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

"Alright, Miss, I'll be right there." Thomas responded and moved quickly and steadily.

A short while later, a stocky middle-aged man followed Thomas in.

He had a smile on his face and walked briskly, unlike those who were dejected because they had lost their divine eyes.

“Mr. Nobumori also lost his God’s Eye, but he is even more…” Ayaka Kamisato paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully.

Shinsei took over the conversation, waving his hand generously: "No need to trouble you, Miss, I'll say it myself."

He faced Xu Chuan and Paimon, his face completely open and honest: "Actually, after losing the Eye of God and losing those obsessive thoughts, I've never felt so relaxed in my life."

Paimon was stunned and muttered softly, "But... Teshima and the others are clearly in so much pain."

"Miss, life is complicated and ever-changing."

Shinsei smiled, a few deep lines appearing at the corners of his eyes. "Whether it's a wish or an obsession, it will gradually fade with time."

"When you hold onto something tightly, you feel like you can't live without it."

"But if it were really gone, we might actually feel relieved."

Chapter 191 Research Progress, Split Up (Additional Chapter 5)

Xu Chuan looked the person in front of him up and down.

He formed a stark contrast to the previous three.

One suffers from loss, the other finds relief in loss.

They experienced the same thing, but the results were completely opposite.

“Mr. Shinsei,” Xu Chuan began, his tone becoming more serious.

"I am personally very interested in what changes will occur after losing the Eye of God, and I hope you will cooperate fully afterwards."

"You are a distinguished guest of Miss, and Nobumori will naturally cooperate fully. Please give your instructions."

After Nobumori stepped down, Ayaka Kamisato continued, "There are actually more than one person like Mr. Nobumori."

"As far as I know, neither Araki Ichito of the Araki Faction nor Miss Hisaki Shinobu have changed much in personality after losing their God's Eyes."

She paused slightly, her voice tinged with self-reproach: "I concealed Mr. Xinsheng's situation from him before because I was worried that Mr. Xu Chuan would change his mind after seeing it."

"But now it seems that Ayaka was judging a gentleman by her own petty standards."

As she spoke, she bowed deeply to Xu Chuan.

“Miss!” Thomas couldn’t help but exclaim.

The girl, who was bending down to apologize, suddenly felt a warm touch on her shoulder.

It was a hand that steadily supported her bending motion, with little force, yet it prevented her from going any lower.

Ayaka Kamisato looked up and met Xu Chuan's gaze.

"Your Mightiness……"

"I don't really like these red tapes."

Xu Chuan withdrew his hand, his tone casual and gentle, "If Miss Linghua considers me a friend, then please do your best to provide some convenience for my research in the future."

Ayaka Kamisato paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"Ayaka, I understand."

After this little incident, more people who had lost their God's Eyes were invited to the Kamisato Residence by Ayaka Kamisato in various ways.

Some came by invitation, some came on their own initiative after hearing the news, and some were willing to cooperate after Thomas intervened.

Their situations varied greatly.

Some people, like Nobumori, feel completely relaxed after losing the Eye of God, as if they've been freed from their shackles, and their whole being becomes more vibrant.

Some people fall into intermittent self-doubt after losing their obsession, sometimes clear-headed and sometimes in a daze.

It's like losing something important, but you can't remember what it is anymore.

But regardless of their condition, they all have one thing in common: they are all in perfect health.

The disappearance of the Eye of God left no physical scars on anyone.

The internal organs function normally, the meridians and blood flow smoothly, and all test results are within the normal range.

However, the fact that the external body is perfectly normal does not mean that the soul is also safe and sound.

Xu Chuan began to use the power of binding spirits and commanding generals.

Of course, Xu Chuan couldn't kill them for the sake of research; that would be too inhumane and would defeat the purpose of the research itself.

Although he cannot capture the souls of these people due to physical barriers, he can use the sensory abilities granted by his spirit-binding powers to study the truths hidden from the naked eye.

In addition, his current life level has been pushed to a higher realm, and his perception has been greatly enhanced.

Subtle changes that are imperceptible to ordinary people began to appear before his eyes, and this was also true in terms of the soul.

“A person whose personality changed drastically after losing the Eye of God,” he flipped through the densely packed records, his pen tip drawing a heavy line under one of the lines, “has had his soul aura greatly weakened and is in a state of lethargy.”

"It's like a flame that has had most of its fuel drained away, leaving only a wisp of embers that could go out at any moment."

“And those who appear unaffected,” he turned to another page, his pen pointing to another conclusion, “have an unstable soul.”

"It constantly fluctuates, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, as if some unseen struggle is taking place inside."

"Erosion from the outside in, every fluctuation is a form of consumption."

He copied these findings down one by one, comparing and scrutinizing them repeatedly.

Then, he began to search for information.

The alchemical texts that Abedo gave him were filled with formulas and theories, and were part of the Kamisato family's collection of books accumulated over generations, including many rare books on Inazuma's native elemental science.

There are even treasured scrolls borrowed from Narukami Taisha, which record the secrets of the soul passed down from the time of Kitsune-sai-gu.

Three streams of knowledge converged and reorganized in his mind, intertwining with various theories about the soul.

One night, as the oil lamp was about to go out, he finally came up with a clear line of thought.

He spread out a sheet of white paper, and with a stroke of his pen, the characters were steady and powerful.

"Framed by René's theory of the soul, the soul, memory, personality, and desires constitute the complete self..."

"The Eye of God anchors human destiny and responds to human desires."

"This is a connection that is attached to the soul from the outside world, rather than a component of the soul itself."

"When the Eye of God is taken away, the anchored desires are also affected, forcibly torn out of the soul, causing varying degrees of damage."

"The extent of the damage depends on two factors."

He paused, then jotted down his thoughts and ideas.

"Firstly, the intensity of this person's own desire."

"The deeper the obsession, the heavier the weight of the desires carried by the Eye of God, and the more severe the tearing caused when it is stripped away."

"This explains why those whose temperaments change drastically experience a decline in their souls."

"Secondly, the resilience of this person's own soul."

"Those who appear unaffected on the surface possess a strong self-healing ability in their souls and are continuously fighting against the damage caused by the tearing apart."

"This fluctuation is the tug-of-war between the soul's self-repair and external damage."

The pen nib lingered on the paper for a long time.

His thoughts drifted back to Liyue, back to the night of the Lantern Festival, back to the Yaksha in that painting.

"Floating Abode".

He wrote those two words on the paper.

"At that time, his fragmented soul had lost almost all of his memories and personality."

"But that strong desire, the desire to protect Liyue, and the last remaining wisp of his soul sustained him as one of the millions of wandering souls in the secret realm of the Rocky Abyss, wandering in the darkness for hundreds of years."

"The wishes collected by Elder Zhongli on the day of the Lantern Festival originated from the impressions that naturally formed among the people of Liyue after they learned about those stories."

"It's like the doctor used the perception of those afterimages to implant false knowledge about the moon into it."

"Based on this foundation, the recognition and admiration for him naturally arise..."

"Unfortunately, external forces temporarily filled the gaps in memory and personality, allowing Fushe to briefly regain its completeness."

Thinking of this, Xu Chuan stopped writing and remained silent for a long time.

"Unfortunately, the power of will is ultimately an external thing."

“False supplementation cannot maintain the soul’s true self for long. When the power of will dissipates, the floating abode will eventually revert to its incomplete state.”

Xu Chuan slowly clenched his fist, feeling his own strength.

The power to bind and command spirits surged in his palm, warm and powerful.

He can manipulate souls, command them to obey, and use them as weapons and tools.

But if I had faced Fu She in that state back then, I could have controlled him even with the Spirit Binding Technique.

Once that external force of will dissipates, the floating dwelling will collapse back to its original incomplete state.

You can control the soul, but you can't repair it.

No, judging from the changes that occurred in Andrius and Dulin, it seems that my nurturing of their souls has been somewhat beneficial to them.

Andrius, in particular, was not a complete soul to begin with.

Its other half of its soul now resides in Nordkale.

This is a limitation of his current abilities; constrained by a lack of knowledge about the soul, Xu Chuan doesn't know where to begin.

"What methods are available to complete the missing parts?"

Xu Chuan leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. No one could give him an answer.

But he didn't stop.

When it gets light, I continue my research; when it gets dark, I turn the pages again by lamplight.

He turned the Kamisato family's library upside down, studied the documents borrowed from Narukami Taisha several times word by word, and re-analyzed Abedo's alchemy notes.

I am trying to find new ideas from three different knowledge systems.

Days passed by like this.

Xu Chuan buried himself in books and experiments, often going an entire day without saying a word.

Even so, he still noticed that Ying seemed a little distracted.

She would still bring him meals on time, sit quietly beside him and read books with him, and occasionally banter with Paimon.

But she started looking out the window more often, and her fingers would unconsciously rub the hilt of her sword, as if her body was already yearning for the next journey, while her reason was still forcing her to wait.

That evening, Xu Chuan put down the file in his hand and walked to her side.

"You look so worried; it's nothing like you." He sat down beside her, gazing at the horizon reddened by the sunset. "Are you thinking about the Abyss Order?"

Ying turned her head and met his gaze.

She didn't try to hide it, and chuckled softly, "You still found out."

After a moment of silence, she added:

"It's okay, we'll set off together after you've finished your research."

Xu Chuan shook his head.

Of course he knew what Ying was thinking.

Traces of the Abyss Order have appeared on Haiqi Island.

That guy from Yuanxia is probably already wandering around Yuanxia Palace right now.

Normally, Xu Chuan would have already set off to meet that guy.

But the research is currently at a critical stage, and he is indeed unable to spare the time.

Xu Chuan thought about it and made a decision.