The Next Day.
Scalegorge Waterscape.
Jing Yuan and the others had been waiting here since early morning.
"General, after I returned, I asked those who had gone to Jarilo about her. There was no sign of Mobius on Jarilo. Could it be that…?"
Fu Xuan found it hard to believe that someone who appeared so suddenly could be completely without issues.
Even if she truly had no problems at all, trust between people still needed time to be built.
Jing Yuan neither confirmed nor denied it. He agreed with Fu Xuan's concerns, but some things could not be observed with the naked eye.
Just like,
"That aura is something you and I both sensed. It can't be fake~."
"Even so…" Fu Xuan hesitated, stopping mid-sentence.
She knew exactly what Jing Yuan was referring to.
Among Xianzhou people, the only presence capable of producing such a refreshing, uplifting feeling of the spirit was none other than Godzilla.
Don't be fooled by his youthful appearance, his age was already well beyond eight hundred years, making him an old man.
Once the time came, people from the Ten-Lords Commission would arrive in an instant.
Logically speaking, Xianzhou folk of this age were key subjects of the Ten-Lords Commission. Matters that had yet to occur naturally couldn't be handled in advance, but, the problem was that the Luofu truly lacked talents capable of bearing the overall burden.
Yanqing's swordsmanship had indeed improved, but in the end, he was still just a youth.
Among the Xianzhou people, how was that any different from a kid?!
If that were all, it would be one thing, but the issue was that the other departments of the Six Charioteers of the Xianzhou had also suffered similar talent gaps. Even the Alchemy Commission had long been in an awkward position before Lingsha took residence there.
Forget about carrying the burden, most complicated illnesses were treated personally by the Healer Lady, while other alchemists' learning was, frankly, perfunctory at best.
Fortunately, at the very least, Jing Yuan could still hold things together for another hundred or so years. If he went out and focused on recuperating, he might even live longer.
"Diviner Fu, do you still remember those rumors from some time ago?"
Caught off guard by Jing Yuan's sudden question, Fu Xuan's mind instinctively began to spin. She hesitated before replying.
"You mean the news circulating recently about the reappearance of Ouroboros? I did ask several sources about it. According to them, it does seem to be true…"
"But Ouroboros is a Leviathan. It never appeared throughout the course of the Dusk War. If she really is connected to Ouroboros, then her lifespan would hardly be short."
After saying this, Fu Xuan looked at Jing Yuan with suspicion.
Ouroboros appeared before the Dusk War, then vanished without a trace.
If Mobius truly had something to do with it, the way this matter was handled would need to change.
But was that really possible? According to records, only beings like the Aeons or the Emanators could have such a long lifespan.
And the so called Leviathans. Those were terrifying existences that knew only how to devour, consuming everything in their path.
At their apex stood the Aeon of Devouring, Ouroboros.
Mobius felt strange, certainly, but to say she was related to such an existence… As Fu Xuan hesitated, several figures appeared not far away. Mobius was unmistakably among them.
Seeing that their guest had arrived, the two tacitly ended their conversation and turned their attention forward.
"Did you rest well last night, Lady Mobius? Are you used to the Xianzhou mattresses?" Jing Yuan greeted her with a warm smile.
"Hehe, I was so excited that I couldn't fall asleep at all last night. I thought I'd gotten up quite early, but I didn't expect you two to be up even earlier."
While Fu Xuan chatted with Mobius, Jing Yuan blinked at the small Bailu.
Bailu blinked back at Jing Yuan.
'Leave it to me, the High Elder!'
….
Dragonvista Rain Hall.
Years ago, a High Elder diverted the waters of the Ancient Sea to flood the palace. From that point on, the Vidyadhara of the Luofu bore the responsibility of guarding the Ambrosial Arbor.
"The Ambrosial Arbor pierces the sky and earth, a miracle of the Plagues Author. After countless upheavals, it has finally been able to rest, if only slightly."
Looking up at the Ambrosial Arbor, which resembled a section of withered wood, Jing Yuan was filled with emotion.
Once upon a time, this divine miracle had been coveted by the Disciples of the Sanctus Medicus.
Even a Lord Ravager had attacked the Xianzhou because of it. After numerous twists and turns, this Plaguemark had ended up in this state.
Such are the vicissitudes of the world.
"I wonder what Lady Mobius intends to do?"
Mobius gazed at the fantastical creation before her, a predatory gleam flashing in her eyes.
"What a remarkable existence. To preserve such an enormous amount of vitality, yet from the outside, you can't sense life at all."
The moment she stepped into the Palace Ruin Depths and felt the constant life force emanating from the Ambrosial Arbor, Mobius knew she hadn't come to the wrong place.
Others couldn't perceive the life force it emitted, that was normal.
Her own sensitivity to life, combined with her immortality and the genes inherited from Ouroboros, made her extraordinarily attuned to anything with vitality.
From the outside, the Ambrosial Arbor truly appeared dead.
In reality, it had sealed its vast life force within, without letting even a trace leak out.
Even external attacks, unless they completely annihilated it, would fail to provoke any response.
But once it mobilized that immense vitality, anyone who approached would only be forcibly flooded by that energy, their body bursting apart from overload!
Not even Xianzhou people were exceptions. In fact, it could be even worse.
Back then, countless people of the Xianzhou Cangcheng were assimilated by the living planet Rahu, death became life, life became death.
A fate truly worse than death!
And having the Ambrosial Arbor's immense vitality forcibly infused into one's body would bring suffering no less dreadful.
That was why Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan were extremely curious about how Mobius intended to achieve her goal.
Terrifying power.
That was Mobius's first thought.
At the same time, another thought arose.
Very enticing.
With vitality on this scale laid before her, it was impossible not to act.
If it were the former me, even after fusing with Ouroboros factors, I probably couldn't have done anything to this Ambrosial Arbor, Mobius thought.
But she was no longer who she once was. Her energy possessed a mutually devouring nature.
The energy factor she inherited from Godzilla was already starved, barely restrained, eager to swallow this enormous life force whole!
"General Jing Yuan, Diviner Fu Xuan."
Suddenly, Mobius addressed them using their official titles.
She turned her head slightly, a faint smile of unclear meaning at the corner of her lips, and softly asked: "If the Ambrosial Arbor were to disappear… would that have any impact on the Luofu?"
The instant those words fell, the surroundings grew so quiet that one could almost hear a pin drop.
Fu Xuan was just about to speak when Jing Yuan stopped her. Before she could react, Jing Yuan spoke first.
"The Arbor is the trace left behind on the Xianzhou by the Plagues Author. From the very beginning, ever since the Reignbow Arbiter took charge, the Xianzhou has been locked in struggle with the Arbor."
"The Reignbow Arbiter once severed it, and for thousands of years successive Vidyadhara High Elders have reinforced the seal. The Xianzhou would love nothing more than to eradicate it completely."
"It is only regrettable that we are powerless, unable to carry on this great undertaking for our forebears. If Lady Mobius is confident in resolving the Arbor, then please do not hold back."
"I'll once again guarantees that no one will interfere."
Seeing the seriousness in Jing Yuan's expression, Mobius let out a soft laugh, offering no reply.
All bustle for profit, and even hidden schemes unfold for gain.
In the past, she had dealt plenty with those nauseating vermin just to secure research funding. The title of one of the Seven Generals was indeed imposing, but no matter how things changed, the underlying logic of how it all operated never did.
She didn't know whether it was the benefit brought by resolving this Arbor herself, or some other interest, that had moved this general.
She didn't care. As long as she could devour all this vitality.
Suddenly, Mobius lowered her head slightly and looked at Bailu, who had been standing quietly all this time, and said,
"For this operation, I will need Miss Healer Lady's cooperation. I wonder how you feel about it?"
The three of them turned to look at Bailu.
Her two index fingers lightly touched as she tilted her head up slightly, her expression uncertain, her gaze carrying a hint of confusion.
"I always feel like that piece of wood has a very comfortable scent."
Mobius nodded subtly.
Aside from herself, none here had spent more time around Godzilla than Bailu.
Nor had anyone been more deeply affected by him.
Before coming out, she had investigated a series of details related to Godzilla.
A large portion of it came from movie plots. Among them was a certain capability attributed to Godzilla.
Centered around Godzilla, all life within his sphere of influence would gradually develop toward his direction.
The physiques of the Xianzhou people, blessed by the Abundance, could be explained as the Abundance's power within them pushing back.
Bailu, as a member of the Vidyadhara, did not have this issue.
And having stayed close to Godzilla, the influence had long since run deep. That was precisely why Mobius wanted Bailu to participate.
Once Bailu nodded, there were no further objections in the area.
"Please move a little farther back, the two of you."
Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan stepped back some distance.
Then …
"Huh!!"
A vast energy detonated in an instant. Amid the sharp roar of rushing wind, a massive figure completely covered the place where Mobius stood, growing larger as it rose.
Its presence was overwhelming, its form majestic. One glance was enough to etch it permanently into memory!
Almost similar the Aeon oof Voracity, Ouroboros!
"As expected…" Jing Yuan murmured.
"So big…" Below, the tiny Bailu clutched her medicine gourd, her small mouth slowly opening as her little eyes were completely filled by that enormous body.
Even while shocked, Bailu wanted to know exactly what kind of being this was.
Unfortunately, Ouroboros was a Leviathan from times gone by. Bailu was fine with storybooks, comics, and medical arts, but asking her to look up historical materials was a bit much.
Still, this didn't stop her from knowing that the existence Mobius had transformed into was extremely powerful.
Facing such power, Bailu felt no fear at all. She even wanted to get closer, to touch it, to see whether the scales were really as cold as they looked.
.....
This feeling was very strange.
Bailu thought she was brave, but not to this extent.
It felt as though, as if she and Mobius came from the same source, intimate yet immense?
The amount of information flooding her brain in such a short time was simply too much, leaving Bailu standing there blankly, her small face frozen in expression.
Controlling the size of her body, Mobius locked her gaze firmly onto the Arbor. In the next second, she turned into a gust of wind and coiled around it, sharp fangs piercing the charred outer shell.
In an instant, almost at once, exceptionally pure vitality poured out and was infused into Mobius's body.
The Abundance's power, which should have transformed Mobius's body in a single moment, didn't even have time to take effect before it was assimilated by her cells.
Any ordinary person would have been assimilated the instant they received this power, but Mobius was different.
She had been influenced by Godzilla, and she also possessed the Ouroboros factor.
Her body… had long ceased to be that of an ordinary human.
Just as with the Lord Ravager Phantylia of the past, or how a small block-like toy now used the Stellaron's power to activate the Arbor and seize its divinity to forge a perfect body, one could see this clearly.
The power contained within the Arbor was not entirely unusable.
The issue lay in how to use it. The Seven Generals could not make use of it. They were unable to circulate this power.
Phantylia was a Heliobus, an energy lifeform by nature.
Within Mobius was Godzilla's mark, the Ouroboros factor influenced by it, the trait of devouring energy, and the qualifying threshold of power itself.
All of these combined to form the present Mobius, allowing her to glimpse this power that had been placed here for thousands of years and had only ever been activated once.
Mobius had not forgotten her other experiment.
"Little one, are you ready to converge?" Like a venomous serpent flicking its tongue, the voice suddenly sounded right by her ear.
Bailu instinctively shuddered.
"What, what? Ready for what?"
In the next second, she got to know.
Streams of pure vitality poured into her body from Mobius, indescribable, inexplainable transformations taking place.
Bailu felt her power being stirred. A change she had never before experienced began unfolding within her.
At that moment, it felt as though she were lying on the warm bed of the Alchemy Commission, cushioned by spirit-sand, with the gentle whispers of ancient seas murmuring in her ears, lulling her to sleep.
"Hu-lu-lu." She fell asleep.
"…"
"…"
"General, violent energy fluctuations have been detected within the Scalegorge Waterscape! Are you all all right?!" At that moment, a slightly urgent voice rang out.
Jing Yuan came back to his senses and spoke calmly.
"All is well. Have the Cloud Knights withdraw and stand by. This time… it seems we won't need to rely on them to suppress anything."