The curtain falls

In the end, Yucheng took out the pair of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and equipped them without even examining their abilities.

The next moment, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Yucheng's eyes activated uncontrollably. The three tomoe spun and transformed without stopping. At the same time, everyone present could feel a terrifying, oppressive energy spilling uncontrollably from his body.

This energy was neither adeptal energy nor the power of a god. Even the knowledgeable adepti had never encountered it before.

"Yucheng, what's wrong?" Paimon asked worriedly, but the terrifying energy inside him kept her from approaching.

Suddenly, a massive set of purple ribs appeared behind Yucheng, enclosing him. At first, only a humanoid skeleton formed. Then purple flesh appeared over the bones, followed by a suit of ancient armor over the body, forming a terrifying warrior dozens of meters tall.

The warrior seemed solid. Its immense weight even began to slowly lower the Jade Chamber's flight altitude, and its terrifying pressure surpassed even that of the god before them.

The adepti and the Liyue Qixing braced themselves as though facing a formidable enemy. They had the feeling that, compared to Osial up ahead, this figure before them seemed more like a god.

"Hahahaha! So this is the power of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan? It really is terrifying."

"Hey! Yucheng, are you okay?" Paimon, the brazen social butterfly, asked with great concern.

"I'm fine. Osial, Overlord of the Vortex, was it? I'll test my blade on you today."

With a thought from Yucheng, the warrior drew the sword at its waist. The instant the blade left its sheath, the warrior's imposing presence intensified further. Though the Susanoo warrior was enormous, its sword stroke was exceptionally sharp and swift.

The instant the blade slashed toward Osial, a blue wave of chakra sword energy shot out. The enormous Osial could not dodge in time, and three of his serpentine necks were severed in an instant. The sword energy pierced through and struck the sea, effortlessly splitting the water in two. It did not close again for a long time.

A stretch of the once-blue sea instantly turned red. Shocked by the sight, everyone present could not help cheering in praise.

A single slash was already this terrifying. A few more would probably kill Osial on the spot.

Just as everyone was awaiting the second slash, Yucheng swayed under their collective gaze, his face turning pale. The massive warrior began to destabilize. Not only did it rapidly shrink, but its armor dissipated outright. Next, its flesh vanished as well, leaving a humanoid skeleton once again.

Finally, even the skeleton dissipated completely. Yucheng could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, coughing and gasping for breath, his face deathly pale.

Of the adepti present, Ganyu reacted fastest. She hurried forward, supported Yucheng, and fed him her own blood. Qilin blood possessed unparalleled healing abilities, pulling Yucheng back from the brink of unconsciousness.

Now, Yucheng was filled with lingering fear. Just one slash from the third-stage Susanoo had completely exhausted the chakra in his body. His ocular power was sufficient now, but he lacked the vast reserves of chakra needed to support it.

The joy of obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had gone to Yucheng's head. He had not even considered the fact that he was only a Special Jōnin. He had nearly worked himself to death, like a little horse pulling an enormous cart. It seemed that unleashing the true power of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan would still require hard training. At the very least, his chakra reserves had to keep up with the consumption.

Despite Yucheng's intervention, the fact that he could only manage one slash brought everyone back to reality. That slash had severed three of Osial's heads, but Osial was a nine-headed sea serpent. Losing just three heads was no big deal.

Probably?

That slash had already made Osial consider fleeing, but then the warrior had vanished outright, sending Osial into a complete frenzy instead.

Looking at Yucheng, who was powerless to fight again, Ningguang could only sigh. It seemed the Jade Chamber still could not escape its fate as a nuclear weapon.

Ningguang guided the Jade Chamber above Osial's heads. Then the adepti worked together to destroy its flotation mechanism.

Having lost its buoyancy, the Jade Chamber, weighing hundreds upon thousands of tons, plummeted straight down onto Osial's heads.

Osial, hear the dragon's roar!

An enormous mushroom cloud rose over Guyun Stone Forest. The terrifying explosion forcibly smashed Osial back beneath the stone spears, and the adeptal energy of the imitation Sigils of Permission dissipated completely as a result.

Poor Osial, Overlord of the Vortex, had finally managed to emerge after being suppressed for thousands of years, only to receive a thorough beating and lose three serpent heads. In the end, a massive lump smashed him straight back down, suppressing him once more.

Did I fucking come out today just to get beaten up? If I'd known, I wouldn't have come out.

The adepti brought everyone back to Liyue's docks. With the external enemy repelled, they began bickering with the Liyue Qixing again.

Yucheng could not be bothered to join them. He could leave it to Ningguang to persuade them. Wasn't lying quietly on Ganyu's lap far better? Her smooth black tights, her cool, soft thighs, and the faint fragrance of her body had Yucheng thoroughly entranced. He simply played dead on her lap.

"The Jade Chamber was Ningguang's spiritual pillar, as well as a reflection of her entire life. Its destruction for Liyue holds tremendous significance for her. Cooperation and sacrifice of this magnitude deserve at least a word of praise."

"No, at a time like this, saying it could at least serve as a bargaining chip would suit me better.

"You adepti signed a contract with Rex Lapis to protect Liyue more than thirty-seven hundred years ago. To this day, Liyue's mountains and waters remain as steadfast as rock, no different from a thousand years ago. This is indeed an admirable achievement, but it does not mean that Liyue is still the Liyue of thirty-seven hundred years ago.

"Please do not direct your protective gaze solely toward this land. Please also take a close look at this city, and at every person here."

"Are you questioning how we protect Liyue?"

"No, I mean no offense whatsoever. I merely hope that you adepti will reconsider for Liyue's sake."

"Hehe, the nation of Liyue remains grateful to the adepti. But over all these years, the problems of Liyue, great and small, have not required adeptal power to resolve them. Those we call mortals may have frail bloodlines, but they are also strong.

"The contract between the god and Liyue has lasted over a thousand years. Now is the age of humanity and Liyue."

The three beast-shaped adepti fell silent. Mountain Shaper sighed. "Ah, look around. Simply standing here at this harbor, we already feel somewhat out of place. Wouldn't you agree, Cloud Retainer?"

"Why ask me? I wasn't the one who led the charge to Liyue Harbor to demand answers."

"Tch!"

Lying on Ganyu's lap, Yucheng let out a contemptuous sound. You were the most agitated of the lot, you adeptal bird. You even talked about suppressing Liyue Harbor, and now you're shifting the blame. What a tsundere.

"Ah! Let's go." The Conqueror of Demons was the first to state his position and left without another word.

Seeing this, the other adepti stopped insisting and chose to wait and see. If Liyue Harbor failed to improve under the Liyue Qixing, they would probably come again.