Paimon's unusual behavior
naturally sparked a heated discussion in the livestream.
Guinaifen still occasionally brought up the Moonlit Festival's Liyue Fried Rice.
Back then, she was the first to notice, nearly turning it into a framed legend.
So this time, she stepped up to voice her doubts.
She hadn't suspected much about the earlier segments,
merely borrowing the viewers' perspectives.
But Paimon knocking over the Fantastic Compass? That was too obvious to ignore.
"Family, I didn't notice before, but this part? It's really hard to defend."
"Anyone with eyes can see Paimon did it on purpose, right?"
"She had so many places to move, yet she just had to fly right through the middle?"
[Is it possible Paimon deliberately knocked over the Compass? Otherwise, the investigation would've hit a dead end.]
[I knew Paimon wasn't simple!]
[It's obviously intentional; this was way too abrupt.]
[Think about it—in Inazuma, she didn't even flinch when the Raiden Shogun's blade was about to strike her head.]
Guinaifen frowned, "Could it be that Paimon is some kind of Archon or something?"
"And then, after losing her powers, she sank into the water and got fished up by us?"
[Host's still hung up on the Liyue Fried Rice incident.]
[Can't let it go, huh? Glorious days!]
[Liyue Fried Rice: Is there a copyright fee for this?]
— — — — — —
Back in Teyvat,
Yanfei looked at the faintly glowing blue Fantastic Compass, now properly set back in place.
Suddenly, she recalled something she had read in an ancient book.
"Could it be…!"
She immediately pulled out the book and began flipping through it.
"I just remembered something. Please wait a moment; I'll confirm it right away."
After a short while, she finally pieced together the full context.
"Everyone, I have a new discovery."
"Here's the thing: on the way here, I was studying the will, but I didn't think much about the book it was tucked into."
With that, Yanfei began explaining a story from the book.
Though she couldn't recite it word for word, she remembered the story clearly.
It was said that a thousand years ago, an Adeptus crafted a treasure to seal away evil beasts.
Later, the Adeptus befriended a mortal and entrusted the treasure to them to use as an artifact.
Years passed, and a great demon wreaked havoc in the mountains.
The mortal and the Adeptus joined forces, using the artifact to slay the demon.
Yanfei recited a key passage:
When the power of the Adeptus and mortal combine, it can shift the stars and wield the might of heaven and earth.
The artifact bears witness, uniting Adeptus and mortal, harmonizing heaven and humanity.
"I'm a half-Adeptus, half-human. If my power can take effect…"
As she spoke, Yanfei channeled her power into the Fantastic Compass.
The Fantastic Compass began to spin, emitting a faint purple glow.
Seeing this, Yanfei was overjoyed.
"It worked! Though my power isn't strong enough, and the effect was fleeting… the approach is correct."
The group also noticed the change in the Fantastic Compass.
Something inside seemed to have been activated.
Just as Yanfei was about to probe further,
a voice from the Compass began echoing through the cave.
"The might of the Yellow Heaven, the gods of the five directions, the Yaksha and the people together, holding the balance of fate…"
Yelan immediately recognized it as her family's incantation.
"This is the voice from when the seal was made. It's Bosacius and my great-grandfather… together, they completed the uppermost seal of this space."
Hearing this, the group seemed to understand something.
Lumine was the clearest on this, as she was a firsthand witness.
Mu Yang also knew.
In truth, no one was supposed to have come to this place.
Boyang's seal was extremely robust.
He and Bosacius never intended to break the seal and return to the surface, even until their deaths.
However, when Lumine was exploring the depths of the Chasm, she encountered a Ruin Serpent.
In a critical moment, Yelan fired an arrow,
using the power of the Celestial Nail to instantly kill the Ruin Serpent.
But the Nail didn't continue its descent; instead, it clashed with another force and stopped.
The force that triggered the Nail's descent was Yelan's arrow.
She wasn't strong enough to break the seal in one shot.
So, after expending Yelan's power, the Nail flew back into the air.
At the spot where it struck, a crack appeared.
The sparkling thing Paimon saw wasn't fake either.
It was an energy fragment from the collision of the two forces.
However, Mu Yang had already taken it beforehand.
Later, Arataki Itto and Yelan's argument caused their elemental powers to erupt simultaneously above the crack,
leading to a collapse that dropped everyone into this space.
This was also why Mu Yang didn't initially stop Arataki Itto and Yelan's quarrel.
If they had used different elements or triggered it incorrectly,
they wouldn't have gotten down here, and that wouldn't have been as interesting.
Mu Yang glanced at Lumine and Yelan.
From their expressions, he could tell they had also pieced together the cause of the events.
The player's side displayed Lumine's inner monologue,
which aligned closely with Mu Yang's thoughts.
[So that's how it all connects!]
[Brilliant design!]
[Wait, so I caused this myself?]
[I'm some kind of adventurer, huh? Wrecking everything wherever I go.]
Seeing everyone silently deep in thought,
Paimon seized the moment to act.
"I don't want to stay here, waaah! I don't want to die, Lumine, I can't bear to leave you…"
Mu Yang just stared at the little one.
But Paimon seemed oblivious to his gaze.
Well, well, looks like we've got a challenger?
Yanfei stepped forward to encourage her, "Paimon, hold on just a bit longer, okay? Trust me, we still have a chance."
She suggested they return to Arataki Itto and Kuki Shinobu, as she had a new idea.
"Let's go."
Moments later,
they returned to the resting spot.
Arataki Itto, having exhausted himself greatly, was still unconscious but not in mortal danger.
Kuki Shinobu noticed the group's somber expressions.
"Judging by your faces, you've found something… and it's not exactly uplifting, is it?"
Yelan gave a summary,
laying out everything about the Fantastic Compass and the information it held.
"The last person to hold this artifact… stayed in this place forever."
At this point, aside from Mu Yang, who was well-informed, Yanfei was the most optimistic in the group.
She insisted it wasn't time to despair yet.
The story contained a crucial line:
[When the power of the Adeptus and mortal combine, it can shift the stars and wield the might of heaven and earth.]
"Only when the powers of an Adeptus and a mortal are combined can the Fantastic Compass be fully activated."
Yanfei explained that, as a half-Adeptus,
the Compass reacted to her, proving the system was still functional.
And their current team happened to include a full Adeptus and a mortal who inherited mystical arts.
In fact, there was more than one Adeptus present.
Yanfei's hypothesis was this:
If an Adeptus and Yelan poured their power into the Fantastic Compass to its fullest extent,
they could fully activate it—or even reverse it.
The last time it was activated, it was used to seal the connection between this space and the Chasm.
If they could reverse it, they might be able to unlock the seal of this space.
No one objected.
After a good rest, they began their attempt to activate the Fantastic Compass.
=====
New Story posted:
Pirate Inventory: God Valley Collective Viewing of the Future!