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

This means that, according to the results measured by the Emperor's Rules, Lin Qingxue's connection ranks first.

She straightened up and clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

"But what if there's a cause and effect that's heavier than hers?"

Zhou Ran looked up at her.

Huan Yin didn't dodge.

"My soul imprint, which resonates with yours, is planted at the edge of your sea of ​​consciousness."

When your primordial spirit was disturbed by the Name-Erasing Order, it almost swallowed me along with it.

The Emperor's Rules had long since noticed this line.

However, based on its current measurements, it's ranked after Lin Qingxue, so we'll attack that side first.

She took a step toward him, bent down, and touched the black line on his left wrist with her index finger—not touching the line itself, just half an inch away.

"The illusion of formlessness can fake the depth of cause and effect."

I amplified the signal of the Soul Imprint of the Same Frequency tenfold, disguising it as a bond even deeper than the Black Mark of the Return Path.

The name-erasing order will automatically turn around and erase this empress first.

Dark red soul power seeped from her fingertips, swirling around Zhou Ran's wrist, always maintaining a half-inch distance from the black mark.

Jiuyou's voice suddenly came from below the steps.

I don't know when she arrived. Her black dress was hidden in the shadows, only the black mark between her brows gleamed coldly.

"To take the blow for him."

Jiuyou's words were completely flat.

"Wasn't being stripped of your name and locked up once enough? You had to take it a second time."

Huanyin turned around to look at her.

"I have military credentials on me, which I am protected by [those with credentials must not erase them].

Last time, it was almost completely wiped out because there wasn't enough evidence.

Now, all the military registers of the four regions bear my mark, and the 30,000 Illusionary Demon Guards are 30,000 pieces of proof.

It can lock onto me; it can't be erased.

Jiuyou silently ascended the steps.

The deathly aura spread along her feet.

"That's the theory."

She stopped three steps away from Huanyin.

"What guarantees that the Imperial Prince won't upgrade the strength of the rules? Last time it was just a tentative step, and you were almost gone."

"That's why I need you."

Huan Yin looked over.

"Your black coffin rule can give me a layer of death disguise."

Once the erasure order reaches a certain point, my existence signal becomes 'dead,' and it determines that the task is complete and stops. In reality, I am still alive.

The two peak-stage Tribulation Transcending cultivators stood face to face, staring at each other for several breaths.

"You've calculated it quite clearly."

Jiuyou finally spoke.

"But there's one thing you can't calculate."

She looked past Huanyin and at Zhou Ran on the stage.

"The rules of the Imperial Son are not inanimate objects. They can distinguish between truth and falsehood."

Jiuyou spoke very slowly.

"You want it to believe that the cause and effect between you and Huanyin is deeper than the black lines of the Return Path."

The premise is—this cause and effect cannot be fabricated solely through illusion.

The Moon Emperor has already proven this.

The rules of the Imperial Son system can penetrate all disguises and reach the essence.

When measuring the depth of cause and effect with a name, what one is reading is the true emotional intensity between two people.

It's not about the strength of the soul power signal.

"in other words."

Jiuyou shifted his gaze from Zhou Ran back to Huanyin.

"You have to truly move him before the prince will believe you."

Huan Yin did not avoid it.

She turned to face Zhou Ran.

The usual languid playfulness vanished from his dark red eyes, revealing something else beneath.

Something that is rarely taken out.

"Zhou Ran".

Her voice dropped half a octave.

"I can act as bait, I can block a knife, and I can use the Soul Seal of the Same Frequency to lure the Name-Erasing Order to my own head."

The military regulations protect them, the Nine Netherworld Black Coffin deceives them. Logically, there's no flaw.

She took another step closer.

The night breeze blew a few strands of her hair onto Zhou Ran's shoulder.

"The only problem is—the prince can see through the deception."

She looked into his eyes.

"You really have to put me in there."

Place it in a position even deeper than the black lines of the return path. Even if only for a fleeting moment. Only at the instant the brush touches the paper. Otherwise, the name-erasing order will not change direction.

Zhou Ran didn't move.

Huan Yin's expression didn't seem to be one of planning. Nor was it her usual ambiguous approach.

She was talking about something she couldn't control.

"The essence of this palace's positioning."

I took the blame for that ordeal that erased your name.

"In the secret chamber, I'm repairing every wisp of soul power you left behind when you were repairing your sea of ​​consciousness."

Huanyin's voice faded away.

"This is not an act. If the Imperial Rules were to investigate my side, they would find the real thing."

It paused for a moment.

"So I'll only ask you one question."

Her dark red eyes lifted to meet his gaze.

Did you move?

It was very quiet on the observatory.

The wind has gone nowhere.

Jiuyou stood three steps away, the black lines between her brows slightly contracting. She neither interrupted nor left.

The dark lines on Zhou Ran's left wrist faded a little more.

He did not answer.

Huan Yin stared into his eyes. One breath, two breaths, ten breaths.

I didn't get an answer.

The corners of her mouth curved slightly. She took a half step back, her dark red dress unfurling in the rising night breeze.

"No rush."

He turned and descended the steps. As he passed Jiuyou, he tilted his head slightly.

"We'll discuss my plan again tomorrow morning. Let him think it through tonight."

The Nine Netherworlds remained unmoved.

Only after Huanyin had walked away did she turn towards the top of the observatory.

The two people looked at each other for a moment, separated by a dozen or so steps.

Jiuyou said nothing.

It withdrew its life force and left silently.

......

The next morning, in the main hall of the Devouring Heaven Demon Palace.

The unified military register was spread out on the long table.

On the left is the monitoring data of the White Pagoda that Chen Ya sent overnight, and on the right is the causal guidance array diagram that Huan Yin drew overnight—judging from the depth of the ink, she probably didn't sleep a wink all night.

The hall was filled with the core generals from the four regions.

"Dual-anchor strategy".

Zhou Ran pointed his index finger at the center of the array diagram.

"The first anchor point is the soul imprint of the same frequency as Huan Yin."

The signal was amplified, simulating a causal path that was even deeper than the black lines of the return path.

Prioritize eliminating names and targeting the most critical objectives.

If the first anchor point is bright enough, it will turn.

Slide your finger outwards to the edge of the array.

"The second anchor point is to unify the underlying rules of the military register."

[Those with proof must not erase it], and the military registration of the four regions is the proof.

After the Nameless Order locked onto Huan Yin, the Military Register activated its protection, and the soul power of 30,000 Illusionary Demon Guards was used to withstand the attack.

Ming Cang wrote with lightning speed beside him. Qin San stood to the side of the hall, holding a knife, his gaze sweeping over the expressions of everyone present.

The bloodthirsty spear slammed into the ground, the sound startling the several distracted commanders.

"To put it bluntly," she said, her red eyes fixed on Zhou Ran, ignoring Huan Yin, "it's about using her as a target, sending the Emperor's pen straight at her."

The voice paused for a moment.

"Last time it was almost wiped out, and this time it's moving forward again."

Zhou Ran met her gaze.

"Her plan is currently the only way to preserve the Black Stripe of the Return Path."

Bloodlust's lips twitched. As if he had something to say, he swallowed it back.

She shouldered her spear and strode over to Huanyin's side.

He slapped Huanyin on the shoulder.

"If you want to be a target, I'll put an extra layer of shell on you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the essence of the Blood Sea surged from his palm, followed Huan Yin's meridians, and covered her with a thin film of blood.

"Ancestral Blood Imprint. If you want to harm me, first tear through my Blood Sea Mark."

Huan Yin raised an eyebrow. She didn't push him away.

When the bloodthirsty ancestral blood covered her, she could feel the life force of 300,000 soldiers in the sea of ​​blood surging beneath her skin.

It was heavy, like wearing a weighty suit of armor.