300,000-Year Void Shadow Lord!

The light persisted for an entire hour.

When the light finally dissipated.

Bai Lan slowly lowered his hands and opened his eyes.

Then, he froze.

Youye was gone.

In her place stood a woman.

A woman who defied description.

She stood silently in the darkness, as if the darkness itself had taken human form.

She was taller than before, her figure slender and graceful, every curve perfectly proportioned—not a fraction too full, nor a fraction too thin.

Her purple-black hair cascaded to her waist, with faint specks of starlight flowing through the strands, as if she were draped in the entire galaxy.

Her skin was white to the point of translucence, yet it lacked the fragility of paleness, possessing instead the warm luster of jade.

Beneath her skin, intricate shadow patterns flowed slowly, resembling the veins of a living creature or perhaps some ancient rune.

Her face...

Bai Lan looked at that face and suddenly understood the meaning of being breathless.

Stunning.

It was the only adjective he could think of.

But those two words were nowhere near enough to describe the face before him.

Her brows and eyes carried an innate coldness, like a frigid moon hanging high in the night sky, looking down upon all things in the mortal world.

Her nose was high and straight, her lips a faint shade of purple, the corners slightly upturned in a subtle, lingering smile.

The most astonishing feature was her eyes.

They were no longer vertical pupils.

They were normal human eyes.

Deep purple irises, so profound they seemed capable of swallowing all light.

Yet, those eyes were currently reflecting Bai Lan's figure.

She just looked at him like that.

As if she were looking at her entire world.

"Master."

She spoke.

Her voice was no longer cold, but carried a strange, magnetic quality, as if it were drifting up from the deepest abyss or falling from the furthest night sky.

Every word felt as though it were striking directly against his soul.

"You... have become even more beautiful."

Bai Lan took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.

He finally understood why Tang Hao liked shapeshifted Soul Beasts.

Damn, this was truly beautiful.

With beauty like this, it wasn't just Tang Hao who would like it.

He liked it too.

Youye, Yinxing—they were both peerless beauties.

Just thinking about it made him excited.

"As long as Master likes it."

Youye gave a charming smile and looked down at herself.

She raised her hand and gently clenched her fist.

The surrounding space distorted slightly with her movement.

"Three hundred thousand years," she said, her voice carrying a rare ripple of emotion. "So this is what it feels like to be a three-hundred-thousand-year-old fierce beast."

She looked up at Bai Lan.

"Master, thank you."

Bai Lan was stunned for a moment. "Thank me for what?"

Youye was silent for a second.

Then, she smiled.

It was the first time she had truly smiled in the real sense.

It wasn't just the corners of her mouth turning up, but her entire face softening, her eyes curving into crescents, like moonlight spilling onto the surface of a lake.

"Thank you for letting me see such a sight."

She said, her voice as soft as a dream-whisper:

"At fifty thousand years, I thought that was my limit."

"At one hundred thousand years, I thought that was the peak I could ever reach."

"At two hundred thousand years, I thought I was already strong enough."

"But now—"

She looked at Bai Lan, her eyes filled with a complex light:

"I finally know that I can be even stronger."

Bai Lan looked at her, silent for a few seconds.

Then, he smiled.

"So, are you ready?" he asked.

Youye was slightly stunned: "Ready for what?"

Bai Lan pointed to the Contract Book:

"At level forty, there is a fourth evolution."

"After that, every time I level up by ten, you can evolve once more."

"A million-year Soul Beast is just a matter of time, and compared to the time you Soul Beasts spend cultivating, it is merely a drop in the ocean, not worth mentioning."

Youye was dumbfounded.

Then, she smiled.

This time, her smile was even more radiant.

"A million-year Soul Beast!"

"I never dared to think of it before, but now I see hope, Master."

Bai Lan thought for a moment and said earnestly: "Follow me, and you won't be disappointed. Divine Beasts or even Super Divine Beasts are just a matter of time."

Youye looked at him, looking into those sincere eyes.

Suddenly, she felt very lucky.

Fifty thousand years of loneliness, ten thousand years of struggle.

In exchange, she had met such a person.

She nodded: "Mm, I believe in you, Master."

Bai Lan nodded and looked down at the Contract Book.

On the third page, the text had been updated:

[Contract Beast: Void Shadow Lord]

[Age: 300,000 years]

[Status: Contracted]

[Abilities: Shadow Dominator, Spatial Control, Shadow Step, Void Shadow Claw, Shadow Sky Cannon, Shadow Space Devour, Breath Nullification, Shadow Clone, Shadow Domain, Void Shadow, Shadow Abyss Descent, Shadow Sky Curtain, Void Walk]

[Shadow Dominator: Can freely manipulate Shadow Power within a thousand meters, turning shadows into physical attacks or defenses]

[Spatial Control: Can manipulate surrounding space—folding, twisting, tearing, and restructuring it at will]

[Shadow Step: Can teleport between any shadows, ignoring distance, with zero consumption]

[Void Shadow Claw: Can tear open spatial rifts during attacks, banishing parts of the enemy's body directly into the void]

[Shadow Sky Cannon: Condenses Shadow Power and spatial energy for long-range attacks, with enough power to level a small mountain]

[Shadow Space Devour: Opens an entrance to the Shadow Space, devouring all attacks and converting them into one's own energy]

[Breath Nullification: Passive ability; one's own aura completely merges with the world, rendering all detection methods ineffective]

[Shadow Clone: Create up to nine shadow clones, each possessing eighty percent of the original's strength, capable of independent combat and inheriting all abilities]

[Shadow Domain: Domain range expands to one thousand meters; enemies within are continuously eroded by shadows, allies become completely invisible, and spatial perception is disrupted]

[Void Shadow: Can retreat into the gap between the void and shadows, immune to all attacks; can bring allies along]

[Shadow Abyss Descent: Summons a projection of the Shadow Space, covering a thousand-meter radius; all enemies within the projection are forcibly pulled into the Shadow Space, with their perception, movement, and attacks reduced to zero]

[New Ability Sky Curtain: Deploys a Shadow Sky Curtain covering a three-thousand-meter radius; all enemies within have their Shadow Power suppressed, while allies' Shadow Power is significantly enhanced, lasting for one quarter of an hour]

[New Ability Walk: Can walk through the void, ignoring all terrain obstacles; can bring allies along]

[Evolution Count: 3/3 (Reached limit, must reach level forty to unlock next evolution)]

Three hundred thousand years.

Void Shadow Lord.

Bai Lan looked at the dense list of abilities, remaining silent for a long time.

Then, he raised his head.

Elder Mu had walked to his side at some point and was also looking at the text on the Contract Book.

The expression on his face had already gone numb.

"Three hundred thousand years..." he muttered, "Nine clones, a thousand-meter domain, Void Walk..."

He turned his head to look at Bai Lan:

"Kid, tell me, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Bai Lan thought for a moment and said earnestly:

"Get stronger?"

Elder Mu was so frustrated he laughed.

"Get stronger?" He shook his head, "This isn't called getting stronger; this is called cheating."

Bai Lan smiled and said nothing.

He turned his head to look at Youye.

Youye stood there, her body surrounded by a faint shadow glow.

She was also looking at him.

Their eyes met.

Bai Lan suddenly said:

"Youye, let us see your current strength."

"The most basic kind will do."

He was very curious, just how powerful was Youye now?