"Alright, it's getting late. You should get some rest," Luya said with a smile to Keqing.
"And you?" Keqing asked, a trace of expectation in her voice.
"Me? I still have a few things to handle. You go on to sleep first—you have work tomorrow, after all." Luya thought for a moment. He still had to process the system's daily revenue settlement and purchase some new items, so resting wasn't an option just yet.
"Oh~ alright then…" Hearing his answer, Keqing seemed a little disappointed as she headed for the stairs leading to the second floor.
"Go rest well. I'll sleep once I'm done here~" Luya added casually as he sat down on the sofa.
...
Once Keqing had gone upstairs and returned to her room, the shop grew quiet. Only Luya remained.
And then, his system began the daily settlement!
[Ding! Congratulations, Host!]
[You have completed today's business!]
[Commencing settlement…]
[Please wait…]
The system began calculating the day's totals. Luya wasn't sure how many Yu-Gi-Oh! Scratch Cards had sold today—or if they had all sold out. As the system's voice echoed in the room, he waited eagerly to see how much Mora he'd earned today.
[Today's total revenue: 13 billion Mora!!!]
[Available Mora: 14 billion]
...
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host! Daily revenue has surpassed 14 billion Mora!]
[Generating rewards…]
[Automatic card pack generation +50,000]
[Free allocation area +30,000 square meters]
[Production Line Purchase Function unlocked]
...
Hearing each reward, Luya grinned broadly. These were exactly what he needed right now. Both the expanded free space and the production line function were perfect.
Originally, Luya had planned to have Xianyun research production line technology to make game console manufacturing easier—but unexpectedly, the system had directly unlocked the Production Line Purchase Function for him. That made him extremely happy!
With a single purchase, mass production would be effortless. Having resolved such a major issue, Luya leaned back and allowed himself to relax.
As he pondered his next steps—
A small figure emerged from the employee dormitory.
Luya looked up—it was the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, though now in her small form.
"I've already completed research on this so-called network technology. It's time you fulfilled your end of the bargain, isn't it?" the small Rukkhadevata said, handing a stack of documents to Luya.
As he took the papers, the system's voice suddenly chimed again.
[Ding! Network Technology and Digital Mora Technology acquired!]
[Network Setup Function unlocked. You can now spend Mora to establish networks in specific regions.]
[Detected current location: Liyue Harbor.]
[Network coverage for Liyue Harbor requires: 3 billion Mora!]
[Would you like to activate the network?]
Hearing the prompt, Luya immediately declined. The hardware hadn't even been built yet—activating the network now would be meaningless. He would wait until production of the consoles officially began tomorrow and launch the network alongside their release.
After all, with the system, it would take only an instant to cover all of Liyue—or even all of Teyvat!
...
"Alright then, Great Tree King, let me help you resolve the World Tree's corruption," Luya said calmly.
A thousand years ago, the Scarlet King had brought knowledge not belonging to Teyvat into Sumeru. When the Forbidden Knowledge entered this world, it spread like a plague. The Withering and the Eleazar disease—these twin calamities—ravaged Sumeru. The land's vitality was drained, leaving only death and despair.
In response, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata extended her hand to aid the Scarlet King in combating the Forbidden Knowledge. She gathered priests, built temples, and infused them with her divine life force, temporarily halting the disaster. A spark of the Scarlet King's civilization endured in Aaru Village.
Regardless, as long as Forbidden Knowledge existed, the world could not heal. Thus, the Scarlet King chose to sacrifice himself, casting the Forbidden Knowledge back beyond Teyvat.
To aid in its eradication, Rukkhadevata overextended her power—her form diminished into the small figure she bore now.
As the incarnation of the World Tree, she bore a sacred duty: to protect it. When the disaster struck, her consciousness—linked with the World Tree—was the first to sense the anomaly.
By the time she reached it, the World Tree had already been corrupted by the Forbidden Knowledge.
Forbidden Knowledge was alien to this world. The world itself tried to reject it, but in doing so, it developed all manner of malignant "symptoms." If the corruption continued, Teyvat itself would crumble apart.
So—Rukkhadevata knew she could not purify it alone. She created a device to unify human wisdom and named it the Akasha System.
Thanks to the intellect of Sumeru's people, nearly all traces of Forbidden Knowledge were removed from the World Tree. Yet things did not go as Rukkhadevata had hoped. Her consciousness was still bound to the World Tree—it granted her knowledge and wisdom, but the corruption reached her as well.
Even in death, her existence remained within the World Tree as memory and knowledge… which meant that the Forbidden Knowledge could never be truly erased.
To resolve the existence of the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata within the World Tree—
Luya raised his left hand, invoking Divine Hand, while holding a [Spatial Teleportation] card.
In an instant—
Luya flew from his shop in Liyue Harbor directly to the World Tree. There, he activated [Solemn Judgment], erasing all traces of the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's presence within it.
At the same time, the Rukkhadevata still in Liyue felt her connection to the World Tree sever.
And with that, Sumeru's calamities vanished completely.
...
In the deserts of Sumeru, near a remote sand dune...
A sudden sandstorm struck. The entire sky darkened into shadow, endless and oppressive. The distant blue horizon turned pitch black, sweeping forward like a tide.
A convoy of the Eremites' gilded brigade was escorting cargo toward their destination. When the storm hit, panic erupted among them.
"Run! It's the Withering Zone!"
"How could we run into a Withering Zone? This is terrible!" shouted the man leading the group.
"My wife… looks like I won't make it back. I'm so sorry…" a middle-aged man muttered helplessly.
"I was going to retire after this job… who could've guessed this would happen…"
"I was about to get promoted next month!"
"We're doomed… we're all doomed…"
"My first mission—and this happens…"
In an instant, the entire caravan—young and old alike—fell into despair.
The Withering was a sickness of the World Tree. In the rainforest, it devoured the life of flora and fauna. In the desert, it manifested as sandstorms and earthquakes.
This time, it was a sandstorm.
The sudden onset of the Withering filled the travelers with hopelessness. Those in the center had already given up on escape, while those at the edges made one last desperate attempt to survive.
Then, in an instant, the skies cleared. The sandstorm born of the Withering had vanished!
Moments ago, people had been weeping in despair; now they stared in disbelief.
"What just happened…?"
"The Withering… it's gone?"
"Are we dead? Is this the afterlife?"
Those who had resigned themselves to death could scarcely believe their eyes.
...
After sitting in stunned silence for a while, a man dressed as a scholar stood up. He had once been a respected desert academic, but after studying knowledge linked to the World Tree, he was branded insane by the Akademiya and exiled to Aaru Village—now being transported under guard.
Moments ago, his madness had lifted. He spoke, voice trembling:
"From this day forth, Sumeru shall suffer no more Withering… nor Eleazar disease!"
The others around him gasped in astonishment.
...
In the Great Bazaar, inside a hospital for Eleazar patients, suddenly, everyone afflicted was healed. In that moment, every trace of Eleazar disappeared!
Doctors and nurses were dumbstruck, tears of joy streaming down their faces.
"I'm alive… truly alive again!"
"Is this… a miracle?!"
"A world without sickness… how wonderful!"
...
After resolving the World Tree's corruption, Luya encountered Nahida near its roots.
Nahida—the Dendro Archon among the Seven, affectionately called the "Lesser Lord Kusanali." She was the youngest of the Seven, born five hundred years ago.
Listening and observing were her ways of understanding the world. Residing long within the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Nahida harbored endless curiosity about all things. Yet few noticed or spoke of her.
Though burdened with great responsibility and having seen darkness and endured loneliness, she never stopped moving forward.
To Nahida, saving the World Tree was her sacred mission. She sought ways to do so, growing day by day into a more capable god.
At times, she fulfilled her role as the God of Wisdom, guiding the lost.
However, compared to the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, Nahida still felt unworthy of the title "God of Wisdom." Governance was left to the Akademiya; her existence, to many, seemed secondary.
Her days were repetitive, yet her dreams—bright, vivid, and whimsical—were the most beautiful in all Sumeru. By day, she absorbed knowledge through the Akasha System. As her understanding grew, her dreams grew livelier.
Those dreams not only brought her solace but also allowed her to review and refine what she had learned. Thus, every moment in the Sanctuary was spent in study. Nahida longed to become a god worthy of her people.
Long ago, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had created Sumeru's rainforests and granted wisdom to its people through the Akademiya. Her name was sung everywhere—countless stories celebrated her deeds and virtue. To the people, her presence was a symbol of divine protection, eternal and absolute.
The sages of the city revered her; the people followed faithfully in her light. And throughout Sumeru, the Akasha System served as Nahida's eyes and ears.
When word spread through the Akasha that Luya had cured the World Tree, Nahida immediately broadcast the message across Sumeru. She was overwhelmed with emotion, her heart filled with admiration.
"Thank you. You are the hero who saved Sumeru," Nahida said sincerely.
"There's no need to thank me. It was part of my deal with the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. If you wish to give thanks, give it to her," Luya replied honestly.
"The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata…? She's still alive?!" Nahida was shocked.
"Yes. I revived her. You can visit Liyue soon to see her for yourself."
With that, Luya used Spatial Teleportation again and returned to his card shop in Liyue Harbor.
The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata looked up in surprise at his sudden return. Now, with her link to the World Tree severed, she knew the World Tree was cured. She was free at last.
"From now on, you can live the life you wish," Luya said with a gentle smile.
Rukkhadevata said nothing, only sat still, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, Luya began restocking supplies, setting aside some Mora to buy new land tomorrow and continue expanding his business.
...
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