Chapter 99

Shu Yan's words were somewhat profound; the Snow Emperor listened, then gave a light cough, and then said:

"Forget it, your nature is just like this; then this Emperor naturally has nothing more to say—just watch and see."

Speaking, the Snow Emperor casually waved his hand; instantly, the soul power of almost all hundred-thousand-year immortal herbs was sealed, leaving them only to be inspected by Shu Yan. Many of the herbs nearby even began to huddle together for warmth. Of course, this obviously has no effect; whatever must be faced will always come, and trying to dodge is certainly futile.

Shu Yan's gaze swept around; ten thousand years had passed, and within the Ice Fire Yin-Yang Well, the number of immortal herbs reaching the hundred-thousand-year level was not small, even reaching double digits. However, most of them were suppressed by those immortal herbs that had already gained sentience, and they had not developed their own sentience—merely their cultivation had reached that point.

After scanning the area, Shu Yan's gaze finally landed on the Fragrant Gorgeous Immortal Herb.

"Wake up, if you don't wake up I'll freeze you and toss you into the desert…"

Shu Yan's tone was gloomy, then he lightly patted the creature's pink huge petal.

"Yes yes yes, I'm still alive, sob… don't throw me into the desert, we've all submitted—can't you just take any of the immortal herbs here as you please?"

The Fragrant Gorgeous Immortal Herb's voice, hurried and tinged with a hint of crying, suddenly rang out.

It truly never even dreamed it would encounter such a tough opponent today; based on its survival instinct, it decisively chose to yield.

After all, it itself is not good at combat; its actual fighting power, when calculated, might not even match a human Titled Douluo, let alone the fact that even those skilled in combat are now trembling—what else can it do? Could it possibly rise up in resistance only to sacrifice itself in vain……

As for that person… he has already ascended to godhood; although he left many arrangements before departing, those arrangements now cannot withstand such a peerless ferocious beast……

What's more, making the Fragrant Gorgeous Immortal Herb furious is that humans and ferocious beasts have become so close, even adopting a posture where the beast takes the lead……

Shu Yan patted the opponent again; the Fragrant Gorgeous Immortal Herb's huge body trembled once more—clearly, it was truly frightened.

"Alright, next I'll tell you what to do."

"I know there is a hundred-thousand-year Star Luo Spirit Pearl in the Ice Fire Yin-Yang Well; I suspect that with your suppression, it hasn't yet developed sentience and become a true plant-type soul beast, right?"

The Fragrant Gorgeous Immortal Herb nodded repeatedly, then said: "Yes yes yes, there is indeed a stalk that has just broken through to hundred-thousand years of the Star Luo Spirit Pearl in the Ice Fire Yin-Yang Well; if you want it, I'll fetch it for you right away."

Shu Yan nodded, watching the Fragrant Gorgeous Immortal Herb's body radiate light, then a purple stream of light shot out from its pistil.

The purple stream of light passed through numerous hundred-thousand-year immortal herbs, then headed toward a high slope; shortly thereafter, it brought back an immortal herb of strange appearance.

The Star Luo Spirit Pearl's stem and trunk are a rare black, deep as ink—a color extremely rare among immortal herbs; yet at its top grows a palm-sized golden fruit. Looking closely, this golden fruit emits a faint glow like a large pearl, but upon closer inspection, one discovers it is not a pearl at all, but a wondrous formation condensed from countless golden specks of light, exceedingly beautiful.

After receiving it, Shu Yan directly handed it to Xu Jiu Jiu.

"Jiujiu, the Star Luo Spirit Pearl is the gentlest and most human-affine among hundred-thousand-year immortal herbs; it itself is extremely difficult to awaken sentience—don't be fooled by its hundred-thousand years of cultivation, for even if it manages to cultivate to the ferocious beast level, truly awakening its sentience remains no simple matter."

"As I told you before, the Star Luo Spirit Pearl absorbs stellar and lunar essence each night to strengthen itself, and it is also the most suitable immortal herb for you…"

Speaking, Shu Yan then handed the Star Luo Spirit Pearl in his hand to Xu Jiu Jiu.

"However, you needn't worry; although the Star Luo Spirit Pearl is hard to awaken sentience, after merging with humans it can in the future become their soul core, so this immortal herb itself is not incompatible with humans—you need not worry about other issues."

Xu Jiu Jiu's hand holding the Star Luo Spirit Pearl trembled slightly, but the present situation was not the time for her to hurriedly express "gratitude"; thinking of that vivid ice fox tail… Xu Jiu Jiu's pretty face flushed slightly, she seemed to have already decided how to repay Shu Yan… Shu Yan, however, noticed nothing unusual; he casually slapped the Fragrant Gorgeous Immortal Herb that still wanted to say something back to its original form, then gave a glance to the Snow Emperor, who raised his eyebrows and instantly understood.

Several strands of soul power shot from her hand at high speed; even a few hundred-thousand-year immortal herbs hadn't had time to react before their soul power was directly sealed, and they were knocked back to their original herb forms. Looking around, only the still-trembling "primary combat power" Gorgeous Marigold remained, dazed and at a loss.

Needless to say, among the few hundred-thousand-year immortal herbs that have gained sentience, the combat power of Gorgeous Marigold is absolutely top-tier, yet facing the Ice Snow Dual Emperors, it is still worlds apart.

Shu Yan and the four of them slowly approached the golden-haired woman that Gorgeous Marigold had transformed into; then he crouched down and spoke in a calm tone:

"I give you a chance to live; whether you can seize it is up to you…"

Gorgeous Marigold, under the simultaneous gaze of the Ice Snow Dual Emperors, trembled even more violently all over; she pursed her dry lips and, with difficulty, said:

"You… you said, as long as I can stay alive, I'm willing to do anything."

Shu Yan patted her cheek, then lifted Gorgeous Marigold's chin, directing her gaze toward Xu Jiu Jiu.

"Offer her as a sacrifice, and I will leave your seed here; otherwise, even if your seed is reborn in the future, I will erase your consciousness, or rather, spawn other consciousnesses obedient to me…"

Gorgeous Marigold's gaze fell upon Xu Jiu Jiu; her whole body trembled even more fiercely, and just as she was about to speak, the Ice Emperor directly lifted her up.

"If you are unwilling to be sacrificed, this Emperor doesn't mind sealing you in ten-thousand-year-old ice, waiting until Xu Jiu Jiu can absorb your soul ring and soul bone, then directly slaying you—by then…"

Gorgeous Marigold shrank her neck slightly; she trembled as she lifted her eyes, tears glistening at the corners, and then she stammered:

"I… I agree, I will sacrifice myself for her, spare my life… I truly don't want to die…"

Xu Jiu Jiu's breath hitched, then she quickly grabbed Shu Yan's hand, hesitantly saying: "Ah Yan, is sacrificing now perhaps too early…?"

Xu Jiu Jiu's hesitation was unfounded; her current soul power is rank forty-seven, and after Gorgeous Marigold's sacrifice, it could at most be pushed to rank fifty—meaning the opponent could only become her fifth soul ring.

A hundred-thousand-year fifth ring—this is even more heaven-defying than Shu Yan's hundred-thousand-year sixth ring; from Xu Jiu Jiu's perspective, she would prefer to save it for her seventh or eighth soul ring before considering it, a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, after all, meaning a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and a hundred-thousand-year soul bone; absorbing it at the fifth ring does indeed seem too early……

Upon hearing this, Shu Yan looked at Xu Jiu Jiu's hesitant, worried gaze and softly said: "Don't worry, Gorgeous Marigold, as the king of immortal herbs, has a remarkable effect on gem-type martial souls; your Star Crown martial soul, while not a pure gem-type, is at least somewhat related."

"The reason I have her sacrifice now is also to prepare you for absorbing higher-year soul rings later and for your cultivation; don't burden yourself psychologically—the Star Luo Spirit Pearl still has some operational leeway afterward, so there's no rush to absorb it; as for your sixth soul ring and the others thereafter, I've already made some plans, so you needn't worry."

Xu Jiu Jiu's face hesitated for a long time, but in the end she still helplessly nodded and then said:

"Alright then, Ah Yan, I'll follow your lead…"

……

In the original work, Gorgeous Marigold's transformed form was a purple-clad male; here it's been changed to a female, which doesn't affect anything (please note).

Besides, whether Tang San notices this should also be fine; I haven't written any anchor points set by Tang San here, and the specifics will be explained later in the plot……

(End of chapter)