Chapter Thirty-Eight: Encountering the Snow Tree

"I originally thought I could accept him, but I didn't expect him to be a spirit beast in human form. If I fall in love with him, I'm really afraid of losing him. Boohoo~"

Su Xue'er remained silent, not saying a word, feeling only a sense of pity for Shen Zixuan's unrequited love for Tang Ruoyu.

After a long while, Tang Ruoyu softly said, "Xue'er, I won't let you down. I'll try to accept him. If one day we do get married and his identity is discovered, if he dies, I will never live alone."

Su Xue'er understood Tang Ruoyu's words. She meant she would marry him out of respect for Su Xue'er, but only for her sake.

"What if..."

Before Su Xue'er could finish, Tang Ruoyu interrupted her, "Stop, Xue'er. I know what you're going to say. You don't need to say it. My words are final, you don't need to persuade me."

"Sigh~" Su Xue'er sighed lightly, thinking to herself, "I must become stronger so I can protect Xiaoxuan and Ruoyu."

Tang Ruoyu slightly raised her head, looking at Su Xue'er's delicate face. She couldn't help but smile. Su Xue'er, feeling strange, asked, "Ruoyu? What's on your mind?"

"I was thinking, if only you were really Yun Chuxue, how great that would be."

"And why is that?"

"Yun Chuxue is the youngest Spirit God expert on the continent. She ascended to the Spirit God level at the age of twenty-nine, and by her forties, she was already one of the top experts on the continent, bar none."

"Then why was such a powerful expert ultimately defeated?" Su Xue'er countered.

"After all, the strongest on the continent are all at the Spirit God level. They can't break through any further, so even after decades of cultivation, a peak Spirit God is still a peak Spirit God."

"I see. I also wish I were her, so I could better protect you and Xiaoxuan."

When Shen Zixuan was mentioned, Tang Ruoyu's eyes dimmed. She changed the subject and said, "Xue'er, the Commander's Grandfather San said you have eight years to cultivate. Where will you go? Will you continue at the Spirit Master Pavilion, or...?"

"Fallen God Valley."

"Fallen God Valley?" Tang Ruoyu was astonished. "Xue'er, are you joking? The Fallen God Valley is teeming with spirit beasts and many outlaws of the continent, most of whom are at the peak of the Spirit Emperor stage or Spirit Monarch stage, with few at the Spirit Saint stage. Are you sure you want to go there?"

"I have a question. Why did Yushi say that even he would suffer greatly if he went there?"

"Because he's at the Spirit God level. He would be sensed by the ten-thousand-year spirit beasts inside. No matter how strong a Spirit God is, it's impossible to fight a ten-thousand-year spirit beast alone. Even if you win, there are not just one but several ten-thousand-year spirit beasts in the Fallen God Valley."

Su Xue'er felt a bit desolate. She was guided to go there, but it was extremely dangerous, almost certain death.

"If only the Fallen God Valley had a restriction prohibiting spirit masters above the peak Spirit Emperor level, that would be great."

"Pfft, what are you thinking, Xue'er? How could there be such a restriction? If there really was, what would it matter if you married Shen Zixuan?"

Su Xue'er looked displeased and slowly got up, "Ruoyu, get some rest early. I'm going to seclude myself for cultivation."

"Mm, bye, Xue'er."

After leaving the left side hall, Su Xue'er walked directly to the right side hall. She paused at the door, then turned back to her room to begin her closed-door cultivation.

During her cultivation, Su Xue'er discovered that she could cultivate both her domain and her spiritual power simultaneously. She was overjoyed and practiced day and night.

Two months later, Su Xue'er's space-time domain had reached the next level. A white circle silently appeared in her spirit sea. Upon discovering it, Su Xue'er began to focus on sensing the white circle.

A few days later, she suddenly realized that her space-time domain had developed a second spiritual skill—Space-Time Annihilation Slash.

Su Xue'er was very pleased with this. "I wonder how powerful the offensive skill of the domain is?"

With that, she got up and tidied herself. Just as she was about to leave the dressing table, she suddenly felt dizzy, her head throbbing as if it were about to explode, accompanied by a ringing sound.

Su Xue'er held her head in her hands, curling up on the ground. A scene appeared in her mind.

A little girl sat in front of a door, looking unhappy. She dejectedly said to the old woman sitting beside her, "Grandma, why am I so useless? Not only do I have a non-attribute spiritual body, but I also cause you to live in such a place with me."

The old woman patted the little girl's head and gently said, "Xiaoxue, don't you have me? So what if you have a non-attribute spiritual body? It's not like you can't cultivate. There once was a non-attribute spirit master who became the strongest on the continent through hard work."

"Really? Grandma, can I become the strongest on the continent like him?" The little girl asked excitedly. The old woman looked kindly at her.

"Grandma believes in you. You can definitely become the strongest on the continent."

"Mm." The little girl showed an innocent smile.

"......"

Su Xue'er opened her eyes slightly and struggled to stand up. "Is this my memory? Grandma? Why do I feel inexplicably sad when I hear these words?"

She sat by the table, trying to pour herself a glass of water. Still caught up in her memories, she spilled the water on herself.

"Ah!" She patted the droplets of water and smiled wryly, "What's wrong with me?"

She then put down the kettle and left.

Just as she took a step, Su Xue'er was stunned by the scene before her. The road in front of the Spirit Master Pavilion was very wide, and on either side stood meticulously crafted fake trees. Each fake tree had a small tag hanging on it. Su Xue'er leaned in to take a closer look and saw the character "Snow" written on each tag.

Pointing at the fake trees, Su Xue'er asked a nearby maid who was hanging the tags, "What is this?"

The maid saw her and bowed, "Miss Su, these are specially made for you by the Commander. They are called Snow Encounter Trees. At night, each tag will emit a silver glow, making them very beautiful."

Su Xue'er smiled happily, "Where is Yushi?"

"The Commander is in the Spirit Master Hall."

"Got it. You all continue with your work." With that, she walked towards the Spirit Master Hall.

"Farewell, Miss Su."

As Su Xue'er walked, her face was full of happiness. She couldn't be more pleased right now.

The Snow Encounter Trees extended through the Spirit Master Hall, winding all the way to the main gate of the Spirit Master Pavilion.

Upon entering the Spirit Master Hall, she found it eerily quiet. She walked further inside until she reached the second-to-last floor, where she saw Yushi sitting on a balcony with Yuke standing beside him.

Su Xue'er quietly approached and could hear Yuke reporting the situation.

"We have already purchased fifty thousand jars of Xuanhua wine and five hundred thousand jin of various fresh meats, all of which have been stored in the cellar. There are also various vegetables..."

"Stop," Yushi interrupted Yuke's report. "That's enough for now. How much did it cost?"

"A total of twenty-five million gold coins."

"Only that much?" Yushi looked displeased and muttered, "Not enough. Add a luminous pearl on top of each Snow Encounter Tree, a snow-white one. Also, we need more wine and meat."

Yuke looked at Yushi in shock and said, "Commander, this is already a lot. For Miss Su, you've lowered your status, inviting everyone regardless of their power. I believe the wine and meat are sufficient, no need to buy more."

Yushi's expression suddenly changed, "Hmm?" Yuke felt uneasy and lowered his head, thinking he was about to be scolded, but Yushi smiled instead, "Yuke, I feel like something is still missing."

Yushi thought for a moment, "How is the wedding attire coming along?"

"Commander, it is already being rushed."

"Alright then, from now on, you are in charge of all the preparations. You must not disappoint your aunt."

Yuke was thrilled and said excitedly, "I will not let Aunt Su down."

"Go on."

"Yes."

As Yuke turned around, he saw Su Xue'er standing there.

"Good day, Aunt Su."

This greeting made Su Xue'er feel a bit awkward, "Good, go on with your work."

Yushi quickly turned and walked over to Su Xue'er, "Xue'er, you're here. Come, sit down."

After Su Xue'er sat down, Yushi asked, "Do you like the Snow Encounter Trees?"

"Yes, they're beautiful. But you spent too much, twenty-five million gold coins. That's the Spirit Master Pavilion's income for five years."

"I promised you the grandest wedding on the continent, and I will keep my word."

With that, he took out two smooth, round red balls from his spatial ring. Su Xue'er asked in surprise, "What are these?"

"These are the prizes for the continental and individual competition champions."

"I am the continental competition champion, but I am not the individual competition champion. Wasn't the individual competition canceled?"

Yushi explained, "After deliberation by the four great empires, it was decided that you are the individual competition champion. Because your spirit skill is so powerful, it could have inadvertently killed their chosen ones, which would have been a great loss."