He changed Tiwat

The Water Sprites, after all, came to Liyue as "political refugees," not as monsters, and all they wanted was a tranquil lake for seclusion. The Immortals simply provided Lothia with a small lake as her hermitage, agreeing that she and humans would not disturb each other. Lothia herself was always wary of "assassins from her homeland," displaying a socially awkward demeanor, even more of a recluse than Lord Liuyun, so there really wasn't much to be wary of her for.

Sealing the water spirits is really just a facade, a way of showing Liyue that it has no intention of being hostile to the current water god. It's like saying, "We in Liyue took in Lothia out of humanitarianism, but in reality, we've put her under house arrest so she won't cause trouble for you, Fukaros." Anyway, after the great war, the water god changed, and many water spirits escaped, so the current water god doesn't seem to care too much.

With the strength of the Liyue Asmodians, they could easily overwhelm Lothia in a one-on-one fight. Lothia's greatest strength, however, lies in her ability to summon rain. For example, if Xiao hadn't been trying to protect the dike by dispelling the rain clouds, but instead attacked Lothia directly, she would probably have been killed on the spot…

Lothia has been virtually invisible for the past few centuries. Not only Keqing and Han Fulai, but even Xiao couldn't recall that Liyue had this reclusive, pure water spirit...

Having realized that the Rouran were trapped by their external circumstances, Han Fulai calmed down.

The Rouran's goal was to kill him—being able to trap him did not equate to being able to kill him.

His jade shield wasn't fake.

Han Fulai and the ice puppet landed and simply stood still. Since they were now in someone else's space, in a dark environment, he didn't want to wander around and trigger any other traps.

Although he didn't know where the Rouran had obtained the Inazuma Onmyojutsu talismans, he was certain these things couldn't harm him—based on his memories, Inazuma's Onmyojutsu were all passed down from Liyue's Celestial Arts, and some of the talismans seemed to have been used to strengthen those "Sea Demons." Onmyojutsu was indeed quite powerful, but his Jade Shield was a direct inheritance from the "Ancestor of All Celestials."

When Ah-He was abusing me... no, when she was practicing with me, I could withstand it! Is your spell stronger than Ah-He's "Summoning Generals with Spiritual Might"?

The pure water sprite, which had been standing still for a long time, pounced again, waving its hand to summon water waves to bombard him, but Han Fulai simply stood still and took the hit head-on.

One of his ice puppets was locked in combat with Rouran's shikigami, while the other ice puppet had already pierced one of the Pure Water Spirit's wings when the Pure Water Spirit launched its attack.

“Lotia, you’re no good. Take her away, next.” Han Fulai continued to mock her.

Based on the power that Rouran has shown so far, they are not his match.

The Rouran cannot remain hidden forever; they will inevitably make their move again. Han Fulai became alert and vigilant. He still had the last ice feather given to him by Ahe, which might be the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the Rouran.

Taking advantage of the brief moment when the space was sealed off, Rouran had already disappeared into the darkness, and took out three more tokens in her hand.

"Seal of Fierce Flames, Seal of Scorched Thunder, Seal of Endless Wind, Wind, Fire, Thunder and Lightning - Yin-Yang Transformation!"

As he uttered the "Word of Power," the talismanic arts sealed within the seal were activated, and the three elements of fire, thunder, and wind formed a triple barrier, rushing straight towards Han Fulai, who was shining brightly in the darkness.

This is the "Yogami Technique" developed by the great Onmyoji, Harunosuke Inazuma, also known as the "Onmyo Arts" of the Inazuma Onmyo Bureau. This dark space he created is something that the great Onmyoji left behind in Liyue five hundred years ago.

Five hundred years ago, Harunosuke Yuugami was devastated by the death of his friend during the Dark Calamity and went to Liyue to learn magic in order to protect his homeland.

The Liyue immortals are mostly birds and deer, and are actually "different in number" from the Inazuma's foxes, tengu, and other "great demons". Before Inazuma closed its borders, they actually had a pretty good relationship and often exchanged information. For example, Ganyu was quite close to Yae no Miko when she was still a little fox, and they still keep in touch by letter.

Yuuki Harunosuke studied supernatural powers under the tutelage of the Great Tengu Reisenbo at Mount Kage, essentially making him a disciple of a sage similar to Shinzuru. To the Liyue Sages, he was a disciple of an old friend who had come to Liyue to study, both for the sake of protecting their homeland. Therefore, they imparted all their knowledge to Yuuki Harunosuke.

Inspired by the talismans of Liyue, Harunosuke created talismanic formulas similar to the "Talisman of No Taboos," enabling mortals without the Eye of God or Sage Mode to wield extraordinary power. These experimental formulas were largely ignored by both the Sages and Harunosuke himself, circulating among the mortals of Liyue like the Talisman of No Taboos. Later, they fell into the hands of the then-star Tianji and eventually reached the hands of the Rouran.

Perhaps due to a lack of divine favor, few of the salt god's descendants possess the Eye of God. Instead, things like Yin-Yang Arts, which do not require the Eye of God or immortal arts, are more suitable. After all, Harunosuke Yuugami's original intention in inventing Yin-Yang Arts was to enable mortals to have the power to protect their homeland in the face of disaster, something that everyone could use and learn.

That move, "Wind, Fire, Thunder, and Lightning: Yin-Yang Mutation," was considered a trump card technique in the Yin-Yang arts of the Rouran. The barrier bombardment, a reaction of three elements, was indeed extraordinary in power, comparable to the strike of "Return to the End," but...

"Sorry, you failed to penetrate the enemy's armor." Han Fulai complained as he released the last Ice Feather Talisman.

The final ice puppet appeared beside Han Fulai.

The Rouran had already revealed their location in order to launch the attack just now, and now was the time for him to counterattack.

At the same time, Rouran met Han Fulai's gaze in the darkness.

"The Jade Shield is not necessarily invincible." His voice was full of confidence.

Where does his confidence come from? What cards does he still hold that he hasn't played yet?

He used all sorts of things, including pure water spirits, Yin-Yang techniques, and talismans.

Still missing... Salt Sorrow Spear.

Rou Ran gently beckoned to Han Fulai with her finger.

“Kill him, I will kill you; I will not let you live another word of sorrow.”

As the word "sorrow" was uttered, the Salt Sorrow Spear, which had been hidden in the darkness, rose from the ground as if manipulated, and pierced Han Fulai's vital back.

Han Fu didn't have time to turn around; he manipulated the last ice puppet to shield himself.

The Salt Sorrow Spear pierced through the Ice Puppet along with the Jade Shield, passing from Han Fulai's back to his chest.

Chapter 400 Even the Emperor, though long-lived, has his end [4k]

The Jade Shield was as if it didn't exist at all in front of the Salt Sorrow Spear.

The spiral-shaped, sharp spearhead emerged from Han Fulai's chest, spraying out a large amount of blood.

The ice puppet behind Han Fulai was also pierced.

The ice golem gripped the spear handle with both hands, seemingly trying its best to block the spear's advance, but to no avail.

As the spear pierced its body, the ice golem's icy form transformed into a silvery-white salt sculpture, which then shattered into a pile of salt flowers.

This attack was a deadly move that the Rouran had been lying in wait for a long time.

In terms of individual strength alone, it would be almost impossible for Rouran to kill Han Fulai, even with the help of the Pure Water Elf.

Han Fulai had previously displayed terrifying strength at the bottom of the Abyss of Layered Rocks. According to Ye Lan's report, he was roughly equivalent to "a normal immortal capable of unleashing demon god-level combat power." Moreover, he was always protected by others, making it extremely difficult to kill him. Even if Han Fulai was lured into this independent space and cut off from external support, and given his current excessive consumption and condition far below his peak, he could still remain invincible simply by relying on the Jade Shield he wore.

The key to killing Han Fulai lies in "breaking the shield".

—And the Salt Sorrow Spear can break shields.

To outsiders, the Jade Shield may seem no different from the shields used by soldiers, but if a sorcerer has observed it up close, they would likely have a different perspective.

The Jade Shield is actually a celestial magic. Although it's called a "shield," its principle isn't a "wall" or "shield," but rather "damage absorption." Therefore, it can't be used to isolate floods or air, because these natural products aren't considered "attacks" unless they contain elemental forces or magic that manipulate these substances.

If it's just a wall or a shield, it's easy for people outside to be unable to get in and people inside to be unable to get out, let alone stand inside the shield and attack outwards.

For example, the Jade Shield cannot block the flood of the Azure River, but it can block the water attack controlled by the Pure Water Spirit; the Jade Shield will not block normal air, but it can block the poisonous gas produced by the black mud at the bottom of the Layered Rock Abyss... This is because the spell itself has an "attack judgment". Some things will be judged as attacks by the Jade Shield, while others will not.

This is certainly not a flaw. The defensive spells personally created by the Rock King Emperor don't really have any flaws. Basically, the Jade Shield can completely defend against physical and elemental attacks, and it even has a certain resistance to mental attacks, making it truly the "strongest shield".

However, under certain circumstances, the Jade Shield does have a weakness—for example, it cannot prevent someone from committing suicide by opening the shield.

The Salt Sorrow Spear is a relic of the Salt God, and it also contains the remnants of the Salt God's soul. It is essentially one with the remnants of the Salt God on Han Fulai's body.

According to the Jade Shield's assessment, the aura emanating from the Salt Sorrow Spear is the same as that of Han Fulai, so this spear should be considered an extension of his body.

Therefore, it wasn't that the Salt Sorrow Spear broke through the Jade Pendant Shield, but rather that the Jade Pendant Shield let the Salt Sorrow Spear pass.

If there was any communication between the Jade Shield and the Salt Sorrow Spear, it would probably be something like this—

Ai Shio: "Captain, don't shoot, it's me!"

Yu Zhang: "Oh, it's you, kid."

Yu Zhang: "...! You're the one who led the enemy here?"

Ai Shio: "Captain, the Imperial Army asked me to pass on a message to you..."

But simply having the Salt Sorrow Spear break through the shield isn't enough; the more crucial question is how to get the Salt Sorrow Spear to pierce Han Fulai.

Like Han Fulai, Rouran was actually not skilled in martial arts. Although he had learned some self-defense martial arts since childhood as the heir of a powerful family, they were just ordinary people's fist and foot skills, only for physical fitness. They were no match for the immortal spear techniques passed down by Shen He and Xiang Ling. Such low-level martial arts were naturally not suitable for fighting.

If he were to use the Salt Sorrow Spear to stab Han Fulai, even if it could penetrate the Jade Pendant Shield, it might not actually harm Han Fulai. Han Fulai at least has legs and can dodge, and his physical strength is far superior to that of the Rouran.

Therefore, the Rouran changed their method of manipulating the Salt Sorrow Spear.

He wielded the Saltmooth Spear not in the way of a warrior, but in the way of a mage—that is, "weapon manipulation." Just like Keqing manipulated her hairpin with lightning.

The Liyue Celestials have a method of manipulating objects with their aura. For example, the Celestials usually maintain the posture of cranes and deer. When they want to get something, they don't use wings or hooves, but rather use Celestial magic to manipulate objects or summon creatures like ice golems.

Inazuma's Onmyodo also includes methods of controlling objects, but unlike Liyue's, their Onmyodo involves creating "Tsukumogami" (spirits/objects). In Liyue's parlance, these are called "object spirits" or "artifact spirits."

In Inazuma folklore, there are often "demon swords" or "strange umbrellas," the basic formula being that an object has accompanied its owner for many years, absorbing the owner's aura or blood, and thus gaining sentience. The Shio-Ai Spear itself has the remnant soul of the Salt God residing within it, essentially a "Tsukumogami" with awakened sentience, lacking only control.

Rouran initially gathered the remnants of the Salt God and used the blood of his followers and his own blood to refine the Salt Sorrow Spear. He forcibly established a connection between the Salt Sorrow Spear and himself using the bloodline of the Salt God's remnants—in terms of immortal cultivation, this would be roughly equivalent to "recognizing a master through blood and refining a magical artifact."

In the hands of the Rouran, the Salt Sorrow Spear was not actually a "weapon," but a "magical artifact," a flying projectile that could be thrown outwards.

However, Han Fulai was unaware of this matter and therefore had no way to take targeted precautions.

From the moment Han Fulai entered this space, the Salt Sorrow Spear remained untouched, stuck in the ground, faintly radiating a resentful aura. Upon seeing the spear, Han Fulai might guess it was used as the core of a magic array, something to influence the mind of the pure water spirits, and that approaching it might cause mental corruption. He was indeed careful not to touch the spear, but he never imagined that the spear stuck in the ground would suddenly fly up and stab him in the back.

During their conversation, Rouran openly introduced the origin of the gun to Han Fulai, telling him that it was a "cursed gun" and that getting close to it would affect his mind, which further deepened Han Fulai's misconception.

After that, Rouran used pure water spirits, Yin-Yang techniques, and spells to attack, but never used the Salt Sorrow Spear. She kept attracting Han Fulai's attention, preventing him from thinking about the true meaning of the Salt Sorrow Spear.

If Han Fulai knew all the information and reviewed the events afterward, he would also feel that he deserved to have been shot.

The entire scheme cleverly utilized various information gaps and calculated Han Fulai's mentality to achieve this fatal blow. In the context of popular martial arts novels in Liyue, this would be a classic scene of the protagonist defeating a powerful enemy far beyond their level—well, Han Fulai was the tragic boss whom the protagonist defeated far beyond their level.

Of course, Han Fulai didn't have time to lament that he was being beaten like a boss. He was now in the same position as the shattered ice golem, gripping the tip of the Salt Sorrow Spear tightly with both hands to prevent it from piercing through his body.

Such a horrific penetrating wound would have been fatal to an ordinary person, but Han Fulai is now a demigod, and as a boss being attacked, he has a very high health bar. Although the spear pierced his chest, the ice golem's earlier obstruction caused the spearhead to deviate slightly from its trajectory, preventing it from accurately hitting his heart.

The pain was excruciating, but the more it hurt, the clearer his mind became. It wasn't the first time someone had stabbed him in the chest—two months ago, Zhong Li had stabbed him right in the heart; that time, he was truly powerless to resist…

He remains conscious, with both immortal power and the remnants of demonic energy rapidly circulating within him to protect his heart. He is severely injured, but not yet at the point of death.

In the absence of means to stop the bleeding, the most important thing after being pierced by a weapon is to prevent it from being pulled out. Just like ancient warriors who wouldn't pull out an arrow immediately after being shot through the body, but would continue fighting with the wound until they returned to camp for treatment, a gun inside the body can actually stop the wound from bleeding too quickly. Pulling it out is truly bleeding to death.

While gripping the Salt Sorrow Spear tightly, he gritted his teeth and directed the two ice golems under his command to charge towards the Rouran.

The Pure Water Sprite has already been defeated. Only those paper-thin shikigami are left to protect Rouran. Even one ice puppet can hold off those shikigami. They definitely won't be able to withstand two ice puppets.

Eliminate the Rouran, dismantle this isolated space, and then summon Xiao to take him to the True Lords for emergency treatment. The Liyue Immortals have seen many such wounds on the battlefield before; they probably have a hundred ways to heal him so that not even a scar remains.

Facing the approaching ice puppet, Rou Ran revealed a somewhat ferocious smile, her hands changing hand seals as she began to resonate with her own bloodline to activate the remnant soul of the Salt God within the Salt Sorrow Spear.

That was an "evil" separated from a demon god, and its resentment was even stronger than the remnants of the sea god that Shen He encountered when he was young.

For the Rouran, killing Han Fulai was merely a means to an end; without killing Han Fulai, they could not obtain what they desired.

What he truly needed was the remnant of the Salt God within Han Fulai's body—a crucial fragment of the deity that had been sealed within the "Salt in the Earth" by the Emperor for thousands of years, a fragment that his ancestors had sought for millennia without success.

Now that the Salt Sorrow Spear has pierced Han Fulai's body, Rouran can manipulate the Salt Sorrow Spear to absorb the remnants of the Salt God within him.

This is a dog-eat-dog world.

If we quantify the demonic remnants left by Heuria, the remnants in Han Fulai's body account for only about one-third of the total, while the remnant soul of the Salt God in the Salt Sorrow Spear is equivalent to two-thirds of the total volume. By combining these two parts of demonic remnants into one, a relatively complete demonic remnant soul can be constructed.

—If the remnant soul consciousness within the Salt Sorrow Spear is the dominant force, then it is a "darkened" Heuria, and also a powerful Heuria.

With this power in hand, the Rouran will become the new gods of Liyue.

To submit to Ningguang and willingly become someone else's pawn? What a joke!

The Emperor treated the remnants of the Salt God as "discarded pawns," and wasn't Ningguang treating him just as a "glove"? It was nothing more than using someone else to do one's dirty work, discarding them once used. Ningguang must have already prepared to eliminate him after he killed Han Fulai.

And wasn't he also using Ningguang's power to achieve his own goals? Without Ningguang's cooperation, he couldn't kill Han Fulai, the "successor of the Emperor." Even if the Emperor sat idly by while humanity fought, he still had to be capable of winning.

He knew that Ningguang was controlling Liyue's economic lifeline, that Ganyu was secretly controlling Liyue's political center, that Keqing was building Liyue's industrial base, and that Han Fulai was trying to win over the hearts of the people of Liyue... Ha, but those were all just trivial matters.

The continent of Teyvat is ruled by seven gods, a world where deities roam the earth.

Just like the wind god from a thousand years ago, no matter how indifferent he was to worldly affairs, once he returned to Mondstadt, he was able to uproot the noble rule of the Lawrence family.

The Geo Archon of Liyue also emerged from the bloody war between demons and gods.

Power is the foundation of everything, and power is the guarantee of authority.

Wealth, status, fame... everything is built upon strength.

This world may seem peaceful, but it is nothing more than a veil of warmth and affection.

Beneath this veil, it remains, at its core, a jungle where the strong prey on the weak.

The power of the gods is the foundation of everything!

[Though the Emperor lives long, we should be prepared and have no worries. The eternal stability of Liyue and the well-being of humanity should be ensured through this grand plan, proceeding gradually. Reforms should be undertaken slowly and deliberately, not hastily. Just as carving with a candle at the bottom of a rock eventually yields pearls and gems, so too should the complexities of Liyue be pursued in the same way.]

The book "Pearls and Gems" written by our ancestors has already shown the way for future generations.

In his generation, the day finally came when "even the emperor, though long-lived, has his end." The time for the emperor to abdicate had arrived.

He is the Rouran of Tianji Star, the "Pope" of the Salt God's people, and the leader of the tribe closest to the gods.

The descendants of the Salt God have always held the power of Salt Sorrow, and control over a god who is yet to be perfected.

His patience and forbearance were exchanged for this opportunity—the opportunity to become a god!

The millennia-long, tragic wish of the people of Salt God will finally be fulfilled in his generation.

He will reign supreme in Liyue as the successor to the Salt God!

Han Fulai suddenly felt a chill run through his body, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. All the blood in his body was being drained by that Salt Sorrow Spear—the remnants of the demon god within him resided in his heart, and draining the remnants of the demon god from his body was, of course, draining his blood.

That mournful voice echoed in his mind again:

"Throughout the ages, how many wronged souls have lamented?"

"Gazing into the distance, I see only the vastness of the human world, rife with sorrow and lamentation."