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

Tormented by excruciating pain and devoid of all five senses, every second felt like an eternity. Ji Ran coughed violently, and he heard his heart asking itself—was it worth it?

"Fate is unfair; to be born a chess piece—can one have any complaints?"

"Having schemed for half a lifetime, betrayed by all and abandoned by friends and family, ultimately forsaken by Heaven's will, is there any resentment?"

"All the scheming and plotting cannot escape fate; all the painstaking efforts ultimately come to naught. Is there any regret?"

worth it.

I have lived such a difficult and lonely life until now.

For this, I have killed countless people, including my own father. I have betrayed my brothers and kin, sown discord between the two realms, and deceived all the Daoists under heaven... But so what? This is the meaning of my existence, filling my entire being with my obsession.

It's definitely worth it.

When truth is false, falsehood is also truth; when falsehood is also truth, truth is also falsehood.

I am the true Son of Heaven.

True dragons are immortal and indestructible.

I have no resentment, no hatred, and no regrets!

The inner demon laughed loudly, mocking recklessly—"You're lying!!"

Ji Ran failed the test of her inner demons.

Azure eyes approached the Crown Prince, whose face was identical to his own, and whose pupils reflected the resentment, hatred, and unwillingness that had never faded over the years.

Laughter echoed in his mind's sea, and the inner demon grinned, looking at him excitedly.

Look!

You've deceived the whole world, and you still want to deceive yourself? Too bad, you can't fool yourself!

The sea of ​​consciousness cracked open, and countless pairs of inner demons stared eagerly at the noble prince, their voices and expressions varied, reaching out their filthy hands, longing to touch his spotless robes.

No… He has already reached the summit of the mountain, and it is impossible for all his previous efforts to be in vain. No one can drag him down, no one, no one, no one…!

Ji Ran felt an overwhelming fear. He didn't want to see or hear anything, but he only had two hands. If he covered his eyes, he couldn't cover his ears, and if he covered his ears, he couldn't cover his eyes. So he had no choice but to scramble and crawl towards the throne of light at the top of his sea of ​​consciousness.

As he fled, Ji Ran suddenly remembered that his master's divine power could still save him!

The blood mist spread wildly from the crown prince's center, accompanied by gusts of eerie wind, creating an extremely unsettling atmosphere.

The sky, which had just cleared after the rain, vanished without a trace, and the clouds in the sky changed color. The cultivators in the Water Dragon Abyss could hardly believe what they were seeing.

They saw... a dragon!

A scarlet dragon soared into the sky.

—The dragon looked clearly abnormal; its unstable, enormous phantom darted through the thick fog, and one could vaguely see that its eyes were like two flames burning to their limit, and its body exuded a terrifying aura that sent shivers down one's spine.

Chu Xianlan immediately looked at Yi Chen. The two suddenly met eyes, and the same word flashed through their minds: Wei Long.

But if that really is the legendary, world-destroying Weilong, it should have disappeared from the world a thousand years ago. How could it reappear and emerge from the prince's body?

How could a simple case of qi deviation lead to such a result?

The monks retreated in horror.

They didn't even know if Ji Ran was alive or dead, but with their own lives threatened, who among them cared about their beloved Crown Prince?

"This...this..."

The crowd didn't recognize any of the Weilong, nor did they know anything about the past from a thousand years ago. Faced with this scene, they could only utter two words—

monster!

Your Highness the Crown Prince... no, Ji Ran, Ji Ran is a monster!

Even Yuan Hou trembled all over, staggered back dozens of steps and sat down on the ground, no longer able to utter the words "Son of Heaven".

Amidst the scattering crowd, only Ji Fuyao stood rooted to the spot, her brows furrowed, lost in thought.

The next second, she went against the flow and walked towards the surging red mist.

Upon seeing this, Ji Cheng'an suddenly grabbed her wrist and exclaimed, "Sister! Don't go!"

"His inner demons have been forged; he's beyond saving. Let him bring about his own destruction!"

"...Ji Ran can't die so easily," Ji Fuyao murmured hoarsely, her face pale. "Cheng'an, you've been poisoned, and the antidote hasn't been given yet..."

Ji Cheng'an felt a lump in his throat, sensing a sadness emanating from her, and vaguely feeling that the same sadness was rising in his own heart.

"So what if I die? Who's afraid of who! I...I don't need the antidote! Let's go!"

Even though he repeatedly emphasized that he was not afraid of death, Ji Cheng'an, who was only seventeen years old, was afraid in his heart, but he dared not show it. He could only hold Ji Fuyao's waist tightly and try to back away.

The female cultivators from Baoyue and Xuanyang Sects rushed forward and pulled the two of them away from the red mist.

"Yes, Senior Sister! Let's keep our distance!"

"Walk!"

Feeling uneasy, the group immediately drew their swords and aimed them at the blurry dragon shadow in the sky, as if this action could give them a sense of security.

This scene is strikingly similar to the day when the imperial city was shrouded in a torrential downpour.

But now, the person everyone fears has changed their identity.

That's really unexpected.

At this critical juncture, some people even unconsciously gravitated towards Yi Chen, disregarding everything else and subconsciously seeking the protection of the strongest person in the arena, even if it was a half-demon they deeply hated.

Upon seeing this unusual and evil creature, the demons quickly suppressed their amusement and prepared to fight. However, Ming Si, his face dark with anger, shouted, "Don't go any closer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a sinister and terrifying aura, seemingly from ancient times, shook out a wave of malevolent energy that swept across the entire area.

Chu Xianlan suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation.

Boom, boom, boom.

At that very moment, Chu Xianlan's blood froze. Deep within the red mist, an unparalleled, overwhelming hatred locked onto him, rendering him completely immobile. All sorts of illusory visions appeared before his eyes.

In an instant, the dragon's image rapidly magnified in my pupils.

The dragon, which had been hovering in the mist and appearing and disappearing, suddenly transformed into a blood-red shadow and swooped down as fast as the wind!

A white shadow flashed before Chu Xianlan's eyes.

"—Master, no!"

His pupils constricted sharply, and he let out a mournful cry.

A familiar and reassuring cool aura enveloped him, its strength almost as if it wanted to embed him into its own body.

His heart was pounding wildly, Chu Xianlan's face was as pale as paper, and his soul felt as if it had been ripped away. In his entire life, he had never resisted Yi Chen's embrace, but at this moment, he wished that this person was as far away from him as possible.

He was so reluctant to part with it... He couldn't...

As if blinded by sandstorm, glistening tears slid down almost silently.

"boom!"

In that earth-shaking instant, a dazzling golden light burst forth from the boy's body!

The world seemed to freeze in that instant.

The gale subsided, the flying sand stopped, and all was quiet.

The anticipated disaster did not occur. Chu Xianlan opened her eyes, breathing heavily, still being held tightly in Yi Chen's arms, but...

That split second was shattered into countless fragments.

Apart from him, everything around him remained still.

He quickly looked at Yi Chen.

I made up my mind at first glance.

His master is alright; his master is safe and sound.

Chu Xianlan looked around blankly—

Pei Shibo's terrified face, Xiao Shishu and Xiao Huandu rushing towards them without regard for anything, Ji Fuyao's sleeves fluttering in the air, Ji Cheng'an's anxious expression... and the ferocious dragon shadow that was close at hand, as well as the many different faces of humans and demons in the valley.

A hundred people, a hundred faces, mysterious and profound, all frozen in this moment.

"Holy crap! Could this be the underworld? Am I dead?!"

...That's such an annoying voice.

But, it's like hearing celestial music, temporarily clearing your ears.

Chu Xianlan turned her head and hesitated before asking, "Yan Ling?"

Yan Ling gasped, her eyes widening in shock, still clutching her neck with both hands. "Xian Lan!? You're here too!? Holy crap, the Ten Great Underworld Marshals are coming to collect us!"

His terrified expression was so foolish that Chu Xianlan held back the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

"Waaaaaaahhhhhh!"

The wailing was so piercing, it felt like an eardrum was being torn. Yan Ling was stunned and stared blankly at Hua Ling, "Uh, what are you doing here?"

The road to the underworld is surprisingly bustling.

Hua Ling stopped crying, rubbed her swollen eyes, and still had snot on her face, making her look somewhat comical.

Yan Ling found it amusing and started being sarcastic again: "Coward, what's there to cry about? Oh dear, you're already crying."

Hua Ling's face twitched slightly on one side.

He raised his foot, gathered his strength, and kicked fiercely at Yan Ling!

So many things happened, and I had to pick them up and put them down again and again. In the end, I had to watch helplessly as Chu Xianlan and Yi Chen faced death in front of me, seemingly committing suicide together!

She's almost going crazy!

Yan Ling: "It's just death..."

"What do you mean 'die'? You idiot!" Hua Ling pressed her advantage with a punch.

Yanling was beaten by Hualing and fled in panic. Inadvertently, Yanling's head fell into the soft body of Diling. Diling was frightened and crawled around in the dark.

The scene was absolutely terrible.

Soon, Xue Ling also appeared. Her eyes were obviously a little moist. She gently hugged Chu Xianlan's neck and remained silent for a long time.

Of the little spirits, she spoke the least and was the most sensitive. Chu Xianlan gently patted Xue Ling's head and asked in a low voice, "Where is this?"

The answer he received was a calm voice: "It's my space."

Chu Xianlan turned around upon hearing the sound.

He was stunned.

Just as Chu Xianlan was stunned, several spirits of heaven and earth rushed over first.

Hua Ling exclaimed in disbelief, "This aura...you...you're Jin Ling, aren't you?!"

"I am Jin Ling, and also the 'Emperor's Sword' you speak of," the voice echoed again from the void, seemingly tinged with a light laugh. "Xian Lan, I wonder what I appear to you now?"