As they passed through the crack, darkness surged forth. However, they quickly adapted to it. Mu Chen and the rest slowly opened their eyes. At this moment, they were already in the middle of the black basin. Here, they couldn't see the outside world. Darkness filled the air, bringing with it specks of cold air that continuously drifted about.
Around Mu Chen's group, there were many silhouettes. Clearly, they were the experts of the various forces that had barged in. They had formed into groups and were on guard against each other, maintaining a safe distance in case someone launched a sneak attack.
Mu Chen's gaze swept across the darkness of the giant basin. His eyes slightly narrowed as he looked to his front. Within the darkness, he could faintly make out black stone pillars. From afar, they looked like giant beasts in the darkness, causing one's heart to palpitate for some unknown reason.
There weren't any ambushes in the basin. Many people were on guard against each other as they slowed their footsteps and slowly advanced into the black basin. As they advanced, they formed their own formations and maintained their vigilance.
"Why is it so quiet?" Su Ling 'er asked in a low voice. Wasn't the Sovereign Spirit Treasury a little too quiet?
Shouldn't a place like this be riddled with danger?
Su Xuan's eyebrows were also slightly knitted together. She was also a little puzzled, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she circulated her Spiritual Energy and maintained her vigilance.
Mu Chen's gaze slowly swept across the area, before finally focusing on the giant stone pillars. For some reason, the unease in his heart grew even stronger.
He stared at the front, where a group was already rapidly charging past the stone pillars, advancing deeper into the basin.
Darkness quietly surged as bits of stone fragments seemed to drift down from the black stone pillars.
"Something's wrong.
Be careful! "
Mu Chen's pupils suddenly shrank as he blocked Su Xuan and the rest, a solemn expression on his face as he growled.
"Bang!"
Just as Mu Chen's growl rang out, the giant stone pillars suddenly burst open.
Suddenly, it burst open, and a giant black hand stretched out from within. With a single slap, the troops that were rushing over were smashed into a pile of mud, and blood splattered everywhere.
Miserable shrieks rang out.
It suddenly rang out.
The sudden turn of events caused everyone's faces to be filled with shock.
Bang!
Bang!
The gigantic stone pillars continued to explode. As the stone pillars crumbled, one could see jet-black stone statues struggling to step out. The eyes of these stone statues were completely red, appearing extremely sinister and sinister.
Around these stone statues, there was a strange aura.
It was also surging with astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations.
Every single corpse.
It wasn't the slightest bit weaker than the Stone Guardian that Mu Chen had obtained previously.
Hiss!
Mu Chen looked at the black stone statues struggling to walk out of the stone pillars. He could not help but inwardly suck in a breath of cold air.
As expected, it was extremely dangerous. There were actually so many Stone Guardians hidden here!
The faces of Su Xuan and the others also changed slightly.
They hastily retracted their formation.
"Ah, let's charge together and destroy all these stone statues!"
Such an unforeseen event was too unexpected. However, there were quite a number of experts that had entered the black basin. After suffering a loss, they swiftly gathered together and roars resounded. Powerful Spiritual Energies soared into the sky as they joined hands and charged towards the black stone statues.
Boom!
A huge group of people charged towards the black stone statues. The two forces collided, causing an intense battle to erupt. Violent Spiritual Energy wreaked havoc, tearing the earth apart.
However, in the end, everyone still underestimated these Stone Guardians that did not know pain and were born to fight. Even if they had the advantage in numbers, there were very few who could break through the layers of defense of the Stone Guardians and enter the depths. Moreover, they would have to pay a huge price to do so.
"Those people from White Dragon City are really fast!" Li Qing suddenly said in a low voice.
When Mu Chen heard that, he immediately looked over. Sure enough, the people from White Dragon City had gathered together in the distance. Like an arrowhead, they pierced through the stone statues' defenses. At this moment, the hidden strength of the people from White Dragon City had completely erupted. Aside from Bai Xuan and the grey-robed elder, there were four other Spiritual Energy fluctuations, all of which had reached the Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phase!
With such a frightening lineup, they were the first to break through the Stone Guardians. Compared to the other forces, their speed was much faster.
"Two of those four Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Phase experts are the ones that ambushed us that night."
Su Xuan sensed the familiar Spiritual Energy fluctuations and gritted her teeth. "So it really was White Dragon City."
Mu Chen furrowed his brows. "They don't need to hide their strength anymore. As long as they break through these stone statues, they'll reach the depths of the basin. Once they obtain the treasure, they'll have achieved their goal."
"We can't let them obtain the treasure so easily!"
Su Xuan said in a low voice. Now that they knew these people were from the Demonic Dragon Palace, they could be considered their mortal enemies. If Bai Xuan and the others obtained the treasure, they wouldn't let them off.
Guo Xiong and the others nodded.
"Let's attack together and chase after them!"
Su Xuan gently waved her jade-like hand. With a clench of her jade-like hand, an ancient and smooth jade bead appeared in her hand. When the jade bead appeared, endless sounds of waves rang out, appearing rather peculiar.
Mu Chen and the others also circulated their Spiritual Energy. Then, the five of them burst forward, leaping over the crowd and charging towards the Stone Guardians.
The Spiritual Energy fluctuations on their side were astonishing, and they quickly attracted the attention of the three Stone Guardians. Soon after, they took steps that could shake the earth and mountains as they charged towards them.
"Dense Water Spiritual Pearl, Dense Water Prison!"
Su Xuan raised her jade-like hand and the ancient, smooth jade pearl flew out. Then, an azure wave of water, roughly a hundred meters wide, surged out. It transformed into a giant whirlpool that enveloped the three stone statues.
Bang bang!
The whirlpool crazily revolved, erupting with astonishing destructive power. The three stone statues that were comparable to Heavenly Transformation Stage Initial Phase experts were actually obstructed to the point that they were unable to move a single inch. Furthermore, as the waves swept past, cracks started to spread out on the bodies of the stone statues. Clearly, the seemingly gentle azure waves were extremely powerful.
It was clear that the seemingly gentle azure wave possessed astonishing power.
When Mu Chen saw this, he was shocked. This was the first time he'd seen Su Xuan in action. He didn't expect her to be so powerful.
With a casual wave of her hand, she'd trapped three Stone Guardians.
Third place on the Heavenly Ranking truly lived up to its name.
"That's big sister's Dense Water Spiritual Pearl. It's a high-grade Spiritual Artifact.
Back then, I spent three million Spiritual Value Points to buy it from the Spiritual Value Hall. "Su Ling 'er smiled sweetly when she saw Mu Chen's astonished expression.
"Haha, this Dense Water Spiritual Pearl contains Dense Water. That's an extremely mysterious type of Spiritual Water. It's as heavy as ten thousand kilograms, and it can even crush mountains. Whether it's used for defense or offense, it's a powerful weapon.
Su Xuan was able to sit firmly on the Heavenly Ranking's third place.
The Dense Water Spiritual Pearl's contributions can't go unnoticed. "Guo Xiong also laughed.
Mu Chen nodded his head in admiration.
So it was a high-grade Spiritual Artifact. No wonder it was like this.
The Dense Water Spiritual Pearl in Su Xuan's hand seemed to be even more powerful than the Dragon Horn Spirit Bracelet Li Qing had obtained.
"Let's go."
Su Xuan beckoned with her hand.
The azure jade pearl shot back to her. She brushed away the strands of hair that had fallen to her forehead and smiled warmly at everyone. "Let's hurry up and charge over."
"Alright!"
The four of them replied in unison. Soon after, they rushed out and passed through the three stone statues' blockade.
Su Xuan activated the Dense Water Spiritual Pearl again, while Mu Chen, Guo Xiong, and the other two attacked with all their might, relieving some of the pressure on Su Xuan. The five of them charged forward at a speed that wasn't slow at all.
Not far behind them, the Heavenly Dipper Sword Faction, the Earthen Way Sect, and the other factions were hot on their heels. They had the advantage in numbers, and now that they'd joined forces, their strength had skyrocketed.
Everyone was charging forward with all their might. As long as they could break through the defensive line formed by the Stone Guardians, they'd reach the Spirit Treasury and obtain the ultimate treasure!
However, the price they paid for this desperate charge was exceedingly heavy. Miserable shrieks rang out ceaselessly within the black basin. The faint smell of blood permeated the air, causing many people's faces to turn pale.
Mu Chen and the others borrowed the power of Su Xuan's Dense Water Spiritual Pearl. Although they didn't suffer any casualties, it was still rather difficult for them to advance. In the end, Mu Chen had no choice but to summon his Stone Guardian. However, his Stone Guardian was quickly covered in cuts and bruises. It looked like it was on the verge of collapse. It clearly wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer, but it still bought them some time to catch their breath.
"Many of those from White Dragon City have died as well."
Su Xuan activated the Dense Water Spirit Pearl once again. The mountain-like waves of water shattered the stone arm of a Stone Guardian that was charging towards her. She also took some time to glance at the area to her right. The troops of White Dragon City were all covered in blood. Even one of their Heavenly Transform Stage Initial Stage experts had died in battle. Their losses were the most disastrous.
"I'm afraid we're about to reach the center."
Mu Chen nodded, but there was a solemn look in his eyes. He could sense that the deeper they went, the crazier the Stone Guardians became. It was as if they were desperately trying to stop them from advancing.
It was obvious that they were about to reach the core of the Spirit Treasury.
"There's movement from White Dragon City!" Su Ling 'er suddenly said.
Mu Chen and Su Xuan were startled. They quickly looked over and saw that the troops from White Dragon City had split into two groups. One group was led by Bai Dong, with four Heavenly Transform Stage early stage experts protecting him. Bai Xuan, on the other hand, was leading a large group of troops. They were fiercely charging forward, opening a path for Bai Dong's group so that they could take advantage of the gap to quickly advance.
Mu Chen's eyes narrowed as he said, "They also know that they've attracted too much attention. They're planning to split up into smaller groups so that they can enter the core area as quickly as possible!"
It had to be said that White Dragon City's actions were quite effective. With the help of Bai Xuan's group, Bai Dong's group quickly charged through and disappeared into the darkness.
"What do we do?
If we continue like this, I'm afraid they'll beat us to it! "Guo Xiong said anxiously.
Su Xuan smiled bitterly and helplessly. Actually, she could try charging forward by herself, but if she wasn't in the group, Guo Xiong and the others wouldn't be able to protect themselves.
Just as Su Xuan was feeling helpless, Mu Chen suddenly said, "I'll go after them. You guys follow me in a bit."
"You'll go alone?"
Su Xuan and Li Qing were startled. They looked at Mu Chen in astonishment. They clearly hadn't expected him to make such a request.
"Don't worry. I won't do anything that's suicidal." Mu Chen smiled at them, but he couldn't explain too much at a time like this.
Su Xuan looked at Mu Chen's calm eyes and hesitated for a moment. In the end, she nodded and said, "Then you go first. We'll draw the stone statues' attention for you. Remember, if you run into Bai Dong's group, endure it for now."
"Alright."
Mu Chen nodded his head and did not speak any further. His body moved and shot out like a cheetah. He passed through the two stone statues and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
"He'll be fine, right?" Su Ling 'er worriedly looked in the direction Mu Chen had disappeared in.
Su Xuan shook her head and softly said, "Although I don't know where his confidence comes from, we can only trust him at a time like this."
Su Ling 'er, Li Qing, and Guo Xiong nodded. At a time like this, they could only hope that Mu Chen would be able to keep An Ran safe.
(Ugh, I just realized I misread the monthly vote. It wasn't 3390, it was 3930!)
I'm still missing two hundred votes. I'll add another chapter tomorrow. Brothers and sisters, could it be that even adding one chapter isn't enough?)