Maricata looked enviously at her friend, who was about to be promoted to 'Supreme God' and take one step closer to 'Lord Tianli.'
She smiled warmly and said, "Buyer, just like three thousand years ago, since you've invited the gods to come and celebrate, we will certainly make this the grandest festival for you."
"This day will surely become the grandest festival in your country, just like your 'birthday.'"
Buyer took Nahida's hand and stepped onto the float. "Thank you for your blessing, Maricata. One day, you will also be blessed by Lord Tianli."
Maricata's eyes were full of contentment. "I am very satisfied right now. Perhaps, that great being is watching over us."
The people of Sumeru watched with fanaticism and reverence as the float emerged from the palace and made its way to the square in Sumeru City.
Though called a square, it was surprisingly vast and could accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. This was the main venue built by the gods of Sumeru to hold celebrations.
Meteor showers appeared in the sky, or rather, streams of light flew from Sumeru City, as if the meteor shower was following the float.
Those 'meteor showers' were actually gods. Gods from all major pantheons sent gifts, including thousands of fresh divine fruits and fragrant divine wine.
Everyone present in the square held the rank of 'higher god.' Only higher gods were qualified to participate in this celebration.
The Great Dendro Archon helped Nahida down from the float, greeted the congratulations of the gods, and moved to the honored seat. Words of praise flowed from the mouths of the gathered deities.
When the Great Dendro Archon reached the seat of honor, a pleasant voice echoed from the sky.
A main god plucked the strings and served as a musician, delivering the "music of the gods." Needless to say, this god was Barbatos. Originally, he had planned to offer sacred wine, but Diona had refused to mix the wine, and Barbatos couldn't use his status as a main god to order her.
He had no choice but to shamelessly play and sing with his lyre, just as he had done during the last birthday of the Great Dendro Archon. Was it embarrassing to do this in front of gods from across the universe? Barbatos was thick-skinned enough that he saw it as a good story in the making.
The Geo Archon and the higher gods of the Liyue pantheon rose to present a glazed lantern polished by their own hands. Finally, they offered a blooming 'glaze lily.'
Morax brought Xiangling to prepare delicious food for the Great Dendro Archon, and the fragrance spread throughout the entire city of Sumeru.
Raiden Makoto, Raiden Ei, Furina, and Barnabas also arrived one after another. Odin from the Norse pantheon, Nyx from Olympus, Shiva from the Indian pantheon, and many others presented their own gifts.
Next, Nilou, the dancing god of Sumeru, danced the divine dance for the Great Dendro Archon. Since Nilou had ascended to godhood by dancing Maricata's "Dance of the Flower God," she shared a connection with Maricata. Maricata paid her a bit of attention but did not invite her to join the underworld pantheon, believing Nilou was better suited to be part of the 'Sumeru pantheon.'
This banquet lasted for three days and three nights. To the gods, three days and nights passed in the blink of an eye, and even the humans present did not feel fatigued.
During the celebration, the 'Rainbow Goddess' adorned the sky during the day, the 'God of Wine' created divine wine on the spot for the gods, the God of Cooking prepared stacks of exquisite dishes, and the God of Music played and sang songs.
Venti, dressed as a bard, told hilarious stories one after another, filling the gods with laughter.
At night, the sun god sometimes chased away the darkness, while the moon goddess made the moon shine as brightly as the sun, and the forest god gathered thousands of birds to sing natural songs.
At this banquet, all the gods fulfilled their roles, making this a truly divine celebration to honor the Great Dendro Archon.
As the third night ended and dawn arrived on the fourth day, the moment the gods had been anticipating finally came after all the feasting, drinking, and celebration.
The gods raised their heads and looked towards the sky. As the incarnations of universal rules, they sensed the universe's blessings.
A vibrant aurora appeared from Sky Island, with one end reaching into the depths of the universe and the other descending to the earth. The entire universe was penetrated by this beam of light.
The universe, along with its rules, truths, and concepts, seemed to rejoice. These rules flowed like rivers, manifesting throughout the cosmos. Only the gods could witness this scene—the threads of the universe were laid bare.
The universe's congratulations echoed through every space, every timeline, and every plane in human history.
In Snezhnaya, ice and snow began to melt, and flowers bloomed as if offering small congratulations. Animals gazed at the sky in awe, even without wisdom, bowing down in reverence. All life was cheering.
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
The Great Dendro Archon rose into the sky under the watchful eyes of the gods, the aura around them growing deeper and more sacred. Upon breaking through a certain spiritual realm, a divine ring composed of wheels and rules appeared behind them. This divine ring bore a resemblance to Takumi's original 'magic ring.'
In fact, it was indeed similar. This ring was a combination of the truths and the rules that had been comprehended. With this god ring, no matter what world they were in, as long as the quality of truth and rules wasn't higher than that of the god ring, they could directly control the rules contained within it.
When the number of comprehended rules reaches 30% of the current universe—more than ten thousand rules—a 'plane world' can be created. When the god ring contains 100% of the universe's rules, they become the universe.
Reaching this level was undoubtedly the 'single universe level.' Of course, this also depended on the Teyvat universe reaching the single universe level. When it did, the third-level supreme god would be the super galaxy level, the second-level supreme god would be the universal structure level, and the first-level supreme god would be the body universe level.
The moment the Great Dendro Archon was fully promoted to 'Supreme God,' an overwhelming sense of the universe's mass spread across the realm. Though this presence did not directly oppress them, the gods still felt its weight and power.
Zhongli looked up at the sacred and supreme Great Dendro Archon in the sky. "Supreme, supreme... The power of the universe itself is naturally supreme."
Venti gazed at the divine ring behind the Great Dendro Archon, murmuring to himself, "It's the same ring as that one..."
Odin swallowed, his single eye filled with longing. "Supreme God..."
In the Abyss, Aether sensed a new cosmic presence and glanced at the ranking of the 'Cosmic Center.' "I have to speed up, or I might remain at the bottom for a long time."