Chapter Summaries

After Shenhe recognized herself in Liu Su’s retelling, Yucheng helped her settle in Liyue and treated his injuries at Bubu Pharmacy. The next morning, they retrieved an enormous Mingxia Floating Life Stone and brought it to A-Xu and his young master at the southern city gate.

• Shenhe listened as Liu Su told her tragic story as a heroic comedy, while Zhongli praised the performance and asked to hear Yun’s new opera.
• Yucheng booked Shenhe a room at an inn, then visited the Feiyun Commerce Guild and returned to Bubu Pharmacy, where Baizhu treated his wounds and Qiqi prepared medicine.
• Yucheng and Shenhe traveled to Mt. Tianheng and found the Sea of Clouds, Sea of Moonlight Adeptus’s abode after Shenhe dispelled its concealment.
• Shenhe carried the enormous Mingxia Floating Life Stone from the abode to Liyue’s southern city gate.
• A-Xu and his young master recognized the stone as a Mingxia Floating Life Stone and realized they had found something extraordinary.

Yucheng entrusted the enormous Mingxia Floating Life Stone to the Feiyun Commerce Guild after Xingqiu estimated it could fetch over two hundred million Mora but explained that finding a buyer would be difficult. Yucheng and Xingqiu signed a flexible safekeeping contract, leaving the stone in the guild’s care while they sought a buyer.

• Yucheng arrived at Liyue’s southern city gate with Shenhe, who carried the Mingxia Floating Life Stone, and met A-Xu and Xingqiu.
• Yucheng introduced Shenhe to Xingqiu and explained that he had found the stone in the abandoned abode of the Sea of Clouds, Sea of Moonlight Adeptus.
• Xingqiu estimated that the Feiyun Commerce Guild could auction the stone for over two hundred million Mora, but warned that its size and the Jade Chamber could make buyers wary.
• Yucheng agreed to leave the stone in the guild’s safekeeping and let the guild seek a buyer, with fees deducted from the sale proceeds.
• Yucheng and Xingqiu signed a flexible safekeeping contract.

After Shenhe stored the enormous Mingxia Floating Life Stone, Xingqiu invited Yucheng and Shenhe to Xinyue Kiosk, where Yucheng told him that his novel was popular in Inazuma. Eager to send more of his work to Yae Publishing House despite the Sakoku Decree, Xingqiu rushed off to seek a way to smuggle it across, while Yucheng privately anticipated his embarrassment.

• Shenhe carried the Mingxia Floating Life Stone to a Feiyun Commerce Guild warehouse, and Xingqiu stayed with Yucheng after A-Xu returned to work.
• Xingqiu invited Yucheng and Shenhe to Xinyue Kiosk, hoping to learn more about Shenhe, but she ignored his attempts to draw her into conversation.
• Yucheng told Xingqiu that Record of Sinking Autumn's Sword had become a hit in Inazuma, revealing that Xingqiu's pen name, Zhenyu, was well regarded there.
• Xingqiu decided to contact Captain Beidou and smuggle more of his novel into Inazuma despite the Sakoku Decree.
• Xingqiu left the restaurant determined to act, and Yucheng explained to Shenhe that he was heading toward possible social death.

Yucheng discovered that Shenhe’s baleful energy came from Archon Residue, not a fate of loneliness and calamity, and explained how it had shaped her life. Shenhe trusted his promise to take her to someone who could remove the contamination.

• Yucheng used Genjutsu to expose Shenhe to ordinary conflicts, but she killed or injured 157 people in the illusions after losing control.
• Yucheng asked Shenhe about her childhood, and she recalled that her uncontrollable baleful energy began after Cloud Retainer rescued her from the cave.
• Yucheng concluded that Shenhe had been contaminated by Archon Residue while resisting the god’s resentment in the cave, which led Moon Carver to mistake her condition for a disastrous fate.
• Yucheng told Shenhe that the contamination, rather than her being cursed, had caused her baleful energy and assured her that her parents’ deaths were not her fault.
• Shenhe asked who could cure Archon Residue, and Yucheng promised to take her to someone who could help; she said she trusted him.

Hu Tao worried over Zhongli's absence and Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's declining business, then brought him back when Yucheng and Shenhe came looking for him. Zhongli met the pair, and Yucheng greeted him as Rex Lapis.

• Hu Tao fretted over Zhongli's unpaid bills and the funeral parlor's shrinking business.
• Yucheng and Shenhe entered Wangsheng Funeral Parlor looking for Zhongli, but Hu Tao tried to sell them funeral services first.
• Hu Tao went to find Zhongli after learning the visitors had a request for him.
• Hu Tao returned with Zhongli, who recognized Shenhe as a girl from Cloud Retainer's household.
• Yucheng greeted Zhongli with, "Hello, Rex Lapis!"

Yucheng revealed how he identified Zhongli and asked him to confirm whether Shenhe’s baleful aura came from fallen gods. After Zhongli confirmed it and heard Yucheng’s plan to seek Barbatos’s help, he reconsidered the Anemo Archon and asked what Yucheng needed from him.

• Yucheng explained that clues from Cloud Retainer and the carved stone table had led him to identify Zhongli as Rex Lapis, and Zhongli asked him to keep the secret.
• Shenhe untied a knot in her red cords, releasing an overwhelming baleful aura, and Yucheng retied it to contain the energy.
• Zhongli confirmed that Shenhe’s aura was resentment from fallen gods and explained that the red cords had saved her, though they had sealed her emotions and desires.
• Yucheng proposed seeking Barbatos’s help to remove the archon residue, and Zhongli reconsidered his colleague after hearing how he had cared for Mondstadt.
• Thinking of Xiao and the possibility of purifying his archon residue, Zhongli asked Yucheng what he needed.

Yucheng and Zhongli arranged fine wine to persuade Barbatos to purify Archon Residue, then Zhongli gathered the adepti to reveal that Shenhe's supposed fated calamity came from contamination. The adepti agreed to offer wine as payment for treatment, and Zhongli chose two jars of his own Osmanthus Wine for Shenhe and Xiao.

• Yucheng asked Zhongli for fine wine to bring to an elder, and Zhongli offered wine he had brewed himself while Hu Tao tried to sell funeral services.
• That night, Cloud Retainer, Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper, and Xiao arrived at Sea of Clouds, Sea of Moonlight Adeptus and met Zhongli, Shenhe, and Yucheng.
• Yucheng explained that Shenhe's baleful aura came from Archon Residue, and Shenhe's aura convinced the adepti that his findings were true.
• The adepti felt guilt over Shenhe's suffering, while Xiao regretted failing to prevent Archon Residue from harming her.
• Yucheng told the adepti that Barbatos could purify Archon Residue, and they offered fine wine from their Adeptal Abodes as payment.
• Zhongli ended their argument by selecting two jars of his own Osmanthus Wine as the consultation fee for Shenhe and Xiao.

Yucheng and the adepti arranged a formal Liyue delegation to Mondstadt, with Moon Carver as its chief envoy and the Conqueror of Demons hidden among its members. While Mondstadt’s leaders worried about the visit, Yucheng returned to gathering herbs and training, holding off on submitting his property task in hopes of earning a better reward.

• Cloud Retainer, Mountain Shaper, and the other adepti argued over who should accompany Shenhe to Mondstadt, but the Lord of Geo decided that the trip should be an official diplomatic visit led by Moon Carver.
• Ningguang announced the delegation, prompting speculation in Liyue and concern from Jean, who learned that the Conqueror of Demons would secretly join Moon Carver.
• Yucheng returned to gathering herbs with Qiqi and practicing ninjutsu at the Sea of Clouds, Sea of Moonlight Adeptus's abode, which the Lord of Geo had granted him.
• Yucheng delayed submitting his revitalization system task because he considered the cave dwelling’s value low and hoped to obtain a better reward before the deadline.
• Yucheng assessed himself as a Special Jōnin after his Sharingan advanced to three tomoe, though he still had room to improve.

Yucheng spent his days strengthening his chakra until Yelan ambushed him on his way back to Mt. Tianheng and interrogated him about his origins. He gave her a cover story about fleeing Inazuma, but Yelan exposed a hole in it and left him facing her suspicion.

• Yucheng exhausted his chakra each night and meditated, taking advantage of his youth to build his strength.
• A silent stalker followed Yucheng up Mt. Tianheng, ensnared him in sharp threads, and revealed herself as Yelan.
• Yelan questioned Yucheng, who identified himself as an Uchiha ninja from Konoha in Inazuma and claimed he had no master.
• Yucheng said he had come to Liyue to escape Inazuma, and Yelan challenged his account by asking why Qiqi had found him inland in Chaiqiao Valley.
• Yucheng claimed he did not know how he had ended up in Chaiqiao Valley, but Yelan said he was not being entirely honest.

Yucheng challenged Yelan’s right to interrogate him, then escaped her restraints and captured her. He carried the unconscious Yelan back to his cave abode, while Ningguang sensed something was wrong from the Jade Chamber.

• Yucheng argued that he had broken no Liyue laws and accused Yelan of bullying the weak while overlooking the Fatui.
• Yucheng turned into a rock to escape Yelan’s Lifeline Thread, then pinned her down and took her Mysterious Wristlet and Hydro Vision.
• Yelan struggled briefly before conserving her strength, and Yucheng used his Sharingan to put her under Genjutsu.
• Yucheng collected Yelan’s belongings, carried her over his shoulder to his cave abode, and glanced back at the Jade Chamber.
• Ningguang sensed an ominous premonition from the Jade Chamber and wondered why Yelan had not yet brought anyone to meet her.

Yucheng held Yelan captive in his domain, then released her after securing her promise not to pursue him and offering intelligence about the Fatui’s plans and her family’s search. As Yelan left, she revealed that Ningguang wanted Yucheng to visit the Jade Chamber, prompting him to accuse her of causing trouble for nothing.

• Yelan awoke in Yucheng’s domain, discovered her belongings had been taken, and learned that he knew the history of her ancestors Boyang and Rongzhao.
• Yucheng offered to release Yelan and return her possessions if she promised not to cause him trouble, but he also showed her compromising photographs as leverage.
• Yucheng told Yelan that Childe would soon come to Liyue to seize Rex Lapis’s Gnosis and planned to provoke a crisis to reveal Rex Lapis’s whereabouts.
• Yucheng promised to share information about Boyang and the Fantastic Compass after Yelan handled the Fatui matter, and Yelan agreed to his terms.
• Yucheng returned Yelan’s belongings, and Yelan told him that Ningguang had sent her to ask him to visit the Jade Chamber.
• Yucheng learned that Yelan had come only to deliver Ningguang’s message and called her a troublemaker for stirring up unnecessary trouble.

Yucheng visited Ningguang’s Jade Chamber with Yelan and impressed her with his account of Inazuma’s twin Electro Archons. Ningguang then confronted him about his repeated contact with Liyue’s adepti, leaving him under suspicion.

• Yucheng rode the elevator to the Jade Chamber with Yelan, sending a shadow clone in his place.
• Yucheng met Ningguang and noticed that her secretaries had gathered information about his Mingxia Floating Life Stone.
• Yucheng told Ningguang and the others about Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei and recounted the history of Inazuma’s Electro Archons.
• Ningguang abruptly asked Yucheng why he had repeatedly contacted Liyue’s adepti, and she, Yelan, and the secretaries watched him warily.

Yucheng explained his encounters with Liyue’s adepti to Ningguang, including how he recognized Xiao’s illness from the gods’ resentment and advised that he seek treatment in Mondstadt. Ningguang realized Rex Lapis had sent the adepti delegation there to seek the Anemo Archon’s help, while Yucheng also revealed that Shenhe was affected by the same resentment and that he lived in an adeptal abode.

• Ningguang questioned Yucheng about his many connections to adepti, and he said Qiqi had saved him before Baizhu had him gather herbs to repay his medical debt.
• Yucheng explained that he had advised Ganyu to act more like a human, prompting her to demand wages and regular time off; Ningguang admitted that Liyue had taken her work for granted.
• Yucheng said Xiao had appeared when he offered almond tofu, and he had recognized that Xiao was being corroded by gods’ resentment and would not live much longer without treatment.
• Yucheng explained that Rex Lapis had sent five yakshas to fight demons created by the dead gods’ resentment, and that the Millelith had been kept away because humans exposed to it would lose their reason and die.
• Ningguang deduced that the adepti delegation had gone to Mondstadt to seek the Anemo Archon’s help for Xiao, and Yucheng confirmed her guess.
• Yucheng said Shenhe was also affected by gods’ resentment but had survived because Mountain Shaper’s Red Cord Soul-Binding Method had sealed her emotions, then revealed that he lived in the Sea of Clouds, Sea of Moonlight Adeptus’s abode.

After Yucheng answered Ningguang’s questions, Yelan told her how he had defeated and blackmailed her, prompting Ningguang to advise caution while they investigated him. Ningguang was left wondering whether Rex Lapis knew about Yucheng as Liyue faced mounting uncertainty.

• Ningguang thanked Yucheng for his answers and apologized for doubting him before Baixiao escorted him out of the Jade Chamber.
• Baixiao reported that Yucheng had leaped from the Jade Chamber, opened his Wind Glider, and flown toward Mt. Tianheng.
• After the other secretaries left, Yelan broke down and told Ningguang that Yucheng had subdued her, taken photographs, and threatened her during their fight.
• Ningguang told Yelan not to confront Yucheng yet and asked her to investigate the Fatui mission, especially whether [Childe] was coming to Liyue.
• After Yelan left, Ningguang wondered whether Rex Lapis knew of Uchiha Yucheng and whether Liyue could avert disaster without his protection.

Yucheng confirmed that Tartaglia had arrived in Liyue, then reunited with Xiangling and heard about her trip to Mondstadt. Xiangling revealed that Lumine and Paimon planned to travel to Liyue, leaving Yucheng wondering when the Rite of Descension would begin.

• Yucheng disguised himself at Liyue's docks and saw Ningguang welcome Tartaglia, confirming the Fatui Harbinger had arrived as expected.
• Yucheng went to Wanmin Restaurant, where Xiangling apologized for leaving him on Mt. Tianheng, and he forgave her.
• Xiangling cooked several dishes with Chilled Meat for Yucheng and described the ingredients she had encountered in Mondstadt.
• Xiangling told Yucheng that Lumine had resolved the Stormterror crisis with help from Paimon and planned to travel to Liyue.
• Xiangling recounted meeting Lumine, winning a cooking competition with her, and helping rescue Olaf, while Yucheng realized he did not know when the Rite of Descension would begin.

Yucheng asked Xiangling about the upcoming Qixing Rite of Descension and learned why Wanmin Restaurant valued affordable, plentiful ingredients over rare Chilled Meat. After lunch, he considered how to profit from the coming events and decided the Gnosis was too dangerous to pursue.

• Xiangling told Yucheng that the Qixing Rite of Descension was a week away and offered to show him around, though she disliked attending it.
• Yucheng reassured Xiangling that he was comfortable living on Mt. Tianheng and praised her cooking before asking about the Chilled Meat.
• Xiangling explained that Master Mao wanted affordable, reliably supplied ingredients like Springvale boar meat, rather than rare Chilled Meat that Wanmin Restaurant's customers could not afford.
• Yucheng left without paying for lunch as Wanmin Restaurant's regulars crowded around Xiangling to order her cooking.
• Yucheng considered the Fatui's plans for the Rite of Descension and rejected seeking the Gnosis because it would bring dangerous enemies.

Lumine and Paimon arrived in Liyue Harbor and met Uchiha Yucheng, an Inazuman who told them about the Rite of Descension. After learning that Xiangling ran Wanmin Restaurant, they agreed to eat there with Yucheng before the ceremony.

• Lumine and Paimon entered Liyue Harbor and discussed finding out when and where the Rite of Descension would take place.
• Paimon bumped into Uchiha Yucheng, who introduced himself as an Inazuman settled in Liyue.
• Yucheng told Lumine and Paimon that the Rite of Descension would begin at noon at Yujing Terrace and explained the Liyue Qixing and Ningguang.
• Yucheng invited Lumine and Paimon to watch the ceremony with him and suggested they eat lunch first.
• Paimon recognized Wanmin Restaurant as Xiangling's family restaurant, and Lumine agreed to go there with Yucheng.

Yucheng accompanied Lumine and Paimon to the Rite of Descension, where Rex Lapis was apparently murdered and the Millelith sealed off Yujing Terrace. After escaping with help from Tartaglia, the group met him at Northland Bank, where Yucheng exposed the talisman he gave Lumine as a fake Sigil of Permission.

• Xiangling welcomed Lumine and Paimon at Wanmin Restaurant, then stayed behind to help during the busy meal service as Yucheng offered to take them to the Rite of Descension.
• Yucheng learned that Lumine had come to Liyue to find Rex Lapis and accompanied her and Paimon to the crowded ceremony at Yujing Terrace.
• Ningguang began the Rite of Descension, and a giant golden dragon fell onto the ceremonial altar before she declared that Rex Lapis had been murdered.
• The Millelith sealed off Yujing Terrace and pursued Lumine and Yucheng as they tried to escape, but Tartaglia rescued them and invited them to Northland Bank.
• Tartaglia gave Lumine a talisman, and Yucheng identified it as a counterfeit Sigil of Permission, causing Tartaglia's smile to freeze as danger entered his eyes.

Yucheng exposed Tartaglia and Lumine’s Sigil of Permission as a forgery, then discussed Liyue’s future with Ningguang. He agreed to help her and asked for the Jade Chamber in exchange for his Kamera.

• Yucheng explained how genuine Sigils of Permission worked and why Tartaglia’s sigil was a convincing but obvious fake.
• Lumine and Paimon decided to go to Jueyun Karst to report Rex Lapis’s murder to the adepti, while Yucheng returned home.
• Tartaglia ordered his subordinate to arrest the researchers responsible for the forgery and investigate Yucheng.
• Ningguang asked Yucheng for help, and he questioned whether Liyue could prosper without Rex Lapis; she said it could endure the transition to human rule.
• Ningguang offered to mediate between Yucheng and Yelan and asked to buy his Kamera, so Yucheng demanded the Jade Chamber, shocking her.

Ningguang considered Yucheng’s demand for her Jade Chamber while the Traveler and Paimon helped the adepti confront the Liyue Qixing and returned to Liyue. Tartaglia funded Zhongli’s Rite of Parting and arranged for Lumine and Paimon to help, where they ran into Yucheng, who struggled not to laugh at Zhongli’s plans.

• Ningguang suspected the Fatui were preparing to unleash Osial and told her associate to invite Lumine and Paimon to the Jade Chamber when they returned.
• Lumine and Paimon showed the Three-Eyed Five-Manifestation Immortals an imitation Sigil of Permission, prompting them to head to Liyue and demand answers.
• Tartaglia agreed to fund the Rite of Parting and arranged for Lumine and Paimon to assist Zhongli as his supervisors.
• Zhongli explained that he wanted the finest Noctilucous Jade for the Rite of Parting and led Lumine and Paimon toward Chihu Rock.
• Lumine and Paimon introduced Zhongli to Yucheng, who tried to hide his laughter at the consultant organizing Rex Lapis’s funeral rites.