In truth, He Lingchuan had left one thing unsaid:
The elixir of immortality case had been exposed for over a month—had National Preceptor Qingyang truly prepared no counterstroke?
With Bai Ziqi pointing the spearhead of his investigation straight at her, was she really someone to sit idly by?
In such circumstances, what would National Preceptor Qingyang do?
While the Chiyan retinue withdrew from the Azure Palace, Fu Shanyue did not forget to send a goshawk soaring into the sky to scout for the latest developments on Tianxin Island.
By now, the crowds gathering toward the Azure Palace were swelling, craning their necks in eager anticipation of juicy drama.
Over the past month, the scandals bursting forth in Lingxu City had grown progressively sweeter and juicier.
Yet the Heavenly Palace guards suddenly laying siege to the Azure Palace? This was without question the most absurd spectacle of the year—no, the most absurd in nearly a century! Especially since the elixir of immortality case had already been brewing for a month, leaving the public broadly aware of its causes and consequences.
If they could dig up some explosive gossip today, wouldn't tonight's conversations around the warm hearth be all the livelier?
***
Tianxin Island, Lingxiao Palace.
National Preceptor Qingyang stood behind the door. Outside the wall, footsteps hurried back and forth, accompanied by people arguing in raised voices.
She looked up at the towering palace wall. A branch of late-blooming osmanthus reached over from above, more than half withered, though faint wisps of lingering fragrance still drifted from it.
Looking further up, there was only a palm-sized patch of sky.
The sunlight was slanting low by now, unable to pierce this well-like courtyard.
National Preceptor Qingyang remembered standing in this exact spot the first time she entered the palace at age twelve, gazing up at that same patch of sky.
The sky had never changed.
Back then, however, the osmanthus tree had not grown tall enough to reach over the wall.
More than a hundred and seventy years had passed in the blink of an eye.
So fast.
She let out a faint, melancholy sigh.
The commotion outside ceased at some unknown moment, and the footsteps faded into the distance.
After another moment, the door was pushed open, and an elderly palace woman whispered, "National Preceptor, this way please."
She secured the door behind them and led National Preceptor Qingyang inward.
Though it was deep autumn, luxuriant greenery and thriving plants lined the path, showing not the slightest hint of decay.
The woman’s hair was completely silver, and her shoulders were slightly stooped. Following behind her, National Preceptor Qingyang said, "Maidservant Xiao, long time no see."
The palace woman turned back. Seeing the National Preceptor passing beside a cluster of white banksia roses, it was truly a sight of beauty and blossoms complementing one another.
Only upon closer inspection could one discern a few faint lines at the corners of National Preceptor Qingyang’s eyes.
"You need not worry. Even that palace guard brigade from the Heavenly Palace wouldn't dare barge into Ganquan Hall to cause trouble!" the woman said solemnly. "This is the safest place in the world."
National Preceptor Qingyang gave a soft sigh. "I never imagined there would come a day when I would seek shelter here."
"The Demon Emperor told you long ago that if anything happened, you should come here to wait for him," the woman replied. "It is only a pity that His Majesty departed for Mount Xu this afternoon and is not in the palace; otherwise, he could oversee the situation on your behalf!"
National Preceptor Qingyang murmured with a touch of self-mockery, "The situation?" The general trend was likely already cast in stone.
She understood clearly that the celestial gods had summoned the Demon Emperor away at this precise juncture precisely to cut off her retreat.
Even so, no matter how overbearing the Duyun Emissary and the Heavenly Palace guards might be, they could hardly barge into the royal palace and turn it upside down, could they?
She had spent the first half of her life fighting on battlefields and the second half strategizing in court, dedicating everything to Lingxu, only to earn a single promise from the Demon Emperor: no matter how the political winds shifted, she would always be able to meet him in Ganquan Hall.
The palace woman invited her into a heated side chamber, brought a brocade quilt, and then fetched hot tea and light refreshments before saying, "Please remain here and rest if you feel fatigued. His Majesty only departed for Mount Xu after noon; the earliest he could possibly return is before dusk."
National Preceptor Qingyang asked her, "Do you have an incense burner?"
The woman blinked in surprise. "Ah, yes, there is one."
From somewhere, she brought out a small incense burner along with a bundle of red incense sticks.
"Thank you."
The palace woman shook her head. "Please, do not say such things. Fifty-five years ago, had you not carried this servant in from the snow, I would have perished from this world long ago. Whatever you need, simply ask."
Having arranged everything, she backed out of the room, gently closing the door behind her.
National Preceptor Qingyang closed her eyes to rest her mind for a good while. Then she stepped into the small garden outside for a brief stroll, confirming there was no surveillance before returning to the heated chamber and tightly shutting the doors.
She lit seven slender incense sticks, planted them in the burner, and positioned it facing east.
The seam beneath the door was tiny, allowing scarcely any autumn wind to filter inside, and the column of smoke rose straight up.
National Preceptor Qingyang knelt and began chanting under her breath.
The smoke hovering above the burner paused slightly, rising to a certain height before pressing downward, condensing without dispersing.
About seven or eight minutes later, the smoke gathered into a plain gray clump, slowly taking the shape of a human face.
The facial features were exceedingly blurred, barely showing two eyes and a mouth.
Then, an imposing voice rang out:
"Where are you?"
"Lingxiao Palace." National Preceptor Qingyang ceased her chanting. "I rushed here immediately after you notified me. Bai Ziqi led the palace guards straight to the Azure Palace. Whose orders was he acting on?"
"Your Holy Venerable Lingxu!" the voice answered. "Without even consulting us, it issued an edict directly."
Even though she had prepared herself mentally, National Preceptor Qingyang's face still turned pale. After all, the feeling of being targeted directly by the supreme power was dreadful. "There wasn't time to speak in detail earlier. You said just now that when the Grass Sea hunt opened, Bai Ziqi slipped out of the city to look for Kong Jiaxiang in Chiyan?"
The voice snorted. "Yes, to Kong Jiaxiang's hometown of Yangshui. Yet Bai Ziqi never reported that lead or his itinerary, keeping all the gods entirely in the dark."
In other words, Bai Ziqi had been guarding against them all along!
"He truly is loyal to Lingxu."
National Preceptor Qingyang's delicate brows furrowed tightly. "Kong Jiaxiang cannot possibly still be alive."
"Then could what Bai Ziqi brought back be a corpse? No, no, that isn't what he reported to Holy Venerable Lingxu. Not only is he a living witness, but Bai Ziqi also has material evidence in hand."
"I sent Lu Qingzhou to clean up the aftermath at Qingfu Temple. Lu Qingzhou personally watched Kong Jiaxiang drink poison and die before setting fire to burn the temple down." National Preceptor Qingyang looked grave. "The fire started in Kong Jiaxiang's room. He could not have made a mistake."
"Could that Lu fellow have deceived you?"
"Lu Qingzhou was utterly devoted to me; it was impossible for him to betray me." National Preceptor Qingyang slowly shook her head. "Besides, he died suddenly at home a few days ago, most likely by the Autumn Palace's hand."
The voice said, "Perhaps Kong Jiaxiang faked his death and fooled your disciple."
National Preceptor Qingyang remained silent.
After all, she had not handled the matter personally and had not been present at the scene. Even if Lu Qingzhou had reported back afterward, could he have overlooked some subtle detail?
"You claim Kong Jiaxiang is dead, so who is the living man Bai Ziqi produced?"
"Perhaps an impostor."
The voice uttered a sound of skepticism. "An impostor? If you were confident he was fake, why didn't you stay at the Azure Palace to confront him? Why flee straight to Lingxiao Palace?" What was more, she had fled without looking back, which was completely unlike her usual conduct.
"Do you believe Bai Ziqi is easy to fool? Having captured such a vital witness, would he fail to verify his identity?" National Preceptor Qingyang gave a bitter smile. "Kong Jiaxiang was captured in his hometown, where countless relatives and old acquaintances in Yangshui could verify his identity. Furthermore, I expect Bai Ziqi uncovered clues in Lingxu City as well. Look at it the other way around: if he hadn't confirmed Kong Jiaxiang to be ironclad proof, how would he dare bring troops to bombard my Azure Palace?"
She continued, "Moreover, even if I confronted Kong Jiaxiang, would Lingxu City believe him or me? Who would judge the truth of his words?" What was real and what was fabricated was known only to her. But why would outsiders believe her? "Lu Qingzhou, the only one who could prove Kong Jiaxiang was dead, died suddenly himself. Therefore, this Kong Jiaxiang is the real one."
Whether Kong Jiaxiang was genuine or fake was beside the point; the mere existence of "Kong Jiaxiang" was what mattered.
His testimony and his confession would inevitably be taken as truth.
Once Shuangye found this Kong Jiaxiang—or manufactured him—the contest between them had already been decided.
The voice had no interest in the evidence itself; it only wanted to know one thing: "Are you truly pinned down with no way to overturn the case?"
"Perhaps."
The smoke was equally brisk, billowing twice as it prepared to disperse.
"Tongming Zhenjun!" National Preceptor Qingyang suddenly called out. "If I am thrown into prison and interrogated, you won't escape either."
A voice returned from within the smoke, tinged with a measure of fury: "Are you threatening me?"
"I know Miaozhantian possesses a divine artifact known as the touchstone. If I cannot pass its test, I fear I will speak of how you secretly supplied me with divine blood."
Aside from pulp beads, the creation of the elixir of immortality required an indispensable catalyst: divine blood.
Without divine blood, a room piled high with pulp beads was utterly useless.
Clearly, both the Demon Emperor and the Heavenly Palace understood this point. Once National Preceptor Qingyang was apprehended, she would inevitably be interrogated about the source of the divine blood.
She knew well that Miaozhantian's touchstone divine art was second to none when it came to judging the truth or falsehood of a confession.
When that time came, wouldn't Tongming Zhenjun, as an accomplice, be exposed?
Tongming Zhenjun, however, burst into laughter. "You worry too much! Miaozhantian recently deployed that divine art and ran into unexpected trouble halfway through, suffering massive exhaustion. She cannot possibly cast it a second time within three to five months!"
National Preceptor Qingyang paused, startled. "Trouble?" Could Tongming Zhenjun have meddled in it?
Still, hearing that Miaozhantian's divine art was temporarily sealed, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Miaozhantian probed that kid surnamed He by the Chiyan Crown Prince's side, but failed to obtain a satisfactory result."
That kid surnamed He? He Xiao?
National Preceptor Qingyang was astonished. He Xiao had indeed obstructed her at every turn; had this person not charged out from nowhere, Xi Yunhe would never have succeeded in exposing the elixir of immortality case no matter how much he wished to.
That youth was certainly capable, but for Miaozhantian to deploy a divine art on him?
As National Preceptor, Qingyang knew many inside secrets. For a celestial god to invoke divine arts in the mortal realm, an exorbitant price had to be paid.
The barrier between the two realms was no laughing matter, and the cosmic laws could not be bypassed lightly.
That price was not borne solely by the celestial gods; even Lingxu City had to pay a toll.
Furthermore, it was Miaozhantian's signature major art, something never unleashed without grave cause.
What manner of secret was hidden within that youth, that even a celestial god would expend such vast effort to test him?
Of course, National Preceptor Qingyang could barely take care of herself at the moment, so the thought flashed by in an instant. She said to Tongming Zhenjun, "The attitude of the other gods toward my case might not be so unyielding, would it?"
"You know well that even if most of the gods do not care, as long as a small faction insists, you will not escape the dungeons!" Tongming Zhenjun said coldly. "Do not dream of turning to bite me. I will not admit to anything."
"Which war has not resulted in rivers of blood? My subordinates merely killed a few frail monsters; such an offense can be treated as heavily or as lightly as one chooses," National Preceptor Qingyang said with grave solemnity. "I wish to ask you to speak a few good words for me before the gods."
Chapter 661