In the Land of the Blood God, John found himself in a strange space, feeling as though he had sunk into an abyss.
There was not a single streak of light here; it was so dark he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face, surrounded by endless darkness.
Standing in the dark, John's brow furrowed slightly, lost in deep thought.
His last memory was of struggling desperately as the Crimson Demon attempted to possess him.
Then, it seemed like the demon's divine soul had entered his body.
After that, his consciousness faded entirely.
A trace of bitterness appeared in John's eyes.
It seemed he had been successfully possessed by the Crimson Demon.
That meant he might already be dead. But why was he here?
Puzzled, John surveyed his surroundings, but the darkness offered no useful information.
It felt as if this place was isolated from everything else, cut off from the outside world.
John was never one to wait for death passively.
He began to walk deeper into the darkness, determined to uncover the nature of this place.
Time trickled away, its passage indeterminable.
It could have been an hour, a year, or even a century.
In the darkness where the passage of time was unfelt, John sensed no fatigue, merely walking numbly through the dark until a point of golden light appeared before him.
Long dulled senses were rekindled by this speck of light, gradually regaining clarity.
He stared blankly at the starlight ahead, feeling an odd familiarity with it, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
He quickened his pace towards it.
The distance was not as far as he had imagined.
John quickly caught up to the golden glow.
This Gold Flash was only the size of a palm, but its luminance was striking in the boundless darkness.
Just as John was about to examine what it was, a slightly surprised, tender voice sounded by his ear.
It exclaimed, "Huh, how did you get in here?"
John was stunned. This light, it talks?!
Then he realized that it wasn't the orb of light speaking, but something inside it.
Focusing intently, John saw that within the golden starlight, there was actually a person!
She was smaller than a palm, dressed in a luxurious silver-white dress trimmed with gold, with long silver hair, a delicate and cute little face, and two pairs of translucent, colorful wings on her back.
As they fluttered, specks of colorful starlight fell, creating a dreamy and pure effect, like a sprite.
At this moment, the little creature was looking at John with wide, sparkling eyes, seemingly astonished by his presence.
John sized up the figure, hesitatingly asking, "Are you… a stellar sprite?"
In John's memory, only stellar sprites matched the figure's appearance.
Aren't stellar sprites exclusive to the Stellar Realm?
Could this be the Stellar Realm?
John's mind was filled with questions.
Hearing his words, the stellar sprite seemed somewhat irritated, her brows furrowing in annoyance.
She placed her hands on her hips, speaking sternly, "You haven't answered my question yet!
How did you get here?
This place is off-limits!"
John could only offer a wry smile in response, "I don't know either."
Heaven knows how he ended up here.
If it weren't for encountering this stellar sprite, John would have thought he'd descended into hell.
The stellar sprite seemed unsatisfied with John's answer.
She flew circles around him, her delicate nose twitching, a look of disgust appearing on her face.
"A whiff of dark god's aura, truly nauseating!" she exclaimed.
John: "..."
Then, as if realizing something, the stellar sprite's tightly knitted brows gradually relaxed.
Touching her dainty chin, she had an epiphany, "So you were sent here by that old thing."
John was puzzled, what old thing? Before he could inquire further about who she was referring to, the sprite seemed to come to a decision.
A mysterious rune suddenly appeared on her smooth forehead, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a beam of light flying towards John.
Caught off guard and unprepared, John couldn't react in time, and the mysterious rune hit him squarely on the forehead.
Instantly, he felt an inexplicable connection forming between him and the little creature.
"What the hell! What did you do to me?" John couldn't help but curse out loud, totally unexpected that this little creature would be so sneaky to launch a sudden attack on him.
Damn it, next time he saw such a little thing, he should just chop it down; they were too deceptive!
Yina rolled her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest, and said with a haughty expression, "Let me introduce myself. My name is 'Yina.' I've been waiting here for you for a long time. From now on, I am your Contracted Nymph."
John was astounded, "Contracted Nymph?"
A Contracted Nymph is a being similar to a summoning beast.
They usually accompany their contractors closely, and the relationship is generally that of master and servant.
If the contractor dies, the Contracted Nymph would also perish.
John had never seen Scarlett's Contracted Nymph, but he had heard her mention that it was a fox with several tails, which liked to cultivate in the contract space and disliked coming out.
Alexander's twin-winged golden lion, Gold Flash's earth dragon beast, also belonged to Contracted Nymphs.
Subduing a Contracted Nymph is a difficult task; many creatures would rather die than sign a contract because once they sign, they lose their freedom.
But this clearly extraordinary stellar sprite was volunteering to become his Contracted Nymph?
Are stellar sprites so casual nowadays?
Unable to figure it out, John didn't dwell on the matter. He frowned and said, "The problem is, how do we get out of here?"
Having wandered here for so long, John hadn't found a way out.
Moreover, considering the Crimson Demon had probably taken over his body, even if he managed to leave, he'd likely have no physical form and would just be a ghost.
John couldn't solve these issues and could only seek advice from Yina.
Yina patted her flat chest confidently and declared, "Just a dark god, leave it to me."
As she spoke, a point of colorful light brightened in her hands.
Gradually, the light expanded, forming a massive colorful light gate in front of them.
Not taking a dark god seriously?
At this moment, John suddenly felt he might have been duped.
Could this little creature be a swindler?
Just before stepping through the light gate, John glanced back at the world behind him, a realm that seemed forever shrouded in darkness.
How long had Yina been there?
John didn't ask, nor did he dare to imagine.
Shaking his head, he placed Yina on his shoulder and left that ghastly place without looking back.
After entering the light gate, a flash of light momentarily blinded John.
When he reopened his eyes, he found himself back in the Land of the Blood God.
Observing the desolate scene before him, he almost didn't recognize it as the Land of the Blood God!
The Land of the Blood God now was devoid of any vitality; the once blood-red sea of otherworldly flowers had withered away.
The surging blood pool had also revealed a cracked and dry bed, and even the Crimson Demon's red crystal throne had somehow lost its color, becoming dull and lusterless.
Looking at the dark red longsword on the ground, full of cracks, John couldn't help but swallow hard.
He had only slept for a while; why did it feel like a century had passed?
And where was the Crimson Demon?
Yina, puffing out her chest, was about to take a breath of fresh air but suddenly covered her nose with both hands.
She expressed her disgust, "So it was that Crimson guy. Looks like someone has dealt with him. I'm going back to the contract space; this place stinks to death. Don't call me unless it's necessary."
After an awakener and a creature sign a contract, they usually have a contract space.
This space is specifically for the Contracted Nymph to recuperate and cultivate, and it can also be used to store things.
John went in for a look.
Blue skies, white clouds, and lush green grass.
The space was vast, seemingly endless, and filled with huge colorful bubbles, creating a magnificent and dreamlike atmosphere.
John was puzzled.
Are contract spaces always this large?
He hadn't really explored this aspect before, or perhaps he hadn't learned about it yet.
At this moment, Yina was already lying in a rainbow bubble, lazily sleeping, her delicate and adorable face brimming with contentment.
Stellar sprites favor clean and pure things and beings, harboring a strong aversion to anything tainted by dark gods, which explained her repulsion to the outside world.
John left Yina to her rest and exited the contract space, turning his attention to his own message notifications.
He had blocked them since the last trial to avoid distractions during combat, only now finding the time to check.
The next moment, a series of messages popped up!
[Congratulations on completing the "Crimson Realm (hell-level)"!]
[Note: Due to the level difference exceeding lv10, you are ineligible for rewards!]
[You have received the "Blessing of Crimson Demon"!]
[You have obtained the equipment "Bloodthirsty Blade (iron-tier)"!]
[You have acquired "Crimson Realm (Divine Realm)"!]
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