When Jared and Flaxseed felt the restraints vanish, they hurriedly struggled to their feet. Looking at the dissipating array around them and Stebarin’s withered corpse on the ground, they were both astonished.
“What… What happened just now?” Flaxseed asked in confusion. Jared was equally bewildered. He only remembered his soul being pulled by Stebarin, then losing consciousness. As for what happened afterward, he had no idea.
Just then, Vermilion Demon Lord’s voice came from Jared’s consciousness field. “Boy, you were lucky this time. If I hadn’t acted, you would have long had your soul absorbed by that fellow!”
Jared’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, “Mr. Vermilion, was it you who saved me? But didn’t you say you were about to die because your divine soul was weak?”
It didn’t make sense to Jared. Vermilion Demon Lord’s divine soul had been extremely weak after the battle against the Soul Devourer, so he couldn’t have been able to help out.
“Hey, even if I’m weak, eliminating that guy’s spiritual sense in your consciousness field was still child’s play. I’m a demon lord from level nine. That guy is nothing to me!” Vermilion Demon Lord boasted.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Vermilion…” Jared said. Jared didn’t know exactly what had happened in his consciousness field, so he could only thank Vermilion Demon Lord first.
“No need for formalities!” Vermilion Demon Lord said proudly. “However, that fellow’s soul was ultimately absorbed by that golden ancient book, which saved me great trouble.”
Only then did Jared understand that Stebarin’s soul had been absorbed by the Golden Tome in his consciousness field. Since even Vermilion Demon Lord’s divine soul feared the Golden Tome, Stebarin’s soul was nothing in comparison.
Seeing Jared’s expression, Vermilion Demon Lord quickly explained, “However, I did beat that guy up first. Don’t think I’m just bragging!”
“Of course not. You’re the most formidable figure in level nine, how could you be bragging?” Jared smiled faintly.
That statement made Vermilion Demon Lord blush slightly, and he stopped responding to Jared. Looking at Stebarin’s withered corpse on the ground, Flaxseed asked, “Jared, what should we do now?”
Jared forced his focus back to the present. A chill glinted in his eyes as he looked toward the corpse.
“Stebarin is dead. We need to find clues about your clan member’s souls from his body,” he replied.
After speaking, Jared walked to Stebarin’s corpse and began searching his body.
Soon, he found a black badge in Stebarin’s clothes. Emanating a chilling aura, the badge was pitch black with some eerie runes carved on it.
“What’s this?” Flaxseed asked curiously.
Jared examined the badge carefully. “This should be Malevolent Path Hall’s token. Perhaps we can find some clues from it.”
With that, he stored the badge and said to Flaxseed, “Mr. Flaxseed, let’s leave here first and find a safe place to study this badge carefully.”
Flaxseed nodded. The two no longer hesitated and turned to leave Malevolent Path Hall’s branch.
When they emerged from the valley, they found it was already deep into the night outside. Moonlight spilled across the land, adding a touch of eerie beauty to the sinister mountain.
“Where should we go next?” Flaxseed asked. Jared thought for a moment. “Let’s find a place to rest first, then figure out how to study that badge. By the way, do you know of any safe places nearby?”
Flaxseed contemplated briefly. “We could return to Eastshire District to rest there. It’s also safe.”
Jared glanced at Flaxseed. He knew the latter wanted to return to Eastshire District to play with women.
