Inside the dream.
"Jiang Li!"
Seeing her body gradually dissolving, Ji An grew anxious.
He tried to reach out and grab her, but then noticed the dragon king's crown in his hand and realized something.
Jiang Li, under normal circumstances, probably shouldn't have dissipated this quickly. There had been no sign of it before — it was only after she had given him the dragon king's crown that this had suddenly begun.
He tried to put the crystalline horn down, only to find it rapidly melting like snow in blazing sun, breaking apart into specks of light that merged into his body.
At that moment, the system's voice sounded in his ear.
*Exclusive character bond [My Heart is Not a Stone] information has been updated.*
*[My Heart is Not a Stone]: "A thousand-year sorrowful wish, repaid today."*
*Hidden bond effect revealed: After the exclusive character meets the host, they will provide the host with a special return.*
Damn.
No wonder the [My Heart is Not a Stone] bond had shown no effect before. He had assumed that was simply how it was.
He never imagined the system had hidden it.
Ji An looked at Jiang Li's dissolving form and said urgently, "System, is there any way to save her?"
[Ding. Host, the golden talent skill 'Son of the Rock' has been detected.]
[Son of the Rock: As the rock's most beloved child, you are favored by the mountains. In time, you will grow into the legendary elemental dragon king.]
"I don't want to be any dragon king."
Ji An gritted his teeth. "System, answer me honestly. Is there a way to save her?"
[Does the host truly wish to do this? To save a consciousness that was meant to dissipate, you will need to pay a heavy price.]
The system was usually quiet and said little.
But whenever it came to matters like this, it would weigh every detail, as if trying to make Ji An reconsider and give up.
Hearing this, Ji An's eyes lit up. "You have a way to save her?"
[Host, possessing the 'Son of the Rock' talent, even without taking any action, you will become a god in time and gain a long lifespan.]
[To save this consciousness, you would need to give up more than just the talent. Additional costs would apply.]
[Is the host certain about this choice?]
"Yes!"
Ji An confirmed without hesitation.
Watching Jiang Li's body fade further, he pressed urgently, "System, how do I save her?"
The system was silent for a moment.
[I'm sorry, host. According to the system's assessment, you do not currently possess the conditions necessary to save this consciousness.]
[Her consciousness has already begun to dissipate. Without a means of gathering these soul fragments, even if the host is willing to forfeit the 'Son of the Rock' talent and pay all other costs, it will not be enough to preserve her.]
Ji An seized on the key words and pushed. "Then how do I gather her soul fragments?"
[Host, the system has already explained — you cannot currently meet the conditions required.]
[Dissipating consciousness cannot be fully contained by ordinary magical instruments. You have not yet obtained, through any simulated life reward, an item capable of gathering a dissolving soul. One other type of item possesses this power: a branch from a divine tree nurtured by the ley line energy of this world. Such an item carries within it the power to hold memories and wishes.]
"A divine tree?"
Ji An's heart jumped.
Back at Tianqiu Valley, Master Lu had mentioned to him that ley line energy took various forms, and divine trees were among its products — catalyzed by its accumulation. Where ley line energy gathered, Ley Line Blossoms would grow. Where it flowed more thinly through branches, it might give rise to petrified ancient trees. And where it concentrated in great quantities in a single place, it would grow into a divine tree, bringing power and blessings to the surrounding land.
But where was he supposed to find a divine tree branch on such short notice?
He didn't know of any such tree in Liyue.
"Is there really no way?" Ji An looked at Jiang Li's nearly vanished form, his thoughts in turmoil.
He genuinely could not bring himself to watch her — laughing and playing with him just moments ago — fade away like this.
Just then, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.
"Yo, young friend, there you are! I just noticed that cat-eared girl seems to have paid a little extra. Did you want to—eh?"
Ji An turned instinctively.
Liben, pompadour and sunglasses in place, was pulling himself up onto the rooftop, dusting off his hands.
He had been cheerfully calling out to Ji An, but then he caught sight of Jiang Li — nearly transparent by now — and his voice cut off.
"Wh— what's wrong with this little girl?"
Ji An really wasn't in the mood to explain.
"Oh, right — that short fellow mentioned earlier that there are a lot of spirits in this dream."
Liben slapped his forehead.
"So this little girl is a spirit too? But, young friend, she doesn't look well at all."
Understatement of the century. Anyone with eyes could see that.
Ji An gave him a wordless look.
At the same time, he was already reaching out to Xiao through the dream, asking whether a divine tree branch could be found. The answer came back negative.
Xiao could see everything unfolding in the dream as well.
"If there were more time, perhaps I could find one. But her consciousness likely cannot wait that long."
Xiao's words sent a wave of helplessness through Ji An's chest.
"Young friend, don't just stand there with the little girl in this state."
Liben had already set his pack down and was rummaging through it. "Come to think of it, when I was working at the Grand Narukami Shrine in Inazuma, I managed to get hold of some rather rare goods... here it is!"
He produced something wrapped in a square of purple cloth and unfolded it carefully.
Inside lay a pile of faintly glowing pink petals. Even from a distance, you could feel the calm they carried — a quiet power that seemed to settle the soul.
"Young friend, in Inazuma these are called Sakura Blooms."
Liben held the petals up and said, "I saw it with my own eyes that day — the great shrine maiden, Yae Miko, used Sakura Blooms just like these to lay souls to rest. I thought they'd surely sell well, so I quietly collected some from beneath the Sacred Sakura tree..."
"What did you say? The Sacred Sakura tree?"
Ji An's eyes went wide. "Say that again."
"These Sakura Blooms are petals that fell from the Sacred Sakura tree at the Grand Narukami Shrine. They're said to carry the blessings of the land of Inazuma."
Liben divided the pile in half and pressed a portion into Ji An's hands without another word about payment.
Then he turned to face Jiang Li's nearly vanished form, pressed his palms together, and straightened his expression. "Young friend, come stand with me. Let's pray together and give this little girl a proper farewell."
"..."
Ji An looked down at the Sakura Blooms in his hands, and for a moment was struck by such an overwhelming sense of absurdity that he couldn't speak.
*System — could this possibly be...?*
Even the system was quiet for an unusually long moment.
[Host, you have obtained petals from a ley line divine tree. They may be used to gather the target's dissipating consciousness.]
---
At the camp outside The Chasm.
Within the circle of Seven-Star Lamps, Ji An lay with his eyes shut, deep in slumber.
Xiao's brow twitched slightly. Hearing Ji An's call from within the dream, he walked over and touched his shoulder.
"Exit the dream."
Ji An's eyes opened slowly. For a moment there was confusion, and then alertness snapped into place.
"The Sakura Blooms—!"
He raised his hand quickly. In his palm sat a small bundle of purple cloth, folded into a ball.
He looked urgently at Xiao. "Xiao, can you take me to Tianqiu Valley?"
Xiao had witnessed everything in the dream and gave a slight nod.
Ji An let out a breath. "Thank you. Let's go."
Their brief, cryptic exchange left everyone else completely at a loss.
Keqing stepped forward. "Mr. Ji An, Conqueror of Demons — what are you—"
Hu Tao: "Xiao An, where are you going?"
Guoba: "?"
Ji An took a breath, looked at them, and said simply, "To recover what was lost."
Before leaving with Xiao, he suddenly remembered something and turned back.
"Oh — right. The crisis at The Chasm has been resolved. Everyone, don't worry."
Then Xiao was gone, and Ji An with him, in a flash of light.
"The crisis is resolved?"
Keqing and the others stared at the empty space where they had been standing. Before anyone could speak—
A wave of shouts broke out from outside.
"Unbelievable — what's happening?"
"The Geovishaps — they're withdrawing from The Chasm!"
"Stay calm! They don't seem to want to attack. Don't provoke them."
One after another, reports came rushing in.
"Great news, Lady Keqing! Everyone trapped inside is out — not a single injury!"
The garrison camp erupted into cheers. Millelith soldiers and support staff alike laughed and embraced.
Keqing and the others kept their composure, but the relief was plain on every face.
"Mr. Ji An..."
"Wuwu, Xiao An..."
"Thanks to Mr. Ji, all of this..."
Everyone present understood who deserved the most credit for resolving the crisis at The Chasm without a single battle.
"Hmph. Young Ji did not disappoint this Adeptus."
"This brother of mine is truly something else! Oh — speaking of which, Adeptus Cloud Retainer, I am a historian from Sumeru with a great interest in the stories of the Liyue Adepti. Might you be willing to share some?"
"Oh? An ordinary mortal with a keen mind. Since you ask — this Adeptus could tell you the story of the Qilin Adeptus in her younger years."
"What?! The story of an adeptal beast?! Please, I'm listening!"
---
Outside the camp.
"An'er."
Shenhe stood beneath a tree, watching the celebrating crowd. Her usually composed face held a quiet mix of loneliness and relief.
---
Tianqiu Valley.
A flash of dim light in the air.
Xiao appeared in the valley with Ji An.
"Thank you, Xiao."
"It's nothing."
Ji An walked toward the rock face where he had once run the pangolin simulation. Xiao crossed his arms and watched him go.
Upon reaching it, Ji An pressed his hand to the rock surface and murmured, "Transmute."
The rock sank inward, revealing the pale yellow scale he had buried there before.
Ji An picked it up. In his other hand, he held the purple cloth bundle carrying Jiang Li's consciousness.
[Host, the 'Armored Pangolin's Chest Scale' effect has two uses remaining.]
[To reconstitute this consciousness, one use of the effect is required. To allow her to remain in this world, another use is required.]
[The host will therefore lose both remaining opportunities to block a fatal attack.]
[Is the host certain he wishes to do this?]
Ji An smiled slightly. "System, have you forgotten how I used the chest scale's effect last time? How is this any different?"
The system said nothing.
Then a prompt sounded.
[Ding. The effect of the talent skill 'Armored Pangolin's Chest Scale' has been removed.]
Pale yellow specks of light emerged from Ji An's body, flowed into the scale in his hand, and the scale blazed with sudden brightness.
---
Nantianmen. Beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree.
Zhongli, who had been standing before the stone tablet for some time, sensed something and was still.
"Doing it this way... as expected of you."
He lifted Kun Jun gently from the ground, turned, and left.
Shortly after, a flash of light, and Xiao appeared with Ji An.
Ji An looked around. "Xiao, is Azhdaha the Dragon King's main body here?"
"Mm."
Having already received word from Rex Lapis, Xiao nodded and led him beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree to the stone wall before the seal. At Xiao's gesture, Ji An stepped through.
He found himself in the underground cavern.
The first thing he saw was the seal — eight enormous stone pillars arranged in a ring.
Within it, a massive rock dragon lay quietly prostrate, completely unresponsive to their arrival, as though sleeping.
Ji An looked at it and felt the weight of what he was seeing. "So this is the main body of Azhdaha the Dragon King — once carved by the pangolin, and given sight by the Geo Archon..."
He understood that the earth dragon had fallen into a temporary slumber because it had lost its authority over rock, its power greatly diminished without it.
But a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.
Even stripped of its authority, Azhdaha's main body remained the body of a god. Given enough time, a new consciousness would inevitably arise within it.
That was, of course, without Ji An's involvement.
He stepped past the stone pillars, approached the massive dragon, and climbed onto its back.
Then, one after another, he placed the scale imbued with the Chest Scale effect and the Sakura Bloom bundle carrying Jiang Li's will onto its head.
The moment they touched, they lit up.
They dissolved into countless white specks of light that gradually coalesced above the rock dragon's head into the shape of Jiang Li.
But she was still translucent, her eyes shut, her face pale — on the edge of vanishing entirely.
Then the scale lit up a second time.
Jiang Li's form solidified.
Ji An smiled, then said aloud, "System, remove 'Son of the Rock' from the talent skill list."
[Golden talent skill 'Son of the Rock' has been removed.]
As the prompt sounded, the dragon king's crown — which had melted into his palm — reappeared in his hand.
He picked it up carefully with both hands and placed it on Jiang Li's head.
At that moment, all the rock in the cavern seemed to resonate — a wave of intense, layered emotion passing through the stone.
Disappointment. Welcome. Joy. Anger.
Most of the heavier emotions were directed squarely at Ji An, as if the rocks themselves were reproaching him for treating this supreme authority so carelessly.
Giving it away again and again, to one person after another.
— Do you think this is some kind of market stall?
"I'm not being modest. I genuinely cannot be this dragon king."
"Please find someone more suitable."
Ji An shamelessly ignored the stone's grievances.
The authority of the elemental dragon king flowed back into Jiang Li, then merged into the body of the great rock dragon below.
This time it was not a divided authority, but a whole and complete one, concentrated solely on her.
Although she had not yet regained consciousness, the aura she now radiated was quietly, staggeringly immense.
The earth dragon stirred, and the tremor moved through stone and sky alike.
This was Azhdaha the Dragon King — once the Geo Archon's comrade-in-arms, guardian of Liyue, the being that had carved a path through the war-torn lands of the continent during the Archon War.
Ji An looked at her and said softly, "Jiang Li, rest here for now. I'll come see you when I can."
With that, he turned and left.
He did not see that at the moment he stepped out of the cavern, a faint red glow flickered briefly in the earth dragon's eyes.
---
On the way out, the system started up again.
[Host, I hope that next time, you will not make such irrational decisions.]
Ji An responded with an expression of complete innocence. "What do you mean? I thought I was being perfectly rational."
[According to the system's assessment, the net benefit of your actions this time is negative. Does the host truly believe he made the right choice?]
"System, you just don't understand."
Ji An stopped walking and said, with great seriousness, "On the surface, yes, I gave up a great deal — the path to becoming a god, and two chances to block a fatal attack. But in reality, this was long-term strategic thinking on my part."
The system did not reply.
Its silence communicated, fairly clearly: I'll just stand here and watch you talk nonsense.
Ji An shook his head with the air of someone patiently explaining something obvious to a well-meaning but inexperienced listener.
"Don't believe me? Think it through. During that simulated life as the pangolin, there were many gods in the world at that time. Where are they now? All gone. Even Azhdaha the Dragon King ended up sealed beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree, suffering miserably."
"The Seven Archons are already long established. And this is Liyue — the domain of the Geo Archon, Morax, who has lived for six thousand years, the oldest of all seven. Even setting aside any exaggeration in the legends, during the Archon War he went around defeating gods one by one, a spear per target. If I had become a god, wouldn't I just be delivering myself to him?"
"As the saying goes, the bird that sticks out gets shot. So instead, I used the Chest Scale to save Jiang Li and returned the rock authority to her — letting her bear that burden in the seal on my behalf. Honestly, even I feel a little guilty about that one."
Ji An's reasoning was, on its surface, quite composed — and also, at its core, complete nonsense.
Somehow, it worked.
After a pause, the system responded.
[Host, the system has determined that you sustained a significant loss this time. It is recommended that you begin the next simulation as soon as possible in order to obtain rewards.]
"I'll do my best."
Ji An thought of something and his expression shifted slightly. "Though even if I simulate, the rewards aren't guaranteed to be straightforward."
[The host may simulate multiple times.]
Ji An: ...
---
Upon reaching the surface, Xiao was waiting. Seeing Ji An emerge, he gave a slight nod.
The two returned quickly to the camp outside The Chasm.
The Geovishap clans had fully retreated. The Chasm was being sealed off again by the Millelith — who were, for some reason, occupied with rather mysterious business.
Seymour, who had been eager to go in and investigate, was politely but firmly turned away again, which left him fuming.
Curious, Ji An asked Keqing what was going on.
"Strictly speaking, I shouldn't keep this from you, Mr. Ji An. But the situation is complicated, and we haven't fully made sense of it ourselves."
Keqing said, her brow faintly furrowed, "Not long ago, miners inside The Chasm dug up something unusual. Everyone who came into direct contact with it has been unconscious since. To be safe, we have no choice but to seal the area off for now."
"I see," Ji An said, nodding. He didn't press further.
-------
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