What the Cryo Archon had seen and heard so far, she simply couldn't comprehend—what kind of power could shatter space with a single punch?
What baffled her even more was that someone like Ryen, who already possessed such outrageous strength, was still so obsessed with pursuing the elemental power of the Vision.
Even Ningguang, his closest partner, had often questioned whether he was suffering from some kind of serious illness.
But this wasn't something Ningguang and the others knew how to explain to the Cryo Archon.
So, instead, Ningguang just smiled knowingly and said softly:
"Your Excellency, Cryo Archon, why don't you come with us to Ryen's world?"
"Experiencing it firsthand will help you understand, and make it easier for you to arrange things. After all, the wonders of that world can only be truly grasped once you've seen them with your own eyes."
At those words, the Cryo Archon took a deep breath and temporarily set aside her tangled thoughts.
She nodded slightly, rose to her feet, and followed Ningguang toward Ryen's courtyard.
Inside the courtyard, Klee and Nahida were crouched on the ground, whispering to each other.
Not far away, Ganyu—looking every bit the gentle, dutiful wife—was tidying up.
Though the place was already spotless, Ganyu always felt that cleaning made her seem more like Ryen's homemaker.
It wasn't cleanliness she was pursuing, but the feeling of "home."
On the rocking chair, Hu Tao sat grinning, poking Paimon's cheeks with a feather.
In her sleep, Paimon squirmed and rolled over from the tickling, but showed no sign of waking.
Meanwhile, Lisa was absorbed in a magic tome, occasionally pausing to study the advanced staff in her lap.
Everyone was occupied with their own little tasks.
When Ningguang entered with the Cryo Archon, she greeted Ganyu.
"Your Excellency, Cryo Archon?"
Ganyu glanced curiously at the Archon and asked:
"Ryen hasn't returned yet? Didn't he just rush off to meet you at the Jade Chamber?"
Ningguang gave a wry smile and shook her head.
"He went to the Dark Sea again."
"Again…?"
Ganyu sighed helplessly, hands on her hips, her tone tinged with complaint:
"Honestly, Ryen! Didn't he promise we'd go have a picnic in the Firefly Forest later?"
"And Rex Lapis too! Why does he indulge Ryen's mischief like this?"
Her words were just like those of a newlywed wife hearing her husband had once again been dragged off drinking by rowdy friends.
"In truth, it was Ryen who dragged Zhongli and Venti to the Dark Sea," Ningguang said with an amused shake of her head.
"Her Excellency the Cryo Archon brought seven Delusions for Ryen, but since they recharge so slowly, Ryen decided to catch a god in the Outer Sea to use as…"
She paused, smiling, "…a power bank, I believe he called it."
Lisa, still fiddling with her staff, couldn't help but chuckle.
"That really does sound like something Ryen would say…"
Ningguang didn't dwell on it. In her eyes, it was nothing more than Ryen letting off some steam.
Her man spent all his days tirelessly planning and building that other world—what was wrong with him relaxing and playing around once in a while?
"I'm taking Her Excellency the Cryo Archon to visit that world. Do you want to come along?"
At that, Ganyu shook her head gently and replied:
"I won't go. After I finish cleaning the house, I still need to cook for Klee and Nahida."
Ningguang secretly chuckled in her heart.
The once diligent and hardworking Qixing secretary had now thoroughly evolved into the role of a gentle and dutiful wife.
Lisa and Hu Tao also couldn't be bothered to visit that world.
So, after greeting everyone, Ningguang brought the Cryo Archon and Rosalyne with her into that world.
The Cryo Archon pulled her gaze back from Nahida.
To be honest, she wasn't familiar with Nahida.
Five hundred years ago, she had been close with the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, but unfortunately, Rukkhadevata had also fallen.
As for Nahida…
The Cryo Archon had hardly kept in touch with Venti and the others over the past five centuries, so it was impossible for her to be familiar with Nahida.
Crossing through the double gates, the Cryo Archon finally arrived in this wondrous world she had heard so much about.
A great sense of weakness surged over her, surprising her slightly, though she quickly adapted.
Rosalyne had told her before—here, any extraordinary power not belonging to this world would be infinitely suppressed.
Even Zhongli, who could summon meteorites to shatter the heavens back in Teyvat—in this place, his Planet Befall was barely stronger than a TNT explosion.
The Cryo Archon clenched her fists. The sensation of weakness was strange to her; it had been far too long since she'd felt anything like it.
But in the next instant, a mysterious and indescribable power swarmed over, pouring into her body.
The strength was overwhelming and pure—so much so that the Cryo Archon nearly thought her physical body had ascended to godhood.
"Ryen always felt it troublesome to repeatedly enable physique-sharing every time people entered," Ningguang softly explained.
"So, I don't know exactly what he did, but from now on, anyone he acknowledges—once they cross the portal—will automatically share a quarter of his power."
This was a setting Ryen had recently forced Tongzi to implement.
After all, constantly enabling sharing over and over again was rather inconvenient.
"A quarter, huh…"
The Cryo Archon clicked her tongue softly, beginning to understand why Ryen had such confidence when venturing into the Dark Sea.
Leaving everything else aside—just this quarter of his power, if taken back to Teyvat, would give her enough courage to charge into the Dark Sea herself.
Shaking her head, she stopped dwelling on such thoughts and curiously observed her surroundings.
This was her first time in this marvelous world. She had always heard Rosalyne talk about it—things like building a house in ten minutes, establishing a base in an hour.
The miraculous block world, blocky people.
The bizarre features of all sorts of technological creations…
She hadn't seen most of these herself, but she now understood the concept of blocks.
Even so, after taking another look, she pursed her lips, still finding it somewhat strange.
They were currently just outside Ryen's manor villa, with various pieces of advanced technology standing tall across the land.
In the distance, within an enlarged pasture several times its original size, dozens of dragons lounged lazily on the grass, dozing away.
The Cryo Archon knew of dragonkind, but had never seen them with her own eyes.
Now, upon witnessing them, she truly felt their might.