Chapter 96

The sky had grown late, and a new moon had replaced the sun.

The cold moonlight spilled over the seven peaks of Shushan and over the sea of clouds.

Everything was silent, and living beings began to close their eyes and breathe in spiritual energy by instinct.

At night, the spiritual energy of all Shushan became even more active.

Lady Ningguang, who had been cultivating since the afternoon, finally opened her eyes and temporarily ended her practice.

Feeling the state of her body, a flash of joy could not help but appear on Lady Ningguang's face.

The amount of true essence hadn't accumulated much, but it was certainly more refined.

Moreover, after possessing the Heavenly Master Talismans, her overall strength felt much more solid.

Compared to the slightly superficial cultivator she had been in the afternoon after just switching to the Zhou Tian circulation, she was much stronger.

In addition, throughout the afternoon, besides practicing her cultivation method, Lady Ningguang had also devoted her mind to constantly perfecting the drawing of the Five Thunder Talismans.

At present, she could already draw the Five Thunder Talismans through the Heavenly Master Talismans.

An extremely powerful offensive technique.

Through her own contemplation, Lady Ningguang also discovered that things like the Five Thunder Talismans were not about channeling elemental energy for attacks.

Rather, it was about using true essence to build a bridge and construct a channel between heaven and earth.

The thunder summoned was true heavenly might.

This was much stronger than the thunder released by manipulating elemental energy.

In short, the harvest was bountiful; the trip was worth it.

Summoning her flying sword, Lady Ningguang stepped out of her room and took a look.

The location of the cave dwelling she chose was not far from Miss Shenhe, as there were only two people on Xiao Zhu Peak.

If they were any further apart, Lady Ningguang figured she would feel very lonely.

After all, she had just started cultivating and couldn't yet shift her mindset.

Ultimately, she didn't really like being alone.

In Miss Shenhe's room, the fluctuations of true essence were still very regular, though not as frightening as they had been in the afternoon when she first started contemplating the Seven Killings of Gods and Ghosts.

That moment had truly felt like the sky was collapsing.

Miss Shenhe was the one truly suited for cultivation.

Although her spiritual root grade wasn't high, she possessed the Pure Yin Body.

This physique, passed down through the generations of Xiao Zhu Peak's First Seat, meant that upon entry one was a true disciple, and in the future, nine times out of ten, she would inherit Xiao Zhu Peak and become the First Seat.

Thinking of this, Lady Ningguang felt a bit envious.

But she also knew that envy in the world was always a "besieged city"; she envied Miss Shenhe's Pure Yin Body and her becoming a true disciple of the First Seat.

And wouldn't those Millelith soldiers envy her for possessing such talent and being able to cultivate?

During yesterday's spiritual root testing, first there were Lady Ningguang and Miss Keqing as prime examples, and later a pile of spiritual roots that were at least top-grade among the immortals.

Everyone had originally thought that Teyvat truly produced geniuses, and that grabbing someone off the street would result in explosive talent.

But the result was that the best among the remaining Liyue Qixing were dual-attribute fire-earth spiritual roots, and the highest earth-attribute spiritual root was only mid-grade.

With this aptitude, one could say they could cultivate, and indeed they could, but what their future achievements would be was uncertain.

The Millelith soldiers further down were even more miserable.

Three spiritual roots, four spiritual roots...

With spiritual roots no higher than mid-grade.

There were even quite a few "five-root waste bodies" that Jiang Yan had mentioned.

Lady Ningguang and the others then realized that it wasn't that Teyvat produced geniuses.

It was just that the people Jiang Yan happened to meet were all geniuses.

But even so, it was still a very impressive set of data.

She took another look at Miss Shenhe, who was completely unaware of everything outside, wholeheartedly circulating her Zhou Tian energy in bitter practice.

It seemed that this mindset was what a true cultivator should possess.

Miss Shenhe's future would likely be very strong.

Looking up at the moonlight, Lady Ningguang calculated in her heart that it was already close to ten o'clock.

Thinking that the other Liyue Qixing were still waiting for her answer in Liyue Harbor, they were probably getting anxious.

Lady Ningguang didn't intend to stay any longer.

She would return as soon as possible to finish her work, and then when she rested at night, she could come back to cultivate for a while.

In the future, with a disciple token, she wouldn't necessarily have to come to Jueyun Karst to enter the gate.

Thinking of this, it was quite convenient.

Pointing her fingers, the flying sword instantly darted under her feet, lifting Lady Ningguang and flying toward Tongtian Peak.

She still had to call Miss Keqing to go back with her; at the very least, a Liyue Qixing meeting had to be held.

She just didn't know if Miss Ganyu was willing to go back, or if she wanted to continue her vacation.

Controlling the flying sword didn't require her to be mindful; within the Shushan Cave Heaven, this thing was like a fully autonomous car—give it a destination and it would fly there itself.

But ultimately, controlling it manually was still inconvenient.

In the end, one had to have their own sword-controlling technique.

Moreover, leaving the Shushan Cave Heaven, controlling the flying sword would require true essence.

If one didn't learn the sword-controlling technique, how could one be a disciple of the Shushan Sword Sect?

As she was calculating this in her heart, suddenly, Lady Ningguang sensed an extremely sacred and supreme aura, overwhelming and nearly pressing her off the flying sword.

Lady Ningguang was wondering what had happened when she looked up.

Under the moonlight, a silver-white figure was particularly conspicuous.

A set of magnificent silver-white armor, paired with a white cape fluttering in the gale.

Gazing at the moon, his long hair was tied up with an exquisite crown.

He held a three-pointed, double-edged glaive.

That surging, pure fighting spirit seemed as if it were declaring war on heaven and earth.

Seeming to sense Lady Ningguang's gaze, the person suspended under the moon glanced over.

The look of overbearing indifference in his eyes gave Lady Ningguang a start.

Especially...

"Three eyes? This is..."

After observing for a long while, Lady Ningguang finally reacted, saying incredulously:

"Emperor... First Seat?"

Seeing Zhongli's figure instantly vanished, and when he reappeared, he had returned to his original attire.

Lady Ningguang looked at Seeing Zhongli in confusion; just a moment ago, it felt as if the person she was looking at wasn't him.

But another, extremely arrogant God of War.

Lady Ningguang was certain that none of Seeing Zhongli's combat stances were as overbearing as the one just now.

The classics in the books had never recorded this as some kind of avatar of Seeing Zhongli.

It seemed...

There was only one possibility.

It was the spell Seeing Zhongli had chosen today!

But...

What kind of spell could give Seeing Zhongli such a wild combat stance?

"Are you returning to Liyue Harbor?"

Seeing Zhongli asked softly while stepping on his Vortex Vanquisher.

Lady Ningguang hurriedly collected her thoughts and bowed, saying:

"Yes, the other Liyue Qixing are still waiting for my reply, and I also need to go back to handle other affairs in Liyue."

Seeing Zhongli nodded slightly and said:

"Then let's go together. I also need to go back; otherwise, that child Hu Tao will be searching the world for me again."

Lady Ningguang teased inwardly.

Hu Tao was probably searching the world to promote Wangsheng Funeral Parlor business, and while she was at it, find Zhongli to accuse him of bringing back another pile of bills.

Following Zhongli, they flew together toward Tongtian Peak.