All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 209: Burning Sea, Freezing River

The entire lake instantly began to boil. From high above, one could see the whole lake completely boiling, white steam rising, creating a misty scene. Even the smell of cooked meat wafted up – the scent of all the lake’s creatures being cooked. At the lake’s bottom, Zhanyue realized he had been tricked; his opponent’s methods were beyond his imagination.

The water temperature continued to rise, surpassing that of normal boiling water. It was truly strange, far exceeding the temperature of ordinary boiling water in the mortal world. Zhanyue endured great pain, trying to swim upwards, only to find his legs had lost all feeling.

“Revert!” Zhanyue immediately reverted his body to its optimal state, but within moments, he lost sensation again. The terrifying heat made it impossible to move even a finger. This heat, more horrifying than magma, was not something he could resist in his current state.

“It’s over!” Zhanyue felt despair, fearing this environment most because even state reversal couldn’t solve the current predicament. He had always turned danger into safety, but now he was trapped here. He had underestimated this world and Tuoba Wujiang.

“What treasure does he have that’s so powerful?” Zhanyue couldn’t understand, only feeling that his life was truly in danger this time, likely to lose a life.

In this critical moment, the package in Zhanyue’s clothes floated out. The sealed cloth bag burst open, revealing its contents, leaving Zhanyue dumbfounded. It was a red… belly band? The belly band was embroidered with a golden lotus, now glowing with golden light.

“No wonder that girl repeatedly emphasized not to open this bag. I didn’t expect it to contain her intimate item.” Zhanyue finally understood, realizing this was no ordinary object. The belly band transformed into a huge red cloth in his eyes, wrapping around him for protection, separating him from the boiling water. The golden lotus bloomed with brilliant divine light.

Zhanyue once again reverted his body to its optimal state, now free from the scorching heat. This treasure belly band had blocked all harm.

“This item? It seems to be her contract object, this aura…” Zhanyue pondered, looking at the red expanse before him, then sighed. He owed her a great favor, deeply moved that she had left such a powerful life-saving artifact for him. Recalling Feng Xueqing’s performance on the arena stage, Zhanyue felt reassured. “Her defensive methods are miraculous. Even without this, she can protect herself, so she left it for me.”

On the lake shore, Tuoba Wujiang stood straight, holding a red pearl in his left hand and a blue pearl in his right. The red pearl injected power into the lake, while the blue pearl protected him from the red pearl’s backlash. Watching the boiling lake, he showed a smug smile. No matter who you are, falling under the burning of this Sea Burning Pearl means certain death! The two treasures in his hands were named the Sea Burning Pearl and the River Freezing Pearl. The former was a fire-attribute magical treasure capable of burning rivers and boiling seas, while the latter was naturally an ice-attribute treasure, able to freeze rivers and congeal seas.

Tuoba Wujiang had obtained these two treasures and studied them for years, barely able to use a fraction of their power in rivers, lakes, and seas. Yet this small fraction had nearly taken Zhanyue’s life. He had originally planned to use them when the Great Fortune army crossed the river, boiling thousands of soldiers alive. Unfortunately, before that opportunity came, Zhanyue had forced him to use this method. He didn’t regret it; as long as Zhanyue died, this secret weapon wouldn’t be exposed. Moreover, Zhanyue had killed Celestial Master Zhang, ruining his plans. Zhanyue’s terrifying infiltration ability and lightness skill were his greatest concerns. Killing Zhanyue here wasn’t a bad thing. Tuoba Wujiang thought Zhanyue must be one of Yue Feipeng’s trump cards.

Soon after, Zhanyue’s night clothes floated to the surface.

Tuoba Wujiang laughed, “His flesh and bones must have melted. Indeed a good treasure. Pity we didn’t experience that era when immortals walked the earth.” Tuoba Wujiang felt somewhat emotional. His martial arts were unparalleled in the Blue Hill Kingdom, but he understood that in that era of widespread immortal cultivation, he would be but an ant. These leftover treasures were the best proof.

He put away the two pearls and turned to leave, his mood much improved after killing Zhanyue. However, the Spirit of the Heavenly Book, watching from outside the Heavenly Book world, was anxiously stomping her feet.

“You fool, be careful! That bastard isn’t dead!” Unfortunately, the Spirit of the Heavenly Book couldn’t influence the trial’s progress. This was one of the Heavenly Book’s fundamental rules, which even she couldn’t violate. Despite her thousand unwillingnesses, she could only watch as Zhanyue once again used earth traversing, appearing behind Tuoba Wujiang and piercing his heart with a sword.

Tuoba Wujiang turned around, looking at Zhanyue as if seeing a ghost, not understanding how he could have survived. But Zhanyue wouldn’t answer him, instead beheading him with another sword strike.

“You nearly drove me to death’s door. You were quite capable. Unfortunately, the moment of your successful kill was when you were most relaxed, allowing me to succeed so easily. Pay attention in your next life, don’t be so smug.” Zhanyue wrapped the severed head in cloth, then searched the corpse.

“What’s this?” Zhanyue discovered the two pearls, naturally overjoyed.

“Congratulations on obtaining this trial’s hidden reward – the Sea Burning Pearl and River Freezing Pearl. As a reward, your treasure – the Sun God Stone, and your divine ability – Three Talents Wondrous Fire, have been unlocked,” the information came again from the identity token.

“Indeed! Even in a seemingly low-level martial world like this, rich rewards await discovery.” Zhanyue was elated, considering today a great harvest.

“Wait, why isn’t this reward letting me choose what to restore?” Zhanyue was puzzled for a moment, then had an inspiration. He found a hidden spot and took out the Sun God Stone, placing it with the Sea Burning Pearl and River Freezing Pearl. Zhanyue was clever, knowing the trial giving him this reward directly must have a special purpose. Sure enough, the Sun God Stone and Sea Burning Pearl were mutually attracted, drawing closer to each other.

“Is this… magical treasure fusion and upgrade?” Zhanyue thought of this possibility, overjoyed. However, the fusion process between the Sun God Stone and Sea Burning Pearl was very slow, making Zhanyue anxious. Then he suddenly slapped his forehead, “Of course, how could I be so stupid!”

Zhanyue sat cross-legged, activating the Three Talents Wondrous Fire. Under its refinement, the two treasures fused rapidly, taking on Zhanyue’s mark. The newly born pearl instantly triggered celestial phenomena, projecting a sun illusion into the sky. The shocking sight of two suns in the sky briefly appeared in the world. Soon after, the pearl’s radiance faded, returning to its original appearance, resembling both the Sun God Stone and the former Sea Burning Pearl.

“Henceforth, I shall call you the Great Sun Sea Burning Pearl.” Zhanyue looked at the golden pearl floating in the center of his palm, surrounded by burning flames, like a miniature sun.

“I’ll keep this River Freezing Pearl for now. Pity I don’t have an ice-attribute treasure of the Sun God Stone’s caliber,” Zhanyue said with some regret.

“The Heavenly Book trial is ultimately for enhancing our strength. Various magical treasures and divine abilities must be hidden in similar ways, waiting for us to uncover. I wonder what opportunities the others will have,” Zhanyue mused, then headed towards the Great Fortune army. “It’s time to end this war.”