(T/L): From now on, I will be posting 3 chapters a day instead of 5 because the original novel is a bit slow in updating their chapters
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"You mean—"
Jing Yuan leaned forward slightly. The habitual, lazy smile on his face vanished completely, and a sharp glint appeared in his golden eyes as he repeated, word by word.
"Tingyun, the Sky-Faring Commission's Head Overseer, had already been killed and replaced by the Lord Ravager Phantylia long ago? And that 'Tingyun' who has been guiding and hosting the Astral Express is actually a disguise of Phantylia?"
The impact of this news was no less than the collective appearance of the "High-Cloud Quintet clones" just a moment ago.
[Jing Yuan] nodded solemnly: "Based on the information we have, it is highly probable. Phantylia excels at manipulating hearts and corroding civilizations. Disguising herself as a key figure to lurk within the target is exactly her specialty. The real Tingyun has likely been dead for a long time; the one currently here is nothing more than an Emissary of Destruction wearing human skin."
Jing Yuan fell silent for a moment, his fingers unconsciously tracing the rim of his teacup.
He recalled "Tingyun's" previous words and actions—those responses that seemed reasonable but were slightly rigid in subtle ways, and how she could always "just right" guide the Astral Express Crew... Many suspicious points connected instantly.
A chill and a surge of anger rose in his heart simultaneously. It was not just for the death of an excellent subordinate, but also outrage that the Lord Ravager had managed to extend her reach so deep into the Luofu.
But he quickly suppressed his emotions, recovering the composure befitting a commander.
The intelligence needed verification, but he had to raise his vigilance immediately.
"This matter... I will immediately arrange for a secret investigation," he said in a deep voice, turning his gaze to Welt.
"Everyone from the Astral Express, must be doubly careful when interacting with 'Tingyun'."
Welt nodded solemnly: "Understood."
The topic temporarily shifted from the heavy intelligence to the movements of other personnel. [Jing Yuan] looked around the somewhat empty Seat of Divine Foresight and asked casually: "By the way, where is that kid Yanqing? Why don't I see him?"
That young Cloud Knight, obsessed with swordsmanship and overly energetic, would usually be curious enough to come over at a time like this.
Jing Yuan rubbed his brow and explained: "Recently, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus have been making small moves everywhere, creating chaos with unclear intentions. I sent Yanqing with a team of elite Cloud Knights to clear out a few confirmed dens of the Disciples. That child needs some actual combat experience, and it can also help him vent his overly abundant energy."
His tone carried a hint of expectation and helplessness toward his junior.
"I see."
[Jing Yuan] expressed understanding, then immediately thought of another heavyweight figure.
"Then what about our Master Diviner, Fu Xuan?"
He was referring to the head of the Divination Commission, who, despite her little stature, was in charge of the Luofu's Matrix of Prescience and took it upon herself to discern the secrets of heaven.
Given Fu Xuan's personality and her "concern" for the General, she should have appeared long ago for such a major event involving "visitors from another world" and a Stellaron.
Jing Yuan's face revealed a somewhat subtle smile, tinged with a bit of guilt and reassurance: "Fu Xuan... you all understand. Suddenly, several guests appear who look exactly like the 'High-Cloud Quintet', including even 'deceased' heroes and'sensitive' figures... I have to ensure the stability and safety within the Luofu first, especially regarding information security, right?"
[Jing Yuan] understood in an instant, revealing a complex expression mixed with "as expected," "deep sympathy," and "a bit of schadenfreude." He helplessly supported his forehead:
"You had Fu Xuan... start the Matrix of Prescience to divine us, didn't you?"
"That is correct."
Jing Yuan admitted it readily and added:
"This is also a necessary procedure."
[Jing Yuan] sighed heavily, his eyes filled with pity for that Divination Commission head: "Then you better prepare yourself... Fu Xuan... she is probably going to break."
"Ah?"
Jing Yuan didn't react for a moment.
"Break? What do you mean? Is the Matrix of Prescience overloaded? Or did she calculate something extraordinary?"
Meanwhile, at the core of the Divination Commission's Matrix of Prescience.
Fu Xuan floated in the center of the vast and precise Matrix of Prescience, countless hexagrams and data streams dancing around her like stars.
Her little body stood straight, her long pink hair moving without wind, and her tightly closed eyes flashed with the radiance of deducing fate, her aura imposing.
"Astral Express... Trailblazer... bearing variables, entangled with a Stellaron, and even resembling the General's old friends... Their origins, purpose, and fortune must be thoroughly investigated!"
Fu Xuan made up her mind and first locked the target of her divination onto those two most conspicuous and confusing "variables"—the two almost identical grey-haired girls, Stelle and Stella.
"Let us start with these two 'twins.' Matrix of Prescience, deduce their Path trajectories and trace the roots of their existence!"
The vast power of the array was invoked, and an invisible "gaze" crossed space, extending towards the guest quarters of the Astral Express, attempting to capture and analyze the threads of fate entangled around the two grey-haired girls.
However, the moment Fu Xuan's spiritual consciousness touched the target—
"Hum—!!!!!!"
An indescribable, unimaginable "torrent of information," as vast, chaotic, and complex as facing the origin of the universe, rushed back along that invisible connection like a supernova explosion, charging directly into the Matrix of Prescience and crashing into the consciousness of Fu Xuan, who was the master of the array!
What did that torrent contain?
It held the trajectory of Trailblaze, the marks of Destruction, the glimmer of Preservation, and the indescribable whispers of Elation and Nihility...
Even...
the lingering, blurred, yet incomparably heavy "gazes" cast by more than one Aeon!
This was simply not an amount of information that a conventional Pathstrider could bear, let alone the Aeon-level "pollution" mixed within it!
"Argh—!"
In the eyes of outsiders, they only saw the Diviner Fu, floating in the center of the array, her little body tremble violently. The eyes that were always full of wisdom and determination suddenly lost focus, and her small face turned pale instantly.
Immediately after, her neck went limp, and she, like a puppet with cut strings, fell softly from her floating state and fainted directly!
"Master Diviner!!"
The surrounding Divination Commission members responsible for maintaining the array were scared out of their wits and rushed forward to catch Fu Xuan.
The Matrix of Prescience also flickered with chaotic light due to the master of the array fainting, the hexagrams flashing wildly before gradually dimming.
"Quick! Notify the Alchemy Commission! No! Notify the General directly! Master Diviner has suffered damage to her spiritual consciousness!"
The scene was in chaos.
Deep within Fu Xuan's consciousness.
Fu Xuan slowly "woke up" and found herself standing in a boundless, pure white space.
The "ground" beneath her feet had a strange texture—soft and elastic, sinking slightly.
"Where... is this?"
Fu Xuan endured the throbbing pain and dizziness coming from deep within her head, as if it were about to split open, and vigilantly looked around.
This was definitely not the scene inside the Matrix of Prescience, nor was it an ordinary illusion.
Not far ahead, there was a slowly rising, round-curved "small hill."
Fu Xuan frowned, cautiously stepped forward, and reached out her small hand to touch it.
The touch was warm and smooth, carrying an indescribable fluctuation of vitality, but the structure... did not seem to be rock or soil.
"No!"
Fu Xuan retracted her hand violently, a trace of horror flashing in her eyes.
"This texture... this pulse... this is not a mountain! This, this looks like a... huge... finger joint?!"
She raised her head in disbelief, looking up along that "hill" (finger), her gaze sweeping past the even larger palm, which was like a plain, and along the wrist and arm that seemed to support heaven and earth...
Finally, her gaze collided into a sea of emerald green light that was gentle to the extreme, yet vast to the point of despair.
The source of that light was a face, blurry yet seemingly containing all the compassion and blessings for life in the universe.
Endless vitality flowed from that light, but it also carried a certain ultimate meaning regarding "infinite growth," "fated gifts," and "price," which made long-lived species tremble instinctively.
A title that only existed in the oldest forbidden texts of the Xianzhou and the deepest nightmares of all long-lived species exploded in her mind like a thunderclap:
"The... Abundance...?!"
Fu Xuan's little body froze in place, her pupils constricted to the extreme, and the boundless fear and the impact of her cognitive subversion drowned her like a tsunami.
She tried to avert her gaze, only to find that even her thoughts seemed to be frozen by that gentle green light.
Yaoshi, the aeon of abundance, the target that the Xianzhou Alliance had hunted and fought against for countless aeons, the existence known as "Plaguebringer"...
How could her Matrix of Prescience... how could it connect to this Aeon?!
Could it be that those two grey-haired girls were actually involved with the aeon of abundance?!
No, that's not right; there was something else in that torrent of information...
Fu Xuan felt that her worldview, her outlook on life, and all her pride and cognition as a Grand Diviner were, at this moment, emitting a clear, cracking "crack" sound.
(This is even more devastating than seeing a hundred Generals slacking off!!!)
The next moment, the intense mental impact made it impossible for her damaged spiritual consciousness to maintain itself any longer. The scene before her shattered like a broken mirror, and her consciousness plunged completely into darkness.
Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Just as Jing Yuan was still wondering what [Jing Yuan]'s so-called "worldview is going to break" meant, a subordinate official from the Divination Commission came rushing in, stumbling and deathly pale, their voice trembling:
"Gen, General! It's bad! Master Diviner... she... while starting the Matrix of Prescience to divine the guests of the Astral Express, she suddenly suffered an unknown backlash, her spiritual consciousness was damaged, and she fainted! She's even... even unconsciously muttering about 'Plaguebringer'..."
"Pfft—!"
[Jing Yuan] spat out the second mouthful of tea he had just taken, coughing incessantly. While coughing, he pointed at the original, his face full of the expression "See what I told you!".
Jing Yuan: "..."
Welt Yang: (The hand pushing up his glasses froze)
Dan Heng: (Expression subtle)
March 7th & Stelle: (Tilting their heads in sync, faces full of question marks)
Stella: (Shrunk her neck, feeling that this matter might, probably, perhaps... have a little something to do with her? After all, Stelle has a Stellaron inside her... and her own summoning system might be a bit special...)
Jing Yuan took a deep breath, feeling that the "surprises" he received today were really a bit excessive.
He glanced at the innocent (?) looking Stella and Stelle, then looked at the [Jing Yuan] who was coughing until his face turned red, and finally said to the subordinate official in a deep voice:
"Understood. Immediately send Fu Xuan to the Alchemy Commission and ask for the best physician to treat her. Seal off the news."
He turned to the Astral Express Crew, his smile somewhat forced but still maintaining his demeanor:
"It seems... Fu Xuan's 'security check' has yielded some... results that were beyond everyone's expectations. We may need to re-evaluate the 'variable' level related to you all."
Stella's inner thoughts: It has nothing to do with me, General! I'm just an ordinary summoner! At most, the people I summon are a bit special! It's your Xianzhou's array that's too sensitive, right?!