He changed Tiwat

He had had a similar experience before—two months ago, when he asked Xiao to help clear the rain clouds over the Biyue River.

At that time, Xiao unleashed the "Four Kalpas of Formation, Abiding, Destruction, and Emptiness," which increased the burden of "karmic obstacles." As the one sharing the burden of the contract, he was also in great pain, and even almost destroyed the dam beneath his feet due to the evil thoughts in his mind...

Later, Xiao used the Yaksha's supernatural power "Extinction of All Suffering" to temporarily relieve his pain, and Shenhe protected his spirit with the "Binding Spirit True Dharma Seal," thus keeping him safe... Unfortunately, he now has neither Xiao nor Shenhe by his side.

"So... that Demon-Slaying Great Sage might also be in this space?" Ye Lan asked.

The sudden onset of this "karmic obstacle" does indeed resemble a demon fighting a fierce battle with some enemy, causing a sudden increase in his burden.

Han Fulai shook his head weakly, rubbing his temples.

He felt as if his veins contained not blood, but flowing steel needles, throbbing and ready to burst through his skin at any moment...

"I don't know, I can't get in touch with them..."

To be honest, it's already quite remarkable that he can still remain conscious.

For Han Fulai, all of this happened in the instant he fell.

When he was grabbed by that suction force, his head went "buzz" and he lost consciousness—or rather, Yingmei throwing him against the wall actually woke him up with pain...

He dared not use his immortal power or close his eyes to regulate his breathing, for fear of suddenly losing consciousness again.

When he is conscious, he can suppress the voice in his head with all his might, but if he loses consciousness, he doesn't know what he will do.

But if this continues, it will eventually break down.

"...We need to find a way out as soon as possible. Yelan, didn't you say you found a passage? There's a good chance the way out is there."

"We fell here because of the 'Wishing Stone.' This area might be where the 'Taiwei Instrument Plate' is. If my previous deduction is correct, the Taiwei Instrument Plate was a tool used by the Thousand Rock Army soldiers to block the passage. It could very well be the key to finding our way out..."

"I'm afraid I can't help everyone much now, so..." Han Fulai looked at Ye Lan and solemnly entrusted her, "I'm leaving everything to you."

Chapter 27: The Mysterious Land under the Rock (6)

Three months ago, during the trip to the Layered Rock Abyss, Ye Lan and Han Fulai had a fierce competition, and overall they were evenly matched with each other.

Seeing Han Fulai show weakness to her this time left Ye Lan with mixed feelings.

She gave a soft hum: "You don't need to tell me, that's what I was planning all along."

After saying that, she took off the jade bracelet from her wrist.

Then he put the jade bracelet directly on Han Fulai's wrist.

"This is...?" Han Fulai looked at the jade bracelet that was gleaming with a faint light, his face showing a question.

"It's called 'Youqi Wristband,' a magical artifact containing some useful magic arrays. While it can't completely eradicate 'karmic obstacles,' it should temporarily help you suppress them to some extent..."

Ye Lan gave a brief explanation, without mentioning at all that it was a family heirloom passed down through generations.

Han Fulai was taken aback for a moment.

Although Ye Lan didn't mention it, Han Fulai could still tell that the jade bracelet was valuable—just like the "white silk flying robe" that Ye Lan always carried with her, it was definitely something with a great history.

More importantly, Ye Lan actually cared about him... This shocked him more than anything else.

At this moment, Ye Lan made hand seals and stepped on the Big Dipper, her appearance somewhat similar to Shen He's when he used the "Goddess's Spirit Summoning True Technique".

"The heart unites with the spirit, the spirit unites with the vital energy. The vital energy unites with the true essence, the yin unites with the yang. The yang shines like the sun, the yin shines like the moon. The three heavens illuminate the universe, orchestrating creation. The Emperor and the True Spirit unite, penetrating the deepest darkness. Like the rising sun, it revolves without end."

As she chanted the incantation, a blue thread shot from her fingertip, connecting with the "Mysterious Wristband".

Suddenly, the "Mysterious Wristband" shone brightly and began to spin rapidly on Han Fulai's wrist.

Han Fulai looked at Ye Lan in surprise—although he had seen many immortals, it was rare to see someone chanting incantations and performing rituals so seriously, especially the solemnity with which Ye Lan chanted the incantations…how to put it, he felt that Ye Lan could probably compete with Chong Yun for a job if she changed into a Taoist robe.

Ye Lan noticed Han Fulai was in a daze, so she lifted her foot and stomped on him—Han Fulai's toes suffered the torment of the high heels.

"This is the 'Harmony Mantra,' which can bind souls and control spirits, enabling them to pay homage to the Emperor. — What are you standing there for? Repeat after me!"

"Oh……"

Han Fulai roughly understood that this should be something similar to Shen He's "Binding Spirit and Connecting to Truth Seal".

"When the Heavenly Emperor is in harmony, the sun and moon shine brightly."

"May the Heavenly Emperor be united, and may the sun and moon shine brightly..."

"Capture spirits and subdue ghosts, and let true qi flow."

"Capturing spirits and gathering ghosts, true qi flows..."

"The Heavenly Emperor protects me, I am undisturbed. The Three Platforms shine upon me, my soul finds peace..."

"..."

As the incantation was chanted, the light from the "Youqi Bracelet" grew brighter and brighter, and the aquamarine incantation characters rolled on the jade bracelet like living things, forming the five characters "Heming Tiandi Ri".

Han Fulai felt a cool sensation coming from his wrist, flowing through his body along his meridians, instantly calming the restless blood in his body, much like the refreshing feeling of eating an ice pop on a hot summer day.

Yelan's incantation reached its final line—

"...With divine assistance, all endeavors will succeed. If there is any failure, report it to the Emperor!"

Alright, he finally understood who the "Heming Emperor" was...

The two of them didn't have much time alone. The others were chatting or grilling meat, and no one paid attention to what the two of them were doing. Only Yan Fei noticed that Han Fulai had an extra jade bracelet on his body, which was originally on Ye Lan's wrist.

Yan Fei blinked, took out her diary from the case file box, and wrote the following:

[July 18, the Great Rock Abyss.]

Ye Lan secretly gave Mr. Han her family's heirloom jade bracelet. Could it be that she...?

Ye Lan snatched Yan Fei's diary away.

"It's a 'loan,' not a gift!"

After resting, the group began exploring the cave that Yelan had discovered earlier.

The cave was a straight path with no forks, and there were no wild beasts or monsters lurking around. The group reached the end without any trouble.

A door appeared on the rock wall at the bottom of the cave.

Calling it a door might not be entirely accurate, because it doesn't have a door panel; it's just a door frame made of wood, or more like a support structure erected by miners in the mine tunnels to support the tunnel.

But whatever it is, it's a man-made creation!

A door frame won't grow out of the cracks in the rocks of a deep abyss.

Moreover, inside the door frame was not mountain rock, but a dark and deep cave entrance—very similar to the cave entrance they had seen when they fell from the bottom of the rock hall.

This is undoubtedly a "portal" connecting to other dimensions; in Teyvat parlance, it would be called a "secret entrance."

"Ha, this is what they call 'when heaven closes all doors, man severs all paths'!" Jiaming became excited upon seeing the entrance to the secret realm; the oppressive darkness had been suffocating him.

Yan Fei carefully examined the "door frame": "Hmm, judging from the age of this wooden frame, it must have been built at least several hundred years ago... It might even have been built by our ancestors five hundred years ago..."

Ying and Paimon were equally excited; for adventurers, seeing the entrance to a secret realm was like finding a treasure.

Ye Lan and Han Fulai exchanged a glance, both reading the same opinion from each other's eyes—even if the secret realm was a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​fire, they had to brave it.

Ultimately... they didn't really have a choice.

As the temporary leader of this treasure-hunting team, Ye Lan quickly issued instructions: "Everyone enter the secret realm at the same time. I will use my 'Life-Binding Silk' to connect everyone together. Remember not to get separated."

—This was because Han Fulai's previous "disappearance" made Ye Lan extra cautious.

Her "life-saving silk" is made of water element, which is not only tough but also extremely elastic. It can shrink and contract at her will, making it the most suitable thing to be a "safety rope".

After making preparations, everyone stepped into the secret realm together.

The secret realm was completely different from the cave we had just been in; it was bathed in light.

The clouds and mist rise and fall, and the pines and cypresses stand tall and green, creating a scene reminiscent of a fairyland.

"Wow, this secret realm feels like a fairyland!" Paimon exclaimed.

"Yes...it's very beautiful." Ying nodded.

"Hmm... This kind of secret realm is indeed a specialty of Liyue." Yanfei sighed after observing for a while. If she hadn't been told that this was at the bottom of the Rocky Abyss, she would have almost thought that she was in Grandma Ping's "Dust Song Pot".

Han Fulai then recalled the immortal grotto he had visited with Shen He before: "It looks a lot like the cave dwelling of the True Lord of Qixia in the Minghai Sea..."

This secret realm contains islands of varying sizes, separated by a sea of ​​clouds, which is indeed very similar to the cave dwelling of the Narumi True Lord that he once visited.

Could it be that the Liyue Clan's "exterior view" is hidden beneath this giant rock abyss?

"Stay vigilant."

Ye Lan remained unmoved by the beautiful scenery, and those four words kept repeating to herself.

The small island beneath their feet soon came to an end, and between them and the nearest island was a transparent, pale golden bridge—the faintly shimmering characters on it seemed to be celestial talismans.

It seems there's no other way to proceed except by crossing this seemingly fragile "bridge".

And that's when the top-notch bodyguards get to show their skills.

"Please wait a moment, everyone. I'll lead the way!"

Chapter 28: The Mysterious Land under the Rock (7)

It's already astonishing that such a secret realm exists deep within this giant abyss of rock, but the fact that it's a celestial paradise within it only fuels more doubts.

If tourists see this beautiful sea of ​​clouds, they might not be able to help but marvel at the wonders of the gods' creation or the artistry of nature. But in such a secluded place, people would have to worry about whether something might be hidden in the clouds.

Stepping onto a transparent bridge hidden in the sea of ​​clouds in a secret realm feels almost like walking a tightrope high in the sky. Not only do you have to be wary of the traps and monsters that might be lurking in the fog, but you also have to worry about whether the bridge itself is a trap—what if it suddenly collapses halfway through?

But even knowing the danger, Jiaming still chose to face the challenge head-on.

Seeing this, Yan Fei couldn't help but remind him, "Brother Jiaming, you must be careful. If you feel something is wrong, come back immediately!"

Jiaming grinned at Yanfei, revealing his teeth: "I'm a bodyguard, after all. I clear the way when we go into the mountains and build bridges when we encounter rivers. It's my job. I really have to thank the many people around me for their understanding and support so that I can have a meal today and still have the time and energy to study animal dance. If it weren't for you, Sister Yanfei, giving me this opportunity, how could I have had this wonderful encounter? Putting myself in their shoes, I will definitely put my heart and soul into this job!"

After saying that, he lifted the beast-head hood behind his head, and Wenzai, who had been inside the hood, jumped onto his head in a flash.

Then Jiaming lowered his body and rushed onto the bridge like a black lion descending a mountain.

As if sensing something, the golden bridge swayed slightly, and the sea of ​​clouds on both sides of the bridge surged and churned, as if something was struggling to emerge from the clouds—but Jiaming ignored it and focused solely on rushing to the other side, quickly crossing half the distance.

"Huh? Jiaming's running style is weird..."

Paimon discovered Garmin's unusual abilities.

Jiaming's running posture is completely different from that of ordinary people—although he runs very fast, his legs are clearly always crossed, just like a model walking a catwalk...

“This is the ‘Qilin Step’ from the beast dance.” Ye Lan said calmly. “The ‘Qilin Step’ imitates the running posture of the lion beast, with the feet crossed forward while the body’s center of gravity remains unchanged. It is the most stable way to maintain one’s posture while moving. And because the center of gravity is stable, it is not easy to lose balance in the event of an emergency. This young man is indeed meticulous in his work. He is worthy of being the top performer of ‘Sword Box Escort Agency’.”

Ying glanced at Paimon: "Paimon, you should learn from her."

Paimon, hands on hips: "I can fly!"

Han Fulai was somewhat surprised: "I didn't realize that Ye Lan knew about animal dances?"

Ye Lan's tone remained calm: "In my line of work, the more you know, the better."

As they spoke, Jiaming had already reached the other side. He turned around and waved to everyone: "The bridge is safe, everyone come over!"

With Jiaming having scouted the way, everyone felt reassured and crossed the bridge.

After everyone crossed the bridge, the golden bridge made of talismans vanished on its own, as if it had never existed—their escape route was cut off. As for bridges connecting to other islands… unfortunately, there weren't any.

If this can be considered a trap, then they are indeed now trapped on this deserted island.

The island is only a few dozen steps in circumference, and it is completely barren, with not even a blade of grass growing on it. Even the most skilled adventurers in wilderness survival would not be able to survive here for long... Fortunately, this secret realm is not trying to trap them here.

In the very center of the island, there is a round stone pier, the surface of which faintly glows with golden talismans.

“It’s a pressure device.” As an adventurer, Ying recognized the familiar thing at a glance.

She had seen similar mechanisms in other domains in Liyue. Usually, triggering such mechanisms would cause changes in the domain, such as opening a door or revealing a new path.

And the method to trigger this mechanism is quite simple—

Ying walked directly to the stone pillar and raised her right hand: "Starfall Sword!"

Suddenly, a massive, barren rock elemental star crashed down from the void, landing squarely on the stone pillar.

Well, although the name of her move has the word "sword" in it, she basically just uses meteorites to smash people...

This was the inspiration Ying got after experiencing the "Extinct Star That Never Returned" incident—she couldn't make a meteorite that could make people dream, but she could make a meteorite that could make people faint.

The stone pillar that had been pressed down by the rock star quickly reacted.

At the top of the rock star, a giant rock dragon lizard suddenly appeared out of thin air and crushed the meteorite created by Ying with a single stomp!

This rock dragon lizard is nearly ten meters long, covered in a dark and shiny rock helmet, with rock ridges growing all over its back. Its huge tail, as big as a battering ram, is also ended with sharp barbs, making it practically a weapon from head to toe.