The First Time He Saw His Teacher's Appearance

Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

Hu Tao was reading an ancient book, surprise on her face.

"Zhongli, look. Legend says that in ancient Liyue, there was an Archon who could strip people of all Seven Senses."

"Yes, there indeed was such an Archon."

Zhongli nodded upon hearing Hu Tao's words.

"Then how did Rex Lapis defeat it back then? Could it be that Rex Lapis could not have his Seven Senses stripped away?"

"That was not the case."

Zhongli shook his head.

In fact, the solution he had used back then was very simple.

Sometimes, the stranger an ability was, the weaker its actual offensive power. And the ability to strip away someone's Seven Senses could not possibly last forever.

He simply had to make sure it could not break through his shield.

Bai Ye hated this feeling.

Having lost all his senses, he could do nothing. Even a fish on the chopping block could flop twice, while he was worse off than that fish.

What should I do?

Bai Ye no longer even had any sense of time.

His body was like a coffin, trapping his soul tightly within it.

This helpless feeling made him extremely uncomfortable.

It was just like when he had first transmigrated here.

Helpless.

He could do nothing.

Bai Ye remembered that, in his most helpless moment, he had received help from his teacher.

So now...

A voice appeared beside Bai Ye's nearly lifeless presence.

"What is going on with you?"

"Teacher?!"

Bai Ye spoke in both shock and delight.

More accurately, he had not spoken aloud, but communicated through his mind.

"Mm." Hagintos nodded, then asked curiously, "I was asleep earlier, but I suddenly sensed that something had happened to you, so I hurriedly woke up. Then I passed through the shell and spoke directly with your soul."

As she spoke,

Bai Ye felt a "young girl" appear before him.

She was about the same height as him, with loose grayish-white hair and a white dress with enormous sleeves. Her calves were exposed, and she stood barefoot on the ground. Both hands were tucked inside her wide sleeves. She had sweet features and a mischievous expression.

"This..."

Although he had imagined that his teacher would look like a young girl, seeing her appear before him still made his eyes light up.

In short, she was incredibly cute.

"Teacher?"

Bai Ye asked hesitantly.

"Of course it's me. Other than your teacher, who else could be this cute?" Hagintos walked over to Bai Ye and pinched his cheek with her little hand. "Mm, as expected of my student. You're nearly as cute as your teacher."

"Don't describe boys as cute!"

"Should I call you handsome, then? You're still far too young for that."

Bai Ye did not want to discuss the matter further and asked Hagintos, "Teacher, how did you appear here?"

"This is where your soul resides. We are both souls, so we can see each other. Well? Have you remembered what your teacher looks like? If you ever discover some divine relic with an image of me carved on it, remember to tell me right away!"

Hagintos smiled brightly.

"Mm-hm, I definitely will."

Bai Ye nodded earnestly.

Then he remembered their current situation. Unable to continue chatting with his teacher, he hurriedly asked, "Teacher, my Seven Senses have all been stripped away. Do you have a way to get me out of this state?"

"No. I have no way to free you from this state."

Hagintos shook her head.

"This..."

Bai Ye frowned.

Under these circumstances, they were all within the Archon Remnant's attack range. This was truly dangerous.

Seeing Bai Ye thinking, Hagintos angrily planted her hands on her hips.

"Bai Ye, just because I can't free you from this state does not mean your teacher can't see! This Archon's attack only sealed your soul. My soul can move freely in and out."

"So..."

Bai Ye understood what his teacher meant.

Hagintos said, "Come on. You control the body, and I'll give the commands!"

Bai Ye could not feel anything, but he could still move.

However, with all Seven Senses gone, he had no way to decide how to act.

Hagintos's presence made up for that weakness.

This required Bai Ye to trust Hagintos unconditionally, without the slightest hesitation in her judgment.

"Teacher, I'm counting on you from here on."

"Mm-hm."

Hagintos vanished from before Bai Ye's eyes,

but her voice remained.

"Fortunately, that attack which stripped away the Seven Senses also greatly drained this Archon's remnant soul. It is still waiting to recover before launching an attack against you."

"But we need to resolve this quickly. Of the two people beside you, the girl is fine for now—she's merely frozen in a daze. But that Yaksha seems to bear far too much karmic debt. His body is nearly at its limit, so we should act quickly."

"Mm."

Bai Ye prepared to move,

but before doing so, he still curiously asked Hagintos:

"Teacher, do you remember Ganyu, Xiao, or this Archon, Shakoth?"

"I have no recollection of them."

Hagintos answered firmly.

"I see."

Bai Ye was somewhat disappointed.

But he still turned his attention back to the battlefield before him.

"Bai Ye, run forward. Raise the crossbow in your right hand. Higher, keep raising it. Good, this angle..."

Following Hagintos's commands, Bai Ye began to move.

Watching the tiny human charge toward it, Shakoth's remnant was somewhat confused.

Under normal circumstances,

after it unleashed that red light, wouldn't anyone who dared disturb it become frozen in a daze, allowing it to eliminate them one by one?

The occasional one or two who could still move only flailed around blindly.

Why could he still move, and why was he charging straight at it?

Only a remnant remained of Shakoth, so naturally its intelligence was limited. It did not even understand its own abilities.

Seeing Bai Ye charge over and realizing its red light had no effect, it could only silently wait for him to approach.

After unleashing that red light, it had expended much of its strength and fallen to the ground, unable to move on a large scale.

Now, it only planned to wait until Bai Ye reached its side before delivering a fatal blow.

As it thought this, Bai Ye arrived before it.

Shakoth's remnant raised its claw and swiped it at Bai Ye.

However, as its claw came crashing down, Bai Ye sprang away with wind beneath his feet, dodging the attack.

At the same time, he gripped the crossbow with both hands,

and fired a bolt into Shakoth's remnant's abdomen.