All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 36

As a person from the previous era, with all her contemporaries gone, the illumination Goddess was naturally lonely and isolated. In this aspect, she was similar to Zhanyue, who also didn’t belong to this world and was alone.

“Sister, don’t be sad. I too have no family or friends. Now we can be said to be depending on each other for survival,” Zhanyue said. They truly were depending on each other for survival in the most literal sense. Both fell silent for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, the illumination Goddess broke the silence.

“I’m not sad, just a bit melancholic. After my death, the one who created a space to put me in the Goddess statue and made a jade coffin for me with Heavenly Heart Jade was probably her. Now that I’ve come back to life, I don’t know where her soul has gone. I went to her former residence, but it’s long since fallen into ruin. I don’t know if she has any descendants. But I suppose not. She was obsessed with cultivation and extremely proud. No man in the world could catch her eye,” the illumination Goddess explained.

“It seems you two were really close,” Zhanyue said. At this moment, he didn’t know how to comfort the illumination Goddess. The feeling of old friends passing away while oneself comes back to life was something he couldn’t comprehend. He fell silent and began his own cultivation.

“Heaven has mysterious thunder, earth has dark fire. Using the golden cauldron as a medium and the physical body as a spirit tool, draw upon the earth’s veins to temper the body, ultimately becoming a vessel for fire. When the technique is initially mastered, it can produce Earth Vein Dark Fire. It can be used to fight enemies, scorch souls, damage bodies, with unstoppable might; it can be used to refine pills, melting all things without reducing medicinal properties, and even adding spiritual energy. Earth Vein Dark Fire is the extreme of yin fire, only those of utmost yang should practice it. Otherwise, the dark fire will backfire, destroying both form and spirit! Be extremely cautious.”

“Only those of utmost yang should practice it? This technique has such a requirement? Sister, am I of utmost yang constitution?” Zhanyue asked nervously.

“I’m afraid you’re not. But don’t worry, you can cultivate it safely. Don’t forget the Sun God Stone you have. The fire from the divine stone is Solar Essence Fire, the most yang fire in heaven and earth. With its protection, the extreme yin fire won’t harm you,” the illumination Goddess explained.

Zhanyue breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been frustrating to have a top-level cultivation technique but be unable to practice it.

Zhanyue sat cross-legged, shrinking the Earth Mother Golden Cauldron to his height. He then placed both hands on the golden cauldron, beginning the first step of the technique: using the golden cauldron as a medium to draw upon the earth’s veins’ power for marrow cleansing and meridian forging.

Invisible energy gathered from all around the earth, converging through the four feet of the Earth Mother Golden Cauldron into its body, then entering Zhanyue’s body. All his meridians were flushed with vast spiritual energy, breaking through barriers and permeating from large meridians to smaller ones. Soon, Zhanyue was covered in sweat, gritting his teeth in pain. He had never experienced such pain before, as if the stagnant meridians were being forcibly opened, like tearing apart connected flesh.

“Hang in there, don’t let it all go to waste,” the illumination Goddess reminded him timely. She feared Zhanyue might faint from the pain, which would greatly reduce the effectiveness of this first marrow cleansing and meridian forging, affecting future cultivation.

“I can endure it!”

Half an hour later, Zhanyue’s eyes were somewhat unfocused. He could only chat with the illumination Goddess to distract himself from the pain. The human body’s meridian system is complex and can’t be thoroughly cleansed in a short time. Zhanyue felt his body becoming somewhat light, as if it wasn’t his own, but the pain remained vividly clear.

“Sister, you’re like a celestial being. You must have had many suitors in that era,” Zhanyue gossiped, asking through gritted teeth with a grimacing face, the pain was truly intense.

“Uh…” The illumination Goddess hadn’t expected Zhanyue to suddenly ask about this.

“Actually, no. From childhood, I had very little contact with people. Most of my life was spent in cultivation, exploring ancient ruins, or fighting against Nightmares. Most of the men I interacted with were in awe of me. From a very young age, I knew I wouldn’t live like ordinary girls. After gaining the title of Goddess, such things were even more out of the question. It would have been considered blasphemy against a ‘god’. Sometimes I found it quite amusing, but it seemed that being aloof and above others was what fit people’s imagination of a goddess,” the illumination Goddess said.

“I see. It seems sister’s entire life was bound by responsibility and people’s faith. Being a perfect ‘idol’ isn’t easy,” Zhanyue sighed.

“Idol? What’s that? It doesn’t sound like a good word,” the Goddess said.

“Indeed, it’s not a good word. But living a second life, I hope sister won’t be so burdened. That girl we met earlier, surrounded by guards wherever she goes, with no space of her own. If nothing unexpected happens, she’ll probably become the second goddess,” Zhanyue recalled the Holy Maiden Mumu Lixi. The holy maiden revered by the world was just a pitiful girl in Zhanyue’s eyes.

“It’s enough that you have such thoughts. The current situation for humans doesn’t seem very good. The Nightmare race has hidden most of their strength, and it seems the human side has also concealed their power. On the surface, there are only two True Realm experts, the Thunder Lord and the Sword Lord, but I can sense several other powerful auras. If they could unite, there might be a chance of victory. But if they scheme against each other, I fear the final result…” The illumination Goddess didn’t want to continue.

“To put it bluntly, sister, in your previous life you already gave everything for humanity. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Even if humanity is eventually destroyed due to internal strife, they would deserve it, and it wouldn’t be your fault at all. Compared to the war with Nightmares, I’m more concerned about my own situation. I can’t even handle a simple Profound Realm assassin. Although my life is worthless, if I die, you’ll die again too, sister. You’ve just regained a new life,” Zhanyue comforted her. He didn’t want the illumination Goddess to be so burdened. What did the affairs of this era have to do with her?

The illumination Goddess fell silent for a moment, then laughed: “You think quite freely. How could they deserve such a fate? What about you? Apart from cultivating to improve your strength, don’t you have any other dreams?”

Zhanyue answered honestly: “I do. The world is so vast, I want to see it. I feel this world isn’t as simple as it appears on the surface. I want to see the scenery all over the world, see civilizations with different styles. If possible, see the ruins of ancient civilizations, make friends like Brother Cheng Lu along the way. When I’m tired of traveling, I’d like to marry a few beautiful wives. That would make this life worthwhile. Also, sister, your current form of revival is still a bit strange. It would be great if we could find a way for you to truly come back to life.”

As for what the mysterious old man in the space had said, Zhanyue had long forgotten it. He was just at the Spirit Contract Realm, at the bottom of the bottom. Saving the world was too distant a concept.