In the consciousness space of the Great Compassion Tree King, the restless corruption began to calm after Yilan and Rukkhadevata kissed.
However, the space was still saturated with forbidden knowledge, and Yilan would need a long time to completely purge it.
As the corruption gradually receded, the space began to recover—returning to its previous dreamlike state, filled with birdsong and blooming flowers.
Outside the pool, Nahida stood on tiptoe, covering the Wanderer's eyes with her small hands.
"Good boy, don't look at things like that," she said seriously, pulling him aside.
But after a while, not only had Yilan not finished his work, but strange sounds began to echo from within.
"What on earth are they doing? Why haven't they finished yet?"
The Wanderer asked impatiently.
The petite Nahida's expression shifted. A blush bloomed across her face as a terrible realization struck her.
Conjuring two soft cotton balls, she stuffed them into both her own ears and the Wanderer's.
"Nahida is hearing things she shouldn't… Nahida is no longer pure…" she muttered under her breath.
…
After a long time had passed, the sacred, loving consciousness of the Great Compassion Tree King—the true Rukkhadevata—finally reasserted control. Her weakened voice spoke:
"Yilan… that's enough…"
Yilan reached out, embracing the limp form of Rukkhadevata from behind.
"I can still feel that corrupted consciousness inside you," he said. "Why not continue until it's completely gone?"
Yilan's method of helping Rukkhadevata was the same as before:
He guided the forbidden knowledge rooted deep in her soul into his own being.
As long as the corruption within her diminished, her true self could regain dominance.
And as for whether absorbing that knowledge would harm Yilan—there was no need for concern.
Forbidden knowledge is a "poison" to the inhabitants of Teyvat, but Yilan was not native to this world.
As an outsider, he was immune.
No matter how much forbidden knowledge he absorbed, it could not harm him.
On the contrary, he had learned much from it—knowledge drawn from the heavens and the abyss alike.
With his current spirit attribute of 30, he could even begin deciphering some of it.
But he chose not to.
The fate of "Gold"—Rhinedottir— had taught him a hard lesson.
Her spiritual and soul attributes far exceeded his, and yet she had still triggered the abyssal beast tide—an event that, according to current records, occurred before the destruction of Khaenri'ah by Celestia's law.
From this, it was clear:
Forbidden knowledge is extremely dangerous.
Yilan had no intention of awakening another catastrophe out of curiosity.
To speed up the cleansing process and avoid giving the corruption a chance to resist, Yilan adopted a more radical solution—something off-topic.
And he had received the tacit approval of the Great Compassion Tree King herself.
By the way—Yilan's hands had grown back.
After all, this was a realm of consciousness.
In such a space, shaped by the soul and thought, broken limbs could be restored through willpower alone.
Of course, while his hands had healed, Yilan's soul had been deeply wounded, and it would take a long time to fully recover.
…
Rukkhadevata let go of the World Tree, her legs trembling weakly. She nearly collapsed, but Yilan caught her just in time and helped her sit on a clean stone slab nearby.
"…"
Rukkhadevata looked at Yilan with a slightly reproachful gaze.
Though she was clearly taken advantage of, she didn't show much anger.
After all, in the five hundred years she had spent suppressing the forbidden knowledge, aside from her thoughts of Sumeru and Nahida, the only other person she had consistently thought of… was Yilan.
To spend five centuries thinking of someone—even without much love—made that person special.
And besides… they had a daughter together.
Yilan didn't notice Rukkhadevata's gaze.
His attention had shifted to the floral leg ring she wore, woven from glowing vines and blossoms.
He remembered breaking it during battle—yet somehow, it had returned.
Dreams worked in strange ways.
The same was true of her emerald green dress, which now radiated a holy, divine aura.
"I'm not going to destroy her," Rukkhadevata said softly.
The "her" she spoke of was the corrupted version of herself—the twisted personality born of forbidden knowledge.
"She's only been alive for a hundred years," Rukkhadevata continued. "She's never even left this place. In fact… she's the only person I've had to talk to during all this time."
A faint smile graced her lips. Her eyes, now fully green again, shimmered with warmth and peace.
"She's not evil. No one is born evil. The danger lies in the forbidden knowledge, not her."
"Now that I've regained control, and with you here, she can't do anything harmful. I want to protect her… is that alright?"
Yilan shrugged and smiled.
"She's your alternate self. The choice is yours."
"But I'll say this—it suits you perfectly, O Great and Merciful Tree King."
"Thanks," she said gently.
"No need for thanks. You're my wife," Yilan added with a bold grin.
Rukkhadevata's face flushed.
In this space, she was far stronger than Yilan.
Yet the memory of his power had already been etched into her being.
In his presence, she instinctively felt weaker.
She wanted to retort, "I'm not your wife," but the moment she met his eyes, the words died in her throat.
So instead, she changed the subject:
"By the way… she says she wants to talk to you."
Rukkhadevata closed her eyes.
When they opened again, her irises had turned into radiant rubies.
Even her flowing green dress darkened into a deep crimson, leaving Yilan momentarily stunned.
"Well, well… I see you really like this body, don't you?"
The corrupted Rukkhadevata—dark, seductive, and sly—smiled teasingly as she leaned closer.
"I've got a good impression of you. Why don't we work together? You help me take control of this body… and once that naive girl is gone, it'll just be the two of us…"
But her voice cut off abruptly.
The moment Rukkhadevata regained control, her expression changed.
Face flushed, she stared at Yilan with anxious eyes.
"Yilan, you… you won't agree to that, right?"
"Of course not."
Yilan answered firmly.
But just as she let out a breath of relief, he added mischievously:
"But, well… people's minds change.
If you want to make sure I stay loyal, how about rewarding me with some more 'forbidden knowledge'?"
"This is not the time to joke!"
Even Rukkhadevata, with all her divine serenity, couldn't help but pinch Yilan's side in protest—her tone laced with embarrassment and exasperation.
***
Sumeru,
Jingshan Palace.
As Yilan and the other two's bodies trembled slightly, their consciousness returned to their physical forms.
"I'm finally back. Although the process was a bit dangerous, the result is good,"
Nahida said, patting her chest with relief.
"Did things go smoothly on your end?" the Wanderer (Sanbing) asked, glancing at Yilan.
Yilan gestured for patience and then asked inwardly,
"Rukkhadevata, are you there?"
A gentle voice soon responded in his mind.
"Yes, I'm here."
Yilan gave Nahida and the Wanderer a thumbs-up.
Seeing the gesture, Nahida clenched her fists joyfully in front of her chest and let out a quiet cheer. The Wanderer's expression also eased, visibly relieved.
Now, Rukkhadevata's soul had been transferred from the corrupted consciousness space into Yilan's mind.
The next step would be to construct a new physical body for her to allow a full resurrection.
As for who could help forge that body—it had to be the puppet master Raiden Ei. Fortunately, this gave Yilan an excuse to visit Inazuma.
However, since Rukkhadevata's consciousness was still tethered to the Irminsul (World Tree), she remained vulnerable to corruption by the forbidden knowledge.
To prevent her from being overtaken by her alternate self, she needed to exchange bodily fluids with Yilan on a regular basis.
With her safely rescued, Yilan had completed the primary goal of his journey to Sumeru—and earned 40 points of positive energy.
Now possessing 76 points, he needed only 24 more to begin another simulation.
"So, my wife… now that you've finally broken free of the prison that bound you for five centuries, is there anything you'd like to do?"
Yilan asked with a light smile.
"I… would like to see Sumeru City today, if that's okay?"
Yilan sighed gently.
"You are my wife. There's no need to speak so politely to me."
"Hmm…"
Once revered and loved by her people as a god, Rukkhadevata now found herself unsure of how to respond to Yilan's directness.
But… how could she explain it?
A thousand years ago, it was the actions of the Flower God and King Deshret that had brought forbidden knowledge down upon Mount Sumeru. She had sacrificed a vast portion of her divine power to seal it away.
Five hundred years ago, when the destruction of Khaenri'ah contaminated Irminsul, it was she who sealed her soul within it, suppressing the forbidden knowledge alone.
She had always been the one to sacrifice. The one to redeem.
Now, for the first time, someone had told her,
"I will save you."
And then truly pulled her from the mire of torment.
Even though he had been domineering after that… surprisingly, she didn't feel offended. Instead, she felt something like a sense of belonging. A rare comfort.
Unaware of her complex emotions, Yilan turned to Nahida.
"Your mother wants to see Sumeru City. Let's go together."
"Okay! Nahida wants to go shopping with Mom and Dad!"
"Hmph. You go without me. I'll wait here," the Wanderer said with his arms crossed.
"Come on. Even if you don't acknowledge the former Dendro Archon as your mother, you still have me, your father—and your sister."
Though Nahida called herself his "younger sister," she spoke to him like a mother addressing a stubborn child.
Yilan added,
"Let's go together. Besides, there's something important I want to discuss with you."
"Tch…"
Although the Wanderer grumbled, his feet moved of their own accord and followed them.
Outside Jingshan Palace—
The fresh air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and the rustling of trees. Flocks of birds soared past the palace nestled in the boughs of the giant tree.
Yilan walked to the edge of the railing and gazed outward.
"Rukkhadevata, can you see it?"
"Yes. My soul is linked to your consciousness space—I can see what you see."
"Still, that's not very convenient, is it?"
Yilan mused, turning to Nahida.
"Nahida, can you get a Void Terminal for me?"
"Of course!"
At Nahida's command, a Void Terminal was delivered swiftly through the system.
After tweaking its functions, Yilan said inwardly,
"I added a projection capability to this Void Terminal. Rukkhadevata, try to project your consciousness through it."
"Give me a moment, I'll try."
Moments later, light shimmered from the Void Terminal at Yilan's ear, and a graceful figure gradually materialized in front of them.
She wore a resplendent white-and-green gown, her long platinum hair glowing like starlight as it flowed from her shoulders to her knees.
Woven leg rings of flowers adorned her thighs. She stood barefoot, yet her presence was so holy, it felt as though no impurity in the world could dare sully her steps.
Looking around with quiet curiosity, Rukkhadevata spoke,
"So this is Sumeru five hundred years later? It doesn't look all that different from what I remember."
Yilan walked to her side and said,
"Disappointed? You endured five centuries of torment inside the World Tree, prepared to sacrifice your life… yet the people you saved haven't changed much."
Rukkhadevata shook her head gently.
"For me, seeing the people of Sumeru City still living peacefully… is the greatest reward."
"Ow—!"
She winced, clutching her forehead. Yilan had flicked her inside their shared consciousness.
"Don't ever talk like that again," Yilan said firmly.
"You've given enough to this city. You're no longer the Dendro Archon. You don't need to carry those burdens anymore. Just live for yourself now. Understood?"
Nahida nodded seriously, placing a hand over her chest.
"I know I still have a long way to go before I can match my mother, but I'll work hard to become a worthy god in her place."
Rukkhadevata looked between them, her emerald eyes softening.
Perhaps… this was how Morax once felt, overhearing Liyue's merchants chatting as they walked the streets.
—I've fulfilled my mission. And now that I have an excellent successor… can I finally rest?
Though she still wasn't sure what her new life would hold, now that she had stepped down as Archon,
Rukkhadevata felt that maybe—just maybe—
she could start by learning to be a good mother.
And… a proper wife.