The morning of their departure was an exciting affair. There was no grand procession or public farewell. Just a single, sleek, and impossibly elegant hovercar resting on a private landing platform at the Yuehai Pavilion. It was the Eclipsing Star, Ningguang's personal vehicle, a machine that was both a marvel of engineering and a statement of absolute wealth and authority.
Its chassis was not the simple, practical grey of the prototype. It was a deep, lustrous black, polished to a mirror finish and accented with fine, intricate lines of inlaid gold that shimmered in the morning sun. A completely roofed car, with windows that were lightly tinted, crystalline material that offered a panoramic view while providing complete privacy. It was less a car and more a flying piece of obsidian jewelry.
Ningguang, dressed in a simple but exquisitely tailored traveling outfit that was both elegant and practical, stood beside the open passenger door, a calm, confident smile on her face. "After you, my esteemed advisor," she said, her voice a low, amused purr.
Ren, his own small travel pack already stowed securely in the surprisingly spacious rear compartment, simply grinned and hopped into the passenger seat. The interior was even more luxurious than the outside. The seats were not just padded; they were upholstered in a soft, comfortable black leather, and the air inside was cool, and smelled faintly of silk flowers.
With a soft, satisfying thump, the doors sealed, shutting out the bustling noise of the Harbor, leaving them in a cocoon of quiet peace. Ningguang took her seat, her hands resting on the polished steering wheel. With a slow insert of the key and a clicking sound, the Eclipsing Star came to life. A low, powerful hum vibrated through the cabin. The car lifted from the platform, and hovered for a moment against the vast, blue canvas of the Liyue sky.
Then, with a gentle, expert touch on the acceleration pedal, Ningguang guided them forward, and the city of Liyue began to fall away beneath them.
The journey was a silent, breathtaking spectacle. From their high, privileged vantage point, the world of Liyue was a magnificent, living map. They soared towards the Chasm area, on the west. The sharp, majestic, and amber-hued peaks of Jueyun Karst, the ancient, misty home of the adepti now a beautiful, rugged landscape was visible on the north horizon.
Ningguang was a master at the controls. Her movements were economical, precise, and imbued with an unshakable, almost casual, confidence. She handled the Eclipsing Star like an expert pilot. There were no sudden lurches, no jerky movements, just a smooth glide through the heavens.
As they approached the western edge of Liyue, the familiar, vibrant landscape gave way to a stark, ugly wound in the earth. The Chasm.
From the air, it was an even more imposing and ominous sight. It was a vast, gaping maw, a spiral of dark, strange-colored rock that descended into the unseen, mysterious depths of the world. A faint, unsettling haze seemed to cling to its lower levels, a visible sign of the ancient, lingering corruption within.
Ningguang, without a word, turned the Eclipsing Star to the north, her course a wide, deliberate arc around the chasm. It was not a place for a leisurely fly-by.
Ren stared down at the Chasm. Down there, he knew, Lumine was in the midst of her own dangerous adventure. He thought of the upside-down city, of the dark, abyssal mud, and of the new friends she was making in the depths. He sent a silent, hopeful prayer for her safety.
His thoughts then turned to another, even older, and more tragic, story. He thought of Bosacius, the last of the Guardian Yakshas, the one who had, in the final, tragic days of the Khaenri'ah cataclysm, sealed himself away in these depths, his mind lost, his duty fulfilled, his name forgotten by the world he had died to protect. Ren looked at the dark hole and he saw not just a geographical anomaly, but a tomb. The lonely, unmarked grave of a forgotten hero. A quiet, profound respect, filled his heart.
Ningguang, noticing his quiet, somber gaze, glanced at him, her expression softening. "A sad place," she murmured, her voice a quiet understanding. "Full of old sorrows. It is best not to linger."
They continued their journey, leaving the Chasm and its ghosts behind. As they soared over the rolling hills and open plains, the world below came back to life. Ren watched, fascinated, as the tiny, ant-like figures of the world went about their lives. He saw a small, slow-moving merchant caravan, its path a winding, inefficient crawl compared to their own, swift, aerial journey. His inventions would eventually make these journeys much more efficient. He saw a small, peaceful camp of Hilichurls, their simple, tribal life a strange, and almost endearing, sight from this safe, detached distance.
Then, he saw a different kind of group. A small, ragged band of Treasure Hoarders, their movements furtive and suspicious, heading east, towards the Liyue.
"Trouble," Ningguang noted, her voice a low, dismissive hum. "Though already accounted for by my network. We do not have to worry about them." The Tianquan's gaze, even from miles in the sky, was ever-watchful, and already several steps ahead.
Slowly, the landscape began to change once more. The sharp, amber-hued geology of Liyue, began to soften. The ground below became a vibrant shade of green. The familiar golden-leaved trees were replaced by a dense, towering lush of rainforest trees. The air, even within their sealed, climate-controlled cabin, seemed to take on a new, damp scent of the rainforest.
They had crossed the border. They were in Sumeru.
Ren pressed his face to the window, his glowing azure eyes wide with a new, excited wonder. He saw strange, brilliantly-colored birds flit through the canopy. He saw rivers that were a wider, and lazier, than Liyue's.
And then, he saw it.
On the horizon, rising from the heart of the vast rainforest, was a sight so beautiful, that it took his breath away. It was a city of green and of life. Sumeru City, a sprawling city built into, and around, a single, colossal, and divine, tree, its branches so vast they formed a canopy over the entire city, its roots a labyrinth of natural, winding streets.
It was a city that was not just in a forest; it was a forest itself.
A new, exciting chapter of his journey had just begun.