Liyue, Jueyun Karst
Jueyun Karst, located in the northwest of Liyue, is a range of towering peaks wreathed in mist all year round, a place devoid of human presence.
There are wondrous sights among the mountains, yet due to the complex terrain and precipitous paths, few ever set foot there.
It is said to be the secluded dwelling place of the adepti who protect Liyue.
Because of this, it has also become sought after by some who come seeking immortality and blessings.
And what is truly astonishing is that within this stone forest rarely touched by human traces, atop one of its high peaks, the voice of a small child can actually be heard.
Inside a massive eggshell sat a little boy of about one or two years old.
The young boy was leaning over the rim of the eggshell before him, his face filled with worry.
The boy's skin was fair.
His thick brows tilted upward with a rebellious curve, and beneath long, slightly curled lashes lay a pair of eyes as clear as morning dew, a straight, elegant nose, and lips as soft and pink as rose petals.
When he smiled, the tiny canine teeth he revealed could make one think of the clear sky after rain.
If those infatuated older sisters of the twenty-first century were to see him, this little shota would definitely be taken home as a child husband.
But none of that was what drew the most attention.
What drew the most attention was the pair of black-teal horns atop the boy's head.
Those horns, combined with the boy's appearance, seemed to possess a strange, powerful allure, capable of stirring certain improper desires deep within people's hearts.
The boy's name was Junze.
As for why he was called that name, perhaps even Junze himself did not know.
One could only say that it was simply there in his mind when he awakened.
He was Taotie, named Junze.
The Taotie of legend, one of the so-called Four Great Ravaging Beasts.
A symbol of greed and gluttony.
Yet looking at his harmless appearance, it was impossible to associate him with a ferocious beast at all.
"Grrr~~"
A sudden loud rumble came from Junze's belly.
Such a loud stomach growl… as expected of a Taotie?
A pained, bitter expression appeared on Junze's face.
He stretched out a small hand and snapped off a shard from the edge of the eggshell. Just as he was about to toss it into his mouth, he suddenly stopped.
Carefully, he broke the fragment into two halves. He set one piece aside and only then put the other into his mouth to chew.
The other piece was being saved as dinner.
"Crunch, crunch."
Junze chewed.
Very quickly, his stomach's growling softened, and the hunger in his body eased considerably.
The eggshell of a Taotie was food prepared for them to consume after birth, before they were able to forage.
But looking at the ever-diminishing amount of eggshell, Junze's expression turned extremely bitter.
Junze sighed inwardly: 'With this Taotie demon-god body of mine, the eggshell will be eaten up very soon.'
'If I don't find a way to escape from here…'
Junze glanced outside the eggshell.
The biting cold wind and the precariously wobbling shell made him shiver uncontrollably.
This sea of swirling clouds… it truly is worthy of being Liyue's Jueyun Karst.
'If I fall, with this just-born body that can't even stand steadily, there's only one outcome. Being smashed to pieces.'
Junze lamented inwardly, then sheepishly shrank back into the eggshell.
For the time being, he abandoned the idea of escaping.
As for why Junze knew this was Jueyun Karst, naturally it was because when he awakened, he had something else with him.
The Strongest Demon God System!
This was the reason Junze knew his location.
When he had turned into an egg and fallen onto the continent of Teyvat, and then awakened from within the shell, this system had appeared together with him.
And it was from the coordinate point within that system that he understood where he was.
As for why Junze had turned into an egg and transmigrated to the continent of Teyvat, that was impossible to know.
It was very likely the conspiracy of Lord Shafalin.
But as a formerly laid-back, go-with-the-flow youth of the twenty-first century, Junze did not take long to accept this setup.
After all, no matter how one looked at it, he had become a seemingly very powerful demon-god Taotie, and had transmigrated to the continent of Teyvat.
A game world he knew and loved.
He might even encounter characters he liked.
What dissatisfaction could he possibly have?
Mm…
Junze looked at the system interface within his consciousness, at that row of Wish screens above, and his own zero available pulls.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Damn you, miHoYo!
Die!
What kind of Strongest Demon God System is this crap? This is obviously just a pure gacha system!
'I'm completely dissatisfied!'
'Send me back to my original world right now!'
Junze cursed inwardly.
And just as Junze was cursing over here, another figure appeared within Jueyun Karst.
A pale blue silhouette moved through the cloud-shrouded peaks of Jueyun Karst.
The perilous mountains posed no obstacle to it whatsoever.
After a while, that figure stopped atop a high peak.
This immortal-like presence actually belonged to a beautiful young girl.
The girl had long blue hair gathered into a ponytail that fell naturally down her back.
A single ahoge stood atop her head, and two small black-and-red horns grew from either side.
She wore a white short qipao adorned with golden patterns. Inside was a tight, backless bodysuit, wrapped by black stockings marked with gold motifs at the garter.
Standing upon the summit of this lofty mountain, paired with that inhuman, fairy-like grace, she naturally inspired yearning in people, yet also fear of approaching.
If Junze were here, he would definitely cry out the girl's name: Ganyu!
A half-adeptus beast, the secretary of the Liyue Qixing, and Liyue Harbor's millennia-long watcher.
Ganyu looked around, her delicate brows slightly knit, and softly called out, "Strange. What exactly was that ominous aura from a few days ago?"
"There's no trace of it at all."
Ganyu was very puzzled.
The disturbance had clearly been so great before. Why was there nothing to be found now?
"Grrr—"
A sudden loud rumble sounded.
Ganyu abruptly turned her head toward the direction of the sound. "Over there!"