When the news of Emperor De's illness was released, the world was thrown into an uproar.

The news spread like wildfire.

Many secret scouts in the Imperial Capital immediately spread this news and labeled it as extremely urgent. It was as if the news itself was the signal to winter's arrival.

A vast expanse of whiteness—representing everyone's shock—dyed the world.

Some of the major forces even found it hard to stand still.

To think that Emperor De of the Yuhua God Dynasty was actually critically ill.

Attacked by a parasite, he fell into a coma.

The powerhouses in the imperial capital must've been unable to deal with the ordeal, so they had no choice but to announce the news to the world.

In an instant, rumors flew everywhere.

Everyone started to talk about what exactly happened.

Some people even directly said that Emperor De was already dead.

Next, his two princes would start competing for the throne.

Some people also said that it might not necessarily be one of the two princes ascending the throne. Princess Yulin might occupy the position of the throne and become the Empress Regnant of the dynasty.

While some people even said that Princess Yulin herself was the one who attached the so-called parasite to Emperor De. They said that Princess Yulin had cooperated with the people from the Ancient Dian Dynasty.

Rumors were born rapidly as time trickled by.

Because of Emperor De's influence—half a day was all it took for the entire world to know about his plight.

When the common people heard the news, they found it hard to believe.

"That's our emperor, the Emperor of the Yuhua God Dynasty!"

"So many people are under his banner with dozens, or maybe even hundreds of divine physicians on standby ready to take care of his body. How could someone like that fall sick, not to mention fall into a coma?

The common people voiced their doubts.

How could a mere parasite handle the joint effort of Emperor De's divine physicians?

But of course—considering where the news came from—many people started to believe that it was true.

"The news came from the Yuhua God Dynasty's Forbidden City! The Imperial Capital is currently on lockdown and under martial law. The Forbidden City is also currently being searched non-stop. They are leaving no stones unturned. This must be true!"

"That's right!"

"Emperor De ran out of luck this time. There are so many powerhouses born in this world every day thanks to the world's spiritual energy recovery. Even a powerful emperor like Emperor De would still find it difficult to constantly be on guard against assassinations and such."

"What a pity…"

"Emperor De is a good emperor, to say the least. He built those martial temples out of consideration for ordinary people like us. His reforms are also the best among those previous ones in history. But it's a pity that he's about to die despite being so young…"

The citizens at the bottom-rung of society thoroughly supported Emperor De.

After all, it was only when Emperor De ascended to the throne did they finally feel the benefits of the reforms and good politics.

Now that Emperor De was critically ill, many people silently prayed to their various gods and wished for the former's recovery.

Lin Jiufeng, who was heading to the north, passed by a city.

After entering the city, he heard people discussing the news from the Yuhua God Dynasty.

Emperor De was critically ill!

Lin Jiufeng immediately frowned.

"Emperor De was still fine when I left. Why is he suddenly ill?"

"What if it's just a wild rumor?" The white cat asked curiously.

Lin Jiufeng shook his head.

He wandered around the city.

People were discussing this matter everywhere. City officials included.

Their words made him unhappy.

Because so many people were talking about this matter, it soon became obvious that it was 100% true.

When even a small city so far away from the imperial capital knew about this matter, it meant that everyone in the Yuhua God Dynasty knew about it.

Lin Jiufeng stopped the carriage and casually grabbed a passerby. "Do you like this carriage?"

The passerby looked at Lin Jiufeng, dumbfounded.

"I just asked you if you liked it." Lin Jiufeng repeated.

The passerby looked at the exquisite carriage and the purebred black horse.

He stammered through his words. "I—I like it!"

"It's good that you like it. You can have it then."

Lin Jiufeng handed the horse carriage's reins to the passerby and turned around to leave.

The passerby was stunned. The bystanders were all dumbfounded too.

"W-w-wait! I can't afford the maintenance for—" The passerby shouted, looking aggrieved.

But Lin Jiufeng had already disappeared.

…

Lin Jiufeng was in a hurry!

He headed straight for the imperial capital at breakneck speeds.

Nothing must happen to Emperor De.

He was the successor to both Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ming, the driving force behind the Yuhua God Dynasty's rise.

Lin Jiufeng helped him in the dark, but the person who really pushed for the Yuhua God Dynasty to become stronger step by step was still Emperor De.

"Emperor De is still in his prime, yet he was actually plotted against by some dogsh*t Ancient Dian Dynasty. But we cannot underestimate this Ancient Dian Dynasty, their origins are mysterious." The white cat mumbled into Lin Jiufeng's ear.

"No matter how mysterious and powerful they are, that was all in the previous era! In this brand-new era, the Yuhua God Dynasty reigns supreme! If they are dragons, they have to coil up for me; if they are tigers, they have to lie down for me!" Lin Jiufeng stated coldly.

Upon hearing the news about the Ancient Dian Dynasty's attack against Emperor De, the citizens of the Yuhua God Dynasty were furious. The remnants of the Ancient Dian Dynasty who had just come into being found it hard to live within the Yuhua God Dynasty's territories.

Lin Jiufeng had never even heard of the Ancient Dian Dynasty.

The books that Miss Hong gave him only recorded the sects and powerhouses of the Central Plains.

There were very few records of those forces outside the Central Plains.

There was not a single mention of the Ancient Dian Dynasty at all.

But no matter how powerful the Ancient Dian Dynasty, they should've not harmed Emperor De!

Lin Jiufeng used all of his might to rush toward the Imperial Capital of the Yuhua God Dynasty.

Lin Jiufeng traversed thousands of miles in just ten breaths.

Back then, he had to spend a day traveling to Jiangnan from the Imperial Capital.

But today, he only used half a day to return to the Imperial Capital from the borders of the Northern Regions.

Imperial Capital, Forbidden City.

A day had passed since the announcement of Emperor De's plight.

The announcement in the morning spread throughout the world at noon.

The entire world was thrown into an uproar.

Time slowly passed and late afternoon eventually arrived.

The Forbidden City remained brightly lit and on lockdown.

It was strictly guarded with patrols investigating everywhere.

This afternoon, Princess Yulin decided to stand in front of Emperor De's palace.

She waited silently while looking into the distance.

Sai Huatuo and the others kept working to stabilize Emperor De's condition.

Even if they couldn't save Emperor De, they had to slow down the progress of the parasite.

But the results were minimal!

In the late afternoon, Sai Huatuo walked out of Emperor De's palace with clear exhaustion on his face as he said respectfully. "Princess, we tried our best, but we still didn't manage to hinder the parasite's progress in Emperor De's body."

"A large portion of his body has already been consumed by the parasite…"

"We are now sealing his acupoints with silver needles, but this is merely a stop-gap."

The Empress Dowager and the Empress turned pale when they heard his words.

Princess Yulin took a deep breath and said, "It's been hard on you all."

"We have no other choice but to wait for a miracle." Sai Huatuo sighed.

"A miracle will definitely happen!" Princess Yulin said firmly.

She looked into the distance.

The setting sun turned the clouds crimson, making them appear as if they were burning.

It was as if a terrifying existence was about to appear from the clouds.

The Cabinet Chief sat at the side and asked weakly.

"Princess, when will the guardian deity of our Yuhua God Dynasty arrive?"

After persevering and waiting for an entire day and night, the Cabinet Chief couldn't persist anymore. His old body was starting to crumble from the stress and anxiety.

Princess Yulin pursed her lips. She couldn't answer his question.

But suddenly…

Princess Yulin's eyes lit up.

She saw a figure walking out from the crimson clouds.

A resplendent light shrouded Lin Jiufeng, obscuring his appearance.

In a flash, Lin Jiufeng arrived in front of Emperor De's palace.

He walked past everyone.

Cabinet ministers, Cabinet Chief…

Princess Yulin, Empress, Empress Dowager…

Royal consecrators, a group of powerhouses…

Maids, eunuchs…

Everyone watched with their eyes wide open, but they couldn't quite look at Lin Jiufeng's appearance

Carrying with him the light of hope, Lin Jiufeng distorted the surrounding space so that no one could see his true appearance.

Lin Jiufeng walked to Emperor De's bedside.

His expression was cold as he looked into Emperor De's body.

A green worm that was as small as a human hair slowly crawled about in Emperor De's head.

"Scram out!" Lin Jiufeng shouted coldly and pointed with his finger.

Boom!