After hearing Ningguang's explanation, the group suddenly felt a sense of clarity, as though a veil had been lifted.
Zhongli shook his head with a wry smile.
"Driving the tiger to swallow the wolf… fishing in troubled waters… the mantis stalks the cicada…
Such simple strategies, and yet none of us thought of them. Truly inexcusable."
Ningguang only laughed softly and shook her head.
"Elder Zhongli need not reproach yourself so.
"The cultivation world is utterly unknown to us.
We have only just entered it, and our understanding is shallow.
"After all, we are people of Teyvat.
Only recently have we brushed against the path of cultivation.
Naturally, we cannot yet compare with those who were born and raised within it.
"When we see beasts, our instinct is to regard them as monsters or animals without wisdom.
Even if some possess wit, we assume it cannot match ours.
Such is an ingrained reflex—it is not easily changed in a few short days.
"But from this moment on, we must force ourselves to abandon that mindset.
"The demon beasts of the cultivation world can stand as equals with human cultivators.
They are not mindless feral beasts.
"No—demon beasts represent a civilization of their own.
You could already tell this from Master's words: each of the great beast lords commands factions and followers.
"They are stronger than us.
They are often more intelligent than us.
They have cultivated for hundreds or even thousands of years—far more experienced than we.
"If we cling to our old views, we will not survive the Nine Nether Secret Realm.
We must never treat them as mere monsters."
Her words struck home. Everyone nodded solemnly.
Though they already called themselves cultivators, seven short days were not enough to overturn years—lifetimes—of ingrained thinking.
In their hearts, demon beasts still felt like Teyvat's hilichurls and abyssal creatures.
Only through genuine battle and experience would they learn what it truly meant to be a cultivator.
"Since we have chosen our direction," Venti asked, glancing about,
"shall we depart now?"
Were it a safe place, he would have urged them onward at once.
But this was the Nine Nether Secret Realm .
He had just stepped upon the immortal path, and just entered this realm.
He dared not squander the chance, nor burden the group by rashness.
Though playful by nature, in matters of true gravity Venti was not careless.
After a moment's thought, all nodded.
Weapons in hand, they did not take to the skies on swords.
Instead, they affixed the Ten-Thousand-Li Swift Talismans Ningguang had given them, and hastened toward the Myriad Demon Mountains.
In this place of endless danger, the skies were not theirs to claim.
Everyone understood this.
Meanwhile,
After a full day's arduous travel, Baizhu at last brought Qiqi to the winding path beneath Jueyun Karst.
By their strength, the journey from Liyue Harbor need not have taken so long.
But Baizhu's body was frail, his illness unforgiving.
Even last night, his condition had flared upon the road.
Changsheng had urged him to rest.
Yet it was then that Baizhu glimpsed a mountaintop nearby—
the very peak Keqing had shorn off with her blade.
That destruction was unlike anything wrought by elemental power.
He could swear it—Changsheng confirmed as much.
It was not adeptal force.
Nor the divine might of the Geo Archon.
No—this was something else.
Proof, undeniable proof, of cultivators' existence.
His long-cherished hope, once a mere comfort, was now reality before his eyes.
He could not restrain himself.
Though wracked with pain, he pressed forward through the night.
Now, at last—
Jueyun Karst loomed above.
And here, to his astonishment, the torment of his illness felt subdued.
Each breath of air seemed to ease his body.
The longer he inhaled, the clearer and lighter he felt.
Immortal traces!
Not the so-called "adepti" of Liyue…
But true immortality!
Baizhu's heart blazed. Emotion threatened to overwhelm him.
Usually, whenever his feelings surged, the illness tore at him most cruelly.
But here…
A mysterious force flowed gently through him, pressing his sickness down.
This place—without doubt—was extraordinary.
His eyes reddened.
None knew better than he the agony of his condition—
to laugh without joy,
to weep without tears,
every emotion or exertion hastening death.
Yet here in Jueyun Karst, that torment faded.
Whatever power resided here, it might well be the answer to his life's pursuit.
"Strange…" Changsheng hissed softly, her vertical pupils glimmering with surprise.
Rising on Baizhu's shoulder, she flicked her tongue, sensing deeply.
"Simply being here clears the mind and eases the body.
I feel it as well."
Baizhu's eyes lit.
"You feel it too?"
Changsheng hesitated, then added:
"And beyond that… a strange sense of awe.
As though compelled to bow.
Qiqi, what about you?"
The little girl raised her eyes, her voice faint.
"Qiqi… feels good.
Qiqi… likes it here."
Relief washed through Baizhu. For once, he smiled sincerely.
"Then it is true. This place must hold the solution to both my affliction and Qiqi's condition. Come—we must ascend!"
Changsheng did not oppose him.
Even she sensed the commanding aura here—
an aura so lofty that even she, who had never bowed to the Geo Archon himself, felt the urge to submit.
The three pressed upward.
On the way, they witnessed many strange sights.
The beasts and birds of Jueyun Karst were stronger, more spirited.
They carried themselves with uncanny intelligence.
At one point, a great tiger barred their way.
Baizhu shielded Qiqi, bracing for battle.
But the tiger merely regarded them calmly, dipped its head politely, and departed.
Baizhu was left dumbstruck.
In all his years wandering the wilds for herbs, never had he seen such a thing.
They continued upward.
The mountainside grew ever stranger.
Where grass should wither, all was verdant.
Flowers of every season bloomed together.
The creatures showed no hostility—
even vipers slithered aside,
even young geovishaps, their bodies larger than usual, yielded the path.
It was as if all life here had… evolved.
At length, they reached a plateau midway up the mountain.
Before them stretched a sheer stairway, soaring into the clouds.
Beyond lay the summit of Jueyun Karst.
Baizhu straightened his robe, composed himself solemnly.
"Let us go."
But the instant they stepped forward—
From the rocks around them, dozens of figures leapt forth, closing the distance in a blink.
They landed silently before the path.
"Immortal land—trespassers, halt!"
The leader wore the uniform of the Millelith, a sword at his side.
Though not burly, he radiated a steadiness and pressure that brooked no defiance.
Baizhu blinked in surprise.
"Captain Fengyan?"
"Doctor Baizhu?"
Fengyan too was startled.
His stern aura eased slightly.
"Captain Fengyan, why are you stationed here at Jueyun Karst?"
Baizhu frowned.
As Millelith's chief instructor, Fengyan should have been in Liyue Harbor.
His sudden posting here was strange indeed.
And more than that… Fengyan felt vastly stronger than before.
So too the soldiers at his side.
Baizhu could even sense mortal danger in their presence.
Something was not right.
"My apologies. It is a state secret. I cannot answer," Fengyan replied firmly.
Then his gaze hardened.
"Doctor Baizhu, why have you come to Jueyun Karst?"
Baizhu did not conceal his intent.
"To seek the immortals."
"Then return at once!" Fengyan's tone sharpened.
"The adepti despise mortals who come begging.
At best, you will be scolded.
At worst…" His eyes narrowed.
"Do not bring ruin upon yourself."
Baizhu shook his head calmly.
"Captain Fengyan, you know well—I do not seek the adepti of the Three-Eyed Five Manifestations.
I come with Qiqi in earnest sincerity.
I ask you, grant us passage."
Fengyan's expression did not change.
"If not the adepti, then whom?
Why ascend Jueyun Karst otherwise?"
"You need not feign ignorance." Baizhu raised his eyes to the endless sea of clouds above.
"In Liyue Harbor, I witnessed a sword-flying immortal.
On the road here, I saw the traces of power he left behind.
"As a man of Teyvat, I know well—that was not an elemental force.
"Captain Fengyan, please. Allow me passage."
At that, Fengyan's face darkened visibly.
He stared at Baizhu in silence.
"Liyue's secrets must not be pried into without sanction," he said at last, voice low and heavy.
"For the sake of your benevolence as a physician, I warn you once more: turn back.
"This place is not yours to approach.
Even if the Geo Archon himself willed it, he would punish you for overstepping."
Baizhu's heart wavered.
It was clear—Fengyan would not allow them to pass.
Two choices remained.
Force their way through? Impossible.
Fengyan's strength, and the hidden presences Baizhu sensed, ensured failure.
At best, he would be imprisoned.
At worst, slain on the spot.
Or attempt to slip past in secret.
But this was Jueyun Karst, sheer and perilous.
And what would the immortals think of a trespasser sneaking to their door?
For a moment, Baizhu faltered.
Must his quest end here, unfulfilled?
"When the time comes, you will know what you must know," Fengyan intoned, his voice grim.
"Do not bring calamity upon yourself."
Bitterness welled in Baizhu's heart.
Would he never be permitted to meet them?
Could his frail body endure until such a time?
Immortals dream in centuries—he might not survive another year.
Despair clouded his eyes. He was about to turn away when—
The heavens stirred.
The sea of clouds above roared and surged, coalescing into a shining bridge of mist.
Fengyan and his men froze, then hastily bent low, their voices ringing out:
"Respectful greetings to Sect Master!"
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