Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

Liu Xingmo carried the silver frost birch fruit to the farm. Ice Cream popped out of the shack, sticking out its tongue and exhaling hot air.

Originally, it was Liu San Niang, its owner, who should have taken it to learn about ice techniques. For some reason, this task was shifted to Liu Xing Mo, even though he couldn't effectively communicate with other people's contracted beasts.

Never mind all that.

Climbing onto the back of the tall wolf cub, grasping its soft fur, I urged it to walk outside.

"Ice cream, to South Village."

"Awooo—!"

A wolf cub, dressed in black and gray, skipped and hopped along the road, circling the wide city, until it arrived at the Birch Avenue stop in the south of the city.

The path, paved with bamboo poles and wooden planks, was occasionally covered with large, golden leaves. A sanitation worker, riding a glossy weasel, swept the fallen leaves away.

"Whoosh—" The mountain wind howled.

Countless golden birch leaves swayed in the wind under the azure sky, like butterflies fluttering in the bright sunlight, skimming over the white birch bark.

Pedestrians admire the autumn scenery, while sanitation workers shake their heads and sigh...

Liu Xingmo rode a wolf, traversing mountains and valleys.

In the distance, you can see a magnificent forest. Unlike the low fruit trees in Xizhen, the pine and poplar trees here are each two or three hundred meters tall.

The birch avenue rises higher and higher, connecting into the majestic canopy.

The man and the wolf arrived at a wide wooden platform, where a continuous tree-lined street stretched out before them.

We've arrived at Nancun.

"Ice Cream, go find the house you visited last time."

"Aww!"

Ice Cream was actually an old wolf. He followed the scent and found an exceptionally tall cedar tree.

Liu Xingmo jumped off the wolf's back, climbed the stairs, and arrived at the wooden house that blended perfectly with the tree branches.

"Knock, knock, knock!" Liu Xingmo knocked on the door and greeted, "Excuse me, is Mrs. Wa home?"

"Thump! Thump! Thump!" Heavy and rapid footsteps.

The wooden door suddenly opened, and a woman stepped out.

Her eyes were like clear, cold ice, radiating a faint blue light.

She had thick chestnut hair and wore a loose linen robe.

Her face was like a full moon dotted with freckles, her waist like a water bucket surrounded by fat, and her voice was loud and clear, like a bell.

"I am Valena! Who are you?"

"I am Liu San Niang's husband."

"That wolf... have you made up your mind?"

"Decid what?" Liu Xingmo was a little confused, then asked in return, "Ms. Valena, excuse me, are you from the Ice Crystal Palace?"

"Isn't that obvious! Didn't your wife tell you anything?"

"Ah, it's all settled. Haha!" Liu Xingmo chuckled awkwardly.

"That's more like it." Valena stepped aside and invited her guest inside to talk.

Liu Xingmo walked in, trying to appear calm.

What's Third Sister up to? Why isn't she mentioning the Ice Crystal Palace? Is she afraid Mary will object?

The Slavic woman before me exuded a powerful aura, likely possessing strength at the third tier.

He is indeed an excellent teacher, and it would be a real shame to entrust the task to someone else.

But what does "decision" mean?

Liu Xingmo sat down on the living room sofa and tentatively asked, "Ms. Valena, could you please go over the details of the agreement again? I'd like to confirm."

"Alright!" Valena produced a yellow paper agreement. "I will use a secret technique to infuse the elixir's potency into the contracted beast, allowing it to advance to the third tier. The price will be that the beast's soul will be damaged, causing it to suffer from amnesia and dementia, and its strength will never be able to improve again. Do you accept?"

Huh? This is the dark magic of the Ice Crystal Palace? Third Sister sent me here to decide this matter?

Thinking about it carefully, the price isn't unacceptable. Contracted beasts are, after all, livestock. It should be said that the same price was paid before when using the Jade Dew Peaches.

The problem isn't the cost, but Suemari's attitude. She's always opposed to black magic, and she certainly won't agree.

Valena took out a large cup and placed it on the table.

She opened a bottle of wine, poured a full glass, and drank it herself first.

After downing her drink, she said in a loud voice, "What exactly do you want? Just say it!"

"Let's be more cautious and teach it slowly, allowing the wolf to advance steadily," Liu Xingmo replied.

"Smash!" A burly arm slammed the wooden cup onto the table. Valena said nonchalantly, "That wolf's degenerated; it's beyond repair. Go find someone else!"

"this……"

"Besides, advancing in rank is inherently difficult. Even humans sometimes cannot advance despite having abundant resources."

Valena poured herself another glass of wine, and as she drank it, she asked in return:

"Look at this village, how many people are stuck after reaching the second stage of mastery? Why don't they find someone to teach them how to break through this barrier?"

Liu Xingmo realized that he had oversimplified things.

To upgrade the ice cream to level three, a black magic ritual is necessary. Third Sister couldn't make up her mind, so she relinquished the decision-making power.

The contradiction lies in the potential dangers of black magic and Mary's opposition, as well as the current urgent need for combat power to protect the family's property.

Which is more important?

Liu Xingmo made up his mind: "Ms. Valena, please make the arrangements to promote Ice Cream."

"Okay, sign it! No going back on your word afterward." Valena handed over an agreement.

Liu Xingmo hesitated for a moment, then said, "Well, the handwriting is a bit unclear. How about this, I specialize in writing articles, so I'll write two more copies that conform to the format."

He took out paper and pen from his pocket, copied down the contents of the agreement, and modified many words without changing the original meaning.

After writing it down, I handed over both copies of the agreement: "Take a look, is this appropriate?"

"Hahaha! You actually know something, huh? You can't even sign a contract casually." Valena laughed heartily. "To be honest, a contract spell that takes effect with just a signature isn't something a nobody like me can pull off."

"Then let me ask you another question. The focus of second-tier cultivation is on tempering the soul. But your secret technique damages the soul, which doesn't make sense, does it?"

"Don't worry, according to the people of the Central Plains, our Ice Crystal Palace is very accomplished in the way of the soul, which is why we can set up this kind of array that forcibly enhances the soul, but it only causes minor troubles like forgetfulness and dementia."

"The Path of the Soul?" Liu Xingmo suddenly remembered something. "You wouldn't happen to be the ones who inherited the legacy of the Netherworld Sect? The Netherworld Sect, which belongs to the five major demonic sects along with the Blood Shadow Sect?"

"Wow! You know a lot!" Valena took a big gulp from the bottle and mumbled, "It's that Netherworld Sect, are you relieved now?"

"Relaxed? Sigh! I'm relieved now." Liu Xingmo lay weakly on the sofa. "Demons and monsters, snakes and rats in cahoots, colluding and plotting together..."

Valena didn't care at all: "Look at what you're saying, those evil sects and demonic factions have been defeated long ago. All these years, we've been doing legitimate business. The truly terrifying old monsters, like the Blood Sea Demon God or the Nightmare Demon God, disappeared a thousand years ago, they're probably dead by now."

"I hope so. If that kind of guy comes knocking on my door to claim kinship, I would absolutely support putting righteousness before family," Liu Xingmo sneered.