The next morning.
At dawn, Ganyu dragged the sleepless Guuji Yae off to the Mount Shu plaza to undergo the Heart-Testing Array trial.
When it came to entering the sect, the earlier the better.
True, in ten days she could take it together with the other new disciples, but why delay when she could start cultivating sooner?
Guuji Yae's case was one Ganyu took very seriously.
When Guuji Yae first came to Liyue to study, it had been Ganyu who brought her. Back then, Ganyu had long served as secretary to the Liyue Qixing, while Guuji Yae was still just a little fox who had only recently taken human form—adorably naive.
Several centuries passed in a blink. Guuji Yae had grown into a young lady and once more came to Liyue seeking learning. This time, however, what she sought was the Dao of immortality.
For Ganyu, it felt like a loop of fate coming full circle. A very wondrous feeling.
The trial itself posed little trouble. With only a few scares but no real danger, Guuji Yae passed through six stages of the Heart-Testing Array—just one step short of catching up to Jean.
But Guuji Yae wasn't particularly concerned about that.
Though she was stronger than Jean and had lived far longer, it was precisely because of those things that she had seen and experienced more. For her, passing six trials was already very good.
She held great respect for Jean and Baizhu, who had managed to go even further as mere mortals.
After that, everything proceeded without incident. Six trials of the heart were already enough to leave a deep mark on Guuji Yae's mind, serving as a safeguard for the future.
Special constitutions were tricky things—there were countless theories about them.
Jiang Yan always maintained that power itself held no inherent right or wrong. But he also knew the affairs of the world rarely worked in absolutes.
Such constitutions could be controlled. But what if they couldn't?
Take Shenhe, for example. Her unique body had awakened early, beyond her control, plunging her into an emotional vortex shaped by that very constitution.
By comparison, the Heavenly Allure Body was even more terrifying.
Jiang Yan had to make absolutely sure Guuji Yae wouldn't stray down the wrong path.
After all, history told a cautionary tale: though many forces contributed to the fall of the Shang dynasty, the fox-spirit concubine Su Daji bore undeniable blame. She had driven the final fatal nail into an empire already on the brink.
The Heavenly Allure Body didn't directly warp the bearer's mind, but its influence was insidious. Such a body naturally exuded a terrifying power of seduction. Across history, every bearer had been an enchanting beauty capable of captivating the world.
The number of experts, immortal and mortal alike, who had fallen under its spell was countless. Bloodshed and strife followed wherever such bodies appeared.
In other words, the Heavenly Allure Body was like bait—capable of drawing in endless wolves, each willing to tear out their own hearts and lay them at the bearer's feet.
From Jiang Yan's readings of cultivation lore, he even recalled one infamous tale: a Heavenly Allure Body who once held three Return-to-Void experts as suitors.
The three, vying to prove themselves the most suitable partner, stormed into a death zone. The result? One dead, two gravely wounded. And those two later perished as well.
Most outrageous of all, before dying, they abandoned their clans and sects, handing over their fortunes, blood essence, and even their cultivation itself—all for her.
With those offerings, she ascended to the heavens with ease.
When Jiang Yan first read that account, he had a thousand things he wanted to say, yet no words sufficed.
The cultivation world was full of absurdities.
Perhaps the Heavenly Allure Body itself wasn't inherently corrupting, but… if one could sit still while treasures and devotion poured in endlessly, how many could resist "cultivating by lying flat"?
That was why, in the cultivation world, the Heavenly Allure Body bore another infamous name: the Body of Corruption.
Not because its bearers always fell, but because those around them almost always did.
It wasn't a divine body, yet in some ways, it was even more outrageous than one.
Still, Jiang Yan's intuition told him that Guuji Yae could control this physique. And he trusted his instincts.
Even so… she was still a pink-haired fox with the Heavenly Allure Body. Practically a miniature Su Daji. Jiang Yan couldn't help but prepare extra safeguards—for Guuji Yae's sake, for himself, and for everyone else.
Guuji Yae successfully joined Mount Shu.
She was placed under Tongtian Peak.
Jiang Yan had initially thought of sending her to Bamboo Peak, where the disciples were all women and specialized in talismans and spellcraft—things Guuji Yae excelled at.
But with Ganyu gazing at him pleadingly, and Guuji Yae herself eager to cultivate alongside her, he relented. Tongtian Peak would at least let him personally suppress her constitution if it awakened.
And so, Guuji Yae settled in Tongtian Peak.
Everything went smoothly—the Heart Array, her assignment, her transition to Mount Shu methods.
In short order, Guuji Yae reached the late Refining stage, even surpassing where Ganyu had been when she first switched over.
Perhaps this was because Ei had invested heavily in Guuji Yae. It was said that the strength of a divine familiar might be linked to the god it served. Jiang Yan had only guesses, but it was possible.
Regardless, none of that mattered. What did matter was what happened next—when Guuji Yae stepped into the Sutra Pavilion to choose her cultivation method.
That was when things suddenly turned… strange.
First Alice and Diluc had walked the path of Buddhism—one mastering the radiance of union and separation, the other embodying a wrathful Vajra.
Then Lisa had cultivated a demonic flame art that burned the soul.
Qiqi had taken up corpse-herding techniques from the Yin Mountain Sect.
And now, with Guuji Yae's turn, Mount Shu's jigsaw puzzle of cultivation finally filled its last missing slot:
Demonic cultivation—Guuji Yae.
Jiang Yan stared at the fox girl clutching her jade slip, looking sheepish as Ganyu brought her over. His feelings were complicated.
Yes, Mount Shu embraced all paths. But still…
The sect famed across the world as the orthodox bastion of sword cultivation—yet at present, only Lumine and Keqing were true sword cultivators?
The rest were dabbling in demon arts, Buddhist arts, corpse-herding…
What a stew of mismatched flavors this was.
At this rate, if someone came along to practice ghost-cultivation, Mount Shu would have checked off all the major schools of cultivation.
The thought made Jiang Yan's heart jolt. And then realization struck: ghost-cultivation wasn't far off either.
His intuition had never failed him before.
So… what was Mount Shu's actual alignment, anyway?
"Master, this really was just the method I found after Ganyu explained what suited me best. It has nothing to do with me otherwise!" Guuji Yae coughed lightly, sneaking a guilty glance at Jiang Yan.
"Didn't you say once that power itself isn't good or evil, and that no technique is inherently wrong?"
"I truly feel this one fits me. But if Master thinks it inappropriate, I can change it."
Jiang Yan came back to himself, gave her a wry smile, and waved it off.
"It's not that your choice is bad… it's just the coincidence that's uncanny."
"And—Mount Shu, famed for the sword, now with so few actual sword cultivators—it feels odd."
"As for your method…"
He raised a hand, drawing the jade slip to himself. After a close look, he sighed.
"Perhaps this really is destiny."
What Guuji Yae had chosen—or rather, what had chosen Guuji Yae—was a method that seemed custom-made for her alone. Not just in Mount Shu or Teyvat, but likely in the entire cultivation world, she might be the only one fit for it.
The reason?
It was practically tailored to her.
"Top-grade Yellow-rank Technique: The Nine Transformations of the Celestial Fox Art."
"Originating from a mysterious figure, containing the arts of the Nine-Tailed Fox. For unknown reasons, it was split into three parts."
"Collecting all nine yields the true immortal art of the Nine-Tailed Fox."
"Note: This method was handed down from an unnamable higher-realm existence to Qingqiu. After Qingqiu's fall, it was entrusted to Mount Shu and placed in its Sutra Pavilion."
"This is a genuine demon-cultivation method. Without fox-bloodline and heritage, its full potential cannot be realized."
"Disciples are warned to choose carefully and not waste their efforts."
After examining it carefully, Jiang Yan gave a bitter laugh and looked back at Guuji Yae.
"You really are fated with her. If it weren't impossible, I'd almost suspect you were her reincarnation."
Guuji Yae blinked, puzzled. "Master, you mean…?"
Jiang Yan shook his head slowly.
"Do you know whose art this Nine Transformations originally was?"
A flash of insight crossed Guuji Yae's mind—one name that had echoed repeatedly these past days.
"Could it be…"
"The concubine of the Shang dynasty, the most famous Nine-Tailed Fox of all time, bearer of the perfected Heavenly Allure Body, the enchantress who threw an empire into chaos and hastened its fall—"
Jiang Yan spoke solemnly:
"Su Daji, the Nine-Tailed Fox."
Guuji Yae's eyes widened in disbelief. She looked at Jiang Yan, then down at the jade slip, a faint heat rising in her gaze.
"The Nine Transformations was, in the higher realms, a rather ordinary fox-clan art. But Su Daji, through immense fortune and willpower, forged it into a true immortal art."
"In essence, this is an authentic celestial technique."
Guuji Yae's breath caught, while Ganyu beamed with joy. "Congratulations, little sister Guuji Yae!"
Jiang Yan continued:
"The Nine Transformations was Daji's hallmark—soul-charming, life-swapping, dual-forms, mysteries of spirit, bonds of emotion, illusions…"
"She fused the arts of Qingqiu and Tushan, turning this method into the dream of every Nine-Tailed Fox."
"But to truly master it required conditions so harsh that only Daji herself ever managed."
"Until now. Now, there is you, Guuji Yae."
"To unlock its full power, the practitioner must be a Nine-Tailed Fox and possess the Heavenly Allure Body. For tens of thousands of years, only Daji fit that mold."
"That's why I said this art might as well have been written for you. In truth, you are Daji's rightful heir."
"For a moment, I even wondered if you really were her reincarnation."
Jiang Yan looked at the dazed Guuji Yae with a sigh, then added regretfully:
"Unfortunately, the Nine Transformations was fractured. Its original divine might is lost. Across Mount Shu, perhaps even the entire cultivation world, only the first three changes survive."
"Were all nine complete, their combined power would be peerless."
At this, Guuji Yae's expression grew urgent.
"Master, does this mean if I cultivate this art, I can only learn the first three transformations? There's no other possibility?"
Jiang Yan paused, then shook his head slightly.
"I wouldn't say impossible. Just… unlikely. All but impossible, really."
Guuji Yae straightened her posture.
"Then I beg Master to instruct me! This disciple will give her all to restore the Nine Transformations of the Celestial Fox Art in full!"
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