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[Genshin Impact] Chapter 439: The Deep Layers of the World (2-in-1 Chapter)
🕑 Added 2025-03-29 06:19:42 +0000 UTCAlright, after having some good tea.
Nolan became much more enthusiastic while explaining his stealth techniques, such as how to use mental power to reduce his sense of presence.
He also discussed how to expand the range of invisibility and how to use the environment to better conceal oneself.
Yelan, in turn, shared her own stealth techniques with him without reservation, guiding him through the process and helping him attempt to use them.
Since Yelan’s stealth technique was based on water elements, and Nolan had already grasped a fragment of water’s authority, it was relatively easy for him to master the finer aspects of manipulating water energy.
By noon, he had successfully learned Yelan’s stealth technique:
[Skill Acquired: Abyssal Phantom]
Seeing the system prompt pop up on his character panel, Nolan nodded in satisfaction. He had finally grasped the basics of Yelan’s stealth technique!
Her stealth could evade detection by mental power, had strong resistance to interference, and even allowed for attacks without disrupting the invisibility.
If he merged it into his “Hidden Mirage Domain” skill, even if it couldn’t evolve into an Arcane-tier ability, it would still make up for its previous shortcomings.
Under Nolan’s mastery, even an ordinary Archon-level entity might not be able to detect him.
This should be enough for now!
“Very good. It seems like you’ve successfully grasped the basics,” Yelan said with a satisfied nod. “Not bad. Coincidentally, I’ve also gained some new insights into your stealth technique.”
She leaned back against her chair, elegantly crossing her left leg over her right. Her semi-transparent black-sleeved right hand brushed a strand of hair away from her face as she smiled.
"Once I incorporate these insights into my own stealth technique, I imagine my future missions will go even more smoothly."
Thanks to this exchange, Yelan’s impression of Nolan had improved slightly.
[Yelan Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 280 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (160/400)]
“Well, Yelan, since your job involves intelligence gathering, having a more advanced stealth technique will also make you safer.”
Nolan chuckled.
“Alright, before we knew it, it's already noon. Since we’re both free today, how about I treat you to a meal?”
Yelan uncrossed her legs, setting down her high-heeled foot, and stood up while stretching.
“Sounds good.” Nolan wasn’t about to refuse an invitation from a beautiful woman.
#### ---
That afternoon, Nolan stayed in the Liyue Teahouse and chatted with Yelan for a while longer. When it was about time, he set off to meet Ningguang.
On the way, he decided to level up his newly acquired stealth skill.
“Abyssal Phantom” was a Secret-tier skill, requiring 45,000 Adventure EXP to max out.
However, since he had already trained it a little upon learning it, the actual cost would be slightly lower.
Adventure EXP - 44,999
Abyssal Phantom - Secret Art Level Lv.1 (1/1000) → Abyssal Phantom - Secret Art Level Lv.10 (MAX)
Upon reaching max level, several enhancement options appeared:
[Your Secret-tier skill has reached max level. Please choose an enhancement path.]
1. Deep Dive – While using stealth, you can sink into the shallow space layer, doubling your movement speed and avoiding all contact with the surface space layer.
2. Breaking Point – While using stealth, you can unleash a defense-ignoring strike upon breaking stealth. The longer you stay hidden, the greater the defense penetration, up to 100%.
3. Rapid Phantom – While using stealth, you enter a speed boost state, where your movement speed gradually increases over time, up to five times the normal rate.
Nolan carefully examined all three choices.
The first option, Deep Dive, clearly enhanced the hiding capability of his stealth skill.
It allowed him to descend into the shallow space layer, much like the Realm Hounds did—essentially moving beneath the normal world while staying hidden.
To explain it in simpler terms:
- The surface space layer is the normal world where people live, like the ocean’s surface.
- The shallow space layer is just beneath it, akin to the shallow waters of the ocean.
By choosing this option, he could eliminate the biggest flaw of stealth techniques—physical contact!
No matter how advanced a stealth skill was, invisibility only made one unseen, not intangible. If he accidentally collided with something or someone, he would still be discovered.
But with Deep Dive, Nolan would not physically interact with the surface space while in stealth, completely erasing this weakness!
By comparison, the other two options—Breaking Point (enhancing ambush power) and Rapid Phantom (enhancing movement speed)—weren’t as useful to him.
1. He didn’t lack attack methods.
2. He could already teleport, making speed boosts less significant.
After careful consideration, he chose Deep Dive.
Stealth should be absolute—the core function was to avoid detection, everything else was secondary!
With the choice made, Nolan continued walking towards Ningguang’s location while fusing Abyssal Phantom with his other stealth skill.
If luck was on his side, he might even create an Arcane-level stealth ability!
Abyssal Phantom - Secret Art Level Lv.10 (Deep Dive) + Hidden Mirage Domain Secret Art Level Lv.10 (Vanishing, Lost Path, Domain) → Abysswalker Arcane Level Lv.1 (0/5000)
On his character panel, the two skills twisted and merged together.
A few seconds later, Nolan stared at the "Arcane" label on his new skill.
A wave of excitement surged through him—his luck had been exceptional, successfully evolving his stealth into an Arcane-tier skill!
Without hesitation, he poured all his remaining Adventure EXP into it.
Adventure EXP - 225,000
Abysswalker - Arcane Level Lv.1 (0/5000) → Abysswalker - Arcane Level Lv.10 (Deep Space Warp)
In an instant, 225,000 Adventure EXP vanished, and his stealth skill reached max level.
It retained all the characteristics of the previous skills while gaining an additional ultimate ability: "Deep Space Warp."
According to the skill's information feedback, using this ability allows Nolan to shift between the Deep Layer Space, the Shallow Layer Space, and the Surface Layer Space.
Becoming invisible to the point of completely detaching from the real world—this was quite powerful. Now, no matter what, as long as he hid in the Deep Layer Space, no one should be able to detect him, right?
Nolan had the urge to immediately test out this new skill.
After thinking for a moment, he stepped into an empty alleyway between two buildings and silently activated "Abysswalker."
First, he unfolded the invisibility field as usual, entering stealth mode. This time, however, he could sense that the field was much more "solid" compared to before.
He then experimented with different elements—wind, water, lightning, and even his golden sword intent—but found that none of them interfered with his stealth state.
Next, he attempted to sink into the Shallow Layer Space. A sensation similar to being submerged in water washed over him.
When his vision cleared, he noticed that he was still in the same location, but everything around him seemed to be separated from reality by a thin membrane.
This should be what the Shallow Layer Space looked like—similar to diving underwater where one could still see the sky, though it appeared somewhat distorted, and breathing was not possible.
Then, he descended further into the Deep Layer Space.
The next second, everything turned pitch black.
He could see absolutely nothing.
There was no ground beneath his feet—it was like being adrift in the vast emptiness of outer space.
Frowning, Nolan extended his mental perception outward to explore, but all he found was an endless void.
This was eerily similar to the space rift created by the Rift Beasts in the snowy mountains last time.
If his guess was correct, this should be the same kind of place.
It seemed that otherworldly realms and secret dimensions—like the Beast Realm—were located within the Deep Layer Space.
If he was lucky enough to pinpoint their locations, he might be able to surface from here and sneak into those realms effortlessly.
However, trying to locate an alternate world within the seemingly infinite Deep Layer Space was an incredibly difficult task.
For now, Nolan had no desire to explore further. He decided to resurface back to the Surface Layer.
The moment he returned to the real world, his feet touching solid ground and the fresh air filling his lungs, he felt instantly refreshed.
That being said… could there be an even deeper space beneath the Deep Layer?
If so, maybe he could bypass the "False Sky" barrier and secretly escape Teyvat!
But the Deep Layer Space alone was likely not enough—even "Gold" Rhinedottir could freely access the Beast Realm located within it, and if there were a way out, she would have left long ago.
Nolan sighed. Perhaps only a "Divine"-level stealth skill could reveal the truth.
And that wasn't something he could achieve in the short term.
Stepping out of the deserted alley, he continued toward Yuehai Pavilion, where Ningguang awaited him.
As he walked, he glanced at his character panel, which had undergone significant changes:
---
Name: Nolan Walker
Level: Lv91 (362/910000)
Race: Human
Titles: Honorary Knight, Outstanding Citizen of Liyue, Legendary Adventurer, Honorary General of Watatsumi Island
Innate Talent: Entangling Affection
Skills:
- Lumine's Authority · Divine Level Lv.1 (0/10,000)
- Abysswalker: Arcane Level Lv.10 (Deep Space Warp)
- Flowing Sky Shot: Arcane Level Lv.1 (1/5000)
- Anemo Manipulation Lv.10 (Max Level)
- Martial Arts Lv.10 (Subtle Mastery)
Specialties:
- 【Descender】
- 【Maiden Savior】
- 【Monster Slayer】
- 【Abundant Life】
- 【The Gospel of the Sky】
- 【North Wind】
- 【Harmony】
- 【Spiritual Threads】
- 【Millennium Body】
- 【Blue Vortex】
- 【Battery Body】
- 【Elemental Immunity】
- 【Command Seal】
- 【Spiritual Core (Previous Soul Rank)】
- 【Thoughtless Thunder】
Adventure EXP: 170,076
Seventeen thousand EXP points left—he’d keep those to level up.
For now, all skill upgrades had been settled.
Now, he could focus entirely on leveling up. Over at The Chasm and the Beast Realm, the "Sword Gods of Lumine" was actively hunting down monsters.
With some luck, it wouldn’t take long before he leveled up.
Before long, Nolan arrived at Yuehai Pavilion. He exchanged a brief greeting with the guards, and a few minutes later, he found himself in the grand hall, face-to-face with Ningguang.
"You've arrived." Ningguang's fair face curved into a faint smile.
"Heh, good afternoon, Ningguang. So, are we heading off to meet this business rival now? What's the situation exactly?"
Nolan greeted her with a smile and asked.
"No rush. Let's sit down and take a short break first. Our meeting is scheduled for 3 PM, so I’ll take this time to explain the details to you."
Ningguang gestured for him to take a seat beside her before speaking:
"The 'Sweet Flower Merchant Association' has been experiencing continuous success in Liyue Harbor. Some of my business rivals—
Feiyun Commerce Guild, Jinhua Trading House, and Wangyue Consortium—have reached out to me for a collaboration.
They want to obtain exclusive distribution rights for other regions of Liyue."
She paused slightly before continuing:
"I know they’ve been developing similar products of their own, but they’re still some time away from mass production. In the meantime, they want to use our products to establish their market presence.
Heh, how cunning, don’t you think?"
With that, she let out a soft chuckle.
"I see… Then why not just refuse them outright?" Nolan nodded in understanding.
"Business is always driven by profit. While they may have their own ambitions…
Their plan also helps spread our products across Liyue much faster than my own channels alone could manage.
Why reject a mutually beneficial deal?"
Ningguang elegantly crossed her right leg over her left, the hem of her cheongsam draping over her beautifully contoured knee, as she spoke in an even tone.
"..."
Nolan had assumed she wanted to reject the offer, so he had merely followed along with that train of thought. But now, it seemed there was a twist to her plan.
Realizing this, he tactfully chose not to press further. Business matters were Ningguang’s specialty, far beyond his expertise.
Instead, after some thought, he asked:
"Once we secure Liyue’s domestic markets, will we start exporting overseas?"
"Of course. Why? Do you, the famous adventurer, happen to have some connections you’d like to introduce?"
Ningguang’s crimson eyes locked onto Nolan with a knowing look.
"That’s right. I have good ties with the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt and the Hiiragi Clan in Inazuma, who oversee foreign trade and finance. I can help the guild reach out and establish cooperation."
Nolan saw this as an opportunity to leverage his personal network for business growth. After all, the more money they made, the more resources they could invest in research and development.
"Oh? That’s not a bad idea. However, the distance makes negotiating the details a bit troublesome. It looks like we’ll need to send a delegation to handle the discussions."
Ningguang rested a finger lightly against her lips, deep in thought.
Even though their products had yet to fully saturate Liyue’s market, business required long-term planning.
Negotiations took time, and with the vast distances involved, even exchanging letters would be a slow process.
At that moment, Nolan suddenly thought of something and smiled.
"Speaking of that… Ningguang, I have a gift for you. With this, you’ll be able to visit any nation for business whenever you want."
He pulled out a golden "Waymark" and explained its extraordinary abilities to her.
Ningguang’s gaze flickered with amusement as she received the explanation.
"Oh my… is this your way of staking a claim on me? If I use this, doesn’t it mean that I’ll be bound to you by an invisible tether, never able to leave your side again?"
She smiled faintly as she looked at him.
Cough... Lady Ningguang, I believe you have it backward. With this ability, it’s me who will never be able to leave you!"
Nolan shook his head, then handed over the golden light sphere, looking at her earnestly.
"From now on, if you ever need anything, you can always reach out to me.
I want to be someone you can rely on.
Would you be willing to give me that chance?"
Ningguang let out a soft chuckle.
"I wonder… how many girls have you said these words to?"
She muttered in a tone that was half-joking, half-exasperated.
Her intelligence network was vast, and she was well aware of his connections with Hu Tao, Yun Jin, and Shenhe, among others.
Still, she didn’t seem particularly bothered by it.
With a casual motion, she accepted the Waymark, twirling it lightly in her fingers.
"Very well. Consider it an investment in my own future.
Let’s hope that, as always, my judgment never fails me."
[Ningguang Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 280 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (300/900).]
(End of Chapter.)
