The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

Three years after the new emperor ascended the throne, the imperial advisor was gone, the pursuit of immortality was greatly curbed, and everything was peaceful.

Just yesterday, right after the morning court session, someone came to tell him that auspicious clouds were swirling around the Imperial Ancestral Temple. After much effort, he finally figured out that it was someone from the Immortal Sect bringing his nephew home for a visit. Today wasn't a major court session, and the emperor had just been comfortably sitting in his study reviewing memorials when the Grand Eunuch came running over again, looking terrified.

The emperor inexplicably felt that this news was probably not good.

"Urgent report from the Imperial Mausoleum: a severe thunderstorm last night has scorched the mountain above the mausoleum, leaving it black and smoking."

The ancestral grave is emitting green smoke.

Yuan Qi rubbed his face in worry. "Where's my nephew?"

"He went to Grand Commandant Xie's house last night and didn't return. He left the city early this morning. It seems he's going to see the retired emperor in the garden."

Yuan Qi was even more worried. "Isn't this some kind of divine warning?"

The head eunuch hesitated, then carefully served tea. "How about we find a master to take a look?"

Yuan Qi, still with his hands pressed against his face, glanced at the eunuch who had been with him for a long time. "Do you think I'm my elder brother? Believing in all that nonsense and heresy?"

"But... if that person comes back, doesn't that mean this mysterious thing is true?" the eunuch said in a low voice, bowing.

Yuan Qi's hand, which was resting on the desk, froze for a moment, then slowly moved away. He gave the eunuch a deep look and said, "What you said... does make sense."

Outside the city, inside a carriage, Yuan Ye continued to spread himself out like a pancake. Lin Du and Wei Zhi scanned the entire capital to confirm that there were no traces of any spirit realm cultivators. At this moment, their minds were exhausted and they were drowsy. Only Ni Jinxuan kept her eyes wide open, looking at the scenery along the roadside.

The carriage was quiet for a rare moment, but only for a short while.

Everything in the mortal world seemed strange to Ni Jinxuan; even the donkey cart used for hauling goods was a novelty to her. After a while, she couldn't sit still any longer and tugged at the sleeve of a pile of rat cakes. "Hey, what kind of beast is that pulling the cart?"

"A mule." Yuan Ye glanced at it, then added, "It's not tasty."

The drowsy Lin Du heard this sentence: ...Oh no.

Ni Jinxuan said "Oh," and then asked, "Have you ever ridden this before?"

Yuan Ye replied, "No, I am a prince."

Ni Jinxuan asked in confusion, "You said that royalty has a very high status in the mortal world and can get almost anything, yet they've never ridden in a mule cart?"

Yuan Ye: ...

He thought for a moment, "A mule cart being unstable isn't anything precious."

“What’s wrong with a mule cart? When you’re looking at the scenery in a horse-drawn carriage, you have to lift the curtain, and it’s so stuffy inside! The fragrance makes you dizzy,” Ni Jinxuan whispered. “I think a mule cart is great.”

Yuan Ye sighed, "Yes, mule carts are so nice, so comfortable. We'll just take a mule on the way back."

He was in a bad mood and didn't bother to pretend. When they arrived, he got out of the carriage and looked at the heavy guards in the garden. He couldn't help but sneer.

The power and status have been reversed. The person who once oppressed all his ministers has grown old and is now under the watchful eyes of countless people in this garden where he is supposed to "live out his old age." The person who was once cautious and enthusiastic about farming and could talk eloquently about agricultural common sense has become the saint who makes others feel suffocated.

Yuan Ye walked step by step toward the warm pavilion where the retired emperor was, but unexpectedly saw an old man who was trembling and needed to be helped from afar. He stopped in his tracks.

The man's hair was already gray, he wasn't wearing a hat, and his back was hunched; he already looked very old.

Yuan Ye stood there, suddenly feeling that the sun was a bit too bright today.

Before the old emperor could notice, the eunuch beside him spotted a distinguished figure with an imposing presence, followed by several other people who also appeared to be refined and otherworldly.

The young eunuch watched for a while, then suddenly shouted, "Yes, His Highness Prince Xuan has returned!"

Upon hearing this shout, Yuan Ye's gaze finally shifted to the little eunuch.

He looked familiar, but he wasn't one of the old emperor's former servants; rather, he was from the former Prince Cheng's residence.

The people who used to serve the old emperor are all gone.

He stepped towards his biological father, "Father."

The old emperor looked at Yuan Ye for a while, then asked, "Little Fifth, why are you back?"

Yuan Ye stared intently at the old emperor. "My master told me to return and sever my ties to the world. The Imperial Preceptor is not pure of heart and is associating with evil spirits. My sect is here to arrest him and bring him to justice, and to eliminate the evil."

The old emperor's already ashen face turned even more ashen. "Fifth Prince, what's wrong with you...?"

"You are a mortal, so you probably won't understand. What I mean is that the Imperial Preceptor used evil magic, magic that violated the laws of Heaven." Yuan Ye glanced at the eunuch. "However, it has all been dealt with now, so you can rest assured."

The old emperor trembled, his face darkening. He immediately roared, "You worthless brat! You went out for a while and didn't even bother to greet your father? Do you have no respect for hierarchy?!"

"If the ruler is not a ruler, then the ministers will not be ministers; if the father is not a father, then the son will not be a son." Yuan Ye smiled. "This is one of the few things my son remembered from his school days."

"Nowadays, there is a distinction between immortals and mortals. According to the rules of Taoism, all beings are equal. My nephew does not need to kneel. Moreover, because of you, his essence has been damaged, and we do not know how long it will take for him to recover."

Lin Du suddenly walked up from behind. "Could it be that you were completely unaware that someone like the Imperial Advisor was performing magic in your ancestral graves?"

The old emperor was increasingly displeased by the person who interrupted him. Just as he was about to curse, he met a pair of eyes as dark as an abyss. The woman was dressed as a Taoist priest. She looked down at his hunched figure with no anger on her face, only a mocking smile, which made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave in an instant.

"Of course I know! This is all for the sake of the nation's destiny! What talk of the Way of Heaven, the unity of Heaven and Man, the emperor is Heaven!"

"You are a prince, and princes are born to serve the country. You are supported by the people, so it is only right for you to give up your life! Not only me, but your second uncle and the entire court will not think that the Grand Preceptor's actions are wrong!"

Lin Du sneered, "Yes, sacrificing a prince and some common people for the sake of the nation's fate is nothing."

Yuan Ye suppressed a sneer, then let out a cold laugh, "What you can't let go of, what you want me to risk my life to save—the common people, or your throne!"

"Do you understand? This is the essence of feudal dynasties in the mortal world: exploiting resources, concentrating them in one center, and corruption is inevitable." She whispered to her two junior disciples, "Don't be trapped by decay and obsolescence. Very few things remain unchanged; everything is moving forward."

"I know you won't be able to get over this anytime soon, but the rules of this world will always be corrected."

Looking at Yuan Ye before him, the Emperor finally suppressed his inner rage. "Little Fifth, Little Fifth, I'm so happy you've come to see your father. Come have some tea with me, and I'll have someone make you your favorite lamb liver piroue, okay?"

Ni Jinxuan's eyes widened in an instant. Yuan Ye pursed his lips. His junior uncle had already gotten the answer, and the last bit of vain hope in his heart vanished completely. He cupped his hands and said, "I've come to see you one last time. I haven't eaten mortal food for a long time, so I won't have any tea. Take care."

Yuan Ye turned and left, but the old emperor called after him, "Don't you want to see your mother anymore?"

The young man did not turn back, but strode forward and quickly walked quite a distance.

Ni Jinxuan had to jog to keep up. "Yuan Ye, do you not like lamb liver? I remember when we went to eat hot pot, you said that lamb is only good when it's in hot pot?"

"Hmm." Yuan Ye walked quickly. "He never remembers what I like to eat. I love singing opera and I don't like studying. I'm the least favored. He only called me back to talk badly about my second uncle in private so that I could reclaim the rightful throne."

"So... was that lamb liver pizzeria he mentioned delicious?" Ni Jinxuan asked cautiously. "If he's offering you that, it must be really good, right?"

Yuan Ye slowed down upon hearing this, his face still showing frustration, but the corners of his mouth turned up. "It's disgusting. Only old people like that kind of food. I'll take you to eat something delicious."

Lin Du recalled the conversation in the car, "How about we get donkey meat sandwiches?"

"Going to eat donkey meat sandwiches by mule cart?" Yuan Ye followed Lin Du's train of thought.

The two looked at each other and chuckled.

That makes sense.

Wei Zhi remained silent the whole way until Yuan Ye actually wrote a letter to the emperor and then abandoned the carriage to buy mules with a few people. Only then did Wei Zhi reveal a slightly incredulous expression.

The art style of the Supreme Sect... doesn't it seem a bit off?

It wasn't until they boarded the mule cart that the Buddhist monk, who had been relegated to the background, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"You're not angry that the royal family treats you like a pawn destined to be sacrificed?"

"I'm angry." Yuan Ye clumsily pulled the mule cart, while the three angelic figures sat on the wooden cart, looking out of place but completely at ease.

"But I have dedicated my spiritual power for many years, and I have paid back what the royal family gave me. Now that the dragon aura on my body is gone, I will only be Yuan Ye of the Supreme Sect from now on, not Yuan Ye of the Great Zhou royal family."

"I'm most bothered by those burdens and responsibilities, so the best way is to just let go and not worry about them! I'll cultivate my carefree path."

Many of the myriad shackles that bind people in this world may not be real shackles at all.

Lin Du concluded, "As long as there is no morality, one cannot be held hostage."

Wei Zhi: ...Has the new generation of the Supreme Sect really gone astray, or have they gone astray themselves?