Death... and me

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Roan then looked at Duran before asking, "How old do you think that green pendant of yours is? Or better yet, how old was that inheritance when you found it?"

Duran understood where Roan was coming from. "You want to know whether the portal to the Realm of Gods was closed at the same time as the senior from the Realm of Gods arrived here, right?" Roan nodded and waited for Duran to continue. "To be honest, I don't know. However, I can guarantee that it is definitely much older than me. Even older than the ancestors of the Soul Rulers organization during the time I was still a kid. Saying that it's several thousands of years old would be a huge understatement."

Roan pondered a bit in silence before saying, "Then, I can conclude that not being the owner of this dimensional realm isn't the whole story. At first, we thought that this might not be the Bestial Sacred Ground. However, I'm more inclined to say that the Bestial Sacred Ground that Frin and the other Divine Demon Beasts knew was the fake one. The real Bestial Sacred Ground is the one we're inside at the moment."

Everyone agreed with Roan on that point. Of course, there was no guarantee about that. It's just that this was the most possible conclusion.

Frin obviously became even more irritated after understanding that point. "Not only did we lose so many Divine Demon Beasts, but that piece of shit is also using our demon beasts' Sacred Ground to do that."

Rean then noticed another thing. "Oh, if what we've deduced so far is correct, then not everything is bad news." Roan, Frin, and Duran's attention were piqued as they waited for Rean to continue talking. "Can't you see? No one knows why the portal to the Realm of Gods was closed. At first, we thought too many Divine Demon Beasts had left, so the portal lost its support. However, considering everything we've deduced and found so far, i's obvious that the enemy was the one to close it."

Rean continued, "That senior from the Realm of Gods probably came here when he found a problem with the portal back in the Realm of Gods. Whatever may be the reason, he lost and died later in the dwelling place Duran found. Maybe he was poisoned, or maybe he succumbed to something else. But here comes the good news. The owner of the crimson sphere was forced to close the portal to the Realm of Gods at any cost, or he would definitely be caught by the next seniors coming from there...or so I believe. If we can defeat him, that means..."

Frin and Duran's eyes lit up straight away. "That means we can probably open the portal again. At the very least, this is a more viable option than the one we had before. It makes a lot more sense!" Sure enough, for these two Peak Stage Transition Realm beings, entering the Realm of Gods was more important than anything else.

Rean nodded in response. "Exactly! So when the time comes, I hope you two will do your best to defeat the opponent. Roan and I are just Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, so we obviously don't have much interest in that portal at all. We only came here to get a better understanding of the formations that controlled it."

There wasn't a need to ask that. Duran and Frin already had a strong grudge for what happened until now. Let alone the fact that it could lead to the opening of the portal to the Realm of Gods. "Don't worry. We'll definitely do everything we can. Unless we see that it's impossible to win, we won't retreat easily." Surprisingly, Frin and Duran seemed to have reached a mutual understanding. It was a rare alliance where both of them discarded the issue of each other's race.

Roan was obviously satisfied to see that since that also meant a higher chance for him and Rean to escape this trouble. "In that case, I might as well throw in another piece of information. Just understand that I don't have any proof of it at all." Rean, Frin, and Duran nodded as Roan continued. "Since that guy can't come out, there's a good chance he suffered some kind of backlash and needed the souls we saw its red claws taking away to recover. Or perhaps he's actually sealed in this place, and that's actually the real use of those souls."

"Indeed, there's no proof of that," Duran agreed. "However, I'm inclined to believe you're right. After all, he hasn't come out to deal with us yet. Whichever of the two cases it may be, it's to our advantage."

However, Roan also gave them another piece of his mind, telling them of the worst-case scenario he had imagined. "Of course, he might also be using the souls to strengthen himself instead of healing or liberating himself from the seals. But I find this the most unlikely option because of the same reason as before. He didn't come out to deal with us. Still, keep that in mind just in case."

Frin and Duran nodded in response after that. They were already satisfied that Roan didn't try to hide that possibility.

Rean then laughed. "Hahaha! We have been talking for a while already. Is there anything else we've forgotten to consider before we return to destroying the crimson spheres?"

Duran and Frin shook their heads in response. However, Roan still had one more thing in his mind. He then looked at Duran before asking, "The power to use souls for their own benefit..." Roan narrowed his eyes as he continued, "Duran, doesn't that ring a bell in your mind?"

Duran bitterly smiled as he immediately understood what Roan meant. "Everything...literally, everything is connected..." Duran felt like he was an idiot at this moment. "How could I have not noticed it before? It was so obvious!"

Rean couldn't help but ask, "Are you talking about the Bloodline Soul Marks?"

Duran laughed in self-deprecation after hearing that. "Hahaha! If it was just that, then that's fine. Unfortunately, it goes much deeper than that. Much, much deeper!"