In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

"It's not necessary for everyone to believe it. As long as every leader in Liyue believes it, that's enough."

"Don't worry that they won't believe such exaggerated poems."

"There's an old saying that goes, 'It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't.' Besides, the fate of the Lawrence family is right before their eyes, which is enough for them to believe."

Rhodes spoke at length, then added, “Even if you abdicate, there are still so many immortals in Liyue. These immortals, like you, are immortal. As long as they are still here, they can easily punish those powerful figures who have broken the rules of Liyue after your abdication. Then no one will dare to have any wicked thoughts towards the people of the Order of the Fathers and the Lawrence family.”

"This"

Zhongli pondered for a moment.

Wendy, too, wore a thoughtful expression.

However, compared to Zhongli, who was indeed thinking seriously.

Wendy, who was also deep in thought, looked rather comical, and it was impossible to tell that he had really taken Rhodes' words to heart.

This silence.

They remained silent for a full half hour.

Rod sat there with them the whole time, without even getting a sip of water.

“What you say makes sense.”

Having figured it out, Zhongli nodded, then said, "I still have a question. I wonder if you could enlighten me?"

Honestly.

Zhongli was so polite.

This made Rhodes a little uncomfortable.

But he still replied earnestly, "Mr. Zhongli, you can say whatever you want. There's no need to be so polite with me."

"Ah."

"My friend previously told me to follow the example of this poet and simply let go and leave."

"I pondered for a long time."

"But I still feel there are some things that are not right."

Zhongli stared into Luo De's eyes and said, word by word, "If they knew that I was still alive, mortals would inevitably retain their dependence on me. Do you have a way to resolve this, young friend?"

As soon as these words came out.

Rod couldn't help but frown.

Zhongli's words meant very simply.

Using the method Rhodes is proposing, if the people of Liyue encounter danger in the future, their reaction will be, 'Quickly, go and fetch the Geo Archon!'

Zhongli's own thought was that when faced with danger, the people of Liyue should react with, "The Emperor is dead; we, the people of Liyue, must strive forward!"

This is a bit troublesome.

The method that Rhodes mentioned was actually based on Mondstadt's model.

Normally, the gods don't interfere, and you can even see the wind god anywhere except Mondstadt.

Once a crisis that is difficult to resolve is encountered.

The wind god will then clear away all obstacles and dangers for Mondstadt, restoring peace and stability to the city, before disappearing again.

"Mr. Zhongli."

"I still think that the Mondstadt model might be more suitable."

After thinking it over, Rhodes did not choose to answer Zhongli's question, but instead chose to stick to his previous opinion.

The goal is to make the people of Liyue independent of the gods.

It's so hard.

No matter how you look at it, the only viable path is for the gods to die.

No wonder Zhongli chose to fake his death and take the opportunity to abdicate.

Although this method had a huge impact on Liyue, Zhongli's faked death was not a secret among the other gods. Everyone knew that he had faked his death, so it was impossible for problems like Mondstadt being subjected to diplomatic bullying to occur, nor would there be a situation where mortals became overly dependent on the gods.

It is indeed a win-win solution.

It's about faking your death, isn't it?

Rhodes felt that as long as he brought up this idea, he would be forcibly bound to the plan, just like he was in Mondstadt, and he wouldn't be able to escape if he didn't complete it.

Therefore, he decided to try again and stick to the Mondstadt route to see if Zhongli would change his mind.

Unfortunately.

Zhongli's answer was not the result that Rod had expected.

He still insists on the approach of wanting both.

The abdication must be reasonable, and Liyue must not be allowed to continue to depend on him.

This attitude puzzled Rod.

Why did Zhongli insist on making a decision that was highly likely to cause huge turmoil within Liyue?

You must know what would happen if the Rock God died.

Even though other gods are wary of his feigned death, it will not cause any trouble for Liyue in diplomatic matters.

But there will definitely be bloodshed within Liyue.

The people of Liyue, who have revered the Geo Archon for dozens or even hundreds of generations, will also be plunged into deep turmoil and panic.

"Tsk!"

Rhodes clicked his tongue in amazement, realizing why Zhongli had tacitly allowed the young master to release the demon god Oser to attack Liyue.

Dealing with internal turmoil.

A powerful external enemy is clearly the best solution.

As for why Zhongli insisted on making the people of Liyue no longer dependent on him.

Rhodes guessed.

This is probably related to wear and tear.

Zhongli is the oldest demon god on the continent of Teyvat, without exception, and is over six thousand years old.

Since taking control of Liyue, it has diligently protected it for over 3,700 years.

As he himself said, even the most solid rock will become tiring after thousands of years of erosion.

Zhongli is likely to succumb to this kind of wear and tear.

That's why he insisted on severing ties with Liyue completely, freeing himself from the constant wear and tear, so as to prevent the wear and tear from escalating and falling into a state of madness like that of the Dragon King Rudra, where he became unrecognizable to his own family.

"God of Contracts."

Rod muttered something to himself.

God of Contracts—this is one of Zhongli's titles, and also the source of his power and responsibilities.

[I only wish to cleanse the four corners of the world and protect this small corner of the floating earth.]

This is the initial contract between Zhongli and Liyue.

What he needs to do now is to use a final contract to end all contracts, including this initial one, and to completely free himself from the shackles of the God of Contracts.

Thinking about this.

A sudden inspiration struck Rod.

Since it's a contract that ends everything, it doesn't necessarily require him to fake his death.

With his mind opened, Rhodes instantly came up with a solution and decisively said, "Mr. Zhongli, I have a good idea here. Would you like to hear it?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 213 A new generation of gods replaces the old ones

Rod's solution was very simple.

Except for the death of a god.

They wanted to get mortals to give up their dependence on the Rock King.

"The first solution is to get a new Geo Archon."

Rhodes glanced at Zhongli's expression discreetly.

as predicted.

Even someone as serious and rigid as Zhongli couldn't help but show a slight change in expression at this moment.

However, he did not express any opinion, but seeing that Rhodes did not continue, he reminded him, "Young friend, please continue."

"Oh."

Seeing that Zhongli wasn't angry, Rhodes breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The second method is for you to abdicate and introduce a natural disaster that the people of Liyue will find difficult to resist. Then you must wash your hands of it and let the people of Liyue figure it out themselves. Whether the people of Liyue solve it on their own or the immortals eventually come to solve it, you just don't care. After one or two times, the mortals will naturally forget your past."

That's a pretty realistic statement.

Not to mention Zhongli, even Wendy grinned after hearing this.

He's extremely experienced in this kind of thing.

He knew better than anyone how ungrateful mortals could be.

To put it another way...

The Storm Demon God, Dekaran, was ultimately overthrown by his beloved people because of his flawed approach to loving them.

To put it simply...

The Lawrence family personally overturned the statue of Barbatos, the god of wind, violating the free will that the wind god left for Mondstadt.

"Given enough time, mortals will forget many things they never saw."

"Maybe decades, maybe centuries."