The Second Betrothal Gift: Fate-Suppressing Cauldron!

Before the Pope Palace, thousands of spirit masters let out a collective, pained groan.

It was a suffocating sensation that originated from the very depths of their souls.

The spirit power within their bodies felt as though it had been frozen; its circulation became incredibly sluggish, and every sliver they attempted to mobilize felt like wading through a quagmire.

Some of the weaker spirit masters felt their legs give way, collapsing directly to the ground. Their faces turned a liver-colored purple as they gasped for air, feeling as if they were inhaling heavy lead weights rather than oxygen.

Even powerhouses like Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo, both Title Douluos, were deathly pale at this moment, exerting every ounce of their strength just to avoid kneeling in public.

Yet, the look they cast toward that giant cauldron had shifted from initial suspicion to utter shock and terror.

This cauldron... its mere existence was enough to suppress the heavens and the earth!

Just as the entire city fell into a dead, oppressive silence, that majestic and awe-inspiring Sanskrit chant, which seemed to originate from the Heavenly Dao itself, resonated through the clouds once more. It fell clearly into everyone's ears, each word striking their spirits like a heavy hammer!

"The second betrothal gift of the Celestial Master—the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron!"

"A tribute to the Celestial Master's grand wedding!"

The Sanskrit chant was high-pitched, carrying an unquestionable tone of declaration.

After a brief pause, the voice continued to echo between heaven and earth, introducing the supreme power of this giant cauldron to the entire continent:

"This cauldron can suppress the fortune of a territory or an individual's destiny!"

"It can nourish the origin of a martial soul, allowing it to slowly sublimate!"

"It can suppress all evil spirits in the world and dispel all demonic obstacles!"

BOOM!

Each function was like a bolt of divine lightning from the nine heavens, exploding within the hearts of all the high-ranking members of Martial Soul Hall!

The suffocating pressure on the plaza was instantly replaced by an even more terrifying, deathly silence.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the bronze cauldron slowly descending, their minds blank.

Suppress... fortune?

Nourish... martial souls?

Suppress... evil spirits?

The effects of the Primordial Spirit Bead were already enough to turn the entire continent upside down, but compared to this Fate-Suppressing Cauldron, that was merely a drop in the ocean!

The Primordial Spirit Bead changed a person's future.

But this Fate-Suppressing Cauldron could change the landscape of a faction, an empire, or even the entire continent!

Suppressing fortune!

What kind of concept was that?

It meant that whoever possessed this cauldron could forcibly suppress the national fortune of hostile factions and the destiny of those so-called "Children of Fortune"!

It meant that someone like Tang San, who relied on great fortune to advance triumphantly, would find every step difficult in the face of this cauldron!

Nourishing the origin of a martial soul!

It meant that as long as a martial soul was placed within the cauldron to be nourished, even the most mediocre talent could continuously sublimate over time, eventually reaching an unimaginable height!

Not to mention the function of "suppressing all evil spirits in the world," which was a natural nemesis for many spirit masters who relied on evil or dark-type martial souls!

"No... impossible..."

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's lips trembled. He looked at the giant cauldron and muttered to himself, his voice filled with a sense of utter despair:

"Such a thing... how could a national-level divine artifact capable of changing the continent's landscape... how could it possibly be given away as a betrothal gift?"

No one could answer him.

Because everyone present, including Bibi Dong, felt that their understanding of reality had been completely crushed.

"Gulp."

Ghost Douluo Gui Mei swallowed hard. His perpetually gloomy face was now etched with undisguised greed and fear.

On the terrace of the Pope Palace.

The moment the Sanskrit chant began to list the functions, Bibi Dong's pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks!

Her body froze in place, motionless, but a monstrous storm had already erupted within her heart!

Suppressing fortune!

These four words were like a red-hot branding iron, searing themselves deep into her soul!

What did she hate most in this life?

It was that ethereal yet very real concept of fortune!

Why should Tang Hao and his son Tang San be favored by the gods and sail through life so smoothly?

Why should the Spirit Hall Empire, which she had built with her own blood and sweat, become a stepping stone for others to achieve godhood?

She hated it!

And now, a supreme treasure capable of suppressing fortune had appeared right before her eyes!

If... if this cauldron belonged to Martial Soul Hall...

The moment this thought surfaced, Bibi Dong's heart began to palpitate wildly.

But the next instant, a bone-chilling cold surged from the soles of her feet straight to her crown.

She recalled the scene seven days ago, when she had attempted to seize the Primordial Spirit Bead, only to be effortlessly repelled by those patterns and left in a state of utter humiliation.

The pressure radiating from this Fate-Suppressing Cauldron was many times more tyrannical than that of the Primordial Spirit Bead!

She knew very well that this cauldron, just like that bead, recognized only one person.

Hu Liena.

Bibi Dong slowly turned her head, her gaze complex as she looked at her disciple beside her.

At this moment, Hu Liena was completely stunned.

Her small mouth slightly agape, she tilted her snow-white neck, staring blankly at the massive bronze cauldron that radiated endless majesty. In those eyes, shimmering with purple-gold luster, nothing remained but pure shock and bewilderment.

The first betrothal gift, the Primordial Spirit Bead, was for her personal growth, to let her be reborn and undergo Martial Soul Evolution.

Though shocked, she could still understand it; it was to make her, his "Daoist partner," stronger.

But this second betrothal gift...

Suppressing destiny, nurturing the soul, suppressing evil...

This had completely transcended the personal realm; this was a strategic-level treasure capable of laying the eternal foundation for an immortal power!

That man... that man named Shen Yichen, what exactly was he thinking?

What kind of terrifying background did he possess to be able to treat a treasure of this caliber so nonchalantly as a betrothal gift?

For the first time, a sense of indescribable... trepidation toward this "heaven-sent" marriage contract stirred in Hu Liena's heart.

This betrothal gift was too heavy.

So heavy that she felt she could not bear it at all.

Just as the entire scene fell into a deathly silence, with everyone too stunned by the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron to think, the grand Sanskrit chants delivered their final words.

As the voice faded, the suffocating pressure that had been suppressing the entire Martial Soul City suddenly receded.

The cauldron gave a light tremor in the air, as if breaking free from some invisible restraint, and its massive body began to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye.

All ten thousand rays of light retracted, and finally, the giant cauldron transformed into a gentle green glow, tracing a graceful arc through the air, flying steadily and unerringly toward Hu Liena.

It did not possess the intimacy of the Primordial Spirit Bead, but carried an unquestionable majesty and weight.

Finally, the green light hovered steadily three feet in front of Hu Liena.

As the light dissipated, a miniature bronze cauldron, only the size of a palm and as exquisite as a work of art, floated there quietly.

It was waiting.

Waiting for its only master to reach out her hand.