Above the ocean, the massive divine body of the Vortex God, Osial, connected the heavens and the sea, looking down upon the Jade Chamber below.
A series of flashes of white light continuously appeared, as numerous individuals who had stepped into the divine realm arrived, causing Osial to feel a growing sense of unease.
Within his body, divine power began to flow quietly. Beneath Osial, a much smaller figure slipped away into the deep sea, unnoticed.
"Hahaha, why the rush to leave?"
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Osial's ears, and the nine dragon heads turned in the direction of the sound.
There, a man in strange attire hovered beside him, giving a slight bow.
"I am Vanir, Grand Duke of Hell. It is a great pleasure to meet such an unknown divine being from another world."
"Master Vanir!"
"Oh my~"
With a pair of demon horns sprouting from his forehead, Vanir turned to see Klee happily bouncing and waving at him, a smile appearing on his face.
"My little apprentice has arrived. My little apprentice enjoys a game called 'fish bombing,' so could I trouble you to participate?" Vanir said as he clenched his palm, crushing the miniature version of Osial.
Boom!
A blue light shone, and the shattered form of Osial's duplicate transformed into countless stars, returning rapidly to Osial's main body.
"Divine being!" Osial said solemnly, watching Vanir. "Who are you, and why do you stand in my way?!"
"Hahaha," Vanir's lips curled into a grin beneath his jester mask, his eyes mocking as he said, "Didn't I already introduce myself? As for why I stopped you, well, I told you, too. So, just stay and play this 'fish bombing' game with my little apprentice."
"Arrogant!" Osial, his eyes aflame with anger, summoned the swirling vortex above, directing it toward Vanir. Meanwhile, a small figure tried to slip away unnoticed from beneath him once again.
Although unsure of the identity of this so-called Grand Duke of Hell, Osial decided to play it safe. The memory of being sealed for thousands of years had taught him a harsh lesson—though enemies might be unable to kill him, they could always seal him.
What difference was there between eternal imprisonment and actual death?!
All he needed was a fragment of his will and some divine power. That way, even if he were sealed again, he could eventually find a way to rescue himself. He could enjoy the fight to the fullest, knowing that with just one fragment of his will escaping, he could quickly rise again.
This was the lesson he had learned from his long imprisonment: concede defeat before the battle, prepare a retreat, and a vengeful god need never rush. Just survive, accumulate power, and bide your time until the enemy's demise.
"Slash!"
Holding Luo Xiaohei by the hand, Wuxian raised a sword finger toward the sky.
Zing!
A stream of light burst forth, slicing through the sky. Following Wuxian's gesture, it plunged into the deep sea.
Catching the returning sword, Wuxian nodded to the confused Adepti of Liyue and continued to wander the Jade Chamber with the curious Luo Xiaohei.
"Another divine being, and it's a human!" Osial, his enormous dragon eyes narrowed, looked down at Wuxian, whose aura seemed capable of cleaving worlds, and released a brilliant blue light.
"Heaven and Sea Overturn!"
Rumble!!!
With a thunderous roar, the entirety of Guyun Stone Forest was uprooted, manipulated by Osial, and sent crashing towards Liyue Harbor.
A flash of blue light later, and the once-massive form of Osial disappeared completely.
"This god is way too cowardly!"
Leaning on Hiroshi's shoulder, Kazuma Satou stared at the vanishing figure of Osial, mouth agape.
"He just escaped from the place that imprisoned him for thousands of years, then suddenly found himself surrounded by a bunch of demigods and two fully divine beings."
"Let me ask you, would you be scared?" Hiroshi replied, knocking Kazuma's hand off his shoulder and pointing towards the distant sea. "He's trying to escape. Aren't you going to get your fishing rod back?!"
Kazuma's face froze, then he raised his right hand and shouted, "Don't even think about running! Give back my half-a-year's savings!"
"Steal!"
White starlight shone in his palm as Kazuma thrust his hand into the space before him and grabbed. He looked at what he had caught, then let out a nervous laugh.
"Uhm... It was an accident; would you believe me?"
Kazuma quickly released his hand, wiping off the drool, and ran away.
A giant dragon head appeared from the pocket of space, its tongue stretched out. Embedded within Osial's tongue was a fishing hook shining with blue divine energy.
Retracting his tongue, Osial's eyes widened as he noticed the presence of his main head. He was about to flee once again.
"How can a host leave when guests are still visiting?"
Placing his hand on Osial's dragon head, Vanir smiled and said, "It's quite rude to leave like that, and I'm a little upset."
"Original Dark World!"
Vanir's eyes turned pure black as he looked at Osial beneath his hand, who was slowly sinking into sleep, and smiled.
"Wuxian, could you open a portal? I'm a bit occupied suppressing his consciousness."
"Oh, sure thing."
Seeing Osial succumb to the primal darkness, Wuxian drew a sword, slashing at the space around Osial.
Pop!
Space split open, revealing the Vortex God's original location.
With a wide grin, Vanir grabbed Osial's dragon head and pulled his entire body back through.
"Welcome back home."
Despite the words of welcome, Vanir lifted his arm, and countless sealing magic arrays appeared in the sky.
Clang!
The overlapping formations solidified into nine chains, binding Osial in mid-air.
Turning to Klee, who had run to his side and was looking up at Osial, Vanir smiled. "Little Klee, Master has captured him. You may bomb the fish now."
"Mm!" Klee said, clenching her tiny fists. "Thank you, Master Vanir. This big baddie not only bullied Sister Keqing but also wanted to destroy Yaoyao's home. Klee will use her bombs to teach him a lesson!"
"Mommy Alice said that those who don't correct their mistakes are bad children!"
"But Klee, you always get put in timeout by Jean for blowing up fish."
Chuckling, Hiroshi lifted the fuming Klee, rubbing his face against hers playfully. "Brother Hiroshi~~"
Klee wrapped her arms around Hiroshi's neck, blushing as she yelled, "Klee knows she was wrong! That's why Klee always apologizes and writes her apology letters seriously in the confinement room!"
"So, how many apology letters have you written now, Klee~?"
"Argh!"
"Ow! Klee, let go!"