The Geo spikes shot out like sharp swords, precisely piercing the crevices of the Pyro Regisvine's core and pinning the remaining black miasma completely inside.
The Pyro Regisvine let out a final, shrill screech as the Pyro elements surrounding its body instantly extinguished. Its roots went completely limp, and it crumbled into a pile of ash.
Yunqin stumbled as she landed, propping her hands on her knees and gasping for breath. Cold sweat dripped down her cheeks, soaking her collar.
Looking at the pile of ash on the ground, she grinned brightly, revealing two small canine teeth. "So this is all the Abyss has to offer? Not so tough after all!"
Venti stared, momentarily lost in thought as he watched the girl's radiant smile after her victory.
Sunlight streamed through a crack in the cavern ceiling, dappling Yunqin's face with flecks of light. Her ink-black hair was still damp with sweat from the intense battle.
When she smiled, her eyes curved into crescent moons, revealing those two small canine teeth. Even the beads of sweat on her forehead seemed to glisten.
She looked so much like a certain girl who used to laugh and joke with him in Mondstadt.
It wasn't until Yunqin walked up to him and waved a warm, small hand in front of his face that Venti snapped back to reality, quickly masking the dazed look in his eyes.
"What are you spacing out for?" Yunqin tilted her head, her tone laced with playful reproach. "Don't tell me you were so impressed by my moves just now that you're stunned speechless?"
Venti couldn't help but laugh, instinctively reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief.
But just as his hand touched the edge of his pocket, he felt a small, warm hand dart inside first.
Yunqin expertly fished out the handkerchief and began wiping her sweaty cheeks with it, her movements so fluid and swift that he didn't even have time to protest.
"Hey, that's my handkerchief," Venti said, sighing and pressing a hand to his forehead. His voice was a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "Shouldn't you show a gentleman at least a little courtesy?"
"We're friends, aren't we? What's the point of 'yours' and 'mine'?" After wiping her sweat, Yunqin casually crumpled the handkerchief into a ball and stuffed it back into his pocket, completely oblivious to the twitch at the corner of Venti's mouth.
"Something's not right," she said, frowning and fanning the air around her. "We've dealt with the Pyro Regisvine, so the fire walls should have disappeared. Why does it feel like it's getting hotter?"
The smile vanished from Venti's face. He sensed the anomaly in the air even more keenly than Yunqin had.
The scorching heat wasn't the lingering warmth of residual Pyro energy. Instead, it felt like freezing embers pressed against their skin, a chilling burn that made them deeply uneasy.
Venti's gaze fell upon the ashes where the Pyro Regisvine had been, and his tone grew somber. "Look there."
Yunqin followed his gaze, her pupils constricting in shock.
In the center of the clearing, amidst the ashes, a small Ley Line Blossom had silently sprouted.
Its petals were an eerie blackish-red, and its stem was wreathed in a thick, dark Abyssal miasma. The blossom continuously absorbed the surrounding residual Pyro energy, causing its stem to thicken at a visible rate.
"It seems we didn't completely destroy it," Venti murmured as Anemo energy quietly gathered around him.
Just as they were about to step forward for a closer look, the Ley Line Blossom began to tremble violently.
Its petals unfurled with astonishing speed. The stem shot upward, thickening rapidly, while black roots erupted from the ground like venomous snakes. In just a few breaths, they twisted and fused together, regenerating into a complete Pyro Regisvine!
Black slime still oozed from the cracks in its trunk, but it was thicker and more viscous than before, staining even the air with a dark haze.
"No way!" Yunqin gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Pyro Regisvines are supposed to grow incredibly slowly! How did this one regenerate so fast?"
-
Meanwhile, outside the cave.
Lumine, Zhongli, and Paimon were just about to leave the Guizhong Ballista and return to Liyue Harbor.
Suddenly, a nauseating stench drifted through the air.
Zhongli and Lumine stopped almost simultaneously. They exchanged a glance before turning their heads toward Cuijue Slope.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? Was Paimon walking too slow?" Paimon asked, scratching her head in confusion as she saw them halt.
Before Paimon could react, Zhongli was already striding toward the cave. Geo energy quietly swirled around him, and his pace was noticeably faster than usual.
Lumine hurried to keep up, glancing back to wave at Paimon as she ran. "It's the Abyss!"
The image of the sea of Abyss monsters that had recently besieged Mondstadt flashed through Paimon's mind, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Hey! Wait for Paimon!" she cried, finally snapping out of it and scrambling to catch up.
-
In front of their screens in the parallel world, the moment the players heard Lumine shout "Abyss," the tone of the bullet comments instantly shifted.
"The Abyss! It's those bastards again! Don't they ever quit?!"
"Kill them! Avenge the fallen heroes of Mondstadt! Avenge Lydia!"
"You harmed Lydia before, and now you're causing trouble again! Do you really think no one in Teyvat can stop you?"
"Mihoyo, that's enough! Everyone knows about the '70,000 Primogems for a mother's life' incident. Whose life are you trying to buy this time?!"
-
Lu Nanqing watched the enraged fans in her live stream and quickly softened her tone to calm them down. "Everyone, please don't get too worked up. Lumine and Zhongli are already on their way. Let's see what happens next in the story."
Though she said this, her hand gripping the mouse tightened unconsciously.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Xiao Guizi's live stream was far more intense.
Xiao Guizi slammed her desk in fury. "Those Abyss bastards! They just won't stay dead, will they?! They killed someone as good as Lydia, and now they dare to show their faces again!"
Her anger grew with every word, and her fans joined in, flooding the bullet comments with a barrage of curses that started in C-language and ended in M-language.
A moment later, a notification popped up on the screen: "This live stream has been suspended due to inappropriate language." Enraged, Xiao Guizi threw her mouse across the room.
-
The scene shifted back to the cave. The newly grown Pyro Regisvine, though still shrouded in black mist, was completely different from the previous one corrupted by the Abyss.
It wasn't writhing its roots wildly; instead, it stood quietly in place, like an ordinary Pyro Regisvine. Even the black miasma coiling around its trunk seemed unusually "docile," merely clinging to the bark and flowing slowly, showing no hint of aggression.
Yunqin and Venti watched it warily for a long time, but the Pyro Regisvine never displayed any signs of hostility.
Instead, the corolla at its crown was tightly closed. A faint orange-red light flickered from between the petal seams, as if something was gestating inside.
"This tree... it shows no hostility," Venti said, frowning. "I can even sense it's 'protecting' something inside."
Before Yunqin could respond, Venti suddenly waved his hand. Several sharp wind blades materialized out of thin air, their fierce aura cutting through the air as they instantly sliced the Pyro Regisvine in half at its trunk!
With a sharp crack, the trunk collapsed with a thunderous crash, disintegrating into a shower of wood splinters laced with black miasma. The miasma quickly dissipated upon hitting the ground, as if it had never existed.
The tightly closed corolla, now without the support of the trunk, drifted down like a feather.
The moment it touched the ground, a sphere of pure Pyro energy floated out from its center.