At the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Chen Feng sat on a stone stool in the courtyard, staring blankly at the chessboard before him.
"Consultant Chen Feng, you're distracted."
Zhongli took a sip of tea and spoke softly.
"Are you worried about Director Hu?"
"How could I be? Director Hu is so strong, why would I worry about her?"
Chen Feng snapped back to his senses and hurriedly shook his head.
"I was just thinking about my next move."
"I haven't won a single game of Go against you, Consultant Zhongli, all this time. I will definitely win today!"
After he finished speaking, Chen Feng immediately picked up a black piece and placed it on the board. However, the next second, Zhongli played a white piece, instantly routing the black pieces. Seeing this, Chen Feng broke into a cold sweat. He stared intently at the board for a long moment before helplessly putting down the black piece in his hand to concede defeat.
"Lost again."
"Consultant Chen Feng, when your heart is preoccupied, you are bound to lose."
Hearing Zhongli's words, Chen Feng was about to say something but saw Zhongli stand up and gaze toward Yujing Terrace.
"The battle should be about to start, wouldn't it?"
"I suppose so..."
Chen Feng took a deep breath and then stood up.
"The Adepti must be very strong, right?"
"I heard Director Hu say that the Liyue Qixing and the Adepti once defeated the Overlord of the Vortex, Osial, together. It seems he was a god from the same era as Rex Lapis, and his power was immense." After hearing Chen Feng's words, Zhongli turned around, stared into his eyes, and spoke.
"The Overlord of the Vortex, Osial, was indeed powerful back then, not even falling short of Rex Lapis. Sealing him away came at a great cost."
"However, being sealed for thousands of years also weakened his strength to the utmost. The fact that the Liyue Qixing and the Adepti could join forces to defeat him also involved a certain amount of luck." After Zhongli finished speaking, Chen Feng lowered his head, lost in thought.
"Consultant Chen Feng, you have actually already recovered your memories, haven't you?"
Just as Zhongli finished saying this, a look of obvious shock crossed Chen Feng's face, and he hurriedly shook his head.
"Heh heh, Consultant Zhongli, you're just joking. How could I have already recovered my memories?!"
"Director Hu has been taking me all over the place lately, but I haven't felt any sense of familiarity. I'm afraid my memories will be very difficult to recover." Hearing these words, Zhongli nodded.
"Forgetting the past is sometimes indeed a good choice, but can you achieve it?"
Faced with Zhongli's questioning, Chen Feng's expression stiffened as he spoke.
"Consultant Zhongli, what are you saying? Didn't I say that I haven't recovered my memories?"
"Come on, come on, let's keep playing chess. I'll definitely beat you this time!"
"Maybe Director Hu Tao will be back by then, and I can show off in front of her!"
After speaking, Chen Feng sat down again and began to arrange the chessboard, yet Zhongli's faint words came from the side.
"Director Hu Tao actually knows everything, she's just waiting."
Zhongli looked at Chen Feng's back, who had stopped his movements at some unknown point, and advised.
"Don't keep her waiting for too long."
"I, I'll go check out the situation over there..."
Chen Feng snapped back to his senses again, stood up to leave urgently, and accidentally bumped his knee against the stone table in his fluster. Chen Feng hissed in pain as he limped out of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Zhongli silently watched Chen Feng's retreating back and slowly nodded. Then his figure gradually became ethereal and soon disappeared from the courtyard. ...
"So Qi Shu has enslaved the souls of all the deceased!"
Keqing's expression turned incredibly solemn as she saw Yujing Terrace covered in the souls of the dead. The situation had reached an extremely critical point.
For some reason, their attacks seemed to have no effect on Qi Shu. The previous wave of attacks had basically been their trump cards, meant to deny Qi Shu any chance of a comeback. However, Qi Shu completely ignored their attacks. Even the Adepti's offensives were equally unsuccessful. Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper had clearly sustained some injuries, and Xiao's aura had also weakened. Both the people and the Adepti were now extremely wary of Qi Shu. However, the spectating people of Liyue erupted in excitement.
"Lord Kira is too strong! Long live Lord Kira!"
"With Lord Kira's protection, we will definitely not be bullied by other nations in the future!"
"Lord Kira, we entrust Liyue to you from now on!"
-
The spectating people of Liyue all knelt down at once. Even those whose faith had not completely wavered also knelt out of fear of being purged, after all, the current situation was extremely unfavorable for the Liyue Qixing and the Adepti. The spectating people of Liyue looked at Qi Shu with eyes filled with various complex emotions, including reverence, fanaticism, and fear...
"Hahaha, so you're bullying me because I'm alone and outnumbered, right?"
"What if I have even more people than you? I wonder how you would deal with that?"
Qi Shu stared straight into Ningguang's eyes with absolute arrogance, the vengeful pleasure in his eyes already overflowing.
Ningguang understood that Qi Shu had clearly blamed her and the Liyue Qixing for the suffering he had endured.
Just like the words he had left unspoken before, this was a retaliation against the Liyue Qixing.
Since it was retaliation, it was obviously not going to end here. Sure enough, Qi Shu raised his hand and waved, and the Army of Souls began to change positions. In this process, they maintained absolute silence and discipline, completing the deployment in just a very short time. When the Liyue Qixing saw the souls standing at the very front, the expressions on their faces all became incredibly grim.
The Army of Souls consisted entirely of fallen Millelith. Many of the faces were all too familiar to the Liyue Qixing, and Yelan even spotted members of her own Task Force among them. Qi Shu burst into laughter again.
"Come, send them on their way."
He delighted in the torment etched on the faces of the Liyue Qixing. Though he could have easily dispatched most of them himself, he craved the sight of their suffering. "Or perhaps... you'd prefer they send you on your way?"
Qi Shu chuckled, effortlessly parrying Xiao's attacks as he commanded the Army of Souls to advance.
Suddenly, three Frostflake Arrows, imbued with potent ice and Adeptal Energy, streaked toward him from the distance. Qi Shu didn't even bother to dodge, letting the arrows pass straight through his body. Ganyu had finally arrived, seizing a perfect opening for her attack—yet it had no effect on him.
Turning to Xiao, Qi Shu raised a hand and spoke with utter disdain.
"What kind of Adeptus are you? You're just a lively little grasshopper. Be quiet for a moment."
A powerful spiritual pressure erupted. Xiao, caught in the middle of an attack, had no time to withdraw. He immediately made a decision: he focused his mind and gripped the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear tightly, preparing to endure the attack head-on. However, Madame Ping intervened again, absorbing most of the impact for him. In an instant, the colorful halo around her visibly dimmed. Meanwhile, Xiao completed his thrust, but it too had no effect.
"Muda muda!"
"Hahaha, why can't you understand? You are merely an Adeptus, while I am a God!"
"The gap between an Adeptus and a God is like an uncrossable chasm. Even if I stand still, you cannot harm me in the slightest!"
Xiao showed no emotional reaction to Qi Shu's words. He simply wielded the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear again and again, unleashing a thousand spear shadows upon Qi Shu.
"Conqueror of Demons, we will aid you!"
At that moment, Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver suppressed their injuries and joined the battle.
On the other side, the Millelith at the scene saw those familiar faces holding weapons and walking toward them, and their will to fight vanished in an instant. Even the weapons in their hands were almost impossible to hold onto.
After Ningguang saw this scene, she foresaw the outcome of this battle. Although the number of these continuously approaching departed souls was vast, the vast majority of them were just ordinary human souls. Their combat effectiveness was naturally very limited.
Even if the Liyue Qixing lacked means to deal with souls, they would still not lose.
However, the impact of seeing the faces of fallen comrades-in-arms was simply too great for the vast majority of people. It was hard for anyone to raise a weapon against a person they were close to, and Ningguang would not issue such an order. Otherwise, doing so would truly play right into Qi Shu's hands.
Obviously, this was his method of revenge. He wanted everyone to experience the same pain as him, and in doing so, satisfy his desire for revenge.
However, there was one person among all present whose thoughts at this moment were completely different.
"Ningguang, leave those souls to this Director!"
Seeing so many souls, Hu Tao excitedly rolled up her sleeves and continued to speak after waving the Staff of Homa.
"Leave the professional work to the professionals! With so many souls, just think of all the merit I'll earn after sending them all away!"
Seeing Hu Tao so excited, Ningguang was momentarily stunned. She had completely forgotten about this, hadn't she? Wasn't this what the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was for from the very beginning?
It really was the perfect job for them!
"Director Hu, please be careful."
Hearing Ningguang's reminder, Hu Tao casually waved her hand, then immediately dashed toward the Army of Souls, her eyes shining.
"Keqing, have everyone cooperate with Director Hu's actions."
After hearing Ningguang's words, Keqing nodded and immediately passed down the order.
Meanwhile, Ningguang re-established her connection with the Jade Chamber and descended a protective barrier onto the ground.
Against such a vast Army of Souls, the Jade Chamber's energy would not last very long, but this was the only thing she could do. Now, it was up to Hu Tao. At this moment, Spirit Butterflies continuously circled and danced around Hu Tao's body, and the Staff of Homa in her hand ignited with orange-red flames.
However, what was strange was that even though the flames were so intense, the people nearby felt no scorching heat.
Hu Tao finally arrived at the front of the Army of Souls, then pushed off the ground and leaped straight into their midst, where she was instantly swallowed by the swarming souls.
Seeing this, countless people's hearts immediately clenched, but soon everyone saw a massive burst of flames erupt from where Hu Tao had vanished. "Sending you off in one wave!"
"Sending you all off in one wave!"
Hu Tao casually grabbed a soul and swung it in a wide arc, immediately clearing the area around her.
Seeing this scene, everyone couldn't help but marvel that Hu Tao truly was a professional, and her efficiency was incredibly high.
With Hu Tao taking action, everyone's resolve grew a little firmer. At the same time, Keqing relayed Ningguang's orders, so everyone began to cooperate with Hu Tao in halting the Army of Souls. Of course, they all deliberately avoided familiar faces, silently watching as Hu Tao sent them off one by one.
Hu Tao understood their inner struggles, so she focused on sending the frontmost souls to the afterlife first. After all, their real predicament wasn't this Army of Souls, but Qi Shu, who remained completely unscathed. At this point, Qi Shu, in the distance, had already lost interest in toy with the Adepti.
"Sigh, mere Adepti simply cannot satisfy me. It would have been so much better if Rex Lapis hadn't passed away. If it were him, he could probably have made this a bit more fun for me."
"Arrogant fool!"
The Lord's majesty must not be insulted!
Qi Shu's words were like pouring oil on a fire, and the Adepti, who had inevitably shown signs of fatigue, now erupted with their initial strength once again, but it was useless. After swatting Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver away like flies, Qi Shu raised his hand to block the incoming Frostflake Arrow, seized the attacking long spear, and then several black long spears materialized near all the Adepti before shooting out violently. Since they had encountered this attack before, although it was difficult to fend off, the Adepti barely managed to parry it.
However, Ganyu, with her weaker strength, completely fell into the most critical situation, and the other Adepti's expressions changed, wanting to aid her, but it was already too late. Ganyu barely parried the black long spear with Amos' Bow and twisted her body, trying to sacrifice one arm for a chance of survival, but just at this moment, a hand glowing with cyan light rested on her shoulder.
"An Adeptus descends!"
At this moment, from another side, a Black Array Disk flew out, growing continuously larger as it met the black long spear head-on, then immediately absorbed it. The Black Array Disk rapidly shrank, finally returning to the hand of that figure.
"How dare you attack this Adeptus's disciple. It's just right to use you to test the mechanism this Adeptus just developed!"
When Ganyu clearly saw that figure, she spoke with some pleasant surprise.
"True Lord!"
The newcomer was naturally Cloud Retainer, who had been out of contact for several days.
"Ganyu, just watch carefully and see how this Adeptus kills his arrogance!"
After throwing out this sentence, Cloud Retainer rose into the sky. In the midst of the Adepti's extreme anticipation and Qi Shu's intrigued gaze, she threw the Black Array Disk out again with both hands. The array disk grew as it met the wind, soon reaching dozens of meters in size, slowly rotating towards Qi Shu's direction. Cloud Retainer took a deep breath, then shouted loudly towards Qi Shu.
"You there, little thief! Do you dare answer when this Adeptus calls your name?!"
"Oh, I dare not."
Qi Shu replied flippantly, leaving Cloud Retainer completely dumbfounded.
Wait, this is a bit different from what she had expected!