Hesitating for a moment, Ruo Li stood still, allowing Yun Xu to rest the dragon-wounding file on her dragon lords crown.
Then Yun Xu gently pushed, and Ruo Li's head tilted in that direction.
When Yun Xu pulled the file back, her head also tilted towards Yun Xu.
And so, as Yun Xu filed, Ruo Li's head constantly bobbed back and forth.
However, all of Yun Xu's force was being dissipated, and the dragon lords crown was already too hard to file.
Having no other choice, Yun Xu had to use his other hand to hold Ruo Li's head steady.
"I file, file, file…"
Yun Xu worked diligently, while Ruo Li, whose head was being held, yawned out of boredom.
A mere small file trying to harm my horns… Yun Xu's arm ached from filing, yet he still couldn't file off even a speck of powder from Ruo Li's horns.
Zhongli, standing behind Ruo Li, shook his head helplessly at this scene.
This dragon lords crown was even harder than his own; back then, fighting all the way from The Chasm to Nantianmen, it had only barely developed a crack.
Although filing is very advantageous for dealing with hard objects, making a crack appear on the dragon lords crown is much simpler than using brute force, but that is only relatively speaking.
As the dragon lords crown of an Earth Dragon, if fully matured, it would not be an exaggeration to say it is the hardest thing in Teyvat.
However, just filing off some powder isn't impossible… Thinking of this, as Yun Xu's hand tired and his movements slowed, Zhongli reached out and touched the dragon-wounding file in Yun Xu's hand.
The golden dragon-wounding file immediately bloomed with a golden light.
Because the incident happened above her head, Ruo Li, though sensing an unusual aura, didn't know exactly what was happening, as she couldn't see the dragon lords crown even if she looked up.
Seeing Zhongli nod slightly towards him, Yun Xu cast a grateful glance, then resumed filing with renewed vigor.
Ruo Li only felt that Yun Xu's strength had increased significantly, but she didn't care; this amount of force couldn't possibly damage her dragon lords crown.
After filing for a while, Yun Xu still felt he couldn't make progress… 'Why isn't it moving? Could it be… the dragon horn is too smooth, and there isn't enough friction?'
Yun Xu pondered gloomily in his heart.
The feeling of having the material right in front of him but being unable to obtain it made his heart itch.
'Friction… friction…'
'Got it!'
After much thought, Yun Xu looked at the golden dragon lords crown on Ruo Li's head, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
Then, Yun Xu lifted the hand that was pressing on Ruo Li's head, and Earth element gathered in his hand.
As the Earth element gathered, a large amount of fine dust floated up from the surrounding ground, converging in Yun Xu's hand.
Zhongli's gaze fell upon the dust Yun Xu was gathering, and he seemed to recall something, his eyes looking slightly complex.
Yun Xu, meanwhile, had the dust work in conjunction with the dragon-wounding file in his hand, and he began to file the dragon lords crown again.
With sufficient friction, and with the divine power provided by Zhongli, Yun Xu finally filed off a bit of golden powder from the dragon lords crown.
This single golden speck of powder was mixed in with the dust, but Yun Xu could control the dust and, if he wished, could precisely sift it out.
But Yun Xu was certainly not satisfied with just one particle, so he continued to file vigorously for a good while longer.
Although Ruo Li wouldn't feel pain, standing still and unable to move for so long, she was so bored she was almost falling asleep.
"Ugh, Morax, I'm sleepy…"
Yawning, Ruo Li called out towards Zhongli.
"Alright, that's enough."
Hearing Ruo Li's words, and seeing that Yun Xu had also filed off a good amount of powder, Zhongli raised his hand to stop Yun Xu.
"Okay."
Yun Xu obediently stopped, then manipulated the dust, sifting out all the golden horn powder and putting it into a small glass bottle.
Having obtained the volt locust wood and the even rarer dragon lords crown horn powder, Yun Xu contentedly released Ruo Li.
Ruo Li, rubbing her eyes, walked back to Zhongli's side, tugging his hand, wanting him to take her out of the external space.
Yun Xu, on the other hand, looked back at Lime and found that although it was not in mortal danger, the prolonged Electro-Charged reaction had leaked a lot of its element power, leaving it in a very weak mental state.
Yun Xu was worried that his Slime would be killed by Osial's blood, so he leaned over and fed it a Sweet Sweet Pill.
After Lime recovered, Yun Xu patted its head, warning it not to eat things indiscriminately.
As for Osial's blood on the ground, it had mostly seeped into the soil, so Yun Xu had no choice but to throw Lime onto another island, back to the island where its sister's tomb and the Dragon Pill were located.
Yun Xu then slowly followed Zhongli and Ruo Li out of the external space and returned to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
"I'm hungry, do you have anything to eat at your Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"
Ruo Li, yawning, asked Zhongli.
"Hmm, I'll go ask This Master then."
Zhongli could only suggest this.
Then the three of them left the room together. Yun Xu was about to say goodbye and leave, but Hu Tao blocked his way.
"You've come out at just the right time! This Master has prepared a lavish late-night snack for you all, come and try it!"
Hu Tao, who had suddenly appeared, stood in front of Yun Xu and Zhongli, hands on her hips, saying proudly.
"Yay, you're a sensible little kid!"
Both sleepy and hungry, Ruo Li finally perked up, and her impression of Hu Tao improved.
Yun Xu had just made a tasting agreement with Hu Tao, so he naturally didn't refuse. Zhongli could only follow the two helplessly, and they all went to the dining table.
Hu Tao personally cooked and prepared a quite lavish late-night snack.
Ruo Li eagerly rushed to the table, reaching out with both hands to grab a plate.
"Wait, that's…"
Seeing this, Hu Tao quickly called out.
But it was already too late; Ruo Li tilted her head back and poured everything on the plate directly into her mouth.
"My alchemy ingredients!"
Realizing what was missing from the plate, Yun Xu couldn't help but exclaim.
Why does she love eating his alchemy ingredients so much… "Hmm?"
Ruo Li chewed the youyou great march in her mouth, but soon stopped, tilting her head in confusion.
"It seems a bit salty?"
Then, swallowing what was in her mouth, Ruo Li mumbled.
However, this did not hinder her determination to continue eating. Because she couldn't use chopsticks, she reached out and grabbed another plate, pouring its contents into her mouth.
Even if there were bones in the meat, with her teeth, it was simpler than a human eating crispy bones.
"Huh? Could it be that This Master's skills have improved by leaps and bounds?"
Seeing Ruo Li continuing to devour her food as if everything was normal, Hu Tao was somewhat surprised and uncertain.
After thinking for a moment, Hu Tao extended a finger, dabbed it in the remaining juice of the youyou great march on the plate, and then brought it to her mouth.
"Mmm~ the taste is really good!"
Licking her finger, Hu Tao nodded her head.
"Really? Then isn't there no point in alchemy?"
Hearing Hu Tao's words, Yun Xu leaned in curiously.
"Why don't you try it and see for yourself~"
Seeing Yun Xu lean closer, Hu Tao mischievously smiled and dabbed a little more juice with her finger, then extended her finger to Yun Xu's lips.
Yun Xu instinctively licked it.
"…!"
Yun Xu's face immediately scrunched up. Although it wasn't a lethal dose, the taste made Yun Xu's taste buds feel as if they had exploded.
And Hu Tao, who was beside him, feigning a natural expression, also stuck out her tongue, looking as if she had eaten a sour lemon.
Clearly, she had been faking it just now.
Only Ruo Li remained unfazed, continuing to gorge herself…
Only Ruo Li remained unfazed, continuing to gorge herself…