The Tsaritsa was very displeased with Morax's condescending tone. Besides her own Tsaritsa, she disdained any God of the Seven Nations.
So, after retrieving the Gnosis, she left first.
Although Lumine and Paimon were shocked by this, since the Gnosis was willingly given up by Lord Rex Lapis himself, they had no reason to stop the Tsaritsa from taking it.
Facing the gazes of Ryan, Lumine, and Paimon, Morax then began to explain simply.
The Exuvia at the Rite of Descension was orchestrated by him, and Tartaglia's act of releasing the God was also tacitly approved by him.
The purpose of all this was because he wanted to step down from his divine position.
However, Liyue had walked with him for 3,700 years; he had many reasons not to leave and was unsure if Liyue was ready to enter the next era.
Therefore, he needed to give Liyue, the Qixing, and even the Adepti a test.
The test was whether Liyue could still cope with a crisis that might destroy it, now that it had lost its God.
As for the Gnosis, it was a transaction with the God of Snezhnaya, the Tsaritsa. As one of the additional contents of this contract, the Fatui Harbingers would help him complete this test for Liyue.
The Tsaritsa was an insider, but at Morax's request, she did not reveal anything to Tartaglia, keeping him in the dark the entire time.
He had only just learned that Morax was actually the Geo Archon, Morax.
"All of the above was within my plan."
"The only thing that exceeded my expectations was the actions of the Liyue Qixing."
Morax explained all the causes and effects, then suddenly said at the end.
"The actions of the Liyue Qixing?"
Ryan recalled for a moment, only remembering the phrase, "The Lord Rex Lapis has been assassinated; the entire area is sealed."
Not only was Ryan puzzled, but Lumine and Paimon were also somewhat curious.
"My expectation for them was originally the same as for the Adepti, simply to protect Liyue, but the answer they ultimately delivered was..."
"To take this opportunity to replace the God, using the vacuum period after my 'death' to quickly gain control of all power in Liyue."
Morax continued to explain with satisfaction.
This might not seem like a good thing to Ryan and Lumine, but to him, it was very gratifying.
If they didn't do this, would they want a deceased God to constantly hinder Liyue's progress?
If every time the Liyue Qixing made an innovation, someone would jump out and say, 'Is this kind of thing worthy of Lord Rex Lapis's spirit in heaven?'
That would truly trouble Morax... After that, the Rite of Parting was held as scheduled, presided over by Morax, with the Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor personally assisting, sending off the Exuvia.
The Liyue Qixing also took this opportunity to clarify the rumors within Liyue Harbor.
The general content was that although dragons and mythical beasts live as long as mountains, they eventually turn to dust. The rumors in the market that the Lord Rex Lapis was assassinated were all false; the Lord Rex Lapis encountered a sudden lightning tribulation and returned to the heavens.
And the lightning tribulation on Mt. Tianheng a few nights ago was no small commotion, waking many Liyue people from their dreams. Now, it just so happened to be the best proof for the cause of the Lord Rex Lapis's passing announced by the Liyue Qixing.
Just like that, after the Rite of Parting ended, on Mt. Tianheng.
"I heard the Director say you were looking for me?"
Arriving on Mt. Tianheng, Morax asked Ryan.
"Lord Rex Lapis, how could you... Um, yes, I was looking for you."
Ryan's attention shifted from the plaza, where the Rite of Parting had concluded, and he looked back at Morax.
After learning his identity, Ryan's attitude inevitably became more respectful, after all, he was his grand-master.
Most importantly, he was alive.
"You may call me Morax."
Morax shook his head slightly in response.
Ryan was different from the other Adepti; Morax was confident that he would often be active among people in the future and did not want him to get used to exposing his identity.
"Alright, Mr. Morax."
"Recently, two matters have been bothering me, and I would like to ask for your guidance."
Ryan nodded cooperatively and began to explain why he was looking for him.
Actually, he mainly asked Hu Tao to help him arrange a meeting with Morax at the Sanwan Buguogang Restaurant, as he had already obtained the three million Mora from the Northland Bank. He just didn't expect Morax to come directly after knowing he was here.
"You have rendered extraordinary service in protecting Liyue this time. Speak freely about any troubles you have."
Morax responded, signaling Ryan to state his troubles.
"It's like this: previously, at the Golden House and the Jade Chamber, when facing the Exuvia you left behind and the Vortex God Osial, some strange things happened to me..."
Ryan began to explain to Morax.
The most important point was that Ryan saw some memories of Lord Rex Lapis and Osial.
However, Ryan had no idea what was going on. In the two days after the Osial crisis was resolved, he studied his tail but had no findings.
"I see. This matter concerns your origin, which I do not fully understand, but based on years of observation, I can offer some explanations."
After listening to Ryan's explanation, Morax nodded slightly.
"My origin? Master seemed to say I was picked up from outside..."
Hearing Morax's words, Ryan twitched his ears in confusion.
"That's not wrong. However, the one who picked you up said she found you from outside Teyvat. I once asked for specific details, but she remained silent."
"Let's talk about the questions you want to ask. Do you remember the first person you saw after you took human form?"
Morax seemed unwilling to discuss Ryan's background too much, so he shifted the topic back to Ryan's questions.
"It seems to be... Vanquisher of Evil?"
Ryan thought carefully, and the young Adeptus appeared in his mind.
"Indeed, the Yaksha Protector, Vanquisher of Evil."
"He is tainted with Karmic Obstruction and rarely interacts with people. Before you took human form, he never had any contact with you."
"But thirty years ago, you left the Cloud Retainer's Abode alone to chase a white crane on the mountain, and unfortunately fell from the mountainside. He appeared and caught you."
Morax nodded and continued to explain.
"I still remember some of it..."
Ryan recalled a part, but still didn't understand what it had to do with his problem, so he could only continue to look at Morax in confusion.
As for where he was picked up from... he often saw scenes not belonging to Teyvat in his dreams.
"The Karmic Obstruction on the Yakshas is formed by the erosion of resentment and hatred during battles with God remnants. It is an extreme emotion that can cause one to fall into madness, despair, and fear."
"And your racial Talents are to feed on strong emotions."
"Therefore, after the first contact with the Vanquisher of Evil, you absorbed the emotions from him, completed your first growth, and successfully awakened your intelligence."
Seeing that Ryan didn't understand, Morax had no choice but to explain simply and directly.
"Is that so, feeding on emotions? No wonder my body suddenly became stronger..."
Morax's explanation made Ryan suddenly realize.
Many questions were suddenly explained.
After all, the memories he saw on the Exuvia and Osial were not pleasant scenes.
"In the past few millennia, you never grew. The Adepti tried every method to impart power to you, fed you countless elixirs, but could never enable you to awaken your intelligence or take human form."
"Now that I think about it, it's probably because the Adepti protected you too well. Even during the God War, they would first place you in an absolutely safe place before going to battle."
"And the Adepti themselves are pure and free from desires. Even if they experience joy or sorrow, their emotions do not fluctuate intensely. Even when an old friend departs, they wait for their feelings to calm down before tending to that clingy white fox to heal their mood. Thus, in these thousands of years, you never absorbed any emotions, neither positive nor negative."
"I also came to this conclusion by observing your reactions after you took human form in recent years."
"In other words, you have been hungry for over three thousand years since you were picked up."
Morax continued to explain.
Although Ryan had existed for thousands of years, his past was meaningless to his current life, much like an egg that existed for three thousand years and finally hatched into life thirty years ago.
Because the unintelligent fox had too small a brain, Ryan basically didn't remember things from before, just as humans don't remember things before they understood the world...