Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
During this half month, Shu Yan had no urgent matters to attend to, spending his days cultivating and learning ice control techniques under the guidance of the Ice and Snow Two Emperors, as well as pushing his own limits.
The Snow Empress had originally planned to teach Shu Yan the Snow Empress's Three Absolutes, namely the so-called Emperor's Sword: Ice Extreme Unparalleled, Emperor's Palm: Great Cold Snowless, and finally, Emperor's Cold Sky: Snow Dance Dazzling Sun.
As the Snow Empress's ultimate techniques, these three forms were incredibly powerful, and also the strongest killing moves she had gradually explored and perfected over many years. For an ordinary person to thoroughly grasp them, the difficulty was no less than facing a Title Douluo with the cultivation of a Spirit King.
But Shu Yan was different; he was almost of the same origin as the Snow Empress, and his speed in comprehending these three killing moves was immeasurably faster than others. In just half a month, Shu Yan had already vaguely reached the introductory level. As his cultivation gradually increased, his understanding of these three great killing moves would also deepen. One day, he would completely master the Snow Empress's Three Absolutes, so Shu Yan was not in a hurry.
Xu Jiujiu was still very busy. As the Empire's Princess, although she didn't need to directly face the tedious and boring court affairs, many matters still required her attention. There was nothing she could do about it; the current imperial family's bloodline was weak, and there were pitifully few people capable of taking on major responsibilities.
As a direct descendant of the imperial family, Xu Jiujiu naturally couldn't stand by and do nothing. She would contribute whatever strength she could. After all, from another perspective, wasn't this also a form of self-training?
As soon as the half-month deadline arrived, Han Lin's figure appeared outside the Princess Manor right on time. Shu Yan welcomed him into the manor, and the two sat facing each other at a table. Shu Yan looked at the disheveled Han Lin, then at the visible fatigue on his face, and let out a light sigh before speaking:
"This time, Old Han, I've troubled you. I presume you've invested a considerable amount of effort this time. After you return today, please rest well for a while. Later, I will have someone send you some rare treasures that nourish the body and soul, as compensation."
Han Lin grinned, waved his hand dismissively, and said cheerfully:
"There's no need for such trouble. For a young friend to provide me with such precious materials for my research, this is already the best compensation for me. This time, this old man did not disappoint the young friend either; this old man has brought the finished product. Young friend, please take a look."
As he spoke, a silver-white light flashed, and a peculiar-looking circular Soul Guidance Device Master appeared before Shu Yan.
The circular Soul Guidance Device Master was entirely silver-white, with ornate and strange patterns engraved on its outer edge. As it slowly rotated, wisps of cold air poured down from above, like clouds and mist.
Unlike the silver-white exterior, the interior of this Soul Guidance Device Master was a deep blue that was nearly transparent, with streams of light occasionally flashing through. Five rhombic crystals were embedded on its upper part, one of which had turned red, while the other four remained a dull gray-white with no fluctuations.
"According to the young friend's request, with the help of Giant Force Douluo, this old man combined that ten-thousand-year Titan Snow Demon skull with the Level 8 Soul Guidance Device Master Soul Shield that this old man had previously developed. During the fusion process, various ingenious uses of many Soul Guidance Device Masters were selected and integrated."
"This Soul Guidance Device Master not only has the effect of controlling and imprisoning souls, but it can also instantly cast the skill of a Level 7 Soul Guidance Device Master, Heaven's Net and Earth's Snare, for use as a control-type Spirit Ability.
Within a reasonable range, it can even store spiritual power and spirit power to enhance oneself. It can even forcefully control and summon the remnant soul of that ten-thousand-year Titan Snow Demon to fight in a form close to a physical entity, but doing so requires sacrificing... ah, no, storing enough souls..."
"In addition, because it is combined with the Level 8 Soul Guidance Device Master Soul Shield, this Soul Guidance Device Master can also amplify and reduce spiritual power within a certain range. This is an extremely rare breakthrough in the entire Soul Guiding world. However, because this old man is also encountering this situation for the first time, this old man is not clear about its true upper limit and practical application..."
"But what is undeniable is that this Soul Guidance Device Master is undoubtedly the peak masterpiece in this old man's career of manufacturing Soul Guidance Device Masters.
Although it is only a Level 8.5 Soul Guidance Device Master, it is actually comparable to some Level 9 Soul Guidance Device Masters. Even this old man himself is very surprised that he could complete the entire manufacturing process within half a month; the smoothness was simply like divine assistance..."
As he spoke, a noticeable hint of excitement and frenzy appeared in Han Lin's voice. This was something that had never occurred during his previous research into Soul Guiders; it was a great surprise to him, and also a historic breakthrough in his journey of researching Soul Guidance Device Masters, even though he clearly knew that some abilities of this Soul Guidance Device Master he created were no different from those of Evil Soul Masters.
But in the end, Han Lin didn't care about these things. He only wanted to research and manufacture Soul Guidance Device Masters. As for what Shu Yan would use it for?
Sorry, he didn't care at all.
Perhaps many people didn't know that Han Lin's teacher was once a powerful Evil Soul Master and a Level 8 Soul Guidance Device Master. Part of the reason for the eventual split and mutual killing between the master and disciple was related to this aspect.
But it is undeniable that that Level 8 Soul Guidance Device Master influenced Han Lin's entire life and also greatly affected his character. Perhaps, deep down, he still carried a trace of extremely well-hidden cruelty and bloodlust.
But relatively speaking, Shu Yan didn't care about these things either. Whether it was cruelty or indiscriminate killing, what did it have to do with him? As long as Han Lin was loyal enough, even if he was a hidden Evil Soul Master, he would never say an extra word of nonsense.
After receiving this aesthetically pleasing and cool-looking Soul Guidance Device Master, Han Lin spoke again:
"This Soul Guidance Device Master doesn't have a name yet. I originally planned to name it myself, but after thinking about it, I decided to let the young friend decide."
Shu Yan nodded, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"Let's call it Yinming's Fall. What do you think, Old Han?"
Han Lin softly repeated the name, then burst into laughter:
"Good, let's call it Yinming's Fall. This name is mighty enough, this old man likes it!"
The two chatted for a few more sentences, then Han Lin stood up and took his leave. Shu Yan escorted him out of the manor, then in a few flashes, he arrived at the spacious back courtyard of the Princess Manor. The Snow Empress had already been waiting there for a long time. Shu Yan didn't know exactly when she had arrived, but he presumed she had sensed Han Lin's aura and came over to investigate because she was uneasy.
After all, the Snow Empress's current residence was literally just two walls away from the Princess Manor...
Seeing Shu Yan arrive, the Snow Empress narrowed her eyes slightly and observed him for a moment, then she directly extended her hand and said at the same time:
"Hand it over."
Shu Yan was slightly taken aback, lowered his head and looked at himself, genuinely not understanding what the Snow Empress meant for a moment.
The Snow Empress looked at Shu Yan's confused expression, gently tapped the table, and then said in a calm tone:
"That Soul Guidance Device Master you just got, bring it for this Empress to see."
Shu Yan was startled again. Although he didn't know why the Snow Empress wanted to see Yinming's Fall, Shu Yan still took it out. The next moment, Shu Yan only felt his hand empty, and when he came back to his senses, he found that Yinming's Fall was already in the Snow Empress's hand.
The Snow Empress's spiritual power probed into it and instantly felt a powerful suction force. Deeper within, the Snow Empress sensed a familiar aura. Her expression changed slightly, but then quickly returned to normal.
Seeing this, Shu Yan couldn't help but feel relieved. After all, the three Titan Snow Demons they hunted in the Extreme North Land were not ordinary Spirit Beasts. He was somewhat worried that the Snow Empress harbored dissatisfaction, but upon second thought, it was actually quite helpless.
He actually had little interest in the Soul Spirits that would appear in the future. Currently, acquiring spirit rings naturally still relied on hunting Spirit Beasts. Throughout the world, only the Extreme North Land and the Ice Sea outside the Extreme North Land had Spirit Beasts that could meet his requirements. To be honest, if the Snow Empress really had an opinion, then the whole matter would inevitably be somewhat troublesome.