Arriving simultaneously with Miyashiro's taunt were four gigantic wooden hands that burst from underground, rapidly reaching towards Apep's location with astonishing momentum.
[Wood Release: Hotei Technique]!
Apep's expression hardened, and he directly swung his dragon tail. Even a slight movement of his mountain-like body possessed the power to make heaven and earth tremble, let alone the furious sweep of Apep's dragon tail.
Apep's dragon tail had already produced a violent sonic boom during its sweep. The next moment, in the instant of impact, the four wooden hands were directly shattered by his dragon tail.
[Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence]!
This ninjutsu, which Miyashiro had always treated as a reforestation technique, finally unleashed its reputation as an offensive ninjutsu.
Countless trees burst from the ground where Apep stood, instantly coiling around Apep's dragon body, madly absorbing Dendro elemental power from within Apep to grow vigorously. An extremely lush forest grew upon Apep's massive dragon body.
It must be said, Apep truly lived up to his name as the First Dendro Dragon. The Dendro elemental power accumulated in his body for nearly ten thousand years was even more profound than Lesser Lord Kusanali's own.
The Deep Forest Emergence that Miyashiro unleashed hardly consumed any Chakra afterwards, as the trees continued to grow wildly on their own.
But very quickly, Miyashiro noticed something was amiss. The trees entwined around Apep's body, while growing vigorously, began to wither rapidly, like a fleeting ephemera, and then immediately merged into Apep's body.
Miyashiro could sense that the Deep Forest Emergence, which was supposed to absorb the opponent's energy, was instead being absorbed by Apep. Not only the trees Miyashiro generated, but even the Chakra used to cast Deep Forest Emergence was taken in by him.
Seeing this, Miyashiro's expression grew serious. As expected of the First Dendro Dragon, he could even make his proud Wood Release falter.
Apep: "Human! You dare to use Dendro elemental power against me in my presence? I don't know whether to call you bold or foolish!"
Miyashiro snorted: "Hmph, I originally thought the reason this place was far more barren than a typical Desert was the Skyfrost Nail's doing. Now it seems you also played a part, didn't you?
As a human, I am working hard to improve the Desert's environment, turning the Desert into a forest, while you, as Sumeru's Dendro Dragon, instead turn the forest back into a Desert. It seems I was right; I should call you the Desert Dragon."
The previous probing made Apep look at Miyashiro not only without contempt but with an added hostility, because when he absorbed the trees entwined around him, he sensed an energy he had never seen before—cold, yet not evil.
Apep could confirm that this was not a power from Teyvat itself, but it was also not as dangerous and strange as the dark power brought back by the Dragon King.
This human in front of him is problematic!
And Apep hated nothing more than outsiders like the Heavenly Principles.
Apep was, after all, an ancient dragon who had lived for nearly ten thousand years and had suffered many major setbacks during that time. His temperament was naturally not comparable to those Dragon Lizards who would explode at the slightest provocation. If he were truly a hot-tempered ancient dragon, he would have probably died in one of the past upheavals long ago.
To achieve his revenge against the Heavenly Principles and the glory of the Dragon Race's revival, he could continue to bide his time.
Apep: "Human, Buer, I have given the most fertile regions of Sumeru for you humans to live in, willingly confining myself beneath this vast expanse of yellow sand. We mind our own business, so why do you come to provoke me today? What is your purpose?"
Nahida: "We are here to save you, Apep."
Apep snorted in response: "Save me? Haha, ridiculous! I do not need saving, especially not from you, Buer.
You are like Amun, existing for only a fleeting moment, yet you rely on the divine light from above, claiming to be the lord of this place. You should look more at your future; in the end, you will also follow Amun's footsteps and repeat his mistakes."
Nahida looked at Apep's massive body and felt no majesty or dominance. On the contrary, in Nahida's perception, Apep was like an old dragon on the verge of dying from illness, making his final stubborn stand.
Nahida sighed and said: "I know you hate gods and humans, but you are very weak. Why can't you temporarily put aside this hatred?"
Apep: "Temporarily put aside... Haha, I never thought Buer, who prides herself as the God of Wisdom, would say such foolish words. The world of the Dragon Race was forcibly taken by the Heavenly Principles. How can such a deep-seated hatred be reconciled by merely 'temporarily putting it aside'?
I am a giant dragon who has always aimed to destroy Sumeru and The Seven Nations as my goal of revenge!"
Miyashiro, who was on the side, picked his ears and sneered: "Hey, hey, hey, Apep, I can't pretend I didn't hear what you just said. You want to destroy Sumeru, then destroy Sumeru. Sumeru was originally your territory, and there's a clear target for revenge, I don't object to that. But what did Inazuma do to you to become your target?
Furthermore, if you want revenge, you should go find the Heavenly Principles. He was the one who took the world that originally belonged to the Dragon Race and gave it to humans to live and reside in.
Oh, I understand. You're bullying the weak and fearing the strong. You can't beat the Heavenly Principles, so you can only vent your anger on weak humans. Is this your proud Dragon Race? It seems you're far inferior compared to Azhdaha and Dvalin!"
When Apep heard this, even with his excellent self-control, he couldn't endure Miyashiro's provocation. He said furiously: "Shut up, human! Don't lump me in with those ungrateful dragons. I am not like those ancient dragons who compromised with you!
They are the shame of the Dragon Race, having forgotten the hatred of having their world taken away, shamelessly becoming the running dogs of the gods!"
Miyashiro showed a playful smile and asked: "Oh? Is that so?"
Miyashiro began to form hand seals: Boar, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Ram. Then he slammed his hand down on the ground, and a series of strange spell marks appeared on the ground. A middle-aged man, who was currently sipping tea, abruptly appeared before Miyashiro.
At the same time, far away in Liyue's Heyu Tea House, the waiter responsible for serving guests in the private rooms heard a strange sound. He turned around and saw that Zhong Yuan, Master Zhong, who had just ordered a pile of tea and snacks and was enjoying tea and listening to stories, had suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.
Terrified, he quickly went to report to the boss, saying: "Boss, someone skipped out on the bill!"
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