Genshin Impact, Teyvat's own beloved immortal.

"So, what is the price?" Apep asked, his vertical green pupils fixed on Riku.

“There is no cost.” Lu Sheng shook his head. “This is a collaboration.”

He continued, "The path I've chosen is destined to be filled with thorns and poisonous spikes. Ahead lies a dark, sunless road, and there's no turning back. I walk alone, and I fear that one day I'll be bitten by a poisonous insect that suddenly appears, and I'll meet a tragic end..."

"I know you are the Dragon King, and you will not lower your noble head to become my servant or slave, but at least you can be my partner, or rather... my comrade-in-arms?"

"Our paths overlap significantly, and at the end we face the same nemesis. Given this, why not choose to cooperate?"

Apep fell silent. It never expected that the other party would not make a single request and would give this ancient dragon king enough face.

It had come to this point; it had no other choice.

“Heh, you dare to slay a god? I am willing to be your companion.” Apep forced his head up and said firmly, “I, Apep, the original master of all plants and trees, the Dragon King of Grass, hereby swear that as long as you continue on this path of challenging the laws of nature, I, Apep, will clear the way for you until this world is reduced to ashes.”

After saying that, Apep repeated it in the Dragon language.

The oaths of the dragon race carry considerable weight.

Before the emergence of humankind, the concept of lies did not exist among the beings of Teyvat.

Every word spoken by the Dragon King is an unwavering law.

Repeating it in the language of the dragons was a constraint imposed on Apep by his dignity as the Dragon King.

His terrestrial druid skills allow him to understand the languages ​​of all creatures, including the ancient dragon language.

Although it's unclear why Appepp repeated it in his own language, his tone sounded quite serious.

Apep lowered his head and stared at Lu Sheng. "Godslayer, I have agreed to cooperate with you. How will you help me get rid of the torment of forbidden knowledge?"

Lu Sheng: "It's simple, just open your mouth and let me in."

"Eat you?" Apep hesitated for a moment. "Are you sure? My body isn't calm. The Red King's forbidden knowledge has already messed up my body. It's full of pollution now."

"Don't worry, you've already witnessed my strength yourself, haven't you?"

"Oh well..."

Apep opened his mouth wide, and Lu Sheng crawled inside.

After a dizzying spin, the damp and cramped space suddenly opened up, revealing a paradise-like oasis before Lu Sheng.

The internal structure of organisms like Apep cannot be compared with that of normal carbon-based organisms.

If it so desires, it can even create a small world inside its own body.

In this oasis, vegetation flourishes, flowers bloom, and many elemental creatures never before seen live carefree lives.

Apep's voice came from above Lu Sheng's head, "This is the eternal oasis I created. During the forty years of that ancient primordial war, the world was engulfed by ice and fire. As the master of plants and trees, I did not want to see life go extinct, so I selected one male and one female of each kind of creature and swallowed them into my body, thinking that I would let them return to nature after the war ended. But I have been waiting until now..."

Lu Sheng thought to himself, "Isn't this a living Noah's Ark?"

He asked, "Maintaining such an oasis must require a lot of effort, right?"

"Actually, it didn't have much of an impact originally. I am an elemental being, and the vegetation in this oasis has been continuously supplying me with elemental power. But ever since I swallowed the remains of the Crimson King, my body has been corrupted. In order to prevent the oasis from being destroyed by the dark power, I can only condense most of my power into a barrier to protect the oasis... Ugh!!"

Apep suddenly let out a painful sound.

"I just fought you fiercely, and my strength is greatly depleted... I'm almost at my limit... Be careful! They're about to invade the oasis!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the oasis's original emerald green color suddenly changed, turning into the same dark green as the plants on Apep's body.

That was a sickly appearance.

The next instant, a group of extremely distorted monsters suddenly invaded the oasis.

Apep's people were terrified and fled in panic.

"Please, save them..."

Apep's plea came through.

"It's easy."

Lu Sheng responded calmly, and with a wave of his hand, he annihilated all the monsters.

The morbid green spread extremely quickly, soon expanding from a small patch to half the oasis. The defenses established by Apep had completely collapsed, and it was powerless to resist the destruction of the only pure land within its body by forbidden knowledge.

It can only pin its hopes on the tiny person inside its body.

Lu Sheng stood quietly in place, watching the sickly green spread towards him.

However, the color that had been spreading like a plague just a second ago suddenly stopped in front of Lu Sheng, as if it had hit an invisible iron curtain and could not advance even an inch.

Lu Sheng took a step forward, and with each step, the sickly green retreated half a meter.

The scene was like a plague god meeting the god of death, or a little devil encountering the king of hell.

He moved forward step by step, gradually driving the pollution that had invaded the oasis back to its original place.

But the polluters didn't realize the seriousness of the situation.

Lu Sheng passed directly through the oasis barrier and arrived in the space that had long been completely polluted.

If you follow the pollution upstream, you will find the source of the pollution—the remains of the Red King.

The pollution that originally wanted to invade the oasis has now turned into a guide.

Sumeru Chapter: Chapter 118: Open your mouth, I'm coming out.

Lu Sheng followed the traces of pollution all the way to the deepest part of Apep's body.

The deeper you go, the darker the pollution becomes, until it turns into a completely black color with no reflection, making it seem as if the space itself no longer exists.

"Be careful, you're about to come into contact with the remains of the Crimson King."

Apep reminded him.

Just to be on the safe side, Lu Sheng asked one more question: "Is there any danger?"

“The Crimson King was extremely dangerous. Although he is dead, no one knows what will happen after a demon god dies. I could feel that he had regrets when he went to his death. If those regrets are still left in his remains, you should be careful.”

Whose remains are these remains of the Great Sage?

Lu Sheng muttered to himself, not taking it to heart at all.

Even if the Crimson King at his peak came, he wouldn't be afraid. Why would he be afraid of a crippled body?

He resolutely entered the space that Apep had used to seal the remains of the Red King.

The pollution from the abyss suddenly intensified.

Passing through the isolated fog gate, Lu Sheng entered a magnificent palace.

This place is very similar to the unfinished golden dreamland inside the Red King's Mausoleum, but it is larger and more beautiful.

Golden trees, golden flowers, and butterflies that keep repeating along a fixed path.

In the very center of the palace, the Crimson King, clad in priceless golden armor, sat upon a throne formed from solidified yellow sand.

His head was tilted to one side, and his hands hung limply on the armrests of the throne, making him appear to be asleep, though he had actually been dead for over a thousand years.

Beside the throne was a smaller throne, upon which sat an exquisitely beautiful woman, dressed in a long, colorful dress adorned with vibrant flowers.

She held the bell in her hands, her eyes tightly closed, like a delicate porcelain doll.

If I'm not mistaken, she should be the goddess of flowers.

Of course, it couldn't be the real Flower Goddess; it must just be a fake stand-in.

He wanted to be with his beloved Flower Goddess even in death. Should we call him devoted or perverted?

“Appepp, I think the Red King is using your body as his own tomb, or even a joint burial tomb for husband and wife.”

Lu Sheng explained the situation to Apep.

Apep grumbled softly, "I know... but I can't help it. The place you're in now is no longer part of my body. It's more like the Red King's colony. The Flower Goddess is a product left behind by the Red King after his failure to resurrect his lover, and it's also his spiritual sustenance."

This time, Lu Sheng finally understood why Apep hated the Red King and the Tree King so much.

These two have been making a fool of Apep from beginning to end. Although Apep wouldn't have ended up in this state if he hadn't been so greedy, the Red King must have known Apep's determination to avenge the dragons, which is why he came looking for him.

The Red King caused the trouble himself, asked the Tree King to clean up the mess, and in the end, the foolish Apep had to bear all the consequences.

Isn’t this bullying an honest person?

"Don't worry, I'll get revenge for you."

Lu Sheng walked to the throne and was about to reach out to touch the remains of the Crimson King when a powerful abyssal force suddenly erupted from the bottom of the throne.

Sensing that an outsider had intruded into his dream, the remains of the Crimson King slowly opened their eyes.

Lu Sheng was already used to this.

"You demons are really something else. If you're going to die, can't you just die properly?"

No powerful soul fluctuations could be sensed from the Red King, confirming that his divine aspect had died. What had awakened now was, as Apep had said, nothing more than a zombie filled with regret and obsession.

boom!

Red King knocked Lu Sheng back with a single punch.

Even in death, this body remains that of a god, a mere numerical monster.

Apep sensed the unusual movement within its body, but it couldn't observe the part of the body possessed by the Red King. It could only hurriedly ask Rikuo, "What happened? Has the Red King woken up?"

Lu Sheng reassured him, "You guessed right. There is still an obsession within the Crimson King, but it's alright, I can handle it."

"Hmm..." Appepp cautiously warned, "Please don't summon one of those colossi inside me, it'll break..."

"understood."

Rikuo silently withdrew the half-drawn Onikiri.

Since wide-range killing moves are unavailable, the only option left is a true manly 1v1 battle with the Red King.

Rikuo activated his demon form and beckoned to the remains of the Crimson King.

The Crimson King leaped up, his golden fist gleaming, and unleashed a powerful shot at Lu Sheng.

Rikuo dodged the attack with a flash and appeared behind the Crimson King, delivering a serious punch to the armor on its back.

With a muffled thud, the Crimson King was sent flying more than ten meters away, but the armor on its back almost rebounded all the force back. Lu Sheng felt as if his left fist and right fist had collided with force, leaving him numb from the shock.

As expected of the Red King Ha, even the armor he wears is extraordinary.