Original God, But Chat Group

Enma's Blade gave Li Yue no chance to explain. Taking advantage of her small, nimble frame, she straddled him directly, wrapped her arms around his head, sealed his mouth, and spoke again.

"You must be Nahida's mother, right? You look too much like her—same face, same hair, even the same clothing style. The only difference is you're bigger than Nahida. But I never heard Nahida mention having an older sister, so you can only be her mother."

"Yes, I am indeed Nahida's mother."

Greater Lord Rukkhadevata thought it over and acknowledged her identity as Nahida's mother. Though Nahida was essentially the purest branch she had broken from the World Tree—not born through human conception—she herself was the incarnation of the World Tree, so calling herself Nahida's mother wasn't wrong.

"And you two are to Nahida?"

"This guy is currently Nahida's adoptive father. That's why I said you're his wife."

"Huh?"

Greater Lord Rukkhadevata cried out again. Nahida's adoptive father?

Enma's Blade released Li Yue's mouth, letting him explain himself.

"About that 'Mrs. Li Yue' thing—she's joking. Don't take it seriously."

Li Yue vehemently denied being Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's husband, while also playing along with Enma's Blade to spin a story.

"Here's the gist: I stumbled into some evil organization's base and found a little girl trapped inside a green sphere. I couldn't stand it, so I rescued her. That little girl is your daughter, Nahida. Then I found out she was an orphan, so I adopted her."

"I see."

The clever Greater Lord Rukkhadevata roughly understood Li Yue's meaning. That green sphere was probably the protective barrier she'd used while meditating in seclusion at the Sanctimonious Palace. The so-called evil organization... was she referring to the Akademiya?

"That's right, that evil organization was awful. They locked Nahida in that sphere, gave her no food or water, and made her cooperate with their research. Tsk tsk tsk, truly terrifying."

Enma's Blade sighed with feigned emotion, spinning the tale as effortlessly as Li Yue did, given their similar personalities. Greater Lord Rukkhadevata gathered that the Akademiya had done something terrible to Nahida, but from Enma's Blade's fragmented words, she couldn't guess the specifics. What concerned her more now was:

"And what about me right now?"

"Oh, I just wandered into another strange place. There was this huge tree, and someone inside kept shouting: 'World... forget me...' over and over. So I investigated, and ended up pulling you out of the tree."

"Pulling me out of the tree?"

Li Yue made it sound so easy, but Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's eyes went wide. What kind of divine being could yank her out of the World Tree?

"And those things attached to me..."

"Oh, you mean that black, murky stuff? I took care of that too. That tree was the same—originally lifeless and gloomy, but after I pulled you out, it suddenly recovered. Anyway, stuff like that's a piece of cake for me."

Li Yue looked utterly casual.

"Speaking of which, you two mother and daughter are really pitiful. That black stuff on you must have been left behind by that evil organization's experiments, right? Even after death, your soul couldn't find peace. If I hadn't rescued Nahida, they'd probably have used her for experiments too, and she'd have ended up on the same path as you."

"Uh... yes... thank you, Mr. Li Yue."

Greater Lord Rukkhadevata realized that these two seemed to possess extraordinary power but didn't recognize her, didn't know Nahida was the new Dendro Archon, and seemed to have some strange misunderstanding about the Akademiya. She didn't know how to explain, so she chose not to.

After all, their hearts weren't malicious. They'd even removed the Forbidden Knowledge from her and healed the World Tree. As the World Tree's steward, kneeling to them wouldn't be too much.

"But it's a shame—even though I pulled you out, you're just a lingering soul now. You're already dead."

"It's fine. Mr. Li Yue has already helped me a lot. I'm very grateful."

Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was open-minded. She was a maternal figure—in the good sense—caring only for Sumeru's people and the World Tree's safety, while taking her own well-being lightly.

"No worries, it's just a lingering soul. You can still live normally here!"

Enma's Blade quickly cut in, thumb pointing back at Li Yue.

"This guy's power is special. His Inner World can harbor other souls. Since you've already entered his Inner World, you can't leave—either blow yourself up or stay here. Might as well settle down and keep me company. I've been so bored alone in this guy's Inner World."

"Besides, you can check on your daughter through him every now and then. Don't you want to watch Nahida grow up?"

"As for the price of living in his Inner World, it's just lending him your power when he needs it. That's what I do."

"Well..."

Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was tempted. With the World Tree crisis resolved, her only lingering concern was Nahida. Even as a mere remnant soul, she wanted to see Nahida grow up. As for the price of lending power, that was nothing—Li Yue, who had adopted Nahida and healed the World Tree, was surely a good person. Lending him power was no issue at all.

"Mr. Li Yue, may I stay a while longer in your Inner World?"

"Hey, 'a while longer'? Stay as long as you like!"

Li Yue agreed with great generosity!

"Thank you so much!"

Greater Lord Rukkhadevata bowed her head in gratitude.

"Speaking of which, we haven't asked your name yet. What is it?"

"My name... you can call me Aci."

"Aci, nice name. Welcome to my Inner World."

44. I've Turned Green, and I've Gotten Stronger!

Li Yue had turned green! And gotten stronger!

After Greater Lord Rukkhadevata agreed to pay the price, Li Yue's Inner World fully accepted her power. Li Yue could now directly use Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's strength, and the cost was that Li Yue turned green—physically green.

The tips of his originally jet-black hair gained a small patch of verdant green, just like Nahida's hair. Except Nahida's went from white to green, while Li Yue's went from pitch black to green.

Staring at his now-green hair tips, Li Yue couldn't help but start thinking.

He got a Dendro element, and his hair turned green. If he then received Makoto Raiden and gained Electro power, would he add a streak of purple? And if he later got the Great Wolf of the North Wind and acquired Anemo and Cryo elements, would he add white and cyan too?

Good grief—if he gathered all seven elements, his hair would probably have seven gradient colors. Seven elemental hues plus the original black base—call it "iridescent black"!

"Li Yue-kun, how do the new powers feel?"

By his side, Aizen watched the shift in Li Yue's hair color, curiosity brimming about his current state.

"Hmm, feels pretty good."

Li Yue let go of the strand of hair he'd been pinching, stretched his left hand forward, and opened it. Green light particles rose from his palm.

"First, the basic Dendro element—I can use its power now. I can directly stimulate plant growth with it, even in a lifeless desert, I can sprout vegetation right out of the sand."

As the green particles swirled, a sturdy tree grew straight up.

Li Yue gazed at the tree he'd conjured, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. This really looked like that guy who clapped his hands and summoned whatever he wanted. If someone from a Five-Village Melee world ever joined the Chat Group, he might actually pull off a cosplay!

"Dendro control is the basics. Beyond that, I've also inherited Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's authority."

Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's authority had two aspects: one was the Dendro Archon's hereditary Dream Authority, and the other was the ability to directly link her consciousness to the World Tree, querying all information within it.

The Dream Authority could directly invade someone's mind, control their dreams, and even create lifelike illusions in reality. The World Tree link was essentially Teyvat's Baidu—it could access any information on the Teyvat continent!

Li Yue hadn't gained the World Tree link ability, though. What he got was the Dream Authority. As for why he couldn't connect to the World Tree, it was probably because he wasn't a native of Teyvat.

"Dream Authority?"

"That's right, the Dream Authority. It lets me see everything in someone's mind, put them into a dream, and create illusions in reality."

As he spoke, Li Yue activated the Dream Authority. His eyes glowed green, and the tips of his hair lit up. Then, the world Aizen saw changed.

The originally empty World Tree space transformed into an endless grassland, and the World Tree itself became a colossal pillar reaching the sky. Its vast canopy, thick with green leaves, swayed gently in the breeze, while tiny spirits with translucent wings fluttered joyfully among the branches.

The World Tree space had turned into something straight out of a Japanese-style Western fantasy—an elven tree.

Curious, Aizen reached out and touched the trunk. To his surprise, it was tangible, not an illusion.

"This is...?"

Startled, Aizen turned to look at Li Yue.

"Complete hypnosis?"

Aizen understood that Li Yue had created all of this—meaning it was all fake. Yet this falsehood could be touched. No, more accurately, it could be felt by others. Just like his own Kyōka Suigetsu, it could directly control an enemy's five senses, making them believe they were touching something real. It was a complete hypnosis that could easily manipulate others!

"It's like complete hypnosis, but different from Kyōka Suigetsu."

Li Yue raised his hand and pushed forward. The grassland vanished, replaced by a massive green sphere of light enveloping the entire World Tree space.

"This authority works within a range. Unlike Kyōka Suigetsu, which can permanently hypnotize someone after a single control, this one centers on me within a certain radius. Everyone inside is directly controlled, but once they leave that range, they're free from it—no permanent fix. Still, even outside my authority's range, they'll see the illusions I create, because those are projections I've made. It can function as a large-scale projection display. But people outside my authority's range can't use touch to tell whether the projections are real or fake."

It was an interesting situation. Within the Dream Authority's range, people's five senses were manipulated—they'd believe they were touching something real and think it was all genuine. Outside that range, they could see the illusions from afar but couldn't physically test them to confirm if they were real or fake, leaving them uncertain.

This Dream Authority could even affect gods. But for gods, its combat effectiveness wasn't strong, since every battle-hardened god could launch massive, indiscriminate attacks over a huge area. That was the universal weakness of illusion-type abilities—just like Kyōka Suigetsu, its effectiveness dropped sharply against enemies with wide-area, powerful strikes.

In simple terms, this Dream Authority inherited from Greater Lord Rukkhadevata combined mind-reading, dream entry, illusions, and five-sense manipulation—a very powerful area-control skill.

But that wasn't all. The illusion could also be used on himself. For example—

A flash of green light, and the Li Yue before Aizen transformed into a later-stage, slicked-back-haired Aizen. He stared coldly at the real Aizen.

"When did you get the illusion that I wasn't using Kyōka Suigetsu?"

"..."

Aizen silently stared at the Aizen in front of him, recalling Li Yue's personality. He had a feeling this situation would happen a lot in the future!

"Anyway, this Dream Authority is really interesting. Its ceiling is very high!"

As he spoke, Li Yue kept refreshing his appearance—from Aizen to Gin Ichimaru, then to Ichigo Kurosaki, even to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, and finally back to himself.

"Originally, Li Yue-kun, your abilities were strong on offense but weak on control. Now you have both offense and control. All you need is to raise your Reiatsu, and your last weakness will be covered."

"Exactly. Now I can use illusions to hide my attacks and land a fatal blow at the critical moment!"

Li Yue nodded happily. Enma's Blade's large-scale Dimension Slash was indeed powerful, but the charging and swinging motions were unavoidable. Now, he could use illusions to mask those actions. His offensive arsenal was complete! All that was left was to boost his Reiatsu to increase his defense and attack power.

But Reiatsu was something that accumulated over time. Starting at Kensei Muguruma's level was already a genius among geniuses in Soul Society's eyes. Li Yue wasn't in a hurry. What he was eager to do now was find the next soul.

The Portal to Inazuma hadn't been opened yet, so his next target was Mondstadt's Great Wolf of the North Wind!

"Let's go, Yifu. We're heading for the next one!"

"Ah, I'm looking forward to seeing what new abilities you'll gain next, Li Yue."

45. He Won't Even Call Me Yifu Anymore!

In Mondstadt's Wolvendom, under the moonlight, two dark figures slowly made their way deeper into the territory. They were Li Yue and Aizen, just back from Sumeru.

As a half-local, Li Yue led the way while telling Aizen the story of the Great Wolf of the North Wind.

"The god hidden in Wolvendom is Andrius. But now, only a remnant of his soul remains, called Boreas. Andrius was once known as the King of the North Wind, meaning the cold wind that brings death, wielding Anemo and Cryo elements."

"During the Archon War, Andrius was a strong contender for the Anemo Archon in Mondstadt. At the time, the strongest god in Mondstadt was Decarabian, the God of Storms—a very powerful Anemo god and the most likely to become the Anemo Archon. Andrius challenged him as a rival. Decarabian built a tower and was called the Tower King, refusing Andrius's challenge. But the Tower King's rule oppressed the humans under him, locking them forever inside the tower. The humans, yearning for freedom, overthrew Decarabian under the guidance of a Wind Spirit."

"Andrius saw the humans overthrow Decarabian's rule. At that point, aside from the Wind Spirit who led the humans, he was the strongest god in Mondstadt. He could have easily claimed the Anemo Archon position. But he withdrew from the race, believing his nature might not make him a worthy Anemo Archon. All gods loved humanity—even a ruler like Decarabian was no exception. But the way gods loved often differed from what humans wanted, and it could even harm them."

"Believing he couldn't take care of humans properly, Andrius chose to leave. He gave up the Anemo Archon seat, transformed into the Great Wolf of the North Wind, and wandered the land. After a thousand years of roaming, he met a human knight who was also wandering. He acknowledged this young knight, and the two traveled and fought together across the land. That knight became known as the Knight of the North Wind. They wandered for years until finally settling in Mondstadt."

The knight remained in Mondstadt and stopped wandering, and the North Wind King Wolf also ceased his roaming. He stayed in the Wolf Forest outside Mondstadt, watching over the city where the knight lived, until monsters attacked and the knight left the city a second time. The King Wolf caught the knight's scent and came to his side once more. After years apart, their unspoken understanding was still flawless as they fought and hunted together.

"But unfortunately, the King Wolf had little time left after that battle. The knight brought him back to Mondstadt and buried him in the Wolf Forest. The King Wolf poured his remaining strength into the earth, forever guarding this land and its people, while his lingering soul coiled in Wolvendom, becoming the lord of that domain, watching over this verdant ground."

"So now, what we're looking for is the remnant soul of the North Wind King Wolf."

Li Yue-kun recounted the story he knew about Boreas. As for whether there were any inaccuracies, he didn't really care—after all, miHoYo hadn't fully explained it either. A rough version was good enough, and judging by how engrossed the Bleach guy beside him was, it worked fine.

"I see. A Demon God of the north wind. The biting north wind, so he wields both Cryo and Anemo elements. This should be the only one among the Demon Gods you mentioned, Li Yue-kun, that possesses two elements."

"I'm not sure what elements the other Demon Gods control, but the North Wind Wolf indeed wields two."

"So once I obtain the North Wind Wolf's remnant soul, I should be able to gain both elements at once. At least I won't have to make a special trip to Snezhnaya to find a Cryo element Demon God—since the Snezhnaya map isn't even open yet, and I have no idea how to get there."

"Alright, here we are."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the deepest part of Wolvendom, the King Wolf's burial site—a circular sinkhole known as the Trial Ground.

"Amitabha. This place has a connection with this monk."

As he said this, Li Yue-kun had already transformed into a muscular monk in a red kasaya. Any modern person would recognize him at a glance.

Damn, isn't that Zhao Wenzhuo!

"Benefactor Bleach, please wait here a moment. This monk will go capture the fiend below."

Li Yue-kun pressed his palms together, gave a slight bow to Bleach, and then leaped into the Trial Ground.

Bleach's mouth twitched slightly. Throughout their journey here, Li Yue-kun had used the Dream Authority to shapeshift into all sorts of forms—male, female, old, young, even non-human. Originally, Li Yue-kun had been a bit of a joker, but at least his actions were somewhat predictable. Ever since he got this Dream Authority, he'd completely let himself go.

He won't even call me Yifu anymore!

As Bleach grumbled inwardly, when Li Yue-kun first arrived in Teyvat, he was indeed a joker, but not to the point of being reckless about death. This place was dangerous everywhere—the Fatui and Abyss monsters were obvious threats, and behind the scenes, there were the capricious Seven Archons. Luckily, Li Yue-kun had spawned in Liyue, with Xiao, a responsible Adepti, clearing out monsters daily. If he'd been in another nation, the weeds on his grave would already be two feet tall. So he only dared to tease Zhongli in Liyue Harbor, not go on crazy suicide runs.

Now, Li Yue-kun had the power of a Captain level in Bleach, plus the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's authority. He could already be considered a Demon God-level combatant. Though he might rank low among Demon Gods, a low-ranked Demon God was still a Demon God. Plus, he had his spatial gate for escape, so he could finally fully let loose and have fun!

Jumping into the Trial Ground pit, Li Yue-kun walked up to the great blue sword—the Wolf's Gravestone, left behind by the North Wind Knight, a symbol that initiates the trial. Touching this sword would draw the attention of Andrius's remnant soul and begin the King Wolf's trial.

But Li Yue-kun's approach was much more direct.