All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 39

Above ground, the green leaves on the mountains had turned yellow. Over three months had passed since Zhanyue’s disappearance. Except for a few people like Cheng Lu, everyone had forgotten about this matter. With no news for so long, that person was likely long dead.

“He still has so many purple crystal coins unused at the Commerce Association,” said a middle-aged man wearing a yellow robe, slightly plump with a small mustache, fiddling with the ring on his finger, looking troubled. As the vice president of the Sun City Commerce Association, the mustached man couldn’t find any information about Zhanyue’s identity or relatives, so he could only write a letter to Mi Hongchen, since the money was originally given to Zhanyue by her.

Amidst her busy schedule, Mi Hongchen rode her flying dragon to Sun City to inquire about the situation from Cheng Lu, then personally went to the mountain where Zhanyue disappeared. When she saw the half-burned small mountain, she frowned. She had only met Zhanyue twice, but she had a good impression of this mysterious young man. Brave, clever, neither servile nor overbearing – this was her first impression of Zhanyue.

“I hope that wooden token can still be used,” Mi Hongchen sighed. She didn’t believe Zhanyue would die so simply. If someone came to report to the academy with that token in the future, she would naturally know. If it was Zhanyue, all would be well. If it was someone else, she could follow the clues to find information.

“The Holy Maiden… do I need to tell her?” Mi Hongchen pondered, then shook her head, “No, there’s no need to write to the Holy Maiden specifically about this matter. After all, they are from two different worlds. I’ll mention it to her the next time I see her.”

Mounting her flying dragon, Mi Hongchen flew towards the Imperial Capital, leaving behind the unchanged mountains and woods.

Meanwhile, Zhanyue, who didn’t have many people worrying about him, was showing excitement on his face. In front of him, the golden cauldron was flashing with green light. Soon after, two Breakthrough Pills appeared, round and full, containing abundant spiritual energy. There weren’t many high-grade spiritual herbs in the surroundings, and it was already not easy to gather the necessary materials for the Breakthrough Pills.

“I’ll break through tonight!” Zhanyue hung a “Do Not Disturb” sign outside the door. Whenever he hung this sign, absolutely no one dared to intrude, not even the Mountain Goblin King.

Inside the room, Zhanyue settled into meditation to break through. These few months were the most peaceful days he had spent in this other world. He didn’t need to worry about Nightmares, didn’t need to worry about assassinations, and even had food specially prepared and delivered to him. The Mountain Goblin Clan’s territory was like a paradise, and Zhanyue looked at these ‘different species brothers’ with more affection.

When the sun rose the next day, Zhanyue, who had taken two Breakthrough Pills, opened his eyes. Now a first-grade pill refiner, he had finally broken through the Spirit Contract Realm and entered the Spirit Communication Realm!

His connection with his three contract objects became closer. The watch didn’t change much, as time-space causality techniques weren’t easy to advance. The Earth Mother Golden Cauldron finally revealed its new ability – Condensing Qi into Form! Simply put, Zhanyue could condense the spiritual energy from earth veins into solid spiritual pills in pill form. These spiritual pills required no materials to refine yet were at the level of first-grade pills. When consumed, they could restore a person’s contractor power. The so-called contractor power is essentially a form of spiritual energy, so it can naturally be replenished.

“No need for herbs, creating something from nothing. This isn’t a golden cauldron, it’s a damn cornucopia!”

Having entered the Spirit Communication Realm, his connection with the illumination Goddess became closer. With a thought, a special scene appeared before his eyes: misty water surrounding brown rocks, then fair skin appeared – a jade arm, followed by a snow-white swell and a touch of rosy red.

Suddenly, there was a fluctuation in divine consciousness, and everything before his eyes vanished.

“What was that just now? This… this isn’t right, is it?” Zhanyue trembled, feeling like he had made a big mistake.

Sure enough, moments later, the illumination Goddess contacted him.

“You’ve broken through? Not bad indeed,” the Goddess’s tone was a bit cold.

“Uh… I just broke through and didn’t have time to tell you,” Zhanyue said, feeling guilty.

“Hmph, although our relationship is centered on you, I still hope you’ll inform me before using this ability. I don’t want there to be a next time,” the Goddess warned.

“I… I understand. I’ll be careful,” Zhanyue said, sweating profusely. After advancing to the Spirit Communication Realm, his connection with Xixuan became closer, gaining the ability to share perspectives. In simple terms, he could see what Xixuan could see, and could also let Xixuan see what was before his eyes, unlike before when it was just through sensing. However, because the contract relationship centered on him, he could forcefully see what Xixuan saw, while Xixuan needed his permission to see what he saw. The first time he used this ability, he saw something he shouldn’t have, so he naturally felt very guilty when faced with the Goddess’s questioning.

“How was I supposed to know you were taking a hot spring bath early in the morning?” Zhanyue secretly grumbled.

“Sister, where exactly are you now?” Zhanyue quickly changed the subject.

“I’m in the Misty Ghost Land. You can take a look,” the Goddess explained.

Zhanyue closed his eyes, and the Goddess’s view appeared in his mind. Fierce beasts were all over the mountains, tearing at each other, attacking each other. Each one had a powerful aura, no weaker than a Profound Being, and the ground was covered with corpses.

“The Misty Ghost Land is special. The bodies of creatures that die here don’t decay. This is one of the Nightmare race’s secret hunting grounds. These fierce beast corpses will become weapons against humans,” the Goddess explained.

“What? So many fierce beasts possessed by those Nightmares, what kind of powerful beast army is this?!” Zhanyue felt a chill down his spine. This was just one of the Nightmares’ breeding bases.

“I’ve found more than ten places like this, so I told you before that the Nightmare race is far more complex than you think. They’re hiding their strength. These fierce beasts probably need high-level Nightmares to possess them to display their full power, so we can deduce how many high-level Nightmares they have, and even estimate the number of King-level or even Lord-level Nightmares. I’ve marked these places, but I’m afraid there are more than just these ten-plus locations,” the Goddess explained.

“So this is what sister has been busy with these days,” Zhanyue understood how important this intelligence was for humanity. “Do we need to inform those strong humans in advance?”

“They’re probably waiting for the Corpse Emperor to break the seal. Before that, humans are still safe. I’ve been to the sealing place. It will take at least a hundred years for it to break. I don’t know how much humans can develop in these hundred years. If you have the chance, you can inform the Thunder Lord and Sword Lord about this. They are True Realm experts and will naturally make decisions,” the Goddess replied.

“But after the Corpse Emperor breaks the seal, can humans be its match?” Zhanyue asked. Last time, it took the illumination Goddess’s life to seal it for thousands of years. How would they deal with it this time? The Goddess was essentially not a living being anymore, so she naturally couldn’t use her previous sealing techniques.

“I don’t know…” the Goddess answered honestly, “But now there’s another light contractor born. With our combined strength, we might not lose to it. However… this little girl must reach a realm like mine in these hundred years. But advancing to the True Realm requires opportunity, otherwise, couldn’t humans mass-produce experts? So we can only take it one step at a time. Your previous move of accepting a disciple for me was a good one. I’ll find a chance to teach her.”

Thinking of the beautiful Holy Maiden who was like a princess from a fairy tale, Zhanyue sighed, “I hope so. I don’t want what happened to you to happen to her again. Sacrificing one’s life to seal the Corpse Emperor, once is enough.”

“Forget it, an existence like the Corpse Emperor is not something I should be considering. I’m worrying too much,” Zhanyue stretched his muscles and bones, “It’s been a long time since I’ve exercised. I wonder how my strength is now.”

Zhanyue, who came out of seclusion after just one day, received a warm welcome. The scene was even grander than the Great King’s birthday. Mountain Goblin King Hulu specially arranged a celebration to celebrate Zhanyue’s realm breakthrough. This made Zhanyue feel overwhelmed. These Mountain Goblins were truly pure and lovable in their simplicity.

“Little brother, congratulations!” the Mountain Goblin King raised his wine cup in congratulation.

“It’s just the Spirit Communication Realm. Big brother, this is too grand,” Zhanyue felt a bit embarrassed.

“Second Great King, you’re being too modest. Each of your breakthroughs is a great joy for us. This means you can refine higher-grade pills, and we brothers can benefit from it. You’re a noble pill refiner. Our Mountain Goblin Clan now has our own pill refiner,” Dingding said from the side.

Zhanyue looked at him in surprise, “You fellow, when did you become so eloquent?”

“Hehe, well… those Calming Spirit Pills of yours are extraordinary. After eating them, we feel our intelligence has increased,” Hulu explained from the side. “My child has been eating them for over ten days and can now speak. According to previous experience, it would have taken at least half a year. Dingding and Dangdang’s intelligence has also significantly improved after taking the pills.”

“Calming Spirit Pills are just unranked pills. How can they have such an effect?” Zhanyue frowned deeply. Pills that could open intelligence should be at least seventh-grade or 8, right? What was going on? Unfortunately, even the illumination Goddess couldn’t provide any explanation for this.

“As long as it’s useful. Later, you prepare more materials, and I’ll refine more for you. It’s not a troublesome matter,” Zhanyue said.

Then came a thunderous cheer from the crowd, “Long live the Second Great King!” “Long live the Second Great King!” The Mountain Goblin Clan all knew they weren’t very smart and knew it was a kind of curse. Now this curse seemed to have loosened a bit, all thanks to Zhanyue. As for Hulu himself, he looked at Zhanyue with burning eyes, having a feeling and firmly believing that his breakthrough to the True King Realm must rely on Zhanyue. His fortune was not small.

“Well, big brother, I’ve just entered the Spirit Communication Realm and my hands are itching. Can you arrange for a few brothers to practice with me?” Zhanyue asked.

Hulu was stunned, then laughed heartily: “Of course, no problem. Little brother, you be careful not to let these little ones knock you down. Dingding and Dangdang’s strength is just right. I heard you were no match for them before.”

Dingding and Dangdang looked unwilling. How could they fight with the Second Great King? They couldn’t bear to hit him.

“You two, fight me with all you’ve got. This is an order. If you win, I’ll reward you with a special pill,” Zhanyue said.

The two immediately became interested. The three walked to the center of the arena, with the surrounding Mountain Goblins forming a circle, eagerly watching, creating a lively scene.