After lunch and a short rest, Xia Zhi returned to the kitchen, kneading dough and soaking dried osmanthus flowers in water.
Xiangling, who was washing dishes, asked curiously, "Master, what are you making now?"
"Osmanthus Cake."
"Did someone ask for it?"
"No, it's a gift. I'm giving it to someone."
"Oh."
"Of course, I'll make extra. You can all help yourselves if you want some."
"Great! Thanks, Master!"
Once the Osmanthus Cake was done, Xia Zhi packed a portion into an elegant food box and stored it in his inventory.
Cloud Retainer approached him and whispered, "When are we testing that thing?"
"Tonight."
"Where?"
"Somewhere suitable."
He paused, then added,
"Of course, we might not get the chance to use it. If not, we'll find another place."
"Mm."
Cloud Retainer nodded, her gaze drifting to the plate of leftover Osmanthus Cake.
"Would you like to try some? It's fresh."
"Yes."
She picked up a piece with her fingers.
The cake was incredibly delicate—so soft she barely dared to grip it. The moment it touched her tongue, it seemed to dissolve, the fragrance of osmanthus blooming on her taste buds. With the gentlest bite, crumbs scattered from her lips, forcing her to cup her other hand beneath to catch them.
"How is it?"
"Absolutely delicious!"
Xia Zhi chuckled. "This is a tea snack. It pairs even better with tea—the flavors complement each other."
"Indeed! I also love having pastries with tea. The freshness cuts through the sweetness, and the mingling aromas are delightful."
Their conversation began with snacks and tea but soon branched out—from food to art, from mechanisms to architecture, from efficiently drawing Adepti Sigils to efficiently teaching disciples…
Time flew by, and the entire afternoon passed in pleasant discussion.
Eventually, Xia Zhi wrapped up the chat to start preparing dinner.
Cloud Retainer, still reluctant to end the conversation, came over to assist.
Xia Zhi couldn't help but feel that the little crane was being unusually enthusiastic toward him today.
Yes, he had saved her, helped her take human form, and owed her a great debt of gratitude. Perhaps she wanted to repay him.
And yes, given his relationship with Ganyu and Shenhe, it made sense for her, as their master, to want to build a good friendly relationship with him.
But as he observed her through God's Eye, Xia Zhi recalled the hidden effect of [Radiant Wings]:
[Initial affinity with Celestial Birds is set to Friendly, and affinity growth rate is increased by 100%.]
I wonder just how high her affinity with me is now…
---
After dinner, it was time for entertainment.
The girls started a Mahjong Tournament, while Xia Ci and Xia Zhen followed Xia Zhi to the Mechanism Workshop.
Cloud Retainer was already waiting inside.
"Where are we going?"
"The Dragon-Queller Tree."
"There?" Cloud Retainer blinked. "Why?"
Xia Ci replied calmly, "We're paying a visit to the Earth Dragon Azhdaha."
"But the Earth Dragon has long since gone mad!"
"He's not mad—just a bit senile."
"Huh?"
"His memory's failing. Cousin thinks he might still be treatable, so Morax asked us to check on him while also inspecting the seal's stability."
"Mountain Shaper has been overseeing the seal."
"That guy slacked off half a year ago. He's stuck working overtime in Guili Plains now and can't come back."
"…"
"Originally, it was just the three of us going, but Cousin insisted on bringing you along. Are you coming or not? If not, forget it."
"I'm coming!"
"Fine."
"How are we getting there? By car?"
Xia Ci sighed. "No, the hovercar's too slow."
Xia Zhi nodded. "Driving would take too long. I have a faster method."
"What method?"
"Spatial Teleportation."
[Radiant Wings] had granted Xia Zhi mastery over third-tier and lower spatial magic, which included teleportation—but not long-distance teleportation. That was still lacking.
So Xia Zhi thought of another spatial ability—the "Angel of Interstice" form he had once assumed using the [Transformation Badge].
Back when he tested the transformation on Mt. Tianheng, he had used the Interstice to return directly to the shop. Long-distance travel had been incredibly convenient.
Thus, earlier, Xia Zhi had already registered [Angel of Interstice] as an identity on his [Temporary Certificate].
By now, he had amassed a considerable collection of temporary skills.
With that, he raised his hand and summoned—
A rift tore open in the center of the workshop, filled with eerie, staring eyes.
"Let's go."
"We're… walking into that?"
"Yes. Don't worry—it won't hurt."
Xia Ci and Xia Zhen stepped through without hesitation.
Xia Zhi followed.
Seeing the rift beginning to close, Cloud Retainer hurriedly entered as well.
The world blurred before her eyes—
And the next moment, she found herself standing in the wilderness, a cold wind howling around her.
Before her loomed an enormous, unmistakable tree.
"The Dragon-Queller Tree…"
-----
The cold moonlight quietly spilled across the tips of the massive tree branches.
Mysterious crystals crept along the tree's trunk, emanating a faint blue-green glow.
Cold wind blew past, swaying the branches and rustling the clustered leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground that made the ancient stone monolith, covered in traces of time's erosion, appear even more desolate.
Xia Zhi stood before the stone monolith, reading the text carved upon it from his god's-eye view:
[Life endures in Heaven and Earth thanks to the merciful Adeptus. On this site lies an evil dragon, please do not disturb it.]
Xia Ci read it aloud once, then chuckled softly: "Heh, evil dragon..."
Cloud Retainer beside them explained: "This stone monolith was erected by Mountain Shaper. The reason the inscription calls Azhdaha an evil dragon is to warn future generations to stay away from this seal, lest any unnecessary accidents occur..."
Xia Zhen looked up at the massive tree and said: "Good and evil are separated by the thinnest line. Back then, His battle with Morax affected a vast area. The ruins in Tianqiu Valley were once a prosperous settlement in the distant past, but were completely destroyed in that conflict. Azhdaha's matter cannot be simply explained."
"Though erosion was the main cause, if the people of Liyue hadn't over-mined at that time, destroying the ley lines He depended on for survival, the situation wouldn't have become so dire."
"That's true... Cousin, what do you think?"
"Me? I can't see... Well, we should still stick to sustainable development."
Xia Ci and Xia Zhen smiled knowingly upon hearing this.
Cloud Retainer was somewhat baffled.
She had no idea what was funny about this statement that she found quite reasonable.
It felt like being excluded from a small circle of three people.
After viewing the scenery of the Dragon-Queller, the group walked behind the tree where the terrain gradually descended, arriving at a small cave.
Deep within the cave was a stone wall that appeared completely ordinary.
Of course, this was for ordinary people—for Xia Zhi, the Geo divine power here had become so concentrated it was almost tangible.
He could sense Morax's divine power within it, as well as another extremely unfamiliar Geo divine power, which should belong to Azhdaha.
This was the entrance to the seal.
Azhdaha was sealed underground, so Xia Zhi shouldn't normally be able to sense His divine power from outside.
But since this was happening now, it meant this seal had developed some problems, causing the divine power within to leak out.
Let me check it first.
Xia Zhi extended his right hand, gently pressing it against the stone wall, sensing the existence of a barrier.
Since he had already learned all of Morax's skills from him, he naturally understood this seal that the other had personally established like the back of his hand.
After a moment, Xia Zhi withdrew his hand from the stone wall.
Inspection complete.
The seal was generally intact, but due to the passage of too much time, the barrier had loosened slightly, causing some of Azhdaha's power to leak out.
"Cousin, how is it?"
"The seal has loosened a bit. I just reinforced it some."
"How do we get in?"
"This is a dead seal—you can't get in or out."
"Then what do we do?"
"Don't worry, I have a way."
A small key appeared in Xia Zhi's hand.
He held the key and inserted it toward the stone wall.
The key passed through the thick stone wall like an ethereal object, and also through the invisible divine power barrier.
Xia Zhi gently turned the key in his hand, and a door-shaped passage opened before him.
"Alright, let's go in."
"Cousin, where did this door come from?!"
"I opened it with the key."
"How did the key open it?"
"A little trick."
"I want to learn this!"
"What do you need to learn this for?"
"It's fun!"
Xia Zhen glanced at Xia Ci, seriously suspecting she actually wanted to learn this to sneak into his bed at midnight.
Then she earnestly agreed with her friend: "Cousin, I want to learn too."
"...We'll talk about it later. Let's handle business first."
"Oh."
Cloud Retainer silently followed behind, since the Dragon-Queller dungeon was too high-level for her—she was just here to coast along.
After walking through the passage, Xia Zhi pulled the key from the wall.
The passage in the wall instantly disappeared, returning to its original intact appearance.
In the underground environment, it was naturally pitch black.
Xia Ci looked in a certain direction.
"Cousin, give us some light."
"You can't see?"
"Cloud Retainer can't see."
"Then let's have some light."
Cloud Retainer was about to say she was fine, but before the words left her mouth, she felt a gentle white light appear before her eyes, instantly dispelling all the darkness underground.
"...Thank you."
"No problem."
Cloud Retainer could now see the scenery here clearly.
This place was quite spacious, stretching beyond sight like a vast plain.
In the center of the plain stood a great mountain, surrounded by a circle of towering, precipitous peaks.
But looking carefully, one would realize that wasn't a mountain at all, but a massive beast lying dormant in slumber.
The surroundings weren't peaks either, but a circle of rock spears driven into the ground, forming a solid cage like a coffin that trapped the giant beast inside.
That giant beast was Azhdaha.
However, due to the great distance, even though the [Treasure Compass] had expanded the system's detection range, Xia Zhi still couldn't directly see this magnificent sight in his god's-eye view.
Fortunately, Xia Zhi had come prepared, hanging a small mirror at his waist before departure.
Since he had just brought light to this place, the mirror could clearly reflect the distant scenery.
The giant beast's form appeared in the mirror.
Xia Zhi looked a few times.
So this is what Azhdaha looks like...
A bit chubby...
The mirror couldn't show the progress bar above Him, but though He had been sealed for a long time, He should be Diamond-tier like Osial...
At this moment, Xia Zhi suddenly heard a deep exhaling sound.
Immediately after, he felt the ground beneath his feet begin to tremble.
At the same time, he saw in the mirror that the reclining Azhdaha's body began to move slightly.
"Cousin, Azhdaha seems to be waking up."
"Mm."
"Should we go over and say hello now?"
"Wait a moment, let's see what happens first..."
Then everyone heard an extremely angry roar echo from the distance.
Xia Zhen and Xia Ci began discussing:
"Azhdaha seems very angry."
"Probably because He was suddenly woken up."
"We were speaking so quietly just now, and we're so far away..."
"It's not the sound, it should be the light."
"He hasn't seen light for too many years. Suddenly seeing light, He's probably uncomfortable, plus having a case of morning grumpiness, so this happened."
"Why is He still roaring?"
"His eyes don't look quite right..."
Xia Zhi also noticed at this time that Azhdaha's enormous eyes were glowing red, filled with countless negative emotions.
Hatred, rage, brutality, destruction...
After roaring skyward several times to vent without effect, He noticed the unfamiliar figures standing here and immediately fixed His gaze on these people.
A terrifying pressure at the level of an Archon struck across the distance.
"Who is it?!"
Cloud Retainer, being an adeptus, couldn't withstand it at all. Her body swayed and her face immediately turned pale.
Xia Zhi, standing beside her, stepped forward slightly, blocking in front of her.
That suffocating, terrible feeling as if death would come the next second instantly disappeared.
Cloud Retainer looked up, staring somewhat dazedly at his not-so-broad back, and suddenly a strange emotion stirred in her heart.
Xia Zhi turned his head and asked: "Cloud Retainer, are you alright?"
Cloud Retainer snapped back to her senses: "Mm."
Xia Zhi raised his hand, and a white light fell upon her.
So warm.
Cloud Retainer suddenly remembered the night they first met, when though he had lost his power, he still worked hard to heal the wounds on her body.
At that time, his palm resting on her body had also been very warm.
The memory flashed through her heart like a gentle breeze, causing the strange emotion that had just stirred to continue rippling.
Cloud Retainer forcibly suppressed the unusual feeling in her heart and said softly: "Thank you."
"No problem."
Xia Zhi looked at the mirror on his body.
Azhdaha in his current state was completely irrational, continuously ramming and roaring in this direction. It seemed he really had gone completely mad as Cloud Retainer had said.
Xia Ci frowned: "Cousin, this isn't easy to communicate with."
Xia Zhi nodded: "It is a bit troublesome."
Xia Zhen asked: "What should we do?"
Xia Zhi pondered: "We need to make him settle down first, then find a way to help him recover his sanity."
Xia Ci thought for a moment: "Should we attack together?"
Xia Zhi shook his head: "No need."
His cousin's divine power hadn't fully recovered yet, and his other cousin was only a soul form. If a real fight broke out, they wouldn't be much help.
"You just help protect Cloud Retainer here. I'll go have a reasonable discussion with Him."
"Oh."
Watching Xia Zhi walk toward Azhdaha alone, Cloud Retainer's face couldn't help but show a trace of worry.
She still felt uneasy about him. Turning her head to ask the former Dendro Archon and former Electro Archon, she saw both of them holding handfuls of sunflower seeds, cracking them with relish. [ Changed Melon Seeds to Sunflower Seed]
Cloud Retainer looked at this scene and fell into silence.
Seeing her staring blankly at the sunflower seeds in her hand, Xia Ci offered some: "Cloud Retainer, want some sunflower seeds?"
Cloud Retainer quickly shook her head: "No, no need..."
Xia Ci insisted warmly: "Five-spice flavor, they're delicious."
Xia Zhen nodded: "These were personally roasted by our cousin. Since we're just waiting around, why not eat sunflower seeds together?"
Then Xia Ci forcibly stuffed a handful of sunflower seeds into Cloud Retainer's hand.
I said I didn't want any, but the Dendro Archon insisted... Well, can't let them go to waste... Crunch... Wow, these are good!