Liyue.
The reconstruction of the Jade Chamber was nearing completion, with only the interior decoration of the palace remaining.
In just a few months, that palace, which could float in the sky, would reappear in Liyue Harbor, and in a little while longer, the ascent ceremony could be held.
Although the overall reconstruction of the Jade Chamber was not yet entirely finished, it no longer affected Tianquan Ningguang's ability to work and rest within it.
However, Ningguang showed no joy at the impending completion of the Jade Chamber's reconstruction; instead, she looked troubled as she stared at the intelligence report in her hand.
Ever since Beidou returned from Inazuma, she had mentioned changes in the sea.
Now, the sea near Liyue Harbor frequently experienced sudden storms without any warning, and according to fishermen who went out to sea, their catches had been decreasing over the past few months.
These circumstances combined gave a strong sense of impending doom.
All signs pointed to a three-headed sea beast, the lingering threat of the Vortex Vanquisher—Beisht, who was also Osial, the Vortex Vanquisher's wife and his last follower.
Although Ningguang wanted to subdue or even kill her, Beisht was, after all, a God on par with the Liyue Adepti, and her strength should not be underestimated.
Furthermore, unlike Osial, she had not been sealed and bound; the entire ocean was her domain.
She could unleash towering waves on the sea at any time, attack Liyue Harbor, and then quickly escape.
Even the Qixing were helpless against such harassment tactics.
Therefore, to resolve the issue once and for all, Ningguang decided to use her newly rebuilt Jade Chamber as bait, leveraging Beisht's hatred for the Jade Chamber to lure her out of the sea and then completely subdue her.
In the previous confrontation with Osial, Ningguang had convinced the Adepti to trust human capabilities by stating that Liyue had entered an era of human governance.
Thus, this time, Ningguang decided not to rely on the Adepti's power.
The people of Liyue Harbor also had to try to overcome this crisis with their own strength.
Therefore, Ningguang specifically dispatched Yuheng Keqing to Guyun Stone Forest to oversee the installation of the new Guizhong Ballistae.
The new Guizhong Ballistae were designed based on improved blueprints after Ningguang ordered specialists to dismantle and study the Guizhong Ballista.
Compared to the original Guizhong Ballistae made by the Adepti, the new Guizhong Ballistae had slightly inferior firing speed and power, but they had the advantage of being mass-producible, easy to dismantle and assemble, and could be flexibly deployed in various locations.
This was a method of compensating for quality with quantity, but clearly, the new Guizhong Ballistae were more suitable for Liyue Harbor, and Ningguang also believed this would be an excellent solution to the crisis.
In addition to the new Guizhong Ballistae, during this time, Ningguang also purchased a large quantity of medicinal herbs from Bubu Pharmacy, even borrowing Qiqi to help decoct the herbs in preparation for the upcoming major battle.
Of course, if these measures did not work, Ningguang was also prepared to crash another Jade Chamber.
Of course, this was a last resort; if another Jade Chamber were to be crashed, finding enough large mingxia floating stones would likely not be so easy.
Mentioning mingxia floating stone, Ningguang suddenly remembered that Yuto had been in Inazuma for several months now.
She wondered how he was doing recently.
She heard that Inazuma had lifted the Sakoku Decree, and many Liyue people who had stayed in Inazuma had returned home.
Logically, he should have returned too, right?
She also wondered if Yuto could make it back for this crisis.
He was a genuine human, and his strength counted as human strength, unrelated to the Adepti.
If he could return in time, she would have an extra trump card.
Just then, Ganyu, the Qixing's secretary, slowly arrived with a piece of intelligence, saying with a strange expression, "Tianquan Ningguang, Yuehai Pavilion just received a state letter from Inazuma, stating that Inazuma Regent will soon lead an Inazuma Delegation to Liyue to establish diplomatic relations with us.
Please take a look."
"Regent? I haven't heard of such an official position.
Shouldn't the high-ranking officials in Inazuma be called something like Tri-Commission?
But that title sounds quite grand."
"It is said that this is an official position recently established by Raiden Shogun.
Its function is to coordinate and manage the work of the Tri-Commission, and its status is second only to Raiden Shogun.
If we follow diplomatic reception standards, the main greeter must be of equivalent status to the guest, so this matter can only be handled by Tianquan Ningguang herself."
"It seems Inazuma attaches great importance to this diplomatic initiative.
But that's right, Inazuma has been isolated for a long time.
As soon as the Sakoku Decree is lifted, they are eager to re-establish diplomatic relations with other countries.
I speculate that Liyue is just their first stop; they will have to visit all other nations.
It's just that the timing of the Inazuma Delegation's visit is a bit inconvenient.
Never mind, matters concerning Inazuma in the past seemed to be handled by you, Ganyu, so you must be experienced.
This reception will be arranged by you."
"Yes, but, Tianquan Ningguang, perhaps you should first see who this Inazuma Regent is?"
"Oh? Who is it?
Judging by your expression, is it someone I know?
Did one of the Inazuma Tri-Commission get promoted to Regent?"
Upon hearing Ganyu's reminder, Ningguang couldn't help but smile, and her curiosity was piqued.
She sipped her tea with one hand and flipped through the Inazuma state letter Ganyu handed her with the other.
Hmm, this Inazuma Delegation consisted of one chief envoy, two deputy envoys, and some attendants.
Ningguang had an impression of one of the deputy envoys, Yae Miko, the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine in Inazuma, and also a familiar of Raiden Shogun, a powerful Great Yokai, and seemingly on good terms with Ganyu.
There was another deputy envoy named Kuki Shinobu, whose current position was Special Secretary of the Regent's Office.
What kind of official position was this?
Huh? No, she seemed to have some impression of this person, but couldn't recall it at the moment.
Then she turned to the page of the chief envoy.
As soon as her eyes landed on it, Ningguang choked on her tea and coughed repeatedly.
After she had somewhat recovered and caught her breath, Ningguang looked at the state letter again, only to see it clearly stating:
Chief Envoy—Uchiha Mikage!
Position—Inazuma Shogunate Regent!
"This... this... Yuto actually transformed into Inazuma Regent?
How is this possible?
Sister Ganyu, what exactly is going on?"
Ganyu also shook her head.
When she first saw this state letter, her reaction was much like Ningguang's.
She initially thought someone was playing a prank, but it was written clearly and plainly, and it even had Raiden Shogun's seal on it; it couldn't be fake!
Furthermore, among the list of envoys for this visit, there was also her acquaintance, Sister Yae Miko, who was only in a deputy envoy position.
How did Yuto manage to become the chief envoy?
After carefully reading the state letter, Ningguang immediately instructed her three secretaries: "Baiwen, Baishi, Baixiao, the three of you, immediately inquire with merchants and tourists who have returned from Inazuma during this period, whether they are locals or foreigners.
I need to know what exactly happened in Inazuma over the past few months!"
"Yes!"
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