He changed Tiwat

“Physical pain is to you a sacrifice for your faith; you will only be proud of the pain you have endured. As ‘punishment,’ I will tell you the ‘truth.’” Zhong Li’s tone was very calm, but Han Fulai, who was listening in, could feel the “cruel and ruthless Morax” that Wan Yan was talking about from his words.

"The truth...you're saying the truth is my punishment?" Wanyan's face was full of disbelief.

“Yes. What you’re about to hear is the price you pay for breaking the ‘contract,’” Zhongli said.

Although a voice in Wanyan's heart warned her not to listen to Zhongli, Zhongli's omniscient image had deeply penetrated her heart. Even though she sensed that the so-called truth might shake her beliefs, she still wanted to hear it; after all, it was the truth she had been searching for for many years.

"—Unfortunately, the Salt Demon, Heureia, is not a powerful demon. On the contrary, she is too weak—too accommodating, too gentle, and has absolutely no chance of ascending to the position of one of the Seven Gods…a loser."

Wanyan took a step back.

"What did you say?"

"During the War of the Demon Gods, the demon gods of the mortal world exhausted all their strength and wisdom to fight for the continent of Teyvat. But Heureia chose to flee. She believed that as long as she gave up before the fighting even began, the war would never affect her and her people. However, in the long years of war, there is no end to 'retreat'."

Han Fulai remained silent. As a time traveler from China, he had heard similar stories in history, many similar stories.

He vividly remembered a day in 1926 from his history book, when someone on the platform shouted at the top of their lungs, "There's only one way: hand over the guns! Why hand over the guns! Why hand over the guns! Because we don't have many guns to hand over! Since we don't have many guns, what's wrong with handing them all over!"

“In her endless concessions, Heureia lost all her land, leaving her with only her last refuge. In her final moments, she didn’t even have a weapon to raise to protect her people,” Zhongli said slowly.

"Not even a weapon?" Wanyan looked at the two sword blades on the sword rack. "But this sword..."

Zhongli narrowed his eyes slightly. "This broken sword is not a relic of the 'Salt Demon God,' but... the murder weapon that killed her. The white salt marks on the sword are not Heuria's power, but... her blood."

"You said... the murder weapon? No! It's fake, everything you're saying is fake, you're trying to deceive my faith in the gods!" Wanyan shook her head frantically.

“I’ve said before, I’m only stating the facts,” Zhongli replied indifferently.

"How...how could this be!"

Wan Yan even dropped the salt ruler and covered her ears with both hands.

"You...you're also a follower of Morax, don't try to fool me!"

After Wan Yan finished speaking, she ran out without looking back. Han Fulai clearly saw tears glistening in the corners of Wan Yan's eyes.

Han Fulai sighed softly, knowing that Wanyan had already believed it in her heart.

Earlier, when Wanyan fell on the "statues" of the Salt God's followers in the passage, she had already discovered that those "statues" were harmed by the Salt God's divine power.

However, when Han Fulai wrapped Clement in salt to create a new "statue," Wan Yan's heart began to waver.

Her subsequent unwavering belief in the powerful authority of the Salt God, and her rebuttals, were nothing more than self-encouragement and self-deception.

The broken sword, and the salt stains on it, had already led her to deduce most of the truth. She was forcibly deceiving herself into believing that the broken sword was proof of the Salt God's powerful authority—rather than evidence of the Salt God's defeat.

Because if she didn't do this, her faith, which she had upheld for many years, would collapse.

But no matter how much she tried to deceive herself, she could not ignore the silent testimony of those "statues".

The expressions on the faces of those dead salt god believers, their struggling movements, and their fleeing postures are the best testament to the truth.

If they truly lived under the protection of a gentle, loving, and powerful salt god, why were they afraid? Why did they flee? And why did they become "statues"?

When Wanyan heard Zhongli say that "she doesn't even have a weapon to protect her people anymore," she could already imagine what was going to happen next.

Even in different worlds, those who lay down their weapons in times of chaos all meet the same end—they all become the losers in history.

Before Han Fulai traveled through time, China had fought a "trade war" with the United States across the ocean, similar to the war between Liyue and Winter.

A certain Chinese short video company has never opposed the United States. They employed Americans as executives, opened their platform code and customer information to Americans, allowed them to censor their content, and were completely obedient, only to be ruthlessly blocked in return.

A certain Chinese telecommunications company has never opposed the United States. They accepted the punishment and agreed to pay a fine of two billion US dollars when they said they would, and to reorganize their board of directors when they said they would. They allowed the United States to send "imperial envoys" to supervise them for ten years, in return for seven years of sanctions and the "ability to restart sanctions at any time".

A South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose name contains the character "Mund" once famously said: "When the white missionaries first arrived in Africa, they had the Bible, and we had the land. The missionaries said, 'Let us pray!' So we closed our eyes and prayed. But when we opened our eyes, we found that the situation had been reversed: we had the Bible, and they had the land..."

If you believe in their gods, you will lose your land and your life; if you don't believe in their gods, they will kill you and take your land and your life away.

This is the war between demons and gods.

Whether you resist or not, whether you believe in their gods or not... it doesn't matter.

When the enemy tells you, "Put down your weapons and I'll spare your life," you cannot actually put down your weapons.

Because when you lay down your weapon and are betrayed, and angrily question the other party about why they broke their promise, this is how they will answer you—

"Ridiculous! You don't even have a weapon anymore, why should I keep my word with you?"

What should Heureia do in the Demon God War?

In 1926, when the people on the platform called on everyone to hand over their guns, the still young "that gentleman" also participated in the meeting. At that time, he stood up and said something.

He said, "Not a single gun can be handed over."

Without those few broken guns, would they even sit down and negotiate with us? Therefore, we cannot hand over a single gun.

"Mr. Zhongli, this is truly... killing someone while also destroying their spirit," Han Fulai said with a sigh.

As Zhongli said, when facing a fanatic, physical pain is merely a "relief," while true suffering comes only from the "spirit." To destroy Wanyan's spirit is the true punishment.

"Heh, Gu Hua said the same thing to me back then. You and he come from the same place, so you must already understand these principles." Zhong Li smiled faintly, picked up the salt ruler from the ground, and put it into his divine eye.

“Yes…” Han Fulai nodded. These principles are written in the textbooks of every Chinese child, and they are things that they are constantly exposed to during their growth.

"Actually, Wanyan is right about something: my hands are stained with blood."

Zhongli sighed and stared at Han Fulai.

"Young friend Han, I have a question for you. If I hadn't said 'Don't kill anyone,' would you have killed Clement?"

"Probably...yes." Han Fulai hesitated for a moment before giving his answer.

In a life-or-death battle, there's no room for holding back; at least in that state just now, he wasn't strong enough to hold back against Clement.

If Clement opened his Evil Eye to kill him, he obviously couldn't just stand there and wait to be slaughtered.

If he hadn't kept Clement alive to inform the Fools, he might have actually turned Clement into a "statue" in the ruins.

"If neither Wanyan nor I are present, what will you do if you're dealing with Clement alone?" Zhongli asked again.

"...If I were the only one present, I...would call for help from the Immortal Xiao." Han Fulai hesitated for a moment before honestly giving his answer.

Zhongli glanced at him noncommittally. "Then, if I had said that Wanyan's punishment was to turn her into a statue, and I specifically asked you to do it, could you have done it?"

"This..." Han Fulai was speechless, which was quite unusual.

In his philosophy, whether it is martial arts, immortal power, or even the earth vein power he once used, they are all powers for self-defense and protecting others.

Although he has combat experience and has even personally dispelled the remnants of the demon god, he has never killed anyone to this day.

Moreover, Wanyan was just a defenseless girl.

Zhongli asked in a deep voice, "You're the kind of person who would say 'You can't hit girls,' right?"

Han Fulai was taken aback. He really wanted to argue that he wouldn't hesitate to take action if necessary, but such words wouldn't fool Zhongli.

He knew that war doesn't discriminate between men, women, or children; he even knew that history was full of stories of using women and children as cover to kill the enemy. But knowing is one thing, doing it yourself is another.

He was raised in China with the education that women should be given priority, and that men should protect women; it was wrong to lay a hand on them...

Isn't this a case of "easier said than done"?

Zhongli's "killing the heart" targeted far more than just Wanyan.

“So you still can’t simulate my ‘Boundless Slaughter’.” Zhongli smiled and said, “Remember when I said that the seal on this ruin was actually opened for you? Only by opening this seal can things be fair. Let’s go and finish what we need to do, ‘Successor of the Emperor’.”

Brothers, I really have been updating on time every day.

But the reviewer won't release it!

Please stop sending me private messages asking why I stopped updating. I really didn't stop updating!

For the past month, I've been setting the backend to update precisely at 12 noon, and I've been uploading the scheduled content in advance—but the reviewers don't look at it, and there's nothing I can do about it!

Here's a look at the update times in my backend.

Then you can compare the release times each day...

I just don't understand why other authors can release updates on time, but I always have to be delayed, and the delay time is very random, ranging from half a day to a whole day.

In short, I hope the audience can understand that this is not my fault.

Chapter 85 The Mortal King [4k]

The two left the room where the broken sword was enshrined and headed towards the deepest part of the ruins.

The ground still bore the footprints left by Wanyan as she ran, pointing directly into the depths of the ruins. Clearly, even though Wanyan was deeply shaken, she hadn't given up on exploring the secrets of the deepest part of these ruins.

As we walked, we saw more and more "statues" of salt god worshippers. Moreover, most of these salt god worshippers were facing away from the depths of the ruins, as if they were fleeing, and their faces were filled with terror, as if they had seen the end of the world.

Zhongli and Han Fulai could see the "statues" of these salt god believers, and Wanyan could see them too.

When they found Wanyan in front of the stone gate at the deepest part of the ruins, Wanyan was squatting beside the stone gate with her knees drawn up to her arms, tears still on her face.

Upon seeing Zhongli and Han Fulai, Wanyan slightly raised her head, her eyes red and her voice trembling with tears: "...What happened along the way? What did they see...and do? And then...what happened next?"

Han Fulai remained silent, knowing that Wanyan already had the answer in her heart.

She is simply afraid, afraid that the truth will truly be revealed to her, but at the same time, she also wants to face the truth.

Zhongli stepped past Wanyan and placed his hand on the stone door: "Then let's continue forward. Everything that happened back then, and the traces left behind this door, will be recorded truthfully."

A golden light flashed, and the seal was broken.

The stone gate split open to both sides amidst the tremors.

Behind the gate was a grand hall, its architecture magnificent and imposing, far surpassing the rest of the temple. Inside the hall was a high platform, upon which sat an exquisite stone table and a throne. It was clear that this was once the residence of the "Salt Demon God," and the place where she ruled and governed her people.

There are many “statues” in the main hall, arranged in two rows, like civil and military officials standing under the king’s throne.

But the final act of these people was not to protect their king or their god, but rather—to flee for their lives.

The main hall was almost entirely covered by a sea of ​​salt, with only a statue remaining in the center. Around the statue, one could still see the stone slabs on the ground and the radiating salt currents.

Thousands of years ago, the salt ocean that covered the entire Temple of the Salt God spread out from this center.

In front of the statue, there was still a small pile of salt grains. Unlike the other salt around it, this salt shimmered with a crystal-clear luster, and even had a pure white salt flower blooming on it.

Wanyan stared blankly at the salt flower, without saying a word.

Zhongli slowly walked to Wanyan's side.

"This is the scene. Herria's body disintegrated, leaving only traces of salt. Her final moments are frozen here."

"And the story continues: some of her people finally realized that this kind but weak demon could not protect anyone in the war. The war between demons is very cruel. Rather than letting her suffer the torment after defeat, it would be better to grant her a relatively easy release."

Zhongli looked down at the salt flower. His voice was calm, without regret or pity, as if he were stating something as common sense and self-evident.

Wan Yan repeated a word softly, but made no sound. Judging from her lip movements, it seemed like she was saying "relief".

Zhongli raised his face and recited a poem:

"The Moral Rock King became emperor, fame and power were supreme, demons and gods fought for supremacy in the Spring and Autumn Period, and rise and fall were over in an instant."

"A few lines of names in history, countless desolate mounds in vain, the predecessors sow the seeds and the successors reap the harvest, it is nothing more than a struggle between dragons and tigers."

The once high and mighty demons and gods are ultimately nothing more than a few lines of ink in history and a desolate hill in the earth.

Han Fulai was taken aback. This was a poem he had adapted when he was telling stories to Zhongli on the day he first arrived in Liyue Harbor. At that time, he was telling the story of Heuria—of course, it was a story he had adapted on the spot.

Just as Zhongli said, his memory is really good.

“Those ‘statues’… are actually all…” Wan Yan looked around, her voice trembling.

“No matter how weak a demon god is, the power lost upon death is beyond what a mortal body can withstand. Those who couldn't escape all ended up like this,” Zhongli said slowly. “The people of the Salt Goddess, untouched by this calamity, left her territory and went to Liyue to seek the protection of the Rock Lord. Their descendants fear the remnants of the demon god left behind by Heureia, fear the eternal curse she has cast upon them…”

Wanyan seemed to see a scene from thousands of years ago:

The death of the salt god turned into a huge disaster.

The chaotic and fierce headwinds brought an ice storm—but in the end, the followers of the salt god discovered that it was not ice, but fragments of salt.

Both humans and the furnishings within the temple were covered in a layer of salt, turning them a pristine white. The surrounding air turned into salt particles that gradually settled, their movement resembling snowflakes slowly falling across the tundra.

This phenomenon, which can be called "salinization," proceeded at an astonishing speed, and the damage expanded in an instant—the entire temple of the salt god, the area now known as "Salt of the Earth," was turned into salt, and a large number of the salt god's people and believers who could not escape in time perished in this disaster.

The temple of the salt god also collapsed due to the crystallization caused by salt; the beams and pillars collapsed, the passageways were blocked, and it almost became a dead zone.

The surviving people of the salt god fled en masse, seeking refuge with Morax, who had not yet been crowned ruler of the mortal realm...

A thousand years later, in the "Silver Plain Hall" occupied by the people of the Salt God, the following rumor began to circulate: "Morax assassinated Heureia."

But if Morax assassinated Heureia, why would Heureia's devout people seek the protection of her murderer and enemy? And why would this murderer and enemy protect them, the children of the salt god? And why would Heureia's people fear the curse of that benevolent god?

Perhaps these "statues" are the "curse" of the salt god?

Wan Yan's gaze was fixed on a spot a few steps in front of her. She gently raised her hand and pointed to the "statue" in front of her.