Just as Second Brother Jun Mo Li was about to engage in swordsmanship exchange with Shiba Kaoru's close bodyguard, Jun Bai finally entered the airspace above Inazuma's sea.
In the thunderstorm, purple electric arcs like swimming snakes surged toward Jun Bai from all directions.
"Although I haven't recovered all my strength yet, I am not someone your kind of remnant might of the Raiden Shogun can provoke!"
Jun Bai closed the system window. Facing the lightning that was now within reach, crimson flames ignited around his body. A hundred-meter-long true phoenix roared forth, directly blasting a vacuum zone into the thunderstorm.
With flaming wings flapping, Jun Bai followed the vacuum and entered Inazuma.
"Inazuma... This is the first time I've come here since signing the contract with the Shogun."
"Let me think. The first person I need to find upon arriving in Inazuma is naturally still her."
Thinking this, Jun Bai retracted his flaming wings, landed in the suburbs of Narukami Island, and began looking around.
Then his gaze suddenly froze on a certain spot: "Found it."
Jun Bai took three steps in two, arriving in front of a cute little kitsune statue.
This was an Earth Kitsune Statue. If one used a tool called the Memento Lens to shine light on it, it would display images from the past.
Guizhong had once studied it. Essentially, it was an anchor point connected to the Ley Lines.
Displaying past images was, in principle, recording a certain type of information from the Ley Lines into the statue, then extracting it when needed through the Memento Lens.
Of course, while this little thing functioned as a camera, it could also serve as a medium for spells.
Simply put, it could act as a surveillance eye for a certain little kitsune who liked staying at the shrine to monitor Narukami Island.
This was also the reason why, in the original plot, Yae Miko could detect the Traveler's arrival on the island at the very first moment.
It wasn't because Yae Miko, like the Kamisato Clan, possessed an independent intelligence organization outside the Three Commissions.
It was purely because the entire Narukami Island was connected to Yae Miko's "surveillance."
Jun Bai waved his hand in front of the Earth Kitsune Statue and said: "Little kitsune, are you at the shrine? If not, hurry back. I'm heading to the shrine to find you now."
Seeing the Earth Kitsune Statue with no reaction, Jun Bai felt no surprise. Instead, he directly spread his flaming wings and flew toward the summit of Mt. Yougou.
Grand Narukami Shrine.
Located at the summit of Mt. Yougou, it was one of Inazuma's most important buildings. The shrine maidens working within it constituted an important profession that upheld Inazuma's theocratic supremacy.
Even without shrine maidens, Inazuma would still be a theocratic nation. After all, Teyvat truly had gods, and Inazuma was also a nation ruled by a god.
In the world Jun Bai originally came from, shrine maidens were actually closer to a cultural symbol.
However, compared to the world Jun Bai lived in before crossing over, Teyvat's shrine maidens were genuine divine officials.
First, Teyvat truly had gods; second, Teyvat's shrine maidens could genuinely communicate with gods.
As soon as Jun Bai arrived at the Grand Narukami Shrine, the Guuji who had the closest relationship with Inazuma's god walked over:
"Ara ara～ What a rare guest～"
Yae Miko, wearing her modified shrine maiden outfit, walked over with her long legs in open-toed platform sandals.
"It's been a hundred years since we last met. Have you finally remembered your old friend in Inazuma?" Yae Miko stood in front of Jun Bai, looking up at him as she spoke.
Jun Bai crossed his arms and said: "After all, the one I know is Ei, not the current puppet."
"Ei sealed herself away, and outside there's still the puppet using her authority to create thunderstorms. Naturally, I wouldn't come to Inazuma idly to get struck by lightning."
"I don't want my carefully groomed wings to turn pitch black because of lightning."
Yae Miko asked in confusion: "Aren't your wings groomed by Sister Guizhong?"
"Yeah, that doesn't conflict with me not wanting to dirty my wings."
Jun Bai said righteously.
Yae Miko silently rolled her eyes at Jun Bai: "Come in. I suppose you don't want to be surrounded by residents coming to pray at the shrine entrance either."
Jun Bai followed behind Yae Miko into the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Jun Bai looked around the Grand Narukami Shrine. The layout was not much different from the game, the difference was the size...
In the game, walking one lap took about twenty seconds. Now Jun Bai followed Yae Miko for quite a while and still hadn't reached the place where Yae Miko usually idled.
Arriving in front of a large tree trimmed into the shape of a kitsune, Yae Miko stood under the tree, spread her arms, and said with a kitsune smile:
"Welcome to the Grand Narukami Shrine."
"Have you communicated with the bionic person from the Adventurers' Guild before? Your tone is exactly the same."
Jun Bai complained, then looked at the large tree behind Yae Miko and silently sensed it.
There was nothing unusual about it. This was just an ordinary cherry blossom tree, not the Sacred Sakura from the original plot.
This was normal. After all, the Sacred Sakura was essentially the final origin and consciousness of Raiden Makoto's dreams preserved as a seed.
Then the seed completed its closed loop during the great battle between Raiden Ei and the Raiden Shogun five hundred years ago before it could appear.
There must be a cause for an effect. Without the seed, even if Raiden Ei and the Raiden Shogun would still erupt into a great battle in the future, the Sacred Sakura would still not appear on Inazuma's land.
The seed was born because of Raiden Makoto. However, Raiden Makoto now...
As for why Inazuma was not destroyed during the Khaenri'ah Cataclysm even after losing the Sacred Sakura, it was naturally because of Jun Bai.
Jun Bai had deep connections with the three nations of Mondstadt, Liyue, and Inazuma.
In Mondstadt, Jun Bai was a rebel who, together with Barbatos, overthrew the rule of the Dragon of the Vortex, Decarabian, and fought a decisive battle against the Lone King of the Tower in the skies of Old Mondstadt.
He was also a reliable ally who, together with the current Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, resisted the Abyss.
In Liyue, Jun Bai was one of Liyue's Three Gods, the Nirvana God, the God of Fire and Agriculture, the Harvest God who brought abundant harvests and freed the people from famine. He was also the Sky Phoenix Marshal who accompanied Rex Lapis in the Archon War.
And in Inazuma, Jun Bai was likewise not unknown.
During the Khaenri'ah Cataclysm five hundred years ago, the first Electro Archon Baal went to Khaenri'ah to suppress the Abyss, while creations related to Gold Rhinedottir rampaged across the Seven Nations.
Mondstadt had the poisonous dragon Durin, Liyue had the black beast tide, Sumeru had the giant farmland machine, Fontaine had Elynas...
Inazuma naturally was no exception. Five hundred years ago, Rifthounds rampaged in Inazuma. Countless evil spirits revived due to the abyssal aura carried by the Rifthounds.
Chaos. At that time, Inazuma could be said to be full of chaotic phenomena.
But with a god-level figure holding the fort, the harm to Inazuma had not yet reached the level of national destruction.
However, Raiden Ei, who was holding the fort in Inazuma, could not feel at ease about Raiden Makoto who had gone far to Khaenri'ah. After all, Raiden Makoto was skilled in literature but not in martial arts.
Her concern for her loved one ultimately made Raiden Ei set aside Inazuma and choose to head to Khaenri'ah.
Losing Raiden Ei, and without the Sacred Sakura's protection from the original plot, Inazuma during the cataclysm was in imminent danger.
And Jun Bai, in this segment of the story, played the role of the Sacred Sakura from the original plot.
——Side Note
During the cataclysm, Jun Bai first went to Khaenri'ah together with Rex Lapis, then directly flew to Inazuma to handle the disaster, and only returned to Liyue afterward.
At that time, Jun Bai did not have the memories of a transmigrator, so he did not have an omniscient perspective.
This also led to a series of tragedies such as Skybracer's death in battle, countless Millelith casualties, and Big Brother taking Little Flame and falling into the Chasm.
Otherwise, Jun Bai at his absolute peak holding the fort in Liyue would have made Liyue as immovable as a mountain.