"Trailblazing Lord…?"
That would be Akivili, the Aeon of Trailblaze, right?
The most notorious pioneer of them all—and a senior to the Astral Express crew.
Back when he was active, the universe had never known peace. Wherever he went, something big always happened.
About that, Su Heng could only cough lightly.
"Uh… I'm a latecomer. Don't really know much about Lord Akivili's exploits."
"No problem," Jing Yuan replied calmly.
"The Xianzhou keeps some records. Care to hear them?"
The Xianzhou classified Aeons into three types:
Benevolent — known as Arbiters
Malevolent — known as Calamities
Neutral
Those who governed a Path were called Arbiters.
As for Calamities—
Yaoshi, the Abundance, was one of them.
Endless life gave birth to endless abominations.
Nanook, the Destruction, was another—
a universally acknowledged Calamity.
"…Let's not," Su Heng waved him off.
"If we go into that, it'll start feeling like padding."
"…Pardon?"
Jing Yuan looked genuinely confused.
The Xianzhou deeply respected Akivili, after all.
Even if the Trailblaze Aeon had a reputation similar to Aha—
a cosmic troublemaker who enjoyed stirring things up.
But then again…
If he didn't like causing trouble, he wouldn't have become the Aeon of Trailblaze in the first place.
After dismantling the Disciples' hidden base within the Dan Shu Division, Jing Yuan and Su Heng returned to the upper level.
The alchemist who had been hiding there looked utterly defeated now, face drained of all color.
"You'll never understand, General Jing Yuan," he rasped.
"You're long-lived. You'll never understand people like us!"
"Even in the Cloud Knights, we'll never rise high enough!"
"And when we reach seven hundred years—
we will fall to Mara!"
"But you high-and-mighty immortals—how could you possibly understand?!"
"Mara isn't a curse!" he screamed.
"It's a blessing! A blessing from the Merciful Medicus!"
"I was this close to success!"
"I extracted Vidyadhara marrow! Mixed it with waters from the Ancient Sea!"
"Just a little more time—just a little more time, and the elixir would have been complete!"
"Calamity Yaoshi," Jing Yuan said coldly, eyes narrowed.
"Vidyadhara marrow… that part I can explain."
"But the Ancient Sea?"
His gaze sharpened.
"You people from the Disciples…
You've infiltrated the upper ranks of the Vidyadhara, haven't you?"
The Ancient Sea was sacred ground.
Without authorization from the Dragon Elders, even Jing Yuan himself would find entry difficult.
And those seals were currently in the hands of the Vidyadhara Preceptors.
"…So even the Vidyadhara have traitors."
Since the Imbibitor Lunae Incident, the Vidyadhara's authority on the Luofu had been weakened.
If it were only the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, that would be one thing.
The organization had vanished for thirty years, but it was never truly gone—
only driven underground by repeated crackdowns.
They operated in isolated cells, nearly impossible to trace.
The captured ones were always pawns.
As for their true leadership—
Only a codename was known:
"The Head."
Whether that was a title or an individual, even the Divination Commission didn't know.
But this Stellaron crisis had dragged every hidden fault to the surface.
Jing Yuan had always preferred to move pieces from the shadows.
If not for the Nameless from Jarilo-VI—
and his own unruly disciple—
He might never have realized that this time…
The Luofu had drawn the attention of an Emanator.
"You Xianzhou folk really are riddled with traitors," Su Heng muttered, rubbing his chin.
"At this point, the only person in the Dan Shu Division worth trusting is probably little Bailu."
If memory served—
The Disciples were only the opening act.
The Stellaron was the fuse.
And everything after that was orchestrated by Phantylia.
Her true goal was never the Dan Shu Division.
It was to destabilize faith in Jing Yuan himself—
to fracture the Luofu from within.
A strategist fighting a strategist.
Unfortunately for her—
Things were already off script.
He had handed the ruined star skiff to Yukong.
And Tingyun…
…probably wouldn't be coming back.
"Apologies, Mr. Su Heng," Jing Yuan said quietly.
"It seems the Xianzhou has shown you something disgraceful today."
"But everything is still within control."
His gaze turned razor-sharp as it settled on the alchemist.
"Who is your superior?"
"Speak, and I'll grant you a swift death."
"Refuse, and you'll face judgment by the Ten-Lords Commission."
"You know their methods."
He grabbed the man by the collar.
The alchemist suddenly burst into hysterical laughter.
"Too late! Too late!"
"I've already delivered the elixir to the Head!"
"Soon, the Xianzhou will welcome new life!"
"Merciful Medicus—
Let the Arbor flourish!"
Branches burst from his flesh.
Like bone spikes, wooden limbs tore through his body.
Jing Yuan's expression darkened.
The man's blood and muscles twisted violently, fusing with foreign growths.
In moments, he transformed—
Skin jade-green.
Two massive Arbor growths erupting from his lower spine.
Behind him, a blazing false sun, shaped from the Arbor's miracle.
Far more terrifying than any Mara-struck Cloud Knight.
"…An Inner Alchemist," Jing Yuan said grimly.
One hadn't appeared on the Luofu for over thirty years.
These monsters refined not pills—
But themselves.
Cruel beyond imagination.
"Is that thing… still human?" Su Heng muttered.
Even with full analytical authority, this was something he could never recreate.
This wasn't enhancement.
It was sacrilege.
Suspended in midair, the Inner Alchemist writhed, drenched in Abundance energy.
"Hahaha!"
"The formula given by the Head was flawless!"
"I feel it—true power!"
"The Xianzhou rejects Mara—
yet Mara is the Merciful Medicus's greatest gift!"
"The Luofu will be ours!"
The moment he moved—
Su Heng raised a hand.
A flash.
The blast erased him.
Half of the Dan Shu Division collapsed into ash.
"…Damn," Jing Yuan sighed, stepping from the rubble.
"That was a bit excessive."
"Reconstruction isn't cheap, you know."
"Sorry," Su Heng scratched his head.
"Newly promoted Emanator. Still getting used to the output."
He walked toward the remains.
Outside the Dan Shu Division, shockwaves rippled through the district.
The guardian array activated in time, sparing half the domain.
Still—
The flash had been blinding.
Like a miniature sun.
Like an arrow loosed by the Reignbow.
"…I told you Dan Shu would be the first to go," someone whispered.
"Wait—that didn't look like the General's technique…"
"What do you know? How old are you compared to the General?"
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