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"Back then, after deciding to begin researching the Abyss, we specifically opened a passage connecting to Kanria [the Ocean], using it as a research site to prevent the power of the Abyss from leaking and affecting the city."

“We have deployed a variety of protective measures outside this passage. To put it bluntly, this is the most heavily guarded place in the entire Kanria.”

However, under the immense power of the abyss, all those protective barriers had already been destroyed.

Looking at the countless remains on the ground, Dain's eyes were filled with sorrow.

Back then, the soldiers of Kanria fought bravely, sacrificing countless lives to give the people time to evacuate.

"Come with me before the monsters gather."

Ripples spread through the air as Dai Yin stepped into them, Jiang Bai following behind.

His vision blurred for a moment, and the next moment, Jiang Bai felt as if he had appeared in another world.

The sight before him made his eyes widen in disbelief.

In that indistinguishable area, huge cracks appeared, and a substance resembling magma flowed through them.

Special runes were engraved on the red and black cubes of various sizes, like flowing crimson chains that penetrated into the cracks and blocked the dark power spreading from them.

A huge red moon hung low in the sky, and all the once tall and magnificent buildings collapsed under the crimson chains. The entire space was filled with broken walls and ruins, utterly desolate.

"Is this the source of the abyss eruption?"

Dain remained silent, staring at the seal placed by Heaven's Law five hundred years ago, speechless for a long time.

Back then, the abyss erupted exceptionally quickly. Most people were asleep when they suddenly received the notice that disaster was coming and they had to leave their homes and escape the surface immediately.

Some soldiers were ordered to protect the people as they left, while others used their lives to form a city wall, resisting the invasion of the abyss and blocking the invasion of the abyss monsters.

The commotion underground eventually alerted the Heavenly Principles high above, and the seven gods arrived one after another.

After several days of fierce fighting, at the cost of the deaths of several gods, the invasion of the abyss was temporarily brought under control, and the rift was temporarily sealed.

However, a kingdom perished, several gods fell, the abyss invaded the entirety of Teyvat, and even the one high in the heavens fell into a long slumber.

"This is the place that was first to fall."

Unlike the countless monsters in the outside world, there are no abyssal monsters here.

"Is this the ocean?"

Jiang Bai looked around. Nearby, there was still light from the chains, but in the distance, there was bottomless darkness, and he could see nothing at all.

"The ocean of Kanria is not the ocean you understand."

Dain spoke, but did not explain exactly what was different.

Jiang Bai followed him forward and arrived at the most core laboratory from back then.

However, the laboratory has long since collapsed, and no useful clues can be found anymore.

Jiang Bai floated in the air and saw a place emitting blue light.

That patch of blue light was both faint and striking in this dim, crimson world.

Jiang Bai flew closer with Dai Yin and discovered that it was actually a celestial nail.

This celestial nail somehow fell from the sky and landed here. It hovered in mid-air, attempting to purify the abyssal power of this place, but its light was like a faint firefly, having no effect in this space overflowing with abyssal power.

Jiang Bai saw a demonic creature sitting below the Heavenly Nail, which appeared to have turned into a stone sculpture.

He landed in front of the monster, cautiously observing it.

Seemingly sensing the presence of humans, the stone-carved monster slowly raised its head.

"Has someone finally arrived?"

"who are you?"

Dain looked at it, completely unable to tell who this person was.

"As a sinner, I have no words to utter my name again."

Dain was silent for a moment, then asked directly, "What exactly happened back then?"

The monster raised its head, stared at Dain for a long while, and then spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Kanria, are you still there?"

Dain did not answer; his silence said it all.

"As expected..."

This sage had actually known the answer all along, but he had always harbored a certain illusion in his heart.

After receiving a definite answer, his dark eyes immediately darkened considerably.

"I am a sinner, but I never regret what I have done."

Jiang Bai remained silent. He guessed that the monster before him might be the sage who had led the research back then, but he was not a Kanriyan who had suffered, nor did he want to criticize anything.

"why?"

Dain asked that question.

Nearly five hundred years later, he returned to his homeland, wanting only an answer, the truth.

"Because the 'why' you want to ask is also what we want to pursue."

"I am waiting here to tell those who come after me the truth we have found, a truth that can save everything."

Neither Dai Yin nor Jiang Bai spoke, waiting for him to reveal the truth.

That is the truth they have also been searching for.

"In Kanria, the ocean is special; it is a starry sea formed by the projection of stars, a microcosm of the universe isolated by an eggshell."

"Just as birds are born to fly, we live in the place closest to the universe and are equally curious about the outside world. We begin to study the universe, the starry sky, the past, and the future."

"We wanted to explore how to get to the universe, but we found that Teyvat has a cycle. Whenever it develops to a certain point, the civilization is forcibly demolished and rebuilt."

"In order to find the reason, we began to study the world beneath our feet."

"We discovered that this appears to be a rule designed to protect Teyvat."

"Teyvat faces a terrible threat originating from within itself, a threat that was sown when Phanes created the world."

"Teyvat is not a fully successful world; it's like an egg that's still hatching."

"Just as we were celebrating this conclusion, a harsh reality unfolded before us: the barrier of Teyvat was shrinking."

"One day, the eggshell that protects Teyvat will shatter completely."

"An egg that is broken from the outside dies, but one that is broken from the inside is reborn."

The gods are not to be trusted, and the demons are beyond description. If anything can shake this spiritless world, it is only the will of humankind.

"We tried to gain the power to break the world from outside the world, but we failed."

"We've gone in the wrong direction; the abyss is never controllable..."

The sage, who had become a demon, changed his voice from calm to sorrow, as if that distant past, stained with blood and tears, was resurfacing once again.

Jiang Bai had actually suspected this before, and now that his guess had been confirmed, he felt a complex mix of emotions.

How difficult it is to break the world from within.

With so many civilizations in Teyvat, did none of them ever discover this truth?

No, they just all failed.

Even Kanria, who went the furthest, failed.

No, perhaps it wasn't a complete failure.

They summoned the twins, the being the old man called the game-changer.

"Those who come after me, I have little reason left. After this moment of clarity, I will become a monster. Regardless of why you came here, you must bring this truth out."

After saying this, the sage, who had become a demon, suddenly relaxed, relieved of the responsibilities and burdens that had been weighing on his heart for so long.

Jiang Bai nodded and asked a question before the sage's consciousness was about to disappear.

"What does 'natural law' mean to you?"

Chapter 905 The Unknown Truth

"The principles of Heaven?" the sage asked rhetorically, before falling into a reverie.

His consciousness was fading away. "He is the rule, the protection, and also the greatest obstacle we must face before we can break through it..."

As soon as he finished speaking, his consciousness completely dissipated. The humanoid monster no longer had any intelligence in its eyes, only a primal desire for destruction.

Jiang Bai beheaded him with a single stroke, sending him back to the embrace of the abyss.

Where his figure disappeared, a badge, still bearing its golden hue, fell to the ground.

The badge is in the shape of a book, with the towering and magnificent gate of the Deep Secret Court engraved on top.

Behind the gate was a huge black sun.

Dain's expression was complicated upon seeing the badge.

This badge was reserved for all previous heads of the House of Representatives.

Jiang Bai picked it up, and a sentence naturally flowed into his mind.

This is the culmination of a scholar's life's research, recording secrets unknown to anyone.

Clearly, this badge, which embodies the research achievements of this unknown scholar throughout his life, has become a sacred relic.

"Want to see the stars?" Dain suddenly asked.

"To see the stars?"

Jiang Bai looked up, and all he could see was a huge red moon. Beyond the moon, the sky was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything at all.

"In the ocean of Canria, you can see the real stars of the universe."

It is not a false heavenly constellation, but the real cosmic stars.

Where can I watch it?

"Come with me."

Jiang Bai followed Dai Yin all the way to the edge, until the red moon's light faded and their vision went completely dark.

"Lower your head."

Jiang Bai felt as if he were standing on a calm, still surface of water. Below the water, countless stars of varying sizes filled his field of vision, forming a vast and boundless Milky Way that seemed within reach.

These stars are not much different from the starry sky seen from the outside, but they have an indescribable sense of realism, as if they have finally come to the real world when they see these stars.

Dain looked at the stars at his feet, his face, half of which had become a monster, filled with melancholy.

“You know, everything in Teyvat is stored in the ley lines. Those memories and emotions will not disappear with the passage of time. They flow in the ley lines and become the power that we can control.”

"what?"

This was the first time Jiang Bai had heard this claim.

Is the power they wield elemental force? Is elemental force actually transformed in this way?

However, the [Relic] seems to be a manifestation of memories and emotions, and it can also enhance the corresponding elemental power. If that's how elemental power comes about, it does seem to make sense.

"Teyvat's history did not begin with Phanes' creation of the world. Before Phanes' arrival, the ley lines already existed in Teyvat. They are the lifeblood of Teyvat, like the blood vessels of the human body, constantly supplying this planet with life."

"The Dragon Kings are the most primitive native inhabitants of this planet; they are naturally able to manipulate elemental forces..."

The badge in Jiang Bai's hand glowed faintly, and lines of text appeared above the sea of ​​stars.

A primordial being named Phanes happened upon this remote, growing world, a world still in its formative stages and far from being a planet.

He observed for a long time and found that this planet was very suitable as his place of residence.

He entered the world, banishing the original dragon race to the remote depths of the sea, and became the new master of this vibrant land.

He protected the world with an eggshell and created entirely new rules for it. He created the mountains and rivers, the messenger of heaven, and his four shadows.

Demons emerged from the earth, and humanity descended upon this land.

[The messengers of heaven enlightened humanity, and under the guidance of angels, mankind built a beautiful world like a utopia. Abundant emotions, brilliant souls, and moving wills... these precious nutrients flowed into the earth's veins, making them more prosperous and allowing this newborn world to gradually mature.]

But where there is light, there is also darkness; positive emotions bring great power, while negative desires bring only defilement.