Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

"Hahaha, some common sense doesn't apply to me."

Jiang Bai smugly ran his hand through his hair, his smile utterly infuriating.

elf:"……"

Let's just pretend he never praised me.

He walked to the base of the Frostfire Nail fragments and picked up a strange cube.

These are the things that fell down after the two Abyss Apostles died.

Jiang Bai looked over curiously, "What is this?"

"I don't know."

This cube resembles a mechanical component; the fact that these two Abyss Apostles could carry it around with them suggests it is no ordinary object.

Xiao tossed the cube to Jiang Bai, saying, "It might be something important. Keep it safe."

Jiang Bai examined it for a while, but couldn't figure it out.

"Senior Jiang Bai!" Zhiqiong's voice echoed from afar.

Jiang Bai looked in the direction the sound came from and saw her standing on a large rock, the fluorite at her waist emitting a bright light.

"I just heard a huge explosion and rushed over. Are you all alright?"

As always, Xiao had no intention of contacting mortals and simply concealed his form.

Jiang Bai flew over and asked, "It's nothing. What are you doing here? This underground area is very deep."

“Senior Kong has his own mission, I’ve come to scout ahead,” Zhiqiong said with a smile.

"Besides, I'm an adventurer, and adventurers are meant to take risks!"

As she continued to descend deeper, her physical condition deteriorated.

But their spirits were very high.

"It's dangerous here, you'd better be careful," Jiang Bai warned.

Whether it's the potential monsters or this black mud, they are both extremely dangerous to ordinary people.

Especially in places where the black mud is very concentrated.

"I know, don't worry about me." Zhiqiong looked at the dark center that was gathering, and then at the inverted palace that was hanging high in the sky.

"Senior, what happened here?"

"We encountered several Abyss Apostles and engaged in some combat. How did you get here? Have you been here before?"

Jiang Bai initially thought there was only one way to enter this underground ruin, the one carved out by the fragments of the Heavenly Nail.

But later, the logs of the Fools were discovered, and it was clear that the Fools had arrived here much earlier, so there certainly wasn't that direct underground passage back then.

In other words, they came to this site from another route.

“I’ve been here before. There’s a shortcut over the marshland. It’s very secluded and not easy for people to find.”

As a former miner, Zhiqiong's familiarity with the Abyss is not just talk.

Now it's just a matter of walking the same path again, recording the terrain data, and drawing it into a map.

"There's a lot of black mud down there, you'd better not go near this area."

Zhiqiong nodded, "Being here makes me feel oxygen-deprived, dizzy, and very uncomfortable, but the air here seems a little better than before..."

Jiang Bai sighed, "Although I have purified some of the black mud, I cannot purify the black mud gushing out. In time, this place will be covered by black mud again. Unless necessary, you'd better stay away from here."

The fragment of the Frostfire Nail could only slow down the rate at which black mud condensed at the gushing point.

If there were a solid nail here, perhaps the problem could be solved.

"Senior, I know." Zhiqiong couldn't help but cough twice. Staying underground for a long time, the abnormalities underground inevitably affected her body.

Are you sure your body is okay?

Jiang Bai felt that she was pushing herself too hard.

Keep in mind that this is already very deep underground; even someone with divine vision wouldn't dare to venture down and explore.

But Zhiqiong, an ordinary person, went even deeper than Kong.

Seeing the worry in Jiang Bai's eyes, Zhiqiong smiled.

"These are minor issues, difficulties that every adventurer faces. It's alright, really. And as you know, adventurers are in this profession, living with danger and death. This little reaction is nothing, don't worry about me."

"Adventure is great, but it must be done in moderation. You should know that most adventurers die in obscurity, and even those with legendary experiences are forgotten."

Jiang Bai has had quite a bit of contact with adventurers.

His business trips were mostly for collecting the remains of these adventurers.

Some of them are driven by a love of adventure, some by the allure of wealth and treasure, and some by a desire for conquest and self-improvement…

But without a doubt, taking risks is a very dangerous thing.

It's a matter of life and death; the slightest carelessness could mean never seeing the sun rise again.

Therefore, the mortality rate for adventurers is also quite high.

Zhiqiong neither agreed nor disagreed with Jiang Bai's words, and laughed, "Isn't it because we still have you here, senior? Isn't the purpose of your business to ensure that adventurers like us have stories to tell after we die?"

"Sigh, my business started out just to collect corpses... It's all Katis's fault for leading you all astray..."

Jiang Bai sighed.

It's supposed to be a body collection service, but surprisingly few customers actually come specifically for that.

Jiang Bai strongly condemned these guys who didn't value their own remains.

Zhiqiong spoke in a relaxed tone:

"The environment here is no more harsh than that of Longji Snow Mountain. If the seniors don't laugh at me for overestimating myself, I also think I'm not much worse than Katis."

"If something really happens to me, I would be grateful if you could take my body, my map, and my story with you."

Zhiqiong didn't care much about her own life or death.

There are always things more important than life itself.

Perhaps it's a grand ideal, a duty to be fulfilled, or a heart that refuses to be ordinary...

She wanted all of these things.

She was not content with mediocrity. She wanted to do things that no one had ever done before. She wanted to be ahead of everyone else. She wanted to leave behind her own adventure legend. She wanted to prove that even an ordinary person as ordinary and insignificant as herself was no worse than those who were favored by the gods.

"Then you'd better write more diaries, like the great adventurer Alice, write something like 'The Exploration of the Layered Rock Abyss,' otherwise you won't have any stories to tell, and you might come back as a ghost to cause me trouble..."

Jiang Bai respected her choice.

This is an adventurer who refuses to settle for mediocrity.

Even if she died while pursuing her ideals, she would be happy.

Seeing that Jiang Bai had no intention of stopping her, Zhiqiong was in a good mood and patted her backpack.

"Don't worry, senior. I've been taking notes ever since I placed the order."

One day, her "Exploration of the Deep Rocks" will be as well-known as "The Teyvat Guide".

Her name, Zhiqiong, will become a new monument, just like Katis's.

Chapter 610 I can call you Dad without any problem

Jiang Bai took out a fragment of the Frostfire Nail. "Take this with you. It might make you feel better. You're going to explore the entire Layered Rock Abyss, so you can't just collapse halfway through."

Zhiqiong took it, but didn't feel anything special.

The symptoms of physical discomfort have not been relieved.

Nevertheless, she accepted it.

"Thank you, senior."

"Have you seen this before?" Jiang Bai took out the peculiar constructed cube.

Zhiqiong looked at it carefully and said, "The pattern on it looks a lot like a gate deep in the abyss."

"The gate to the depths?"

Why is there another gate deep inside?

Is it some kind of ruin?

"Yes, I've been to the place where that door is. I put my ear to the door and I could hear the wind whistling inside. I feel like there should be a large space inside. The legendary Yaksha who protects Liyue might be behind that door."

Upon hearing this, Xiao appeared quite abruptly.

Where is it? How far away is it?

Zhiqiong was startled. Upon seeing this demon, she felt both reverence and unusual restraint.

“I’ve only been to that depth once, a long time ago. The perception of time underground isn’t accurate, so I don’t know how long it took me…”

Seeing that Xiao remained silent, she tentatively spoke again.

"Should we go back to camp and ask Mr. Cardiff? He might have some knowledge of these constructs..."

Jiang Bai looked at Xiao: "Should we go check out their camp?"

"Go ahead, and if you need to find me, just call my name."

After saying that, Xiao disappeared again.

He planned to go alone to find the location of the gate that Zhiqiong had mentioned.

If we can get in, that would be best; if we can't, then we'll have to wait for news from Jiang Bai.

Faced with the elusive Xiao, Jiang Bai was at a loss. He looked at Zhiqiong and asked, "Are you coming back with me, or will you continue exploring?"

"I still need to investigate the data and draw a map of this place, so I won't accompany you, senior."

"Yes, be careful."

Jiang Bai nodded, and his figure gradually disappeared from her sight.

Watching those with divine eyes move freely in and out of this abyss, the towering rocks seemingly having no effect on them, her eyes held an indescribable complexity.

For an ordinary person like her, the abyss was vast, dangerous, winding, and complex.

To reach the top, she needs to climb step by step.

To descend into the abyss, she could only do so slowly, bit by bit.

Even the most ordinary slime is extremely dangerous to her.

What is easy for the holder of the Eye of God is as difficult as climbing to the sky for her.

But even in her ordinariness, she aspired to surpass those who were watched by the gods.

She wanted to reach those unknown places before them, and she wanted to conquer this abyss with the courage of an ordinary person.

She wanted to leave her name behind, to leave behind memories of this place.

Therefore, she cannot stop.

……

Jiang Bai had heard Kong tell him where their camp was, and then used the ley line anchor to teleport to the nearest place to their camp, which saved a lot of travel time.

"Wow, it smells so good."

As soon as Jiang Bai arrived, he smelled the aroma of the food.

He wasn't very hungry before, but the aroma made him suddenly feel incredibly hungry.

"Hey, Jiang Bai, you're here! Where's Xiao?"

Paimon was holding a large chicken leg, munching on it while waving at him.

"Xiao has gone to explore."

Jiang Bai glanced at the people in the camp and sat down among them as if they were old friends.

"I'm so hungry, give me one too."