Everyone knew that in this world, Ryen and his group remained incredibly strong.
On top of that, their extensive knowledge of various monsters meant that when it came to protecting someone, it was debatable who was really protecting whom.
But that didn't mean the Qianyan Army could just stand by and watch as their superiors were attacked.
No matter the circumstances, they were the true combat force here.
Moreover, in this world, their power was not much weaker than that of Vision-bearers in Teyvat.
To them, if enemies were attacking, they were the ones who had to step up first.
Especially considering the people present—Teyvat's World Overseer, a Liyue Qixing, and an adeptus.
The Qianyan Army had to uphold their duty.
"Phantasm Wings."
Ryen observed the incoming creatures with a calm and thoughtful gaze.
"They came at just the right time. Now we can start making Phantasm Wing Membranes."
However, before he could even lift a finger, the swarm of over a dozen Phantasm Wings never got the chance to attack.
A storm of arrows rained down from the Qianyan Army's dense formation, snuffing out the creatures before they could even get close.
The fallen Phantasm Wing Membranes were swiftly collected.
Ryen received the seven gathered membranes from Dashi. Since there was no looting mechanism in this world, the drops were not as abundant as in Teyvat.
But that wasn't a concern.
As long as Ryen and his team stayed awake, the Phantasm Wings would keep spawning throughout the night.
And conveniently, tonight, they had a battle to fight—there was no sleeping anyway.
A perfect opportunity to farm materials on the side.
Before they had access to Redstone Cannons, this might have been an issue.
But now?
A piece of cake.
Ryen glanced at Ningguang and chuckled.
"Looks like tonight won't be peaceful. Let's get things organized."
Ningguang nodded and turned to Dashi.
"You will continue leading a unit of the Qianyan Army and the miners to fend off the attackers. Control the Redstone Cannon efficiently."
"Chang Yi, take your squad and be ready to clear out the Phantasm Wings."
Both men straightened their postures and answered in unison, "Understood!"
Still invisible, Xiao was about to offer his assistance in fighting the Phantasm Wings, but Ryen stopped him with a quiet reminder.
"Xiao, you need to keep watch for the Evoker. That thing is the real threat to us."
Xiao paused for a moment before responding, "Understood."
With their roles assigned, Ryen led Ningguang and the others a bit further out onto the plaza.
He took out several glass blocks and quickly constructed a protective barrier overhead and around them.
"Phantasm Wings tend to glitch a bit when they hit glass, and since they were only summoned because of our presence, they won't be aggressive toward others."
"You guys can stay outside and take them down."
Upon hearing this, Chang Yi gave a firm nod and immediately spread the Qianyan Army soldiers into a defensive formation, surrounding the glass shelter.
Inside the glass barrier, Ryen casually set up a campfire and placed a few simple chairs.
"Come on, have a seat." He grinned, already placing slabs of beef over the fire.
Outside, the Phantasm Wings respawned quickly—another dozen appearing in no time.
Before they could even reach the glass shelter, most were taken down mid-air.
Those that managed to collide with the glass were stalled for just a few seconds.
And in those crucial moments, another volley of arrows rained down, wiping them out completely.
The Redstone Cannon in the distance also roared back to life.
It was clear—another wave of enemies had arrived.
Ningguang observed the base operations for a while. Seeing that everything was running smoothly, she finally relaxed.
With a soft chuckle, she remarked, "It seems like the alchemy potions have greatly motivated the Qianyan Army."
"Of course," Ryen responded with a laugh.
"If you were just an ordinary person like them, without a Vision, and had to face all the monsters in Teyvat…"
"Wouldn't you be interested in a potion that grants you extraordinary power and keeps you alive?"
From the side, Hu Tao suddenly piped up with a playful grin, "Even now, this Hall Master is very interested in alchemy potions! Ryen, about that invisibility potion—"
"No way!"
Ryen rolled his eyes and immediately cut her off.
"Do you think I don't know what you're planning? You'd drink the potion, go invisible, and then start selling coffins and exorcism services. With your tactics, you'd convince every single customer on the spot!"
Hu Tao blinked innocently. "Then how about this? What if I hire you as a guest consultant for Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? I'll split the Mora profits with you fifty-fifty!"
Ryen didn't even hesitate—he pulled out a stack of gold ingots and flashed them in front of her.
"Do I look like I care about Mora?"
"…"
Hu Tao's expression froze. After a moment, she pouted and muttered under her breath, "So stingy!"
Amused, Ryen reached out and ruffled her hair.
"Right now, our materials are limited. We can't waste potions just for fun. But in the future, once we have a stable Nether Wart farm, a Blaze Spawner grinder, and all the necessary materials…"
"I'll make you a whole stockpile of potions to mess around with."
Hu Tao's eyes sparkled with excitement. She grabbed his hand, her voice serious, "That's a promise! If you break it, you'll have to face the punishment of the Geo Archon!"
Ryen simply chuckled and shook his head.
At that moment, Ganyu pulled out her notebook. Her meticulous nature made her less like the Qixing's secretary and more like Ryen's personal assistant.
Not that she minded—it seemed she enjoyed the work.
After all, with Liyue's development now centered on this world, she was technically just fulfilling her duties.
"Ryen, what's the plan for tomorrow?" she asked, ready to take notes.
Ryen thought for a moment before answering, "Once the attack is over, we'll go over our collected resources. Then we need to head back and get some sleep—otherwise, the Phantasm Wings will keep attacking us every night, which is a hassle."
Ningguang, flipping through her own notebook, questioned, "But aren't Phantasm Wings the key ingredient for Slow-Falling Potions? Should we consider rotating sleep shifts to keep farming them?"
Ryen shook his head.
"Not necessary. Slow-Falling Potions are useful, but we already have Wind Gliders. The Qianyan Army needs combat-enhancing potions more than anything."
"As long as we stockpile just enough membranes, we're fine. If we ever need large quantities, we can assign people to farm them later."
"On that note, the alchemy potions' effects in this world have been pretty much confirmed."
"Next, you should arrange for some experiments in Teyvat to test their effectiveness there."
Ningguang had already anticipated this.
"When we return, I'll have the Qianyan Army soldiers on rotation conduct trials. If the results are promising…"
"I suspect that aside from strength-enhancing potions, the most sought-after product will be recovery potions."
"In the short term, we can break into the market with them. The Adventurers' Guild would be willing to pay a hefty price for bulk purchases."
Previously, Ningguang would have been excited about another lucrative business venture.
But things were different now.
She already had plenty of gold on hand, and Liyue's trade was thriving in this world.
Profits didn't matter as much anymore.
What she truly cared about was utilizing this world's resources to strengthen Liyue's future.
Just like Keqing's current project—this was only the beginning.
If all went well, Ningguang planned to convene the Qixing soon and propose an expansion of Liyue Harbor.
With magma-powered land reclamation, there was no reason not to build bigger.
She even wanted to test whether Teyvat's medicinal herbs could grow in this world's soil.
Meanwhile, Nahida simply nestled closer to Ryen, quietly enjoying his presence.
Feeling a tug at his heart, Ryen gently rubbed her ears and smiled.
"By the way, I need to redesign our estate. First thing tomorrow, I'll build a garden for Nahida."
"And once everything stabilizes…"
"We'll begin exploring this world."
If they were speedrunning, the only thing left would be to slay the Ender Dragon, claim an Elytra, and call it a day.
At most, they could toy around with Redstone technology or explore the world, but honestly, that was just a way to kill time.
But Ryen had no intention of stopping here—he was going to unlock mods.
If the next mod pack introduced something with a fully developed system, like the Industrial Age, advanced firearms, or even Equivalent Exchange…
Then they would have an entirely new world to dive into, one that would demand an immense amount of time to master.
Minecraft is a game where, as long as the mods keep coming, there will never be an end.
With that in mind, this was all just the beginning.
For now, Ryen's priority was to pass on the three fundamental disciplines of vanilla Minecraft to Ningguang and the others—Enchanting, Alchemy, and Redstone.
They had already explored most of this region, and there wasn't much left worth gathering.
From here on, the remaining tasks were just about construction.
Cloud Retainer and the others could focus on building structures, and a great city would soon rise on the plains.
…
"So, in the coming days, your Mora-earning progress might slow down a little," Ryen said with a casual shrug.
Hearing this, Ningguang's lips curled into a knowing smile.
"When you say 'slow down,' do you mean we'll only be making a hundred billion Mora per week?"
Everyone chuckled.
Pausing briefly, Ningguang continued,
"Earning Mora isn't our top priority right now. If we really needed more, we could just sell some gold."
"What's more important is leveraging the resources of this world to develop Liyue—to make Liyue even stronger."
"Compared to that, wealth is secondary. What I truly want to amass is strategically valuable materials."
"For example—Enchantment books and Alchemy ingredients. Ender Pearls. Totems of Undying."
Ryen laughed and waved a hand dismissively.
"That's no problem. Once we begin exploring the world, we'll come across all sorts of rare resources and exotic materials."
"There are mountains of treasures waiting for us—the snowy peaks, vast deserts, tropical islands, woodland mansions, even ancient cities deep underground…"
As Ryen spoke, everyone couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation for the future.
Meanwhile, Nahida, listening quietly, slowly pieced together an understanding of the cooperation between Liyue and Ryen.
She was starting to grasp Liyue's current situation as well.
To be honest… she felt envious.
She, too, wanted Sumeru to cooperate with Ryen.
But right now, she had no say in Sumeru's affairs.
Still, that wasn't a real problem.
Ryen had promised—he would handle everything.
And Nahida was, after all, the Dendro Archon of Sumeru.
No one could take that away from her.
…
Time passed as they talked, while outside the base, the sounds of TNT explosions continued without pause.
Above them, waves of Phantoms were ceaselessly cut down.
The battle dragged on late into the night, and just when dawn was beginning to break—around four or five in the morning—
The TNT explosions suddenly stopped.
A few moments later, Xiao rushed over at high speed.
His eyes held a barely concealed excitement.
Bursting into the glass house, he spoke urgently:
"Ryen, the Evokers have arrived! There are two of them!"
~~----------------------
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