Chapter 1664: Miaozhan Tian's Protection?

As white mist began to rise from Frost Immortal Palace, King Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief and laughed heartily. “Listen, people of Yao who are kneeling!” he declared. “Pick up your weapons and kill the rebels, and you will be forgiven for your past misdeeds; all will be forgotten!”

Earlier, some city guards had obediently knelt down, hands clasped over their heads, to avoid attacks from the stone beasts. Although they knelt, their hearts pounded with uncertainty about what punishment awaited them after the battle. They had initially been misled by Bai Tan’s “serve the king” slogan, which led them to join his assault on the palace. Now that King Yao himself had identified Bai Tan and Qingyang as rebels and promised a general amnesty, and with the royal army also outnumbering them, many grew restless and quickly turned their weapons against their former allies.

Qingyang was safe, cornered in the courtyard by Zhao Song and others, but Bai Tan had to face these defecting city guards directly. His elites were already struggling against the stone beasts and Tu Han’s army. With hundreds more opponents, the tide immediately turned against them. If he hadn’t released several war puppets to relieve the pressure, Bai Tan and his men would have been almost cut off from Frost Immortal Palace. King Yao glared at him coldly, already contemplating what torture would sate his anger once the rebel was captured. Would it be dismemberment by five horses or flaying and eye-gouging?

Just then, You Rongzhi suddenly rushed over, speaking urgently: “Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince’s condition has worsened!” He was supposed to take the Fourth Prince to the temple for medical help, but Frost Immortal Palace was completely blocked, making it impossible for him to leave.

King Yao was startled and turned to look. During the battle, Prince Rui’s condition had deteriorated further. His legs were like wooden sculptures, and his abdomen had begun to harden into wood. If his internal organs stopped functioning, he would die long before his entire body turned to wood. Prince Rui’s face was already swollen, indicating kidney damage. If the petrification spread further, he wouldn’t survive another two hours. King Yao’s heart was pierced, and if he didn't get medical help quickly, he would watch his son die.

He turned and met Qingyang’s mocking gaze. Seeing her composure, King Yao knew this battle would not end easily. How could the former Grand Imperial Advisor of Beijia be so easily defeated? Could it be that both of his most promising sons would die at the hands of this old woman? Rage and adrenaline rushed to King Yao’s head, making him feel somewhat dizzy. But he took a deep breath to steady himself and declared solemnly, “We must end this quickly.” Only by swiftly ending this rebellion could his son be saved!

King Yao made up his mind, cut his palm, and then pressed it firmly against the copper sphere. Blood flowed freely, spreading along the engravings to cover the entire sphere. The light emitted by the sphere then turned from white to a vivid, crimson red. King Yao forcefully pried it open, like cracking a walnut, directly splitting the copper sphere and revealing a white pearl inside. The pearl’s surface was uneven, even resembling the texture of a walnut kernel. A closer look would reveal it was faintly pulsing, expanding and contracting rhythmically.

Qingyang, watching from the courtyard, narrowed her eyes: “Is that... an inner core? As expected, his strongest reliance is a great demon!”

King Yao muttered incantations, then grabbed the white pearl and squeezed it hard! Just a few breaths later, a loud *crack* echoed from the Cold Spring Lake within Jade Spring Palace. The solid ice had cracked.

The wind that had been rustling through the treetops instantly ceased. The white mist drifting from Jade Spring Palace seemed to turn liquid, flowing only close to the ground. It transformed the entire Frost Immortal Palace into a sea of fog. Everyone was submerged in the fog from the waist or chest down. The scene was like a fairyland, King Yao’s majestic palace instantly becoming a misty city on the sea. It was a pity, however, that the fierce fighting ruined the beautiful scenery. Nonetheless, the dead on the ground were also covered by the mist, and soon their bodies became covered in frost.

Bai Tan’s elite guards had just overturned a pillar-clinging beast, dug out the control core from its foot, and crushed it. It was somewhat disgusting, with viscous fluid. But in the heat of battle, there was no time for such concerns; he wiped his hands on his armor and moved to attack the next stone beast. Yet, just as he turned, he was yanked down by something, without any warning! The man reacted quickly, yelling and raising his blade to strike, but he was dragged along by an immense force, tumbling and hitting as he went. In just two breaths, he was completely swallowed by the sea of fog, and no sound followed. His comrades were horrified, bending down to rescue him, but only pulled up an arm!

Immediately after, several more soldiers were pulled down and vanished into the fog. “Something’s underfoot, be careful!” Strangely, despite possessing elemental power, they could not see through the dense mist.

Bai Tan turned during the fight, his gaze meeting King Yao’s. The old man stared intently at him, his face contorted with endless rage and hatred, then suddenly roared: “Kill him, kill him! Kill this heartless traitor!” King Yao was so agitated that his voice cracked twice in that sentence.

The next instant, Bai Tan felt something approach, emanating an intense chill. Though invisible, its presence was immensely oppressive! Even surrounded by his personal guards, he felt little security. Two of his guards, one on each side, seemed to be flung away by something. Bai Tan swung his blade fiercely in that direction but felt a sudden tightening around his ankle—the thing had grabbed him too, yanking hard! The force was so immense that Bai Tan couldn’t maintain his footing and was pulled down.

“General!” his men exclaimed, rushing to his aid. However, a golden light flashed across Bai Tan’s body at that moment, repelling whatever had seized him, thus preventing him from suffering the same fate as the soldiers.

The golden light was dazzling in the night, forcing even the old King Yao, over ten zhang away, to shield his eyes. Then he saw the golden light converge above Bai Tan’s forehead, forming a massive mark of a single, vertically slit eye! The eyeball even rotated twice, as if surveying the scene clearly. King Yao gasped, “The Eye of Truth!”

The main hall and various other buildings of the Miaozhantian Temple all bore this single-eye mark. After Miaozhantian obtained the Eye of Truth from the great demon “Malian,” she used it with unparalleled mastery. Thus, not only King Yao but even the soldiers present could instantly recognize its origin; some instinctively rubbed their eyes, thinking they had seen wrongly.

What did this mean? Could it be that Bai Tan had received Miaozhantian’s protection? Wait, when Bai Tan attacked the palace earlier, the Goddess Fenghao had manifested, and now, attacking King Yao, he had Miaozhantian’s protection. This, this, this... Everyone was once again thrown into deep confusion. Miaozhantian was the main deity of the Yao Kingdom, and most of those present worshipped her. Those who had been besieging Bai Tan now suddenly hesitated to strike. If they continued fighting, would the goddess blame them?

“How can this be!” King Yao’s eyes turned red, and he suddenly roared, his voice hoarse, “Miaozhantian protects *my* kingdom, *my* kingdom!” He had begun constructing temples for Miaozhantian in the very year he ascended the throne, building nearly thirty temples of various sizes to date. He personally offered sacrifices during every festival, without fail, for twenty years. Not to mention the endless tasks the Heavenly God assigned to the Yao Kingdom through the Chief Envoy, which he had always diligently fulfilled without ever slacking.