Chapter 1672: Severe Losses

"Don't forget, Bai Ziqi will be back soon," He Lingchuan said, already calculating his next moves. "Since he's targeting both me and True Master Qianhuan, I might as well save him some trouble."

His subordinates all assumed he was still plotting against the State of Yao.

Unbeknownst to them, the State of Yao was already a thing of the past; his calculations had long since shifted to Bai Ziqi.

Wang Fubao couldn't help but ask, "Lord, what about here?"

Wanqil Liang sneered, "Use your head. What idiot would want to enter Tianshui City at a time like this?"

Wang Fubao glared back, habitually retorting, "Just because we don't go in doesn't mean there aren't any fools who'd want to!"

"We'll leave this place to the squabbling parties for now," He Lingchuan said, gazing at Tianshui City in the night. "We'll be back soon."

His calm words masked a fierce killing intent.

Wanqil Feng and the others looked at him, their admiration evident in their eyes.

The Lord had entered Yao with a mere dozen people and was now leaving with the same number, yet he had thrown a once-prosperous State of Yao into utter chaos, bringing it to the brink of collapse!

King Yao, Qingyang, Bai Tan, and even the Celestial God—all had fallen within his calculations.

Even the rhythm of the great upheaval secretly orchestrated by Qingyang was, surprisingly, controlled by He Lingchuan. He must have triggered precise explosions at critical moments to create an irreversible situation.

Such a figure was both admirable and terrifying.

Thankfully, such a figure was their Lord.

Wanqil Liang and his companions were particularly thrilled.

The Lord always kept his word; if he said he would return, he would. So, what grand spectacle would it be when he led them back to Tianshui City?

The mere thought was enough to fill them with anticipation.

The Yao Palace.

The formations in the Frost Immortal Palace were utterly destroyed. The magnificent palace and its high walls had been almost completely leveled, leaving only a few broken remnants. The landscape appeared as if it had been struck by a meteor shower, scarred with craters of all sizes.

The battlefield had spread all the way to the Jade Spring Palace and the vast Imperial Gardens behind it. As far as the eye could see, not even the trees had been spared.

The sheer destructive power of this battle was astonishing and terrifying.

The Cold Spring remained, but the misty sea had vanished, revealing countless bodies strewn across the ground.

It was a classic case of gods fighting and mortals suffering.

More than half of the Frost Immortal Palace officials were dead, while the remaining dozen or so huddled behind the ruined walls, trembling uncontrollably.

Had that earth-shattering battle truly just occurred in the mortal realm?

King Yao lay on the ground, barely alive, with only You Rongzhi by his side.

He looked up at the white light receding into the sky, his face etched with disbelief.

It fled?

The immortal's external manifestation had actually—actually abandoned him and fled?

Qingyang approached, supported by Yuan Xuan. Her clothes were stained with blood at the shoulder and abdomen, and her expression was somewhat dejected.

In the recent battle, over thirty Green Guards had died, and even she had been severely wounded. Bai Tan himself was relatively unharmed, having sustained only superficial injuries.

Bai Tan, ignoring his own bleeding wounds, knelt down with the temple soldiers and prostrated himself:

"Thank you, Divine Venerable, for your protection!"

Though his face showed reverence, his heart was bleeding. For this rebellion, he had naturally brought his most trusted confidants and elite soldiers—a mere five hundred or so, his most loyal and reliable force—into the palace. Yet, over three hundred of them had perished. Even the loss of three or four thousand city patrol soldiers outside the palace would not have pained him as much.

Meanwhile, the temple soldiers suffered over eight hundred casualties. Some were caught in the crossfire of the divine battle, while others withered and died after Goddess Fenghu drained their vital essence and blood.

The object of Bai Tan's prostration was not Goddess Fenghu, but rather a Green Guard standing beside Qingyang!

This man, named Wang Liang, was unremarkable in appearance and of average cultivation, not typically prominent among the Green Guards. Now, however, he was severely wounded: his right arm was severed at the shoulder, a gaping hole in his abdomen nearly pierced through to his back, and half of his face was corroded by an unknown substance, exposing bluish bones.

An ordinary person with such grievous injuries would have long since fallen unconscious, yet the expression on his remaining half-face was indifferent, as if he felt no pain whatsoever.

He even stood in front of Qingyang, not sparing a glance for the kneeling Bai Tan, and merely cast a look back at King Yao. "To deal with such a paltry character, it actually required my personal descent to the mortal realm!"

His displeasure was palpable.

"We are grateful for your efforts, Exalted Deity. Your sacrifice will not be in vain; your future rewards are sure to far exceed your expectations," Qingyang said, bowing her head to him. "Farewell, Exalted Deity!"

Wang Liang snorted, then suddenly walked toward a ruined wall and kicked aside some rubble.

The Frost Immortal Palace had collapsed, scattering broken walls and rubble everywhere amidst general debris. Wang Liang casually picked up a branch, as if to prod something on the ground.

The sky was dark, and no one else noticed anything unusual, but when Bai Tan stepped closer for a careful look, he saw a spider, no bigger than a fingernail, on the branch.

In this mountain of debris, the tiny spider was as inconspicuous as a speck of dust, yet Wang Liang examined it closely.

As he watched, the spider suddenly began to emit blue foam, then vanished into thin air.

"It's a scout from the Cave Spiders! Someone has been secretly monitoring this area."

"Cave Spiders?" Qingyang's eyebrows subtly arched at the name.

After speaking, Wang Liang raised his head and opened his mouth. A ball of silver light seeped from his seven orifices, soaring skyward and vanishing into the thick clouds.

Having battled the giant *hui*, the celestial god's avatar was greatly depleted; only a trace of its power remained, barely enough to return to the divine realm.

Immediately afterward, Wang Liang cried out in agony as the flesh began to slough from his face.

Even though he was merely a vessel, the power of a deity was not easily contained. With the celestial god's departure, he was left to endure the agony of disintegration.

Wang Liang was about to experience exactly how Lu Shishi had died years ago, after the Hundred Battles Celestial God had departed.

But before he could utter a second cry of pain, Qingyang drew Yuan Xuan's long saber and severed his head.

Such torment was beyond human endurance; it was better to grant him a swift end.

Even this single motion made Qingyang wince in pain as her wounds protested, yet she still declared, "In today's battle, Wang Liang rendered meritorious service, as did the fifty fallen Green Guards. I will report this to the Emperor and ensure their families receive generous compensation!"

These words were intended for the surviving Green Guards.

She glanced at the ground again:

Wu Linghe, formerly possessed by Goddess Fenghu, lay amidst a pile of rubble, his eyes wide open. His fatal injury was a massive, bloody hole in his chest—large enough for a human head to pass through.

This wound was left by a trident, but no blood flowed because the injury was completely frozen by ice.

Goddess Fenghu's avatar had directly perished in the recent battle, unable to return to the divine realm!

For Goddess Fenghu, this was a significant loss, potentially even leading to a drastic reduction in the main deity's power.

It took two divine avatars, Qingyang, and over a thousand soldiers imbued with primal energy just to drive away True Master Qianhuan's giant *hui* manifestation!

Truly worthy of an ancient immortal and one of the leaders of Lingshan, even a mere manifestation possessed such immense power.

She approached King Yao and looked down at him.

King Yao's eyes were filled with resentment. With every labored breath, his lungs rattled like a torn bellows. "Why? Why..." he gasped.

He refused to accept it, even in death.

"I told you long ago I was here to help you," she said—to help them recognize their proper place.