fifth form

Chapter 3111 Five Hundred Years

Ancient trees have a different concept of time than humans, and therefore treat things in a completely different way.

For example, Zhang Xuezhou had seen too many cultivators busy on the trunks of ancient trees in his memory. These cultivators worked hard all their lives until they died, and thus harbored a lot of resentment.

But for the ancient tree, a cultivator's entire lifespan might just be a fleeting moment.

Once the agreement is established, cultivators are required to abide by it and may even be deeply bound to it, being summoned to the ancient tree even after death.

Do I also need to construct a contract?

"You are using the remaining power of your original body to travel, which inevitably requires the establishment of a contract. Otherwise, not only will you be unable to continue exchanging and traveling, but your souls will also be trapped and banished in this void!"

"Quack, I'm just a duck. Are ducks ostracized too? Why didn't this happen before?"

Zhang Xuezhou and the mallard duck swapped places as usual, but this time they didn't succeed. Instead, they both ended up on the trunk of the ancient tree, facing its spirit.

Zhang Xuezhou asked in doubt, while the mallard, unaware of the situation, cried out, mentioning that he was just an unlucky duck that had gotten mixed up with them.

Even with the pull of the ancient trees, the mallard ducks still struggle to adapt to the environment, experiencing various pulling sensations and dizziness.

But upon hearing the inevitable rejection and exile that the ancient tree would experience once it regained its consciousness, and the fact that Zhang Xuezhou still needed to maintain the shuttle, the mallard duck fell silent. It then kept approaching Zhang Xuezhou, clearly wanting to see if he would sign any contract, what harm such a contract might cause, and whether it could be avoided.

"What are the contents of the contract?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Break free from the darkness!"

The ancient tree's spirit shook its leaves, repeatedly expressing its viewpoint.

"What does it mean to break free from the darkness? Is that all you're asking?" the mallard exclaimed.

"That's all you need to do," the ancient tree spirit replied. "This is an obsession left behind by the original body, and I have no power to change it. You just need to follow this condition!"

"What are the consequences of violating the requirements?" the mallard asked.

"The soul is banished to the void," the ancient tree said.

"Isn't that the same situation we're in right now?"

The mallard let out a cry of surprise, its soul trembling with fear as it swayed back and forth.

If you leave this vast area, the surrounding darkness is nothing but emptiness.

Whether they make a choice or not, there is only one outcome.

Zhang Xuezhou seemed to understand Donghua's despair and his overwhelming joy at escaping.

He also did not reveal the information that Donghua is still alive. If such a contract is unavoidable, he will inevitably imitate Donghua's behavior in the future in order to gain the freedom of his soul.

Imitating Donghua's actions is not difficult. All it takes is for the apocalyptic fragments to explode, for everyone to escape separately, or for them to choose new bodies. There are definitely opportunities in this process.

With successful cases readily available, the binding force of such contracts becomes less strong.

"How do I sign a contract?"

Zhang Xuezhou convinced the ancient tree of its ideas, but he did not change the rules left behind by the giant tree.

Ultimately, nothing seemed to change; no matter how eloquent one's words, the inevitable blow was still unavoidable.

Zhang Xuezhou's only consolation was that he could simply copy Donghua's experience. As long as he followed Donghua's case, he had a high probability of getting what he needed and getting rid of everything.

Having considered the potential oversights, Zhang Xuezhou was not concerned about signing the contract.

He asked a question, and green light began to rise in this area, with countless wisps of green light beginning to entwine his soul.

"I'll sign it too! I'll sign it too!"

After seeing Zhang Xuezhou's choice, the mallard duck, its head still foggy, couldn't help but make a noisy cacophony, which also caused a burst of green light to rise and swirl around it.

"At least Li Shaojun has the ability to be resurrected from the dead, but I seem to be of no use at all. This green light is just used to pull at my soul!"

Zhang Xuezhou felt the green light, like the roots of a plant, constantly penetrating his soul. If he broke the contract, this green light would pull his soul here, causing him to cling to it like a walking corpse until the day he completely perished.

"Grandpa Dongfang, what does it mean to break free from the darkness?"

Seeing that Zhang Xuezhou did not struggle, the mallard looked at the ancient tree that had suddenly disappeared, felt its soul beginning to adapt to the environment, and looked around several times in a daze before asking questions.

“It could be a leap in dimensions,” Zhang Xuezhou said.

"This contract requires us to jump between dimensions?"

The mallard pointed to its chest with its wing, and when Zhang Xuezhou confirmed it, it couldn't help but let out a long string of curses.

"We're just poor folks earning three thousand yuan a month, and you expect us to accomplish a task to earn a small goal?" the mallard exclaimed. "Is this contract a joke? We're perfectly fine, why should we be asked to jump to a different dimension? If it's so capable, why doesn't it go and upgrade its dimension itself!"

“Not leaping isn’t a big deal,” Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand and said, “At most, our souls will be captured and imprisoned after we die, but it won’t affect us at all while we’re alive!”

"That makes sense, but I still feel a little uneasy," said the mallard.

"He doesn't concern himself with what happens after he dies!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand.

He said this, but he also felt a bit depressed.

This contract wasn't something that would suddenly erupt at a certain time, or something that would bind his wandering soul after death. Zhang Xuezhou vaguely sensed that these green lights seemed to be changing him.

Zhang Xuezhou had come into contact with many fiery meteor beings, such as the Void Furnace, and he had also met many great cultivators from the Three Realms. Having seen and heard so much, Zhang Xuezhou had no interest in interdimensional travel.

At that moment, he felt as if a seed was sprouting in his heart, and a strange interest was born within him.

This shouldn't be his thought, but it certainly exists in his mind, even chasing him like a whip.

This may be the reason why mallards feel unhappy.

No one likes this sense of urgency and pressure. It's like a teacher looking at students in class, an employee facing their boss, or parents pressuring their children to get married.

Even though nothing was said or done, this feeling would arise spontaneously as soon as you entered that scene.

"Donghua isn't old enough to die, but his failed interdimensional crossing seems to have violated the contract. No wonder he's constantly anxious, depressed, and living like a walking corpse. In other words, not crossing dimensions will inevitably lead to capture, and failing to cross dimensions will also result in the same outcome..."

Zhang Xuezhou remained calm, unlike the noisy mallard. He kept scrutinizing the relevant content and judging the solutions he would need to address in the future.

"It's a real pity. I did want to give you some power, but I simply can't. Even if I were to grant you your souls a brief moment of lifespan, it wouldn't last. It will dissipate after I perish!"

Zhang Xuezhou and the mallard each have their own thoughts.

The two stopped what they were doing only when the ancient tree reappeared.

Compared to the ancient tree's previous lush greenery, it now appears as if it has entered autumn, with only a few leaves remaining on its trunk, and the spiritual fluctuations it emits have weakened.

"How much is a lifespan of a fleeting moment?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.

"According to the counting method you described, the contract extended your soul lifespan by six thousand days," the ancient tree said. "Unfortunately, my abilities are limited, and I cannot do what I did to other living beings before, making it difficult to give you enough time to complete the contract."

"Six thousand days!"

Zhang Xuezhou is now in the middle of a new time travel cycle, which he calculated to be five hundred years.

He had previously felt a bit unlucky about contracts, but now he felt that things weren't so bad after all.

Of course, the ancient tree's gift was to sustain the lifespan of the soul, but it did not mention that it could sustain the physical body.

Zhang Xuezhou asked a few more questions to confirm, and immediately understood the flaws of this life-extending method, why no one had succeeded year after year, and why there were so many resentful laborers in his memory.

Many losers may not live a very long life, but their souls are truly long-lived. After being bound, they have an extremely long period of imprisonment, and it is difficult for them to kill themselves, so it is no exception that they are full of resentment.

He even understood why Donghua possessed the withered wood throne, a treasure that maintained his physical body, and why he could continue to live in the form of a divine soul. He also understood Donghua's inevitable pursuit of prolonging his physical body after taking over the Emperor's body.

Faced with a matter of life and death, Donghua is unlikely to have time to settle scores with Zhang Xuezhou right now, which also saves him from having to live in constant fear of being attacked.