Chapter 291

Chapter 291: The Clan’s Contract

With the disappearance of the Thunder Phoenix, the dense Demonic Energy around Heaven’s Sacred Mountain finally began to fade. The half-opened seal to the Demon Realm gradually closed, and the nearly formed Passage vanished completely.

Yuan Qi and the Feng Clan worked together to fully repair the seal, reinforcing it multiple times before relaxing. Though lingering Demonic Energy remained, they spent another half-month dispersing it all. Learning from this crisis, they stationed several Feng Clan members alongside Zhen Yan Sect Disciples to guard the area before returning to the Sect.

While the danger had passed, new questions arose—chief among them being You You’s sudden Contract with the entire Feng Clan.

“I really don’t know how this happened!” Even You You herself looked baffled, eyeing the contract marks on everyone’s foreheads guiltily. “I only wanted to stop everyone from being dragged into the Demon Realm, so I activated Feng Rong’s contract mark. I thought maybe the Feng Clan’s Bloodline connection could pull everyone back. I never imagined…”

Feng Rong glared at her, face flushed, looking torn between anger and sulking.

*Liar… You promised no more contracts. Now it’s not just one—it’s the whole Clan!!*

“But I didn’t use any Contract spellcasting!” You You protested, scratching her head. “I checked repeatedly at Heaven’s Sacred Mountain. I didn’t activate Transfer of Power skills or send energy to anyone. Why did these marks appear?”

“It might be tied to Feng Rong,” Yuan Qi interjected thoughtfully.

“Me?” Feng Rong frowned. “Contract marks only appear on a celestial maiden’s Followers. I can’t form Contracts!”

“Not that.” Yuan Qi stepped forward. “Feng Rong, you once mentioned carrying the Feng Clan’s clan order since your original spirit awakened.”

“Yes,” Feng Rong nodded. “Because of it, my legacy was incomplete. I didn’t even know about the Clan sleeping in the Sacred Tree space until later.”

“Clan order? What clan order?” Wind Qing blurted, startled.

“The order compelled me to awaken the Clan at all costs,” Feng Rong explained.

“Impossible!” The Feng Clan members exchanged uneasy glances. “Only the Feng King can issue clan orders. How could one be placed on you?”

“Why not?” You You and Feng Rong asked in unison.

Rong Mu spoke gravely, “Sect Master, when our Clan fell into crisis, we hastily entered the Sacred Tree space to sleep. We couldn’t even safeguard the unhatched in the Nirvana Realm. Feng Er’s survival alone was a miracle. The Feng King couldn’t have known of his existence—let alone placed an order on him.”

You You froze. Right—the Feng King and Phoenix Empress had been asleep long before Feng Rong hatched.

“Feng Rong, is the clan order still there?” she pressed.

“It vanished after the Clan awoke,” he admitted grimly.

“Exactly,” Yuan Qi said. “That ‘order’ wasn’t from the Feng Clan. Someone else planted it to link you to the Sacred Tree space. It wasn’t a clan order at all.”

Feng Rong paled. “Then what was it?”

“Think back,” Yuan Qi urged. “What happened when You You first Contracted you?”

Feng Rong’s eyes widened. “You mean…”

“That’s when she Contracted the entire Clan,” Yuan Qi confirmed. “The false ‘order’ connected your power to the others. Contracting thousands at once is why You You collapsed afterward.”

Feng Rong remembered—after their Contract, vitality had returned to the Sacred Tree space’s eggs. They’d credited the Yin volume, but now…

“It was You You’s power,” Yuan Qi continued. “Even the ‘heaven’ scroll’s feedback in the Sect worked because you were nearby, channeling energy through that link.”

“Then why did the marks only appear now?” You You asked.

“Your initial Contract was incomplete,” Yuan Qi explained. “The Clan’s power came indirectly through Feng Rong. Only when you actively used your ability this time did the Contracts finalize.”

Feng Rong: “…”

*So I helped create my own rivals?* He slumped, utterly defeated.

“Well… everyone’s safe,” You You offered weakly. If the Feng Clan had fully fallen to the Demon Realm, the Three Realms would’ve faced catastrophe.

As for Long Ting—after scheming so hard to awaken the Feng Clan, only to fail at the final moment? One could only guess how vast the shadow of his scheme loomed in his mind now.