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

Ji Cheng'an's eyes turned an unusual blood red, his breathing became rapid, and he raised his foot and kicked Wei Yi hard in the chest!

Wei Yi grunted and silently got up from the ground. He understood that the shadow guard's unauthorized departure was tantamount to dereliction of duty, and he dared not speak out.

But before Wei Yi could kneel down properly again, Ji Cheng'an grabbed him by the collar and slapped him across the face.

"Snapped!"

Even though Wei Yi was wearing a mask, he couldn't stop the bright red bloodstains from seeping out from the edge of the mask.

Pei Fang'an's expression changed, and he said in a deep voice, "Ji Cheng'an, stop."

While it's none of an outsider's business what happens between master and servant, it's really unseemly to resort to violence in public like that.

This action was far too violent and heavy-handed. Pei Fang'an's tone betrayed a hint of disappointment. "Cheng'an, now that you've joined Tianxia Pavilion, you should know how to act with restraint. What kind of behavior is this?"

Ji Cheng'an could only bite his lower lip and let go.

"...Disciple obeys."

"That's right. The Discipline Hall isn't a place to lash out. Don't rush to beat him up. Let him explain what he did first." The weapon-refining elder muttered, resting his chin on his hand, and looked at the shadow guard.

Wei Yi wiped the blood from his face and struggled to organize his thoughts, "Your Highness was injured in the daytime arena match. I was worried about you, so I thought I'd find some good painkillers so that Your Highness could sleep more peacefully."

"I first asked the physician at Baicaotang. She said that for lightning-fire injuries, sect-specific pills are slow to take effect. The demon-based spiritual herbs in the market are much more effective." He explained haltingly, "That's why I left without permission to go to the market to find medicine."

The shadow guard was concerned about his master's injuries during the arena and wanted to find some high-quality painkillers for Ji Cheng'an.

He first consulted the physician at Baicaotang, who told him that the injury was caused by lightning and fire. The ordinary pills made by the sect were slow to take effect, while the spiritual medicines of the demon race were more effective. He suggested that Wei Yi go to the market to buy them. Wei Yi was eager to relieve his master's pain, so he left Baicaotang without informing Ji Cheng'an.

Wei Yi's expression was so clumsy that the group managed to piece together the general meaning.

A moment of silence.

Everyone present was a perceptive person, and they instantly realized the strangeness of the situation.

The sudden chaos caused by the spirit pet, the shadow guards who were instructed to go to the market, and Ji Cheng'an's reaction.

Everything was too coincidental.

Wei Jin broke the silence first, "Who sent you? Which medical practitioner from Baicaotang?"

"The physician in charge of caring for His Highness's injuries."

"Her name is... Qiao Yu." Wei Yi said, but his eyes didn't look at Wei Jin. Instead, he kept glancing worriedly at Ji Cheng'an beside him.

I have a feeling that something is wrong with His Highness.

Ji Cheng'an had remained silent since the beginning, but his breathing became increasingly rapid, his chest heaving violently, and the blood vessels in his eyes, which were originally only slightly red, were spreading.

"Heh...heh..."

"Cheng'an?" Pei Fang'an sensed something was wrong. "What's wrong with you?"

When Ji Cheng'an raised his head, his eyes were unfocused. His gaze swept over everyone in the hall, his expression carrying a strange hostility. He mumbled indistinctly, "Hot...so hot...my head hurts so much..."

"It wasn't me...it was her...she's a healer, it must be her, she stole my blood...she's trying to harm me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ji Cheng'an let out a piercing roar: "Aaaaaah!"

Everyone in the hall was startled.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Cheng'an frantically covered his head with both hands and shook himself on the spot a few times.

As if in unbearable pain, he suddenly drew his natal sword, his eyes red, and shouted, rushing towards the two closest disciples of the Discipline Hall without regard for anything else!

Everything happened in the blink of an eye!

"Watch out!" someone exclaimed.

No one expected Ji Cheng'an to suddenly go mad.

After all, it was a full-force attack from the early stage of the Golden Core realm. The two disciples who were attacked were shocked and hurriedly tried to defend themselves, but their arms were still numb from the shock. One of them had his arm grazed by the sword light, and blood spurted out instantly!

Ji Cheng'an missed his target, and stumbled wildly with his sword again, shouting in anguish, "You...all of you! You're all so subservient on the surface, but you all look down on me behind my back! You think I'm just relying on my birth, that I'm a good-for-nothing! A mediocre talent who will never be as good as my elder brother and sister!"

He seemed to be caught in some kind of delusional trance, pointing the tip of his sword haphazardly at the crowd of people around him with their varied expressions.

"Why is everything I do wrong! Taiyi Sect... Hahaha, even Taiyi Sect looks down on me! Immortal Lord Jixue won't accept me... You can all laugh at me! You're all mocking me for being outwardly successful but being rejected even when I'm desperately seeking a master!"

Wei Jin couldn't help but want to laugh. "What's he doing? Did he take the medicine and then throw up?"

Pei Fang'an had no time for jokes. Ji Cheng'an's state was definitely not due to an emotional breakdown. He immediately cast a calming spell and lowered his voice to soothe him: "Cheng'an, calm down first..."

However, the Heart-Cleansing Mantra failed to work. Ji Cheng'an's face twisted into a cold smile as he looked at his nominal master:

"And you! Pei Fang'an! You took me as your disciple, did you also think I was just a nuisance, a hot potato?! Did you also think in your heart that I was completely unworthy of... ugh!"

Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed over and covered Ji Cheng'an's mouth.

Wei Yi, barely restraining the struggling Ji Cheng'an beneath him, shouted with difficulty, "His Highness is acting strangely! This is definitely not his intention! There's something fishy going on!"

Seeing the Fourth Prince's completely out-of-control state, Wei Yi felt as if his heart was being torn apart, and he was heartbroken.

Why?

Why did he only realize something was wrong now?

Wei Yi had been by Ji Cheng'an's side since childhood and considered himself to be the person who understood His Highness the most in the world. He asked himself honestly, although the Fourth Prince in the past had some of the arrogance of a royal, he was by no means so violent.

I had previously thought that His Highness was depressed and easily agitated due to repeated setbacks. But now, looking back, Ji Cheng'an has hardly had a single day of true peace since he entered the Taiyi Sect.

A terrible thought flashed into his mind: what if someone deliberately wanted to... frame His Highness?

But he and His Highness were almost inseparable, how could an outsider possibly take advantage of the situation? Countless fragments flashed through Wei Yi's mind, and he finally caught a crucial point that he had overlooked.

"—Qiao Yu!"

Since arriving at the Taiyi Sect, Ji Cheng'an has been injured twice and has spent almost every day in the Hundred Herbs Hall...

Recalling the earnestness with which the other party had instructed him to buy demon-related spiritual medicines at the market, the shadow guard's voice trembled with regret.

"It must be the medical practitioner from Baicaotang! It was her! She tampered with it!"

Others naturally noticed the suspicious points as well, and the Discipline Elder sternly ordered, "Disciples of all peaks, listen up! Search and capture Qiao Yu, the healer from Baicaotang, according to your assigned areas! He must be captured!"

Amidst the chaos, a cold glint flashed in Yi Chen's eyes, and he immediately took out a communication jade slip to send a message to Chu Xianlan, who was on night patrol outside.

But before his jade slip could even touch his fingertips, a violent roar suddenly came from outside the hall!

Everyone felt a tremor beneath their feet.

"What's going on?"

"W-What happened?!"

In the distance, thick black smoke rose into the air and covered the entire area in no time.

The surrounding environment was also stained with an ominous black and red color.

The gatekeeper disciple rushed into the hall, "Elders and Immortal Lords, something terrible has happened! There's an unusual movement coming from the direction of the array's core stone on the west side... It seems... it seems something has gone wrong!"