Mr. Zhongli, we can't slack off anymore!

Back to last night.

Zhongli held the stone made by the traveler in one hand, and gathered rock element particles in the other hand to make a similar stone.

The two stones were identical in shape and size, but their weights differed greatly. Zhongli pinched the stone he had made, and it instantly turned into powder. As for the other stone, he could not destroy it no matter what method he used.

Particles of light gathered in his palm, their radiance obscuring every shadow in the room. Then the light dimmed, and the incredibly hard stone showed only a crack.

"Has the wear and tear reached this point?"

He immediately contradicted his own conclusion: "It's not wear and tear, but the child himself; his strength is unimaginable."

"The arrival of the Descendants is always accompanied by calamity. If that child has no evil intentions, she is indeed a promising talent. But she has never experienced the era of demons and gods rising together. Should she bear these burdens?" Zhongli murmured to himself, gazing at the stars outside the window.

For millennia, this starry sky has remained unchanged, and Zhongli has never shared his concerns with anyone. This has remained true for millennia; to wield divine authority inevitably requires enduring boundless solitude.

The unchanging starry sky will eventually fall, the most solid rock cannot withstand the wear and tear of years, and the ancient gods will eventually depart.

Before leaving, the God of Rock often pondered what he could leave behind for the newborn children.

"Even friends shouldn't ask. I hope one day I can meet someone who can share my burdens." The God of Rock sometimes thinks like this.

"Forget it, talking about it with others will only add to my worries."

He was the composed Morax, whose slightest frown could cause panic.

Water froze into ice, and celestial beasts walked on the ice. Gan Yu used her magic to arrive at the balcony of Zhong Li's residence.

"Your Majesty, Gan Yu has something important to tell you."

“Alas… there is a door here, why not enter through the door?” Zhongli sighed.

"Forgive my rudeness, the situation was urgent, I didn't think that much..." Gan Yu scratched his head, at a loss: "Should I start over? I'm afraid it will delay the report..."

"Alright, go ahead and tell me." Zhongli didn't blame him.

"News from the Thousand Rocks Army indicates that many evil spirits have emerged from the Passage to Rebirth at Wuwang Slope, which may be the descent of a demon god. Tianquan Ningguang is gathering troops to suppress them, and there are reports that Master Hu Tao is also on his way. I feel that this matter has a wide-ranging impact, so I am informing the Emperor."

“I already know,” Zhongli said without changing his expression.

"I'll go lend them a hand; I'll take my leave now." Gan Yu departed.

Once Gan Yu disappeared, Zhong Li immediately set off for her.

On the surface, he has resigned from his priesthood and retired to the city, but in reality, he has not yet given up the duties that have lasted for thousands of years.

Habits formed over thousands of years are difficult to change. Therefore, Liyue is also the safest place, where the most common major crimes are nothing more than commercial fraud.

The phosphorescent flames on Wuwang Slope were restless, and the demons that had lived there for a long time sensed something and fled one after another.

In this perpetually dark place, bizarre figures made up of severed limbs crawl on the ground.

Zhongli arrived at this place one step ahead of Qianyan Army.

"Morax!" The monster's hoarse voice echoed through the mountains and forests.

Zhong Li did not respond. He was considering whether to eliminate the threat himself or wait for the children to handle it.

"I am the Demon God of the Dead, born from the undead who have been waiting for their families to return. Morax! Give me back my family! Those children who fought alongside you in the desolate wilderness, you shall pay with your blood!" the monster who called himself the Demon God of the Dead shouted hoarsely.

"There is no Morax in this world, only Zhongli." Zhongli's eyes were cold, and his pupils turned a dazzling gold as the elements condensed.

"No matter what body you take, I will recognize you, Morax!" It tore open the passage to the afterlife, and countless evil spirits surrounded Zhongli.

Zhongli then deployed a rock shield.

“Ha…” Zhongli sighed.

Evil spirits pose a significant threat to the human body, and Ningguang and Qianyanjun are unlikely to escape unscathed as they did when dealing with the Vortex Demon God. Furthermore, Hu Tao is the sole heir of the Hall of Rebirth.

Furthermore, this unknown entity somehow knew my true identity.

After weighing the pros and cons, he chose to take matters into his own hands.

Golden rays pierced the darkness, and countless rock spears hung in the air, poised to strike.

"Morax, give me back..." Before he could finish speaking, thousands of rock spears pierced his body, black pus flowed from the wounds and new limbs grew, attacking Zhongli.

In the sky, a massive, mountain-like rock spear, formed at some unknown time, crashed down upon it, causing the earth to tremble violently upon impact.

On the way, Ningguang, Hutao, Chongyun, Ganyu, and Qianyanjun all fell to the ground due to the earthquake.

Walnut: "What's going on?!"

Ningguang guessed, "Perhaps it's the work of a demon god."

Gan Yu: "The visitor seems ill-intentioned. Should I ask an immortal for assistance?"

Ningguang: "No need to disturb the Immortal Master, Keqing and Yelan are on their way."

Chongyun: "I am of pure Yang constitution. If the demon god is an evil spirit, I should be able to help."

Return to the main battlefield of Wuwangpo.

Beneath the rock spear, the demon god had long since vanished into thin air.

Zhongli erected a celestial barrier over the damaged passage to rebirth. He then filled the ground with rocks, restoring it to its original state. Remembering something, he quickly returned to the inn.

*

Sure enough, an elemental trail from the inn led straight to the traveler's room on the fifth floor. The evil spirit was after Zhong Li, and this suddenly appearing demon was bait; someone was deliberately trying to lure him away.

He flew to the traveler's window and saw the culprit right beside the traveler.

It is a demon god.

An unformed demon god.

Upon seeing Zhongli arrive, the thick fog slowly rose. It seemed to know that Zhongli would not make a move in a place where people were gathered.

The thick fog materialized into a human figure, who put a finger to his lips and said, "Shh."

Zhongli summoned his rainbow-piercing spear to confront him.

The unformed demon god darted past Zhongli and fled through the window. Zhongli's spear passed right through its body, but failed to harm it in the slightest.

Unable to track down the demon god, Zhongli went to the bedside to check on the traveler's condition.

The traveler slept soundly on the bed, her body bearing no wounds except for the elemental marks left by the demon god. Seeing she was unharmed, Zhongli breathed a sigh of relief. Before turning to leave the room, he accidentally kicked a shoe, causing him to look down at the scattered shoes on the floor.

"Why did this child leave her shoes lying around?" He bent down and neatly placed the shoes in front of her bed. He glanced at her sleeping face to make sure she was alright before leaving with peace of mind.

Zhongli closed the door and covered it with the rock shield again. Before he had taken two steps, a traveler's shout came from inside the house: "Ah!"

He immediately realized he shouldn't have gone to all that trouble, so he helped her arrange her shoes.

If a person wakes up from a dream and sees that their shoes have changed position, they will surely think that someone has entered their room. A traveler who notices something amiss will definitely seek their help.

Thinking of this, Zhongli silently used his magic to return to his room on the sixth floor, relit the candles, brewed a pot of hot tea, and sat down at the table, pretending to be unaware of anything.

Sure enough, the traveler arrived shortly afterward.

"Mr. Zhongli." The traveler's voice sounded terrified.

"Come in," Zhongli said, but in his heart he was thinking of shifting all the blame to the unknown demon god later.