Genshin Impact: Dionysus reigns supreme, all demons retreat!

Chapter 466 All good things must come to an end

Shen He had no interest in treasures and helped Qingyi take the energy cores back to Chenyin Cave with Master Ji.

Xu Ning, along with Kong, Zhiqiong, and the now-energetic Katarina, returned to the mechanism at the nameless ruins.

After everyone had touched the mechanism, they all realized that the place where the mechanism was located should have been a room before the castle collapsed.

The location opposite this mechanism should be the corner between two rooms. If there is a room there where treasure is stored, then the room's owner must have kept extremely secret and valuable items there.

Xu Ning led everyone back to the mechanism and placed the nine beads, which were surging with purple energy, into it one by one.

After all nine beads were embedded in the stone platform mechanism, the mechanism suddenly lit up.

Then the wall at the corner between the two rooms slowly rose up, revealing an extremely small room.

There were three huge treasure chests placed in the room, arranged in front of three walls.

But even the most greedy little white hair didn't glance at the three treasure chests; everyone's attention was focused on the blue-haired figure in the center of the small room.

Xu Ning took a step forward, "What are you doing here?"

The figure in blue turned around, revealing a smiling young face.

"Hey, what's so strange about that? After all, is there any place the wind can't reach?"

"The Sea of ​​Ashes".

Xu Ning impatiently gave the slacking-off Feng Shen a slap on the wrist and asked again, "I'm not asking how you got in, but why you're here. Also, what are you holding in your hand behind your back? Take it out!"

Wendy handed over a dirty apple with two bites in it from behind her, grinning, "The apple fell on the ground, and I couldn't bear to throw it away..."

Xu Ning reached out as if to take the apple, but instead grabbed Wendy's slender wrist and pulled him aside, revealing a desk behind him.

There was a yellowed letter on it, most of the contents of which had been defaced by an unknown substance.

Only the last two short lines of sentences remained unerased.

Xu Ning brought the letter close to his nose, and a faint scent of apple juice wafted from the paper.

Xu Ning glanced at Wendy, who was still smiling and clutching a dirty apple beside her, and asked, shaking the letter, "What does it say?"

Wendy shrugged and laughed, "I'm just a street performer, not an archaeologist. How could I possibly recognize something that looks like ancient writing?"

"Don't you recognize it?"

Xu Ning didn't believe this liar's words. "Don't you know how you spread the paste so evenly on an apple?"

Wendy noticed that the expressions on the faces of the people around her were rather unpleasant, so she dared not continue to play the fool with a joking smile.

"It's really not my fault. I just wanted to come in and see if there were any interesting poems or good stories, but then the apple I was holding accidentally fell to the ground, so I just grabbed a piece of paper from the table..."

Xu Ning could tell that this lazy guy wasn't telling the truth at all, and not wanting to waste any more time arguing with him, he turned around and called out to Katarina behind him.

What do these two sentences mean?

Katarina took it and softly read aloud the contents: "...The sky collapsed, and lies descended."

Like the Black Serpent Knight's last words, it was incoherent and nonsensical.

Xu Ning turned to look at Wendy, who seemed completely unaffected, and asked, "Wasn't it you who led us here?"

Wendy seemed to be taken aback and asked in surprise, "What shadow... guided you here?"

Xu Ning was just asking casually, but in his heart he was already certain that the figure who had led them here was the elusive Wendy.

But there's something I just can't understand. Since he led us here, why did he erase some information so we wouldn't see it?

That's why I asked the question, but Wendy's reaction was quite intriguing.

There was a shadow in this abyss that even the gods couldn't detect?

Xu Ning folded the stained letter in his hand, put it away, and then smiled at Paimon, saying, "It's time to open the treasure chest now."

There was nothing particularly remarkable in the treasure chest, and Xu Ning wasn't interested in what was inside anyway. He was simply looking at Wendy, quietly sorting through his gains from the Abyss over the past few days, pondering what information the Wind God might be hiding.

In the dying words of those Black Serpent Knights, Sky Island was portrayed as the ultimate villain.

Moreover, according to news from the Winter Kingdom, the Ice God was practically ready to raise his banner and point it straight to the sky.

Opposition to the rule of the Sky Isles is no secret, so what information is still worth hiding?

Unless it's about the truth of this world, unless it's about someone I must protect, unless it's about me...

Which of these three could it be?

Xu Ning stared at Wendy without saying a word, which made Wendy feel uneasy.

"Um, cough, Xu Ning, you see, I've almost found my inspiration, shouldn't I go back and focus on writing poetry, um..."

Xu Ning smiled faintly, "Ah, sure, you can go back to Chenyin Cave Heaven. We were just about to head home anyway."

Wendy was surprised that Xu Ning was so easy to talk to, and hesitated for a moment in fear. However, she couldn't resist Qianfeng's call in the end and slipped into the cave.

"As long as you're still locked up inside, I'm not afraid of not being able to get you to talk."

Xu Ning sneered inwardly, then turned and returned to the temporary mine tunnel with the others.

Jinwu was overjoyed to see that everyone had returned safely.

"I had already informed Mu Ning to ask him to request a troop from the Thousand Rock Army, but now that you're all back, I'll quickly relay that to them..."

Xu Ning stopped her, "Let them come, I happen to have some tasks that require people."

Xu Ning turned to the people around him and said, "It's over here, and it's time for us to part ways."

"Katarina, I will have a squad of Thousand Rock soldiers escort you to meet up with the Ninth Company. They should still be being questioned by Seven Stars, and they will send you back home soon."

Katarina knew this moment would come eventually, and nodded with a smile, "I always forgot to say thank you."

Xu Ning smiled and turned to look at the restless Zhiqiong.

"Zhiqiong, I will arrange for a group of Qianyan soldiers to assist you, carrying wine to clean up the remaining mud in the Layered Rock Abyss. Also, conduct a final search and confirmation of the missing persons. You must lead them to clean every corner here. After you are done, report to the General Affairs Department and find Miss Gan Yu. She will give you a new mission."

Although Zhiqiong was very dissatisfied with Xu Ning's willful arrangements, she was still willing to further develop the Layered Rock Abyss if possible. She reluctantly nodded, which was considered her agreement.

Xu Ning looked at Kong and Little White Hair one last time.

"Kong, let's say goodbye here as well. The last Thousand Rock soldiers, I'll trouble you to take them to the passage in Tiangong Gorge. After you leave, just have them guard that place. In a couple of days, someone will come to transfer them to their posts."

Kong nodded heavily, "Okay, leave it to me."

"However, it seems that in the three countries I've traveled to, Brother Xu was always with me or waiting for me on the road ahead. It felt like no matter what problems arose, Brother Xu would always appear to help us solve them. Now that I'm suddenly going to travel alone, I can't help but feel a little uneasy..."

Xu Ning burst into laughter.

"All good things must come to an end. I can't stay by your side forever and travel with you through the seven kingdoms. After all, you, Brother Xu, are a man with a career. I'm not that free!"

Two days later, Xu Ning sat at the tea table in the Rebirth Hall, staring blankly at the small teacup in front of him.

"Your Majesty, I am actually a person with a career, and I... am not really that free..."

Zhongli calmly put down his teacup. “I have already perished and it is inconvenient for me to appear. Buyer guards the World Tree and has sacrificed too much for this world. Now he is in some trouble. Liyue will not stand idly by. If you are unwilling to go, I will find someone else.”

Whom are we searching for? Ningguang? Or the Big Dipper?

Xu Ning held the teacup and said in a low voice, "Since Your Majesty has given the order, I, Xu Ning, should go through fire and water without hesitation, even at the cost of my life. However, I have no idea what to do on this journey. I humbly request Your Majesty's guidance."

Zhongli laughed and said, "There's no need to explain it. You'll know once you enter Sumeru."

Zhongli paused for a moment, then added, "Furthermore, Buyer is the god of wisdom; perhaps you can find the answers to many of your questions there."

Xu Ning was taken aback. "So many questions have answers?"

Zhongli nodded meaningfully, "There are answers to everything, as long as she's willing to tell you."

In the Jade Pavilion, Xu Ning put his arm around Ning Guang's slender waist, leaned on her shoulder, and asked, "Do you believe in omniscient gods? I mean the kind of omniscient that has no secrets to hide."

Ningguang chuckled. "I suppose so. After all, you told me about the ley lines. All our memories must return to the ley lines, and the World Tree is the convergence of all the ley lines. Since that God of Wisdom of Sumeru is guarding the World Tree, he can probably read all the memories in this world. Naturally, he would possess countless wisdom and be omniscient, which is only natural."

Xu Ning said somewhat unconvinced, "Then all she possesses are some memories of the past. As for things that haven't been generated yet, things that have never appeared, I'm afraid she'll have a hard time accessing them, for example..."

Xu Ning held Ning Guang's small, soft earlobe in her mouth, "For example... what position I'll be using tonight..."

Ningguang spat at Xu Ning in embarrassment and annoyance, "You can't be serious about talking about gods. Stop fooling around. Since the Emperor has sent you to Sumeru, and you have to go anyway, I might as well give you a task too."

Xu Ning feigned a pitiful wails, "What, are you afraid I'll come back too soon?"

Ningguang smiled and gently stroked Xu Ning's cheek. "How could that be? Maybe the things I arranged actually helped you."

Xu Ning knew that his confidante was always shrewd and resourceful, so he listened quietly to her instructions.

"It's a long story. I remember when you and Beidou first came to Liyue Harbor, we started to make money and establish ourselves here. Meanwhile, in Sumeru, a great merchant is rising in power."

"His title is Lord Sangmahabai, and he is known as the most well-connected and all-powerful super merchant in Tiwat..."

Xu Ning laughed in surprise, "So arrogant! You have the widest connections and know everything. Who gives you that confidence?"

Ningguang shook her head and said, "Don't laugh. At least a few of our Liyue caravans have had some contact with him, and he really deserves that title. So this time I'm thinking of organizing a large caravan to have a face-to-face meeting with him, so that your darling can send Dahuang's caravan there as soon as possible."

Xu Ning frowned, sensing that things weren't so simple.

"Then the entire caravan suddenly lost contact after entering Sumeru... and there has been no news since..."

"Completely no news? Didn't we have any intelligence gathering agents stationed in Sumeru?"

Ningguang shook her head. "You'll understand when you get there. It's very difficult to place people in Xumi. It's much faster to gather information directly through caravans. However, no news doesn't necessarily mean bad news. The second report said that not only did our caravans not come out after entering Xumi, but even the local caravans in Xumi haven't come out. It seems that the entire Xumi has been sealed off all at once."

Xu Ning suddenly remembered Kong and Paimon, who had already set off for Sumeru, and hurriedly asked, "How long ago did Sumeru become closed off?"

"The timing is inaccurate; the news only came in the last few days. In total, it's been about half a month. At least when Beidou returned, everything was normal there."

Xu Ning said with some worry, "Now I just hope that kid Kong doesn't move too fast, otherwise he might get caught up in it too."

Since things weren't going well at Sumeru, Xu Ning didn't dare linger too long at Jade Capital Terrace. He spent the night passionately entwined with Ningguang, and the next morning, Xu Ning teleported directly to the Cinnabar Cliff of the Layered Rock Abyss.

"What...person? Oh, it's Lord Xu Ning!"

When the Qianyan Army guarding the exit of Tiangong Gorge saw Xu Ning suddenly appear, they were caught off guard and almost thrust their spears out. Fortunately, they recognized the wine gourd in Xu Ning's hand and reined in their horses at the last minute!

After the last job transfer, an iron gate was installed here, and two more groups of guards were assigned to guard the area.

"Has anyone else passed through here recently?" Xu Ning asked casually.

Sergeant Qianyan immediately replied, "Since that blond guy and his pet left here last time, no one has passed through. However, according to the brothers on duty, they seem to have seen some treasure-hunting gangs. Perhaps they want to go to Sumeru to sell their stolen goods. We will bring them to justice."

Xu Ning was very satisfied with Qianyan Army's dedication to duty. "Open the gate, I'm going over there."

This passage doesn't seem to have formed naturally; in places with water, there are even wooden bridges built. However, perhaps over time, the foundations of the wooden bridges have rotted, and half of them have collapsed.

Xu Ning jumped over the ditch, and the scenery ahead was completely different.