Hutao uses me to judge my performance

Jiang Bai reached out and tickled her ticklish spots. Before long, Hu Tao was led astray by him, and the two began to torment each other, laughing incessantly.

In the evening, after learning that Zhongli had returned from his stroll, Jiang Bai went to his courtyard.

Seeing this troublesome fellow return, Zhong Li smiled faintly.

He observed Jiang Bai's spirit and energy, and then he understood what was going on.

"Was the trip successful?"

Jiang Bai gave a smile that appeared shy to outsiders. "Well, I learned quite a bit, so the trip was worthwhile."

He still possessed a considerable amount of power from the fetal sea, but because this power was not much compared to the entire fetal sea, Vilette did not withdraw it.

With this power, his strength has increased significantly compared to before.

Unless they encounter a powerful, veteran deity like the old man, they should be able to fight each other to a standstill.

"Master, you said the Water God's throne is gone, such a big thing, why is Sky Island not reacting at all?"

The water god's throne is gone, and it has been several days since then.

Skye Island has shown no reaction whatsoever these days, as if it doesn't care at all.

"Since the Heart of God was given away, my connection with the sky has been severed. The will of Heaven has not responded to this, perhaps because it is powerless to do so."

Chapter 901 The Passage to Kanria

The gods on earth have lost contact with the heavens, and they have no way of knowing whether the principles of heaven have been awakened.

Jiang Bai asked uncertainly, "Judging from the lack of response so far, it seems that Tianli doesn't intend to pursue this matter...?"

"I do not know either."

"We can only take it one step at a time..."

What could Jiang Bai do? Although Sky Island looked right above him, he couldn't fly there, so he had no way of knowing its current situation.

“Master, I plan to go to Kanria to take a look in a while.” Although the decision had already been made, Jiang Bai still wanted to hear Zhong Li’s opinion.

“It would be good to go and take a look.” Zhongli nodded, not too worried about his trip to Kanria.

"The abyss passage that was opened back then has been suppressed and sealed, but five hundred years have passed, and the seal may have been damaged. You must be careful..."

Constrained by the contract, Zhongli couldn't say too much about Kanria.

Jiang Bai noted down some of the dangerous areas Zhong Li mentioned, wondering if he would encounter the Abyss Cult in Kanria.

If the Abyss Order's influence had already penetrated deep into Kanria, those seals would probably have been almost completely destroyed.

Life in Liyue was so comfortable and peaceful that Jiang Bai even had the illusion that the apocalypse didn't exist.

Every day, I would go shopping, fish, practice sparring with the sect leader, frolic in the mountains and forests from time to time, catch crabs on the beach, enjoy the breeze at Tianheng Mountain, and watch the sunrise at Qingyun Peak...

Occasionally, one might take a boat downstream, venture into the lotus fields to pick a few lotus pods, or sneak over to the Wangshu Inn to bother the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons...

The days were so fulfilling and interesting that time flew by, and soon it was time to meet with Dain.

Jiang Bai reluctantly bid farewell to Hu Tao, then turned back every few steps to enter the ley line anchor point and arrive at the Cangshi Desert.

The meeting place agreed with Dain was Tu Ni Hei Yuan, a rather iconic place. Jiang Bai wasn't quite sure where other places were.

Dai Yin arrived earlier than Jiang Bai. He stood outside the passage that seemed to penetrate the world at the very center of the Tu Ni Black Abyss, looking at the well-sealed passage with a deep expression.

This abyss passage has been sealed for five hundred years. Over time, the seal has become damaged and loosened, but Jiang Bai and Hua Ling repaired it last time.

"Dain, how long have you been here?"

Jiang Bai walked over to him and craned his neck to look down into the passage.

He had already tried it before; jumping down from this passage would only land him on a sealing barrier, making it impossible to reach the abyss.

Not long after.

"You seem to know this place very well."

Dain did not deny it, but said, "Coming here always reminds me of things I was about to forget."

"for example?"

"I fought my way out of Kanria, and the destruction of my country plunged me into pain and confusion. I hated the seven gods who destroyed Kanria, yet I knew clearly that their actions were merely to stop the spread of disaster..."

"I wandered through the yellow sand, looking around, not knowing where to go..."

Dain looked up at the endless yellow sand in the distance.

The desolate Cangshi Desert was the starting point of his journey through the seven kingdoms, and now he has returned here.

"The curse kept eroding me. I fought relentlessly against the monsters of the abyss. Half of my body had already turned into a monster. Finally, I collapsed from exhaustion in the desert..."

Dain's gaze fell on a ring on her hand, and Jiang Bai's gaze followed.

Jiang Bai had heard Hua Lingzuerwan mention the rest of the story.

Zuerwan saved him and took him to the Sea of ​​Flowers... The reason he didn't completely turn into a demon was probably all because of the ring he was clutching tightly even when he fainted.

"This ring was a gift from the last king, and it is because of it that I have been able to maintain my human form to this day, preventing me from becoming a monster like the Apostle of the Abyss..."

"The last king, Ilmin?"

"Mm." Dain nodded gently.

As the captain of the royal guard of Kanria, Endblade was naturally a confidant of the king at the time, and he was well aware of the king's plans.

Kanria attempted to control the Abyss and use its power as an energy source. This ring was one of the items specifically designed to resist the Abyss's invasion.

"Besides him, that guy who calls himself a 'sinner,' I can't think of anyone else."

When the name was mentioned again, Dain showed no respect whatsoever.

What right does a king who leads an entire nation to destruction have to earn the respect of his people?

"But I still need to go back to Kanria to confirm whether it is him or not."

When the abyss erupted, Ilmin, who was in charge of the entire plan, disappeared without a trace, and he never reappeared until the entire Kanria was destroyed.

This is an extremely ambitious and capable monarch who would disappear at such a critical juncture; there is no other possibility than death.

Ilmin was also the person in Kanria who had the deepest and most extensive contact with the Abyss.

Jiang Bai was also guessing that it was Ilmin, the last king of Kanria.

However, Jiang Bai believed that the last king must have been swallowed by the abyss.

He has lost his physical form, and perhaps even his will has been twisted and corrupted by the abyss.

However, he should still retain some sense of self, for example, he would call himself a "sinner", and the object he manifests is himself, which is bound upside down by chains.

Dain stopped talking about Ilmin and instead brought up the matter of Ying.

"While fighting off the abyss monsters, Hua Ling and I tried to seal this passage. Later, we met Ying, and our journey together began around this time..."

This seal was set up by them together back then.

Dyne didn't dwell on the past for long. Just as Jiang Bai was about to continue listening to the story, he turned and walked north.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the entrance to Kanria."

Jiang Bai followed, not forgetting to complain, "With you standing here, I thought this passage led to Kanria..."

"This connection isn't to Kanria."

"I know, I know, this is a passage to the abyss opened by the Flower Goddess..."

Jiang Bai followed Dai Yin all the way to a cave located in the northern part of the Cangshi Desert.

Jiang Bai had never been here before. The Cangshi Desert is vast, and when he came here for tourism, he only visited a few landmark locations.

The cave wasn't very big at first, but it became more and more spacious as you went deeper, and you could see some collapsed buildings that belonged to Kanria.

"There used to be a Kanria energy plant here, a contingency plan to deal with the Abyss..."

Without much explanation, Dain led Jiang Bai into the now-defunct factory, retrieved backup power to open a passage, and descended to the lowest level of the factory.

Below this is a passage leading to Kanria, through which large numbers of people were evacuated back then.

Chapter 902 Entering Kanria

Jiang Bai saw the gate of Kanria.

Those towering, magnificent, and enormous gates, like those of a kingdom of giants.

As Dain looked at the long-unseen door and the black sun emblem carved on it, his expression betrayed his inner turmoil.

After staring at the stamp for a long time, he said, "This should be the safest route to Kanria."

There are many gates to Kanria; this is just one of them.

How do I get in?

Din checked it and said, unsurprised, "The door's control panel is damaged, so we can't get in using the usual methods."

To prevent the monsters inside from escaping, this door was completely sealed off back then, and it won't be repaired anytime soon.

To force open this door, one would have to rely on the massive guardians of the ruins to push it open with brute force.

Under Jiang Bai's questioning gaze, Dai Yin threw out two manuscripts.

"Dig."

You can dig your way in by going around the gate from the side; it won't take long.

Moreover, the openings are small, so they can be sealed off promptly if anything unusual is found.

Jiang Bai: "..."

What a simple and unpretentious way to enter!

Jiang Bai resignedly picked up the manuscript and began digging.

The rock formations here are very hard, but fortunately, neither of them are ordinary people, so their digging speed is quite fast.

Not long after, a winding passage was completed, and Jiang Bai walked into a dark passage.

Jiang Bai took out a lumen stone and hung it on his body as a lighting tool. He looked around and saw that it was a constructed passage with bluestone paving the ground. There were lampposts at intervals, but after five hundred years, these lampposts had long since run out of power.

The construction quality of Canria is quite good; five hundred years later, the passageway remains largely intact, with no collapses or topplings.

As Jiang Bai walked further down the passage, he saw some Hilichurls. These Hilichurls were probably the people of Kanriar from back then, who, for various reasons, did not have time to leave before the gate closed.

Or, they might have already become Hilichurls before the gate closed.

Dain watched the Hilichurls from afar without saying a word.

"Those Hilichurls..." Jiang Bai wanted to ask something, but didn't know how to start.

Dyne knew what he wanted to ask.

“Those were all my compatriots.”

However, when they become Hilichurls, they lose their memories and emotions, becoming monsters driven only by instinct.

A very small number of those with resilient souls will become Hilichurl Shamans, Hilichurl Rangers... They may still retain some knowledge about the past and remember some things that left a deep impression on them.

For example, the Black Sun worshipped by the Black Sun tribe in Dadaupa Valley.

This may be the remaining shared memory of the Hilichurls there.

The two walked away at a distance, not intending to disturb them.

On the way down, we encountered some scattered abyssal monsters. These monsters were strangely shaped and extremely aggressive.

Jiang Bai dealt with all the abyssal monsters he encountered.

Underground, you can't see the sun or moon, and you can't feel the passage of time. You don't know how long you've walked, but finally your view changes, and you're no longer stuck in the same old underground tunnels.

Jiang Bai saw the city, and he saw the blinding light.

What appeared before him was a sun high in the sky.

The luminous object shone brightly, like the sun. Perhaps because of its intense light, it gave the illusion that it was black when staring at it.

"This is the Black Sun?"

“That’s right. That’s the symbol of Kanria, and the totem of the royal family. I never imagined that after five hundred years, it would still be shining…”