Sensing that soul-piercing pain along with the familiar and gentle gaze, the soul of the Flame-tailed Fox—shrunk to only the size of a fingernail, with a blurry form yet still retaining the outline of six tails—flickered its consciousness with extreme difficulty.

That voice was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, yet it carried an indelible concern.

Qi Ye's heart felt as though it had been gently brushed by the softest yet most resilient feather.

He gazed at this faint light and smiled gently.

"Rest assured, Hu Er, the God of Plague is already dead."

Qi Ye said warmly, "You all did very well, exceptionally well."

"We finally... played... a role..."

Hu Er's soul fluctuations suddenly relaxed a fraction, as if laying down a massive burden, and it exhaustedly closed its eyes.

The crimson burning light also dimmed, leaving only the grim green eroded by the plague slowly spreading.

Its consciousness was rapidly sliding towards complete darkness.

Yet at this moment,

"Do you still remember?"

Qi Ye's voice sounded once more,

"When we first met back then, you were just a group of little fellows following Fox Dad fleeing everywhere, so hungry that you couldn't even ignite the small flames on your tails.

When you saw me, your eyes were filled with nothing but vigilance."

His aura of life transformed into an invisible yet immensely warm palm, carefully petting Hu Er's soul.

At the same time, his gentle consciousness unfolded like a scroll deep within the souls of Hu Er and all the other Flame-tailed Foxes who could still perceive.

"It was you who, with the purest trust, accepted a me who brought along a foolish dog and had zero combat power.

It was also you who used your tiny bodies to expand our safe territory."

"It was you who gave your all in every single battle."

"The Sacred Lake went from nothing to something, from a few wooden houses to its current scale.

Along this entire journey, there are traces of your fire-red tails having burned.

Without you, there would be no Sacred Lake today, let alone me today."

Qi Ye's voice gradually grew low,

"Therefore, regardless of which one of you it is, not a single one can be missing."

"The future of the Sacred Lake, the future of the Blue Star Void Realm, and the future I promised where there is no bullying from the Otherworld and all things can grow freely—you must witness it with your own eyes.

You are my earliest followers, my most trusted family."

He paused, a light even more intense than the sun burning within his emerald-green eyes.

"So now, it is not yet time to say goodbye.

I order you to accompany me all the way to the end!

You will definitely see that bright future!"

"After all, I am your God of Life."

Hu Er's soul trembled violently, its consciousness that was about to sink into darkness being forcibly dragged back to a shred of lucidity by this powerful will.

It looked toward Qi Ye, its soul fluctuations turning violent, filled with unbelievable surprise and a trace of faint hope.

It realized something.

Qi Ye said no more.

At his chest, that bizarre symbol just acquired, wrapped in green light of life and symbolizing the 【Plague Purification】 ability, suddenly lit up!

A translucent pale-green shimmer shot out from Qi Ye's chest, gently wrapping around Hu Er's soul as well as the souls of all the surrounding Flame-tailed Foxes polluted by the plague.

This light acted directly upon the plague rules themselves that were entangled upon the soul, originating from the Origin of the God of Plague.

【Plague Purification】 activated.

"Sizzling..."

Those grim green, constantly writhing plague rule patterns, the instant they were illuminated by the pale-green shimmer, emitted a faint yet distinct melting sound.

The speed of erosion was instantly curbed.

Following closely, the sickly colors began to recede from the surface of the soul.

Under this light containing higher-level purification rules, the polluted parts returned to a relatively stable and pure essential state of the soul.

The excruciating pain receded rapidly like a receding tide.

The icy fear brought by the step-by-step approach of death also dissipated along with it.

Hu Er felt as if it had been abruptly pulled up from the coldest mire, bathing once more in the warm and vibrant sunlight.

It saw that the ferocious green patterns on its soul were fading.

"Lord Sovereign..."

It discovered that it really hadn't died; the joy of surviving a catastrophe intertwined with unconditional trust in the lord, transforming into a surging torrent of emotion.

Its soul fluctuations grew somewhat clearer, yet it was still choked with emotion, unable to form words, leaving only the most rustic touching sentiment flowing silently.

"Don't speak anymore."

Qi Ye's voice carried a relief-filled gentleness,

"You have all done more than enough.

Now, rest at ease.

Your battle is already over."

He carefully sent Hu Er, whose pollution had been initially suppressed and whose state had stabilized, along with the souls of all other Flame-tailed Foxes, back to the core nurturing area of the Life Divine Domain—the safest place with the most abundant life energy—through the guiding passage of the Life Divine Domain.

There, the forest will and the boundless Divine Power of life would continue to nourish them, helping them completely expel the residual poison and recover slowly.

"Leave the matters from here on to us."

"... Mn."

Hu Er responded moved and with incomparable trust, its soul finally completely relaxing and sinking into the deepest level of slumber and recovery.

Countless The Voids fell into silence.

All the spectators—whether it was the Powerful Gods lurking and watching in the The Void, the top existences on the viewing platforms in the center of the Otherworld, or the hundreds of millions of living beings in countless invaded civilizations who were looking up at the sky and holding their breath in concentration—all witnessed that incredible scene just now, which completely subverted their cognition.

That existence who had just used a thunderous momentum to successively kill three top Powerful Gods on par with the God of War, whose aura was as terrifying as a Chaos Demon God...

Amidst the intervals of battle, under the covetous stares of formidable enemies, actually stopped that suffocating pace of slaughter,

and like the gentlest elder, squatted down with the softest actions to comfort and rescue the souls of followers who, in his eyes, were as small as dust and even on the verge of complete annihilation?

All evil gods felt that their worldview had been subverted.

For those souls, he actually didn't hesitate to use his newly acquired ability, consuming precious Divine Power, to fight against the plague pollution at the rule level?

Could words like this ever be spoken by any evil god?

At this time, in a dark and secretive corner of the Blue Star Void Realm, having witnessed this scene happen, a Powerful God's mocking voice rang out, carrying bone-deep spikes in his words.

Through a twist of fate, he had managed to evade the most dangerous battle, and not a soul even had the energy to pay attention to his actions.

"Lord of Spirits, you are too foolish! These burdens will sooner or later get you killed!"

"Heh, it seems my chance to make an appearance will arrive very soon..."

Clearly moving closer and closer to his expected target, yet seeing Qi Ye protect his followers with such care made this Powerful God feel as though a thorn had been pierced into his heart.

Even he himself didn't notice that his voice inexplicably carried a trace of complex emotion.