“Under the Crystal” is the first world quest in the “Shadow Mountains” quest chain in Genshin Impact. In this guide, we will tell you how to help Titus lower the Shadow Needles into the ground and get the “Okay, enough corny jokes…” achievement.
Walkthrough of the “Under the Crystal” world quest
How to start
Since this is a plot-important quest, not only does it not require any special conditions to start, but it is also marked on the main map. Under the flat mountain near the Sulfur Veins, we can meet a guy with a backpack who mutters something strange under his breath. We approach him and start a dialogue to start the quest.
The young man introduces himself as Titu, a storyteller from the Children of Echo tribe who watches over this place. He tells us about the Stone Pillar, which has become unstable lately and cannot hold back the Abyss, and the Shadow Needles that have surfaced, which can release the evil that slumbers underground. Titu asks us to help lower the Shadow Needles underground again and hold back the Abyss that is breaking through to the surface.
Go to the Lesser Shadow Needle with Titu
The rays of light coming from the Stone Column will help you quickly find the Shadow Needles. We run a little forward from the teleporter, fight the mobs so that they do not interfere with us, and go into the cave on the side. Titu tells us to touch the golden figure hanging in the air. He will tell us that these are rainbow inscriptions left over from the time when dragons ruled Natlan. Now they help contain the Abyss.
Restore the inscription
Now our new friend will ask us to touch the rainbow inscription under the needle. We will need to turn into a tepetlizaur and interact with the object to start the test. Using the saurian's eshka, we go underground, our goal: to destroy the transparent crystals so that the solid phlogiston again becomes a rainbow inscription.
Be careful: you need to act quickly before the dark power on the scale above absorbs the power of the rainbow inscription. Avoid the spikes with dark power!
When the scale is full, Abyssal monsters will crawl out onto the ground. Fight them, after which a cutscene will begin, the Shadow Needle will go underground again. After that, we will have to go to the second Shadow Needle.
Find the Second Shadow Needle
From the cave we were in, turn right, cross the bridge of huge crystals, ending up in a crevice between two flat mountains. Using the giant spine of an ancient creature as a guide, we go down to the end of the remains, fight two mobs, and blow up the wall to open a passage.
Examine the small shadow needle
We go down to the hidden underground teleport. We see a golden inscription and interact with it, but the golden sides have flown away somewhere. We need to look for them – during the cutscene you can notice a large pile of fragile stones, we head towards it to break it, behind it there will be a molten crack.
We jump into it in the guise of a tepetlizaur, it will take us to a cliff, where we will need to fight a group of hilichurls. From them we run into a tunnel painted with arrows indicating the direction, we get into a small cave and see more hilichurls digging something.
Find a way to get down
After them, there will be a hole in the ground. We move into the saurian again and go underground, circles will appear on the surface, which we will need to break until we find the rainbow inscription. After this, the ground will collapse, forming a tunnel.
Keep going further
We jump into it, finding ourselves in an underground river. Now we move into a coholosaurus to swim faster with the current. In the cave, we come across a rainbow inscription, but here's the problem – at that very second the cave will be flooded with water. We look for a way to get rid of it.
Try touching the inscription
Explore the cave to find a man-made entrance where a Hilichurl is digging. The scoundrel pulled the lever, and the cave was flooded. We deal with the monster and activate the mechanism. The water begins to recede, but it breaks from old age. We need to find another way.
Opposite the small cave with the mechanism, you can see a niche with spiky crystals. We swim to it and see accumulations of phlogeston. It is enough to touch them so that they launch a chain of explosions that will break the walls, and the water will leave completely. The path to the rainbow inscription is clear.
Note: here you can get the “Happiness does not repeat itself…” achievement if you have not yet unlocked it.
Follow the inscription to the small Shadow Needle
We jump down and touch the inscription, it activates and a spiritual path appears, which we need to enter as a coholosaurus. The path will lead us to ruins with a luxurious chest, there on the steps you can also find a certain red metal key. We continue to follow the inscription, which will lead us to the Shadow Needle through familiar places.
Complete the Sealing Ritual
We touch the inscription, it returns to its place. We move into the tepetlizaur and again destroy the phlogiston crystals as quickly as possible, before the dark force absorbs the power of the rainbow inscriptions. When the test is passed, a cutscene will begin, the needle will go underground, and Titu will heartily praise us.
Go to the last minor Shadow Needle
According to ancient traditions, all the needles should be in the ground, so Titu calls us to check the last needle.
It can be reached from the teleporter at the Sulfur Veins. We go down and see that it is deep in the ground. The narrator is incredibly happy about this and says that he can take over the shift with peace of mind. He tells how the Caenri'ah disaster affected Natlan, destroying their defenses and letting the Void into these lands. And the needles and the Pillar are the heroic feat of the leaders of the past, who sacrificed their lives to seal the Abyss.
Suddenly the ground begins to shake. Something went wrong even after all the rituals, the shadow of the Abyss has become stronger. We run to the place under the Stone Pillar, where we are attacked by the hounds of the gap.
We fight them, after which a cutscene begins. The stone column falls down, into the void that was hidden under it, from where we hear a creepy voice. Titu says that these are the souls of fallen Kaenri'ah soldiers, and now we must descend into the hole that was formed to stop something that has awakened.
This completes the first quest in the “Shadows of the Mountains” chain, we get 400 adventure experience, 50 primogems, 30,000 mora, 5 Hero Experience books, 4 Magic Enhancement Ore and the “Okay, enough banal jokes…” achievement, which gives another plus 5 to the source stones. We will also have access to the next quest in the “May the sleeping rest in peace” line.
