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

After the fragments fell away, what was revealed was a void where no light could penetrate.

As for Grandpa Zhongli's side...

I hope that notifying them in advance will have an effect.

Xu Chuan suppressed these complicated thoughts.

When he opened his eyes again, his expression had changed.

After ruling out all possibilities, only calm remained on his face.

I've done everything I could.

Xu Chuan let out a long breath, took a step, and walked towards the outside of the secret gate.

Xu Chuan stopped directly beneath the Heavenly Nail.

The celestial nail pierced the dome at an angle, its surface glowing with an icy blue energy that seemed to breathe.

He placed his hands on it.

The nail trembled the moment the palm touched it.

Like a sleeping giant being pierced in its most sensitive spot by a needle, it suddenly opened its eyes.

hum-

Ice-blue light exploded from inside the sky nail.

It wasn't the slow-flowing light pulses of before; it was an eruption.

Light emanates from every groove on the surface of the nail, pours out from every crack, and flows upwards from where the nail tip pierces the rock.

When the flame swept across the slag, a layer of ice-blue crystals immediately condensed on its surface.

Ice-blue crystal clusters grew from the crack, swallowing the faint blue light and turning into ice-blue crystals along with the stone itself.

This was a power beyond Xu Chuan's control, so he could only let it spread.

The array of the Taiwei Instrument Plate is still in operation.

Before placing his hands on the Heavenly Nails, Xu Chuan expanded the range of the formation to its limit.

Golden light spread out from the array plate, climbed along the rock wall, from the dome to the ground, from the entrance of the passage to the edge of the secret realm, weaving into a large, pale golden net.

His Golden Light Mantra and the power of the Taiwei Instrument combined to form a temporary barrier at the entrance to the secret realm passage.

Otherwise, the secret realm would have shattered the moment the power of the Heavenly Nail leaked out.

The power injected by the Heavenly Nail was theoretically enough to flatten the entire Layered Rock Abyss.

Destroy the mining area and completely change the terrain.

At that time, both the abyssal black mud and the Hilichurls tormented by the curse of immortality will completely vanish like smoke.

That was the consequence of the Heavenly Nail's power being unleashed in its entirety. It indiscriminately wiped out everything in its vicinity.

Xu Chuan certainly didn't intend to do that.

Of course, he couldn't do it either.

Xu Chuan exerted all his strength, gripping the patterns on the nail's surface with his ten fingers, and slowly moved the Heavenly Nail.

Ice-blue flames erupted wildly around him, completely obliterating his clothes.

The fabric transformed into an ice-blue hard shell, which crumbled and peeled away with the slightest movement, revealing skin enveloped in golden light beneath.

Click!Click!

The secret passage is breaking.

The array of the Taiwei Instrument Plate teetered on the brink of collapse under the impact of the Heavenly Nails, breaking from the edges and being burned through by the icy blue flames.

Xu Chuan moved the Heavenly Nail to the entrance of the secret realm passage.

Next came his strongest attack since he transmigrated.

Xu Chuan maintained the Heavenly Nail, facing the secret realm passage.

The array of the Taiwei Instrument Plate shattered completely beneath his feet.

It turned to dust in an instant.

The projection magic couldn't be completed in time. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that his consciousness no longer had the extra energy to activate the projection.

"Success or failure hinges on this!"

The dust from the array plate was swept up by the flames of the Heavenly Nail, swirling around Xu Chuan like a pale golden star ring.

A dazzling golden light spread from the palm of his hand, enveloping the entire Heavenly Nail.

Immediately afterwards, the knight did not die from a bare-handed attack.

The Heavenly Nail, dormant for hundreds of years, gradually revived. The beam of light burst forth, passing through the passage, through the shattering spatial rifts, through the dark red outlines of countless wandering souls, and shooting all the way to the deepest part of the passage.

There was no sound, only light.

Pale golden light and icy blue light mingled together, surging out from the depths of the passage like a river bursting its banks.

Where the light surged, large swaths of dark red wandering spirits melted away, directly decomposed into the most basic energy particles.

They vanished completely before they even had a chance to turn into grayish-white smoke.

Xu Chuan watched as the light surged into the depths of the passage.

His left hand was still gripping the Sky Nail, and icy blue flames climbed up his arm, past his elbow, and were spreading toward his shoulder.

Where the flames touched, a layer of icy blue crystals condensed on the skin's surface, embedded in the skin and growing together with the flesh.

Chapter 101 The Moon Trembles

The direction of the giant abyss of layered rocks.

A beam of icy blue light pierced the clouds from below the horizon, illuminating the deepest part of the night.

The mountain peaks surrounding the beam of light were illuminated like paper cutouts, with sharp edges and corners, and the aftershocks alone seemed to have shaved off their peaks.

Before the rubble could fall, it was swept into the pillar of light and turned to dust in the icy blue light.

The sound only came from the direction of the Abyss of Layered Rocks after the pillar of light rose.

The explosion that erupted from the depths of the earth sounded like the roar of an ancient demon whose heart had been pierced.

Immediately following, a deafening roar of a mountain collapsing echoed as rock strata fractured and mineral veins were torn apart.

A shockwave, visible to the naked eye, spread outwards from the base of the pillar of light, pushing outwards along the ground.

The trees snapped at the roots, the sound of which was swallowed up by the roar of the air ring itself.

In the Qunyu Pavilion, Ningguang's teacup hovered in mid-air.

She stood by the railing, her fingers still in the position of holding the cup, but the rim of the cup was half an inch away from her lips.

The icy blue light reflected off her profile, turning her amber pupils a cold color.

The icy blue light at the top of the beam leaked through the gaps in the clouds, like a torn wound.

Ke Qing's hand rested on the railing.

"I will immediately take men to investigate the cause."

She immediately turned around, her boot heels striking the white jade floor of the Jade Pavilion with a crisp sound.

"Let Yelan go with you."

Ningguang's voice caught up from behind.

"Put your own safety first."

Ke Qing nodded, then rushed out of the Jade Pavilion.

Tonight is destined to be anything but peaceful.

Inside Wanmintang, Paimon's chopsticks paused in mid-air, the tips holding a piece of braised pork.

The glistening fat on the meat reflected the icy blue light of the sky, and her mouth was open.

"Wow, that beam of light shot up really high all at once."

Her little finger pointed out the window.

Xiangling rushed out of the kitchen. Her apron was still on, her hands were covered in flour, and rice crust followed closely behind her. Her two short legs moved incredibly fast.

"Guoba, did you see that?"

"Lu—"

The guests in the lobby began to discuss it.

The voice went from soft to loud, and from loud to arguing.

"This is an auspicious sign!"

"The Emperor ascends to heaven, and auspicious omens descend from the sky." An old man in a long robe slammed his hand on the table, his beard trembling.

"Bullshit auspicious omen."

The miner at the opposite table slammed his bowl down, spilling liquor that soaked his sleeve. "What kind of place is the Abyss of Layered Rocks?"

"The Emperor has just left, and you're telling me this is an auspicious omen?"

"This is disrespectful to the Emperor!"

"I'm telling the truth!"

Everyone's eyes darted back and forth between the beam of light and the two sides arguing.

Paimon shrank back.

She leaned closer to Ying, her small shoulder resting against Ying's upper arm.

Ying didn't see the pillar of light rising on the horizon.

Her lips moved.

For some reason, she always felt that this matter was related to Xu Chuan again.

After she and Paimon returned to Liyue Harbor, they inquired about Xu Chuan's whereabouts.

Old Mr. Lu, who runs the Baiju Inn, said he left home a few days ago.

Ying withdrew her gaze and lowered her head.

Her bangs fell down, obscuring her eyes.

Her lips moved again, and this time there was a sound, but it was so soft that only she could hear it.

"Whether it's related to you or not, I hope you're safe."

On the upper floor of the Rebirth Hall, Hu Tao stood on the inside of the railing, her hands supporting her on the railing, her upper body leaning out.

The plum blossom hairpin swayed in her hair, and the plum blossom on the side of her hat brim was blown over by the wind, revealing the white petal pattern on the back.

Her plum-blossom eyes reflected that beam of light, unblinking.

"Such a peculiar sight is rare even in Liyue's history." Her voice was a beat slower than usual.

"Guest, do you remember me?"

Zhongli stood beside her, his hands behind his back.

“What the hall master says is absolutely right.”

His voice was the same as usual, and Hu Tao didn't mind and continued chattering away.

He really didn't expect it.

This Mr. Xu, the guest scholar, actually managed to cause such a commotion.

On the night of "Three Bowls and You Can't Cross the Hill," when Xu Chuan told him that he "planned to leave Liyue Harbor for a while and travel around," he thought that at most he would go to Jueyun Karst to climb the mountain or go to Guyun Pavilion to see the sea.

When he sensed Xu Chuan's aura moving towards the layered rocks, he mentally assessed the situation as "needing attention."

But things clearly went beyond his expectations.

If he wasn't mistaken, this power was related to that thing.