Only a few tiny words remained in the lower-right corner,
but despite their scarcity, the information they carried was astonishing!
Fang Xun immediately spotted the words, "Break Osial's seal"!
Fang Xun knew of Osial.
In the original story, Osial was the Abyssal Sea God,
who had been sealed beneath the sea by Rex Lapis during the Archon War.
Later, Childe of the Fatui released him.
That god's power was so terrifying that even the Adepti and the Liyue Qixing, working together, couldn't suppress him.
In the end, Ningguang sacrificed the Jade Chamber to destroy Osial.
According to the timeline, Osial's resurrection was still a long way off,
yet now the event had been brought forward by twenty years??
What was going on?
Had something disrupted the timeline and changed the course of events?
Fang Xun couldn't figure out the reason, but it had to be connected to him somehow.
For now, the most urgent thing was finding a way to stop the Fatui.
If they really released Osial from beneath the sea,
all of Liyue might be plunged into endless darkness!
Just then,
Fang Xun felt his arm grow much lighter.
He looked up instinctively,
and saw Ganyu, her face flushed and her expression flustered.
"I-I'm sorry. I was so sleepy just now that I couldn't help falling asleep. I'm sorry for the trouble."
Ganyu clutched the hem of her skirt with both hands, her beautiful eyes filled with embarrassment. She wished she could find a crack in the ground to hide in.
Usually, she curled up into a ball for her afternoon nap.
How had she ended up falling asleep with her head on Fang Xun's shoulder today??
And when Ganyu woke up, she'd realized she was holding tightly onto Fang Xun's arm.
Mm...
How embarrassing...
Aside from when she was little and used to sleep while hugging her master, Cloud Retainer, Ganyu had never done anything so improper.
She'd been so rude...
She must have caused Mister Fang Xun a lot of trouble.
Thinking about it made Ganyu feel even more ashamed, and she kept apologizing to Fang Xun.
Seeing her like this, Fang Xun found Ganyu even more adorable.
Ganyu had lived for over two thousand years, yet her personality was just like that of a shy young girl.
The sight of her blushing made him want to give her cheeks a little pinch.
But if he really did that, Ganyu would probably get even more embarrassed.
So Fang Xun just waved his hand and said casually, "Miss Ganyu, you really don't need to feel so guilty. I know you didn't mean to do it."
"Everyone gets sleepy sometimes. Little Ningguang does, and so do I. It's perfectly normal, and I understand."
Fang Xun paused, a faint smile on his face. "Besides, Miss Ganyu, you're very light. Even with you sleeping on my shoulder, I didn't feel tired."
"So don't blame yourself anymore."
Hearing Fang Xun's comforting words, Ganyu felt a rush of warmth.
She'd always been the type to worry about causing trouble for others,
so she always put other people's feelings first.
Now, hearing Fang Xun reassure her, Ganyu finally felt a little better.
"Thank you, Mister Fang Xun."
Just then, the system's voice rang out in Fang Xun's mind.
"Ding! Detected an increase in Ganyu's affection for the host."
"Ganyu's affection has increased from 0 to level 1. Congratulations, host, you've received 1 Intertwined Fate. Additional reward: 5-star artifact, Feather of Death, Gladiator's Finale."
### Hearing the system's prompt, Fang Xun was a little surprised.
He'd only meant to comfort Ganyu and tell her she didn't need to feel so guilty.
He hadn't expected to increase her affection for him??
So Ganyu was a cute little airhead too.
From now on, Fang Xun had another person whose affection he could raise.
Putting those thoughts aside,
Fang Xun opened the wish screen and made a single pull.
His luck was pretty good this time. A streak of purple light cut through the clouds.
Congratulations, host! You've obtained the skill "Earth Core"!
The moment Fang Xun saw the skill appear before him, his eyes lit up.
He knew this skill all too well!
Wasn't this Old Master Zhongli's "useless son's rebuttal"?
"Earth Core" had two uses: tap and hold.
Tapping it gathered Geo energy from the earth to create a stone stele.
It was generally used to change the terrain or to reach items in high places.
The stele was pretty smart, too. It could help the player solve puzzles.
For instance, when Fang Xun came across the block puzzles in Inazuma, all he had to do was put up a pillar. Before long, the stone stele would solve the puzzle by itself.
Who in their right mind would bother figuring out how to solve a puzzle?
Just let the stone stele solve it for you.
Wasn't that better?
The hold version of "Earth Core" was the real star, saving even more time than a tap.
Holding "Earth Core" created a stone stele and made the nearby Geo energy erupt.
In simple terms, it was a convenient skill for mining.
On top of that, holding "Earth Core" also gave the player a Jade Shield.
The Jade Shield could block damage and reduce enemies' resistance.
In the game, Old Master Zhongli's skill mechanics were so outrageous
that countless players had become too lazy to dodge.
It couldn't be helped. Old Master Zhongli made them feel far too safe!
Dodging even once would mean they didn't trust Old Master Zhongli.
Now that Fang Xun had obtained the "Earth Core" skill, his ability to protect himself had greatly improved.
What's more, Fang Xun noticed a small detail.
The "Earth Core" he'd drawn worked a little differently from the version in the game.
In the game, the damage absorbed by the Jade Shield depended on Zhongli's HP.
That meant players who wanted a sturdier Jade Shield had to stack as much HP on Zhongli as possible.
But the "Earth Core" Fang Xun had drawn didn't have that HP requirement.
Instead, when Fang Xun used the Jade Shield, it could absorb one hundred percent of incoming damage and convert the damage he took into health recovery.
What did that mean?
With the Jade Shield active, Fang Xun would be invulnerable to blades, spears, water, and fire.
Even if the Heavenly Principles showed up, no attack could hurt Fang Xun while the Jade Shield lasted!
This skill was amazing.
Fang Xun quickly unlocked "Earth Core."
And, as before, he didn't need to learn anything.
A flood of information poured into his mind.
It felt as if he'd known how to use the skill ever since he was born,
as though it had become pure instinct.
After finishing all that, Fang Xun checked the extra artifact he'd received.
Feather, level 28
HP +30%
HP +418
Before you continue