After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

"She said if you deposit 50,000, you'll get 30,000 free. That's a great deal!"

"They're giving you a voucher, valid only until Tuesday morning. Are you going to the club for some spiritual practice on Tuesday morning?"

Gu Li's face turned completely black. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words to refute.

Xiao Rou, who was listening nearby and was curious, interjected, "Will everyone be there early Tuesday morning?"

Qin San sealed the last wooden box with a dull thud: "Don't ask."

Zhou Ran did not change the choice. Gu Li was straightforward and suitable to meet Huan Yin.

Huan Yin is skilled at reading people's minds. Sending someone with too many thoughts over there would only make it easier for them to extract information.

"You don't need to talk to her about the past."

Zhou Ran took out another Demon Emperor's token, a black tassel left behind by Ye Futian.

"When you see her, hand over the things and say the same thing."

If she asks about my current status, tell her, "If she wants to ask, she should come herself."

Gu Li took the tassel from the knife and carefully put it into his bosom:

"What if she uses illusion magic?"

"Shut up, look down, and don't look at her."

Zhou Ran gave instructions.

"I am, after all, a Nascent Soul cultivator. I'm not that easily fooled, am I?"

Gu Li hesitated for a moment.

Xuan Ying coldly poured cold water on the situation from the side:

"Huan Yin is at the peak of the Tribulation Transcending Realm; killing you would only require the flick of a finger."

Gu Li shrank his neck: "Your subordinate will bow his head."

After arranging the two groups of people, Zhou Ran did not let them leave immediately.

The Devouring Heaven Demon Palace has just changed hands, and there are still spies left by Devouring Bone inside.

Once news of the dispatch of envoys spreads, the people the Emperor Prince has planted in the Sixth Heaven will trace the route.

He must first find the traitor within the palace.

Qin San has already sifted through the roster and identified twelve suspicious individuals, but there is currently no conclusive evidence.

Killing them directly would easily miss the person who actually delivered the message.

Zhou Ran instructed Ming Cang to summon all the commanders of the Demon Palace.

Half an hour later, twenty-seven people were standing in the main hall.

Among these people were former generals who had swallowed bones, as well as military commanders who had just surrendered.

Before everyone entered the main hall, their storage artifacts and communication tokens were collected and sealed away.

Zhou Ran sat on the high throne, with a thick black veil hanging in front of him, obscuring his face.

The cracks in his primordial spirit had not yet been repaired, and Empress Huanyin could arrive at any moment, so he should expose as little as possible right now.

Qin San stood to the right of the throne, his voice echoing in the empty hall:

"The Emperor will dispatch two envoys to recall the former demon realm forces. This matter is listed as the highest military order of the Demon Palace; anyone who leaks it will be executed."

The hall was deathly silent; no one spoke, and everyone was waiting for the specific arrangements.

Qin San picked up the first military order and read it aloud:

"Duke Xuanying is heading to the Eastern Blood Sea, his route passing through Tianku City, Blood Bone River, and Red Stone Pass."

The second document reads: "Grand Duke Gu Li travels to the Southern Wuxiang Pavilion, passing through Burial Soul Valley, Twin Moon City, and Faceless Mountain."

The group noted down the orders and left the main hall in turn.

Ming Cang walked last, and as he reached the door, Zhou Ran's voice came from behind the black veil: "You stay."

Mingcang stopped and turned around.

The palace doors closed slowly, making a dull sound.

Zhou Ran stepped out from behind the black veil and threw two telepathic tokens on the table: "The route we just saw was fake."

Ming Cang looked at the dominoes, his expression shifting slightly: "Does the Emperor suspect someone is sending messages out?"

"It's not doubt, it's certain." Zhou Ran asked Qin San to bring over the twenty-seven military orders.

The twenty-seven military orders appear to be identical on the surface, but the actual routes marked on them all have slight differences.

Some people got Chishi Pass, and some got Baishi Pass;

Some people got Twin Moon City, and some got Twin Sun City.

Zhou Ran left a unique mark on every military order. The source of the leak was the mole.

After reviewing the routes, Mingcang raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his neck.

Rakshasa has followed Tun Gu for four hundred years, and usually only handles warship dispatch and does not come into contact with external forces.

That's why he's still alive.

"No need to kill him," Zhou Ran called out to him.

"Does Master want to keep it?"

"He sent out a fake route; the other side will be waiting there." Zhou Ran leaned back in his chair.

"Give Rakshasa a new order, telling him that Xuan Ying and Gu Li have temporarily changed their route and will leave from the southeast side of the Devouring Heaven Demon Palace tonight."

"The southeast side is the private granary of the bone-swallowing family."

"Um."

"Does the Emperor intend for outsiders to attack the private treasury?"

"The private vault has been emptied."

Zhou Ran pointed to a key point on the map, "There are three hundred boxes of empty wood left inside, as well as the Gu that Xiao Rou just raised."

"It wasn't that it had just recovered; it had been starving for three days."

"What do those Gu poisons eat?"

"Eat demonic energy, blood, bones, and formations."

Where are they?

"I'll eat it too."

Mingcang moved two steps to the side.

Zhou Ran pushed the telepathic dominoes to Qin San. "Let Rakshasa continue transmitting."

At night, two groups of men in black sneaked in from the southeast side of the Demon Palace.

They bypassed the patrolling soldiers, broke through the outer layer of restrictions on the private vault, and only after entering the vault did they discover that there were no magic crystals inside.

There were only three hundred empty boxes.

The first box opened by itself. The second one opened as well.

Tens of thousands of Gu worms crawled out of the box, blocking the warehouse door and ventilation openings.

The leading Void Refinement cultivator crushed the teleportation talisman, which flashed briefly before being swallowed by a golden Gu worm.

Xiao Rou sat outside the formation, holding a list in her hand. "Capture them alive; Zhou Ran said he wants to question them."

Gu Ji, who was standing guard nearby, felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the figures tumbling inside the warehouse. "Miss Rou, won't these Gu worms crawl out?"

"meeting."

Gu Ji took two steps back. Xiao Rou added, "They recognize me and won't bite randomly."

Bone Silence stopped. Those words did not reassure him.

Half an hour later, all twenty-seven infiltrators were captured, revealing three hidden agents planted by the Lieshan Grand Public Security Bureau within the Devouring Demon Palace.

Rakshasa was also brought into the main hall. He knelt on the ground and saw the recording of his telepathic communication placed in front of Zhou Ran, leaving him no room for explanation.

"Your Majesty, spare my life! I was forced into this. Lieshan is holding my wife and daughters captive. If I don't send a message, they will all die."

Zhou Ran finished reading the confession. "Your wife and daughters died three hundred years ago."

Rakshasa raised his head.

"The images that Lieshan shows you every year are illusions made from remnant souls. You've served him for three hundred years, and he can't even be bothered to support the living."

The Rakshasa knelt there, motionless for a long time.

Over the years, he has sent out many messages for Lieshan in order to keep his wife and daughter alive.

Even though he could only glimpse it through the bone mirror, he didn't dare question it. Now, Zhou Ran placed two death lists in front of him.

The time, place, and whereabouts of the remains are all clearly recorded.

Raksha looked at the roster three times, and finally pressed his forehead to the ground.

"Please, Your Majesty, grant me death."

"Don't die yet." Zhou Ran tossed the telepathic domino back to him.

"Continue to relay messages for Lieshan."

"We'll settle accounts with you when we lure all his men out."

Rakshasa gripped the dominoes. "Are my subordinates still alive?"

"It depends on how much you're worth."

Rakshasa did not express his gratitude, but simply put the dominoes into his pocket.

He didn't walk fast when he went out, but his back was straighter than when he came in.

Early that morning, Xuan Ying and Gu Li set off from the underground teleportation array of the Demon Palace.

Both of them took the real route, which was completely opposite to the leaked location.

Xuan Ying headed to the Blood Sea, while Gu Li went to the Wuxiang Pavilion.

Zhou Ran then entered the cultivation room and used the Concentration Jade to repair his primordial spirit.

He needs to recover more before the arrival of the illusory voice, and he also needs to prepare to deal with the divine messenger of the Nine Nether Well.

Just as the first piece of Concentration Jade was refined, an anomaly was detected in the outer layer of the Demon Palace's restrictions.

Some people passed directly through the twelve layers of formation and landed outside the main hall.

The Gu worms that Xiao Rou took over did not give any warning, and the demon soldiers guarding the gate did not see how the newcomer entered.

A white-boned carriage was parked in front of the palace gate.

The carriage curtain was lowered, revealing only a bare foot.

Dark red bells were tied around her ankles, making no sound when she walked.

Gu Li had not yet arrived at the Wuxiang Pavilion. The person he was to visit had already arrived at the Devouring Heaven Demon Palace.

The palace doors opened by themselves.

The woman's voice pierced through all the barriers and entered the cultivation room.

"There's no need to send anyone to find me. I'll come myself to verify His Majesty's authenticity."