In the central laboratory of Throne of Heaven, the temperature of the air is precisely controlled to a fraction above absolute zero, and any excess molecular motion will be instantly erased.
Uchiha Xuan held the teardrop-shaped "Maternal Obsession Crystal" with one hand and grabbed it in the air with the other hand.
The space was torn apart by invisible force, and a ball of dark red blood with an ominous aura was sucked out and suspended above the crystal.
That is the residual blood of Ten-Tails, which contains the most primitive and violent vitality and chakra.
"Not enough."
Xuan's eyes did not waver at all, and the unique gear-shaped Mangekyō Sharingan in his left eye slowly rotated.
A black flame purer than darkness rose from his fingertips. It was Divine Erosion Flame that he transformed into after devouring Divine Tree.
The flame has no temperature, but it exudes a terrifying pressure that can burn the soul and annihilate concepts.
With a flick of his finger, Divine Erosion Flame was accurately integrated into the remaining blood of Ten-Tails.
The violent blood calmed down instantly, as if it were a tamed beast. The violence and chaos in it were completely swallowed up and purified by the black flames, leaving only the purest creative energy.
After doing all this, he gently placed the teardrop crystal into a special crystal groove, and then slowly injected the purified blood of Ten-Tails.
"Zi--"
The moment the two came into contact was not the violent reaction as expected, but an ultimate fusion.
The dark red life energy is like a gentle stream, surrounding the crystal teardrops, constantly seeping and infiltrating.
Finally, Xuan used a trace of Divine Erosion Flame as a fuse, sealed it at the bottom of the crystal tank, and set up a seven-day cycle of refining procedures.
What he did was to "water" the extreme emotional energy derived from "obsession" with the creation-level life essence, and then "burn it" with the flame of the concept of annihilation, removing all impurities and retaining only its core essence.
Seven days later, when the last second of the refining process was completed, a crisp "click" sound came from the crystal tank.
The surface of the originally crystal clear teardrop crystal was covered with fine cracks.
The next moment, endless soft white light burst out from the cracks, instantly filling the entire laboratory.
This light is not dazzling, but carries an indescribable warmth and tranquility, as if a baby is lying in its mother's arms, listening to the most primitive heartbeat.
Any life exposed to the light, whether it is a manic beast or a prisoner filled with hatred, will have its negative emotions soothed in an instant, and its spiritual wounds will be gently healed.
This is the purest form of "maternal obsession" - an unconditional and ultimate comforting power that can eliminate all disputes.
Chiyo Saori's figure quietly appeared at the door of the laboratory, her ice-blue electronic prosthetic eyes accurately analyzing every inch of fluctuations in the white light.
After a moment, her cold voice sounded, carrying a rare warning.
"Master, the nature of this object has been analyzed. Its essence is a high-dimensional spiritual covering field that can forcefully pull the emotional baseline of intelligent life back to the 'sheltered infancy'. If it flows into the people, it will indeed eliminate all resistance in the short term, but in the long run, it will awaken people's nostalgia for concepts such as 'family' and 'warmth' in the old era. Once this trend of thought is formed, it will become the most terrifying fire to resist the iron-blooded order you have built."
Her analysis hit the nail on the head.
Xuan's empire is built on absolute strength and reason, and this "gentleness" is the poison of the empire.
However, Uchiha Xuan just looked at the crystal that was constantly releasing healing light indifferently, and the corners of his mouth curled up in an arc that no one could understand.
"Give me an order," his voice was emotionless but as unquestionable as an oracle, "Encode this energy and inject it into the secondary production line of 'Fire Seal' Forehead Protector. From today on, all new citizens and grassroots soldiers will be issued this new model."
Chiyo Saori's pupils shrank, but she didn't hesitate at all and bowed to accept the order, "Yes, Lord."
With a mountain of orders, the empire's huge machine operates with terrifying efficiency.
In just three days, the first batch of new Flame Mark Forehead Protector equipped with "Maternal Radiance" was distributed to several of the most chaotic border colonial areas in the empire.
The effect is immediate.
Those workers who were once filled with violent energy due to being forced to wear the new Forehead Protector, the violent energy on their faces melted away like ice and snow, and was replaced by an almost holy peace.
The street fights disappeared, the noise in the pub stopped, and even the most stubborn rebels put down their weapons, and their eyes became resigned and peaceful.
The Imperial Medical Department soon submitted an exciting report: the "National Mental Health Index" in the new control area soared by 87% within seventy-two hours, and the incidence of social violence was close to zero.
This seemed like a great victory, a bloodless conquest.
But on Throne of Heaven, Chiyo Saori retrieved frame after frame of surveillance images, but his brows became more and more frowning.
She was keenly aware of the terrifying anomaly hidden under that report.
In the video, a supervisor gives an obviously wrong instruction to workers to transport ore to a cliff.
The worker's eyes did not waver at all, with a gentle smile on his face, and he pushed the mine cart towards his death without hesitation.
He had no anger, no questioning, or even thinking.
When faced with orders, they are like the most perfect puppets and will not offer any resistance.
But at the same time, they have completely lost the ability to actively think and judge, like a group of walking zombies hypnotized by gentleness.
"This is not loyalty," Chiyo Saori whispered to himself, "This is... spiritual castration."
At the same time, in the sea of his own consciousness, Uchiha Xuan was watching a huge and complex data model with cold eyes.
In the center of the model is "Loyalty Purity Model" which he personally created.
Countless data streams are flowing in from all over the empire, each representing an individual wearing the new Forehead Protector.
He clearly saw that the vast majority of data flows showed a warm white color, stable and obedient.
But among them, there are three hundred light spots that look out of place.
It is those three hundred "Tearsworn".
When this gentle force came into contact with Fire Seal on their foreheads, instead of comforting them, it actually aroused a strong rejection reaction!
Their Fire Seal heats up on its own unconsciously, even faintly burning the skin, as if the body's instinct is refusing to be softened and eroded by this false "maternal love".
Their loyalty is based on the worship and following of the absolute power of Uchiha Xuan. It is a bloody consciousness, not a cowardly seeking refuge.
As for those who happily accepted this "gentleness", the system data clearly showed that more than 90% of them had the painful experience of losing a loved one in the old days, and deep down in their hearts, they desperately longed for a harbor where they would no longer suffer and struggle.
"Screening... completed."
Uchiha Xuan's consciousness was withdrawn from the ocean of data, with cold calculation flashing in his eyes.
What he wants is never a group of sheep that can only smile.
He issued the second and truly fatal order to Chiyo Saori.
"Notify the entire empire that anyone who wears the new Forehead Protector will immediately qualify as a 'core citizen' candidate. The final assessment content is: within three days, personally execute a direct or collateral blood relative who has publicly expressed opposition to the concept of 'Xuanlin'. Those who complete the test will be promoted immediately."
This order was like a nuclear bomb dropped into a calm lake, instantly setting off huge waves across the entire empire!
The bloody "purification" begins.
Unimaginable family tragedies have occurred in many places.
The son broke his father's neck with a smile on his face, and the wife tenderly fed the poison to her husband, just because they had complained in private about the New Empire's harsh government.
Under the comfort of "Maternal Radiance", they performed the most cruel acts without any disturbance in their hearts, as if they were just completing a normal housework.
In the system records, the Fire Seal of these completers eventually changed from warm white to a lifeless gray-black.
However, not everyone chose to obey.
In a remote mine, after receiving an order, a middle-aged man stared blankly at the portrait of his elderly mother at home.
After a long time, he roared like a beast, tore up the promotion order, and then slammed his forehead against the wall, smashing the soft-light Fire Seal into pieces.
At the moment when he committed suicide, the broken Fire Seal burst out with an extremely bright crimson light, which was fleeting.
Similar scenes were staged in every corner of the empire.
Tens of thousands of people, between false gentleness and true humanity, chose the latter and defended their last dignity with their lives.
Uchiha Xuan Sitting on the throne, it is like watching a grand drama.
He instructed Chiyo to recover all the Fire Seal that had turned gray-black, put it into the furnace, and calcined it with Divine Erosion Flame, extracting a brand-new gene sequence from it, which the system named - "Attachment-Type Loyalty Gene Template".
The fragments of Fire Seal that burst out with red light due to self-destruction were collected by him personally and stored in the deepest secret chamber of Naka River Shrine.
He gave these fragments a name:
"Ashes of Free Will."
"Saori," he spoke slowly, his voice echoing in the empty hall, "What I want is never an obedient dog. What I want is a wolf who will still choose to jump down with me even though he knows that there is an abyss and hell ahead of him."
Chiyo Saori lowered her head deeply. This time, there was a hint of trembling and enthusiasm in her voice. "I obey your will, my master."
That night.
Under Naka River Shrine, the blank stone tablet that had been cleared of "maternal obsession" by Uchiha Xuan changed again.
This time, it did not bleed like a gush of blood, but drops of blood like rubies slowly seeped out from the center of the ancient palm print.
The blood did not drip, but gathered and squirmed in the air. Finally, it condensed into a miniature heart the size of a baby's fist, suspended above the palm print, and made a weak but powerful "dong, dong" pulsating sound.
Almost at the same moment, the deepest point of Mariana Trench tens of thousands of meters below.
The chakra that was trapped in layers by Six Paths level Sealing Jutsu and was colder than absolute zero seemed to sense something.
It did not try to attack the main formation eye again, but like the most cunning poisonous snake, it silently circled around and avoided the detection range of all core runes.
Finally, it slowly attached itself to the back of an ancient stone tablet that had long been broken and was mostly buried by deep-sea mud.
That stone tablet belongs to the Uchiha Clan, and the inscriptions on it have long been obscured by thousands of years of water pressure and darkness.
Only an afterimage in a corner, illuminated by the cold atmosphere, vaguely revealed the outline of a Chinese character.
--Hui.
The abnormal movement of this breath, as well as the change in energy frequency that was so weak that it was almost negligible, instantly triggered the highest level alarm of Throne of Heaven.
Chiyo Saori cast his cold eyes on the deep sea surveillance light screen. For the first time, an unplanned tiny point of light appeared in the darkness that represented the absolute restricted area.
This new variable, this unknown whisper from the abyss, can no longer be ignored.