Liyue Port.
As the Geo Archon of Liyue, Zhongli could feel the pulse of the earth more clearly than any other deity.
This demonic aura, which was both familiar and unfamiliar, belonged to the Salt Demon God, Havria.
He knew that the principles of heaven would gradually resurrect demon gods, even those defeated in the Archon War, if it benefited the plan.
But before exploring Havria, who was about to be resurrected, he had to deal with the strange girl in front of him.
Hu Tao placed two delicate bowls in front of him. "Zhongli, to thank you for working hard for Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, I specifically asked Xiangling to make octopus balls as a reward for you. This is my heartfelt gesture; you wouldn't waste Xiangling's hard work, would you?"
Zhongli's usually serious face twitched as he eyed the tightly packed octopus balls in the bowl. "Hu Tao..." He could almost see Osial twisting in the bowl.
Hu Tao, observing Zhongli's apprehensive look, blinked innocently. "Zhongli, you must eat it all~"
---
**Salt of the Earth**
Havria's resurrection did not take long.
A curled-up, white-haired girl was lying on the ground with her knees drawn to her chest. She slowly opened her eyes, her expression first confused, then stunned, before raising her head to look at the boy standing before her, touching his chin and gazing at her.
The aura exuding from him was supreme, commanding, and all-encompassing.
Havria understood that Celestia had resurrected her, and she lowered her head in fear. "Lord Celestia..."
She had never set foot on Celestia herself, only the winners of the Archon War had the right to ascend to Sky Island. Yet the connection she felt from the very origin of her being left her no doubt that the boy in front of her was the supreme Celestial power.
She did not understand why someone like her, a defeated god, would be resurrected by Celestia.
Takumi snapped his fingers, and garments fitting her temperament appeared on Havria.
Havria's nature reminded him of the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, who was full of compassion. However, unlike Rukkhadevata, Havria had no protective blessings and was frail.
"Havria, as a loser of the Archon War, you shouldn't have been resurrected, but..."
Takumi pointed his finger, and the "World Swallowing Plan" was projected into her mind.
"I hope you are smart enough to understand what needs to be done."
Havria was overwhelmed by the information flooding her mind. When she regained her senses, the Lord Celestia and the two other girls had already disappeared, leaving her with only one final message.
"You made the wrong choices during the Archon War. If you want to change, seek out Morax. He will teach you what is needed."
Listening to the words from Celestia, Havria felt a shock deep in her soul. Once she understood, her eyes became determined.
Havria was not foolish; a demon god with complete intelligence is far from stupid. It is simply that different personalities lead to different decisions.
She had already died once because of her mistakes; she would not make the same errors again. Knowing clearly that something was wrong, she would not repeat actions that had harmed her, her people, or anyone else.
"World Swallowing Plan..."
As a demon god under Celestia, she now deeply understood Celestia's overwhelming power.
Only Celestia was supreme.
"Morax, the victor of this land... the God of Contracts?"
When she died, the war between gods in this land had only raged for a few centuries. No demon god had yet perished; she was the first.
Before she died, she told her people to pray to the God of Contracts for protection.
At that time, the God of Contracts had formed alliances with two other demon gods, and their subjects were all human.
Havria walked out from her birthplace. "Lord Celestia has given me another chance. This time, I will not let it slip by."
---
While Havria made her way toward Liyue Harbor, Takumi had already left Liyue and arrived in the realm of Sumeru, accompanied by Yae Miko and Istaru.
The natural environment of Sumeru was entirely different from Liyue. The rainforest was so dense that it obscured much of the sky above, and everywhere the eye looked was vibrant green.
It felt like stepping into a fairy tale world.
Takumi felt the emotions of faith reflected back by the "Human Realm Power System" in the land of Sumeru, and his eyes turned a cold shade of gold.
"Sumeru, such a beautiful environment, but the entire governing system is corrupt. If it weren't for the urgency of the world's lifespan ending, I would have acted long ago."
The "Human Realm Power System" could detect the emotions and grievances of people within a land.
The resentment of the people in Sumeru was even worse than that in Inazuma.
Though Inazuma's system had its flaws, Raiden Ei was still present. It had not decayed to an extreme; corruption was confined mainly to the upper levels, and the middle ranks remained relatively intact.
However, Sumeru had been in decay ever since the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata suppressed the forbidden knowledge within the World Tree and created Nahida. The rot ran throughout the country's system, top to bottom.
Even those righteous individuals were quickly silenced, swallowed by a tide of corruption.
From the day the Great Sage imprisoned Nahida five centuries ago, Sumeru had been tainted with original sin.
This original sin had led to the creation of Sumeru's current national system, riddled with heinous flaws.
The Sumeru of today was built on the imprisonment of a god.
The gods of Sumeru were ordained by Celestia. To imprison one's own god was to rebel against Celestia itself—an act of defiance.
They had become the enemies of Celestia.
Coming from a modern world, Takumi understood fully just how low humans could sink when they had knowledge and power far beyond ordinary people, without the supervision of gods.
He had been angry enough when merely playing the game, let alone facing it in person now.
"Yae Miko, Istaru, you two can explore Sumeru as you please. I have some matters to attend to."
Takumi's golden eyes locked onto Yae Miko and Istaru before his body gradually became transparent, blending into the air in the blink of an eye.
Yae Miko watched as Takumi's warm aura turned cold, and she shuddered involuntarily. It was the first time she had seen Takumi so cold and unforgiving, and she felt a chill deep in her soul. "Is Sumeru truly that corrupt?"
Suddenly, she remembered what had happened when Lord Takumi arrived in Inazuma.
More than half of Inazuma's higher officials had been purged, and almost ninety percent of the aristocratic families had their names erased from history, exiled to mine on Seirai Island.
Istaru yawned, speaking sleepily, "If Phanes had to deal with the matter of imprisoning a god, she would have first dropped a celestial nail, followed by a curse. At least half of Sumeru's population would have perished."