Death... and me

Rean then connected to the Dimensional Realm and warned Clad, 'I'm going to bring you out in the middle of the crowd of workers.'

Clad nodded, though he couldn't help but ask, 'Why would you want to mess with the Soul Rulers? You do know that even your Celestial Land can't contend against them, right?'

Rean laughed in response, saying, 'Hahaha! Tell that to my elders, not me. I'm fine with anything my master wants to do. If not for him, I would just be another human slave, after all. In any case, it's not like you will leave without any benefits. Just the time you will spend here is enough for your cultivation to skyrocket. That's why the workers are swapped here every year or so.'

Indeed, that was the main reason why Clad didn't complain too much. He already knew what kind of environment the place had. Even if he had to do some heavy work, just the Spiritual Energy alone was more than worth it. Rank Four Spirit Stones were hard to get, even for someone like him. But now, he would have the opportunity to cultivate in a place that had Spiritual Energy equivalent to Rank Five or higher! How could he let this chance pass up? First of all, he was on this journey with the twins as a gamble for his Imperial Family Branch. That being said, he might as well go all out.

Using his Light Element and Spiritual Sense Bending Skills, Rean soon brought Clad out of the Dimensional Realm in the middle of the crowd of Zasfins. All of them had at least Core Formation Realm cultivation, so it wasn't hard to blend Clad among them.

The Soul Rulers were keeping an eye on Rean, but he seemed to only want to look at the movement. As long as he didn't try anything to escape, they wouldn't capture him either. Little did they know that their focus on Rean only made his job easier.

Rean then used his Spiritual Sense to talk with him, telling him, 'Clad, just follow them and do your job. I already gave you enough antidotes for you to keep the poison at bay for at least half a year. Don't let this chance pass up and use every second you have to cultivate when you're not working.'

Rean also asked something else, adding, 'One more thing. Try to find out what this excavation is for. I really want to know why they aren't using humans to do it.'

Clad nodded as he followed the Zasfins, replying, 'No problem. As for my escape, I just need to inject Spiritual Energy into this collar you gave me, right?'

'Yes,' Rean replied. He had made a collar for Clad that had the same effect as Agis's one. Once Spiritual Energy was sent inside, Light Element would gather around him. Rean was the only one other than Roan who could feel Light Element due to his affinity. That being said, it was more than enough for him to find Clad's location as long as he wasn't too far away. 'From what I know, the Zasfins participating in the excavation will come up for rest every week of continuous work. Just use the collar, and I'll be able to tell where you are. We can talk through Spiritual Sense when that happens. The day the Zasfins get swapped, I'll stop by to bring you out of that batch and put you in the next one in a different place.'

Clad had his doubts and fear about these crazy plans. However, he still decided to roll with it. 'Alright. Roan gave me the training schedule as well, so I'll make sure to make good use of it.' This was another part of the deal Rean offered. With Roan's routine, Clad was bound to cultivate both Spiritual Energy and Soul Power much faster. Of course, there were no demon beasts' regions for them to go out and battle. On the other hand, the amount of Spiritual Energy alone more than made up for it.

Clad then disappeared in one of the excavation entrances and left the range of Rean's Spiritual Sense. He would only know more about him once he surfaced in the next few days.

Rean then contacted Roan, telling him, 'Although I planned for everything, they might find out that Clad wasn't part of the group that came along. I heard the Zasfins say that they just grabbed anyone and that it didn't matter. However, be ready to run if you feel anything strange.'

Roan agreed with him, saying, 'Obviously.'

Following that, Rean went to walk around again as if he didn't have any exact destination in mind. Eventually, he felt tired and returned to Sevinia's estate.

Back at Roan's side, he was sent into some kind of bath rich in Spiritual Energy. A few other humans washed him from top to bottom, making him as clean as possible. It seemed like the place where the Bloodline Trial Control Formations required it. Well, it was not like he cared about it anyway.

Once that was finished, Roan received a thin robe before he was enveloped by Spiritual Energy and pulled through the air by an elder of the Soul Rulers. Their methods were so thorough that they didn't allow him to even walk there. That's how clean the place was.

Roan noticed he was brought into a ridiculously enormous building at the very center of the Soul Rulers' headquarters. At first, he didn't notice that since it didn't appear so much. But now that he was inside, he understood just how big it was. That's because most of the building was underground! 'Those excavations should be part of the reason why this building is like this. Then again, this Spiritual Energy concentration...'

The Spiritual Energy concentration outside was also impressive. However, the one here was simply on another level. 'Rank Six... maybe Rank Seven even?' Roan thought to himself for a moment.

The Zasfin flying with him then arrived at a giant closed gate. There, Roan could see around ten or so kids that used the same clothes as him, waiting in front of it. 'Seems like I'm finally here.'

Another Zasfin then approached the one who brought Roan and asked, "Is this the famous adult human with high Soul Purity?"

"Yes. Elder Puan already did all the tests necessary, so he can be sent inside already," answered the Zasfin responsible for Roan.

The guy nodded in response, saying, "Very well, he was the last one anyway." Soon after, he turned around and gave the order, "Open the gates!"

Several inscriptions lit up on the gate as it began to slowly move. Obviously, it was protected by many formations. All the kids looked at it, not knowing what was behind. As for Roan, he looked at it as if nothing was happening.

Eventually, Roan was able to see the world behind it. The underground facility extended as far as he could see to the front. Everything shone with a faint blue light, just like the gem used for the Soul Purity Test. Once the gate opened completely, Roan noticed that the facility was like a huge straight tunnel. On the ground, he could see the formations responsible for that blue light. It didn't take long for him to notice that at the very center of every formation, there was a human kid.

In that tunnel, the formations were separated by what seemed to be age. On his right side, there were smaller formations with very young kids, no more than five or six years old. As he continued to look leftward, their age increased to what seemed to be ten to twelve-year-old kids. The size of the formations increased as well. That being said, there was a smaller amount of older kids than there were young ones.

As Roan passed through the door, he noticed another group of Zasfins bringing eight young humans with them. The Zasfin responsible for Roan's group then looked at the other Zasfins in front before asking, "Is this the batch of Soul Stones this time?"

The guy in front nodded, saying, "Yes. Their Soul has already reached the limit of what they can operate. We can only use them for Soul Stones now."

Roan narrowed his eyes for a moment but let it go. However, Rean, who was watching everything through his Soul Connection, had a dark expression. 'Indeed. There's no coming back for humans with high Soul Purity. Once they're finished with the Bloodline Trials, only the option of becoming a Soul Stone is left.'

One of the young humans couldn't help but tug on the Zasfin's clothes as he asked, "Uncle Iago, what do you mean by becoming Soul Stones?"

The Zasfin, by the name of Iago, crouched down in response and patted the kid's head with a smile as he replied, "Hahaha! That means you'll be able to help us even more than now. This is a great honor that only the best kids of the Soul Paradise can have."

*Wow!*

All the kids immediately became excited as the Zasfins responsible for them laughed. However, Roan could tell that those smiles from the Zasfins were as fake as they could be. 'It seems like, to maintain the kids' Soul Purity for as long as possible, the Zasfins have to treat them well. It's obvious that they don't like doing it at all. Too bad these kids can't see the difference.'

Roan then warned Rean, 'You better not try anything stupid. Not only would you not be able to save these ones, but you'll also be putting the rest in danger.'

Rean then took a deep breath as he watched the kids being brought away through Roan's eyes, saying, 'I know. Don't worry.'