As a diviner who had once had an audience with Nous and received the blessing of the third eye, Fu Xuan's predictive abilities were second to none in the entire Xianzhou Alliance.
The fact that she personally guaranteed that Su Mo could potentially cure the Mara-Struck was a tremendous matter for the entire Xianzhou, and even the entire universe.
As one of the side effects of the Abundance's miracles, if Su Mo could truly solve the problem of the Mara-Struck, would it be possible for him to solve the side effects of other Abundance blessings as well?
If so, would it be possible to completely eliminate the Denizens of Abundance, who had been the greatest scourge of the universe?
"Therefore, as long as Your Excellency Su Mo is willing to start this research, regardless of whether there are results, our Xianzhou Alliance is willing to cooperate to the best of our ability."
Fu Xuan emphasized this point again and glanced at Jingliu.
"Let alone bringing a Mara-Struck person for research, as long as it doesn't violate public order and good customs, we can cooperate with you in whatever you want to do!"
As she spoke, she remembered Jing Yuan's teasing before she set out, and she bit her lip slightly, her gaze a little embarrassed and angry.
At that time, after Jing Yuan had conveyed Marshal Hua's will, he had clicked his tongue in wonder.
"Whatever he wants to do is fine, tsk tsk. If His Excellency Su Mo takes a liking to you, Fu Xuan, and wants to propose marriage, what should we do? Should we agree, or should we agree?"
If it weren't for her concern for his position as general, and the fact that they were in the main hall, she would have taught this reckless fellow a lesson.
She was still young, and before succeeding to the position of general, she had no intention of considering such major life events!
Of course, she also understood deeply that if the other party really did make this request, she might not unconditionally refuse.
After all, for the Xianzhou, curing the Mara-Struck was a more important matter than hunting down the Emanator of Abundance. Personal feelings were simply not important in the face of such a matter.
Fortunately, at this time, Su Mo did not make these requests.
"It's best to have this attitude. However, my request may involve an important treasure of the Xianzhou. I wonder if the Xianzhou is willing to open up the authority to an outsider like me."
"An important treasure?"
Fu Xuan was slightly taken aback and was about to close her eyes to divine.
Just then, the main ship they were on had already docked.
A slightly lazy, but very cheerful male voice suddenly sounded.
A young man in black armor with a flowing head of white hair walked over with a smile.
He looked deeply at Jingliu, but as if he hadn't seen her, he maintained a calm gaze towards Su Mo.
"Hahaha! Your Excellency Su Mo, don't worry. I can't guarantee other places, but if it's a treasure on the Luofu, whatever you want to investigate, I can agree to it."
As he spoke, this man, who seemed a little lazy, blinked with a smile that was like a spring breeze.
"Of course, that includes the Ambrosial Arbor, which is regarded as a taboo by all, as well as the sacred land of the Vidyadhara in the Scalegorge Waterscape."
Without needing to divine, as a brilliant general, he could easily guess Su Mo's possible concerns.
At this moment, Fu Xuan finally accurately divined what Su Mo wanted to say.
"You need the Ambrosial Arbor?!"
"Of course." Su Mo nodded. "To solve the problem of the Mara-Struck, one must first fully understand the power of the Aeon of Abundance. As a miracle that even the Denizens and Emanators of Abundance covet, the research on the Ambrosial Arbor is of the utmost importance."
The generosity of the Aeon of Abundance towards the Xianzhou had reached a level that even the Emanators of Abundance were jealous of.
Although the Ambrosial Arbor had been cut down by the Aeon of the Hunt, it was still a miracle-like existence that even the Emanators of Abundance would covet.
"What Your Excellency Su Mo says is reasonable."
Even though it was such an important thing that no amount of caution would be too much, Jing Yuan showed no signs of being on guard. With a wave of his hand, he directly granted Su Mo this important authority.
Even knowing that Su Mo could potentially cure the Mara-Struck, this level of trust was a bit too much.
After all, no one knew if Su Mo would share the results of curing the Mara-Struck after his research. Opening up the authority of the Ambrosial Arbor carried the risk of shaking the entire foundation of the Xianzhou Luofu.
It had to be said, Jing Yuan's generous behavior easily made people like him.
---||---
Afterwards, he didn't talk about business. Ignoring Fu Xuan's dissatisfaction, he acted completely like a guide, taking a step forward to lead the way for Su Mo, enthusiastically introducing the various scenic spots of the Luofu, like an excellent tour guide.
After the reception was impeccable and both host and guests were happy...
At the end of the banquet in the Seat of Divine Foresight, he finally spoke casually, as if on a whim.
"Your Excellency Su Mo, to be honest, although I have the undeserved title of a brilliant general, I actually know nothing about research. I don't even know as much as Fu Xuan, who is skilled in the art of divination."
"I still have many questions about your research. I hope Your Excellency Su Mo will not find me dull and will enlighten me a little. If I can gain a bit of wisdom, then you will be my teacher."
"General Jing Yuan, please speak."
Su Mo nodded, his expression calm.
To gain the trust of the Xianzhou Alliance, a divination result alone was not enough.
After all, the Ambrosial Arbor was the lifeblood of the Xianzhou, and his subsequent plan was extremely dangerous. Without sufficient trust, no matter how much goodwill both sides had, it would be difficult to proceed.
"Then I'll be direct."
Jing Yuan's expression became serious. He tapped the table, and his originally lazy eyes became wise and calm.
"The Mara-Struck is a side effect of the Path of Abundance, a part of the Aeon's power. Even the Aeon of the Hunt cannot cut off the side effects of longevity..."
"I know that Your Excellency Su Mo's abilities are extraordinary. Even the company praises you endlessly. Even among the geniuses of the Genius Society, you are one of the most brilliant. But I want to know, what power do you intend to use to suppress the miracle of Abundance?"
He, who had claimed to be dull, directly pointed out the essence of the Mara-Struck.
The disaster bestowed by Abundance coexisted with the Path of Abundance. From a theoretical point of view, there was no such thing as a "cure." To eliminate the Mara-Struck, one must eliminate longevity.
But if that were the case, it would be putting the cart before the horse.
Even if the divination result indicated that it was possible, Jing Yuan still wanted to know the principle behind it.
Something that couldn't be cured, and couldn't even be called a disease, how could it be solved?
Hearing this, Fu Xuan and Jingliu also cast doubtful gazes, clearly they were also curious about this.
To this, Su Mo's answer was exceptionally simple.
"In this world, only an Aeon can fight against an Aeon; only a Path can fight against a Path."
"..."
Everyone was slightly taken aback. There were no fools present, and they almost immediately understood.
"Your Excellency Su Mo means to use the power of an Aeon to curb the Mara-Struck?!" Fu Xuan immediately asked.
"The Path of the Hunt lies in revenge. Although we are mortal enemies of the Plagues Author, we cannot restrain the side effects of Abundance. Among the existing Aeons, the only ones that can resist the side effects of Abundance are Destruction, Remembrance, and Nihility, which devours all... Does Your Excellency Su Mo have any clues about this? Which Path do you intend to start with?"
The Path that destroys all civilizations can obviously also destroy the Mara-Struck. The Path that remembers all can directly abandon the physical body and avoid its decay.
"Which one? No! I want them all."
Su Mo shook his head lightly, then glanced at Jingliu.
"Of course, it will mainly rely on the power of Destruction to form a hedge against Abundance."
"Since all life is born to die, then emphasizing death itself is enough to bring the excess life force to a normal level."
"Destruction..." Fu Xuan murmured, then looked up, her expression still a bit puzzled.
"I understand the principle, but as a genius of the Path of Erudition, how do you intend to interfere with the power of the Path of Destruction?"
"The blessing of Abundance that the Xianzhou people received is extraordinary, and the essence of the Ambrosial Arbor is even more precious than an Emanator of Abundance. If it's just an ordinary level of destructive power, it's absolutely impossible to suppress the Mara-Struck, and it's even very likely to trigger the arrival of the Mara-Struck in advance!"
To prevent Su Mo from misjudging due to insufficient information, Fu Xuan introduced it very cautiously.
Just as a small amount of water not only cannot extinguish a fire, but can also fuel it, a destructive power that is too weak is not enough to balance the blessing of Abundance.
After all, dying from the Mara-Struck is also a form of destruction...
Moreover, even among the Xianzhou people who possessed the power of the Path of Destruction of the same level, there was no precedent of being able to resist the Mara-Struck.
In these cases, Su Mo's idea seemed a bit wishful.
Faced with such doubts, Su Mo smiled slightly.
"Destructive power of a level comparable to the Ambrosial Arbor? If it were any other time, this condition would be a bit too harsh. But now... Miss Jingliu should be able to solve this problem, right?"
Hearing his words, everyone looked at the sword immortal girl with surprise and suspicion.
"Master?"
"Jingliu?"
Under the two's puzzled gazes, the cold sword immortal girl turned her head to Su Mo, her invisible gaze looking at this extremely mysterious man through her eye patch.
"As expected... you know about the Lord Ravagers."
Jingliu slowly spoke.
"Could it be that, like Elio, the slave of fate, you can see the future?"
"It's just the basic authority to observe fate." Su Mo's tone was calm.
The two looked at each other and fell silent for a moment.
Fu Xuan, however, couldn't hold back.
"Wait! What do you mean? What's this about a Lord Ravager? Don't tell me you're planning to catch a Lord Ravager to cooperate with the experiment!"
No matter the era, an Emanator-level combatant was not so easy to fall.
She didn't think that capturing a Lord Ravager was an easy task.
However…
"No." Jingliu spoke in a cold tone. "On the contrary, a Lord Ravager is about to infiltrate. Her main purpose this time is the Xianzhou."
"W-What did you say?!"
Fu Xuan's eyes widened, her small mouth slightly agape.
A bombshell of a magnitude was directly dropped.
Hearing that the Xianzhou Luofu was being targeted by a Lord Ravager, everyone couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.
The current Luofu did not have the glory of the High-Cloud Quintet era. Although they were not afraid of the other party, if a war really broke out, the casualties would inevitably be huge.
"This involves the project I want to advance with the Xianzhou."
Seeing the concerned looks of the two, Su Mo smiled slightly.
"General Jing Yuan, how about we take this opportunity to have that Lord Ravager help us study the suppression of the Mara-Struck?"
"...Please elaborate."
The matter was of great importance. Jing Yuan sat up straight, his attitude serious, and his gaze towards Su Mo was full of earnestness.
A matter involving a Lord Ravager could at least affect the life and death of an entire Xianzhou. As a general, he could not ignore it.
"It's simple. I just want to join forces with the Xianzhou, lure the enemy deep, and make this Lord Ravager my experimental subject."
Su Mo set up a barrier, lowered his voice, and began to explain his plan.
Hearing his words, Fu Xuan, who was beside him, was first shocked, then resistant, then hesitant, until finally she was completely convinced by Su Mo and fully agreed with his opinion.
Jing Yuan, on the other hand, after a brief thought, quickly chose to agree and began to arrange related matters.
---||---
That afternoon, the news of the uncrowned genius Su Mo and the crowned genius Ruan Mei visiting the Xianzhou together spread through various channels.
Tingyun, who had been ordered to keep her mouth shut, showed a look of realization after seeing the news report.
"No wonder the Master Diviner was so serious, even willing to open the Ambrosial Arbor to these two geniuses for research. They really are incredible figures!"
"Speaking of which, since the two of them are so busy, General Jing Yuan should personally make the arrangements. Logically, the general shouldn't hand over the task of leading the way to Lady Yukong, and then have it subcontracted layer by layer, until it falls to a weak and pitiful little girl like me, right?" she muttered to herself.
What the foxian girl didn't notice was that on a street lamp not far from her, a cluster of gloomy will-o'-the-wisps seemed to have heard her voice and glanced in her direction.
And what neither she nor the will-o'-the-wisps noticed was that on Tingyun's fluffy tail, there was a faint spatial mark.
Ever since she had parted ways with Su Mo, this hard-to-detect symbol had appeared on her.