Hutao uses me to judge my performance

"These black lumps gush out in large quantities, blocking the mines and passages. Moreover, the black mud is difficult to remove, harmful to human health, and even endangers the lives of miners, so Qixing has temporarily closed this place..."

"Harmful to people?" Mandrill stopped.

"what happened?"

"I'll take you back. I'm an immortal, and those black mud can't affect me, but you are different."

Mandrill has always been unwilling to let Jiang Bai come to the underground to accompany him and take risks, but now it just gives him a reason to send him back.

Seeing Mandrill preparing to send him away, Jiang Bai smiled mysteriously.

"That's the opposite of what you said. I won't be affected, but you are easily affected. Master has given me a lot of Lianli Qingxin Powder and is ready to give it to you at any time."

Mandrill raised his eyes and glanced at him for a long time before continuing to walk forward.

Jiang Bai followed him step by step, "I'm telling you, don't even think about getting rid of me. The task master gave me is to protect you..."

"I don't need protection."

"Don't say too much, I'm very strong now. General Inazuma Raiden, do you know? I was evenly matched with her..."

Wu Xiang was able to catch Wu Xiang's sword without being killed, so rounding off it was a tie.

It's reasonable and there's nothing wrong with it.

Mandrill looked at him expressionlessly.

In this case, Paimon was deceived.

"You don't believe it? I really tied with General Thunder. Just go to Dao Wife and ask anyone!"

Mandrill chuckled and didn't want to say more to him.

"Mandrill, don't believe it. That guy Sora defeated General Raiden and directly changed General Raiden's belief..."

Jiang Bai was like a noisy parrot, chattering endlessly.

Mandrill felt very tired.

It's like there's a fly in your ear that you can't get rid of, it keeps buzzing around you.

"You are too noisy."

"Oh, I don't want you to talk more. It's so boring down here. If you don't talk, you'll get suffocated."

"Words are not necessary for me."

"I said, Mandrill, why are words unnecessary? You are just too boring. In life, you have to have some fun, otherwise your life will be boring, right?"

"Bored, that's an emotion only humans can have."

"Yeah, then how do you usually feel when you have nothing to do? Isn't it just boring?"

Mandrill was momentarily stunned by the question.

I don't know when he had some free time, but he didn't know what to do with his free time.

Is that boring?

"Emperor...what does Mr. Zhongli usually do?"

Maybe you can refer to the emperor's method to make your idle time less boring.

Jiang Bai counted on his fingers, "Walking birds, admiring flowers, listening to books, appreciating antiques, tasting delicious food, listening to operas, fishing, playing chess, painting..."

Listening to this, Mandrill blinked blankly.

Why is this different from the emperor he imagined?

"The emperor must have some deep meaning in doing this..."

Jiang Bai corrected his concept, "It's wrong for you to think that way. The emperor has finally relieved himself of the burden of thousands of years, but can't he just relax and have a rest?"

"Walking birds, admiring flowers and drinking tea... This is the life that retired seniors should have..."

Chapter 598: Should we sneak in?

While Jiang Bai and Mandrill were exploring the underground of the Strata Rock Abyss, Kong Ye, who returned to Liyue, received a commission from the Adventurers Association.

Listening to this request, Paimon tilted his head and said, "Assign us to investigate under the giant layered rock abyss?"

Sister Lan, who is in charge of the Liyue Adventurers Association, nodded, "Yes. This commission requires two people."

"Why?" Paimon asked confused.

"Here, you two can take a moment to talk."

Under Paimon's confused gaze, Sister Lan led the two of them to a deserted corner.

Sister Lan lowered her voice and waved for them to come over.

Paimon swallowed, feeling like he was about to hear some big secret.

"To be honest, the Strata Abyss has been closed for some time, and people have been urging the entrance to the abyss to be reopened. However, due to the special situation below and the imminent crisis, the investigation activities on the surface cannot be carried out on a large scale, otherwise It will cause panic among the masses, so our Adventurers Association can only issue a commission and entrust two heroes to investigate."

"It's better to just talk about this kind of thing. Why do we have to tell it secretly?" Paimon, who thought he would hear some big secret, was disappointed.

Sister Lan was a little embarrassed, "Liyue people have always been reserved, and the person who issued the commission to us also said it tactfully, and the General Affairs Department apparently prohibits anyone from entering the bottom of the abyss.

"So, even if you want to ask for help, there are many things that are not convenient to disclose in public."

"So, let us go in quietly, right?" Pamon felt that he had understood the meaning.

"Yes and no. The entrance to the abyss is sealed. If you don't unlock the formation, you can't get in."

"Then how can we sneak in?" Paimon was confused.

Sora understood.

The Strata Rock Abyss was an important matter. The person who issued the commission wanted to solve the troubles below the abyss and reopen the abyss, but did not want to take responsibility, so he turned around and sent a commission to the Adventurers Association, asking them to use the adventurer's name Entering the abyss as a private person.

In this way, if it causes greater trouble, the responsibility lies with the Adventurers Association and the adventurers who took over the mission.

When he thought of this, Kong held his forehead helplessly.

There are so many twists and turns.

"The people above have also asked two heroes to do it. Even if nothing is found in the investigation, it will be fine. The General Affairs Department has also arranged for people to assist."

To be honest, Kong had just returned from Inazuma and wanted to see his friends. He didn't really want to accept the commission so soon and take risks. However, if the commission fee was considerable, it was not impossible to accept it now.

Seeing Kong still didn't say anything, Sister Lan increased her chips.

"Don't worry, you will definitely be satisfied with the commission fee for this investigation. If the trouble below the giant abyss can be solved, there will be a big thank you. Moreover, Qixing has agreed on a special permission for the two of you. If any measures can be taken to alleviate the giant abyss, In accordance with Yuan's safety policy, all financial and treasures found underground will belong to the discoverers!"

"Thank you very much! Treasure!" Paimon's eyes turned into the shape of Mora, and he couldn't wait to say: "No problem, we'll take it! Tell us about the specific situation of the Great Abyss!"

"Well, you go to the Strata Rock Abyss to find Zhiqiong, and she will tell you."

"Zhiqiong?"

"He is an adventurer who works in the General Affairs Department and is very familiar with the Strata Abyss."

"Okay, we'll go there."

The stratified abyss is divided into above-ground mining areas and underground mining areas.

Due to underground anomalies, only the above-ground mining areas can still be mined. However, after thousands of years of mining, the mineral resources in the above-ground mining areas are also decreasing year by year. Nowadays, it is difficult to dig precious minerals on the ground. Therefore, the entire above-ground mining area Very deserted.

Kong and Paimon came to the office of Strata Abyss and found the person in charge of the General Affairs Department.

After a conversation that could only be understood but not expressed, Kong successfully found the Zhiqiong.

This is an adventurer who is not much different from the public impression. He is wearing an adventurer's green clothes and carrying a large package. He looks ordinary.

"Ah, you are finally here!" Seeing them, Zhiqiong waved to them.

"You know us?" Pamon asked confused.

"Of course! I have heard of your various deeds, whether it was in Mondstadt, Snow Mountain or suppressing the demon god in the Jade Pavilion... you are the heroes of Liyue!"

This adventurer named Zhiqiong is very familiar with these adventure stories. It is obvious that he is an adventurer who loves adventure very much.

"No...it's not that exaggerated." Paimon felt a little embarrassed by her praise.

"Anyway, welcome to the Strata Abyss Exploration Team."

"Anyone else?"

"Of course, if we want to investigate the anomalies in the Juyuan, the strength of just a few of us will not be enough."

Zhi Qiong introduced them to their companions, namely the scholar from Xumi, the security technician from the General Affairs Department, and the bard from Mondstadt.

"How can we get under the abyss?"

"This seal is the Seven Star Formation under the Seven Stars. It relies on the Panjian in the mountain rock to provide energy and maintain stability. You only need to destroy those keyboards to open the formation."

"Is it okay to destroy these?"

Zhiqiong shook his head, "In recent years, many strange polymers have grown in the bedrock of the abyss. The properties of these polymers are similar to those under the ground. They can also absorb the energy of the surrounding rock elements and continuously weaken the seal. Even if If we don't open the seal, the seal won't last long..."

"What is [that thing] under the ground you are talking about?" Sora asked.

"According to the records, that thing is a huge blue crystal stone with a very strange power. It's hard to describe exactly. You'll know it when you see it. Our main investigation target this time is also that thing."

"Blue crystal..."

Sora immediately thought of the Cold Sky Nail in the Snow Mountain, which was also blue.

Could it be something similar to Snow Mountain’s Cold Sky Nail?

After spending a lot of effort to open the seal, and taking the lumen stone catalyst that they must carry when entering the underground, several people came to the underground mine.

The lumen stone catalyst is quite bright. In this dark underground environment, it is like a large flashlight, allowing people to see things around them clearly.

"What is that glowing thing?" Paimon pointed to a blue crystal floating not far away.

"We named this [Lumen Crystal]. They should be fragments of that thing underground and migrated here along the veins of the rock."

Zhiqiong gave his own opinion.

She felt that this blue crystal was similar to the thing underground.

Jinwu denied her conjecture, "No, according to our analysis, from the composition point of view, they are still local minerals of the stratified rock abyss, but they were affected by external forces and reconstructed into this strange crystal."

Chapter 599 Why is there the power of the abyss everywhere?

Paimon circled around the crystal and looked at the Lumen Stone Catalyst in his empty hand.

"This looks very similar to our Lumen Stone Catalyst."

"They themselves are the same thing, and the lume stone catalyst we carry is made of it. They can resonate with each other, and have a purifying power that can purify the black mud. If you encounter as many as possible on the road, Collect some.”

……

"Purified..."

Looking at the purified black mud in front of him, Jiang Bai was thoughtful.

He just brought the crystal stone closer to the black mud, wanting to take a closer look, but under the light of the lumen stone, the pitch-black black mud showed a state of slowly being purified.

Looking at the azure crystal stone that was particularly similar to the Nail of Hantian, Jiang Bai directly took out a fragment of the Nail of Hantian.

After the fragments appeared, the speed of black mud dissipation doubled instantly and disappeared without a trace after a while.

"Knew it……"

Jiang Bai tried to bring the crystal and fragments closer again to see if they could fuse.

But the result was no response.

After carefully observing the two crystals, Jiang Bai found that the fragments of Hantian Nail were bluer and purer, while the blue color of the Lumen Crystal seemed to be diluted.

It's like a new polymer formed after the power of the Cold Sky Nail is reorganized.

"Mandrill, take this." Jiang Bai handed the palm-sized piece of Hantian Nail to Mandrill.

He had previously wanted to study whether the fragments of the Cold Sky Nail could purify karma, but now was a good opportunity to experiment.

"Why?"

"It has a purifying power. Try it and see if it can suppress and alleviate your karma."

Holding the mandrill in the palm of my hand, I didn't feel any difference.