"Alright, alright, I know you'll miss me. Don't worry, I'll come by again before I leave..."
In the Scalegorge Waterscape, Lynelle looked at the vine twined around her hand and helplessly patted the giant tree beside her.
Ever since Yaoshi had personally channeled energy into her here, the Ambrosial Arbor, which had previously only existed on instinct, had gradually begun to show signs of developing self-awareness.
However, this wasn't necessarily good news—not for the Arbor itself, nor for the Xianzhou Luofu, which was still internally unsettled and hadn't fully resolved the troubles caused by the Vidyadhara elders.
Considering how attached the Arbor seemed to her, and since it had also been tirelessly replenishing her with blessings, Lynelle thought it over and decided not to reveal this development to anyone.
Her plan was to wait until she advanced further along the Path of Abundance, or had fully fused with the Herrscher of Corruption core, before extracting the Arbor's consciousness.
That way, if some accident caused the Arbor to be destroyed, this newly born consciousness wouldn't have to suffer along with it.
But this situation had also led to another consequence... Corruption-chan nearby seemed a bit jealous.
There was no helping it—Corruption-chan's body was still unstable, and recently, Lynelle had been focused on matters related to the Honkai, sleeping nearly half the day away.
Their cuddle time had already been scarce.
On top of that, after coming to the Xianzhou, Corruption-chan discovered there was another being here with a similar role to hers (meaning: daughter).
And because Lynelle had needed vast amounts of Abundance blessings early on to sustain her body, even in terms of "energy replenishment," the Arbor had done it far more often than Corruption-chan had (though it was the Arbor replenishing Lynelle).
Naturally, Corruption-chan felt a bit listless.
Still, since Abundance was part of Corruption-chan's own composition, even if she wasn't enthusiastic about it mentally, her body was influenced by the dense Abundance energy around the Arbor and began absorbing the scattered power on its own—which made Corruption-chan even more annoyed.
After all, if her body was uncontrollably feasting on this all-you-can-eat buffet here, wouldn't that mean fewer chances for Lynelle to replenish her later?
Of course, this was also because Corruption-chan didn't fully understand Lynelle yet.
In truth, given how much Lynelle doted on her, if she just asked, Lynelle would never refuse—as everyone knew, pink and purple cuddling was a tradition, and Lynelle, who was somewhat "narcissistic," couldn't possibly resist Corruption-chan, who was carved from the exact same mold.
"Alright, Corruption-chan, let's head out now."
After saying goodbye to the Arbor, Lynelle took Corruption-chan and began walking out of the Scalegorge Waterscape from the opposite side.
"Huh? Aren't we... taking the same path as before?"
"Not really. There are... acquaintances over there." Lynelle quickly shook her head.
Through the Arbor's perception earlier, she had noticed that a group—no, several groups—of familiar faces had just arrived at the Waterscape's entrance.
That's right, it was Dan Heng, whom Jing Yuan had summoned down from the train.
And if Dan Heng was here, the others with him didn't need guessing—Lynelle already knew what part of the story this was.
Originally, not long after the events in the Scalegorge Waterscape, Jingliu and Luocha would have been "arrested" by Jing Yuan, leading to Dan Heng's companion mission—the fight between Jingliu and Blade before her departure.
But in reality, because Phantylia's scheme directly triggered a clash between Abundance and Destruction, that incident's priority shot far above the personal affairs of the Quintet.
Neither Jing Yuan nor Fu Xuan had any time to spare for Jingliu, who spent her days idly on the Luofu occasionally chopping up a Vidyadhara elder, let alone for Luocha, who stayed behind for a while to teach Lynelle how to use the Path of Abundance.
So, this companion mission plot had been delayed for quite some time.
It was only after Lynelle and the others set foot on the Luofu again that Dan Heng was summoned by Jing Yuan.
"Acquaintances... so we're avoiding them?"
Corruption-chan still didn't quite understand.
"You don't get it. Their story is complicated enough to fill an entire TV series. I'm hardly involved in it."
"The main thing is, I'm the only one on the Xianzhou who knows the Arbor has secretly developed sentience. But the Arbor, limited by its own nature, is a bit... not the brightest."
"What if they're over there caught up in their dramatic, angsty 'you stab me, I stab you' moment, and then the Arbor sees me coming back, suddenly sprouts a branch and yells 'Mama'... oh heavens, I don't even want to imagine what a hellish scene that would be."
"Ugh..." Lynelle's vivid description made Corruption-chan feel that awkwardness herself, so she quickly hugged Lynelle's arm.
"It's okay, I won't cause trouble for Mama. I'm smart!"
"Good, good..." Lynelle patted Corruption-chan's head. "Speaking of which, I do have a task for you."
"Corruption-chan, I remember when we were fighting the Duke Inferno, you seemed able to use some attacks effective against energy lifeforms, right?"
"Mhm, that's right." Corruption-chan nodded.
"Actually, even though my genes are based on the Swarm King, I can decide my own evolutionary direction if I want to."
"To deal with energy lifeforms, I just need to temporarily evolve selectively in that direction, and for that period, the True Stings I breed will carry corresponding attributes."
"Good. Then here's your task."
Lynelle placed the corresponding Phase Flame into Corruption-chan's hands.
"There's a place on the Xianzhou called Fyxestroll Garden, which should be full of energy lifeforms called Heliobi. I need you to—"
"Destroy them?" Corruption-chan ventured.
"How could I? Heliobi are immortal; the only effective way to deal with them is to seal them away and wear them down." Lynelle chuckled, shaking her head.
"I just mean, you can try capturing them and recording their abilities into your genes, as one of the possible evolutionary paths for the future."
"Those Heliobi in Fyxestroll Garden have all sorts of strange abilities."
"If you can sample each one, your skill pool should expand greatly. Of course, remember to release them afterward—otherwise, the Xianzhou might take you in for a thorough study."
"As for this Phase Flame... how to put it? Heliobi seem to really like this thing. You can use it as bait. If a Heliobus tries to flee, you can also use it to trap them."
"That doesn't sound too hard for me... but, Mama, are you saying you want me to preserve more evolutionary genes toward energy lifeforms?"
Corruption-chan tilted her head. "I thought Mama would prefer me as a tall, mighty mount or something..."
"No way—" Lynelle pinched Corruption-chan's cheek firmly.
"Ruan Mei said your body structure isn't that stable. If I let you develop in that direction, what if you accidentally blow yourself up one day? So, it's better to specialize in the other direction."
"That way, even if your physical body has problems someday, you could continue existing through something like a Memokeeper or Heliobus form... I couldn't bear to lose such an adorable little cutie by my side."
It had to be said, when it came to coaxing children, Lynelle had fully inherited Elysia's touch.
After hearing all that, Corruption-chan was absolutely thrilled—seeing her eager, ready-to-go expression, Lynelle almost felt sorry for those Heliobi.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.