When Teng Xiao tracked her down, Acheron was still thinking about the matter of Baiheng.
Baiheng hadn't died, and Dan Feng hadn't been reborn from an egg either.
Wouldn't that mean both the Stellaron Hunters and the Astral Express would be one person short from now on?
Would those two end up studying makeup powder techniques instead?
It was like trying to study with nothing but hot air—no materials to speak of.
But as for her…
Well, that was Elio's problem, worrying about the script and all.
Acheron took the chance to glance at her own panel:
--+--
[Role-Playing System]
[Name: Bai Ming (Acheron)]
[Lifespan: 89 days, 59:53 (paused) + 30 days (role-playing)]
[Transformable Roles: Big Herta (Charge: 1.8%), Acheron]
[Available Draws: 0 (17.2%)]
--+--
Ever since the war ended, the numbers on the panel had been creeping up—slow, but steady.
If Acheron wasn't mistaken, it was probably Teng Xiao who had reported her actions to the Alliance and word about her had gradually spread throughout the Luofu.
This upward trend would likely continue for the next few days.
Suddenly hearing Teng Xiao's voice snapped Acheron out of her thoughts.
She turned her gaze toward him, following his line of sight to the distant Ambrosial Arbor—still corroded by the Nihility, looking all gnarly and twisted.
"What is it?"
Teng Xiao gave a bitter smile and tilted his body toward the Arbor.
"It's actually about the Arbor. The Luofu understands that you only struck it to stop Shuhu, Lady Acheron. No one in the Cloud Knights thinks you were wrong. However… the people of the Xianzhou have a unique physical constitution, and the energy within the Arbor is… unusually active."
He didn't finish, but Acheron already understood.
"Getting close triggers Mara, doesn't it?"
"Yes, exactly. So… I dare to ask if there might be a safe way to deal with the traces left on the Arbor."
Seeing that Acheron already knew about the Xianzhou natives, Teng Xiao felt a wave of relief.
Then he made his request.
He didn't mention anything about the jumping incident—mostly to avoid airing the Xianzhou's internal conflicts in front of an outsider.
No need to become someone else's joke.
But Acheron was no fool; she understood the Luofu's situation well enough.
The roots of the Arbor were weighed down by the conch crushed by the Scales, and that sea happened to be the place where souls were meant to reincarnate.
If the Nihility's power spread there…and if they pushed such a dangerous task onto the Vidyadhara, while logically sound… it would surely breed resentment among them.
Teng Xiao was probably pretty stressed about it.
After a moment's thought, Acheron said,
"There's one straightforward method."
"Oh? Do tell."
Acheron pointed toward the Arbor.
The part she had split down the middle was tainted by the Nihility along the cut, but the lower portion remained untouched.
"I can control the output—contain the energy—and snap the Arbor from below. The corrupted section I can cleanly sever."
Not only Teng Xiao, but even Jingliu and Bai Heng twitched at the idea.
What a method… simple and brutally effective.
Teng Xiao bowed slightly.
"...I don't doubt your capabilities, Lady Acheron. But the Arbor is… significant to the Xianzhou. I cannot make this decision alone."
"I understand. Go consult whom you need, but please decide quickly. I have other matters and cannot stay long on the Luofu."
Acheron wasn't surprised by Teng Xiao's response, so she didn't press for an immediate answer.
Judging by the slow spread of the erosion, it wouldn't fully consume the Arbor's remains anytime soon.
A few days wouldn't hurt.
"Very well. Within five days, I will give you an answer."
Teng Xiao nodded firmly, then hurried off—likely to contact the Marshal for instructions.
Nearby, Bai Heng glanced from the Arbor to Jingliu and Acheron.
"Say… if the Arbor were completely destroyed, what would Dan Feng do?"
Jingliu thought for a moment. "Dan Feng would want to stay, but the Vidyadhara would grow restless."
This time, the Arbor's presence in the Scalegorge Waterscape served as a symbol of the alliance between the Vidyadhara and the Xianzhou.
But among the Vidyadhara, voices calling for autonomy had never truly faded.
If the Arbor were gone, the very thing the Vidyadhara were meant to guard would disappear. Dan Feng would have a serious headache.
"Sigh. It's nothing but trouble, and yet we can't do without it."
Bai Heng sighed as she gazed at the distant Arbor.
--+--
Meanwhile, Jing Yuan and Yingxing were together, watching over Dan Feng, who lay immobilized in a hospital bed.
Before Acheron arrived, Dan Feng had taken dragon form and confronted the Emanator directly.
Surrounded by draconic echoes, his body and mind were severely wounded.
Then he asked Acheron to cleave it in two with her sword.
Though she held back, Dan Feng had been too close.
Even the Emanator's illusions were sliced apart by the Nihility, leaving its aura clinging to Dan Feng's body.
Fortunately, as a descendant of Long, Dan Feng possessed the power of Permanence.
Even so, Dan Feng wasn't much better off.
He was even unconsciously pondering what name Dan Feng would take in his next life.
"So… a woman with a blade appeared out of nowhere, slew Shuhu, and saved Dan Feng. And she had… Beiheng with her?"
Yingxing sat in a chair, eyes downcast, lost in thought.
But his clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil.
"Yeah. I saw Beiheng holding that weapon, running inward. It was clear—if Lady Acheron hadn't shown up, Beiheng would've charged in."
Jing Yuan sighed as well.
If Acheron hadn't descended like a deity, he could guess what would've happened next.
They might have won, but Beiheng… would certainly have died.
"So strong… I'm too weak. If only I could forge stronger weapons…" Yingxing clenched his fists, muttering to himself.
"Yingxing, in war, there are no 'what ifs.' The outcome is—we survived. And instead of worrying about Beiheng, maybe you should wonder whether Dan Feng will be reborn as a man or a woman."
"..."
Jing Yuan's comment broke Yingxing's mood.
He looked up, exasperated, at the grinning Jing Yuan.
Man or woman…if Dan Feng knew you were making up stories like that, he'd definitely jump up and punch you.
Jing Yuan lightened the mood, but soon Yingxing grew curious about something else.
"Jing Yuan, that slash… what was it like?"
Yingxing had only witnessed the fading aftermath, not Acheron's strike itself.
But even the residual energy enveloping the Luofu was enough to stir one's soul.
Yingxing envied that kind of power.
If he had it, he wouldn't have felt so helpless.
"Overwhelming. Suppressive. It made you instinctively want to give up, to die inside that black sun."
Honestly, as a witness, Jing Yuan could still picture that pitch-black blade light, and the fear and nothingness he felt in that instant.
Just talking about it made his tone shift unconsciously.
Yingxing was taken aback—was this the same confident Jing Yuan he knew?
But Jing Yuan only offered a faint, wry smile.
"I think every Cloud Knight who was there will carry the memory of that heaven-devouring slash for the rest of their lives. Including me… and probably the General, too."
The way the Lightning Lord activated automatically to protect its master—that was something Jing Yuan had never seen in his entire life.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! 2 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.