"Rumble!"
As though a thunderclap had exploded beside Ju Zi's ear, Xu Tianran's words left her so shocked that words could scarcely describe it.
The old emperor Xu Shiliu's illness, that baffling condition for which renowned physicians from every nation had been consulted, had actually been caused by poison Xu Tianran had personally arranged for someone to administer!
No wonder. No wonder every time the imperial physicians examined the old emperor, they prescribed nothing but ineffectual tonics. No wonder, no matter which imperial physician treated him, the answer was always that the illness was too rare and utterly incurable, yet that Medicine Immortal Douluo had cured the old emperor's "terminal illness" with barely any effort!
Recalling the Soul-Extinguishing Powder planted in the captured students and sect disciples of the Three Great Empires in Rising Sun City, Ju Zi almost instantly realized a terrifying fact.
The poison Xu Tianran had used to bring down the old emperor had probably also come from the Evil Soul Masters. Only Evil Soul Masters could possess a formula like Soul-Extinguishing Powder, which left Soul Masters' bones weak and sinews numb, while also concocting an incurable poison that slowly wore away another person's vitality.
Yes, it all fit. The period shortly after the old emperor fell ill and the Crown Prince began governing the state was precisely when Xu Tianran had acknowledged that supreme sect leader as his adoptive mother and appointed Zhongli Wu as Imperial Preceptor!
"Ju Zi, what are you thinking?"
Just as Ju Zi was threading together all the intelligence she possessed, Xu Tianran's sinister voice rang out.
"Your Highness."
Ju Zi hurriedly dropped to her knees. Beads of sweat slowly dripped down the bridge of her nose, and she did not even dare breathe heavily.
"Don't be so nervous, Ju Zi. Since