Comparing Inazuma and Sumeru ultimately comes down to which is worse; if talking about good living, it has to be Liyue, Mondstadt, and Fontaine.
The people of these three countries live well because there are people who fight for their homes.
Fortunately, Sumeru also has such people, namely rangers like Tighnari.
The 'Withering' is very dangerous; even Vision holders can't resist it for too long, but they still go to handle it.
Those without a Vision will explode if they even glance at it! Get a little closer and they'll melt!
Although the Traveler doesn't have a Vision, she can use elemental power, so she's not afraid of the Withering and follows to help.
The Traveler helping isn't strange; along the way, she's done too many big things. Clearing the 'Withering' doesn't surprise everyone.
But everyone is very puzzled about one thing: this 'Withering' erodes life; those without a Vision can't approach.
So the question arises: the Traveler can use elemental power, so she's fine—that's understandable. But Paimon, what's your situation?
The Traveler helping naturally includes Paimon, so Paimon also follows into the 'Withering.'
Clearly unable to use elemental power, a little one with combat power only one-fifth of a boar's—why can she also resist the 'Withering's' erosion? What kind of effect is this?
The previous Paimon, besides being very cute and able to fly, didn't show any overt special traits on the surface; in fights, she's always the first to run.
But this time is different; this 'Withering' is an indiscriminate attacking 'field magic card,' so why is Paimon immune?
Everyone long ago saw that Paimon wasn't simple, but it seems she's even less simple than everyone thought—perhaps even less simple than that, more un-simple than imagined, exceeding everyone's imagination of un-simplicity.
Lumine naturally knew this long ago, but she doesn't mind, because she believes Paimon won't betray her.
The current Paimon probably really can't remember her identity; otherwise, she wouldn't hide it from her.
Yes, Lumine trusts Paimon very much, so even though the readers seeing this segment are suspecting Paimon, Lumine has never suspected, still sticking together with Paimon looking at the book.
Two illustrations in the book show the 'Withering's' effects.
The first illustration is the appearance of the 'Withering': a hazy gray expanse, plants withered, everywhere filled with a 'death' aura.
The second illustration is after the 'Withering' is cleared: lush and verdant, brimming with vitality, the scene of all things contending still vivid before the eyes, filled with 'life' aura.
This drastic change before and after is truly exaggerated; originally thought the plants in the 'Withering' would need time to recover, but unexpectedly, it's instant recovery.
It can only be said, ley lines and elemental power—very magical, right?
Magical, but not completely magical; magical halfway. The forest actually hasn't fully recovered.
["Even though we just restored this area to normal, the plants within can't all regain vitality," Tighnari says.]
It turns out the surrounding plants, although they look like they've regained vitality, aren't all of them; some withered plants are truly dead.
In this situation, Sumeru's rainforests can only be subjected to sustainable overfishing by the 'Withering.'
So, rangers patrol at noon, because morning and evening would be done for.
The Withering is a bit like the rainforests' 'cancer cells.'
And as the 'Withering' worsens, Collei's 'Eleazar' also becomes more severe.
Not just Collei; other Eleazar patients have the same reaction. The two seem linked; perhaps if the Withering is eradicated, Eleazar will also disappear.
So the question is: is it easier to clear the 'Withering' that has existed in the rainforests for over a thousand years, or easier to clear the Eleazar that has existed in Sumeru for hundreds of years?
Don't worry; the future readers will soon know which is 'easier' to clear—anyway, clearing one kills one; this has to kill two.
In any case, in the story, Tighnari and the Traveler talk about the 'Withering'; this even has to start from the 'Irminsul.'
["The 'Irminsul' is located deep beneath the earth under our feet. Although it's not a tree in the biological sense, you can roughly think of it as a large tree growing upside down."]
Since the Irminsul isn't a tree in the biological sense, the 'disease' it gets naturally isn't a disease in the conventional sense either.
The Withering caused by the Irminsul 'getting sick' is actually more like 'a computer getting a virus,' with files starting to get corrupted.
Even if someone performs emergency repairs, some files are just gone; if the corrosion continues, sooner or later it reaches the system disk.
["You should know about 'ley lines,' right? They're like the 'Irminsul's' root system, crisscrossing underground, extending from deep, vast caverns all the way to the surface."]
This is quite interesting; the readers are very willing to hear these profound-sounding things.
The Irminsul and ley lines aren't some big secret, but most readers aren't scholars; their understanding of this aspect is very limited, so at this time, it feels doubly interesting.
["The 'ley lines' continuously absorb this world's memories; the 'Irminsul' also gathers all the intelligence and wisdom of the world from ancient times to now."]
This function of recording intelligence and absorbing memories actually reminds the readers of something more familiar—the Sacred Sakura.
This is the ley line tree the readers encountered early on; the Irminsul is a bit like the Sacred Sakura.
No, saying it this way is a bit like saying the dad resembles the son; it should be said that the Sacred Sakura resembles it.
The Sacred Sakura was created by Ei the Raiden Shogun according to the 'Irminsul's' 'functions,' counting as setting up a 'private server' for Inazuma, which 'lacks' ley lines.
Both are ley line issues; one is related to the 'Sustainer of Heavenly Principles of Time,' one related to the 'Sustainer of Heavenly Principles of Death.'
At least, Inazuma's private server almost has all the functions similar to the Irminsul.
Besides what Tighnari mentioned, it can also resist Abyssal invasions, so Inazuma doesn't have to face the Abyss like Natlan does at all times.
And as a private server's server, it requires maintenance costs, so it needs the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual periodically—reasonable.
In the story, Tighnari continues introducing the Irminsul:
["The reason the Dendro God is also called the 'God of Wisdom' is precisely because her consciousness is connected to the Irminsul. The Dendro God's power can actually be said to be an embodiment of the Irminsul's power."]
Nahida nods; indeed so, but she can't mobilize the Irminsul's knowledge as freely as everyone imagines.
This is quite strange; clearly, she should be the Irminsul's administrator, yet it feels like some factor is blocking her.
Nahida naturally sees the link between the Withering and Eleazar, and the root cause of these two things' appearance is in the Irminsul, but Nahida can't explore it, as if something is hindering her.
This matter has always puzzled Nahida, but now it doesn't, because from this story, Nahida saw the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
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Character Voice Line · Nahida: About the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata
"So she has always been protecting me."