There's a legend that all silver-white ancient trees and silver-white flowers share a hidden, deeply buried root system beneath the earth—an unseen network that outlines the paths of ley lines.
Put simply: ley line blossoms, as well as the withered trees in talent and artifact domains, are all connected to the ley lines.
And in Genshin Impact, Original Resin—the stamina incarnate—can activate petrified trees and ley line blossoms to yield precious rewards.
But Victor Wang had never seen a ley line blossom, nor had he encountered Original Resin. The only remnant was the petrified trees in domains.
Yet he never imagined artifact domains would turn out like this.
No need for Original Resin, sure—but only one run per day? Might as well go back to the old system.
Outside the domain, the sky was clear with bright sunlight. The sudden change in light made Victor squint, while Bennett and Fischl, clearly used to it, exited the domain with eyes closed.
"So, where should we meet tomorrow?" Victor asked, shielding his eyes.
"In the activity hall of this princess's secret garden."
"…Where is that?"
"She means the Adventurers' Guild," Bennett explained. "It's close to the city gate. Let's meet around 8:30?"
"Got it. See you then."
Fischl spread her Wind Glider and soared westward. Bennett looked like he was heading east. Victor wasn't sure where to go next—he hadn't expected the domain run to take so little time.
He asked, "You two aren't traveling together?"
"Nah. Fischl and I aren't in the same adventuring party. We just help each other out sometimes. Come to think of it... it's been a while since I've gone out with the Benny Adventure Team."
"…"
Is it possible your teammates have already quit the group?
Victor held back and asked instead, "What about Fischl? Which group is she in?"
"She actually started her own: The Midnight Patrol. But she couldn't recruit enough members, so the Guild didn't recognize it officially."
"Isn't three adventurers enough to form a team? She's got a Vision—why would no one join?"
"I don't think she cares about the team. She just wanted the title. Honestly, I don't fully get it either."
Bennett tilted his head, then asked, "What about you? Are you in a party?"
"Nope. I'm traveling across Teyvat. Not convenient to be part of a fixed team."
"Ah, I see. Did you take any commissions today? I was about to start mine. If we're not heading the same way, we'll have to part ways here."
"Ehh…"
Under Bennett's clear, bright gaze, Victor couldn't help but sigh. "I've been focusing on sword practice lately, haven't taken any commissions. Thought I'd farm artifacts for both gear and live combat training, but…"
He shrugged.
"You want live combat? Then commissions are perfect for that."
"Uh…"
Seeing Victor hesitate, Bennett figured he must be inexperienced—this was his first domain run after all—and perhaps unsure how to get started.
"Well, I've got some free time. I could spar with you. I use a sword too, after all."
"Seriously?"
In reality, everyone had their own tasks and schedules. Even Kaeya, who looked like he was just wandering around, still had duties to handle. As for Lumine… she was probably doing character hangouts or grinding friendship levels every day lately—Victor hadn't been able to find her at all.
"Of course! If you're up for it, I'll have time after I finish my commissions."
"Then how about I tag along with you today? I haven't done a bounty yet, and I want to see what it's like."
"Let's see… The closest one is east of Springvale. The commission says a group of Treasure Hoarders will be gathering there this morning. There's also an escort mission for a hot air balloon nearby."
Bennett pulled out his Adventurer's Handbook, which included a map with pencil marks indicating his commission locations.
"I'll lead the way."
Using Wind Gliders and elemental movement, the two sped through mountains and forests, reaching their destination in about forty minutes.
The commission was to disrupt a Treasure Hoarder gathering. Whoever issued it, Bennett assured, always gave accurate info—never once had it been wrong.
Sure enough, on a rocky slope against a cliff, ten Treasure Hoarders sat around a campfire. Some roasted Sunsettias; others drank cheap booze.
It looked like a picnic… but as they got closer, their chatter turned less than wholesome.
A crossbow-wielding Hoarder with a black eye bragged, "That merchant caravan yesterday was tough. Had adventurers disguised as civilians protecting it. Still, we managed to snatch a chunk of their cargo."
Across from him, a buzz-cut bruiser scoffed, "We tracked a food shipment yesterday—damn Hilichurls beat us to it. These days, even monsters get the loot first. But we drove the whole lot off! Too bad all we got was this cheap wine…"
Their buddies chimed in, hyping them up.
One burly Hoarder leaning against the cliff, hammer by his side, sat drinking in sullen silence.
The ten were split into three squads. The archer and the bruiser each led two. The hammer guy had three—but hadn't had a successful hit in two days.
He said nothing, just downed swigs of bitter wine and gnawed on overcooked Sunsettias, growing more annoyed by the minute.
"Damn it!"
He hurled the empty bottle, shattering it—startling everyone.
They all knew each other, knew why he was angry, and kept quiet.
He threw his fruit skewer into the fire, then called out to someone—his team's only Potioneer, and the only one among the ten.
"Boss, I've prepped five Flaming Essential Oils and five Heatshield Resistance Potions."
He nodded in approval, then scanned the others. "So, how about we go for something big?"
The other two leaders perked up, especially after hearing "potions." The archer asked, "And the cost?"
"Don't worry, I'm covering it. But we take sixty percent of the haul."
"Hehe… got a target?"
"I've been watching a Snezhnayan trade caravan. Expensive goods, light escort—only five guards. Always takes a deserted path."
"Wait, isn't that…"
"What?"
"Smuggling. Sounds like it."
"Yeah, could be."
The bruiser cut in, "When?"
"Tomorrow night."
"I'm in."
The group started buzzing excitedly—until two shadows dropped from the sky.
"So, plotting crimes again? I was going to let you off with a warning, but I guess you need a proper beating," Bennett said, unusually serious.
"Who's this brat? Get lost."
The Hoarders laughed—until the archer spotted the Vision on Bennett's left hip.
"Cough… maybe we should talk this out…"
He glanced at the hammer guy—and noticed all four of his group had darkened expressions.
"Talk your ass off. Get the potions! I'm getting our pride back today!"
The Potioneer reluctantly pulled out the oils and potions. Most used these as thrown weapons—but these had been reserved for the "big job," now wasted on this.
The hammer guy coated his weapon in flaming oil.
"You've really let me down."
Without even unsheathing his sword, Bennett charged in and battered two unprepared Hoarders to the ground in moments.
They wailed loudly—but had no intention of getting back up.
The rest—now buffed with resistance potions and flame-coated weapons—spread out for battle.
Victor had hung back to observe. The potions granted them thin elemental shields, and the oils enchanted their weapons with Pyro.
Unfortunately, whether due to poor quality or weak effects, the shields barely lasted two hits. The enchantments fared slightly better, but were still short-lived.
Better off training breathing techniques…
Victor joined the fray. A Palm Vortex drew three melee Hoarders toward him. They flailed helplessly at first, then tried to brawl when they got close—only to be blasted away by a Gale Blade.
Their flimsy shields flickered. As they tried to rise again, Victor smacked them back down with a few more strikes.
Bennett, surrounded, had already dropped two more lightweights. Only the three leaders remained.
The hammer guy was clearly skilled—holding his own against a non-elemental Bennett. The archer and bruiser lingered nearby, waiting for an opening—until Victor locked onto them.
"Fighting without seriously injuring them... this is good training."
He weaved between arrows and traded blows with the bruiser, using only his sword sheath. After twenty or so exchanges, the opponents' enchantments wore off—and with Bennett wrapping up, Victor finally knocked them down too.