All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 15: Sunset Castle

“When I awakened as a light contractor, I was attacked by the Nightmare race. Although my grandfather was by my side protecting me, the enemy was incredibly cunning, and I was still inflicted with cold poison. This poison makes my cultivation progress extremely slow, and if I consume too much light power, I’ll instantly be struck back by the cold poison, losing my ability to move. This cold poison also prevents me from approaching other living beings. Anyone or any creature I touch will be invaded and frozen by the cold poison. Even someone as strong as my grandfather can’t resist it.”

At this point, Lixi glanced at Zhanyue, wondering why he wasn’t afraid of her cold poison.

“I see. No wonder it’s said that the Nightmare race never attacks you. It seems they’re very confident in their cold poison, believing you can’t grow up to become a second illumination Goddess,” Zhanyue nodded, his previous doubts instantly cleared.

Lixi looked dejected. “Grandfather has tried countless methods for my cold poison, but none have had much effect. He only managed to obtain a divine jade that can slightly suppress the intensity of the cold poison. It’s this bracelet on my hand. When the bracelet turns blue, it means it’s working to suppress the cold poison.”

Zhanyue looked at the bracelet on her wrist, which was now quite red, as the cold poison in her body had been suppressed.

“Is there really no other way?” Zhanyue asked further. If the Holy Light Maiden couldn’t grow up, it would be a huge loss for humanity.

“Grandfather says there’s probably only one thing in the world that can cure the cold poison in my body,” Lixi sighed.

“What is it?” Zhanyue asked curiously.

“The Sun God Crown!” Lixi answered. “The Sun God Crown was the illumination Goddess’s treasure, always worn on her head. It disappeared from the world soon after the Goddess fell. My prayer at the Goddess Statue this time was just hoping for the Goddess’s blessing to find the Sun God Crown.”

Zhanyue suddenly understood. So the crown on the illumination Goddess’s head was the Sun God Crown, and the gem from that crown was now in his possession. No wonder he could suppress the cold poison in Lixi’s body. That explained it! But he dared not tell the truth to the girl before him. Firstly, this gem was related to his biggest secret. Secondly, even if he gave this gem to Lixi, it would be useless, because the owner of this gem was the illumination Goddess, and he could only activate this gem due to special reasons. In Lixi’s hands, it would probably just be an ordinary stone.

Zhanyue extended his hand, and a flame floated in his palm. “Although I’m not a fire contractor, I’ve also mastered the power of fire. Perhaps my flame is different?”

Lixi looked at the flame, her eyes a bit dazed. The cold poison in her body seemed to indeed fear this flame a little.

“Stop talking, they’re coming again,” Lixi warned, her face serious.

The wolf pack they had previously destroyed had surrounded them again. These wolf corpses weren’t the main bodies; after destroying the Nightmares inside them, another batch of Nightmares had possessed them and caught up.

“It’s up to you now,” Zhanyue said sensibly. He couldn’t even beat one wolf.

Lixi nodded, her staff appearing in her hand. More than ten small suns floated above their heads. Controlling these small suns, the light contractor quickly annihilated these wolf beasts. This was something other contractors simply couldn’t do, because the wolf corpses were already dead bodies, and ordinary attacks could hardly harm the possessing Nightmares. If you couldn’t harm the Nightmares, it was meaningless. Only light contractors could so easily destroy them. Unfortunately, for Lixi to grow up, she would probably have to endure many more hardships.

Having learned a lesson this time, Zhanyue didn’t intend to give them another chance to possess. He walked to the wolf corpses and burned them clean with the fire in his palm.

“I’ve never seen such a strong newcomer at the Spirit Contract Realm. Your flames seem endless, even stronger than fire contractors. How do you do it?” Lixi’s star-like eyes examined this enigmatic man.

“Really? Maybe I’m a genius,” Zhanyue laughed it off. He had just noticed that he had been too high-profile. Even fire contractors at this level probably couldn’t casually use flames to burn these wolf corpses. He’d have to be more careful in the future.

“This desert is full of countless buried bones. Burning these wolf packs is just a drop in the bucket. We should hurry on our way,” Lixi said, her face turning pale again.

“Are you okay? Should I hold your hand again?” Zhanyue said, looking at the girl in the dim moonlight.

“Mm,” Lixi said softly, her cheeks red. She was just a newly-come-of-age girl, how could she be so intimate with a man? But now was not the time to worry about such things, after all, she needed Zhanyue to help her suppress the recurring cold poison in her body.

“By the way, where did you hide that staff?” Zhanyue asked curiously. Every time they fought, Lixi could always pull out that staff, but now it wasn’t in her hand.

“It’s this ring,” Lixi pointed to the ring she wore on her hand. “It can store items up to one cubic meter. Spatial rings are extremely precious. This was given to me by my grandfather.”

“A spatial ring?” Zhanyue was very envious, but he knew such things weren’t easy to obtain.

“I can’t give this to you, otherwise my grandfather will give you trouble,” Lixi seemed to see through Zhanyue’s thoughts.

“Well… I’m not a greedy person. It’s just that you’re covered in treasures. It’s quite dangerous for one person to be out alone like this,” Zhanyue laughed awkwardly.

“Aren’t you here too? How is that being alone?” Lixi smiled.

“Me? I’m just a burden, holding you back. Besides, what if I’m also a bad guy? You’d be even more doomed. Especially since you’re so beautiful,” Zhanyue said to this naive girl. The two were just joking around to ease the current terrifying and silent atmosphere. At this moment, they could only rely on each other. Zhanyue needed Lixi’s power, while Lixi needed Zhanyue to help her suppress the cold poison.

“I’m not worried about bad guys harassing me. Anyone who touches me will just turn into an ice sculpture. But…” Lixi trailed off, too embarrassed to continue. If Zhanyue were to harass her, he seemed unafraid of her cold poison, but the current Zhanyue couldn’t beat her anyway.

“But what? By the way, your grandfather is so powerful, why isn’t he here to protect you?” Zhanyue suddenly asked. If this Holy Maiden’s grandfather were here, there wouldn’t be so many accidents.

“I don’t know. Grandfather left halfway through. It must have been something very important. But he left a mark on me, so he should be able to find us quickly. We just need to hold on until he arrives. He’s very fast,” Lixi was very confident in her grandfather’s abilities.

“Your grandfather is…?” Zhanyue asked curiously.

Lixi was surprised that this person didn’t even know her grandfather. The Mumu clan was famous across the Myriad Spirits Realm, and as the leader of the Mumu clan, Mumu Xingyun was a Spirit God Realm expert, known as the ‘Wind Lord’, a legendary wind contractor. A Spirit God Realm spirit contractor was a national treasure for any country, not easily mobilized.

“Sometimes I really wonder where such an odd person like you came from. You couldn’t be from some secret realm, could you?” Mumu Lixi asked in return.

Just like that princess, even the Holy Maiden suspected he was from a secret realm. This was fine, after all, seeing Earth as a secret realm wasn’t much different.

“That’s right, but I can’t say exactly where I’m from. In any case, I indeed don’t understand this world well enough yet,” Zhanyue didn’t deny it.

“I see,” The Holy Maiden was also very curious about the legendary secret realms. There were many secret realms in the Myriad Spirits Realm, and legend had it that some realms hadn’t been invaded by Nightmares, and the people there were incredibly safe and happy.

In the dim moonlight, a strange ancient castle suddenly appeared before the two.

“The Sunset Castle… We really are in the Sunset Desert,” This Holy Maiden’s geography was very good. “The Sunset Castle during the day has been explored by countless people, but the Sunset Castle at night seems very dangerous. We’d better not go there.”

“Go to the Sunset Castle. That’s your only choice.” A voice suddenly appeared in Zhanyue’s mind. It was the illumination Goddess.

“??? Where are you talking to me from?” Zhanyue said excitedly. If the illumination Goddess returned, he wouldn’t need to fear any enemy.

“You’re getting excited too early. I’m very, very far from you. At this moment, distant water can’t quench a nearby thirst. But I can hear your conversation through the Sun Stone, and I can communicate with you in your mind through the Sun God Crown, but that’s all I can do. Go to the castle. If I remember correctly, there’s a teleportation array there that can send you out of the Sunset Desert. With how weak you are, you’ll die if you encounter powerful Nightmares.”

“Let’s… go to the castle,” Zhanyue pulled the Holy Maiden towards the castle.

“But…” The Holy Maiden still wanted to tell Zhanyue about the terrifying legends of the castle.

“Trust me. I take my life very seriously.” Zhanyue said forcefully.

“Al… alright,” The Holy Maiden was curious. She was clearly much stronger than Zhanyue, but Zhanyue could give her a strong sense of security.

Just as the two were heading towards the castle, a major event occurred in Sun City. A cyan-robed old man fell from the sky, collapsing in front of the City Lord’s mansion.

“It’s… it’s my teacher. How could he be so severely injured? This… this is impossible!” Everything happening before his eyes made Eagle King Zhan Yunfei’s face turn pale. His teacher, the powerful Wind Lord, how could he be so heavily injured? If he was injured, how could the Holy Maiden’s safety be guaranteed? “This is beyond my capabilities. I must quickly get Her Highness the Princess to come and handle this.”

The eagle on Zhan Yunfei’s shoulder instantly transformed into an arrow, disappearing into the night sky.