Chapter 505: Chapter 71: Contract, Chaos Beast
After rushing back from the Sky Dragon Palace, Yue Jinghua never saw the couple Ximing again.
Among the entourage of the Divine Court, there was no trace of Ximing, and Yue Jinghua found the couple’s residence.
But in just a few days, the cottage that once radiated warmth was now shrouded in gloom, for the mistress who had taken great care of it would never return.
Ximing survived, and the Ghost Soldier Pattern on his arm had disappeared.
But, Guo Ziyu had died.
When the Chaos Mantis saw him, his eyes were hollow, just staring at the cold corpse of Guo Ziyu.
Though she had departed, the expression on her face at the time of her death was serene, with a faint smile as if she had merely fallen asleep.
The Chaos Mantis had taught Guo Ziyu a healing method, which she ultimately performed.
"Why did it have to be like this," Ximing was in utter agony, murmuring the same words over and over.
"Unexpectedly, there really is such a brave woman among the Human Race," the Chaos Mantis remarked with emotion.
The method it taught Guo Ziyu to save Ximing was the Life and Death Gu of the Mantis Clan.
From its creation to this day, it’s been over five hundred years since any Mantis dared to use the Life and Death Gu. The Chaos Mantis had only mentioned it to her unintentionally, seeing Guo Ziyu’s extreme pain.
The Mantis Clan has a rather helpless and bloody tradition: during egg-laying, for the sake of sufficient energy and food, the female Mantis consumes the male Mantis in order to obtain enough energy to reproduce and nurture the next generation.
This tradition has been passed down through the Mantis Clan since ancient times.
It wasn’t until over five hundred years ago that a female Mantis, unwilling to let her mate die, developed the Life and Death Gu. After laying eggs, she died instead of the male Mantis.
The Life and Death Gu has the power to eliminate any Prohibition, Poison, or Divine Rune, but the only prerequisite is that it is used in place of another.
There was no cure for Ximing’s Ghost Soldier Pattern; the only person who could dissolve it was Divine Pattern Sha Yan.
But with Guo Ziyu’s status nowadays, not to mention seeking out Sha Yan, it would be difficult for her to even try to approach Divine Mountain.
In the absence of any other option, Guo Ziyu used the Life and Death Gu of the Mantis Clan to save Ximing, but she chose to commit suicide before the Ghost Soldier Pattern could manifest.
Due to the Divine Court’s influence, the Chaos Mantis had always held great prejudice against the Human Race, but now, seeing the sacrifice Guo Ziyu made for Ximing, it vaguely began to sense that there might be something unique about humans, this particular kind of creature.
Standing quietly next to Ximing, watching the man who, even in the face of pain, never shed tears and was now on the verge of breaking down in howls, the Chaos Mantis raised its "hand." After hesitating for a moment, it awkwardly placed it on Ximing’s shoulder. "Are you blaming me?"
Hate, this emotion, is something the Dark Beasts cannot comprehend.
Yue Jinghua thought that when the Chaos Mantis posed this question, the part of it that belonged to the Human Race was steadily expanding.
"No, if the situation were reversed and I were Ziyu, I would have made the same decision. It is only today that I realize, compared to her honesty and passion, my cowardice and retreat have caused her harm far more terrifying than death. Perhaps only in death did she truly find release," the death of Guo Ziyu was a complete awakening for Ximing.
In the past, the last thread of obsession with the Divine Court was also severed.
After burying Guo Ziyu, Yue Jinghua brought out the beer she had brewed with high-quality hops from the Sky Dragon Palace and invited Ximing to have a drink. "I plan to name this beer, unprecedented on the continent, Xi Yu, as a memory and a tribute to Ziyu. How about you, what are your plans next?"
"Thank you. Ziyu had a life full of hardships; she often told me that finding a kindred spirit is rare. The fact that you met her and brewed this type of beer has fulfilled her wish. I plan to take Ziyu’s ashes away from Five Saints Town, visit the place where she and I first met, and then go to all the places we wanted to visit, but she never got to see in her lifetime," Ximing emptied his glass of beer with one gulp.
"There’s one more thing I’d like to ask you to help me with, please take good care of Xi Yuan." Xi Yuan was the name Ximing, as an uncle, gave to the Chaos Mantis after acknowledging it as kin. "It still wants to seek vengeance on the Divine Court, but as you and I both know, the power of the Divine Court is immense. With its current level of Divine Power, it would not be able to shake the foundation of the Divine Court. This time, by killing Sha Xi, it will surely have enraged the upper echelons of the Divine Court. In particular, Divine Pattern Sha Yan, she is a terrifying woman who will not rest until she achieves her goals. You and Xi Yuan must be extremely cautious if you ever encounter her."
"Why entrust it to me, when you don’t even know my origins?" Yue Jinghua could tell that Ximing still harbored doubts about her identity.
"Because Xi Yuan has chosen you. You are the first Human Race being it has willingly approached," Ximing drank another mouthful of beer.
Guo Ziyu had once said that beer, this kind of beverage, may be bitter at first, but leaves a sweet aftertaste, much like life should be.
It’s just a pity that he and Ziyu, just as they began to taste the sweetness, had their song end and the people disperse.
After a brief gathering with Ximing, Yue Jinghua accompanied him in the cremation of Guo Ziyu. Then Ximing handed over the management of the Dark Beast Shop in Five Saints Town, which originally belonged to the couple, to Yue Jinghua.
This was in line with Yue Jinghua’s intentions, as she had wanted to set up an Elixir Pills business in Five Saints Town to sell various Elixir Pills.
Her Alchemy Technique had been out of practice for too long and she feared it might become rusty.
As for the Chaos Mantis Xi Yuan, regarding Ximing entrusting her to Yue Jinghua, she neither opposed nor agreed. After pondering for a night, she approached Yue Jinghua and actively proposed to forge a contract with her.
"Are you sure you want to form a contract with me?" Yue Jinghua was quite surprised.
The higher the cultivation of the Dark Beast, the more arrogant and capricious their nature. Not to mention initiating a contract voluntarily, even forced contracts could cause quite a struggle.
"You possess a unique Dark Power that can help me advance my cultivation and transform into a humanoid form," in fact, from the first encounter with Yue Jinghua, Chaos Mantis Xi Yuan had noticed something different about her compared to other Dark Practitioners.
Furthermore, the Dark Power of the mystic creatures around her would make significant breakthroughs every so often.
If the Chaos Mantis wanted to take revenge on the Divine Court, she had to find a way to cultivate quickly, and Yue Jinghua became one of the best options for her.
Yue Jinghua thought for a moment and then suddenly chuckled slyly, "I’ll agree to the contract, but I have one condition."
With that, she mysteriously produced a plump, fat worm, its body covered with zebra-like patterns, "How about this as a wife for it?"
The silver white skin of the Chaos Mantis immediately blushed with a crimson color.
Upon hearing this, the Gold Eater Worm’s goosebumps exploded, "Ao ao, I object, I strongly object, I don’t want a mantis for a wife, ugly and fierce, you’re an evil force, I won’t allow this arranged marriage, I disagree."
"Objection overruled, it’s settled," said Yue Jinghua, reciting the spell, with the Five-star Radiance shining, she formally contracted her fifth Dark Beast.