Chapter 339: Dark Little Beast

"Not good!" Lin Yifan's dying soul surged.

The Dawn Sword in his hand swiftly blocked before his eyes.

"Boom!"

A transparent shockwave collided head‑on with Lin Yifan's thrusting Dawn Sword, erupting an unprecedented scorching white light.

But even so, the massive pressure still made Lin Yifan feel an unprecedented threat of death.

And the Lingling in his arms let out a desperate shriek!

At this hair‑trigger moment.

Buzz!

On Lin Yifan's left wrist, the Bloodsucking Vine bracelet, searing like a branding iron and nearly burning through his wrist, suddenly burst its dark‑gold pattern into a dazzling black‑red glare!

It was no longer simple fear or bloodlust, but a fully enraged, primal, dark‑originated ferocious will!

"Roar!"

A roar not born of physical sound, yet echoing deep within Lin Yifan and the little beast's souls—a howl brimming with endless violence and destructive desire—burst forth from the bracelet!

Swoosh!

A black‑red energy beam, refined to the extreme, like a demonic spear thrust from the Nine‑Depth Hell, bearing a soul‑rending screech, arrived before it was launched, smashing into the invisible "Devouring Point" before Lin Yifan's chest!

Boom—

There was no earth‑shaking explosion, only a muffled thud so heavy it seemed to stop the heart, as if space itself were being torn.

The black‑red and silver‑blue energies collided with a thunderous clash just inches from Lin Yifan's chest.

No shockwave spread; all stray energy was tightly bound and extinguished within a fraction of an inch by the invisible "Devouring Point" and the Bloodsucking Vine's ferocious dark power!

Lin Yifan felt his body as if squeezed between two mountains colliding with a thunderous impact.

The terrifying pressure and soul‑rending sensation blackened his vision, and blood spurted wildly from his mouth and nose.

His body, like a torn sack, was hurled violently and slammed heavily against the cavern wall behind, which was studded with spirit crystals.

A few crisp "crack" sounds rang out, breaking an unknown number of bones,

"Squeak!" Lingling was also flung out, colliding with a cluster of spirit crystals on the opposite side, emitting a painful wail.

The dark little beast was likewise shaken by this terrifying opposing force, rolling backward, its four claws carving deep marks into the hard spirit‑crystal ground.

The silver star‑map pattern flowing over its body flickered violently, and the rotating star‑vortex eyes showed a noticeable fluctuation for the first time.

Its gaze had always been cold and hollow, but at this moment it carried a hint of… astonishment!

And an offended anger!

It clearly hadn't expected that this seemingly frail Human concealed something capable of directly confronting its "devouring" power.

Moreover, that power bore a dark aura, primal and ferocious, which its instinct despised yet faintly craved.

The cavern fell into dead silence, only the lingering ash of extinguished energy, carrying a charred smell, drifting through the air.

Lin Yifan collapsed against the cavern wall, darkness flashing before his eyes, each breath tasting of iron rust, excruciating pain surging like a tide against his nerves.

He struggled to raise his left hand; the Bloodsucking Vine bracelet's temperature had slightly dropped, yet its dark‑gold pattern still flowed like molten lava, conveying a ferocious pride from having repelled a strong foe, and a deeper, greedy yearning for that dark little beast.

It wanted to devour the other, or be devoured, either way seeming to allow it to "evolve"!

"Cough…"

Lin Yifan coughed up clotted blood, gazing at the beast that had steadied itself, its star‑vortex eyes locked onto the Bloodsucking Vine bracelet.

Fear still lingered, but an extremely faint sense of connection surfaced in the deathly silence after the life‑and‑death clash, like a stray thread.

It is a contract!

Earlier, in his desperation, he poured spirit power to attempt communication; though the attack interrupted him, a sliver of extremely faint mental imprint seemed to have been forcibly imprinted during the instant their forces collided.

Or perhaps, when the Bloodsucking Vine's dark power collided with the beast's void‑annihilation force, some resonance arose?

He could not be sure.

But this might be the only chance of survival!

"Listen!" Lin Yifan forced a breath, using all his will, mixing spirit power with primal energy, reconsolidating it into a faint yet clear intent, following that barely‑there link, and thrusting it hard toward the dark little beast's consciousness core,

The intent contained no aggression, only the purest message and the strongest will to survive:

"Stop! Fighting will only summon more terrifying beings! Outside there are monsters that can destroy everything."

"This skeletal shelter protects your slumber; it is not your food! We can coexist, I have the power you need, you also have the power I need, together we can survive. I am willing to sign an equal contract with you, and will never treat you as a slave."

As the intent was sent, Lin Yifan gritted his teeth against soul‑rending pain, attaching a strand of relatively calm spirit power, sourced from his own soul rather than the Bloodsucking Vine, gently onto the intent like the most fragile olive branch, offering it forward.

The dark little beast's movement halted again.

It tilted its head, covered with flowing star‑map patterns, its star‑vortex eyes fixed on Lin Yifan's wrist, then slowly shifted toward his blood‑stained yet unyielding face.

The ferocious killing intent and devouring desire seemed temporarily replaced by a more primal "confusion."

It was born in an ancient land where void and guardianship intertwine; devouring is its instinct, yet the aura of the guarding skeleton gives it a trace of lingering warmth.

This creature before it, fragile yet harboring a dark power that both threatens and tempts it, also issued a strange "connection" request.

Time seemed to freeze again, each second stretching like a century.

Just as Lin Yifan felt his spirit power waning, the thread of connection about to snap,

Buzz…

The silver star‑map pattern racing across the dark little beast's body dimmed slightly.

It did not launch another attack, but instead, with a scrutinizing demeanor, took a small step forward.

Those rotating star‑vortex eyes, like the most precise instruments, scanned Lin Yifan, scanned the bracelet on his wrist, and scanned the faint yet resilient spirit power he had transmitted, belonging to his own soul.

It seemed to… assess?

Lin Yifan's heart rose to his throat, daring not to move an inch, merely exerting all his strength to maintain that fragile mental link, conveying a plea for "coexistence" and "contract."

Finally, the beast's throat emitted another incomprehensible gurgle. The rotation speed of the star‑vortex in its eyes seemed to slow slightly, and the pure sense of annihilation waned.

It took another step forward, less than three meters from Lin Yifan.

It slowly lowered its head, no longer looking at Lin Yifan, but instead gently… tentatively brushed its nose tip against the faint spiritual energy that Lin Yifan extended, a thread originating from his own soul.

Boom!

At the very moment of contact!

Lin Yifan's entire spiritual world seemed to be hurled into a star.

Countless shattered, cold, vast images of starry birth-and-death scenes flooded his consciousness like a breached dam.

It was a chaotic imprint from the depths of the little beast's soul, belonging to the ancient starry sky.

At the same time, a cold and massive will, following this spiritual link, surged back recklessly, aiming to imprint itself deep within his soul.