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

As soon as he stepped through the palace gate, two arms appeared around his waist.

Dark red soul light clung to his back, and Huan Yin hugged him from behind.

The voice was kept very low, and only a few people nearby could hear it clearly.

"If you dare to exchange yourself for the city, I'll tie you up first."

Huan Yin didn't tighten her arms, but her dark red soul power bypassed Zhou Ran's waist, sealing his connection with the Devouring Heaven Seal.

The realm of formlessness covers the palace gate.

The stone steps beneath Zhou Ran's feet transformed into a dark red corridor with no visible boundary.

If Huan Yin is willing, this path can take a cultivator undergoing tribulation several months to complete.

Bloodlust watched the two men's postures, then slammed the butt of his gun heavily onto the ground.

"I thought the Empress Wuxiang only knew how to examine souls. Turns out, when you encounter someone who won't listen to advice, you also know to take direct action."

Huan Yin turned her face to the side, still not letting go of Zhou Ran.

"His cultivation level dropped to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and his primordial spirit was still damaged and had not recovered."

"The causal anchor left by the Emperor's son is still with Chi Lin; sending him in alone with the seal is no different than sending him to the altar."

The main gate of the Nine Nether Pass.

She ignored their actions and raised her hand to spread the Nine Nether Twelve Arrays in the hall.

"Red Scales will set the meeting place on the seventh-floor array platform."

The first to third levels belong to the Nine Netherworld City Guardian Formation, while the fourth level and beyond have been transformed into the Karma Corridor.

Once Zhou Ran steps inside, all coordinates related to him will be recorded by the anchor.

Zhou Ran looked down at the Soul Light at his waist.

"Loosen up first."

Huan Yin's tone was smiling, but there was no sign of backing down in her eyes.

"If you still want to go in alone, I will continue to hold you."

"The Wuxiang Pavilion has relinquished its military power, and I will accompany you to lock the divine messenger into the black coffin."

"If I let you risk your life to mend the causal anchor for Crimson Scale, wouldn't all my previous grievances be for nothing?"

Zhou Ran raised his hand and touched the soul light, activating the military register authority of the Devouring Heaven Seal.

The Formless Domain sensed the command from the main tent, but neither attacked him nor removed the corridor.

"I'm not prepared to risk my life for the city."

He placed the Heaven-Devouring Seal on the array diagram in the hall.

A very faint red light appeared at the bottom of the black square seal.

That was a corner of the divine messenger's execution order.

When Jiuyou saw the red light, a hint of death flickered in his eyes.

"You want to hide the execution order inside the Devouring Heaven Seal and have Crimson Scale activate it for you?"

Zhou Ran used the broken bone pen to cut a small crack in the outer shell of the Devouring Heaven Seal.

"The anchor of cause and effect recognizes authority, and the rule of the emperor's son recognizes the executor."

The first thing Chi Lin will do after obtaining the Devouring Heaven Seal is to combine the four seals into one.

He won't give me time to check the formation.

The scrutiny mark on the chest of the captured divine messenger was drawn in, and a wisp of black-gold light seeped from the black coffin, falling into the deepest part of the square seal.

"As long as he actively activates the anchor core, the execution order will verify his eligibility by following the aura of the Emperor's bones."

"Since Crimson Scale has set up the causal anchor for the Emperor's son and also wields the Black Gold Emperor's Decree, the rules will initially treat him as an executor of the divine messenger system."

Qin San understood the plan, but his hand remained on the Taihuang Black Blade.

"The execution order can be used to re-examine Chi Lin, but it may not be able to protect the Emperor."

Once the causal anchor is opened, the chains will first seal the primordial spirit.

"Your cultivation has not yet recovered; even with a broken pen, you can only revise a very small number of words."

Huan Yin finally released her arms and walked to the other side of the array.

"So he can't actually put the Heaven-Devouring Seal inside."

"I can stack a layer of formless soul shell on the outside of the square seal."

The aura of authority that Chi Lin perceives will be identical. Once he activates the anchor core, the soul shell will first replace the hostage's coordinates.

Bloodlust raised the tip of his spear and drew seven dark red branches on the map of the Nine Nether City's ley lines.

"Illusions can only fool the causal anchor once. Once Crimson Scale discovers that the hostage has been replaced, it will definitely extract underground bloodlines to repair the array."

"I can cut these pipelines, but the Blood Sea Origin has entered the Nine Netherworld Veins, and the Nine Netherworld must personally suppress the backlash."

Jiuyou stared at the seventh-level array platform, remaining silent for a long time.

She had originally planned to sever her karmic ties with her master and exchange her cultivation for a chance to launch a powerful attack.

Zhou Ran's plan, however, required her to preserve the soul thread and, when Chi Lin activated the anchor core, to lock the entire Nine Nether Earth Vein.

This means she must once again trust that the disciple who betrayed her will act as predicted.

Jiuyou put away the source of Jiuyou from the array diagram, leaving only the twelve array eyes.

"Chi Lin is practicing the techniques I taught him. If he discovers the backlash from the Anchor Heart, he will surely detonate the master-disciple soul seal, transferring all the pressure onto me."

"I can suppress the earth's veins for twenty breaths."

If this time is exceeded, the backlash from the soul imprint will enter the Nine Cities.

You must reclaim the Devouring Heaven Seal within twenty breaths.

Zhou Ran looked at her.

That's enough.

He was bloodthirsty but did not accept it.

"You've calculated every step perfectly, but you've overlooked one thing."

Chi Lin already knew that Zhou Ran was skilled at modifying rules.

Why did he activate the Devouring Heaven Seal without any suspicion after obtaining it?

She turned the gun and pointed it at the divine messenger inside the black coffin.

"Send this execution body into the Nine Nether City."

Only when Chi Lin saw the divine envoy captured did he believe that Zhou Ran had lost his biggest trump card.

I will then launch an attack from the Blood Navy, forcing him to set sail prematurely.

The god's eyes suddenly narrowed.

A bloodthirsty smile crept across his face.

"You were just trying to incite infighting among the four of you, and now you've provided us with the last piece of bait."

Don't worry, I won't let Chi Lin rescue you.

"All you need to do is stand on the city wall and let the Emperor's men see how pathetic their divine envoy is."

The divine envoy was unable to speak, and all twelve imperial bone tokens vibrated simultaneously.

Qin San recorded the reaction in the bronze mirror.

He was afraid that Chi Lin would see him.

Huan Yin raised her hand and released a soul sound, probing into the token on the envoy's chest.

The crimson scales quickly faded, indicating that the connection with the divine messenger was being actively severed.

"It seems that Red Scale is unaware that this execution body has been captured by us."

The divine messenger didn't want him to know that the Emperor's people were never prepared to cover for traitors.

The plan is gradually taking shape.

The three empresses, however, did not relinquish their respective authority.

Huan Yin looked at Zhou Ran, her tone returning to its usual playful tone.

"The Formless Illusionary Demon Guards are tasked with replacing the coordinates of thousands of hostages, and the slightest mistake will result in a backlash from the causal anchor."

Why should I be so sure you won't change your mind once you're inside and actually trade yourself for those people?

Bloodlust raised her spear, and the bloodlust beneath her red dress slowly subsided.

"As soon as the 300,000-strong Blood Sea Army was handed over to the unified army register, I had to risk severing the Nine Nether Earth Veins."

If you die in the city, the Four Domains' main tent will collapse on the spot, and I'll have to clean up the mess left by Rift Mountain.

Jiuyou stood between the two.

"I will use my natal soul seal to lock the disciple I raised with my own hands. If you misjudge, the Nine Netherworlds and Nine Cities will suffer a backlash."

Zhou Ran, if you want us to obey orders at the same time, you should at least give a reason.

The main hall fell silent.

Mingcang and Guji stood guard on either side of the military register with their heads bowed.

They knew that these three peak-stage Tribulation Transcending cultivators had never truly obeyed anyone.

Even when Ye Futian was alive, he could only stand shoulder to shoulder with them; he couldn't let the three of them share the risks of the same operation at the same time.

Zhou Ran raised his hand and placed the Devouring Heaven Seal in the center of the three Domain Seals.

"Whether you are willing to take action or not, I will not use my status as the sovereign to coerce you."

His voice was heard throughout the military registers of the four regions.

"Illusory Sound can choose to preserve the Realm of No Form, or Bloodlust can retreat to the Sea of ​​Blood."

If Jiuyou wishes to clean up his own mess, I will not stop him.

Zhou Ran's gaze swept across the three faces one by one.

"But by standing here today, you have already made your choice."

"You are not the women left behind by Ye Futian."

"He is a sixth-level Heavenly Realm expert who can make his own decisions."