The Contract

“Little sister?” The leaves of the Purple Xuan Grass rustled as they unfurled, like a person suddenly snapping their head up. “How did you get in here—”

“Sister, I found someone to save you! Don't worry, we'll get you out right away!”

“Wait—little sister, don't come any closer! This is a formation!” Her voice abruptly shifted from joy to sheer panic. “Stay back!”

Lin Zhiyue did not retreat. She walked in a circle around the tall, delicate Purple Xuan Grass, her gaze scanning the formation lines on the ground inch by inch as she bent down to inspect them closely.

The formation lines were carved into a single solid slab of bluestone. The lines were ancient and orderly, their edges slightly worn down, but the traces of flowing spiritual energy remained clear.

The most eye-catching feature was the shape of the formation eye—a palm-sized circular groove. Its inner walls were polished smooth as a mirror, gleaming faintly in the sunlight filtering through the crack in the ceiling, as if something had been embedded there for a long time before being removed.

The shape and size of the groove matched the black stone in her hand perfectly.

The elder sister Purple Xuan Grass's leaves swayed gently, her manifested silhouette softening and blurring within the spiritual light. A gentle yet weak voice drifted from the depths of her leaves: “I have studied this formation for a long time. All I know is that it traps me, constantly draining my spiritual energy to maintain its operation. I cannot move, and even after taking human form, I cannot break free.”

Lin Zhiyue squatted beside the groove, retrieving the black stone from her space and holding it in her palm. As the stone drew near the groove, the silver patterns on its surface lit up once more, the blue light glowing noticeably richer than it had outside the stone wall.

She looked up at the elder sister Purple Xuan Grass. “Do you know what this formation is for?”

The Purple Xuan Grass fell silent for a moment, her leaves drooping slightly as her voice softened. “I only know that there seems to be something sealed beneath this formation. I have been trapped here for half a month, and the only thing I am sure of is that I cannot leave. If I leave, the formation will lose its spiritual energy and break.”

Lin Zhiyue's fingertips lightly brushed over the silver patterns on the stone. Half a month.

This two-thousand-year-old Purple Xuan Grass had been trapped here for half a month, using her own spiritual energy to sustain this seal. If she remained trapped for another year or half a year, she would likely be sucked completely dry. Yet, Lin Zhiyue hesitated.

If what lay beneath the seal was a ferocious beast and she released it, the entire secret realm—and perhaps even all of Tiance Palace—would suffer. She would be branded as the instigator of a catastrophe, and not even Qi Yan or Xiao Sheng might be able to protect her.

Lin Zhiyue clutched the stone as she squatted by the formation eye, feeling its warm weight heavy in her palm.

Just as she was wavering, the system screen suddenly popped up.

【Limited-Time Mission Released: Undo the “Luoshuang Secret Realm Spiritual Array Seal.” Mission Rewards: Premium Draw Ticket x8, Secret Realm Exclusive Reward x1, Sweet and Clever Cook Unlocked Part Random Drop x2. Note: The entity beneath the seal is not a source of danger. Host, please proceed with peace of mind.】

Lin Zhiyue stared at the note several times. Although the system could be annoying at times, it had never lied to her in its mission details. If it said it wasn't a danger, then it really wasn't.

Steeling her resolve, she pressed the black stone into the groove.

The moment the stone settled into the groove, it made a very soft click, as if it had finally returned to its rightful place.

The silver patterns suddenly flared, and a blue light spread outward from the center of the groove in all directions. It flowed along the formation lines on the ground, and wherever it passed, the carvings on the bluestone slab lit up with a pale blue glow as if being reawakened.

The stone chamber began to vibrate, sending tiny pebbles showering down from the cracks in the ceiling. The elder sister Purple Xuan Grass's leaves suddenly unfurled, her entire form enveloped in a dense purple spiritual light as her roots slowly pulled free from the spiritual soil.

After circulating several times, the light from the formation lines suddenly converged toward the very center. A thin crack split open in the middle of the bluestone slab, slowly widening to reveal a translucent barrier membrane with water-like ripples flowing across its surface.

Inside the barrier—Lin Zhiyue leaned forward to look, her breath catching in her throat.

It was an egg.

It was roughly the size of her two fists, completely translucent white with pale gold patterns. The patterns covered the eggshell like natural veins, gleaming with a warm, gentle luster under the light of the barrier.

The egg lay quietly in the spiritual soil at the sunken center of the formation, looking as though it had been asleep for a very long time.

The tremors in the stone chamber gradually subsided. The glow of the formation lines on the ground dimmed inch by inch, and the silver patterns on the black stone returned to a static state.

The Purple Xuan Grass's roots had completely detached from the spiritual soil. Her broad leaves unfurled within the stone chamber, and her aura became noticeably more vibrant.

Her manifested phantom solidified slightly. The translucent figure looked down at the egg in the center of the formation, a trace of complexity in her voice. “So that's how it is... For the past half month, I was sustaining its life.”

Lin Zhiyue squatted at the edge of the formation core, quietly watching the egg inside through the slowly dissolving barrier membrane.

Under her gaze, the pale gold patterns on the eggshell flared slightly before dimming again.

She reached out and gently touched the final remaining layer of the barrier. The moment her fingertip made contact, the membrane shattered into countless tiny points of light, drifting away like fireflies.

The egg was now completely exposed to the air. Its temperature transmitted a faint warmth through her fingertip, pulsing like a beating heart.

Lin Zhiyue withdrew her hand, looking first at the Purple Xuan Grass and then at the translucent white-and-gold egg at the center of the formation.

Sure enough, having lost its massive source of spiritual energy support, the entire egg's glow suddenly dimmed. Lin Zhiyue's heart tightened, and she immediately raised her hand to transfer her spiritual energy into it.

Only after a good while did she speak up to ask, “So... what is inside this?”

The elder sister Purple Xuan Grass shook her head, her leaves swaying gently in the spiritual light. “I do not know either, but it is clearly no ordinary thing.”

As Lin Zhiyue squatted next to the center of the formation observing the egg, the elder sister Purple Xuan Grass gathered her leaves, a trace of worry in her voice. “When you broke the formation just now, its aura began to dissipate. If no one continues to supply it with spiritual energy, I fear it will not last much longer.”

Lin Zhiyue was about to ask, “Then what should we do?” when the system screen suddenly popped up. This time, there was no transition at all, only a row of bold gold characters:

【Emergency Mission Released: Contract with the spirit beast egg at the center of the formation and use the host's spiritual energy to sustain its life. Time Limit: Fifteen minutes. If the time limit is exceeded, the life force within the egg will dry up, resulting in an irreversible failure of the contract. Mission Rewards: Premium Draw Ticket x3, Secret Realm Exclusive Reward x1.】

Lin Zhiyue stared at the lines, her eyes widening. “Wait, tell me what's inside this egg first! What if it's a demon beast or a ferocious beast? If I contract with it, won't I be throwing my own life away?”

The system fell silent for a moment, then popped up a line of small characters in a rare, urgent tone: 【The spiritual energy fluctuations of the life force inside the egg are pure and gentle—neither a ferocious beast nor a demon beast. The specific species must be manifested by the living entity itself after the contract is formed. Host, if you do not form a contract and provide it with spiritual energy, it will truly die. There are at most seven and a half minutes left. Trust me this once; it is absolutely not a source of trouble.】

Lin Zhiyue opened her mouth to curse, but looking back at the dimming patterns on the egg and then at the worried expression of the elder sister Purple Xuan Grass, she swallowed her profanities.

“You had better be right,” she gritted her teeth and muttered to the system. Then, she turned to the elder sister Purple Xuan Grass. “Sister, please step back a bit. I need to... contract with it. If I don't supply it with spiritual energy soon, it's going to die.”

The elder sister Purple Xuan Grass's manifested phantom froze slightly, the weak layer of spiritual light on her leaves wavering.

She looked down at the weakening egg in the center of the formation, and then at the helpless yet resolute expression on Lin Zhiyue's face. A warm, touched expression appeared on her translucent face. “Young friend... you do not even know it, yet you are willing to contract with it just to save its life? Once this contract is formed, your life forces will be intertwined. Have you thought this through?”

“I can't just stand by and watch it die in front of me. Don't worry, sister. I promised your little sister I would help you, so saving this egg along the way can be considered fate.”