"What? Acting Grand Master Jean and the others are going to fight Stormterror?!" Amber exclaimed in surprise.
"That's right. So, do you want to go with me?" Takagi nodded. Although Windrise was not particularly close to Takagi's current location, he was all too familiar with the Path power unleashed by Lumine, Acting Grand Master Jean, and Klee. In this Teyvat, there were very few people who could use a Path, so Takagi could easily guess what they were doing.
Amber: "Takagi, I want to go too. Take me with you."
"Since Takagi has invited us, I shall not refuse," Morax said. He wanted to meet the Anemo Archon, Barbatos, and witness how those who had mastered Path power behaved in Teyvat. He was even less likely to refuse now. Since Rex Lapis had agreed, Cloud Retainer naturally nodded in agreement as well.
"Takagi, do you plan to use your Star Rail to go there?" Cloud Retainer asked curiously.
"No need. This time, we'll go directly," Takagi shook his head and said.
"Go directly? Traveling through time—wait, what?!" Cloud Retainer was in the middle of speaking when she suddenly found herself pulled into a dark tunnel surrounded by twinkling starlight. As the surrounding scenery rapidly receded behind her in an instant, she was surprised to find that she had actually arrived at another place.
"This is... Windrise!" Morax stood above the void, murmuring as he looked at the environment below. Although they were in mid-air, because Takagi had used Imaginary Energy as a foothold for everyone, no one fell downward.
"Ugh!" Suddenly, Amber stumbled and fell toward the foothold. Takagi instinctively reached out and steadied her waist.
Takagi: "Are you alright?"
Amber: "I'm fine, ugh!"
Takagi raised an eyebrow and said: "It's the first time I've directly brought people through a spatial track for a jump. The method was a bit rough. I'll adjust it next time so you won't get motion sick."
"Okay... okay." Amber took a deep breath and finally caught her breath. She looked down and quickly noticed Acting Grand Master Jean and the others who were advancing toward the very center of Windrise while fighting monsters. With a shift of her gaze, Amber immediately spotted Stormterror Dvalin, who was resting in the center of the area. "They'll be alright, right?" Amber asked worriedly.
"Don't worry. Given Stormterror's condition, Acting Grand Master Jean, Lumine, Klee, and Barbara are more than enough to handle it. Besides, isn't Venti there too?" Takagi smiled.
Amber: "Venti? What can that bard do?" Facing Amber's question, Takagi just smiled mysteriously and didn't say more.
Sure enough, he knows Venti's identity. This means that when he arrives in Liyue, he'll also be able to sense that Zhongli is Morax? Morax looked at Takagi and sighed inwardly.
"Speaking of which, Takagi, can you even perform such instantaneous teleportation without using the Star Rail?" Cloud Retainer said in astonishment.
"Just a minor trick, not worth mentioning," Takagi waved his hand and said. "Using the Star Rail allows for long-distance interstellar travel. If it's just traveling within one world, I can do it without the train." After becoming an Emanator of Trailblaze, Takagi noticed that his sensitivity to space and teleportation had become quite sharp. Within Teyvat, he could arrive instantly wherever he wanted to go without relying on the power of the Star Rail. Furthermore, if he wished, he could even reach the presence of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, who was currently sleeping.
Morax: "Such an ability is certainly not a trick unworthy of mention."
Cloud Retainer: "Indeed!" Takagi's ability made both Morax and Cloud Retainer envious. If they had possessed such power back then, they wouldn't have been unable to arrive at Guili Plains in time to help Guizhong.
"If you are interested in such an ability, perhaps you should try stepping onto a Path. Perhaps a certain Path could grant you such an ability." Takagi glanced at Cloud Retainer and Morax. "However, for immortal beings like yourselves, eliminating erosion is what you truly need, right?"
"Erosion!" Morax turned to look at Takagi and asked sincerely: "Takagi, can Abundance or Memory truly solve the problem of erosion?"
"Try stepping onto a Path, and you'll know." Takagi smiled mysteriously. "If you could choose between Abundance and Memory, I would recommend the Path of Memory. However, looking at your situation, the Path you are most likely to step onto is the Path of Preservation."
Morax: "The Path of Preservation? Can this ability resist erosion?"
Takagi: "It's difficult! That being said, if you were to become an Emanator of Preservation, perhaps offsetting erosion wouldn't be impossible."
Morax: "Emanator?! I heard you mention it before! Takagi, could you tell me what an Emanator means?" Cloud Retainer and Amber simultaneously pricked up their ears.
"Well, so be it! Since we've talked about this and Cloud Retainer will be going to Herta Space Station soon, I'll briefly explain it to you. The so-called Emanator is someone directly blessed by an Aeon. The Path power obtained by such a person is purer. So, although Preservation power may not necessarily eliminate erosion, if it is the pure power at the Emanator level, even Preservation should be able to resist it."
"I see. Is an Emanator a more special Pathstrider?" Morax said, understanding.
"Then... is a Pathstrider directly blessed by an Emanator very strong?" Amber asked curiously.
Takagi's mouth curved up, and he looked meaningfully at the three of them.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Amber swallowed, saying nervously.
"Takagi, is there a problem?" Cloud Retainer asked.
"Among Pathstriders, some are strong and some are weak. But generally speaking, they are extremely powerful beings. To give an analogy... if Teyvat were compared to a small marble," Takagi raised his right hand, leaving a small gap between his thumb and index finger, "then the Emanator is the one holding that marble. A gentle squeeze, and this marble... I don't need to say what happens next, right?"
Amber, Cloud Retainer, and Morax stood rooted to the spot, looking at Takagi in disbelief. They wanted to deny his statement, but thinking of how everything he said before had been proven true, they couldn't find a way to refute him.
Takagi patted Cloud Retainer's shoulder: "Cloud Retainer, do you know why I mentioned this? Because at Herta Space Station, there is an Emanator."
Cloud Retainer swallowed: "C-could it be that there is an Emanator at Herta Space Station?!"
"As expected of a clever person," Takagi nodded. "Herta, the master of the space station, is an Emanator who received the blessing of the Aeon of Erudition. Her power is quite formidable. Although her true self generally doesn't come to the station, the puppets she leaves behind are also very strong. There, you absolutely must not offend her, understand?"
Cloud Retainer looked at Takagi's serious expression and nodded involuntarily.
"That Herta is also a fanatical researcher. If she sees your bird form, she might even try to research you. Speaking of which, if she really wants to study you, she should give you some benefits, right?" Takagi stroked his chin and looked Cloud Retainer up and down.
"L-let's just forget it, I don't want to be researched," Cloud Retainer's mouth twitched.
"Lord Takagi, you mentioned the Aeon of Erudition earlier. What kind of Star God is that?" Morax asked curiously.
"Erudition? Just a smart mechanical head, Nous. After you go to the space station, I'll tell you more in detail. Oh, right, this time Paimon won't be the live streamer. If you want to know the situation, Morax, have Cloud Retainer start a live stream after she arrives."
Cloud Retainer: "S-start a live stream?"
Takagi: "Is there a problem?"
Cloud Retainer: "No!" She quickly accepted this task. To let Rex Lapis know the situation, they couldn't rely on Takagi for the stream.
"Speaking of live streams, it seems Paimon has fallen in love with it. Does she think she's already guaranteed to win?" Takagi muttered. Amber quickly opened the forum and found Paimon's post.
(Lyney: It was right to keep an eye on Paimon's account. As expected, after the Traveler and others gain their Paths, they seek out Stormterror to finish the battle.)
(Ningguang: Stormterror's matter needs to be dealt with; naturally, the sooner the better.)
(Tighnari: Stormterror was corrupted by Durin's blood and Abyss Mages. The difficulty of purifying him is not low.)
(Alhaitham: The Traveler's constitution and Barbara's Abundance power should be able to do it with combined efforts.)
(Baizhu: If Abundance power can purify the poison dragon's curse, then this power is even more worth looking forward to.)
(Azar: Takagi, can you let me go to Herta Space Station too?)
(Dehya: No, others were already selected. Blame your bad luck.)
(Arataki Itto: Exactly. Don't yell here and delay me from watching the battle. The Traveler and others should win, right?)
(Kamisato Ayato: Stormterror is a god-level threat, but now the Traveler, Jean, Klee, and Barbara have all gained Paths. The balance might shift.)
(Dori: Opening bets! Gamble on human victory or dragon victory!)
Takagi turned his head toward Morax: "Morax, could you lend me some Mora so I can participate in Dori's gamble?"
Morax: "...I didn't bring any!"
Amber's eyes widened: "Huh?! Morax didn't bring any Mora?!" Cloud Retainer touched her pocket but turned away.
"You didn't bring any? Then forget it." Takagi smiled and looked down at Dvalin and Lumine's group. "It seems the Anemo Archon's identity is about to be exposed in front of a devout follower. I wonder if Barbara can handle it."
Amber: "Huh?"
...
Roar! Accompanied by a massive roar, Stormterror, sensing Barbatos and the others, leaped from its resting place and soared into the sky. Barbara, Jean, the Traveler, and the others looked up with grave expressions. Seeing Stormterror dive down, Klee immediately threw out a super-sized Bouncy Bomb. Stormterror tried to stir up a gust of wind to blow it away, but the flames from the explosion canceled out the wind. Driven mad by the poison, the dragon was briefly dazed. By the time it reacted, Klee's floating fire launchers had reached it, engulfing its body in raging flames.
Stormterror let out an angry roar, creating massive wind currents that rushed toward the group. Seeing this, Jean used the Path of Preservation to summon a shield of wind. The strong wind that shredded the surrounding ruins had no effect on them.
"Wh... what?!" Stormterror was stunned, regaining consciousness for a split second.
"Get down here!" The Traveler raised her power to the maximum, appearing near Stormterror's neck with Barbara. As the Traveler stomped down, the dragon fell toward the ground. Venti created a wind vortex to help pull Dvalin down. But even as a god-level existence, it began to struggle fiercely.
"Dvalin, please calm down!" Barbara plucked the Holy Lyre. Abundance power flowed through the instrument, emitting beautiful melodies. Dvalin's eyes brightened, and it stopped struggling.
"This voice, is it Barbatos?" Dvalin murmured. The poison thorns on its neck slowly dissipated. The Traveler used her special physique to finish the purification. Under their combined power, the corruption vanished rapidly.
"That's great, it's over." In the sky, Amber was so excited she almost jumped.
"It was that easy?!" Cloud Retainer's eyes widened. She never expected one of the Four Winds to be dealt with so easily. Even Morax was surprised. Barbatos had barely done anything; the entire process relied on Barbara, the Traveler, and the others. The power of the Path was indeed remarkable.
"After returning to Teyvat, Path power can still be used without hindrance and can exhibit even greater destructive power. This power will change this world more than I thought," Morax said, his desire to seek the Heart of the Path growing stronger.