Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

"Of course!" Jiang Bai answered decisively.

"If Mora can keep the leader safe, I'd be willing to become penniless!"

These are Jiang Bai's honest thoughts.

Mora and such are far less important than walnuts.

Hu Tao's face flushed slightly, sensing that Jiang Bai had changed somewhat since leaving that secret realm.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what changed, but sometimes the things he said just caught her off guard.

"Glib talker..." Although she said that, Hu Tao was very happy, and the flying ends of her hair seemed to convey her joy.

Upon returning to the Hall of Rebirth, Hu Tao immediately went to her courtyard to change clothes and wash up.

Jiang Bai quickly washed up, changed his clothes, and went straight to Zhongli's courtyard.

He had too many questions, and the only one who could answer them was probably Zhongli.

Zhongli was enjoying tea and listening to storytelling at Huyan Teahouse, living a leisurely retirement.

Jiang Bai searched for quite a while before finding him.

"Master!"

Although he hadn't formally become an apprentice yet, Jiang Bai called out "Master" with exceptional ease.

"You're back." Zhongli poured him a cup of tea and gestured for him to sit down.

Jiang Bai downed the slightly cold tea in one gulp, sighing, "I almost didn't make it back."

"Oh? What happened?" Zhongli raised an eyebrow and turned her head slightly to look at him, clearly intrigued.

"First, I entered a tomb full of thousand-year-old corpse puppets, then I fell into a large rift valley. In the rift valley, there was an ancient palace lying horizontally. Then, I encountered an Abyss Apostle in the palace, and then chased that Abyss Apostle to a starry sky..."

Jiang Bai recounted the events of the past few days in detail.

The events of the past few days have been far too complex. Even renowned adventurers have likely never experienced anything as exciting as what he has gone through.

"An ancient palace that's lying horizontally underground and stuck in a crack?" Zhongli searched his memory spanning over six thousand years, but found no corresponding information.

Over six thousand years, he has witnessed too many things, but some things are taboo and cannot be spoken of or thought about.

Under the constraints of rules, even if they are gods, they are no different from humans in the presence of those in higher positions.

Moreover, he has already relinquished his position as a deity.

Zhongli gently stroked the thumb ring on his thumb.

In Teyvat, "inverted" has a special meaning.

For example, "reversal," "overthrow," "reversed position," etc.

But is the palace, which is lying sideways, simply stuck in the canyon for some reason? Or is there a deeper reason?

“I’ve never heard of such a place.” He slowly shook his head.

Chapter 321 How can something be familiar if you've never known it?

"You haven't been to the underground of Wuwang Slope?" Jiang Bai was quite surprised that Zhongli had never heard of this.

Even the Rock God doesn't know, so what exactly did he encounter?

“Liyue is a vast and resource-rich land, and there are many secrets that even I don’t know.” Zhongli poured tea for Jiang Bai. “Is there anything special about that palace? Or is there anything particularly unique about it?”

"There's nothing strange about it, it's just an empty palace, there's nothing inside..." Jiang Bai said, dipping his finger in some tea and drawing an equilateral hexagon on the table.

"Many of the door frames, murals, and patterns in that palace are like this. Do you remember them?"

Zhongli observed for a while and said, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be a very ancient ruin."

"How ancient? Is it older than you?" Jiang Bai pressed, even directly comparing it to Zhongli.

After all, the oldest thing he has encountered in Teyvat so far is the former Rock King who has lived for over six thousand years.

"That's hard to say..." Zhongli was speechless.

Although he is over six thousand years old, six thousand years is nothing in the long history of Teyvat.

"Ok."

Jiang Bai didn't really care how ancient those ruins were.

If we were to rank them, the first layer of ruins on Wuwangpo would be the closest to the present day, but even so, it is still two or three thousand years old.

Next are the underground tomb ruins, dating back approximately three thousand years.

Then there's a horizontal palace further underground.

It must have been buried so deep underground for at least five or six thousand years, or even tens of thousands of years.

It's truly a miracle that those stone buildings haven't weathered much over such a long period of time.

"Anyway, I feel that area is pretty eerie. The long-distance communication device can't transmit any information at all, otherwise I would have asked Xiangling to call you to come and save us." Jiang Bai propped his head up, somewhat frustrated.

Zhongli chuckled, "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Even I can't rescue you directly from the depths of the earth."

"Really?" Jiang Bai was a little skeptical.

How can a prestigious company like Morax not even be able to do this?

However, people are still people, so it's understandable that they can't just walk through walls to the ground.

"I guess there's a special energy field around what you're referring to."

"Energy field?"

"It could be due to disordered ley lines, an abnormal magnetic field, or it could be covered by special energy. There are too many possibilities... I wasn't there, so I can't give a definite answer."

Jiang Bai felt that Zhongli's words were as good as saying nothing at all.

Although it's obvious, there's one thing Jiang Bai is very clear about: "I feel like they're coming for me."

Zhongli tilted her head slightly, waiting for him to continue.

“That apostle of the abyss deliberately lured me into a rift, and on the other side of the rift was a starry sky.”

"The starry sky?" Zhongli's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, the endless starry sky felt like walking on heaven. After I went in, the Abyss Apostle disappeared. Then, I heard a voice say a few strange things to me, but the voice was intermittent, and I didn't understand much of it..."

Jiang Bai repeated what the voice had said.

Zhongli remained silent for a long time without speaking.

Just as Jiang Bai's heart was in his throat, Zhong Li spoke.

"Do you remember when I told you about your special features?"

"Hmm. You said I'm an Outcast and don't need to abide by the laws of Teyvat."

Besides not having to follow the rules of Teyvat, the Adventors also have a natural difference in rank.

For example, as long as there is a medium, he can control all elemental forces.

This means that his potential is limitless.

Besides, he probably possesses other unique qualities that he is unaware of.

Jiang Bai's thoughts raced. "So, that voice was trying to win me over? But why me, and not Kong?"

No, the voice wanted him to tell him his mission.

What mission did he have?

Or is there some other meaning behind this statement?

“You’re not like Kong.” Zhongli shook his head.

"After he met Paimon, he was destined to ascend to the throne of gods, while your fate is in your own hands."

"Ascend the throne?"

What kind of divine throne?

Are the Seven Rulers of the Mortal World?

Or some higher divine throne?

And why would you say that after encountering Paimon?

What exactly is Paimon's identity?

A series of question marks popped into Jiang Bai's head, feeling that the amount of information in that sentence was simply too much.

Zhongli shook his head, unwilling to say more on the topic.

"I don't know why, but Teyvat suddenly feels unfamiliar to me." Seeing that Zhongli was not going to continue on this topic, Jiang Bai slumped in his chair and looked up at the sky.

He has been in Liyue for over a year now, and his life during this time has been anything but pleasant.

The recent events, including the Mondstadt Dragon Plague, the Emperor's faked death, and the Fatui's antics, have added to the trouble.

But overall, it felt very peaceful.

But after experiencing that starry sky and hearing what Zhongli said, he felt that the world had suddenly become strange. What he had seen before was like the sugar coating on the outside of bitter medicine, and he had never touched what was covered by the sugar coating.

Zhongli gently blew on the hot tea in his cup, and the expression on his face was somewhat obscured by the rising steam.

"How can you be familiar with something you've never known before?"

Jiang Bai was stunned for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

"That's true... My understanding of this world is limited to the area of ​​Liyue Harbor, and Liyue Harbor is just a tiny, insignificant part of this vast world. I've never truly understood this world..."

This world has too many secrets, and his identity is destined to make him involved in them.

"Actually, you can also choose to stay in Liyue Harbor peacefully and become an ordinary member of it."

Jiang Bai shook his head, "But if I choose to do that, when the crisis comes, I'm afraid I won't even know how I died."

The hearts of the wind god and the rock god have already been taken away, and the remaining gods will probably suffer the same fate.

The Ice Queen has grand ambitions; collecting the hearts of the seven gods is certainly not a trivial matter. In addition, there is the mysterious and unpredictable Abyss Order. Jiang Bai has already foreseen the impending conflict.

Even after this incident, his fear of the Abyss Order deepened.

If he chooses to do nothing, he will become just another ordinary citizen trembling in fear during Ausel's attack, his life entirely in the hands of others.

Zhongli laughed, "It's also possible that you won't know anything at all, and when you wake up, the world will have already been saved."

"Perhaps for some people, knowing nothing is happiness, but I am not that kind of person. I want to know what needs to be saved, and who saved me."

Chapter 322 The more you know, the faster you die.

Zhongli smiled again, "It seems you already possess the curiosity necessary to become an adventurer."

Jiang Bai shrugged. "I have a main job. I can do exploration and adventure on the side when I'm working."

There's a saying that goes something like this: the more you know, the faster you die.

But there's a "but" after that statement.

But the less you know, the less you even know how you died.

In order to know exactly how one dies when a crisis strikes, these things cannot be ignored.

"Speaking of that voice, whose was it?" Jiang Bai was completely baffled.

Zhongli's expression was somewhat complicated. "Some things, once you know him, he also knows you."

"???" Jiang Bai rubbed the goosebumps on his hands. "Isn't what you're saying a bit too far-fetched?"

Zhongli hadn't finished speaking when he said, "So, for you right now, knowing what that voice really is isn't a good thing."

Jiang Bai knew that Zhong Li never spoke without a reason.

Since he described it as so serious, the truth might be even more terrifying than he said.

After all, he didn't even know what that thing was, yet it had already come after him.

"Alright, alright..." Jiang Bai readily agreed and didn't press the matter further.

If the voice needs to be in a specific energy field to speak a few words to him, it means that the other party cannot have much influence on him in a place like Liyue Harbor.