Lin Yue took a deep breath, calmed his thoughts, looked at Yuan Ling, and said, "Go ahead."

"The Old Master once said, 'One can only gain as much as one is willing to give.'"

The white-robed elder looked at Lin Yue and said, "Since you have obtained an Inner Heaven and Earth Cultivation Method of the Ultimate Path, someday you must return to me a similarly perfect and successful Ultimate Path Inner Heaven and Earth Cultivation Method."

He paused and said, "Even if you undergo reincarnation, this agreement will not be void until... you are utterly annihilated."

Lin Yue nodded slightly.

After pondering for a moment, he asked, "The Fourth Prince... which is to say, the last person who made a wish, what did he wish for?"

"The last one?" The white-robed elder chuckled and said, "I wasn't supposed to tell you, but considering your background, there's no harm in letting you know."

He immediately said, "The last wisher's small wish was to obtain a Concealing Technique even the Heavenly Dao could not find."

"Indeed." Lin Yue nodded slightly.

So that's it... No wonder the Fourth Prince managed to hide himself, so much so that even the Crown Prince and the Second Prince couldn't trace him.

If it weren't for the Third Prince's same-origin split soul, the Fourth Prince might have remained unchallenged.

It seemed the Fourth Prince also knew that helping the Seventh Princess escape might expose him, so he prepared measures in advance.

"However, he also had a very peculiar request," the white-robed elder suddenly said.

"What?" Lin Yue asked in confusion.

"He requested one more thing."

The white-robed elder said, "He said that though this method should deceive the Heavenly Dao, it must be detectable by a same-origin split soul."

"What?" Lin Yue was taken aback.

Why would he specifically add such a requirement?

Unless...

The Fourth Prince deliberately wanted to be discovered by the Third Prince?

"There's a problem..."

The Second Prince's face suddenly turned somewhat pale, muttering, "Could it be that the Fourth Prince did all this, even at the cost of his life, just to put your mind at ease?"

The Crown Prince said indifferently, "If he did it on purpose, tracking back, this must be the only possibility. His existence concealed from the Heavenly Dao, I couldn't foresee it in advance."

Lin Yue understood as well.

If the Fourth Prince was intentionally discovered, intentionally sacrificed himself, there must be another motive.

Choosing not to live when one could.

The most suspicious thing was this Old Wishing Lantern.

As a relic—especially something left by an extraordinary strong figure like the Fourth Prince after a reasonable death—it wasn't easy to raise suspicion.

If not for the Third Prince's intervention, the Fourth Prince should have survived.

This made it all the more likely that even the Fourth Prince didn't expect his own death, which is why he left this relic.

Moreover, this relic was the legendary Old Wishing Lantern from ancient myths, something both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince recognized, so they would be even less likely to suspect it.

But if the Fourth Prince was willing to die just to leave this relic, to assure Lin Yue, it was obvious that this Old Wishing Lantern had issues!

"Does this Old Wishing Lantern have any negative effects?" Lin Yue immediately asked.

"Negative effects?"

The white-robed elder frowned and said, "It's not really a negative effect. If you insist, before you repay the cost, you can be considered half a Divine Favored of the Old Master. However, the only command is that you must fulfill the wish's cost. Being half a Divine Favored actually has its advantages."

"Advantages?" Lin Yue asked.

"Currently, there aren't many advantages. If any, it would be from the Ancient Times."

The white-robed elder said, "Firstly, being a Divine Favored can cause even non-Divine Favored experts to fear you. Secondly, as long as you are willing to pay the price, you can enter the legendary Star Temple and even receive its protection during great catastrophes."

"Star Temple?" Lin Yue was immediately alert and asked, "What is that?"

"It's also a treasure crafted by the Old Master, containing numerous opportunities as well as a sanctuary. The Divine Favored can teleport there at any time, offering a haven during peril."

The white-robed elder said, "In the Ancient Times, the Old Master crafted twelve Star Temples expressly for the Divine Favored. When the stars realigned at special occasions, the temples would teleport all Divine Favored within a particular realm into it, waiting for the Old Master's arrival."

He sighed, feeling somewhat emotional, "But now it's Eternal Night, the stars are obscured, and the Star Temples have likely long fallen into disrepair."

"When the stars realign, the Divine Favored are directly teleported?" Lin Yue mumbled.

At this moment, he instinctively looked up.

Before he knew it, the night had deepened.

In the vast, endless night sky, scattered stars could be seen, brilliant and mysterious. The endless starry night had arrived.

Just then—

The stars flickered slightly, showing an almost imperceptible change within an instant.

"Hmm?" The Crown Prince's eyes suddenly shifted, "Has the celestial phenomenon changed?"

The white-robed elder gazed at the starry sky, uttering a devout and awe-filled whisper, "Ah... the stars have realigned..."

"Altering the celestial phenomena? Could it be the State Preceptor from the previous dynasty!?"

The Second Prince suddenly realized, his gaze turning completely cold.

In that instant, his mind expanded infinitely, causing the entire world to momentarily come to a near stillness.

"Seventeenth brother, listen to me..."

The next moment that time resumed, an overpowering, supreme intangible force descended out of nowhere, enveloping Lin Yue.

Then, he vanished without a trace.

The Old Wishing Lantern, this divine lamp, disappeared along with him.

The Crown Prince looked to where Lin Yue had been, now vacant. His expression was icy, and he spoke lowly, "As expected."

"Someone used the Heavenly Phenomenon Path transcending Heaven and Earth to alter the starry sky."

The Second Prince said coldly, "To my knowledge, only the State Preceptor of the previous dynasty's Heavenly Phenomenon Path could achieve such a feat."

Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, sun, moon, and stars.

The previous dynasty's State Preceptor's Heavenly Phenomenon Path wasn't renowned during the Eternal Night.

Because the Eternal Night only offered endless darkness, devoid of the sun, moon, and stars for celestial phenomena, the previous dynasty's State Preceptor mostly relied on wind, rain, thunder, and lightning.

"The previous dynasty's State Preceptor?"

The Crown Prince said coldly, "I control the Great Yong's Heavenly Dao. Proving one's Dao allows exit but not entrance. And more than thirty years ago, Xiahong Feng mentioned finding the previous State Preceptor in Liangwang City. By that time, the Great Yong Divine Formation was repaired; he couldn't have entered."

The Second Prince fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Then there is only one possibility."

He and the Crown Prince simultaneously looked toward the night sky.

Or rather...

The heavens.

...

The space before him transformed.

In a flash, Lin Yue found himself in a vast, dim great hall, with an infinite starry sky above.

"This is..."

Lin Yue immediately retrieved the Divine Artifact Battle Saber, as a golden, dazzling armor appeared on his body, and Wind and Thunder Wings unfolded from his back.

"Hahaha... This is indeed the burial ground of Prince Xia."

A nightmare-like chuckle suddenly echoed, revealing a blurred figure appearing ahead.

Lin Yue squinted his eyes slightly, "You are... the Nightmare Demon God?"

"Oh? Prince Xia knows of me? The Fourth Prince told you?" The Nightmare Demon God looked at Lin Yue with some surprise.

"This is the Star Temple."

Lin Yue took a deep breath and said slowly, "Such a strategy, so willing... sacrificing the Fourth Prince in such a manner to create an environment to kill me?"

The Nightmare Demon God remained silent for a moment and said, "The Fourth Prince... is dead?"

"You didn't know? Wasn't this part of the plan?" Lin Yue looked at him, "It seems he was truly ruthless and indeed fooled everyone."

Appearing as a coincidence, a reasonable sudden death would not arouse suspicion.

"What a pity..."

The Nightmare Demon God sighed, "Well, as long as I can kill you, I won't be betraying his intentions."

"Just you?" Lin Yue glanced around, "There should be another person, right?"

"Oh?" The Nightmare Demon God raised an eyebrow slightly, "Prince Xia actually guessed?"

"The previous dynasty's State Preceptor isn't in Great Yong, yet the starry phenomena were altered."

Lin Yue said slowly, "There's only one possibility then... as a Second Primordial Spirit of the Daoist Ancestor, only the Daoist Ancestor could learn of the Heavenly Phenomenon Path from his memory!"

He looked at the sky, his voice deep, "Daoist Ancestor, you must be the Heavenly Venerate of Eternal Night Mountain, the Divine Dream Envoy of the True Dream Realm?"