Chapter 137: The Changing of the World

"I'm so annoyed, I'm so flustered."

Inside the Broken Blade Peak, the Black-Faced Monster’s round face had manifested a body complete with a torso and limbs. It was pitch black, yet it could now be considered to have a human-like form. It sat on the ground, resting its chin in its small hands and pouting—if that could be called a mouth—lost in a tangle of thoughts.

"Although this is a broken blade, its aura is not weak. For a treasure spirit like me at the moment, it’s the best place for recovery; better than nothing, I suppose."

"Besides, since those Ghost Flowers were transplanted here, it’s even more convenient—like being close to the water to get the first moon. I don't have to stay on high alert or guard against accidents as I did in the outside world."

"Of course, the most important thing is that this big, silly, dark fellow himself is the biggest draw for me. The aura on him is even more nourishing than the Ghost Flowers!"

"But if I agree to join forces with this big, silly, dark fellow, wouldn't I be a treacherous and unfaithful sword spirit? How about a trial period? If I’m not happy during the trial, I can leave whenever I want. Heh, heh, I am so clever."

The Black-Faced Monster drifted out of the Broken Blade Peak, floating in the air. Under the light of the stars, its entire body looked like transparent gray smoke.

"Big, silly, dark fellow, are you there?"

Lin Zhan did not answer. The monster felt a bit nervous; it had finally made up its mind, and if Lin Zhan suddenly changed his and refused to take it in, it would be homeless again.

It changed its form of address: "Old Black, Old Black, come out and talk. Let's discuss something."

Lin Zhan found it amusing and replied via telepathy, "What’s this? Has the Black-Faced Monster made up its mind to join me?"

"Joining is fine, but let’s have a trial period first, okay, Old Black?"

Although Lin Zhan wasn't entirely thrilled with the name "Old Black," it was still much better than the "big, silly, dark fellow" from before.

Lin Zhan naturally agreed. "Heh, a trial period it is. But let’s establish a contract first, otherwise, what if you start making trouble?"

"Of course, let's do it. Bring on the contract!" The Black-Faced Monster replied naturally.

Lin Zhan’s consciousness condensed into a projection within the Nine-Star Space, identical to his physical self. The Black-Faced Monster offered up a brilliant point of light—a sword spirit mark flashing with red radiance—which shot straight into the center of Lin Zhan’s forehead.

The spiritual contract was completed smoothly.

Lin Zhan wore the mischievous smile of an adult successfully handing out a lollipop to a child. "Little Black, what was that about a trial period you mentioned earlier?"

The Black-Faced Monster didn't sense anything wrong and answered with great seriousness, "The trial period means I stay with you for a while, and if you treat me poorly, I can just leave in a huff... Wait, why do I have such a bad feeling about this?"

No, let me rephrase that. "The trial period means I stay with you... but we’ve already formed a spiritual contract! How am I supposed to leave now?!"

After muttering to itself, the Black-Faced Monster fell into a terrifying silence that lasted for at least an hour. Lin Zhan’s conscious projection had nothing better to do, so he waited quietly on the other side.

Finally, the Black-Faced Monster shrieked, "I am a total idiot! How can I leave in a huff when we have a spiritual contract? Why did I do it? Why?!"

Lin Zhan on the other side almost burst out laughing. It wasn't that he had intentionally tricked the monster; the creature had volunteered for the contract itself and had been so eager to present its sword spirit mark to finalize the master-servant bond. Since Lin Zhan realized what was happening, only a fool would point it out. Naturally, he was happy to see it happen.

"Don't worry about the spiritual contract. I, Old Black, will treat you well. You can call me 'Master Sword' if you like, or you can stick with 'Old Black'—it's up to you. I’m heading out now; you get some rest."

"Master Sword? Old Black, you don't even have a decent sword right now, how can you be my master? I'm in a bad mood, I'm going to sleep. Goodbye, sigh." The creature, henceforth dubbed "Little Black" by Lin Zhan, sulked and burrowed back into the Broken Blade Peak like a petulant child.

Lin Zhan couldn't help but chuckle. He spent a quiet moment beside the spiritual essence stone enveloping Little Purple before withdrawing from the Nine-Star Space. With the spiritual contract in place, he no longer had to worry about Little Black causing trouble. Like Little Purple, their souls were now inextricably linked; they would prosper or perish together. As the master, Lin Zhan held the power of life and death over them—such was the nature of a master-servant spiritual contract.

The ruins of the ancient battlefield were boundless. At his current speed, even after flying on his sword for several hours, Lin Zhan had yet to see an end to it. He had not yet found the master archer he was searching for. Aside from the single golden arrow he had collected, there was nothing else worth taking. Some items looked like treasures, but the moment he touched them, they crumbled into dust. Time was a ruthless blade; even the most glorious and powerful treasures had mostly withered and decayed over the ages—less than one in ten remained.

Lin Zhan stopped searching. This area of ruins had likely been picked over many times; even if there had been great treasures, they had long since fallen into the hands of others.

Just then, movement stirred somewhere within the walls.

Was it a city inside those walls? Or the headquarters of some super-faction? Lin Zhan decided to go and investigate. However, there was a problem: where was the city gate?

Lin Zhan circled a perimeter of hundreds of miles, but he couldn't find anything resembling a gate. Although the walls were broken and collapsed, there was no entrance to be found. Even the strange stone staircase he had encountered earlier on the ramparts had led to no entrance.

"Old Black, watching you run around aimlessly like that makes me anxious for you," Little Black remarked, stretching its body within the Nine-Star Space and offering a sarcastic comment.

"Heh, do you happen to know what this place is?" Lin Zhan asked via telepathy.

This time, Little Black didn't play coy and honestly told Lin Zhan what it knew. This was the site of the Youjue Divine Palace, one of the eight great underground palaces of the past. The walls and towers he saw were the defenses of that very palace. The Youjue Divine Palace had been passed down through generations, standing tall on a massive island in the Northern Sea—the area now known as the Northern Forest.

Hearing this, Lin Zhan looked around, sighing inwardly, "So this used to be the ocean. The changing of the world and the shifting of stars—this is what it truly looks like."

The Youjue Divine Palace was a terrifying force, but its actions were mysterious. Few in the outside world knew whether it was righteous or evil. That was until a powerful master, traveling across the sea, inadvertently stumbled upon Youjue Island, triggering a series of subsequent disputes and turmoil.