Damn it, something's wrong with the gacha I got.

"That's perfect, I'd like to talk more about the scenery of the other world."

Xingqiu readily agreed.

So the group slowly walked toward the entrance bridge of Liyue Harbor.

After traversing the long trade route, the terrain gradually opens up.

When the bamboo shoots are plentiful, a vast wilderness stretches out before you.

Under the azure sky, rolling hills rise and fall, overgrown with weeds, interspersed with broken walls and stone foundations half-buried in the earth.

The wind blew through, stirring up dust and sand, and all around was quiet except for the rustling of wild grass and the faint, metallic crunching sound in the distance.

“This place… is so desolate,” Qiong muttered as she looked around. “Aside from the occasional patrol of the Thousand Rock Army and a few scattered caravans, we’ve hardly seen any inhabitants. Why is it that such a large area of ​​land has so few people living here?”

Zhong Li stepped forward slowly, the hem of his robe brushing against the knee-high weeds. His gaze swept over the desolate ruins in the wilderness, his voice calm:

"This place is called Guili Plain. Although it is desolate now, it was once a bustling and prosperous place in the distant past."

He paused, then continued, "However, during the War of the Demon Gods, this place was one of the most devastating battlefields. According to the Stone Book Records, a catastrophic flood followed the war, submerging fields and houses, leaving nothing but devastation. To save his people, the Emperor had no choice but to order the destruction of the area, which is now the Liyue Harbor region."

His voice carried the weight of time: "This migration was not an ordinary move, but a collective trauma etched into our blood and memory. Our homes were reduced to ruins, the past was buried in the dust, and the return to our homeland gradually became what we see today."

Wendy chimed in softly, her tone unusually light: "Besides, after being abandoned for so long, it's not just memories that wander here. Ruins guards, Hilichurl tribes, and treasure-hunting groups waiting for their chance... all have made this deserted place their home. Ordinary people naturally don't want to set foot here easily."

As the Wind God, Qianfeng was his eyes and ears, so he naturally knew about Guiliyuan's information.

“Mr. Zhongli and His Excellency Wendy are indeed very knowledgeable. Guiliyuan is indeed as you two have said.”

Xingqiu nodded in agreement and continued, "Of course, that's one aspect. On the other hand, Liyue Harbor is now the most prosperous port on the Teyvat continent, and it has a natural advantage in facilitating trade with it via sea transport."

As the second young master of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce, his business prospects are naturally excellent.

The sparsely populated and underdeveloped areas of the relocated communities are due not only to historical factors but also to inadequate natural environment and transportation infrastructure.

If this place can be developed and utilized, then Liyue's economy will naturally usher in an unprecedented period of prosperity.

"Oh right, I remember there are remnants of a demon god here, right? I've heard that thing is quite dangerous."

Chen Bai's gaze swept across the wasteland, and he spoke softly.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Li remained unmoved.

"I didn't expect you to know about the remnants of the Demon God. But as you said, the dangers of Guiliyuan are indeed not limited to the treasure-hunting gangs. If the Thousand Rock Army and the adventurers unite to deal with these, the situation can be stabilized."

He paused slightly.

"But this ancient land is buried with the resentment of many defeated people from back then. If ordinary people are corroded by these remnants, their lives will be in danger."

Both he and the drunkard were well aware of the harm caused by the remnants of the demon god.

This thing is no different from the power of the abyss; both are extremely corrosive and can cause mental harm to ordinary people.

Chapter 146 Old Yang should really like this Iron Man Treasure, right?

During their conversation, Xing's gaze was suddenly drawn to a moving object in the distance.

She blinked and pointed curiously to the left: "Hey? That ruins guardian you were talking about... does it look like that?"

The text appears to be a jumbled collection of characters and symbols, possibly from different sources. A direct translation isn't meaningful without further context or clarification.

Two distinctly different mechanical constructs turned out of the ruined buildings and steadily approached them.

One of them was a humanoid machine, about three to four meters tall, with a robust and heavy body made of dark, mottled metal and rough rock. Its entire body had a rusty texture of grayish-brown and dark bronze. Huge gears, thick pipes and rivets were exposed at the joints. There was a raised structure on its back that resembled a boiler, from which a muffled creaking sound could be faintly heard.

The other machine was even more bizarre in appearance, resembling an enlarged four-legged metal spider. Its main body was inlaid with a single, constantly rotating, glowing yellow eye. The ends of its four flexible mechanical arms were not legs, but sharp, rapidly spinning blades that gleamed coldly and cut through the air with a terrifying buzzing sound.

"It's the Ruins Guardians and Ruins Hunters! Everyone be careful!"

No sooner had Xingqiu's warning fallen than a sudden change occurred!

The structure on the shoulder of the humanoid relic guard suddenly opened, and several shells trailing crimson flames roared out, heading straight for the horrific, desolate ruins!

Just as Chen Bai was about to make a move, that man made his move.

"As stable as a rock."

Zhong Li's voice was not loud, but it carried a strange, calming power.

Before the words were finished, a semi-transparent amber-colored jade barrier appeared out of thin air, like the most solid rock ridge, precisely blocking the cannonballs fired by the Bloodthirsty Clan.

"Boom—!!"

A violent explosion echoed through the ruins, and flames and smoke instantly engulfed the jade tablet.

However, the seemingly thin barrier remained perfectly still, firmly keeping all impacts and fragments out.

As the smoke and dust dissipated, the jade tablet shone with a radiant light, slowly fading away, leaving no trace of the stench and decay behind it.

Chen Bai glanced at Zhong Li, who stood calmly beside him, and thought to himself: Indeed, the weight of the rock is reassuring.

"Wow! Mr. Zhongli, is this your ability?" Xing opened her eyes wide, full of surprise.

"I only know a little about self-defense." Zhong Li nodded slightly, his tone as calm as ever.

Qiong stared thoughtfully at the specks of rock elemental dust remaining in the air after the jade tablet dissipated: "The feeling of this power... is somewhat similar to the [Preservation] destiny we know."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhongli." Xingqiu and Chongyun thanked Zhongli.

"No need to be polite, please do as you please, I will create a barrier for you."

The sound of bells entered the water.

"Then what are we waiting for? My bat is itching for a fight."

Before Xing finished speaking, he had already shot out like an arrow released from a bow.

She stepped over the rubble and in the blink of an eye approached the tall ruins guard. The baseball bat in her hand drew a simple yet explosive arc in the air, accompanied by a tearing screech, and slammed hard into the opponent's thick breastplate!

"Bam—!!"

A deep, resounding boom, like a giant hammer striking a war drum, suddenly erupted.

The instant the bat collided with the metal, a pure and violent burst of destructive energy erupted from the tip of the bat, instantly engulfing the humanoid mechanical creation like an invisible raging torrent.

The ruins guard didn't even have time to retaliate before its heavy body was completely twisted and deformed by the shocking force.

Countless gears, rivets, and metal plates scattered and flew in all directions with a teeth-grinding cracking sound. The core structure was crushed into scrap metal, and the entire machine was completely paralyzed by the blow, turning into a pile of smoking wreckage.

The whole process took only a blink of an eye.

"...One strike?"

Xingqiu and Chongyun were both stunned.

They had witnessed the tenacity of the ruins' guards; ordinary attacks were unlikely to breach their formidable defenses.

And this Miss Xing so casually destroyed it with a single blow? Is this the power that the Nameless Guest possesses?

However, the battle was not over.

Almost at the same moment the star was captured, the yellow single eye of the Relic Hunter, which was suspended in mid-air, suddenly locked onto the crowd below. The muzzles of the cannons on both sides of the fuselage flashed, and several shells poured down with a whooshing sound!

At the same time, its four high-speed spinning sharp blades emitted a piercing buzz, and its huge fuselage suddenly swooped down like a hunting spider, rushing straight towards Ah Xing with icy killing intent!

In the blink of an eye, as the Relic Hunters swooped down with cannonballs and blades—

"Flaming Spear, Charge!"

A clear shout cut through the clamor.

Qiong's figure shot out like an arrow released from a bow, the large spear in her hand burning with intense heat slicing through the air, its tip pointing directly at the Relic Hunter.

Facing the incoming cannonballs, Qiong showed no intention of retreating, swinging his spear to create a scorching arc of light in the air.

The flames of [Protection] surged out from the gun, instantly enveloping the flying projectiles and igniting them in mid-air with a series of short explosions, turning them into sparks that splattered everywhere!

His momentum showed no signs of slowing down.

Almost at the same instant the shell detonated, Qiong exerted force with his arms, twisted his waist, and used the momentum of his forward thrust to channel all his strength into the tip of the spear, stabbing forward fiercely!

"Snap—!"

A piercing, metallic clang, as if metal had been forcibly torn apart, erupted.

The burning spearhead, with unstoppable force, precisely pierced below the single eye in the center of the Relic Hunter, penetrating its core armor.

The four sharp arm blades, which were spinning at high speed and had approached within half a meter of the forehead, suddenly froze, emitting a series of unwilling friction sounds as they spun aimlessly, before finally falling limply to the ground.

"break."

Qiong's cold voice rang out again. With his will, an even more powerful [Preservation] fire erupted from the gun, turning into a torrent of flames that surged wildly into the Relic Hunter's body through the wound.

Flames raged and surged within its metal cavity, emitting a terrifying red light from within; the gears melted and the wires cracked.

The mechanical hunter was completely devoured from the inside out, twisting and collapsing in the raging flames, eventually turning into a pile of scattered, still-warm, charred remains that fell to the ground.

"Wow...that's amazing!"

Chongyun was stunned.

I never expected Mr. Lian Qiong to be so amazing.

"Old man, what do you think?"

Wendy, who was watching the show, whispered to Zhong Li beside her.

"The destructive and protective powers within them are indeed formidable; the forces beyond this world are truly unfathomable."

Zhong Li's golden eyes flickered slightly.

"Yes, it would be great if this [protection] power could reinforce the sky."

Wendy smiled.

At the same time, Chen Bai came to the two little gray-haired creatures and looked at the pile of broken mechanical debris with a regretful expression.

What a pity! If we could bring them back, these two Iron Man Treasures might have made Old Yang very happy.

He remembered that people liked these kinds of robots.

Chapter 147 Earth Vein Stagnation

"Miss Xing and Mr. Qiong are truly skilled."

Xingqiu stepped forward, his face filled with undisguised admiration. "If it were Chongyun and me, it would probably take quite a bit of trouble to deal with these two ruins guards."

"Hmm, little brother, you have a good eye."

Qiong slung the spear over his shoulder, raised his eyebrows, and gave a "you know your stuff" look.

"If you go to the Immortal Boat Luofu, you might find yourself having a lot in common with Yanqing."

Xing crossed his arms and suddenly felt that the well-mannered second young master in front of him bore a striking resemblance to the equally young but exceptionally skilled swordsman, Yunqi Xiaowei.

"Yanqing? Is he also your friend?" Xingqiu's interest was indeed piqued.

"I suppose so," Xing nodded, giving a concise introduction. "He is the disciple of General Jingyuan of the Immortal Ship Luofu. He is very skilled in swordsmanship at a young age. He once fought four opponents at once, although he did not defeat any of them."

"Immortal Boat...Luofu?" Xingqiu caught this unfamiliar word and pondered, "This must be the name of the other world you have arrived in, right?"

Seeing that the topic had come to this point, Chen Bai naturally took over the explanation:

"The Immortal Ship Luofu is the location of a cosmic power we encountered before. However, it is not an ordinary world, but a void behemoth sailing among the stars, its size far exceeding that of ordinary stars. There are six similar behemoths in the Immortal Ship Alliance, patrolling various realms, following the footsteps of the [Hunter] Star God..."

He briefly outlined the general situation of the Celestial Alliance, the characteristics of its immortal people, and the philosophy of the Hunting Star God.

Although it was only a general description, for Xingqiu and Chongyun, who grew up in Teyvat and whose knowledge was mostly limited to one continent, it was like unfolding a vast and boundless star map before their eyes.

The images of colossal warships traversing deep space and civilizations crossing stars, with their indescribable awe and romance, impacted the two teenagers' understanding.

"The Immortal Boat Luofu..." Xingqiu repeated softly, his eyes gleaming with longing, "There is such an incredible existence."

"If I have the chance, I really want to see it for myself," Chongyun couldn't help but say, a rare hint of longing in his usually calm tone.

"Haha, that's not necessarily a bad thing."

Chen Bai smiled, his tone casual but not joking, "If we return to the train for a rest after this trip, it wouldn't hurt to give you a ride to visit the sights, since we still have some time before heading to the next station."

This suggestion made Xingqiu and Chongyun's eyes light up.