Relying on his formidable memory, Victor Wang only needed the floating Hydro Fungi to explain the meanings corresponding to the Fungi language once, and he could immediately grasp them.
At that pace, by the time they reached The Chasm, Victor Wang had already mastered the commonly used Fungi language. As for the next task—whether the information gathered by Scaramouche mentioned that crystal at all—had become completely irrelevant.
After all, he was the only one who both understood the Fungi language and had seen that information. He could say whatever he wanted.
"The Fire Seed… that crystal is called the Fire Seed. It is a necessary item for saving the Dendro Dragon. It was jointly created by Nahida and the clan of elemental lifeforms, and it simulates the operating principle of the Dendro Dragon's 'Heart of the Oasis.'
The Dendro Dragon has been tormented by the 'apocalypse' for far too long, and has very little power left. But as long as the Fire Seed is used to reactivate its Heart of the Oasis—its source of power—it will gradually heal itself.
Additionally, the Fire Seed can resonate with the Heart of the Oasis. Through that resonance, we can locate the Dendro Dragon.
One more thing: the Fire Seed is condensed from extremely high-density elemental power. It is very powerful, but also very fragile. This form of existence is unstable, so to avoid accidents, do not use it lightly."
Victor Wang recited in one breath all the information that should have been provided by the elemental lifeform in The Chasm. He sounded convincing enough that the others had no reason to doubt him and could only accept it entirely.
Nahida took out the Fire Seed and carefully sensed it, then nodded. "Indeed, I can feel a kind of resonance."
"Yay!" Paimon cheered. "After running around for half a day, we finally found the Dendro Dragon's location!"
There was also good news. Thanks to the Celestial Nail's influence, the residual elemental power left behind by the elemental lifeform that died here had not yet dissipated. The floating Hydro Fungi reverently absorbed it into its body.
"I can feel it," it said softly. "Its emotions and knowledge have all returned to their original elemental state, merging with the rest of our family. Now, it can go home with us."
"Let's go. Home," said the floating Anemo Fungi.
"Home…!"
After a thousand years away, they could finally return. The other two elemental lifeforms were equally overwhelmed with emotion.
Guided by the Fire Seed, Nahida led everyone through the longest journey they had taken so far—crossing the entirety of Sumeru and half the desert, traveling from The Chasm all the way to the Land of Lower Setekh.
After roughly locking onto the location northwest of the Land of Lower Setekh, Nahida guided everyone down to the ground.
Sensing that these visitors intended to linger, the previously calm weather suddenly turned violent. Furious winds whipped up sand that was nearly sharp enough to cut like blades, slamming into them head-on, clearly expressing this land's rejection.
Nahida shielded everyone from the sandstorm and said, "I can already sense the Dendro Dragon's power. It's lurking nearby, sometimes retreating, sometimes approaching. This is its warning—it's resisting us."
Paimon was confused. "But we're here to save it, aren't we?"
"The situation is a bit complicated. You should know this—dragons' history began with the birth of Teyvat itself. Sumeru was once Apep's territory. Back then, all of Sumeru was a lush rainforest."
"Huh? There was no desert in Sumeru before?" Paimon asked.
"There wasn't. Later, a Celestial Nail descended and turned the rainforest into a desert. To adapt to the environmental change, Apep transformed from an emerald-green giant dragon into a sand-yellow form."
"If your home was destroyed… it's understandable to harbor hatred," Lumine said.
"Exactly," Nahida replied. "Apep has always believed itself to be the true master of Sumeru. It never acknowledged the later order and harbored deep hostility toward the gods. Only the powers from the heavens, and later the contamination of forbidden knowledge, prevented it from stirring up chaos."
"I thought gods and dragons were on good terms…" Paimon muttered.
"They aren't. Before two different orders reach equilibrium, endless war is inevitable. As far as I know, Apep has been lying low in the desert, waiting for an opportunity. The Scarlet King took great interest in it—perhaps that's how Apep ended up contaminated."
"Th-then should we still save it?" Paimon asked hesitantly. "If it has ulterior motives…"
"Yes," Nahida answered firmly. "I don't know what it intends to do, but saving it is the most urgent matter right now. Otherwise, Sumeru won't even last long enough to face those ulterior motives before being destroyed."
With things said to this point, everyone pressed forward—slowly but resolutely—against winds strong enough to blow an ordinary person away.
When its warning proved ineffective, the ground erupted into a violent tremor. Apep no longer bothered to hide itself. Its body, taller than the mountains of Sumeru, gradually revealed its outline within the sandstorm.
In an instant, the raging sands became irrelevant. Merely witnessing the disparity in size made it hard to breathe. The terrifying pressure honed over eons by a primordial Dendro Dragon King nearly stopped the blood from flowing.
"So that's the Dendro Dragon…" Paimon unconsciously lowered her voice. "Knowing it can form an entire world, I imagined it would be huge—but I never thought it would be this huge!"
"Yes. That is the Dendro Dragon, Apep," Nahida said.
Apep's flame-lit eyes stared unblinking down at them. Its majestic voice echoed across the land with the wind and sand.
"Insignificant humans. Insignificant god. Frail lives such as yours cannot survive in the sea of yellow sands. Leave my territory."
Compared to ordinary humans, Nahida was indeed small—but she stood neither servile nor arrogant. "We are here to save you, Apep."
Apep rejected her outright, its words tinged with mockery. "I do not need salvation—especially not from you, Buer. You and Amon, alike, exist only for a fleeting moment, yet borrow the might of the heavens to proclaim yourselves rulers of this land. Look further down the road. In the end, you will meet the same fate."
"I know you hate gods and humans," Nahida said calmly, "but you are already very weak. Why not set that hatred aside, even temporarily?"
"Temporarily… foolish Buer," Apep sneered. "Even if you were to heal me, I would not thank you. What you are doing is personally reviving a dragon that will one day destroy Sumeru and the Seven Nations!"
Though this was ostensibly for Apep's own good, its agitation was unmistakable. Paimon covered her ringing ears and protested, "H-Hey, you don't have to yell like that…"
"You are merely ill," Nahida insisted.
"Ill?" Apep gave a rare laugh—cold and scornful. "Yes. Time condemns all to incurable death. I may be gravely ill, but I am clear-minded. I am not like those ancient dragons who bowed to you."
"There's no need to go this far. What we need is not 'confrontation,' but the 'truth.'"
"Hmph. Chasing 'truth'—that is the shackle from which the 'God of Wisdom' can never escape. I have already paid a terrible price for 'truth.' Sooner or later, you will too."
Victor Wang's thoughts stirred. The "truth" Nahida and Apep spoke of seemed connected to forbidden knowledge—but how could that same "truth" resolve the conflict between dragon and god? He couldn't figure it out.
Apep had no intention of continuing the conversation. Its massive silhouette sank and swiftly vanished beneath the horizon.
The Dendro Dragon they had nearly grasped slipped away just like that. Paimon shouted anxiously, "Hey! Don't go!"
Her response was a swarm of figures piercing through the sandstorm—diseased Dendro elemental lifeforms, eerily resembling plants withered into a sickly, dull green by the Withering.
===BREAK===
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