"Imperial Physician Xu!" His shout echoed in the empty hall.

The peacock screen beneath the steps trembled slightly, and the emerald gems on the tail feathers collided with each other, producing a soft, tinkling sound.

The officials in the hall all took a half step back in unison. In his panic, the Minister of Justice stepped on a crack in the floor tile with his court boots, the screeching sound breaking the deathly silence.

The copper bells on the eaves were startled and emitted a faint, mournful sound, which mingled with the Taoist priest's intermittent murmurs, creating an eerie harmony.

Several civil officials even subconsciously pressed their jade pendants at their waists, as if this could ward off the ominous atmosphere permeating the air.

As Physician Xu rushed forward, the peach wood sword at the Taoist priest's waist suddenly emitted a dragon-like hum, and the nine copper bells on the sword tassel rang simultaneously, the sound waves causing the candlelight in the hall to shake violently.

Withered fingers pointed out in mid-air, a flash of blue light, and the imperial physician's outstretched wrist froze in mid-air, as if bound by invisible chains.

Blood dripped down the Taoist priest's chin onto the black iron token, where it congealed on the cold metal surface, forming an incomplete divination symbol.

The dark red blood droplets reflected an eerie glow in the morning light, faintly echoing the flickering light of the sky outside the palace.

He closed his eyes tightly, uttering incoherent murmurs, each syllable carrying a trembling sound like metal striking stone.

The words were interspersed with a buzzing sound similar to the movement of star orbits, which made everyone present feel pain in their eardrums.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the hall, mixed with the clear sound of jade pendants clashing together.

Yu Ji burst in, clutching her whisk, her almond-shaped eyes wide open. She was about to angrily rebuke this pretentious charlatan, but she suddenly held her breath the moment she saw that figure.

A draft of wind blew up the Taoist priest's purple robe, which fluttered in the wind. The golden light surrounding him was not visible to the naked eye, but vibrated at a mysterious frequency.

Like thousands of ever-burning lamps flickering in the meridians, or like a vast galaxy flowing within the body.

She suddenly remembered the legend recorded in the ancient books of her sect—that only the Taoist masters who received the true teachings of the Three Pure Ones could be considered the greatest.

Only then can the "Zhou Tian Xing Dou Qi" manifest when practicing Qigong, a realm that even the sect leader master could not comprehend after thirty years of seclusion.

What horrified her even more was that the air around the Taoist priest rippled and twisted, clearly a sign that his profound skill had altered the spatial aura.

"It really is the Purple-Robed Celestial Master..." Yu Ji murmured to herself, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the Tai Chi jade pendant at her waist, the cool jade sending shivers down her spine.

Just then, the blood coughed up by the Taoist priest suddenly rose into the air and condensed into the shape of the Big Dipper.

Each "star" emitted a dazzling golden light, even casting distorted shadows on the palace walls.

Before anyone could react, the star chart shattered with a deafening roar, transforming into countless points of golden light like fireflies, illuminating the shocked faces of the courtiers in the hall.

The blood-stained figure remained in the same posture, calculating, his silver hair flying in the wind, like a statue frozen for a thousand years, telling untold secrets of heaven.

At this moment, a muffled rumble of thunder suddenly sounded outside the hall, and dark clouds had somehow covered the entire sky. Large raindrops pounded on the glazed tiles, creating a stark contrast with the eerie silence inside the hall.

Yu Ji's boots, embroidered with silver cloud and thunder patterns, pounded heavily on the gold bricks. The air currents created by her fluttering skirts caused the bronze crane incense burner under the corridor to shake violently, and the ash of the ambergris incense fell like fine snow.

The exquisite jade hairpin in her hair jingled rapidly as she ran, but it couldn't hide the pounding of her heart.

As a Taoist disciple, she had seen records of the Purple-Robed Celestial Master in front of the portrait of the patriarch, and now she was able to see him in person. She was so excited that her fingertips were trembling slightly.

However, when she passed through the assembled officials and saw the blood-stained black iron token, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

The bloodstains winding along the Taoist priest's snow-white beard had an eerie dark purple hue, and the congealed blood beads twisted into unfinished hexagrams on the surface of the token, flickering with the rhythm of his breathing.

Yu Ji's pupils suddenly contracted, her almond-shaped eyes widened instantly, and her gaze toward the dragon throne burst forth with an almost tangible rage, the corners of her eyes flushed red from the rush of blood to her head.

"Could this young emperor have been possessed by a demon?!" A suppressed murmur escaped her throat, her palms, hidden in her wide sleeves, were covered with crescent-shaped bloodstains.

Scenes from the ancient texts of my sect flashed back in my memory—a hundred years ago, a cult wreaked havoc, using evil magic to manipulate emperors to slaughter members of the Taoist sect.

Looking at Ning Chenyi sitting upright on the dragon throne, she felt as if a demon was hiding beneath the gilded crown, ready to devour anyone who might harm it.

Cold sweat slid down the back of his neck into his Taoist robe, the damp fabric clinging to his back, while the chill shot straight up his tailbone to the top of his head.

A thunderclap boomed outside the hall, causing the golden scales on the dragon pillars to rustle.

Yu Ji instinctively took a half step back, but was then drawn to the celestial energy flowing around the Taoist priest—

The Big Dipper, faintly visible within the golden halo, corresponds precisely to the records in the "Daozang·Xingchen Pian" (Daoist Canon).

Caught between a rock and a hard place, she suddenly caught sight of twelve faint bloodstains beneath the purple robe, like wounds caused by invisible chains. Only then did she realize that her senior was probably already seriously injured.

The copper bells on the glazed tiles rang wildly in the gale, their sounds intertwining with the rapid beating of her heart to create a chaotic roar.

At this moment, Yu Ji was wondering if it was too late to run away. Could it be that the young emperor had really been possessed and that the Celestial Master had been injured?