Chapter Forty-Two: Misty Gorge

“An equality contract?” Orcus looked up in astonishment at the handsome young man, hardly daring to believe what he’d heard.

“What’s wrong? Did you expect a master-servant contract instead?” The handsome young man asked with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Realizing what was happening, Orcus was secretly delighted. He quickly shook his head, and his feelings toward the young man grew warmer and more approving. After all, a master-servant contract and an equality contract were entirely different. Once a master-servant contract was sealed, a single thought from the master could end a magical beast’s life. But with an equality contract, the constraints were minimal; master and beast were practically equals.

“Master, to form an equality contract, I’ll need a drop of your blood,” Orcus said, his tone growing more respectful and cautious.

The young man nodded slightly to show his understanding. With a thought, a small drop of blood welled from his fingertip and floated before Orcus.

As Orcus gazed at the drop of blood, inky black light surged across his body, and a trace of dragon’s blood slipped from the corner of his mouth. The dragon’s blood merged with the young man’s, and together they formed two black triangles—one upright, one inverted. Dense black light swirled around them, weaving into a unique magical array that radiated a powerful aura of darkness.

In a moment, the strange array split in two—one black triangle shot into the young man’s body, the other into Orcus, the Sanctuary Black Dragon.

“This contract array is rather interesting,” the handsome young man mused, sensing the new soul-bond between himself and Orcus. In truth, he had no intention of ever imposing a master-servant contract, nor did he wish to bully a mere Sanctuary Black Dragon. That was why he had Orcus perform the equality contract instead. A sanctuary-level magical pet was hardly worth fussing over; he simply found it entertaining to have a powerful beast at his side.

Now that he’d come to this world, the young man had resolved to integrate himself fully into it. On the Yulan continent, powerful figures—especially magicians—often enjoyed taming formidable magical beasts. He certainly did not wish to seem too unusual in that regard.

Moreover, as a sanctuary-level magical beast and a dragon, Orcus had surely lived for centuries. The young man hoped to quickly learn about this world through him.

The restorative abilities of Sanctuary magical beasts were truly remarkable. Although Orcus had been gravely wounded, his injuries healed substantially in short order, and he soon offered to lead the young man to his lair.

His so-called lair was simply a cavern deep within a mountain, chosen as his den.

It was said that dragons loved treasures, and the young man now saw this for himself. The vast cavern, as spacious as an underground basketball court, overflowed with heaps of gems and ores, exuding a certain vulgar opulence.

After a brief conversation, the young man learned that Orcus had lived for thousands of years, only reaching the Sanctuary rank just over two centuries ago. Over such a long life, he’d acquired quite a hoard. While most gems and ores were of little use to Orcus, he simply liked collecting them—an instinct of all dragons.

Orcus possessed a spatial ring, which he’d acquired centuries ago from a human expert he’d been lucky enough to slay. He kept his most prized treasures there, stored in the special stomach sac dragons used as a natural storage space.

Most Sanctuary magical beasts lacked spatial rings like human experts, but their unique physiology endowed them with a stomach sac that functioned as a built-in storage space.

Seeing the young man ready to select some ores for forging weapons, Orcus took the initiative to present his most precious collection.

The ores of this world were not particularly remarkable, and the young man’s cultivation was currently weak. But with his superior skills in forging, he could still craft armor and weapons of divine quality by this world’s standards—more than sufficient for now.

Furthermore, thanks to the world’s unique rules, the young man, though not yet a god, could use the power of his formidable soul to nurture his weapons and armor, gradually enhancing their quality. In terms of soul power, not even a mighty Highgod could compare to him. But unless necessary, he had no intention of revealing the true strength of his soul.

It would not do to draw too much attention. After all, the Yulan Plane was home to an unimaginably powerful being—the chief god Beirut. If Beirut became intrigued by his uniqueness, it would be troublesome, even if the young man himself was not afraid.

Having forged his weapons and armor, and feeling more confident in his ability to protect himself, the young man set out with Orcus, the Sanctuary Black Dragon.

He could hardly remain in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts forever. Besides, he was deeply curious about this world. The secrets of its magic and battle-qi could only be discovered among humans. Battle-qi, perhaps, was unremarkable, but the world’s magic was quite intriguing. Studying it would no doubt aid him in his own magical research.

...

“What a bizarre canyon. Could this be the Misty Gorge?” Dressed in a black robe and carrying a heavy black greatsword on his back, the young man landed lightly on the edge of a cliff. Looking out, he saw the opposing cliff faces gradually closing in on each other; several miles ahead, they were separated by barely a meter—one could easily step across.

Below, the canyon was shrouded in dense white mist, making it impossible to see what lay within.

Walking along the cliff’s edge, the young man’s sharp eyes could still make out some of the hidden shapes below.

He had not gone far—each stride covering yards as if shrinking the earth—when he caught sight of a small herb clinging to the opposite cliff, half hidden in the mist. The entire plant was a vibrant green, faintly enveloped in a blueish glow.

“Blueheart Grass?” With a wave of his hand, a stalk of Blueheart Grass floated into his palm, cold to the touch. “Indeed, it contains a chill attribute—perfect for neutralizing the searing, violent factors in dragon’s blood. Refined into a pill, its effects would be even greater.”

After a brief inspection, the young man found several more Blueheart Grass plants. He picked a handful and stored them in his spatial ring.

His unabashed harvesting soon attracted the attention of magical beasts within the canyon: Green-striped Pythons, Winged Bird-Dragons, and others.

But before he needed to act, a deep, majestic dragon’s roar rolled through the mist. A massive black dragon, a hundred meters long, swooped down from the sky. The oppressive dragon’s presence sent the magical beasts fleeing in panic.

“I thought you’d abandoned your master and run off!” the young man grumbled to Orcus, the Sanctuary Black Dragon, with mock annoyance.

Orcus looked sheepish. “How could I, Master? I just spotted some young dragons and went to check on them! By the way, Master, there’s a Spiny-backed Armored Dragon in this gorge—his name is Sadius. We used to get along. But he’s so dense—he’s occupied a place rich in elemental energy for years and still hasn’t broken through to the Sanctuary. He’s a disgrace to our kind!”

“Spiny-backed Armored Dragon? Sadius?” The young man raised an eyebrow and pondered aloud, “I’ve never seen a living Spiny-backed Armored Dragon. Orcus, take me to meet him.”

“Uh...” Orcus hesitated, then hurriedly added, “Master, Sadius has a bit of a temper. But he’s only a peak level-nine magical beast—he wouldn’t dare challenge your authority.”