This Is My Decision.

The Void Sword God, in combination with Udu-dust, can cause someone to die directly from their consciousness, or make them believe they are unconscious, thus resulting in an eternal sleep.

Fu Hua wants to prevent Shiyu Qiluo's identity Fusion Warrior from crossing the current sensitive red line, and to nip the whole incident in the bud, this is the fastest solution.

Even if the missionaries' schemes became known, they still couldn't change Fu Hua's decision; it was a purely overt conspiracy.

Once the Void Sword God is unleashed, even if it's a much weaker version than before, Su Muxi, who was born from only a tiny fraction of the power of the Key of Consciousness, will still fall into a deep sleep. The only difference is that this sleep will be much shorter than the last one, and she may wake up within a few weeks.

But...

This was enough to allow Flora's plan to proceed in full.

The girl watched the figure slowly fall from the sky like Paper Kite. The person's expression was relieved, and the color in his eyes suddenly faded, leaving them empty. Strands of sky-blue hair clung to his fair face, seemingly messy yet beautiful. His pink lips were slightly upturned, as if he were somewhat happy.

She fell from the sky, like a lone bird with broken wings on the battlefield.

Qiluo.

Fu Hua's heart tightened suddenly, a sharp pain flashing through her. She pursed her lips, unable to restrain the caution she should have maintained. The Void Sword Qi gathered the Honkai Energy into a ball, forming three illusory lotus flowers that buffered the girl's descending potential energy and recoil layer by layer.

Finally, he was able to bring her into his arms.

The girl's fingers touched the softness of the waist of the person in her arms. She concealed all her emotions, her eyes lowered, her expression unreadable.

Whether that monster is alive or not, I will bring you back from there.

Between the Mind Lake.

The crimson feather, its luster dimmed, swayed gently on the water's surface, having fallen into slumber.

The transparent silk threads, seemingly penetrating every pore, settle onto the skin's surface, gradually seeping in before receding into nothingness just before the heart's Mind Lake stirs. Yet, drops of ink, still carried by the silk threads, seep into the skin, slowly spreading and diffusing at the bottom of the lake...

Two hours later, in the main city of Australia.

The Moth to Fire Division.

Fu Hua and Carole stood beside the laboratory, while inside the transparent glass was Shiyu Qiluo, whose limbs were bound by layers of restraints.

Prometheus, having synthesized and refined the data, presented it to the two men as follows:

"A crystal, suspected to Herrscher Core, has been detected inside Shiyu Qiluo's body."

The two exchanged a glance, their hearts tightening. This level of involvement meant that what had happened to Shiyu Qiluo was definitely no small matter.

Fu Hua began to think that the missionary might really be dead, and the strange moth in front of her might be a completely different phenomenon.

Since this involves the Herrscher Core, it's not hard to imagine what kind of being the instigator is.

She asked:

"What does 'suspected' mean? What's the difference between the crystal inside Qiluo and the real Herrscher Core?"

Prometheus responded:

"Aside from being much lower in energy level and efficacy and lacking the host power, this crystal is almost identical to previous Herrscher Core, both in structure and other aspects."

"The people in the lab believe that Shiyu Qiluo's problem is likely due to this core. Considering the Fusion Warrior's self-healing ability, they have attempted to remove it."

"Although the core was successfully removed, the process was extremely difficult. It seemed to have a substantial presence throughout her body, that is, some kind of invisible physical link."

"Removing it would almost certainly result in minor damage to the entire body. Only Fusion Warrior's physical prowess and self-healing ability can withstand such Shiyu Qiluo's body is out of control, then a normal warrior would be no different from dead in a similar situation."

In reality, besides her so-called Fusion Warrior physique, the key reason why Shiyu Qiluo survived was that, as part of the plan, she couldn't die at the moment.

Therefore, Christianne ordered that the sub-consciousness not resist, and that the threads and holes controlling the puppets be kept still, so that the core could safely leave the body, and the threads that were everywhere would break completely.

Otherwise, as long as the Herrscher of Domination is willing to be turned into a puppet toy, there is no possibility of its survival.

Expecting such a simple removal surgery to save a person is utterly a pipe dream.

Once Christianne takes control of your body, you are no longer in control of your own life or death.

Carole's expression brightened slightly upon hearing this, and she eagerly asked:

"So you mean Qiluo is alright now?"

Prometheus responded:

"The testing equipment shows that her consciousness is still in a state of confusion. As you said, the aftereffects of Miss Su's sword god attack will only last for a few hours, but it seems that the fluctuations caused by the sword god have stabilized. However, there is another force interfering with her recovery."

"If this problem cannot be solved, Shiyu Qiluo will not be able to Awakened."

Fu Hua looked troubled. She initially thought that since Shiyu Qiluo really fell into a coma because of the Void Sword God, it meant that the reason why she attacked her involuntarily was due to a mental problem, and most likely not the power to control the body or a trick.

Otherwise, the Void Sword God, omnipresent yet without a fixed form, would be utterly unable to interfere with the continued operation of the power controlling the body.

However, it seems that the core's existence is linked to every part of the body, which is a different path from the Herrscher Core were previously linked to the soul.

This detail proves that this object is fundamentally different from ordinary Herrscher Core, and it also proves that the mastermind behind it may have used it as a medium to defile Qiluo's body like a puppet.

Therefore, following this line of thought, Qiluo's problem may also be due to her body being forcibly controlled, but her consciousness can still barely maintain its own identity, which is why the situation just now occurred.

Taking all of this into account, the mastermind behind it all is most likely Herrscher.

Prometheus probably knew this before he did.

Now that all the clues I've encountered have been put together, to fill in the logical gaps and problems, it's necessary to establish that the other party's ability can only control the body when the host is conscious, and that the core also has the function of interfering with the host's mind.

The girl suddenly felt as if she were in a bizarre vortex, surrounded by misty clouds that obscured her vision and direction. She vaguely thought that using that idea to fill in the logical inconsistencies was a wrong approach.

It's as if someone deliberately guided the thinking, causing it to veer towards the current situation.

Flora and Christianne's teamwork was terrifying. Even though the [Bewitchment] mark still lingered and there was an unconcealable Blank Core, it was still difficult to guess their intentions.

Fu Hua suppressed the unease in her heart. If the mastermind was truly a newly emerged Herrscher, then such a strange flaw should not exist in her powers.

This state of being able to control both the body and influence the mind, yet being only half-baked in both, is extremely strange and clearly contains some illogical elements.

Her Seventh Herrscher's power was evident to all.

The Eighth Herrscher's powers are so vast that if he were killed even a month later, the entire world would face its twilight.

The Ninth Herrscher went even further, reducing human civilization to near-collapse.

If the current opponent is indeed the Herrscher with the Sequence Number 10, then her powers must be even more terrifying.

The current situation only proves two things: first, the enemy is not Herrscher.

Secondly, she's acting.

The probability of the former is extremely slim, and the latter is even stranger.

If the other party is really putting on an act, then Qiluo's accident is no coincidence.

On the surface, the only unique thing about Shiyu Qiluo is that she is Fusion Warrior. However, this only represents the other party's interest and scope in selecting targets, but it cannot explain the existence of this sense of incongruity.

What about the other details?

She continued to follow this line of thought: if the mastermind was indeed putting on an act, then it meant that only acting could achieve their desired goal.

On the surface, aside from her mental issues, all of Shiyu Qiluo's other flaws have been eliminated.

In fact, once you start to doubt, even this little bit becomes very strange.

It's like a gamer who's been stuck in hell mode for years suddenly getting stuck on easy difficulty due to a bug. After clearing a few dungeons, they'll inevitably find it very strange.

Fu Hua didn't think that core was so easy to remove. With Su Qing'an's [Stigmata] and the Black Abyss White Flower, it might be possible to remove it without any problems, but it would be far too easy to remove it with a simple physical surgery.

At present Shiyu Qiluo has not even suffered serious injuries and only needs to rest for less than a week.

This is undoubtedly a good thing, but it also has a strange and terrifying aspect.

If you're not just outsmarting thin air, then the other party must have much bigger ambitions.

The girl's expression was calm, and her heart was as still as a deep well.

Jianxin is already close to accumulating resources for the Taixu Realm. Although she is not as close as Su Qing'an, who is already close to the Path of Sincerity and the realm of knowing autumn from a single leaf, her intuition can already be described as accurate to a frightening degree.

Many clues that may not be confirmed are better left unanalyzed; once they are brought into the picture, they will subtly resonate with Fu Hua.

This is actually quite mysterious; in the past, she might not have trusted her intuition so much.

However, after listening to Su Qing'a Fu Hua's recent explanations of the various realms above the Great Void, from the sublimation of the sword heart to the Manas consciousness and the Ascended State, Fu Hua's understanding was reshaped.

Legend has it that Master Su, the Immortal Chi Yuan, was such a being.

That can be considered an example of returning one's soul to heaven and earth, taking all things as one's own, and thus climbing to the highest realm.

The increasingly keen intuition, combined with the distinctions of realms and higher levels mentioned by the young man, appears simple, unpretentious, and natural.

Rather, after hearing Su Muxi's words and witnessing Fuxi's Ascended State immortality, Su Qing'an believed that the Void Sword Qi was such a martial art.

Reaching Manas consciousness is something that very few people can do.

It was here that Su Qing'an realized that, in addition to the thresholds of Honkai Energy cultivation and comprehension, the Void Sword Qi also had a threshold where the soul had to be different from ordinary people. However, this threshold was for the Taixu realm and even the realms beyond Taixu.

In short, the Void Sword Qi, in a sense, is a method to gradually hone one's consciousness, enhance the five senses, and prepare for the later unity of heaven and man and interaction with all things.

Therefore, the little girl has been paying close attention to her intuition lately. She understands that it is not some kind of mysticism or something unbelievable, but rather a warning that cannot be ignored.

"Miss Fu, for now, the only way to solve this problem is probably to wait for Mr. Su to return and then try to use the Udu-dust."

Prometheus's words reached her ears, but the girl's intuition surged to its peak the instant the words "Udu-dust" were uttered.

Her eyes lowered, as if she understood something.

Shiyu Qiluo, acting, coma, Udu-dust.

Does that monster want me...?

Just as Fu Hua was getting close to the truth, a strange fluctuation froze her Mind Lake for a moment, creating subtle gaps and distortions in her thoughts and consciousness, burying the truth beneath thick soil, and twisting her thinking onto another track.

[Bewitching]

The missionary wasn't stupid; she naturally considered that Su Qing'an already possessed a portion of the power of the Herrscher of Consciousness, was qualified to control Udu-dust.

If the other party were patient and chose to wait for Su Qing'an to successfully transform before letting him use the Udu-dust to try to remove the interference of the power, then all the plans would be in vain.

At the same time, she couldn't guarantee that Fu Hua's thoughts would follow a fixed direction and achieve the desired result.

Even though it was unexpected that the other party would gradually approach the truth through meticulous unraveling of the mystery, Fu Hua, who had not undergone the transformation process of Fusion Warrior, was not protected by Su Muxi, and was unable to control Udu-dust, was unable to escape the interference of the [Bewitchment] power.

Subconscious corrections leave the least trace when done without the other person's knowledge, and guiding their thoughts will not leave any flaws.

This was also the main reason why Flora originally believed that she could exploit the weakness of the other party during their transformation simply by using [bewitching].

Fu Hua's mind went blank for a moment. She tried to continue thinking back to her previous thoughts but found herself unable to continue. Then she suddenly remembered Su Qing'an's questions and words from some time ago.

That is, the idea of becoming Fusion Warrior.

And after she said she was alright, the other party told her about the trivial scenes of how she and Udu-dust had a very high compatibility.

Since he could use his right to reside within it to return those misled by missionaries to their original state, could he also solve Qiluo's current problem?

The young girl had wanted to help Su Qing'an for a long time, and her seductive tactics were aimed directly at the core of the problem, guiding her towards the desired outcome.

However, Fu Hua's Clear Mirror Sword Heart, which she had cultivated to the point of being able to bewitch others, was not entirely meaningless. Her own soul was actually quite special; otherwise, Su Qing'an would not have worried about the possibility of the Honkai Consciousness attacking her. This made her hold onto that sense of incongruity and continue to struggle.

She asked:

"I'd like to know, is Qiluo the first case like this?"

Prometheus, believing Fu Hua had the right to know, responded:

"Such cases are rare, but this is not an isolated incident. Otherwise, the removal surgery would not have been performed so easily. The initial discovery of a core within the body, along with the involuntary loss of consciousness and bodily control, occurred a week ago, and similar incidents are still occurring intermittently."

"Those being manipulated were all, without exception, Fusion Warrior had recently undergone a successful transformation."

"Currently, it is speculated that the mastermind behind the suspected Tenth Herrscher is likely to sow discord between the Fusion Warrior and the rest of the population, and destroy civilization's most valuable fighting force."

If what happened to Shiyu Qiluo is the first case in the world, then Fu Hua's inner sense of unease can find another foothold, allowing her to get closer to the truth.

However, Christianne, under the direction of the missionaries, deliberately fabricated various cases in order to conceal her true purpose.

This method of hiding timber in the forest is extremely insidious and cunning.

If the missionary could lead the entire previous Herrscher team, the Honkai's selection of civilizations might have already been successful.

She continued to ask:

What about the other manipulated Fusion Warrior?

Prometheus responded:

"They are all currently in a near-comatose state."

The girl's sense of unease vanished. Prometheus's guesses and words were all reasonable. Once the special nature of Shiyu Qiluo was stripped away, she had no reason to suspect that there was some other conspiracy involved.

"How long until we depart for this Hyper-Mutation Factor mission?"

Prometheus stated:

"Three days later, in the morning."

"Using Fiji as a cage, and double-digit numbers of Emperor-class Honkai Beast as their respective life-or-death testing grounds, this will be the place of transformation or burial for a total of three hundred people."

Fu Hua looked up at the artificial intelligence that was weaving a blurry figure from data streams in the void, and said:

"Let me go."

Prometheus was silent for a moment:

"Miss Fu, you are not on the first batch of experiment list."

The girl said calmly:

"I could be the one."

"The next batch of experiments on the Hyper-Mutation Factor, to be conducted in a month, will be more reliable and safer than the first batch."

Fu Hua's gaze was firm as she softly explained:

"You should know that I have a high compatibility with Udu-dust. As long as I become Fusion Warrior, I can not only liberate those who were previously bewitched by the Herrscher of Consciousness, but also possibly Awakened the other Fusion Warrior who were controlled by the Tenth Herrscher."

"We even found clues about this suspected Tenth Herrscher."

"In the current situation, allowing a suspected Herrscher to live without any worries for a month would have immeasurable consequences. I don't have a month, and neither does humanity."

"As the Kevin subject, there was no way to avoid the probability of death at that time."

"Su Qing'an told me that he survived that ordeal by the skin of his teeth."

"If he were willing to wait a month, his chances of survival would naturally increase significantly, and he wouldn't have to take such a risk. But if that were the case, it's uncertain where the battle against the Seventh Herrscher would go."

The girl's expression remained calm, and the unwavering and fervent determination in her Mind Lake depths of her soul tremble—it was the power of [bewitching] that was shaking her.

It was clearly silent, yet it trembled under the dazzling light.

She said softly:

"I know what you're worried about, but the fact that he's willing to tell me about his compatibility with Udu-dust already shows that he's willing to respect my decision."

"So now, this is my decision."