Lisa had already begun summoning thunder, pressing down toward her opponent.
Ningguang remained calm, unhurriedly drawing out a bell.
It was an ancient bell, so old it even appeared worn and damaged.
But the moment she took it out, Jiang Yan shot her a deep glance.
He hadn't expected Ningguang to possess such a treasure.
This item was the Jade Chime.
It was a high-grade artifact Jiang Yan had forged just last night.
Whoever held the Jade Chime would not have their mind disturbed by external illusions; illusions, enchantments, and any soul-targeting arts could be resisted.
More than that, the bell itself carried the power to shake the opponent's spirit.
"Be careful, Miss Lisa. This bell is a treasure I barely managed to subdue within the Sword Forest," Ningguang said lightly.
On the way here, Lisa had already heard from Alice about how cultivators fought.
Naturally, she also knew about magic artifacts.
At once, she became fully alert.
"Soul Seizure!"
Ningguang's eyes flashed. The Jade Chime gave a faint shake, and a crisp chime rang in Lisa's ears.
In that instant, Lisa's vision blurred—she seemed to see her younger self.
A prodigy's name, the love of her parents, a happy family. Growing up, she went to the Sumeru Akademiya for exchange study.
There, she spent a joyful time learning. Until…
Until she began delving into the nature of Visions, even forbidden knowledge.
She saw the scholars in the Avidya Forest, deranged and muttering.
All of them had once been geniuses of the Akademiya.
And all of them had gone mad.
By the time Lisa regretted it, she too had already been marked by the forbidden.
It was too late.
Disheartened, she returned to Mondstadt, becoming a librarian, sleeping away her days to resist the erosion.
But…
When would this kind of life end?
When would she be consumed to death?
Despair surged into her heart—until suddenly, Lisa caught a spark of clarity.
No.
This wasn't right—this was very wrong!
Back then, even when eroded, she had never despaired. She had always sought a way to save herself.
Now, having found Mount Shu, surely Mount Shu could solve her problem.
Why should she despair?
In an instant, the illusion shattered. Lisa's mind snapped back. At once, she noticed a streak of light hurtling toward her.
It was a flying sword, slicing the air. If it struck, she would be defeated outright.
Lisa hastily responded, unleashing the thunder she'd been preparing. A bolt of azure lightning blasted the sword aside.
She frowned, still wary of Ningguang.
"What a strange weapon! It almost trapped me in despair… Is this the weapon of a cultivator?"
Ningguang shook her head with some regret.
Her grasp of the Jade Chime was still too shallow.
Had she mastered it, a sudden ambush like that—when Lisa wasn't even using her forbidden power—would have been enough to win easily.
"Artifacts may be external tools, but to cultivators, they are part of our very lives. Forgive me." Ningguang spoke softly.
The Jade Chime rippled once again.
Lisa's spirit trembled violently, and even her thunderclouds grew unstable.
The flying sword streaked toward her once more.
Lisa dared not hold back now. A strange spellbook appeared in her hand, bursting with concentrated elemental power.
"Azure Thunder!"
A thick bolt of lightning struck down—onto herself. The flying sword was blasted away again.
Ningguang sighed inwardly.
Her sword control was still clumsy. Otherwise, the Mount Shu Sword-Manipulation Art was swifter than lightning and carried heaven's might—such thunder would have been cut apart with ease.
Her cultivation was simply not yet refined.
When Zhongli first grasped the art, he could sever heavenly tribulation. Yet here she was, unable to even cut Lisa's lightning.
Resolving to train harder, Ningguang recalled her flying sword.
Her gaze fixed on Lisa's figure wreathed in lightning. A terrifying aura surged upward.
Lisa's power was rising rapidly.
It seemed she was fighting seriously now.
Ningguang felt helpless. She knew with her shallow mastery of spells, she could never win across realms.
Even if her opponent wasn't a cultivator.
But since she had already stepped onto the stage…
How could she surrender without a fight?
With the Sect Master watching, conceding immediately would be far too disgraceful.
At last, Lisa's lightning storm ended.
Her appearance hadn't changed much, but her eyes glimmered with violet tinged in black.
The thunder around her now carried a cruel, violent aura.
Her expression was icy cold, as though she had become someone else entirely.
Alice grew worried.
"Lisa's using that power again… Zhongli, can your true essence suppress it?"
Zhongli stared at Lisa, thoughtful.
"…Why does this feel so familiar?"
Jiang Yan smiled faintly at him.
Moments later, Zhongli's eyes lit with realization.
"Could it be… inner demons?"
"Something like that," Jiang Yan confirmed, then explained:
"Visions come from wishes so strong that they attract the gaze of the gods."
"A Vision represents one's wishes, dreams, even memories tied to those desires."
"Then what happens when one loses their Vision?"
Venti's face darkened.
"…Their wish."
"Correct," Jiang Yan nodded.
"More precisely, they lose a part of their core spirit—even their soul's strength."
"A Vision essentially severs a fragment of a person's essence, storing it within."
"Most wielders never think about what it means to lose their Vision."
"But Lisa not only thought about it—she studied the nature of Visions themselves."
"When she began to suspect this divine 'gift' might not be a gift at all, her will conflicted with the wish sealed inside her Vision."
"Couple that with her studies into forbidden powers beyond Teyvat…"
"…and it produced a state similar to inner demons. Though at the root, it is not truly that."
Zhongli exhaled in relief.
"If it were genuine inner demons, that would be troublesome. The power inside her could be suppressed, but inner demons can only be resolved by oneself. Since it isn't, then surely the Sect Master has a way?"
At his words, Alice and Venti looked hopefully at the gentleman. Klee too gazed at him with wide, pleading eyes.
"Big brother, can you help Auntie Lisa?"
Jiang Yan chuckled, ruffling Klee's hair.
"This is simple. She only needs to cultivate. A cultivator gathers all external fragments of spirit back into themselves. With divine sense strong and soul firm, there will be no problem."
"Didn't Keqing and the others, after beginning cultivation, abandon their Visions without issue?"
Hearing this, Alice and the rest all breathed in relief.
Now it only depended on whether Lisa could join Mount Shu.
On the stage, Lisa's face was cold as she summoned thunder again and again.
Ningguang had already taken to her sword, weaving between bolts.
Seeing Lisa's unstable state, she dared not strike rashly.
But as time dragged on, Ningguang's stamina waned.
Though the spirit-gathering array replenished true essence quickly, she hadn't circulated her energy through her meridians.
At this rate, she would be struck down.
Lisa's current power and elemental concentration had already reached the mid Refining-Essence stage.
Ningguang hesitated no longer.
Dodging another thunderbolt, she lifted the Jade Chime above her head.
Golden light cascaded down, shielding her for the moment.
But under the thunder's bombardment, the light shuddered.
She dared not delay further. Fingers moving, she traced talismans into the air.
Slow but steady—soon, dozens of yellowing papers formed around her.
"Five Thunders Talisman—Descend!"
She thrust her hand forward. Thunder Talismans surged forth, blotting the sky as heavenly might gathered.
Lisa sensed danger, but when the first purple-glowing bolt descended, she could no longer dodge.
These were unlike her own conjured thunderclouds.
Ningguang's lightning seemed to appear from nothingness itself, drawn directly from heaven and earth.
Bolt after bolt crashed down upon Lisa.
Ningguang watched tensely as the ground was blasted into a bottomless pit.
Only when the talismans were spent did the storm subside.
Keqing and the others stood up, straining to see through the smoke.
Ningguang gave a bitter smile.
"Still no good. The gap in cultivation is too great—even without being a cultivator, she's beyond me. My spellwork is still too shallow."
From within the crater, Lisa's figure rose slowly.
A black lightning shield wrapped around her body.
But she was not unscathed.
Her sleeves were burned away, her exposed arm charred black.
Her once-silky hair was now dry and frayed.
She looked battered.
Yet…
That very heavenly lightning had also calmed the violent will within her.
Her power felt purified.
Lisa lifted her gaze, looking complicatedly at Ningguang.
Lady Ningguang… since when did she wield lightning so well?
And such high-quality lightning at that!
If not for her greater strength preventing Ningguang from unleashing their full might, she would have been struck down already.
And also… wasn't lightning supposed to be immune to lightning shields?!
Her shield had been pierced several times!
Do cultivators just ignore elemental rules entirely?!
Still, Lisa was grateful. Though Ningguang had wrecked her elegant image, compared to having her forbidden will purified, it was worth it.
Ningguang landed softly, looking at Lisa with resignation.
"Miss Lisa, your strength is indeed formidable. My true essence is exhausted—I concede."
As her words fell, she circulated her qi. Spiritual energy surged into her body, quickly restoring her essence—more than that, she even gained insight.
Ningguang understood now.
No wonder Jiang Yan said cultivators were always sparring.
It actually made you stronger!
But thinking of the spirit-gathering array, she suddenly eyed Moon Carver.
Such a useful array—was it reasonable for her senior not to install one in the Jade Chamber?
And what about artifact forging and beast-taming?
Among Mount Shu's four auxiliary paths, could they really be weaker than alchemy and formations?
Artifact forging alone—though Cloud Retainer and the others couldn't produce much yet, the gentleman had made the Jade Chime. That spoke volumes.
The future was promising!
After recovering some essence, Ningguang didn't hog the stage. She mounted her flying sword and withdrew.
Next, Ganyu soared up, facing Lisa.
"Disciple of Mount Shu's Tongtian Peak, Ganyu."
"Miss Lisa, do you need time to recover?"
Lisa tested her elemental power and that strange force within her, then shook her head.
Lightning flashed, and she returned to her graceful, languid demeanor.
"No need to waste time. The real spectacle will be Lord Alice and the others' battles later."
"Miss Ganyu, I'm in perfect condition. Please, let's begin."
To read 220+ future chapters, head over to Patreon:
patreon.com/WhiteDevil7554