I have seen alot of folk talking about how Morax didn't need the gnosis to make mora back before the Archon war and that's true. But he also didn't need the gnosis to protect liyue or to win the all the battles that he did. He caged Osial the first time without it, but then the second time he had to make sure everything was OK before handing over the gnosis. This means that their powers were locked up in the gnosis. It doesn't matter what they could do before the Heavenly Principles locked them into their laws or else they could obviously turn around and rebel. The whole thing about visions proves this too. Being forced to share their power with humans with strong wills is more evidence that there power is not all their own.
I'm not entirely certain that he isn't ABLE to make anymore Mora after loosing the Gnosis though... I think he's just refusing to make any more as a way to reinforce the ruse that is faking his own death. The illusion would fall apart pretty quickly if people noticed that Mora was continuing to be made/appear after Rex Lapis was supposedly already dead. As far as we know, only the Archons(And Neuvillete who is effectively an Acting Archon), the Adepti(who all serve him), the Fatui (who have a vested interest in staying quiet) and the Traveler know that he's still alive. But if new Mora continued to be Minted, that information would get out REALLY fast, defeating the purpose of faking his death in the first place, whatever his plan is relating to that. So in a sense he actually can't make any more, but not because he lost the physical ability to do so...
@theunlikelygenshingamer I admire the critical effort you put in this theory but there are things in lore that directly contradicts it, for exemple, the case of Ei, as an Archon, she didn't see any use for the Gnosis and even disposed of it. Also the fact that "no new mora can be minted" also is void of sense because in that case the Fatui would have been able to mint Mora, since they figured out how to use the Electro Gnosis in Sumeru, they should have been able to mint with it and not try to introduce another currency through their experiments in the Fortress of Meropide.
the geo gnosis probably made it easier to print money; the traveler is able to generate mora from leylines and consume mora in alchemy and the process of infusion to empower weapons, etc so mora has an energy component to it on Ei and the electro gnosis: its not that there wasnt value in it, but rather Ei as an individual did not care about what it could do, because it was unable to help her in the one thing she wanted it to do. during the archon war to stabilize/claim the seat of electro Ei died so makoto could sync with it, makoto then brought Ei back....but during the calamity even with the aid of the gnosis and using a puppet body to try to make the process easier Ei could not do for makoto what makoto did for her, that is why Ei views the gnosis as worthless
Zhongli is like a protagonist of the teyvat who has long past completed his own journey and is now merely playing the role of a spectator witnessing the ongoing change in teyvat without interfering while freeing himself from the constraints of his contracts
@@ADioSimp her weapons? Who knows. She was able to split like 3 islands in half with one strike with her pole arm and her sword can split dimensions. But zhongli is/was the most powerful archon.
Btw, Zhongli's "Altered" voice line about the seven is yes, altered, but he still only confirms himself and Venti as the original 2. Not including Nahida even though Rukka deleted herself. His story quest when he places the Salt Goddess's relics in the ocean also depicts he knows history can be changed and altered. He knew of the Traveler's immunity of "forgetting" events like in Sumeru. Hence, he's knows of the Descenders.
"History cannot be easily changed" I believe he said. Most say history CAN'T be changed, not not easily changed. Amazing that such a small line's importance wasn't really caught until after Sumeru.
Yeah yeah people always meme about him fearing Neuvilette because of Neuvi's lines but as much as I love Neuvilette I'm not sure if he could beat him. Neuvilette has both archon and soverign powers awoken yes, but Zhongli is a 6000 year old archon who bodied god after god in the Archon War, it's a tough match
1:33 Anyone else notice the effect on Zhongli's shield that looks very similar to the cubes of the unknown god? His in gameplay shield also has this effect. And as shown in the cutscene, also similar to the unknown god, these cubes have a red aura emanating around them, while the unknown god's cubes are also gold and red. Coincidence? I THINK NOT! 1 more thing, Zhongli's hair doesn't glow in this cutscene, suggesting that he isn't using his true power, however in gameplay his hair does glow when using his shield, so idk what to think of this. We'll just have to wait for a lore drop on Zhongli I guess
also I highly doubt that Zhongli lost his ability to create gold. He just can't use it openly to make the others think that it has connection to Gnosis. He himself said that mora/gold is his blood so I think it has to be his origin ability not the one that he has gotten when acquired Gnosis
about your question what is Zhongli hiding oh I am pretty sure he hides many many things. I have so many questions. Like the one is it really was Morax who introduced alchemy (according to liyue domain descriptions), also about his origins. He has so many powers, like dreamwalking, creating pocket domains - and sharing this knowledge was a part of Illumination of adepti. Still most mysterious character imo. After Simulanka I am 99% sure that we will get that black mountain expansion zone down below Liyue. I really hope we can get some more info about Zhongli then
Venti was in slumber during the Cataclysm. According to the book Breeze Amidst The Forest, it was said that the prayers of the Mondstadt people awoke Barbatos from his slumber after Rostam and Arundolyn had fallen, leading to no one strong enough to fight Durin, so their prayers were heard and Venti awoke, calling Dvalin to help fight against Durin
Nope, Venti was in fact sleeping during the Cataclysm, it was just that, according to the book Breeze Amidst The Forest, Venti awoke from the prayers of the people of Mondstadt to defend against Durin
@@RhojormoIf you're really interested in Zhongli and haven't already, I would recommend Ashikai to you. She's got a few videos and streams where she talks about him. Most are theories, but then she has pointed out stuff I never even noticed like for instance; why is it that he's the only Archon with a statue holding a square while all others are holding spheres? She mentions Chinese cosmology in where heaven is circular and earth is a square.
Okay so, there's too many misconception to Zhongli's ability to create Mora. Short answer: he never said he needed the Gnosis to do that. He NEVER once said that. The Liyue Archon quest specifically said that the Golden House needed the
@@devilofgreed760 Nothing to do with the Geo Authority. Mora was already created long BEFORE the Archon Wars. It most likely even existed during the war between Heavenly Principles and the Second Who Came which resulted in the creation of the Gnosis and the start of the Archon Wars. The Archon Wars ended only 2000 years ago, Liyue Harbour was founded 3700 years ago and Zhongli has lived for 6000 years. He even had his own established civilisation prior to Guili Assembly and Liyue Harbour.
@@devilofgreed760Read the Prithiva Topaz Gemstone description, it’s specifically about Zhongli himself. Gold is his innate power because that’s what he’s made of
Zhongli literally arrived on teyvat 6000 years ago in the golden chariot landing in the chasm. Cbt1 voicelines had zhongli being reminiscent of celestia. He is either one of the shades or some other important figure banished or some other reason arrived on teyvat. Thats why he is the god of contracts because he literally cant say anything. People are literally underestimating him because hoyo doesnt reveal a lot for the gods who lived longer like zhongli and venti.
@@LuizFelipe508-ty2id how tf a Childish Girl that even can't fight against Slime is going to kill us? , During AQ, just gave her Random Treasure Hoarder to Fight her and she will absolutely Defeated, and now how she will kill us? Manipulated Neuv?
When I think of Zhongli and would measure his power outta 10 I’d say 10 or higher. Mans just trying to live a peaceful life now and had enough war in his life.
If you know some Chinese, you might find the name Zhongli very interesting. The original Chinese characters are 钟 (zhong) and 离 (li). The character 钟(Zhong) = 钅 (Gold) + 中(China), and the 离(li) = 璃(Liyue) - 王(Lord/king). Additionally, 钟 (zhong) means 'clock' and shares the same pronunciation with the word 'final', this is associated with death in Chinese culture. And 离 (li) means 'leave' or 'depart.', the combination means "time to leave/final end (of a life)". The name intriguingly encapsulates his story in Liyue. Furthermore, Zhongli is a rarely used family name, not a full name. We still don't know his full name. In 2500 years ago in Chinese history, there was a lord named Zhongli, and his wife was called '无盐,' where '盐' means salt, '无' means without/loss, which connects to the story of the god of salt.
Wow that's so interesting! I love how so much of this games lore is hidden all over the place. I feel like we lorist are playing a game with the story and lore developers, where in they hide things just for us to find and expound on. After all what's the fun in hiding secrets if there is no one to challenge to find them🙂 Thanks for the cool info😁
@@theunlikelygenshingamer Yes!! There are many more examples like this. For example the Chinese name of his elemental burst, '天星' (Tianxing), it can mean 'Meteor from the sky,' but it also refers to a Chinese steelyard balance, an artifact used for measurement, which is the Liyue logo on the loading page. '天星' represents the marks on the steelyard that indicate measurement units, symbolizing concepts 'contracts,' and 'measurement'.
Sorry god of salt is not his wife and not related at all because god of salt got killed by his own ppl because they don't want to see he/her suffering Guizhong is a god of dust Not salt
@@star_lordz2401 You missed the point. They did not say that Havria was Morax's wife. They said there was a king of china named Zhongli, and her wife's name contained a word that meant Salt.
Well no. Zhongli still has the ability to create mora. He just didn't because he said he wants to live like a human so he must follow the laws/rules of being human. So no mora creating. It's also said that when Zhongli taught the Liyue people how to create houses, he used pure mora as materials for the model, that's before archon war started.
@Cudoviste24 I believe the Gnosis is said to be able to mint Mora, but ultimately, mora came from Zhongli's very flesh and blood. Mora exists before the assignment of Gnosis to the 7 winners.
One thing to consider is that his endless slaughter of gods was during the archon war, so before he became an archon and got the gnosis... He's still that powerfull right now...
I have a personal theory that Zongli is actually the Ancient Soverign Dragon of Geo... The idea is that he made a Deal/contract with the Primordial One to betray the other Dragons in exchange for keeping his "Sovereign seat". It's not like "Traitor Dragons" are an unheard of thing either, Dvalin willingly serves Venti after all(And is most likely a Sovereign Dragon himself, considering he's supposed to have had greater control over the winds than even the "Thousand Winds" herself(Istaroth, a Primordial shade) before he was poisoned by Abyssal poison during the calamity). There's a few reasons that lead me to thinking this. For starters, the Form he use to Fake his death is that of a Dragon, when the people saw a Geo dragon drop down on Liyue, nobody doubted that it was Rex Lapis, so Clearly he's been associated to the form of a Dragon for a while... Then there's Azdeha, who never liked Humans, he seems them as bugs beneath him, same goes for Adepti and other Archons, but he sees Morax as someone worthy of Respect, as though he was a Dragon himself. His age is also a hint, given that he's supposed to be around 6000 Years Old and has been in charge for pretty much all that time, it'd make sense if he had been Liyue's Sovereign Dragon from the start. Then there's the fact that Neuvillete Calls him "Deus Auri" (Yes, I'm aware it means "God of Gold", that does not negate the potential draconic significance of it), Nobody else Calls him that, not even Venti. The primary thing that sets Neuvillette Apart from anyone else is that he IS a Dragon(Not just a really old Vishap like Azdeha), so it feels like the name Deus Auri is something that only Dragons would call him, Ancient ones at that. What makes it even Weirder is that Neuvillete is actually very young for a Sovereign Dragon, he's only 500 Years old, he was reborn right after the Calamity, but he seems to have some inherited Memories from his previous incarnation, which tells me that "Deus Auri" might be Zongli's most ancient, and probably true, Name. Oh, and lets not forget that Zongli can Sense Neuvillete's presence well enough that he can just dodge him completely to avoid causing a scene, almost like he Smells another dragon nearby, but Neuvilette doesn't really know how to do that yet... Oh and lets not forget that Neuvillete has a PARTICULAR Hate for Zongli, in his Voice lines about the various Archons, he more or less says things like "I'll need to punish them for the Role that they or their forbearers had in the unjust downfall of my kind" but he holds no actual animosity towards most of them, he treats it like it's a Job that he'll have to do at some point. Except Venti and Zongli. For Venti he Seems to dislike him for his Role in the Primordial War but it doesn't go much further than that, But for Zongli it Runs deeper, his voice line(and tone) implies that he Genuinely HATES Zongli, the kind of hate reserved for Traitors, not simply enemies...(Also, he Seems to bear no grudge at all against Nahida, so that's nice) Combine all that with the fact that so far, every Archon has been a different type of Entity. Venti is a Wind spirit Spawn of the Thousand Winds (a Primordial Shade), Makoto and Ei were probably Humans that Ascended to something Higher, then Ei Shoved her Soul in a Sword that she sealed in a Puppet, Rukkhadevata/Kusanali are effectively an Avatar of Irminsul (and possibly also a kind of Djinn?), Focalors and Furina were Oceanids in human form with extra features, and Natlan's Archons were supposedly all human that pass down their power and authority to other humans they consider worthy... So if Zongli IS a Sovereign Dragon, it would make him yet another different type of being, which fits the theory.... This is WAY too many things adding up to pointing to him as a Sovereign Dragon for it to just be a coincidence! Oh and to be Clear, I'm saying that's he's the Sovereign Dragon that's been "Leashed" by Celestia, as part of the contract he made with the Primordial One, he Lost a part of what he was before the contract, and he had to FIGHT to earn his right to be Archon. He was a Sovereign with all the power and authority that represents, but then he Lost the authority, then fought the Archon war to get it back, but in a limited state as a Gnosis. He's not back to the full power that he had back when he Betrayed the other Dragons, but he's not as diminished as the others have become today (Except Neuvillete, of course, since he had his FULL authority Returned)
@@goodbro2046 He also said that as Azdeha was only just now breaking out of a Seal Zongli had put him in for Centuries.... And then when he DID get out, Zongli Whopped em back into his Cage.. So you'll excuse me if I don't take Rex Lapis at his word when he says that the guy he just beat up seemingly effortlessly is stronger than him...(And this is AFTER Morax Powered up the Frog Boi by giving him Eyes)
Azhdaha is more like sovereign geo while zhongli is the sovereign lord,the creator of 7 sovereign,who rule the teyvat 6 thousand years ago with sovereign that why azdaha the sovereign geo fought with zhongli even though the contract can't do anything to sovereign
@@kendric023 Zongli isn't the Dragon King Nibelung(The Dragon sovereign who stands above all other Dragons, who the Primoridal one stole the authority to rule Teyvat from). And Azdeha only became as powerful as we've seen him after Morax Empowered him by giving him eyes (Dragon's Eyes have been depicted as being VERY Symbolically powerful things, so this is a big Deal). If he Wasn't powerful to begin with, and doesn't have the Throne of Geo (And was never even HINTED to have had it at any time), he Ain't the Dragon sovereign if Geo, and never was. Zongli on the other Hand has told us that he's Been alive and in charge of the Liyue area for nearly 6000 Years, LONG before the Archon War, which implies he already had dominion over the area, Which only a Dragon Sovereign could have had before the Archons were a thing. Especially Given that Azdeha was once Loyal TO Morax, but now he seems to hate him. Which Implies that Morax Imprisoned Azdeha as part of the Terms of him being allowed to defect to the side of the Gods despite being a Dragon Sovereign. Celestia Basically Forced him to weaken himself by Sealing away a potential weapon against themselves before they let him become an Archon.
The mystery of the archon war is core to the whole zhongli storyline, and likely we'll only get snippets in next years lantern right when we may get madam ping as a playable character. Some people say guizhong was the god of chenyu vale but I think it's far more sinister. I think that an enormous amount of godlike entities were subjugated and mind controlled if you will and were forced to fight against their friends. This is why zhongli was forced to do as he did as there was NO cure except maybe the destruction of the one who started it and zhong could never get to them. Xiao knows firsthand what it's like to be controlled in this manner as he was freed from one of these "dark gods". When the "new war" yae miko and EI talk about comes I think a number of these old entities that escaped to the dark sea will return with their minions. Probably at a similar time that durin is resurrected. The time from when the "second who came" arrived , the apocalypse and the archon war is key to our understanding and we dont know much yet.
@@serezelveydawn We got a playable Birb... Never doubted A SECOND we're gonna get a playable Ping after Keqing said in the first lantern rite that ''She can take any form she wants''
Neuvillette calls the Gods "Fragments" in a certain voiceline, so it is possible that the Gods inherited the Primordial One's fragments of power. Since we know that the Creator is no more, we can assume that the smaller gods are all shards of the Primordial One and that the Archon War was basically all Gods going Highlander. But as Liyue showed us, consuming Gods' remains often drive people mad or make them sick, Mortals and Gods alike.
@bonk78624 Nope, Neuvillette never specified if these fagments of the "primordial" meant the Gods or the Shades... Matter of fact and you might be surprised that he potentially would have been talking about the Dragons because when the dragons talk about Phanes they NEVER call him the "primordial" but rather the "usurper". So careful with this one.
My guess is, there is only one power dangerous enough to control gods and turn friends into foes. It's the Abyssal Corruption, and we've seen it turn Dvalin into Stormterror.
Also i think it's clear that he is not affected by Irmansul changes, since his light about original Archons and their number hasn't changed the number of Archons after Nahida deleted Rukadevatha. Only phrasing of his line changed. So it's not like Hoyo forgot to change it, they actually did, but it didn't affect his memory of original Archons. From that i think it's quite clear.
I think Zhongli does know what Tsaritsa is planning. I think his contract with her is to protect Liyue and it's people. He also didn't end every enemy in Liyue. He sealed Azhdaha to stop him from destroying Liyue and it's people. I hope they don't try making Zhongli the scapegoat "villian" to Teyvet.
Exactly!! That's what I observed. He also sealed Osial and its wife, which to me was weird since Osial was a huge problem to Liyue before... Kinda suspicious.
@@donkey_mediocre7246 Yes! That would mean that he chose the safest option for the people and nation. I also think that in the case of Azhdaha; he didn't want to end his friend. Just my take on it though.
@@canadalovesanime3137 Also Killing Azhdha would release a huge amount of elemental energy most likely, think of one of the reasons Nahida *really* didn't want Apep to die.
HA, well made Video. I am slowly beginning to think many don't take his age and his story into heart at all; it was a very good elaboration on the countless things this Individual has witnessed, done and influenced, the God of Gold. As to those in the comments, speaking of ithis video, elaborating, debunking those that do not know what they are talking about, PREACH! it is rare to find those that actually invest into his lore and story, while at the same time theorising. I feel proud that this topic of discussion was not yet discarded and is still as interesting to talk about as ever.
For me, he was and still is the most interesting character in this game (even more than the sinners or Hexenzirkel) I just wish we would know more about his past or the connection he had with those 1000+ years in the past. Things that made me curious(I don't know if we got updated yet) are there is one city in the chasm that is related to gold and his connection with dragon and descender.
Finally someone says it. I am not here to throw mud on Complete Dragonhood Neuvilette, and maybe he is stronger than Morax as well, but I am willing to bet that the gap is not as wide as people may think. A battle between current Zhongli and current Neuvilette can go either way, it wont be a one sided slaughter. Neuvilette may have the authority back but he is still a young dragon. He does not have 6000 years of combat experience that Morax Commands. He does not have Morax's strategic genius that he cultivated after years of fighting and learnt from Guizhong. Neuvilette also doesnt have the same presence as the leader as Morax have for liyue, Neuvilette is the protector and fontaine looks up to him. Zhongli is a leader and entire Liyue will march into battle for him. He was there when the nail hit the chasm. He subdued(not kill) a lot of gods. A lot of gods are still alive, like Osial, and have been sealed by Morax's power for 2000+ years with no signs of that seal weakening. Osial managed to get free momentarily because Zhongli allowed childe to go ahead with his plan. You have to understand that this man's power is so strong that a seal placed 2000+ years ago is not even budging while he casually sips tea listening to stories at a teahouse. Imprisoning a strong opponent is much more impressive than killing them. A lot of people just sleep on him just because we saw Ei's prowess in person PLUS musojin gorge gives us a skewed perspective. Ei was a soldier. A general. A weapon of war. I am very sorry to Ei fans, but she has not been good for Inazuma. Yashiori island got fcked because of her slash. Maybe she could have handled Seirai island's situation a little better. All of htese are problems originating from the fact that Ei could not stop them without killing them. On the other hand, Morax protected everyone, by imprisoning the gods instead. And even if he killed Gods, he made sure there is a group that is cleaning up(Yaksha) so that it doesnt affects the land of Liyue. He has probably been the best leader/king figure we have seen in this game. If i have to categorize what role would they play in a war Zhongli is the King that leads the entire nation into war, commands forces, makes strategies, etc etc. Mavuika and Raiden are the Generals who leads the forces personally into a battle. Venti is the bard who raises the morale of the nation. Neuvilette is the protector who isnt sent into the battle but the one that you keep close to protect the people and camps. He is the last line of defense along with the King, Morax. Nahida(and Makoto if she was alive) are strategists. Nahida also doubles up as doctor/gives people peace of mind by using her powers to save crumbling psyche while Makoto ensures the nation still has some form of governance while the war is ongoing.
PS i know i yapped, but i love Zhongli hehe. He was my first five star ever. So i hope its understandable. Btw a little tidbit for anyone interested, after Nahida erased Rukkhadevata, every text about Rukkhadevata replaced her with Nahida. AKA Nahida became the first ever dendro archon in texts and memories. YET zhongli still knows that he and venti are the only two original archons left. If all records of rukkhadevata has become Nahida now, everyone should remember Nahida, Zhongli and Venti as the archons from the original seven. But he knows that Nahida was not the first dendro archon. So eitehr he is resistant or immune to irminsul tampering. Not only that, he knew that traveler was immune from it as well. Nahida knew it only because Dottore told her, but from the last convo of theri story quest 1, it seemed he is already aware of travelers descender status. This could very well have been informed to him by Tsaritsa vis Signora, since Nahida got this info from fatui, and Zhongli was colluding with fatui, so he may have gotten that intel from them, but its still monumental. Infact, now it makes sense why zhongli even undertook the contract of silence. A binding vow and perhaps a strong contract is necessary if you cannot wipe someone's memories clean. If you cant delete a record, lock it away. And this is actually quite feasible. Why? Descenders are not the only ones immune to irminsul tampering. Vedrfornir of the sinners and Nicole of the hexenzirkel are both immune to it. Alice may also be immune because she comes from some other world. The person obfuscating our sibling's fate is also immune(i mean if they can shield someone from irminsul, they gotta be powerful enough to protect themselves), even though i think that the person is Vedrfornir but i mentioned this just in case it turns out to be someone else. So its not entirely impossible for Zhongli to be from another world, if Khaenriah can summon multiple people from other worlds owing to their geographical location, why can Liyue not summon atleast one? Or maybe he arrived by himself. We dont know anything about his origins.
I loved this comment, especially your break down of the roles the leaders of each nation would excel at. I think that was very interesting. You all should know, i love the long comments that are offering insight and an interesting point of view. Only the ignorant comments from people who complain before finishing the video are annoying. You get what I'm saying completely. No shade to Neuvillette and Raiden lovers but there is definitely more to this guy than meets the eye. Id be interested to hear your thoughts on my latest video :D Either way though, thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
@@theunlikelygenshingamerahaha thanks. apparently the morax fanboy within me was dying to vent🤣. Sure would love to follow more of your videos, i enjoy good debates and lore perspectives.
As Ei herself says he's story is not over yet. This has sooo many lore capsules that itsyunsane. 1. His pre archon war existence is still a mystery 2. He knows alot of the swcrets feomntgat Era 3. He furst hand experienced the Arvhon war, and would is probably be the most accurate record of that time period 4. AND He has Guizhong's memory capsule.... Like he's a walk-in time capsule carrying soo many capsules
I see Zhongli i click. Your video is sooo soothing. It's calming, just Like Zhongli. I dont care if there are more powerful gameplay character, i just love Zhongli
A small correction, zhongli hasn't lost the ability to create mora, zhongli never required the gnosis to make mora, He got the gnosis 2600 years ago, he made the first mora, and the golden house 3700 years ago, beforre the war even began, and it's stated in mora description that mora is his flesh and blood too So the gnosis connection was either a wrong judgement by paimon, or he himself lied to aether and paimon Another thing is that he never denies knowing about lumine's travels, he says he can't say anything because of a contract, so a contract that stands above his contract with the tsarita to end all contracts Also, something to think is that the devine thrones give archons the power to use the elements, but zhongli has shown absolute authority over the element of geo before he received the devine throne, having formed many of the mountains, and all of guyun stone forest, so who is he really?
Seeing Deus Auri, Zhongli’s other name mentioned again….I now figured out another theory that Zhongli might have been a Vidyadhara, hiding his dragonic features, but also as a High Elder since that name is like Imbibitor Lunae. The way he changes into other appearances can be a case of cloudhymn magic itself too. His rock and the Hexanexus puzzles resemble each other after all, and it would make so much other sense to why he always seemed to be a different person back in his prime is maybe because he goes through another hatching rebirth but keeping his former memories? Idk but Deus Auri is literally like a High Elder name vibe
Well it certainly would be an interesting twist if Zhongli turned out to have connections with Long or may be his descendant. People even joked before that he could be the Aeon himself who disappeared all of a sudden.
A few things you forgot to mention and i can fill in. Zhongli was considered to be a brute and only know to resolve things with violence. Thats why Mercy was never associated with him. After he met Guizhong he started slowly to change . The people of Guizhong always said He was the Brawn and she was the Brain of their partnership. Thats how Guili Plains was named after them. Gui-Guizhong / li-Zhongli. Morax after the death of Guizhong went in a blind rage back to his former self. Slaughtering everyone that dared opposing him or betrayed him. I am glad you mentioned the Jade Cutter, thats the most important item that defines Zhongli's relationship with Guizhong. The part regarding the Gnosis, the Gnosis is not their power, its their Authority. Basically showing who is the supreme ruler of that region. During the Archon War his body count was the highest but he was not an Archon then, his power is his specifically not borrowed from Celestia. When he met Guizhong he wasnt an Archon he was an Adepti/God . A very easy way to notice him actually faking his weakness is when he fought Azhdaha and Azhdaha mentioned he couldve killed him but he chose not to. Zhongli tries to say he couldnt because even last time he needed the help of the Adepti to seal him,meanwhile Azhdaha told him if he actually wanted to he couldve without any issues. Another 1 that shows he has his powers fully is the moment when we try to Escape the Chasm Labyrinth with Xiao and Xiao was ready to die for us. Morax was always aware of what we were doing and just when he saw their is no alternative he jumped inside the distorted dimension and rescued him like it was nothing and left without us even noticing he just saved Xiao from certain Death. A side note. Venti and Morax we know for sure are friends that constantly bicker but i have the feeling Zhongli doing all that part with leaving Liyue in their own hands and him taking a more outsider's view perspective just gives me the vibe he addapted completely Venti's rule. Let the people decide their own fate and only if imminent peril is bound to happen, thats when he will intervenne. This is my theory from what ive read so far in the game about Morax. Have a nice day ^_^
I'm sorry but Zhongli was not a brute. Nor did he change just because of Guizhong. The Adepti follow him because of his Compassion and love for humans. He had to wear the mask of unmovable visage which meant that he could not allow his guard to falter and continue wearing a firm and cold expression to keep his people safe. When the dust settled is literally an old English phrase that has been used for a long time that means once a situation has calm down which in this case means the end of the Archon War. It has nothing to do with Guizhong. Also, he NEVER faked fighting Azhdaha. You misunderstood his meaning, Zhongli came to him as a friend and not as an assassin. What he couldn't do that day was ask one of his most dearest old friend to be sealed. How many times has Zhongli sealed away an old friend? Of course it would be hard on him. If you read Xianyun's lore, it is clearly stated that the 'values and compassion of Morax, the God of Contracts, won him the favor of Cloud Retainer and the other adepti, and so they followed him into battle.' He had always been a compassionate God! Don't forget that the Adepti had long existed before the word 'Liyue' even existed and they followed him. That speaks volumes of his character. Also, we already know why Zhongli left Liyue in the hands of his people. It's literally told to us in the Liyue Archon Quest and even again during this year's Lantern Rite when the theme is about parents letting go of their children. He is literally Liyue's Parent. He cared for them, nurtured them and protected them all these years all because he loves thems which isn't because of Guizhong by the way. It's even in his trailer. 'This is an age of Gods and Monsters, I wish not for dominion, yet I cannot watch the common folk suffer.' 😭😭😭😭
@@ChainedThoughts its stated literally and in Guili plains lore about his attitude before meeting Guizhong and in the jade cutter lore how he literally made a genocide after Guizhong's death, did you completely miss that lore?. He was never a compassionate God, he was a righteous God. He punished even former friends that broke contracts, its stippulated in Jade cutter lore once again.
@@cris9485 Which was already debunked that Soraya was biased when it came to Guizhong and Morax. Read Xianyun's story. It literally states he is compassionate. He is fair and just. Of course he would abide by the contracts. He is the God of Contracts and it was during the time of war. Liyue had the highest number of Gods who threatened the safety of his people. Doesn't make him any less compassionate. Also he never committed genocide. Zhongli very deeply cares for his people even long before meeting Guizhong. He never wanted to join the fight, he only did so to protect his people. His people even built him a mansion yet he refused because he wanted to live close to them. You keep telling me one lore and I'm giving you a counter argument with added lore that proves he was not a brute. Not only that Eng translations take so much out of context and change the meanings for the past 4 going into 5 years. I play in Chinese and so much is wrongly translated.
@@ChainedThoughts true Zhongli didn't want to fight. If I'm not mistaken it's because of the Goddess of Salt's death that he became determined to fight.
@@jadepuguon1177 It really isn't because of Havria. As I have stated earlier, it's in his trailer. He fought for his people. He literally says this in his trailer. Havria's death is true for a lot of Gods who could not protect their people and the point of the quest was to show how easily history can be changed which is why Traveler's role as witness was important. "I wish not for dominion, but I cannot watch the common folk suffer." I don't know why this is so difficult to understand.
18:51 ooh thats SUCH a cool idea!! Ive seen plenty of people suggest that the Fatui are actually doing all this for a benevolent goal but ive never seen this take on it, that they're PURPOSELY being unecessarily cruel at times to ensure that in the memory of the world theyre nothing more than villains, that theres a very functional reason why theyre not telling everyone what theyre actually aiming for and getting the whole world united under a common aim. Those have always been the points that made the idea of them being revealed to be heroes later not sit right with me, but this is a completely reasonable explanation 😮
Amazing video as always ! just one thing I wan to point out, Zhongli DID NOT in fact lose the Ability to make Gold, it's Liyue that lost it. The reason why he doesn't create it for himself is simple : it would be unfair for him, living as a human amonsgt human society to make gold whereas other humans have to work hard to earn it. It's the whole point of calling him Deus Auri and the lore of the Diolog of the Desert Sages, creating gold is an innate capability of Deus Auri, much like him being the Prime of Adepti, it has seldom to do with his title as an Archon or the Gnosis, since much like Deshret, Morax didn't wish for dominion and had no interest in the throne in the first place, and the first house in Liyue was made form a model cast from Gold, A WHILE BEFORE the Archon war even ended, he neither lost his Adeptal powers nor his ability to create Gold. Another point, Zhongli's namecard reads 天星 or Heavenly Star, and his TCG card (which is canonically created by the Hexenzerkiel) reads : ''A hidden gemstone can illuminate the whole earth, bright and unrivaled as a star.'' which makes sense, since IRL Gold is a star-born ore that can only and exclusively be created in extreme cosmic events, which throws us back to what Albedo said about Gold... Also please check out the SUMMIT SHAPER LORE... it might give us an insight of what _the contract to end all contracts_ is probably about.
I've been seeing a number of people say this and I'm wondering we're it came from. Zhongli in fact does keep many secrets. But it's not a secret that there are certain divine abilities that the Archons have that they lose when lodi g their gnosis like the Nahida’s in ability to power the Akasha anymore. Zhongli in fact said that he did not make a stash for himself before surrendering the gnosis which Paimon berated him for. But he has actually lost the ability a part of the exchange that he was well aware would happen. This is further proven by the fact that Regrator who runs the Northland Bank and was also operating in Liyue, (that's how Yelan stole his gift to the Tsaritsa). His goal is to take away the enterprise of money making from the Archon of Gold who, he believed should never have had it. It's clear that Zhongli lost a great deal of power when he gave it away because it's why he had to be sure he could still save them if Liyue couldn't manage. His life blood is gold because he did create it but knowingly bargained away that and other powers in exchange for some as of now unknown equally valuable trade. Just like Nahida did for unprecedented knowledge. As for his ability to make it before, it's very likely that rather than give the Archons more power when they won the war,their existing abilities where bound up in the gnosis. That's how Celestia keeps them in there place.
@@theunlikelygenshingamer Yes the reason why people say that is because, it's a fact. It's all about the wording, I think it was much clearer in other versions than in the ENG localisation but even in the said version it's just a matter of wording at best. Zhongli never claimed he lost HIS ability to create Mora, or Gold, he said that the house of mint will cease operation because the Gnosis is gone. Moreover, regarding HIMSELF he also said in the dialog. Paimon: But why would Morax lack Mora? Zhongli: As the Rex Lapis Morax, I can easily create Mora. But since I have *CHOSEN* to walk this earth as the mortal Zhongli, I *should abide by the same rules that mortals* do. Creating Mora in the Golden House requires the use of the Geo Archon's power, and not the Gnosis particularly, so it's more of a matter of since the Archon is ''dead'', no Mora can be created. Paimon: That's right! Zhongli, now that you don't have your Gnosis, what's going to happen to all the Mora in Teyvat? Paimon: Since Morax is "dead," are they all just gonna disappear? Paimon: Also, isn't the Golden House the only mint in the entire continent? Will it even continue to work? Zhongli: The Mora present now will not vanish. But the Golden House will indeed have to cease operations for a lengthy period of time, since creating Mora requires the use of the Geo Archon's power. Historically, the power to create gold was always in his possession even before the creation of Liyue, and the Prithiva Topaz Gemstone stated (as well as Paimon before and in Genshin's anniversary trivia bits more recently) that Gold was his FLESH AND BLOOD, and casted from HIS DEVINE BODY, and what he handed over was the Gnosis and NOT HIS divine Abilities or his divine blood. Even Neuvilette's insight tells us that before gaining the Authority of Geo, he was DEUS AURI, or the god of gold [...] which won't make sense if it wasn't an ability of his, as explained in various sources such as the Pethriva Gemstone, his Story quest, Dialog of the Desert Sages, himself, Neuvilette .... And when you mention the Akasha System and also I would add the Oratrice and collecting Idemtitium, and the Electro Gnosis with control over weather, it's a similar case, THIS IS WHAT THE GNOSIS DOES, all are cases of DIVINE ABILITIES AUTOMATED/ENHANCED or DELEGATED with the use of the Gonsis. which is EXACTLY how Neuvillette described it. When the Akasha was shut down, it didn't make Nahida lose her powers over dreams did she ? and when Ei disposed of her Gnosis to Miko, lore still told us that she controlled the weather in Inazuma 🤷♂ well it's the same thing. And if you want to go even further, if the Gnosis was in fact what allows him to create Gold, the creation of Mora would have simply moved to Snezhnaya and not be ceased, and we know for fact now that the harbingers could NOT create gold, since in the Fortress of Meropide they were attempting to test a new ''currency'' which are the coupons. Also the last part of your comment doesn't make sense given that what the Archons got from Celestia was the authority and the Gnosis, and it has NEVER been mentioned in lore that she took whatever form them, I think the relationship between Celestia and the Archons is a bit misunderstood... It also leads to a belittling of the Archon's own powers and Abilities. Archons represent the mandated entities that exerce the rule of Celestia over Teyvat, the auxiliaries between humans and heavens since the ultimate goal is to harvest something from humans by channeling the powers THROUGHT the Archons, and even more Zhongli (and Nahida )since his Adeptal powers have a direct effects over the powers of nature as observed in Chenyu Vale (and her powers over dreams consequently). What ''keeps archons in check'' already was mentioned by Scylla, it's them being ''cursed'' with the LOVE OF HUMANITY, and funnily enough it was always the case, since Archons were not always the most powerful Gods, but conveniently those who won this title were the ones who cared about humanity the dearest. So Celestia NEEDS the Archons, and RELAYS on their love of humanity to keep them on check, therefore she doesn't need to take anything from them, otherwise they could have done it with so many gods before.
My understanding of this claim from doing so much digging on this topic is that Morax has always had to ability to create gold/mora, but the gnosis simply "amplified" that ability so that he could create LOTS of it, enough to circulate all of Teyvat and be used as the primary currency. He's had the ability to create gold/medium since the early days of the archon war, before the 7 archons ever received their gnosis.
I agree that zhongli has a bigger role to play, considering he is lord of liyue/China, it is just fitting to make him a hero if not big player of the game.
I really liked your idea about the Tsaritsa having a plan to free the Archons and fool the Heavenly Principals, similar to Focalars. One thing that has always bugged me the entire time I have played Genshin was that at the start, they show Fatui as bad guys. They steal the Gnosis, but we basically learn after the first few chapters that the Archons are ok with it happening, but also the Fatui are still treated as the bad guys, which just didnt make sense to me. Either the Archons are ok with them or should be fighting them to keep it right? But if its all one big plan to trick Celestia, then that makes sense. They dont really care if it happens, but they have to pretend like they are. That could lead to some crazy events soon! Especially if Zhongli is as old and special as we think. Maybe he predates the dragons and other gods and was involved with the Primordial Ones and the Shades or something.
Another thing to note, is that the Gnosis may be a net negative to a god. Neuvillette was told that Gnosis bears a curse from the death of the Third Descender, and he gave it away at the first opportunity, like it was a hot potato. Archons bear the burden of the gnosis, because nobody else could. So when Tsaritsa volunteered to take them all, most archons did not think much about it. Still, it is clear that people like Nahida and Zhongli know about Tsaritsa's plan, and are fine with it. And most of the Fatui would give their lives for that plan. Whatever the plan it, it's going to be awesome. Unless Hoyoverse mess it up, but I think they have what it takes to pull it off.
@@kotarouinugami1745 oh wow ya thats a great thought, i forgot about it being a curse. Makes even more sense they are fine with getting rid of them and really makes you wonder what the Tsaritsa is up to. Im so excited to see what happens in Natlan and then Snezhnaya after that. I think Natlan will have something else happen with the Gnosis too, because if they Fatui get it and have all 7 like it has happened in the other nations, then we would have to wait a year to see what the Tsaritsa's plan is even though she has everything. Feels like that would be a little bit odd and lose some of the hype. My crackhead theory is we get the Gnosis and use that to become the Pyro Traveler Archon Sovereign w/e u wanna call it lol. Then we could meet up next year with the Tsaritsa and figure it out.
@@kotarouinugami1745 I wonder whats going to happen with fontaine hydro gnosis? Is tsaritsa going to fight neuvillete to get it or is neuvillette going to give it to her?
I'm a simple woman who loves Zhongli very much! So i see a theory about him, i click and watch! I do recall a theory about him being a possible shade. There's also that weird thing about the shape he holds in comparison to the other Archon statues... like why does he hold a cube unlike the rest? Theres also the line he said about the contract with Celestia, saying how it was signed before it all began. I wonder the timeline of that contract 🤔 i think there's a line in the geo ascension material that Zhongli’s yet to say as well, calling mora, or something that i can't remember, the blood of Tevyat. That has some implications as well as to his identity imo
there are some informations that are false, probably because you haven't finished some quests and stories prior to creating this video. But the most important at start is that - Melusines are creations of Abyss and not Primordial sea. Because Elynas we already found out is abyssal monster created by one of the Hexenzirkel and descended to Teyvat along with Dragonspine;s dragon wrecking havoc that they were unaware by themself of. But about Rex lapis, yeah he is still the biggest enigma in the story. And also I think he is connected to Honkai or at least know about them and also about Teyvat's true identity.. also there aren't actually ''gods'' those are ''deities''.
My theory is he is one of the sovereign and made a deal with the Celestia to observe or record everything if something happens kinda like a back up or a hardcopy of some sort and his over 6,000 years old age is his age having a human figure not existed, and him not wanting to meet Neuvilette make sense since it's like Zhongli is guilty like he betrayed his own kind like you are afraid to meet your friend because you did something and you can't face him/her
The Alchemical Magnum Opus represents Zhongli's journey pretty well. Nigredo represents his datk origins where he witnessed the Fall Of The Seelies, Albedo represents the time of peace where he ruled the Guili Assembly, Rubedo represents the Archon War where he drowned civilizations in Blood and finally Citrinitas where he found perfection in his ways that Guizhong always wanted him to realise.
We all did Morax's 1 and 2 story right? He can't disclosed these highly classified information since he's under NDA with Celestia. He's the oldest archon so surely he had seen things further in history, and since he's the oldest, he has more knowledge than the rest and we all know that knowledge = power.
You are so so underrated i caught you by accident --- you're on my fyp --- and oh gosh the way you connect the lore and narrate it perfectly is chefs kiss
As you pointed out, Zhongli was around at the very beginning of Teyvat. I have a theory that he is actually one of the shades of the Primordial One - the shade of death. I just find it very interesting that of all things, when he decides to 'live as a mortal' he gets a job working for a funeral parlor. He is certainly intimately acquainted with death, as he has dealt more of it than probably any other being in Teyvat's history, with as long as he has lived. I also find it rather telling that of all the beings that were alive at that time, only he is still around.
There are lots of theories about the shades and their identities. Some say they are the 3 moon sisters and the sun, some say they are individual entities different from the moon sisters. But one thing is certain , at least 3 of the shades have dominion over time and space . Istaroth is said to be the God of Moments,not of time. Moments are parts of time . Ei's 2nd story quest further supports this . Istaroth is associated with wind and birds and death. In an interview, the genshin developers said that the artefacts are inspired by tarot cards,and so far, Istaroth aligns with the tarot card that represents death and wind. Its just a theory, but considering the repeating themes and coincidences , it doubt that they are just coincidences. My point is that Istaroth is better suited for the Shade of Death than Morax is.
@zoro2082 Theories are just speculations that can only be wrong once proven wrong, so no, all theories about the shades that have a solid base are not wrong until proven otherwise.
In terms of Hoyoverse multiverse, this makes me think that Zhongli is the Teyvat version of Nanook the Destruction from HSR especially with how both have many gold motifs and caused much destruction in their wake.
I don't think they will, given that they have to fulfill both telling us the contract with the Tsaritsa, AND Ei herself said his story isn't even nearly as finished yet 🤔 so unless they want to ruin lore entirely...
if zhong li was from teyvat, nahida could know everything he knows, including his secrets, cause they would be into irminsul now that his gnosis is not in his hands anymore, so the "contract" he had taht wouldn't allow him to share his secrets to the world, is now broken.
@FilippoBonora THAT.... If Zhongli was in fact not immune to Irminsul tempering, in a way or another, his "contract" to keep silence would be useless. Why silence somebody when you can alter their memory in the first place ?
@@citoyenneteavanttout7273 sorry for the spelling error and any other grammar error you found in my comment, i am not a native speaker. and to answer your question, the problem is that the informations zhong li had were never in irminsul in the first place. and the heavenly principles can't control irminsul, cause is native from teyvat and they are not, so they cannot alter someones memory nor cancel them completely from irminsul.
..I don't think Nahida can read the minds of just *anyone* that is in irminsul. Dottore is from Teyvat, he's in Irminsul, so how did he know stuff Nahida did not? How do the Fatui have info Nahida doesn't if she just knows everything about them?
Zhongli may be a grandpa, but I do believe he knows what the Tsaritsa is up to, someone who can entice a ruthless warlord who has been questioning oneself, must have a plan truly worthy of the support of a truly ancient and well respected god
I always laugh when people think Neuvillette would beat Zhongli. First of all, there is a pretty big chance Zhongli himself is the Geo Sov, and even if not, he's still a 5000 year old killing machine, idc how powerful Neuvillette is, Zhongli isn't going down in a 1 on 1 fight where he can fully unleash. The reason he avoided Neuvillette is because he doesn't want to have to fight, much less someone who could maybe make him fight for real, that would only destroy half of Liyue which is not something he wants. And I'm not saying Neuvillette is not strong. He is the Hydro Sov after all, but I do not believe or accept for one second he could defeat Zhongli or even Raiden. What he has in raw power they both have in thousands of years of battle prowess and amassing reserves of power.
this is just your bias and nostalgia for raiden and zhongli talking. zhongli may very well NOT be a dragon sov at all. doesn't really matter how long he's been alive. power in genshin doesn't work on the basis of experience. Neuvillette is confirmed to be a dragon sov and he is atleast twice, probably more, stronger than any of the archons. why do people keep forgetting that the archons were literally made from the STOLEN power of the original dragons, and even at like 1/3 of his strength, neuvillette was THAT strong
@@valscottage bro the Archons were given power from the Dragon Sovs when they were made Archons, but to make it to Archons to begin with, they had to win the Archon War. They were already extremely powerful when they reached Archon status.
@@Hakimgrr_lol you forgetting raiden is the same one who destroyed a dragon sovereign easily. The same Raiden who sliced an island in half casually. Quiet down kiddo. That “random swordsman” got one shotted, and the maid did nothing LOL
I laughed out just as loud reading this comment. So the geo sovereign can barely beat Azhdaha who is not? Or he is a sovereign without his authorities vs Neuvillette who has it. This is also some horseshit given the fact that Zhongli's profile clearly has "Archon" written on it as opposed Ancient Dragon authority. But this reeks delusional fanboy all over so I'm just gonna stop. Enjoy natlan blatantly introducing power above an archon, which includes both Morax and Ei. Then khaenri'ah casually drooping more fighters besides the sinners also being stronger than Zhongli. A literal fucking commander from that country rivals an archon lmao
Chinese culture often emphasizes the importance of money and power. Zhongli, a character in Genshin Impact, embodies both wealth and immense power as a powerful archon. The intriguing questions are: How powerful is he really? Why did he enter into contracts with Celestia? Could these contracts be designed to limit his power, or is there another reason? Considering that Zhongli made these contracts even before the creation of Teyvat and that Liyue represents China, it’s reasonable to believe he should be the strongest character in Teyvat. However, it seems that miHoYo might be downplaying this fact.
@AndrewsMobs It doesn't seem he is to their "binding" either given that they had to SIGN a contract with him, what is keeping him form talking is the clause of an equal exchange eith them, people often see that he made a contract to keep silence but never ask themselves what he got in return, as the God of Contract, it's this what's keeping him from talking and not fear, which is already very telling. Moreover, one could ask himself why he had to SIGN the damn waver when Irminsul tempering exists as a mechanic. Moral of the story, I wouldn't jump to conclusions that fast.
I think he's the remnant of the primordial one the first to have arrived at Teyvat. That would make him be linked to Teyvat as it's creator, so hes not seen as an outsider but he also would keep his memories outside Irmingsul's control. And if he is the god of gold, and that's the color asociated with Celestia and the Travelers, it could make some sense. And the first contract he signed, that's the one enslaving him in Teyvat's rules, is probably the one he signed when he lost Celestia to the second who came. What do you think?
Another fact about Zhongli, in his 2nd story quest he told the traveler that he is a "Witness" and that if anyone would remember the history of Teyvat it would be the traveler himself, fast forward to Sumeru and we learn that the Traveler is the 4th descender and a witness to Teyvat, not only that but he is not affected by Irminsul as he was the only one who never forgot Greater Lord Rekkadevata Makes you realize that Zhongli somehow not only knows the true identity of the Traveler, but even aware of Teyvat's history being changed across the eras through Irmissul and that some memories have been completely wiped out from existene.
I would add that I think the Fatui might want to return the Authority to the Dragon Sovereigns because they have animosity towards Celestia and would be powerful allies in the war against the Heavenly Principles.
I do not believe he needs the gnosis to create gold. he first minted mora 3700 ago and the archon war didnt end until 2000ish yrs ago. also, when we finish the liyue archon quest, he implies that he can create mora. However, since he's a "mortal," now he wants to live fairly as a mortal and not cheat by making himself mora.
Nice video, but he didn't fight at the Chasm. Bosacius's records show us that he was the only adeptus present there as well. The Lord of Geo was probably at Khenriah itself.
I don't mean to point this out but he doesn't need the Gnosis to create Mora. Mora had already existed long before even the Archon Wars. Prior to the Guili Assembly, Morax already established his own civilisation so it's no surprise this is how he taught his people to trade. Mora was created from his own flesh and blood, not the Gnosis. The Gnosis was only used to mint which is two different things. It's why at the end of the Liyue Archon Quest, he said that the financial situation is something the Qixing must figure out on their own even as the Golden House has stopped working. He even stated that he could still create Mora but he just wanted to live as the mortal Zhongli and thus live by the rules of mortals. The entire segments where he and the Traveler goes to buy items was a way for him to practice. This does not mean to say he is lacking of money. Don't forget that as the Consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, he is paid quite handsomely. During Havria's quest, when the Fatui hired him as Consultant, he even said that he would pay him handsomely. Zhongli is also a lecturer and is the most revered in Wangsheng. So yes, this boi is not only swimming in money but if he really wanted to, he could just make more Mora.
People always underestimate archon,Egeria could still save Fontaine if it weren't for the rule,Neuvillette was the only last resort because he isn't affected by the rule,Archon are powerful enough to do thing themselves, the only problem is the rule. And Zhongli being the most powerful among other original archon is obvious, he is China God and genshin is Chinese game,so people should give up on the idea of Zhongli is weaker than the sovereign, we already seeing how biased Hoyo are toward Liuye. The only reason original archon died was because of the abyss corruption rather than some body else. Even sovereign failed to master the power of abyss and died to Celestia
Zhongli's body count XDDDD it's funny coz I used to think body count means how many people' someone has killed... Then I realised it's "in bed with" later in 2024 .. it's crazy
The similarities between Zhongli's eye makeup and neuvillette's and In the chasm quest with xiao zhongli was able to Repel darkness and save xiao from basically the karmic boosted abyss.
If you know some Chinese, you might find the name Zhongli very interesting. The original Chinese characters are 钟 (zhong) and 离 (li). The character 钟(Zhong) = 钅 (metal/gold) + 中(China), and the 离(li) = 璃(Liyue) - 王(Lord/king). Additionally, 钟 (zhong) means 'clock' and shares the same pronunciation with the word 'final, and 离 (li) means 'leave' or 'depart.', the combination means "time to leave/final end" The name intriguingly encapsulates his story. Furthermore, Zhongli is a rarely used family name, not a full name. We still don't know his full name. In 2500 years ago in Chinese history, there was a lord named Zhongli, and his wife was called '无盐,' where '盐' exactly means salt, which connects to the story of the god of salt.
I wonder if the traveler and their sibling are children of the seele/moon sister and the outlander they'd married before the disaster that ended the seeles
Is it just or has mihoyo stopped specifying the powers of the gods recently? As far as i know, only Havria was a known god and her domain was salt. After that we have had osial, a hydro god who is much much more powerful than both egeria and remus yet wasn't given the hydro gnosis.... Orobashi, king deshret, remus, nabu malikata, chi, all predated the archon war yet never were their domain specified
Completing the duty of a vision barer though isnt necessarily their death, the completion for the bearer at least is to achieve that which they yearn for, are motivated to do, their wish if you will. Given that losing the vision after gaining it (as shown in the vision quest) hints than it's almost replaced their ambition or "eaten" it. Feeling unmotivated when they no longer have it. People always assume that it's something nefarious and it could be but it also could just be literally the archons power fragment meshed with their own ambition. Delusions being artificial visions draw power from the substance/life energy of the wielder rather than the originating archon. When we hit schneznaya the creator of delusions will then be revealed, and it could be the jester himself.
Mihoyo be like: ok supreme leader. As you instructed, your fascmile is invincible, golden, handsome, has powerful minions, is no simp, dresses up fashionably, doesn't own wealth, is the god of wealth, owns a dragon and is well respected
My C6 R5 Zhongli NEEDS a 5 star special skin like Diluc's! Also I love his lore. I think there is way more to Rex Lapis. He's hiding so unbelievably much that even his "friends" the other Yaksha's or the adepti may only know so little about him. 6000 years is a massive amount of time in which he may have changed his and other peoples fate several times.
Prime Zhongli or the first Haboryn might be the strongest Archon, Ei ir Mavuika following closely behind. Ei might defeat Zhongli mid to high diff, depends how you look at her. Mavuika at full power might be as strong as prime Zhongli but we only have single showcase of Mavuika's more serious level of power, even then we don't know if it was her going absolutely all out or if she was even as strong as the first Pyro Archon. Yet we all know that Otter dragon would fold all of them no diff
Alot of these came from one assumption that he's as old as the world itself but Moonlit Bamboo Forest said that when the Three Moon Sisters died, Rex Lapis is still young meaning he couldn't be that old comparing to Egeria who had been created from the beginning of the creation of the world. Also Deshret and Remus died in the Archon War but more of self-inflicted rather than actual losing a battle to someone else. In Zhongli's story quest 2, Its Zhongli himself said he would have not had a chance to confront Azhdaha, let alone sealing him, if the Dragon didn't have any good will left in him. And this is a dragon without its authority. Showing Dragon Sovereigns are still far more powerful than even the strongest Archons.
I agree, also when it comes to the Fontaine storyline, we learned Neuvilette without the power of Focalors was as strong as an Archon, and only when he absorbed the power of the hydro Archon did he become a full dragon. That means that a full dragon has power worth two Archons of the same element.
NO, so many things to be corrected in your statement. Deshret didn't die in the Archon war my dear. he was still alive when [Redacted] ascended to Archonhood after he refused the seat himself. And neither Remus did because he founded Remuria AFTER the fall of Gurabad. Moonlioght bamboo forest is written in a human PoV, it's to be taken with a grain of salt. Moreover the newer lore makes it look like he is, actually older than we assume, given than, form Xianyun's lore and story of Chenyu Vale, Adepti existed before Gods came into beign, and for someone who is supposed to be the Ancestor of the Adepti, it just doesn't make sense for him to be that young, which further straighten the theory that when he said he DWELLED upon this land for more than 6000 years, he actually means dwelling and not living. Moreover ''young'' for an adeptus is relative. Both Ganyu and Xiao are ''young'' Adepti and still they're both several millennia old. Moreover, form a cultivation standpoint, at the point when he was still considered young by the bamboo forest book, we know that Rex Lapis had a PHENOMENAL force when he landed upon Teyvat, given that when he descended he already was powerful enough to raise a lot of the now Liyue territory form under the sea floor. none of the now ''young'' nor "mighty and illuminated'' Adepti possess such power, given that cultivation, in Daoist logic, is accumulating spiritual energy through cultivation and time. The encounter with Azhdaha is full of misconceptions. Given that Azhdaha said himself that Zhongli was in fact the strongest, it's THE WILL to subdue Azhdaha that he lacked (as what I understood from the CN text) and NOT the power. Azhdaha's will to serve humanity and his memories of his allies were dimming, and when Zhongli talks about him ''willingly be sealed'' it means that it was as agreed upon, it's not that he was ''holding back'' but he deeply knew that what Rex Lapis was doing was hard on him too, but he had to do it, even the *Developer Insight* clearly supports that the victory of Rex Lapis was UNCONTESTABLE, but it was a great loss for him, he even shared some of his mastery with him to save him from erosion which people tend t forget, and even ''not having his full authority'' doesn't mean Azhdaha was weak, he still commanded the leylines and drew power from them, matter of fact, Zhongli's way of dealing with the dragon (sealing him AWAY from the Leylines) only makes him more suspicious.
@APerls Neuvilette without the power of Focalors was as powerful as an Archons ? when was that even stated ? You can't even compare Focalors to other Archon when she had said authority given that, she has no feats... well, her predecessor, Egeria, died during the cataclysm and was so corrupted she couldn't even resurrect nor anchor her consciousness 🤦♂ and Focalors was merely an oceanid when the likes of Zhongli and Ei were uncontestably powers of nature before gaining any authority 🙃CHILL with your HC y'all. Moreover, where do you get those numbers ? half of not half WHAT ? you seem to forget that Archons, well typically Zhongli and Ei, were the peak of their elemental mastery BEFORE gaining any authority to begin with ? not even mentioning that they have powers of their own that has nothing to do with elemental powers (Zhongli being the prime of Adepti) Y'all tend to forget that the power of the Archons does not only stem form whatever their authority is... this is called recency bias.
@@theunlikelygenshingamer haha thank you very much ! I also want to thank you for bringing up so many of the details you mentioned in the video into light, it's a great deal of effort and so many people are unaware of them so I couldn't be thankful enough 🙏 you have my utmost respect !
Super interesting that Eli’s will inadvertently halted the “blessing” of an electro vision to the people Of teyvat. Also I think Neuvillette gave Furina more power than usual. Sad she has zero battle experience.
his spears were the size of mountains. despite his lean build, geo is considered defensive, and even after that he DRAGGED azhdaha up to the surface and out of the pit. he was a god killer, because of him the Venti Power scalers used his relationship with Venti to scale him above all the other gods before him because he hated venti. (from the mountain descriptions in the tea pot.) Zhongli threw MOUNTAINs at Venti. although Neuvillete has a direct statement he is stronger than the archons in terms of power. so theres only hope and speculations whether he is stronger than a primordial dragon. Because, he is a God killer and was the strongest in the archon war racking the highest kill count, so we don't know if his statement is the current Zhongli or the during archon war Zhongli
9:12 Inazuma did have a lot of gods Ei just culled them down. In itto's quest it's outright said, the war was so bad. The only way to survive was under the protection of a god. And Ei protected humans and races that had peace with humans
Sumeru had the bloodiest battles which are only hinted at. Consecrated beasts are simple organisms, who after gorging on divine corpses for a long period of time, absorb some of the divinity into themselves and become powerful themselves. Sumeru by far has the most number of consecrated beasts in all of teyvat. Hence my reasoning
It’s evident that Primordial Jade Cutter was _not_ for Guizhong when it’s well known that she’s not a fighter, a reason why she allied with Zhongli in the first place in the Archon War. And in the description, it said “when Liyue first arose”, Liyue was founded after Guizhong’s death and Guili Assembly was flooded. I don’t know who the “certain someone” would be or the “long forgotten friend”, but it clearly isn’t Guizhong.
Liyue Harbor is what arose after Guizhong's death but "Liyue" counts the whole nation. After all he isn't only the Archon of the harbor. But even so the wording clearly indicates the time near the end of the Archon War and the countless battles the sword had now seen. Not the beginning of the swords existence. Also the Jade was meant to be an ornamental sword. Never to be used. It was just supposed to be a beautiful ceremonial blade. I've read somewhere that a sword that was never used was a symbol of power because it was never needed. Instead the wisdom of it owner ensured peace in the land without violence. Seems fitting for Guizhong. I mean isn't that what this line means? "This jade too was once cut for love of peace and luxury." Also this particular phrase lends itself very well to Guizhong's death. "-and when tender feelings are ripped asunder by cold ambition and reduced to dust on the wind." Feels like a perfect way to poetically allude to her death being the catalyst for the sword's new destiny as a weapon of war instead of a gift. Don't you think?
I would say so, the wording is finicky in terms of technicalities for Liyue’s name so that’s where I wasn’t sure about, the description can be blurring. But what I’m also uncertain with is if that meant Liyue from the past that’s surely changed around in thousands of years vs Liyue that’s officially gained its name. But also that during the war, gods had various territories, Guili Assembly was probably a small portion, Zhongli most likely gained more territory to form Liyue after her death and have the nation we know now. I can understand the ceremonial cleansing bell because Guizhong made it to be an artificial instrument, and it makes sense for the ceremonial sword too, but another part of me is unsure of why Guizhong would have it in the first place because she’s never been associated with swords/weapons in general. That’s just a small of me thinking that. Then there’s memory of dust, her actual gift to Zhongli. Zhongli making the sword would be no surprise that it can be used as an actual weapon. In the end, Zhongli had all of them. Guizhong is the most likely candidate, but the small skeptic parts I made are just me being a little unsure. But your point makes sense, that helped.
@Arialuna-mt4pr sure thing 😁 and I know all about the seed of doubt that let's us examine other angles. Between me and you I like the head canon that the gifts they wanted to give each other reflected there personality. She gave the brute of a guy a puzzle and he wanted to give the gentle strategist a sword😊. We may never know for sure but it's fun to speculate.
@@theunlikelygenshingamer I had edited my second comment, but I wanted to reinstate my first one. That while I still disagree, I can see your point for the small evidence with Guizhong and the Primordial Jade Cutter, but it’s still small. Sorry it’s long: she’s never been associated with a weapon at all, much less ceremonial. In the description, “when Liyue first arose”, Liyue as a whole, not just Liyue Harbor, was founded after Guizhong’s death and Guili Assembly was flooded, 3,700 years ago _by Rex Lapis_, singular. The nations were different in the Archon War and wasn’t what it used to be until only seven of them remained. Zhongli had to claim territory as he fought other gods who did the same. Liyue wouldn’t have been formed unless he did. It officially established after Guizhong’s death because Guili Assembly was their united territory at the time, not the whole land yet. While the words in the description do compare to Guizhong, that’s all there is to go off on and is an assumption, the description is still ambiguous. Your headcanon has a level of inconsistence given that the cleansing bell was not a gift, but taken by Zhongli for ceremonial use from her and Ping’s argument. The Memory of Dust was given upon her death, where she both says opening the dumbbell is her challenge and then to forget about it. There isn’t anything else from her that was actually given.
What ost plays since 17:00 i cannot remember the name of it? Beside that amazing video. I am deeply in Zhongli theories and lore, since he is my favourite character and i really wanna finally learn more one day.
That one is Dance of Fireflies. One of my favorites but I don't get to use it often. Also thank you😁 I'm glad I could entertain. I cant wait until we get some more lore on the original folks.
Going forward with the story, i still think the tsaritsa doesn't have the stronger power in her country but probably the top 3 harbinger. they just seems to have some things in common and work for her. But since we're going to be able to pull ALL archons, it seems unlikely we will not pull her, meaning. She will have something to do with the traveler later on and be an ally somewhat.
Love these theories! I didn`t know a lot of his lore before! Was wow'ed by the connection (and ashamed of myself for not noticing it) that GOLD is held on a high pedestal in Genshin lore and he is Deus Auri. And using mora to do transmutations! Thanks for the video! Edit: My thoughts as I watched your video... 1. What if part of end game has a lot of vision bearers "die" or "fulfill their contracts" to power up the gnosis/archons by having that borrowed power returned with interest so they can fight Celestia? 2. Or is the fate of some allogenes to ascend to godhood? If yes, who (maybe Arlecchino?) and whose side would they be on? Either through contract (to Celestia) or by their own desire/will. 3. Has it been confirmed that anemo, geo, electro, and dendro visions are no longer being granted since their gnosis have been confiscated by the Fatui? I'm discounting hydro because Neuvillette gifting to Furina. 4. "Fatui" because they are "actors" putting on an elaborate play for the audience (Celestia). If this is their way to explain Dottore and to justify all his inhumane experiments and make him a "good guy" or at least "anti-hero", then I'm gonna probably roll my eyes because of course Hoyo'd find a way to make Dottore marketable.
@@LilianaKali You mean the Fatui, Neuvillette gifted the hydro gnosis to the Fatui. I don't think gnoses are responsible for the creation of visions either, the elemental authority is, and that's stored in Celestia, presumably.
@@F1ll1nTh3Blanks I didn't type my thoughts correctly. Thanks for pointing it out. I meant that Neuvillette gifted a VISION to Furina, but do we know of any other VISIONS being gifted since the gnosis containing the authorities (minus hydro authority) are now with the Fatui? I mean Rana got one, but I don't remember if that was canonically before or after the archon quest.
@@LilianaKaliThe aranara quest and literally any world quest or story quest can be before or after the sumeru Archon Quest because that quest like Wanderer's and Ei's 2nd story quest dont care about the time-line. If they are completeted before the sumeru Archon quest nothing will happen but if completed after the sumeru archon quest was completed then they will be altered. Its simply an anomaly.
@@LilianaKaliThe Authorities stolen from the Dragon Sovereigns we're sealed in the Divine Thrones that the Archons sit on . On The Heaven's Glow like Apep said. The Gnosis does not hold any power from the Dragon Sovereigns. The Gnosis hold the remains of the 3rd descender and greatly amplify elemental energy.
Thank you for pointing out the more straightforward explanation for what Visions give to gods. So tired of all the conspiracy theories. I've been thinking - if Visions give return on investment, would Mora give return on investment too? Would every Mora spent to power up weapons, return to Zhongli, filled with power of human greed, making him stronger?
Now that's an interesting prospect. Never thought of that side of it. I find it interesting that Pantalone is so incensed by the idea that the institute of money and trade was entrusted to an archon. He basically wants to introduce the paper dollar just like how the rest of the real world eventually rejected the gold standard and went to paper money which is subject to inflation. According to Wriothesley Bis weapon. He's actually the one who made up credit coupons and decided to run the experiment in the Fortress because it was largely cut off from the Archons influence. Maybe he knows more about what happens when mora is used 🤔
@@theunlikelygenshingamerI reccomend reading on irl mythology of characters in general as they basically spoil alot. Such as Nabu Malikata being named after an akkadian god who introduced language to humanity or how Mavuika is a god of flames who had her flames taken by Maui and given to humanity hinting at her resignation and giving the throne to someone else in the competition, or the comedias typically having the captain have a moment where he’s humbled implying he might be the first fatui harbinger to fail or that he has to resort to allying the new archon with sneznaya as a means of “getting the gnosis”. The multiple stories written out and how they could interact are all very interesting and you dont need spoilers to learn the lore (most times ive been leaked against my will its been very broad lore and the more specific stuff had its writing changed on release drastically changing implications so dont bother with leaks).
@Fuphu you do make a good point. In fact the video I did about names in genshin and how much info they contain. You might like it. I'll probably check out what you said.
Brace yourself don't read if you don't like Leaks... Before Xbalanque became the Pyro Archon he challenged the Pyro Sovereign to a fight and after that he came out victorious and thus became the very First Pyro Archon.
i love your exposition here, your videos are always so insightful and inspiring ! i’m curious though, as we know zhongli now to be deus auri, how would the sun god theory factor into all of this? can it even be considered?
If vision holders deaths give a boon of power to the PO or Sustainer when they die, then it would make sense the same goes for delusions right? Has the tsaritsa been harvesting power through handing out delusions this entire time?
@@kotarouinugami1745They still seem functional. Spoilers for Emilie Story Quest, but even after Vijama died, Kirya could still use her Delusion for over the course of 20+ years.
"The longest reigning entity in Teyvat besides the Heavenly Principles" Wouldn't that technically be Apep, who as the Original Dendro Dragon Sovereign, has been around even longer than the Heavenly Principles?
@Aidan_Yao Yeah I think they are talking aboit Teyvat as we know it, because after the arrival of PO the dragons were reigning on nothing. And if you wanna consider that, Azhdaha also and not only Apep, given that he's canonically older than mountains and seas as well.
@@citoyenneteavanttout7273 Not sure about Azhdaha - it seems that he just respawned with old memories, like Neuvillette. Even if he is the Sovereign - not everybody agrees on that.
@@aduckonaplane3816 I was under impression that he had some of his memories from early on, but got much more memories when he restored his full strength. I do not claim to be knowledgeable about Neuvillette, though.
![[4.3] What's the deal with Zhongli? - A Genshin Impact Theory](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LXb-oJYQF7I/mqdefault.jpg)
![[4.3] What's the deal with Zhongli? - A Genshin Impact Theory](/img/tr.png)
I have seen alot of folk talking about how Morax didn't need the gnosis to make mora back before the Archon war and that's true. But he also didn't need the gnosis to protect liyue or to win the all the battles that he did. He caged Osial the first time without it, but then the second time he had to make sure everything was OK before handing over the gnosis. This means that their powers were locked up in the gnosis. It doesn't matter what they could do before the Heavenly Principles locked them into their laws or else they could obviously turn around and rebel. The whole thing about visions proves this too. Being forced to share their power with humans with strong wills is more evidence that there power is not all their own.
@@theunlikelygenshingamer he's just a really old and extremely strong money printing factory 💀
I'm not entirely certain that he isn't ABLE to make anymore Mora after loosing the Gnosis though... I think he's just refusing to make any more as a way to reinforce the ruse that is faking his own death. The illusion would fall apart pretty quickly if people noticed that Mora was continuing to be made/appear after Rex Lapis was supposedly already dead. As far as we know, only the Archons(And Neuvillete who is effectively an Acting Archon), the Adepti(who all serve him), the Fatui (who have a vested interest in staying quiet) and the Traveler know that he's still alive. But if new Mora continued to be Minted, that information would get out REALLY fast, defeating the purpose of faking his death in the first place, whatever his plan is relating to that. So in a sense he actually can't make any more, but not because he lost the physical ability to do so...
@kgmotte2363 Thank you, a very concise explanation
@theunlikelygenshingamer I admire the critical effort you put in this theory but there are things in lore that directly contradicts it, for exemple, the case of Ei, as an Archon, she didn't see any use for the Gnosis and even disposed of it.
Also the fact that "no new mora can be minted" also is void of sense because in that case the Fatui would have been able to mint Mora, since they figured out how to use the Electro Gnosis in Sumeru, they should have been able to mint with it and not try to introduce another currency through their experiments in the Fortress of Meropide.
the geo gnosis probably made it easier to print money;
the traveler is able to generate mora from leylines
and consume mora in alchemy and the process of infusion to empower weapons, etc
so mora has an energy component to it
on Ei and the electro gnosis: its not that there wasnt value in it, but rather Ei as an individual did not care about what it could do, because it was unable to help her in the one thing she wanted it to do. during the archon war to stabilize/claim the seat of electro Ei died so makoto could sync with it, makoto then brought Ei back....but during the calamity even with the aid of the gnosis and using a puppet body to try to make the process easier Ei could not do for makoto what makoto did for her, that is why Ei views the gnosis as worthless
Zhongli is like a protagonist of the teyvat who has long past completed his own journey and is now merely playing the role of a spectator witnessing the ongoing change in teyvat without interfering while freeing himself from the constraints of his contracts
I mean they already told us that in the game at the end of his story quests!! He wants to tell the traveler more but he is not at will too
like the journey of simbad from anime called magi... or something
its been long
Solo leveling: level cap
If only zhongli spend all those thousand years working then he will probably become like ningguang lmao 😂😂
Zhongli Beyond Journey's End
The fact that zhongli has multiple weapons tells you he had no equal among the 7
Ikr? the dude literally was a killing machine. Even Ei as Kagemusha didnt slaughter quite so much.
He really has no equal. The fact that he's the oldest really speaks for itself.
Raiden has two weapons
@@parrisxsummersso 3 ei's are still weaker than zhongli?
@@ADioSimp her weapons? Who knows. She was able to split like 3 islands in half with one strike with her pole arm and her sword can split dimensions. But zhongli is/was the most powerful archon.
Btw, Zhongli's "Altered" voice line about the seven is yes, altered, but he still only confirms himself and Venti as the original 2. Not including Nahida even though Rukka deleted herself. His story quest when he places the Salt Goddess's relics in the ocean also depicts he knows history can be changed and altered. He knew of the Traveler's immunity of "forgetting" events like in Sumeru. Hence, he's knows of the Descenders.
"History cannot be easily changed" I believe he said. Most say history CAN'T be changed, not not easily changed. Amazing that such a small line's importance wasn't really caught until after Sumeru.
Yeah yeah people always meme about him fearing Neuvilette because of Neuvi's lines but as much as I love Neuvilette I'm not sure if he could beat him. Neuvilette has both archon and soverign powers awoken yes, but Zhongli is a 6000 year old archon who bodied god after god in the Archon War, it's a tough match
Neuv literally states it won't be a physical confrontation, that already sorts the debate
@AndrewsModded yea but neuvillette is from teyvat and zhongli is not because bro know nahida is not one of original seven
1:33 Anyone else notice the effect on Zhongli's shield that looks very similar to the cubes of the unknown god? His in gameplay shield also has this effect. And as shown in the cutscene, also similar to the unknown god, these cubes have a red aura emanating around them, while the unknown god's cubes are also gold and red. Coincidence? I THINK NOT! 1 more thing, Zhongli's hair doesn't glow in this cutscene, suggesting that he isn't using his true power, however in gameplay his hair does glow when using his shield, so idk what to think of this. We'll just have to wait for a lore drop on Zhongli I guess
babe wake up another zhongli lore video dropped
If I remember it well Venti was not in slumber during the Cataclysm, he is been fighting Durin alongside with Dvalin that time
also I highly doubt that Zhongli lost his ability to create gold. He just can't use it openly to make the others think that it has connection to Gnosis. He himself said that mora/gold is his blood so I think it has to be his origin ability not the one that he has gotten when acquired Gnosis
about your question what is Zhongli hiding oh I am pretty sure he hides many many things. I have so many questions. Like the one is it really was Morax who introduced alchemy (according to liyue domain descriptions), also about his origins. He has so many powers, like dreamwalking, creating pocket domains - and sharing this knowledge was a part of Illumination of adepti. Still most mysterious character imo. After Simulanka I am 99% sure that we will get that black mountain expansion zone down below Liyue. I really hope we can get some more info about Zhongli then
Venti was in slumber during the Cataclysm. According to the book Breeze Amidst The Forest, it was said that the prayers of the Mondstadt people awoke Barbatos from his slumber after Rostam and Arundolyn had fallen, leading to no one strong enough to fight Durin, so their prayers were heard and Venti awoke, calling Dvalin to help fight against Durin
Nope, Venti was in fact sleeping during the Cataclysm, it was just that, according to the book Breeze Amidst The Forest, Venti awoke from the prayers of the people of Mondstadt to defend against Durin
@@RhojormoIf you're really interested in Zhongli and haven't already, I would recommend Ashikai to you. She's got a few videos and streams where she talks about him. Most are theories, but then she has pointed out stuff I never even noticed like for instance; why is it that he's the only Archon with a statue holding a square while all others are holding spheres? She mentions Chinese cosmology in where heaven is circular and earth is a square.
Okay so, there's too many misconception to Zhongli's ability to create Mora. Short answer: he never said he needed the Gnosis to do that. He NEVER once said that. The Liyue Archon quest specifically said that the Golden House needed the
He still has the geo authority so makes sense.
@@devilofgreed760 Nothing to do with the Geo Authority. Mora was already created long BEFORE the Archon Wars. It most likely even existed during the war between Heavenly Principles and the Second Who Came which resulted in the creation of the Gnosis and the start of the Archon Wars. The Archon Wars ended only 2000 years ago, Liyue Harbour was founded 3700 years ago and Zhongli has lived for 6000 years. He even had his own established civilisation prior to Guili Assembly and Liyue Harbour.
@@devilofgreed760Read the Prithiva Topaz Gemstone description, it’s specifically about Zhongli himself. Gold is his innate power because that’s what he’s made of
@@ChainedThoughtsnot how it works
Zhongli literally arrived on teyvat 6000 years ago in the golden chariot landing in the chasm. Cbt1 voicelines had zhongli being reminiscent of celestia. He is either one of the shades or some other important figure banished or some other reason arrived on teyvat. Thats why he is the god of contracts because he literally cant say anything. People are literally underestimating him because hoyo doesnt reveal a lot for the gods who lived longer like zhongli and venti.
Zhongli is one of most interesting character in genshin,he is so mysterious and i hope to see nore lore drop on him.
For me it's actually the opposite. He is the most boring character on screen. He is a Gary Stue without any flaws and mistakes.
@@goodbro2046 You talk as if all Archons were like him hahahaha Raiden almost killed us in Inazuma, Furina almost killed us in Fontaine...
@@LuizFelipe508-ty2id why did you talk so much Nonsens?
@@LuizFelipe508-ty2id how tf a Childish Girl that even can't fight against Slime is going to kill us? , During AQ, just gave her Random Treasure Hoarder to Fight her and she will absolutely Defeated, and now how she will kill us? Manipulated Neuv?
@@fattnnDgrit At the beginning of Fortaine they wanted to put us on trial for having an object that flies, which in this case would be Paimon.
When I think of Zhongli and would measure his power outta 10 I’d say 10 or higher. Mans just trying to live a peaceful life now and had enough war in his life.
If you know some Chinese, you might find the name Zhongli very interesting. The original Chinese characters are 钟 (zhong) and 离 (li). The character 钟(Zhong) = 钅 (Gold) + 中(China), and the 离(li) = 璃(Liyue) - 王(Lord/king).
Additionally, 钟 (zhong) means 'clock' and shares the same pronunciation with the word 'final', this is associated with death in Chinese culture. And 离 (li) means 'leave' or 'depart.', the combination means "time to leave/final end (of a life)".
The name intriguingly encapsulates his story in Liyue.
Furthermore, Zhongli is a rarely used family name, not a full name. We still don't know his full name. In 2500 years ago in Chinese history, there was a lord named Zhongli, and his wife was called '无盐,' where '盐' means salt, '无' means without/loss, which connects to the story of the god of salt.
Wow that's so interesting! I love how so much of this games lore is hidden all over the place. I feel like we lorist are playing a game with the story and lore developers, where in they hide things just for us to find and expound on. After all what's the fun in hiding secrets if there is no one to challenge to find them🙂
Thanks for the cool info😁
@@theunlikelygenshingamer Yes!! There are many more examples like this. For example the Chinese name of his elemental burst, '天星' (Tianxing), it can mean 'Meteor from the sky,' but it also refers to a Chinese steelyard balance, an artifact used for measurement, which is the Liyue logo on the loading page. '天星' represents the marks on the steelyard that indicate measurement units, symbolizing concepts 'contracts,' and 'measurement'.
Sorry god of salt is not his wife and not related at all because god of salt got killed by his own ppl because they don't want to see he/her suffering
Guizhong is a god of dust
Not salt
@@star_lordz2401 You missed the point. They did not say that Havria was Morax's wife. They said there was a king of china named Zhongli, and her wife's name contained a word that meant Salt.
@@justsomeguywithgreenhair he doesn't have a wife in the first place
Well no. Zhongli still has the ability to create mora. He just didn't because he said he wants to live like a human so he must follow the laws/rules of being human. So no mora creating. It's also said that when Zhongli taught the Liyue people how to create houses, he used pure mora as materials for the model, that's before archon war started.
But why is it said that mora is minted by the geo gnosis in the archon quest?
@@nelumb000 gnoses are designed to mimic respective archon's power.
@Cudoviste24 I believe the Gnosis is said to be able to mint Mora, but ultimately, mora came from Zhongli's very flesh and blood. Mora exists before the assignment of Gnosis to the 7 winners.
@@nelumb000 it's not. it was used in the context of Zhongli "not being the geo archon" anymore because he doesn't have a Gnosis anymore.
but wait, the video didn't even claim so. did you just say this out of reflex xD
One thing to consider is that his endless slaughter of gods was during the archon war, so before he became an archon and got the gnosis...
He's still that powerfull right now...
Even stronger as the gnosis helps the archon gain strength if they are worshipped
I have a personal theory that Zongli is actually the Ancient Soverign Dragon of Geo... The idea is that he made a Deal/contract with the Primordial One to betray the other Dragons in exchange for keeping his "Sovereign seat". It's not like "Traitor Dragons" are an unheard of thing either, Dvalin willingly serves Venti after all(And is most likely a Sovereign Dragon himself, considering he's supposed to have had greater control over the winds than even the "Thousand Winds" herself(Istaroth, a Primordial shade) before he was poisoned by Abyssal poison during the calamity).
There's a few reasons that lead me to thinking this. For starters, the Form he use to Fake his death is that of a Dragon, when the people saw a Geo dragon drop down on Liyue, nobody doubted that it was Rex Lapis, so Clearly he's been associated to the form of a Dragon for a while... Then there's Azdeha, who never liked Humans, he seems them as bugs beneath him, same goes for Adepti and other Archons, but he sees Morax as someone worthy of Respect, as though he was a Dragon himself. His age is also a hint, given that he's supposed to be around 6000 Years Old and has been in charge for pretty much all that time, it'd make sense if he had been Liyue's Sovereign Dragon from the start. Then there's the fact that Neuvillete Calls him "Deus Auri" (Yes, I'm aware it means "God of Gold", that does not negate the potential draconic significance of it), Nobody else Calls him that, not even Venti. The primary thing that sets Neuvillette Apart from anyone else is that he IS a Dragon(Not just a really old Vishap like Azdeha), so it feels like the name Deus Auri is something that only Dragons would call him, Ancient ones at that. What makes it even Weirder is that Neuvillete is actually very young for a Sovereign Dragon, he's only 500 Years old, he was reborn right after the Calamity, but he seems to have some inherited Memories from his previous incarnation, which tells me that "Deus Auri" might be Zongli's most ancient, and probably true, Name. Oh, and lets not forget that Zongli can Sense Neuvillete's presence well enough that he can just dodge him completely to avoid causing a scene, almost like he Smells another dragon nearby, but Neuvilette doesn't really know how to do that yet...
Oh and lets not forget that Neuvillete has a PARTICULAR Hate for Zongli, in his Voice lines about the various Archons, he more or less says things like "I'll need to punish them for the Role that they or their forbearers had in the unjust downfall of my kind" but he holds no actual animosity towards most of them, he treats it like it's a Job that he'll have to do at some point. Except Venti and Zongli. For Venti he Seems to dislike him for his Role in the Primordial War but it doesn't go much further than that, But for Zongli it Runs deeper, his voice line(and tone) implies that he Genuinely HATES Zongli, the kind of hate reserved for Traitors, not simply enemies...(Also, he Seems to bear no grudge at all against Nahida, so that's nice)
Combine all that with the fact that so far, every Archon has been a different type of Entity. Venti is a Wind spirit Spawn of the Thousand Winds (a Primordial Shade), Makoto and Ei were probably Humans that Ascended to something Higher, then Ei Shoved her Soul in a Sword that she sealed in a Puppet, Rukkhadevata/Kusanali are effectively an Avatar of Irminsul (and possibly also a kind of Djinn?), Focalors and Furina were Oceanids in human form with extra features, and Natlan's Archons were supposedly all human that pass down their power and authority to other humans they consider worthy... So if Zongli IS a Sovereign Dragon, it would make him yet another different type of being, which fits the theory....
This is WAY too many things adding up to pointing to him as a Sovereign Dragon for it to just be a coincidence!
Oh and to be Clear, I'm saying that's he's the Sovereign Dragon that's been "Leashed" by Celestia, as part of the contract he made with the Primordial One, he Lost a part of what he was before the contract, and he had to FIGHT to earn his right to be Archon. He was a Sovereign with all the power and authority that represents, but then he Lost the authority, then fought the Archon war to get it back, but in a limited state as a Gnosis. He's not back to the full power that he had back when he Betrayed the other Dragons, but he's not as diminished as the others have become today (Except Neuvillete, of course, since he had his FULL authority Returned)
I don't think so, the sovereigners are the most powerful dragon's in teyviat and Zhongli even stated himself Azdeha is stronger than him.
@@goodbro2046 He also said that as Azdeha was only just now breaking out of a Seal Zongli had put him in for Centuries.... And then when he DID get out, Zongli Whopped em back into his Cage.. So you'll excuse me if I don't take Rex Lapis at his word when he says that the guy he just beat up seemingly effortlessly is stronger than him...(And this is AFTER Morax Powered up the Frog Boi by giving him Eyes)
Azhdaha is more like sovereign geo while zhongli is the sovereign lord,the creator of 7 sovereign,who rule the teyvat 6 thousand years ago with sovereign that why azdaha the sovereign geo fought with zhongli even though the contract can't do anything to sovereign
@@kendric023 Zongli isn't the Dragon King Nibelung(The Dragon sovereign who stands above all other Dragons, who the Primoridal one stole the authority to rule Teyvat from). And Azdeha only became as powerful as we've seen him after Morax Empowered him by giving him eyes (Dragon's Eyes have been depicted as being VERY Symbolically powerful things, so this is a big Deal). If he Wasn't powerful to begin with, and doesn't have the Throne of Geo (And was never even HINTED to have had it at any time), he Ain't the Dragon sovereign if Geo, and never was. Zongli on the other Hand has told us that he's Been alive and in charge of the Liyue area for nearly 6000 Years, LONG before the Archon War, which implies he already had dominion over the area, Which only a Dragon Sovereign could have had before the Archons were a thing.
Especially Given that Azdeha was once Loyal TO Morax, but now he seems to hate him. Which Implies that Morax Imprisoned Azdeha as part of the Terms of him being allowed to defect to the side of the Gods despite being a Dragon Sovereign. Celestia Basically Forced him to weaken himself by Sealing away a potential weapon against themselves before they let him become an Archon.
The mystery of the archon war is core to the whole zhongli storyline, and likely we'll only get snippets in next years lantern right when we may get madam ping as a playable character.
Some people say guizhong was the god of chenyu vale but I think it's far more sinister. I think that an enormous amount of godlike entities were subjugated and mind controlled if you will and were forced to fight against their friends. This is why zhongli was forced to do as he did as there was NO cure except maybe the destruction of the one who started it and zhong could never get to them.
Xiao knows firsthand what it's like to be controlled in this manner as he was freed from one of these "dark gods". When the "new war" yae miko and EI talk about comes I think a number of these old entities that escaped to the dark sea will return with their minions. Probably at a similar time that durin is resurrected.
The time from when the "second who came" arrived , the apocalypse and the archon war is key to our understanding and we dont know much yet.
Playable Madame Ping is such a meme I cannot believe that it doesn't sound that impossible anymore
@@serezelveydawn We got a playable Birb... Never doubted A SECOND we're gonna get a playable Ping after Keqing said in the first lantern rite that ''She can take any form she wants''
Neuvillette calls the Gods "Fragments" in a certain voiceline, so it is possible that the Gods inherited the Primordial One's fragments of power.
Since we know that the Creator is no more, we can assume that the smaller gods are all shards of the Primordial One and that the Archon War was basically all Gods going Highlander.
But as Liyue showed us, consuming Gods' remains often drive people mad or make them sick, Mortals and Gods alike.
@bonk78624 Nope, Neuvillette never specified if these fagments of the "primordial" meant the Gods or the Shades... Matter of fact and you might be surprised that he potentially would have been talking about the Dragons because when the dragons talk about Phanes they NEVER call him the "primordial" but rather the "usurper".
So careful with this one.
My guess is, there is only one power dangerous enough to control gods and turn friends into foes. It's the Abyssal Corruption, and we've seen it turn Dvalin into Stormterror.
ooooh Zhongli as Gold (not just earth) embodied, the core of every transmutation, perfection itself is SUCH and interesting angle!
"babe what are you doing come on"
"Hold on babe another daddy zhongli lore just dropped"
You have one of the best voices and narratives of any Genshin lore content creator.
I do agree, they should sign up to read books in Audible, I'd definitely listen.
ikr!! and the script??? the words be wording 👏👏👏
Also i think it's clear that he is not affected by Irmansul changes, since his light about original Archons and their number hasn't changed the number of Archons after Nahida deleted Rukadevatha. Only phrasing of his line changed. So it's not like Hoyo forgot to change it, they actually did, but it didn't affect his memory of original Archons. From that i think it's quite clear.
I think Zhongli does know what Tsaritsa is planning. I think his contract with her is to protect Liyue and it's people. He also didn't end every enemy in Liyue. He sealed Azhdaha to stop him from destroying Liyue and it's people. I hope they don't try making Zhongli the scapegoat "villian" to Teyvet.
Exactly!! That's what I observed. He also sealed Osial and its wife, which to me was weird since Osial was a huge problem to Liyue before... Kinda suspicious.
Didn't they say killing a god can cause disaster on the Surrounding area causing plagues and miasma
@@donkey_mediocre7246 Yes! That would mean that he chose the safest option for the people and nation. I also think that in the case of Azhdaha; he didn't want to end his friend. Just my take on it though.
@canadalovesanime3137 I don't think a Chinese Company would make their Chinese Gary Stue the villain.
@@canadalovesanime3137 Also Killing Azhdha would release a huge amount of elemental energy most likely, think of one of the reasons Nahida *really* didn't want Apep to die.
HA, well made Video. I am slowly beginning to think many don't take his age and his story into heart at all; it was a very good elaboration on the countless things this Individual has witnessed, done and influenced, the God of Gold.
As to those in the comments, speaking of ithis video, elaborating, debunking those that do not know what they are talking about, PREACH! it is rare to find those that actually invest into his lore and story, while at the same time theorising. I feel proud that this topic of discussion was not yet discarded and is still as interesting to talk about as ever.
Thank you very much, viewers like you keep this fun and engaging. 😁
True, it's the first time I meet a Zhongli lore video in ENG that doesn't have a million of misconceptions.
Ikr. It really felt great to see people with common sense. I gained back a brain cell.
For me, he was and still is the most interesting character in this game (even more than the sinners or Hexenzirkel) I just wish we would know more about his past or the connection he had with those 1000+ years in the past.
Things that made me curious(I don't know if we got updated yet) are there is one city in the chasm that is related to gold and his connection with dragon and descender.
Finally someone says it. I am not here to throw mud on Complete Dragonhood Neuvilette, and maybe he is stronger than Morax as well, but I am willing to bet that the gap is not as wide as people may think. A battle between current Zhongli and current Neuvilette can go either way, it wont be a one sided slaughter. Neuvilette may have the authority back but he is still a young dragon. He does not have 6000 years of combat experience that Morax Commands. He does not have Morax's strategic genius that he cultivated after years of fighting and learnt from Guizhong. Neuvilette also doesnt have the same presence as the leader as Morax have for liyue, Neuvilette is the protector and fontaine looks up to him. Zhongli is a leader and entire Liyue will march into battle for him. He was there when the nail hit the chasm. He subdued(not kill) a lot of gods. A lot of gods are still alive, like Osial, and have been sealed by Morax's power for 2000+ years with no signs of that seal weakening. Osial managed to get free momentarily because Zhongli allowed childe to go ahead with his plan. You have to understand that this man's power is so strong that a seal placed 2000+ years ago is not even budging while he casually sips tea listening to stories at a teahouse. Imprisoning a strong opponent is much more impressive than killing them. A lot of people just sleep on him just because we saw Ei's prowess in person PLUS musojin gorge gives us a skewed perspective. Ei was a soldier. A general. A weapon of war. I am very sorry to Ei fans, but she has not been good for Inazuma. Yashiori island got fcked because of her slash. Maybe she could have handled Seirai island's situation a little better. All of htese are problems originating from the fact that Ei could not stop them without killing them. On the other hand, Morax protected everyone, by imprisoning the gods instead. And even if he killed Gods, he made sure there is a group that is cleaning up(Yaksha) so that it doesnt affects the land of Liyue. He has probably been the best leader/king figure we have seen in this game.
If i have to categorize what role would they play in a war
Zhongli is the King that leads the entire nation into war, commands forces, makes strategies, etc etc.
Mavuika and Raiden are the Generals who leads the forces personally into a battle.
Venti is the bard who raises the morale of the nation.
Neuvilette is the protector who isnt sent into the battle but the one that you keep close to protect the people and camps. He is the last line of defense along with the King, Morax.
Nahida(and Makoto if she was alive) are strategists. Nahida also doubles up as doctor/gives people peace of mind by using her powers to save crumbling psyche while Makoto ensures the nation still has some form of governance while the war is ongoing.
PS i know i yapped, but i love Zhongli hehe. He was my first five star ever. So i hope its understandable.
Btw a little tidbit for anyone interested, after Nahida erased Rukkhadevata, every text about Rukkhadevata replaced her with Nahida. AKA Nahida became the first ever dendro archon in texts and memories.
YET zhongli still knows that he and venti are the only two original archons left. If all records of rukkhadevata has become Nahida now, everyone should remember Nahida, Zhongli and Venti as the archons from the original seven. But he knows that Nahida was not the first dendro archon. So eitehr he is resistant or immune to irminsul tampering. Not only that, he knew that traveler was immune from it as well. Nahida knew it only because Dottore told her, but from the last convo of theri story quest 1, it seemed he is already aware of travelers descender status.
This could very well have been informed to him by Tsaritsa vis Signora, since Nahida got this info from fatui, and Zhongli was colluding with fatui, so he may have gotten that intel from them, but its still monumental. Infact, now it makes sense why zhongli even undertook the contract of silence. A binding vow and perhaps a strong contract is necessary if you cannot wipe someone's memories clean. If you cant delete a record, lock it away.
And this is actually quite feasible. Why? Descenders are not the only ones immune to irminsul tampering. Vedrfornir of the sinners and Nicole of the hexenzirkel are both immune to it. Alice may also be immune because she comes from some other world. The person obfuscating our sibling's fate is also immune(i mean if they can shield someone from irminsul, they gotta be powerful enough to protect themselves), even though i think that the person is Vedrfornir but i mentioned this just in case it turns out to be someone else. So its not entirely impossible for Zhongli to be from another world, if Khaenriah can summon multiple people from other worlds owing to their geographical location, why can Liyue not summon atleast one? Or maybe he arrived by himself. We dont know anything about his origins.
I loved this comment, especially your break down of the roles the leaders of each nation would excel at. I think that was very interesting. You all should know, i love the long comments that are offering insight and an interesting point of view. Only the ignorant comments from people who complain before finishing the video are annoying.
You get what I'm saying completely. No shade to Neuvillette and Raiden lovers but there is definitely more to this guy than meets the eye.
Id be interested to hear your thoughts on my latest video :D
Either way though, thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
@@theunlikelygenshingamerahaha thanks. apparently the morax fanboy within me was dying to vent🤣. Sure would love to follow more of your videos, i enjoy good debates and lore perspectives.
As Ei herself says he's story is not over yet.
This has sooo many lore capsules that itsyunsane.
1. His pre archon war existence is still a mystery
2. He knows alot of the swcrets feomntgat Era
3. He furst hand experienced the Arvhon war, and would is probably be the most accurate record of that time period
4. AND He has Guizhong's memory capsule....
Like he's a walk-in time capsule carrying soo many capsules
I see Zhongli i click. Your video is sooo soothing. It's calming, just Like Zhongli. I dont care if there are more powerful gameplay character, i just love Zhongli
Thank you so much, and I'm delighted you enjoyed 😊
A small correction, zhongli hasn't lost the ability to create mora, zhongli never required the gnosis to make mora,
He got the gnosis 2600 years ago, he made the first mora, and the golden house 3700 years ago, beforre the war even began, and it's stated in mora description that mora is his flesh and blood too
So the gnosis connection was either a wrong judgement by paimon, or he himself lied to aether and paimon
Another thing is that he never denies knowing about lumine's travels, he says he can't say anything because of a contract, so a contract that stands above his contract with the tsarita to end all contracts
Also, something to think is that the devine thrones give archons the power to use the elements, but zhongli has shown absolute authority over the element of geo before he received the devine throne, having formed many of the mountains, and all of guyun stone forest, so who is he really?
Seeing Deus Auri, Zhongli’s other name mentioned again….I now figured out another theory that Zhongli might have been a Vidyadhara, hiding his dragonic features, but also as a High Elder since that name is like Imbibitor Lunae. The way he changes into other appearances can be a case of cloudhymn magic itself too.
His rock and the Hexanexus puzzles resemble each other after all, and it would make so much other sense to why he always seemed to be a different person back in his prime is maybe because he goes through another hatching rebirth but keeping his former memories? Idk but Deus Auri is literally like a High Elder name vibe
Well it certainly would be an interesting twist if Zhongli turned out to have connections with Long or may be his descendant. People even joked before that he could be the Aeon himself who disappeared all of a sudden.
A few things you forgot to mention and i can fill in.
Zhongli was considered to be a brute and only know to resolve things with violence. Thats why Mercy was never associated with him.
After he met Guizhong he started slowly to change .
The people of Guizhong always said He was the Brawn and she was the Brain of their partnership.
Thats how Guili Plains was named after them. Gui-Guizhong / li-Zhongli.
Morax after the death of Guizhong went in a blind rage back to his former self. Slaughtering everyone that dared opposing him or betrayed him.
I am glad you mentioned the Jade Cutter, thats the most important item that defines Zhongli's relationship with Guizhong.
The part regarding the Gnosis, the Gnosis is not their power, its their Authority. Basically showing who is the supreme ruler of that region.
During the Archon War his body count was the highest but he was not an Archon then, his power is his specifically not borrowed from Celestia.
When he met Guizhong he wasnt an Archon he was an Adepti/God .
A very easy way to notice him actually faking his weakness is when he fought Azhdaha and Azhdaha mentioned he couldve killed him but he chose not to. Zhongli tries to say he couldnt because even last time he needed the help of the Adepti to seal him,meanwhile Azhdaha told him if he actually wanted to he couldve without any issues.
Another 1 that shows he has his powers fully is the moment when we try to Escape the Chasm Labyrinth with Xiao and Xiao was ready to die for us.
Morax was always aware of what we were doing and just when he saw their is no alternative he jumped inside the distorted dimension and rescued him like it was nothing and left without us even noticing he just saved Xiao from certain Death.
A side note.
Venti and Morax we know for sure are friends that constantly bicker but i have the feeling Zhongli doing all that part with leaving Liyue in their own hands and him taking a more outsider's view perspective just gives me the vibe he addapted completely Venti's rule.
Let the people decide their own fate and only if imminent peril is bound to happen, thats when he will intervenne.
This is my theory from what ive read so far in the game about Morax.
Have a nice day ^_^
I'm sorry but Zhongli was not a brute. Nor did he change just because of Guizhong. The Adepti follow him because of his Compassion and love for humans. He had to wear the mask of unmovable visage which meant that he could not allow his guard to falter and continue wearing a firm and cold expression to keep his people safe. When the dust settled is literally an old English phrase that has been used for a long time that means once a situation has calm down which in this case means the end of the Archon War. It has nothing to do with Guizhong. Also, he NEVER faked fighting Azhdaha. You misunderstood his meaning, Zhongli came to him as a friend and not as an assassin. What he couldn't do that day was ask one of his most dearest old friend to be sealed. How many times has Zhongli sealed away an old friend? Of course it would be hard on him.
If you read Xianyun's lore, it is clearly stated that the 'values and compassion of Morax, the God of Contracts, won him the favor of Cloud Retainer and the other adepti, and so they followed him into battle.' He had always been a compassionate God! Don't forget that the Adepti had long existed before the word 'Liyue' even existed and they followed him. That speaks volumes of his character.
Also, we already know why Zhongli left Liyue in the hands of his people. It's literally told to us in the Liyue Archon Quest and even again during this year's Lantern Rite when the theme is about parents letting go of their children. He is literally Liyue's Parent. He cared for them, nurtured them and protected them all these years all because he loves thems which isn't because of Guizhong by the way. It's even in his trailer.
'This is an age of Gods and Monsters, I wish not for dominion, yet I cannot watch the common folk suffer.'
😭😭😭😭
@@ChainedThoughts its stated literally and in Guili plains lore about his attitude before meeting Guizhong and in the jade cutter lore how he literally made a genocide after Guizhong's death, did you completely miss that lore?.
He was never a compassionate God, he was a righteous God. He punished even former friends that broke contracts, its stippulated in Jade cutter lore once again.
@@cris9485 Which was already debunked that Soraya was biased when it came to Guizhong and Morax. Read Xianyun's story. It literally states he is compassionate. He is fair and just. Of course he would abide by the contracts. He is the God of Contracts and it was during the time of war. Liyue had the highest number of Gods who threatened the safety of his people. Doesn't make him any less compassionate. Also he never committed genocide. Zhongli very deeply cares for his people even long before meeting Guizhong. He never wanted to join the fight, he only did so to protect his people. His people even built him a mansion yet he refused because he wanted to live close to them. You keep telling me one lore and I'm giving you a counter argument with added lore that proves he was not a brute. Not only that Eng translations take so much out of context and change the meanings for the past 4 going into 5 years. I play in Chinese and so much is wrongly translated.
@@ChainedThoughts true Zhongli didn't want to fight. If I'm not mistaken it's because of the Goddess of Salt's death that he became determined to fight.
@@jadepuguon1177 It really isn't because of Havria. As I have stated earlier, it's in his trailer. He fought for his people. He literally says this in his trailer. Havria's death is true for a lot of Gods who could not protect their people and the point of the quest was to show how easily history can be changed which is why Traveler's role as witness was important.
"I wish not for dominion, but I cannot watch the common folk suffer."
I don't know why this is so difficult to understand.
Also Tevyat is most definitely way older than 6000 years, 6k years is how long Zhongli dwelt in Tevyat, not his actual age btw
True, becuz he appeared around 6k yrs ago. Making him 6k+ yrs old. Since we truly don't know where he descend or came from.
18:51 ooh thats SUCH a cool idea!! Ive seen plenty of people suggest that the Fatui are actually doing all this for a benevolent goal but ive never seen this take on it, that they're PURPOSELY being unecessarily cruel at times to ensure that in the memory of the world theyre nothing more than villains, that theres a very functional reason why theyre not telling everyone what theyre actually aiming for and getting the whole world united under a common aim. Those have always been the points that made the idea of them being revealed to be heroes later not sit right with me, but this is a completely reasonable explanation 😮
Amazing video as always ! just one thing I wan to point out, Zhongli DID NOT in fact lose the Ability to make Gold, it's Liyue that lost it. The reason why he doesn't create it for himself is simple : it would be unfair for him, living as a human amonsgt human society to make gold whereas other humans have to work hard to earn it.
It's the whole point of calling him Deus Auri and the lore of the Diolog of the Desert Sages, creating gold is an innate capability of Deus Auri, much like him being the Prime of Adepti, it has seldom to do with his title as an Archon or the Gnosis, since much like Deshret, Morax didn't wish for dominion and had no interest in the throne in the first place, and the first house in Liyue was made form a model cast from Gold, A WHILE BEFORE the Archon war even ended, he neither lost his Adeptal powers nor his ability to create Gold. Another point, Zhongli's namecard reads 天星 or Heavenly Star, and his TCG card (which is canonically created by the Hexenzerkiel) reads : ''A hidden gemstone can illuminate the whole earth, bright and unrivaled as a star.'' which makes sense, since IRL Gold is a star-born ore that can only and exclusively be created in extreme cosmic events, which throws us back to what Albedo said about Gold...
Also please check out the SUMMIT SHAPER LORE... it might give us an insight of what _the contract to end all contracts_ is probably about.
I've been seeing a number of people say this and I'm wondering we're it came from. Zhongli in fact does keep many secrets. But it's not a secret that there are certain divine abilities that the Archons have that they lose when lodi g their gnosis like the Nahida’s in ability to power the Akasha anymore.
Zhongli in fact said that he did not make a stash for himself before surrendering the gnosis which Paimon berated him for. But he has actually lost the ability a part of the exchange that he was well aware would happen. This is further proven by the fact that Regrator who runs the Northland Bank and was also operating in Liyue, (that's how Yelan stole his gift to the Tsaritsa). His goal is to take away the enterprise of money making from the Archon of Gold who, he believed should never have had it. It's clear that Zhongli lost a great deal of power when he gave it away because it's why he had to be sure he could still save them if Liyue couldn't manage.
His life blood is gold because he did create it but knowingly bargained away that and other powers in exchange for some as of now unknown equally valuable trade.
Just like Nahida did for unprecedented knowledge.
As for his ability to make it before, it's very likely that rather than give the Archons more power when they won the war,their existing abilities where bound up in the gnosis. That's how Celestia keeps them in there place.
@@theunlikelygenshingamer Yes the reason why people say that is because, it's a fact. It's all about the wording, I think it was much clearer in other versions than in the ENG localisation but even in the said version it's just a matter of wording at best. Zhongli never claimed he lost HIS ability to create Mora, or Gold, he said that the house of mint will cease operation because the Gnosis is gone. Moreover, regarding HIMSELF he also said in the dialog.
Paimon: But why would Morax lack Mora?
Zhongli: As the Rex Lapis Morax, I can easily create Mora. But since I have *CHOSEN* to walk this earth as the mortal Zhongli, I *should abide by the same rules that mortals* do.
Creating Mora in the Golden House requires the use of the Geo Archon's power, and not the Gnosis particularly, so it's more of a matter of since the Archon is ''dead'', no Mora can be created.
Paimon: That's right! Zhongli, now that you don't have your Gnosis, what's going to happen to all the Mora in Teyvat?
Paimon: Since Morax is "dead," are they all just gonna disappear?
Paimon: Also, isn't the Golden House the only mint in the entire continent? Will it even continue to work?
Zhongli: The Mora present now will not vanish. But the Golden House will indeed have to cease operations for a lengthy period of time, since creating Mora requires the use of the Geo Archon's power.
Historically, the power to create gold was always in his possession even before the creation of Liyue, and the Prithiva Topaz Gemstone stated (as well as Paimon before and in Genshin's anniversary trivia bits more recently) that Gold was his FLESH AND BLOOD, and casted from HIS DEVINE BODY, and what he handed over was the Gnosis and NOT HIS divine Abilities or his divine blood. Even Neuvilette's insight tells us that before gaining the Authority of Geo, he was DEUS AURI, or the god of gold [...] which won't make sense if it wasn't an ability of his, as explained in various sources such as the Pethriva Gemstone, his Story quest, Dialog of the Desert Sages, himself, Neuvilette ....
And when you mention the Akasha System and also I would add the Oratrice and collecting Idemtitium, and the Electro Gnosis with control over weather, it's a similar case, THIS IS WHAT THE GNOSIS DOES, all are cases of DIVINE ABILITIES AUTOMATED/ENHANCED or DELEGATED with the use of the Gonsis. which is EXACTLY how Neuvillette described it. When the Akasha was shut down, it didn't make Nahida lose her powers over dreams did she ? and when Ei disposed of her Gnosis to Miko, lore still told us that she controlled the weather in Inazuma 🤷♂ well it's the same thing.
And if you want to go even further, if the Gnosis was in fact what allows him to create Gold, the creation of Mora would have simply moved to Snezhnaya and not be ceased, and we know for fact now that the harbingers could NOT create gold, since in the Fortress of Meropide they were attempting to test a new ''currency'' which are the coupons.
Also the last part of your comment doesn't make sense given that what the Archons got from Celestia was the authority and the Gnosis, and it has NEVER been mentioned in lore that she took whatever form them, I think the relationship between Celestia and the Archons is a bit misunderstood... It also leads to a belittling of the Archon's own powers and Abilities. Archons represent the mandated entities that exerce the rule of Celestia over Teyvat, the auxiliaries between humans and heavens since the ultimate goal is to harvest something from humans by channeling the powers THROUGHT the Archons, and even more Zhongli (and Nahida )since his Adeptal powers have a direct effects over the powers of nature as observed in Chenyu Vale (and her powers over dreams consequently). What ''keeps archons in check'' already was mentioned by Scylla, it's them being ''cursed'' with the LOVE OF HUMANITY, and funnily enough it was always the case, since Archons were not always the most powerful Gods, but conveniently those who won this title were the ones who cared about humanity the dearest. So Celestia NEEDS the Archons, and RELAYS on their love of humanity to keep them on check, therefore she doesn't need to take anything from them, otherwise they could have done it with so many gods before.
I'm confused. where did the video say he can't create Gold anymore? did I miss it?
@The_Painful_Realist Yeah towards the end, the last paragraph. Check the timestamp on the description 👍
My understanding of this claim from doing so much digging on this topic is that Morax has always had to ability to create gold/mora, but the gnosis simply "amplified" that ability so that he could create LOTS of it, enough to circulate all of Teyvat and be used as the primary currency. He's had the ability to create gold/medium since the early days of the archon war, before the 7 archons ever received their gnosis.
I agree that zhongli has a bigger role to play, considering he is lord of liyue/China, it is just fitting to make him a hero if not big player of the game.
I really liked your idea about the Tsaritsa having a plan to free the Archons and fool the Heavenly Principals, similar to Focalars. One thing that has always bugged me the entire time I have played Genshin was that at the start, they show Fatui as bad guys. They steal the Gnosis, but we basically learn after the first few chapters that the Archons are ok with it happening, but also the Fatui are still treated as the bad guys, which just didnt make sense to me. Either the Archons are ok with them or should be fighting them to keep it right? But if its all one big plan to trick Celestia, then that makes sense. They dont really care if it happens, but they have to pretend like they are. That could lead to some crazy events soon! Especially if Zhongli is as old and special as we think. Maybe he predates the dragons and other gods and was involved with the Primordial Ones and the Shades or something.
I believe the Gnosis are a way for the Heavenly Principles to keep the Archons under check, that is why they gave it to them.
Another thing to note, is that the Gnosis may be a net negative to a god. Neuvillette was told that Gnosis bears a curse from the death of the Third Descender, and he gave it away at the first opportunity, like it was a hot potato. Archons bear the burden of the gnosis, because nobody else could. So when Tsaritsa volunteered to take them all, most archons did not think much about it.
Still, it is clear that people like Nahida and Zhongli know about Tsaritsa's plan, and are fine with it. And most of the Fatui would give their lives for that plan. Whatever the plan it, it's going to be awesome. Unless Hoyoverse mess it up, but I think they have what it takes to pull it off.
@@kotarouinugami1745 oh wow ya thats a great thought, i forgot about it being a curse. Makes even more sense they are fine with getting rid of them and really makes you wonder what the Tsaritsa is up to. Im so excited to see what happens in Natlan and then Snezhnaya after that. I think Natlan will have something else happen with the Gnosis too, because if they Fatui get it and have all 7 like it has happened in the other nations, then we would have to wait a year to see what the Tsaritsa's plan is even though she has everything. Feels like that would be a little bit odd and lose some of the hype. My crackhead theory is we get the Gnosis and use that to become the Pyro Traveler Archon Sovereign w/e u wanna call it lol. Then we could meet up next year with the Tsaritsa and figure it out.
@@kotarouinugami1745 I wonder whats going to happen with fontaine hydro gnosis? Is tsaritsa going to fight neuvillete to get it or is neuvillette going to give it to her?
@@gamingglee2538 Neuvillette gave the hydro gnosis to Arlecchino at the end of the Fontaine main quest.
Was that a spoiler, or did you just miss it?
I'm a simple woman who loves Zhongli very much! So i see a theory about him, i click and watch!
I do recall a theory about him being a possible shade. There's also that weird thing about the shape he holds in comparison to the other Archon statues... like why does he hold a cube unlike the rest? Theres also the line he said about the contract with Celestia, saying how it was signed before it all began. I wonder the timeline of that contract 🤔 i think there's a line in the geo ascension material that Zhongli’s yet to say as well, calling mora, or something that i can't remember, the blood of Tevyat. That has some implications as well as to his identity imo
there are some informations that are false, probably because you haven't finished some quests and stories prior to creating this video. But the most important at start is that - Melusines are creations of Abyss and not Primordial sea. Because Elynas we already found out is abyssal monster created by one of the Hexenzirkel and descended to Teyvat along with Dragonspine;s dragon wrecking havoc that they were unaware by themself of. But about Rex lapis, yeah he is still the biggest enigma in the story. And also I think he is connected to Honkai or at least know about them and also about Teyvat's true identity.. also there aren't actually ''gods'' those are ''deities''.
My theory is he is one of the sovereign and made a deal with the Celestia to observe or record everything if something happens kinda like a back up or a hardcopy of some sort and his over 6,000 years old age is his age having a human figure not existed, and him not wanting to meet Neuvilette make sense since it's like Zhongli is guilty like he betrayed his own kind like you are afraid to meet your friend because you did something and you can't face him/her
The Alchemical Magnum Opus represents Zhongli's journey pretty well. Nigredo represents his datk origins where he witnessed the Fall Of The Seelies, Albedo represents the time of peace where he ruled the Guili Assembly, Rubedo represents the Archon War where he drowned civilizations in Blood and finally Citrinitas where he found perfection in his ways that Guizhong always wanted him to realise.
We all did Morax's 1 and 2 story right? He can't disclosed these highly classified information since he's under NDA with Celestia.
He's the oldest archon so surely he had seen things further in history, and since he's the oldest, he has more knowledge than the rest and we all know that knowledge = power.
"If Knowledge was a form of power, one could say that you are the weirder of unlimited strength" Venti said that to Zhongli, 2023 lantern rite 😂
zhongli will always be the strongest idc what anyone says
Until Goku shows up
Why so simp for zongli ....aether and lumine would stomp him
@@RocksDxebeC-07 yet all of them are Goku Victims
Are you saying he is...... stronger than the...
PRIMORDIAL ONE A PROGENITOR GOD HAILING FROM BEYOND THE STARS??
MAN ZHONGLI GETS CLAPPED MY GUY
@@RocksDxebeC-07traveler can't really fight without other people's help 😭
You are so so underrated i caught you by accident --- you're on my fyp --- and oh gosh the way you connect the lore and narrate it perfectly is chefs kiss
As you pointed out, Zhongli was around at the very beginning of Teyvat. I have a theory that he is actually one of the shades of the Primordial One - the shade of death. I just find it very interesting that of all things, when he decides to 'live as a mortal' he gets a job working for a funeral parlor. He is certainly intimately acquainted with death, as he has dealt more of it than probably any other being in Teyvat's history, with as long as he has lived. I also find it rather telling that of all the beings that were alive at that time, only he is still around.
There are lots of theories about the shades and their identities. Some say they are the 3 moon sisters and the sun, some say they are individual entities different from the moon sisters. But one thing is certain , at least 3 of the shades have dominion over time and space . Istaroth is said to be the God of Moments,not of time. Moments are parts of time . Ei's 2nd story quest further supports this . Istaroth is associated with wind and birds and death. In an interview, the genshin developers said that the artefacts are inspired by tarot cards,and so far, Istaroth aligns with the tarot card that represents death and wind. Its just a theory, but considering the repeating themes and coincidences , it doubt that they are just coincidences. My point is that Istaroth is better suited for the Shade of Death than Morax is.
@@kyl4dya lots of fun but wrong theories
@zoro2082 Theories are just speculations that can only be wrong once proven wrong, so no, all theories about the shades that have a solid base are not wrong until proven otherwise.
In terms of Hoyoverse multiverse, this makes me think that Zhongli is the Teyvat version of Nanook the Destruction from HSR especially with how both have many gold motifs and caused much destruction in their wake.
@eclipsor7080 Nanook is not an expy and is not important enough to get an expy. Cool theory, though.
There's so much hype about his lore, now imagine hoyo crushes that like they've always been doing
I don't think they will, given that they have to fulfill both telling us the contract with the Tsaritsa, AND Ei herself said his story isn't even nearly as finished yet 🤔 so unless they want to ruin lore entirely...
if zhong li was from teyvat, nahida could know everything he knows, including his secrets, cause they would be into irminsul now that his gnosis is not in his hands anymore, so the "contract" he had taht wouldn't allow him to share his secrets to the world, is now broken.
@FilippoBonora THAT....
If Zhongli was in fact not immune to Irminsul tempering, in a way or another, his "contract" to keep silence would be useless. Why silence somebody when you can alter their memory in the first place ?
@@citoyenneteavanttout7273
sorry for the spelling error and any other grammar error you found in my comment, i am not a native speaker. and to answer your question, the problem is that the informations zhong li had were never in irminsul in the first place. and the heavenly principles can't control irminsul, cause is native from teyvat and they are not, so they cannot alter someones memory nor cancel them completely from irminsul.
@@FilippoBonora please do not aplogize ! I am not a native speaker either don't worry and what you wrote is both reasonable and correct !
..I don't think Nahida can read the minds of just *anyone* that is in irminsul. Dottore is from Teyvat, he's in Irminsul, so how did he know stuff Nahida did not? How do the Fatui have info Nahida doesn't if she just knows everything about them?
@@aduckonaplane3816because it is hidden by irminsul, nahida comes from irminsul so it does makes sense
Very nicely done! Excited to watch your other videos. I agree and think the Tsaritsa is collecting the gnosis to revive the third decender.
Zhongli may be a grandpa, but I do believe he knows what the Tsaritsa is up to, someone who can entice a ruthless warlord who has been questioning oneself, must have a plan truly worthy of the support of a truly ancient and well respected god
I always laugh when people think Neuvillette would beat Zhongli.
First of all, there is a pretty big chance Zhongli himself is the Geo Sov, and even if not, he's still a 5000 year old killing machine, idc how powerful Neuvillette is, Zhongli isn't going down in a 1 on 1 fight where he can fully unleash.
The reason he avoided Neuvillette is because he doesn't want to have to fight, much less someone who could maybe make him fight for real, that would only destroy half of Liyue which is not something he wants.
And I'm not saying Neuvillette is not strong. He is the Hydro Sov after all, but I do not believe or accept for one second he could defeat Zhongli or even Raiden. What he has in raw power they both have in thousands of years of battle prowess and amassing reserves of power.
this is just your bias and nostalgia for raiden and zhongli talking. zhongli may very well NOT be a dragon sov at all. doesn't really matter how long he's been alive. power in genshin doesn't work on the basis of experience. Neuvillette is confirmed to be a dragon sov and he is atleast twice, probably more, stronger than any of the archons. why do people keep forgetting that the archons were literally made from the STOLEN power of the original dragons, and even at like 1/3 of his strength, neuvillette was THAT strong
@@valscottage bro the Archons were given power from the Dragon Sovs when they were made Archons, but to make it to Archons to begin with, they had to win the Archon War. They were already extremely powerful when they reached Archon status.
lmao the raiden that couldnt hold a random ass swordsman? that almost got stabbed by a maid immigrant? xDD
@@Hakimgrr_lol you forgetting raiden is the same one who destroyed a dragon sovereign easily. The same Raiden who sliced an island in half casually. Quiet down kiddo. That “random swordsman” got one shotted, and the maid did nothing LOL
I laughed out just as loud reading this comment.
So the geo sovereign can barely beat Azhdaha who is not? Or he is a sovereign without his authorities vs Neuvillette who has it. This is also some horseshit given the fact that Zhongli's profile clearly has "Archon" written on it as opposed Ancient Dragon authority.
But this reeks delusional fanboy all over so I'm just gonna stop. Enjoy natlan blatantly introducing power above an archon, which includes both Morax and Ei. Then khaenri'ah casually drooping more fighters besides the sinners also being stronger than Zhongli. A literal fucking commander from that country rivals an archon lmao
Chinese culture often emphasizes the importance of money and power. Zhongli, a character in Genshin Impact, embodies both wealth and immense power as a powerful archon. The intriguing questions are: How powerful is he really? Why did he enter into contracts with Celestia? Could these contracts be designed to limit his power, or is there another reason?
Considering that Zhongli made these contracts even before the creation of Teyvat and that Liyue represents China, it’s reasonable to believe he should be the strongest character in Teyvat. However, it seems that miHoYo might be downplaying this fact.
The strongest character in Tevyat is whomever controls Celestia, otherwise Zhongli wouldn't have been doing their bidding
@AndrewsMobs It doesn't seem he is to their "binding" either given that they had to SIGN a contract with him, what is keeping him form talking is the clause of an equal exchange eith them, people often see that he made a contract to keep silence but never ask themselves what he got in return, as the God of Contract, it's this what's keeping him from talking and not fear, which is already very telling. Moreover, one could ask himself why he had to SIGN the damn waver when Irminsul tempering exists as a mechanic.
Moral of the story, I wouldn't jump to conclusions that fast.
He is not even stronger than his pet dragon and what we see and heard from Ei so far, makes her way more powerful than him.
@@goodbro2046 Good joke
That "pet dragon" is a sovereign.
@@goodbro2046 Hahahahaha shut up Ei simp.
I think he's the remnant of the primordial one the first to have arrived at Teyvat. That would make him be linked to Teyvat as it's creator, so hes not seen as an outsider but he also would keep his memories outside Irmingsul's control. And if he is the god of gold, and that's the color asociated with Celestia and the Travelers, it could make some sense. And the first contract he signed, that's the one enslaving him in Teyvat's rules, is probably the one he signed when he lost Celestia to the second who came. What do you think?
Nope, the Primordial One is counted as a descender
Another fact about Zhongli, in his 2nd story quest he told the traveler that he is a "Witness" and that if anyone would remember the history of Teyvat it would be the traveler himself, fast forward to Sumeru and we learn that the Traveler is the 4th descender and a witness to Teyvat, not only that but he is not affected by Irminsul as he was the only one who never forgot Greater Lord Rekkadevata
Makes you realize that Zhongli somehow not only knows the true identity of the Traveler, but even aware of Teyvat's history being changed across the eras through Irmissul and that some memories have been completely wiped out from existene.
I think the witness thing was during the 1st storyquest.
@@Male_Ficent No it's in the 2nd, the traveler ask Zhongli about what they learn during "we will be reunited quest" after they defeat Azdaha
Anytime there's lore about Zhongli Imma listen to it
So that means every time you step one foot in Liyue.😂
THE STRONGEST ARCHON
Yeah, Ei is indeed the strongest among the 7.
@@goodbro2046 yahh simp harder 😂 bruhh it ain't gonna change the reality zhongli being the strongest
@ragegamingyt7131 I only would simp for Nahida...
But Zhongli is still Overrated.
@@ragegamingyt7131 in the headcanon, yes
@@goodbro2046 Zhongli beat a sovereign, Ei hasn't, cope
I would add that I think the Fatui might want to return the Authority to the Dragon Sovereigns because they have animosity towards Celestia and would be powerful allies in the war against the Heavenly Principles.
I do not believe he needs the gnosis to create gold. he first minted mora 3700 ago and the archon war didnt end until 2000ish yrs ago. also, when we finish the liyue archon quest, he implies that he can create mora. However, since he's a "mortal," now he wants to live fairly as a mortal and not cheat by making himself mora.
Nice video, but he didn't fight at the Chasm. Bosacius's records show us that he was the only adeptus present there as well. The Lord of Geo was probably at Khenriah itself.
I don't mean to point this out but he doesn't need the Gnosis to create Mora. Mora had already existed long before even the Archon Wars. Prior to the Guili Assembly, Morax already established his own civilisation so it's no surprise this is how he taught his people to trade. Mora was created from his own flesh and blood, not the Gnosis. The Gnosis was only used to mint which is two different things. It's why at the end of the Liyue Archon Quest, he said that the financial situation is something the Qixing must figure out on their own even as the Golden House has stopped working. He even stated that he could still create Mora but he just wanted to live as the mortal Zhongli and thus live by the rules of mortals. The entire segments where he and the Traveler goes to buy items was a way for him to practice.
This does not mean to say he is lacking of money. Don't forget that as the Consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, he is paid quite handsomely. During Havria's quest, when the Fatui hired him as Consultant, he even said that he would pay him handsomely. Zhongli is also a lecturer and is the most revered in Wangsheng. So yes, this boi is not only swimming in money but if he really wanted to, he could just make more Mora.
People always underestimate archon,Egeria could still save Fontaine if it weren't for the rule,Neuvillette was the only last resort because he isn't affected by the rule,Archon are powerful enough to do thing themselves, the only problem is the rule. And Zhongli being the most powerful among other original archon is obvious, he is China God and genshin is Chinese game,so people should give up on the idea of Zhongli is weaker than the sovereign, we already seeing how biased Hoyo are toward Liuye. The only reason original archon died was because of the abyss corruption rather than some body else. Even sovereign failed to master the power of abyss and died to Celestia
Zhongli beat a sovereign but so did Xbalanque
I'm pretty sure Zhongli was there before the creation of teyvat
Zhongli is affected by erosion as well as the fact that he's affected by irminsul. He's from Teyvat
Celestial god
Zhongli's body count XDDDD it's funny coz I used to think body count means how many people' someone has killed... Then I realised it's "in bed with" later in 2024 .. it's crazy
Best thing is it can be used both ways simultaneously 🤣
To be fair who knows what they had been cooking in that hot and steamy Taishan mansion amarite 😏🤣
Another video had a pretty solid reasoning for Zhong'li being one of the first dragons. I agree with pretty much everything else you're cookin'.
“i am mora but i have no mora
Zhogli probably idk:
This video was so interesting. I’d absolutely loveee if these theories are found to hold truth to them
The similarities between Zhongli's eye makeup and neuvillette's and In the chasm quest with xiao zhongli was able to Repel darkness and save xiao from basically the karmic boosted abyss.
He is called the "God killer" for a reason.
You the only one who call him that.
Lil bro is so offended by Everyone , who hurt you bro is raiden simping going well@@goodbro2046
In 3+ years this game feels like a chore pretty much but i stick around for the lore i want to see how's gonna end
This video is great and all but I'm also enjoying the lowkey asmr quality this video has lol 😴
Zhongli still full of mysteries
If you know some Chinese, you might find the name Zhongli very interesting. The original Chinese characters are 钟 (zhong) and 离 (li). The character 钟(Zhong) = 钅 (metal/gold) + 中(China), and the 离(li) = 璃(Liyue) - 王(Lord/king).
Additionally, 钟 (zhong) means 'clock' and shares the same pronunciation with the word 'final, and 离 (li) means 'leave' or 'depart.', the combination means "time to leave/final end"
The name intriguingly encapsulates his story.
Furthermore, Zhongli is a rarely used family name, not a full name. We still don't know his full name. In 2500 years ago in Chinese history, there was a lord named Zhongli, and his wife was called '无盐,' where '盐' exactly means salt, which connects to the story of the god of salt.
I wonder if the traveler and their sibling are children of the seele/moon sister and the outlander they'd married before the disaster that ended the seeles
If i remember correctly at the end of the azdaha quest he said he still can't share what happened 500 years ago so he's still bound by some contacts
Is it just or has mihoyo stopped specifying the powers of the gods recently?
As far as i know, only Havria was a known god and her domain was salt.
After that we have had osial, a hydro god who is much much more powerful than both egeria and remus yet wasn't given the hydro gnosis....
Orobashi, king deshret, remus, nabu malikata, chi, all predated the archon war yet never were their domain specified
Completing the duty of a vision barer though isnt necessarily their death, the completion for the bearer at least is to achieve that which they yearn for, are motivated to do, their wish if you will. Given that losing the vision after gaining it (as shown in the vision quest) hints than it's almost replaced their ambition or "eaten" it. Feeling unmotivated when they no longer have it.
People always assume that it's something nefarious and it could be but it also could just be literally the archons power fragment meshed with their own ambition. Delusions being artificial visions draw power from the substance/life energy of the wielder rather than the originating archon. When we hit schneznaya the creator of delusions will then be revealed, and it could be the jester himself.
Mihoyo be like: ok supreme leader. As you instructed, your fascmile is invincible, golden, handsome, has powerful minions, is no simp, dresses up fashionably, doesn't own wealth, is the god of wealth, owns a dragon and is well respected
My C6 R5 Zhongli NEEDS a 5 star special skin like Diluc's! Also I love his lore. I think there is way more to Rex Lapis. He's hiding so unbelievably much that even his "friends" the other Yaksha's or the adepti may only know so little about him. 6000 years is a massive amount of time in which he may have changed his and other peoples fate several times.
Prime Zhongli or the first Haboryn might be the strongest Archon, Ei ir Mavuika following closely behind. Ei might defeat Zhongli mid to high diff, depends how you look at her. Mavuika at full power might be as strong as prime Zhongli but we only have single showcase of Mavuika's more serious level of power, even then we don't know if it was her going absolutely all out or if she was even as strong as the first Pyro Archon. Yet we all know that Otter dragon would fold all of them no diff
Nether Mavuika or Ei are anywhere close to Zhongli, Zhong beat a sovereign, the other two don't even come close
Alot of these came from one assumption that he's as old as the world itself but Moonlit Bamboo Forest said that when the Three Moon Sisters died, Rex Lapis is still young meaning he couldn't be that old comparing to Egeria who had been created from the beginning of the creation of the world.
Also Deshret and Remus died in the Archon War but more of self-inflicted rather than actual losing a battle to someone else.
In Zhongli's story quest 2, Its Zhongli himself said he would have not had a chance to confront Azhdaha, let alone sealing him, if the Dragon didn't have any good will left in him. And this is a dragon without its authority. Showing Dragon Sovereigns are still far more powerful than even the strongest Archons.
I agree, also when it comes to the Fontaine storyline, we learned Neuvilette without the power of Focalors was as strong as an Archon, and only when he absorbed the power of the hydro Archon did he become a full dragon. That means that a full dragon has power worth two Archons of the same element.
NO, so many things to be corrected in your statement. Deshret didn't die in the Archon war my dear. he was still alive when [Redacted] ascended to Archonhood after he refused the seat himself. And neither Remus did because he founded Remuria AFTER the fall of Gurabad.
Moonlioght bamboo forest is written in a human PoV, it's to be taken with a grain of salt.
Moreover the newer lore makes it look like he is, actually older than we assume, given than, form Xianyun's lore and story of Chenyu Vale, Adepti existed before Gods came into beign, and for someone who is supposed to be the Ancestor of the Adepti, it just doesn't make sense for him to be that young, which further straighten the theory that when he said he DWELLED upon this land for more than 6000 years, he actually means dwelling and not living. Moreover ''young'' for an adeptus is relative. Both Ganyu and Xiao are ''young'' Adepti and still they're both several millennia old. Moreover, form a cultivation standpoint, at the point when he was still considered young by the bamboo forest book, we know that Rex Lapis had a PHENOMENAL force when he landed upon Teyvat, given that when he descended he already was powerful enough to raise a lot of the now Liyue territory form under the sea floor. none of the now ''young'' nor "mighty and illuminated'' Adepti possess such power, given that cultivation, in Daoist logic, is accumulating spiritual energy through cultivation and time.
The encounter with Azhdaha is full of misconceptions. Given that Azhdaha said himself that Zhongli was in fact the strongest, it's THE WILL to subdue Azhdaha that he lacked (as what I understood from the CN text) and NOT the power. Azhdaha's will to serve humanity and his memories of his allies were dimming, and when Zhongli talks about him ''willingly be sealed'' it means that it was as agreed upon, it's not that he was ''holding back'' but he deeply knew that what Rex Lapis was doing was hard on him too, but he had to do it, even the *Developer Insight* clearly supports that the victory of Rex Lapis was UNCONTESTABLE, but it was a great loss for him, he even shared some of his mastery with him to save him from erosion which people tend t forget, and even ''not having his full authority'' doesn't mean Azhdaha was weak, he still commanded the leylines and drew power from them, matter of fact, Zhongli's way of dealing with the dragon (sealing him AWAY from the Leylines) only makes him more suspicious.
@citoyenneteavanttout7273 this was so well said. Thank you, you definitely know your lore 😁
@APerls Neuvilette without the power of Focalors was as powerful as an Archons ? when was that even stated ? You can't even compare Focalors to other Archon when she had said authority given that, she has no feats... well, her predecessor, Egeria, died during the cataclysm and was so corrupted she couldn't even resurrect nor anchor her consciousness 🤦♂ and Focalors was merely an oceanid when the likes of Zhongli and Ei were uncontestably powers of nature before gaining any authority 🙃CHILL with your HC y'all.
Moreover, where do you get those numbers ? half of not half WHAT ? you seem to forget that Archons, well typically Zhongli and Ei, were the peak of their elemental mastery BEFORE gaining any authority to begin with ? not even mentioning that they have powers of their own that has nothing to do with elemental powers (Zhongli being the prime of Adepti) Y'all tend to forget that the power of the Archons does not only stem form whatever their authority is... this is called recency bias.
@@theunlikelygenshingamer haha thank you very much ! I also want to thank you for bringing up so many of the details you mentioned in the video into light, it's a great deal of effort and so many people are unaware of them so I couldn't be thankful enough 🙏 you have my utmost respect !
And a lot of people thought that Zhongli can be bested by the Fatui Harbingers.
Super interesting that Eli’s will inadvertently halted the “blessing” of an electro vision to the people
Of teyvat.
Also I think Neuvillette gave Furina more power than usual. Sad she has zero battle experience.
his spears were the size of mountains. despite his lean build, geo is considered defensive, and even after that he DRAGGED azhdaha up to the surface and out of the pit.
he was a god killer, because of him the Venti Power scalers used his relationship with Venti to scale him above all the other gods before him because he hated venti. (from the mountain descriptions in the tea pot.) Zhongli threw MOUNTAINs at Venti.
although Neuvillete has a direct statement he is stronger than the archons in terms of power. so theres only hope and speculations whether he is stronger than a primordial dragon. Because, he is a God killer and was the strongest in the archon war racking the highest kill count, so we don't know if his statement is the current Zhongli or the during archon war Zhongli
Zhongli beat a sovereign and Neuv literally admits to not wanting to fight Zhongli, hope this settles the debate
9:12 Inazuma did have a lot of gods Ei just culled them down.
In itto's quest it's outright said, the war was so bad. The only way to survive was under the protection of a god. And Ei protected humans and races that had peace with humans
Your voice is perfect for telling stories.
Sumeru had the bloodiest battles which are only hinted at.
Consecrated beasts are simple organisms, who after gorging on divine corpses for a long period of time, absorb some of the divinity into themselves and become powerful themselves.
Sumeru by far has the most number of consecrated beasts in all of teyvat.
Hence my reasoning
It’s evident that Primordial Jade Cutter was _not_ for Guizhong when it’s well known that she’s not a fighter, a reason why she allied with Zhongli in the first place in the Archon War. And in the description, it said “when Liyue first arose”, Liyue was founded after Guizhong’s death and Guili Assembly was flooded. I don’t know who the “certain someone” would be or the “long forgotten friend”, but it clearly isn’t Guizhong.
Liyue Harbor is what arose after Guizhong's death but "Liyue" counts the whole nation. After all he isn't only the Archon of the harbor. But even so the wording clearly indicates the time near the end of the Archon War and the countless battles the sword had now seen. Not the beginning of the swords existence.
Also the Jade was meant to be an ornamental sword. Never to be used. It was just supposed to be a beautiful ceremonial blade. I've read somewhere that a sword that was never used was a symbol of power because it was never needed.
Instead the wisdom of it owner ensured peace in the land without violence. Seems fitting for Guizhong. I mean isn't that what this line means?
"This jade too was once cut for love of peace and luxury."
Also this particular phrase lends itself very well to Guizhong's death.
"-and when tender feelings are ripped asunder by cold ambition and reduced to dust on the wind."
Feels like a perfect way to poetically allude to her death being the catalyst for the sword's new destiny as a weapon of war instead of a gift. Don't you think?
I would say so, the wording is finicky in terms of technicalities for Liyue’s name so that’s where I wasn’t sure about, the description can be blurring. But what I’m also uncertain with is if that meant Liyue from the past that’s surely changed around in thousands of years vs Liyue that’s officially gained its name. But also that during the war, gods had various territories, Guili Assembly was probably a small portion, Zhongli most likely gained more territory to form Liyue after her death and have the nation we know now. I can understand the ceremonial cleansing bell because Guizhong made it to be an artificial instrument, and it makes sense for the ceremonial sword too, but another part of me is unsure of why Guizhong would have it in the first place because she’s never been associated with swords/weapons in general. That’s just a small of me thinking that. Then there’s memory of dust, her actual gift to Zhongli. Zhongli making the sword would be no surprise that it can be used as an actual weapon. In the end, Zhongli had all of them. Guizhong is the most likely candidate, but the small skeptic parts I made are just me being a little unsure. But your point makes sense, that helped.
@Arialuna-mt4pr sure thing 😁 and I know all about the seed of doubt that let's us examine other angles. Between me and you I like the head canon that the gifts they wanted to give each other reflected there personality. She gave the brute of a guy a puzzle and he wanted to give the gentle strategist a sword😊.
We may never know for sure but it's fun to speculate.
@@theunlikelygenshingamer I had edited my second comment, but I wanted to reinstate my first one. That while I still disagree, I can see your point for the small evidence with Guizhong and the Primordial Jade Cutter, but it’s still small. Sorry it’s long: she’s never been associated with a weapon at all, much less ceremonial. In the description, “when Liyue first arose”, Liyue as a whole, not just Liyue Harbor, was founded after Guizhong’s death and Guili Assembly was flooded, 3,700 years ago _by Rex Lapis_, singular. The nations were different in the Archon War and wasn’t what it used to be until only seven of them remained. Zhongli had to claim territory as he fought other gods who did the same. Liyue wouldn’t have been formed unless he did. It officially established after Guizhong’s death because Guili Assembly was their united territory at the time, not the whole land yet. While the words in the description do compare to Guizhong, that’s all there is to go off on and is an assumption, the description is still ambiguous. Your headcanon has a level of inconsistence given that the cleansing bell was not a gift, but taken by Zhongli for ceremonial use from her and Ping’s argument. The Memory of Dust was given upon her death, where she both says opening the dumbbell is her challenge and then to forget about it. There isn’t anything else from her that was actually given.
>runs from blue sea otter
Zhongli and venti still have so many things we don't know
Wonder what greater gift Ei received after kazuha's friend fulfilled his goal of blocking musuo no hitotachi?
He maybe was a god of gemstone
Representing how old he was
What ost plays since 17:00 i cannot remember the name of it?
Beside that amazing video. I am deeply in Zhongli theories and lore, since he is my favourite character and i really wanna finally learn more one day.
That one is Dance of Fireflies. One of my favorites but I don't get to use it often.
Also thank you😁 I'm glad I could entertain. I cant wait until we get some more lore on the original folks.
Going forward with the story, i still think the tsaritsa doesn't have the stronger power in her country but probably the top 3 harbinger. they just seems to have some things in common and work for her. But since we're going to be able to pull ALL archons, it seems unlikely we will not pull her, meaning. She will have something to do with the traveler later on and be an ally somewhat.
Love these theories! I didn`t know a lot of his lore before! Was wow'ed by the connection (and ashamed of myself for not noticing it) that GOLD is held on a high pedestal in Genshin lore and he is Deus Auri. And using mora to do transmutations! Thanks for the video!
Edit: My thoughts as I watched your video...
1. What if part of end game has a lot of vision bearers "die" or "fulfill their contracts" to power up the gnosis/archons by having that borrowed power returned with interest so they can fight Celestia?
2. Or is the fate of some allogenes to ascend to godhood? If yes, who (maybe Arlecchino?) and whose side would they be on? Either through contract (to Celestia) or by their own desire/will.
3. Has it been confirmed that anemo, geo, electro, and dendro visions are no longer being granted since their gnosis have been confiscated by the Fatui? I'm discounting hydro because Neuvillette gifting to Furina.
4. "Fatui" because they are "actors" putting on an elaborate play for the audience (Celestia). If this is their way to explain Dottore and to justify all his inhumane experiments and make him a "good guy" or at least "anti-hero", then I'm gonna probably roll my eyes because of course Hoyo'd find a way to make Dottore marketable.
@@LilianaKali You mean the Fatui, Neuvillette gifted the hydro gnosis to the Fatui. I don't think gnoses are responsible for the creation of visions either, the elemental authority is, and that's stored in Celestia, presumably.
@@F1ll1nTh3Blanks I didn't type my thoughts correctly. Thanks for pointing it out. I meant that Neuvillette gifted a VISION to Furina, but do we know of any other VISIONS being gifted since the gnosis containing the authorities (minus hydro authority) are now with the Fatui? I mean Rana got one, but I don't remember if that was canonically before or after the archon quest.
@@LilianaKaliThe aranara quest and literally any world quest or story quest can be before or after the sumeru Archon Quest because that quest like Wanderer's and Ei's 2nd story quest dont care about the time-line. If they are completeted before the sumeru Archon quest nothing will happen but if completed after the sumeru archon quest was completed then they will be altered. Its simply an anomaly.
@@LilianaKaliThe Authorities stolen from the Dragon Sovereigns we're sealed in the Divine Thrones that the Archons sit on . On The Heaven's Glow like Apep said. The Gnosis does not hold any power from the Dragon Sovereigns. The Gnosis hold the remains of the 3rd descender and greatly amplify elemental energy.
Thank you for pointing out the more straightforward explanation for what Visions give to gods. So tired of all the conspiracy theories.
I've been thinking - if Visions give return on investment, would Mora give return on investment too? Would every Mora spent to power up weapons, return to Zhongli, filled with power of human greed, making him stronger?
Now that's an interesting prospect. Never thought of that side of it. I find it interesting that Pantalone is so incensed by the idea that the institute of money and trade was entrusted to an archon. He basically wants to introduce the paper dollar just like how the rest of the real world eventually rejected the gold standard and went to paper money which is subject to inflation.
According to Wriothesley Bis weapon. He's actually the one who made up credit coupons and decided to run the experiment in the Fortress because it was largely cut off from the Archons influence.
Maybe he knows more about what happens when mora is used 🤔
Dropping meteors like nothing
You should check out the Lore regarding Xbalanque and the Pyro Sovereign.
I absolutely can't wait to, but I'd rather not read the leaks. Is it really interesting?
@@theunlikelygenshingamerI reccomend reading on irl mythology of characters in general as they basically spoil alot. Such as Nabu Malikata being named after an akkadian god who introduced language to humanity or how Mavuika is a god of flames who had her flames taken by Maui and given to humanity hinting at her resignation and giving the throne to someone else in the competition, or the comedias typically having the captain have a moment where he’s humbled implying he might be the first fatui harbinger to fail or that he has to resort to allying the new archon with sneznaya as a means of “getting the gnosis”.
The multiple stories written out and how they could interact are all very interesting and you dont need spoilers to learn the lore (most times ive been leaked against my will its been very broad lore and the more specific stuff had its writing changed on release drastically changing implications so dont bother with leaks).
@Fuphu you do make a good point. In fact the video I did about names in genshin and how much info they contain. You might like it. I'll probably check out what you said.
@@theunlikelygenshingamer I’ll check it out. New perspectives always open up my mind and cause a bunch of “eureka” moments from a lore perspective.
Brace yourself don't read if you don't like Leaks...
Before Xbalanque became the Pyro Archon he challenged the Pyro Sovereign to a fight and after that he came out victorious and thus became the very First Pyro Archon.
i love your exposition here, your videos are always so insightful and inspiring ! i’m curious though, as we know zhongli now to be deus auri, how would the sun god theory factor into all of this? can it even be considered?
Literally just waiting on Rock Daddy Z's rerun
Zhongli isn't invincible and very nice world quest proves that
If vision holders deaths give a boon of power to the PO or Sustainer when they die, then it would make sense the same goes for delusions right? Has the tsaritsa been harvesting power through handing out delusions this entire time?
Delusions seem to come from remains of dead gods. Which is why they're so troublesome. It is not clear what happens to delusions when the bearer dies.
@@kotarouinugami1745They still seem functional. Spoilers for Emilie Story Quest, but even after Vijama died, Kirya could still use her Delusion for over the course of 20+ years.
@@RGA301092 Makes sense.
Never call him broke again you pesants
"The longest reigning entity in Teyvat besides the Heavenly Principles"
Wouldn't that technically be Apep, who as the Original Dendro Dragon Sovereign, has been around even longer than the Heavenly Principles?
@Aidan_Yao Yeah I think they are talking aboit Teyvat as we know it, because after the arrival of PO the dragons were reigning on nothing. And if you wanna consider that, Azhdaha also and not only Apep, given that he's canonically older than mountains and seas as well.
@@citoyenneteavanttout7273 Not sure about Azhdaha - it seems that he just respawned with old memories, like Neuvillette. Even if he is the Sovereign - not everybody agrees on that.
@@kotarouinugami1745Neuvillette did not respawn with memories, though. He only got them back upon getting his powers back.
@@aduckonaplane3816 I was under impression that he had some of his memories from early on, but got much more memories when he restored his full strength.
I do not claim to be knowledgeable about Neuvillette, though.
@@kotarouinugami1745 He is pretty much confirmed sovereign, also doesn't change he is older than mountains and seas.