Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Upon arriving at the side hall, a maid served tea. The Dan Emperor and several Grandmasters continued their discussion of the Human Emperor's condition. The accompanying disciples, unable to participate, listened from the side as their masters expressed their opinions.

Xu Lingguang and Liuzhu chose a spot far away from Zheng Er.

Liu Zhu whispered to Xu Lingguang, "Did you notice anything just now?"

Xu Lingguang hesitated for a moment, skipped over the matter of the system, and said, "It's not quite certain yet. I suspect that the Human Emperor's current condition is due to being corrupted by the turbid energy, but we can't find much evidence right now."

Therefore, he could only discuss this speculation with Liu Zhu, but it was not appropriate to mention it to Fu Jiyu. After all, if Fu Jiyu asked him why he had such a speculation, he simply wouldn't be able to provide a sufficient reason.

Liuzhu frowned: "Corrosion by turbid air? Why do you say that?"

See? This is exactly the result I expected. Xu Lingguang said helplessly, "That's just how I feel."

Seeing this, Liuzhu did not press the matter further.

Meanwhile, Danhuang and several grandmasters had different opinions about the Human Emperor's situation. They discussed it from day to night but failed to come up with a solution.

At first, the disciples were listening attentively to their teachers' discussion, but as time went on, they began to drift off and daydream.

Some disciples had even started to yawn secretly.

Xu Lingguang was also a little tired. He glanced out the window and muttered, "Why is it foggy again?"

Outside the window, in the courtyard, a hazy, gray mist had once again filled the air.

The fog spread silently, creeping in through the open window and enveloping the lights by the window, dimming the indoor lights.

The dim environment made people even more drowsy. A disciple sitting next to Xu Lingguang quietly rubbed his eyes and complained to his companions, trying to fight off sleepiness, "I'm afraid we won't be able to rest tonight."

Xu Lingguang looked in the direction of the voice and recognized the speaker as Zhao De'an's disciple. He did look very tired, his face was haggard, and he was constantly pinching his thigh, trying to relieve his drowsiness.

His gaze inadvertently swept over the others, and he noticed that three or four of the accompanying disciples looked as if they were trying hard to suppress their drowsiness.

Xu Lingguang felt something was strange. Was he really that sleepy?

Logically speaking, cultivators shouldn't have any problems even if they don't sleep for several nights; occasional fatigue can be relieved by meditating and regulating their breathing. Even if it's inconvenient to meditate and regulate breathing right now, they shouldn't be this tired, feeling a strange sense of having returned to a mortal body after a long time.

Xu Lingguang observed his surroundings discreetly, his gaze settling on the Pill Emperor and Grandmaster not far away.

They were still arguing and didn't notice that their disciples were yawning and slacking off. Their faces showed no signs of fatigue; on the contrary, they were flushed from arguing and looked ready to roll up their sleeves and fight at any moment.

Xu Lingguang frowned and whispered to Liuzhu, "Are you sleepy?"

Ryusoo shook his head in surprise: "Are you sleepy?"

Xu Lingguang shook his head and had no choice but to give up for the time being.

The debate over the Emperor's illness continued into the early hours of the morning. The grandmasters argued for several hours, but none of them could convince the others. Finally, Meng Zhongjing spoke up, suggesting that before figuring out the root cause of the Emperor's illness, they should not rashly give him any pills or any treatment. He himself would stay in the palace tonight to keep watch and stabilize the Emperor's condition.

Upon hearing this, the remaining men immediately fell silent, like defeated roosters, and led their disciples back home.

After all this, everyone was exhausted.

The grandmasters were tired of arguing, while their disciples were simply exhausted from just waiting. After a perfunctory farewell, they went to rest.

Fu Jiyu led Xu Lingguang and Liuzhu back to Caiyue Palace. After they were all alone, Fu Jiyu looked at Xu Lingguang and asked, "Did you have any ideas earlier?"

She knew that Xu Lingguang was not the kind of impetuous young disciple, and there was obviously a reason why he was at the back.

Xu Lingguang hesitated slightly, then shook his head: "No, I just wanted to take a closer look at the Emperor's condition, maybe I could find something. But before I could even get a good look, Zheng Er interfered..."

His tone was somewhat helpless.

Fu Jiyu was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this. She rubbed her temples and said, "I'll go to the alchemy room. You all go and rest first."

Xu Lingguang hummed in agreement, parted ways with Liu Zhu, and returned to his room.

He thought he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight because of all the things that were going on, but he fell asleep shortly after lying in bed.

But whether it was because the feng shui of the Jade Spirit Palace was really bad or not, Xu Lingguang did not sleep well on either of the two nights he stayed there.

He started dreaming again.

The dream was filled with a hazy, gray mist, thicker and colder than anything seen in reality, almost solidifying into water droplets that enveloped everything around me.

Xu Lingguang walked barefoot on a slippery stone path that seemed to stretch on forever. All around him was silent except for the sound of his own footsteps.

He didn't know how long he had been walking in the fog when he suddenly caught a faint, sticky sound, like a wet tongue licking something, along with an indistinct, teeth-grinding chewing sound.

"Crunch... crunch..."

The strange noise, muffled by the thick fog, seemed to come from afar and then closer, its source impossible to discern. At times it seemed to be on the horizon, at others it was right next to Xu Lingguang's ear, giving off a nauseatingly unpleasant feeling.

Half-asleep, Xu Lingguang walked down the stone path. As the path ended, the chewing sound suddenly grew louder. The unsettling noise struck Xu Lingguang's heart like a heavy hammer, jolting him awake and allowing him to see clearly what lay beyond the thick fog—

A gaunt humanoid figure lay on the ground with its back to Xu Lingguang, gnawing roughly and eagerly. Because it was eating so fast, its whole body was trembling, and the bones protruding under its sallow skin were undulating, giving it a non-human, beastly feel.

Xu Lingguang subconsciously held his breath and took a step forward before he could see what the thing was gnawing on.

It's a corpse.

No, Xu Lingguang stared intently for a few moments and discovered that the chest of the "corpse" lying on the ground without any resistance was still rising and falling, clearly indicating that it was a living person.

who is it?

The person's face was turned to one side, making it difficult for Xu Lingguang to see clearly. Just as he was about to move closer for a better look, the monster suddenly stopped chewing. As if sensing something, its emaciated, bony body slowly turned around—

Xu Lingguang stood rooted to the spot, his eyes wide open, trying to make out the monster's appearance.

But the moment the monster's face turned completely, Xu Lingguang's heart suddenly pounded wildly. He sat up in bed like a dying fish, gasping for breath while pressing his pounding chest.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, and Xu Lingguang squinted before realizing it was dawn.

It was just a dream.