Chapter 388

The top priority was to take it one step at a time and focus on accumulating contribution points.

Putting away the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip, Jiang Yan looked at Zhongli and said softly:

"Head Seat Zhongli, what was the matter you came to find me for earlier? You can say it now."

Zhongli, who was in silence, came back to his senses, looked at Jiang Yan, opened his mouth, but hesitated.

He had come over just now to tell Jiang Yan that he would step down from the position of Rex Lapis from now on and focus wholeheartedly on cultivating immortality.

He had thought about asking for leave after a while to go out and finish all matters.

But now...

With the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip out, Zhongli hesitated.

If he stepped down from the position of Rex Lapis, he would not be able to decree gods in the capacity of the Lord of Liyue.

It was fine to hand over Liyue's affairs to humans, but...

This matter concerned the great affair of god-conferring, and handing this over to the people of Liyue seemed a bit...

But Zhongli saw Ningguang and the others in his peripheral vision, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally made up his mind.

"Reporting to the Sect Master."

Zhongli paused and said softly:

"I just wanted to confirm the matter I mentioned before, regarding my complete resignation from the duties of Rex Lapis."

Hearing this, Liuyun and the others were stunned and suddenly looked up at Zhongli.

They wanted to dissuade him, but remembering the words Zhongli said that day, they couldn't bring themselves to speak.

After thinking it over, they could only remain silent.

"Regarding your resignation, just discuss it with the people of Liyue; there is no need to report to Shushan."

"Shushan will not interfere in the private affairs of its disciples unless they violate Shushan's precepts."

Jiang Yan replied softly, and Zhongli nodded, looking at Ningguang and the others.

"A month ago, I mentioned that once the cultivation of immortality was on the right track, I would completely step down from the position of Rex Lapis after this Rite of Descension."

"From then on, Liyue governed by gods will be handed over to humans, and I will stay in Shushan to cultivate immortality and seek the Dao with peace of mind."

"However, because of the Sect Opening Ceremony, the Rite of Descension was temporarily postponed. Now that the Sect Opening Ceremony has ended, we can hold the final Rite of Descension."

Hearing this, Ningguang and the others felt complicated.

Although everyone knew about Zhongli's resignation and knew that this Rite of Descension would be the last one.

But...

The Sect Opening Ceremony just ended today, and the day wasn't even over yet.

Zhongli was in such a hurry to hold the Rite of Descension and resign.

Being so rushed...

It looked like Liyue was a hot potato.

Furthermore, Liyue turning to human governance meant they would be the ones busy.

Who knows, it might waste their time cultivating immortality.

For a moment, Ningguang and the others didn't know whether to be happy or troubled.

However, considering that it might squeeze their time for cultivating immortality, Ningguang suddenly felt that there was no need to be in such a hurry to resign from the position of Rex Lapis.

Thinking about it, Ningguang was about to speak, but Keqing spoke first:

"Head Seat Zhongli, Liyue is currently in turmoil due to the cultivation of immortality."

"It is truly not a good time to resign."

"Why not wait a while before resigning?"

Everyone was stunned.

Such words of dissuading Zhongli from retiring actually came from Keqing's mouth?

231. Zhongli: I am definitely going to resign, no matter who says what, it won't work.

Words of dissuading Zhongli from resigning temporarily could come from Ningguang's mouth, or from the immortals.

But it was very unreasonable for Keqing to say it.

At the Rite of Descension a year ago, Keqing even asked Zhongli in public when he could resign.

Keqing had an even deeper obsession with Liyue governed by humans.

Now that Zhongli was determined to resign immediately, in the past, Keqing should have been jumping with excitement.

But...

Such words of asking Zhongli not to resign temporarily were truly unexpected by everyone.

Seeing that everyone's gazes were a bit strange, Keqing was also helpless.

Zhongli's resignation was indeed a good thing; Keqing had always hoped for such a result for Liyue governed by humans.

She also firmly believed that Liyue governed by humans could shine with brilliance far exceeding that of god governance.

But...

It just shouldn't be now!

The high-level officials of Liyue, the Qixing, had all come to cultivate immortality, and they hadn't even gotten on the right track yet.

Keqing herself also wanted to break through to the late stage of Essence Refinement and Qi Transformation.

Naturally, it would be best if nothing happened in Liyue so she could cultivate properly.

Plus, the matter of cultivating immortality itself had set off monstrous waves in Liyue.

Now, it was not suitable to have another event of Rex Lapis resigning.

Zhongli's resignation and the turmoil of the handover would always keep them busy to death.

The other Qixing who had just started cultivating immortality were also afraid of being left behind by others. At the critical moment of spiritual energy recovery in Teyvat, Liyue didn't need any talk of human or god governance.

It didn't even need a huge army.

What it needed was top-tier combat power, the kind of combat power capable of fighting a nation alone.

Now that the Liyue Qixing had finally joined Shushan, they had to seize the time to cultivate.

To become the foundation of Liyue's humans.

It would be best not to let other things drag down their cultivation speed.

Based on this, Keqing spoke up to dissuade Zhongli.

However, Keqing probably understood that this matter was something Zhongli had already decided.

Moreover, he had already brought it up in front of Jiang Yan, so his mind must be firm.

Keqing was just trying to see if she could temporarily dissuade Zhongli.

But seeing Zhongli's eyes, which were somewhat stunned but had not changed his will, Keqing understood that her dissuasion was useless.

In other words, after the Rite of Descension, they would be too busy to cultivate immortality for a long time.

Thinking of this, Keqing felt troubled.

Sure enough, although Zhongli was a bit caught off guard by Keqing's sudden statement.

But soon, he shook his head and said:

"The matter of resignation was not a whim; I have already thought it through."

"Moreover, this decision is something I have already told you before; now, I am just fulfilling this decision."

"My mind is made up. After the Rite of Descension, I will announce to all of Liyue that Rex Lapis has resigned, and from then on, Liyue will enter an era of governance without gods."

Seeing Zhongli speak so decisively, everyone couldn't continue to push back and could only nod in agreement.

Ningguang and the others also began to think melancholically in advance about how to deal with the waves caused by Zhongli's resignation.

As for the new disciples who joined today, such as Hu Tao and other Liyue foundations.

Although they were a bit confused when they suddenly heard the news of Zhongli's resignation, thinking about it carefully, there was no problem.

He was just resigning, not dying.

Stepping down from the position of Rex Lapis to focus wholeheartedly on cultivating immortality was also Zhongli's own consideration.

They had to respect him.

Hu Tao, on the other hand, was a bit confused, feeling as if this day had passed like several years.

First, she finally joined Shushan to cultivate immortality, only to find out she became a ghost cultivator.

Now, Zhongli was going to resign.

But Hu Tao thought about it carefully; even if Zhongli resigned, he was still the acting Head Seat of Shushan's Dragon Head Peak.