"Ahhh—it's so high! Get down now!" Paimon was shouting loudly from high in the sky.
Yu Jin looked at Paimon, who was floating beside him. She was the only one who had flown up without holding onto a rope.
"No, aren't you flying too? Do you really need to be so scared?" Yu Jin looked at Paimon, who was constantly circling around them, finding it incomprehensible.
Someone who can fly is afraid of heights?
Paimon clutched Lumine's clothes and said with a slight tremble, "Who flies this high for no reason! The highest I usually fly is just above Lumine's head!"
"Why do I feel like you're calling me short?" Lumine heard Paimon's words and felt a strong sense of sarcasm. Although she was indeed the shortest among the "Dvalin Protection Association" members, besides Paimon.
"Hey—Yu Jin! You're not going to make me play up here, are you?" Venti, holding onto the rope with both hands, shouted a few times to Yu Jin above.
None of the people present were ordinary, so holding onto the rope like this wasn't difficult. But if Yu Jin wanted him to perform in this situation, Venti would have to wonder if Yu Jin was trying to make things difficult for him.
"I know, I know, Starsnatch Cliff!" Yu Jin's helpless voice came. Did he really think he didn't know anything?
Speaking of which, he had once taken Garura and Collei to Starsnatch Cliff. But later he found out it was the favorite place for Mondstadters to confess their love, which he found a bit ridiculous.
"Good that you know!" Venti's heart immediately relaxed. Given Yu Jin's usual antics, he might really have made him perform high in the sky.
As for whether it would be by Wind Slimes pulling him up or some other method, that remained unknown.
But thankfully, Yu Jin was a bit more serious this time and didn't have any strange ideas.
Venti has a famous saying: Flying is faster than running, right?
And it was true. Soon, the towering, sharp cliff edge of Starsnatch Cliff appeared before everyone's eyes.
Starsnatch Cliff has always been an excellent spot to admire the scenery of Mondstadt. And now, as everyone took in Starsnatch Cliff from an even higher perspective, its beauty was even more profound.
Unconsciously, everyone was a little mesmerized. But clearly, Yu Jin was not. What good is scenery compared to people?
"Let's go. After Dvalin is rescued, he can carry you to see it. If not, you can always commission me." Yu Jin chuckled a few times, then slowly descended towards the bottom of Starsnatch Cliff.
"Yay! Finally back on the ground!" Paimon excitedly spun a few circles. It felt so good to be back on the ground!
"You've never actually fallen, have you, except when sleeping." Lumine put her hands on her hips and retorted, looking at the excited Paimon.
"Within one Lumine's height from the ground, that's the ground!" Paimon declared her standard for the ground.
"Alright everyone, prepare to listen to the performance of Mondstadt's finest bard!" Venti laughed loudly and walked to the highest point of Starsnatch Cliff.
He picked up the lyre of the heavens, imbued with Anemo element power, and gently plucked its Starstring strings. Soothing and melodious zither music flowed on the wind, drifting far away.
In Yu Jin's perception, a massive Anemo element presence was rapidly flying towards them. Its speed was so astonishing that it surprised him a little.
Sure enough, Dvalin hadn't used his full power before. He was probably still fighting the corrupted blood within him at the time, so he held back a lot.
From the current situation, either Dvalin is about to overcome the corrupted blood, or the corrupted blood is about to completely corrode Dvalin.
The light, dancing breeze, made lively by the zither music, began to stir restlessly, and pain and hatred started to permeate the wind.
A four-winged giant dragon flew out from beneath Starsnatch Cliff, carrying an unparalleled gale, and hovered before Venti.
"Roar—" Dvalin let out a dragon's roar. Although he didn't use any power, the howling gale still made everyone squint their eyes involuntarily.
However, this dragon's roar sounded different to Yu Jin and Venti.
"At this point, there's nothing left to discuss!" Dvalin's eyes were filled with hatred as he looked at Venti.
He wouldn't care if the Mondstadters forgot him, but Venti forgetting him along with them was something he found hard to accept.
"Really? Then why do I see nostalgia in your eyes?" Venti took a step forward. He could tell Dvalin was nostalgic.
"Yes, yes, we can discuss anything!" Yu Jin also chimed in. Whether it's possible or not, you have to say it. How can you know if it's possible if you don't say it?
It was then that Dvalin noticed Yu Jin among the humans. Unpleasant memories immediately surfaced in Dvalin's mind.
Those humans, unkillable like cockroaches, were all created by this strange fellow.
Dvalin did not want to experience again the feeling of being able to easily defeat an opponent but being unable to kill them.
As Yu Jin, the understanding one, he naturally noticed Dvalin's subtle backward movement.
So he immediately took out an ancient dragon smithing stone and said to Dvalin, "Look, you're not alone. This is a scale from a very powerful member of your dragon race."
All ancient dragon smithing stones come from the King of the Ancient Dragon race, the Dragonlord Placidusax.
He was the first Elden Lord, seated in the temporal rift of The Lands Between.
Placidusax's scales naturally possess properties that transcend time and space. Weapons forged from them can leave traces far beyond time on eternal deities. Therefore, they can be used to slay gods.
However, the so-called deities here do not include the Greater Will. For that old bastard, the properties of transcending time and space are useless; another specific property is needed to harm It.
Yu Jin had a slight clue about this property, but he didn't know how to find it.
Yu Jin felt he was truly conscientious. Even though he was no longer in The Lands Between, he still thought about the Greater Will, wondering when he could strike It down.
The moment Yu Jin took out the scale, Dvalin felt a powerful yet familiar aura within it.
Although from different worlds, the dragons on both sides were quite different. But for an existence like the Dragonlord, who had trained his dragon body to the extreme, his aura was enough to greatly benefit many of his kin.
Dvalin's eyes were involuntarily drawn to the scale in Yu Jin's hand. Through the distorted time and space within the scale, he saw a giant dragon.
A colossal, mountain-like, five-headed dragon, motionless in a temporal storm.
He was seated on an immense altar, the edges of which were lined with towering stone pillars that enclosed the entire altar.
The giant dragon was both at the center of the altar and at the intersection of the lines connecting the pillars.
Below the altar were countless deep pits arranged in a certain pattern. These pits surrounded the airborne giant dragon, forming concentric circles from small to large.
Inside the pits were the skeletons of various creatures: humans, beasts, trolls… all sorts of creatures Dvalin knew or didn't know.
These skeletons had their hands placed on their abdomens, as if they were incredibly peaceful before death. Their skulls all faced the pillars, and their leg bones all faced the giant dragon.
This scene seemed like a solemn and respectful ceremony. Under the influence of this scene, Dvalin also became quiet and cautious.
Seeing this, Yu Jin raised an eyebrow at Venti. Venti met his gaze, and although he couldn't see Yu Jin's exact movement, the two exchanged a smile. It seemed Dvalin was secured this time!
However, it was clear that things wouldn't go so smoothly. Dvalin was still looking at everything within the altar—the patterns, the architecture, vast and intricate, as if made specifically for dragons.
This was a feeling he had never experienced with human architecture; everything was so suitable for him, so comfortable.
Suddenly, Dvalin felt his body stiffen. His gaze shifted slightly upward, and his indigo eyes met ten golden eyes.
"I… I'm sorry!" As if feeling guilty and afraid for disturbing such a grand ritual, Dvalin felt his heart tighten and he turned and fled.
He completely forgot that he was only seeing these things through a "window."
"Hey—you haven't taken this yet!" Yu Jin saw Dvalin's panicked escape. He waved the scale in his hand. Is he really that polite? He doesn't even want the gift.
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