Could the anomaly in Sumeru have been brought about by these two deities?
"Lord Geo Archon, may I ask what exactly is happening?"
The Grand Sage stared at the strange phenomenon outside the barrier, utterly bewildered. Such a thing had never occurred before—even the Akasha Terminal was now being affected.
"It's nothing much. The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata has simply been resurrected."
Zhongli sensed the aura emanating from the Sanctuary of Surasthana and couldn't help but smile faintly. Venti, standing beside him, felt it too.
The Grand Sages were stunned upon hearing this. The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata… had been resurrected?
At that moment, everyone was shocked—but also overjoyed.
Grand Sage Azar had never acknowledged the current Dendro Archon, Lesser Lord Kusanali, but he held the utmost respect for the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
He recognized her without question.
In their hearts, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was the true God of Wisdom. Azar acknowledged only her.
Now, hearing from the Geo Archon that the Greater Lord had returned?
How was such a miracle possible?
Azar was ecstatic.
Zhongli was slightly surprised by Azar's reaction, but after a moment's thought, he understood.
Lesser Lord Kusanali had been imprisoned for so many years—likely because she had failed to earn the recognition of the Sages.
If it were just one or two dissenters, that would be one thing. But if generation after generation of Grand Sages refused to acknowledge her, then the problem might lie with Kusanali herself.
Meanwhile, inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana…
A gentle, ethereal figure now stood where Nahida had once been confined.
Nahida herself stood behind her, completely dumbfounded.
The resurrected Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was momentarily surprised, but she quickly grasped the situation.
As the guardian of Irminsul, every action Jiang Chen had taken in this world had been recorded by the World Tree.
Thus, the Greater Lord immediately understood what had transpired.
"Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Jiang Chen!"
Once she regained her bearings, the Greater Lord lifted the hem of her dress and bowed gracefully to Jiang Chen.
His act of resurrecting her had been an immense favor.
Even the forbidden knowledge had been resolved.
Truly, a cause for celebration.
Hearing the Greater Lord call his name directly, Jiang Chen wasn't particularly surprised.
The revived Greater Lord had gained an ability akin to omniscience.
If she wished, she could know everything that had happened in Teyvat.
Moreover, the Irminsul had effectively become her Noble Phantasm—with Nahida included.
Now that was interesting.
Well, well, well…
But after a moment's thought, Jiang Chen realized it made sense.
After all, Nahida had been created by the Greater Lord from a branch of the Irminsul.
So her becoming a Noble Phantasm wasn't too strange, was it?
It seemed perfectly logical.
Nahida, however, was still completely bewildered.
The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata…?
"Go ahead and deal with the Akademiya's affairs first," Jiang Chen said.
"As for me, I'll head over as well."
"And kill someone along the way."
Now that the Greater Lord had been resurrected, they could discuss the rest later.
First, they needed to settle Sumeru's affairs.
Hearing Jiang Chen's words, the Greater Lord immediately understood his meaning.
The Akademiya's generations of Sages imprisoning the young Dendro Archon?
She glanced at the confused Nahida and sighed softly.
"There's a Fatui agent hiding among the crowd at the Akademiya right now."
The Greater Lord looked at Jiang Chen and quickly discerned who he was targeting.
She even pinpointed the exact location.
In an instant, she had grasped everything the target had done in Sumeru.
Treating lives as worthless…
Thus, she gave Jiang Chen precise coordinates.
Nodding in acknowledgment, Jiang Chen wasted no time—vanishing on the spot.
The Greater Lord understood his intentions.
Negotiations later will likely go smoothly.
Speaking with someone intelligent was always easier.
Only after Jiang Chen left did Nahida finally speak up.
"Greater Lord Rukkhadevata…"
Hearing her voice, the Greater Lord gently patted her head.
"I'll explain everything to you later."
"For now, let's go."
With that, she strode out of the sanctuary.
Nahida was now intrinsically linked to her.
There was still much to teach her—after all these years, she remained far too naive.
The little Archon still had a long way to go.
Nahida nodded obediently.
If the Greater Lord said so, she would follow.
Her return had given Nahida a sense of security.
Meanwhile, outside the Akademiya, the crowd was growing livelier by the minute.
More and more people had gathered, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two Archons.
The Akademiya's Sages had been in a state of exhilaration ever since learning of the Greater Lord's resurrection.
At this point, they were still overjoyed.
Undoubtedly, this must have been the doing of the visiting Archons, right?
The Akademiya's higher-ups were immensely grateful to Zhongli and the others.
Amid the excitement, hidden among the crowd, Il Dottore had disguised himself as an ordinary citizen and arrived at the scene.
Truth be told, he had been quite surprised to hear that the Archons of Liyue and Mondstadt had come to Sumeru.
Hadn't Morax retired?
And the Anemo Archon rarely showed himself, even in Mondstadt.
Yet now they've both come here?
What's going on?
Driven by curiosity, he had come to investigate.
Then he saw the barrier enveloping the area.
Observing the figures within, he fell deep into thought.
Once this is over, I'll ask my collaborator…
Just as this thought crossed his mind—
Dong—!
A bell tolled.
Everyone heard it.
At that moment, a single thought flashed through every mind:
…Am I attending a funeral?
What in the world?
A death knell?
For a moment, everyone was confused.
But the powerful individuals present felt a chill run down their spines.
Because they all sensed—
Someone is going to die.
Without a doubt.
Zhongli frowned. Just as he began to wonder, Jiang Chen's figure abruptly appeared behind a certain person.
Venti and Zhongli immediately turned their gazes toward him.
They were baffled.
What is he doing?
"It's time to go, sinner whose hands are drenched in blood."
Jiang Chen's voice echoed in Il Dottore's ear.
The moment the bell tolled, the Doctor had sensed something was terribly wrong.
Even though this was just one of his segments…
Being marked like this, he knew—
He would die. Absolutely.
All his other segments sensed it too.
A threat of death loomed over every single one.
At this moment, panic set in.
They didn't even know what was happening.
Yet now they were being targeted?
Coincidentally, the Fatui Harbingers were in the middle of a meeting.
The Doctor's face paled as he abruptly stood up—
But in the next second, his head flew off his shoulders.
Blood splattered across the Fatui conference room.
The other Harbingers stared in confusion.
What kind of performance art is this?
Meanwhile, outside the Akademiya, the Doctor's head also tumbled to the ground.