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

"Just give up on that idea."

"Who wants to eat the box?!" Paimon yelled, somewhat exasperated. "Even I don't want to eat the box!"

The joyful adventure, filled with laughter and merriment, finally brought a faint smile to the traveler's lips.

Zhongli looked at her expression and clapped his hands lightly: "Alright, everyone, rationally speaking, we should go and liberate the last mechanism."

Chapter Twenty: The Princess and the Prince's First Encounter (2)

On the other side of the snow-capped mountain.

Hilichurl Camp.

The golden-haired prince frowned slightly, looking at the numerous remains of the guardians of the ruins before him.

"Miss Witch, if I remember correctly, the Ruins Guardians are the most famous combat unit of our Black Sun Dynasty. Why are there so many of them on this snow mountain?"

"and...."

The blond prince glanced at the guardian of the ruins who had uttered a short string of gibberish before the destruction, and narrowed his eyes.

"What they're talking about is clearly the coded files of the former Black Sun Dynasty. This is very strange."

"I have no idea, Your Highness."

The red-haired witch smiled as she looked at the prince's youthful and delicate face, which remained unchanged despite the passage of time, and whispered softly, as if she were walking on clouds.

"Oh dear! Oh dear!"

The witch's smile was not exaggerated; in fact, it could be described as quite reserved.

“Your Highness, you should ask Lord Gold about this matter. He is the creator of these Ironclad Minibots. Whatever message these Ironclad Minibots want to convey, it is naturally to convey his thoughts.”

"Hmm... okay, I understand." Although His Highness found the nickname "Ironclad Little Treasure" a bit strange, he didn't press the matter.

He knew that the woman before him, being a witch, was a powerful being beyond the world's reach. Since she was unwilling to explain, he would not force her.

"For the nation, we couldn't forgo this skyborne power, but we failed."

A foreign language, accompanied by a cold voice, suddenly came from not far away.

The blond prince looked in the direction from which the sound came.

A young woman wearing a cloak of alternating deep blue and black suddenly appeared from afar.

Her face was expressionless, her expression as if the ice of ages had never melted.

"teacher."

The blond prince bowed his head respectfully.

"Your Highness." The cold-faced girl also bowed slightly, lowering her noble head to the prince she had sworn allegiance to.

"Greetings."

"I have collected all the garbled signals sent by the Ruins Guardians, and that's how I came up with the above statement."

"It seems that the guardians of the ruins we sent out back then did not obtain any more information."

"It is a great pity that even our last refuge was destroyed by that wretched Sky Isle. The subjects of our Black Sun Dynasty were also turned into the appearance of Hilichurls."

"I really don't want to see this sad and disgusting world exist for even a second longer."

"teacher."

The blond prince called out softly, then said no more.

After a long silence, he finally asked, "What brings you here?"

"I have a bad feeling about what happened at the snow mountain. No, it can't be described as bad; perhaps this feeling is just a whim of mine." The alchemist named [Gold] shook his head slightly and said softly, "So, I've come to see what you and the witch are up to."

"kindness??"

The witch looked at [Gold] with a look that seemed to remind her of something.

She slightly furrowed her beautiful brows, a smile playing at the corners of her lips: "Could it be that not only you, but that gentleman also came?"

“Yes. He will also be entering this timeline.” The alchemist of [Gold] confirmed the witch’s guess: “Regarding matters of time, neither of us can cross this boundary; only that gentleman has the possibility.”

"If this snowfield truly contains the power to reverse time, then even that gentleman wouldn't let it go."

“That’s true.” The witch idly twirled a strand of hair that fell beside her ear with her slender fingers and smiled slightly. “Alright, let’s scout ahead first.”

"The first place we need to go to is, of course, the summit of this snow-capped mountain."

The witch pointed to the snow-capped peak that seemed to have stood forever in the distance and added with a smile, "Since yesterday, some very strange changes have appeared on the snow mountain."

"First, the blizzard winds that had been surrounding the summit of the snow-capped mountain have completely disappeared. Second, the summit has been emitting a sky-blue glow since this morning, and a huge stone pillar that we can see from here has floated into the sky... Look, there it is."

The alchemist of [Gold] looked in the direction he was pointing towards the [Pillars of Heaven] high in the sky and murmured softly.

"The Nail of Frost, the pillar of the Sky Island, the culprit that destroyed the Snow Mountain Kingdom, the most vicious tool that destroyed the ley lines."

"Remember...Your Highness."

The alchemist of [Gold] suddenly turned cold: "Those are the accomplices of the gods of Sky Island who destroyed our Black Sun Dynasty. One day, we will destroy everything in this world that belongs to the gods of Sky Island, even if it costs us ourselves."

“Of course, teacher. No, Lord [Gold], of course I remember, and I will always remember.”

The blond prince responded coldly, his expression almost identical to that of the alchemist before him, who was called "Gold."

"I will never forget the glory of the Black Sun Dynasty and its tragic history."

"Hmm...witch." The alchemist of the [Gold] realm narrowed her eyes, the level of danger seemingly rising even further: "What did you see? In this strange shift of time?"

"I'm not some mysterious astrologer. I'm just a witch who uses elemental powers." The witch spread her hands and stretched lazily.

Smiling, she looked at the [Gold] and said, "Don't think too highly of me. If you really want to know why this timeline changed, you might want to ask that gentleman first."

"He is the true lord of time."

"No, perhaps it's not necessarily a deity."

"Hmm." The alchemist of [Gold] was not angry, but simply nodded slightly.

Then she stopped talking to the witch and, together with the prince, began giving orders to advance towards the mountaintop.

The countless Hilichurls and Abyss Mages in the camps did not utter a single word of complaint.

They silently prepared all their belongings and set off towards the summit of the snow-capped mountain.

Even though they have degenerated into Hilichurls, they are still part of the once great Black Sun Dynasty.

They will not be afraid, nor will they be terrified.

Because they are the abyss itself.

Chapter Twenty-One: The Prince and Princess's First Encounter (3)

Midway up Mount Mondstadt.

The Traveler and Paimon walked ahead, while Fu Hua, Zhongli, and Gui Zhong lagged slightly behind by two steps.

On the vast, snow-covered mountain peaks, the footsteps of a few people crunched on the soft snow.

Apart from that, all was silent; not even the calls of the Hilichurls could be heard.

"Traveler girl."

Zhongli's voice suddenly broke the silence, startling the young female traveler walking ahead.

"what happened?"

Ying turned around, looking at the Rock God in front of her with some confusion.

“Hmm… I want to make a hypothetical scenario now,” Zhongli said softly. “If you met your brother right now, what would you want to say to him?”

Zhongli's assumption made Ying frown.

She looked at the powerful deity before her and felt that things seemed a little strange.

"Why are you asking all of a sudden?" the girl replied softly.

"I was just curious, it was a sudden thought, a sudden question." Zhongli's expression remained unchanged.

“Hmm…” Ying hesitated for a few seconds.

Just when everyone thought she might not answer.

The girl spoke softly, a hint of loneliness in her eyes.

"I'll probably cry."

"...Well, I guess all I can do is cry."

Zhongli nodded slightly and then said, "I understand. Well, I'll tell you something too. You might be able to see your brother today."

Although the traveler girl had already guessed something when Zhongli asked her, hearing Zhongli admit it himself still made her expression change slightly.

Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she quickly took two steps back to Zhongli's side, put her hands together, and looked up at Zhongli with teary eyes.

"Really...really?"

Although the traveler doesn't like to use her cuteness, she is indeed very good at using it.

“Yes, I have sensed an aura and soul of the same origin as yours, climbing upwards on the other side of the snow-capped mountain,” Zhongli replied expressionlessly.

"...Then let's hurry up and go find it!!!" Ying reacted quickly, grabbed the little Paimon on her body, and headed towards the other side of the mountain.

Zhongli waved his hand slightly: "No need. Just proceed at our usual pace and according to our original goal. I can clearly sense that their goal is also the summit of the snow mountain. There's no need to rush."

"Relax. No matter what, as long as you don't choose to run away, we will definitely see your brother today. You can use this time to think carefully about what to talk to your brother, whom you haven't seen for so long."

"Should we discuss how everyone has been all these years? Or should we talk about whether everyone has been doing well all these years? Or perhaps we should ask when your brother woke up?"

"These are all acceptable."

Zhongli's voice was very sincere, which made the traveling girl nod involuntarily.

After thinking about it for a moment, she realized that Zhongli was right. She really didn't know how to start a conversation with this brother she had suddenly encountered.

Is it an irresistible urge to hug him, or a sudden punch to him, telling him about the helplessness she felt while searching for him; or the despair she felt when she saw him sealed away?

She wanted to have a proper talk with her brother.