Noldrei paid no mind to Fu Xuan's thoughts.
He was currently frowning over another matter: the issue of the Mara-Struck state among the long-life species.
What exactly was this "Mara-Struck problem"?
It was that long-life species universally faced the threat of a similar Mara-Struck state. That is to say, the Mara-Struck state didn't seem to be unique to the Xianzhou, but on the Xianzhou, for some peculiar reason, the Mara-Struck state was incredibly... EXPLOSIVE!
Not just intensely severe, but explosive like a bomb.
This was a conclusion the Alchemy Commission had drawn after comparing the differences in the Mara-Struck state among various long-life species across the cosmos.
That's why the Xianzhou people had once deeply suspected that Abundance had tampered with their bodies, or left some trouble within the Ambrosial Arbor.
But the Abundance believers didn't think so.
The Abundance believers argued that Abundance would never do such a thing, because it was completely unnecessary, even entirely superfluous. Abundance had bestowed too many boons, not just on the Xianzhou people. If there was going to be any targeting, it would surely target everyone, not just the Xianzhou. What was wrong with the Xianzhou people? Were they so uniquely attractive that the Yaoshi grew jealous?
Dan Shu believed such reasons were completely flimsy, more like lies used to fob off grunts like them. There must be some deeper reason that the highest echelons of the Xianzhou had locked away.
"No, I have another question... Why? Why is there this so-called Mara-Struck state?"
Noldrei couldn't quite grasp it. He didn't understand why this peculiar condition, widely affecting organic life, would appear. He even found it hard to believe that this universe could secretly harbor such a sickening rule.
"Ah... W-why?" Dan Shu froze for a moment, not quite understanding the reason behind Noldrei's question.
How would Dan Shu know why? If she knew why long-life species faced Mara-Struck, would she still be a mere Alchemist Chief here? She would have ascended to the Genius Society and stood shoulder to shoulder with the bigwigs.
Noldrei said incredulously, "If the universe has to implement such a physical rule just because life lives a little longer, then it might as well be destroyed!"
Dan Shu was speechless hearing Noldrei open his mouth with such an outrageous statement. Had the universe done something to offend him? Did it deserve to be destroyed just for making lives a little shorter?
"Dan Shu, listen closely. The universe's mechanics are sufficient to allow for an unimaginable magnitude of immortal life. Even if you spent every day making stars collide, the universe wouldn't be destroyed by such trifles."
Noldrei explained the intricacies of it. He truly didn't believe the universe's tolerance was so limited.
There was a high probability that Mara-Struck was a commonality among organic life, but unfortunately, this commonality hadn't manifested in his world, or it had been resolved as a minor illness shortly after appearing, for unknown reasons. Noldrei had never heard of people developing mental illnesses just from living too long.
Look how normal he was now? He had always maintained the heart of a young man, embracing every new world he encountered.
"People here are just like this, which is why I've been trying again and again to break through and change this problem." Dan Shu explained the purpose of her newly established Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
She had gradually come to understand Noldrei's situation: he was an outsider who had thought the Xianzhou was incredibly advanced, only to be 'greatly disappointed' after learning more.
In short, as someone who viewed cosmic civilizations, he had arrived here only to find a sense of disillusionment, realizing it wasn't much different from his own world. He had expected to see progress, but instead, it felt like he had returned to an 'ancient homeland.' Noldrei interacted with her carrying this sense of disappointment.
Moreover, he constantly liked to disparage the Xianzhou ancestors. But he wasn't blindly disparaging; he was equally disparaging to every lifeform in the universe, from Aeons down.
"Is that trying to change things? Experimenting on outsiders is useless! Not only do you fail to gain the sympathy of the Xianzhou people, but you also create divisions that split the Xianzhou. The very people who should support you have been pushed away. The public opinion isn't on your side to begin with, and you can't even properly win over the Xianzhou people. So what good are you, the Alchemy Commission, anyway?"
Noldrei truly detested the lack of ambition among the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Thirty years, a full thirty years! Even if he became a teacher and educated people little by little, he could have produced a large number of new ones by now.
Dan Shu bit her lip. She didn't think this was her fault. It was already an accomplishment that she had managed to re-establish the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus over thirty years, gathering tens of thousands of members, most of whom were infiltrated within the Alchemy Commission.
This was the limit of her capabilities; anything beyond that wasn't something she could simply bring about.
"Then what do you suggest?" Dan Shu simply gave up. Her only hope now was to keep the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus from being exposed before she could achieve her goals. But the discretion she hoped for was entirely at odds with her actions.
Noldrei thought for a moment and said, "The higher-ups on the Xianzhou certainly know about these Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, but the Ground-Breaker Commission probably doesn't know enough about you. Just think about it, where on the Xianzhou are the most Abundance believers? It's definitely the Alchemy Commission. Don't the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus need to find Abundance believers? Then the Alchemy Commission must have the most members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Once you know this point, it's easy to guess. The activities of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus have certainly already been exposed to the Ground-Breaker Commission. They just haven't caught any hard evidence against your Alchemy Commission yet."
"The next step is simply fishing."
"One of the things we can use for fishing is the Ambrosial Arbor, and the other is..."
Dan Shu thought of that place, a crucial link she had prepared for her future operations. She said, "The Cloud-Hymn Violet Palace."
The Cloud-Hymn Violet Palace was actually a tool for drawing power from the Ambrosial Arbor. Its shape resembled a colossal alchemy cauldron, and it was a significant reason why the Alchemy Commission was named as such.
Noldrei was not at all surprised by this. In his eyes, this thing didn't display anything beyond his common understanding. Production has always simply involved a few stages. With a raw material like the Ambrosial Arbor, there naturally existed an intermediate process for transforming and reproducing it. What left Noldrei most speechless about this intermediate process was that they hadn't considered or prepared any backups.
Noldrei was inherently a genius at the art of "fishing tactics," knowing that the most crucial aspect of fishing was never the catch itself, but ensuring a continuous supply of bait throughout the process. As long as the bait kept coming, the fish would eventually bite.
Noldrei nodded, quite satisfied. "Since we know the key raw material and the key production device, we can use these two things to 'fish' the Xianzhou Luofu in reverse!"
Dan Shu froze for a moment, then rubbed her forehead, a slight headache coming on.
'Did he just implicitly criticize me for dividing the Xianzhou with what I've been doing?'