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

Spirit Sword Formation.

This is the mystery hidden in the diagram of the Dan Palace that Zhu Kang told him about.

Lin Ye was not surprised to hear this, and only asked if the other party had a way to turn this against him.

Although Zhu Kang was a rogue cultivator, he was quite knowledgeable. After frowning and thinking for a moment, he revealed the backlash formation.

The formation can be formed with only slight modifications to the original one.

And its power goes without saying.

After hearing Gongsun Yan's enlightening words, Zhou Wanwan also gained some understanding.

But she thought more deeply than Gongsun Yan.

When Zhou Ru was captured by Lin Ye, she told him the reason why they entered this illusion and their identities.

She wanted to use this as a threat, but Lin Ye was about to kill Zhou Ru.

This matter is connected to Lin Ye and their long-standing maneuvering and scheming.

This clearly shows that the other party intended to kill them from the very beginning.

Even with their elaborate disguises, they were still just offering themselves up...

Thinking of this, Zhou Wanwan felt a surge of anger rising within her.

The fire came without warning, yet it was also inevitable.

To think that she, a proud member of the Zhou Clan, would be treated like a lamb to the slaughter by this mere weed, walking right into a trap.

"Heh..." Zhou Wanwan chuckled softly, slowly straightening up. Her gaze towards Lin Ye was filled with endless icy chill. So what if they were now trapped in each other's scheme?

Since these weeds knew their identities as cultivators, she was going to show them what it meant for a mayfly to try to shake a tree.

"Lin, Ye," Zhou Wanwan said, enunciating each word clearly, her tone soft yet clear enough for everyone to hear.

"Miss Wanwan summoned me, what is it?" Upon hearing this, Lin Ye's gaze fell on Zhou Wanwan. His tone was neither too light nor too heavy, yet it inexplicably sent chills down one's spine.

"I'll kill you."

Before Zhou Wanwan could finish speaking coldly, her appearance changed instantly, and her ordinary face returned to its original state.

Although this face is all too familiar to others, it is completely different when wrapped in different souls.

Its beauty seemed to brush past them quietly, as if carried by wind and snow, leaving them standing there in awe.

However, the ministers, who were lost in their thoughts, turned their eyes into sharp thorns and were full of hostility the moment the words "I'll kill you" were uttered.

Zhou Wanwan paid no attention to this, her gaze fixed on Lin Ye on the jade platform.

What did she see on Lin Ye's face?

panic?

Scared?

nothing.

Only... did not take it seriously.

The other party did not believe she could kill him.

"Miss Wanwan is certainly welcome to give it a try." Lin Ye's attitude was very gentle, with a smile in his eyes, as if the "try" he was referring to was not about killing him, but rather an elegant activity like enjoying wine and admiring the moon.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wanwan tightened her grip on her sword.

She wanted to see if the weeds could laugh so happily when they died.

"Master," Zhou Ru said, struggling to her feet to help Zhou Wanwan.

But seeing its shaky appearance, Zhou Wanwan only glanced at it before putting it into her spirit beast space.

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Wanwan's gaze toward Lin Ye suddenly turned cold, and the ministers saw her disappear from her original position in a flash of inspiration.

Lin Ye did not move upon seeing this, but simply made a gesture to the assembled ministers.

In an instant, all the ministers except Zhao Fei and Wu Qing appeared completely transformed.

Dozens of ministers were transformed into the Divine Warriors, dressed in black and wearing masks.

Two of them even followed Zhou Wanwan as she moved, walking on the light.

Just as Zhou Wanwan's sword tip approached Lin Ye by a hair's breadth, the two figures intertwined, simultaneously unleashing palm strikes from both sides.

Zhou Wanwan sensed a strong spiritual energy in her palms and immediately leaped away, breaking free from the approaching figures of the two.

"Who are you?" Zhou Wanwan stood at one end of the jade platform, her gaze falling on the two masked figures blocking Lin Ye's way, and asked in a cold voice.

Upon hearing this, the two of them, like their attire, remained mysterious.

Zhou Wanwan's eyes shone like cold stars. She narrowed them slightly and, not receiving a reply, did not ask any further questions.

She could tell that the two were cultivators at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

This illusory world is the cultivators' only thought, and naturally, it is the contestants who entered with them.

The remaining cultivators that Zhou Yan had mentioned before flashed quickly through her mind.

Only... meet the criteria.

"Zhu Kang, Ji Lin?" Although it was a question, she was already quite certain in her heart.

If it was them, then it would be easy to explain why Gongsun Yan's spirit sword formation turned into a backlash formation.

Can......

Why did you get involved with Lin Ye?

As he spoke, his gaze subtly shifted to the forest behind the two of them.

Or rather, why did Lin Ye get involved with these two cultivators?

Lin Ye clearly understood what these cultivators were after.

"Master Zhu, Master Ji, what are you waiting for?" Lin Ye calmly accepted Zhou Wanwan's probing gaze, but his tone was not so pleasant.

Upon hearing this, the two immediately rushed forward and engaged Zhou Wanwan in combat.

Although Zhou Wanwan's cultivation level dropped to the fifth level of Qi Refining due to her previous injury, she was not at a disadvantage against these two.

The three fought back and forth for several rounds without a clear winner.

Zhao Fei and the others rushed over at this moment, stood in front of Lin Ye, and bowed in unison, saying, "Your Majesty."

Lin Ye nodded, looked at the three people in front of him who were evenly matched, and whispered, "Go and help the two cultivators."

These three were clearly holding back in their use of spiritual power; it wasn't a battle that mortals couldn't participate in.

Zhao Fei bowed and replied, "Yes."

Since the battle couldn't end anytime soon, Lin Ye decided to rest in the palace first.

Lin Ye sat back in his seat, and the soldiers beside him, with great tact, refilled the empty wine cup in front of him.

With a wave of his hand, Lin Ye dismissed the soldiers, then leisurely raised his wine cup to his lips while looking outside.

At this moment, Gongsun Yan was putting up a fierce resistance in the formation when he inadvertently saw this scene, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.

I don't know if it was from anger or injury.

Despite all his efforts, he couldn't even damage a single blade of grass...

"Master Gongsun, your cultivation is truly profound. You have managed to withstand such a powerful formation to this extent." Lin Ye's gaze shifted slightly as he looked at Gongsun Yan, who was covered in blood within the formation, and he spoke slowly.

Gongsun Yan heard nothing but veiled sarcasm in his words.

"You..." Gongsun Yan dodged left and right, finally finding a moment to speak, and said while panting heavily, "Don't be so smug."

"Oh?" Lin Ye swirled his wine cup leisurely, uttering only a single, meaningful word.

Seeing Lin Ye's current state, Gongsun Yan's earlier desire to see Zhou Wanwan fail instantly changed.

He now actually hopes that Zhou Wanwan is the one who killed this weed.

After all, it's much better for him, a disciple of the dignified Gongsun Immortal Clan, to be passed on to Zhou Wanwan by someone else than to be defeated by a weed.

But Zhou Wanwan's chances of winning were clearly uncertain at the moment. As Gongsun Yan was pierced by ten thousand swords, he whispered with his last breath, "You haven't seen the most powerful cultivator among us yet..."

If it were Gong Wuchen, he would definitely be able to...