Chapter 233

{This is Su Bai's last hope. }

{If even the Great Benevolent Tree King, who governs the World Tree, has no clue at all. }

{Even Su Bai himself would have to undergo a tremendous shift in mindset. }

{Along this journey, he could hardly believe what his eyes were seeing. }

{Not just Liyue — all of Teyvat has become a hell on earth. }

{No, humanity itself is nearly extinct. }

{What has transpired during the time of human deaths is far more than merely tragic. }

{Those living through this evolving process — their despair can be felt even without experiencing it firsthand. }

{Su Bai absolutely will not allow such a thing to occur on his timeline. }

{"Peace..."}

{"Peaceful True Sovereign..."}

{"It's the Peaceful True Sovereign of Liyue."}

{Before Su Bai could react. }

{Ye Er lunged forward in one stride, rushing to Su Bai's side and collapsing into his arms, wailing uncontrollably. }

{Seeing Shenhe frowned, but said nothing; she silently looked toward Gan Yu. }

{The two exchanged a glance and tacitly said nothing. }

{Ye Er did not know A Shi's true identity as a Sword Spirit, nor did either of them feel the need to remind her. }

{They trusted that the A Shi before them would explain everything on his own. }

{But the fact that she mistook A Shi for Su Bai at least suggests her mind is still intact. }

{Finally, a sane deity. }

{Once Ye Er's emotions had stabilized. }

{Su Bai revealed his identity and stated his purpose. }

{And he asked Ye Er about the curse. }

{"I see."}

{"You're the former divine sword in the Peaceful True Sovereign's hands, aren't you?"}

{"Thank the heavens, the Peaceful True Sovereign really didn't die."}

{Ye Er finally showed a smile. }

{After a long silence, she slowly recounted everything that had happened back then. }

{It dated back to when the curse had just begun. }

{At first, the demons changed — they became wildly aggressive and insane. }

{They could no longer distinguish friend from foe; even gregarious demons began tearing at each other. }

{Faced with this bizarre situation, every nation sent out personnel to investigate. }

{But even after dissecting the demons' corpses, they found no cause. }

{Even the deities could not sense the curse's aura on the demons. }

{"So the so-called curse..."}

{Su Bai frowned. }

{Deities couldn't sense the presence of this curse? }

{"It's a curse, but because its power level is too high, it's normal we can't sense it."}

{These words made Su Bai's pupils contract sharply. }

{If Ye Er's answer was true. }

{Then his own inability to sense the curse's power was because its strength lay far beyond his own range. }

{In short, the source of this curse must possess power vastly exceeding his own. }

{Venti: "Impossible — did even Old Su lose to this enemy?"}

{Yotuo Long Wang: "Wait — didn't Su Bai once say only he himself could kill him? How could there be power beyond his?"}

{Aether: "Could it be that Tianli absorbed the power of Nuwa's Stone and Xuanyuan Sword, then swelled up?"}

{Tianli's Maintainer: "....."}

{Paimon: "Whoa! You're... a new viewer in the livestream?"}

{Aether: "It's you! Tianli's Maintainer!"}

{Lumine: "Ah, isn't this the deity who blocked us before? @Su Bai, honey, it was him who stopped me and my brother from leaving."}

{Su Bai: "(Threat · Yelan)"}

{Tianli's Maintainer: "Use some sense, Traveler — if I'd let you go back then, how would you have met Mr. Su Bai? Besides, I stopped you not to trap you, but to make you the new Tianli."}

{Lumine: "Oh! That's true — come to think of it, I should thank you."}

{Furina: "T-Tianli's Maintainer?"}

{Fucaros: "This..."}

{Tianli's Maintainer: "Don't panic, don't panic — I've been observing secretly all along."}

{Huanglong Yidou: "Ah, so there's someone secretly watching our chat?"}

{Jiuqi Ren: "Good heavens, boss — are you missing something in your brain?"}

{Paimon: "Why did Tianli's Maintainer just pop out? Feels weird."}

{Tianli's Maintainer: "....."}

{Tianli's Maintainer: "I came out just to clarify — even if Tianli absorbed power and grew stronger, she couldn't possibly hurl a curse at Teyvat. Besides, Teyvat has a Reincarnator who constantly maintains peace — beneficial to Teyvat. Why would Tianli go insane and target him? And the power itself belongs to that Reincarnator."}

Furina: "You're an impostor Sustainer, aren't you? You actually claim the Heavenly Principles is sick—she's your direct superior, isn't she?"

The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles: "You are Neuvillette's direct superior too, yet he still refers to you as 'that fellow,' and always with a look of distrust and displeasure."

Neuvillette: "I apologize; I'm a bit confused right now, but I believe these are two separate matters."

Furukos: "(Training · Kamisato Ayaka)"

The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles: "My sudden appearance was mainly because I unexpectedly discovered someone whose power surpasses that of the Reincarnators; I was both worried and curious."

Buer: "Hehe, this... I still believe Su Bai can resolve it..."

【According to Buer's subsequent description.】

【Su Bai finally grasped the full story of the matter.】

【The curse erupted completely three years after the news of my death was transmitted.】

【In just one short year, it turned the entire Teyvat into chaos.】

【Among the gods, Erghelia was the first to show problems; soon it was the turn of the Pyro Archon of Natlan.】

【That hot-tempered Pyro Archon, as if driven mad, plunged into endless combat.】

【First, he directly destroyed Natlan, then marched onward to slaughter toward Inazuma.】

【As a result, he encountered Raiden Ei Balzab, who was likewise on the brink of collapse.】

【Driven by frenzied consciousness, the two engaged in a fierce battle with Inazuma as the battlefield.】

【This caused Inazuma, already powerless to resist the curse, to be utterly annihilated.】

【The Tsaritsa could not endure her people being tormented by the curse; equally, as a god, she feared following in the footsteps of the Pyro Archon and Raiden Ei.】

【She immediately chose to freeze Snezhnaya; all life dissolved into the freezing point and vanished into Snezhnaya's biting cold winds.】

【The curse was merely the beginning of the collapse; during the collapse, the changes in the human heart were the most fatal.】

【Without the protection and leadership of the gods, the only ones who could still survive were the remaining people of Liyue, who persisted in seeking hope.】

【Leaving Sumeru.】

【Su Bai and the other two wore expressions of dejection.】

【Even Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, known as the God of Wisdom, had no information whatsoever regarding Su Bai's whereabouts.】

【Moreover, from her lips, Su Bai obtained even more despairing intelligence.】

【The power of this curse far exceeds the level of my current self.】

【Even if the root of the curse is found, perhaps we will be unable to defeat it.】

【"What should be the next step?"】

【Ganyu rubbed her palms, attempting to calm herself.】

【The current situation is indeed extremely thorny for them.】