Solar Blood Masters (167)

Chapter 167 - Lingshi Eye

“I… I’ve lost.”

Spoken with a quiet resignation, Pi Muram’s words lingered. It was the first time in a million years that someone had bested him at his own game. This was a humbling realization that had his eight eyes losing their usual sharp focus.

Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Lu Jade slithered over to Raphael while thrashing his tail joyfully.

“Big Brother, you’re a master at chess! I had NO idea! You must have faked those first two rounds, just to lull Pi Muram into a false sense of security! And then… BAM! You flipped the table! Amazing! Can we play a game later, Big Brother?”

Raphael pondered his unexpected victory. ‘It was the Lingshi Eye. The Painting Sage’s memories… they guided my every move.’

“Big Brother! You’re a legend!”

“Settle down, Little Lu. It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Raphael’s casual dismissal had Pi Muram regarding him with newfound respect.

This bull… Raphael… he possessed the humility of a true Chess Sage.

‘Perhaps… he can assist me after all.’

Lu Jade turned to Pi Muram. “You lost. Now, hand over the Amethyst Silk Scriptures.”

“I said I would consider lending them to him, little snake,” Pi Muram countered. “And I’ve considered… to not give them to you… just yet.”

“What?! You’re going back on your word?! You cheat! Swindler! Charlatan!” Lu Jade’s tongue lashed out angrily.

“Silence, snake.” Pi Muram turned to Raphael. “I have a… proposition. A matter of some importance that requires your… expertise. I need your help… solving a mystery.”

“A mystery?” Raphael was intrigued.

“We cannot speak of it here. Follow me.”

Pi Muram approached the wall and activated a magic circle. The wall then split open, revealing a long passage.

Raphael and Lu Jade exchanged glances, then cautiously followed Pi Muram.

The passage was lined with bookshelves that stretched towards the high ceiling, a seemingly endless collection of scrolls, tomes, and ancient tablets.

“My collection,” Pi Muram explained with pride, “A lifetime of study. A true Confucius Cultivator never stops learning.”

He continued swiftly down the passage as he walked along the walls, even across the ceiling upside down with effortless ease. He attached a web to the ceiling, then lowered himself down a large, circular hole.

Raphael spread his massive black wings and followed.

They landed in a vast, underground chamber. Hundreds of spiders moved about, each engrossed in their own task. Some dusted off stone tablets, others meticulously pieced together broken fragments.

They were so focused, they barely even acknowledged Raphael’s arrival. A Golden Bull Thork in their midst, yet they didn’t bat an eye. This was what you called focus and dedication to ones’ craft.

Looking around, Raphael noticed a large, purple rift which looked like a tear in space, hovering above a platform where a group of spiders worked frantically, trying to contain its chaotic energy with intricate formations.

Pi Muram explained, “That is an ancient Skybridge Dais. It leads to my ancestors’ Marble World, a realm filled with countless treasures. But what I seek… is the North Druid Chessboard, a divine relic capable of altering space and time and create miracles.”

Raphael realized the connection. The North Druid Chessboard… it was within that Marble World. And Pi Muram needed his help to repair the Skybridge Dais.

Pi Muram continued, “We’ve located all the missing pieces, but activating the Dais has proven… problematic. Each attempt results in… a partial rift to the void, it has already claimed the lives of many of my most trusted advisors.”

He gestured towards the spiders working on the platform. “Each piece is unique. It must be placed in perfect alignment with the star map engraved upon the pillars. We’ve assembled it thousands of times… but something is always… off. Either a misplacement or an error in our translation of the ancient texts.”

He turned to Raphael. “If you can repair the Skybridge Dais… the Amethyst Silk Scriptures are yours.

Do you accept my terms, Raphael?”

“Yes!”

Raphael replied instantly. There was nothing to lose.

…

Raphael moved through the underground chamber while observing the spiders’ meticulous work. Lu Jade, perched on his horn, offered his observations.

“Big Brother, look! That spider… She’s trying to piece together a fragment of a star map. And that one… He’s deciphering ancient runes.”

“They’re thorough,” Raphael commented, impressed by their dedication. “But… they’re missing something.”

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, a tremor shook the chamber. The purple rift above the Skybridge Dais expanded, blasting the assembled pillars away. They shattered into smaller fragments that scattered across the platform.

“Hurry!”

Pi Muram and the other spiders rushed to contain the rift. They channeled their Solar Essences, weaving intricate formations, reinforcing the weakened seals. The rift flickered, then with a final shudder, vanished.

“Are you alright, Emperor Pi Muram?” Raphael asked, concerned.

“Focus on solving the mystery, bull. That’s what you’re here for. If you can’t do it, leave,” Pi Muram snapped.

‘Tsk. The nerve of this spider! He asks for our help, then talks to us like THAT?’ Lu Jade hissed indignantly.

“I’ll get right to it,” Raphael said calmly. He examined the blueprint Pi Muram had been working with. It seemed flawless. ‘Maybe I need to see the fragments themselves.’

He approached the scattered pieces and picked up a tablet and began scanning the runes with his Lingshi Eye. “This translation is incorrect,” he informed Pi Rong, the spider scholar responsible for deciphering the text.

“Incorrect?! I’ve been studying these runes for centuries! My translation is perfect!” Pi Rong retorted, and narrowed her multiple eyes at Raphael in disbelief.

Raphael insisted, “No, it’s not. The rune sequence here… It signifies not only a celestial alignment, but also a blood ritual.”

“A blood ritual?! Don’t be absurd! This tablet clearly depicts—”

“Enough!” Pi Muram intervened, silencing their argument. “Pi Rong, let the bull do as he pleases. We’ve been at this for millennia, and our efforts have yielded nothing but failure. Perhaps… he has a different perspective.”

Pi Rong, though baffled by her father’s trust in this bull, reluctantly agreed. ‘Bulls aren’t particular known for their intelligence … They’re all brawn, no brains.’

Raphael, with Lu Jade assisting, began sorting through the fragments. Lu Jade gathered the pieces while Raphael, using his Lingshi Eye, scanned the runes, deciphering their meaning, arranging them in a specific order.

To the onlookers, it seemed like a chaotic jumble, a random stacking of stones. But within Raphael’s mind, a blueprint was forming.

After 24 days of relentless mental effort, the mental chart of the Skybridge Dais was completed. The spiders have endured with this bull’s bossing around for so long, if his method didn’t work they would kill him.

Raphael approached Pi Muram. “I’m ready to rebuild the Skybridge Dais. This time… it will work.”

“And why is that?” Pi Muram was skeptical.

“I’ve figured out the missing component.”

‘Missing component? But we have all the fragments…’

“Give me space.”

The spiders retreated, watching Raphael with a mix of curiosity and doubt.

Raphael sat in a meditative posture. He closed his two red eyes, then channeled his Solar Essence into his Lingshi Eye.

The mental blueprint of the Skybridge Dais was projected outwards.

The stone fragments began to move. They floated, shifted, and with soft clicks, locked into place, seamlessly merging, forming six massive pillars adorned with glowing runes. The spiders watched in awe.

“How… is that possible?” Pi Rong whispered, awestruck.

“Hmph, foolish spider. Did you truly doubt Big Brother’s abilities?” Lu Jade scoffed.

Hours later, Raphael placed the final fragment. He opened his blood-red eyes. He felt drained of Solar Essence.

“Is it done?” Pi Muram approached impatiently.

“One more step.”

“And what is it?”

Raphael stared at Pi Muram. “Do you trust me?”

Their gazes locked. A silent battle of wills.

Finally, Pi Muram nodded. “Yes.”

Raphael yanked off one of Pi Muram's legs with his bare hand.

“That bull… HE…?”

The other spiders gasped and charged their Solar Essences, ready to attack, but Pi Muram raised a claw. “Stand down!”

Seeing that the spiders have settled, Raphael tossed the severed leg towards the center of the Skybridge Dais. Using his blood manipulation magic, he scattered drops of purple blood across the pillars’ rune sockets. The blood trickled down, forming intricate patterns that converged at the platform’s center.

And then…

The Skybridge Dais activated.

A stable portal rippled into existence.

Pi Rong and the other spider scholars stared in awe.

“Ancestral blood… it was the missing component. The catalyst.” Pi Muram murmured while his wound were being bandaged. “A small price to pay for such a magnificent prize as the North Druid Chessboard. Now, reinforce the Skybridge Dais! Prepare for the excursion!”

Raphael’s vision blurred. He swayed. He could feel his consciousness fading.

“Big Brother!” Lu Jade’s worried hiss was the last thing he heard before darkness claimed him.

“Enter the Marble World! The North Druid Chessboard awaits!” Pi Muram hollered.