"Whoosh~"
The sound of rippling water echoed within the empty Golden Tree. Yu Jin walked alone in this vast, desolate space.
This was the interior of the Golden Tree, reflecting the starry Sky of this continent. There was nothing here; Teyvat's starry Sky was empty. The people on this land were already trapped.
But these were all matters for the future. In Yu Jin's view, whether it was The Lands Between or Teyvat, it was still too early to step into the starry Sky.
The Lands Between had countless stars and moons, and the corresponding gods were just as numerous. The boundless cosmos was a hunting ground for gods; they constantly spied on the life on the land.
Fortunately, there was the Greater Will, this fellow who was exceptionally demanding of order. The more he craved order, the more powerful he was.
Countless gods gasped under his Golden rule, allowing the Golden Tree to flourish within the universe.
This was one of the few ideas Yu Jin shared with the Greater Will. Competition under the suppression of a powerful existence was always better than the chaotic struggles of the gods.
As for Teyvat, Yu Jin could only express his utmost curiosity. The starry Sky was outside the ground; the true Sky was actually fake. It was a very peculiar world structure.
At least for the current Teyvat, the starry Sky was far less tangible than the land beneath its feet.
Yu Jin looked at the pitch-blackness before him and found it quite an eyesore. It brought back unpleasant memories for him.
Yu Jin was a little afraid of the dark, so he snapped his fingers.
Immediately, in the pitch-black, boundless space, specks of starlight began to twinkle. These stars grew brighter and brighter, starting as mere points of light, then connecting into a river of stars, and finally becoming a star cluster that illuminated the entire land.
Glimmering starlight poured down, illuminating the shallow, mirror-like water surface beneath Yu Jin's feet. The water surface did not reflect the star cluster in the Sky; instead, it contained an endless number of Golden Trees wandering within it.
Those Golden Trees were unimaginably vast; they were all Golden Trees that had grown to their peak, formed from the reincarnation of countless beings over long ages.
"Heh heh, old geezer, wait until you can actually come here before you try to contend with me!" Yu Jin couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the reflection in the water.
It was hard to describe what kind of feeling this was. A worthy opponent? Not quite, it was more like the joy after a genuine amusement.
Sometimes, being too different could be very lonely. But what if the Greater Will really did come? With Yu Jin's current small physique, he would probably get a good beating from him.
Then Yu Jin reached out and wiped away the image that the Greater Will had projected. Just kidding, how could the Golden Tree he planted be snatched away by the Greater Will, that old geezer!
As for future matters, he would deal with them later. At worst, he would just put on all those incredibly heavy heavy armors.
"Wow! What a beautiful space."
"Beautiful space..."
"Space..."
Paimon's voice came from behind Yu Jin, her surprise echoing continuously within the vast Golden Tree, causing her to instinctively cover her small mouth.
"So beautiful..." Lumine looked at the double starry Sky presented by both the Sky and the water surface. Even she, who came from beyond this world, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"It is indeed beautiful..." Venti looked at the incredibly brilliant star cluster in the Sky and said with some confusion, "But it doesn't seem to be Teyvat's starry Sky."
"I know this, it's from where we are!" Lanssangx said excitedly, looking at the familiar scene in the Sky.
She hadn't expected the interior of the Golden Tree to be like this. She immediately recognized that the endless starry Sky above was the celestial phenomenon of The Lands Between.
After all, Farum Azula, where the dragon race resided, was above the clouds. Lanssangx used to count those stars when she was bored.
"Where you are from?" Kaeya's ears twitched when he heard the unusual remark in Lanssangx's words.
"That's right, where we are from. Some of you might not know, but the King and I actually came from beyond this world."
"Just like Lumine!" Saying this, Lanssangx even pointed to Lumine, who was looking around not far away.
Everyone present was startled, but that was all. After all, with Lumine as a precedent, another one was not unacceptable.
Soon, the shock of Lanssangx and Yu Jin coming from beyond this world was overshadowed by the myriad stars within the Golden Tree.
Everyone gazed at the Sky in fascination. Amidst their awe, a hint of doubt also arose in their hearts.
Teyvat's starry Sky also had many stars, but why hadn't they noticed them before?
Not only regarding the starry Sky, but even research concerning the Sky was rarely pursued in Teyvat.
It was as if the people here had never looked up.
"Speaking of which, Yu Jin, why did you bring us here?" Paimon admired the scenery inside the Golden Tree for a while, then grew a little bored and asked.
Although the starry Sky here was beautiful, after looking at it for so long, she felt a bit tired of it.
"Can't I just take you to see the scenery?" Yu Jin smiled, spread his hands, and said.
Then Yu Jin felt several eye-rolls. He scratched his head. What was wrong with looking at scenery? He used to want to look but never had the time!
"Alright, alright, it seems everyone has finished looking, so let's go back!" Yu Jin waved his hand, seeing that everyone looked like they had seen enough.
The starry Sky here was just a projection. Although magnificent, it lacked vitality, so it was normal to get tired of looking at it after a while.
"Go back? Well, alright. But you have to open that first..." Paimon gestured, feeling unsure how best to describe it.
"That golden curtain door!"
"Yes, open that golden curtain door!"
Paimon and Lumine high-fived; their tacit agreement was truly growing.
"Heh heh, no need for so much trouble, off you go!" Yu Jin pressed his hand down, and Paimon immediately felt a bad premonition.
"Hey! You want to..."
Before Paimon could ask Yu Jin anything, the thin layer of water beneath her feet began to move without wind.
The water surface spun, eventually forming a bottomless whirlpool beneath her feet. Then a suction force came from the whirlpool, pulling Paimon in.
"Ah—"
"When did..."
"Heh heh, you can't suck me in!"
Caught off guard, everyone fell into the whirlpool that appeared on the water surface. However, there was one exception, and that was Venti.
With a small jump, he rode the wind and leaped away from the whirlpool.
Then Yu Jin punched him in.
"Phew! You mere Venti, it's still too early to contend with me!" Yu Jin blew on his fist and said.
"Let's go, Xiao Huang!" Seeing that everyone was present, Yu Jin said to the empty, colossal space.
Subsequently, the calm water surface rippled again... Windmill Street, an inconspicuous street within Mondstadt City. And 34 Windmill Street was also an inconspicuous house on the inconspicuous Windmill Street.
If one had to say, perhaps the residents here were a bit strange. The whole person was cooped up in an iron can, never seen all day long.
Originally, Windmill Street should have passed today in peace, just like before. However, it was clear that this peace was about to change.
"Boom!" In the courtyard of 34 Windmill Street, a sudden loud noise erupted. Then a giant golden flower bud peeked out from within the courtyard wall.
Although this golden flower bud looked like a flower, its texture was like hard wood, as if carved from timber.
In fact, it was.
"Pfft~" The flower bud pulsed, and then everyone who had been in the Golden Tree was spat out.
"Ugh..., so dizzy."
"Where... where is this?"
"This is my home."
Yu Jin stood ramrod straight amidst a pile of rubble, forming a stark contrast with everyone else who was sprawled out.
"Mon... Mondstadt?!" Jean stood up from the ground, looking at the familiar scene outside the courtyard wall, and exclaimed.
Weren't they just in the Golden Tree in Dragonspine? How were they in Mondstadt now?
Jean shook her head. Falling into the whirlpool from inside the Golden Tree, she only felt a dizzying spin. By the time she came to her senses, she was already in Mondstadt.
"Heh heh, this is teleportation! Impressive, right?" Yu Jin completely ignored the giant golden flower bud behind him and said with immense confidence.
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