Some people were getting their butts kicked inside the Fyxestroll Garden.
And some people were getting their butts kicked just outside of it.
Jing Yuan found himself in a bit of a predicament. He discovered he couldn't break the seal, leaving him to stand by and watch helplessly from the outside.
He didn't even know what was happening inside.
The Ambrosial Arbor had indeed revived, but its power didn't seem to be spreading. In fact, it was being deliberately contained, with the entire Arbor shrinking into the deepest part of the cavern like a well-behaved child.
It was precisely this lack of change that filled Jing Yuan with dread.
He knew from ancient history that the revival of the Ambrosial Arbor should have had a far greater effect than this.
Since things were so abnormal, there had to be a change he wasn't aware of.
"Can't get in. No matter what I think of, I can't get in."
After passing through the Scalegorge Waterscape, Jing Yuan had been blocked by this Fyxestroll Garden. No matter how anxious he was, he had no way to deal with the troublemakers inside.
How did those people get in?
And how did the Stellaron get in?
One question after another filled Jing Yuan's mind.
The group had all the fighting power in the world but no way to use it. Even the members of the Astral Express crew were stuck at the entrance to the garden.
"What's going on? Don't you Xianzhou people have a way to break the seal?"
Mr. Yang found the situation utterly baffling.
Qingque explained, "We do, actually. But for safety reasons, we only let the Vidyadhara High Elder manage this seal."
"Then where's the High Elder?" Mr. Yang asked, shocked.
Qingque scratched her head in embarrassment. "Um, the current dragon... is in the hands of the Alchemy Commission. Hasn't had time to fully integrate the High Elder's power yet."
Mr. Yang fell into a thoughtful silence. He was beginning to suspect that the Xianzhou was run by a bunch of amateurs.
He knew about the Alchemy Commission, and he knew that the main culprits among the chaotic Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were from there.
The Ambrosial Arbor was an incredibly dangerous thing. The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were an incredibly dangerous group. And the High Elder held the key to the seal.
What on earth could have caused these three things to converge?
Qingque hurriedly tried to save face. "It's because the Ambrosial Arbor was severed for so long! None of us ever thought it would revive one day. Besides, everyone knows Stellaron bring destruction wherever they go. Who would have thought they had the power to revive the Abundance's Arbor?"
"Don't overthink it. We Xianzhou people really didn't do this on purpose. It was just an accident, an accident!"
Qingque's explanation had no effect. If anything, it only made March 7th and Stelle even more confused.
The two of them still hadn't figured out why the Stellaron had appeared on the Xianzhou in the first place.
Belobog's technology wasn't advanced, so it was understandable that they couldn't stop a Stellaron from landing. But the Xianzhou's situation didn't seem like the kind where such a ridiculous thing could happen.
The vanguard was out in the universe kicking ass, only to turn around and find a Stellaron had back-doored their home base?
"Forget about the High Elder or whatever. Just tell us, is there any way to get in right now?"
March 7th just wanted to resolve the Stellaron crisis and get out of there. She had a feeling that staying on the Xianzhou any longer might not be safe.
"Uhh, no..." Qingque gave her answer, her face full of embarrassment.
Stelle was helpless as well. With nothing to do, she could only look around at the scenery.
But after wandering around for a while, Stelle didn't see any useful mechanisms or sights.
'I'm lost on the path of life.'
Stelle couldn't find any way to break the deadlock.
'Huh? Would that mirror be useful?'
With that thought, Stelle took out the small mirror and started looking at her reflection.
First, she looked at her own face, then at the things reflected in the mirror from side to side. And as she looked, she actually saw something.
Wondering if it was just a trick of the light, Stelle took a closer, more serious look at the reflection.
It wasn't a trick. She really did see a familiar yet unfamiliar figure.
It wasn't her own reflection she saw in the mirror, but the face on the statue behind her.
That strikingly familiar face appeared right before Stelle's eyes.
"This..." Stelle turned her head and took a good look at the statue striking a grand pose in front of the garden.
She nudged March 7th's shoulder and pointed at the statue. "March, look at this statue... Look! Doesn't it look like Dan Heng?!"
March 7th was too distracted by the tense atmosphere to care about who the statue looked like.
She slapped Stelle's hand away and said irritably, "Hey, who cares about some statue right now?"
Stelle shook March 7th's shoulders, her voice loud. "No! This is important! How can there be such a coincidence in the world? Dan Heng didn't want to come to the Xianzhou, but the Xianzhou just happens to have a statue that looks exactly like him! Think about it, Dan Heng must have some serious connection to the Xianzhou."
Her voice was loud enough to snap the previously preoccupied Jing Yuan to attention.
Jing Yuan was startled at first, then quickly pulled out his phone and searched for images of the past High Elder.
He held up the photo on his phone to Stelle and March 7th. "Is it this person? The Dan Heng you're talking about, is it him?!"
Stelle knew at a glance that this was definitely Dan Heng. She took out her own phone, found a photo of Dan Heng, and compared it with Jing Yuan's.
"See? Look! I told you it was the same person!"
Stelle acted as if she had discovered a new continent, proud that she hadn't been mistaken.
Kafka's little mirror was really useful after all!
"Hiss, it really is him..." March 7th was also a bit stunned. Did Dan Heng really have some hidden power?
"Where is he now?" Jing Yuan asked at once, his face alight with joy.
Dan Heng? Dan Heng was still on the Astral Express, catching up on sleep.
For some reason, ever since arriving on the Xianzhou, the nightmares that had plagued him had suddenly vanished without a trace.
It was as if some incredible external force was interfering, like a powerful entity had cast a protective shield over him.
It felt great!
Dan Heng couldn't be bothered to ask about the rest of the crew. He went back to his room and continued to sleep soundly.
He slept for a long time. Plus, with Mr. Yang leading the team, the trio had encountered almost no trouble, so they hadn't even bothered to communicate with the Express much. They had simply sent a quick message to say they were safe, and that was it.
Dan Heng had simply put his phone on silent before going to sleep.
"Can't get through... no signal... The communication must be down because of the Stellaron."
Stelle threw up her hands, a look of helplessness on her face.
She looked at March 7th. "What about Himeko?"
March 7th scratched her head. "No good either. I think it's because of the Stellaron. I can't contact Himeko at all, and my messages to the Conductor are all failing to send."
Jing Yuan couldn't wait any longer. His expression hardened. "You all wait here. I will personally go to the Express and invite him to take action! Everyone is waiting for the High Elder's return!"