Most know that the lands of Teyvat are not as happy-go-lucky as one would like to believe. Each region on the continent carries a long history of bloodshed, tears, and secrets that are, more often than not, hidden for the greater good. The Archon Quests carry the main plot of Genshin Impact, the stories of the Seven Archons, and the Tsaritsa’s fight against Celestia. While some may think the Interlude Chapters are not as important, these limited events carry lore that can link back to the downfall of Khaenri’ah, the secrets of Celestia, and the Travelers' origins in Genshin Impact.

The name "Perilous Trail" originally referred to a limited-time event in Version 2.7, but is also the same name for an Interlude Quest linked to the event, which is permanently available. Lore-wise, the event and the quest are the exact same. Players who missed the event only missed some event rewards and combat domains, but no story whatsoever.

In Version 2.7 of Genshin Impact, players were introduced to the Perilous Trail event, which is also an Interlude Chapter of the Archon Quest series by the same name. Similar to previous Interlude Chapters, this limited-time event came directly after the events of the Archon Quest Chapter I Act III: A New Star Approaches. The events follow the Traveler and Paimon, Yanfei, Itto, Kuki Shinobu, and Yelan as they find their way through the Chasm: Underground Mines and uncover the tragedy behind the Cataclysm 500 years ago with Xiao’s former Yaksha comrade.

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What Is Beneath The Chasm's Underground?

The Chasm Underground Mines of Genshin Impact has been a total mystery since its introduction in the Chasm Delvers quest, often a melting pot of hidden lore and lost memories of an extravagant era. The Interlude Chapter kicks off right after the events of Genshin Impact's World Quest and takes players back to the location of the Chasm Nail. Here, they meet Yanfei, who rushes off without so much as an explanation due to her dedication to the research she’s conducting right now.

Genshin Impact- Perilous Trail Domains

Arataki Itto and Kuki Shinobu soon join the party when Yanfei leaves, and they get to talk with the Traveler about their reasons for entering the Chasm. In the true fashion of the Arataki Gang’s President and Vice President, Kuki tricks Itto and sends him off so that he doesn’t intervene and makes the situation worse. This is where things kick into action, as the ground beneath them breaks, and the Traveler and Paimon fall into a new Genshin Impact area known as the Chasm’s Bed.

The Lore Behind The Chasm’s Bed

Genshin Impact- Khaenri'ah Cataclysm

The Chasm’s Bed is a quest-exclusive area that players have access to during the Perilous Trail. The space is said to have existed since before the Cataclysm, which took place 500 years ago, and is known to be the location from where the monsters of Khaenri’ah came from as they entered Liyue. According to Genshin Impact's legends, as soon as the Cataclysm began, an “iron meteorite” hit the bed of the Chasm and created a rift, which brought forth the monsters. Rex Lapis, the Archon of Liyue, then dispatched the Millelith to enter the Underground Mines to evacuate any miners and help subdue the oncoming monsters.

Genshin Impact- Boyang and Bosacius

Joining them, the Qixing had also dispatched their own team led by Boyang, who players come to learn is an ancestor of Yelan when the Traveler and Paimon eventually come across her in the Chasm’s Bed as well. During the Cataclysm, Boyang was ordered by the Qixing to take a mechanism known as the Fantastic Compass into the Chasm and help the Millelith defeat the onslaught of monsters. It is during this time that Bosacius, Xiao’s former Yaksha comrade, also made his way into the Chasm because of his attraction to the bloodshed.

Unfortunately, due to the Yaksha’s dealings with the fallen god’s remains, Bosacius had already lost his sanity by then and was not in his right mind. He believed the Millelith to be his Yaksha comrades and fought against the Khaenri’ah monsters with them. The fight escalated, and their surroundings began to break away to showcase an underground palace. From there, it would seem that this underground palace is actually composed of the inverted structures from the Nameless Ruins, part of an ancient Genshin Impact civilization that has been destroyed by Celestia.

The Role Of The Spiristone And The Fantastic Compass

Genshin Impact- Spiritstone and Fantastic Compass

Players should already be familiar with the presence of the Spiritstone, also known as the Chasm’s Nail that they encountered during the introductory World Quest. The object is large and foreboding, but not much is known about it. Since it is considered a “Divine Nail" in Genshin Impact, it's likely to be a pillar cast down to Teyvat by Celestia to cleanse the lands of Abyssal power leaking out, but outside of that, the game is not forthcoming with information about the object.

As the Spiritstone had seemingly already been used to seal Abyssal power beneath the Chasm, the Chasm’s Bed had slowly become a location infected with chaos. 500 years ago, the Millelith and Boyang realized the effect this too had on the monsters and devised a plan to use the famed Fantastic Compass and trap them. The Fantastic Compass was a device that could warp time and space, but it could only do so with the use of both Adeptal and Mortal energy. Bosacius and Boyang volunteered to sacrifice themselves for the fate of Liyue and stay behind, allowing some of the Millelith to escape, while the rest gave their lives in battle.

Genshin Impact- Yelan Shooting The Chasm Nail

The two of them eventually use the power of the Fantastic Compass to seal the Chasm’s Bed, but over the centuries, their heroics in Genshin Impact have long been forgotten. It is only 500 years later, when the Traveler enters the Chasm, the tale is unwoven and the seal to the Chasm’s Bed is unlocked. This happens due to Yelan firing at the Spiritstone and causing it to fall on the Ruin Serpent that suddenly appears during the Chasm Delvers quest.

Broken underground chasm seal in Genshin impact
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The Five Yakshas Under Rex Lapis

Genshin Impact- Five Yakshas of Morax

The Yakshas were a race of illuminated beasts that were called upon by Morax after the Archon War, to aid him in putting an end to the chaos that had accumulated from the remains of the fallen gods. Unfortunately, this proved to be a sacrifice the Yakshas had to undertake as this task eventually stained each of them with karmic debt. This karmic debt wore away at their souls and sanity, causing some to turn to darkness, some to turn on their fellow Yaksha comrades, and some to vanish in Genshin Impact's lore.

Genshin Impact- Bosacius and the Yaksha

The five known Yakshas are Bosacius, Indarius, Bonanus, Menogias, and Alatus. In the Perilous Trail event, players learn that Bosacius was the eldest and their leader. Indarius, Bonanus, and Menogias perished before the events of the Cataclysm, while Bosacius is said to have turned a new leaf and left his treasures somewhere in the region of Minlin. It is through this Genshin Impact event that players find out that Bosacius soon succumbs to his karmic debt and goes mad, heading into the Chasm during the Cataclysm, and sacrificing himself alongside Boyang.

Now, Alatus, commonly known as Xiao, is the only Yaksha that remains in Genshin Impact. His new name was bestowed upon him by Morax, who had saved him from his enslavement by a cruel god. This further strengthened the bond between Xiao and Zhongli, Morax’s current mortal vessel, to a point where the two of them watch over each other.

Genshin Impact- Xiao and Zhongli in Perilous Trail

Players see this during the final moments of the Perilous Trail event when the team decides to once again use the Chasms' abilities against itself and imagine a Fantastic Compass to help guide them to the Surface. Since the Fantastic Compass was a product of an illusion, it cannot leave the Chasm. Thus, to provide a steady flow of energy, Xiao uses the last of his own to launch the group up to the Surface. Due to the sudden movement, the platform shatters and Xiao falls into the depths of the Chasm, but players soon see a swirl of yellow energy appear from the Surface and rescue him. Players then learn that Zhongli has once again saved Xiao from near death and is always watching over his last living Yaksha.