Beginning the Quest
This quest can be easy to miss because beginning the quest does not require an NPC. Instead, go to the place indicated above and talk to an Ancient Stele. The Stele will give you a dialogue saying, “At Tianqiu Valley, the adepti’s ancient trail grows cold, I fall down and weep at the ruins I see. Though defeated is mighty Azhdaha of old, there’s no restoring this past land of beauty.” After interacting with the statue, you have now activated the quest. For preparations, make sure you have Amber or any fire element character in your party. You also need the Traveler set to Geo because there will be a climbing section in the challenge later on. If you have Venti, you can use him as well. Looking around, you will find buildings containing puzzles and challenges in them. To start the quest, enter the ruined building to your right.
Northeast Building
The first building, as seen in the photo above, contains multiple fire puzzles. Having Amber on your team will make this more convenient. However, you can choose another fire character as well. As you enter, you will see a book lying on the floor, saying it’s a Scratched-Out Treasure Hoarder Notes. Interacting with it shows a dialogue about a Treasure Hoarder having difficulty solving the puzzle.
First Floor
The First floor is quite simple. All you need to do is light the torch connecting the inner triangle torches in the center and then lighting any torch from the outer triangle. Afterward, the exquisite chest in the middle of the room will unlock.
Second Floor
This puzzle can be quite tricky, but the photo above shows the sequence you should follow. If you failed to follow the sequence, this puzzle’s general rule is to leave one torch lit. After leaving one torch activated, lit the torch that is not adjacent to it, then lit the torch in-between the two torches to finish the puzzle. The Precious Chest in the middle of the room will unlock.
Third Floor
The last floor is pretty straightforward. All you have to do is light all the torches in the room, and it does not have to be in any particular order. Having Amber on your team is essential as you will need her charged shot. Afterward, the Luxurious Chest in the middle of the room will open. On the top of the chest, a pyramid-like switch is hovering, which is a Light Actuator. Get the Light Actuator and bring it back to the machine next to the Ancient Stele to unlock one of the locks.
South Building
The South Building only contains battle challenges and does not prove to be as difficult. Start the challenge on the first floor and defeat all the enemies within 40 seconds. After completing the challenge, the game will give you an Exquisite Chest. Go to the second floor, activate the challenge, and defeat all the enemies within 60 seconds. The enemies on this floor can be a bit more challenging, but you should be alright as long as you are on an appropriate level. Completing the challenge will reward you with another Exquisite Chest. Finally, do the same on the last floor of the building. Activate the challenge and defeat the enemy within 60 seconds. The game will reward you with another Exquisite Chest. After completing all the challenges, you will find another Light Actuator hovering in the center of the room. Take the switch and bring it back to the machine next to the Ancient Stele to unlock another lock.
West Building
Go to the last building by going to the area where the Ancient Stele is placed and climbing the stairs beside it. This challenge requires you to have your Traveler set to Geo. Otherwise, you can use Venti if you have him. The objective of the challenge is to climb to the very top and claim the Light Actuator. There is a time limit of 60 seconds, and you cannot simply jump up the ledges. You will need extra platforms or to use Venti’s Skyward Sonnet. It is recommended that you practice the pathway up first before doing the challenge to avoid failure. If you are using the Traveler as Geo, you may finish the challenge with just a couple of seconds left on the clock. Having Venti on your team can help you get up to the goal faster. After climbing up, you will find the last Light Actuator at the top. On the way down, you should find another Exquisite chest.
Activating the mechanism
After you have collected the last Light Actuator, you must bring it back to the Ancient Stele’s mechanism, which will activate the mechanism. As you activate the mechanism, the Treasure Hoarders come attacking you, and it looks like they set the trap and meant to get the treasure from you after you have solved the puzzles. Defeat all the Treasure Hoarders, and the game will reward you with three Luxurious Chests.
Geoculus location
While you are in the area, you may want to get the Geoculus too. There is one Geoculus on top of the building near the ancient Stele. Climb the stairs once again and climb to the top of the building. There is a tree beside it that you can climb on to fly down and collect the Geoculus. The Geoculus are scattered all over the Genshin Impact’s map and can be offered to the Statue of the Seven for multiple rewards.
Summary
The Trails of Tianqiu quest can be lengthy and confusing to finish. Activate the Quest by talking to the Ancient Stele on the Tinqiu Valley. Make sure you have Amber on your team. Go to the right building and lit the torches according to the sequence given in the guide. After completing the puzzle on all three floors, a Light Actuator will appear, and you should bring this back to the mechanism near the Ancient Stele. For the South building, complete all three floors of combat challenges, collect the Light Actuator, and bring it back to the mechanism. The last building is to the west. There is a staircase beside the Ancient Stele. Climb the stairs, and you must climb the tower using the Traveler as Geo or Venti before the timer ends. Collect the last Light Actuator and activate the mechanism. Treasure hoarders will attack you. Defeat them and unlock three Luxurious Chests. There is a Geoculus at the top of the last building on the west for you to collect as well.
