A crazy, almost imperceptible smile touched your face as you stood in the shadow of the Divination Commission, watching the chaos unfold. Soon… the moment of revenge is almost here.

The unnatural revival of the Ambrosial Arbor shook the entire Luofu to its core. The event acted like a beacon, and immediately after, anomalies followed like a plague.

Traces of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus began to appear all over the ship. The forbidden faction, long thought to be a fringe cult, suddenly revealed itself to be a deeply embedded cancer. And a significant portion of them, as your informants had already confirmed, came from the very heart of the Alchemy Commission.

The ship was in a quiet panic. Fu Xuan, overworked and stressed, urgently summoned the newly arrived Astral Express crew. She didn't have the manpower to investigate every shadow, and these outsiders were the perfect, deniable asset.

"The Alchemy Commission is the source of the abomination," she briefed them, her voice tight with fatigue. "I need you to go there, find the source of the disturbance, and put a stop to it. The Stellaron Hunters may have lit the fuse, but someone else is fanning the flames from within."

When the crew arrived, they found the Alchemy Commission was no longer a place of healing. It was a vision of hell.

It was completely out of control. The air was thick with a sweet, sickening incense that made their heads spin. Healers, once dedicated to preserving life, had become crazed, Mara-struck monsters, their bodies twisted into grotesque parodies of Abominations of Abundance.

Standing in the center of the chaos, her expression serene as she directed the monsters, was the head of the commission—Dan Shu.

After a fierce and desperate battle against the woman they had once considered an ally, the crew finally defeated her. Just as they thought the crisis was resolved and they could catch their breath, a familiar, welcome figure emerged from the smoke.

"Tingyun?" March 7th lowered her bow, relief flooding her face. "You're okay! We were so worried!"

But that familiar face, which always held a gentle, encouraging smile, revealed something new. An unfamiliar, cold, and mocking smile spread across her features. Her head tilted, and then, with a sickening crunch of bone and sinew, her neck twisted at a bizarre, impossible angle.

CRACK.

The crew froze in pure, unadulterated horror. The body of "Tingyun" went limp, falling to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

A massive, shadowy, and divine-looking entity emerged from the fallen body, blossoming into its true form. It was a colossal, ethereal being, its laughter echoing with a thousand voices.

"My dear benefactors, let me reintroduce myself." The voice was a layered, melodic chorus that grated on the soul. "I am the Lord Ravager—Phantylia."

"I am here," she declared, spreading her spectral arms wide, "to make this quaint little ship, this entire Xianzhou... crumble!"

Subsequently, with a final, mocking laugh that seemed to shake the very foundations of the commission, Phantylia's form dissolved, leaving the crew alone with the lifeless, twisted body of their "friend."

Upon learning the news, General Jing Yuan's expression turned grim. The situation had escalated from an internal crisis to a full-blown invasion by an Emanator of Destruction.

He gathered everyone, his gaze sweeping over the exhausted Trailblazers. "Phantylia's true target must be the Ambrosial Arbor's roots, where the Stellaron is sealed. We must stop her before she merges with it."

He led the group toward the ancient, sealed path to the Arbor's core: the Scalegorge Waterscape.

In the vast, moonlit cavern of the Scalegorge Waterscape, an unexpected figure stood waiting by the churning waters.

"Dan Heng?" March 7th stopped, confused. "What are you doing here? We thought you were..."

Facing the surprised gazes of his companions, Dan Heng finally stopped hiding. He closed his eyes, and a brilliant, azure light enveloped him. The horn of the Azure Dragon emerged from his forehead, and his very aura shifted, becoming ancient and powerful.

With a wave of his hand, the raging, impassable waters of the ancient sea parted, revealing a dry path to the depths.

"Hurry," he said, his voice now layered with an ancient authority. "Phantylia is already ahead."

When everyone arrived at the heart of the Arbor's roots, it was almost too late. Phantylia was already waiting, her figure even larger, no longer spectral but terrifyingly real. Her form was integrated with the pulsating, corrupting power of the giant, cancerous roots.

"You've come at just the right time," she laughed, her voice shaking the cavern. "Just in time to witness the birth of a new god!"

The battle erupted instantly. Jing Yuan summoned his Lightning-Lord and held his weapon, but Phantylia's power was beyond imagination. Her massive, tree-like hand, formed from the Arbor's roots and dark energy, easily swiped aside the Lightning-Lord and grabbed Jing Yuan, lifting him into the air.

"Is that all, General?" she said, her voice dripping with disappointment as her grip tightened. "How pitiful."

Just as her fingers were about to crush him, a clear, furious cry came from the air above. "Get your filthy branches off him!"

A silvery-green stream of light descended like a meteor! It was a figure wielding a giant, brutal-looking axe, her silver-teal hair fluttering like a banner of war.

"That's…" Jing Yuan's eyes widened from within Phantylia's grasp. "Feixiao?!"

Feixiao fell like a comet, her axe striking Phantylia with world-destroying power!

Phantylia hastily released Jing Yuan to raise her other hand to block.

BOOM—!

A massive shockwave swept through the cavern, shattering stalactites and throwing the Trailblazers off their feet. Phantylia's massive, root-like arm was directly severed, erupting in a spray of black ichor.

"Who are you?!" Phantylia roared, retreating, her form flickering in shock and pain.

Feixiao landed steadily on the ground, casually resting the colossal axe on her shoulder. A wild, almost joyful smile was plastered on her face. "Looks like I arrived just in time."

Jing Yuan struggled to his feet, coughing. "Feixiao? How are you here…?"

Feixiao did not answer him. She merely locked her gaze on Phantylia's reforming figure. "Lord Ravager, huh? Perfect," she cracked her neck. "Let me see just how capable you really are."

The aura around her suddenly soared, a primal, green energy exploding from her. "Axe of the Great Wilderness!"

[Inorin's Note: "Axe of the Great Wilderness" is General Feixiao's ultimate technique in this context, channeling her power as an Emanator of The Hunt.]

This was the ultimate technique of the Arbiter-General! Phantylia's face finally changed; she sensed the true, conceptual power of The Hunt aimed at her. She wanted to dodge but found her very essence locked on by the attack.

The giant axe sliced across the sky.

"No—!"

Amidst her screams, Phantylia's body, the one fused with the Ambrosial Arbor, was completely torn apart by the concentrated power of The Hunt. Only a faint, dark wisp of flame escaped the destruction, disappearing into the depths of the cavern.

The dust settled. The cavern was silent, save for the dripping of water.

Feixiao let out a breath and put away her axe, the wild aura receding. She turned to the stunned Trailblazers and Jing Yuan with a bright, almost apologetic smile.

"My apologies, everyone," she said, dusting off her hands. "I accidentally used my full strength."

"May I... May I ask who the heroine is…?" March 7th asked, her voice filled with awe.

Feixiao casually tossed her long, silver-teal hair over her shoulder. "Yaoqing General, Feixiao. At your service."

The crisis seemed to be resolved. The Luofu, though wounded, was safe.

However, back in the quiet solemnity of the Seat of Divine Foresight, Jing Yuan received an urgent, encrypted communication from the Xianzhou Alliance high command.

Looking at the content, his expression, which had finally relaxed, gradually turned grim. It wasn't the accusations themselves—they were baseless claims of his collusion with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and Phantylia, clearly fabricated.

It was the name of the accuser that made his blood run cold.

Arbiter-General Feixiao of the Yaoqing.

The general who had just saved them, the hero who had repelled a Lord Ravager, had, in the very next breath, reported him to the Alliance high command. Precisely because of her status as the "savior" of the Luofu, the Alliance was taking the accusation with the utmost seriousness.

Jing Yuan put down the communication and walked to the window. The Ambrosial Arbor, now truly dead, was a silent, skeletal monument outside. He sighed.

"Feixiao… what exactly are you thinking?"

Was all of this a coincidence? Or was it all a meticulously designed, terrifyingly brilliant scheme from the very beginning?

He thought of the new, mild-mannered diviner in Fu Xuan's commission, Jiang Xuan. He thought of the timing of the Disciples' uprising, Phantylia's appearance, and Feixiao's "heroic" arrival. The pieces were clicking into place, forming a picture he did not like.

"It seems," he said to the empty room, his golden pupils sharpening, "the Luofu's troubles are far from over."