Finally, the last batch of the forces left the swamp. Mu Chen and Nine Nether lowered themselves to the ground just outside of the black swamp.
As black mist rose in the swamp, a pungent odor lingered in the air, indicating that the mist was poisonous. Deep in the swamp, shadowy black figures could be seen passing through the mud, exuding signs of alert.
Mu Chen and Nine Nether exchanged gazes, before Mu Chen gave a hand signal. The Nine Nether Troop immediately flit forwards, encircling the boundary of the swamp.
"Keep a watch outside. Don't let anyone disturb us." Mu Chen gave his order. This place was not suitable for many people to enter, so it was best to place the troop on guard around the perimeters of the swamp.
"Yes!"
The earth seemed to tremble, due to the thunderous yells of confirmation from the thousands of soldiers.
"Let's go!"
Mu Chen and Nine Nether nodded, looking at each other. Both of them then beamed into lights, before dashing through the black poisonous mist, deeper into the swamp. They were in search of that relic!
The spiritual energy majestically surrounded them, as the purple flame from the unperishable flame blazed into a fire, burning off all of the poisonous mist. Although the toxic fog was considered to be dangerous, it was not a threat to the pair of travelers, as the flame was able to protect them.
Shoo!
Both Mu Chen and Nine Nether maxed out their speeds at this moment. Even though they had already frightened off the various forces, they knew that other forces may also discover this relic very soon. To avoid any situational changes, they had to refine the Meteorfall Alchemy from its Grade Three Relic status as quickly as possible.
Boom!
As they journeyed deeper into the swamp, a sudden glow shot out. They could smell a stench charging directly at them.
Nine Nether kept calm. With a flick of her finger, a black feather spiritual energy, which was burning with a purple flame, burst forth, shooting through the glow. Immediately, the fire burned away everything within that light glow.
When the glow turned into ash, Mu Chen saw an ugly-looking black, poisonous crocodile. The fierce crocodile had smelly saliva that was dripping from its mouth, as well as a strong spiritual energy that was surrounding it.
Even though Nine Nether was able to kill the poisonous crocodile with one stroke, she showed no signs of delight on her face. Instead, she knit her willow-like eyebrows. Mu Chen, who was by her side, also frowned.
Suddenly the swamp began to vibrate. Countless, faint lights began to glow up from the mud. In the blink of an eye, numerous poisonous black crocodiles began sprouting out from the mud, all of their blood-shot eyes locking onto Mu Chen and Nine Nether.
They knew instantly that the both of them could not conquer such a vast number of crocodiles. And, although they were not afraid of being killed by the crocodiles, they were worried that, if they were to be stalled much longer, it would significantly delay their refining of the Meteorfall Alchemy.
"What should we do now?" Mu Chen looked at Nine Nether, feeling a bit helpless. It seemed like they would have to force their ways in.
Nine Nether muttered to herself for a moment, before tapping her foot. Instantly, the majestic spiritual energy transformed into an incredibly huge Nine Netherworld Bird. The overbearing aura of coercion that was emanating from the divine beast was overwhelming.
Pzzt Pzzt!
The poisonous crocodiles began to stir up a commotion, as they could feel the divine pressure that was being exuded by the Nine Netherworld Bird. Some of the crocodiles retreated quickly. These were the ones that had low intelligences, yet even they could at least sense that they were unable to beat an opponent with such a high level of coercion power.
Mu Chen's eyes brightened upon seeing this. He stepped forward, releasing his Dragon-Phoenix Real Spirit from his chest and his back. An aura of extreme tyrannical coercion was released at the same time.
As soon as he released his Dragon-Phoenix Real Spirit, all of the crocodiles were terrified. They started to flee in all directions.
The pressure that the Dragon-Phoenix Real Spirit brought was much stronger than the Nine Netherworld Bird's. After all, the Nine Netherworld Bird ranked slightly behind the Dragon-Phoenix Real Spirit. Unless the Nine Netherworld Bird coudl evolve again into the legendary Undying Bird, it would be unable to match up against the Dragon-Phoenix Real Spirit.
In just moments, the crocodiles had all fled.
Mu Chen grinned at Nine Nether. "How was that?!"
Nine Nether looked annoyed, as she faced the smug Mu Chen. However, even she had to admit that Mu Chen's Dragon-Phoenix Real Spirit was quite impressive, rivaling even her own divine beast.
Nine Nether felt mixed feelings about this. She was unsure as to when exactly that weak, young boy that first was introduced to her began to catch up to her, blooming on his own gradually.
Nine Nether felt proud of Mu Chen, yet at the same time, she felt melancholy. Perhaps sooner or later, she would not even be able to chide him, as he may surpass her in rank. She needed to speed up her cultivation as well!
"When I can fully revive the blood of the Undying Bird, your Dragon-Phoenix Real Spirit will no longer be superior." Although Nine Nether was filled with her own thoughts, she drew her lips tight, before speaking disdainfully to Mu Chen.
Mu Chen just gave her a smile, as he knew that Nine Nether was proud and unwilling to show any sign of weakness in her words. So, he did not tease her any further. Instead, with a hand signal, he flit deeper into the swamp.
As they journeyed, they discovered even more fearsome creatures. Fortunately, they were able to make use of the pressure that was being exuded by the divine beasts in order to pass through all of the obstacles. Moreover, the pressure also enabled them to travel at the fastest speed, all while expending very little energy.
After ten minutes, Mu Chen and Nine Nether slowed down. They could vaguely see an outline of an ancient temple amid the poisonous fog.
Shoo!
Suddenly, two figures flit out. As they did so, the fog immediately cleared, as though they were being covered by a shield. Their visions instantly became clear.
Nine Nether and Mu Chen were slightly stunned, when they looked in front of them. As far as their eyes could see, there was only a vast land, filled with ruins.
Amid the ruins, an old and wrecked temple stood tall, exuding a sense of ancient mystery. In fact, the temple seemed to have crossed over from the ancient times. The mere sight of it was truly breathtaking.
"Let's get ready!"
Nine Nether, after having regained her senses, looked at Mu Chen and said, "Let's split up, so we can do this as quickly as possible. Any questions?"
Mu Chen laughed, while making a hand gesture that signified no. After seeing his confirmation, Nine Nether did not hesitate, before she made her way to one of the halls in the wrecked temple.
Mu Chen did not delay either, as he turned to another ruined hall and flit into it. Once there, he saw scattered bones that were lying around on the floor. Apparently, the bones' owners had been waging a fierce battle when they died.
Even though a few thousand years had passed, the entire hall was still filled with a spirit of tragic energy. Mu Chen stared at the bones with solemnity, before he bowed at the scene. No matter what, these people had been fighting for The Great Thousand World in the ancient wars.
"Excuse me!"
Mu Chen spoke softly inside the hall. He then formed a formation with both of his hands, causing a majestic spiritual energy to break out. He then used the energy to create a huge vortex in his palms. The vortex possessed an extremely strong suction force.
The ground started to rumble, as a black qi began to waft out from the bones. The black qi was then transformed into numerous black glow beams, as they were all sucked into the huge Spiritual Energy Whirlpool within the palms of Mu Chen.
These black qi were Meteorfall gases, which were unusual gases that had been unified. They had been taken from the special force of the Meteorfall Battlefield and the Sovereign Sea, which had come from the bodies of those top powers who had perished.
The Meteorfall gas gathered rapidly within the Spiritual Energy Whirlpool. Then, when it had condensed into its final state, a glimmer of light dashed out from the Spiritual Energy Whirlpool.
With suction from Mu Chen's palm, the glimmer of light dropped to float in front of him. The size of its glow was about the same as a longan, and it was mellow and full. The pitch-black pill rotated in front of him, emitting a similar fluctuation as the Meteorfall gas. Obviously, this was the Meteorfall Alchemy, the most important resource in this Meteorfall battlefield!
Mu Chen waved his sleeves, safekeeping the Meteorfall Alchemy within them. He then circulated his spiritual energy again, continuing to absorb the rest of the Meteorfall gas.
The remaining Meteorfall gas allowed Mu Chen to refine another five Meteorfall Alchemies. When the last Meteorfall Alchemy had been extracted, all of the spiritual energy in the bones had been completely depleted. Once this happened, the skeletons all immediately turned into ashes.
Mu Chen let out a sigh. With a swing of his sleeves, the ashes whistled, before being condensed into various unnamed dominoes, stacked neatly on the ground.
After doing this, Mu Chen bowed in respect again, then left the hall. For the next hour, Mu Chen found 18 halls and refined 53 Meteorfall Alchemies, which was an abundant harvest for him.
As Mu Chen entered into the last hall, which was deep within the relic, he repeated his same pattern of refining formalities. However, before he could continue refining the Meteorfall Alchemy, his expression suddenly changed. He encircled himself with his spiritual energy immediately.
His eyes were locked onto a spot deep within the hall. There, a gray-robed figure sat cross-legged and alone.
Mu Chen narrowed his eyes, carefully watching the gray-robed figure.
There is a living being in here?!