Depending on their strength, Ruin Guards could yield three very useful materials: chaos devices, chaos circuits, and chaos cores.
These Ruin Guards were not particularly strong, so only one chaos device could be extracted from each machine.
Like Slime Condensate, chaos devices could be used as materials for enhancing weapons through alchemy. Although they were mechanical constructs, they contained a special energy, making them rare materials.
After gathering the spoils, Li Qiuzhi glanced at Noelle and Ver and said:
"Come on, let's see what's inside the ruins."
"Okay."
Both women nodded lightly, equally curious about the unexplored ruins.
Before long, the three entered the dark passage the Ruin Guards had emerged from. A little moss grew on the stone walls, giving the place a sense of great age.
Sturdy Hunting Shoes, lightweight La Signora Short Boots, and over-the-knee Armored Boots-the soft echoes of these three different sets of footsteps were the only sounds in the silent passage.
Perhaps because their surroundings were so quiet, Li Qiuzhi and the others instinctively refrained from speaking, unwilling to break the atmosphere.
The Treasure Hoarders seemed to have uncovered this passage recently. No one had found it before, so their luck really was remarkable.
After walking several dozen meters, the three reached a more spacious chamber. All around them were traces left by dormant Ruin Guards. The five outside might have come from here.
There was a stone doorway on the right, already open. Before entering, Li Qiuzhi noticed a stone tablet beside it, apparently inscribed with the method for breaking the seal.
A golden shadow in clear lake water;
An Electro Crystal in a crack in the stone wall;
Slime pulp from a large Pyro Slime;
A small fragment of pitch-black meteoric iron;
A Hilichurl shaman's Forbidden Curse Scroll;
Place the above materials in order into the five slots around the stone doorway. This is the method for breaking the seal!
"Isn't this a little too straightforward? Aren't instructions for breaking seals supposed to be cryptic, leaving you to guess what you actually need to do?"
Li Qiuzhi could not help complaining.
"Not necessarily. Gathering all these materials wouldn't be easy for an ordinary person," Ver said, shaking her head after a moment's thought.
"It seems knightly novels aren't entirely accurate either."
Noelle looked a little disappointed. The protagonists in her books always endured countless hardships before gaining their rewards. Clearly, she could not believe everything she read.
"Anyway, let's go inside and see whether there really is a domain."
Since the seal had already been broken, they did not dwell on it. Soon, they passed through the stone doorway into another simple stone chamber.
A stone display stand stood in the center, presumably where the Artifact had been placed. Unfortunately, the Treasure Hoarders had taken it.
"Look, a domain!"
Ver pointed excitedly at the corner on the right.
Li Qiuzhi followed her gaze and saw an enormous rift hanging motionless there, as though space itself had been torn open. Rather than a deep, empty black, the spatial rift resembled a starry sky, dotted with countless stars.
"So this is a Domain Portal?" Li Qiuzhi had seen one in the game, but encountering it up close in reality was still rather stunning.
"Yes. This is my first time seeing one too. I don't know how it works, but someone as knowledgeable as Miss Lisa might."
Surprise showed on Noelle's fair face as well.
"Should we go inside and take a look? The more information we gather, the more valuable it'll be!" Ver said excitedly.
Li Qiuzhi gave her a look of speechlessness worthy of Lumine, truly at a loss for words.
"Miss Ver, we don't know what's inside the domain. Rushing in could be dangerous. We should leave it to the Adventurers' Guild's professional investigators."
Noelle also tried to dissuade her gently.
Having played the game, Li Qiuzhi knew that almost any domain was likely to contain a whole bunch of monsters. He was afraid they might enter and find themselves right in the middle of them.
Li Qiuzhi felt it was better not to be so reckless.
"Now that we've confirmed there really is a domain, let's head back," Li Qiuzhi told the two women.
They had been out for quite a while since accepting the commission. By the time they returned to Mondstadt, it would already be dark.
"All right."
Ver understood the reasoning, of course. She let her arms fall limply and lowered her head in dejection.
Retracing their steps, the three left the passage through the ruins and began their journey back to Mondstadt City, escorting several captured Treasure Hoarders along the way.
Overall, Li Qiuzhi felt this adventure had been a pretty good experience.
During the return journey, they divided up all the materials that could be shared. Even though Noelle said she did not need any, they insisted on giving her some.
After all, Noelle had contributed the most during this adventure. They could hardly let her lose out.
The Slime Condensate from the defeated Slimes and the chaos devices from the Ruin Guards could all be sold for a considerable amount of Mora.
Ver accepted her share readily. To repay them for saving her life, she also offered to help sell the materials, then divide the Mora once she knew how much they fetched.
Li Qiuzhi had no objections, naturally. In the end, gentle-natured Noelle could not refuse in the face of his firm insistence and reluctantly agreed.
[Noelle felt more favorably toward you. Gained 50 Friendship points. Current Friendship level: Lv.2 (30/200)] [Ver felt more favorably toward you. Gained 30 Friendship points. Current Friendship level: Lv.3 (2/300)]
To Li Qiuzhi's delight, both women's Friendship toward him had increased again. By now, they could certainly be considered fairly close friends.
As the sunlight turned golden and the sun approached the horizon, the three finally caught sight of Mondstadt in the distance. Its magnificent city walls looked as grand as an epic in the golden light.
At this hour, the closer they came to Mondstadt City, the more Adventurers they encountered returning from their expeditions. Some traveled in groups, probably members of the same Adventuring Team.
There were comparatively few lone travelers scattered among them.
After all, without considerable strength, an Adventurer traveling alone would not only struggle to accomplish anything but also face greater danger.
Once inside Mondstadt City, the three, including Li Qiuzhi, first handed the captured Treasure Hoarders over to the patrolling Knights of Favonius. The knights praised them highly and said they would publicly commend their actions and award them a bonus later.
Ver quickly declined. As an information broker, she could not afford to have too many people know who she was. If everyone recognized her, how would she gather information in the future?
Although Noelle had yet to become a Knight of Favonius, she always held herself to a knight's standards. Naturally, she would not accept any commendation or reward either.
As for Li Qiuzhi, he did not care about the commendation, but he did want the bonus. Unfortunately, both women had declined. He could hardly let himself look worse than them, so he had no choice but to pretend the offer had never happened.
After saying goodbye to the patrolling Knights of Favonius, they went to the Adventurers' Guild to turn in their commission.
Once its completion was confirmed, they received the hundred-thousand-Mora commission payment, which Li Qiuzhi split equally with Noelle. This time, she knew she could not refuse and did not say she needed nothing.
One unexpected sight along the way was a well-dressed young man handing out flyers to passersby.
Li Qiuzhi and the others were handed one too, and they read it out of curiosity. In short, an Adventuring Team called [Verdant Wings] was recruiting. It offered excellent benefits, along with opportunities to adventure under the guidance of veteran Adventurers.
Adventuring Teams recruited new members all the time, so Li Qiuzhi did not pay it much attention.
Then there was the matter of the domain they had discovered. After some consideration, they decided to tell the Adventurers' Guild.
Selling the information to one of the larger Adventuring Teams might earn them more Mora, but it would be more troublesome.
First, they would have to check the Adventuring Team's reputation, then compare the prices offered by different Adventuring Teams before choosing the most profitable option.
It was simpler to tell the Adventurers' Guild directly. After all, the Guild would not take their information without paying for it.
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