Future of 5.X (Lantern Rite Spoilers)
After playing through the Lantern Rite event, I'm almost certain that the rest of the 5.X patches will be having us experience & deal with the fallout of the Natlan AQ - especially concerning the Captain's sacrifice in Ochkanatlan.
Lantern Rite (Liyue)
With Lantern Rite, we see the ripple effects take the form of the fetor crisis caused by disruptions to the border (between life & death) in Liyue's Ley Lines.
And after the crisis is quelled, this is what Ningguang & Beidou talk about regarding the matter:
With Liyue safe & sound for the moment, the next nation to be affected by the ripple effects will be their neighbour across the sea.
Mikawa Flower Festival (Inazuma)
Come 5.4, we'll be returning to Inazuma for the Mikawa Festival. And the storyline for the event revolves around Ei.
During the festival, she'll be investigating a nightmare related to her long-dead oni friend, Mikoshi Chiyo - likely also to be caused by disruptions to Inazuma's Ley Lines.
As always, we as the Traveler, will be right in the thick of things, tackling & fixing the problem before it gets too out of control.
With Liyue & Inazuma, that's two nations already being affected. So then, which nation will be next after that?
The answer? The City of Freedom.
Windblume Festival (Mondstadt)
How Mondstadt will be affected by the Captain's actions remains to be seen - we'll have to wait for the 5.5 livestream for that.
But given how past Windblume events contribute to piecing together the overall lore of Teyvat, it's gonna be interesting & juicy how (especially) Venti's gonna address this issue!
I'd imagine that at some point we'll also get new Sumeru & Fontaine events, to see how the Sumeruans & Fontainians experience & tackle the fallout of the Natlan AQ & the disruption of the Ley Lines.