Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

The visitors were none other than Fushe, who was on patrol duty, and Xiao.

"That's... the Emperor and the Heavenly Lord..." Xiao said cautiously.

"Yes, yes, come here, Xiao, sit here with your sister! Fushe and the others should rest for a while; it's a good opportunity to improve your experience." Guizhong invited.

"By the way, is it just you guys?" Ping'er felt like a few people were missing.

“Minu and Fanan were patrolling on the other side. We just sensed a fight and came to check it out. It turns out it's just some lords sparring, so we won't disturb them any longer.” Fushe finished speaking and prepared to leave with Yinghe and Xiao.

“No need for such formalities. Now that you all serve under the Emperor, you are all comrades-in-arms with those present. Don’t stand on ceremony, come and join us. Invite the other two as well,” Ping’er said gently.

The other immortals smiled and nodded, each announcing their names to show their approval.

Xiao remained silent behind Fushe, watching the three fight with a glint in his eyes.

At this moment, Morax and Ruoduo were coordinating their attacks and fighting Xuanqing back and forth. Xuanqing had already drawn his Shaoyin Sword and was locked in combat with Morax, while Ruoduo was attacking from behind from a distance, but he couldn't break through Xuanqing's defense, which frustrated him greatly.

Xuan Qing freed one hand and condensed an ice needle that flew towards Morax. Morax immediately retreated, increasing the distance between himself and Xuan Qing.

"Morax, let's get serious." Xuan Qing's lips curled into a smile, indicating that he was in a good mood, which made Morax pause for a moment.

“Otherwise, winning will be difficult,” Xuan Qing said.

Morax and Rota also looked around. Black holes of all sizes had already covered the entire area.

"What time is this?!" Jodo exclaimed in surprise, looking at Morax beside him.

"It's the power of time!" Morax looked up and met Xuan Qing's smiling eyes, finally getting the answer.

"Then, I won't hold back any longer." Morax raised his gun and flew into the air.

"Rock Spears!" As soon as the shout fell, countless rock spears rained down from the sky.

Ruo Tuo transformed into his original form and burrowed underground. Xuan Qing smiled slightly upon seeing this scene: "Moracs, you truly are my most admired opponent." Then, with a slash in the air, countless ice swords and rock spears clashed together, canceling each other out.

"Watch out." Xuan Qing instantly appeared behind Morax, who quickly turned to meet the attack. The two demon gods locked in close combat.

"Hey, Ruoduo! Aren't you going up and help?!" Rishui shouted.

Ruoduo then poked his head out from underground: "How am I supposed to get up here! I'm a rock dragon, I can't fly!" Ruoduo was on the verge of tears. He thought, "But I can't fly, isn't this bullying a dragon?"

"We're here." At that moment, Mi'nu and Fanan arrived.

"I'm not too late, am I?"

"Perfect timing! Come on, sit down and watch together!" Yingyi pulled Fanan to a seat to continue watching the game.

"Ling Hong!" Xuan Qing distanced himself from Morax, and suddenly countless ice shards and flames appeared from the black holes, like two dragons rushing straight at Morax.

"That trick won't work on me." Morax donned a shield and closed the distance between himself and Xuan Qing once more.

"Morax, you were careless." Xuan Qing's purple eyes flashed, and surrounded by mist, he instantly disappeared from Morax's sight.

"This!" The immortals were shocked as they saw the black mist instantly envelop the entire area.

Morax moved slowly and deliberately through the black mist.

"What's the principle behind this?" Xiaoyue asked Yixiao, who was standing beside her.

"This is my first time seeing this too," Yi Xiao said.

"I don't understand." Risui shook her head as well.

"Rodha, make the earth tremble." Morax's words had barely left his lips when the earth shook. The black mist trembled in unison, and in Morax's eyes, a human figure gradually materialized in a certain place.

Morax fired his gun, and the sound of weapons clashing filled the air. He then engaged Xuanqing in battle again, and for a time, it was difficult to determine who was superior.

For a long time, as dawn approached and the fog dissipated, the immortals finally saw what was inside. They saw a giant lotus flower appear beneath Xuanqing's feet; he sat cross-legged on it, clearly exhausted, while Morax remained to the side, spear in hand.

"You won." Xuan Qing sighed and announced the result.

"It's a draw. You held back earlier, trying your best not to cause any earthquakes in the vicinity. Judging from the result, if you hadn't held back, the outcome would have been uncertain."

"Each each other."

The two flew down and came before the immortals. Ruoduo also transformed into human form and walked up to them.

"Did the Emperor win?" Minghai asked.

"No, the result of this battle is a draw," Morax announced.

Xuanqing sat cross-legged on the lotus platform, his complexion slightly rosier than before. He seemed to sense something and looked in the direction of the Yakshas, ​​immediately spotting Xiao, who was trying his best to minimize his presence.

Xuanqing stepped down from the lotus and walked up to Xiao, asking as gently as possible, "What... is your name?"

Xiao immediately knelt down, and although he had doubts in his heart, he still answered truthfully: "Your name is Xiao."

"Hmm, do you want to become stronger?" Xuan Qing looked at him, and Xiao looked up to meet that gentle gaze, instantly drawn in.

"I want to..." he murmured, but then realized he was staring directly into the eyes of the Demon God, which made him immediately lower his head in alarm.

"Hmm." Xuan Qing smiled and squatted down. He gathered energy in his hands and gently channeled it into Xiao's body. Finally, his hands landed on Xiao's head.

"Don't feel inferior, you're no worse than anyone else." Xuanqing ruffled his hair and said again, "You've accepted my power, you'll be my familiar from now on."

"!" Xiao was startled. He had just felt a warm power surging through his body, and it turned out to be the power of this demon god.

"Don't be afraid. Becoming my servant doesn't conflict with fulfilling the Morax contract," Xuanqing said patiently.

Seeing that Xiao remained tense, Xuan Qing sighed. The phoenix pattern slowly appeared on his robes, and Xiao instantly felt an irresistible urge to rush into the demon god's arms. He looked up and met Xuan Qing's eyes again.

Xuan Qing's smiling eyes reflected Xiao's figure, then he scooped Xiao up in his arms and sat back down on the lotus. Xiao was so startled he almost raised his gun to retaliate, but a voice inside him kept telling him to relax and trust him.

"As expected, it's all because of Joavis. Why are you two both eyeing Xiao?" Jota couldn't help but chuckle.

"You! You are the Heavenly Lord!" the response exclaimed in surprise. The other Yakshas and the Xiao in Xuan Qing's arms were also extremely shocked. They remembered that just a few months ago, Lord Ruoyavis was a boy of about 10 years old, but now he was almost as tall as the Emperor.

"Yes, this is my original appearance. Also, my name is Xuan Qing. The talkative one you met earlier was Xuan Yue," Xuan Qing replied.

"Then... why, my lord?" Xiao dared not speak after learning that this was the Heavenly Lord.

“Old friend, I have a question, but I’m not sure if I should ask it,” Morax said, noticing Xiao’s question.

"can."

"Both you and Xuan Yue took a liking to this child at first sight and wanted to take him as a member of your family. Why is that?"

“It’s probably because his true form is a Golden Roc.” Xuan Qing glanced at Xiao in his arms, then changed his position and let him sit on his lap before continuing, “There are some secrets I can’t tell you, but he has qualities that attract me. I don’t know why I took a liking to this child at first sight.”

"I see," Morax murmured. "After this battle, I can sense that your injuries have mostly healed. Why is that?"

“Yes! I want to know too,” Ruoduo exclaimed, rushing over.

“It’s very simple, it’s related to my original form.” Xuan Qing thought for a moment and, feeling it wasn’t anything important, spoke again: “My original form is a crystal formed from the power and flesh of the Phoenix Kings and Dragon Kings from tens of thousands of years ago. It absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for ten thousand years before it gained intelligence, and later, through cultivation, it was able to take human form. Because in that era, the dragon was the victor, my original form was named Dragon Abyss Pearl.”

"The previous era, that is to say..." Liu Yun was so shocked that he couldn't finish his sentence.

"You've lived for at least tens of thousands of years!" Narumi exclaimed in surprise.

"The Dragon Abyss Pearl? I see. That's why you can convert power into pure energy and absorb it into your body to repair your internal injuries, and then add the absorbed power to attack your enemies." Morax wasn't overly shocked but was analyzing the situation.

"Your power originates from the power of the Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan, so you can sense the Xiao by utilizing the Phoenix Clan's characteristics."

Xuan Qing nodded, agreeing with Morax's statement, and patted Xiao's head, releasing some energy to try to make him relax.

“Well, if you think about it, I’m a remnant of the previous era, and I’ve managed to escape that person’s sight by sheer luck. But, it’s also possible that that person is setting up some grand scheme.” Xuan Qing sneered, his tone noticeably colder: “After all, I’m the only Dragon Abyss Pearl left in this world.”

"What exactly happened... Ah!" Before Gui Zhong could ask, thunder suddenly roared in the sky, as if warning something, making all the immortals tremble.

“Look, someone is watching, you can’t say it.” Xuan Qing’s eyes were low and radiated a chilling coldness.

"Let's change the subject, Morax. This kid is free to use a gun, and you'll be the one to teach him from now on, how about that?"

"Okay," Morax nodded in agreement.

"Xiao, from now on you are my familiar. If anyone bullies you, just say my name!" Xuan Yue's ethereal voice rang out, startling Xiao.

"Xuan Yue, you scared him." Xuan Qing patted Xiao's head reassuringly.

"Sorry, sorry! Don't mind me, Xiao! How about I help you with your training from now on?" Xuan Yue's illusory figure appeared beside Xuan Qing and said to Xiao with a smile.

"Thank...thank you, Lord Xuan Yue." Xiao stammered a few words, his face flushed.

"Hahaha, Xiao's blushing, that's rare," Fanan teased from the side.

"Yes, Xiao is really lucky," the responder joked with a smile.

"Oh right, it's been so long I forgot to give it to you." Xuan Yue slapped her forehead and remembered. "Xuan Qing, could you help me give that thing to them? I'm sleepy, I'm going to take a nap."

"Hmm." Seeing that Xuan Qing had agreed, Xuan Yue's figure also disappeared. Then, Xuan Qing spread out his left hand, on which were several beads that emitted white light.

“Take these, they contain some purifying energy. You will inevitably accumulate karmic obstacles in the future, and this can help you. But once this bead turns black, you must replace it immediately instead of trying to tough it out.”

"Understood, Your Majesty." Fushe led the way by kneeling down. Xiao also wanted to kneel, but he remained seated in someone's lap, preventing him from doing so.

"Alright, alright, get up. Go and distribute them. In the future, both Xuan Yue and I will make time to send some over. Remember, tell the other Yakshas not to push themselves too hard," Xuan Qing reminded them again.

"Yes!" Fushe responded, stood up, glanced at Xiao still in Tianjun's arms, and smiled. Xiao, seeing his expression, immediately had a bad feeling.

"Your Majesty, we'll head back to continue our inspection. Xiao is still young; could we allow him to rest here with Your Majesty for a few more days?" Fu She said.

"!" (Fushe!!!) Xiao glared fiercely at Fushe.

"We're leaving now, goodbye Your Majesty. Goodbye, Xiao!" Mi Nu waved to Xiao, seemingly oblivious to Xiao's murderous expression.

"Goodbye, Xiao!" Fanan said with a smile.

"Bye-bye!" The reply also carried a gloating tone.

The immortals all wore expressions of watching the spectacle, and Morax stood by, smiling without saying a word, while only Xiao wore an expression of embarrassment and annoyance.

Xuanqing laughed too, then hugged Xiao tightly in his arms, preventing anyone from seeing his expression.

"Alright, Morax. If anything comes up, just send a message." With that, Xuanqing, carrying Xiao, rode the dark lotus and left, flying back to his cave. The other yakshas also left to continue their work.

"That was a really exciting battle," Ping'er said, still savoring the moment.

"No, no, this amount of knowledge is a bit too much. I need to go back and digest it later," Risui said.

“Did you guys just see… Joavis smiled?” Mark Hughes said uncertainly. His words caused everyone to turn to look at him, then at the still unmoved Morax. Time seemed to stand still.

“In general terms, yes,” Morax said, though he was also somewhat surprised.

"Really?! Xuanqing smiled!" Liu Yun exclaimed.

"Am I seeing things?! Did I really laugh?" Xiaoyue was also shocked.

This isn't Xuan Yue, who controls Ruoyavis; it's Xuan Qing. This guy, who wouldn't speak unless asked and who always spoke coldly, actually laughed.

"What happened today has shocked me to some extent; I'm still a bit overwhelmed with surprise," Yi Xiao said, remaining relatively calm.

"Everyone should go back and rest now. The routine contract will be held tomorrow." Morax's words finally allowed the immortals to return to their residences, but Ruoduo did not leave.

"Morax, why do I always feel like even if we join forces, we still can't beat Joavis?"

“That’s not an illusion, Jota,” Morax said truthfully. “Do you still remember Joavis’s authority?”

"Hmm, night and dawn. The strongest power is between dusk and early morning... wait. I fought him near dusk, and now it's nighttime. Are you perhaps trying to say..." Ruoduo seemed to understand.

“Yes, Joavis never used his full strength, although we did too. But when I fought him, I could feel a binding force on him. Originally, I felt I couldn't dodge his attack in the black mist, but I felt that the attack changed from dangerous to indifferent, like…” Morax couldn't find the right words for a long time.

"It's like splitting a huge rock in two, and giving you the smaller part."

"This analogy is very apt, it is indeed so. That's why he was exhausted and fell from mid-air, and had no choice but to use the lotus platform, a magical artifact, to catch himself."

"If it really is that person..."

"Let's take it one step at a time for now," Morax patted Rota on the shoulder, telling him not to overthink it.

……