The Era of Gods-Chapter 623 - : The Temptation of the Master of the Trick Realm

Chapter 623: Chapter 623: The Temptation of the Master of the Trick Realm

“You don’t need to take action yourself.”

Julian watched the woman in the mirror, her eyes full of hope, and bit his lip without agreeing.

Although if he agreed, the woman would assist him with all her might, and even though she wouldn’t snatch the Soul Apostle even if she knew his goal, he just didn’t want to owe her too many favors.

The woman’s mood dimmed slightly, and after a moment of silence, her face brightened again with a smile and she asked:

“Then how do you need my help?”

Julian had already thought about it, and said in a low voice:

...

“I need to borrow your Sacred Vase of Life.”

The woman immediately thought of something and asked:

“Did you buy the Boiling Blood Spear?”

Julian nodded:

“I need to use the Sacred Vase of Life in place of my own vitality to unleash the Boiling Blood Spear’s greatest power.”

“I will send someone to deliver the Sacred Vase to you.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. If you need anything, let me know at any time.”

After closing the mirror, Julian took a deep breath. He truly did not want to seek her help unless it was necessary, but at this moment, the strength of that human Descender had far surpassed his own. Without any unforeseen circumstances, the Descender had likely become a Soul Apostle and could harness vast Soul Power. At this point, he was no match for the Descender, and if he still intended to seize the Soul Apostle, he would have to seek external assistance.

The Boiling Blood Spear was a top-tier Magic Weapon that could consume vitality to inflict tremendous damage upon an enemy; the more vitality it consumed, the stronger the damage. Someone had once used this Magic Weapon to kill a powerful Dawn Wizard by jumping ranks.

Originally, Julian had planned to use the powerful vitality of the Crystal King Snake to sacrifice and kill that human Descender. To his surprise, it hadn’t been long before his opponent had grown so strong that even the Crystal King Snake had been instantly killed. Without the King Snake, he could not possibly use his own life for the sacrifice.

Visit ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience.

Moreover, even if he were truly to sacrifice his own vitality for the Boiling Blood Spear, its power would still be insufficient to kill the target.

In fact, taking into account the information he had and the exhibited strength of the human Descender, Julian realized that if he wanted to kill the target with a single strike, he would need enough potent vitality for an all-out burst to achieve an instant kill. The vitality contained in the Sacred Vase of Life was sufficient.

As time slowly passed, several months inadvertently slipped by.

Today, Lin Xiao, for a change, was not hunting monsters but waiting in his temporary residence. By noon, streams of Soul Power uncontrollably surged from his body—not too much or too little, exactly one hundred thousand souls converged in the space before him, condensing into an indistinct black humanoid figure. A peculiar resonance arose in the void, and a voice appeared in this small space:

“According to the contract, the first decade has arrived. You shall pay me one hundred thousand souls.”

Lin Xiao responded very respectfully:

“According to the contract, I have prepared one hundred thousand souls.”

As soon as the words were spoken, Lin Xiao realized that the connection between him and the one hundred thousand souls had vanished instantly; they were no longer related to him.

The void vibrated again, and the voice of the robed figure sounded once more:

“You have completed the first phase of the contract. You will receive my reward!”

The robed figure’s arm slowly rose, and Lin Xiao quickly said:

“Wait a moment, please.”

The robed figure’s motion halted, and after a brief pause, the voice sounded again:

“Speak your doubts.”

Lin Xiao respectfully lowered his head and stated each word clearly:

“According to the contract, after completing the first phase of the contract, I may freely choose whether to continue with the contract. Is that true?”

This time, the robed figure paused for a much longer time. Lin Xiao stood silently, waiting.

After more than ten seconds, Lin Xiao suddenly felt some change in the void as if there was… a gaze descending upon him. The robed figure suddenly became more animated, and a voice, similar to the previous one, rang out:

“You wish to terminate the contract?”

“Let me see, hmm, you have not yet devoured any souls!”

A gaze that was unabashed but just beyond his strength to sense fully fell upon Lin Xiao, and he could even sense the intrigue in that gaze.

“Can you tell me why you wish to terminate the contract?”

That voice sounded very interested as it inquired:

“Is it because you are not strong enough? Or because you dislike devouring souls? Perhaps you have yet to experience the delightful sensation and powerful strength that come from devouring a soul.”

Clearly, this was a consciousness of the master of the deceitful realms. Lin Xiao was well aware that his actions had piqued the interest of this unknown entity. No matter the reason, he certainly needed to respond.

He was not cowed and honestly replied with earnest :

“This strength is incredibly powerful, and it’s so easy to become addicted to it. Even without devouring souls, merely using superficial powers has amazed me. But it’s far too dangerous, extremely dangerous. I cannot guarantee that I’ll always be able to stay true to my heart and not succumb to its allure. To avoid falling into that abyss, I’ve decided to give up this power.”

His reason was indeed honest, though his explanation was somewhat euphemistically expressed. In the face of an unknown powerful being, it was best not to anger it.

After hearing this, the dark-robed figure remained silent for a long time, making his heart uneasy until a voice finally rang out again:

“You are not the first chosen one to refuse this power. I have always respected your choices and have never coerced anyone. So, as you wish, you may sever this contract.”

This sentence allowed Lin Xiao to breathe a sigh of relief, but before he could fully exhale, the tension returned:

“I always advocate for a fair trade. Since you have completed this contract, you shall receive the rewards you deserve. Accept this reward.”

The dark-robed figure suddenly crumbled, turning into a mass of pitch-black Soul Power that roiled in front of him. It boiled and tumbled like a pot of water coming to a boil. As the Soul Power churned, he was astonished to find that various impurities and Soul Power within the hundred thousand souls were rapidly vanishing, and their color was slowly clearing from pitch black.

“???”

In his amazement, the mass of Soul Power was swiftly purified and soon turned into a transparent, water-like orb, shrinking to the size of an egg. It flew towards him and landed on his forehead, sinking directly into it.

In an instant, Lin Xiao felt his newly advanced spiritual power surge wildly. It was as if someone had scooped a ladle of solidified spiritual power and poured it into his mind. The tumultuous sensation and intense growth of spiritual power were so stimulating that he couldn’t help but issue a long moan.

That feeling was like being in a perpetual state of climax, an uninterrupted pleasure so divine it bordered on death, almost irresistibly addictive.

Amidst this indescribable, relentless tidal wave of pleasure, a tempting… will, though voiceless, could be felt guiding him.

There were no traces, yet it was undoubtedly present.

It is widely known that a man’s willpower is at its weakest just before climax, and during such a moment, most demands will bypass the will and be decided on. Under such imperceptible influence, Lin Xiao’s nearly nonexistent will immediately reacted, and he said loudly:

“No, I do not agree!”

The pleasure vanished instantly; everything came to a standstill. Lin Xiao stood motionless, a speck of dust hovering just 0.1 millimeter from his pupil, frozen in place.

After what seemed like an eternity, a tangible thought appeared in Lin Xiao’s mind:

“As you wish!”

The voice quickly faded, and he could feel that the will had indeed left. Yet, Lin Xiao felt not a flicker of joy because, unknown to him, an odd mark had appeared in his Spirit Core along with a message.

The message implied that the lord of the bizarre realm took a fancy to him and decided to give him a chance to rethink, leaving behind this Branding. It would save his life in the future if necessary.

However, if he activated the Branding, it would mean he was accepting a new Soul Apostle contract and formally becoming a Soul Apostle.

It had the style of an upper-level powerhouse. Lin Xiao was inclined to reject it, but thinking that this item could save his life, he couldn’t bear to let it go.

He had to admit that this move directly targeted his weak spot as he was currently lacking a secret weapon for self-preservation.

Gathering his thoughts, Lin Xiao felt conflicted. This surge of feedback had multiplied his spiritual power manyfold, bringing his limit well beyond that of a Rank 3 Wizard. Moreover, it was far beyond that limit, meaning he could immediately prepare to advance to Rank 3 Wizard and still have excess power.

Whether he could succeed was one thing; at least his spiritual power was up to par.

Not only that, but he also had excess spiritual power and over two hundred thousand remaining souls, which the lord of the bizarre realm had not taken.

These souls were now a problem since he hadn’t renewed the contract and had lost the ability to detain souls as a Soul Apostle. The souls would soon become uncontrollable one by one, and he needed to find a way to deal with them.

There were ways to deal with this, but it meant he could no longer use these souls’ spiritual power to stimulate his own growth. Consequently, his rate of gaining spiritual power would have to be drastically reduced.

Luckily, he had already passed the most difficult stage. With the reward of spiritual power and the nearly two hundred thousand leftover souls, ascending to a Rank 4 Dawn Wizard before long seemed almost effortless.

A Rank 4 Wizard was considered an upper-level powerhouse in most worlds, possessing enough strength to protect oneself, as long as one wasn’t reckless.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth and inhaled. The souls surrounding him flew into his mouth like torrents, disappearing from view.

Soon, the two hundred thousand souls had been devoured. He closed his eyes, his consciousness entering the Creation Rubik’s Cube. The two hundred thousand souls had been purified into the purest Soul Power and were temporarily stored inside the Magic Cube Space.

Yes, it was Soul Power, not spiritual power.

The bizarre realm’s lord had just taken away a hundred thousand souls and blessed him with their residual spiritual essence as a reward.

The soul’s main essence is Soul Power, with spiritual power being a mere attachment.

Compared to the might of the soul’s essence, the strength of the spiritual power is almost just a consequence of the soul’s powerful essence.

He was now obtaining pure Soul Power and spiritual power through refining inside the Creation Rubik’s Cube, which was like…

“Wait a minute! I could totally obtain the status of a Soul Apostle and then use the Creation Rubik’s Cube to refine and acquire Soul Power myself.”

But immediately, he dismissed the idea:

“No, that would be too easy to detect.”

The Creation Rubik’s Cube was his ultimate weapon, and it must not be exposed.

This lord of the bizarre realm that mastered souls had an acute sensitivity to souls. To craft a deception under the watchful eye of an expert… that would be difficult!