CH 178

The giant undead suddenly awakened, emitting a painful howl. The tremendous sound waves reverberated through this special space.

The earth trembled, the abyss trembled, the darkness trembled. The giant undead struggled to get up, but the immense light pressed it down like a mountain, keeping it firmly on the ground.

Sharp and maddening screams continued to echo at the bottom of the abyss. A large amount of black gas rose from the giant undead but quickly dissipated by the light.

In Rode's eyes, its massive spiritual energy was rapidly depleting. When the void of spiritual energy appeared, the vulnerability of its soul also appeared.

This vulnerability was fleeting, but Rode seized it. He wouldn't miss any opportunity to strike.

It had become his instinct.

His semi-transparent right hand plunged into the void of its soul, shattering the underlying structure of its soul.

This was the "Soul Strike."

The most powerful killing skill bestowed upon him by the Soul Altar.

The moment Rode withdrew his hand, the immensely colossal soul began to disintegrate. The black gas on its body rapidly melted away like snowflakes beside a flame. The enormous bones evaporated into countless black dust, disappearing in an instant.

"Soul of the Abyssal Troll"

Spirit of the Soul +2000

Spirit of the Soul: 93222

At a glance, Rode saw that this was another soul with the "Source."

It seemed that these special and extremely powerful monsters all possessed the "Source."

But if you thought about it the other way around, monsters with the "Source" would definitely become more powerful. It wasn't particularly strange.

With three "Sources" gathered, he could ignite a predetermined star.

Rode was overjoyed.

With the "Divine Sense" and the "Requiem of the Soul," he might be able to take off soon.

After all, the Book of Knowledge helped him choose the star, and it cost 100 red gems. It was definitely better than his blind selection.

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Amidst the strange rumbling, black dust filled the sky. The Archmage ended the illumination, descended, and found the monster's ashes in the thick gray.

"The creature that supported the existence of the Abyssal Rift is dead. Why hasn't the rift collapsed?"

His tone was somewhat puzzled, and a small sphere of light appeared on his staff. Several beams of light shot out from the surface of the sphere, swaying in the abyss as if searching for something.

Rode quickly opened his Soul Eye and searched for vulnerabilities.

Soon, he discovered something suspicious in this dark and desolate space.

"Your Excellency, I see it here! I noticed strange ripples on this big stone."

All the beams of light converged on that stone in an instant.

It looked ordinary, with no abnormalities on the barren land covered in rubble.

Theodore flicked his finger, and a giant sword emitting a blue light suddenly appeared and struck down.

With a loud sound, the giant sword broke into two pieces and dissipated into the air, but the stone remained intact.

Theodore approached and carefully observed for a long time before discovering the problem.

"This is a twisted stone. This Abyssal Rift is close to a larger rift in the outer space, becoming its subsidiary. The large rift supports its existence."

Rode exclaimed in joy, "Doesn't that mean there's another Abyssal Troll?"

Theodore's expression became solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "Their projections in the material world are so close. The creature supporting the large rift is likely the Abyssal Serpent Primus, which came to attack Thalorian."

"It should be hiding in the large rift, recovering from its injuries."

An incredible surprise emerged from the bottom of his heart. Rode tried to suppress his excitement and said in a calm voice, "Your Excellency, let's gather manpower quickly and eliminate this culprit."

However, Theodore shook his head gently.

"It's too late. This twisted stone is dissolving, and the serpent has sensed the danger, cutting off the connection between the rifts."

Rode exclaimed in shock, "What should we do then?"

"Go now. Once detached, it will be difficult to find the serpent's trace. We haven't discovered the entrance to the abyssal rift where it is located. This is a very rare opportunity. The serpent has already been injured by me and the Spellguard. It might be possible to directly eliminate it."

Theodore carefully tucked his long white beard into his belt, and various colored lights lit up on his spacious robe. Rode saw strong spiritual energy emanating from it, entering the tall figure of the Archmage.

His exhausted spiritual energy became active again.

"Kassan, thank you."

The Archmage murmured in an extremely soft voice, but Rode still heard it.

Kassan?

That little girl probably can't even beat one of my fingers. Why is he thanking her?

Rode looked at the Archmage in confusion. He raised his staff and pressed it against the stone.

"Rode, we might have to rely on you later. The serpent has an undying characteristic and is extremely difficult to kill. Perhaps you can do it."

Rode immediately forgot about Kassan and patted his chest, saying, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency. I will never miss any opportunity to kill monsters."

Theodore revealed a benevolent smile, and his azure eyes were filled with anticipation.

"Perhaps, you will truly become the next Morning Star of Thalorian."

An odd twisted line flashed on the staff, enveloping the two of them in an instant, pulling them into the stone.

A strong sense of inversion came, and the concepts of heaven and earth seemed to be constantly transforming. Rode had the feeling of falling into a washing machine.

After an unknown amount of time, they finally stopped. Before Rode could breathe a sigh of relief, he immediately felt a strong discomfort. The intense corrosive aura rushed towards him, as if his whole body was being cut by a knife. The thick black mist flowed around him like asphalt.In the midst of this darkness, an incredibly huge serpent was coiled at the bottom of the abyss. Its massive body was at least dozens of times larger than a giant undead, and each deep green scale could contain an entire hidden base.

A giant sword, seemingly composed of countless malformed tumors, lay beneath the serpent's body.

In Rode's eyes, its soul was like a nebula in the universe, vast and ethereal, with the vibrating waveforms impossible to discern.

Suddenly, a strong burning sensation came from his eyes. Rode immediately closed his eyes, but the intense pain still deeply penetrated his mind.

Rode knew that the gap between his spiritual power and the serpent's was too great. Having a heightened spiritual vision would only cause great harm.

Ever since he obtained the "Eye of the Soul," there was a warning on the soul altar's eye:

"Do not directly observe beings with a significant difference in spiritual power potential."

This was the second time Rode had encountered this situation. He immediately realized an unfavorable situation - if he couldn't use the Eye of the Soul, how could he discover the flaws in its soul?

What should he do?

Before Rode could speak, a tsunami-like spiritual power erupted around him, and an irresistible force dragged him to a safe distance.

The battle between Thalorian's strongest human mage and the Abyssal Serpent was about to begin right before Rode's eyes.

Rode could only close the Eye of the Soul, but the details of the battle were invisible to ordinary sight. The immense clash of spiritual power emitted a blinding light that concealed everything. Besides endless light and darkness, he couldn't see anything else.

Wave after wave of strong tremors struck him, as if the heavens and earth were about to collapse.

Rode gritted his teeth and forced himself closer to the battlefield.

He planned to open the Eye of the Soul at a certain point in the battle and charge forward regardless of the consequences. Even if he died, it would be worth it as long as he could kill this serpent.

As the battle progressed, the sun-like white light firmly suppressed the darkness. Light had already gained dominion in this abyss, and darkness only occupied a small corner and crevices.

Truly worthy of being the Grand Dean!

It seems there's a real chance!

Just as Rode was planning to find an opportunity to charge forward, suddenly, the sky darkened as if a dark cloud had passed by.

Rode quickly looked up and saw a black spot in the center of the sun. It rapidly expanded, causing the light to disintegrate and dissipate, and darkness swept in at an unprecedented speed.

In the blink of an eye, the sun in the sky extinguished, and the abyss returned to darkness.

What, what is happening?

Rode's heart sank, and he immediately opened the Eye of the Soul, but Theodore's towering figure had already appeared beside him.

The Grand Dean was enveloped in black aura, and his soul was gradually darkening. The azure eyes were no longer filled with wisdom but instead concealed shadows full of ill intentions. Only his voice remained gentle.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I lost control of my spiritual power by just a little."

Lost control? Did the curse of corruption in his soul take effect?

Rode anxiously said, "Then let's retreat quickly, return to the royal city, and heal your injuries."

Theodore didn't answer and held Rode's hand.

A tremendous sound of breaking through space came from above, and a flesh and blood giant sword descended upon them.

But in the next moment, the world flipped, and the mages' signature spell, "Group Teleportation," had already been cast.

In an instant, Rode found himself on a desolate wilderness, with faint black mist swirling around him. In the distance, there was a bright flame.

Rode's heart filled with joy as he shouted, "Grand Dean, there are reinforcements over there! Let's hurry over. Although we didn't win this time, we'll have another chance. Once you recover, we can organize our forces and kill that serpent together."

But there was no response beside him. Rode turned his head and saw the Grand Dean lying on the ground. His azure eyes had turned completely black, and the faint black aura was gathering around him.

He said softly, "Little Rode, kill me."

What?

Rode almost doubted if he had misheard and hurriedly said, "Grand Dean, our people are ahead. You said that as long as we return to the royal city, you will recover!"

"I'm sorry," he said again, revealing that gentle smile.

"I lied to you. The corruption of darkness is irreversible. Anyone who has come into contact with darkness will eventually become insane and corrupted. The only difference is the speed at which it happens. But don't worry, as long as you reduce your contact with darkness and cleanse the impurities in your soul, the day of corruption will be far beyond your lifespan."

Rode had never even considered this question and anxiously said, "Can't you prolong it?"

The Grand Dean said softly, "I have lived long enough. The darkness has already invaded the core of my soul. My death is inevitable. The corruption caused by the serpent only accelerated it. I originally wanted to kill the serpent before the darkness completely corrupted me, but unfortunately, I couldn't achieve that. The consecutive use of the cursed teleportation spell also accelerated the loss of control over my spiritual power."

He paused for a moment and continued.

"Little Rode, you should be able to gain power from killing. Your Dark Devourer is an unprecedented soul spark. Make good use of it. I have already ordered the Mechanism Research Institute to seal this translation for a hundred years without any changes. You don't have to worry about being feared by the royal city."

What? So you knew I am the Dark Devourer? The translation of "Black Rice Bucket" was decided by you?

No wonder it couldn't be changed.

More black aura spread from the Grand Dean, making his appearance become indistinct. The surrounding black mist quickly gathered towards him.

Rode clearly saw that his soul was rapidly corrupting.Theodore's voice had become faint, carrying a sense of chaos and tearing as if it came from the void. "Young Rode, I am a top-tier combatant, once seated in the position of the Son of Fire for twenty years, and have consumed the only portion of the Fountain of Immortality. In the current royal city, apart from the king and Arlan, no one has a stronger soul than me. Killing me will accelerate your growth."

Rode's mind was in turmoil. Although their interaction was brief, he had already regarded Theodore as a mentor worthy of utmost respect.

The sudden command to kill him was hard to accept.

However, reason told him that killing Theodore now was the best choice. What level of disaster would such a powerful curse master become if he turned into a monster?

Rode raised his hand, instinctively activating "Soul Strike". The crescent on the back of his hand quickly filled with spiritual energy.

A void appeared on Theodore's soul.

But he continued to pour spiritual energy into the crescent, as if it were a bottomless pit.

Theodore whispered, "Kill me, Rode. I don't want to become a monster."

Bang.

His right hand instantly plunged into the chest of the once strongest human curse master, grasping the fragile thread of his soul and easily destroying it.

【Soul of Theodore Cremont】

Soulless +10000

Soulless: 103222

Countless black dust emanated from his body. Theodore's smile became clear, then gradually transparent, and finally disappeared.

Although his death was close to that of a monster, he was still a human before he died.

Monsters never smile.

The dean's robe fell to the ground, the long staff lying on top of it. The dean, once known as "Old Immortal", was finally dead.

Rode didn't know what he was feeling, his heart was empty, and he felt as if he had become a stranger to himself.

In order to bring back the familiar feeling, he made a gesture, intending to light up the fifth star.

However, to Rode's utter surprise, when he stepped into the dream, he saw an unexpected person.

The dean, Theodore.

His spirit was floating down from the soul altar, curiously looking at everything around him, murmuring.

"No wonder, no wonder it is so."