Yet no matter how great the hatred and humiliation raging within Elisa's heart, the spiritual power shackling her soul was like the unyielding iron law of heaven and earth – cold, absolute, and inescapable.
It was as natural as water flowing downward, or fire burning upward.
This was the law, her fate – beyond question, and impossible to defy.
All her murderous thoughts vanished without a trace the moment they threatened Bai Hao.
The bond of the spiritual contract was absolute, akin to the fundamental restrictions of the Great Dao itself.
"Now then."
Bai Hao's lips curved into a knowing, confident smile as he casually found a relatively flat stone to sit on.
He crossed his legs comfortably, resting his elbow on his knee and lightly touching his fingertips together – a posture radiating complete control.
"At last... we can talk properly."
He had always been someone who planned and strategized ahead of time.
Though he hadn't been in this world long, he'd studied the necessary knowledge and current situation through various means, making him nearly indistinguishable from native inhabitants.
In fact, his understanding was deeper and more detailed than that of ordinary people.
Elisa's recent reactions – hesitation beneath her overwhelming killing intent, undisguised anxiety, and even the humiliating stance she was now forced to maintain – all reinforced his earlier judgment: this powerful alien, whose strength far exceeded his own, was in far greater danger than he'd imagined.
She needed him badly enough to endure his deliberate provocation.
Otherwise, with her terrifying power that outclassed his own, she could have erased him in an instant. Why go through all this trouble?
Why waste time on him at all?
Her willingness to negotiate meant only one thing: he was the key to her escape, perhaps even her survival.
Right now, his "unique value" was his greatest shield and bargaining chip.
It was this analysis that gave him the confidence to provoke her during their conversation, even pushing her patience to its limits in his haste.
Each step only strengthened his suspicions and gradually steered events in his favor.
Yet all this was secondary to Bai Hao. What truly played a crucial role was his extraordinary physique.
Any woman attempting to form a spiritual contract with him would be bound to him in return – her talents and abilities becoming his to command, making her completely subservient.
When he'd first contracted with Yunmeng, he'd tried to find relevant information through various channels, but the results had been disappointing.
In all recorded history spanning tens of thousands of years, there had never been a case of a man reversing a contract with a woman.
In other words, Bai Hao was likely the first in history to pioneer the concept of a man contracting a woman.
However, this situation was completely irreplicable – even he didn't know the true reason why he could reverse others' contracts.
Logically, Bai Hao had initially doubted whether he could even form a spiritual contract with another party at all.
For the strong, contracting the weak was easy – but for the weak, contracting the strong carried grave risks.
The power gap between them was too vast; failure would leave him defenseless.
Even if it would cause serious problems for the other party later, he only had one life – once lost, it was gone forever. Thankfully, everything had gone as he'd hoped.
Elisa's heterochromatic eyes blazed with all-consuming fury and humiliation, her pearl-white teeth nearly ground to dust. "Silence! I have nothing to say to you!"
Her voice was like being scraped by ice, carrying bone-piercing cold.
At this, Bai Hao laughed – a sound full of genuine amusement.
"Oh?"
His voice rose slightly at the end, playful and teasing. "If that's the case, why don't you just leave? Do you expect me to see you off for a thousand miles?"
Bai Hao was now completely certain she couldn't leave him, and immediately began asserting control.
Leaning forward slightly, his eyes sparkled with mischief. His tone was casual yet carried undeniable authority. "You'd better go quickly. You can't touch me, and staying here just to look at me will only make you more uncomfortable."
"You!!"
Elisa's rage spiked suddenly, the ferocity from her deep racial heritage nearly pushing her beyond sanity.
The magical storm erupting from her body warped the air itself, her tremendous power causing debris on the ground to vanish without a sound.
Yet because of the contract, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't harm Bai Hao in any way.
As they reached an impasse, a majestic, domineering spiritual energy suddenly exploded in the distant sky – like a world-shattering tide!
In an instant, the entire secret realm trembled violently!
Blinding light like the sun pierced through the heavens, and a figure hovered high above, radiating divine power as if they ruled over the world itself.
A terrifying wave of heat swept through, causing moisture in the earth to evaporate instantly and vegetation to wilt and turn yellow.
"How could so many powerful figures suddenly appear in such a small, ordinary secret realm?"
Bai Hao, no longer in the mood to sit and show off, immediately ducked and hid under the cover of a tree.
In comparison, Elisa's reaction was far more intense.
Her angry, arrogant face drained of all color in an instant, replaced by fear rising from the depths of her soul!
Her tremendous magical power vanished immediately, and for the first time, undisguised panic and helplessness showed in her cold heterochromatic eyes.
The figure streaking through the sky posed a real, deadly threat to her!
"Human boy!"
She spun sharply toward Bai Hao, her voice urgent and trembling – all traces of her earlier arrogance gone. "I swear I'll never threaten you again! Hurry! Think of something! We absolutely cannot let Him find me!"
Fear overwhelmed everything, even temporarily burying her hatred for Bai Hao.
"Heh – you really think I'm that capable? If I had that kind of power, would you have captured me in the first place?"
Even so, after a moment's thought, Bai Hao felt she still had value to him.
Bound by the contract's rules, she couldn't harm him – instead, with her strength far beyond his level, she could be a capable fighter and guardian.
As long as the contract held, he could sense her location and presence at any time, effectively keeping her under control.
From this perspective, protecting her was more beneficial than betraying her.
"Fine – considering our agreement, if you promise to obey all my requests and commands, I'll generously save you this once. How about it?"
Before Bai Hao could finish speaking, the distant figure in the sky seemed to sense something and rushed toward their location.
Feeling the approaching human Spirit Emperor's aura, Elisa could no longer contain her emotions.
Holding to the belief that it was better to live in misery than die honorably – and that revenge was never too late – Elisa immediately set aside her pride as a member of the Holy Spirit Realm Demon Spirit Clan and begged, "I'll fulfill any request you have! Just think of a way! By the way – do you have a Spirit Contract Space? Maybe you could use it to..."
Before Alyssa could finish, Bai Hao raised his hand and directly captured her with the mark in his palm.
"Do I need you to tell me? I already planned for this."
Light enveloped Elisa instantly.
Before she could let out a cry of surprise, her tall, alluring, exotic form quickly shrank in the bright light – as if squeezed and compressed by an invisible force. In an instant, she transformed into a stream of light and vanished without a trace into the mark on his palm.
Bai Hao muttered to himself, but before he could draw a breath, the dense forest above his head was split clean in two by a beam of sword light.
The razor-sharp blade, like a silver ribbon, silently yet irresistibly sliced through the ancient tree – which would have required several people to encircle it – along with its thick canopy soaring dozens of meters high, splitting it perfectly in two!
The cut was as smooth as glass. The massive canopy crashed down with a loud roar, the shade was gone, and scorching sunlight beat down mercilessly on Bai Hao.
His hair stood on end, his heart nearly stopping!
This pressure was far stronger than the witch's – so great he could barely resist, even struggling to breathe.
Before he could turn around, a clear, cold voice spoke from behind him.
"Where did that demon woman go just now?"
A sword forged purely from highly condensed radiant energy – carrying heat hot enough to incinerate anything and sharpness capable of cutting through everything – pressed gently against the side of his neck, precise and unwavering, with a hint of cold judgment.
The blade's tip felt as cold as ice, yet the energy within made the blood beneath his skin feel as if it were boiling.
"I... I don't know!"
Bai Hao raised both hands high, pretending to be flustered and stammering as he answered.
The mature Spirit Emperor frowned. Though she didn't want to believe him, the witch's aura had indeed been here moments ago – yet now it was gone without a trace.
If it were another race, they'd have nowhere to hide from her.
But the young, handsome man before her was completely human, with no trace of foul aura about him.
Considering the aliens' purpose for coming here, the powerful, mature Spirit Emperor paused to think.
She stared at Bai Hao, sensing the faint, extraordinary aura radiating from him, and immediately asked, "Are you the Emperor-tier talent who emerged in Suzhou and Hangzhou this time?"