Following last night's unexpected event, the Snow Empress's attitude towards Shu Yan today seemed to instantly revert to when they first met, cold and distant, leaving Shu Yan feeling somewhat at a loss for a moment.
Of course, if the Snow Empress's earlobes, hidden beneath her hair, hadn't been slightly red, everything would have seemed a bit more convincing.
The Snow Empress watched Shu Yan's back from behind, her gaze slightly complex. To be honest, after she came to her senses last night, aside from feeling a bit annoyed, she didn't feel any other discomfort. It was just that inexplicable and unclear strange feeling in her heart that made her restless. But the moment she saw Shu Yan, this feeling instantly disappeared completely...
Shu Yan constantly felt a faint gaze staring at his back. He could guess who it was, but he didn't know how to strike up a conversation. The two of them were like this, both having things they wanted to say, but neither was willing to speak first.
...
Close to noon, Xu Jiujiu finally returned from the Royal Palace, a hint of fatigue on her face. But upon seeing Shu Yan, she quickly smiled. She leaned into Shu Yan's embrace, rubbed against him lightly, and then said:
"Everything you need is in the dark dungeon. Senior Suixing sealed their spirit power, and incidentally, I also told my Imperial Brother about us going to the Star Dou Great Forest. He couldn't argue with me and finally agreed."
Shu Yan kissed Xu Jiujiu's forehead and said softly:
"You've worked hard, Jiu Jiu."
Xu Jiujiu hummed softly. She looked at Shu Yan's lips and swallowed, clearly not satisfied with Shu Yan only kissing her forehead once. She liked the feeling of their mouths mingling, but since there were "outsiders" nearby, Xu Jiujiu had to forcibly restrain herself.
The Ice Empress slightly pursed her lips as she watched the two being affectionate, then tugged on the Snow Empress's hand and said with anticipation:
"Xue Er, can we..."
"Don't think about it, no."
Alright, the Ice Empress knew this would be the result. The Snow Empress could accept intimate hugs and cuddles like girlfriends, but wanting to go further would definitely be strictly rejected, with no hope of breaking through at all.
On the other side, the Snow Empress watched Shu Yan being affectionate with Xu Jiujiu in his arms as if no one else was around, and suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.
She coldly snorted, instantly waking up the still-sweet Xu Jiujiu. After coming to her senses, Xu Jiujiu quickly broke free from Shu Yan's embrace, her blushing face slightly charming and shy. She was so focused on being shy that she naturally didn't pay much attention to the Snow Empress's somewhat strange expression.
"Now is not the time for you to be affectionate. Go do what needs to be done first."
The Snow Empress said in a deep voice.
Shu Yan lightly coughed, then said:
"Alright, since everything is ready, go fetch those guys. We'll depart immediately."
Xu Jiujiu also nodded repeatedly, then took the three of them to the Star Luo Empire's death row. After the Snow Empress froze all the Evil Soul Masters, they were placed into a storage spirit tool.
In this era, finding Evil Soul Masters is not difficult. Xu Jiujiu simply sent people to a remote village a few hundred kilometers outside Star Luo City and spread the word that a genius with an innate Evil Martial Soul and innate spirit power as high as rank eight had been born there.
These guys appeared that very night. Just as they were preparing to slaughter the village and search for the person, the Imperial family's dark guards attacked decisively.
After killing a few, they apprehended this small group of Evil Soul Masters. Only after completely sealing their spirit power and Martial Souls were they brought into Star Luo City.
Xu Jiujiu did not bring Star Cloud Douluo with her on this trip, and also refused Senior Suixing's kind offer to provide protection. Although the two Title Douluo were worried, looking at the Ice and Snow Two Emperors... well, alright, they didn't really want to go anyway.
After all, standing beside these two truly gave them a feeling of trepidation. Since they weren't needed, it was better for them not to force themselves into the situation, lest those two become displeased and severely beat them.
...
The journey to the Star Dou Great Forest was not too far. The Star Luo Empire is generally located in the southeast of the Continent, and a long section of its border is adjacent to the sea, which results in a relatively mild and humid climate in most areas of the country. A large part of the world-famous Star Dou Great Forest is also located within the territory of the Star Luo Empire.
And after ten thousand years of evolution, the former Star Dou Great Forest has shrunk considerably. Large areas of the periphery have been encroached upon by the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms, and the total area of the Star Dou Great Forest is shrinking day by day. This is a fact, and also a concrete manifestation of the contradiction between humans and Spirit Beasts.
At the speed of the Ice and Snow Two Emperors, even with Shu Yan and the other person, the four of them still arrived at the periphery of the Star Dou Great Forest by dawn on the second day.
In the lush forest, ancient trees reached for the sky, and vines hung down from the treetops, coiling around the branches and trunks of the trees. The chirping sounds were incessant, and a rich life force was steaming.
This was a vast and prosperous forest, and also one of the most feared forbidden zones for humans. But for the strong, this forest also held countless opportunities and even treasures.
It seemed to have just rained, and the ground in the forest was still somewhat damp and muddy. The Snow Empress landed the three of them on the periphery, her brows slightly furrowed, her gaze looking towards the depths, seemingly sensing something.
"Do what you want to do quickly. I just seemed to sense the aura of that guy Di Tian. This is not the Extreme North Land. Facing him, I can only barely contend for a period of time, not to mention that those guys below Di Tian are also extremely difficult to deal with."
The Snow Empress said indifferently, standing on a large rock.
Shu Yan had said earlier that there was no need to enter the core area, and staying on the periphery was sufficient. She naturally didn't bother to go deeper. The deeper they went, the more dangerous it was. Not being in the Extreme North Land, the gap in combat strength between her and Di Tian was greatly widened, and she didn't want to take deep risks.
The Ice Empress and Xu Jiujiu moved back slightly. A silver light flowed in Shu Yan's hand. The next moment, the rank eight spirit tool, Yinming's Fall, slowly rose into the air. The silver-white metal was a bit dazzling under the sunlight. The other three also slightly squinted their eyes and watched this scene, wondering what Shu Yan would do next.
After Yinming's Fall rose to a certain height, Shu Yan's palm slightly flipped. The next moment, those Evil Soul Masters who had lost consciousness appeared on the ground.
There were about twenty or so of these Evil Soul Masters. The one with the highest spirit power level reached the Spirit King stage, and the one with the lowest strength also had the cultivation of a Great Soul Master.
The combat strength of Evil Soul Masters is generally far higher than that of ordinary Soul Masters. These guys usually resided in deep mountains and forests. The Star Luo Empire hated them to the core. This time, they were lured out by pretending there was a "Evil Soul Master genius", which could also be considered eliminating harm for the people.
A hint of sky-blue light flashed in Shu Yan's eyes. The next moment, countless sharp ice spikes suddenly rose from the ground. Blood splattered, and severed limbs were scattered on the ground. These Evil Soul Masters lost their lives while conscious.
The strong smell of blood drifted into the distance with the breeze. Xu Jiujiu watched this scene, her face slightly pale, and gently turned her head away, no longer looking at it.
The Snow Empress and the Ice Empress just watched this scene quietly, as if watching a play, with no emotional changes at all, just curious about what Shu Yan would do next...