"Golden-Winged King
Conqueror of Demons—Xiao, hears the call, comes to protect."
The calm words left Shui Bing'er and the others utterly confused and bewildered.
At a time like this, this handsome young man still wants to put on a show?
Of course, it wasn't their fault for thinking this way. Their understanding was limited, after all.
Normally, the older one is, the stronger they become. If it were an elderly man in his seventies or eighties standing here, they might not have doubted him. But this young man? He looked like a child!
"Golden-Winged King
Conqueror of Demons?"
"Little Kid, this place is really dangerous. Come with us and escape!"
Despite knowing the danger, their conscience told them they couldn't just abandon this child and run away.
Even if the kid seemed a bit odd.
A slight twitch appeared at the corner of Xiao's calm eyes.
How many years had it been? How many years had he been in Liyue?
Who didn't know the name of the Conqueror of Demons?
This was the first time someone had told him to run away first.
Well, this wasn't Liyue, after all.
Xiao was older than Liyue itself. Before Liyue was established, he had already been following Zhongli in battles across the land.
"Little Kid?"
What kind of nickname was that!
A hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes, but Xiao didn't feel any resentment.
It wasn't the first time he had been misunderstood by humans.
With great compassion in his heart, he wouldn't get angry over a mere nickname. But when it came to these "monsters," he had no patience to spare.
With a casual wave, a jade-green spear appeared in his hand. By the time the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear materialized, Shui Bing'er and the others hadn't even reacted yet.
"Demon-Conquering Yaksha Dance!"
"Xin... Xin... Xin..."
After crossing over, Xiao, like Zhongli, had rid himself of negative energy. But the negative energy he had removed wasn't erosion, it was a curse.
The curse carried by those monsters.
Even Zhongli himself found this curse extremely troublesome. He couldn't completely remove it; he could only suppress it.
But after crossing over, Xiao discovered that the curse on his body had vanished.
When he donned the mask of the Yaksha, there was no black aura surrounding him. Instead, a gray mist, like a gust of wind or a bolt of lightning, wreaked havoc among the spirit beasts.
Just 1.25 seconds later, Xiao deactivated his Yaksha form. These monsters were much weaker than he had imagined. Even in his "normal" state, he could obliterate them in an instant.
They looked ferocious, but their strength was nothing special...
"Hiss~"
The members of the Shui Bing'er team couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. This was the north, and the air was truly chilly, making their bodies shiver uncontrollably.
Cold sweat dripped from their foreheads. These were seven or eight ten-thousand-year spirit beasts! Even a Soul Sage would tremble in fear at such a horde!
But he just went "xin... xin... xin..."
And then it was over!
The spirit beasts lay on the ground, their eyes wide open, filled with fear, as if they couldn't believe what had just happened.
It was truly hard to comprehend. Why was this "young man" so terrifyingly powerful?
"All evil has been vanquished. You are safe now."
Xiao calmly put away the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear, his expression unchanged. To him, this was just an ordinary occurrence.
In his long life, he had saved countless humans and faced countless dangers. Even when confronting a god, he could remain composed.
Normally, a Yaksha couldn't defeat a god, but it depended on the type of god. If it was one with little combat ability...
"We pay our respects to the Golden-Winged King
Conqueror of Demons!"
The Shui Bing'er team weren't fools. This man had no spirit rings, yet he had effortlessly taken down seven or eight ten-thousand-year spirit beasts in an instant. His strength was beyond question.
Moreover, the way he spoke and his tone felt eerily similar to that of a certain great figure.
Though they didn't understand what the "Golden-Winged King
Conqueror of Demons" was, it was clear that this Xiao was incredibly powerful.
"There's no need for such formalities. It's my duty..."
As he said this, Xiao felt a bit unsure.
Was it really his duty?
This wasn't Liyue anymore. His contract with the Geo Archon...
What duty was there to speak of?
Yet, for thousands of years, he had been eradicating evil and protecting the weak. That was his duty, and even though this wasn't Liyue, he hadn't abandoned that contract.
Seeing Xiao's amiable demeanor, the group breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't shown the slightest bit of respect toward this powerful figure earlier.
Disrespecting a Yaksha!
As he would say, that was exactly it.
"Everyone, there's something I'm unclear about. If you're free, could you enlighten me?"
Xiao cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, his expression serious.
He had only recently arrived in this world, and this group was the first humans he had encountered. He had no idea where this place was.
After these monsters died, different colored circles appeared, proving that this wasn't Teyvat.
When it came to the concept of crossing over, the people, immortals, and gods of Teyvat had a very high acceptance rate.
After all, Teyvat often welcomed such "guests."
So, such occurrences weren't something they couldn't accept.
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er and the others had no reason to refuse.
No matter what, this man had saved their lives. Answering a few of his questions was the least they could do.
"Please, ask away. We'll tell you everything we know."
The team leader thought for a moment before speaking.
If her answers could be of any help to their savior, that would be a good thing.
"Where is this place?"
Xiao asked with an expressionless face.
"???"
The women were filled with confusion.
This was the Icebound Forest. Where else could it be?
If he didn't know the way to the Icebound Forest, that was one thing. But not knowing where this place was? That was truly strange.
"This is the border between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Extreme North, the Icebound Forest."
Though she didn't understand why he would ask such a bizarre question, the team leader still answered.
"Heaven Dou Empire, Extreme North, Icebound Forest..."
Xiao murmured to himself. So, he had indeed crossed over.
Three place names he had never heard before.
Thinking about his own situation, and then about Zhongli and the vanished Cloud Retainer, Xiao frowned.
Was it possible that they had also crossed over, but earlier than he had?
After Zhongli disappeared, Xiao had searched the entire world for him, but found nothing.
Three years later, the Cloud Retainer also vanished without a trace.
Another year later, he too disappeared from Teyvat.
At this thought, a glimmer of light appeared in Xiao's eyes, a light of hope.
Others might suspect that Zhongli had perished, but Xiao had never believed that.
Anyone else might fall, but the Geo Archon? Never!
This was unconditional trust.
"Could you tell me if you've heard of a man named the Geo Arch—"
Here, Xiao seemed to remember something and shook his head, continuing, "A man named Zhongli?"