"You mean that set of armor you were wearing before?"
Alice's expression twisted slightly. After a moment, she chose her words carefully.
"Himeko, you do realize this is a mystical-side world, right? Armor and the like… basically don't work on the beasts here."
To be blunt, Himeko's fourth-generation Godslayer armor was powerful. Even facing a demon god, it had a fighting chance.
But against beings of the cultivation world…
Forget it.
If you were talking about some advanced sci-fi civilization wielding dimensional weapons, then maybe they'd have the capital to stand toe-to-toe with cultivators.
But a technology that hadn't even stepped beyond its home star system? In the eyes of cultivators and the beasts of this realm, that was child's play.
Like a three-year-old waving a plastic greatsword, insisting on challenging a special forces unit to a gunfight.
Alice had seen that Crimson Knight set of hers. Frankly speaking, even at mid-stage Refining Essence into Qi, she could probably snap it in half with her bare hands.
It'd be hard to call that "self-defense" in this world.
"I understand what you mean, Elder Alice."
Himeko nodded with a small smile, looking down over the mysterious, dreamlike landscape of Mount Shu.
"But I never planned to rely on a fourth-generation Godslayer armor to roam freely in a cultivation world."
"Did Elder Alice forget? I still have the Gem of Plague."
She took out the now-docile gem, its surface glinting ominously, and chuckled.
"Granted, a Herrscher's power is insignificant in a place like this—not even worth mentioning."
"But at the very least, it should be enough to protect myself. I won't go wandering around outside Mount Shu Village. As long as I stay there, the Gem of Plague should more than suffice."
"And I have you to thank for that, Elder Alice. The Third-Turn Rebirth Pill gave me a huge amount of life-force. I still haven't finished absorbing it."
"That life-force is more than enough to support my usage of the Gem of Plague."
"With that, I should be allowed to stay in Mount Shu Village, right?"
Seeing that Himeko had seriously thought it through and had a workable means of self-preservation, Alice stopped objecting.
"In that case, stay in Mount Shu Village. But don't wander off casually."
"The beasts and monsters near Mount Shu are mostly at the early Refining Essence stage. Even with your Gem of Plague, you won't last long against them."
Himeko nodded firmly. She wasn't about to gamble with her life.
The old Himeko had never possessed talent like Kiana or Durandal. She'd had to rely on artificial stigmata just to contribute to the fight against Honkai.
Later, she'd staked her future on Kiana, letting the girl carry her dreams and continue the fight.
Piling all that weight on Kiana's shoulders—how could Himeko not feel guilty as a teacher?
But she'd reached the end of her original path. She'd always been just another soldier in the ten thousand heavenly troops—not Sun Wukong, Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
Human strength had limits.
Now, however, she'd found a chance.
If she could cultivate, she could someday take that crushing burden off Kiana and the others. Once her cultivation bore fruit, she could return to the Honkai world and personally crush the Honkai.
Then Kiana and the rest could finally enjoy a normal youth.
Cultivation was the most important thing in Himeko's life now. She understood better than anyone:
Right now, she was the greatest hope of the Honkai world.
She wouldn't be reckless enough to get herself killed.
Alice had saved her and treated her well—but that didn't mean she could rely on Alice as a safety net.
Maybe Alice was acting on a passing whim.
Himeko couldn't expect her to watch over her forever. She wasn't anyone special to Alice.
And Alice was still an elder of Mount Shu, with sect affairs to handle and the Nine Nether expedition to prepare for.
She was busy enough as it was. Taking Himeko along for a while was already more than generous.
Adults had to be responsible for themselves. As she traveled, Himeko used the time to memorize the lay of the land below—terrain, landmarks, routes.
All of it went into her head.
Suddenly, Alice spoke again.
"Oh, right, Himeko."
"That armor of yours—the Crimson Knight—can you lend it to me for a while?"
Himeko blinked, then nodded immediately.
"Of course. If you want it, Elder Alice, you can have it. But it's already broken, and I don't know how to repair it…"
"That's fine."
Alice waved her hand breezily and grinned.
"I don't plan on wearing it. I'm a dignified cultivator—going around in power armor would be ridiculous."
"I just happen to be working with Cloud Retainer on forging a set of Amethyst Dragonscale Armor, but we haven't made much progress yet."
"Your armor looks like a simple bodysuit, but it lets you exceed your limits in battle."
"If I borrow it for research, we might get the Dragonscale Armor finished sooner."
"Then we can sell it for a fortune in the Hall of Merits."
"I see…" Himeko muttered, then shook her head.
"The Crimson Knight is really just a Blank Key from the previous era. Install a Herrscher core, and it manifests that Herrscher's power."
"The armor is strong, but the real power lies in the Herrscher core."
As she spoke, she held the Gem of Plague out to Alice.
"If you want to study something, Elder Alice, the Gem of Plague is the better choice."
"No need."
Alice waved her off, utterly unconcerned.
"It's just a condensed bundle of high-density Honkai energy. If I socketed a mid-grade spirit stone in there instead, it'd be far stronger."
"Mid-grade… spirit stone?"
Himeko gave her a curious look. Anything related to cultivation piqued her interest now.
"This," Alice said.
She casually pulled out a smooth, white-jade crystal.
Himeko didn't dare take it. Even at a distance, she could sense the ocean-deep power contained inside it.
In all her time with the Hyperion's Honkai reactors, she'd never felt energy this dense.
The concentration wasn't just higher—the quality was higher.
A single mid-grade spirit stone probably held more usable power than an entire Herrscher core.
She glanced down at the Gem of Plague in her hand—
Then quietly slipped it back into her pocket.
No way was she going to embarrass herself by comparing that thing to a cultivator's treasures.
"This is our universal currency—and what we use to cultivate," Alice explained, her tone turning properly instructive for once.
"Spirit stones are incredibly useful. You can absorb their qi to train, and they're indispensable for formations, artifact forging, pill refinement, and so on."
"They come in four grades. Lowest is the low-grade spirit stone—one contribution point each in Mount Shu."
"One mid-grade spirit stone is worth a hundred low-grade. A hundred mid-grades make one high-grade."
"And at the top, a single supreme spirit stone is worth a hundred high-grade stones."
"Only the Sect Master is allowed to use supreme stones right now."
"As for us elders and peak lords, we get a monthly stipend of spirit stones."
"Of course, only within the inner sect."
Himeko nodded slowly, still digesting the information.
She couldn't help another sigh as she stared at the spirit stone.
"If you embedded this into the Blank Key, maybe…"
"Good idea."
Alice laughed and clapped her on the shoulder.
"Unfortunately, your Crimson Knight might not be able to survive contact with a mid-grade spirit stone. Even if you modified it to socket one, a normal person couldn't control it."
"Strictly speaking, spiritual qi is more terrifying than Honkai energy."
On that point, Himeko agreed completely.
Honkai was vicious, yes—but only large-scale Honkai eruptions birthed emperor-class beasts.
Look at Mount Shu.
Massive beasts close to living mountains, creatures as large as city blocks—they were everywhere.
In the Honkai world, those would all be emperor-class at minimum.
If spiritual revival happened there without Mount Shu's guidance, civilization might well fall even faster than it did under Honkai.
Which only made martial arts more crucial.
Himeko decided she'd have to acquire proper martial arts methods as soon as she started cultivating.
A sudden gale slammed into them, nearly knocking her off the crane's back.
She grabbed on in a panic and looked ahead.
A huge, azure, six-winged dragon was streaking toward them at high speed—its expression oddly panicked.
A clear chirp rang out behind it, and the dragon looked even more terrified.
With a sigh, Venti lifted his hand. Dvalin shrank rapidly and dove into his sleeve.
Then his pursuer revealed herself.
A magnificent azure bird, feathers gleaming in the sunlight, eyes like twin stars. Every beat of her wings shoved the clouds aside and parted the sky.
"Qingluan! You're bullying Dvalin again! I'm telling Ganyu on you!"
Venti scowled, hands on his hips, glaring up at the bird.
Her sharp eyes flashed in annoyance. She snapped her wings once.
Endless auspicious clouds gathered at some unseen command and descended on Venti like a sky-spanning whirlpool of rolling mist.
Qingluan let out a few bright, triumphant cries, then swooped down to nuzzle against Alice's shoulder.
With a graceful spin, she turned and shot back toward Mount Shu.
It was a while before Venti, face dark, managed to suppress the roiling sea of clouds.
"Honestly! That little brat Qingluan's getting more and more playful! Chasing Dvalin every day trying to pluck his scales! What a little terror!"
He muttered and grumbled, but didn't seem truly upset. She was still just a child, after all. Being playful was her nature.
And it wasn't as if he wasn't playful himself.
"Peak Lord Venti, are you alright?" Himeko asked worriedly.
He waved a hand.
"Don't worry. I'm used to it."
Used to it…
Right. He really was remarkably laid-back.
Himeko grumbled internally, then turned to Alice.
"Elder Alice, do you and Peak Lord Zhongli know that bird?"
"Of course. That little one is our Mount Shu mascot," Alice said fondly, watching the distant speck of Qingluan.
"That's Ganyu's spirit beast, Qingluan. Don't let her size fool you—she's already at the early Refining Qi into Spirit stage."
"…Little?"
Himeko thought back to the way Qingluan's wings had blotted out the sky. If Baby Dragon saw her, he'd probably collapse to his knees begging for mercy on the spot.
That was "little"?
She truly didn't understand cultivators' units of measurement.
Still, she carved the names "Qingluan" and "Ganyu" into her memory.
She hadn't seen Ganyu yet, but from this alone, Ganyu was clearly… something else.
She turned to look back at the seven sky-piercing peaks still visible in the distance.
"Elder Alice," she said suddenly, "could you tell me more about Mount Shu?"
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