The Galactic Baseballer and the Lance of Preservation went into battle together, starting the second phase of the confrontation with the Abundance Ebon Deer.
Just as they scraped off a bit of the Abundance Ebon Deer's HP, the opponent mercilessly unleashed a regeneration skill, instantly restoring its HP to full.
"Is this even playable without a nerf?!" Stelle realized a problem while fighting; so far, she seemed to lack any large-scale destructive weapons.
March 7th's ice bow was of the control type; these days, high damage was the only truth.
"We can't go on like this. Retreat for now... March."
"Got it!" March 7th cranked up her ice bow's gear, first freezing the Abundance Ebon Deer into an ice sculpture, then restraining it with Imaginary shackles.
Six-Phased Ice is a very special kind of ice, a creation following the laws of Imaginary energy. It won't change form due to external interference, not to mention Adrian had slightly improved it. With this level of solidity... the Abundance Ebon Deer wouldn't be able to move for a while.
"Follow me."
Welt's goal was clear. The Ambrosial Arbor's roots had eroded the Artisanship Commission most severely. To break the [Abundance] blessing on the Abundance Ebon Deer, they had to go to the Artisanship Commission to investigate first.
Meanwhile, at the Creation Furnace.
"Why is it this [Wall] again!"
The corner of Freesna's mouth twitched. It had already appeared once on Jarilo-VI! Don't come a second time, you bastard!
"Heh, being blocked by a barrier... only shows that your strength is not great enough."
Blake stepped forward; he finally found his chance.
This familiar red color—it seemed there was an Emanator of [Elation] on the Luofu.
"A mere high wall, broken with a snap of the fingers."
Blake casually threw out a beam of Holy Light, but the red barrier didn't budge an inch.
Hmm...
When he turned his head, he saw Freesna's extremely mocking expression.
Freesna said nothing but took out a red ball from her pocket and handed it to Blake.
"Suits you well."
Seeing that the attack didn't cause even a scratch on the red wall, Blake already understood:
"Oh~ The vile Lord of [Elation]." Blake sat on the ground, giving up the futile struggle just like Freesna.
A barrier created by an Aeon—even a few more Emanators wouldn't be able to shatter it.
"The Abomination of [Abundance]... seems to have been thrown over there."
Freesna pointed in the direction of the Divination Commission. She and Blake had a vague premonition of something ominous.
"May [Eternity] protect you and me."
After praying, Blake found a piece of parchment and decisively began copying The Book of Virtues of Eternity.
...
Inside the Artisanship Commission, a familiar location, the familiar Master Gongshu, and damaged mechanical creations.
With the appearance of Freesna and Blake earlier, this time Master Gongshu quickly confirmed the identity of Stelle and her group.
"I knew it... General Jing couldn't have sent only two people to aid the Artisanship Commission. So there was a second wave of reinforcements..."
"Second wave?"
March 7th racked her brain but couldn't figure out who Master Gongshu was talking about. Did Master Diviner Fu change the plan at the last minute and decide to help the Artisanship Commission first?
"Look, this is the mechanism the Artisanship Commission has never finished: the [Shifting Screen]. Thanks to me telling my disciples to move this thing out for debugging, the apprentices were able to escape when the wood spirit invaded the Artisanship Commission."
Master Gongshu turned around and introduced the marvelous use of this [Shifting Screen] to them:
"You've all seen the Jade Gate when you arrived, right? This [Shifting Screen] has the same effect as the Jade Gate. It can connect two spatial coordinates in a way that... cough cough, outsiders wouldn't understand."
"With this technology... why take a starskiff?"
It looked like a low-budget, weakened version of a small-scale warp.
"Indeed." Master Gongshu nodded. "Except for the transmission distance being too short and the energy consumption being too high, this treasure could completely replace starskiffs!"
"Then isn't that just [completely impossible]? It's not even as good as the Space Anchors of [Trailblaze]..."
Master Gongshu sighed helplessly. "Can't be helped. Originally, I could use this thing to send you all to the other side. Who knew that in a moment of inattention, the screen would be entangled by that wood spirit's branches~ Ah!"
He struck a pose and raised an eyebrow, seeming to hint at something to Stelle and the others.
"Thank you, old master, for telling the truth. Farewell!"
Stelle clasped her fists. She'd have to find Adrian another day to learn the [Door of Myriad Paths] from him as an apprentice.
"Hey hey hey... wait, wait! You have to have confidence in this old man! Our Artisanship Commission has the power to rival creation itself!"
"Sigh~ I suddenly miss Teacher Adrian a little."
Compared to this [Shifting Screen], Adrian's [Door of Myriad Paths] was much more reliable.
"It's been so long and Teacher Adrian hasn't returned yet... Hiss, could he have encountered some accident on the way here?!"
"March, do you think there's a possibility: after escorting Miss Qingque, he just chose to stay at the milk tea shop and not leave?" Stelle guessed. After all, Adrian's identity as an Emanator was right there.
Seeing the [Ambrosial Arbor] revive, a normal person's reaction would be shock, but his reaction was calm, as if he had seen grander scenes than this.
Eh~ A tiny Ambrosial Arbor counts for nothing in his eyes. Stelle estimated it didn't even take up as much space as milk tea.
"Hmph hmph, a mere wood spirit, nothing to worry about! Come, let me show you a big treasure." Master Gongshu hurriedly set up the instruments and equipment.
"When the wood spirit invaded, this old man thought of this thing immediately."
"This is a mechanism device codenamed [Illumination Chest]. It was a weapon developed at the request of the Cloud Knights, with matchless power, except..."
"The range is too short, and the energy consumption is too high?" Without Master Gongshu needing to say more, Welt had already guessed it.
"As the saying goes, the nature of things is conserved; what has strengths must have weaknesses! Sigh~ But using it to deal with this blind wood spirit that drilled into the Artisanship Commission is definitely enough."
Master Gongshu told everyone the method: "Using fire to overcome wood will surely be successful!"
Stelle retracted her bat and first used the lance of preservation to light a fire on the branches of the Ambrosial Arbor. After confirming it was useless, the corners of her mouth drooped.
Sigh~ The technology of Jarilo-VI is still too backward.
She adjusted the [Illumination Chest] and destroyed the wildly growing branches of the Ambrosial Arbor.
"Not bad, not bad. The master leads you to the door, but cultivation depends on the individual. You are much better than those useless disciples of this old man." Master Gongshu was very satisfied with Stelle's operation.
A slight vibration came from the ground. Master Gongshu breathed a sigh of relief: "Phew~ It's fine now. It seems this treasure was really used in the right place. That wood spirit must be in pain and feeling uncomfortable all over, hahaha!"
"Alright, no time to lose. Take this opportunity to pass through the [Shifting Screen] to the other side! I'm afraid if we wait too long, the branches will grow back."
"Hold on." Stelle pulled off the hourglass necklace. Since the lance of preservation was useless, she might as well try the [Eternity] weapon also obtained on Jarilo-VI.
"Eh... is this necklace so comprehensive?"
Able to absorb Stellarons and also suck in Fragmentum creations like a storm—are you sure it's not a vacuum cleaner?
"Master Gongshu, what you absorbed was only the surface... If you ask me, it's not comprehensive enough!"
Stelle slammed the necklace onto the ground. She had a bold idea:
Directly... drain the power of the [Ambrosial Arbor] from the inside!