Noldrei hadn't yet had the chance to put his fishing plan into practice. After all, things here were different from Earth.
There, with a Honkai Core in hand, even someone as intelligent as Otto would be forced to personally intervene to salvage the situation he'd orchestrated.
The immense power and irreplaceability of the Honkai Core made it the most enticing bait in the world.
However, Noldrei hadn't seen anything like that present in the Alchemy Commission. For the Xianzhou Luofu, there was an eighty percent chance they'd rather personally destroy this so-called "Cloud Mist Purple Manor" in the midst of a conflict.
As for researching new medicines and products afterward, that could wait until the Xianzhou Luofu had fully consolidated power and purged the Alchemy Commission's personnel.
Time was not on Danshu's side; in fact, it was on the Xianzhou Luofu's. This was a clear strategic advantage.
The Xianzhou Luofu merely needed to remain calm and steadfast, unless some special external force intervened.
Yet, Noldrei hadn't discovered any such force at the moment. He even began to wonder if, besides the Aeons, such strange external forces truly existed.
Noldrei had wanted to speak more with Danshu, but due to a certain individual, he couldn't remain in the Alchemy Commission any longer.
"Your Alchemy Commission already has so few people, and you've barely managed to recruit any Pathstriders. You don't even have a single Pathstrider; how do you expect to rebel against the higher-ups? You rack your brains, exhaust your thoughts, just waiting for your schemes to succeed."
"But then they send a few people to charge right at you, swing a couple of times, and finish you off with two slashes to the head. Your combat strength isn't on par, so you absolutely must change the organizational structure of the Disciples of the Ambrosial Arbor to allow sufficiently powerful allies to join you. Understand?"
"Furthermore, as a leader, it's best if you don't show any Path affiliation. If you're aligned with a certain Path and everyone else is beneath you, it will lead to very dangerous internal conflicts over direction. Only when you're an ordinary person, capable of flexibly coordinating internal relationships, can you truly learn how to leverage believers for your own benefit."
"Oh, no, for the Ambrosial Arbor's re-descent."
Noldrei's instructions were quite serious; he genuinely worried that Danshu, in a fit of recklessness, would start acting haphazardly.
Even though the Xianzhou leadership was somewhat inept and hadn't yet managed to get a handle on these Alchemy Commission members, Danshu's approach—charging in without considering the disparity in combat strength or even basic material conditions—seemed even more bizarre and incomprehensible.
Noldrei's worry was palpable, and his demeanor made Danshu begin to wonder if she truly was just an idiot. She had to emphasize, "Since I've promised not to act, I won't just act rashly."
"Then I can rest easy. It's been a while since I've been back. I'll head back and explain my situation to my friends... While I'm gone, you can think about how to handle your job as a believer of the Ambrosial Arbor."
Noldrei's arrival had been strange, and his departure was equally strange.
It genuinely made Danshu worry whether he'd just turn around and go straight to the Divine Foresight General to spill everything and get them all rounded up. Given Noldrei's mental state, it didn't seem like he was incapable of such a thing.
Noldrei and Fu Xuan had been separated for a long time. Not only Fu Xuan, but Elysia and the others as well. During his time away, his temporary lodging had already become the Jade Abode of the Emperor's Walls.
Qingque would bring a member of the Divination Commission every time to play jade tiles. Now, it couldn't be said that everyone loved playing jade tiles, but they could at least battle it out for a few rounds at the table.
"Come on, come on! Let's keep going. This time, Elysia, you're treating us to dinner! Ugh, my luck's been a bit off today. I wonder if something unlucky is about to happen."
Qingque's voice clearly wafted from the room. Noldrei heard the clatter-clatter of the automatic mahjong table shuffling tiles and couldn't help but stop at the doorway.
'Why? Why did it turn out like this?'
'I was only gone for a few days, so why has even the Herrscher of Sentience, who's supposed to be working, thrown aside her duties to play cards?'
Noldrei sighed deeply when he thought about the Cosmic Juggernaut still lying in the courtyard after his return. Look at the state of things! Even a workaholic Herrscher, whose job was to destroy humanity, could degenerate to such a degree.
"Oh? My luck's back! Qingque, I don't think you have a chance to win this time."
Just by Elysia's voice, Noldrei knew she'd drawn a good hand. This made him resist the urge to go in and interrupt them.
'Playing away one's ambition! What a waste! They weren't like this when they first came out! How did they end up like this?'
Noldrei felt 'deeply pained' inside, wondering if he should just kick Elysia out and take her seat at the table.
He pondered for a while, realizing that he'd been a bit too wild outside these past two days. Dumping his work on Elysia and Senti was a bit unreasonable, so he simply didn't go in to interrupt their card game.
Just as he was about to leave, he unexpectedly heard a familiar voice.
"You! Stop right there!"
Fu Xuan must have calculated his movements beforehand; she had intercepted Noldrei just before he could escape.
"You need to explain yourself! What exactly is going on inside the Alchemy Commission? I finally got a chance to catch you, so be honest and tell me!"
The Master Diviner was still her usual self.
Although she wasn't wearing her usual over-the-top dignified attire, she still maintained her special preference for pink tones, looking like a Xianzhou maid out buying things for her young master.
"You're asking me about the Alchemy Commission? Haven't you people known for a long time that it's the main base for the Disciples of the Ambrosial Arbor? I should be asking you! Do you know what's happening inside the Alchemy Commission? How are these Disciples of the Ambrosial Arbor openly recruiting on the streets, and you still haven't gotten any intelligence from inside?"
Noldrei wanted to ask, was the Xianzhou so utterly devoid of competent soldiers?
Danshu's thirty-year infiltration, all just to return to the Ambrosial Arbor's embrace, resulted in the Disciples of the Ambrosial Arbor recruiting people like street hawkers?
What have these Aeons turned decent human civilization into? Such a major civilization couldn't possibly fall apart just because the Aeons left, could it?
Fu Xuan was choked speechless by Noldrei's outburst. She truly didn't know what was happening inside the Alchemy Commission. But this wasn't due to her incompetence; it was simply because her forces couldn't infiltrate it.
Not just the Alchemy Commission, but also the Vidyadhara's covert interference, made the Alchemy Commission's position even more detached and inaccessible.
She then explained, "We have conducted investigations.
The Alchemy Commission's Grand True Alchemy Chamber has always been a key observation target for the Xianzhou.
However, according to our observations, the dense fog within the Grand True Alchemy Chamber has intensified in recent years.
Yet, there hasn't been a massive supply of elixirs on the market.
They must be manipulating something behind the scenes!"