"Hm?"
"We didn't even notify you, did we? What are you doing showing up now?"
At the Divination Commission, the faint glow of talismans and instruments lit up Herta's exquisitely beautiful face—one that currently looked mildly annoyed—as she addressed the suddenly arrived Wei Qing.
"I haven't been harassed by two geniuses in a while. I kind of missed it, so I came to see how your progress is going," Wei Qing replied.
With the operation approaching, he did want to come and divine his luck again.
Even if the last result could be considered a "failure," from Wei Qing's perspective the upgraded Poor-Observation Array really did have something to it.
"Oh? You want to try again?" Herta looked surprised.
To be fair, they had made some progress lately—just nothing decisive. Compared to last time, it was hard to say whether there would be any real improvement.
Besides, with the Xianzhou Alliance atmosphere so tense, the two of them—keeping their word—had tacitly coordinated with the Luofu and hadn't rushed to push the Array's research forward.
"Why not?" Wei Qing smiled, his gaze sweeping over the precisely running instruments. "And lately I've felt… uneasy. Maybe I'll get some guidance here."
Herta raised an eyebrow, interest surfacing on her face. "Uneasy? A Hunt Emanator who just heavily injured an Abundance Emanator—whose prestige is at its peak—can still feel uneasy? Now you've got my curiosity."
Then she turned to a doll standing nearby. "You—No. 421—go call Ruan Mei."
The Herta puppet acknowledged and left.
Not long after, Ruan Mei arrived with measured steps. Seeing Wei Qing, she gave a slight nod.
"Mr. Wei Qing, are you hoping to privately run the Poor-Observation Array one more time?" Ruan Mei confirmed softly, her eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny.
For now, the Divination Commission was essentially being managed by her and Herta. With Herta's puppets assisting, no other diviners were lingering around the Array.
"That's right." Wei Qing nodded. "Lately I keep feeling like someone's watching me. I fear some miscreant intends to do me harm."
He repeated his excuse yet again.
Herta thought it was nonsense—but she didn't care, and didn't bother commenting.
Ruan Mei, however, studied Wei Qing's expression more carefully and said gently, "If Mr. Wei Qing says so, we naturally won't refuse."
"Please."
Without more chatter, Wei Qing stepped directly into the Array's core. Familiar streams of light wrapped around him once again.
Herta and Ruan Mei focused on monitoring the formation's operation. The readings on the instruments fluctuated violently—far beyond the normal range.
A moment later, the light faded.
Wei Qing once again entered the world produced by the Poor-Observation Array's simulation.
Before his eyes: an endless sea—and far in the distance, the Ambrosial Arbor's dark root, embedded like a colossal stake in reality.
"Hm? Where is this?" Herta asked Ruan Mei.
"This is the Luofu's Abyssal Frontier," Ruan Mei answered. "As I understand it, this pocket realm lies extremely close to the sealed Ambrosial Arbor."
"Oh." Herta said nothing more, and the two continued watching.
In the image, Wei Qing appeared on the coastline of the Abyssal Frontier.
In the distance, the heavily sealed Arbor root emitted an ominous glow—utterly different from its usual calm and stable state. It seemed to tremble slightly, stirring the surrounding space and turning the ambient energies restless.
"Wow, that was fast. It just skipped the plot and jumped me straight here?" Wei Qing muttered.
He clearly sensed something off and scanned his surroundings warily. The sea wind carried a salty stench—and also a faint, elusive trace of Abundance's rot.
Suddenly, the ocean churned violently. Countless thick, grotesquely twisted tentacles tore through the waves like frenzied serpents, lunging to strangle Wei Qing.
But against an attack like this, Wei Qing merely condensed a thread of the Hunt's sharp arrowlight—then, in an instant, severed every massive tentacle that reached him. Dark green fluid sprayed out; where it splashed into the sea, it hissed with corrosive sizzle.
More filth surged forth, one wave after another—seemingly endless.
Beneath the sea, an enormous, warped shadow rose rapidly, radiating a nauseating Abundance aura—mixed with a familiar pulse of Destruction.
"A hunting dog… why are you here?!" Shuhu's voice rang out, laced with suspicion, spite, and greed.
Wei Qing didn't bother responding.
After all, this was only the Poor-Observation Array's simulated world—an NPC like this didn't deserve much attention.
Still… from this outcome, did Phantylia's plan actually proceed this smoothly?
She really tricked Shuhu into coming to the Luofu?
Wei Qing couldn't help feeling puzzled; this didn't match his mental image of Shuhu as a cunning, cautious Abundance Emanator. He silently revised his earlier judgment.
But it didn't matter.
He only needed to know the final result. Since Shuhu was already here—then take an arrow first.
Wei Qing's Hunt radiance surged. A blue arrow, meteor-bright, tore through the onrushing filthy tentacles, driving straight toward the massive shadow beneath the waves.
But just as the arrow was about to pierce the core—
Something changed.
The dark green fluid from the severed tentacles didn't dissipate. Instead, as if alive, it writhed and converged at high speed—becoming countless thin threads that branded themselves into the air, weaving into a net that trapped Wei Qing inside.
"So even using only Hunt power… I can't just one-shot him that easily?" Wei Qing murmured.
In the real world, two geniuses were watching him. He didn't want to expose too many trump cards.
Should he just… throw the fight and call it a day?
Before Wei Qing could decide, the entire scene shifted again.
Waves. Tentacles. Shuhu.
Everything froze—like reality itself had been paused mid-frame, locking into a grotesque tableau of violence.
Then, an immense will—vast as a star ocean—descended.
The sense of time became warped, blurred, incoherent.
At the center of this kaleidoscopic distortion, a figure slowly condensed.
Its shape was difficult to describe—yet its presence was unmistakable.
The Aeon of Remembrance: Fuli.
Fuli's arrival made no sound, yet the entire simulated world constructed by the Poor-Observation Array let out a strained, collapsing groan—as if it might shatter at any moment, unable to bear even the faintest fraction of an Aeon's gaze.
But Wei Qing clearly remembered—
Wasn't this Aeon supposed to be an empty shell?
So what was this?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 120)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 85)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter85)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter81)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter60)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter66)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 40
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 50
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