Chapter 243: The Realm Within the Teapot

Near Yujing Terrace, Liyue Harbor.

As Nolan and the others approached, they naturally caught the attention of Granny Ping and her companions.

"Is there something you need?" asked the little girl with two large bells in her hair, addressing Nolan and the group.

"Hehe, hello there! I'm Paimon, and these are Lumine and Nolan. We're here to see Granny Ping," Paimon said, waving cheerfully to them.

"Hello, I'm Yanfei," the girl with slightly curved legal cap said, crossing her arms beneath her chest, looking somewhat puzzled. Her top was short, barely covering her chest, leaving her fair abdomen exposed. She wore shorts with a red front flap, which extended down to her rosy legs.

"And I'm Yaoyao!" added the little girl with two large bells in her hair, smiling as she asked, "What do you need from Granny?"

"We're here on behalf of someone named Zhongli to borrow the 'Cleansing Bell.' He said that he's a friend of Granny Ping, and that the bell is needed for the 'Rite of Parting,'" Paimon explained.

"Zhongli?" Yanfei and Yaoyao exchanged confused glances before turning to Granny Ping and asking, "Granny, do you know him?"

"Hoho, of course I do," Granny Ping responded in a warm tone, after lowering her gaze in brief contemplation, as if she had just realized something.

"Hehe, so could you lend us the 'Cleansing Bell'?" Paimon asked eagerly, her eyes filled with anticipation as she looked at Granny Ping.

"The 'Cleansing Bell' was actually something I borrowed from an old friend. I promised him that if someone ever came to borrow it, I wouldn't refuse. But after so many years, I've forgotten exactly where I put it. Ah, getting old, memory's not what it used to be," Granny Ping sighed.

"Granny, do you want me to help you find it?" Yaoyao asked, her hands on her hips like a little adult, showing her concern.

"You little rascal, Yaoyao, you might start looking for it and then get distracted playing. We can't afford any delays in the Rite of Parting," Granny Ping said, shaking her head as she clasped her hands behind her back.

"How about this," she suggested, looking at Nolan and the others, and pointing at the teapot on the table, "All my belongings are in there. Why don't I let Yanfei take you inside to look for it?"

"Alright, leave it to me, Granny. I'll definitely help you find that bell," Yanfei said confidently, placing her hand on her waist.

"Wait!" Paimon interrupted, utterly confused by their conversation. "You're saying the bell is inside this teapot, and you want us to go in and find it? How is that even possible?"

Aside from Nolan, who was aware of the situation, Lumine and Paimon both felt like Granny Ping was joking.

"Hoho, why not give it a try and see for yourself?" Granny Ping replied with a knowing smile.

Just as Granny Ping finished speaking, Nolan suddenly noticed the space around them begin to shift. In the next moment, they found themselves in an environment with a slightly dusky sky.

They were standing on a piece of floating land suspended in mid-air. Ahead of them, a winding bridge of light stretched upwards towards another floating piece of land.

"What is this place?" Lumine's amber eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Heh, this is Granny's realm within the teapot. Isn't it amazing? Bet it's your first time seeing something like this," Yanfei said with a smirk, her arms crossed.

"A realm?!" Paimon gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "Isn't this something only adepti have? Could Granny Ping be…"

"You guessed right. Granny Ping is also known as the Adeptus 'Streetward Rambler.' Come on, follow me, and let's search for that bell," Yanfei said as she walked toward the bridge of light, casually revealing the truth.

"We always thought adepti only lived in the mountains. Who would have thought there'd be one hiding in the city? This is really unexpected!" Paimon exclaimed, spreading her arms wide as she flew to catch up with Yanfei.

Nolan and Lumine exchanged glances, both clearly seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

However, while Lumine was amazed by the sight of the teapot's inner world, Nolan was more struck by the scenery within this realm. He already knew about Granny Ping's identity from the game's story, but this was his first time experiencing the Realm Within the Teapot in person.

"Miss Yanfei, those two long horns under the brim of your hat don't seem to be just for decoration. Could it be that you're also an adeptus?" Nolan asked as he and Lumine followed Yanfei, trying to spark a conversation.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed a few white scales on the skin near Yanfei's waist, though he couldn't tell which kind of adeptal beast her bloodline came from.

"Ah, you noticed," Yanfei replied, glancing at the young adventurer with a hint of surprise in her eyes. "I do have adeptal blood, but only half. People would probably call me a hybrid."

"I see. So, Miss Yanfei, you're a more exceptional being, combining the best qualities of both adepti and humans. That's something to be envious of," Nolan remarked, naturally offering a compliment.

"Haha, you're not wrong about that," Yanfei chuckled.

Her adeptal blood gave her the ability to discern good from evil, allowing her to sense the good intentions of the group.

As a result, Yanfei couldn't help but develop a bit of fondness for them after hearing Nolan's compliment.

[Yanfei Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You. Obtained 160 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.2 (60/200)]

The group continued chatting, getting to know each other better. Nolan and the others learned that Yanfei worked as a legal consultant, while Yanfei found out that they were adventurers helping Wangsheng Funeral Parlor with the preparations for the "Rite of Parting."

By the time they finished their conversation, they had crossed the light bridge and arrived at another floating island. Aside from two trees, the island was completely empty—no sign of the "Cleansing Bell."

On their right, another light bridge, similar to the one before, connected to a higher floating island.

"Looks like we'll have to keep going up," Lumine said, crossing her arms and shaking her head slightly, as if she was getting a bit tired.

"Honestly, I don't visit Granny's Realm Within the Teapot often, so finding the 'Cleansing Bell' might take some time," Yanfei admitted, unable to think of a better solution, so they continued onward.

"Alright, I don't know if it's because the lighting is dim here or if it's just the about evening, but I'm starting to feel a bit sleepy," Paimon yawned, floating lazily in the air.

Just as the group relaxed their guard, thinking there was nothing to worry about as they crossed the light bridge, strange, dark mist-like entities began to gather around them without warning.

"Wah! What are these things?!" Paimon cried out, quickly hiding behind Lumine.

Nolan, also encountering these odd creatures for the first time, instinctively activated the "Dandelion Shield," expanding it slightly at the cost of some strength to encompass everyone, preventing any sneak attacks.

"These seem to be 'karma,' manifestations of evil spirits. It looks like Granny hasn't tended to the Realm Within the Teapot in a long time, allowing these things to appear!"

Yanfei frowned as a dark red book, her magical catalyst, appeared beside her, signaling that she was ready for battle.

"Karma? Is that a type of monster? How could something like that appear in Granny Ping's teapot realm?" Paimon asked, clearly bewildered.

"'Karma' isn't exactly a monster; it's more like the lingering resentment left behind after demons die.

If 'Karma' clings to you, it can torment your mind and spirit until you become one with it, so whatever you do, don't let it attach to you.

As for why it's here, it's likely that Granny Ping sealed some demons and spirits in the Realm Within the Teapot a long time ago. Over time, their resentment probably festered and gave rise to this 'Karma,'" Yanfei explained in detail.

As she spoke, the 'Karma' clung to Nolan's Anemo shield like black smoke, refusing to be blown away by the swirling winds. It was like mud sticking to a wall, impossible to wipe off.

"What should we do? Will they break through?" Paimon asked anxiously, clearly frightened.

"Don't worry, my elemental shield is quite sturdy. It won't break easily, but with these things stuck to it, it's hard for us to move," Nolan said, maintaining the shield without much difficulty.

"So, how do we get rid of them?" Lumine asked, hesitating to attack with elemental power since the 'Karma' was attached to the Anemo shield. She feared that an attack might weaken the shield, which would be disastrous.

"'Karma' is tough to remove. I've heard that the 'Conqueror of Demons' has been troubled by large amounts of 'Karma' for a long time.

But that's when it's already attached to your soul. Right now, it's much easier to deal with—just attack it with elemental power," Yanfei explained, drawing on her extensive knowledge from growing up in an adepti family.

However, figuring out how to attack was a bit tricky. If the 'Karma' wasn't stuck to the shield, they could easily strike from outside. But now, the shield that was protecting them was also limiting their options.

Nolan thought for a moment and then looked at Yanfei. "How effective is a spiritual attack against 'Karma'?"

"'Karma' primarily attacks a person's mind and soul, so it's most vulnerable to those types of attacks. You should definitely try it!" Yanfei nodded, confirming his idea.

"In that case, let me take care of them." Nolan smiled as he spoke, confident in his approach.

Currently, the only spiritual attack he had was his "Spiritual Threads" specialty. The "Sword Intent of Lumine" was still a physical attack, with its spiritual effects only triggering memories, which wouldn't be effective against 'Karma.'

But that wasn't a big issue. He had around 10,000 Adventure EXP at the moment. If he leveled up his newly learned "Focus Technique" a few times, his spiritual strength would increase, and the "Spiritual Threads" should then be able to clear the 'Karma.' He was curious about the results of this spiritual training method.

With a hint of anticipation, Nolan invested his Adventure EXP into the "Focus Technique."

Adventure EXP: -9999

Focus Technique Lv.1 (1/1000) → Focus Technique Lv.5 (0/5000)

In an instant, his Adventure EXP dropped to just seventy-two, but the skill level of "Focus Technique" increased to level five.

Along with the skill knowledge, Nolan's spiritual strength also slowly and steadily increased, as if he had undergone long-term training.

After about five or six seconds, he could feel the enhanced strength of his spiritual power.

If his previous spiritual strength could be compared to a dense fog, it now had about five times the density.

To put it more concretely, using "Spiritual Threads" as a reference, Nolan could now summon tendrils within a fifty-meter radius around him.

And with his spiritual power now stronger...

The tendrils formed by condensed spiritual power seemed to gain some substance, becoming semi-transparent and visible to the naked eye, likely due to the increased spiritual strength.

As a result, the strength of the tendrils was also significantly enhanced, capable of exerting about fifty kilograms of force.

Of course, if he wanted to keep them invisible, he could reduce the output of spiritual power, though this would also weaken the tendrils' strength accordingly.

Fifty kilograms of force was still within the range of an ordinary human's capability, so it was uncertain how effective this would be against the 'Karma.'

Nolan exhaled slowly and patted his brown short-sleeved shirt. On the dim, windless floating island within the Realm Within the Teapot, he slightly raised his hand, adopting an attacking stance.

In an instant, several meters away, a dozen semi-transparent, smooth tendrils, each about ten centimeters in diameter, extended into the air, wrapping around the 'black mist' clinging to the Anemo shield.

The 'Karma' had no intelligence, so it didn't try to evade. Since both were manifestations of spiritual power, the 'Karma' was easily ensnared by the semi-transparent tendrils.

The 'Karma' attempted to struggle, but its strength was surprisingly weak. Nolan felt like he was holding the scruff of a small cat; the resistance was only enough to let him know it was resisting, but it had no real effect.

"Wow, is this a technique for projecting spiritual power? I didn't expect you to know such an advanced skill," Yanfei said, slightly surprised as she watched Nolan effortlessly ensnare the 'Karma' with those strange semi-transparent tendrils, as if he were wrapping dumplings.

In Teyvat, elemental power is the mainstream, and it's generally effective against non-physical beings like spirits or demons.

Because of this, few people specialize in spiritual power. For someone to project spiritual power externally, their spiritual strength would typically need to be naturally strong enough, which usually required at least six breakthroughs or constant spiritual training!

Could this seemingly ordinary adventurer really have the strength of someone who has undergone six breakthroughs?!

"It's just my special talent," Nolan replied with a smile. "I've managed to restrain the 'Karma,' but it seems I don't have a way to deal with them."

Once he confirmed there was no immediate danger, he dismissed the elemental shield to avoid overextending himself by maintaining two abilities at once.

However, the 'Spiritual Threads,' with their mere fifty kilograms of strength, didn't seem capable of crushing the 'Karma.' If he attacked with elemental power, it would hit his own 'Spiritual Threads' first.

If the grip loosened even slightly, the 'Karma' might escape.

"Let me think," Yanfei pondered, acknowledging that dealing with 'Karma,' something even adepti feared, was indeed troublesome.

"Dummy, can't your arrows pierce through space? Just shoot through those tendrils to attack them directly," Paimon interjected with a sassy comment.

"Oh? That might work, but I'll need to ensure a one-hit kill," Nolan nodded in agreement and pulled out his adventurer's hunting bow, aiming at the mass of 'Karma' entwined in the semi-transparent tendrils like a blob of black ink.

His Delusion fed a continuous stream of Pyro energy to the arrowhead, saturating it with an unprecedented intensity—about a third of the full capacity of his Delusion's Pyro element.

A moment later, Nolan released the bowstring, and the Pyro-infused arrow vanished into the space before him, reappearing instantly within the mass of 'Karma' held by the semi-transparent tendrils.

"Boom!"

A fiery explosion erupted, and Nolan felt a sharp ringing in his mind, leaving him a bit dizzy—a backlash from the damage inflicted on his spiritual tendrils.

At the same time, a notification popped up on his character panel:

[Defeated Strong Enemy*10, Obtained 20,000 Adventure EXP.]

(End of Chapter)

Next: Lumine's Affection Lv. 10!

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