All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 85: The Divine Couples Hall

The black flame scorched the last of the God-Forging Steel, revealing the true appearance of the Diamond Fruit. It was a golden fruit the size of a fist, emitting a golden aura under the cave’s firelight, like a small sun.

The fire lynx swallowed it in one gulp, as if afraid someone might snatch it away. But it wasn’t in a hurry to refine it, as it hadn’t yet fulfilled its promise to the two humans.

“Congratulations, Senior. You’ve finally achieved your wish,” Zhanyue said. He hadn’t even gotten a clear look at the Diamond Fruit before the fire lynx swallowed it.

The fire lynx patted his shoulder, “This wouldn’t have been possible without your help. Now I have hope of breaking through to the eighth grade and becoming a Beast Emperor.”

Zhanyue’s realm had now reached the fifth stage of Soul Control, his strength improving significantly, thanks in no small part to the spirit fruits the fire lynx collected daily from the secret realm.

“I’ll naturally fulfill my promise to you two. Let’s go, I’ll send you into that secret realm, then I’ll come back to focus on refining this Diamond Fruit. I don’t know how long it will take,” the fire lynx, used to living alone, felt a bit reluctant to part after spending time with Zhanyue and the others.

“Baizhi, how much time do we have left?” In the cave, there was no way to tell time, and Zhanyue didn’t even know what time it was now. But Baizhi had been keeping track of the days.

“We have about a month left before our one-year limit is up. At that time, we’ll probably be teleported out directly,” Baizhi said, her pretty face showing some panic.

Zhanyue could see through Baizhi’s thoughts. He held her small hand, feeling it tremble slightly, and comforted her, “Don’t be afraid. We’ll figure something out after we leave. The world is so vast, the Bai family can’t control everything.”

“Only a month left. Who set this one-year restriction? What a pity…” Zhanyue shook his head helplessly. This secret realm was full of treasures, his strength was progressing rapidly, and there were various inheritances waiting to be explored. “Perhaps it’s those Ghost Shark clan bastards.”

The fire lynx beside them said, “You’ve guessed wrong, kid. No matter how capable the Ghost Shark clan is, they can’t forcibly pull people out of the secret realm. If you were in an inheritance ground, isolated from outside contact, how could they possibly manage such a thing? This one-year limit was probably set by the owner of this secret realm. I guess they probably didn’t want one person to gain too much, wanting to give more people a chance, so they set a one-year limit. As for what you mentioned about only those below Profound Realm being able to enter, that’s probably a restriction set by the Ghost Shark clan at the entrance.”

Although the fire lynx had never seen the Ghost Shark clan, its guess was about 80-90% correct. There was a special restriction in the secret realm: no matter how many times one entered or exited, they could only stay in the secret realm for a maximum of one year, with this time limit resetting every ten years. This was the only restriction set by the secret realm’s master. The Ghost Shark clan even added a restriction that one could only stay on Ghost Island for one year, to prevent people from staying on the island without venturing into the secret realm. The so-called restrictions of only those below Profound Realm being able to enter the Azure Sky Secret Realm and those below Spirit God Realm being able to enter the Blue Sky Secret Realm were additional restrictions added by the Ghost Shark clan at the entrance of the secret realm. Their purpose was clear: they feared that true human geniuses entering the secret realm would take away all those inheritances. If they restricted entry to those below Profound Realm, even if someone was exceptionally powerful, it would be controllable and within their acceptable range.

However, the Ghost Shark clan naturally hadn’t anticipated the existence of someone like Zhanyue, who passed the Red Lotus Trial without entering the Profound Realm.

“Only humans can enter, and there are many inheritances from human powerhouses in the secret realm. It seems this secret realm originally belonged to humans. I wonder why it has now fallen into the hands of the Ghost Shark clan. What exactly is the origin of the Ghost Shark clan? Where did their treasures come from? The news about Ghost Island isn’t a complete secret, many people know about it. I suppose the Thunder Lord and Sword Lord know too. As the current strongest among humans, how do they view Ghost Island?” Zhanyue had countless questions in his mind, but couldn’t find answers to any of them.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to that trial ground. It should be a relatively safe inheritance. Even when I accidentally entered the depths, I wasn’t harmed at all, just forcibly teleported out. I think the two seniors who left the inheritance were quite benevolent. With your weak strength, trying there at least won’t put your lives at risk,” the fire lynx said.

The two humans and one beast moved quickly through the depths of the secret realm. With the fire lynx’s protection, surrounding spirit beasts all gave way. The aura of the beasts inside made Zhanyue shudder, with powerful presences appearing from time to time. Without the fire lynx’s escort, they could never have reached such a deep place. This secret realm had too many secrets, but unfortunately, he no longer had time to continue exploring.

“After I enter the Profound Realm, I’ll find a blood-colored token to check out the Blue Sky Secret Realm. If the Azure Sky Secret Realm is already so dangerous, the Blue Sky Secret Realm must be even more terrifying,” Zhanyue pondered.

“We’re here.” The fire lynx stopped at a canyon deep in the secret realm. In the canyon was a huge waterfall, truly a sight of water falling three thousand feet, incredibly magnificent.

“Watch Old Xiang’s move!” The fire lynx spat out a fireball, which fell directly under the waterfall, then flowed upwards against the current, tearing open a gap in the waterfall.

An opening appeared in the gap of the waterfall.

“Water Curtain Cave?” Zhanyue’s mouth twitched slightly, not expecting there to be an inheritance cave behind the waterfall as well.

“Hurry through, I can’t hold it for long,” The fire lynx controlled the fireball to forcibly cut off the water flow at the cave entrance.

“Alright.” Although Zhanyue and Baizhi couldn’t fly, they could easily jump this distance. With one leap, they both entered the cave.

“This trial should be most suitable for you. Good luck, Old Xiang will head back now.” As the waterfall closed again, the fire lynx’s voice came through the sound of water.

“Let’s go.” In front was a pitch-black passage, and behind was the huge waterfall. Lighting an illumination stone, the two walked along the passage.

Soon after, a vast cavern appeared before them. In the center of the cavern was a huge palace. The palace was resplendent with gold and jade, carved railings and jade steps, grand and majestic. In front of the palace stood two huge statues, one male and one female. The man was heroic, the woman stunningly beautiful. Before the statues was a pale yellow curtain, like a barrier completely enclosing the palace behind it.

“The Divine Couple’s Hall inheritance only accepts couples for the trial. Those who are single may not enter. Those with false feelings may not enter.”

A mysterious voice transmitted to both their ears.

Zhanyue and Baizhi looked at each other, both showing shocked expressions. No wonder the fire lynx said this place was most suitable for them; it truly hadn’t deceived them. The fire lynx had lived in this secret realm for many years, accidentally entering many inheritance grounds. It could be considered the best guide.

Zhanyue sighed, “This inheritance ground is really interesting. Even if you have unparalleled talent, if you’re single, you can’t obtain the inheritance. It seems the two people carved in these statues have some story. I just wonder who they are.”

Baizhi, however, was a bit shy. She asked Zhanyue beside her, “So, do you think we count as a couple?”

“Why don’t we try and find out?” Zhanyue directly picked up Baizhi in a princess carry and stepped across the pale yellow curtain, officially entering the Divine Couple’s Hall trial ground.