"When I travel to ancient Liyue, the entire world's time will stop, but this shouldn't affect Istaroth," Akio said. "You two should use this time to recover your bodies. I'll come back to get you when I return."
"Alright, we understand." Istaroth and Asmoday nodded. Istaroth waved her hand, and a green temporal barrier enveloped both of them. Two crystals wrapped around the pair as they slowly fell into slumber.
"They just fell asleep like that? Their execution is really strong," Akio said, somewhat speechless as he watched the two women fall asleep just like that.
Then Akio turned to Yoimiya and said, "Baby, let's go to Liyue. Now that I've obtained the power of time, let's go to where Guizhong fell—we're heading to ancient Liyue."
"Okay." Yoimiya nodded and nestled into Akio's arms. Akio transformed into a golden light and flew toward Liyue.
...
In Liyue, Zhongli seemed to sense something. He looked up and indeed saw a golden stream of light falling from the sky, flying straight toward Guili Plains.
"It's actually Akio! Isn't his Divine Coronation Ceremony happening right now?" Zhongli was somewhat puzzled, but he didn't go looking for Akio. He believed Akio wouldn't harm Liyue.
The current Guili Assembly was already nothing but ruins. Apart from monsters and quite a few birds and beasts, there were no longer any traces of human habitation here.
Akio and Yoimiya descended from the sky, with Yoimiya surveying the surrounding ruins.
"Guili Assembly was a major city in ancient Liyue, protected by the God of Dust, yet now it's in this state," Yoimiya said with emotion.
"Guizhong wasn't good at combat, and her power wasn't strong enough. She fell in the battle against Chi," Akio shook his head and said. "Guili Assembly was destroyed in an instant, which also caused Morax to reveal his boundless killing intent, dismembering Chi into five pieces and suppressing them."
"I see." Yoimiya nodded.
"As expected, there's no trace of Guizhong's aura in the vicinity anymore," Akio sighed.
"Power of time! Activate!" The powerful temporal force in Akio's hand instantly enveloped the entire Guili Plains.
A massive spacetime vortex slowly emerged. Akio's eyes focused slightly as he grasped Yoimiya's hand.
"Babe, you must hold my hand tightly. Spacetime is very dangerous—if we get lost in time, that would be quite troublesome."
"I understand." Yoimiya nodded.
"Let's go." Akio took Yoimiya and jumped directly into the spacetime vortex.
At this moment, an ancient and powerful force descended upon the entire world, completely freezing time throughout the world.
In the spacetime corridor, countless images flashed before them. Akio and Yoimiya watched these scenes—all events that had occurred in history.
Ancient Liyue's Guili Assembly—at this moment, this place wasn't yet called Guili Assembly, nor did anyone live there.
In the endless great plains, a spacetime vortex opened from the sky, and Akio and Yoimiya flew out.
"Hm?" Akio looked at Guili Plains' current state and realized what had happened.
"Oh dear, it's my first time using temporal power—it seems we arrived too early, before Guizhong came here to establish the market," Akio said helplessly. "Let me use spacetime power once more."
"It's fine, let's explore this place first," Yoimiya shook her head, somewhat worried that Akio might become exhausted from using too much power.
"That works too." Akio nodded and flew down with Yoimiya.
"Here, let's disguise ourselves first." Remembering the system's words, Akio waved his hand. His divine attire disappeared, replaced by black robes. Although they looked luxurious, they weren't so ostentatious.
"Let's go." Akio said.
Yoimiya nodded and linked arms with Akio. The two didn't plan to hide their names, but they still needed to conceal their power somewhat. After all, if he displayed the power of a god, history could easily be changed.
Witnessing a period of history was very interesting—both Akio and Yoimiya planned to have a good time in ancient Liyue.
Ancient Liyue's scenery was beautiful, with clear mountains and waters. The absence of human activity meant no pollution or destruction.
"What kind of flower is this? It's so beautiful!"
On a high mountain, Yoimiya crouched down and curiously pointed at a small white flower emitting a clear fragrance.
"That's a Qingxin. It tastes very good—it's one of the Cocogoat's favorite foods," Akio laughed.
"Really? What's a Cocogoat?" Yoimiya was somewhat puzzled. She plucked a Qingxin flower, blew on it, and put it in her mouth.
After chewing lightly, Yoimiya's face immediately scrunched up.
"Wuu wuu wuu... Akio, you're so mean! Wah! This Qingxin is so bitter!" Yoimiya whimpered.
"Qingxin moistens the lungs—it's good for you," Akio said with a mischievous smile.
"Bad Akio~" Yoimiya hugged Akio's neck and kissed him, transferring some of the Qingxin from her mouth to his.
After a long while, Yoimiya finally released Akio and pouted, saying, "Is it bitter, Akio?"
"Not bitter at all," Akio laughed. "Everything from baby's mouth is sweet."
"Mmm~" Yoimiya was flustered by Akio's words, looking at him lovingly.
The two played around in the mountains for a while before returning to Guili Plains.
"Should we prepare to set off again?" Yoimiya asked curiously.
"How about we eat something first before leaving," Akio pondered and said. "I haven't tried ancient magical beast meat yet."
"Yes, yes! Akio, let me do the grilling," Yoimiya said with a giggle. "I just learned how to grill meat from Sister Makoto!"
"Sounds good." Akio nodded.
Just then, the ground began shaking violently, making even Yoimiya unsteady.
"What is that?" Yoimiya looked over to see a magical beast as large as a small hill, resembling a cow, running toward them with blood-red eyes.
"Wow! Such a big cow!" Yoimiya exclaimed.
But she wasn't afraid. Although this thing was large, it was just a magical beast. If it were a god, she might need to be more cautious.
"Moo~" Seemingly seeing the tiny figures at its feet in the distance, the magical beast didn't slow down at all. Instead, it let out an angry roar, lowered its head, and charged to trample them into mincemeat.
"Insolent beast! Let's eat it today and see how it differs from ordinary beef," Akio laughed, a hint of cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Yes, yes! Let me handle it," Yoimiya said excitedly. Now that she was a god, she wanted to test her power.
"Alright." Akio nodded.
Just as Yoimiya was about to strike, suddenly a sandstorm swept across the heavens and earth, directly covering the magical beast's body.
Countless grains of sand made the magical beast cry out in pain before it fled into the distance.
"???" Yoimiya stared blankly at the scene before her, her mouth twitching slightly. What the hell? She still wanted to eat beef!
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