Chapter 186 Return to the Soul Palace

Max felt weightless.

Suspended in nothingness.

A vast, endless abyss surrounded him, stretching infinitely in all directions.

He wasn't falling.

He wasn't rising.

He was simply drifting.

It was a strange, suffocating feeling, unlike anything he had experienced before.

Then—

A sudden pull.

Like an invisible force yanking his very soul.

And before he could even process what was happening—

He was somewhere else.

His Soul Palace.

Max's eyes flickered open, his surroundings instantly familiar.

The massive Tai Chi Diagram Door stood before him, unchanged.

Just like before—

The white part of the diagram was only an outline, incomplete.

The black part was solid, full, a stark contrast that made the door seem asymmetrical and unnatural.

The cloud like world but completely black.

There was no denying it. He was back in the entrance of his Soul Palace.

A frown crossed Max's face.

'How the hell did I end up here?'

He didn't like this.

Something about this wasn't right.

The last time he was here, it was because he wanted to break the door to Soul Palace.

But now?

He didn't do anything.

And yet—he was back.

Something Was Happening.

His instincts screamed at him—something had triggered this.

Something had forced him to return here.

And the only thing that could have done that—

Was the blue orb.

"Hehehehe… Finally, after so long… After years of waiting, someone has finally fallen into my last-ditch effort to not die."

A deep, aged voice echoed around Max, carrying a sinister amusement, as if the speaker had been waiting for an eternity for this moment.

Max's eyes snapped open fully, his entire body tensing as he quickly scanned his surroundings.

This was his Soul Palace.

A place that belonged only to him.

And yet—

There was someone else here.

A presence.

A foreign will.

'How?!'

His instincts screamed in alarm.

A presence inside the Soul Palace meant true danger.

If something took control here… it could take control of him.

His pink eyes burned, his focus sharp.

"Who?"

His voice was low, demanding, cautious.

And then—

A shadow shifted.

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness of his Soul Palace—

Max's gaze locked onto the emerging figure.

A middle-aged man slowly materialized before him, his presence undeniable, yet eerily detached from reality.

His long purple hair flowed gently, despite the absence of wind. His face was sharp, his features regal and filled with an unshakable confidence, as if he had once stood at the peak of power.

The dark red robes he wore were of ancient design, the fabric seeming almost too refined, too old, as though it came from an era long forgotten.

And just like Max—

He was in his ethereal form.

A ghost of the past.

Or perhaps—

"Are you the master of the temple?"

Max's voice was calm, but his mind was racing.

This man—this phantom in his Soul Palace—wasn't just some remnant of the past. He was dangerous.

And Max wasn't naive enough to believe otherwise.

The middle-aged man smirked, his expression carrying mocking amusement.

"You are not as idiotic as I assumed you to be."

His sneer deepened, but his tone remained cold, calculated.

"Though, it doesn't change anything. Since I am inside your body, standing before your Soul Palace—"

His glowing violet eyes flashed.

"Your body, more or less, is mine."

Max's face darkened, realization crashing down on him like an avalanche.

His heart pounded.

A bit of panic spread through his being.

This was the first time he had ever been in a true life-and-death situation.

This wasn't a battle of strength.

This wasn't about aura levels or cultivation ranks.

This was a battle of souls.

If he lost here—he wouldn't just die.

He would cease to exist.

His body—his everything—would be taken from him.

But—

He forced himself to calm down.

Panic would only get him killed faster.

His mind raced, searching for any countermeasures that could work against this invading soul.

Because from the moment he had laid eyes on the man—

He knew.

The middle aged man's soul force was countless times stronger.

A direct battle?

Impossible. He would lose. Instantly.

He needed time.

Time to come up with a plan.

Time to find a way out.

And so—he spoke.

"So all of this— the temple, the floors, the trials, the monoliths—this was all just your plan to find a new body?"

Max's pink eyes locked onto the man, his voice steady.

"All of this just so you could come back to life again?"

The middle-aged man grinned.

A slow, knowing grin.

And Max knew—

He had taken the bait.

"Hehe."

The middle-aged man let out a soft chuckle, his lips curling into a bittersweet smile.

Then, he spoke.

"Nobody wants to die at the peak of their lives. And I was no exception."

His violet eyes darkened, the weight of old memories clouding his gaze.

"I, too, wanted to live to the fullest… But an incident changed everything for me."

Max listened intently, his mind alert but his body unmoving.

He needed to keep him talking.

"I was heavily injured," the man continued. "Forced to flee the battlefield, to hide for countless centuries."

His voice carried bitterness, resentment—pain.

"But the injuries caused by those creatures…"

His fists clenched, his tone dropping into a whisper.

"They were unlike anything I had ever seen before."

Max frowned hearing him.

'Nulls?'

He thought.

"My body began rotting—slowly, over time. I could feel myself decaying."

Max's eyes narrowed.

"And I knew…"

The middle-aged man looked up, his gaze carrying the weight of inevitability.

"It was only a matter of time before I would be gone. Before I disappeared from this world."

A suffocating silence settled between them.

Then—

His smirk returned.

"So, as my last-ditch attempt to save my life… I created this plan."

Max's mind raced.

This entire temple, this entire trial—

It had all been a trap.

A carefully woven scheme spanning centuries, waiting for the perfect candidate.

He was that candidate.

But then—

The man let out a low chuckle and shook his head.

"Don't get me wrong."

His violet eyes gleamed with something almost nostalgic.

"This temple… I had already designed it long before, to take in disciples. To nurture talent. To pass on my knowledge."

Then, his expression hardened.

"But alas… in the end, I had to use it like this."

Max stared at him.

This man—

He had once been a great figure. A master.

But now?

He was nothing more than a ghost clinging to life.

A remnant of the past, refusing to be erased.

And now—

He had chosen his body as his salvation.

Max nodded slightly, his expression unreadable.

Then—he spoke.

"I see."

His voice was calm, almost casual.

The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow, as if curious about Max's reaction.

Then—

Max tilted his head slightly and said,

"But could you… not take my body?"

For a moment—

There was silence.

The man blinked.

Max continued, his tone light but deliberate.

"You see, I like myself very much. And unlike you, I'm very young, with a lot of important things left to do."

He gestured vaguely with his hands.

"So… could you just, you know, wait for another candidate?" Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

His pink eyes gleamed with amusement, though deep inside, his ready.

For a brief second—

The middle-aged man stared at him, processing his words.

Then—

"PFFT—"

A slow, dark chuckle escaped from his lips.

Then it turned into a full-blown laugh.

A laughter filled with mockery and disbelief.

"HAHAHAHA!"

The sound echoed through the Soul Palace, sending a strange pressure through the air.

When he finally calmed down, he wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye and smirked.

"You are quite amusing, boy. I'll give you that."

Then, his violet eyes turned sharp, his tone shifting from amusement to deadly seriousness.

"But unfortunately for you…"

The pressure increased.

"I don't have time to wait."

His form flickered, inching closer toward Max.

"And you… are the perfect vessel. To reach the top of monolith only a few so could ever do so even in the Middle Domain."

He grinned suddenly.

"Moreover, your entrance to Soul Palace is already half broken. This makes you literally the best person I could hope for."

He laughed.

"I guess even fate wants this to happen."

Max's expression remained neutral, but deep inside—

His mind was already preparing for a fight.