Sea of Clouds — Above the Jade Chamber
The moment Bai Hao and the others stepped outside, the world had already transformed.
A blanket of ink-black clouds suffocated the sky for a thousand li.
Thunder boiled. Lightning writhed like serpents.
The heavens looked as if they were collapsing.
Paimon poked her head out and yelped.
"Wh—why is it so dark?! And… whoa! Why are there so many immortals here?!"
Hovering in the storm were Cloud Retainer, Mountain Shaper, and Moon Carver — all present at once, a sight so rare even scholars would faint.
Shenhe, Ganyu, Ningguang, and Keqing were gathered near the command platform.
Hundreds of Millelith stood on the jade-engraved plaza in full formation, spears raised, trembling under the pressure.
Madam Ping arrived last, her steps light and graceful, as if she walked on moonlight itself.
CLANG!!
A streak of green light plunged from the sky.
Xiao's jade spear slammed into the stone floor, cracks splintering out beneath his boots.
He straightened — though his height barely reached three and a half chi — and said coldly:
"…Are you done arguing yet?"
Bai Hao walked up lazily, hands clasped behind his head, and glanced toward Keqing.
"So, the little quarrel's settled?"
Keqing crossed her arms, expression still stiff.
"As long as the Geo Lord is alive, the Adepti have no reason to keep pressuring the Qixing."
She was clearly still fuming.
First the Geo Lord "died."
Then the Adepti blamed the Qixing.
She nearly worked herself to the grave managing the chaos.
And now… the Geo Archon had just been pretending the whole time?
Keqing had been seconds away from flipping an entire conference table.
Ningguang stepped forward, palms gently spread — diplomatic, measured, impeccable.
"The honored Adepti agree that, given the crisis before us, both sides should set aside old grievances and face the threat together."
Unlike Keqing, who had been born into privilege, Ningguang had clawed her way from nothing — through grey zones, shadows, and storms, until she rose to the very peak of Liyue.
Her words were smoother than jade and sharper than knives.
"Hmph."
Moon Carver's cold snort echoed across the Jade Chamber.
Their fury earlier that day had nearly boiled the skies.
The misunderstanding had been resolved — mostly — and Ningguang had offered apology after apology.
Even so, their expressions remained stone-cold.
They guarded Liyue not out of fondness for mortals, but out of a contract with the Geo Lord.
Expecting them to be warm toward humans… was too much.
When the Adepti wished to level a city, a single sentence was all it took.
Lumine pointed her sword outward, eyes narrowing.
"…Who are those two monsters?"
From dozens of kilometers away, Guyun Stone Forest thrashed under a storm.
Thunder rolled like war drums. Waves rose like mountains.
From the eye of a vast ocean vortex —
eight colossal serpent heads burst into the sky.
Five were formed entirely from water, their bodies flowing with deep, abyssal currents. Each head towered over a thousand meters high, radiating the crushing authority of primordial seas.
Beside them coiled three more serpents — smaller, yet just as terrifying.
The leviathans intertwined briefly, then reared up, their roars shaking heaven and earth.
Slowly, they turned toward Liyue Harbor.
A collective intake of breath swept across the Jade Chamber.
Ningguang's voice tightened.
"That is the ancient Vortex Demon God—
Osial… and his wife, Beisht."
Though ancient and weakened, a remnant Demon God was still a being capable of overturning the world.
Paimon trembled so hard she nearly flipped backwards.
"S-so scary! I can't even breathe looking at them from here!"
Keqing paled as she checked the Millelith reports.
"The soldiers in the harbor say many new recruits can barely stand.
The pressure of a Demon God is overwhelming to mortals!
We cannot let them reach the city!"
Lumine's brows knitted.
"So what's the plan?"
Paimon raised a hopeful hand.
"With so many Adepti — and the Millelith — can't we all just fight them together?"
Ningguang shook her head gravely.
"The honored Adepti believe even together… victory is uncertain."
Osial had once contended with Morax himself.
Even sealed for millennia, he remained a cataclysmic threat.
Without the Geo Lord's Jade Shield… Liyue could not survive the impact.
Xiao stepped forward, cold and resolute.
"The Geo Lord must have his reasons.
Osial and his wife — we shall face them ourselves."
If they struck before Osial regained his full power, perhaps they could restrain him again.
And the Adepti had acquired new blessings through the livestream trials — boosting their chances.
Mountain Shaper's deep voice rolled across the storm.
"Then it is decided.
We cannot allow Osial to take even a single step closer."
"I and Moon Carver shall intercept him.
Cloud Retainer, recover the Guizhong Ballista.
Qixing — evacuate the civilians immediately."
In a battle between gods, landscapes could be erased in moments.
Without Morax's shield, even shockwaves could kill tens of thousands.
They had to act now.
"Understood!"
Orders boomed across the Jade Chamber.
Ningguang and Keqing moved swiftly, dispatching troops for evacuation.
Cloud Retainer spread her wings, soaring toward Tianheng.
Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver ascended into the heart of the storm, flying straight toward Osial.
A sharp, resonant crane's cry split the heavens.
Mountain Shaper unfurled his wings, his ancient voice solid as mountains:
"Let us test… the strength of this new Phoenix Armor, earned from the trial—
Super Beast Armor—ACTIVATE!!"
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