To the west of Liyue lies the most treacherous mountain range in Teyvat, and also the legendary abode of the Adepti.
Mysterious, treacherous, and unreachable... these were the impressions Liyue people had of the Minlin mountain range. Only seekers of immortality and Adventurers who roamed the world would leave their footprints in these rarely visited mountains.
But now, there were no discernible protrusions left. The towering peaks had long since collapsed, and the low-lying areas of the earth had formed one large lake after another.
"This is..." From the Jade Chamber, everyone looked at the completely unfamiliar land below, momentarily speechless.
"A corner of the Archon War." Zhongli still maintained his War God appearance. He held his spear, and his amber eyes revealed endless vicissitudes.
It had been thousands of years since he had seen such a scene.
"The Archon War?" Ningguang looked up and gazed out. The flattened earth and intersecting rivers had all appeared in less than half a day.
The power of a God was evident!
"Now is not the time for sentimentality. The world's ability to reshape itself is stronger than you imagine."
"The immediate priority is to seal Azhdaha quickly." Zhongli took a deep breath. The destruction of the earth pained him, but these things would eventually be smoothed over by time.
What was urgent now was to subdue the rampaging Azhdaha. If he continued like this, not only Liyue, but also neighboring Mondstadt and Sumeru would suffer greatly.
"Impressive, Osial the Rascal Snake is still formidable." The Jade Chamber was moving rapidly, and from below it, Yu Jin's voice of admiration came.
"Naturally, the title of Vortex God was not self-proclaimed. The power of a God is beyond the reach of ordinary people."
Zhongli nodded, then he was silent for a moment before continuing: "Of course, with some exceptions."
He thought of Havria, the God of Salt, that somewhat timid God. As a God, she was ultimately killed by her own people, an outcome that was regrettable.
Soon, at the end of the flat horizon, two colossal figures appeared. It was a snake and a dragon.
However, it seemed the snake was being rubbed into the ground by the dragon.
"Get lost! Didn't Morax tell you your breath stinks?!" Osial was being trampled by Azhdaha. The rampaging Azhdaha roared, venting his anger in the most brutal way.
Giant sound waves mixed with splashing blood and flesh hit Osial's face, making him curse aloud.
Osial was covered in wounds. Gashes from sharp horns, deep holes torn by fangs... these covered his entire body.
If it were the old Osial, such wounds would have been enough to kill him. But now Osial's body was molded by Yu Jin; his strength might not be great, but his vitality was sufficient.
Those wounds would quickly heal if Azhdaha was even slightly inattentive. This also made Azhdaha completely treat Osial as a punching bag.
Whatever Azhdaha could think of in his current state, he unleashed it all on Osial.
Although it looked terrible—and in fact, it was terrible—this could not stop Osial's curses.
What could he do? He couldn't escape, he couldn't die. Was he, the Vortex God, supposed to cry on the spot?
Sorry, he couldn't do it. Although Osial didn't care about face, he still valued basic dignity.
Osial's five heads frantically attacked Azhdaha. Suddenly, Azhdaha's biting motion paused, and his head turned to look into the distance.
Seeing this, Osial's heart leaped with joy. It seemed his mental attack was still effective.
Osial exerted force, twisting and wriggling away from under Azhdaha's foot. Azhdaha, as if he hadn't noticed, allowed Osial to escape.
Osial looked back at Azhdaha while following Azhdaha's gaze to the Sky, and then he saw familiar figures.
It was Morax and Yu Jin.
"Wow? Who is this? Let me see... Oh, it's Lord Morax, the Geo Archon!"
Osial shouted sarcastically from afar.
However, to his surprise, Zhongli not only didn't get angry but instead nodded at him.
"Thank you, Osial."
Osial could tell that Zhongli wasn't being sarcastic; he was genuinely thanking him.
"Hmm... never mind, it's up to you now. Don't expect me to help out later, anyway." Osial's expression stiffened, and he uncomfortably nodded back.
Morax actually had such a kind side? He didn't hold back when he beat him up before, did he?
Osial knew Morax had many misunderstandings about him, such as hindering Azhdaha was not his own idea, but it didn't matter now.
Let Morax solve Liyue's problems himself. Anyway, he certainly wasn't willing to face Azhdaha anymore.
Dragging his battered body, Osial ran behind the Jade Chamber.
Behind him was a trail of red marks.
"Thank you..." Ningguang saw the grotesque wounds on Osial's body and also thanked him.
Regardless of Osial's previous identity, he was now genuinely protecting Liyue. As a Qixing, Ningguang had to thank Osial no matter what.
Osial's body was large enough that his head was even taller than the Jade Chamber.
Hearing Ningguang's words, Osial paid no attention. Mere humans, did they require his direct gaze?
There was someone else he needed to look at directly.
"So, aren't you going to explain? Yu Jin?" Osial glared at Yu Jin, who was climbing up from below the Jade Chamber, and asked through gritted teeth.
"Explain what? Aren't you perfectly fine?" Yu Jin stood up from the ground, looking innocent.
"This is 'perfectly fine'? Good thing I've fought a lot, otherwise I'd definitely cry." Osial twisted his body.
Don't let Osial's current appearance fool you; he was actually in burning pain all over.
If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have committed suicide from the unbearable pain while being torn apart by Azhdaha.
"Cry for me, I've never seen a God cry." Yu Jin said, even clapping, as if cheering for Osial.
"Get lost." Osial opened his mouth, and a jet of water shot out, making Yu Jin stumble.
However, before Yu Jin could say anything, a furious roar came from afar.
"Morax... it's time to settle everything!"
The roar was accompanied by a vast shockwave that swept through, distorting the Sky and earth somewhat.
"All-Encompassing." Zhongli formed a hand seal, and a bright yellow jade shield enveloped the Jade Chamber.
"Annoying aura..." Osial looked at the shield over the Jade Chamber and secretly spat.
"I'm sorry, old friend..." Zhongli looked at Azhdaha, who was rushing towards the Jade Chamber not far away, and his eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Sleep a little longer."
At this moment, he had shed his previous kindness, replaced by an icy coldness.
"Hey, hey, hey, aren't you going to make a move?" Osial saw Zhongli's surging aura and said to Yu Jin.
Osial didn't think Yu Jin came here just to watch. He knew this when he watched himself run towards Azhdaha, unable to do anything.
"Me, make a move? More or less. But... I'll have to wait a bit, there are too few spectators."
"So, before that, let the administrative staff stretch their muscles!"
"Morgott!"
"Here!"
A rapidly descending figure appeared in the Sky.
"Clang—"
The sound of clashing metal rang out, and Azhdaha's forward momentum suddenly stalled.
Although the figure was small, the power it contained was not at all ambiguous, directly forcing Azhdaha's dragon head down a few inches.
But Azhdaha quickly reacted. With a flick of his dragon head, he flung Morgott, who was firmly embedded in it, away.
"Phew... strong, huh." Morgott lightly landed on the ground from high in the Sky. He looked at the shattered golden spear in his hand and sighed with emotion.
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