Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

"Young Master": "In Mondstadt, the 'Lady' offended the gods outside the church, and then hurriedly left. She preferred to temporarily freeze everyone in place with ice and snow rather than fight you on the spot, firstly to avoid attracting the knights with the noise of a battle, and secondly because the merchant from Liyue intervened and stopped her from further transgressing the rules."

The "Young Master" still despises the "Lady's" behavior, saying, "When facing a strong opponent, she only prioritizes calculating her own interests, considering victory or defeat, and the consequences of her actions. But my greatest joy as an 'Executor' is being able to throw punches at even more powerful opponents."

Paimon immediately became alert: "What happened in Mondstadt will not happen again!"

"Young Master": "Alright, let's try it then? I won't kill you, traveler. I just want to enjoy the fun of fighting, so please play with me."

"Young Master": "You can't beat me, so you don't need to win. Just enjoy the thrill of battle like I do. Do you understand what I mean?"

It was obvious that "Young Master" was full of confidence in his own abilities.

"I can't beat you? I don't understand what you're talking about." Kong felt slighted and said somewhat displeased.

"Young Master": "Hahahaha! Alright! Since you also want to play, then don't spoil my fun."

After saying this, the young master took out his bow and arrow and said, "The bow is actually the weapon I am least proficient in, which is why I want to conquer it. So, traveler, prepare for our battle."

Paimon immediately flew to the side to hide, lest he be hurt.

Kong launched the first attack, but the young master skillfully dodged it, using the gap in distance to fire three arrows at Kong. Kong parried one with his sword and then dodged the other two with a quick movement, gathering wind element in his hand and unleashing it the moment he approached the young master. The young master's water element also surged, directly meeting the attack.

With a loud bang, Kong and the young master were both sent flying backward.

"Hahaha, hahaha, it seems you're more capable than I expected." The "Young Master" stood up, putting away his bow and arrow. A water sphere enveloped him, with flashes of purple light. "Then, I can get serious now."

Seeing the situation was turning against him, Kong tried to interrupt. But unfortunately, it was too late. The young master stopped using the power of water and switched to lightning. He put on his mask, and the two blades imbued with lightning were combined to form a spear.

"Let's continue, traveler. Our battle is far from over."

------

Xuan Yue walked down the street; he neither went to Chenyu Valley nor went home…

“How could I possibly forget the taste of blood, Xuan Qing?” Xuan Yue’s expression was gloomy. He threw the empty tea canister into the space of the Eye of God, and then a new tea canister appeared in his hand.

Long ago, he had prepared a dozen or so portions of tea, intending to buy it from Chenyu Valley every time, and kept them in the Eye of God just in case. Unexpectedly…

"Really, I never expected it to be used in this way. Hmm..." Xuan Yue turned his head; he heard the sounds of fighting. The location was quite far, and he couldn't hear clearly: "What's going on?"

As he prepared to walk further, he saw a large group of Fools gathered outside the city, seemingly discussing something, before running away.

"The Fools, Liyue Harbor's diplomacy doesn't allow foreign countries to bring soldiers across the border unless they apply for a special permit. But clearly, there are too many troops stationed here." Xuan Yue glanced at them and immediately sensed something was wrong. They must have received some information and then withdrew.

"Let's go take a look!" Xuan Yue lay in wait, following behind the soldiers. They stopped near Tianheng Mountain and turned into a cave.

The number of Fatui in this cave is much larger than what we saw in the previous reports to Liyue; it seems that these are soldiers that Winter did not report.

The musketeer guerrilla soldier spoke up: "The 'Young Master' told us to wait for his signal. If the probe fails, we'll activate the backup plan. Eh, are those talismans ready?"

One of the Thunder Hammer Forwards replied, "The 'Young Master' has already seen those talismans and taken them all."

One of the rock guerrilla soldiers asked, "How can we confirm 'Young Master's' signal?"

Thunder Hammer Forward: "Are you stupid? Those runes still contain the power of the Geo Archon, and there's a Demon God right near Liyue."

Xuan Yue, who was eavesdropping: (The Demon God! They're going to release the Demon God!!)

The soldier continued, "The 'Young Master' said that once this backup plan is activated, we will launch a full-scale attack."

Ice Gun Heavy Guard: "But Liyue also has a Demon God protecting it. What if he interferes? Wouldn't that ruin Lord 'Young Master's' plans...?"

Lei Ying, the sorcerer: "That's not necessarily true. Our intelligence network has already received the news that that person is still asleep. Even with such a big incident involving the Geo God, we were able to remain undisturbed. I'm afraid he's already powerless to stop it."

Xuan Yue, who had been eavesdropping, clenched his fists, but his reason allowed him to suppress his anger. Afterwards, he quietly left the cave. It wasn't that he didn't want to kill them, but rather that he knew that if he alerted them now, without evidence, he would be falsely accused later.

"Go tell Liu Yun and the others first. Right now, their safety is more important than Li Yue's." After leaving the cave, Xuan Yue spread her wings and flew directly to the Qunyu Pavilion.

Xiao saw a beam of golden light flying towards them from not far away and took out his sword, He Pu Yuan, to prepare for the approach. But upon seeing the person, he immediately put away his gun and respectfully greeted, "Heavenly Lord."

"Hmm." Xuan Yue landed and glanced around. Good, besides Xiao, there was no one else. "Are they still inside?"

Xiao: "Yes, they are still discussing matters."

Xuan Yue said coldly, "Open the door."

Xiao: "Okay."

Then, Xiao immediately opened the door. Although there was an array under the door, it was only to prevent mortals from peeping.

"Who!" The Seven Stars and the Immortal inside immediately became alert, while Liu Yun relaxed after seeing the newcomer.

When Xiaoyue saw Xuanyue slightly shake her head at them, he understood what she meant: "Lord Xuanyue."

Liu Yun also spoke up: "How is the Heavenly Lord? Is it serious? Why did you come here?"

Li Shui and Grandma Ping also stood up.

Ningguang: "May I ask who you are...?"

"The spokesperson for 'Order,' and one of the immortals, has come here for only two things." Xuan Yue stared directly at the Seven Stars, making their hearts leap into their throats: "First, where have you placed the Emperor's physical remains?"

Ningguang: "The 'Golden House' is the most secure place; this is the result of discussions among all seven stars."

Xuan Yue's eyes flickered as she said, "Secondly, how much do you know about the Demon God?"

Ningguang: ...

Keqing: "The Demon God has been suppressed by the Emperor under the Guyun Pavilion for over 2000 years, and the seal has not been broken. Now that Liyue is strong and prosperous, it may be able to put up a fight against the Demon God."

The other seven stars nodded in agreement. They assumed that Xuan Yue had come to reclaim control of Li Yue, but Ning Guang, as a businesswoman, clearly sensed that Xuan Yue's words had a hidden meaning.

Ningguang: "Is this immortal trying to tell us something?"

Grandma Ping also noticed the meaning behind Xuan Yue's words. Only a battle could make Xuan Yue have such a serious expression: "A Yue, is there something wrong with Lord Gu Yun's seal?"

Xuan Yue: "Not yet, but soon. The Fools want to unseal the demon god that Lord Gu Yun has been suppressing."

Seven Stars, All Immortals: !!!

Xiao: "I'll go investigate immediately!"

Xuan Yue stopped Xiao from leaving and continued, "I received this information personally, so it can't be false. It's too late to go now; their executor should already be in the Golden House. If he doesn't find what he's looking for, Li Yue will likely face a crisis."

Li Shui: "Really... the Emperor has just passed away, and the Heavenly Lord is still recovering from serious injuries. I'm afraid..."

The Seven Stars were also discussing the possibilities of various plans, and finally came to a conclusion that they could discuss with the immortals present.

Ningguang: "I wonder if you immortals would be willing to listen to our plan? I learned from historical records that the 'Return to the End' is one of the weapons left over from the 'War of Demons and Gods.' I wonder if we could use it to repel the demons and gods."

Xuan Yue lowered her head and thought for a moment: "Liu Yun, could you modify Gui Zhongji again to increase their power?"

Liu Yun then arrogantly raised his head: "Of course I can. But Xuan Yue, if it really comes to that, will you also participate in the battle? Your power..."

“Yes.” Xuan Yue nodded firmly.

Li Shui: "You've only been awake for a short time, haven't you? If something happens to you again, the Heavenly Emperor might..."

"No, I won't be in any danger. Of course, you shouldn't even think about sacrificing yourselves," Xuan Yue warned them, then turned her gaze to Xiao.

Ke Qing: "Then I will go and gather the army immediately."

Ningguang: "Since it's the Lonely Cloud Pavilion, naval warfare is inevitable. Let's use my group of Jade Pavilion members as a platform."

The remaining seven stars were responsible for evacuating the civilians and urgently summoning the fleet of ships and fishing boats to return to Liyue Harbor.

"The Golden House" here—

"Young Master" and Kong were still locked in fierce combat. Kong was forced to use the Geo element, but Young Master instead pushed it next to "Ancestral Manifestation". However, "Young Master" did not get what he wanted, the Heart of the Geo God.

He thought Kong had taken the Heart of God before him and used his trump card—the Demon King's Armor.

Kong: "This is going to be difficult."

"Young Master": "Hand over the Heart of the Rock God!"

Paimon: "We already said we didn't take it!"

"Young Master": "Since you refuse to hand it over, then let's continue the fight!"