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

Chu Zhou did not answer. The azure lotus leaf swept across the void, and Mo Jialuo's unfinished words came to an abrupt halt. The core of law, which had been pierced by the crimson-gold spear, was silently split in two from the center.

The purifying flames then surged into the rift. Before Mokala's scattered soul within the core could escape, it was completely engulfed by the flames, and its tattered robes turned to ashes in the starry sky.

Gu Tianheng sheathed his spear, blood still flowing from the wound on his left shoulder. He scanned the surrounding void to confirm that no remnant souls had escaped before turning around and slowly descending towards the escort fleet behind him.

The massive skeletal shell lost its support and crumbled segment by segment along the spine. Inside the chest cavity, a gray-gold bone fragment engraved with star trails was caught in time by the roots of the Azure Lotus and sent into the main ship's storage compartment.

[Successfully defeated the late-stage 11th-tier Soul Guide Judge, Mogaro.]

[Gained 600 million evolution points.]

[Obtained a fragmented route map for the sacrificial ceremony.]

[Successfully captured 108 Soul-Guiding Motherships; the Soul Domain remains stable.]

Chu Zhou passed the navigation chart to Shen Xinglan and did not remain on the battlefield: "Take stock of casualties and bring back all the landing fleets. Keep the Soul Furnace at minimum consumption for now. The seven legions will share the same route and continue escorting Jiezhi."

Qin Zhenyuan sheathed his black sword and immediately ordered the shuttle ship to pick up the people.

Small ships passed through the floating skeletons, carrying the wounded, the fallen soldiers, and the pulled-out Soul-Suppressing Nails back to the main ship.

Team 108 was the last to return.

Lu Zheng's shoulder was wrapped in thick bandages, but he still held the communication box with his uninjured arm. The young gatekeeper followed beside him, wearing only half of his battle armor.

Qin Zhenyuan glanced at the charred box and ordered it to be registered along with the tattered armor.

He then took the identity tag of the fallen communications officer from Lu Zheng and personally placed it into the list of those returning home.

Inside the main soul ship, Zhou Ning held Gu An as they sat under the lamp.

The chains binding the mother and child's souls had disappeared. The child, leaning on her shoulder, was finally able to close his eyes peacefully, no longer being awakened by the soul furnace every few moments.

The cries in the starry sky gradually subsided. One hundred and eight green lamps lit up one by one along the bow of the ship, and the skeletal motherships that had once chased the living slowly turned around and followed the ancestral escort legion.

Dragon Kingdom, Ninth Bureau Headquarters.

When the first complete battle report was sent back, people in the command hall were still studying the takeover plan for the seven star cities. Everyone stopped what they were doing only when the central screen lit up.

"The late-stage eleventh-tier Soul-Guiding Judge has been confirmed dead. One hundred and eight Soul-Guiding Motherships have been taken over. Over one hundred million human souls have been rescued and are currently being housed on board by the escort legion."

As the presenter read this, an uncontrollable murmur arose in the hall.

Previously, every time the Ancestral Realm faced the Hunting Court, they would wait until the enemy attacked their doorstep. This time, the expeditionary force seized an entire fleet in the starry sky.

But as the next page of the battle report unfolded, the voice gradually lowered again.

The list of the dead, the list of the seriously wounded, the damaged equipment, and the landing fleet that had been reconnected after losing contact were all displayed on the screen.

A staff member in charge of military records paused while filling in the location of the death.

The table originally had the province, city, and specific region reserved, but the battle report wrote "outer edge of Chimingxing Road".

Seeing this, the person in charge, seated at the head of the table, said, "Write down the place names accurately, and keep the coordinates on file as well. We will add that area to our star map in the future, and everyone's name must also be recorded."

The Ninth Bureau immediately adjusted its subsequent arrangements, transferring doctors and awakened individuals who could repair souls to the lunar base, and simultaneously forming a special extraterrestrial transport team to replace the frontline personnel who had been fighting continuously.

The various branches that were previously responsible for ground-based anomalies have also begun to set up extraterrestrial affairs liaison posts.

Some people were responsible for organizing the information on the ancient road, some were responsible for identifying the artifacts of the hunting grounds, and others were responsible for verifying the identities of the returning souls.

A batch of ancient war spirit data that had been sealed away has been reactivated.

The Soul Ship provides a stable place to live, and those remnant souls who cannot leave the Battle Merit Monument for a long time will also have the opportunity to participate in long-distance escort missions in the future.

At the Third Hospital of Linjiang City, Chen Mo received confirmation from the front lines that the light array could reduce its output. He immediately notified all branch altars to stop their shifts and reduce the brightness of the main Guardian Light, which had been running all night, to its usual level.

The doctor closed the treatment pod again, and seeing that he was still looking at the communication, he reached out and pressed the screen down.

This time, Chen Mo did not argue. He only asked whether the frontline had completed its inventory check, and closed his eyes after receiving an answer.

In the next ward, Su Wan unfolded the reply letter that had just arrived with her left hand.

The letter ends with both the gatekeeper's military seal left by Qin Zhenyuan and the red gold Jianmu pattern of the First Border Guard Army, with the two seals side by side.

She took the reply letter to Lu Cang's bedside and placed it on the bedside table: "See? The Linjiang City you defended is now able to help the army in the starry sky. From now on, you can add this item to the bureau's funding applications."

Lu Cang still hadn't woken up, but the city-guarding seal that had reformed between his brows glowed faintly in the light.

Su Wan stared at it for a moment, then moved the bedside lamp a little closer and said nothing more.

After the battle report was released, long queues quickly formed at gatekeeper recruitment offices throughout the Dragon Kingdom.

Some people signed up for the mission, while others, armed with maintenance certificates, medical qualifications, and transportation experience, inquired whether they could go to the lunar base.

A young repairman stood in front of the registration desk, pulled up a screenshot of the battlefield on his phone, and stopped it on the charred communication box: "I can learn this kind of interface. If the machine is burned out, I can fix it too."

The White Eagle Nation and the Europa Alliance were the first to organize a joint technical team to apply for research on the purified Soul Furnace.

They weren't just eyeing the warships; they were also interested in the special spaces that allowed a large number of ancient remnants of souls to exist stably.

The Northern Bear Kingdom activated the first medical zone in Guijie City ahead of schedule. The medicines and spirit grains originally prepared for the residents of Xingcheng were also redistributed according to the actual situation of the wounded and prioritized for being sent to the lunar transfer station.

What the world's powerful figures watched repeatedly was the scene of Qin Zhenyuan leading his army to cut off the sacrificial road.

That strike didn't kill Mogala outright, but it cut off the eleventh-tier enemy's retreat, giving the final Purifying Dharma Leaf a chance to land.

Many awakened individuals who were stuck at their own level of enlightenment thus returned to the military training grounds.

They finally saw that even when their cultivation level was insufficient to face powerful enemies in the Star Sea alone, the legion could still withstand a crucial blow.

Chu Zhou did not respond to the constant invitations and interview requests from the outside world, but only released the follow-up mission through the Wanling War Merit Monument.

Records of meritorious service in escorting, repairing, providing medical care, and resupplying began to appear alongside records of enemy kills.

After obtaining the navigation map of the sacrificial route, the Seventh Army Corps replanned its voyage.

Gu Tianheng marked the shift change times for the Hunter's Court patrol ships, while Shen Xinglan sent the available abandoned supply points to the various fleets.

Crimson Star City was the first to receive the complete plan from the Ancestral Realm. After several days of verification and leyline calculation, the outer harbor of the city was opened, allowing the engineering personnel to move in first, and the Jianmu Jiezhi was subsequently sent into the central leyline.

As the boundary branch took root, the lights of the twelve-layered city of Chiming dimmed for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, the azure root veins grew along the old earth veins, taking over some of the spiritual energy that originally relied on the Hunter's Court for external supply.

Standing on the city wall, Qin Zhenyuan saw the first ancient blue road stretching from the outer edge of the city toward the starry sky.

Gu Tianheng did not hold a ceremony. On the same day, he mobilized the garrison and sent all the propulsion arrays and traction ships needed for the relocation to the outer ring.

Harrison erected a barrier around Tian Shu City, completing the boundary branch landing.

The port of Xuanjia City was repaired and reopened to traffic, and Cassian led his army to clear the outer obstacles; Zhaoye City, after Zhang Baoyi used lightning to disperse the storm, once again revealed its complete coordinates.

The other three routes also reported progress.

Some people escorted the elderly and children away first, while others stayed in the city to maintain order. Some engineering teams stayed deep in the earth's veins for several days to complete the connection between the old and new array patterns.

The seven boundary branches took root, but they did not immediately turn the seven star cities into world nodes of Chu Zhou.

They first stabilized the geomantic veins of each city, and then used the remnants of the original ancient roads to build relocatable roads section by section.

Large-scale transport equipment from the Ancestral Realm is temporarily unable to pass through the Fire Star Gate, so the First Guardian Army has activated the existing tractor ships in Star City.

The array disks and components sent from the moon were assembled in batches to repair the damaged parts.

Over the next thirty days, the seven star cities gradually moved away from their original locations.

Boundary protection safeguards the city's ecology and geological features. The tractor, carrying the massive ring road around the city, slowly moves outward along the restored ancient road.

Chi Ming was the first to arrive at the outer perimeter of the Guardian Star, followed by Tian Shu and Zhao Ye.

The seven star cities were placed on different branches of the ancient road, maintaining sufficient distance from each other, and construction of new defense and supply ports began.

When the Fifth Hunting Court arrived at the Crimson Star Domain, the original base was left with only a closed power supply interface and a large number of abandoned anchors.

Having lost both the deed of the sacrifice and the local sacrificial route, they had no choice but to send out scout ships again to search for the area.

This does not mean that the Fifth Hunting Court has retreated, but the most pressing harvesting crisis in the Seven Cities has finally been resolved.

Gu Tianheng stayed behind to assist Ning Yue in setting up the outer defense line, while Qin Zhenyuan led the first batch of wounded back to the Ancestral Realm to recuperate.

Seven branches of the Jianmu tree have taken root.

The first phase of the relocation of seven star cities has been completed.

The large-scale border defense mission "The Return of Seven Cities" has entered the placement phase.

[Subsequent objectives: Improve the stargate, restore power supply, and establish a joint defense line.]

Only after receiving the final confirmation message did Chu Zhou withdraw his main divine sense back to Black Dragon Lake.

After dozens of days of remote dispatching, the ripples on the lake surface gradually subsided, and the spiritual mist on the shore gathered again.

During this time, Lu Cang also woke up on the thirtieth day.

He did not immediately break through to the seventh level. Instead, after confirming that Linjiang City had returned to order, Su Wan blocked him back to his ward with the doctor's orders and he continued to complete the final stage of his spiritual cultivation.

Chen Mo resumed handling the affairs of the Qinglian Society, while Xuan Ku stayed at the Jinglian Zen Temple to organize the scriptures left behind by the purified remnants of Buddhist cultivators' souls.

The lights along the river are still watched over at night, but the whole city no longer needs to stay up all night.

At the shore of Heilong Lake, Xiao Jinbao returned with the first group of travelers and immediately pounced on the lotus platform as soon as he landed.

It had a bulging storage bag hanging on its chest, and with each step it took, a series of crisp sounds came out from inside.

"Master, I brought you something."

Little Jinbao poured out a fist-sized piece of gray gold ore, thought for a moment, then took out a fingernail-sized piece of soul ship metal from his bag and placed it next to the ore.

Chu Zhou's roots extended towards the bag's opening, and a golden light immediately shone from within.

Little Jinbao immediately hugged the bag tightly: "The rest I traded with the repair team for dragon marrow. They said they were all scraps from dismantling."

Chu Zhou didn't take any more; he simply tapped its head gently with his roots.

Little Jinbao breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go find his treasure cave when he suddenly turned back and pointed to the depths of Black Dragon Lake.

"Master, haven't you looked at Xuanjia in a long time? I just searched around but couldn't find it. There are still a lot of rocks blocking the bottom of the lake."

If it keeps digging, all the places where I used to hide things will be gone.

Chu Zhou's consciousness then fell into the lake.

There was indeed no black armor on the familiar shallows. The few boulders that were usually worn smooth by it were now covered with aquatic plants, as if they hadn't been moved for a long time.

However, the aura transmitted back by the Azure Lotus Mark was very stable, and Xuanjia was neither injured nor had he left Black Dragon Lake.

Its location was much deeper than Chu Zhou remembered, right next to an old waterway.

The silver roots pierced through layers of lake water and stopped in the depths. Before them lay a black stone ridge covered with moss, sediment, clumps of aquatic plants, and a school of spirit fish swimming among the rocks.

Chu Zhou gently touched the center of the stone ridge with his roots: "Xuanjia." As soon as he finished speaking, the entire stone ridge suddenly rose up, mud and sand slid down, and two calm eyes opened from the darkness below.

Little Jinbao followed and slid down. The "stone" that had just stood still suddenly moved, startling it so much that it grabbed the roots of the green lotus.

Only when it saw the huge turtle head protruding from below did it slowly withdraw its wide-eyed gaze.

That rocky ridge was actually the back armor of the Xuanjia. Compared to before, its body had become much larger, its limbs were deeply embedded in the mud, and there were strands of eerie blue water flowing slowly in a fixed direction between the patterns on its armor.

"Owner."

Xuanjia raised his head, his voice coming through the lake, sounding deep and slow.

It didn't move its body immediately, but instead pushed down a piece of rock that it was pressing down on, thus stabilizing the water flow at its feet.

Chu Zhou followed its footsteps and discovered that the old water vein had shifted to the side here.

The continuous transboundary transport of the source water has caused the two tributary water veins of different depths to pull together, and a rock layer near the shore has cracked.

This crack does not pose a immediate threat to the main node of Black Dragon Lake, but it will continuously sweep away the surrounding soil and water, damaging the water palace and spiritual plant area below.

Xuanjia was lying right there, using its own water and earth spiritual energy to stabilize the pressure on both sides.

"How long have you been on guard?"

Chu Zhou asked.

Xuanjia thought for a while: "The water flow became faster and then it came down, changing locations several times along the way. The Black Tiger King gave us stones, which made it easier to control the flow later."

Chu Zhou's roots landed on Xuanjia's back, carefully sensing its aura.

It simply consumed more spiritual energy, but its internal foundation became increasingly solid. The long-term influence of the water veins had caused new changes in its nail patterns.

"Why not find me through the mark?"

Xuanjia blinked and slowly replied, "This section can still be defended. If it really can't be defended, I will call my master and prevent the crack from reaching the water palace."

Chu Zhou did not blame him, but instead sent out roots that bypassed Xuanjia's limbs and burrowed deep into the rock strata.

The purification method first straightens out the two water veins, and then gradually pushes the displaced earth veins back to their original positions.

As the underwater pressure gradually decreased, the black eagle finally pulled its forepaws out of the mud and shook off the pebbles stuck between its toes.

The fish on its back did not swim away, but remained skillfully hidden in the grooves formed by its scales.

A tiger's roar came from the shore.

The Black Tiger King arrived with several strange beasts that were carrying ore. Upon seeing the reflection of the blue lotus on the water, he immediately stopped and placed a piece of spirit wood that he was carrying in his mouth onto the shore.

Chu Zhou scanned the surroundings with his divine sense and discovered that the young beasts and spiritual plants near the rift had already been moved.

Clear claw marks were left on the dangerous shallows, and several aquatic beasts patrolled in the distance, preventing the spirit fish from accidentally entering the rapids.

"Did you arrange all of this?"

The Black Tiger King flicked its tail: "The Xuanjia armor is down there, so someone on the shore has to keep an eye on it."

Those little creatures are unpredictable; they'll run away again after being stopped once. We have to take turns guarding them.

Little Jinbao lay on the roots and glanced at the pile of ore: "Why don't you come out with us? There are lots of things outside, and the Bone Guards also have law metals on them. We can break them up and pick them up."

The Black Tiger King glanced at it: "White Mountain Lord is with you, and there are other beasts in the mountains. If they all leave, who will watch over those that haven't grown up yet?"

After saying that, it looked at Chu Zhou again, its ears slightly raised.

Chu Zhou looked at the orderly herd of beasts behind it, and the lotus leaf gently unfurled: "Guarding the restricted area will also earn you merit. From now on, you will be in charge of directing the patrol array patterns on the outer edge of the mountain forest."

A blue lotus mark landed on the Black Tiger King's brow, connecting with dozens of array points around it.

It raised its front paws, and a blue barrier lit up on the shore, separating the still stagnant waters.

Black Tiger King was taken aback at first, then looked up at several mountain passes.

Where previously herds of beasts had to be led back and forth, now they can be clearly sensed through array patterns, and even where young beasts cross the boundary can be detected in time.

[The Black Tiger King has gained patrol authority outside the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone.] [He can utilize existing warning arrays and low-cost protective arrays.] [Related costs are counted towards the Forbidden Zone patrol system; core node power cannot be mobilized.]

After several attempts, the Black Tiger King finally retracted its front paws, its voice much louder than before: "Next time you go out, the outer perimeter won't be in chaos."

Chu Zhou gently tapped its forehead with its roots, as if in agreement.

Little Jinbao was no longer beside it. Following its memory, it found a familiar rock face, dug through the mud for a long time, and suddenly rushed out of the lake, not even bothering to hold onto its storage bag properly.

"Where's my cave?" It circled the shore twice, then suddenly looked at the Black Tiger King: "Did you eat what was inside? I remember there was a whole piece of gold-veined ore there!"

The Black Tiger King didn't even bother to raise its head, only pointing with its tail at the Xuanjia that had just surfaced.

Little Jinbao looked back and discovered that a familiar piece of rock from the cave entrance was embedded in the edge of the Xuanjia's back armor.

Xuanjia slowly explained, "The ground below has cracked, and that hole is about to collapse. I carried the stones up with it, but I didn't touch anything else. Go in and take a look."

Little Jinbao immediately climbed onto the turtle's back and crawled into the hole. Before long, the sound of ore being counted could be heard from inside. When it poked its head out again, the scales that had been standing upright had all flattened down.

It stood at the cave entrance, clutching a piece of metal. After hesitating for a long time, it changed to another, slightly smaller piece, and changed again before finally pushing the last piece it had chosen in front of Xuanjia: "Here, take this as payment for moving the cave."

The silver roots extended from the side and took out three heavy stones directly from the cave.

Little Jinbao immediately pounced on it, hugging one of the pieces: "Master, this is the biggest!"

Chu Zhou placed the ore on the Xuanjia's back: "There's also a storage fee. These three pieces will help stabilize its armor patterns, so your hole will be more secure in the future."

Little Jinbao looked at Xuanjia, then at its own ore, and finally slowly loosened its grip.

After a while, it suddenly asked, "If its back were a little bigger, could I put the new things I brought back on it too?"

Before Xuanjia could answer, Chu Zhou's divine sense had already penetrated deep into its carapace.

Those dark blue patterns were not just traces left by water veins; they were actually forming an unstable, independent space inside the carapace.

By stabilizing the soil and water over a long period, the Xuanjia (a type of armored creature) gradually developed the instinct to support the earth's veins.

The growth and accumulation brought about by the fifth spiritual energy revival have gradually sunk into the tortoise shell over these days, and now it is just the right time for change.

[The initial form of the Xuanjia's back armor space has been detected.]

[By enduring the pull of water and earth veins over a long period, its carrying capacity has been enhanced.]

The current space is unstable; it can be further condensed using stabilizing materials and the source of purification.

Chu Zhou looked at the repaired water veins and had Xuanjia move to the depths of the lake.

The Black Tiger King immediately led his herd to clear the nearby waters, and the array patterns along the shore lit up one by one, blocking any possible intruding beasts from entering.

The required materials were obtained from the leftover repair materials of the captured soul ships. They were all metals that had lost their soul-extracting function but still retained spatial stability.