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

As Gu Tianheng finished speaking, the seven crimson-gold main ships moved forward simultaneously, their massive hulls pushing aside the surrounding wreckage, and golden ripples of law spreading out from their bows.

Alarms sounded instantly on the thirty human-modified warships, and all locking systems failed simultaneously.

Even the number of enemy troops recorded by the Star Pattern Armor changed from 120,000 to zero.

Gu Tianheng's golden vertical pupils in his palm gazed ahead, his voice echoing throughout the entire starry sky.

"Under the Golden Law of the Hunting Court, any observation without permission is theft. Any road without permission is intrusion."

"Ning Yue, the humans from the future generations you brought here don't even have the right to see the First Border Guard Army."

The golden light continued to spread, blurring the vision and consciousness of the ten thousand gatekeepers.

The City of Sinking Star, the Crimson Gold Main Ship, and the army of 120,000 all vanished from his senses, leaving only Gu Tianheng standing silently in the entire dark starry sky.

Qin Zhenyuan did not attempt to use his divine sense to locate the enemy. He closed his eyes and plunged the black blade into the deck of the warship beneath his feet.

The Mountain and River Blade Realm instantly spread out along the thirty warships, and the heartbeats, breaths, and armor frequencies of the ten thousand gatekeepers were completely unified at this moment.

If the enemy cannot be seen with the naked eye, then abandon sight. If the divine sense cannot perceive the laws, then use the military formation to withstand resistance and deduce the coordinates in reverse.

Thousands of naval cannons fired in all directions, and a massive amount of ballistic data flowed into Qin Zhenyuan's mind. In just a few breaths, the vague outlines of the seven crimson gold main ships had already taken shape.

Qin Zhenyuan gripped the black blade firmly and slashed forward with it.

"First to Seventh Fleets, lock onto coordinate 473, saturation attack!"

Thirty modified warships opened fire simultaneously, their dazzling psionic cannon beams piercing through layers of golden laws and striking precisely the protective layer of the first crimson-gold mainship.

For the first time, a hint of surprise flashed across Gu Tianheng's eyes.

"You can't see it, yet you can still fight?"

"There are many things that humans created in later generations that you have never seen."

Ning Yue pointed his spear forward, and the tattered flags of the Ninth Border Guard Army fluttered in the wind.

One hundred and eight remnant souls guarding the boundary instantly resonated and connected with the ten thousand contemporary gatekeepers' army.

Harrison erected a barrier between all living beings, enveloping the entire expeditionary fleet.

Cassian led the Europa Awakeners to embed the heavy metal shields of law into the hull of the warship.

Zhang Baoyi activated thirty temporary lightning pools, and rolling thunder poured into the main cannon.

Before the effects of the first round of artillery fire had even dissipated, the second offensive had already come crashing down.

The golden protective layer on the surface of the crimson gold warship instantly shattered, revealing large, fine cracks.

The 120,000-strong First Border Guard finally revealed their true form, but did not charge into battle.

The entire army stood in formation, spears raised high, and channeled its immense fighting power into the seven main ships.

Seven crimson-gold pillars of light pierced through the starry sea and suddenly rose up, intertwining and condensing into a giant vertical pupil of the Hunting Court that covered the entire Sunken Star City.

Its vertical pupils slowly closed, as if it wanted to completely erase the city, the expeditionary force, and all intruders from the Jianmu Ancient Road.

Above the remnant star guarding the boundary, all the blue lotus branches have fully unfurled.

Ten lotus leaves of law traversed the shattered void and condensed into a tranquil blue-silver lotus platform high above Chenxing City.

The eight fundamental laws of Chu Zhou descended with a roar, following the roots of the Jianmu tree and the ancient path of the remnant star.

The power of the Azure Lotus Purifying the World clashed head-on with the domineering and unparalleled Golden Laws of the Hunting Court in the starry sky.

The golden vertical pupils define the city of Chenxing as "not to exist".

However, the Azure Lotus Law forcibly reintegrated the entire city into the ancestral realm, ensuring that every wisp of life within the city received the orthodox recognition of the Jianmu Root Network.

Two supreme laws intersected and collided, causing countless fragments of shattered worlds to be annihilated and reborn.

A cold system notification echoed across the entire starry sky.

[Eleventh-order contract law detected.]

[The target is currently drawing upon the resources of seven human star cities.]

Gu Tianheng established a life-sharing pact with seven human star cities.

If Gu Tianheng's core law is forcibly destroyed, the seven star cities will collapse simultaneously.

Chu Zhou looked at the emerging prompt, the lotus leaf slightly closed, and his clear, cold voice spread in all directions.

"You use the lives of hundreds of millions of your own kind to shield yourself from harm, and this is what you call protecting humanity?"

Gu Tianheng remained calm, his golden vertical pupils slowly rotating in his palm.

"The seven star cities exist because of me; if I die, they will naturally cease to exist."

"Pure Lotus, you are rooted in the mountains and rivers of our ancestral land, and you should understand best that weak civilizations never have a choice."

"Ten thousand years ago, the Hunter's Court gave me only two choices. Either lead the First Guardian Army to die alongside the declining Ancestral Realm, or sign a contract to preserve seven surviving star cities for the human race."

"I chose the latter. You can call me a traitor, you can judge me by military law. But those living descendants behind you are qualified to stand in the starry sky today precisely because someone was willing to bear the infamy of eternity."

Gu Tianheng raised his hand and pointed to Chenxing City. The golden law transformed into thousands of golden chains, tightly binding the Jianmu remnants deep within the city walls.

"Hand over the remnants, and the seven star cities will immediately break free from the Hunter's Court's territory and regain their freedom."

The commander of Chenxing City, leaning on his broken spear, supported his battered body, his hoarse voice echoing from the city walls through the starry sky.

"The remnants of the Jianmu tree were never a private treasure of Chenxing City. They are the lifeblood of the three million sleeping people within the city."

"Ten thousand years ago, the ancient path collapsed, and the spiritual energy of the ancestral realm was cut off. The people in the city could no longer cultivate and survive, and could only sink into the long dream of the Jianmu tree, relying on the vitality of the remnant species to eke out a living."

"If the remnants are taken away, the seven star cities may have a way to survive, but the three million people of the Sunken Star City will all perish."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire city wall of Chenxing City lit up with a faint light.

Countless transparent and slender tree roots spread out from the depths of the stone wall, and within each root, a sleeping human figure was sealed.

An elderly man in his twilight years, a bewildered child, a wounded border guard...

They were neither dead nor awake, trapped in the long dream of the Jianmu Tree for ten thousand years, quietly waiting for the ancestral realm to return.

For the first time, a slight commotion arose within the orderly and solemn ranks of the First Border Guard.

Countless young soldiers born in the seven star cities were deeply shaken.

From childhood, they had heard that Chenxing City monopolized the life-saving remnants, selfishly hindering the future of humanity.

But no one ever told them that this remnant seed carried the ten thousand years of wretched existence of three million of their kind.

A general in crimson armor turned around in a rage, plunging his spear into the feet of the commotioning soldiers and shouting angrily.

"Anyone who criticizes the commander's decisions within the army ranks shall be executed!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, the light and shadow of the entire starry sky changed abruptly.

Chu Zhou activated the resonance of all spirits, projecting the scene of the 100,000-year slumber within Chenxing City onto the seven crimson-gold main ships and the 120,000-strong army.

Everyone saw their clansmen waiting to return home in their long dream, and the white-haired woman holding her baby by the hearth, waiting year after year without changing.

That whisper, which had lingered for 100,000 years, resonated in the hearts of every soldier of the First Border Guard.

"Once the border guards return, we can go home."

Gu Tianheng's vertical pupils suddenly contracted, and his expression finally changed drastically.

He immediately activated the Golden Law, forcibly severing all projected images.

The supreme aura of the eleventh rank was fully unleashed. With one step, the phantom images of seven vast star cities, each blazing with golden lamps, appeared behind him.

Every star city is home to tens of millions of human beings, and deep within the blood of every one of them is the same Hunter's Contract.

This is the source of his power, and also the shackle that the Hunter's Court tightly binds to the human race.

Gu Tianheng raised his hand and formed a hand seal. The immense fortune of the seven cities gathered in his palm and condensed into a golden celestial sword that traversed the starry sea.

"I don't have time to wait for the ancestral realm to grow slowly."

"The Hunting Court has already noticed the revival of the Jianmu Ancient Road, and the main force of the Fifth Hunting Court is heading to this place."

"If the seven star cities cannot be completely relocated in three months, the hundreds of millions of humans in the cities will all be turned into slave nests."

"Three million or seven hundred million, I can only choose to live. That's war."

The dazzling golden celestial sword crashed down, crushing and scattering all the world debris along its path.

Ning Yue raised his spear to face the sword's edge. The 108 remnant souls of the Ninth Guardian Army rapidly faded and were on the verge of dissipation under the pressure of the eleventh-order law.

Qin Zhenyuan activated the Ultimate Mountain and River Battle Formation, Harrison's All Beings Barrier protected the remnant soul, Zhang Baoyi summoned thunderbolts from the sky, Cassian wielded the Star-Splitting Battle Axe, and Bai Shanjun spread out the White Tiger Suppressing Kill Domain.

The combined power of all the strongest beings in the world crashed into the golden celestial sword.

Yet the overwhelming pressure continued to descend layer by layer, unstoppable.

Ning Yue's ancient armor shattered inch by inch, his soul fire bright and stubborn, staring intently at Gu Tianheng in front of him.

"Ten thousand years ago, you always said you had no choice and no control over your own destiny."

"But from beginning to end, what you chose was never to preserve the most human race, but rather—to decide by your own hands who lives and who dies."

Just as the golden celestial sword was about to crush the entire army formation and shatter the expeditionary force.

A tattered, scarlet celestial monument suddenly fell from the void, lying steadily beneath the sword's edge.

The strange rock was firmly bound to the center of the green lotus phantom by Chu Zhou's roots. The first natal stele pattern was blazing brightly, and the vast power of the prison-suppressing force surged against the current, fiercely suppressing Gu Tianheng's Golden Law Heavenly Sword.

Fine cracks rapidly spread across the strange rock, enduring the impact of laws far exceeding its own limits, yet its voice remained cold and hard.

"The Golden Contract of Offering the Realm, a taboo contract used by the Hunting Court specifically to enslave surrendered civilizations."

"Signing this contract may seem like preserving one's own independent consciousness, but in reality, every time one borrows the power of the Hunting Court, one is mortgaging and sacrificing one's own civilization on a deeper level."

"Gu Tianheng, the seven human star cities you are so proud of no longer belong to the human race."

"On the day the contract completes its ninth transformation, billions of lives in the seven cities will become sacrifices for the resurrection of the Hunter's Court!"

Gu Tianheng completely lost control of his expression, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

He stared intently at the phantom of the monument spirit, while the golden seal deep within the armor trembled and throbbed wildly.

"The spirit of the First Prison-Suppressing Heavenly Stele? The ancestral realm was destroyed ten thousand years ago; you were clearly shattered and perished long ago!"

The strange rock did not respond, and the crimson celestial monument's phantom image pressed down even harder, firmly fixing the projections of the seven star cities and sealing off all flow of fortune.

Chu Zhou's roots followed the veins of the Golden Contract of Offering to the Realm and drilled into the core of the golden heavenly sword.

The pure and flawless power of the Azure Lotus cleanses the world, peeling away and purifying the Hunter's Court's will that clings to it layer by layer.

A series of cold, impersonal notifications flooded the screen.

[In-depth analysis of the Boundary Deed.]

The current contract has undergone eight transformations.

[Countdown to the Ninth Transformation: 87 days.]

[The ultimate beneficiary of the contract is Gu Tianheng, who is not the one who enforces it.]

[Hidden clause detected: Seven cities return to the court, the contract holder returns to the seal.]

Chu Zhou projected the last line of the taboo clause onto the entire starry sky in front of everyone.

"Gu Tianheng, not only the people of the Seven Cities, but also yourself, are on the Hunting Court's sacrifice list."

On the seven crimson-gold flagships, within the armor of 120,000 soldiers, countless golden vertical pupils opened simultaneously.

The cold, mechanical, and indifferent sound, which did not belong to the human race, echoed throughout the entire army.

"The contract executor peeks into the forbidden clauses and executes them ahead of schedule—the seal is returned."

In an instant, the Hunting Court Marks on the palms of all 120,000 First Border Guard soldiers pierced through flesh and took root in their souls.

In the depths of the distant starry sky, a supreme golden eye, which had been dormant for a long time, slowly awakened and began to frantically plunder the fortune and vitality of the seven star cities.

The seven city dharma images behind Gu Tianheng collapsed inch by inch, their light dissipating.

Ten thousand years of forbearance, ten thousand years of survival, and ten thousand years of self-indulgent sacrifice have instantly turned into a complete joke.

The Hunting Court never saw him as an opponent who needed his submission; they simply regarded him as the perfect person to nurture the cauldron.

The so-called migration for survival and the so-called continuation of the human race were, from beginning to end, a premeditated scheme to harvest and deceive people for 100,000 years.

"First Border Guard, Sever the Seal!"

Gu Tianheng's eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly raised his hand, his left hand forming a blade with his fingers together, and without hesitation severed his right hand, which had golden vertical pupils.

Golden blood spilled into the starry sea, but could not break free from the bondage of the contract. Instead, it transformed into countless fine locks, tightly binding his divine soul essence.

Seventeen King Realm commanders simultaneously self-destructed their contract cores, severing their arms, sealing their souls, and shattering their meridians, sparing no effort to break free of their shackles.

However, the Golden Contract of Offering Realm, which has undergone eight transformations, has long been integrated with the bloodline and divine soul, and is unbreakable.

In just a few breaths, countless soldiers were possessed by the Hunter's Mark, their minds taken over.

Once comrades and brothers, they turned against each other with swords drawn in an instant; the orderly ranks of 100,000 soldiers were thrown into chaos and turned on each other.

The seven crimson-gold flagships turned their main cannons around, their cold beams locking onto the Sunken Star City and the Ancestral Realm Expeditionary Force.

Chaos and peril descended in an instant.

Instead of launching a sneak attack amidst the chaos, Qin Zhenyuan slashed out with seven dark blade marks, severing the golden energy network between the seven main ships and temporarily locking down the main cannons' attack.

Harrison erected the ultimate barrier of all beings, gently enveloping and isolating all the First Guardian soldiers who had been possessed and were in chaos from evil thoughts.

Holding the broken spear, Ning Yue looked at his former kinsmen killing each other, his heart filled with bitterness.

He planted the broken flag fiercely in the starry sky and shouted loudly.

"Ninth Border Guard, form ranks!"

One hundred and eight broken and ancient guardian souls resolutely charged into the chaotic First Guardian Army formation.

Using its own orthodox boundary-guarding mark, it forcibly suppressed the rampant Hunter's Court Gold Contract.

Ten thousand years ago, two human armies were mortal enemies. At this moment, they share the same human army formation and inherit the destiny of humanity.

Ning Yue extended a hand to Gu Tianheng, who was standing there in a disheveled state.

"Merits and demerits, right and wrong, and military law will all be dealt with after we return to the border. For now, take your troops back to the human race."

Gu Tianheng stared blankly at the outstretched hand, remaining silent for a long time.

Finally, he reached out and grasped the other end of the spear.

The old and new markings of the border guards resonated and intertwined, and the eternal military formations of the First Border Guard and the Ninth Border Guard were completely merged into one.

With a thought, Chu Zhou unleashed a powerful resonance among all spirits.

The Azure Lotus Mark, following the convergence of the two armies' formations, penetrated in reverse into seven human star cities separated by the vast star sea.

His voice traversed the endless void, resounding throughout every inch of the seven star cities, reaching the ears of every human being.

"I do not decide anyone's fate or future."

"Those who wish to remain forever under the Hunter's Court, Qinglian will not interfere. Those who wish to return to the Ancestral Realm and break free of their shackles, call upon the name of the Ancestral Realm, and I will bear all the backlash from the contracts for you!"

In the beginning, the entire land of the seven cities was deathly silent.

Born and raised in the Hunting Grounds, the ancestral realm was nothing more than a lost legend in ancient books, a vague and ethereal concept to them.

But the next second, countless images were simultaneously reflected in the minds of 700 million people.

The people of Chenxing City, who have been asleep for 100,000 years; the broken flag of the guardian star; the newly born fire gate on the moon; the billions of prosperous mountains and rivers of the ancestral realm...

An elderly man in the city of Crimson Star, trembling, took out a tattered banner that had been passed down for three generations.

The flag no longer bears the vertical pupil of the Hunting Court, but only the faded Jianmu totem, which remains unchanged after 100,000 years.

The old man knelt on both knees, his hoarse and aged voice a cry of breaking free from his shackles.

"As long as the ancestral realm exists, our human race will always have a homeland! Let us return to the ancestral realm!"

One sound begins, and ten thousand follow.

The shouts pierced through the clouds and resounded across the starry sky, eventually converging into a thunderous roar that echoed across seven cities and was shouted by hundreds of millions of people.

The will of 700 million humans surged against the tide, fiercely impacting the seemingly impregnable Golden Contract of the World's Offering.

The golden vertical court roared furiously, attempting to annihilate all living beings in the seven cities in an instant.

But at that very moment, the crimson celestial monument of the strange rock completely pressed down, firmly suppressing the source of the contract.

The strange rock is covered with cracks, and its body is charred and broken by the golden flames, yet it still stubbornly holds on.

"Lotus Demon, I can only suppress it for thirty breaths! Only thirty breaths!"

Chu Zhou's roots continuously supplied the essence of the Azure Lotus, gently stabilizing the near-collapsed spirit of the monument, his tone carrying his usual gentle smile.

"My beloved concubine always says she can only hold on for a short while, but she is always the one who survives the longest in dire situations."

"If you say another word, I'll let go immediately!"

"My beloved concubine is reluctant to part with me."

"You should definitely give it a try!"

Despite the stern rebuke from the strange stone, the suppressive power of the crimson heavenly monument grew even stronger, forcefully pinning the fleeing Hunter Court Master Seal back to the core of the contract.

Seizing this crucial thirty breaths of life and death, Chu Zhou burned eighty percent of the Azure Lotus's essence, borrowing the will of seven hundred million human beings to completely purify the Offering Golden Contract.

The domineering mandatory clauses of the Hunter Court were stripped away layer by layer and completely eradicated.

The bond of shared destiny between Gu Tianheng and the Seven Cities has not been broken, but has been reshaped into a network of mutual protection among the human race.

System notifications sounded one after another.

[The analysis of the Boundary Concession Contract is complete; the Hunting Court's enslavement clauses have been completely removed.]

Seven human star cities have regained control over their destiny.

The coverage area of ​​the All-Spirit Resonance has been significantly increased.

[The seven cities are detected to be too far from the ancestral realm, making it temporarily impossible to convert world nodes.]

[Seven remote coordinates successfully located: Chiming, Tianshu, Xuanjia, Zhaoye, Guixu, Xinghe, and Changgeng.]

Deep within the starry sky, the endless golden eye shrieked and shattered with a deafening roar.

Before the remaining will of the Hunter's Court could escape, it was swallowed up by the boundless sea of ​​blue lotus light and dragged into the first level of the Blue Lotus Prison.

Deep within the prison, the black waters were still and heavy.

The Dragon Ancestor of Myriad Calamities was lying at the bottom of the abyss, slowly absorbing the fifth drop of life essence.

The golden Hunter's Seal crashed down, landing right next to the nine Dragon-Suppressing Rings.

The black dragon looked up and saw what was coming, its soul fire instantly filled with schadenfreude.

"Offering the Lord's Seal? That bastard from the Hunting Court has finally met his end!"

Golden vertical pupils yearn to break free from their confinement and seek a new target.

Standing atop the black dragon's single horn, Little Jinbao waved his small hand, and nine dragon-suppressing rings flew out simultaneously, locking the main seal tightly and rendering it immobile.

Little Jinbao waved his paws and spoke in a childish voice.

"Old Black Dragon, it will live next to you from now on. The master said you know the most about the Hunting Court, so he's entrusting you with its care!"

Just as the Dragon Ancestor of Myriad Calamities was about to fly into a rage and refuse, the heavy Prison Suppression Stone Seal crashed down, suppressing the black dragon and the golden main seal together at the bottom of the Black Water Abyss.

Within the first level of the prison, only two unwilling soul flames remained, staring at each other intently.

The outside world, once turbulent, has returned to peace.

The golden Hunting Court marks on the palms of the 120,000 First Guardian Army soldiers were all extinguished and dissipated.

Yet all the soldiers remained firmly gripping their weapons, none of them letting their guard down.

For ten thousand years, they fought for the Hunting Court, slaughtering countless worlds, their hands stained with the blood of foreign races.

No one could tell anymore whether they were minions of the Hunter's Court or human guards.

Gu Tianheng stood in the center of the two human army formations. His severed right hand had not regenerated, and the wound was exposed with golden blood.

He gazed at the peacefully existing Chenxing City, and at the broken yet unyielding flag in Ning Yue's hand, and slowly spoke.

"I will never apologize for the choice I made 100,000 years ago."

"Desperate and without help, with no way forward, if I were to start over, I would still take the First Guardian Army with me to preserve the spark of humanity."

"But over the past 100,000 years, the countless worlds I have slaughtered and the countless lives I have lost for the Hunting Court are unforgivable and I will never deny them."

He raised his hand, removed the golden armor of the First Commander that had accompanied him for 100,000 years, and gently placed it in the cold starry sky.

"I am willing to return to the ancestral realm to be judged and to bear all the blame. But the hundreds of millions of people in the seven star cities need the protection of the human army."