As Jiang Yan stepped out of the portal, what greeted his eyes was a land shrouded in absolute darkness.
"So this… is the Abyss?"
He continuously surveyed his surroundings.
Although the lighting here was extremely dim, Jiang Yan was hardly affected thanks to his cosmic perception and Observation Haki.
"You've returned, Violet Thunder."
A low, hoarse voice sounded beside him.
Although the language spoken wasn't one used in Teyvat, Jiang Yan—having browsed through Violet Thunder's memories—understood it perfectly.
"Did you complete your task, Frostfall?"
Relying on the Electro Abyss Lector's memories, Jiang Yan immediately identified the creature who spoke and answered in Violet Thunder's tone.
"That's none of your concern."
Frostfall snorted coldly and replied flatly.
"Rather, before you left, you said that someone from the Geo Nation had meddled with matters hidden beneath the underground kingdom. Has it been resolved?"
"Just a group of ants who strayed in by mistake,"
Jiang Yan replied indifferently.
To be honest, he felt his tone imitation was spot-on.
Frostfall noticed nothing amiss. As Abyss Lectors, they all seemed to speak with the same kind of lofty arrogance.
In short—an extremely punchable tone.
Coincidentally, Jiang Yan quite enjoyed speaking to them that way.
"The Baptizer is waiting for you to report this matter. Come with me."
Frostfall said this to Jiang Yan, then turned and walked away.
"The Baptizer…"
Jiang Yan repeated silently in his mind.
The Abyss Baptizer—he knew that thing.
He had encountered it in version 3.6 in his previous life.
And honestly speaking, fighting it back then had been utterly nauseating.
Who in their right mind designed an enemy with three different elemental shields?!
Worse still, it kept rotating shields nonstop—disgusting to the extreme.
It was basically an Abyss Lector Pro Max edition.
Judging by Frostfall's attitude, this Baptizer was probably the superior of Abyss Lectors like them.
Tch. That was a bit troublesome.
Jiang Yan had thought that after disguising himself as an Abyss Lector, his status would be fairly high.
But this was fine too.
With the Abyss Baptizer's rank, Jiang Yan estimated that it should be considered a high-level figure within the Abyss.
Its position would surely be closer to the core of the Abyss itself.
But where exactly was this place located in relation to Teyvat?
Underground? Or… beyond the world itself?
Jiang Yan pondered continuously.
After all, even in Violet Thunder's memories, the location of the Abyss was nothing more than a coordinate.
Creatures like Frostfall, the Baptizer, and even the Violet Thunder Jiang Yan had eliminated all referred to themselves as beings of the Abyss—
So what exactly was the Abyss?
All of this required Jiang Yan to explore gradually from within.
"What are you thinking about?"
Seeing that Jiang Yan hadn't followed, Frostfall turned back, its tone indifferent.
"Nothing,"
Jiang Yan replied calmly and caught up.
Following Frostfall onward, Jiang Yan soon realized—
The place he had entered wasn't an open region at all.
It was a palace.
Looking at the massive structures around him, and the bizarre runes carved into them, Jiang Yan remained silent, carefully committing every symbol to memory.
Neither his past-life knowledge nor his experiences after descending into Teyvat included anything like these runes.
He had a strong intuition—
These symbols were definitely not something simple.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Frostfall stopped before a narrow gate.
Placing a hand on it, a low hum echoed out as faint light rippled across the door.
Jiang Yan watched this scene with curiosity.
As the gate opened, a wave of putrid stench rushed out from within.
Behind his mask, Jiang Yan frowned slightly.
So foul!
This smell was even more disgusting than the purple stones he'd seen earlier.
But no matter how uncomfortable it was, Jiang Yan endured it.
After all, he had already disguised himself this far—this wasn't the time to blow his cover.
He still planned to stir things up here using Violet Thunder's identity.
"Lord Baptizer, I've brought Violet Thunder."
Frostfall led Jiang Yan into the hall and knelt on one knee.
"Greetings, Lord Baptizer!"
Jiang Yan followed Frostfall's example and knelt as well.
The Baptizer stood quietly atop a high platform, seemingly in meditation.
Dark purple currents of energy flowed continuously around its body.
After Jiang Yan spoke, the Baptizer appeared to end its meditation, the dark purple energy sinking back into its form.
"Violet Thunder, what happened above?"
The Baptizer asked calmly.
"Reporting to my lord—nothing more than some mortals from the Geo Nation straying into forbidden ground,"
Jiang Yan answered in a low voice.
"Those rabble have already been eliminated by me."
"Well done. However, the Geo Archon among the Seven…"
The Baptizer paused.
"Forget it. The Lord once made it clear to us—among the Seven Nations of this era, the Geo Nation is the one we should avoid provoking for now."
"When the time is ripe, the Lord will personally turn the Geo Nation into a paradise of the Abyss."
"So this matter ends here."
The Baptizer spoke calmly.
Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes.
These people actually dared to set their sights on Liyue?!
And they were saying this right in front of him?!
Fine. Abyss—you've chosen the narrow road.
But why was the Abyss targeting Liyue in the first place?
In the original storyline of his previous life, there had been no mention of the Abyss coveting Liyue.
Moreover, the Baptizer had mentioned something else—
The Lord.
Even in Violet Thunder's memories, Jiang Yan hadn't seen any reference to this "Lord."
Clearly, Violet Thunder's rank hadn't been high enough to come into contact with whatever—or whoever—the "Lord" was.
Even the twins in the original plot were only referred to as the Abyss Prince or Princess.
Although his mind was filled with questions, now was obviously not the time to ask.
But now that Jiang Yan knew this…
Things had become interesting.
Heh heh heh.
No one could see the sinister smile hidden beneath Jiang Yan's mask as he slowly spoke:
"Yes, Lord Baptizer."
"Very well. You may withdraw."
"Yes!"
Frostfall and Jiang Yan bowed their heads in acknowledgment, then turned and exited the hall.
Just as they were about to leave, Jiang Yan's ears—hidden beneath the mask—twitched slightly.
"I thought it might've been the Geo Archon or his familiar who discovered that place…"
The Abyss Baptizer seemed to be muttering to itself.
Frostfall likely didn't hear it—but with his cosmic perception, Jiang Yan caught every word clearly.
It seemed this Abyss Baptizer was also wary of whatever lay deep within The Chasm.
No wonder—during the Cataclysm of Khaenri'ah, when Morax was absent from Liyue, all kinds of monsters emerged.
Especially in The Chasm, where countless Abyss creatures poured out from underground.
This was probably their doing as well.
Jiang Yan said nothing, merely smiling faintly as he withdrew together with Frostfall.
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