When she learned that Raiden Makoto had also gradually recovered within the Wonderland, Yae Miko felt even more confident about Lady Saiguu's eventual awakening.
Both Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei were genuinely happy that Nolan had rescued Saiguu, and their affection toward him grew once more:
[Raiden Makoto Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 500 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.7 (260/700)]
Given Saiguu's strong bond with both Makoto and Ei, the chance to reunite with their old friend naturally made them feel even more grateful toward Nolan.
However, since Ei's affection had already reached the maximum, only Makoto's affection notification appeared.
Nolan was quite pleased. After Yae Miko finished chatting with the sisters, the two of them picked out a room, and Miko officially moved into the Wonderland.
It was currently midday. Since fetching Yanfei was a morning and evening affair, there was no need to go over to the Arataki Gang for now.
Lunch was being handled by Noelle, who had returned from work, so Nolan suddenly found himself with some free time.
Speaking of Yanfei—she did say she'd give him some Primogems as a transportation fee for escorting her back and forth!
He could ask her about that tonight. As for the afternoon, Nolan decided to expand his personal business—start running some operations.
For example, promoting his "Erosion Purification" service to Zhongli and the Adepti. Last time, when passing by Wangshu Inn with Keqing, he had helped Xiao purify his wear and tear—but hadn't asked for any compensation.
After all, Xiao seemed even more austere than Zhongli, hardly the type to have any Mora. And since it was such a minor effort on his part, Nolan hadn't thought much of it.
But then he remembered Yanfei saying her father used to give her Primogems to play with as toys! If even that mysterious and reclusive Adeptus wasn't lacking in treasures…
Then perhaps the other Adepti had stockpiled all kinds of valuables over the years. Their abodes might be full of Primogems they didn't even care about!
Rather than letting those treasures gather dust, wouldn't it be better to let him collect them—or use them to power himself up?
Yes, Nolan had set his sights on the Adepti's treasures!
He firmly believed that "Erosion Purification" was a service no immortal being could refuse. And he wasn't even asking for anything essential—just some unused trinkets.
Moreover, the Adepti were wise and powerful, yet staying secluded in the mountains was such a waste. Liyue—and all of Teyvat—needed them for development.
If they joined forces, the advancement of Teyvat's technology would speed up dramatically. Especially Cloud Retainer—being such a scholar, her participation in elemental tech research would surely yield great results.
As for compensation? Just offer future "Erosion Purification" sessions. The Adepti didn't care for Mora, but surely they'd be interested in keeping themselves in peak condition.
After all, as long as you live, wear and tear is inevitable.
The only problem was that, as immortals, they'd probably find it difficult to work alongside mortals. And most humans would either revere or fear them instinctively.
It seemed necessary to get Nahida to expand the "Akasha Terminal" operations to Liyue quickly. With Sweet Flower Merchant Association as investors and distributors, there'd be no problem with funding or logistics.
Then, they could set up an elite online institution within the Akasha Network—gathering Teyvat's top scholars for cutting-edge research. That would perfectly solve the identity problem!
Nolan's eyes gleamed with excitement. He had come up with yet another new idea for advancing elemental science in Teyvat.
And once he had a concrete plan, he was quick to act.
After lunch, he teleported directly to Hu Tao at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. He was here to find Zhongli.
The plan had to proceed step-by-step: first, do some business and get his hands on some Primogems to strengthen himself. Then visit Nahida to see how the Akasha system was progressing. Only after that would he bring up expanding the Akasha Terminals.
Once everything was in place, he could finally establish a world-class online academic forum!
"You again? Are you here to see this Parlor Master?" Outside the Parlor, Hu Tao crossed her arms and glanced at Nolan.
"Nope. I'm here to talk to your guest consultant Zhongli."
Nolan shook his head with a smile.
"He's inside. Go look for him yourself." Hu Tao turned back toward the funeral parlor and lightly hopped onto the wooden railing.
"Thanks."
With a grin, Nolan gave Hu Tao's soft, snowy-white calf a quick pinch while no one was watching, then casually walked inside.
"Idiot…" Hu Tao muttered, cheeks slightly red.
Inside, Nolan spotted Zhongli on the right side of the main hall, speaking to two staff members.
Noticing his gaze, Zhongli could tell Nolan had something to discuss. He quickly finished with the two employees and approached.
"Hehe, good afternoon, Zhongli," Nolan greeted with a wave.
"A good afternoon to you as well. Judging by your look, you came to see me. What's the matter?" Zhongli asked curiously.
Nolan cleared his throat, speaking a bit mysteriously. "Ahem… I recently mastered a new ability. I'm here to pitch it to you."
There were too many people in Wangsheng Hall to discuss "wear and tear" openly. It wouldn't be good if Zhongli's true identity as the Geo Archon got exposed.
"Pitch something to me? That's an unexpected approach," Zhongli remarked, puzzled. He hadn't connected Nolan's new ability with why it would matter to him.
Could it really be something useful to himself? Zhongli grew both curious and intrigued.
"Heh, sounds interesting. Let's talk in private."
The idea of "Erosion Purification" was so beyond common understanding that even a god like Zhongli didn't suspect it.
"Sure!"
The two entered a reception room and shut the door behind them. Once they confirmed no one could overhear, Nolan finally sat down and began slowly:
"Zhongli… I've mastered the ability to purify wear and tear!"
"…Hmm?" Zhongli gave him a surprised look, double-checking that he hadn't misheard. If it had been someone else, he would've thought they were joking or trying to scam him.
But coming from Nolan, who wasn't the type to pull jokes like Hu Tao, it seemed… it just might be true?
Zhongli found himself inclined to believe it, but based on his years of experience and knowledge, he had never heard of anyone being capable of purifying "wear and tear."
It was a natural law—an inevitable result of a long life. "Erosion" didn't directly harm the soul, but rather caused subtle, long-term negative effects on one's mental state and emotional outlook. It was like how a grown adult might look back on the passionate dreams they shared with childhood friends and feel a sense of embarrassment.
It wasn't something that could be repaired. The most one could do was try to avoid emotionally damaging experiences—things like loss and separation.
In that regard, methods like General Raiden's eternal meditation or deep slumber were the most effective at slowing down the process.
"Zhongli, you know me. I might have a sense of humor, but I'm not one to joke about serious matters," Nolan said when he noticed the doubt in Zhongli's eyes. "Just a few days ago, I passed by Wangshu Inn and helped Xiao cleanse his 'wear and tear.' His current condition is better than ever. If you don't believe me, you can ask him."
Zhongli gave a slight nod. "Xiao, you say… If that's true, then there's no reason for me not to believe you. You mentioned earlier that you're here to 'promote' this service—do you mean to trade the purification of 'wear' in exchange for something?"
He didn't sense any dishonesty in Nolan's words. If what he said about Xiao was true, and Nolan really did have this ability, then it made sense to consider a fair trade.
No one, after all, wished to carry the burden of "wear and tear" on their soul.
"Hehe, you truly live up to your reputation, Lord Morax. You really understand me," Nolan grinned. "What I'm asking for isn't much—just 1,000 Primogems, or a single gold-grade artifact in exchange for one 'Erosion Purification' session."
A thousand Primogems—worth about 100 million Mora on the market—wasn't exactly expensive. A gold-grade item of non-divine class would cost about the same.
And for an Archon or an Adeptus, 100 million Mora was nothing. It was practically a friendly discount. If it were some random stranger, he would've easily charged ten times that!
Of course, he didn't accept Mora as payment—because storing that much inside the Wonderland would only expand it by a single square meter.
Even if every coin was of the 10,000 denomination, that was still 10,000 golden coins. They'd take up more than one square meter of space on their own.
In short: the cost-efficiency was too low—unless Zhongli handed over a single coin worth 100 million Mora. That would be acceptable.
Primogems, though, were ideal—they boosted strength directly. A thousand of them was equivalent to three million experience points!
"Primogems or a gold-grade treasure, hmm?" Zhongli was surprised. He hadn't expected Nolan to charge so little. He didn't think for a second that Nolan didn't understand the true value of "Erosion Purification" to an Archon.
Touched by this show of goodwill, Zhongli nodded. "Come to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor again this evening. I will prepare your payment."
He didn't have any Mora, Primogems, or valuable artifacts on him at the moment.
But as the Geo Archon, the ruler of Liyue's mortal affairs, locating valuable items on Liyue's soil was no challenge.
By resonating with the earth through his elemental authority, he could easily sense the presence of treasures and just go pick them up.
"Alright, then let me go ahead and purify your 'wear' right now."
Nolan didn't insist on payment upfront. After all, Zhongli was the Lord of Geo—he wasn't going to run off without paying.
"Oh? Very well. Do I need to do anything?"
"No need, just keep sitting as you are."
Nolan shook his head, then stood up and extended his hand toward Zhongli. He locked onto him as a target. A flash of white light appeared in his palm, and Zhongli's body was immediately enveloped in the same glow.
The purification began—triggered by Shenhe's favorability skill: "Divine Maiden's Purity."
It worked continuously, cleansing the traces of "wear and tear" from Zhongli's soul.
Zhongli felt an unprecedented sense of inner peace and comfort. Over the years, countless memories of separation and loss had haunted him.
Previously, recalling them only brought pain and guilt. He could even hear the voices of former comrades, criticizing him for his inadequacies.
It was because of his shortcomings, he believed, that so many partings had occurred.
Though rationally he knew not everything was his fault, those voices still made him doubt himself. Over time, they left deep emotional scars—unavoidable wear.
But now, those memories no longer tormented him. The accusing voices faded. He felt lighter, clearer—his entire being was refreshed.
As the purification ended, Nolan withdrew his hand and smiled.
"How was it, Zhongli? Pretty effective, right?"
"Indeed. Quite effective."
Zhongli nodded in acknowledgment. Though he was pleased by the results, his steadfast, rock-like demeanor meant his reaction remained composed—neither too excited nor too subdued.
"Good, good. If you run into any more 'wear and tear' later, just come to me for another session. I'll be off now—time to find more Adepti clients!"
Nolan was in high spirits. With this first deal successful, he'd soon be collecting either a thousand Primogems or a high-grade treasure.
Zhongli looked at him with surprise. Though he didn't know how Nolan did it, it clearly wasn't difficult for him to use this ability.
So Zhongli called out to him again:
"One moment—please also purify Azhdaha's wear and tear. I'll prepare his compensation as well."
Azhdaha's biggest problem was his extreme wear. If that could be purified, perhaps he could return to normal and no longer need sealing.
"Hehe, no problem!"
Another deal secured!
Nolan patted his chest and promised he'd handle it. After all, a trip to the base of the Dragon-Queller Tree wouldn't take long.
With that, Nolan left Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and bid farewell to Zhongli. His next target was Granny Ping, who was also in Liyue Harbor.
She was likely at her usual tea stand near Yujing Terrace. According to what he knew, Granny Ping owned quite a few treasures.
Things like the Cleansing Bell and the Serenitea Pot—at minimum, those were divine artifacts. Storing them in the Wonderland would surely expand it by many decimeters!
Nolan couldn't help but feel a little tempted.
Before long, he used his space-travel ability to reach Yujing Terrace. Nearby, under the shade of a tree, he spotted the tea stall.
And beside it, smiling gently at the passersby, sat Granny Ping.
---
(End of Chapter)
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