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

Beidou and Keqing's expressions changed drastically upon seeing the direction the demon god was moving.

"Phew! This is definitely heading towards Liyue Harbor." Beidou slammed his fist on the deck railing, cursing, "Two Demon Gods?! Which damned bastard did this?!"

"Finding the murderer can wait until everything is over." Keqing stared at the distant demon god, a hint of despair creeping into her expression. "But do we, Liyue, have the ability to fight against two demon gods who have broken free from their seal?"

She pondered for half a minute, but finally shook her head: "No, no matter how I think about it, I don't think we have any chance of winning. Even if we gather all the power of the immortals and the Seven Stars of Liyue, we may not be able to defeat the two demon gods in front of us."

"So, you're just going to surrender like this, Lord Keqing of Yuheng Star?" Beidou narrowed his eyes.

"Of course not!" Ke Qing answered without hesitation, without the slightest pause: "I will do everything in my power to fight back."

"Haha, that's good." Beidou laughed heartily: "Because that's what I thought too."

After saying this, Beidou immediately turned around and shouted loudly to the members behind him: "Men, prepare the dragon-hunting crossbows, nooses, and everything else that can take down these two demon gods in front of us. Full swerve, let's go for it."

Keqing frowned slightly, about to stop them, when she suddenly saw several streaks of light coming from the sky towards Liyue Harbor.

The familiar aura of immortals startled Ke Qing, but a smile immediately appeared on her lips.

"Hahaha, how about it, Lady Keqing of Yuheng Star, do you really not understand people's hearts a little?" With one foot on the deck railing, Beidou turned his head and teased Keqing, whose mood had been extremely solemn ever since she saw the demon god's resurrection.

“Immortals, you don’t need to beg; they will come to our aid.”

"Hahaha, although there are all sorts of arguments and all sorts of discord, this is Liyue, this is Liyue Harbor, the place that gave us birth and nurtured us," Beidou said with an extremely arrogant smile, raising a black two-handed greatsword in one hand, his voice drifting in the air with the sea breeze.

"Here you find Ningguang's business, Keqing's ideals, my strong liquor, the suffering of boatmen who go hungry, and the regret of drowning at sea for wealth. There are the oracle of the Geo Archon and the detachment of immortals from worldly affairs. But no matter what, this is our Liyue. It belongs to us, to the immortals, to the merchants, and to the people."

"Hmph!" Ke Qing snorted coldly, but did not reply.

......

The immortals did not move slowly from Jueyun Karst to Liyue Harbor.

It took less than half an hour to cross countless distances.

During their flight, they encountered the Great Sage who rode on raging winds and white clouds. As they approached Liyue Harbor, the elderly fairy Granny Ping, who walked the world in her old age, also joined their group.

As an immortal who frequents the streets of Liyue Harbor, she clearly knows more about various situations than other immortals.

"Based on my observation, this incident seems to be caused by the Fools, subordinates of the Ice Queen of the Winter Kingdom. It has little to do with the [Outer Principle Apostles] who made you all look foolish a while ago."

"Hmph! The Fools?? After what happened five hundred years ago, who can say for sure what happened to the Ice Queen? Her personality now is definitely completely different from what we used to know." Lord Liuyun Jiefeng snorted coldly: "I heard they also caused a great disturbance in Mondstadt. I really don't know what they are plotting."

"Let the Liyue Seven Star District handle worldly affairs. We have neither the need nor the time to concern ourselves with them. What we need to do now is..." Before the True Lord of the Moonlit Pavilion could finish speaking, his expression suddenly changed.

The flight of all the immortals suddenly came to a halt.

The sky above Lonely Cloud Pavilion, which was originally covered with dark clouds, was suddenly filled with sand and dust.

Their gazes pierced through the dust that suddenly appeared above Lonely Cloud Pavilion and fell upon the female demon goddess in flowing robes.

"The Demon God of Dust has returned to the end! Ah! She has indeed awakened as well..." True Monarch of the Moon-Slicing and Sun-Building Sect sighed.

Beneath his calm exterior lay a barely concealed rage: "Moreover, she truly appears devoid of consciousness. She has transformed into a demonic beast, no longer the demon god we once knew."

As the immortal who once had the best relationship with the Demon God of Dust, True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng remained silent.

Her body trembled, unsure how to describe her thoughts at that moment; the words stuck in her throat.

Seeing her appearance, True Lord of Water and Mountain shook his head slightly, stretched out a wing, and gently patted her body.

"We've been through so much lately, ever since the assassination attempt on the Emperor. Let's put an end to this today, no matter what. Once we've subdued these two demon gods, we'll suppress Liyue Harbor as well."

"Let's all stay here for a while, find all the evil spirits in Liyue Harbor, and then go back to the mountains and rivers to enjoy ourselves."

All the immortals nodded in agreement, except for Granny Ping, who had always mingled with the mortals in Liyue Harbor, who shook her head slightly: "Sigh... you all..."

However, she ultimately did not voice her dissuasion, after all, she was also dissatisfied with Liyue Harbor after the Emperor's death and with the many things that had happened recently.

.......

The gentle demon god, dressed in loose robes, raised his face.

The eyes, still unable to open, swept across the immortals in the distant sky and across the Southern Cross merchant ships on the ocean.

Then it focused on the direction of Liyue Harbor, which was a little further away.

She had a feeling, even though she couldn't remember anything and only had a few basic instincts left, that something in that wondrous place far away was calling to her.

She slowly raised her wrist.

Naturally, he started shaking the bell on his wrist again.

"Ring ring ring~~!"

The crisp sound traveled in all directions.

Endless sand and dust continued to spread across the sky.

Chapter 53 "Patiently Guarding the Moon" by Gan Yu

Yujingtai

After crushing the hourglass that was dripping with sand in his hand, Zhongli slowly opened his eyes, listening to the sound of a bell.

The many ordinary people of Liyue before him had all fled in panic when the all-encompassing sandstorm appeared.

"Ring ring ring~~!"

The fourth clear bell rang out, and the sandstorm that had been far away suddenly began to spread.

Before long, the sound came from the direction of Lonely Cloud Pavilion in the distance and spread to the entire sky above Liyue Harbor.

The sandstorm intensified, and the dense dust evolved into a storm that slowly descended, enveloping the entire Liyue Harbor.

The people of Liyue Harbor have never seen such a sight in nearly a thousand years.

Some flocked towards the outskirts of the city, attempting to escape Liyue Harbor; some locked themselves in their homes, praying for the protection of the Geo Archon; and some went to the Thousand Rock Army's garrison, hoping to receive protection.

Chaos began to emerge in the city.

The history of Liyue has reached another crossroads.

Today will surely be the longest day in the history of Liyue Harbor.

As for Zhongli, it was his plan, his expectations, and all his thoughts.

Only now have we finally reached the final stage.

He let out a soft, long breath.

Standing on the Jade Capital Platform, he also extended the other hand that had been behind his back.

A bright pearl that kept spinning floated in his palm.

"Qingli," he murmured to the pearl, "Perhaps, we will be able to meet again soon."

Within the pearl, the body of a sleeping, pale golden Liyue dragon undulates and flickers.

The time is ripe.

He gently squeezed the only memento left behind by Qingli in his palm.

Click! Click!

Cracks began to appear on the surface of the beads.

"Your Majesty!"

At that very moment, a strangely familiar voice suddenly entered his ears.

“Gan Yu…” Zhong Li raised his eyes and saw clearly the two people rapidly approaching amidst the swirling sandstorm.

Gan Yu, a being who is half human and half immortal, and Ying, a traveler from another world.

As they got closer, they could see clearly what was in Zhongli's palm and the three offerings glowing faintly in the sky.

"Your Majesty, is that the Dragon Pearl in your hand the Dragon Pearl of Lord Qingli?" Gan Yu asked softly.

"Hmm." Zhongli nodded slightly.

The dragon ball, already showing signs of cracking, still flickered and shimmered in his palm.

"Do you... intend to destroy this Dragon Ball?" Gan Yu's voice was filled with doubt: "You... don't intend to revive Lord Qing Li?"

"Back then, you yourself said that this Dragon Ball was the key to reviving Lord Qingli... Now... what are you doing?"

"Gan Yu..." Zhongli calmly looked at the immortal before him who had shared thousands of years with him: "Do you believe me?"

Gan Yu nodded slightly and knelt respectfully on one knee: "I will always be your most loyal follower, and of course, I have absolute trust in you. It was you, Emperor, who led us back then, that enabled us to defeat many demon gods, subdue sea beasts, and protect the peace of Liyue. Your figure protecting Liyue back then, for thousands of years, even until Gan Yu's body decayed and his memories completely disappeared, I have never forgotten."

"Hmm... So, stand behind me," Zhongli said softly. "I will give you an answer after everything is over."

"Whether it's my agreement with the Winter Queen, or my awakening of the Vortex Demon God and the Dust Demon God today, I will explain it all to you."

"Your Majesty..." Gan Yu raised her eyes and shook her head slightly: "You must have your own reasons, but was today's attack on Liyue Harbor also part of your plan?"

"So what if it is? So what if it isn't?" Zhongli calmly retorted.

"Gan Yu... but... Gan Yu... but..."

The half-human, half-immortal girl with horns on her head narrowed her eyes slightly, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes: "Your Majesty, your decisions... always bring blessings to the majority of life in Liyue, and I admire that very much. I always want to be like you. But sometimes I feel... the more I try to catch up with you, the more easily I get nervous and make mistakes."

"So Gan Yu always uses more time... to understand more and do more repetitive work... in an attempt to catch up with you."

"You...you..."

"Hoo~~~!" Zhongli slowly exhaled a long breath at the sweet rain, then sighed softly, "Yes, it's within my plan."

"Hmm..." Gan Yu closed her eyes: "Your Majesty... the reason for the attack on the Three-Eyed Five Manifestations Immortal was also you..."

“Yes, it was me.” Zhongli answered decisively: “Whether it was causing the immortals and the Seven Stars of Liyue to turn against each other, or increasing the number of the Young Master’s Unrestricted Talismans several times over in order to release the Demon God of Dust from the seal, it was all my doing.”

“I understand you… Your Majesty.” Gan Yu lowered her head again. “You are testing Li Yue, who is about to lose you, aren’t you?”

"Whether it's right or wrong, isn't it all in your own heart?" Zhongli turned around and looked in the direction of Guyun Pavilion in the distance.

The young demon goddess, dressed in flowing robes, stood atop an eight-headed whirlpool of sea serpents, moving slowly but steadily toward Liyue Harbor.

The sandstorm stirred up by the young demon goddess grew increasingly violent, and the waves generated by the eight-headed sea serpent caused ships on the outskirts of Liyue Harbor to capsize frequently.

The power of the demon god drew ever closer to the port city at this moment.

Seeing this, Zhongli could not remain silent. He said softly, "A test must ultimately be based on the premise that the test can be completed."

"In this day and age, after my passing, the immortals will have no chance against the combination of the Vortex Demon God and the Dust Demon God."