Genshin Impact: The Road to Reversal

The sickle flashed an eerie purple light, melting the monsters' crystallized shells like thin ice wherever it passed. The twin-tailed girl loomed in the mist, and in a split second, a large number of the mutated monsters fell.

"Is that... Perissa?" Karin asked in surprise.

"Yes, she brought us here, saying it was to deal with some things." Ouyang Hualong said with a smile, folding his hands.

"We? Are there others besides you?" Karen asked.

"Yes, it's Brother Zhongli and Miss Guizhong." He turned around and smiled again.

As soon as he finished speaking, a rock barrier suddenly appeared around them, blocking all the incoming crystal spikes. Zhongli, spear in hand, slowly descended from the ridge, his robes rustling in the wind. Guizhong stood high above, tapping his fingertips. Golden runes swirled in the air, forming a barrier that sealed off the battlefield.

"It seems that we don't need to take action this time." He slowly walked to Hualong and said calmly.

"Yes, with little sister Perissa's strength, it is more than enough to deal with these monsters." Hualong smiled again.

Yea!

Suddenly, Leng Yue shouted angrily, and when everyone turned around again, the crystal scorpion had been torn into two halves by her brute force.

"Wow, your companion is really interesting." Hualong said with his hands folded.

Not far away, purple mist exploded, piercing numerous monsters with sickles and corroding them with poisonous mist. Seeing this, the remaining monsters fled in all directions, leaving only a devastated area behind.

At this moment, Perissa still stood on the battlefield, glancing around, fearing any fish might have slipped through her net. The scythe in her hand drooped slightly, and purple mist clung to the blade like a living thing, still lingering.

"Little sister! Is it solved?" Hualong suddenly shouted.

"Well, it's okay for now." Perissa nodded, then put away the sickle, and the surrounding mist was also taken back into her palm.

"So powerful! Could it be that you two are Tianji Star and Tianmo Star among the Seven Stars?" Qiu Hong asked.

After she finished speaking, the two did not answer, but judging from the expression on Hualong's face, there was no doubt that she was right.

"By the way, why did you come to Qihua Mountain?" Gui Zhong looked at Mo Yan and others and asked.

"Ye Lan asked us to come," Zi Xuan explained. "She said the monsters in the city fled into this mountain, and the Mercenary Association has recently detected an unusual aura. It's possible these creatures have built a nest here."

"Is that so?" Hualong lowered his head and pondered.

At this moment, Perissa denied their point of view.

"No, that's not caused by the monster building a nest." She said seriously, completely different from her previous cute image.

"What's going on?" asked Karen.

"It was caused by the fog spirit, a monster called mirage." Perissa said seriously, as if she had something difficult to say.

"Mirage? It sounds like a monster from mythology." Karen said.

"Maybe it's just the same name. After all, this is not the real world." Mo Yan said.

At this time, Zixuan looked at Perissa again: "So what kind of monster is this mirage you're talking about?"

"A magical creature born from the heavens and earth. More importantly, its essence is the same as Liza's. Both of them came from the 'Mist'."

As soon as Perissa finished speaking, a sudden elemental movement occurred around her.

The air around them suddenly twisted, the once clear sky suddenly shrouded in a gray-purple mist. The mountains in the distance began to wriggle, twisting and deforming as if alive. The outlines of the trees melted and reformed, transforming into hideous, tentacle-like shadows.

"What's going on?" Karen held two guns in her hands and became alert again.

"Don't be impulsive. This is just an illusion created by the mirage. Now, it should still be sealed somewhere in the mountains." Perissa explained again.

Hearing this, Zhongli pondered, "I see. So, the most urgent thing is to find a safe place first, and then discuss this in detail?"

"In that case, I have a place to go." Hualong said with his gun in one hand and his hands on his waist.

"Oh? Are you talking about..." Gui Zhong smiled slightly, as if he had guessed it but did not say it clearly.

At this moment, Hualong smiled slightly and turned around: "Follow me."

Everyone looked at each other and then followed.

Passing through the twisting fog, he led everyone to a temple on the mountainside. Here, due to the protection of the barrier, the fog was completely isolated.

At this time, Kailin stood there and looked around in surprise, and finally her eyes fell on the plaque on the top of the temple. On it were four big words written in Teyvatian: "Seven Stars Gathering".

There are tea fields on both sides of the temple. Although no one takes care of them, the air is filled with a strange... fragrance of rice?

"Where is this?" Karen asked.

"Seven Star Hall is where we, the Seven Stars, gather. It's also the origin of the name Qihua Mountain," Hualong replied, one hand on his waist. "On weekdays, we, the Seven Stars, often gather here to drink tea and discuss our daily lives."

The candles in the temple flickered without a single breath of wind, and seven bronze lamps formed a star array in the main hall. Perissa walked with familiarity towards the lamp in the southeast corner. Purple mist seeped into the wick from her fingertips, and ripples suddenly appeared in the temple's barrier.

Kailin nodded, not quite understanding, and then walked into the temple: "I see, but doesn't the stone tablet at the foot of the mountain say that this place is called Qihua Mountain? Why..."

"Of course it's because of the homophony. Don't you think this is more in line with Linhui's implicit style?" Hualong said with a smile.

However, everyone only felt a chill.

"Oh, really? I don't feel anything at all." Kailin said coldly.

At this time, Zhongli thought for a moment and asked, "Brother Hualong, I have heard rumors about the Seven Stars before, but the Seven Stars here seem different from those in Liyue. May I ask..."

Hualong smiled slightly. "It doesn't matter. After all, the identities of us Seven Stars aren't well known to everyone. Since everyone is curious, let me briefly explain. The so-called Seven Stars are all names bestowed by the Holy Lord. They are Tianji Star, Tianjian Star, Tianyao Star, Tiansu Star, Tianjie Star, Tianan Star, and Tianmo Star. They are all those who made extraordinary contributions during the Sangyang Rebellion 200 years ago and are extremely powerful."

Zhao Heng took two steps forward. "I've heard you mention this before, but Yaohui said that compared to the Eight Guardians, your responsibility is to monitor their every move."

Hualong nodded. "That's true. The Sangyang Rebellion occurred while the Saint was in seclusion. If the earth vein elements hadn't been forcibly absorbed, causing them to almost collapse, the Saint wouldn't have risked going astray and forcing himself out of seclusion. So after that, the Saint established the Seven Stars. Their purpose is to monitor the Eight Guardians and the world's order on his behalf to prevent similar incidents from happening again. After all, some guardians are very dissatisfied with the Saint's actions."

(Yaohui & Yang: "A-choo!")