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

The female cultivator uttered these extraordinary words in a seemingly casual tone.

Every time Chu Xianlan faced her grandmaster, she felt as if she had a fishbone stuck in her throat.

"...Grandmaster, you knew all along that Master would transform into a dragon?"

"I know."

"You...you've always known that Master is a half-demon?"

"yes."

"..." Chu Xianlan struggled internally for several seconds before abandoning all respect for elders and shouting the outrageous remark, "Why didn't you say something so important sooner?!"

Master Zhiyue spread his hands. "You didn't ask me. Besides, the matter of the half-demon is not my fault. It's because Yichen is too proud to admit it and insists on putting on airs in front of you, which is why he wouldn't let me tell you."

After saying this, she ignored Chu Xianlan's accusing expression and leisurely brought up a past event.

A thousand years ago, the dragon appeared in the world.

The world was devastated, the heavens and earth changed color, and the entire cultivation world suffered a severe blow.

In this desperate situation where heaven and earth were collapsing, Ji Li, the former crown prince of the Southern Cang royal family, resolutely stepped forward and led the two realms to find a way out of the predicament.

The former crown prince was already recognized as the chosen one in the cultivation world. He possessed the only pure and immaculate Heavenly Spiritual Root in the world, which was of the same origin and connected with the Heavenly Dao. With just his demeanor, he calmed down most of the panicked people.

Everyone agreed that the former crown prince was guided by the will of Heaven, so they placed all their hopes on him, as if he were the only savior in the chaotic world, and worshipped him as a god.

Thus, under Ji Li's leadership, the two realms used all means to suppress the calamity in the Myriad Swords Immortal Realm, and the ferocious Weilong disappeared from the world.

However, the cost was far too high.

The number of casualties in the final battle was incalculable.

Everything was progressing smoothly in the early stages, and no one expected it to turn out this way.

Many prestigious sects and clans perished, cultivators sacrificed themselves, and countless powerful figures fell. Not only were the independent sects wiped out, but even the Southern Cang royal family was almost completely destroyed—the crown prince and crown princess died in battle, and several princes and princesses were martyred.

As the dragon disappeared, the clamor of the world gradually subsided.

But the grief and resentment in people's hearts could not be dispelled.

"...Senior sister, junior brother! We promised to complete our cultivation together, how could you leave me alone..."

"Why did this happen?! Wasn't it supposed to be foolproof?!"

"My fallen comrades trusted the Crown Prince so much, charging into battle alongside him... but what was the end result? We're all buried in the secret realm, our bodies never to be found... Is this the outcome of our trust?"

"It's all his fault. If it weren't for the Crown Prince's suggestion..."

"Even a Heavenly Spiritual Root is nothing special!"

The cries of grief, the questioning of despair, and the heart-wrenching wails echoed throughout the world. The man was gone, and the disciples, relatives, and loved ones were all in deep sorrow. They were filled with grief and had nowhere to vent their anger, so they gradually turned black into white and forgot the achievements of the former crown prince.

In the past, everyone looked up to the former crown prince, revered him, and regarded him as the savior of the chaotic world and the hope of both realms.

Now, many people are criticizing him for making a bad decision.

The more devoutly one worships in the past, the more intensely one hates afterward.

Thus, the revered savior became the eternal sinner who caused the deaths of countless cultivators, bearing the curses and stigma of the entire world. Everyone blamed the former crown prince for acting recklessly, which led to the deaths of countless followers in the secret realm.

At that time, Zhiyue Zhenren was not yet called Zhiyue Zhenren. She was a trusted guard of the former crown prince. Due to the turbulent situation, she was transferred to the border to quell the chaos and was cut off from the capital for several years.

When the war ended, A-Yue rushed back to the palace, only to receive the devastating news that the former crown prince had died in the secret realm, along with the infamous charge that had spread throughout both realms.

As Chu Xianlan listened to these past events, she stared blankly at the face of Master Zhiyue. The lively and clever girl Ayue, who had been by the side of the former Crown Prince, gradually merged with the calm and composed Grandmaster of today.

...No wonder the former crown prince's name was written on the list of sinners in the Southern Cang royal family.

Even without ever having met the former crown prince in person, Chu Xianlan could sense his compassion for all living beings from the illusion of the earth spirit. The one who truly brought chaos to the world was Weilong, and he should not bear the infamy for all eternity.

The relationship between my grandmaster and the former crown prince was so good, he must have been very sad back then.

Now, when these past events are mentioned, Master Zhiyue's face shows little emotion. What she actually wants to tell Chu Xianlan is something else entirely.

"Upon hearing the devastating news, I rushed back to the Eastern Palace without a second thought. On the way, I encountered one of the Crown Prince's bodyguards. He was covered in blood and severely wounded. He choked back tears as he told me that the Eastern Palace had been heavily sealed off and that I could never return," Zhiyue paused slightly, looking into the distance. "Before he died, he entrusted me with something hidden in his bosom, saying that it was the Crown Prince's only memento and that it must not be lost."

Chu Xianlan: "What is that?"

Master Zhiyue raised an eyebrow and uttered a single word: "Egg."

...?

Now, Chu Xianlan trembles whenever she hears this word.

"Huh?" Another egg?

Master Zhiyue wasn't joking. She seriously gestured with one hand in an arc and said, "That's right, it's just an egg."

To be more precise, it was a cracked egg.

"This matter is rather complicated," Zhiyue said, scratching his head. "The relationship between humans and demons a thousand years ago... wasn't as tense as it is now. To put it simply, the Crown Princess of the Southern Cang royal family is the daughter of the Demon King, and this egg is their child."

Chu Xianlan's lips trembled. "But back then, didn't the Crown Prince's marriage alliance with the demon race fail?"

"Oh, you even know that?"

Upon hearing this, Master Zhiyue's eyes flashed with surprise.

"The Earth Spirit showed me part of the illusion from back then."

"Earth Spirit... Oh, you mean that little lump of mud?" Master Zhiyue chuckled. "Little Xianlan, you should also know that when our group left Beiming, His Highness the Crown Prince secretly took away a beautiful little black snake, right?"

What does that mean?

Chu Xianlan's mind went blank for a moment. Could it be...?

Master Zhiyue snapped his fingers quickly: "That's right, you guessed it. That's the future Crown Princess!"

At first, after the Crown Prince returned to the palace from Beiming, he truly only cared for the little black snake that had saved his life, raising it as a precious pet. During the day, he let it coil around his wrist, and at night, he let it curl up beside his pillow to sleep peacefully. But one morning, when he woke up from his sleep, the little black snake was gone, and a snake tail covered with dark scales was wrapped around him. Sitting before him was a cold and aloof demon woman with black hair and gray eyes.

The Crown Prince was greatly alarmed and wanted to send her back to the demon clan immediately, but the Black Serpent refused.

She was obsessive and single-minded; once she set her mind on someone, she wouldn't let go. She also realized that the former crown prince wasn't entirely indifferent to her. After Black Serpent's series of forceful acquisitions, coercive advances, and extraordinary dedication to her target, finally…

Finally, it resulted in a death.

At that moment, Ah Yue held the egg, her mind filled with countless thoughts.

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess fought side by side and both sacrificed themselves in the battle of the Myriad Swords Immortal Realm. This is probably the only legacy they left in the world.

To protect the child of her deceased friend, A-Yue found a secluded place with abundant spiritual energy, hoping to use the purest spiritual energy in the world to nourish it and help it hatch as soon as possible. However, things did not go so smoothly. Perhaps it was because of the cracks in the eggshell, or perhaps it was because it was not protected by its mother, but there was no sign of it hatching for a long time.

"One year, two years, ten years, one hundred years, several hundred years..." Zhiyue sighed, pressing his temples. "The world has changed. I've even established my own sect. The throne has changed hands several times, but I still can't hatch one."

Actually, when Ah Yue discovered the crack in the egg, she had a vague premonition that everything she had done over the past hundred years would probably be in vain.

What else can we do but give up?

If they keep incubating, the egg won't hatch, but the inner demons will almost hatch themselves.

"But who would have thought?"

Master Zhiyue sighed, holding his cheek.

"After all, they've been guarding it for hundreds of years. Even if they don't have any hope, they'll still go and take a look from time to time. One day, after having a few drinks and having nothing to do, I went to wander around that valley again, and I actually saw it..."

A pile of broken eggshells.

Good news, they hatched.

Bad news, the snake escaped.

Zhiyue felt as if struck by lightning, as if thunder had struck from the sky. He had searched the heavens, the earth, the Southern Cang, the Northern Ming, and the entire cultivation world for many years before finally finding the little half-demon who had been surrounded and hunted down.

The little demon wore tattered clothes that barely covered him, with striking silver-white hair cascading down his back. He was covered in wounds and mud, looking like a beggar, yet his appearance was exquisitely beautiful.

Upon seeing his features, which were identical to those of the former crown prince, Zhi Yue understood everything.

Suddenly, the little demon saw a female cultivator carrying a sword descend from the sky. The little demon showed no surprise or fear. He remained silent, staring intently at the newcomer with his deep gray eyes. His gaze was empty and indifferent, as if he had no emotions, no fear, and no concern for life or death.

"Master...he is Master, isn't he...?" Chu Xianlan murmured.