(In the northern part of the Moro City Continent, at the southern border of the Sanctum, lies the Ice Crystal Empire's capital, the Sea Overturn County.)

"The Sea Overturn County, capital of the Ice and Snow Empire, this place looks uncomfortable, can the people inside communicate?" A boy dressed in coarse linen clothes approached the sky-blue city walls and slowly took off his hat to observe.

Juxi tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned in, raising his eyebrows towards a prominent sign on the left side of the city gate. The position of the sign was striking, but the words on it puzzled him.

"Granny," Juxi looked at Long Ling with a troubled expression, "you've seen a lot, so I suppose you can understand even the scripts from remote areas, right?"

"Princess Bingni is critically ill, and anyone who can cure her will be rewarded with two thousand gold coins and the title of Earl to marry the princess!" Long Ling, who appeared well-read, recited slowly, word by word.

"Wow! That's quite a generous offer, why don't we... ouch!" Long Ling angrily pointed at Juxi's nose and criticized, "You know nothing! Below it states that failing to cure her is a crime of deceiving the king, punishable by immediate execution!"

Although Juxi didn't quite understand the crime of deceiving the king, the words "immediate execution" sent a chill down his spine, making him shake his head stiffly, "It's better not to cure her, and besides, I know nothing about medicine, how can I treat her?"

"Give it a try."

Seeing the two thousand gold coins, Long Ling changed his mind and decided to give it a shot.

"Don't even think of escaping! Don't worry, leave it all to me, you just need to walk, hehe!"

"...But, ultimately, it's my head on the line, and you can just run away!" Juxi showed a pained expression.

Walking onto the main street, he noticed that the residents were all dressed strangely in wizard hats. Everyone, whether commoners or soldiers, wore wizard robes. Juxi approached to inquire about the residents.

He went up to an old man selling big cakes and asked, "Sir! Do you know how to get to the imperial city's announcement board?"

The old man seemed hard of hearing and asked loudly, “What? Young man, I'm busy! Do you have something important to ask? Sorry, say it again.”

Juxi, a bit impatient, shouted, “I said! How do I get to the imperial city's announcement board!”

"Haha, young man, no need to shout so loud, this old man can hear you. Haha." Seeing the old man's ragged and patched linen clothes but humorous demeanor, Juxi vaguely felt he was being played.

"Are you going to treat Princess Bingni's illness? If so, I have to warn you, there has been only one doctor who dared to try after him, and no one has dared since then!"

The old man sighed silently, continuously flipping the big cakes in his hands.

Realizing the old man's tough situation, Juxi decided to give him a gold coin as charity, "I'll buy a big cake."

"Alright, it's... oh!" Just as the old man handed over the big cake and received the money, he immediately returned it to Juxi, apologizing, "I run a small business, I can't give change for such a big coin. This big cake costs only one copper coin, not some magic cake, haha."

"No, sir, it's a tip for your help." Juxi looked at his pockets with a few gold coins and a handful of copper coins, swallowed hard, and handed the money to the old man again.

"Look at you... I'm not short of money, but your virtue is commendable, I appreciate it. I'm called Moxing, what's your name, young man?"

"Juxi."

"Juxi, huh?" As he said that, the old man walked into his house, and within three minutes, he came out with a crystal-clear blue crystal in his hand, handing it to Juxi, instructing, "If anything unexpected happens in the palace, inject 'Chi' into this crystal."

"This is too embarrassing," Juxi thought. This might be the old man's only possession, perhaps even some sort of family heirloom.

So, he kept hesitating and refusing to accept such a gift.

Juxi, puzzled, lifted the crystal up with his hand and said, "This thing is so precious, Grandpa. No..."

The old man's shop and the old man himself were no longer there, leaving only a flat ground and the crystal in Juxi's hand.

"Look!" Long Ling exclaimed as she took the crystal, saying, "That old man is actually from the Four Towers!"

"The hero of the Four Towers? Weren't they supposed to lead me to my doom instead of helping me?" After the incident with Lin Yi Zi, every member of the Four Towers made Juxi feel uneasy.

"Who knows? Maybe the Four Towers are divided into two factions, one of which is constantly preventing the other from assassinating you."

If everything is predetermined, what's the point of my actions? Juxi pondered anxiously. Can all the spirits guide me to the right path to save my future?

Puff! A large amount of dark red blood gushed out of Juxi's throat, causing Long Ling to panic.

"Could it be the oracle taking effect?" Watching Juxi's contorted face due to the intense pain, Long Ling turned his wrist, channeling a bit of chi into his body, the transfer continuing for half an hour before stopping.

"The curse of the Black Dragon Emperor is no joke, even before death, it demands a price from you! Remember, never belittle yourself, or you'll be ravaged by the Dragon Emperor!"

Long Ling couldn't help but cluck her tongue, the excessive chi output making her once youthful and pretty face now appear gaunt and sallow, resembling a dried-up old lady.

"Cough, I'm really sorry about what happened before."

Thinking about how he had kicked Long Ling out of the room earlier, yet now she was helping him, Juxi felt a bit uneasy.

Forced to put on a smile, Long Ling still cheerfully raised her thumb at him and said, "It's okay, tomorrow afternoon we will go to the Imperial List to take on the task of saving the princess!"

Seek the truth of the world, do not be deceived by the illusions of the world.

Dragon Emperor, the world you see has already lost its future before your return, will continuing to fight mean losing your life?

Juxi, disheartened by the inability to find the truth, suddenly remembered the man in the purple dragon robes who had appeared when Long Ling first arrived.

"Hehe, Long Hua! Do you really think I have disappeared?" The man in purple robes left with an evil grin, "Regardless of the strength of the Four Towers, even if they unite, haha!"

As he spoke, the man let the rampant look of arrogance spiral on his face, then pointed at Arid, concealed in darkness, "In my eyes, even if they unite, they are just a rabble made up of children. As for you, Long Hua, hehe! Under the dark fear, you will self-destruct!"

"Hoo hoo hoo!"

Before dawn, a feeling of palpitations rose in Juxi's heart, rousing him from his nightmare.

"So it was just a nightmare... huh?" Vaguely, he felt two soft things in his hand and, looking closely, he chuckled, "Hehe, the bed is still comfortable."

One hand quickly protected his nearly bleeding nose, while the other gently tapped the sleeping girl, "Sis, with two beds, won't you sleep on one instead of squeezing with me?"

The blue-haired girl rubbed her bleary eyes and, cradling Juxi's head, finally cutely uttered, "Time to get up!"

Encountering an early morning annoyance, Juxi headed to the inn's bathroom and splashed cold water on his face in the midst of the cold winter, trying to wake himself up. But realizing that he had called her a washboard when he first met Long Ling was indeed impolite.

So many days have passed, and Juxi has been stuck in the mid-stage of Xuantie for over a month. At this age, most kids have just reached the initial peak of Stone, with the truly gifted ones at the peak of Reverse. The fastest way to improve strength is through battles. These days, even the powerful Mo Sui can't be defeated. For humans, they dare not reveal their identities. Sigh!

Although the Ice Crystal Empire is considered a border point of the Sanctuary, there is at least one quasi-level boundary expert presiding over it, and this person is none other than His Majesty the king!

Countries that possess the competency to control boundaries are much wealthier than ordinary ones. The Ice Blue Crystal Palace, in terms of standards and scale, is by no means inferior to the Eight Sects in size.

A castle towering thirty zhang high is protected by eight surrounding linked smaller castles. Juxi thought to himself that just the main cities of these ordinary small countries are so grand in scale, what more the Imperial City of an empire... miraculous, right?

"Don't be disheartened," Long Ling swallowed a sausage, wiped his hands and mouth contentedly, and said with a satisfied smile, "The weight of the Ice Crystal Princess is significant. Curing her will not only bring us funds, hehe! She is the descendant of the Imperial Tutor of the Ice Palace Sea. After the failed rebellion, she went into hiding in another country. Who knows what clues we might uncover from her!"

"What a hassle! Why did I get dragged into this mess just because of that relic activation?"

Not understanding why he, who was called the Star Emperor, had to endure such a tormenting life, the cruel fact was that he was destined never to have peace, forever!

Endless cycles of nightmares.

Even if the knife didn't pierce his body, Long Ling, who didn't feel pain, had an indifferent look on his face.

"Relax, no matter what, in the end, you're still going to die. So, ease your mind a bit, it doesn't matter... huh!"

(In front of the Ice Palace)

In the Clear Wilderness Era ten thousand years ago, three emperors emerged in the Northern Region, leading to a situation of three empires in opposition.

The strongest among them was the King of the Holy Soul Empire, Huo Zhu Tian.

His national teacher, after losing to Huo Zhu Tian in a battle that lasted twenty-six days, fled the empire and established the Ice Crystal Empire within the jurisdiction of the Hundred Nations Alliance as the founding lord, Bing Gong Hai!

"Compared to him, that Yeyun bastard is just a grasshopper. At best, the quasi-level of the Boundary expert still belongs to the peak level of the Boundary. It's just that the Nine-Soul Dragon Python can comprehend the peak beyond the Boundary, reaching the level of an immortal among the spirit beasts. It's already rare among the human race, belonging barely to the advanced level of the Boundary."

"Why is someone as powerful as Bing Gong Hai only having this little influence over the empire?" Just now, Juxi had been puzzled why Bing Gong Hai, a Boundary-level expert, was much stronger than Ye Chuba, but why did his territory only take up less than one percent of the Northern Region?

"Because, he died from his injuries without receiving treatment!" An odd color crept onto Long Ling's charming smile.

In front of the imperial list that had been ignored for days, a person in a black cloak, with an uneasy heart, pushed through the crowd and removed the imperial list posted on the bulletin board. The area below the eyes was covered by a face mask, and with a stiff voice, he instructed the guard.

"Please take me to see His Majesty the king. Oh, and yes! Just say that I am the one who can treat Princess Nier."

The guard wasn't foolish; he glanced at the black-cloaked youth and his youthful voice, which seemed no more than twelve or thirteen at most, and immediately discerned, "Just you? Little kid, go home and drink your milk! Don't meddle in the affairs of adults!"

"Why are there so many idle talks? Is it because I don't look good that you're looking at my age instead? Look at that beggar over there!"

Juxi pointed angrily at the ragged old beggar standing nearby.

"Is his age really the key to curing that Princess Nier's illness of yours?"

"Well..."

The determined look in the other person's eyes and the imperial decree that had already been torn led the guard to a dead end. He had no choice but to let the young man wait for a while and brace himself to report to the king in the palace.