The evolution of Mount Shu's small world was a blessing for all.
The spiritual energy grew denser, the laws of heaven and earth became more complete, and the entire world turned brighter and clearer.
In fact, at the very instant of the cave-heaven's evolution, many rare spiritual herbs were born, and countless ordinary beasts gained benefits, evolving into demon beasts and spirit beasts.
No one was happier than Baizhu—his Beast-Taming Art could finally be put to use.
For the disciples of Mount Shu, that sudden surge of spiritual energy when the world evolved had pushed their cultivation to a higher level. Although none had managed a true breakthrough, it was only a matter of time.
But blessings and troubles always came hand in hand. For some beings, while the world's evolution was good, it also brought no small amount of distress.
For example—the Demon God's followers whose strength had yet to reach the Spirit-Transformation realm.
They had just witnessed this wondrous event, opened their eyes, and found that even the beasts they had been raising casually had all caught a lucky break and evolved.
It should have been a double blessing.
Unfortunately… Those beasts seemed to have evolved a little too much.
At the very least, they all turned into ferocious beasts. Worse still, some even advanced into true demon beasts at the early Refining Essence into Qi stage.
Now, those Demon God followers were in trouble.
Their average strength was mid Refining Essence into Qi and above, but the problem was—they were not cultivators like Liuyun and the others.
At best, they were stronger than ordinary demon god followers of the same realm, but in the end, they couldn't compare to true cultivators or demon beasts.
To put it simply: cultivators and demon beasts cultivated pure true essence or demon power. Their bodies, however, were a messy mix of elemental energy and spiritual power.
For followers at the late Refining Essence into Qi stage, the pressure was tolerable. But for those in the mid-stage…
It was a complete reversal of hunter and prey.
The animals they once raised casually and slaughtered for food had suddenly become too strong to defeat.
Not only could they not win, they were even being chased and hunted by their former livestock.
These followers could only wail bitterly and flee to other stronger beings' territories to seek protection.
But for the Demon Gods themselves, this was no problem at all. On the contrary, they were delighted to see more and more followers coming under their banner, bringing along herds of newly evolved beasts.
These demon beasts, while stronger, were still manageable overall.
And once eaten, their flesh and blood provided even greater benefits. If one was lucky enough to consume a demon beast, it might even purify the chaotic power within them, transforming it into genuine demon power.
For a time, the Mount Shu World grew turbulent.
But these matters had little to do with Mount Shu itself. At most, the Hall of Merits would soon post plenty of missions related to subduing or hunting these demon beasts.
On Tongtian Peak, Jiang Xuan was lying in the rest chamber behind the sect's great hall, holding a weary but radiant Ganyu in his arms.
Though she looked exhausted, Ganyu's spirit shone bright. Her eyes sparkled like gems, and most importantly—her cultivation had already reached the peak of Refining Essence into Qi, even surpassing Xiao by a good margin.
This sudden leap left Ganyu astonished.
She knew all too well the gap between realms. With her talent, progressing step by step to this stage should have taken years at the fastest.
But now, after a single night of dual cultivation, she had reached the very peak.
"Surprised?" Jiang Yan gently rubbed her horns. She blinked back to herself and nodded slightly.
"Mm… I suddenly broke through to the peak of Refining Essence into Qi, and I'm even about to step into the Spirit-Transformation realm…"
"This is normal." Jiang Yan chuckled, nuzzling her softly.
"Your Yin essence combined with my Yang essence—naturally the breakthrough would come swiftly."
In truth, it wasn't only Ganyu on the verge of advancement. Jiang Yan himself, who had just comprehended insights from the Huangting Jade-View Sutra at the Merging with the Dao level, was now on the brink of reaching the peak of Returning to Void.
With a few days of focused cultivation, he was bound to step firmly into that realm.
"Yang essence…"
Ganyu's face flushed red, but deep down, she felt a quiet joy. She hugged Jiang Yan tighter, as if wishing to melt into him entirely.
Jiang Yan patted her back, then after a moment's thought, spoke gently:
"Ganyu, return to Liyue tomorrow. Help me bring a message to Ningguang and the others."
Ganyu grew serious at once. Jiang Yan continued:
"Tell them to prepare. One month from now, Mount Shu will open its gates to recruit a thousand outer disciples."
"Let Liyue conduct the first selection. Those who pass in both ability and character will be sent into the Mount Shu World to undergo the Heart-Questioning Formation."
"Pass the first layer, and they become outer disciples. Pass three layers, and they become inner disciples."
"As for those who fail but still have decent talent—they will temporarily remain in the Mount Shu World to practice martial arts."
"That way, Mount Shu can both nurture reserves and add vitality."
"After all, the village beneath Mount Shu has long been empty—it should not remain barren."
"Now that demon beasts in Mount Shu outnumber humans, the Hall of Merits and other institutions should officially be put into motion."
"Once we recruit enough disciples, Mount Shu will come alive."
This decision came to Jiang Yan only today, after seeing the rewards.
With six new spirit veins added to the original one, the Seven Peaks of Mount Shu now each possessed a spirit vein of their own.
The output was more than enough to support the sect's operations.
The world's evolution has brought abundant spiritual energy. Every beast had undergone transformation; the weakest now were ferocious beasts.
The Mount Shu World was thriving like never before.
Its only flaw—too few disciples, too little human presence.
Since that was so, it was time to officially open the mountain gates and recruit widely.
Within a month, with the resources Ningguang and the others had gathered—and with Jiang Yan's personal guidance—they would at the very least all reach the mid Refining Essence into Qi stage.
That would be enough to hold up the sect's facade.
With a thousand disciples recruited, Mount Shu's framework would finally be complete.
At last, Jiang Yan as sect master would have a sect worthy of the title.
Ganyu nodded, smiling with delight.
"Ningguang and the others will definitely be overjoyed to hear this news."
Jiang Yan laughed softly.
"Also tell them—after arranging these affairs, hurry back. Use this month well to cultivate with your resources. I will also lecture more during this time."
"As disciples who joined the sect early, at the very least, you should all reach mid Refining Essence into Qi."
Ganyu nodded earnestly, committing his words to memory.
In the past, she would have been eager to return at once to deliver the message.
But now… she wanted to savor a little longer the feeling of being the Sect Master's wife.
Her thoughts drifted, and her body began to stir restlessly again.
Jiang Yan chuckled helplessly, flipped over, and soon the chamber was once again filled with waves of surging spiritual energy.
The opportunity of Mount Shu's world evolving was not something everyone caught.
Ningguang and Keqing had returned to Liyue to handle affairs.
Lisa, meanwhile, had come back that afternoon, exchanged a few things at the Hall of Merits, then mounted her flying sword and departed for Mondstadt.
At her speed, she returned to Mondstadt quickly. But upon reaching the Knights' headquarters, she found Jean and the others absent.
A quick inquiry revealed that Jean had led people to the Stormterror's Lair.
Lisa couldn't help but sigh at Jean's persistence.
Remembering the task entrusted to her by Venti, Lisa did not rush to the ruins. Instead, she turned directly toward the Goth Grand Hotel.
Two Fatui guards stood at its entrance. They knew of Lisa well enough—she was one of the few in Mondstadt whom Rosalyne regarded with caution.
Seeing her, the two Fatui grew visibly uneasy. But before they could speak, Lisa's calm gaze swept over them. Immediately, both froze on the spot, stiff and unmoving.
Lisa had no good will toward Fatui, who had caused Jean so much trouble.
She walked unhindered up to the third floor. Every Fatui agent she encountered along the way was pinned in place by her divine sense.
This was one of the marvelous applications she had recently discovered. Against ordinary people—even skilled Fatui operatives—it was utterly unstoppable.
A casual sweep of her divine sense, and they would stand blankly for hours.
The dominion of a cultivator over mortals was absolute.
Even though Lisa had expected it, seeing it firsthand still filled her with awe.
Before her stood a door sealed tightly with ice. Without slowing her step, Lisa walked forward.
The seemingly frozen-solid door shattered with a boom, icy mist bursting out—only to be immediately dispersed under her presence.
Inside stood Rosalyne, tense and wary.
Lisa smiled sweetly.
"Well, well. An Executive herself—yet in this so-called 'backwater' of yours, you still have to barricade your door like this. Tell me, Miss Rosalyne—are you worried that Mondstadt's public security is too poor?"
Rosalyne's gaze locked onto Lisa, cold sweat dripping from her brow.
Only those with true strength could feel that transcendent pressure rolling off Lisa.
It was a suppression of life itself.
The same kind of terror the Cryo Archon inspired.
The two Electro Cicin Mages beside her flitted forward, lightning sparking as they lunged at Lisa.
Lisa's eyes curved with a playful smile.
"Such little things aren't worth letting out to make a fool of themselves. Don't you think so, Miss Rosalyne?"
Her divine sense swept out. With a dull thud, both Cicin Mages collapsed, unconscious.
The sudden burst of divine sense even forced Rosalyne to stumble back a step, her heart seized by mortal dread.
"What do you want!" she demanded, rallying what little courage she had. Secretly, she stirred both the Cryo Archon's gift and the power of the Crimson Witch within her.
Even so, she felt no safety before Lisa.
She had seen Lisa a week ago—then, she had been strong, yes, but not this strong.
Rosalyne herself bore both the Cryo Archon's blessing and the accumulated might of five centuries as the Crimson Witch. No mere genius should surpass her so absurdly.
So why, in a matter of days, had Lisa become this terrifying?
"Miss Rosalyne, I've come on someone's behalf to deliver you something. I've no intention of fighting."
"But if you're not obedient, I don't mind putting you on the ground first, and then talking nicely after."
Lisa's divine sense locked onto her. Rosalyne suddenly found it difficult to even move a finger.
The sensation was just like when she once faced Alice—that same helplessness and soul-deep terror.
She nearly went mad with the feeling.
But looking into Lisa's eyes, Rosalyne knew better than to resist.
The past was the past. Now…
She was not Lisa's match.
Lisa could probably strike her down with a single move.
Her instincts screamed it, and she believed them.
"That's better. Isn't it much nicer for us to chat peacefully?"
Lisa smiled with satisfaction, lounging gracefully on the sofa opposite.
Peacefully?
Rosalyne glanced at the unconscious Cicin Mages on the floor, then at the entire hotel full of Fatui agents standing dazed like statues.
Was this "peaceful"?
This woman was insane!
She had stormed into the Goth Grand Hotel, incapacitated everyone, and then said she wanted to "chat peacefully"?
If not for the fact that she couldn't win, Rosalyne would have happily hurled Lisa out the third-floor window.
After a moment of silence, Rosalyne reluctantly sat down opposite her, forcing some semblance of composure.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"I've nothing much to talk with you about, actually," Lisa teased, smiling slyly.
"You—!"
Rosalyne shot up in anger, but Lisa's fingertip flicked, releasing a wisp of black-violet flame.
Rosalyne froze, her face draining of blood as she collapsed back onto the sofa, trembling.
"This… what is this?" she whispered in shock.
A lightning-user, conjuring fire? And this fire—this terrifying, Soul Burning Hellfire—was even more dreadful than the Pyro Archon's!
Just what kind of twisted changes had this world undergone?
"This," Lisa said, a smile fading into calm, "is simply something to help you sit quietly and listen."
"If you can't… then believe me, my karmic flame will be more than happy to use your soul as fuel."
Rosalyne bit her lip hard, then lowered her head.
"…I understand."
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