Sylvia chatted with Jing Yuan for a while at the Seat of Divine Foresight.
She'd originally thought he was just planning to slack off, but to her surprise, he actually shared quite a bit with her.
Though, of course, not too much.
After all, the incident had only just happened today—even someone as capable as Jing Yuan couldn't possibly track down the Stellaron and Phantylia in a single day.
After listening to Jing Yuan's analysis of the situation, Sylvia suddenly asked:
"So, if the speculation proves true and the Ambrosial Arbor fully revives… we'd have to go to the Scalegorge Waterscape, right? If I remember correctly, the Luofu's High Elder hasn't inherited the full power, has she?"
Jing Yuan had grown used to Sylvia somehow digging up all these secrets from who-knows-where.
He nodded with a hint of frustration and said:
"Exactly. That's what worries me most. The Scalegorge Waterscape serves to seal the Ambrosial Arbor, and only the Vidyadhara High Elder can open that seal. As for the current HIgh Elder…"
As he spoke, Jing Yuan lightly tapped his fingers on the wooden desk.
Forget about trying to track down the previous Vidyadhara High Elder at the last minute—even if he could, the Xianzhou was the one who exiled them in the first place.
There was no guarantee they'd be willing to return.
Still, given Jing Yuan's position, it wasn't something he could openly discuss.
As for the new High Elder…
Though she had inherited some hydro and lightning arts, she had never dreamed of the ancestral dragon's true form.
The High Elder succession was deeply flawed, and the new heir was practically under house arrest by the Vidyadhara Elders.
Jing Yuan couldn't easily bring her in to try, even if he wanted to.
After all, the new High Elder's abilities were… not exactly impressive.
And frankly, the Vidyadhara and the Xianzhou were still in a cooperative relationship.
Though one side held authority, matters involving the other faction's leader weren't something the Xianzhou could casually intervene in.
If the seal couldn't be opened through normal means, and the Ambrosial Arbor truly revived…
Jing Yuan had no idea how he'd deal with it then. The worst-case scenario would be summoning the Reignbow Arbiter to take a shot at the Arbor.
The crisis would certainly be resolved, but half the Luofu would likely be blown to bits in the process.
Jing Yuan briefly explained his concerns.
Sylvia, however, was a bit lost. 'He really doesn't treat me like an outsider, does he?'
He's telling me all this?
What am I supposed to say? That I brought the Astral Express here, so just go find the little dragon yourself?
Sylvia pursed her lips, pointedly ignoring Jing Yuan's gaze, and shifted to her own request:
"I wonder if the General has any recorded footage of the High Elder sealing the Ambrosial Arbor back then."
"Footage from back then? May I ask what you need it for, young friend?"
Jing Yuan was taken aback by Sylvia's abrupt change of topic.
Even as the Divine Foresight himself, he couldn't quite guess what Sylvia was after this time.
"I have some ideas, but I'm not sure if they'll work, so allow me to keep it to myself for now."
Sylvia certainly wasn't going to make any promises, like handing the Scalegorge seal over to her or anything like that.
If she said something like that in front of Jing Yuan today, the Vidyadhara Elders would probably be waiting to ambush her in some alley tomorrow.
Otherwise, opening the Scalegorge and then planning to take the Arbor away…
If Sylvia did all the work herself, what would that leave for the Vidyadhara?
Sure, some Vidyadhara nowadays weren't happy about using their sacred land to help the Xianzhou suppress what was essentially a ticking time bomb.
But there was no denying that it was precisely because of such a great sacrifice that the Vidyadhara were able to integrate smoothly into the Xianzhou while maintaining their autonomy.
If Sylvia went and did everything herself, the Vidyadhara—at least those on the Luofu—would be left in an awkward position.
The Xianzhou natives certainly wouldn't mind the Vidyadhara staying on the ship, but the Elders would likely feel uneasy.
Even if Sylvia managed to extract the High Elder's power, she couldn't possibly handle things so absolutely.
At most, she could serve as a backup plan.
There was no need to rush into doing the work herself and risk making enemies.
Jing Yuan pondered for a moment but couldn't quite figure out Sylvia's intention.
Still, when the Vidyadhara sealed the Ambrosial Arbor as a basis for their alliance with the Xianzhou…
Such a major event naturally left behind detailed records.
Though as for the specific footage Sylvia requested, Jing Yuan wasn't sure how much existed.
Probably not much.
"I'll look into it. There are definitely archives on the alliance with the Vidyadhara, but the specific scene you mentioned is harder to say."
As Jing Yuan explained, he took out the Jade Abacus and connected it to the Seat of Divine Foresight's database.
The search took a while.
Mainly because this kind of archive wasn't something people normally looked into without reason.
Even if someone was interested in the past events, they'd usually focus on the alliance treaty itself.
For Sylvia to take an unconventional approach and ask for footage of the High Elder sealing the Arbor in the Scalegorge Waterscape…
It almost felt like she was looking for trouble.
But Jing Yuan couldn't let an outsider access the Luofu's database directly, nor could he easily ask his subordinates to help search.
After all, even Qingzu and Yanqing had been dispatched on missions, which showed just how short-handed they were at the moment.
So, naturally, Jing Yuan had to handle it himself.
Fortunately, Jing Yuan was a patient man.
And Sylvia's past actions had proven reliable.
Jing Yuan judged that she wasn't joking with him, so he began searching earnestly.
As Jing Yuan focused on the search, Sylvia pulled out her phone, intending to ask the Express crew where they'd gotten to.
Unexpectedly, a message from Acheron arrived at just the right moment.
--+--
[Acheron: Did something happen on the Xianzhou?]
[Sylvia: ?]
[Sylvia: How'd you know? Word travels that fast?]
--+--
Reading the message, Sylvia was a bit startled by how quickly the news seemed to spread.
It had only been a few system hours since the incident—had the other Xianzhou ships even been notified by the Luofu yet?
How did someone playing solo survival out in the middle of nowhere find out so quickly?
--+--
[Acheron: Not really. It's mainly because I had a sudden feeling, like you'd gotten tangled up in some trouble again.]
[Acheron: I figured Penacony's still a ways off, and you said you were on the Xianzhou, so it made sense that something must've happened there, right?]
[Sylvia: I'm starting to think you planted a surveillance device on me.]
[Acheron: Just tell me, was I right or not?]
[Sylvia: Yeah, yeah, sure you were.]
[Acheron: Is this what they call 'being stubborn' online?]
[Acheron: [Acheron eating a peach]]
[Sylvia: …]
[Sylvia: You're the stubborn one!]
--+--
Just as Sylvia was considering how to retort, Jing Yuan's voice sounded beside her:
"Young Friend, I've found the footage you wanted."
"Huh? Oh! Right, thanks."
Sylvia quickly looked up and nodded at Jing Yuan, then swiftly typed on her phone:
[Sylvia: Hmph! I've got things to do. I'll let you off the hook for today!]
After sending the message to Acheron, Sylvia stood up and turned to the light screen Jing Yuan had brought up.
On the screen was a short archival record.
It contained several images of the High Elder, with churning seawater and the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor visible in the background.
According to the text description, these photos were taken during the original sealing of the Arbor.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.