What exactly did Sylvia do there, and what happened within the Scalegorge Waterscape?
How in the world did the Stellaron bypass all the Xianzhou's surveillance methods and end up inside the Ambrosial Arbor?
Throughout the entire day, Master Diviner Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan had been racking their brains without finding an answer.
Monitoring the Ambrosial Arbor was considered one of the highest priorities aboard the Xianzhou.
It was only today, due to the Arbor's sudden eruption, that the Cloud Knights found it unsuitable to approach.
Jing Yuan refused to believe that anyone could have slipped the Stellaron inside undetected and then activated it.
Unless…
It was done at the Scalegorge Waterscape—a place where the Xianzhou struggled to maintain thorough surveillance.
Before this, Jing Yuan hadn't even considered suspecting the Scalegorge Waterscape.
After all, the seal placed there by the High Elder remained intact.
To put it bluntly, the current Luofu's Vidyadhara didn't even have a true High Elder anymore. How could anyone possibly break the seal and send something inside?
But now, under these circumstances… Sylvia's signal was lost precisely at the Scalegorge Waterscape.
Could the Vidyadhara have played a part in this?
…Or was it Phantylia's doing?
"Truly a season of endless troubles…"
Jing Yuan sighed softly.
And Sylvia—honestly, she had only just borrowed the documents, and immediately rushed straight to the scene.
Were young people these days all so swift and decisive?
She could at least consider an old man's capacity to handle stress, or the organization's ability to coordinate deployments.
"Fu Xuan, take a team to the Alchemy Commission and the Artisanship Commission. They're close to the Arbor and will need timely support. After that, we'll rendezvous at the Scalegorge Waterscape."
"Understood."
Fu Xuan accepted the assignment. Both the Alchemy Commission and the Artisanship Commission were vital logistical departments of the Xianzhou, now thrown into disarray within a single day.
Someone needed to step in, take charge, and stabilize these essential support units.
"And then, our friends from the Astral Express…"
Jing Yuan then turned his gaze to the members of the Express crew.
Ever since he learned from Sylvia that the former Vidyadhara High Elder was hiding aboard the Astral Express, he had been pondering how best to broach the subject.
But before that, he needed to understand the current situation more clearly.
Everything had happened too suddenly; even Jing Yuan couldn't possibly grasp the full picture all at once.
He had guessed Sylvia might head to the Scalegorge Waterscape, but he truly hadn't expected her to move this fast.
Still, if even Jing Yuan—a key player in the Xianzhou's affairs—felt the developments were unfolding abnormally quickly…
Now that Sylvia had actively stepped into the fray, would Phantylia also sense that events were accelerating too rapidly?
Could Sylvia's move be intended to lure Phantylia out?
After all, Sylvia's temperament differed from his own—she didn't seem the type to meticulously plan every step before acting.
Thoughts swirled rapidly in Jing Yuan's mind as he speculated about Sylvia's intentions and the possible progression of events.
The Xianzhou's greatest enemy remained Phantylia, still lurking in the shadows.
But a ship couldn't stay on high alert against a thief forever.
Now that the Ambrosial Arbor had stirred, Phantylia ought to be making her next move as well.
--+--
While Jing Yuan was deep in thought…
On the other side, Phantylia, who had been calmly watching events unfold as if waiting for a fish to bite, set down her teacup at the sudden revival of the Ambrosial Arbor.
It was ahead of schedule.
According to Phantylia's original calculations, if Dan Shu could no longer restrain herself and acted, the Arbor would revive in one day.
If Dan Shu held back, it would take three days.
With Dan Shu's capabilities, that was the limit—she didn't have the power to advance the Arbor's revival to this moment.
Phantylia never believed Dan Shu could remain loyal to her after the previous incident.
But now…
Someone had disrupted the plan.
"Hmph… An unexpected variable, is it?"
Phantylia's mood soured considerably.
Originally, following the plan, major disturbances were supposed to erupt at the Artisanship Commission and the Alchemy Commission to divert the Xianzhou's attention.
Only when most Cloud Knights were dispatched for disaster relief, and the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus began causing trouble, would the Ambrosial Arbor revive—allowing Phantylia to pluck the fruit at the perfect moment.
But now, the Artisanship and Alchemy Commissions were only experiencing minor skirmishes, yet the Arbor had already awoken.
To put it simply:
The chaos aboard the Xianzhou wasn't nearly severe enough yet.
And that made Phantylia furious.
"First it was Sylvia, and now this again? Fine, let me see just who this surprise player of the Xianzhou is."
She instinctively believed this was all Jing Yuan's scheme—intentionally triggering the Arbor's revival to disrupt her plans and draw her out.
For now, Phantylia relied on the fact that she remained hidden in the shadows.
And although Dan Shu knew her objectives, given Dan Shu's temperament, she likely wouldn't share that intelligence with Jing Yuan.
Phantylia was confident she had seen through Dan Shu.
By now, Dan Shu had lost any will to live; her sole remaining desire was probably to witness Phantylia and the Xianzhou clash, leaving both sides weakened.
If so, with preparation facing unpreparedness, Phantylia's plan could still proceed smoothly.
Moreover…
The seal at the Scalegorge Waterscape—Jing Yuan, as the Xianzhou general, would never dare break it by force.
Unless the Xianzhou Alliance wished to turn the Vidyadhara into enemies.
And currently, even the Luofu Vidyadhara themselves couldn't undo that seal.
With the Arbor's sudden revival and the Stellaron's eruption, any ordinary person down there should already be dead—or at least severely maimed.
Thus, the situation still favored Phantylia.
And given her unique nature and strength, she could forcibly infiltrate the depths beneath the Scalegorge Waterscape.
Under such circumstances, Jing Yuan couldn't possibly appear beneath the sealed area.
Nor was Sylvia likely to be there, unless she intended to wage war against the Vidyadhara.
Even if, against all odds, Sylvia had descended below, as long as Jing Yuan wasn't present, Phantylia remained confident she could defeat her.
A mere borrower of power—if Jing Yuan hadn't intervened last time, Sylvia's single sword strike would have caused only some trouble at most.
The outcome would certainly have been Sylvia's death, with Phantylia suffering only minor injuries.
Phantylia swiftly ran through her two most formidable adversaries in her mind.
She knew Sylvia was currently on the Xianzhou, likely waiting for her to reveal herself.
Although angered, Phantylia still held confidence in her own strength. Even though she hadn't fully recovered from her severe injuries, an Emanator was still an Emanator.
Even with most of her power depleted, no ordinary Pathstrider could hope to challenge her.
Right now, the priority was the fruit of the Ambrosial Arbor.
With the Arbor revived, the fruit wouldn't take long to ripen.
Had things followed the original plan, Phantylia would have had ample time to enjoy the spectacle.
After all, the depths beneath the Scalegorge Waterscape were a natural, uninhabited forbidden zone—though the Vidyadhara could theoretically infiltrate it.
But… judging by the behavior of the few Vidyadhara Elders so far, Phantylia truly doubted they'd dare steal what she desired.
Now, with this unforeseen disruption, she could afford no further delays.
The Arbor's premature revival meant the first fruit would ripen soon.
Whoever had interfered would most certainly not leave that fruit untouched.
If Phantylia didn't act now, someone else might pluck the prize right from under her nose.
Once she consumed the fruit of the Ambrosial Arbor, not only would her strength return to its peak—it might even advance significantly.
When that time came, neither Jing Yuan nor Sylvia would escape her grasp.
With that thought, Phantylia decisively abandoned her current vessel, transforming into a swirling mass of flame as she streaked toward the Scalegorge Waterscape.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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!
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If you guys wanna check it out.