"puff--"
With a huge splash, two figures were ejected from underwater once again!
Upon landing, both of them were taken aback.
"Is this... the entrance to the Arctic Ice Castle?"
Shen Yunhao looked at the large gate in front of him, which was inlaid with thirty-six crystal cores, and then at the huge ice crystal forest behind him. He immediately recognized the place.
Mo Yan, standing to the side, also sneered with her hands in her pockets, "Tch! If we had known that the waterway below could lead directly to the secret chamber where the Heavenly Evolution Embryo Essence resided, we wouldn't have wasted so much time wandering around this castle."
Indeed, after the two found the exit of the secret chamber, they were immediately sucked into the underground current. They swam along the current for quite a while, but ended up back in front of the Extreme Ice Castle.
"What do we do now?"
Mo Yan dried the water off her body as usual and said in a low voice, "Are you planning to return this fetal essence to her, or use it to blackmail her into working for you, or... just destroy the fetal essence and gain an unclaimed Void Illusion?"
This third point had already been discussed underground. If it was going to be destroyed, it would have been destroyed long ago. Why wait until now?
As for the first two options...
"Let me warn you, if you return the fetal essence, the spirit will be completely whole and no longer under anyone's control. Our gains from this trip... will basically be nothing!"
Shen Yunhao hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head, "Let's talk to her first..."
"snort!"
Shen Yunhao didn't say much, but stepped forward again and used the ice talisman in his hand to open the castle gate.
"Click—"
As the heavy ice door slowly opened, a wave of cold air rushed out from inside the castle, but Shen Yunhao felt that the chill was somewhat milder than before.
He glanced back at Mo Yan, and the two exchanged a look.
"It seems that Han Xiaozi's death has had a significant impact here..."
The two did not say much and continued walking deeper into the castle.
However, after taking only a few steps, an icy blue figure appeared, the Ice Soul Sword pointing directly at Shen Yunhao from a distance, with the girl standing behind him, holding the hilt of the sword in one hand.
However, the sight of her petite frame wielding a sword much larger than herself looked rather comical.
"You wretched brat! What tricks did you pull? I clearly felt the seal had been broken, so why can't I get out!"
Before Shen Yunhao could answer, Mo Yan sneered, "You should ask your... father. What's the use of asking us!"
"Um?"
The girl frowned and pondered for a moment, then said angrily, "You're talking nonsense! Father died a thousand years ago, how am I supposed to ask him?"
Knowing that the girl in front of him was the legendary artifact Konghuan, Shen Yunhao couldn't help but feel a surge of desire. He took a step forward and revealed an innocent smile.
"Little sister, come with me, and you'll be able to get out of here!"
"no!"
Why not?
"Your smile is so lewd! Just like all those other annoying people I used to hate! I hate people like you the most..."
"???"
Shen Yunhao couldn't help but widen his eyes and turn to look at Mo Yan, "Do I look that sleazy?"
"I'm practically drooling, don't you think?"
Mo Yan couldn't help but roll her eyes and turn her head away.
"..."
Shen Yunhao immediately felt a chill and quickly wiped the smile off his face. "Ahem, well... my wording just now might have been a bit off. What I meant was, do you really want to leave this secret realm and go to the outside world?"
Shuang'er nodded seriously in response.
"Uh-huh!"
Why? Don't you like it here?
"Of course it's not good!"
Shuang'er pouted, looking quite disgruntled. "Let's see if you're still happy with being locked up here for a thousand years!"
"..."
Shen Yunhao choked for a moment, then asked, "What about before? Didn't your father, Han Xiaozi, take you out before?"
The girl's face paled noticeably when the matter was brought up.
"My father wouldn't let me go out to play when he was alive, and even after he died, he still wants to lock me up here. I hate him!"
These words reminded Shen Yunhao of what he had seen in the memories of the Heavenly Frost Record.
Before his death, Han Xiaozi did indeed keep the girl in a small magical artifact and carried her with him. Although he used the Heavenly Essence of Fetal Transformation to enlighten her, he essentially treated the girl as a tool.
Thinking about it this way, that cry of "Father" was indeed quite ironic.
Shen Yunhao remained silent for a long while, then sighed and said, "But the problem now is that, for certain reasons, you can't go too far away from me! Only by staying with me can you go out!"
"What?"
Shuang'er was slightly taken aback.
"If you trust me, then come with me... I promise I won't restrict your freedom, okay?"
Shen Yunhao made no mention of Kong Huan or made any demands of her; he simply said he could take her out.
He thought he had been tactful and subtle enough, but the little girl's next words left him completely speechless.
"You want to be my master, don't you?"
Shen Yunhao froze for a moment before asking, "Why do you say that?"
The girl's tone was no longer as coquettish as before, but instead became very calm, "A thousand years is a long time. You are no different from those who come here..."
She put down her greatsword and squatted down on the ground.
"Since I became conscious, I have only ever recognized one master, and that is my father... because he gave me life!"
"Over the past thousand years, many people have set foot here, but not all of them have been fooled by me like you..."
Shen Yunhao: "..."
"There are also quite a few people who can produce strange things and see through my true form..."
The girl hugged her knees, her voice low and gloomy, "Without exception, those people's eyes were terrifying, far more terrifying than yours! It was like they wanted to devour me!"
"I hate them, I hate them even more than my father who locked me up here!"
"Perhaps we are born with the mission of recognizing a master, but... since God gave me this body, gave me an independent consciousness, and gave me the power to make my own decisions, I will no longer recognize anyone as my master!"
At this moment, the girl raised her head again and looked at Shen Yunhao. "From my perspective, you are much better than those people. At least you have a kind of approachable quality about you... But I'm sorry, I can never acknowledge anyone as my master again, no one!"
Shen Yunhao opened his mouth, his gaze towards the girl revealing a complex expression.
She looks like a... somewhat immature child.
But the phrase "born to bear the mission of recognizing a master" made Shen Yunhao feel inexplicably heartbroken.
Mo Yan snorted twice from the side, "It seems... someone's wishful thinking is going to fail. Now, is there only one option left?"
If the soft approach doesn't work... then we'll have to resort to the hard one.
Since the other party's consciousness has clearly indicated that it will no longer recognize a master, it seems that there is no other choice but to eliminate this consciousness...
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