When the People Become Flame, Illuminating Mountains and Rivers

Deep within Sunset Forest, the earth looked as though it had been torn apart by a colossal beast. Blood-red fissures crisscrossed the land, as if the entire ground were bleeding. That crimson, heart-like "Blood Seed" had completely rooted itself in the core of the earth veins. Its roots writhed like living creatures, each one pulsing like a blood vessel as it greedily drew in underground Soul Power. Under the night sky, the Soul Beasts throughout the forest descended into madness—wolves tore apart their own kind, tigers detonated their Soul Rings, birds crashed into tree trunks, and flesh and blood turned to mist, all of it sucked underground.

Suddenly, an earthshaking roar erupted from the depths of the earth. Blood-red light shot into the heavens, condensing into a colossal shadow hundreds of meters tall. It was humanoid in shape, yet possessed three heads and six arms. Each face was carved with ancient evil patterns; its eye sockets held neither pupils nor spirit, only burning blood flames. As its six arms spread wide, heaven and earth changed color. Winds swept away the clouds, and even the stars dimmed.

Its voice was like the cries of ten thousand souls, piercing through the soul and striking directly at Spiritual Sense. Within a hundred miles, every Soul Master bled from all seven orifices, their Martial Souls collapsed, their Soul Rings shattered, and their Soul Power was forcibly torn from them like rivers flowing backward.

Deep within Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong knelt in the center of a blood pool. Her black robe had torn apart, and strange blood-red patterns emerged across her back, resonating with the Evil God's phantom. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, yet she smiled wildly. "Lord God... I offer one hundred thousand Soul Masters as sacrifice and use a thousand years of resentment as the guide. At last, I have awakened you. This shell of a body is willing to serve you and reshape the order of the God Realm!"

She slowly rose to her feet. Her eyes had already turned blood-red, and an Evil God's phantom appeared behind her, its six arms stretching outward as if it meant to hold the entire Douluo Continent in its palm.

The Evil God descended into the mortal world through Bibi Dong's body.

At the edge of Star Dou Great Forest, the Dao Seed Great Wall shook violently. Ice crystal Runes continuously shattered beneath the blood-red corruption, while ice thunder wailed like a snapped-stringed zither. Xiao Wu knelt at the heart of the formation, both hands pressed tightly against the Dao Seed Stele. Veins bulged on her forehead, and blood seeped from her lips. "I can't hold on... The Blood Seed's power is evolving. It's devouring the Dao!"

Just then, an aged yet resolute voice rang out:

Old Plowman arrived with all the villagers of Star Dou Village. Every one of them carried fragments of the Dao Seed Stele, "village-protecting stones" they had taken from their fields, beside their wells, and before their ancestors' graves. They drove the fragments into the ground and chanted in unison:

In an instant, ice crystal light spread like sparks across a prairie. Countless points of light rose from the villagers' bodies and flowed into the earth veins. The Plow Array activated once more, and ice thunder roared like dragons, driving the blood back three miles.

"We aren't Soul Masters," an old farmer panted, gripping his hoe tightly, "but we have fields to till and homes to protect. We'll defend this wall!"

The news swept across the continent like the wind—outside Heaven Dou City, craftsmen from the blacksmith shops erected Dao Seed Steles at street corners, hammering their anvils, tempering their souls in fire, and stirring resonance with the earthfire; along the Star Luo border, fishermen sank Dao Seeds into the seabed, using the power of the tides to activate the sea veins' ice thunder; underground in Spirit Hall-controlled territory, slaves secretly passed around Dao Seeds and buried them in mines, prisons, and altars, forming an "underground Dao network"; even amid the ruins of Shrek Academy, a young man embedded a fragment of the Sea God's Light left behind by Tang San into a Dao Seed Stele, unexpectedly triggering a resonance with divine power!

The Dao Seed Great Wall was no longer a single line of defense, but a "net of will" covering the entire continent.

Sea God Island, within Sea God Palace.

Tang San stood before the divine statue. The Sea God's Scepter shone dimly, and a fine crack split the statue. Bo Saixi knelt beneath the steps, her voice trembling. "Gods cannot easily interfere with the mortal world. Otherwise, it will invoke punishment from the God Realm. Your godhood will be stripped away, and you will be denied rebirth for eternity."

Tang San closed his eyes. After a long while, he slowly spoke:

He opened his eyes, and waves churned within them as if an entire ocean were surging forth. "I offer my position as the Sea God as sacrifice and temporarily break the divine laws—after this battle, if the God Realm passes judgment, I alone will bear it."

In an instant, the Sea God statue exploded into fragments. Endless blue light soared into the sky and transformed into a pillar of light that fell directly into Star Dou Great Forest. Within the light, Tang San arrived riding the waves with the Sea God's Scepter in hand. Twelve Sea God Douluo followed behind him, every Soul Ring gleaming, divine light protecting their bodies.

"Sea God Island joins the battle."

His voice boomed like thunder, echoing between heaven and earth.

Heaven Dou Imperial Palace. The emperor stood atop the city walls, gazing at the Dao Seed wall of light stretching across heaven and earth to the north. Its radiance hung like an inverted river of stars, firmly blocking the blood-red tide beyond the borders.

"Your Majesty," the prime minister knelt and reported, "the Farmer's Alliance has already become the force that commands the world. The common people know only the Dao Seed, not the emperor's grace... If it is not checked, disaster may arise."

The emperor remained silent for a long time before suddenly laughing aloud. "Checked? Do you know that without the Dao Seed Great Wall, the imperial capital would already be a land of death? My dragon throne has been defended with the lives of the people."

He turned, removed his dragon robe, changed into plain clothes, and personally lifted a Dao Seed Stele as he walked toward the palace gates. "From this day onward, the Heaven Dou imperial family belongs to the Dao."

He erected the Dao Seed Stele before the main gates of the imperial city and shouted:

The people cheered and surged forward like a tide. The Dao Seed's light illuminated the emperor's face, and a faint golden mark condensed upon his forehead—the People's Recognition Seal. It signified that he had finally gained the true recognition of the people. He was no longer the "Son of Heaven," but the "servant of all people."

Within Solitary Cultivation Hall, Yang Jun sat cross-legged beside the Ice Lotus Pond, the Shennong Hoe laid across his knees. The ice lotus had grown to nine feet tall, its nine petals crystalline and translucent. Each petal reflected a village, a city, a stretch of mountains and rivers. Points of light in the lotus heart swirled like a galaxy, resonating with countless Dao Seeds across the continent.

Yu Xiaogang said softly, "Bibi Dong has become the Evil God's vessel, and Tang San has broken the divine laws to join the battle as well... This battle is no longer something human strength can stop."

Yang Jun opened his eyes. His gaze was like the morning star, calm yet unshakable:

He slowly rose, drove the Shennong Hoe into the ground, and murmured:

In an instant, the ice lotus burst into bloom. Countless points of light rose into the air, scattering toward the western continent like a meteor shower. Every ray of light fell into the heart of an ordinary person.

A farmer stopped hoeing in his field, realization flashing through his eyes. "So I, too, can protect the Dao." He drove his hoe into the soil, and a Dao Seed Stele rose from underground. A village woman cradled her infant and softly sang a Dao Seed ballad. Faint ice crystals appeared in the baby's palm, and amid its crying, a Dao Seed formed on its own.

A youth gathering herbs in the mountains buried a fragment of a Dao Seed Stele in the soil and whispered, "From this day on, this mountain belongs to the Dao." A mountain wind suddenly rose, and all the trees resonated. A blind old man sat at the village entrance and muttered, "Though I cannot see, my heart can feel the Dao's light."

The Dao Seeds had truly awakened.

They no longer needed Yang Jun to sow them himself. They had already taken root in people's hearts.

At the center of Star Dou Great Forest, the Blood Shadow Evil God spread its six arms. Blood waves surged into the heavens, and wherever they passed, Dao Seed Steles shattered one after another while the Ice Thunder Runes broke like glass.

Just then, a deep blue light came from the far north, like a rainbow piercing the sun. Yang Jun arrived on the snow, with no soldiers or generals behind him—only a Shennong Hoe and plain cloth robes.

"You have come." The Evil God's voice rumbled like thunder. "With a mortal body, you dare attempt to defy heaven?"

"I have come," Yang Jun replied calmly. "You use souls as sacrifice; I use hearts as seeds. You take lives; I protect life. You are a god; I am the Dao."

"But you are not a Soul Master. You have no power." The Evil God sneered. "You do not even have a Soul Ring. How will you stand against a god?"

Yang Jun raised his head, his gaze blazing:

He lifted the Shennong Hoe and gently swept it through the air—

In an instant, countless Dao Seeds across the continent resonated at once. Ice thunder roared like dragons, earth veins pulsed like arteries, and innumerable points of light gathered behind him, forming a phantom a thousand meters tall—

It was neither a god nor a Soul Beast, but the image of a cultivator holding farming tools and standing upon the earth. Its features were blurred, yet it seemed formed from millions of overlapping faces—old farmers, women, youths, the blind... Together, they formed this "Incarnation of the Dao."

It was—the embodiment of the Will of the People.

It was—the Dao's true form.

"This Dao," Yang Jun's voice spread across heaven and earth, "is called: Protection."

The night was nearing its end.

In Star Dou Great Forest, the Dao Seed Great Wall shone with boundless radiance, reflecting the Sea God's Light. Tang San stood in the air, looking toward Yang Jun's back as he softly said, "So this is what a true 'god' is. Not one who stands above all others, but one who stands with all people."

Xiao Wu clenched her fists. "They did it... Ordinary people truly can change the world."

Tang Hao looked at the cultivator phantom formed from the will of the people and murmured, "This is the future of Douluo Continent. Not Soul Masters ruling all, but all people governing together."

The wind swept across the mountains and rivers.

The Dao Seed Steles' light illuminated the earth like stars. Every village, every city, every mountain peak raised a Dao Seed Stele. They were no longer merely defensive structures, but symbols of faith.

Before Solitary Cultivation Hall in the far north, the ice lotus bloomed quietly. The points of light in its heart flickered softly, as though they were saying something.