Chapter 182: Seeing Through Hearts, Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo

The Star Dou Great Forest at night is far from peaceful.

Various rustling sounds constantly emanate from the dense surrounding forest. This was originally the territory of an 80,000-year-old Frost Centipede; other soul beasts would never step foot here unless forced by necessity or confident in their own strength.

But the commotion the Frost Centipede made today was not small. The surrounding soul beasts all noticed the unusual activity here. Many powerful soul beasts, which gain strength in the dark, could not suppress their curiosity. One by one, they lurked in the shadows, moving stealthily. Of course, all of this naturally did not escape the spiritual power of Shu Yan and his two companions.

The Ice Empress released a trace of the primordial aura belonging to a fierce beast. Instantly, countless figures froze abruptly. Amidst slightly panicked footsteps, the surroundings quickly fell silent. Only the fireflies flying out from beside the cold pool circled in the air before finally landing around the tents.

"Hmph, a bunch of little things under 100,000 years old wanting to come and join the fun. They should be thankful that among the people we need to hunt soul rings for this time, everyone except Xu Jiujiu is of the ice attribute. Otherwise, I'm afraid they would all be corpses right now."

The Ice Empress said with a hint of disdain. With the Snow Empress by her side, she even dared to clamor against Di Tian. Of course, Di Tian generally couldn't be bothered to argue with her; in some respects, this could also be considered giving the Snow Empress face.

Su Tong was still absorbing her soul ring. Her Ice Sky Snow Maiden martial soul showed signs of a second awakening. The reason was that the Snow Empress had given her a drop of essence blood beforehand. This drop of essence blood stimulated the bloodline within her body. Although it was not yet possible to determine the timing of the second awakening, based on experience, it was highly likely to occur after breaking through to the Soul Sage realm.

By late night, the full moon in the sky was obscured by cloud layers, and the light grew dimmer. Many self-luminous plants grew around the cold pool, acting like a beacon in the dark night, yet they also resembled isolated islands in the middle of the ocean—helpless and alone, as if they could be swallowed up at any moment.

The once-roaring bonfire was now reduced to embers, with sporadic sparks emitting a faint red glow. This period of time was when people were at their most exhausted and relaxed. Shu Yan was leaning against a smooth boulder, closing his eyes to rest, when suddenly, a rumbling sound from afar made him frown slightly.

The curtain of the tent next to him was lifted, and the Snow Empress walked out, followed by the sleepy-eyed Ice Empress.

"Someone is being hunted by a pack of soul beasts."

The Snow Empress leaped into mid-air, and Shu Yan followed closely behind. Although the Ice Empress was a bit reluctant, she still kept up with their pace.

The three of them hovered about a hundred meters above the tents. The Snow Empress's eyes, which appeared extremely bright in the darkness, stared into the distance. The Ice Empress also sensed the situation, then yawned and said, "The herd's direction of travel isn't towards us. Let's go, let's go back to sleep. Xue'er, Shu Yan, you two are making a mountain out of a molehill."

Shu Yan sensed the situation in the distance carefully. He always felt that the flash of gold and silver light he had just seen was somewhat familiar, but the distance was too great, and the herd was moving extremely fast, so he hadn't sensed it clearly. But for some reason, he felt the urge to go and investigate.

"Sister Xue, you stay behind to protect Jiujiu and the others. I always feel that the aura just now was somewhat familiar. I don't know why, but I feel I need to go and see to be at ease."

Shu Yan said, then, ignoring the Ice Empress's attempt to hold him back, he transformed into a stream of light and fled into the distance.

"Sigh, Shu Yan! Are you stupid? Wait for me..."

The Ice Empress looked at her empty hand, stomped her feet in mid-air with some anxiety, and after cursing Shu Yan under her breath, she prepared to follow. The Snow Empress looked at Shu Yan's departing back, shook her head with a light laugh, and then reached out to grab the anxious Ice Empress. After a helpless sigh, she said softly, "Bing'er, your reaction is a bit excessive..." The Ice Empress's breathing hitched, and a look of dullness and confusion flashed in her eyes. She held the Snow Empress's hand, stammering for a long time, but not a single word came out.

There was a hint of bitterness and amusement in the Snow Empress's eyes. The Ice Empress's reaction had already allowed her to see through some things. The boundaries between friendship and love are distinct; sometimes the forms of expression may be similar, but the emotions revealed are still different.

Seeing the Ice Empress keeping her head down and not speaking, the Snow Empress reached out to ruffle her hair, then said:

"Don't worry about him anymore. We can't protect him forever; in fact, in the future, we will have to rely on him for protection. You must have confidence in him, regardless of the basis, you know?"

The Ice Empress held the Snow Empress's hand, hesitated for a long while, and then said softly:

"Xue'er... did I... make you sad?"

The Snow Empress shook her head with a light laugh, then said, "Being able to see you look into your own heart, I am actually happy for you. I have never doubted your feelings for me. Don't think so much. Perhaps, for us, this can also be considered a different kind of fulfillment?"

The Ice Empress suddenly raised her head, looking into the Snow Empress's smiling eyes. She remained silent for another moment, then whispered:

"Why is that guy so greedy..."

Between the dense ancient trees, two figures shuttled rapidly. Zhang Lexuan was in the lead, while Han Ruoruo followed closely behind. Both of them looked slightly disheveled, and not far behind them was a mass of blood-colored mist.

Wherever the blood-colored mist passed, countless trees and vegetation turned to ash and disappeared. The buzzing sound made one's eardrums ache. In the night-shrouded Star Dou Great Forest, such a commotion attracted the attention of countless soul beasts, but when they saw the creatures chasing the two women, they all took the initiative to stay away, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.

Under Zhang Lexuan's feet, eight soul rings swirled and flickered, with the eighth, blood-colored soul ring emitting an intoxicating red light. As the senior sister of the Shrek Inner Court, even though she was only an eight-ring Soul Douluo, she possessed combat power infinitely close to that of a Titled Douluo. The "Shaking Gold Rope" Soul Sage Han Ruoruo was even known as the number one controller of the Inner Court. Joining forces, the two were definitely not opponents for an average level 91 or 92 Titled Douluo. Yet, facing the blood-colored mist behind them that stuck like chewing gum and could not be shaken off, the two were still forced into this desperate situation.

After flying over a small hill, the blood-colored mist behind them was briefly shaken off. Before the two could even catch their breath, a thunderous roar suddenly exploded out of thin air. Immediately following, several lightning bolts as thick as bowls suddenly surged from the forest below toward the two women. Zhang Lexuan was quick-witted; she grabbed Han Ruoruo and pulled her behind her, then her third soul ring lit up. A brilliant silver moon suddenly appeared behind her, and beams of moonlight erupted from the silver moon, colliding with the lightning. The terrifying aftermath spread in all directions. When the two saw the soul beast in the forest below, they both couldn't help but gasp...

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 183 =====