Recaps

Xiu Yuan discovered that pirates had taken Rina’s children hostage after signaling from Watatsumi Island, and watched the bearded pirate kill the boy. Blaming himself for the tragedy, Xiu Yuan lost the last light in his eyes as Yide convinced him that his presence had caused it.

• Xiu Yuan realized that Yide could have used signal fires to alert pirates, and blamed himself for overlooking the danger.
• Xiu Yuan found the pirates’ ship and saw Rina’s two children tied up on deck.
• The bearded man snapped the little boy’s neck in front of Xiu Yuan.
• Yide told Xiu Yuan that the boy had died because Xiu Yuan came looking for the pirates.
• Xiu Yuan concluded that he brought misfortune and that everything would improve if he died.

Xiu Yuan’s Karmic Debt took control after pirates threatened him and the child, killing the pirates and returning the ship to Watatsumi Island. After recovering his shattered memories, Xiu Yuan resolved to atone for letting the crisis break him.

• Yide tried to stab Xiu Yuan, but Xiu Yuan stopped the blade and his Karmic Debt seized control.
• Xiu Yuan’s killing intent paralyzed the pirates, and he killed them by bursting their hearts.
• Xiu Yuan returned the pirate ship to Watatsumi Island, told the islanders that one person had died and the others were alive, then vanished.
• Xiu Yuan went home and endured repeated, painful attempts to restore his shattered memories.
• After recovering his memories, Xiu Yuan heard his Karmic Debt promise not to let the same thing happen again and decided to atone.

After piecing together his memories, Xiu Yuan learned the full toll of the attack on Watatsumi Island and blamed himself for the villagers who died. Zebu and the villagers thanked him for saving most of them, but he could not stop seeing his failure to protect everyone.

• Zebu and the villagers waited outside Xiu Yuan's house for two days until he emerged.
• Xiu Yuan asked how many villagers had died, and Zebu told him twelve were dead and three were seriously injured.
• Zebu and the villagers thanked Xiu Yuan for saving them and their children, urging him not to blame himself.
• Xiu Yuan wept and blamed his carelessness for the twelve deaths, while Zebu struggled to understand his self-reproach.

Xiu Yuan blamed himself for the deaths on Watatsumi Island and asked to leave, convinced his lone calamity fate brought misfortune to those near him. Zebu tearfully begged him to return to Narukami Island, and he promised he would come back.

• Zebu argued that Watatsumi Island’s people needed trials to grow, while Xiu Yuan said their growth did not have to cost lives.
• Xiu Yuan told Zebu he believed he bore the lone calamity fate and feared his presence had caused disasters for those around him.
• Xiu Yuan asked Zebu to give his position to Jintai and said he wanted to go somewhere no one could find him for a while.
• Zebu recalled that Xiu Yuan had nearly died after his last attempt to rest and feared he would sacrifice his life next time.
• Xiu Yuan held the crying Zebu and promised he would return.

Xiu Yuan accepted the people of Watatsumi Island’s gratitude but remained unable to forgive himself, and he set out alone toward the rising sun. The author then explained the character’s flaws and asked readers to continue following the eighth life.

• The people of Watatsumi Island thanked Xiu Yuan and urged him to stop blaming himself for what happened.
• Xiu Yuan told Zebu he would return and asked her to treat him to Aburaage again.
• Zebu reluctantly let Xiu Yuan leave and said she would have to explain his departure to Kitsune Saiguu and the others.
• Xiu Yuan walked through the gathered villagers and rowed away from Watatsumi Island in a small boat.
• The author asked readers to discuss the story calmly, described Xiu Yuan as imperfect, and thanked readers for their support.

After Xiu Yuan withdrew from public life, he secretly protected Inazuma from pirates, helping the nation prosper while Baal and Zebu worried about the burden he carried. The chapter ended with them wondering how long it would be before he returned to them.

• Zebu told Kitsune Saiguu, Chiyo, and Baal what had happened to Xiu Yuan, and Baal urged them to give him time to recover.
• Zebu took over as head of the Tenryou Commission while assuring everyone that Xiu Yuan would always remain Inazuma’s Tenryou Commissioner.
• Violet lightning began destroying pirate ships, and people came to believe that a second, hidden god was protecting Inazuma’s waters.
• Safer seas brought more trade and prosperity to Inazuma, including Yashiori Island and Watatsumi Island.
• Zebu and Baal watched Narukami Island’s crowds and worried that Xiu Yuan’s relentless efforts would eventually break him.
• Baal and Zebu wondered when Xiu Yuan would return, though they sensed he was still nearby.

Zebu found Xiu Yuan on his deserted island and urged him to rest, questioning why he took so much responsibility upon himself. She decided they would share the work of protecting Inazuma and persuaded him to return to Narukami Island for a few days of rest.

• Chiyo reminded Zebu that Xiu Yuan had promised to make things up to them, and Zebu flew off to find him.
• Xiu Yuan met Zebu on the tiny deserted island where he lived and explained that he liked its privacy and location.
• Zebu asked why Xiu Yuan pushed himself so hard, and he explained that he wanted to contain evil and shoulder the responsibility that came with his power.
• Zebu told Xiu Yuan that she would join his patrols and alternate days with him, insisting that they split the work evenly.
• Zebu invoked Xiu Yuan's promise and asked him to return to Narukami Island for a few days of rest, and Xiu Yuan agreed.

Xiu Yuan shared a meal with Zebu and Chiyo before young Yae Miko framed him for threatening her. Zebu surprised everyone by deciding Miko’s invented punishment was a great idea and grabbing her to carry it out.

• Zebu fed Xiu Yuan her improved Aburaage, and he praised her cooking.
• Zebu demonstrated her new sword-hilt trick on Chiyo, who admitted Zebu had made the dish herself.
• Zebu reminded Xiu Yuan that he had promised to tell her if he faced another danger like the Great Serpent, and Yae Miko teased him for showing displeasure.
• After Xiu Yuan warned Yae Miko not to mislead Zebu, Miko pretended he had threatened to feed her to the fish.
• Zebu seized Miko by the neck and declared that feeding her to the fish was a great idea.

Zebu welcomed Xiu Yuan back with her companions, and he resolved to take on the burdens she would otherwise face and protect her smile. After sharing a meal, they planned to play cards beneath the cherry blossoms, while Xiu Yuan’s extraordinary strength and endurance astonished everyone.

• Zebu teased Xiu Yuan and Miko, then invited Xiu Yuan to go fishing before Baal and Kitsune Saiguu brought out dinner.
• As they ate, Zebu recognized that Xiu Yuan was still troubled by his lone calamity fate and feared harming others.
• Kitsune Saiguu asked about Xiu Yuan’s flying ability, and he said he could fly for days at a normal pace or for four to five hours at full speed.
• Xiu Yuan explained that his strength had grown enough for his blade to rival Zebu’s Musou no Hitotachi, though he denied being as strong as her.
• Kitsune Saiguu, Baal, and Zebu teased Chiyo until she fled in embarrassment, then invited everyone to play cards among the cherry blossoms.
• Baal asked what snacks everyone wanted, and Xiu Yuan requested candied hawthorn skewers.

Xiu Yuan searched Baal’s home for her Gnosis, but Baal caught him and challenged his identity as Sasayuri. The chapter left Xiu Yuan facing Baal’s suspicion after she explained why she believed he was not the person he claimed to be.

• Xiu Yuan found Baal’s Gnosis, which was shaped like a chess king, in an exquisite box.
• Baal appeared and revealed that she had been waiting for Xiu Yuan to search for the Gnosis.
• Baal asked Xiu Yuan what he intended to do with it, and he tried to come up with an excuse.
• Baal told Xiu Yuan she did not think he was Sasayuri, citing his sacrifice to protect civilians on Yashiori Island and his guilt over failing them.

Baal confronted Xiu Yuan after realizing he was not Sasayuri and had deliberately used the Gnosis to draw him out. Xiu Yuan revealed his identity and mission, then explained how taking Sasayuri’s place and fulfilling the Great Serpent’s final wish had changed what followed his death.

• Baal told Xiu Yuan she knew he was not Sasayuri and asked for his real name.
• Xiu Yuan realized Baal had deliberately left the Gnosis where he could find it, hoping to confirm her suspicions.
• Baal agreed to let Xiu Yuan take the Gnosis if he explained himself, and he identified himself as Xiu Yuan, a Reincarnator from another world.
• Xiu Yuan told Baal his mission was to kill the Great Serpent and take part in the war in Khaenri'ah.
• Baal asked whether Xiu Yuan had known the Great Serpent would attack Yashiori Island, and he explained that Sasayuri would have died if he had not taken over his body.
• Xiu Yuan said that killing the Great Serpent without triggering the Shogun’s devastation or the spread of Tatarigami had been possible because he fulfilled the serpent’s final wish.

Xiu Yuan told Baal that the war with Khaenri'ah would devastate Teyvat and leave Inazuma frozen under the Shogun's pursuit of Eternity. He revealed that he had a way to prevent the catastrophe, then vanished after asking Baal to keep his secret.

• Baal asked Xiu Yuan about the war with Khaenri'ah, and he explained that its power would bring destruction by the Heavenly Principles and the Seven Archons.
• Xiu Yuan told Baal that the war would kill them and described how the Shogun would retreat into the Plane of Euthymia while a puppet enforced the Vision Hunt Decree and closed Inazuma's borders.
• Baal asked whether the catastrophe could be stopped, and Xiu Yuan said that it could.
• Xiu Yuan clasped the Gnosis, felt faith flowing to him as Inazuma's second god, and promised to end the war and protect the land.
• Xiu Yuan asked Baal to keep his secret, then vanished in a flash of lightning.

After obtaining the Gnosis, Xiu Yuan went to Khaenri'ah and secretly warned its civilians to flee before disaster struck. He left after distributing his notes and began preparing for the coming war by training his mental energy.

• Xiu Yuan traveled to Khaenri'ah, believing its destruction was tied to its research into the Abyss and that ordinary civilians deserved a chance to escape.
• Xiu Yuan handed hundreds of robots handwritten notes warning that disaster would strike in three days and urging people to leave Khaenri'ah.
• Xiu Yuan left Khaenri'ah after distributing the notes, accepting that only a few people might believe the warning.
• Xiu Yuan practiced his Tranquility Mantra on a mountaintop to raise his mental energy to its peak before the coming war.

Xiu Yuan reached Celestia with Baal’s Gnosis and faced Heavenly Principles and the four Sustainers, offering important information in exchange for a condition. Three days earlier, Chiyo, Kitsune Saiguu, and Zebu realized Xiu Yuan was missing and began searching for him on Narukami Island.

• Xiu Yuan arrived at Celestia, where Heavenly Principles questioned him about the Gnosis Baal had lent him.
• Xiu Yuan told Heavenly Principles he had come with important information, but he would only share it on one condition.
• Three days earlier, Chiyo and Kitsune Saiguu visited Zebu at Tenshukaku and invited her to go fishing.
• Chiyo revealed her fishing secret to Zebu after Zebu threatened to poke her with a sword hilt.
• Chiyo found Xiu Yuan’s room empty, so she, Zebu, and Kitsune Saiguu searched for him among Narukami Island’s crowds.

After failing to find Xiu Yuan, Kitsune Saiguu, Chiyo, and Zebu learned from Baal that he had left for a few days, and Baal concealed her belief that he might not return from the war in Khaenri'ah. Five days later, a violent sea cataclysm struck outside Inazuma, but an unseen barrier kept the islands safe.

• Kitsune Saiguu, Chiyo, and Zebu searched Narukami, Yashiori, and Watatsumi Islands for Xiu Yuan but found no trace of him.
• Baal told Zebu that Xiu Yuan had left the previous night to handle something and had promised to return in a few days.
• Baal privately feared Xiu Yuan would die in the war in Khaenri'ah, but reassured the others that his strength and caution would keep him safe.
• Chiyo, Kitsune Saiguu, and Zebu accepted Baal's explanation and felt less worried about Xiu Yuan.
• Five days after Xiu Yuan left, a deafening explosion stirred up enormous waves and storms around Inazuma, but an invisible barrier stopped the sea from reaching the islands.

As Inazuma panicked over violent seas and a barrier sealing off the nation, Zebu realized Xiu Yuan might be fighting a god elsewhere and rushed to save him. She attacked the barrier, while the Tenryou Commission and others ordered the people to flee to higher ground.

• The people of Inazuma watched the sea churn beneath a gray sky and feared an approaching disaster.
• Zebu and Baal realized the barrier and distant explosion were connected to events outside Inazuma, though neither knew the full cause.
• Zebu guessed that Xiu Yuan had left to fight another nation's god and had sealed Inazuma off to protect it.
• Zebu asked Baal to prepare everyone for the tsunamis, then flew toward the explosion to bring Xiu Yuan back.
• Zebu discovered that the barrier prevented anyone from leaving and struck it with her thunder-wreathed blade.
• Chiyo, Kitsune Saiguu, and the Tenryou Commission ordered the people to flee to higher ground.

Zebu repeatedly tried to break Xiu Yuan’s Protective Barrier with her strongest attacks, desperate to reach and protect him, but could not even crack it. As her strength waned, an enormous monster rose from the sea outside the barrier.

• People fled toward the mountains as Zebu attacked the Protective Barrier, but it repelled her strikes.
• Zebu unleashed Musou no Hitotachi, yet the barrier blocked her ultimate technique and the shock waves devastated Narukami Island.
• Hearing explosions from the distant north, Zebu continued attacking, determined to reach Xiu Yuan and bring him back.
• As Zebu’s stamina ran low, a building-sized monster rose from the sea beyond the Protective Barrier, leaving her stunned.

Zebu faced a sea packed with Abyss-like monsters that cracked the Protective Barrier around Narukami Island. As she prepared to defend the island’s people to the death, a one-armed man arrived and struck the monsters with a devastating blast of lightning.

• People on Narukami Island realized the Protective Barrier had trapped them as well as shielded them from the tsunami, then ran down the mountain to see the monster at sea.
• Chiyo stopped Jintai from restraining the civilians because she believed the barrier kept them safe and Zebu could handle any monsters that got through.
• Zebu confronted the huge creature outside the barrier and recognized an aura like that of the Abyss.
• More monsters appeared until the ocean was filled with them, and their attacks spread cracks across the Protective Barrier.
• Zebu resolved to defend the people of Narukami Island as the barrier neared breaking, but a one-armed man arrived and unleashed a huge lightning strike that blasted the monsters.

Xiu Yuan returned to Narukami Island gravely wounded after escaping the battle in Khaenri'ah and drew the surrounding monsters away from the island. He trapped Zebu and the others behind the barrier as he prepared to face the monsters alone, leaving Zebu devastated that he had broken his promise.

• Xiu Yuan arrived beside Zebu, Chiyo, Kitsune Saiguu, Baal, and the Tenryou Commission soldiers, shocking them with his bloodied, abyss-corroded body.
• Xiu Yuan recalled how he sensed monsters attacking the barrier from outside during the war in Khaenri'ah and fought his way back to Inazuma.
• Xiu Yuan drew the monsters surrounding Narukami Island toward himself and killed them with waves of blade energy from the air.
• Zebu struck the barrier and begged Xiu Yuan to let her fight beside him, accusing him of breaking his promise as she wept.

Xiu Yuan said farewell to Zebu and the Tenryou Commission while preparing to face the monsters alone. As Zebu wept behind the barrier, he remembered the friends and peaceful life she would have without him.

• Xiu Yuan told Zebu that he forgave her and comforted her as she begged him to open the barrier.
• Xiu Yuan ordered Jintai to serve Zebu and keep Inazuma safe, then praised his subordinates for standing against the monsters.
• The Tenryou Commission recited its declaration to serve as Inazuma's spear and shield, and Xiu Yuan urged them to remember their duty.
• Xiu Yuan told Zebu he was glad to know her playful side and hoped she would remain surrounded by Baal, Chiyo, Kitsune Saiguu, and Yae Miko.
• Zebu begged Xiu Yuan to stay and try the dishes she had learned to cook, while Chiyo recalled how she had taught Zebu to make meat stew and candied hawthorn skewers.
• Xiu Yuan remembered that Sasayuri's favorite food had been Chiyo's meat stew.

Xiu Yuan reassured himself that his friends were safe, then unleashed a devastating technique against the Abyss-corrupted monsters surrounding Inazuma. The Rakshasa Death Domain engulfed tens of thousands of monsters, leaving them trapped beneath its relentless blade energy.

• Chiyo and Kitsune Saiguu remembered gifts from Xiu Yuan and became emotional as he saw that they were safe and whole.
• Xiu Yuan resolved to stop the advancing monsters and recalled how his second move had once exhausted him and cost him his arm.
• Xiu Yuan used One Thought, Three Thousand to recreate his severed left arm from translucent blue energy.
• Xiu Yuan rose into the clouds and summoned lightning that formed a monstrous face, causing the monsters to flee.
• Xiu Yuan struck the center of the horde and unleashed the Rakshasa Death Domain, trapping tens of thousands of monsters in a vast black sphere where blade energy tore them apart.

Xiu Yuan defeated the monsters with the Rakshasa Domain but collapsed after the Protective Barrier shattered, revealing that he had stolen the Gnosis and fought the war in everyone’s place. He asked Baal to leave his name and deeds to Sasayuri, then died, completing his eighth life.

• Xiu Yuan’s Rakshasa Domain annihilated the monsters, and the Protective Barrier around Narukami Island shattered.
• Zebu rescued the exhausted, blinded Xiu Yuan from the sea and brought him aboard the ship.
• Xiu Yuan apologized for stealing the Gnosis and fighting in the war alone, then revealed the Gnosis to everyone.
• Baal took the Gnosis, but Xiu Yuan asked her not to tell anyone his name so Sasayuri could inherit his legacy.
• Xiu Yuan told Baal he would return when the cherry blossoms bloomed, then died in her arms.

After completing his eighth reincarnation, Xiu Yuan chose the Good-and-Evil Mask and began his final reincarnation as Glasya-Labolas, the Demon God of Darkness. He found himself in ancient Liyue before the Archon War and planned to grow strong enough to confront Morax, but someone approached him and asked who he was.

• Xiu Yuan let the system select the Good-and-Evil Mask, which allowed him to control his karmic debt and Abyssal corruption while strengthening them whenever he used them.
• Xiu Yuan put on the mask and began his ninth reincarnation with a mission to participate in the Archon War in Liyue.
• Xiu Yuan learned that his new identity was Glasya-Labolas, the Demon God of Darkness, born from humanity's fear of the unknown.
• Xiu Yuan discovered that he wielded Electro, Pyro, and Geo, though he knew little about Geo.
• Xiu Yuan realized he was in Liyue before the Archon War and intended to become strong enough to fight Morax, when an unknown voice asked who he was.

Xiu Yuan met the young Morax and accepted his challenge to spar. He defeated Morax by using Electro and Geo together, leaving Morax to admit defeat.

• Xiu Yuan introduced himself to Morax, who challenged him to a spar.
• Morax attacked with rocks and a spear, but Xiu Yuan dodged and deflected his moves.
• Morax summoned two Rock Sharks, and Xiu Yuan pierced them with Geo spikes, shocking Morax by wielding two elements.
• Xiu Yuan exploited Morax’s surprise and cut through his rock wall with Great Thunderclap.
• Morax conceded defeat after Xiu Yuan won the spar.

Xiu Yuan asked Morax how long he had been alive to place himself in Teyvat’s timeline, then realized this life could last for thousands of years without any way to reach Celestia. He struggled with the fear that the people he hoped to return to might move on, but resolved to honor his contract and go back regardless.

• Xiu Yuan offered to explain how to wield two elements if Morax answered a question.
• Xiu Yuan asked how long Morax had been in the world, hoping to determine the current point in history.
• Morax estimated that he had been born about thirty-five or thirty-six hundred years earlier.
• Xiu Yuan realized he lacked a Gnosis and could not contact Celestia or meaningfully control events such as the Archon War.
• Xiu Yuan worried that centuries of waiting might cause him to lose his longing to return or find that the people he missed had moved on.
• Xiu Yuan pushed aside his doubts and reaffirmed that he had to return to honor his contract.