Chapter 319: Mysterious Wizard

The black‑robed Wizard stood on a platform in the forest formed by a tangle of vines and roots.

Lei En could not see through his soul, nor could he judge the other's intent from the soul's color, so he cautiously set the Arbitrary Door at the edge of the platform, keeping as far away as possible.

The black‑robed Wizard looked over, still showing no intention to act.

From start to finish, aside from shapeshifting into a green dragon to battle the Soul‑Hunting Squad and drain their stamina and soul‑energy, and finally using "Dark Entanglement" to control Shiweifute, he did not utter a single word.

Even when Lei En slew the green dragon, he gave no indication whatsoever.

However, Lei En could sense that the black‑robed Wizard kept watching him, his gaze fixed on Lei En, and could not read his thoughts.

"Your Excellency."

Lei En gave a slight nod and called out.

He recalled that the green dragon Mo Na Jia Si referred to the black‑robed Wizard as Fei Tan Ti Le Si, but he had never heard of it, and a search in his mobile library yielded no results.

"Earl of Glamorgan." The black‑robed Wizard finally spoke; his voice was hoarse and aged, at odds with his youthful appearance, his frame gaunt as if a gust could blow him away.

"I need you to do something for me."

Fei Tan Ti Le Si's words were unexpected; he asked for help without any smile or kindness, his expression still cold, as if others serving him were taken for granted.

Lei En kept observing the other with his Soul Eye, yet under the dual effects of Truth Will and the Key of Doors, he still saw nothing, as if the black robe could block all scrutiny, creating a blind spot.

"Do you know me?" Lei En did not comply, but asked in return.

Fei Tan Ti Le Si's mouth curled as if smiling, yet uglier than crying, and he said gloomily, "Anxiwodasi's prized student, of course I know."

Lei En felt a slight chill in his heart.

He directly called the teacher by name, his tone suggesting familiarity; such a figure must at least be a Holy Soul Wizard.

But how could a Holy Soul Wizard have fallen to serve a green dragon?

Moreover, the other's soul was not as powerful as a Holy Soul Wizard's, only at the level of a novice legend.

Lei En was uncertain and asked cautiously, "May I ask who you are?"

"You need not know my identity; I am not your enemy. Just call me Fei Tan Ti Le Si." The black‑robed Wizard's expression grew even colder, and he added, "I need you to do something for me."

"What matter?" Lei En furrowed his brows.

"Help me unlock it."

Fei Tan Ti Le Si turned up the collar of his black robe, revealing a collar around his neck. The collar was only a finger's width, seemingly forged from a teal metal, seamless, tightly encircling his throat, etched with obscure runes.

Lei En had never seen those runes; they belonged to a completely different script from what he had studied.

He examined them carefully a few times and noticed some clues.

It appeared to be a dragon‑race artifact; the runes on the collar were variants of ancient draconic language. Though only a dozen‑plus symbols, together they held multiple enchantments, and removing any rune or violently destroying the collar would trigger unknown consequences.

He could not discern its exact enchantments at a glance, shook his head and said, "Sorry, I cannot unlock this collar."

"No, you can."

Fei Tan Ti Le Si said confidently, "You are one of the few in the world who can unlock a Soul‑binding Circle. I don't know which method you should use, but you will succeed; think carefully."

His words left Lei En completely bewildered.

Logically it was odd; he seemed to know Lei En intimately, brimming with confidence, yet claimed not to know how to proceed.

This was utterly inexplicable.

Lei En did not reply immediately, asking, "Your Excellency, why do you think I can unlock it?"

Fei Tan Ti Le Si stared at Lei En; deep within his eyes a faint flicker, his pupils for a split second lost focus, turning into hourglasses of golden sand flowing slowly, forming a twisted, blurry reflection of Lei En's silhouette, then returning to normal.

He affirmed again, "You can do it."

Seeing Lei En appear unmoved, Fei Tan Ti Le Si could only explain, "This is my ability; it never errs. When you return to Mo Du and consult your teacher, perhaps you'll find an answer."

"Alright." Lei En nodded.

Actually he had already figured out what to do; approaching Fei Tan Ti Le Si, he reached out and asked, "May I?"

"Please, go ahead."

Lei En's hand touched the metal collar and instantly discerned its structure and properties.

It was a wondrous magical alloy, not naturally formed; its smelting method and formula were unprecedented, allowing perfect fusion with the runes to bind and enslave a soul.

Regardless of how the soul's body changed—shrinking, expanding, becoming ethereal or deforming—the collar could instantly adjust its shape, preventing the target from escaping, like a festering bone wound.

The collar housed a powerful spiritual imprint.

Once worn, life and death were controlled by the imprint's owner, akin to mind enchantment but distinct. Mind enchantment is an innate spell, sometimes resisted and can be dispelled by stronger spells or Divine Technique, whereas this Soul‑binding Circle is tangible; only by dismantling it can it be removed.

The collar's material was extremely sturdy; if violently broken, it would trigger self‑detonation, annihilating the target's body and spirit.

Lei En couldn't help but sigh.

The construction was exquisitely intricate, its crafting method unlike any of today's, surely forged by the hand of a powerful ancient true dragon.

Fei Tan Ti Le Si was correct; he indeed could dismantle this Soul‑binding Circle.

Regardless of which alloy formed the collar, it was metal; Lei En's activated metal could nullify it in an instant without triggering the self‑destruct runes.

However, Lei En did not rush to remove it.

He was intrigued by the Soul‑binding Circle, feigning contemplation of how to break it while earnestly studying the runes. Even without understanding draconic runes, he could memorize them and later experiment, perhaps recreating a brand‑new Soul‑binding Circle.

Fei Tan Ti Le Si did not urge him, allowing Lei En to press his hand to his throat, waiting patiently.

Until after a dozen minutes.

Lei En finally said, "I'm about to begin."

Fei Tan Ti Le Si nodded; the next second, the rigid collar melted, flowing like water onto Lei En's hand, solidifying into a metal ingot the size of a quail egg, emitting faint teal light. The runes once etched upon it ceased to function entirely.

The whole process took only two or three seconds; the Soul‑binding Circle was undone.

Even though Fei Tan Ti Le Si knew Lei En had a way, he hadn't expected it to be so easy; a problem that had plagued him for years was solved by Lei En as effortlessly as drinking water.

He did not press Lei En for how it was done, his face still expressionless, and said:

"I owe you a favor."

Lei En smiled, but inside he actually didn't care.

He didn't even know the other party's identity; what use is this favor?

He observed with his Soul Eye and found that after the Soul-binding Circle was removed, Fei Tan Ti Le Si's soul condition remained the same as before, with no change.

The Soul-binding Circle only restricted his bodily freedom and did not suppress his soul power.

"Consider this metal collar your reward," Fei Tan Ti Le Si said, waving his hand to open a teleportation portal.

Lei En's pupils contracted; Fei Tan Ti Le Si's casting speed was unbelievably fast, the portal reached six‑ring yet was almost instantaneous. His gaze pierced the portal and saw the distance was very far, at least over two hundred li, far exceeding a normal six‑ring portal's range.

An ordinary novice Wizard could never possess such advanced casting ability.

Fei Tan Ti Le Si walked toward the portal, but stopped suddenly before entering, turned and said, "You'd better leave the Sea of Death Forest immediately; the owner of this collar is the Green Dragon King 'Zhan Qing'. Although Monagas is just one of its many offspring, it is highly valued. Given Zhan Qing's narrow‑minded nature, it might come for revenge at any time."

After speaking, he entered the portal, and his emaciated figure vanished.

Lei En stared at the empty platform, his expression somewhat solemn.

He had heard of Zhan Qing's name; it is one of Ai Lun E Si's most notorious evil dragons, over three thousand years old, already in the Primordial Dragon stage, called the Green Dragon King, ruling the deepest quarter of the Sea of Death Forest, and countless dragon‑slayers have perished beneath its breath.

The older the dragon, the stronger its power; a Primordial Green Dragon's strength rivals that of a demigod!

Lei En dared not waste time; he just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

He immediately opened an Arbitrary Door next to the Green Dragon's corpse and shouted, "Shi Wei Fu Te, you go into the dragon's nest to loot treasure; I'll dismember the Green Dragon's body. Hurry, Zhan Qing may be on the way."

"Green Dragon King!"

"Heavens, the goddess is above…"

Everyone who heard Zhan Qing's name inhaled a cold gasp, their eyes filled with panic.

Bu Lai Mi Te was even more frantic, jumping, "What treasure do we need? Green Dragons are penniless; the things they collect are worthless, and this Green Dragon is so young, how many good things could it have? Run!"

The soul hunters ignored the advice and sprinted into the dragon's nest from the entrance at top speed, as if a dragon were chasing them from behind.

Lei En had actually just said it offhand to scare everyone into hurrying.

Green Dragons are not adept at teleportation spells; even if the Green Dragon King flies fast, it's hard for him to rush from the deep Sea of Death Forest in a short time, so the probability of this happening is very low.

Shi Wei Fu Te, however, did not enter the nest; he came over, took out a silver silk bag, and said, "Lord Count, this is a high‑grade corpse‑wrapping bag, capable of holding a giant dragon's corpse and bringing it back to the Empire for later dismemberment."

Lei En couldn't help but be surprised; Shi Wei Fu Te's preparation was indeed thorough, even considering this.

This kind of corpse‑wrapping bag is similar to dimensional space equipment, but can only store corpses, with limits on quantity and weight; many soul‑hunting squads carry a few. A high‑grade bag can hold a corpse up to five hundred thousand pounds, more than enough for this Green Dragon.

He took the silver silk bag, opened its mouth, activated it with spiritual energy, and instantly the massive dragon corpse shrank and was sucked inside, while the bag's weight changed little.

In less than three minutes, the soul hunters emerged from the dragon's nest.

Each of them muttered curses, holding hardly any loot, looking nothing like they had just plundered a giant dragon's treasure.

Lei En had no mind to inspect, took out his Arcane Torrent Staff, opened a teleportation portal, and let everyone enter.

He used up the remaining three portal charges on the staff in one go.

He teleported one hundred fifty li, crossed the Ismu River Valley, then summoned all six fiery dragons; everyone leapt onto the dragons' backs, desperately flying toward the outside of the Sea of Death Forest.

(End of Chapter)