At Last, Electrolux; an Unexpected Yet Expected Incident

Shu Yan lowered his eyes at the bloody, brutal scene before him. There was no particular ripple in his heart, no special feeling—he merely proceeded with the next step calmly and steadily.

Under Shu Yan's control, Netherfall let out a crisp crack. Its silvery-white shell then began to slowly disintegrate, while layer upon layer of scale-like ripples spun at high speed. The next moment, an overwhelming suction force erupted beneath Netherfall. In an instant, blood that had already seeped into the earth began to flow backward, rising into the air in streams of crimson before finally pouring into Netherfall.

Flesh and blood were broken down. In a daze, it even seemed possible to hear the bloodcurdling screams of souls being torn apart. Netherfall spun faster and faster, and the screams echoing around it grew increasingly clear. Vaguely, several distorted, illusory faces filled with extreme hatred and killing intent could even be seen. Yet in the end, souls, flesh and blood, immense negative emotions, and sinful blood were all absorbed by Netherfall...

Blood streams connected heaven and earth. The surrounding soil and trees also began to slowly break apart and rise, while the pressure between heaven and earth surged. Shu Yan's palm closed as well. The next moment, Netherfall trembled lightly, followed by a Spiritual Power fluctuation that soared into the sky, carrying immense negative energy.

For the sake of caution, Shu Yan had not personally replenished the Spiritual Power Netherfall required. Instead, he had sought out the Ice Empress to do it for him. As for why he had not chosen the Snow Empress, even Shu Yan himself might not have been able to explain it...

At the same time, although the Ice Empress's Spiritual Power was inferior to the Snow Empress's in both strength and quality, it was still sufficiently powerful. Creating a Spiritual Power disturbance over such a vast area was an easy task for her.

As Shu Yan pondered, the dark purple pillar of light had already stained the clouds overhead with a color that heralded misfortune. Hatred, depravity, evil, slaughter, fear, and all kinds of negative energy condensed together. Accompanied by a powerful Spiritual Power fluctuation, it spread across a hundred li in mere moments.

Countless soul beasts revealed terrified expressions before scattering in flight. In an instant, everything within a hundred li was thrown into chaos. At the same time, such an intense negative energy reaction drew the attention of certain beings deep within the Star Dou Great Forest. The Snow Empress and Ice Empress exchanged a glance, both with shock and concern in their eyes. Xu Jiujiu raised her eyes to look at the calm, placid expression in Shu Yan's gaze and could not help swallowing softly. This... was far too thrilling...

Amid such terrifying repercussions, Shu Yan stared intently at the sky, as though awaiting something's arrival.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the energy stored within Netherfall gradually began to run dry, and the pillar of energy slowly dimmed. Shu Yan showed no panic and continued waiting patiently, but his hand still clenched into a fist beyond his control. Tension filled his heart, impossible to dispel.

No one spoke in that tense atmosphere. At the instant the pillar of light completely faded, Shu Yan suddenly sensed something and abruptly turned around. The next moment, a thunderous boom resounded between heaven and earth. All light seemed to be completely swallowed in an instant. The radiance vanished, the world was shrouded in darkness, and an indescribable pressure descended from the sky. Then, a gray current of air sped over from afar—and that pressure originated from it.

A relieved smile appeared on Shu Yan's face. He swiftly removed the defenses around his Sea of Consciousness, and a faint bluish-green light flickered. The gray current seemed to pause for an instant because of it, then accelerated once more and dove toward Shu Yan.

Before the Ice Snow Two Emperors could even react, the gray current had passed through Shu Yan's forehead without obstruction and entered his Sea of Consciousness. The next moment, an exceedingly blurry figure slowly appeared behind him. An aged voice carrying unparalleled majesty and power suddenly rang out in the silent space:

"Grasping the sun and moon, plucking the stars—there is no one like me in this world. I never thought this old man would still have a trace of his remnant soul remaining in the world."

As the voice fell, the darkness around them rapidly receded like a tide. Light returned. Shu Yan no longer suppressed the smile on his face. He looked up at the bright sunlight that had reappeared in the world and softly said:

"Elder Yi, welcome..."

Within Shu Yan's Sea of Consciousness, the gray bead no larger than a soybean that resided in the Devouring Spirit Carving Knife... no, it should be said that it resided in the Blade of Life, trembled lightly, seemingly responding to Shu Yan. Yet it soon fell silent again, without the slightest further fluctuation.

Shu Yan felt no dissatisfaction. He recalled Netherfall, which was still floating in midair, and sensed the energy reserves within it, which were nearly depleted. He sighed helplessly, then turned to the stunned Ice Snow Two Emperors and Xu Jiujiu, saying softly:

"It went very smoothly. We can leave now."

The Snow Empress was the first to recover. Her beautiful eyes lowered as she stared hard at Shu Yan. Only after a long while did she quietly say:

"You truly have given me another surprise..."

The Ice Empress came back to her senses right after her. She too looked at Shu Yan with a complicated expression, opening her mouth but ultimately saying nothing.

Xu Jiujiu was the most shaken, and her emotions were the most complicated and stirred. During this time, Shu Yan had done many things she could not understand, things that had once left her deeply bewildered. But now that she thought about it, every step Shu Yan had taken had been paving the way for what came next. Not a single step had been wasted; nearly every one had served an immense purpose. Their age difference was clearly not great—she was even two years older than Shu Yan—but the gap in their temperaments had already begun to become apparent...

Beyond her shock, Xu Jiujiu felt both joy and unease. She was happy because of Shu Yan's composure and excellence, yet uneasy because of the talent and maturity he had displayed, both far beyond those of his peers.

It was difficult to explain such a feeling, and she could not put it into words for the moment. But more than anything, she was happy for Shu Yan.

The smile at the corner of Shu Yan's lips remained unchanged. Looking at the three of them, he softly said:

"We've done many things over this period, and it's all been rather chaotic. I'll explain everything to you in detail after we return. For now, it's time to go back to Star Luo City."

The Snow Empress stared at Shu Yan for a while longer, emotions shifting in her eyes. But then, her gaze suddenly turned toward the depths of the forest behind Shu Yan. The Ice Empress followed her gaze. The Snow Empress pulled Shu Yan behind her in one swift motion, and at the same time, her cold voice rang out beside him once more:

"Di Tian, since you're here, show yourself. Sneaking around isn't your style."

The Ice Empress shielded Shu Yan and Xu Jiujiu behind her, her gaze likewise fixed on the dark forest not far away. Shu Yan was not particularly surprised. He took Xu Jiujiu's hand and softly reassured her a few times before narrowing his eyes and looking in the direction the Snow Empress and Ice Empress were watching.

In the quiet forest, sunlight filtered through gaps in the canopy. Everything was so beautiful, as though nothing had ever happened. But in the next moment, without warning, steady footsteps echoed beside the four of them. Every footfall seemed to tread directly upon their hearts. Though it carried not the slightest Soul Power fluctuation, it was enough to make them feel an overwhelming suffocating pressure...

PS: Elder Yi was finally secured.

PS: This week has been a disaster too. It just happened to coincide with National Day, and Follow-up Reading dropped quite a bit. I didn't make it to the second round. I'm crying my eyes out—I'll have to go without recommendations for a week. (＿)