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

Chapter 558 Extra Chapter (23) Teyvat Tradition: Celebrating Festivals on One Side and Undergoing Tribulation on the Other
With Zhongli's assurance, the clear-headed Dragon King Ruotu naturally wouldn't cause trouble.

The Dragon King Ruoduo's feelings for Zhongli were quite complicated. He wanted to beat him up to vent his anger for what he had suffered before, but he also trusted him.

Of course, the Dragon King Ruotu's trust was not in vain, and Zhongli took this matter quite seriously.

He took Danheng and Welt away from the seal and sent them back to Liyue Harbor. After asking the two for tokens and letters, he immediately took his leave and headed to Sumeru. He even asked Danheng and Welt to relay his request for leave to Hu Tao.

Danheng and Walter were helpless; Teyvat's cell phone had no signal. If the Star Train were still around, it could serve as a base station and provide a signal within a certain distance.

But now that the train has stopped at Sumeru, Danheng and Walter have no choice but to write to Himeko to tell her the whole story.

Seeing Hu Tao's expression that seemed to say, "Are you two looking for a place to bury my guest?", Dan Heng and Walter could only bite the bullet and say that Zhong Li had suddenly received news that he had gone to Sumeru to find his relatives.

The matter of the Dragon King Ruoduo must not be told to Hu Tao, as doing so would expose Zhong Li's identity, and the two of them had promised to keep it a secret.

Seeing the two men's helpless expressions, and knowing that her own retainer was incredibly capable and not so easily harmed, Hu Tao temporarily suppressed the idea of ​​reporting to the General Affairs Department.

However, she invited Danheng and Walter to stay at the sanctuary for a few days.

Danheng and Walter knew that Hu Tao was keeping an eye on things because she was afraid that the two of them would really harm Zhongli.

Since the two of them had no place to stay in Liyue, they simply followed Kurumi's arrangements.

Fortunately, Hu Tao didn't restrict the two's activities too much these past two days. Instead, she transformed into their tour guide, taking Danheng and Walter wherever they wanted to go.

Three days later, the Star Train returned to Liyue.

Himeko and Sunday had just met the little grass god Narcida in Sumeru. The three of them chatted about dreams and the universe for an afternoon. The next morning, just as they were about to visit the Kyoryuin, Zhongli came to their door.

After reading Walter's letter, and the small piece of dragon scale coral that Danheng had specially left in the letter (this stuff contains the best antibiotic in the universe, which the Vidyads can use directly as medicine).

Himeko temporarily believed the identity of the person in front of her.

Since it was her partner's request, Himeko had no choice but to temporarily bid farewell to Naxida with Zhongli.

Himeko brought Zhongli to see Naxida, actually wanting the Grass God to verify whether this Rock God was real.

The result was obvious: the Rock God himself came to deliver the message, and Himeko dared not delay. Guided by Zhongli, she flew straight to Inazuma.

Then, the three of them were delayed in Inazuma for more than a day because Hoshi and Mitsukishiro were tricked by Yae no Miko into going to Tsurukan Island to experience real ghost stories.

With no other option, the three of them had to take Zhongli to see General Leidian first, and then catch the scoundrel fox and go to Crane View Island to find someone.

The search lasted all day. The fog over Heguan was caused by the falling sky nail, which Zhongli could not easily dispel, which seriously affected the efficiency of the search.

Moreover, He Guan is home to a golden king beast.

Although Zhongli easily dealt with the golden king beast, this abyssal monster did indeed distract everyone.

Moreover, Hoshi and March 7 were no pushovers either. In just one day, they found the ancient kingdom buried beneath the Crane View and were thinking of finding some treasures inside to exchange for money so they could buy all of Yaedo's light novels.

Fortunately, when Himeko found the two, Hoshi, March 7, and Mimi were studying murals in the ruins of the underground ancient city. Mimi was collecting information about the history of the ancient kingdom of Heguan through the ruins of the ancient city.

And so, three days later, the Starry Sky Train crew reunited in Liyue.

With the help of Demyoga, Danheng created a small stone figure and inscribed the spirit of the Naga King Ratna into it.

Then, Zhongli demonstrated his talismanic magic to everyone, injecting a large number of talismans into the new body of the Ruo Tuo Dragon King. This completely solidified the soul of the Ruo Tuo Dragon King into this body (preventing the soul of the Ruo Tuo Dragon King from leaving the body), while transforming the rock-formed body into a physical one.

At the same time, King Ratna kept his promise and, after gaining his freedom, gave Danheng a lump of Teyvat rock essence.

This allows Danheng Teng in his Wild Form to more smoothly control the earth and rock elemental powers of Teyvat, and also grants him some of the Dragon King's powers.

Afterwards, the Dragon King Ruoduo also reminded Danheng

“My compatriot, now that I have entered the body you forged for me, I am certain.”

Although your dragon power is different from mine and weaker, it is more fundamental and purer.

It seems your power is closer to the primordial than mine.

I suggest you go and meet the other dragon kings of Teyvat and ask them for some power.

Don't worry, the little power I'm giving you is insignificant to me.

Your potential is immense, but you lack many keys to unlock it. I've only given you one of those keys.

Danheng bowed and thanked the Dragon King Ruoduo for his reminder.

However, what he was thinking was that Danlei wouldn't have made a fuss without a reason. By sending the Star Train to Teyvat, he must have been thinking of gathering the power of the seven Teyvat Dragon Kings to create a backup for the Light Realm.

This way, we can also see if the Light Sphere Force can undergo new evolutions in our subsequent pioneering adventures.

Dan Heng was right, but Dan Lei wasn't paying much attention to Dan Heng at the moment because something big had happened in Nordkale.

Meanwhile, Danlei is using Columbia's perspective to see the latest beauty (a mere prop) across time.

We won't discuss Danlei's thoughts for now.

After everyone returned to Liyue, Hu Tao saw that Zhongli had brought back a little girl, saying that she was a relative. Only then did she believe that Zhongli had really gone to Sumeru to find his relatives.

However, the Ajiu that the Dragon King Ruoduo transformed into was simply a demon pill, belonging to the husky family.

Because he took a fancy to the jade decorations in the Hall of Rebirth, he chewed the jade in two bites.

Seeing this, Hu Tao became even more certain that Zhongli was an immortal, and that the daughter of the relative she had found must be a descendant of another immortal who had been separated from her.

So she decisively pretended to be stupid, acting as if she didn't know that the jade had been eaten by Ajiu, and gave Zhongli a good scolding.

In Hu Tao's view, as long as Zhongli does not actively reveal that he is an immortal, he is her guest, and she should be respected, but she should not be polite when she needs to scold or complain.

After all, Hu Tao had seen how Zhong Li had taken care of her over the years. In Hu Tao's heart, Zhong Li was like a relative or elder. Otherwise, she wouldn't have let Zhong Li squander the assets of the Hall of Rebirth.

Even if someone is an immortal, mortals would not allow them to squander their wealth.

Even if the Hall of Rebirth monopolizes the funeral industry in Liyue, it is still very expensive to keep a Zhongli.

You should know that if Zhongli really takes a fancy to something, 90 million Mora is just "not too expensive" in his eyes.

In short, the cost of damage to the items in the ancestral hall is unavoidable in the future.

As for the Starry Sky Train crew, Zhongli said that the matter of the Dragon King Ruoduo had troubled the crew a lot, and he wanted to host a banquet at the Crystal Pavilion to express his gratitude. He hoped that the crew could stay in Liyue for a few more days and invited them to participate in the Lantern Festival next month.

If there's a big meal to eat, the Starry Sky Train crew usually won't refuse, since Himeko, Sunday, Hoshi, and March 7th's groups don't have any urgent business in Sumeru and Inazuma.

The dinner party went smoothly, but the next day, a catgirl rushed to find Danheng and Walter.

The catgirl here is a catgirl in the physical sense; she has two tails and her true form is a yokai cat demon from Inazuma. She had met Hoshi and Mitsuki once in Inazuma, so they were acquainted. When this catgirl appeared before them, Mitsuki was startled and asked in surprise...

"Qi Liangliang! How did you end up in Liyue? We've only been away from Inazuma for a few days, and you've already gotten to Liyue from Inazuma?"

Qi Liangliang had already been asked the question about March 7th by other friends, so she quickly replied...

"I didn't come by ship. After the Inazuma seclusion ended, we yokai have special means to cross the sea and travel to other countries."

I cannot disclose the specific methods used.

But which one of them is Mr. Walter?
If he's not available, Mr. Danheng will suffice. There's a letter from Dawn Winery that needs to be given to one of you.

When Qi Liangliang mentioned Dawn Winery, the train crew members looked at each other in surprise. They did know the place; it was the best winery in Mondstadt.

However, none of the people had any connection with Dawn Winery, and they didn't know who had sent the letter.

So Walter walked up to Qi Liangliang and said...
"I am Walter. Anyway, give me the letter first."

Neither Kirayoshi nor March 7th objected, and they were naturally happy to have Walter sign for it, and as usual, asked for a good review.

After Kira left, Walter held up the envelope and said...
"From what I can tell, this is just an ordinary letter."

There are only a handful of people in Teyvat who can send us letters, so let's open this letter and take a look first.

Everyone agreed with Walter's suggestion, and then they opened the letter and, to their surprise, it was written by Paimon.

Moreover, the contents of the letter were extremely explosive.

It is said that after the Starry Sky Train crew left, Ying and Paimon returned to Nordkale and tried to help Columbia return to the Frost Moon in the sky.

The group considered having the Star Train take Columbia back, but the idea was rejected by Alice, Klee's mother, who appeared after the train crew left as members of the Witches' Guild.

According to her, the Star Train arrived in Teyvat directly from a supreme being, without crossing the Teyvat borders.

Now that Frostmoon is outside the Teyvat border, if the Star Train were to go directly out, it would surely smash a hole in the Teyvat border.

Moreover, the outside is filled with the power of the abyss. Even if the witch cooperates to open the boundary, who knows if the train will bring back a bunch of abyssal power when it returns?

Alice's account matched the train crew's story that they were sent by the Immortal Star God, so this plan was immediately abandoned.

Later, after Columbia was rejected by Teyvat and her physical form dissipated, Firefly helped Columbia confirm her true name, and she named herself Columbia Hipperselene.

After spending a blissful and perfect moonlit night with Columbia, he used two pieces of lunar marrow to send her back to Frostmoon through the ruins left behind by Hyperion.

However, the Hyperion ruins were a conspiracy by the Second Doctor, the Executor of the Fools. He directly obtained two Moon Essences, captured Columbia as his battery, and wanted to use them to usurp the power of the March.

The group's attempt to stop them failed, and their subsequent proactive attack resulted in Ying being captured by the doctor, whose whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is also creating unknown realms in Nordkale, which are eroding the world.

If the Doctor succeeds in seizing the power of March and the Unknown Realm devours Nordkal, then Teyvat is finished.

At this moment, the ordinary people of Nordkale had all evacuated, and those who remained were determined to stay and fight the Doctor to the death.

Paimon didn't write this letter to ask for help, but rather to have the Starship crew end this pioneering journey and jump away from Teyvat.

According to Paimon, the Star Train crew came to Teyvat to open up a path between planets and the universe, not to risk their lives.

The Lunar Hunters train crew could handle it easily, but the current Doctor is not someone the Lunar Hunters can mess with. The Starry Sky train crew has no reason to risk their lives.

Now that Danlei's request has been completed, the Star Train can leave.

As for why the letter was sent from Dawn Winery, that was naturally due to the efforts of the boss of a certain intelligence network in the Northern Continent.

The owner of Dawn Winery is Diluc Legonfender, codenamed Night Owl, who is in charge of the Northern Continent Intelligence Network in Mondstadt.

After reading the letter, the Starry Sky Train Group fell silent, digesting the information they had just received and weighing the pros and cons.

A dozen seconds later, March 7th shook his head helplessly and said...

"Honestly, Ying is just like us. In Pinocchio, she said that big events happened wherever she went, and I didn't believe her. But it turns out that events like the Moon Hunters were just appetizers for her."

After saying that on March 7th, Danheng also complained.
"Let's not talk about others. According to Danlei back then, from the moment he met us, problems followed him wherever he went."

Upon hearing Dan Heng's words, Xing put his hands on his hips and said smugly.
"Compared to that, we still have bigger problems."

"Danlei would have needed to ascend to the level of a Star God to solve our problems; what Ying encountered was nothing compared to that."

Xing's words, though seemingly joking, actually reveal a clever tactic at play.

How could Xing possibly abandon Ying as a partner? What she was saying was, "We've already experienced the Iron Tomb crisis that could destroy the universe, and we've even faced off against the clone of the first seat of the Genius Club. What is this Doctor? How dare he compare to the two above?"

Everyone actually agrees with Xing's idea.

If you say that the Doctor is about to ascend to the Star God realm and ask the train crew to run, the train crew might actually run.

But you said the Doctor is about to gain the power of the Three Months and become the god who controls everything in Teyvat, so why would the train crew abandon a group of friends they just met and run away?

Even if Teyvat is very special, and the god who controls everything here may be at the level of a Commander, the train crew is not afraid.

As I said before, the Starry Sky Train has fought against countless Commander-class enemies, from the weakest, Illusionary, to the strongest, Iron Tomb. Although none of them were main forces, their battle records are verifiable.

Therefore, Himeko directly concluded...

"Alright, now that we're all here, let's hold a temporary train meeting as usual."

Raise your hand if you agree to leave Teyvat and end this pioneering journey.

After Himeko finished speaking, everyone smiled and remained silent; no one raised their hand.

Upon seeing this, Himeko immediately laughed.

"Then, raise your hands if you agree to go back to Nordkale to rescue Ying and defeat the doctor who is interfering with our expansion and our festival."

Before Himeko could finish speaking, everyone raised their hands.

　Without special means of transportation, it's unimaginable how Qi Liangliang could travel so quickly between countries to deliver packages.

　　Frostmoon will not have any issues with bringing the Abyss into Teyvat.

　　The power of the Light Realm neutralizes the power of the Abyss, and the Frost Moon, connected to the March Goddess Columbia, is not lacking in the power of the Light Realm.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)