In the early hours of the morning, the servants finally heard Zhou Ji's cries for help, which were followed by a chaotic scene of people and horses falling over.

The doctor came to examine the prince and, after taking his pulse, asked, "Did Your Highness eat anything unclean?"

Everyone in the room shook their heads. Only the guard who brought the blood of the glass understood, but he dared not say it aloud. He could only tell the doctor to stop talking nonsense and just focus on the treatment.

Zhou Ji was lucky to survive, but he was half-dead, and his already weak body became even worse.

After Su Hu brought Su Jinxia back to Liuli Mountain, they headed straight for the secret realm of Liuli Mountain. Fortunately, before Su Jinxia died, she taught Su Hu how to enter the secret realm.

The group found the location of the withered and flourishing tree without much effort.

The withered tree has been uprooted, but its location is still unusual, with a conspicuous dividing line along its location.

South of the dividing line, everything is thriving, with flowers and plants growing and blooming freely. It's only the beginning of spring, but the land is already vibrant with color.

To the north of the dividing line, however, lay a desolate gray landscape. The scorched earth looked extremely barren, with only a few lonely gray grasses sprouting from the ground. These grasses were forget-me-nots.

Although the withered tree is dead, this land still retains the characteristics of the withered tree.

"Carry Su Jin over there," the nun said, pointing south.

Su Hu carried Su Jinxia over and placed her on the grass. The grass around her immediately swayed affectionately, clinging tightly to her body.

The Glass Gu Mother was cultivated from the Rongmu tree, so it shares the same origin as this land and is naturally close to it.

Su Hu's face lit up with surprise. "Master, can this really save A-Jin?"

The nun smiled gently, but not deeply. "This will only keep her alive. To save her, we must find another withered tree."

Su Hu clenched his fists tightly. "Even if I have to travel thousands of miles, I will find her."

——

News of Su Jin's death spread quickly, and Han Qing, being well-informed, was undoubtedly the first to know.

Upon first hearing the news, he did not believe it and immediately sent someone to Liuli Mountain to verify it.

However, Han Qing suddenly remembered that Su Jin had left him a letter, which he was to open at the last minute.

Han Qing had never understood the meaning of this final moment, but now he suddenly realized it.

Han Qing hurriedly took out the letter, opened it, and read it. Tears streamed down her face.

It turns out that she had long anticipated this day would come.

In the letter, Su Jin briefly told Han Qing about her impending death, and also told him about her agreement with Zhou Lin to recommend Zhou Chen as emperor. She also instructed him that if Shen Qianxue was willing to cooperate, she hoped he could put aside past grievances and create a brilliant future together.

Han Qing held the letter to his heart. How could he have imagined that it was actually a suicide note?

His words were clearly a prelude to what would happen after his death!

Not long after, Zhou Chen, who was far away in the Northeast, also received the news.

Han Qingshang has a letter to remember him by, but Zhou Chen has nothing.

Everything happened so suddenly, like a bolt from the blue.

Zhou Chen was about to leave the camp without saying a word. He didn't believe it, he absolutely didn't believe it!

However, Zhou Lin stopped him.

The two brothers were locked in a stalemate at the entrance of the military camp.

"Get out of the way!" Zhou Chen roared, his eyes as red as a rabbit's.

"I can send people to Zhuang Jun's camp for questioning, and to Liuli Mountain for questioning, but you can't leave. We're about to storm the capital, you can't leave!"

"Go ahead and fight if you want. I'm going back. I'm going to find her!" Zhou Chen acted as if he didn't care about anyone, even his own family.

Zhou Lin earnestly advised, "What can you do if you go back? If she's dead, it'll be too late for you to get back. If she's not dead, you can't help her at all!"

"It's none of your business. I'm willing to just watch her."

Zhou Lin gritted his teeth and said angrily, "What about avenging my mother? Aren't you going to do it? Haven't you always wanted to storm the capital and take revenge?"

Zhou Chen gritted his teeth, tears glistening in his eyes. "I want revenge, of course I do, but compared to my sister, none of that matters. If she's gone, what's the point of all this?"

"How can it be meaningless? Doesn't clearing my mother's name mean anything to you?"

Zhou Chen took a deep breath. "You don't need to tell me all this. Isn't it enough that you're there to take over the capital? You're the one who calls the shots anyway. What difference does it make whether I'm there or not?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Zhou Lin was furious. "I told you, the entire Tiger Forest Army obeys your orders, even I would obey you, but you've always refused to accept it."

Zhou Chen closed his eyes in frustration. "I don't want to waste my breath on you. Get out of my way!"

Zhou Lin had been intentionally or unintentionally pushing Zhou Chen to take command of the army, and even hinted in his words that he intended to elevate Zhou Chen to a higher position and replace him.

Zhou Chen naturally sensed this, but in his heart, Su Jin was the one who deserved that position, and he would never try to take it from her.

Zhou Lin gritted his teeth and had no choice but to reveal the agreement he had made with Su Jin.

"Do you know that this was also Su Jin's wish? When we parted last time, she made a promise to me that she would let you ascend the throne as emperor in the future!"

Zhou Chen's eyes widened suddenly. "How is this possible?"

Zhou Lin took a deep breath. "I don't know what Su Jinxia is thinking. Maybe she never thought about becoming emperor. She's just speaking up for the people!"

“When I proposed to you the throne, she agreed without hesitation. She even said that you were not capable enough at the moment and needed to gain experience, so she would not tell you for the time being. She hoped that you could seize the throne on your own and become a truly capable and good emperor.”

"She's really good to you, something I'm ashamed of myself for. If you go back now, you'll truly disappoint Su Jin!"

Zhou Chen burst into tears instantly. Unable to contain his grief, he knelt down and cried out, "Sister!"

——

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Phoenix Pavilion, Shen Xi reported to Shen Qianxue.

"The Ji army retreated to the northwest, occupied a strategically important location, and reached a stalemate with the Zhuang army."

Shen Qianxue sat behind her desk, her expression heavy and unchanged.

This result was expected.

Before Su Jinxia fell into a coma, she had guessed that Zhou Ji would hold his ground in one corner and conserve his strength. However, because of Shen Qianxue, Zhou Ji dared not return to Linnan and could only stay in the barren and dangerous northwest.

"Okay, you can go now."

Shen Xi licked her lips. "Are we really not going to make a move?"

If Phoenix Pavilion is willing to join forces with Zhuang Jun, they might be able to break through the defenses of the Northwest and unify the world as soon as possible.

Shen Qianxue's expression was indifferent as she said softly, "We won't get involved. You just need to find what Master Wangchen instructed us to do."

Shen Xi could only reply, "Yes!"

Once outside, Shen Xi let out a soft breath.

The young master's thoughts are becoming increasingly difficult to fathom. Before, he was merely somewhat aloof, but still warm towards those close to him. But lately, he's acting completely differently...

Shen Xi didn't know how to describe it, but she felt suffocated whenever she got close to him.

Even someone as noisy as Mai Zizi didn't dare to approach Chen Qianxue casually, and even begged Master Wangchen to go to Liuli Mountain.