Chapter 57: Instantaneous Refinement (Patreon)

[Lingsha cheerfully accompanied General Huaiyan to the Luofu to assume her new post.]

[With General Huaiyan's departure, the Xianzhou Alliance's attention was now entirely focused on the Luofu, leaving the Zhuming Xianzhou's defenses at their weakest.]

[That old relic, whose age was anyone's guess, was the person you feared most on the entire Zhuming Xianzhou, and now he was finally gone.]

[And for you, the perfect opportunity had arrived.]

[So, you brazenly waltzed into the Zhuming's Alchemy Commission.]

[Many people were here seeking medical consultation, but no one stopped you. You proceeded unimpeded all the way to Lady Yanting's office.]

[When you pushed the door open, Lady Yanting, who was browsing through medical texts, looked up at you with some surprise.]

[Lady Yanting recognized you immediately. Nominally, both you and she were Lingsha's teachers, so she knew a little about you.]

["Are you looking for Lingsha? She just left the Zhuming Xianzhou with General Huaiyan."]

[Unfortunately, Lady Yanting had no idea that you knew Lingsha's exact whereabouts better than she did; after all, the two of you were sleeping in the same bed just this morning.]

[A kind smile on your face, you shook your head.]

["No, I'm here for you."]

[The moment your words fell, Lady Yanting lost consciousness.]

[At that moment, she was exactly ten paces away from you.]

[Even a Dragon High Elder of noble blood and formidable power was utterly vulnerable to the poison you had concocted specifically for the Vidyadhara.]

[You grabbed Lady Yanting's head and, in an instant, absorbed and refined the power of the Dragon High Elder from... within her body.]

[Next, you took out the long-prepared remains of the 'Swarm King' and refined them as well.]

[With this, the three great shards—Abundance, Propagation, and the flawed Immortality—were gathered. Three vast, cognate powers merged into one within your body.]

[Within the Imaginary Space, a crown symbolizing the power of Immortality slowly formed and descended upon your head.]

[In an era where the Dragon of Immortality has fallen, you have directly bypassed the Aeon of 'Immortality' to obtain the power of an Emanator.]

[Unlike ordinary Emanators who receive blessings from an Aeon to gain usage rights to a Path, you have obtained partial authority directly from the Path itself—authority that even the Aeon of Immortality, were it still alive, could not revoke.]

[Now that 'Immortality' is dead, if you can seize all of its authority, perhaps you too can ascend to become the Aeon of 'Immortality'.]

[However, this path is destined to be fraught with hardship. To attain the complete 'Immortality', you must recollect all the splintered fragments.]

[These fragments reside with Abundance, Propagation, and the descendants of the Dragon of Immortality. The Aeon of Propagation is dead, and the descendants of the Dragon of Immortality are weakened; these two are still manageable.]

[The crucial part is the fragment with Abundance. You see, not only is the Aeon of Abundance not dead, but it's alive and kicking, 'flirting' with the Aeon of the Hunt~]

[But your will is firm; you will not give up just because of a few difficulties.]

[You quickly devised a plan.]

[Perhaps you could cooperate with the Xianzhou Alliance. After all, both sides share a common goal: to kill Abundance.]

[Once the goal is achieved, the Xianzhou Alliance will have eliminated its greatest enemy, you will ascend to become the new Aeon of Immortality, the Alliance will gain the protection of two Aeons, and the Vidyadhara's procreation problems will be solved.]

[It's a multi-win situation.]

[Although you just absorbed the power from within Lady Yanting's body, committing a crime tantamount to the 'Ten Unpardonable Sins,'...]

[...you believe that with immense shared interests and your power being sufficient for a dialogue between equals, the Alliance's high command will agree to your proposal.]

[After all, politics is the art of compromise.]

[At the same time, on the Luofu Xianzhou—with three generals, the Sword Champion, the Dragon High Elder, and the Nameless all present, pushing its combat strength beyond its peak—Hoolay was released, caused a minor disturbance, and was promptly suppressed and killed.]

Hoolay's only contribution this time was perhaps resolving a hidden ailment for big sister Feixiao.

That's right. In the eyes of many, Hoolay was just a pawn used to stir the pot. To be a player, his power was far from sufficient.

In the end, weakness is the original sin.

He was also a major criminal from the Prison of Shackling Souls, so why did no one dare to make a move on Shuhu, even when he was just a single piece of flesh?

[After resolving the disturbance caused by Hoolay, Lingsha, along with Dan Heng and the evidence she had collected, went to Scalegorge Waterscape to confront Vidyadhara Elder Taoran.]

[Following a "friendly exchange" between the two parties, Dan Heng pinned Taoran to a stone wall with a single thrust of his spear.]

[Then, Jing Yuan suddenly appeared, intending to verbally crush Taoran's spirit.]

[Just as Jing Yuan was telling Taoran that only Cloud Knights were aboard the Jingfeng ship and that his conspiracy had utterly failed...]

[...who would have thought that Taoran would suddenly burst into laughter.]

["Hahaha! You haven't understood at all what we've truly done!"]

[While everyone present was bewildered, an expression of utter fanaticism appeared on Taoran's face, making him look like a crazed cultist.]

["We have succeeded!" Then, facing east, he fell to his knees in a deep kowtow and shouted.]

["We respectfully welcome our Lord!!"]

[Under the wary and confused gazes of the crowd, a swirling vortex of fire appeared in mid-air.]

[The flames expanded rapidly, as if tearing a giant rift in the sky.]

[Your figure slowly emerged from the fiery vortex.]

["It's you!?" "Teacher!?"]

[Shock, vigilance, confusion, disbelief... all sorts of gazes shot toward you.]

[And that wasn't all. Vidyadhara Elders of the Luofu appeared from nowhere, along with several alchemists in Alchemy Commission uniforms and personnel from other departments. Among them were Xianzhou natives and Foxians, all of whom appeared to be sleeper agents of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.]

[In unison, these people fell to their knees in a deep kowtow and shouted as one.]

["We respectfully welcome our Lord!!"]

[The sound was earth-shattering.]

[Jing Yuan's mind worked the fastest, and unlike Lingsha, he wasn't looking at you through a thick filter. He quickly pieced everything together.]

["So... this was all your conspiracy? You're the true mastermind?" Jing Yuan stared at you, his expression grave.]

[He could never have imagined that you were the culprit behind it all.]

["Correct." You uttered the single word faintly.]

["Cloud Knights, form up! Exorcise the evil!" Jing Yuan summoned his formation blade and charged at you.]

[Just as expected of Jing Yuan, to act so decisively.]

[Following his move, a sky-blotting giant composed of golden lightning swung its massive battle blade, bringing it down upon you with overwhelming force!]

[But unfortunately, even a brilliant mind cannot overcome absolute power.]

[No longer holding back, you instantly unleashed your hidden aura.]