"Let's go, Xiao Huang."
On Dragonspine, Yu Jin waved to the giant Golden Tree behind him. With him leaving, Xiao Huang would be alone here, which was truly heartbreaking.
"I will take good care of the Golden Tree." Beneath the Golden Tree, Albedo also waved, saying to Yu Jin.
Yu Jin glanced at Albedo's tent at the foot of the Golden Tree and the thick notebook in his hand, immediately casting aside his worries about the Golden Tree.
It seemed Xiao Huang wouldn't be lonely for a long time to come.
There are two paths from Mondstadt to Liyue. One is through Stone Gate, following the road directly to Liyue; the other is through the snowy mountains, passing a small town called Mingyun Town, and then turning towards Liyue.
Generally, everyone tends to take the first path. Not only is it guarded by the Millelith, but there is also Wangshu Inn as a temporary resting place along the way.
As for the other path, putting everything else aside, just the fact that it requires crossing Dragonspine is enough to deter ninety-nine percent of people.
However, this bit of difficulty was merely a trifle for Yu Jin.
Rushing down from the mountain peak, without realizing it, the landscape of Dragonspine had already changed significantly.
There was still snow, but there were already signs of Melt. Yu Jin's iron boots stepped on the mountain terrain, immediately leaving a very conspicuous large footprint.
But it wouldn't be long before the water from the melting snow would wash away these footprints, and the snowy mountain would once again look as if no one had ever passed through.
Yu Jin scanned the trickling stream flowing past him and stopped.
He looked at the snowy mountain behind him, still shrouded in white, and thought that if all the snow on Dragonspine were to Melt, not only Mondstadt but even Liyue would suffer a great disaster.
As if sensing Yu Jin's apprehension, a tender golden sapling sprouted from the slightly muddy ground.
The streams formed by melting snow, upon encountering the tiny sapling, immediately seemed to meet a bottomless abyss—they were absorbed somewhere unknown.
The Golden Tree is also a tree; it also needs nutrients and water. And the snow on Dragonspine was its best source of water.
Seeing this, Yu Jin no longer worried. He tugged at a golden leaf on the Golden Tree, then rushed down the mountain.
As Yu Jin advanced, the ubiquitous whiteness gradually became sparse, replaced by the rare green of Dragonspine.
When large patches of vibrant green appeared in his vision, Yu Jin knew he was nearing the western foot of Dragonspine, which was where Mingyun Town was located.
Stepping onto a rock, Yu Jin exerted himself fiercely, and he shot out directly.
Mingyun Town was built around a mine, and therefore, its center was a large depression.
"Boom!"
Mingyun Town, quiet for a long time, suddenly became noisy. Spreading dust accompanied by a huge sound appeared simultaneously by the mine pit in the center of the town.
"Damn it, I used too much force." From within the dust, Yu Jin climbed out of the "pit within a pit" beneath his feet.
He was too excited just now, jumped a little too high, and the impact when he came down was too great.
But it seemed no one was hurt; after all, he had stepped on quite a few people before, and the feeling of minced meat under his feet was not like this.
Yu Jin waved away the dust in front of him and began to survey his surroundings.
The musty smell unique to decaying wood, combined with dilapidated houses, gave Yu Jin a bad premonition.
"Is anyone there?"
No one answered.
"Is anyone there? I'm going to steal things!"
No one answered.
Well, it seemed Mingyun Town was completely deserted.
Yu Jin walked out from the low part of the mine pit and began to wander around the town.
"Due to work arrangements from above..."
In front of a relatively intact message board, Yu Jin stopped. Looking at the densely packed text on the message board, he finally understood why Mingyun Town was deserted.
Essentially, the ore veins were depleted, and everyone had gone to The Chasm.
"A lone tree stands, with no forest to rely on..."
"What the hell, old man, where did you pop out from?" A translucent figure suddenly appeared beside Yu Jin, startling him.
However, the figure seemed not to hear Yu Jin's startled cry, and continued to mutter woodenly:
"All the gold and silver... are a joke, all a joke..."
"Actually, you can't say it's a joke; money and such things are sometimes very useful." Yu Jin stood by, listening to the phantom's whispers while pointing out his error.
As if Yu Jin's words had some effect, the translucent figure paused. He turned his head and said to Yu Jin:
"Young man, can you..."
"Go! Say it yourself!" Yu Jin waved his large hand, and the translucent figure was absorbed into his body. Also absorbed were four other identical figures from who-knows-where.
"Luckily, I reacted quickly, otherwise I'd be stuck in this damned place for a few more days," Yu Jin patted his chest, relieved.
In Yu Jin's experience, situations like this would always end with him running back and forth multiple times.
So, to avoid being a workhorse, Yu Jin decided to take direct action, not giving the phantom any chance to speak.
But then again, this Ley Line is still a mysterious thing. Once it becomes chaotic, everything goes awry.
Those phantoms just now clearly appeared due to the Ley Line's disturbance.
I heard that sometimes Ley Line disturbances can also produce something called a "Flower of Gold." If you clear it, Mora will continuously gush out.
A very peculiar thing, but unfortunately, Yu Jin had never seen one. This was normal; if the Flower of Gold were common, Mora would probably depreciate wildly.
Lost in thought, Yu Jin had already traveled a considerable distance. His speed was fast, but this did not mean the road was easy.
On the contrary, Yu Jin felt that if the traveler wasn't him, others would surely be infuriated by this terrible road.
Countless obstacles like large rocks, waist-high weeds, and thorny assassins hidden within the weeds were everywhere.
If Yu Jin hadn't always worn his armor, he probably would have countless cuts on his body.
After passing through a mountain crevice, a wide river appeared before Yu Jin.
The river was beautiful, but Yu Jin's mood was explosive.
As for why? It was because there wasn't even a bridge here.
It wasn't that there was no bridge at all, but the wooden bridge spanning the river was already so dilapidated it was impassable.
Beneath the wooden bridge, several logs tied to support pillars floated with the current, seemingly the only way to cross the river.
"This... can people really walk on this?" Yu Jin came to the riverbank and tested the floating logs with his foot.
Not bad, they were tied pretty tightly.
Yu Jin hopped and skipped among the floating logs. Soon, he reached the other side of the river.
Looking at the water dripping from his leg armor, Yu Jin pulled out a huge, insect-jaw-shaped weapon.
Starbeast Halfjaw — A large, hard, black-glowing halfjaw from a Fallen Starbeast. An item that transforms the halfjaw into a weapon. A massive weapon that pierces enemies with its sharp tip.
The curved, ferocious beast jaw was the blade of this weapon, and the dark, shiny gums were its hilt.
The entire weapon looked like the halfjaw of a giant ant. And indeed, it was; Yu Jin had found the Fallen Starbeast's teeth to be quite good, so he had directly torn off its mouthparts as a collectible.
Yu Jin raised the Starbeast Halfjaw with one hand, lifted it, and a pale purple bolt of lightning shot out from the halfjaw, striking the river.
Exclusive Combat Skill - Gravity Lightning: A combat skill that imbues the Starbeast Halfjaw with Gravity Lightning, using it to summon lightning from afar.
The pale purple lightning brought not an explosion, but rather sharp stone pillars that protruded from beneath the earth, one after another.
The stone pillars extended into a line of stone, spanning the river.
Yu Jin looked at the intercepted water flow, knowing that these extending stone pillars would require his carving to become a bridge.
However, before he could act, someone else helped him.
"Bang!"
An explosion sounded, and the stone pillars Yu Jin had casually summoned were blown into large holes.
He looked at the dancing Hilichurls behind the holes and finally understood why no one had repaired the bridge.
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