Moment of the Final Hour

Under the blazing sun, this ordinary piece of Noctilucous Jade could not even rival the glow of a common firefly.

Forget seeing a bright moon; all they could see was the scorching sun overhead.

Compared with the "bright moon" from a moment ago, this piece of Noctilucous Jade-or any other piece, for that matter-hardly deserved the name.

Zhongli handed the Noctilucous Jade back to Zhong Baiye with an approving expression.

"The quality of this Noctilucous Jade is passable."

The nearby customers and the shopkeeper were rather shocked to hear Zhongli's assessment.

Even if they searched all of Liyue, they might not find a handful of pieces of Noctilucous Jade of this quality.

Yet in Zhongli's eyes, this piece was merely passable.

Zhong Baiye was rather shocked as well. He knew Zhongli had lived for at least eight thousand years and had seen countless treasures.

Even the Archon's Relic from earlier had not earned a second glance from Zhongli, yet now he was saying this piece of Noctilucous Jade was fairly good.

"Zhongli, can we use this piece of Noctilucous Jade?"

The onlookers looked puzzled. Only Lumine knew what Zhong Baiye was asking.

As for Paimon, she had only just woken up. Her eyes were still spinning, and she had no idea what had just happened.

This time, Zhongli did not answer immediately. He looked at the crystal-clear Noctilucous Jade in Zhong Baiye's hand and spoke slowly.

"If you are willing to use a piece of Noctilucous Jade good enough to craft an Artifact for the ceremony, I certainly have no objection."

The people around them did not quite understand the word "Artifact," but the shopkeeper, Shitou, trembled.

Zhong Baiye and Lumine had both heard of Artifacts, but they had never seen any records concerning them.

Now that Zhongli was saying this piece of Noctilucous Jade could be used to craft an Artifact, they were rather confused.

As far as Zhong Baiye and Lumine knew, did Artifacts not exist naturally? Why did Zhongli say they could be crafted?

Just then, Shitou spoke up beside them. "Honored guests, please follow me. I know a little about this."

Shitou made an inviting gesture.

Zhong Baiye and Lumine exchanged a glance and immediately agreed.

Shitou led the way, while Lumine went to bring Paimon along. Together, they entered the basement of the Jade Mystery.

Although it was a basement, its surroundings were covered in some unknown minerals, and the gemstones illuminated the entire space as brightly as daylight.

Moreover, the place was practically a mine, with piles of unprocessed ore all around.

Shitou waved for the shop assistant to leave and close the door.

Bang!

After confirming that the assistant had left, Shitou produced a round piece of ore from somewhere.

He fitted the ore into a circular pattern on one wall.

Rumble!

The next moment, the center of the wall actually turned transparent, revealing something shaped like an hourglass.

It looked like an hourglass, but strangely, it held not sand but a liquid that gave off a blue glow. It even had strings.

Zhong Baiye recognized it at a glance as the Sands of Eon from the game's Wanderer's Troupe Set-the Moment of the Final Hour.

Shitou first offered a prayer to the Moment of the Final Hour, then turned back to address Zhong Baiye and the others.

"This is an Artifact left behind by my ancestor. He was a craftsman who specialized in making Artifacts."

Shitou pointed to a portrait hanging on the wall.

Zhong Baiye and the others looked over. The man in the portrait did indeed resemble Shitou, and he was holding the very Artifact before them.

Shitou sighed and continued.

"As times changed, the scarcity of materials made crafting Artifacts all but impossible. At least, that was what I believed."

Shitou paused and looked at the Noctilucous Jade shining with an enchanting light in Zhong Baiye's hand.

"It was only the Noctilucous Jade in this guest's hand today that reminded me of this."

As he spoke, Shitou took several blueprints out of a box, then bowed to Zhong Baiye and the others.

"These are Artifact blueprints passed down by my ancestor. I brought you here because I wanted to ask you to let me use this piece of Noctilucous Jade to craft Artifacts."

Zhong Baiye had been wondering how to get his hands on Artifacts. Now that Shitou had offered on his own, he naturally accepted without hesitation.

Shitou was delighted. Crafting an Artifact with their own hands was the dream of every member of his family.

Next, Zhong Baiye examined the Artifact blueprints carefully and finally decided to ask Shitou to craft the Moment of the Final Hour.

It was not that he did not want the other Artifacts. The Noctilucous Jade simply was not compatible with them, and the finished Artifacts might have no effect.

Most importantly, this fist-sized piece of Noctilucous Jade might be enough to craft several Moments of the Final Hour.

Seeing how happy Shitou was, Zhong Baiye finally asked him about Artifacts.

"Shopkeeper, why are Artifacts so rare? I know a member of the Liyue Qixing, and I heard that even she doesn't have any."

Zhong Baiye was very curious about this. Although Artifacts were not exactly everywhere in the game, they were still fairly common.

How had Artifacts become so rare here in Teyvat?

Upon hearing this, Shitou answered without a second thought.

"Because Artifacts are incredibly difficult to craft, of course!"

Lumine was curious too and continued, "But after all these years, surely plenty of Artifacts must have survived!"

This time, Lumine's question stumped Shitou. He did not know why either.

Teyvat had a long history spanning at least ten thousand years. Logically, even if surviving Artifacts were scarce, they should not have been so rare that even the Liyue Qixing had none.

"It is because of a great war five hundred years ago. Artifacts played a significant role in that war, and afterward, they became something of a taboo in Teyvat."

Zhongli, who had been admiring the raw ore nearby, suddenly spoke as he looked at Zhong Baiye with a peculiar expression.

Hearing this, Zhong Baiye and Lumine understood. Most likely, that war had destroyed a great many Artifacts, making even a single one difficult to find in Teyvat today.

Still, being stared at so strangely by Zhongli left Zhong Baiye feeling rather unnerved.

Fortunately, after looking at him for a little longer, Zhongli turned his attention back to the raw ore.

"Honored guests, shouldn't we settle the payment in Mora?"

Shitou's sudden remark drew Zhong Baiye and Lumine's attention back to him.

Zhong Baiye naturally did not concern himself with such things and casually tossed Shitou the money pouch Childe had given them.

"We still need to pick out a few pieces of top-quality Noctilucous Jade. You can give us the change afterward."

Shitou accepted the pouch with a smile and readily agreed to Zhong Baiye's request.

But after Shitou checked the Mora inside, his smile suddenly froze, and he glared fiercely at Zhong Baiye and his companions.