Mr. Dragon Knight, the dragon girls are chasing you!

Upon hearing Luo Ye's decision, Eldron's aged eyes were instantly filled with deep respect, his mind reeling, and he nodded repeatedly.

"I understand completely now!"

"I will immediately mobilize the Dragon Clan's secret archives and compile all the ancient records of the Abyss Rift, and deliver them to your room as soon as possible."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and waved it lightly, and the light purple soundproof barrier that enveloped the entire room instantly vanished.

Luo Ye looked at the white-haired dragon elder in front of him and originally wanted to say a few polite words, "No need for such trouble," "Just give a brief overview."

But the way Eldron looked at him made it seem as if he had just made a decision to save the world and bravely face death.

Luo Ye felt a chill run down his spine from being stared at, and all the polite words he had prepared got stuck in his throat, leaving him unable to utter a single word.

He coughed lightly, instinctively taking half a step back to avoid the overly scorching gaze, and raised his hand to wave:

"Elder, please don't look at me like that... I'm just going on a trip, not going to my death."

Eldron didn't respond, but slowly shook his head, his beard trembling slightly, as if he wanted to say something but swallowed it back.

That look of satisfaction on Luo Ye's face, as if saying "My Dragon King has met his soulmate," only made Luo Ye more restless, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself in it.

"Elder, really, please go do what you need to do, don't stand here," Luo Ye couldn't help but take another half step back.

"If you keep looking at me like that, my legs will go weak."

Eldron finally looked away, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He didn't say anything more, but solemnly cupped his hands to Luo Ye, then turned and strode towards the stone gate, his tall and aged figure as steady as a mountain in the dim light.

But the moment he reached the door, he suddenly stopped.

"Dragon Knight, my lord."

"I have lived for 27,300 years, witnessed the myriad forms of the continent's races, seen countless powerful humans who sought profit and avoided harm, and were afraid of death, as well as countless beings who betrayed their promises and were selfish and callous for the sake of power and strength."

"Only you are pure of heart, loyal and righteous, willing to risk your life to redeem others against all odds."

"For the first time in my life, I sincerely feel that it is the greatest fortune and the highest honor for my Eternal Night Dragon Clan to be able to form a bond with you and for His Majesty to have someone like you as a contract."

Upon hearing these words, Luo Ye's gaze, which had been awkwardly avoiding his eyes, froze completely.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to respond to this weighty recognition, but in the end he could only squeeze out a dry sentence: "...Elder, you're exaggerating too much."

He scratched the back of his head, his gaze darting around, his voice trailing off: "I just... don't want to see anything happen to her."

Eldron didn't turn around, but chuckled softly by the door.

He raised his hand and pushed open the stone door, his figure steadily stepping out, disappearing in an instant at the end of the dark and long corridor, leaving only a calm and composed figure completely hidden.

The heavy stone door slowly closed, shutting out all outside noise, and the room returned to silence.

Luo Ye stood alone in the empty room, silently gazing at the tightly closed stone door, remaining motionless for a long time.

After a long while, he slowly withdrew his gaze and looked down at the palm of his right hand.

Beneath her fair skin, a delicate and dazzling golden contract pattern was slowly flowing and shining. The pattern meandered and intertwined, like intertwined threads of destiny, warm yet resilient.

This is his unique soul bond with Eluvia, an eternal proof that transcends race, is bound by life and death, and will never be separated.

Luo Ye slowly closed his five fingers, clenching his fist tightly, holding this burning bond firmly in his palm.

The soft whispers, gentle yet powerful, echoed quietly in the empty room.

"Elvia, I won't let you die."

"I promise."

Before he could even detach himself from this moment of tenderness, hurried, heavy footsteps echoed once more in the silent corridor outside the door.

Before Luo Ye could say "Please come in," the stone door was pushed open from the outside.

Eldron held a stack of tattered ancient book rubbings and yellowed animal skin manuscripts in his hands, with a well-preserved old sheepskin map on top, piled up so high that it almost covered his chin.

He strode into the room, rushed to the stone table, and slammed the huge stack of things onto it with a loud thud. The table groaned, and even the candlesticks jumped.

"My lord Dragon Knight, this is all the relevant records that I urgently retrieved from the highest secret vault of the Dragon Clan," Eldron said, as he precisely pulled the rolled-up parchment map from the top of the pile of books.

"It includes the notes of elders from previous generations who explored the rift, as well as ancient maps of the secret realm, and is the only complete set of information remaining in the clan."

He unfolded the map and laid it flat on the table. His withered fingertips pressed heavily on a rift icon marked several times in deep blood red at the deepest part of the map, his tone extremely solemn.

"This is the Shadow Source Core Rift, located in the core forbidden area of ​​the Eternal Night Mountains. It is the area with the most concentrated and purest Shadow Source on the entire continent, without exception."

"The spatial structure of that area is extremely unstable, and it is filled with violent spatial turbulence and tearing shadow storms all year round. Ordinary magical beasts and low-level dragons will die as soon as they step in, and there is no chance of survival."

His fingertips slowly traced a long, winding route along the map's texture, bypassing countless high-risk areas.

The route was marked with numerous red danger signs, monster lairs, and areas with dense turbulence; each mark was precise and detailed.

"This route is a safe path that I have specially planned for you based on my experience in exploration throughout the ages. Although the journey is a bit longer, it perfectly avoids more than 90% of the high-risk monster territories and deadly shadow turbulence zones."

"Furthermore, I have ordered all high-ranking magical beasts belonging to the Eternal Night Dragon Clan along the way to shrink their territories and refrain from attacking you. With your current strength, you should be able to safely reach the edge of the rift."

Luo Ye leaned closer to the map, carefully scanning each marked point, memorizing the route, and casually asked, "What about inside the rift? Are there any specific records of the internal environment in ancient texts?"

"There are records, but very few." Eldron's brows furrowed even more as he pulled out an old manuscript with tattered edges from the stack of ancient books. He flipped directly to a page in the middle with messy handwriting and even obvious trembling marks, and pointed it out to Luo Ye.

"The interior of the Shadow Rift is a completely independent and enclosed alternate dimension, unbound by the rules of the outside world. Its internal topography, elemental concentration, and distribution of restrictions will constantly change with the day and night tides of the Shadow Origin."

"A thousand years ago, three senior high-ranking elders of the clan joined forces and ventured into the rift to investigate, carrying ancient defensive treasures. However, they were severely injured by the sudden spatial restrictions and shadow backlash after advancing less than a hundred steps, and were forced to retreat in a sorry state."

"One of the elders suffered severe damage to his foundation. A thousand years have passed and he has yet to fully repair it, resulting in a significant drop in his cultivation level."

Eldron paused, as if recalling a terrifying ancient legend, his voice deepening:

"According to the top-secret notes left by the first Dragon King, the birthplace of the source core at the deepest part of the rift also seals an ancient abyss guardian."

"That is a ferocious abyss beast left over from the ancient war between the gods. It was forcibly sealed here by the first Eternal Night Dragon King, who used half of his own essence, and has guarded the fragments of the Shadow Source Core for generations."

He raised his eyes and looked at Luo Ye with a deep gaze: "Its strength—according to the current level classification, is approximately LV50 or above."

Upon hearing this, Luo Ye's brows furrowed involuntarily as he silently weighed the danger involved.

Top-tier ferocious beasts above level 50 shouldn't be too strong for dragons.

But it's incredibly difficult for me. Even with the Twin Dragon Contract and doubled stats, my level 22 physique still seems too weak...

Will I get killed in one hit?

The dragons can fight them but can't get in; they can get in but can't defeat them.

So you're being stubborn and blocking both ends, huh?

Forget it, it's just a challenge against a boss that's way higher up, what's there to be afraid of!