The Ascension of Contracted Spirits

Chapter 254 - 148: GuaGua Ascends, Third-grade Lotus Platform!_1

Ye Hanjun snapped awake after a brief catnap and got up to catch some demons.

Since he had told the villagers that he was a scholar doing research on Chaos Burial Mountain, he had to hold true to his words.

Catching a pair of demons was a way to put his words into action.

"Hehehe! Hehehe!"

Thanks to his heightened senses to the Demon Clan and aggressive creatures, Ye Hanjun was able to find a young Bat Wing Demon.

Only the size of a fist and hanging upside down on a rock, it had barely reached the Clay-based Illusion stage.

There was no need for Huazhu to catch it. As soon as The Darkest Abyss was opened, the little creature became so frightened that it let go of the rock and fell straight down.

Ye Hanjun caught it in his hand.

Gently stroking the furred creature, he managed to greatly reduce its fear.

"Behave, or I’ll turn you into soup."

"Hehehe ..."

The young Bat Wing Demon emitted a weird call, not daring to make a move.

After playing with it for a while, Ye Hanjun put it in his clothes bag.

Since larger ones were inconvenient to carry, it was best to go for lower rank demons.

Or, he could simply catch something edible instead, which would be easier to deal with later.

Since the Bat Wing Demon harbors countless pathogens, it wasn’t necessary to taste it.

However, if Ye Hanjun could train it well, it might serve as a Utility Demon, like a carrier pigeon, capable of long-distance communication. Or at the very least, be used as GuaGua’s playtoy.

"Drip-drop - drip-drop -"

After searching around for half a day, Ye Hanjun found another peculiar little creature.

It was a type of demon that Qin Hou had never mentioned before.

The creature looked like an eye and could slowly hover. It could also rotate in all directions.

This was the Eye Demon.

This type of demon had no offensive abilities and pitifully weak defenses.

However, it was a natural Utility Demon. Just a few drops of fresh blood and seven days of warm nurture would be enough to fully tame it. Once tamed, it would only recognize one human as its master for life.

"Interesting little creature."

As Ye Hanjun gently rubbed the Eye Demon’s eyelid, it couldn’t help but shrink back in fear, not daring to even open its eyes.

Ye Hanjun pricked his finger and began the first day of nurturing.

The Eye Demon’s abilities were somewhat similar to those of the Viewing Flower.

One could store images for later retrieval, and the other allowed real-time sharing through mating.

Even though a Clay Body-level Eye Demon could probably only store images from the past three to seven days, with the earlier images being continuously overwritten, such a demon possessed decent hiding and discerning abilities.

Whether used for monitoring the entrance or tailing someone, it had a variety of uses.

After playing with it for a while, Ye Hanjun stuffed it into another pocket and was ready to go down the mountain.

After going in circles for quite some time, he was no longer in the mood to go back the way he came. He decided instead to look for a nearby exit and find his way from there.

However, his plans were disrupted when his extended senses detected a seemingly metallic object, and it was not small at all.

With a slight suspicion, he cleared the way of any monsters and arrived at the source.

"Rip--"

Upon tearing away the thick vines, in the darkness where even his hand was not visible, a huge iron gate that stood more than twenty meters tall could be seen.

This was clearly not a natural creation but something man-made. The object hinted at an air of mystery and antiquity, as if a secret base had been built inside the mountain.

Ye Hanjun pushed on it with all his might, but it stayed immovable.

Summoning Huazhu, he combined the powers of Hurricane Sand Hammer and concentrated and unleashed the power of elements all at once.

—Boom!!!

Like a hot knife through butter, a huge hole was blown into the iron gate.

Ye Hanjun waited for the dust to settle before stepping over the hole and investigating the interior.

"Did someone used to live here?"

Huazhu, who was observing the surroundings, asked in bewilderment.

The space within the iron door was about a few hundred square meters in size.

There were clear signs of human habitation, and while it was simply furnished, there were rows upon rows of scrolls and vessels...a dazzling array of items.

Ye Hanjun picked up a scroll at random and infused into it a sliver of his Soul Power.

[Black Snake Sect Secret Report: Giant Frog Dynasty, year 356, Imperial City, Sky-Viewing Tower, Emperor Tang failed in his attempt to reach the 6th Rank, promotion of Contracted Spirit ’Giant Frog’ seems unlikely...]

"Emperor Tang?"

Ye Hanjun was amused.

Within the Giant Frog Marsh, there was only one ’Emperor Tang,’ and that was ’Tang Hao.’

If not for him expanding the land, the Giant Frog Marsh would still be savage territory.

Thanks to him, the Giant Frog Dynasty was established about 800 years ago.

Ye Hanjun put down the first scroll and casually picked up a few more.

[Black Snake Sect Secret Report: Giant Frog Marsh, year 236, Emperor Tang vanquishes Mud Demon, Disaster averted. Later, a longevity-enriching medicine was found in the Mud Demon’s den and consumed on the spot. ...]

[Black Snake Sect Secret Report: Giant Frog Dynasty, year 382, second prince goes missing after exploring the Evil Dragon Lair and is presumed dead...]

[Black Snake Sect inner report: Giant Frog Marsh, year 499, Emperor Tang is getting old, the fourth prince is crowned as the Crown Prince...]

[Black Snake Sect inner report: Giant Frog Marsh, year 519, to ensure the stability of the dynasty, Emperor Tang rules all over the country with ’Giant Frog’. Black Snake Sect Master dies, three of the top guardians also die, and the Black Snake Sect comes to its end...]

...

It took Ye Hanjun some time to go through all the scrolls.

They recorded events from the past, ranging from years 150 to 530 of the Giant Frog Dynasty. All the messages were about significant events, not minor ones.

This roughly marked the turning points of prosperity and decline for the dynasty.

The Giant Frog Dynasty was at its peak due to Emperor Tang Hao.

After his death, the fourth prince who was originally made the Crown Prince "suddenly" died. Many princes and princesses started fighting for the throne, which resulted in many deaths, with only three factions eventually profiting.