The Death Archon knew very well in his heart that Phanes had already begun to suspect that someone among his avatars had betrayed him. After this battle ended, just to be safe, he would definitely eliminate all of the avatars.
He couldn't be bothered to investigate bit by bit; he would rather kill the innocent than let a single guilty person escape—this was Phanes's style of doing things. Anyway, as far as he was concerned, the four of them were merely clones he had condensed, and at worst, he could just condense them again.
Therefore, the Death Archon decided to strike first to gain the upper hand. Thus, while Phanes was personally sealing the forbidden knowledge, the Death Archon decisively made a move, instantly piercing through Phanes's heart as the terrifying power of the forbidden knowledge erupted within his body.
That's right. After thousands of years of research by the Scarlet King and the people of Khaenri'ah, they had already acquired a method to initially control the forbidden knowledge. Therefore, the Death Archon chose to get in touch with the forbidden knowledge.
Ever since the great battle with Nibelung, the Death Archon had never displayed his true strength in front of Phanes. In fact, under the dual blessings of absorbing Nibelung's death power and the power of the forbidden knowledge, the strength of this avatar of the Death Archon even surpassed that of Phanes, the original body.
Furthermore, he had waited for an optimal timing for a sneak attack. Enduring for thousands of years was precisely for this fatal strike.
Phanes, an ambitious lord who dominated Teyvat, was actually backlashed by his own avatar and died at the hands of his own avatar. How ironic that truly was.
This scene of the Death Archon assassinating the Heavenly Principles directly stunned the present archons and gods into gaping dumbfoundedly.
The Space Archon was the first to react. Utilizing her spatial transfer ability, she rapidly closed in, attempting to save her original body. However, the instant the Space Archon touched the physical body of the Death Archon, a trace of the forbidden knowledge's power quietly invaded her body, causing her expression to change drastically.
After delivering a fatal strike, the Death Archon used supreme might to seize Phanes's physical body. At the same time, he also captured the control rights to manipulate the other three archons, and at the very first instance, he exterminated the Time Archon, absorbing it back into his own body.
The Time Archon used time as its clearance and possessed unimaginable abilities; among them was the ability to reverse time. If the Time Archon were allowed to make a move, then all his plans of many years would go down the drain.
After the plan succeeded, the Death Archon, in the appearance of Phanes, said only one sentence to the archons and gods present: "Surrender, or death!"
Facing such a situation, the Life Archon, who valued life the most, very straightforwardly chose to surrender, whereas the Space Archon, whose body had been invaded by the forbidden knowledge, looked at the other party with a face full of hostility.
Seeing that the Space Archon still maintained a stubborn and unrepentant appearance, the Death Archon prepared to exterminate her. Right at this moment, a gleam of light appeared on the Space Archon's body, as if time was continuously retreating on her, and the Space Archon's appearance also became increasingly illusory, seeming as though her figure was becoming petite.
The Death Archon's expression changed, and he hurriedly made a move, but it was already too late. The Space Archon's signature black-and-red checkered space appeared, transferring her figure away. The next moment, a casual strike from the Death Archon instantly shattered the checkered space, producing a violent explosion.
Amidst the shockwaves of the explosion, a comatose blond-haired youth was blown away, heavily crashing onto the territory of Khaenri'ah. This person was precisely Aether, who had previously been captured by the Space Archon.
This unfamiliar blond-haired youth did not attract the attention of the Death Archon, because to him, that was merely an ant.
All of his attention at this moment was on the Space Archon. Seeing that the Space Archon's figure had disappeared into nothingness, even the control right to manipulate her life and death had vanished.
The Death Archon sneered, "Time, Space, the relationship between the two of you is truly inseparable. Oh well."
With a wave of his sleeve, the Death Archon completely suppressed the source of the forbidden knowledge that had yet to be fully sealed. Then, he coldly looked at the gods who had all along been acting as mere spectators and said, "All of you saw what just happened, right?"
When the Death Archon looked at the surviving Seven Archons, they instantly felt a tremendous pressure. They were completely not on the same tier of strength; if the Death Archon were willing, he could easily slaughter all these so-called Archons of Dust.
The majestic voice of the Death Archon came over: "From this moment on, I am the Heavenly Principles! I am the Primordial One who governs the Teyvat World! Those who submit to me shall prosper, and those who oppose me shall perish; this is the Heavenly Way! Do any of you have any objections?"
The surviving gods looked at each other in dismay. Mainly, everything that had just happened was far too shocking: the Death Archon, one of the Sustainers of Heavenly Principles, had actually successfully assassinated the Heavenly Principles, occupied the body of the Heavenly Principles, instantly killed the Time Archon, made the Life Archon surrender, and let the Space Archon escape.
Such a shocking event occurred within the span of a single minute; anyone who came would be left utterly dumbfounded.
Furthermore, under the current situation, this new Heavenly Principles was expecting them to take a side. To disagree meant instant death. Putting aside how massive the gap between oneself and the Heavenly Principles truly was, the emotional bond between oneself and the previous Heavenly Principles hadn't reached the point of risking one's life to avenge him.
Seeing that all the gods remained silent, the new Heavenly Principles said, "Good! All of you need not worry. I am not a bloodthirsty person either; furthermore, I still need all of you to govern your nations and rule over the myriad commoners."
"However, I do not wish for outsiders to know about the events that transpired today. Otherwise, I would not mind thoroughly purging every single god who knows of this matter, as well as the subjects of their respective nations."
These contradictory yet extremely threatening words from the Death Archon forced the gods to agree.
Subsequently, the new Heavenly Principles looked at everything before him and proclaimed before everyone: "The people of Khaenri'ah have overstepped the righteous law, imitating and replicating forbidden objects, causing widespread devastation and leaving the living in misery. Therefore, an eternal curse is cast upon the bloodline of Khaenri'ah, and it is hoped that all races can take this as a warning."
The content of the curse was to inflict an undying curse upon the people of Khaenri'ah with pure bloodlines, while casting a curse of transforming into monsters upon anyone possessing even a trace of the bloodline of Khaenri'ah.
As the master of the Teyvat World, the Heavenly Principles possessed the mighty strength of making words a reality. The moment his voice fell, countless surviving people of Khaenri'ah, amidst the terrified gazes of others, transformed into incomparably ugly humanoid monsters. Even if they were in other nations, even if your great-great-great-grandfather was from Khaenri'ah, the descendants would not escape without exception.
The race of the Hilichurl was born from this moment on.
Although this new Heavenly Principles continued the previous generation's attitude of rejecting the forbidden knowledge, the reason the previous Heavenly Principles denied this power was out of concern that someone would abuse it and thereby cause the destruction of the world. In contrast, the new Heavenly Principles's reason for denying this power was the belief that such a powerful force as the forbidden knowledge could only be controlled in his own hands.
There was an essential difference between the two.