Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Blood Dragon Ring

Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Blood Dragon Ring

After the stone hall came to a halt, Chu Jie observed the cave’s interior through the stone hall’s vantage. With the stone hall at his command, surveying the cave became much easier. Utilizing the stone hall’s capability, Chu Jie spotted about fifty mysterious Wind Serpents inside. Aside from them, nothing else was visible.

These Wind Serpents were unusually docile, seemingly unaware of the stone hall’s sudden appearance outside their lair.

“Send a few men to hunt and bring these Wind Serpents up. They’ll serve as our food going forward,” Chu Jie’s voice echoed through the hall as the stone doors opened.

Although his Barbarian Cauldron still held many Wind Serpents, he couldn’t just rely on them indefinitely. Moreover, since only they controlled the stone hall and traversed the underground tunnels, Chu Jie planned to sweep through every cave and gather all resources.

Wu Long led a few men down, and soon returned, each carrying Wind Serpents over their shoulders, piling them on the ground.

Chu Jie nodded approvingly. Wu Long and his team were fast.

Now, while Wu Long and the others roasted the snakes in the hall, Chu Jie set the stone hall in motion again, searching for more caves.

The underground tunnels felt like a treasure trove laid out for them; a thorough search promised ample rewards.

Looking at the distance to the next cave, he realized they had explored nearly all caves on this level. It was time to check below the second terrace, where several more caves awaited.

The stone hall moved swiftly, and before long, they arrived beneath the second terrace.

Chu Jie, clad in golden armor, stood inside the stone chamber. He had removed his helmet to enjoy the roasted meat.

After eating his fill, he glanced around. Soon, they would reach the first cave.

“Hopefully, there’ll be something worthwhile inside,” he murmured.

Meanwhile, everyone else in the hall was either chatting or meditating, completely at ease.

The stone hall stopped before the first cave. Chu Jie immediately scanned inside.

“Empty,” he sighed.

Shortly after, the stone hall reached the second cave. Chu Jie found over a thousand mysterious crystals scattered within. These crystals appeared to be remnants from a past cultivation boost, though they were now insufficient to continue enhancing one’s power.

He ordered Wu Long to retrieve all the crystals, delaying them briefly.

Chu Jie resumed his search.

In the following caves, he found nothing valuable—no treasures, no fragments of the golden armor. Frustration crept in.

However, in a subsequent cave, Chu Jie discovered a set of iron armor. Apparently, besides golden armor, other grades existed.

This set was far inferior to Chu Jie’s golden armor. After a quick glance, he declined it and handed it to Wu Long.

Wu Long happily donned the iron armor. Though lacking the golden armor’s splendor, his aura instantly shifted, becoming mysteriously formidable.

Removing the helmet, Wu Long remarked, “It has no flight capability. Its defense is much weaker than the golden armor.”

This was apparent from a brief trial. The iron armor ranked as a superior treasure, sufficient to bolster their defenses considerably.

Still, Chu Jie felt unsettled. He wasn’t searching for iron armor; he sought the golden armor—the pivotal piece.

Continuing with the stone hall’s movements, they explored four more caves in succession, finding nothing of value—only some snake eggs and a few more Wind Serpents.

By then, Chu Jie could only pilot the stone hall to the space beneath the first terrace.

According to the map, only two caves remained there. Generally, the higher the level, the fewer the caves.

Chu Jie’s hopes of finding the golden armor for Duan Kun were fading fast.

Duan Kun, resting in the hall, seemed to understand this as well. He knew the golden armor was a mystical artifact, likely rare throughout the entire underground tunnel network.

Soon, the two caves were thoroughly searched. They were completely empty—no iron or golden armor, no creatures. Even the spots where mysterious crystals should have been were barren.

After the last cave was searched, Chu Jie’s resigned voice echoed through the hall: “The final cave has been cleared. Prepare yourselves—we may be returning to the surface.”

Suddenly, Duan Kun spoke up: “Chu Jie, I see a path ahead. Why not press forward a bit more?”

Chu Jie paused, then nodded. It was wise not to give up any chance. Perhaps continuing forward would reveal something.

When the stone hall stopped again, Chu Jie saw a stone hall blocking the path ahead. It was damaged and dilapidated, likely the aftermath of a fierce battle.

Chu Jie announced, “The hope for the second set of golden armor has arrived.”

His spirit surged, and the others eagerly prepared themselves.

Chu Jie stepped out of the stone chamber. About thirty feet ahead, the scarred stone hall loomed in the dark tunnel.

The Universe Treasure Wheel transformed into a flowing light waterfall, illuminating the surrounding space.

The stone hall’s material was incredibly sturdy. For it to be so damaged was astonishing. Chu Jie and the others fell silent; this hall might differ from the last and could harbor dangers.

However, with Chu Jie clad in golden armor, he could withstand most attacks. Unless a master of the Star Core Realm appeared, there would be little trouble.

“Let’s go in and have a look!” Chu Jie led the way toward the broken entrance, the Universe Treasure Wheel flying ahead into the hall.

Inside was pitch black, but the Treasure Wheel’s light revealed parts of the interior.

The hall’s floor was strewn with rubble, and a massive stone pillar stood at its center.

Chu Jie looked up. At the hall’s heart was a large hole leading to an outer tunnel.

Suddenly, a sharp whistling broke the silence. Everyone tensed, only to see a Wind Serpent darting through.

“Turns out there are so many Wind Serpents here, though we rarely see them outside,” Wu Long said, grabbing the serpent swiftly.

“This tunnel has long been their domain; no wonder they’re abundant,” Chu Jie explained.

Their tension eased with the unexpected presence of the serpent.

The group began searching the hall, quickly finding numerous iron armor pieces scattered about, mostly fragmented. It was clear someone had shattered them.

One could imagine a fierce battle where many iron-armored warriors besieged a single figure so formidable that he smashed a hole in the hall’s dome. After the brutal fight, the attackers were slain, their armor cast about the floor.

Chu Jie picked up a fragment—the elbow piece of iron armor—and bent it hard. It did not yield, confirming its strong defense.

“Gather all the iron armor pieces,” Chu Jie ordered.

Wu Long immediately led men to collect the armor.

“Finding iron armor means the golden armor can’t be far,” Chu Jie said, moving toward the stone throne at the hall’s end.

He examined the throne carefully.

Fortunately, the stone throne remained intact and usable. Chu Jie placed a mysterious crystal into a groove at the throne’s back.

The throne emitted a faint glow. After years of dormancy, its formation finally reactivated.

Chu Jie sat upon it, his figure vanishing amid dazzling blue light.

Moments later, he appeared in a stone chamber. But immediately, he noticed something beside him—a corpse.

He rose and scrutinized the surroundings. The chamber’s layout resembled the previous stone halls.

He glanced again at the corpse but did not approach it immediately. Soon, he discovered another body which caught his attention—this one clad in golden armor.

Duan Kun’s golden armor had been found!

Though intact, it was unclear how this golden-armored warrior had died here.

Most of the chamber was ruined; even the crystal grooves were destroyed.

Seeing no further value in searching the area, Chu Jie focused on the corpse at the throne.

The body wore a black robe of exceptional quality, resembling the skin of a great demon, though severely damaged and devoid of spiritual energy.

On the corpse, Chu Jie found a ring carved with a miniature blood dragon.

He slipped it onto his finger and immediately sensed a subtle reaction with his spiritual awareness. His perception seemed expanded, consuming some spiritual power, but nothing else was immediately apparent.

An expanded spiritual range would be advantageous in battle, so Chu Jie decided to keep the ring on.

He studied the corpse on the throne, guessing this person was a peer of the peerless terror-level warriors, yet had perished here.

The killer likely was the golden-armored warrior lying dead on the ground.

Chu Jie removed the golden armor from the corpse and placed it into the Barbarian Cauldron.

As he stripped the armor, the body beneath was revealed—bones shattered inch by inch, clearly killed by devastating internal and skeletal trauma.

The only frustration was that aside from the golden armor and the Blood Dragon Ring, nothing else was found.

He searched once more but found nothing.

Chu Jie pushed the corpse aside and sat on the throne again.

Unbeknownst to him, the black-robed corpse’s eyes flashed with a glimmer of spiritual light before turning to dust.

That flicker of light followed Chu Jie as he teleported from the stone throne back to the hall.

In the hall’s center, several iron armor corpses lay piled, with men dismantling the armor.

The flicker of light swiftly flew to one of the iron-armored corpses, clinging to the armor itself.