Free Web NovelChapter 1148: Chapter 1148: Signing the Contract (Part 1)
"Oooow, oooow～!" Hu Jiu, praised, raised its head and let out a fond wolf howl. Pei Yan looked somewhat surprised at the Ancestral God who followed and asked, puzzled, "Hasn’t it already gained intelligence? Why can’t it speak yet?"
"It’s not that it can’t, it just doesn’t want to. Rest assured, Hu Jiu can now think like a normal person, and it can speak if it wants to. It’s just not quite used to it yet. When you sign the contract, you two will be able to truly understand each other’s hearts and communicate without words." The Ancestral God stepped out of the porch. Seeing its father arriving, Hu Jiu finally moved away from Pei Yan’s side and respectfully crawled at the Ancestral God’s feet.
"Then let’s start! By the way, what about my Hell Demon Butterfly?" Pei Yan propped himself up on the wheelchair armrest, casually asking as he stood up.
"It has already merged with Hu Jiu." The Ancestral God said, patting Hu Jiu’s forehead. The sensible Hu Jiu shivered, and dazzling, eerie patterns appeared on its snowy fur, adding a mysterious aura to the majestic Wolf God. Seeing Pei Yan’s confused expression, the Ancestral God quickly explained, "This was requested by the Hell Demon Butterfly itself. It has already advanced to become the Hell Monarch, reaching the peak of its kind. To ascend further, it must leverage you as its master, merging with Hu Jiu allows it to grow together and break through its limits. As for loyalty, you don’t need to worry, your contract with it still holds, and Hu Jiu can break the fusion whenever it wants."
"You’re the expert in this; if you think it’s okay, I have no objections!" Pei Yan shrugged indifferently and then asked, "Can we start now?"
"Yes, follow me!"
The Ancestral God instructed and then turned to walk out. Pei Yan, with aching legs, followed behind. Seeing his inconvenience, Hu Jiu thoughtfully walked beside Pei Yan, using its body as a crutch. Pei Yan smiled and placed his hand on Hu Jiu’s broad back, and the man and the beast slowly followed the Ancestral God towards the cave where they first met.
The Ancestral God was in no hurry, deliberately slowing his pace, waiting for the two behind him. After walking with pauses, the group finally entered the cave, where Lin Junzhao, responsible for assisting, had grown a bit impatient. Seeing the two arriving, he urged, "You should have brought them directly; we need to finish soon and head to the Daoist Realm!"
"It’s not too much time; walking before the ceremony activates Pei Yan’s bloodline, which helps the contract." The Ancestral God said, then turned to look at Pei Yan, slightly sweating from the walk, and smiled, "You really went through quite a bit; clearly, you could use abilities for quick travel, yet you didn’t complain once and quietly followed me all this way."
"If you wanted to take me directly, you would have said so. Since you didn’t, you must have your reasons. Besides, we’re in the Dragon Realm; how could I use the Instant Teleportation Technique without your permission?" Pei Yan pushed away Hu Jiu’s support, sat on a stone step, and said helplessly, "Just tell me what you two want; dragging around with this body is exhausting."
"Go, lie in that groove." Lin Junzhao pointed towards the center of the cave. Only then did Pei Yan notice the originally flat stone step had carved groves on the left and right, connected with a shallow pool in between.
Without much thought, Pei Yan went to the groove Lin Junzhao pointed at and lay down. Glancing over, he saw Hu Jiu also lying in the other groove under the Ancestral God’s urging.
Having done this, Pei Yan, guessing what would follow, was surprised to see the Ancestral God standing between the two grooves, shedding his outer garment, revealing his aged skin, crisscrossed with wrinkles like cuts from a blade. Then, to Pei Yan’s shock, Lin Junzhao placed his hand on this skin, gently moving it down like a knife, cutting open a corner of the Ancestral God’s skin, which turned thin and clear as a cicada wing as it peeled.
"This...!"
"Shut up, lie back and wait!" Pei Yan had just spoken when Lin Junzhao, concentrating on cutting, interrupted him. Pei Yan obediently lay back, keeping his eyes on their next moves.
Clearly, Lin Junzhao’s cutting caused the Ancestral God considerable strain. The Ancestral God, usually unperturbed by calamity, now had his old face wrinkled, sweat dripping from his brow, until Lin Junzhao carefully completed the cutting. Only then did he exhale deeply, relaxing his tense body.
As Lin Junzhao’s knife advanced, the Ancestral God’s cut skin healed. Not bothering to fasten his clothes, the Ancestral God took from Lin Junzhao the nearly transparent skin, refined from his body’s essence. Without delay, he quickly inscribed the contract’s spell with energy at his fingertips.
Once the final word was inscribed, the Ancestral God stepped to the groove, presenting the Contract Talisman to Pei Yan, "Cut your finger and infuse your consent for the contract and vital essence from within into your fingertip, then press it onto the contract."
Pei Yan looked at the flowing script on the contract, unable to recognize a single word. Hesitatingly, Lin Junzhao called from outside the groove, "Sign quickly! This contract spell contains the Ancestral God’s energy and blessings; every moment wasted loses more energy, which means more loss for you!"
Hearing this, Pei Yan knew he had no choice but to comply. Clenching his teeth and no longer questioning, he bit his finger, infused his intention into his fingertip, and pressed onto the blank space of the contract spell.
A fusion of bloodlight spread on the contract. Seeing this, the Ancestral God turned and jumped to Hu Jiu’s side, performing the same deed. Hu Jiu pressed its bloody paw print onto the contract, and the Ancestral God jumped back to the pool center, placing the contract in it.
After all was done, the Ancestral God and Lin Junzhao, left and right, jumped to Pei Yan’s and Hu Jiu’s sides, placing their hands on them. Lin Junzhao instructed, "Slowly expel your disrupted bloodline flow outward, into the central blood pool. Make sure to match Hu Jiu’s bloodline flow speed. Though it’s a symbiotic contract, you’re the main; you must lead this rhythm, understand?"
"Understood!" Feeling Lin Junzhao’s power continuously pouring into him, Pei Yan nodded, closed his eyes, sensed the bloodline flow speed of Hu Jiu beside him, and began guiding his own bloodline into the blood pool through the groove.
