Genshin x Minecraft: Building the Temple of Virtue

”Ding! Monster Hunter achievement unlocked.”

”Rewards: Full-range communication access, three home base coordinates, Module: Chain Mining, Enchanted Iron Pickaxe (Enchantments: Silk Touch, Durability).”

”Next achievement mission: Diamonds! Diamonds!”

”Objective: Collect 100 diamonds.”

A flood of notifications poured into Ryen’s mind, leaving him stunned for a long moment.

After repeatedly confirming that he hadn’t misread the next phase of the achievement task, he let out a sharp inhale, followed by a string of colorful blessings aimed at the system’s ancestors.

”A hundred diamonds?! You’ve got to be kidding me!” Ryen groused, sitting on a block of solid wood with his arms crossed and an irritated look on his face.

”Do you think diamonds grow in fields like giant sweet potatoes? A hundred?!”

”Even if I hollow out this entire mountain, it’s a coin flip whether I’d find that many diamonds! Getting stuck with a taskmaster like you must be the worst luck of eight lifetimes!”

After muttering his ”praises” at the system for a while, Ryen noticed there was no response. He gave up on venting further—there was no point yelling at a brick wall.

Sure, the system had its demands, but Ryen had his methods.

A hundred diamonds. If he were to dig them up himself, even with Ningguang, Ganyu, and the others helping, it’d likely take a painfully long time.

This mountain alone definitely wouldn’t hold a hundred diamonds. There’d be the additional hassle of traveling to other regions.

But...

In two days, Liyue’s workforce would begin migrating en masse into this world.

With so many seasoned miners lending a hand, how could there not be enough diamonds?

Thinking it through, Ryen realized the task wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

At least the system had given him motivation to start gathering diamonds as quickly as possible.

One hundred diamonds would go a long way—he could craft plenty of amazing gear with them.

Pushing aside his irritation, Ryen focused on reviewing the mission rewards.

While none directly enhanced his personal power, they were practical upgrades that would make life far easier for him and his companions in this world.

Full-range communication was essentially like a global chat system in the game. No matter how far apart Ryen and the others were—even if one was in the Nether and the other in the End—they could communicate seamlessly.

Of course, the catch was that the recipient needed to agree to the communication.

This feature would be invaluable for coordinating during explorations or in case of separation.

The home base coordinate points allowed him to set three safe respawn locations. These locations needed to be completely secure because they served as teleport destinations.

The system clearly didn’t want anyone teleporting home only to find themselves surrounded by a horde of zombies.

Honestly, this reward saved Ryen the headache of constructing his own teleportation device.

Sure, he could build one, often called the ”Home Sweet Home Machine,” but that contraption required materials like Ender Pearls, Soul Sand, Daylight Sensors, and Redstone.

He wasn’t exactly swimming in resources at the moment.

As for the newly unlocked Chain Mining module, it was by far the most practical and impactful reward.

Anyone familiar with it knew what a game-changer it was. Essentially, it allowed multiple connected blocks, like trees or ores, to be harvested all at once.

The only downside? It would wear down tools faster.

With this module in place, tasks like mining, logging, and resource gathering would be exponentially easier—especially when the miners of Liyue began working here en masse.

Ryen couldn’t help but picture the scene: an entire mountain being mined from peak to lava core in one synchronized effort.

It would be the stuff of legends—like the tale of Yu Gong moving mountains, only now retold in this blocky world.

The thought of Ningguang and the others witnessing the power of Chain Mining brought a smile to his face.

He could already imagine Keqing marveling at the efficiency and calling it a ”technological revolution.”

Lastly, there was the enchanted iron pickaxe—his first enchanted tool.

With Silk Touch and Durability, it would be a reliable companion for mining, even if it paled in comparison to the other rewards.

Yawning, Ryen stretched lazily and glanced toward the nearby mob farm, where three or four monsters were packed together, waiting.

But he had no interest in grinding them anymore.

The mission was already complete, after all.

The monsters in the spawner tower could wait until tomorrow for Xiao to handle. After all, it would serve as a good way for him to mitigate his karmic burden.

However…

The witches and creepers? Ganyu would have to take care of those herself. After all, these mobs were known for dropping valuable items, and who better than the naturally lucky Qilin, blessed with Fortune and Looting, to handle the job?

After storing his tools, Ryen surveyed the floating island’s situation one last time. Satisfied, he returned to the mansion below, opened the dimensional gate, and stepped back into Teyvat to rest.

As for the home teleportation coordinate, Ryen casually set it within the mansion. The estate had grown into a stable base, and it seemed logical to reserve this coordinate for personal use between him and Ganyu.

For the mining and development team from Liyue, who would arrive soon, he planned to establish a separate base nearby. He could assign them another teleportation point to use at their convenience.

Ryen wasn’t in the mood to sleep in the MC world tonight. Although the mansion was comfortable enough, tomorrow would be a busy day. He’d have to bring Ganyu and the others back into the pixelated world early in the morning.

When Ryen finally stepped through the dimensional gate, leaving the Minecraft world, the once-lively landscape fell into complete stillness.

Far off, within a distant mountain cavern, faint torchlight flickered. A peculiar, humanoid figure made of blocks emerged briefly—a green shirt and deep blue pants. It vanished into the darkness as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind a trail of diamonds and redstone ore glittering in the cave.

The next morning, Ryen was jolted awake by Keqing’s persistent knocking.

Although his enhanced physique rendered sleep unnecessary, old habits died hard. Ryen wasn’t ready to abandon the comforts of humanity just yet.

Groggy, he stepped out of his room, only to find Keqing and the others already waiting in the courtyard.

What surprised him, though, was the sight of a makeshift table crafted from wooden fences and stairs.

The ingenuity didn’t stop there—what truly caught his attention were the armchairs with proper backrests.

In his villa back in the MC world, such furniture was commonplace. However, everything in the courtyard had clearly been made by hand. This meant one thing: the group had figured out the mechanics of crafting entirely on their own.

While these creations were nowhere near the complexity of redstone contraptions, the fact that they had grasped the basics of Minecraft’s building mechanics in such a short time was truly impressive.

With enough time and resources, who knew what they might be capable of achieving?

Circling the chair with a curious gaze, Ryen finally turned to Keqing and asked, ”This is impressive. It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already figured out how to use resources to build something like this. Did you make it, Keqing? You’ve got quite the talent!”

Keqing looked pleased but shook her head. ”Actually, I only built the table based on what I saw in your villa. As for the chairs…”

Before she could finish, a sharp, clear crane cry echoed through the courtyard. A light breeze swept past, carrying a faint, refreshing scent.

Ryen turned his gaze to the source.

There stood a majestic white-and-blue crane, its form towering over a person. Its feathers glimmered faintly with a misty sheen, exuding an ethereal elegance that seemed untouchable.

The crane carried a bundle of Qingxin flowers in its beak, which it carefully set down as it folded its wings. Tilting its head, it regarded Ryen with a discerning look.

”And who might this be?” Ryen mused aloud, though he already had a hunch.

Ganyu quickly stepped forward, seemingly worried that things might get awkward. ”Ryen, this is Cloud Retainer, one of Liyue’s adepti…” Her voice trailed off as though she were deliberately omitting something.

Cloud Retainer, unfazed, spoke in a lofty tone, her voice as clear as a chime. ”Morax informed this one of you yesterday. Greetings, Ryen. As a friend of the Geo Archon, you may address this one simply as ’Cloud Retainer.’

”Though the mortals among you have likely expressed their gratitude, and while Xiao is not one for words, this one speaks for all adepti in expressing thanks for your contributions. Your generosity has not gone unnoticed. Should you ever require assistance in Liyue, call upon this one without hesitation.”

Her gaze flickered briefly toward Keqing and Ningguang, both of whom stiffened under her scrutiny. Cloud Retainer then added, ”Also, this one is Ganyu’s foster mother.”

”Oh, Ganyu’s mentioned you before,” Ryen said casually, noticing Ganyu’s growing discomfort. He smiled slightly, steering the conversation away.

Cloud Retainer raised an elegant brow, intrigued. ”She has? Strange. This child often seems reluctant to engage with this one. She always flees before I can finish speaking. This one had thought her to be entering some sort of rebellious phase…”

Ganyu, mortified, stood frozen.

Her mind raced. What would Ryen think? That she was an immature, rebellious Qilin? An ungrateful daughter?

Oblivious to her distress, Cloud Retainer continued, her tone now lighter.

”Keqing was just speaking of your skill, Cloud Retainer,” Ryen interjected smoothly, shifting the conversation again. ”She said you’re remarkably adept at building things. She mentioned you even designed that chair yourself!”

Keqing, momentarily startled, noticed the subtle change in Cloud Retainer’s demeanor. For the first time since the Rite of Descension incident, the adeptus looked at her without a hint of hostility.

”Is that so? Hmm… It seems the Yuheng Star has a keen eye after all,” Cloud Retainer remarked, her tone carrying a hint of satisfaction.

”This one is indeed unmatched in the art of craftsmanship among the adepti. Even Morax himself has praised this one’s ingenuity. In ages past, only Guizhong could rival this one’s creations…”

Her voice faltered as she spoke of Guizhong, her expression briefly clouding with sorrow.

”Ah… Those were times of joy and camaraderie… but the past cannot be revisited,” she murmured, more to herself than anyone else.

The courtyard fell into an uneasy silence. But Cloud Retainer soon collected herself, her gaze softening as it fell upon Ganyu.

”Enough of bygones,” she declared. ”Little Ganyu, it has been some time since this one last visited. I have brought you the finest Qingxin from Jueyun Karst. It should suffice for a few days.”

”Alas… This one does lament how you’ve grown so distant, Ganyu. Once, you were such a round, chubby little thing. Now you’ve grown so thin…”

Ganyu stood frozen as her deepest secrets spilled into the open.

Keqing, Ningguang, and Ryen all heard it—clear as day.

And with that, the dignified Qilin felt her world shatter into pieces.

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