Chapter 1203 The Saint's Decision
"But have you ever considered, sir? If he truly was connected to the thieves, why would he risk his life to protect this remnant soul that was of no use to him? Even going so far as to expose the Ice Soul Divine Marking and draw the attention of the Su Family? Isn't this a contradiction? If he truly had ulterior motives, he could have simply fled with the remnant soul. Why would he confront you, the Su Family Saintess, and seek his own death here?"
Su Qingyue was silent, with light flowing in her icy eyes, as if ten thousand years of ice was slowly moving.
Luo Li’s words hit the nail on the head.
Emperor Xuanming's reaction, especially his desperate protection of the carrier of the remnant soul, did not seem like the act of someone with ulterior motives, but more like an instinct ingrained in his bones.
"Furthermore," Luo Li's eyes fell on the carrier protected by the Ice Lotus Rune, and her voice was filled with a subtle earnestness.
"This remnant soul is so weak, a mere candle in the wind. Forcibly stripping it or transporting it over long distances will result in its complete annihilation. I understand your desire to bring it back to the Su family for examination, but isn't that too harsh? Forcibly using your essence and blood to attack the Origin Guardian wouldn't that be tantamount to harming Senior Han Yi's remnant soul again?"
Su Qingyue's fingertips moved slightly.
Luo Li's words were like a very thin ice needle, piercing into the frozen lake of her heart.
She looked at the ice lotus rune between the carrier's eyebrows, and the aura was still silently telling something.
Forced soul testing is indeed extremely risky.
She had previously been determined to "clean up the filth", but now that it was exposed, the waves in her heart that were stirred up by the name of Su Hanyi, which even she herself did not want to delve into, seemed to expand a little.
"What do you think?" Su Qingyue's voice was still cold, but the meaning of freezing everything seemed to fade a little.
Luo Li took a deep breath, knowing the most crucial moment had arrived. "We are willing to cooperate with the investigation into the theft of the Holy Soul. You can use gentler means here to try to communicate with this remnant soul and obtain information. If you still have doubts, you can also leave a token or a soul mark to ensure the remnant soul's safety. When Ah Ming is strong enough or finds a foolproof method, we will go to the Su family together."
Her voice was firm yet gentle. "If we forcibly take the remnant soul away, not only will it cause irreparable damage, it will completely sever any connection that might have existed between Ah Ming and the Su family, and could even create a mortal enemy. This is definitely not the best way for the Su family to recover the Holy Soul and clarify the truth."
Luo Li's words not only provided a way out, but also proposed a compromise solution, and also pointed out the biggest risk of forcibly taking him away.
She cleverly pushed the choice back into Su Qingyue's hands.
There was dead silence inside and outside the side hall.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the figure floating above the ice lotus.
The cold wave was still howling, but the atmosphere had changed from a tense killing field to a tense and delicate negotiation table.
Su Qingyue's gaze slowly moved between Di Xuanming's face, Luo Li's calm and determined eyes, and the carrier gently protected by the ice lotus rune.
Under the icy fog, no one knew whether the unmelted ice in the heart of the Su family's holy lady who ruled the endless ice field had quietly cracked because of the name "Su Hanyi" and the complex and difficult dilemma before her.
Time seemed to be frozen for a moment.
Finally, Su Qingyue's icy voice sounded again, like a cold spring dripping into a deep pool:
"Communicating with the remnant soul carries risks, and this is beyond my control. Its consciousness is weak and nearly dissipated. Forcibly awakening it might hasten its demise."
Her icy blue eyes swept across Di Xuanming, and that scrutinizing gaze seemed to see through him completely from soul to blood.
"Emperor Xuanming, you are imbued with demonic energy, and your Ice Soul Divine Mark has been tainted. This is an indisputable fact. The Su family bloodline must not be desecrated, let alone coexist with filth. The source of the demonic energy within you and the cause of the abnormal changes in your Divine Mark must be thoroughly investigated. This is the bottom line."
Her gaze finally fell back on the carrier, and her voice was filled with unquestionable determination:
"This remnant soul carries the final trace of Su Hanyi and is the only clue to tracing the whereabouts of the Holy Soul. I must bring it back to the 'Eternal Silence Ice Abyss' and nurture it with the Su family's secret method, ready to trace its origin one day. This is not a matter of negotiation; it is the will of the Su family."
"However," Su Qingyue changed the subject slightly, and the chill that froze everything seemed to subside a little, "Considering that the residual soul guardian mark spontaneously protected you, and what Luo Li said, there is still some perverse logic."
She raised her other hand, palm up.
A bright icy light like the core of a star condensed and stretched in her palm, eventually turning into a diamond-shaped token about three inches long, as transparent as ten-thousand-year-old black ice, with countless tiny ice lotuses slowly appearing and disappearing inside.
The moment the token appeared, the surrounding cold air seemed to have found a home and flowed around it gently.
"This is the Ice Soul Order, which contains a trace of my origin mark and the Su family's spatial mark." Su Qingyue flicked her fingertips, and the Ice Soul Order turned into a stream of light. Regardless of the distance, it instantly appeared in front of Luo Li and hovered quietly.
A gentle yet extremely pure and vast icy aura emanated, which not only did not hurt Luo Li, but instead calmed the turbulent energy and blood in her body.
"Holding this order can protect you from a fatal attack and also serve as a token of your loyalty. When you have cleansed yourself of the demonic taint and proven your bloodline's purity, and possess sufficient strength to enter the Su family without desecrating the Holy Land of the Icefield, you can present this order to the Outer Realm Jackdaw Outpost in the Frostfall Star Region. Someone will be there to guide you into the Eternal Silence of Ice."
Her voice was condescending, yet hinted at a faint possibility: "Then, you may be able to see this remnant soul again and learn some of the truth you wish to know. But remember, this opportunity only comes once. If you fail to meet the conditions, or if this remnant soul completely dissipates due to external forces during its return journey or during its incubation period, then this agreement will be void."
Luo Li suddenly spoke up, "The Su family hasn't set foot on the mainland for so many years. Don't you want to know what the mainland is like now?"
Su Qingyue said coldly: "My Su family has stood on the continent for hundreds of thousands of years. No matter what happens on the continent, my Su family will not be involved anymore."
After saying that, Su Qingyue withdrew her gaze and no longer looked at the reaction below.
The ice-blue light band surrounding her suddenly brightened, and the huge ice lotus under her feet slowly closed, gently wrapping the suspended carrier inside.
The space began to fluctuate violently, and the huge crack across the sky appeared again, and the scene of the dark blue ice field was faintly visible behind the crack.
"Su Qingjue." Her cold voice sounded.
Su Qingjue, the cloaked man who had been kneeling on the ground, immediately responded: "I'm here!"
"Take the carrier core and return with me. Use your power to thoroughly investigate this city and the surrounding area for thousands of miles, searching for the whereabouts of the Holy Soul and any suspicious traces. Report back to Bingyuan in detail." The order was concise and majestic.
"I will follow the orders of the Saint!" Su Qing did not dare to be negligent in the slightest. He immediately stood up and carefully controlled the core disk of the soul-locking formation, turning into a black light and flying towards Su Qingyue.
Su Qingyue's figure began to become blurred, as if it was about to blend into the dark blue background of the ice field.
Before completely disappearing, she took one last look down, her gaze lingering on Luo Li and Di Xuanming for a very brief moment. In the depths of her dark blue eyes, a trace of extremely complex and difficult-to-interpret glimmer seemed to pass, and then it was completely covered by ten thousand years of ice.
"Take care of yourself."
The cold echo drifted away in the cold wind.
Boom!
The spatial rift suddenly closed, like a giant beast closing its mouth. The terrifying cold current that poured down was instantly cut off, and the extreme cold that permeated the world began to slowly subside.
But the entire Buli City is still covered under thick dark blue ice, like a huge ice sculpture city.
The sky returned to its dim dusk color, as if the vision that had just torn the sky apart was just a nightmare.
puff!
Di Xuanming, who was holding on tightly, could no longer suppress his emotions. He suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood and his body swayed. If Luo Li had not supported him tightly, he would have almost fallen to the ground.
He looked at the place where Su Qingyue and the carrier of his mother's residual soul disappeared, with tremendous anger in his eyes.
The Ice Soul Order floating in front of Luo Li emitted a cold glow, like a glaring mockery.
"Su Family...Eternal Silence of Ice..." He gritted his teeth, every word drenched in blood and hatred. "I will definitely go! Mother, wait for me!"
Luo Li tightly grasped the ice soul order that felt icy to the touch, looked at Di Xuanming's tragic and stubborn appearance, and then looked at the city of Buli that had returned to peace but was devastated, frozen and silent. There was no relief in her heart for the successful negotiation, but a heavy feeling instead.
The saint seemed to be giving in, but in fact she was marking a more severe path.
Cleanse the evil spirit? Prove bloodline? Possess the strength to enter the Su family?
Each of these levels is like climbing to heaven.
And can Su Hanyi's extremely weak remaining soul survive until that day?
Luo Li pressed her forehead. This was a family matter after all, and Bulicheng should not intervene before a conflict arose. This was also the reason why they had hardly said anything just now.
But this also resulted in them not getting any useful information.
Luo Li fed Di Xuanming another pill and looked at Bai Ze: "Take him back to rest and keep an eye on him. I'll be there soon."
Bai Ze nodded and took the person from her, "I understand."
Then, Luo Li rose into the air, and the chaotic soul fire suddenly surged, sweeping across the entire Buli City.
The flames spread silently and at an extremely fast speed, but with a strange sense of order.
It burns the power of ice precisely, yet gently caresses the citizens and spiritual plants.
The frozen blue hell was being "wiped" clean by the chaotic flames at a speed visible to the naked eye, revealing its original color.
Seeing Bulicheng restored to its original appearance, Luo Li stopped.
Then, she returned to the City Lord's Mansion. She had many things to ask Di Xuanming.
What on earth did he encounter in the endless desert? Why did he hide it when I found him and only tell me about his mother?
Is there any connection between the evil energy in his body and his experience in the endless desert?
Luo Li needs to figure all these out.
In the City Lord's Mansion, Luo Li's courtyard.
Bai Ze saw Luo Li coming back and said, "He's in the house. You go ahead. I'll go get busy first."
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