After obtaining Tessaiga, Su Han naturally had no desire to remain in this ruined Second World.
The silent blade slashed toward the void.
With a single strike.
Space was instantly torn open, creating a massive rift.
The Black Coal Ball following behind revealed a shocked expression.
It could tell that this ancestor was definitely not a god, yet the power he possessed was no less than that of one.
So who exactly was he?
"Let's go."
Seeing the Black Coal Ball standing there in a daze, Su Han reminded it before stepping into the tunnel.
The latter quickly came to its senses and hurried after him.
It did not want to be assimilated by those Abyss creatures.
The Underworld Path space was extremely special.
You could think of it as a unique realm of death.
In the world of Inuyasha, this space represented the land of the dead.
Sounds terrifying, right?
But in reality, the realm of death was not frightening, because it was also part of the natural laws.
The power of the Abyss was different.
It twisted the laws of all worlds and was the original sin that corrupted everything.
Passing through the rift.
Su Han arrived in a mysterious and silent land of darkness.
Beneath his feet seemed to be starlight.
Above him floated countless strange bands of light.
The Black Coal Ball asked in confusion:
"Where is this?"
"I don't know, but at least we've left the Second World."
Su Han replied calmly.
This was also his first time opening the Underworld Path.
To be honest, he was quite curious.
Everyone knew that although Teyvat had an underworld, it was very small.
Moreover, it only existed in Liyue.
But the spatial path he had opened originated from the Second World. As for whether it could connect to Teyvat's Third World, that remained unknown.
The road ahead was long.
Su Han and the Black Coal Ball flew onward for an unknown amount of time before finally stopping.
Not because they had reached the boundary.
But because they had seen countless corpses here.
They also saw scars left behind by the Abyss.
"Ancestor, didn't you say we left the Abyss?"
Faced with the Black Coal Ball's question.
Su Han frowned.
Could this place have been destroyed as well?
The two explored the surroundings for a while.
The result was exactly as Su Han had expected.
This land of darkness.
Had been completely destroyed.
There was no aura of death.
Nor any power of the deceased.
"It seems the dead cannot reincarnate. Or perhaps Teyvat lacks the power of the dead because this place was completely destroyed."
Su Han reached a conclusion.
Although the result was not ideal.
He should still be able to find a way out within the world of the dead.
The two continued exploring this realm.
Within this area.
They saw many things.
Collapsed ruins.
Gigantic shattered skeletons.
And strange creatures corrupted by the Abyss.
As for all of them.
Su Han chose to avoid them.
"Ancestor, what kind of place is the Third World?"
The Black Coal Ball asked out of boredom.
Since there was nothing else to do.
Su Han answered its question.
"In Teyvat's case, it is currently ruled by the Seven Gods. Above them is the Heavenly Principles Sustainer who controls Celestia."
"What about their power?"
"The seven elemental powers."
"Huh? That sounds incredibly weak."
The Black Coal Ball looked utterly shocked.
The Third World was that terrible?
That couldn't be possible.
If that were true.
There was no way they could stop an Abyss invasion.
"You think Teyvat's power is weak?"
"Ancestor, it's not just weak. It's ridiculously weak. Let's not talk about anything else. You should know the history of Takamagahara. At its peak, the power they wielded was far stronger than mere elemental energy."
Although the Takamagahara race used evil sacrifices.
It could not be denied.
That it was also a symbol of power.
Not to mention the technology and weapons of the Second World.
No matter how one looked at it.
Pure elemental power seemed weak.
Su Han slowly realized where the issue lay.
The Black Coal Ball was right.
The power of the Seven Gods was not actually as strong as people imagined. Just as the Hydro Archon was far inferior to Neuvillette.
Following that line of reasoning.
The power controlled by the Heavenly Principles clearly surpassed ordinary beings countless times over. Even Zhongli could probably be suppressed effortlessly.
This could be inferred from the experience of Apep, the Dendro Dragon.
If that was the case.
Why didn't the Heavenly Principles distribute its power?
Perhaps there was only one answer.
At this moment, Su Han recalled the opening scene of the game. The power used by the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles had already revealed everything.
She.
Had been corrupted by the Abyss.
Or perhaps the Heavenly Principles itself had been contaminated.
Either way, there was only one answer.
Its slumber was inseparable from the Abyss.
The two continued drifting through the underworld.
Suddenly, a dazzling purple light appeared ahead.
"Ancestor, we aren't running into the Abyss again, are we?"
"Must you say things like that?"
Su Han glared at the Black Coal Ball.
It really did not know how to say anything pleasant.
The latter trembled in fright and immediately shrank its head.
Though it did not really have much of a neck to begin with.
As they gradually adapted to the purple light.
Both Su Han and the Black Coal Ball froze.
The thing beneath that radiance was not an Abyss stronghold.
Nor was it an Abyss creation.
It was a gigantic purple vortex.
Confused souls were being swept away by an overwhelming force.
Darkness.
Coldness.
Rage.
Sorrow.
Greed.
Lust.
All kinds of negative emotions surged into their hearts at once.
The Black Coal Ball was completely lost.
As for Su Han, just before his mind was swallowed, an icy chill appeared in his consciousness, instantly awakening him.
"No, this is that thing beneath The Chasm."
"Run!"
With the help of the Ice Heart Formula.
Su Han regained his senses.
He grabbed the Black Coal Ball with one hand while gripping Tessaiga with the other, forcibly opening another spatial passage.
No matter where it led.
It had to be better than this place.
Otherwise, if they were dragged into it.
Who knew what would happen?
The Underworld Path opened.
Su Han immediately rushed inside.
The instant he left.
The gigantic purple vortex swallowed the place where he had just been standing.
And in that dark world.
Such things were merely normal.
Because the vortex was constantly moving, never ceasing its rotation.
"I want to kill people, I want to be a villain, I..."
Bang.
Just as the Black Coal Ball continued shouting.
A righteous iron fist descended.
Crimson flames erupted upward.
Rubbing its aching head, the Black Coal Ball cried out:
"Ancestor, why did you hit me again?"
"If I didn't hit you, would you have recovered?"
Su Han snorted.
Only then did the Black Coal Ball remember what had happened.
Its face immediately filled with fear.
Without Su Han's help, it would have been drawn into that terrifying vortex long ago.
"Ancestor, thank you so much."
"Tch. Let's go. Time to get moving."
Su Han ignored its flattery.
Although the creature had not shown any signs of betrayal throughout the journey.
There was always the possibility.
The Black Coal Ball followed behind Su Han, observing their surroundings.
Though it was still pitch-black.
There was no aura of death here.
Which meant they had left the world of the dead.
"Ancestor, where are we now?"
"No idea. Let's explore first."
In this unfamiliar world.
Su Han had also lost his sense of direction.
But he firmly believed in one thing.
As long as he followed the direction indicated by the Flame of Longing, he would eventually find the way home.
Ever since arriving in the underworld.
He had discovered that the Flame of Longing could provide a sense of direction.
So long as he followed the marked path, he could not go wrong.
After traveling for some time.
Su Han suddenly heard the sound of waves.
His perception instantly spread outward, revealing a black ocean ahead.
"The Dark Sea Beyond?"
Su Han's heart filled with joy as he accelerated.
Not long afterward.
He arrived at the shore.
An endless expanse of black stretched throughout this space.
Though the sea itself was black.
The area was illuminated by a faint gray light.
The scenery remained clearly visible.
A crescent-shaped ocean.
Appeared before their eyes.
The sea was unimaginably vast.
It could even be described as boundless.
There were no traces of life nearby.
Even within the sea, there was no sign of any living creature.
"Ancestor, where is this?"
"I don't know. Let's investigate for now."
Su Han gently shook his head and did not mention the name of the Dark Sea Beyond.
But if this truly was the place Orobas had once reached.
Then something left behind by him had to exist here.
Su Han sped along the shoreline.
After several hours of flight, he finally arrived at a ring-shaped mountain range.
To his surprise.
He found traces of habitation on the side of one of the mountains.
Turning sharply.
He flew directly toward the cave entrance.
This was one of the advantages of powerful perception.
Otherwise, finding a cave in such dim conditions would not have been easy.
Upon reaching the entrance.
A flame ignited at Su Han's fingertips.
Everything inside immediately became visible.
Seeing the stone bed and furniture within the cave, the Black Coal Ball became excited.
"Ancestor, someone used to live here. Does that mean we're close to reaching the Third World?"
"More or less."
Su Han walked deeper inside.
He searched for traces left behind by the owner.
Fortunately, he found something.
On a stone bookshelf at the end of the cave.
Su Han discovered numerous books.
Although they were protected by seals.
The passage of time had nearly exhausted the seals' power.
He shattered them with ease.
Picking up one of the books, Su Han sat down and began reading.
The book was extremely old.
It did not even have a title.
Only a number carved into it:
One.
After opening it, Su Han realized it was a diary.
"Damn it, what rotten luck!"
The very first sentence was a curse.
The diary's owner had clearly been furious at the time.
Su Han became interested and continued reading.
"I was living comfortably on my island, and then some damn woman appeared out of nowhere and demanded that we fight!"
"I wanted to fight too, but I couldn't beat her!"
"I even encouraged my sworn brother to attack the God of Gold, but before he could even land, he was miserably suppressed by three stone spears."
"That idiot even called me disloyal."
"Seriously, brothers exist to be sold out!"
"I wanted to help too..."
"But at least you have a woman, Osial. I don't even have a wife!"
Seeing this.
The corner of Su Han's mouth twitched.
He truly had not expected it.
Orobas and Osial were sworn brothers.
Unfortunately, they were only fair-weather brothers.
"So the reason Osial is so desperate to get out isn't because he's afraid someone will steal his wife, right?"
The more Su Han thought about it.
The more reasonable it seemed.
They were both snakes.
And Orobas was quite handsome.
So Osial's concern would be understandable.
Still, this brother had plenty of strengths.
Intelligence just wasn't one of them.
If Zhongli truly wanted to kill him, it would take only moments.
The reason he was still alive was because Zhongli had chosen to spare him.
Thinking of this.
A puzzled expression appeared on Su Han's face.
"Could it be that Zhongli realized something was wrong as early as Guizhong's death?"
Why did the Heavenly Principles want to exterminate the gods?
Su Han could think of several possibilities.
First.
The infiltration of Abyssal power. To prevent the Second World's tragedy from repeating itself, reducing the number of gods was the best solution.
But the problem was that once the gods were gone.
Teyvat would be the one suffering when the Abyss arrived.
Second.
The Heavenly Principles might have intended to use the bodies of the gods to nourish the world.
This possibility seemed the highest.
As for the claim that the gods would destroy the world.
Honestly.
They might fight over territory.
But nobody would truly want to exterminate everyone else.
The saying about a cornered dog jumping over the wall applied in any world.
For example.
Zhongli was very strong.
But if several gods realized they could not defeat him and chose to take revenge before dying.
Even the strongest god would not be able to stop everything.
Guizhong's death was the clearest example.
"So in the end, the root of everything is still the Heavenly Principles..."
Su Han sighed.
He thought of the previous Hydro Archon.
Egeria.
The history people knew was that she had committed a terrible sin and ultimately perished in the Sea of Flowers.
But the truth was not like that.
Egeria's death.
Occurred because a massive problem emerged in the Amrita Sea.
Simply put.
She had been doomed by the Goddess of Flowers.
Had Egeria not sacrificed herself there.
Fontaine would have been completely consumed by the Abyss.
That was the true history.
Of course, the fact that a god's body could seal an Abyssal breach had also been proven.
It was just not a permanent solution.
Su Han continued reading.
There was much more written in the diary.
After complaining about Osial, Orobas traveled to Inazuma.
His idea was simple.
If he couldn't beat one opponent, he would find another.
Reality proved.
He was even less of a match for twin gods.
The diary recorded:
"I witnessed my brother's defeat and sighed for him afterward. Since I couldn't afford to provoke the God of Gold, I might as well look elsewhere."
"Turns out those islands were all occupied by a bunch of women."
"Of course I wasn't convinced, so I attacked them."
"But unfortunately, I underestimated one thing. The gods ruling those islands were sisters. Luckily I didn't go ashore, otherwise I would've been fighting one against two..."
Su Han sneered.
So Orobas was really that cowardly.
A master of running away.
Afraid before the battle even began.
As expected of him.
In the rest of the story.
Because Orobas feared death excessively, he chose to flee.
And all of his luck seemed to have been spent on escaping.
Ironically.
He originally thought the deepest part of the ocean would be the safest place imaginable.
The outcome.
Was completely beyond the giant serpent's expectations.
The diary's later entries described his terror in great detail.
"It's terrifying."
"This world is insane!"
"I can't imagine what I've experienced!"
"The world is upside down, and even the sun and moon are fake."
"At the deepest part of the ocean, there was actually a protective barrier. When I broke through it, I somehow entered a strange space."
"There are oceans and tides here, though there is no sun or moon."
"But I am absolutely certain that gravity is reversed."
"I wasn't going crazy. I kept moving downward, but somehow I traveled from beneath one world to the underground of another. I even saw the sky. Does that mean beneath my feet is another world's underground?"
"This place is desolate."
"And lonely."
"So I did something I would later regret."
"But in the end, I understood that my fate had already been decided. After seeing that thing, the Heavenly Principles could never tolerate my existence."
According to the diary.
Orobas wandered the Dark Sea Beyond for an unknown length of time.
In any case.
He was incredibly lonely.
Though he feared death.
When the only person left to talk to was himself.
There was only one outcome.
A fate worse than death.
So Orobas did something else.
He searched for a place that did not belong to Teyvat but still contained people.
And surprisingly.
He found one.
Enkanomiya.
However, while reading the diary, Su Han noticed something else.
Orobas was an alchemy master of extremely high caliber.
Though he was genuinely cowardly.
And rather stubborn.
His scientific and research abilities were unquestionably outstanding.
The Dark Sea Beyond did not belong to Teyvat.
Yet it possessed incredibly powerful protective properties.
Had Orobas not possessed exceptionally strong perception.
Finding an exit would have been nearly impossible.
Through research.
He discovered a question.
Why had the ruler of Teyvat chosen such a barren place?
Teyvat was terrible.
That was Orobas's evaluation.
Primitive.
Harsh.
And constantly invaded by all sorts of outsiders.
But now he understood something.
The Heavenly Principles also feared something.
The Abyss.
In the third diary.
Orobas witnessed an Abyss invasion somewhere and even caught a glimpse of its terrifying nature.
Remembering King Deshret, whose mind had been clouded by love.
The cautious giant serpent quickly recognized the horror of the Abyss.
"The purple and black power is incredibly strong. Unfortunately, it is the natural enemy of all living things. No matter what methods I try, that fact cannot be changed."
"Twisted, ugly, fallen."
"So this is what the one upon the throne fears."
"How terrifying."
"If this power were ever to break through the world's barriers, what would happen?"
"I am worried."
At that moment.
Orobas finally understood the intentions of the Heavenly Principles.
But the more he understood.
The more frightened he became.
He had escaped the wolf's jaws only to enter the tiger's den.
Was there anyone in the world more unlucky than Orobas?