The Great Ruler

Chapter 52 - Spirit Bug Flute

Mu Chen's gaze remained fixed on the crown of the black tree. At that location, he could vaguely see a grey figure. However, he felt something was off as the grey figure did not show any signs of life.

"What exactly is that?" Mu Chen frowned.

"Uncle Duan, I'll have to trouble you with something." Mu Chen's eyes flashed and he gently whispered.

"What orders do you have Little Lord?" Duan Wei immediately replied.

Mu Chen approached over and said something besides Duan Wei's ears. When the latter heard this, his face instantly changed and turned pale.

"Little Lord, it's too dangerous." Duan Wei earnestly attempted to persuade him. He did not know why Mu Chen wanted to do such a dangerous act. This was the nest of the Devouring Spirit Bees. If they were surrounded, there was no way out.

"Uncle Duan, I know what I'm doing. Trust me." Mu Chen whispered. The boy had an exceptionally serious expression. Not even the slightest recklessness could be seen within his black eyes as they twinkled coldly.

Seeing Mu Chen insisting on this, Duan Wei could only let out a wry smile. He gestured towards the few men beside him and swiftly departed.

Mu Chen also lowered his body when he noticed them heading away. He hid his body within the bushes and had his eyes fixed on the giant black tree.

After approximately ten minutes since Duan Wei and the others departed, a commotion rang out from a distance. A dozen or so Spiritual Beasts were driven out of the forest and headed over this way.

Buzz.

The silence here was destroyed by the dozen or so Spiritual Beasts. Numerous bloody red lights lit up and the air began to tremble. Buzzing sounds instantly rang out as the countless Devouring Spirit Bees surged out. They formed into a black cloud and rushed towards the Spiritual Beasts.

Roar!

Only now did the fleeing Spiritual Beasts discover the crisis in front of them. They instantly roared out crazily and turned around. However, as they bolted away, the black cloud swiftly chased after them.

As the Devouring Spirit Bees left, the giant black tree became completely bare. Although there were still some Devouring Spirit Bees remaining, they were not a concern without their number advantage.

Mu Chen's body instantly charged out at this moment. He directly headed towards the giant black tree and went straight towards the treetop like a nimble monkey.

Along the way, a couple Devouring Spirit Bees tried to interfere with him. However, they were easily taken care of by him.

Mu Chen's speed was extremely fast. Within ten breathes, he had leapt onto the treetop. The treetop was rather spacious, but was quite hidden. The branches which stretched out covered its secrets.

Because of the time constraints, Mu Chen did not dare to act slowly. His eyes instantly looked towards the inside of the tree. He could see a figure actually sitting amongst the weeds.

However, this figure did not have the slightest hint of life because it was a skeleton. Moreover, a tattered grey outfit was on the surface of its body.

Mu Chen stared in surprise at the skeleton on the treetop. He carefully approached it and waited to see if there was any change before feeling relieved.

As he approached the skeleton, he discovered that half of the bones were charred. Signs of withering seemed to be on the charred bones.

It seemed that this skeleton had suffered a heavy injury while he was still alive.

Mu Chen's eyes glanced through the surroundings and stopped at the bone palm in front. Vague writing seemed to be on it. He waved his sleeves and swept the leaves apart as his vision fixed onto that location.

"My name is Tian Chong, I am from the Bug Spirit Clan. As I was travelling, I found traces of a Nine Netherbird. Greed surged through me and I attempted to get it. After many pains, I finally obtained my wish. However, only then did I discover…"

The writing afterwards became blurry. However, Mu Chen could see words of hatred in the end. This made him stunned and his heart shivered. So this person also discovered the traces of the Nine Netherbird and he nearly succeeded in obtaining it. But at the last moment, some sort of misfortune occurred.

"Bug Spirit Clan…"

Mu Chen muttered to himself. He had heard faintly that there was a rather strange clan in the Great Thousand Worlds, who manipulated millions of bugs within the world. Others named them as Spirit Bug Users. They had extremely secretive means and would be troublesome if they were provoked. Mu Chen did not imagine that one of them would die here.

Mu Chen pondered for a moment. Then, his eyes turned their attention to the other bone palm of the skeleton. He noticed a black flute which was a couple inches long within the bone palm. Various insect patterns were engraved on the flute and a subtle flute sound rang out from the flute whenever a breeze appeared.

"This item…Could it be a Spirit Bug Flute?

Mu Chen seemed to be lost in thought. It was said that the Spirit Bug Users would all have a Spirit Bug Flute that they used to control the Spirit Bugs that they raised. Could the black flute in front of him be that item?

"So when I heard the subtle flute sound, it was because of the breeze entering this Spirit Bug Flute…It seems that the Devouring Spirit Bees formed their nest here because of the flute sound as well."

Mu Chen suddenly realized this and immediately let out a cry of praise. These Spirit Bug Users sure have a rather peculiar method.

"Senior, since you have already died, this young one will inherit your relic." Mu Chen bowed down towards the skeleton. He carefully took the black flute away from it. If he was not mistaken, the Spirit Bug Flute should be able to summon the Devouring Spirit Bees. However, he cannot use it recklessly. After all, he was not a Spirit Bug User. If he really summoned the Devouring Spirit Bees over and he failed to control them, he was simply asking for trouble.

Although that's the case, Mu Chen was not willing to return back empty-handed. This item would eventually be eroded through years of weathering. Instead of letting this item get ruined, it might have a bit of use within his hands.

Just after Mu Chen collected the Spirit Bug Flute and was about to leave, he suddenly glanced at the grey outfit of the skeleton. He hesitated for a moment before praying to the bones. Afterwards, he touched the tattered grey clothes.

Because of the years of erosion, the grey outfit was reduced to ashes when Mu Chen touched it. Two transparent bottles appeared under the bones. It was obvious that the bottles were not made from any ordinary material. Even after all these years, they were still well preserved.

Mu Chen picked up the two bottles. Within the bottles, there was a black liquid. However, Mu Chen did not know the effects of the black liquid and pondered for a moment. He carefully opened the bottle cover and a strange aroma drifted out.

Buzzzzzz!

The moment the strange aroma was released, Mu Chen felt the giant black tree tremble for a moment. Then, he noticed that many Devouring Spirit Bees drilled out from the tree trunk and headed towards the treetop with scarlet eyes.

Seeing this, Mu Chen was shocked. He immediately shut the cover of the bottle and quickly placed it within his Mustard Seed Bracelet. The aroma seemed to have an effect of attracting Devouring Spirit Bees.

"I can't remain here any longer."

Mu Chen did not dare to stay here any longer when he noticed the commotion. The Spiritual Beasts that Duan Wei and the others had driven out would not pin down the Devouring Spirit Bees for long. If he did not leave now, there was no escape route for him when he was surrounded by the Devouring Spirt Bees.

"Thank you, senior."

Mu Chen cupped his hands towards the skeleton. He did not remain at this place any longer and jumped off the giant black tree. Then, he quickly rushed to the forest.

After passing through the forest, he stopped suddenly and waited for Duan Wei and the others to come. Suddenly, a fierce wind erupted above his head and he was startled. His toes touched the ground and he dashed backwards.

"Who?!"

A hint of coldness flashed through Mu Chen's eyes. He lifted his head and saw a familiar figure standing on the tree trunk in front of him. That figure was staring at him with indifferent eyes.

It was actually Liu Mubai!

Liu Mubai stared coldly at Mu Chen and stretched out his hand as he faintly said: "It seems that you're really lucky. You can find decent items wherever you go. So what did you get this time above the treetop? Hand it over."