Chapter 293: Rune exploration

Ji Chen and Ceng Yue looked at the strange runes in the sky, their eyes full of confusion.

These runes twisted like tadpoles, flashing with eerie light, exuding an unsettling aura.

"Let's go, let's go take a look." Ji Chen narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a trace of excitement.

He was an adventurous person by nature; the more unknown something was, the more it could arouse his desire for exploration.

The two flew up and flew toward the area where the runes were most dense.

As the distance closed, the runes became clearer; they flowed slowly in the air like living things, forming mysterious patterns.

Ji Chen reached out his hand, wanting to touch one of the runes; just as his fingertips were about to touch the rune, a powerful force suddenly bounced them away.

"Bang!" Ceng Yue fell heavily to the ground, her arm scratched by the gravel on the ground, and blood seeped out instantly.

"Hiss..." She gasped, her brows locked.

Ji Chen stepped forward quickly and helped Ceng Yue up, "Are you okay?"

Ceng Yue shook her head, her face a bit pale, "I'm fine, just a little skin scratch."

Ji Chen checked her wound and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming it was only a minor injury.

He looked up at the runes in the sky; this power was definitely not to be underestimated.

"It seems we have to be careful." Ji Chen said in a deep voice, his eyes flashing with a firm light.

He tried to approach the runes again; this time, he mobilized the supernatural ability in his body to the limit, forming a protective shield to resist the impact of that mysterious power.

However, when he approached the rune area, that power appeared again, even more powerful than before; the protective shield shattered instantly, and Ji Chen felt a powerful pressure coming toward him, as if it were about to crush him.

He gritted his teeth, endured the severe pain in his body, and tried hard to maintain his balance.

"Chen!" Ceng Yue exclaimed, wanting to step forward to help, but was stopped by Ji Chen.

"Don't come over!" Ji Chen roared, "This power is very strange, if you come over, you will only..." His voice stopped abruptly, because he felt that an even more powerful force was approaching rapidly...

Dazzling light erupted from Ji Chen's body, like a small sun, twisting the surrounding air.

The supernatural energy wandering in the air seemed to be attracted by something, surging crazily toward him, being swallowed and absorbed by him like a whale.

He felt as if a warm current was surging in his body; the sense of weakness from being impacted by that mysterious power just now was swept away instantly, replaced by an unprecedented sense of power, even giving him the illusion that "I feel I can do it again."

A confident smile curled at the corner of his mouth, and he took a step again, walking toward the rune area.

This time, his pace was steadier, and his momentum was sharper, like a sword out of its sheath, showing his edge, unstoppable.

However, before he could get close to the runes, the ground suddenly began to shake, and a "clack-clack-clack" sound of mechanical operation came from far to near, entering their ears.

Immediately after, hideous-looking mechanical puppets crawled out of the ground cracks; their eyes flashed with red light, their mechanical arms shone with cold metallic luster, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression, surging like a tide, instantly surrounding Ji Chen and Ceng Yue.

"Damn, what is this again?" Ji Chen looked at these "steel straight men" before him, his mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but curse.

These mechanical puppets' attack methods were simple and crude, yet swift and fierce; they waved their huge mechanical arms, and every attack carried powerful force and the sound of breaking air, as if they were about to tear the air apart.

Although Ji Chen and Ceng Yue both had impressive strength, they appeared somewhat stretched in the face of these numerous and thick-skinned mechanical puppets.

Ji Chen's figure was like electricity, continuously dodging the mechanical puppets' attacks, and the fists in his hands also smashed into their bodies mercilessly, but these guys seemed to be immortal; even when they were beaten until sparks flew, they still rushed up fearlessly, simply a group of "cockroaches that couldn't be killed."

The more Ji Chen fought, the more shocked he became; he could feel that every attack consumed a large amount of his supernatural ability, and if this continued, he and Ceng Yue would definitely be exhausted to death here.

Sweat beads began to seep from his forehead, and the sense of anxiety in his heart became increasingly intense.

He tried to mobilize the supernatural ability in his body, wanting to use a more powerful move, but these mechanical puppets didn't give him a chance to catch his breath at all; their offensive came wave after wave, making him exhausted and feeling great pressure.

The air was filled with the harsh sound of metal collisions, the sound of air being torn apart, and Ceng Yue's occasional low muffled groans, making the whole atmosphere tense to the extreme.

Ji Chen smashed a mechanical puppet back with a punch again; he turned around without thinking, because he felt a slight sound of clothes breaking through the air behind him; he wanted to remind Ceng Yue to be careful, but before he could speak, he saw...

Seeing Ji Chen look back, Ceng Yue hurriedly hid behind him; Ji Chen felt her temperature and a warmth surged in his heart; he patted her shoulder lightly: "Don't be afraid, I'm here." Ceng Yue nodded; although she was still tense, the fear in her heart was slightly relieved.

"I'll hold them off, you help me find an opportunity." Ji Chen said, rushing toward the mechanical puppets ahead again.

These monsters seemed to have life, continuously changing formations and attacking alternately.

Ji Chen's figure was like electricity, flexibly dodging the mechanical arms' attacks, and every counterattack was precise and powerful, making those mechanical puppets fall into a brief chaos.

The air was filled with the harsh sound of metal collisions, dust flew, and vision was blurred.

In the battle, Ji Chen gradually discovered a pattern: the energy cores of these mechanical puppets seemed to be in their heads!

His heart stirred, and he concentrated his power, attacking the head of a mechanical puppet fiercely.

With one punch, the huge impact force directly shattered the mechanical puppet's head, and the puppet instantly lost power and collapsed to the ground.

Ji Chen followed suit, and several puppets were destroyed one after another; the battle began to have a turning point.

"Ceng Yue, find an opportunity to destroy their heads!" Ji Chen reminded loudly.

Ceng Yue nodded, and the two cooperated tacitly, concentrating their attacks on the puppets' heads.

As more and more puppets were destroyed, their pressure gradually eased, and they gradually closed the distance to the runes.

However, just as they were about to approach the runes, a deep black shadow slowly emerged from the center of the runes, exuding a suffocating aura.

Ji Chen felt a chill rise from his spine; he stopped abruptly, staring fixedly at the black shadow.

The black shadow gradually condensed, finally turning into a mysterious figure in a black robe, his gaze cold, as if he could see through everything.

"I didn't expect to meet you here..." The mysterious figure's voice was low and majestic, word by word, as if coming from the depths of the earth.

Ji Chen and Ceng Yue exchanged a look, an ominous premonition surging in their hearts.

"Ceng Yue, we must be careful." Ji Chen said in a low voice, his gaze locked on the black shadow, his clenched fists filled with power.