Gu Qingshan took a step forward, and the old man retreated a step.
The distance between them never shrank.
"Wait..." the old man said.
Gu Qingshan stopped and looked at him.
"Spare my life," the old man said.
"Huh? Weren't you going to eat me?" Gu Qingshan asked in surprise.
"I was wrong. I truly shouldn't have rashly attacked the heir of the sacrificial dance. Please be magnanimous and let me off," the old man said.
Gu Qingshan thought it over. "It's not impossible. Hand over the World System's manifested core, and we'll call it even."
The old man's expression changed. Unwillingly, he said, "If I give you that thing, it's the same as giving you the entire World System."
"You can still live in this world, and you'll keep your life. That's a good deal," Gu Qingshan said.
Struggle appeared on the old man's face.
Looking at him, Gu Qingshan chuckled. "As the saying goes, you have to honor a bet. You started the Spirit Realm War, but now you don't want to give up anything. How can you do that?"
The old man's gaze turned cold. "You have no idea how much I've poured into this world!"
His fingers twitched.
The soil beneath Gu Qingshan's feet burst apart, and countless glowing figures emerged.
Souls!
They were all the souls of the dead. They piled on top of one another, desperately grabbing at Gu Qingshan's hands and feet.
"Stay here! Suffer endless torment with us!"
The souls roared in unison.
The old man laughed loudly. "You naive fool! You still want to spare your enemy's life in the middle of a war? I can't imagine why that lord chose you as an heir—"
He looked toward Gu Qingshan.
Countless souls still clutched at Gu Qingshan, but there wasn't a