Deep within a maze of winding alleys, after turn upon turn, the disciples of the Sanctus Medicus finally led Kiana to what looked like a long-abandoned residence.
But once the courtyard gate was pushed open, the inside proved to be a different world entirely.
An underground passage sloped downward in twisting curves, dim lamps burning along both sides. The air was thick with the faint scent of medicinal herbs.
"This way, my lady," said the man leading her.
Kiana followed them down the path, silently estimating the distance in her head.
This underground space was pretty large. The Sanctus Medicus seemed to be surprisingly good at excavation.
After about the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the passage abruptly opened up.
A broad subterranean hall lay before her, ringed with thick stone pillars carved all over with intricate motifs of the Abundance.
At the center of the hall stood a figure in black robes with their back to the entrance. Hearing footsteps, the person slowly turned around.
"Welcome, Envoy of Long Life!"
The robed figure dropped to one knee, their tone so reverent it bordered on fanaticism.
Behind them, dozens of Sanctus Medicus members fell to their knees in unison.
Kiana came to a stop and looked over the scene with amused interest.
Naturally, she recognized this black-robed person.
After all, when Cecilia had gone to the Alchemy Commission earlier, she had already seen her once.
Her name seemed to be Dan Shu. She was someone important in the Alchemy Commission, right?
Maybe Kiana had forgotten the exact title, but whatever. Some kind of high-ranking figure, anyway.
Resting her chin on her hand, Kiana finally spoke.
"Go on, then. Why did your Sanctus Medicus bring me here? And why are you calling me an Envoy of Long Life?"
Dan Shu raised her head, a feverish gleam flashing through her eyes.
"There is no need to test us, my lady. We of the Sanctus Medicus have worshiped the Lord of Long Life for generations. We know that aura better than anyone."
"The power of the Abundance upon you is so pure that, though hidden well, it cannot escape our senses."
"That is why, only after confirming your identity, did we dare risk bringing you here."
Pure power of the Abundance?
That made Kiana remember.
Right. After Yaoshi and Nanook had both bestowed gifts upon her, she really had acquired quite a bit of Abundance authority.
She had not expected the Sanctus Medicus to have methods sharp enough to notice even that.
"So that alone is enough?" Kiana asked again. "There are plenty of Pathstriders of the Abundance on the Xianzhou. What makes you so sure I'm the person you've been waiting for?"
"You must have heard what happened in Exalting Sanctum earlier. What, exactly—do you think a Lord Ravager would secretly join your Abundance camp?"
Dan Shu's breathing quickened.
"Because your aura… is simply too pure."
"I have lived many years, and I have never seen such immaculate Abundance energy."
"Those who swallow medicinal concoctions only obtain scraps cast off by the Lord of Long Life. But what emanates from you is true, uncontaminated Abundance at its source."
"Only one truly chosen by the Lord of Long Life could possess such an aura!"
By the end, her voice was trembling, almost choked with tears.
Kiana fell silent for a moment.
Good grief. These people really were treating the Abundance like a full-blown religion.
Yaoshi themself might not even recognize this claim, yet they had unilaterally pinned the title of "Envoy of Long Life" onto her.
"So?" Kiana asked. "Now that you've found me, what exactly do you want?"
Dan Shu suddenly looked up, fire burning in her eyes.
"Of course we ask the Envoy of Long Life to lead us—to restore the glory of the Abundance!"
"The Ambrosial Arbor may have been sealed once more, but only temporarily! If you lend us your strength, we can awaken it again and bathe the entire Luofu in the Lord of Long Life's blessing!"
"When that happens, those ignorant Cloud Knights, those stubborn generals, will all kneel at your feet!"
Kiana: What nonsense.
She really had not expected this.
Yet Dan Shu seemed not to notice her reaction at all, continuing her fervent speech.
"Once, when the Abundance was at its height, the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor wrapped around the Luofu itself. Our people strode the stars, unmatched by any foe. All could attain immortality and ascend!"
"And look at us now. The Xianzhou has fallen so low. It allows itself to be driven by the accursed bow, suffers slaughter at the hands of the Abundance's enemies, and even the Ten-Lords Commission forces us to abandon immortality…"
"But now, we have been given a chance. A chance to make the Abundance great again!"
When she finished, Dan Shu raised her eyes and stared at Kiana with burning devotion.
"Envoy of Long Life, you are a Lord Ravager, and yet you embrace the Abundance in a body of Destruction. Surely that means, like us, you are also a believer in the Merciful Medicus."
"If we can gain your aid, then with the Luofu's current strength, nothing will be able to stop us from reclaiming the Ambrosial Arbor!"
Kiana gave no immediate reply. These people really were making far too many assumptions.
Just because she carried a blessing of the Abundance, they had decided she would naturally be willing to cooperate with the Sanctus Medicus.
"So," she said at last, "you want me to help you seize the Ambrosial Arbor?"
"Precisely!" Dan Shu answered, visibly excited.
But Kiana's next words dumped a bucket of cold water over her.
"The Luofu currently has two Emanators of the Hunt. Why, exactly, do you think the Arbor is so easy to take?"
Though, to be fair, if Kiana herself truly wanted to seize the Arbor, it would not be especially difficult.
Even if Jing Yuan were standing here, she would not bother denying that.
The moment two Emanators met, the difference between them could already become painfully obvious.
But Dan Shu was different. No matter how impressive her title sounded, she was ultimately only a somewhat stronger Pathstrider.
With the limitations of a Pathstrider's perception, unless Kiana had openly exchanged blows with Jing Yuan, Dan Shu would never be able to gauge the gap between them.
Apparently, though, Dan Shu had already thought of that problem.
"We can go to the Shackling Prison and find Lord Shuhu!" she declared, producing a truly alarming name.
Then she hurried on.
"Envoy of Long Life, though Lord Shuhu remains only in fragments and has long been sealed by the Luofu—"
"—with the might of an Emanator of the Abundance, surely that great lord still waits for the chance to rise again."
"If we can free him, and if you then aid him, the combined power of two Emanators of the Abundance would surely be enough to sweep aside the Xianzhou!"
"And if you are willing, we can act immediately. While Jing Yuan is occupied handling the aftermath, we can catch them completely off guard!"
When Dan Shu finished, the underground hall fell into a short silence.
She stared upward at Kiana with fervent expectation.
Behind her, the members of the Sanctus Medicus also held their breath, waiting for the reply of this Envoy of Long Life.
In bringing Kiana here, they had already severed every possible retreat.
This operation was guaranteed to alert the authorities. But they believed that the Envoy of Long Life would never reject them.
"…Pff."
Sorry, but Kiana really could not hold it in anymore—she laughed.
These people were taking wishful thinking to absurd extremes.
And besides, this whole script felt oddly familiar.
It really did resemble the way the Borisin had tried to free Hoolay.
Sure, Shuhu was much stronger than Hoolay. But if all that remained was some residual fragment, then even if he really were resurrected, he probably would not recover much combat power in the short term.
"You're serious?" Kiana said. "You're putting your hopes in a half-dead, maybe-not-even-alive Shuhu… and in me, some outsider?"
Dan Shu's face darkened.
"My lady, Lord Shuhu is a true Emanator of the Abundance. Even in fragments, his divine might is still—"
"Still what?" Kiana tilted her head at her. "Enough to kindly offer the Xianzhou another headcount for its kill tally?"
"My lady! Please do not belittle Lord Shuhu's power! Back then, he was—"
"Back then was back then," Kiana cut in. "Now is now."
Then she took another two steps forward, looking down at Dan Shu from above.
"By the way, you people made such a big show of escorting me through the Luofu, and Jing Yuan still hasn't found you. Did you use some special method?"
Dan Shu hesitated for a second, then answered.
"Your ladyship, the Sanctus Medicus has survived on the Xianzhou this long because we naturally possess our own means."
"Though they are single-use items, they can block any form of divination. Even beings at the level of an Emanator cannot sense our whereabouts."
As she spoke, she drew out a palm-sized black curtain talisman from within her robes. Faint golden lines flowed over its surface, giving off a dim aura of the Abundance.
Kiana looked at the black talisman and felt a little surprised.
This thing could block the perception of Emanators?
No wonder she had been following them for so long without Jing Yuan making any move. So this was why.
A pity, though. This kind of treasure was useless against her.
She could already block the senses of Emanators on her own, so what difference would a one-time-use trinket make?
…Was there something she was forgetting?
Yes. Only now did Kiana finally remember who, exactly, she had forgotten.
Right. She had forgotten Xingxiao.
Kiana checked the time.
The result was explosive.
Not only had the two standard hours she and Xingxiao agreed upon already passed—they had passed by a full fifteen minutes.
She was only fifteen minutes late. Xingxiao probably would not panic too badly, right?
Surely Xingxiao would not actually think she had been kidnapped.
…Probably?
Fine. Even Kiana was not all that confident.
And just then, as if to prove her fears correct, another wave of Destruction erupted over the Luofu.
This made three times already.
And this time, it was Xingxiao's aura, unleashed in outright fury.
In an instant, pedestrians all over the Luofu were struck as if by thunder, collapsing helplessly to the ground.
Then a figure appeared above Exalting Sanctum.
"Jing Yuan," she said, "get out here."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 139)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter171)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter100)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter184)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 168
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 156
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 105
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 185
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 160
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 150
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 76
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 97
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 116
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 75
Uma Musume: I Want All 93
I Can Copy Unique Skills 79
Summoning an Evil God, but the 55
Supernatural Multiverse 75
My Harem Is Indescribable 68
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 70
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 69
Still playing traditional Honk 49
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 53
What Should I Do After Switchi 42
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 50
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 38
Transmigrated as Sukuna 35
Checking In in Demon Slayer 40
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 55
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