Ning Yitao spoke up, "Strange. You managed to sign a contract with me without my notice."
Duan Qinghuai's expression turned shocked upon hearing this. He sat up abruptly and asked, "A contract?"
His first thought was, "Will this have an impact on you?"
Ning Yitao pondered for a moment before saying, "Simply put, this contract binds our fates together. If you live, I live; if you die, I die. We share both good and bad fortune. But it's strange that you managed to impose such a high - level contract on me effortlessly."
"You might not just be an ordinary person blessed with good fortune,"
Duan Qinghuai frowned, voicing his concern, "If I'm killed, I'll drag you down with me. I'm too weak. Being bound to me, I'll only be a hindrance to you. Is there any way to break this contract?"
He didn't care whether he was a person blessed with good fortune or what his identity was. At this moment, he was more worried that he would be a burden to Ning Yitao. She had come to help him, but now she was constantly being dragged down by him.
"The person who tied the bell must untie it. Only you can break this curse. Breaking the contract is more difficult than making it. But there are also benefits to our contract. I can better utilize the merits on you, and if you're in danger, I'll sense it immediately."
Hearing that he had to be the one to break the contract, Duan Qinghuai knew that it would be a long - shot. His face grew more solemn as he thought about how he could better protect Ning Yitao from being dragged down by him.
Duan Qinghuai had walked on the verge of death many times since he was a child. He didn't want Ning Yitao to experience such a feeling.
Ning Yitao hooked the corner of her mouth slightly and smiled to comfort Duan Qinghuai, "For our current situation, the contract might be a better choice."
"You have abundant merits. Just now, after the contract was successfully signed, I clearly felt a great increase in my spiritual power. But I really can't figure out what your true form is."
Hearing that he had been of help to her, Duan Qinghuai visibly let out a sigh of relief. But he was still a bit worried and asked, "Can you teach me some defensive spells?"
Ning Yitao's eyes lit up, "I was just about to suggest that. We're both too weak now. Let's practice dual cultivation together."
The spiritual energy in this world was too thin. Dual cultivation could indeed speed up the cultivation process. Ning Yitao used to disdain dual cultivation as her abilities didn't require such means. But times had changed.
Duan Qinghuai stood there, stunned. His ears turned red. His mind was bombarded by the term "dual cultivation". How could the topic change so suddenly?
He stammered and refused, "No, you're still young. Let's start with the most basic beginner's level. I'll practice hard. It definitely won't be worse than dual cultivation."
Ning Yitao was reluctant to give up and continued to persuade him, explaining the many benefits of dual cultivation. But Duan Qinghuai just lowered his head. He had no imposing manner but still firmly refused her. Since persuasion was ineffective, Ning Yitao had no choice but to compromise and start teaching him from the very beginning.
The first step in the introduction to metaphysics was perception. Close your eyes, calm your mind, and feel the flow of spiritual power around you. All the plants and trees around had spiritual power. You had to feel it carefully and follow the direction of the spiritual power flow to guide it around yourself, so as to use it for yourself and dredge your meridians.
Ning Yitao guided Duan Qinghuai step by step. Duan Qinghuai, who was seeing spiritual power for the first time, couldn't hide his excitement. Even with his eyes closed, he could clearly see his surroundings. When the spiritual power entered his body, he felt completely unobstructed. It was the first time he had experienced such a feeling.
Duan Qinghuai showed extraordinary talent in the step of perceiving spiritual power, which even made Ning Yitao sigh in admiration.
Compared with Duan Qinghuai, Ning Yitao, who was once also called a talented cultivator, still had a gap.
Ning Yitao could only gather the spiritual power within a radius of 50 miles, while Duan Qinghuai could gather the spiritual power of an entire mountain for his use.
Ning Yitao couldn't imagine how terrifying Duan Qinghuai would be if he had been born in an era when spiritual power was abundant.
The whole room was shrouded in spiritual power. Ning Yitao tried to use the spiritual power for herself, but unexpectedly, it could only be used by Duan Qinghuai.
Although Duan Qinghuai had the ability to gather this spiritual power, he could only absorb a small part of it. His soul foundation was unstable as he had been cursed. As long as the curse remained, his cultivation couldn't reach its peak.
But what he had achieved so far was already remarkable.
Seeing that he had reached his limit, Ning Yitao interrupted him and told him to go and rest.
Lying in bed, Duan Qinghuai looked at the golden thread that twined around them. Ning Yitao had said that only the two of them could see this thread, and they could follow it to find each other.
"This is our little secret," Duan Qinghuai held the golden thread and fell asleep.
Ning Yitao looked out of the window with an inexplicable look in her eyes. The "person" who had been peeping outside seemed to have sensed that she had been discovered. A shadow flashed across the window and disappeared in an instant.
Ning Yitao suddenly felt that things were getting interesting. She might still have some gains tonight.
Ning Yitao slowly got up and threw out a talisman. The talisman flew even faster and caught up with the shadow. The next second, the shadow was covered by the yellow talisman and couldn't move.
"Walking around freely in my Taoist temple. You're really not a good girl. You've been discovered," Ning Yitao walked slowly towards the shadow.
As Ning Yitao got closer, she could see clearly that the shadow was a young girl. Knowing that she couldn't escape,
The girl in a black - red dress lowered her head and timidly said, "I haven't hurt anyone. I just wanted to stay here temporarily. Chu Zhiyuan agreed." Her voice grew softer and softer towards the end.
Although she was clearly scared, she still mustered up the courage to retort, "Why did you become the master of the Taoist temple as soon as you came? Chu Zhiyuan even has to give in to you everywhere."
Ning Yitao found it interesting and deliberately didn't explain to her. She walked closer and squatted in front of the girl, "You're a wandering soul. You can be reincarnated. Why don't you? You're hiding from the underworld officials in the Taoist temple."
The girl raised her head. Unexpectedly, she was quite delicate - looking. She seemed a bit anxious, "My memory is gone. But for some reason, there's a voice in my head telling me not to be reincarnated. I still have something to do."
"You haven't stained your hands with blood. I won't kill you. Who taught you to dress like this, looking like a fierce ghost? Could it be Chu Zhiyuan?"
The girl hesitated and said, "Yes."
Ning Yitao had an "I knew it" expression on her face. The girl kept mentioning Chu Zhiyuan. It was hard not to think too much. Then she removed the talisman and waved to the girl, "Come on, go find your Chu Zhiyuan."
Unexpectedly, on the way, they met Chu Zhiyuan, who was anxiously looking for them. After seeing him, the girl silently walked behind him.
Chu Zhiyuan nervously protected the girl and said to Ning Yitao, "Ancestor, I can explain. Please don't hurt her. She hasn't done anything bad. She just wanted to find a place to take shelter."