Genshin Impact: A Mortal's Ascension to Godhood

As soon as Li Tao opened his eyes from the chaos, he saw Xingqiu holding a sword and practicing the Guhua sword technique. The escaping water elemental power chopped up the nearby bamboo forest into pieces, and there were several criss-crossing sword marks on the ground.

It was already evening. The sun had set over the hillside, night was gradually falling, and the moon had already appeared from the horizon. The bamboo forest seemed to be rendered into an ink painting. As the sun faded, the dark ink marks became more and more obvious. The bamboo leaves swayed gently in the breeze, making a rustling whisper, as if someone was telling the pain in their heart.

In the depths of this peaceful bamboo forest, Xingqiu was swinging his sword wildly and alone. He was dressed in a green shirt, with fluttering sleeves, as if he had merged with the forest. His eyes revealed deep sadness, and every swing of his sword seemed to be venting his inner pain. The sword light flickered in the sunset, intertwining with the green of the bamboo leaves, forming a strange picture.

His sword dance was sometimes as fast as a storm, sometimes as slow as a stream. Every tremor of the sword tip seemed to affect his emotions, causing his sadness to echo in the bamboo forest. The bamboo leaves swayed gently in the sword wind, as if they were also sighing for his sadness.

As time passed, Xingqiu's sword dance became more intense, as if he wanted to release all his sorrow in this last moment. His figure was looming in the dimness, like a lonely soul wandering in the darkness.

Li Tao didn't know what Xingqiu saw in the illusion, but he could probably guess that Xingqiu must have seen the thing he least wanted to see - something that could not be reversed even if he tried his best.

He carefully felt his body - he didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt limp and had no strength at all, let alone the power to summon water elements. But he still knew what to do, and insisted on standing up, stumbling towards the culprit, the strange mushroom.

Fortunately, Li Tao did not encounter any obstacles and pressed it under him. Although Li Tao realized that the aroma of the mushroom was still creating illusions and eroding his brain, he was determined and would not stop his actions - he used up all his remaining strength to pull the mushroom out of the ground.

In an instant, all the illusions were like popped bubbles, turning into some meaningless thoughts and quickly flying away.

But just when Li Tao wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt a sword flashing from behind him! At the same time, Xingqiu shouted angrily: "You thief, die!"

Brother, why are you still in the illusion? Li Tao was so frightened that he gritted his teeth and tried to dodge the sword, but...

Move! My body! Why not?!

He had no strength left and was about to die on the spot. But the desire to survive forced his body to move half an inch just before it was about to collapse from the heavy blow, like a rusty machine.

And this half-cent distance is exactly the distance between life and death.

Li Tao immediately felt a sharp sword piercing into his body, and severe pain came from the wound, constantly stimulating his nerves. He could have used the power of water element to quickly plug the wound and heal himself, but where did he get the strength to mobilize the water element?

He could only feel the blood gushing out of the wound. He tried to turn his head to the side and saw Xingqiu's confused and helpless face, whose expression changed from anger and loneliness to fear and despair.

"I'm not dead yet... please save me quickly..."

After trying his best to utter these two sentences, Li Tao could no longer hold on and fainted.

Just before he fainted, Li Tao's thoughts were: I seem to have fainted like this a few times before...

.......

"Hey, hey. Li Tao?"

In a daze, Li Tao found himself in the camp, and Master Hu was looking in front of him, constantly poking his face with his hands. He subconsciously shouted: "I'm not dead, don't die..." The next second, except for Xingqiu, the other people surrounded him.

"I have taken emergency measures. Do you feel better, Brother Li?" Chongyun asked with concern. "Xingqiu... well, he didn't mean it."

"Of course I know... cough cough cough!" Li Tao was about to open his mouth to continue speaking, but found that his throat was surprisingly hoarse, and the whole person was extremely weak. There was no way, being pierced through the chest by a sword, it was considered a serious injury.

But Li Tao, who had just woken up, still tried to keep his eyes open, twisted his neck to look around, and asked again: "Where's Xingqiu? Why can't I see him?"

Xiangling pointed in the direction of the fire they had built and said, "He's over there. After bringing you back, he also fell into a coma. You two are really unlucky to have encountered the magic mushrooms that can create hallucinations."

I knew that mushroom was not a good thing... Li Tao closed his eyes tiredly, and then whispered: "No one can predict such a thing. It's a pity that Xingqiu and I can't move anymore. I have to trouble you to take care of us."

Xiangling said angrily, "It doesn't matter if it's a problem or not. We are friends, Brother Li Tao! Don't act like an adult all the time. Just rest up if you're injured!"

Li Tao muttered, "I think Xingqiu deserves more comfort... In fact, I broke my illusion in advance, but Xingqiu was still immersed in it until he stabbed me unconsciously."

Hu Tao waved her hands and said, "Alright, alright. I know you two are brothers and you both don't want to hurt each other. Chongyun will handle this kind of thing, so you don't have to worry. But you, is Wangsheng so bad? Your first reaction after waking up was to 'slander' the business of my Wangsheng Hall... I'm so sad, aren't you?"

Li Tao couldn't help but smile. Then he nodded slightly to everyone, closed his eyes again, and slowly fell into a deep sleep.

Now, he really needs to rest for some time.

.......

A whole day has passed, and now it is the third day since the team left Liyue.

After a day of rest, Li Tao was able to perform basic exercises. Although the movements still hurt his wounds, the recovery ability brought by the operation of the water element allowed Li Tao's wounds, which would have taken several months to heal, to recover in about a week.

Li Tao himself couldn't help but sigh: Supernatural powers are really powerful, but he didn't quite understand why the water elemental power had this restorative effect.

It would be nice to have a void terminal so I can ask AI if I have any questions... no, ask the [intelligent] network.

Because of what happened before, there seemed to be an extra layer of awkwardness between Li Tao and Xing Qiu, and they felt less close. When they walked together, they didn't have the energy to communicate as happily as before. Every time Li Tao wanted to say something to Xing Qiu, Xing Qiu would look away or not respond to his words.

I have to find a chance to explain the situation to Xingqiu later, so that he won't continue to feel guilty. Li Tao sighed inwardly.

But now, the team still has to collect the remaining ingredients.

.......

"Should we get rid of that magic mushroom?" Li Tao brought up the matter again. "We can't just let it stay there and harm people, right?"

Xiang Ling was also a little hesitant: "I heard that magic mushrooms are one of the necessary ingredients for making [psychedelic seasoning]. Just adding a little bit to the food can make people feel ecstatic and enjoy the food. Logically speaking, it is a bit of a waste to just leave it there, but..."

“No!” Xingqiu frowned sternly, “Just let it rot there quietly. Don’t touch it again. That thing will only bring misfortune to people.”

Chongyun carefully observed his friend and whispered, "I don't think it's that serious... I also agree with Li Tao's point of view: if we don't recycle it, what if it harms other people again?"

Walnut raised her hand and said, "You're all thinking the wrong thing. It's just a mushroom. We can't let anyone take it. Although my [Red Ball] can't take things, Guoba can."

When Guoba heard what Walnut said, he pointed at himself with his round little hand, as if asking, "Me? Byd, you're making me work again, aren't you?"

But Xiangling had already gently pushed Guoba, and said to him in an encouraging gesture: "Then it's decided! Guoba, please, go and bring back the [Magic Mushrooms] from the bamboo forest. I'll describe to you what the magic mushrooms look like..."

A few minutes later, Guoba set off with a sad face. Li Tao looked at its "desolate" back and couldn't help thinking: What if Guoba doesn't bless us in the [Chef Contest] because we drive it to work? After all, Guoba is the kitchen god...

But Li Tao really doesn't want to see that unfortunate mushroom again.