"Mm..."
The mental universe.
Lu Ling slowly opened his eyes.
What was going on? How had he suddenly entered his inner vision?
He only remembered Ling Ling's panicked expression at the end, and what had been on his chest...
He had been ambushed!
But how was he still alive?
Before he could puzzle over it any further, the boundless sea of stars suddenly shook!
"This is..." Feeling that utterly familiar change, Lu Ling couldn't help giving a bitter smile.
What the hell? He was actually awakening at a moment when his life hung in the balance. Even if he awakened, would he still have a chance to cultivate?
Even so, Lu Ling focused his mind, praying for a relatively useful element.
Like wind...
The woman in the Divine Soul phantom suddenly raised her hand slightly, marking out an area beside the Blessing Element. Then she plucked a star suffused with milky-white light from the void and gently set it within.
Fine, it couldn't be the Wind Element.
Another awakening guided by the Divine Soul.
There was no need to guess. It had to be the Healing Element!
Could it be... whatever he needed, the corresponding magic element would awaken?
"Ling."
"Who!?"
Who besides his master could enter his mental world!?
Lu Ling spun around, and someone instantly filled his vision, the two of them almost pressed face-to-face. Slightly startled, he floated backward a short distance.
Only then did he get a clear look at the stranger.
She wore a dark-red dress, its strips of skirt hanging naturally yet floating without wind, like an Other Shore Flower in full bloom.
The red dress had pitifully little fabric. Her smooth thighs were completely exposed, with no fabric covering her legs all the way down to her small feet. Her fair, tender feet rested lightly upon the void.
The red-and-white bandeau seemed remarkably stingy, actually making its owner reveal an abyssal cleavage and her smooth, delicate shoulders.
Other Shore Flowers twined around her arms, forming sleeves belonging to her alone. Her long, gray-green hair fell naturally, and his gaze finally settled on her gray-red eyes.
She was clearly the woman imprisoned in chains inside the ancient castle!
"Who... are you?"
"I've waited a long time for you, Ling."
"What do you mean, you've waited a long time? Could you explain who you are first?" Lu Ling felt his head was about to swell. Why had things turned out like this?
"My name is Netherworld. I am your power."
"My power?" Lu Ling was dumbfounded. What kind of setup was this?
"Then... why did you stab me?"
"I was sealed for too long, and little of my power remains. To establish contact with you, I needed your blood as a medium."
"So you just casually stabbed someone clean through the chest."
"Yes."
"What do you mean, yes? I nearly died!"
"You wouldn't have."
"..."
There was no communicating with her.
"Tell me, do you know my origins?" Lu Ling asked.
"A Spirit Body, a furnace for all the powers in the world."
"All... a furnace."
So that was it. No wonder he could control the Ice Bow, the Divine Soul, and even the Calamity soul body!
"Then... what did you seek me out for?"
"Take me with you."
"Are you a Demon Beast or a human?"
"I am the same as you."
"Can we form a contract?"
"The contract is already complete."
Netherworld tore away a little fabric over her chest, revealing a red thread drifting out from over her heart and pointing toward Lu Ling's.
"...Looks like it happened when I got stabbed."
Lu Ling smiled bitterly and asked his final question.
"Will you betray me?"
"I am yours, so I will not." Netherworld's tone held no emotion, yet hearing it instinctively inspired trust.
"...All right. I'll take you with me."
The real world.
"Sis, how is Lu Ling..." Ling Ling's voice trembled slightly.
"He's not dead, but I'm not sure what's going on right now either," Asharuiya said.
She had already used the healing medicine she had brought. In theory, even an injury this severe should recover quickly. His bleeding had stopped, his breathing was normal, and his pulse was normal, but Lu Ling showed no signs of waking.
"Phew..."
"Holy shit!"
Lu Ling suddenly opened his eyes, sat bolt upright, and let out a long breath.
"Ah!"
Asharuiya was so startled that she stepped half a pace back.
Lu Ling panted heavily. He felt as though he had sunk into the deep sea, the endless pressure crushing his body until it nearly fell apart. He looked down at his chest. It was flat and smooth, without a single horrifying wound!
"Lu Ling!"
He had just been about to stand when a figure flung herself straight into his arms, locking her arms tightly around his neck.
"You idiot! You couldn't even dodge a trap!" Little Ling Ling offered not a single word of concern. Instead, every word was steeped in poison.
"All right, all right. I'm fine." Lu Ling's heart softened, and he gently stroked Ling Ling's back to comfort her.
It was the first time he had seen Ling Ling show such concern for him, and honestly, he was rather touched. It was a first for him, too-the first time he had suffered such a serious injury since teaming up with her.
"Thank you. How long was I unconscious?"
"Not long. Only half an hour," Asharuiya said.
"Do you have any spare clothes?"
"Huh?" Asharuiya froze slightly at the question.
Her gaze fell on Lu Ling's chest. The large hole in his clothing was indeed unsightly. What a particular young man.
"I only have women's clothes."
"Women's clothes are exactly what I want!"
"Pervert!"
That came from Ling Ling. She had clearly been so worried about him that she had nearly cried, yet she was still doing her utmost to mock him.
"...Then could you get off this pervert?"
"Oh."
Ling Ling got up and kept a step away from Lu Ling. One look at her puffed-up little round face made it clear she had been holding it in all along.
What a stubborn little brat. Lu Ling smiled helplessly.
"Here. I only have these two outfits."
Asharuiya had already taken out her spare clothes. They weren't outdoor clothes, but a modest black dress and another white one.
She seemed to have anticipated Lu Ling's reaction to the two dresses, and said with a soft laugh:
"So just put up with it. A dress wouldn't really suit you. Besides, your figure is surprisingly sexy for a woman."
"All right, this one!" Lu Ling took the pure white dress.
"What!?" Asharuiya's eyes widened. Ling Ling also looked at him as though he were a pervert, crossing her arms over her chest to protect herself.
"Don't look at me like that. Of course I'm not going to wear a dress," Lu Ling said.
"Then what are you..."
Seeing his calm expression, Asharuiya thought he didn't seem like a pervert who collected women's clothes.
Lu Ling said nothing and instead walked over to the statue in the center of the hall.
He raised his hand slightly, gathering a blood-red aura in his palm, and gently pressed it over the heart of the woman depicted by the statue, Netherworld.
He's even groping a statue! And he says he's not a pervert!
"Crack... crack, crack..."
The next instant, distinct cracks actually appeared over the heart where Lu Ling's hand touched, spreading outward and widening.
Pop.
With a soft sound, the stone layer covering the statue shattered completely, and she gained new life.
She looked exactly as she had when Lu Ling saw her in his mental world. The difference was that Netherworld's body was now completely naked.
Netherworld was not in good shape. Once freed from her restraints, she drifted lightly downward.
Lu Ling caught her securely and dressed her in Asharuiya's clothes. Netherworld weakly opened her eyes, and upon finding herself in Lu Ling's arms, she closed them again in peace, the very picture of a melancholy, sickly beauty.
"Lu Ling, what is this..."
Ever since a woman had emerged from the shattered stone statue, the eyes of both girls behind him had been filled with disbelief.
"I saw her while I was unconscious just now. Now she and I... are bound together in life and death." Lu Ling felt that defining Netherworld as a Contract Beast was very awkward, so he explained it vaguely.
Bound together in life and death...
Both girls fell silent.
"Miss Ye, I'll be leaving soon. If you've already obtained what you wanted, I can escort you safely out of this forest."
"Uh... yes, I'll leave with you." Asharuiya's gaze shifted slightly.