Chapter 17: So Young, And Already A Mother To Someone Else
Shen Liqian glanced at the two people behind her, walked to her seat, and said calmly, “Yes.”
Just as the two were confronting each other, Ming Zhaoshuang had already arrived at the entrance leading to the Dragon King’s Secret Realm. She was about to take advantage of the chaos to enter, but discovered that the entrance was like a wall, and she couldn’t pass through at all.
She tentatively injected spiritual power, only to find that it rebounded back to her.
Why was this?
While she was confused, the System lazily said:
“When the Dragon King left behind his essence blood, how could he not have considered the decline of the Qin family and other powerful individuals coveting the essence blood? Therefore, he set up a barrier at the entrance of this secret realm long ago. Those who are not from the Qin family simply cannot enter.”
“Even if one is undergoing tribulation crossing, they must stand properly at the entrance of the secret realm. Otherwise, do you think Shen Liqian could have directly entered carrying Qin Du if she could? Why would she expose her aura?”
Ming Zhaoshuang grumbled, “Then why did you give me this mission? Isn’t this obviously impossible to complete?”
“Who says it can’t be completed?”
As the System spoke, a long sword suddenly appeared in front of Ming Zhaoshuang.
This sword had a slender and straight body, was pure white all over, as thin as a cicada’s wing, with a cold aura. It exuded an undeniable pressure that made people tremble.
The hilt was exquisitely carved with lifelike dragon patterns, coiled around a patch of snow-white scales, shimmering with flowing light, just like the “colorful white” that people spoke of.
Ming Zhaoshuang noticed that on the surface of one of the scales, there seemed to be an inscription of a wild grass.
The System’s voice cheerfully said, “Just follow it.”
Indeed, led by the long sword, Ming Zhaoshuang quickly crossed the barrier and entered the secret realm.
Strictly speaking, the Dragon King’s Secret Realm was not a true secret realm, but a… temple.
The temple was magnificent and grand, with a thousand bright lamps on both sides illuminating the statue in the center, making it exceptionally delicate, beautiful, and lifelike.
The statue was not solemn and dignified like ordinary divine statues, but unusually agile and beautiful.
The statue wore brilliant robes, a green flowing skirt, dazzling jewelry, and luminous pearls. Its eyes were bright and charming, and its smile was exceptionally lively and radiant, instantly evoking affection in anyone who looked at it.
Such a statue did not evoke any sense of divinity, only a feeling of exceptional vitality.
Beside the statue, offerings were made to the never-extinguishing Mermaid Candles, their lush flames emitting warmth.
In front of the statue, a small golden light shield had formed around Qin Feilong. His face was grim, veins bulging, as if he were enduring unimaginable pain.
Ming Zhaoshuang was about to walk towards Qin Feilong, considering how to obtain the Dragon King’s essence blood from him.
She didn’t want to kill Qin Feilong. After all, although this person could be quite frustrating at times, he hadn’t truly done anything to betray her. To kill him and take his treasure just for the Dragon King’s essence blood would be too cruel.
The System said, “This way, this way. He’s not our target.”
Not him, then who?
The long sword did not point at Qin Feilong, but bypassed layers of candlelight and pointed behind the statue.
Ming Zhaoshuang followed the long sword and was shocked to see the scene behind the statue—behind this lively and charming statue, hid a man covered in blood, completely charred!
The man was about twenty years old. His hair, which hung down his back, was snow-white, but the rest of him was as black as a lump of coal.
His black clothes were tattered, his exposed skin was black and red, oozing yellowish pus, extremely grotesque. Even his face was dirty, with muscles ripped open and wounds of varying depths.
He also had two horns on his head, but one was broken in half.
Ming Zhaoshuang had never seen such a horrifying sight and took half a step back.
“System, this person, ah no, this dragon… can he still be saved?”
Looking at the dragon horn on his head, this person was likely the Dragon King’s bloodline she was looking for, but he was so badly injured that even a great immortal couldn’t save him.
The System, however, seemed stunned and made no sound.
Suddenly, a hand tightly grasped the hem of Ming Zhaoshuang’s skirt.
No, where was her Invisibility Talisman? Why wasn’t it working anymore!
Ming Zhaoshuang looked at the dark, scarred hand with sharp claws and slowly shifted her gaze to the owner of the hand.
The man’s facial features were actually very beautiful, but the wounds on his face were too terrifying. Ming Zhaoshuang stared at his face, seeing his eyes tightly closed in pain, his lips moving slightly, and in a daze, he seemed to utter a word.
This time, Ming Zhaoshuang heard clearly.
“Mom.”
A simple word, like a child’s babbling.
He tightly gripped Ming Zhaoshuang’s clothes, as if he had finally found a home, and at her feet, he transformed into a dragon.
A pockmarked, pitch-black dragon.
Suddenly, Ming Zhaoshuang heard a cry in her ear, as if she could no longer suppress it, whimpering softly.
Ming Zhaoshuang said, “System, he’s not dead yet, so the mission should be considered complete, right?”
The System remained silent.
Ming Zhaoshuang helplessly said, “Alright, alright, I’ll not only find him, but I’ll go through fire and water to save him, okay?”
Although she always complained about the System being noisy, Ming Zhaoshuang had long regarded the System as a part of her life.
Seeing it so sad about the mission not being completed, she couldn’t help but speak to comfort it.
The System finally deigned to acknowledge her and said, “You said it yourself, this is a mission, a mission that must be completed no matter what.”
“I truly don’t want to seize your body; it goes against my original intention.”
Ming Zhaoshuang replied helplessly, “Yes, I will definitely complete it, okay?”
Seeing the System’s casual attitude towards missions at the beginning, Ming Zhaoshuang thought that it didn’t matter if these missions were completed or not.
Now, seeing the System so dejected, Ming Zhaoshuang decided that from now on, she would reluctantly complete all the missions the System gave her.
Even so, Ming Zhaoshuang vaguely felt that this man was very important to her.
This feeling, which sprang from the bottom of her heart, was so wondrous that she had no idea how to explain it, which was why she relied on the System so much.
Moreover, the System seemed to have an inexplicable relationship with this man. If the main mission was ascension, then why wasn’t ascension mandatory, but saving this man was?
Ming Zhaoshuang said, “Just tell me, how can I save him? What sacrifices will I have to make?”
The System said, “He endured over two hundred Nirvana Heavenly Thunders. There’s no way to cure him. Unless an Innate Wood Spirit Root nurtures his body, there’s a sliver of hope.”
“However, Innate Spirit Roots are rare, appearing only once in a thousand years, let alone an Innate Wood Spirit Root. So, this path is completely unfeasible.”
Huh?
Ming Zhaoshuang said, “Two hundred Nirvana Heavenly Thunders? That magnificent phenomenon of tribulation crossing a few days ago, was all caused by him?”
She had guessed it was a dragon, but she hadn’t guessed it was such a powerful dragon.
A dragon that could ascend but was not recognized by the Heavenly Dao.
No wonder he was so charred. To be struck by such world-ending heavenly thunder more than two hundred times and not turn into a pile of ash was already good.
“Yes, he’s super powerful!”
The System’s words were filled with pride, but quickly drowned in sadness:
“But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s dying.”
Ming Zhaoshuang: “…”
Then what’s the point of telling me? No matter how formidable, he’s still a waste in front of the Heavenly Dao.
The System didn’t care what Ming Zhaoshuang was thinking and continued, “Now, Host, you only have one way to save him: you must sign a Life and Death Contract with him. This way, my abilities can be channeled through you to heal him.”
“However, the Life and Death Contract is a forbidden technique in the cultivation world. One dies, one lives; both share life. Generally, only deeply in love Dao Companions do this.”
“But now this dragon has lost his ability to act. If Ming Zhaoshuang wants to sign it, she can only sign a unilateral Life and Death Contract—if he dies, you die too, but if you die, it will have no effect on him.”
“Why would the Host be willing to sign such a one-sided contract with someone who is about to die?”
It rambled on for a long time, and hearing the last sentence, Ming Zhaoshuang laughed in anger:
“Okay, System, you’ve learned to trick me.”
The System said, “But that’s truly the only way.”
Ming Zhaoshuang pondered for a moment, but did not reply.
The System seemed to be contemplating whether to seize her body.
After a long while, Ming Zhaoshuang drew a cut on her palm with her fingertip, and hot blood flowed down her palm lines, watering the dark dragon.
So what if she had to make a Life and Death Contract? It wasn’t difficult.
This dragon had already gone through the Ascension Thunder Tribulation. Although it failed, his strength was probably not to be underestimated.
Once his wounds healed, it was likely that no one in this world could defeat him, and she wouldn’t die anytime soon.
The most important point was that this dragon was clearly a Big Shot, and might be of great benefit to her future cultivation. The System’s rewards were always generous; she had already received over ten Talismans before even completing the mission.
If she completed it, who knew what kind of Reward she would get.
Fortune favors the bold. As long as this dragon didn’t court death, she would basically be immortal.
Ming Zhaoshuang thought it through, not expecting the System to be so conflicted.
Ming Zhaoshuang then asked, “What’s next? Why is there no reaction?”
As someone who had transmigrated into a book not long ago, Ming Zhaoshuang actually had no idea how to sign a Life and Death Contract. She had only seen in novels that it was done by simply drawing some blood.
Seeing that Ming Zhaoshuang was willing, the System finally stopped being sad and began to heal Ming Zhaoshuang’s wounds with its abilities, humming:
“Host, you should watch less novels, they mislead people. Life and Death Contracts are nothing like the contracts you see in those books. You can’t just use ordinary blood; it must be Heart Blood to establish one.”
Upon hearing this, Ming Zhaoshuang did not hesitate. She loosened her clothes, opened her collar, and was about to take out her sword from her Storage Bag when she heard the System say:
“Host, why not use it?”
“It” referred to the long sword the System had summoned earlier to guide the way.
The System rambled on, “This sword is the most powerful sword in the world. I originally didn’t want to give it to the Host because it’s very precious.”
“But the side quest is really too difficult, far exceeding the scope of what you can sacrifice. If possible, I really didn’t want you to complete this mission, but there’s no choice; this dragon is very important.”
“Therefore, the Host’s reward has been upgraded to this Dragon Bone Sword, which is invincible everywhere. Since the Host’s palm is already cut, use this blood to establish the Master-Servant Contract.”
“He’s very well-behaved.”
