“The Geo Archon?!”
Hearing Jiang Yan’s words, Liu Yun hadn’t reacted yet, but then she saw a figure in a white robe silently appearing at the spot where the stone table had been.
His face was hidden under the hood and was impossible to see clearly, but the ancient and majestic aura emanating from him could only belong to the Geo Archon.
Zhongli gently picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip.
Liu Yun was stunned for a moment, then became aware of the shock.
That cup of tea was prepared by Jiang Yan before the debate.
At that time, she didn’t pay attention because she was still arguing with Jiang Yan.
Now it seems…
Zhongli had arrived long ago but had also been discovered by Jiang Yan long ago.
Zhongli heard the whole debate and her praises, whether it was embarrassing or not, it was secondary.
The main problem now is…
How did Jiang Yan have this ability to know Zhongli’s movements?
He was just a frail ordinary person before.
However, frail…
Looking at Jiang Yan standing alone in the sky, facing the dark clouds that seemed to cover the entire Teyvat.
Is this what you call frail?
Liu Yun secretly cursed herself for misjudging him.
However, she had to admit that Jiang Yan was indeed very impressive.
From a gentle and elegant young man to an arrogant and unrestrained wanderer.
This kind of contrast could easily deceive anyone.
Liu Yun glanced at Gan Yu next to her, the little Qilin’s face was flushed.
In her eyes, besides worry, there were other inexplicably complicated emotions.
Even when Zhongli appeared, Gan Yu didn’t even react to greet him first.
Girls grow up too fast!
Liu Yun muttered to herself, but luckily her second disciple, Shen He, was still normal.
Of course, it was also possible that she didn’t have any emotions yet.
Liu Yun gently pushed Gan Yu and brought her back to the stone table.
“Geo Archon, when did you arrive?”
Hearing this, Zhongli took back his gaze from Jiang Yan and said softly:
“Since he started reciting the Huangting Scripture.”
“This… So, Geo Archon, you’ve been paying attention to him all this time?”
Liu Yun was surprised, Zhongli nodded slightly.
“Naturally, those who are not from this world have their own capabilities, let alone him, who is a descendant who doesn’t exist in the destined cycle of reincarnation.”
“In addition, the Huangting Scripture he recites every day these days…”
Zhongli paused, his face under the hood looked serious.
“That scripture can alleviate my wear and tear, even reverse the level of wear and tear…”
“What?!”
Liu Yun looked at Zhongli in disbelief.
Zhongli’s wear and tear was an irreversible rule of Teyvat.
If it was really that easy to solve, why was the Yaksha sealed for so many years?
Why did Zhongli have to think about abdicating in this Rite of the Great Farewell?
It wasn’t just Liu Yun who was shocked, Zhongli himself was the most shocked person.
“It seems that this Archon has misjudged him.”
Liu Yun sighed with a sense of regret, looked up at Jiang Yan, then said dissatisfiedly:
“He does have some skills, but his words are arrogant and his personality is conceited. Geo Archon, you must have heard what he said to me just now.”
“He’s talking nonsense! What defying fate, what immortality, it’s simply absurd!”
“If the Heavenly Principles were not asleep now, he would have been punished for daring to say such things.”
“I have lived in Teyvat for so long, I have never heard of anyone who has successfully cultivated immortality by defying fate.”
Zhongli stared intently at Jiang Yan and said softly:
“You said Teyvat, why do you define those from outside the world by the rules of Teyvat?”
“Do you know what his world is like?”
Liu Yun was speechless, after a long while, she still said resentfully:
“Even so, what he said was too extreme, what are gods not immortals, what’s my immortality not immortality?”
“Isn’t he denying all my cultivation achievements over the years?”
Zhongli smiled, and said in a low voice:
“Perhaps, it’s not a denial… Anyway, just watch.”
Liu Yun was still unhappy, she snorted and mumbled:
“What is he flying up in the sky for? Looking at the weather, it’s going to rain heavily. Don’t blame us for being busy saving him if he gets struck by lightning later.”
“Liu Yun!”
Gan Yu lowered her head shyly, but then, she looked up at the sky with extreme worry.
“Lightning strike…”
Zhongli’s eyes moved, finally his expression changed.
He looked at Jiang Yan in the sky in shock.
He had long felt something wrong with the weather, it didn’t feel like it could be produced in Teyvat.
The aura it contained was unfamiliar to him, but the hidden sense of crisis made him feel as if he were being targeted by a sharp blade.
At this moment, Liu Yun broke through the last bit of uncertainty in Zhongli’s heart.
He suddenly stood up, Zhongli looked at Jiang Yan in the sky in disbelief.
“He’s going to… ascend to immortality!”
“What? Ascending?! Isn’t that just a fabricated legend?”
Liu Yun was a little suspicious, the next moment, before Zhongli could answer.
The dark clouds in the sky seemed to have finally brewed up.
Pompous and profound black lightning flashed, engulfing Jiang Yan like a pillar of light reaching the heavens.
Then, came a thunderous boom that shook the entire world.
This sound probably startled everyone in Teyvat.
The people in Mondstadt who were struggling against the Stormterror’s attack.
The people in Liyue who were busy with the preliminary preparations for the Rite of the Great Farewell.
The people in Inazuma who were preparing to fight the Shogunate again.
The people in the Sumeru’s Sanctuary of Surasthana, the people battling monsters in the desert, the people in Fontaine’s opera house watching the trial, the Tsaritsa sitting alone on the Winter Palace…
Lumine who was crossing the wasteland with Paimon…
Even the Abyss Order in the Abyss, the many Archons on the Celestia, the witches of the Witch’s Congregation on the border of Teyvat…
They all heard this thunderous boom.
Looking up, they could all see the clouds that covered every corner of Teyvat.
The stronger they were, the greater their reaction to the thunder.
Zhongli, who was below Jiang Yan, turned pale, his divine power was instantly drained, and he collapsed onto the chair, exhausted.
Liu Yun and the others were no better.
They were all trying their best to support themselves on the stone chairs.
“It’s so scary… Is he really ascending? How is this possible!”
Liu Yun’s voice was a little dry, her eyes were blankly looking at Jiang Yan above.
That lightning strike didn’t shake Jiang Yan, only the purple aura around him surged.
“Geo Archon, is Jiang Yan going to be okay.”
Gan Yu asked worriedly, Zhongli was silent.
He looked at Gan Yu with complicated emotions.
He didn’t know if Jiang Yan was okay, but judging from his appearance, he seemed to be doing okay.
But…
He, the Geo Archon, was in trouble!
The thunder made him so weak, if he accidentally got struck by lightning.
The scene he had envisioned before, the Geo Archon getting old and dying from failed ascension.
It might come true.
“爽！”
A joyous cry came from above, Jiang Yan looked at the thunderclouds above with a look of ecstasy.
He didn’t foolishly resist with his body, that kind of ascension method was either for pure body cultivators or for some transmigrators who were obsessed with Xianxia novels.
If you weren’t a professional body cultivator, you would probably be struck to death, with your meridians shattered.
The real ascension method, according to the Huangting Scripture, was quite common, you used your true essence to build a defense.
When the lightning struck, the true essence would be repeatedly tempered until it became real Xian essence.
That lightning strike just now made Jiang Yan feel that his already extremely condensed true essence was once again undergoing a transformation.
Jiang Yan looked at the thunderclouds above with anticipation.
There were 27 thunder strikes in the three-nine tribulation.
Jiang Yan felt that he should be able to withstand it.
But he guessed that it wouldn’t look good if he endured it.
Considering that he would be spreading the Dao of immortality in Teyvat later, he had to maintain the image of an immortal cultivator.
Jiang Yan thought about how to perfectly deal with the thunder tribulation.
At the same time, he didn’t forget to continuously build defenses with his true essence.
One after another, the black thunder strikes fell.
Today, there was nothing else for everyone in Teyvat to do except watch the thunder that kept exploding and falling.
They wondered what was going on in Liyue.
If they didn’t know for sure that the Heavenly Principles hadn’t woken up and that Celestia hadn’t made a move.
Those who knew some secrets in the Seven Nations would think that Liyue was going to be punished by the Heavenly Principles.
On the Jade Chamber, although no thunder fell on it, Zhongli and the others were still being suppressed by the thunder’s aura and becoming weaker.
They could only sit there numbly, watching Jiang Yan getting struck by lightning, they were numb.
The first few lightning strikes were black, after nine strikes, they turned blood red, just like the sky Zhongli saw in Khaenri’ah.
But Jiang Yan easily withstood them all.
And now…
The thunder became a strange purple color with a hint of green.
Zhongli had to admit that this was an eye-opener.
He had never seen this kind of lightning before.
He was now sure that this thing was definitely not something that could be generated in Teyvat.
“How many strikes have there been?”
Liu Yun pursed her lips and looked at Shen He next to her in a daze.
Shen He, who was always cold, was clearly a little confused at this moment.
After a moment, she said softly:
“Twenty-six?”
“Isn’t it over yet?”
Liu Yun was a little headache.
“I believe it now, he’s really defying fate in his cultivation, otherwise, how could he be so punished by Heaven?”
Zhongli chuckled wryly, shook his head, and was about to say something.
Jiang Yan in the sky moved.
The purple aura that surrounded him was now tinged with gold.
It was like strands of golden thread mixed in.
Zhongli didn’t know what it was, he only felt that that power was very pure, very advanced, even exceeding divine power by a lot.
Jiang Yan moved his wrists that had been numb from being struck by lightning.
Gan Yu below saw that Jiang Yan moved and hurriedly shouted:
“Jiang Yan, are you okay? We can’t hold on anymore!”
Liu Yun and Zhongli looked at each other awkwardly, they were stronger, but they were now even weaker than Gan Yu, who could move freely.
Strange things happen every year, this year is especially unusual.
Jiang Yan moved his wrists, looked down, saw that they were indeed exhausted, and looked up at the last thunder strike brewing in the sky.
This one was different from the previous ones, it gave Jiang Yan a stronger sense of threat.
If he resisted it head-on, even if he could withstand it, he would probably be injured.
“Then let’s end this.”
Jiang Yan muttered softly, Zhongli and the others below straightened up and stared intently at him.
They vaguely saw Jiang Yan forming a sword with his index and middle fingers, making a very strange hand seal.
Unfathomable power circulated around him.
“Nine Heavens Xuan Sha, transformed into Divine Thunder, blazing Divine Thunder, drawn by the sword!”
A sword.
A sword made of golden lightning.
It shot out from Jiang Yan’s hand, in an instant, it turned into a Divine Thunder Sword that cleaved the heavens and earth.
It slashed upwards, towards the thundercloud that was spewing out the last thunder strike.
At this moment, Zhongli and the others were stunned.
They witnessed, with their own eyes, someone, with their frail body, resisting the will of Heaven.
The concept of immortality was broken and rebuilt.