Chapter 92: The Ritual of Deepening the Blood Pact

Shen Yan stared at the notice that had just popped up on the Terminal, tapping his fingers twice in the air as if checking whether a certain button was stuck. Memory Retrospection Simulator? Who had secretly upgraded his System? He frowned, feeling that this thing had appeared at the wrong time, much like a rogue software that automatically updates in the middle of the night.

But there was no time to investigate now. He turned to look at Luo Li beside him and noticed her fingertips trembling slightly, her breathing rhythm also off—the earlier confrontation in the elders’ hall might have seemed impressive, but in reality, her Demon Power was already depleted, and the backlash of the Blood Pact was seeping into her Meridians.

“In this state, if you fight two more battles, you’ll end up as a kitten nibbling on leftovers,” Shen Yan said quietly.

“And who are you to care?” Luo Li shot him a sidelong glance, but her tail instinctively curled around his wrist. “Last time, who nearly got shredded into Code fragments by chains and had to be rescued by me kicking down the door?”

“Ahem, that was a tactical retreat.” Shen Yan adjusted his glasses and suddenly raised his hand to summon the Terminal Interface. A black background with green Data Stream instantly filled his vision. He quickly tapped the Virtual Keyboard, dragging the “Blood Pact Protocol” from Version 1.0 to Version 2.0, adding a bidirectional shield mechanism and inserting an emergency disconnection Program.

“I’m upgrading our binding,” he said seriously. “This time, it’s not about survival—it’s about symbiosis.”

Luo Li narrowed her eyes. “Do you know what deepening the Blood Pact means? Spiritual Awareness merging, thoughts synchronizing. If something like ‘today’s milk tea is half-price for the second cup’ suddenly pops into your mind, I’ll throw you into the Sacred Ground’s spring to soak until you swell.”

“Don’t worry, at most I’ll be thinking about how to write a Script for automatically roasting marshmallows for you.” Shen Yan put away the Terminal, his tone unusually earnest. “Your Demon Power right now is like a battery about to explode. If I don’t fix this, the next time Ye Shi’er shows up, you’ll have to take the damage for me. I don’t want to rely on you to save me every time.”

His words hung in the air, and a moment of silence fell between them.

The wind swept across the Sacred Ground’s spring platform, rippling the water’s surface, reflecting the sky’s light and the faint glow of lingering Runes. Luo Li didn’t speak, only reaching out to pinch his earlobe, her touch as light as testing a reaction speed.

“Fine,” she finally said. “But if you dare plant a Virus in it, I’ll turn all your Code into emojis.”

The Sacred Ground’s spring was located at the core of the Sacred Ground, said to have been formed from the heart’s blood of an ancient demon emperor, capable of purifying the Soul and stabilizing one’s origin. When the two stepped into the pool, the water temperature was just right—neither too cold nor too hot, as if supported by an invisible layer of Energy.

They sat cross-legged facing each other, fingers interlocked. Shen Yan closed his eyes and Initiated the Protocol. The Source Code Interface appeared in the center of his Consciousness Sea, green characters scrolling like raindrops: 【Establishing deep connection… Detected fluctuations in target’s vital signs. Suggest activating stability mode】.

“Let’s begin,” Luo Li whispered softly.

Contract lines extended from their palms, slowly climbing along their Meridians like Data cables connecting to a Host Machine. At first, everything went smoothly—green light and Demon Marks intertwined into a net, flowing in an orderly manner. But when the Energy reached the heart region, a sudden change occurred.

The ancient Demon Mark within Luo Li’s body abruptly awakened, erupting in crimson light like a Firewall popping up with the highest-level Warning. The Terminal flashed frantically: 【Detected High-Level defense mechanism. Force override?】

Shen Yan instinctively wanted to click “Yes,” but his finger hovered mid-air and stopped.

Can’t force it. This was her body, her bloodline, her memory defenses. If he tried to forcibly compile, it would be like invading her deepest privacy directory.

He changed tactics.

With a slight movement of his fingertips, he transformed fragments of memory into readable Data Streams, slowly pushing them through the Contract channel—

First frame: The day they first met, she erected a Barrier for a stray little demon in the pouring rain, soaked to the bone yet refusing to withdraw her power;

Second frame: In the dungeon, she carved a distress Code on the wall with her claws, each stroke a binary cry for help;

Third frame: Before the judgment hall, she crushed the Formation Eye with one foot, turned to shield him, her back straighter than any Sword Cultivator’s.

These weren’t combat records or mission Logs, but his privately stored “emotional Cache.”

The Demon Mark’s agitation gradually subsided. The crimson faded, shifting to a warm gold, intertwining with the green glow of the Source Code into a spiral, coiling around the twin hearts. The Terminal refreshed with a Notice: 【Defense mechanism has recognized trust Signal, switching to collaborative Run mode】.

Shen Yan opened his eyes and saw a flicker of shock in Luo Li’s gaze.

“You still remember these?”

“Obviously, my Memory isn’t that bad,” he tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Besides, your actions were so outrageous, the System automatically bookmarked them.”

Luo Li didn’t retort. Instead, she leaned forward until her nose almost touched his.

“Final step,” she said. “Traditional methods are too inefficient. We need a different way to transmit Energy.”

Before the words faded, she suddenly kissed him.

The moment their lips met, Shen Yan’s mind Blue Screened.

Not a metaphor—literally. The entire Terminal froze, the Image stuck on an unfinished line of Code.

The next instant, a new Notice popped up: 【Detected high-intensity emotional fluctuations. Recommend upgrading to “Couple Mode.” Enable?】

He wanted to curse, but his tongue was already tangled up—no time to type.

This wasn’t a ritual; it was forcibly installing an app from an unknown source! And with silent authorization at that!

But he didn’t push her away. Instead, he slid his hand into her hair, deepening the kiss. Golden threads of the Contract surged through their Bloodlines, activating bidirectional sharing. Their Spiritual Power resonated in sync, their heartbeats gradually aligning.

After who knows how long, their lips parted.

Foreheads pressed together, breaths mingling. The sacred spring rippled, golden light rising from the pool’s depths, encircling them, lingering.

【Deep Blood Pact binding completed】

【Permission Level upgraded: Contract Symbiont · Access Level S】

【New function added: Cross-species Spiritual Awareness analysis (beta)】

Shen Yan caught his breath. “You… planned this all along, didn’t you? Exploiting an emotional Vulnerability to inject Code.”

“Likewise,” Luo Li licked the corner of her lips, a sly smile playing. “Don’t you always say, ‘As long as the Logic works, anyone can cultivate immortality’? I’m proving it to you now—as long as hearts align, a kiss can work like a USB Drive.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m going to engrave that line into the System announcement later.”

The two quietly regulated their breathing, their auras connected as if sharing one Consciousness Sea. Shen Yan sensed a gentle, warm power added within him, while Luo Li’s complexion visibly warmed, no longer pale.

Just then, the Terminal automatically opened a new document titled “Demon Clan Ancient Script Analysis Package_Unlocked by Shared Pact.”

“Looks like this Permission really is useful,” he murmured. “Can read literature I couldn’t understand before.”

“Then why aren’t you studying it right away?” Luo Li opened her eyes, her tail tip lightly brushing the back of his neck. “When Ye Shi’er comes back with his scythe to run the dungeon again, you can’t rely on me to kick the door open every time, can you?”

“The problem is,” Shen Yan looked at her, “I can’t focus at all right now—my mind is completely occupied with the USB drive.”

“Oh?” She leaned closer, her breath grazing his ear. “Want another deep transfer? Help clear your cache.”

Just as he was about to retort, he suddenly noticed the Demon Clan Ancient Script Symbol in her palm growing warm, resonating with an encrypted piece of data in the Terminal.

Shen Yan opened the folder, and a hidden comment appeared:

“Western Wasteland Gate unsealing progress: 10%. Next phase requires deciphering ‘Ancestral Inscriptions.’ Location: Sacred Ground Library, third floor, restricted section.”

He looked up at the ancient pagoda hidden in the mist not far away, its eaves adorned with bronze bells that chimed softly in the wind.

Luo Li had already stood up, shaking her damp skirt. “Shall we go, Programmer?”

“Let’s go.” Shen Yan put away the Terminal and stood up. “But let’s get one thing straight—once we’re inside, don’t just kiss me whenever you feel like it. It interferes with my debugging.”

“Then you have to promise,” she turned back with a smile, her cat ears twitching, “that when you see the crucial passages, you won’t get so startled you drop your phone in the water.”

(End of Chapter)