Chapter 259

What is Zhongli going to do?

Luo De doesn't know.

Even if he wanted to know, there's no way to find out.

The divine succession ceremony is imminent.

Not only have all the envoys from the nations arrived, but the gods who could come have basically all rushed over.

At this point in time.

Zhongli is no longer someone Luo De can just see whenever he wants.

What's more,

Even if he saw him, what would it matter?

Zhongli is also unlikely to say what he has arranged.

If he wants to ask.

Then the only person he can ask is Nadixa, who came to Liyue with the World.

However, Nadixa is still meeting with those gods at the moment.

Just as Luo De said before.

Nadixa was imprisoned by the Academy for five hundred years, with the result that, as the second-generation Dendro Archon, aside from having seen Venti who came to Sumeru to play, she has not met any of the other Archons.

Although meeting with the other gods is not something that must be done right now.

But no matter how you say it.

Nadixa is currently one of the seven Archons of the world, the Dendro Archon, and taking this opportunity to get to know the other gods is not a bad thing.

However,

Wanting to recreate the grandeur of the Seven Gods' gathering before the Cataclysm is obviously no longer possible.

Not to mention that five of the gods who attended back then have already passed away; even speaking of the current gods, they cannot all come to Liyue to participate in this unprecedented divine succession ceremony.

"Let's also stay far away when the time comes."

After leaving the Wanmin Hall, Luo De pondered a bit and easily made this decision.

No wonder that each time he returns to Liyue, he feels that the Geo Army of Liyue Harbor seems to be secretly deploying defenses everywhere.

He originally thought it was just a normal deployment.

After all, it's a divine succession.

Such a ceremony may not be rare, but at the very least it's unprecedented, with no guarantee that there will be a successor.

Even if Zhongli doesn't go to set it up.

The Liyue the Liyue the Liyue Qixing will also pull out the highest-level security measures to prevent any accidents during the succession ceremony.

And now, upon hearing Xiangling's offhand remark.

Luo De then realized that things might not be as simple as he thought.

If his speculation is correct.

Then perhaps the adepts of Liyue have already deployed their defenses.

That's why Granny Ping specifically warned Xiangling and Yaoyao not to watch the divine succession ceremony, apparently to prevent them from getting too close to dangerous places when she doesn't have time to protect these two precious disciples.

Of course.

This might also be because Xiangling and Yaoyao are still relatively weak.

Don't let Yaoyao's young age fool you; she is already considered a master among mortals.

But after all, she is still a mortal master.

Among those who cultivate their martial arts and possess Visions, she and Xiangling are still not enough.

Moreover, Guoba, who is by Xiangling's side, is no longer the mighty God Makexisius he once was; he is now merely a young bear whose intellect has declined and strength has waned, the only redeeming quality being that his fleshly body still retains the stature of a god.

Under these circumstances.

If Granny Ping isn't around, should they encounter a battle of god-level magnitude, even the aftermath would be more than Yaoyao and Xiangling could bear.

"God?"

"This unfamiliar yet familiar name makes Dixiya frown: 'You mean that during the Geo Archon's succession ceremony, a god will come out to cause trouble? But weren't the gods who didn't die in the God War supposed to submit to the seven Archons of the world?'"

The story of the God War hasn't spread widely across Teyvat.

But it's not that no one knows about it.

Dixiya, having traveled far and wide, has also picked up a bit about the God War from various strange tales.

Although these legends inevitably contain some fabricated elements.

Yet it's still enough for Dixiya to clearly know one thing.

That is, the rules of the God War are extremely cruel: the loser either rolls away or submits; if they refuse both, there is only a dead end.

For example, the hollow beasts that rampage throughout the Sumeru desert are powerful monsters formed after the God War by feeding on the corpses of gods.

As for the outcome of the Sumeru God War,

the losers became the sages serving the Red King, while the Flower God and Dendro God, who did not directly participate in the war, allied with the Red King to become the co-rulers of Sumeru.

From Sumeru's perspective, regarding Liyue,

How could there still be a disobedient god showing up here? 'After all, there are always those who refuse to submit.'

Luo De shook his head and began to explain the special circumstances here in Liyue.

Upon hearing that Zhongli did not kill the gods who refused to submit, but merely sealed them away,

Dixiya then curled her lip and said, 'Killing them would be better, a permanent solution—just like those grudge-bearing beasts in the desert: if you don't kill them, they won't remember your kindness, and given the chance, they'll stab you viciously.'

"Maybe there are just too many gods in Liyue."

Luo De also tends to agree with Dixiya's 'eradicate the root' approach.

But no matter how you think about it, eradicating the roots completely.

When a powerful Archon dies, the energy it releases spreads over an extremely wide range, and the lingering resentment after death will haunt the Liyue land for a long time.

This is also an indisputable fact.

If the number of Archons that ravaged Liyue back then indeed reached a certain extent, then Zhongli would have no choice but to seal them; otherwise, the Liyue land would probably have no place left for mortals to stand.

「Tsk—」

「But in the end, a hidden danger still remains。」

Dixiya muttered: 「Look, trouble has come. 」

「Hey. 」

「Just a mere Archon. 」

「It won't cause a big storm in Liyue. 」

Luo De wasn't worried at all: 「With so many Seven Worldly Executors here, and the Liyue adepts who can tear Archons apart with their bare hands, those Archons that were originally losers, no matter how they stir, can't make big waves. 」

「That's also true. 」

Dixiya shrugged, then wondered: 「Why would the Geo Archon release an Archon to attack Liyue Harbor? 」

「Maybe there's more than one Archon. 」

Luo De chuckled: 「It's simple: to establish might. 」

「Establish might? 」

Dixiya fell into thought.

「Yes. 」

「It's exactly to establish might. 」

Luo De gave an example: 「Do you remember when Nadixa first came to power, those who openly welcomed the Dendro Archon but secretly disobeyed her orders from the Academy? And those desert people who have always resisted her? 」

「Hmm. 」

「I remember. 」

How could one not remember?

Dixiya, at least, has been a senior figure participating since the founding of Hope City.

His impression of the rainforest people who outwardly obey but secretly defy, and the desert people who openly challenge, is extremely deep.

And these phenomena.

They disappeared after the Great Sage and his accomplices confessed and were punished.

At least they disappeared on the surface.

Regardless of what happened behind the scenes, they still kept up appearances very well, much more restrained than before.

「The new god has ascended. 」

「If we don't establish might, now that divine authority has been returned to human rule, mortals will gradually lose their reverence for the gods. 」

「Over time. 」」「The Liyue people might even forget that there is a god above them, and then chaos will ensue. 」

Luo De inferred that Zhongli's big move was to release an Archon for Xiao to publicly slay, establishing the new god's might, and that's based on this idea.

Borrowing the Great Sage's brain is quite useful.

Nadixa's nature is too soft; even for Azar, who committed an unforgivable sin, she merely gave a light verdict of exile.

This is how the Sumeru people see it.

What they think is not that our Dendro Archon is truly a benevolent god, but that our Dendro Archon is easy to bully; no matter how they cause trouble, they won't be sentenced to death, so why not take advantage of the upheaval in Sumeru's rules to gain enough benefits for themselves?

At that time, Nadixa, a dignified god, could be worn out to the point of dark circles under her eyes, all because these worries were too many and hard to handle.

Still the same saying.

Good people deserve to be pointed at with a gun.

The benevolent Nadixa is labeled as weak in the eyes of the Sumeru people.

The facts also prove it.

Nadixa, who acts hesitantly and indecisively, knows where the problems are but gets tangled in how to avoid harsh measures to fix them, indeed cannot quickly straighten out the chaotic situation in Sumeru in a short time.

So Luo De sought out the Great Merciful Tree King.

That's right.

Great Merciful Tree King.

The Great Merciful Tree King, who lived through Sumeru's most chaotic era, just like Nadixa, loves humanity deep in her bones.

But she differs from the indecisive Nadixa.

【For a child who has made a mistake, you must give them a stern spanking so they know they were wrong; otherwise, they won't recognize their mistake and will repeat it over and over again.】

This is the Great Merciful Tree King's attitude toward Luo De.

That day, the person who announced the punishment for Azar using Nadixa's voice was also her.

Including now.

Many things that Nadixa cannot decide on are also decisions made by the Great Merciful Tree King for her.

This is why Sumeru can now develop stably.

Zhongli luring in the Archon is the same principle.

Xiao must establish the might belonging to the new god, so that the Liyue people learn to revere and constantly remember that a blade hangs over their heads.

The joy of reuniting with Dixiya after a long separation did not last long.

That night.

Nadixa came to the door.

「Huh? 」

Besides the Anemo Archon, only you, a god, came?

The news Nadixa brought made Luo De's mouth twitch involuntarily.

In his expectation.

Given Zhongli's reputation as the oldest god in Teyvat.

Other gods should at least give some face.

That's it?

The Electro Archon not coming is understandable to Luo De, because the Electro Archon has long been in a state of withdrawal, and Inazuma is currently under lockdown, so her absence is justified.

The Hydro Archon not coming, Luo De could understand, because the current Hydro Archon isn't really the Hydro Archon at all; even if she came, she'd have to bring that Dragon King beside her to fill the scene, but from her perspective, outright refusing Zhongli's invitation is the most reasonable—if other gods saw through her Hydro Archon identity being problematic, that would be a big problem.

So Luo De would say that on the day of the god succession ceremony, Liyue will have at least five gods present.

But he never expected that.

The Electro Archon and the Hydro Archon indeed didn't come, but the Pyro Archon and the Cryo Archon also really didn't give face, directly refusing Zhongli's invitation.

In that case.

Now the gods gathered in Liyue are only Zhongli, Venti, and Nadixa.

Given Venti's consistent slacking-off style and Nadixa's feeble divine power.

Luo De decided to take back his earlier remark that Zhongli might release a few Archons.

If only Zhongli alone is holding down the fort.

Then releasing just one Archon would already be pushing it.

After all, Archons aren't something you can just easily suppress.

If too many Archons are released, who knows what sort of loopholes might appear.

If any loophole were to appear, causing unexpected casualties among the mortals of Liyue Harbor, Zhongli would feel guilty to death.

"By the way, have you seen Apep?"

That wasn't Luo De asking Nadixa; it was Nadixa asking Luo De.

That left Luo De completely bewildered.

"How would I know?"

Luo De rubbed his nose and said: "You're not unaware either— that guy is freer than Barbatos, coming and going like the wind; as a mere mortal, where could I possibly find out about her whereabouts?"

"Like that."

Nadixa looked somewhat disappointed.

And her expression also sparked Luo De's curiosity: "Are you looking for her because of something urgent?"

"Not exactly something urgent."

"I just feel you might be unsafe."

Nadixa's eyes showed concern: "You didn't say before that Apep might have some ulterior motive toward you, wanting to use your status as an outlander to fulfill her wish to defy Heaven's Principles? Although when she left Sumeru she said otherwise, I still feel uneasy, always sensing she harbors some ill intent toward you."

The sudden concern made Luo De burst into a hearty laugh.

Just as before in the Great Merciful Tree King's consciousness vessel, Luo De rubbed Nadixa's head and laughed: "Isn't it because you guys are protecting me? Even if she has some ill intent, I'm not afraid."

"But we still need to guard against her."

Nadixa's wary expression didn't fade: "She may indeed not be as strong as before, but she is ultimately a primordial Dragon King; if she tries to force you, even if we two join forces, we probably aren't her match."

"It's fine."

"Even if that day really comes, it won't be up to her to decide."

Luo De raised an eyebrow, then glanced around cautiously and whispered: "Won't anyone else hear what we two are saying?"

"No."

Nadixa, who had just looked worried, seeing his expression, couldn't help but turn grave and ask: "What's happened?"

"As long as no one can hear it, that's fine."

Luo De gave a hehe smile and said: "Look."

He said.

Luo De extended his hand; the divine authority of the Geo element, resonating through the Geo Dragon Crown, though fragmented scraps, exuded vibrant vitality, and in turn his bearing became solemn at that moment.

"This is."

"Authority?"

Nadixa exclaimed in surprise: "How did you manage that?"

Nadixa knew Luo De had obtained divine authority with Apep's help.

But she didn't expect that the fragments of divine authority in Luo De's hand could possess such power.

In her view.

The power Luo De displayed using those fragments of divine authority might be no less than when they were whole.

How could that be possible?

"Because of this."

Luo De lifted the Dragon Crown in his hand, grinning: "I don't know whether Apep knows about this, but anyway, after obtaining the fragments of divine authority, this half of the Geo Dragon Crown has been automatically completing those authorities, continually replenishing them to their present extent."

"Given this, Apep couldn't possibly have been completely unaware beforehand, so I guess she helped me this way mostly because she wants me to help her oppose Heaven's Principles."

"But."

"I still decided to take all the benefits she gave me, in full."

"Hehe."

"Because I suddenly realized: if relying on her benefits gives me the ability to oppose Heaven's Principles, what right does she, a defeated lackey of Heaven's Principles, have to boss me around?"

"You say, isn't that the reasoning?"

(End of chapter)