"Water of life? What water of life?!" (voice cracking)
Hearing Xiao speak, Feng Yi finally realized that the hot spring bath today indeed felt a bit off.
He scooped some water into his mouth.
Huh?!
What was with this surging life energy?!
Feng Yi finally understood the source of his earlier bad premonition!
"Uh... well, you guys continue bathing. I suddenly remembered something I haven't done. I'll be right back!"
Feng Yi sprang up, wrapped himself in a towel, and hurried towards the secret chamber where Lottia was.
Inside the secret chamber.
"Lottia, what's this about the Water of Life?"
Feng Yi summoned Lottia from the water and asked.
"Lord, does the Water of Life refer to the water droplets transformed by the golden shards?"
Lottia pondered, finding no other possibility.
"Yes, didn't I ask you to help collect them? How did they end up in the hot spring?"
"Here's what happened. After coming into contact with the golden shards you entrusted to my care, I wanted to help you collect the transformed droplets as quickly as possible. So, I transmitted my own highly concentrated Hydro energy to it. However, as per your prior instructions, the golden shards were to be placed in the hot spring to purify the water. Therefore, as soon as the water droplets were transformed, they instantly merged into the hot spring. I couldn't stop it in time..."
Lottia's voice sounded helpless. She hadn't anticipated that the Water of Life transformed by the golden shards would possess such immense energy that she couldn't control it, and it dissolved directly into the hot spring.
"I see. Thank you for your hard work. There's no need to rush the transformation of the Water of Life; you only need to capture the free-floating Hydro elements around to transform them..."
Feng Yi noticed that Lottia's aura was somewhat unstable. He recalled that during their spar earlier, Lottia had unleashed numerous powerful attacks, yet her aura remained steady.
It was hard to imagine how much Hydro energy Lottia had supplied to the golden shards over these past two days.
Since Lottia had acted with good intentions, Feng Yi couldn't bring himself to scold her. He could only instruct: in the future, when the golden shards transform into the Water of Life, they should be removed from the water's surface, and the resulting droplets should be collected as much as possible.
"My Lord, please rest assured, Lottia will not fail your expectations!"
Lottia bowed her head in response, showing her respect for Feng Yi.
When Feng Yi returned to the hot spring, he directly submerged himself back into the pool.
Since the event had already occurred, he would try to salvage the situation as much as possible!
He decided not to change this pool of water anymore, until all the energy from the Water of Life within the hot spring was absorbed.
What else could he do? He couldn't possibly drink all this bathwater, could he?
"Feng Yi, do you know about the God of the Stove—Maraxius?"
Zhongli suddenly spoke, asking Feng Yi.
"Mmm... I know a little!"
Feng Yi nodded, knowing only a tiny bit.
"The God of the Stove—Maraxius was born from sparks generated by the collision of stones. He presided over hearth fires and the welfare of the people, a god who loved humanity... He poured all his strength into the land to quell various disasters... Exhausted, the Stove God's intellect greatly diminished, and his form became very small. By the time he bid farewell to the immortals, he was no taller than a person... As the Stove God departed this world, Guoba was born!"
Zhongli recounted Guoba's story, attempting to elicit a look of shock from Feng Yi's face.
Feng Yi: Uh... should I chime in here with a witty remark? Otherwise, it's quite awkward for Zhongli to be telling a story all by himself...
"Wow, Guoba has such a story? That's really surprising!"
Zhongli: Stop your clumsy act. Your expression is too exaggerated. Anyone you pull off the street would perform more naturally than you!
With such acting skills, how could Yun Jin have invited him to collaborate on a play back then?!
Zhongli couldn't help but worry about Feng Yi's future performances with Yun Jin.
Rarely seeing the Emperor speechless, Xiao, who was standing nearby, lowered his head, desperately suppressing his laughter.
"Earlier, I learned from Guoba that Yuanbao helped him escape 'The Erosion.' I suspect that Yuanbao's Golden Flame Spark possesses the miraculous abilities of the legendary Phoenix... Here, I wish to ask Yuanbao for a favor. I have an old friend who accompanied me in many battles, but due to severe 'Erosion,' he lost his sanity and I sealed him underground..."
Zhongli: I'll pretend you didn't make that witty remark just now. I'll pretend I didn't hear it...
Zhongli hoped Yuanbao could help his friend—Azhdaha, regain his sanity.
Of course, he had to obtain Feng Yi's consent first.
"Given our relationship, I will definitely support you wholeheartedly. However... I can't make decisions for Yuanbao regarding this matter. If anything were to happen to Yuanbao because of this, that would be unacceptable. Yuanbao's safety must be the prerequisite!"
Based on the information Zhongli provided, Feng Yi could roughly guess who his companion in battle was.
It was none other than the "Tuozi Ge"—Azhdaha!
Legend has it that most ancient Geo-discriminative creatures dwelling beneath Liyue were blind and had not seen the sun for millennia.
Azhdaha was one such creature!
Morax, while wandering in the mountains one day, heard an unprecedented, distant sound from a crevice in the earth.
The sound was sometimes mournful like a song, and sometimes terrifying like thunder.
Morax circled around and finally found a peculiar, strange stone within the rock layers.
Morax, pitying the stone's sentience, personally took a carving knife and sculpted it into an exquisitely crafted, lifelike giant dragon.
Morax granted it eyes to see things, and made an agreement with it. Then, using his finger as a brush, he dotted the dragon's eyes. In a flash, lightning and thunder struck the heavens, and a true dragon emerged.
Morax bestowed upon him his true name—Azhdaha, promising he could coexist with the surface dwellers, but if he ever disrupted order, he would be sealed back into darkness.
From then on, Azhdaha often stayed by Morax's side, accompanying him in battles across the land.
However, the offspring of the earth were like the rocks on the surface...
The memory of rocks was not very long; only extremely intense emotions could be preserved within them.
The longer the time passed, the more blurred the memories became.
'The Erosion' was the fuse ignited by the world upon him.
'The Erosion' stole Azhdaha's thoughts, making him gradually forget the faces of his old friends and the Liyue Harbor he had personally protected.
The once complete Dragon King became irritable and aggressive...
Initially, to expand territories and develop production, the people of Liyue ventured into the mountains to mine.
However, excessive mining caused seismic vibrations that caused Azhdaha immense suffering.
'The Erosion' further turned Azhdaha into a beast. No matter how he struggled, Azhdaha continued to lose his ability to coexist with humans, gradually losing his reason until he attacked The Chasm...
Morax divided his own power to prevent Azhdaha from further 'Erosion,' but discovered it was in vain.
In the end, Morax could only tearfully suppress him beneath the Nantianmen.