The speed of wind is very fast.
Coupled with the fact that Venti is the Anemo Archon.
Mobilizing Mondstadt's Ley Lines, he quickly left Mondstadt territory.
However, once in Liyue, he no longer had this ability.
But they could still arrive within a day.
Passing through Stone Gate, Liyue's scenery, vastly different from Mondstadt's, came into view.
Golden plains, towering rocks, and lakes.
High mountains and plains were harmoniously interwoven, a truly delightful sight.
In the blink of an eye, the group flew past Wangshu Inn.
However, Venti's expression grew even more profound.
Noticing this, Diluc whispered:
"Is something wrong?"
Venti nodded slightly and stopped for a moment.
After a brief wait, his tone became serious.
"Something has happened..."
"Wangshu Inn is the territory of the old man's top general, the Three-Eyed Yakshas, Conqueror of Demons, Xiao."
"Logically, if we flew past Wangshu Inn, Xiao would definitely stop us..."
"Even the old man, with his petty nature, would immediately catch me and impose the Punishment of Stone Eating the moment I used Divine Power to arrive in Liyue."
"But..."
Venti didn't continue.
Everyone else understood.
Rex Lapis and Xiao might both be gone.
As for where they went...
Venti already had a guess in his heart.
After a moment of silence, Venti continued to summon Divine Power.
"Let's go!"
Unleashing his full power, Venti was bolstered by a raging wind.
He disregarded the Divine Pact, deeply worried that Zhongli was in trouble.
After all, he was his good friend, and among the original Seven Archons, only he and Zhongli remained.
Venti didn't want to lose his drinking buddy.
A dark green storm swept across the sky, and in just over ten minutes, they arrived at Luhua Pool from Wangshu Inn.
At this point, Venti stopped.
"Venti?"
Lumine asked cautiously, but Venti's expression relaxed, somewhat relieved.
"Some old friends have arrived, don't worry."
As his voice fell, several streaks of rainbow light rapidly approached from the horizon.
Leading them were a deer, a crane, and an old woman whose face was unclear.
Behind them followed seven other beings of various forms, or rather, Adepti...
"Barbatos, stop right there!"
A calm male voice rang out, and the immense Immortal Power of ten Adepti converged above the nine heavens, tearing through the clouds and dyeing the sky.
The intense mixture of Immortal Power and Elemental Power made everyone except Venti tense up.
The depth of Liyue's power also startled Jean and the others.
They had heard Liyue had Adepti, but never so many!
"Ehe! Long time no see, everyone, don't be so tense! I just came to visit the old man!"
Venti spread his hands innocently.
Madame Ping opposite them said softly:
"Barbatos, for a visit, you shouldn't need to do all this, should you? Do you still remember the Seven Archons' Pact?"
"If the Geo Archon knew you disregarded the contract and used the Anemo Archon's Divine Power in Liyue without permission, you would face the Punishment of Stone Eating."
Venti, unhurried, shrugged and said helplessly:
"Pingzi, you should understand that the old man has been unreachable and has been up to something big again."
"I just wanted to confirm if the old man was well."
Venti spoke truthfully, and the Adepti understood.
Given that Venti was an old friend of Zhongli's and had good relations with them, they decided to withdraw their Immortal Power.
Mountain Shaper turned to look at the other Adepti who had followed, telling them to return to their posts.
Soon, only the three, Mountain Shaper, Moon Carver, and Streetward Rambler remained.
Venti turned and introduced them to Jean and the others.
"These three are the old man's Adepti, the Three-Eyed Yakshas: Mountain Shaper, Moon Carver, and Streetward Rambler."
Jean and the others immediately bowed slightly.
"Greetings to the three Adepti."
The three Adepti nodded slightly.
"By the way, where's Cloud Retainer? Why isn't she with you?"
Venti pressed, asking another question.
Madame Ping chuckled and shook her head.
"Don't try to be clever. The Geo Archon and the others have very important things to do. There's no need to worry about their safety; they just aren't here temporarily."
Hearing this, Venti breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's good that the old man is fine. Really, making such a big move without a word, I almost thought he went to..."
Venti didn't finish his sentence, and Madame Ping and the others lightly chuckled, ignoring it.
"In any case, the Geo Archon is fine. You should disperse your Divine Power as soon as possible. The Geo Archon has always remembered the contract."
"Moreover, if the Geo Archon knew you released your Divine Power today, it would be troublesome."
Hearing Madame Ping say this, Venti scratched his head awkwardly but dispersed his Divine Power.
"How petty, the old man is really still thinking about that, huh..."
Mountain Shaper shook his head helplessly.
"To the Geo Archon, a contract is no small matter. If you don't wish for the Punishment of Stone Eating, you should leave quickly."
"Ehe!"
Venti spread his hands, grinning:
"Since I'm already here, I might as well plead with the old man. I haven't had a drink with him in so many years; I miss him dearly."
Madame Ping shook her head and smiled, speaking softly:
"If that's the case, we won't try to persuade you further. However, since you've come to Liyue, you must abide by the Geo Archon's rules."
"Within a thousand miles of Liyue Harbor, high-altitude flying is forbidden, so go down, or you'll trigger the Geo Archon's Divine Power left in Liyue."
Venti didn't refuse, but he paused and then asked:
"By the way, how's Xiao? How are his karmic debts?"
Hearing this, Madame Ping and Mountain Shaper exchanged glances, a relaxed smile on their faces.
"The Conqueror of Demons' karmic debts have been removed. Thank you for your concern."
"Karmic debts? Removed?!"
Lisa's eyes lit up.
Karmic debts, those were things no less severe than the curse on her.
If karmic debts could be removed, then her curse...
At this moment, Lisa was even more eager to go to Liyue Harbor.
"Xiao is better? That's great news."
Venti let out a long breath, teasingly remarking:
"I was really startled when I flew over Wangshu Inn and didn't see Xiao."
With that, Venti waved his hand in farewell.
"Then we'll be off for now. Later, I'll treat you all to drinks in Liyue Harbor!"
"You should still try to find a way to appease the Geo Archon regarding the altered contract."
Mountain Shaper laughed heartily and flapped his wings.
"In that case, farewell, Barbatos."
With that, the three transformed into streaks of rainbow light and dispersed.
Only Venti and the others remained there.
Gazing at the peaceful Liyue landscape, Diluc and the others secretly marveled.
Who would have thought that in this seemingly ordinary place, ten Adepti could appear in a flash?
Each of them was far stronger than Dvalin.
Even the three leading them were more powerful than the Demon God remnants in Wolvendom.
"Liyue... is truly a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers reside."
Diluc sighed with emotion, shaking his head.
"No wonder the Fatui, who run rampant across Teyvat, have to keep their heads down and suffer suppression..."
His tone was not without envy.
If Mondstadt also had such power reserves.
Forget merely driving out the Fatui, Diluc would dare to rally people to completely annihilate them.
Even if a Harbinger came, summoning an Adeptus would defeat them in minutes.
Can't beat them?
Then summon two!
However, in Diluc's heart, his own Anemo Archon wasn't entirely useless.
At least, he lived a long time and had strong connections.
With the God of War as a friend, and good relations with the Adepti, he thought that if Mondstadt were in danger, Rex Lapis wouldn't mind lending a hand.
Venti didn't seem to care about Diluc's thoughts, grinning as he led everyone to land.
"After all, during the Archon War, this was the most dangerous battlefield."
"The old man once had a Dragon King under him, five Great Yakshas, hundreds of Adepti, and even three or four Demon Gods followed him, plus his reputation as the God of War..."
"Even with many losses over the years, Liyue still has quite a few Adepti, you know."
"What you just saw wasn't all of them; many other Adepti are still traveling and cultivating across Teyvat."
"Ehe! But that's not what we need to worry about right now!"
Venti blinked, suddenly looking towards the Guili Plains in the distance.
"Such a strong aura from another world..."
Hearing him say this, everyone's attention also shifted there.
However, they couldn't see as far as Venti.
They only saw three Ruin Guards, dozens of Hilichurls, and even two Geovishap Hatchlings wandering around.
Jean frowned slightly.
"It seems Liyue isn't peaceful either... Since we've come here rashly, why don't we deal with these monsters first?"
Truthfully, Jean alone could deal with these enemies given some time.
But with enough people now, there was no need to go solo.
Everyone nodded, preparing to set off.
Suddenly, Venti stopped them, pointing with a grin at the trembling ground in the distance.
"No need, just enjoy the show now."
"Liyue... has really produced quite a few terrifying existences."
Hearing this, Jean and the others were puzzled and were about to ask when suddenly, a dazzling golden light flashed on the distant horizon.
Frowning slightly, they finally made out what it was.
It was a group of cavalry!
Their armor reflected the sunlight.
"What... is that!"
Jean looked on in shock at the Millelith Heavy Cavalry.
There were only five of them, but...
Their warhorses were entirely covered in iron armor, and the cavalrymen themselves were also clad in iron armor.
Their entire bodies were covered, with only their faces exposed.
As the warhorses galloped, the ground was pressed with row after row of large holes.
And following behind the cavalry were five Millelith soldiers in light armor.
Jean had never seen such outrageous cavalry. This scale of heavy cavalry, five men, seemed capable of easily overthrowing a hundred-man squad.
But...
"Those warhorses are problematic!"
Diluc's gaze was fiery, as if he had spotted a treasure.
"Their armor, and the warhorses' armor, weigh at least ten tons!"
"How can those warhorses endure that!"
However, everyone else was also in shock, and no one answered Diluc's question.
From a distance, the cavalrymen, seeing so many monsters, did not retreat.
Instead, their eyes gleamed with excitement.
The cavalry captain at the forefront raised his long spear.
"Brothers! What great news! It's been a long time since we've seen so many monsters!"
The other four Millelith soldiers also cheered, as if they had found some treasure.
"I'll only say this once! In one charge, whatever you can hit is your own skill!"
"All prepare!"
As his voice fell, the five Millelith soldiers uniformly lowered their heads, their long spears fastened to their warhorses with strange buckles.
"Charge!"
There was no ancient horn, no superfluous sounds.
The ground was shattered by the iron hooves of the warhorses.
Visibly, the already fast-running warhorses suddenly accelerated.
With an unparalleled momentum, they charged directly towards the Hilichurls in a short burst.
Thus, to Jean and the others' dumbfounded surprise...
The Hilichurl encampments, watchtowers, and fortifications...
Even the Hilichurls and Hilichurl Chieftains themselves were sent flying by the warhorses.
In the sky, it started to rain Hilichurls.
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