Venti stared in shock at the dazzling prismatic mirror floating in the air.
Moments later, the mirror vanished without a trace.
Su Xuan's voice followed: "It's done. The corrupted blood inside Dvalin has been completely cleansed."
With the Qiankun Mirror's power, there were two ways to purge Dvalin's corrupted blood.
Either rewind its personal timeline to five hundred years ago or directly remove the abnormal state within its body—both would solve the issue.
Venti glanced at Dvalin's now-pristine back, the congealed blood clots from the corruption gone without a trace.
The abyssal taint inside Dvalin had truly been purified.
"How did he do it?" Venti turned to Su Xuan in bewilderment, his heart filled with shock.
It had to be that mirror—definitely related to that mirror.
But what exactly had that mirror done? Just one shine, and it cleansed the Abyss's erosion on Dvalin.
"Barbatos..."
Dvalin's deep voice interrupted Venti's thoughts.
He hurried over and asked, "Dvalin, how are you feeling now?"
"Extremely comfortable, like I've been reborn." Dvalin shook his massive body, stretching his limbs.
The binding force that had restrained him vanished the moment his mind cleared.
Su Xuan stood at a distance, quietly watching the reunion between the man and the dragon without interrupting.
But soon enough, Venti and Dvalin approached him.
"Thank you, my benefactor." Dvalin lowered his proud head, offering Su Xuan the highest salute.
"Thank the Dandelion Knight of Mondstadt, Jean Gunnhildr," Su Xuan said nonchalantly. "If not for her request, I wouldn't have come to save you."
"That said, Venti, lend me your Gnosis for a look. I'll give it right back."
Venti froze.
He had no idea why Su Xuan wanted to borrow his Gnosis.
But given the terrifying power Su Xuan had just displayed, Venti didn't argue. He simply pulled out a green chess piece and handed it over.
"This is the Gnosis?" Su Xuan took Venti's Gnosis, glanced at it through the sunlight, then returned it.
"Huh?" Venti blinked. "You're done already?"
"Yeah, done." Su Xuan drawled, then flipped his palm to reveal an identical chess piece.
Venti: "?"
Dvalin: "?"
The watching beauties were equally stunned, jaws dropping.
Su Xuan's earlier claim about manifesting via his Principle Authority wasn't a joke—he'd truly created a Gnosis, something only gods possessed.
"This is...?" Venti stared blankly at the Gnosis in Su Xuan's hand, then felt his own. No doubt about it—Su Xuan hadn't tampered with his. His original Gnosis was still intact.
"Good-hearted bro, what's that in your hand...?" Venti stammered, pointing at it in panic.
Big bro! Who the hell are you? Creating a Gnosis in the blink of an eye?!
Su Xuan said nothing, silently sensing the Gnosis in his hand.
The one he'd made held no power at all—like an empty shell.
The main reason Su Xuan could think of was that a Gnosis's authority didn't originate from the Gnosis itself.
It came from Celestia, or whatever divine throne it connected to in the void.
A Gnosis was more like a receiver for power or authority, not a transmitter.
"I just wanted to use your Gnosis to test one of my abilities. Looks like it failed, though."
Su Xuan didn't care in the slightest. The Gnosis held no appeal for him—it was useless in his hands anyway.
He casually crushed the duplicate green chess piece and said flatly, "Everything's settled. Go do whatever you were doing."
"I'm sticking around to test a few Ruin Guards."
"Also, you should know what the Abyss Order's been up to lately, stationing Hilichurl tribes around Mondstadt."
"Head back quick. Don't follow me."
Su Xuan waved them off, shooing Venti and Dvalin away.
But Venti's gaze drifted to the high tower.
The tower that had been uprooted earlier now stood exactly as before.
Venti had no clue about Su Xuan's true identity or why his power was so overwhelming.
But in his mind, he'd already formed a clear image: This guy must be one of those heroes born under a lucky star!
"Heh heh! So Su Xuan was just testing stuff out. You should've said so earlier!" Venti's eyes darted slyly.
"You knew my name from the start, yet kept calling me 'good-hearted bro.'" Su Xuan shook his head. "If you've got nothing else, don't bother me while I test on those Ruin Guards."
"Wait." Seeing Su Xuan about to leave, Venti blocked him hurriedly. "Since the first test failed, we can't give up that easily."
"Try a few more times—might work eventually."
"This thing's not much use to me anyway. Here, have it."
With that, Venti shoved his own Gnosis into Su Xuan's hand.
Mondstadt Goethe Hotel.
Rosalyne paced anxiously, snapping at the light screen, "Is this light screen of yours useless or what?"
"Always showing images but no sound?"
"What the hell did those two say to each other?!"
"Oh my god, Barbatos actually gave his Gnosis to Su Xuan?!"
Rosalyne felt a wave of dizziness.
Didn't the Tsaritsa say that finding Barbatos would secure the Gnosis?
It sounded like everything was already arranged with him.
But the bard handed it off to someone from beyond this world.
"Damn it, that Barbatos must be using Su Xuan to get revenge on the Fatui for pressuring Mondstadt these past few years."
"Despicable, shameless—borrowing a knife to kill!"