Above Exalting Sanctum, Xingxiao hovered in midair, waves of suffocating Destruction energy surging around her.
Her expression was as cold as ever, but in her eyes burned a fury fierce enough to set the stars ablaze.
Two standard hours.
That was the time she and Miss had agreed on. Two standard hours.
When she arrived at the appointed place exactly on time, the familiar white figure was nowhere to be seen.
At first, she assumed Miss had merely lost track of time for a few minutes.
After all, she understood Miss's temperament well enough—free-spirited, lively, occasionally forgetful.
So she waited.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes.
By the time thirty minutes had passed, Xingxiao realized something was wrong.
She immediately released her senses and swept across all of Exalting Sanctum.
Nothing.
She expanded her perception to encompass the entire Luofu.
Still nothing.
Miss's presence had vanished as if she had evaporated from existence.
That was impossible.
With Miss's strength, no one on the Luofu should have been capable of harming her in the slightest. But precisely because of that, her disappearance was even more suspicious.
Someone had used some special method to block Xingxiao's perception and trap her somewhere.
Countless possibilities flashed through Xingxiao's mind.
With every passing second, those possibilities grew bloodier, more brutal, more unbearable.
"Jing Yuan, get out here."
Her voice thundered across the sky over the entire Luofu.
At once, countless pedestrians felt as though they had been struck by lightning, collapsing where they stood.
Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, Jing Yuan had been discussing follow-up matters with Yaoguang. The instant he sensed that aura, his expression changed dramatically.
"Again?!"
He practically bit the words out through clenched teeth.
What kind of day was this?
Had the Luofu turned into some kind of tourist attraction for Emanators?
"General… this one seems…" Yanqing began, hesitating.
"I know." Jing Yuan took a deep breath and rose to his feet.
"What's coming cannot be avoided. Let's go."
He picked up his saber and strode outside.
Yaoguang followed behind, thoughtful.
"How interesting," she murmured.
"This Lord Ravager's emotions are fluctuating rather violently."
Jing Yuan's footsteps slowed.
"You can calculate something from that?"
Yaoguang shook her head.
"No. But her anger seems directed at Miss Kiana."
Jing Yuan's heart sank.
Kiana?
That was Cecilia's daughter, wasn't it?
Could it be that something had happened to her?
He did not dare think any further.
High above Exalting Sanctum, Xingxiao's patience was visibly running out.
Below, the Cloud Knights assembled at speed, yet not one dared rush forward recklessly.
Who would?
This was a Lord Ravager—and a furious one at that. That shout alone had nearly reduced half the Luofu to trembling wrecks. Charging in now would be no different from suicide.
"So you're not coming out?"
Xingxiao's voice was cold as frost.
She raised one hand, and a sphere of black light condensed in her palm.
"Then I'll destroy this place and see if he comes out."
The black orb began to swell, warping the air around it. Buildings below started trembling, roof tiles sliding loose and crashing down.
Just then—
"Xingxiao, stop!"
A figure shot across the distance at high speed. It was Jing Yuan.
He halted ten zhang away, forcing a smile so strained it looked more painful than grief.
"Lady Xingxiao, let us speak calmly—calmly! If the Luofu has shown any discourtesy, Jing Yuan apologizes here and now!"
Xingxiao stared at him icily. The black sphere in her hand did not dissipate.
"Where is Miss?"
Jing Yuan froze.
"Miss? You mean Miss Kiana?"
"Obviously." The danger in Xingxiao's gaze deepened.
"Two standard hours ago, she parted from me in Exalting Sanctum. We agreed to meet again in two standard hours. The time has passed, and she is nowhere to be found."
"I have searched the entirety of Exalting Sanctum. I have searched the entirety of the Luofu. I cannot sense her presence anywhere."
Her voice rose sharply, and the black sphere in her hand trembled violently in response.
"Speak. Where have you hidden her?"
Jing Yuan's mind raced.
Kiana had vanished?
On his territory?
Vanished in a way that blocked even Emanator-level perception?
That was a disaster.
"Lady Xingxiao, please calm yourself!" he said at once, raising both hands.
"I truly know nothing of this! After Miss Kiana parted from us, we neither followed nor troubled her!"
"Did not follow her?" Xingxiao let out a cold laugh.
"Then why did she vanish into thin air? This is Luofu territory. Without local cooperation, who could possibly block perception on an Emanator's level?"
That question left Jing Yuan speechless.
It was true. Any means capable of blocking an Emanator's perception on the Luofu could not possibly be ordinary. To claim it had nothing to do with the Xianzhou would have sounded unbelievable even to him.
But he truly knew nothing.
At that moment, Yaoguang spoke.
"Lady Xingxiao, this matter is indeed suspicious. But if we truly intended harm toward Miss Kiana, why would we wait until now?"
"When she stood together with Lady Cecilia in Exalting Sanctum earlier, did we make any move then?"
Xingxiao's gaze shifted toward Yaoguang.
"You are saying I have wrongly accused you?"
Yaoguang met her eyes without flinching.
"I am saying there may be another explanation. You would do better to calm yourself so we can search for clues together."
"Calm myself?" Xingxiao laughed in fury.
Not a single word of that did she believe.
If they could have acted, they would have acted earlier?
Was she supposed to believe nonsense fit for fooling a child?
At that moment, Xingxiao struck again.
This time, she held nothing back.
In an instant, the combined pressure of Harmony and Destruction enclosed the entire Luofu.
With Xingxiao's newly empowered strength, let alone Jing Yuan and Yaoguang, even if two more Hunt Emanators arrived, she would still fight them all.
Cold sweat appeared at Jing Yuan's temple.
Only now did he fully grasp a terrifying truth:
This Lord Ravager had been holding back before.
She truly possessed the power to erase the entire Luofu from this star system.
"Lady Xingxiao!" he called out, raising his voice.
"Give Jing Yuan one hour—no, half an hour! If I cannot find Miss Kiana's whereabouts within half an hour, then I will submit myself entirely to your judgment!"
Xingxiao narrowed her eyes and stared at the Xianzhou general.
A long moment passed before she slowly withdrew the black sphere.
"Fifteen minutes."
She did not elaborate, but the meaning was obvious.
Jing Yuan let out a heavy breath of relief, then turned and barked orders to the Cloud Knights below:
"Pass the command! Search the entire Luofu for Miss Kiana's whereabouts! Report any suspicious lead immediately!"
"Yes, General!"
The Cloud Knights scattered in every direction.
Jing Yuan looked back at Xingxiao.
"Lady Xingxiao, can you tell us Miss Kiana's last known location before she disappeared?"
Xingxiao gave a cold snort.
"Exalting Sanctum. Near a street performance stall."
A performance stall?
A thought flashed through Jing Yuan's mind.
"Yanqing!"
He summoned his disciple.
"Investigate that performance stall. Find out who ran it, what they were performing, and whether anything unusual occurred."
"Yes, General!"
Yanqing departed immediately.
Xingxiao remained where she was, her expression dark as she looked down at the busy Cloud Knights below.
Within her heart surged emotions too tangled to name.
Anger. Worry. And a trace of guilt.
She should never have left Miss alone.
No matter how insistently Miss had ordered it, she should have remained hidden nearby.
But regret was useless now.
All she could do was hope these Xianzhou people had enough competence to uncover something within fifteen minutes.
Her eyes lifted toward the distant Ambrosial Arbor's roots.
Otherwise, she would not mind turning that so-called sacred tree into the Luofu's first gravestone.
"Xingxiao, calm down."
At the very moment her temper threatened to boil over again, a familiar voice spoke from beside her.
Xingxiao froze.
Turning around, she found Cecilia standing behind her.
And the instant she saw Miss's mother, Xingxiao's guilt deepened.
She turned to face Cecilia.
Then this Lord Ravager—who had terrified the entire Luofu—lowered her head.
"Madam, I have failed. I was unable to protect Miss."
Cecilia looked at her in silence.
Xingxiao continued.
"Miss and I agreed to meet again in two standard hours."
"When I arrived at the appointed place, she was gone. I searched all of Exalting Sanctum. I searched the entire Luofu. I could not sense her presence anywhere."
"It was my dereliction of duty. I should not have left her side. Even if Miss insisted, I should have…"
"Xingxiao."
Cecilia cut her off.
Xingxiao stopped at once.
Cecilia stepped forward until she stood directly before her.
Then she reached out and lightly patted Xingxiao's shoulder.
"This is not your fault."
Xingxiao's body trembled.
Cecilia continued,
"No one understands Kiana's temperament better than I do."
"If she sets her mind on being alone for a while, no one can stop her. If you had insisted on staying, she would only have been upset."
"But—"
"No buts." Cecilia withdrew her hand.
"Don't worry. Kiana and I have our own way of staying in contact. She is not missing."
Then Cecilia turned to Jing Yuan.
"General Jing Yuan, Xingxiao has been somewhat rude just now. I hope you will forgive her."
Jing Yuan immediately waved both hands.
"Not at all, not at all! Lady Cecilia is too kind. Lady Xingxiao is only anxious for her master's safety—anyone in her place would react the same way. How could I call that an offense?"
At this point, all he wanted was to calm this terrifying being as quickly as possible. There was no way he would dwell on "rudeness."
Cecilia smiled faintly, then turned her attention toward locating Kiana.
Hmm… let me think.
Which way had those Sanctus Medicus people taken me earlier?
But before Cecilia could do anything, Yaoguang stepped forward.
"Lady Cecilia, Lady Xingxiao—I may know something."
"I cast a divination just now, and it yielded… a rather interesting result."
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 139)
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 (Chapter171)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter100)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter184)
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 168
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 156
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 105
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 185
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 160
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 150
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 76
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 97
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 116
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 75
Uma Musume: I Want All 93
I Can Copy Unique Skills 79
Summoning an Evil God, but the 55
Supernatural Multiverse 75
My Harem Is Indescribable 68
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 70
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 69
Still playing traditional Honk 49
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 53
What Should I Do After Switchi 42
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 50
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 38
Transmigrated as Sukuna 35
Checking In in Demon Slayer 40
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 55
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