159: Proclaiming a new order

Demon Suppression Division, underground secret chamber.

The air felt solidified, deathly silent, to the point where one could hear their own heartbeat.

That cold, arrogant declaration, which did not belong to the Mortal realm, pierced into the mind of every living person in Jing City like countless steel needles.

A new Divine order?

Veins bulged on the back of Wei Zheng's hands. He looked at Li Dong, who was lying on the bed with a still-pale complexion, then glanced at Li Qingxuan beside him, whose body was taut like a bow. It felt as if something was blocking his throat.

"This is it... the sky has collapsed." He spat out the words with difficulty.

Before, it was just a projection of the God Lord's will, separated by a membrane. Now, this "Divine Messenger" was a genuine Nascent Soul Stage combat force, capable of moving freely on this land.

The nature of the situation had completely changed.

"The old order shall be purged; the decadent Dynasty shall be the cornerstone for the God Lord's descent."

The voice rang out again, devoid of any emotion, yet carrying a sense of unquestionable judgment.

"All subjects of the Dynasty, cast aside the darkness and embrace the light, kneel and welcome the God Lord to receive divine grace and enjoy eternal power."

"All those who offer resistance are heretics; divine fire shall purify your lowly Souls."

These words, like a plague, spread crazily along the ley lines outside of Jing City.

Immediately after, Li Dong's Spiritual Domain, which had not yet fully expanded, perceived a scene that made even his eyelids twitch.

Tongzhou, thirty miles east of Jing City; Liangxiang, fifty miles to the west; Gu'an, a hundred miles to the south... Above these counties, almost at the same time, a pale red divine radiance descended.

Wherever the radiance reached, countless farmers working in the fields, peddlers hawking their wares on the streets, and even some local garrison troops began to have their bodies twisted. The clarity in their eyes faded rapidly, replaced by a fanaticism that reached the extreme.

"Long live the God Lord!"

"Offer everything to the God Lord!"

Roars rose one after another.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Bursts of powerful Qi surged into the sky. Originally just a Mortal, under the catalysis of divine power, their physical fitness skyrocketed, and their cultivation soared like a rocket—leaping from nothing directly to Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and a few leaders even surged to the threshold of the Golden Core!

This was even more absurd than mass-producing Medicinal Pill!

"What are they doing?!" Li Qingxuan cried out. Through imperial secret arts, she also sensed the strange changes around Jing City.

Several counties, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even a million people, had turned into the enemy's army in just a few breaths!

Moreover, these newborn "legions of fanatics" were completely different from the guys in the city who had been consumed by desire before. They were no longer chaotic, no longer slaughtering each other, but orderly and unified in their gaze, like the most elite army, beginning to assemble towards Jing City.

Every breath they took, every heartbeat, seemed to resonate with the "Divine Messenger" in the sky.

The pressure on the city walls increased tenfold in an instant!

Wei Zheng's complexion could no longer be described as ugly; it was a livid color mixed with anger and helplessness.

"They're crazy... everyone is crazy..."

This was no longer a war; this was sacrificing the entire Foundation of the Dynasty to an ethereal god.

However, something that made the three of them sink even deeper occurred.

The "Divine Messenger" hanging high in the sky, with that blurry face, seemed to "look" toward the underground of the Demon Suppression Division where they were.

"key..."

A cold thought, directly crossing the barrier of space, rang in Li Dong's mind.

"Found it... the most perfect vessel to offer to the God Lord... that Dao body..."

Li Dong's heart skipped a beat.

Good grief, coveting my body?

Although Wei Zheng and Li Qingxuan could not hear this telepathic transmission, they could feel that terrifying pressure precisely lock onto this small secret chamber for an instant.

"He is looking for you!" Li Qingxuan reacted immediately.

"He wants your body!" Wei Zheng also figured out the key point.

Li Dong's existence was likely more than just a simple enemy to the God Lord.

"It's more than that." Li Dong slowly shook his head, his perception clearer. "He is using me to locate the core node of the Jing City Dragon Vein. He is accelerating the collapse of the Jing City Dragon Vein to turn the entire Jing City into a huge altar."

"Roar—"

As if to confirm his words, a Dragon roar filled with pain and unwillingness from the depths of the earth sounded again.

This time, it was more shrill than any previous time.

The Jing City Dragon Vein was being forcibly torn and polluted by an external force, and the speed was several times faster than before.

Despair finally appeared on the faces of Wei Zheng and the Seventh Princess.

They couldn't fight, couldn't defend, and even their final Foundation was about to be uprooted.

How were they supposed to play this?

"No... something is wrong."

Just in this suffocating atmosphere, Li Dong suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it was like a pebble thrown into stagnant water.

"What's wrong?" Li Qingxuan asked subconsciously.

"He is not brainwashing them." Li Dong stared upwards, as if his gaze could pierce through layers of rock. "This is a kind of... contract."

"A contract?" Wei Zheng was puzzled.

"Yes." Li Dong's Spiritual Domain, although weak, was of extremely high essence. He could "see" that within that divine oracle, there were traces of extremely faint power of rules that ordinary people could not perceive.

"Those people were not forced to have their will twisted; rather... they voluntarily accepted this gift of 'divine grace'. Once accepted, their Souls are branded with a slave's mark, becoming a part of the God Lord voluntarily. This is far more terrifying than simple brainwashing, and... far more solid."

As Li Dong spoke, his brows actually relaxed a little.

"And, I discovered something more interesting."

He paused, as if confirming his own perception.

"Every time he transforms a batch of fanatics, his own power fluctuations exhibit a very subtle... instability."

Li Qingxuan's eyes brightened: "You mean... his transformation is not without a price?"

"Of course." Li Dong twitched the corner of his mouth. "There is no free lunch in this world. He is like a signal tower, relaying the God Lord's signal, but the relayed traffic is too high, and his little base station's CPU can't keep up."

Wei Zheng and Li Qingxuan didn't quite understand this metaphor, but they understood the meaning.

This seemingly invincible "Divine Messenger" had a flaw!

Just at this moment, in Li Dong's perception, he captured some different "noise".

Amidst the despairing wails and the roars of fanatics across the city, there were some weak but extremely tenacious wills that were not crushed by the divine oracle; instead, like tempered steel, they became even tougher.

"Bullshit God Lord! I believe in myself!"

"Want me to kneel? In your next life!"

"Brothers, grab your weapons! Those glowing things in the city are that bastard's eyes; smash them!"

In the corners of the dilapidated markets of Jing City, some forgotten people—cripples, beggars, hooligans, and even some powerless scholars—did not wait for rescue, nor did they pray to the gods.

Upon hearing the "kneel to live" divine oracle, they were instead angered.

Using door planks, kitchen knives, fire pokers, they organized spontaneously. With a surge of blood-courage, they began to attack the totems remaining in various parts of the city that served as nodes for evil energy.

These attacks were insignificant to the overall situation.

But Li Dong "saw" that every time an evil energy node was destroyed by these Mortals in the most primitive way, a tiny "glitch" would appear in the "Divine Messenger's" massive divine network.

One glitch didn't matter.

What about ten, a hundred?

Li Dong smiled.

So that was it.

The God Lord was trying to use a set of "new order" to cover the whole world, but the world itself had an "immune System".

These unyielding Mortal wills were the most primitive immune cells.

"Lord Wei, Your Highness." Li Dong looked at the two.

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to... pull off something big?" Li Dong asked. The fatigue in his eyes was gone, replaced by a light of eagerness.

"How?" Li Qingxuan pressed.

Li Dong grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Doesn't he want this 'key' of mine?"

"Since he wants it so much, then... let's give him a big gift."