I'm in the Teyvat running group

She looked around before continuing, "But look, there's nothing here right now..."

"Shall we... continue exploring?" Yunxiu asked tentatively. "Perhaps they've all gone somewhere else?"

“I think it’s unlikely. I’m very familiar with this place. There are many souls gathered here.” Hu Tao pointed to several places around her and said, “Because many dead souls also come here, there are quite a few souls waiting for their relatives and friends here. This is a place of waiting.”

"I see..." Then let's go and look around somewhere else.

Hu Tao was a decisive and efficient person, and soon she led Yunxiu on a jog.

Although the difference between life and death was huge, the two of them moved very fast, and Hu Tao slowly began to explain the situation to Yunxiu along the way.

Souls also have their own lives. Teyvat does have the concept of reincarnation, but many souls have to wait here for a long time before they have the chance to have their memories erased and start a new life. This is because a person's lifespan may not be very long, but the time spent dead is certainly very long.

However, most souls are missing a crucial part of what they had in life, and they may not be able to maintain their form for long after death.

In other words, the maintenance of the form itself requires memory and spirit. Only a sufficiently powerful being can maintain its 'existence'. Most ordinary souls, after losing their memories, quickly become faceless beings, eventually shrinking and dissipating to replenish the origin here.

Of course, souls with strong convictions tend to exist longer; some powerful and deeply committed souls can even linger for thousands of years.

This has nothing to do with one's strength or age in life; it mainly depends on the steadfastness of one's soul. Theoretically, even a two- or three-year-old child could do it.

The two of them ran through the area between life and death, seeing most of the situations there, but there really wasn't a single soul!

From the very entrance to the bridges between life and death, Hu Tao even ventured to the edge of the 'death realm' for a quick look, but she couldn't see anything, let alone sense any presence.

The space between life and death was completely empty, and the yin energy in many places had reached an extremely dense level. Yunxiu could see with the naked eye that a lot of yin energy had even gathered together, as if it was about to give birth to something.

"What... what exactly is going on?" Hu Tao's face grew increasingly grim. This was a situation she had never encountered since becoming the hall master!

"Should we... go back and ask first, and then come back?" Yunxiu thought for a moment and said, "Or we could contact the Emperor, although we don't know when he will respond to us."

“But that might be too late…” Hu Tao shook her head and said firmly, “I plan to go and see the real ‘Death Realm,’ otherwise, if any major problems arise, they might not be so easily resolved. You should go back…”

"What are you talking about..." Yunxiu smiled and shook her head, taking Hu Tao's hand: "Since it's already like this, of course I'll go with you."

Chapter 258 Tracing the Source of Spiritual Essence via the Void (First Update on Monday!)

"Ah...it's really scary." Hu Tao looked at Yun Xiu in surprise and said, "You haven't practiced the Rebirth Hall's techniques either, so it's not surprising that you got lost inside."

"It's alright. If immortals can travel between life and death, then of course I can too." Yunxiu smiled. "If we're talking about combat strength, I might still be a bit behind the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons and the others, but in terms of the comprehensiveness of my abilities, the only one stronger than me is probably Zhongli."

"Are you that powerful..." Hu Tao said in disbelief, "You're not lying to me, are you?"

"I will never lie to you."

A few tears welled up in Hu Tao's eyes. She looked at Yunxiu quietly for a while before continuing, "Well... let's go. If we really get stuck here, we'll be counting on you!"

After saying that, she took Yunxiu's hand and they walked together into the center of the 'Death Realm'.

This place... is truly the strangest place I've ever been to...

Yunxiu's health started to drop slowly. Keep in mind that his shield had tens of millions of points of value, and most of the time, even in areas with dense abyssal power, the shield would be depleted first. Unexpectedly, his health was being depleted first here…

"Do you feel your strength slowly draining away? Because humans generally can't enter here." Hu Tao said, looking at Yunxiu's surprised expression. "However, as long as you have enough yang energy, it's not a problem to stay here for a while. Those of us who have cultivated the Rebirth Hall technique can last even longer."

Yunxiu nodded. The health deduction was indeed minimal, only a dozen or so points per minute, which was negligible compared to his nearly ten million health points.

As for Hu Tao, the training method of the Hall of Rebirth has made her a tank. Although she is only at the fifth or sixth level, her health of over 100,000 allows her to last a long time here. As long as she doesn't encounter situations like when Chunxi blocked the gap in Liyue while drawing peach talismans, which would burn a large amount of health at once, she won't have any major problems.

The realm of the dead is practically a place where nothing exists.

While it wasn't completely dark, there wasn't much to find. Strictly speaking, only strangely shaped undulating terrain and rocks indicated that something did exist here.

"That's strange... There's nothing in the Death Realm either..." Hu Tao said in surprise, "In the past, there should have been at least some souls wandering around here. Could it be that they all went to the place of reincarnation?"

She suddenly increased her speed, hesitated for a moment, and then flew in one direction. Yunxiu stopped suppressing herself and unleashed her enormous spiritual power without restraint, almost sweeping through the entire Death Realm region. Indeed, most places were devoid of souls.

The souls seemed to have gathered in one or two places, where there was a huge reaction of yang energy, and one of them was located in the direction that Hu Tao was going.

Where is Walnut going? The answer is, the Reincarnation 'Tree', or rather, a place that can be called a tree.

This is the legendary place where the Peach Capital Demon God truly perished. There, Peach Capital transformed into a tree that connected to the earth's veins. Souls entered through the tree crown, passed through the trunk, and entered the roots. The roots were connected to the earth's veins, and during the process of passing through the entire tree, the souls were completely purified and became newborn souls.

That is, reincarnation.

Hu Tao and Yun Xiu quickly arrived in front of the tree, and a huge reaction erupted on the tree. It was even visible to the naked eye that a thick layer of soul power enveloped the tree.

These are the souls of the entire Netherworld; almost half of them have come here! As for the remaining ones, Yunxiu had a guess: there was most likely a gap in the earth's veins.

Just as there are two rivers, the River of Oblivion and the River of Forgetfulness, in mythology, Liyue's Netherworld also has two true places of reincarnation.

"What...what's going on?" Yunxiu looked at the strange yet beautiful scene before her and exclaimed in surprise, "Are all the souls here, seeking to enter the earth's veins from Peach Capital?"

“There must be something wrong with the ley lines, forcing these souls to leave this place…” Hu Tao murmured. “I used my magic to sense that this place has gathered more than 70% of the souls in the entire Death Realm. If I remember correctly, there are only two places for reincarnation in the entire Death Realm. It seems there are other problems behind this.”

"Although it may be somewhat inappropriate to talk about this now, was your father's situation back then also..."

"There might not be a big difference, but there are certain things in common." Hu Tao nodded: "Every time this happens, it must be because there is a big problem between life and death, and it is difficult for the soul to enter the present world directly, so seeking reincarnation as soon as possible becomes their only choice."

“Most souls are unconscious. This avoidance of disaster and the search for reincarnation is actually an instinct, and of course, instinctive behavior deserves everyone’s attention.” Hu Tao sighed.

Is that so...?

The immense power of the Peach Capital Demon God has actually manifested throughout the entire realm between life and death. While the realm of death and the power of the Peach Capital Demon God are related, they are not the most crucial element. The Tree of Reincarnation here is clearly related to Peach Capital, but it is obviously not the true form of Peach Capital. The true form of Peach Capital should have already transformed into a vast space.

Speaking solely of the demon god himself, Momoto's power is not great. However, in terms of the demon god's abilities and the status he represents, Momoto is indeed the most suitable to become a demon god between life and death, and it can even be said that there is no one else like him.

This world is one of the cornerstones that allows Liyue to maintain its stability, but now, this cornerstone is in trouble.

“Now it seems that the problem is most likely the earth veins themselves…” Yunxiu pondered. “We should try to leave here now and then look for the problem from the earth veins, or use the Eight Gates and Seven Gates Formation to purify all this filth.”

“But if the entire realm between life and death is threatened, and even if only these two pure lands remain in the realm of death, such a threat will not be easily resolved.” Hu Tao sighed, “Let’s go back now and find a way to solve the problem between life and death itself.”

Yunxiu nodded and pulled Hu Tao to leave.

However, a powerful force suddenly emerged from here, making it difficult for the two to move. The corrosive force also suddenly intensified. Endless black energy suddenly leaked out from under their feet, enveloping them completely. Although Yunxiu immediately forced open a shield to cover Hu Tao as well.

But this only kept the two from separating; they were still trapped here.

What's going on... they won't let me leave?

"The realm of the dead should be devoid of consciousness, so what's going on?" Hu Tao was somewhat shocked, her shock mixed with fear. She formed a mudra with one hand: "Profound Secret Fire Verse, Homa World Truth..."

However, it had no effect whatsoever.

"Why is it useless? Does that mean the calligraphy from the Hall of Rebirth has no effect at all? That's impossible!" Just as Hu Tao was about to bite her fingertip again, Yun Xiu waved her hand to stop her: "If that's the case, then it's probably not something you can handle. Leave it to me."

Yunxiu smiled. In this situation, the best way is of course to break free by force!

With a twist of his body, a tremendous force erupted from Yunxiu, instantly blasting the surrounding black energy hundreds of meters away. The power itself crackled with electricity in the realm of death, even making the souls on the tree tremble with fear.

The deathly aura was instantly dispelled by Yunxiu's power, and as Yunxiu continued to unleash her power, even the space of the Death Realm itself seemed to begin to shake.

"Go!" Yunxiu hugged Hu Tao and charged forward forcefully. In just a few dozen seconds, they returned from the realm of death to the boundary between life and death. Although the death energy followed them like a persistent crutch to the border between the realm of death and life and death, it ultimately did not continue to catch up.

The immense power became even more terrifying when faced with life and death, and even the entire space was filled with sounds of being overwhelmed. This was just a small world transformed from a demon god, and it was still too weak for a power of Yunxiu's level.

If Yunxiu's current power were to enter the demiplane, he could even cause the entire space to collapse simply by unleashing his power!

"Let's leave here and go back to Liyue first." Yunxiu pulled Hu Tao back to the entrance they had come from, and the two of them quickly left the place, leaving behind this deserted space between life and death.

It was indeed troublesome to come here, but it was much easier to go back. Although it was difficult to discern our location from the air due to the swirling smoke, there was nothing to worry about if we flew out from here.

Holding Hu Tao, Yunxiu rushed straight up from the entrance between life and death, breaking through the smoke and reaching the air in just a few dozen seconds. After quickly getting her bearings, she flew directly towards Liyue Harbor. Less than thirty minutes later, she landed in front of the Hall of Rebirth, where she happened to see Zhongli chatting with an old man.

He wasn't surprised to see the two return. He waved goodbye to the old man and quietly continued to stand in the same spot.

"Your Majesty... what exactly happened between life and death, do you know?" Hu Tao casually put the fire poker aside and looked at Zhong Li, asking, "You are the most learned person in Liyue, you shouldn't be unaware of this, right? Besides, this is your territory."

“I’m retired now… but I do know something about this matter.” Zhongli nodded and said, “You all know the origin of the Hall of Rebirth, so I won’t explain it. This matter is actually related to the Peach Capital Demon God.”

“I know some information. Since Taodu was transformed into the realm between life and death, the Hall of Rebirth and Yin-Yang have handled all of this and established Liyue’s own Netherworld…” Yunxiu said, “But does this mean that everything is relatively stable? Could it really be as Funina said, that because of the rule of life, the laws of the world of life are no longer complete?”

“That’s part of the reason, but not the whole story.” Zhongli sighed and said, “I can’t say much about those people, but what you need to do first is to cleanse away some of the filth and then find a way to solve the problem between the two realms.”

"Cleansing away the filth can be done with arrays, and at most, with the addition of Ying..." Yunxiu asked, puzzled, "But how do we solve the problem between the two realms?"

"This will require you to search for those beings from that time. It will be very difficult for you to find that 'White Horse,' but there are two ancient immortals in Chenyu Valley. If you can find them, you should be able to obtain some information." Zhongli hesitated for a moment before adding, "I do know what happened, but because of the 'contract,' I cannot reveal it."

“Is that so…” Yunxiu nodded.

So it seems that the most important thing now is to solve the problem of the filth itself first, and then think of a way to solve the problem of the demon god.

The Eight Gates and Seven Gates Formation is indeed a key, and another key is naturally—Ying!

Only she could withstand such a massive amount of purification pollution!

Chapter 259 Imperial Conferment of the Eight Gates Refining Profound Qi (Second update on Monday!)

After sending a message to Yunxiu, Ying quickly replied, telling her that she would return after dealing with the Nordekare matter.

Yunxiu had no doubt about this. As the only person on the continent who could use anchor points, Ying could travel anywhere on the continent at any time. Although she didn't know the specifics of what the Nordkare matter was.

However, judging from her tone, it seemed that the matter of the Moon Goddess had come to an end. This was not unexpected for Yunxiu. In terms of strength alone, the strength of the group was much stronger than in the original timeline. Columbia was also further enhanced by the power of the Rule of Life in the Primordial Sea of ​​the Womb, so at least she would not be completely exhausted like in the original timeline.

Moreover, in terms of strength, Luminous now possesses five elemental powers, although she has not yet acquired fire elemental power due to Nata's own circumstances.

However, the strength of the five elemental travelers also allowed Ying to break through the legendary level. With her status, the only other being of the same level who can compete with her in strength is probably Yunxiu.

However, if Tsukihime can collect all four divine artifacts, it's highly likely she can succeed. Right now, all that's missing is the Treasure Mill, but nobody knows where it is. On the other hand, the book already contains the information for the second half.

With two semi-divine artifacts and the weaponry crafted for her by Raiden, Tsukihime is practically invincible in the Legendary realm. While she may not necessarily defeat others, no one else can defeat her either...

Now that it has been confirmed that Ying has returned to help, it is necessary to set up the Eight Gates and Seven Gates Formation again. Because this incident is more serious, it is likely that more troops will be needed to guard it than before.

In the original storyline, the eight gates were located on eight enemy sides in Liyue, forming a Bagua-like formation.

Besides the most terrifying Death Gate at Wuwangpo, which Hu Tao went to in person, there is also the Life Gate at Yilongbu, the Wound Gate at Cengyan Juyuan, the Shock Gate at Guyunge, the Block Gate at Aozangshan, the View Gate at Wangshu Inn, and the Rest Gate at Kaimen Qingcezhuang at Tianhengshan.

In that instance, although Liyue didn't risk everything, she did bring along quite a few powerful individuals, including five or six immortals and immortal-level experts. However, this matter cannot be generalized, for the very reason that the difficulty of guarding the Eight Gates is different for each one.

The Gate of Death, the Gate of Shock, and the Gate of Wounds are the three ominous gates. The Gate of Shock and the Gate of Wounds are guarded by two generals of Liyue. Xiao, on the other hand, is mainly guarded by the relatively peaceful Gate of View. This is mainly because the calamity on Yasha is easily triggered and causes problems.

But this time, according to Yunxiu's estimate, each gate would need at least one legendary figure to keep them in check...

As for places like the Shock Gate and the Wound Gate, it might require three legendary figures. The biggest problem with activating the formation is that it will cause all sorts of issues, and the Shock and Wound Gates will also have to withstand enormous pressure.

This also fits the situation of the Eight Gates and Seven Gates Formation itself.

If you look closely at the positions of the Eight Gates and Seven Gates Formation, you will find that they correspond to the eight nations of the Teyvat continent itself. The Death Gate is Kanriah, the Wound Gate is Nata, and the Shock Gate is Inazuma. These two nations are also the ones most afflicted by the Abyss.

Lonely Cloud Pavilion and the Laminar Stream happen to be the two areas in Liyue with the greatest hidden dangers right now. The calamity of the Laminar Stream has not been completely eliminated, but it has been suppressed for now.

Meanwhile, Guyun Pavilion also has Oser eyeing it covetously. Although it was almost crippled last time, the Demon God itself recovers very quickly, so Liyue still has a squadron stationed there.