Transmigration and Self-Saving Cultivation

Just as Jun Luochuan and his companions had defeated a group of phantom soldiers and obtained the sword radiating a mysterious light in the ruins' main hall, they encountered a black monster as large as a mountain. This monster was covered in black scales, its eyes flashing with an eerie red light, and black flames spewed from its mouth with a destructive force, surging towards them.

"Everyone be careful!" Jun Luochuan shouted, swiftly wielding his newly acquired sword. A powerful sword aura roared out, colliding head-on with the black flames. With a deafening boom, light burst forth from the point of impact, and the immense force churned the surrounding air into chaos. The phantom soldiers vanished instantly under the force of the impact.

Night Shadow reacted with lightning speed, rushing towards the monster the same moment Jun Luochuan made his move. He brandished his longsword, unleashing the Starry Sky-Splitting Sword Technique, unleashing a crisscrossing barrage of sword energy that shot towards the monster like meteors. Su Yao was equally formidable, rapidly forming hand seals, fusing her light and fire elemental powers. Clusters of flames imbued with purifying energy flew towards the monster, burning in mid-air and forming dazzling arcs of light. Ling Shuang, her expression cold and aloof, closed her eyes, her body radiating a rich blue light as she used illusionary magic to try and disrupt the monster's movements.

Facing the onslaught, the monster let out a deafening roar, its sound like rolling thunder echoing throughout the hall. It swung its massive claws, easily scattering Night Shadow's sword energy. Its black scales trembled slightly under Su Yao's purifying flames, seemingly unaffected. Ling Shuang's illusionary magic only slowed the monster's movements for a fleeting moment.

"This monster is too powerful, we need to think of a better way!" Su Yao shouted, her forehead already covered with fine beads of sweat.

While fending off the monster's attacks, Jun Luochuan quickly devised a strategy. He observed that although the monster moved swiftly, it was slightly slow when turning around, and the scales below its neck seemed relatively thin. "Night Shadow, attack its legs to disrupt its movement! Su Yao, concentrate your fire on the scales below its neck! Ling Shuang, use illusion magic to confuse its vision and create an opportunity to attack!" Jun Luochuan shouted his commands.

Everyone immediately acted according to Jun Luochuan's plan. Night Shadow nimbly darted around the monster, his longsword repeatedly stabbing at its leg joints, each strike carrying immense power, attempting to restrict the monster's movement. Su Yao increased her spiritual energy output, condensing purifying flames into a massive pillar of fire, shooting towards the monster's neck. Ling Shuang unleashed her full power of illusion magic, creating countless afterimages before the monster's eyes, making it difficult for it to discern the direction of their attacks.

Under the combined attack of everyone, the monster finally suffered some damage. The scales on its legs were slashed open by Nightshade's longsword, and the scales below its neck began to fall off under Su Yao's purifying flames, revealing dark red flesh underneath. The monster roared in pain and rage, frantically shaking its body, trying to shake everyone off.

Seizing the opportunity, Jun Luochuan, sword in hand, flashed towards the monster like a streak of light. He concentrated all his spiritual power into the sword, causing it to shine brightly, and a dazzling sword aura slashed towards the wound on the monster's neck. This strike contained all of Jun Luochuan's power; the sword aura cut into the monster's neck like a sharp blade, and the monster let out a shrill scream, its body trembling violently.

As the monster struggled, the hall began to shake violently, as if it would collapse at any moment. "Oh no, this monster's struggle could destroy the entire ruins! We must deal with it as soon as possible!" Jun Luochuan shouted.

Night Shadow, Su Yao, and Ling Shuang all intensified their attacks. Night Shadow unleashed her strongest sword technique, a sword aura imbued with the power of stars shooting towards the monster's eyes. Su Yao fused her light spiritual power with lightning elements, a thick bolt of lightning shooting from her hand, striking the monster's body. Ling Shuang then used illusionary magic, plunging the monster into even deeper chaos.

Under the combined assault of the group, the monster finally succumbed and collapsed to the ground. Its body transformed into a wisp of black smoke, gradually dissipating into the air.

"Phew, finally solved." Nightshade wiped the sweat from his forehead, a relieved smile on his face.

"Is everyone alright?" Jun Luochuan asked with concern.

Everyone confirmed that they were unharmed. At this moment, the shaking of the hall gradually stopped, and the surroundings returned to calm.

Jun Luochuan looked at the sword in his hand, feeling the immense power it contained. "This sword is indeed extraordinary. It seems we are one step closer to stopping the mysterious force."

Su Yao looked at the sword excitedly and said, "So, shall we continue searching for the treasure following this clue?"

Jun Luochuan nodded slightly, his gaze firm. "That's right. Judging from the clues in the ruins, this sword may just be a trigger. The real treasure that can help us stop the mysterious forces should be deeper inside."

Ling Shuang observed the surrounding environment and said, "The ruins here have a complex structure. We need to carefully search for clues to determine the whereabouts of the treasure."

Nightshade gripped his longsword tightly, his eyes filled with anticipation. "No matter how many difficulties we face, we'll face them together. We must find the treasure."

The four began a careful search of the ruins' hall. In a corner of the hall, they discovered an ancient mural depicting a mysterious valley with a radiant palace surrounded by strange symbols and markings.

“Look, could the valley and palace in this mural be the location of the treasure?” Su Yao said, pointing to the mural.

Jun Luochuan carefully examined the murals and discovered that some of the symbols on them were similar to the runes he had seen on the stone coffin. "It's very possible that these symbols are the key to guiding us to the valley."

Ling Shuang took out a blank sheet of paper and copied the symbols from the mural. "We can use these symbols to locate the valley."

After some research, they discovered that these symbols seemed to be related to the arrangement of stars in the mysterious place. Nightshade was quite familiar with the power of stars, and based on the arrangement of the symbols and the positions of the stars in the sky, he deduced that the valley might be located in the northwest of the mysterious place.

“If we head northwest, we should be able to find that valley,” Nightshade said.

The four set off in the direction indicated by the shadowy figure in the night. Along the way, the environment of the mysterious place became increasingly eerie. Strange streaks of light occasionally streaked across the sky, and all sorts of bizarre plants grew on the ground; some emitted a pungent odor, while others shimmered with a dangerous light.

Suddenly, a wide river appeared ahead, its water an eerie black, emitting a low, roaring sound as it flowed, as if countless wronged souls were wailing within it. There was no bridge across the river, and no boats around.

"This river looks terrifying, how are we going to cross it?" Su Yao looked at the river, her brows furrowed.

Jun Luochuan observed the river and noticed some faintly visible stones on the riverbed, which could potentially serve as footholds. "Everyone, be careful. There are stones on the riverbed; we can cross the river by stepping on them. But be aware that the river water may be corrosive."

Night Shadow stepped onto a rock in the river first, carefully securing himself before gesturing for the others to follow. Jun Luochuan pulled Su Yao along, with Ling Shuang following behind, and the four of them crossed the river one by one, stepping on the rocks. However, when they reached the middle of the river, several enormous black pythons suddenly leaped out of the water. The pythons were massive, their scales gleaming coldly, and they opened their blood-red mouths, lunging at them.

"Watch out, it's a Black-Scaled Poisonous Python!" Jun Luochuan shouted, quickly drawing his sword. A flash of light appeared on the sword, and a sword aura slashed towards one of the giant pythons. Ye Ying also wielded her longsword, engaging the python in battle. Su Yao used a spell that fused light spiritual power with water elemental power, attempting to repel the python. Ling Shuang, on the other hand, used illusion magic to create phantoms, confusing the python's movements.

The black-scaled venomous pythons were extremely ferocious, their bodies agile, and their venom highly corrosive. Although Jun Luochuan's sword energy could harm the pythons, their attacks were too much for them to handle. Taking advantage of Jun Luochuan's attack on another python, one of the pythons suddenly pounced on Su Yao.

"Su Yao!" Jun Luochuan shouted, immediately turning around and using his sword to block the giant python's attack. However, the python's venom splashed onto Jun Luochuan's arm, and his skin instantly began to fester.

"Jun Luochuan, are you alright?" Su Yao called out anxiously.

Ling Shuang quickly took out a bottle of pills from her storage ring and tossed it to Jun Luochuan. "Quickly take this antidote pill!"

Jun Luochuan took the pill and quickly swallowed it. The pill melted instantly in his mouth, and a cool power flowed through his body, gradually stopping the festering on his arm.

"Everyone be careful, don't get splashed by the venom!" Jun Luochuan shouted.

The four continued their battle against the Black-Scaled Serpent. Nightshade seized the opportunity and unleashed the strongest strike of the Starry Sky-Splitting Sword Technique, a sword aura imbued with the power of stars slashing towards the head of a giant serpent. The sword aura pierced directly through the serpent's skull, and the serpent collapsed, sinking to the bottom of the river.

Jun Luochuan, Su Yao, and Ling Shuang intensified their attacks, and under their combined assault, the remaining black-scaled venomous pythons were repelled.

The four finally crossed the river and continued northwest. After some trekking, they arrived at a mountain range. The range stretched endlessly, with peaks soaring into the clouds. Amidst the swirling mist, an ancient palace could be faintly seen standing atop one of the peaks.

"Look, that's the palace in the mural!" Su Yao said excitedly, pointing to the palace at the top of the mountain.

"We've finally found it. Let's go up," Jun Luochuan said.

However, as they approached the mountains, they discovered that the foothills were riddled with traps and mechanisms. There were spike traps hidden in the grass, sharp blades that suddenly sprang from the ground, and runic arrays that released powerful spiritual energy shocks.

"Everyone be careful, these traps and mechanisms are very dangerous," Jun Luochuan said.

The four proceeded cautiously. Jun Luochuan, with his keen observation skills, guided them to avoid trap after trap. Ye Ying led the way, swiftly neutralizing any approaching danger. Su Yao and Ling Shuang followed behind, vigilantly observing their surroundings to prevent any hidden attacks.

While avoiding a runic array, Su Yao accidentally triggered a hidden mechanism. A powerful shockwave of spiritual energy rushed towards them at incredible speed.

"Not good!" Jun Luochuan quickly cast a defensive spell, forming a spiritual energy shield in front of everyone. The spiritual energy shockwave struck the shield, causing it to tremble violently and develop cracks.

Ye Ying and Ling Shuang immediately stepped forward to strengthen the shield together with Jun Luochuan. Su Yao then cast healing spells to repair the cracks in the shield.

"This mechanism is incredibly powerful; we need to find a way to shut it down as soon as possible," Jun Luochuan said.

Ling Shuang observed her surroundings and discovered that the control runes for the mechanism were hidden behind a boulder. "There, I'll go deactivate the mechanism!"

Ling Shuang flashed towards the boulder. She skillfully avoided the surrounding traps and arrived behind the boulder. There, she saw several runes carved on the boulder. Following the order of the symbols she had previously copied, Ling Shuang infused her spiritual power into the runes.

The runes flashed, and the spiritual energy shockwave from the mechanism gradually disappeared.

"We did it!" Ling Shuang shouted.

The four continued their ascent towards the palace at the mountain's summit. After a difficult climb, they finally arrived at the palace. The palace gates were tightly shut, their intricate carvings seemingly telling ancient stories.

"We've finally arrived. I wonder if the treasure is inside," Nightshade said.

Jun Luochuan stepped forward and carefully examined the patterns and runes on the gate. He discovered that these runes were closely related to the runes he had seen in the ruins before, and seemed to be the key to opening the gate.

“These runes require specific spiritual energy fluctuations to decipher. Let’s give it a try,” Jun Luochuan said.

Following their previous research on runes, the four of them circulated their spiritual power in turn, infusing it into the runes on the gate. The runes flashed, the gate slowly opened, and a mysterious aura wafted out.

They entered the palace, its interior spacious and mysterious. The walls were inlaid with various gems, emitting a soft glow. In the center of the hall stood a massive stone platform, upon which rested a box radiating multicolored light.

“That box might contain the treasure we’re looking for,” Su Yao said.

Just as they were walking towards the stone platform, a group of guardian spirits suddenly appeared around the palace. These guardian spirits were ethereal, radiating powerful spiritual energy, and wielding various weapons as they charged towards them.

"It seems that if we want to get the treasure, we have to get past these guardian spirits first," Jun Luochuan said, gripping his sword tightly with a determined look in his eyes.

Another fierce battle ensued. They knew the treasure was within reach, but the challenges ahead remained formidable. They had to rely on their teamwork and immense strength to defeat the guardian spirits, unveil the treasure's mystery, and thwart the mysterious forces' plot.

End of this chapter