At this moment, the Astral Express crew and Jing Yuan had finally reached the last seal.
"What's that thing? A dragon?"
March 7th scratched her head, asking curiously.
Ahead stood a colossal dragon's head, its horns gracefully stretching outwards, shimmering with a faint turquoise glow, exquisitely beautiful yet majestically intimidating.
Hearing her words, Dan Heng shook his head slightly. His memories had almost fully returned, and he was intimately familiar with every blade of grass here. He replied softly:
"No."
"Pay homage with three claws, pilgrimage to the wooden ruler."
"This is the hidden root of the Ambrosial Arbor—the sacred relic of the Abundance. It has taken this form only because the Arbor's root was suppressed by draconic power, causing it to resemble a dragon-shaped wooden burl."
"I'll undo this final seal now…"
March 7th immediately interjected:
"Shouldn't we wait for Yevenko and Tom?"
Jing Yuan considered briefly before responding:
"If we enter now, perhaps Phantylia hasn't yet accomplished her goal. We could catch her off-guard."
"Besides, Yevenko said earlier he had something to do, and we don't know how long he'll take."
"Although Tom and Jerry aren't bound by common sense, they've already endured numerous battles since arriving on the Luofu—even destroying the Arbor itself. They must be quite exhausted; letting them rest a bit isn't bad."
"We can go ahead as the vanguard, to gauge Phantylia's current situation."
Welt felt Jing Yuan's reasoning was sound, nodding as he added:
"Indeed."
Dan Heng stepped forward. He raised his right hand toward the dragon's head, gathering energy. Instantly, the dragon responded, brilliant azure beams radiating outwards magnificently.
In the next second, dazzling white light enveloped everyone, placing them into another space entirely.
It was as though they had stepped into a celestial realm—surrounded by misty clouds of turquoise and white, with enormous vines stretching upwards from the ground.
At the center was a green lotus lined with gold, within which burned a flame of cyan and yellow.
That flame was Phantylia.
Though she was the Lord Ravager, her true form remained a Yaoshi, without fixed shape or body.
As soon as everyone approached, Phantylia naturally sensed them—or rather, she'd detected their arrival in the Lunarescent Depths long ago.
Her voice held a seductive charm as she softly spoke:
"Mmm~"
"Hehe, is that the Luofu's General, then?"
Immediately, Phantylia's voice plunged sharply from seductive into a sinister, eerie tone, still laced with that sensual allure yet utterly chilling:
"Those cat and mouse aren't here, hmm? What a pity—I was so looking forward to skinning them alive, ripping out their bones, and turning them into human-swine~"
Phantylia had occupied the hidden root of the Ambrosial Arbor. Though forcibly drawing so much power here had caused irreversible harm to her Yaoshi form, it was necessary to halt the Arbor's death temporarily.
But at least her main objective was complete. If she succeeded in destroying the Luofu and received Lord Nanook's reward, any lingering harm would soon become meaningless.
But that didn't mean Phantylia wasn't furious with Yevenko, Tom, and the others. Had they not wrecked the Arbor, she would've suffered no loss at all.
Even if the plan had failed previously, she would've merely lost a host body that wasn't truly hers. If successful, she'd have gained a perfect body and received Nanook-sama's reward, ascending further along the path of Destruction.
Unlike now—even if the plan succeeded, the enormous effort would only barely offset her losses. A terrible loss indeed.
It was like having a guaranteed 200% profit suddenly reduced to breaking even.
Hearing Phantylia's cruel words, March 7th immediately exploded with anger. Unable to hold back, she shouted loudly:
"You evil jerk!"
"This girl here is gonna shoot an arrow right through your face! Come out already, Phantylia!!"
In response, Phantylia only giggled melodiously, deliberately imitating Tingyun's gentle voice as she said sweetly:
"Oh, my dear benefactors, no need to hurry. This humble girl hasn't finished dressing yet."
She then felt the Arbor's power surge through her body, absorbing and merging with it. Experiencing that vast, incredible strength, she murmured to herself:
"No wonder the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus think themselves superior… This Ambrosial Arbor truly has miraculous powers of rebirth."
"Let's destroy you all first, then destroy that cat and mouse, and finally bring this Xianzhou to complete ruin~"
As soon as her words fell, the cyan-yellow flame merged completely with the lotus below, intertwining the power of Destruction and Abundance into one.
The lotus ascended, enveloped in roaring flames, blooming with boundless brilliance.
A delicate, enormous figure slowly took form.
Its towering head crowned the sky, adorned with an exquisitely alluring face. Robes of deep emerald appeared, while the original lotus became a crown of flowing gold extending sideways.
Wide, shapely hips rested gracefully upon the clouds, full thighs pressed elegantly against smooth calves. Her proportions were perfect, seductive yet ethereal—truly a divine creation born from the Ambrosial Arbor's root.
Phantylia held a round fan, her vibrant green pupils glimmering with chilling amusement as she gazed down at the tiny figures before her.
Feeling the immense power coursing through her, she was extremely satisfied. With this perfect body, and Lord Nanook's reward, she wouldn't exactly profit heavily, but she'd never lose again.
"Everyone, isn't this body beautiful? Truly worthy of a divine relic of the Abundance."
"Now, let me bring you destruction with this power that grants immortality to the Xianzhou!"
Phantylia casually waved her hand, unleashing surging energy of the Abundance. Golden blossoms appeared, swiftly draining everyone's strength, causing instant weakness.
They couldn't ignore these flowers.
Seeing this, Jing Yuan instantly devised a plan and decisively commanded:
"Astral Express members, quickly destroy these illusory flowers!"
"Dan Heng, we'll deal with Phantylia!"
Without another word—high-level battles demanded brevity—Jing Yuan's lightning surged forth, Stonefire-Dreamblade formation sword appearing in hand. Above, storm clouds gathered, lightning writhing like colossal serpents, growing ever fiercer.
When Jing Yuan's lightning appeared, Dan Heng's waters cascaded violently from the clouds as heavy rain.
Thunderbolts violently struck down upon Phantylia, while rain coalesced into spears stabbing toward her.
"Pitiful tricks."
Phantylia contemptuously mocked them, gently waving her fan. A fierce gust scattered the rain-spears into harmless droplets.
Meanwhile, vines swiftly rose, absorbing the lightning bolts. Despite scorching, they quickly regenerated, bursting forth with renewed life.
Surprised, Phantylia realized her bond with this body was tighter than ever, her regenerative abilities surpassing expectations.
Seeing their attacks fail, Jing Yuan and Dan Heng exchanged grave looks, preparing their strongest strike.
Golden eyes blazing like suns, Jing Yuan raised his sword, shouting solemnly:
"By heavenly mandate, heed my command—"
Behind him appeared a towering divine figure, swinging down its mighty blade.
"—Slay without mercy!!"
Dan Heng echoed with his draconic powers:
"Hidden moon within the heavens—Azure Dragon cleanses the world!"
A majestic azure dragon coiled upon the divine blade, striking with unstoppable force toward Phantylia's neck.
BOOOOM—!!!!
Phantylia's head flew clean off.
Seeing victory, March 7th cheered cautiously:
"Did…we win?"
Stelle sighed:
"March, don't say that before victory's confirmed… That's a flag."
March ignored her:
"Come on, who survives after losing their head—?!"
She froze, wide-eyed, as countless vines suddenly grasped the falling head, reattaching it effortlessly.
Yawning theatrically, Phantylia taunted:
"Ah~ did I just nap? Such feeble attacks…how shameful."
Hearts sinking, Jing Yuan and Dan Heng braced themselves desperately as Phantylia summoned a meteor of Destruction to annihilate them all.
Suddenly, a fighter jet flew overhead, Yevenko shouting wildly:
"HQ! Encountering massive electromagnetic interference! Wait—A meteor?!"
Chaos ensued. Tom inexplicably swallowed the meteor whole, belched smoke unharmed, stunning everyone—especially Phantylia.
Frustrated his planned crash failed, Yevenko seized control, deliberately crashing into Phantylia's face, exploding spectacularly midair.
Prepared to transform dramatically, Yevenko suddenly saw Tom and Jerry also engulfed by his radiant transformation glow.
"Wait—why's the glow taking Tom and Jerry too?!"
"AH?!!"