Fischl and Barbara, snapping back to reality, instantly locked onto the extra person in the team.
"Who are you!!!"
"Wearing a green-faced, tusked mask, did you think you could scare the members of the Five-Color Squad?!"
Xiao stood with his arms crossed, his expression aloof, but his eyes kept glancing at Arkz, signaling him to quickly explain.
"It's a misunderstanding!"
"Let me introduce you. This is an Immortal from Liyue, the Conqueror of Demons—Xiao!"
Arkz quickly explained. A little joke was fine, but if a real fight broke out, it would be troublesome.
Hearing Arkz say this, the tense atmosphere that had been on the verge of conflict immediately disappeared.
Looking at the aloof Xiao standing to the side, the girls couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
Fischl: "Conqueror of Demons, that title sounds so cool!"
Barbara: "An Immortal from Liyue?"
"..."
Arkz pulled Xiao to the side and explained, "These are my good friends and juniors. I brought them here to the Underground Mine to train a bit."
"If they encounter danger, I'll have to trouble you to protect them a little."
Xiao nodded and said:
"Understood. Within this Domain, they can call my name, and I will arrive promptly."
Upon hearing this, Arkz excitedly patted Xiao's shoulder and said happily:
"Great! I really didn't misjudge the Yaksha! Xiao, you truly are my good brother!"
Xiao: "..."
Due to the karma burdening him, Xiao always kept his distance from people, focusing instead on slaying monsters in the wilds of Liyue. This intimate gesture from Arkz made him feel somewhat unaccustomed, but he didn't resist.
The karma on his body was suppressed by Arkz's water of purity, and following Zhongli's persuasion, Xiao had also decided to try making some friends.
For Xiao, Arkz, whose character and strength were both good, and whose status was recognized by the Geo Archon, was naturally a good choice.
Looking at Arkz, Xiao hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"If you visit Liyue and pass by the Wangshu Inn, call my name, and I will appear."
"The cooking at that inn is quite good, especially the Almond Tofu; it is my favorite dish."
"If you have time, I will prepare a feast to thank you for saving my life, and also thank you for your help to Liyue."
Arkz heard this and grinned, his teeth flashing white.
"An invitation from a friend cannot be refused."
"Not to mention, this is an invitation from the Conqueror of Demons. It will bring great honor to say so!"
"It's just that the distance between Mondstadt and Liyue is quite far... If I fly at full speed, it will probably take a day."
Hearing Arkz shout his title, 'Conqueror of Demons,' Xiao felt an inexplicable sense of shame, an urge to flee immediately.
Hearing Arkz's concern, Xiao immediately spoke up:
"What is difficult about that?"
"The exit of this Underground Mine is located within Liyue territory. Although it was abandoned due to a mining disaster, the entrance is blocked by a massive rock. But for you, shattering that massive rock should be as easy as turning your hand, right?"
"Wait a moment, I will go shatter that obstructing rock right now!"
Before the words even fell, Xiao transformed into a gust of clear wind and departed. Immediately afterward, a massive crash echoed from not far away, and a beam of bright light shone through.
Seeing Xiao return, Arkz became even happier.
The first time he arrived at the Underground Mine, Arkz was quite surprised to find Zhongli waiting there.
He could sense that although Zhongli held no malice toward him, he was quite guarded against him.
A seal had also been placed at the exit of the Underground Mine. While it might have been intended to prevent monsters inside from leaving and attacking the people of Liyue, it simultaneously prevented Arkz from entering Liyue through the exit.
But now, the seal on the exit had been removed, and the obstructing rock had been shattered by Xiao.
This meant that Arkz had passed the test of Rex Lapis and could now enter Liyue openly as a guest.
How could Arkz not be happy about this?
Xiao looked at Arkz. Although his face was expressionless, anyone could tell his mood was quite good.
"How about it?"
Arkz clapped his hands and laughed, "8 PM tonight, Wangshu Inn?"
Xiao nodded, "Good."
After seeing Xiao depart, the young ladies nearby immediately crowded around, asking curiously.
"Mr. Arkz, is that truly the legendary Immortal?"
"Genuine, without a doubt."
"Does the Immortal brother like to blow things up?"
"Probably not."
"That Immortal seems hard to get along with, but your relationship with your rival seems quite good?"
"Of course, our relationship is very good."
"Arkz..."
"Arkz..."
Hearing the chatter from the young ladies surrounding him, Arkz became flustered.
"Stop!"
"Alright, alright!"
"We can talk about these trivial matters later. Your mission right now is training."
The five looked at each other and nodded in unison.
Seeing how obedient they were, Arkz immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
He led them down to the first level of the mine.
Torches were stuck into the rock walls of the mine, their flickering light dimming and brightening, restricting everyone's field of Vision.
"This is the first level of the mine. There are no monsters on this floor. Your task is to strike these ore deposits with your attacks while maintaining your formation and practicing your coordination, ensuring you don't hit your teammates."
"Do you all understand?"
"Understood!"
Everyone replied in unison, their voices loud and spirited, sounding full of motivation.
"Then let's begin! Everyone."
Following Arkz's command, everyone eagerly started attacking.
Noelle and Ellin stood at the very front. Noelle's giant 'Conviction' could shatter a person-sized ore deposit with a light smash. Ellin, wearing heavy armor, although not as strong as Noelle, her sturdy armor meant she didn't have to worry about being hit by flying fragments when attacking the hard ore.
In the rear, Fischl shot arrows at the ore on the ground. Although the arrows, empowered by Electro Element, penetrated the ore, they couldn't shatter it. Oz's lightning strike also didn't have much effect on the giant ore deposits connected to the earth.
Barbara encountered the same problem as Noelle.
As a wielder of a Hydro Element Vision, in terms of destructive power, Hydro Element did not have an advantage compared to other elements. Although Barbara had uniquely developed Water Ring and Water Bubble attacks, these were fine against enemies made of flesh and blood, but they were completely ineffective against hard ore.
As for Klee...
"Heixiu!"
"jumpy dumpty bomb!"
BOOM!!!
From the sound alone, one could tell Klee was having a great time.
The jumpy dumpty bombs, with their immense explosive power, were perfectly suited for mining. Their efficiency was incomparably higher than Noelle swinging her greatsword.
However, Klee also faced difficulties.
First was the issue of controlling the jumpy dumpty bomb's power. With teammates all around her, Klee could only try to throw the bombs far away to avoid the explosion affecting her teammates. However, the terrain in the mine was complex; if she accidentally threw a bomb onto a rock wall, it might bounce back, resulting in a team wipe.
Besides that, there was the problem of dust and smoke raised by the explosions.
The dust and smoke generated by the huge explosions further reduced visibility in the already poorly lit Underground Mine.
If they were attacked by monsters at that moment, even a Slime could throw these people into disarray.
------------------------
I've posted 40+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"