When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

As Yuan Hou suddenly rushed into the carriage, Ji Ran groaned in pain, showing signs of convulsions.

Thinking the Crown Prince's old illness had flared up again, Marquis Yuan paced anxiously while channeling spiritual energy into him, turning to summon the accompanying physician: "Quickly, someone come—"

"……shut up!"

A bloodied hand gripped Yuan Hou's sleeve.

Ji Ran's expression was like that of a demon, no longer as composed as before. His black hair was disheveled and stuck to his sweat-covered face. He raised his bloodshot eyes and it took all his strength to utter just those two words.

"What...what's going on? What should I do?" Lord Yuan knelt to the side, at a loss, but he couldn't just sit idly by.

As he spoke, he finally noticed the undeniable black aura surrounding Ji Ran.

Lord Yuan was greatly alarmed.

This, this looks like a sign of a damaged mental state and the growth of inner demons!

The crown prince, whom he considered the most perfect and flawless, was now disheveled and shrouded in black mist; he looked nothing like the person he was supposed to be.

What's wrong?

Marquis Yuan preferred to believe that he had misjudged the situation. He had followed the Crown Prince for so many years and witnessed firsthand how stable the prince's temperament was. How could he possibly... how could he have gone mad with demonic possession!

"Fetch me some medicine," Ji Ran said weakly, glancing at the hidden compartment at the other end of the carriage.

Lord Yuan snapped out of his daze and exclaimed, "Good, good!"

The top-grade elixir flowed into the prince's body like water, forcibly pulling him back from the brink of death. Ji Ran regained some clarity of mind, and his thoughts became more active.

—Thunder Tribulation.

Outside the window, there was a cacophony of noise and chaos, and a shadow crossed Ji Ran's eyes.

There is still a forbidden technique connecting him and Chu Xianlan.

The forbidden technique set up to seize the Heavenly Spiritual Root was never severed; it was only temporarily ineffective due to the barrier of the Northern Darkness Great Barrier. Once he stepped into the Northern Darkness, the Heavenly Spiritual Root should naturally fall into his hands, but... no matter how much Ji Ran schemed and planned, he could never have foreseen that the other party would undergo tribulation at this moment!

The tribulation of the Nascent Soul stage is extremely fierce, yet he actually used a forbidden technique from a hundred miles away to share half of it for Chu Xianlan, and the heavenly lightning struck him directly!

If he doesn't stop it immediately, then he will have to bear the lightning tribulations that Chu Xianlan shouldn't have to endure.

Thinking of this, a murderous aura surged to her brow. Ji Ran raised her hand to wipe away the remaining blood from the corner of her lips, and said in a cold voice:

"Send out all the elite troops to interrupt his tribulation."

Lord Yuan was taken aback, not understanding what this meant. "Your Highness, this...that is heavenly lightning after all. We shouldn't have rushed in so rashly."

If a cultivator is forcibly interfered with during their tribulation, it will inevitably lead to disorder of spiritual energy, and in severe cases, it may even cause the body to explode and die.

This is an attempt to cut off people's path to enlightenment and destroy their very foundation!

Moreover, lightning tribulation is a very dangerous thing, and no one wants to touch it lightly.

Even if they brought the best of the best, they shouldn't have taken such a risk.

Yuan Hou couldn't understand. Did His Highness the Crown Prince have some deep-seated hatred for that person who had never met him before, so much so that he didn't care about his own situation and was determined to kill him?

The crown prince had no energy to explain the useless nonsense, so he ordered him to quickly go and allocate manpower.

As a group of elite soldiers flew into the air on their swords, Ji Ran, with a grim face, raised her hand and placed a dark yellow talisman inside the dimly lit carriage. Enduring the excruciating pain throughout her body, she used her spiritual power to protect her heart meridian and painstakingly placed several pitch-black array stones on the floor.

"Buzz—"

A blinding light rose from the center of the formation.

A hazy, ethereal figure slowly emerged.

Ji Ran's throat itched. He suppressed the churning taste of blood in his throat, trying his best to remain calm, and bowed with his eyes lowered:

"Master."

Unless absolutely necessary, Ji Ran would not disturb his master's seclusion and repeatedly sought help from the Venerable Three Phases.

but……

Having overcome countless difficulties, Ji Ran still hasn't reclaimed what is rightfully his. How can he accept being trapped and dying here by his inner demons? He's unwilling, unwilling... absolutely not...

"What is it?"

A deep, slightly hoarse voice slowly came from above.

"Please, Master, grant me another divine power to help me suppress my inner demons and overcome this tribulation."

Ji Ran knelt on the ground, her chest rising and falling slightly.

Even though he never looked up, he could feel eyes like ancient wells watching over him.

After he finished speaking, the illusory figure remained silent for a moment.

"The inner demons arise from within and cannot be eradicated by external forces. I can only suppress them temporarily for you."

These words were not explicitly stated, but the implication was clear.

The tribulation of lightning will not cause cultivators to develop inner demons for no reason.

Only those with unstable mental states can be affected by it. The sudden flash of heavenly lightning was merely a trigger, drawing out all the anxiety in one's heart. Unfortunately, Ji Ran's obsession with the throne and spiritual roots ran too deep. Greed and the will to survive consumed everything, and he could no longer see anything else.

"Disciple understands," Ji Ran pleaded, biting her lip, a mad glint in her eyes. "Please, Master, lend me your power, help me one more time... one last time."

In this world, his master treated him the best, unconditionally protecting him and never hesitating to lend a helping hand.

Whenever she received the divine power of the Three Phases Venerable, she would be able to be brought back to life. Her long-lost body, which had been suffering from chronic illness, would feel comfortable and relaxed from the bone. All the obstacles in her body and mind would be smoothed out, and she would feel so light that it was almost as if she were not Ji Ran's own body.

It's like being reborn.

Immediately, the illusory figure nodded.

Golden light, like a trickle, flowed into the prince's body, and wherever it passed, the black mist dissipated.

But where Ji Ran couldn't see, a small, barely perceptible ray of light was being quietly drawn out by the golden light, slowly withdrawing and disappearing into the direction of the Three Phases Venerable.

Ji Ran was completely unaware of this.

At the same time, a large number of elite imperial troops sped off towards Lei Yun. This unusual commotion immediately alerted the Taiyi Sect members guarding the outer perimeter of the barrier.

"Someone's coming."

Wei Jin looked up at the sky, frowned slightly, and made a hand seal to reveal his fire whip.

"Who, who is it?!" Hua Ling felt uneasy and jumped up, turning her head to look around.

Xue Ling frowned, grabbed her, and dragged her back to her side.

From afar, rustling sounds came from the mountains and forests.

It wasn't just one or two people, but a large army approaching this place, with considerable cultivation and strength.

The next moment, countless well-trained royal soldiers landed instantly, and the group was caught off guard and surrounded from all sides.

Without saying a word, the group launched an attack.

The spiritual energy within the valley fluctuated violently, and amidst the flashing swords and clashing blades, multiple deadly attacks exploded instantly.

"Go to hell!" Yan Ling's body grew enormous. He raised his hoof and kicked wildly, roaring, "Have these people gone mad?! How dare they make a move under the lightning tribulation?!"

In the chaos, several groups of people bypassed the front and flew directly towards Chu Xianlan from both sides.

"They're after Xianlan!" Xiao Huandu shouted, drawing his sword. "Don't let them get near the barrier!"

Extremely cold ice lines spread upwards from the barrier, and the first few elite soldiers who rushed to the front were frozen in mid-air in an eerie, motionless position as soon as they touched the outer edge of the barrier.

"—Form ranks!"

The elite troops of the imperial city clearly had another plan. Seeing that the situation was not right, the general gave an order, and the well-trained cultivators immediately changed positions, and the formation wove together a net to cover the sky and the earth.

Just then, ten thousand sword lights poured down, like snowflakes fluttering down.

The silver blade flashed, its cold light blinding.

The boat moved with lightning speed, like a silver needle threading through a needle, weaving through the dense enemy ranks. Amidst flying sand and stones, the air exploded, screams rang out one after another, and bursts of blood mist exploded one after another.

A shower of blood rained down from the sky.

The robes rustled, and specks of blood splattered onto the sword cultivator's white robes, like red plum blossoms blooming in the snow, adding a touch of color to the somber figure standing at the edge of the barrier.

Without being tied to the boat and without a drop of blood, it returned to the sword master's side, hovering in mid-air.

Yi Chen raised his eyes, traced the sword blade with his fingertips, and with a flick of his finger, a misty cold fog suddenly dissipated from his body.

That was a chilling sword intent and an overwhelming killing intent.