[Officially, there's no text stating Emanators must be long-life species…]
[After being called "benefactor" by Tingyun over and over, you're telling me she's a Lord Ravager? Unacceptable!]
[A Lord Ravager isn't impossible…]
[Hungry, huh? Switching sides like that?]
"Sigh, why force me to act personally? It goes against my aesthetics of destruction, little pawn."
"Fine. It seems collapsing the Xianzhou from within will require another method…"
Tingyun slowly walked toward Dan Shu, leisurely passing through Leon and the others.
Leon and Welt each subtly positioned themselves, blocking Stelle and March 7th without a trace.
"What a pity. I wanted to observe a little longer."
Tingyun lightly tapped Dan Shu's forehead with her index finger. A burst of purple flames instantly spread, enveloping the corpses on the ground.
Whether followers of the Medicine King's Secret Teachings or Dan Shu herself, none were spared.
Under the blazing flames, the followers who had previously appeared Mara-Struck rapidly transformed into a species familiar to all.
Antimatter Legion grunts.
"Since you've received the gift of Abundance, you should be able to withstand the—blessing of Destruction, right?"
A crisp cracking sound of dislocating bones suddenly rang out!
Tingyun's face pressed toward the camera, eyes wide, neck twisting at a sharp right angle!
"Holy crap!"
[Ah!!]
[Scared the hell outta me!]
[Damn, that jump scare!]
[Barrage eye protection.]
[This is rated 12+??]
In the stream, many players—including Ah Xian herself—shuddered from the sudden scene.
"Miss Tingyun?!"
March 7th and Stelle instinctively stepped forward.
But upon seeing a wisp of green flame rising from Tingyun's body, they halted warily.
The flame slowly ascended, firmly drawing everyone's gaze until it vanished.
A voice, unlike Tingyun's, echoed in everyone's ears.
"Dear benefactors, allow me to reintroduce myself—I am the Lord Ravager, Phantylia."
"I came here to tear the Luofu Xianzhou apart and let it perish by its own hand."
As the words fell, battle commenced once more.
March 7th's voice trembled: "Miss Tingyun is… the Legion's Lord Ravager?!"
"What… what the heck is going on?!"
Fu Xuan: "Everyone, calm down! The enemy is at hand; do not lose formation!"
Phantylia's tone seemed laced with inexplicable amusement.
"The one targeting the Luofu isn't Zephyro, nor Celenova. You're quite lucky…"
"As for me, I'm the least fond of personally creating destruction…"
"Unfortunately, that Divine Foresight General insisted on forcing me onstage, so Phantylia can only put on an ugly performance."
"It's time to keep my appointment. Allow me to take my leave first. I hope you enjoy playing… with these actors."
Ah Xian switched to auto-battle, digesting the impact of this plot segment.
"Phantylia… the weekly boss from the preview PV…"
"Could it be that Phantylia targeted the Ambrosial Arbor, absorbed its power, and then transformed into that form?"
"That flame just now—was it her true body?"
"Encountering a hostile Emanator on the third map—this is way too thrilling."
"Thank goodness Leon's here; full sense of security… Wait, no!"
"Are his injuries really healed? I almost forgot he already fought a Destruction Emanator!"
"On Jarilo-VI, the protagonist in-game knew nothing about it and thought Leon got hurt protecting everyone."
"Though that was part of it—Leon gave his wings to the protagonist, but…"
Ah Xian didn't finish.
But can a Destruction Emanator be anything but trouble?
Even a toe could figure out that the culprit behind Leon's severe injuries was definitely that battle with the Lord Ravager.
And now another one—Masaka—
Another knife for her pushed Leon?
That kind of thing calls for medicine!
"No… that's not right either!"
"There's still Jing Yuan… Right, there's Jing Yuan!"
The Luofu isn't like a backward civilization such as Jarilo-VI; it has deep foundations and a true Emanator in residence.
The Hunt path's power is fully open to its faction—how could an Emanator be weak?
With Jing Yuan here, no matter how you look at it, it shouldn't be a one-sided beatdown.
Plus, Uncle Yang is here too. Even if his current combat power is unknown, he at least won't get one-shotted on sight, right?
Thinking this, Ah Xian temporarily relaxed.
[What's wrong and right, what "there's still Jing Yuan"—stop speaking in riddles.]
[8K sis, speak human.]
"Nothing. Continuing the plot."
She had no mind to explain right now, switched to manual operation, and quickly ended the battle.
March 7th: "This… this… the Miss Tingyun who traveled with us all this way is with the Legion?!"
"That fire rising from her body… Miss Tingyun's body… where did her body go?"
"Uncle Yang, Leon, you two are well-traveled—what exactly just happened?!"
She fired off questions in rapid succession, emotions surging.
"Calm down first, March."
Leon placed his palm on March 7th's head, soothing her turbulent feelings.
Welt was silent for a moment, exchanged a glance with Leon, and slowly nodded.
"Lord Ravager Phantylia—this name I once heard from another Nameless."
"She is one of the seven Lord Ravagers under Nanook, fond of mortals' self-destruction. Countless beings have been lured by her into irredeemable abysses…"
Fu Xuan pondered: "In other words, that Sky-Faring Commission girl was long ago bewitched and became a Legion pawn?"
"I don't think so."
Welt gently shook his head, offering his own conjecture.
"Phantylia delights in destruction of both spirit and matter—collapse of the mind leading to bodily demise."
"Yet Tingyun's words and actions showed no signs of bewitchment or manipulation."
"Perhaps the Tingyun who appeared before us was Phantylia's incarnation."
Leon suddenly looked at Fu Xuan.
"Master Diviner Fu, didn't you recognize the true nature of that flame just now?"
"This… the universe is vast with countless beings. Though I've read extensively, I also bear the duties of the Divination Commission and have no time to absorb more knowledge…"
Hearing the roundabout in Fu Xuan's words, Leon had no intent to mock; instead, he understood.
The Master Diviner of the Divination Commission truly toiled greatly, shouldering heavy responsibilities.
Given Fu Xuan's personality and what he'd learned about her through Qingque, her personal life was likely regimented and monotonous.
Without special circumstances, her days were probably just back and forth between home and the Divination Commission.
It was normal not to have seen most creatures common even on the Xianzhou.
"Phantylia's true form is recorded on your Xianzhou as a creature called a heliobus."
"Heliobus…" Fu Xuan frowned in thought.
After a moment, she still shook her head.
"It has been many years since the Luofu last suffered a heliobus calamity. I know little about them."
Leon: "Your Luofu Xianzhou's understanding of heliobi is far less than I imagined."
"Our Luofu?"
...
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