While I was in Mondstadt, I never imagined becoming a god.

With each attempt, the Devouring Power displayed astonishing dominance.

It can devour the remnants of demons and gods, and it can also devour souls.

It makes no difference between the two things; it swallows both the dregs and the soul, leaving nothing behind.

For a living person, this is undoubtedly killing them.

It could not devour enough power, nor could it shake the remnants of the demon god rooted deep in its soul.

"It is precisely because the power of devouring is difficult to control, and the soul itself is difficult to maintain a stable state, that it is so troublesome."

Aberdo put down the flesh and blood and opened the notebook.

"If you're not careful, that power will devour your soul along with it, making it impossible to distinguish between the residue and the soul."

"So what do you need me to do?" Xu Chuan asked.

Abedo looked up at him: "Release the souls of the rock dragon lizards; we'll use them for experiments next."

Xu Chuan did not hesitate and immediately activated the Spirit Binding and Commanding.

A soul of a rock dragon lizard floated out of its body and hovered quietly in front of the two.

Their translucent bodies gleamed faintly in the campfire light, revealing soldiers who were absolutely obedient to Xu Chuan's orders.

Abedo carefully probed into the soul of the rock dragon lizard, manipulating the modified Devouring Power.

Dark purple filaments of light emerged from the flesh and blood, like tentacles, roots, or the fingers of some living creature.

They entangle the soul, begin to infiltrate and invade, and then gradually devour it.

The moment the experiment began, the rock dragon's soul trembled violently.

A few breaths later, it vanished completely, like a candle blown out by the wind.

Aberdo recorded data in his notebook without any change in expression.

"Again."

The research only made a little progress after consuming the souls of several rock dragon lizards.

The precision of devouring power is improving, but it is still a long way from accurately eliminating the remnants of the demon god.

Xu Chuan watched as the souls of the rock dragon lizards dissipated during the experiment without even blinking.

He wouldn't care even if he exhausted all thirty-six rock dragon lizard souls.

If these demonic souls can achieve their goals, then it's worthwhile.

After all, these are just monster souls; if they're gone, we can just look for more.

Aberdo continued his experiments, while Xu Chuan continued to provide souls.

The two stayed in the camp for a long time, day and night.

Abedo's notebook grew thicker and thicker, and Xu Chuan's control over the spirit-binding technique became increasingly refined.

Finally, after consuming thirty-five Rock Dragon Lizard souls, they achieved a breakthrough with the last Rock Dragon Lizard soul.

Xu Chuan released the soul of the Rock Dragon Lizard from his body. The dragon soul floated in front of the two of them, quiet and docile.

Abedo carefully probed the modified Devouring Power into it, and golden and dark purple light threads intertwined, like two snakes entwining.

Xu Chuan simultaneously activated the Spirit Binding and Golden Light Spell, and golden light surged from his palm, enveloping the Rock Dragon Lizard's soul layer by layer.

The golden light protected the soul, exposing only the surface remnants of the demon god to the devouring power.

Abedo manipulated the power of devouring, peeling away and devouring the filth attached to the dragon soul bit by bit.

The dark purple light filaments dimmed a little more with each wisp of residue it devoured.

A few breaths later, it shrank back into its flesh, like a snake that had eaten its fill.

After the experiment, the rock dragon's soul remained intact, only much weaker.

“It’s done.” Abedo’s voice carried a rare hint of excitement.

Xu Chuan let out a long breath, withdrew the golden light and the Spirit Binding Technique, and put the Rock Dragon Lizard's soul back into his body.

Abedo held a dark purple bead in his hand.

This is an artifact he created using the flesh and blood of the Star-Devouring Whale. After repeated modifications and adjustments, its devouring power can be controlled more precisely.

Even without the knight's ability to survive unarmed combat, the control would not be as powerful as before.

"It wasn't easy." Xu Chuan took the bead from Abedo and weighed it in his palm. "We finally managed to get this thing out."

Besides finding a way to eliminate the remnants of the demon god, Xu Chuan also gained a lot.

Through repeated manipulation of the Rock Dragon Lizard's soul, his understanding of spirit control deepened.

From simple manipulation to refined control, from crude suppression of power to subtle perception of the soul.

The souls of those rock dragon lizards that were consumed were not wasted; each one etched a new mark on his power map.

After that, Xu Chuan shared his thoughts with Abedo, hoping to gain some inspiration from him.

"Imitating the evil eye of the Fools, the souls of elemental monsters are used as substitutes, and burning the monsters' souls gives ordinary people the ability to manipulate elemental power."

Aberdo acknowledged the feasibility of Xu Chuan's idea, saying, "It is indeed a good method."

But he added, "This is a risky approach, and it's still not as good as the Eye of God."

Xu Chuan nodded.

Whether it's unconventional or unorthodox, as long as it works, that's fine.

Not everyone has the Eye of God, but he can go and find the souls of demons.

If ordinary people can gain power in this way, they will have a better chance of protecting themselves when facing calamities from the abyss.

Just as Xu Chuan was pondering how to proceed with the next experiment, a familiar voice rang out outside the camp.

"Xu Chuan, Abedo... it's been a long time."

Ying and Paimon walked out through the wind and snow.

Paimon was beside her, her little face red from the cold.

"Ying and I were thinking of going to Mondstadt to find you, but we didn't expect you to have been staying in the snowy mountains all this time!"

"You made us search for you in Mondstadt for days for nothing!"

Paimon flew into the camp, talking nonstop.

Ying entered the tent, sat down by the fire, and told Xu Chuan everything about the Abyss Cult.

She and Paimon went to Mondstadt and told Jean about the Anemo statue. Then, carrying Jean's reply, she went to Dragonspine to find Xu Chuan.

"This is a reply from the head of the ensemble."

Xu Chuan didn't stand on ceremony with Ying and carefully put the letter away.

"Next time Ying goes to find her brother, you have to come along."

"If you were here, maybe you could get that guy to talk to Ying properly."

Xu Chuan turned to look at Ying, and seeing that she did not deny Paimon's words, he nodded and agreed, "Okay, count me in then."

Then, Xu Chuan looked at Paimon, his eyes lighting up.

"What...what are you looking at? Is there something dirty on Paimon?"

Paimon felt uncomfortable under his gaze and shrank back. "Your eyes look kind of scary!"

"Paimon~" Xu Chuan revealed a meaningful smile.

"Would you like to manipulate elemental power like us?"

Paimon was stunned, then exclaimed with delight, "Can I do it too!"

"Of course you can." Xu Chuan leaned forward and deliberately lowered his voice. "You just need to cooperate with me in an experiment."

His malicious expression was so convincing that Paimon shrank back in fright.

"Ah...maybe we should just forget about it."

Xu Chuan smiled contentedly as he looked at her little expression, which showed a mixture of wanting to refuse but not daring to, and wanting to agree but being afraid.

"Don't worry." He reached out and patted Paimon's head. "Why would I let you take that risk?"

"But if the experiment succeeds, it might really allow you to control elemental forces."

Paimon's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"real."

"Then...then you can't lie to me!"

"I'm not lying to you."

He didn't intend to deceive Paimon on this point; he was waiting for the method to be successfully implemented.

I might be able to uncover some secrets about Paimon.

Abedo had already written a new page in his notebook, titled: "A Feasibility Study on Granting Ordinary People the Ability to Manipulate Elements Using Monster Souls as a Medium."

Chapter 165 Aberdo's Expectations, Reuniting with Old Friends

Xu Chuan glanced at the notes Abedo was taking.

Seeing that the other party was still adding content and showed no sign of stopping, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

Unexpectedly, Aberdo was even more concerned about this matter than he was.

It's just about developing another alternative to the Eye of God, allowing ordinary people to have an external magical organ to manipulate elemental power. It shouldn't be something that would make Abedo so interested in.

After all, there are many ways to gain power on the continent of Teyvat.

Examples include the Fools using the remnants of demon gods to create the Evil Eye, the Sumeru Gilded Troupe using weapons imbued with spirit-suppressing power, and genetic modifications tracing back to the ancestors of the Frost Moon Children.

As a substitute for the Eye of God, the soul of a demon can cause irreversible damage to one's soul if one is not careful.

It was far more dangerous than any other method, but for an alchemy master, it was nothing extraordinary.

Noticing Xu Chuan's gaze, Abedo stopped writing and handed over the notebook.

"This is the research topic I've prepared for you."

Xu Chuan took the notebook and opened it.

His expression shifted from curiosity to confusion, and then from confusion to an indescribable, subtle feeling.

Did I hear that right? My research topic?

In a daze, Xu Chuan felt as if he had returned to university and was being assigned tasks by his professor.

Ying's gaze was drawn over, and she tilted her head to look at the notebook.

Paimon, curious, flew over to Xu Chuan's side and peered inside.

A few seconds later, she covered her head and backed away.

The alchemical jargon made her dizzy. She recognized each word individually, but when combined, she couldn't understand its meaning at all.

"I don't understand, I don't understand, Paimon's head is about to explode."

Abedo met Xu Chuan's gaze and said in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, "Xu Chuan is my alchemy assistant, and I also acknowledge your talent in alchemy."

"Logically, I should teach you alchemy, just as I taught Sugar and Timaus."

"But when we were studying the flesh and blood of the Star-Devouring Whale together this time, I discovered that you have embarked on your own path of alchemy."

"This is closely related to your own special abilities, and my path may not be suitable for you."

Abedo spoke very seriously, his emerald green eyes filled with sincerity.

Paimon's gaze swept over Abedo and Xu Chuan. "Then Abedo can't teach Xu Chuan alchemy."

"Paymon's understanding is not wrong. Everyone's talents are different. If they are too influenced by me, it will stifle some of their potential."

"In the worst-case scenario, Xu Chuan will be forced to follow my path for the rest of his life, and his life will be locked up by my limits."

Hearing this, Xu Chuan sat up straight and thought to himself that Abedo's expectations of him were really ridiculously high.

"The ultimate goal of alchemy is the same. Although my alchemy is not suitable for Xu Chuan, I can point him in the right direction so that he doesn't go astray."