Starting with Hyuga, traversing countless heavens

Date of signing: [Date]

Based on the principles of equality and voluntariness, Ning Que and Long Qing, through friendly consultation, have reached the following agreement regarding the bet:

The specific details of the first bet agreement

After discussion, Ning Que and Long Qing decided to use breaking through realms as a wager: Ning Que would break through to the Dongxuan realm, and Long Qing would break through to the Zhiming realm.

Both need to break through their cultivation levels at the front gate of the Wilderness Demon Sect under the supervision of Zhang Xingye, Mo Shanshan of Mochiyuan, and Ye Hongyu of Zhishouguan.

If both break through to the next level simultaneously, the bet is void. If neither breaks through within three days, the bet is void.

If the bet is void, life and death are in the hands of fate, and the two will continue their life-or-death battle.

The second penalty for the losing party in the bet.

If Ning Que and Long Qing's side are defeated, the losing side will lose all their cultivation. Furthermore, the victor is forbidden from killing the loser.

Article 3 Dispute Resolution

Zhang Xingye reserves the right of final interpretation, and Ning Que and Long Qing shall not raise any objections.

Ning Que's signature and fingerprint:

Signature and seal of Emperor Longqing:

Ning Que and Long Qing exchanged a glance and signed the document. Hyuga Hoshino touched the parchment with his wand, and the parchment turned to ashes. At the same time, the two of them could feel something suddenly added to their hearts.

Longqing looked around and found a plum blossom tree in the snow. He sat down and meditated under the tree. Longqing's natal object was the flower; the closer he was to the flower, the faster his cultivation would progress.

Ning Que thought about how his destined object was Sang Sang, but he couldn't find her now. He rummaged through his bag and found a simple sketch of Sang Sang herself, which made Ning Que burst out laughing. Sang Sang's self-portrait looked like a stick figure with hair.

Hinata Hoshino reached out and recorded the scene before him, replicating Ning Que's feelings for Sang Sang. With a flick of his finger, he packed everything together, turning it into specks of light that fell into the brow of Sang Sang at the Old Brush Shop in Lane 47 of Chang'an.

At night, Sangsang saw Ning Que blushing as he looked at her self-portrait while she was fast asleep. Haotian felt that he was being consumed by Sangsang's feelings.

A strange surge of emotions welled up in her mind, making her less like a god and more like a human. This filled Haotian with apprehension, making him increasingly convinced that his plan was truly toxic.

Hinata Hoshino smiled. The Haotian Assimilation Plan was nearing success, and his own Earth Immortal Tribulation was finally about to end. However, at this very moment, he needed to be extra careful, otherwise, all his efforts would be in vain, and he would be in real trouble.

Hinata Hoshino handed Ning Que a photo of Sang Sang, and Ning Que took it and thanked her, "Thank you!"

Looking at the lifelike Sang Sang, Ning Que suddenly realized when Hinata Hoshino took the photo and how come he hadn't noticed.

When did you take the photo?

"With 3D printing, I can directly create photos of any person or thing I've ever seen."

Ning Que pinned the photo to a tree with a knife, sat down facing the photo, and Hinata Hoshino placed three sticks of incense in front of Ning Que, creating a particularly harmonious scene.

Ning Que sniffed. A delicate fragrance? Where did that smell come from? He opened his eyes to find Hinata Hoshino burning incense on Sang Sang's photo, which left Ning Que momentarily bewildered. But the next moment, Ning Que accepted it. It smelled wonderful.

"This is the Enlightenment Incense I made in my early years. It can enhance a person's comprehension and help them better understand the Great Dao. It's of no use to me, but it's perfect for you. Whether you want it or not is up to you."

Ning Que suppressed his restless conscience, gritted his teeth, and took a deep breath to see if it would have the desired effect.

After taking a deep breath, Ning Que felt his hearing and vision sharpened, as if he had never felt so relaxed before. His mind was also sharper than ever before, and he gradually immersed himself in a state of enlightenment.

"Brother Hoshino, could you give me some?"

"Shanshan, this is for breaking through realms, this is for everyday use. Keep it safe, and when you feel it's no longer useful, come to me for a better one."

Hinata Hoshino took out a bunch of incense sticks, roughly estimated to be at least two hundred sticks. Mo Shanshan looked at the incense sticks, which seemed easy to break, and then looked at herself, realizing that there was no suitable container to hold such incense.

Hinata Hoshino took out a spatial ring, lifted Mo Shanshan's left hand, and put it on her ring finger. "This is a spatial ring. It has a certain amount of space. You can use it with your telekinesis."

Mo Shanshan accepted it calmly. Although it wasn't the final step, she had already accomplished everything she could, and she accepted it with a clear conscience.

Ye Hongyu was somewhat envious, but after thinking it over, she realized that firstly, she didn't know Hinata Hoshino and couldn't use her connections to help. Secondly, if it were a transaction involving money or treasures, she didn't have any equivalent treasures.

Ye Hongyu suddenly thought of the Heavenly Book and leaned closer to Xingye to ask, "Mr. Zhang, if I exchange the right to view the Heavenly Book with you, I wonder if I could get some Enlightenment Incense in return?"

Hinata Hoshino looked at Ye Hongyu, pondered for a moment, and thought, "The Enlightenment Incense, if you want to say it's precious, is something he made by hand. If you want to say it's not precious, then for this world, it's something only he possesses."

"Alright, let me take a look at all six volumes. I'll give you fifty, but I'll give you 25 as a deposit first."

Hinata Hoshino gave Ye Hongyu 25 sticks directly. Ye Hongyu encountered the same problem as Mo Shanshan: she had no containers.

Ye Hongyu looked herself over and finally stuffed the Enlightenment Incense into her boot.

Hinata Hoshino sincerely hopes she doesn't have athlete's foot, otherwise things could get really funny later.

Ning Que opened his eyes first the next day, having already broken through to the Cave Profound Realm. The aura he exuded after the breakthrough surprised Long Qing, who wondered how it could have happened so quickly.

"Mr. Zhang, I have broken through to the Cave Profound Realm. I wonder when the contract will take effect?"

Hinata Hoshino looked at the anxious Ning Que and chuckled, "Haha, you're quite impatient. It should be working now."

As soon as Hyuga Hoshino finished speaking, Long Qing suddenly felt his cultivation level rapidly draining away like water being released from a dam, causing him to panic. He hadn't expected that this contract would actually work, and that it would work so quickly.

"No, my cultivation level is too low. No, no, no!"

Long Qing's cultivation vanished completely the moment he uttered the last "no." Looking at his hands, Long Qing felt utterly lost; he had become a cripple.

However, what could Longqing do? He stood up, bowed to Hinata Hoshino, and returned to Xiling without looking back.

He firmly believed that as the Son of Light, he still had much to achieve as long as he returned to Xiling, but he didn't know how long it would take for him to recover his cultivation.

Honestly, Hinata Hoshino believes he still has a chance, since the contract only makes his cultivation disappear, not destroy his Qi Sea and Snow Mountain.

However, Longqing currently faces a problem: how to return to Xiling safely. This is a wasteland where the people worship the King of the Underworld and hate Haotian. He hopes that he will be alright.

Chapter 317 A Heart Full of Injustice, A Burden of Feelings, Lotus Born at Thirty

Ning Que took the small door off the back of the big black horse. Luckily, the door was small, otherwise one horse would not have been enough.

"Old Zhang, how do you use this thing?"

"Simply think about the goal you want to go to, and then open the door. In principle, as long as you don't close the door, it counts as one use. After closing the door and then opening it again counts as a second use. After that, it's just a useless door. If you want, you can take it back to the Old Pen Shop as a door."

Ning Que carried the small pink door, stood by the lake, silently recited the name of the Demon Sect, then opened the door, revealing the interior of the Demon Sect, and filed in.

Ning Que, Ye Hongyu, Mo Shanshan, and Hinata Hoshino were underwater, looking up at a mysterious and magnificent array of stones arranged in a rock formation. The clear water shimmered under the sunlight, and the stones gleamed with a dark light.

"Shanshan, would you like to experience this massive formation?"

"May I?"

"Of course, I'm quite familiar with the Demon Sect Master."

Ye Hongyu was speechless. This was the Demon Sect's mountain gate, and it was no exaggeration to say that it was fraught with danger for her.

Hinata Hoshino raised an eyebrow at Ye Hongyu, "Don't worry, the old defensive methods used here are no longer effective. They were destroyed by Ke Haoran's sword. If you want to explore this place, you can go ahead and do so without worry."

Ye Hongyu left on her own, which made Ning Que feel a little embarrassed and scared. Although Hyuga Hoshino said there was no danger here, he valued his life and had not yet avenged his great grudge, so he dared not take any risks.

Hinata Hoshino smiled slyly, revealing Ning Que's ulterior motives. "Don't worry, just follow Ye Hongyu. Just remember one thing: don't believe that a free lunch will fall from the sky."

"Come here quickly, come here quickly!"

Perhaps due to being locked up for too long, Lian Sheng Thirty-Two's voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of easily detectable longing, but unfortunately Ye Hongyu didn't notice it.

"who are you?"

Ye Hongyu didn't notice the odd tone in Lian Sheng Thirty-Two's voice and still looked at him with some wariness.

"I've forgotten some things, but I made a mistake back then, so I've bound myself here to atone for it. Are you from the Xiling Tribunal?"

"That's right. May I ask who you are?"

"It seems someone once called me Lian Sheng Thirty-Two."

"High Priest of Judgment? Ye Hongyu, Grand Master of the Judgment Division, greets the High Priest."

Ning Que followed Ye Hongyu to Lian Sheng Thirty-Two. Seeing Ye Hongyu bowing, he hurriedly shouted, drew his bow, and aimed at Lian Sheng Thirty-Two, "Get away from him, quick!"

Ye Hongyu was startled. "Stay away from Lian Sheng Thirty-Two?" What did that mean? Ye Hongyu looked up and saw Lian Sheng Thirty-Two looking at Ning Que with a strange expression.

Ye Hongyu hurriedly moved away from Lian Sheng Thirty-Two, "Isn't he Master Lian Sheng?"

Ning Que had no intention of getting close to Lian Sheng Thirty-Two. "He is Lian Sheng, the High Priest of the Demonic Sect, the Protector of the Buddhist Sect, and the High Priest of the Xiling Judgment Division. He is also the madman who murdered an innocent dancer and tried to provoke a war between the Academy and Xiling."

Ye Hongyu was somewhat incredulous. Legend had it that Lian Sheng Thirty-Two was a great virtuous person and a high-ranking judge, someone who should be upright, virtuous, and highly respected. Yet Ning Que spoke with such certainty, and Lian Sheng Thirty-Two did not refute it, which made her unable to believe it.

"You're the academy's World-Wide Inspector? That's a bit weak. Do you know who your predecessor was?"

"Of course I know, my junior uncle Ke Haoran from the academy."

"Do you know about my relationship with him?"

Ignoring Ning Que's reaction, Lian Sheng Thirty-Two continued speaking to himself, "He and I used to be best friends, so I know who his most beloved person is, and I know how to provoke him and drive him crazy."

So, I came up with a plan.

"So you ate Jian Xiaoxiao, trying to frame the Xiling Judgment Division, but your junior uncle discovered it, destroyed the Demon Sect, and imprisoned you here. You have never repented, and you would never choose to bind yourself."

Lian Sheng Thirty-Two laughed maniacally, "Hahaha, hahahaha."

Seemingly exhausted from laughing, Lian Sheng Thirty-Two stopped, a ferocious look appearing on his face. "You think Ke Haoran hasn't fallen into demonic possession?"

"How is that possible! Junior Uncle could not possibly have fallen into demonic possession."

"Of course it's possible."

Hyuga Hoshino walked in, causing Renshou Sanju's expression to change drastically. "You are the sky! But not Haotian."

"Ok?"

Hinata Hoshino was somewhat surprised. He had already concealed his aura as a human immortal, so how did Rensheng Thirty-Two discover part of his true nature?

“I have read the Heavenly Book and know what the heavens should look like. I can’t see through you at all. Even with Master, I can still see through part of his essence, which is frighteningly strong. Only you are completely beyond my understanding.”

Aside from the heavens, there's no one I can completely ignore. But you get along well with the boys from the academy, so you're not Haotian.

Hinata Hoshino chuckled lightly, "Ha, not bad. After being locked up here for so many years, you are still sharp of hearing and sight. I'm really curious, if you hadn't been locked up here, would you have been able to enter the Pure Realm?"

"I don't know either. The realm of purity is too lofty. Perhaps I will never be able to reach it even if I spend my whole life trying."

Hinata Hoshino looked at Ning Que, "He wasn't wrong just now, Ke Haoran has indeed fallen into demonic possession. I wonder if you've ever thought about what the definition of demonic possession is?"

Ning Que began to recall the definition of demonic possession. Cultivators in this world basically cultivate mental power, directly drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The demonic sect's cultivation method is to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and then use it.

Ning Que seemed to have grasped something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Ye Hongyu spoke first, "It is something that Haotian cannot tolerate."

Hinata Hoshino thought Ye Hongyu was really good. "Not bad at all, that's true. Anything that is incompatible with Haotian is considered demonic. Ke Haoran questioned Haotian, and Haoran's sword intent is a wonderful path of one sword giving rise to ten thousand laws, which is contrary to Haotian."

"Where is the Ming Scroll? Legend has it that the High Priest of Light who founded the Demon Sect took the Ming Scroll with him, and the High Priest of Heavenly Oracle also prophesied that the Ming Scroll would appear in the wasteland."