Around nine in the morning the next day.
Jiang Xuan and the others once again set off on their journey.
As for how to tell time in a lightless mine...
Just open a Dual-Passage Door and take a look!
Jiang Xuan and his companions even had breakfast outside, and by the way, threw the majority of the coal back into Teyvat. That stuff, everyone hated it to death now, but throwing it away felt like a waste.
As for the other ores, Jiang Xuan and the others still needed to return to the manor villa to check and calculate the amount Jiang Xuan would need. The rest would be taken back to Ningguang and the others.
Of course, in the early morning, Jiang Xuan really did make a Golden Apple for Xiao.
A Golden Apple worth tens of tons of gold made even someone like Xiao, who had no concept of money, feel nervous eating it.
Unfortunately, just as Jiang Xuan had guessed last night, Xiao's Karma was not completely removed.
However, Xiao himself was not disappointed; on the contrary, he was very invigorated.
Because...
His Karma had alleviated.
Normally, Xiao would deliberately avoid contact with people, not only because he wasn't good at socializing.
Xiao's soul was infected by Karma, and coupled with his Adeptus nature, people who got too close to him often didn't end well. And Xiao himself frequently went into a berserk killing spree during battles due to accumulated Karma, as if he had been demonized.
As time went on, the frequency of his demonization had been increasing in recent years.
Zhongli had asked Venti to help Xiao remove his Karma, and even used Lianli Zhenxin San. But none of these had any obvious effect, only temporarily relieving the pressure of his Karma.
Hmm, it sounded like the Golden Apple had a similar effect.
But...
Just as Zombie Villagers take a day and a night to return to human form after eating a Golden Apple.
Xiao now felt that, besides being filled with endless energy, his soul, deeply eroded by Karma, was slowly recovering its purity, like silk being meticulously unwound. The pain of being entangled by Karma was gone, and everyone around him also felt that the oppressive sensation, like a fierce wind howling, had disappeared.
It was as if the Karma was being stripped away, thread by thread.
Xiao had calculated that, although this one Golden Apple might not cause a qualitative change in his Karma.
But...
At the very least, he should be able to remain lucid for another few decades, or even a century. That amount of time would be enough for him to continue searching for a way to save himself in this world.
After all, back in Teyvat, Karma was an incurable disease that had killed his siblings and even Zhongli couldn't solve.
Now that such results had been achieved, it wasn't impossible for there to be a method for complete eradication, right?
Holding onto the hope of a better tomorrow, Xiao continued to lead the way, holding an Iron Pickaxe. With great effort, a single Vein Miner cleared a large area of stone.
Now, they had so much iron ore that even after crafting seven sets of iron armor, they still had a large surplus. Moreover, they had dug up another pile of iron when they encountered Redstone earlier.
Now, they weren't just comfortably well-off; they had more than enough.
At the very least, they wouldn't feel bad if an Iron Pickaxe broke.
Coupled with everyone having a full set of defenses and their combat power soaring, Jiang Xuan no longer reminded everyone to be strictly cautious.
With this lineup.
Jiang Xuan, with his top-tier Steve physique, ranged firearms, and Battōjutsu sword for close combat.
Zhongli, with his Demonic God power and invincible Jade Screen Shield.
And Xiao and Ganyu.
Jiang Xuan felt that even if they encountered a Zombie Spawner, they could tear it down by force.
Of course, if it was a Creeper, he'd pretend he said nothing...
With confidence in his heart, mining naturally became more unrestrained.
Xiao, who had eaten the Golden Apple, was full of motivation, bulldozing forward like a madman.
Jiang Xuan and the others paid attention to their surroundings, placing torches along the way and chatting.
Looking at Ningguang, who walked to his left with a normal expression, Jiang Xuan thought for a moment and whispered:
"Do you feel bad about all that gold?"
Ningguang raised an eyebrow, looking at Jiang Xuan with amusement.
"Yesterday, you were the one who helped me reset my mindset. Now, are you trying to revert me?"
Jiang Xuan waved his hand, smiling slightly.
"No, just joking. The remaining gold ingot, take it back to Liyue. It's still over two tons of gold, after all."
Hearing this, Ningguang shook her head, unmoved.
"Keep it for yourself. Didn't you say that resources are countless in this world? If I need gold, I imagine I can just find a mine."
"In contrast, I'm quite interested in the knowledge you possess."
As she spoke, Ningguang subtly turned her head, the flickering torchlight adding a mysterious allure to her face.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to learn about this so-called Redstone Technology."
Jiang Xuan was momentarily stunned but quickly nodded with a smile.
"No problem. If you're willing to learn, you can help me after you've mastered it. Maybe you can even create some unique Redstone Technology yourself."
The two exchanged smiles, and an unspoken emotion sparked between them.
Ganyu, who had been secretly watching, pouted unhappily.
No matter what, she had known Jiang Xuan longer...
Just as Ganyu racked her brain, wondering how to interrupt Ningguang and Jiang Xuan's conversation.
A sound of cobblestone cracking came from ahead.
This was usually a normal occurrence, but the ensuing heatwave and blinding red light made Jiang Xuan's heart clench.
"Yaksha, Conqueror of Demons!"
It seemed Cloud Retainer exclaimed, and Jiang Xuan's heart sank.
Without thinking, he pulled out his Fishing Rod and cast it forward at an unprecedented speed.
Feeling that he had hooked something, Jiang Xuan immediately pulled the rod back without a second thought.
A fireball was reeled in by Jiang Xuan.
Then, Jiang Xuan quickly took out a Water Bucket filled with water and poured it directly on Xiao.
All of this happened in a flash.
The others hadn't even reacted.
Even Keqing and the others didn't realize that Xiao had accidentally fallen into the lava.
He was pulled up and saved by Jiang Xuan.
"I... what happened?"
Xiao looked at his hand blankly.
It seemed...
He didn't even know what had happened.
"How are you, Xiao?"
Zhongli quickly stepped forward, standing in front of Xiao and looking at him worriedly.
In his momentary excitement, he even forgot to hide his identity and called out Xiao's name directly.
"I... fell into the lava?"
As if reminded by Zhongli's words, Xiao finally noticed the scorching pain slowly receding. He probably didn't even feel the pain because everything happened so fast.
"Yaksha, Conqueror of Demons, quickly take off your iron armor and check your body!"
Cloud Retainer also looked at Xiao with some anxiety.
They were Adepti, true, but...
Lava was something even a Fire Slime, which was immune to fire, couldn't endure! No matter how powerful Adepti were, they were just powerful life forms. To withstand lava, perhaps only Zhongli, with his Jade Screen Shield in Teyvat, could do it.
For a moment, Cloud Retainer and the others were prepared to see Xiao severely burned all over.
But Jiang Xuan waved his hand irritably.
"Alright, he's fine. Luckily he wasn't in there long, or he'd really be gone..."
Hearing this, everyone was somewhat surprised, but Xiao, after examining himself, slowly said:
"I... I'm fine... just lost six hearts."
"..."
Everyone fell silent.
Keqing patted her head and glanced down at the large pit they had dug.
She confirmed it was indeed scalding lava.
This made her doubt life even more.
"Yaksha, Conqueror of Demons, are you saying..."
Ningguang organized her words, somewhat euphemistically:
"You fell into a lava pool, only lost six hearts, and it doesn't affect your movement?"
Xiao also found it a bit unbelievable and uncertainly opened his personal panel to look again...
"Hmm... one heart has already recovered."
"..."
For a moment, everyone didn't know how to describe Xiao's experience.
"Alright, don't be surprised."
Jiang Xuan shook his head with a chuckle, and said softly:
"Don't forget that you share some of my physique; falling into lava won't cause instant death."
"As long as you're rescued in time, putting out the fire with water is enough. As for Xiao, you should rest and eat something to recover your lost health."
"Also, I must reiterate!"
Jiang Xuan raised his hand and said very seriously:
"When mining underground, especially with Vein Miner enabled, you absolutely cannot mine directly beneath your feet without ensuring safety!"
"Xiao just made this mistake, almost causing a disaster. From now on, everyone must be careful!"
After saying all this, Jiang Xuan didn't receive the reactions he expected from everyone. He anticipated at least a few echoes of agreement, but instead, there was only silence.
Jiang Xuan glanced at everyone with some confusion.
He found them still looking at Xiao with complicated feelings.
Jiang Xuan somewhat understood.
In a situation where falling into lava would be certain death.
Xiao survived because Jiang Xuan rescued him quickly.
Okay, this could reluctantly be explained by Jiang Xuan's strong physique.
But...
At the very least, your iron armor and iron tools should have melted, right?
At the very least, you should have suffered some burns, right?
But what about Xiao?
Completely unharmed?!
His face was even much cleaner!
What was this? A bath in lava?
If it weren't for the scorching heat still making everyone's skin feel a burning sensation, they would all have thought it was a hot spring disguised as lava.
Ten thousand question marks erupted in Zhongli's mind, and various questions hovered on his lips for a long time.
In the end, he barely maintained his composure and quietly said:
"Your world's laws... are truly quite special..."
Jiang Xuan also understood the shock they experienced as people who had lived in a normal material world for so long, suddenly encountering such an absurd world.
He chuckled, "You'll see more unique features later."
"Alright, Xiao accidentally found the right place."
Jiang Xuan stood by the lava pool and looked down. The space was quite large, and he couldn't see the edge of the lava. Such a place was very likely to yield diamonds.
Thinking this, Jiang Xuan turned around and said:
"It's all lava down here. This is the most likely area for diamonds to appear. Let's go down and check."
"If we don't find diamonds here, we'll head straight back."
Ningguang and the others nodded, then suddenly reacted.
"Wait a minute! Jiang Xuan! We... we're going down?"
Keqing looked at the boundless sea of lava, swallowing hard.
"How do we go down there... Are you going to jump in and place blocks? Isn't that too dangerous?"
Hearing this, Jiang Xuan shook his head and laughed.
"Even if I don't die immediately from falling into lava, I'll still get hurt. Do you really think I'm some immortal?"
The group remained silent, watching Jiang Xuan expectantly.
The latter seemed a bit embarrassed by their stares, scratching his head and saying:
"Alright, alright, give me a moment. It's very simple, we'll be down there in no time."
With that, Jiang Xuan stood at the edge of the large pit, pulled out his Water Bucket, and poured the water out.
And so...
Something even more outrageous happened before everyone's eyes.
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