"These writings are full of evil and curse."

Lunara stared at the bloody writings coiled around her soul within the Sea of Consciousness. Each line was like a living parasite, biting into her soul, drawing nourishment from her pain and hatred.

"This is the blood contract technique used to control me."

Her expression suddenly shifted.

"These lines… they're different than before."

A tremor ran through her voice, mixed with disbelief and excitement.

"It really is effective!"

She opened her eyes abruptly and looked at Ethan, no longer hiding the shock in her gaze.

"So it wasn't an illusion. When you suppressed my inner demon just now, the blood contract was actually shaken."

At this moment, Lunara no longer had the slightest doubt. Any remaining suspicion in her heart completely vanished.

Ethan smiled faintly, his tone calm and indifferent.

"How is it? I only exerted a little force, and the effect is already this obvious."

Lunara stood up suddenly.

Then, without hesitation, she knelt down in front of him.

"Mr. Aether, please continue."

Her knees hit the floor with a dull sound, but her posture was straight, her back rigid.

"After everything is done, apart from becoming your spiritual pet, I will agree to anything you ask of me without hesitation."

This was not flattery.

Nor was it blind devotion.

It was desperation.

For countless years, she had lived in darkness, watched by invisible chains, breathing under suffocating control. Today, for the first time, she saw light.

Hope.

How could she not grasp it with both hands?

Ethan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Miss Lunara, calm down."

He gestured lightly, an invisible force lifting her back to her feet.

"I can't help you completely remove the blood contract right now."

Lunara's pupils shrank.

"Why?"

"Because forcing it would only alert Valerius," Ethan replied evenly.

"If he notices even the slightest abnormality, your situation will become ten times worse."

Her excitement cooled instantly, replaced by tension.

"Then you said before… that you were ninety-nine percent certain?"

"I am," Ethan said. "But there is one thing I lack."

"What is it?" Lunara asked urgently.

"Hibiscus fruit."

"Hibiscus fruit?"

She froze.

"The hibiscus tree blooms once every five thousand years and bears fruit only once every ten thousand," she said slowly.

"It is already considered a legend from ancient times. Where could we possibly find such a thing?"

For a moment, despair threatened to rise again.

But then—

"Hibiscus fruit… hibiscus fruit…"

Lunara repeated the words under her breath.

Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"The Training Trial Secret Realm."

She looked up sharply.

"There are rumors—ancient rumors—that a sacred hibiscus tree exists inside the Training Trial Secret Realm. In the entire history of the Demon Territory, someone once brought out a hibiscus fruit."

"That was nearly ten thousand years ago."

She paused, breathing quickening.

"I don't know whether the rumor is true. But if it has been passed down for so long, it's unlikely to be groundless."

Ethan's lips curved into a faint smile.

"Oh?"

"There's such a treasure inside the Training Trial Secret Realm?"

"That makes things interesting."

In truth, even without hibiscus fruit, he still had a seventy percent chance of breaking the blood contract.

But seventy percent was not enough.

Ethan never gambled when he could calculate.

Alicia had already explained the two methods to him.

The first was to use the Nine-Colored Soul-Living Bottle to slowly refine Lunara's soul and peel away the blood contract over time. Safe, but slow—and not guaranteed to be complete.

The second was to combine Great Mercy Requiem with hibiscus fruit.

Hibiscus fruit was a true divine treasure of heaven and earth.

It carried the essence of sun and moon, pure spiritual energy, and the power to cleanse evil, suppress inner demons, and purify the soul.

In ancient times, it was a sacred object coveted by countless peak experts.

Great Mercy Requiem, combined with hibiscus fruit, could dissolve the blood contract within a quarter of an hour.

The success rate was nearly absolute.

Originally, Ethan planned to retreat underground, raise his cultivation to its peak, and then deal with the blood contract slowly. If the Palace of the Four Cycles dared to pursue him, he would simply crush them head-on.

That was his fallback.

But now—

If hibiscus fruit truly existed in the Training Trial Secret Realm, there was no reason not to seize it.

"Then we'll wait for the Training Trial to open," Ethan said decisively.

Lunara nodded immediately.

"I'll find a way to help you obtain a Sage Token."

"A Sage Token?" Ethan asked, feigning curiosity.

"Yes," Lunara explained.

"A quota. There are a total of one hundred and eight Sage Tokens on the entire continent. Only sixty-eight are officially recognized in the Demon Territory."

"The so-called quota limits are just rules imposed by top forces like the Palace of the Four Cycles."

"If someone holds a Sage Token and has enough strength, they can completely ignore those rules and enter the Training Trial Secret Realm directly."

"Of course," she added, "if someone holds a token without sufficient strength, they become prey."

Ethan chuckled.

"You don't need to worry about that for me."

A Sage Token was nothing more than a key.

If he wanted one, he could simply take it.

"You've already taken enough risks tonight," Ethan continued.

"Stay put in the Palace of the Four Cycles. Being here tonight was dangerous enough."

"If you're caught—" he smiled meaningfully.

"I won't be," Lunara replied calmly. "Within Blue-Wave City, I still have freedom."

"Good."

Ethan's gaze sharpened slightly.

"Then let's discuss the price."

Lunara stiffened.

"The price…" she said softly.

"Tell me, Mr. Aether."

Her eyes were steady.

She only hoped that whatever he asked for… she could afford it.

"My requirements are not high. Once everything is done, you will be mine. From that day on, you will serve me and obey my orders," Ethan replied calmly.

Using her blood essence to activate the Map of the Eight Wonders was only one requirement. What Ethan valued even more was Lunara herself.

She was one of the eight strange and ferocious beasts—already fully grown.

Once her bloodline was completely unleashed and the blood contract broken…

A/N:

Extra chapters

100 power stones - 1 Extra chapters

200 power stones - 2 Extra chapters

Massage Chair - 1 Extra chapters

Luxury Car - 2 Extra Chapters

Dragon - 5 Extra Chapters

Magic Castle - 15 Extra Chapters

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