Power was constantly draining away.
Azhdaha lay prostrate on the ground, feeling the Abyss Power continuously leaking from his body.
He had previously been sealed underground, forced to endure the scouring of the Ley Lines, which also gave him the opportunity to absorb the pollution within them.
The Forbidden Knowledge that had already flowed into Liyue was like a hole burned through filter paper, allowing the pollution of the Abyss to continuously pour into the Ley Lines, giving birth to batch after batch of Black-smoke monsters.
But this black power flowing through the Ley Lines also entered Azhdaha's body.
That power was like a black quagmire, armoring him and crowning him, and under the moonlight of Mount Aocang, it broke his seal.
Finally, whether due to some siphon effect, the black energy rushing beneath the land of Liyue was entirely absorbed by Azhdaha, and the nature's undead, Aži Dahāka, finally manifested here.
And at this very moment, it was precisely the boundless Abyss Power on his body that caused him to be imprisoned here, left to let these wild wolves suck the blood of the giant tree like woodworms.
Fortunately, the Abyss Power on his body was vast enough that they couldn't drain it quickly.
But unfortunately, because he originally possessed such immense power, the reduction of that power was highlighted by such intense pain!
Even after being pinned to the ground for so long, the debuffs on Azhdaha hadn't decreased much; he could only watch himself being sucked dry.
So... rather than waiting for death here, it would be better to take the initiative!
Since I can't win in a direct confrontation, then don't blame me for using dirty tricks!
Azhdaha stopped struggling and relaxed his body, pressing his massive frame as close to the ground as possible, his consciousness gradually sinking down.
Orion landed on the ground and walked up to Azhdaha with a puzzled expression, observing him with great confusion.
"Why stopped moving? Giving up the resistance?" Orion tapped Azhdaha's chin with his fist, but there was still no reaction.
He didn't understand, but it didn't matter. Orion felt that as long as he could still extract the Abyss Power, it was fine. In front of Hu Tao and Keqing, he didn't really want to transform into a giant wolf; he didn't want to scare the young girls.
But just as Orion turned to walk away, the plants beneath his feet suddenly tripped him.
Orion was very surprised.
But he wasn't surprised that a plant could trip him; he was surprised that after a battle like that, how could there still be plants here?
He looked down, and a very bizarre scene met his eyes.
The plants were growing wildly!
Not just under his feet, but everywhere within sight, plants began to grow frantically!
Saplings that had just broken through the soil actually grew into fifty-centimeter-tall plants within a single minute. Then, plants that were clearly not vines suddenly mutated, beginning to sprout vine-like branches.
Looking around, some plants seemed to have already grown to over a meter tall!
Within the barrier, Hu Tao watched the new plant shoots that would grow out one moment and shrink back the next with great curiosity. However, everyone else had looks of terror on their faces because the outside of their barrier was already surrounded by meter-high vegetation.
In front of the group, Zhongli looked at the vegetation growing and shrinking beneath his feet, realizing that things seemed uncertain.
He knew why the plants here were shrinking back. Orion had told him that the ability called [Ideal Fluid] possessed the power to restore the natural ecology.
But "restoration" also meant that the current situation was "abnormal."
After observing carefully for a moment, he finally became certain of one thing.
This vegetation was not the vegetation of current Teyvat, but plants that existed in Teyvat during the primitive era, an age even more ancient than the War of Vengeful Flame.
Zhongli's pupils suddenly dilated as he understood the key point. He turned his sharp gaze toward Azhdaha.
"Could this be..."
.
.
.
.
"...Holy Soilification?"
Columbina asked back in a rather soft voice. Obviously, she did not know the meaning of this term.
Seeing this, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata continued: "The so-called Holy Soilification is merely the name given to it by an ancient kingdom that has long since perished.
You can call it Delphi Pytho, or you can call it the Byakuyakoku. Of course, it also has a current name—Enkanomiya."
As the former God of Wisdom, even though Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had lost her Gnosis, had mixed clearances, and could not even connect to Irminsul, the knowledge she possessed was something ordinary people could hardly reach.
She extended a slender hand from her sleeve and pointed at the plants growing bizarrely on the ground: "Those are not plants that can grow in the current elemental environment of Teyvat. The pure white light was decomposed into seven colors by the Lord of the High Heavens, and the seven-colored desires anchored new rules for the world.
The Elemental Power of modern Teyvat is merely the human realm power derived under the Order of Seven. But what is currently stimulating the growth of these plants is the Primitive Elemental Power where the seven colors merge back into one."
Columbina kept her eyes closed; relying solely on hearing, she couldn't actually perceive the difference between the two.
"Is there any difference?"
"There is," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata replied. "Primitive Elemental Power is not something creatures like humans, who still need a Vision to manipulate ordinary elements, can master. Not just humans—most creatures that have adapted to the planet's current environment probably cannot quickly adapt to such vast Primitive Elemental Power. This Holy Soilification is nothing short of a devastating blow to Liyue's ecology!"
She looked into the distance, where dark clouds loomed and various lights reflected between the smooth mountain slopes.
.
.
"That Dragon King who broke through the earth is attempting to merge the Authority of Geo with the clearance of the Ley Lines to achieve complete control over the land of Liyue.
He wants to achieve a total ecological extinction of all life in Liyue by completely turning the entire land of Liyue into Holy Soil!"
"...Ecological extinction?!" Jahoda cried out directly. "I just came here for a trip! How could I encounter something so crazy!"
"But aren't we fine here?" Keqing pointed to the ground beneath their feet.
Zhongli gestured toward the flowing green shield: "That is thanks to this Ideal Fluid. It can restore the ecological environment. If you can't figure out the mechanics, you can understand it as its ability to restore stamina also being effective on nature."
Hu Tao punched her left palm with her right fist: "Doesn't that mean Orion can treat this Holy Soilification?"
Everyone looked toward Orion, who was also currently analyzing the Holy Soilification beneath his feet.
He couldn't understand Azhdaha's actions.
"Why? Letting Primitive Elemental Power run wild won't provide any particularly strong buff for Azhdaha himself, right? Besides, what benefit is there for Azhdaha in destroying Liyue's ecology? Does he want the Bathysmal Vishaps species to restart their evolution?"
Orion couldn't understand. Holy Soilification was indeed a large dose of poison for ordinary creatures, but it had no positive effect for Azhdaha himself, who was being suppressed.
Orion worried that Azhdaha had some other purpose, so he simply expanded the scope of his detection ability.
And as soon as this detection ability was used, a strange fact was laid out before Orion's eyes.
Azhdaha had disappeared from his perception.
No, he hadn't disappeared; rather, his aura was gradually assimilating with the earth. The Dragon King, the earth, and the Ley Lines were becoming indistinguishable from one another!
The Authorities were merging.
Orion quickly turned his head, only to meet Azhdaha's grinning face.
Orion suddenly realized: "I see. Holy Soilification isn't the goal; it's just the means."
Zhongli called out in alarm: "Oh no! We've thought of it backwards! It's not about gaining complete control of the earth and then triggering Holy Soilification!"
.
.
On the high mountain, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata held her hand to her chest: "Holy Soilification is just a byproduct; connecting to the Ley Lines and gaining complete control of the earth is the goal! He wants to use the power of the entire land of Liyue to seal Orion!"
.
.
Orion felt the ground beneath him vanish. Looking down, a massive pit a hundred meters in diameter had appeared under his feet. Then, peerless gravity bound him like ropes, pulling him down toward the depths of the earth!
At the very last moment, Azhdaha's mocking voice drifted over: "You held your head too high, heh."
Then, the earth closed.
Azhdaha roared toward the sky: "Hahahaha! Overstepping human! Repent ten thousand meters underground! No light, no air, only the weight of the earth! Enjoy it!"
At this moment, everyone's eyes were once again stained with despair.
At a depth of twenty-five thousand meters, it was a depth unreachable by humans at this time. With temperatures near a thousand degrees and nine hundred thousand standard atmospheres of pressure, even the originally existing melts and critical fluids were further solidified by Azhdaha using his Authority, increasing the pressure even more!
Perhaps because the distance between the two sides was too great, the Anemo Element shield on the ground instantly collapsed and dissipated at this moment.
Beside Zhongli, the several women each showed different reactions.
Yelan's expression was grave. In the end, she was just a special agent. If it were maneuvering among the nobility or gathering intelligence in enemy camps, she could do that. But facing such natural-disaster-level power, she knew she was nothing more than an ant.
Keqing's Vision went white for a moment, and her brain felt deprived of oxygen. She slowly slumped to the ground, not saying a word.
Hu Tao's expression was heavy, her eyes flickering with worry as she stared fixedly at the ground, unknown thoughts crossing her mind.
Jahoda was the most miserable. Memories of her long (?) time spent with Orion flashed through her mind one after another, finally freezing on a single sentence.
"Whoever saves me, I'll marry them, ahhhhhhh!"
Jahoda held her head in her hands and let out a wail.
"I'm widowed!"
Everyone:...How could such a voice appear at such a serious time?
The original Azhdaha was already arguably invincible, and now that Azhdaha possessed the Authority to control the earth, they thought that perhaps only the descent of Rex Lapis could possibly save Orion...
And Rex Lapis himself was standing right in front, currently deep in thought.
Zhongli felt that recently, every time he wanted to take action, he would find that someone else happened to take action as well, so he planned to investigate first this time.
Under his application, the technique of Divine Sense Perception gradually delved deep underground, reaching a depth of twenty thousand meters in an instant.
But it was very strange. Zhongli felt it was very strange. Just as Orion hadn't perceived Azhdaha's presence earlier, he didn't feel Orion's presence either.
Or more accurately, he didn't feel any "object" that could be identified as Orion existing there.
There was only one thing there.
It was a—
Giant disc, approximately three hundred meters in diameter and eighty meters thick!
-
-
-
-