flstandardbreds Chapter 317 Empty: I didn't expect to receive a mission after all.
Chapter 317 Empty: I didn't expect to receive a mission after all.
"This is it," Paimon said, pointing to the house in front of him from somewhere in Chihu Rock. "Is Xianyun here? We need to talk to you!"
However, it was not Xianyun, whom Paimon had imagined, who opened the door, but Shuyu.
"It's Brother Kong and Paimon! Long time no see!"
"Shuyu, it's been a long time!" Paimon greeted her happily. "But where's your master? Why was it you who opened the door?"
"Master has gone back to his cave on some business," Shuyu replied. "He won't be back for a while."
"Huh? Is it really okay to leave you alone at home?" Paimon asked with some concern.
“My master left me some small self-defense tools before he left, and this place is not far from where Senior Sister Shenhe works, so if there is any commotion, Senior Sister Shenhe can come over quickly.”
“That makes sense. If you think about it, this place is only one street away from Wanmintang. With Shenhe’s speed, he can get here very quickly.”
"So, Paimon, what brings you here to see your master?"
"Well, since she's not here, we won't bother you any longer. I remember Xianyun's cave is in Mount Aozang. Let's set off now!"
After saying goodbye to Wan Shuyu, they headed towards Jueyun Port. After leaving Liyue Harbor, Kinich asked curiously.
"Was that child a disciple of an immortal? And was that waitress at Wanmintang also one?"
“Yes!” Paimon nodded. “Shen He was abandoned by her family for some reason. Xianyun found her in the mountains and adopted her as his disciple. As for Shuyu, it’s because of a somewhat complicated past…”
“If there’s anything you feel uncomfortable saying, you don’t have to,” Kinich stopped Paimon from speaking.
"Okay... but speaking of which, I haven't seen Qiao. It's been so long since I've seen him out, I'm a little not used to it..."
“After all, Ajo is a creature that relies on phlogiston to exist. Without the high concentration of phlogiston in Nata’s environment, he can’t come out at any time,” Kinich explained.
"So this is ah……"
A few days later, the group chatted all the way to the top of Mount Ozang. As soon as they arrived at the top, Paimon couldn't help but complain, panting heavily.
"Finally, we've reached the top of the mountain. It's been so long since I've run this way, it feels a bit strange."
Kinich looked around and said, "But we don't seem to see any habitable places around here. What should we do next?"
"This, this is very simple." Paimon patted his chest to catch his breath and said, "We just need to make some delicious food and put it on the table in the middle of the lake. When Xianyun smells the aroma of the food, he will naturally appear."
"?"
Kinich looked at Paimon in confusion, never expecting that meeting a celestial being would be so simple. Even Yelan, standing to the side, was somewhat surprised, after all, it wasn't uncommon for people to come here seeking celestial beings, and they all knew that offering sacrifices was necessary to see them.
As far as she knew, only the offerings made by Kong and his group had successfully moved the immortals. It was only because the current Liuyun Zhenjun, who lived here, used the pseudonym Xianyun Chenshi Xianyou that the higher-ups of Liyue had more opportunities to make contact with the immortals.
The other two immortals who appeared in Jueyun are even more rare and hard to come by. It's hard to know where Paimon got the confidence to make this sound so simple. Perhaps this is their unique destiny as immortals.
In no time, Kong had prepared a table full of food and placed it on the stone table. Immediately, the aroma of the food began to waft through the air, and soon a sound came from the cave not far away.
"I was wondering who would set up offerings outside, but it turns out it was you. In that case, please come in."
As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful suction force came from the cave entrance, and everyone was gently pulled into the cave by this force. At the same time, the food on the stone table floated steadily around everyone.
After passing through a barrier inside the cave, the group arrived at Xianyun's cave dwelling. Just as Kinich was still marveling at the strange sight before him, Xianyun, who had transformed into a crane, arrived in front of them carrying Fu Hua.
When Fu Hua arrived on the ground, Xianyun also transformed into human form: "Since you brought these two outsiders here, it means you have something to discuss with me. So, what is it?"
"Hehe!" Paimon scratched his head sheepishly. "Actually, it's nothing. I just heard that an abyss was discovered in Shenyu Valley a while ago, and that abyss was solved by an unknown immortal, so I came to find out what happened."
Upon hearing this, Xianyun and Fu Hua exchanged a glance. Although they knew that the Liyue leadership would notice them afterward, they did not expect that in addition to Yelan representing the Liyue leadership, someone from Nata would also be here.
Yes, Fu Hua, who had met Ginych once before, recognized him as soon as he came into their view. While guessing why Ginych was here, Fu Hua also explained Ginych's identity to Xianyun through telepathy.
Xianyun also showed some curiosity about Kinich's Nata identity, after all, she had heard about Nata's situation from Zhongli.
Moreover, according to Fu Hua, the young man in front of her is very likely one of the candidates for the next God of Fire, which makes Xian Yun think more highly of him.
Unfortunately, even though the gods on Nata's side were chosen from among humans, their lifespan was only a mere hundred years, which was still a lifespan that other ordinary humans could not easily reach.
Therefore, even if the boy in front of him is a strong contender for the next Vulcan, he will most likely not live to see that time.
"You mean that matter? To be honest, it was actually resolved by me, Fu Hua, and two other people."
"Huh? You guys solved it?!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise. "Can you tell us what happened?"
"Of course, there's nothing to hide about this. Besides, we're here to conduct some experiments, but let me explain the specifics after I finish explaining your investigation..."
Then Xianyun recounted the situation and what happened afterward to everyone in detail, during which Kinic also showed a thoughtful expression...
"In short, that's how it is. Now that the Abyss has found a way to re-invade Teyvat, Kiana, as the embodiment of justice, although capable of completely resolving the issue, chose to stand by for other reasons, but she also left us a backup plan."
"I don't understand, why would Kiana choose to leave something that she could have solved herself to us (the people of Teyvat)?" Paimon said, finding it hard to accept.
"To be honest, even I find it hard to imagine that this is the choice that the Kiana I know would make." Fu Hua also didn't understand. "The only thing I can think of right now is that she has her reasons for doing this, but I can't judge what those reasons are."
"Could it be because she sees this as a trial for all beings in Teyvat?" Kong speculated. "After all, Kiana's status in Teyvat is the natural order, and..."
"That's all we can speculate on for now," Fu Hua sighed. "Fortunately, Kiana has some backup plans. We're currently studying the manifestations of the new Abyss power, but progress is slow."
"Hmph! In the end, it's still that Kanriyan man who can't cooperate!" Xianyun said unhappily. "Ever since I brought him here, he's been urging me to finish my research quickly so he can continue tracking the Abyss Order. But the problem is that he's unwilling to fully cooperate with my experiments, which is why the progress is slow. And he's the one blaming us instead."
"Huh? Dain's here too?" Paimon asked.
Fu Hua nodded and said, "After all, he now has new abyssal power within him, and he needs the other party's help to deal with this new type of abyssal power."
"So the reason you came back here is to study the new abyss?" Yelan asked.
“That’s right. After all, this power combines the properties of the Abyss and Honkai. If we rashly conduct research in the city, it could cause an accident and cause trouble. After thinking it over, I still think it’s better to conduct research here.”
“That makes sense,” Paimon agreed. “After all, this place was created by Xianyun. If something happens, it won’t affect Teyvat. Besides, with your strength, dealing with the chain reaction that follows is the most troublesome thing.”
"Now that the truth has been uncovered, I'll head back and report," Ye Lan said.
"can."
After saying that, Xianyun waved her hand and sent Yelan out of the cave. Then she turned her gaze to Ginich, who was standing to the side.
"The situation is urgent, and I need to hurry back to report to Lady Mavica. I won't delay any longer."
After saying that, he asked Xianyun to send him out as well. Once Kinich returned to the cave on Mount Ozang, he immediately set off towards Yilongbu.
Fortunately, Mount Aozang is very close to the Valley of Sinking Jade. Although there are various cliffs along the way, these are no problem for the Suspended Wood People who are always keen on various adventures.
On the other side, after seeing the two off, Xianyun finally had time to taste the offerings that Kong had presented earlier. Thanks to the heat preservation device that he had invented recently, the food taken out of it still maintained its original temperature even after so long.
After placing the food back on the stone table, Xianyun gestured for the three of them to come and eat together.
"Come and eat, we can talk after we finish eating."
"Speaking of which, shouldn't we leave some for Dain?" Paimon asked.
"Him? He's cursed with immortality, so going hungry for a few meals won't bother him!"
It would have been better if they hadn't mentioned it, but the moment Dains Reeb was mentioned, Xianyun's face immediately darkened. Paimon realized that Dains Reeb was now Xianyun's Achilles' heel, so he stopped talking about him and silently picked up his chopsticks to start eating.
It has to be said that the food Kong made was really delicious; even Paimon, who ate it every day, still praised it highly.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Xianyun poured a cup of tea for everyone. As Paimon smelled the aroma of the tea, he completely relaxed.
"Speak, what else do you want to know?"
Kong and Paimon looked at each other. To be honest, they were just here to join in the fun. The two main parties involved had already left, and for a while, they didn't know what to ask.
Xianyun, of course, noticed the situation between the two. He sighed, took a sip of hot tea, and began to slowly recount his story.
"Where should I begin? Let's start with that Kanriyan."
"Oh right, I'm a little curious about how Dain acquired that new Abyss power?"
"Do you remember what I told you about the aftermath in the cave earlier?"
“I remember.” Paimon nodded. “You said that after dealing with the Abyss Order, Kiana appeared and turned that energy source into a black crystal.”
“That crystal was created by Kiana based on the existence form of the Herrscher core,” Fu Hua added. “Therefore, Daines Reeb became the first Herrscher in the true sense of the word when he chose to fuse with that crystal.”
"So, isn't the Herrscher a bad thing? Why do you seem so wary of that name, Fu Hua?"
Paimon was very confused. Judging from the videos in the group chat, most of the people fighting against the Honkai had the identity of Herrscher. Was becoming a Herrscher really that bad?
“That’s because you don’t know what the true meaning of a Herrscher is,” Fu Hua sighed. “I know your impressions of Herrschers come from group chats, and in the videos reviewed in those chats, Herrschers mostly appear as members fighting against the Honkai. But that’s just a special case, although there are quite a few of those special cases…”
"So what's wrong with this?"
Fu Hua sighed again, and then began to tell the story of the previous civilization...
"...This is why the Herrschers of the present civilization possess humanity and why they fight against the Honkai with their own will. Without Alicia's sacrifice, there would be no Herrschers in the present civilization who would fight for humanity."
“So that’s how it is…” Paimon’s voice began to wane. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know any of this. I thought Herrschers were born with humanity…”
"This isn't your fault, so now you understand why we need to seize the time to conduct research before the Abyss launches a large-scale invasion."
"Okay, I think I understand."
"Do you need our help?" Kong asked.
"If possible, please help search for traces of the Abyss," Fu Hua said. "So much time has passed, I'm worried that the Abyss has invaded again. If it erupts, I'm concerned that a Herrscher might appear."
“Hmm, we definitely need to pay attention, but where should we start looking?” Paimon asked.
After thinking for a moment, Fu Hua said, "Let's start from the place where it last appeared. After all, that's where the Abyss reappeared, so it's necessary to investigate it again."
As she spoke, Fu Hua took out a map and pointed out the place to Kong, while also taking out a device from her person.
"Take this."
After emptying the device, he asked, "What is this...?"
"This is a detection device that Bronya temporarily created based on the new Abyss power fluctuations. It can more accurately find traces of the Abyss's appearance. Also, if you have time, you can go to Liyue Harbor to see Kiana. If it's you, I think Kiana will reveal more information."
After listening, Kong carefully put away the device, then took the map and left Mount Ozang with Paimon.