Chapter 33

"I fear it is more than that. With his talent, he will surely become an immortal. Once he achieves immortality, the crisis of a limited lifespan will vanish entirely."

Zhongli sighed with a touch of envy in his heart.

Everyone here could be considered to be cultivating in their own way, yet this man cultivated without the threat of erosion, enjoying a long, eternal life.

He, on the other hand, was nearly being tortured to death by erosion.

Is it fair?

Is it reasonable?

"Therefore, what we must consider now is not the nature of cultivation, but Mr. Jiang himself."

Ningguang rubbed her temples, trying her best to calm down, and said slowly:

"Although he seems gentle and easy to talk to, his strength is, after all..."

"There is no existence in all of Teyvat that can oppose him. Teyvat is his backyard."

"One should not have the intention to harm others, but one must have the intention to guard against them."

"I think Ms. Alice is quite right. Cultivators have strange methods and are single-mindedly focused on becoming immortals; I fear they have no pity for the world."

"What if Mr. Jiang has some method... as Ms. Alice said, if slaughtering the entire world could make him stronger..."

"We cannot trust whether he would do such a thing."

After all, cultivators are not Archons; they lack the inherent drive to love humanity.

The group of cultivators is entirely free and unrestrained, a domineering collective that acts as they please.

Ningguang was unwilling to entrust the safety of all Liyue to the hope that the other party had no malicious intent.

Although Alice’s words were unreliable, since the so-called "Dual Cultivation Harvesting Method" had been confirmed by Jiang Yan...

Then, could some methods of slaughtering humans to craft weapons be considered difficult?

Trust others, or trust oneself.

This was a question Ningguang had known how to answer since she could remember.

If she had trusted others, she would have been devoured clean by treacherous business wars long ago.

"Heh, that sounds nice."

Liuyun curled her lips.

"You can talk until you reach the heavens, but do you have a way to restrain him? Rely on the Geo Archon? Rely on us? Or rely on your insignificant strength?"

Liuyun’s words made the expressions of the the Liyue Qixing look unsightly.

But she was not wrong.

For such a powerhouse, let alone thinking of ways to restrain him, the moment you dare to think it, you are already in the wrong.

If he turns his hand and strikes you dead, you have nowhere to seek justice.

26. Ningguang, Top-Grade Earth Spirit Root!

"Liuyun!"

There was a hint of anger in Zhongli’s voice.

Liuyun immediately shrank her head and said nothing.

Zhongli sighed and said helplessly:

"Liuyun was frightened by Fellow Daoist Jiang’s abilities just now. You need not take her words to heart; they were all spoken in anger."

Ningguang and the others knew what kind of person Liuyun was, so they would not truly take her words to heart.

After a long silence in the Jade Chamber, Ningguang sighed.

"Since that is the case, I think we only have one path to take."

"This immortality, we must cultivate it!"

Hearing this, everyone looked at Ningguang in surprise. The latter said softly:

"Since we cannot restrain him, and must not restrain him, creating common interests is the only way to maintain the relationship."

"According to the Geo Archon, Mr. Jiang currently needs to rebuild Shushan and recruit disciples."

"We shall help him rebuild and join Shushan."

"Even if there are any issues, considering those disciples who have joined Shushan, Mr. Jiang will have some reservations."

"In this way, we can also acquire the power of cultivation."

"Setting aside other aspects, if cultivation is as Mr. Jiang says, it is naturally incomparably powerful. This is also Liyue’s opportunity to transcend Teyvat."

Zhongli nodded thoughtfully.

"So, you support Liyue in cultivating immortality."

Ningguang gave a bitter smile.

"I have no choice but to support it; there is no other way."

Zhongli looked at the others.

"What are your opinions?"

Keqing sat in her seat with her arms crossed, her head lowered in disappointment.

"With such a powerhouse, if we cannot defy him, we can only follow his lead. Do we have any other choice?"

Uncle Tian, on the side, laughed and tried to smooth things over.

"Think of the bright side; it’s not a bad thing. At the very least, our Liyue will be stronger, won't it?"

"Let’s take it one step at a time. Although it’s a bit defeatist, it’s the only decision we can make for now, isn't it?"

Even if the others had other considerations, they could only agree now.

The other immortals did not have any opinions of their own.

They were good at fighting, but when it came to decision-making...

They were at a loss.

Rather than considering these things, they might as well think about what they could gain from cultivation.

It was quite funny, come to think of it.

A group of immortals actually having to go to the territory of an outsider to learn how to cultivate immortality.

It meant they had all been cultivating wrong the whole time.

"Since that is the case, there is no need to hesitate."

Seeing that no one had any objections, Zhongli made the final decision.

"Starting from today, Liyue will officially step into the cultivation plan, though it will not be promoted on a large scale in the early stages."

"Firstly, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances and minimize losses. Secondly, not everyone can cultivate immortality."

Everyone thought it over carefully and agreed that Zhongli’s current arrangement was the best decision, so they raised their hands in agreement.

"As for the specific candidates, after testing their aptitude, I will take a group to talk to Fellow Daoist Jiang tomorrow."

"Secondly, all immortals must note: you must not refer to yourselves as immortals in front of Fellow Daoist Jiang."

Zhongli paused and looked seriously at the immortals.

"As he said, Shushan perished due to the strife of many Great Luo. The Great Luo are sacred beings born from the primordial."

"And your current strength is merely at the level of Refining Essence into Qi, and you are beings born from the heaven and earth of Teyvat."

"If you refer to yourselves as immortals, it will inevitably remind him of the past and cause him displeasure."

The immortals looked at each other, but Zhongli’s command was their will.

Naturally, they would not defy it.

"Geo Archon, there is one more thing."

Keqing suddenly spoke up:

"The other seven nations have various opinions about Liyue’s tribulation today, and many are reaching out."

"How should we reply?"

Hearing this, Zhongli was silent for a moment before saying softly:

"Find a way to suppress it. The matter of cultivation is not yet settled; let us wait until we have investigated further."

"If there is trouble, only Liyue will suffer; we are not so base as to drag all of Teyvat down with us."

"If there is no trouble, then naturally everyone will be happy, and Liyue can quicken its pace to stay ahead of all of Teyvat on the path of cultivation."

Zhongli was, after all, the god of Liyue; in such matters, Liyue had to come first.

"Also, regarding the martial arts that Mr. Jiang mentioned, which ordinary people in the cultivation world can also practice..."

Keqing asked another question, saying softly: