261: Chapter 261 The Curse of the Innocent Alliance! I've Been Buried in an Eternal Debt by Heaven's Dao

The moment the virtual contract imprints lit up on everyone's wrist, the banquet hall fell into dead silence.

Golden Abacus looked down at the duplicate imprint on his own wrist, representing the "Universe Bank Lifetime Employment Contract." For the first time, a crack appeared in his expression. This contract contained all his authority passwords, asset keys, and even the binding clauses connecting him to the fundamental laws of the Narrative Layer—if Lin Chen wished, he could make Golden Abacus step down from his position as Chief President right now.

"Lin Chen," Golden Abacus's voice remained steady, but everyone detected a hint of tension, "do you know what you are doing?"

"Negotiating." Lin Chen surveyed the room. "Since everyone has leverage against each other, we might as well sit down and have a proper talk—about the Kindling Project, about debts, about... how to survive."

He clicked on his device, calling up a shared contract:

【Kindling Project Competition Consensus Agreement】

Article 1: The four competitors shall not attack each other during the bidding period. Violators will suffer contract backlash.

Article 2: All competitors shall share basic intelligence resources, including real-time data from their respective star domains.

Article 3: The final winner must evenly distribute 30% of the Kindling Project's profits to the other three.

Article 4: This agreement is mandatory. Violators will trigger default clauses in their core contracts.

The terms were simple, yet vicious.

Especially the third article—it essentially forced the winner to share thirty percent of the spoils with the losers.

"I disagree!" Qingyunzi was the first to roar in fury. "Why should I share—"

Before he could finish, the contract imprint on his wrist suddenly grew scalding hot.

It was his offering contract with the "Cultivation Era Heavenly Dao," now remotely activated into a default procedure by Lin Chen's device. The spiritual energy around Qingyunzi began to churn chaotically, and golden thunder patterns—punishment from the Heavenly Dao—emerged on the surface of his skin.

"You can disagree," Lin Chen said calmly. "And then be struck dead by the Heavenly Dao right now."

Qingyunzi's face turned ashen. He finally gritted his teeth. "...I'll sign."

He pressed his imprint.

Morgana was silent for a moment, her ice-blue eyes turning to Lin Chen. "Sharing intelligence is acceptable. But the state of my star domain involves core secrets of the Magic Era—"

"I'm not interested in secrets," Lin Chen interrupted. "I'm only interested in data. If your freezing technology can be applied to the Dead Silence Star Domain, I'm willing to pay for it."

Morgana thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "Deal."

She signed too.

As an AI Integration Entity, Alpha calculated the fastest. It simulated all possibilities within 0.03 seconds and concluded—the expected benefit of signing was higher than the risk.

"Protocol accepted," Alpha's voice was devoid of fluctuation. "But I require an additional clause: If one party dies during the bidding period, their share shall be equally divided among the survivors."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. "Agreed."

All four signed.

The moment the agreement took effect, four beams of light shot out from their respective wrists, intertwining in the air to form a contract network covering the entire hall. The network would backlash instantly against anyone who violated the terms.

Watching this scene, Golden Abacus suddenly laughed.

"The younger generation is indeed formidable." He applauded. "Using the most brutal method to achieve the most fragile balance. But have you considered—what if someone would rather perish together?"

"Then we perish together." Lin Chen looked at Qingyunzi. "Isn't that right, senior?"

Qingyunzi snorted coldly and didn't answer.

But just as everyone thought the situation had temporarily stabilized—

An anomaly suddenly occurred.

The contract imprint on Qingyunzi's wrist suddenly cracked.

It wasn't triggered by Lin Chen—it was collapsing from the inside out!

What flowed out of the cracked imprint wasn't spiritual energy, but a grayish-white, viscous liquid exuding an aura of decay! The liquid, as if alive, crawled up Qingyunzi's arm. Wherever it passed, his skin rapidly withered, aged, and finally turned into fragments like paper scraps!

"This is... the 'seed of the heavenly dao' of the Purity Alliance?!" Golden Abacus's expression drastically changed. "Qingyunzi! You actually dared to touch something like that!"

Qingyunzi himself was dumbfounded. "Impossible! I sealed it away three years ago inside..."

He didn't finish.

The liquid had already covered half his body.

He began to melt.

Not death, but a degradation of his state of existence—from a high-level cultivator, regressing into an ordinary living being, then into a single-celled organism, and finally into the most basic data code.

The entire process took only five seconds.

Five seconds later, Qingyunzi was gone.

In his place remained only a puddle of grayish-white liquid and a constantly rotating, illusory seed hovering in mid-air.

Characters were inscribed on the surface of the seed:

【Purity Alliance · Final Legacy: seed of the heavenly dao】

【Function: When planted in any star domain, it will force that domain into a 'Decivilization Process,' reverting to a primitive natural state】

【Planting Condition: Requires a cultivator's origin essence as fertilizer】

【Current Status: Activated, searching for planting target...】

The seed began to move.

It drifted towards the nearest star domain coordinates—that was the "Spiritual Energy Star Domain" originally assigned to Qingyunzi in the Kindling Project.

If it were planted there, the five hundred billion cultivator civilization of that star domain would degenerate into primitive tribes within twenty-four hours, with all cultivation techniques, magical treasures, and civilizational achievements rendered useless.

"Stop it!" Morgana was the first to act, her freezing laws transforming into a giant hand grabbing towards the seed.

But the moment the ice hand touched the seed, it directly melted—not from high temperature, but from 'Conceptual Erasure.' The seed was negating the very existence of the concept of "ice."

Alpha attempted data erosion, equally ineffective.

Golden Abacus utilized his bank authority, trying to restrain it with contract laws, but the seed passed directly through the contract chains—it was not bound by any existing rules.

Everyone was at a loss.

The seed was about to breach the banquet hall's spatial barrier and enter the cross-dimensional passageway.

At that moment, Lin Chen moved.

He did not attack the seed.

Instead, he opened the surveillance feed of the Dead Silence Star Domain and pulled up the data of the five hundred billion beings who had just regained their emotions.

Then, he did something that left everyone dumbfounded—

He sent a business cooperation invitation to the seed.

The invitation's content:

【To the Esteemed 'seed of the heavenly dao'】

【It has been detected that you are currently searching for a planting target. Our company's 'Dead Silence Star Domain' offers the following cooperation proposal:】

【1. Our company will provide you with planting grounds and bear all planting costs.】

【2. In return, you must allocate 50% of the 'Primordial Natural Energy' generated by the 'Decivilization Process' to our company.】

【3. Cooperation Term: Permanent】

【4. If agreed, please click the link below to sign the electronic contract.】

At the end of the invitation was attached a golden, shimmering electronic signature box.

The seed paused in mid-air.

It seemed... to be thinking.

"What are you doing?!" Golden Abacus exclaimed urgently. "That's something that can destroy civilizations!"

"That's precisely why we need to find a way to make it work for us." Lin Chen stared at the seed. "Since we can't destroy it, turn it into an employee. The Dead Silence Star Domain currently lacks 'natural energy' the most, and its function happens to produce exactly that kind of energy—a win-win."

The text on the seed's surface began to change:

【Analyzing proposal...】

【Detected target star domain status: Dead silence, Emotion Concentration 5.8, Civilization Integrity 47%】

【Planting Success Rate: 99.9%】

【Estimated Energy Output: Annual yield approximately thirty trillion units of natural energy】

【Profit Sharing: 50%】

【Sign?】

The seed hesitated for three seconds.

Then, it drifted to the signature box and "pressed" an imprint into the box with its own light.

The contract was established.

The seed transformed into a streak of light, shooting towards the Dead Silence Star Domain.

Thirty seconds later, the surveillance feed showed: The seed had taken root at the center of the star domain.

The grayish-white liquid began to spread. Wherever it passed, the newly established cities began to naturalize—steel turned into trees, circuits into vines, machinery into rock.

But eerily, this process did not destroy civilization.

Because Lin Chen had evacuated all beings to safe zones in advance.

The seed was merely transforming the environment.

Three hours later, the Dead Silence Star Domain was completely transformed.

The original dark void had now become dense primeval forests, rushing rivers, and towering mountain ranges. The air was filled with the purest natural spiritual energy.

And the seed itself, after completing the transformation, became a colossal tree reaching to the heavens, its canopy covering half the star domain. Contract terms appeared on its trunk:

【tree of heavenly dao · Lin Chen Star Domain Branch】

【Main Business: Production of Primordial Natural Energy】

【Annual Output: Thirty Trillion Units (Estimated)】

【Profit Sharing Ratio: Lin Chen Party 50%, Purity Alliance Legacy Foundation 50%】

【Special Note: This tree reserves the right of final interpretation】

Lin Chen immediately packaged this future production capacity of thirty trillion units into 【Natural Energy Futures Contracts】 and listed them for sale.

They were instantly sold out.

Pre-sale revenue: Ninety trillion dimension points.

Not only had he recouped his costs, but he also made a huge profit.

The hall fell silent once more.

Morgana looked at the surveillance feed and said softly, "You... turned a weapon of destruction into a money tree."

"The essence of business is transformation." Lin Chen closed the interface. "Now, Qingyunzi is dead, and his Spiritual Energy Star Domain is vacant. According to the Kindling Project rules, it should be filled by the lowest-ranked competitor—which is me."

He pulled up the Kindling Project backend.

Sure enough, the system prompted:

【Competitor Qingyunzi has died】

【His assigned 'Spiritual Energy Star Domain' has re-entered the allocation pool】

【Based on current rankings, it will be assigned to the fourth-place competitor, Lin Chen】

【You now possess two star domains: Dead Silence Star Domain (original), Spiritual Energy Star Domain (newly acquired)】

【48-hour countdown reset. Please simultaneously increase the civilization preservation rates of both star domains.】

Double the tasks.

Double the pressure.

But it also meant—if both star domains succeeded, Lin Chen's final score would be double that of the other competitors.

Golden Abacus looked deeply at Lin Chen. "I'm beginning to understand why Liuli can't forget you."

He turned and left, leaving a final sentence:

"Be careful of the other legacies of the Purity Alliance."

"They... have more than one seed."

The crowd in the banquet hall dispersed.

Just as Lin Chen was about to leave, an urgent alarm suddenly sounded from the contract device on his wrist.

Opening it, he saw it was from the Dead Silence Star Domain:

【Warning: Abnormal data stream detected deep within the roots of the 'tree of heavenly dao'】

【Data stream characteristics match: Purity Alliance Highest Authority Directive】

【Directive Content: When the tree's age reaches 24 hours, initiate 'Ultimate Purification'—erase all 'commercial concepts' within the star domain】

【Countdown: 23 hours 59 minutes】

Lin Chen's pupils constricted sharply.

So the seed signing the contract was a ruse.

Its true purpose was to plant an anti-commerce time bomb in the star domain!

And now, the bomb had started its countdown.