The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

The vast Yunshan Palace was deathly still. Xuan Ye lay on the bed, dressed in black clothes, his eyes tightly closed, and the black jade on his forehead was unusually dim.

Bingyin stood guard beside Xuan Ye, who was somewhat at a loss due to Xuan Ye's sudden unconsciousness. He hadn't expected that such a powerful Great Sage of the Spirit Realm would reveal his weakness. The effects of the previous Ghost Spirit Fruit had completely worn off. If they didn't hurry to find the next Ghost Spirit Fruit and force Chu Lianyi to make some sacrifice, Xuan Ye would surely die.

"Xuan Ye! Xuan Ye!" Chu Lianyi's voice came from afar, and the dozen or so disciples kneeling inside the house turned around to look at the pale-faced woman who had leaped closer.

Xuan Bing's face was filled with hatred. When she saw Chu Lianyi enter, she took two steps forward and grabbed Chu Lianyi's wrist tightly, shouting angrily, "You dare to come back?! It's all because of you that Master is like this! If it weren't for you, how could Master, with his extraordinary spiritual energy, have fallen and fainted?! Chu Lianyi, Ying Li is not a witch, you are!"

Chu Lianyi stared at Xuan Bing's face for a long time before shifting her gaze to the dozen or so disciples kneeling in front of Xuan Ye. Turning to Bing Yin, she snorted coldly, pushed Xuan Bing aside, and walked to Xuan Ye.

Xuan Ye's brows were slightly furrowed. He looked like he was in great pain and suffering, but he always tried to appear calm and collected.

"Lianyi, step aside, let me try!" Ying Li arrived shortly afterward and was taken aback by the expressions of the disciples of Yunshan Palace as they looked at Chu Lianyi with her frost-covered sword. He quickly said.

"Lianyi!" Bingyin called out urgently, grabbing Chu Lianyi's hand. A blue light flashed, and Chu Lianyi didn't even blink. Her wrist, held by Bingyin, was covered in blood, which was still flowing out. Bingyin looked at the old scars on it, his face pale.

"Get out of the way!" Chu Lianyi's voice trembled, her eyes filled with determination as she looked at Bingyin. "Bingyin, get out of the way!" Li Xiyue's voice came from not far away. Bingyin's expression changed drastically, and he subconsciously withdrew his hand. Chu Lianyi squatted down and dripped the blood from her wrist into Xuan Ye's mouth.

"You...you're alive?!" Bingyin stared at Li Xiyue in disbelief, utterly shocked. He glanced at Ying Li, then at Li Xiyue, and a realization dawned on him. But why...why was he only seeing Li Xiyue now?!

Wasn't it for Li Xiyue that he ventured into the Ghost Realm?! Wasn't it to resurrect Li Xiyue that he sought out Ying Li?! Wasn't it for Li Xiyue that he repeatedly rejected Chu Lianyi?!

“It’s alright,” Li Xiyue said, then smiled at Bingyin before turning her gaze to Chu Lianyi. Bingyin’s face was deathly pale; he seemed to have been struck by lightning, his mind blank, and his eyes were filled with astonishment as he looked at Chu Lianyi.

A dozen disciples knelt before Xuan Ye, their expressions towards Chu Lianyi filled with confusion, resentment, and hope. Chu Lianyi fed blood into Xuan Ye's mouth. After a short while, Xuan Ye's eyes flickered, and he slowly opened them. Seeing Chu Lianyi's anxious gaze, Xuan Ye was first taken aback, then his gaze fixed on Chu Lianyi's bloodstained wrist. He frowned, as if making a decision, and said, "Lianyi, you're back?! I have something I want to ask you, can you promise me?!"

Chu Lianyi was overjoyed to see Xuan Ye wake up and quickly said, "Tell me, I'll agree to anything you say!" She thought to herself, "Even if it means death, I will make it up to you. If it weren't for the Chu family, Xuan Ye wouldn't have gotten into this mess!"

"Be my apprentice."

"What? What are you saying?" Caught off guard by Xuan Ye's words, Chu Lianyi froze. She watched as Xuan Ye grasped her wrist, the wound gradually healing, a cool sensation spreading from her wrist. Chu Lianyi confirmed it several times:

"What are you talking about?! Xuan Ye, I don't understand."

"Master, you have so many disciples, including the extraordinary Ying Li, why did you take Chu Lianyi as your disciple?! The mistakes she made are unforgivable, why did you do this?!" Xuan Huo stared at Chu Lianyi, his eyes filled with rage, wishing he could skin her alive.

If it weren't for her, the Great Sage Jueling would be perfectly fine, not lying here so weak! The Great Sage Jueling has shown them immense kindness, and they will absolutely not allow anyone to harm her!

“Master, please reconsider. We don’t need a junior sister who could have killed you!” Xuan Bing said stubbornly, her gaze towards Chu Lianyi icy. “By taking her as your disciple, you’ve essentially brought a menace into your home. Her grandfather is Chu Jue, the villain who stole your Ghost Spirit Fruit. If they collude with us to seize the treasures of Yunshan Palace and catch us off guard, we’ll be in deep trouble.”

Xuan Ye looked at Chu Lianyi and said, "Can you? I don't think you can. Since that's the case, why don't you kneel down?!"

"Master!" Xuanhuo cried out, asking with heartache, "Why?!"

“Because he likes Miss Chu.” Jiang Yanli, standing in the corner, looked dejected. She stared at her feet, her eyes empty and lifeless. After she finished speaking, the place became extremely quiet.

Jiang Yanli chuckled, as if mocking her own naivety and delusion, and continued, "If Xuan Ye wants to live, there are only two paths: one is to kill Chu Lianyi to prolong his life, and the other is to forcibly marry Chu Lianyi and live together. However, on the day of the forced marriage, Chu Lianyi threatened to kill herself, and Xuan Ye was afraid. He did not want Chu Lianyi to get hurt."

"If he falls into a coma again, you will surely harm Chu Lianyi. Therefore, he wants to create a bond of kinship between Chu Lianyi and you. Since ancient times, masters and disciples cannot be lovers. He is severing his own desires to save Chu Lianyi's life! Originally, Xuan Ye only wanted to find a disciple who suited his heart and spread all the martial arts of Yunshan Palace, nothing more. He has waited for two, one is Ying Li, and the other is Chu Lianyi. For him, he has lived long enough. If he can give Chu Lianyi a final life-saving charm after his death, that would be good too."

"Jiang Yanli, do you know what you're saying?! How could Master do this?!" Xuanqi, who had been silent for a long time, looked at Jiang Yanli's lifeless face and asked angrily.

"How dare you presume to know your master like that?! Although he is not your disciple by the same surname, he is still your master! How dare you!"

"I truly wish I didn't have a clan, or the Jiang family to back me up. I didn't want to be an outsider's disciple. If I had been taken in by my master, I would have been an orphan! Before Chu Lianyi appeared, I wanted to be his true disciple like you, to protect him forever. But Xuan Ye didn't understand at all, he didn't understand my heart at all. He just saw me as another disciple whose talent was slightly better than yours. Before the exceptionally talented Ying Li and Chu Lianyi appeared, I was just his ordinary disciple."

“Master, listen to what Jiang Yanli is saying! She must be crazy!” Even Xuan Huo couldn’t believe it. Xuan Huo only knew that Xuan Ye was kind-hearted and that Xuan Ye had high hopes for Chu Lianyi, but she couldn’t believe that Xuan Ye would really like Chu Lianyi.

“She’s right, I like Chu Lianyi.” Xuan Ye’s words were like a thunderbolt, instantly turning the ancient and serene Yunshan Palace into a scene of utter desolation.

“I, Xuan Ye, the Great Sage of the Spirit Realm, have searched for a total of four Ghost Spirit Fruits, living a wasted 479 years, all to find a disciple to whom I can entrust my martial arts. Today I have found two: Ying Li, an extraordinary person, and Chu Lianyi from the Chu family of the Spirit Realm. I have no regrets in this life.” Xuan Ye finished speaking calmly, then gave Chu Lianyi, whose face was pale, a deep look, and waved his hand, saying, “Both of you, get out.”

Chu Lianyi looked at the wrist that Xuan Ye had touched earlier; the scar had disappeared, and a conspicuous "Xuan" character was emitting a faint red glow. She turned to look at Xuan Huo, whose wrist was the same.

"Xuan Ye, I never thought of becoming your disciple." Chu Lianyi said stubbornly, but Ying Li stopped her. Ying Li shook his head slightly and pulled Chu Lianyi around.

"All of you, get out of here," Xuan Ye repeated. Xuan Bing, Xuan Huo, and the other disciples reluctantly stood up, their eyes filled with endless worry as they looked at Xuan Ye. Xuan Huo glared at Chu Lianyi, shoved her hard, and said hatefully, "Are you satisfied now? Yunshan Palace is finally yours!"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone's expression changed drastically. Flames leaped outside Yunshan Palace, and the Earth Spirit, combined with spiritual power, actually rushed towards the first gate of Yunshan Palace!

"Damn it!" Xuan Bing roared, his body shooting towards the first palace gate! The villains had taken advantage of this opening to rush up!