Shenhe stood quietly beside the table.
Her usually calm gaze carried a hint of curiosity as she looked toward the man seated on the stone chair—Qiu Nian.
"Ah, right, Shenhe. Let your master introduce him."
Cloud Retainer lifted her head and spoke.
"This is Guixu—an ancient god from the time of the Archon War. He was once a close friend of ours. You could say he is something of an adeptus as well."
"The divine power he possesses far surpasses ours. In fact, he is almost equal to the Geo Archon himself."
She deliberately emphasized Qiu Nian's strength.
"Shenhe greets Lord Guixu."
Shenhe nodded slightly toward him.
Her expression remained calm as always, but her heart was shaken.
Stronger than Master and the two Adepti… nearly equal to the Geo Archon.
A primordial god…
This was the first time she had ever met a living god.
In truth, she had seen one before.
Zhongli occasionally visited Mt. Aocang as well.
But Shenhe did not know his true identity and only believed him to be a mysterious adeptus.
"Shenhe's emotions are rather faint."
Cloud Retainer turned to Qiu Nian.
"You should be able to see the reason for it, correct?"
"Of course."
Qiu Nian nodded.
"No need to be so formal. Since you are Cloud Retainer's disciple, just call me Qiu Nian."
He gave Shenhe a faint smile.
"Understood, Lord Qiu Nian."
Shenhe nodded.
"When I finish speaking with the three Adepti, I will offer you some guidance."
Qiu Nian seemed to have already guessed Cloud Retainer's intention.
"Thank you, Lord Qiu Nian."
"I shall leave you to your conversation."
Shenhe returned to the cave dwelling.
"So, what do you think of my disciple?"
Cloud Retainer asked proudly while watching Shenhe leave.
Qiu Nian nodded slightly.
"Speaking of which…"
Moon Carver looked toward him.
"The god that escaped from beneath Guyun Stone Forest—that should have been the God of Obscuration, correct?"
"His Grace mentioned earlier that you have already destroyed him."
"His 'death' occurred in an uninhabited mountain range within Liyue."
Qiu Nian explained calmly.
"Although the God of Obscuration was weaker than the Overlord of the Vortex…"
"To defeat a god so easily… your strength truly hasn't diminished since the old days."
Mountain Shaper sighed with admiration.
"Hmph. 'Weaker' is an understatement."
Cloud Retainer snorted.
"Compared to the Overlord of the Vortex, that fellow was far inferior."
"After all, this adeptus participated in the Archon War myself."
"I personally shattered several gods back then."
"If I fought him now, I could certainly exchange a few moves."
"Haha…"
Qiu Nian chuckled.
The adepti of Liyue—especially the three before him—were extremely powerful during the Archon War.
Take Cloud Retainer, for example.
She had personally slain gods.
And when facing endless swarms of monsters, she could eliminate them with a single gesture.
Yes.
Cloud Retainer had truly destroyed gods with her own hands during that era.
In that sense, she herself could be considered god-level.
Even stronger than some weaker gods.
After all—
Gods were not equal in strength.
Some were as powerful as the Geo Archon.
Others were as weak as the God of Salt.
The same was true among the adepti.
Some were powerful like Cloud Retainer or Moon Carver.
Others were weaker, like Copper Sparrow.
And some lesser adepti never even left their names behind.
During the Archon War, the Yakshas fought gods in battles that shook heaven and earth.
Mountain Shaper himself once fought a god to the death, ultimately dying from blood loss after breaking off his own horns.
So what exactly separated an adeptus from a god?
Perhaps only one thing—
A divine spark, a fragment of the primordial source.
Two thousand years had passed since the Archon War.
Liyue had known peace.
The three adepti before him had accumulated elemental power for two millennia.
So when Cloud Retainer claimed she could fight the God of Obscuration, she wasn't exaggerating.
But then—
Why had the adepti struggled so much against the temporarily unsealed Overlord of the Vortex?
The answer was simple.
At that time, the adepti simply could not defeat Osial quickly.
But while the battle dragged on, Osial could destroy Liyue Harbor.
Their goal was to protect the city, not merely defeat him.
If that restriction were removed—
Osial would eventually have been forced back into the sea.
At his peak, the Overlord of the Vortex was extremely powerful.
He was one of Liyue's greatest enemies.
Even within Liyue's territory, he ranked among the strongest gods.
His battle with Morax had lasted a long time.
It was never as simple as being suppressed by a single spear.
With the ocean as his domain and authority as his power—
Osial was anything but weak.
Even the Abyss Order once attempted to transform him into Mechanical Osial in order to shake the divine throne of Celestia.
The truth was simple—
Liyue's battlefield had always been extremely high-level.
Even Orobashi once fled to Inazuma because he could not compete there.
If Osial had appeared in other regions of Teyvat—
Most local gods would have been utterly overwhelmed.
As for Beisht, calling her god-level was no exaggeration.
She truly possessed the strength of a god—
Just a relatively weak one.
Yet even a weak god was still far beyond ordinary beings.
However, being god-level did not mean being a true god.
True gods possessed divine sparks and authority.
They wielded not mere elemental power, but divine power—a fusion of element, authority, and divinity.
Though in essence, divine power was still elemental energy at its core.
Gods often wielded more than one element.
And when they died, their immense power would leak into the world—
Creating godly remnants and lingering resentment.
They also possessed the qualification to ascend to the seats of the Seven.
With equal power levels, a god-level being could never defeat a true god.
But if their power greatly surpassed that level—
Then even a god could fall.
"By the way…"
Mountain Shaper spoke again.
"Guixu, you released the seal beneath Guyun Stone Forest and allowed Osial to escape."
"Even though His Grace said Osial has abandoned his hatred for Liyue… I still find it difficult to feel at ease."
"Haha… don't worry."
Qiu Nian waved it off lightly.
The conversation continued.
They spoke about many old memories.
Time passed quickly.
Before long, it was already noon.
Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper said their farewells and returned to their respective domains.
Qiu Nian stayed behind and guided Shenhe's cultivation for several hours.
Without realizing it, evening arrived.
"Well then."
"The day is getting late. I should be leaving."
Qiu Nian glanced at the sky.
"I hope the next time I visit, I will see progress in your cultivation."
Shenhe nodded silently.
Qiu Nian's teaching style was surprisingly relaxed.
Most of his guidance focused on state of mind rather than techniques.
Only a small portion concerned martial arts and adeptal spells.
Seeing her nod, Qiu Nian smiled faintly.
Under the golden glow of the setting sun—
He looked out over the clouds, now dyed orange by the fading light.
Then he slowly walked down the mountain.
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