Chapter 107

"You are already in great danger in Liyue, yet you still dare to use such nicknames here. Aren't you afraid he'll hang you up and whip you?"

"The old man isn't here, is he? Since I have nowhere to vent my deep respect for him, I can only grumble a little."

Venti shrugged, his face full of mischief:

"Contact him, contact him quickly! I promise I won't laugh... no, wait, I promise I won't remember it!"

Alice rolled her eyes and took out that adorable communicator.

"Dragon-shaped Dodoco! Pretty!"

Klee let out a 'wow', her eyes lighting up.

Alice smiled sweetly:

"Little Klee likes it so much? How about Mommy makes you a dragon-shaped Dodoco later?"

Venti, standing to the side, chimed in:

"That's right, that's right! A golden, big dragon Dodoco with a reference model, too!"

"Wow! Klee wants one!"

Alice kissed Klee dotingly and opened the communicator. After a moment, her brows furrowed.

"Not in the same space? How can this be... Where did this guy Morax go? Did he leave Teyvat?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhongli's faint voice rang out.

"For the time being, I have not left Teyvat."

"Furthermore..."

"I was wondering which old friend had come to visit; so it is Barbatos, who once imitated my handwriting to tamper with my contracts..."

"Old friend, it has been many years. How have you been?"

Venti turned his head stiffly, looking at the expressionless Zhongli, and gave a dry laugh:

"Ehe? Should I say... good or not good..."

"It does not matter."

Zhongli said calmly:

"Regardless of whether you are good or not, you will only become worse in a moment."

73. Zhongli: Venti, help me test the God-Inviting Incantation!

"When did you arrive, old man? I've missed you so much!"

Venti hurriedly crowded over with a face full of smiles, then painfully took out the Moutai Alice had given him.

"This is a good thing Alice brought back from her travels in other worlds. There's only this one bottle; I'm giving it to you as a gift for our long-awaited reunion."

"Look, old man, see how much I care about you? I've given you my favorite wine."

Zhongli found it amusing. Although he was still angry about Venti tampering with his contracts, Zhongli had now shed his erosion and was no longer so rigid.

After all, Venti was one of his best friends; he couldn't truly deal a lethal blow to him.

Moreover, what Zhongli was angry about was Venti's attitude back then.

For such a small matter, he could have just asked him. It was a simple favor; would he really have refused to help?

Why go through the trouble of painstakingly practicing his signature just to sign a fake contract?

Thinking this, Zhongli took the wine from Venti and nodded slightly.

"You have a heart. I will go easy on you later."

"..."

Venti's entire being instantly turned gray.

Immersed in the sorrow of being caught red-handed by Zhongli, Venti seemed to have lost his usual keen perception.

He seemed to have forgotten that while Zhongli was indeed stronger than him, Zhongli had his trump cards, and he, Venti, was a spirit of the Thousand Winds, the original Archon.

He was the best actor in all of Teyvat.

How could he lack true ability?

Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago.

If Zhongli's strength was the greatest among the Seven Archons, then Venti was, at the very least, second.

The two were not far apart, both standing at the peak of Archons, so it had always been difficult for Zhongli to catch Venti in the past.

Venti could always keenly sense Zhongli and then flee.

But today...

Never mind sensing him; if Zhongli hadn't spoken, Venti wouldn't even have known he had appeared.

Yet Alice, who seemed carefree on the side, had taken all of this in.

She blinked and said with a giggle:

"Morax, you've become much stronger. I can't even feel your upper limit now."

Hearing this, Venti's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he began to size up Zhongli.

One look, and he was nearly frightened.

The Zhongli before him had an aura that was extremely restrained, yet the faint, transcendent air of an immortal he exuded was truly startling.

He didn't seem like an Archon anymore.

This was far more than just becoming stronger.

It was as if he had embarked on the path of a different life form.

Zhongli did not hide it and said softly:

"I have joined Shushan. I am currently the Acting Head of Dragon Head Peak and hold authority over the Shushan Law Enforcement Hall."

"Furthermore, I have decided to abdicate. From now on, there is no need to call me Morax; just call me Zhongli."

Alice was instantly intrigued, and holding Klee, she dashed in front of Zhongli in an instant.

"Shushan... As expected, it's the immortal cultivation sect founded by that cultivator Jiang Yan, right?"

"So you really have started cultivating immortality now."

Zhongli nodded slightly and said softly:

"The Sect Master rebuilt Shushan and spread the Dao to thousands; naturally, there was no need to hesitate."

"Ha! Your identity transition really is fast, you know."

Alice waved her hand with a giggle and added:

"Where did you go just now? Why did it feel like you had left Teyvat?"

"I was in the Shushan Cave Heaven just now, intending to take Xiao out for training. The Sect Master sent a message saying an old friend had arrived and asked me to receive them."

Zhongli paused and continued:

"For the time being, I have not left Teyvat. It is merely that the spatial barrier of the Shushan Cave Heaven created by the Sect Master is too sturdy."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhongli's expression darkened slightly. The Vortex Vanquisher suddenly emerged from his dantian, its sharp tip pointing at Venti.

The latter was sneakily reaching his hand toward the token at Zhongli's waist.

"What are you doing?"

Venti's face turned awkward, and he gave a hollow laugh:

"I've never seen it before! It looked so magical, old man, let me take a look."

"The Dragon Head Peak Head's token is a symbol of Dragon Head Peak; how can it be shown to others at will? According to the Law Enforcement Hall's precepts, no disciple is allowed to give their identity token to others casually."

Zhongli put away the Vortex Vanquisher and warned Venti.

"The precepts of the Law Enforcement Hall cannot be violated. Every disciple, including the Head, must abide by them. Violators will be punished by the Law Enforcement Hall."

"The disciple token not only symbolizes the disciple's identity but also symbolizes the will of Shushan."

"I will let it pass this time since you were unaware, but do not be so reckless in the future."

"A country has its laws, and a sect has its rules. The Law Enforcement Hall exists to supervise disciple behavior. If you had tried to touch Xiao's token just now, I fear Xiao would have already gone to war with you."

Zhongli knew exactly how much Xiao protected Shushan now.

He was treating it like a second Liyue, defending it with his life.

Especially after hearing Jiang Yan admit just now that as long as Zhongli broke through to the mid-stage of Spirit Refinement and Void Return,

the Clear Origin Miraculous Law Manifestation Saint Incantation could barely be used to perform a weakened version of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Arts.

He would be able to resurrect the departed immortals.

Xiao was extremely invested in this now.

On this point, Jiang Yan was not just giving them empty promises.