"Are people nowadays really this reckless?"
Even with Sylvester's usual leaps of thought, he couldn't answer Jingliu's question with composure.
Because this Curio had no special annotation, only a functional description. From that angle, maybe, possibly, just about—it could truly allow an Aeon to undergo samsara?
But what about the impact of the Reignbow Arbiter's Path shifting?
Samsara would change abilities, stack power. This wasn't just some rhetorical flourish!
If tomorrow the Reignbow Arbiter turned to the Path of Elation, would all the Xianzhou citizens have to collectively convert, worshipping the Lord of Joy at the Exalting Sanctum? From physically avenging against Abundance, to mocking THEM spiritually instead?
Good grief, seven Emanators of Elation, countless devotees of Elation. Hard to imagine what kind of chaos the Xianzhou would stir up then.
And if the Reignbow Arbiter truly embraced Elation—what about Aha?
Would Aha be made as the Reignbow Arbiter's first Emanator? Or swallowed up as a concept, reduced to the first snack?
What a humiliation that would be for Aha!
And that's the better case. If the Reignbow Arbiter reincarnated under the Path of Abundance—leaving aside whether THEY devour Yaoshi—wouldn't THEY just keel over in rage right then and there?
A lifelong nemesis, suddenly staring back at you from the mirror. Who killed me, and whom did I kill?
If it were Lan, even if THEY couldn't literally die of fury, THEY wouldn't survive it. Well—maybe not even die at all. Could an Aeon of Abundance commit suicide?
Either way, the spectacle would be enormous. And Aha would surely come rushing in for the fun!
Well then—Aha gets THEIR dignity back.
If the Xianzhou's patron Aeon became Abundance, then even those unwilling would have no choice but to embrace Elation.
First the Reignbow Arbiter embraces Elation, then everyone is forced to. Who is the Lord of Joy—what difference does it make? One dead end becomes two. Who could endure that?
Besides—wasn't this pill meant to heal Jingliu in the first place?
Sister, your devotion to the cause is remarkable, but could you not think about yourself first?
"Unknowable," Sylvester mused for a while before deciding to answer honestly—though with some finesse: "It might be effective. But Aeons are supreme beings in the universe. Compared to samsara, which is stronger is impossible to determine. And whether THEIR conceptual essence can be altered by samsara—there's no way to verify."
Sylvester spread his hands. "After all, it's not like I can drag an Aeon over here for an experiment."
Though his first words suggested possibility, he was deliberately guiding their thoughts toward impossibility.
Feixiao felt a flicker of disappointment, nearly abandoning the idea.
As Sylvester had said—who could experiment on an Aeon? And to craft medicine that could affect THEM—such a notion was beyond discussion.
Unless… Sylvester himself was on a level higher than the Aeons.
But Feixiao quickly dismissed that thought. Guessing he was the Lord of Joy reborn had already been absurd enough. If he stood above Aeons, how could he appear as he did now?
As a person, Sylvester's humanity was far too pronounced—there was no trace of divine Pathstriding in him at all.
Sylvester…
Hmm?
As Feixiao mentally critiqued him, she sensed something off. His gaze seemed to conceal… satisfaction?
She looked again at Jingliu and Topaz, both lost in disappointment or deep thought.
'I want you to live as a normal person.'
Recalling Sylvester's words to Jingliu, Feixiao grew increasingly suspicious.
Could it be…
He was deliberately steering Jingliu to take the pill?
Catching Feixiao's shifting gaze, Sylvester's expression stiffened, though he struggled to maintain a warm smile.
No way—she saw through him again?
Thinking back on their many exchanges, she always seemed to notice something. Practically a recurring theme.
Was she truly his nemesis?
Or were his thoughts just transparent? Impossible—he'd been subtle enough!
"Feixiao, do you also want a few Trash Cans? But you've already used up this week's quota. You'll have to wait a few more days."
"Little brother, you're quite dependable." Feixiao ignored the diversion.
But she didn't expose him either—just smiled calmly.
Perhaps the pill truly could affect the Reignbow Arbiter. But the Xianzhou had survived in this universe until now, never fearing bloodshed with the Denizens of Abundance. What's more, if the Reignbow Arbiter's Path shifted recklessly, who could say whether that would mean fortune or disaster?
A faith of thousands of years, overturned in a day—the collapse of belief could bring consequences no weaker than the Three Eras of Calamities. Perhaps even the War of the Great Divide would return.
And in truth, the chance of this pill working on an Aeon was exceedingly small.
At this, Feixiao felt a pang of envy for Jingliu.
Even if the High-Cloud Quintet had turned against each other, even if she'd fallen to Mara and been rejected by the Xianzhou—there were still those who cared. Someone went to such lengths to deliver a cure to her lips.
But her own Moon Rage…
Her eyes drifted between Sylvester and Jingliu, her heart clouded with tangled emotions.
Ha, Feixiao, this isn't like you.
Surely, you're not in heat? You're a foxian, not a fox. There's no such thing as a mating season.
Besides, hasn't Jiaoqiu been trying endlessly to cure you? Even if he's failed many times…
But you prepared yourself for this long ago. Why envy others now?
Feixiao laughed bitterly at herself. Had she been away from the battlefield too long, to be thinking such things?
"I'll help you."
"Hm?" She raised her head in surprise, looking at Sylvester.
He—he knew what she was thinking?
Her face flushed for the first time, flustered as if her thoughts had been laid bare.
"W-Who asked you to help me?!"
Could he possess a Curio that eavesdropped on inner voices? But then he'd have heard her thinking about hea—
If that came to light, how could she keep her dignity as a general?
"I understand." Sylvester gave her a reassuring look.
Moon Rage? That couldn't be harder than Jingliu's centuries-old Mara affliction.
By his reckoning, even a purple-grade Curio might be enough to cure her.
"Leave it to me. No problem at all." Sylvester gave her a confident thumbs-up.
But to Feixiao, it carried a wholly different meaning.
Those words—'I understand,' 'Leave it to me. No problem at all'—
How could he say such things!
Feixiao's eyes trembled violently. Never in her life had she felt such flustered embarrassment. Her mind spun.
"P-Pervert!" she suddenly cried out.
"Ah?!" Topaz and Jingliu whipped their heads toward Feixiao and Sylvester, as stunned as when the pill had first been revealed.
What just happened? Did we miss something? No… right?
How had things suddenly turned like this?
With everyone watching, what could Sylvester have possibly done to leave Feixiao this mortified?