Solar Blood Masters (169)

Chapter 169 - Lucid Dream

Raphael and Lu Jade stood before the massive stone door. The Six-Pointed Star Tetrahedron Circular Spell Diagram’s colors shifted between purple, red, and blue. Raphael placed his hands on its surface.

“It feels as solid as a wall.”

“Can you decipher it, Big Brother?” Lu Jade’s emerald eyes, full of concern, watched Raphael's every move.

“I don’t know yet.”

Raphael activated his Lingshi Eye. That green orb released faint light. He began scanning the diagram intensely, searching for any hint of weakness, any flaw in its intricate design.

The diagram was unlike anything he’d encountered before. Even the vast knowledge stored within his Lingshi Eye didn’t seem to recognize it. Its complex geometry, the swirling energy patterns, the ancient runes… they defied comprehension.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound came from the tunnel behind them.

Lu Jade spun around. His tail twitched nervously. He listened intently, trying to decipher the strange vibrations.

Then, he saw them.

The Runic Spider Lords.

Their symbolic forms galloped down the tunnel towards them with an untamed fury. Some crawled on the walls and ceiling. They were a terrifying sight.

“Limiter - Off!”

Lu Jade unleashed his full power. His emerald scales blazed with a potent Solar Essence as his form expanded, growing larger, more menacing. He slithered forth, positioning himself between Raphael and the oncoming Runic Spider Lords.

“Big Brother, I’ll buy you some time!”

With a flick of his tail, Lu Jade unleashed his ‘Phantom Willow Grass.’ Thousands of emerald tendrils shot forth, intertwining, forming a massive wall of thorny vegetation that blocked the tunnel.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Runic Spider Lords slammed into the wall! They tore through it with ease! Its thorns were nothing but a mild nuisance to those symbolic forms.

It was as if they were saying, “Hmph! Those flimsy vines won’t stop us!”

But Lu Jade was ready. This time he infused his Solar Essence into the grass vines, making them thicker, stronger, more resilient. They snaked outwards with a speed that stunned the Runic Spider Lords, wrapping around their limbs, their torsos and binding them tightly.

“Phantom Willow Grass – Entrapment!”

The Runic Spider Lords thrashed. They struggled, but the vines held firm, constricting, squeezing with unimaginable force.

“You…!”

“Damn snake!”

“Release us!”

Their indignant shouts were muffled as Lu Jade tightened his grip. “Big Brother needs time. You’ll have to wait.”

Meanwhile, Raphael continued scanning the diagram. He poured more Solar Essence into his Lingshi Eye, pushing it to its limits. The light his eye emitted intensified and within its depths… strange symbols began flowing, intertwining, forming a complex matrix that mirrored the Six-Pointed Star Tetrahedron Circular Spell Diagram.

“I see… This formation… It’s a multi-layered barrier. Each layer corresponds to a different element: fire, water, earth, lightning, shadow, light. And those runes… they’re not simply decorative. They’re… keys. Each rune activates a specific energy flow within the formation. And the core… that Six-Pointed Star Tetrahedron… It’s the central node. It controls the flow of Solar Essence between the layers.”

He paused, his brow furrowed in concentration, those hands of his were absorbing the formation’s potent energies that now echoed within his monstrous bull’s Cosmic Mind Sea.

“If I disrupt the flow… it could trigger a catastrophic backlash. The entire formation could overload, shattering the door, disintegrating everything within its radius, or those symbol-based creatures might become more troublesome.”

He understood the risks. And the time constraint. Lu Jade couldn’t hold those Runic Spider Lords for much longer.

"I need a third option.”

“Zhu Jian.” Raphael whispered.

From his Lingshi Eye, a sliver of green light shot forth, materializing a Sagewood Script hovering before him.

“My lord, what can I do for you?”

“I’ve encountered a complex spell formation. I need your help deciphering its workings.”

“Of course, my lord.”

Raphael explained the intricacies of the Six-Pointed Star Tetrahedron Circular Spell Diagram, and as he described the rune sequences, Zhu Jian’s own runes flickered, processing the information.

Zhu Jian responded, “My lord, I can now act as a World Canvas. You can paint over me, thus bypassing this barrier’s drawback.”

“A World Canvas? How…?” Raphael couldn't believe it. This Sagewood Script, it had evolved?

Then he recalled the events that had taken place after they vanquished Lingshi. The merging of the ‘Gem of Knowledge’ and… Thienika’s final act. He remembered the new Soul-Planet within his Astro Soul Orbital.

With a thought, he dove into his Cosmic Mind Sea.

It was a vast, ethereal landscape of swirling nebulas and twinkling stars. Two Soul-Planets orbited his yellow sun – Shadow Blood and Lingshi Soul Planets.

He zoomed in on that green-blue sphere. The Lingshi Soul Planet.

He focused his will, and his mind entered the planet.

He fell into its depths like a droplet of water.

Disoriented, he rose to the surface, gasping for air. The water was cool, refreshing, it had a faint bamboo aroma. And there, towering over him, a massive, mountainous bamboo turtle rested serenely, its long, white beard swaying gently in the breeze.

‘Is… is that Lingshi?’

The turtle stared at him with ancient eyes, and then from its bamboo grove, a single script flickered and hovered before him. It was ‘Lucid Dream’.

‘Is… is he giving it to me?’

The moment he thought this…

Whoosh!

The paintbrush shot towards him! And as it did…

WHOOSH!

Raphael's consciousness snapped back to the present. His hooves landed on solid rock. He found himself standing before the Six-Pointed Star Tetrahedron Circular Spell Diagram once more, with the ‘Lucid Dream’ paintbrush gripped tightly in his right hand. And before him, a canvas hovered. Within the canvas, a perfect replica of the diagram was present.

“This… should I paint over it?”

Zhu Jian responded, "My lord, use the Nihilistic Stroke. Begin at the apex of the tetrahedron, drawing a single, swift line down its center. Then, repeat this for each of the remaining five points. Be precise, yet decisive. Hesitation will trigger the formation's Solar Intent, which will cause a feedback loop, and potentially unleash those Runic Spider Lords. Erase with certainty. And the diagram will vanish.”

Raphael nodded, understanding the instructions. He dipped the brush in a small bowl of white ink that had materialized beside the canvas. With the ink on the brush, he hovered it over the diagram and pondered his first stroke.

“Big Brother!”

Lu Jade’s urgent cry startled him.

"The Runic Spider Lords… they’ve broken free!”

Raphael turned. He saw them galloping down the tunnel towards him. Their symbolic forms were ablaze.

“Damn it!”

He looked back at the canvas. There was no time for precision, no time for strategy.

He began to paint.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

His strokes were random, chaotic. But… effective.

Within seconds, he’d painted over the entire formation.

But nothing happened.

“Why… isn’t it working?” Raphael was puzzled.

The Runic Spider Lords were almost upon him.

‘I thought it would…’

“Huh?”

He looked closer and saw the painted ink upon his ‘World Canvas’… shifting! Moving on their own as if commanded by an unseen hand. His chaotic strokes were being rearranged! They were forming the precise pattern needed to activate the ‘Nihilistic Stroke’. Lingshi's memories, his mastery… it was guiding him.

And just as the Runic Spider Lords lunged, their claws extended…

BOOM!

The Six-Pointed Star Tetrahedron Circular Spell Diagram vanished!

The stone door creaked open.

The Runic Spider Lords collapsed. They flickered before fading into thin air like characters erased from a story.

“Wow! Big Brother, you did it! You deactivated that formation! I knew you could do it!” Lu Jade slithered over, ecstatic. His emerald scales shimmered with pride. He noticed the paintbrush in Raphael’s grasp and gasped.

“Is that… Lingshi’s ‘Lucid Dream’ paintbrush…?”

“Yes, I don’t know how to explain it but…”

Suddenly, Raphael’s Solar Essence tingled, sensing incoming presences. He quickly dematerialized the brush and called Zhu Jian back into his Lingshi Eye.

THUD! THUD!

Pi Rong and her unit arrived just in time to see the stone door open.

“You actually deactivated the formation,” Pi Rong said, approaching Raphael. “I had my doubts, bull, but you’ve proved me wrong. Your intelligence is… impressive. Ok now you can leave, your presence is no longer needed here, whatever treasure is inside that chamber belongs to us, it’s our birthright.”

“How rude! After what we just did. You…” Lu Jade was about to curse out Pi Rong but Raphael stopped him and agreed that he would go.

“Well mannered.” Pi Rong smiled at Raphael and commended him for being compliant before she turned to her unit. “Raid the chamber. Claim every treasure within. Leave nothing behind.”

“Yes, Commander!” They rushed past Raphael and Lu Jade, eager to plunder the riches hidden within.

“Big Brother, are we really leaving empty-handed like this? Not even a sneak peek in that chamber?” Lu Jade whispered with annoyance.

“It’s fine, Little Lu,” Raphael shook his head. “I can’t hope to claim anything with Pi Rong present. And besides… those scriptures are more valuable. That is my main purpose for coming here, remember?”

“Yes, but still… that Pi Rong is too greedy and bossy. I dislike her. What about Pi Muram? Are you going to confront him about the scriptures?”

“Indeed.”

Raphael smiled, but his eyes had a sinister glint. He’d learned a few things about the Six-Pointed Star Tetrahedron Circular Spell Diagram, things that could prove… useful in the future.

“This wasn't for nothing.”