Still, for all the thrill of showing off, Bai Hao now needed one thing more than anything else—sleep.
Once the adrenaline of wielding divine power faded, the exhaustion hit him like a wave.
He needed to find an inn, fast.
"...Wait, do I even have money right now?"
He muttered to himself.
He'd spent every last Mora renting that little boat!
Was he really about to sleep under the stars tonight? No way!
Opening up his Teyvat Fan-Creation Livestream System dashboard, Bai Hao decided to check how much the "Mona Cow-Dance Clip" had earned—maybe it'd at least cover a night's lodging.
When he saw the number, though, he nearly dropped his phone.
Balance: 100,000,000 Mora.
At least a million people had bought it!
Bai Hao gasped. "Good lord—Teyvat's perverts really are on par with the ones back on Earth!"
He pressed his palms together reverently.
"I'm sorry, Mona. I used to lump you in with broke bums like Venti... but you—you're my personal cash goddess—no, my Mora ATM!"
After a few moments of emotional gratitude, Bai Hao sailed back toward Liyue, grinning like a fool.
Thanks to the tsunami stirred up earlier at Guyun Stone Forest, his boat practically surfed back to Liyue Harbor in less than fifteen minutes.
What he saw upon arrival, though, made his jaw drop.
The entire city of Liyue was in a full-scale evacuation.
The Millelith had locked down all ports and were interrogating suspicious individuals.
Meanwhile, countless citizens knelt on the docks, crying out—
"Blessed be the Lord of Geo!"
"The Lord has descended!"
It took all Bai Hao's wits just to pass through the checkpoints without blowing his cover.
He followed the crowd inland, blending into the evacuation.
Settling into a hired carriage, he leaned back in the seat, cupping his handsome face with both hands and sighing.
"Looks like I'd better be more careful next time I cast a big move…"
If scenes like this happened again, he'd be exposed sooner or later. Best to keep a low profile.
Then again…
If a full-power Heavenly Earthquake from Guyun Stone Forest could cause this kind of chaos…
What next? Should he go cast one from The Chasm?
"…Eh, I'll think about it later."
A short ride later, Bai Hao arrived at the Wangshu Inn, booked the finest suite, and promptly passed out face-first on the bed.
But for many others that night—sleep was out of the question.
Guyun Stone Forest.
After Bai Hao's "remodeling," the place was unrecognizable.
The once-lush vegetation was scorched and torn apart.
The "Guyun Stone Forest F4" lay dead on the spot.
Countless giant spears of golden Rock now stood like new mountain peaks piercing the sky.
Suddenly—
CLANG!
A teal blur descended from the heavens.
Xiao landed in a crouch, his Primordial Jade Winged-Spear humming in his grip. He rose to his feet and looked up at the tall black silhouette standing on the cliff.
"Lord Morax," Xiao said solemnly. "That starfall just now—was it your doing?"
Zhongli stood with arms crossed, overlooking the newly reforged landscape. His amber eyes were grave.
"No," he said slowly. "But whoever it was… replicated my power. By the time I arrived, they were already gone."
Xiao's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Someone copied your divine power?! Could it be—Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa…?"
That immense surge of Geo energy, that iconic rain of a thousand spears—
Only Azhdaha, the Geo Dragon King, could imitate such might!
But Azhdaha had been sealed beneath The mountains of Liyue for millennia.
If not him, then there was only one other possible suspect—the Ice Queen of Snezhnaya.
She had been advancing her secret projects for centuries, and the Fatui had grown bolder by the year.
Could she have actually succeeded in replicating the divine powers of the Seven Archons?
That was the equivalent of developing a nuclear weapon!
Zhongli shook his head.
"No. This has nothing to do with her. Whoever it was… whether by accident or design… actually reinforced the seal here."
His tone carried a hint of irony.
The seal of Guyun Stone Forest had been eroding for thousands of years—
Originally, it could have held for a few more centuries.
But lately, someone had been tampering with it, loosening the bindings bit by bit, clearly preparing to release Osial.
Zhongli had intended to turn a blind eye for now.
But then this mysterious stranger dropped one Heavenly Earthquake—and completely obliterated all that sabotage in one go.
How awkward for the culprit.
Xiao blinked. "Then what are your orders, my lord?"
Zhongli exhaled softly.
"Keep an eye out. Whoever they are… I'd like to have a proper conversation."
Xiao bowed deeply. "As you command, my lord."
Liyue Harbor — Northland Bank.
Tartaglia, the Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers, paced back and forth, frowning deeply.
"That much Geo energy over hundreds of kilometers—that power couldn't be faked."
Arms crossed, his expression turned grim.
"Could it be… the Geo Archon noticed my little operation and decided to issue a warning?"
La Signora had told him the Seven were weak—relics of the past.
Yet that one Heavenly Earthquake had nearly triggered an entire tectonic shift!
If such power were ever aimed directly at him…
Even with his Foul Legacy transformation at full strength, there was no escape from that strike.
His plan to unseal Osial—using Liyue Harbor's twenty million citizens as stakes—
was meant to force Morax and the Vortex God into mutual destruction, leaving him to reap the spoils.
But now… that plan was dust.
He'd have to start over.
"For Tonia, for Anton, for Her Majesty…"
Childe's eyes hardened, rekindled with fierce determination.
"No matter what—it's my mission to see this through."
Sumeru.
The nation was in turmoil.
After all, Mona was technically Sumeran by birth—and her recent, uh, "wide-eyed exposure" on global livestream had tanked Sumeru's public image.
Worse, some factions of the Gilded Brigade had twisted the scandal into a nationalist outcry,
calling it a "national disgrace" and rallying to restore the Red King's glory.
The Akademiya wasn't too worried—these agitators were gnats at best.
But like flies, they didn't have to bite you to be unbearable; just their buzzing was enough to drive one mad.
And so, the circus of internal politics in Sumeru continued.
Meanwhile, in Mondstadt, inside a shabby rental apartment—
Mona was standing at a crossroads in her life.
She had been ready to give up.
Her homeland had revoked her citizenship.
Her mentor had disowned her.
Her mother was—well—a lazy mutt.
She was tired. Ready to watch the world burn.
Then, out of nowhere, the editor-in-chief of the Steambird messaged her.
Mona had collaborated with them before,
writing a popular astrology advice column that once funded her research.
She assumed the message was a contract termination notice.
But instead, the editor said she wanted to start a new series,
centered entirely on Mona's personal journey.
Despite her public humiliation, Mona's fame had skyRocketed—
her name alone had caused every astrology magazine in Teyvat to sell out overnight.
Hate her or love her—she was traffic gold.
So instead of cutting ties, they wanted more collaboration, more exposure!
At first, Mona was going to refuse—she was busy hunting down that "misheard lyric demon."
But then the editor added one more line:
"One hundred million Mora upfront.
Another four hundred million on completion.
Plus thirty percent royalties."
Mona froze.
Then, without a word, she grabbed her pen and parchment, eyes blazing with newfound resolve.
"When's the deadline?"
This was her comeback moment.
With that kind of money, only a fool wouldn't take the deal!
Of course, she still planned to hunt down that damn audio troll.
That bastard wasn't escaping justice anytime soon!