I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

About ten minutes later, just as the traveler girl was getting a little anxious, Little Paimon, panting heavily, flew back.

She leaned on the traveler's shoulder, spread her hands, and said helplessly, "No, it's too high. I've already flown to at least two thousand meters, but there are still winds. It's definitely not something we can fly over."

“Perhaps this is a seal set up by Barbatos,” Zhongli said softly. “After all, from a rational point of view, wouldn’t it be normal for Barbatos to create a wind field after defeating the dragon Dulin and seal Dulin’s body inside it?”

"indeed."

Little Paimon nodded slightly in understanding, then tapped his palm and said to the traveling girl, "Then let's hurry to Mondstadt and find the street singer so he can remove this seal."

“No need, there’s no need to go find the Wind God.” Gui Zhong raised his hand to stop him, saying, “The records I’ve seen mention this wind field.”

"This is not a wind field set up by the Wind God, but a wind field that has existed since this ancient country was frozen and destroyed two thousand years ago."

"So even street performers can't solve it?" Little Paimon realized.

“No, it should be possible. After all, she is the Wind Goddess of Teyvat, and she can handle the power of this wind field,” Zhongli replied, then turned his gaze to Guizhong: “However, I think Guizhong still has something to say.”

“Of course, it’s recorded in books.” Gui Zhong thought for a moment and then asked the traveler.

"Ying, you should still remember the words engraved on that tombstone, right?"

“I still have some impressions.” The traveler nodded slightly.

"You should still remember one of the lines, '...snowstorms swept across the sky, and the pillar that fell from the sky collapsed into three...', right?" Gui Zhong asked again.

"kindness."

“According to records, this wind field only appeared after the pillar that fell from the sky broke into three,” Gui Zhong said directly. “Therefore, I think that if we can find these three pillars that fell from the sky, we might be able to help us break this wind field.”

“Hmm?? That’s certainly possible.” Little Paimon perked up. She flew to the traveler girl, grabbed her hand, and pulled her forward forcefully. “Hurry, hurry! I remember there’s a very unusual ice crystal pillar at the foot of the mountain. I think it might be the pillar that fell from the sky that we were talking about earlier.”

"Okay." The young traveler followed Paimon's footsteps and walked happily down the mountain.

Gui Zhong, Fu Hua, and Zhong Li lagged behind.

After the traveler had walked some distance, Gui Zhong looked in Zhong Li's direction and frowned slightly: "Zhong Li, is there something you're hiding from me and Ying?"

"In terms of general rationality, yes." Zhongli nodded slightly.

"What is the purpose?" Gui Zhong continued to ask.

"The contract... I am fulfilling my contract... and also fulfilling the traveler girl's wish. Ultimately, this has nothing to do with you or Fu Hua. It's the traveler girl's own business. All we can do is protect her safety in the whirlpool that might appear in this snow mountain. The rest..."

Zhongli paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to the other side of the snow-capped mountain.

With Gui Zhong's eyesight, he could see a Hilichurl camp that wasn't very large, but strangely enough, there were far more Abyss Mages and powerful giant Hilichurls in that camp than usual.

"Everything must be left to the traveler girl to solve herself. This is her own battle."

Zhongli stared at the Hilichurl camp for several seconds before turning his head away.

"It's time for her to know some of the truth, and it's time for her to face it."

"This adventure in the snow-capped mountains is the best opportunity."

Gui Zhong frowned, looked at Zhong Li, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say a word, sighed softly, and took one of Zhong Li's arms.

"I understand some things, but there are some things I don't understand. I just hope that Ying won't be hurt too much. She's a lovely little girl."

“Yes, that’s what I think too.” Zhongli looked into Guizhong’s eyes, which seemed to sparkle with stars: “She shouldn’t be hurt.”

"I won't let her get hurt either."

"But she should face it, and she must face it."

"Yes." Gui Zhong nodded slightly: "Zhong Li, I believe in you. Just like I did four thousand years ago."

Fu Hua stood quietly beside them.

In a daze, she felt as if she had seen this scene before. Where was it? And when?

She couldn't remember anything at all.

.......

"Your Highness, Your Highness."

The lively witch happily skipped and jumped around in Qiuqiu's large tent.

Her dance looked completely haphazard, more like a child jumping around aimlessly.

"Witch...are you happy?"

The golden-haired prince's voice was calm and cold, as if the passage of time had washed away all ordinary emotions.

"Yes, I am happy." The witch with fiery red hair smiled gently.

"Why?" Even as he asked, the blond prince remained cold.

"Of course, it's because something that makes people happy has happened."

The witch smiled and said, "My daughter has finally become more obedient recently. The bedtime stories I tell her have actually made her like fried poultry, which she used to hate eating meat."

"What bedtime story?"

The blond prince became interested.

"Would you like to hear it, Your Highness?" the witch asked with great interest.

"Just give a brief summary of what you need to say, don't waste time. We still need to find the mechanism to reach the summit of the snow mountain," the blond prince said casually.

"Okay, actually it's not that interesting, and I don't think you'll like it. Let's get down to business."

The witch straightened her expression.

"First of all, we should all know that this is the site of the Snow Mountain Kingdom, which perished 2000 years ago."

“Yes, I know.” The prince nodded.

"This place is even older than the Black Sun Dynasty of 500 years ago, and it is one of the nations destroyed by that great Heavenly Justice. You should know that too." The witch spoke in an aria-like voice: "[...snowstorm raged, the pillar of heaven collapsed into three...]"

"The inscription on this stele tells the story of how the Snow Mountain Kingdom was completely destroyed two thousand years ago by the Frost Nail that fell from Sky Island and split it into three."

"As a nation that also utilizes ley lines, Your Highness should understand this feeling."

The blond prince, his expression remaining unchanged, simply said softly, "Let's get to the point."

"us....."

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly turned her head and looked towards the mountainside of the snow-capped mountain.

"what happened?"

The blond prince instantly drew his one-handed sword, which gleamed with a deep purple light, from his waist and frowned.

“There’s someone watching us over there, but…” the witch sighed softly, “it seems to be someone I know.”

"Why would they come here? Strange! Incomprehensible!"

"Wait, who is that...?"

The witch seemed to have seen something extremely strange.

Her eyes widened, and for the first time in her life, she showed a look of shock in front of the blond prince.

"This is incredible!!"

Chapter Nineteen: The Princess's Melancholy (Part 1)

Click! Click-click!

The long pillar of ice crystals in front of the traveler girl eventually crumbled completely under the burning crimson blood.

"This should be the third one."

Gui Zhong reminded him.

"[...Snowstorm raged, and the pillar from the sky crumbled into three...], that's what the inscription says. I think after these three ice crystal pillars completely dissolved..."

Before she could finish speaking, she saw that the wind on the snow-capped mountain peak, which had been howling incessantly, was gradually dissipating, like snow under the sun.

The wind stopped, leaving only a slight breeze mixed with ice and snow brushing against my face.

"It seems there's no need for further explanation," Gui Zhong said with a slight smile.

"Let's go!! Let's go quickly!" Little Paimon took the lead, without hesitation, and even with great enthusiasm, he began to walk along the road towards the summit of the snow-capped mountain.

The young traveler seemed quite interested and quickly followed Paimon toward the summit.

Zhongli and the others naturally followed closely behind.

It took them about two hours, and the group, whose speed far exceeded that of ordinary people, arrived at the top of the snow mountain.

Looking at the three frozen pillars in front of him that were exactly the same as the ones before, the traveler was a little puzzled, but he was quite familiar with the place.

She quickly looked around and found three red stone fragments that could unfreeze the ice. With one strike at a time, she shattered the three pillars of ice.

Then, three broken stone fragments were revealed inside the ice pillar.

"What is this?" Little Paimon craned his head, stroking his chin with one hand, and muttered to himself with great interest.

"It is the Heavenly Pillar."

The traveler frowned, looking at the pillar before him, his words remaining concise and to the point.

Upon hearing this, Little Paimon flew to the pillar, circled it several times, and stroked his chin, whispering, "It just looks like a pillar. Is it really the legendary Heavenly Pillar? It can destroy a country?"

"Yes, I have seen it."

Ying walked forward as if reminiscing, preparing to touch the surface of the pillar.

A burst of azure light suddenly erupted, dyeing the entire sky as if it were a world of azure.

Then, the three addresses gradually merged together in this radiance, soaring higher and higher.

A few breaths later, they combined and floated above the snow-capped mountain peak.

The original cracks have closed up, transforming into a complete columnar structure.

"Heavenly Pillar!!"

The young traveler frowned as she looked at the pillar in the sky and murmured softly.

"Have you seen this pillar? Where?" Little Paimon felt like he had grasped something and quickly asked.

"Hmm... that was a long time ago."