So it turns out I'm the demon!

Night comes quickly, but goes... very slowly.

It took a full incense stick's time for the sky to clear up again.

Inside the Imperial Garden.

The personal eunuch hurriedly helped the emperor, whose face was ashen and whose legs were weak, to his feet.

"Whoosh!"

A figure swept up to the emperor.

The newcomer was dressed in a wide black robe embroidered with stars; he was the Director of the Imperial Observatory of Daqing.

He bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty."

Emperor Jinghe waved his hand to dismiss his attendants, and when only the two of them remained in the garden, he asked with a gloomy face:

"What happened?"

The supervisor took a deep breath: "Ziwei has appeared in the world."

"Ziwei?!"

Emperor Jinghe's face first showed surprise, then a surge of excitement appeared. "You mean... that person's star position has finally been revealed?"

The old supervisor nodded gently: "Yes."

Emperor Jinghe, however, calmed down.

"No, you once said that the Ziwei Star Official would need at least five more years before he could emerge from the 'Wilderness' and return to the Star Sea. Could it be... that Jiang Chaoxi isn't dead?"

The supervisor shook his head resolutely: "Heaven's will has decreed their annihilation; there is absolutely no chance of survival."

"Then why did the Purple Star appear in the world ahead of schedule?"

"In my humble opinion..."

The old supervisor carefully considered his words and spoke slowly.

"Someone must have done something behind the scenes, using some kind of heaven-defying method to forcibly release the position of Ziwei Star Official from the desolate ruins ahead of schedule."

Emperor Jinghe seemed to be deep in thought:

"You mean someone is about to break through to that legendary realm, so they're releasing the Ziwei Star Official ahead of time at any cost, intending to seize the opportunity and achieve it in one fell swoop?"

The old supervisor nodded: "This is the most reasonable guess at present."

Emperor Jinghe walked with his hands behind his back to the shore of the shimmering lake.

On the lake, the portrait of the woman that he had accidentally dropped earlier had been retrieved and placed on a stone table to the side.

He said calmly:

"Who do you think it could be?"

The old supervisor remained silent.

The Ziwei Star Official is the master of all stars.

It is the only key that can break through the thirteenth realm limit and enter the legendary fourteenth realm.

Therefore, only the thirteenth-realm super experts who stand at the pinnacle of cultivation are qualified to compete for the Purple Star Emperor.

Looking across the world, there are only nine people in the thirteen realms of existence.

This strange phenomenon must have been caused by one of these nine people.

But each of these nine people is a legendary figure, and each of them is backed by a power powerful enough to shake the world.

They're all formidable.

In particular, among the nine people, there was one old ancestor who had been in seclusion at the Imperial Observatory.

Emperor Jinghe, seeing that he remained silent, curled his lips into a cold smile:

"Does everyone think that the fate of my Great Qing is sealed and wants to usurp the throne and become the new master of this land?"

The old supervisor was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, his forehead touching the ground:

"Your Majesty is overthinking it! Even someone as powerful as Jiang Chaoxi, who held the Purple Star in his hands, could not overthrow the Great Qing Empire. Although those eight are strong, they each have their own agendas and are mutually restraining, so they are not a threat."

Moreover, as long as their ancestors are still alive, they will not dare to act recklessly.

"At present, our great Qing Dynasty is prosperous and peaceful, with the people living in contentment and happiness. It is a time of national prosperity, and the appearance of the Purple Star may well be an auspicious sign of our great Qing Dynasty's rise to power!"

"good omen?"

Emperor Jinghe chuckled, gazing at the shimmering lake surface, his tone low and somber.

"Jiang Chaoxi wasn't incapable of overthrowing Daqing back then, but rather he didn't want to. That madman's ambition was never for this mundane imperial power."

He sighed:

"He wants to break this set of cultivation rules that has lasted for thousands of years. He wants cultivators to no longer rely on the breath of the stars, no longer be puppets of the Heavenly Dao, but be able to directly plunder the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for their own use, just like demons."

"Unfortunately, he went astray and rushed down the wrong path."

The supervisor felt the same way.

The idea that celestial cultivation is a means by which the Heavenly Way nurtures all living beings has existed since ancient times.

But Jiang Chaoxi was the only one who dared to take action.

The person trying to overturn the chessboard.

Everyone else is just trying to survive within the rules, but he alone wants to be the one to go against the grain.

He just didn't want to be a consumable.

In his defiance of the will of Heaven, he went so far as to try to monopolize all the stars in the world and even devour all the demons and monsters to strengthen himself.

As a result, it aroused the wrath of humans and demons, and angered heaven and earth.

It should be noted that he had already successfully obtained the title of Ziwei Star Official and was regarded as the "favorite son" of Heaven.

He was the first to betray the "father" who gave him strength.

They deserved their fate.

Emperor Jinghe looked up at the stars that had already disappeared in the void and said coldly:

"Let's wait and see."

"I want to see who will ultimately claim this re-emerged Ziwei Imperial Star!"

-

-

Jiang Mu opened her eyes and found herself lying on a bed in the inner room of the government office.

Beside him, Zhang Daxiao rubbed his knee while looking at him with concern.

Seeing Jiang Mu wake up, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief:

"My lord, you're awake? How are you feeling?"

"What happened?"

Jiang Mu rubbed her temples, her head buzzing.

All I remember is that I need to sense the star positions, and then what?

I have no memory of it at all.

Zhang Daxiao quickly explained:

"My lord, your first attempt to sense the star positions happened to encounter a celestial phenomenon caused by the appearance of a high-ranking star official, which disrupted the celestial tides and impacted your divine sense."

Although this is rare, it has been recorded and is generally harmless; a short rest will suffice.

"High-ranking star level?"

"Exactly."

A look of awe appeared on Zhang Daxiao's face as he recounted the strange phenomenon he had just witnessed.

Jiang Mu was stunned:

"Didn't you say all the star official positions had been divided up? How come new ones are popping up?"

"This phenomenon, though extremely rare, does not exist."

Zhang Daxiao patiently explained,

"For example, if a powerful cultivator breaks through to a higher realm, then the lower-level star position he originally occupied will automatically be released and return to the sea of ​​stars."

Alternatively, if one passes away naturally due to the exhaustion of their lifespan, or is subjected to divine punishment, their star position will also become vacant.

But the appearance of a supreme star like that is something I've never witnessed before in my decades of life.

I reckon either some ancient ancestor has perished, or some peerless expert has broken through to a higher level.

At this point, Zhang Daxiao was filled with envy.

Such a high-level vacancy in the star position means that a bloody storm that will soon sweep through the highest levels of the cultivation world is about to begin.

Countless overlords will swarm in like sharks smelling blood, engaging in fierce battles.

Unfortunately, these low-level cultivators didn't even have the right to look up to them.

The only way is to climb step by step.

Only when you reach a certain level of understanding do you have the right to glimpse the scenery from higher places.

Jiang Mu listened with great emotion.

The waters of the cultivation world are indeed unfathomable.

He noticed Zhang Daxiao rubbing his knee and asked curiously, "What happened to your knee? Did you get shot with an arrow?"

Zhang Daxiao smiled wryly:

"Whenever a star of this magnitude appears in the world, we cultivators with low-ranking star positions will be subject to the instinctive suppression from the star position level and must kneel down to worship."

Is it that intense?

Jiang Mu's eyes burned with fervor, a strong ambition surging within him.

I wonder if I'll be able to attain such an awesome star level when I reach a higher realm in the future.

Hey Dad, give it your all!

-

In the Jiang family's courtyard.

Bai Xiang brushed the dirt off her skirt, her beautiful face now shrouded in frost.

She already knew which star position it was.

Ziwei Emperor Star!

She wouldn't care if it were any other star deity.

But this one... won't do!

Because the star position she herself occupies is the Harem Star, which is also one of the five North Stars and is an Emperor-level star position.

The five stars of the North Pole are centered around the Purple Star (Ziwei).

It governs the heavens and is called "Yang" or "the ruler".

The Empress Star governs the "yin" and "life" aspects of the celestial sphere, symbolizing the emperor and empress.

It complements and reinforces the Yin and Yang of the Emperor Star.

Simply put... someone wants to be her "husband" in terms of her celestial rank.

How can we tolerate this?

Bai Xiang's eyes flashed with murderous intent as she coldly stared at the location of the star in the sky:

"I'd like to see who dares to claim this position!"

"One comes, one is killed!"

"If we can't kill them... then we'll just perish together!"

A strong sense of crisis intertwined with a feeling of being offended and anger left her unsettled.

"No, we can't just wait around."

Bai Xiang swiftly formed a hand seal with her slender fingers, and her body radiated a hazy light.

She attempted to conceal her "harem star" aura beside the Ziwei Emperor Star, creating a hidden barrier.

She can detect anyone who tries to get close to Ziwei Star immediately and even interfere with them.

However, just as her divine imprint approached the vicinity of Ziwei Star, it was repelled by a domineering force.

"?"

Bai Xiang was stunned.

They won't let me get close?

Was it because my actions were too abrupt?

She frowned, hesitated for a moment, and tried again.

This time, she carefully moved towards the Purple Star Halo, even flashing her starlight as a way of greeting it.

As soon as they got close...

Another tremendous force struck, sending her flying.

"Is this... being rejected?"

Bai Xiang's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

She couldn't even get close, let alone anyone else.

In other words, the current Ziwei Star is like a piece of fat meat hanging in the sky, something you can only look at and drool over, but can't touch.

Isn't this just messing with people's mentality?

But the problem is...

It's one thing if others can't touch it, but why can't even I, the Empress, get close?

Undeterred, she tried several more times.

But without exception, they were all ruthlessly pushed away.

The other party seemed to be saying:

"Get lost, don't come near me!"

The woman inexplicably became somewhat defensive.

She was used to being admired by all and to being admired and followed by countless people, whether openly or secretly. She had never been treated so coldly before.

Bai Xiangfen clenched her fists and bit her teeth.

Shrimp head star!

You deserve to be single forever!