Chapter 2041: Image of a Major Power, Goodbye Taide

Communication with Badijiaer went very smoothly—how could it not? Xia Duo had already taken the most difficult part of purifying the Shenyuan Zhidi upon himself, and all the Seven Towers had to do was use this to bargain for more benefits from the Northland Alliance. How hard could that be!

Two days later, Xia Duo had completed the maintenance of the Floating City's major systems, especially the carriers for War Spells, and good news arrived from the Seven Towers.

With the purification of Longya Haiya (where the Mo Yi Midian was located) as a condition, the Seven Towers secured conveniences in trade agreements for Netheril from the various countries of the Northland Alliance and facilitated multiple new collaborations led by Netheril.

Of course, these were all long-term benefits, and the returns were not yet visible.

Because Xia Duo had repeatedly warned them about the threat of the Demon Descendants, the Seven Towers also took the opportunity to demand an increase in Netheril's voice within the Demon Descendant Intelligence Analysis Research Lab under the Northland Alliance.

This was a tangible short-term benefit, at least for Xia Duo; it meant he could indirectly influence, or even lead, the entire Northland Alliance's analysis and research direction regarding Demon Descendants by influencing the Seven Towers.

Although this did not yet count as truly leading affairs related to Demon Descendants, pushing at a critical moment was enough to change the final outcome of many events!

Aside from some practical benefits, Netheril's biggest gain this time was international prestige. Compared to the previous reluctance of various countries to pay the price required to purify the Abyss, Netheril's initiative to take on this matter, regardless of whether it ultimately succeeded, greatly boosted its reputation.

This was also what Xia Duo hoped to see—Netheril was gradually projecting the image of a positive, responsible major power in the Northland.

And the shaping of this image could also feed back into Netheril domestically, influencing the Seven Towers and other relatively independent territories, making the overall environment of Netheril trend toward order and stability, whether actively or passively.

It is similar to frequently praising someone for being upright; in order to maintain such a reputation, they will also try to maintain such a positive persona.

In a sense, this is also a kind of "burden of reputation," and whether one enjoys it depends on the trade-offs of the benefits involved.

For Netheril, at least for now, being a responsible major power in the Northland has its benefits; as for the future, the stronger it becomes, the greater the benefits will naturally be.

In reality, it was Xia Duo guiding Netheril toward the path of "King's Way," providing a more convenient external environment for the future "civilizational replacement" of Daxia Territory.

This morning, on a flat piece of ground on Longya Haiya.

Under the gaze of a group of envoys from the Northland Alliance, Xia Duo transformed a light-quality feather back into the form of a Holy Seal and attached it to the back of his hand, then issued a call to the Taide Holy Seal, which was surging with Holy Light on the back of his hand.

The next moment, the sound of faint, ethereal hymns drifted over the Sea Cliff, followed by specks of Holy Light appearing, which quickly converged into a portal composed entirely of Holy Light.

As the portal appeared, clearer hymns emanated from within, and emerging along with them was the target of Xia Duo's summoning—

The Divine Envoy Taide, clad in golden armor and holding a great sword, along with the team of Divine Envoys he led.

As soon as Taide appeared, before he had time to reminisce with Xia Duo, his golden pupils, burning with Holy Flame, immediately emitted a light that felt substantial.

At the same time, his expression became extremely serious; without any orders, the team of Divine Envoys under his command had already automatically raised the giant swords in their hands, coordinating with him to unleash a supreme strike—

A Holy Light Giant Sword manifested out of thin air and, at a peculiar angle, shot straight into the interior of the Sea Cliff. The next moment, all the Spellcasters present felt a violent tremor of the Magic Net coming from the ground nearby.

Following that was a massive eruption of Abyssal Aura, which burst forth mixed with the shattered Holy Light.

Without needing to actually check, all the Spellcasters present shared the same thought—the Shenyuan Zhidi had expanded!

"Divine Envoy Taide, hold your hand! That place is already nearly a true Shenyuan Zhidi! I ask that Divine Envoy Taide consider this carefully!"

Hearing Xia Duo's words, and given that the Judgment giant sword just now seemed to have brought about a worse result, Tailun could not help but pause his intention to continue attacking. He put away his giant sword and said to Xia Duo:

"Mage Xia Duo, what is going on here? Why is there such an intense Abyssal Aura over there?"

So Xia Duo concisely told Taide about the process of the Demon Descendant Mage summoning the Abyss. Taide was not interested in Demon Descendants, but since it involved the Abyss, he couldn't help but ask one more question:

"The Demon Descendants you speak of, do they possess Demon Bloodline?"

"Yes."

"Damn demons!"

A look of murderous intent was almost undisguised in Taide's eyes. If a Demon Descendant were standing in front of him right now, he would likely swing his sword to eliminate them.

However, Xia Duo did not want to deviate from the topic like this, so he spoke up to remind him: "Divine Envoy Taide, the issue of Demon Descendants is being investigated by countries on the Main Plane, but that Shenyuan Zhidi is truly very difficult for us to purify. I hope Divine Envoy Taide can help us."

"No problem, fighting the Abyss is my duty. However, regarding the specific purification of that piece of Shenyuan Zhidi, I need to observe it at close range before I can make a judgment."

"I will lead the way!"

As Xia Duo spoke, he had already cast a spell to fly up, moving from the top of the Sea Cliff to the side near the sea. The entrance to the "Bao Shi Tong Dao" that had been "blasted" open by the Floating City's War Spell 【Annihilation Light】 was on the cliff wall not far away.

However, with the Abyssal Aura so intense over there, Taide and his party did not need Xia Duo to lead the way at all; their flight speed was even much faster than Xia Duo's.

By the time Xia Duo flew to the entrance of the "Bao Shi Tong Dao," the figures of Taide's team had already penetrated deep into the passage. The innermost part of this passage was where the Shenyuan Zhidi was located, and also where the former Mo Yi Midian had been.

Just after flying a short distance inside, Xia Duo felt the Abyssal Aura emanating from within rapidly dissipating; he figured Taide's team had already begun their operation.

And when he arrived at the innermost part, what he saw was Taide with his brows tightly locked, his eyes, shining with Holy Flame, staring fixedly at the Shenyuan Zhidi that was still continuing to expand outward.

"Mage Xia Duo, your guess was correct. This place has indeed become a true Shenyuan Zhidi, essentially connected to the Abyss of the Outer Planes."

"Then now—" Xia Duo was terrified that the other party would say something about the Abyss being impossible to purify.

"It is like this: I am more skilled at combat, but the Kingdom of Radiance actually has teams of Divine Envoys specifically responsible for purifying the Abyss. I need to summon them over."

"What do you need me to do?" Xia Duo asked.

"Not for now, let's purify this micro-Abyss first!"

After speaking, Taide turned to a team member behind him and ordered: "Kamier, you return to the Kingdom of Radiance immediately, find Pasetiya, explain the situation here to him, and then tell him I need his help!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Kamier responded, then transformed into a mass of Holy Light and gradually dissipated from sight.