Genshin Impact: Dionysus reigns supreme, all demons retreat!

Chapter 326 Meeting the Yaksha at a Dilapidated Temple in the Desolate Mountains

The murderous aura was almost tangible, like a chilling spearhead pressed against one's Adam's apple.

Xu Ning's hand trembled, and he quickly released the bluebird's little claw.

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun tilted his head and stared into Xu Ning's eyes, saying each word carefully, "This is the most exquisite mechanism I painstakingly crafted. If you dare to touch it again without restraint..."

Xu Ning hadn't expected that Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun would be so angry. However, when he saw that the little blue bird floating in the air also showed the same angry expression as Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun, a possibility suddenly occurred to him, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Haha, it was just out of curiosity, I'll never do that again."

Xu Ning raised his wine gourd and gulped down a large mouthful. He calmed himself down and silently weighed the gains and losses in his mind.

"Alright, it's time for me to head back. You've been out for so long, I'm afraid my silly disciple is about to come looking for you."

With a flap of his wings, the True Lord of Clouds and Wind flew straight into the mountains.

Almost as soon as she left, Shen He appeared at the temple gate, a hint of worry on his face. "She...didn't say anything strange to you, did she?"

The question seemed a bit odd, but Xu Ning understood immediately and shook his head with a smile, "No, I was just talking about some future plans for Liyue Harbor."

Shen He nodded slightly in relief, and it was only then that she noticed the little bluebird flying in the air above Xu Ning's shoulder.

"Did your master leave this for you?"

Xu Ning nodded helplessly, "True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng said this is something that allows instant communication with her, but I don't know how to use it yet."

The little bluebird that had been gliding beside them suddenly blinked slightly and said, "If you want to speak to me, just call my name. I can hear you."

Xu Ning and Shen He looked at each other, and suddenly neither of them had the desire to speak.

"What? You have nothing to say to me? Humph!"

The little bluebird snorted, as if Lord Liuyun Jiefeng had shut down the communication, its expression gradually stiffening, before it began to circle around on its own again.

"The nights in the mountains are windy and the dew is heavy; let's go back to the temple to rest!"

Shen He nodded after hearing Xu Ning's words and returned to the temple.

Why did you let that person rebuild this temple?

Shen He sat back on the futon, no longer having any intention of meditating.

The oil in that Seven Star Lamp was almost used up, and the light gradually weakened and disappeared.

As Xu Ning's face gradually disappeared into the darkness, turning into a grayish-black color like that of the stone sparrow, Shen He couldn't help but ask.

Do you know about the Yaksha clan?

Shen He asked, "Is it the race of the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons?"

Xu Ning nodded and said, "Yes, this is where the Bronze Sparrow, the immortal of the Yaksha clan, is enshrined. Do you remember the two huge stone statues at the foot of the southern part of Tianheng Mountain? Those were also built by the ancestors of Liyue in gratitude for the Yaksha's selfless protection."

"The Yaksha clan followed the Lord and fought for Liyue to the last man. Their temples should not be in such a state of disrepair, and their story should be recorded and known by more people of Liyue."

"Although Wang Ping'an is impersonating an immortal to swindle and deceive, he doesn't seem to be a bad person at heart. If he can reform himself and pass on the story and spirit of the Yaksha, it would be a meritorious deed."

Shen He nodded thoughtfully.

Xu Ning looked at her, took a sip of wine and smiled, "Actually, when you wielded the exorcism sword and slew those evil demons, it was also for the benefit of Liyue. Yun Jin and her father hoped to spread this story, and naturally they also hoped that this spirit could be remembered by people like the story of the Yaksha."

Shen He shook his head slightly and said, "You know me best. I don't deserve that kind of praise at all. In that cave, I was just struggling to survive. If you hadn't come, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to hold on. Even at the end... at the end, all I had was a little more desire to protect you. I didn't think of anyone else."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "That's just because you haven't met many people yet and don't have any ties to tie you down. Once you meet more people, you'll naturally have more to consider."

A bond?

Shen He glanced at the red rope tied to Xu Ningchen's hidden gourd. The rope seemed to have passed through the darkness from Xu Ningchen's hand and connected to his body, binding him to Xu Ningchen long ago.

After that, the two did not speak again. Shen He sat cross-legged on the futon and meditated, while Xu Ning picked up a porcelain bowl, poured a bowl of immortal wine and offered it to Tong Que. Then he leaned against the incense table, drank the wine and fell into a deep sleep.

"Does Liyue have wine this fragrant now? This smells even better than the finest spices we offered to the Emperor back then. No wonder it's so effective."

In the midst of a peaceful sleep, Xu Ning was suddenly awakened by the sound of a man's laughter.

Inside the same dilapidated temple, it was now daytime. The little bluebird beside him was gone, and Shen He was nowhere to be seen either.

"Don't panic, you're just dreaming."

Xu Ning stood up, suddenly remembering Wang Ping'an's dream of the Bronze Sparrow in the temple, and turned to the young man who had spoken earlier, asking, "Are you the Bronze Sparrow?"

"It is merely a fleeting illusion preserved through the 'Fleeting Form Retention Method.' A thousand years ago, when my physical form still existed, the Emperor bestowed upon me the immortal name Bronze Sparrow."

Looking at the unremarkable young man before him, Xu Ning exclaimed, "This immortal technique is truly wondrous. Not only can it preserve a form, but it can also be used to perform immortal techniques in this form. It is truly mysterious beyond measure. Did you create this dream as well?"

Tongque thought for a moment and replied, "It should be said that you and I created it together."

"The key to this 'Dream Travel Technique' is to use a stick of incense to enter a dream as quickly as possible. Although you didn't light incense like Wang Ping'an, the bowl of wine you offered was even more effective than the incense here."

Xu Ning suddenly realized, and then bowed to Tongque and asked, "I wonder what you have to say about bringing me here?"

Tongque laughed and said, "There's no advice to give. I just heard about how you rescued Wang Ping'an and had him build a temple for us Yakshas, ​​and I wanted to thank you in person."

Xu Ning waved his hand and said, "I dare not accept your thanks. Compared to what you lost on this land of Liyue back then, what I have done is insignificant."

Seeing Xu Ning's humility, Tong Que grew increasingly fond of this junior from Liyue. "In any case, this is ultimately a good thing for us. I would like to reward you properly, but unfortunately, I have lost my physical form, and all I have left are two slightly outdated immortal techniques. I wonder if you would like to learn them?"

Tongque meant that he would teach me both the "Method of Preserving Form in the Floating World" and the "Method of Wandering in Various Realms in Dreams"?

Is there even a question? Of course we'll agree!

After all, in Liyue, no one has ever encountered a lineage that allows one to easily learn two immortal techniques, right?

In a dream, a day passes in the blink of an eye.

Xu Ning has also basically learned all the contents of these two immortal techniques.

"Um, speaking of which, these two immortal techniques don't seem to be able to be used to dispel demons or slay evil spirits, right?"

After learning these two immortal techniques, Xu Ning felt that they weren't quite up to par.

"Huh? When I was teaching you just now, I didn't say that this could be used to slay demons and monsters, did I?" Tongque shook his head and smiled bitterly when he heard Xu Ning's words.

Xu Ning scratched his head and said, "I didn't mean to blame you, it's just that I've always heard people say that the Yaksha clan are born warriors, and their killing skills are like an innate instinct..."

"Wait, who told you that? What kind of race is born a super killer? We also have our own lives, and naturally, we don't just live a life of killing."

"It was said by the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons."

Tongque was speechless upon hearing this answer. "Oh, it's him. Then there's no problem."

"Xiao is indeed an unparalleled genius among our Yaksha clan. His sense of combat far surpasses that of his colleagues, and he has made incredible contributions in battle."

Xu Ning sat on the ground, pondering the contents of the two immortal techniques.

"You just said that this 'Preserving Form in the Floating World' method involves choosing one of the three souls within the body—Heaven, Earth, and Human—to retain a physical form. Once you have a physical form, you can control that form to do other things, right?"

Tongque nodded, "That's right!"

Xu Ning thought for a moment and then said, "In other words, in order to keep my physical form from collapsing, I need to leave at least one soul to control my body, and at most I can release two more physical forms, right?"

Tongque was already a little curious about what Xu Ning wanted to do, and nodded again, saying, "That's right."

"Doesn't this mean I've created two shadow clones? What can I do with them?"

Xu Ning stood up from the ground, recalling Tongque's teachings, and then slowly separated a part of his soul from his body, gradually forming a physical form.

Then, instead of stopping, he continued to separate a second soul from his body and condense it into a physical form.

Tongque did not stop Xu Ning. After all, it was just a dream, and Xu Ning could do whatever he wanted without harming his life. At most, he would just have a headache for two or three days and then it would be fine.

However, he was quite curious to see what Xu Ning intended to do with these physical forms.

The form that Xu Ning created was like a black shadow. After Xu Ning finished casting the spell, the shadow immediately seemed to come alive and slightly moved its wrist.

Once both shapes were separated, the second shadow also began to move.

Xu Ning felt as if the world in front of him had been replaced by a separate monitor with three screens.

He manipulated the other two to walk back and forth a few steps, and then tried to get them to each perform a set of drunken boxing.

Xu Ning could tell that this shadow was not very durable, and he could easily defeat it without using any weapons.

But what if weapons are used?

Xu Ning recalled the time he accidentally activated the small purification ritual in front of Inazuma's sacred cherry tree, and how he escaped with the three little ones.

He took out his Peak-Slaying Blade from the Dust-Hidden Gourd and handed it to the first shadow.

Then he took out the greatsword "Snow Burial Star Silver" that he had brought from the Great Snow Mountain and handed it to another shadow.

This beautiful greatsword was originally intended as a gift for Beidou, but Beidou disliked it for being too flashy and impractical, finding it less convenient than his own Black Rock Slashing Blade. In the end, it was returned to the Hidden Dust Cave to gather dust.

Now it has come in handy.

Xu Ning calmed his mind and first had Shadow wield the Peak-Slaying Blade to unleash "Golden Imperial Supreme," casting a rock shield on the three of them to increase their chances of survival.

Then, he manipulated two shadows to attack an imaginary enemy, while he provided support from the center, wielding the Dust Concealment Gourd to imbue himself and the two shadows with different elemental attributes, such as wind, wine, rock, or lightning.

It can also occasionally transport "sweet rain" or create sparks, thus forming new water-fire reactions.

Aside from grass and ice, he can basically use all eight elements.

They can conjure up all sorts of mutually reinforcing and restraining reactions with ease. Regardless of their actual effectiveness in combat, they certainly look flashy and quite astonishing.

Tongque stood to the side, completely stunned.

Putting aside how Xu Ning could possibly have so much elemental power to control, the fact that he could switch this immortal technique into combat mode is simply outrageous.

Or is it that the Yaksha clan is truly a born fighting race, but I've just been using the wrong methods all along?

Tongque shook his head, dismissing the thought, and then said seriously to Xu Ning, "Before you have developed proficient combat skills, never use this method in reality outside of the Dream Wandering Realms Technique. After all, whatever happens in a dream will only make you feel mentally and physically exhausted, but if your mental and physical soul is injured by elemental forces in reality, it will take more than a day or two to recover."

Xu Ning naturally accepted Tong Que's advice with humility.

"Alright, it's already dawn, you should go out now."

Tongque looked at Xu Ning and smiled, "To see that Liyue still has people like you protecting it today makes me feel that everything I did back then was worthwhile."

"If you have the chance to see Xiao, you can invite him over to catch up with an old friend. Of course, it would be best if he could bring a few skewers of grilled dragonfish. Even if you can't eat them, it's still nice to smell and look at them."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "I will definitely pass on the message. As for the grilled fish, I will have Wang Ping'an bring some over for you tomorrow. I guarantee it will be the best grilled dragon fish from Kuai Dao Chen."

When Xu Ning opened his eyes from his dream, he indeed saw that it was already dawn.

Before I knew it, a night had passed. Although I had practiced for so long in my dream, I had actually rested very well.

Xu Ning stretched and smiled at Shen He, who had returned from washing up by the river, saying, "I suppose the Thousand Wonder Core at Lao Zhang's place is finished. Although he will naturally send it to Qunyu Pavilion once it's finished, it's still better to bring it ourselves, as it would give us a greater sense of participation and ceremony. What do you think?"

Shen He admitted that Xu Ning's words always made a lot of sense, "Then we'll go get them and deliver them ourselves."

Old Zhang had been busy for a whole day and night, finishing the core of the Thousand Wonders. He was catching up on sleep in his room when Xu Ning knocked for a long time before he woke up and opened the door.

Knowing that Xu Ning would personally deliver it, Old Zhang was overjoyed. "Perfect timing, I can finally get some sleep. Be sure to let me know when the launch ceremony is in a few days. I could watch that kind of grand spectacle a few times and never get tired of it."

Xu Ning chuckled to himself, "It's better to have fewer big events like this! Who can handle having the entire Qunyu Pavilion every time?"