Chapter 151: Chapter 104: Could It Be That the Spot Was Jun Yao’s Doing?

He gave her a sharp tug, pulling her into his embrace and wrapping his arm around her waist.

One hand brushed the hair from her cheek. His intense gaze landed on her face, which was as flawless as polished jade, and a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.

Now that his memories had returned, he knew she hadn’t intentionally pretended to be ugly to deceive him. The blemish had been real. ’So why did it suddenly disappear?’

’No, wait. It changed once before.’

’When was that?’

’It seemed to be after Jun Yao went berserk and they slept together.’

’Could it be... that Jun Yao did something to cause the blemish?’

A flicker of disbelief flashed through Si Xie’s eyes. Just then, she threw her arms around his neck, her urgent voice sounding in his ear.

"Really? That’s great! Since you remember everything, tell me what happened that day. How exactly did you fall into the Nine Nether Abyss?"

At her words, he snapped out of his trance and reached up to stroke her hair. His gaze was deep and inscrutable, filled with an unreadable mix of emotions.

"That can wait. You said before that including me, you only have three Contractors. What happened? Did you perform a Contract Termination with Jun Yao? And who was that Ultimate Venerable Stage Powerhouse who broke into the Underground Dark Prison with you?"

’She mentioned a Contract Termination, and he’d seen Ming Ye and Fu Yuan not long ago. Jun Yao was the only one who hadn’t appeared at all.’

’So, it was most likely her contract with Jun Yao that had been terminated.’

’It seemed a lot had happened to her while he was missing.’

"Hey, I asked you first, didn’t I? What do you mean, ’that can wait’? It’s urgent to me! Your questions are the ones that can wait. Besides, I can’t explain all that in just a few words. Come on, hurry up and tell me. I want to hear!"

She urged him again, her impatience making Si Xie feel utterly exasperated.

"Alright, I’ll tell you..."

*

「Land of Calamity.」

The air was thick with poisonous gas and dense black fog, a place that never saw the light of day. Recently, however, it had come under fierce assault. Several bands of interstellar pirates had been completely annihilated, and many fugitives had been either arrested or summarily executed.

In the process, they also took the opportunity to wipe out a significant number of the Corpse Clan and Insect Race, rescuing dozens of abducted young women and other kidnapped civilians.

After half a month of continuous combat, the 21st Legion entered a period of rest and recuperation.

Dressed in his crisp Commander’s uniform, Huo Shenming strode toward a massive steel behemoth, followed by two terrified girls and a few of his personal guards.

"Commander."

The soldiers on guard duty saluted him as he approached.

Huo Shenming acknowledged them with a grunt. "And the Commander? How is he today?"

He hadn’t seen Ah Yao all day. ’He’s not responding to my messages or answering my calls. I wonder what’s happened.’

"Reporting, Commander. Since last night, the Commander has locked himself inside his warship. He refuses to see anyone and hasn’t come out yet. We have no idea how he is."

Hearing this, Huo Shenming’s brows furrowed tightly.

’Ah Yao is acting so strangely... Could it have something to do with that woman who abandoned him again?’

’She was just a woman with no taste, one who abandoned him. What’s so great about her that he can’t get her out of his head?’

"Open the door!"

he commanded coldly, his face grim.

"Reporting, Commander. He’s locked the door from the inside and reinforced it with a barrier. We can’t open it."

Huo Shenming was speechless.

’That kid!’

He pounded on the door and called out in an authoritative voice, "Jun Yao, as your Commander, I order you to open this door at once."

His voice, empowered by his Half-step Ultimate Venerable cultivation, passed clearly through the steel door of the warship.

「Inside the warship.」

The man in the white military uniform stared at the offline Light Brain before him, his face a bloodless, deathly pale. He turned a deaf ear to the voice coming from outside.

’The bond tied to my essence blood was severed last night!’

’She no longer belongs to me alone.’

’But I’m already advancing my cultivation as fast as I can, I’m trying so hard. Why wasn’t she willing to wait for me just a little longer?’

Blood and vital energy roiled violently in his chest. His eyes gradually turned scarlet, and the energy in the air began to churn violently.

Outside, Huo Shenming sensed the shift and whirled to look at the barrier, which had begun to fluctuate. A look of horror flashed in his eyes.

’This is bad. Ah Yao is about to go berserk.’

’Ah Yao is currently at the Seventh Rank of the Returning Origin Stage. If someone at his Realm goes fully berserk, it will be incredibly dangerous.’

He struck out abruptly, shattering the barrier with a single palm strike. He then held out his hand to a soldier beside him.

"The Soul-locking Rope."

The soldier hastily unhooked the Soul-locking Rope from his belt and presented it respectfully with both hands.

Taking the Soul-locking Rope, Huo Shenming immediately contacted the Information Department and ordered them to forcibly breach the door of Warship 0002.

A few minutes later, with a BEEP, the warship door was forced open.

"You two, with me."

Huo Shenming entered, Soul-locking Rope in hand, and tossed the command over his shoulder to the two girls behind him. The girls flinched in fear but steeled themselves and forced their legs to move, following him inside.

The interior of the warship was dim.

The powerful energy was rampaging even more fiercely.

The moment the two girls stepped inside, their senses were overwhelmed. Their vision went black, their ears filled with a deafening ringing, and they felt so suffocated it was hard to breathe. It seemed they would pass out at any second.

"Ah Yao, calm down. Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it..."

Huo Shenming’s eyes filled with heartache as he looked at the handsome, white-haired man by the desk.

Hearing the commotion, the cold-faced man shot to his feet, his scarlet eyes glaring angrily at the intruders.

"Get out!"

Huo Shenming was speechless.

He sighed in exasperation. "Ah Yao, don’t you realize you’re about to go berserk? You don’t have a Contract Master right now. Going berserk is incredibly dangerous. How can I just abandon you like this?"

The moment he finished speaking, he struck. An overwhelming wave of powerful energy surged toward Jun Yao. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

In response, Jun Yao’s eyes grew even more scarlet. He waved his hand in furious resistance, and a dazzling bolt of white light swept out, sending a shock through Huo Shenming that made his own blood and energy roil.

He was a late-stage Half-step Ultimate Venerable, while Jun Yao was merely at the Seventh Rank of the Returning Origin Stage. There was a gap of six entire stages between them; logically, he should have been able to suppress him with ease.

But in reality, he could barely withstand Jun Yao’s counterattack.

After awakening his Emperor God Talent Skill—Stronger When Facing the Strong—Jun Yao’s combat prowess had reached a frankly terrifying level.

After ten minutes of continuous fighting, Jun Yao only grew stronger with each exchange, while Huo Shenming was steadily forced to retreat.

’I can’t let this continue,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, no one will be able to stop Ah Yao from going fully berserk.’

Left with no choice, Huo Shenming swallowed his pride and sent for the two Tiger Clan Elders who were secretly stationed there to come and assist.

In the end, with the combined might of three Half-step Ultimate Venerables, Jun Yao was pinned to the ground and securely bound.

The instant the Soul-locking Rope was secured, the monstrous, baleful aura and rampaging power emanating from him vanished. Only his scarlet eyes remained, glaring at them with manic fury.

Huo Shenming wiped the sweat from his forehead, letting out a massive sigh of relief. He looked at the man struggling fiercely on the ground, planted his hands on his hips, and let out a rather shameless laugh.

"Hahahaha, don’t be angry. I had no other choice. Once your berserk state subsides, I’ll untie you."