Genshin Impact, starting from becoming the God of the Ocean

With a sigh, she turned and climbed onto the island, then jumped onto the cliff where the Seven Gods statues were located, intending to take another look from a high vantage point.

As soon as she stepped onto the platform, a gust of wind blew in her face, and several cherry blossom petals drifted down before her eyes, eventually withering rapidly as they fell.

Ke Qing was slightly taken aback.

In Inazuma, cherry blossoms bloom in all four seasons, and the beauty of cherry blossoms has become a symbol of this country.

Even if they fall, they will carpet the ground in pink, and their fragrance will be delightful.

How could it have withered like this now?

Something's not right.

Ke Qing frowned.

She vaguely sensed that something unusual was about to happen.

...

Narukami Taisha Shrine.

Da da da da.

A shrine maiden, wearing wooden clogs, ran quickly towards the shrine.

"Lord Palace Secretary! Lord Palace Secretary!"

The other priestesses looked puzzled upon seeing this.

"Nana Kano, what's wrong?"

"I just saw filth formed by the power of evil spirits at the foot of the mountain!"

"Huh? How is that possible? Wasn't it not this serious when we checked the cherry blossom tree before?"

"I don't know what happened, but the filth appeared from there, and people have already been attacked. I just notified the nearby Heavenly Territory Envoy to protect this area, but the specific matters will still be handled by the Palace Master."

"The preparations for the Great Purification Ceremony are still underway. Lord Miyaji is out today."

The Divine Cherry Tree, as a symbol of Inazuma, possesses the ability to absorb and purify the impurities of the earth's veins.

However, this ability is not unlimited. The accumulation of filth will damage the Divine Cherry Blossom, so the magistrate also has the responsibility of protecting and maintaining it.

In addition, performing the Great Purification of the Divine Cherry Blossom every now and then to eliminate the impure power accumulated within the Divine Cherry Blossom is extremely important for protecting the Divine Cherry Blossom Tree and Inazuma.

The Great Purification of the Divine Cherry Blossom was originally scheduled to begin soon, and Yae no Miko had them investigate the surrounding area some time ago.

It wasn't this serious back then.

"There's no other way. We'll first notify the shrine's administrator in the shrine's name and ask them to cooperate in monitoring the surrounding area and evacuating the crowd."

"I'll contact the Tianling Envoy and ask them to send more people over."

The priestesses began to take action.

Meanwhile, in Inazuma Castle, affected by the Divine Cherry Tree, cherry blossoms were also falling and withering.

This scene left the Inazuma people puzzled, and at the same time, they felt a vague sense of panic and unease.

After all, words like "withering" and "decaying" often imply bad things are about to happen.

Kujo Sara, who had just left the castle tower, received a notification from the shrine and immediately led a group to the vicinity of Mount Kageyo to slay the evil spirits.

Gonta Village.

Beside a shrine, a priestess wearing a fox mask stared motionlessly at the celestial fox statue before her.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, she turned to look at the location of Yingxiang Mountain.

"The power of the filth has grown stronger..."

...

Boom! —

Stepping on the sand, one finds a pavilion with a scenic view.

Shen He pierced the target's body with his spear, the tip striking the wooden ground with a resounding crash, the powerful force creating a large hole.

Wow~

The Nobushi clan, formed from the power of the evil spirits, dissipated into black mist.

Shen He put away his gun, turned around again, and rushed into the depths of the passage.

"There are so many evil spirits."

Su Zhe, who was paddling in the back, looked around and frowned in thought.

Such abandoned secret places are basically the favorite places of Inazuma ronin, because shogunate samurai rarely come here, and they can stay for free without spending any money.

He had visited the Borrowed View Pavilion in the game; it was inhabited only by some Inazuma ronin, and the boss at the very back was actually a pair of adulterous members of the Fatui Clan.

Debt Settler and Winter Lady.

Logically speaking, there is nothing related to evil spirits.

"Su Zhe, look here."

Shen He's voice came from inside.

Su Zhe followed the sound and went inside. At the very back was an empty room filled with ruins, and the ground was covered with black shells that looked like carbonization.

"These should be crystallized bone marrow, but their power has already been absorbed."

Because he had seen it at the Evil Eye Factory, he knew very well the state of the crystallized bone marrow after the energy was absorbed.

After pondering for a moment, Su Zhe turned and went to other parts of the secret realm, where he found traces of crystallized bone marrow stored in many empty rooms. The sheer number of such marrow was terrifying.

Logically, the crystallized bone marrow that the Fools collected from the magistrate should have all been sent to the Evil Eye Factory.

A pavilion with borrowed scenery...

He walked back to the largest room he had just been in and found Shen He squatting in the corner, rummaging through something.

"what happened?"

"Found something."

Shen He picked up a gold ornament.

It is engraved with Inazuma's signature three spiral magatama.

It looks quite precious, but for some reason it's covered in dust, indicating it's been stored here for a long time.

The gold jewelry was stored in a square box, which also contained half a broken knife and a notebook.

"She created me."

The title page has this line written on it.

"Where is this? When the doll woke up, the gears of fate seemed to have started to turn."

"He has no 'heart' and no home, and he walks on a road where he doesn't even know where he's going."

"Katsura took in the doll. He was a very kind man and taught the doll to wield a sword. When he saw the gold ornaments on the doll, he excitedly told him that they were left by the general. The doll must be someone the general values. For the first time, the doll felt 'happy'."

“Every day I stand on the hillside of Tasuna and look out, and it seems like I can see a solemn pavilion. Katsuragi said that must be the castle tower. When the purple lightning flashes, does she, that noble person, also look at the doll like this?”

"The people in the village are really kind. The doll wants to stay here forever, but she also wants to go see her."

"Calamity has come, the sky is all black, they are screaming loudly, is that the feeling of despair? The puppet doesn't know, but the puppet knows I must help them. Gold ornament? Yes, he can go to the general!"

“The gold ornaments were useless. That swordsmith, Mikoto Nagamasa, wanted to kill the doll. Katsuragi told the doll, ‘Hurry up and go!’ He fled that place and headed towards Inazuma Castle. A little boy by the roadside told him, ‘No one who went to Inazuma Castle has returned.’ The doll forced a smile and said, ‘I will definitely come back.’”

"The puppet arrived with reinforcements, but his home was engulfed in flames. Gui Mu and the villagers carried flames on their backs as they watched the puppet through the fire. The puppet was speechless, looking down at the gold ornament in his hand, and then threw it into the dust."

"The doll decides to leave Inazuma, and a mysterious stranger gives him something called 'heart'..."

The middle part was torn out, revealing several pages of messy doodles. They actually contained words—names—which were then covered in bright red, making them look somewhat eerie.

The details only unfold when you turn to the back.

"I will prove it to her!"

"That's it." Shen He continued flipping through the pages, only to find it was now blank. She paused for a moment, then said, "Did this person... meet with misfortune?"

Su Zhe shrugged: "Maybe."

Is he still here?

"He's probably gone."

Looking at the notebook, Su Zhe remembered that the gold ornament from earlier was indeed from a soldier, but it should have been thrown away back then.

After so many years, it took a lot of effort to find it, along with the broken knife and this notebook. It seems these things were meant to be left buried here.

The fact that the stragglers returned in this manner suggests that their purpose was not so simple.

So much crystallized bone marrow—the power contained within must be absolutely terrifying.

Furthermore, the loss of the Mikage Furnace Core was probably also done by this guy.

The combination of these two things gave Su Zhe a bad feeling.

After putting the items back, Su Zhe pondered for a moment, then left the Borrowed View Pavilion with Shen He.

I spent half a day searching for clues on the island. I thought that something as big as the Mikage's Heart would be easily discovered if it left from Futabasa.

Unfortunately, there are too few people around here. The few factories that exist are too dangerous to approach due to the spread of the evil spirit's power. After all, just looking at those terrifying nuclear wastewaters is enough to make one shudder. Who would dare to live here?

Unable to find any clues, Su Zhe returned to the smelting factory and, looking into the distance, spotted a pink-haired man directing the actions of the people under the command of the Heavenly Territory.

As he looked over, the pink-haired girl noticed his gaze and turned her head away.

A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, followed by that familiar smile.

"No wonder I couldn't find you anywhere. Turns out you were on a date with your lover."

Yae no Miko had just arrived from Narukami Taisha.

They were surprised to learn about the Divine Cherry Tree, and then through the exchange of messages, they learned that the Mikage's Hearthstone had been stolen.

As the priestess and a shrine maiden, she understood the dangers of Mikage's heart more than most people.

This energy device, made from the core of a giant serpent, was used by the Shogunate as a power source to provide 'infinite' energy. If the inherent danger within it were to erupt, the resulting damage would be absolutely strategic.

In addition, the events at Narukami Island made her sense something unusual.