The gazes of the two Gods of Wisdom converged upon him.
Nahida looked at Ye Xi as if clutching the final straw. She trusted Ye Xi deeply, for he was always capable of accomplishing the inconceivable.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, on the other hand, scrutinized Ye Xi properly. The word "Descender" sounded particularly piercing to her ears. After all, the Descenders who had previously appeared in Teyvat held statuses that were anything but ordinary!
Just a moment ago, she had been explaining the events of five hundred years ago to Nahida, so she hadn't paid much attention to Ye Xi. Now, looking closely, she discovered that Ye Xi appeared to be a Khaenri'ahn. However, while he looked like a Khaenri'ahn, something felt different about him.
She immediately searched for Ye Xi's identity within the World Tree. The World Tree recorded information on everyone in Teyvat. Yet, to her surprise, she found that the information the world once held regarding Ye Xi had been completely blurred out!
In other words, Ye Xi had transformed from holding the identity of a Teyvat native into an outsider from another world!
How is this possible!?
Seeing their confusion, Ye Xi spoke up, "The method to eradicate Forbidden Knowledge does not have only one answer: erasing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata."
"If we do not delete it, but instead absorb the Forbidden Knowledge, the matter can be perfectly resolved."
Upon hearing this, both Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata were startled.
"Absorb it? Is such a thing feasible?"
Nahida had never confronted Forbidden Knowledge before, so she lacked experience and could only look to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata beside her.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata shook her head and explained, "Although that would indeed be a very effective method, Forbidden Knowledge cannot be absorbed."
"We possess no container to store this Forbidden Knowledge, nor do we have a way to thoroughly strip the Forbidden Knowledge away."
"Forbidden Knowledge is like a brightly colored dye; once stained, it cannot be washed off."
Whether it was the desert cataclysm a millennium ago or the Khaenri'ah cataclysm five hundred years ago, her line of thought had always been to clear away Forbidden Knowledge through "cleaning."
As for the concept of "absorbing," the Red King had actually thought of it once. [Concentrating Forbidden Knowledge into a portion of humans or life forms]. This method would cause those containers to die on the spot, and it was extremely inhumane, so she had rejected it.
Listening to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's words, the hope that had just sprouted in Nahida was shattered once again.
However, upon hearing this, Ye Xi smiled without speaking and reached out his hand.
[Drain]
He activated the ability of Drain toward the direction polluted by Forbidden Knowledge. Very quickly, wisps of black mist were sucked toward him. Those mists entered directly into his body and then vanished without a trace.
"Eh—!?"
"H-how can this be!"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's face was filled with astonishment. Ye Xi not only stripped the Forbidden Knowledge from the consciousness space but could also absorb it into his body without any adverse reactions!
Nahida leaned in with amazement to check carefully. Logically speaking, being polluted by Forbidden Knowledge would at the very least cause one to suffer from Eleazar, and at worst, drive one mad on the spot. Yet Ye Xi had inhaled so much Forbidden Knowledge in one breath, and unexpectedly, there was no change in him whatsoever!
This was simply incredible!
[Ding~]
[Detected Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's mental fluctuations!]
[Hint: Causing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to experience intense emotional fluctuations such as surprise, sadness, sustained excitement, or comfort will increase the synchronization rate between the Host's consciousness space and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's consciousness space.]
[The higher the synchronization rate, the higher the efficiency of [Drain].]
[Current Synchronization: 0.23%]
Hearing the system notification, Ye Xi's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected there to be a way to improve the efficiency of [Drain].
But, what method should be used to make a God of Wisdom who has ruled Sumeru for thousands of years generate such intense emotional fluctuations?
"Descender..."
By the time he came back to his senses, Ye Xi realized Nahida was calling him. Clearly, both gods had been shocked by the move he just revealed and were waiting for his explanation.
"Ahem..."
Ye Xi gave a dry cough and continued, "As you can see, I possess the ability to absorb Forbidden Knowledge, and I can convert Forbidden Knowledge into the power I desire."
Hearing this, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's heart was filled with shock. "To actually be able to convert external Forbidden Knowledge into one's own energy!"
'Is this the power brought by a Descender? It is truly too remarkable!'
"Descender, your power is simply a surprise!"
She had originally been in despair, but unexpectedly, Ye Xi had descended from the sky like a savior, truly miraculous.
However, Ye Xi shook his head. "Don't be too optimistic. Judging by my current absorption efficiency, the extraction of Forbidden Knowledge is not faster than the diffusion of Forbidden Knowledge."
Forbidden Knowledge was like constantly regenerating cells; even if he absorbed a portion, these black mists would very quickly replenish themselves. If he didn't increase the efficiency, no matter how much effort he wasted, it would merely delay the progress of Forbidden Knowledge polluting the World Tree.
Hearing this, both Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata lowered their heads. They had both overlooked this key issue. They thought that as long as it could be cleared, the trouble of Forbidden Knowledge could be solved, but Forbidden Knowledge was also an extremely difficult opponent.
"You don't need to worry."
Ye Xi opened his mouth to explain, "Currently, the efficiency is not high because the state of mental fusion between you and me is relatively poor."
"Once our consciousness spaces are fused, cleaning up this Forbidden Knowledge will be a piece of cake."
"To increase the synchronization rate, I need you, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, to stay by my side constantly."
"But... I have already died."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata sighed. "This place is merely my last remaining consciousness; there is no way for me to be by your side."
That was correct. Whether her existence was deleted or not, she was already a passed god. It was merely a question of whether the memories regarding Greater Lord Rukkhadevata still existed in everyone's hearts.
As the Demon God who had protected Sumeru for thousands of years, even in death, she hoped the forest would remember her forever. It was enough if they remembered she had once been there.
Of course, if there was truly no other way, she would delete herself without hesitation to let the World Tree return to stability. Nahida knew this as well. Regardless, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had passed away; this was an undeniable fact.
Just then, Ye Xi spoke up, "Isn't that simple? Wouldn't it be fine just to resurrect Greater Lord Rukkhadevata?"
"Eh—!?"
As soon as these words came out, both Gods of Wisdom were frightened. Resurrecting a god was simply harder than creating a god!
"Think about it carefully. Is there really no way to resurrect the Tree King?"
Ye Xi's words made Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's eyes light up. "Are you saying...!"
"That's right."
Ye Xi looked at Nahida and said with a smile, "Just like when she was created."
"Snap off a new branch and attach your consciousness to it. Doing such a thing with Nahida's current power must be a breeze, right?"
Nahida's eyes were full of light, and she hurriedly nodded:
"Mmh!"
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