(This is considered the start of Volume 2.)
Feeling the intense pain from her body, Huàn Lóng frowned, her expression beginning to twist.
Taking that blow from Jing Yuan and Nan Li head-on had truly left her in a bad state.
For a while, she would need to recuperate properly.
Thinking of the inauspicious start to this plan, a layer of gloom settled on Huàn Lóng's face.
Gritting her teeth, she still began to contact someone.
[Huàn Lóng: The plan failed. Jing Yuan and an unknown Sea Ranger interfered.]
[Gui Ji: Why was Jing Yuan there? And what's the situation with this Sea Ranger you mentioned? How strong is he?]
[Huàn Lóng: Jing Yuan seems to have been fulfilling his childhood dream of being a Sea Ranger. As for that Sea Ranger, his name is "Ju Feng," and his strength should not be underestimated.]
[Gui Ji: Jing Yuan appearing there to "fulfill a childhood dream" is a plausible reason.]
Although the Xianzhou Luofu is currently in a trough, it is still guarded by two Aeon Envoys.
So, for him to temporarily hand over all matters, big and small, to the Diviner and go out to be a Sea Ranger for a while, there was nothing wrong with that.
But what was this sudden Sea Ranger about?
For the arrogant Huàn Lóng to even say, "his strength should not be underestimated," made Gui Ji very concerned.
[Gui Ji: Are you sure this "Ju Feng" isn't Nan Li?]
Although a certain Master Alchemist of the Xianzhou Luofu had been clocking in for work at the Dan Ding Division as usual for the past month, that didn't mean that the Master Alchemist hadn't specially arranged for someone to disguise themselves and impersonate him.
After all, who didn't know that the Master Alchemist of the Xianzhou Luofu had a very good relationship with their Divine General?
And among the Sea Rangers, there was currently no one who could directly confront a Lord of Destruction whose name could be spoken.
Now, with a "Ju Feng" suddenly appearing, someone no one had ever heard of, it was no wonder Gui Ji thought this way.
[Huàn Lóng: Most likely not. The abilities he used were vastly different from those of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, and instead had a bit of the shadow of the Taixu Sword Sect from Yaoging.]
Huàn Lóng, in a way, was an ancestral-level existence of the Su Yang clan, wasn't she?
Although Ju Feng didn't use a sword at the time, her extensive knowledge still allowed her to see that it was clearly based on the Taixu Sword Qi of the Taixu Sword Sect.
Mind, form, intent, soul, and spirit—the five aggregates—Ju Feng displayed all of them at the time.
[Gui Ji: Taixu Sword Sect? Could "Ju Feng" be a hidden move by that Marshal?]
[Huàn Lóng: Unclear, but it's possible.]
Although it was still just speculation at this stage, Gui Ji still noted down the name "Ju Feng."
Later, he would have his subordinates investigate and monitor his movements.
Otherwise, it would be bad if the other party suddenly emerged from the shadows to disrupt things one day.
[Gui Ji: Xing Xiao, since Huàn Lóng's side failed, you continue with the plan. I'll take over Yaoging for now.]
[Xing Xiao: Alright, I also want to see why that Tree God Alliance can establish itself in the universe in such a short time.]
The Tree God Alliance rose too quickly.
In less than 30 years, to be able to snatch a territory from the major forces in the universe, including the Interstellar Peace Corporation, and settle down, was simply incredible.
Those powerful and influential forces, including the Interstellar Peace Corporation, had explicitly and implicitly tried to stop the Tree God Alliance, but the latter had easily resolved all their attempts.
Could it be that the Starcruiser Alliance secretly provided assistance at that time?
In fact, they had not.
The cooperation between the two forces only began after Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, one of the founders—Nan Li—returned to the Xianzhou Luofu and reassumed the position of Master Alchemist of the Xianzhou Luofu.
In other words, the Tree God Alliance could already be considered a colossal force in this universe.
They could make certain decisive judgments on many major and minor matters in the universe.
However, for the Tree God Alliance to sit at the table or stand on the table to eat, they still had to ask the Destruction Legion.
Only if you can defeat them do you have the qualifications.
If you can't, then just wait for destruction.
[Gui Ji: Huàn Lóng, continue with your plan.]
[Huàn Lóng: Of course.]
Seeing Huàn Lóng's reply, Gui Ji closed the communication with both of them.
Initially, when Huàn Lóng personally came to him seeking cooperation, Gui Ji thought she had been possessed.
Although the Lords of Destruction were all Aeon Envoys of Nanook, their relationship could only be considered that of colleagues.
Some even had a relationship that couldn't even be called colleagues.
The incredibly arrogant Huàn Lóng was such a person.
She had never cooperated with any Lord of Destruction until now.
Some time ago, Huàn Lóng approached Gui Ji seeking cooperation, setting her target on the Xianzhou Luofu of the Starcruiser Alliance.
Although Gui Ji found it strange, he didn't refuse.
After all, their Destruction Legion and the Starcruiser Alliance were also at loggerheads.
The Destruction Legion under Xing Xiao had already been fighting with the Yaoging Xianzhou for a long time.
Now, Huàn Lóng seeking his cooperation to attack the Xianzhou Luofu was simply adding fuel to the fire between the two forces.
As for how strong this fire would be, that depended on how much commotion Huàn Lóng could stir up next.
Playing with the chess pieces in his hand, the dice on Gui Ji's head began to spin wildly.
"I wonder what this war will burn the Starcruiser Alliance into?"
On the other side, Huàn Lóng, who had also hung up the communication, used the power of Destruction to suppress the intense pain from her body, then began to contact another person.
[Long-Life Envoy: The plan failed. Now, your side will arrange an identity for me.]
[Vidya Fellowship Leader: How could you, an existence of your caliber, fail when you personally took action?]
[Long-Life Envoy: Jing Yuan and a certain hateful Sea Ranger interfered.]
[Vidya Fellowship Leader: So, the Divine General took action. Alright, we will arrange an identity for you. I hope you will honor your initial promise when the time comes.]
[Long-Life Envoy: Don't worry, I wouldn't go back on my word.]
[Vidya Fellowship Leader: Hmph, we'll see about that.]
Closing the communication again, Huàn Lóng's eyes became somewhat erratic, then she pulled out a Stellaron from somewhere and examined it carefully in her hand.
"The Vidya Fellowship? Heh... I hope you don't disappoint me.
"An immortal body, this time I am determined to succeed."
...Meanwhile, on the Minghuo Merchant Troupe's merchant ship.
"Do you still want this sword? If not, give it to me."
Jing Yuan patted the grass-wrapped longsword at his waist.
"If you want to give it to Yanqing, just say so. Besides, this sword was originally for Yanqing. As an elder, I haven't given him a proper sword until now."
Thinking of Yanqing being severely beaten by Bai Heng some time ago, and Nan Li being the instigator of it all, Nan Li still felt a little bad.
This sword would serve as his compensation.
His thoughts exposed, Jing Yuan didn't feel embarrassed, but instead smiled and retorted,
"What are your plans next?"
Hearing this, Nan Li smiled and then said,
"Of course, it's for Ju Feng to disembark here and continue to hunt down the 'Ultimate Murderer.'"
After all, he still planned to use the "Ju Feng" alias later, so he naturally couldn't abandon it just like that.
However, whether "Ju Feng" would actually go after the Fire Cloud Cthulhu next, and how he would hunt him down, would require the Tree God Alliance to have a few fictional historians continue to put in effort.
How could he, Nan Li, have so much time to wander around outside?
Jing Yuan naturally understood his meaning and then said,
"Alright, then we'll see each other in Luofu later. It's been a month since I returned to Luofu, and I really miss it."
"Okay, then I'll be taking my leave first."
As soon as his voice fell, Nan Li, without any delay, shot out from the bow of the ship and quickly disappeared into the cosmic sea of stars.
When someone asked about his whereabouts, Jing Yuan always followed what they had just decided, saying that "Ju Feng" had gone to hunt down a certain "Ultimate Murderer."
At this moment, Nan Li, traversing the cosmic sea of stars with his physical body, arrived at a deserted place. Just as he was about to abandon this body, he discovered that someone in the Chat Group had sent him a duel request.
[Group member "Bald Great Demon King" has sent you a duel request. Do you accept?]