The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

"If I had known, we wouldn't have come to this eerie place." Ying held a blunt sword, her eyes filled with vigilance.

Suddenly, Ying realized that the Hilichurls' cries weren't so bad after all. In the endless silence, some sound was always welcome.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as she expected. The scale of this secret realm was among the largest of all the secret realms Ying had ever explored.

However, apart from a few Hilichurls stationed at the entrance, there were no other creatures in the secret realm.

The vast secret realm is like a forbidden zone for life.

The deeper you go into the secret realm, the more illogical things become.

Although there was no lighting in the entire secret realm, an omnipresent purple light emanated from the stone walls, which, combined with the gray of the stone walls themselves, dyed the entire space an unsettling pale purple.

Every now and then, the road ahead of Ying and Paimon would suddenly end. Looking down, all they could see was a vast expanse of white mist, like the gaping maw of a giant beast waiting to devour its prey.

"Why do I have this feeling that the deeper we go, the more eerie it gets?" Paimon looked at the stone wall and felt that it would turn into a giant mouth and devour her.

Looking at the ground, I felt it might suddenly open up, so I decided to eat her instead.

Without realizing it, Paimon was almost pressed against Ying. She looked around suspiciously, feeling as if something might jump out and devour her.

"Then be careful and stay behind me." Without turning her head, Ying picked up Paimon and placed him behind her.

"I will. Leave your back to me!" Paimon said, clinging to Ying's shoulder and trying to sound calm.

However, her tone sounded uneasy, making one wonder if she would simply run away when danger struck.

"Da da da."

Only the sound of Ying's footsteps echoed in the secret realm. After crossing several cliffs, a huge upward slope appeared in front of Ying and Paimon.

The slope was very long, and it seemed to have no end in sight. Moreover, the slope's surface was different from other terrains in the secret realm.

Every part of the slope is engraved with some kind of peculiar pattern, which is complex and mysterious, making the slope look like a heavenly staircase leading to the altar.

"careful!"

Paimon suddenly shouted behind Ying. Ying looked up and saw the slope surface beginning to glow purple.

Then the purple light materialized, distorting like ordinary light, but this time carrying the stone slabs on the slope.

However, none of these things concerned Ying the most; her attention was now entirely focused on the purple bubbles rolling down the slope.

Ying didn't know what these purple bubbles, which looked similar to soap bubbles, were all about, nor did she care to study their characteristics.

She only knew one thing: being touched by this thing was definitely not a good thing!

Looking around, I saw towering stone walls on both sides, like cliffs, with no place to hide.

Since there's nowhere to hide, let's create one! A dark blue wisp of wind appeared in Ying's palm, and then she picked up Paimon and stepped to the wall.

"Kakaka!"

The sound of rocks breaking rang out in rapid succession. The wind gusts exploded the moment they hit the stone wall, and the raging wind blades cut one grotesque gash after another into the stone wall.

Countless gaps together make up a hole in the wall.

Without thinking too much, Ying pulled Paimon into the newly created hole in the wall.

"laugh--"

Before the two could catch their breath, a squeaking sound came from behind them. Ying and Paimon turned around and saw purple bubbles rolling down from above, leaving behind a hazy gray smoke.

As the smoke rose higher, the two realized that the slope had been shockingly eroded.

The once flat and solid rock slope has become uneven, full of cracks and depressions due to recent erosion.

The cracks crisscross, like a giant spider web, dividing the entire slope into countless small pieces.

The gaps between the cracks revealed an inexplicable darkness, making Ying feel that if she stepped on the slope, it would collapse and drag her into a bottomless abyss.

"What terrifying bubbles! Where did they come from?" Paimon flew out and stomped hard on the uneven slope, nodding at Ying.

After her test, she found that people could still stand in this spot!

"Could it be a new mechanism?" Ying breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Paimon's actions, and then walked out.

It must be said that Paimon is quite useful. For example, he can be sent to test out some mechanisms or uncertain footholds.

"Alright, then be careful from here on out," Paimon muttered. Most of the traps she and Luminos had encountered before were defensive, designed to block anyone from advancing.

I never expected to see such a powerful offensive mechanism for the first time today.

"Crack... Boom!"

The eroded ground became incredibly fragile; the raised areas crumbled into pebbles and rolled away at the slightest touch.

After a short rest, the two continued to slowly walk uphill.

After the strange change, Ying felt a mysterious aura permeating the surroundings, making the air feel heavy.

Unbeknownst to them, Ying and Paimon's breathing gradually became heavier, not only because of the hardship of the climb, but also because of the inexplicable sense of oppression that lingered in their hearts.

The two gazed ahead, where a strange purple glow faintly appeared at the end of the slope.

Then they saw the source of the dazzling light: an upside-down statue of the Seven Gods.

Chapter 380 The hanging statue

2023-12-28

At the end of this road stood a dilapidated temple. A statue of the Seven Gods hung in the air in an unbelievable way—it was upside down.

A distorted, deep purple light emanated from behind the statue, obscuring the exact features of the seven-day statue.

Beside the statue, a figure knelt motionless, appearing to be the most devout believer, offering the most focused prayer.

But Ying knew this man was definitely not a believer. Judging from his clothes, he was most likely the treasure-hunting group they were looking for.

"This guy... could he be the [Great Treasure Thief] we're looking for?" Paimon followed Luminous's footsteps to the statue.

"It looks like he's praying?" Ying ignored Paimon, but Paimon didn't seem to care and continued talking to himself.

"Zi!"

Paimon's words seemed to have triggered something, and the upside-down Seven Gods statues above their heads suddenly emitted an even more intense light.

"careful!"

Ying pulled Paimon back, warily raised her weapon, and stared intently at the Seven Gods statues before her, on guard against any possible changes.

Amidst a dazzling deep purple light, Ying finally discerned the origin of these seven statues. These were the seven statues from Mondstadt, and hanging upside down was none other than Barbatos, the god of the winds!

The statue, like the ones Ying had seen elsewhere, was draped in a long robe. However, the statue, which normally appeared gentle and peaceful on the ground, exuded an inexplicable eeriness here.

The robe was embroidered with ancient runes, which Ying had seen in books; they were decorative stripes unique to Mondstadt and commonly found throughout the land.

But under the purple light, the stripes seemed to transform into symbols for operating a forbidden magic array. The purple forbidden energy flowed along the stripes and eventually merged into the palm of the statue.

The robes on the statue seemed to have become an ancient veil, deeply concealing Barbatos's originally tranquil and carefree expression.

"Ying... is that the Seven Gods Statue...?"

The silence lasted for a long time, and seeing that nothing else changed, Paimon peeked out from behind Ying, looking at the strange scene before him with some fear, and asked...

She vowed that after this incident, she would never go to any secret realm for three months!

Originally, it was just about tracking down a group of thieves, but who could have imagined that the process would turn out so bizarrely?

"The Seven Gods Statue... it's the one of Barbatos, the god of wind." Upon hearing Paimon's words, Ying loosened her grip on the sword hilt.

"Why...why are the Seven Gods statues hanging upside down? And I remember they were holding a jewel in their palms, weren't they?"

Paimon looked at the dark purple hue gathering in the palm of the Seven Gods statue, his voice trembling slightly.

The dark purple mass exerted considerable pressure on Paimon. It absorbed energy from the dark cracks around the statue and then emitted it through light.

The source of all the strange occurrences in the secret realm seems to be the deep purple ball of light held in the palm of the statue.

“I don’t know, but I do know that all of this is definitely related to the Abyss Cult.” Ying shook her head and said with a solemn expression.

To be honest, this was her first real encounter with the Abyss Cult.

There had been two other instances before. The first was the Dragon Disaster, but it inexplicably healed itself in the end, leaving Ying with only the impression that the Abyss Order was an organized group with that name.

The second time was her journey with Dain, but after all that effort, Ying made no real progress in understanding the Abyss Order.

Today, she finally understood why Diluc called the Abyss Order "the enemy of humanity."

No organization among the seven kingdoms dared to steal the statues of the seven gods. This was not only a challenge to the authority of the seven gods' order, but also an act that would genuinely harm the fundamental interests of the seven kingdoms.

The Seven Gods Statue is not only a statue built to commemorate the seven gods, but also a node that ensures the smooth flow of the earth's veins and the harmonious circulation of elements in a country.

The seven statues on the continent are like valves. They contain the power of the seven gods, controlling the elemental cycle and the flow of the earth's veins throughout the continent.

Uprooting the seven statues would damage the gods' authority, but the resulting disruption of the earth's veins and elemental forces would be no less devastating than a war.

Of course, that's in densely populated areas. If it were in the middle of nowhere, it might take several days for people to discover the chaos.

The Statue of the Seven in front of us was probably taken from a remote part of Mondstadt.

"The Abyss Order... what a troublesome bunch!" Paimon stomped her foot. Her dislike for the Abyss Order had skyrocketed, now tied for first place with the Fatui!

"Phew... let's see what happens to that group of treasure hunters, although I don't think they'll end up well..."

Ying took a few deep breaths and then walked forward.

"Hey, are you alright?" Paimon quickly flew behind "The Great Thief's House" and began to observe it closely.

No matter how Paimon shouted, "The Great Treasure Thief" remained completely still. He knelt silently before the upside-down statue, as before, without making a sound.

“He…he’s dead.” Paimon’s expression was sad, but not overly fearful.

During his adventures with Luminous, Paimon witnessed many deaths. Although he still felt sadness, he no longer felt fear.

"I feel really bad." Paimon returned to Ying's side, shaking his head as if to shake the unpleasant images from his mind.

"Unknown cause of death." Ying pursed her lips; the scene before her was somewhat beyond her current capabilities.

"Let's go! Go find the senior!" A figure flashed through her mind, and Ying turned around to leave this strange secret realm.

“Huh? I thought you were going to go find Dain.” Paimon followed closely behind, looking surprised.

In this situation, shouldn't we be looking for Dain? He's clearly a professional in the Abyss Order.

"Dain? Do you think he's easy to find?" Ying rolled her eyes at Paimon.