The song ended.
Chen Meng lowered his flute.
A Ping and Gui Zhong slowly came back to their senses from the melody, Morax stared at the Xiao Meng Flute, and Makosi looked at Chen Meng in shock.
After all, no one had expected Chen Meng to be able to play the flute—and play it so well.
Morax gazed at the Xiao Meng Flute. He felt there was more to it than met the eye.
"Chen Meng, you can play the flute?!"
A Ping exclaimed in astonishment.
"Wow! Chen Meng, you played beautifully!"
Gui Zhong ran to his side, speaking excitedly.
But Chen Meng, fingers resting on the flute, seemed deep in thought—he himself didn't know how he'd managed to play it.
"Thank you. How was that answer of mine?"
Chen Meng looked at Gui Zhong and asked.
Gui Zhong thought for a moment and replied.
"Well… there's no standard answer to this kind of question—everyone has their own perspective. But I agree with yours."
At that moment, A Ping chimed in.
"Chen Meng, I didn't expect you to have such insight into music. What's the name of that piece?"
"It's called... 'Return and Departure'."
Chen Meng looked into the distance and answered thoughtfully.
"'Return and Departure'—that's a great name."
A Ping responded.
"Chen Meng, that flute of yours isn't an ordinary flute, is it?"
Morax sipped his tea and asked.
Chen Meng looked at the Xiao Meng Flute in his hand.
The flute had a deep, mysterious violet hue all over. Its surface was smooth like a mirror, and the delicate texture made one want to reach out and touch it. The material looked particularly special, and its weight felt just right in his hand.
"Mm. This flute is also a weapon."
No one seemed particularly surprised.
Chen Meng put the flute away, and the group went back to chatting casually.
At that moment, a figure appeared before them.
"Emperor, the preparations for the ritual have been completed."
It was the adeptus Mooncarver, who had been helping set up the ritual.
"Emperor, where will the ritual take place, and when will it begin?"
Mooncarver asked.
"The location will be..."
Morax began to ponder.
"Qingyun Peak."
Gui Zhong interrupted.
"Let's hold it at Qingyun Peak. That way, Ruotuo can attend too. What do you think, Morax?"
"That works."
Morax gave it some thought and then turned to Mooncarver.
"Mooncarver, we'll hold the ritual at Qingyun Peak. It's now the hour of Chen—let's begin the ritual at noon."
"Move the ritual platform there. Just let us know once it's set up."
"As the Emperor commands."
Mooncarver left after speaking.
"Let's wait for them to finish before heading over."
Morax said.
The group sat on stone stools, sipping tea and chatting.
But someone was clearly getting restless.
"I'm so bored! Morax, I'm really bored."
Gui Zhong lay on the stone table, staring at Morax.
"Gui Zhong, why don't you go work on your mechanism techniques?"
A Ping asked, seeing Gui Zhong doing nothing.
"I don't have any ideas right now."
Gui Zhong replied.
"Then let's walk to Qingyun Peak."
Morax suggested.
The group was stunned.
"Morax, are you saying we should walk from here to Qingyun Peak?"
Makosi asked.
"Yes. Let's experience the journey like mortals would. What do you all think?"
Morax looked around at them.
"Sounds good. I'll grab some ingredients—we can have lunch there after the ritual."
Makosi headed to the kitchen and returned with some food supplies.
"I have no objections. It'll be a good chance to enjoy the scenery."
A Ping stood up.
Morax turned to Chen Meng, waiting for his answer.
Gui Zhong also looked at Chen Meng, eyes full of anticipation.
Chen Meng thought about how far it looked from Guili Assembly to Qingyun Peak even on the in-game map—how far must it be in real life?
But then he reminded himself: he was now a god, even if his divine authority wasn't complete, his physical body was definitely stronger than a normal human's.
Chen Meng nodded in agreement, curious to test his current strength.
"Yay! Let's go!"
Gui Zhong jumped off the stool, grabbed A Ping, and took off.
Morax's divine robes shifted into the casual clothes designed for him by Minu.
Makosi came out of the kitchen, saw the two already charging off ahead, and shook his head, walking to the stone table to wait for Morax and Chen Meng.
"Let's catch up with them."
Makosi said.
The three followed the direction the two had run off in.
They quickly caught up with them, and the five of them continued toward Qingyun Peak together.
—————————————————————————————
"Morax, that's Jueyun Karst up ahead, right?"
Gui Zhong looked ahead and asked.
"Yes. We're getting closer to Qingyun Peak."
Morax replied.
Chen Meng looked at the vast Jueyun Karst before him, then turned back to glance at the path they'd walked. In his heart, he sighed—so the in-game map really did shrink the distances quite a bit.
Makosi noticed Chen Meng looking back, so he turned to look as well.
"Walking from Guili Assembly to Jueyun Karst is a long journey. We haven't stopped to rest once. I can't imagine how long it would take a mortal to get here."
Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky in front of them.
"Emperor, why are you all here?"
The figure before them was none other than Cloud Retainer.
"Cloud Retainer, I was so bored waiting at Guili Assembly that Morax suggested walking to Qingyun Peak. So here we are."
Gui Zhong explained, then asked.
"Why are you here, Cloud Retainer?"
"Since the ritual was moved to Qingyun Peak, I came to inform you. But as soon as I reached the skies over Jueyun Karst, I sensed your presence."
Cloud Retainer answered.
"Would you like to walk with us to Qingyun Peak?"
A Ping asked.
Cloud Retainer thought for a moment, then replied.
"Alright, I'll walk with you to Qingyun Peak."
The group walking to Qingyun Peak grew from five to six.
—————————————————————————————
Qingyun Peak
"We're here! We finally made it to Qingyun Peak! Is that the ritual platform?"
Gui Zhong stood at the mountaintop, looking at the floating platform in the air.
Morax, Makosi, and Chen Meng also looked at the platform.
Now they finally understood why Mirai Qixia's eyes had seemed so dim when she mentioned the ritual platform.
The ritual's main sponsor, Mirai Qixia, stood silently atop the platform, looking down.
"Yes, that's the ritual platform. Let's go up."
Cloud Retainer flew up onto the platform.
The others followed.
The platform had stone stools and a central altar for the ritual, surrounded by decorations made from glaze lilies.
Standing on the platform, Chen Meng could see all of Liyue's future territory stretching out in the distance.
"Emperor, the time for the ritual is near."
Mountain Shaper spoke.
"Has Ruotuo arrived?"
Morax asked.
"I'm here, Morax."
Before him appeared a shrunken Ruotuo.
"Ruotuo, why are you so small?"
Gui Zhong ran over, staring curiously at the smaller Ruotuo.
"This is just an avatar. My true body is still guarding the front lines."
Ruotuo explained.
"Everyone's here. Then let's begin the ritual."
As he spoke, Morax's robes transformed into divine attire.
Gui Zhong, Makosi, A Ping, the other adepti, and the Five Yakshas each took their seats. Ruotuo lay atop a stone stool.
Morax walked up to Chen Meng and said,
"Chen Meng, try using your divine authority to form a divine outfit."
"Alright, I'll give it a try."
Chen Meng responded.
He summoned his power, letting it wrap around him, slowly forming into divine attire.
But just as it was about to take shape, the power scattered.
'System, why can't I form a divine outfit? Is it because my authority is incomplete?'
"Yes, host."
'Then is there any way I can still form one?'
"Host, have you forgotten the clothes in your inventory?"
'Those? That's divine attire?'
"No, but they can serve as a temporary replacement. Just infuse a portion of your power into them, and you can use them as divine wear. You can even customize their design freely."
After hearing that, Chen Meng began infusing his power into the clothes and put them on.
In an instant, Chen Meng appeared dressed in his own "divine attire."