Empty Valley
At the celebration site, amidst the thunderous prayers, An Rou's penetrating voice rang out.
“Arrogant!”
The two words contained a surge of anger, which immediately silenced everyone.
Whether it was the NPC or the player, they all looked at her in disbelief.
Her face is cold and pale, her expression is majestic... Is this still the gentle and holy goddess of good fortune who brings abundance to the empty valley?
Yin Tian narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice: "What do you want to do?"
An Rou didn't even look at him, her serious and determined gaze sweeping across the faces in the audience.
"What makes you think that you are the only people of the Lord God? What makes you think that what you dedicate to the Lord God is good, that what the Lord God likes? Who gave you the courage to speculate about the Lord God's will?!"
Three questions in a row.
Many people were confused, but their bodies couldn't help but shudder.
No matter what An Rou was referring to, as the messenger closest to God, she was qualified to question and even judge.
An Rou saw their reactions and felt it was ridiculous.
These people would rather believe that the messenger of the Lord God will bring blood and killing than believe that she will bring mercy and forgiveness.
Moreover, the more of the former there are, the crazier their beliefs become.
No one dared to answer her, and An Rou didn't need them to. These three questions served only to elicit the hastily prepared remarks she had made.
"The Lord God needs his people to serve him, and it can be you or not. Dirty souls need to be purified, and it can be you or not. Because—
"The Lord's people are not just you, there are also ghouls!
"In this competition between the gods, the Lord God doesn't need human blood. He wants to summon the souls of ghouls. Do you think even this small request requires your approval?!"
Countless people were shocked.
After a brief silence, the discussion quickly grew, like a swarm of wasps, spreading from far away to near.
"How is it possible? How could those demons be the Lord's people?!"
"The ghouls covet our human souls, which means they covet the Lord's treasure! Such cunning and shameless demons cannot be the Lord's people..."
"The Lord God is in heaven, and the devil is on earth. Strangling the devil is our mission as the Lord God's people!"
…
No one accepted An Rou's statement.
These are fundamentally contrary to doctrine.
Yin Tian's face was filled with anger, and after hearing the discussions, his expression turned sarcastic.
"Do you think anyone will believe this?"
An Rou glanced at him coldly.
Could it be that he naively thought that he would have a debate with him on the doctrines of the many Indians?
Sorry, I'm not interested and I don't have time.
An Rou drowned out the discussion again: "Do you all think that the devil is an existence on par with the Lord God? That the ghoul can defeat the Lord God? The Lord God is supreme and rules over everything. Would the Lord God need your help to defeat the devil and secure his throne?!"
Similarly, no one could respond to An Rou's question.
Likewise, An Rou didn't need their answer.
She suddenly raised her arms, leaned back, her long hair falling behind her, and looked up at the sky.
A puff of white smoke appeared at her feet and carried her above the crowd.
Everyone looks up to him.
No one noticed that her pupils were dilated, but everyone inexplicably felt that her posture was full of power.
The whole audience was silent.
A voice came from far away.
Bang, bang, bang—
It was as if countless people were using all their strength to hit the metal.
Yin Tian was startled and looked into the dark distance.
A darker shadow rushed towards them at an unparalleled speed.
They came from all directions, running either lightly and silently or as heavy as elephants, causing the earth to tremble.
The celebration lights suddenly went out and then suddenly lit up, illuminating a pale and angry face.
Ghoul...
Some were madly transformed, some were not, some looked like humans, some had long lost their human form... The ghouls stopped outside the crowd and surrounded the entire celebration site!
Panic broke out instantly.
"It's the ghouls from the competition, they've escaped!"
"Gather, gather, and form a defense line!"
However, most of the players participating in the celebration were selected from various branches, and it was unknown whether they knew each other, so how could they form a tacit understanding in combat?
Many people conduct together.
Many people flocked in the same direction.
They themselves also noticed the chaos and could only grit their teeth, use weapons or elemental cards to launch attack skills, and fight randomly.
Soon, the panic began to fade.
"What's going on? They're all standing still."
"Can't see us? Can't smell us?"
"That ghoul completely absorbed my skills and started to transform wildly!"
"Did someone use the high-level martial arts space to cover this place?"
"...Divine Messenger, it is the Goddess Ri'an who is controlling them!"
——The first person to discover this was not the player who revealed the truth.
But it is Yintian.
When the strange noise came, he intuitively guessed what An Rou was doing.
He subconsciously drew his weapon and at the same time identified the white smoke - an S-rank ghoul.
As someone who raised ghouls, Yin Tian's level was naturally high, but not too high either, a low-level master. Normally, it wouldn't be difficult for a player of this level to single-handedly challenge an S-level ghoul.
He was not acting in a normal way because he had no combat experience and naturally did not dare to act rashly.
After Yin Tian, the NPCs on the altar also noticed the situation earlier than the players. They stood high up and could see many deformed and terrifying silhouettes from afar.
Fear seized them, and whispers spread among them as the players began to attack.
"devil!"
"Did the messenger summon the devil?"
"How is it possible? How could Goddess Rihanna stand with the devil..."
An Rou connected to the consciousness of more than two thousand ghouls at the same time, and no sound at the scene could escape her ears.
"That's right, they are all ghouls, all demons! It is the power of the Lord God that allows me to summon them, because they are also the Lord God's people, just like you!
"The Lord God needs you to live, to create a more fertile land for him, and to build a more prosperous and vibrant kingdom! Therefore, the Lord God does not need you to sacrifice your souls, but instead requires the ghouls to sacrifice their filthy, broken souls!
"The Lord God grants me strength, and the Lord God's power comes from you, from everyone's breath, from everyone's prayer! Only if you live and pray continuously, the Lord God can purify the ghoul's soul and let the devil rest in peace!"
The discussions became quieter and quieter, and the celebration scene became quieter and quieter.
An Rou's powerful words and her sacred posture floating in the air even made the many players below dare not question how she flew up there.
Is it a skill?
Or could the strange white smoke be a ghoul's magic?
No one thinks about this problem.
Everyone was shocked by her words, because the teachings of the Duozhu were clearly written and they had memorized them word for word: ghouls are evil demons who have committed all kinds of evil and are the eternal enemies of the Lord God.
But the messenger of God said that ghouls are also people of the Lord God?
A moment ago, they could have come up with many reasons to deny it.
A moment later, thousands of ghouls stood quietly outside the crowd, without making angry roars or showing any greed for souls. Even when their parasites were killed, they showed no intention of resisting.
The facts are before us: the devil obeys the messenger of God, and the messenger of God obeys the Lord God.
Ghouls are truly the people of the Lord God.
Yin Tian finally understood An Rou's intention.
This woman, this NPC made up of data and without any value, is stealing his power and wants to overthrow the entire Duozhu religion!
She really should have been killed!
Last night, he should not have been so obsessed with the reappearance of the statue on the top of the empty valley, because after the competition of the gods, Duozhu could have rebuilt the statue in the floating city.
You shouldn't even covet the potion in her hand. At the very least, you should expel her and this fake temple!
There was no point in regretting it now. The most urgent task was to break the miracle An Rou had performed.
Yin Tian quickly scanned the many players in the audience. It seemed that no one would obey his command at this moment.
He must use some action, some shocking phenomenon, to bring the believers back to their senses.
Yin Tian secretly clenched his fists, and when he opened his five fingers, a fire element card quietly fell to the ground.
"Creator, second stage skill, Serpent of Eden."
The element card transformed into a thin snake as long as a palm and sank into the ground.
No one knew that a fire snake as thick as a finger was moving at high speed under their feet, and after a moment, it drilled into the altar from underground.
The believers were still digesting the miracle revealed by the messenger of God when suddenly, with a loud bang, a burst of flames erupted from the altar. The fire came from an unknown source and ignited the altar.
The NPCs were already covered in kerosene, and the flames were so fierce that they engulfed all the NPCs at a speed that no one else could react to.
Yin Tian took the opportunity to shout, "Heavenly Fire! The Lord God has accepted your gift. The Lord God does not need the demons' hypocritical obedience!"
At the critical moment when the believers were struggling with their thoughts, an inexplicable flame ignited the offerings they offered to the Lord God. In the eyes of many people, this was no different from a miracle.
The shocked expressions on their faces began to twist into ecstasy.
Before they could cheer, however, the ghouls outside the crowd simultaneously activated. The living dead unleashed their movement skills, while the mutated ghouls used their deformed bodies to push the crowd aside. Together, they charged forward, bringing down all the NPCs from their pedestals with lightning speed.
When preparing to sacrifice their souls, the NPCs might be able to endure the burning pain for a while, but when they are suddenly ignited, everyone screams uncontrollably.
The ghouls wrapped them with their bodies, especially the berserk ghouls, whose huge bodies and tentacles could wrap them tightly.
The flame went out.
Zhang Da was also not idle. Following An Rou's command, he quickly put An Rou on the ground. White smoke rushed to the highest point of the altar and rescued the boy.
Zhang raised his hand and scattered the life potion he carried with him into the group of ghouls, and then fed the remaining potion in his hand to the boy.
Some of the living dead ghouls also had potions, and under the invisible command, they took them out just like Zhang Da.
There weren't enough potions, but that didn't matter; the potions themselves had the effect of relieving pain and accelerating healing. Every NPC who drank a sip regained their sanity from the pain and panic, and their burns healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It was the devil who saved them.
The NPCs wanted to run, but for some reason they froze in place and didn't run.
The believers were also shocked by this scene. With so many delicious souls before them, the ghouls showed no desire to devour them. They still looked ferocious, but they had truly saved everyone.
At the place closest to the believers, Zhang Da waited for the boy to finish drinking the life potion and put a piece of hemp candy into his hand.
This is a habit he left behind when taking care of Zisha.
The boy took it hesitantly and licked it carefully. His eyes lit up beneath his half-burned eyebrow.
He looked up at Zhang Da, and his childish instinct made him reach out his hand.
Zhang Dashun took it as a matter of course.
This time, he stood with the ghouls, finally making the believers realize his identity.
Ghoul, S-level ghoul.
But when he stood with the boy, the picture was like a silent father holding his son's hand, and the shock it brought was no less than that of a ghoul saving someone.
An Rou saw this scene through countless pairs of eyes, and for the first time at tonight's celebration, she smiled with ease.
Children seem to be naturally close to Zhang Da.
The time is ripe.
An Rou walked to Zhang Da's side, with her back to the flames of the towering altar and facing the believers.
Her pupils were still unfocused. The believers met her unfocused gaze and knelt down.
"Thank God." An Rou said.
"Thank you, Lord!" the believers repeated in unison, their voices echoing in the night sky.
"The Lord God has proven through his actions that today's celebration and tomorrow's competition do not require the sacrifice of human souls."
An Rou turned to the main seat and said, "Yintian, are you still going to go against the will of the Lord God?"
The pressure from believers once again came to President Duozhu.
No one noticed that his hand, hidden behind the long pure gold table, was tightly gripping a stack of element cards.
Failed.
In this miraculous contest, he was completely defeated by this woman who had just entered the valley for one day.
Yin Tian lowered his head slightly to hide his dark and resentful face, and knelt down again.
"Thank God." He said in a barely audible voice.
I guess many people didn't hear it, but everyone understood that the president's kneeling action showed his submission.
Since the goal has been achieved, An Rou will not make things difficult for Yin Tian over such a trivial matter.
She said in a clear voice, "Tonight's God's Birthday celebration has concluded successfully. The Lord God has received your devoutness. I hope you will remember that ghouls are also the Lord God's people."
“Thank you, Lord!”
The celebration is over and the crowd has dispersed.
Zhang Da used "Fog City" and carried An Rou to fly towards the main seat.
"Want to kill me? Since you know my identity, you should know that Yong'an is a double SSS-level mission. Before you act, think clearly whether you can afford the price."
Yin Tian raised his gaze from the light screen, his murderous intent evident.
An Rou curled her lips and smiled, "That's right, Konggu is the territory of your Duozhu Sect. I believe you are confident that you can mobilize enough players to kill the divine envoy. But you have to think clearly. Regardless of success or failure, doing so means you will lose the competition for the gods."
Yin Tian has a firm grasp on An Rou's weak spot, and so does An Rou.
Duozhu believed in the gods, and how could the gods be suppressed by the mortals of the Xiangyang Guild? Yintian was under pressure not only from his followers in the game, but also from his superiors in real life.
It took Yin Tian a while to suppress his hatred, and he gritted his teeth and said, "An Rou, you've crossed the line."
An Rou remained noncommittal. "It wasn't me who crossed the line, it was you. Originally, I had no interest in, nor the time to care about, your superstitious affairs. Things like the site selection for the God Competition and the sacrifices to the gods, you did it without telling me. Yintian, it was you who insisted on dragging me into this.
"Don't worry, I don't have a compassionate heart. On the contrary, I'm very selfish. I'm so selfish that I only care about myself.
"As long as you make me feel comfortable, everything can be discussed. It's you who insisted on doing this to make me uncomfortable."
Yin Tian narrowed his eyes, not quite understanding what he was saying.
An Rou landed on the main seat, picked up the wine glass, and tapped it lightly against Yin Tian's glass.
"Furthermore, since you guessed that I need to stay in the Valley, you should understand that neither Yong'an nor I can leave. You know my identity, so how could the Xiangyang Guild not know? If you don't want the potion, someone else will."
"You want to cooperate with Oyus?!"
"If you terminate our cooperation."
An Rou raised her glass and said, "After the God Competition, I'll give you the statue on the farm and promise not to interfere in your Duozhu religious affairs. How about that?"
-
Mia is not on Floating Island No. 339. She was taken to the next door by the ink remover.
Floating Island No. 338 is only slightly higher than Floating Island No. 339. At the edge of the island, the scene of the God's Birthday Celebration can be vaguely seen.
Under the sunset curfew, the residents of the island stayed at home and no one came to join in the fun.
It was very quiet around, so quiet that Mia could vaguely hear the music coming from the celebration.
It was the first time she missed the God's Birthday celebration. She left quietly before the celebration even started, feeling uneasy.
But she believed that even if she was blamed by the president afterwards, it was worth it as long as the powerful time bomb of Yong'an Farm was eliminated.
However, she failed.
Strangely, Mia didn't feel frustrated at all, even because she didn't have to dance the god's birthday dance, didn't have to eat the luxurious food prepared by the sacrifices in their last moments of life, and didn't have to watch the children sacrifice their young souls to the main god...
Feeling relieved.
Mia knew she was escaping, but she found a brief peace in the escape.
As the goddess of Duozhu religion and the number one player in Duozhu Guild, she believed that she had no right to escape, and others would not allow her to escape.
But, Chu Mo is right.
She has been running away.
The former owner of the Sun-Pecking Bow once used it to kill gods.
And its current owner has been using it to defend the gods' false glory for many years.
After an unknown amount of time, the music stopped, and the jubilation and noise returned to silence.
A flock of white doves landed beside Mia and coalesced into a familiar human shape.
"Mia!" Bai Ge saw the broken Sunpecker Bow and the scars on her body and hurriedly took out the life potion. "What happened? Who is it?"
Mia stared at him for a moment and pushed the potion away.
"The celebration... is over?"
"……Yes."
In order to find her, Bai Ge first went to Floating Island No. 339.
Mia finally found the courage to turn around and look down at the celebration site. She saw the dark altar, like a dark tombstone burying countless souls.
She had no expression, only tears falling.
Bai Ge hesitated, but finally mustered up the courage to hug her.
"Don't be sad, Mia, don't be sad. The sacrifice was not completed this time, and those children are not dead."
The body in my arms stiffened.
"What did you say……"
"I said, they are not dead."
Bai Ge gently wiped her tears. "It was the Divine Messenger who saved them. And the people on Floating Island 339, the Divine Messenger ordered them to move out before the competition begins. No innocent people will be sacrificed in this year's celebration or competition."
Mia looked at him, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"An, Rou?"
Not long ago, An Rou, whom she would rather die with her than let herself be killed, saved everyone?
Tears blurred her beautiful eyes again.
At this moment, Bai Ge saw unprecedented fragility in her.
He hugged her tightly again, and the conversation with Paopao emerged in his mind.
"I don't know if we'll ever have a conclusion, but... since the road ahead isn't completely cut off, I can only go to the end."
“What if it comes to the end?”
Paopao was silent for a while, then said, "I've tried my best, and if I still can't find a way out, I might be sad and regretful, but I will never regret it."
-
Near the top of the clouds in the empty valley, there is the floating island No. 1 in the lower city.
The Duozhu Guild's headquarters was located in a temple-like building. Yintian paced back and forth in the temple.
He finally chose to cooperate, but he still felt uneasy.
An Rou...When he thought of this woman, every cell in his body was shrouded in a sense of crisis.
After much thought, he found only three options left.
First, mobilize all the online members to surround the farm at night and seize the medicine.
Second, there will be no encirclement and suppression, but only people will be sent to surround the farm to prevent An Rou from making any unusual movements before the competition begins.
Third, contact China and obtain as much information as possible about Yong'an Farm to find out the farm's fatal weaknesses.
The prerequisite for these three paths is to successfully obtain the potion from An Rou and support Duo Zhu to win the competition of gods.
Yintian didn't think there was anything wrong with this premise.
Last year's defeat in the competition resulted in Duozhu losing control of the Upper City, and even the statue of the main deity on the floating island was demolished. As the president, he was nearly executed because of this.
Not death in the game, but death in reality.
Fortunately, although Mia lost the competition, she became the top player in the Valley because of Baige's failure. Because of this, the elders' vote to execute him was rejected by one vote.
However, the feasibility of all three paths is very poor.
To siege or surround a farm, a large number of Duozhu players would need to be sent to the floating city. Currently, the Duozhu Guild was relegated to the lower city and did not have this authority.
Or they could simply withdraw many of the Zhu members who were stationed in the city to defend against the ghouls. However, if they made any major moves, the Xiangyang Guild would surely discover them.
Or, join forces with Xiangyang Guild to take action?
No, it would only make An Rou turn to the Xiangyang Guild faster. The arrival of Yongan Farm has created a three-way balance of power in the Valley. This triangle relationship may seem stable, but it is actually the most unstable.
Either side could become the betrayer, and the betrayed side would have no way out but death.
Yin Tian was utterly distressed, unable to seek help from the Council of Elders. Throwing such a huge challenge upon the Council on the eve of the competition, even if he survived, could he still serve as the president of Duozhu?
Only China is left.
Yin Tian called a confidant and asked, "How is it?"
The confidant had been planning to report back, looking apprehensive. "We've already had someone bypass the Council of Elders and secretly send a virtual visit request offline, but... China replied that unless the Council of Elders formally submits a request, the visit will be denied."
Yin Tian took a deep breath.
Is Huaguo trying to kill him?!
-
Although the presidents of the major guilds are busy, they have never been as tired as they are during this period.
They waited until late at night, and as expected, they were once again met with disappointment.
"The assassination team was interfered with by the ink removal team and failed. However, the ink removal team didn't kill them this time, so their lives are not in danger."
Yu Fengqiu intended to emphasize that although the assassination failed, the joint forces suffered no losses.
However, no one bought his story. The four guild leaders, unable to tolerate his actions, threw even the second guild's reputation aside and berated him profusely.
Every word was a curse on Yu Fengqiu, but the real target was the Erhui.
Who made Chu Mo a member of Longyan?
After the meeting, Erhui's face turned ashen and he burst into anger that was inconsistent with his age.
"File a report, file a report immediately! Execute Chumo! What's the point of keeping that broken brain?!"
Yu Fengqiu had anticipated this and waited until he finished yelling before carefully saying, "The higher-ups have instructed that Chu Mo cannot die. If he dies, it would be... disgraceful to not have a Dragon Flame player in the top three of the Destiny Ranking."
Erhui was stunned and sneered, "Unbecoming?! Is this what the higher-ups would say? It must be that little bastard Shi Xizheng who's behind this! I knew long ago that Chu Mo is that kid's golden ticket to immortality. If one of them doesn't die, no one else will!"
He only said it with words. The higher-ups were firm in their stance, and even if he was furious enough to have a heart attack, there was nothing he could do.
Erhui stayed in the office until late at night but was helpless. Just as he was about to go back to his room to rest, Yu Fengqiu hurried in.
"Second meeting, Duozhu Guild requests a virtual visit." There was surprise on his face.
The various guilds of the United Legion had sent countless letters to Duozhu before, but they had all been rejected. Now that the other party had taken the initiative to open the door, it meant that there was hope for the United Legion to enter the Valley.
Unexpectedly, every wrinkle on Erhui's face was sneering.
"Are you anxious now? Leave it alone." He warned Yu Fengqiu, "Keep this matter under wraps and don't let other guilds know."
All three factions suffered heavy losses, so there was no reason for the Konggu family to remain unscathed. Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't given them a chance.
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