Unable to persuade the Traveler, Ryan, for reasons unknown, had no choice but to continue inviting Bosacius to possess him.
Although Bosacius's compatibility with him wasn't high, allowing him to only unleash about twenty percent of his power, it was still higher than the compatibility with the two Yakshas of fire and water. In terms of deployable combat power, he was second only to the Vanquisher of Evil among the five Yakshas.
While Bosacius was the first Yaksha under the Archon, the Vanquisher of Evil's compatibility with Ryan was higher, able to unleash thirty percent of his strength during previous tests.
However, Ryan didn't invite the Vanquisher of Evil because he didn't want to accept the fact that his compatibility with him had been forced down after he grew six centimeters taller.
Now, although the Three Heads Eight Arms Pill's effects had worn off, Ryan's and Bosacius's compatibility had returned to normal. Causing some trouble for Tartaglia in battle was not a big problem.
And so, Lumine charged at the forefront, leveraging the greatly enhanced strength she gained after acquiring her second element in Liyue, and engaged Tartaglia head-on.
Behind Lumine, a giant palm formed of Electro element cooperated with her in the attack.
With Lumine drawing attention from the front, and the Electro element's coordinated attack, Ryan directly used the Electro element to conceal himself and look for an opportunity to ambush.
Hiding and attacking from the shadows was Bosacius's usual tactic, but it wasn't a simple stealth attack like the Fatui's Debt Collectors. Instead, it involved using coordinated attacks formed by Electro light to directly interfere with and restrain the enemy, preventing them from focusing on other things and exposing weaknesses, which could then be exploited for a decisive strike.
Tartaglia's fighting style after his transformation was much more reckless, seemingly unable to stop and think.
After being inadvertently struck by a purple fist and sent flying during the battle, he immediately turned in mid-air, drew his bowstring, and unleashed his strongest move.
"Foul Legacy: Raging Tide!"
Then, an Electro-infused Hydro arrow was shot, instantly transforming into a giant whale that leaped up and crashed towards Ryan and Lumine.
Unlike before, this time the giant whale carried Electro light, clearly indicating that Tartaglia had unleashed both elemental powers simultaneously.
"Ryan!"
Seeing the large whale leap up, Lumine quickly called out to Ryan and reached out her hand.
Before Ryan understood what she meant, she pulled him to her side.
"Starfell Sword!"
The next moment, Lumine created a special Starfell Sword. This Starfell Sword emerged from the ground and directly enveloped both her and Ryan within it, additionally generating multiple layers of Geo constructs outside the Starfell Sword.
What was originally an offensive move suddenly became a barrier more robust than ordinary elemental shields.
...
However, the inside of the Starfell Sword wasn't very spacious. The orange-yellow glow emitted by the Geo constructs allowed Ryan to clearly see the blonde girl who was so close to him they were almost touching. A faint fragrance lingering around his nose made Ryan feel slightly embarrassed.
At this moment, as the giant whale crashed down, the sturdy Geo constructs shattered, but the impact failed to break every single layer of Geo constructs, so the Starfell Sword remained stable.
However, while the Starfell Sword was not destroyed, the ground of this platform inside the Golden House was directly pulverized by the giant whale, and the entire Starfell Sword fell from the air to the floor below.
"Ah?!"
Lumine let out a startled cry. During the fall, the two people, who were so close, bumped their foreheads together.
"Traveler! Ryan!"
Paimon, who had hidden in a safe place, exclaimed and quickly flew down to the lower floor.
"Ugh..."
Ryan and Lumine both clutched their bumped foreheads.
Falling from the upper floor, they had already taken a considerable tumble inside the Starfell Sword, but the most severe part was when their foreheads collided.
Geo constructs were not ordinary stones. Lumine, after clutching her forehead, quickly withdrew the elemental power, and the Starfell Sword disintegrated and disappeared on its own.
Freed from the confines of the Starfell Sword, Ryan hurriedly got up from Lumine, standing awkwardly to the side with an unnatural expression.
Lumine rubbed her forehead, not blaming Ryan, but instead stood up and looked at Tartaglia, who was slowly descending from the air.
Having used the giant whale again, Tartaglia had expended a lot of power, and clearly couldn't use it again in a short period.
Thus, Ryan and Lumine once again took the initiative to attack, not giving Tartaglia time to catch his breath and recover his strength.
And so, Tartaglia struggled to parry and was quickly defeated.
"Cough cough..."
With a heavy cough, Tartaglia, who had been beaten back again, knelt on the ground. Already injured before his transformation, he couldn't maintain his transformed state and reverted to his original form, even dropping his mask.
Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth; it seemed that the attacks launched by the Traveler, who also wielded two elements, and the phantom of a Yaksha, were not so easy to withstand.
"He... changed back!"
Seeing the battle end, Paimon finally flew back to Lumine's side with relief.
After all, she had no combat ability whatsoever.
"Phew... It seems the burden of this Foul Legacy transformation is still too great. This time, I've lost..."
Tartaglia covered his chest with one hand, panting as he looked up and spoke to Ryan and the others.
"But we haven't obtained the Gnosis, and we Fatui will not abandon our goal."
Lumine had no intention of finishing him off, allowing Tartaglia to stand up from the ground after resting for a while.
"Ryan, right? Since you took the Gnosis first, you can keep it safe for me. I'll come back another day to learn your strange adeptal techniques."
Tartaglia, having recovered slightly, looked at Ryan and spoke earnestly.
"But I didn't take the Gnosis. I don't even know what a Gnosis is."
Ryan spread his hands with an innocent expression.
It couldn't be that the immortal ancestor's Exuvia's dragon whiskers were actually called Gnosis, could it? At least it should be called God's Whiskers!
"...Are you really sure you didn't take it first?"
Seeing Ryan's innocent expression, which didn't seem fake, Tartaglia was puzzled.
'No... this fox was very cunning just now, even playing dead...'
Outwardly puzzled, Tartaglia didn't fully believe Ryan.
"Of course. I just came to worship the Archon, you see."
Ryan replied affirmatively, then looked around and found a way to return to the upper floor from the lower one.
Before long, Ryan retrieved the censer worth 500 Mora, the offerings of incense paste, and snacks from the Exuvia.
As for the everlasting incense, although named for eternity, it did burn longer than ordinary incense, but Ryan had been unconscious for so long that it was now almost completely burned out.
"This is... the incense paste we prepared for the Rite of Parting yesterday, and what's in this censer is... everlasting incense? I remember now, Ryan, you specifically exchanged two portions of everlasting incense with Bubu Pharmacy yesterday!"
Seeing the items Ryan brought over, Paimon immediately recognized them and spoke with some surprise.
"That's right. Last night, I missed the Archon so much I couldn't sleep, so I came here to personally worship him. As a result, I fainted from excessive grief and only just woke up to see him come in."
Ryan nodded and explained, pointing at Tartaglia with his hand at the end of his sentence.
Under normal circumstances, Ryan wouldn't need to bother with Tartaglia, but now that Lumine and Paimon were here, and that Gnosis was clearly something very precious, Ryan didn't want to take the blame for no reason.
After all, it would be terrible if Cloud Retainer heard about it.
Just wondering how it would be for alchemy... "Is that so..."
Hearing Paimon's words, and having noticed a censer nearby when he approached the Exuvia earlier, Tartaglia finally believed Ryan's explanation somewhat.
"Haha... I understand now. I had some doubts from the beginning; Morax's death was too coincidental. Now it seems it was indeed a feigned death, so the Gnosis was never in the Exuvia to begin with."
After believing Ryan's words, Tartaglia directly confirmed another suspicion in his mind.
"Feigned death?!"
Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances, feeling that it seemed possible.
After all, the strength of that Martial God was known to everyone in Liyue Harbor; how could he have died so carelessly?
Ryan opened his mouth upon hearing this, looked at the censer in his hand, and recalled his previous act of taking materials from the Exuvia.
Originally, he had done it without anyone knowing, as the possessed master was merely a shadow recorded by the ley lines, and they themselves would not be aware.
But if the Archon had feigned death... wouldn't that mean the Archon would know?
Thinking of this, Ryan turned and walked out of the Golden House.
"Ryan, where are you going?"
Paimon quickly asked.
"I need to concoct a Steel Buttocks Pill before Master's wings land on my behind."
"Then I'll show her a butt-bounce blade."
Ryan replied with a serious expression...