Cheat Cultivator's Ascension-Chapter 542: A Trade

While most, if not all of the Western Continent's population focuses on their cultivation through the path of mana, there are some races within this vast expanse of land that merely uses mana as a resource to temper their cultivation, and one of those races are the dream demons.

Unique to themselves, this race has innate affinity to the cultivation and tempering of their own souls, with their methods ranging from draining other beings of their own soul, the most common one being the method of using mana to forge and strengthen their own soul.

This method has one big flaw however, and that is the fact that using such method can only allow the less talented ones to go so far, hence why one of this race's ancestor, spent their whole life to figure out a way for those who are already at the end of this mana assisted path to further improve, and the methods found were the ones commonly known to the Western Continent nowadays. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Parasitism, the act of devouring a prey's soul and using it as a material to strengthen one's own soul, is the more effective, but brutally shunned upon part of the two solutions, to the point that dream demons who dare to even as much as attempt such practice were hunted by other dream demons themselves for this taboo can very much turn every other race against them.

Mutualism, is the less effective, yet more solidly grounded and foundational path amongst the two solutions, relying on using the soul of the partner the dream demon set their eyes on in order to temper their own soul via what they call as divine forging, using each other to temper both souls, resulting in a mutual benefit.

The first one, a great threat, and the second one, a great boon to anyone lucky enough to catch a dream demon's attention, this second method also being the reason as to why despite the dangers of dream demons who fell into the practice of parasitism, the entire Western Continent still refuses to put a restriction or even isolate them, the allure and benefits of being a partner in a dream demon's mutualism method far outclassing the loss others might have being a victim of their parasitism.

A great method and all, but that doesn't stop the dream demon from completely turning around and just start parasitizing their partner once they can no longer temper their souls through mutualism, hence why this method of assurance for both parties to treat each other well was created in the first place.

"This binds the souls of the one who signed the contract the creator of the contract together… interesting…" with his eyes giving off the mixture of pure white and gold while staring at the parchment on Liliana's hand, Su Xiaotian mutters, his words surprising the creator of the parchment as the only they know how exactly these parchments. The True Soul Contract, works.

"Sharp eyes, I'll give you that~~" allowing a short, dreamy giggle to come out of her mouth, Lilith praised as she stares at the immortal-like figure once again, her eyes, glowing in a sparkle of starry night despite the abyssal darkness, seemingly pulling everything in, an effect that doesn't seem to work on the young man at all.

"Twice" with the faint smile on his face turning wider from amusement and interest, Su Xiaotian pointed out as he reaches his hand towards Liliana seemingly asking her to hand something, the vampire earl and his student immediately giving him the contract as if she knew it was exactly the thing he wants from her.

"Hm?" watching the two seamlessly passing around the contract like it's no one's business, Lilith couldn't help but tilt her head as she opens her mouth, intending to ask the immortal-like young man what he is talking about, only for her to be silenced as air seems to freeze around her, a palpable weight bearing down on her body as she starts struggling to breath.

She wasn't the only person who felt this however, as every single living being in the vicinity, whether it is the remaining members of the Great Ones still trying to figure out what they can pay for their own life or the young vampire earl waiting for their payment, trembles as their senses screams from the primal fear waking up from deep inside themselves, warning them to get as far away as possible from the source of this fear.

While terror strikes the heart of each and every single one of these people, one person is an exception despite the fact that she's acting the same way as the rest of them, said person being Liliana, who's trembling not from fear, but from the shock as she recalls her first time experiencing this sort of absurd suppression that one wouldn't expect to come from a person the same age, if not younger than them.

"Twice had you tried your charm ability on me, and both of them failed, shouldn't it be enough to tell you something?" sighing as he notices everyone around him terrified of the pressure coming out of his being, Su Xiaotian asked as he disperses said pressure, his attention no longer on this people as he scrutinizes the True Soul Contract in his hands, the lady who created said contract anxiously waiting in front of him wondering just what sort of thing he will do to the contract she can create only once in her entire life.

"I'll take this thing, Liliana" he then said as he nods after studying it for a good few moments, the vampire earl merely nodding at his words as if she has no problem whatsoever with him taking it all of a sudden.

"Do what you want, I only got it with your help after all…" she said as she shrugs her shoulders, uncaring for what the young man wants to do as in the first place, she has no intention of being bonded with the princess of the dream demon through the True Soul Contract.

"Ah, that reminds me, even if it's with my help, it's the fruit of your labor after all, here, take this as a payment" Su Xiaotian said as if he remembered something as he walks towards Liliana, the lady panicking a bit for reasons unknown even to her, prompting her to take a step back before she regains herself, intending not to run away from this oddity of a panic she is feeling.

Only for her to send into a spiral of anxiety even more as she found out that the immortal-like figure is already standing right in front of her, his hand extended and his index finger on the center of her forehead, a warm stream flowing inside her head making her feel comfortable as if she just had a great, refreshing rest.

"Crude as it may be, I whipped up a method for you to control your will easier than before" he said as if the payment he gave her for the thing now in his hand is nothing at all, while Liliana herself looks at him in a mix of surprise and curiosity, wondering since when is it that he created something like that.

If she were to know that it was a method he made from observing her state when she starts losing herself just previously, heaven knows what she might think of this mentor of hers.