Inside the command carriage of the Astral Express, the air was as still as a vacuum. A massive holographic starmap floated in the center, displaying the scarred, battered planet of Teyvat slowly rotating. Seven beams of light representing the main Ley Line nodes pierced across the continent, but at that moment, they were tightly bound and eroded by thick, writhing purplish-black Abyssal energy. Welt stood before the starmap, his glasses reflecting a cold stream of data. With precise movements, his fingertips tapped on the location of the Inazuma islands, instantly enlarging a highlighted area—Mt. Yougou.
"Energy readings are exhibiting an exponential surge," Welt said, his voice steady yet carrying the weight of a mountain. "The source of the contamination is not on the surface; it is deeply rooted in the Ley Line system, engaging in... 'quantum entanglement' with the vast energy network of the Thunder Sakura Tree. The purification power of the Thunder Sakura is being inverted, turning it into nourishment and an amplifier for the Abyssal expansion. The origin lies deep within the core of Mt. Yougou, at the Ley Line rift." He paused, bringing up another macro Ley Line flow chart covering all of Teyvat. Countless purplish-black trickles, like venomous snakes returning to their nest, all vaguely pointed toward the direction of Celestia.
"This is not an isolated incident. According to the Express's wide-area scan of Teyvat's Ley Line network, all Ley Line nodes contaminated by …
Chapter 205