Suppression

One month later, in the Star Dou Great Forest.

The night was deep, and the moonlight was cut into fragments by the tree canopy, falling to the ground like shattered silver.

Yun Ming emerged from the depths of the forest, dragging a massive body behind him. The body was entirely silver-white, with needle-like hair and fangs protruding from the corners of its mouth, gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light.

The Nether Ice Fang Leopard.

Ten thousand years, the Ultimate Ice.

Its body left a long trail on the ground, the blood seeping into the soil, turning a dark red in the moonlight.

Its eyes were still open, but there was no light.

Yun Ming dragged it to the edge of the forest, stopped, let go, and stood aside.

Deep within the shadows of the trees, a pair of golden eyes lit up.

Di Tian emerged from the darkness, his steps light, like a feline stealthily moving in the night.

His black hair fell over his shoulders, and his golden pupils narrowed slightly in the moonlight.

He walked up to Yun Ming and stopped.

Yun Ming:... Oh no, we've been caught, what do we do...?

Di Tian: Tsk... I knew he was here. I shouldn't have come; it just makes me look like I have nothing better to do...

The wind blew, and the leaves rustled.

Di Tian looked down at the Nether Ice Fang Leopard on the ground for a long time.

His expression was calm, as calm as a stagnant pool.

But Yun Ming noticed that his hand was clenched tightly, and his knuckles were white.

Di Tian crouched down, reached out, and placed his hand on the head of the Nether Ice Fang Leopard.

The leopard blinked, looking at Di Tian, its pupils reflecting his face.

Its mouth moved slightly, as if it wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

Di Tian paused his hand on its head for a moment, then withdrew it and stood up.

He looked at Yun Ming, "It's dying."

Yun Ming nodded, "Mm."

Di Tian paused for a moment, then asked, "You did it?"

Yun Ming nodded, "Mm."

Di Tian paused for a moment, then asked, "It... stole your food?"

Yun Ming looked at him, "I found it in the Star Luo Empire. It agreed to become Soul Spirit, but then went back on its word."

Di Tian frowned slightly. "It changed its mind?"

Yun Ming nodded. "Yes. I brought it back from the Star Luo Empire. When we passed through the Star Dou Great Forest, it tried to run away. I chased after it and gave it a beating."

He paused, then said, "Not dead, but almost dead."

Di Tian looked down at the leopard.

Its breathing grew weaker and weaker, its silvery-white fur lost its luster, and the eerie blue light on its fangs dimmed.

Di Tian raised his foot and kicked the leopard hard.

"Bang—" The leopard rolled twice on the ground and crashed into a tree, cracking the trunk.

Its eyes closed.

Di Tian withdrew his foot, looked at Yun Ming, and said, "Kill it and take the Soul Bone."

He turned and walked away quickly, his robe fluttering in the wind.

Yun Ming watched his retreating figure, "Di Tian."

Di Tian stopped, without turning back.

Yun Ming looked at him, "It agreed to become Soul Spirit, then went back on its word. I'm chasing after it because it promised."

Di Tian paused for a moment, then said, "I know that even if you don't find it, we will find a way to kill this traitor."

He's gone.

The figure disappeared into the depths of the tree shadows.

Yun Ming stood there, looking in the direction where Di Tian had disappeared, for a while.

Kill him? Because of that incident?

He looked at the unconscious Nether Ice Fang Leopard.

Fine, kill it if you want. Its actions... it can't be Soul Spirit.

He opened his arms and used his Soul Power to lift it up.

At least, the fifth Soul Ring is secured.

Long Yeyue glanced at the Nether Ice Fang Leopard, which was bound and suppressed, and then looked at Ya Li was about to go up to treat it.

Turning to look at Yun Ming, she asked, "Is this all you brought back on this trip?"

Zhuo Shi nudged him with his shoulder, "The Nether Ice Fang Leopard, the Ultimate Ice, and..."

Feng Wuyu continued, "The intent to kill."

"Are you afraid your son's Blood Moon isn't troublesome enough?"

Yun Ming remained silent.

"The Nether Ice Fang Leopard appeared in Shrek's records a thousand years ago. At that time, it was already Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, with high cultivation, high intelligence, and great strength. It could have stayed quietly in the Star Dou Great Forest, but it didn't."

"In order to survive, it provided information about the Soul Beast Clan, which directly led to the shrinking of the Star Dou Great Forest. After that, it hunted humans and escaped."

"Pavilion Master, the Nether Ice Fang Leopard absolutely cannot become Xiao Jing Heng's Soul Spirit, absolutely not."

Even if it's a hundred thousand years old, no one can control its instinctive killing intent.

Tang Yinmeng's voice was calm, but every word carried an undeniable force.

She stood to the side, holding the yellowed booklet in her hand, her gaze fixed on Yun Ming.

Long Yeyue leaned against the door frame, her fingers tapping lightly twice on the handrail.

Zhuo Shi and Feng Wuyu exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.

Ya Li withdrew her hand from the leopard's head, took a step back, and stood next to Yun Ming.

Yun Ming remained silent for a long time.

He looked at the Nether Ice Fang Leopard on the ground, bound hand and foot. Its breathing was weak, its heartbeat was weak, but its eyes were open, and the moonlight from the window was reflected in its pupils.

There was no fear, no anger, only something indescribable, like weariness, like relief, or like a long-awaited, finally arriving end.

"I know."

Yun Ming's voice was very soft, "It can't be Soul Spirit. Even making it into Soul Ring is risky."

He paused, then continued, "But the Ultimate Ice Soul Ring is one of a kind on the entire continent. Jing Heng needs this for his fifth Soul Ring."

Long Yeyue's fingers stopped. "Are you sure?"

Yun Ming nodded, "Confirmed. Ultimate Ice can suppress the Blood Moon. The Blood Moon is 'fire,' and Ultimate Ice is 'water.' Water and fire are mutually destructive, but they can also be balanced."

He looked at Long Yeyue, "Jing Heng's Blood Moon, that kind of power, is not something he can control. He needs to suppress it."

Long Yeyue paused for a moment, "Ultimate Ice can suppress it, but it will erode the killing intent. How do you balance that?"

Yun Ming did not answer immediately.

He looked down at the Nether Ice Fang Leopard on the ground. Its breathing was weak, its heartbeat was weak, but its eyes were still open.

"The Moonlight Sword, flowing through the four realms: New Moon, Crescent Moon, Full Moon, Blood Moon —three positive and one negative."

His voice was calm, as if he were stating a fact.

The New Moon represents spirit, the Crescent Moon represents frost, the Full Moon represents reality, and the Blood Moon represents—

He paused for a moment, then said, "It's a curse, it's Destruction."

Ya Li's hands clenched slightly.

Tang Yinmeng stood to the side, still holding the yellowed booklet in her hand, her gaze fixed on Yun Ming's face, not looking away.

"Blood Moon is the only realm he can't control."

Yun Ming continued, "It's not because his strength is insufficient, but because that realm itself doesn't belong to him. That's the Moonlight Sword's own will, not his. When the Blood Moon descends, it's not him wielding the sword, but the sword wielding him."

He looked at Ya Li, "You've seen the Blood Moon, you should know."

Ya Li remained silent for a long time, then said, "Yes, I saw it. That time in Skysea City."

Her voice was soft, "His shadow is laughing."

The room fell silent.

A breeze blew through the window, and the moonlight flickered on the floor.

Cai Yue'er pushed open the door and entered, looking at the Nether Ice Fang Leopard without saying a word.

"He needs to be suppressed. Not his strength, but the Blood Moon."

He looked at the Nether Ice Fang Leopard on the ground, "Ultimate Ice, Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, imbued with the intent of slaughter. This intent of slaughter and the Blood Moon are of the same origin."

Cai Yue'er spoke up, "You make it sound so easy. The intent to kill and the Blood Moon share the same origin. How can you guarantee they won't reinforce each other?"

Yun Ming looked at her, "Because the Ultimate Ice is Soul Ring, not Soul Spirit. Soul Ring don't have will, only attributes. The killing intent belongs to this leopard, not the Soul Ring."

"After the Soul Ring are removed, the killing intent will be greatly weakened, leaving only the attribute. The attribute of Ultimate Ice is cold. Pure cold."

He looked at Cai Yue'er, "When it gets extremely cold, everything will freeze, including the Blood Moon."

Feng Wuyu snorted, "You talk as if you've ever used it."

Yun Ming turned to look at him, "I've never used it. But I've seen it; Shrek's records mention a user of the Ultimate Ice Soul Ring."

"That person's Martial Soul is fire-attribute, and they possess a berserk state of the same level. After fusing with the Ultimate Ice Soul Ring, the berserk state was suppressed. It's like a stone pressing down on the mouth of a well; the water is still at the bottom, but it can't rise."

Long Yeyue looked at him, "What happened to that person later?"

Yun Ming paused for a moment, then said, "He's dead. It has nothing to do with the Ultimate Ice, it's because of the Evil Soul Master."

Long Yeyue didn't ask any more questions.

Ya Li walked to Yun Ming's side, took his hand, and asked, "Are you sure Jing Heng needs suppression, not control?"

Her voice was very soft.

Yun Ming looked at her. "Control? How can you control it? When the Blood Moon appeared, his shadow was laughing, and he himself didn't even know what he was doing. Tell me, how can you control it?"

Ya Li didn't say anything.

Yun Ming withdrew his gaze and looked at the Nether Ice Fang Leopard on the ground.

"He needs time. When he's strong enough to face the Blood Moon head-on, then he can move the stone. For now, we can only suppress it."

He looked at Cai Yue'er, "Yue'er."

Cai Yue'er looked up, "Brother Ming..."

"Jing Heng... can we fuse now?"

Cai Yue'er was silent for a moment, then looked up at the people in the room. "He is currently at the peak of level 49, just one step away from the top. His physique is excellent, and his Divine Power... is sufficient."