Shadows of the Illusion Valley Butterflies!

The mist in Illusion Valley was thicker than imagined.

Bai Lan stood at the valley entrance, gazing at the flowing, milky-white fog, where distorted light and shadows were vaguely visible within.

It was as if something was weaving through the mist, or as if space itself was trembling slightly.

"Stay close to me," Yan Shaozhe said in a low voice, stepping into the mist first.

Bai Lan took a deep breath and followed.

The moment he stepped into the mist, a strange sensation welled up in his heart.

It felt like passing through a thin curtain of water, or as if his body had been lightly brushed by something.

Spatial fluctuation.

Bai Lan understood immediately; he did not stop, following closely behind Yan Shaozhe.

The two traveled through the mist.

The surrounding scenery changed constantly—sometimes a dense forest, sometimes bare rock walls, and sometimes a void of nothingness.

Bai Lan knew this wasn't an illusion, but rather spatial fluctuations distorting his vision, causing everything they saw to be fragmented.

"This place is shrouded in spatial fluctuations year-round."

"An ordinary person who enters wouldn't make it a hundred paces before getting lost."

"Even for a Soul Master, without Spatial Perception, it is very easy to get trapped and die inside."

Yan Shaozhe's voice came from ahead.

Bai Lan nodded, his gaze scanning his surroundings vigilantly.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Yan Shaozhe suddenly stopped.

"We're here."

Bai Lan followed his gaze and saw, vaguely visible in the mist ahead, a massive dead tree.

The tree was thick enough for a dozen people to join hands around it; its trunk was cracked, and its canopy was bare, without a single leaf.

Yet, at the very top of the dead tree, a faint glow was flickering.

The glow was very weak, like a candle flame about to extinguish, yet it carried an indescribable, strange quality.

Bai Lan narrowed his eyes and looked closely.

It was a butterfly the size of a palm.

Its wings were transparent with faint silver halos around the edges, and its body was curled up between the branches of the dead tree, motionless.

Whenever its wings trembled slightly, the surrounding mist would distort, forming ripples like those on water.

"Void Butterfly," Yan Shaozhe whispered. "It just finished evolving and is currently in a weakened state."

Bai Lan stared at the butterfly, his heart rate accelerating slightly.

A five-hundred-year-old Void Butterfly.

A space-type Soul Beast.

His second Contract Beast.

"What do I do now?" he asked.

Yan Shaozhe did not answer, instead raising his hand, a soft light emerging from his palm.

The light slowly expanded, pushing the surrounding mist away to form a clear space about ten meters in diameter.

"Its perception is very weak right now," Yan Shaozhe said. "I will help you suppress it; you move closer and use the Contract Book to form a contract."

Bai Lan nodded, raising his hand as the Contract Book appeared in his palm.

He took a deep breath and walked toward the dead tree step by step.

One step, two steps, three steps...

The distance grew shorter.

Ten meters, eight meters, five meters...

The Void Butterfly on the dead tree seemed to sense something, its wings trembling slightly.

Bai Lan stopped and held his breath.

The Void Butterfly's wings fluttered a few more times, but it did not wake up, merely shifting its posture before curling back up.

Bai Lan let out a sigh of relief and continued to approach.

Three meters.

Two meters.

One meter.

Finally, he stood beneath the dead tree, looking up at the palm-sized butterfly.

It was within arm's reach.

Bai Lan slowly raised his hand, aiming the Contract Book at the Void Butterfly.

Focus your intent!

Contract!

The Contract Book shone with a brilliant radiance!

A golden beam of light shot out from the pages, enveloping the Void Butterfly!

The Void Butterfly jolted awake!

Its wings fluttered violently, and the space around its body began to distort as it tried to break free from the beam's restraint!

But the next second, the suppression force of Yan Shaozhe descended.

A softer yet far more profound light shrouded the Void Butterfly, and the distorted space around it was instantly smoothed out, as if pressed down by an invisible hand.

The Void Butterfly struggled a few times before finally collapsing limply onto the branch.

The golden beam continued to bathe it in light.

Bai Lan could feel a mysterious power condensing on the Contract Book, establishing some kind of connection with the Void Butterfly.

That feeling was truly wondrous.

It was as if an invisible thread was connecting him to the Void Butterfly.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The Void Butterfly's struggles grew weaker and weaker, and its body began to turn transparent, as if it were about to merge into the golden light.

Finally!

The golden light dissipated.

The Contract Book slowly drifted back into Bai Lan's hands.

The pages flipped on their own, turning to the second page.

Lines of ink began to emerge:

[Contract Beast: Void Butterfly]

[Age: Five Hundred Years]

[Status: Contracted]

[Abilities: Space Folding, Void Concealment, Spatial Perception, Hovering]

[Space Folding: Can briefly fold a small area of space to achieve short-range teleportation or deflect attacks]

[Void Concealment: Merge into the surrounding space to hide one's presence; duration is related to the beast's age]

[Spatial Perception: Sensitive to surrounding spatial fluctuations; can sense danger in advance]

[Hovering: Can briefly remain in the air and glide]

[Evolution Count: 0/2 (Can evolve twice)]

[Ability Sharing: Not enabled (Requires manual activation)]

It was done.

Bai Lan let out a long breath and looked up at the top of the withered tree.

The Void Butterfly was gone.

But on the second page of the Contract Book, a butterfly-shaped mark was slowly taking form, emitting a faint silver glow.

"The contract was successful?" Yan Shaozhe's voice came from behind him.

Bai Lan turned around and nodded: "It was."

Yan Shaozhe walked over, looked at the Contract Book in his hand, and his gaze lingered on the butterfly mark on the second page for a moment.

"A five-hundred-year-old Void Butterfly," he said. "Congratulations, your second Contract Beast has been acquired."

Bai Lan smiled and closed the Contract Book.

He was in no rush to evolve the Void Butterfly.

This was not the right place for that.

"Let's go, let's get out of here first," Yan Shaozhe said. "Staying in this place for too long is not good for the body."

Bai Lan nodded and followed Yan Shaozhe as he turned to leave.

Walking out of the Illusion Valley, the sunlight fell upon them once again.

Bai Lan took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling much more relaxed.

Yan Shaozhe looked at the sky and said: "It's almost dark. We'll camp at the valley entrance tonight and return to Shrek first thing tomorrow morning."

Bai Lan nodded, having no objections.

The two found a sheltered spot, lit a campfire, and set up a simple tent.

After eating some dry rations, Yan Shaozhe leaned against a tree and closed his eyes to rest.

Bai Lan sat by the campfire, watching the dancing flames, his thoughts stirring.

The Contract Book appeared in the palm of his hand.

He flipped to the second page, looking at the butterfly mark.

"Dean." He suddenly spoke up.

Yan Shaozhe opened his eyes: "Hm?"

"My Contract Beast can evolve twice at level twenty," Bai Lan said. "I want to evolve the Void Butterfly now."

Yan Shaozhe was silent for a second, then nodded: "Then go ahead, I will stand guard for you."

Bai Lan offered a word of thanks, withdrew his gaze, and focused on the Contract Book.

He concentrated his intent.

First evolution, confirm!

The next second, a brilliant light erupted from the second page of the Contract Beast entry!