"This meal is delicious enough, but more importantly, it carries a nostalgic flavor and memory. From an ordinary person's perspective, this is undoubtedly an ultimate delicacy, but unfortunately, it's not suitable for me." Shenhe said bluntly.
Shenhe herself was straightforward—she liked what she liked and disliked what she disliked.
If her stomach growled loudly enough for others to hear, she would openly admit it.
Of course, if she wanted to teach someone a lesson, she wouldn't hold back either.
For Shenhe, beating around the bush was something incomprehensible.
"Oh? Why do you say that?"
"This bowl of noodles is delicious enough, and its flavor is nostalgic, but I am ultimately a person of the mountains. I once tried to integrate into Liyue Harbor but felt out of place in the mortal world."
"It seems I ultimately belong to the wilderness. In such a setting, savoring the memory of delicious food would only become an obstacle to my cultivation. So, a taste is enough—understanding the essence of its flavor is sufficient." Placing her chopsticks on the bowl, Shenhe said calmly.
Shenhe's expression had hardly changed since entering the bar, perhaps a side effect of the Red Rope Soul Binding technique.
"Hmm, well said. Your understanding of the mortal world and cultivation is quite thorough. Thanks to a friend, I have some knowledge of Liyue's adepti. But in my opinion, Miss Shenhe, while you are a cultivator and a disciple of the adepti, you are not yet an adeptus yourself, right?"
"Yes, that's correct." Shenhe nodded.
"Even a simple person, even as a disciple of the adepti, must engage in worldly cultivation and refining the heart through worldly experiences. Completely detaching from the mortal world is impossible. Your master should have told you this, right?" Chen Luo said.
Although Chen Luo didn't know much about cultivation, the basic books and spiritual energy cultivation manuals Yun Xia had given him did describe cultivators.
Chen Luo's main world had various cultivation systems running rampant. Thanks to the millennium of spiritual energy resurgence, some records of cultivators from the previous millennium could be found.
In Chen Luo's view, cultivation in his world shared some similarities with Liyue's, including concepts like heart demons and refining the heart through worldly experiences.
"Correct. But I probably still cannot reach that state. My connection to the mortal world is only this much." Shenhe sighed softly.
"Then why not treat this bar as practice before refining your heart through worldly experiences?"
"Practice?"
"Yes, practice. This bar has its own peculiarities, as you already know. For example, once you enter, you can summon it by concentrating on it, whether you're in the wilderness, on a mountaintop, or even in the Chasm."
"Moreover, since this bar connects to who knows how many worlds, you could say it has all kinds of people: a powerful bard with a hidden identity, a great demon of the underworld who is scummy beyond belief, a demon scientist obsessed with infinity and evolution... This is a miniature mortal world. Everyone has an extremely unique identity, so even someone as special as you is just an ordinary person here."
When everyone around you is an outlier, you, as an outlier, naturally become ordinary.
"So, why not observe here for a while longer before deciding whether to engage with the world? You don't need to interact with the bar's customers; just sit quietly in a corner and observe." Chen Luo offered a suggestion.
"Is that so... It sounds feasible." Shenhe said, crossing her arms.
Shenhe's master, Cloud Retainer, had always hoped Shenhe would re-enter the world. After all, mortals are ultimately mortals, and even disciples of the adepti cannot stay in the wilderness forever.
Having heard her master's advice often, Shenhe didn't refuse this opportunity.
"Then, how about coming to this bar every night around 8 or 9 PM—during the Hour of the Dog—to sit for a while?"
"...Alright." Looking at the young man who was a stranger, sought nothing from her, yet still cared for her well-being, Shenhe finally nodded.
"And even if you cannot fully engage with the world, you can still enjoy delicious food here. Since you can easily come to the bar even while traveling through the mountains, why not? As a mortal, the desire for good food is ultimately unavoidable."
"Besides, when cultivation reaches a profound level, worldly matters won't hinder your progress, right? Your master probably often samples various mortal dishes too, doesn't she?"
"So, how about eating the noodles first? They're getting cold." Chen Luo pointed at the bowl of noodles in front of Shenhe.
After a moment's hesitation, Shenhe picked up the chopsticks from the bowl.
As Chen Luo had said, when cultivation reaches an advanced level, cultivators are indeed not hindered by worldly matters. For example, Shenhe's master often said, "Adepti are not hindered by worldly matters, so they can freely enjoy all kinds of dishes."
Of course, another reason for picking up the chopsticks might be a lingering attachment to the taste from her memories.
* * *
Shenhe eventually finished the entire bowl of noodles, even drinking all the broth and eating all the toppings, showing just how satisfied she was with the dish.
"Are you sure no payment is needed?" Shenhe asked hesitantly again.
"Sorry, I'm not interested in Mora. But if you insist on repaying me, you could bring me a couple of ancient books to read." Chen Luo said, stroking his chin.
Chen Luo now had the basic spiritual energy cultivation manual from Yun Xia, but he was curious about the differences between the adepti techniques of Liyue in Teyvat and those of his main world.
"Alright. I've collected quite a few ancient books from exploring adepti ruins. What kind are you interested in?" Shenhe agreed.
"Hmm, mechanical puppets, or meditation and mental calming techniques." Chen Luo thought for a moment.
Chen Luo suddenly remembered that Shenhe's master—that bird—seemed quite knowledgeable about adepti mechanisms, having even improved the Guizhong Ballista. Although Chen Luo didn't know what structure the Guizhong Ballista had, it was natural for a puppeteer to be curious about such things.
Chen Luo's Puppeteer Codex only recorded the most basic puppet types for each cultivation stage: beginner-level puppets, skilled-level puppets, proficient-level puppets, master-level puppets, and grandmaster-level puppets.
Each level's puppets were the most basic types but could be advanced in various directions, serving as foundational forms for other puppets.
While this sounded highly promising and impressive, it also meant Chen Luo would need to seek out more puppet knowledge later to advance his puppeteer class.
Feeding him only halfway—what kind of brain-dead class manual was this?
But fortunately, although puppeteer sounded like a rare class, it wasn't impossible to find references and opportunities for exchange and learning.
For example, that puppeteer in Gensokyo, Alice Margatroid.
And for example... Shenhe's master.
"No problem. I will come back in the evening as agreed." Shenhe nodded, then turned to leave.
As for the books to bring Chen Luo, Shenhe instantly had a target in mind.
"Ah, wait a moment." Chen Luo suddenly called out to Shenhe.
"What is it? Is there something else?" Shenhe turned and asked.
"Don't you have a master cultivating on the same mountain as you? Since you've eaten, why not bring something for your master too? Give me half a minute; it'll be ready soon." After saying this to Shenhe, Chen Luo turned and entered the small kitchen.
For the possible books on mechanical puppets he might obtain, Chen Luo went all out, spending two primogems to buy various snacks and delicacies from the material shop.
Just two primogems—not even enough for a loli's lollipop—this money was well spent.
Thus, Shenhe left the bar carrying a bundle of snacks and food half her size.
Shenhe's strength was truly impressive...
After finally seeing Shenhe off, Chen Luo breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he had spent seven primogems this time with no income, Chen Luo had a premonition that he had at least gained one customer this time. If luck was good, he might even bring her master along too. Although her master wasn't even human, adepti probably had plenty of good stuff.
The key was that the stronger the commission provider, the more primogems a commission of the same level would give.
Although Chen Luo wouldn't refuse commissions like stealing lollipops from lolis, getting more primogems was even better.
Earning primogems wasn't shameful.
After Shenhe left, Chen Luo turned all the bar's signs to "Open," lest someone see the "Closed" sign during the day and not come to the bar at night, which would be a huge loss for Chen Luo.
"I should go to Nagazora. Yae Sakura went to St. Freya Academy, and Rin went to the Elysian Realm, so no one is left in the survivor base. Although I cleared all the Honkai beasts and zombies around the survivor base, and Raven taught them some basic survival skills, I still can't help but worry." Chen Luo sighed.
Chen Luo had worried endlessly about those lolis. This was the only thing he had done purely out of concern, not to complete a commission.
Of course, there might have been some intention to farm favorability at first, but wasn't that enough now?
Now it was more about worry.
After all, he had saved quite a few of those lolis and brats. Saving them and then abandoning them would be no different from discarding them without care.
Besides checking on the children, Chen Luo also needed to adapt to his authorities.
Chen Luo was a natural Herrscher of Domination—no problem there—but he was not a natural Herrscher of Corruption. He had plundered the Herrscher of Corruption authority from someone else, so he wasn't proficient with it, even after fixing it as a talent.
Talents needed practice. For example, Yun Xia wasn't born knowing how to use all those magic cards, and Yun Lian'er wasn't born knowing all elemental magic.
Of course, there was one more thing: Chen Luo wanted to know what his Herrscher Physique, modified for 1,000 crystals, had become.
After pushing open the bar door, Chen Luo arrived at the place where he had first used the thermobaric bomb.
It wasn't far from the survivor base—in fact, it was quite close—so coming here was fine.
After emerging, he cast a flight spell on himself and slowly landed on the ground.
The moment Chen Luo arrived in this world, he felt his body cheering and rejoicing.
"It seems the Herrscher Physique is indeed more suitable for survival in this world." Feeling the surrounding Honkai energy instinctively gathering toward him, Chen Luo nodded satisfiedly.
After modification, Chen Luo's Herrscher Physique had changed from a special physique to a special enhancement.
Like a constitution title in a game, it didn't affect the player themselves but increased the character's various attributes.
In the judgment of Friend of Non-Human, Herrschers didn't count as human. If you carefully read the Second Eruption manga, you'd notice that neither the Herrscher of Reason nor the Herrscher of Void wore spacesuits when going to the moon. This indicated that after becoming a Herrscher, while human anatomy might not change, adaptability definitely underwent alterations.
Of course, the modified Herrscher Physique wasn't beneficial. It allowed Chen Luo to function like a normal person in his original world, but the downside was that it provided fewer attribute points.
If the original Herrscher Physique gave +10 to all attributes, the modified one only gave +5.
Within minutes of Chen Luo appearing in this world and sensing the changes to his Herrscher Physique, a faint, almost imperceptible gaze focused on him.
Although no one explained it to him, Chen Luo knew this was the gaze of the Will of Honkai.
"Is the Will of Honkai just idle all day? Doesn't it have work to do? Tasks to complete? The moment I appear, you stare at me like some peeping tom." Feeling this gaze, Chen Luo began complaining frantically.
Of course, he didn't say this out loud but kept it in his heart. Although he had objections, he still needed to farm favorability with the Will of Honkai.
Although Chen Luo still didn't know what the heck the Will of Honkai's favorability was good for, he felt that raising it should bring some potential benefits.
Even putting aside those unknown potential benefits, a discount would be nice too.
Buying all authorities at full price—who could withstand that?
Anyone with a sane mind wouldn't buy all the Honkai faction's authorities at full price.
The problem was that some Herrschers hadn't appeared yet, so if you wanted their authorities, you had to buy them from the Honkai faction.
Herrscher of Earth, Herrscher of Wind, Herrscher of Sentience, Herrscher of Flame, Herrscher of Binding...
If he really waited for all these Herrschers to appear, wouldn't it take three or four years?
By then, Chen Luo could have cleared the entire Honkai world.
So you're the Will of Honkai, huh?
Chen Luo only felt it was a pity that his Non-Human Friend, Saint Chen, and 200% Honkai energy adaptability seemed useless against the Will of Honkai.
Otherwise, if he could get a straight 20% discount, that would be awesome.
But then again, other Herrschers probably didn't have the treatment of being stared at by the Will of Honkai every day like he did, so this counted as special treatment.
Except for Sirin.
Sirin was truly the Honkai's beloved daughter.