Chapter 1399: Change and War, Idealized Future, Means and Results

After a moment of silence.

"Buyer?" Apep looked at the two gods, one big and one small, of grass and trees and wisdom.

The appearance of the two is merely a reflection of their different stages of growth. Even though the Great Benevolent Tree King has been forgotten by the native life of Teyvat, when others see him, they will speculate about the relationship between the Great Benevolent Tree King and Nashida.

The forbidden knowledge in Apep's body was "deleted", or rather, "cut away" by Jiang Yi using the World Tree. Naturally, like these elemental beings, she also lost a lot of knowledge and memory as the pollution was removed, such as about the "Great Kindness Tree King".

The "knowledge and memory" that all living beings lost with the "forbidden knowledge" were "remembered" by Jiang Yi, so he could easily restore what these lives had lost.

Of course, even if it is truly "forgotten" and the memory becomes "nothingness", Jiang Yi can still "restore" it.

Forgetting and remembering, nothingness and existence are just some of Jiang Yi's powers.

"That is indeed my name, but it is no longer my identity in Teyvat." The Great Compassion Tree King said frankly, "You should understand that names are just code names."

Just like in the mirage, Coral Palace Xinhai can be called the witch, the military advisor, and Xinhai, and Jiang Yi can be called the king, the god of man, and His Majesty the Void Emperor.

Just like name and appearance, they are not important to these lives.

Even for ordinary people, a name is not necessarily necessary.

Animals, plants and other life forms that have been passed down from ancient times to the present, celestial bodies such as the sun, moon and stars, climate such as wind, rain, thunder and lightning, everything is often given different "names" by people of different eras, such as "Wangshu", "Yupan" and "Mingyue".

Names and titles do not change the essence of what exists.

Apep, the dragon of grass, never knew any life in the world by its name.

This is just a way for ignorant life to understand the world.

"Resurrection from the dead, breaking free from the shackles, what a great method." Apep quickly understood everything, "If there is a cause and effect, then this is over between us."

The power of the "Spark" comes from the elemental power of the Great Compassion Tree King in the past, which healed Apep.

And Apep's elemental power constitutes the body of the Great Mercy Tree King.

During the battle at that time, Jiang Yi dug out some of Apep's flesh and blood, seized part of Apep's life source, and threw it into the dream cycle, becoming the basis for the Great Compassion Tree King to "receive flesh".

The Great Compassionate Tree King had long understood how the Heart of Apep Oasis operated and the nature of elemental forces, so he was able to transform these elemental forces into his own elemental forces that were similar to but subtly different from Apep's.

A completely new body was created that had nothing to do with Apep.

Then, she gradually got rid of the pollution, grew through experience in her dreams, practiced Jiang Yi's immortal way that touched the laws of the universe, improved her cultivation, and thus became the Nuwa who would repair the sky in the future.

In response to Apep's statement, the Great Compassion Tree King remained silent.

Even if the previous cause and effect has been resolved, when Jiang Yi arrived today, a new cause and effect will arise.

"The world, the future of the world..." Apep suddenly laughed, "God of Man, are you really here to chat instead of to inform?"

After learning about the Great Compassion Tree King, she turned her attention back to Jiang Yi.

"Your Taixu Daotu is expanding wildly, forming another world outside the Three Realms, and constantly devouring the territory of Teyvat."

"You use your power to modify time and accelerate the growth of mankind."

"You are leading mankind to look up at the 'abyss and the starry sky', violating His plan."

"Are you ready to fight Him?"

As the words fell, the air stagnated.

The elemental creatures felt tremendous oppression.

Jiang Yifeng said calmly: "First of all, let me correct you. The words 'swallow' and 'guide' are too subjective."

"I am not a devourer. I am just repairing Teyvat and building a defense against the abyss. As for guidance, the humans of Teyvat already had the dream of looking up at the 'abyss and the starry sky' before I came."

"As for the last one..."

"Historically, there will be endless wars before the two orders reach a certain balance."

"Of course, I prefer to call this 'change'. The shackles that Heaven has imposed on Teyvat should be broken. Every era should have its own order, and the order should change in line with development."

"As the saying goes, 'Natural disasters are not to be feared, ancestors are not to be followed, and people's words are not to be pitied.'"

This time, Jiang Yi displayed the pride and edge of proving the original truth and reversing fate and time.

Liyue's Yuhengxing was the first person to see his "transformative" qualities. Although at that time, he actually did nothing.

"If you want to call 'change' a war, that's fine."

"'Change' will naturally involve bloodshed and sacrifice, so I am always ready...for the great war and the protection of Teyvat during the great war."

This is the tenderness and mercy of the human God.

He never wanted the people of Teyvat to suffer disaster because of his "war".

Apep murmured the word: "Revolution? Ha! What a fresh word."

"When the Dragon King returned, the world had changed drastically."

"Some dragons are too close to you and have forgotten the hatred of their world being taken away; some have died in battle, leaving only their bones; some have chosen to escape because of the pain..."

She said it with regret and gnashing of teeth.

"Is this also what you mean by 'transformation'?"

“Are we also ‘transformed’ beings?”

The "Dragon King" that Apep mentioned is the giant dragon "Nibelung" above the seven elemental dragon kings.

Jiang Yi shook his head: "Of course it's not right! Frankly speaking, this started with an invasion for survival and ended up with assimilation and integration. You should understand the cruel primitive laws, ecological evolution, and ethnic wars better than me."

"Is it the same between plants and animals?"

There is nothing to hide about this. The expansion and development of any civilization lies in the conquest of territory and other ethnic groups. The transformation from a tribe to a kingdom does not rely on pure etiquette and morality after the civilization becomes prosperous.

"Of course, I can't say on behalf of the humans living in Teyvat today that Teyvat should be returned to you."

"My reform is aimed at the reform of the 'order established by heaven'."

"The relationship between humans and dragons..." He smiled, "Of course, you can also be a part of this change. Join me in re-establishing the order under the law of nature."

The life of the old times as he sees it, including dragons, monsters, and humans.

"God of Man, can I think that you are trying to win me over with this?" Apep laughed at himself. "It's ridiculous to cooperate with a new alien just to deal with another alien."

"To gain the power to set order for our original homeland? And in the end, we have to 'negotiate' with you?"

Thanks to Jiang Yi's good reputation of cherishing all living things and treating almost all of them equally, Apep could barely use the word "discuss", which might be a bit exaggerated.

She didn't know how much speaking opportunity and power she could get in the "discussion".

The most Apep could be sure of was that Jiang Yi was not a dictator who had the final say.

"And..." She showed strong dissatisfaction, "Don't think I can't hear the meaning of your words. The word change also means that you regard me and all of you as subjects of God, or at least as lives under His order."

"Is there anything wrong with this? Aren't we living under His order now?" Jiang Yi said as a matter of course, "Even the demons in the Dark Sea are not under the order of the Seven Rulings in the mortal world, but they are also under the order of heaven."

Apep was silent.

As long as you don't leave the planet of Teyvat, no one can escape the law of nature.

Nashida listened quietly to the conversation between Jiang Yi and Apep.

Curing Apep really made her more reasonable.

Her nature is not as violent as it first appears.

Hmm! Actually, we should use "it". Yin and Yang, male and female, actually have no meaning to elemental life.

It was just like what Jiang Yi said that the Rādhāra Dragon King he had seen could transform into a little girl or a young man.

Only now that Apep speaks with a lady’s voice, she can be addressed as “she”.

"In the distant past, we all believed that 'the power of darkness' was the only force that could defeat the laws of nature." Apep fell into recollection. She had not seen many high-level forces that transcended the laws of elements in the universe, but the great power controlled by the laws of nature was undoubtedly the most powerful in her memory except for the power of darkness.

Now, this "God of Man" has gathered the authority of all gods with his own strength, stealing and accommodating many powers that transcend the elemental rules such as heaven, the abyss, and the primordial water of Teyvat to achieve the realm of "transcendence".

There is indeed the possibility of bringing about "revolution".

"Back then, even after the death of the Dragon King, I did not give up on finding a way to reverse the situation." Her invisible eyes cast a glance at the oasis in her body. "I wanted to obtain more forbidden knowledge on the edge of a world that was about to break apart, but was stopped by a giant spike that fell from the sky."

"And the upheavals in Xumi seem to be telling me that the era of dragons has ended..."

Jiang Yi suddenly said: "What you have experienced is actually repeated in history. It is what all living beings have experienced."

From the perspective of wanting to restore his honor, Apep and Lesig, the Lawrence noble who had been stubborn and rebellious in the mirage, are actually very similar.

Too many human dragons no longer care about honor.

The once glorious and beautiful stage has come to an end.

A new dance is being performed on the stage.

Apep understood, but would never admit that he had anything in common with those who had lost their honor and wanted to regain it through radical means.

Even if she had done so before.

Although he knew that the age of dragons was over, he still hadn't given up his obsession with revenge.

"Amon, Achmar, gave me the last hope..." Apep said in a long and emotional tone, "Nab Marikata helped him obtain the 'forbidden knowledge'."

The Great Mercy Tree King once told Nashida about what happened next, and Nashida also told everyone that the Red King was very interested in Apep, who had been dormant in the desert, and made an agreement with Apep when he was preparing to build a powerful kingdom.

Apep looked down on the Red King, but still acquiesced to his actions in exchange... after the Red King died, everything would belong to her.

Before making a major decision, it seems that every living being will recall the past, using past emotions to strengthen their obsession or to convince themselves and reach a reconciliation with themselves.

So, Jiang Yi listened patiently to Apep's nagging about the past.

"...I arrived as promised, swallowed Amon, and absorbed his elemental power, but what I obtained was not a result, but 'doomsday'. I had no intention of analyzing the knowledge he possessed, and I tried my best just to resist the pain..." It was then that Apep realized that Amon's madness was beyond his.

Taboo knowledge is also more terrifying than imagined.

She looked at the many elemental lives in her body that had experienced the "end of the world" with her.

The elemental creatures also looked up at the Heart of the Oasis.

After an elemental life form with an element similar to the one in Jiang Yi's hand died, a bright ball of light condensed from elemental force appeared. Those were all the dead members of its species that it had collected.

They are very happy. Appearance is not important. Saving their homes and reuniting their families are more important than anything else.