Yaxiu walked behind Silver Lantern, placed a hand on her shoulder, and explained the vital significance of the Azure Lord's arrangements to his evacuation plan, adding:
"...This is wonderful. Not only will you become an angel of the Senluo Azure Lord in the future, but thanks to you, both the Senluo Azure Lord and the people of Senluo will be saved. You no longer need to destroy the world to prove yourself. From now on, your name will stand alongside theirs. All living beings will be grateful to you, the Azure Lord will commend you, and a crown of glory will endure for you forever."
Weise's gaze grew dazed as she listened, nodding repeatedly. "You're right. I have walked the path I needed to walk, fought the battles I needed to fight, and reached the place I needed to reach. It really is time to enjoy the fruits of my labor..."
"Mm-hmm, exactly, so—"
"Mesmerism? Hm? I didn't expect you to pick up the quintessential villain trick by now." Weise's expression suddenly shifted. She glanced at him askance, the dazed look vanishing completely, replaced by faint mockery. "The effect isn't bad, but I'm an expert in the mind faction myself. Did you really think you could control my thoughts?"
Yaxiu froze. This was his first time actively using Troubadour's Words in reality. Under its influence, anyone would subconsciously believe what he said, yet Silver Lantern had seen right through it in an instant. What kind of garbage rainbow blessing was this? I want a refund!
In truth, Weise hadn't been sure whether Yaxiu's words had actually triggered Troubadour's Words, but noticing his intention, she had deliberately played along before exposing him. It was ultimately meaningless, but exploiting an information asymmetry to tease Yaxiu was undeniably fun.
"Don't worry."
Weise reined in her smile and said calmly, "I may be a religious lunatic, but I'm not that crazy. Since the Azure Lord has promised me so many benefits, I won't stubbornly cling to the conviction of ending the world. Besides, with three gods present, even if I wanted to act on impulse, I'd have to cool my head.
"Once I become an angel in the future, there will be other opportunities," she said. "Reality is but a fleeting illusion, but even within this illusion, I only have one life. I can't squander it on reckless foolishness. I have to save it for when it truly matters before staking everything."
Yaxiu let out a sigh of relief. He had genuinely feared that Silver Lantern might throw away an official divine appointment just to watch the fireworks, insisting on watching the Senluo Realm burn.
Throughout their discussion, the three gods remained silent. When the pair finished speaking, Fire Cat suddenly bounded up, raising her right hand high. "Excuse me, are you done chatting? Can we proceed to the next step?"
Weise nodded. "What is the next step? Does the Azure Lord have any other arrangements?"
"The Azure Lord's arrangement for us was merely to proclaim His message; there are no further arrangements," White Dove said. "However, we will restrict you from acquiring any further share of the Dream Lord, and we will prohibit your Dream Lord privileges."
Weise frowned slightly. "Why?"
"The greater the share of the Dream Lord you obtain, the more areas of the Senluo Land will collapse. This will cause more people of Senluo to die and be displaced, inciting conflict among them. Your Dream Lord privileges allow you to pierce the boundary between dream and reality to trigger the 'Great Collapse,' which would directly cause an irreversible apocalypse for all living beings," White Dove said. "To preserve the lives of the Senluo people, we must perform a binding ritual on you."
Yaxiu and Weise exchanged a glance. It sounded quite reasonable and even somewhat touching—to think they cared so deeply about the safety of mortals—yet one detail didn't add up.
"I can understand prohibiting the Dream Lord privileges, but if you restrict her from acquiring the Dream Lord share, won't the Azure Lord still bear the burden of sustaining Senluo's dreamscape?" Yaxiu asked, perplexed. "Isn't He trying to free up resources to heal Himself?"
The three gods didn't spare Yaxiu a glance, their calm gazes fixed squarely on Weise. Only when Weise posed the exact same question did White Dove answer:
"Yes. However, the lives of the Senluo people are currently the highest priority. Successor, please cooperate."
Yaxiu pondered for a moment, then whispered to Weise, "Though it's a bit strange, it's not inexplicable. Protecting the Senluo people might normally be their default standing order from the Azure Lord. Right now, that default order clashes with the special command where He transfers His Dream Lord share to you, so they're simply adhering to their standing orders.
"There's no need to resist. They're just carrying out commands. In any case, you've already triggered the harbingers of doom, fulfilling the prerequisite for the evacuation plan."
Weise nodded in agreement. Compared to the Azure Lord's legacy, this minor interlude was negligible. Moreover, when facing these three gods who had walked straight out of history—figures whose legends she had listened to since childhood—Weise was reluctant to clash with them over matters that didn't infringe upon her core interests.
Yaxiu figured that the binding ritual involved secret knowledge, making it inappropriate for him to linger. He prepared to exit through the mist gate and hurry back to the upper levels to share the good news with Igola and the others.
Before departing, however, seeing how deeply these three gods valued the Senluo people, he wondered if he could recruit them into the plan. "I intend to inform the people of Senluo about the impending doom so they can flee Senluo as quickly as possible. Could the three of you show yourselves on the surface and announce that the Azure Lord is gravely wounded and dying, and that Senluo has entered its final countdown to the end?"
Just as the words left his mouth, he remembered that the three gods paid him no mind, acknowledging only the successor, Silver Lantern. He turned to have her repeat the request.
At that moment, however, all three gods snapped their heads around, their eyes locking onto Yaxiu.
Fire Cat said, "You want to have the Senluo people... flee Senluo?"
Yaxiu, bewildered, nodded. "Yes. I don't have that kind of reach on my own, but now that the harbingers of doom have manifested, coupled with the concept of the Empty Door, I only need to give them a slight push by sharing the proper method to use the Empty Door sorcery spirit. They'll naturally figure out how to escape."
Blue Bird said, "You cannot."
Yaxiu was taken aback. "Why not?"
White Dove stepped in front of Yaxiu and explained, "If the Senluo people leave, the cost of sustaining the Senluo Land will plummet, because the Senluo people are the 'subject' of Senluo. Any region beyond the perception of the Senluo people is virtually indistinguishable from reality—until observed by a Senluo person, at which point the Azure Lord blankets it with the power of dreams."
Yaxiu felt even more confused. "Isn't that a good thing? If consumption drops, won't the Azure Lord have more resources freed up to heal Himself?"
"Of course it's not a good thing!" Fire Cat shouted. "That would be terribly inconvenient for us!"
Only then did Weise finally realize something was horribly wrong. Her face drained of color as she dashed forward, crying out, "Ya—"
The instant Weise made a sound, Yaxiu had already unfurled his void wings and shot backward at extreme speed, cloaking his entire body in his Sanctuary as he attempted to plunge straight into the mist gate!
It was useless.
White Dove thrust his walking stick forward. The tip passed through the Sanctuary, through the skull, through the brain, and pierced out the back of his head. This single thrust transcended reality entirely, like the constant pi, or an object unaffected by external forces moving at a constant velocity in a straight line—reality was bound to operate beneath these fundamental laws.
"If the Senluo people leave, the Azure Lord might survive," White Dove said. "That would not do."
"The Azure Lord must die."
Chapter 721