After receiving Venti's call, Zhongli hurried to the shop.
The Yaksha clan had followed him for millennia, and now only this one descendant remained.
In the past, he had been too busy, but now, as a soon-to-retire elder, it was only natural to care more for the younger generation.
Of course, this was just a metaphor, but it wasn't entirely unfounded.
Zhongli was over 6,000 years old. To him, Xiao, who was just over 2,000, was practically a child.
Honestly, Venti was barely 2,000 years old himself!
If not for his equal status and position to Zhongli's, the Geo Archon would have viewed the Anemo Archon as a junior too.
He hadn't noticed it before, but as time passed and his mindset matured, he couldn't help but feel like an old man looking at the youth.
"How much have you prepared?" Zhongli asked.
"Twenty million and eight hundred thousand," Xiao replied.
How much?!
Over 20 million?!
Venti was stunned.
"This is everything I have," Xiao said, somewhat embarrassed.
Venti's lips twitched.
For an immortal who had lived for so long, selling off his collected treasures for 20 million wasn't particularly shocking—especially since Xiao hadn't actively sought to amass wealth.
But the thought of having nothing to his own name was a bit painful.
"That's not a small amount."
Zhongli nodded slightly before adding, "I have some here as well. Let's make it thirty-six million for you."
Xiao was taken aback and immediately tried to refuse, but Zhongli raised a hand to stop him.
During his 3,700 years at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Zhongli's collections had mostly been antiques—not treasures from an immortal's perspective. So even after selling many of them, they hadn't fetched much.
The 16 million he contributed now was scraped together after contacting numerous channels to liquidate his assets.
Thinking of his beloved antiques now in someone else's hands, Zhongli felt a pang of heartache. But all he could do was hope they would be well taken care of.
"Let's begin," Lu Heng said with a smile.
Xiao purchased the equipment device and phone.
After binding the device, the 36 million Mora was directly converted into pulls.
Thirty-six hundred pulls.
Honestly, Lu Heng thought this number wasn't particularly high.
The combined contributions of Zhongli and Xiao paled in comparison to what wealthy merchants could casually spend.
"I wonder if he'll get a gold card?" Venti mused, stroking his chin.
Xiao wasn't an outsider, so of course, Venti hoped he'd get something good.
But the number of pulls seemed far too meager for a gold card to be likely.
Then again, luck was entirely unpredictable.
Who knew? Maybe Xiao would be like Klee and pull a gold in his first attempt?
Or perhaps like Tartaglia's earlier gacha experience—tens of thousands of pulls without a single gold, only to later get a double gold in one go.
"Stay calm," Zhongli advised with a smile.
Xiao tapped the 10-pull button.
A purple glow appeared—two jade cards.
"Finish all your pulls first, then check them one by one," Lu Heng suggested.
Xiao continued.
Another 10-pull—no gold.
Another 10-pull—one purple card.
Six hundred pulls remained.
The odds seemed even slimmer now.
Xiao took a deep breath and tapped the final 10-pull.
As expected, a five-star gold card wasn't something one could simply wish for.
Luck was too fickle.
Out of 3,600 pulls, Xiao had obtained only three purple cards.
Zhongli and Venti watched from the side. The effects of the three-star cards were decent, but for someone of Xiao's caliber, they were barely even a minor boost.
After all, he was a battle-hardened Yaksha.
"Let me take a look."
Lu Heng appraised the three purple cards.
The first: [Fruit of Might].
The second had quite the description:
[Slay Evil, Reap Merit]
[Rank]: 4-Star (Purple)
[Type]: [Skill Card]
[Traits]: [Turn Evil into Power], [Merit], [Energy Storage]
[Description]: The Heavenly Dao is flawed, demonic paths thrive, and the righteous sects unite to amend the heavens' will. Those who slay evil shall be rewarded by the heavens!
The third card's effect was somewhat weak and overlapped with Xiao's abilities, making it unnecessary.
"Let's focus on this one—[Slay Evil, Reap Merit]." Lu Heng was somewhat surprised himself.
In simple terms, this card originated from a world where the Heavenly Dao (Cosmic Law) had malfunctioned, allowing demonic forces to run rampant and plunge the mortal realm into suffering.
The righteous sects, unwilling to stand by as the world turned into hell, banded together to forcibly rewrite the Heavenly Dao's programming.
The description didn't specify how they managed it, but Lu Heng guessed the cost must have been enormous!
The result of their efforts was this:
Those who slew evil beings would receive heavenly merit as a reward.
Moreover, they could absorb the "malice" from the demons they killed and convert it into their own power!
"Take Xiao, for example."
"From now on, when he slays demons, he won't have to worry about karmic debt accumulating!"
"The karmic debt and the 'malice' from the demons will all be converted into Xiao's strength by this card! No need to worry about compatibility—this is a skill card. It doesn't follow logic."
"Killing good people has no effect, but killing evil ones boosts your power! Plus, you get heavenly protection!"
"Of course, Teyvat doesn't have a Heavenly Dao, and whether the Heavenly Principles will grant you merit is unclear."
"This is excellent!" Zhongli's face lit up with joy.
With this card, Xiao would never have to fear karmic debt again!
Turn evil into power!
In theory, the more evil Xiao slayed, the stronger he would become!
Unfortunately, the card's rank was only four-star, meaning it couldn't help Xiao break through his limits to reach five-star power.
"Even if it can't raise his ceiling, it still grants him an additional source of strength, giving him a huge advantage in prolonged battles!"
It was like a cultivator gaining an extra dantian (energy core).
If you had two dantians and your opponent only had one, you'd still be full of energy while they were exhausted—how could they compete?
"Keep this card safe," Zhongli instructed Xiao solemnly.
"Understood!"
Xiao nodded, though he felt a twinge of regret.
If only this were a five-star card—then perhaps Zhongli could use it.
It was unclear whether it could raise his limits, but an inexhaustible Morax…
Tartaglia would probably laugh and surrender immediately after hearing about it!
Xiao solemnly equipped the card onto his device.
From now on, karmic debt would never plague him again—it would only become fuel for his strength.
With this matter resolved, another weight was lifted from his heart!
"After decomposing these cards, your equipment device should be able to reach three-star, right?" Zhongli mused.
Upgrading from a novice device to one-star required very little EXP.
From one-star to two-star, the required EXP increased dozens of times over.
And from two-star to three-star? Another dozens-fold increase!
"I'd like to give these cards to Klee," Xiao said.
He truly had nothing else to offer her as thanks.
After some thought, giving her these cards would help upgrade her equipment device for saving Azhdaha.
And in the future, any extra cards she pulled could further raise her device's rank.
Everyone was helping Klee upgrade her equipment device?
Lu Heng chuckled.
The one who spent the least Mora had the highest-rank device?
But this arrangement benefited everyone.
Klee could happily toss bombs around without worrying about her device's rank.
And those in need of healing or purification would have a solution.
"Everyone has a bright future!" Lu Heng suddenly sighed in admiration.
"Truly."
Tartaglia nodded in agreement.
Ever since Lu Heng appeared in Teyvat and opened his shop, everyone's fate had diverged from its original path.
Originally, Tartaglia would have been played for a fool by Morax and the Fair Lady.
But now?
Not only did he know Zhongli's true identity, but he had also gotten his wish—a battle with the Geo Archon.
He knew Venti's identity too and had met many others.
His story was just one example. Zhongli, Venti, and the others were no different.
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T/N:
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