"Hahaha! I, Azhdaha, have returned! Damned humans! Tremble! I will slaughter you all and establish a kingdom of monsters." After breaking the seal, Azhdaha laughed towards the sky and declared.
However, Azhdaha didn't stay happy for long before becoming enraged. It saw its mortal enemy, the one who was the incarnation of the Geo element, whom people called the Geo Archon—Morax!
"Azhdaha, it has been thousands of years. I didn't expect you to still be so brutal after breaking the seal." Morax said expressionlessly.
Looking at Morax standing in the sky, Azhdaha said with eyes full of rage, "It is good that you are here. Watch me squash you."
Seeing that Morax was actually standing above it, Azhdaha jumped up directly, performing a "Mt. Tai Press" move, hoping to crush Morax into meat paste.
Don't let Azhdaha's chubby, clumsy appearance fool you; it was quite agile. Its belly, full of fat, wobbled due to the jump. It jumped twenty meters high, just enough to clear Morax's height.
"Boom!"
The earth shook continuously, and the ground kicked up thick dust. Under Azhdaha's jump and press, a giant crater appeared in the ground. The power was truly astonishing!
"Wahahaha, Morax is dead! I killed the legendary Geo Archon! What a joyous occasion today!" Azhdaha was very happy. It had seen Morax standing there motionless and then getting crushed! Under the pressure of its massive body, he was surely dead, with no chance of survival.
But it didn't stay happy for long before hearing a voice behind it.
"Azhdaha, why are you so enthusiastic the moment we meet? I have no grudges against you; isn't this a bit excessive?"
It was Morax's voice. Azhdaha was shocked. He wasn't dead! Well, that made sense. He was the Geo Archon, after all; if he could be taken out so easily, it would be too simple.
Morax's voice came from behind. Azhdaha immediately turned its massive body, raised its head, and stared fixedly at Morax, saying, "You have the nerve to say there are no grudges? You are the culprit who sealed me away for thousands of years."
"Sealing me is one thing, but you actually used an upside-down position to seal me, leaving my tail exposed above the earth and turning me into the Nantianmen's Dragon-Queller Tree. If you treat me like that, even if we had no feud, we would become mortal enemies."
"That was only because you wouldn't cooperate when I was sealing you, moving around constantly. In the end, I had no choice but to use that position to seal you." Morax felt no remorse; after all, it was Azhdaha's own fault.
Back then, Morax had accidentally sealed it upside down. Thinking it was already sealed, he figured it might as well spend the time reflecting on its mistakes in that position. But he hadn't expected that after thousands of years, Azhdaha would still be unrepentant, wanting to harm the world the moment it got out. No, it seemed he would have to seal it again.
"What, why aren't you speaking? Did I guess right? Are you embarrassed now? Just stand there and let me crush you to death; that would be a good way to atone for your sins." Seeing Morax standing motionless and not speaking, Azhdaha thought Morax realized his mistake and was regretting it.
"Please, stop dreaming in broad daylight. Who is going to be crushed to death? Since you are so brutal and want to harm the world, I have no choice but to seal you again." The Geo Archon said coldly.
"Fine! I am no longer the Azhdaha of the past. Look! My size is now three times larger than before. You are no match for me now. Die!" After saying this, Azhdaha charged towards Morax.
Watching Azhdaha, who was like a great mountain, Morax's eyes showed not a hint of panic. The extreme Geo power within him circulated frantically, his aura surging to its peak, and he immediately charged towards Azhdaha.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
The two collided fiercely, and an earth-shattering battle began.
...
The sun was bright, the sky was clear, and birds were chirping incessantly in the trees. Today was Illustrious's big day.
Looking at the Western-style groom's suit she was wearing, Illustrious didn't expect that in less than half a month, she would have married another wife. This truly made her overjoyed.
Today was a Western-style wedding held at the Liyue Cathedral, a branch of the Favonius Church, and her wife was, of course, Ganyu! They said Ganyu was the illegitimate daughter of the Geo Archon, which meant Ganyu was a princess now, and naturally, Ganyu's consort was her.
However, there was one thing Illustrious didn't understand: she heard the Geo Archon was an Eastern dragon, and Ganyu's mother was a Qilin. Two different species—how did they manage to give birth to Ganyu?
Many guests came that day, the most famous being six of the Liyue Qixing. As for why one was missing, that was a question for Ganyu.
To ensure the wedding went smoothly, Ganyu had simply tied the yuexing Keqing up at home.
However, the fact that Keqing could become the yuexing really surprised Illustrious. After all, Keqing had actually won the championship in the yuexing Competition. Her strength and talent were truly impressive. Keqing was indeed worthy of being her wife; she hadn't let her down.
It is worth mentioning that the officiating priest for this wedding was not a man, but a woman: the nun of the Cathedral of Favonius, Barbara.
Speaking of Barbara, Illustrious couldn't help but think of what happened the day before yesterday. That night, three Thieves wanted to steal the sky harp, and it just so happened that Barbara was on duty that night.
Barbara's strength was not low; she was a level 60 vision holder. But even so, she had almost died at the hands of these three Thieves.
Seeing that they couldn't kill Barbara quickly, one of the Thieves immediately told another to go directly to the basement to steal the sky harp, while they stayed behind to slowly hack Barbara to death.
The Thief nodded after hearing this and rushed into the basement.
Seeing someone wanting to enter the basement to steal the sky harp, Barbara naturally refused to allow it. But alas, two fists were no match for four hands; Barbara was quickly defeated and fell to the ground. Seeing this, one Thief immediately rushed over with a dagger, wanting to finish Barbara off with one strike.
Just as her life was in danger, Barbara immediately pulled out a token engraved with the character for "Light" and shouted, "Illustrious! Come save me!"
Upon receiving the distress signal from Barbara's token, Illustrious did not hesitate for a moment and immediately teleported to Barbara's side.
After seeing Barbara summon someone, the two Thieves became even more determined to kill her. Since they didn't want to fight two-on-two, they continued to brandish their blades, intent on finishing off the weakest one, Barbara.
Seeing that these two Thieves still wanted to commit violence even with her present, Illustrious clapped her hands once and struck the two dead.
Barbara tugged at Illustrious's clothes and said there were more Thieves in the basement. She wanted Illustrious to pursue them. After hearing this, Illustrious and Barbara immediately headed to the basement, but to their surprise, it was already empty, and the sky harp was nowhere to be found.
As the guardian of the sky harp, Barbara had failed in her duty, leading to the theft of the artifact left behind by the Anemo Archon, Barbatos, in the Cathedral of Favonius. If the Bishop were to find out about this, the minimum punishment for Barbara would be life imprisonment, and the maximum would be the death penalty.
To prevent Barbara from being punished, Illustrious brought her to her own home, letting her stay as a guest.
Illustrious believed that as long as Barbara was in her home, no one would dare touch her. After all, Barbara was her friend, and anyone who wanted to touch her would have to answer to the sword in her hand.
Illustrious even specifically asked Ganyu why she had fallen for her.
"Love at first sight!" Ganyu's answer was very straightforward, leaving Illustrious with no way to press further. After all, Ganyu's eyes were very sincere, which made Illustrious re-examine herself: "So, I'm this charming? I really didn't expect that!"
Holding Ganyu's slender hand, they walked into the church. As she walked, looking at how beautiful and moving Ganyu looked in her wedding dress, Illustrious couldn't help but say to her, "Ganyu, you are so beautiful today!"
Upon hearing Illustrious's praise, Ganyu first blushed, then looked at Illustrious, who was wearing a Western-style wedding suit, and said, "Darling, you look very handsome today too!"
"Really? I'm so happy. It was worth all the time I spent getting ready, though it's a bit tight around the chest," Illustrious said to Ganyu, pointing at her chest.
"Who told you not to wear a wedding dress? I was really looking forward to seeing you in one," Ganyu said, looking a bit disappointed.
Illustrious shook her head and said with a determined look, "This is my last bit of persistence; please don't take it away from me."
Ganyu expressed that she couldn't understand, but since Illustrious insisted, she could only give up on making her wear a wedding dress.
Arriving before the priest, Barbara, who had been waiting for a long time, took a deep breath and began to recite the vows to Illustrious and Ganyu: "Illustrious, do you take Ganyu to be your..."
Before Barbara could finish, she suddenly knelt on the ground, unable to move. Illustrious quickly checked and discovered that it wasn't just Barbara; all the surrounding guests, except for Ganyu and the Liyue Qixing, were lying on the ground like dead fish, unable to move even a single muscle.
"This is the pressure of a deity's aura. Who is coming here, being so arrogant? Do you really think I don't exist?" Illustrious unleashed an aura no weaker than a deity's to counter the stranger's pressure, which finally allowed those lying on the ground to move their bodies.
"I am the Tsaritsa. I have come here for only one goal, and that is that I do not approve of this marriage! Illustrious, return with me to Snezhnaya immediately, or I will surely trample Liyue." A girl's voice, echoing from the sky, resounded in the church.
Upon hearing that it was the Tsaritsa, the surrounding crowd began to discuss it in hushed tones.
"I knew Snezhnaya wouldn't be dismissed so easily. Now it seems the Tsaritsa has come with ill intent."
"What are you afraid of? Snezhnaya has the Tsaritsa, but doesn't our Liyue have the Geo Archon? Why worry?"
"You don't know. The day before yesterday, Azhdaha was about to break the seal. To protect the human world from harm, the Geo Archon has already gone to suppress it."
"What! Doesn't that mean no one can defeat the Tsaritsa? This Tsaritsa is truly despicable, specifically choosing this moment to attack Liyue. Is Liyue going to be destroyed by the Tsaritsa today?"
"There's no need to worry about that. I heard that Princess Ganyu's consort, Illustrious, is a gnosis holder. As long as Illustrious is here, our Liyue will definitely be safe and sound."
When Illustrious heard that the Tsaritsa wanted to trample Liyue, she immediately took off from the ground and flew toward the Tsaritsa. Before leaving, she said to Ganyu, "Wait for me here; I'll be back soon."
Ganyu shouted at Illustrious's retreating figure, "Be careful! That Tsaritsa is very powerful. You must come back alive! I don't want to be a widow, do you hear me!"
In the air, Illustrious turned her head and shouted back to Ganyu, "Don't worry! I'm not that easy to kill!"
After saying this, she immediately flew at high speed, turning into an icy stream of light as she headed toward the Tsaritsa's location.
On the top of a mountain not far from Liyue, the Tsaritsa waited quietly for Illustrious's arrival.
"Thud!"
While flying at high speed, Illustrious suddenly slowed down, then slowly landed on the top of another mountain to confront the Tsaritsa in the distance.
As soon as they met, they both unleashed powerful auras. The two auras collided fiercely like meteorites, splashing out monstrous energy ripples.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
The earth shook and the heavens swayed. Thick, dark clouds formed rapidly, and fierce winds blew incessantly. The clouds above the two were split in half, space was shattering, and countless bolts of lightning were raging.
As the saying goes, when gods fight, mortals suffer!
The animals below all scrambled to run away, wanting to get far away from this terrifying place, lest they be buried here.
Neither aura would yield to the other. Both sides devoured each other, bit by bit. Finally, in this struggle, the Tsaritsa and Illustrious ceased their clash of auras, and the colliding forces, lacking further momentum, directly dissipated in mid-air.
The surrounding anomalies also slowly returned to normal because the two had stopped.
Looking at Illustrious on the opposite mountain, the Tsaritsa spoke first: "So you are Illustrious! Your strength is quite good, but compared to me, you are still a little bit lacking."
"Not at all! This is just the Tsaritsa showing mercy. My skills are merely amateur; how would I dare to show off in front of you?" Illustrious said very modestly.
"Neither arrogant nor impetuous; you truly are a gnosis holder. Alright! I won't exchange pleasantries with you anymore. I'll get straight to the point: I want you to leave Liyue and come to Snezhnaya to be my Empress."
"Empress of Snezhnaya? What are the benefits of being Empress?" Illustrious said with a very calm expression.
"If you become my Empress, you can have three major benefits!" Seeing Illustrious's calm attitude, the Tsaritsa assumed she didn't know the benefits, so she enumerated them for her. "The first benefit: if you become my Empress, you will be the master of my harem. You can manage my concubines and make them obey you."
Upon hearing this first benefit, a glimmer of fluctuation flashed in Illustrious's eyes. She thought to herself: "If I could become the Empress of Snezhnaya, wouldn't I be able to do whatever I want with those young and beautiful concubines?"
"No, what am I thinking? How could you be worthy of Keqing and Ganyu like this? Why am I thinking this way? Right, it's definitely not because I'm lecherous, but because this is for Liyue; I'm only thinking this way so I can cuckold the Tsaritsa."
Thinking this way, Illustrious felt much better. She said seriously, "Is that it? The first benefit isn't very good, is it? Having us help you manage the harem—wouldn't that mean we'd be working for you for free? No, no, I'm very lazy; I just want to be a salted fish."
Seeing a flash of struggle in Illustrious's eyes, the Tsaritsa couldn't help but feel a pity; it seemed the first benefit wasn't enough to move Illustrious! She continued, "I heard that when you engage in intercourse with your wife Keqing, your gnosis drives the elemental flow of your wife's vision, allowing her to level up from level 45 to level 100."
"Your gnosis is truly amazing! I do it with my concubines every day, but I've never seen them level up, yet your gnosis can make those you engage with level up directly. It seems your gnosis is very special!"
Upon hearing what the Tsaritsa said, Illustrious was shocked. What? Her gnosis had the function of helping others level up? Why didn't she know that? No wonder Keqing and Ganyu were always pulling her to do it; so that was the reason!
Illustrious suddenly felt like she was covered in labels identifying her as a "leveling tool." What the hell was this? How could she have this function? Little Yellow Chicken, come out here; let me see how I can beat you to death.
She shouted for the Little Yellow Chicken in her heart, but the Little Yellow Chicken didn't even pay her any mind. It was in the middle of its cultivation to transform from a chicken into a phoenix; what time did it have to pay attention to Illustrious's moaning about nothing?
The Myriad Worlds Lottery Draw was something she had drawn herself, and it couldn't tamper with the lottery. If it could, it would have long ago made this shameless thing only draw visions!
As for Illustrious saying she was a tool, how tragic! Little Yellow's eyes were full of disdain! You can do it with two great beauties every day; isn't that pretty good? The Little Yellow Chicken hated those who took advantage and then acted like they were suffering. Hmph! And she dared to call me a dead chicken! Fine! In the next world, let's see how I make things difficult for you!
Tch! This dead chicken is really too bad. After doing something like this, it actually acts like a turtle hiding in its shell. You could at least come out and apologize! Of course, if you could give some compensation, that would be even better. Illustrious's requirements weren't high; Ganyu just happened to need a good weapon. Just give her a bow of the same level as the skyward blade, and that would be fine. That shouldn't be too much to ask, right?
The Tsaritsa saw that Illustrious did not react at all, and her face remained very calm. Did Illustrious not know how wonderful a thing it was that her gnosis possessed this function?
If the Tsaritsa had this function that allowed people to level up, she would definitely do it with her consorts every day. It would not take long before she could create a large group of level 100 vision holders. At that time, if Heavenly Principles wanted to destroy Snezhnaya, she could use this force to fight against it.
"It seems you do not quite understand the mysteries behind your own gnosis's function yet! No matter, as long as you become my empress, I will help you unearth it and let you see its effects."
"Oh! Then continue with the second benefit!" Illustrious said, not very interested.
"Then let me tell you about the second benefit! This benefit is one that can only be enjoyed if your gnosis possesses the function to help people level up." The Tsaritsa nodded and said to Illustrious: "You can pick any girl you like in my country to be your wife, provided that the girl you pick has a vision."
Illustrious's face became excited. Being able to choose any girl in the country as a wife, did that not mean she could start a harem? However, Illustrious asked with confusion: "Why must the girl possess a vision?"
"That is because vision holders possess more beautiful appearances than ordinary people. You would not want to pick some ordinary people, would you!" The Tsaritsa answered with a very serious look in her eyes.
"But am I not supposed to be your empress? If I choose wives at will, would that not be unfair to you? You can actually tolerate this?" Illustrious was very confused about the Tsaritsa wanting to be cheated on.
"Not at all, I am a very generous person!" The Tsaritsa said this on the surface, but inwardly she could not help but think: Idiot! You are my empress, so by then, your women will be my women too.
Seeing that Illustrious was a bit swayed, the Tsaritsa pushed harder: "Let me tell you about the third benefit! After you hear this, you will definitely be willing to become my empress."
"Eh! Really? Alright! Since you are so confident, then I will listen." Illustrious said with some interest.
The Tsaritsa cleared her throat and said in a very serious tone: "The third benefit is that I can join forces with you to capture the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, and then send her to your room at night. By then, you can do whatever you want with her."
"Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, what is that thing? Can it be eaten?" Illustrious asked with curiosity.
"This cannot be eaten. No, wait! She can be eaten, but you can only eat the bottom part." The Tsaritsa gave an expression that said, 'You know what I mean.'
"Why can you say such lewd things with a straight face?" You are the Tsaritsa! Where is your integrity? Illustrious said in shock!
"This is just a small matter! I have seen countless flowers; what pistil have I not smelled or tasted? As long as you become my empress, there will be even more benefits." The Tsaritsa stared at Illustrious and said: "Alright, I have stated so many benefits, so what is your answer?"
"After hearing you finish the three major benefits, it is indeed impossible to refuse. Alright then! I will tell you my choice!" Illustrious said slowly: "My answer is—"
The Tsaritsa's mood was lifted by Illustrious: She is agreeing to be my empress, right! That is right! She will definitely agree! As long as she is not an idiot, she will definitely choose to agree.
"Refuse!" Illustrious said very coldly.
"What! She did not agree at the end!" The Tsaritsa was happy, but then carefully recalled Illustrious's words. "Wait! You said refuse! Say it again, I did not hear clearly just now, say it one more time."
"It seems your ears are not working! Then I will say it again. I, Illustrious, will never be another person's possession. I belong to myself, not to others. Your eyes are full of possessiveness, while Keqing and Ganyu's eyes look at me as a lover. They treat me as an equal. Compared to you, I prefer Keqing and Ganyu, so I will not be your empress!" Illustrious said with a serious expression.
"Hehehe! I did not expect you to see through me even though I hid it so deeply. I must say I am impressed. That is right, the benefits I mentioned were actually just to deceive you." The Tsaritsa said frankly.
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