When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

Ji Ran stared at herself in the mirror.

The mirror reflects a noble and youthful face.

The black and gold python robe, with its four-clawed golden dragon, symbolizes supreme nobility second only to the emperor.

Flawless.

He raised his hand, his fingertips gently tracing the small, light brown mole on the bridge of his nose, then lowered his eyes, picked up a wooden comb, and re-combed his already meticulously styled black hair.

A dark figure appeared silently behind him. "Your Highness."

"Hmm," Ji Ran didn't turn around, her gaze still fixed on her own clothes, "Have you found anything?"

The shadowy figure paused for a moment, then spoke: "That child... seems to actually exist."

The fingers that were adjusting the jade belt buckle paused slightly.

"Go on."

"The trail went cold in a small village. According to some villagers, about a decade or so ago, someone from a cultivation sect passed through and took him away. Which sect he entered is currently... impossible to verify. After that, there was no further news, and his fate is unknown," the dark figure reported truthfully, his tone respectful.

"Continue the investigation."

"Yes."

The dark figure flickered and vanished without a trace.

Ji Ran took one last look at her neatly dressed self in the mirror, then turned and walked out of the hall. She arrived at a door and stepped in with her head held high.

"Father."

Inside the inner hall, a middle-aged man dressed in bright yellow casual clothes sat cross-legged with his eyes closed on a couch.

He was the current emperor of the Southern Cang Continent. The man slowly lifted his eyelids, his sharp, lion-like gaze fixed on Ji Ran, filled with undisguised mockery.

"I have found a way to completely quell the scourge of the half-demons." Ji Ran ignored his gaze and spoke to himself with a smile on his face, "When I ascend the throne, I will be a wise ruler and pacify the four directions. I will never be like Father Emperor—useless."

"...A sickly fellow who didn't even have a spiritual root, a mere shell of a man. And he dares to dream of becoming emperor?" The other party let out a sneer from his throat; his voice was hoarse, yet still held an air of authority.

"Who can really tell what's true and what's false?" Ji Ran squinted slightly, her voice so gentle it could melt hearts.

"This was a decision made by my father himself, making me the crown prince. In the eyes of the people, I am the rightful crown prince, and in the future, I will be the rightful emperor."

He coughed and chuckled, "As long as I can play this role for the rest of my life, what's fake... won't it become real?"

The Emperor said coldly, "Fool! If I had known this would happen, I would have chosen him instead!"

"Is that so?" Ji Ran seemed regretful, gently shaking her head. "What a pity, there's no medicine for regret in this world."

The young crown prince took out a white jade bottle and placed it on the low table next to the emperor.

"The Tianyuan Tournament is approaching, Father. Perform well and take your medicine on time."

"You unfilial son...!"

The gate closed, and the walls and floor of the entire hall lit up with intricate control arrays. Two men in black silently emerged from the shadows, firmly pressing down on the emperor's struggling shoulders, and pouring the dark red liquid into his mouth.

Outside.

Ji Ran coughed a few times, covering her mouth, frowned as she glanced at the bloodstains on the handkerchief, her expression growing increasingly gloomy, and her other hand lightly covered her dantian.

He knew in his heart that the feeling of his spiritual root being weakened recently was anything but ordinary.

Why is this happening?

The first time I noticed something was wrong was on the day I took my fourth brother, Ji Cheng'an, to Youxin Valley. The second time was a few days ago... Impossible, his spiritual root belongs to him completely. There has been no problem for many years.

Thinking of this, Ji Ran took out a Heavenly Grade Mustard Seed Space from his sleeve, probed it with his divine sense, and the scene before him suddenly changed.

Inside the space is a rather elegantly furnished courtyard, surrounded by green bamboo, with a rustic wooden house and a small pond.

A man dressed in a blue robe sat at a stone table grinding medicinal formulas. He had a handsome face, but his expression seemed somewhat troubled.

Upon seeing Ji Ran's figure appear, the man immediately frowned and stood up.

"When exactly does Your Highness intend to release me?"

Ji Ran glanced at him indifferently and smiled, "Please, divine physician, examine the condition of my spiritual root once more."

Unable to contain his anger any longer, the man slammed his hand on the table.

"I came to the capital with good intentions to treat your congenital deficiency, but the Crown Prince used the Three Phases Venerable's magic weapon to trap me here! I've been missing for so long, Medicine King Valley must have been in chaos by now, how could the disciples in the valley let this go? Aren't you afraid that things will be exposed—"

"The divine physician is overthinking it." Ji Ran interrupted him. "The affairs in the valley will be handled by others... cough, you just need to stay here and do your job for me."

"What does 'someone else did it on my behalf' mean?"

The man was startled, a sense of foreboding washing over him. "What have you done? What have you done to my disciples?"

Ji Ran naturally couldn't tell him any more information about the outside world. She simply raised her hand to signal the other person to come forward, "Quickly take his pulse, don't waste each other's time."

-

Meanwhile, chaos reigned in the skies above Yuntian City.

The spirit ships of all factions, both human and demon, collided together, creating a chaotic and bizarre scene in the sky. Various colored spiritual lights flashed haphazardly, and the sounds of collisions, curses, and explosions filled the air, creating an unprecedented and absurd spectacle.

On the long street of Yuntian City below, countless cultivators and commoners craned their necks, staring in astonishment.

Be puzzled.

"Is this... a new entertainment program added by the Tianyuan Society? It looks quite lively." Someone asked blankly.

"What are you doing, adding fuel to the fire! Can't you see they're about to fight?!"

"What on earth is going on?"

The story begins with He Jingxuan's "meow meow meow".

Those three words completely ignited the fury of Zong Lan, the young master of the Mountain Lynx Clan, who, in front of He Jingxuan, once again destroyed the spirit boat of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Large aircraft all have protective spells, so this kind of impact is not very damaging, but extremely insulting.

The entire Heavenly Sword Sect is filled with hot-tempered individuals, and they could not tolerate such repeated provocations. They immediately became determined to fight back and instantly turned their spirit boat around to retaliate.

This collision directly expanded the battle zone, and the situation continued to deteriorate.

The Heavenly Sword Sect's spirit boat was thrown sideways by the recoil, and its stern heavily grazed the Xuan Yang Sect, which was preparing to attack from the front.

The rest is self-explanatory.

Fortunately, the farce didn't last long. The imperial guards arrived in time, quickly cleared the scene, cleaned up the mess, and arranged for everyone to attend the banquet.

The Tianyuan Gathering will last for thirty days. During this period, the entire Yuntian City will be open to cultivators from all over the world, with a continuous supply of spiritual wine and immortal delicacies, music and dance playing day and night, and dazzling lights shining every night.

"Welcome, distinguished guest!"

The palace servants' long, drawn-out voices echoed through the palace gates, piercing through the hustle and bustle to welcome guests from all directions.