Chapter 91 - Phantylia: What About My Super-Duper Big Arbor?

Jing Yuan rubbed his temples in frustration and quickly began issuing orders to the departments of the Six Commissions, excluding the Alchemy Commission, to cover up the anomaly at the Ambrosial Arbor.

After all, he hadn't expected Fu Zhu to actually use bombs and fire to destroy the Arbor. The commotion from these two methods was simply too great. Anyone who so much as glanced in the direction of the Arbor would notice something was wrong.

If the lurking Phantylia were to see it, who knew what sort of trouble it would stir up for no reason.

Not long after Jing Yuan's orders were sent out, the phone he had placed to the side lit up with a new weather forecast.

[Xianzhou Luofu weather for today: Sunny turning to cloudy, with accompanying thunder.]

Jing Yuan picked up the phone, glanced at it, and nodded in satisfaction. He had, of course, deliberately arranged for this weather forecast to be released. It would at least somewhat mask the sound of the explosions.

"All that's left is to have someone set up an illusion array around the Arbor to hide it for a day or two. That should be enough time. Hmm… I'll have Lady Fu assist the people from the Ten-Lords Commission."

When it came to setting up illusion arrays, the Ten-Lords Commission was the strongest on the Luofu, followed by the Divination Commission. To be safe, he decided to have Fu Xuan go along to help.

After issuing a series of commands, Jing Yuan sighed, feeling mentally drained. Just as he was about to take a short break, he suddenly remembered something important.

"Fu Zhu's casually crafted axe has such divine power. Could the bombs he made be capable of destroying the grotto-heaven barrier of the Scalegorge Waterscape?"

The place Fu Zhu had reached was not the true root of the Ambrosial Arbor. It was merely where the Arbor had broken through the rock layer as it grew, making it look from the outside like the base of the tree.

In reality, the true roots of the Arbor were hidden deep within the Scalegorge Waterscape, perpetually guarded by its inhabitants, preventing any outside contact.

If Fu Zhu's bombs could break the barrier around the Scalegorge Waterscape, things could get a little tricky.

After all, the Scalegorge Waterscape wasn't just home to the Arbor; it was also inhabited by generations of Vidyadhara who were tasked with suppressing it!

"It… probably won't, right?"

Jing Yuan was uncertain, but he still reached for his phone. To be safe, it was better to ask Fu Zhu first.

At the same time, outside the main gate of the Sky-Faring Commission, Xing, Welt, March 7th, and Fu Xuan were waiting for a fox-like woman who had just walked out from within.

The woman walked with a light gait, a Diting trotting beside her. She approached the four, bowed slightly, and introduced herself. "Greetings, Grand Astrologer, and to the honored Nameless guests. My name is Tingyun. Lady Yukong has specifically instructed me to borrow a Diting from the Artisanship Commission to assist you in your upcoming mission."

Aside from Fu Xuan, Xing and the other two introduced themselves as well, and with that, they were all acquainted.

Welt pushed up the glasses on his nose and turned to Fu Xuan. "Grand Astrologer Fu, can we set out now?"

Fu Xuan was about to nod when the phone in her pocket rang. She had no choice but to take it out and look at the message that had come through.

After reading the contents, a look of surprise appeared on Fu Xuan's face. She then turned to the group and said gravely, "My apologies, it seems you'll have to proceed on your own for now. The General has tasked me with going with the Ten-Lords Commission to set up an illusion array around the Ambrosial Arbor to conceal Fu Zhu's actions. Once I am finished, I will immediately return to support you."

After explaining the situation to the group, Fu Xuan departed in a hurry. The time Jing Yuan had given her was short, and she had to hurry, or more and more people would notice the anomaly at the Arbor.

"Destroy… the Arbor?" Tingyun blinked with some surprise, turning her head quizzically to look at Xing, March 7th, and Welt.

Xing immediately crossed her arms and put on a cool, detached expression.

"That's a Luofu secret. No comment!"

March 7th jabbed Xing in the waist with her elbow. "You make it sound like we're Luofu secret agents or something. Haha, sorry, Miss Tingyun, we don't really know the details about that either. The General assigned that task to our other companion."

March 7th didn't reveal the details. She had no idea if Jing Yuan would permit them to disclose the inside story, so it was best to keep her mouth shut.

Welt didn't elaborate on the matter either, merely urging the group on.

"Alright, let's leave that matter to Fu Zhu. We have our own mission. We must capture Kafka as soon as possible."

"Yes, Uncle Yang!" Xing and March replied in unison.

Tingyun, or rather, Phantylia disguised as Tingyun, was now filled with questions.

She had only spent a little time picking a lucky person to replace. How had such a major event occurred on the Luofu?

It had been hundreds of years. The Ambrosial Arbor on the Luofu had always been safe, and the Luofu had only ever sealed it. Why would they suddenly send someone to destroy it today?

And from what these three Nameless were saying, it seemed the person destroying the Arbor was another Nameless? Since when were the Nameless this capable? They could actually destroy the Arbor, something even the Luofu couldn't manage?

Phantylia couldn't help but turn her head to look at the Arbor in the distance. From here, she could normally only see its upper half, but one glance now left her stunned.

The Arbor? Where's my super-duper big Arbor gone?! And why does the sky over there look so red?

Feeling vaguely that something was wrong, Phantylia now wanted to break away from the team hunting Kafka. She had originally planned to have some fun with these Nameless and see if she could stir up some conflict between them and the Luofu.

But now, the situation had developed completely beyond her expectations. If she continued to waste time with these three, things would probably only get worse.

Just as Phantylia was trying to think of an excuse to leave the team, she failed to notice that Welt and the others had already walked some distance ahead with the Diting.

Welt noticed she wasn't keeping up and turned back in confusion to look at the stationary Phantylia.

"Miss Tingyun, we should get going. We won't be using the Diting just yet. We'll have to trouble you for now, Miss Tingyun."

Hearing this, Phantylia felt a headache coming on. If she left abruptly, it would surely arouse their suspicion. She had to think of a way.

After a moment, an idea came to her. Phantylia quickly put her original smile back on and walked over gracefully.

"My honored guests, in that case, allow this little lady to first give you a simple lesson on how to use the Diting."

"Huh?" March 7th tilted her head in confusion. "With you here, Miss Tingyun, we don't need to waste time learning that, do we?"

Phantylia quickly explained with a placating smile, "It won't take long at all. Besides, this little lady is not skilled in combat and can only cheer for you from the back. It would be best if you commanded the Diting yourselves."

Xing, however, was quite interested. She nodded and said, "How do we use the Diting? It looks like a dog. Do we have to train it like a dog, by giving it some food to build a rapport first?"

As she spoke, Xing pulled a bone out of nowhere and dangled it in front of the Diting.

Seeing Xing suddenly produce a bone, March 7th was stunned for a moment before she couldn't help but ask, "Where did you get that bone? Don't tell me it's a leftover from when you and Fu Zhu snuck out for food last night!"

Last night, Xing had messaged her saying she was going out with Fu Zhu to handle something. And while it was true that the next day they said they had secretly met with the leader of the Disciples of the Medicine King, it was possible the leader had treated them to a meal. The thought made March s heart turn a little sour.

She wants to eat midnight snacks too!

Xing, however, shook her head and explained, "I got this from Old Bro. I asked him if he had anything else fun, and he just tossed me this bone and told me to go play by myself. So stingy!"

While the two girls were complaining, the Diting at their feet suddenly looked as if it had seen the most incredible thing in the world. Its eyes were fixed on the bone in Xing's hand. It trotted over to her and started yapping nonstop.

This turn of events surprised Phantylia. She knew about the Diting; although it was a bio-tech creation from the Artisanship Commission, it wasn't technically a living creature. Why was it so interested in a bone?

"Do you want it?"

Xing crouched down and offered the bone directly to the Diting. Welt wanted to advise her against feeding it random things, but before he could speak, the Diting opened its mouth and gobbled the bone down in one bite.

"It actually ate it?" March 7th looked at the Diting in surprise. She never expected this little creature, which looked like a lion dancer, to actually eat bones!

Seeing the Diting eat her bone, Xing grinned.

Since it ate my food, this little guy is my dog now!

Just as Xing was about to order the Diting to do something, it suddenly whipped its head around. Its eyes turned red as it stared fixedly at Phantylia, letting out a threatening growl from time to time.

Everyone was stunned, not understanding why the Diting had suddenly become hostile towards Phantylia after eating Xing's bone.

Phantylia was also baffled. She had a vague feeling that her identity had somehow been discovered by the Diting before her.

How is that possible? My disguise is flawless. Not even that Grand Astrologer Fu Xuan could see through my true identity when standing right in front of me. A mere Diting…

The next second, the Diting opened its mouth and bit down hard on Phantylia's fair ankle.

"Ow!"

Phantylia frantically shook her leg to fling it off, staring in disbelief at the creature she had just thrown to the ground.

Though she was surprised, this was the perfect opportunity for her to leave the team!

Phantylia put on a panicked expression and looked at Welt and the others.

"It seems this Diting doesn't like this little lady… I'm afraid this little lady will have to sit this one out for now."

With that, without giving them a chance to react, Phantylia turned and ran. The Diting was about to give chase when Xing quickly called out to it.

"Little Di, sit!"

Upon hearing this, the Diting obediently sat on the ground and yapped twice at Xing.

March 7th asked in amazement, "How is it so obedient to you?"

Xing scratched her head, looking just as puzzled.

"I dunno… Old Bro just said this bone could tame any dog, making it obey only my commands. But I heard this Diting was made with technology…"

A bold guess popped into Xing's mind.

Could it be that this bone can tame anything that's even remotely dog-like?!

I have to get more bones from Old Bro after this is all over!

"Hello? Jing Yuan?"

Fu Zhu was standing under the burning Ambrosial Arbor, enjoying the sight, when he got a call from Jing Yuan.

"Fu Zhu, a quick question: how powerful are your bombs?"

"Powerful?" Fu Zhu glanced up at the now-vanished top of the Arbor, recalled the performance of TNT in MC, and answered casually.

"Pretty powerful, and they make a good noise! Why? You're asking about this all of a sudden for a reason?"

Jing Yuan on the other end of the line was silent for a long moment. He then took a deep breath, his voice laced with a hint of helplessness and regret.

"I forgot to mention earlier, but the place you're at right now isn't the true root of the Arbor. Beneath your feet is a grotto-heaven called the Scalegorge Waterscape, where the true root of the Arbor is sealed. Sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier. Can you see if you can destroy the Arbor without affecting the Scalegorge Waterscape?"

Hearing this, Fu Zhu felt a headache coming on. He pressed his hand to his head and couldn't help but complain to the man on the phone.

"Jing Yuan, you're acting exactly like one of those clients, always adding new demands at the last minute…"

Jing Yuan gave a hollow laugh, his tone also helpless. "My apologies, my apologies, my mistake. Is it too late for you to do anything now?"

"Hang on, let me check."

Fu Zhu walked to the front of the Arbor, took out a pickaxe, and activated Vein Miner on the rock below. Before digging, he had specifically adjusted the destruction mode of Vein Miner to a single line.

The pickaxe just lightly tapped the rock at his feet, and a tunnel leading straight down, right next to the Arbor, was dug out.

Fu Zhu peered inside and saw that the fire he had started earlier was already burning its way down along the Arbor.

After confirming the situation, he couldn't help but reply to Jing Yuan on the phone, "Whoops, looks like the fire's already burning its way into the Scalegorge Waterscape. There aren't any people living in there, are there?"

Jing Yuan gave another hollow laugh, which made Fu Zhu's expression darken.

"Holy crap, Jing Yuan, if people die because of this, you're responsible! I'm not taking the blame for this!"

Jing Yuan quickly reassured him, "Don't worry. There's a sea in the Scalegorge Waterscape. Your fire will have a hard time reaching the Vidyadhara in there. I was just a little worried your fire might affect some of the Vidyadhara roe, which is why I called."

Fu Zhu relaxed upon hearing there would be no casualties. The last thing he wanted was to have a few deaths on his conscience for no reason. That would be a huge injustice!

"Wait, you said there's a sea down there? Meaning the Arbor's true roots are soaking in water?"

"That's right. You might need to go down there later to deal with it."

"Alright, got it."

Fu Zhu hung up the phone helplessly and turned to wave at Yanqing in the distance.

"Yanqing, my boy, your leader just gave us more work. Come on, let's take a trip to the Scalegorge Waterscape."