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

Zhou Ran put the fragment of the main nail into his palm.

"Walk."

He turned and went downstairs, not glancing at the old building for women and children again.

That building wasn't the final destination.

The Moon Emperor stretched out a finger, ordering him to cut it, to investigate, and to see with his own eyes the things from the night Lin Qingxue was born.

Lin Qingxue's background.

Yue Zhao's second heartbeat.

The nail that Sheng Hui planted 27 years ago.

These clues are presented too directly.

There's definitely a problem.

What the Moon Emperor wanted was chaos.

He needs to be in a hurry.

He was instructed to use his heart, hands, and eyes to return to the scroll and write the words "close the door" as "welcome back".

We can't follow the path she laid out.

Let's go back to the manor first.

Keep Lin Qingxue calm.

Stabilize Wuhan.

Then flip that broken table, the Heavenly Corpse, onto the Moon Emperor's face.

Half an hour later.

Xiao Family Manor.

When Zhou Ran stepped into the courtyard, everyone had already arrived.

Chen Ya, Li Zhiyao, Wang Pangzi, Qin San, Xiao Rou, Xiao Hongli, Su Qingling, and Su Qingwu all stood near the center of the formation.

Three demon dukes stood guard on the outer circle.

Xu Youwei followed behind Zhou Ran, and rewrapped the cloth around her right palm.

Her lips were pale, but she didn't shrink back.

Zhou Ran glanced at her.

Xu Youwei cannot fall.

The power over her left eye was in her hands; if she fell, the Moon Emperor could tear a hole in the eye.

But Zhou Ran couldn't treat her as a formation plate, a key, or something that could be used whenever needed.

That's how Penglai spoils people.

This messy debt shouldn't be settled with him again.

Lin Qingxue stood at the eye of the formation.

She wasn't wearing white silk.

Ordinary lights couldn't reach her eyes, but she could clearly see where Zhou Ran was standing.

Zhou Ran stopped in front of her.

Lin Qingxue reached out her hand.

He offered his hand.

She touched his palm.

New wounds are pressing down on old wounds.

The blood scabs were embedded in the palm lines, a hard layer.

Lin Qingxue said, "Speak."

Zhou Ran didn't go around in circles.

Going around won't help.

Her authority has been restored, and there are too many things that cannot be hidden from her.

More importantly, he could no longer confine her to the phrase "for your own good."

"The maternity and children's hospital is just a place where the Moon Emperor tests his skills."

"She showed me the truth about your birth, confirmed Yue Zhao's second heartbeat, and also let me know that Sheng Hui had already been involved."

"She's forcing me to turn back."

Lin Qingxue asked, "Will you turn back?"

"meeting."

Everyone in the courtyard looked at Zhou Ran.

Zhou Ran agreed readily.

"Of course I'll turn back."

"When I look back at you, it has nothing to do with submitting to her."

"I just wanted to make sure there were people behind me."

Lin Qingxue grasped his hand, tightening her grip slightly.

The Moon Emperor always used "turning back" as a weapon.

Zhou Ran then broke down the two characters.

Looking back could create an opening.

It can also become an anchor.

If he wants to enter the source of the void, he needs to confirm that there are people in the mortal realm who can hold out.

He continued, "We'll close in five days; we can only delay her."

"If the Moon Emperor's true form and divine sense are not eliminated, Jiang Cheng may escape today, but he will still be dragged away in five days."

"I must enter the true void realm through the Heavenly Corpse."

The smile on Fatty Wang's face vanished.

"Brother, what is a true virtual world?"

Li Zhiyao spoke up for Zhou Ran: "The Holy Mountain, the right hand, and the left eye are all planes within the body of the Heavenly Corpse."

"The true illusory realm lies at the source of the Moon Emperor's command."

Fatty Wang's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Isn't that her hideout?"

Zhou Ran said, "Mm."

He was heading to the Moon Emperor's lair.

It's not about scouting.

It's not about stalling for time.

He wanted to uncover the lower-level orders written by the Moon Emperor.

Closing the door won't stop the world from being destroyed in five days.

The order must be changed.

The three powers of heart, hand, and eye are simply the pen, ink, and seal.

What truly needs to be changed is the sentence the Moon Emperor left at the source of the Void Realm.

Fatty Wang held it in for a long time.

"Listen to this, even writing the late-night snack expense report will be difficult."

Chen Ya handed a stack of documents to Zhou Ran.

"Jiangcheng Evacuation Schedule"

"Hospitals, schools, subways, bridges, underground pipelines—I categorized them into gray-line risk levels."

"On the official side, I used four excuses to suppress the issue: gas leak, earthquake drill, extreme weather, and infectious disease screening."

She paused for a moment.

"At most forty-eight hours."

Zhou Ran took the document.

"I need fifty hours."

Chen Ya looked at him.

"Don't just add more without thinking. Every time you say you've added enough, someone will have to pay the price later."

Zhou Ran said, "Then I'll just add a little less."

Chen Ya didn't respond with a smile.

I will try my best.

Zhou Ran finished flipping through the documents.

Forty-eight hours is not a long time.

But it was enough to transfer patients to hospitals, close schools, seal off underground pipelines, and restrict traffic flow on bridges.

It's better for ordinary people not to know the truth.

Knowing all this will only create chaos.

This connection with Chen Ya cannot be severed.

The Moon Emperor used rules to suppress the city.

Chen Ya had to use the most unsophisticated method to drag people out of the rules.

Xiao Hongli handed the repaired Ghost Banner to Qin San.

"Don't complain about it being worn out."

Qin San accepted it.

"As long as it can kill people, that's fine."

Xiao Hongli said, "I won't let you kill anyone this time."

Qin San stopped.

Xiao Hongli pointed to the main building.

"The town's basement."

"Your murderous aura is strong; even the ghosts in the banner obey you."

Qin San nodded.

"Understood."

Zhou Ran didn't interrupt.

Qin San is perfectly suited to guard the basement.

Xu Youning, the remnant soul of the First Ancestor, and the nine survivors from Penglai are all being held captive in the manor.

These things are troublesome whether they die or live.

Someone has to be able to keep things in check.

Su Qingling and Su Qingwu walked to both sides of the Tide Array.

Su Qingling said, "We'll take on the blind formation."

Su Qingwu added, "As long as we're still standing, the Moon Emperor can forget about peeking in."

Zhou Ran nodded.

The blindfold is Lin Qingxue's blindfold.

She had to watch the way for Jiang Cheng, so she couldn't let the Moon Emperor look back through her eyes.

Xiao Rou walked to Zhou Ran's side.

She took out a Gu shell from her sleeve.

It's so thin that you can barely see the edge when it's pressed against your palm.

"The last one."

Zhou Ran frowned.

"Xiao Rou".

Xiao Rou simply stuffed it into his sleeve.

"You are not allowed to return it."

She spoke very softly.

"My natal Gu only molts three times, and this is the last time."

Even if you die, I won't find a fourth time.

Zhou Ran touched the Gu shell with his fingertips but didn't push it back.

This is not a talisman.

It's fate.

By giving it to him, she essentially cut off a piece of her own escape route.

He has to bring it back.

Otherwise, we won't be able to pay this debt.

Fatty Wang muttered to himself, "Little Rou's words are more powerful than a curse."

Xiao Rou turned to look at him.

Fatty Wang immediately raised his hand.

"I'll shut up, I really will shut up."

The three demon dukes stepped forward.

"Demon Emperor, the Demon Army is willing to follow you into the Void Realm to fight to the death."

Five hundred demon soldiers knelt down at the same time.

The black armor slammed into the ground, and the array patterns in the courtyard lit up.

"I am willing to fight to the death with the Demon Emperor!"

Zhou Ran looked at them.

These demonic soldiers were once the legacy of Ye Futian, and now they recognize him as their emperor.

But Jiangcheng needs soldiers.

He cannot take the city walls away.

The more people go in, the more attachments there are, and the more names the Moon Emperor can write down.

This trip cannot turn into a death sentence.

Zhou Ran said, "I will not bring troops."

The three dukes looked up.

Zhou Ran reached out his hand.

"Keep my personal military seal."

Without hesitation, the three dukes each took out a dark red military seal from between their eyebrows and presented it to Zhou Ran.

The military seal was placed in his hand.

The magic markings on Zhou Ran's chest lit up.