NOVEL WEB Chapter 20: chapter 20
20. Alice: You, the Ancestor of All Immortals, Are Asking Me About Immortal Cultivation?
Alice's sharp reprimand made Liu Yun and the others furious.
Since the day they gained consciousness, no one had ever dared to speak to Zhongli like that.
They immediately wanted to yell back, but Zhongli raised his hand slightly, signaling them to remain silent.
Moments later, Alice's anger exploded.
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"Right now! Immediately! Set up a sound barrier! Lady Alice is about to properly scold this reckless fool!"
"Do you even understand what you're saying?"
"Do you know that the False Sky, the Witches' Association, and Sky Island have been doing everything in their power to prevent this knowledge from entering Teyvat?
"Now you're casually talking about the Trees and the Sea as if it's nothing? Are you insane? Do you have a death wish? And on top of that, you're trying to drag Liyue down with you?"
"If Celestia takes notice, do you realize that Liyue will be the next Khaenri'ah?"
"I know many of you are dissatisfied with Sky Island, but no matter how much you resent them, seeking to contact the outside world is not the solution!"
"Teyvat is already on the brink of destruction. Do you really want to pour gasoline on the fire at a time like this?"
"Listen, Morax. I don't care where you learned the truth about the Trees and the Sea. Right now, forget it. Erase it from your mind. It's a lie!"
"You must believe that. You need to believe that. If you don't want Liyue to be destroyed, then pretend this conversation never happened!"
"Otherwise, even the Witches' Association will consider you an enemy!"
Alice's voice roared from the border, her rage causing mysterious waves of energy to surge around her.
Unfortunately, a lesser Demon God happened to be passing by at that moment—just in time to be caught in the backlash of Alice's wrath.
With a casual backhand slap, she sent the unlucky Demon God flying.
The sheer power of the founder of the Witches' Guild was evident.
She was likely not much weaker than Zhongli himself.
---
After venting her frustration, Alice calmed down slightly, though her expression remained stormy.
She knew exactly what was happening in Teyvat.
Things like the Fatui's schemes and the Abyss Order's plots? Those were trivial matters.
But the Trees and the Sea? That was different. That was taboo.
Celestia had constructed the False Sky to sever Teyvat from the outside.
The Witches' Association had stationed itself at the borders to contain any unwanted intrusions.
And why?
To ensure that Teyvat never came into contact with the greater cosmos of the Trees and the Sea.
Yet here came Zhongli, casually tearing through all those efforts as if they were meaningless.
This was beyond reckless.
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"Do the Trees and the Sea frighten you that much?"
Zhongli's voice was calm, almost indifferent.
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"You're still talking about it!"
Alice's voice sharpened again.
"Do you really want me to return just to blow you up?"
Zhongli sighed.
"Calm down. I only wish to understand what lies beyond our world. This is important—to me and to Teyvat."
"No, it is not important to you," Alice snapped. "And it's none of your concern. Just stay in Teyvat and live in peace!"
Zhongli closed his eyes briefly.
"In that case," he said, "I already have my answer. Teyvat truly is an existence attached to the multiverse."
Silence.
A long pause stretched between them.
Then, Alice's voice turned grave.
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"Where did you learn about the concept of the multiverse?"
"Who told you about the Trees and the Sea?"
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Zhongli smirked faintly.
"It's not important to you, and you don't need to worry about it."
---
Alice was furious.
"Oh? That's how we're playing it, huh?"
She shifted gears suddenly.
"I bet there are others with you right now. Let me guess—Mandrill and the others? Mandrill, listen closely! When I first came to Liyue—"
"Alright, alright! I'll tell you!"
Zhongli quickly interrupted her, beads of sweat forming in his mind.
This crazy woman had no filter. If she started spilling his embarrassing past, he'd never live it down.
---
Alice hummed in satisfaction.
"Good. Now, what exactly do you want from me?"
Zhongli hesitated for a moment, then asked softly:
"You've traveled to countless worlds. Tell me—do you know how one truly becomes immortal?"
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"Hah?"
Alice rubbed her ears in disbelief.
"You, the ancestor of all immortals, are asking me, a witch, how to cultivate immortality?"
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"No, not the kind of immortality found in Teyvat. I mean a higher form of cultivation."
Zhongli clarified, then added:
"Let me put it another way—have you ever heard of the 'All Heavens and Worlds'?"
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Alice fell silent.
For the first time in a long while, she was at a loss.
Zhongli could sense her hesitation, and it amused him.
The witch who always had an answer for everything was stumped by his question.
It was an oddly satisfying sight.
---
Finally, Alice spoke.
"A hundred days ago, you say? On that day, someone from beyond our world arrived in Teyvat…"
Zhongli nodded and began recounting Jiang Yan's origins, the incredible power he displayed, and the mysterious Shu Mountain he had mentioned.
The more Alice listened, the more outrageous it sounded.
It almost seemed like a fictional tale.
But Zhongli was not one to joke, especially not about matters as serious as this.
---
Could it be?
Could cultivators truly exist?
And was there really one here, in Teyvat?
Alice felt a strange excitement bubbling within her.
She had read countless stories about immortal cultivators, their mystical arts, and the vast multiverses they roamed.
But she had always dismissed them as mere fiction.
Yet now…
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She took a deep breath.
"Zhongli, are you certain about this?"
"As certain as one can be."
Alice's fingers drummed against the surface in thought.
A cultivator who had yet to reach immortality…
Yet even in his current state, Jiang Yan was already beyond the reach of Celestia and the Witches' Association.
If he truly reached the realm of Lianxu Hedao…
Would he be able to uproot the Tree of Imaginary Numbers?
For the first time in centuries, a flicker of hope ignited in Alice's heart.
---
"Alice," Zhongli interrupted her thoughts. "Are you listening? Can you give me an answer?"
She exhaled deeply.
"When I traveled through other worlds, I did hear about immortal cultivation. But it was mostly from novels."
"I never imagined it could be real."
"And what about the 'All Heavens and Worlds'?"
Alice hesitated, then admitted:
"I don't know."