Chapter 389: Reply
Chapter 389: Chapter 389: Reply
For the next three days, the spatial rift remained stable. During this time, Ning Xuan completely cleansed the corruption from Lan Xin’s Spiritual Sea, and he felt a lightness he had never experienced before.
As the last trace of Purification Power faded from Ning Xuan’s fingertips, the landscape within Lan Xin’s Sea of Consciousness was turned upside down.
The once-turbulent, surging black surface of the sea had become calm and serene.
The malevolent energy that had raged there vanished without a trace. The water’s surface now shimmered with a gentle light, so pure it seemed as if it had never been touched by corruption.
And the enormous Ice-winged Blue Snake coiled in the center of his Sea of Consciousness—Lan Xin’s Mutant Beast Gene Origin—had also undergone a startling transformation.
Its once-crimson pupils had become a deep ice-blue. The violent black mist coiling around its body had completely receded, replaced by a layer of crystalline frost that glinted with a pure, faint light.
It slowly stretched its body, its ice wings unfolding to stir a cool breeze, completely devoid of its former sinister aura.
Lan Xin slowly opened his eyes, a flash of ice-blue light flickering within them. He gently exhaled a stale breath as if casting off a thousand-pound weight, his entire being radiating an unprecedented clarity and lightness.
"How do you feel?" Ning Xuan asked faintly, withdrawing her hand.
Lan Xin closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the long-lost tranquility in his Sea of Consciousness. A faint smile unconsciously touched his lips. "Lord Contract Master, this servant has never felt so relieved."
"Try using your superpower," Ning Xuan instructed.
Lan Xin stood up and swiped his fingertip through the air. A large, crystal-clear Water Mirror appeared before him. Through it, the crimson spatial rift stretching across the sky overhead was perfectly visible, along with its surrounding conditions.
Lan Xin looked down, watching the pure energy gathering in his palm. It was more condensed and purer than ever before. ’With energy this pure, I can cast the Water Mirror Technique faster and better.’
Lan Xin said in a low voice, "To think that over the past year, I never realized my energy had been corrupted to this extent. If you hadn’t arrived in time, I’m afraid that villain would have truly succeeded this time."
Lan Xin felt a surge of lingering fear at the thought. He had only just learned about the properties of Stunned Powder, and it was truly a vicious substance.
Over the past year, Lan Xin’s Spiritual Energy had long been corroded and tainted. Compounded by his Half-beastman bloodline, which made his Spiritual Sea prone to instability, the Stunned Powder was perfectly designed to exploit his condition.
Ning Xuan glanced at him. "Only now are you scared? Di Youlin practically comes home every month to have me soothe him, yet you haven’t been back once this whole year. Were you really that busy? Too busy to even care for your own body?"
Lan Xin was silent for a moment. "Master, I was afraid you would hate me, that you’d find me a nuisance. I’m not like the others. You formed a contract with me back then to save my life. I didn’t dare ask for too much."
Lan Xin said, mustering his courage.
"Whatever the reason was back then, you are my Contractor now. You’re the same as the others. You’re still expected to provide the emotional connection a Contractor should. I might reject you, I might give you the cold shoulder, but you can’t be passive. You can’t hide from me. Understand?" Ning Xuan said, her tone utterly domineering.
Lan Xin dropped to one knee, took Ning Xuan’s hand, and pressed it to his cheek. He smiled softly. "As you command, Lord Contract Master."
Ning Xuan hummed softly, leaned in to kiss Lan Xin’s forehead, and the two soon became entangled.
DING. A message arrived on the Light Computer on Ning Xuan’s wrist. The sender was Yu Mingche. The timestamp was from three days ago.
The message was three days late.
Ning Xuan opened the message, and a cold sneer touched her lips. "It’s him. He’s like a lingering ghost, never letting go."
"Who is it? Is it a reply about the investigation from a few days ago?"
"Did they find the mastermind who instructed Yan Hezhen to use the drug?" Lan Xin asked, looking up.
"No, this message has nothing to do with that. As for the mastermind, they haven’t found them yet."
"However, based on the current information, it’s highly likely that Yan Hezhen acted on her own. She obtained the formula a year ago and concocted the drug herself." Ning Xuan had already received the investigation report on Yan Hezhen.
"Master, it is this servant who has caused you trouble." The fact that Yan Hezhen had plotted against him, something that had nothing to do with Ning Xuan, made Lan Xin lower his head in shame.
"It’s not just Yan Hezhen, but also that Lan Jingchen. It’s all this servant’s fault." The more Lan Xin thought about it, the more guilty he felt.
"What does this have to do with you? They coveted you because you’re exceptional, because you’re dazzling, and because you wouldn’t give them the time of day. That’s why they got desperate and tried to take you down. You’re not the one at fault," Ning Xuan said, consoling him as she stroked his soft hair.
"Master, you don’t blame me?" Lan Xin looked up at her, his eyes sparkling.
"I don’t blame you for what those two did. However, you’ve been out here for a year without taking leave to come home, without sending a single greeting. It’s like you just disappeared. I’ve had Yu Mingche take note of all of it. When you do take leave and come home, you won’t have it easy."
"I look forward to taking leave and coming home." Lan Xin didn’t feel threatened or intimidated by her words at all; instead, he felt he had earned her approval.
BOOM! A violent tremor shook them. Lan Xin and Ning Xuan felt as if they’d been shoved, and slammed—BANG!—against the wall.
"Monitoring station, report the current situation," Lan Xin immediately commanded through the field information channel.
"Monitoring station, report the current situation now!" Lan Xin urged again.
"Gen...eral... a moment ago... everything was normal at the station, but the spatial rift... it suddenly exploded." The speaker’s voice was intermittent and weak, as if they were seriously injured.
"Countless... Exotic Beasts wreathed in black energy are falling from the rift... They’re already charging toward..." The man’s voice grew fainter and fainter before cutting off abruptly.
Lan Xin swiped his hand, and the giant Water Mirror materialized. In it, the once-crimson spatial rift looked as if a huge hole had been blown open, turning it into a pitch-black, bottomless mass. Countless Exotic Beasts were spilling from the dark maw.
"Zhao Peng, take the Rocket Regiment and engage the enemy to the northeast of the base, immediately!"
"Zhou Shi, take the Mechanical Armor Camp and engage the enemy to the southwest of the base, immediately!"
"..."
Faced with this sudden crisis, Lan Xin methodically issued a series of orders, confident and composed.
"Master, the situation has changed. I’ll arrange for someone to escort you back. Once things get busy, I won’t be able to look after you," Lan Xin said to Ning Xuan, his expression apologetic.
"No need. I’ll just follow you. Don’t worry, I won’t hold you back," Ning Xuan said.
"But..." Lan Xin didn’t want Ning Xuan to stay. After all, if she got injured on his turf, he wouldn’t be able to answer to General Ying, let alone anyone else.