"Done! Look, it's a pretty good restoration, right!"
Fu Zhu glanced at the Ambrosial Arbor, now reconnected with Ambrosial Arbor Wood Blocks, and nodded with great satisfaction. To restore the Arbor, he hadn't even kept a single block as a souvenir.
He hadn't even had time to check what effects the Ambrosial Arbor Wood Blocks had.
"Restored is restored…"
March 7th and Xing stared complexly at the Ambrosial Arbor Fu Zhu had restored. Xing pointed to the distinctly square middle section of the Arbor and couldn't help but ask Fu Zhu.
"Then let me ask you, this square middle section of the Ambrosial Arbor, Old Bro, do you think it fits the Arbor's aesthetic?"
"There's nothing I can do about that."
Fu Zhu was helpless. He could either make the Ambrosial Arbor regrow or directly use blocks to reconnect it. But no matter which method, the Ambrosial Arbor would end up looking square.
Don't ask, just know that the rules of MC supersede this world.
Even if it were materials plucked from Nous itself, if Fu Zhu placed them back, they would become square.
"Who are you people!"
While the three were still pondering whether this square Ambrosial Arbor could pass inspection, a stern shout suddenly came from the side.
"This is a restricted area! Outsiders are not allowed!"
Fu Zhu and the others turned their heads to see several individuals in Alchemy Commission uniforms approaching them.
Fu Zhu first glanced at the Iron Golem standing behind him and his companions. Seeing it showed no reaction, he then looked at the markers for this group on his minimap.
They were all yellow, neutral markers. However, the names displayed above the markers struck Fu Zhu as rather odd.
[Disciple of the Medicine King · Alchemy Commission · Lu Renjia], [Disciple of the Medicine King · Alchemy Commission · Lu Renyi], [Disciple of the Medicine King · Alchemy Commission · Lu Ren…]
Although these people's names sounded like cannon fodder, did all the extras on the Xianzhou have such long prefixes to their names?
Alchemy Commission, he could understand, as it was one of the Six Commissions of the Luofu. But what on earth was this "Disciples of the Medicine King"?
Some small department within the Alchemy Commission?
Meanwhile, the leader, Lu Renjia, quietly made a hand gesture behind his back to his men, signaling them not to act rashly for the time being. No matter how he looked at them, these three individuals didn't seem like official Luofu personnel, which meant it wasn't the Luofu authorities who had discovered their little operation and come to disrupt their plans.
Lu Renjia glanced at the somewhat square Ambrosial Arbor nearby. If there was no one else here besides Fu Zhu's group and that one iron giant, then clearly, the abnormality of the Ambrosial Arbor was caused by Fu Zhu.
Moreover, the silver-white wooden staff Fu Zhu held in his hand seemed to share a similar aesthetic with the Arbor's abnormality, further supporting his conclusion.
Lu Renjia couldn't gauge the strength of the three individuals before him, so he could only feign the anger of an official discovering trespassers.
"Was the abnormality of the Ambrosial Arbor caused by you?"
Seeing that the matter was exposed, Fu Zhu saw no point in hiding it further and nodded in admission.
"That's right, I did it. However, I know your superior. I will personally explain this matter to him."
Sigh, it had come to this. He could only proactively mention this to Jing Yuan and hope it wouldn't cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.
"Superior?"
Lu Renjia was momentarily taken aback.
Was he referring to their superior in their superficial identity as Alchemy Commission alchemists, or… had the other party guessed they were Disciples of the Medicine King, and the "superior" in his words referred to their leader?
If it were the former, Fu Zhu's group appearing here could only be with the authorization of the Luofu's upper echelons. If that were the case, it should be Fu Zhu questioning them about their purpose here.
After all, the appearance of Alchemy Commission alchemists here would seem rather strange in the eyes of the Six Commissions.
But if it were the latter, then the other party's identity was certainly not simple!
Lu Renjia suspiciously sized up Fu Zhu's trio. Although the leader of their Disciples of the Medicine King never showed his true face, he had communicated with his subordinates like them, otherwise, certain tasks couldn't be carried out.
Previously, their leader had told them that a prominent figure would soon arrive on the Luofu to cooperate with them, vowing to let the blessings of [Abundance] manifest once more on the Luofu.
It was said that this prominent figure was a powerful individual walking the Path of Destruction. And among these three before him…
Lu Renjia carefully sensed them. He vaguely felt a slight aura of Destruction from the gray-haired girl, but it wasn't as strong as he had imagined.
As for Fu Zhu and March 7th, he couldn't quite see through them. But if the other party was indeed the great personage their leader spoke of, how could a mere underling like him see through them?
"Could you allow me to report to my superior first?"
Unconsciously, Lu Renjia's attitude towards Fu Zhu's group had become somewhat respectful.
He didn't dare gamble on whether Fu Zhu was the important figure their leader spoke of. If he truly was, and he offended him here, their Disciples of the Medicine King's plan would likely be ruined.
It was better to stabilize Fu Zhu's group first and pass this troublesome matter up to his superiors to handle. Their group of underlings was just here to run errands and do menial tasks anyway.
Seeing that they still didn't believe him, Fu Zhu had no choice but to nod, allowing them to contact their superior. He hoped the superior they contacted was someone he knew, otherwise, he'd have to explain everything all over again.
After receiving Fu Zhu's approval, Lu Renjia walked to the side, took out his phone, dialed a number, and muttered softly while half-covering his mouth. He occasionally nodded and bowed respectfully to the person on the other end of the call, regardless of whether they could see him.
A short while later, Lu Renjia returned, his demeanor towards Fu Zhu's trio even more respectful. He clasped his fists and bowed.
"Sir, my master has invited you for a meeting at Zi Hour at the teahouse west of Changle Heaven. Please honor us with your presence."
"Zi Hour?"
Fu Zhu instantly realized something was amiss. If the timekeeping in this world was consistent with what he knew, Zi Hour referred to the period between 11 PM and 1 AM.
Would Jing Yuan and the other superiors arrange to meet him in the middle of the night at an outside location?
No matter how he thought about it, a place like the Seat of Divine Foresight, with its high security and confidentiality, would be more suitable for such a conversation, right?
These people were suspicious!
"Alright, I understand."
Fu Zhu pretended not to have noticed anything amiss with these people, his attitude even becoming slightly more arrogant than before.
Although he didn't quite understand who these Disciples of the Medicine King had mistaken him for, it was clear that person held a high status. Otherwise, these people wouldn't be so respectful and wouldn't even dare to deeply investigate his group's identities.
Seeing Fu Zhu agree to the appointment, the Disciples of the Medicine King cupped their fists in a salute and then departed.
Although they had the cover of being Alchemy Commission alchemists, it was ultimately inconvenient for them to linger here for too long. The commotion Fu Zhu caused by felling the Ambrosial Arbor would hardly escape the notice of the Cloud Knights who were constantly monitoring it. If they didn't leave soon, it might lead to unnecessary trouble and jeopardize their plan.
Fu Zhu turned around, intending to quickly leave this troublesome place with March 7th and Xing, when he suddenly thought of something and looked back at the Ambrosial Arbor.
March 7th stopped and looked at Fu Zhu in confusion. "Fu Zhu, what's wrong? We should probably get out of here quickly. What if someone else comes to interrogate us?"
"Don't rush, since we're already here…"
Fu Zhu put down his Crafting Table, quickly crafted another iron axe, walked over to the Ambrosial Arbor, and swung the axe at it.
This time, he specifically turned off Vein Miner, dug a two-block high hole at the base of the Arbor, squeezed himself inside, then adjusted the Vein Miner settings. With one swing of the axe, a large portion of the previously solid interior of the Ambrosial Arbor was instantly hollowed out, leaving only a thin outer shell.
Only after collecting a full two stacks of Ambrosial Arbor Wood Blocks did Fu Zhu back out of the tree hole with satisfaction. After coming out, he didn't forget to fill the hole back up with blocks.
Anyway, this Ambrosial Arbor had already withered. It was perfectly reasonable for a large part of its center to be eaten away by insects!
Just as Fu Zhu was about to call March 7th and Xing to leave, three starskiffs sped over from the distance, finally stopping in front of them. Over a dozen Cloud Knights rushed out from them, surrounding Fu Zhu's trio.
Then, another figure, somewhat familiar to Fu Zhu's group, also disembarked from a starskiff.
"Hold your fire! Leave them to me."
The Cloud Knights sheathed their weapons and stepped aside to clear a path. Fu Xuan strode over.
Fu Xuan first glanced at Fu Zhu's trio, then at the squared-off Ambrosial Arbor behind them. Her beautiful willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed together, and she couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"I really should have kept a close eye on you at all times… Fu Zhu."
Originally, when March 7th and Xing saw Fu Xuan arrive in person, they had both lowered their heads guiltily. But the next second, Fu Xuan actually said Fu Zhu's name. The two of them immediately distanced themselves from Fu Zhu.
Xing even stood beside Fu Xuan, shaking her head with a look of profound grief.
"Apologies, Great Diviner, my brother has caused you trouble. At this point, I don't know how to apologize to you. I can only righteously denounce my kin! Please don't mind my feelings!"
March 7th couldn't bring herself to say such harsh words. She could only guiltily turn her head away, pursing her lips and whistling to alleviate her awkwardness.
Seeing that he had been sold out, Fu Zhu's expression darkened. He immediately raised his hand and pointed at Xing, who was standing beside Fu Xuan.
"She's an accomplice."
Xing looked at Fu Zhu in disbelief. "Old Bro, how could you say such a thing! I'm doing this to preserve the Fu family lineage! It's enough for you to go to jail alone!"
Fu Xuan's face darkened. With a light snort, she turned and walked towards the starskiff, leaving behind a single sentence.
"Come with me."
…
In the evening, Welt had already ordered a large table of local Luofu delicacies at the guesthouse where they were staying, intending to reward Fu Zhu's trio for their great contributions during the day.
When children achieve something, they should be properly praised to stimulate their enthusiasm. This was a theory Welt had derived from his past experiences.
However, he sat alone before the large table laden with food, waiting and waiting. He even made several calls, all of which went unanswered, rather than indicating the other party was out of signal range.
Welt couldn't help but wonder if they were having too much fun outside and hadn't noticed his calls. He prepared to take out his phone and try calling again.
But just as he lit up his phone screen, an unfamiliar number called in.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Mr. Welt. This is the Cloud Knight Detention Center. Lady Fu Xuan asked me to have you come and pick some people up."
…
In the innermost interrogation room of the detention center, Fu Xuan sat on one side of a long table, while Fu Zhu's trio sat opposite her.
The four of them looked at each other, none speaking the first word.
Finally, March 7th couldn't bear the silence any longer and was the first to ask Fu Xuan, "Great Diviner, why did you show up there?"
At the mention of this, Fu Xuan couldn't help but look at Fu Zhu, a hint of resentment in her eyes.
She had originally intended to cautiously approach Fu Zhu. She had sent him messages before, but Fu Zhu hadn't replied. So, she tried divining Fu Zhu's location.
The hexagrams told her that Fu Zhu was actually near the Ambrosial Arbor. By the time she reached the outskirts, she happened to encounter a team of Cloud Knights who had discovered the Arbor's abnormality, so she hitched a ride with them.
It was only after returning to the detention center that she learned from the Cloud Knights that a section of the Ambrosial Arbor had suddenly gone missing earlier, and then suddenly grew back.
Although this report sounded quite bland, Fu Xuan knew very well what the Ambrosial Arbor represented. It was a creation of an Aeon, not something that could be destroyed by ordinary power!
"Fu Xuan looked intently, a hint of gloom in her eyes, at Fu Zhu's trio and asked."
"Do you know anything about the abnormalities that occurred with the Ambrosial Arbor?"
March 7th and Xing couldn't help but shrink their necks, stammering for a long while, unsure how to answer.
Fu Zhu directly and frankly admitted, "I cut down the Ambrosial Arbor. They were just curious because it was their first time on the Luofu and wanted to take some scenic photos. It has nothing to do with them."
Although he and Xing had been shifting blame earlier, that was just them fooling around. When it truly came time to take responsibility, Fu Zhu would never push his own responsibility onto others.
Hearing Fu Zhu say this, Xing also hurriedly denied, "That's not true, Great Diviner! Actually, I was the one who thought taking photos up close would be better, so the main fault lies with me!"
March 7th, not to be outdone, also chimed in, "It was my idea! If anyone's to blame, blame…"
"Stop!"
Fu Xuan helplessly raised her hand, signaling them to stop. What she cared about wasn't who the "idea king" was, but that Fu Zhu had actually managed to cut down the Ambrosial Arbor!
Fu Xuan knitted her willow-leaf eyebrows and asked Fu Zhu seriously, word by word, "Did you really cut down the Ambrosial Arbor?"
Fu Zhu gave a sheepish nod. "Yes, a momentary slip of the hand, accidentally chopped it down. But don't worry, I restored it afterwards, aside from it becoming a bit square."
Fu Xuan's breath hitched, her pupils couldn't help but dilate.
He cut down the Ambrosial Arbor and then made it regrow?!
Fu Xuan suddenly reached out and grabbed Fu Zhu's right hand. The third eye on her forehead opened, and a beam of light shot out from it, scanning Fu Zhu's body.
A moment later, Fu Xuan let out a long sigh of relief.
Thank goodness! She didn't sense any power related to [Destruction] or [Abundance] on Fu Zhu's body. But, merely not sensing [Destruction] and [Abundance]…
Apart from these two Paths, she actually sensed the presence of the powers of [Erudition], [Preservation], and [Trailblaze] within Fu Zhu's body!
This simply defied everything she knew!
"Fu Xuan?"
Seeing Fu Xuan holding his hand and not speaking for a long time, Fu Zhu couldn't help but call out to her.
Fu Xuan snapped back to her senses and met Fu Zhu's gaze. Only then did she realize she had been holding his hand. For so many years, she had never been in such close contact with someone of the opposite sex.
Her small hand, which was gripping Fu Zhu's wrist, quickly retracted as if shocked by electricity. Fu Xuan's ten fingers nervously intertwined in front of her, then she simply placed them under the table. A faint blush rose on her cheeks as she feigned composure.
"Ahem, I was merely investigating the Path powers within your body just now, to see if you were related to Abundance. Don't get any funny ideas!"
Fu Zhu blinked. He wouldn't have had any funny ideas, but now that Fu Xuan herself mentioned it, he couldn't help but let his thoughts wander.
Seeing Fu Zhu's expression seeming a bit off, Fu Xuan, blushing, hurriedly changed the subject.
"Ahem, back to the main topic. Did you really cut down the Ambrosial Arbor?"
Fu Zhu nodded. Since he was prepared to take responsibility, he naturally wouldn't bother lying.
"How did you do it?"
Fu Zhu took out the iron axe from his Inventory and placed it directly on the table.
"Here, I just used an axe to chop it. After all, it's wood, right? An axe chopping wood, isn't that common sense?"
"Common… sense?"
Fu Xuan's breathing involuntarily hitched, and she couldn't help but roar internally.
That's the Ambrosial Arbor! The last being to sever the Ambrosial Arbor was the Reignbow Arbiter, [Lan]!
Since the Reignbow Arbiter severed the Ambrosial Arbor, causing it to wither for thousands of years, many Luofu predecessors had attempted to completely destroy the Ambrosial Arbor from the Luofu, but all had failed without exception.
In the end, the sages of the Luofu simply left this withered tree under public scrutiny, deliberately making it seem unimportant, while in reality, it was sealed layer by layer using Grotto-Heaven Arts.
But now Fu Zhu had cut down the Ambrosial Arbor with just an iron axe that looked crudely made?!
What made Fu Xuan even more breathless was that Fu Zhu, after cutting down the Ambrosial Arbor, had then restored it!
It would have been better if he had just completely chopped down the Ambrosial Arbor from the start and not restored it!
Fu Xuan calmed herself slightly, her gaze falling on the iron axe Fu Zhu had placed on the table.
"May I examine this axe?"
"Be my guest."
Fu Xuan reached out and grasped the wooden handle of the iron axe. The moment it was in her hand, she felt a significant weight. But this axe, apart from being particularly heavy, didn't seem to have anything special about it.
Fu Xuan glanced at the wooden long table in front of her, raised the iron axe in her hand, and swung it towards the corner of the table. The next moment, as the axe blade made contact with the table corner, the wooden long table let out a thud and shrank into a palm-sized model of a wooden table, landing at Fu Xuan's feet.
"…"
Fu Xuan looked at the wooden table model on the floor, her face filled with astonishment.
Was this some kind of shrinking technology? Yet, she always felt that this axe wasn't that simple; this shrinking phenomenon should be an auxiliary effect.
Fu Xuan couldn't help but narrow her eyes in concentration. The third eye on her forehead opened again, and the scene of her swinging the axe at the wooden table just moments ago replayed before her eyes as if it were happening again.
Fu Zhu, March 7th, and Xing exchanged glances, none of them knowing why Fu Xuan had suddenly frozen on the spot after chopping the table with the axe, continuously staring at the iron axe in her hand.
Seeing this, Fu Zhu couldn't help but take out another iron axe from his Inventory and examine it repeatedly in his hands.
Although the items in MC were very convenient and their effects powerful, their appearance was somewhat… hard to describe.
After all, it was a pixelated style. No matter how good-looking, it couldn't compare to those exquisitely modeled tools.
But Fu Xuan's unwavering gaze made Fu Zhu a little puzzled. Could it be that Luofu people particularly liked pixel art?
Fu Xuan squinted, staring at the iron axe in her hand. The previous scene replayed hundreds of times before her eyes in a matter of breaths. Finally!
In the last replay, she caught that fleeting anomaly!
Fu Xuan stared at the iron axe in her hand, her eyes widening as she murmured, "Different rules?"
In those hundreds of replays, she had found that sliver of strangeness. This axe clearly only followed a set of rules independent of real-world common sense.
Beginning, and then the end!
When a normal axe chops wood, it first uses the sharp axe blade to create a small crack, then uses inertia and the axe itself to widen that crack, thereby achieving the result of cutting something.
But this iron axe directly skipped the intermediate process. Whatever it struck would directly reach the result!
Although she wasn't sure if this axe could have the same effect on other materials, Fu Xuan could at least guarantee that it would have the same effect on all wooden structures!
No wonder the Ambrosial Arbor was so easily felled by this axe!
Ordinary attempts to destroy the Ambrosial Arbor would, after initiation, undergo a process of confronting the power of the Ambrosial Arbor itself.
Either your power was as immense as the Reignbow Arbiter's, directly overwhelming it to achieve the result of the Arbor's destruction. But this axe miraculously omitted this most difficult intermediate step, directly arriving at the result of the Ambrosial Arbor being destroyed!
It was as if this axe was inherently made for cutting all sorts of wood!
Having figured this out, Fu Xuan could hardly contain her excitement. She looked up at Fu Zhu, her voice brimming with excitement, even forgetting her usual verbal tic for a moment.
"Fu Zhu, I know what I'm about to say might be a bit much, but this axe of yours… eh?"
Fu Xuan had originally wanted to borrow this divine artifact from Fu Zhu, but as she looked up, she saw Fu Zhu holding another identical iron axe in his hand, as if they were cast from the same mold.
"Is there something wrong with my axe?" Fu Zhu looked somewhat puzzled at Fu Xuan, who was suddenly staring blankly at him without speaking, and waved his hand in front of her eyes.
Fu Xuan came back to her senses, her voice trembling slightly as she pointed at the other iron axe in Fu Zhu's hand, "You actually have so many axes?"
Fu Zhu: ?
He felt that Fu Xuan's words were a bit strange, as if he couldn't afford an iron axe.
Fu Zhu retorted, somewhat annoyed, "Am I that poor in your eyes? It's just an iron axe. You can make one with three iron ingots. There's no need to look so surprised, right?"
"What?!"
Fu Xuan shot up from her seat, pointing at the iron axe in Fu Zhu's hand, her voice trembling.
"You're saying this kind of divine artifact only requires three iron ingots?!"
"Yeah, wait a minute, you call it a divine artifact? Isn't this just a common tool?"
Fu Xuan suddenly felt her breathing become somewhat labored.
You're telling me that the Ambrosial Arbor, which has troubled our Luofu sages for thousands of years, was cut down by what you call a common tool?!
Does the Ambrosial Arbor have no face to lose! Does our Luofu have no face to lose!