Symbiotic Contract

Meng Xuanji first suddenly moved closer, making Hu Liena tense up, then appropriately stepped back, leaving her room to catch her breath.

In this state of extreme mental tension, Hu Liena would surely make the most instinctive choice.

"Meng Xuanji, I..."

"Don't think, Hu Liena. Now, tell me your most sincere thoughts. Will you choose Xie Yue, or me?"

Meng Xuanji grabbed Hu Liena's shoulders, using the last trace of tension to shatter her psychological defenses.

"I choose you!"

Hu Liena closed her eyes and shouted the words as if screaming.

Even she herself did not realize how she had found the courage to say something like that, because those words were truly easy to misunderstand.

"Mm, thank you." A gentle smile appeared on Meng Xuanji's face as he stepped forward and lightly pulled Hu Liena into his arms, comforting her startled heart.

"I'm sorry, Hu Liena. It wasn't my intention to provoke you, but I truly don't want to lose you. I'm unwilling to lose even the slightest bit of you."

Meng Xuanji did not conceal his intense possessiveness in the slightest.

It was the first time Hu Liena had ever been hugged so tightly. That passionate warmth and the panic in her heart nearly left her unable to breathe.

"Meng Xuanji, you, I... don't do this."

Hu Liena wanted to push Meng Xuanji away, but she discovered that she did not have nearly enough strength to do so. She still lacked the courage to truly make up her mind and push him away.

After savoring the pleasure of holding Hu Liena, Meng Xuanji consciously loosened his arms. The alluring milky scent on her body was simply impossible for him to get enough of.

What a captivating girl. The less I want to share you with anyone. Hu Liena, you can only be mine.

Hu Liena lowered her head, her little face already red as a cherry.

"Meng Xuanji, I... it's true that I chose you, but you can't hug me like that in the future, especially where there are lots of people. I... I'll be embarrassed."

As she spoke, Hu Liena lowered her head even further. Her flushed face gained an added touch of a young girl's innocent charm.

"Alright, I'll try to restrain myself." Meng Xuanji took Hu Liena's small hand. "Since you chose me, I'll prove through my actions that your judgment was right. Come with me."

Meng Xuanji led Hu Liena deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.

At the Purple Cloud Eagle encampment.

Qin Shi and a group of Soul Masters were patrolling around the camp. Inside the camp, only five or six people remained, while most had chosen to enter the Star Dou Great Forest for the challenge.

"Captain, the thousand-year Soul Beasts in the outer region have already been cleared out. Even the hundred-year Soul Beasts over three hundred years old are few in number now. Do you think something might happen to those children?"

"It's like this every year. What year has passed without accidents? But that is the world of Soul Masters. Only cruel competition can bring out the true potential of these little ones. We've already created a sufficiently safe hunting environment for them and left signal flares as a backup. Even if an accident truly happens, it can only be said that they were unlucky."

Qin Shi was right. In a place as perilous as the Star Dou Great Forest, luck truly accounted for a great deal.

"But I heard that this group includes two students of Her Holiness the Pope. The two of them formed a team from the start and headed deeper into the forest. I'm just... a little worried."

Qin Shi's deputy, Xiang He, spoke worriedly.

Qin Shi looked around the camp.

"If you're worried, secretly follow them. I'll be responsible for everyone else's safety. This concerns the Pope. If something really happens to those two little ones, it won't be easy for us to explain."

"Yes, Captain."

Xiang He summoned her White Crane martial soul, flapped her wings, and entered the forest while maintaining low-altitude flight.

In the outer region, as long as she did not fly above the treetops, there generally would not be much danger.

Meng Xuanji and Hu Liena passed through the territories of many hundred-year Soul Beasts along the way. The strongest one had already cultivated for eight hundred years. If they went any farther, they would reach the area frequented by thousand-year Soul Beasts.

"Meng Xuanji, are we still going farther? It feels so quiet around here... and a little cold."

Having arrived in such an unfamiliar environment, Hu Liena could not help but grow nervous.

She truly wanted to know why Meng Xuanji was not afraid of danger. This was the Star Dou Great Forest, filled with all kinds of powerful Soul Beasts. If they encountered a thousand-year Soul Beast that had come to the outer region to relax, they might not even be able to escape.

"This should be far enough."

Meng Xuanji stopped, and Hu Liena's anxious heart finally settled.

But in the next instant, it rose again.

"Hu Liena, do you want a thousand-year Soul Ring as your first Soul Ring?"

"Huh? A thousand-year Soul Ring? But we can't defeat a thousand-year Soul Beast, can we? Besides, I'm only level 10. My body would be blown apart by the Soul Ring's energy."

Hu Liena had some knowledge of Soul Ring age limits. Bibi Dong had also specifically instructed them that it was best to absorb Soul Rings of around four hundred years, so Hu Liena did not dare try hunting a thousand-year Soul Beast.

"But what if I have a way to let you absorb one successfully?"

"Are you serious?"

"Of course. We made an agreement, didn't we?" Meng Xuanji looked utterly confident.

"I thought you meant your third Soul Ring. If I absorb a thousand-year Soul Beast as my first Soul Ring, I'll break."

"Under normal circumstances, that is indeed the case. But I'm Meng Xuanji. If you don't believe me, give me your hand, and I'll teach you what to do."

Hu Liena hesitantly held out her small hand.

The next moment, Meng Xuanji summoned his Dark Blue Silver Emperor martial soul. Black vines burst from the ground, and a layer of black mist instantly enclosed the two of them, ensuring that no one could see what was happening inside.

"Meng Xuanji, what are you going to do to me? This... this looks so creepy."

Meng Xuanji gently brushed Hu Liena's hair and soothed her with tender caresses.

"Don't be afraid. Trust me. We're friends, and I won't hurt you."

"From now on, you must keep anything I do secret, because this is my greatest secret. For now, you're the only person I'm sharing it with. If my guess succeeds, this thousand-year Soul Ring will be my gift to you."

"A secret?"

Curiosity stirred in Hu Liena's heart.

"What if it fails? What will happen to me?"

"With me here, it won't fail."

Meng Xuanji looked at Hu Liena with firm eyes.

"Are you willing to trust me? Hu Liena, please truly trust me. I really am doing this to help you."

"Then... alright. I trust you."

Hu Liena agreed to Meng Xuanji with almost no thought at all. Since she had already chosen him, she would resolutely walk this path with him to the end.

That was why Meng Xuanji had needed Hu Liena to make her choice in advance.

He wanted that powerful psychological suggestion to help him persuade Hu Liena at the critical moment.

"Very good. Thank you, Hu Liena. Now, please close your eyes. No matter what happens next, do not open them. Do everything as I say. I guarantee you won't regret it."

"Mm, alright."

As she spoke, Hu Liena truly closed her eyes. Under Meng Xuanji's guidance, her breathing gradually steadied, and her state of mind slowly relaxed.

Just as Hu Liena completely entrusted her safety to Meng Xuanji, the Symbiotic Blood Lotus quietly appeared on Meng Xuanji's shoulder.

"Master, are you sure this can really work? This is also the first time I've learned that my Symbiotic Contract can be used this way."

"Of course. Just do as I say. After all, this is a prophecy I saw in the Mysterious Record at the cost of five years of my lifespan. It can't possibly be wrong!"