The Great Ruler (Web Novel)

Shhhhhhhu!

As the darkness enveloped the center of the basin, a single figure streaked over the inky blackness — it was Mu Chen. Suddenly, he came to a halt. His feet briefly brushed the ground before he came to a full stop more than ten feet away from a Stone Guardian.

Bang!

A stone fist fell with the power of a meteor striking the earth, right at the spot where Mu Chen had touched just a few moments before. A series of cracks spread over the ground.

Mu Chen steadied his feet as his Spiritual Energy surged and he burst forward again. He swiftly passed through a gap in the Stone Guardian’s offense.

Right now, he was somewhere deep inside the basin. As a result, the number of Stone Guardians had increased, and they’d grown more violent as well — to the point that even Mu Chen didn’t dare to confront them. All he could do was take advantage of the gaps between them and charge ahead.

However, his charge only lasted for a few minutes before he was cut off, and Mu Chen suddenly found himself surrounded by six Stone Guardians. They moved their mountainous steps as they rained punches down that could shatter the sky.

Mu Chen warily observed the Stone Guardians as they sealed off his only path of retreat. Finally, he knitted his brows and waved his sleeve, summoning his own Stone Guardian. It stood like a stone shield before him.

Bang!

Six heavy stone fists landed on Mu Chen’s Stone Guardian, and more cracks spread over its body. At last, it exploded with a bang.

Mu Chen felt his heart ache. The statue had been a faithful servant to him, and he hadn’t expected to see it destroyed just like that. It was too much of a waste.

“I wonder if the White Dragon Medal has any effects on these Stone Guardians?”

Mu Chen felt excitement in his heart. He’d been entertaining the idea for a while, but the Stone Guardians had been too violent for him to risk it. He was also afraid that he’d repeat the situation in the stone palace hall — that he’d only end up provoking the stone statues to attack even more. But now that he’d been driven into a corner, he couldn’t care less about those risks.

Mu Chen decided that it was time to act. With a wave of his hand, the White Dragon Medal appeared in his hand and he activated it with his Spiritual Energy. The silver medal began flickering with a faint glow.

The moment the White Dragon Medal appeared, Mu Chen noticed that the Stone Guardians’ attacks had become sluggish. But before he could celebrate the fact, they attacked him anyways.

“It doesn’t work?”

A smear of disappointment flashed through Mu Chen’s eyes. So it seemed he couldn’t rely on the White Dragon Medal to control these Stone Guardians.

However, it wasn’t entirely useless. At least its presence had slightly suppressed their attacks — which meant that the White Dragon Medal had some effect after all.

Something flickered in Mu Chen’s eyes as he poured everything into the White Dragon Medal. The glow from its metallic surface grew stronger, and Mu Chen was enveloped in its light.

From a distance, Mu Chen looked like a patch of fuzzy white light. You couldn’t even see his tracks if you tried.

While Mu Chen was bathed by the white glow, he kept an eye on the six Stone Guardians that’d been attacking him. Their offense had finally ceased and their scarlet stone eyes had dimmed to a flickering glow in their empty sockets.

“It looks like the White Dragon Medal can interfere with the stone statue’s senses! They can’t see me!”

Mu Chen finally had a grasp of what was going on, and a moment of exhilaration passed over him. Even though the White Dragon Medal couldn’t control the Stone Guardians like he’d imagined, he could use it to interfere with their senses. With it, he could reach the heart of the basin with the greatest speed.

This was no time to delay. Mu Chen stepped up his speed and charged through the statues in a flash, heading towards the depths at lightning speed.

This time, Mu Chen encountered no other obstacles. The Stone Guardians he passed only stared at him with blank expressions, without attacking.

Borrowing the medal’s cloaking effect, Mu Chen passed through the field of stone statues within minutes. Finally, he slowed his pace when he sensed that there were fewer Stone Guardians in the area. Up ahead, it looked like there were none.

“Am I already at the heart?”

Suddenly, Mu Chen sensed something. He sped up again, and a moment later, the darkness began to retreat from his vision. What appeared before him was a dusky landscape scattered with large stones. At the center of these stones stood a black stone pillar roughly a hundred metres wide.

This stone pillar didn’t give off a majestic feeling like the ones from before. But now that Mu Chen knew why, his heartbeat quickened.

As Mu Chen carefully approached it, he realised this black stone pillar wasn’t made of ordinary stone — in fact, it wasn’t made of stone at all, nor was it made of gold or wood. However, it appeared extremely ancient. A strange design was scrawled over its surface. As Mu Chen studied it, a baleful aura quietly began to spread around him, strong enough to devour the heavens and earth. Mu Chen’s eyes turned a little red.

He felt himself go unfocused for a moment as he drew even closer and lightly placed his hand on the mottled surface.

Boom.

The moment he touched the pillar, a massive explosion sounded in his mind. Images flashed through his consciousness.

There was a deep pool filled with scarlet liquid that looked like blood. Human bodies were being tossed down from somewhere above and melted as they splashed into the pool. Down under the bloody surface stood a black pillar and a hidden demonic god that devoured all with its baleful aura.

Above the abyss stood a fuzzy figure with white hair, clad in a white robe. He looked exactly like the White Dragon Sovereign.

The figure looked down upon the bloody scene and a look of unbearable pain flashed through his eyes. He slowly clenched his fist.

Boom!

The bloody pond was jolted by an explosion and a column of blood suddenly rose from its surface and reached for the clouds. The abyss split open and the bloody light soared from the the pool and into the heavens, and remained suspended upon the horizon.

The black pillar was painted in rivers of endless blood. An endless flow of demonic patterns swirled around on its surface. The support was rent with deep claw marks, as if it’d collapse at any moment.

The sudden outburst from the ancient demonic pillar shattered everything. Even the heavens and earth seemed to lose their colour in that single moment. An endless baleful aura blew across the scene, causing even yin and yang to tremble.

Even the powerful being who stood above the abyss, shrouded in light, couldn’t help taking a step back in the face of such a baleful aura.

Mu Chen concentrated his mind on the scene. The baleful aura even seemed to infect his heart as an ominous feeling replaced his rationality.

“Liiiiii!”

A clear cry suddenly resounded within his body. The sound wave instantly woke Mu Chen from that state of mind.

Mu Chen recovered with his body drenched in a cold sweat. He looked up at the cracked pillar with the expression of a hungry ghost. It was almost in his hands. However, he retreated with eyes filled with astonishment and wariness.

What was that goddamned stone pillar? Why did it possess such a frightening baleful aura?

Mu Chen knitted his brows as he moved his eyes over the black pillar. Finally, his eyes found the peak, where there rested a white spiritual pearl, roughly the size of an infant’s head.

Its clear surface sparkled as it dispersed the darkness with a milky-white light. Mu Chen’s heart grew calmer as he stared at that light.

A heavy atmosphere rolled within the white spiritual pearl, like a sea of clouds. He could barely make out the shape of a white dragon roaming within its curved surface and hear its vigorous cries.

“That’s…”

Mu Chen focused his eyes on the white spiritual pearl that emitted such frightening Spiritual Energy. Just a glance told him that it was an extremely rare treasure.

He licked his lips as he studied the pearl with heated eyes. The black demonic pillar was simply too strange, but there weren’t any demonic traces inside the white pearl. It was clearly a treasure at first glance. If he had to choose between the two, of course he’d want the white spiritual pearl.

Mu Chen made his decision and flew towards the white pearl with outstretched hands.

Shhhhuuu!

The moment before Mu Chen laid hands on the pearl, a strange gale whipped up from behind him. His eyes widened as a cold chill ran down his spine. The Spiritual Energy inside him surged as he threw out a punch.

A pitch-black Spiritual Energy swept out and black flames surged with a shocking ferocity.

Bang!

The two collided with a dramatic dispersal of Spiritual Energy. The jolt forced Mu Chen backwards by several steps before he could steady himself. His expression was dark as three figures swiftly stepped out of the darkness.

“Hmph! You’re really a despicable thing that never dies. You actually managed to reach this place ahead of us!”

Bai Dong was one of the figures who’d walked out of the darkness, albeit in a fairly torn-up shape. He was accompanied by only the grey-robed elder and one other guard. The other two Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phases must have fallen during their charge.

Right now, Bai Dong and the grey-robed elder were eyeing Mu Chen with cold expressions tinged with astonishment. They never expected him to reach this place ahead of them.

If they’d arrived any later, Mu Chen probably would’ve taken everything.

Mu Chen looked at the two of them with a strange mixture of boredom and bloodlust.

A savage smile appeared at the corner of Bai Dong’s mouth. He raised his head towards the elder and said, “Elder Qiu, the two of you go deal with him. Don’t give him another chance.”

The grey-robed elder slowly nodded and stepped out with the Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phase guard beside him. His eyes locked onto Mu Chen like those of a venomous snake.

Mu Chen studied the two Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phase experts as his gaze also turned a little colder.