I'm in the Teyvat running group

Of course, the question is how much of a price to pay.

Yunxiu easily dispersed the filth, and the old man's complexion visibly became rosy. Soon his breathing stabilized. The Prayer Spell itself also had a powerful restorative ability. In just a few minutes, the old man was even able to get out of bed and walk.

"Am I all better? I'm so hungry... Is there anything to eat?" The old man jumped off the bed excitedly, then looked at Yunxiu and said, "Yunxiu, thank you so much! I'll definitely praise you when I see Tian Shu! It's really amazing that you've learned immortal arts from the Emperor. You're much better than that brat Xingqiu!"

He then dragged Yunxiu to eat with him, leaving Yunxiu quite helpless, because he had indeed just eaten at Liuli Pavilion...

However, unable to refuse such hospitality, Yunxiu reluctantly ate a little before asking, "Grandpa, do you know what's going on with you?"

"I don't know either, because no matter what we do, it can't be cured. So this afternoon I even sent someone to Chenyu Valley to ask Lao Lan about the situation." The old man stroked his beard and said with a puzzled look, "But he hasn't come back yet, and Lao Lan hasn't sent any messages to my Spirit Realm account either. It's really strange."

Just then, a young man stepped in from outside the door. He looked quite similar to Xingqiu, with a handsome face, and could be described as very dashing, on par with Yunxiu.

He looked at the people at the table and asked in surprise, "Grandpa...you're all better now? You're eating with Master Yunxiu and the others?"

Master Yunxiu, what a strange title...

Yunxiu said with a dark expression, but since his relationship with the Emperor became public, quite a few people have called him that.

After all, Inazuma had a manga of Yunxiu Zhenren's Demon-Slaying Chronicles, but Xingqiu's older brother calling him that was unexpected. He used to follow this guy around when he was a kid, and he even treated him to meals...

"I'm fine now, what did you say, Old Lan?" The old man smiled and said, "It was Master Yunxiu who cured me, our Feiyun Chamber of Commerce should be grateful!"

Why are you calling me that now, old man...?

“Since it’s Master Yunxiu, then there should be no further problems. However, Old Master Lan said that this matter might not be so simple.” Xingqiu’s brother said, “He told me that this matter is likely related to the Hall of Rebirth and ancient secrets, but he was unwilling to say anything more about it.”

Yunxiu nodded after hearing this. If it was indeed related to these things, then it would be best not to let mortals know.

In the original storyline, it was after Hu Tao learned of these events that she went to the realm of life and death, using the Eight Gates and Seven Gates formation to purify all the filth and completely eliminate the deathly aura of Liyue.

Although the purification process was made relatively easier in the end because of Ying, it doesn't mean that the process wasn't dangerous.

It's just that the Emperor and Ying both intervened, bringing the danger to a manageable level...

However, I should be able to handle this myself. Although my purification ability is not as strong as Ying's, I still have many related spells. If I can use this to research a purification method, then I can completely conduct the Eight Wonders Peach Refining again and possibly re-refine the entire Life and Death Realm...

“Tomorrow, Hu Tao and I will visit the old master to get to the bottom of this.” Yun Xiu looked at Hu Tao and smiled, “This matter is indeed not that simple. I will personally handle it later.”

"Since you're handling it, then there's no problem." The old man had complete confidence in Yunxiu, seemingly more so than in himself...

After dinner, Yunxiu left Xingqiu's house with Hutao and Xiangling. The three of them didn't separate but went to the Rebirth Hall together. It wasn't because they needed to prepare for their departure the next day, but simply because Xiangling wanted to stay with Hutao for the night...

This gave Yunxiu quite a headache. However, late at night, a figure quietly sneaked into Yunxiu's room to fight her.

Yunxiu was furious at this untimely challenge. Now that the equipment was back in his possession, he naturally punished the Grammer cavalryman severely.

So much so that when Yunxiu woke up in the morning, she had to use several spells to fully wake herself up and feel much more energetic; otherwise, no amount of spells would have been enough...

After Xiangling got up, she went back to work at Wanmintang. Liuying didn't avoid Xiangling and the two of them went back together openly. They were even whispering to each other, which gave Yunxiu a headache.

"What's wrong? Are you upset that Xiangling was taken from you?" Hu Tao looked at Yunxiu and said with a grin, "Let's go, we should go to Chenyu Valley to visit Old Master Lan. How should we get there?"

“I’ll fly you there; it’ll be faster that way.” Yunxiu glanced at the direction of Chenyu Valley and estimated the distance. “It’s over ten thousand li from here to Chenyu Valley. Other methods are too slow, and it would be too troublesome for us to go to Yujingtai and use the teleportation array now.”

"Wow, how fast can you fly? It'll take us at most half an hour to walk to Yujing Terrace. Add the time for teleportation and getting out, it'll be at most an hour. We can still make it to lunch at the Lan family!" Hu Tao swayed her waist and laughed, "Could it be that you're faster than that?"

"Of course, I was even faster than this before I broke through to the Immortal level." Yunxiu smiled, picked up Hu Tao in a princess carry, put a shield on her, and then soared into the sky. In just a few dozen seconds, she produced a sharp explosion, directly surpassing the speed of sound!

The terrifying speed brought a huge overload in an instant, making the shield that Yunxiu had put on her creak and groan. However, Yunxiu's shield provided all-around protection, so Hu Tao herself naturally didn't feel it.

Instead of feeling uncomfortable at first, she quickly became happy and excited in Yunxiu's arms, shouting, "Tianheng Mountain, Tianqiu Valley, that's... the Feiyun Merchant Guild's warehouse! Yunxiu, you fly so fast!"

Chapter 254 The Eight Wonders Reappear in Peach Capital and are Reforged Again! (Third update on Saturday!)

Carrying Walnut at breakneck speed, they covered the more than 10,000 li (approximately 5,000 kilometers) in less than 40 minutes.

Hu Tao showed absolutely no surprise towards the end. Instead, she put her arm around Yunxiu's neck and began to boldly comment on the various roads and locations in Liyue. Especially after entering Shenyu Valley, she talked about the terrain, the origins of the ancient buildings, and many related legends in great detail.

As the owner of the Hall of Rebirth, these things could be considered compulsory courses for her.

Because she has to learn these things since she was a child, Hu Tao's level of knowledge is considered very high among the young people of Liyue.

Although she never attended the Imperial Academy, in terms of pure ability, Hu Tao's skills surpassed those of most students at the Imperial Academy, and were even comparable to some professors.

She landed gently in front of the Lan family mansion, where Lan Yan was already waiting. Hu Tao had sent her a message while she was still in the air. As she looked at the two of them approaching, she said with a serious expression, "Master Yunxiu, Miss Hu Tao, the old master is waiting for you. Please come with me."

"It's rare to see you so serious, Lan Yan. Is this matter really that important?" Hu Tao asked curiously. "Even the Lan Clan of Chenyu Valley rarely experiences such tension."

“Yes… Actually, the old master didn’t expect this outcome when he first deduced it.” Lan Yan thought for a moment before adding, “Fortunately, Master Yunxiu came, so this incident should have a better outcome.”

“I didn’t expect things to turn out this way either…” Yunxiu smiled, “However, I believe in the Lan Clan’s deductions. The immortal heritage of your ancestors is indeed very powerful.”

Lan Yan nodded and led the two of them to the old master's room.

Grandpa Lan, on the other hand, had an air of otherworldly grace, with white hair and a youthful face. Although he sounded like an old man, he was clearly a cultivator who had reached a very high level of cultivation, capable of reversing aging. In this case, he only needed to take one more step and break through to the legendary level to truly be called a 'True Lord'.

At that time, both lifespan and strength will be greatly improved.

However, this step is not easy. Yunxiu could tell at a glance that there were only three colored stars in his destiny seat. It is already very difficult for someone of this level to advance to the current level of nine rings. To reach the legendary level, it really depends on luck.

You never know when you might encounter some great opportunity and rise to the top in one step, but if you don't, you might get stuck here.

He looked at Yunxiu as she approached and said, "Real Person Yunxiu... thank you for visiting my humble abode. If possible, could you please report this matter to the Emperor and let the immortals handle it?"

“If it is indeed quite difficult, I will certainly ask the Emperor to handle it. I am not a reckless person.” Yunxiu nodded. “Please tell me what exactly this matter is. Is it related to the ‘Eight Wonders’ of your Lan clan ancestors? Or is there something more terrifying?”

"You guessed right, it is indeed related to the Eight Wonders. If I'm not mistaken, this incident should be related to the Peach Capital Demon God. However, I vaguely sensed something even more terrifying..." Old Master Lan thought for a moment before speaking, "A few days ago, I sensed some deviations in this world itself, and subsequently, these deviations triggered a rift between the two realms..."

"You mean, there's something wrong with the world itself, and the boundary between life and death has been opened?"

"Yes... I don't know when it happened, but it definitely did..."

Could it be because of the shattered throne, or is it a problem with the Water God? Yunxiu pondered for a moment but couldn't come up with an answer. However, if it really was related to the Water God, she would have to go to Fontaine to ask.

However, he himself believed that the most likely explanation was related to the shattering of the throne.

In fact, in the original Genshin Impact storyline, after the throne of the Water God was shattered, starting from the last Night Watchers War in Nata, all sorts of calamities began to surge forward. From the new Eight Wonders of Liyue, to the Calamity of Inazuma, to the appearance of a new Abyss Rift in Liyue, these all happened almost simultaneously.

The most likely reason is that the Heart of God and the Throne of God are indeed one of the stabilizers of this world.

Once these problems arise, it's no wonder the world becomes unstable. Moreover, not just one, but three divine thrones have been shattered; the Perfect Dragon alone now has three heads. My actions have indeed accelerated the plot's progression, and of course, they've also hastened the occurrence of certain events.

Just like the message Ying sent a couple of days ago, she has already made contact with the Nordkales and is now hunting down "evil monks" with them throughout Nordkales.

Yunxiu's earlier guess that the demonic monk was active in Fontaine was correct; the demonic monk did indeed have that ability. However, it was ultimately proven that it wasn't the demonic monk. The main reason was that the demonic monk seemed to be restricted to Nordkalai for some reason and could not appear in other places, as if he were imprisoned.

This news was also relayed back by Ying.

From other news, such as her winning a drinking contest at the flagship and having fun with the Moon Maiden Columbia at the Frostmoon Children's tribe, it's clear that Ying is truly living a life of ease and enjoyment in Nordkalai.

"Is there any other information? If this is very serious, I still hope to get close to him completely in one go." Yunxiu thought for a moment and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, I should be able to find the current Water God to inquire, and perhaps even obtain some other powers..."

“If that’s the case, I think you’d better contact the Seven Stars themselves. According to what my ancestors passed down, there was a strange formation in ancient times called the Eight Gates Seven Gates Formation…” The old man took out an ancient book and said to Yunxiu, “This formation should have the ability to purify filth. Although the formation has been lost, the Seven Stars should still have it.”

I don't think it's available at Qixing either, but I know where it is.

Yunxiu sighed, cupped her hands in greeting to the old man, and said, "Then I'll go and take care of these matters now. Thank you for your help."

“No trouble at all… but there is one more thing I would like to ask for your help with…” The old man said somewhat embarrassedly, “I have reached the limit of my current cultivation, but I have no idea how to break through. Could you please give me some guidance? If there is anything you need help with, please feel free to ask.”

I don't even know how to give you pointers, since our magical systems are completely different...

After thinking for a moment, Yunxiu said, "Grandpa, you can go to Jueyun Realm. I will discuss with True Lord Xiaoyue Zhuyang and he will guide your actions. As for the reward, there is no need. True Lord should not ask for too much."

"In that case... thank you very much..." The old man cupped his hands in thanks, then personally led Yunxiu and Hutao to the door and politely saw them out.

“Now, let’s go to Jueyun Pass, and then I’ll take you to Fengdan.” Yunxiu thought for a moment and quickly decided on a plan: “If there are no unexpected events, we can be back tonight. Even if the calamity breaks out, it should still take some time. We have enough time.”

"Shall we fly there after all?! Yay!" Hu Tao bounced around and clung to Yunxiu's back like an octopus: "Let's go! Let's go!"

“You don’t seem to be saddened by the calamity at all…” Yunxiu wasn’t surprised. This was indeed Hu Tao’s personality. After putting a shield on Hu Tao, he flew back to Jueyun.

“Surprised and sad, what good will it do? Besides, we're here to figure things out together, aren't we?” Hu Tao said happily. “Even if someone has to sacrifice themselves in the end, can't I just sacrifice myself? The Hall of Rebirth has been doing this for a thousand years. My grandfather, father, and great-grandfather all did it. It doesn't matter…”

"Is that so..." Yunxiu was surprised that Hu Tao was so open-minded.

But he soon realized that Hu Tao himself witnessed all kinds of life and death every day. For him, life and death had become a normal occurrence, or even the normal state.

Of course, farewells can be good or bad, whether it's a happy occasion or something else. Just like the old master of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce, who built such a family business in his life, had many children and grandchildren, and lived to be over eighty years old, even his death could be considered a happy one, and everyone was even smiling during the banquet.

While death is indeed a separation, not all deaths should be sorrowful. What truly matters is a magnanimous mindset.

Perhaps, Hu Tao might be the second member of Liyue's younger generation to break through to Legendary status, after me...

Yunxiu silently thought to herself that often, as long as one has a strong mind, then the growth of strength is only a matter of time.

It's no wonder that Zhongli became a guest elder at the Hall of Rebirth in Hu Tao's generation. Besides finding something to do, the most important reason was probably Hu Tao's abilities.

Yunxiu returned even faster than she had come, and soon landed near Qingyun Peak, where she found the True Lord of the Moon-Cleaving Yang. Today, unusually, he did not appear in his deer form, but was playing chess with a man in human form. According to the man opposite her, his current incarnation seemed to be named "Hou Zhang".

"Brother Hou Zhang, how have you been lately? May I have a moment to speak with you?" Yun Xiu stepped forward with a smile, looking at True Monarch Xiaoyue Zhuyang and said, "Sir, I do have urgent business to attend to and apologize to you both."

"Ah...it's alright, Brother Hou Zhang, please go ahead with your business. I'll wait for you." The man chuckled and continued studying the game. Judging from the current situation, the two were locked in an extremely tense battle, prompting Yunxiu to sigh in admiration at the man's formidable chess skills, even capable of going toe-to-toe with an immortal...

Just as Yunxiu was about to speak after being led aside by Xiaoyue Zhuyang, he interrupted her and handed her a golden plate...

"This is?"

"This is the Eight Gates and Seven Gates Grand Formation. The Emperor said you would need it," said Xiaoyue Zhuyang. "He foresaw that you would come to find me today, so he gave this to me in advance..."

This development left Yunxiu somewhat dumbfounded.

My father is truly an extraordinary person!

Chapter 255 Daughter of Water (First update on Sunday!)

"What's wrong? Is there anything else?" Seeing Yunxiu putting everything away, True Monarch Xiaoyue Zhuyang asked curiously, "The Emperor only asked me to give you this formation, without explaining anything else."

“No, that’s not it… I do have another request.” Yunxiu simplified the story and quickly told True Lord Xiaoyue Zhuyang about Old Master Lan before saying, “I wonder if True Lord could offer some guidance? Having another member of the Familia level in Liyue is ultimately not a bad thing for us.”

“But if it’s about divination and sorcery, I’m not really an expert, but I’m more familiar with Gan Lin…” Seeing Yun Xiu’s confused look, Xiao Yue Zhu Yang added, “That is, Gan Yu’s mother. I will explain it to you. Just have him wait at the foot of Mount Aozang in three days.”

"Then thank you very much, True Lord."

"It's a small matter, so please take care of it as soon as possible. I need to continue playing chess. You can contact me anytime if you need anything."

Yunxiu watched as the True Lord of the Moon-Cut Yang sat down on the stool again and began to ponder deeply. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Could it be that he had misunderstood, and that these two were actually playing against each other, with no real skill?

But if he's a terrible player, it's quite impressive that the Moon-Cutter True Monarch has managed to play against this guy until now without turning red...

"This is the Eight Gates and Seven Gates Formation? How do you use it?" Hu Tao took the golden disc and examined it carefully. After opening it, she found very detailed instructions on how to use it and where to deploy it. She stared at the formation recorded on it for a while before exclaiming, "I really don't know who created this formation. It's really amazing."

“It’s highly likely that it was created by one of the Eight Wonders, or even the Demon God of Peach Capital.” Yunxiu smiled. “But let’s have the Seven Stars deal with the formation first. We’ll go to Fontaine to find the Water God and ask if the calamity itself is directly related to the Water God’s death.”