Dan Shu was in the middle of cleaning up the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
She was, of course, fully aware of what she was doing. Many of her actions hadn't just been a betrayal of the Xianzhou; they had violated the very principles of humanity.
Using Vidyadhara marrow, she had injected it into people to obtain more experimental results.
It began with just a few drops. Later, she discovered that no matter how she controlled the variables, the final outcome was always random.
So, Dan Shu eventually abandoned any pretense of control and proceeded with even more radical experiments.
The effects were indeed significant, even reaching a point where the mutated subjects could be used directly as 'medicinal ingredients.'
Even Dan Shu herself was beginning to feel she was no longer human.
If she hadn't encountered Noldrei's Pure Land theory, she wouldn't have known how to resolve the fractured state of the Sanctus Medicus believers on the Xianzhou without causing more harm.
Noldrei's Pure Land theory successfully mended the spiritual trauma that arose when the Xianzhou people were forced to switch their faith.
It offered a path that didn't lead to slaughter and conflict born from a clash of beliefs.
But this solution had come too late...
So late that Dan Shu could no longer turn back.
And today, Dan Shu had an unexpected encounter with someone she very much wanted to avoid.
The current High Elder of the Vidyadhara? Bailu.
A Vidyadhara High Elder, kept under the thumb of the Alchemy Commission and constantly tasked with healing duties.
She was called the High Elder, but in reality, she was just a little girl controlled by the Preceptors, merely undergoing her "studies" within the Alchemy Commission.
"Dan... Dan Shu...?"
Bailu was startled by the woman's sudden appearance.
Bailu had known for a long time about the collaboration between the Vidyadhara and the Alchemy Commission.
It was not just a deep collaboration; it was so intimate that her people were practically providing blood for their experiments.
The two parties were bound together far more tightly than was proper for the Vidyadhara's relationship with any of the Xianzhou's Six Commissions.
"Lady Bailu? You didn't run off today?" Dan Shu offered Bailu a faint smile and tried to walk past her.
A wave of nervousness washed over Bailu. She had never seen Dan Shu smile of her own accord before.
In the past, Dan Shu had always felt like one of the living dead.
She wasn't someone who lived life with vigor, but more like something that, once broken, had plummeted to the bottom of a dark, inescapable abyss.
But now, this same Dan Shu was actually smiling at her?
Thinking of the strict surveillance the Alchemy Commission kept on her, and of Dan Shu's supreme status within it, Bailu didn't dare show any action or expression that might betray her inner thoughts.
"I... I'm fine, why would I run off for no reason! Besides, you always have people watching me, don't you?"
Though Dan Shu's eyes could not see, she could accurately pinpoint Bailu's location through her senses.
Those lifeless eyes landed on Bailu, sending a shiver down the young dragon girl's spine, goosebumps rising all over her skin.
Her gaze wasn't even on Bailu's face; it was fixed on a point somewhere on her body that didn't exist. Her drifting eyes carried an indescribable sense of oppression.
Bailu found her rebuttals stuck in her throat.
"Is that so?" Dan Shu didn't explain further. Her tone was ethereal as she said, "Do you truly believe you don't need the Alchemy Commission's help? It seems you don't understand..."
She sighed. "Among the tourists in Changle, outsiders make up a full sixty percent. Even if you were to randomly find someone to abduct another person, whether they're an outsider or a native of the Xianzhou, once someone goes missing in Changle... even if the Cloud Knights work tirelessly, it will take them a very long time to find the slightest clue. And that's followed by a delay that could last for over a decade."
"And Vidyadhara marrow... one only needs to extract a little while the host is still alive. It can bring the dead back to life and grow flesh on white bones, cure diseases never seen before, rejuvenate an aging body, restore a senile mind to its youthful state, and grant a second chance to all of life's regrets."
"And you, without the protection of our Alchemy Commission, with those dazzling draconic horns and tail... you would undoubtedly become their primary target for abduction. How many steps would it take for the Cloud Knights to find you? How long? In the span of half an hour, how much blood would they draw? How much marrow? I can't say for sure..."
"Because these things have truly happened before."
Bailu's little face turned pale with fright. She was an old lady of over eighty; she couldn't handle this kind of torment!
As if she didn't know who was drawing Vidyadhara marrow!
The Vidyadhara and the Alchemy Commission worked so closely that even Bailu knew many of their medicines were laced with it.
Little Bailu was starting to think her own people had become nothing more than blood banks for the Alchemy Commission.
"Y-Y-You... you're trying to threaten me?"
Hearing such a comical question, Dan Shu almost lost her composure.
She smiled and said, "I have no need to threaten you. If I truly wanted to do something to you, I would have done it long ago. Do you know what I am doing right now?"
"Wha-what does what you're doing have to do with me?"
Bailu watched Dan Shu nervously, terrified the woman might suddenly lash out and eat her.
"I'm investigating how many short-lived species have infiltrated the various industries on the Xianzhou, their positions, and the exchanges between these industries and outside civilizations. What sort of things do you think these people bring to the Alchemy Commission?"
Dan Shu said with a blank expression, "They desperately hand me all sorts of rare treasures—technology from various planetary civilizations, artifacts never before seen, countless Interastral Peace Corporation Credits, and Xianzhou antiques."
"All these things are laid out dazzlingly before the alchemists of our Commission, all for a single chance to touch the legendary path to long life."
"And the Vidyadhara, another famous race in Xianzhou's history, are also within their hunting grounds. It's not unheard of for one of our own alchemists to be privately abducted by outsiders."
"Now, do you still believe you are safe on the Xianzhou?"
Dan Shu had done plenty of dirty work herself. How could she not know the limits of the Xianzhou's ability to handle trouble?
Without concrete evidence, the Xianzhou's sphere of active authority was actually quite small.
"Fine, let's say the status of the Vidyadhara High Elder is extremely valuable. If you were to disappear for less than half an hour, the Cloud Knights would lock down the entire Luofu to search for you... but unfortunately..."
Dan Shu sighed, a sense of helplessness in her voice. "Unfortunately, your frequent escapes have become a habit everyone is used to. If someone were to ask where you've run off to, they would just think it's business as usual."
"The originally swift response has been worn down by you to an almost pathetic degree."
The color drained from Bailu's face. She had never imagined her habit of running off could have such a severe downside.
It seemed this woman wasn't lying to her. Why had no one in the Alchemy Commission ever told her this before?