Seeing Ganyu shrinking back like a timid little rabbit, Jiang Yan chuckled and beckoned to her.
A cloud of auspicious mist formed beneath her feet, gently lifting her up toward the moonlit platform.
Ganyu looked startled at first, but soon her expression softened into delight.
Perhaps—even as a qilin capable of riding clouds—she had never truly ridden one before.
So, Jiang Yan deliberately slowed their ascent, letting her savor the experience for a while longer.
It seemed Ganyu understood his intention. She raised her dewy eyes to glance at him, her emotions a tangle of warmth and uncertainty.
Soaring through the air on a cushion of white clouds, she allowed herself a rare moment of pure joy.
After a while, they finally reached the moon platform.
She stepped onto it cautiously, testing it with one foot first to make sure it wouldn't shatter, then fully set both feet down.
The sight made Jiang Yan laugh quietly.
The moon platform had been condensed from his own cave-heaven space—how could it possibly break? And besides, Ganyu's cultivation was already at the mid Essence Refinement into Qi stage. Even a fall from ten thousand meters would not be fatal; she could save herself with her true essence.
Standing at his side, Ganyu cast him a shy glance, her lips pursing slightly.
"Jiang… Sect Master."
At that moment, she suddenly felt that the gentleman before her was distant—so distant that she couldn't even glimpse his shadow.
Her head drooped in faint disappointment. But the next moment, Jiang Yan's voice reached her:
"There's no need for such formality, Ganyu. Though you've now joined Mount Shu, before that, we were already friends.
When no one else is around, just call me by name."
That single sentence instantly closed the distance between them.
She stared blankly for a moment, then her eyes curved into crescents as she nodded heavily.
"I understand, Yan!"
Smiling, Jiang Yan sat cross-legged on the moon platform, gesturing for her to sit opposite him.
Beneath the moonlight, they sat high in the clouds, the golden-jade platform beneath them, drifting clouds all around.
A strange and serene mood seeped into both their hearts.
It was Ganyu's first time alone with him. She didn't know what to say, so she simply gazed quietly at his face.
Jiang Yan did not have the sharp, youthful arrogance one might expect—instead, his features carried a refined gentleness, making others feel as if bathed in a spring breeze.
The purple-gold cloud pattern between his brows was faint, almost like an ornament.
But what caught Ganyu's attention most was his gaze.
Bright, yet deep as a starry river—at times, it seemed she could glimpse the flow of countless immortal arts within them. But if she tried to look closely, it was like staring into a bottomless, shadowed pool.
He seemed to smile gently at everyone…
And yet…
For some reason, Ganyu sensed a trace of melancholy in his eyes.
"The gentleman, do you have many worries?"
Her sudden question made him pause, before he gave a soft laugh.
"Why do you ask?"
"Mm… just a feeling."
She mumbled softly.
"Maybe I'm wrong. You don't have to mind it."
Jiang Yan didn't answer.
The truth was, he did have worries—but such things could not be spoken aloud, and even if he told her, she could not help.
That afternoon, after the others returned to their cultivation, Jiang Yan had visited the Scripture Pavilion—only the first floor.
Following his instinct, he had chosen a plain jade slip, one that seemed to contain no spiritual energy at all.
The Scripture Pavilion didn't only store cultivation manuals; there were also records of the cultivation world itself.
What Jiang Yan saw was precisely such a record.
At first, he had feared that the jade slips might expose the colossal fabrication he had told about Mount Shu.
But as he read, a chill crept through him.
Mount Shu, the Seven Veins, the Wine Sword Immortal Mo Yixi, the Mount Shu Immortal Sect famed across the heavens…
Every one of them was recorded in precise detail, perfectly matching what he had said—down to details he had never mentioned.
This was supposed to be nothing more than a fiction—an elaborate lie to give Mount Shu a deep enough history to impress others.
Yet…
Here it all was, realized in truth.
The Innate Frost Body, the pill-crafting of Great Bamboo Peak…
Even the so-called Nine Nether Secret Realm—described exactly as he had made it up—was recorded as fact.
The slip recounted how Mo Yixi, traveling beyond the realm, had found a world plagued by rampaging demon beasts and suffering mortals. He had driven a vast horde of demons into a corner of the Nine Nether Realm, then casually severed it from the rest of the world, turning it into a secret realm for Mount Shu disciples to explore.
Jiang Yan couldn't help wondering—what unseen force had guided him to tell these stories that were now proven true?
Or… had he reversed cause and effect?
But the system was bound to his soul—indeed, part of it. It could not possibly mean him harm. And it had no will of its own—how could it have such power?
He had never believed in the kind of story where someone randomly transmigrates, binds to a mysterious system, and is altruistically made stronger.
Especially in cultivation, where every word and deed touches upon the Dao.
Yet now… everything was proceeding exactly like a novel's plot.
He didn't understand.
With his current cultivation, he had no ability to investigate further.
The system was no product of the Dao—yet all illusions he spun became reality.
Was it truly that his words shaped the world? Or was there something unseen guiding his explanations?
The former seemed unlikely.
If cause and effect had been reversed…
Only the highest beings in all realms—the supreme Great Luo—could achieve such a thing.
Could he possibly be a Great Luo's reincarnation? Impossible—Great Luo were eternal and indestructible; how could they reincarnate?
At most, perhaps—as in some stories—a bored Great Luo had staged a grand play for its own amusement.
The odds were near zero.
The jade slip's records ended abruptly one day, as if a great hand had instantly erased all further history before it could be inscribed.
His allotted visit for the week was already used up; he'd have to wait until next week to check if there were other records.
Perhaps the jade slips for higher levels—Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit to Void, Merging with the Dao—or even the fifth floor's immortal arts—might contain answers.
For now, he could only be certain the system meant him no harm.
That was why he planned to accompany Ningguang and the others into the Nine Nether Secret Realm in the coming days.
If it was all real, a great demon might confirm it for him.
Did he truly… have ties to Mount Shu?
Had Mount Shu ever truly existed?
Cultivation was built on cause and effect.
Was Mount Shu's history a true cause… or a fruit born from his words?
Either way, cultivation could not be halted.
At worst, when he reached the Refining Spirit to Void or ascended to immortality, he could walk beyond the Tree and the Sea to see for himself.
With his confidence—and Mount Shu's rapid growth fueled by system rewards—he knew it wouldn't take long.
Teyvat was too small to contain so many cultivators.
Once one stepped onto Mount Shu's path, the road would inevitably lead to the myriad worlds.
Pushing aside these tangled thoughts, Jiang Yan decided it was better to wait until he visited the Nine Nether Realm.
Perhaps the demon beasts there would know nothing of such profound matters—after all, their highest cultivation was only Refining Qi into Spirit.
But…
If it was all true…
Then the name Mo Yixi would surely be etched into their very bones.
His melancholy vanished. Jiang Yan looked at Ganyu with a gentle smile.
"Ganyu, let me preach Dao to you."
Ganyu didn't know what he had been thinking just moments ago, but seeing him restored to his warm, confident self eased her heart.
"Alright."
"The flourishing world rests in the breath; to attack and defend by it… the Yang aligned to the Yin, opening harmony… honor above, respect below, its truth divided…"
In the clear, cold cave-heaven of Mount Shu, on the moonlit platform beneath the sky, Jiang Yan's voice was fine and calm.
Ganyu slowly closed her eyes. She could not understand the ancient scripture itself, but in the depths of her heart, she understood his meaning.
Her Zhou Tian Circulation Method began to operate on its own. Vast spiritual energy poured down like a tidal wave, gathering into a vortex above them both.
Her cultivation began to soar—but she didn't care about that.
What mattered was…
This Dao was being spoken for her.
Yet somehow, the sound drifted into the Nine Nether Secret Realm—whether by Jiang Yan's design or pure accident, none could say.
In its deepest reaches, a pair of colossal, scarlet eyes—each the size of a tower—snapped open.
"Mount Shu… Mo Yixi!!!"
The roar shook heaven and earth; a nearby mountain collapsed instantly under the sound alone.
But within that voice, along with boundless rage, there was an undercurrent of indescribable fear.
…
Liyue Harbor.
Ningguang and her companions returned on their swords.
They had no idea that, after they left, Jiang Yan had given Ganyu a private lesson—if they had known, they would have regretted it to their bones, and no force could have dragged them away.
Outside the harbor, Zhongli chose a deserted spot to land, nodding to Ningguang and the others before strolling toward the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Ningguang and Keqing, without watching him go, turned their swords toward the Jade Chamber.
At this time, all the other Qixing were already in place, none seeming particularly anxious.
Only Ningguang's three secretaries—Baiwen, Baishi, and Baixiao—were pacing in agitation.
"Lady Ningguang and Lady Keqing have been gone all day, and not even the Millelith have returned with a report. What on earth happened?"
Baiwen paced back and forth.
"Don't worry so much, Secretary Baiwen. The Tianquan Star went with the Geo Lord himself—nothing will happen."
"But what if it does?"
Baiwen turned back, worry etched on her face.
"Uncle Tian, you heard the Geo Lord yesterday. That being was one even he dared not show hostility toward. What if Lady Ningguang…"
Uncle Tian set down his teacup, exasperated.
"Why do you always assume the worst?"
"Because Lady Ningguang taught me so—foresee defeat before proclaiming victory. With that mindset, no matter what happens, the losses won't be too great."
At that, Uncle Tian was left speechless and simply shook his head.
"Then what should we do, Uncle Tian?"
She asked anxiously.
"Wait."
"Still wait?"
"Do you have another plan?"
That silenced Baiwen.
"Don't overthink it. If negotiations failed and that being was displeased, wanting to destroy Liyue, even the Geo Lord couldn't stop it. Worrying changes nothing—so waiting is the best option."
The other Qixing nodded in agreement. They had long since seen the truth of it—these three secretaries still needed more seasoning.
Just then, two streaks of sword-light flashed from the distance.
Before everyone's eyes, Ningguang and Keqing descended lightly from their flying swords onto the Jade Chamber.
Baiwen froze for a long moment before gasping.
"Lady Ningguang and Lady Keqing… came back flying swords?!"
"They've become immortals!"
Hearing that, the two who had just dismounted nearly stumbled and fell.
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