And at this point, Old Man Ku Mu spoke again, "Additionally, Great Emperor, I have secretly learned of a matter, but I am uncertain whether to speak of it or not!"

"Speak!"

Lin Fan said.

Old Man Ku Mu slightly pondered before continuing, "By chance, based on a piece of gossip, I have deduced that the current Empress Hu Mei'er is not the real Hu Mei'er, but rather... someone else!"

"What?"

Lin Fan's body couldn't help but shudder as he asked, "What do you mean?"

Old Man Ku Mu looked at Lin Fan somewhat puzzled, not understanding why Lin Fan was so agitated.

However, Old Man Ku Mu quickly said, "Based on my speculation, Hu Mei'er has been subjected to body seizing; thus, the current Empress is merely Hu Mei'er in body only. As for her soul, it is not Hu Mei'er!"

Lin Fan's eyes fiercely fixed on Old Man Ku Mu as he asked, "Then do you know who has seized Hu Mei'er's body?"

Old Man Ku Mu replied, "If I'm not mistaken, the one who has seized Hu Mei'er is from the Dark Clan!"

"The Dark Clan?"

A boundless rage surged in Lin Fan's heart. Was it the Dark Clan again?

There was a time when the Dark Clan was an extremely powerful family within the Holy Soul Domain, even once competing for supremacy with the Human Clan.

However, in the subsequent battles for supremacy, the Dark Clan ultimately lost and was sealed by the great powers of humanity within the Dark World, never to see the light of day again.

It was unexpected that even the Empress of the Holy Soul Domain was now a member of the Dark Clan.

How ironic this was.

Lin Fan quickly commanded, "Convey my order, bring me all materials related to the Dark Clan. Next, I want to study the Dark Clan's specific characteristics!"

To know oneself and one's enemy is to be invincible in a hundred battles!

To rescue Hu Mei'er from the hands of the Dark Clan, Lin Fan must become truly familiar with them. Only by understanding the Dark Clan could he possibly uncover their weaknesses, making it easier to deal with them later on.

Then Lin Fan asked, "By the way, have you discovered how many members of the Dark Clan are currently in the Holy Soul Domain?"

"This..."

After a slight hesitation, Old Man Ku Mu shook his head and said, "I have not looked into this, but Great Emperor, this is not easy to investigate. Members of the Dark Clan have always been adept at disguising themselves, and moreover, they have been integrated into human society for hundreds of years. It could be said that with their efforts, they have completely been 'humanized'. Under these circumstances, identifying their exact numbers is indeed difficult!"

Lin Fan nodded and said, "Indeed, so be it, let's not force the issue then."

After a pause, Lin Fan continued, "Old Man Ku Mu, Sister Hong Yi, and Hu Feifan, the three of you are to cooperate with each other and discuss the arrangements for my ascension to the throne on the fifteenth of this month. I hope you won't disappoint me!"

"Yes, Great Emperor!"

The three of them promptly stood up and respectfully responded.

"All right, I'm off to cultivate!"

As Lin Fan's body flickered, he vanished in an instant and reappeared inside the Starry Sky Secret Room.

Upon arriving in the Starry Sky Secret Room, Lin Fan thought to himself: "This Starry Sky Secret Room is very special. Every time I come here, it gives me an extraordinary feeling. Perhaps, I can comprehend the Thousand Word Proverbs here!"

"Right, this Starry Sky Secret Room is also connected to the Starry Sky Channel. If I can make good use of the Starry Sky Channel, it may bring me additional surprises!"

Lin Fan was very clear that his current cultivation had nearly reached its limit. Cultivating under normal circumstances would make it difficult to achieve another breakthrough in a short time. If he wanted to break through in a short period, he must study the Thousand Word Proverbs. Once he attains a certain level of understanding, his cultivation could possibly advance further. By then, he could truly battle the member of the Dark Clan within Hu Mei'er, and rescue her.

After that, Lin Fan began to continue studying and perceiving the Thousand Word Proverbs!

Sadly, after contemplating for a long time, Lin Fan still found it to be futile.

"Maybe I should try entering the Starry Sky Channel!"

Lin Fan smiled.

In the next moment, with a wave of his hand, the Starry Sky Channel appeared right away.

Without any hesitation, Lin Fan stepped forward and entered the Starry Sky Channel.

In the past, Lin Fan would not dare to enter the Starry Sky Channel, because his strength was far too weak. But now, Lin Fan's cultivation had reached the Saint Realm, and his combat power had even touched the early periods of the Holy Venerate Realm. Hence, he had nothing to fear from the dangers within the Starry Sky Channel.

"Indeed, it's quite remarkable inside the Starry Sky Channel. Perhaps, I can really begin to discern the Thousand Word Proverbs here!"

After pondering within the Starry Sky Channel for not too long, Lin Fan laughed again, because the Starry Sky Channel truly did not disappoint him.

Through perceiving here, Lin Fan seemed to have begun to touch the threshold of the Thousand Word Proverbs.

Although there still was a faint energy obstructing Lin Fan's comprehension, he believed that as long as he continued, it wouldn't take long before he might make a breakthrough.

...

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital!

These days, Hu Mei'er had always been feeling a sense of panic in her heart, making her extremely uncomfortable. This feeling made Hu Mei'er somewhat anxious.

Additionally, Hu Mei'er could even sense that in recent days a faint and elusive sense of danger had been targeting her.

"Damn it!"

Hu Mei'er couldn't help but curse in her heart.

"If I had known this would happen, when my cultivation had just broken through to the Supreme Realm, I should have risked tearing open the channel to the Immortal Domain and gone straight in. It's just a shame that now I can no longer do this, all because of that bastard Lin Fan, who awakened the sleeping Hu Mei'er within my body that I had sealed. Without the interference from Hu Mei'er, the chances of me entering the Immortal Domain would have been great!"

During this period, Hu Mei'er found that her own progress was extremely limited because whenever she tried to cultivate, Hu Mei'er would come out to disrupt her. Moreover, if she wasn't careful, she might even accidentally go astray.

Thus, Hu Mei'er was very troubled.

"Hmph!"

However, Hu Mei'er quickly returned to her normal state: "At present, I must hurry to find Lin Fan and kill him. Once Lin Fan is dead, I can seal away Hu Mei'er's consciousness once again!"