With the biggest boss of the Hilichurl camp taken down, capturing the camp became a guaranteed victory.
Liang Chuan led the assassin players back into the battlefield and cleaned up the remaining Hilichurls.
Then came the moment every player was waiting for—
Treasure time.
Inside one of the huts sat a chest.
In their UI, it displayed as a "Precious Chest."
As the team leader, Flameburst (火炎焱) stepped forward and opened it.
He froze.
Inside the "Precious Chest" was…
a full crate of Sunsettias.
After all that work—
just a pile of fruit?
If Liang Chuan weren't standing right beside him, Flameburst would've roasted the developers on the spot.
Liang Chuan sighed.
Of course there were no Primogems, artifacts, talent materials, or any such convenient luxuries.
Items taken for granted in the game were rare treasures in real Teyvat.
If they wanted high-grade gear or materials here, it wouldn't come from chest RNG—
it would come from leveling the Workbench and unlocking higher-tier shops within the Fourth Calamity system.
With the camp secured, the players moved on to the hardest part—
corpse hauling.
A small Hilichurl weighed dozens of kilos.
A Hilichurl Berserker? Around 200 kilos.
A Stonehide Lawachurl?
You needed to start using tons.
Dragging all these bodies back to the Bio-Energy Terminal was at least ten times harder than killing them.
But with 1 unit of bio-energy selling for 1000 credit points, nobody complained.
They gritted their teeth and worked.
This wasn't a game session—
it was a full-time job.
With the Hilichurl camp cleared, nothing blocked Liang Chuan's way into the Misty Canyon (烟迷主) region.
He said his goodbyes, activated Gale Step, and slipped away.
After crossing a river, he officially entered the new area—
and instantly hit a fresh wall of trouble:
Mountains.
Very tall mountains.
Liang Chuan stared at the jagged terrain and couldn't help complaining:
"No wonder Natlan's people and dragons can fly, leap, or burrow.
Without those, how are you supposed to live here…?"
His gaze locked onto a Myncis Drake in the distance.
He reached into his Pigskin Backpack and pulled out a Mid-grade Control Collar.
Myncis Drakes couldn't fly or burrow,
but they could use Spirite Sense to create wind fields.
If he could ride one of those wind fields upward,
climbing would stop being a problem.
Liang Chuan activated Gale Step and approached the drake.
The creature sensed him and met his gaze.
Realizing he was exposed, Liang Chuan didn't hesitate—
he snapped the Control Collar around the drake's neck.
A burst of stunning electricity dropped the beast instantly.
Its portrait appeared inside Liang Chuan's Follower menu.
HP: 95%
Loyalty: 60%
If loyalty fell below 60%, followers could betray their master at any moment.
"So this is the difference with mid-tier collars…
It even has light hypnosis built in."
He remembered trying to tame Hilichurl babies with low-tier collars—
their loyalty always hovered around 30%, no matter what.
He practically had to use food and fear to drag them barely to 60%.
But this Myncis Drake?
It started at 60 immediately.
He walked over, pulled out a Small Vitality Potion, and poured it down the drake's throat.
Its HP rose back to 100%.
At the same time, loyalty jumped to 70%.
"…Damn.
So beasts like this are easier to tame.
Makes sense Hilichurls are hard—they're born hostile to humans."
Once tamed, the drake created a wind field with Spirite Sense, and Liang Chuan climbed onto its back.
With a whoosh—
the wind lifted them straight up the mountain.
They landed safely on a plateau—
and Liang Chuan froze solid.
Right in front of him stood a humanoid monster.
He recognized it immediately.
A Great Spirit Manifestation.
A Great Spirit Manifestation!!!
Even using his three-body lineup in the real game, he still needed time and careful team rotation to kill one.
And if he picked the wrong element?
He had to teleport out and change his party.
This thing was absolutely not something he could handle right now.
Liang Chuan turned to flee, activating Gale Step, but—
The Manifestation had already targeted him.
Its domain ability "Trial of Spirits" activated instantly.
His entire body went weak.
He checked his stat panel—
All four attributes were cut in half.
"Hold on—
isn't this thing supposed to drain elemental energy?
At most it should sap my Spirit stat.
Why is it deleting my entire attribute sheet?!"
Even worse—
the Manifestation could now track him.
Attacks came crashing toward him.
"Damn… looks like I'm losing my first life here."
He exhaled.
"Good thing no players are nearby.
If I die, at least I won't have to respawn them according to the main quest rules."
Just as the attack was about to land—
A chill swept over him.
Snowflakes began to fall.
CLANG!
A shimmering layer of ice erupted around Liang Chuan, blocking the blow.
"Where did you pop out from, little brat?"
A pink-haired, twin-tailed girl floated toward him—
sitting lazily on a pillow.
"Citra Lili!"
"Hm? You know me?"
Citra Lili blinked in surprise.
"But I don't recall seeing you before."
"The name 'Obsidian Granny'…
I've heard it."
Liang Chuan raised a hand politely.
"And thanks for the shield, Granny."
"It's Obsidian that's important—
not the granny!
Ugh, whatever. We'll talk later.
Let me calm down this Manifestation first."
Citra Lili descended slowly, her petite frame radiating the aura of a seasoned priestess.
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