As expected, the decision to rescue the Luofu passed unanimously.
"I will fulfill my duty to the Luofu as a descendant of the Vidyadhara."
"Thank you, Dan Heng."
"Adrian, stop sipping on that milk tea and come over. What's the general's brilliant plan next?" March 7th called out to Adrian.
"No brilliant plan—just a gamble. Betting on the Vidyadhara elders' half-complete molting technique, betting that Dan Heng can still reclaim the memories of the Dragon Lord…"
"Dragon Lord?"
March 7th pondered. So Dan Heng's hidden identity was that of a Vidyadhara Dragon Lord, just like Bailu.
"Back then, though the Ambrosial Arbor was severed by the Reignbow Arbiter's divine arrow, a trace of the Plagues Author's curse lingered. To seal it, the Luofu invoked the power of the undying dragonkin, making it possible to tame the remnants of the Ambrosial Arbor."
Jing Yuan explained to the group: "Under the ancient Dragon Lords' guidance, the Vidyadhara channeled the waters of the ancient sea, flooding the Scalegorge Waterscape blessed land and turning it into a vessel to contain the Ambrosial Arbor."
"To commemorate such a grand feat and sacrifice, the Xianzhou Alliance erected the Exalted Dragon Shrine in the Scalegorge Waterscape, leaving statues of the Vidyadhara."
Everyone's gaze followed Jing Yuan's, landing on the stone statue that looked exactly like Dan Heng.
"This statue looks just like Dan Heng. Could it be… the person on it is…" March 7th rubbed her chin.
"Dan Heng's brother!" she suddenly realized.
Jing Yuan played along with her guess: "Ha, just a slight resemblance. That was a long time ago. If anything, the appearances of Dragon Lords across generations don't differ much… except this one."
"The current successor to the Vidyadhara Dragon Lord is just a child who inherited the title, without inheriting the full power."
"Dan Heng, do you understand? After Dan Feng's death, no Vidyadhara on the Luofu can accomplish this anymore."
Jing Yuan entrusted the heavy responsibility to Dan Heng: "You, who once guarded the Ambrosial Arbor, should be able to open the path to it for us."
"The rest is up to you."
However, the situation wasn't that urgent yet. Jing Yuan gave Dan Heng a few minutes to prepare.
"After all this fuss, you two already knew each other."
"Haha, just some unpleasant memories from the past." Jing Yuan chatted with March 7th.
Fu Xuan approached Dan Heng on her own. She hadn't expected that, besides Adrian, there was another figure hiding right beside her.
"The reincarnation of Imbibitor Luna… Dan Heng, right? I've heard your name."
"Why remember the name of an exile?"
"Your name was merely erased from the public by the Ten-Lords Commission. But as the Master Diviner, I know—and should know—the Luofu's old cases and hidden secrets, for times of need."
"When you shone as a hero among the High-Cloud Quintet, I wasn't even born. To see the legend from back then with my own eyes…" Fu Xuan looked up, sizing Dan Heng up.
"You look almost exactly like the records in the shadow-painting graphs. Does Vidyadhara reincarnation truly allow one to shed the old and be reborn anew?"
"Regarding that, I'm sure the Master Diviner already has an answer in her heart." Vidyadhara reincarnation and rebirth—Dan Heng wouldn't evade his past sins.
Stelle found Adrian and specifically pulled out Blake's crime tool: the soap.
Eternity soap—pretty magical, huh? She'd been clutching it even while unconscious.
"See? We've got both witness and evidence. Hurry and make Pontiff Blake compensate for our medical bills." Blake himself wasn't at the scene, so Stelle's attitude was rock-hard.
"So what do you think… he should compensate with? Credits? Or the Pontiff's position?"
"Hey… both sound pretty good. Oh no, my choice paralysis is kicking in…" After finishing her chat with Jing Yuan, March 7th came over to join the fun and overheard the talk of compensation.
"Regular church positions definitely wouldn't suit you—let's rule out ordinary priests first." Adrian listed some special roles:
"Pontiff, priest, deacon, pastor, and knight captain. Hmm~ those are all the hot positions in the church. Pick one."
Stelle's ambitions were grand: "Compared to what you said, I'd rather be the church's saintess!"
"Saintess? Does the church even have a saintess?"
Dan Heng walked up to the stone statue. This carving depicting the Dragon Lord's image had weathered the elements, and near the base was engraved a line of small text:
[To halt the revival when vile foes invade, pray and draw the ancient sea's waters to submerge the blessed land, suppressing the mysterious root. Inscribe this in stone as a lasting lesson, for all things may shift…]
He gently closed his eyes, letting his breath gather and disperse through his nostrils, sensing the power of this place.
Beneath vast waves, the ancient mysterious root of the Ambrosial Arbor stirred and spread, like a beast that had lain dormant for a millennium, now awakening from its grand dream.
The restraints woven by successive Vidyadhara Dragon Lords—those bindings that tamed and dispersed the giant beast's power—formed a decaying net on the verge of collapse, about to slip away.
Memories from the past emerged from the darkness, gripping him tightly…
...
Scalegorge Waterscape, deep within the Ambrosial Arbor's mysterious root.
A cluster of ghostly fire faced a sneering mask. She had already hijacked the Ambrosial Arbor, waiting only for her immortal body to be forged.
But now…
Phantylia stared at the ten cups of special-effect milk tea placed before her, lost in thought.
"Are you kidding me? This is what you call an Abundance miracle? These are just ten utterly ordinary cups of milk tea!"
Following the guidance of that voice in her heart, she had fled to a relatively safe spot. Then this Fool's mask had appeared out of thin air.
Out of caution, Phantylia hadn't believed its words at first—until the mask spilled all the details of her plan, making her realize the gravity of the situation.
How could an ordinary Xianzhou like this gather such a crowd of heroes? Even someone from Elation was joining the fun. The Stellaron Hunters sure spread news fast!
From what Phantylia knew of Elation, this bunch was definitely up to no good—they wanted to turn her into their entertainment.
Looking at these ten cups of milk tea…
Sigh~ These days, even Destruction wasn't treated well. They weren't even worth pranking; they were just toying with her like livestock.
"Haha~ I know you're anxious, but hold on~ How dare you assume this is ordinary milk tea? This is the special-effect medicine I went through hell to get for you!"
"Hmph…" Phantylia sneered contemptuously. "Fool from the Tavern, do you understand the consequences? Deceiving a Lord Ravager means preparing to be consumed by wrathful flames."
Phantylia hadn't even considered Eternity—the weirdos in the Tavern could pull anything out of nowhere, so milk tea wasn't surprising.
"Ahem… lady, I think there might be a misunderstanding." The mask's voice suddenly turned refined and gentlemanly.
"Like you, I too have bathed in an Aeon's gaze, and I guarantee with my dignity… in ordinary circumstances, our destruction is mutually assured."
"What a boastful Fool. Perhaps one day in the future, the Tavern will pay the price for your words."
"Just a joke to lighten the mood~ Besides Eternity, what force would dare provoke you Destruction folks!" The mask stuck close to Phantylia's words, afraid she'd back out.
"Hmph…"
Suddenly, a violent tremor rippled through the Ambrosial Arbor, pinning Phantylia to the ground with immense force.
The mask hurriedly protected the ten cups of milk tea, terrified of any damage. "Aren't you going to absorb them? The Nameless from the Astral Express… they've already started moving."