Chapter 274: Dark Sea
Nashida's consciousness left Catherine's puppet body and transferred to the body provided by Yao Luo.

The process was very smooth, just like exchanging two cups of water.

During the transformation, Nashida felt the long-lost freedom in this body.

The real five senses and thoughts come from the body, instead of being attached to a certain body as before.

"Let's go. I can maintain this body until you break free of the cage."

As Yao Luo spoke, he used his sword energy to cut through space again. Compared to the boundary gate, in a single world, this ability was better at short-distance migration.

Just like that, the two of them took a step and returned to Liyue, thousands of miles away.

"Hey, why am I here?"

Catherine, sitting in the chair, was slightly stunned. She looked down at the unfinished food on the table and fell into deep thought.

"It seems that we need to go back to the headquarters for debugging."

Catherine stood up, revealing the keyhole-like device behind her neck.

After crossing the space gate opened by the Taixu sword energy, Nashida was surprised by the scenery that appeared in front of her.

The Seven Gods rarely cross their own countries to go to the realms of other gods. In the thousands of years after the Demon War, such gatherings were very few and far between.

But now, the scenery of numerous boats and mountains appeared so real before her eyes that Nashida, who had never been out of the house, couldn't help but sigh.

"So, this is how it works to perceive the world with your own body."

Nashida stretched out her little hand and stroked the tender buds on the ground, letting the sea breeze blow on her thin body, her little feet swinging back and forth in the air.

Yao Luo stood beside him like a bodyguard, with a relieved smile on his face.

Although the body created by Yao Luo cannot last long, it should be more than enough to cope with this "learning journey".

Yao Luo released his mental power to sense Zhongli's location. In this vast land, the most shining rock crystal was naturally where the Rock God was.

"found it."

This time, Zhongli was not far from them, near a statue of the Seven Heavenly Gods outside the city.

Nashida and Yao Luo walked over. Zhongli, who was standing with his hands behind his back in front of the statue, suddenly looked back with a hint of surprise.

"Oh? The God of Wisdom from the Land of Grass and Trees is here too? Welcome, welcome."

Zhongli entertained the two politely and looked at Yao Luo who was standing aside. He knew that the only person who could have such means was this unpredictable friend.

"Zhongli, you already know Nashida's identity. I brought her here today because I wanted to learn something from you."

"Hello, God of precious gold."

Nashida placed her hand on her heart and saluted Zhongli.

"Haha, God of Wisdom, you are too polite. As the old saying goes, it is a great pleasure to have friends coming from afar."

"Since you are Yao Luo's friend, I naturally welcome you."

"It has been a thousand years since I last met your ancestors."

Zhongli looked at Nashida's childlike body, raised his head with emotion, and couldn't help but recall the green wise figure when the seven gods first gathered.

The Great Compassionate Tree King at that time also left a deep impression on the other seven gods.

As the only one among the Seven Gods who can connect to the World Tree, there is no god in the world more knowledgeable than the Grass God, but she is so humble and kind.

Just by seeing this body and combining it with the conclusions he had drawn from his years of analysis of the Xumi trade, Zhongli had already guessed most of Nashida's situation in Xumi.

Zhongli turned around. On the statue in front of him, there was something like ointment, which gave off a long-lasting fragrance that lingered in the empty valley. "This is a part of the "Send Immortal Ceremony" to commemorate the deceased."

Yao Luo looked at the person in front of him, burning incense for himself in front of the statue of the Rock God. Only Zhongli could do this.

“Why do we need to do this?”

Nashida looked at the god in front of her and asked.

Compared to the years she had been imprisoned, the being before her was undoubtedly older and wiser. But even though she had guessed that Morax was not dead, Nashida found it hard to imagine the thoughts he had gone through when he made this decision.

"It's to not be forgotten."

There was a hint of loneliness in Zhongli's words. In his long career, he must have experienced many "ceremonies of sending off the immortals", sometimes for his comrades, sometimes for his friends.

During the ancient war between demons and gods, the number of immortals accompanying him was far greater than it is now.

Take the ancient Yaksha clan for example. At that time, countless Yakshas fought against the resentment of the demons and made great contributions to Liyue’s conquests. It can even be said that without the Yaksha clan, it would be difficult to have the peaceful Liyue today. The five most outstanding people are called the "Five Yaksha Generals."

Now, the only Yaksha still alive are General Jinpeng, the Great Sage Subduing Demons, and Xiao.

"I want to buy some osmanthus flowers to carry with me to drink, but it's a pity that my friend has passed away...ah~"

Since the traveler was not around, Zhongli could only do this by himself, which made the scene even more desolate.

"I see. Will I experience something like this in the future?"

Nashida asked, in the years she had lived, she had also seen funerals of ordinary people, they often cried very hard, but some people showed joy.

Nashida did not understand this feeling, just as a person who has never lost anything will naturally not understand the feeling of losing something.

"Will do."

Zhongli stood in front of the statue for a long time, his face seemed to be filled with reminiscence and yearning.

He looked at himself, then at Liyue, and finally, he left without looking back, with a kind of determination revealed in his back.

Looking at Zhongli's back, Yao Luo clenched his fists. He might be able to understand some of Zhongli's feelings.

Before he left Yarilo VI, hundreds of his comrades had died in front of him, and when he boarded the train again to leave, the accumulation of these emotions would become particularly precious.

He only stayed on the planet Yalilo VI for less than 10 years, but Zhongli's life was accumulated by countless decades.

He had held funerals for many people, and now it was his turn.

Nashida was also thoughtful, wondering what kind of persistence could make Zhongli so determined to "let go".

A country without the protection of gods will undoubtedly suffer losses in diplomacy and various aspects, and may even fall into an irretrievable situation.

But perhaps it was Zhongli's belief in Liyue that made him choose to let go.

And what Nashida needs to learn is how to "hold" her country.

“If you want to change a place, you must first have the ability to change it.”

.....................

In the continent of Teyvat, in addition to the Solitary Cloud Pavilion, there is also a mysterious area that seals the existence that was defeated in the Demon War.

The dark sea.

In that boundless realm beyond the material world, some dark whispers are quietly taking place, and the direction they are heading is countless kilometers away.

Liyue.

(End of this chapter)