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

"Thunder, Rock, Water"

Rod rubbed his temples, his head aching.

The method of the Great Tree King is indeed the safest and most reasonable.

But the problem is.

How could he possibly know of any wish that could trigger all three elements?!

If you look at it this way.

If he wants to quickly obtain a God's Eye, he should improve his strength as soon as possible, and then try to use the God's Heart to see if he can attract the attention of Sky Island.

Rhodes hung up the communication with Nasita and the Great Tree King, and crossed his arms to ponder.

Zhongli's divine heart is in his own hands.

Just like Wendy.

He still has no intention of taking back the Heart of God.

As for the trouble that the woman might cause.

Zhongli's original words were, "This Heart of God is the last contract I made before stepping down. Even the Ice Queen wouldn't deliberately break the contract I made."

Wendy's meaning is even simpler.

Compared to Rhodes and Zhongli, the lady who came with the Ice Queen's orders clearly needed the Heart of God more.

Then Rhodes, who has the Heart of God in his possession, can take the opportunity to demand some benefits.

"As the saying goes."

"Why not make some money while it's free? You agree, right?"

Wendy's words still echoed in Rhodes' ears.

After returning from Guiliyuan, this guy actually went to find Hu Tao and together they researched the matter of singing at Wangshengtang.

Zhongli just smiled and let them do their thing.

He himself went back to continue handling unfinished official business.

Regarding the matter of abdication.

Zhongli appeared calm and collected, but his actions were unusually swift as he methodically arranged for the return of power to mortals.

Let's turn our attention back to Rhodes.

He muttered to himself, 'Where can I quickly improve my strength?' After a short while, he thought of a place.

A deep abyss of layered rock, an underground mining area!

This mining area was closed due to an accident.

The reason.

It's still those abyssal forces that have never been quelled that are causing trouble.

"The scholar team sent by Sumeru should be arriving soon, right?"

"etc."

"Did Nasita make this offer because she already anticipated this?"

After thinking for a moment, Rhodes frowned again and said, "No, she probably didn't know I couldn't use the Heart of the Rock God. Is it a coincidence?"

If it's not a coincidence.

"The Great Kind Tree King."

Rod muttered something to himself.

This deity, resurrected from a state of fragmented consciousness, knows many things and is a more qualified deity in terms of the performance of the god of wisdom.

"Forget it, never mind."

"Since there's a way, let's go check out the Layered Rock Abyss."

Having made up his mind, Rhodes stopped thinking about it and put away the Heart of God, then lay down on the bed to sleep.

Early the next morning.

This time, Rod didn't wait for Wendy to wake him up, nor did he go to find Wendy. He contacted Zhongli and went to Tiger Rock alone.

I'd been to Tiger Rock before, so I was quite familiar with it.

He had also been to the place Zhongli mentioned, "Three Bowls and You Can't Go," once for tea, and he still vividly remembered the rice wine dumplings there that had no flavor at all.

There is a distance between Feiyunpo and Chihuyan.

When Rhodes arrived, Zhongli had already ordered breakfast, but none of it had been touched, seemingly waiting for Rhodes to arrive.

"Mr. Zhongli."

"Sorry, I'm late."

Rhodes apologized as he sat down next to Zhongli.

"It doesn't matter."

"I just arrived too."

Zhongli took a sip of tea casually, then reached out and said, "I just ordered whatever was available. I don't know if it suits your taste, young friend."

"fine."

"I'm not picky about food."

Rod smiled, picked up the bowl, and took a sip of the wonton soup.

Eight baskets of steamed buns, four tea eggs, two bowls of wontons, and two servings of Liyue's specialty, Mora meat.

Zhongli seemed to know Rod's appetite well, so she ordered much more than the average person would.

Moreover, the temperature is just right, neither too hot nor too cold, perfect for eating.

During breakfast, the two didn't discuss anything important; they just ate.

After breakfast is finished.

Zhongli rinsed his mouth with tea before saying, "I have already conveyed your message. Once the scholar group from Sumeru arrives, Seven Stars will open the door for you."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhongli."

Rod thanked him.

"Just a little thing."

Zhongli waved his hand.

He showed no intention of leaving, but continued to chat with Rod about Guiliyuan as if they were old friends.

"I have already told Yuheng Star everything you said yesterday. She is very interested and may come to discuss the specifics with you in the coming days."

Keqing, the star of Yuheng, governs the lands of Liyue.

There's nothing wrong with going to her.

Rhodes nodded: "Okay."

After saying that...

Zhongli dropped another bombshell: "The envoy from Zhidong is arriving soon, young friend, you need to be careful."

"So fast?"

Rhodes frowned slightly.

When he left, the Great Tree King clearly said that the lady could stay for at least five more days.

How come she caught up with me after I've only been in Liyue for two days?

Zhongli explained Rhodes's doubts: "Their ships are faster, much faster than Mondstadt's ships."

"Is the boat faster?"

"The ships of Zhidong are mostly mechanically constructed and use special energy sources. Apart from the warships of Fontaine, no ship is faster than theirs."

"An ironclad ship!?"

Rod's eyelid twitched.

Mechanical structure, using special energy source.

Compared to Mondstadt and Liyue, which still rely on wooden boats and half-manpower, they are indeed far superior.

“In this respect, Zhidong is indeed far ahead.”

Zhongli could only shake his head and sigh at this.

Winter and Fontainebleau.

This is the strongest tech tree in Teyvat.

The highest level of technology in Liyue is currently based on mechanical engineering and alchemy.

In alchemy.

Liyue is neither as good as Sumeru nor as good as Mondstadt; it's somewhere in the middle, neither particularly good nor bad.

In terms of mechanical engineering, Liyue is far superior to other countries.

While other countries do not use mechanical arts, the machines created by Liyue using mechanical arts are actually no less advanced than those of the technologically advanced nations of Winterfell and Fontaine.

Especially those mechanical creations that incorporate the mystical arts of immortals have magical functions that are difficult for people to understand.

Among them, the Immortal Who Leaves Clouds and Borrows Wind is a representative figure.

The mechanical arts she passed down are the foundation of Liyue's current technology tree.

However, mechanical arts also have their own drawbacks.

That is the cost and the process.

While Liyue's mechanical arts are indeed profound and ever-changing, in terms of complexity, they are in no way inferior to the most mind-boggling rune mechanics course in the Instruction Academy.

Furthermore, since the most ingenious components in mechanical arts rely on the power of immortals, among mortals, only families of alchemists who have inherited the magic of immortals are capable of creating high-quality mechanical devices.