Reborn as a lotus, she initially refuses to hand it over to the state.

As soon as he finished speaking, the gray-black rune in the black-clad leader's hand shattered with a crash.

hum!

A streak of grayish-black light shot out of the factory building, but it didn't attack Chen Mo and the others. Instead, it pierced through the night sky and disappeared straight into the direction of Linjiang No. 1 Middle School.

The next moment, a cyan-gold spiritual pressure suddenly erupted above the school in the distance, causing the once quiet Wenxue Ginkgo tree to shake wildly.

Countless roots broke through the earth, and gray-black lines emerged on the surface of the roots. The entire Linjiang No. 1 Middle School was once again shrouded in spiritual pressure.

Chen Mo's expression changed, and the leader in black burst into laughter.

"Go ahead, go save your so-called guardian! Wait until it storms into the residential area, wait until it crushes hundreds of people, and let's see who still believes the words of you beast lackeys!"

Chen Mo suddenly thrust out the vines from his palm.

puff!

Vines pierced through the black-clad leader's shoulders, pinning him to the wall.

The leader in black grunted, but a smile remained on his face: "Chen Mo, do you think you can wash your hands of this by following a lotus flower?"

"When the Asta Group was capturing spirit beasts, which coordinate wasn't sent out by you? How many of those things that died on the experimental tables, were you the one who personally sent them in?"

"What right do you have to stand here and speak for them?"

Inside the factory building.

The Qinglian Society members paused, and the color drained from Chen Mo's face instantly.

He did not refute it, because what that person said was indeed true; he had worked for the Asta Group.

He has entered many restricted areas.

I have also personally witnessed captured spirit beasts being put into alloy cages.

At that time, he only felt that he was doing things for money, since the monsters were not human.

Anyway, it wasn't him who died.

Until Black Dragon Mountain, until he was entangled by the roots of the Lord of the Azure Lotus, kneeling in the mud and water begging for survival.

Until he saw the young demons cheering around a piece of spirit fruit, saw the little wild boar clinging to the spirit rice, and saw the strange beasts willing to risk their lives to protect their forests.

Chen Mo then realized that the things he had put in cages before could also feel fear and pain.

There are places I want to go back to.

Chen Mo remained silent for a few moments, then raised his head: "I have no right to forgive anyone on their behalf, including myself."

The leader in black was taken aback for a moment, and the vines in Chen Mo's palm tightened.

"But I have the right to stop you from continuing to harm them."

boom!

The vines suddenly trembled.

The leader in black had his shoulder torn open.

His face contorted in pain, yet he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Listen up, people of the Green Lotus Society! You don't believe in a god, you believe in a monster that could devour you at any moment!"

"You'll understand sooner or later that humans and beasts can never stand together!"

"Noisy."

Xuan Ku sat cross-legged in mid-air.

The prayer beads are spinning.

A pale golden light descended.

The gray-black aura emanating from the leader in black vanished quickly, like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun.

Xuan Ku looked at him and said, "You keep saying that humans and beasts are different, but you use human blood to forge nails, use animal bones to make talismans, and exchange the heartwood of spiritual plants for spiritual materials."

"You see neither people nor beasts, only things that you can use."

The leader in black gritted his teeth: "It's all about the victors and the vanquished!"

Xuan Ku sighed softly, "Stubbornly clinging to his delusions."

The Buddha's light descended.

Scenes flashed before the black-clad leader's eyes.

He saw a spirit deer nailed to an experimental table.

They saw the belly of a spirit deer cut open, the cub struggling in a pool of blood, and a spirit plant with its heart hollowed out, slowly withering and dying in the raging fire.

He also saw ordinary awakened beings who had been lured by him clutching the beast cores they had taken from the spirit beasts, only to have their souls invaded by the Abyss Corruption, and then go mad and die.

"Get out!" The black-clad leader's eyes were bloodshot. "Get out of my head!"

Xuanku's voice was calm: "This humble monk is merely showing you the despair you once showed them."

The leader in black struggled frantically, but the more he struggled, the brighter the Buddhist light became.

Finally, he let out a piercing scream and collapsed.

Chen Mo didn't look at him again. In the distance, from the direction of the school, the spiritual pressure was getting stronger and stronger.

He turned and shouted, "The Qinglian Society will leave five people to guard this place. The rest of you, come back to First Middle School with me!"

Xuan Ku stood up: "Disciples of Jinglian Temple, listen to my command: guard the tree tonight."

Linjiang No.1 Middle School.

The alarm blared through the night sky.

Ask about the moment when the ginkgo trees erupted in rebellion again.

The outer perimeter was directly shattered by dozens of giant tree roots.

The silvery-white psionic barrier flickered violently.

The roots did not reach towards the crowd.

Instead, it continued to burrow underground and spread towards the three streets surrounding the school.

Each root penetrates into the ground.

A wisp of gray-black mist will then rise from the ground.

The mist continued to spread along the drainage wells and underground pipes.

"Report!"

A team member, gripping a communicator, said palely, "The root system's spiritual pressure has broken through to the mid-stage of the sixth rank, and remnants of abyssal erosion have appeared in the underground water veins!"

"The pollution is spreading towards the old town!"

Chen Xueli stood in front of the school gate.

A crimson token hung in front of her.

She gazed at the trembling ginkgo tree in the center of the campus, her expression more solemn than ever before.

"All night watch personnel, listen up!"

"First, the second team will seal off the entrance to the residential area, and the third team will evacuate people around the school. No one is allowed to approach within ten meters of the root system."

Du Feng led his men rushing from the street corner. The Soul Cleansing Bandage on his arm was still on, but his psionic gun was already raised: "Xue Li, the tree roots are drilling towards South Street."

"There are old water supply pipes from Linjiang City under South Street. If this continues, the entire old town area will be affected."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xueli's expression instantly turned serious.

Just then.

Lin Qingxue ran out of the campus, her face pale, the blue lotus mark on her chest flashing continuously.

"Don't attack the tree trunk, it's not trying to rush into the residential area!"

Chen Xueli looked at her: "What did you see?"

Lin Qingxue said anxiously, "There's a black nail in the heart of the tree; it's sending pollution into the ground!"

"Ginkgo trees use their root systems to trap pollution; they're blocking that black gas!"

Du Feng's expression changed: "Then why does it keep trying to squeeze out?"

Lin Qingxue looked at the ground: "Because there are other things underground. The black nails aren't just one; they're connected to form a net."

Chen Xueli remained silent for a moment.

She looked at the crowd that was gathering outside the psionic barrier, alerted by the disturbance.

Then he looked at the street, which had already cracked open in several places.

If the ginkgo trees cannot withstand the pollution, the old riverside town will be completely out of control.

However, if the ginkgo tree really gets out of control, the first to suffer will be the surrounding residents.

Chen Xueli took a deep breath: "Give it three minutes. If the root system is still out of control within three minutes, the night watch team will execute the root burning plan."

Lin Qingxue opened her mouth, but ultimately did not refute.

She knew this was the limit of what Chen Xueli could achieve.

Just now.

The roar of vehicles could be heard in the distance.

Several black vehicles crashed through street barriers and came to a stop outside the police line.

Chen Mo arrived with the members of the Qinglian Society.

Xuanku and the disciples of Jinglian Temple followed closely behind.

Chen Xueli's face darkened when she saw Chen Mo: "Who gave you permission to enter the restricted area?"