Liyue Harbor.
Before the gates of the General Affairs Bureau.
Clorinde held a finely bound book in her left hand and a strange token in her right.
Standing at the entrance, watching the endless tide of people filing in, she found herself momentarily dazed.
"Young lady, once you've passed the assessment you may leave. Please don't block the entrance."
A Millelith soldier noticed she had been standing there motionless for a while and kindly reminded her.
Clorinde blinked back to her senses, hastily nodding.
"Apologies."
"It's fine, perfectly understandable."
The soldier smiled, shook his head, and went back to his post.
Clorinde glanced at him again. The aura of inner strength flowing through his body still left her somewhat unsettled.
Only when a sudden gust of cold air swept past, making her shiver, did she look back over her shoulder.
There, a tall woman wearing a mask strode forward.
A number of Fatui followers trailed behind her.
Clorinde thought for a moment, then recalled—this was La Signora, the Fatui Harbinger.
That she too would come here to register felt absurd. But then again, even Childe had passed…
In the end, these were Mount Shu's standards, not Liyue's.
Abruptly, Clorinde shook her head.
This had little to do with her. What mattered now…
Was getting word of this back to Fontaine as soon as possible.
Had she not come in person, who would believe that Liyue had forged ties with an immortal sect? And now, that sect was even holding a mountain-opening ceremony to recruit disciples.
This was tremendous news.
If Fontaine's people could also come to cultivate immortality, many problems might find solutions.
She had already passed the assessment. She must hurry back with the message, then return in time for the ceremony.
Miss this chance, and who knew when an immortal sect—whose disciples could live forever—might open its gates again.
With that thought, Clorinde quickly made her way out of Liyue Harbor.
There was no time to rest. She had to reach Fontaine as fast as possible.
…
Not long after Clorinde departed, La Signora emerged from the General Affairs Bureau, her face cold. Without a word, she returned to the Northland Bank.
Childe was still lounging on the sofa with a book in hand. Seeing her icy expression, he smirked inwardly and drawled:
"Well? Didn't I tell you?"
La Signora glared at him, bitterness welling in her chest.
The path of cultivation…
Had rejected her outright.
Not even the slightest room for reconsideration.
She admitted—over the years she had done many unclean deeds. But all of it was for the Tsaritsa's grand vision.
After a long silence, she exhaled a weary sigh and murmured:
"While you attend Mount Shu's ceremony, whatever you need, the Fatui will provide in full."
"Much appreciated."
Childe shrugged, then added:
"Once I've succeeded in joining Mount Shu, I'll see if I can snag you a martial arts manual."
"If you can't cultivate immortality, martial arts aren't bad either. I hear reaching the Heaven-Man realm grants three hundred years of life—and power equal to a top-tier Archon's servant."
At that, La Signora could only smile bitterly.
Three hundred years of life…
She had already lived five hundred.
As for strength, she was not much weaker than an Archon's strongest followers.
Martial arts might tempt mortals. To her, it meant little.
But cultivation was different. According to the books, merely refining essence into qi, relying on arts and true yuan, could already suppress some Archons.
Reach the stage of Spirit Transformation, and one could sweep all Archons aside.
Above that were refining spirit to return to void, then merging with the Dao—and beyond, true immortality.
If she could just step into the qi-to-spirit stage, the Tsaritsa's entire plan would no longer be necessary.
If she reached the return-to-void realm, the whole of Teyvat would bend to her will.
But now… that chance is gone.
Her mood sank. Seeing this, Childe closed his book and said gently:
"No need to despair. Mount Shu is newly founded, and sorely lacking people."
"With a sect that grand, they'll need more hands. Once I'm inside, I can ask around—see if there are other ways to pass their tests."
"But in the meantime, you'd better cut back on your dirtier work. Otherwise, even if a chance appears, you'll ruin it for yourself."
At that, La Signora managed to summon a shred of hope.
At least there was still a possibility.
Whether it could be realized would depend on Childe's news.
"I'll transfer all my factories and bases to Scaramouche. He's been itching to go to Inazuma anyway."
Those facilities were hot potatoes now. If possible, she'd sever ties with them entirely.
"How devious. When he finds out you cost him his shot at immortality, he'll hunt you to the ends of the earth."
Childe grinned. He had always disliked Scaramouche among the Harbingers.
"What of it?" La Signora scoffed.
"That lunatic was never normal to begin with. A puppet, and he dares to dream of cultivation?"
"Even without me, he could never enter Mount Shu."
Childe stretched lazily, drawling:
"For now, keep this under wraps. We'll speak again once I've joined Mount Shu."
"If that mad puppet causes trouble in Liyue, I'll have to personally put him down to make our position clear."
"Who knows—once I'm a Mount Shu disciple, I might even be tasked to slay him in the name of eradicating evil."
La Signora rose to leave. At the doorway, she paused and said calmly:
"Don't neglect martial arts entirely. It may not serve us much, but the Tsaritsa and Snezhnaya will have use for it."
"No need to nag. I'll handle it."
Childe waved her off, impatient.
He intended to study more about cultivation before setting off to Mount Shu.
La Signora doubted his words. That battle-hungry fool—once inside, he'd probably do nothing but fight day and night.
But for now, she still needed his help, so she said nothing harsh and turned to leave.
"Don't even think about stealing Millelith martial arts. If the Geo Archon himself steps in, not even the Tsaritsa can shield you."
Childe suddenly warned. La Signora inclined her head slightly and vanished.
He withdrew his thoughts and plunged back into his book.
He would reread it a hundred times before joining Mount Shu.
The more he knew of cultivation, the better impression he might leave.
Besides, he was still injured—there was nothing else he could do.
…
Mount Shu.
After finishing his sermon, Jiang Yan returned to the sect's great hall.
He sent Klee off to play with Alice and the others, then sat cross-legged, planning Mount Shu's future.
Already, the sect was thriving.
After today's discourse, he had taken stock.
Those who had joined earliest—like Ningguang and Keqing—had made tremendous progress.
Their Mount Shu Sword Control Art was nearly at minor completion, and each of their chosen arts had advanced as well.
By his sense, Ningguang and Keqing were on the verge of breaking into mid-stage Refining Essence into Qi.
The others too had grown noticeably. They weren't about to break through yet, but each had grown far stronger.
In the cultivation world, the four great realms had been handed down from the upper realm, unchanged for eons.
But from mortal to immortal was a vast leap. Those four realms were a macroscopic division.
On a finer scale, there were sub-paths—Nascent Soul Dao, Golden Core Dao, Qi Condensation Dao—different in detail, yet all subsumed into the broader Refining Essence into Qi stage.
If measured by those, Cloud Retainer and the others had each broken through minor levels.
But Jiang Yan had never planned to use those systems.
As the leader of the righteous path, why clutter things with needless stages?
Still, Cloud Retainer and the others knew—even without a realm breakthrough, their power was climbing by the day.
At the very least, each of them could now thrash thousands of their former selves.
Xiao, for his part, was likely brushing against the threshold of heavenly tribulation.
Even more impressive was Ganyu, who, after dual cultivation, was advancing faster than Xiao. At this rate, she would be the first to undergo tribulation properly.
Newer additions like Venti and Alice were much the same: no breakthroughs yet, but steady strength gains.
In Mondstadt, the standout was Lisa.
After slaying many beasts in the Nether Abyss and burning the soul of the Tower King, the feedback of karmic flame had pushed her close to late-stageRefining Essence into Qi.
Within a month, she'd likely break through.
As for Jean and the rest—
Barbara and Paimon, though weaker, had gained much from his teachings.
Paimon had reached mid Foundation Establishment, while Barbara was nearing its peak.
At this pace, by the time of the mountain-opening ceremony, Jiang Yan was confident everyone would at least reach early-stageRefining Essence into Qi.
With their cultivation arts, even the weakest—Barbara—could likely batter a top-tier Archon's servant.
In short, Mount Shu's dignity was now upheld.
Extending his spiritual sense, Jiang Yan quietly examined the techniques chosen by Jean and the others.
None were bad.
Not quite the heaven-grade or immortal-grade techniques like those of Klee or Ganyu, but each was powerful in its own right.
Jean had obtained the Four Symbols Spirit, akin to Mondstadt's Four Winds Guardians. But instead of winds, it summoned the phantoms of the four sacred beasts.
Barbara had lucked into the Wuhou Mystical Gates—among yellow-grade arts, the most comprehensive and powerful in spellcraft.
Kaeya had taken the Ninefold Gale Transformation, a shapeshifting technique. Each form let him transform into a spirit beast and wield a portion of its innate powers. Properly mastered, its growth potential was considerable.
As for Lumine and Paimon, they had mostly gone through the motions.
Lumine settled on Ninefold Heavenly Thunder Art, a speed-focused art.
Paimon… chose the Thousand Recipes of Ferocious Beasts Art.
…Yes. Perfectly in character.
But the one that made Jiang Yan nearly choke was Diluc.
Upon stepping into the library, he had laid eyes on one technique and chosen it immediately: the Immovable King Sutra.
Mount Shu now has its second Buddhist cultivator.
Alice merely wielded Buddhist fire in battle, but Diluc—he was directly cultivating the Vajra Protector's path.
Well then!
Mondstadt's Darknight Hero had become Acala, the Immovable King.
From now on, if he wanted to play Darknight Hero again, the moment he activated his Immovable King form, Mondstadt itself would become a land of radiant light.
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