The speed of the wind—
Is incredibly fast.
Especially since Venti is the God of Wind.
With the power to manipulate Mondstadt's ley lines, he quickly departed from its territory.
However, once he reached Liyue, that ability no longer applied.
Still, he could arrive within a day.
Crossing through the Stone Gate, the scenery of Liyue—so vastly different from Mondstadt—came into view.
Golden earth, towering rocks, and shimmering lakes.
Mountains and plains interlaced in harmony—truly pleasing to the eye.
In the blink of an eye, the group had soared past Wangshu Inn.
Yet, Venti's expression grew noticeably more serious.
Noticing this, Diluc spoke in a low voice:
"Something wrong?"
Venti gave a slight nod and came to a temporary stop.
After waiting a moment, his tone turned slightly grave.
"Something's happened..."
"Wangshu Inn is the territory of the old man's top general—Xiao, the Conqueror of Demons, one of the Adepti of The Three-Eyed Five-Manifests."
"Normally, if we flew over Wangshu Inn, Xiao would have intercepted us…"
"In fact, the moment I used divine power to reach Liyue, that petty old man should've instantly caught me and handed down the Planet Befall."
"But..."
Venti didn't finish his sentence.
Everyone understood.
It was likely that the Geo Archon and Xiao were both absent.
As for where they had gone—
Venti already had a guess in his heart.
After a moment of silence, Venti once again summoned his divine power.
"Let's go!"
Empowered by violent winds, Venti went all out.
He couldn't care less about divine contracts—he was truly worried that something had happened to Zhongli.
After all, Zhongli was his close friend. Among the original Seven Archons, only the two of them remained.
Venti couldn't imagine not having Zhongli to share drinks with anymore.
A dark teal storm streaked across the sky. In just over ten minutes, they had traveled from Wangshu Inn to the area around Dihua Marsh.
At that moment, Venti came to a halt.
"Venti?"
Lumine asked cautiously. Venti, however, relaxed a little, his expression easing.
"Some old friends have arrived. No need to worry."
As he spoke, several rainbow-like streaks of light shot across the sky.
Leading them were a deer, a crane, and an elderly woman whose face was hard to make out.
Behind them followed seven distinct beings—
Or rather, Adepti...
"Barbatos, halt your advance!"
A calm male voice rang out. The overwhelming divine power of the ten Adepti surged to the heavens, tearing through the clouds and staining the sky with energy.
The sheer intensity of elemental and adeptal energy left everyone but Venti tense and on edge.
Liyue's profound heritage truly surprised Jean and the others.
They had heard tales of the Adepti—
But never this many!
"Hehe! Long time no see, everyone. No need to get so worked up! I'm just here to visit the old man!"
Venti raised his hands innocently, acting clueless.
Madame Ping's voice sounded softly:
"Barbatos, if this is merely a visit, was such an entrance really necessary? Do you still remember the Pact of the Seven?"
"If the Geo Archon knew you were using Anemo divine power in Liyue without permission, Planet Befall would await you."
Unfazed, Venti shrugged helplessly.
"Pingzi, you should understand—we haven't been able to contact the old man, and now he's up to something big again."
"I just wanted to confirm that he's safe."
Venti's words were sincere, and the Adepti knew it.
Besides, he was an old friend of Zhongli's and on good terms with the rest of them.
So they withdrew their powers.
Lishui glanced at the Adepti who had followed and motioned for them to return to their posts.
Soon, only the three remained.
Venti turned and introduced them to Jean and the others.
"These three are the old man's Adepti—Lishui Dieshan Zhenjun, Moon Carver, and Mountain Shaper."
Jean and the others bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, honored Adepti."
The three nodded slightly in return.
"Oh right, where's Cloud Retainer? Why isn't she here?"
Venti asked curiously.
Madame Ping chuckled and shook her head.
"Don't try to fish for answers. The Geo Archon and the others are handling something very important. Their safety isn't an issue—they're just not here at the moment."
Hearing this, Venti sighed in relief.
"As long as the old man's fine... Sheesh, pulling off something this massive without saying a word, I thought he had..."
He didn't finish his sentence, and the others let it slide with small laughs.
"In any case, the Archon is safe. But you'd best disperse your divine power quickly—he never forgets a contract."
"And considering you used your power today, if he finds out, things might get troublesome."
At Madame Ping's warning, Venti scratched his head awkwardly and dismissed his divine energy.
"Still so stingy... That old man really hasn't let go of that matter, huh..."
Lishui sighed lightly.
"To the Archon, no contract is a small matter. If you don't want the Planet Befall, you'd best be on your way."
"Hehe!"
Venti spread his hands with a grin.
"Well, since I'm already here, I might as well plead my case to the old man. I haven't shared a drink with him in years—I really miss him."
Madame Ping chuckled and shook her head gently.
"If that's the case, we won't stop you. But since you've entered Liyue, you must abide by the Archon's rules."
"Within a thousand-mile radius of Liyue Harbor, high-altitude flight is forbidden. You'll need to descend—
Otherwise, you might trigger divine protections left behind by the Archon."
Venti didn't object. He paused, then asked:
"By the way, where's Xiao? How's his karmic debt?"
Upon hearing this, Madame Ping and Lishui exchanged a glance, both wearing slightly relaxed smiles.
"The karmic debt of the Conqueror of Demons has been removed. Thank you for your concern."
"Karmic debt? Removed?!"
Lisa's eyes lit up.
Karmic debt—that was no less troublesome than the curse on her own body.
If even karmic debt could be removed, then perhaps… her curse too...
At that moment, Lisa felt an even stronger urge to head to Liyue Harbor.
"Xiao's doing well? That's great news."
Venti let out a long breath and joked lightly:
"When I flew past Wangshu Inn and didn't see Xiao, I was honestly a little spooked."
With that, Venti waved his hand in farewell.
"Well, we'll get going now. I'll treat you all to a drink when we get to Liyue Harbor!"
"You'd better figure out how to calm the Geo Archon down first, after breaking the contract."
Lishui laughed heartily.
"In that case, farewell, Barbatos."
With those words, the three immortals turned into streaks of rainbow light and dispersed.
Once again, only Venti and the others remained.
Looking out over the tranquil land of Liyue, Diluc and the others couldn't help but click their tongues in awe.
Who would've thought?
This seemingly ordinary place could produce ten immortals at a moment's notice—
Each one more powerful than Dvalin.
And those three in the lead?
They were even stronger than the residual soul of the demon god in Wolvendom.
"Liyue... truly a land of hidden dragons and crouching tigers,"
Diluc shook his head in amazement.
"No wonder the Fatui, who rampage across Teyvat, can only tuck their tails here and take the hits…"
There was unmistakable envy in his tone.
If Mondstadt had this kind of power reserve…
Forget expelling the Fatui—Diluc would've already wiped them out.
Even if a Harbinger came, just summon an immortal, and it's game over.
Can't beat them?
Then summon two!
Still, deep down, Diluc didn't think their wind god was all that lacking.
At the very least, Venti had been around for a long time and had strong connections.
A friend like the God of War, solid ties with Liyue's immortals...
If Mondstadt were ever in danger, maybe even the Geo Archon would lend a hand.
Venti didn't seem to mind what Diluc was thinking. With a cheeky smile, he led everyone down to the ground.
"After all, during the Archon War, this was the most dangerous battlefield."
"Back then, the old man had a dragon king under his command, five Yakshas, hundreds of immortals, and even a few demon gods followed him."
"Even though many were lost over the years, Liyue still has no shortage of immortals."
"And what you saw just now? That wasn't even all of them—many more are traveling or in seclusion across Teyvat."
"Eh-heh! But that's not what we need to worry about now!"
Venti blinked, suddenly looking toward the direction of Guili Plains.
"Such a strong aura of an otherworldly presence…"
Hearing that, everyone turned their attention in the same direction.
However, unlike Venti, they couldn't see that far.
They only spotted three Ruin Guards, dozens of Hilichurls, and even two Juvenile Geovishaps wandering around.
Jean frowned slightly.
"Seems like Liyue isn't completely at peace either… Since we've already intruded, why don't we deal with these monsters first?"
Honestly, Jean could've handled these foes alone with some time.
But now that they had the numbers, there was no need to solo it.
Everyone nodded in agreement and was just about to set off—
Suddenly, Venti stopped them with a playful grin, pointing toward the trembling earth in the distance.
"No need~ Just sit back and enjoy the show."
"Liyue really has birthed some terrifying forces, huh?"
Hearing this, Jean and the others were puzzled and about to ask—
But in that moment, a brilliant golden light flickered on the distant horizon.
They squinted, and finally made it out.
A cavalry unit!
Their armor gleamed under the sunlight.
"What… is that?!"
Jean stared in shock at the Ironclad cavalry Only five of them, but—
Their horses were covered head to hoof in full plate armor, as were the riders.
Only their faces were visible.
As the horses charged forward, their hooves crushed the earth, leaving a trail of deep craters.
Following behind them were five more soldiers in lighter armor.
Jean had never seen such over-the-top cavalry.
With just five of them, they looked capable of plowing through a hundred enemies.
But then—
"Those horses… there's something off about them!"
Diluc's eyes burned with excitement, as if he'd spotted some precious treasure.
"The armor on those riders and horses—it's got to weigh nearly ten tons in total!"
"How are those horses carrying all that weight?!"
But the others were too stunned to answer him.
In the distance, those cavalrymen showed no signs of hesitation despite the swarm of monsters.
In fact, they looked excited.
At the front, the cavalry captain raised his long spear.
"Brothers! Jackpot! Haven't seen this many monsters in ages!"
The other four shouted in agreement, looking at the enemies like they'd just struck gold.
"I'll only say it once! Whoever you hit in the first charge—it's yours!"
"Everyone, prepare!"
As soon as he spoke, all five heavy cavalrymen bowed their heads in unison.
Their lances locked into place with some kind of mechanism on the saddles.
"Charge!"
No ancient warhorn.
No extra words.
The earth shattered beneath the hooves of their horses.
In the blink of an eye, the already fast steeds suddenly accelerated.
With an overwhelming force, they barreled straight toward the Hilichurls.
And so, in the stunned gaze of Jean and the others—
The Hilichurl tents, watchtowers, defensive structures—
Even the Hilichurls and Berserkers themselves—
—were all sent flying by the charging warhorses.
From the sky…
It began to rain Hilichurls.
~~----------------------
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