The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

The voice, a mixture of youthful innocence and maturity, sounded jarring to Yu Jin. He looked around and then spotted a white figure in the dense grass.

"So short."

Yu Jin looked down at the Great Tree King, which was buried under the fine grass, and couldn't help but complain.

"Otherwise what? Fruits need nutrients to grow. I have neither the heart of a god nor the name of a demon god. It's already good enough that I haven't turned into a seed."

The Great Compassion Tree King shrugged, looking utterly helpless.

"What do we do next? Does this dragon have any other problems?" Ember asked the little guy in front of him. If Apep had any other problems, they should deal with them now.

However, before the Great Tree King could respond, Apep's somewhat annoyed voice rang out.

"You two need to get out of here now! Otherwise, you two will drive me crazy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Jin felt a tremendous repulsive force emanating from around his body. Countless plants sprouted from beneath his feet, gradually enveloping him.

Aside from the repulsive force, Ember didn't sense any danger, so he let the dense grass envelop him.

Visibility darkened, then returned to light. When the green faded, an endless sea of ​​sand and enormous tunnels came into view.

Meanwhile, Apep was lying in a pit large enough to accommodate the dragon's body, panting heavily.

"Where is this?" Yu Jin looked around. This place looked like it was underground.

"Appepu, how do you feel about your palace gardens being reduced to this state?" The Great Tree King, who had also been sent out of her body by Appepu, looked at the palace gardens that were now nothing but yellow sand and shook her head with a sigh.

"What? This is a garden? Where are the flowers?" Yu Jin was incredibly surprised. A garden without flowers? This is truly an eye-opener.

"Phew... the withered flowers will grow back, and my palace will be as lush as before. You don't need to worry about that."

Apep exhaled a heavy breath, causing a gust of sand and stones to fly.

"Cough cough cough! Judging from your appearance, are you still not well?" The Great Compassion Tree King was blinded by the sand blowing in her face. After coughing a few times, she asked in confusion.

Logically speaking, the Grass Dragon, whose Oasis Heart has been fully activated, should be fully capable of purifying the forbidden knowledge within its body, but judging from its current state? It seems it hasn't been completely purified?

Apep tilted his massive dragon head slightly and said meaningfully, "I'm fine, just a little tightness in my chest."

"Chest tightness?" The Great Tree King glanced at the bored Ember beside her. Good, she was now certain that Apep was truly alright.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Instead of looking at me, why don't you train that big slug inside you and stop it from beating up just anyone!"

When Yu Jin saw that both the Great Tree King and Apep were looking at him, he immediately retorted.

"Phew... that's easy for you to say. Can you control every part of your body?"

"I'm sorry, I really can."

"..."

Apep stopped looking at Ember. Where did this monster come from, and why was it involved with the Great Tree King?

"Since you have no problems, I won't stay any longer." The Great Compassion Tree King looked up at the enormous creature that was many years older than her. Before, she was filled with rage, but now her aura had become much calmer.

Considering Apep's stubborn nature, the Great Tree King was still somewhat uneasy, so she reminded him again:

"Akhmar and Nabu Marikata both perished because of forbidden knowledge. And you, who have always been so proud, have also been tormented by it to the point of near death."

"These lessons should calm your thirst for power a little, right?"

"My heart has just recovered, and it's no longer enough to support me in doing anything."

Upon hearing the Great Tree King's warning, Apep closed her eyes, and then, amidst a rumbling sound, she slowly retreated into her palace.

Apep's palace was much larger than imagined; the dragon's body shrank into it and disappeared without a trace.

Only a light source emanating from an unknown source illuminated the entire entrance to the palace, making it appear sacred and tranquil.

"Let's go. It seems Appepp will need to rest for a while." Seeing that Appepp had stopped moving, the Great Tree King called for Ember to leave.

"You're going to the rainforest?"

Apep's voice came from who knows how far away.

"Otherwise what? If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to see a strange dragon like you as my first sight."

"Hmph, you think I just want to see you? Let me remind you, your people have some problems."

"How did you know?"

"Because they abandoned their fellow beings in the yellow sand."

Apep's voice faded away, leaving only his white figure lost in thought.

Chapter 633 Sumeru Who Doesn't Recognize the Gods

2024-04-27

"You're saying you're the Grass God?"

Please do not remove the word "before" without authorization!

Walking along the somewhat rudimentary road, Ember chatted with the guy who seemed to have popped out of a peach beside him.

"Oh, so why did you retire? And why do you look exactly like the current Grass God?" Ember nodded, then continued to ask.

"You're quite the smooth talker. I was initially prepared to completely erase myself from the picture."

The Great Tree King raised its hand, and sunlight, piercing through the rainforest, was parted by its delicate fingers and fell upon the Great Tree King's face.

Feeling the warmth on her face, she was momentarily dazed. If she could come back to life, could everything from the past also return?

"By the way, are you interested in knowledge about things outside the world and forbidden knowledge?"

The Great Tree King lowered her arm and turned to ask Ember. Her earlier warning to Apep had not been applied to Ember.

This was not only because the embers came from outside the world, but also because of the Great Tree King's intuition—she felt that this guy in front of her would not be consumed by forbidden knowledge like her friend.

“A little interested, but not much.” Yu Jin casually picked an unidentified fruit growing by the roadside and threw it into his body.

If nobody wants it, then don't blame him for taking it.

"Is that so?" The Great Tree King was clearly surprised that Ember was so indifferent to such a bombshell. Her throat felt like it was blocked by something, and she couldn't say anything for a long time.

"What? If you have some big secret, I might as well listen." Yu Jin looked into the distance, where a huge tree rose from the ground, with buildings standing side by side on it.

This is a city built upon a giant tree; such a distinctive feature could only be Sumeru City.

"Big secret? I don't know much. If you really want to know, I have two friends."

"I guess he's dead."

The Great Tree King glanced at Ember. Why does this person's speech change so drastically, sometimes pleasant and sometimes unpleasant?

"I should have died anyway."

The Great Tree King looked up at the embers, its big eyes sparkling.

"You look quite good pretending to be young." Yu Jin gave the Great Tree King a thumbs up. Putting everything else aside, you really do look cute.

Although Ember had no idea what "cute" actually meant, all he was doing was guessing, based on other people's previous reactions, that the Great Tree King might be "cute" right now.

Upon hearing this, the Great Tree King shrunk its bright, watery eyes considerably—please! Staring for too long will dry out your eyes.

"If someone has only been dead for a few years, it's fine even if there's no body."

"If you've been dead for a long time, tell me the time, and give me any remaining consciousness. If you have a body and ashes, that would be even better."

Ember stretched out his arm and waved to the Great Tree King; he wanted the ashes.

“No, none of them. And they’ve been dead for thousands of years.” The Great Tree King shook his head.

"Oh, that's really awesome. Why don't you try transforming into an evil god and turning all the Sumeru people into nutrients to feed me? Maybe that will work."

"Of course, you'll see whether I cut you down or not back then!"

Ember lowered his head and gave the Great Tree King a bright smile that she couldn't see, successfully causing the latter to take several steps back.

"Never mind, it's just a tiny delusion. Just ignore it." The Great Tree King shrank his head, unconsciously using honorifics when addressing the embers.

Are all beings from outside this world this fierce? No wonder the laws of nature forbid the people of Teyvat from contacting the outside world.

In an instant, the Great Compassion Tree King felt that he had grasped the truth.

The two walked one after the other, chatting idly. The towering trees in the distance gradually came into view, and more pedestrians appeared on the road.

When the Great Tree King saw someone coming, it slightly tiptoed its delicate white feet to make itself more conspicuous.

"What a strange person. What is he wearing?"

"The Void Terminal says it might be the armor from Old Mondstadt, but there are many differences, so it's unclear."

Ember successfully attracted the attention of passersby, who would steal glances at him from time to time, muttering something under their breath, completely unaware of the Great Tree King beside him, who was looking on with anticipation.

The pedestrians gradually moved away. They glanced at the Great Tree King along the way, but at most they were amazed by her cuteness and cursed Ember's cruelty—how could he let such a young girl walk barefoot in the rainforest?!

"???"

Yu Jin scratched his head. Why did these people start cursing him after their initial surprise? He hadn't done anything wrong.

"You look dejected?" Ember noticed the Great Tree King's unusual demeanor; she seemed rather downcast after the passersby left.

Just as Yu Jin was about to say something to comfort her, he found that her dejection had suddenly vanished.

"It seems that Nasita is doing a very good job as a deity! No wonder she is the purest branch of the World Tree!"

The Great Tree King, hands on hips, praised the current Little Auspicious Grass King. She, the Great Tree King, had been gone for five hundred years; five hundred years—it was indeed time for Mount Sumeru to turn a new page.

The Great Compassion Tree King is merely a chapter in the history of Mount Sumeru. The people of Mount Sumeru should now worship the Lesser Auspicious Grass King.

From this perspective, the Great Compassion Tree King felt that it was a good thing that no one could recognize her suddenly, because it meant that the Little Auspicious Grass King could now lead the people of Sumeru on her own.

"What are you looking at me for?"

The Great Tree King was basking in pride over the Little Lucky Grass King when he suddenly noticed how blindingly bright the Ember's gaze was.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Put me down! Let me tell you, I'm not as easy to bully as I seem!"

Ember grabbed the back of the Great Tree King's skirt and pulled her up, causing the latter to thrash about.

"So you know you look easy to bully, huh? Look who this is?" Yu Jin carried the Great Tree King, which looked like a badminton shuttlecock, in one hand and pulled out a mirror in the other.

"I'm……"

The Great Tree King saw a small, adorable face reflected in the mirror. Clover-like pupils, a long ponytail tied at a slant, a white and green patterned feathered skirt…