A dense, bone-chilling aura suddenly burst forth from the carving knife. An intense green light instantly lit up the entire hall. A cold wind howled, sounding like countless lonely ghosts and spirits screaming right beside them, and a heavy sense of gloom enveloped the room.
Xu Jiujiu let out a muffled groan of discomfort. She made a startling discovery: this chilling energy was almost everywhere. In an instant, a small amount bypassed her external Spirit Power defense and seeped into her body.
The Snow Empress looked at the green light on the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife and quickly understood what was happening. She then waved her hand, and the aura of a peerless monster beast erupted, instantly and completely suppressing the pressure coming from the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife. After trembling a few times, the blade's core returned to stillness.
While the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife itself was extremely dangerous, its threat was insignificant when facing monster beasts of this caliber. They were completely incomparable; the two were simply not on the same level.
Waiting for the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife to fully calm down, the Ice Empress turned to the Snow Empress and asked curiously, "Xue'er, what did you see?"
The Snow Empress gently rubbed the rim of her teacup. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "The Evil Soul Master who created this carving knife did indeed leave a trace of his soul inside it.
This fragment of a soul has continuously grown by absorbing the Spirit Power and life energy of its former owners. Anyone who uses this carving knife will be affected by that soul fragment. People with unstable minds will be influenced by it and eventually fall into darkness and evil. In short, this carving knife truly lives up to its vicious reputation."
She paused, then continued, "But after a deep analysis with my mental power, I found something slightly different beneath this chilling surface. That familiar energy reaction seems like... life energy?"
Shu Yan lifted his eyes slightly. He wasn't surprised that the Snow Empress could identify some of the mysteries within the knife. After all, she possessed mental power at the Limit Douluo level. It would have been truly illogical if she couldn't discover anything at all.
The Ice Empress scratched her head and stared at the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife for a while longer but still couldn't find anything unusual. The only difference was that strange sensation in her heart.
Shu Yan reached out and closed the jade box. Then he said softly, "Xue Jie didn't sense incorrectly. This carving knife is forged from a unique metal called Living Gold. The life energy it contains is so vast it's nearly unimaginable."
Unfamiliar terms surfaced again. A hint of surprise appeared on the faces of the Snow Empress and the other two.
Xu Jiujiu tugged at Shu Yan's arm and asked curiously, "A Yan, what kind of metal is Living Gold? Why have I never heard of it?"
The Snow Empress and the Ice Empress also looked at him curiously, seemingly waiting for Shu Yan's explanation.
In response, Shu Yan simply shook his head gently and said, "You'll know later. For now, you just need to know that this is a treasure that ranks among the top on the entire Plane. It's only undervalued right now because of its ominous reputation. With this, even if you wanted to die, it would likely be difficult."
The Ice Empress was stunned upon hearing this, then she suddenly slammed the table and jumped to her feet, her eyes glowing. "Vast life energy! Isn't that exactly what Xue'er and I need? If we have enough life energy, let alone getting through this Heavenly Tribulation, even the next one, or the one after that, this Empress and Xue'er can be perfectly safe!"
The moment she spoke, the Ice Empress immediately realized she had said the wrong thing.
She and the Snow Empress had already sworn the Icy Snow Great Oath with Shu Yan, and they were all working toward a single shared goal. For her to speak like that now, even though it wasn't openly betraying their agreement, if Shu Yan dwelled on it, any attempt she made to explain herself would seem weak and ridiculous.
Regret surged in the Ice Empress's heart. She somewhat hated herself for letting that extra sentence slip out. Now, she could only pray that Shu Yan wouldn't take her impulsive words to heart, or things would become truly difficult.
The expressions of the Snow Empress and Xu Jiujiu also changed slightly. The two looked at Shu Yan together. Unexpectedly, Shu Yan just smiled lightly and waved his hand, not seeming to mind the Ice Empress's words at all.
"What's the point of just getting through one Heavenly Tribulation after another?" Shu Yan asked. "Ten thousand years ago, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King gained a million years of cultivation by devouring power when he was only a little over 300,000 years old.
He even completed the Spirit Power armor transformation and was only a step away from becoming a true Sea God Dragon. But he just couldn't cross that final hurdle. Was it because his talent wasn't good enough, or because he didn't work hard enough?"
Seeing that none of them reacted, Shu Yan smiled and shook his head, then revealed the truth: "Neither. The Deep Sea Demon Whale King was truly an overlord of his generation. There is only one reason he couldn't become a god: the God Realm does not allow any Soul Beast to become a god. This is an iron rule of the God Realm.
The specific reason can be traced back to a monumental divine war a long, long time ago. The Plane suppresses both humans and Soul Beasts who reach their limits, and the suppression felt by Soul Beasts is far stronger than the one on humans. All of this is real. If you don't believe me, you can ask the Snow Empress."
After these words, the Ice Empress subconsciously looked at the Snow Empress. The Snow Empress's expression didn't change; she just sighed softly, then nodded.
Seeing this, the Ice Empress suddenly felt a bit dejected. She admitted with slight frustration, "I admit I was wrong. I won't say things like that again in the future. I was just used to thinking selfishly and got a little emotional for a moment. I'm sorry."
Looking at the Ice Empress's wronged expression, Shu Yan instinctively reached out and rubbed her head. He then said, "It's no big deal. I can understand your feelings. Adapting to a new reality takes time. Don't worry about it."
Feeling the unexpected touch on her head, the Ice Empress's mind instantly went blank, frozen solid. The Snow Empress's mouth twitched, and she seemed to turn her head away, unable to watch the awkwardness. Xu Jiujiu instantly clenched her fists, and a hint of clear jealousy appeared in her gaze toward Shu Yan, as if invisible flames were burning in her eyes.
Shu Yan's palm froze awkwardly in mid-air. He immediately realized just how reckless his action had been. Feeling the two burning gazes, Shu Yan suddenly felt the room had become incredibly stuffy. He simply swallowed hard, got up, and walked toward the door, saying along the way, "I suddenly remembered I still need to cultivate. You guys have fun, I'll be going first..."
But before he had walked two steps, a massive force suddenly struck him from behind, accompanied by the Ice Empress's voice, which seemed to be tempered with ice shards: "Going? Where else do you think you're going?"
"Shu Yan, your guts are truly getting bigger," she continued, her voice sharp. "How dare you touch this Empress's head? Do you really think this Empress is easy to bully? Heh heh, just for that little touch you gave me, this Empress is going to have a good 'practice' session with you today."
Shu Yan turned around, wanting to cry but having no tears. He knew perfectly well the Ice Empress wasn't going to practice with him; she was clearly seizing the chance to give him a brutal beating to satisfy her personal grudge. Was there any justice in this world?
Just as Shu Yan was mentally preparing to lie down and play dead, Xu Jiujiu suddenly spoke from behind him:
"Wait!"
Shu Yan's eyes lit up. He thought that Jiu Jiu definitely still cared about his well-being. But the very next moment, before his smile could fully form, Xu Jiujiu's words made him stiffen again.
"Sister Ice Empress, please feel free to practice with A Yan. There's no need to hold back. The Empire has Senior the Medical Immortal, the world's number one healing Soul Master. As long as he doesn't die, A Yan will absolutely be fine."
The Ice Empress gave Xu Jiujiu a bright smile, then said softly, "Don't worry, this Empress is a professional at training juniors. I guarantee Little Shu won't give a bad review."
Saying this, the Ice Empress forcefully dragged Shu Yan toward the combat practice field behind the Princess Manor. Shu Yan looked up at the ceiling, and for a moment, he only felt like his whole world had come crashing down.