Reincarnated as a Ginkgo Tree: I Create an Eternal Divine Kingdom - Chapter 135

“Meng Deyu, I ask on behalf of my master, where did you find the courage to oppose the Misty Forbidden Zone?”

Huang Shuling coldly gazed down at Meng Deyu.

This entire matter had been unnecessarily troublesome.

The Misty Forbidden Zone had initially been in time to intercept those who took Su Qing away.

However, due to Meng Deyu and Nanzhao’s lack of cooperation, the Silver Moon Wolf King had nearly perished, and Su Qing’s whereabouts remained unknown.

“Envoy, please forgive me! This was not my fault; it was the Ancient Tomb Empire that deceived me…” Meng Deyu pleaded in panic.

Huang Shuling had no interest in listening to his excuses.

The Ancient Tomb Empire was undoubtedly guilty, but Meng Deyu was equally complicit.

While she could spare others, Meng Deyu would not be one of them.

She pointed her finger at him.

A beam shot from her fingertip, piercing Meng Deyu’s forehead.

Under normal circumstances, killing the ruler of Nanzhao in front of countless Nanzhao soldiers would have been reckless and might have incited their hatred.

But Huang Shuling did not care at all.

Nanzhao had been thoroughly defeated and posed no threat to her.

Moreover, she had more plans in mind.

The expressions of countless Nanzhao citizens were filled with grief, as if they had suffered a devastating blow.

Indeed, many looked at Huang Shuling with hatred.

Even if they did not support Meng Deyu, he was still the former ruler of Nanzhao.

Huang Shuling’s actions had trampled on Nanzhao’s dignity.

She ignored their looks and indifferently turned to Meng Xiuyuan, delivering a cold, merciless command: “As of today, the Nanzhao royal family is abolished. All members of the Nanzhao royal family must leave Nanzhao within three days, or they will be killed without mercy!”

Meng Xiuyuan looked up sharply, staring at Huang Shuling in disbelief.

The soldiers of Nanzhao present were also filled with righteous indignation, ready to fight the Misty Forbidden Zone to the death.

Unfortunately, if there had been any chance before, there was none now.

The Mist Army had already entered the city; any hope of resistance had vanished.

The gates of the palace opened wide, and a vast Mist Army flooded in.

Within moments, it felt as though buckets of cold water had doused the Nanzhao soldiers’ anger.

Their fury was extinguished, replaced by a chilling fear.

Faced with such a terrifying force, even if they all died, they would barely make a ripple.

If fighting had any purpose, perhaps many would have fought.

But if it was all in vain, few would choose that path.

At that moment, Meng Xiuyuan realized that Huang Shuling was not joking.

If the Meng family did not leave Nanzhao, they would indeed be slaughtered by the Misty Forbidden Zone.

“Yes!”

Meng Xiuyuan finally had to swallow his humiliation.

He had just ascended the throne and was still dreaming of his future as the ruler of Nanzhao.

Little did he expect that he would soon become part of an exiled royal family.

Two days later.

Meng Xiuyuan and the members of the Nanzhao royal family set off.

Most of the royal family left Nanzhao with Meng Xiuyuan.

A small number refused to leave.

Three days later.

Those who refused to leave were all executed by the Misty Forbidden Zone.

With Taihe City breached and the royal family exiled, a terrifying truth was announced.

The Nanzhao Kingdom had fallen!

From the Misty Forbidden Zone’s declaration of war to the royal family’s departure, it took merely half a month.

Half a month and a mid-sized nation was wiped out.

This development was a massive shock to everyone across the world.

Suddenly, all eyes were fixed on the land of Nanzhao.

Was it possible that the Misty Forbidden Zone would now become the new rulers of Nanzhao?

If so, the Misty Forbidden Zone would no longer be a forbidden zone but the “Mist Demon Kingdom.”

Would there be a nation led by demons in this world?

The mere possibility of this threw the world into turmoil.

Green Hills Mansion.

Li Tianming and the other high-ranking officials of Green Hills Mansion were first horrified, then deeply troubled.

“Nanzhao has been destroyed by the Misty Forbidden Zone?”

The news was no less than an earthquake.

After calming down, they quickly realized an even more terrifying fact.

The Misty Forbidden Zone had the power to completely annihilate Qingzhou.

In hindsight, it seemed that the Misty Forbidden Zone had held back when they hadn’t destroyed Qingzhou.

In that sense, it seemed they should even be grateful to the Misty Forbidden Zone?

Nanzhao Kingdom.

“Sister Su Yao, do we really have to withdraw from Taihe City?” the Ironback Ape asked with a reluctant expression.

The other members of the Misty Forbidden Zone felt similarly.

This was the capital of a nation.

They had fought hard to capture it, an achievement worthy of the history books.

And now, Su Yao was saying they needed to leave Taihe City.

“Not only Taihe City, but we must also withdraw from all cities except those under Ruan Huian’s control,” Su Yao replied calmly. “For us, occupying these human cities is meaningless and will only attract hatred.

If we truly occupy these cities, we will be seen as the first demonic kingdom by the humans.

This is not a good thing; it will make us the primary target of human hatred and draw hostility from all sides.

Moreover, this is also the will of the Lord Divine Tree.”

The members of the Misty Forbidden Zone had no further objections.

Su Yao’s reasoning made sense.

Occupying Nanzhao was indeed more disadvantageous than beneficial for them.

Soon after the Mist Army withdrew, a massive army from the Great Xia Empire entered Nanzhao from the north.

Nanzhao had always been a vassal state of Great Xia.

Now that Nanzhao was occupied by the Misty Forbidden Zone, Great Xia could not simply stand by.

However, when they arrived, they felt like they had punched a soft pillow.

Because the Mist Army had already withdrawn.

The Mist Army was not weak; otherwise, they would not have been able to destroy Nanzhao.

Had the Mist Army remained, they would have had no choice but to confront them to protect Great Xia’s interests.

Perhaps they could have even taken over Nanzhao.

But now that the Mist Army had retreated without warning, the Great Xia Empire’s forces found themselves with no reason to stay in Nanzhao.

For a while, they were in a rather awkward position.

“So it’s Mang Yinglong leading the troops?”

Su Yao had been secretly observing the movements of the Great Xia Empire.

After invading Nanzhao, the Misty Forbidden Zone had been wary of Great Xia.

They were not worried that Great Xia would dare to take direct action against the Misty Forbidden Zone.

Instead, they wanted to prevent Great Xia from using the situation as a pretext to seize Nanzhao.

If the Great Xia army were allowed to remain in Nanzhao permanently, it would be very detrimental to the Misty Forbidden Zone.

Nanzhao was located right behind the Misty Forbidden Zone.

The forces behind them should either be their own or be very weak; a strong enemy could not be allowed there.

Therefore, the Mist Army decisively retreated, denying Great Xia any excuse.

Great Xia was clearly dissatisfied but had no choice.

Even with Great Xia’s strength, they could not arbitrarily seize other nations.

To do so, they would need a legitimate reason.

Otherwise, the world would stand against them.

“Retreat!”

The Great Xia army had no choice but to withdraw.

The Mist Army’s withdrawal from Nanzhao surprised not only Great Xia but also the various powers around the world.

Most of these powers slightly relaxed their vigilance against the Misty Forbidden Zone.

While the Misty Forbidden Zone was strong, this situation suggested they were not particularly ambitious.

It seemed that, like other forbidden zones, they preferred to remain secluded in the mountains and forests.

And the forests had always been the territory of the beasts, to which humans had little objection.

However, nine cities north of Taihe City were now under the control of Ruan Huian and the Sect of the Other Shore.

Ruan Huian was now regarded as a heretic by many disciples within the Sect of the Other Shore.

They believed that Ruan Huian’s collusion with the Misty Forbidden Zone and alliance with demons was a disgrace to both the sect and humanity.

Conversely, those who shared Ruan Huian’s views considered her the true Holy Maiden.

In their hearts, her status was higher than that of the sect leader.

Even though these followers were in the minority within the sect, the sheer number of Sect of the Other Shore followers made up for it.

With over a hundred million followers, even a small percentage devoted to Ruan Huian amounted to a massive number.

Now, there were over 800,000 disciples under Ruan Huian’s command, firmly controlling the nine cities.

Meanwhile, after the Nanzhao royal family fled abroad and the Mist Army withdrew, the various forces in Nanzhao began to grow ambitious.

For a time, warlords emerged all over the land.

Nanzhao was completely fragmented.

The former nation was now torn into countless pieces.

The Sect of the Other Shore under Ruan Huian was undoubtedly the largest of these factions.

Great Xia Empire.

Taikang City.

When news of Nanzhao reached the court, the officials were furious.

However, their anger was not directed at the Misty Forbidden Zone or the warlords in Nanzhao but at the Ancient Tomb Empire.

The situation in Nanzhao had been entirely under Great Xia’s control.

Great Xia’s plans were flawless.

By using Mount Longhu as a focal point, they aimed to unite the countries of the Southern Desolation.

On one hand, they intended to counter the Misty Forbidden Zone, while on the other, they sought to penetrate and control the Southern Desolation.

But now, with Nanzhao — the key piece of their plan — destroyed, Great Xia’s strategy had collapsed.

The true culprit behind all this was the Ancient Tomb Empire.

Of course, the fool Meng Deyu also bore significant blame.

Had Meng Deyu not cooperated with the Ancient Tomb Empire, none of this would have happened.

But Meng Deyu was dead, so the Great Xia Empire could only direct its fury toward the Ancient Tomb Empire.

“First, cancel all resource support and preferential policies for the Ancient Tomb Empire.”

“Second, demand that the Ancient Tomb Empire provide a reasonable explanation, or we will have to reconsider the boundaries of the Thousand-Year Path.”

The Thousand-Year Path was the boundary between the Great Xia Empire and the Ancient Tomb Empire, and its demarcation had always been a contentious issue.

Now the Ancient Tomb Empire was facing a threat from sea monsters.

If Great Xia implemented these two measures, it would make life extremely difficult for the Ancient Tomb Empire.

As for the Misty Forbidden Zone, the Great Xia Empire had decided not to provoke it for the time being.

Every time they clashed with the Misty Forbidden Zone, Great Xia seemed to suffer, causing them to develop a cautious respect for the zone.

Thus, any future plans to deal with the Misty Forbidden Zone would have to be carefully considered.

Su Mu, however, was not focused on Great Xia.

In Nanzhao, Su Mu chose to have the Mist Army withdraw, not because he intended to give up on Nanzhao’s benefits.

Quite the opposite.

He had secured the most critical interests.

By taking advantage of the destruction of Nanzhao, Su Mu connected the Sui River with the Meng River.

Now, the Meng River was shrouded in white mist.

Along its banks, strange white mushrooms had begun to appear everywhere.