Chapter 66

The demonic origin of the Great Merciful Tree King was quickly restored by Takumi. The forbidden knowledge entangled in the origin of the demon was absorbed into his body, disappearing swiftly under the system's antivirus mode.

If he could spend decades collecting the forbidden knowledge and harmful forces of the Teyvat world and absorb them into his body, the system would disinfect them, solving the problems of the Teyvat world in one fell swoop. But in those few decades... he wouldn't know how many worlds he had annexed.

Without the erosion of forbidden knowledge, the small body of the Great Merciful Tree King began to slowly absorb the power from the earth's veins, restoring her divine power. Because of the destruction of her demonic origin, her restored divine power was far less than what she had possessed before, which was why she looked so young.

If her demonic origin had been completely destroyed, she would have lost her physical form entirely and transformed into her original state, sleeping within the World Tree. The Great Merciful Tree King was unique in this regard; if other demon gods' original fragments were destroyed, they would die permanently.

However, the demonic origin of the Great Merciful Tree King was incomplete even now. She separated the untainted portion and merged it into the branches of a new world to form a small demon core—Nasida.

If the 'primordial fragment' was divided, there was no way to restore it, not even for Phanes. The 'primordial magic ring' was fixed in quantity and could not be increased or decreased. But Takumi was not Phanes; having annexed the rules of another world, the 'primordial magic ring' had grown by 10%. It took only 1% of this new portion to fully restore the demonic origin of the Great Merciful Tree King.

After restoring the 'demonic origin' and eliminating the influence of forbidden knowledge, the divine power of the Great Merciful Tree King was quickly rejuvenated by the faith of the people of Sumeru over the past five hundred years. She grew almost visibly—from her initial six or seven-year-old appearance, she aged one year per second. In a few seconds, she looked like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.

An aura of divinity mixed with ethereal, sacred, compassionate, selfless, wise, and gentle energy enveloped her presence—it was almost palpable.

"Too gentle," Takumi thought, unable to stop himself from hugging the grown-up Rukkhadevata, the Great Merciful Tree King. He pressed his lips to hers, and Rukkhadevata opened her eyes slightly, her cheeks tinged pink, and slowly closed her eyes.

"Ever since a thousand years ago, Amon, with the help of Maricata, began to study the forbidden knowledge that Phanes had sealed using the power brought by the Dragon King Nibelungen from outside the world, the three gods have drifted apart," Rukkhadevata said.

She stroked the trunk of the World Tree, her divine power continuing to expel forbidden knowledge, which gathered onto a leaf that instantly turned dark and ominous.

"To prevent Phanes from punishing the Flower Goddess, Maricata committed suicide after setting up the plan for Amon.

"Since Maricata committed suicide, the culprit who broke the seal of forbidden knowledge disappeared, and Phanes stopped investigating. He also never discovered that Amon had obtained forbidden knowledge.

"Pursuing a dream without sorrow, war, hunger, or suffering, Amon continued to unravel the secrets of forbidden knowledge.

"Although he found a way, it required losing one's physical body. He believed that without a body, the source of conflict would vanish."

Rukkhadevata sighed. "I think he had been infected by the forbidden knowledge and driven to madness. Nothing anyone said could dissuade him.

"Eventually, forbidden knowledge spiraled out of control. The resulting disaster spread across Sumeru, enveloping the sky in dark power, with ominous red radiance extending to most of Sumeru.

"Fortunately, the Red King regained his senses under the cries of the desert people. He desperately built a palace to suppress the forbidden knowledge, and finally managed to seal the disaster."

"I, too, was entangled by the forbidden knowledge while attempting to dissolve the power of darkness, which gradually weakened my powers—until five hundred years ago, when the abyss power surged, and I could no longer suppress the forbidden knowledge," she explained.

Takumi crossed his arms. "Losing the body to attain eternal tranquility? Isn't that like creating a virtual world? I don't deny his ideas, just that the direction was flawed.

"Red King Amon was indeed a very intelligent figure. If he were placed in the Stellaron universe next door, he'd probably be well-acquainted with the Erudition Aeon.

"But this is Teyvat, and Teyvat doesn't need a fanatic chasing radical ideals."

Once Rukkhadevata had expelled all forbidden knowledge from the World Tree, vitality spread throughout Sumeru. The corrupted lands quickly recovered, and the elemental creatures of the rainforest—infected by forbidden knowledge—began to awaken.

Fantasy pink leaves fell gently from the sky, touching all who lived under them. In the rainforest of Avidya Forest, Collei, who was accompanying her master, Tighnari, on a forest patrol, looked up curiously and caught one of the pink leaves.

The moment the leaf touched her, a gentle light enveloped her, filling her with warmth.

A gentle voice that soothed all pain came to Collei's ears:

"People of Sumeru, you have worked hard over the past five hundred years. Leave the rest of the suffering to me."

Tighnari's eyes widened in amazement as he watched the grey scales caused by Eleazar on Collei's arm fade away, vanishing completely in mere moments.

"This… could it be? Has the Little Lucky Grass King begun to bless the people of Sumeru once more?"

Collei was equally stunned and quickly corrected him, her voice trembling with emotion, "No, Master, it's not the Little Lucky Grass King. It's the Great Merciful Tree King. She's returned!" Tears welled in her eyes.

The Great Merciful Tree King had healed her of Eleazar.

Collei's parents had done everything they could to cure her disease, but they were ultimately deceived by Fatui and the scholars of the Akademiya. Her parents had died because of them, and she herself had almost perished in their laboratory.

If not for being unexpectedly rescued and brought to Mondstadt, she might not be alive today.

"Mom, Dad, my Eleazar has been cured by the Great Merciful Tree King," Collei whispered, tears flowing as she looked at Tighnari. "Master…" she choked, her emotions overwhelming her.

In Sumeru City, Dunyarzad looked down at her smooth arms and exclaimed, "It's the Great Merciful Tree King! She's returned! The Great Merciful Tree King has cured Eleazar!"

Nearby, Dehya, who had witnessed the reaction of Sumeru City's people, couldn't help but smile. "The young miss's illness has finally been cured. Now, Lord Kusayr can rest easy knowing that the young miss can see the world without worries."

Even the sages of the Akademiya were in a state of excitement.

"The God of Wisdom has returned! We can once again gain knowledge from the World Tree. This is truly wonderful!"

Compared to the joyful Sumeru City, only one place remained silent and lonely—the grandest palace at the top of the city.

The Sanctuary of Surasthana.

Once off-limits to most by the decree of the Akademiya's high-ranking members, footsteps now echoed within its hallowed halls.