The Great Ruler (Web Novel)

Both gazes converged in midair, and at that moment, it seemed that even space was somewhat distorted.

Garuda's gaze was as deep as the ocean. Staring at Mu Chen, his smile seemed to gradually disappear, because he felt a strange surge in the spiritual energy in his body. Even the space behind him trembled slightly, as if a beam of strong light was about to burst out.

That was the Sovereign Celestial Body he cultivated, which was suddenly triggered at this moment.

However, Garuda managed to forcibly suppress it. His eagle eyes were locked on Mu Chen. He carried a heart-shriveling, murderous intent in the extreme depths of his eyes. When that murderous intent appeared in Garuda's eyes, an extremely powerful wave of spiritual energy exploded like a volcano from his body. Instantly, the whole universe turned overcast as Garuda's figure became more and more oppressive. The 1,000-foot mountain under his feet was trembling as if it were afraid of being destroyed.

Buzz.

In response to Garuda's explosive murderous intent, golden light emanated from Mu Chen's body, and cries of the Dragon-Phoenix rang out from within his body. On his upper arm, the spirits of the Dragon-Phoenix intertwined, releasing powerful energy fluctuations. The space behind him distorted, and the Sovereign Sea loomed with majestic spiritual energy that shook the whole sky.

Just an exchange of glances between them was enough to simultaneously trigger each other's murderous intent. They had both clearly sensed each other's cultivated Sovereign Celestial Body.

Since both had cultivated the Great Solar Undying Body, in order for them to evolve their celestial bodies, they must defeat all other competitors, as the evolution method could only be obtained by one person.

Upon the eruption of Mu Chen's spiritual energy, Nine Nether had activated her spiritual energy without hesitation, and immediately, a crystal-like flame blazed within her petite body.

Xiao Xiao and Lin Jing were startled, unable to comprehend why the two had, without even exchanging a single word, gone into battle mode all of a sudden. However, their confusion only lasted for a moment before they simultaneously fixed their gazes on Garuda. The surrounding space trembled, and then astounding spiritual energy fluctuations emanated.

Compared to Mu Chen, Garuda was a mere stranger to Xiao Xiao and Lin Jing. Even though Garuda seemed intimidating, it didn't stop them from choosing to help Mu Chen out.

Therefore, behind Mu Chen, the three females released their spiritual energy. Instantly, Mu Chen's side's overwhelming power and might directly suppressed the spiritual energy unleashed from within Garuda's body, forcing it back to within 100 feet around him.

Witnessing this scene, Garuda's eyes narrowed slightly. He glanced at Xiao Xiao and Lin Jing, who seemed to be his equals, judging by the fluctuations emanating from them.

If it had been a one-on-one confrontation, he would not have been intimidated by Mu Chen. However, he understood that he would lose if he attacked now, since the opposition's lineup was strong.

Knowing an attack would be futile, Garuda gradually withdrew his murderous intent, and the powerful spiritual energy fluctuations surrounding him dissipated. Smiling at Mu Chen, he said, "I'm surprised you also cultivated the Great Solar Undying Body. Our encounter today was truly fated."

Even though the other side had more people and a stronger lineup, Garuda was still at ease. He was calm and collected, not showing even the slightest hint of fear. This attitude alone won a sigh of praise from Mu Chen. Able to cultivate the Great Solar Undying Body, Garuda was indeed marvelous.

"It is indeed fate." Mu Chen nodded, smiling brightly. Anyone who did not know the whole story might even think that the two of them possessed the kind of real kinship that was able to cross the boundaries of life and death. Only Mu Chen and Garuda knew that they were each other's greatest rivals, whom they had to eliminate.

This was not kinship. Instead, they were life enemies.

However, despite knowing that Garuda was his biggest obstacle in his own pursuit of the evolution of the Great Solar Undying Body, Mu Chen had not thought of utilizing the power of Xiao Xiao and the rest to eliminate him at this time, because he knew that even if they joined forces, Garuda would probably be able to retreat, so Mu Chen needn't make his move yet. The most important thing at present was to get the Heavenly River baptism to strengthen himself.

Of course, even though he had no intention of striking at the moment, Mu Chen still looked Garuda in the eye, his gaze filled with warning.

"Oh, I understand."

Meeting Mu Chen's gaze, Garuda simply chuckled nonchalantly and moved backwards, temporarily retreating.

"This guy's a little difficult to deal with, so we cannot let our guard down. How did you get involved with this guy?" Xiao Xiao raised her eyebrows, glancing at Garuda's decisive retreat. That guy was very powerful and was flexible enough to know when to yield. He was definitely not an easy opponent. She had met this guy once before. Though they had not interacted, she was still able to sense that the latter was out of the ordinary.

"This is the first time we've met. I've never provoked him." Mu Chen shrugged and said, "But of the two of us, only one can survive."

As a practitioner of the Great Solar Undying Body, in a way the resentment between Mu Chen and Garuda was even deeper than the one between him and Xia Yu. Mu Chen well knew that even if he were to retreat, Garuda would still kill him by any means necessary, so one of them must die.

"Then kill him." Lin Jing patted Mu Chen's shoulders in encouragement. "That guy is not an easy opponent, but you'll definitely get the last laugh."

"So much faith in me…" Mu Chen was a little taken aback.

Lin Jing curled her lips and said, "My mom spoke very highly of you. If you can't even take care of this fellow, that would be embarrassing."

Mu Chen could only roll his eyes.

Nine Nether pursed her lips to hide her grin and immediately teased, "Now that I think of it, you don't seem to be on friendly terms with the top four on the List of Powerhouses of Tianluo Continent."

Mu Chen did not care about this. He looked at Xiao Xiao and Lin Jing, and said, smiling, "I am not without friends to support me."

The four of them gathered together made for a really strong lineup. Even Zhu Yan would have no choice but to retreat if faced with the four of them.

Hearing these words, the three females could not help but roll their eyes.

"What do we do now? The Heavenly River is in front of us, but it seems we can't get in." Xiao Xiao quickly changed the topic, looking at the Heavenly River with her beautiful eyes.

Mu Chen squinted and assessed the situation for a moment, then nodded and said, "This Heavenly River should be sealed. The seal was likely to be arranged by the Heavenly Emperor, and it's impossible to force our way inside."

"Then what should we do?" Lin Jing asked. Their destination was right in front of them, but it was inaccessible, which was really frustrating.

"Don't worry about it. When the people who have obtained the pledges of the masters of the nine mansions are gathered, the seal of the Heavenly River will naturally be activated, and that'll be our opportunity," said Mu Chen nonchalantly.

Long before entering the Ancient Celestial Palace, he had found this out from Mandela.

Upon hearing his words, Xiao Xiao and the rest breathed a sigh of relief, then sat down on the mountain peak and started conversing quietly while waiting for the people who had received the other pledges to come.

They did not have to wait long. At the far side of the sky, there was a whoosh, and a flaming glow swept across the sky. After several breaths, it appeared outside the Heavenly River.

"Hey, this guy got out that fast?" Lin Jing was surprised to see the flaming glow.

Raising his eyebrows in shock, Mu Chen saw that the person was Zhu Yan, whom they had previously trapped in the Wind Mansion.

Up above the sky, Zhu Yan was standing among the clouds. His body seemed to be flowing with magma. He had obviously sensed Mu Chen's presence immediately. When his gaze shot towards them, he said, "I didn't expect you to keep your promise."

His words were directed towards Mu Chen. He had initially thought that Mu Chen would manipulate the spiritual array that trapped him, but he did not expect the latter to adjust the spiritual array as promised so that he was released after being trapped for a certain period of time. Even if Mu Chen had not done so, he also had the means to escape, but Mu Chen's trustworthiness was rather unexpected.

Mu Chen smiled at Zhu Yan and said, "You were quicker than I thought."

"Although I am surprised by your trustworthiness, I don't plan on forgiving you so easily," said Zhu Yan lightly.

"You're welcome." Mu Chen nodded. Since he had chosen to strike, he naturally did not expect to be treated with kindness.

"You are of the Flame Spirit Clan?" Behind Mu Chen, Xiao Xiao suddenly stared at Zhu Yan with curiosity. Her charming face held a hint of a smile.

Zhu Yan furrowed his brows after glancing at Xiao Xiao. He sensed a dangerous aura emanating from her, and he wondered where that mysterious female came from. He had not seen her by Mu Chen's side before.

Xiao Xiao smiled, and the colorful little snake once again climbed onto her fragrant shoulder and flicked its tongue out at Zhu Yan.

Staring at the colorful snake, Zhu Yan's eyes narrowed instantly and his face changed. "Sky-Devouring Python? You are of the Endless Fire Territory? Who is the Flame Emperor to you?"

The Flame Emperor had previously won a bet against the Flame Spirit Clan and won their clan's Divine Fire. Even their sleeping ancestor was awakened, but they could not keep the Flame Emperor from leaving. It was an insult to the Flame Spirit Clan. Over the years, the Flame Spirit Clan had rebelled against the Endless Fire Territory but were suppressed every time, and countless masters of the Flame Spirit Clan had since tried to regain the Divine Fire to no avail.

As they were mortal enemies, the Flame Spirit Clan had a good understanding of the Endless Fire Territory, and naturally they knew that the Sky-Devouring Python belonged to the queen of the Endless Fire Territory. Xiao Xiao actually owned a Sky-Devouring Python, meaning she must have an intimate relationship with the queen.

"He's my father." Xiao Xiao smiled lightly, not hiding the truth.

Zhu Yan's eyes seemed to be lit from within by the flame spirit, and molten lava flowed from his body. Taking a deep breath, he locked his gaze on Xiao Xiao. At that moment, he couldn't care less about his previous grudge against Mu Chen. His sole focus was on Xiao Xiao.

"If that's the case, please come with me to the Flame Spirit Clan and get your father to give us our clan's Divine Fire in exchange for you."

The smoldering flame spirit burst out from Zhu Yan's body, and even the sky was set ablaze.