The name, indeed, resonated with power.
Ningguang and the others immediately furrowed their brows, bewildered.
Cultivation…
It roughly means seeking immortality.
But in Liyue, ordinary citizens seeking immortality is no issue, but the higher-ups in Liyue absolutely forbid it.
Anyone daring to entertain such thoughts would be rebuked by the adepti.
Yet, why would Zhongli himself bring up cultivation now?
Moreover, adepti are born from heaven and earth, how could they be achieved through cultivation?
To put it another way, adepti are the offspring of Archons, even if Zhongli was willing to cultivate stronger beings of the Archon's lineage.
It's not something he could casually do.
“Everyone must have already known about the Liyue thunderclouds that obscured the sun this morning.”
Zhongli casually mentioned it.
Ningguang promptly nodded and said:
“Yes, other nations have contacted the General Affairs Bureau with various secret methods, wanting to know what happened.”
“Geo Archon, the thunder this morning seemed to have affected all of Teyvat.”
Zhongli slightly nodded, it wasn't surprising, Ningguang had already reported it.
“This is what I wanted to discuss.”
“Is there a war happening? Do we need to go and quell it?”
Ping Lao Lao casually threw out a question.
While appearing as an elderly woman, Ping Lao Lao is one of the most skilled adepti in Liyue in combat.
It's just that with Guizhong's demise, Ping Lao Lao lost her heart.
If Liyue truly needs her to fight, she can instantly regain her adepti form.
“War?”
Zhongli shook his head and said softly:
“On the contrary, I have called all of you here today, not for anything bad, but for a great opportunity.”
“If we handle it well, the future Liyue will not just be a nation of gods, it will be a nation of adepti, easily achieved.”
“But if we don't handle it well, the entirety of Liyue will be destroyed, the best outcome is to quietly disappear into Teyvat.”
“This matter is of great significance, I cannot decide alone, everyone must participate in the vote.”
These words left everyone even more confused,
but since it wasn't anything bad or a war, they felt relieved.
“Cloud Retainer, tell them about it.”
Zhongli tapped the table, Cloud Retainer knowingly stood up.
“The matter starts a hundred days ago from a visitor from outside Teyvat, to be precise, a cultivator…”
Next, Cloud Retainer explained Jiang Yan's situation over the past hundred days, in a comprehensive manner.
She even mentioned Jiang Yan's words today, and Zhongli's communication with Alice.
When Cloud Retainer finally sat down, her throat dry, the entire Jade Chamber fell into unprecedented silence.
After a long while, Ningguang rubbed her temples, feeling a headache.
“If all of this is true, then this matter is truly a turning point for Liyue, no, for all of Teyvat.”
“What do you mean! Are you doubting what this Adepti is saying?”
Cloud Retainer, her voice hoarse, was unhappy, she glared at Ningguang.
“Cloud Retainer!”
Zhongli's voice was slightly heavier.
“This is not the time for individual emotions, besides, this sounds unbelievable, didn't you also find it hard to believe when you first heard Jiang Yan's account?”
Cloud Retainer snorted but gave Zhongli face and sat down.
She didn't like Ningguang or Keqing, and being questioned naturally made her angry.
Ningguang knew that Cloud Retainer didn't like her, so she didn't bother arguing with her.
She slightly frowned and said:
“Since Geo Archon also agrees, then it shouldn't be a problem, but cultivation…”
“Let's not discuss cultivation for now, as Geo Archon said, that cultivator Jiang Yan…”
Before she finished, Zhongli slightly raised his hand to interrupt her.
“Don't mention his name, in Teyvat, anyone who calls out his name, he will be aware of it.”
“We witnessed it on Mount Tianheng just now.”
“This is a private Liyue meeting, it's not suitable for him to know, just refer to him as Sir.”
Ningguang's heart sank, her concern for Jiang Yan's situation rose significantly.
As a person in power, she fears most the kind of existence that is aware of anything as soon as it's mentioned.
This would make her have no secrets at all.
After a moment of silence, Ningguang continued:
“Geo Archon, do you have any chance of winning against that Sir Jiang?”
This question also made everyone else incredibly curious.
But Zhongli remained silent for a while before sighing.
“Even if you add up all the Archons who have ever existed in Teyvat, all the gods and offspring of Archons, they are not his match, and I am no different.”
“I imagine, if he wants to destroy Teyvat, it would be a matter of thought.”
These words completely numbed everyone.
“Is Geo Archon telling the truth?”
Keqing couldn't help but ask.
While she didn't like Zhongli always managing Liyue, she was incredibly confident in Zhongli's strength.
Or rather, everyone is confident in Zhongli.
He is the War God after all!
The one who single-handedly wiped out the Liyue land.
“The truth!”
Zhongli nodded.
“Before, he wielded countless swords, a slight leak of his weak energy gave me the feeling of certain death.”
“As he said, I am merely at the peak of the Refining Qi and Transforming Spirit stage, while Xiao, who is closest to an Archon, is only at the peak of Refining Essence and Transforming Qi.”
“Strong beings like Ganyu and Shenhe are not even at the mid-stage of Refining Essence and Transforming Qi.”
“Based on this inference, there are indeed many gods who are not even at the Refining Essence and Transforming Qi stage.”
Ningguang felt a heavy weight in her heart, making it uncomfortable to sit.
“The first stage…”
“The most terrifying thing about cultivators is not their realm and strength, but that they are all a group of people who seek immortality.”
Zhongli's face darkened slightly, he spoke slowly:
“According to Jiang Dao-friend's statement, their cultivation of immortality does not have any decline, as long as they pass the Heavenly Tribulation, they can live forever.”
“Although I didn't ask him about his lifespan, I speculate that it must be no less than five thousand years, or even tens of thousands of years.”
“Yet, he is only in his early twenties.”
Ningguang's long eyelashes trembled.
“At least, peak-level combat power for thousands of years, without any decline?”
“It's probably not just that, his talent will inevitably lead him to become an immortal, once he becomes an immortal, he will completely be free from the crisis of lifespan.”
Zhongli couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy as he sighed.
We are all cultivators, after all, but they can cultivate without decline and achieve immortality.
He is almost worn down to death.
Is it fair?
Is it reasonable?
“So, what we need to consider first is not how to cultivate, but that Sir Jiang.”
Ningguang rubbed her temples, trying to calm herself down, she said slowly:
“While he seems gentle and approachable, his strength…”
“There is no one in all of Teyvat who can stand against him, Teyvat is his backyard.”
“It is better to be safe than sorry.”
“I think Alice's point is correct, cultivators have strange methods, and their hearts are only focused on immortality, they may not have any mercy for the world.”
“What if Sir Jiang has some kind of means… as Alice said, if killing the entire world would make him stronger.”
“We can't be certain that he wouldn't do that.”
After all, cultivators are not Archons, they don't have the inherent drive to love.
The group of cultivators is completely free and unrestrained, a tyrannical group.
Ningguang doesn't want to put the safety of all of Liyue on the hope that he won't do anything malicious.
While Alice's words seem unreliable, since the so-called "dual cultivation and replenishing technique" has been confirmed by Jiang Yan.
Then wouldn't it be easy for him to have some methods of killing humans and making weapons?
Trust others or trust yourself.
This question has been answered since Ningguang can remember.
If she had trusted others, she would have already been eaten up by the treacherous business world.
“Heh, that's a nice way to put it.”
Cloud Retainer sneered.
“You can talk about it all day, do you have a way to control him? Rely on Geo Archon? Rely on us? Or rely on your insignificant strength?”
Cloud Retainer's words made the Seven Stars' faces look bad.
But she's not wrong.
For such a powerful being, don't even think about controlling him, as soon as you think about it, you are wrong.
He could easily slap you to death, and you wouldn't even have a place to reason.