Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

It can only be said that people are complex, as are organizations, gods, and even the Sky Island far away in the sky.

"Then what about this crack? How did it appear?"

The researcher didn't need to answer this; Ye Lan resolved his doubts.

"Five hundred years ago, a dark calamity shrouded all nations, and countless terrifying demonic beasts came to our land from these rifts. Dunyu Mausoleum was the first to be affected. It was the countless ancestors and the Thousand Rock Army who used their lives to control the situation and, with the suppression of this crystal, sealed this rift here..."

"However, Dunyu Mausoleum has been polluted and can no longer be inhabited. The Qianyan Army has no choice but to organize the residents to evacuate and completely seal it off."

Chapter 343 He died of natural causes

"Oh, I see..." Jiang Bai understood.

The story of Dunyu Mausoleum itself is not complicated, but because so much time has passed and there has never been an official explanation, it has become a historical mystery.

However, this mystery is a mystery to some, but not to those who know the truth.

For a moment, Jiang Bai felt a pang of regret for Wan Liangji.

If he had known the truth about this place sooner, would he have avoided losing his life here?

So, where exactly is Wan Liangji's body?

How did he manage to get inside without so many Fools soldiers?

"Have any of you met an adventurer from Liyue?" Jiang Bai asked the researchers.

Upon hearing this, the researchers exchanged glances, and finally the one with the highest prestige spoke up.

"If you're looking for the adventurer named Wan Liangji, he's over there in the open space."

Because he was tied up, he couldn't do what his wife did; he could only use his chin to indicate directions.

“We noticed he hadn’t come out this morning, so we went in to call him, but when we went in, we found he wasn’t breathing…”

"Although the presence of the seal and crystals greatly reduces the harm of the polluted energy here, the damage still exists. His health wasn't good before, and he's probably reached his limit..."

"Sigh, we want him to leave this underground place, but he's too stubborn and won't listen to us, so we can only let him be..."

Sensing the familiarity in their words, Jiang Bai paused, giving them a complicated look.

He walked to the spot the fools had pointed to, the corner of the cave furthest from the crevice, where Wan Liangji's body lay, next to a tent.

Although this adventurer named Wan Liangji was only in his fifties, most of his hair had turned white. Years of adventure had taken a toll on his health, and he had also suffered many injuries in his youth. These injuries had not been fully healed and had become chronic, which continued to affect his body.

His eyes were closed, and his expression was very calm, as if he had silently lost consciousness in his sleep.

Jiang Baizai carefully examined the body and found no external injuries, indicating that it was indeed a natural death.

Yelan also walked over, her gaze falling on the deceased adventurer.

Judging from the surrounding traces, the adventurer had clearly been living here for some time and hadn't even left.

Moreover, he probably didn't enter here alone, but rather with these fools.

She went into the tent next door and looked around.

The tent was rather messy. A pair of boots covered in mud were casually placed by the door. A sleeping bag was on the left side, looking a bit disheveled. Some clothes were piled on a wooden box next to it. There was a simple desk made of stones and wood chips, with ink and some books on it.

Several sheets of paper covered in writing were tucked inside the book. She took out the papers and began to read the notes on them.

This is some kind of diary, but there is no date written on it.

"...I have been at Dunyu Mausoleum for several days now. Even though I have been here many times, it is still hard to imagine what kind of celestial star could have smashed such a huge crater into the solid rock. Moreover, the celestial star that was smashed was not complete, but only a fragment."

The real celestial star crashed into the present-day giant abyss of layered rocks. Compared to the giant abyss, which is like the eye of the earth, the Dunyu Mausoleum, which is just a small basin, seems insignificant.

Even though it's insignificant, to me, it's still a huge, vast place that I couldn't possibly explore in just a few months.

Unfortunately, these records are too old, so old that I don't know whether I should believe their authenticity.

Do celestial bodies really fall from the sky? If what hit here was just a fragment of a celestial body, why would it fall to such a far place?

Shouldn't Lingju Pass and Qingxupu be closer?

Hopefully, this trip will yield some evidence about Tianxing. Only real evidence can ensure that what I've written is correct, and prevent my book from being criticized as fabricated toilet reading material...

……

I've been here for a week now. Five hundred years have passed, and the ruins here have been visited countless times by treasure-hunting gangs, leaving nothing of value behind.

Even so, I still managed to find some old papers in the buried ruins.

This must have been a diary written by the residents here a long time ago. So much time has passed that many of the words are illegible, and the paper has become very fragile. I read it carefully and finally found some fragments about the past.

Five hundred years ago, a tremendous change occurred here. A gray fog enveloped the city, some people's personalities changed drastically, and they attacked people on sight like monsters. Some people fell ill, and dark monsters appeared silently in the city.

I think this is why the residents evacuated from here back then; it was too dangerous, and staying here would have been life-threatening.

Unfortunately, there are no more parts of this diary, and it is unknown whether the person who wrote it evacuated or died in the disaster.

However, historically, the calamities here have been averted.

I should have thought of this a long time ago. For a once prosperous city to be reduced to ruins, something major must have happened, and the dark calamity that swept across the land five hundred years ago is undoubtedly the most likely explanation.

But what exactly is this pitch-black calamity? And where does it come from?

Why did this happen in the more distant past, but only sweep across countries five hundred years ago?

I originally came here just to investigate why this place was suddenly closed. Once I found the answer, I should have left, but my curiosity got the better of me and I just couldn't control it.

I want to know what that dark calamity is, why it appeared, and why it won't reappear afterward.

By learning more, we can ensure that when this dark calamity reappears, we won't be as helpless as the former inhabitants of this place.

……

I stayed here for another week, but unfortunately I didn't find anything this week.

But to my surprise, I encountered a group of fools.

This group of fools is different from the soldiers I've seen before; they're more like scholars.

When these fools saw that I was stationed in the Dunyu Mausoleum, they came up to talk to me. Among them were a few people who were very knowledgeable and could even talk about the strange events in the Great Abyss.

However, the Abyss has been sealed off, and it is said that a great deal of strange black mud has appeared inside. This black mud not only affects people's health, but also their minds, and even the environment. It is very sinister.

Chapter 344 But I Can Still Die

These fools also settled in Dunyu Mausoleum, and we were finally able to speak.

After another week together, they learned what I was investigating and what had happened here five hundred years ago.

No, it should be said that they already knew that something had happened here five hundred years ago, but not in as much detail as I knew, and that's why they came.

More precisely, they came for the supposedly vanished fragments of the celestial star.

We reached a consensus on some aspects and began to cooperate.

However, I don't believe them; after all, they are the Fools.

I harbored the idea of ​​using them and extracting more secrets from them, and they shared the same thought.

We stayed here for quite a while, and they brought out many advanced instruments that I had never seen before.

Finally, under the detection of their instruments, we found that the black pollution here had not been completely removed, and some still remained.

They dug a tunnel that led all the way to the filthy place.

I felt that entering dangerous areas without permission was wrong; at the very least, one should report to the General Affairs Department and obtain approval before taking any action. However, my advice was meaningless to them.

I followed them into the underground and saw the sealed-off dark fissure, as well as the celestial stars suspended in mid-air.

I can't describe how I felt at that moment. The excitement and thrill of my guess becoming a reality filled me with genuine joy, but the dark rift filled me with anxiety.

It was not shut down, and even after five hundred years, it still exudes an ominous aura.

Fortunately, thanks to the seals placed by our ancestors, we don't need to worry too much for now.

The Fools were also amazed by these things, and they began to build various ruins and begin their research.

They said their goal was to study the nature of the corrupting forces and find other ways to purify themselves besides the Heavenly Nail.

I was puzzled by their name "Sky Nail," which they said was simply a long nail that fell from the sky.

What we see now is just a fragment of the Heavenly Nail; the complete Heavenly Nail is inside the Abyss.

Their guess is that the debris landed here because this is a relatively weak point in Teyvat, and leaving a piece of debris here is to reinforce it.

After confirming that there were indeed fragments of Sky Spikes and corrupted power here, I didn't linger and prepared to return to Liyue Harbor to report to the General Affairs Department.

However, just as I stepped out of the cave, I felt a terrifying pressure from the direction of Liyue Harbor.

Two foolish soldiers blocked my way and wouldn't let me leave.

I've been in Dunyu Ruins for too long, and news from the outside world hasn't reached here. I don't know what happened, but I know that something huge must have happened in Liyue Harbor!

But I cannot leave; these fools have imprisoned me.

Later I learned that the Emperor had passed away, and the executors of the Fools had released the demon that was suppressed in the sea!

Knowing this filled me with immense panic. If the Fatui had released the demon god from the sea, were they also planning to break the seal on that dark rift?!

The thought of the consequences makes it impossible for me to stay calm!

I tried everything to escape the prison, but they still found me and I was captured before I even left Dunyu Mausoleum.

I then realized that so many soldiers of the Fool Clan had unknowingly been stationed in Dunyu Mausoleum.

They didn't kill me, they just imprisoned me to prevent me from informing on them to the Thousand Rock Army.

I don't know why they won't kill me, but I know this might be my chance.

I tried every possible method and finally got into the cave, where I met the researchers that I had encountered at the beginning.

They were clearly unaware of what was happening outside, and showed extreme astonishment at their executor releasing the demon god.

They untied me and apologized to me.

I do not accept their apology, but I cannot leave this place.

They don't want me to leave because their research can't continue if I leave, since it's impossible for the General Affairs Department to approve their research given what their executive did.

I am just an ordinary person, without divine eyes or formidable martial arts skills.

Despite having some knowledge, it's of no use here.

I am incredibly grateful that I placed an order with Wangshengtang.

If I die, someone will inevitably find me, and their secrets hidden here will inevitably be discovered.

I will keep an eye on them, to see if they are, as they claim, merely researching methods to purify impurities.

Although I can't have any influence over them, I can still die.

After reading these contents, Ye Lan remained silent for a long time, and finally just sighed.

There's nothing wrong with Wan Liangji's actions; he's just an adventurer, and there's nothing wrong with exploring ruins or uncovering past secrets.

Moreover, before he reached an agreement with the Fatui, none of the subsequent events had occurred in Liyue Harbor; at that time, the Fatui were still their allies in Liyue.

What happened afterward was beyond his control; he had done the best he could.

Ye Lan handed the paper to Jiang Bai beside her, letting him read it at his own pace, then lifted the tent flap and went out.

The pitch-black rift still stood in mid-air, and the crystal above it continued to emit a faint blue light.

The souls of those pioneers who sacrificed their lives here and those who are sacrificing their lives here now shine as brightly as this light.

Jiang Bai took the letter and examined it carefully; he also wanted to know what had happened.

After he finished reading, he remained silent for a long time.

These few thin sheets of paper have no weight, but when held in your hand, they feel as heavy as life itself.

As Jiang Bai looked at the last line of text, it was as if he could see Wan Liangji, with his hunched back, sitting at this simple table, writing with a pen in hand.

To be honest, at first he just treated this business as an ordinary job.

They'll go out when needed, and occasionally hand out flyers to target customers, but most of the time they're just slacking off.

Although the flyer said something about fulfilling one's last wish after death, returning to one's homeland, and resting in peace after death.

But he didn't feel much when he did it, after all, he had only met these clients once, and at most he would sigh a little when they died.