"Dan Shu, at this point, I advise you to surrender obediently and face the judgment of the Ten-Lords Commission. Perhaps you can still preserve your life!"
Seeing that Dan Shu had no intention of surrendering, Fu Xuan, aware that this battle was inevitable, shook her head. Perhaps out of a sliver of wishful thinking, the Master Diviner still tried to persuade her.
"Heh, no need for words, Fu Xuan. Why bother with this hypocritical act?"
Dan Shu scoffed at Fu Xuan's well-meaning advice, her tone dripping with disdain. The Xianzhou Alliance harbored a deep hatred for the Abundance, and their loathing for the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus was no less intense.
If she were captured and sent to the Shackling Prison to face the Ten-Lords Commission's judgment… heh, she might indeed survive, but the aftermath would surely be a living hell worse than death!
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Dan Shu pulled a crimson pill from her robes and swallowed it. A scorching heat immediately surged from her dantian. Feeling the endless stream of power welling up within her, Dan Shu began to chant a spell in a low voice.
'Buzz—!'
As the final words of the incantation fell, an immense surge of Abundance energy erupted from Dan Shu's body, forming a massive butterfly cocoon around her.
For an ordinary Xianzhou native, such overwhelming Abundance energy would instantly trigger Mara-Struck transformation, but for Dan Shu, the leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, this power could be harnessed as a formidable force for battle.
"Ah—!!"
Under the influence of the Abundance energy, the follower named Xiao Hui, who had come to report, let out a beastly roar.
Branches and leaves, the hallmarks of a Mara-Struck transformation, began to sprout and spread across his body, ultimately turning him into a Mara-Struck soldier with bladed arms, standing guard beside the cocoon.
"The mercy of the Sanctus Medicus, the sprouting of the Ambrosial Arbor. Devotees unite, ascending to paradise!"
Murmured incantations emanated from the cocoon, accompanied by flashes of green fluorescence. The cocoon shattered, revealing a transformed Dan Shu standing before Fu Xuan and the Trailblazers.
The transformed Dan Shu wore a form-fitting outfit in dark green hues, her shoulders and much of her calves exposed—a fitting look for the leader of the Sanctus Medicus!
Truly worthy of Dan Shu… no, at this moment, she could no longer be called merely Dan Shu. She was now—Abundance: Celestial Dew!
"Obstinate fool. Since you insist on resisting, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
"Matrix of Prescience Ultima—activate!"
With a light tap of her foot, the young girl spoke, and the Matrix of Prescience Ultima radiated outward from her toes in a circular formation, spreading until it encompassed an area dozens of meters wide before finally halting.
"This… the Matrix of Prescience? How is this possible?!"
Abundance: Celestial Dew stared in shock at the awe-inspiring Master Diviner before her.
According to the intelligence gathered by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, while Fu Xuan could deploy the Matrix of Prescience at will, without the aid of her Omniscient Eye, its range was limited to about five meters at most. But now, seeing this…
"Hmph, 'The morning mushroom knows not the cycles of the moon, nor does the summer cicada know the seasons.' How could your limited understanding fathom the mysteries of the Matrix of Prescience Ultima?"
Fu Xuan let out a cold hum. Having stepped onto the Path of Causality, she was no longer the same as before.
It was precisely because she had embraced the Path of Causality that she now possessed such strength. If her combat power was previously rated at 5, it was now at least 30 or 40.
"Hmph, so what if you've grown stronger? We, who carry the will of the Sanctus Medicus, will never back down, even unto death!"
With this defiant response, Celestial Dew conjured a dark green energy orb in her hand. With a swing of her arm, the orb, radiating a terrifying aura of Abundance, hurtled toward Fu Xuan's position.
Seeing this, Stelle swung her baseball bat, preparing to channel the power of Preservation to intercept it. At the same time, March 7th was ready, her wristband glowing faintly as she prepared to cast a barrier for Fu Xuan.
However, Fu Xuan merely shook her head at their attempts to assist. She calmly watched the incoming Abundance Core, a flicker of disdain in her eyes.
Against Celestial Dew's attack, Fu Xuan made no move to dodge.
The Master Diviner simply stood there, watching as Dan Shu's attack struck her, triggering a massive explosion. Smoke swirled, and the blast roared like muffled thunder.
"Hahahaha…!! Fu Xuan, you were too arrogant! Hahahaha…!"
Seeing her attack hit its mark, Celestial Dew threw her head back and laughed. She never imagined the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission would be so careless.
This attack from Celestial Dew appeared powerful, and indeed it was.
In that Abundance Core, Dan Shu had condensed a third of her power. Not even Fu Xuan could withstand it—had General Jing Yuan himself been here, he wouldn't have escaped unscathed.
Of course, this was merely Dan Shu's confidence. Whether Jing Yuan would truly fare poorly against such an attack was another matter entirely.
"Fu Xuan!" ×2
The deafening explosion of the Abundance Core rang out. Seeing Fu Xuan take the hit head-on, March 7th and Stelle let out worried cries.
Their eyes were glued nervously to the swirling smoke, barely daring to breathe.
But as Celestial Dew laughed triumphantly, Fu Xuan's faintly mocking voice pierced through the smoky haze, reaching everyone's ears.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"How… how is this possible?!"
Dan Shu's laughter stopped abruptly as she stared at the smoke, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
"Hmph, mere parlor tricks. You thought such a feeble attack could harm this Master Diviner?"
As her words fell, a surge of Path energy erupted from Fu Xuan like a grenade, its powerful shockwave dispersing the lingering smoke and revealing her once more.
As the smoke cleared, Fu Xuan's petite figure stood unshaken, as steadfast as a mountain.
From her accessories to her clothing, not a single part of the Master Diviner showed any sign of damage. She remained as pristine and radiant as before.
"How… is this possible…"
This was the umpteenth time Dan Shu had said those words today, and everyone present was starting to get calluses in their ears from hearing it.
But it wasn't Dan Shu's fault. The events of today were utterly shattering her worldview. While she had always considered Fu Xuan a threat, never before had she felt such intense fear and dread as she did now.
At this moment, the diminutive Master Diviner, barely reaching Dan Shu's chest, had become a towering source of terror in her heart.