The return journey was much smoother compared to the trip there.
At the very least, they didn't encounter any distressed human soul masters on the road, nor any foolish soul beasts that wanted to actively offer themselves as a meal to Shen Hanyu.
Tianmeng and the Ice Frost Snake Demon were both in deep sleep within the spiritual sea. Unless they woke up on their own, they wouldn't awaken unless Shen Hanyu faced a life-threatening situation.
The two of them had chosen the sacrifice method of burning their souls. Being able to retain consciousness was already quite remarkable; falling into deep sleep wasn't a major issue. After all, for soul beasts of their age, sleeping for a few thousand years at a time wasn't unheard of.
And then there was the legacy… no, the gift left to Shen Hanyu by the Ice Frost Snake Demon.
A full eleven pieces of various soul bones. Seven of them came from the Ice Frost Snake Demon after its fall: three were thousand-year level soul bones, while the remaining four were ten-thousand-year level, with the highest reaching a full fifty thousand years, and it was an extremely rare trunk soul bone. A soul bone like this, if placed on the continent, would be enough to draw out a Titled Douluo to fight over it.
The rest were mostly arm bones or leg bones, but overall, they were complete sets with acceptable quality. Shen Hanyu planned to distribute them to people close to him; whether they could fuse with them or not was no longer his concern.
The remaining four soul bones were all over ten thousand years: three arm bones and one right leg bone, with ages ranging from twenty-five thousand to sixty thousand years. They were undeniably top-tier soul bones, though their exact origins from which soul beasts still needed investigation.
The Ice Frost Snake Demon's collection was far richer than the previous Fallen Sea Demon's. Aside from some rare treasures that could be found in the ocean, the Fallen Sea Demon perhaps only had that trident made of an unknown material that might be useful.
As for soul bones, there wasn't even a single one.
Before leaving, Shen Hanyu had seen from mid-air the Ice Frost Snakes gathering from all directions. The three leading ones were impressively snake kings around ninety thousand years old.
Within the Ice Frost Snake clan, those over fifty thousand years could be called kings, those reaching one hundred thousand years could be called snake emperors. As for those who reached the ferocious beast level, there was no clear title.
Having lost the protection of a ferocious beast, their clan's days in the short term would not be easy.
Pressure and plundering from nearby races would likely take some time to manifest. Whether they would later produce a new snake emperor to maintain their original status, or decline and gradually withdraw from the ranks of the powerful races in the Far North, this was something Shen Hanyu didn't care about in the slightest.
This trip had one additional unexpected gain. Shen Hanyu wouldn't say he wasn't lustful. After those seven days of intense "activity," he had developed a complicated, indescribable feeling toward the Ice Frost Snake Demon. After all, she was the first woman in this world he had matched evenly in that regard. To say he felt no emotion at all would be false.
But to say he liked her, that was impossible. He would seek suitable partners according to his own preferences, but emotions are something no one can predict.
Some people simply stand there doing nothing and already hold all the cards; others cross thousands of mountains and rivers only to end up as an oversized joker. Emotions are just like that, born from feeling, from outside to inside, indescribably complex.
Shaking his head to clear the slight daze caused by these thoughts, Shen Hanyu slowly regained clarity.
Emotions were too complicated; he wasn't suited to discussing them. In his view, perhaps companionship was the best expression of emotion.
.........
Returning to Element City didn't take long; in fact, it was quite short.
However, he wasn't in a hurry to return to the wooden house. Instead, he found a caravan in the city heading to Tiandou City and asked them to deliver a letter to Dugu Bo's mansion in Tiandou City.
Although Dugu Bo, that old bastard, spent most of his time living near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the Tiandou Empire had gifted him a vast, luxurious mansion in Tiandou City to win him over.
Though Dugu Bo rarely stayed there, an old steward he trusted had a way to notify him. This was something Dugu Bo had told Shen Hanyu before leaving.
After sending the letter, Shen Hanyu leisurely walked toward the outskirts of the city.
When he reached the small path near the wooden house, Shen Hanyu could hear the joyful laughter of the girls in the courtyard from far away.
After Shen Hanyu left, Shui Ningbing had completely treated this place as her secret spot for slacking off, coming over whenever she had free time to enjoy a moment of leisure.
At this moment, she was comfortably lying on a bamboo chair, with something resembling a face mask applied to her face and various cut fruits and freshly squeezed juice placed beside her, fully embodying the vibe of a beach vacation.
Shui Liuyu was sitting cross-legged under the shade of a tree, cultivating together with Shui Yue'er, though the slight dissatisfaction on her face was still noticed by Shen Hanyu.
With her direct relative and teacher nearby, slacking off was probably impossible. She was likely being urged to cultivate all day.
Shui Bing'er came out of the house carrying several cups of juice, with faint cold air rising from them, and gently placed them on the small table.
Shui Ningbing was too lazy to even open her eyes; she simply pointed to the empty spot next to Shui Yue'er, her meaning couldn't be clearer.
Shui Bing'er didn't show any dissatisfaction, or rather, she was originally a cultivation maniac and had long been accustomed to this.
Shen Hanyu found it somehow amusing. He slowly walked into the courtyard, shamelessly picked up a cup of beverage, and downed half of it in one go.
Shui Ningbing opened her eyes in slight confusion, then slowly closed them again and said, somewhat puzzled:
"Little Yu-zi is back? I heard you went out to obtain a soul ring. How come it took so long?"
The three girls, Shui Bing'er and the others, were also startled and woke up.
Shen Hanyu chose to completely ignore that strange form of address, smiling as he greeted everyone.
Shui Liuyu excitedly rushed forward wanting to hug Shen Hanyu, but was mercilessly stopped by him. He said somewhat helplessly:
"How old are you already, still rushing into my arms every day?"
Shui Liuyu smiled and didn't take it seriously, still squeezing into Shen Hanyu's embrace.
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er also gathered around, curiosity in their eyes.
Shen Hanyu patted Shui Liuyu's back, then sat down on a nearby chair and said with a light laugh:
"After obtaining the seventh soul ring, I luckily gained some additional opportunities and directly broke through to the Soul Douluo level. I needed to hunt for an eighth soul ring again, so it took some extra time."
As soon as these words came out, Shui Ningbing opened her eyes and looked at Shen Hanyu speechlessly, fiercely rolling her eyes.
Shen Hanyu even felt that if Shui Ningbing knew a bit more, she would probably flip him the middle finger directly.
The three girls, Shui Bing'er and the others, were all shocked and opened their small mouths, then realized it wasn't proper and quickly restrained themselves, but the surprise in their eyes was already overflowing…
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