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

The prince stood in the shadows with his head bowed, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists, the muscles in his knuckles twitching slightly.

Only when the jade slip was crushed and dissipated into powder by the gold-threaded boot sole did he finally raise his head, his expression indifferent.

As if speaking casually, "Lord Yuan, did you hear anything just now?"

Lord Yuan swallowed hard, but did not speak.

In fact, not many people present knew the specifics of the Third Prince. It was all passed down through rumors. The Southern Cang royal family did indeed have a Third Prince who was a twin of the Crown Prince. He was publicly declared to have died at birth and did not exist in the world. They believed this without a doubt. After all, who would want to think about changing spiritual roots?

But the old emperor's words implied...

Not only Yuan Hou, but also the surrounding crowd of excited cultivators suddenly fell silent, their expressions changing as they sensed the tense atmosphere between the eldest princess and the crown prince.

Countless eyes were fixed on the Crown Prince they followed.

A gentleman is upright and gentle, like jade.

The Crown Prince was very particular about his demeanor and always presented himself as a piece of exquisite jade. He had never made such a rude move in public before.

But Ji Ran acted as if nothing had happened.

Smile.

"Forging a will, turning the world upside down." He spoke calmly to Ji Fuyao, his long, slender eyebrows and eyes unwavering, as if addressing an ignorant child. "Elder sister, be careful what you say. What good does it do to force Father to utter these words through torture, other than making yourself look even more ridiculous? What's the point?"

Ji Ran deftly stepped over the pile of powder and walked straight toward Ji Fuyao, one step at a time.

Soon, Ji Ran's body was almost pressed against Ji Fuyao's sword as she softly said, "Royal Sister, please move aside."

He had also held expectations for this older sister. Ji Ran would always remember whatever Ji Fuyao said—

But now, it's no longer necessary.

Two pairs of blue eyes met, and for a fleeting moment, Ji Fuyao saw mountains of corpses and seas of blood, stark white bones, and countless sticky, twisted bloody hands reaching out from the deep pool, grabbing those incomparably luxurious gold-threaded boots with every step he took.

I felt a chill run down my spine.

The flawless mask seemed to have become part of the Crown Prince's body, impossible to remove, making people occasionally forget that he was the same age as Chu Xianlan—still a nineteen-year-old boy.

By proceeding cautiously and patiently, Ji Ran has indeed shown the potential to become a king. With a heart full of emptiness, he has cleared all obstacles from the chessboard for himself, thus becoming endlessly lost in it. The youthful spirit of carefree youth is gone forever.

Ji Fuyao closed her eyes. She couldn't judge whether Ji Ran was wrong to live for herself. Rather than right or wrong, it was more... tragic.

Such is fate; how tragic!

"Then how do you explain your years of harming young children, harvesting their spiritual roots to nourish yourself?! And how do you explain poisoning me, extracting my essence and blood to refine elixirs to compensate for my congenital defects?!"

A blue figure landed directly in front of Ji Ran. Ji Cheng'an pointed at the Crown Prince and roared, "Is this massive effort to capture half-demon for the sake of the cultivation world, or for personal gain and to cover up the truth?!"

"I'm asking you, do you dare admit to what you've done?!"

Ji Cheng'an was already short-tempered, and at this moment he was extremely angry, his whole body trembling slightly from exerting too much force.

The resentment in his heart was hard to quell, and he felt extremely frustrated, so naturally he couldn't suppress it as much as he wanted.

He thought, since he only had a few months left to live anyway, there was nothing to worry about!

Lord Yuan was dumbfounded, and still in shock, he uttered a single word: "Four..." Your Highness...?

Ji Cheng'an grabbed him by the collar and threw him aside, yelling, "Idiot!"

"It's only right to kill half-demons! His Highness the Crown Prince has the world in his heart!" Some old stubborn people were still arguing.

"With the world in mind?" Ji Cheng'an sneered.

"You're even worse than a pig!"

"you……!"

Ji Cheng'an raised his finger, tracing its tip across each of the cultivators present, finally pointing his thumb downwards, and mocked them without any manners: "All you know how to do is yell about how long or short 'Heavenly Spiritual Roots' are, a bunch of brainless idiots!"

"Aren't you curious? Why does the Crown Prince insist on stopping someone who has nothing to do with him from undergoing tribulation? Is it because he's afraid the truth will be revealed, afraid that the Heavenly Spiritual Root will be lost, because—" Ji Cheng'an's heart pounded, and his azure pupils surged with anger.

Then, disregarding everything, he drew the Azure Water Sword and pointed it behind him!

"—He! He is the true holder of the Heavenly Spiritual Root! The Third Prince of the Southern Cang Royal Family!"

The surroundings were deathly silent.

The next second, "BOOM—!"

A thunderous roar ripped through the sky, illuminating the surroundings in a blinding light.

A purple lightning bolt, powerful enough to destroy the heavens and the earth, slashed down fiercely from the ninth heaven!

As if in response to Ji Cheng'an's words, a sudden clap of thunder struck the hearts of all the humans and demons present. A surge of spiritual energy rose up, and in an instant, everyone realized that Chu Xianlan's final bolt of heavenly lightning had arrived!

The excessively thick lightning blinded many cultivators, as if the heavens were enraged. The roar in their ears lingered, and even the ground beneath their feet shook.

Only one thought remained in everyone's mind.

How could the power of a Nascent Soul stage lightning tribulation be so terrifying?

As the last shockwaves from the thunder dissipated, the clouds dispersed, and the sky brightened.

The spiritual mist enveloped the boy like a protective shield, resembling both a cocoon and a barrier, isolating him from the outside world and making him difficult to see.

Chu Xianlan slowly awoke amidst the chaos. The wounds caused by her tribulation were slowly healing, and her entire body and meridians had reached a new level. The abundant spiritual power of the Nascent Soul stage circulated in her dantian, which could not compare with that of the Golden Core stage.

He lowered his head.

A tiny, transparent figure, no bigger than the palm of his hand, stared at him expectantly.

Nascent Soul.

After a cultivator undergoes tribulation, the nascent soul born from the golden core will briefly appear before them before merging back into their body; this is the complete advancement process.

The nascent soul is actually extremely fragile and timid, so it will not stray too far from the main body. Only when it has just been successfully formed will it emerge from the sea of ​​consciousness to show its face, just like a newborn baby looking at this unfamiliar world.

Chu Xianlan tried to lift her head, and the little nascent soul moved as well.

It's quite interesting.

Chu Xianlan was about to reach out and touch it, but before she could even touch the little nascent soul's head, the little nascent soul suddenly turned its head and disappeared in a flash.

They...they ran away?

Chu Xianlan stood there, completely bewildered.

The onlookers stared at the fantastical scene shrouded in spiritual mist, unable to immediately guess whether someone had successfully advanced. Just then, a nearly transparent spiritual entity darted out and crashed into Yi Chen's arms.

Everyone was stunned.

I can't understand it at all.

Nascent Soul!? That's a Nascent Soul, isn't it??

Let's not even talk about the fact that the nascent soul cannot stray too far from the main body.

It is the source condensed by a cultivator using their own primordial spirit, so it is bound to be afraid of external things. It would be strange if it didn't quickly return to its body, let alone become close to others!

Just as one problem was about to subside, another arose, and the heavy weight that Pei Fang'an had just put down in his heart was lifted up again.

"Why did Xianlan's nascent soul come out to find Yichen? Could something have happened to it?" Pei Fang'an asked in surprise, holding his fan.

He stood there anxiously, asking, "Little Jin, what's going on?!"

"..." Wei Jin was speechless, and he twitched his lips. For the first time, he really wanted to refuse to answer.

What else could it be? The nascent soul follows its master.

Upon seeing this, Yi Chen was slightly taken aback, and the boat was released from his grasp and left suspended in mid-air.

Instinctively, I caught the little figure with both hands. The tiny spirit was almost weightless, soft like a ball of cotton, and behaved very obediently and docilely, as if it had found the most comfortable place for itself.

The little thing had barely touched the palm with its crisscrossing scars when it affectionately plopped down on it, facing Yi Chen directly with its bright eyes fixed on him, refusing to look anywhere else.

Really like.

At this moment, Yi Chen's heart softened unbelievably.

His usually cold face softened with a gentle warmth, like spring water thawing. His faint smile was like willow branches swaying in the breeze in March. In truth, danger lurked all around him, and this situation shouldn't have been like this, but he just... felt very happy.

Yi Chen's mind stirred, and he slowly pressed the nascent soul close to his heart, gently soothing it, "Xianlan..."

Bu Xizhou withdrew his sword aura and huffed and puffed as he approached. His ancient sword was still stained with blood, and he wanted to get closer but was too afraid to. He anxiously circled and thrashed around the little nascent soul.

The little nascent soul tilted its head curiously.

It's okay, don't be scared.

The boat, unmoored, rocked and swayed, utterly devoid of the spirit of an ancient sword.

"Let's go back," Yi Chen coaxed softly.

The little nascent soul couldn't stay in the outside world for too long. It suddenly flew up, rubbed its soft cheek against Yi Chen's face, from left to right, before reluctantly flying towards Chu Xianlan's direction to return to its original form.

Chu Xianlan, inside the spiritual mist, covered her face in embarrassment.

Although he couldn't see what was happening outside, that was his own nascent soul! Every move his master made was transmitted back through the primordial spirit connection, so of course he knew exactly what this little guy was doing!

The little nascent soul returned to its sea of ​​consciousness and merged with its master.

Then, a dazzling golden light shot into the sky, its momentum like a white rainbow piercing the sun. Unparalleled spiritual energy of heaven and earth reverberated throughout the entire valley, bringing spring back to all things and revitalizing them.

A wisp of colorful clouds quietly descended from the horizon.

The young man standing amidst the radiance was dazzling, his clear blue eyes shimmering with a faint light. His ethereal beauty and jade-like grace made everything around him pale in comparison. Even the dawn's light seemed to favor him, generously showering him upon him.

A gentle, silky drizzle fell from the sky above Shuilongyuan, nourishing all things.

Drizzling, dripping.

The crowd was stunned, and many even had a fleeting thought in their minds.

...If...he really is the Third Prince, whom I've never met before...

However, in an instant, screams echoed deep into the valley.

"Aaaaaaah!"

The sudden scream was so shrill that it sent chills down their spines. They were jolted awake, turned around, and saw Ji Ran convulsing and curled up on the ground.

"Your Highness... Your Highness...?"

Yuan Hou trembled all over, seemingly wanting to help him up, but ultimately did not make a move.

Many people reacted similarly to Yuan Hou, panicking at the various unexpected events.

Before everyone's eyes, the young crown prince fell to the ground, his hair disheveled, his body covered in mud and grass, blood flowing from his seven orifices, the crimson liquid mixed with rainwater and seeping into his brocade robe.

His blood-red eyes trembled wildly, and his hands gripped his dantian, like a fish out of water, thrashing, rolling and struggling in the filthy mud.

Ji Ran's lips moved, his face was pale with pain, the extreme pain was worse than death, but apart from that scream just now, he could not make any sound.

Just then, wisps of black and red aura emanated from Ji Ran's body.

Standing beside Ji Fuyao, Bao Yue exclaimed in alarm, "It's a demonic possession! My God, he's going to suffer a qi deviation!"

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

The surrounding cultivators looked on incredulously, and those who were close by couldn't help but step back.

After all, a cultivator who develops inner demons cannot maintain his mind and will attack anyone who comes indiscriminately, showing no regard for family or friends.

The dark red aura swirled around the prince, growing thicker and thicker, gradually transforming from a surging red mist into the phantom of a dragon.

In an instant, everyone, even the Demon King who had been casually watching the show with his arms crossed, changed their expressions.