The angry expression melted off Meng Zhang's face, he seemed unable to refute Shan Liangyi's words, and could only stand rigidly in place.

Then, he said in disbelief, "But, if that's the case... why did 'Paradise' open a barrier in the city center in the past to prevent Xuanming from invading? Was it not because Xuanming posed a threat to the birth of 'Paradise', so 'Paradise' instinctively formed a wall to reject all possible external invasions?"

"Did I not already say it? All of this is because of you, Meng Zhang. 'Paradise' did this as your creator's will. All of it is your desire," Shan Liangyi said, "Although it had no intention of being born into the real world, as long as you insist, it will accommodate your desires—the premise being you maintain a connection with it."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Meng Zhang and me, then over to the place where Water Navy Xuanwu died, then he continued speaking to Meng Zhang, "Simply wanting to kill the three of you is very easy, I've had more than one such opportunity before. Even with the three of you gathered, truthfully, it's not that difficult of a problem. The biggest obstacle is the 'Paradise' that is maintaining a state of connection with you.

"If it cannot be dismantled, I cannot retrieve the Seed of the Cyan Dragon. In other words, my power would forever be missing one link. This is a development I absolutely cannot accept.

"Fortunately, Ying Lingyun's past actions inspired me. As long as I have the Gold Element Magical Power of the White Tiger, I can hack into 'Paradise', and even with enough preparation, I can tear apart a part of its structure while it's still in a nascent state, turning it into resources I can use.

"I don't need to rip apart and plunder large amounts of mana resources like him. I only need to temporarily sever your connection with it. Although it can be reconnected later, during this period, it no longer needs to listen to your wishes."

Meng Zhang staggered back two steps as if unable to steady his body, then looked incredulously at the cyan sun in the sky. It seemed that, compared to the Shan Liangyi before him, what he couldn't accept more was the betrayal of the "Paradise", which he had pursued all his life.

Sometimes what people cannot comprehend the most is not everything outside, but their own hearts. For Meng Zhang, the truth he could not fathom was perhaps not so elusive.

Meng Zhang once defined love as an evil force. What kind of ideological soil did this unconventional value sprout from? Supernaturally, I recalled the words spoken by Taoyuan Village Cultivator during the interrogation in the shelter in the exhibition hall to Dong Che.

—"Have you ever been loved?"

The thoughts of devout believers can reflect those of the God himself. Meng Zhang preferred to painstakingly collect millions of living souls from the outside world, yet never attempted to propagate new souls within 'Paradise'. Perhaps it wasn't because he couldn't, but because he couldn't see it. This route would never sprout in his mind from the very beginning.

I don't know what kind of life Meng Zhang experienced before becoming who he is today, but it's clear that Meng Zhang and his believers might believe that being born into this real world is painful and unworthy.

So they all wanted to enter "Paradise", yet as the crystallization of this thought, "Paradise" had to replace their existence in this world.

And now, "Paradise" has been given an opportunity to choose.

"Out of respect for you, I've explained enough. I presume now you can die with clarity," Shan Liangyi said, "Now, let's get going, Meng Zhang."

He was about to make his move. I wanted to intervene to stop it, but the struggle of the Vermilion Bird Seed suddenly became more intense, causing my Crown Form body to be instantly trapped and unable to move.

And Meng Zhang was only gazing at "Paradise", not sparing Shan Liangyi a glance.

Shan Liangyi swung forth the sword of light condensed from silver-white mana in his hand, a sharp Sword Qi flew out, decapitating Meng Zhang.

The power of restart did not reappear. The severed head and corpse simultaneously lost the power that kept them suspended in mid-air, plummeting downward.

Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang, dead.

At the same time, the cyan sun in the sky shattered and exploded, suddenly turning into countless light cyan clusters, slowly scattering like heavy snow. The illusory chaotic space-time state sweeping the city center, and the huge barrier surrounding the city, collapsed.

"Paradise" met its demise before even being born.

Amidst the vast snow of cyan light, Shan Liangyi slowly turned around.

Behind him, in the deep yellow wheel, a spot in the blank circle emerged with an extremely dense cyan light. Countless seeds of the heart seemed to be retrieved from different spaces due to the collapse of "Paradise". For someone like him, who mastered the Yellow Dragon time-space power, accomplishing such tasks might be incredibly simple. At this moment, countless Taoyuan Village Cultivators and eccentrics in the outside world were likely to fall into death, and I had no time to ponder those.

On the deep yellow wheel, there were already four Power Seeds. The Yellow Dragon Seed in the center established connections with other seeds and began to resonate. Earth Element at the forefront, Gold, Water, Wood... mana flowed and transformed sequentially between different seeds. Earth generates Gold, Gold generates Water, Water generates Wood—and when the mana flowed to the last still blank circle, a red light emerged within.