Mount Shu.
While the uproar caused by the rise of cultivation spread ever wider across Teyvat, the tribulation of the young Qingluan was nearing its end.
At this moment, the bird was nothing like its usual majestic self—its body looked rather dull and battered. The once-lustrous feathers had fallen away in great patches, and those that remained were scorched black by lightning.
But the appearance was worse than the reality. Thanks to the life-saving measures Jiang Yan had prepared for it, the little creature had avoided any grave injuries. Without them, it would already have been half-dead.
Even so, seeing the Qingluan crying in pain from time to time as it circled the skies, Ganyu's heart ached to the breaking point. She wished she could endure the tribulation in its place. For the first time, she truly understood what it meant to worry like a mother.
Alice, on the other hand, was growing restless. Watching the Qingluan struggle reminded her that one day, little Klee would face a tribulation of her own. The very thought terrified her. If it were possible, she would rather Klee never have to face such a trial. But such hope was futile—the girl's talent was unmatched even on Mount Shu. Already, under Jiang Yan's guidance, she was in seclusion to break through to the mid-stage of Refining Essence and Transforming Qi. In all likelihood, she would surpass her own mother within a thousand years. After all, Klee was a true Crimson Emperor's Heaven-Burning Physique.
Up above, the Qingluan stared at the final bolt of heavenly lightning. Its wingbeats had grown weak, and its occasional cries sounded to Ganyu like sheer panic and agony.
She clenched Jiang Yan's sleeve, ignoring the eyes of everyone else present.
This made Zhongli and the others sigh inwardly.
Ganyu had fallen, completely.
Whether that was a blessing or a curse remained to be seen.
Cloud Retainer pitied her in silence. Jiang Yan was an excellent sect master, an unparalleled cultivation genius—but not necessarily a good partner in life. The blame lay not with him but with the chasm between them. Ganyu was blessed with a top-grade spiritual root, yet her talent still could not compare with Jiang Yan's.
He was not only the sect master of Mount Shu but also a legendary Innate Dao Body, a figure spoken of only in myths. He had already reached the peak of Return-to-Void, a step away from Union of Void and Dao. When that day came, he would begin preparing for ascension.
And given his monstrous talent—barely thirty and already at this level—he would likely ascend within a thousand years.
But Ganyu? How many millennia—or tens of millennia—would she need before reaching the Immortal Realm? That endless gulf of time was a chasm no cultivator could casually bridge. Compared to that, the fleeting centuries they might spend together now would be gone in a blink.
Would Jiang Yan even remember her, when his heart was bound to the rise of Mount Shu?
Cloud Retainer shook her head, unwilling to dwell further on such matters.
High above, the last thundercloud erupted. The lightning no longer came as a single bolt but as a vast net of purple-black radiance, sealing all paths of escape. The murderous aura was overwhelming, as though nothing living could survive under its judgment.
Guuji Yae Yae's heart skipped a beat. She quickly looked away, afraid the very sight would shatter her spirit.
The Qingluan's eyes gleamed with ferocity. Its last reserves of power burst forth, whipping into a colossal tornado that surged up to meet the storm.
The clash was apocalyptic. Green light and violet lightning engulfed a span of tens of thousands of li. The ground sank several meters, the land stripped barren.
Guuji Yae Yae shivered. If such a tribulation had fallen upon Narukami Island, half of it would have sunk into the sea.
At last, amid the storm, a golden light appeared, piercing straight into the heart of the maelstrom.
The thunderclouds dissolved.
The Qingluan let out a triumphant cry, its body swelling larger and larger—tens of meters, hundreds, thousands—until it had become a colossal beast.
Fresh feathers sprouted, shining like flawless jade, rippling with living light. Its eyes gleamed with sparks of lightning. Its tail spread long and radiant, like the tail of a cyan phoenix.
Jiang Yan raised his brows in surprise.
"So, this little one carried a trace of phoenix blood after all…"
"Phoenix?" Ganyu asked, her worry easing at last.
"Perhaps," Jiang Yan mused, "some distant ancestor of its kind was a phoenix. The heavenly tribulation and the elixirs you fed it must have awakened that dormant bloodline. Weak though it may be, a phoenix is still a phoenix—one of the true divine beasts of the cultivation world. Simply put… the Qingluan will only grow stronger from here."
Ganyu's face lit with joy as she gazed at the bird.
The Qingluan itself exuded pride. Clouds swirled around it in worshipful currents, giving it a faintly divine air.
At last, after circling above to show off, it descended in a streak of blue light. Its massive form shrank as it landed before Ganyu, until it stood the size of a small child. Then its body glimmered, reshaping into that of a little girl, delicate as a porcelain doll, dressed in pale blue robes with a tiny flower mark between her brows.
The women present were all instantly smitten. Even Ningguang's eyes softened with irresistible affection, as though she might scoop the child up and shower her with kisses.
"Ganyu-sis! Sect Master big brother! Luan turned human! Isn't Luan amazing?!"
The little girl leapt into Ganyu's arms, who smothered her with motherly kisses.
"Luan was wonderful! Did it hurt?"
"Not at all! Luan's super strong!"
She puffed out her chest proudly, only to have Jiang Yan tap her nose with a smile.
"You little rascal, always gobbling down anything you please. Didn't it cross your mind that you were about to face a tribulation? You're lucky this was only the lowest level of heavenly trial. If you try that recklessness again at the Returning Spirit tribulation, it might not end so well."
The girl stuck out her tongue.
"Got it, Sect Master big brother. Luan will be careful!"
Jiang Yan let it go—she was still just a child, after all. He turned to Ganyu.
"Now that she's taken human form, she can begin learning techniques. Take her to the Sutra Pavilion later."
Ganyu beamed.
"Thank you, Sect Master."
"Go on. Your guest is waiting." Jiang Yan's gaze flicked to Guuji Yae Yae.
Ganyu flushed with guilt.
"Apologies, Guuji. You just arrived, and instead of receiving you, I dragged you to watch all this."
Guuji Yae laughed softly, shaking her head.
"Not at all, Ganyu-sis. I should thank you. I've seen wonders I never imagined."
Still, Ganyu worried—tribulations were not something an ordinary person could withstand nearby. Surely Guuji Yae had been deeply shaken. But since she had come to Mount Shu to seek entry, perhaps now was the time.
"Master," Ganyu said, "Guuji Yae has come to join Mount Shu. But her spirit must be unsettled after witnessing this lightning trial. Might she stay the night to recover, and attempt the entry test tomorrow?"
At that, Guuji Yae's heart quickened. Even standing here for a short time had left her feeling refreshed, her strength subtly rising. If she could stay a night…
Jiang Yan studied her, and his gaze stirred. As expected, she was a genius—not on the level of Lumine or Paimon with their divine physiques, but no weaker than them in potential.
"…A Heavenly Allure Body."
Guuji Yae's eyes lit.
"A special constitution? A divine physique?"
Ganyu's eyes brightened too, recalling how she had told Guuji Yae of rare divine bodies during their journey.
But Jiang Yan chuckled and shook his head.
"True divine bodies are rarer than phoenix feathers. For one world to have three such beings is already unheard of. If they were common, they wouldn't be called 'divine.'"
Guuji Yae's excitement dimmed a little.
"Still," Jiang Yan continued, "the Heavenly Allure Body is among the strongest of special constitutions. Such a cultivator excels in the Dao of enchantment—every movement can stir the hearts of others. Their spiritual sense is vastly stronger than ordinary peers, making them unmatched in arts of the soul."
He paused.
Guuji's breath caught. Her eyes clung to him, afraid of bad news.
At length, Jiang Yan sighed.
"Not a fatal flaw. But the cultivation world views such a body… with caution. Because of an ill-fated tale in the Immortal Realm."
"Long ago, in the Shang Tang Immortal Dynasty, the last Human Emperor Zhou had a consort whose Heavenly Allure Body had reached perfection. Her name was… Su Daji."
Most of those present blinked in confusion.
Alice, however, suddenly lit up like a gossip hound catching the juiciest of scandals.
"Su Daji?! The very same from legend—sent by Lady Nuwa herself, the nine-tailed fox who brought down the Shang? The origin of 'aiding tyranny'? The one who killed Queen Jiang, invented tortures, beguiled the king into carving out Bi Gan's heart, built Deer Terrace, made the wine lake and meat forest—fueling King Zhou's cruelty and hastening the dynasty's fall?"
Her eyes sparkled as she leaned closer, staring at Guuji Yae as though she'd grown horns.
"And I heard," Alice went on gleefully, "that she fancied Bo Yikao, and when he spurned her, she tricked the king into turning him into mincemeat to feed his father. That woman was a Heavenly Allure Body?!"
Alice clapped her hands together, grinning ear to ear.
"Guuji, you really do have quite the extraordinary constitution!"
"..."
Guuji Yae fell silent.
Ganyu sighed, rubbing her brow.
"Elder Alice… and where did you hear all that?"
"In a novel, of course!" Alice said brightly.
"..."
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