"Hehe, this is quite the opportunity. I was just worrying about how to deceive the Tree and Sea's Great Will to annex a great universe on the Imaginary Tree—and here comes a pillow served to me on a silver platter."
Noah looked at the ping-pong-ball-sized sphere in his palm.
He could clearly feel the aura originating from the Imaginary Tree. This wasn't the aura of an ordinary universe—it was a proof of existence.
Proof of existence, in other words, a Tree and Sea ID card.
Although Teyvat resided within the Tree and Sea, at its core, Teyvat and the Tree and Sea were two entirely different systems.
On the surface, it seemed to be part of the Tree and Sea, but in truth, the Great Will of the Sea and Tree had never recognized Teyvat's identity.
In other words, Teyvat's current identity was nothing more than a tenant bringing benefits to the Tree and Sea.
The Great Will of the Tree and Sea saw potential in Teyvat and intended to copy over some of Teyvat's best attributes.
Once Teyvat ceased to hold value, it would be cast aside without hesitation.
Such a well-calculated scheme.
Noah had been pondering how to obtain a proof of existence from the Tree and Sea so he could bypass the Great Will's attention and cause some chaos on the Imaginary Tree.
And now, he had one in hand—what perfect timing.
Principles are born from the Imaginary Tree. So, with even a fragment of a Principle, it was possible to pass oneself off as legitimate.
Moreover, through the connection between the Imaginary Tree and its Principles, one could instantly be drawn into a great universe on the Imaginary Tree.
The imprisoned Aha struggled with all his might but couldn't cause even the faintest ripple.
Aha was now completely sealed. Poor Aha.
And yet, he still wasn't panicking. Even if he were killed, his consciousness would simply be dragged back to his original universe, then remain weakened for tens of millions of years. It wasn't that big of a deal.
He was in a rather joyous mood.
He had thought it surprising enough that this universe had twelve Aeons not weaker than him. He didn't expect there to be someone even stronger than Aeons.
He could clearly sense the overwhelming power of the being who had effortlessly turned him into a ball.
His own strength was as insignificant as a mayfly shaking a tree. It felt as if a light pinch from this being could deal fatal damage to his existence.
It was the same insignificance he felt when facing the Imaginary Tree.
Could this be an existence beyond the universe? Someone above the Aeons?
Aha had once believed the Aeons to be the strongest entities in the Tree and Sea. But now he realized something stronger existed.
He had gained new insight—even if he were crushed now, he'd be content. Hahaha!
Noah's power was the total sum of all Teyvat's forces.
And that total, in truth, only amounted to strong single-universe level—it hadn't reached super single-universe.
However, the Great Will of the Tree and Sea had granted the Dimensional Gap a portion of authority. Therefore, within the Dimensional Gap, Noah wielded super single-universe level power.
This was a regional authority. Outside the Dimensional Gap, he would revert to his original level.
And in a great universe on the Imaginary Tree, this authority would also become void.
To him, it was optional. Every time he used it, he respectfully flashed a middle finger to the Great Will of The Sea and Tree.
With Aha sealed by Noah, the triple-layered Cosmologies gradually receded.
Maintaining the Pseudo Star Map Creation imposed immense pressure. Even for the Raiden sisters—who were the first to acquire one—it was taxing. Not to mention Hu Tao, who was still just a Primary God.
Hu Tao was already drenched in sweat, panting slightly.
Phanes asked coolly, "How do you intend to deal with this intruder? Will you extract the Principle and fuse it into Teyvat?"
Ophis added, "The Principle… As an Ouroboros, I can sense that power—it resembles Truth, but not quite. It can simulate part of Truth's effects, but cannot serve as the foundation of a universe."
Zhongli gazed thoughtfully at the sphere in Noah's hand. "A single Pseudo Star Map Creation alone can't suppress it—at most, it can only weaken it slightly."
"In a one-on-one fight, any Cosmology-holder below the level of Almighty God is no match for a being who has mastered a Principle."
"Once someone reaches the level of an Almighty God, they can suppress such beings directly."
Of course, this only applied to mastering a Principle—not to a Lord of Principle. A Lord of Principle transcended the limits of the universe; they could not be countered by a universe-level Pseudo Star Map Creation.
"So, analyzing it this way—although Almighty Gods are slightly weaker than Aeons in life form, they are far more versatile. And an Almighty God with a Pseudo Star Map Creation can stably overpower an Aeon."
Phanes glanced at Zhongli and said coldly, "A mere Aeon. If a single-universe level being of Teyvat cannot suppress that, they may as well be sent back to be remade."
Zhongli instantly fell silent.
He had merely been analyzing the previous battle and forgot about her authority.
Noah smiled and lightly bounced the little ball in his hand. "Alright."
"The Principle, of course, will be merged into Teyvat. After all, it helped create a single-universe level being."
"Besides, I won't let this go. Since they dared to invade Teyvat, they'd better prepare to be invaded in return."
"The next world we conquer will be the universe where this Aeon came from."
"When the time comes, I'll hand over transit passes to deceive the Tree and Sea's great universe."
Additionally… I still need to perform a little operation using the Principle of Elation.
Let's see if a Principle wielder from the Honkai: Star Rail universe can be overthrown.
He needed to enter the Star Rail Universe and bestow a fragment of the Principle of Elation to a Pathstrider of the Elation Path. Then, see if that person could replace the infinitely weakened Aeon of Joy.
If this worked, it would be utterly Aha-esque. He truly wanted to see Aha's expression in that moment.
The God of Fun was, after all, the greatest fun.
Phanes and the other Supreme Gods were not particularly surprised.
To them, this was perfectly natural.
Zhongli, Hu Tao, and the Raiden sisters, however, felt a jolt in their hearts.
Zhongli mused silently—Lord Heavenly Principle had traced the thread back and learned the coordinates of that great universe.
This was a real annexation of a great universe.
Finally, gods at the universal scale were going to step onto the battlefield.
In previous world annexations, the true high-level beings had never taken the field—there had simply been no worthy opponents.
But when it came to annexing a great universe, the scale of war would spread across countless galaxies.
"Ah~ it's finally over! I have to hurry back! Xiangling! Please save me a portion! I've waited decades for this delicious meal, wuwu."
Paimon mumbled anxiously, looking at Noah and blinking her eyes.
Master, I'm heading out now~
Seeing Paimon's desperation for food, Noah waved his hand. "Go on, go on."
Paimon's personality hadn't changed much from her time as a little sprite—still ditzy, gluttonous, and careless.
Of course, that didn't mean she was truly foolish—just that she seemed ditzy.
Reaching the level of an Almighty God meant she had achieved the pinnacle of both intellect and power.
Moreover, the Four Shades held dominion over the Supreme Rules of Life, Death, Space, and Time.
Under the influence of the Five Great Truths, these Supreme Rules were already showing signs of ascending.
Originally, if Teyvat smoothly reached super single-universe level, those Supreme Rules would naturally evolve into Principles.
But now, the neighboring Star Rail Universe already possessed multiple Principles.
Given that, Noah considered sending the Four Shades directly into the Star Rail Universe to perform a certain ritual—luring down Principles from the Imaginary Tree, thereby allowing the Supreme Rules to ascend in tandem.
Borrow a chicken to lay eggs, as the saying went.
The Four Shades were completely bound to him, the Sustainer of Heavenly Principle. Even if the Supreme Rules ascended to Principles, they wouldn't be bound by the Imaginary Tree.
It would be like coaxing the Tree into extending a branch and then snapping it off.
Of course, this method wouldn't yield a complete Principle.
But that didn't matter. Noah only needed a foundational fragment—he would cultivate the rest himself.
His mental abacus was working at full speed.
His heart couldn't help but beat faster.
If this worked, Teyvat could obtain multiple Principles at strong single-universe level. If he could shear hundreds of Principles from the Imaginary Tree, wouldn't Teyvat rocket straight into super single-universe tier?
This method could work.
That damn Tree and Sea's great universe had been scheming against him—why couldn't he turn around and fleece it instead?
Even if the Great Will of the Tree and Sea discovered him, it would have to grit its teeth and endure.
It needed to reference Teyvat to ascend into a true multiverse.
Before it had fully extracted everything unique about Teyvat, it wouldn't dare eject it.
With that in mind, Noah realized—he still held the upper hand.
Ophis said, "Then I'm returning to the Dimensional Gap."
After speaking, she transformed into a silver stream of light and returned to the cosmic boundary.
Dream said nothing and also vanished in a stream of light.
She was returning to slumber in the Dimensional Gap.
Though she was its guardian deity, she would not awaken unless a clear invasion occurred.
Creatures frequently wandered into the cosmic boundary from the Dimensional Realm. Most were harmless. The harmful ones were directly thrown into the Abyss by the Cosmic Nexus.
Regardless of their nature, they increased Teyvat's diversity.
The other Four Shades vanished as well—they still needed to continue their patrol of the universe's space-time.
They operated on a rotational schedule—one hundred years of patrol, followed by one hundred years of rest.
Even as Sustainers of Heavenly Principle, patrolling the universe required effort.
After all, space-time was constantly evolving—new timelines and regions would spontaneously emerge.
Phanes also returned to the Temple of Truth.
Unless something major occurred, that supreme shut-in of a goddess would never leave her sanctuary.
Sometimes Noah could even sense her emotional frustration, as though she were bothered by his lack of care toward maintaining the Temple of Truth—like a cosmic-scale neat freak.
Come on, Noah thought, I'm the one who sets the universe's grand direction—you're the ones in charge of implementation. Otherwise, how am I supposed to slack off—er, contemplate the universe's future?
You want me to work overtime? Absolutely not.
The crack in the cosmic crystal wall that Aha had carved open had already fully healed.
Venti, Furina, Aether, Lumine, Neuvillette, Azhdaha, Tsaritsa, Buer, and Nahida all witnessed the true spectacle of a single-universe level battle.
If even one of those attacks had landed within a great universe, it would have spread across half the cosmos—obliterating billions of galaxies.
Until now, none of them had ever actually seen what a single-universe level clash looked like. They could only rely on imagination.
But now they realized—no matter how wildly they had imagined it before, reality was separated by a chasm.
So this is the true power of Teyvat's single-universe level gods?
It was overwhelmingly strong. Their universe's foundation was truly terrifying.
Yet not one of them felt fear. On the contrary, they were overcome with heat and pride from the depths of their hearts…
After all, Lord Heavenly Principle had said it: all seven Archons would one day possess a Pseudo Star Map Creation.
And even if they didn't have one now, in time, each of them would surely become a Lord of Principle.
Venti glanced at the gods and Supreme Gods who had already left, then turned to look at Zhongli, who had just returned from sealing the cosmic crystal wall, hands folded behind his back. He swallowed nervously.
"Old man, you were seriously awesome just now—able to fight alongside those top-tier gods and still walk away without even a wrinkle on your robe."
I wonder what my Barbatos' Pseudo Star Map Creation is called. I'm so excited for the day I get to manifest my Cosmology…
Furina nodded, sighing in relief, a handkerchief appearing in her hand to wipe the sweat from her brow. "That scene completely shattered my imagination—I literally broke out in cold sweat just watching."
Neuvillette added, "I wonder if I'll get a Pseudo Star Map Creation too… Hmm… probably not, since I'm not one of the Seven."
Azhdaha grunted, "So what? If we work hard, we can still become Primordial Gods."
Hu Tao, utterly drained, sighed weakly. "Aiya, Hu Tao is exhausted. The pressure of activating the Pseudo Star Map Creation is enormous—my limit was just over ten minutes."
"I'm still way too weak."
Lumine's eyes sparkled. "Hu Tao, we're friends, right?"
One look and Hu Tao knew exactly what she was hinting at. With a helpless expression, she replied, "Traveler, even if I gave you the Pseudo Star Map Creation, you couldn't use it. Only the holder can activate it."
Aether crossed his arms and said flatly, "You hear that? You can't use it, so don't get any funny ideas."
Lumine pouted at him. "Tch… Whatever. It's not like I'm dead without it."
Zhongli spoke with calm authority. "Alright then, everyone—let's return the way we came. The celebration isn't over yet."
"After all, I must still attend and witness your Gift Games."
Venti puffed up his chest and chuckled. "Then old man, just sit back and watch me shine."
—Meanwhile—
Noah had not yet returned to the Great Universe. He tossed Aha up and down in his hand like a ping-pong ball, eyes fixed on the unfathomable breadth of the Imaginary Tree.
"Heh~ Well then, Star Rail Universe—since Aha's voice has already echoed across countless realms, it's time for me to deliver a declaration of war."
"Let's see… besides the Aeons, how many beings out there will receive this message?"
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