They won the Holy Grail War, but this turned out to be the Virtual Tree Universe.

Chapter 557 Extra Chapter (22) Walter: "Have you ever heard the word 'bail'?"

The purpose of the Dragon King Ruoduo summoning Danheng was to resurrect him. The three people in front of him were not surprised, but they all fell silent.

Danheng and Walter did not expect that the Dragon King Ruoduo would be so direct, saying it in front of Zhongli, who was sealing it.

As for Zhongli, he knew how straightforward Ruotu Dragon King was.

However, he wanted to hear Danheng's opinion now, so he didn't offer any.

The silence at the scene puzzled the Dragon King Ruotu, so he stared at Danheng and asked again.
"Fellow countrymen, why are you silent?"

If Xing were here, she would definitely reply to King Ruotu with "He is the cold-faced little green dragon".

However, at this time, Danheng's No. 1 mouth substitute star was not there, nor was No. 2 mouth substitute March 7.

With no one to joke around with, Dan Heng could only speak in a serious tone.
"On the way here, I heard Mr. Zhongli tell me your legend."

If your purpose in resurrecting me is still to break the seal and lead the Geodude into war against Liyue, I refuse to resurrect you.

King Ruoduo was very puzzled by Danheng's answer.

It didn't ask Zhongli what story he told, because it subconsciously felt that Zhongli wouldn't lie.

What the Dragon King Ruo Tuo couldn't understand was why Dan Heng, who was clearly his fellow countryman, cared so much about humans.
So it directly asked its question.

“Fellow countryman, why do you care about the lives of the people of Liyue? When I first sensed you, you were in the far northwest. You must not live in Liyue.”

Moreover, the greedy humans keep digging deep into the earth to obtain minerals, which are the food on which my Rock Dragon race depends for survival.

Humans can continuously plunder my race's food, driving my Rock Dragon race to the brink of extinction, yet I cannot retaliate. What is the reason for this?

What King Ruoduo said actually makes a lot of sense. Zhongli couldn't deny that the trigger for that battle was that the miners in the Layered Rock Abyss dug through the ceiling of King Ruoduo's lair.

To be honest, if King Ruotu had simply lost his temper and killed all the miners, Zhongli probably wouldn't have sent troops to punish him; instead, he would have taken the initiative to apologize.

Just like now, if someone were to trespass into the caves of several immortals, Zhongli would have no objection to whatever punishment the immortals might give them.

In Liyue, disrespecting a Celestial Master is a serious crime written into the law. If someone trespasses into a Celestial's cave and is killed, Zhongli will definitely stand on the side of the Celestials.

However, to say that humans have completely depleted the rock dragon's food supply is an absolute exaggeration.

The people of Liyue did indeed engage in excessive mining for a period of time, almost hollowing out Mount Tianheng near Liyue Harbor, which led to numerous landslides.

Therefore, Zhongli, in his capacity as the Rock King Emperor, had long ago ordered a restriction on people's excessive mining for money.

Even though Zhongli has now abdicated, the Liyue Seven Stars have not dared to rescind this resolution.

However, Danheng and Walter were certainly unaware of the intricacies involved. Seeing that they were stumped, Zhongli could only explain...
"What Ruoduo said was indeed true at the time. Before the battle, the Liyue people did indeed seize ore from the Rock Dragons in the Rocky Abyss."

However, after that, I stopped allowing the Liyue people to over-mine the Stratorock Abyss.

The crystal sand in the Layered Rock Abyss will grow on its own over time, and the sand on the surface alone is enough to make Liyue rich.

Now, mineral development in Liyue has long since stabilized. When you last awoke, even the wild rock dragons came to the surface.

"Rota, you don't need to worry about the rock dragon lizards having nothing to eat because all the underground minerals have been mined out by humans."

Danheng and Walter believed Zhongli's words. Putting aside everything else, Danheng had just explored the Layered Rock Abyss.

Dan Heng knew that mining there was now mostly done on top of deep pits on the surface.

Although there were people underground, they were clearly not there to mine. Those gathered together seemed to be investigating the pollution of the abyss, while the scattered individuals appeared to be trapped beneath it.

So, after Zhongli finished speaking, Danheng told the truth.

“Mr. Zhongli is right. I just went to the Lava Abyss, and the Liyue people are indeed only mining on the surface now.”

However, the abyssal power below is so intense that it is difficult for ordinary people to work in such an environment.

Therefore, I'm not sure whether the Liyue people are mining only on the surface because the environment doesn't allow it or because of official orders.

Furthermore, if the Rock Dragons' food source is the Layered Rock Abyss, then I believe that place is no longer suitable for their survival.

The power of the abyss doesn't discriminate between humans and dragons; those corrupted by it face mortal danger.

In Ruo Tuo's view, Dan Heng's words were definitely biased towards outsiders, so it roared in displeasure.

"But it's also true that humans are shrinking the living space of rock dragons!"

Fellow countryman, I don't recommend that you consider the issue from a humanistic perspective!

I once loved this land, which holds so many beautiful memories, just like you, and I also loved those little humans who gathered under someone's wings.

However, look at what happened to me.
I will never forget the pain of a scorching arrow piercing my body, or the suffocating feeling of my neck being firmly trapped.

And the cold, sharp gaze emanating from someone's golden eyes.

As the Dragon King Ruoduo spoke, he began to look at Zhongli with icy eyes, still harboring resentment over that battle from years ago.

Faced with the Dragon King Ruoduo's complaints, Zhongli wanted to explain, but he sensed the Dragon King's chill in his last words.

However, if the Dragon King Ruotu does not let go of his hatred, Zhongli will not be able to break the seal and set it free.

Teyvat was already at a critical juncture of life and death. If the Dragon King Rota were to be controlled by the Abyss again, it would be detrimental to Liyue.

So Zhongli's last words turned into a sigh, and he closed his eyes in despair.

Fortunately, Walter, who had been listening in the entire time, had a clearer perspective and saw that both Zhongli and Ruoduo Dragon King had reasons that made the meeting deadlocked.

Because of his identity, Danheng couldn't show favoritism to either the dragons or the humans.

So Walter spoke up.
“Mr. Zhongli, given the situation of the Dragon King Ruoduo, could we simply release his soul and let him go out to try to adapt to modern life, and then decide whether to lift the seal and grant him complete freedom based on his performance?”

From what I've heard of your past stories, there's a lot of misunderstanding involved.

As for the current conflict, in my opinion, it can be resolved through discussion and coordination.

Although I just arrived in Liyue today, I can see large uninhabited areas in the wilderness after entering Liyue.

Moreover, most of these areas are towering mountains.

Since there are so many unclaimed mountains, wouldn't allocating one area for the rock dragons to live in alleviate the current conflict?

Walter's words made Zhongli think.

After a moment, Zhongli said seriously.

"The theory is feasible, but since only a part of the soul carries consciousness, Ruoduo's destructive power will not be too great. Naturally, I am willing to let it go out and experience life in Liyue."

As for allocating a mountainous area for rock dragons to live in, there's no problem with that.

The fact that Liyue was able to stand firm during the Demon God War is largely due to the great contributions of Rota. It would be no problem to allocate a piece of land to Rota and its people to live on.

However, although I possess the magical technique to separate consciousness from the body, Ruo Tuo does not.

As the Rock Dragon King, it was born with divine power, so it never cultivated immortal techniques.

Although one can forcefully separate a portion of consciousness from the body using overwhelming strength, it cannot be sustained.

I am not skilled in the soul, nor can I help preserve a soul that has left the body.

If we were to teach Ruoduo the arts of immortality from scratch, it would probably take a very long time.

Zhongli agreed to Walter's plan because he remembered the incident a few years ago when the Dragon King Ruoduo's benevolent thoughts possessed Kunjun. This incident proved that as long as Ruoduo didn't produce too many souls, its power couldn't be fully utilized.

In this situation, even if Naga King Ratna did not let go of his hatred, it was still controllable.

Moreover, this communication also proved that it was the abyss that corrupted the Dragon King Rota's body, and that his spirit was driven mad by the influence of his body, rather than by wear and tear.

This time, the pure soul appeared, and although the Dragon King Ruoduo harbored great resentment, he was no longer as frenzied as he had been during their last meeting.

It seems that the Dragon King of Naga is not in too much of a mental state.

Given Zhongli's deep affection for his past, he would naturally be willing to release a portion of the consciousness of the Dragon King Ruoduo.

It can only be said that Zhongli truly did not understand the Immortal Clan.

If the damage to the Demon God were placed in the Immortal Ship Alliance, it would almost certainly be considered a demonic possession.

However, the Vidyadhara clan does not possess a demonic body.

To be precise, the Vidyadhara clan wouldn't live long enough for the Immortal Demonic Body to activate.

In the neighboring hometown of Welt, on Mars in Honkai Impact 3rd's solar system, there are records showing that immortality can lead to lifelessness, but over time, living beings lose consciousness and eventually become mindless zombies.

But even for ordinary humans affected by the Immortal Calamity Scale, the number of such cases is in the thousands.

A person with a natural lifespan of only eight hundred years would naturally not live long enough for the Immortal Demon to manifest.

The same applies to the Teyvat dragons.

King Ratna was a relatively young dragon king, his actual age being only a few thousand years.

Moreover, due to the characteristics of their planet, the Teyvat dragons are particularly resistant to the power of the Abyss.

Look at the Grass Dragon King Apep, he swallowed a dirty bomb, the Red King, and was tormented by the Abyss for hundreds of years. As soon as the Abyss is removed, he immediately regains his senses.

The Fire Dragon King Shukutl is even more ferocious. Six thousand years ago, during the War of Burial Fire, it was awakened from its deep slumber because Nibelungen introduced the power of the abyss, and the power of the abyss happened to descend upon Nata.

After the War of the Burial Fire, Shukutel, despite the corruption of the abyss, slaughtered the Heavenly Messengers who led his people to wipe out Nata.

Then, it withstood the abyss's corruption for four thousand years, until two thousand years ago when it finally succumbed to the abyss's erosion and began its tyrannical rule over the dragons to maintain its authority.

This shows that the primal dragons of Teyvat have very high resistance to the Abyss.

The reason why the Dragon King Ruoduo went berserk was simply because he was already grumpy when he woke up, and then the abyss amplified that aggravated his condition.

However, the question raised by Zhongli was indeed difficult to answer. Upon hearing it, the Dragon King Ruotu, unusually feeling guilty, said...

"Tch, immortal arts are all minor arts. I am a born rock dragon with inexhaustible power. Why would I need to learn those techniques invented because of the limited elemental energy I can control?"

"A casual stomp of my foot carries the force of tens of millions of pounds; how many immortal techniques can reach my level?"

Danheng and the other two ignored what Ruotuo Dragon King said.

The Dragon King Ruoduo is a pure rock dragon; heaven knows how heavy its mountain-like body is.

One hundred million jin is about fifty thousand tons, which is roughly the size of a solid rock cube with sides of 27 meters for ordinary rock.

However, the density of the rock in the body of the Dragon King Ruoduo is definitely much stronger than that of ordinary rock. With that weight, a single graze could bring a weaker demon god to the brink of death or serious injury.

It can only be said that there is a reason why other demons in the Liyue region cannot compete with Zhongli in the Demon War.

Zhongli is already ridiculously strong, and with the addition of the even more destructive Ruotu Dragon King, there's no way they can fight.

Fortunately, the Dragon King Ruoduo was overconfident in his own power and did not cultivate immortal arts.

If the Dragon King Ruotu had learned immortal arts, Zhongli might not have been able to defeat him back then.

However, not knowing magic is not a problem. For the Starry Sky Train crew, stripping away the spirit, there is now a professional, Demyoge.

Therefore, Danheng took the initiative to say this.

"If it's just a matter of stripping away part of the spirit, one of my companions can help."

"At that time, I can use the power of creation to create a rock artifact, and you can simply attach your spirit to it."

The power of creation here in Danheng is not that he can actually create, but rather the power carried by the fire seed of the Onfaros earth.

As is widely known, the earth beasts and mountain peoples of Onpharos were created by the Titans of the Earth, and their fire is equivalent to a database of species.

Danheng, who fully inherited the power of the Titans of the Earth, can naturally restore these creatures through data.

Of course, the reconstructed creatures are all made of rock, not flesh and blood.

However, the body of the Naga King was originally made of rock, and the rock formations did not affect its movements.

According to Danheng's idea, he planned to place the spirit of the Dragon King of Ratna into a chimera.

Because of its small size, the chimera was easy for Zhongli to carry around.

If it were an earth beast instead, the streets of Liyue would say, "Such a massive creature shouldn't be allowed on the streets."

However, upon hearing that Danheng could create life, the Dragon King Ruoduo immediately exclaimed excitedly...
"Fellow countrymen, can you create things from rocks?"

"Great, then create a body for me based on this image."

After saying that, the Dragon King Ruoduo sculpted a little girl out of a rock.

The little girl created by the Naga King was the same image of Ajiu that it had previously shown before the moon.

Upon seeing this, Danheng immediately looked at Ruoduo Dragon King with a strange expression.

However, Zhongli spoke up for the Dragon King Ruotu at this moment.

“Mr. Danheng, don’t be surprised. Considering the lifespan of the Dragon King, Ruo Tuo, who is several thousand years old, is indeed still in his infancy.”

Dan Heng couldn't refute Zhong Li's words, because there are indeed giant dragons in the universe with lifespans of tens of thousands of years. According to the age classification rules for humans, several thousand years old is indeed considered their juvenile stage.

So, Dan Heng nodded and said...

"Understood. After I leave, I will write to my companions in Sumeru and ask them to go to Inazuma and bring the companions who can help King Rata to Liyue."

Upon hearing Danheng's words, the Dragon King Ruotu turned directly to Zhongli and said in a deep voice...

"Morax, I can't stand this awful place for another day. You need to figure something out."

When Zhongli heard the Dragon King Ruoduo pleading with him, he knew that it had already compromised.

Moreover, back then, the Dragon King Ruoduo would often ask him to come up with solutions whenever he had a problem.

So Zhongli answered with relief.

"Understood, Ruoduo. I will bring the person here in three days at most."

Zhongli said this because he wanted to personally act as a messenger to find someone in Sumeru, since no one in Liyue could possibly be faster at teaching than him.

Of course, Zhongli also hoped to catch a ride on that flying train along the way, which is why she agreed so readily.

　The landslide at Tianheng Mountain is recorded in the story of the magical artifact Black Rock Scarlet Jade.
　　This passage about Ruo Tuo's lover comes from the Dream of the Meteor Dragon.

　　Navelette was actually a young dragon; back then, Egolia was essentially hiring child laborers.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)