Boom—
The power of the Five Great Truths, the Four Supreme Rules, and the Three Cosmologies collided continuously with Aha at the center, forming all the essential elements necessary for the creation of a great universe.
With Aha as the center, the act of genesis began, and Aha directly bore the full force of the great universe's creation from nothing.
Rumble rumble rumble—
Crack crack crack...
The clown masks and game props surrounding the humanoid gray silhouette were manifestations of the Principle of Elation.
At this moment, they had already been destroyed under unending assaults, reduced to fragments the size of basic cosmic particles. The humanoid gray silhouette also shattered like ceramic.
This scene resembled broken ceramic shards being reconnected by countless glowing purple-black lines. At this stage, no matter how intense the bombardment, these connected lines could no longer be broken.
Though they appeared as lines, they were in fact the Principle of Elation itself.
The Principle of Elation cannot be destroyed—it can only be shattered.
Even when shattered, it will regroup due to mutual attraction.
To truly eliminate the Principle of Elation, one would have to destroy the Imaginary Tree itself.
But destroying the Imaginary Tree requires multiversal-level power. Not even a super single-universe being can do it. Against the Imaginary Tree, a super single-universe entity is no more than an ant crawling on a centuries-old giant tree.
Even the full destructive power of a super single-universe entity cannot keep up with the Imaginary Tree's self-repair speed.
As long as the Principle of Elation exists, Aha is not easily killed. Even if Aha were destroyed here, it would only be a severe injury—Aha would still not die.
Unless someone could replace Aha and become the next wielder of the Principle of Elation.
Or unless Aha denied the path they tread and doubted the Principle of Elation itself.
But the likelihood of that is so minuscule it's almost nonexistent—akin to an Aeon of Permanence recognizing that the universe is destined to end and completely rejecting the Principle of Permanence.
Zhongli ceased his attacks, and an equatorial light ring appeared behind him.
The Pseudo Star Map Creation: Equator of Heaven in his hand radiated dazzling light.
In a deep and majestic voice, he recited the incantation to initiate the unfolding of his Cosmology.
"Equator of Heaven—Rotate the Twelve Time Branches, shine forth, Pseudo Star Map Creation!"
Buzz!
The full power of an entire complete great universe was released. His own Cosmology replaced the external universe—he himself became the sovereign ruler of the cosmos. All things in existence followed his command.
The dimension, once chaotic from battle, instantly froze—everything was replaced by the world of the Equator of Heaven.
Within the range of this Cosmology, Zhongli's own strength became that of a true standard single-universe level.
Without activating the Pseudo Star Map Creation, Zhongli's normal strength was merely that of a Supreme God. By starting the Pseudo Star Map Creation, he reached weak single-universe level. Upon fully unfolding his Cosmology—this ultimate domain skill—he instantly ascended to full single-universe level.
Every Pseudo Star Map Creation user possesses these three states.
These three states persist until they truly reach the single-universe level themselves.
Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei also activated their Pseudo Star Map Creations.
They recited the incantation to initiate it:
"All-Beings Doctrine—Reveal the spiritual rhythm of all things, Pseudo Star Map Creation."
Another complete great universe's full power erupted.
Under the rule structure of Little Garden, two Cosmologies would clash and cancel each other out—they could not function together.
But Noah disliked that setting.
Therefore, in Teyvat, Pseudo Star Map Creations had no flaw of mutual cancellation. Cosmologies could overlap according to the user's will, reinforcing each other.
Thus, the full power of the All-Beings Doctrine directly stacked onto the Equator of Heaven.
The fusion of these two ultimate domain skills instantly elevated the intensity of the area to strong single-universe level.
And that wasn't the end.
Hu Tao followed right after. Her combat experience couldn't match that of veterans like Zhongli and Raiden Ei, who had survived the Archon War—she was half a beat slower in tempo.
Her mental fortitude was also not as strong as theirs, so her handling of the Pseudo Star Map Creation was a bit clumsy—but she was already trying her best.
Of course, this comparison depends on who she's being compared to.
If another Supreme God were to use the Pseudo Star Map Creation, they might not necessarily handle it any better than Hu Tao.
The Underworld Heaven in Hu Tao's hand emitted dazzling light.
Beads of sweat rolled down from her forehead and cheeks, falling into the Dimensional Gap as she gritted her teeth and chanted the activation incantation:
"Underworld Heaven—Transcend the Sixfold Samsara, shine forth, Pseudo Star Map Creation!"
Underworld Heaven is the embodiment of the afterlife across all civilizations.
It is the ultimate fantasy of humanity—to be reborn in another form of life after death.
It represents one of the highest peaks of fantasy worlds.
The combined power of three universes stacked together instantly froze an entire great universe-sized region of the Dimensional Gap.
From the outside, it looked like a massive, illusory sphere—a great universe condensed into a globe of cosmic illusion. Within it swirled the combined power of three layers of universes.
At the very center of this sphere was the Aeon of Joy, frozen in time.
The three Cosmologies had become an ultimate prison, locking the Aeon of Joy in place so completely that not even the slightest resistance was possible.
And naturally so. Although Aha was indeed the Aeon wielding the Principle of Elation—a true, standard single-universe level being capable of freely traversing the various universes on the Imaginary Tree—
He was now up against twelve single-universe-level entities.
Furthermore, Phanes, Ophis, and Mio were genuine strong single-universe beings.
If Aha still had the ability to resist under these conditions, then he wouldn't be a standard single-universe entity—he'd be strong single-universe.
Once Aha was frozen in place, everyone ceased their attacks.
Only now did Aha's consciousness return to normal function.
He finally understood what had just happened.
Aha had been captured?
He hadn't even fully entered this universe before being struck head-on.
Looks like they were prepared. Could it be that while he was digging at the walls, he'd already been discovered, and the trap had been set long in advance, waiting to lure him in?
Hehehe… hahahahaha! Interesting, very interesting—this is just too interesting! Aha's going to laugh himself to death!
Aha became the clown! Aha became the turtle in the urn!
For the first time, this was the first time he had ever been beaten down!
So much fun! This is really fun!
The Aeons of this universe are way too powerful—and they're so united!
Aha admits defeat. But Aha is very happy!
At this moment, Aha was like a prehistoric creature frozen in an ice sculpture, being observed.
Although Aha had been severely wounded, he had not lost all ability to resist. Even as the wielder of the Principle of Elation, if heavily injured, he could still exert universe-level power.
However, when faced with twelve other Aeons from different universes—none weaker than Aha at full strength—he had not the slightest chance to strike back.
Aha completely gave up the idea of escape.
Escape? Having encountered such a delightful turn of events, he had no intention of fleeing at all.
He, Aha, was the ultimate source of fun right now.
At this moment, Aha looked around at the other-universe Aeons who had ceased their attacks and surrounded him.
"Stop, stop! Aha won't resist. Aha came to your domain to make friends, not as some malicious villain."
He raised a military salute in the French style, and the clown mask and game props that had been shattered into cosmic basic particles began to recombine.
They reassembled quickly—in just a few seconds.
This time span may be brief to mortals, but in the eyes of universe-level beings, it was as slow as a crawling tortoise.
Under the suppression of three stacked universes, Aha could only manage this much. His strength had been weakened by dozens of times—barely able to muster weak single-universe level power.
Aha was no fool. Seeing how united the Aeons of this universe were, even the slightest hint of resistance would likely invite another round of beatings and the destruction of this vessel.
His consciousness would instantly be pulled back to his own great universe.
But at that point, he'd be weakened for a long time, and his usable strength wouldn't even reach one-thousandth of his universe.
"Wuwuwu, poor Aha… traveled all this way to make friends, only to get ambushed at the door."
Aha put on a pitiful display, like a bullied little girl.
"Shut up."
Phanes coldly smacked him across the face. The clown mask that had just recombined was instantly shattered again.
Ophis and Dream gazed at Aha expressionlessly. Mio wore a smile, but one that carried the edge of a knife.
"Tch!" Paimon cracked her knuckles with snap snap sounds, glaring at Aha with gritted teeth.
Istaroth crossed her arms and grinned cheerfully.
Baal was icy. Asmoday was indifferent.
Zhongli stood with one hand behind his back, the other holding up his Pseudo Star Map Creation. His majestic golden eyes scrutinized the odd being before him.
To be honest, he had never seen such a bizarre lifeform.
Teyvat's lifeforms were already incredibly diverse, yet this was something truly abstract.
From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Hu Tao, who was also holding up her Pseudo Star Map Creation.
A touch of sentiment crossed his heart.
Once, it had been an extravagant dream to stand atop the high heavens—now, it had come true.
To be able to stand on equal footing with so many of the Teyvat Universe's dominion holders.
Still, he understood that even among cosmic rulers, vast differences remained.
The Sustainers of Heavenly Principle were undoubtedly more noble than ordinary Almighty Gods or Pseudo Star Map Creation wielders.
After all, they had a direct connection with the Heavenly Principle.
Hu Tao held up her Pseudo Star Map Creation with one hand while wiping sweat from her brow with the other. Her heart pounded wildly.
I'm so strong now. Truly strong.
To think I'm actually participating in a battle of this tier.
The scene of a universe's annihilation was the ultimate mystery.
Among so many super-gods, she alone had the lowest real combat strength.
Under the gaze of twelve unfriendly eyes, Aha sensibly shut his mouth. At this moment, he was like a tiny mouse surrounded by a pack of cats, trembling with fear.
But just how much of that fear was real, and how much was an act…
Phanes's expression was icy cold—cold enough to drip water. As the embodiment of Human Principle, how could she not see through it?
Everything this Aeon displayed was a façade—a ploy to treat the Teyvat dominion holders like fools.
Paimon glanced at Phanes and hesitantly said, "Um… Pha…"
But she stopped halfway.
To be honest, even though she had already reached single-universe level, and the bond between her existence and Phanes had already been severed, she still feared her deep down.
After all, from the moment the Four Shades were born, they were governed by Phanes in a tool-like manner. The idea of speaking to her on equal footing was laughable.
Moreover, in terms of hierarchy, Phanes was still one tier above them.
Phanes gave her a cold glance, signaling her to speak.
Paimon immediately pointed at Aha, furious.
"This was supposed to be the final year of my hundred-year rotation holiday! I waited for Xiangling to be free so she could make me something delicious—I've waited decades for it!"
"I was ready to feast happily for an entire year!"
"And now I didn't even get a single bite because of this ugly, disgusting thing who ruined everything!"
"I have to beat him up hard to feel better!"
The moment she said this, everyone except Ophis and Dream was stunned.
This was a very serious situation—and the tone had just completely shifted.
Zhongli, Hu Tao, Raiden Makoto, and Raiden Ei were merely a little surprised. They knew Paimon had once been the gluttonous little sprite by Lumine's side.
As a Sustainer of Heavenly Principle, having a strong personality was perfectly normal—after all, Lord Heavenly Principle was like that too.
However, Istaroth, Asmoday, and Baal all twitched at the corners of their mouths.
Though Paimon was their eldest sister, she had put all her attribute points into gluttony and none into anything else.
Istaroth muttered inwardly—how embarrassing, acting like this in such a serious setting.
Thank goodness Phanes wasn't as cold as she used to be. Otherwise, Paimon might have been sent back to be remade.
Phanes said coldly, "Irrelevant." She didn't really understand.
The Four Shades were supposed to be her shadows, but aside from Asmoday, the other three were nothing like her in personality.
This surely wasn't her fault—it must be the influence of Lord Heavenly Principle's will.
"Hehe…" Paimon's eyes sparkled as she stared at Aha.
...
"Stop hitting Aha! Aha's in pain!"
"Aiyah! Ouch ouch ouch!"
"Paimon, move aside, I want to slice him too."
"Aaaaah!"
"Morax, do you want a swing too? It's very satisfying."
"Er… no, I still need to maintain the Cosmology."
"Hu Tao, you in?"
"Yooo~ I'll pass. Who knows if he'll get the death sentence later—what kind of funeral would we hold for something this abstract? I've never had that kind of experience."
Before long, Aha had been mashed into a pulp, his shadowy humanoid form smeared into an unrecognizable blob, a small hand weakly waving a white flag.
In the Star Rail Universe, it seemed some civilizations also used white flags as a cultural gesture of surrender.
After Paimon and the others had finished venting their anger, Noah finally appeared.
His golden eyes calmly regarded Aha, a slight curve at the corner of his lips.
"Aeon of Joy, Aha. Thank you for coming all this way to deliver a Principle to me."
With that, he extended his hand. The Dimensional Authority instantly transformed into a powerful cage that enclosed Aha completely.
Finally, it shrank to the size of a ping-pong ball and returned to the center of his palm.
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