After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

The emperor's inability to have sex could not be kept secret in the end.

As soon as the news spread, the first to be in an uproar were the imperial harem.

They racked their brains and inquired for a long time. When they finally confirmed that the news was true, they were all struck dumb and completely despaired.

What are they fighting over? Isn't it just to receive more imperial favor so they can give birth to a son sooner and rise in status through their child?

Now that the emperor is impotent, and most of these women are still childless, what hope do they have for the future?

Must I live a life of widowhood, wasting my life in the deep palace until I die?

Upon realizing this, many people lost interest.

What's the point of winning? They've already given up on what they wanted most, so what's the point of fighting?

With the harem now quiet, it's naturally a good thing for Lin Zhixu and his group.

In an instant, the resentment in the harem lessened considerably, and even the air felt fresher.

The court quieted down even faster than the harem.

What's done is done. No matter how cunning those ministers were, they couldn't make the emperor grow something new.

Instead of worrying about this, we should just get things settled as soon as possible.

The matter of choosing an heir went almost smoothly. The eldest prince was the popular choice, and anyone who wasn't a fool could see that it was the safest option at the moment.

In this matter, the emperor was probably the biggest victim.

Since becoming a rootless person, he hasn't seen anyone for half a month.

He never went to the imperial study, never reviewed memorials, and spent all his time holed up in his bedchamber, refusing to see anyone.

The Empress Dowager tried to persuade them, the ministers tried to plead with them, and even the princes who came to pay their respects were driven away.

A country cannot be without a ruler for even a day.

Even if the emperor abandons his post, the court cannot be brought to a standstill.

The eldest prince was forced into the role of acting regent.

The Empress Dowager ruled from behind a screen.

Gradually, the ministers realized that even without an emperor, it wouldn't have much of an impact.

Although the young prince is still young, he is calm and composed. He is good at reading, writing, and handling government affairs. When he is unsure about something, he knows to consult the Empress Dowager and several senior officials first.

Needless to say, the Empress Dowager, having lived her life in the palace, was insightful and adept at handling matters. She knew when to be soft and when to be firm.

For a time, everything was surprisingly well-organized, both in the government and among the people.

In two more years, when the eldest prince is a bit older, he can directly succeed to the throne.

Whether the emperor attends court or not has become a matter of little importance.

Everyone felt that it was actually a good thing that the emperor had suffered this calamity.

……

The two elders from the Lingyun Sect who came to deal with the evil spirits this time are said to be quite skilled at exorcising evil spirits.

They first set up layers of magic arrays outside the dark room, and then asked all bystanders to retreat to a distance of ten feet, leaving only Lin Zhixu, Jiang Chen and others to protect them.

The magic circle lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

They watched as the concubine went from initial painful struggle to gradually calming down, as the black energy within her body was drawn away bit by bit and dissipated into the magic array.

The two elders stopped and both breathed a sigh of relief: "It's done. The evil spirits have been completely removed."

The tension that had been building up for so long began to ease.

Just as everyone was about to leave the darkroom, something unexpected happened.

The concubine had completely fainted, but suddenly an extremely dense black aura surged from her body.

The black mist shot towards Lin Zhixu like an arrow released from a bow, unstoppable.

"Fellow Daoist Lin!"

"Brother Lin!"

The group's expressions changed drastically as they tried to stop it, but they couldn't even touch the edge of the black mist.

Too fast! It's as if it was premeditated, just waiting for this moment when everyone relaxed.

Lin Zhixu felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, as if he were being swallowed up by the black mist.

He instinctively tried to activate his spiritual power to resist, but found that the black energy was like a bone-deep infection, penetrating his limbs and bones, and tightly binding his consciousness.

The last thing I heard was Jiang Chen and Liu Shuyan's heart-wrenching cries.

"Lin Zhixu—!"

The black aura suddenly receded, as if it had never existed, disappearing completely along with Lin Zhixu's figure.

The expressions on everyone's faces were increasingly grim.

Oh no! This is Feng Heng Immortal Venerable's disciple. He was forcibly kidnapped right under the noses of so many people. How are they going to explain this when they get back?

Let alone the Tianheng Sect, the wrath of Immortal Venerable Fengheng alone was enough to overwhelm everyone present.

Jiang Chen slammed his fist against the wall, forcing himself to calm down: "Don't panic. No matter what, we need to notify Tianheng Sect immediately. This can't be kept secret."

Liu Shuyan tried to remain calm: "Yes. Since that evil spirit went to so much trouble to take Lin Zhixu away, it must have other plans. It shouldn't be able to harm him in the short term."

"Instead of just sitting here worrying, we should hurry up and look for clues. The longer we wait, the more uncertain things will become."

Jiang Chen nodded: "Alright, you stay in the palace and continue the search, I'll go to Tianheng Sect to report."

Liu Shuyan: "I'll go with you."

After discussing the matter, the group immediately split up and took action.

……

The two dared not delay and traveled swiftly on their swords to reach the Tianheng Sect, where they directly requested an audience with the Grand Elder.

Upon hearing their explanation, the Grand Elder stood up in shock: "What? Lin Zhixu has been abducted by evil spirits?"

Jiang Chen and Liu Shuyan, their faces full of shame, recounted the whole story.

The elder's face was grim, and it took him a long time to regain his composure.

Liu Shuyan hesitated for a moment before speaking his guess: "Elder, I have an idea. We investigated that evil aura several times at first, but we couldn't find any clues."

"Later we thought it was caused by the concubine's own evil thoughts, but now that I think about it, it's probably not that simple. The fact that it could be hidden so deeply and then suddenly attack when we were off guard doesn't seem like ordinary evil at all."

"Perhaps... it has been eyeing Fellow Daoist Lin for a long time."

The elder's eyes darkened.

The elders at the top all knew that the so-called evil energy was just a smokescreen.

That thing was clearly demonic energy.

However, the reappearance of the demon race is a matter of great importance, and fearing it would cause panic throughout the world, the various sects have been keeping it a secret.

If this speculation is true, then the one targeting Lin Zhixu is very likely the Demon Lord Li Hanshan.

Why did Li Hanshan want to arrest Lin Zhixu?

The only thing he could think of was that Li Hanshan knew Lin Zhixu's importance in Yu Linzhou's heart and wanted to use him to deal with Yu Linzhou.

The Grand Elder grew increasingly alarmed, his expression shifting several times before he finally said in a deep voice, "I will discuss countermeasures with the other elders. You all return to the palace first, keep quiet, investigate secretly, and follow the sect's arrangements."

Jiang Chen and Liu Shuyan exchanged a glance, nodded in agreement, and hurried back without lingering.

As soon as the two left, the Grand Elder could no longer maintain his composure and paced anxiously back and forth in the hall.

What should we do?

Yu Linzhou is still in seclusion, and no one knows when he will be able to come out.

Li Hanshan acts unpredictably, and the demon race has been in hiding for many years, so the major sects know almost nothing about their hiding place.

Now that Lin Zhixu has been taken away, it's like a needle falling into the ocean, with no direction in sight.

If Yu Linzhou were to suddenly emerge from seclusion and discover that his precious disciple was missing, given his temperament, turning up half of the Tianheng Sect would be the least of his worries.

The elder felt increasingly troubled and pressed his throbbing temples.

We can't wait, we absolutely can't wait.

He strode to the desk, picked up his pen and wrote several secret orders, summoning all the senior elders to a meeting.