Jiang Yan shot to his feet, striding quickly to the window.
On a distant hillside, half-buried within solid stone, a Luxurious Chest glimmered faintly.
His heart began pounding wildly.
A Luxurious Chest!
His first real Luxurious Chest on the continent of Teyvat!
In that instant, he couldn't care less that he was still in the middle of taking a bath.
He hastily dried himself, threw on his clothes, and bolted out the door.
"Ah Yan, I think there are still some things we should revise—"
Ganyu had just stepped outside after hearing the commotion when she saw Jiang Yan blur past like a gust of wind.
Before she could even blink, he was already a speck in the distance.
A fading shout echoed back:
"Whatever it is, we'll talk when I get back~~!"
Ganyu froze, her long blue hair fluttering gently in the breeze.
"...What just happened?" she muttered, utterly baffled.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yan was sprinting full speed across the fields.
"Treasure!"
"Treasure!!"
"Luxurious Chest!!!"
He dashed toward the hillside, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Lord Immortal!"
A few Thousand Rock soldiers he passed tried to greet him, but before they could even finish their salute, a rush of wind swept over them—Jiang Yan was long gone.
"What's gotten into the Immortal Lord...?" one soldier muttered, scratching his head.
Jiang Yan was closing in fast. He could already see the golden runes glowing faintly on the chest's ornate surface.
But the problem was clear—the chest was sealed within a cluster of strangely shaped stones.
"Hmph." He smirked. "Just a few rocks? You think you can block me?"
He clasped his hands together.
"Wood Release — Wood Dragon Technique!"
Boom!
Smoke exploded outward as a massive Wood Dragon surged forth, carrying Jiang Yan high into the air.
The dragon roared and dove headfirst into the stone barrier—
Crack—!
Or rather, it should have cracked.
But instead of stone shattering... the dragon's head shattered.
Jiang Yan stumbled as he was thrown off, tumbling across the ground.
"Hisss—! Oww, ow, ow!"
He rubbed his sore backside, wincing. The fall didn't really hurt him—it just hurt.
He looked up—and froze.
The stone before him was smooth, flawless, without so much as a scratch.
What the hell?!
How could something be that hard?!
His Wood Dragon's head had literally exploded, and this thing didn't even chip?!
Jiang Yan stood, pacing around the strange formation, inspecting it from every angle.
He tried gently probing for a weak spot, searching for some mechanism—nothing. The chest wouldn't budge.
"Wait a second..." he muttered, squinting. "Don't tell me—this is one of those puzzle chests?"
He scoured the surrounding hillside, overturning stones, searching for totems or elemental seals—but there was nothing.
"Huh???"
His incredulous voice echoed down the slope.
No mechanism. No clue. No reaction.
He couldn't unlock it, couldn't destroy it.
"What the hell is this thing?!"
Jiang Yan's expression hardened. "Alright then... don't blame me for being rude, little chest."
He clenched his right fist. A glowing white aura of vibrating energy—pure shock force—began swirling around it.
"HAH!"
With a roar, he slammed his fist down.
A wave of tremor energy blasted outward, cracking the earth all around him—
Yet the stone remained utterly untouched.
Jiang Yan stared in disbelief.
Even the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power couldn't break it?!
"This... this can't be right."
"System! Get out here and explain!" he shouted inwardly.
"What's going on with this treasure chest's puzzle?!"
[Ding! Finally, it's my time to shine!]
[Analyzing...]
Jiang Yan waited nervously as the system hummed and clicked inside his head.
[Analysis complete.]
[This stone is a Heart Demon Stone.]
[Warning: this stone is not native to this world!]
[System integrity compromised—initiating self-repair...]
A strange pulse rippled through Jiang Yan's body.
[Ding! System bug fixed. From now on, host will no longer encounter cross-world puzzles.]
[However, this one... you'll have to solve yourself.]
[To unlock the Heart Demon Stone: place your hand upon it, and clear your mind of all distraction.]
And with that, the system fell silent.
Jiang Yan could sense something off—it had sounded weak, almost strained.
"Heart Demon Stone, huh..."
He looked solemnly at the smooth, unyielding rock encasing the chest.
"To face my own inner demon..." he murmured.
Truthfully, he was curious.
What was his heart's demon?
Still, he didn't act immediately.
He wasn't sure what he'd have to face once it was triggered.
He stood there, thinking for a long while—but no amount of reflection could tell him what form his inner demon might take.
Finally, he exhaled deeply.
"Whatever. I'll have to face it sooner or later."
He placed his palm against the stone, shutting his eyes.
A hazy gray light began to emanate from the rock.
When he opened his eyes again—
He was standing beneath a vast, endless sky filled with stars.
"Where... am I?" Jiang Yan whispered, bewildered.
He turned in place, scanning the void.
Then he glanced down—
—and his pupils contracted sharply.
Beneath him floated a radiant blue planet.
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