Only after becoming emperor did he realize he was in a fantasy world of immortal cultivation.

Since Zhou Ru woke up from her coma, she had not seen Zhou Yan, but she did not take it to heart, assuming that he had been killed by someone.

Only now, upon suddenly seeing the person who arrived, did I feel a moment of surprise.

After Zhou Wanwan and Gongsun Yan formed an alliance, Zhou Yan was sent by Zhou Wanwan to investigate the movements of the others in the illusion. Now that the mission is complete, he used magic to return immediately to report back.

"How is the situation?" Zhou Wanwan's gaze was as calm and still as a deep pool as she looked at Zhou Yan. Her clear voice broke the silence in the room.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan replied, "Miss, currently in the illusion, besides ourselves and Gongsun Yan, there are five others remaining." He paused briefly, then proceeded to elaborate clearly:

"One is the two direct descendants of the Gong clan, Gong Wuchen and Gong Wujue. These two are currently stationed outside the capital city and have not made any unusual moves so far, seemingly lying low and observing."

"The second is Mingxin Jing of the Ming Clan," Zhou Yan's voice deepened, "this person... quietly infiltrated the military camp half a month ago."

"Military camp?" A very subtle ripple passed through Zhou Wanwan's usually calm eyes, like a small pebble thrown into a calm lake, before returning to its deep expression in an instant.

Doubts churned silently in her heart.

Mingxin Jing wouldn't have gone to the military camp without reason, and the reason he was there at this time was—

That could only mean that he had already located the "wild grass".

Infiltrating the military camp was merely for close surveillance and to wait for an opportunity to act.

However... if the enemy doesn't move, I won't move either; there's no need for her to invite trouble at this time.

Zhou Wanwan's slender, jade-like fingers curled slightly within her sleeve, then relaxed, concealing all her turbulent thoughts deep within her eyes. Her expression remained calm and composed, her voice unhurried and utterly devoid of emotion: "Anything else?"

"The last two are the rogue cultivators Ji Lin and Zhu Kang. Both of them are currently wandering within Qingzhou. Judging from their actions, they are probably... still searching for the whereabouts of 'Wild Grass'."

Then, Zhou Yan seemed to be deep in thought, and when he spoke again, there was a hint of ruthlessness in his voice: "Miss, do you need me to go and deal with these two people...?" The words were left hanging in mid-air, and the last syllable disappeared into the silence.

Although not explicitly stated, the unspoken implication was like a blade suddenly drawn half an inch from its sheath in the dark night—icy cold and chilling, brimming with murderous intent.

He could handle two rogue cultivators at the fourth level of Qi Refining all by himself.

A gentle breeze swept by, but it did not carry away the chilling killing intent lingering in Zhou Yan's words.

The murderous intent lingered in the room, but vanished in an instant with just one sentence from Zhou Wanwan.

She simply said, "No need."

"Now, the people of the three great immortal clans," Zhou Wanwan raised her eyes slightly, her gaze seemingly piercing through the void before her. The remaining faces of the other three great immortal clans flashed through her mind like fleeting shadows—the Gong brothers' lurking, Mingxin Jing's infiltration, and…

She quickly calculated in her mind, and then said, "They've already set their sights on Lin Ye. What we're killing now might not be our enemy, but... their enemy."

"Let them live, for future use."

Zhou Yan: "Yes, Miss."

"Right now, you have more important things to do." Zhou Wanwan's gaze fell on Zhou Yan again, her red lips slightly parted: "Gongsun Yan will be setting off to find medicinal ingredients soon, and you will secretly follow him."

"Yes."

The three people's voices were barely audible in the vast Fanghua Palace, like stones sinking into the ocean.

But for Lin Ye, who was lying on the bed in the back hall but whose martial arts cultivation had reached the Dao Integration Realm, it was as if it were right in his ear, and he could hear it clearly.

Lin Ye's eyes were still closed, and one "sweet dream" after another was playing in his mind.

But his mind had already completely shifted to what the three of them had just said.

Zhou Yan?

This person's aura appeared suddenly and without warning—they must have used cultivation techniques to sneak into this deep palace so silently.

He addressed Zhou Wanwan as "Miss"...

It seems that he was merely an assistant under Zhou Wanwan, tasked with helping her win the disciple selection.

In other words, to deal with Zhou Wanwan, we first need to deal with her spirit fox and Zhou Yan...

And that Mirror of Enlightenment, just as he had expected, was also a cultivator who wanted to take his life.

This person comes from the Ming Clan of Immortals. Together with the two brothers from the Gong Clan of Immortals, then Gongsun Yan is one of the three major immortal clans mentioned by Zhou Wanwan.

Zhou Wanwan was clearly wary of these three immortal clans.

It seems we need to plan carefully to deal with them.

As for those two rogue cultivators from Qingzhou...

Early the next morning

Lin Ye slowly woke up from his bed.

When he woke up, he was unsurprisingly not to see Zhou Ru in bed.

"My beloved concubine..." Lin Ye stood up and called out.

In the past, Zhou Ru would pretend to be busy in the room right when he woke up, but today she must have been "neglecting" him because she chatted with Zhou Wanwan and others until late last night.

A moment later, light footsteps sounded, and Zhou Ru walked in carrying a plate of exquisite pastries.

She wore only a casually draped outer garment, her black hair hanging loosely over her shoulders, unlike her usual meticulous style.

That stunningly beautiful face was now shrouded in a lingering weariness.

The most striking feature was that his eyes, which used to be bright and sparkling with a cunning glint, were now only drowsy.

Normally, a spirit fox like her wouldn't need to sleep, but now, in order to conserve her magical power, she has to forcibly shut down the flow of her spiritual energy under normal circumstances.

She had gone to bed late last night and was extremely reluctant to hear Lin Ye's voice.

Not to mention that we still have to deal with him now.

"My beloved concubine, I see you are so sleepy, why don't you sleep a little longer?" Lin Ye said with "concern" as he looked at Zhou Ru's tired eyes.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ru felt her eyelids were incredibly heavy, and she wished she could close them immediately.

She secretly bit her tongue hard, and the slight stinging sensation instantly dispelled some of her heavy drowsiness.

Then he forced himself to mobilize every inch of the skin and flesh on his face, trying his best to pull up a smile that was no different from usual.

She lowered her eyes slightly, avoiding Lin Ye's overly "concerned" gaze. She knew that her complexion was probably very bad at the moment, so she lowered her head slightly and pretended to be shy, saying, "Your Majesty is awake. How could I dare to be lazy and neglect my duties? It's just that last night... I was thinking about the new pastry recipe for Your Majesty and spent a little more time pondering it."

As she spoke, she gently placed the plate of pastries on the small table beside the bed.

"Such matters can simply be left to the imperial chef; there's no need for my beloved concubine to worry about them," Lin Ye said, feigning concern as he looked at Zhou Ru.

"Your Majesty's words are misleading. How could my humble servant's cooking be the same as the imperial chef's?" Zhou Ru said, her words seemingly filled with a thousand emotions, yet also tinged with a sense of grievance.

Lin Ye chuckled a few times: "Exactly, exactly. No one can match the pastries made by my beloved concubine."