Over the next month, Zayn often went out to hunt ferocious beasts and practice the manifested uses of elemental power.
He even tossed a five-million-yield miniature nuclear charge into a geovishap burrow and collapsed the cave entrance.
Whether the geovishaps inside lived or died, he didn't bother to confirm. It didn't matter much.
Zayn also learned a new technique.
"Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!"
Behind him tens of thousands of razor-edged longswords condensed, turning under his control into a cold, mechanical reaper.
Creatures within a ten-li radius of Liyue's border were wiped clean.
Morax reprimanded him afterward.
"You cleared all the local fauna—how are the people of Liyue supposed to hunt now?"
No problem, Zayn manifested a mountain of salt and taught the villagers basic jerky-making so their meat would keep. In an age when life was rough, new creatures would soon refill any emptied niches.
"Morax, where are you headed?" Zayn called from the pavilion. After more than a month together, the two had grown familiar. Zayn lounged with a goblet of eighty-two proof wine and watched Morax prepare to leave.
"Visiting the adepts of Jueyun Karst," Morax answered.
"Take me! Take me!" Zayn begged.
"No. If we both leave, who will protect the domain?" Morax replied. "If another god or a ferocious beast attacks, what will the people do?"
"You left last time too, didn't you? You didn't stay behind," Zayn protested. "Did you have a clone back then?"
Morax fell silent. This one… the boy had nerves.
"All right, fine. I'll go," Zayn declared.
He wrapped a faint white dome of light over Liyue—his manifested barrier. It could resist attacks on a demigod level, but it was draining. If the shield took serious punishment, he would be able to sense the force of impact and return to help. That, he thought, was sufficient.
Morax glanced at the dome. To weave such broad coverage normally would require array formations—yet Zayn had done it directly. Differences in Authorities, indeed. Morax shrugged and said, "Very well. Let us go."
The golden and white beams leapt into the sky. Soon they arrived at Jueyun Karst, and the place felt strangely familiar even after millennia. This must be the grotto of the talkative Adept—Liuyun, whose cave-house was known for its ingenious contraptions.
"Who dares enter my abode? Oh, it is the Lord Geo." A voice called before anyone appeared, then Liuyun—transformed into human shape—emerged. Aside from being talkative, Liuyun looked impeccable: flawless features, refined bearing. Of course—why gather ugliness when one had never known mortal hardship?
"Oh? Lord Geo, who is this at your side? Introduce them," Liuyun said.
"Very well." Morax gestured. "This is my friend, the Demon God of Manifestation, Zenos."
"Demon God of Manifestation? Zenos?" Liuyun mused. A companion of Morax must be strong.
"Hello—just call me Zayn; it's the name I travel under," Zayn said lightly.
"Zayn?" Liuyun arched his brow. "Odd for a god to take a mortal name. I am Liuyun—presider of this grotto."
Liuyun then smiled and, full of mischief, asked, "Recently I've made some improvements to my contraptions. Lord Geo, would you evaluate them?"
"Certainly," Morax replied.
The two had first met when Morax stumbled into Liuyun's territory. Both being gods, they'd treated each other cautiously, but their shared interest in mechanisms had joined them in conversation and finally in friendship.
"Machinery? May I see?" Zayn asked.
"Ah—Zenos, you know machinery? Excellent! The three of us should exchange ideas," Liuyun exclaimed, delighted.
Morax's mouth twitched. He already understood Zayn's situation; of course Zayn wouldn't truly be versed in mechanisms.
Zayn scratched his head. "Actually, I know nothing about machinery."
Liuyun waved a hand. "It's not that difficult—many find it hard only for lack of dedication. If you truly wish to learn, I, Liuyun, will teach you."
Morax interjected, "Zenos likely does not need mechanical arts. His authority can achieve the same ends far more simply."
"What? You mean the Demon God of Manifestation can accomplish mechanical feats without machines?" Liuyun's eyes brightened.
Heh—Zayn grinned inwardly. Using Manifestation to reach an end was equivalent to making the mechanism himself. For Zayn, mechanisms were optional; the Authority was the shortcut.
"My authority is called Manifestation—bringing imagined things into reality," Zayn explained with a smug smile.
Liuyun fell into thought. A god with that kind of power was flagrantly unfair. But for Liuyun, the joy was in the process: refining mechanisms was pleasure in itself. If one could just skip to the result, the joy would vanish.
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