"Found out?!"
Yelan's expression turned serious; she had made no sound at all.
The malicious attack came swiftly. Yelan did not try to block this powerful blow, instead, she quickly dodged and shot an arrow towards the malicious entity.
The arrow, condensed from hydro element, was easily split apart by Malice. Despite his large stature, he moved incredibly fast and charged forward again.
"Silk threads, intertwine!"
Dense silk threads attacked Malice. This time, they indeed caused trouble for Malice, temporarily restricting his movements.
Yelan entered a state of extreme speed, continuing to use the silk threads to try and trap the entity to death.
However, these few silk threads were ultimately not enough. Malice only needed to ignore the damage caused by the silk threads and, with a little force, broke free.
And the injuries left by the silk threads on his body healed in the blink of an eye.
This was truly what they meant by 'thick-skinned'.
Seeing this, Yelan was even more shocked. What kind of monster was this?
Yelan, who was always calm, now knew that this creature was not someone she could defeat alone. With this thought, she remained vigilant against the monster while looking for an opportunity to retreat.
But just as Yelan was staring intently at the monster in front of her, she was surprised to find that it had disappeared?
Escaped? No, that's not right!
The sense of danger in her heart not only didn't disappear but became even stronger than before!
Yelan maintained the highest level of vigilance around her.
Several minutes passed, but Yelan didn't dare to relax even a little.
Suddenly, a large blade appeared from behind her, as if out of nowhere. Even though Yelan had been constantly vigilant of her surroundings, she was startled by this sudden attack.
In such a short time, Yelan only managed to barely block the incoming blade with her longbow.
Clang—
After a crisp clang, Yelan's figure flew backward, crashing into a nearby rock.
Yelan seized the moment before the opponent could attack again and immediately fled at top speed.
This guy was too strange; she knew it was impossible to win against him alone, and she might even get herself killed.
In this state, Yelan's speed was incredibly fast, and she quickly escaped from that canyon.
Just as Yelan thought she was safe, she was met with another large blade swinging towards her.
With the same move, this time Yelan was directly sent flying over ten meters, falling to the ground, with even traces of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.
She grunted, not daring to relax in the slightest, and immediately got up.
"Xiao!"
Without time to think, Yelan immediately called out that name.
She wasn't sure if she could withstand this guy's third attack.
Fortunately, that monster didn't launch a continuous attack.
And during this time, Xiao, who had used an unknown number of consecutive skill segments, finally arrived.
From the somewhat chaotic elemental power emanating from him, it was clear how quickly he had come.
Xiao, upon arriving, only saw the injured Yelan, but no one else.
"What is it?"
"Be careful, there's a malicious entity hidden nearby!"
Xiao's eyes immediately sharpened, as if he had thought of a certain monster, and the hand gripping his long spear tightened slightly.
But by this time, Malice had already fled.
Yelan and Xiao, who had been vigilant for a long time, waited for nothing.
"He should be gone."
Yelan lowered her guard and sat down against a tree.
This kind of enemy, hiding in the dark, occasionally jumping out to strike, and crucially, being undetectable, was truly too frustrating and unbearable.
Yelan briefly explained what happened to Xiao, and Xiao immediately confirmed that this was that same monster!
He had also been looking for it during this time, but had found absolutely nothing.
Such a dangerous monster not being eliminated immediately was the greatest threat to Liyue!
"Come, I'll take you back for treatment."
That monster was elusive, and Xiao was not at ease with Yelan returning alone in this state.
Yelan did not refuse; who knew if that monster would suddenly return for another attack.
"Thank you, Conqueror of Demons!"
---
The next day, evening, on the Jade Chamber.
Ningguang dismissed everyone else and met with Yelan privately.
"How are your injuries?"
"It's nothing, minor injuries."
These injuries were indeed nothing to Yelan. Vision wielders inherently have stronger bodies than ordinary people, and after treatment by Baizhu, she would be fine after a period of rest.
"The monster I encountered yesterday is the culprit that caused chaos in Mondstadt. He resurrected the Dragon Durin, attracted a large number of Abyssal monsters to attack Mondstadt, and personally killed a girl from Mondstadt, escaping from the Anemo Archon's hands."
"He appeared in Liyue not long ago, was encountered by the Conqueror of Demons, and again escaped from the Conqueror of Demons' hands. According to the Conqueror of Demons and my own experience, that guy's ability to conceal himself is very strong, so much so that even powerhouses at the level of Archons cannot detect him."
Ningguang frowned in thought: "Even you are not his opponent. This level of enemy is very difficult to deal with."
The Qixing had only recently taken over all affairs in Liyue, and Ningguang was eager to prove their strength. Unless absolutely necessary, she was unwilling to seek help from the Adepti.
Yelan continued to offer her own speculation:
"I encountered him near the Chasm. That monster's objective in going there can only be one thing."
Ningguang: "The depths of the Chasm are connected to the Abyss. I understand what you mean. It seems we need to further strengthen defenses there and keep a constant watch."
"Ningguang, I must warn you, that guy is very cunning, and his motives are unclear. He caused such a huge commotion in Mondstadt only to end up killing one girl. Although it's possible he could only kill one, being able to escape from the Anemo Archon's hands means he is not simple."
Ningguang nodded solemnly; she had never underestimated this matter.
"What do you plan to do?"
Ningguang thought for a long time, finally saying:
"This matter is extraordinary. I will have the Kaiyang Star personally lead troops to guard it, and you will assist her then. If the situation develops unexpectedly, I will seek help from the Adepti."
Although Yelan still felt it was inappropriate, it seemed this was the only way for now.
The Kaiyang Star is powerful, and if she leads the troops... "Alright, I will help then."
After saying this, Yelan left the Jade Chamber.
Ningguang sat in the chamber, mentally reorganizing the information Yelan had just provided, meticulously reviewing it...
---
Under the Dragon-Queller tree.
Zhongli, Lumine, and Paimon were here, having just resealed Azhdaha.
Zhongli, under the terms of a contract, refused Lumine's questions about her brother.
"Traveler, you seem to be understanding this world more and more."
"There are still many past events and many secrets on this continent... They have endured too much time, forgotten by people, or abandoned."
"If it were you, you should be able to find and hold them. The Witness, comes to witness. The Recorder, lives to record."
"On your path towards that person, there may be more difficulties, but as long as you firmly believe this path leads to 'correctness', everything will have meaning."
As Zhongli spoke, Lumine looked up at the afterglow in the sky, lost in thought.
.
.
.
_