After listening to Cloud Retainer's incessant instructions, Ryan finally embarked on his journey down the mountain.
His objective for this descent was clear: to travel to Liyue Harbor and find rare materials for alchemy.
The only way to obtain these materials was through a major festival second only to the Lantern Rite, the Rite of Descension, so he could not miss this year's Rite of Descension.
While the exact effects of the elixirs he could refine were difficult to determine, they might be related to the characteristics of the materials; the rarer the material, the greater the possibility of refining high-star elixirs.
And what Ryan had lacked most in his decades of studying alchemy were high-star elixirs.
The Growth Pill and Rainbow Feather Pill he had previously refined were merely ordinary one-star elixirs.
Thinking this, Ryan moved deftly through the mountains and soon arrived on the road leading out of Jueyun Karst.
Although Ryan possessed fox ears and a fox tail, appearing quite different from ordinary humans, there were many humans with non-human features in Teyvat, so Ryan did not need to deliberately disguise himself.
"Oh~ a Whopperflower, perfect! I just happen to need nectar for alchemy. Thank you, kind Whopperflower, for offering your nectar."
"A Hydro Slime? Excellent! I also need Slime Condensate for alchemy. Thank you, kind Hydro Slime."
Along the way, Ryan would approach any monsters he saw by the roadside, grab a handful, take a small amount of alchemy material, and then solemnly thank them.
Following Cloud Retainer's teachings, he would not harm the lives of these monsters when collecting materials.
"Wow, humanoid monsters, perfect! I just happen to need...?"
Ryan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he leaned over to pluck a strand of hair from the head of a Treasure Hoarder who was digging by the roadside.
"Ah--"
With a cry of pain, a group of Treasure Hoarders had already picked up their tools and surrounded Ryan.
"Boss, what should we do... the ruins below haven't been dug through yet. Should we silence them?"
"Nonsense! If news of us digging up Adeptal ruins gets out, we'll all be finished!"
The leader of this group of Treasure Hoarders seemed to be discussing something.
Looking at the masked, still menacing Treasure Hoarders, Ryan recalled Cloud Retainer's past admonition.
'Many mortals here come seeking Adepti; they may have selfish desires but no great evil. If entangled, a slight reprimand will suffice; do not harm their lives.'
They hadn't completely left Jueyun Karst yet, so Cloud Retainer's admonition should still apply.
Thinking this, Ryan took out his qiankun bag and reached inside, pulling out a bottle of pitch-black elixir from a corner.
[Three Heads Six Arms Pill (2-star · Failed Elixir): After consumption, an additional four arms and two heads will grow from random locations on the body. The effects will wear off after three minutes, returning to normal.]
"Brat, what are you holding...?"
"Ugh--!"
Ryan's action drew a reprimand from one of the Treasure Hoarders, but the next moment, Ryan suddenly vanished.
Immediately after, several Treasure Hoarders felt something shoved down their throats and instinctively gagged, but the substance in their mouths had already slid into their stomachs.
"Cough, cough, damn it... what did that kid just do?"
After gagging and coughing for a while, the man who had his hair pulled, the leader of this group of Treasure Hoarders, couldn't help but curse.
"I don't know, I didn't even see anyone?"
Just then, an incredibly familiar voice suddenly rang out.
He abruptly looked down and found that a head had grown on the back of his foot, identical to his own, and it was looking up at him... "What the hell? Whose butt is this?!"
Just as he was stunned by this, the same voice sounded from his back. He hurriedly reached back and felt that there seemed to be another downward-facing head on his back, with a nose, mouth, ears, and hair that he could feel... "Bastard! Whose hand is this! It poked me in the eye!"
The head on his back cursed with a voice identical to his own. He could only retract his hand blankly, but found that a new arm had grown outwards from his elbow, the weight of the extra arm making his right arm feel heavy.
Next was his forehead; an arm grew from his forehead, hanging down in front of him, its palm resting on his stomach. The weight of the arm made him instinctively lower his head.
He widened his eyes, so terrified he didn't dare to move, his legs involuntarily trembling.
Shifting his gaze from the arm hanging in front of him, he tried to call for help from his subordinates, but suddenly realized that his subordinates were in a similar state. Some had two arms growing from their eyes with their eyeballs in their palms, some had heads growing from the soles of their feet and arms from their chests, some had heads growing from their armpits; various uncoordinated and bizarre sights filled his vision.
A group of grotesquely transformed people shrieked in terror, most of them unable to even stand or walk normally due to the extra body structures, only able to writhe frantically on the ground.
Seeing this scene, he rolled his eyes, became incontinent, and fainted.
"What the hell, if you collapse, what about me? Don't crush me!"
The head that had grown on his back couldn't help but continue to curse loudly... "Adeptal art! Master, possess me!"
"Phew, good thing I ran fast..."
After flicking all the Three Heads Six Arms Pills into the mouths of those Treasure Hoarders, Ryan used an Adeptal art to transform into a cyan crane and flew several miles at top speed, only then sighing in relief as he descended from the sky.
It wasn't that he was afraid of those Treasure Hoarders, but he knew that the consequences of taking the Three Heads Six Arms Pill would be terrifying!
His alchemy wasn't 100% successful, and once he failed due to distraction or other reasons, the elixir would become a [Failed Elixir], its effects twisted into unpredictable forms, while its potency was greatly reduced.
The Three Heads Six Arms Pill Ryan had just taken out was a product of failure; just by looking at the description, he didn't dare to use it, so after accidentally refining an entire batch of ten, he could only keep them hidden and unused.
"Speaking of which, this should be outside Jueyun Karst. If I continue forward, it seems I can reach the vicinity of Liyue Pilon..."
Calming down slightly and no longer thinking about the Three Heads Six Arms Pills, Ryan focused his attention on the road ahead that stretched into the distance.
Because Nantianmen was fraught with danger, for mortals, the only safe way to enter and exit Jueyun Karst was from Liyue Pilon, and it was the only way.
Therefore, with the combined efforts of seekers, this road became very flat, with no extra forks, leading directly from Liyue Pilon to Jueyun Karst.
Along this road, Ryan was not in a hurry to use Adeptal arts to travel but instead collected wild materials by the roadside as he advanced, finally arriving at Liyue Pilon near noon.
This place was once prosperous thousands of years ago, and now the ubiquitous ruins tell of its rich history.
"From here to Liyue Harbor, even using Adeptal arts to travel, I won't make it for lunch. I'd better go to an inn to eat first."
Arriving at the fork in the road, Ryan glanced at the inn built on a giant tree in Dihua Marsh, then at the road that went deep into Liyue Pilon and directly to Liyue Harbor, and finally decided to eat first.
On his way to Wangsheng Inn, Ryan untied the qiankun bag from his waist, reached his entire hand inside, and rummaged around for a while, finally pulling out some Mora from a corner.
The qiankun bag in his hand was what he called his "qiankun bag," a gift from Auntie Ping the year he took on human form. It was a purse embroidered with a white fox stepping into a flower patch, and its interior had the ability to manifest external scenery.
To put it plainly, it was a spatial storage bag, which Ryan usually used to store the elixirs and medicinal herbs he refined.
In any case, after taking out his remaining Mora, Ryan arrived at Wangsheng Inn, found a table downstairs, sat down, and ordered food.
Although it might sound a bit rebellious to say, as a fox, he had a natural love for meat, especially poultry.
So Ryan ordered three dishes: Tender Jueyun Chili Chicken, Roasted Pigeon, and Matsutake Meat Rolls, and also requested a bowl of rice and a bowl of duck blood soup.
His usual appetite wasn't too large, but since it was a rare occasion to eat out, he decided to eat his fill. Anyway, it was easy for him to digest quickly, so he didn't have to worry about overeating.
"Mmm~ Compared to the dishes made on the mountain with sparingly used seasonings, restaurant food with heavy oil and salt is indeed more delicious~"
Having eaten too many bland meals due to insufficient seasonings, Ryan found this meal incredibly satisfying.
After eating his fill, settling the bill, Ryan then took the elevator at Wangsheng Inn to the rooftop.
The main structure of Wangsheng Inn was built on a giant tree, and the observation deck on the rooftop offered a panoramic view of Dihua Marsh and allowed one to gaze at the distant mountains. Therefore, guests often came up to enjoy the scenery after their meals.
However, Ryan's purpose was different from these guests; he continued up another staircase to the true top floor.
"Xiao, are you there?"
Finding the top floor empty, Ryan tentatively called out.
"What is it?"
No sooner had Ryan's voice fallen than the green-haired, tattooed young man from the other day suddenly appeared beside him.
"Hehe, it's like this, Xiao. Because that Growth Pill was my first time refining it, I came to confirm its efficacy. After all, I still need to record it in detail in my Grand Pill Compendium~"
Ryan quickly pulled out his Grand Pill Compendium and a pen from his qiankun bag, flipping to a blank page in the Grand Pill Compendium as he explained to Xiao.
"The efficacy... is very good."
Xiao hesitated but still stated truthfully.
"Specifically? Did the efficacy reach the standard of three centimeters?"
Ryan eagerly inquired.
..."I did not measure it."
...