52: Chapter 52 Mingyuan is dead, the Nine Netherworlds shall rise!

Her voice was crisp, melodious, ethereal, and exceptionally pleasing to the ear.

Looking at the person before him, covered in ash, charred black, and in such a wretched state, Su Ming never expected that the other party was actually a woman, and moreover, the high priestess who held the most noble status and oversaw the sacrificial rites in this small town.

Lilith raised her head, her eyes filled with panic and entreaty as she cautiously looked at Su Ming, her tone humble and soft: "Your Highness, if you must blame someone, blame me alone. Please do not implicate the innocent commoners; they are merely ordinary mortals who have never done evil. I will cooperate fully with any conditions you have, and I only beg you to spare them."

As she spoke, she subconsciously cast a fearful glance at the Undead Retainers standing solemnly around them, a chill rising deep within her heart.

Having watched the entire battle just now, she found the combat power of these undead to be terrifying in the extreme, far surpassing the elite imperial guard units she had ever seen. It was simply not something mortal forces could contend with.

At that moment, the sound of dragging came from afar.

Several Undead Retainers joined forces to forcibly drag out the statue of the Lord of Mingyuan, which had been worshipped in the town's temple for many years, setting it down with a crash in the center of the square.

The moment she saw the statue, Lilith's pupils shrank drastically, her face full of terror as her voice trembled: "Your Highness! You cannot do this! This is blasphemy against the gods! It will incur divine punishment!"

In truth, a vague premonition had long since arisen in the depths of her heart; for a year, prayers to the deity had gone unanswered, and the ethereal divine connection had also vanished.

Yet she dared not probe deeply or speculate, able only to desperately deceive herself while stubbornly clinging to her last bit of faith.

She was unwilling, and did not dare, to accept the cruel truth of the deity's fall.

But Su Ming was determined to personally tear apart her final obsession.

Without needing Su Ming to say more, Ganie beside him understood tacitly, slowly raising his hand to draw his sword.

yuanhong was unsheathed, its cold light piercingly sharp, and an extremely fierce sword qi that shattered the air suddenly burst forth!

Amidst the terrified, desperate, and shrill screams of everyone present, that statue, which had endured a century of worship and was regarded by all living beings as absolute faith, was instantly pierced and shattered by the sword qi!

Rumble—!

Debris flew all over the sky, and in an instant, the statue turned into a patch of fine powder on the ground, scattering with the wind and leaving nothing behind.

The entire scene instantly fell into a dead silence where the drop of a pin could be heard.

After the brief silence, over a hundred believers who could not bear the collapse of their faith went nearly mad, howling as they tried to commit suicide to follow their god in death, only to be instantly suppressed and tightly bound by the surrounding Undead Retainers, stripping them even of the qualification to seek death.

"Could it be... that the deity has truly fallen?"

Lilith stood dazed in place, her eyes vacant, the light in the depths of her eyes completely extinguished, and her inner obsession shattering with a crash, leaving only endless confusion and emptiness.

She knew better than anyone that the statues in this world carried the origin and favor of the deity, making them indestructible; even if a ninth-grade peak knight or even a holy knight struck with all their might, they could not damage it in the slightest.

Yet now, that statue had been reduced to flying ash by a single sword strike from someone.

The only answer was that her deity had completely fallen, with no more divine nature to bless them.

Looking at the dejected crowd, a faint trace of joy instead flashed through Su Ming's eyes.

When the old faith shatters is the day the new faith takes root.

The timing was already ripe.

Su Ming waved his hand, and wisps of warm, emerald-green divine light of life sprinkled down, precisely falling into the bodies of the injured garrison troops and commoners.

At first, the heavily injured crowd looked at the sudden green light with panic, subconsciously wanting to dodge.

But in the blink of an eye, they clearly perceived that the gruesome wounds on their bodies were rapidly healing, their exhausted physical strength was swiftly recovering, and even the accumulated pain completely dissipated.

Everyone's pupils shrank, their faces filled with shock as they muttered voiceless words: "What... power is this? A miracle! This is a true miracle!"

One must know that the battle qi of the Chaoming Realm possessed no methods of healing or curing wounds.

The means to heal others could only be achieved by priests recognized by the deity.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Su Ming's deep voice resounded throughout the square, every word ringing with clanging force and shaking people's hearts:

"Mingyuan is dead, Jiuyou shall rise!"

At the order, the hundred thousand Undead Retainers roared in unison, their killing intent shaking the heavens and their sound waves sweeping across the four directions!

"Mingyuan is dead, Jiuyou shall rise!"

"Mingyuan is dead, Jiuyou shall rise!"

"Mingyuan is dead, Jiuyou shall rise!"

The majestic and mighty shouts echoed continuously, striking at the mind and soul of every single person.

Countless commoners whose minds were shattered and who had fallen into confusion, under the extreme shock and the call of the miracle, knelt on both knees one after another, involuntarily following along to shout loudly.

Although the number of people following the shouts was still sparse, it was already a good start.

A look of satisfaction appeared in Su Ming's eyes.

He knew that given time, these people who had completely lost their spiritual sustenance would ultimately become his believers.

Lilith at the side gazed dazedly at Su Ming, her eyes filled with extreme horror and incomprehension.

The miracle of healing, the overbearing and unsolvable undead legion, the terrifying strength of shattering the deity's statue with a single sword...

Could the mysterious young man before her truly be a deity of extraordinary origin?

Lord of Jiuyou?

In this realm, she had never heard of this divine position.

Su Ming glanced at her indifferently, not offering much explanation.

He could tell that Lilith was a true believer of the Lord of Mingyuan with an extremely deep obsession; she could never be converted overnight.

Fortunately, true believers still had the possibility of being moved and having their faith reshaped.

If she were a devout believer, there would only be the path of complete eradication, with no room for maneuver.

Su Ming's heavy gaze steadily landed on Lilith, carrying a penetrating oppressiveness.

"I am giving you a chance now."

Lilith trembled violently all over, stiffly raising her eyes, her vacant gaze covered in fragmentation and panic.

Covered in ash and in a wretched state, she could not hide the light that had completely collapsed within those eyes.

The deity she had devoutly served for decades had fallen overnight, and the faith she had upheld throughout her life had shattered into flying ash along with the statue.

At this moment, she was like a rootless, homeless duckweed; even fear had long since grown numb, leaving only a barren and bewildered blankness.

"Within three days, purge all old sacrifices of Mingyuan in Taoyuan Town."

Su Ming's tone was flat and waveless, yet every word was as heavy as a thousand jun, heavily smashing into the bottom of Lilith's shattered heart without allowing a shred of evasion.

"Confiscate all Mingyuan statues, divine tablets, and blessing tokens from the hands of the townsfolk, and burn all traces of the old gods in the world. At the same time, pacify the hearts of the people and proclaim to everyone—Mingyuan has completely fallen, and there are no more miracles or protections."

He lowered his eyes slightly, his voice cool and resolute, carrying absolute control: "Within ten days, I want to see a completely different Taoyuan Town. Can you do it?"

These words sounded calm and composed, but falling into the ears of the kneeling Lilith, they were like a devil's whisper, bone-chilling and soul-shattering.

Yet she dared not refuse.

She was exceedingly clear in her heart that this was the only way of survival for her and Taoyuan Town.

Once she shook her head, it would be the end of her life.

If it were only her own life, she would undoubtedly go to her death without hesitation, returning to the embrace of her lord to martyrdom.

But she did not dare to gamble.

She feared that once she died, the leaderless townspeople would lose control in grief and anger and start a riot.

She was even more certain that once turmoil broke out everywhere, Su Ming would undoubtedly strike without hesitation, slaughtering all the thousands of living beings in Taoyuan Town down to the last blade of grass.

Su Ming took in all the struggle, entanglement, and myriad concerns in her eyes, yet he did not urge her, simply standing quietly and awaiting her choice.

He was certain that Lilith would make the most correct choice.

After a brief silence, Lilith's shoulders trembled slightly, and her hoarse, broken voice sounded with difficulty, every word filled with compromise: "I understand. I guarantee that within ten days, I will surely let Your Highness see a brand-new Taoyuan Town."

Hearing this, a trace of faint satisfaction swept across Su Ming's eyes, and he nodded slightly.

The Undead Retainers tightly binding Lilith on both sides understood tacitly, immediately releasing their strength and silently retreating to the sides.

"Happy cooperation."

Su Ming raised his hand and extended it toward her.

His fingertips were slender and clean, with distinct bone structure, warm and jade-like, entirely devoid of the piercing malevolent aura from just now.

Lilith raised her eyes in a daze, her gaze locked firmly onto that hand, as a pure yet absurd thought abruptly welled up in her heart—what a pair of beautiful hands.

Just at that moment, the morning light of dawn pierced through the clouds, and golden brilliance poured down across the sky, falling entirely around Su Ming's body.

The morning light set off his tall and outstanding posture, his brows and eyes deep and sacred, as if intangible divine light hovered around his entire body, holy and majestic, inspiring awe in people's hearts.

Lilith gazed at that figure crowned by the morning light, a wave of confusion uncontrollably welling up in the depths of her eyes.

Such a person... could he truly be a deity descended into the mortal world?

But the moment this thought was born, she forcefully suppressed it, and the remaining obsession deep in her heart was still making a final, stubborn resistance.