Enma's Blade gave Li Yue no chance to explain. Relying on her small, nimble body, she directly straddled him, wrapped both arms around his head, sealed his mouth, and spoke again.
"You're Nahida's mother, right? You look far too much alike—your faces, hair, even your clothing styles are the same. The only difference is that you're taller than Nahida. But I've 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 for a moment and admitted that she was Nahida's mother. Though Nahida was essentially the purest branch she had plucked from the World Tree, rather than being born through human reproduction, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata herself was the incarnation of the World Tree. Calling herself Nahida's mother was not wrong.
"And who are you 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 and let him explain for himself.
"The matter of Mrs. Li Yue was just her joking around. Please don't take it too seriously."
Li Yue vehemently denied Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's identity as Mrs. Li Yue while cooperating with Enma's Blade to make up a story.
"The situation was roughly this: I accidentally wandered into an evil organization's base and discovered that they had imprisoned a little girl inside a green sphere. I couldn't stand it, so I rescued her. That little girl was your daughter, Nahida. Then I found out Nahida was an orphan, so I adopted her."
"So that's how it was."
The clever Greater Lord Rukkhadevata more or less understood Li Yue's meaning. That green sphere was probably the protective device she had used while meditating in the Sanctimonious Palace. And the so-called evil organization... referred to the Akademiya?
"That's right. That evil organization was awful. They locked Nahida in that sphere, gave her neither food nor water, and even made her cooperate with their research. Tsk, tsk, tsk. How terrifying."
Enma's Blade wore a sympathetic expression. With a personality similar to Li Yue's, she could spin stories at the drop of a hat. Greater Lord Rukkhadevata also roughly understood that Enma's Blade was referring to the Akademiya having done excessive things to Nahida, but she could not guess exactly what had happened from those few words. More importantly, she was concerned about something else.
"Then what is happening to me now?"
"Oh, I accidentally wandered into another strange place just now. There was an enormous tree there, and someone inside kept shouting, 'World... forget me...' They kept shouting that over and over. So I investigated, and ended up pulling you out of the tree."
"You pulled me out of the tree?"
Li Yue made it sound incomparably easy, but Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's eyes widened. What kind of godlike person was this, to actually pull her out of the World Tree?
"Then those things attached to me..."
"Oh, those pitch-black things? I dealt with them while I was at it. The tree too—it had originally been lifeless, but after I pulled you out, it suddenly recovered. Anyway, that sort of thing is easy for me."
Li Yue looked completely casual.
"Come to think of it, you mother and daughter really are pitiful. Those pitch-black things on you must have been left behind by that evil organization's experiments, right? They actually kept even your soul from resting in peace after death. If I hadn't rescued Nahida, they probably would have used her for experiments too, and she would have ended up following the same path as you."
"Uh... yes... Thank you, Mr. Li Yue."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata understood. These two seemed to possess miraculous powers, yet they did not know who she was, nor did they know Nahida was the new Dendro Archon. They also seemed to have some strange misunderstanding about the Akademiya. For a moment, she did not know how to explain it, so she simply chose not to.
After all, neither of them had bad hearts. They had even removed the Forbidden Knowledge from her and healed the World Tree along with it. As the World Tree's caretaker, it would not have been excessive for her to kowtow to them.
"Still, it's rather unfortunate. Although I pulled you out, you're only a wisp of a remnant soul now. You're already dead."
"It's all right. Mr. Li Yue has already helped me so much. I'm very satisfied."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata took it calmly. She was the saintly sort of person, in the positive sense. Her eyes held only the people of Sumeru and the safety of the World Tree, while she cared little for her own wellbeing.
"It's fine. You're only a wisp of a remnant soul. You can still live normally here!"
Enma's Blade quickly cut in, hooking a thumb back at Li Yue.
"This guy's power is special. His Inner World can accommodate other souls. Since you've already entered his Inner World, you definitely can't leave. You can either blow yourself up and die, or stay here. You might as well live here and keep me company. I'm terribly bored all alone in this guy's Inner World."
"And you can learn about your daughter through this guy every so often. Don't you want to watch your daughter grow up?"
"As for the price of living in this guy's Inner World, when he needs it, you lend him your power. That's what I do."
"This..."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was somewhat tempted. With the World Tree crisis now resolved, Nahida was the only one she still worried about. Even if she was only a wisp of a remnant soul, she wanted to watch Nahida grow up. As for the price of lending her power, that was no issue at all. Li Yue had adopted Nahida and healed the World Tree; he was surely a good person. Lending him her power was completely fine.
"Mr. Li Yue, may I remain in your Inner World for a while longer?"
"Hey, what do you mean, a while longer? You can stay as long as you want!"
Li Yue agreed with exceptional generosity!
"Thank you very much!"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata lowered her head in thanks.
"Come to think of it, we still haven't asked your name. What's your name?"
"My name... You can call me Aci."
"Aci, huh? That's a nice name. Welcome to my Inner World."
I Turned Green, and Stronger Too!
Li Yue turned green! And he grew stronger too!
After Greater Lord Rukkhadevata expressed her willingness to pay the price, Li Yue's Inner World completely accepted her power. Li Yue could now directly use Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's power, and the price was that Li Yue turned green—literally green.
A small tuft at the tips of his originally black hair had turned onion green, just like Nahida's hair. Only Nahida's hair faded from white to green, while Li Yue's faded from black to green.
Looking at his newly green hair tips, Li Yue could not help but ponder.
After gaining a Dendro element, his hair had turned green. If he accepted Makoto Raiden next and gained Electro element power, would he gain some purple too? And after accepting Boreas and gaining Anemo and Cryo element power, would he gain some white and cyan as well?
Good heavens, if he gathered all seven elements, his hair might end up with seven gradient colors. The seven elemental colors plus his original black base—otherwise known as brilliantly multicolored black!
"Li Yue-kun, how does your new power feel?"
Aizen, standing nearby, watched the change in Li Yue's hair color with great curiosity about his current condition.
"Mm, it feels pretty good."
Li Yue released the strand of hair he had been pinching with his left hand and stretched his open palm forward. Green motes of light emerged from his palm.
"First is the most basic Dendro element. I can use Dendro element power now and directly use it to stimulate plant growth. Even in a lifeless desert, I can make plants grow directly."
Accompanied by the green motes, a sturdy tree directly grew forth.
Li Yue looked at the tree he had forced into growth and felt strangely amused. This really looked like a certain man who clapped his hands together and could summon whatever he wanted. If someone from that world of village warfare joined the Chat Group someday, he might really be able to cosplay it!
"Control over the Dendro element is only the most basic part. Besides that, I've also gained Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's authorities."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had two authorities. One was the dream authority inherited by the Dendro Archon, while the other allowed her consciousness to directly link with the World Tree and search through all information within it.
The Dream Authority could directly invade another person's heart, control their dreams, and even create dreamlike illusions in reality. Linking with the World Tree to search for information was, in short, Teyvat Baidu—it could search up all information on the Teyvat continent!
Li Yue had not gained the ability to link with the World Tree. What he had gained was the Dream Authority. As for why he could not link with the World Tree, it was probably because he was not native to Teyvat.
"Dream Authority?"
"That's right, Dream Authority. It lets me directly see everything someone is thinking and put them into dreams, as well as create illusions in reality."
As Li Yue spoke, he directly activated the Dream Authority. Green light shone from his eyes, and the green tips of his hair lit up as well. Then, the world Aizen saw changed.
The originally empty World Tree space instantly turned into an endless grassland. The World Tree itself became a colossal towering tree, its enormous crown covered in green leaves gently swaying in the breeze. On the canopy, little spirits with transparent wings on their backs happily flew about.
The World Tree space had instantly turned into the sort of elf tree often found in Japanese western-fantasy settings.
Curious, Aizen raised a hand and touched the trunk. He discovered that he could actually touch it. It was not illusory.
"This is?"
The astonished Aizen turned to look at Li Yue.
"Complete hypnosis?"
Aizen knew all of this had been created by Li Yue, which meant it was fake. Yet this false reality could be touched—or rather, it could make others feel as if they had touched it. Like Aizen's Illusion, it could directly control an enemy's five senses and make them believe they had touched something. It was complete hypnosis, capable of easily controlling others!
"It counts as complete hypnosis, but it's different from Illusion."
Li Yue raised a hand and spread it before him. The grassland vanished, becoming a massive green sphere of light that enveloped the entire World Tree space.
"The power of this authority is area-based. Unlike Illusion, where controlling someone once means they can be hypnotized forever, this control affects everyone within a certain range centered on me. But once they leave that range, they will no longer be controlled. It can't be done once and for all. Still, even after leaving the range of my authority, they'll continue seeing the illusions I created, because those illusions are projections I created. They can be used as large-scale area projections. It's just that people outside the range of my authority can no longer determine whether those projections are real or fake through touch."
It was a very interesting situation. Those within the Dream Authority's range would have their five senses manipulated and believe they had truly touched things, believing it was all real. Those outside the range could see everything in the illusion from afar, but they could not touch it themselves to test whether it was real or fake, so they could not determine that it was false.
This Dream Authority could even affect Demon Gods, but for Demon Gods, its combat capabilities were not particularly strong. Every Demon God proficient in combat could launch enormous indiscriminate attacks over wide areas. This was also a common weakness of illusion-type abilities. Like Illusion, its effectiveness would be greatly weakened against enemies with powerful wide-area attacks.
Simply put, this dream authority inherited from Greater Lord Rukkhadevata combined mind-reading, dreams, illusions, and five-sense manipulation. It was an extremely powerful area-control skill.
Not only that, this illusion could also be used on himself. For example—
With a flash of green light, Li Yue before Aizen directly transformed into the later version of Aizen with slicked-back hair. He coldly stared at the real Aizen.
"When did you start under the illusion that I had not used Illusion?"
"..."
Aizen silently stared at the Aizen before him. Thinking of Li Yue's personality, he felt that this sort of situation might become widespread in the future!
"In short, this Dream Authority is very interesting. Its upper limit is extremely high!"
As Li Yue spoke, he continuously refreshed his appearance. From the original Aizen, he became Gin Ichimaru, then Ichigo Kurosaki, even Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, before finally becoming Li Yue again.
"Originally, Li Yue-kun, your abilities had more than enough offense but insufficient control. But now, you possess both offensive and controlling abilities. All you need now is to raise your Reiatsu, and your final weakness will be covered."
"That's right. Now I can use illusions to conceal my attacks and deliver fatal blows at crucial moments!"
Li Yue nodded happily. Enma's Blade's wide-area Dimension Slash was indeed powerful, but its initial charge-up and sword-swinging motion were unavoidable. Now, however, he could directly use illusions to conceal both the charge-up and sword swing. Li Yue's offensive methods were now fully developed! All he lacked was increasing his Reiatsu to bolster both his defenses and offense!
However, Reiatsu needed to accumulate over time. Starting at Kensei Muguruma level already made him a genius among geniuses for a Soul Society Bleach. Li Yue was not in a hurry. What he was eager to do now was find the next soul.
The Portal to Inazuma had not opened, so his next target was Mondstadt's Boreas!
"Come on, godfather. Let's find the next one!"
"Ah, I'm looking forward to seeing what new abilities you will gain next, Li Yue."
He Wouldn't Even Call Me Godfather Anymore!
At Mondstadt's Wolvendom, under the moonlight, two shadows slowly made their way toward the depths of Wolvendom. They were Li Yue and Aizen, who had returned from Sumeru.
As half a local, Li Yue led the way while telling Aizen the story of Boreas.
"The Demon God hidden in Wolvendom is Andrius. But now, only his remnant soul remains, and that remnant soul is called Boreas. Andrius was once known as the King of the North Wind, meaning the cold wind that brought death. He commanded both Anemo and Cryo elements."
"During the Archon War, Andrius was a strong contender for the title of Anemo Archon in Mondstadt. At that time, the strongest Demon God in Mondstadt was Decarabian, the God of Storms. He was an extremely powerful Anemo Demon God and the Demon God most likely to become the Anemo Archon. Andrius challenged him as a contender. Decarabian built a high tower and became known as the Tower King, refusing Andrius's challenge. But the Tower King's rule bound the humans under his governance, keeping them forever sealed within the tower. The humans who longed for freedom eventually overthrew Decarabian under the leadership of a Wind Spirit."
"Andrius watched humanity overthrow Decarabian's rule. At that point, aside from the Wind Spirit who had led humanity against Decarabian, Andrius was the strongest Demon God in Mondstadt. He could have easily claimed the position of Anemo Archon, but he withdrew from the struggle for it because he believed his personality might not allow him to become a qualified Anemo Archon. All Demon Gods loved humanity, even rulers like Decarabian. But the way Demon Gods loved humans often differed from what humans wanted and could instead harm them."
"Believing he could not care for humanity properly, Andrius chose to leave and gave up the position of Anemo Archon. He transformed into the North Wind King Wolf and wandered the land. After wandering for a thousand years, he encountered a human knight who was likewise wandering. He acknowledged the young human knight, and the two wandered and fought across the land together. That knight was thus known as the Knight of the North Wind. They wandered together for years before finally settling in Mondstadt."
"The knight remained in Mondstadt and stopped wandering, while the North Wind King Wolf also stopped wandering. He remained in the Wolf Forest outside Mondstadt, watching over the Mondstadt where the knight lived. Then monsters attacked, and the knight left the city for a second time. The Great Wolf caught the knight's scent and returned to his side. Though many years had passed, they still worked together seamlessly, fighting and hunting together."
"Unfortunately, after that battle, the Great Wolf did not have much time left. The knight brought him back to Mondstadt and buried him in the Wolf Forest. The Great Wolf poured his remaining strength into the earth, forever protecting this land and those who lived upon it. His lingering soul remained in Wolvendom, becoming the lord of the running wolves and watching over this verdant land."
"So the one we're going to find now is the remnant soul of this North Wind King Wolf."
Li Yue recounted the story of the North Wind Wolf King as he understood it. As for whether there were any inaccuracies, Li Yue did not care. Mihoyo had not explained it clearly either, so being approximately right was enough. Besides, Aizen beside him was listening with great interest.
"So that's how it is. A Demon God of the North Wind—the freezing north wind, so he controls both Cryo and Anemo elements. This should be the only one among the Demon Gods you mentioned, Li Yue-kun, who possesses two elements."
"I don't know what elements the other Demon Gods command, but Boreas does indeed command two."
"So once I obtain Boreas's remnant soul, I should gain two elements at once. At least I won't need to make a special trip to Snezhnaya to find a Cryo-element Demon God. The Snezhnaya map hasn't even opened, after all. I don't even know how to get there."
"All right, this is the place."
As they spoke, the two had already reached the deepest part of Wolvendom: the Great Wolf's burial site, a circular sinkhole known as the Trial Ground.
"Amitabha. This place is fated with this humble monk."
As he spoke, Li Yue transformed into a muscular monk wearing a red kasaya. Any modern person would recognize him at a glance.
Holy crap, wasn't that Vincent Zhao?
"Benefactor Aizen, please wait here a moment. This humble monk will go below and capture that demon."
Li Yue pressed his palms together and gave Aizen a slight bow before jumping into the Trial Ground.
The corner of Aizen's mouth twitched slightly. Along the way here, Li Yue had used the Dream Authority to transform himself in every possible way—male, female, old, young, even nonhuman. Li Yue had always been somewhat of a prankster, but at least his actions had once been predictable. Ever since gaining this Dream Authority, Li Yue had completely let himself go.
He wouldn't even call me godfather anymore!
Just as Aizen inwardly complained, when Li Yue had first arrived in Teyvat, he might have been a prankster, but he had not been reckless enough to fear death. This damned place was dangerous everywhere. The Fatui and Abyss monsters were obvious threats, while the Seven Archons acting foolishly were hidden dangers. Fortunately, Li Yue had started in Liyue, where Xiao, a responsible Adepti, cleared out monsters every day. Had he been in another nation, the grass on his grave would already have grown two feet tall. So he had only teased Zhongli whenever he had nothing to do in Liyue Harbor rather than desperately courting death.
Li Yue now possessed the power of a Captain level Bleach, along with Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's authorities. At this point, he could already be considered to have Demon God-level combat power. Though he might rank near the bottom among Demon Gods, even the lower-ranked ones were still Demon Gods. Especially since he had Portals for escape, he could finally let himself go and have fun to the fullest!
After jumping into the Trial Ground, Li Yue walked up to the blue greatsword. Wolf's Gravestone, left behind by the North Wind Knight, was also the symbol that initiated the trial. Touching this greatsword would draw the attention of Andrius's remnant soul and begin the Great Wolf's trial.
But Li Yue's actions were even more direct.
Before you continue