Chapter 407

The Traveler could now find amusement in Aether.

The tense, smoke-filled atmosphere vanished, and instead, the Traveler looked at Aether with a look of utter boredom.

"Speak, what do you want with me?"

"I can't help you open a back door for the Abyss Order. I'm just an ordinary disciple; only the Sect Master can decide such things."

"Besides, strictly speaking, the things your Abyss Order does already fit the performance goals of our Shushan sect's demon-slaying missions."

Aether shook his head.

"I didn't come to ask you to open a back door, nor do I need you to put in a good word for me."

"Furthermore, although the Abyss Order has done many things, there are no absolutes in worldly affairs. From our perspective, we are merely working to revive Khaenri'ah."

The Traveler curled her lip and said faintly:

"If you only want to lecture me with grand principles, forget it. I'm already tired of hearing grand principles from Head Seat Zhongli at Shushan every day."

"If you have something to say, just say it. I have other things to do later."

Overall, the Traveler was quite happy.

Having found Aether, she no longer needed to travel with the sole purpose of searching for him; she could now decide her own travel routes and schedule according to her own heart.

"I have learned quite a bit about Shushan, and even about your divine body and the existence of Shushan."

Aether said softly, cutting straight to the point.

The Traveler was somewhat indifferent.

News about Shushan had spread widely after the previous Mountain Opening Ceremony.

Now that the Shushan disciples had returned, there was naturally even more information.

Her divine body was no secret either; the entire Shushan sect knew about it.

The Traveler didn't care at all.

"So, what do you want me to help you with? Introduce you to the Sect Master?"

In all fairness, the Traveler and Aether were fraternal twins; since she had a divine body, Aether couldn't be much worse off.

It was highly probable he also had a divine body, or at the very least, supreme talent.

If she introduced him to Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan would likely grant him permission to join Shushan immediately.

But Aether shook his head.

"Not for now. I still have some things to do. If I were to join Shushan, those things might..."

"You aren't planning on doing anything wicked, are you? I don't want to have to uphold justice by destroying my own kin."

The Traveler hurriedly interrupted Aether, who said helplessly:

"Why would you think that of me? It's just some matters regarding Khaenri'ah. With the spiritual energy recovery as a foundation, many things are easier to accomplish."

"Rest assured, it won't cause any turmoil, nor is it the kind of evil deeds committed by the demonic cultivators you target."

The Traveler waved her hand.

"Fine, I have no interest in hearing about it. What do you want me to help you with? Don't mention anything that violates Shushan's precepts."

"I don't want to be expelled from Shushan because I helped you."

Aether said helplessly:

"Can you let me finish? It won't violate your Shushan precepts. I wouldn't harm you."

"That remains to be seen."

The Traveler poked at Aether, who took a deep breath, ignored her comment, and continued:

"The favor I want to ask is very simple. I have investigated, and it is something Shushan permits, which is why I am bringing it up."

"Among all the Shushan disciples, you are the only one I can contact who would be willing to help me."

"This sort of thing is just a small favor for you."

"I would like to ask you for two things."

"First, martial arts techniques..."

The Traveler realized, nodding slightly, not appearing surprised.

Teyvat had undergone massive changes, and Aether had to know about them, otherwise, he might as well stop being the Prince of the Abyss.

The martial arts here in Liyue were also causing a sensation throughout Teyvat.

Clearly, Aether, who had no way to connect with Shushan without her help, could not obtain martial arts techniques.

"You've noticed it too."

Seeing the Traveler's sudden realization, Aether sighed, not hiding anything, and said straightforwardly:

"You have seen the current situation in Teyvat. Although the changes are greatest in Liyue, according to our monitoring,"

"spiritual energy has also begun to overflow in the Chasm and Stone Gate areas."

"Although no fierce beasts have appeared, the monsters have all been strengthened to varying degrees."

"According to our estimates, within three months, the spiritual energy will spread to Mondstadt and Sumeru, followed by Fontaine and Inazuma..."

"Within a year, the spiritual energy recovery will affect all of Teyvat. We don't have much time left."

As he spoke, Aether glanced at Jueyun Karst, shrouded in clouds in the distance, and sighed:

"You can look at Liyue to see what the situation is like after the full recovery of spiritual energy."

"In the wild areas of Liyue today, monsters are not the main problem plaguing the people of Liyue at all."

"One could even say that monsters are the biggest victims of this spiritual energy recovery."

"We have organized many explorations of Jueyun Karst, and to be honest, one can no longer see any monsters within the entirety of Jueyun Karst."

"The ones we occasionally find are just inanimate existences like the scattered Ruin Guards from years ago."

"The appearance of fierce beasts has not only compressed the living environment of humans, but monsters have also suffered a catastrophic disaster."

"Fierce beasts destroy all life indiscriminately."

"And according to our repeated research, we have confirmed,"

"that fierce beasts, perhaps due to absorbing spiritual energy, are naturally resistant to elemental energy and divine power."

"Currently, fierce beasts at the peak of Foundation Establishment are not a huge problem."

"But if fierce beasts at the Essence Refining stage appear later, humans might have a way to resist, but the monsters in the wild will undoubtedly die."

"In the future, it will be the world of cultivators; elemental energy might become a thing of the past."

Hearing this, the Traveler frowned slightly; she really didn't know much about these situations.

Staying at Shushan to cultivate day and night, those fierce beasts and demonic beasts that everyone feared were just tools for her to practice with.

The Traveler truly didn't know that the spiritual energy recovery could have such a terrifying impact.

But Ningguang never seemed to have mentioned this either...

Aether naturally saw through the Traveler's thoughts and said softly:

"The spiritual energy recovery is a disaster for the entire ecological chain of Teyvat, but Liyue has martial arts and immortal cultivators."

"For Liyue, they are the beneficiaries of this spiritual energy recovery."

"By using martial arts to control the spread of fierce beasts and improve their own strength, the powerful fierce beasts can be dealt with by immortal cultivators."

"At the very least, for now, the spiritual energy recovery has more benefits than drawbacks for Liyue, so they naturally won't resist it."

"Moreover, facing a behemoth like Shushan, resistance is clearly useless."

"Therefore, you might not receive much news about fierce beasts at Shushan."

The Traveler nodded slightly and said softly:

"So, you want to fight for a chance for those monsters to survive? You want to teach them martial arts?"

"No!"

Aether shook his head.

"Under the tide of this era, everyone sweeps the snow from their own doorstep; being able to protect oneself is already not easy."

"As the Prince of the Abyss Order, being able to protect the Abyss Order is already my limit."

"Monsters... I can't manage them, and I don't want to."

The Traveler turned to look at the people of the Abyss huddled together not far away, with their backs to them.

After pondering for a moment, she nodded.

"Martial arts are no problem. The martial arts created by Head Seat Zhongli are hanging in the Merit Hall."

"The price isn't high, and I can exchange for them now. Within Shushan, anything unrelated to immortal cultivation has no value."

"But... the martial arts created by Head Seat Zhongli are basically martial arts that fit the physique of Liyue people."

"People from other countries might cultivate very slowly and need to modify them, let alone you people of the Abyss..."