Seeing that Morax had left, the gods were furious to see him return to fight once again. They all raged, "Morax, you have slain so many of our brothers, and you are still not satisfied? We have already admitted defeat this time, what more do you want? This is too much! Kill him, destroy him! Since you came to fight on your own initiative, perish right here!"
In an instant, the war resumed. On this day, the recently calm sea surface was once again churned into towering waves. The freshly victorious Morax swung his spear and charged into the sea once more, consecutively slaying dozens of powerful gods. Morax was truly enraged. This battle raged on for another day and night. Across a hundred miles of sea, the furious roars of the gods could be heard, and the waters were dyed red by their blood. In the end, Morax won once again.
Bearing wounds both large and small, he returned victorious from the sea. Gripping his spear, he sat down beside the tombstone of the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens, murmuring to himself, "My friend, your wish will eventually come true."
After saying these words, the expression on Morax's face grew increasingly cold and devoid of emotion. Ever since the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens sacrificed himself, Morax seemed to have been deeply struck, gradually locking away his heart and sealing off his emotions. Like a cold, emotionless machine, he never smiled again.
In that war, although he had slain many gods, there were still more gathering from all directions toward the land of Liyue, plotting conspiracies to devour this land. To prevent the gods from invading again, Morax ordered the adepti to forge higher pass walls and construct more mechanisms. In order to expand his forces and better protect this land, Morax stepped beyond the borders of Liyue at that time. He personally traveled to the neighboring Guili Plains, extending an olive branch of alliance to Guizhong, the god of the Guili Plains.
...
Up to this point, the story of the sixteenth reincarnation, the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens, has come to an end.
As everyone can see, a thousand years later, Rex Lapis won the Archon War and unified this land. A thousand years later, Liyue flourished, the people lived and worked in peace, no longer harassed by the gods. If the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens could see all of this, he would definitely not regret severing his antlers to prop up the Tianheng Mountains, nor would he regret fighting a bloody battle for Liyue. A thousand years later, when the deer-shaped fireworks of the Lantern Rite flew into the sky, blooming and illuminating the entirety of Liyue, the name of the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens would once again surface in the hearts of the people.
...
At this moment in Liyue, after Ling Mo finished telling the story of the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens, he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy a good cup of tea.
After the story of the sixteenth life was finished, everyone in the entire Wangshu Inn seemed to be grieving and shocked by the tale, falling into a prolonged silence. No one spoke a word. After a while, the audience finally woke up from their daze with tears in their eyes and sighs of lamentation.
"No wonder the grand finale firework of the Lantern Rite every year is a stag modeled after the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens. So that is why!"
"He sacrificed too much for Liyue!"
"It is precisely because of countless people like him that Liyue could achieve ultimate victory amidst the siege of countless gods!"
"I really wish he could come back to life and take a look at Liyue today! His wish has come true!"
"Not only him, but those Millelith soldiers who sacrificed themselves at Tianheng Pass are equally worthy of respect! Just like him, they are all heroes!"
"In this battle, Rex Lapis slew so many gods, why were there still major wars afterward?" someone asked.
"There were simply too many gods in Liyue at that time. A single great battle could never completely eradicate them."
"One adeptus already sacrificed himself in this battle. Who knows if more adepti would sacrifice themselves in the subsequent great wars?!"
"Storyteller, you said after this battle, Rex Lapis went to the Guili Plains to form an alliance with the god there? What happened next? Hurry up and tell us!"
"Guizhong? Why does that name sound so unfamiliar?"
After listening to the story of the sixteenth life, the audience below wiped their tears while discussing the tale, constantly sighing for the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens. They truly hoped the storyteller would hurry up and continue, because after all the stories were finished, perhaps he could come back to life and see the Liyue of today. If he could see the current development of Liyue, he would definitely be very happy.
As the audience was discussing, in one of the corners of the inn, Hu Tao, Keqing, Shenhe, Arataki Itto, Paimon, Lumine, Beidou, and the others were still looking at the visual above the inn, immersed in the story that had just been told.
Looking at the frozen visual, Arataki Itto rarely sighed. "Sigh... you adepti of Liyue are all monsters. Even the great Arataki Itto wants to fight them! Wait, except for that chubby qilin adeptus! Although I love to fight, I would absolutely never bully a kid, and I would never spar with a child!"
Although Arataki Itto seemed to act casually, in his heart, he always had his own code of conduct. For example, when dealing with adults, he would use sumo, but when dealing with kids, a Cricket Fight could solve everything. Hearing these words, everyone else around fell completely silent. How much confidence did one need to completely ignore the combat power of the illuminated beast qilin, Ganyu?
Paimon put her hands on her hips and said, "Hmph, cowherd, you are too arrogant! Although Ganyu is not good at fighting, she is still an adeptus with an impressive record of solo-killing a god! Teaching a cowherd a lesson would definitely be easy!"
Arataki Itto was unconvinced. "Huh? She can defeat the great Arataki Itto? Are you kidding me! As long as I don't bite her, she won't be able to choke me to death!"
Paimon was speechless. What on earth was going on in this cowherd's head? Did the majestic illuminated beast qilin only know one move, "choking the enemy to death"? She definitely knew many moves! Paimon said seriously, "That one move, Qilin Charge, could directly knock you, the cowherd, flying!"
Arataki Itto scoffed, "Huh? That kind of move can defeat the great Arataki Itto? What kind of Liyue joke is this?"
Having seen the story of this life, although Arataki Itto acknowledged the strength of the adepti and Morax, in his eyes, that tumbling little qilin was just a kid. How much combat power could she possibly have? Just as the two were arguing, Xiangling hurriedly said, "Stop arguing, and no making fun of Ganyu!"
Hu Tao pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke up. "Guizhong, such a familiar name... I feel like I have heard it somewhere before? I remember now! When Zhongli first joined the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, he talked in his sleep once and mentioned that name!"
Xiangling was confused. "???"
Keqing was equally shocked. "Rex Lapis talked in his sleep?"