That very afternoon, Sam Li, Venti, Nicole, Billy, the Traveler, Paimon, Hu Tao, and the rest of the Astral Express crew boarded the Astral Express and set off for Natlan.
At the same time, Tighnari, Collei, Klee, Kaeya, Furina, Clorinde, Arataki Itto, Kuki Shinobu, Tartaglia, and the others returned to their respective nations to prepare for the disaster that was about to descend.
Before leaving Liyue aboard the Astral Express, Sam Li gave Keqing a few additional instructions. He asked her to send people to New Eridu to recruit some reinforcements.
Although New Eridu did not have many top-tier powerhouses, experts like Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, and No. 11 could still play a significant role in a large-scale war.
More importantly—
Sam Li intended to make use of New Eridu's technology to construct more of the "Hell's Eye" cannons that had once been used to suppress Hollow Zero.
Back in New Eridu, those cannons had relied on massive amounts of Ether energy for charging. If brought to Teyvat, although there would be no Ether energy, elemental power could be used as a substitute.
That, however, could wait for later.
For now, the priority was to bring the people from New Eridu over first.
After hearing Sam Li's instructions, Keqing said seriously, "Rest assured. Tomorrow morning, I'll personally make a trip to New Eridu."
As soon as she finished speaking, March 7th closed the doors of the Astral Express.
Nearby, Paimon and the Traveler were experiencing the Astral Express for the first time. Paimon, in particular, found everything fascinating—looking at this, touching that, unable to sit still for a moment.
The Traveler said helplessly, "Paimon, don't touch things on the train at random."
March 7th laughed. "It's fine. Anything that's out in the open can be touched… Hey, wait—that's my diary! Don't read that!"
As she spoke, March 7th quickly snatched the diary out of Paimon's hands.
Paimon hurriedly apologized, "Sorry! I thought it was your flight log… Oh, right—March 7th, Trailblazer, when are we leaving?"
The Trailblazer replied solemnly, "Pom-Pom has finished calibrating the equipment. Everyone, please take your seats. We're about to depart."
Hearing this, Paimon immediately sat down next to the Traveler.
The next moment, the Astral Express beneath their feet began to rumble. The train, which had been parked on the beach outside Liyue Harbor, surged forward along the temporarily constructed tracks.
Because the tracks were hastily built, they were unstable. Paimon felt the train lurch violently beneath her feet and nearly fell over—fortunately, she could fly.
Once the Astral Express lifted into the air, it finally stabilized.
Paimon flew back to the window and looked out into the distance.
"Traveler, look! We're flying so high!"
The Traveler walked over as well.
The speed of the Astral Express far exceeded their expectations. They had thought the journey from Liyue to Natlan would take at least three or four hours—but in less than twenty minutes, the train had already passed over The Chasm and arrived high above the Sumeru rainforest.
March 7th, Himeko, the Trailblazer, and the others were also seeing this place for the first time, and they all gathered by the windows to watch.
Paimon introduced proudly, "Down there is Sumeru. We're on great terms with their Archon. Once we're done dealing with Natlan's crisis, I'll take you to meet Nahida."
The Trailblazer immediately agreed, "Thanks—"
At that moment, March 7th seemed to notice something and exclaimed, "Trailblazer, Himeko, Dan Heng, look at that! What is it? That tree is huge… It's almost as big as the Ambrosial Arbor on the Xianzhou Luofu!"
As they talked, the Astral Express had already flown past the rainforest, revealing an endless desert below.
Looking into the distance, they could see the border between Sumeru and Fontaine, the massive Mausoleum of King Deshret, and countless ancient ruins scattered across the sands.
After flying for some time, the scenery ahead changed once again. The desert disappeared, replaced by a unique landscape of rolling terrain and towering mountains.
Paimon said excitedly, "That's Natlan up ahead! The Astral Express really is fast."
As the train flew over Natlan, Paimon quickly shouted, "Hey, hey, hey—don't fly past it! We're already here! It's right below us!"
Pom-Pom's voice sounded nearby. "Don't worry. I'm looking for a suitable landing spot."
The next moment, after some observation, Himeko finally selected an open area at the foot of a hillside.
Under Pom-Pom's control, the Astral Express dove downward. With a loud crash, it made a forced landing at the chosen location.
Right after that, March 7th couldn't wait to open the train doors. She led the Traveler, Paimon, Dan Heng, the Trailblazer, and the others off the train—and they immediately spotted several young dragons not far away.
Seeing this, March 7th was stunned. "Dan Heng, look over there! So many dragons…"
After all, across the entire universe, descendants carrying dragon bloodlines were extremely rare.
Yet on the open ground in the distance, an entire group of dragons was playing and frolicking by the seaside.
Dan Heng looked over as well, equally astonished. "There are so many dragon descendants here…"
He could sense the power of their bloodlines—it was indeed the legacy left behind by the Aeon of Permanence, Long. Though the bloodline power was faint, there was no mistaking it.
Just as everyone was still surveying their surroundings in amazement, a voice suddenly rang out from a nearby hillside.
"Who are you?"
Hearing the familiar voice, the Traveler and Paimon quickly went over to check. Sure enough, on the slope not far away, they saw two familiar figures.
Kinich and Ajaw.
Paimon said excitedly, "Kinich, it's good to see you again!"
Seeing the Traveler and Paimon, Kinich finally let out a sigh of relief. He then looked toward the Astral Express crew beside them.
"And they are?"
Paimon explained, "They're the Trailblazer, March 7th, Himeko… But there's no time for introductions! Things are urgent. We need to go see Mavuika right away—we've brought reinforcements!"
However, Kinich and Ajaw knew nothing about the impending black calamity and couldn't understand what Paimon was talking about. Reinforcements? Hadn't the Abyss just been defeated not long ago?
Still, seeing the tension on Paimon's face, Kinich sensed that something was wrong.
Just as he was about to ask more, more people arrived, drawn by the noise of the train's landing—it was Xilonen and the others.
Seeing Xilonen again, Paimon shouted excitedly, "Xilonen! Over here! We brought reinforcements!"
But the moment they met, Xilonen said breathlessly, "Quick… Traveler, Paimon—hurry and save Mavuika…"
The Traveler's heart clenched. "What happened to Mavuika?"
Xilonen explained urgently, gasping for breath, "After you left, Mavuika stayed behind alone to hold off the Abyss—and she was swallowed by the pitch-black Abyssal domain…"