Chaos Heavenly Emperor Art

"This is it!"

Ru Feng took a deep breath, and the stench of decay in the air became even stronger, carrying with it an indescribable sense of oppression, as if countless eyes were watching from the shadows.

"This place...makes me very uncomfortable."

Han Tian frowned. His Bloodthirsty Dragon Divine Duty made him exceptionally sensitive to the aura of blood and death. At this moment, he could clearly feel the tangible malice emanating from the depths of the basin.

Yan Jinghong did not speak, but simply raised her right hand, and an ice crystal condensed in her palm.

Ice crystals floated above his palm, slowly rotating, and fine cracks gradually appeared on their surface.

He stared at the increasingly dense cracks on the ice crystals and said in a deep voice, "It seems that something is interfering with the laws here. My Ice Soul Divine Power is being suppressed, and I can only exert about 70% of its power."

Han Tian's eyelids twitched, and he quickly realized that he was being suppressed even more, by almost 50%.

His divine authority actually stems from the evil dragon bloodline within him, but the laws here seem to be particularly effective against all bloodline powers.

Ru Feng also tried to mobilize the power of chaos, and sure enough, he felt an invisible resistance, as if the entire space was rejecting the intervention of external forces.

"My chaotic power seems to be suppressed as well."

She said in a deep voice, "This withered royal court is indeed not simple."

"Even so, you won't turn back, will you..."

Han Tianjian raised an eyebrow and said loudly, "If that's the case, then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The three of them immediately went down the slope, and the closer they got to the bottom of the basin, the more eerie the surrounding environment became.

The dark red soil was gradually replaced by a blackish-gray, powdery substance that made a slight "crunching" sound when stepped on.

Fine, grayish-white wisps floated in the air. After analysis by the tentacle monster, it was concluded that these wisps were also called "withering dust," which was probably why Ru Feng and the others' divine origins were suppressed.

Before long, the three of them finally reached the bottom of the basin by following the slope.

Soon, they arrived in front of an ancient and dilapidated bronze gate.

The gate was about ten zhang tall, and its surface was covered with dark green patina, but one could still vaguely make out the intricate patterns carved on it.

It seems to record some ancient ritual belonging to the era of the decaying royal court.

The door was slightly ajar, just enough for one person to pass through sideways. The gap was pitch black, as if leading to another world.

"The door is open."

Yan Jinghong crouched down and carefully examined the marks in front of the door. "There are some fresh footprints here!"

He reached out and ran his hand along the edge of the door frame, picking up a bit of dark red, not-yet-completely-congealed liquid from his fingertip. He brought it to his nose and sniffed it lightly: "It's blood, mixed with the dust of decay, and it's already begun to rot."

"Is it the same adventure group from before?"

Han Tian said in a deep voice.

“Most likely.” Yan Jinghong stood up, his sharp gaze sweeping across the surroundings. “They encountered a battle here, and some were injured. But judging from the footprints, no one turned back; they all went inside the ruins.”

He rested his chin on his hand and continued, "Being able to deal with the flesh-and-blood gu here, it seems this adventure team is quite strong. At the very least, they should have a peak Truth-level expert in charge."

After all, when these individuals first encountered the Flesh and Blood Gu, they were all shocked by its abilities, which also caused them some trouble.

"I never expected to encounter living people just by randomly picking a ruin. What should I do? If we run into that adventuring group, should we deal with them?"

Han Tian said in a deep voice that although he did not like indiscriminate killing, the whereabouts of these people, especially Ru Feng, absolutely could not be exposed.

"Let's see how things go first; maybe we won't need to intervene."

Yan Jinghong's gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice.

But then Ru Feng strode to the crack in the door, his eyes reflecting yin and yang, his dark pupils gleaming with a faint gray light.

The Emperor's Eye can see through illusion and see the essence of things.

Through the crack in the door, she saw a wide passageway extending downwards.

The walls on both sides of the passage were inlaid with some kind of luminescent mineral, emitting a pale light that barely illuminated the way ahead. The ground was paved with neat black stone slabs, but many places were cracked, and dark red, moss-like creatures grew from the cracks.

Deep inside the passage, two corpses could be vaguely seen lying on the ground. Their bodies were shriveled, their skin clinging tightly to their bones, and they were grayish-white, as if all their life force had been drained away.

They must be members of that adventure team.

"It seems this trip won't be easy."

Ru Feng withdrew his gaze and took the lead, slipping through the crack in the door.

Han Tian and Yan Jinghong followed closely behind.

Upon entering the passage, a chilling, bone-deep coldness instantly swept over you, sending a shiver down your spine.

The air was thick with the smell of mildew and decay, which sent chills down one's spine.

"This smell..."

Han Tian couldn't help but cover his mouth and nose, his brows furrowed. "This is practically a tomb!"

"It is the 'death aura' formed by the long-term erosion of the withering dust. In a sense, this entire space has long been withered."

The tentacle monster explained, "Living creatures in this environment will constantly lose their lives. However, with your strength, you won't be in any serious trouble in the short term."

The three of them carefully proceeded along the passage.

The soft "crunch" sounds underfoot, as if something was being crushed, were particularly clear in the deathly silent passage.

After walking for about a hundred feet, a bend appeared ahead.

Two mummified corpses lay at the corner; they were the same two bodies that Ru Feng had previously detected with the Emperor's Eye. On their blood-stained clothes, one could still see a medal belonging to the adventurer's guild.

"Dragon Flame Adventure Team!"

Han Tian removed a medal from one of the corpses and exclaimed, "It's the SS-rank adventurer group, Dragon Flame! This must be the legendary adventurer group from the Adventurers' Guild! So it was them. No wonder they made it this far!"

Back when they were at the Dragon Abyss Relay Station, they had heard all sorts of rumors about the Dragon Flame Adventurer Group.

It is said that the leader of the Dragon Flame Adventurer Group possesses several powerful pseudo-oracles, which can even pose a great threat to newly promoted divine rank experts who have not yet mastered an oracle.

Such a powerful figure has come here, probably to seek a divine position in order to gain an opportunity for a breakthrough.

After all, without a clergy position, one will never have the opportunity to set foot in the supreme realm of the Clergy Academy.

"It looks like they were drained of all their blood in an instant..."

Yan Jinghong frowned and analyzed.

"Without a doubt, they were drained by the Blood Gold Scarabs."

The tentacle monster's voice rang out again, "Any living thing that gets crawled over by the Blood Gold Scarab will basically end up like this."

"This……"

Han Tian gasped, a chill running down his spine as he recalled how he had almost been crawled on by the Blood Gold Beetle. "There are many grades of Blood Gold Beetles, and the ones I encountered outside weren't this advanced. But judging from their appearance, the Blood Gold Beetles in this passage have at least evolved to a high grade. If they evolve to the Special grade, even you divine-level beings will be in danger."

"What a horrible place!"

Han Tian cursed under his breath, "After this exploration is over, I really want to tear this hellhole to shreds!"

"good idea!"

Ru Feng nodded and continued, "But for now, let's remain vigilant and keep moving forward."

She spoke in a deep voice, the crimson blood moon already in her hand.

After turning the corner and walking for about half an hour, the view ahead finally opened up.

It was a huge underground space, so high that the ceiling was invisible. The walls around it were inlaid with more glowing minerals, which made the whole space appear as a pale white.

In the center of the space was a huge circular plaza. The plaza floor was paved with black and red stone slabs in a complex pattern, which could be vaguely seen as some kind of magic array.

Around the square stood twelve enormous stone pillars.

The stone pillars are dark red, and their surfaces are carved with patterns similar to those on the bronze gate outside—twisted vines, withered flowers, and elongated humanoid creatures.

But here, the pattern is clearer, and you can see that the humanoid creatures are bowing their heads and holding their hands in front of their chests, making a gesture of offering.

Most notably, in the center of the square, at the core of the magic circle, there is a circular platform about three feet above the ground.

In the center of the platform, there was a huge stone coffin. The coffin had no lid, but the inside was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

"This is one of the core areas of the Withered Royal Court, the sacrificial plaza."

The tentacle monster's voice rang out, "According to the records, this is where the Withered Kingdom holds its sacrificial ceremonies. It is said that the Holy Lord who founded the Withered Kingdom is placed inside the stone coffin, and is revered as the 'Holy Remains' by successive monarchs. Only by gaining the Holy Remains' approval can one obtain the Withered Kingdom's divine office and control this kingdom."

"Don't powerful people with divine titles basically have endless lifespans? Unless they die in battle, there's no need to pass on this divine title from generation to generation, so why are there so many monarchs?"

Han Tian frowned and asked.

"It seems that the monarchs of the Withering Court will only reign for a hundred years, after which their divine authority will be taken back into their divine remains. A monarch who loses his divine authority will quickly 'wither' within a year, which is why it is necessary to pass it down from generation to generation."

"So, in the end, this divine office has probably always been controlled by that holy remains. This so-called royal court, from top to bottom, is truly bizarre in every way!"

"You could say that."

The tentacle monster twisted its tip. "After all, I don't know much about the Withering Court."

"Look over there!"

Just then, Ru Feng's gaze fell upon the huge plaza, where he saw more than a dozen figures standing at its edge. There were eleven of them in total, all standing at the edge of the plaza, facing the stone coffin in the center, forming a strange formation.

"Are they from the Dragonfire Adventurer Group?!"

Han Tian's gaze sharpened, only to see that everyone in the Dragon Flame Adventure Team had their heads down, their hands hanging naturally at their sides, motionless, like statues.

"What's wrong with them?" Han Tian asked in a low voice.

"Something's not right."

A cold glint flashed in Yan Jinghong's eyes. "It seems they've all lost their minds."

As if the wind had opened the Emperor's Eye, in the infinite field of vision, one could see that the eleven people were surrounded by wisps of dark red energy. The energy was like a living thing, entering their mouths, noses, ears and even the pores of their skin, and exiting from their eye sockets and mouths, in a continuous cycle.

The source of that dark red energy was none other than the stone coffin at the center of the altar!

"They seem to be controlled by the stone coffin!"

Ru Feng said in a deep voice, "But he's not dead yet, he's just in a state similar to hibernation."

Should we save them?

Han Tian asked.

He wasn't being overly kind; it was just that the place looked really eerie.

If these people are allowed to be controlled by that stone coffin, who knows what will happen next.

However, no sooner had Han Tian finished speaking—

"Buzz!"

The black and red magic circle that filled the entire square suddenly lit up!

Dark red light emanated from beneath each stone slab, weaving in the air to form a vast net of light that covered the entire square.

Within the net of light, countless twisted runes flickered, emanating a chilling aura of decay.

At the same time, the eleven adventurers moved simultaneously.

They slowly raised their heads, revealing distorted faces.

And all of their eyes had turned into pure black, with no whites, no pupils, only a deep and endless darkness.

Their mouths opened, and then they uttered a mumbled, dreamlike whisper, the syllables twisted and bizarre, completely unlike any known language.

“Xh'garan……K'ruul……” (All things…will eventually…wither away…)
“Dr'nagaal…… Ft'agn……” (Dedication……Life……Enjoyment……Eternity……)
“V'ythorra…… Y'golonac……” (The king… will… awaken…)
Whispers echoed in the empty square, layer upon layer, as if countless people were chanting at the same time.

The sound drilled into the ears and penetrated the mind, carrying a strange and seductive power that made one involuntarily want to jump into the square.

"Keep your mind focused!"

Yan Jinghong shouted sharply, and activated the Ice Soul Divine Power at full force. The extreme cold power formed a layer of ice crystal shield around his body, blocking out most of the whispers.

Han Tian also let out a low roar, the power of the Bloodthirsty Dragon surged within his body, and the dragon's might erupted, resisting that bewitching power.

Ru Feng, protected by the Chaos God, was least affected, but even he frowned deeply.

She could sense that those whispers contained a kind of bewitching power at the level of law.

"Oh no, the sacrificial ritual has been activated!"

The tentacle monster said urgently, "Master, we must interrupt this ritual, otherwise once the thing in the stone coffin awakens, it will be a terrifying existence that even Huang Shaotian and the others cannot contend with!"

"This……"

Ru Feng and the others exchanged glances, all revealing expressions of utter shock.

As if to confirm the tentacle monster's words, the eleven adventurers of the Dragonfire Adventurer Group suddenly began to move.

Their movements were stiff, like marionettes, yet they raised their right hands slowly and in unison, then extended their left palms, and without hesitation, used their right hands as knives to slash fiercely at their left wrists.

laugh! ——

In an instant, dark red blood gushed out from the severed wrists, but instead of falling to the ground, it turned into droplets of blood that floated around them.

The adventurers seemed oblivious to the pain, continuing to chant incantations in their dreamlike tones as they walked toward the stone coffin.

With each step, a wisp of dark red energy seeped from the soles of his feet, merging into the magic circle on the ground and making its light shine even brighter. (End of Chapter)