Martial Teyvat Chapter 81 (Patreon)

Morax's finger tapped several times on his jade throne as he stared off into the distance. Beyond the physical plane, and into the still-turbulent spatial realm that Jake Bariss had turned into a spatial storm that would likely last weeks.

And with a solemn voice, Cloud Retainer spoke out with clear horror in her voice. "Jake Bariss wiped out all of the Joyous Union Sect... No survivors, not a single one. And their entire sect's location has been turned into molten slag that has an invisible curse around it!"

"It's not a curse... It's natural, its a part of the earth turned to fury, invisible energy once so slow that is of zero consequence in comparison to even the worse of Spirit Stones." Morax said slowly.

Then the Stone King of Liyue looked away from that dangerous spatial storm even he woudn't want to tangle with. And said more calmly. "While it's a regret that the mostly neutral Joyous Union sect was destroyed. Jake Bariss's factories and supplies are far more important."

"There is zero value in admonishing the young man when another sect clearly was invading his territory. Territory I myself allotted to him, and the Qixing of Liyue Harbor also agreed was his." 

A moment of silence rang out before Menogias the Geo Yaksha spoke helplessly. "At least we don't need to worry about Jake's direct safety from the nearby sect's and clans. They will take that eradication as a motion to slaughter a chicken to warn the monkeys." 

With the Hydro, Anemo, and Pyro Yakshas both rotated to fighting directly inside of the Abyss. There was less 'direct' weight on Morax now as that spatial storm was even affecting the pathways from the Abyss onto Teyvat.

"What about Sneznayha, Fontaine, and Natlan? The last two nations have started poking around after their collaborators and spies gathered information on the elixers, advanced technology, and other things that Jake has been sending into our Abyss battlefields?"

Cloud Retainer cleared her throat and said helplessly. "While Arlechinno and the rest of the Harbingers are very strong. Jake just wiped out a sect protected by a notable Nascent Soul cultivator. They almost certainly won't move so openly or blatantly, as Jake has proven his fangs have become sharp enough to cause a nation to bleed at their foundation."

Nods rang out throughout the meeting room before Morax frowned slightly as a glow entered his gaze which quickly faded.

Then he spoke slowly with a heavier weight. "And speaking of Jake... I got a long-distance qi message from one of our agents in Mondstadt. Apparently, he has created a contraption that flies at extreme speed beyond the height limit, even for gods to casually fly."

"Using that contraption, he landed within the city of Mondstadt and has traded a massive amount of metal to them specifically for local herbs, treasures... And apparently he is almost frantically searching for astral materials from beyond this world?" 

The room went quiet before Ganyu as the representative of the Liyue Qixing at this meeting, while Ningguang was busy protecting Liyue Harbor and her own duties, asked out loud as she glanced at her master Cloud Retainer.

"When we were around him, he never mentioned wanting such astral materials? Most of the time, such valuable reagents can be substituted with spirit stones... And with how he can mine them for free and without cost, why would he go out of his way to get them?"

The unspoken question was. Why didn't Jake approach the Liyue Qixing for such materials when he had such good relations with them, having married their Yuheng Star. Or! Even approach the Kamisato clan after he also married the younger sister of the clan head?

Menogias cleared his throat and said thoughtfully. "Maybe he is going ask us all the same and just wants to get a good deal in Mondstadt? As that young man is still producing large quantities of metal basically for free which Mondstadt desperately needs as well. It's just good business."

Even Morax nodded as that was a likely point in fact but then everyone's face twitched as Cloud Retainer spoke with a bit of nagging force.

"Speaking of traveling with Jake! This One has to know, Ganyu, you were all but pressed up against the boy in his special cultivation chamber, which has been moved to the Jade Chamber. How could you not press for marriage when he basically knows your body's shape young lady!?"

Well, Ganyu was 'only' five thousand years old at this humble point in time, while the rest of the room was filled with seniors who were already old by the time that Heaven attempted to force the gods to kill one another.

A cough left Ganyu as she flushed heavily. Then she hissed out. "Teacher! Why are you asking me with when Shenhe actually sat on his lap!"

The men in the room looked between the two outrageous women in the room. One an old hag who desperately, more than anything, wanted to finally hold a surrogate grandchild in her arms again.

The other, a blushing qillin who was shamelessly trying to throw her junior sister under the rampaging carriage that was Cloud Retainer!

Morax, knowing this was going to get off track quickly, cleared his throat and said the weight of a mountain. "Cloud Retainer, this meeting isn't for you to grill your disciples about their marriage prospects. Now, while that spatial storm is going on and no god-tier abyssal monsters will cross through the portal. Can we make any moves to provide us any special resources and advantages?"

Mutterings and idle thoughts filled the discussion before Ganyu perked up and said thoughtfully.

"We could kill some demi-god or maybe even a god-tier monster/spirit beast that lies between Liyue and another nation to improve trade? Jake also has special machines that can show you things near and far on special maps. Maybe we should use that phone Ningguang has to ask if he has pinpointed any such beasts?"