Genshin x Minecraft: Building the Temple of Virtue

”You mentioned that redstone could usher in a technological revolution, while lapis lazuli is essential for equipment enchantments.”

Zhongli stood with his hands behind his back, instinctively using his divine senses to examine the ores.

As expected, he felt nothing.

”So… these two minerals are the most valuable resources in this mine?”

Hearing this, Ryen nodded decisively, a teasing smile playing on his lips.

”That’s a bit of an absolute statement, but for now, it’s true. Perhaps redstone and lapis lazuli wouldn’t fetch a high price in your world,” he admitted, ”but if you ask me what the most important minerals in this world are—especially with my goal of sparking a technological revolution—redstone is undoubtedly the answer.”

Of course, that certainty only applied under normal circumstances.

If he had access to a modern weapons mod or an industrial era mod…

Ryen swore on his very soul—

He would live underground, day and night, mining copper, tin, lead, uranium, and iridium until his liver gave out!

At that point, who would care about redstone?

Ever seen a spaceship?

He’d turn this entire Guilei Plains into a rocket launch site, taking everyone with him to explore the vastness of the heavens.

If Celestia dared to interfere? He’d nuke the entire world into oblivion.

…But of course, that was just a fantasy.

Even without using his brain, he knew that kind of absurd mod wasn’t going to appear anytime soon—especially when most people were still unfamiliar with the mechanics of this world. The most he could do was sigh wistfully.

”I’ll go mine these ores.”

With that, Xiao retrieved an iron pickaxe and strode toward the mineral wall.

There was nothing particularly tricky about mining redstone and lapis lazuli.

The only thing to avoid was using a pickaxe with the Silk Touch enchantment on redstone ore.

Normally, breaking redstone ore with an iron pickaxe would yield four to five redstone dust. But with Silk Touch? You’d only get the ore block itself.

And when you smelt a redstone ore block… you get a single piece of redstone dust.

An absolute nightmare scenario.

As Ryen watched Xiao’s eagerness, something else popped into his mind.

Hadn’t he mentioned before that he wanted to test if a golden apple could cure Xiao’s karmic debt?

Now that they had gold—nine whole ingots, no less—it was the perfect time.

Though they didn’t have enough to craft an enchanted golden apple, a regular one would do just fine.

Besides, if they did make an enchanted golden apple… Ningguang might just keel over from shock.

Eight gold blocks—nearly two hundred tons of gold—just to make a single apple?

Even the most reckless spendthrift wouldn’t dare.

With that thought in mind, Ryen spoke softly, ”Now that we have gold, why don’t we craft a golden apple later and see if it helps Xiao with his karmic burden?”

Zhongli was momentarily stunned before a trace of warmth flickered in his golden eyes. He nodded slightly, just about to say something when—

”Golden… apple?!”

Ningguang’s voice rang out in disbelief.

She looked at the still-warm gold ingots in her hands, then back at Ryen.

Hmm…

For dramatic effect, she had already converted the nine gold ingots into a single, dazzling gold block.

Now that she was holding it, she found it utterly irresistible.

She had been about to show it off to Ryen and the others—only to overhear him casually suggest using their gold for a golden apple.

She couldn’t deny it—it hurt a little.

But… this was for Xiao. If it could cure his karmic affliction, it was worth it.

Still—

It was heartbreaking nonetheless.

Ganyu, noticing Ningguang’s slight melancholy, lowered her voice and leaned in close to Ryen.

”Ryen, how much gold does it take to make a golden apple…?”

Hearing this, the others also perked up, waiting for his response.

Ryen didn’t keep them in suspense and answered straightforwardly, ”A regular golden apple requires one apple and eight gold ingots.”

”There’s also a more powerful version—the enchanted golden apple—which requires one apple and nine gold blocks.”

The moment he said that, even Zhongli fell into silence.

The first recipe was already absurd.

But the second one?

Over one hundred and fifty tons of gold—for a single enchanted apple?

Even he, Morax—the very creator of Mora—had never indulged in such luxury in all his six thousand years.

Just picturing the scene of burning through hundreds of tons of gold in an instant left them all breathless.

”I… I believe…” Cloud Retainer gulped audibly, struggling to form words.

”This enchanted golden apple… perhaps we should not entertain the thought for now.”

”It’s simply… too difficult to fathom. So much gold…”

Ryen chuckled and nodded slightly. ”Of course, a regular golden apple will do. We don’t know for sure if it will work anyway.”

”I just figured—if a golden apple can cure zombie villagers and restore their consciousness, then perhaps it possesses a certain ability to revive lost awareness.”

”I’ve looked into Xiao’s karmic affliction—it manifests more like a descent into madness. I think there’s a chance the golden apple could be useful.”

He didn’t make any guarantees, though. It was best not to raise expectations when the outcome was still uncertain.

Ningguang took a deep breath, gazing at the gold block in her hand with lingering reluctance.

Then, gritting her teeth, she extended it toward Ryen.

”Ryen, go ahead and craft the golden apple for the Conqueror of Demons.”

Ryen blinked, slightly surprised by her decisive gesture.

”You don’t want to hold onto it a little longer?”

After handing over the gold, Ningguang seemed far more at ease. She let out a light chuckle and shook her head.

”There’s no need. You were the one who led us down here, so the spoils should rightfully be yours to distribute.”

”Besides, as long as you’re around, there will always be more gold. There’s no point in dwelling on a single block.”

”More importantly, Xiao’s karmic affliction takes priority.”

”Liyue can do without nineteen tons of gold, but it cannot do without the hero who has silently protected it from the shadows.”

Her words were sincere, her gaze unwavering.

In that moment, as if passing some unseen trial, Ningguang seemed to transcend her former self.

She had always been regal and refined, but now, she exuded a nobility that was beyond mere wealth—one that made even the mere mention of Mora feel beneath her.

Seeing this, a trace of satisfaction flickered in Zhongli’s eyes.

Liyue’s Tianquan Star… had grown once more.

Even Cloud Retainer was deeply moved. After listening to Ningguang’s words, her perception of Ningguang visibly softened.

She nodded approvingly and murmured, ”Not bad… Now, you truly deserve the title of the most outstanding Tianquan Star in history.”

”If, before, I agreed to help you merely because of the Lord of Geo’s request, then now…”

”Even if the Lord of Geo had not asked, I would not hesitate to lend you my strength and wisdom.”

Ningguang had earned Cloud Retainer’s friendship.

However, Ningguang remained humble, merely offering a gentle nod as she spoke softly, ”It was simply my duty. If anything, I feel somewhat ashamed.

”From the moment I entered this world and started working with Ryen, my mindset should have changed accordingly.”

”And yet, it wasn’t until now that I finally understood the shift I should have made. That realization alone makes me feel a little guilty.”

Her expression was clear and refreshed, as if she had finally come to terms with the fact that she could now afford to be truly extravagant.

Seeing her like this, Ryen was genuinely happy for her.

But still, he shook his head slightly and said, ”There’s no rush with the golden apple. We can craft it later at the manor. For now, just keep that gold block with you…”

As he spoke, he winked and added in a playful tone, ”After all, I didn’t mine it myself.”

Ningguang was briefly taken aback, then, after a moment of thought, she accepted his reasoning and quietly stowed the gold block away.

Her gaze shimmered ever so slightly before she subtly moved closer to Ryen, her voice carrying a soft chuckle.

”Ryen, could you explain redstone and lapis lazuli to us in detail?”

”Of course.”

Ryen smiled and gestured toward the redstone ore that Xiao was currently mining.

”Redstone is an essential component for creating automation and all sorts of intricate mechanisms.”

Mechanisms?!

At the mention of that word, Cloud Retainer instantly snapped to full attention, her sharp gaze locking onto Ryen.

”You remember how I mentioned redstone technology, right? That’s an entire field of innovation built upon the properties of redstone.”

As Ryen spoke about redstone, his eyes gleamed with an unmistakable passion.

That light in his eyes made Ningguang’s heart skip a beat. Almost instinctively, a trace of warmth and intimacy flickered in her gaze.

But she reacted quickly, reining in her emotions in an instant.

Still, Ganyu saw everything.

Her lips pursed ever so slightly, but seeing how immersed Ryen was in his enthusiasm for redstone, she decided against saying anything.

”How far can redstone take us? There’s no fixed answer. Just as a thousand people will have a thousand different interpretations of Hamlet…”

”The possibilities of redstone depend entirely on imagination. The more creative you are, the more you can achieve with it. It’s a technology that thrives on intellect and innovation.”

”With redstone, you can build massive redstone-powered robots, fully automated harvesters, powerful redstone cannons, flying machines, airplanes, tanks…”

”There’s nothing redstone can’t do—only things you haven’t thought of yet.”

Ryen paused for a moment, then, with a solemn expression, declared:

”If I had to define redstone in one sentence…”

”I would say—it’s the key to a technological revolution across all of Teyvat.”

”The deeper your understanding of redstone, the more you’ll realize how many ’impossible’ things can become possible.”

”When we have some free time, I’ll teach you all the core components of redstone technology, and I’ll also start crafting some simple redstone contraptions.”

”Once you start learning, you might even come up with ideas that differ from mine—new, creative applications of redstone. And I’ll do my best to help you experiment.”

”Put simply, from now on, whenever you encounter a troublesome task in this world, think about how redstone can solve it.”

Ryen spoke of redstone with such enthusiasm that it almost sounded like an exaggerated boast.

But in truth—it wasn’t an exaggeration at all.

There were only two types of sandbox games in the world—Minecraft and everything else.

And one of the fundamental features that set Minecraft apart from all other sandbox games?

Redstone.

Back in his previous life, Ryen had seen people build actual functioning smartphones using redstone, even going so far as to make video calls with their real-world selves.

That level of absurdity was unprecedented in gaming history.

If one had enough imagination, it was entirely possible to create a working version of Minecraft inside Minecraft.

Of course, while everyone was thrilled by the potential of redstone, the one who was truly fired up with determination was Cloud Retainer.

She could barely contain her excitement, already eager to start studying redstone’s applications.

”Ryen, what about lapis lazuli?”

Ganyu gently tugged at Ryen’s sleeve, reminding him.

”You haven’t explained that one yet.”

Ryen blinked, momentarily pulling himself out of his redstone-induced excitement.

”Ah—lapis lazuli? That’s simple.”

”It’s an essential material for enchanting equipment.”

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