Xianzhou natives: A worthy death, what a joy

On the day we prepared to depart for the Fanghu Xianzhou, before dawn, the port of Yuque was already bustling with activity.

Considering their situation, Yaoguang secretly arranged for a Starskiff capable of long-distance flight, allowing the two of them to travel to Fanghu instead of following the main force.

As the two walked toward the dock, they saw the Mingke Guards boarding ships one after another, their jade ornaments on their armor forming a resounding river. Grain carts, talisman boxes, and bundles of star chart tubes were unloaded from the hull of the ships and then carried onto the Starskiff; some were shouting orders, some were counting, and some were tightening the leg bindings on their children.

Jingxing stood with Fu Xuan at the edge of the crowd, and no one glanced in their direction. As he walked, he passed a young Cloud Knights who was eating dry rations. The man looked up and stared straight through Jingxing's face.

"They still can't see us," Jingxing sighed.

"It would be troublesome if they could see us." Fu Xuan closed the notebook in his hand. "For your sake, it's better if we continue to remain invisible."

Continuing forward, Jingxing looked around and saw an older Mingke Guards helping a younger one straighten his collar; he saw a still-baby-faced Mingke Guards shyly handing a letter to someone; he saw a captain addressing his soldiers, talking about the Abominations of Abundance.

Yaoguang did not hide the results of his divination from those below. Defending would leave room for maneuver, while attacking would inevitably lead to defeat—everyone knew this was the divination from General Rongtao, but no one wanted to miss this seemingly "suicide mission."

Everyone seems quite excited.

"Sometimes it's really hard to understand you guys on the Xianzhou," Jingxing said, shaking his head as he walked.

"What's wrong?" Fu Xuan asked, puzzled. "What's so hard to understand? The Cloud Knights's duty is to obey orders. Since it's the general's and marshal's order, we have no reason to refuse."

"But everyone seems very happy, even eager to try." Jingxing stopped and turned to look at Fu Xuan. "It's like everyone's a war fanatic, excited at the mere mention of a battle."

"Because our opponents are the Abominations of Abundance," Fu Xuan said matter-of-factly. "What we're doing is cleaning up the garbage for the world, so of course everyone's very enthusiastic. If it were a civil war, we wouldn't want to."

"But this is a war that General Yaoguang predicted would be a certain defeat," Jingxing warned. "They might be completely wiped out, but they don't seem to care."

"It's just death, why should we care?" Fu Xuan's response made Jingxing realize once again that the Xianzhou native might have a different way of thinking than he did.

"Life is very important, why don't you care?" Jingxing asked rhetorically.

Fu Xuan blinked, then remembered that Jingxing wasn't a Celestial Being from the Xianzhou: "That's right, I—I forgot you weren't from the Xianzhou native."

"Yes, I'm not like the celestial beings on the Xianzhou who enjoy immortality." Jingxing curled his lip.

"Objectively, the Xianzhou native are indeed immortal, but subjectively, with the threat of the Mara-Struck right here, how could anyone possibly live forever?" Fu Xuan stepped forward, stood in front of Jingxing, and then turned around to block his path. "Everyone on the Xianzhou native knows that sooner or later they will fall into the Demonic Yin Body. At that time, we will become the very monsters we have always hated the most."

"So rather than dragging it out until then," Jingxing understood Fu Xuan's unspoken meaning, "Wouldn't it be better to die as a human beforehand?"

"That's right." Fu Xuan nodded vigorously, "Compared to being captured by the Ten-Lords Commission after falling into demonic possession and dying an ugly death, everyone would rather die as warriors on the battlefield against the Abominations of Abundance."

Jingxing sighed softly.

To be honest, although Fu Xuan's reasons were quite plausible, after hearing them, he felt even more that the Xianzhou native were indeed a bunch of lunatics.

"But I don't really have the right to say that," Jingxing muttered to himself. "They came here to rescue people, but they've gotten involved in something that changes history."

Two days before heading to Fanghu, Fu Xuan piloted the Starskiff while teaching Jingxing how to use this type of spaceship built by the Xianzhou. By the third day, Jing Jingxing, who had already mastered the skills, took over the piloting, allowing Fu Xuan to fully immerse himself in divination.

But that very evening, they ran into the first group of Denizens of Abundance they had encountered since they set off.

They were a group of Wingweavers. Jingxing had only seen the branches of their homeland at the bottom of the pit before; this was the first time he had seen living Wingweavers.

In short, they are a bunch of birdmen who give a sour look to a race that cannot fly.

When Fu Xuan noticed the Wingweavers, she was just about to divine her next move, but Jingxing beat her to it.

He raised his hand, summoned Cloud-Washing Ink-Tracer, and then drew a very thin ink line in the air with the tip of the brush.

The next second, the Wingweavers crashed into the ever-moving ink line, their wings snapped, and they plummeted straight down.

Now, they, like the "Mundane" they despised, have lost the ability to fly. As for the future? Jingxing has no intention of giving them a future.

He stood in the Starskiff, as if painting a landscape, constantly wielding the Cloud-Washing Ink-Tracer. The next second, streaks of ink flashed among the Wingweavers. Their wings were cut off, falling to the ground one by one, piling up into small mountains, and then being soaked in a stroke of thick ink, gradually turning into nothingness.

"..." Fu Xuan was stunned by Jingxing's focused performance. Although she had long known that Jingxing's ability to extinguish the branches of the Qiong Sang meant he was certainly powerful, she was still amazed by how easily he had wiped out the Wingweavers who possessed the blessing of the Yaoshi...

"Are you really not a believer of the Reignbow Arbiter?" This question arose in Fu Xuan's mind for the first time.

But the next second, she saw Jingxing suddenly kneel down on one knee.

Tinnitus started first, followed by nosebleeds, which dripped onto the ground; Jingxing opened his mouth to speak, but coughed up a mouthful of phlegm with a metallic taste.

His vision began to darken, as if someone had gradually dimmed the brightness of his vision.

"Jingxing!" Fu Xuan caught him. She took out a handkerchief with her other hand, pressed it under his nose, and then simply let him lie on her lap.

"I'm fine," Jingxing said, panting. "This is the first time I've tried intervening with so many people; I didn't expect it to be so taxing..."

Thinking about it carefully, this is not surprising. After all, interfering with someone when they can't see you at all would be a waste of time if it were done as usual.

Fu Xuan immediately understood this as well. She tore off a piece of tissue and stuffed it into Jingxing's nostrils, then used another handkerchief to wipe Jingxing's face.

"Since they can't catch a glimpse of the Starskiff anyway, don't attack when you encounter the Denizens of Abundance again," Fu Xuan suggested. "Even on the battlefield, don't lift a finger."

"After all, if something happens to you, none of us will be able to go back."