The three finally returned.
Alice appeared unchanged, calm and graceful as always.
But Zhongli and Venti looked utterly wretched.
Zhongli's body was covered with claw marks deep enough to show bone. His golden-red blood had soaked through his robes, and a heavy aura of blood fiendishness clung to him.
Venti's hands, as though seared by fire, dripped blood endlessly. Yet he still seemed cheerful, clutching a blood-red bead like a ruby, gazing at it every so often with delight.
Even so, his face was pale, and he could only walk with Zhongli's support.
Alice, outwardly, was perfectly fine.
But in truth, she was not unscathed. Her battle against Crimson Serpent had burned through a massive amount of true essence, and later she endured the washing of that bloody river. Her internal injuries were not light.
Still, to keep Klee from worrying, she had carefully composed herself before returning.
"Mommy!"
Klee rushed into her arms, face alight with joy. Alice's face paled briefly from the pain, but she quickly forced herself to brighten, smiling as she lifted her daughter.
"Klee, were you a good girl?"
Klee said nothing at first. She stared at Alice for a long time, then her lips quivered, and she whispered, wounded:
"Mommy… you're hurt…"
Alice stiffened, forcing a smile.
"Silly Klee must be mistaken. How could Mommy ever be hurt?"
But Klee only buried her face into Alice's chest, refusing to speak further.
Alice endured the discomfort, sitting down with her in her lap. Lisa quickly slipped her a few healing pills, and Alice nodded faintly in thanks.
"Head Senior, allow me," Xiao offered, concerned, stepping forward to take Venti.
"No need. Bring the things from behind," Zhongli replied, easing Venti onto a large stone and swallowing a handful of pills himself.
The three sat down to circulate their qi and recover.
Xiao and the others, though brimming with questions, wisely held back. Instead, they pushed through the underbrush to check the "things" left behind.
The moment they saw, their breath caught.
A hill of butchered flesh lay there—recognizably from a giant python and a Golden Eagle.
A hill.
Even dead, dismembered by Zhongli and the others, the corpses still radiated such overwhelming might that Xiao and the rest felt their skin prickle, hair standing on end.
Clearly, the exorcism had been anything but smooth.
They suppressed their awe and began collecting the materials.
Only after laboring for a long while did Liuyun suddenly slap her forehead.
"Klee has a space ring, doesn't she? Why not just let her store everything?"
"…"
Silence.
The remark made everyone feel rather stupid.
They all pretended not to notice, then hurriedly called Klee over to store the remains.
Only after this messy business was done did they return.
By then, Zhongli and the others had recovered somewhat.
Their main issue had been depletion of true essence. Their internal and external wounds, though severe, would heal naturally once their essence was replenished.
"Head Senior, what happened? Why are you all in such a state?" Ningguang asked tactfully.
But Liuyun, ever blunt, blurted:
"Yes, how did the three of you, fighting two on equal footing, end up so badly injured?"
Zhongli, who had been ready to explain, fell silent at her words. Venti and Alice also glanced at her with complicated expressions.
Madame Ping coughed lightly, covering Liuyun's mouth in embarrassment.
"She meant no harm. She's only worried."
Zhongli shook his head, long used to Liuyun's way of speaking.
"The situation was… complicated. The two demons were far stronger than expected, and worse, we fell into the python's schemes."
He gave a brief recounting. By the end, everyone's expressions were grim.
A beast with a terrifying foundation. A demon steeped in endless plots.
In simpler words: scheming and powerful.
And the Nine Nether Secret Realm was crawling with such creatures.
Everyone felt a headache coming on.
"These great demons really have nothing better to do," someone muttered. "All that ability, spent entirely on trickery."
"Master," Ganyu asked, frowning, "is the cultivation world truly so full of scheming?"
Jiang Yan's voice, calm through her, answered:
"Mostly, yes. Think of it—when many long-lived beings gather together, what do you imagine will happen? Everyone has struggled for centuries to reach their level. To fight openly is dangerous. Thus scheming becomes the safer path."
"Only when you are strong enough that no plot can harm you will you be free of such games."
"Still, encountering it now is good. At least it will keep you alert."
"In the cultivation world, the scariest are not the ones who lash out immediately. The true danger lies in the smiling tigers—those who greet you warmly as brothers, then turn around to betray or destroy you for the smallest profit."
"Remember this well. If you one day enter the cultivation world proper, the only people you can truly trust—besides yourself—are your fellow disciples."
Everyone nodded deeply, etching the warning into their hearts.
Their path was one of constant trials and lessons. They had to grow quickly into real cultivators. Losses might not be blessings—but they were unavoidable.
"Master," Venti asked, his spirits a little recovered, "what value do these beasts hold?"
Jiang Yan chuckled.
"A late-stage Spirit Transformation demon is worth close to a hundred thousand on its own."
"And your luck is excellent—the Golden Eagle has a talent bone within it. That alone fetches a great price."
"But above all, the two demon cores. Those are supreme materials, whether for alchemy or forging. I advise you not to trade them away for contribution. Keep them."
The tally completed, Jiang Yan withdrew his divine sense once more, leaving Ganyu's body.
"You have done well. Rest for now. No other demons should trouble you shortly. Matters await me in Mount Shu's Cave Heaven. Should you need me, call."
Ningguang's interest was piqued.
"New disciples at the gate?"
Jiang Yan laughed lightly.
"Indeed. They have not yet formally entered, but you should recognize them. Baizhu and Qiqi."
With that, he withdrew completely.
"Baizhu and Qiqi…" Ningguang frowned, thoughtful.
Qiqi was nothing of concern—an immortal of sorts herself.
But Baizhu…
She had never trusted him. Still, whether he was accepted was Jiang Yan's decision, not hers. She let the thought go. The Nine Nether Secret Realm remained the greater priority.
Just then, Qingluan rose once more, tugging at Ganyu to lead them in another direction.
The others exchanged uneasy looks.
"Not again!" Liuyun muttered, scanning the surroundings nervously.
Zhongli and the others were still not fully recovered. Another ambush now would be disastrous.
"No," Xiao said softly, frowning. "When great demons approached earlier, Qingluan cried far more urgently. Now she only seems intent on leading us somewhere."
"Could it be that she's found another treasure?" Liuyun's eyes lit up at once.
Zhongli drew a deep breath, steadying his essence. He was fit to move again. Venti and Alice, less injured, were already steadier than him.
"Very well," he said quietly. "We follow Qingluan."
So they set off once more, without a long rest.
In this place, it was the right choice. To linger in one spot was to court death.
But this time, Qingluan's path led deeper—straight into the heart of the Myriad Demon Mountains.
…
In Mount Shu's Cave Heaven—
Jiang Yan sighed inwardly at the trials Zhongli's group had endured.
They had seen a demon king most never encountered in eight centuries.
They had fought late-stage Spirit Transformation demons.
Even obtained a spiritual beast thought impossible in the Nine Nether Secret Realm .
Twists and turns aplenty—yet the gains were tremendous.
Qingluan alone was proof enough. The two great demons' remains were another fortune. Truly, fortune favored them.
He shook his head, extending his divine sense outward. Baizhu and Qiqi had just been delivered by a white crane to the square outside Mount Shu village.
Baizhu was clearly overwhelmed. Though he struggled to maintain composure, his eyes betrayed his shock—shock tipping into confusion.
The vastness of the cave-heaven dwarfed even Teyvat.
Strange beasts roamed freely, clearly once from Teyvat—yet mutated.
Since when did rabbits breathe wind blades? Since when did wolves spit fire?
Unable to understand cultivation, Baizhu could only call it "mutation."
And those beings he saw—odd in form, yet exuding power far beyond any immortal he had met.
Some rivaled even the aura of Rex Lapis himself. Some, like the two across the sea, surpassed him outright.
"Are they… all Archons?"
Baizhu gave a bitter smile. He realized he had underestimated Mount Shu far too much.
No wonder the Millelith revered this sect as an immortal gate.
If there was anywhere in the world his dream could be realized, it was here.
If not here, then nowhere—not even the Archons of Teyvat could help him.
Resolve burned in his eyes. He straightened his robe, looked up at the seven towering peaks blazing in splendor, and fell to his knees.
"Baizhu, a mere mortal, seeks an audience with Mount Shu's immortals!"
"I beg the immortals' mercy!"
"Baizhu is willing to offer all he has in exchange for a chance at the Immortal Dao!"
He knelt and did not rise.
Changsheng slithered to the ground as well, bowing its head.
Baizhu might only be guessing. But Changsheng knew with certainty.
Those presences they saw earlier—those were Archons.
Some stronger even than Morax in her memory.
And what were those Archons doing?
Herding beasts.
When she saw them riding a white crane, the so-called Archons even greeted them warmly.
Yes. This was the place. This was where their problems could be solved.
Qiqi only stared blankly at Baizhu, unsure of what he was doing.
The vast square, the bleak wind, made his lone figure seem even smaller, even more desolate.
But Baizhu did not falter. This was his only hope. He would not leave.
At last, a gentle voice descended like a will irresistible:
"Rise. Mount Shu does not observe kneeling rites."
Baizhu found his body lifted against his will.
"Baizhu, a mortal, greets the Master of Mount Shu!" he cried, bowing deeply.
"I beg the Master's mercy—Baizhu seeks only the Immortal Path!"
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