Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

To be precise, it can't be called a passage; it's more like a gap formed after an old building collapsed, which was then covered by ice and snow over the years, blocking the way upwards.

Then Katis discovered this place, and braving the bone-chilling cold, he smashed open the frozen blocks of ice and dug out a passage.

Jiang Bai crawled slowly through the narrow passage that was only wide enough for one person to pass through. He didn't know how long he crawled, but he finally saw the light.

His almost exhausted strength surged forth again, and he quickened his pace, crawling out of the hole.

What came into view was a truly shocking scene.

A huge, pillar-like object was hammered into the ground. The pillar had strange patterns on it, and its material was somewhat similar to the base of the Seven Gods statue.

The upper half of the pillar was broken open, revealing strange, luminous crystals encased within the stone pillar.

The pillar looked as if it had fallen from the sky, descending like a nail. The immense impact of its fall had created a huge crater in the towering mountaintop.

At this moment, the crater was completely covered by ice, with huge icicles growing around the strange stone nail that came from the sky. Its fragments floated in the air, still, creating a cold, desolate, and dilapidated scene.

Just as Jiang Bai was in shock, Abedo also crawled out of the cave.

Staring at the enormous stone pillar that resembled a long nail, he gaped in astonishment, "What is this?"

He only just learned that there was such a thing on the top of the snow mountain.

Is this why Longji Snow Mountain became a snow mountain?

"Katis!"

Jiang Bai saw that Katis had turned into an ice sculpture.

He was frozen in the icicles surrounding the stone nail, in a forward-climbing posture. He reached out his hand, trying to touch the huge stone nail, but the closer he got, the stronger the chill became. He turned into an ice sculpture, frozen in place forever.

Even though he already knew that Katis was dead, seeing Katis like this still filled Jiang Bai with an indescribable sense of complexity.

He spent half his life on this snow-capped mountain, and now he lives and dies here. It is unknown whether his wish has been fulfilled.

He should have already achieved that, after all, he has already reached the summit.

Jiang Bai stepped forward, preparing to remove his body from the ice.

His remains had frozen together with the ice, and it took Jiang Bai and Abedo working together to lift him down and away from the huge stone nail that seemed magical but brought destruction.

Finding a sheltered spot, Jiang Bai took out firewood and started a fire, using the heat of the flames to warm himself and melt away the thick layer of ice on Caster's body, preparing to remove his belongings so he could cremate him.

Chapter 121 You've finally arrived...

Just as darkness was falling and the ice and snow on Katis's corpse had finally melted away, Jiang Bai heard a voice.

"You've finally arrived..."

Jiang Bai was about to take the diary that Katis had placed on his chest when he heard this voice. His hand trembled, and he almost dropped the diary.

The sound wasn't just heard by Jiang Bai; Abedo heard it too.

But there was no one else around them at that moment, and the sudden sound immediately alerted the two of them.

"Who goes there?!"

"Don't be afraid, it's me." A phantom figure floated out from the diary in Jiang Bai's hand.

That was Katis, a soul that unexpectedly survived due to his powerful obsession and the unique environment of this place.

He possessed his most cherished diary, preserving his memories and consciousness.

Jiang Bai had already seen one ghost, so seeing the ghost of Katis wasn't too surprising for him; he accepted it well.

Abedo, on the other hand, acted on his researcher instincts and subconsciously began to study the constituent substances of the soul before him.

The study investigates why he can still exist after leaving the body.

“You arrived earlier than I expected.” Katis said in a relaxed tone. Although the scar on his face made him look fierce, he was actually a very easy person to talk to.

"Sigh, if I hadn't met Abedo, I might still be searching for the way back..." Jiang Bai sighed.

He discovered that the four directions were completely useless for guiding people; they could only indicate the direction where Catis was, but could not lead him.

In other words, if Katis died in the sky, it can only rely on the sky and Jiang Bai to find a way to get to the sky himself.

Although he searches for an exit in secret realms or dangerous places, more often than not he needs a way in, rather than an exit.

After all, finding the exit requires him to enter the secret realm.

If you can't even get in, why look for an exit?

But there's no way around it; this request is too outrageous and completely impossible to fulfill.

Instead of indulging in wishful thinking, why not prepare a map with detailed markings of roads and paved roads for the next business trip?

"Hehe, it took me several years to figure out the way on the snow mountain." Katis chuckled, because he had only recently died and his memories were still quite clear.

"I have a map of the snow-capped mountains in my backpack. I drew it myself. It might be a bit rudimentary, but feel free to take it if you don't mind. You won't get lost next time you come."

"What I need right now is a map!" Jiang Bai was extremely grateful.

Although we've found him, it doesn't mean he knows the way around the snow-capped mountains. With a map personally drawn by a snow mountain explorer, we won't be in the predicament of getting lost next time we come.

Just as Jiang Bai was happily flipping through the map, Abedo, after observing for a while, spoke up, "Mr. Cartis, you can't maintain this state for long, can you?"

“Yes.” Katis nodded. “I still exist now only because I am unwilling to accept my fate and because of the influence of the nearby ley lines. After a while, I may have to return to the embrace of the Wind God.”

"Not satisfied? Your wish hasn't been fulfilled?" Jiang Bai asked curiously.

He's already reached the summit; shouldn't he have achieved his goal?

Katis looked at the long spike not far away, his expression complicated. "Yes. Although I have reached the top of the mountain, when I saw that huge stone spike, I had even more questions, and these questions have become my obsession."

"I explored the past of this snow mountain, its history, but the more I explored, the more mysteries I found about its past. It wasn't until I saw it that I realized it was all just a punishment from the sky."

"But why must the sky send down punishment? The people here have always followed the sky's instructions..."

Katis's gaze was filled with doubt. He did not understand why the sky had abandoned its people, nor why the sky had allowed the country to develop, only to destroy it later.

Jiang Bai couldn't understand a single word Cartis said.

Punishment from the sky? Is there something in the sky? Is it a god? Or something else entirely?

What was the past of this snow-capped mountain? Why was it destroyed?

He and Aberdo went through Catis's diary together, trying to find the answer.

Cartis kept a considerable number of diaries, with thick notebooks almost entirely filled with blank pages.

Skipping over the unimportant details, Jiang Bai focused on reading the past of the snow-capped mountains written on the book.

On June 8th, after traversing the entire snow-capped mountain, I discovered the last stone tablet with inscriptions. With the help of the murals I had previously seen, I finally pieced together a rough outline of the mountain's past.

That was in a very long time, when the land of Mondstadt was still covered in snow.

A group of people escaped the ice and snow, the strife, and came to this verdant paradise. Here stands a colossal, silvery-white ancient tree, originating from the earth's veins, which shelters the land from the ravages of wind and snow.

The messengers of God descended from the sky, and here they listened to the instructions of the Sky Isles, and established a nation called [Shar Fendnir].

With the blessings of the divine messengers and the ley lines, Fendnir developed at an astonishing pace, reaching its zenith with the birth of the princess.

However, their good fortune was short-lived. A long nail fell from the sky, destroying everything, including the ancient, silvery-white tree that had sheltered them. From then on, snow and wind raged everywhere.

They will never hear the voice of the sky again...

The white trees that sustained their lives were destroyed by the Heavenly Nails, forcing the people to seek refuge in shelters, shivering in the bitter cold.

The king, who was in charge of communicating with the gods, climbed to the mountaintop to try and communicate with the heavens, but he never returned...

The princess, in her grief, accepted the task. She plucked the most intact branch from the white tree, attempting to heal the ley lines and prolong its life, but ultimately failed.

Amidst the cold and snow, this short-lived nation came to an end...

After reading through Katis's diary, Jiang Bai was finally able to understand what he was saying.

Long ago, a prosperous kingdom once stood here, but it was destroyed by a nail falling from the sky. The ruins left on this snow-capped mountain are remnants of that kingdom called Shar Fendnir.

"The sky? Is there something in the sky?" Jiang Bai looked up at the sky, but the sky was blocked by wind and snow, and he could not see anything.

"The seven gods who rule this world are called the Seven Rulers of the Mortal Realm, and above the seven gods, there is a Sky Island," Abedo added to Jiang Bai's knowledge.

"So that's how it is, there are gods above gods..." Jiang Bai suddenly realized.

Chapter 122 I Want to Do Something

He had always thought that gods were the strongest beings in the world, but it turns out there are beings above gods.

What exactly is Sky Island?

"I don't know. Many people have been to Sky Island in the past, but none of them have returned," Abedo shook his head. Sky Island belongs to the highest level of this world; it's not something easily accessible.

"But why would dropping a long nail from the sky turn this place into a frozen wasteland?"

Jiang Bai still couldn't understand it. Logically speaking, at most it would only create a meteorite crater, so how could it change the climate?

Katis had also been troubled by this question, but after reading many books and consulting many people, he found the answer.

"Because of the earth's veins."

For Teyvat, ley lines are of paramount importance and are inextricably linked to human life.

"The reason this place was lush and green before was because of the protection of the leyline trees, but the long nails that fell from the sky destroyed the leyline trees, causing the leylines here to become disordered, and naturally it no longer has the lush and green scenery of the past."

"Wait! What's the relationship between the Ley Tree and the Ley Lines?"

Jiang Bai was somewhat confused about what these concepts actually referred to.

Isn't the ley line some kind of conceptual network? And what is a ley line tree? He was getting completely confused!

“Let me explain,” Abedo said, speaking up as he was more familiar with the matter.

"Deep within the world of Teyvat lies a colossal tree that spans the entire world. It is so enormous that its branches extending to the ground resemble ancient trees. The roots of these ancient trees are connected deep within the earth, forming elemental channels known as 'ley lines'."

In short, the ley lines are a network formed by the roots of this giant tree that runs through the entire world, allowing elements to circulate.

“Tree roots...concept network...tree network…” Jiang Bai murmured these words.

When he touched the ley line anchor point, he could sense such a vast and boundless network.

It now appears that this is the ley line network constructed from the branches of the ley line tree.

Abedo's explanation is easier to understand than Zhongli's explanation of the concept network.

If we understand it this way, then the anchor points of the ley lines are equivalent to the points marked in this network, and they may also have the function of stabilizing the ley lines.

Furthermore, since ley lines are channels for the flow of elements, the long spikes that fell from the sky destroyed the ley line trees, causing the flow of ley lines here to become chaotic. Ice elements occupied the highlands, turning this place into a world of ice and snow.

"It is said that the surface witnessed everything, and everything that happened above and below ground in Teyvat was recorded in the ley lines."

"That's really amazing..." Jiang Bai couldn't help but sigh when he heard Abedo say that.

If the ley lines truly record everything, perhaps we can find his past within them.

But how can one access the information stored within the ley lines?

Jiang Bai thought about it for a moment and then gave up on thinking about it further.

It was beyond his comprehension; he simply couldn't figure out how to do such a thing.

Katis sighed.

Before, he was just an ordinary adventurer. He knew nothing about ley lines or white trees, and had no concept of them whatsoever.

He went to all sorts of dangerous places just to find treasure, then sold it to buy alcohol.

He never married, his family had long since passed away, he waded through the vast golden desert, visited the dense rainforest with towering ancient trees, and conquered thunder and waves, but he always felt that something was missing.

It wasn't until he found the senior's diary in the cave that he realized what was missing.

He merely passed through those places superficially, never bothering to learn about them properly. He considered himself an excellent adventurer, but he couldn't say anything about the places he had visited.

Because he only wanted to find treasure; he didn't really enjoy adventure.

But he didn't really love treasure; he was just looking for it to have something to do and something to brag about in the tavern.

But in this snow-capped mountain, when he was at his wit's end, he finally found his own joy.

He wanted to know about this place's past, to uncover its history, and to study stories that even scholars had never heard of.

This process is tedious and boring, but as the information is pieced together little by little and the truth is slowly revealed, the joy and excitement surpasses countless others in the world.

Unbeknownst to him, snow began to fall again. The snowflakes drifted down from the sky, passed through his illusory soul, landed on the ground, and merged with the ice.