You're standing in Enkanomiya, that haunting, sunless void beneath Watatsumi Island, and you realize your quest log is screaming at you. The "Collection of Dragons and Snakes" world quest is notorious. It isn't just about fighting monsters; it's a scavenger hunt that forces you to actually read, think, and backtrack through some of the most confusing geometry in Genshin Impact. If you want to collect the five lost books, you're going to need more than just a high DPS ceiling. You need patience.
Honestly, most players get stuck because they expect a simple quest marker. This isn't that kind of game. Ema, the afterlife librarian, is't going to hold your hand. She wants her books back, and they are scattered across the most annoying corners of the map. Some are hidden behind puzzles that require "Evernight" or "Whitenight" shifts, while others aren't even in Enkanomiya at all. It’s a bit of a mess, really.
Getting Started: The Librarian's Ghost
First things first. You can’t even start to collect the five lost books until you’ve finished the main Enkanomiya questline "The Subterranean Trials of Drake and Serpent." Once the artificial sun is working, head to the library in The Narrows. You’ll find a shade named Ema.
She’s a bit stiff. Talk to her. She’ll complain about the overdue books, and that's your cue.
The books are: Before Sun and Moon, The Serpent and Dragons of Tokoyokoku, Hydrological Studies in Byakuyakoku, In the Light, Beneath the Shadow, and the Experimental Records. Don't worry about the names too much yet. Just know that one of them is literally sitting in a shop in Inazuma City. Talk about a late return.
The Most Frustrating One: Before Sun and Moon
This is usually the one that breaks people. To find it, you have to complete a sub-quest called "Antigonus." You’ll find two ghosts hanging out near a cliff in the Serpent’s Heart. They’re suspects in a crime they didn't commit—or maybe they did, who knows with Enkanomiya lore?
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Basically, you have to find a third guy named Antei. He’s further south. When you find him, he’ll give you a "Ruin Machine Core." You take that core to a deactivated Ruin Guard nearby, wake it up, and beat the scrap out of it. Once it’s dead, you can pick up the book from where the robot was sitting. It’s a lot of running around for a single paperback.
The Puzzles of Hydrological Studies and In the Light
If you hate labyrinths, I have bad news. To get Hydrological Studies in Byakuyakoku, you have to go to the Evernight Temple and solve Date’s Maze. It’s a giant mechanical floor puzzle that you have to manipulate using the day/night switching mechanism.
Pro tip: Switch it to Whitenight to move the walls, then switch back to Evernight to actually run through it.
After you finish the first maze, Date (another ghost, surprise surprise) gives you a key to a second underground puzzle. It’s a symmetry puzzle involving light fences and moving walls. Solve that, and the chest containing the book is yours.
In the Light, Beneath the Shadow is a bit more cerebral. You have to find a specific Ruin Guard sitting near a wall with glowing symbols in The Narrows. After blowing up some barrels to get inside, you’ll see symbols on the wall. But here's the kicker: they only show up in one specific light setting. You have to memorize them, go to the Serpent’s Heart altar (that big stone circle with the blue curtains), and walk through the curtains in the exact order shown on the wall.
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It feels like a secret handshake. Get it right, and a chest spawns with the book.
The "Easy" Outs: Experimental Records and Tokoyokoku
The Experimental Records are hidden in the Vishap Research Lab. This is an unmapped island. You have to use a phase gate (one of those blue watery teleporters) north of the Narrows to fly over there. Once you're there, talk to the shade named Michiya. You’ll have to fight some Primordial Bathysmal Vishaps.
It’s a combat challenge, plain and simple. Kill them, and you get the book.
Then there’s The Serpent and Dragons of Tokoyokoku. This is the one that makes everyone feel a bit silly. You don't find it in a dungeon or behind a boss. You buy it. Go to Inazuma City, find the Yae Publishing House, and talk to Kuroda. He sells it for 1,500 Mora.
That’s it. No ghosts. No puzzles. Just retail therapy.
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Why Does This Quest Even Matter?
You might be wondering why you’re spending three hours chasing library fines. It’s the lore. Before Sun and Moon is arguably one of the most important items in the entire game’s mythology. It hints at the origins of Teyvat, the Primordial One, and why Celestia is so terrified of the truth.
In fact, the book is so "dangerous" in the game's story that Orobashi (the big snake god) was sentenced to death just for reading it.
When you finally collect the five lost books and return them to Ema, you don't just get Primogems. You unlock a secret room. You have to put the books back on the shelves, and suddenly, the picture frame in the library becomes a portal.
Actionable Steps for a Smooth Completion
- Check your inventory first. You might have bought the Inazuma book months ago and forgotten.
- Set your clock to Evernight. 90% of the puzzles in Enkanomiya require the ghost-world state to be active.
- Mark the Altar. When doing the Serpent’s Heart puzzle, use your map pins to mark the order of the symbols you find in the Narrows. It saves you from having to teleport back and forth if you forget.
- Clear the mobs. Don't try to solve Date's Maze while being shot at by Hydro Specters. It’s not worth the stress.
- Watch the walls. In the Vishap Lab, the cells are opened by hitting elemental monuments. Have a character for Cryo, Electro, and Hydro ready in your party.
Once you’ve placed all five books on the shelf, walk through the mirror-like portal. Inside, you’ll find a Sigil, a Luxurious Chest, and a Key Sigil. More importantly, you get the "If Tokoyo Ookuni Knoweth..." achievement.
If you're looking to 100% Enkanomiya, this is the hurdle you have to clear. It’s tedious, but the narrative payoff regarding the "High Heavens" and the history of the world is some of the best writing HoYoverse has ever produced. Grab your gliders and start with the Narrows—it's the most logical path to getting this finished.