Only a single day had passed on the parallel Blue Star.
That morning, Xuehua started her livestream again, this time cosplaying Ningguang. She stretched lazily in front of the camera and then immediately clicked on Zhongli's Story Quest — "Salt Flower."
The location: Zhudianfang, the Pearl Galley.
After arriving, she controlled Lumine and found Zhongli. Once the conversation started, the story quest officially began.
During this part of the quest, countless meme-worthy moments were born.
For example, the famous line:
"Come on now—who understands Rex Lapis better, you or me?!"
The chat exploded with laughter.
Soon after, a scholar named Wanyan approached Zhongli, asking about the Salt God, Havria.
At that moment, a Fatui member named Klement arrived.
He claimed he wanted to hire Zhongli as a consultant with a hefty payment to help locate ancient relics.
With Wanyan volunteering enthusiastically and Zhongli extending an invitation, the group formed a four-person archaeological team:
Zhongli
Lumine
Paimon
Wanyan
Klement
Their first destination was Guyun Stone Forest, to investigate the Overlord of the Vortex — Osial.
When they arrived at Guyun, Zhongli seemed momentarily nostalgic.
"This place is called Guyun Stone Forest."
"If one wishes to study demon gods or the history of the Archon War, this is an excellent location."
"According to legend, Rex Lapis cast stone spears into the sea, piercing and suppressing a demon god here."
Zhongli looked across the unique landscape and spoke calmly.
The livestream chat exploded instantly.
["According to legend."]
[Bro is literally introducing himself.]
[Zhongli telling his own story with a straight face is killing me.]
[No wonder he and Qiu Nian are friends.]
Everyone struggled not to laugh.
"These stone spears endured centuries of erosion and eventually formed the scenery we see today."
"What remains before us is only the tip of the iceberg."
"The spears Rex Lapis cast back then were far greater in both number and size."
"Many sank into the seabed over time due to erosion or gravity."
Zhongli thoughtfully explained.
Xuehua stared at the towering stone pillars.
"Wait… this is only the tip of the iceberg?"
The chat went wild.
[Just the tip?!]
[Rex Lapis is insane.]
[No wonder Qiu Nian said he lost most of his power.]
[Bro really praising himself casually.]
"So besides weathering, the initial collapse also contributed to the formation of Guyun."
Zhongli continued.
Klement swallowed nervously.
"So… if a god could fight against such power, they must have been incredibly strong."
"Yes," Zhongli replied calmly.
"That is precisely why Guyun holds such research value."
The group split up to search for relics.
Zhongli, Lumine, and Paimon searched one area.
Eventually they discovered a fragment infused with demon god power.
Meanwhile, the other group did not get along well:
Klement cared only about profit.
Wanyan lacked even the most basic archaeological knowledge.
When the teams reunited, Klement greedily took the fragment Zhongli had found.
His goals were simple:
Profit—and demon god power.
Next, the group traveled to Sal Terrae, the domain of the Salt God.
With Zhongli's guidance, they broke the ancient seal and entered the ruins.
Inside, a horrifying sight awaited them.
Human figures turned into salt statues, frozen in the act of fleeing.
It was clear they had tried to escape something.
Before entering deeper, Zhongli made the arguing pair sign a contract:
Each would take relics in turn.
And beneath Sal Terrae's ruins were exactly two relics belonging to Havria.
Both were manifestations of her divine authority.
The first relic:
A salt jar, half full.
But although it was only half full—
it would always remain half full.
No matter how much salt was poured out, it would never empty.
In other words:
Endless salt.
The second relic:
A salt ruler.
When planted into the ground, the surrounding soil would gradually transform into salt.
The deeper it was driven—
the more salt would appear.
Essentially:
A harvest of salt.
However, Klement quickly grew dissatisfied with the contract.
He wanted both relics for himself.
This angered Zhongli.
With a cold expression, Zhongli spoke:
"Those who break their contracts shall suffer the wrath of the rock."
Then he beat Klement down thoroughly.
Afterward, Zhongli confiscated everything Klement had collected and threw him out of the ruins.
At the same time, he pointed out a simple truth:
None of the people in this so-called archaeological team were truly here for archaeology.
Wanyan finally revealed her real identity.
She belonged to the Yinyuan Hall, one of the organizations under the Qixing's Eight Ministries, responsible for the salt trade.
She was also a descendant of the Salt God's followers.
Her goal in this "archaeological expedition" was to restore Havria's divine authority.
She even tried to prove that Morax had assassinated Havria out of jealousy for her power.
Thus, she demanded that Zhongli reveal the truth.
Zhongli continued guiding the group.
Eventually they discovered two broken sword fragments placed in worship.
Because the contract was still in effect, Wanyan could only take one half.
But she wanted both halves, hoping to restore the sword.
So she resolved to break the contract—
even if it meant risking her life.
As punishment for breaking the contract,
Zhongli revealed the truth.
The truth was simple.
And cruel.
Havria was not a powerful god.
She was kind… but weak.
She constantly retreated from conflict, losing territory again and again.
She wanted to avoid war.
She wanted to protect her people.
But in the end—
she could protect no one.
Eventually, only a small refuge remained.
Her followers realized the truth.
A god so gentle…
so yielding…
could never protect them.
Rather than letting her suffer humiliation and torture after defeat—
they chose to give her a gentler end.
So they assassinated their own god.
When Havria died,
her divine body collapsed into a bloom of salt flowers.
Her unleashed power turned many of her followers into salt statues.
The person who struck the killing blow was frozen forever—
captured in the exact moment of betrayal.
Some followers managed to escape and fled to Liyue, seeking protection from Morax.
Later generations feared the curse of their god.
So someone risked their life to return to Sal Terrae.
They broke the sword used to kill Havria and placed it here with the other relics.
They hoped this would calm her anger.
But in truth—
it was unnecessary.
Because the god who never resisted—
even until the very end—
would never hate her own people.
The broken swords were not symbols of rebellion.
They were proof of betrayal.
Unable to accept this truth,
Wanyan fled the ruins in despair.
Enjoyed these chapters? Access advanced chapters and exclusive content by visiting my Patreon. https://patreon.com/WillOFD129?