Chapter 1678: Jumping Out of the Vortex, Escaping the Scheme

"You've acted sooner than expected," Bai Ziqi said, looking at the fine wine Yuan Xuan had brought to the table. "Is this brewed from the pear blossoms of that old tree spirit?"

"Exactly. I had my men dig them up from underground; only these two jars were left." The others had been shattered.

Yuan Xuan poured a cup of the beautiful, amber-colored wine for each of the two people sitting opposite him. Its clear fragrance filled the air.

Taking a sip with eyes closed, it felt like returning to mid-spring.

It was the taste of spring: gentle, sweet, and vibrant.

Bai Ziqi raised his cup, took a sip, and praised it twice, "Excellent wine. Your efforts weren't in vain."

Qingyang chuckled, swirling her cup. "Indeed, who could argue?"

This sip of wine was immensely satisfying to her, doubly sweet!

Bai Ziqi immediately noticed her restricted shoulder movement. "You're injured. In the past, you wouldn't touch alcohol with an injury."

Qingyang was nearly two hundred years old, and in Lingxu City, she had always been a paragon of careful self-preservation.

"I'm old now, why bother with so many rules?" Qingyang said slowly. "You seem injured too, and you've lost some men?"

"I went to Xiaotao Mountain Villa to investigate clues. On my way back, I was attacked by Lingshan, and both sides suffered losses."

The losses were significant, but Bai Ziqi downplayed them. "They seem truly afraid I'll find True Master Qianhuan, so this time they put all their effort into interception. Ha, I thought it would be He Xiao trying to stop me, since he knew my route."

"He Xiao didn't leave Tianshui City while you were at Xiaotao Mountain Villa," Qingyang asked him. "What did you find out? Is He Xiao the Great Emperor of Nine Netherworlds?"

Bai Ziqi took another sip of pear blossom wine. "You know too?"

"Just a conjecture. If he's the Great Emperor of Nine Netherworlds, then many things make sense."

The old rivals exchanged a smile. Bai Ziqi softly remarked, "The younger generation is formidable. He outmaneuvered me, and he's been quite calculating with you too."

Qingyang picked up a piece of cured meat and slowly savored it.

"He Xiao slipped away. The palace guards stationed at Yongquan Mountain Villa said that he fled the villa and escaped last night, just before we launched our attack."

Four words echoed in Bai Ziqi's mind: as expected.

"Didn't King Yao's palace guards keep an eye on him?"

"They were watching him, but after a palace envoy summoned him, he and his subordinates disappeared from their room. He must have used some kind of escape technique. His nose is truly sharper than a dog's, able to sniff out danger," Qingyang said flatly. "Heh heh, not leaving earlier or later, but precisely before I launched my move!"

There was a hint of gritted teeth in her tone.

Bai Ziqi understood. "Your operation was suddenly moved forward by several days, quite rushed, wasn't it?"

"That's right. Several groups of people didn't have time to get into position, and my arrangements weren't complete. Even the South Gate of the Imperial City, a crucial point, had a hiccup, requiring the Goddess Fenghuo to manifest and help Bai Tan open the city gates. The gods were very displeased." Qingyang had planned a coup! Even executing it at the last minute could cause issues, so why move it forward so much?

Heavenly deities most dreaded directly intervening in a coup, as it would shake the common people's faith and cause confusion among believers. It was just that Bai Tan was so ineffective at the Imperial City's South Gate that the heavenly deities were in a difficult position, which is why Fenghuo manifested.

At that time, many guards were bewildered, unsure whether to side with the heavenly deities or the monarch in their conflict.

"Also, at that time, I sent people to Mangzhou to find a notebook written by the person who oversaw the renovation of Yuquan Palace. It was said to record certain anomalies. He died after renovating Yuquan Palace for the previous King Yao, but the palace didn't know he had a habit of keeping a journal. If we had gotten that notebook, perhaps our losses in the battle against the Qianhuan Dharma Form wouldn't have been so severe!"

The Goddess Fenghuo's avatar was destroyed, and another deity's avatar was severely wounded. Before it returned to the divine realm, Qingyang heard its countless grievances. Currently, with spiritual energy recovering in the mortal world, the supply of nightmare energy in the divine realm was correspondingly tight. Miaozhan Tian would have to invest more resources to appease these two.

As for Qingyang herself, thirty to forty of her elite guards, her staunch confidantes and disciples of the Qing Palace who had been with her for over twenty years, had died! Where could she find and train so many loyal subordinates again on the Blazing Gold Continent?

What was worse, she herself had been severely wounded by Qianhuan's immortal arts. What she should be doing now was going into strict seclusion, seeing no outsiders, and recuperating for three to five months. Otherwise, if she delayed, her internal injuries would quickly turn into chronic ailments, and her cultivation would regress.

After all, she was almost two hundred years old; her life force was not as vigorous as a younger person's.

Unfortunately, that was not an option.

With King Yao dead, various factions would flock to her.

Where would she find the opportunity or time to seclude herself?

As for Bai Tan, she scoffed, too lazy to say more. That fellow was still gleefully believing that money, land, and people were all in his grasp, forgetting that his nephew and most of his elite confidantes had died in the coup. Such a major hidden danger was bound to erupt later, with wolves surrounding them.

Without thinking, Bai Ziqi said, "He Xiao fled before the chaos. Unless he got incredibly lucky, then... wait, why did you launch the operation early?"

Just now, when he went to the Miaozhan Temple, Envoy Liang only mentioned that Regent Qingyang had suddenly notified them yesterday afternoon to act immediately.

Qingyang was the primary planner of the operation; everyone else had to follow her timeline.

Over the past night, Qingyang and Bai Tan had completed their mission, but Bai Ziqi was not without grievances. Tianshui City's early upheaval allowed He Xiao to slip away amidst the chaos, and despite his haste, he was still a step behind.

Qingyang then recounted yesterday's events, saying, "Shi Songwei was arrested, and Bai Tan is now at immediate risk of exposure. King Yao himself admitted that He Xiao was the informant."

Bai Ziqi instinctively glanced towards Yongquan Mountain Villa. "He Xiao understands the risks better than you do, otherwise his timing for withdrawal wouldn't have been so perfect."

"Perfect timing?" Qingyang chewed on those words, her heart filled with resentment.

Indeed, it was perfect timing!

If He Xiao had informed earlier, Qingyang and Bai Tan would have been unprepared and might have failed. If he had informed later, King Yao would have been unable to resist, and Qingyang and Bai Tan's coup would have been too easy.

As it stood, both sides fought to the death, King Yao, the royal family, nobles, and trusted aides were completely rooted out. The heavenly deities and Qingyang, though victorious as the attackers, were also wounded – the timing was just right!

Bai Ziqi said softly, "He Xiao is someone who likes to pull chestnuts out of the fire."

Both then fell silent.

If Qingyang's early rebellion was all He Xiao's design, then this man was truly terrifying!

The long-standing feud between Qingyang and King Yao had originally been within controllable limits, with both sides deliberately managing the intensity of the conflict.

From when did the conflict escalate, becoming unstoppable?

"The path of no return for Yao Kingdom began with Xue Zongwu's death. That was the Great Emperor of Nine Netherworlds' doing," Qingyang said slowly. "King Yao was enraged, and He Xiao seized the opportunity to fan the flames, making the situation spiral out of control. Looking back now, every one of his steps can be traced, systematically pushing Yao Kingdom into the abyss!"

However, at the time, every person involved, including Qingyang herself, could not escape this great maelstrom.