The roots spread at an alarming speed, piercing the fallen maiden.
Xiao Qingyin happened to be lying next to the vines and was the first to be pierced.
As soon as the roots pierced her flesh, she noticed her blood was flowing out rapidly.
Without further hesitation, he forcefully pierced the vine's surface and pressed the white magic bean he carried with him inside.
The rapidly growing vines paused for a moment, then shook wildly, trying to shake off the white magic bean.
But it was to no avail.
Inside the vines, unseen by anyone, the roots of the white magic bean rapidly expanded, plundering nutrients from the vines.
Before long, they had looted everything.
The vines crumbled inch by inch, shattering into pieces on the ground in the blink of an eye.
Wu Li: "..."
Emperor of Xilin Kingdom: "..."
The assembled princes and ministers: "..."
Why did the Hand of God suddenly collapse?
Without hands, how can the gods enjoy the offerings?
How can the gods bless Xilin with peace, prosperity, and a flourishing nation if they do not accept offerings?
Panic spread rapidly.
Only the refugees opposite the altar, who knew nothing about the ceremony, thought it was part of the ritual and clapped enthusiastically.
Wu Li was stunned for only a moment before she came to her senses.
Their first instinct was to look at Xiao Qingyin, who had been closest to the vines, suspecting that she had tampered with them.
Xiao Qingyin lay motionless, trying her best to put on the same satisfied smile as the other young ladies-in-waiting.
However, the mask affected her performance.
Wu Li slowly raised her hand.
At the critical moment, Xiao Qingyin winked at the little white bird that had just broken free from the control of the flute.
The little white bird chirped "Chirp!" into Wu Li's ear.
Wu Li paused for a moment.
However, he did not fall into a coma.
Seeing this, the little red bird also chirped.
Under the combined attack of the two birds, Wu Li swayed and collapsed to the ground.
The little white bird and the little red bird flapped their wings and soared into the sky.
Yelü Sui, who was in the stands, suddenly stood up.
"Quickly catch those two birds! Don't hurt them."
As soon as the sound faded, a group of men in black leaped out and chased after the little white bird and the little red bird.
Xiao Qingyin then closed her eyes, relieved.
The altar was destroyed, the shaman was in a coma, and the sacrificial ceremony was a complete failure, with the scene in a state of chaos.
Princess Xilin sat in the stands, crossed her legs, and scoffed, "I told Father Emperor long ago that all this nonsense is useless. We should use this time to think about how to use Xiao Qingyin to bring Wei Yan over."
Bai Musheng, who was sitting to her right, turned her gaze away from the altar and smiled weakly: "You're right. Firearms can easily crush cold weapons. We must learn to manufacture firearms."
"Unfortunately, Father Emperor simply won't listen."
"Older people are less receptive to new things."
Princess Xilin sighed.
His gaze inadvertently swept over "Xiao Qingyin," and he said meaningfully, "She's been here for so many days, and you haven't even greeted her?"
Bai Musheng looked in the direction she was looking and said with a wry smile, "I barely managed to escape from her and Yi Shuihan. If I dared to openly run in front of her, I definitely wouldn't see the sun tomorrow."
"What's there to be afraid of?"
Princess Xilin snorted coldly.
“Fu Junshi is still in my hands. If she dares to touch a hair on your head, I’ll cut off Fu Junshi’s hand and give it to her.”
Bai Musheng said helplessly, "Your Highness, it's best not to provoke her. She's the kind of person who would rather perish together with the enemy if pushed too far."
Princess Xilin disagreed.
"If she's really that powerful, why hasn't she made a sound these past few days? I think she's only acting tough because she's relying on Yi Shuihan's influence."
That's because the "Xiao Qingyin" you saw wasn't her.
Bai Musheng thought to himself.
The real her ruined the sacrificial ceremony right under your noses, and you were completely unaware.
After the pride subsided, a bitter taste crept onto the tip of the tongue.
She was so dazzling that he was no longer worthy to talk about her.
He smiled but didn't say anything.
After the chaos subsided, Xiao Qingyin and the other young ladies-in-waiting were carried back to the imperial palace.
Perhaps fearing that they might die and affect the palace's reuse, the palace finally provided them with meals.
Even though it was just a bowl of thin porridge, it made the awakened ladies-in-waiting ecstatic.
Xiao Qingyin privately asked a few people and found that they only remembered the dancing and knew nothing about the bleeding and the demonic vine.
She suddenly understood why shamans chose people from small tribes.
Judging from the calm demeanor of the princes and ministers in the stands, this was certainly not the first time the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven had been held.
Small tribes are often isolated from information and probably don't even know that the festival requires human sacrifices.
What about the refugees?
Why did Xilin specifically bring refugees to watch the festival?
Is it simply to demonstrate the emperor's boundless benevolence?
Or is it used for something else?
During her secret rendezvous with Yi Shuihan at night, she specifically inquired about the refugees.
Yi Shuihan replied, "The refugees were sent away by Yelü Ang."
"Where to send it?"
"I don't know, but it's definitely not their hometown. There's something wrong with the porridge they drank, and they might be in grave danger."
"What's the problem?"
"They were probably sacrifices, used to deal with the demonic vines."
Xiao Qingyin frowned.
The magic vine has extraordinary vitality. If the refugees' porridge contains an inhibitor, it will definitely cause great harm to their bodies.
Now that the sacrificial ceremony has failed, I wonder if the Emperor of Xilin will give them the antidote.
If the antidote is extremely precious, given Emperor Xilin's nature, he might very well abandon them and choose a different batch.
Yelü Ang was in such a hurry to send them away that they were about to be poisoned.
Thinking of this, she said to Yi Shuihan, "See if you can find them."
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