Later that evening, the Ice Empress leaned against an ancient tree. Watching Shuyan in his disheveled state, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Even the Snow Empress turned her head slightly, looking somewhat sympathetic. Truthfully, she had rarely seen Shuyan in such a sorry state—but today, she had seen more than enough.
Shuyan helplessly brushed the bits of grass from his hair and glanced at Xu Jiujiu, who had already returned to her usual gentle demeanor. The corner of his mouth twitched.
In front of him, Xu Jiujiu had always been a graceful older-sister figure—gentle yet slightly domineering. But when she was in a bad mood or jealous, the person Shuyan faced was no longer Xu Jiujiu the tender companion—it was the high and mighty imperial princess of the Star Luo Empire. And since she was also his wife, there wasn't much he could do about it.
Then again, if she bullied him during the day, he could simply "bully" her back tenfold at night. Shuyan took a rather open-minded view of such matters—after all, in the end, it was usually Xu Jiujiu who couldn't handle it…
…
This little episode did not affect the group's atmosphere. Shuyan reopened the map and pointed to a city circled in red in the northeastern region of the Heaven Soul Empire.
"Dragon City lies in the northeast of the Heaven Soul Empire. It's also the largest city in that region. From the map, it's clear that Dragon City isn't far from the Extreme North. The most famous sects there are the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Earth Dragon Sect.
"The Heavenly Dragon Sect is one of the top sects in the entire empire. Its sect master is a Titled Douluo. They're a branch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan from ten thousand years ago, inheriting the top-tier true dragon martial soul, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Their strength is… passable.
"As for the Earth Dragon Sect, it's not top-tier, but its sect master is still a Soul Douluo. Their core inherited martial soul is a very special dragon—the Rouge Dragon. It possesses a rare annihilation attribute, capable of breaking down an opponent's elemental abilities to achieve destructive effects.
"And the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave I mentioned is located within their sect."
The Ice Empress rubbed her hands excitedly, eyes gleaming.
"That's simple. A mere Titled Douluo and Soul Douluo? This Empress can finish them in a single move. Then the Profound Ice Cave will be ours—"
Two black lines appeared on Shuyan's forehead. He lightly tapped her head.
"Do the four of us look like bandits to you?"
The Ice Empress rubbed her head and glared at him.
"Don't tell me you plan to share the Profound Ice Cave with them? Since when did you become so generous, Shuyan?"
Share? What nonsense was that? Did he look like a kind and selfless young man?
"Relax. I'm not that foolish. A treasure land like the Profound Ice Cave—why would I share it with outsiders? And even if I wanted to, would they dare accept it? They'd probably freeze into ice statues before even stepping inside. For us ice-attribute soul masters, it's a supreme treasure. For other attributes, it would be more disaster than blessing."
The Ice Empress huffed twice, finally satisfied.
"Fine. For the sake of the Profound Ice Cave, I won't stay mad at you these next few days. Set the direction and let's move at full speed. We should reach Dragon City by tomorrow. I can hardly wait."
Unexpectedly, the Snow Empress nodded in agreement.
"Though I dislike admitting it, the Profound Ice Cave holds fatal attraction for me as well…"
Shuyan glanced at the darkening sky.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's depart."
The Snow Empress and Ice Empress exchanged a smile. Xu Jiujiu sighed softly at the side, feeling as though her presence had once again diminished just a little more…
…
After leaving the territory of Jialing Pass, the scenery changed dramatically.
Under a vast blue sky dotted with white clouds stretched forests and mountain ranges rarely touched by humans. Various soul beasts flashed through their field of vision. The most eye-catching encounter occurred when they passed a small mountain range and saw a Flame Lion King.
As a top-tier fire-attribute soul beast, the Flame Lion King was exceedingly rare. The one they encountered was over six meters long, its entire mane blazing like living fire. From a distance, it shone like a radiant star within the forest.
Its appearance alone ranked among the most striking in the entire soul beast world. With cultivation exceeding fifty thousand years, every movement carried regal majesty—magnificent and imposing.
Of course, had it not let out that roar, it might have continued ruling its mountain peacefully. But that single roar instantly reduced it to a docile "little kitten" under the Ice Empress's control. Soon after, she stored it inside a soul tool capable of housing living creatures—something she had obtained from Shuyan.
From mountain king to obedient kitten in a blink of an eye.
Since the Ice Empress was interested, Shuyan had no objections. Raising a fifty-thousand-year Flame Lion King posed no pressure to them. Keeping it for amusement wasn't a bad idea. The lion, sensing their overwhelming strength, quickly abandoned its dignity. In no time, it had mastered the art of acting cute like an ordinary housecat.
Truly, a wise and adaptable "big cat."
During the journey, the Ice Empress charged ahead alone, clearly brimming with excitement.
The Snow Empress followed behind with Shuyan and Xu Jiujiu. Night had fallen, stars filling the sky. Beneath the moonlight, Xu Jiujiu took out an exquisitely crafted small soul tool from her storage device.
After injecting soul power, its golden casing slowly opened, revealing a small piece of peculiar silver ore inside.
She activated it and let it float in her palm. Noticing Shuyan's curious gaze, she explained softly:
"This is a Class Seven soul tool—Star Box. The ore inside is called Star-Guiding Stone, a rare mineral found only in the southern island regions of the empire's seas. It must bathe in starlight for at least a thousand years to form, giving it a natural affinity with star energy.
"After special forging, it can absorb and store vast amounts of stellar power at night. The one in my Star Box may be Class Seven, but the size of this Star-Guiding Stone is comparable to the one my imperial brother possesses.
"I can't cultivate properly while traveling, so I might as well let it absorb starlight along the way. It'll be useful later…"