The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

"Just watch closely, I'm in control of this thing." Ember noticed Paimon's actions, stopped talking, and began to look around.

Although the golden tree emerged near the campfire, there was no one around, as if the firelight was only there to illuminate the darkness and did not serve anyone.

"Ember, can we move forward a little?" Dain saw the purple abyss runes floating above the campfire and knew that the core area was ahead.

These runes, suspended above the campfire, serve as both an important energy source to keep the fire burning and also convey some kind of information.

If they really set fire to the ground like that, the apostles might be fine, but the abyss mages would suffocate.

"Alright, seeing how familiar you are with this, I'll listen to you." Upon hearing this, Yu Jin made the Golden Tree burrow back into the earth.

"It's dark again!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise.

"What's the big deal? Haven't you ever seen someone dig a hole in the ground before?" Yu Jin scoffed, then began to sense his surroundings.

The Abyss Order's camp was quite empty. The bark of the golden tree once again wrapped around the eyeball at its end, which was writhing rapidly beneath the earth.

After traveling for an unknown amount of time, the campfires ahead visibly became more numerous, and their light became much stronger.

The roots of the golden tree sprouted from the ground once more, and it tried its best to shrink the golden light on its surface. Under the cover of the campfire, it blended perfectly into the background.

"So many bonfires!"

"Look ahead, the Abyss Apostle is coming!"

As soon as Dain finished speaking, the space in front of him rippled, and then a spatial rift much larger than an ordinary abyss passage tore open.

The tiny specks of starlight it emits look like fragments of starlight in deep space.

"So big?! Could it be that the Abyss Order has cultivated powerful Abyss Apostles?!" Ember exclaimed in shock upon seeing the spatial rift, which was three or four times larger than a normal Abyss passage.

He compared the size difference between the Abyss Mage and the Abyss Apostle and figured that if the Abyss Apostle evolved again, it would be about this size.

“Strong Abyss Apostle? What is that?” Ying was completely confused when she heard Ember’s words. Could strength be classified as a separate level?

“Don’t listen to him, there’s no such thing.” Dain refuted Ember’s claim of a “strong abyssal apostle.”

He had been fighting the Abyss Order for so long, and he had never seen anything like a "Strong Abyss Apostle".

The Abyss Apostles look exactly the same as humans. Dain also identifies the Abyss Apostles by their aura.

He carefully examined the massive Abyss Order and said in a solemn tone, "This indicates a large-scale apostle transfer. It seems the Abyss Order is planning something big recently."

"Om~"

As soon as Dain finished speaking, the abyss passage ahead began to fluctuate violently. Then, one after another, twisted and crazed monsters emerged from it.

Those were the Apostles and the Singers of the Abyss.

Judging from the appearance, there are no fewer than a dozen apostles of various levels who have emerged!

The apostles emerged from the spatial rift, but instead of leaving, they stood on either side of the passage, as if welcoming some important figure.

After all the Abyss Apostles emerged, a figure appeared from the Abyss Passage.

A person among the monsters of the abyss, a man with the same blond hair as Ying and Dain.

Kong, Ying's long-lost older brother.

"elder brother!!!"

"Damn it, Din, hold her down! Paimon, you go too!"

Ying let out the most outrageous scream since awakening. In Yu Jin's opinion, only Ba Che from back then could match its volume.

So without saying a word, he "pressed down" Ying. Actually, it's not a matter of pressing down or not pressing down, since there's no physical body, so how can you press down?

Ember used only a portion of his will to tightly envelop Ying, who immediately felt as if a mountain had appeared out of nowhere in her chest and mind, making it hard for her to breathe and leaving her unable to recover.

"Senior...senior..."

"Okay, calm down... Fine, call me whatever you want!"

Ember initially wanted to advise Firefly not to lose her composure, but after realizing that she had already attracted Sora's attention, she gave up struggling.

In fact, Kong is quite powerful, and it would be very troublesome to capture him.

So, consider it a pruning of the golden tree.

"It seems Oser has truly been released; the target is lost. Everyone, go to other kingdoms and see if any sealed demon gods remain."

In the distance, Kong was arranging for the members of the cult to search for traces of other demon gods when a sudden tremor ran through his heart.

He couldn't quite explain what it was. Perhaps it was a harbinger of crisis, a sign of something important, or perhaps it was Ying's longing.

As if sensing something, Kong suddenly turned his head to look in a certain direction. Then he saw the eyeball hidden in the dim background, and the familiar branch below it.

Well, it seems that the unease was a premonition of a crisis.

"Boom!"

The dim underground suddenly brightened, then quickly dimmed again.

"It's not safe here anymore, let's find another place," Kong said calmly, glancing at the dark purple pit.

Then, the enormous abyss passage reappeared, and the apostles who had just arrived followed Kong's footsteps and left.

"Oh!"

The abyss passage closed, and the flickering flames vanished. Utter darkness descended upon the underground.

……

"Hiss... that's pretty powerful." Yu Jin was the first to wake up. Recalling the moment when he had freed his hand, the intense elemental power seemed to surge into his body even through the Golden Tree.

"It's not just a little bit, it's very strong!" Dainze woke up, his face still showing some palpitations.

My former travel companion has become stronger.

"If he weren't plotting something, probably few of the seven gods on earth could defeat him," Dain muttered to himself, feeling the urgency of the situation more and more intensely now.

"Hmph, what's so great about him? At worst, I'll just cling to Yu Jin when he attacks!"

Paimon also woke up, and the thought of that completely invisible bolt of lightning made her feel a dull ache all over her body again.

"Ying will cry her eyes out, okay? You actually abandoned her when she needed you the most, and Ying even spent 300,000 Mora to support you every month."

Ember pointed to Ying, who was standing silently to the side with unfocused eyes, and said, "It seems that Kong being a member of the Abyss Order has been a significant blow to her."

Paimon also realized what was happening. Seeing Ying's state, she immediately flew to her side and began psychological therapy.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong with you? Aren't I here for you?"

"Since your brother is hanging out with abyss mages, then abandon him and let him find an abyss mage to be his sister!"

"What? You still acknowledge this brother? Then you should become even stronger and bring him back!"

……

Paimon circled around Ying, muttering random things.

"Paimon, I'm all better now." Seeing Paimon's lively and anxious state, Ying felt much better herself.

She pulled Paimon down from the sky, held him in her arms, and began to rub Paimon's little face.

Paimon's face immediately fell, but considering that Ying needed her comfort, Paimon let Ying do whatever she wanted to him.

"Senior, where was that spot just now?" Ying looked up and asked Yu Jin.

“Underground in the sea, but I reckon he’s already escaped,” Yu Jin said, stroking his chin.

"Is that so..." Ying's face visibly darkened. But she quickly rallied.

"No matter what, I must find my brother!"

Chapter 352 Reputation Max Level

2023-12-14

"So, where are you taking me?" Dain asked helplessly as they walked along the edge of Wolfrun Territory.

After "spying" on the Abyss Order, Ember dragged Dain away. He said he wanted to introduce him to some people and show him that he wasn't alone.

"A place you'll definitely be interested in."

"I'm not interested in anything except the Abyss Order."

Dain's refusal was decisive. He had indeed been interested in many things in the past, but those interests had faded. Now, he only wanted to thwart the conspiracies plotted by the Abyss Order.

"Would you like to see that tree?" Ember pointed to the colossal tree that stretched straight to the sky atop Dragonspine Snow Mountain, and added, "That's how we spied on the Abyss Cult just now."

"..."

“I admit I spoke a bit too loudly just now. Take me there, I’m just as interested in this tree.”

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Dain's face; she hadn't expected to be proven wrong so quickly.

Dain had initially wanted to offer a few words of explanation to save face. However, he then thought that Ember probably had no idea what face was.

Fortunately, he simply let go of his pride.

“Very good, but unfortunately the target this time isn’t it, it’s someone at the foot of the tree.” Ember’s words left Dain speechless.

Dain clenched his fist and took a breath. "Let's go. Even if we go to the base of that tree, I can still find out a lot of information."

As for the "that person" that Ember mentioned, Dain didn't have any expectations of him.

There are very few people in this world who can catch his attention. The mere appearance of Ember is already surprising enough; if another one were to appear…

Dain estimated that he should classify Mondstadt as a "high-risk area".

"No need to be so discouraging. That person is no small figure either." Yu Jin patted Dain on the shoulder, then walked towards Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain with his hands behind his head.

……

Longji Snow Mountain was originally a barren land, but now it appears to be full of life.

The biting cold wind had lost its strength, and when it hit my face, it felt more like a soft cotton ball than a sharp icy blade.

The first to sense these changes are always the unsung green plants on the earth. They are more sensitive than any animal, and given the opportunity, they will expand their territory to any place where they can grow.

In short, the Longji Snow Mountain is starting to turn green.

Such a noticeable change naturally attracted the attention of everyone in Mondstadt.

Most people would only consider it fodder for casual conversation. But for the many adventurers and alchemists in Mondstadt, Dragonspine Mountain is now an untapped treasure trove.