That night, the sky was clear, the full moon hung high, and a gentle breeze drifted in from afar. Gradually, Star Luo City settled into tranquility. The lights across countless households slowly dimmed. Bathed in soft moonlight, the entire city was steeped in a serene beauty.
In the rear courtyard pavilion of the Princess's Residence, Shu Yan sat opposite the two Empresses of Ice and Snow. Their conversation drifted softly with the breeze, like falling petals silent and ephemeral.
From his soul tool, Shu Yan retrieved the Grade-6 Soul Tool. After being stored for several days, the frigid yin energy within the Soul-Eater Engraving Knife had already begun to erode the artifact. Even Shu Yan's storage ring had shown faint signs of being affected.
Xue Di (Snow Empress) was dressed in loose white robes, her long white hair cascading casually down her back. Her graceful and ethereal figure could be vaguely discerned beneath the flowing fabric—this kind of subtle allure was often the most lethal.
Seeing Shu Yan begin to act, Xue Di stretched lazily before smiling lightly and asking:
"Starting now?"
Shu Yan nodded and reminded them again:
"No matter what, it's better to be cautious. Purifying the Soul-Eater Engraving Knife would typically require powerful light-element energy or a unique purification ability. The knife itself is far from ordinary—and on top of that, the evil soul master who owned it embedded curses and resentment directly into the Life Gold. After a millennium of evolution, no one knows what it has become."
Hearing this, Bing Di (Ice Empress) grumbled from the side:
"Hey! Little Shu, are you saying you don't trust Xue'er? Xue'er is one of the top-tier powerhouses in the world right now. If even she can't handle it, there probably aren't many others across the entire Douluo Plane who could help you. You've gotta have faith in her, got it?"
Shu Yan glanced casually at Bing Di and replied:
"Of course I trust Sister Xue. It's you I'm concerned about. Honestly, you might as well help her too. Ice element doesn't inherently possess purification qualities, but with the two of you working together, it should be more secure."
Puffing her chest out proudly, Bing Di wrapped her arms around Xue Di and said:
"Obviously! Xue'er already analyzed the situation with me. No matter how powerful the soul curse inside this thing is, to us it's still just a minor threat—easily wiped out. Whether we have purification powers or not doesn't matter. If nothing else, we'll just brute-force it with soul power. No way this thing can resist."
Shu Yan chuckled, then stepped aside to give them more space.
As the Soul-Eater Engraving Knife slowly floated into the air, it unleashed a surge of cyan light even more violent and chilling than before. One could almost faintly hear eerie ghostly wails—harrowing and bone-chilling.
Xue Di let out a cold snort. The aura around her shifted dramatically, a power beyond imagination rising from her body. At the same time, a massive soul power barrier enveloped the entire Princess's Residence, sealing away the surging energy. On the distant city walls, the three Title Douluo—Fragment Star, Sky Fiend, and Nebula—stood guard, pouring soul power into the barrier. Though they had been summoned on short notice, their expressions were solemn, not a trace of complaint in their hearts. Even if they didn't know what the three inside were up to, just from this setup, it was clear this was no ordinary matter.
In the next moment, two streams of extreme-cold soul power surged forth simultaneously, completely suppressing the cyan light of the Soul-Eater Engraving Knife. The two streams of power began to merge and then flowed directly into the blade.
Visibly, the cyan aura enveloping the knife began to dim, replaced by a pure, icy-blue glow. Wisps of dark, cyan mist and corrupted energy began to evaporate from the knife. The ghostly wails grew more intense and frenzied—as if the final screams of something resisting annihilation. These sounds alone would be enough to shatter the minds of any Soul Sect or Soul King, allowing their will to be corrupted. It was a stark reminder of just how terrifying the remnant soul within the knife truly was.
Xue Di furrowed her brows slightly and said:
"Bing'er, there's something strange inside this knife. Let's first expel and annihilate the surface-level evil energy and that sliver of soul. We'll deal with the rest later."
Bing Di nodded. The two sisters intensified their soul power output. Dark winds howled around them. Shu Yan released his martial soul, the power of Ultimate Ice forming a natural protective layer. As the cyan mist engulfed the two Empresses, Shu Yan retreated a little farther.
Then—a pillar of blue light shot into the sky, piercing the clouds before quickly dissipating. The surrounding cyan mist began to clear, revealing the aftermath.
The pavilion was now completely destroyed. A thin layer of ice covered the pond's surface, and all nearby vegetation had withered. Amid the ruins, Xue Di stood holding the Soul-Eater Engraving Knife, now mostly free from its sinister aura. Her expression, however, remained grave. Beside her, Bing Di stared at the unremarkable-looking knife, a trace of hesitation and shock in her eyes.
Shu Yan approached slowly and asked softly:
"Judging by your expressions… is something wrong?"
Xue Di came back to her senses and shook her head before handing the knife to Shu Yan.
"All went smoothly. The soul remnant and evil energy within this blade were immensely powerful. For an ordinary person, simply touching it would invite corruption, let alone purifying it. From what Bing'er and I can tell, that energy and soul have been thoroughly dispersed. If you break the outer shell, formed from a special material, it should return to its original state."
Shu Yan, catching the subtle shift in her tone, pondered for a moment before asking:
"There's something odd still hidden within the knife, isn't there?"
Xue Di and Bing Di exchanged glances, then nodded in unison.
"Just as you said," Xue Di replied, "ice elements don't possess innate purification abilities. That sliver of soul and evil energy has dwelled in this blade for thousands of years—it's deeply rooted. Bing'er and I were only able to eliminate most of it; we couldn't reach its core. Forcibly driving it out with soul power would likely destroy the artifact itself. So, my advice is to find a powerful soul master with light or purification abilities to complete the final cleansing. That would be the safest method."
After a pause, Xue Di added:
"But you don't need to worry about the knife affecting you anymore. I've implanted a Seed of Extreme Ice into it, suppressing the remaining evil and remnant soul deep within. Also, I must admit… this item is indeed a peerless treasure, truly rare in the world."
As she spoke, both Empresses turned their gaze toward the Soul-Eater Engraving Knife in Shu Yan's hand.
Under the moonlight, the previously dull shell of the Soul-Eater Knife quietly crumbled away. The black mists that had once clung to its form completely vanished. In their place, a soft, gentle cyan glow began to radiate—no longer cold and terrifying, but serene like flowing water. Bathed in its light, the nearby flowers and grass slowly revived. In mere moments, blossoms once again adorned the branches, and verdant grass spread across the earth…