Genshin Impact Zibai Story: Analysis of "Tri-Factor Excision"

Zibai, possessing multiple identities, is a Celestial Attendant, the God of Soil and Grain for Lang-Gan, and an envoy of the moons. According to the current Lantern Rite storyline, the Zibai existing in the world today is actually her Three Deadly Selves.

What is "Tri-Factor Excision"?

In the storyline of "A Lanternlit Ode to the Silver Moon," the Lord of Geo, Heaven's Star, briefly introduces the concept of "Tri-Factor Excision." The so-called "Three Deadly Selves" refer to the muddy thoughts and evil desires within a cultivator's heart. By severing the Three Deadly Selves, one can glimpse the pure and untainted true self.

"Tri-Factor Excision" is a Daoist term. In Daoist belief, it refers to the three corpse spirits that reside in the upper, middle, and lower dantian (elixir fields) of the human body. They are also known as the Three Pengs or Three Worms. The upper corpse is named Peng Ju, the middle corpse is named Peng Zhi, and the lower corpse is named Peng Qiao. They symbolize extravagance, gluttony, and lust respectively, and are responsible for recording a person's wrongdoings and regularly reporting them to the Heavenly Court, thereby obstructing the cultivator's path to immortality.

Introduction to Zibai's "Three Deadly Selves"

The First Deadly Self - Ziju, imprisoned on that false moon, has blue eyes. She enjoys divination. Her soul essence is the Heavenly Soul, also known as Tai Guang. Her conduct and personality are the closest to the true nature of Zibai.

The Second Deadly Self – Zizhi, with red eyes. Her soul essence is the Earthly Soul, also called Shuang Ling. She has inherited Zibai's memories and wisdom.

The Third Deadly Self - Ziqiao, also known as the White Horse Adeptus, who appears in the "Moonlit Bamboo Forest" story. The soul essence residing within her is the human soul, also called You Jing. Thus, she is the most free-spirited and unrestrained among the Three Deadly Selves. She is also the one who likely most closely resembles the true appearance of Zibai, that is, with golden eyes.

Connection Between Zibai and Trinity of Moon Goddesses

The three eye colors of the Three Deadly Selves perfectly correspond to the three colors of the moon goddesses: golden yellow (Eternal Moon), blue (Frost Moon), and red (Iridescent Moon). Interestingly, the eye colors of the three moon goddesses are not the same yellow, blue, and red but rather green, blue, and red.

As is widely known, red, green, and blue are the so-called primary colors of light (RGB), also known as the additive color model. When combined, they produce white (the power of light), which is commonly used in screens, LED lights, and similar applications in reality. Red, yellow, and blue, on the other hand, are the primary colors of pigments, also known as the subtractive color model. In theory, their combination produces black, and they are used in applications like color printing and ink printing in reality. 

As the legitimate wielders of the three lunar powers, the trinity of moon goddesses combine their three eye colors to form the power of light. In contrast, the three soul fragments of Zibai, after Tri-Factor Excision, have eye colors that correspond one-to-one with the three moons, symbolizing that the moon itself does not emit light but reflects it. When combined, they produce black. This is quite fascinating.

How did Zibai Return?

In the Narzissenkreuz Ordo quests, Master Rene mentioned that Narzissenkreuz would use the Holy Blade to conduct a ritual. Ancient Liyue methods referred to this as "Tri-Factor Excision," while ancient Sumeru methods called it "Shattering Atmagraha. " Rene termed this act "Renunciation of the Ego." He believed a person's self-will was an obstacle and that accidentally obtaining a Vision during the pursuit of enlightenment would lead one down an irreversible, misguided path.

His notes describe it this way: "...To excise the self is not to die, but rather to die before death. That way, there is no life to be ended. Thus may one achieve eternity." This also explains Zibai's current situation. Because Zibai died before her death, she had no life to end. Her soul, frozen in time, attained eternity, which is how she has endured until today.

Three Soul Essences & Rene’s Four-Orthants

As we learned in the current main storyline, the number three is merely a representation, while four is the true essence. When Zhongli introduced the Three Deadly Selves, he mentioned the three souls—Heavenly, Earthly, and Human—which, together with the original self, make four. Moreover, in the Narzissenkreuz Ordo quests, we once witnessed and even personally obtained a fragment of Rene’s persona—the weak, mortal humanity he had excised from himself—which ultimately returned to him through the Holy Blade.

All things in Teyvat can be categorized within the framework of the Four-Orthants. The principle of Remuria’s Symphony involves weaving a person’s memories and persona into melodies in the form of musical notes, allowing their soul to reside within and enabling their wishes to be fulfilled. The Three Deadly Selves likely correspond to memory, persona, and desires—separate from the soul itself.

Based on the introduction of Zibai's Three Deadly Selves, we learn that the Second Deadly Self, Zizhi, clearly corresponds to "memory" within the Four-Orthants. Comparing this to the traditional myth of the three souls and seven spirits also clarifies some of my previous doubts about Teyvat's reincarnation system. The so-called souls we encountered in last year's Natlan main storyline and during Hu Tao's Lantern Rite quest are, in their more essential nature, actually memory fragments. Their true selves may have long since been reborn into this world.

In the setting of the three souls and seven spirits, the Earthly Soul symbolizes a person's memories, recording the good, evil, and karma of their lifetime. After death, it enters the underworld for judgment, which aligns with the memory fragments we see within the Ley Lines. This explains why Zibai's Earthly Soul sank into The Chasm. The Heavenly Soul symbolizes the indestructible spiritual foundation, the core self that transcends reincarnation. In Genshin Impact's context, this corresponds to what those memory fragments refer to as the true self that proceeded to reincarnate. This likely corresponds to "Persona" within the Four-Orthants.

Although "Persona" sounds closer to the Human Soul, it is actually the core of the self-excision ritual—meaning the Persona is the self. Finally, the Human Soul should correspond to "wishes." This is also why the Human Soul is the most free and unrestrained; wishes, by nature, should not have limitations.

After a person's death, the Heavenly Soul returns to the heavens, and the Human Soul guards the tomb. This aligns with the fates of Zibai's Three Deadly Selves and is also the destiny of all beings in Teyvat: the Persona proceeds to reincarnate, memories return to the Ley Lines, and final wishes are closely tied to Visions. Only sufficiently strong wishes can obtain a Vision, while the wishes of ordinary people disappear, perhaps fading away with the night wind.

Returning to the topic of Zibai, her Heavenly Soul integrated into the moon's projection, hanging in Teyvat's sky for thousands of years—a place where time flows a hundred times faster than the outside world. The Traveler communicated with Ziju by touching the Jade Fragment, yet upon returning to their senses, only a brief moment had passed in reality.

Her Earthly Soul, Zizhi, sank beneath The Chasm, precisely the location of the ancient kingdom of Lang-Gan. Having inherited the most memories, it is likely she slumbers here out of nostalgia. The one who unearthed her, Lu Xiangxiang, happens to be a descendant of the Lu clan, whom her Human Soul, the White Horse Adeptus, once aided—a fitting twist of fate.

The Lu clan has long resided in Qiaoying Village. After completing the storyline and ascending the mountain near Qiaoying, we encounter Fujin and Lingyuan. From them, we learn that the ancestors of Chenyu Vale are the descendants of the ancient Lang-Gan. Fujin once mentioned an envoy as beautiful as moonlight—that was Zibai. The Human Soul symbolizes causality, while wishes, expressed in another way within Teyvat, are "purpose"—just as a Billet's purpose is to become a hero's weapon, the Gold-Eyed Celadon Mare's wish is freedom.

Under the influence of such causality and wishes, the descendant of the Lu clan they saved coincidentally unearthed Zibai’s Earthly Soul right after we brought the Frost Moon back. It seems the Ruler of Time still holds kindness toward her daughter, after all—the conditions for Zibai’s return this time were all prepared by Istaroth thousands of years ago. In Teyvat, past, present, and future exist simultaneously; it seems she foresaw this day of Zibai’s return millennia ago.

That concludes all introductions regarding Zibai’s Tri-Factor Excision. Wishing all Travelers a joyful Lantern Rite!