Signing the Contract, Fantasy Egg Hatches

Buddhist chants rang out.

Blood-red light blotted out the sun, and the ground shook violently. Baleful aura filled heaven and earth. Within that bleak, blood-colored Asura World, a hundred-zhang-tall, ferocious-faced Buddha appeared behind Chen Mo.

The Buddha had countless arms. Some held sharp swords, while others wielded long spears and great hammers, yet every weapon was stained with scarlet blood.

The clash of metal rang out, its killing intent soaring into the sky—overbearing and incomparably fierce.

What kind of Buddha was this, one meant to save the world and deliver people from suffering? It was clearly a demonic god that slew gods in its path.

The instant the Buddha appeared, the world fell silent, as though they had entered hell. Everything around them was dim and colorless.

Shaluo and the others' eyes widened like bronze bells as they stared at the scene in stunned disbelief.

For the first time, the Vajra Demonic Ape understood fear and terror. Its very soul trembled, and it did not dare entertain even the slightest thought of resistance.

A glint flashed through Chen Mo's eyes. Then, with his right palm, he made a fierce downward strike through the air.

Above the Buddha, countless divine weapons moved in unison and collided together.

All of the Buddha's arms converged, and the divine weapons in their hands vanished. Before long, all the arms had merged into two.

The two arms struck together, sending out an ear-splitting sonic wave.

Then, the Buddha's right palm swept forward.

Carrying boundless pressure, it slammed viciously into the Vajra Demonic Ape.

A cloud of blood mist burst across the sky.

The Vajra Demonic Ape's life force dissipated, and it collapsed into the river.

Yet the Buddha's attack did not lose any of its force. The enormous bloody palm pierced through the ape's body and struck the river, causing it to run dry for a short while.

A massive, blood-colored palm-shaped crater appeared in the riverbed.

Ding! You have killed the fourth-tier magical beast, Vajra Demonic Ape. Reward: 4,800 Fortune Points.

At this point, Chen Mo's Fortune Points had surpassed the ten-thousand mark, reaching a total of 11,500.

When he saw the demonic ape die, Chen Mo immediately dropped to one knee.

It was his first time using Hell Fú Tú, and he had not expected this Dharma body to drain every last bit of Dou Qi from his body at once.

He hurriedly tossed several high-grade medicinal pills into his mouth. Before Shaluo and the others arrived, he rose to his feet and put on an unconcerned appearance.

"Overall Pavilion Master, are you all right?" Shaluo and the others hurried out from the surrounding forest. As he approached, Shaluo asked.

"It was nothing." Chen Mo said, "Go see whether the magic core is still there."

Shaluo did not doubt him. The Overall Pavilion Master was someone who could even defeat a Dou Emperor; a fourth-tier magical beast truly was nothing to him.

Before long, Shaluo's voice came from beside the ape's corpse. "Overall Pavilion Master, its magic core is still here."

"That's good." Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief.

Shaluo walked over and handed the magic core to Chen Mo. "It's just a shame about that hide."

With such a huge hole in it, even if they skinned it, it would not be worth much.

Chen Mo did not take it. Instead, he said, "Trade it for cultivation resources, cultivation methods, and Dou Skills. Lingyan Pavilion is currently expanding, and we need such things."

Seeing that Chen Mo did not even want something as valuable as a fourth-tier magic core and instead had Lingyan Pavilion's construction at heart, Shaluo was instantly filled with motivation.

It seemed Lingyan Pavilion was not merely a passing amusement for this young master.

Today's hunt came to an end.

The group returned to Desert City before nightfall.

Nalan Yanran had been waiting at the city gate for quite some time. When the guards saw that this Miss belonged to Lingyan Pavilion, not only did they refrain from driving her away, but they even brought her fruits to ward off the heat every so often while she waited.

Shaluo and the others tactfully left first.

"Senior Sister, you've finally finished your secluded cultivation. Your junior brother missed you to death." Chen Mo scooped Nalan Yanran up and raised her over his head.

"Y-you, put me down. There are... people nearby." A blush rose to Nalan Yanran's face, and she was so embarrassed she could barely show her face.

"There are people, but no one's looking." Chen Mo planted a loud kiss on Nalan Yanran's cheek, then swept his gaze around. The guards at the gate obligingly turned their backs.

"Junior Brother, you..." Seeing Chen Mo kiss her so brazenly, Nalan Yanran felt both embarrassed and annoyed. After pinching him at the waist, she said irritably, "Why haven't you put me down yet?"

Having taken enough advantage, Chen Mo obediently let her go.

"Junior Brother, Elder Gu He sent a letter. Two months from now, the Alchemist Grand Meeting, held once every eight years, will take place in Jiama Holy City. He asked how your alchemy studies have been going." Nalan Yanran straightened her clothes and took out a letter from her Storage Ring.

"Well..." Chen Mo had been putting all his effort into cultivation lately, so he truly had not practiced alchemy at all.

Although Gu He had said he possessed considerable talent in alchemy, he genuinely had no interest in it.

When he had taken Gu He as his master that day, his true purpose had merely been to secure medicinal pill resources for the future.

For now, Gu He had treated him rather well.

It seemed he would have to devote some thought to alchemy during this period.

"Senior Sister, help me reply. Tell him I'm doing fairly well and that I'll register on time."

Nalan Yanran nodded. "I heard from the others that you've been hunting magical beasts recently. You weren't injured, were you?"

"Young Junior Brother, I'm incredibly capable. Haven't you seen it for yourself? How could I possibly get hurt?" Chen Mo teased with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Nalan Yanran's pretty face flushed red. "Y-you-you... I'll strangle you!"

"Hehe, you can't catch me. I can fly."

"Get down here."

"No."

The two horsed around. Before leaving, Nalan Yanran gave the guards a bottle of pills as thanks.

Amid their laughter, their figures gradually faded into the distance.

Elsewhere.

Black Corner Region.

A faction called the Xiao Sect had gradually begun to rise to prominence during this period, establishing a firm foothold.

Inside a reasonably sizable tavern.

All sorts of people came and went here—vicious criminals and mercenaries who lived with their blades at their throats.

Yet without exception, no one dared cause trouble in this tavern.

Aside from its close ties with the Heaven Serpent Mansion, the tavern's proprietor was also an exceptionally powerful Dou Emperor.

Desert City.

Inside the room, Chen Mo fiddled with a scroll, pricking himself for blood and signing his name.

After finishing, Chen Mo took a bright little knife from his Storage Ring and walked straight over to the Seven-Colored Skyswallowing Python.

"Little snake, little snake, as long as you give me a drop of your blood and sincerely leave your snake mark on this paper, you can eat as many Fire Lotus Seeds as you want. How about it?"

The little snake seemed to understand and flicked out its tongue.

"Such a good girl."

Blood was drawn, and the mark was made. Everything was settled.

As the Contract Scroll burned in the flames.

A connection akin to mutual understanding formed between Chen Mo and the Seven-Colored Skyswallowing Python.

Several more days passed.

Chen Mo counted the days.

The Fantasy Egg should be hatching.

Sure enough, at noon.

The eggshell cracked.

Some people complained that having Chen Mo take Gu He as his master was too off-putting, so I'll address it today.

First, Gu He personally approached Chen Mo and expressed his desire to take him as a disciple. That shouldn't count as sucking up, right?

Second, if Chen Mo wanted to rapidly increase his strength, he needed a powerful teacher with resources.

Third, why did it have to be Gu He? Well, since he had joined the Misty Cloud Sect, he couldn't exactly ignore someone nearby in favor of someone far away. What would the people of the Misty Cloud Sect think?

Lastly, and what everyone cares about most: Yun Yun's place.

There's no need to doubt it. Yun Yun can only belong to Chen Mo, and she is the first female lead.

That's all the explanation I can give. If you still find it off-putting, then there's nothing I can do.