Chapter 165: The Old Man in Red

“If this layer of light shield is merely a seal, then whatever is sealed inside must be even more terrifying. What on earth is this thing?!”
Beside the Blood Soul Tree, Wang Luo stared at the gradually weakening blue light shield, his mind swirling with questions. He muttered to himself incessantly, trying to fathom what this bizarre thing before him could be. Yet, after ransacking every corner of his memory, no information matched this strange phenomenon.

“Forget it, I won’t think about it anymore. Let’s just wait and see!”
After pondering for a long while without the slightest clue, Wang Luo decisively abandoned his efforts to understand. At that moment, seventeen flower buds silently sprouted from the Blood Soul Tree beside him, and not far off, the blue light shield dimmed, losing the brilliant glow it once had.

*Crack!*
Suddenly, a strange noise emerged from within the dimming blue shield. Then, with a sudden surge, a torrent resembling molten lava surged wildly inside the shield, as if it were attacking the blue barrier itself.

“What the hell is this thing now?”
Startled by the sudden change, Wang Luo watched the chaotic flood inside the shield. His ethereal form swayed unsteadily, his voice filled with confusion echoing in the eerie space.

*Crack!*
A sound like glass shattering rang in Wang Luo’s ears. Under the dual pressure of the space’s disintegrating force and the internal flood, the blue light shield finally shattered, dissolving into the purest energy before vanishing completely. At the same time, a frenzied voice boomed through the strange space.

“Damn it, Alexan! You sealed me away for thousands of years, but now I’m finally breaking free! O(n_n)o Hahaha~”
Staring dumbfounded at a floating figure in red robes nearby, laughing heartily toward the heavens, Wang Luo was momentarily at a loss. How could a mere stone suddenly produce a person?

“Ah, what’s going on? Why is my divine power rapidly draining?”
Suddenly, the frenzied old man in red realized something terrifying. The divine power that sustained his immortal soul for a millennium was rapidly depleting—and the rate of loss was accelerating. At this speed, he would dissolve into nothingness within a day.

“Kid, tell me what’s happening. Why isn’t your power draining? What kind of place is this?”
In an instant, the red-robed elder appeared right in front of the small figure he had barely noticed moments ago, speaking bluntly with a slight frown.

*Clatter…*
The sound of something falling to the ground snapped Wang Luo out of his daze and caught the elder’s attention. Only then did the old man notice the small blood-colored tree.

“Ah, an eight-thousand-year-old Blood Soul Tree!”
Naming the tree and its age with certainty, the elder stopped paying attention to the tree itself. With a mere thought, all the Blood Soul Fruits on the ground floated up and transformed into pure strands of soul energy, merging into the elder’s body.

“Phew, finally regained some energy. I need to get out quickly!”
Having absorbed the Blood Soul Fruits, the elder turned his gaze once again to the fragile soul form before him. Only now did he realize how agitated it was, his ethereal body shaking violently.

“You old bastard! How dare you eat my Blood Soul Fruits? Those are the fruits I painstakingly gathered! Give them back to me!”
Furious, Wang Luo roared at the elder, immediately unleashing the fragment of his power controlling the space. The disintegrating force concentrated fully on the elder.

“Control? You actually have control over this space?”
Feeling his power drain faster, the red-robed elder felt no fear. Instead, he was surprisingly delighted. No wonder such a weak soul had not been dissolved—he actually possessed some control over the space, even if only a sliver, but that sliver was enough.

“Kid, use your control over this space to send me out. I’ll let you choose whichever divine artifact you want from the goddess’s treasure. How about that?”
Wang Luo shot the old man a glare but said nothing. He continued to focus all his effort on manipulating the space’s disintegrating force, relentlessly breaking down the elder’s energy.

“Hmph. Your soul is so weak. Once you send me out, I’ll boost your strength directly to a lesser god. Should be enough to get me out now, right?”
Frowning, the elder spoke again, a vague sense of unease creeping over him. The rate at which his power was draining was far worse than he had anticipated.

“Divine power? Lesser god? What’s that?”
These words flashed in Wang Luo’s mind, his eyes full of confusion. But now was not the time to question the elder. Judging by the elder’s arrogant demeanor, he wouldn’t deign to answer a nobody like him.

“Hmph!”
The disintegrating force continued to intensify. The elder’s face suddenly darkened, and with a cold snort, a burst of red light shot forth, flashing and vanishing in an instant.

“Ah!!!”
Wang Luo, struggling to control the disintegrating force, suddenly felt an unbearable searing heat roasting his soul. His ethereal form shattered instantly, reconstituting not far away but visibly more insubstantial.

“Damn you! You—just wait to be disintegrated!”
Roaring with fury, Wang Luo’s eyes blazed. The near-death sensation had been so vivid, something he had not experienced for a long time. With a thought, Wang Luo prepared to exit the space.

“Trying to leave? Heh heh…”
Sensing Wang Luo’s intention immediately, the elder let out a sly laugh and quickly formed fiery lines in midair. A blazing prison of flame materialized, trapping Wang Luo who was about to escape.

“Damn it!”
The scorching flames relentlessly tormented Wang Luo’s ethereal soul, each wave of burning pain stabbing deep within. His form trembled violently, and the most terrifying realization was that, at this moment, he had lost all connection to the space.

“Old bastard, what exactly do you want?”
With no hope of escape, Wang Luo watched helplessly as the red-robed elder swayed over to absorb the Fountain of Life into his body, speaking reluctantly. Under this roof, he dared not raise his head.

“Heh heh, if we had cooperated earlier, you wouldn’t be suffering like this, and we could have gained great benefits!”
Upon hearing this, the elder floated close to the fiery prison, smiling cheerfully at the grimacing Wang Luo within.

Glancing at the elder’s soul body, which seemed almost solid, Wang Luo remained silent, waiting for the elder to speak. As long as the elder’s soul returned to his body, Wang Luo would no longer fear him.

“Hey, you’ve got quite the temper and endurance. You’ve managed to withstand my soul-devouring flames without making a sound. But even if you scream your throat raw, no one will come to save you!”
“Heh, don’t glare at me. I’m complimenting you. Not even the Holy Realm has reached the point of having its own space. That’s impressive. Looks like your ancestors didn’t treat you badly—they fused their internal space into your soul right before dying!”