He changed Tiwat

The Abyss Order's plan to lure and kill Dainesreb in the "Upside-Down City" was thwarted by Han Fulai himself. As a result, the Abyss Order lost two apostles and one high priest.

Then, the Abyss Order's meticulously planned scheme, painstakingly constructed over many years beneath the Layered Rock Abyss, to use the black mud seeping from its bottom to contaminate the "Layered Rock Nails" and open a passage into the abyss, was also thwarted by Han Fulai. In that battle, they not only lost a large number of abyss mages and apostles, but even the "Apostle of Fate," considered a "perfect life form," failed to return...

It is no exaggeration to say that Han Fulai wiped out nearly one-fifth of the Abyss Order's fighting force in the Laminar Rock Abyss, and caused the Abyss Order's hidden forces in Liyue to be almost completely eradicated.

Anyone would remember this grudge.

Compared to the devastating defeat at the Abyss of Laminaria, sacrificing one here is nothing...

Yuan Shang, who had been "sacrificed," remained silent.

He was certainly not prepared to sacrifice himself. His previous "rather die than surrender" was only because he had no other choice. If he could live, he would rather live—but if he dared to say those words, he would be doomed.

Han Fulai chuckled as well: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. As you arranged, we've already read 'The Past of the Sun and Moon.' Since we're all going to be enemies of Sky Island, why not form a united front?"

"Oh?" His suggestion softened Kong's tone a little.

After a pause, Kong asked, "What can you give us?"

Han Fulai immediately replied, "I can promise you that after I 'ascend to godhood,' I will secretly provide the 'Abyss Order' with corresponding benefits—"

"You are currently searching for key items in the ruins of various Teyvat countries for the 'Loom of Destiny' project, right?"

"Whatever you want, such as the artifacts in certain secret realms and ruins within Liyue, as long as it does not endanger the safety of the people of Liyue, I can ask the immortals to turn a blind eye to it."

"As for the ruins in Mondstadt and Inazuma, I can also help you communicate with the Anemo and Raikou to reach a result that is acceptable to both sides."

"Of course, most importantly... I won't deliberately cause you any trouble in the future. That's a pretty good offer, isn't it?"

Chapter 331 This is a "Defection" Operation [4k]

The "benefits" that Han Fulai mentioned did sound to outsiders like empty promises.

Even if he did cooperate with Kong to achieve the status of a demon god and sit on the throne of "Salt King Emperor", it would be impossible for him to openly support the "Abyss Order".

After all, the Abyss Order is an organization that is "against the world." The Knights of Favonius, the Liyue Clan, and even the Fatui and the Adventurers' Guild all have the basic attitude of attacking the Abyss Order as soon as it shows its face.

The "Dark Calamity" created by Kanria caused profound disaster to the seven kingdoms of Teyvat, and the "Abyss Order" formed by the remnants of Kanria is also a common enemy of the Teyvat continent.

Although the Seven Gods have a somewhat ambiguous attitude towards the remnants of Kanria, with figures like Venti and Zhongli taking in Kanria remnants... on the surface, the Seven Kingdoms still prohibit the "Abyss Order" from operating within their borders.

Including the fools of the land of Winter.

Although there are Kanrians like "The Clown" among the Fools, "The Clown" and the "Abyss Order" clearly belong to different factions in Kanria and remain hostile to each other. The "Ninth Company" and "The Prince," who were sent to the bottom of the Abyss, as well as the "Scrap Soldiers" who had fought against monsters in the Abyss for hundreds of years, have all fought against the "Abyss Order."

The Abyss Order has been secretly gathering necessary materials in various countries for its "Weaving of Destiny" plan, and will never show its face unless absolutely necessary.

Even with obstruction from official authorities in various countries, their actions in those countries always manage to achieve their intended goals.

—Although Han Fulai didn’t know, there was a tacit understanding between the Seven Gods and the “Abyss Order”. At least, Zhongli’s release of Oser from the seal of Guyun Pavilion was not simply for “training”.

From this perspective, the Abyss Order doesn't actually need him to communicate with the Seven Gods.

But his last words did indeed stir Kong's heart.

Not to mention empty space, Yuan Shang now almost begs the prince to immediately agree to cooperate with Han Fulai—really, Yuan Shang doesn't know how many "good deeds" Han Fulai has done, but he has a deep understanding of Han Fulai's level of "bad deeds".

Putting everything else aside, just consider the most important mission that Kong Yao was tasked with carrying out in the Abyss Palace. It has now been completely ruined by Han Fulai... Even he, who is best at running away, couldn't escape. If it were any other apostle, the outcome would definitely be even worse.

The man who is called "Sukabul" by the Fools and who ruined an "Evil Eye Factory" and two executives in Inazuma is a great blessing if he doesn't come after you!

While Kong was still considering, Paimon, who had been kept in the dark and left out, finally couldn't take it anymore: "I'm telling you, can someone explain to me what's going on? What's this 'mastermind' thing? And what do you mean by 'ascending to godhood'?"

Han Fulai smiled apologetically at Paimon: "I'm sorry, there were some things I didn't tell you beforehand in order to prevent eavesdropping... Well, let's start from the beginning. Let's start from when the two of you entered Yuanxia Palace several days ago."

"Huh? Wait a minute..." Paimon asked in confusion, "Isn't it a bit too early for you to say 'start from the beginning'?"

Han Fulai was still smiling: "No, not early at all. The Abyss Order's plan started from that time."

"Wait a minute." Ying also sensed something was wrong. "You mean...?"

Han Fulai nodded: "That's right. All the things your brother sent Yuan Shang to do at Yuanxia Palace, as well as the 'sacred land transformation' they orchestrated in conjunction with Aqi, and this 'triangular road sacrifice,' were all for you—"

He looked directly into Ying's eyes and said slowly, "Everything was for the purpose of 'turning' you."

"...'Turning' me? Me?" Ying tilted her head, her face full of questions.

Paimon is in the same pose.

Han Fu glanced at Yuan Shang, then at the "Intiwat" flower in his hand.

Yuan Shang and Kong Hui both seem to have lost their ability to speak.

Oh well, he'd already been Ying's "external brain" in the Yuanxia Palace for so long, he wouldn't mind doing it one more time.

“Alright, I’ll explain this matter. If you have any comments, please feel free to add them,” Han Fulai said to Yuan Shang.

Yuan Shang naturally didn't dare to reply, but simply made a gesture of invitation.

In fact, Kong was also listening intently on the other end, eager to know what went wrong with Yuanxia Palace's plan.

Han Fulai looked at Ying and Paimeng and said, "Let's recall the various doubts we encountered after the 'Triangle Road Sacrifice' at Yuanxia Palace—everything along the way has been too logical."

“We need a ritual to reverse the ‘sanctification’, so the shrine maiden Aki, who knows this ancient ritual, appeared and prepared the necessary items in advance, such as a map and the ‘Musashi’s Box. When we arrived at the library in the ‘Hazama Street’, Fuchigami happened to be waiting there and gave us the ‘bridle’ required for the ritual.”

"Next, everything we need for the journey, such as the 'Nether Fish' for transportation, the 'Ceremony Photo' to guide everyone in the ceremony, the 'Geography and Hydrology of the White Night Kingdom' and 'The Past of the Sun and Moon' that can reveal the truth of history and answer our questions, and even the 'Collection of Light and Shadow' which contains the answers to the riddles that Yuan Shang didn't have time to give us, has all been prepared."

"Obviously, there is no reason why an ancient ritual left over from two thousand years ago could still be carried out so smoothly two thousand years later, with all the necessary procedures remaining intact—if there were any errors or omissions on the map, or any problems with the 'ritual photo,' or any building collapsed, the ritual might not have been able to proceed."

"But everything just happened so naturally and smoothly, allowing us to 'pass through' all the way. It was through this that we realized there was definitely a 'mastermind' behind this 'Triangle Road Sacrifice,' and that 'mastermind' had arranged everything so that we 'heroes' could complete the ritual."

Ying and Paimon both nodded. Han Fulai had reminded them of these things before, and they agreed with the conclusion.

Later, Yuan Shang revealed that he was the "mastermind" and had collaborated with A Qi to modify the "Virtual Realm Tower" in order to cooperate with the "Dragon Lizard Realm" and win over allies against Sky Island. Of course, he later betrayed A Qi and wanted to turn Yuan Xia Palace into the domain of the "Virtual Realm"... but they failed because of the hard work of the "heroes".

That's pretty much how they saw the whole incident.

If Yuan Shang had successfully escaped and Kong hadn't appeared, perhaps this matter would have ended with "we thwarted the plot of the Abyss Apostles."

But clearly, the truth is more than that.

Han Fulai continued, "When I discovered the existence of a 'mastermind,' I was actually quite panicked. I was afraid that we might have been caught up in the schemes of some Sky Island ruler or demon god. After all, the 'Time Ruler,' who possesses the power of 'time' and can predict the future, and Orobas, who once controlled the entire Abyss Palace, should both be capable of making such an arrangement..."

Paimon then remembered: "That's right, didn't that witch called Eboshi also say that this 'Triangle Road Sacrifice' was left behind by Orobas?"

Han Fulai shook his head: "No, it was precisely Wu Maozi who told me that the 'mastermind' was someone else—in fact, it was all thanks to the divine child's reminder."

Miss Fox smiled.

What does "virtuous wife" mean?

"Huh? What did the divine child remind you of?" Paimon was completely baffled.

The Divine Child laughed and said, "I asked her back then why the 'ritual portraits' for the 'Hakama no Machi' and 'Eternal Night Temple' were all taken by the Earth Officials, but the 'ritual portraits' for the 'Serpent's Heart Land' were taken by the Shrine Maiden of the Coral Palace?"

“Hmm…” Little Paimon rolled his eyes, trying hard to remember, “I remember… Elm Hat said something like she thought the trial was too easy, so she came here specifically to be the final boss or something…”

“That’s where the problem lies,” Han Fulai interjected. “You should remember that after clearing the trials added by Eboshi, I pondered the final puzzle for a long time—I was wondering why the trials of Eboshi were so different from those of ‘Hazama no Machi’ and ‘Eternal Night Shrine’…”

"Think about it, in the 'Street of the Narrow Pass' and the 'Temple of the Evernight,' did we encounter any trials that required the use of force?"

"No, it's all about solving puzzles...like mazes and stuff..." Ying replied immediately.

Well, actually she actually hoped that she could get through those trials with her fists—the first two areas were all about solving puzzles, leaving her no room to show off!

“But we beat all three trials at Ebu Hat. The 'Flow' trial against formidable enemies, the exploding floating spirits, and the monsters in the maze… each trial carries the risk of death,” Han Fulai reminded him. “Compared to the trials at Ebu Hat, aren’t the first two trials a bit too easy?”

After he said that, Paimon also had doubts: "Oh yeah... Thinking about it carefully, even if I don't pass the trials in the first two places, it seems like it will only take more time, and there's no danger at all. Unlike the trials in the Ebony Hat area, which not only require fighting monsters, but are also timed challenges..."

Ying bluntly remarked, "This feels just like a beginner's quest for the Knights!"

Paimon agreed: "Hmm, Noelle seems to have complained about this before... Could it be...?"

They both looked at Yuan Shang with suspicion.

From the abyss, all one can see is the sky.

In fact, even the two "evil dragons" they were going to face at the end should have been "beginner difficulty" tasks. The fact that he came here in advance to set up the mission was actually the prince's arrangement. Unfortunately, the alien dragon lizard that absorbed the black mist was too powerful, and Yuan Shang couldn't control it... This mistake must not be known to the prince.

"Eboshi also said that her trial was approved by the sea goddess Orobas. If the difficulty of this trial were too outrageous, or too different from the previous trials, Orobas would never have agreed to it. Moreover, as a trial for a 'hero,' the method arranged by Eboshi is more 'orthodox,' isn't it?"

"From this, I've come to a conclusion: Could it be that the 'Triangle Road Sacrifice' trial we experienced has been altered by a 'mastermind'? The original trial left by Orobas should have followed the orthodox process of 'challenging powerful enemies - solving puzzles - clearing the level,' but someone else changed the original trial process for some purpose?"

Han Fulai continued, "So I asked Wu Maozi a question, and her answer confirmed my guess—"

Han Fulai asked the following question at the time:

“…Miss Erbes, I have a question for you—was this ‘bridle’ originally kept by you?”

The answer from the black hat was:

"No, the 'Ring' is kept in the National Library of the 'Street of the Narrow Pass'. Argos is in charge of its safekeeping, and he should also be responsible for assembling the 'Ring of Resurrection' for all the heroes..."

He turned to look at Yuan Shang: "Wu Maozi told me that according to the original ritual procedure designed by Orobas, the 'bridle' should have been held by the Earth Official Argos, also known as Aru—why did that 'bridle' end up in your hands later?"

“Well… this…” Yuan Shang stammered, unsure how to answer.

Han Fulai didn't wait for his reply: "Ya Liu once secretly warned us that you might possess a secret technique to interfere with the ritual and could dispel it, so he dared not resist you... But there is a flaw in this explanation."

"He's never even seen you use any secret techniques, so what makes you think that technique can dispel him? Why is the effect of the secret technique dispel, and not control, damage, or some other effect? ​​Moreover, the power that maintains the 'Spirit of the Eternal World' is the power of 'Time Ruler,' so what makes you, Yuan Shang, worthy of dispelling the power of 'Time Ruler'?"

“There’s another point. ‘Ritual Image’ exists for ‘Triangle Road Feast’. Its intelligence and behavior patterns were programmed two thousand years ago. Ying and Paimon also tested it, asking it if it liked to eat ‘butter crab’ and ‘fresh fish sashimi’, but Aru had no idea what those were and gave completely irrelevant answers…”

“In theory, the ‘ritual portrait’ shouldn’t be this ‘smart’, so ‘smart’ that it could detect your hidden identity, deceive you, and even come out to warn us—more importantly, as the ‘ritual portrait’, how come it doesn’t even know the whereabouts of the ‘bridle’ that it should be keeping?”

"At this point, the conclusion is quite obvious."

"The 'ritual photos' of the 'Street of the Narrow Pass' and the 'Temple of the Evernight', as well as the trial projects, are all under your control."

“Your weakness lies in the ‘ritual portrait’ of the ‘Snake Heart Land’—she doesn’t belong to the Earth Official faction, so you can’t control her… Although she doesn’t do anything outside the ritual process, it’s precisely because of her ‘orthodox process’ that I saw the flaw.”

Han Fulai once again took out the fragment of the ornament that Xin Hai had given him from his bosom.

"The fragment you used to control those 'ritual images' is this one. The one I have represents the 'Coral Palace,' while the one you have should represent the 'Earth Official,' right?"

Chapter 332 Ying, Do You Want to Become a God? [4k]

An empty voice rang out: "I never expected that it was the witch of Orobas who helped you... Ha, is our failure also part of 'fate'?"

Han Fulai shook his head: "No, in fact, even without the flaw in the Eboshi hat, you left too many loopholes in the arrangement of the Sun and Moon Past Events... Shenzi and I realized at that time that the Sun and Moon Past Events were placed under the 'Relic Heavy Machinery' by you."

"……Um?"

Kong's voice had a heavy nasal tone, sounding like he was breathing on someone.

Yuan Shang shrank back, looking weak, pitiful, and helpless.

Han Fulai, on the contrary, defended Yuan Shang: "This cannot be considered Yuan Shang's mistake. 'Antique aging' requires a lot of professional skills. Even 'Xiguju,' which specializes in antiques in Liyue, may not be able to do it well. Yuan Shang, an outsider, has even less of a chance."

The priestess added, "We at Yaedo also frequently collect old books, such as the first edition of 'The Tale of the Ibis Alley,' and we have some expertise in identifying antiques. Although that stone slab with the inscription 'The Story of the Sun and Moon' is an antique, it doesn't look like an antique that has been buried underground for two thousand years."

"If 'The Story of the Sun and Moon' really stayed under the 'Relic Heavy Machine' for more than two thousand years, not to mention the wear and tear of time, it should at least be buried in the soil—half of the wreckage of the 'Relic Heavy Machine' is buried in the soil, so why does 'The Story of the Sun and Moon' look so clean under the wreckage?"

"This only shows that someone put 'The Story of the Sun and Moon' back into that pit and covered it up with the remains of 'Relic Heavy Machine' as is, but ignored the problem of 'aging' the story of 'The Story of the Sun and Moon' itself."

“…Oh right!” Ying and Paimon both suddenly realized.

The two of them had to jump into the pit to retrieve the stone slab with the inscription "The Past of the Sun and Moon." At the time, they were so overjoyed at finding a treasure that they didn't notice how well the slab was in good condition, or that it hadn't even been buried in the soil...

Han Fulai continued, "Moreover, it is highly unreasonable that 'The Past of the Sun and Moon' would be left outside."

“We have seen those candidates for the position of local officials who were imprisoned in the ‘Suspended Prison.’ Their ‘spirits of the world’ told us that Anzhen escaped from prison—no matter how corrupt the rule of the White Night Kingdom was, it would not allow this criminal who stole the ‘forbidden book’ to wander outside.”

"After all, Anzhen was wronged. Those noble lords in the White Night Kingdom who were secretly colluding with Kanria, they either have to retrieve the book or silence Anzhen. They have to do at least one of these two things, right?"

"An Zhen, who escaped from prison, was upright and insisted on clearing his and his colleagues' names. So his escape was based on the premise that he would be hunted down. He left his mark in a dignified manner to guide the officials of the White Night Kingdom to hunt him down."

"Moreover, we also discovered that the marks Anzhen left behind were very clear and had not been worn down in two thousand years. They were obviously protected by the power of 'time'. Considering that he was once hunted down, it is more reasonable to think that the marks he left behind were specially protected by the White Night Kingdom as 'evidence'. This also explains why the marks have the power of 'time'."

“Anzhen single-handedly defeated the entire Kanria delegation and retrieved the ‘Stories of the Sun and Moon,’ but he himself died from his injuries. The White Night Kingdom official who was pursuing Anzhen naturally discovered this situation.”

"The Kanriyans are gone, but the 'Stories of the Sun and Moon' couldn't be taken away; the thief Anzhen, who should have been in jail taking the blame, is also dead... If you were the Earth Officials of the White Night Kingdom, there would only be one way to close the case—to take the 'Stories of the Sun and Moon' back, claim that you got the stolen goods back from the fugitive Anzhen, and the theft case would be perfectly solved, right?"

Han Fulai looked at Yuan Shang again: "Actually, the 'Abyss Order' had already obtained this book, 'The Past of the Sun and Moon,' but it was you, Yuan Shang, who personally buried it back under the 'Relic Heavy Machine' a few days ago."

"Although you keep saying how important 'The Story of the Sun and Moon' is to your 'Abyss Order' and how much you want to find it to get a promotion and a raise... the 'Abyss Order' wasn't founded just yesterday."

"Your 'Abyss Order' has been established for five hundred years, and you've been sitting here for five hundred years, only now remembering to come and look for such an important book? What were you doing all this time? Such a crucial mission, and you only sent one person, while you were just loafing around in the library? Who do you think you can fool with this pretense? Are you insulting our intelligence or the intelligence of the entire 'Abyss Order'?"

His questions silenced everyone present except for the Divine Child.

Yes, including the insult to intelligence on the abyss, the insulted Yingmei and Paimon, and the airman who came up with this plan...

A few words silenced the entire room. Han Fulai realized that he had just made a sweeping generalization. He coughed a few times and changed the subject: "Actually, I had also overcomplicated this matter before. I was always thinking about how the 'mastermind' was plotting against everyone, including me and Shenzi... But when I realized that the 'mastermind' was only targeting Ying, everything became clear."

"The Divine Child and I were never part of your plan from the beginning. This 'Triangle Road Sacrifice' was clearly aimed at Ying. It was the arrival of us uninvited guests that forced you to abandon your original plan and change it to 'revealing history'..."

He turned to Yingdao and said, "Your brother learned through this 'Intiwat' that you were invited to Yuanxia Palace by Xinhai, so he sent Yuanshang to carry out this 'rebellion' plan."