Luocha's primary mission had plunged into crisis.
This crisis was the dramatic upheaval within the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus on the Luofu Xianzhou.
The Disciples had fractured, and were now showing a trend towards extremism. They were already extreme, but this new extremism was developing in an entirely different direction.
Their target wasn't the Luofu Xianzhou, nor the Aeon of The Hunt.
Instead, their aim was the hearts and minds of the people of the Luofu. This extremism even displayed a powerful self-destructive tendency.
No matter how Fu Xuan divined, no matter how she tried to intervene, nothing worked.
She couldn't get involved, nor did she have the ability to.
And the moment Fu Xuan realized the limits of her own power was when she received a very detailed message.
It was less a message and more a long list of medicinal formulas, spread publicly and anonymously.
They were the formulas of the Alchemy Commission.
Inside was a record of all the experimental research the Alchemy Commission had conducted over the years, whether willingly or forced, centered on the Mara-Struck state of the Xianzhou people.
It even highlighted many of the ultimate results achieved in these experiments.
Fu Xuan knew, in that instant, that she could no longer stop the Alchemy Commission's actions.
The result of her divination just now had been a massive number of deaths within the Alchemy Commission.
The dead were the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
She, too, had received this information. The source of every ingredient was clearly stated, its effects explained, and even where it had been obtained was written down.
How much of it was related to the Ambrosial Arbor, how much to the Vidyadhara, and how much was truly unrelated to the "blessings" of the Sanctus Medicus.
"Too late... it's too late..."
The moment Fu Xuan saw the message, she knew she was completely and utterly too late.
But if Noldrei hadn't told her about this, she would have had no way of determining what the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were planning on her own.
Only then did Fu Xuan clearly feel that, without her divinations, she was completely unworthy of the 'blessing' of Erudition.
She stood blankly outside the Alchemy Commission, staring down at the familiar text.
Deleting it was impossible. The impact of this was no less than dropping a nuke directly on the Xianzhou.
"This is going to be trouble."
Fu Xuan's first instinct was to report this to the General of the Divine Foresight and suppress everyone related to the Alchemy Commission in the shortest possible time.
But in the next instant, she realized that not only was this impossible, it couldn't even be suggested.
If the General were to issue such an order, it would, from a governmental level, prove that all the formulas on the list were correct.
It would prove that the Alchemy Commission had indeed found a way to alleviate the Mara-Struck state using the power of the Ambrosial Arbor.
Fu Xuan knew exactly what this meant. It meant the very root of the sins the Alchemy Commission had carried in the past would be overturned.
This would prove that the so-called "Plaguespreader" was not the cause of the Mara-Struck chaos, but rather that the Xianzhou itself had failed to find a solution.
But if the Alchemy Commission was allowed to wreak such havoc, what would happen next?
Inevitably, many people on the verge of becoming Mara-Struck would choose to experiment with these formulas, or secretly find someone to test their ingredients.
This was a given; it was bound to happen.
The number of people who would willingly participate in these experiments was already too large.
Longevity? Would people be satisfied just by living longer?
Those with a lifespan of 60 envy those with 100. Those with 100 envy those with 300 or 400. And those with 300 or 400 envy those with 500, 600, or an infinite lifespan.
Fu Xuan didn't indulge in such naive dreams, just as the people of the Xianzhou had also considered other methods of longevity from beyond their own ship.
If they hadn't already experimented on their own bodies, who would know that their bodies couldn't be easily modified? The answer must have come from experimentation.
The pursuit of longevity would never cease.
With the Alchemy Commission having shouldered the burden and created this possibility, even if they were eradicated, another Alchemy Commission would surely emerge from the shadows of the Xianzhou.
'What should I do now? What on earth should I do...?'
Fu Xuan fell into deep thought. She currently had no authority to act rashly in this matter.
'If it were the General of the Divine Foresight... no, wait! Why did that guy stop me?!'
She had been about to seek out the General to discuss a counter-plan for the Alchemy Commission's rebellion.
But in that moment, Fu Xuan suddenly realized that the one who had taken advantage of this opportunity to create such chaos on the Xianzhou was none other than the man she had just been having tea with.
She shouldn't be looking for the General right now. She should be looking for Noldrei!
---||---
At this moment, General Jing Yuan was also in a difficult position.
What troubled him was not the mess at hand, but another troublesome person.
Yukong, the Helm Master of the Sky-Faring Commission.
A sharp, decisive woman, and a very difficult one to deal with at work.
"General, the Alchemy Commission has caused such a chaotic mess. Why haven't the Cloud Knights been dispatched to handle it immediately?"
Yukong believed that the Alchemy Commission's actions had far exceeded their proper scope and were continuously disrupting the existing order of the Xianzhou.
Jing Yuan didn't rush to answer her question. Instead, he asked, "Do you know how long I've been the General?"
Yukong's expression froze for a moment. Jing Yuan had become General before she was even born.
"But do you know the other problem?" Jing Yuan sighed and continued, "The Generals before me rarely lasted more than a century before they either stepped down or sacrificed themselves due to the Mara-Struck problem."
"Tell me, in the eyes of the Xianzhou people, do you think I've used these formulas for myself?"
Jing Yuan's question truly stumped Yukong.
Her ears twitched in shock.
"Many years ago, the Xianzhou erupted in a shocking civil war over the issue of the nobility. The fighting was so fierce it reached a point where the war could no longer be sustained."
"But you and I both know that it's impossible for a war to become unsustainable."
"Even if they reverted to savages, they could still pick up rocks and clubs to crack open their enemies' skulls. So the war never stopped; it merely shifted from internal to external. It was the easing of internal conflicts that led to the end of the civil war."
"An easing of conflict does not mean the conflict has disappeared, nor does it mean the conflict no longer exists."
"You tell me to dispatch the Cloud Knights. But after the Cloud Knights arrive, what if the people of the Alchemy Commission turn around and ask, 'When is the General of the Divine Foresight being replaced?' How should the Cloud Knights answer? 'Wait until he succumbs to the Mara'?"
Jing Yuan knew that Yukong had also seen those formulas. He posed a chilling question.
"Let's assume that we, the upper leadership, have secretly taken similar formulas, alleviating the Mara-Struck problem and thus holding onto the leadership of the Luofu for much longer."
"What kind of consequences do you think will follow if I dispatch the Cloud Knights to suppress them now?"
Yukong said angrily, "What on earth are the people of the Alchemy Commission trying to do?!"