he felt the pressure instantly disappear. The feeling was as if the solidified magma rocks perfectly counteracted the pressure and heat deep in the Daluo Blazing Pool.

"What an amazing place indeed."

Mu Chen stomped his feet, but the giant magma rock remained motionless. He could not resist letting out a sigh of admiration. The Great Thousand World was so vast, it was filled with all kinds of wonders indeed.

Mu Chen surveyed his surroundings as he murmured in doubt, "Why haven't I seen a Spiritual Blazing Serpent yet?" He found that he did not seem to see any serpents at this depth, which was quite different from the situation above, where it was teeming with serpents.

As Mu Chen stared blankly, a solidified rock of magma not far from him exploded, and a giant serpent tail tore through the magma, smashing down hard on Mu Chen's head. 

The sudden attack caused Mu Chen's face to twist as he swiftly leapt away.

Crash!

The serpent tail plummeted down brutally, blowing the giant magma rock to pieces. Mu Chen was swept away by the aftershock as the impact forced him to stagger back dozens of steps. He then hurriedly stabilized his body.

He looked up with a somber expression and in the magma, a huge Spiritual Blazing Serpent slithered, larger than any he had seen before.

"Impressive fellow. He must be at least 400 hundred years old!"

Mu Chen gasped. The size of the Spiritual Blazing Serpent was two to three times bigger than that of the century-old serpents. 

A Spiritual Blazing Serpent with this lifespan was no weaker than Qin Bei. 

This was a tough guy to handle.

Hiss.

The ferocious python stared savagely at Mu Chen and immediately, it opened its huge mouth, and a beam of red magma light hurtled towards Mu Chen.

The spiritual energy this beam of magma light contained was unparalleled compared to the serpents that Mu Chen had encountered, thus he did not dare to have the slightest lapse in concentration. A surge of golden light burst out as the Great Solar Undying Body was summoned.

Bang! 

The golden light palm clashed with the beam of magma, and a terrible wind raged, shattering the surrounding massive suspended magma rocks. 

Mu Chen's figure appeared around the Great Solar Undying Body's head, and his eyes stared sharply at the fiercely attacking Spiritual Blazing Serpent. He conjured seals as the Sovereign Sea emerged behind him with the roar of dragons and elephants reverberating.

Whoosh!

Twin dragons and twin elephants flew out as they condensed into a Dragon Elephant aureole. Mu Chen pointed his finger, and the aureole pierced through the void space with a whoosh.

Mu Chen had called upon the most powerful Nine Dragon Nine Elephant Art immediately, as he understood how formidable this Spiritual Blazing Serpent was. Thus, he did not need to make any redundant tests of strength. 

Hiss! 

The Spiritual Blazing Serpent let out a skyward roar, and its scales stood as if it were aware of the deadly danger.

Boom! 

A red aureole continuously burst out of the Spiritual Blazing Serpent's body as if it were a tangible substance. Its appearance was a layer of protection guarding and surrounding the serpent. 

Judging from this alone, the power of the Spiritual Blazing Serpent was far greater than that which he had encountered before. After all, Mu Chen had not seen other serpents execute such a powerful defense.

However, Mu Chen was very confident of the Nine Dragon Nine Elephant Art, as even Qin Bei was defeated by it. He did not believe that a Spiritual Blazing Serpent, which did not possess any intelligence, could withstand it!

Whoosh!

The Dragon Elephant aureole appeared above the Spiritual Blazing Serpent. Under the high-speed rotation, it seemed to have the power to brutally tear everything apart. Coupled with the power of the dragon and elephant, it was practically unstoppable.

The Dragon Elephant aureole surged past with a whoosh and in the blink of an eye, the layers of red aureoles around the Spiritual Blazing Serpent were destroyed and exploded as a shrill screech rang out. 

Mu Chen glanced over as the ferocious Spiritual Blazing Serpent was severed in two at the waist. He grinned as he saw the success of such a powerful move, using the Nine Dragon Nine Elephant Art. No matter what it was, it would be annihilated.

Boom!

However, before Mu Chen could completely relax, the Spiritual Blazing Serpent, which had been severed in two, had once again opened its ferocious mouth, and a raging red pillar of light shot forward, enshrouding Mu Chen.

Crash!

The Great Solar Undying Body crossed its arms as it blocked the scarlet pillar of light with its massive body, but cracks appeared on its arms.

Mu Chen's mouth twitched. He did not expect the Spiritual Blazing Serpent to be so resilient as it put up such a resistance despite being severed.

"No matter what, I will get your Spiritual Blazing Marrow." Mu Chen scoffed coldly. He did not believe that this severed Spiritual Blazing Serpent was capable of more tricks.

Hiss!

However, just as Mu Chen was preparing to deal the fatal blow, the Spiritual Blazing Serpent did not charge forward mindlessly. Instead, it turned and ran away, which startled Mu Chen. Apparently, he did not expect that the serpent, which had lived for 400 years, was not only strong but also knew when to escape, which was quite different from those he had encountered before.

Mu Chen focused, and the Great Solar Undying Body gave chase. It had been rare to encounter such a precious Spiritual Blazing Serpent, and he would not let it escape at any cost.

Boom! 

However, the moment his body moved, his hair suddenly stood up. A sense of unutterable danger came to mind, and it was this feeling that brought the Great Solar Undying Body to an abrupt halt.

Crash! 

In the depths of the magma, a red shadow sprang out at an indescribable speed, wrapped directly around the Spiritual Blazing Serpent, and thrust a scarlet red needle into the serpent's head. 

The Spiritual Blazing Serpent struggled frantically, but in just a few moments, its huge body became shrivelled, as if all the blood had been sucked out of it.

Mu Chen stared shell-shocked at this scene as he lowered his head stiffly, only to see a massive crimson snake scorpion loitering in the depths of the magma. 

The crimson snake scorpion had a scorpion-like head, but its tail was a serpent's tail, and on the tip of the tail there was a shimmering scorpion thorn. A terrible spiritual energy fluctuation emanated from its body.

The power of the fluctuations was so much stronger than that of the 400-year-old Spiritual Blazing Serpent.

Gulp.

Mu Chen swallowed in fear as his palms turned cold. He did not expect the depths of the magma to unexpectedly hide such a horrifying snake scorpion. No wonder there were no Spiritual Blazing Serpents in this area!

The cold, ruthless eyes of the crimson snake scorpion turned at this time, and then landed on Mu Chen. There was no intelligence in those eyes, but there was pure murderous intent and fury. 

Mu Chen took a deep breath and in the next moment, the Great Solar Undying Body below his feet dissipated as he retreated swiftly like a specter.

This crimson snake scorpion had a terrifying strength that he could not resist at all, and Mu Chen knew that if he did not escape, he would probably end up exactly like that Spiritual Blazing Serpent.

Although he lamented dearly the loss of the 400-year-old Spiritual Blazing Marrow, it was clear that his life was more valuable. 

Mu Chen desperately tried to escape. He had intended to flee upwards, but the pieces of suspended solidified magma became his biggest obstacle, so he had to give up and run in a straight line.

As he was running for his life, Mu Chen looked back. This glance caused him to break out in a cold sweat, for he saw the mysterious snake scorpion surging across the magma in hot pursuit.

Clearly, this massive fellow did not intend to let his prey escape!

"A**hole!"

Mu Chen gritted his teeth and cursed. He did not expect to become the prey instead, as he was originally there to hunt and kill Spiritual Blazing Serpents…

Whoosh!

Mu Chen pushed his speed to the extreme and began to flee frantically, but behind him, the terrifyingly formidable crimson snake scorpion followed closely.

Murderous intent emanated from the depths of the magma as the roles of predator and prey quietly changed.