"Children, I see you're all in such a hurry. If it's about the matter over at Guyun Stone Forest, there's no need to be so anxious..."
Madam Ping looked at everyone and slowly spoke:
"Although there were some unexpected incidents, the issues in the sea have temporarily been resolved."
"But the real crisis… is far from over."
Her words made everyone feel a sense of relief—but also increased their tension.
"The Geo Archon has also been tainted by that eerie power. After slaying the Vortex God, Osial, he went missing…"
"This is the matter we must pay the most attention to…"
Hearing Madam Ping's words, Su Yuan furrowed his brows slightly…
So, that figure suspected to be the Archon around the Dragon-Queller Tree really was Zhongli?
Based on the information available so far, it seems that the one who broke Osial's seal was Dottore, and then Dottore used eerie power to corrupt and control Osial…
If that's the case, isn't the Petrified Tree where Azhdaha is sealed?
Could it be that Dottore intended to break Azhdaha's seal and corrupt him too, but ended up being caught red-handed by Zhongli…?
In the end, Azhdaha's seal wasn't broken—instead, it was Zhongli who ended up being corrupted and controlled by the eerie power…
Then for some unknown reason, Zhongli fought with Osial, resulting in a bizarre clash between two eerily corrupted beings…
If that really is the case, then Zhongli is likely experiencing an external and incomplete form of eerie transformation.
As long as they can find him and find a way to exhaust the eerie energy within him, he should be able to return to normal.
Even though they currently had a ready combatant in Chongyun, the gap between Chongyun and Zhongli was still a bit too great…
Even if Zhongli's eerie transformation is incomplete, a fully corrupted Chongyun likely still wouldn't be his match…
In that case, could the only solution be to use powerful emotions to flush out the eerie power from Zhongli?
Among those in Liyue, Hu Tao is probably one of the people closest to Zhongli, right?
Maybe… like he had done earlier with Furina, they could stage another play—pretend to kill Hu Tao?
That way, Zhongli might be overwhelmed with intense sorrow, and that emotion could flush out the eerie energy corrupting him…
"Also, we suspect that among the Adepti of Liyue, someone has already been corrupted and controlled by the eerie force…"
"But we currently have no evidence or clues as to who that person might be…"
Madam Ping slowly spoke:
"Between Liyue Harbor and Guyun Stone Forest, someone has set up an illusionary barrier…"
"So from Liyue Harbor's vantage point, the direction of Guyun Stone Forest always appears calm and peaceful…"
"This was discovered by the Conqueror of Demons, Xiao, after the battle ended…"
"So that's what happened…"
Yelan nodded thoughtfully.
"No wonder I didn't hear a single thing, even though the Adepti have been fighting against the eerie forces these past few days…"
"Because Guyun Stone Forest has been used to suppress many Ancient Gods and is located in a remote area, there are no permanent residents there…"
"My informants have been watching the direction of Guyun Stone Forest from Liyue Harbor every day, yet they didn't notice anything unusual…"
"I've learned my lesson once again… seeing isn't always believing—sometimes you have to conduct an on-site investigation to be sure…"
"In any case, children, I will remain here… If you ever need anything, feel free to come and find me."
Madam Ping looked at everyone as she spoke.
"By the way! Madam Ping, I remember Xiangling is your disciple, right…"
Su Yuan turned to Madam Ping and asked:
"Guoba went missing yesterday, and this morning Xiangling went out to look for him. Since then, there's been no sign of her—no word, no trace. I'm starting to get really worried about her…"
"Xiangling and Guoba are missing too?"
After hearing Su Yuan's words, Madam Ping frowned slightly, then closed her eyes and calculated with her fingers before speaking:
"Fortunately, Xiangling is not in any life-threatening danger right now…"
"It's just that something seems to be interfering with her location—I can't determine exactly where she is…"
Although Su Yuan still didn't know where Xiangling was, hearing that she wasn't in danger for the time being still allowed him to breathe a small sigh of relief…
After that, the group bid farewell to Madam Ping and prepared to split up to handle different matters.
Ningguang, still uneasy about the situation at Guyun Stone Forest, decided she needed to go see it with her own eyes.
Xingqiu and Chongyun planned to head to the Dragon-Queller Tree in Minlin to see what was going on there, and also to visit the Adepti in Huaguang Stone Forest and Mt. Aozang to check if they were present.
Su Yuan and Yelan were going to Wangshu Inn, hoping to recruit Jiangxue, a high-level combatant, and check in on Xiao's current condition while they were at it.
.............
To be honest, Xiangling was actually really worried when Guoba went missing...
Although Guoba had run off a few times before—either to slack off or play around—he had never stayed out overnight.
Xiangling didn't know exactly where Guoba had gone, but deep down, she had a strong feeling he would be at the place where they first met…
It was a rainy day.
Xiangling had set out alone to pick some glazed lilies on Mt. Tianheng near Liyue Harbor.
Halfway there, exhausted and hungry, she stumbled into a cave to take shelter from the rain. Inside, she found a shrine…
Xiangling took two spicy meat buns from her bag—she ate one and left the other in front of the shrine, planning to eat it later.
But before she knew it, she had dozed off…
When she woke up, the spicy meat bun in front of the shrine was gone, and a mysterious creature was sitting beside her, staring at her…
That was how Xiangling and Guoba first met.
Following the path laid out by her memory, Xiangling returned to the same cave she had visited back then…
Even before she entered, she could already hear some kind of noise coming from within…
"Guoba! You really are here!"
Xiangling ran toward the cave, full of joy.
"Seriously, Guoba! Why didn't you come home last night? I was worried sick!"
But when she stepped inside the cave, Xiangling saw something that left her completely stunned…
Guoba was sitting right on the offering pedestal of the shrine, happily gnawing on something...
Xiangling was shocked—she considered herself a pretty creative chef, always experimenting with all sorts of rare and strange ingredients in her cooking…
But this particular "ingredient" was something she had never tried before—and had never even considered trying.
Guoba… seemed to be chewing on a human arm, the fingers still clearly visible…
And beside him lay a pile of ghastly white bones…
Xiangling's mind went completely blank.
Was Guoba… eating people?
At that moment, Guoba also seemed to notice Xiangling's presence…
He climbed down slowly from the shrine's offering platform and began walking toward her…
But… he still seemed to recognize Xiangling.
He showed no sign of wanting to hurt her.
Instead, he pulled the half-eaten arm from his mouth and held it out toward Xiangling, giving it a little shake—as if offering to share it with her, gesturing for her to eat it…
Staring at Guoba's blood-red, twisted face, Xiangling didn't understand what was happening—but she had a terrible feeling.
If she didn't eat it… she might not leave this cave alive.
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