The Great Ruler (Web Novel)
chapter-717

Splash!

The crisp sound of something falling into the water reverberated within the vast mountains. It was Mandela, who had leapt into the dark pool of water. Upon her entering the pool, the bubbling water became more turbulent, with gurgling sounds ringing throughout the space.

Mu Chen glanced over with a solemn gaze, as black thorns began to sprout from Mandela's fair and petite body. He could see that the black thorns were embedded within her flesh deeply. The thorns squirmed around, resembling venomous snakes, absorbing her energy ravenously.

Mandela sat cross-legged in the pool, her eyebrows knit together in agonizing pain. The sight before Mu Chen shocked him greatly. It was clear that the young girl had an extraordinary pain tolerance.

The pain he felt just watching her now was excruciating, so he had to wonder exactly how great was the extent of the pain she was actually going through at the moment?!

As he watched in horror, the black thorns emerged out of her flesh continuously, one by one. Within a few moments, they had surrounded most of her body.

"Is this a curse?" Mu Chen kept staring in horror. Mandela's capabilities were already terrifying, so he could not imagine how scarily powerful a person would have to be in order to cast a curse on her!

As the black thorns continued to grow, Mandela's fair skin started to turn black gradually, until only her golden doe eyes retained their original color. However, Mu Chen could feel her body trembling violently, so he knew that she must be suppressing something with all of her might…

Whoosh!

The black pool of water continued to bubble. Suddenly, Mandela's long hair billowed out, as black beams of light burst forth behind her thin back. Then, a massive black thorn tore out of her body like a venomous python!

Hiss!

The grotesque black thorn writhed around in a frenzy. As it struggled, Mandela would hum in pain, crimson blood dripping down as she gritted her teeth. It was a horrifying sight to behold.

Buzz!

However, just as the black thorn sprouted, ancient light symbols that were carved on the walls of the cave shone brightly, accompanied by beams of spiritual energy light. These sources of supernatural light then surged, converging together to shine on the hideous thorn on Mandela's back.

Whoosh whoosh.

As the beams of light shone, white mist surged out of the thorn and a piercing scream rang out, as if the black thorn had a life of its own. However, the beams of light failed to suppress the black thorn entirely, as the black mutants could still be seen struggling wildly, continuing to emerge from Mandela's body sluggishly. With every newly sprouted thorn, the blood at the corner of Mandela's mouth dripped out a bit more, as if this black thorns were sapping her life away.

Bubble.

The black pool bubbled and boiled wildly, as beams of black light surged out, tussling with the black thorns. In the end, however, they could only alleviate the situation slightly.

As the black thorns continued to grow out of Mandela's body, they tore at her flesh. The gory scene caused even Mu Chen to look on in complete terror. Despite withstanding such excruciating pain, Mandela did not scream out, but gritted her teeth and bore it bravely.

"Mu Chen!"

However, there was a limit to Mandela's tolerance, as she finally lifted her head, cold sweat dripping down her face, and cried out to Mu Chen. She gnashed her teeth, and her normally sweet voice became hoarse, causing anyone to sympathize with her.

Mu Chen nodded to her immediately, his hands conjuring seals. The spiritual energy in his Sovereign Sea surged. Then, a page of mysterious black light burst out, hovering before him.

The Immortal Page hovered in mid-air silently, ancient and mysterious symbols covering its entirety. A faint purple light emanated from it, causing people to feel an inexplicable air of serenity.

Mu Chen gazed at the Immortal Page, then at Mandela, before gritting his teeth. With a flick of his fingers, the Immortal Page rushed towards the girl. Since he had chosen to trust her, there was no time to hesitate.

The Immortal Page hovered above the pool of water. Then, with a weak wave of Mandela's hand, a beam of light shot out and enveloped the Immortal Page, causing it to glow with a dark purple light. 

Light burst out, as a massive mandala flower appeared in mid-air, its petals blooming slowly. Then, even more dark purple light descended, enshrouding the flower within it.

Whoosh whoosh!

Under the influence of the dark purple light, the black thorns squirmed in a state of unrest. Wherever they came into contact with the purple light, the black thorns seemed to show signs of melting, as black liquid dripped down from them.

Hiss!

A shrill cry emanated from the black thorns, as the speed in which they were growing finally halted. Then, with the light from the flower, the black demons were slowly suppressed back into Mandela's body.

Boom!

The black thorns were clearly reluctant to being suppressed, so with an explosive burst of black light, the thorns tore through space, sweeping toward the mandala flower as swift as lightning. Facing the attack, the mandala flower continued to emit purple light, which acted as a defensive barrier.

No matter how fiercely the black thorns' attacks were, they could not penetrate through the flower's defenses. Furthermore, the purple light continued to melt with every attack.

Upon seeing this scene, Mu Chen heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily, this method of rescue had been effective.

With the assistance of the mandala flower, the pressure that Mandela was facing was reduced. Only then was she able to slowly relax, her eyebrows no longer knit in a frown.

She reached out her hand to wipe the blood off of the corner of her mouth. Although it was only a small gesture, it was a struggle for her to do so, due to her weakened state.

Meanwhile, still in mid-air, the flower was clearly gaining an edge over the black thorns, as the latter's hideous aura was weakening, causing it to slowly succumb to being returned into Mandela's body. Mandela could sense the sluggish state of the black thorns, so she now could fully relaxed and let her guard down.

She could no longer withstand the agonizing pain in her body. She fell to her knees in the pool, heaving deep breaths, cold sweat dripping down her delicate features.

However, just as she relaxed, one of the black thorns, which had been suppressed to only half a foot, suddenly burst out. At the same time, a thorn that was embedded with spikes charged violently towards her throat!

The reflection of the black spikes expanded in Mandela's golden eyes. She knew that her strength had not yet had time to recover, rendering her defenceless to avoid them. Instantly, her face paled in fear.

Whoosh!

Just as Mandela gritted her teeth in preparation to bear the sudden blow, a sharp gust of wind stopped the spikes mere inches before her throat. Although a small wound was still inflicted, she was remarkably unscathed.

Mandela lifted her head in shock. As her eyes focused, she saw a palm on the spikes. As her gaze followed the palm, she found Mu Chen standing in front of her. He had grabbed the spikes just in the nick of time.

However, just as he had grabbed the spikes, the incredibly sharp spikes pierced through his palm, causing blood to trickle down profusely, as an excruciating pain bloomed in his palm.

He could only bear the immense pain for a few moments, before he crumpled down. As he knelt on the ground, his eyes turned bloodshot. Gnashing his teeth, Mu Chen refused to loosen his grip, still attempting to pull the black spikes back.

Mandela gritted her teeth, and with a wave of her hand, a dazzling purple light emanated from the flower in the sky. Then, with a whoosh, the black thorns could no longer withstand the fight. They struggled out of Mu Chen's palm, only to be suppressed into her body once again.

Splash.

Mu Chen could no longer bear the pain, as his body fell into the pool. In a state of embarrassment, he trembled before pulling himself out and to his feet, intense fear still apparent on his face.

"Do you want to die?" Seeing that he was alright, Mandela heaved a sigh of relief, before questioning him coldly.

"I'm helping you." Exasperation was written all over Mu Chen's face. He had helped her so much, yet she still reprimanded him...

"You acted without knowing anything! If you didn't possess the Immortal Page, you would now also be infected by the curse!" Mandela reprimanded him coldly.

Mu Chen's expression twisted, as he hurriedly looked down at his palm. Sure enough, a hideous black mark remained there. Fortunately, purple light emitted from his body right at that very moment, erasing the black mark away entirely. Clearly, this was a healing power that could only be from the Immortal Page.

Mu Chen broke out in a cold sweat, realizing what a close call it had been. He had witnessed how horrifying the curse was. With his limited ability, he knew that, if he had been infected with the curse without possessing the Immortal Page, he would have suffered a fate worse than death!

"Are you feeling alright now?" Mu Chen glanced at Mandela.

"For now." Mandela tried to move, but upon realizing that her strength was completely depleted, she knit her eyebrows in a frown.

Mu Chen stretched out his hand to retrieve the Immortal Page. He then glanced at Mandela and pursed his lips. He then took out a loose black robe to cover her petite body, before carrying her out of the freezing pool.

While all of this was happening, Mandela only glanced calmly at Mu Chen with her golden doe eye. She did not resist, but only leaned into his embrace silently, resting in order to regain her strength.

Still carrying her, Mu Chen leapt out of the pool and placed her on a huge boulder. The young girl sat quietly atop the boulder, her wet long black hair sticking to her body, revealing her every curve despite the loose black robe.

Silently recuperating, she glanced at Mu Chen, who appeared to be quite bored, just sitting off to the side. She then stated nonchalantly, "Thank you for your help. As a token of my appreciation, I will tell you what I know about the mysterious art of the Great Solar Undying Body."

Upon hearing this, Mu Chen perked up in excitement.