Yae Miko was stunned for a moment.
Takumi greeted Istaru, who was yawning slowly, "Hey, as my follower, this is your working time. How can you slack off while at work?"
Istaru rolled her eyes, "I'm really lucky to have a master like you."
Although she complained, she still felt comfortable deep down. The new master was far better than Fanes, who only knew how to manipulate and use them as tools. At least Takumi did not treat them purely as tools.
"Ahem, the previous Water Goddess Egolia and this Mother Tree of Ten Thousand Plants… we have to talk about the Kanreia disaster from five hundred years ago," Istaru said, imitating her master and touching her chin like an old god.
"Five hundred years ago, Ilmin, the last king of Kanreia, known as the One-Eyed Wise King, adopted Rhinedottir's advice and used a large number of people to gather the power of the Abyss for biological alchemy.
"When Rhinedottir refined an alchemical creature using the god-level power of the Abyss, it resonated with the 'virtual power' sealed under the Abyssal Moon by Fanes, causing the false sky—the world's barrier—to be torn apart.
"The power of the Abyss rushed toward Kanreia along the path from the Dragon King Nibelung. At that time, all existing dragon kings and gods in Teyvat were resisting the power of the Abyss.
"If there had been the slightest mistake, Teyvat would have been destroyed.
"Asmodeus led the Six Gods to Kanreia to seal the passage. Due to the overwhelming power of the Abyss, three of the Seven Gods perished on the spot.
"After stabilizing the World Tree, the Great Merciful Tree King went to the almost-sealed Kanreia, took the pure water left behind by Egolia after her death, and used all her divine power to plant this Mother Tree of Ten Thousand Plants. The tree continued to resist the power of the Abyss.
"The Goddess of Flowers, who wasn't entirely dead, also stood up and moved the surviving humans away from the land. Finally, her spiritual energy merged with the Mother Tree of Ten Thousand Plants to strengthen it against the Abyss.
"After the world was nearly destroyed, Fanes was furious and cast her last curse retrospectively, turning all the culprits into immortals to endure the corruption of the Abyss forever. Other citizens were directly transformed into Hilichurls to suffer eternal pain."
Takumi nodded, acknowledging Istaru's words. She was a witness to the events in Kanreia. It wasn't only Asmod and the Six Gods who arrived at Kanreia; Istaru had been secretly helping as well.
Takumi flicked Istaru's forehead, "Alright, you said it well. Now you can continue your nap."
Istaru stuck out her tongue at him, and after being glared at, she blinked innocently, pretending to be clueless like Paimon.
Takumi squatted down and pressed his hands on the wet, nectar-filled ground. "If it weren't for the Mother Tree of Ten Thousand Plants here, more than half of the leylines would have been damaged. The Abyss's presence in the leylines is as stubborn as a parasite—even if the Seven Gods risked their lives, they couldn't remove it."
He suspected that even Fanes wouldn't be able to purify the Abyssal power that had merged with the leylines.
His eyes turned golden, and the 'Original Dharma Ring' appeared faintly behind him. The leylines are the core structure of Teyvat; they can't afford to have any issues. If the leylines are the world's frame, then any damage to them will mean trouble for Teyvat.
Leylines serve as the ether anchors, and whoever masters them becomes the absolute god of this world's bubble.
In an instant, the areas of Luofu and Huashi Cangmo were activated. The elemental energy, now more intense, coursed furiously through the leylines.
Dark clouds covered the sky, and colorful auroras spread throughout the region.
Scholars and adventurers investigating the area felt the sudden surge in elemental power and quickly retreated. Even holders of the 'Eye of God' would be overwhelmed by the heightened elemental power—for regular people, it was a deadly poison.
Far away in the Xumi Rainforest, the Great Ci Tree King, who was teaching Nahida, looked toward the desert's direction. As Sumeru's deity, she could sense the conditions of the leylines.
"That's the direction of Kanreia. Is Lord Tianli cleansing the remnants of the dark tide from five hundred years ago?"
She remembered the forbidden knowledge Lord Tianli purged from the World Tree. The cleansing power he wielded was beyond purification—it was direct erasure.
She knew that only an absolute power could remove such things. Even Fanes didn't have that kind of ability.
At that moment, Takumi was channeling the energy from the leylines through his body, using it as a filter while activating the system's anti-virus mode to erase the Abyssal energy in the region.
Otherwise, resurrecting Maricata would mean absorbing the leylines' energy—and the Abyssal power along with it—which could make Maricata fall under the influence of the Abyss.
Currently lacking the 'virtual world power,' Takumi couldn't take the risk. Maricata, if corrupted, could become an ally of the Abyss.
Yae Miko and Istaru were unfazed by Takumi's actions—they knew their lord could annex worlds and resurrect gods. Purifying such a vast section of the leylines was nothing more than child's play.
While cleansing the leylines, Takumi also strengthened the entrance to the underground area of Kanreia in the rocky desert. It was one of the places most contaminated by the Abyss in Teyvat, apart from the Nibelung 'virtual power' sealed beneath the Abyssal Moon by Fanes.
Rather than purifying the entire place, which would have been a huge undertaking, Takumi opted to reinforce the seal.
In less than a day, the system eradicated the Abyssal energy embedded in the leylines. The ominous red light covering the sky dissipated, revealing blue skies and white clouds.
The adventurers and scholars, who had retreated earlier, were left in awe by the rapidly changing world.
"What happened?"
"Something huge must've occurred here!"
"No kidding!"
"Should we go back and continue exploring? Now that the strange elemental energy in the desert is gone, we should go back."
Takumi's actions had long been noticed by the "Flower Spirits"—the beings native to the region. But his presence was so overwhelming that they hid and observed from the shadows.
The Flower Spirits, similar to the "Zhenlings," were beings that came into existence accidentally from flowers, nurtured by the aura of the Great Merciful Tree King, Egolia, and the Flower God. They resembled ethereal creatures like Lannaro—delicate beings akin to tiny spirit.
Takumi took a deep breath, "This work is definitely not something any ordinary person could do... No wonder the Seven Gods are always so exhausted."
"Alright, now, let's retrieve the original fragment."
The 'Original Dharma Ring' behind Takumi began to glow, illuminating the sea of nectar beneath them. Blossoms from the flowers began to detach, floating gracefully into the air, transforming the surroundings into an enchanting dance of petals.
Suddenly, a pale pink sphere appeared—a mixture of soft, glowing light interwoven with the power of the water element. It was the 'Demon Origin,' accompanied by a faint, white wisp of consciousness, floating gently amidst the sea of blossoms.