Morax the Geo Archon: Billionaire in the Chat Group

This time, amidst the shifting of space and time, Zhongli discerned something significant.

He confirmed one thing: the world where Immortal Chiyuan resided might not be as distant from his own as he initially thought.

When he had traveled to the world of "Sweetheart Angel," he could vaguely perceive the changes in space but couldn't recognize the path. Beyond the limits of his vision into the depths of space, there was only chaos.

Yet the world of Immortal Chiyuan was different. He could faintly discern the entirety of the path.

The distance wasn't far—frighteningly close, in fact.

A gut feeling emerged in his mind. If he traveled to Immortal Chiyuan's world two or three more times, he might fully grasp all the pathways.

Then, even without the system's assistance, he could traverse between this world and that one.

From a universal perspective, the spirit of exploration is the ladder of progress for intelligent beings. For me, it is naturally no exception.

Reflecting on the motivation behind his actions, Zhongli used his thoughts to open the virtual chat group before him and sent a message.

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): Everyone, have you safely returned to your original worlds?

Emilia Is the Cutest (Subaru Natsuki): I've made it back, thanks, big boss!

Hestia-sama Is Supreme (Bell): Same here.

Incurable Villain (Accelerator): Back already, tch. I wasn't done having fun yet.

Shrine Maiden Reimu (Reimu): Lord Zhongli, please come to my shrine! I will dedicate all my efforts to worshiping you. With just a nod, the Hakurei Shrine could finally host a true deity. No more ridicule from that blue-and-white shrine maiden. And those frogs and snakes? They'll see what a real god looks like.

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): Hm??

Shrine Maiden Reimu (Reimu): Lord Zhongli, I am a shrine maiden—a messenger who communicates with the gods. Though I'm not very competent, and since becoming the shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine, I haven't once managed to commune with a deity, I can still tell.

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): Please refrain from discussing such matters in the group. If you have any requests, you may message me privately.

Emilia Is the Cutest (Subaru Natsuki): Lord Zhongli is the best!

Hestia-sama Is Supreme (Bell): Lord Zhongli is the best! +1

Hestia-sama Is Supreme (Bell): My goddess asked me to thank you for your teachings.

Incurable Villain (Accelerator): Tch, boring. What's with all this god stuff? Sounds fake.

Telepath (Nana): What's going on? What's going on? What happened? Why is Mr. Zhongli suddenly being called a deity? And why do you all address him as "Lord"? Can someone explain what you encountered this time? Being excluded from the conversation feels really bad.

Hestia-sama Is Supreme (Bell): Uh, sorry. It's a bit too complicated to explain in the group. I'll private message you, Nana.

Telepath (Nana): OK, I just messaged you, Bell-kun.

Immortal Chiyuan (Fu Hua): Thank you all. The Honkai disaster in Changkong City has been initially suppressed, with about 7% of the survivors successfully resettled.

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): It was only natural. There's no need for thanks. This is also part of the [contract].

Immortal Chiyuan (Fu Hua): Understood. If another issue arises in the future, I may request your assistance again. At that time, I will use my own points.

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): If there is an opportunity, I will respond.

Immortal Chiyuan (Fu Hua): Thank you.

Telepath (Nana): Wow~~! Wow~~~!

Telepath (Nana): Wow~~! Wow~~!

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): What is it?

Telepath (Nana): Bell just told me! Lord Zhongli, did you really eliminate an entire city's worth of monsters in one go?

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): Not precisely in one go. Before casting that spell, I had already spent some time observing the city through the earth. While Accelerator and the others were fighting, I devoted most of my energy to setting up a formation that encompassed the entire city.

Telepath (Nana): But even so, that's ridiculously powerful! Miss Tohru doesn't seem to have abilities on that level! Are you the strongest in this group?

Zhongli frowned slightly at the question, pondering how to respond when a private message popped up.

Shrine Maiden Reimu (Reimu): Lord Zhongli, are you really not considering it? Our Hakurei Shrine is a place blessed with natural beauty and spiritual energy. As the shrine's deity, you would never be shortchanged.

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): My Apologies.

Shrine Maiden Reimu (Reimu): Fine, let me compromise. How about guest-starring as the shrine's deity occasionally?

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): Why?

Shrine Maiden Reimu (Reimu): My shrine is constantly overrun by yokai, and the god I serve rarely appears. I don't even see a handful of worshippers each year, let alone receive offerings. So, I want you, Lord Zhongli, to bolster the shrine's reputation, attract believers, and help me gather more offerings.

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): ...

Such a blunt request left Zhongli momentarily speechless.

After some thought, he partially agreed—he would not refuse the opportunity to travel to another world.

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): If it doesn't take too much of my time—perhaps just once or twice—I can form a contract with you. However, you will need to pay a price.

Shrine Maiden Reimu (Reimu): A price? Can I ask what kind of price?

Keeper of Contracts (Zhongli): A fair one. As the god of contracts and commerce, I understand the value of fairness in transactions.

Shrine Maiden Reimu (Reimu): Then, I'll leave it to you, Lord Zhongli.

After the brief private chat, Zhongli returned to the group's main interface, only to find the previous topic already swept away by the flood of messages.

With a faint, almost imperceptible smile, he shook his head and joined the ongoing conversation, forgoing the effort to scroll back.

Although these group members were separated from him by thousands of years in age and as far apart in power as fireflies compared to the moon, these casual, unreserved chats devoid of worship or reverence stirred his memories.

Are they all doing well?

Have they grown accustomed to living in the mountains?

Letting out a long breath, Zhongli closed the chat group window and settled into the sandalwood chair in his living room.

He picked up a purple clay teapot and poured himself a steaming cup of tea.

Fresh tea leaves from the ancient trees atop Qingyun Peak floated gently in the water, their aroma wafting into the air.

Lifting the cup, he lightly blew the floating leaves aside, letting the steam swirl a bit longer.

Tomorrow, I should find time to have tea with those old friends once more.