Ji Ning stood on the ice, glancing at Xiao Zhu frozen in the medicinal spring, then at the village chief lying before him. He sneered, "Qing Yue, your cultivation was crippled ten thousand years ago. You've only survived by draining your granddaughter's life force. With your current state, you dare to oppose me?"
Qing Yue gritted his teeth, glaring at Ji Ning, and roared, "Ji Ning! If my formation hadn't malfunctioned, how could you have broken it so easily?"
"We kindly saved you back then, never expecting you to be such a treacherous wretch, colluding with outsiders to seize my granddaughter's primal inheritance. You despicable scoundrel!"
Ji Ning sneered, "Say whatever you wish. In this world, the strong reign supreme. To become stronger, I'll resort to any means. You and Qing Zhu are merely stepping stones on my path to ultimate power."
"You were fortunate to survive back then. You could have lived like ordinary mortals, or found a lower realm to enjoy peace. But you insisted on returning to seize the primal inheritance."
"Since I couldn't kill you completely back then, for the glory of my Dao Sect, I must now send you to your death!" Ji Ning said with a cold smile, conjuring an ice spear in his hand and piercing Qing Yue's chest.
Qing Yue's upper body was rapidly frozen, even his soul beginning to ice over.
"Despicable and shameless..." Qing Yue gritted out, his hands struggling to hold the ice spear. His clouded eyes were fixed on Ji Ning, his expression contorted to the extreme.
"What? In your current state? You still want to resist? Your formation is broken, what else can you do?"
Ji Ning watched Qing Yue mockingly, slowing the freezing process.
The victory was now assured. Qing Yue was on the verge of death, and Qing Zhu had failed to awaken and reclaim her primal inheritance. The battle was over.
Any struggle from Qing Yue now was futile.
Qing Yue held Ji Ning's ice spear, a strange smile suddenly appearing on his aged face. He spat out a mouthful of blood, splattering onto Ji Ning, then laughed, "Ji Ning, do you truly believe you're the only one in this world who plays mind games?"
Hearing Qing Yue's words, Ji Ning felt a sudden sense of foreboding. He immediately channeled his spiritual energy to freeze and erase the blood on himself, then shattered Qing Yue and his soul into dust!
Qing Yue, at this moment, was utterly erased from the cycle of reincarnation.
"Hmph! Putting on a show!"
Ji Ning shook off the ice shards. Finding that nothing had happened, he finally let out a cold snort and relaxed.
Composing himself, Ji Ning no longer thought of the deceased Qing Yue. Holding the ice spear, he walked before Qing Zhu and said coldly, "Qing Zhu, now that your grandfather is dealt with, you're next!"
"Actually, I quite like you. But you can only blame yourself for being a supreme powerhouse and letting your guard down against others... Your primal inheritance is simply too alluring."
"Therefore, to eliminate any future trouble, I must kill you today!"
As Ji Ning spoke, he raised the ice spear and fiercely thrust it towards Qing Zhu, frozen in the medicinal spring!
"Die... *cough*!"
But as Ji Ning's ice spear pierced Qing Zhu's abdomen, Ji Ning felt a sharp pain in his own abdomen and spat out a mouthful of blood!
"Cough, cough!"
Ji Ning violently coughed up a stream of blood, falling to one knee, disbelief etched on his face. "Wh-what is going on?"
"Why am I injured?"
Ji Ning looked at Qing Zhu, whose abdomen he had pierced, his body beginning to tremble slightly.
He found it difficult to comprehend what was happening.
Meanwhile, Ye Ling, hidden and disguised as a block of ice, felt a tempestuous surge within him upon seeing Ji Ning injured!
He was all too familiar with Ji Ning's current state!
Wasn't this an enhanced version of the "One Life, One Body" contract?
"Could it be that Qing Yue signed a contract with Ji Ning as he died? How did he manage that?" Ye Ling's mind raced, recalling everything that had just happened, trying to figure out how Qing Yue had accomplished it.
Spitting blood on someone was enough to sign a contract?
More importantly, Ye Ling was even more curious...
How did Qing Yue master the "One Life, One Body" contract, and how could it affect a supreme powerhouse!
Ji Ning had no idea what had happened and couldn't believe her life was now linked to Qing Zhu. She immediately pulled out the ice spear!
"Cough, cough!"
As Ji Ning withdrew the ice spear, she felt another wave of intense pain, and her body grew weak.
"No, impossible... I am a supreme powerhouse! How can I share life and death with a cripple?" Ji Ning exclaimed in shock. She wanted to understand the situation, but the only one who knew, Qing Yue, had been utterly annihilated by her. She had no one to turn to for answers!
"It must be some curse Qing Yue placed on me! No! I can't let Qing Zhu die!"
Ji Ning realized this and immediately began to heal Qing Zhu. As the wound in Qing Zhu's abdomen healed, Ji Ning's condition gradually stabilized.
Seeing Ji Ning heal Qing Zhu, while her own injuries improved, further convinced Ye Ling... Ji Ning had indeed signed the "One Life, One Body" contract with Qing Zhu!
The World Annihilation Spirit Fire was also stunned and asked Ye Ling, "Kid, how did that old man manage to sign the contract between Ji Ning and Qing Zhu? Doesn't signing such a contract require vital blood?"
Ye Ling said solemnly, "I don't know either. Perhaps this 'One Life, One Body' contract has been modified in the primal upper realms. But to sign a contract with a supreme powerhouse without anyone noticing... this ability is simply too monstrous!"
If such a method truly existed, then binding a supreme powerhouse to an ordinary person would allow for their easy demise.
Reason told Ye Ling that such a thing was impossible!
There must be something he didn't know!
The World Annihilation Spirit Fire asked again, "By the way, kid, doesn't the 'One Life, One Body' contract also share cultivation? Why hasn't Qing Zhu become a supreme powerhouse now?"
Ye Ling replied, "Perhaps the power of a supreme powerhouse surpasses the contract's limits... but this is just my speculation. To know the truth, we'd probably have to find the person who modified this contract."
"It's a pity Qing Yue was killed by Ji Ning. No one knows how this 'One Life, One Body' contract came to be."
"No, no... I must take Qing Zhu back. My life and hers cannot be connected!" Ji Ning was completely panicked now. She no longer dared to harm Qing Zhu. She immediately withdrew her spiritual energy, melting the surrounding ice and carefully lifting Qing Zhu out of the medicinal spring.
Ye Ling, who had been contemplating the "One Life, One Body" contract, suddenly had his pupils constrict as he saw the surrounding ice melt.
"Oh no!"
He was still disguised as ice. If all the surrounding ice melted, wouldn't he be completely exposed!
Although the runes could help conceal his aura, a single block of ice standing alone by the medicinal spring would be obvious to anyone!
Anxious, Ye Ling immediately simulated the melting of ice, transforming a part of his body into water to confuse any observers.
However, while Ye Ling himself had simulated the melting of ice into water, he had forgotten about Little Mao Mao, who was perched on his shoulder and couldn't transform!
Soon, Ji Ning noticed the abnormality of the ice block that was Ye Ling and Little Mao Mao, and roared, "Who's there? Come out!"
Ji Ning's angry roar echoed, and several ice cones instantly materialized, shooting rapidly towards Ye Ling and Little Mao Mao!