Around the square where the Rite of Descension was held, several other incense burners were placed, allowing observing citizens to offer incense and make wishes.
By the time Ryan, Lumine, and Paimon approached, many people were already devoutly offering incense there.
After waiting for a short while, it was quickly Ryan and their turn.
Lumine and Paimon each offered incense and made wishes. Ryan glanced enviously at Paimon, then stepped forward to offer incense as well.
'Lord Rex Lapis, I have received the materials you sent. I will not fail your expectations and will surely take her down.'
Compared to others who offered incense and made wishes, Ryan seemed more like he was there to fulfill a vow.
From the very beginning, he had been constantly observing Paimon and Lumine's conversation, trying to understand Paimon from it, to find an opportunity to make her lower her guard.
However, with the Rite of Descension imminent, everything would have to wait until after the Rite of Descension.
"Excuse me, excuse me!"
After offering incense and making their wishes, Ryan proactively led Paimon and Lumine to squeeze through the crowd towards the front.
The Rite of Descension had a special rule: apart from the presiding Liyue Qixing, the other Qixing were not allowed to be present.
This was because after the Geo Archon descended, the presiding Qixing was responsible for communicating with the Geo Archon. This served as both a test for the current Qixing and to prevent the other Qixing from interjecting.
Therefore, at the incense burner in the center of the square, there was only Ningguang, the elegant and noble white-haired woman in a cheongsam whom Ryan had once seen on Yujing Terrace.
Of course, there were also two maids, as well as Millelith maintaining order and Tianquan's advisors.
"That is Tianquan Star Ningguang, though I haven't seen him many times either," Ryan whispered to Lumine and Paimon beside him.
Like Yuheng Star, ten years ago when he came down to Liyue Harbor, Tianquan Star was not this one either.
"Mhm, mhm, I can tell. That kind of aura immediately suggests a woman of high status… but he's a bit different from Captain Jean."
Paimon nodded at the words, uttering a name Ryan didn't recognize.
'They must be friends she met in other countries…' Ryan muttered to himself, but he didn't pay too much attention to it. Instead, he focused his attention on Tianquan Star, who happened to move at that moment.
Ningguang slightly raised his right hand, adorned with a long black glove and golden finger guards, to shade his eyes, looking up at the sky to confirm the sun's position.
Soon, he withdrew his gaze and clasped his hands over his lower abdomen, then stepped forward and announced:
"The auspicious hour has arrived."
As Ningguang announced the start of the Rite of Descension, his two maids respectfully bowed and retreated to the side.
The surrounding onlookers also quieted down, watching Ningguang turn to face the incense burner on the offering table.
The next moment, Ningguang summoned several Geo-aligned precious jade orbs that encircled him. Then, he raised his hand and pointed at the incense burner on the offering table, and all the jade orbs immediately flew out to surround the incense burner.
Subsequently, Ningguang made a gesture with one hand, similar to an adeptus casting a spell, driving the jade orbs.
The jade orbs merged into the incense burner, and under the gaze of all, transformed into a golden pillar of light that shot skyward.
Suddenly, the sky changed, and the clouds formed a giant vortex, slowly being consumed by dark clouds.
"Hmm…?"
Ryan scratched his head in confusion. 'Why does the Rite of Descension feel different this time?'
Even Ningguang frowned slightly. He remembered that the previous Rite of Descension, when casting spells to invite the Geo Archon to descend, wasn't like this… As the vortex in the sky was consumed by dark clouds, the world grew dim, like the prelude to a coming storm.
As everyone felt a little confused, a creature that was half-qilin, half-dragon suddenly pierced through the vortex in the sky, allowing sunlight to fall once more.
And this half-qilin, half-dragon creature fell straight from the sky, crashing down with a loud bang, overturning the incense burner and offerings on the table.
'Geo… Archon…?'
Looking at the half-qilin, half-dragon creature that had smashed the offering table, Ryan stood frozen, his ears unconsciously drooping.
After his transformation, he had only seen Lord Rex Lapis twice: once when he first transformed, and once when he officially became Cloud Retainer's disciple.
The form Lord Rex Lapis used on those two occasions was not half-qilin, half-dragon, but even so, Ryan could still sense Lord Rex Lapis's aura from the half-qilin, half-dragon creature before him.
'The Geo Archon… has fallen? The Geo Archon who walked Liyue for thousands of years has fallen?'
Ryan found it hard to believe for a moment.
"These artifacts were not obtained by me by chance, but were entrusted to you by your senior uncles and aunts who took care of you before you gained sentience and transformed. Keep them well and use them wisely, do not fail to live up to their abilities."
"As for my gift… I will teach you an adeptal art, an adeptal art that no adeptus has yet mastered."
Ryan couldn't help but recall their last conversation.
The artifacts he had given Ryan at the time were precisely the four items: the golden scissors, ruler, file, and sewing needle.
And the adeptal art he taught Ryan was called "Spirit Invocation," similar to "Spirit Invocation," but not quite the same.
"The Geo Archon has been assassinated! Seal off the entire area!"
At this moment, Ningguang's voice suddenly brought Ryan back to his senses.
But the next moment, he frowned.
What did the Geo Archon's assassination have to do with these common people observing?
Even if someone dared to assassinate, how could they hide in the crowd and assassinate the Geo Archon in mid-air?
Or do you think this is how you can seal off the news?
Ningguang's actions suddenly made Ryan feel dissatisfied with Tianquan Star.
But he didn't intend to act out. What he wanted to do now was to immediately send this news back to Jueyun Karst, so that his master and senior uncles would know about the Geo Archon's assassination.
They would naturally come to question the Liyue Qixing then.
"Paimon, we need to go to Jueyun Karst…"
Although Ryan wanted to go back and tell Cloud Retainer what had happened here, he didn't intend to give up on getting to know Paimon better, so he planned to invite them to Jueyun Karst together.
"…Where are they?"
Just as he turned his head, Ryan found that Paimon and Lumine were already nowhere to be seen.
"They're here!"
Just as Ryan was wondering, he suddenly heard the Millelith's shouts.
A bad premonition arose in his heart, and he quickly rushed over to take a look, only to find that the Millelith had already been knocked to the ground, and the others were gone.
'It seems they escaped…' Ryan wondered. He was right beside the two of them at the time. They couldn't have been the assassins who killed the Geo Archon, so why did they run?
"Geo Archon…"
Unable to understand, Ryan returned to the square where the Rite of Descension was held, only to find that the Millelith had already sealed off the area around the Geo Archon's body, prohibiting anyone from approaching.
"I should have known to secretly pluck a dragon whisker earlier…"
Muttering regretfully, Ryan no longer lingered, quietly leaving the crowd and walking out of Yujing Terrace.
Meanwhile, Lumine and Paimon were led by a strange orange-haired man to a relatively safe alley in Feiyun Slope… "The Geo Archon… assassinated?!"
Inside Yuehai Pavilion, Ganyu, upon hearing this news, stood up from his desk, his eyes wide in disbelief.
"This is not something to joke about…"
Ganyu said in a flustered manner, then hurriedly left Yuehai Pavilion, wanting to personally confirm the truth.
Coincidentally, Ganyu met Ryan, who was walking from that direction, intending to leave Yujing Terrace.
"Ryan! How was the Rite of Descension?"
Ganyu, as if a drowning man grasping a lifeline, hurried forward and grabbed Ryan's arm, anxiously asking.
"Senior Sister Ganyu…"
Seeing Ganyu's anxious expression, Ryan knew that the situation of the Rite of Descension could not be hidden from him, so he did not intend to conceal it.
"I will inform Master and the senior uncles about the Geo Archon's assassination."
"…"