Chapter 60. Soon Heading to Sumeru
La Signora left.
She departed directly for Sumeru without even bringing any of her subordinates along.
Clearly, she understood that time waited for no one, and matters concerning Black Aila had to be reported to Il Dottore immediately.
Because under the current circumstances, La Signora truly wanted to understand exactly what had happened to Black Aila.
If the other party's strength could genuinely continue to grow, then once she truly stepped into the Archon Realm, La Signora felt that Black Aila would absolutely seek revenge against the Fatui.
And one should never assume Black Aila would not do such a thing.
Back then, Black Aila's strength had only been at the Harbinger level. Even among the Harbingers, she could only be considered mid-tier.
Although she was powerful, she still had limits.
Yet even so, she had still caused numerous incidents within Snezhnaya.
When La Signora repelled her back then, it was not because Black Aila was weak.
It was because Black Aila herself understood that if she truly caused chaos within Snezhnaya, she would inevitably attract Her Majesty the Tsaritsa's attention.
At that point, no matter how strong she was, she would still die.
But if she reached the Demon God Realm—
Considering her level of combat power, combined with the fact that Her Majesty the Tsaritsa had distributed portions of her authority to the Harbingers over the past several years…
One had to understand that Archon authority was essentially the core of an Archon's strength.
And because of this, Her Majesty the Tsaritsa's own power had clearly declined significantly.
The last time she confronted Beelzebul, she had most likely suffered greatly.
Otherwise, the top three Harbingers would not have personally moved to assist Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, nor would so many of Il Dottore's segments have died within Snezhnaya.
This was also the true reason why La Signora had wanted to eliminate Black Aila from the very beginning.
Because if Black Aila truly reached the Demon God Realm and then caused a large-scale disturbance within Snezhnaya—
Leaving aside whether Pierro, Columbina, or Il Dottore could stop her—
Back then, even at her previous level, once she truly intended to flee, there were already very few people capable of stopping her.
If she reached the Archon Realm in the future, then there would be even fewer.
And Black Aila's understanding of Snezhnaya and the Fatui—
Just thinking about it made La Signora feel her scalp go numb.
Therefore, she had to leave Liyue immediately. She no longer had any interest in dealing with the scattered trivial matters here.
Originally, she had come to Liyue precisely because of Black Aila. If Black Aila had truly been devoured by Aila, then everything would have been fine.
Everything would have remained peaceful.
At most, Il Dottore might have developed some thoughts regarding Aila afterward, but the danger level would not have risen to this extent.
Even if Il Dottore died because of it, it still would not implicate the Fatui's larger plans or Snezhnaya itself.
Because even if Aila inherited all of Black Aila's memories, those memories still belonged to "another self."
She had not personally experienced them.
That was fundamentally a different feeling altogether.
La Signora understood human nature extremely well. She was highly skilled at manipulating hearts and emotions, so she naturally knew very clearly who should be treated as an enemy and who should not.
Therefore, even though Aila and Black Aila were technically the same "person," her attitude toward Aila was merely this:
If she could kill her, then kill her.
If she could not, then so be it.
But toward Black Aila—
La Signora's attitude was incomparably firm.
Black Aila absolutely had to die.
Tartaglia watched La Signora's departing figure in silence.
The fact that she had not even brought her subordinates with her made it obvious just how serious this matter truly was.
"Investigate her…?"
Tartaglia thought about Black Aila's combat power, then thought about Futsu Mitama, whose strength had already stepped into the Archon Realm.
Immediately, he felt a headache coming on.
In the end, he decided to hand this troublesome assignment over to his subordinates while he himself simply gathered information from the sidelines.
Although La Signora had claimed that the importance of this matter was second only to obtaining the Gnosis—
In Tartaglia's eyes, however, the Gnosis remained the absolute top priority.
As for Black Aila's threat—
To be honest, Tartaglia did not feel much danger from her.
Because that sharp blade already had a master.
As long as her master was not provoked, then most likely nothing would happen.
A weapon without a master was the truly terrifying thing.
Therefore, Tartaglia decided he would only conduct a surface-level investigation.
As for digging deeper into the matter—
Forget it.
That would only attract unnecessary trouble.
Tartaglia genuinely did not want to provoke anyone outside the scope of the plan anymore.
Whether it was Futsu Mitama or Black Aila, both of them were variables entirely outside the Fatui's original calculations.
If he accidentally provoked them again and caused further complications to the plan…
Tartaglia estimated that he might genuinely collapse mentally several more times.
"What a headache…"
The more Tartaglia thought about it, the more his head hurt. But even so, he still had no choice but to deal with it.
Inwardly, he cursed La Signora countless times.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do.
She had already made the matter sound this serious.
If he failed to investigate anything at all, and La Signora eventually discovered that he had been slacking off—
Then she might personally come back to Liyue and act on her own, just like Il Dottore had done half a year ago.
And if that happened, the situation would truly spiral out of control.
Thus, the Fatui quietly began their investigation into Black Aila.
Meanwhile, Futsu Mitama, who remained within the Jade Chamber, naturally knew nothing about this matter.
And even if he did know, he probably would not care very much.
Because La Signora was still targeting Black Aila based on the assumption that she had not yet reached Archon-level combat power.
But in reality, Black Aila was already infinitely close to the Archon Realm.
After all, she possessed complete Archon authority.
And if she truly encountered danger, she could even fuse together with Aila once more, allowing "Demon God Aila" to descend.
As for how powerful "Demon God Aila" truly was, even Futsu Mitama himself was not entirely certain.
However, his own strength was increasing every single day. If even "Demon God Aila" could not defeat an enemy—then he himself could personally step forward and resolve the situation.
Two humans standing within the Demon God Realm fighting together—
Even a genuine Archon would not be able to suppress them easily.
But for now, inside the Jade Chamber, Lumine and Ningguang had already concluded their discussion.
Lumine would temporarily remain in Liyue for a period of time and assist the Millelith within the Chasm in clearing the mud tunnels.
At the same time, Ningguang would also dispatch people to Mondstadt in order to establish an official cooperative relationship.
Through this, she could formally work together with Albedo and obtain purification water from him.
During their discussion, Ningguang had also learned that Albedo's purification water possessed the ability to suppress mud tunnels and cleanse the black mud itself.
Purifying the black mud was already valuable enough.
But the truly important aspect was the suppression of the mud tunnels.
Because once the mud tunnels were suppressed, Lumine could then use her own purification ability to completely eradicate them.
Thus, both Albedo's purification water and Lumine herself were extremely important.
Ningguang understood very clearly that after the Chasm reopened, the greatest threat would still be the mud tunnels.
If those things spread further, then even sealing the area would no longer be enough to contain them.
Now that she had finally found someone capable of truly eliminating them, there was naturally no way she would allow the opportunity to slip away.
Of course, completely clearing every single mud tunnel within the Chasm was unrealistic.
After all, no one knew exactly how many of them existed.
If Lumine truly attempted to eliminate every single one—
Then even with Albedo's purification water assisting her, she would probably have to work endlessly for years.
Therefore, Ningguang only requested that Lumine prioritize clearing the important areas first, such as mining zones and other critical locations.
And before Lumine even officially began her work, Ningguang had already ordered someone to bring over a rather luxurious treasure chest.
"This is the advance payment." Ningguang smiled toward Lumine as she spoke gently, "There are approximately fifty million mora inside. The amount is somewhat modest, so please forgive me."
As she spoke, the Millelith soldier carrying the chest opened it.
The dazzling golden mora within instantly captured both Lumine and Paimon's attention.
Yes—
Captured completely.
In truth, compared to the mora itself, Lumine was actually more interested in the treasure chest.
But Paimon's thoughts were entirely different.
Looking at the enormous pile of gleaming mora, she immediately felt that no matter where she and the Traveler journeyed next, they would definitely be able to eat the finest gourmet food and stay in luxurious inns without worry.
Thinking this, Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances.
For some inexplicable reason, both of them suddenly felt as though they had finally escaped poverty and seen the light at the end of the tunnel.
Previously, Keqing had indeed mentioned rewards worth one or two hundred million mora.
But hearing it verbally and personally receiving the mora in front of them were completely different feelings.
"Traveler and I will definitely work hard to clear those things!!!"
At this moment, Paimon patted her chest proudly as she guaranteed it to Ningguang. She and the Traveler would absolutely resolve the mud tunnel problem.
Leave it to them!
They would definitely handle everything perfectly!
Paimon would be responsible for the "slaughter," while the Traveler would be responsible for the "easy."
"No need to force yourselves. Simply do what you can."
Ningguang maintained her gentle smile. Although she truly hoped Lumine could quickly resolve the Chasm's issues, Lumine was still a person, not some emotionless tool.
Naturally, Ningguang could not openly pressure her in such a manner.
After some additional pleasantries, Ningguang finally shifted her gaze toward Futsu Mitama.
"Is there something you need from me?"
The moment Futsu Mitama noticed Ningguang looking toward him, he directly asked the question.
Because if Ningguang had specifically asked Yelan to invite him here—
Then she undoubtedly had something she wished to discuss with him.
Futsu Mitama pondered briefly over what matter Ningguang wished to discuss with him. Was it the mysterious space hidden within The Chasm? The incident involving the God of the Vortex not long ago? Or perhaps Beisht?
No matter which matter it was, for Ningguang to personally summon him over, it was undoubtedly something important.
"It's nothing," Ningguang said with a faint smile before directly asking, "I wonder when you intend to depart for Sumeru. If you wish to travel discreetly, then in the name of the Qixing, I can…"
"negotiate with the Akademiya and arrange some support for you."
During A Bite of Liyue, Futsu Mitama had casually mentioned some of his future plans to Ningguang, including his eventual journey to Sumeru.
For example, once the matters in The Chasm were settled, he would leave for Sumeru. As for what exactly he intended to do there—
Ningguang did not know, nor did she probe too deeply into it.
Although it had merely sounded like ordinary conversation at the time, Ningguang had still quietly remembered it. Now, she naturally asked when he planned to leave.
Just as Liyue maintained a good relationship with Mondstadt, its ties with Sumeru were likewise amicable. As one of the Liyue Qixing, Ningguang could directly communicate with the Great Sage of the Akademiya.
With only a single sentence from her, Futsu Mitama's journey throughout Sumeru would undoubtedly proceed much more smoothly.
Of course, Ningguang also understood that with Futsu Mitama's current status, no matter which nation he entered, he would naturally be treated with respect.
But she did not know whether he intended to conceal his identity.
If Futsu Mitama wished to travel through Sumeru incognito…
Then, with her status as one of the Qixing, Ningguang could still ensure that the Akademiya showed him a certain degree of courtesy.
After all, if Futsu Mitama were to openly enter the Akademiya as the next Electro Archon, then the Akademiya would undoubtedly treat him with the utmost seriousness.
The reason was simple.
Everyone knew that Sumeru's current deity, Lesser Lord Kusanali was a young god born five hundred years ago after the death of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. Yet despite this, she possessed very few followers within Sumeru itself.
The true faith of Sumeru still revolved around the deceased Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, as though Lesser Lord Kusanali, their current god, scarcely existed at all.
Although no one openly blasphemed against a deity, Sumeru's actions subtly conveyed a message to the outside world.
That message was—
The current Sumeru appeared almost "godless."
Though it was a nation ruled by a god, Lesser Lord Kusanali had only revealed herself once, five hundred years ago, and had never appeared again since then.
Therefore, if Futsu Mitama were to arrive in Sumeru bearing the identity of the next Electro Archon, then whether it was the Akademiya Sages or any other force within Sumeru, they would absolutely become extremely wary of him.
Ningguang was an intelligent person.
That was why she specifically invited Futsu Mitama here to ask whether he needed her assistance in concealing his identity.
If he needed it, she would naturally be willing to help. After all, informing the Akademiya required nothing more than a single message from her and cost her nothing at all.
"No need."
Futsu Mitama smiled faintly and shook his head, indicating that such measures were unnecessary.
Things had not reached that point yet.
In fact, notifying the Akademiya would only make matters more troublesome. Entering Sumeru too openly would instead draw unnecessary attention.
That much was certain.
Although when Futsu Mitama transmigrated, the Sumeru map had not even been fully released…
Based solely on the information from the previous storyline, one thing was already clear—
The Akademiya was not a trustworthy organization.
After the Traveler arrived in Sumeru, not only did the Akademiya fail to provide help, they even targeted the Traveler instead.
And not merely one or two individuals.
It was practically the entire Akademiya acting against them.
If not for Alhaitham, the Scribe who was not completely loyal to the current Akademiya, secretly handling matters from within…
If he had not harbored his own intentions, then the Traveler would likely have been led around endlessly by the Akademiya and might even have ended up imprisoned if they were careless.
Because Sumeru was their territory.
No matter how famous the Traveler had become in Mondstadt, Liyue, or Inazuma, once they threatened the Akademiya's plans…
Then the Akademiya would unquestionably move against them, even attempting to control them directly.
Fortunately, after realizing the situation, the Traveler eventually escaped into the desert region, temporarily distancing themselves from the Akademiya before later joining forces with Cyno, Alhaitham, and the others.
And after that—
There was no "after that."
Because by then, Futsu Mitama had already transmigrated into this world.
All he knew afterward was that Scaramouche ascended to godhood, Dottore was secretly orchestrating chaos within Sumeru, and the Akademiya itself could not be trusted—whether its upper or lower ranks.
Only those who had entered the gacha banners were trustworthy.
Everyone else?
Best not trusted at all.
"Oh?"
Hearing Futsu Mitama's answer, Ningguang blinked slightly. She immediately detected the subtle undertone within his voice.
After a brief moment of thought, she asked softly, "Has something happened in Sumeru?"
Ningguang was a very perceptive person.
The moment she sensed the abnormality in Futsu Mitama's tone, her first assumption was that there was trouble in Sumeru itself.
She never once considered that Futsu Mitama intended to go there merely to stir up trouble.
That possibility was simply absurd.
What would he even gain from causing chaos in Sumeru?
He was already recognized as the next Electro Archon, and even Rex Lapis himself regarded him with exceptional importance.
During the Rite of Descension, Rex Lapis had personally declared that Futsu Mitama was his successor.
If Futsu Mitama did not wish to inherit the position of Electro Archon, then he could even inherit the Geo Archon seat instead.
After [That One] returned, she had once negotiated matters with the Qixing.
At that time, Uncle Tian had boldly asked her directly—whether Rex Lapis truly intended to pass the position of Geo Archon onto Futsu Mitama.
That question was one the Qixing desperately wished to know the answer to.
They did not dare casually speculate about Rex Lapis's thoughts. Such matters were far too important.
Yet directly asking Rex Lapis himself would also be disrespectful.
Thus, they instead sought the answer from [That One]. As Rex Lapis's closest companion, she undoubtedly knew many things others did not.
And at that time, Guizhong had directly nodded.
If nothing unexpected occurred, then yes—
Futsu Mitama would indeed become the next Geo Archon.
That answer was essentially Rex Lapis's personal endorsement.
The Qixing present at the time all quietly breathed sighs of relief before later deciding to openly grant special privileges to Futsu Mitama.
With someone like him—
What possible reason would there be for him to create trouble in Sumeru?
Therefore, in Ningguang's view, the only reasonable explanation was that something had gone wrong in Sumeru itself, and Futsu Mitama intended to resolve it.
After all, wherever Futsu Mitama went, he was either handling trouble or on his way to handle trouble.
He went to Mondstadt and resolved the Dragon Crisis.
He arrived in Liyue and dealt with the Primo Geovishap and Dottore.
In Inazuma, he crushed the Fatui conspiracy and brought an end to both the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree.
Now that he was heading toward Sumeru—
Then naturally, he was probably going there to resolve another major issue as well.
"Yes."
Futsu Mitama did not conceal anything. Or rather, there was no need to hide such matters.
He calmly took a sip of tea before saying, "I'm going there to deal with a Fatui Harbinger and retrieve some things that rightfully belong to Inazuma."
"Besides that, I was also entrusted by someone to investigate certain matters within Sumeru itself. So for the time being, it's better for me to move discreetly."
Yes.
Discreetly.
Futsu Mitama had no intention of making a grand entrance into Sumeru.
Instead, he planned to quietly infiltrate the nation, investigate the situation first, then deal with the Fatui afterward.
And eventually—
Confront the Akademiya, the Fatui, and possibly even Scaramouche himself once he ascended to godhood or even before it happened.
There was also Dottore, whose might be in his true body not his segment.
In simple terms—
He would potentially be facing two Archon-level enemies.
But Futsu Mitama was not afraid.
On one hand, he possessed absolute confidence in his own strength.
On the other hand, once Aila and Black Aila fused into [Aila], they too possessed Archon-level combat power capable of participating in such a battle.
Furthermore, even if Lesser Lord Kusanali herself was relatively weak, she could still provide support in battle.
Three against two.
No matter how one looked at it, the advantage remained on their side.
"It's the Fatui again…"
Ningguang truly had not expected that Sumeru's troubles would once more involve the Fatui.
Why did their shadows seem to appear everywhere?
Still—
The Fatui were rather unfortunate to be targeted by Futsu Mitama yet again.
Although Ningguang did not know exactly what kind of existence could compel Futsu Mitama to personally travel to Sumeru—
She could already imagine the despair on the faces of the Fatui there once they learned that Futsu Mitama had arrived.
To the ordinary Fatui soldiers—
Futsu Mitama was already something akin to a nightmare.
"Indeed."
Futsu Mitama himself felt rather helpless about it.
The Fatui's ambitions simply stretched far too wide. No matter where one looked, traces of their schemes could always be found.
Even the Abyss Order was not as hardworking as they were.
"In roughly three or four days, I'll leave Liyue and head for Sumeru," Futsu Mitama casually revealed his schedule.
Three or four days from now, he would depart for Sumeru and have a proper "conversation" with Dottore and Scaramouche.
It had already been half a year since he last saw them.
Truthfully, he missed them a little.
He wondered what exactly they had been busy with inside Sumeru all this time.
Though regardless of what they were doing…
Futsu Mitama intended to involve himself in it.
Just as they had interfered in Inazuma before, now the battlefield would simply shift from Inazuma to Sumeru instead.
And because of that—
Futsu Mitama felt utterly fearless.
"Do you require my assistance?" Ningguang asked once more.
Futsu Mitama simply shook his head gently. Liyue's involvement would not help much in this matter.
"Very well."
Ningguang seemed to understand something. She smiled softly and lifted her teacup.
"Then let me use tea in place of wine and wish you complete victory."
As she spoke, Ningguang raised her cup toward Futsu Mitama in a quiet toast.
Futsu Mitama similarly lifted his own cup and drank the tea within.
Soon afterward, he rose and departed alongside the others.
Lumine and Paimon also waved toward Ningguang as they cheerfully bid her farewell.