Liyue from Genshin Impact has a fascinating past that is not fully shown in the main plot. Which side quests teach about the history of the country?
Even if you don’t do Genshin Impact’s main quest, or even if you don’t do it at all, certain landmarks or hints in dialogue can tell you a lot about the world of Teyvat.
Genshin Impact: 5 Side Quests of Liyue’s History & Ultimate Guide
The highlands of Liyue are full of story clues to follow, though some of them might require going off the main questline. Here are five side quests you can do to find out more about Genshin’s version of ancient China. Spoilers are unavoidable but kept nonspecific.
Completing: A Lone Ship in Guyun
See the huge gold boat in Liyue Harbor? That’s not the ship with the name. If you look behind that party boat, right at the edge of what the game can show, you’ll see a bigger pirate ship with red sails.
From the Guyun Stone Forest, you can get to this Alcor. Don’t try to swim there; instead, climb the mountain above the most south-eastern domain and glide from the top. Once you’re on board, the crew won’t be happy with your grand entrance, but running a few errands for them will be enough to make peace. You only need common things like meat, chicken, and starconches.
What’s revealed: A Lone Ship in Guyun
People in Beidou already know about the Alcor and the rest of the Crux fleet because the famous swashbuckler is in charge of both. People say that Beidou is the second or third most famous woman in Liyue. Only the Qixing is more famous. The brave stories that her crew told about her made people think of her as a mix of Jack Sparrow and Robin Hood.
The shipmates talk about going back to Inazuma, the Electro Archon’s isolationist country that is based on Japan and will probably be in the March expansion. Traveling to Inazuma is against the law, but Beidou doesn’t care much about laws. Soon, she and the Crux will help you on your travels.
Completing: The Yaksha’s Wish
Find the waypoint on the map that is above the “t” in “Jueyun Karst.” Go east to a building that looks like a collapsed rotunda. There is a jewelled pedestal that is connected to the spirit of a yaksha named Bosacius, who wants to die but not until he has given away all of his money.
Get the treasures from the mages right to the east, the lawachurl to the north, and the ruin guard to the south. Then go back to Bosacius to open the tomb with the three valuable chests.
What’s revealed: The Yaksha’s Wish
In his last words, Bosacius talks about The Great Yakshas, who were scary demigods who worked for the Geo God Rex Lapis. Bosacius says that the work of the yakshas is shameful, even though all adepti are highly respected. This could be because the yakshas hunted other adepti, gods, or humans from competing nations.
The yakshas are not immortal or infallible, just like the archons and other gods. They may feel bad about their parts in the political fights that left Teyvat scarred. Now that Bosacius is dead, only one of the five yakshas is still alive. His name is Alatus, but most people call him Xaio.
Completing: Nine Pillars of Peace
Under the “Cuijue” in “Cuijue Slope” is a lakebed with a lot of moss. Clouds that look scary will always be there when you go there. Nine glowing obelisks surround the lakebed, and a stone epitaph is in the middle.
You can either use the Oculus Tracker or an online guide to find 130 geoculus. Use the oculi to give your Geo statues more power and you’ll get Stones of Remembrance. To get into a crypt, put each stone on top of an obelisk. Inside, you might face the hardest fight of any side quest. If you win the battle, you’ll get a “dull ring” and other valuable items that you’ll have to sell before you can turn in the quest.
What’s revealed: Nine Pillars of Peace
The tablet says that the obelisks were built to “end the conflicts that plague this world.” Based on their location and shape, it’s likely that Rex Lapis, also known as Zhong Li, put them there after The Archon War.
Since knocking over the obelisks is a sign of more war to come, they probably weren’t put there before the Archon War, unless that war happened whether or not the pillars were there.
But why would enemies be in a tomb that has been sealed for a thousand years? Opening the crypt is not a dirty thing to do, and you can get valuable items as a reward.
The battle inside seems to be more of a test for those who are determined enough to open the gate than a way to stop them. Maybe Rex Lapis came up with the “Pillars” quest as a way to test how strong humans were before he gave up his throne and passed on his role as a steward of peace.
Completing: The Chi of Guyun
Since there are a lot of steps to this quest, here is a general overview. South of Wuwang Hill, the closest waypoint is near some ruins. Talk to Yan’er there to start. You’ll find a Ruin Hunter in the area, along with a note telling you to turn on three statues nearby. The large amber chunks will show you where to find the statues.
Find Granny Ruoxin near the last “e” in “Qingce Village.” She will tell you to get pieces of a stone tablet that show where the Chi are buried. Find an altar near the “Q” in “Qingce Village” and turn on the statues facing north, south, east, north-east, and south-west.
Then, go up the tallest mountain in Qingce, which is right behind Granny, and turn on the statues that face the landmarks. If you take the pieces back to Granny, she will tell you that they show a tomb behind a waterfall north of the village.
You’ll have to fight treasure hoarders there, and then you’ll have to solve a torch puzzle to get into the tomb, where you’ll fight a tough battle (you might want an archer for head-shots/stuns) and get six chests as a reward.
What’s revealed: The Chi of Guyun
Story-wise, this mission is a mess. The “Chi of Guyun” quest never takes you to Guyun Stone Forest, which is in the sea southeast of Liyue. Instead, you’ll go to Qingce Village, which is far north and in the middle of the land. Because of this, some players have thought that the Chi is the sea monster Osial.
People tell you that Qingce’s (say: Chin-seh) name comes from “Chi,” who used to rule from the mountain there, and that the village’s terraces were built from the dragon’s scales after Rex Lapis ended the dragon’s terrible rule. So why is it called “of Guyun”?
This quest gives you a lot of information, but a lot of it is wrong. We’ll find out more about the Chi’s fate in a future update, we hope. But this quest does show something about people who hoard treasure.
The waterfall mob drops a journal that says they are waiting for their boss, an unknown woman, to open the tomb. Female hoarders have been shown in trailers, but they have never really been in the game. The female hoarder model may have been used for a more important character instead.
Completing: Treasure Lost, Treasure Found
Another long journey with a lot of steps, but nothing too hard. You can even skip most of the fights.
Step 1: Find Soraya near the ruins just south of the Guili Plains domain. Find five tablets in the ruins, which are watched by some weak mobs, and tell Soraya what is written on them when you get back. The tablets are big, and you can find them all over the cube-shaped ruin.
Step 2: Soraya will tell you to find two more tablets. One is in the next ruin to the southwest, which you can get to by using the waypoint. The other tablet is in a valley east of Luhua Pool.
Step 3: Go to the Wangshu Inn and see Soraya. Now that you have vague directions, you’ll have to find more ruins. You’re looking for small pedestals with round tops. It’s easy to miss the first ruin, but it’s only a short glide south from Wangshu.
Next, warp to the waypoint east of the Luhua pool and cross the broken bridge to the north. The third pedestal is northeast of the first step’s domain. Lastly, go back to the waypoint you used in step two to find the first tablet. Glide briefly north to find the pedestal.
Step 4: Find the last pedestal in front of the large well northwest of the Guili domain. Defeat the minibosses to drain the well and get your treasures.
What’s revealed: Treasure Lost, Treasure Found
The first tablets talk about the salt goddess Guizhong. She and Zhong Li fought to protect the plains. The name “Guili” comes from putting their names together. During The Archon War, the seven elemental archons and the other gods who were fighting had not yet made a peace treaty, so they were at war with each other. This makes Guizhong and Zhong Li’s relationship very special.
People said that Guizhong was the more caring and almost human of the two, while Zhong Li was more brutal. Because of this, her four commandments were seen as moral guidelines for her people.
Guizhong was killed, and her villages were burned down, for reasons no one knows. Her remaining followers had to settle Liyue Harbor with Zhong Li’s help. In a long post that is worth reading, Reddit user tzitzimeme hints at even more about the god who has been hurt.