Genshin Impact's Sweet and Hard Free People

As time passed, all that accompanied him was battle, his own battle. He had to erase the will left by the demons in his spirit, to eliminate their hatred. The only way was to endure the karma for thousands of years. It was painful, very painful. There was no hatred that could not be resolved in a thousand years, nor was there any gratitude that could not be repaid in a thousand years. So he did not hate.

Xiao hoped that the demon dragon would dissipate on its own, which would be better for both it and himself.

But clearly, the latter was unwilling. Xiao shook his head helplessly and put on the demon mask that concealed his face.

With the support of wind elemental power and immortal power, coupled with the sharpness of the ancient artifact and the Jade Kite in his hand, he shattered the Demon Dragon's will in one blow.

However, the will of the demon god would not dissipate so easily; he could only use his own spirit to erase it. Therefore, apart from Xinhui, no one knew his pain.

"Are you alright?" Xin Hui asked worriedly as he watched the black aura that had transformed into the demonic dragon be destroyed.

Keqing and Ganyu also looked at Xiao. It was hard to believe that he had shattered the will of the demon god with a single blow.

"It's nothing," Xiao said calmly, the demon mask on his face disappearing. "Do you need me to take you to the bottom of the abyss?"

The immortals of Liyue are indeed incredibly powerful, handling everything with such nonchalance.

Gan Yu and Ke Qing were actually reluctant to let Xin Hui enter Yan Yuan as well, but the latter insisted on going, leaving them with no choice.

Xiao grabbed Xin Hui, who had no Wind Wings, and before he could say anything, jumped down from the terrifying entrance to the Abyss Cave.

Seeing this, Gan Yu and Ke Qing had no choice but to follow, while the Thousand Rock Army at the cave entrance prepared to await orders once again.

Xin Hui and the others reunited with the Thousand Rock Army who were already on the ropes. Ke Qing felt that continuing downwards might be dangerous, and since they had enough manpower now, she sent the Thousand Rock Army back to the entrance of the Rock Abyss Cave.

When they reached the bottom of the cave and tried to find the mine tunnels where the trapped workers were, they were stunned by what they saw.

Of the dozens of crisscrossing mine tunnels, nearly half were buried under rubble. Some of the larger tunnels, which were four or five zhang wide, had only a tiny gap at the very top.

Moreover, the mine cars and tracks inside the mine are estimated to have been destroyed.

"Even if the mine tunnel collapsed, it shouldn't be like this." An incredulous look flashed in Gan Yu's eyes, then she seemed to suddenly realize something, "Could it be the will of the Heavenly Abyss Demon Dragon that destroyed this place like this?"

“No.” Xiao directly denied her idea. He walked over, picked up the pebbles on the ground, and then lightly touched the wall of the mine tunnel.

"There is no trace of its power here. The Demon God's will attacked you probably because it sensed the power of the immortals and the power of the God's Eye on your bodies and recognized that you are the Emperor's subordinates."

"The changes here... there is also a mysterious force in the vicinity, but I cannot accurately determine the location of that force."

Xiao's words reminded Ke Qing, who immediately recalled her investigation into the Rock Heart Glass matter some time ago, and promptly explained it to everyone.

"At the time, in order to investigate the traces of rock core glass, I entered Mine Tunnel No. 56, but it was an undeveloped new mine, so I had to turn back..."

Xiao then stated, "According to what you said, and given that the changes here were influenced by external forces, this mysterious core glass seems to be the key to causing the mine tunnel collapse."

At the same time, Xiao unconsciously turned his gaze to Xinhui, as if waiting for him to speak.

Ke Qing and Gan Yu followed his gaze and looked at Xin Hui. Under everyone's gaze, Xin Hui slowly spoke.

“Rock Heart Glass… no, I should say, I can sense the location of that mysterious power.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Deep Within the Mine

Xinhui said he could feel that mysterious power, and then pointed to the location of that power.

Ke Qing followed his hand and looked over, then took out the map that the mine manager had given her.

Although the place had been completely buried by rubble, Keqing still managed to spot its mark on the map—Mine Tunnel No. 56.

It was the same place she entered last time.

“That power belongs to me. Once I find it, I can try to control it,” Xinhui said frankly.

Xiao and Gan Yu weren't particularly moved by these words, as they were old friends with Xin Hui and knew how unfathomable his strength was. Ke Qing, however, was somewhat stunned.

Does Xinhui mean that the Rock Core Glass is his power? I remember he said last time that the Frostfire Nail was his source of power. Does that mean he has more than one source of power?!

This is truly astonishing; I've never heard of a source of power being scattered across different regions before.

"I'll explain when we get back," Xinhui whispered in her ear, seemingly sensing her doubts.

However, the warm breath coming from her ear made Ke Qing feel a little shy, and her face turned slightly red. Fortunately, the light here was very dim, otherwise she would have really lost face and dignity as a member of Yuheng Star.

"Let's hurry in. If there are still people inside, they probably won't last much longer," Gan Yu suggested.

Mine tunnel No. 56, the largest newly developed tunnel, also collapsed. Although some gaps remain above the tunnel, it is too late to fix the problem.

The collapse is quite long, and it would probably take an ordinary person several days to clear away the hard rubble.

Fortunately, all of them could use elemental power and had bodies that were different from ordinary people, so they could quickly clear away the rubble with special colored minerals.

Meanwhile, in the cleared area, although the mine tracks above were damaged, some blue, crystalline nephrite stones that had been placed there before continued to appear on both sides, emitting a faint light.

It is estimated that the miners placed it in advance to provide some lighting.

They encountered some huge rocks along the way, which Xiao used He Pu Yuan to clear. In fact, Xin Hui thought that if Xiao kept using He Pu Yuan, the speed might be faster than the rest of them clearing the rocks at the same time.

Of course, he didn't understand the way the immortals worked. He saw Xiao and Ganyu using their immortal power to move objects, moving a large area of ​​rubble each time. The clearing speed no longer required his and Keqing's help.

About an hour later, the group had traveled nearly a hundred meters. Just as Xiao used the hard tip of Pu Yuan's spear to break the boulder again, shouts suddenly came from the depths of the buried mine tunnel.

Those were the cries for help from the miners inside.

Seeing this, Xiao and Gan Yu quickened their pace. When the more than eighty miners trapped inside came into view, Xin Hui and the others finally felt a sense of relief.

However, not everyone survives.

Three miners were buried alive when the mine tunnel collapsed and could not be rescued…

Then, the remaining miners, after the incident, took their pickaxes and cleared the rubble along the way back until they met Xinhui and his group.

"We've also dug out the bodies of those miners who died, and we're going to take them home for a proper burial," the foreman said to Ke Qing, his voice tinged with reluctance.

"Please give them a proper burial." It was clear that Ke Qing was also feeling somewhat down, but she calmly instructed, "Everyone, use the ropes to return to the entrance of the Rock Abyss Cave. At the same time, have the Thousand Rock Army, who are on standby, enter the Rock Abyss and open up mine tunnels No. 1, No. 2, and No. 5!"

"Yes!" The miners with pickaxes, though somewhat ragged, still showed great respect to their Lord Yuheng.

……

After all the miners in Mine Tunnel No. 56 had climbed onto the ropes, Xinhui's gaze was already fixed on the deeper parts of the tunnel.

Further ahead, the mine tracks disappeared, and the mine shaft supports erected by the workers were just a little further ahead.

Places without support structures are actually very dangerous. Xin Hui originally planned to send Ke Qing and the others back while he continued to explore forward.

However, Ke Qing and Gan Yu both said "I don't want to" at the same time, insisting on following him closely, saying they would only stop when they saw him unharmed and found the Rock Heart Glass.

Xin Hui felt a warmth in his heart and simply agreed to move forward together.

Further ahead, there were pitch-black cave walls, but fortunately, there were also lights from the Noctiluca Stones.

The cave walls, like mirrors, reflected the figures of Xinhui and his companions. As they walked, they lost track of how far they had gone.

The surrounding rock elemental energy is becoming increasingly concentrated, to the point that it is even approaching the concentration around the Frost Spike.

Just as Xin Hui felt that its source was within reach, the group had already reached the end of the mine tunnel.

"We've reached the end of the mine tunnel, but we still haven't found the core glass," Gan Yu said softly, looking at the distinct layers of rock ahead.

“But I can sense that the source of elemental power is behind this wall,” Xin Hui replied, stroking the rocky cave wall.

“I can also sense that mysterious power nearby,” Xiao said earnestly.

Actually, there are two possibilities in this situation. Because the mine tunnels beneath the layered rock abyss are intricate and complex, the core glass may be located in a nearby adjacent mine tunnel, or it may be behind the cave wall.

The problem is that no one knows how far they need to dig to reach the core glass. If they had enough time, they could dig as much as they wanted, but there are other people in the mines who need rescue, and Ke Qing and Gan Yu can't stay here forever.

"Step aside, I'll give it a try." After a moment of silence, Xinhui spoke first.

He raised his right hand slightly, and the snowflake mark on the back of his left hand began to shimmer. Then, a small stone pillar appeared out of thin air in Xinhui's palm.

If you look closely, you'll easily see that it's a smaller version of the Frost Nail.

At this moment, Xin Hui summoned the long nail again, and a surge of ice elemental power erupted, causing Ke Qing and the other two to almost catch their breath.

Even Xiao and Gan Yu were affected. While they were still trying to figure out what it was, Xin Hui had already begun to mobilize its power!

Xin Hui held the Frostfire Nail in his right hand, his eyes tightly closed, as if he were trying to sense something.

A moment later, he opened his eyes again, his golden pupils seemingly gleaming in the dim light. He raised his right hand, and no one knew what he was going to do.

The next moment, Xin Hui actually slammed the Frostfire Nail in his hand forward! The hard rock wall was like thin paper in front of the Frostfire Nail, unable to withstand it in the slightest!

Immediately afterwards, the mine shaft shook, dust billowed, and beneath the gray mist not far away, there seemed to be an unusual gleam...

Chapter Thirty: The Significance of the Hall of Rebirth

Once the dust had settled, Xinhui and the others peered out.

The long nail was incredibly powerful; with just a light tap, it smashed a passage several meters long through the hard cave wall.

Xin Hui walked over first, and after he collected the Frostfire Nail, he discovered that the place buried by the rubble was still emitting some strange and colorful light.

He quickly cleared away the rubble with his bare hands, revealing what was hidden deep inside.

The newly opened passage was enveloped in the light emitted by the fluid-like mineral. Its seven colors, along with its glassy luster, were enough to prove that it was the "rock core glass" that Ke Qing had mentioned.

He glanced at the three people behind him. Apart from Xiao, Keqing and Ganyu's expressions of surprise were written all over their faces, while only Xiao had his arms crossed and was calmly observing Yanxin Liuli.

Xin Hui also began to move, completely excavating the core of the crystal. It was a round ore, and not a fluid; it only appeared to be one because of its crystal-like sheen. Then, the crystal floated up and down in mid-air without any support, its iridescent colors remaining undiminished.

Feeling the surging rock elemental power it released, Xinhui felt only a sense of warmth and comfort. He knew that this was the source of his lost power, and that its power had influenced the Rock Abyss.

Xin Hui cupped it in his hands and gently lifted it. As if because of Xin Hui's touch, the crystal heart also reacted, its light shimmering.

Then, I succumbed... I succumbed...

For the boy, the journey was mostly wonderful. Perhaps he was immortal like Morax, but he couldn't travel forever.

Every journey eventually comes to an end; the only difference is whether that end is in an ideal place.

Undeniably, the boy has grown up. Whether it's his richer emotions or his more complete personality, it all shows that he has gained something from this journey.

So why did he eventually dare to rebel? You see, the boy originally just wanted to enjoy the journey, which is clear evidence of his gradual maturation.

Having something to protect, a world to stay in, even if one's body ultimately turns into a streak of light, all one feels is that one has... burned away...

……

This was the third time Xin Hui had woken up in Bubu Lu. But this time, not only was Bai Shu looking at him, but Ke Qing and Gan Yu were also anxiously standing by his side, looking at him nervously.