The depths of Scalegorge Waterscape were even darker and more forbidding than they had imagined.
March 7th shrank her neck instinctively and edged a little closer to Stelle.
"This place... is kind of creepy."
The farther they went, the dimmer it became. Only the luminous pearls embedded along the stone path gave off a faint blue glow, stretching everyone's shadows into long, warped shapes.
Dan Heng walked at the very front, silent as ever, but everyone could feel the aura around him subtly shifting.
Cecilia, however, had no interest in that.
At that moment, she glanced at the foxian girl behind her, who had maintained a perfectly measured distance the entire way, and made up her mind.
"Miss Cecilia."
Sure enough, it did not take long before Phantylia sidled up beside her, a trace of concern on her face.
"Do you also feel that the vital energy here is a little strange?"
"Oh? How so?"
"I can't quite put it into words..." Phantylia frowned, putting on an expression of thoughtful seriousness. "It's just that the life force here is far too vigorous. Vigorous to the point of being... unnatural."
Cecilia was inwardly surprised.
Because in her eyes, the Abundance aura in this place was indeed eerily wrong.
True, this was where the Ambrosial Arbor was sealed away, so it was only natural for Abundance energy to be rich here.
But as an Emanator of Abundance herself, Cecilia could tell that something about it was off.
In truth, she had already sensed something unusual the moment she first arrived on the Luofu.
Back then, Scalegorge Waterscape still carried a dense Abundance aura, but it was nowhere near as intense as this.
At first, Cecilia had assumed Phantylia was behind it, but judging from the woman's current reaction, this seemed to be her first visit as well.
"Miss Tingyun has sharp instincts," Cecilia said deliberately, nodding. "There really is something remarkable hidden here."
A faint gleam flashed through Phantylia's eyes, though she quickly masked it. "Something remarkable? Miss Cecilia knows what it is?"
"I do." Cecilia smiled meaningfully. "But it wouldn't be fun if I told you now. You can see it for yourself in a bit."
Phantylia: "..."
For some reason, that answer made her uneasy.
Had this Cecilia discovered something?
Impossible. Her disguise was flawless. Even that old fox Jing Yuan had not seen through her. How could this suddenly appeared Emanator of Abundance have done so?
Phantylia quickly steadied herself and resumed playing the part of a gentle, lovable foxian girl.
After another stretch of walking, the stone road suddenly opened up before them.
"Is that... a tree?" March 7th's eyes widened.
It really was a tree—or rather, its roots.
Gigantic roots hung down from the vaulted ceiling, plunging deep into the earth and spreading for dozens of meters.
"The roots of the Ambrosial Arbor," Jing Yuan's voice rang out, heavy with gravity. "Though the Arbor itself was severed long ago, its roots could never be wholly removed. They could only be sealed here."
"So that's what the Ambrosial Arbor looks like..." Stelle muttered, curiosity flickering in her tone.
According to the records, the Arbor had been a divine gift from Yaoshi to the Xianzhou, a miracle that granted immortality.
And yet precisely because of that, it had become the Xianzhou's curse as well—the source of mara.
But to Cecilia, none of that mattered now.
What mattered was that she could feel Phantylia's aura beginning to fluctuate.
So she had finally run out of patience.
"Miss Cecilia."
Phantylia's voice suddenly sounded beside her ear, still as soft and warm as ever.
Cecilia turned her head and met those smiling fox-like eyes.
"What is it?"
"I've thought about it some more, and I still feel uneasy," Phantylia said, frowning delicately as though burdened by worry. "The energies here are too strange. Why don't you walk a little farther ahead? If something happens, there'll be someone there to cover you."
As she spoke, she reached out and lightly tugged at Cecilia's sleeve.
Cecilia raised a brow.
Everything about it—the gesture, the tone—made her look like an attentive foxian girl looking after a companion.
But Cecilia could keenly feel that the fingers clutching her sleeve were slightly tense, trembling just a little.
Excitement.
"All right." Cecilia smiled and let herself be drawn two steps forward.
And in that instant—
Everything changed.
Phantylia vanished from where she stood, and in the next second, a pale, elegant hand punched straight through Cecilia's back.
"Miss Cecilia—!!!"
Jing Yuan was the first to realize what had happened, but before his cry could fully leave his lips, that hand had already withdrawn from Cecilia's chest, slick with blood.
"Hehehehehe—"
Phantylia's laughter echoed through the dim depths of Scalegorge Waterscape. The face that had moments ago been so gentle and lovely was now twisted with madness.
She looked at the blood staining her palm, then at Cecilia lowering her gaze slowly toward the wound in her chest. Her eyes shone with savage satisfaction.
"So that's it. You're not an Emanator of Abundance after all?"
In Phantylia's perception, her strike had pierced Cecilia's heart with ease, and the woman's life force was indeed bleeding away.
To be killed so effortlessly meant she had overestimated her before.
Welt reacted the fastest. His hand was already on his cane, and a gravity field exploded outward in an instant, forcing Phantylia back and putting distance between her and the others.
Jing Yuan drew his saber, while the phantom of the Lightning-Lord began to emerge behind him.
Mirror Slash, without saying a word, let killing frost gather around her.
Three top-tier fighters launched themselves at Phantylia at once.
"Oh my, such a grand display. This little lady is frightened."
Phantylia covered her lips with a laugh, completely ignoring the deadly hostility surrounding her.
Her gaze passed over all of them and settled on the Ambrosial Arbor, as though she were admiring a masterpiece on the verge of completion.
The Arbor had already been corrupted by the Stellaron, and the Stellaron in turn held the power of Destruction.
As a heliobus at her core, Phantylia could abandon a fleshly body whenever she pleased.
And that made this very body the greatest vessel Nanook could possibly have granted her.
Without hesitation, Phantylia discarded the shell she was currently inhabiting and shot toward the Arbor in a streak of light.
...
Meanwhile, at the very top of the Ambrosial Arbor, Cecilia opened her eyes.
"Hiss... Even if the actual damage was zero, I can still feel a little bit of pain."
Naturally, there was no way Cecilia could truly have been killed by Phantylia.
Leaving aside the fact that she had already seen through Phantylia's true identity, as an Emanator of Abundance, Phantylia's attack could not even count as a scratch against her.
She had merely used some sort of substitute technique to fake her death.
Just as Cecilia was about to make her next move, a voice sounded behind her once more.
A voice she knew all too well.
[Child, are you all right?]
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 126)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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