The scenery rapidly receded as the Abyss Mage used Abyss power to create negative pressure in front of him, allowing the Hydro element behind him to propel him rapidly in the intended direction.
It was a simple application of the Serpent's Seven Transformations ability, but the Abyss Mage clearly didn't use it as well as Skirk; he could only simulate Hydro element power, and he couldn't fly as fast as Skirk.
He could feel a scorching sensation, like a Blazing Sun, accompanied by the might of a Cryo Vision, relentlessly pursuing him from behind, clinging to him like maggots to bone, like a shadow.
"Damn it, what kind of joke is this! How can such a physique exist! How can a mere Liyue Exorcist suppress our Abyss power just by relying on his physique!" the Hydro Abyss Mage cursed as he fled.
What he didn't know was that the Abyssal Power on them wasn't very strong, while the young man's physique behind him was akin to a gift from an adeptus; its inherent rank alone was enough to suppress them, which led to their continuous retreat.
Suddenly, the rapidly fleeing Abyss Mage felt his Vision begin to blur. No, it wasn't blurring, but rather his Hydro element shield was gradually being Frozen!
The Abyss Mage abruptly looked back and saw several ice-blue talismans shooting from behind. In mid-air, as the light of the magic array flowed, they suddenly transformed into countless giant ice swords!
The giant swords bore down, and the already Frozen shield shattered. The remaining Hydro element splashed all over him; the Abyss Mage's cleverness backfired, and he ended up freezing himself along with it.
Behind him, a young man dressed in a white short-sleeved top, cloth shoes, and refreshing ice-blue short hair slid to a stop not far away. It was the Liyue Exorcist with the pure yang body—Chongyun!
However, it should be noted that Chongyun's pure yang body is not like the common "female Pure Yin Physique suffers from cold, while male pure yang body allows anyone they touch to ascend" type seen in modern novels. His physique is essentially one that can restrain spirits and pollutants.
Coupled with his Exorcist Arts, this allows Chongyun to have a strong restraining effect when fighting Ghostly Entities and Abyss Creations.
It was precisely this physique that gave Chongyun the confidence to pursue the Abyss Mage alone.
Chongyun, wielding the Skyward Blade, delivered a powerful Shatter Attack that sent the Abyss Mage flying, then walked towards him step by step: "It's bad enough that the Treasure Hoarders have been rampant in Liyue recently, but I didn't expect the Monsters to also increase significantly. I was wondering where the problem was, but it turns out you Abyss Order members are behind it all!"
"Hehehehe..." The Abyss Mage struggled to support himself with his staff, and facing the approaching Chongyun, he unexpectedly let out a series of triumphant laughs: "You fell for it, exorcist. Did you think I was just fleeing aimlessly?
This is actually my escape route!"
He stood up, slamming the tip of his staff onto the ground. Instantly, countless black mists surged from the corrupted ley lines, and several Abyss-mimicking Mitachurls appeared behind Chongyun. By the time he realized something was wrong, two giant axes Burning with fierce flames were already crashing down towards him.
"Oh no!" Seeing the two giant axes about to strike him, Chongyun, unable to dodge in time, instinctively closed his eyes.
However, a chilling sensation spread, and the giant axes were halted in mid-air.
Chongyun slowly opened his eyes. Before him was an elegantly shaped Ice Construct, stopping the Mitachurl's giant axes with just two hands.
""Who is it?"" Chongyun and the Abyss Mage simultaneously questioned. They followed the traces left by the Ice Construct's movement and looked into the distance, where three people stood atop a towering rock!
These three, one male and two females, had a slightly shorter long-haired woman on the left with her right hand under her left rib and her left hand raised in front of her; on the right was a taller white-haired woman, bound with red ropes, her hands crossed, each holding an ice-blue talisman—presumably, the Ice Construct earlier was conjured by her.
And between the two women, a red-clad man stood with crossed legs and hands on his hips, looking quite alluring. However, he also carried a small white-haired girl on his back, which looked very strange.
As the three made their appearance, a powerful, unknown music began to play.
[Auntie, press down~]
The Abyss Mage was completely stunned.
Where did these people come from?
Little did he know, as soon as he discovered Chongyun was heading towards Qingxu Pool, he had already realized something was amiss.
Chongyun, Qingxu Pool, the Abyss Mage, and Shenhe coming to the rescue—wasn't that the content of Shenhe's Character PV?
Later, under Orion's persistent pleading, Skirk and Shenhe finally agreed to play this role-playing game with him.
Skirk's evaluation of it was: "Alright, this is very childish."
Returning to the present, gazing at the three figures Under the Sun high above, the Abyss Mage finally snapped back to reality after a long time. He didn't even question who they were, but casually threw out a few Hydro Orbs before running towards a high ground behind him.
This kid alone is already so strong; now there are three more obviously extraordinary people. Only a fool would waste time here!
However, shortly after he turned and started flying, he heard a male voice from ahead.
"Oh? Not only are you not running away, but you're coming towards me instead?"
"What?!" The Abyss Mage looked up; it was the man carrying the little girl from earlier!
The Abyss Mage was momentarily terrified, and what he was thinking involuntarily blurted out. But the man spoke even earlier than him: "Your next words will be:'So fast! Who are you?'"
"So fast! Who are you... Nani?!"
The Abyss Mage quickly retreated two steps, a trembling sound coming from his throat: "You, who exactly are you..."
"Heh." Orion chuckled lightly: "The corpse is speaking."
"Pfft!" The Abyss Mage suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. From beneath his mask and the holes for his eyes, blood gushed out. He didn't even know how he was hit.
Before he died, his Vision was already stained red with blood. He slowly fell, leaving only a final whisper: "My... great work... inverted hanged man... god... statue..."
"Oh?" Orion was somewhat surprised by this. Inverted Hanged Man God Statue? Wasn't that something the Abyss Order did in Dainsleif's Story Quest?
Does that mean they've been planning this since now? And the recent large number of Treasure Hoarders appearing wouldn't also be because of that storyline, something like "Sister Bao'er, Northern Strange Bird" and so on.
He remembered that the Strange Bird was a minor antagonist who appeared in Amber's Story Quest, so he shouldn't be anyone worth noting.
Hmm... perhaps I should ask the mysterious Hat Bro what he thinks about this.
[—Torre—!!!]
Torre? What Torre? Ultraman Tregear?
As everyone knows, Tregear is a character, so maybe Hat Bro is implying that the Strange Bird of the Treasure Hoarders is also a character. He never expected that the NPC Strange Bird, whom Orion looked down upon in his previous life, was already considered a character within the Treasure Hoarders.
Indeed, one should never judge a book by its cover.
Returning to Shenhe and Skirk, they had each dealt with one of the two Abyss Monsters. Chongyun also approached, unharmed, and bowed respectfully:
"Thank you, three—no, four, for your assistance. My name is Chongyun, may I ask your esteemed names, benefactors?"
Orion waved his hand: "It was merely helping where injustice was found; no need for esteemed names. I am Orion, this one on my back is Qiqi from Bubu Pharmacy, this cold one here is Shenhe, and the one next to her, who looks like her sister and is also cold, is Skirk."
Neither Skirk nor Shenhe were talkative people; they simply nodded in acknowledgment when Orion introduced them.
Chongyun, however, visibly froze upon hearing the name Shenhe. He tried to recall something and then looked up at Shenhe in astonishment: "Wait, Shenhe... that name, you, are you my aunt?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked at Orion and the seemingly sister-like Skirk in surprise: "Then you two are my uncle-in-law and Second Aunt?!"
Orion:...Orion slowly turned his head to Shenhe: "I didn't say that."
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