Nantianmen.
This has always been a place rarely explored by Liyue.
After all, it's far from Liyue Harbor, and to get here, one has to pass through Tianqiu Valley, which contains important ruins and countless monsters.
Moreover, legends say that Rex Lapis sealed a Demon God here.
The monsters here are even stronger.
Liyue is not like Mondstadt, which pursues freedom.
Places with little to gain usually see no visitors all year round.
At Nantianmen, there stands a towering tree.
The tree is covered with various crystals, appearing to have elemental power surging within them.
However, from its appearance, it doesn't quite look like a tree, but rather a tail.
That is the Fulung Tree.
Under the tree stood a loli dressed in Liyue attire, that was Ajiu, or rather, the memory of Azhdaha.
Today's Ajiu, or rather, Azhdaha.
As always, a trace of power extended from the cracks of the seal, condensing into Ajiu.
Normally, Azhdaha, who only gets to see the world for a short time each day, called out the familiar phrase as he had for thousands of years.
"Morax! A thousand years of resentment, how will you repay it!"
"Morax! I'll smack your ancestors!"
This was Azhdaha Shoko's usual resentful outburst.
However, anyone would have to understand her.
The mighty Azhdaha the Dragon King was sealed in Nantianmen by his old superior, Rex Lapis, in a head-down posture.
Ass up, Ren Year…
Azhdaha also had a sense of crisis!
And the people of Liyue even gave the tree formed from his tail a grand name, Fulung Tree.
Azhdaha wished he hadn't known about this.
If the Fulung Tree became famous, wouldn't more adventurers come seeking it?
Would that make Azhdaha even more dangerous?
Under such a strong sense of crisis, it would be strange if Azhdaha's mind wasn't twisted.
The young girl Ajiu, with a voice as ancient and steady as a rock, stood under the tree and cursed repeatedly at the Geovishap Hatchlings crawling before her.
"Morax! Cold-blooded and ruthless!"
"Morax! I'll smack your ancestors!"
Azhdaha had uttered similar words countless times.
Unfortunately, the Geovishap Hatchlings had no intelligence and couldn't understand any of it.
They could only sense their boss's bad mood through her emotions, and immediately became even more terrified.
Ever since he was sealed by Zhongli, besides constantly worrying about his rear's safety, Azhdaha spent all his other time researching how to curse Morax more comfortably, and how to destroy Liyue in the future to make Morax suffer.
Normally, this eerie calm wouldn't be broken.
But today, the Jade Chamber flew over Nantianmen.
Azhdaha saw all of this through Ajiu's eyes.
He also felt that his beloved Morax was right there on it.
Instantly, Azhdaha erupted in rage.
"Morax! Morax!!"
"A thousand years of resentment, how will you repay it!"
"Morax! I'll sever your limbs! Shatter your soul! I'll hack your filthy body to pieces!"
"Cut it open! Chop it up!"
"Morax! Come! Come see me!"
"I'll show you darkness!"
Azhdaha's thousand years of practiced curses spewed forth in a torrent.
Unfortunately, the Jade Chamber flew too high, and he couldn't shout through Ajiu.
He could only crouch in the sealed space, raging in futility.
"Come! Come see me, Morax.!"
Azhdaha furiously pounded the ground, but the seal was unbreakable. Even such earthquake-inducing attacks only caused the rock formations to glow golden.
But the Jade Chamber seemed to have heard Azhdaha's cries, leisurely stopping in the sky above Nantianmen.
Its position…
Was directly above Azhdaha's butt… the Fulung Tree.
A powerful sense of crisis instantly surged into Azhdaha's heart, and he froze.
A moment later, he became even more enraged, but his words changed slightly.
"Morax! Get lost! Get out!"
"Morax! Get out of here!"
Through the cracks in the seal, Azhdaha's emotions spread, and his eroded divine power poured out in a rush.
This caused the winds and clouds to change color.
The Geovishap Hatchlings on the ground also looked up and roared in anger.
Finally, Azhdaha's low, reluctant call managed to escape and reached Zhongli's ears.
"Morax! I'll smack your ancestors!"
On the Jade Chamber.
Zhongli, who had been somewhat conflicted and thinking of advising Ningguang and the others to leave, instantly darkened.
That indignant shout of "I'll smack your ancestors!"
Not just Zhongli, but Xiao, Cloud Retainer, Venti, Jiang Xuan, and Nahida all heard it clearly.
Xiao and Cloud Retainer's faces turned extremely awkward, and they quickly averted their gazes, not daring to meet Zhongli's eyes.
But Venti and Jiang Xuan were utterly unrestrained.
The two exchanged glances, then both collapsed onto the table, covering their mouths and laughing uncontrollably.
Zhongli's face grew even darker.
This was truly embarrassing.
Not only had his two subordinates heard that clear curse, but Venti and Nahida, the two Archons, also knew.
More importantly…
Jiang Xuan knew it all too!
How humiliating!
And with Venti's tendency to concoct improvised ballads, what if decades from now, the tales of Rex Lapis and Azhdaha circulating throughout Teyvat included that line, "I'll smack your ancestors," for all of Teyvat to hear?
Utter social death…
"Jiang Xuan, Venti? What are you laughing at?"
Ganyu asked innocently, and the two felt Zhongli's "kind" gaze, immediately straightening their faces.
"Nothing, we're not laughing."
"But I just saw…"
"You saw wrong, Ganyu."
Jiang Xuan was utterly serious.
"We are strictly trained. No matter how funny it is, we will not laugh!"
Venti also nodded gravely.
"Unless we can't help it."
The two struggled to cover their mouths, their shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
Seeing that Jiang Xuan was unwilling to explain, Ganyu said nothing further, only worrying:
"Ningguang, this is where the Geo Archon sealed Azhdaha the Dragon King back then. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to test the Redstone Cannon here?"
Ningguang paused, opening her mouth to say something.
Zhongli's voice, calm with a hint of indignation, sounded.
"No matter. Rex Lapis's seal will not waver easily. This is the best testing area."
"But…"
Ganyu still wanted to argue, but Zhongli pointed at the ground beneath them and said in a deep voice:
"Too many Geovishap Hatchlings have gathered here. If they are not dealt with quickly, they may pose a considerable threat to adventurers."
Hearing this, everyone looked at the hundreds of roaring Geovishap Hatchlings. Indeed, they were packed densely together.
These were not low-level monsters; if they launched an all-out attack, they could severely cripple Liyue's current Millelith.
But Ganyu still wanted to argue a bit. After all, dropping bombs here would be like slapping Rex Lapis in the face.
"But if we experiment here, the Geo Archon might…"
"Rex Lapis would not care about such trivial matters."
Zhongli's gaze was placid, as he calmly looked at the teacup before him.
Jiang Xuan and Venti exchanged glances, understanding that Zhongli was indeed somewhat provoked.
Suppressing his laughter, Venti nodded at Ningguang.
"It's fine, the old man isn't that petty. We're just testing the power of the Redstone Cannon!"
"The old man would surely be happy to accept it!"
With that, Venti winked at Zhongli.
The latter maintained a solemn expression, but an aura that warned others to keep their distance was already emanating from him.
Normally, Xiao and Cloud Retainer would definitely try to dissuade them from dropping bombs here.
But…
Firstly, many monsters had indeed gathered here, and they were empowered by Azhdaha's strength, making them somewhat troublesome even for Xiao to handle.
Secondly…
They had all heard that "I'll smack your ancestors" loud and clear.
If it were just Xiao and Cloud Retainer, for Zhongli's sake, they would pretend not to have heard.
But Venti, Nahida, and Jiang Xuan were also present.
Today, Zhongli absolutely had to get his revenge.
Ningguang looked at Venti and Jiang Xuan, who occasionally exchanged glances, and then at Xiao and Cloud Retainer, who looked utterly detached.
Clever as she was, she more or less guessed it.
The big guy sealed here had said something offensive, embarrassing Zhongli.
Amused inwardly, she said:
"Then… we'll just test the TNT Duplicator here."
"Only the TNT Duplicator? Do we not need to try the Mountain-Cleaving Cannon and the Redstone Saturation Bombardment Cannon as well?"
Zhongli casually added.
Ningguang fell silent.
She really wanted to ask Zhongli directly what Azhdaha the Dragon King had said to make Zhongli want to exterminate him.
But considering the consequences of asking, Ningguang forced a smile and softly said:
"The Redstone Mountain-Cleaving Cannon can flatten even mountains in that world. It would be too dangerous here."
"As for the Redstone Saturation Bombardment Cannon, it's too prone to destroying terrain. If not controlled properly, this whole area could be ruined, so let's not…"
Hearing this, Zhongli took a deep breath, calming his anger.
TNT wouldn't kill Azhdaha.
Or rather, as long as Liyue's Ley Lines remained, Azhdaha wouldn't die.
Even if his consciousness was gone, his body would remain.
He coexisted with the Ley Lines.
Therefore, Zhongli didn't mind using the cruelest methods to teach Azhdaha.
He, Morax!
Was born innately, with no ancestors!
He, Morax!
Had enlightened Azhdaha, making him Azhdaha's ancestor!
Zhongli wanted Azhdaha to clearly understand what could and could not be said.
Especially not in front of others!
Ningguang stood up and walked out.
The Redstone Duplicator, like other Redstone Cannons, hung from the edge of the Jade Chamber.
To be honest, this Redstone duplication was only possible by utilizing world characteristics. As Jiang Xuan put it, this thing was only good for pranks or vertical mining.
Because unlike other Redstone cannons or bombers, this thing had fixed-point deployment.
So, to prevent a bottomless pit from being blasted out of Nantianmen, Ningguang had to worry about moving the Jade Chamber.
She grasped the core of the Jade Chamber in one hand, and then, Ningguang didn't forget to attach a lever to the Redstone Duplicator.
Turning around, she looked at the expectant crowd and chuckled softly.
"Well then… I'm starting."
As her voice fell.
Ningguang boldly pulled the lever.
The sound of TNT igniting filled the air, and several TNT blocks shot out from the dispenser.
However, before anyone could react, these TNT blocks flew downwards in a dense barrage.
For a moment, Ningguang was stunned.
She hadn't expected the TNT to deploy so quickly.
By the time she reacted and started moving the Jade Chamber, over a dozen batches of TNT had already been deployed.
Ningguang immediately moved the Jade Chamber, directing it towards the Geovishap Hatchlings.
The first earth-shattering explosion finally resonated in the peaceful Nantianmen.
Immediately after, a majestic roar, tinged with fury and a hint of grievance, reached Jiang Xuan and the others' ears.
"Morax!"
"Are you crazy?!"
"I'll smack your ancestors!"
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