Chapter 323: Element Contract

Outside, Rod waited quietly. He knew he couldn’t disturb Lucy now, as it might ruin all her efforts! Reaching the state of unity with nature was extremely difficult, but once achieved, the benefits would be immeasurable. All he could do now was protect Lucy; everything else depended on her.

The elements around her kept gathering toward Lucy—not because she intended it, but because they were drawn to her automatically. At this moment, Lucy was communicating with these elements. She was now in an ocean of elements, fully integrated with nature, becoming part of it herself!

Lucy could easily sense the emotions of the elements around her. She even felt like she was one of them, and imperceptibly, she sensed her compatibility with the elements increasing, along with her magical power.

It took some time before the surrounding elements slowly dispersed, bringing Lucy back to reality. However, the fire elements remained intact. The moment she regained consciousness, those fire elements surged into her body, causing her magical energy to soar instantly.

“Big brother, protect me!” she said hurriedly after opening her eyes, then quickly sat in a meditative position. She felt she was about to make a breakthrough, breaking free from the state of unity with nature to enter the middle stage of the Yin Yellow realm. This was the advantage of signing an element contract—it not only increased compatibility with elements but also allowed her to elevate her realm, thereby greatly enhancing her strength.

The fire elements flowed into Lucy’s body as if they were tangible. Her Abyssal Hellfire manifested at that moment, surrounding her to protect her!

Suddenly, the temperature around her seemed to rise. The intense fire elements caused the ice and snow nearby to begin melting slightly. Watching Lucy, Rod protected her earnestly, keeping an eye on the surroundings in case any troublemakers showed up.

Fortunately, nothing such happened. After a while, a powerful aura suddenly emanated from Lucy’s body, rising skyward with overwhelming force.

“I’ve broken through!” Rod murmured, feeling all of this. He was somewhat astonished—to be able to lift her directly to a higher level in the Yin Yellow Realm was incredibly extraordinary! Although Lucy was already at the peak of the early stage of the Yin Yellow Realm, it would likely take a year or so for her to advance to the middle stage on her own, assuming she had great talent—showing just how difficult it was. But now! Rod shook his head with a wry smile; it seemed even his prideful cultivation speed wasn’t that remarkable after all.

That aura disappeared quickly, returning into Lucy’s body as if nothing had happened. Only the nearby small magical beasts were left trembling in fear from it.

Slowly opening her eyes, Lucy clearly felt an improvement in her strength. The middle stage of the Yin Yellow Realm was indeed impressive—she had truly broken through! Her face was filled with excitement.

This trip with Rod had first seen her break free from the constraints of the Yin Yellow Realm, followed by her advancement to the middle stage in just over two months—a true miracle. Lucy even wondered if the elders in her family would consider her a freak if they knew how fast she was progressing.

At this moment, Lucy was extremely happy.

As for Rod, his gaze toward Lucy was complex. She had fully entered the middle stage—on one hand, he was happy for her, on the other, he admired her luck! At the same time, he was a bit speechless at her transformation.

Entering the middle stage of the Yin Yellow Realm seemed to have changed Lucy’s mental state once again. She became even more ethereal and otherworldly, no longer like an ordinary mortal woman but rather like a fairy descended from heaven, utterly enchanting. Rod was so captivated that he forgot his surroundings!

“Big brother…” It wasn’t until Lucy noticed Rod’s gaze that she blushed and called out softly. Only then did Rod awkwardly realize his actions, not knowing what to say.

Fortunately, Lucy didn’t press further; otherwise, he wouldn’t have known how to explain. How could Rod possibly know that Lucy actually loved being looked at like that?

“Congrats, middle stage of the Yin Yellow Realm! You’re strong!” Exhaling, Rod said with a smile.

“Well, lucky me. I just signed an Element Contract, and Lucy felt it. Now my elemental compatibility is much higher than before—using magic should give me a 20% boost in power!” Hearing Rod’s words, Lucy also spoke excitedly.
20%! Rod didn’t know what to say at such a huge boost. It was almost unbearable. His magic power was already terrifying before, not to mention now that he had reached the middle stage of the Yin Yellow Realm. And now, another 20% boost? If you added the boost from the Netherhell Fire as well… Rod didn’t dare think further. It seemed that even if he reached the later stage of the Yin Yellow Realm, fighting her would be extremely difficult.
A freak… Truly a freak! Rod could only shout this in his heart!
“That’s good, hehe…” Sensing Lucy’s puzzled gaze, Rod quickly pulled himself back from his thoughts and said awkwardly, “Oh, nothing. Big brother is truly unfathomable. I thought he had reached the middle stage of the Yin Yellow Realm, but now that Lucy has reached this level too, I thought I could catch up with him. Yet now I realize he’s far stronger than Lucy! Lucy can’t even gauge his true strength! Big brother, you must have reached the later stage of the Yin Yellow Realm!” Compared to Rod’s complex feelings, Lucy’s emotions were even more mixed after her excitement. No one could understand how she felt at that moment.
All along, she had hoped to keep up with Rod and face everything together. But no matter what advantages or help she received, she always fell behind him by one step. Today, after signing the Element Contract, she thought she could catch up when she reached the middle stage of the Yin Yellow Realm. But upon seeing him, she was shocked.
She couldn’t even gauge his strength! At this moment, Lucy almost screamed. There was only one possibility for this—Rod’s strength had surpassed hers.
How could that be? Her progress had already been extraordinary, unmatched by anyone before or since. How could she still be behind him? After all, her training had been aided by the Netherhell Fire, making her progress astonishingly fast. With the Element Contract signed today, surely no one could surpass her. But now…

Thinking of this, Lucy felt a mix of emotions, as if all her feelings had been stirred up! What surprised her even more was that her elder brother might already have reached the advanced stage of the Yin Huang realm—a level that others admired. Even she didn’t know how much time it would take for her to reach that level. Her brother seemed simple on the surface, but he had already reached such a height; what he pursued now was clearly on a different level from hers.

Her previous joy was quickly diluted. Lucy’s gaze toward Rod became strange as she wondered how much her brother had hidden from her. He was truly unfathomable.

“Hehe, just joking. It was just good luck—pure luck! You’ll catch up with your brother soon. When you surpass him, please don’t forget about him!” Hearing Lucy say this, Rod replied humbly. The two chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere gradually eased. Lucy’s heart also calmed down. Then she thought, wasn’t it a good thing that Rod’s strength was improving? Why did she feel that way?

At that thought, she felt annoyed and self-reproachful! She should be happy for Rod.

“Alright, let’s rest for a while. Once we’re ready, we’ll move forward!” After pondering for a moment, Rod said to Lucy, putting aside his joy for now.

It was already bright outside. The two could enter the Divine Sorrow Forbidden Land at any time, but Lucy was still recovering and needed to stabilize her condition to avoid any accidents. So, they had to stay and rest for another half day.

Watching Lucy enter her meditation state, Rod stayed quietly by her side, protecting her from any mishaps.

It took an entire morning before Lucy fully recovered from her meditation and stabilized her condition. At that moment, she resembled a sacred goddess.

After getting ready, the two set off toward the Divine Sorrow Forbidden Land—the most mysterious and dangerous place on the continent! This day was destined to be recorded in history, destined to become a glorious day.

The two ventured deep into the forbidden land, where no one had ever gone before, in search of the rare treasure—the Seven-Colored Ice Crystal.

As they went deeper, they clearly felt the temperature dropping. Although Lucy occasionally used fire-based defense spells to ward off the cold wind, continuing like this wasn’t sustainable. It consumed too much magic power and energy. If they ended up exhausted and failed to accomplish anything, it would be a joke.

Rod also understood why no one wanted to enter or could enter the Godly Weeping Forbidden Land. Perhaps the temperature here was the biggest challenge—without the strength of a divine-level advanced master, it was difficult to withstand the cold. Keeping a careful watch around him, Rod thought that a place like the Godly Weeping Forbidden Land, which should be extremely noisy, being so quiet only made him more uneasy. At the very least, he knew there were two well-known powerful magical beasts in this area: ice bears and ice birds! The strength of these ancient magical beasts was well-known, and since they often appeared in the outer areas, it was impossible not to see one today. Rod felt there must be something strange going on here.