After the Immortals followed Morax and Qixuan to Gui Li Assembly,
On the other side of Mount Aocang, the ley lines began to stir, as if something was about to emerge.
Upon arriving at Gui Li Assembly, everyone saw that it was a prosperous place.
Liuyun sighed, "I never thought such a peaceful place still existed."
As for Ping'er, she had already gone to a stall, looking around excitedly. Guizhong then walked out and said, "Zhongli, Qixuan, you're back! These must be the Immortals. Welcome, welcome!"
Liuyun said, "This must be Miss Guizhong, the God of Dust. Thank you for your trouble."
Guizhong waved her hand and said, "It's no trouble at all, no trouble at all." With that, she led the Immortals inside. After they had chosen their lodgings, she took Liuyun on a tour.
Ping'er had disappeared somewhere, and Lishui and Moon Carver stated they needed to organize their belongings first.
Qixuan said, "Speaking of which, Guizhong is also very skilled in mechanisms. You two should get along well."
Hearing Qixuan say that Guizhong was also skilled in mechanisms, Xianyun's eyes lit up with interest. It was rare to meet someone with such insight; she had to have a good discussion.
Xianyun pulled Guizhong towards her residence, saying, "I've recently had some new inventions. Come take a look and tell me what you think."
Guizhong was very willing, but she still had some unfinished business.
Qixuan said, "I'll handle it, don't worry."
As for Morax, he went to the newly established market by Guizhong, looking around.
Just as everyone was busy with their affairs,
A huge sound erupted from the summit of Mount Aocang. A massive creature, without a head or horns, resembling a Geo Dragon, emerged.
Its aura was powerful, clearly at the God level. Half of its body seemed to bear burn marks, but new flesh had already grown, indicating it had recovered.
The Chi still remembered Qixuan's sword strike from back then.
It also heard the sound from the sky and roared, "Victory will only be mine!"
"Finality, I'm here to avenge that sword strike!"
With that, numerous monsters appeared around it. The Chi flipped over and burrowed underground, heading towards Guili Plains.
At this moment, Qixuan was lying down, slacking off, wearing sunglasses bought from Aichan's store, basking in the sun. Life was incredibly comfortable. She had earned a lot of experience points these days.
And she had already crafted a Valkyrie armor for Guizhong, specifically for mages. Qixuan called it "Dust God: Thousand Crossbows, First Model."
Its weapons were a circular orb and a crossbow, both of which could be filled with energy using Guizhong's own clearance to attack. Its DEF was also incredibly strong.
It could withstand at least three full-power strikes from a high-level God. She planned to give it to Guizhong to protect herself when she and Morax went out to subjugate Gods sometime later.
Just then, the ground vibrated repeatedly. Qixuan took off her glasses and asked, "What's going on? An earthquake?"
Morax, Guizhong, and the Immortals also noticed something was amiss.
At this moment, Xiao flew over and said to Morax, "Lord Morax, a large number of monsters have appeared not far from Gui Li Assembly."
Guizhong said, "What's happening? Why are there so many monsters suddenly?"
Qixuan: "It must be a God-level one, otherwise who could control so many monsters? Guizhong, have the people hide indoors first."
"Zhongli and I will go take a look."
Xianyun and the other two Immortals also rushed over and asked, "Do you need us to do anything?"
Morax shook his head and said, "Someone still needs to guard this place. I'll leave the Yakshas here."
"Qixuan and I will go." With that, they flew towards the monsters.
The Chi sent these small monsters as a vanguard to lure out Qixuan. The power of that sword strike was still vivid, so it could only try a "sneak attack."
When Qixuan and Zhongli arrived, there were still only small monsters, with occasional medium or large ones, but none were God-level.
At this moment, Morax said, "Could we be overthinking this?" Qixuan said, "Absolutely not. Wait for me."
Qixuan closed her eyes and used her clearance of consciousness, sensing the consciousness of all living beings around her, and discovered the Chi's presence.
Qixuan snorted coldly, "So it was it. No wonder." She took out the Divine Key: Fire of Destruction (twin pistol form) from the Imaginary Space and fired a few shots at a cluster of rocks.
The small rocky hill immediately shattered, and the Chi emerged.
It roared at Qixuan, "Finality! I'm here to avenge that sword strike!"
Qixuan sneered, "I let you go back then, and I didn't expect you to dare to return."
With that, she once again Crafted the Divine Key: Fire of Destruction (greatsword form). Just as Qixuan was about to make the Chi remain here forever,
Zhongli said, "My friend, could you let me handle it?" Qixuan looked at Zhongli with some surprise, "It's not impossible, but why?"
Zhongli said, "The moment a God is killed, they will use their power to curse all nearby living beings. The residual God's will left behind is very troublesome, so I want to suppress it here instead of killing it."
Qixuan realized, "So you were worried about that."
As for the residual God's will, she could resolve it with her clearance of consciousness or corrosion. As for the surrounding living beings, she could use the Key of Creation: Black Abyss & White Flower to deal with them.
However, Qixuan did not do so, because the ancestors of Liyue at this time needed to experience some hardships. Otherwise, Morax could not protect them forever.
Morax nodded in thanks and said to the evil Chi, "You have committed many evils. I shall now seal you beneath Guili Plains, never to emerge and do evil again!"
The evil Chi still wanted to resist, but it faced Morax. If the elderly Morax was a steady and weighty rock,
Then the young Morax was an indestructible, Unyielding mountain, even more wildly untamed.
Morax waved both hands, using his clearance of Geo. Pillars of rock rose from the ground, surging towards the evil Chi. The evil Chi shattered some of the rock pillars with its brute force,
But some still fell at its feet, forming rock chains that trapped it. Then, more rock pillars rose from the ground, splitting into thousands of rock spears in the air, attacking the evil Chi. The evil Chi was powerless to resist.
Zhongli folded his arms, golden light emanating from his eyes,
And shouted, "Planet Befall!"
A hole appeared above the evil Chi, and a giant meteorite emerged from within, smashing down upon it.
The people in Gui Li Assembly, far away, saw this scene and immediately knelt, praying for the victory of Lord Morax and Lord Finality.
Guizhong comforted the crowd while looking into the distance. The Yakshas and Immortals had already cleared out the small monsters. Some of the monsters had even run into Gui Li Assembly,
But they were cleared by a group of humans who called themselves the Millelith. Each of them was young, holding a black spear.
At this point, Morax had already sealed the evil Chi underground in Guili Plains. Unexpectedly, some unforeseen events still occurred. After sealing the evil Chi underground,
The evil Chi used its last strength to trigger an earthquake, causing the mountain behind Mount Aocang to crack open.
All the water from that side flowed out. Seeing this, Morax wanted to use rocks to block the opening,
But the other side of Tianheng Mountain also stirred, and water flowed out from there as well. The water was incredibly fast, forming a terrifying flash flood in an instant. There was no choice but to evacuate the people first.
Qixuan and Morax rushed back to Gui Li Assembly. The people of Gui Li Assembly were excited to see Morax and Qixuan return, because they had won. However, Guizhong noticed that Morax and Qixuan's expressions were not good. The Immortals and Yakshas also rushed over.
Guizhong asked, "What's wrong? Was there an accident?"
Qixuan said, "After sealing the evil Chi, it used its last strength to trigger an earthquake, causing the mountain to crack and the water behind it to flow out, causing a flash flood. Now, hurry and take the people to evacuate to the mountaintop, quickly!"
Guizhong also understood the seriousness of the situation and began to organize the people to evacuate to the mountaintop, leaving behind everything that was not too important. The Immortals also carried some humans and flew to the mountaintop.
After the people had evacuated, Morax and Qixuan followed closely. Finally, after everyone had evacuated, the raging floodwaters completely washed away Gui Li Assembly.
Guizhong watched as everything she had worked so hard to build was gone just like that. Heaven knew how much effort she had put into it. Tears welled up in her eyes. Morax saw this and found it difficult to comfort her, as he wasn't very good at comforting people.
Seeing this, Qixuan lifted Guizhong's face and jokingly said, "Oh, it's gone, it's gone. As long as we're all here, we can start over, right?" Ping'er also came over and nodded, "Sister Guizhong, we're all here. Everyone working together can definitely rebuild our home." Guizhong's mood then improved.
Morax at this moment realized that even if he had the ability to defeat all Gods, he might not have the ability to protect his own people well.
Qixuan seemed to have read his mind and said, "This place is no longer suitable for living after being scoured by the flood. We can only move south towards Tianheng Mountain."
Morax nodded and said, "I found a place there before. Behind it is Tianheng Mountain, and in front is the sea, suitable for settlement." Qixuan said it was very good, and everyone supported it. Although they won this time, they also paid some price. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
After the flash flood passed, everyone returned to Gui Li Assembly. It was a mess. After searching for some things that could still be used,
Guizhong and the Immortals organized the people to begin the southward migration to their true home, which would be the future Liyue.
The Yakshas scouted ahead, the Immortals and Guizhong were in the middle of the procession, and Morax and Qixuan were at the rear.
After traveling for some days, while everyone was resting and cooking, a gluttonous "God" snuck into the group. A little boy was eating his roujiamo when,
A creature resembling a small bear suddenly appeared, startling him. The little bear's eyes were fixed on the bun in his hand.
The little boy said, "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat this?" With that, he offered the bun in his hand to the little bear. The little bear's eyes lit up as it ate, saying, "So delicious!" as it ate.
The little boy screamed in fright when he heard the little bear speak. Guizhong heard the sound and rushed over. Xianyun also rushed over, asking what had happened.
Zhongli and Qixuan, meanwhile, were drinking tea in the back. Where did the tea come from?
Of course, it was exchanged from Aichan!
What? You say it's too extravagant, not living within their means?
Just kidding, after that big battle, the experience points soared! Now Qixuan is just rich and foolish.
As for the commotion over there, she and Zhongli had noticed it long ago, ever since that God first snuck into the group. They just didn't bother to intervene.
Zhongli asked, "Why not go take a look?"
Qixuan said, "They mean no harm. They just snuck in for something to eat. Have you ever seen a God that's so down on their luck?"
Of course. Qixuan also recognized who this God was: Xiangling's good partner in the future, Liyue's local deity, born from the sparks generated by colliding stones.
He dedicated his divine power to the shattered land of Liyue, causing him to fall into a deep slumber. When he awoke, he found the little girl Xiangling.
The God of the Stove, Marcius, oversees hearth fires and the livelihood of the people.
As Qixuan was thinking, she realized that Zhongli, that old man, had almost finished his tea. Zhongli said it was very good and to bring more next time.
Guizhong, looking at the God who had finished the bun, said, "You didn't just sneak in for something to eat, did you? By the way, how did you sneak in?" Xianyun also just realized the other party was a God, but had there ever been a God so down on their luck?
After finishing the bun, Marcius replied, "I am Marcius, a God born from the sparks generated by colliding stones. I just woke up and smelled a fragrance, and I couldn't resist following it. I have a natural love and understanding of food. I know exactly what's edible, what's not good, and what's inedible." With that, he pulled out a bun from somewhere, emitting a faint floral scent.
He handed it to Guizhong and said, "I don't eat your food for free. This is a Hundred Flower Bun I made myself from mountain flowers. It's very delicious." Guizhong took it with a skeptical look and took a bite.
Her eyes lit up as she said, "It's really, really delicious!" After saying that, she stuffed the rest into Xianyun's mouth.
Xianyun was caught off guard, but after chewing, she said she also liked it very much.
Marcius laughed happily.
At this moment, Qixuan and Morax walked over. "We heard everything you just said."
Qixuan said, "We happen to be short a chef here. Would you like to join us?"
Marcius didn't know what a chef meant.
Qixuan explained, "It means someone who can eat a lot of delicious food. I have many methods for making all sorts of delicious things here."
"If you join us, you'll be in charge of all of it, and you can even teach others how to make them. How about it?"
To be honest, if these things were said to any other God, they would probably say, "Are you kidding me? Trying to buy me off with food?"
But there was no helping it, this God was a connoisseur of food, so Marcius was easily "bought off."
Subsequently, Marcius took out some food recipes he knew and shared them with everyone.
Qingxin Soup, Hundred Flower Bun, Honey Bun, Grilled Seafood—Zhongli expressed no interest in the last one; he hated seafood the most.
Qixuan also picked out many food recipes from Aichan's store for Marcius.
Marcius was very happy. Guizhong asked Marcius, "What is your God title? God of Fire?"
Qixuan said, "Don't give people random names!" (She gave Guizhong a light tap on the head).
Guizhong rubbed her head and glared fiercely at Qixuan, looking somewhat cute.
"Since he's a chef who masters making fire and cooking, how about naming him the God of the Stove?"
Marcius said he liked the name very much.
Guizhong then said, "Qixuan, I found that you have a great Talent for naming things!"
Qixuan said, "Don't change the subject. Dinner will be arranged by Marcius, and you'll help." Guizhong loudly protested, but unfortunately, her protest was ineffective.
At this moment, Marcius told Qixuan that he had previously discovered a kind of ore that tasted somewhat peculiar, but he knew it contained some inedible substances.
Qixuan said, "Let me see."
Marcius took it out.
Qixuan said, "Isn't this salt? It's just unrefined salt." Speaking of salt, she thought of a God.
Her clearance was salt: the God of Salt, Heuri. She was a benevolent God, caring for her people without fail.
But it was precisely because she was too lenient with her people that it led to her own demise. If possible, Qixuan would like to recruit her, not for any other purpose, but simply because her ability was very useful.
In terms of livelihood, salt is an indispensable part, and in terms of combat, do you think she is weak?
That's because her abilities were not fully developed.
Her main abilities were salinization and salt poisoning. External salinization could instantly transform a target into salt crystals, while internal control could cause living organisms to die from excessive salt poisoning within their bodies.
It had surprising effects against enemies of the same stage, and in terms of DEF and ranged attacks, her salt was by no means weak.
Ultimately, this God of Salt was too gentle and too afraid of battle.
If her strength were raised to the high-level God tier, perhaps few Gods besides Morax would be her match.
However, the main task now was to first settle in the future Liyue Harbor.
Everyone went to rest after dinner, preparing to conserve their energy for tomorrow's journey.
Qixuan, meanwhile, secretly took Aichan into the Imaginary Space to watch "Honkai Impact 3rd's Homu Manga."