Soren looked at Zugen's Soul.
"Even after all this time, you still think like that."
Zugen didn't care.
"The Soul Cultivation Technique is marvelous. With that, we could rule the God Realm. As long as we become gods with both systems of cultivation, our power would surpass any other god. However, you just had to think about leaving the Four Realms. That was ridiculous! What's so impressive about the outside? We already have an unlimited lifespan. If you go outside, you might be nothing more than ants there."
Soren shook his head as he replied.
"There was a time where I was also satisfied with my accomplishments. But in the end, I have lived way longer than you have. The same could be said for the other gods, so that's why we tried to leave. You said it yourself. We might have been nothing more than ants outside. That's what we exactly wanted, to be honest—the thrill of being at the bottom—the emotion of fighting our way to the top. To feel alive again."
Luvile heard the conversation outside and couldn't help but sigh. Soren exactly hit the mark. Their life had been just too... dull. Only a god could contend against a god. But none of the gods wanted to fight others just because they could. After all, killing another god was just too hard. You would probably need to group a few gods together to pull that off. Still, what would be the point in ganging up against another god? Also, doing that for no reason? No one wished to do that. They didn't care about being considered weak outside. No, that was heaven for them!
"You got stuck in your cultivation and couldn't reach the God Realm. When you finally did so as a Soul God, it had only been a few years. Obviously, you would never understand how we felt. However, I can guarantee you this much. In the end, you would have reached the same conclusion as us. The Four Realms are too boring."
Zugen snorted as he said.
"Even if that happened, how many years in the future would it be? Forget it. Let's end this farce."
Zugen's Soul began to light up like a sun as he charged at Soren.
"Since I can't escape, I might as well bring you with me."
Soren sighed after seeing that. One thing had always been true. Soren was just more powerful than Zugen when it came to the Soul Technique. Even if his power was relatively lower at the moment, he could still beat Zugen black and blue. Just like what Heavin did to Fura with her higher Soul Cultivation.
Soren extended his hands as the fused elements gathered with his Mental Energy. Suddenly, a powerful suction power came out and absorbed all the Mental Energy accumulated to form the explosion. Zugen was taken aback by that sight.
"You! How can you stop my Soul Detonation? You have never used such a technique before!"
Soren nodded.
"Indeed. After all, it only works on Souls with Soul Manifestation Energy. You and I were the only ones capable of using it in the past, so I obviously didn't use it on others. The only problem is that the soul must be outside its shell that is the body."
Zugen's Mental Energy kept shining as his Mental Energy Source began to show signs of dissipating.
"Soren!"
Zugen didn't want to give up, so he began to attack Soren with Mental Energy skills nonstop. However, who was Soren? The creator of the Soul Cultivation Technique itself! Whatever kind of Mental Energy attack that Zugen thought of, Soren had already mastered a long time ago. Everything Zugen did inside the cage was useless against him.
"Soren! You won't be able to leave! Even if you guys try again, there is no way out! Don't do this! We can still recover and conquer the God Realm together!"
Soren shook his head as he sent a stream of information into Zugen's Soul. There, he explained everything about the keys and how it was not really impossible to leave.
"This... Lies! Those are lies!"
Soren didn't care.
"Whether you believe it or not, that's not my problem. Anyway, let's get over with it."
Soren increased the absorption rate even more, quickly making Zugen's Mental Energy Source reach a critical point. Eventually, it couldn't form a solid shape anymore and collapsed.
"Ahhh!"
The moment his Mental Energy Source broke apart, Zugen's Soul immediately dissipated. It didn't reincarnate, though. It was gone for good.
Krune, Feifei, Lucio, Heavin, and Liriu looked at that with surprise.
Talking about Heavin and Liriu, they were battling the crystal demon beasts and ghosts before. Zugen ordered them to go all out so that they could have a chance at escaping, so the fight continued. However, Lucio came out and immediately changed the situation. After all, he didn't have his cultivation restricted. For him, these ghosts and crystal demon beasts were just too weak after they got their power was affected by Zugen's territory. In the end, their battle was over even faster than Zugen's struggle.
'Could that be the end for Mental Energy users?'
Soren could tell what they were thinking, so he explained.
"Even I am not so sure myself. After all, only Zugen and I had ever cultivated the Soul Cultivation Technique before. However, my theory was that a soul with a Mental Energy Source is different than a normal soul. Once you die, the Four Realms wouldn't be able to take it back and let you reincarnate. In the end, we might be the only ones who can really embrace the true meaning of death."
Krune's group went silent for a moment. However, Krune quickly recovered.
"Oh well. As long as I don't die, then that's fine. Besides, we don't know if the same thing applies outside the Four Realms."
Heavin finally took the chance to ask.
"So... how come you're all here? Of course, I'm happy that you appeared. Still..."
Krune sighed.
"What else? We came here to rescue you. The Soren Ruins are too dangerous, so we couldn't leave you two behind."
"Well, who could have expected something like that guy just now? I called Liriu to come with me because I knew that almost no one would be able to contend against him. In theory, this travel shouldn't have been this dangerous to start with."
Liriu agreed with Heavin.
"I also thought of the same thing. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come."
Krune and the others couldn't really blame Heavin and Liriu for that. First of all, the two of them were already over a hundred years old. They were more than capable of making their own decisions. Also, they were a cultivator and a demon beast. Expecting them to only go out when they were absolutely sure that it was safe would be ridiculous. Trials were what made one improve.
"Fine..."
As Krune's group talked, Soren came back. Even though he absorbed Zugen's Mental Energy Source, it wasn't his own to start with. Besides, he said it before. His Mental Energy Source wasn't damaged, just sealed. Because of that, he couldn't use Zugen's to heal his source since there wasn't anything to be cured. The only thing he got was the minuscule Mental Energy Source that Zugen had consumed because of Heavin.
However, just as he was about to talk, the other cultivators and demon beasts also came out. Obviously, Fura appeared there as well.
"Err... Do any of you know where the exit is?"
Heavin and Liriu looked at each other and laughed out loud.
Soren sighed before saying.
"Now that Zugen is dead, his territory should lose the barrier protecting it. Once that happens, your cultivations will be released once more. Just go outside and open a Spatial Gate after that. There should be no restrictions anymore preventing you from connecting directly outside of the Soren Ruins."
Zuran, the member of the Phoenix Clan, couldn't help but talk.
"Are you perhaps, Soren?"
Krune's group looked at Zuran with some surprise. However, Soren didn't have the same reaction.
"I am him."
"I see..."
Zuran then looked at Liriu with some mixed feelings. It was obvious that Krune's group could wipe them out right now, but none of them had done it. Let alone having Liriu trying to control him.
"Are you really not going to use your Dracophoenix ability?"
Liriu narrowed his eyes.
"Annoying! I don't want any slaves. I don't even like the concept of slaves to start with. Shoo, shoo! This Dracophoenix here is more than capable of taking care of himself alone. Besides, I feel way too lazy to do such a thing."
Krune's group smiled after hearing that. In the end, what happened to Liriu in the past was due to his upbringing and the environment he grew in. Tiane and Ruik wouldn't make the same mistake, especially when his father was the reason for his own laziness. Blood was still blood.
Another cultivator asked something else.
"What about the crystal demon beasts and ghosts in this ruin? If we really try to go out now, we will probably bump on them. It'll be too hard to deal with without our cultivation."
Soren shook his head as he said.
"Don't worry about that. Zugen was their leader and the one who had always controlled their actions. With him gone, they will soon disappear."
The reason for that was that both creatures were being held together with Zugen's Mental Energy. Without him to keep their form, they couldn't exist for much longer.
Sure enough, everyone in the Soren Ruins saw the crystal demon beasts begin to crumble apart as the ghosts dissipated one after another. No one knew what was happening, though.
Krune looked at Zuran for a second before asking.
"By the way, how come you know Soren?"
Zuran looked back at Krune and laughed a bit as he asked.
"Did you forget the name of these ruins?"
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