Another day passed.
Little Bu'er stood at the height-marking wall inside the Pure Goodness Palace.
Her small hand slid over from the top of her head, drew a careful line, then she turned back with a bright, adorable smile.
"Great Sage, I've grown a little taller again!"
Gu Chen took a glance.
One meter twenty.
Last time she measured, she was barely one meter. Growing twenty centimeters was a decent achievement.
But for mortals, this would only take a few short years, while within the Qiming Institute, generations of scholars had already come and gone…
Gu Chen never cared about the passage of time.
But the growth rate of the little God of Wisdom was indeed too slow.
Even so, these days were peaceful and good.
Gu Chen walked over, patted her head, and asked with a smile, "Did you get any smarter?"
"Growing up makes you smarter!"
The little Bu'er beamed, then hopped forward and clung onto Gu Chen like a little koala, refusing to come down.
She always liked clinging to him this way, and he always steadied her with an arm so she wouldn't fall.
So childish, such a stark contrast to her boundless wisdom—
yet the Great Sage never once disliked it.
"Let's go. Another beautiful day is beginning."
Time continued its march.
The Flower God and the Scarlet King gradually faded into the river of years.
Both rainforest and desert now lived under the governance of Wisdom.
In the place called Aru, the former subjects of the Scarlet King only remembered their fallen god when they passed by his ancient ruins—
the god who once brought prosperity, then decline, and finally disaster.
But the desert and rainforest no longer held resentment.
This harmony was thanks to the Great Sage, who fused cultures and peoples together.
He never took credit, always redirecting all glory toward the God of Wisdom.
People revered the Great Sage who lived and dined with their god in the Pure Goodness Palace.
He brought them a life of luxury and peace, and gave them knowledge that could build an even more prosperous nation.
Whenever his name was mentioned together with that of the Wisdom Lord, people's eyes always filled with expectation—
echoing the hope that the two would eventually become one.
One day—
A message came from the High Heavens.
A messenger descended.
The Archon War had ended.
In the rainforest and desert, there was only one surviving god—thus the Wisdom Lord naturally claimed the glory of victory.
Little Bu'er cared little for such things, but because of the Heavens' authority, she still had to attend the ceremony.
When she returned—
She held a glowing green chess piece in hand, and her appearance had completely transformed from a child into a young maiden.
"Great Sage, I'm back!"
The youthful Bu'er ran barefoot across the cold floor.
"You've grown again."
Gu Chen chuckled softly.
Bu'er's face was flushed pink as she handed him the glowing piece.
"This is the authority bestowed upon you by the Great God of Wisdom!"
"Oh?"
"Then I should thank Her Grace."
Gu Chen laughed, but he returned the Gnosis to Bu'er.
"It can gather the power of faith. You should use it to grow faster."
"Hee-hee."
Bu'er giggled, then quietly asked:
"Do you… want me to grow up quickly?"
Gu Chen paused for a few seconds, then said,
"What do you think?"
"Hmph~"
She lifted her chin proudly.
"No idea!"
Then she hummed a little tune, clasped her hands behind her back, and hopped away.
Her voice was beautiful; her singing could make even the Aranara melt.
Watching her inexplicably happy figure, Gu Chen shook his head with helpless amusement before returning to his work at the Qiming Institute.
[Nilu]: Calling all romance experts!!
[Kaeya]: I get it. The Tree King pretends to grant the Gnosis so she can stay small and clingy. But the Great Sage wants her to grow up—because only when she grows up can he marry her. Once she confirmed it, she skipped away to quietly celebrate! (Hu Tao: evil grin)
[Collei]: So now she wants to grow up fast so she can marry him, right? But why didn't she want to before?
[Yae Miko]: Because when she was tiny she had no shame and could cling to him freely. The more her power returns, the wiser she becomes, and the more self-conscious. Growing up means restraint—so she didn't want to! (Miko: smirk)
…
[Venti]: If it were me I'd already be sharing a nest with the Great Sage!
[Gu Chen]: Who the hell would share a nest with you, idiot?
[Azhdaha]: Excellent scolding!
[Stormterror]: Excellent!
…
Bu'er continued to grow day by day.
She was now nearly one-sixty.
Clinging to the Great Sage would look improper and damage his dignity.
Since she could no longer hold onto him wherever she wished, Bu'er occasionally felt disappointed.
But overall, she was happy she was growing.
Her recovered power made her mind sharper as well.
Sometimes she'd glance at the Great Sage, her face turning rosy as if she were thinking about something unspeakable.
When others asked, the God of Wisdom always replied—
"I'm thinking of some… forbidden knowledge."
Forbidden knowledge was a taboo in the Qiming Institute.
Scholars paled at the term.
Thus they constantly reminded the Great Sage to watch over her condition—afraid she might stray down the wrong path.
The ever-perceptive Great Sage merely pinched her long ears helplessly.
"Stop thinking of weird things."
"Ow— I know… but I won't stop."
Liyue's Geo Archon, Morax, was hosting a banquet for the Seven.
Bu'er brought Gu Chen along—
and proudly introduced her Great Sage to all the gods.
After a few days of wandering Liyue, Gu Chen returned with her to Sumeru.
Life seemed peaceful.
But desire knows no end. Curiosity knows no limit.
The godless nation was no exception.
Their growing greed and swelling curiosity finally invoked the wrath of the High Heavens.
The Law of the Heavens was absolute:
Humans must not touch what must not be touched.
Otherwise, destruction follows.
The Heavens summoned the gods.
Bu'er received the command to guard the World Tree.
"Another calamity… so many will die again…" she murmured anxiously.
She had barely begun enjoying her peace.
Just a little longer and she would've grown fully.
Bu'er felt wronged.
"Let's examine the World Tree," Gu Chen said solemnly. "If the Heavens are enraged and assigned you alone, it must be serious."
"Mm."
Bu'er nodded.
She brought him to the World Tree.
It was dreamlike—
so beautiful and vast that even Gu Chen felt as if he had stepped into a dream.
Light streamed along its roots and ascended, looping endlessly.
Gu Chen studied it. The World Tree seemed to be recording something.
Suddenly—
Bu'er staggered slightly and rubbed her brow.
"What's wrong?" Gu Chen asked.
"It's nothing… probably just tired." She shook her head.
Then—
a distant rumbling shook Sumeru.
Gu Chen's expression darkened. "Is it safe here?"
"Very safe." Bu'er nodded.
"Something's happening outside. Stay here. I'll go look."
"…All right."
Only when his figure disappeared did Bu'er clutch her head, trembling with pain.
"Forbidden… knowledge…"
The dreamlike World Tree was beginning to darken.
Black lines spread like veins across its trunk.
Bu'er's mind flashed with countless chaotic scenes.
Whispers—mad, eerie, inhuman—echoed in her ears.
Sumeru.
Gu Chen appeared atop the terrace of the Pure Goodness Palace.
He looked over the land—
and saw massive Autonomous Constructs towering like moving mountains.
They hummed and unleashed destructive beams, blasting mountains apart.
"Great Sage! What do we do?!"
Scholars panicked.
They had never witnessed such terror.
Constructs like mountains, and hordes of abyssal beasts flooding the land—
as if the world were ending.
"Your priority is to protect the Qiming Institute.
Protect your knowledge, your juniors, your research, your aging teachers."
A gust of wind swept his voice away—
And Gu Chen vanished.
Moments later, the scholars saw mountains collapse in the distance.
A giant construct fell like a toppled tower.
More constructs followed, one after another.
Invisible force surged across the land like a tidal wave—
engulfing monsters like sand swept by the sea.
"The Great Sage is too strong!"
"Even the Scarlet King couldn't compare!"
"Good thing I submitted my thesis on time…"
"Don't stare! Move! Protect the archives! Evacuate the old sages!"
"Mechanical division! Why are you staring?! Salvage the parts! Rebuild the constructs to assist the Great Sage!"
"We're already doing it!"
The desert was swallowed by storms.
The rainforest collapsed under catastrophe.
A scene from centuries ago—
except far worse.
Life shrieked in terror.
The Aranara's home was destroyed.
Vitality drained from the earth.
Rivers were tainted.
Gu Chen floated in the sky, hands clasped behind his back.
He saw the black tide crawling over the land.
"Forbidden knowledge…"
He saw people overtaken by it—
screaming, clutching their heads, bodies twisting.
Strange whispers filled his mind.
Insanity clawed at his soul.
"…Her."
He remembered Bu'er's earlier reaction.
"The World Tree records all.
Her mind is connected to it.
This forbidden knowledge is a hundred times stronger than before…"
Even the God of Wisdom said forbidden knowledge came from the Abyss—
a truth even gods could not comprehend.
And the world rejected it—
so it warped the world.
Already, Withering Zones were forming in the rainforest—
expanding like a plague.
Gu Chen looked over Sumeru.
If the world is a person, forbidden knowledge is a disease.
Leave it untreated, and it spreads—
until the patient dies.
The same for the world.
With constructs and monsters cleared—
"You all stay here and wait for the Tree King."
Leaving only that sentence—
Gu Chen returned to the World Tree.
He found Bu'er writhing in agony.
"You're here…" she struggled to speak.
Gu Chen held her trembling hand.
A surge of power rippled—
and the connection between her consciousness and the World Tree severed temporarily.
"Hu…"
She exhaled deeply.
"This forbidden knowledge is terrifying… I can't expel it… I can't fight it… If this continues… the whole world…"
She didn't finish.
Worry clouded her expression.
Gu Chen said nothing.
A vein bulged at his temple.
He could feel her pain—
the whispers, the mind-tearing agony.
"Wait—
you… how are you connecting to the World Tree?!"
Bu'er's eyes widened in fear.
"Stop! Stop immediately!!"
Gu Chen ignored her.
He gritted his teeth and said:
"I can't sever your connection for long.
Forbidden knowledge must be erased."
His resolve was absolute.
He took a deep breath.
The pain lessened slightly—
but his aura surged higher and higher.
"What are you doing?! Stop! STOP!!"
Bu'er had never been so terrified.
Gu Chen's power was… wrong.
He was burning everything he had—
to gain overwhelming strength.
Ssssh—
Gu Chen placed his hand on the World Tree's trunk.
The faint blackness covering it was sucked toward his palm, forming a vortex.
Bu'er's eyes widened in horror.
Gu Chen was absorbing all forbidden knowledge—
He intended to destroy it by sacrificing himself.
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