Chapter 603: Symbiosis
When a soulbeast and soul cultivator contracted with one another, they would both be able to communicate their thoughts with one another. They became partners that trained and fought together. To lend the other a helping hand that was always reliable, like family.
Soul contracts, as it were, had varying ‘degrees’ of separations as well.
Though a soul contract normally had both partners being able to communicate their thoughts with one another, there were always a few people with differing ideas. They could in a way be considered to be ‘selfish’ and would not be willing to fully bare their souls to the other. In this case, it could be said to be an example of their personal character or nature.
The cooperation between a contracted soulbeast and soul cultivator had always been a process many people documented heavily. But if there was one thing everyone could agree about, it was that the ‘relationship’ between the two would have a deeper bond if their relationship was better.
And thus why there was a type of ‘soul compatibility’ between the two parties of a soul contract.
The most basic of soul contracts normally had both parties being able to roughly sense the emotions or thoughts of the other party. This type of depth was normally seen in those who forced a soul contract.
Better ones only needed a look or word between the two for their thoughts to be understood by the other. Soul contracts that were even better than that could have a connection between the two so that both parties could essentially communicate with their minds. This was a method of communication that relied on emotion and thought.
The ability to be able to infer said thoughts between the unfiltered minds of the other party was an extremely rare feat that required a very deep bond with one another. Soulbeasts and soul cultivators of this type would require a great deal of time before they could manage this.
And above this was practically just shy of the pinnacle of what soul contracts could attain. When the ‘soul compatibility’ reached an extremely high level, an especially rare connection would be made.
This connection is known as….Symbiosis!!
A feat like this was essentially beyond the scope of a ‘soul contract’. Not only would the souls of both parties be linked together, their very ‘lives’ would be joined together!
In the case one party was close to death, they could potentially survive by borrowing the ‘vitality’ of the other party….they would in nature be sharing lifeforce!
It was something that was only talked about in legends, but it was actually taking place today between Bai Yunfei and Xiao Qi!
When Bai Yunfei was in extreme danger, he had managed to get in contact with Xiao Qi’s vitality and was able to continue ‘fighting’ for his life!
For the sake of argumentation, if Xiao Qi didn’t share its vitality with Bai Yunfei, there was still a chance Bai Yunfei would’ve survived, albeit there’d definitely be plenty of dangers that might take place. But with Xiao Qi making the breakthrough to become a class seven, its soulforce had exploded exponentially almost and affected the bond between it and Bai Yunfei largely enough for ‘Symbiosis’ to take place between the two. No hesitation was to be had as Xiao Qi shared its vitality with Bai Yunfei, meaning Bai Yunfei was able to heal with an extremely decreased chance of any danger befalling him. And not only that, the near-fatal wounds he had all over his body was starting to regenerate over itself at astonishing speeds!
But this came at a price. Even if Xiao Qi had only just became a class seven, it’d go into a weak state after this event was done. And the price of helping Bai Yunfei through this crisis may or may not affect his future cultivation….
……
Wrapped in a layer of elemental fire as he floated in the air, Bai Yunfei could be seen quickly recovering inside of it while everyone gathered around him in shock.
“Symbiosis….so this really is Symbiosis…..such a thing like this existed?” Wu Dijian sighed when he looked at Xiao Qi, “It had the chance to keep going, but it gave up the chance of becoming a mid-stage class seven to feed that energy into saving Bai Yunfei…..”
“I wonder….” Wu Dijian sighed to himself, “What kind of bond do they have for such an act to take place between them?”
As Bai Yunfei was undergoing this turn for the better, the skies above Xiao Qi came to a sudden halt along with the energy in Xiao Qi. Its soulforce stopped rising for a moment before starting to drip downwards as if being drained away. Even the whirlpool around Xiao Qi was slowly starting to dissipate now.
The giant whirlpool rotated several revolutions longer before it fully scattered apart, redepositing the elemental energy inside of it back into the world for it to disappear.
The four rays of elemental energy dimmed in light before ultimately disappearing away into the world. That left Xiao Qi’s folded figure still up in the air with its aura slowly calming into a lull, its breathing somehow conforming with Bai Yunfei’s.
Not at all understanding what Symbiosis was, Zheng Kai worriedly stared at Bai Yunfei first before asking his uncle, “Uncle, how is Yunfei now? Aren’t you going to keep on healing him? He’s….”
Zheng Shisong shook his head before looking at Bai Yunfei strangely, “There’s no need anymore. He’s no longer in danger. What a completely surprising recovery—I’m sure that he’ll just need some time before he’s back to normal now.”
“Really?” Zheng Kai’s face brightened in relief, “That’s good….”
In his short time with Bai Yunfei, Zheng Kai had already felt like Bai Yunfei was a proper and true friend of his. The fact that Bai Yunfei was so injured now made him worried and regretful that he couldn’t himself help Bai Yunfei. So it was fortunate that Bai Yunfei was safe now, else Zheng Kai wouldn’t have been able to live with himself.
……
It took another half hour before everyone heard Xiao Qi trill again, this time a little more quiet. Unfolding its wings as if coming out from a cocoon again, the bird had a faint shimmer of light exude from it. The light was comparatively weaker than before. Beating its wings, Xiao Qi dove down to return to Bai Yunfei’s side.
At that moment, Bai Yunfei’s body was still surrounded by a rich wave of elemental fire. It flickered softly as Xiao Qi approached and then was reabsorbed back into Bai Yunfei’s body through his pores. In a flash, Zheng Shisong caught Bai Yunfei in a bubble of elemental water to keep him suspended in air.
Zheng Shisong’s right hand pressed against Bai Yunfei’s chest, his eyes concentrating for a moment to diagnose Bai Yunfei’s current state. “He’s fine. He’s healed far more in this one hour than I would’ve been able to do in ten. All his ruptured arteries and veins are back to normal and his soul doesn’t seem any more injured than what it was before. Right now, it’s his physical wounds on his flesh that are the worst. His elemental fire practically scorched most of it before, so recovery should be slightly slower in that regard. But other than that, he doesn’t seem like he’ll be in anyway impacted in the future.”
Bai Yunfei’s condition was stabilized, and Xiao Qi’s condition was also far better than before. It didn’t take long before the permafrost mastiff finish its initial healing and come over to Xiao Qi to stand protectively over Bai Yunfei.
By now, the skies was already very dark, and after some consideration and Zhang Mo’s initiative, they all returned to his mansion to rest for the night. They would return to the Capital the next day even if Bai Yunfei was still unconscious.
As such, Bai Yunfei’s affairs in Baishan City was at a end, and Bai Yunfei had escaped from yet another crisis. But this time, another problem had opened itself up to potentially trouble him even more in the future….