In just a few short hours, the purple fog spreading from the Ancient Great Wall had enveloped the entire Henghai Provincial City. As time passed, the purple fog continued to spread toward other regions.

Below the Construct Wood, Lu Nianjiao suddenly descended from the sky, landing beside Di Xuanji.

"It's confirmed. This purple fog originates from the corpses of the Seabed Monsters."

"It's a neurotoxin, and it's also highly radioactive."

"Ordinary people, animals, and any Martial Artists below the Grandmaster Realm will be infected and mutate in an extremely short period of time just by coming into contact with this toxic fog."

"Just like them."

As she spoke, Lu Nianjiao gestured toward the distant War Soldiers who were struggling and screaming on the ground. Upon hearing Lu Nianjiao's words, the hearts of every human and demon present grew heavy.

Di Xuanji asked, "Is there a cure?"

Lu Nianjiao shook her head. "Not at the moment."

Di Xuanji looked at the Construct Wood before her. "In that case, this tree cannot be cut down yet."

Everyone fell silent. They all understood that once the Construct Wood was felled, the Forbidden Heavenly Barrier would disappear, and the toxic fog would spread outwards, covering the entirety of Hua Country and perhaps even the world.

Lu Nianjiao's voice trembled. "The Barrier has now sealed off all of Henghai Province... Doesn't that mean those tens of millions of people will..."

Suddenly, a whooshing sound cut through the air. Yang Zhilu descended from the sky, panting as she spoke. "Your Majesty, Medic Immortal, I just reached the border. I tried to open the Barrier using the spell Luo Xiu taught me to arrange for civilian evacuation... but for some reason, the spell failed."

Hearing this, Di Xuanji clenched her fists, her delicate body trembling involuntarily.

Lu Nianjiao said, "It's possible the spell failed because all four array foundations were destroyed."

Just then, a dazzling light suddenly radiated from the purple, fog-filled sky. Everyone's expression lifted as they looked up.

In the sky, a giant Array silently materialized. Under the watchful eyes of humans and demons alike, a speck of green light appeared within the Array. It then descended slowly, circling the Construct Wood before stopping to hover above their heads.

As it drew closer, they finally saw that it was a palm-sized Green Lotus.

Luo Ying and Luo Qianye's eyes widened. They exchanged a look of disbelief.

"This... isn't this Your Majesty's Life-bound Green Lotus?"

Luo Qianye clenched her fists, speaking through gritted teeth. "Emperor Hao... is he really the one behind this?"

As the two women speculated, a voice suddenly rang out from The Void. "Hand over Luo Xiu, and all of you will be spared!"

"Luo Xiu is the deity worshipped by the Holy Boi Religion—the Holy Boi Religion God! Once he awakens, he will bring chaos to the world, and all living beings will become souls reaped by his sword!"

"And the Human Empress is the Holy Boi Religion God's most loyal supporter!"

"I am Emperor Hao from the Upper Realm, descended to save the living beings of the Lower Realm."

The voice was devoid of emotion, almost mechanical, yet it was deafening. Propelled by some mysterious power, every single person in the world could hear this voice in their hearts.

Luo Ying stared at the Green Lotus in the sky, gritting her teeth in anger.

"Luo Hao, what in the hell are you playing at?!"

"If you have the guts, show yourself!"

Already seething with rage, Di Xuanji shot into the sky, her Xuanyuan Sword slashing straight out. However, before the golden Sword Light, capable of annihilating countless foes, could even get close, it was shattered by the energy emanating from the Green Lotus.

Di Xuanji crashed back to the ground, staggering several steps before she could stand firm. She then discovered that the Xuanyuan Sword in her hand had started to blur and was beginning to disintegrate.

Luo Qianye glanced at the Xuanyuan Sword, her expression gradually darkening. She spoke in a low voice, "Empress, his purpose in saying all that was to instill fear in your subjects, to make them doubt you."

"In doing so, you would lose the imperial Dragon Qi and, consequently, the Xuanyuan Sword."

"I know Luo Hao quite well. He never acts without absolute certainty. He always finds ways to weaken his enemies first."

"Perhaps your Xuanyuan Sword made him feel threatened."

Just then, the voice boomed from the sky once more.

"I will say it again: hand over Luo Xiu!"

"Will you descend into the abyss with a demon, or will you follow me to eradicate the demonic faction and purify this filthy land? The choice is in your hands!"

"I will only give you three days!"

"If you are willing to follow me, then in three days, I will lift the Forbidden Heavenly Barrier. At that time, you will bathe in the holy mist and be thoroughly transformed, gaining unparalleled power to join me in exterminating the demonic faction!"

"Perhaps you are skeptical, but know this: I could extinguish your world with a snap of my fingers. There is no need for me to fabricate lies to deceive weak ants like you."

...

Fear spread through the hearts of humanity a thousand, a million times faster than the toxic fog. In just a single day, countless people had gathered at the border of Henghai Province, shouting and clamoring outside the Forbidden Heavenly Barrier.

"Hurry up and hand over Luo Xiu! He's a demon!"

"We are willing to follow His Majesty Emperor Hao, eliminate the demonic faction, and cleanse this filthy land!"

"Her Majesty the Empress, we implore you! Hand over Luo Xiu and save the people!"

But there were also those who remained rational, their hearts uncorroded by fear.

"What demonic faction? All I know is that not long ago, Luo Xiu was on the front lines, shedding blood and fighting for us!"

"That's right! My brother was wounded on the front line and sent back. He told me about Luo Xiu. Luo Xiu is the King of the Nation!"

"The hero who saved everyone on that airplane, wasn't that Luo Xiu? How could a hero like that be a demon?"

"This damn so-called Emperor Hao from the Upper Realm scares you all witless with just a few words? Where's your backbone!"

"No matter what, even in death, we people of Hua Country will not abandon our own!"

...

In the ruins of Henghai Provincial City, Di Xuanji looked at the distant War Soldiers and commoners, who had mutated into beings neither human nor demon, and her heart filled with despair. Strangely, however, even after absorbing the purple mist and mutating, they still retained their original minds.

At this moment, these War Soldiers and civilians had also split into two factions. One faction supported Emperor Hao, demanding that Di Xuanji hand over Luo Xiu to save the people and the entire world. The other supported Luo Xiu, willing to die in battle rather than abandon their compatriot.

"This move by Luo Hao... it's utterly sickening." Luo Qianye stared at the Green Lotus in the distant sky, clenching her fists.

Luo Ying said, "I never imagined he would be this kind of person. But what is his goal?"

At that moment, Di Xuanji approached slowly, her gaze sweeping across everyone.

"Everyone, at this point... anything I say is probably useless. In the end, the choice is in your own hands."

"I will not hand over Luo Xiu. And I believe that even if I did, the final outcome would remain unchanged."

"In three days, I will fight to the death!"

"I've had enough of being this damn Empress... If I can't even protect the man I love, I'd rather die in battle."

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