"Don't be deceived by his aura of a Saint Mage, he's now only at the level of an Earth-grade Mage after being injured by me." At this moment, the imprisoned old man spoke in a hoarse voice.
Qi Bei's golden eyes flashed, and he let out a low growl. The black sword in his hand suddenly slashed out a golden sword aura, directly attacking the throat of the old mage who looked like a dried corpse.
With a metallic clang, a black light suddenly appeared in front of the old mage's throat, as hard as a diamond, blocking Qi Bei's lightning-fast strike.
"Hehehe…"
The old mage let out a burst of bone-chilling laughter, and his withered claws reached out. Dozens of black smoke instantly wrapped around Qi Bei, lifting him up into the air.
"Even if I'm just an Earth-grade Mage, killing you is as easy as flipping my hand." The withered old mage said, waving his shriveled arm. Qi Bei was sent flying and slammed heavily into the black crystal wall.
"Poof!" Qi Bei spurted out a mouthful of blood, and his organs were writhing in pain.
This was the power of an Earth-grade Mage, unexpectedly so powerful.
A mage can only truly be considered a mage after reaching the King grade. At this level, they would already have some defensive abilities that could match powerful magical attacks. That's what makes them truly terrifying, not to mention an Earth-grade Mage.
The old mage who looked like a dried corpse had once been the peak existence of the entire world as a Saint-grade dark mage. Although his strength had fallen to that of an Earth-grade Mage, even at this level, he couldn't be underestimated.
Qi Bei's strength was almost comparable to that of an ordinary King-grade Warrior, but he was still no match for the old man who looked like a dried-up corpse.
"Offer up your soul and blood, and let me recover my powers of a Saint mage…" The old mage waved his staff, and a series of obscure spells spewed out of his mouth at lightning speed.
A black light shot out from the top of the staff's skull, enveloping Qi Bei, who was curled up into a ball.
Suddenly, a huge suction force penetrated Qi Bei's body, trying to suck all his blood out.
Qi Bei felt that all the blood was uncontrollably trying to escape from his body, his blood vessels began to swell, and veins bulged from all over his body. His handsome face was full of constantly expanding blue veins, like crawling worms, and his eyes were also bloodshot and furious, looking like an evil spirit crawling out of hell.
At the same time, his soul was also continuously pulled out by the suction force lightly, wanting to escape from the bondage of his body.
'Crack, crack, crack…' Qi Bei clenched his teeth tightly, and the internal energy of the Divine Dragon Art began to run wild, trying to suppress this strange and enormous suction force.
At this moment, the black long sword that had fallen next to Qi Bei began to tremble lightly. However, without touching Qi Bei's body, the information it wanted to transmit could not enter Qi Bei's mind.
"What a strong will! However, your struggle is in vain."
Although the withered old mage was somewhat surprised, he was not too concerned. No matter how strong a person's willpower is, it cannot resist his Soul Devouring Technique. After all, the difference in strength between the two can be described as a chasm.
The old mage chanted another spell, and the suction force suddenly doubled.
Qi Bei's whole body began to lift off the ground, floating in the air due to the enormous suction force.
Some of the small arteries in his body began to rupture, oozing out blood from his skin that flew toward the withered old man.
Qi Bei made a gurgling sound from his throat, and a trickle of blood flowed out of his mouth.
"Hahaha, little ant, give up resistance. It will be more satisfying to die like this." The old mage laughed strangely. The stronger Qi Bei's willpower was, the stronger his soul, so how could he not be happy?
Just then, the blood in Qi Bei's pupils was replaced by a golden color, and the gurgling sound in his throat gradually became low, sounding like a dragon's roar coming from a distant sky.
Suddenly, the old mage felt that his suction force was being held back. A terrifying momentum was emanating from Qi Bei's floating figure.
"Not good!" The old mage realized that something was wrong, but the power of his soul fused in the Soul Devouring Technique could not be retracted.
Qi Bei lifted his head, and the veins on his face began to retract. He stared at the withered old mage with his cold and proud golden pupils, as if in this moment, their identities were reversed and the old mage was the insignificant ant.
Qi Bei's hand instantly began to swell, with dense golden scales appearing on it. The sharp claws were shining with a destructive aura.
"The breath of a dragon…" The withered old mage exclaimed in horror. His soul power was firmly captured, and if he wanted to escape, he would have to give up. Then, his strength would drop to that of a king-grade mage, or even just a senior mage.
"Die!" Qi Bei shouted coldly, and the golden light from the dragon claw directly grabbed the old mage's heart.
The old mage's pupils shrank, and a burst of black light appeared all over his body.
When the dragon claw touched the black light, it paused slightly, but then the black light shattered piece by piece, and the sharp claw pierced into the old mage's chest.
At that moment, the withered old mage trembled violently and forcibly severed the power of the soul, causing a burst of terrifying dark energy to explode.
The shockwave rolled in the black crystal chamber, and Qi Bei was blasted out.
"You little bastard, I'll make sure you have no place to be buried!" The old mage roared angrily, and the skull on his wand emitted a faint black mist, gradually condensing into the shape of a wolf.
"I offer my soul as a sacrifice…" Just then, the elderly man who was trapped by a chain began chanting a mysterious incantation in a peculiar rhythm. His face was serene and devout, and a faint white holy light emanated from his body.
A mysterious giant rune condensed and suddenly enveloped the withered old mage.
Seizing this opportunity, Qi Bei howled and plunged both of his huge dragon claws into the old mage's heart and head.
"No…" The old mage roared unwillingly, and the wolf-like phantom that had already taken shape began to dissipate, while the skull wand fell from midair.
Qi Bei pulled out his dragon claws, one of which was holding a still-beating heart, while the other had grasped a lump of white brain matter.
The withered old mage collapsed like a pile of rotting flesh, and the invisible energy that dissipated from his body was greedily absorbed by the black longsword.
Qi Bei's lips curled up into a grin. Under the two claw attacks, his internal energy had been completely exhausted. His Dragon Claw began to retract into his hand, and his body suddenly felt extremely weak.
"Young man, do you have the strength to come over?" At this moment, the imprisoned old man spoke.
Qi Bei turned his head and was surprised to see that the old man's body was slowly becoming transparent. He dragged his weary body and walked toward the old man with heavy footsteps. If he had not used a magical spell to immobilize the whithered old mage just now, Qi Bei would have been in grave danger.