After returning from the Sword Demon God Qingxu's domain, Aether had already mastered everything he was meant to learn.
With nothing particularly urgent left to do, he promptly slipped back into his carefree, laid-back lifestyle.
From time to time, he pestered Morax into playing board games with him.
As usual, it didn't take long before Morax completely figured out Aether's routine, and the outcome was obvious.
Aether suffered consecutive defeats.
Hmph. Aether was thoroughly unconvinced.
"Come again! Be my opponent once more—this round I'll definitely win!"
"Even if a god stands before me, I'll still defeat him by half a point!"
"Morax, take this!"
Aether pinched a white piece between his index and middle fingers and slammed it firmly onto the board.
In the next instant, a bolt of lightning burst from the white piece, streaking across the board like a chain reaction and blasting every black piece into fragments.
Morax rubbed his forehead in helpless resignation.
This painfully familiar scene again…
"This round, I win," Aether declared with a grin.
Morax: "..."
If I say you didn't, are you going to say, Do you understand this game, or do I?
Under Aether's daily campaign of shameless idling and harassment, Morax could no longer endure it and repeatedly left Liyue to visit the adepti in Jueyun Karst.
Aether could only spread his hands helplessly.
Wasn't he just dragging Morax into playing a few harmless games lately—chess, gomoku, military chess, Monopoly, poker, mahjong… and a few other leisure activities?
He looked entirely innocent.
After all, now that he was a demon god with endless years ahead of him, if he didn't find ways to amuse himself, wouldn't he be bored to death?
Keep bottling it up, and he might turn into an old fossil like Zhongli one day.
As time continued to flow, the wheat in the fields gradually turned golden. The foliage above the potato and sweet potato fields grew lush and vigorous, all thanks to the careful tending of Liyue's people.
A sturdy man named Li arrived at his own field, holding the booklet the Feather God had given them, comparing the illustrations to the state of his crops.
The potatoes in the field looked ready for harvest—but since this was his first time growing such a plant, he wasn't entirely certain.
So he took out the booklet to double-check.
This Planting manual was a divine object bestowed by the Feather God. Li had guarded it carefully these days, afraid even the slightest damage might occur, treating every movement with caution.
"Should be ready for harvest… right?" Li muttered uncertainly.
But whether they were ready or not, all he had to do was dig one up and see.
He stepped into the field, swung his hoe, and unearthed a potato plant. Bending down, he grabbed the vine and shook the soil loose.
Seeing the five plump potatoes clustered beneath, his face immediately split into a broad grin.
Before planting, they had secretly tasted potatoes and sweet potatoes a little.
Not because they doubted the Feather God's words—
They were simply curious.
"Hahaha, it's real! One, two, three, four, five—five in total!"
"This one has even more—seven!?"
Standing in the field, admiring the fruits of his labor, Li could barely stop smiling.
Joy was contagious.
Soon, all of Liyue was immersed in this same happiness.
Hmm? The harvest has begun?
Aether was lounging casually in the pavilion. From there, the view was excellent, allowing him to overlook nearly all of Liyue.
He naturally saw the busy figures working in the distant fields.
Smiles filled their faces as they tirelessly harvested the crops.
Judging by the timing, it was indeed when these crops should be ripening.
Autumn harvest season had arrived.
"Morax! Morax!"
"The seeds planted in spring have been harvested already. Let's go take a look."
Aether went to Morax's room and found him reading something etched onto a stone tablet.
So the spring crops had already matured?
"Mm. No reason not to," Morax replied.
He also wanted to see whether the seeds Aether had manifested could truly sustain Liyue's people for an entire year.
The two then stepped out of the Liyu Palace together.
The streets of Liyue were nearly empty—everyone had gone to the fields.
Beyond harvesting, people were even more curious about the actual yield.
The Feather God had said that once harvested, these crops could sustain all of Liyue for an entire year.
"Lord Geo! Lord Feather!"
When Aether and Morax reached the fields, they were far too conspicuous and were immediately recognized by the crowd.
People paused their work and gathered around them.
Seeing this, Aether quickly said, "The Geo God and I are only here to observe the harvest. There's no need to gather around. Please continue working."
Hearing that the two gods were here simply to inspect the yield, smiles instantly spread across the crowd.
"Lord Geo! Lord Feather!"
"Thanks to your blessings, the harvest is especially bountiful. If we store it properly, it'll last us a very long time."
"Yes! Lord Feather, if we ration carefully, it could even last two years!"
"All thanks to the divine seeds bestowed by the Feather God!"
Praise filled Aether and Morax's ears from every direction.
Naturally, Aether felt quite pleased.
After all, who didn't enjoy being praised?
He smiled and said, "That's good to hear. Continue harvesting—don't delay the collection of the crops."
"Yes! We'll follow the Feather God's instructions!" the crowd answered in unison.
Sure enough, the people dispersed and returned to their respective fields, working diligently to harvest the crops and pile them neatly on the land.
Aether led Morax on a slow walk across the fields, casually inspecting nearly all of them.
The yields were consistent across the board.
At this pace, a rough estimate confirmed that the harvest would indeed be enough to sustain Liyue for over a year.
The only concern was whether the granaries could store that much.
Fortunately, crops like potatoes and sweet potatoes could be stored in cellars without much trouble.
They could even be processed into dried sweet potatoes and similar preserved foods for longer storage.
"Well?" Aether asked Morax, clearly fishing for praise.
The seeds he had manifested had been specially modified, allowing them to maintain excellent yields even in poor soil and with limited care.
That was definitely something worth taking credit for.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/MythArcStudio