About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Snow Empress finally finished examining the Fallen Shadow of the Nether Abyss. She used her soul power to levitate it and returned it to Shu Yan.
Shu Yan carefully stored it away, then sat down across from Snow Empress. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke:
"So, what do you think? This soul tool should rank among the finest of the so-called Grade 8.5 soul tools—it's only a step away from being a true Grade 9 masterpiece."
Snow Empress pursed her lips, and only after a long pause did she speak:
"Indeed. It is quite intricately crafted. However… its essence is tainted with the lingering resentment of the Titan Snow Demon's death. It's rather sinister in nature. As for its function… to be frank, even I cannot fully discern it."
Shu Yan chuckled and shook his head, then replied:
"You'll understand eventually. There's no rush. Tomorrow, a group of the most heinous evil soul masters will be escorted by the royal shadow guards. They'll be waiting outside Star Luo City. At that time, we'll head directly to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"The Star Dou Great Forest?"
Snow Empress's expression shifted slightly. She murmured in mild confusion, seemingly unable to understand why Shu Yan would want to go to such a place without cause.
Shu Yan casually picked up the teacup in front of him and drank it in one go. Then, he said slowly:
"Yes. I have to go. Everything I've done recently has been to prepare for a grand undertaking within the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Snow-jie, you should know that apart from the Douluo Plane, there are other realms, other worlds, right?"
Snow Empress gave a gentle nod and replied softly:
"A long time ago, when Di Tian visited the Extreme North, we talked about this topic. He once wanted to see what lay beyond the heavens. But in the end, he reached a shocking conclusion—when one reaches the limits of altitude, one is met with the suppression and restrictions of the plane itself, unable to advance even a step further. Di Tian once suspected that the Divine Realm was merely a higher-level plane attached to our own world… but unfortunately, no one could ever verify it."
"As for other worlds, I believe they do exist."
Shu Yan looked slightly surprised. He paused for a moment before speaking again:
"Snow-jie, then I'll just be straightforward. The reason I'm doing all of this is because I know… in the Star Dou Great Forest, a trace of divine soul from a powerful being of another world still lingers. In life, he was known as the Calamity of the Undead… the Sacred Death Magus."
"The… Sacred Death Magus?"
Snow Empress's long lashes fluttered slightly as she instinctively repeated Shu Yan's words.
Divine consciousness… Calamity of the Undead… Sacred Death Magus—these unfamiliar terms echoed in her mind. Her voice trembled as she asked:
"A remnant soul of a god?"
Shu Yan toyed with the white jade teacup in his hand and said with a light laugh:
"You could put it that way. He was a fascinating man… or rather, a human who simply refused to become a god."
Snow Empress lowered her gaze and fell into thought. Shu Yan didn't disturb her. After a long while, Snow Empress raised her head, her eyes filled with complicated emotion. She sighed softly and asked:
"You… just how many secrets do you know?"
For a moment, Shu Yan didn't know how to answer her question. But after some thought, he responded:
"Perhaps a lot… or not much at all. It's hard to say. But Snow-jie, you can feel it—I would never harm you all."
Snow Empress looked at Shu Yan for a moment before finally nodding. She stood up and said:
"The Star Dou Great Forest is Di Tian's territory. If you intend to pull off something big there without being detected, that's basically impossible. When the time comes, Bing'er and I will go with you—for your safety."
Shu Yan nodded in agreement. Snow Empress continued looking at him, an odd feeling growing in her heart, though it wasn't from the topic they'd just discussed. Her gaze swept over Shu Yan's entire figure… and eventually landed on the teacup he was playing with.
If she wasn't mistaken… hadn't Shu Yan just used that cup to drink water?
In an instant, Snow Empress felt a nameless surge of emotion boil up inside her. Her flawless, icy expression changed drastically. On closer look, a faint blush had crept onto her pale cheeks and delicate ears—even her neck was tinted with a rosy hue…
Shu Yan, noticing the rapid shift in Snow Empress's expression, was completely confused. But before he could say anything, the next moment—he and the teacup were flung straight into the nearby pond.
The cool water engulfed him instantly. Shu Yan choked and struggled before finally surfacing, only to hear a furious voice shout:
"You bastard!"
Shu Yan: "…???"
As he looked around in search of Snow Empress, he found that the backyard was already empty. Her figure was nowhere to be seen. Baffled, he scanned the area, then finally dragged himself out of the pond with some effort, coughing as he went. He truly had no idea what had just happened.
But the moment his gaze landed on the teapot sitting on the table, his entire body froze.
One teapot. One teacup. So the cup he just used to drink from…
He stiffly lowered his head, picked up the white jade teacup, and turned it slightly—sure enough, he found a faint red smudge on one side. It looked an awful lot like the lipstick he'd gifted to Snow Empress a while back…
At that thought, Shu Yan's hand began to tremble.
Holy crap… did he just use the cup Snow Empress drank from?
Shu Yan swallowed hard. A chill ran down his spine, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. In that instant, a terrifying realization struck him—didn't this mean he had indirectly taken advantage of Snow Empress?
And yet she didn't kill him on the spot. Shu Yan actually felt… lucky.
After standing frozen for a moment, Shu Yan gently set the white jade teacup back in place. Soaked to the bone under the moonlight, he bit the tip of his tongue to snap himself back to clarity, forcing his thoughts away as he staggered out of the backyard.
Elsewhere, in a quiet and secluded courtyard, the wooden door was flung open. Snow Empress rushed inside, and with a bang, slammed the door shut behind her. She leaned against it, her stunning face tinged with a soft blush. Her breathing was slightly erratic.
As the image of Shu Yan sipping from that teacup replayed in her mind, her lips and cheeks seemed to burn.
She… had somehow shared an intimate moment with Shu Yan?
Snow Empress dared not let her thoughts wander further. From the moment they met, their relationship had gradually changed—starting from aversion and conflict, to tolerance and understanding, and eventually to a friendship of sorts…
Time had shifted the nature of their bond more than she'd realized. By now, she even saw him as something like a younger brother. But tonight's accident…
She couldn't even begin to untangle her feelings. Her heart was a complete mess. As the last rays of sunlight dipped below the horizon, Snow Empress collapsed weakly onto the couch. Amid the storm of emotions, an unfamiliar and inexplicable sensation rose up within her.