I'm in the Teyvat running group

As for who is responsible for the effect of the decoration, it is actually Grandpa Zhongli and True Lord Minghai Qixia. These two have been traveling around these past few days, although no one knows what they are traveling about.

“Construction is like the art of tea; too much heat will boil it over quickly, but only by sipping slowly can you taste the true flavor…” Zhongli pointed to the design drawings and said, “Master, there’s no need to rush. I have already seen this part clearly. Just leave it to them to handle.”

“But I want to add a little mechanical figure here to greet everyone. That would be really interesting!” Hu Tao said excitedly. “Oh, Your Majesty, don’t be so serious. Even if you’re in the funeral business, you have to keep up with the times.”

"If the Hall Master wishes to add a 'surprise'... perhaps a plum blossom bonsai could be placed in the corner of the side hall." Minghai Qixia Zhenjun smiled, pointing to a corner of the hall. With a flick of his immortal power, a phantom of a plum blossom appeared: "When it blooms, it is full of vitality; when it withers, it follows nature, subtly aligning with the principle of rebirth."

"As for the mechanical puppets... they're not impossible, but they're a bit noisy, which doesn't seem like a good thing, does it?"

“What Zhenjun said makes sense. It is indeed much prettier this way. However, I think this courtyard and the tables and chairs can be preserved. I feel that everyone would like it.” Yunxiu was happy to relax as she watched the two ancient immortals of Liyue display their supernatural abilities. In terms of understanding and appreciation of ancient culture, Minghai Qixia was no less than the Emperor. In fact, because of her expertise in this area, she even knew more about it than the Emperor.

"Immortal Yunxiu's words make sense. What does Your Majesty think?"

“Very good… but it still needs a little modification.” Zhongli pointed lightly, and the area of ​​the courtyard was slightly reduced, while the squeezed-out space was used to place various sundries. However, it did not appear chaotic, but rather had a sense of solemnity. He said with satisfaction, “Renovation is both a physical matter and a reflection of the mind. The Hall of Rebirth is also the Liyue people’s perception of life and death, so it should be like this.”

Amidst the back-and-forth of their conversation, Hu Tao's opinion was completely suppressed. However, this was actually a good thing, since the Hall of Rebirth was, to some extent, a solemn place, and it was unacceptable to have too many random thoughts.

If Hu Tao wants something fun, I can easily spend some money to build her another house to play in...

"Sigh, this is no different from the Liyue Hall of Rebirth. I was trying to make it more interesting." Hu Tao slumped down, looking at the design drawings. "Although both of you are masters of ancient culture in Liyue, something just doesn't feel right."

“I think what they said makes perfect sense, but if you want it to be a little more interesting, I can just get you an extra courtyard to live in.” Yunxiu patted Hu Tao’s head and smiled. “When Wanmin Hall was expanded, the Emperor personally took charge, and Xiangling didn’t say anything.”

After saying that, Yunxiu tapped his hand lightly, and a map of the neighborhood appeared in his hand.

He pointed to one of the small courtyards and laughed, "You can decorate this one however you like, and then you can live here normally, okay? But I suggest you discuss your random ideas with the Emperor, otherwise it might look very strange when it's decorated."

"Yes, this street is all mine now!" Hu Tao quickly recovered her composure. Looking at the small courtyard on the map, she pointed to the tree in the middle of the courtyard and grinned at Yun Xiu, saying, "There's actually an old tree here. I want to make a tree hole under the tree and turn it into a secret mailbox, so that people can send letters to their future selves a hundred years from now!"

"Of course I have no objection, as long as it doesn't affect the tree... I guess so?"

Yunxiu was in a rather casual state, since it wouldn't cost much anyway. She had already bought the whole street, so why would she care about the cost of renovations?

However, as Hu Tao joined Zhong Li and Ming Hai Qi Xia's discussion with the new map, the atmosphere immediately became lively again. These two were not actually rigid people, and they were quite playful. If it weren't for the atmosphere of the Rebirth Hall itself, they would probably have done a lot of interesting things. It's just that Yun Xiu really wasn't interested in such things.

After watching for a while, Yunxiu got bored and casually took out a recliner from her storage bag, lay down, and took a nap.

I wasn't actually asleep; instead, I was sorting out the current situation.

Recent events have made him realize one thing: the matter between the Golden Kingdom, the Demon God War, and Sky Island is definitely not as simple as it seems.

If all seven kingdoms have the ruins of ancient kingdoms, and each of the seven kingdoms has an archangel, then the rebellion in the Golden City and the story of the first angel are actually quite intriguing, because at least from the information that Yunxiu has found so far, almost all the archangels eventually turned away from the path of Sky Island.

The original angels are said to have a deep relationship with March, which can be seen from the fact that some angels are messengers of the moon goddess. Not only is the relationship quite deep, but there are also some aspects that are difficult for outsiders to explain.

Just like the story about Zibai, it even mentions that the angel's identity is closely related to Ishtar, namely, the so-called daughter of time. Coincidentally, Fuchishita Palace also regards Ishtar as a very important figure, directly calling her the Goddess of the Eternal World.

As one of the four ruling deities who appears and disappears mysteriously, and arguably the first deity the traveler has ever seen, his very existence represents a different kind of significance.

The most intriguing aspect is that all the angels embarked on the path of rebellion, and the punishment they received was actually quite similar to that of the Kanriyans. The angels were transformed into fairies, losing their former forms, and the Kanriyans were the same, except that many of the fairies at least retained their wisdom.

As for Hilichurls, let alone retaining wisdom, it's rare to find even those with a proper sense of self, probably because it would be very painful.

If Yunxiu is not mistaken, the ancient civilization of Mondstadt is most likely called Arcadia. This name was actually revealed in Kaeya's legendary quest at the start of the game. As for where it is, Yunxiu is not really sure.

However, judging from the plot, it is possible that it is in Jingfu Port. It is said that there are some strange places there, and the main way to make money here is through flowers. This situation makes Yunxiu feel that it is somewhat similar to Chenyu Valley, but this is just pure speculation.

Of the seven kingdoms, only the archangels corresponding to Inazuma and Mondstadt have not appeared; the other kingdoms all have angels, and almost all of them are at odds with the laws of heaven.

Even though Sibyl had relatively little information, she helped Remus create the Grand Symphony and Phoebus. Of course, it was another matter if they didn't succeed. In fact, Sibyl herself was very similar to the goddess of flowers, Maricata, and even their paths to destruction were similar.

This at least shows that the angel and March were indeed closely related, so it is very likely that March was indeed shattered by Phanes.

Combining the Night Talk at Lingmeng Mountain and the Moonlit Bamboo Forest, it seems that something similar happened in Liyue before. However, Zibai did not perish like Sybil and Marikata. Instead, he became a subordinate of the Emperor, which actually illustrates the Emperor's own extraordinary nature.

No other angel from any other country has ever experienced a similar situation, and Zibai should also be the angel whose power was preserved the most completely and whose influence on himself was the least. This is truly remarkable. At least Yunxiu herself does not yet know how this angel managed to do it.

If it's related to Ishtar, then what Ishtar is actually doing is quite peculiar...

As for Mondstadt, it has a very important relationship with Ishtar, and it is very likely that it possesses two ancient civilizations, namely Arcadia and Fendnir, which is quite formidable.

Although they might not like it.

Another interesting point is that many of the immortals in Liyue were originally under the command of other demon gods, or simply worked independently. It should be noted that immortals are very powerful, and many of them are immortal beings. If they did not want to participate in the demon god wars or wanted to retire after the demon gods died, they could certainly do so.

However, many immortals are still willing to fight in all directions to protect Liyue for Zhongli.

On the one hand, it is because most immortals have a compassionate heart and love the human world. However, judging from many plots, many immortals do not actually have much interest in the human world.

Whether they participated in the war or made sacrifices during the war, a large part of the reason was the Emperor's personal charisma and their own compelling reasons to participate. Even many demons sacrificed themselves because of this.

At least in Liyue, there are two confirmed Daedric Lords who sacrificed themselves: Momodo, who transformed himself into a being between life and death, and Maxius, who infused his power into the earth. Both of them now have successors, namely Kurumi and Xiangling. However, even Maxius, who is in relatively good condition, is not sure how long it will take to recover.

This cannot be explained simply by personal charisma or a kind heart.

This illustrates that there were indeed many unspeakable aspects to the Demon God War back then, forcing them to make this choice.

Following the Emperor in making this choice is the optimal solution, partly because the Emperor is powerful enough to protect them, and partly because of the Emperor's character.

However, this is a taboo topic for Zhongli. At least every time she asks him, he changes the subject. Even when he occasionally gives a hint, it is always vague. In the last inquiry, he even said that he could not take action or tell Yunxiu the relevant information for some reason.

Yunxiu guessed that this was the contract between Tianli and the Emperor, preventing him from saying or doing certain things.

But then another question arises: who exactly is the Emperor, and what did he do to make this contract so crucial?

Chapter 281 Qixia Tracing the Beacon Fire, Offering Wine to the Frosty Moon (Second Update on Monday!)

What is the most important aspect of a contract? It is actually whether the two parties can be equal, which is crucial.

Because equality naturally represents the effect of the contract itself, and it also represents proof of strength, that is, if I find that you have breached the contract, I have the ability to make you pay the price for breach of contract.

The same applies to the contract signed between the Emperor and Heavenly Principles. So, if Heavenly Principles breaches the contract, does the Emperor have the power to make Heavenly Principles pay the price? Yunxiu believes that this is very possible.

After all, even from the original timeline and story, the phrases "Heavenly Principles will prevail" and "This is the Way of Heaven" already have terrifying implications. In addition, the phrase "Azure Wall, drive it to forever reveal the Heavenly Principles" in the Heavenly Star and Destiny Seat actually illustrates the terrifying strength of this old man and the things he represents.

The meaning of the so-called "using the fallen star of Cangyan in the sky to illuminate those whose fate is obscured" is quite clear.

To put it simply and bluntly, this sentence actually means, "I punish you on behalf of Heaven." As for how to punish you, that's that celestial star.

Therefore, even excluding the part that Yunxiu saw from this world, it is still evident that Zhongli himself is powerful.

After arriving in this world, he gained a deeper understanding of the Emperor's power. He confronted the Ruler of the Void for his own sake. Although several other gods intervened in the end, it was clear that the Emperor was very confident that he could withstand the attack alone.

His subsequent ability to seal Bushgalo with a single, long-range sword strike was nothing short of astonishing.

However, Yunxiu had not yet seen Zhongli's angry reaction afterward. If he had, he would definitely have a better opinion of Zhongli.

As for Wendy, he was already quite a wild and troublesome person. After Yunxiu came to this world, she discovered how terrifying he was. Putting aside everything else, the fact that he hunted down the Moon Hunters surprised Yunxiu quite a bit.

It's not that he couldn't think of this, but that even if he did, he often didn't have enough power to do it. But Wendy did. Not only did Wendy have the power himself, he could also call upon others to do it. At least, calling upon several gods was something Yunxiu couldn't even imagine.

Yunxiu had already done her best to get one number in the lottery. Of course, if there were enough benefits, getting two numbers wouldn't be a big deal... probably?

Lost in thought, basking in the warm sunshine of Chenyu Valley, Yunxiu unknowingly fell asleep. His recent fatigue made his sleep quite comfortable, so much so that when he woke up, he found that only Minghai Qixia Zhenjun was left at the table drinking tea, while Hu Tao and the Emperor seemed to have disappeared.

"Immortal Yunxiu, you're awake?" True Monarch Minghai Qixia smiled as he poured Yunxiu a cup of tea and handed it to her, saying, "Have a cup first. The Emperor and Hu Tao went to handle the renovation of another courtyard, leaving me here to watch over it and take a rest."

"Hmm... Your tea-pouring skills are indeed very high, in my opinion no less than Granny Ping's." Yunxiu drank the tea in one gulp, then sat directly on the table, looking at the immortal opposite her and smiling, "How have you been feeling since True Lord's resurrection? Is there anything you're not used to, or is there anything unpleasant?"

“No, not really… but Liyue has indeed developed very quickly, especially after what Liu Yunjiefeng told me, you have brought a lot of changes to Liyue.” Minghai Qixia took out a Spirit Realm terminal and looked at Yunxiu with a smile: “Take this for example, who would have thought that everyone in Liyue has one now? Even I go on the Spirit Realm every day when I have nothing to do, and there are quite a lot of interesting things.”

“You’ll have to discover that for yourself. I think there are more interesting things in Liyue than just these.” Yunxiu smiled and noticed that Minghai Qixia was looking at an ancient scroll. She glanced at it and realized that it was the same book she had recently taken out, “Chronicles of the Land Between the Glazed Rocks.” She couldn’t help but ask in surprise, “You’re also interested in this book, True Lord? I thought that someone who experienced the Demon God War firsthand wouldn’t read these works written by later generations.”

“The War of the Demon Gods…” Narumi Qixia sighed. “Actually, at the beginning, no one knew it was called the War of the Demon Gods. Many things happened later. At first, it was just because many demon gods suddenly went mad. The few demon gods who did not go mad could only fight everywhere to protect their people. We immortals were like duckweed in a chaotic world at that time.”

"All……?!"

"Yes, at least four or five in my memory. And that's just the demon gods in Liyue. Some demon gods have even started to sacrifice their own people, which was almost unimaginable in the past."

"Hmm... Could you tell me more about this? I'm actually quite interested in these things."

Minghai Qixia was initially surprised that Yunxiu would be so interested in these things, but after seeing Yunxiu's eyes, he no longer had so many concerns and earnestly told Yunxiu many stories about the Demon God War.

With his explanation and the information Yunxiu now knew, Yunxiu roughly understood the current situation.

The Demon God War was indeed a very strange war, not only because it broke out suddenly, but also because it seemed as if all the demon gods were being driven to fight by some inexplicable force.

Moreover, the number of demon gods is more than Yunxiu imagined. There are more than ten in Liyue alone. Five were killed by the Emperor, three were sealed, and several joined the Emperor's camp. Of course, some demon gods also perished on their own. Now, only the Emperor is still alive.

The most outrageous thing is that there is no way to predict when a demon god will go mad or to what extent. It is even possible that a demon god may have been in seclusion and sealed himself off, but as time goes by, he may actually go mad and cause great destruction before being killed or sealed away by other demon gods.

This is a common occurrence in the war between demons and gods.

This extreme instability directly leads to difficulties for both immortals and humans. Often, when a mad demon god goes mad, his first target is precisely his own people. This is not only because they are the closest, but also because it is the lowest-cost way to unleash their power when they have nowhere else to go.

At first, the Emperor didn't really have much intention to fight this war between demons and gods. In fact, he initially wanted to live a secluded life. However, as the days passed and one old friend after another passed away, the Emperor eventually had to gather at least the immortals on the side of order, form the Thousand Rock Army and a force, and begin to truly intervene in the war between demons and gods.

This is what is meant by "I had no intention of vying for power, but I know the suffering of the common people," because that was indeed the case in this era, and the emperor originally had no intention of vying for power.

The brutal battle royale in Liyue turned the entire region into a wasteland. It was only through the efforts of several demon gods and many immortals that Liyue was finally able to recover. However, many other places, such as Inazuma, were not so lucky.

Due to the impact of the Demon God War, many areas of Inazuma are still unable to grow crops, and naturally, few humans can survive there. Although the people of Inazuma are trying to restore the land using formations and grass elements under the promotion of the Yunxiu Sealing Cave Yuanjian and the elemental system, it is not actually that simple, judging from many related situations.

Based on what Yunxiu has learned recently, there have been some results, and the output is barely enough to support a portion of the population. However, it is only barely enough, and they still need to import from outside.

As for when Inazuma can be restored to fertile soil, that's not something that can be resolved in a short time.

"So after that war, my old friend passed away, and two human friends also perished in the war. I joined the Emperor's side through the introduction of Liu Yun and the others..." Minghai Qixia said with melancholy, "As for my passing, I was actually happy. It's just a pity that I didn't see my other old friends in the ley lines."

"I see... So the actual brutality of the Demon God War was even greater than many people imagined?"

"Yes, a large number of powerful beings at the Familia level have emerged among humans, but many of them are unlikely to survive the early to mid-stages of the war. Humans are still too weak."

Yunxiu was not surprised. Human potential is indeed very strong, but on the one hand, the intensity is extremely high, and on the other hand, the war between demons and gods has been going on for too long. According to Minghai Qixia, the conflict between tribes actually started 4,500 years ago, but the scale was relatively small at that time.

More than three thousand years ago, marked by the madness of several demon gods, the war between the demon gods officially and completely broke out.

It can be said that from more than four thousand years ago to two thousand years ago, Liyue has been fighting for almost two thousand years. Many immortals have also fought their way over four thousand years ago, such as Liuyun Borrowing the Wind and Xiaoyue Building the Sun. It is no wonder that the two were completely tired of all the fighting after the Demon God War.

Even Liuyun Borrowing Wind only moved to Liyue Harbor in the last two years, largely due to the many new technologies brought by Yunxiu.

The two drank a few more cups of tea and chatted for a while before the Emperor and Hu Tao returned from outside. Hu Tao looked at Yun Xiu with great excitement, seemingly quite satisfied with her renovation plan, while the Emperor's eyes showed both affection and helplessness.

It seems that Hu Tao's ideas are making him somewhat tired, yet also somewhat enjoying them.

"Shall we... go eat?" Yunxiu smiled and pointed to a shop across the street. "Although it's small, the food is quite good. As for the decor, we can talk about that tomorrow."

“Of course.” Zhongli nodded and followed Yunxiu to the shop across the street. The shopkeeper was very excited to see the Emperor come to eat, after all, this was a successful capture of the Emperor from the “List of Ranked Officials”!

He quickly took out his spiritual terminal, took a picture, uploaded it, and then took a photo with the Emperor before happily going to the kitchen to prepare.

"This 'Catch the Emperor Under the Ranking' thing has been going on for so long, and the people of Liyue still aren't losing interest," Yunxiu said with a smile. "But Emperor, you seem to have gotten used to it by now. I wonder how it feels to be caught like this all the time?"

“Quite interesting.” Zhongli poured himself a glass of water and smiled. “Many of their things are very interesting, and this is also part of my experience of the mortal world.”

“I still prefer a carefree life, living in seclusion in the mountains,” Minghai Qixia said with a smile. “However, I might go to Xumi in a while. There’s a collector in Xumi with a nice collection, and he asked me to go and exchange ideas with him.”