The Great Compassionate Tree King Was Corrupted by Forbidden Knowledge and Became an Obstacle; Saving the World Required Erasing Her Existence; Dai Hao Clenched His Fist: A Hero Turned into Filth

[The Great Compassionate Tree King, the Grass God, the Guardian of Sumeru, and the Gods most closely connected with the World Tree.]

She was the first to realize the crisis that was sweeping the entire world.

Upon seeing the appearance of this Gods, everyone's tense nerves relaxed slightly.

"It's Gods!"

"Great! With the Gods intervening, they'll definitely be able to defeat these monsters!"

"This Grass God... feels so gentle and wise," Ning Tian murmured.

Lie Yan gazed at the figure of the Great Compassionate Tree King, a trace of compassionate empathy appeared in his eyes. "She... is grieving for this world."

Ji Dong grasped Lie Yan's hand. He could sense that this Great Compassionate Tree King shared a similar love and protectiveness towards life as Lie Yan.

However, the text that appeared on the Light Screen next made everyone's hearts sink again.

[The Great Compassionate Tree King traced the source of the pollution, and deep within the World Tree, she made an astonishing discovery.]

[The core of this Abyss corruption does not originate from Kandria, but from an even more ancient being--]

[Remnants of Forbidden Knowledge brought back from beyond the world by the previous King of Sumeru, the ' Scarlet King ' Arhama, five hundred years ago.]

"What?"

"The source of the pollution actually comes from another God King?"

"Forbidden Knowledge... that word again!"

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

Tang San frowned.

Scarlet King? Forbidden Knowledge?

The secrets involved are likely far more complex than imagined. Why would a God King bring back something so dangerous from beyond the world?

The fall of Kandria was merely a trigger.

[It detonated the 'bomb' that had been buried deep within the World Tree.]

[The contamination of Forbidden Knowledge, through the veins of the World Tree, has begun to infect the entire Teyvat Continent.]

In the image, the figure of the Great Compassionate King appears incredibly small and lonely, facing alone the ever-spreading black sludge deep within the World Tree, a symbol of Forbidden Knowledge.

She reached out, attempting to purify it with her own power.

Emerald green life energy surged into it, but was quickly swallowed up and assimilated by the deep black.

Instead of having any effect, it made the sludge even more active.

[The Great Compassionate Tree King understands.]

This kind of pollution cannot be purified or eliminated.

[It is already deeply connected to the World Tree's 'records'.]

There is only one way to eradicate it.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the Light Screen.

They sensed that an extremely cruel truth was about to be revealed.

[--Erase the source of the pollution, along with all its 'records' in the World Tree.]

Erase... records?

What does this mean?

"Erase the record from the World Tree..." Huo Yuhao's Divine Power surged wildly as he tried to understand the meaning of the sentence. Then, a chilling guess surfaced in his mind.

"The World Tree records everything in this world... If it were erased, it would mean..."

"This means that this person and this event will cease to exist in this part of history!" Tang San said for him, his voice hoarse.

"It's as if... he never existed!"

hiss--

A collective gasp filled the room.

What a terrifying method!

More thorough than death!

Death, at least, leaves a trace of existence, and one can still be remembered by relatives and friends.

To have one's records completely erased is to be completely dug out of the river of time, leaving not even a ripple!

"This... how is this even possible?" Bei Bei's voice trembled.

"This is too cruel! It's ten thousand times crueler than killing that person!" Xu Sanshi shouted.

"Wait," Gu Yuena suddenly spoke, her voice trembling slightly, "If we want to eliminate the source of the pollution, and that source is the Forbidden Knowledge brought by the ' Scarlet King,' wouldn't it be enough to simply erase the ' Scarlet King ' and the records of this knowledge?"

Her words gave everyone a glimmer of hope.

Yes, although erasing the existence of a God King is equally terrifying, it seems to be the only way to save the world.

The Great Compassionate Tree King, wouldn't he do that?

She is a goddess of wisdom who exists to protect the world.

However, the next line of text on the Light Screen shattered this last glimmer of hope.

The words seemed to have been written with all their might, each stroke conveying despair and sorrow.

[However, five hundred years ago, in order to suppress the first outbreak of Forbidden Knowledge, the Great Compassionate Tree King, along with the Scarlet King and the Flower God, ventured deep into the core of the pollution.]

She had deep access to Forbidden Knowledge.

[To save the world, she exhausted most of her power, sealed away Forbidden Knowledge, and was herself corrupted.]

[now...]

The Light Screen then gave a close-up of the Great Compassionate Tree King.

She remained as gentle and compassionate as ever, but a trace of sorrow, uncomprehended by anyone, lingered in her eyes.

From her perspective, wisps Sisi black energy were emanating from her fingertips—an energy that shared the same origin as the pollution deep within the World Tree.

Everyone understood.

Everyone understood.

An indescribable sense of suffocation enveloped the entire space.

Tang San's fists clenched so tightly they cracked inside his sleeves.

Huo Yuhao's eyes instantly reddened. He thought of his teacher, Electrolux, and those who sacrificed themselves to save others.

Gu Yuena stared blankly at the Light Screen, her lips slightly parted, but no sound came out.

The Dragon God's golden pupils contracted sharply. As the Creation God, he instantly deduced the extremely cruel logical Closed Loop behind it all.

--To eradicate pollution, the record of the pollution source in the World Tree must be erased.

--Forbidden Knowledge is the source of pollution.

--Even the Great Compassionate Tree King has been corrupted by Forbidden Knowledge.

--so...

On the Light Screen, the last line of text, like the final judgment, slowly descended.

[The Great Compassionate Tree King itself has also become part of ' Forbidden Knowledge '.]

She became the source of the pollution.

She became... the biggest obstacle to eradicating pollution.

silence.

A deathly silence.

The hero who saved the world ultimately became an obstacle to its destruction.

To save the world, one must first destroy oneself.

And it's not just a simple death; it's the erasure of all traces of her existence, leaving nothing behind, as if she had never been born into this world she so deeply loved.

What an irony, what a tragic fate!

The image on the Light Screen finally froze.

The image is frozen in time, showing the gentle Grass God standing quietly before the World Tree.

Before her lay rampant filth.

Behind her lies the world she vowed to protect with her life.

She herself became the contradictory link between these two things, a link that had to be severed.

No one spoke, but every face was filled with shock, grief, and disbelief.

A heavy, almost suffocating emotion permeated the space.