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

The two drank together several times, both feigning drunkenness on their faces.

"Your Majesty, may I pour you another cup?"

After speaking, Zhou Ru looked at the empty wine cup in front of Lin Ye, and slowly placed her delicate hand on the exquisite jade pot. Just as she was about to lift it up, a hand gently pressed it down.

"My beloved consort has been busy for me all night, so let me pour her a cup as well."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wine pot was in Lin Ye's hands.

Zhou Ru originally intended to take this opportunity to slip a sleeping pill into Lin Ye's drink, but Lin Ye's interruption forced her to temporarily abandon the plan.

"My beloved concubine, please."

Lin Ye poured the wine into his own wine cup and slowly handed it to Zhou Ru.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhou Ru accepted the wine cup.

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Ru drank the wine in her glass amidst Lin Ye's slight smile.

"My beloved concubine has a good capacity for alcohol." Lin Ye said with a smile, looking at the empty wine cup in front of Zhou Ru.

As he spoke, he subtly observed Zhou Ru's expression.

Ji Lin once said that this poison pill was a top-grade fatal pill.

Grind it into powder and give it to Zhou Ru in batches. The day she finishes taking it will be the day the poison takes effect.

Most importantly, this pill is colorless and odorless, and anyone who has not reached the Foundation Establishment stage will never be able to detect its poisonous nature.

It seems that this is indeed the case.

Zhou Ru finished her drink and immediately poured herself another cup.

"Your Majesty, I..." Zhou Ru said, about to offer the wine cup, which she had already infused with a bewitching pill, to Lin Ye.

However, before he could finish speaking, Lin Ye said, "My dear concubine, it's late. Let's stop drinking here."

He paused, then took Zhou Ru's hand in his left hand and slowly pulled the wine cup from her hand with his right, before saying, "My beloved consort, please rest with me."

Zhou Ru's lips stiffened, and she felt a breath catch in her throat.

Rest?

She drank with this weed all night trying to drug him, and now...

Zhou Ru was unwilling to give up so easily, and tried to "coax" Lin Ye by pulling his hand, but Lin Ye could see through her intentions. He deliberately maintained a hint of authority in his eyes and said, "Hmm?"

"My beloved concubine, are you perhaps trying to get me drunk?"

Seeing this, Zhou Ru thought that if she continued, it might arouse suspicion, so she pretended to be aggrieved and said, "Your Majesty, I didn't."

"I understand my beloved consort's feelings, but at this moment, she is more important than wine..."

As he spoke, he pulled Zhou Ru into his arms, picked her up, and walked towards the embroidered couch.

With things having come to this, Zhou Ru had no choice but to grit her teeth and cast a spell as usual to lure Lin Ye into a "dream".

After lying on the bed, Lin Ye was restless. Before Zhou Ru could get away, he turned to the side and hugged her tightly, repeatedly calling her "my beloved concubine," as if it were a scene from a dream that was quite indescribable.

Zhou Ru's expression changed at Lin Ye's sudden action, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he still had his eyes closed.

However, she tried to break free from Lin Ye's embrace several times but was pulled back each time. In the end, she could only grit her teeth and use magic to leave.

Lin Ye's arms were suddenly empty, and he naturally guessed what method Zhou Ru had used. He just pretended to fuss for a few moments and then fell asleep comfortably.

The next morning, Lin Ye left Fanghua Palace feeling refreshed.

After the court session, upon returning to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he saw Zhu Kang and Ji Lin, who had been waiting for him for a long time.

Upon seeing the newcomer, the two removed their black masks.

These two individuals have special identities, so Lin Ye naturally wouldn't allow them to appear in public and attract unnecessary suspicion.

"Your Majesty." Zhu Kang and Ji Lin gave Lin Ye a simple bow.

Lin Ye walked past them and sat down at the table.

"I wonder why His Majesty summoned us back?" Zhu Kang asked, his gaze following Lin Ye's figure.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye looked at the two of them and said, "I summoned you back to discuss the next steps of the plan."

"Tell me what you know about the two brothers of the Gong Clan, Gong Wuxin and Gong Wujue," Lin Ye continued.

Ji Lin remained silent. Zhu Kang, who was standing to the side, seemed to think for a moment before saying, "The Gong clan is the head of the four great immortal clans, and these two are the sons of the current clan leader."

"Neither of them were very old; the elder brother was twenty-two and the younger brother was eighteen."

"However, this cultivation level..."

Lin Ye was slightly displeased with Zhu Kang's pause at this moment. "How is your cultivation level?"

"Their cultivation levels are worlds apart. The elder brother, Gong Wuchen, has reached the eighth level of Qi Refining, while the younger brother, Gong Wujue, is only at the second level of Qi Refining."

"Second level of Qi Refining?" Lin Ye remembered that when he interrogated Zhou Ru, she said that everyone who could enter this illusion was a genius. But even though he hadn't yet embarked on the path of immortality, he knew that such cultivation was nothing special, unless he...

Sure enough, the next moment Zhu Kang said, "Your Majesty is unaware that this Palace Without Secrets is a Heavenly Spirit Root."

As if afraid that Lin Ye might not know what a Heavenly Spiritual Root was, Zhu Kang gave Lin Ye a brief introduction to what a Spiritual Root was and the types of Spiritual Roots.

The so-called spiritual root is the foundation of a cultivator's cultivation, as it determines the cultivator's ability to sense and absorb spiritual energy.

It is divided into six levels from bottom to top.

Without spiritual roots, ordinary people with such spiritual roots are basically unable to cultivate because they cannot sense spiritual energy.

Having five spiritual roots, or what could be called useless spiritual roots, makes it difficult to refine spiritual energy, and it's likely that one will never even reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining in this lifetime.

The four spiritual roots, also known as "mixed spiritual roots", are of inferior quality.

Three spiritual roots—this is a mid-grade spiritual root, and it is the spiritual root possessed by most cultivators in the world.

Having dual spiritual roots is considered a top-grade spiritual root, a rare talent.

Heavenly Spiritual Root is the highest grade of all talents, and only a handful appear in a hundred years.

Having said all that, the reason why Gong Wujue could appear in this illusion was self-evident.

Lin Ye's eyes were not narrowed, as if he was deep in thought.

"What's the relationship between the two?" Lin Ye asked again, seemingly lost in thought.

If you asked someone else this question, they might not know the answer. After all, although the Gong Clan is the head of the four great immortal clans, they have always kept a low profile.

However, Zhu Kang had once served as a guard in the Gong Clan of Immortals, so he actually knew something about the two brothers.

"Your Majesty, the two brothers have a very good relationship."

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this. If that's the case...

"If I were to send you to kill Gong Wujue, would you be confident in your ability?" Lin Ye asked slowly.

Zhu Kang and Ji Lin exchanged a silent glance after hearing Lin Ye's words. Zhu Kang then frowned and said, "Your Majesty, Gong Wujue is only at the second level of Qi Refining, while Ji Lin and I are both at the fourth level. Killing Gong Wujue would be a piece of cake, but..."

"Your Majesty should know that with a master like Gong Wuchen at the eighth level of Qi Refining present, we simply have no chance to make a move."

"I'm afraid we'll be dead in three moves." Zhu Kang was being conservative when he said three moves. You have to know that there are nine levels of Qi Refining, and each level is separated by a huge gap. Not to mention that one of them is in the middle stage and the other is in the late stage. It's harder than climbing to heaven for a middle stage to fight a late stage.

Lin Ye: "Then let Gong Wuchen be absent."

"Your Majesty means... to distract him?" Zhu Kang immediately understood.

"But Your Majesty, even if one of us lures him away, if he finds out that we killed his brother, he will surely seek revenge..."

Lin Ye chuckled lightly: "The point is to let him take revenge, but the target of his revenge..."

Zhu Kang and Ji Lin looked at each other again, and both understood Lin Ye's intention from each other's eyes.