I am the savior, but I am being asked by Alicia and the others to pay me back.

"Because the filth of the abyss is irresistible, and I don't want you to be infected as well."

"..."

In the past, Ye Ming might have thought that Aci was too pessimistic, but now he had already experienced the horror of it at Inazuma.

The tide of evil beasts gushing out of the abyss can still be resisted, but once the pollution seeps in, any effort will be in vain.

He still remembers that one time he built a perfect defense, but it was completely destroyed because of pollution that seeped in through rain and wind.

"Although I am reluctant to let you go, you are more important to me than anything else."

At that moment, the scene showed the separation of Aci and Ye Ming during the Kanriya disaster.

Because it was Ye Ming's perspective before, he couldn't see Ah Ci's expression.

And now, everyone can see clearly... Ah Ci, reluctant to leave, has been staring at the place where Ye Ming disappeared.

Even though Ye Ming had been gone for a long time, his shadow still lingered in Aci's autumn-watery eyes.

The girl looking eastward reluctantly wants to give up her identity as a god at the last moment of her life, leaving only that one thought.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth then?"

At first, Ye Ming's tears could still drip onto Ah Ci's body, but gradually... those hot tears began to flow through Ah Ci's body and sprinkle on the World Tree bit by bit.

"At that time, I thought I had found the answer and understood every side of you."

"That's not your problem. I misled you with my deceptive behavior."

Ah Ci smiled self-deprecatingly:

"As the person who proposed the question, I really made a big mistake."

Feeling that his consciousness was fading and his body was gradually becoming transparent, Ah Ci, who could no longer hug Ye Ming, took a half step back...

Then she gently held Ye Ming's face and looked at him affectionately.

"But, Ye Ming..."

Ah Ci's vision gradually became blurred, and even his voice became extremely weak.

Countless flashes of time flashed through her mind, from the day the young man in front of her fell from the sky until this moment.

Everything, everything...is his figure.

"You're the only mistake I want to make in my life."

The soft white light filled their world, taking away the time that Ah Ci and she cherished most.

"and many more!"

Ye Ming chased after him, eagerly trying to grab Aci's hand.

But before that, everything related to the Great Compassionate Tree King had disappeared without a trace.

The afterglow of the sun shines on the tree trunks, warm and bright, but it cannot fill the emptiness and coldness in my heart.

The breeze rustled through the branches of the World Tree, expressing the sadness of parting.

"..."

Ye Ming knelt down at the place where the Great Compassion Tree King disappeared, his arms still maintaining the embrace for the other party, but he could no longer feel her residual warmth.

No matter what, Ye Ming could not accept this ending.

He had even forgotten that he had come to seek advice and counsel from the Great Compassionate Tree King.

At that moment, Ye Ming had only one thought in his mind, which was to bring his A Ci back.

——Ye Ming, I advise you not to have that idea.

Realizing that Ye Ming wanted to use the power of time interference to save Ah Ci, the system quickly stopped him and said:

——We have already started an all-out war with the regulators of the screening mechanism.

—The idea is to avoid it as much as possible until it can be eliminated.

——Opening the Time Corridor now will undoubtedly give the other party the opportunity to kill us.

In the head-on confrontation, it seemed that Ye Ming and the supervisor of the screening mechanism were unable to do anything to each other.

But when traveling through dimensions and interfering with time, the high-dimensional properties of the terrifying creature took full advantage.

From nearly being wiped out of existence to the collapse of the time corridor, Ye Ming has suffered a lot.

"Are you planning on asking me to give up Ah Ci?"

——There is nothing that can be done about it.

——To put it another way, even if you force yourself to go back to the past, the ending will not change.

——The pollution of the abyss is pervasive, not to mention that you have to protect not only someone, but also the entire World Tree.

——Do you have any way to stop all this from happening?

"..."

The system's analysis touched the most vulnerable part of Ye Ming's heart, and he had no idea what to do.

The experience at Inazuma has proven that the pollution from the abyss cannot be stopped.

Because Ah Ci is connected to the World Tree, we must not only protect her, but also protect the entire World Tree from being infected.

It is simply a pipe dream to ensure that every leaf, branch and trunk of such a huge world tree is intact.

It's like protecting an outfit from a black rainstorm is hard enough.

How can you keep a huge piece of white paper without any protection from getting wet?

What's more, being able to get to this point is already an ideal situation.

But the reality is... as soon as you open the Time Corridor, you will encounter terrible interference from the supervisor, and even the first step will be difficult to complete.

"Is this also the advice you give according to your wisdom?"

——No, quite the opposite.

——The meaning of wisdom is to help us do the right thing.

——For example, making the right choice between two uncertain answers.

——But the current situation is that the idea of ​​going back to the past to save Ah Ci is a dead end.

——You don’t even need wisdom to eliminate this option, just the instinct of survival is enough.

"..."

Having said that, Ye Ming no longer insisted on that plan. He was just crazy, but not stupid.

But even so, Ye Ming did not give up Aci's plan, he just needed to find another way.

Just when he was confused, he suddenly saw the pollution of the abyss disappearing from the World Tree bit by bit, just like the existence of Aci.

It was at this moment that Ye Ming came up with a plan that was a thousand times crazier than going back to the past.

471. Replacing the World Tree and Becoming a Petri Dish

"Don't you find it strange? Since Ah Ci's existence has disappeared, why do I still remember her?"

——Because you are not from this world, even if the world forgets the Tree King, you will not be affected.

"In that case, the traces that Ah Ci left on me will not disappear, right?"

——That’s true, but when did the Tree King ever leave any marks on your body?

"..."

Ye Ming did not answer, but silently looked at the World Tree that was being healed.

——Wait, Ye Ming, you! You can't be...

After realizing what Ye Ming was thinking, the system showed obvious panic.

"If the success rate of going back to the past is zero, then what about the plan this time?"

——The chances of success are high...but, but...

——If we do this, we will have no way out.

"Haven't we already lost our way out?"

Ye Ming couldn't help laughing:

"Or have you been secretly helping me find a way to keep me alive?"

——I have my own considerations, but your ideas are beyond my calculation.

"There is nothing to calculate. The heaviest price is only the destruction of one person. I have already prepared for this."

After he finished speaking, Ye Ming found the place where Aci was connected to the World Tree and was then contaminated by the abyss.

With the disappearance of Aci, the lesion of the World Tree was visibly healed.

While the breath of the abyss had not yet completely dissipated, Ye Ming leaned over and attracted all the dark pollution onto himself.

This is equivalent to Ye Ming becoming Aci's continuation in this world before she completely disappeared.

As a result, the World Tree was completely purified, and the traces of the Great Compassion Tree King being infected by the abyss remained in Ye Ming's body.

"It seems... it's nothing special."

Ye Ming did not feel any particular pain when he felt himself being polluted and eroded.

——That’s because this is pollution that is about to be eliminated and its power is already very weak.

——And... you have been corroded so much that this level is nothing.

There was an obvious sigh in the system's tone.

——Appreciate your current situation. As pollution becomes more and more serious, it is hard to imagine what it will feel like.

"Then let's wait and see."

Ye Ming clenched his palms tightly, completely combining the deep darkness flowing in his hands with himself, and then came to Nashida's side as if nothing had happened.

"Ye Ming...I feel a little weird."

Nashida pulled at the corner of Ye Ming's clothes, as if this could calm her uneasy heart.

"We just saved the world, right?"

Nashida rubbed her eyes, feeling as if a hole had been opened in her heart.

"But why... am I crying?"

"..."

Ye Ming silently wiped away the tears from Nashida's face, and then said earnestly:

"I have a story that I want to tell you. It is something that is very important to both you and me."

"What kind of story?"

"The story of the God of Sumeru before you, about the Great Kindness Tree King."

After that, Ye Ming told Nashida all the memories about the Great Compassion Tree King in his mind, from beginning to end.

"Is all this...real?"

Nashida widened her eyes in shock. She had never expected that such a thing had happened not long ago.

"Well, these are all the most real things that have happened."

"But if that's the case... wouldn't the World Tree be..."

Nashida, who is also a part of the World Tree, felt the condition of the World Tree, but found that the expected pollution did not appear.

The disappearance of the Great Compassion Tree King took away the last pollution on the World Tree, and Ye Ming brought the Great Compassion Tree King back to the world, but the pollution did not appear...

This is obviously unreasonable.

"Isn't this great? Perhaps we can use this method to help the Great Compassion Tree King revive."

These words really frightened Nashida, but after a moment of surprise, the wise girl also realized the possibility.

"The Great Compassion Tree King and I are both part of the World Tree."

"Since I was born from the branches of the World Tree, the Great Compassionate Tree King can also rely on the World Tree to return."