The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

Yu Jin stroked his chin and arrived at a fairly open area.

……

Just as Yu Jin was pondering a countermeasure, a sinister smile, as if a wicked scheme was about to succeed, came from outside Aru Village on the other side.

"Hehehe, since the soft approach isn't working, then don't blame us for using the hard one!"

Outside Aru Village, in a valley crevice, a group of people dressed in the robes of scholars from the Order of the Church were crouching furtively behind a rock.

Beside them, on the road beyond the rocks, a huge incense burner was emitting large plumes of white smoke.

This is phenoxylate, a fragrance often used by scholars during meditation, but here it is used at a lethal dose.

The fragrance of lingo can stabilize the scholars' minds, enhance their inspiration, and make it easier for their consciousness to connect with the World Tree.

For the mad scholars who had once deeply connected with the World Tree, this fragrance meant an opportunity to reconnect with it, a temptation they could not resist.

“But are our methods really that tough? I feel like we’re rats,” another scholar behind the rock objected to the leader’s statement.

"You talk too much nonsense. We are scholars, we rely on our brains, not our muscles, do you understand?!" The leading scholar pointed to his head and reminded his dissenting companion.

“I understand, but I’m from the Shravasti Academy. Could you please use more precise language? It’s making me uncomfortable.”

After speaking, the leading scholar glanced at his constipated companion. The Shravasti Academy was truly remarkable, producing nothing but strange people.

First there was the old monster who didn't know how he had lived for hundreds of years and always wanted others to call him "senior." Then there was the eccentric and reclusive scribe. Now there's this sensitive scholar.

The leader recalled the various incidents at the Shravasti Academy and felt that this kind of academy had to be severely rectified, starting with the guy in front of him!

"What's wrong with Shravasti Academy? Is Shravasti Academy so great? It only produces weirdos, doesn't it? Beat him up, even if it hurts!"

"Bang! Crack! Thud! Tap!"

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me, I was wrong."

Putting aside other matters, the Religious Council was quite adept at disciplining its own members. Amidst the faint sounds of punches, kicks, and screams, the village guards drew ever closer to the incense burner.

……

"Grunt! Grunt!"

The red sand and gravel flew into the sky and then piled up on the ground. As the sand piled up higher and higher, the holes dug out in the ground became deeper and deeper.

"Splash!" Yellow water mixed with sand gushed out, bringing up the embers from underground.

Looking at the groundwater that was quickly filling the pit, he scratched his head. "This place has quite a lot of groundwater; we even managed to dig a well."

After a brief moment of reflection, Yu Jin stopped worrying about such trivial matters. He wasn't digging a well; he was digging this hole for something else!

Ember raised his arm, on which lay a broken white twig. The World Tree certainly wouldn't care about such a small piece.

If it weren't for the need to avoid waking up these sleepwalking village guards, he could have simply punched the ground; there was no need for him to carefully dig a hole.

"Burn incense, burn incense! If you can smell this, are you still afraid of running away?" After briefly examining the World Tree branch in his hand, Ember immediately ran to a downwind spot.

He held up a white World Tree branch with one hand and lit a tiny flame with the other.

When the flames touched the branches of the World Tree, the branches merely curled up slightly without igniting.

“Good stuff, I’d be a ton of people would buy it if it were used as a firewall.” Ember extinguished the flame at his fingertips and planted the World Tree into the ground.

He clapped his hands, and a huge, raging fireball appeared between them.

Orange-red flames rolled and burned, the white on the World Tree's branches finally turned charred black, and then a spark appeared in the charred blackness—the World Tree's branches were on fire.

Seeing the World Tree begin to burn, Ember immediately withdrew the flames from his hand. "Burning incense, burning incense, does anyone actually light incense sticks directly on fire?"

Wisps of smoke rose from the branches of the World Tree, which was burning with sparks on the ground, and drifted away with the wind, flowing towards the place where the village guards were gathered.

The villagers who had just stepped out of the village were immediately energized when they smelled the blue smoke emanating from the World Tree and turned around to run towards the branches of the World Tree.

Its speed was so fast that it almost made the scholars in the distance, who were smugly beating their companions, drop their jaws in astonishment.

"Who knows what happened?" The scholars looked at each other, bewildered, unsure of what had occurred.

The dosage of the spirochete was precisely calculated, and in theory, it should have been enough to lure most of the mad scholars out of the village. But now, not only have they not been lured out, but even the village guards who were just visible have vanished without a trace.

"No, the plan has gone seriously wrong. What should we do next?" The scholars looked at the incense burner, which was still emitting large plumes of white smoke, and appeared quite anxious.

"Don't rush, don't forget we still have the Void Terminal." The leading scholar waved his hand, and the restless crowd quieted down.

Yes, they do have a void terminal. It is precisely because of this that this group of scholars was able to cross the vast desert and arrive at Aru Village.

As long as the Void Terminal responds, everything will be alright.

"How did the Void Terminal respond?" Everyone around turned their attention to the team leader, who had his eyes closed.

He has the highest authority here, and the answer given by the void is the most comprehensive.

"Pretend to be one of those lunatics and go in!" The leading scholar opened his eyes and gave the void his answer.

Chapter 660 Quick Master

2024-05-11

"Oh oh oh!"

"Knowledge! Familiar knowledge!"

"Ara ara, sand, so much sand!"

……

On a vast, desolate land near Aru Village, a group of figures dressed in the robes of scholars from the Order of the Church were performing a strange dance around a slowly burning tree branch.

They raised their hands, their eyes were slanted, and their tongues were sticking out; they looked like they were having a fit of madness.

"Is it that strong?" Yu Jin joined in the strange dance, but his eyes remained straight and his tongue didn't stick out.

Yu Jin took a deep breath of the smoke blowing in the wind, but he couldn't smell anything special.

But something strange entered his mind along with the smoke. After focusing his attention for a moment, Ember understood what the smoke contained.

This could be called a memory, or it could be called some kind of knowledge. Although the change was magical, Ember had little interest in what had suddenly appeared in his mind.

The reason is simple: everything contained within this branch of the earth's vein is about sand and soil. Located at an unknown depth underground, it can only record the changes in the sand and soil over time.

A mere few thousand years is but a fleeting moment for earth and stone. Therefore, in Yu Jin's mind, everything remained utterly black, unchanged.

"How boring. I guess I still can't understand the world of the mentally ill?" Watching the village guardians gesticulating wildly and full of energy, Yu Jin yawned and withdrew from the bizarre ritual.

Squatting on the ground, he began counting down the days until dawn. If sleepwalking could be so energetic, he figured these guys might wake up before daylight even arrived.

In the distance, at the height of the mysterious ritual, scholars from the Church, feigning mental illness, gradually approached.

Seeing the bizarre movements of the village guards in the distance, they involuntarily took a few steps back.

One of the scholars wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked in a trembling voice, "Senior, is this really okay?"

"Absolutely...absolutely no problem! The answer given by the Void Terminal is definitely correct!" The leading scholar unconsciously swallowed and nodded firmly in response.

To make it more realistic, this group of people has temporarily disconnected from the void terminal. Now, their ears are empty, and their hearts are empty as well.

Without the Void Terminal, the scholars suddenly felt as if they were walking on ice, fearing that they might fall into an abyss if they were not careful.

But the void terminal's final response was still vivid in their minds, which gave them their last bit of courage. After encouraging each other, the group, imitating the mad scholars, swaggered in.

"What does it smell like? It smells good?"

As soon as the group entered the vicinity of Aru Village from the outside, a strange fragrance wafted into their nostrils.

"Keep your voice down, or we'll get caught!"

The leader took a few deep breaths, then quietly reprimanded his companions behind him. After reprimanding them, he greedily inhaled a few more long breaths.

I must say, this smells much better than linalool; no wonder it attracted the mad scholar.

"Damn it! What am I doing?! The important thing now is to find out what happened, I can't get caught up in this kind of thing!"

After shaking his head to wake up from the fragrance, the leading scholar pinched his thigh hard and muttered to himself in self-reproach.

He almost got lost in the fragrance just now; if he had, he would have betrayed the Sage's trust in him!

Unfortunately, the idea was beautiful, but reality was harsh. Although the scholars consciously reminded themselves not to get carried away, they were running against the wind.

This means that most of the aroma from burning tree branches ended up on their faces.

The scholars, who had been letting loose, quickly quieted down, their minds filled with a multitude of thoughts.

To the embers, these things were pitch black, but to the scholars carefully trained by the Order of the Church, they were absolutely excellent materials for studying desert geological changes.

Their minds were filled with the knowledge contained in the World Tree's smoke, and they seemed more like sleepwalkers than the excited village guards ahead.

"Hmm? Such quiet village guardians?" Yu Jin was greatly surprised when he saw a few slightly quieter "village guardians" walking towards him from a distance.

Unexpectedly, there are still village guardians who are not tempted by the knowledge of the World Tree. How could they be tempted by the knowledge of the gods with such willpower?

Ember walked over to the scholars and noticed that they seemed to be muttering something to themselves.

"The soil and rock layers are moist from top to bottom, and there is an underground river above them..."

"The soil layers are fractured, making this area prone to earthquakes..."

"The degree of weathering is inconsistent; this area may have once been part of the earth's surface..."

"?????"

Ember took a few steps back, looking at the still-burning white branches behind him with suspicion. Could the exhaust fumes from the burning World Tree really cure mental illness?

“What does one plus one equal?”

Approaching the few dazed scholars again, Yu Jin immediately stopped them and asked.

"two!"

The scholars instinctively answered in unison.

"I can tell you're not human at first glance!" Upon hearing the seemingly normal answers from the people in front of him, Yu Jin immediately realized that these guys were not the village guardians at all.

The villagers will give all sorts of strange answers, such as Hilichurls or Slimes, but they will never give the correct answers in unison.

The merciless iron hand rubbed the faces of the group, and the ashes that the scholars of the Order of the Church had hastily wiped on their faces were wiped away by the embers.

Under the moonlight, the faces of several people were clearly revealed before him. These people were none other than the scholars from the Order Academy who had failed to find the village guard during the day and had been verbally abused.

The scholars on the other side were also jolted awake by Yu Jin's loud shout.