"Getting Lan to loose an arrow is actually very simple." Herta flicked her hair back and smiled with confidence.
"All you need is a sufficient concentration of Denizens of Abundance, and a world beyond saving. Put the two together, and it is enough to summon the Hunt's Lux Arrow."
The Xianzhou understood this better than anyone, because what the Hunt Aeon, the Reignbow Arbiter, most often did while on the path of pursuit was fire an arrow, striking straight at worlds ravaged by endless Denizens of Abundance.
It was just that now, the path striders of the Abundance were largely inactive. Most such worlds were already being purged by the Cloud Knights, and those that still required Cloud Knight intervention were not yet dire enough to draw down the Reignbow's Lux Arrow.
"You have one?" Yaoguang looked at Herta in surprise.
Even within Xianzhou records, there were only a handful of such worlds. As for why there were no more… that was not something to ask about.
"Of course. How could I not prepare what I need in advance?"
With a light laugh, Herta turned to the Master Diviner and said, "Begin."
She gave a slight nod. Since Herta had already prepared all the prerequisites herself, then let it begin.
...
A resplendent sea of stars.
Every world where life is born is itself a miracle bordering on the impossible.
To reach the prosperity of the present-day cosmos requires the accumulation of untold ages, the eruption of countless miracles, until they finally converge into today's flourishing cosmos.
In this process, pressures from within and without worlds accumulate in ways that defy measurement.
The Denizens of Abundance are one such manifestation.
Unlike the path striders of the Abundance, who possess reason and intelligence, the Denizens of Abundance know only how to devour. They seek out traces of life and use every means at their disposal to destroy it, absorbing it into themselves.
Compared to the path striders of the Abundance, who might band together at any time to invade the Xianzhou, the Denizens of Abundance are even more loathed by everyone, including the Xianzhou.
Once a world loses its last hope of salvation, once Denizens of Abundance spread across every inch of land, the final hope that greets that world is often an arrow descending from the depths of space itself.
The Hunt's Lan.
He is forever on the road of pursuit. The Abundance is his eternal enemy, and Denizens of Abundance are existences he will eradicate wherever he encounters them.
And when this being pauses, when he turns his gaze toward a direction, it is only the detestable Denizens of Abundance that compel him to fire the Lux arrow.
His trail leaves an uncountable number of worlds destroyed.
…
At this moment, Lan stopped and looked back toward a certain direction, the place he had departed not long ago.
His presence manifested there, the glory of the Hunt illuminating all.
It was a message wrapped in light. A message delivered by mortals after deciphering his oracle.
The coordinates of a world occupied by Denizens of Abundance.
His gaze crossed countless star systems, finally reaching that world infested with abominations of all shapes, bringing ruin in every direction.
It was an extremely hidden world. Few travelers ever strayed from their routes to reach it, and most who fell into this place without sufficient means of self-preservation would only perish amid the endless siege of Denizens of Abundance.
Without hesitation, he fulfilled the responsibility of his Path.
Bow drawn, arrow nocked. Starfire converged, boundless path power of the Hunt gathered in that instant. The arrowhead tore at its surroundings.
Space that seemed unbreakable in mortal eyes became fragile as glass. Any attempt at warp or jump at this critical moment would be mercilessly shredded.
The Hunt's flying star flickered, karmic threads coiling around it.
This arrow pierced the stars in the most literal sense.
The power of the Path tore across the space. Countless worlds witnessed this "comet" that should never have appeared in their skies.
The closer a world was, the more keenly it sensed the approaching danger.
An Aeon's strike is something countless people will never witness in their entire lives. To behold such a miracle within a fleeting lifespan is enough to eclipse the cruelty of mortality itself.
The Denizens of Abundance squatting on that world saw a star on the horizon shining with unnatural brilliance.
Many of them raised their heads at the same time, fixing their gaze on that ever-brightening star.
In the end, at a time when day and night were no longer distinguishable, their memories froze at the moment when light completely consumed their vision.
…
After completing the shot, Lan's peripheral vision swept toward the direction of the Xianzhou Yuque, then withdrew.
"The Reignbow Arbiter."
The Yuque Master Diviner and Yaoguang bowed slightly, offering the respect due to the Reignbow Arbiter who ceaselessly walked the Path of the Hunt.
No matter when or where, the Reignbow Arbiter is always carrying out the Hunt, purging Denizens of Abundance that plague the cosmos.
"Found it!" At that moment, Herta looked with satisfaction at the world beneath the Hunt's flying arrow, now reduced to nothing, not even ruins remaining.
Sharp Path power lingered there, so intense that even observers dared not approach.
After a single arrow, the residual might remained.
"These numbers are enough." After calculating the amount that could be collected, Herta nodded in satisfaction.
Every time the Reignbow Arbiter fires an arrow, many miraculous substances are left behind at the impact site.
Whenever the location of a Lux Arrow is identified, the Xianzhou will dispatch suitable personnel to collect the arrow's embers and refine divine medicine.
For example, the formation blade in Jing Yuan's hands was forged from these miraculous embers.
Whether charging into battle or holding the center, its power is enough to make enemies tremble.
But that is not the most important point.
Normally, the Reignbow Arbiter's arrows are fired with perfect measure, just enough to completely annihilate the targeted Denizens of Abundance.
The embers that can be collected are naturally fewer, and as time passes, the Hunt's power within them disperses, losing part of their miraculous nature.
That kind of second-rate material was not what Herta wanted. As a genius, she naturally aimed for the best batch.
"That one really knows what he's doing. I didn't go to all that trouble to find him for nothing." She had already prepared herself for a long wait.
After all, no one could guarantee when an Aeon would appear somewhere.
Oh, as for the machine-head, she could guarantee it, as long as she herself was willing.
"Lady Herta, do you need our help collecting the Lux Arrow embers? The Xianzhou is quite experienced in this," the Yuque Master Diviner said softly.
Herta waved her hand casually. "No need. I already arranged everything."
Since it was her plan, she naturally had complete preparations.
One shot, one hit. With the most important task completed so quickly, Herta could not wait to leave.
Faster than the originally scheduled time meant she could put it to maximum use. She certainly could not waste it on those tedious calculations.
Seeing she could not keep Herta, the Yuque Master Diviner could only wish her smooth sailing in all endeavors.
Turning back to glance at the Cloudpeer Telescope that had played such a crucial role, the Taibu sighed.
"I thought contacting the Reignbow Arbiter would take quite some effort. I never expected it to be this easy."
Aeons are not beings just anyone can meet. That this was achieved through the Cloudpeer Telescope forming a two-way resonance with the Hunt was astonishing.
Compared to other factions that follow Aeons yet never receive even a single glance from them, the gap was simply enormous.
After her reflection, she looked toward Yaoguang, who was examining the Cloudpeer Telescope, and asked,
"What does General Yaoguang think? Can Lady Herta really help us with this matter?"
Though the Yuque Master Diviner looked as tender as a young girl, as a long-lived species, her true age was far from small.
For Xianzhou people of a certain age, Mara is undoubtedly a deeply buried fear.
It was not that everyone faced the coming of Mara with uncontrollable terror. To reach her position meant her mental state far surpassed that of ordinary people.
But who would want to die if they could avoid it? Especially not to something as mind-shattering as Mara.
Beyond her personal reluctance to close her eyes, what she worried about most were the countless Xianzhou citizens.
Aside from prodigies, most people who reach high positions do so with the backing of their families.
It is not always forced promotion, but access to secret records and ancient texts usually requires either opportunity or a powerful family with deep resources.
Thus, she asked the question.
"I don't know," Yaoguang shrugged, her expression lazy. "But having a chance is better than having none. Besides, Lady Herta's reputation is far better than that of some other members of the Genius Society. If she cannot help the Xianzhou this time, the favor will still remain. Owing a genius a favor is never a loss."
"Ah… even so, I still hope she can help. I want to retire and go fishing someday. I never understood why that old man in my family loved fishing so much while he was still around. When I retire, I want to try it myself."
Yaoguang muttered softly.
…
Time passed. Under the overtime efforts of many little Hertas, all the Lux Arrow embers were packed up and removed, leaving nothing behind.
Forged into tools, the Hunt's Lux Arrow lost none of its sharpness.
Just approaching it made the keen Hunt power scrape painfully against one.
"Should be pretty good for chopping vegetables." Resting her slender fingers lightly against her chin, Herta examined the Lux Arrow embers stored in special containers, her thoughts slowly drifting.
The kitchen had always been a territory she, as a genius, wished to conquer.
But… Well, there was an old saying: to do a job well, one must first sharpen one's tools.
With proper tools, surely her progress in conquering the kitchen would accelerate.
Before that, however, she needed to shift her focus to something more important.
She shook her head slightly, a hint of regret in her heart.
If only she had written in the message to Lan, asking him to pour in a bit more power.
Carrying these precious materials, Herta returned to Jarilo-VI at the fastest possible speed.
Inside the laboratory jointly built by the three of them, the trio gathered around, their topic naturally the Lux Arrow embers before them.
"What a sharp power," Mobius murmured, sensing the cutting intent within.
Even devices specially developed by Herta could not fully seal the power on the embers. Of course, this was also because the amount collected far exceeded expectations.
"Now that the materials are in hand, the experiment can move on to the next stage," Ruan Mei said softly.
…
When Acheron stepped into the laboratory, her gaze was instinctively drawn to that unmistakable power.
"The power of the Hunt," she said.
And this path power far surpassed any path strider she had ever encountered, including… Tiernan and the others.
The dense path power within it made even her, who was accustomed to letting others feel the edge of a blade, experience an incomparable sharpness.
Presumably, Herta had paid no small price to obtain these materials.
She simply stood there, watching that power. Her arrival did not attract the attention of the three who were busy.
They all saw her, but at this critical moment, the trio selectively ignored the presence of the fourth person in the lab.
"Finished." With ease, Herta brushed her wrist across her forehead, spotless of sweat, then planted her hands on her hips and nodded in satisfaction at the secondary preparation device before her.
"Can we begin?" Acheron stepped forward and asked.
She had been invited by Herta while idle, and naturally stayed nearby.
"Yes. This time there definitely won't be a problem," Herta nodded confidently.
"Let's not be too careless. Still, based on the lessons from the previous failure, our preparations this time are indeed more complete. Now we just need to see if any new issues arise," Ruan Mei said softly, lowering her gaze.
"Don't be so cautious. Exploring anything new is like this. Being careful can yield many results, but it cannot achieve a true leap. What we're doing now is exactly the latter."
Mobius chuckled, tilting her head slightly as she looked at Acheron, who was already prepared.
"Then, shall we begin?"
"I hereby announce, the Red Dust Exploration Plan 2.0 is officially launched!!"
…
Expressionless, Acheron poured the power of Nihility into it. One layer lit up, two layers lit up, three layers lit up…
The custom-made sensor device for Acheron lit up layer by layer. The power of Nihility continuously struck against the barriers, yet the barriers it struck did not budge in the slightest.
The incomparably sharp Lux Arrow Embers could just as well become the strongest protective wall.
The Hunt's sharpness wrapped Nihility tightly within, stable and unmoving.
When the power reached a critical point, Herta shouted sharply,
"Release!!!"