The Deepest Affection in Qin's Time

Zhao Gao was immediately alarmed, and the phrase "eagle's gaze and wolf's look" involuntarily came to mind.

"Zhao Gao, immediately take these sword slaves and rescue the Empress Dowager. If she doesn't return, none of you need to come back!"

After Ying Zheng finished speaking, he left Ganquan Palace without looking back. Thinking about his mother's behavior just now, he felt very heavy-hearted.

Could it be that Mother really fell in love with Cao Yuan?

Did I overreact just now?

……

As these conflicting thoughts continued to surface in Ying Zheng's mind, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He saw two figures standing at the highest point of the palace.

One was dressed in a black robe, and the other was dressed in flowing white.

It was Cao Yuan and Donghuang Taiyi.

Ying Zheng's gaze sharpened. Not seeing Cao Yuan's mother beside him, a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

Where did Mother go?

Chapter 160 Managing Mindset

"Was that woman just now the marquis from Korea back then?"

At the summit of the palace, Donghuang Taiyi spoke slowly and deliberately, his tone as calm as still water, as if he were chatting casually with Cao Yuan, not as an opponent.

Cao Yuan smiled gently.

"Yes, it's her."

He originally intended to carry Zhao Ji away, but Donghuang Taiyi was indeed a veteran expert, and no matter how he tried to escape, he could not get rid of him.

Of course, this is not because he is weaker than Donghuang Taiyi, but because he is carrying Zhao Ji in his arms. Although this makes Donghuang Taiyi hesitant to act, it also makes it difficult for him to move.

Just as he left the palace and was about to seek help from Zi Nu and the others, the Marquis found him first.

It was only after a brief exchange that he learned that Donghuang Taiyi's visit to him with the King of Qin was not just an accident, but a premeditated plan.

It is unknown what methods Donghuang Taiyi used to find their hiding place and dispatch a large number of Yin-Yang School disciples, including the elders Da Siming and Shao Siming, as well as the guardian deity Yue Shen and Dongjun Yanfei, to capture them.

After seeing the Yin-Yang School surrounding them, Zi Nu Yan Ling Ji and the Marquis deduced what might have happened.

Because they all knew he had gone to Ganquan Palace and had an affair with Zhao Ji.

So, under Zi Nu's arrangement, Zi Nu and Yan Ling Ji lured away the disciples and powerful figures of the Yin Yang School, and had the Marquis secretly go to Gan Quan Palace to meet him.

Thanks to the intelligence network that Zi Nu had already established in Xianyang City, their plan proceeded very smoothly.

Therefore, after learning about the situation from the Marquis, he handed Zhao Ji over to the Marquis to take away, while he stayed behind to stall Donghuang Taiyi.

As long as he is not burdened by Zhao Ji, even if he is no match for Donghuang Taiyi, Donghuang Taiyi cannot do anything to him if he wants to leave.

After all, for powerful individuals of their caliber, let alone capturing or even injuring their opponents is no easy task.

Of course, the main reason is that they have just broken through to the Celestial Realm and have not yet settled down in this realm to continuously improve.

"Hehe, it really is her. I was fortunate enough to witness her fighting against Bai Qi, the great general of Qin, on the battlefield back then. Her beauty and elegance were unparalleled. It's a pity that she was seriously injured by Bai Qi in that battle, which caused her to miss the opportunity to stand alongside us."

Donghuang Taiyi sighed with a nostalgic look, as if reminiscing about the past.

Cao Yuan knew very well that Donghuang Taiyi was stalling for time.

As the hegemon with the most martial prowess among the seven states, the Qin royal guards were naturally all elite troops selected from among the fierce and powerful.

When he and Donghuang Taiyi stood atop the Qin Palace, they were already surrounded by hundreds of imperial guards.

If it weren't for the ten barriers at the highest point of the Qin Palace, which forced these imperial guards to urgently deploy bows and crossbows and remain helpless on the ground, they would have been stuck.

Of course, as the hegemon of the seven states, the Qin royal palace was naturally full of experts.

Cao Yuan alone saw more than a dozen top-tier experts, as well as several half-step grandmasters and grandmasters hidden in the shadows.

Even with the changes in the world today, breaking through to the Grandmaster level is still no easy feat.

Only those who came from the Hundred Schools of Thought and were originally masters could break through in a short period of time.

Such as Dongjun Yanfei of the Yin-Yang School, Fu Nian, the head of Xiaoshengxianzhuang, and Xiaoyaozi, the head of the Daoist Renzong...

At this moment, Ying Zheng, standing under the protection of the Imperial Guard, stared intently at Cao Yuan atop the Qin Palace.

Even if he didn't want to believe it, he had no choice but to accept the fact that his mother had been moved away by Cao Yuan.

What made him even more upset was that he couldn't speak out about it and could only suppress his anger, feeling helpless.

"Put away your bows and arrows!"

Having fully regained his composure, Ying Zheng immediately issued the order.

Cao Yuan could die, but his mother could not. For him, killing Cao Yuan to vent his anger was far less important than ensuring his mother's safety.

Moreover, he had completely figured out his thoughts.

If Cao Yuan dies here, then his mother's chances of survival are truly slim.

If Cao Yuan hadn't died, his mother would have been fine; at most, she would have continued to be humiliated and taken advantage of by that traitor Cao Yuan.

Therefore, the best and optimal solution for him is to arrest Cao Yuan and ransom his mother.

More importantly, these matters must not be leaked and must be carried out in secret; otherwise, how could he, as the King of Qin, maintain his dignity?

Donghuang Taiyi, who was chatting with Cao Yuan, frowned slightly when Ying Zheng suddenly ordered the imperial guards to stop.

Cao Yuan glanced at the imposing-looking Ying Zheng below and chuckled.

"Your Excellency Donghuang, it seems your plans are doomed to fail."

He hadn't thought that much about it at first, but once Ying Zheng gave the order, he understood Ying Zheng's thoughts.

This is because they're worried that if they kill him, his mother will also be doomed.

It's also possible that they're worried about airing their dirty laundry in public.

In short, he is safer now.

Donghuang Taiyi quickly calculated and understood why Ying Zheng did this.

"I see. It seems I have to leave you here today, otherwise I won't be able to explain it to the King."

As soon as Donghuang Taiyi finished speaking, the originally clear sky was plunged into darkness in the blink of an eye, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. Even Cao Yuan's divine sense was greatly suppressed, only able to cover an area of ​​about ten feet around his body.

After breaking through to the Celestial Realm, one's control over the power of heaven and earth advances further, and can even form a tangible domain.

This is the domain of Donghuang Taiyi, simulating the dark and profound void of the universe.

Faced with Donghuang Taiyi's methods, Cao Yuan opened up his own domain to resist the encroachment of Donghuang Taiyi's domain.

However, he had just broken through to the Celestial Realm, and his domain was only in its nascent stage. He could only remain largely unaffected by Donghuang Taiyi's domain.

“Young man, although I must admire your talent, I am still decades older than you and my various secret techniques far surpass yours.”

Donghuang Taiyi was nowhere to be seen, but his indifferent voice echoed in the darkness.

"Young people are still young and impetuous. They think that just because they are of the same divine nature as me, they can compete with me. Little do they know that a difference of a hair's breadth can lead to a difference of a thousand miles."

Cao Yuan simply smiled at Donghuang Taiyi's words.

He slowly drew his sword.

"After my breakthrough, my understanding of Neo-Confucianism deepened, and I realized that the mind is the way of Heaven."

Feeling confident of victory, Donghuang Taiyi asked with great interest, "What is meant by 'the mind is the principle of Heaven'? I would like to hear the details."

Even so, Donghuang Taiyi exerted even more force to activate the Dark Domain, continuously eroding the protective domain of Cao Yuan.

Cao Yuan remained calm and composed despite sensing the increasingly intense darkness encroaching upon him.

"To substitute one's own heart for the heart of Heaven, one's own reason for the reason of Heaven, and one's own will for the will of Heaven..."

With each word Cao Yuan spoke, Donghuang Taiyi's expression grew increasingly grim.

His trail had been discovered; he could sense that Cao Yuan had seen him.

How could this be...? The thought flashed through Donghuang Taiyi's mind, and he found it somewhat unbelievable.

But Cao Yuan didn't give Donghuang Taiyi time to think. He slowly closed his eyes and whispered, "Confucius said: Persuade people with reason!"

Cao Yuan used all his Confucian techniques, his words carrying the power of law, to press down on Donghuang Taiyi.

Everyone has their own strengths and methods.

Donghuang Taiyi is skilled in using concealment techniques, while Cao Yuan happens to have a way to counter Donghuang Taiyi, namely, the mind is the principle of heaven.

This technique was derived from Fu Nian's Holy King's Heart Method, and combined with his own understanding of the principles of philosophy, he created this technique and named it "The Mind is the Principle of Heaven".

After this technique is performed, when the eyes are closed, "mental light" can replace the physical eyes.

Within a radius of a hundred feet, any slight movement, even those who have cultivated to a high level, can see clearly the inner thoughts of others.

"A trivial skill!"

When Donghuang Taiyi saw that the core ability of his domain had been broken by Cao Yuan, he was secretly alarmed, though he said it with disdain.

Seeing that the darkness could no longer affect Cao Yuan, he simply withdrew and stopped using it to avoid wasting his internal energy, even though his internal energy was as vast as the sea, it couldn't withstand being wasted.

The light returned, and once again the sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky.

Cao Yuan looked at Donghuang Taiyi with a smile: "Is Your Majesty Donghuang satisfied?"

Donghuang Taiyi remained silent, looking at Ying Zheng, who was still stretching his neck on the ground.

Cao Yuan's performance made him realize that it would be almost impossible to keep Cao Yuan without paying a price.

But in his view, it was not worth paying such a price for Ying Zheng's mother.

Unless Cao Yuan jeopardizes Qin's ambition to unify the world and undermines his plan to become the Grand Preceptor of the Qin Empire, he will not take this risk.

No matter what, Cao Yuan was a strong person of the same level as him.

So Donghuang Taiyi moved his lips slightly and transmitted a message to Ying Zheng, saying that Cao Yuan was very powerful and it would be difficult for him to keep Cao Yuan unless he used all his strength, but even then he might not be able to win.

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng frowned deeply.

The best-case scenario is that Donghuang Taiyi defeats Cao Yuan and gets his mother back.