The voices of these whispers ranged from violent to humble, calm to insane, seductive to pleading…
"So, the demon gods who died in the Archon War didn't completely perish. Their souls have been suppressed in the Ley Lines all this time…"
Xia Zhi pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
He had no interest in these losers today.
His target was only one.
The Sakura in the cup was lifted by a gust of wind, merging into the array.
The [Soul-Summoning Banner] and [Soul-Guiding Banner] swayed wildly in the eerie wind.
Xia Zhi spoke, using a voice imbued with the [Guidance] trait, softly calling out the divine name:
"Baal."
--
At the docks of Liyue Harbor.
Mona was strolling alone, hoping to stumble upon some good deals.
At a certain moment, she suddenly looked up at the night sky, which had abruptly changed, her face filled with disbelief.
"Huh? Why does it look like it's going to rain again? Didn't my astrology predict clear skies for the next week?"
Is the astrology that old hag taught me even reliable?
--
At the construction site.
Zhongli was sitting at a table, eating dinner with Keqing.
Xiangling had been following Xia Zhi to learn cooking these past few days and hadn't had time to cook at the site, so the two were eating communal meals.
Zhongli didn't seem to mind, calmly chewing his food at a leisurely pace.
Keqing, on the other hand, seemed to lack an appetite, staring at the rice in her bowl in a daze.
At a certain moment, Zhongli seemed to sense something and suddenly looked toward Mt. Tianheng.
"Hm?"
There was an unfamiliar divine aura over there…
Zhongli frowned slightly, then, as if realizing something, relaxed his expression and continued eating calmly.
--
Inazuma.
Grand Narukami Shrine.
A stunning woman with fox ears and pink hair, dressed in a shrine maiden outfit primarily in red and white, was sitting in her room, happily eating fried tofu.
At a certain moment, she suddenly felt the ground tremble slightly.
"What is this…?"
She put down her chopsticks and walked to the back of the house.
The ground was already covered in a thick layer of pink cherry blossoms.
She looked up and saw that, for some unknown reason, the Sacred Sakura tree had suddenly bloomed with many new flowers.
The old tree sprouted anew, as if reborn.
The woman stood there in a daze, her fox ears twitching slightly.
"What's going on?"
--
"Baal."
As Xia Zhi uttered this divine name, it was as if a teacher had finished calling roll, and the students who had eagerly raised their hands, shouting "Teacher, I'm here," realized there was no chance left and lowered their hands.
The chaotic whispers that had been ringing in his mind disappeared.
It was as if a response had come from some distant place.
The Ley Line Blossom at the center of the array began to bloom slowly.
Xia Zhi waited quietly.
A few seconds later, the Ley Line Blossom fully opened.
A slender figure emerged from within the flower.
This flower is pretty white—no, pretty big—no, pretty round—no, anyway, pretty beautiful…
Wait, whether it's beautiful or not doesn't matter. What matters is that the golden progress bar on her is quite striking.
Surprisingly, it's only a Golden Progress Bar.
Xia Zhi was a bit surprised by this but also felt it was expected.
After all, she was just a remnant soul, devoid of any power.
Xia Zhi turned around and waved to his cousin in the distance.
Xia Ci ran over.
"Is it done?"
"It's done."
"Why isn't she wearing clothes?"
"Is she? It's my first time using this spell, so I wouldn't know."
"Does she look good?"
"What do you mean, look good? What are you talking about? Come on, I'm blind, okay?"
"Heh…"
The woman in the flower slowly opened her eyes, her expression somewhat dazed.
Xia Ci looked at her and said with a smile, "Makoto, you're awake."
"Buer?"
"Oh, How are you feeling now?"
"I'm… fine? I think I heard someone calling me earlier, and I couldn't help but respond. Then I appeared here… Where is this?"
"Liyue, on Mt. Tianheng."
"I went from Inazuma to Liyue in an instant?"
"Yup, impressive, right?"
"It's a bit unbelievable."
"That's thanks to the Ley Lines—or rather, thanks to my cousin. You should thank him."
"Oh, thank you, cousin…"
"Haha…"
Xia Ci couldn't help but burst into laughter.
A faint smile also appeared on Xia Zhi's face.
This goddess seemed a bit confused, adorably dazed, following Xia Ci and calling him "cousin" as well.
"Hm, no need to thank me."
"Cousin, you're taking advantage of her again! Makoto isn't really your cousin."
"Mm."
"Makoto, why don't you conjure some clothes first?"
"Oh, ah?! Where are my clothes?"
"You're in a soul state right now. Of course, you don't have clothes. Just manifest some yourself."
Makoto hurriedly conjured a set of clothes she used to wear often, then glanced at Xia Zhi with a slight blush.
Xia Ci said, "Don't worry, my cousin can't see anything."
"Is that so?"
Though unsure if it was true, seeing the sunglasses on Xia Zhi's face, Makoto felt a bit relieved and less embarrassed.
Xia Zhi bent down and picked up the [Soul-Summoning Banner] and [Soul-Guiding Banner] from the ground.
Though the uses of these items were somewhat niche…
Xia Zhi's mind drifted back to the voices of the demon god remnants he had heard during the summoning process.
They had been suppressed for far too long and were desperately yearning to see the light of day again.
If there ever came a time when he needed them, he could consider summoning them. Surely, he could negotiate many conditions with them.
After all, those in the future would all be shiny Diamond Treasure Chests.
---
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