"Hahaha..."
A light laugh came from behind. Everyone followed the sound and saw Jing Yuan walking over at an unhurried pace.
"Jing Yuan...", Blade frowned slightly, clearly in a bad mood.
"General!" Yanqing called out.
Jing Yuan nodded to Yanqing, then finally placed his gaze on Dan Heng, who had revealed his Vidyadhara form.
Taking a slow breath, Jing Yuan said, "You two have returned to the Xianzhou after so long apart, yet neither of you thought to inform an old acquaintance in advance?"
"Hmph." Blade let out a cold snort. "Jing Yuan, spare the sarcasm. What I needed to do is already finished."
"Mm, finished." Jing Yuan responded calmly, going along with Blade's words.
Then he turned to Kafka and Blade and said, "The work you needed to do is now done. You may leave. Next time you have time, feel free to visit the Xianzhou again."
Kafka curled her lips into a smile. "General Jing Yuan, are you treating us like temporary workers? Next time the Stellaron Hunters come to the Xianzhou, it might not be such a good thing."
Jing Yuan shrugged and said nothing, only quietly turning his head to look at Nero.
The meaning was obvious, if you have people, we have people too. Next time, the result won't change.
After hearing this exchange between Jing Yuan and the Stellaron Hunters, Yanqing froze for a moment, then looked at Jing Yuan in disbelief, "General! This...?"
Yanqing wasn't stupid. By now, he had already realized that Jing Yuan and the Stellaron Hunters had been cooperating.
Jing Yuan smiled at Yanqing and shook his head, "There's no need to talk about that now. You can ask Nero later."
Yanqing, "..."
Blade and Kafka nodded to Jing Yuan, then passed by the crowd and left.
At this moment, Jing Yuan turned again to Dan Heng, "It's been a long time... old friend."
"I'm not him." Dan Heng replied coldly.
"Mm... I know.", Jing Yuan nodded, still wearing a faint smile. "...Sorry.
"But next, there are still some matters in the Scalegorge Waterscape that need your help to resolve. Nero wouldn't want to just destroy the Dragon Palace below."
"..." Dan Heng stood in place, then turned his head to glance at Nero, who was being pestered by Yanqing for explanations about the Stellaron Hunters. "Mm."
After responding, Dan Heng turned away again, hearing Jing Yuan sigh softly behind him.
The group didn't linger any longer. Soon, they left together with Jing Yuan and the Cloud Knights accompanying him.
———
On the other side, the Astral Express trio had successfully shut down the Alchemy Commission. Fu Xuan immediately led her forces forward and met up with them.
When everyone arrived at the Alchemy Commission, they saw quite a number of Mara-struck abominations.
One of the monsters looked at the furnace and said to a woman beside it, "Leader... the furnace... has gone out."
That leader was facing the furnace and shook her head. She had already heard the sound of the Cloud Knights pressing in.
"It doesn't matter. What's meant to come will come."
Fu Xuan stepped forward and glanced at the "leader" floating before the furnace. From the back, she recognized her identity, and because of that, her brows tightened deeply.
"Danshu...!?"
"Danshu?" Hearing Fu Xuan's words, March 7th felt the name sounded a bit familiar.
After a second, the girl suddenly seemed to remember something. Her eyes widened, her face full of shock. "Danshu!?"
March couldn't help but take a step back. She pointed at the leader in front of her, then turned to look at her companions.
"I... if I remember right, wasn't Danshu already captured by Nero...?"
"Mm. That's correct." Welt nodded. "Which means... the one standing before us now is not the real Danshu..."
Fu Xuan clenched her teeth. "She's a replica created by those people hiding in the shadows."
"A replica? That's not quite the right term." A man's voice came, calm and unhurried.
Then the scene in front of them seemed to ripple like water. A figure stepped out.
The man stood tall, clearly someone who maintained strict posture. He stood straight, moved gracefully, dressed in black clothing that blended classical and modern styles, something close to court attire. He also wore a black mask.
The expression on the mask had clearly been carefully crafted, a half-smile, with a texture like marble sculpture.
The man placed one hand behind his back and the other over his chest, bowed slightly to everyone, then spoke in a smooth, rich voice, "A Mirror Holder, Amdor Vesk greets you all."
"Allow me to introduce these individuals, indistinguishable from their originals, they are called 'Reflections.' Born within my mirror."
Amdor openly declared his identity.
"Mirror Holders... so it really is you." Fu Xuan looked at him. "So what? Just because you've set your sights on Nero, you decided to invade the Xianzhou?"
"Hahaha..." Amdor laughed. "Lady Diviner, that one is indeed a rare and attractive fragment."
"But our progress in reviving the Aeon of Beauty is not yet sufficient. The power we have isn't enough to let us retreat safely under the Hunt's wrath."
"In truth, what first drew our attention this time was not that individual, but the death of one of our Mirror Holders."
"Rather than hastily reclaim him and face the Hunt's retaliation, we would rather gather easier, scattered fragments elsewhere in the universe. We are still rational. Urgent emotions cannot make decisions for us."
"However, during our investigation into that Mirror Holder's death, we discovered a reliable ally."
"So you should understand, aside from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, there are others who have set their sights on the Xianzhou."
"As for us, we never intended to cause harm to the Xianzhou. We only wish to recover fragments of our lord through the hands of our ally."
Listening to Amdor's explanation, March 7th grew more and more confused.
Finally, she couldn't hold back anymore and asked directly, "We only asked one question. Is it really okay for you to just explain everything like this?"
Honestly, she really couldn't understand what Amdor was thinking.
Not only did this Mirror Holder dress strangely, but his way of thinking also seemed strange.
"Beautiful Miss March 7th, please understand. The god we worship is that one."
"No matter what, we have our own doctrines, and we strictly follow them, tempering ourselves."
"We do not seek to walk alongside Them, but we cannot act carelessly on this path either."
"Though we are unwilling to admit it, we are much like the Knights of Beauty."
"Just as the Astral Express will never stop exploring, we will never abandon our pursuit of beauty."
"Strict self-discipline is merely the most basic requirement."
"I do not wish to lie to you, so I naturally tell you everything."
"Uh..." March's expression became complicated. She quietly asked Welt beside her, "Mr. Yang, are the Knights of Beauty and Mirror Holders really like this?"
Welt, "...Regarding those who walk the Path of Beauty, I haven't seen many myself. Ever since Idrila disappeared, they are no longer as prosperous as before."
"But everyone has a different understanding of beauty. Perhaps, for him, this is how one practices it."
"Do you remember what Nero said about his friend, the Knight of Beauty named Argenti?"
"From Nero's description, one thing is clear, that knight loves praising people or things. He says he can feel the seeds of beauty from them."
"I think that is also a way of practicing Beauty."
"Even though they belong to different organizations, they worship the same god, so perhaps this can serve as a reference."
After hearing Welt's explanation, Stelle scratched her head. "If you look at it this way, people who follow Beauty... all seem kind of weird."
"Yeah... true.", March agreed wholeheartedly.
"Hmph. Sneaking into the Xianzhou, introducing a Stellaron, meddling with the Arbor. The crimes you've committed won't be pardoned just because you put on a show now!", Fu Xuan said coldly.
Faced with Fu Xuan's attitude, Amdor showed no anger.
He shook his head and continued calmly, "Lady Diviner, you may have misunderstood. The reason I've come out to meet and speak with you is not because I regret the plan or wish to avoid the Hunt's retaliation through such means."
"At this moment, everything I'm doing is simply out of courtesy. Otherwise, I could have remained hidden and never revealed myself."
At this point, Amdor paused. He raised his head. Though no one could see his expression through the mask, his movements made it clear, he was scanning the army Fu Xuan had brought. From his calm tone, it was also clear, he still had full confidence in his plan.
"Lady Diviner, perhaps you believe that under your plan with General Jing Yuan, we are already at the end of our strength."
"But that is not the case. While your actions have indeed caused us many obstacles, they still cannot prevent me from carrying out the final judgment upon the Xianzhou."
"Hmph. Do you think the General and I don't know who your ally is?" Fu Xuan snorted coldly.
At some point, the Cloud Knights had already moved, surrounding Tingyun completely.
"Huh? Miss Tingyun?" Seeing this, March froze again.
She felt like her brain wasn't keeping up. From the furnace going out until now, too many shocking things had happened one after another.
The surrounded "Tingyun" showed a flash of surprise, but it quickly disappeared. She returned to a calm expression, even smiling faintly.
She narrowed her eyes, glanced around casually, then looked at Fu Xuan. "When did you find out?"
"Earlier than you think," Fu Xuan said. "The reason the General and I left you alone was to draw out all the masterminds behind this unusual crisis."
"Now that everything is clear, it's time to execute you on the spot."
"Mm..." Listening to Fu Xuan, "Tingyun" casually observed her surroundings.
"Anticipating the enemy, turning their plans against them. The Divine Foresight General of the Xianzhou and the all-seeing Lady Diviner truly have some skill. But I think you've still overlooked a few things."
Hearing this, March looked over in shock. "Miss Tingyun, you really...?"
But "Tingyun" ignored her.
Phantylia, wearing the foxian form, shook her head. "Tsk tsk... I thought the plan was foolproof, but it ended up like this. I wonder where things went wrong."
"Now it seems I'll have to act personally... The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were wiped out too early. My plan to make the Xianzhou destroy itself can't be carried out anymore."
"Sigh~ that won't do. That kind of method goes against my aesthetics of destruction..."
Phantylia looked at Fu Xuan. "Since you know I'm an infiltrator, do you know my identity? These little soldiers won't be enough to stop me."
"We only know you are an Emanator, but not which Aeon you serve. But it doesn't matter. We are prepared," Fu Xuan said calmly.
"Prepared?" Phantylia laughed dismissively.
"If you know I'm an Emanator, what preparations could you possibly have? Heh. Now that the Arbor has revived, the plan is complete. Even if my identity is exposed, it doesn't matter."
"I am Destruction's Lord Ravager, Phantylia. I have come to bring the Xianzhou to collapse and self-destruction."
"The people of the Xianzhou have once received the blessings of Abundance. So I think... you should be able to endure the blessing of Destruction as well, shouldn't you?", As she spoke, a surging power rose from her body, ghostly flames seeming to burn around her.
At that moment, a boy's voice came from afar, rapidly approaching.
"Time to close the net, Yanqing, let's go!"
In the next instant, a streak of black light tore through the air, rushing forward at high speed.
Yanqing leapt down from Black Cutter, lifted his leg, and kicked straight at Phantylia's face.
Then she was sent flying by that kick.
This had been planned long ago between Yanqing and Nero, to give this fake Tingyun a heavy blow when it was time to close the net.
"Y-you bastard!"
Phantylia gritted her teeth, her expression twisted (from being kicked) as she cursed.
As everyone knows, failing to show off, or having your moment interrupted, feels terrible.
Right now, Phantylia had both, her act interrupted and no way to continue.
But she only managed that one curse. The next moment, her entire body was covered by a shadow.
The white-haired boy raised Black Cutter high and came crashing down.
A jump slash.
The body created by the Mirror Holders couldn't withstand that heavy strike. The form resembling Tingyun shattered like glass, leaving only a cluster of blazing starlight essence drifting upward.
Seeing this, Nero glanced sideways at it.
The starlight essence felt somewhat familiar.
But he couldn't quite remember where he had seen it before.
Still, the taunt came out unchanged, "Lord Ravager Phantylia? I was wondering who it was... turns out it's just a Wubbaboo."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 40 advance chapter through P@treon.