Chapter 1872: Shocking Bad News

Yao Capital, Secluded Lake Pavilion.

No matter how turbulent the Yao territory was, the Secluded Lake Pavilion remained peaceful, as always.

The day was bright. An imperial envoy sent by Bai Tan had just departed, and as Qing Yang walked back to her retreat on Huaji Isle, she suddenly had a premonition.

It seemed something ominous was about to happen.

She casually took out a set of jade bones and began to divine. This particular set consisted of sixteen pieces, white with a hint of green, also known as divination tiles.

No matter how many times she divined, the readings consistently indicated "danger" and "great chaos."

The Yao territory was already in great chaos, but the source of the misfortune she divined was—

In the west.

What was in the west?

Just then, Yuan Xuan, head of the Green Guards, rushed in and whispered:

"Attendant Xiao sent word that Chief Envoy Liang, who had just entered the main hall today, suddenly collapsed with a distorted face!"

Qing Yang was startled. "Chief Envoy Liang?" she questioned.

Chief Envoy Liang held the highest authority in the Temple of Miaozhantian. Even with the Yao territory in such disarray, he remained privileged and unaffected by any trouble. It was well known that when the King of Yao was alive, he was often at odds with Chief Envoy Liang, openly and secretly competing. But after the King's death, various factions, vying for the Goddess's support, treated the temple with utmost reverence.

This was Chief Envoy Liang's most glorious period, so how could he suddenly collapse?

"What happened?"

"Attendant Xiao said something major has happened and requested you come to the temple as soon as possible to discuss it in person."

"As soon as possible?" Qing Yang looked at the jade bones on the table, a feeling of unease stirring within her. "Does Bai Tan know about this?"

"He hasn't been told."

Qing Yang immediately stood up, picked up a shawl, and said, "Let's go."

The carriage rattled as it headed for the old capital.

The journey was particularly desolate. The plains that had been excavated for the construction of the new city remained exactly as they were, untouched by anyone; only sparse wild grass had grown on the bare earth.

That grand project had been directly abandoned due to the war, and to this day, no one had filled the excavated pits.

Qing Yang's carriage reached the city gates. Along the way, they had only encountered a few scattered pedestrians, all hurrying along with their heads bowed.

The city itself had many people, but the once bustling and comfortable atmosphere was completely gone. Seven out of ten shops on the streets were closed, the city residents' gazes had turned indifferent, and no one was chatting idly.

For the war, in just three months, Bai Tan had already demanded troops and levied grain from the old capital several times.

Using the word "levy" was merely a polite term.

Even though this was the wealthiest place in the entire Yao Kingdom, after several rounds of forced levies, prices in the city had inevitably soared, and people's livelihoods were impoverished.

Only the Temple of Miaozhantian remained bustling and full of voices, as always.

The streets and alleys in front of and behind the temple were packed with people, either sitting or kneeling, praying or offering incense, all seeking the protection of the divine.

Qing Yang passed through the crowd and was welcomed into the back hall by a temple priest.

No sooner had she stepped inside than Attendant Xiao came forward to greet her. "You're finally here," he said.

Qing Yang saw his darting gaze, pale face, and heavy breathing, and immediately knew something was wrong. "What happened?" she asked.

Attendant Xiao had been transferred from the collapsed Xilin Divine Temple and was currently Chief Envoy Liang's deputy. He was not normally so easily flustered, so why was he this terrified now?

Attendant Xiao first ushered everyone else out of the hall, then led Qing Yang deeper inside, whispering, "This afternoon, Chief Envoy Liang was presiding over a prayer ceremony when the Goddess statue in the center of the main hall suddenly broke. It snapped cleanly at the shoulder, and the upper half rolled down, almost hitting Chief Envoy Liang. The hall immediately erupted in chaos."

Hearing this, Qing Yang's heart sank.

The temple's main deity statues were all enchanted by celestial deities; seeing a statue was akin to seeing the deity in person. How could it suddenly break?

Was this an ill omen, or...?

"And then?"

"Chief Envoy Liang immediately stopped the ceremony and went to the inner hall to burn incense and pray to the deity. Then he... he simply collapsed." Attendant Xiao swallowed. "Before he fainted, he clutched my hand tightly and cried, 'It's over, it's over!' He was absolutely terrified."

Qing Yang followed him into the depths of the inner hall. There was a small room, containing only a shrine to Miaozhantian, which was Chief Envoy Liang's usual place for communicating with the deity.

Chief Envoy Liang had collapsed right here and had already been carried away for treatment.

Qing Yang gazed at the shrine, her brows furrowed deeply.

The Miaozhantian statue enshrined here, with its posture and expression, was identical to the Miaozhantian statue in the Pantheon of the Heavenly Palace, holding a golden scale and displaying a solemn, dignified appearance.

But now, the statue had cracked, and the clay-sculpted golden scale had broken into several pieces. The lifelike single eye on the scale was shattered into smithereens.

This was an ill omen, a grave one.

Qing Yang casually tried to light the incense lamp on the altar table, but she couldn't get it to light no matter what.

Attendant Xiao was drenched in sweat. "I just prayed with all my might," he said, "but I received no response from the Goddess."

While it was common for the Goddess not to respond, Chief Envoy Liang, who managed the temple's affairs, had suddenly collapsed. This was why Attendant Xiao, also panicking, had invited Qing Yang here.

Until recently, Qing Yang had been working closely with the Temple of Miaozhantian to jointly manage the situation in the Yao territory.

Moreover, she was the former Chief Imperial Advisor of Beijia, with extensive life experience. If Attendant Xiao didn't invite her, who else could he invite?

Qing Yang subtly took a deep breath and steadied herself. "Judging by all these anomalies," she said, "it seems the Goddess may have, or rather, has encountered great peril."

Her not saying "met with misfortune" was already a careful, diplomatic choice.

Even in her long life, she had rarely encountered anything so bizarre and terrifying. She dared not imagine what kind of turmoil would erupt in the heavens and the human world if Miaozhantian truly fell.

Upon hearing this, Attendant Xiao's face turned ashen, his eyes rolled back, and he almost passed out.

"The Goddess in peril? No, no, no, that's impossible!"

"But... how else could this scene before him be explained?"

Qing Yang was about to speak when she suddenly felt something strange and raised her wrist to look.

The red string on her wrist moved slightly.

She lowered her hand and told Attendant Xiao, "Please go out first. I need to inquire with other deities."

Attendant Xiao was stunned, but she impatiently urged, "Go now!"

Once no one else was in the room, she tightly closed the doors and windows. She then took out another statue, placed it on the altar table, and murmured a few words.

This time, when she tried to light the incense lamp again, it lit up.

Qing Yang placed a tall stick of incense and sighed.

The smoke first rose straight up, then subtly tilted in mid-air, before coalescing into a mask-like face.

True Lord Tongming.

Before Qing Yang could ask, True Lord Tongming spoke first:

"Miaozhantian has fallen."

Even though Qing Yang had somewhat anticipated this, her face still changed drastically upon hearing it, and her heart pounded incessantly.

"All the celestial deities who descended to the mortal realm with her have also fallen, including my subordinate deity, Goddess Shimei!"

Even with Qing Yang's renowned composure, she had to force a breath of inner energy and press her tongue against her upper palate to barely steady her mind. "The Inverted Sea?" she managed.

"It happened recently, and the details are unclear, but Sage Lingxu believes it was the work of Qianhuan!" True Lord Tongming said. "Miaozhantian and the others didn't send back any messages before they fell, nor could they be located. This must have been an incident that occurred inside an immortal's cave dwelling."

More than ten celestial deities had descended to the mortal realm, and surprisingly, not a single one returned; they all fell!

The implications of this news were truly astonishing.

Qing Yang's mouth was dry and her tongue parched. "Is True Lord Qianhuan that powerful?"