Phantylia

She stammered, "Um... well, when you eat candied hawthorn... your mouth gets all sweet... just like, just like..."

Just like... just like how I feel when I like you—sweet!

That was what March 7th had taught her to say, but she just could not get the words out!

March 7th stood behind her, stamping her feet anxiously and mouthing prompts.

Star finally gave up. Her shoulders slumped in defeat, and she lowered her head, face red.

Lowering her head, she bit into the candied hawthorn in her hand as if sulking. The sweet-and-sour flavor spread through her mouth, yet it could not ease the tension and frustration in her heart.

"Forget it... it's nothing..."

Seeing her like this, you could not help but laugh.

This Stellar Nucleus Essence really was interesting.

You reached out and took the candied hawthorn from her hand. Under her astonished gaze, you bit into one from the exact spot she had just bitten.

Star's cheeks instantly turned so red they seemed ready to bleed.

You did not look at her again, merely saying calmly, "Tastes good. Thanks."

Then, you continued walking forward, leaving behind Star, whose cheeks remained crimson but who wore a slightly delighted and flustered smile, as well as March 7th, who looked utterly exasperated.

Her first attempt had ended in failure. Star was a little discouraged, but she did not lose heart.

This time, March 7th decided to try something more direct and impactful.

March 7th leaned close to Star's ear again and whispered a few words.

After hearing her out, Star hesitated for a long time, but March 7th eventually convinced her.

After a while, you walked into a relatively narrow alley.

You walked in front, with Star and March 7th following behind.

Star took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and suddenly rushed forward several steps.

She calculated the distance, then "accidentally" slipped and fell toward you!

March 7th's third move: fake a fall, then use the chance to throw herself into your arms! It was a classic romance manga scene!

Star closed her eyes, preparing for the imminent physical contact.

However, the embrace she had imagined never came.

It was as though you had eyes in the back of your head.

At the very instant she was about to crash into you, your body suddenly dodged to the side.

Star missed entirely and fell stiffly to the ground.

"Ow!" Star cried out in pain.

You turned around and looked at Star lying on the ground, a hint of confusion on your face.

"Watch where you're going. Don't fall."

Star: "..."

March 7th: "..."

Star got up from the ground, looking like she wanted to cry but had no tears. Rubbing her aching knee, she felt like her whole world had fallen apart.

Even March 7th began doubting herself.

"This... this isn't scientific! That's not how it happens in the manga!"

"What is going on?! Why doesn't Jiang Mo follow the script at all?!"

At March 7th's unwilling urging, Star reluctantly tried several more of March 7th's terrible ideas.

Yet every attempt failed in some unexpected way.

Star completely lost her confidence and could no longer muster the energy to try again.

Her mood sank.

The three of you wandered aimlessly through the streets of the Loufu, each lost in your own thoughts, until evening.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

Phantylia

Suddenly, under the influence of the Stellaron, the Jianmu on the Xianzhou Loufu began growing wildly, and the crisis escalated sharply.

Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan found you and formally entrusted the Astral Express crew with helping seal the Stellaron.

You acted as though duty bound you to accept and eagerly volunteered.

This was exactly the opportunity you had been waiting for.

Afterward, you went to assist the Ministry of Industry. After defeating the Aurumaton Spectral Envoy born from the Jianmu, another sudden disturbance broke out at the Alchemy Commission.

Within the Loufu, the organization that worshiped the Healer, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, launched a full-scale rebellion. The Xianzhou Loufu instantly found itself beset by troubles both within and without.

This accident had exceeded the expectations of the Xianzhou's upper ranks.

And naturally, you had played no small part in secretly fanning the flames.

Afterward, you headed to the Alchemy Commission to provide support.

The fake Tingyun continued serving as your guide without a single flaw, perfectly playing her role.

Fu Xuan treated your Astral Express Crew as a surprise force and dispatched you to the core area of the Alchemy Commission.

Your mission was to shut down the furnaces set up by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, which released poisonous smoke that could turn Xianzhou natives into Mara-Struck Soldiers.

Since you were not Xianzhou natives, the poisonous smoke would not affect you.

In the furnace area, you encountered Dan Shu, the leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.

After a fierce battle, you successfully defeated her.

But before Dan Shu died, she spoke another name unfamiliar to everyone—Phantylia.

The climax arrived without warning.

The fake Tingyun walking in front suddenly stiffened, then turned around to face everyone.

Her once lively eyes instantly became vacant and lifeless.

Then, her neck twisted strangely to one side, and her body went limp as though every bone had been pulled from it.

She did not fall. Instead, in a cold, flat voice, she announced, "Allow me to introduce myself again..."

As soon as the words left her mouth, faint turquoise flames began spilling from her body.

In the blink of an eye, she suddenly collapsed and lost all signs of life.

The Astral Express crew witnessed this unbelievable sight, and all of them turned pale with shock.

March 7th in particular stood there with her mouth wide open, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Star's face went pale as well. She had not even processed what had happened.

Other than you, no one could understand what had truly happened to Tingyun at that moment.

Immediately afterward, a commanding voice came from the sky.

The voice echoed throughout the Alchemy Commission, ringing in everyone's minds.

"I, Lord of Ruin Phantylia, shall guide you toward true liberation—Destruction."

When the voice faded, the Alchemy Commission returned to silence. Only the wreckage covering the ground and the shocked expressions of the Astral Express crew remained.

Only then did March 7th react. Stammering, she said, "Could it be... Miss Tingyun... wasn't real?!"

Fu Xuan, who had just arrived, saw everything that had happened, and her expression became grim to the extreme.

She raised her head and looked into the distance, speaking in a low voice:

"Phantylia... that is indeed the name of a Lord of Ruin."

"I fear this Aeon of Destruction Emissary is the mastermind behind this crisis."

"This crisis on the Loufu is far more serious than we anticipated."

A moment later.

March 7th's lips trembled. "Phantylia... Lord of Ruin... Miss Tingyun, she..."

She looked at the Foxian body on the ground, its neck twisted to one side. A person who had been so alive only moments ago had become this, and an Aeon of Destruction Emissary was involved? This surpassed everything she had ever known from her Trailblazing journeys.

Star's face was pale too as she stared at the corpse with complicated emotions.

The gentle, considerate Miss Tingyun who had guided them all the way had been fake? And... she had been created by that Lord of Ruin called Phantylia? Her mind was in complete chaos, unable to process this information.

You stood off to the side, wearing just the right amount of shock, with grief and indignation showing in your eyes.

Fu Xuan quickly composed herself and looked at you. "Now is not the time for shock. The Jianmu is still growing wildly, and we must stop it as soon as possible. Members of the Astral Express Crew, you are experts at dealing with Stellarons... please. You must go deep into the Jianmu's roots. That should be the core of the Stellaron's corruption."

Although Star and March 7th were still shaken, their sense of responsibility as Trailblazers quickly pulled them together.

They exchanged a glance and saw resolve in each other's eyes. No matter who the enemy was, they would not retreat.

"Alright. We'll go," Star said firmly.

"For Miss Tingyun... and for the Loufu!" March 7th clenched her fist.

You also made your stance clear. "Since Phantylia is the mastermind, I will never let her go! We have to avenge Miss Tingyun...!"

Fu Xuan said, "Mm. The depths of the Jianmu's roots are fraught with danger. Large numbers of Mara-Struck Soldiers and Abundance Sprites will block your path. You must be careful."

After making preparations, under the guidance of Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan, your group began advancing toward the depths of the Jianmu's roots.

Just as Fu Xuan had said, you encountered more twisted monsters along the way.

With the coordination of you, Star, and March 7th, these Mara-Struck Soldiers and Abundance Sprites were swiftly cleared out.

Even in battle, Star still maintained her desire to protect you, always instinctively stepping in front of you.

"Jiang Mo, watch out!" Star pulled you aside once again, dodging an attack from a Mara-Struck Soldier.

"Thank you." You gave her a gentle smile, making her blush instantly before she quickly looked away.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Dan Heng acted alone and infiltrated the Loufu.

He searched the Loufu for traces of the Astral Express Crew, afraid that his companions might be in danger.

Throughout it all, his heart was heavy. He tried to continue suppressing that sealed past, but the Loufu's crisis and the Jianmu's disturbance seemed to be forcing him to confront the identity he did not wish to touch.

"Found you."

A low voice suddenly sounded behind him, carrying intense killing intent.

Dan Heng's body stiffened. He turned around and saw the man holding a long blade, his eyes burning with fanaticism—Blade.

An encounter filled with the weight of fate instantly turned into a fierce battle.

Blade's words were like sharp knives, precisely stabbing into Dan Heng's pain and forcing him to confront his past.

In the end, Blade seized an opening and pierced Dan Heng's body with a single strike!

The agonizing pain awakened the power hidden within Dan Heng... the dragon blood of the Vidyadhara boiled in his veins, and overwhelming dragon might surged into the sky!

Dan Heng awakened the form of the Vidyadhara High Elder—Imbibitor Lunae!

The scene was magnificent and shocking as terrifying torrents swept in every direction.

Just then, Kafka appeared.

She swiftly withdrew with Blade, leaving behind only the transformed Dan Heng and Jing Yuan, who arrived belatedly.

Not long after.

When you, Star, and March 7th arrived at the Scalegorge Waterscape, you saw a sight you would never forget for the rest of your lives.

Beside a High Elder statue stood General Jing Yuan, along with a figure both unfamiliar and familiar.

"Dan... You're Dan Heng?!" March 7th cried out.