At the end of this path was a dilapidated hall. A Statue of The Seven hung in the air in an inconceivable manner—it was upside down.
Behind the Statue, a distorted dark purple light emanated, obscuring the specific features of the Statue of The Seven.
Beside the Statue, a figure knelt, completely motionless, appearing like the most devout believer engaged in the most focused Prayer.
But Lumine knew this person was definitely not a believer. From his attire, this person was most likely the Treasure Hoarders they were looking for.
"Is this guy… the Grand Treasure Hoarder we're looking for?" Paimon followed Lumine's steps and arrived next to the Statue.
"It looks like he's praying?" Lumine ignored Paimon, but Paimon didn't mind, continuing to speak to him.
"Sizzle!"
Paimon's words seemed to trigger something, and the upside-down Statue of The Seven above their heads immediately bloomed with an even more intense light.
"Watch out!"
Lumine pulled Paimon back, raising her weapon vigilantly, staring intently at the Statue of The Seven before her, wary of any potential changes.
Amidst a dazzling dark purple light, Lumine finally discerned the origin of this Statue of The Seven. It was a Statue of The Seven from Mondstadt, and the one hanging upside down was none other than Barbatos, the Anemo God!
The Statue, like others Lumine had seen elsewhere, was draped in a long robe. However, the Statue, which appeared gentle and peaceful on the ground, now exuded an indescribable eeriness here.
Ancient runes were embroidered on the robe, which Lumine had seen in books; they were decorative patterns unique to Mondstadt and common throughout the land of Mondstadt.
But under the purple light, these patterns seemed to transform into symbols for a forbidden array, and the forbidden purple energy flowed along the patterns, finally converging into the Statue's palm.
And the robe on the Statue also seemed to become an ancient veil, deeply hiding Barbatos's originally serene and carefree expression.
"Lumine… is that a Statue of The Seven…"
The silence lasted for a long time. Seeing that there were no other changes, Paimon secretly peeked out from behind Lumine, looking at the eerie scene before him with some fear.
He swore that after this, he would not go to any Domain for three months!
It was only supposed to be tracking a Treasure Hoarders, but who would have thought the process would be so bizarre.
"A Statue of The Seven… and it's Barbatos, the Anemo God." Lumine heard Paimon's words, and his grip on the sword hilt loosened slightly.
"W-Why, why is the Statue of The Seven hung upside down? And, I remember the Statue of The Seven's palm isn't holding a jewel?"
Paimon looked at the dark purple energy converging in the Statue of The Seven's palm, his voice trembling slightly.
The pressure that dark purple mass exerted on Paimon was considerable. It absorbed energy from the dark cracks around the Statue and then emitted it through light.
The various anomalies in the Domain seemed to originate from the dark purple orb of light held in the Statue's palm.
"I don't know, but I only know that all of this must be related to the Abyss Order." Lumine shook his head, saying with a solemn expression.
Speaking of which, this was his first real encounter with the Abyss Order.
There had been two previous occasions. The first was the Dragon Scourge, but it inexplicably resolved itself, leaving Lumine's understanding of the Abyss Order limited to merely knowing an organization by that name.
The second was the journey with Dain, but after much effort, Lumine made no substantial progress in his understanding of the Abyss Order.
And today, he finally understood why Diluc referred to the Abyss Order as "enemies of humanity."
Stealing and excavating a Statue of The Seven—no organization in The Seven Nations dared to do such a thing. This not only represented a defiance of the authority of The Seven Gods' order but also an act that genuinely harmed the fundamental interests of The Seven Nations.
Statues of The Seven are not only Statues built to commemorate The Seven Gods but also nodes that stabilize the smooth flow of a nation's Ley Line and the harmonious circulation of its elements.
The Statues of The Seven across the continent are like countless valves. They contain the power of The Seven Gods, controlling the Elemental circulation and Ley Line flow of the entire continent.
Uprooting a Statue of The Seven, setting aside the damage to divine authority, the harm caused by the disruption of Ley Lines and Elemental power alone would be no less than a war.
Of course, that would be in densely populated areas. If it were in the wilderness, it might take several days for the disruption to be noticed.
And this Statue of The Seven before him was likely dug up from a remote area of Mondstadt.
"The Abyss Order… what a troublesome bunch!" Paimon stamped his foot. Now, the level of annoyance for the Abyss Order in his heart had skyrocketed, tying with the Fatui for first place!
"Whew… let's check on that Treasure Hoarders. Although I don't think his fate will be good…"
Lumine took a few deep breaths, then walked forward.
"Hey, are you alright?" Paimon quickly flew behind the "Grand Treasure Hoarder" and observed him closely.
No matter how Paimon called out, the "Grand Treasure Hoarder" remained motionless. He still knelt silently before the upside-down Statue, just as before, with no sound of breathing.
"He… he's dead." Paimon's expression, though sad, showed no excessive fear.
During his Adventures with Lumine, Paimon had witnessed many deaths. While he still felt sadness, fear was no longer a factor.
"I feel really bad." Paimon returned to Lumine's side, shaking his head, as if that could shake the unpleasant images from his mind.
"Unknown cause of death." Lumine pursed his lips; the scene before him was somewhat beyond his current capabilities.
"Let's go! Find Senior!" A figure flashed in his mind, and Lumine turned to leave this eerie Domain.
"Huh? I thought you'd go find Dain." Paimon followed closely, looking surprised.
In this situation, shouldn't they be looking for Dain? He was, after all, a professional when it came to the Abyss Order.
"Dain? Do you think he's easy to find in his current state?" Lumine shot Paimon a glance.
He had indeed considered looking for Dain, but Ember's figure quickly overshadowed Dain.
In terms of strength, Lumine felt that Dain should not be able to surpass Ember.
In terms of understanding the Abyss Order, Ember certainly knew less than Dain, but that didn't stop him from being able to speak the language of Abyss Monsters and converse with them.
And most importantly, Ember was easier to find. Based on his experience at the Adventurers' Guild, if a commission was posted specifically for Ember, he would show up before long.
Comparing the number of commissions in the Guild, many Adventurers suspected that there were many different people beneath Ember's armor.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how dozens of commissions specifically for Ember were perfectly completed in one day, often with conflicting schedules.
However, these rumors vanished one day—because on that day, Ember went on stage and performed a "Great Living Person Transformation" with Six-Fingered Jose.
Therefore, for Lumine, finding Ember was definitely a better choice than finding Dain, both emotionally and logically.
"Now that you mention it, I feel like he's about to pop out." Paimon said, then glanced around, as if genuinely worried that Ember would leap out from a corner.
Unfortunately, Ember didn't jump out, but the purple bubbles did.
"What happened?!" Lumine looked at the ground, which was glowing purple and bubbling, and in one swift motion, he leaped back.
The earth seemed to boil, and countless tiny bubbles swelled and burst from the cracked ground.
Inhaling just a single breath of the acrid, spreading scent, Lumine immediately felt a sharp pain in his nasal cavity.
"Hurry up, we can't stay here!"
Paimon covered his nose, pointing to a hidden path to the side of the Statue. That area had not yet been swallowed by the strange power.
Looking at the ground gradually being corroded by purple, Lumine decisively entered the small path.
No matter what lay deeper in the Domain, it was better than being swallowed by something unknown.
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