Mutual Longing, Star Crown, Unexpected Visitor

After truly forming an alliance with Snow Empress, life in this palace became much easier, no longer carrying the restraint of those early days.

Although Snow Empress had initially treated him with extreme coldness, the bloodlines within them resonated with and drew each other in. No matter how much Snow Empress despised humans, she was generally decent toward him.

By now, Snow Empress's attitude had changed drastically once again, but there was one thing she had never changed.

She still refused to allow Shu Yan to take even a single step outside this ice palace. He did not know the exact reason, and Shu Yan felt somewhat helpless about it. Fortunately, most of his thoughts were devoted to cultivation. If it had been someone lively and restless, they might truly have been driven mad inside this palace.

More than half a year had passed since he had been brought to the Core Circle. Shu Yan looked toward the unchanging scenery in the distance, but the image of that golden-haired beauty could not help surfacing in his mind.

As he himself had said, Xu Jiujiu had accompanied him for nearly seven full years. That was almost half of his life so far, and the mark she had left in his heart was the deepest of all. He had been taken away by Snow Empress for half a year now. She was probably...

At that thought, a clear trace of guilt appeared in Shu Yan's eyes. The aurora in the distant sky was incomparably dazzling, but the longing and worry in his heart were too heavy, weaving into a great net that pressed upon his chest. He had long since lost any interest in admiring the scenery...

At the same time, in Star Luo City, tens of thousands of miles away.

The luxurious and exquisite Princess Mansion no longer possessed its former warmth and gentleness. Instead, it was shrouded beneath an invisible low pressure.

Xu Jiujiu sat cross-legged alone atop a Star Platform specially constructed for her. This Star Platform had been forged from a special kind of ore that could gather Starry Sky Power to a certain extent. As an imperial princess and a direct descendant of the Star Crown Sect, Xu Jiujiu had naturally inherited the pure Star Crown Martial Soul.

The power of the Star Crown Martial Soul was beyond doubt. As an auxiliary Martial Soul, the Star Crown Martial Soul not only possessed powerful supportive abilities, but also formidable combat and control abilities.

If the support provided by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the world's number one auxiliary Martial Soul, leaned toward versatility, then the Star Crown Martial Soul's support was wholly focused on combat. This was completely different from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's all-around nature.

From certain perspectives, the Star Crown Martial Soul had been born purely for battle. This was why Soul Masters with the Star Crown Martial Soul were so rare, yet the Star Crown Sect's legacy had endured for so long without decline. It was also an important reason why the Star Crown Martial Soul could claim a place among all top-tier Martial Souls.

From the above, the Star Crown Martial Soul's might far surpassed that of ordinary Martial Souls, and even some top-tier Martial Souls could not compare with it. However, behind such a powerful Martial Soul, Star Crown Soul Masters had to endure cultivation and hardship far harsher than ordinary Soul Masters.

Star Crown Soul Masters could only cultivate at night, and they had to absorb Starry Sky Power to improve their cultivation. Even Soul Skills acquired through Soul Rings required stored star power, obtained by absorbing Starry Sky Power, to be unleashed.

This was undoubtedly a tremendous weakness for the Star Crown Martial Soul. Yet after so many years, the Star Crown Sect had found several solutions through prolonged research.

And this Star Platform was the most successful of them.

As mentioned before, the ore required to forge a Star Platform was extraordinarily special. Its ability to gather Starry Sky Power and assist Soul Masters in cultivation had once made it a priceless treasure coveted by every Soul Master with the Star Crown Martial Soul. However, since the Xu Family took control of the Star Luo Empire, even after pouring the strength of the entire nation into the effort, only two Star Platforms had been built to this day.

One of them was located within Xu Jiujiu's Princess Mansion.

Dense Starry Sky Power swirled around Xu Jiujiu as specks of starlight flickered. Then, that Starry Sky Power slowly merged into her skin, and Xu Jiujiu's aura gradually began to rise.

After a long while, Soul Power spread outward in a burst. Nebula Douluo Manyi, who sat atop a building guarding Xu Jiujiu, abruptly opened her eyes. Looking at Xu Jiujiu's back, which had clearly become much thinner, a trace of heartache flashed through her eyes. This was a girl she had watched grow up, no different from a granddaughter to her. Now that she had suffered such a tremendous upheaval, Manyi was both heartbroken and helpless.

On the other side, Xu Jiujiu slowly opened her eyes as well.

Tonight's sky was exceptionally clear. Wisps of clouds dotted the heavens, stars glittered brightly, and everything seemed peaceful and beautiful.

Yet from such a beautiful sight, Xu Jiujiu felt only an intense sense of desolation and loneliness.

In the past, whenever she opened her eyes at this time, she would see that familiar figure somewhere within her sight. But now, only she remained...

From the little follower of her ignorant childhood to the lover to whom she had secretly given her heart after first understanding love, Xu Jiujiu had long regarded Shu Yan as one of the most important parts of her life. But now...

Thinking of Shu Yan's final soft words that day and his eyes filled with comfort and encouragement, Xu Jiujiu's eyes became bloodshot. She had already shed many tears, but perhaps she had come to realize that tears could not solve anything. What she needed was formidable strength, strength enough to change her current circumstances. She did not dare imagine the bad outcomes, because every single one of them was something she could not accept...

Xu Jiujiu recalled Shu Yan's voice and smile, then quickly entered a cultivating state once more. Yet the tear that slid down from the corner of her eye proved that she was not in a good state at all.

Nebula Douluo in the distance sighed softly. While aching for Xu Jiujiu, she also silently prayed for Shu Yan. In only half a year, Your Highness Princess seemed to have become an entirely different person. At first, Your Highness Princess had seemed as though she had lost her soul, ignoring anyone who called to her. Only after Medical Immortal Douluo personally came to comfort her did her condition improve somewhat.

But just as Medical Immortal Douluo had said, she could heal the pain of the body, but not the pain of the soul. Shu Yan was the cause of all this, so only Shu Yan could be the result. Otherwise, even she could do nothing...

After another night of meditation, Shu Yan slowly opened his eyes atop an ice bed. Thoughts flickered through his eyes, and he immediately rose and headed for the main hall. Perhaps it was necessary to discuss certain matters properly with Snow Empress once again.

But before he could enter the hall, he ran directly into a small figure approaching from the opposite direction.

A dull thud rang out as the small figure collided directly with Shu Yan. Both of them staggered back two steps. When Shu Yan clearly saw the person before him, however, his pupils uncontrollably contracted once more.

Before him stood a little girl dressed in an azure green long dress. She looked no more than around one meter sixty tall, with a pretty and delicate face. Compared to Snow Empress, she lacked a measure of pride but possessed an extra trace of cold beauty. Her skin was as white as ice and snow, even carrying a somewhat translucent quality. Her dark green hair was tied into twin ponytails behind her, and an icy aura emanated from her body. It seemed somewhat at odds with her attire and height, but there was no denying that this girl was absolutely a qualified little beauty...

But Shu Yan knew very well that aside from himself, a human, there could not possibly be any other humans in the Core Circle of the Extreme North Land. The identity of this pretty little girl thus became obvious. She was the second-ranked of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, Ice Empress...!