280: The situation changed suddenly

[Suddenly—!]

[Hum—!!]

[A low, rumbling sound that blanketed the entire Imperial Palace rang out without warning!]

[Immediately following,]

[A translucent, pale golden barrier of spirit light shot up from around the Imperial Palace, firmly enclosing the entire palace complex—]

[The Imperial Palace's sealing array had been fully activated!]

[However, this "sealing array" did not use the Law Power to imprison heaven and earth, but rather used the energy of heaven and earth to form a barrier—]

[This type of array can only restrict Cultivators below the Soul Transformation stage from escaping.]

[Almost simultaneously,]

[From outside the main hall came the uniform, heavy, and dense sound of footsteps and the clanking of armor—]

[Clearly, a large number of elite imperial guards were rapidly assembling and surrounding this hall.]

[The next second—]

[Bang!]

[The hall doors were pushed open violently from the outside!]

[A group of people filed in. The two in the lead had unfathomable auras; they were the other two Nascent Soul giants of the Shattered Star Continent: Old Ancestor Jin Yuan and Old Monster Xinghen.]

[Old Monster Xinghen's real name is Wang Xinghen, and he is the person in charge of this branch of the Langgan Pavilion on the Shattered Star Continent.]

[And Old Ancestor Jin Yuan, whose real name is Jiang Jinyuan, is the ancestor of the Jiang Family, the richest Family on the Shattered Star Continent.]

[You had long anticipated the arrival of these two—you had already detected them when they were gathering outside the palace.]

[You sat composed in your seat, your expression without the slightest fluctuation; you even calmly picked up your jade cup and took another sip of the spirit wine.]

[Qin Han, who was squatting on the seat, had been happily gulping down a small bottle of spirit wine. At this moment, he stopped his movements, raised his furry little head, and looked at this group of uninvited guests with wide, round eyes, looking bewildered.]

["Fellow Daoist Jin Yuan, Fellow Daoist Xinghen," Ji Wuya's face was as dark as water. He stepped forward to block the Alchemy imperial physician and the unconscious Imperial Consort Qi, his voice cold, "You come uninvited; what is the meaning of this?"]

[Old Ancestor Jin Yuan only gave a faint smile at these words and did not answer directly. Instead, he tilted his head to look at Old Monster Xinghen beside him, his tone leisurely: "Let Pavilion Master Wang say it, so that the Emperor of the Immortal Dynasty... can die with a clear conscience."]

[Old Monster Xinghen wore his habitual smile. He swept his gaze over the people in the hall, who all had different expressions, and his tone was flat: "Why is the Emperor of the Immortal Dynasty so angry?"]

["For the reason behind this, why not ask your... good son?"]

[After speaking, his gaze shifted, precisely and meaningfully looking at the First Prince—who was standing in the front row of the officials, his face seemingly calm, but the corners of his mouth raised high—]

[Prince Ji Heng.]

[Prince Ji Heng stepped forward, looking directly at Ji Wuya, his voice calm but carrying a trace of imperceptible excitement:]

["Father Emperor, you once taught your son... that in this world, the strong are respected. If you want something, you must rely on your strength to fight for it, to snatch it!"]

["Just like the current predicament of the Immortal Dynasty, isn't everyone's first thought to go out and 'snatch' resources?"]

["What your son is doing today is merely following your teachings, using my own way to 'snatch' a future."]

[After speaking, he turned his gaze to you, a meaningful smile curling on the corners of his mouth:]

["Speaking of which, this matter must thank Young Master Qin."]

["If it weren't for Young Master Qin's appearance, which led that girl Ji Hui to return in a hurry, disrupting her original arrangements on Tianyang Star, I might not have found such a good opportunity to catch you all... in one fell swoop."]

[With his words, the situation in the hall changed suddenly!]

[I saw Prime Minister Han, the Clan Chief of the Liu Family, the newly appointed commander of the Imperial Law Enforcement Agency Yang Su, as well as hundreds of civil and military officials, representatives of noble families, and even some highly respected Elders who were originally scattered in various places, all moving silently and standing behind Prince Ji Heng in unison.]

[In an instant, nearly half of the civil and military ministers in the court, as well as the authority of the Imperial Law Enforcement Agency, had actually fallen under Prince Ji Heng's command!]

[Plus the two Nascent Soul foreign aids with imposing auras behind him—Old Ancestor Jin Yuan and Old Monster Xinghen.]

[At first glance, the balance of power was already disparate, and the outcome seemed to have been decided.]

[Ji Wuya scanned this scene full of rebellious ministers, and finally his gaze fell on the face of Empress Han, who had been sitting on the Phoenix throne from beginning to end without moving, his voice low:]

["It seems... the 'Nascent Soul Gu Poison' that Imperial Consort Qi was poisoned with, came from your hands?"]

[Empress Han only smiled faintly at these words, her noble and elegant face showing no trace of panic:]

["Your Majesty listens to one side and dotes on Qi Yuan, neglecting the six palaces."]

["If I had not struck first, once she broke through to the Nascent Soul stage..."]

["Would Your Majesty have planned to depose me and make her the Empress?"]

["When have I ever had such a thought?!" Ji Wuya's voice suppressed anger.]

["Hahaha..." Empress Han suddenly chuckled, but her laughter was full of mockery, "Whether Your Majesty had this thought or not is not important."]

["What is important is, if that Qi Yuan becomes a Nascent Soul, can she still tolerate me as the Empress, and tolerate my Han Family?"]

["Second sister!" Prime Minister Han shouted in a low voice, interrupting her, "The general situation has been decided today, why bother wasting more breath on him?"]

[From these few short dialogues, you also roughly understood the root cause and interest chain of this palace upheaval.]

[No wonder Old Ancestor Jin Yuan and Old Monster Xinghen would spare no effort to personally step in to support Prince Ji Heng—]

[What they least wanted to see was a Tianyu Immortal Dynasty with three Nascent Soul Cultivators—Ji Wuya, Imperial Consort Qi, and Ji Hui.]

[That would seriously threaten their transcendent status and interests on the Shattered Star Continent.]

[And supporting Prince Ji Heng to seize the throne, once successful, the Tianyu Immortal Dynasty would become a Puppet controlled by them from behind the scenes.]

[Even if it fails, the Immortal Dynasty will be severely damaged by this internal strife and will no longer have the strength to threaten them—]

[This deal, whether successful or failed, they seem to be making a profit without losing anything.]

[Just at this moment—]

["Hahaha—"]

[Ji Hui's laughter suddenly rang out, breaking the oppressive silence in the hall.]

[She walked forward slowly, her gaze sweeping over Old Ancestor Jin Yuan and Old Monster Xinghen like cold electricity, her voice carrying undisguised mockery:]

["Two Fellow Daoists, and this 'good royal brother' of mine, aren't you... celebrating too early?"]

["Could it be that you think that just by relying on the two of you, you can subvert the ten-thousand-year foundation of my Tianyu Immortal Dynasty?"]

[You agreed with Ji Hui's words in your heart—]

[Because even if the Empress Han faction and most of the court officials defected, at this moment inside the main hall, the Tianyu Immortal Dynasty still ostensibly possessed three Nascent Soul combat powers: Ji Wuya, Ji Hui, and that Divine Dragon Cult Protector Chen Yongxiu who had been silent all along.]

[From the perspective of paper strength, it was not without the power to fight.]

[After all, this is an Immortal cultivation Dynasty; no matter how many worldly intrigues and calculations there are, in the end, it still depends on the strength of the top combat power.]

[But although Ji Hui is a Nascent Soul, she is only in the Early Stage. To have her fight against hundreds of Golden Core Cultivators who had been prepared for a long time, the outcome was really hard to predict.]

[If a hundred Golden Core Cultivators formed a battle array and used combined attack techniques, it was not impossible for the gathered power to defeat an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.]

[And that strange feeling in your heart could not be waved away—]

[You always felt... behind this matter, it shouldn't just be these cards you see in front of you.]

[What you cared about even more was that in the dark, it seemed as if invisible threads of Karma were quietly entangling you—]

[You were no longer an outsider.]