The gates of the Wolf of the North Temple stood wide open.
The two of them reached the end of the path, where a shallow pool of water lay below—just deep enough to cover the ankles.
A few slime condensates had fallen here.
“Someone killed the slimes,” Diluc said.
Since slimes don’t always drop condensates when they die, it was hard to gauge how many had originally been there.
They jumped down, splashing water everywhere.
Jiang Chen bent over, pulled out a container, and collected the three slime condensates.
“You’re interested in that?” Diluc asked.
“They make good drinks.
You should try brewing with them—might turn out well.”
“You put that stuff in your drinks!?”
Diluc’s voice suddenly rose, and he barely managed to restrain himself.
Still, he couldn’t help but scratch his throat.
He’d had quite a few of those cold drinks from Good Hunter in the past.
Jiang Chen always served them to him.
And he couldn’t deny that he’d enjoyed the flavors.
“They’re not poisonous or harmful.
What’s there to be afraid of?” Jiang Chen said nonchalantly.
Diluc clenched his fists, silently vowing never to drink another cold beverage from Good Hunter again.
Collecting the slime condensates didn’t take much time.
The two continued running toward the passage ahead.
Flame-spouting mechanisms blocked their path—one on the left, one on the right, spaced a certain distance apart.
In between was a relatively safe zone, where more slime condensates had fallen.
Proof that someone had passed through here.
And if they’d made it past the first flame trap to reach the safe zone, they could get past the second.
“Let’s start praying Kaeya’s still alive,” Diluc said.
Kaeya’s Cryo could temporarily freeze the mechanisms, allowing safe passage.
But since the ice had already thawed, it meant Kaeya had passed through some time ago.
If he’d actually run into an Abyss Mage with a Cryo shield…
“Let’s go,” Jiang Chen said with a wave.
He even grabbed another slime condensate along the way.
“Convenient,” Diluc remarked.
Even as a Pyro user, forcing his way through flames like that would leave him in rough shape.
He wouldn’t be injured, but his clothes certainly wouldn’t come out unscathed.
The path ahead was clear of monsters.
Another pool of water blocked their way, filled with spikes—impossible to swim through.
Jiang Chen ignored it entirely.
He conjured a stone platform beneath his feet and walked straight across.
Diluc followed behind.
“Does your Geo energy never run out?” Diluc couldn’t help but complain.
The elemental energy stored in a Vision was limited.
After each use, it had to be recharged from the environment.
That meant a cooldown period between uses, waiting for the Vision to replenish.
“Guess,” Jiang Chen said with a smile.
A Vision was an external magical organ—he didn’t have one.
“Tch.” Diluc clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“Shh!” Jiang Chen signaled him to be quiet.
They were nearing the top floor of the Wolf of the North Temple, and he could sense an unusual chill.
Diluc, as a Pyro user, was equally sensitive to such cold.
They exchanged a glance.
Without a word, they split left and right, creeping cautiously toward the hall ahead.
That was the source of the cold.
Thick with Cryo energy.
And nothing else.
“Just our luck, matching elements!” Diluc muttered.
He felt like Jiang Chen had jinxed it.
At least Kaeya was the one suffering.
The lingering Cryo energy meant Kaeya’s stalemate with the Abyss Mage wasn’t over yet.
Which meant he was still alive!
They each peered into the hall from opposite sides of the wall.
Kaeya’s hair and clothes were crusted with ice crystals.
Across from him, a Cryo Abyss Mage held up its shield, chanting as it drew Cryo energy from the ley lines.
Even with the abundance of Cryo in the air, Kaeya’s Vision couldn’t absorb it fast enough to keep up.
Jiang Chen breathed a silent sigh of relief.
If he hadn’t run into Diluc on the way out of the Temple of the Falcon of the West, Kaeya would have been left behind.
He needed these Vision holders alive to level up.
Losing even one would probably cap his level ceiling.
Diluc drew a greatsword from his back.
They exchanged a few simple hand signals, then nodded to each other.
A surge of Pyro energy exploded at the entrance!
Diluc’s greatsword swung down.
A flaming phoenix burst from the blade.
“Dawn!” Diluc’s voice rang out.
Where the firebird passed, frost evaporated or melted into dripping water.
At the same time,
Jiang Chen appeared at the hall’s entrance.
A gale swept up around him, as if summoned from the heavens.
His bandaged hand gripped an invisible blade and swung with the wind.
“Wind-Cleaving Wave!”
A massive wave of Anemo surged forward, overtaking the flaming bird and colliding with it.
Boom!
The wind fanned the flames, and the explosion erupted.
The blast of elemental energy swept through the entire hall.
The Cryo Abyss Mage took the brunt of it.
Its Cryo shield drained of energy in an instant and shattered.
A shadow loomed over it.
Diluc appeared above.
His sword, still wreathed in flames, came crashing down.
Happy reading!