In front of the Artisanship Commission on the Xianzhou Luofu.
The moment they set foot there, a panicked crowd came into view.
From their urgent conversations, it was easy to tell that serious trouble had broken out inside the Artisanship Commission, and most of the artisans had already evacuated.
Their agitation seemed to make even the air hot and restless, but fortunately, Zhang Xiu had bought a whole pile of ice pops.
"Seriously, you sure know how to take it easy..." March 7th's mouth twitched as she watched the cold air constantly rising from his arms.
"Hey, I used to have a bad stomach. Now that I'm an Abomination of Abundance, shouldn't I eat more of what I like?"
Yaoshi held out her little hand, and a wooden mask materialized again. "Husband, you forgot your mask."
"Oh, right. Good thing none of my people are around here." Zhang Xiu crouched down, and Yaoshi placed the mask directly on his face, thoughtfully shifting it upward to leave his mouth exposed.
"Are you guys really not having any? It's pretty hot." He bit off most of the ice pop in his hand, feeling the chill shoot straight into his brain.
"We've got serious business to handle... what if we get an upset stomach?" March 7th swallowed, trying to tear her gaze away from the pile of ice pops, but simply couldn't.
"Isn't my wife right here? One touch from her little hand, and you're cured." Zhang Xiu shrugged.
"Then... then I'll have one."
And so, apart from Welt and Phantylia, the other four ate ice pops while asking the nearby artisans what had happened inside.
"My master, Mr. Gongshu, is the most senior artisan at the Molten Gold Foundry. He's also the master supervising our research group."
The red-clad artisan before them looked flustered. "When things went wrong, he led us out, but halfway through, he suddenly rushed back in on his own."
"...Why did he run back?" March 7th scratched her head.
"All I heard him muttering was, 'It's over! The furnace is done for!' By the time we came to our senses, he was already gone."
"Okay, okay. All you need to know is that we're here to help, and we're very capable. Anything else we should know?"
Having finished the last ice pop, Zhang Xiu burned the accumulated wooden sticks with Black Flame.
In the glow of the black flames, the artisan swallowed. "Then, please take this Jade Tally."
"If you find my master, please make sure you bring him out! If anything happens to him-"
Moved by his emotion, Welt spoke gently. "Don't worry, young man. Your master's safety..."
But before he could continue, the man said, "-none of us in the group will be able to graduate or finish our apprenticeships this year..."
Zhang Xiu stifled a laugh and glanced at the awkward expression frozen on Welt's face.
March 7th looked utterly speechless, her eyes half-lidded. "...Let's go. I don't really want to keep talking."
"By the way, aren't you worried we might be bad people?" Zhang Xiu tilted his head, puzzled by the man's blind trust.
"Uh, I recognize Miss Tingyun here. She's with the Sky-Faring Commission."
"Fair enough." Zhang Xiu accepted the Jade Tally and handed it to his wife.
Yaoshi immediately understood what he wanted. She trotted over to the tightly shut gate and held the tally against its lock.
Naturally, this caught the attention of the surrounding artisans, but they merely glanced over before returning to their own business.
As soon as they entered, a mechanical device wrapped in branches and vines came into view, along with mechanical constructs roaming back and forth along the passage below.
"Looking closely, even the roots have pushed up from underground. Benefactor, it seems we'll have to play unpaid gardeners for a while."
The sight of boundless vitality secretly delighted Phantylia, but she did her utmost to conceal her excitement as she looked toward Stelle and the others.
"Hmm~ I smell an Abomination of Abundance."
Zhang Xiu nodded lightly and raised his brows, his troublemaking spirit beginning to burn.
The Denizens of Abundance had one innate advantage over other factions: they could grow stronger by devouring other creations of Abundance.
And deep within the Artisanship Commission, an Ebon Deer of Abundance awaiting its hatching stood guard over the Ambrosial Arbor's roots.
For one thing, it had no sentience; for another, it had no emotions. Zhang Xiu would feel no guilt about eating it, and he could grow stronger in the bargain. Why wouldn't he?
"Abominations of Abundance... aren't there loads of them on the Xianzhou?" March 7th blinked.
"Tch, why don't you go outside, pick someone at random, and call them an Abomination of Abundance?" Zhang Xiu clicked his tongue, speechless.
"There's a big one inside. I'll go ahead and deal with it, and uproot the Ambrosial Arbor's roots while I'm at it..." Zhang Xiu looked at Yaoshi.
"Honey, stay with everyone else. What I'm about to do might be a little disgusting."
To his surprise, she shook her head. "I wish to witness every aspect of my husband."
"Then let's go together. We'll leave the rest to everyone else."
Just as he had at the Divination Commission, he picked Yaoshi up and used his powerful body to leap toward the distant Creation Furnace entwined by the Ambrosial Arbor.
Before it, a flower waiting to bloom was tightly closed like a fruit, and it trembled at their arrival.
"Does my husband intend to devour it?"
"Of course." Zhang Xiu nodded candidly. "I need strength, and it couldn't be more suitable. I'm just afraid doing this will remind you of those Abominations of Abundance that plunder at will."
"Do not worry. I know my husband's character. You could never be placed on the same footing as them."
As Zhang Xiu stepped forward and came within a certain distance, the flower's stamens began to burst forth.
It released golden pollen, and its petals opened.
From within, an Ebon Deer with crownlike antlers and a tall, proud frame slowly emerged.
Apparently realizing that the person before it was no benign visitor, the Ebon Deer stamped its left hoof, and more than a dozen vines rose from the ground.
Yet Zhang Xiu neither summoned the Greatsword nor kindled the flames of preservation.
He simply charged forward and, before the surrounding plants could react, seized the Ebon Deer's antlers.
With its antler crown caught, the Ebon Deer immediately directed vines to slam into Zhang Xiu, but his strength dragged it into a series of collisions instead.
The flooring beneath them could not withstand the energy unleashed with each stamp of its hooves and kept shattering.
Using the Ebon Deer's neck for leverage, Zhang Xiu forcibly ripped out both its antlers!
"Yooo-!"
The Ebon Deer immediately let out a pained bellow at the loss of its antlers, while summoning a bolt of golden lightning to strike Zhang Xiu on its back.
But how nimble was he? A few vaults carried him away with the antlers, leaving the lightning's summoner to suffer its own attack.
Looking at the iron-hard antlers in his hands, Zhang Xiu toyed with them briefly before biting off a chunk and swallowing it.
His power of abundance swelled again, though only by a tiny amount. After all, when it came to the blessing of abundance he had received, Zhang Xiu could be considered among the very best.
The surrounding vines summoned by the Ebon Deer also attacked him, but he dodged them one by one.
As he dodged, Zhang Xiu finished swallowing the antlers whole.
Yet, with the Ambrosial Arbor's help, another pair of antlers actually grew atop the Ebon Deer's head.
Each kind of Denizen of Abundance had its own uniquely edible part: the blood of Borisin and Foxians, the elixir organs of Heavenly Persons, the spinal marrow of The Borisin, the hearts of Skydeep, and so on.
These parts all held the greatest concentration of the power of abundance, making them excellent nourishment.
But a creation of Abundance like the Ebon Deer had no particularly outstanding body part. In other words, no matter which part he ate, the power of abundance he gained would differ only according to its size.
Now, with the Ambrosial Arbor replenishing it, the Ebon Deer was like one enormous experience pack to Zhang Xiu.
"Hahaha, how strong would I become if I just ate the Ambrosial Arbor?"
Before you continue