For some reason, Phantylia felt that something was off.
But on second thought, wasn't this the perfect opportunity?
The less attention a place drew, the easier it would be for her to replace Tingyun's identity without anyone noticing.
Gradually, Phantylia began to wait.
Just a little farther away. Just a little more.
Just then, a Cloud Knight approached from ahead.
He walked up to Liuge and cupped his fists.
"Lady Tingyun, Lady Yukong has just left the Dan Ding Division."
"Hm?"
Liuge froze, looking somewhat surprised.
But he knew that the final turn had arrived.
"It's like this! Just now, the General invited Lady Yukong to the Altar of Prayer for the Dragon."
"However, the General also said that if you arrive, you may go there directly. The General has prepared a banquet over there."
The Cloud Knight did not seem good at lying, and he looked rather straightforward, so he blurted everything out in one breath.
"A banquet?"
"Yes. He said it was to welcome Lady Tingyun back and wash away the dust of travel."
"This little woman is truly honored beyond measure!"
Liuge put on a surprised expression.
But Phantylia within the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan did not see it that way.
"A General holding a welcome banquet for the chief representative of a merchant guild? Why does that feel a little careless?"
She frowned, but did not dwell on it too much.
Because Liuge had already boarded a starskiff bound for the Altar of Prayer for the Dragon...
Ahead lay a trap!
A trap aimed at Phantylia!
Four Symbols Seal!
Liuge was currently riding a starskiff toward the Altar of Prayer for the Dragon.
Some people might not know what the Altar of Prayer for the Dragon was.
In the game, it was where A Blade stabbed Dan Heng.
Is that clear enough?
But in truth, before the incident on the Xianzhou, the Altar of Prayer for the Dragon had been where the Vidya Clan paid homage to the High Elder. However, because of Dan Feng's affair, it had been damaged in battle.
Several platforms stood around the Altar of Prayer for the Dragon out at sea. They were parts of the altar's former structures.
At that moment, Liuge gazed out from the starskiff at the distant waters, where a black speck gradually came into view.
Over there, he could vaguely make out a white-haired figure seated behind a square table, drinking alone.
Liuge knew that it was General Jing Yuan, the Divine Foresight General of the Luofu Xianzhou.
The starskiff was swift. Before long, Liuge had set foot upon the Altar of Prayer for the Dragon.
From that moment on, Liuge's heartbeat truly became a little harder to suppress.
"Oh, has Envoy Tingyun arrived?"
When Jing Yuan saw Liuge arrive, he raised the wine cup in his hand toward him.
Although he already knew that someone had taken on Tingyun's appearance to deceive Phantylia, he could not help being surprised upon truly seeing it.
However, he concealed that flicker of surprise by raising his cup in invitation.
"You jest, General. You know this little woman cannot hold her liquor."
Liuge replied as Tingyun would have.
Of course, all of this was an act for Phantylia inside the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan.
At this final moment, they could not afford to make a mistake over some small accident.
Listening to Liuge's words and watching his expression, Jing Yuan nearly failed to keep a straight face.
Was this person playing Tingyun really that good at acting?
If he did not know the truth, Jing Yuan would truly have thought the person before him was the real Tingyun.
But Liuge and Jing Yuan did not know that Phantylia within the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan was feeling rather strange.
Hadn't they said that Yukong was here too?
Why was General Jing Yuan the only one in sight?
Vaguely, Phantylia felt that something was increasingly wrong.
Why? What exactly was wrong?
"My apologies, my apologies. That was my oversight. I forgot that Miss Tingyun cannot hold her liquor."
Jing Yuan spoke as he drained another cup of wine, his gaze turning toward the distant sea.
"I heard from Yukong that Miss Tingyun encountered something during her return voyage this time. Would you care to tell me about it in detail?"
Jing Yuan's voice was low.
"So the General has such an interest as well?"
As he spoke, Liuge opened the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan and held it before his chin. His eyes narrowed slightly, making him seem as though he were smiling.
"Since I have nothing to do, even listening to storytellers on the Xianzhou feels quite dull. I would rather hear those who often travel abroad speak of the outside world."
"Then this little woman shall tell you?"
"I would be delighted to hear it."
Jing Yuan drank while Liuge lightly waved the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan in his hand and began to speak.
However, he merely spoke of some interesting business stories he had heard in his previous life.
Even Phantylia, within the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan, found them interesting.
Time passed bit by bit. As Jing Yuan poured himself another drink, he discovered that the wine jug on the table was empty.
He stretched lazily and had Liuge stop speaking.
"There is no more wine. This has become rather dull."
Tap, tap, tap!
At that moment, someone suddenly emerged from behind Jing Yuan.
She was petite, with pink hair. Her delicate, adorable face carried a trace of seriousness.
"General!"
"Fu Qing, how did it go?"
"Mhm!"
The exchange between the two made Phantylia inside the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan feel puzzled.
Who was this little pink-haired runt who had just appeared?
Liuge, on the other hand, felt a flash of delight in his eyes when he saw her.
With Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan both here, they should be able to restrain Phantylia this time.
"Hey, it's about time!"
Suddenly, Fu Xuan looked toward Liuge, who had become Tingyun.
Upon hearing Fu Xuan's words, Liuge immediately understood what she meant.
In that instant, he directly threw down the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan and rapidly retreated.
The moment Phantylia realized Liuge had discarded the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan, she understood why she had felt uneasy all along, and why Yukong, who had been mentioned repeatedly, was not here.
She immediately flew out of the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan, transforming into a streak of green flame that shot toward Liuge.
She no longer cared about exposing herself.
After all, judging from the situation, she had long since been exposed.
And General Jing Yuan and that little pink-haired runt before her were undoubtedly here for her.
"I've been waiting for you!"
After Phantylia revealed her heliobus form, Fu Xuan stepped forward. A sharp glint flashed through her eyes as she brought her hands together.
Four Symbols Seal!
Mysterious, intricate formation patterns emerged across the ground of the Altar of Prayer for the Dragon.
At the same time, phantom images of four colossal beasts appeared at the altar's four corners and roared in unison.
Chains shot out from the phantoms of the four beasts, binding Phantylia in place almost in the blink of an eye.
"Why? Why did you notice?"
Seemingly realizing that she could not break free from the formation's restraints anytime soon,
Phantylia also knew that she had been set up and foolishly led here for so long.
She could not understand how the Tingyun before her had discovered her, especially when Phantylia had remained by her side from beginning to end.
Logically, there should have been no time for her to call for reinforcements and arrange all this.
At that moment, she no longer struggled.
She wanted to know the answer.
"Why?"
Liuge laughed at Phantylia's question.
"Because..."
In the next instant, Liuge dispelled his Tingyun transformation. At the outer edge of the Altar of Prayer for the Dragon behind him, a little foxian woman approached. It was Tingyun herself.
"Because this little woman is here!"
Tingyun stood beside Liuge and exchanged a glance with him before turning toward Phantylia.
"Then he... No, you're that brat who suddenly appeared aboard the merchant ship!"
Phantylia seemed to recall him, her voice filled with anger.
She finally understood why things had felt unnatural from the very beginning.
It was because that brat had disappeared.
Putting everything together, she understood why she had fallen for it.
That brat had transformed into Tingyun to deceive her, while the real Tingyun had gone to summon reinforcements.
Most importantly, her identity had been recognized.
"To think that a Lord of Ruin would fall in such a manner!"
At that moment, Jing Yuan also walked over. Looking at Phantylia's true form bound by the Four Symbols Seal, he wore a teasing smile.
"Heh..."
Phantylia did not respond to Jing Yuan's words.
But Jing Yuan would not let things end like this. This was how a Lord of Ruin should be treated!
In the next instant, a massive golden figure appeared behind Jing Yuan. It held an enormous Formation Blade and swung it fiercely down at Phantylia.
However, at that very moment, Liuge seemed to sense something wrong. Phantylia was simply... too calm!
Before you continue