Genshin Impact: Dionysus reigns supreme, all demons retreat!

Chapter 649 Searching for Nagajuna

The way everyone looked at Xu Ning was both fearful and complicated.

The storm on Mount Dama was a testament to the eternal power of the Red King, but now this man seems to have also taken control of the wind and sand, managing to quell a storm of such magnitude.

But didn't the woman who was hunting beasts with blazing light just say that she also summoned that burst of lightning?

Is this guy some kind of demon god?

"Look, what is that?"

Just as the storm over Mount Dama gradually subsided, a magnificent oasis cast a beautiful mirage over the desert.

"That is... the eternal oasis!"

Everyone watched with great excitement at the most beautiful miracle in the world, and many were even moved to kneel down and worship.

Even Dina Zede, who had just been terrified by Marcela's death, couldn't help but peek out from behind Desia, gazing at the beautiful scene with mesmerized eyes.

Xu Ning had no intention of letting the Eternal Oasis appear in the world so easily. After the Eternal Oasis appeared for about ten breaths, Xu Ning waved his hand, and the sandstorm that had not yet completely subsided started up again.

The enormous vortex roared around Mount Dama once again, and the hot winds swept across the entire desert once more.

Even though he had the power over the sandstorm, it was still too much of a struggle without Lilupal's assistance.

As soon as the sandstorm subsided, Xu Ning hurriedly brought the Dust Concealment Gourd to his mouth, taking large gulps to replenish the elemental power that had been depleted in his body.

Jade naturally realized how much effort Xu Ning had put into those actions.

"You really don't need to do so much for me..."

Jade knew very well that Xu Ning's series of displays had essentially spread her reputation as the Crimson King and the Queen of the Oasis throughout the entire desert.

The reputation of Tanit as a traitor is a joke in the face of this string of accusations.

No one will care about Jade's behavior anymore; everyone will just laugh at Tanit for possessing such a treasure but treating it like dirt. Now, he deserves the divine punishment.

Moreover, having demonstrated such power, even after leaving the desert, everyone would be wary of Xu Ning's presence and would not dare to cause him any trouble.

Whether I form a mercenary group, establish a new tribe, or even rebuild a dynasty in this desert, I doubt anyone would dare to oppose me.

Xu Ning gulped down a large amount of water, let out a comfortable sigh, and then smiled, "I promised Jeberlele I would take good care of you. Last time I left irresponsibly, leaving you to survive alone in this desert, having to rely on tribes like Tanit for survival, which already made me feel very guilty. Now that I can do this for you, it can be considered as making up for my regret."

When Jade heard Xu Ning mention Jeberlele, she chuckled and said, "Perhaps even Dad didn't expect your so-called resettlement to be so exaggerated. Sigh, are you all preparing to leave again?"

Xu Ning was about to nod when the strange scene of the Ironwood Mountain and the Lilupar sisters underground suddenly flashed through his mind. He changed his words and said, "They may not have left. There seems to be some change in the northern desert. They may go there to take a look. If you need my help here, you can send someone to find me there at any time."

Jade nodded emphatically.

As night fell, Xu Ning and the others still chose to spend the night in Tanit's settlement.

The tribal chief, Buhanu, left with his men, saying that he would bring all the people of the tribe to see their new matriarch, Jade, the next day.

The somewhat disheveled mercenaries stayed behind and began to clean up the corpses in the Tanit tribe's territory. Xu Ning prepared several jars of wine and some animal meat for them to eat and drink after they finished cleaning up.

The young man with emerald eyes and a longbow left silently, glancing at Xu Ning a few more times without uttering a single word.

Although only Dixia and Dinazede were among the Blazing Beast Hunters, they were acquaintances of Xu Ning.

However, the guys in the mercenary group were all very outgoing. After a few bowls of wine, they started smiling and calling Xu Ning brothers, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.

Dixia and Jade have similar temperaments, and they have already reached a consensus on the supply of goods for future trade routes. Jade is even willing to do a few business deals with the eldest daughter of the Huma family, and also take her to visit the Eternal Oasis.

Hearing that Dixia would also be staying here for a few days and assisting Jiede in reorganizing the tribe's business and personnel arrangements, Xu Ning was completely relieved.

The next day, Xu Ning bid farewell to everyone and teleported towards Mount Tiemu via the teleportation anchor point.

Meanwhile, inside a certain dust-song pot.

The little white-haired boy looked at the meat roasting on the grass with a troubled expression. "How much longer are we going to wait here?"

Kong sighed and flipped the iron fork in his hand. "You've asked this more than eighty times. Aren't you tired of flying around all the time? Sit down and rest for a while. The meat will be ready soon."

Paimon slowly landed, resting his chin on his hands. "I've been eating barbecue for days now. Do you want to make something else? I really want to eat Eight Treasure Duck, Tea-Smoked Pigeon, Honey-Glazed Char Siu, Braised Pork Meatballs, Fried Double Crispy Meatballs, and Fresh Fish with Milk Sauce..."

Kong was furious. "Don't nag me about Qingyi's recipes! I really want to eat them too, but all these ingredients are so expensive... Besides, it's been several days already, my brother might arrive soon, and then..."

A-Yuan, who had been squatting silently inside the teapot, suddenly poked her head out and said, "Someone is knocking on the teapot outside. It seems that drunkard has come."

Kong said helplessly, "You should call me Brother Xu... Hmm? Paimon, you don't want the meat anymore..."

Before he could finish speaking, Paimon had already run out, leaving Kong with no choice but to carry the half-cooked meat out as well.

Xu Ning tapped the lid of the teapot twice, and then saw Paimeng fly out without saying a word, just chuckling and laughing.

He tapped the Dust Concealment Gourd and said, "Go find Qingyi to play with. If there's anything you need, have Kong tell me!"

Paimon cheered happily and transformed into a beam of white light to go find Qingyi to freeload some food.

He came out holding the meat, cursed Paimon for being disloyal, and then greeted Xu Ning with a smile.

“If I hadn’t returned to Sumeru City a few days ago and chatted with Catherine about your recent situation, I would never have known that you had done so many earth-shattering things recently.”

"There's nothing earth-shattering about it. You're starting to sound more and more like Paimon."

Xu Ning chuckled as he took the half-cooked piece of meat from his empty hand, poured some Qianyan wine on it, rubbed two fingers together to light it, and adjusted the heat while turning it around, saying, "As for you, what have you been doing? I haven't heard a word from you."

Kong laughed and said, "It's a long story. I rescued a girl named Lana by the roadside that day, and then... I didn't get back until a few days ago."

Xu Ning pursed his lips. That's really long. He'll have to be more careful when rescuing people in the future.

He handed the grilled meat to Kong Chi, "So you guys can't stay idle, so you also took that mission from the Order of the Church and came here to investigate?"

Kong Gang had just taken a bite of the beast meat when he heard Xu Ning say the word "also" and laughed.

"I guessed it was Big Brother as soon as I heard the adventurer's description. Sure enough, you're the one who stole his drum here."

Xu Ning exclaimed in astonishment, "What do you mean by 'robbery'? That sounds so awful! That guy said he's not doing the mission anymore, and he'll let me continue or just return the drum..."

Kong laughed and said, "I guess he was just saying that in anger. In addition to paying a penalty for breach of contract, special props also require a deposit. He couldn't return the drum and was fined a lot of money, so naturally he was resentful."

Xu Ning casually pulled out the broken drum from the Hidden Dust Cave and tossed it to Kong, saying, "Since you're waiting for me here, it seems you've already accepted the mission, right? You can keep this drum safe."

Kong examined the drum closely. "Brother, this mission really can't be done without this drum. It's a token exchanged with the Nagaju group that lives here. They seem to have been searching for it all along. The adventurers before us were able to bring it back intact, so it seems they didn't even see their leader. Otherwise, at least the item would have been left behind. After all, it seems very important to them..."

Xu Ning listened to Kong's assessment, nodded, and then pointed to the strange large hole in the sky.

"Is there someone in that 'Pig Group' who can solve that problem in the sky?"

After thinking for a moment, he realized, "Catherine didn't say they could solve it, but she did say they should have a solution."

"Oh? I'd like to see the means to mend the sky."

Xu Ning and Kong walked together into the Ironwood Mountain, and Xu Ning also told Kong about Lilupal's fight against the Abyss underground.

“…Lilupal said that the monsters underground seem to be getting stronger lately. I think the color and aura of the void in the sky are very similar to the aura of the abyss. I’m afraid there is a great connection between the two.”

Kong nodded and said, "That's right. According to the Adventurers' Guild's information on Nagaju's group, it seems that the group was composed of scholars. They did follow the war to the Abyss back then, and their purpose in staying there now is said to be to stop the Abyss's attacks."

Xu Ning glanced at the other side of Mount Tiemu. "That area is just barren hills, like the desert. There probably isn't anything good to offer them. If these people are indeed living here long-term to fight the Abyss, we really should treat them well this time. But what if they have other ulterior motives..."

Xu Ning didn't finish his sentence because a living person had already jumped in front of him.

"Who goes there? Hmm? You're not from the nearby desert tribes. Judging by your clothes, you're adventurers who came here. Your adventure ends here. Please return the way you came."

The person who jumped out was dressed in a style similar to the scholar robes of the Order of the Church, but he was quite different in many details such as accessories and openings, and his tone of voice was also quite impatient.

Whenever Kong is with Xu Ning, he always follows his elder brother's lead and rarely speaks up on his own initiative.

Xu Ning didn't rush to speak, but instead focused his elemental power on his commemorative glasses.

[We chased one away, and two more came. The restricted area is about to turn into a marketplace. But this is the time to show my worth as Patrol Officer Bilo. We absolutely cannot let them in.]

As soon as Bi Luo's idea came to mind, Xu Ning saw it clearly and immediately said with a smile.

“We are not adventurers. Your leader invited us here. He said that as long as we show the token to a road patrol officer named Bilo, he will let us pass.”

The man who jumped out, Bi Luo, was taken aback. "I...I am Bi Luo. Why didn't the Lord of Knowledge tell me this?"

Xu Ning smiled and said, "Master is so busy, he certainly wouldn't personally inform you about everything. But fortunately, there is a token. I believe you will understand at a glance. Kong, let him take a look at the token."

Kong immediately took out the drum that Xu Ning had given him and showed it to Bi Luo.

【What the hell do you understand! This drum is so broken, what can you possibly know? Could it be a tool needed to deal with the celestial phenomenon of Burning Truth? But I've never seen anything like it before…】

Xu Ning looked at Bi Luo's conflicted expression and said in surprise, "Could it be that even you haven't seen this drum before? This is the most crucial tool for resolving the Burning Truth Celestial Phenomenon, which is why we two experts were specially asked to escort it."

Bi Luo immediately threw his head back and laughed, forcing a smile, "How could I not recognize it? Haha, it's that drum, haha..."

? ?: "Nonsense!"

A voice suddenly came from behind Bilo, startling the patrol officer so much that he almost jumped up again.

Looking back, Bi Luo's face immediately fell.

"Ahem, Lady Sluza, what brings you out? There are outsiders here after all..."

Xu Ning and Kong then noticed that the "master" who appeared behind Bi Luo was actually a fairy-like creature, but it was entirely pink and its shape resembled a blooming flower.

"When and where we manifest ourselves is the free will of us flower spirits, and no human can interfere. How dare you overstep your bounds like this! Moreover, the three of you are spouting nonsense here, using such objects to slander our mission..."

Bilo was shocked and immediately reached for his weapon, shouting, "So you two were just trying to trick me with this! Prepare to die!"

The self-proclaimed Flower Spirit, Silsa, immediately rebuked, "Let me finish speaking! Extinguishing the celestial phenomenon of Burning Truth is our mission, but this object has a deep connection with us Flower Spirits. It is not something you humans can possess at will. I order you to present it to me immediately."

Upon hearing this, Bi Luo sheepishly put his weapon down again. "So this thing is really important, huh? I think you should do as we just said and go find the master first..."

Xu Ning waved his hand, signaling Bi Luo not to provoke Hua Ling any further.

Then, with a smile, he clasped his hands in a fist and said to Hua Ling Silusa, "Of course, we should present it to you. However, this thing is old and has accumulated a lot of dust. It would be better if the two of us placed it in a suitable place for you. Besides, the owner of this place also said that he wanted to take a look at it."

Sluza nodded and said, "That makes sense. You may come with me, and I will personally introduce you to the leader here. The road ahead will not be smooth, so you had better follow in my footsteps closely."