Late at night.
Xia Zhi returned to his room and took out the three platinum treasure chests he had obtained today.
He opened the first one.
A pitch-black book appeared before his eyes.
[Book of Dead Souls]
Quality: Platinum
Type: Auxiliary Item
Traits: Soul Theft, Quick Cast
Effect: Automatically steals the soul of any living being that dies nearby. For each soul stored in this item, the holder gains a 0.00001% increase in all attributes, up to a maximum of 20%. Spellcasting speed is increased by 40%.
Hidden Effect: +20% damage to undead.
A "kill book," huh...
The all-attribute bonus is excellent, but it requires 2 million souls to max out.
Xia Zhi looked at the item description and shook his head regretfully.
He wasn't the type to resort to any means necessary to become stronger.
If the alternate world he was in now was inherently chaotic, this item would be a great choice.
But in today's Teyvat? Forget it.
Xia Zhi took out the [Hourglass of Time].
He used its time-reversal ability to rewind and reopen the platinum treasure chest.
A pair of sharp fangs appeared before his eyes.
[Embrace of the Vampire]
Quality: Platinum
Type: Special Equipment
Traits: Life Drain, Alluring
Effect: Gain 20% healing when dealing damage. Can convert any health or mana into the other.
Hidden Effect: +10% Charm, with the effect doubled against the opposite sex.
This was a special piece of equipment that allowed him to drain life.
Combined with the ability to convert health and mana, it was practically a perpetual motion machine.
It also increased charm, with a special effect against the opposite sex.
Xia Zhi was very satisfied.
He equipped it directly through his character panel, and a pair of sharp fangs immediately appeared in his mouth.
They looked a bit strange.
Xia Zhi chose to hide them, and the fangs disappeared from sight.
The first platinum chest had yielded something excellent.
Xia Zhi turned to the second platinum chest and opened it.
A pink-blue, hollowed-out sphere appeared before his eyes.
[Intertwined Fate]
Quality: Platinum
Type: Consumable Item
Traits: Destiny, Bond
Effect: Draws a character from the current world with high compatibility, creating a deep entanglement of fate.
Hidden Effect: The higher the user's rank, the higher the rank of the drawn character.
A strange item.
Although the effect description was simple, consumable items were generally more powerful than permanent ones. In theory, this should be stronger than the previous permanent item, [Embrace of the Vampire].
Moreover, its trait was the most mysterious of all: [Destiny].
Xia Zhi stared at the pink-blue sphere for a moment, then opened the [Shop] to search for it.
He found that the [Shop] didn't sell this item at all.
In other words, [Intertwined Fate], like [Enhancement Crystals], was a special item that could only be obtained by opening treasure chests.
Although he didn't fully understand its effect, since it was a rare, limited item, he decided to keep it for now.
Xia Zhi stored the [Intertwined Fate] in his inventory, not in a hurry to use it.
After all, its hidden effect stated, "The higher the user's rank, the higher the rank of the drawn character." So, it would be best to wait until the end of next month when he reached the divine rank before using it.
Perhaps by then, the character he drew would also be of divine rank.
There was still one last platinum chest left.
Xia Zhi looked at it and chose to open it.
A short, sleek dagger appeared before his eyes.
[Assassin's Blade]
Quality: Platinum
Type: Weapon
Traits: Unerring, Shield Breaker
Effect: Automatically master all assassin skills up to the fourth rank. Attacks launched with this weapon will always hit their target.
Hidden Effect: +50 Agility.
Finally, his first weapon.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a staff for spellcasting.
But Xia Zhi had the [Hat of Secrecy], combined with [All Weapon Master] and [Poison Grandmaster], so transitioning into an assassin role would work quite well.
More importantly, a fourth-rank assassin could accomplish many things that a fifth-rank Archmage couldn't do as easily.
Xia Zhi pondered for a moment and decided to keep it.
He equipped it to his hand to see how it looked.
Very cool.
After playing around with it for a while, Xia Zhi stored the dagger in his inventory and took out the silver chest he had obtained from Ningguang earlier.
The main course was done; now it was time for dessert.
He chose to open it.
A dark blue potion appeared before his eyes.
[Mental Stimulant Potion]
Quality: Silver
Type: Consumable
Traits: None
Effect: After consumption, stimulates the mind with excruciating pain, increasing the maximum mental energy.
Hidden Effect: None
He actually got this...
Xia Zhi was slightly surprised. He had previously searched the [Shop] for items that could increase mental energy, and this potion had been on the list.
The price was reasonable—50 points.
But the effect description included phrases like "excruciating pain"... Since it was meant to stimulate the mind, it definitely couldn't be used while sensory perception was blocked.
Xia Zhi wasn't sure if he could endure it, so he hadn't tried buying it at the time.
But now that he had already opened it...
Xia Zhi thought for a moment and decided to give it a try.
He opened the potion and brought it to his lips, then suddenly remembered something. He activated [Stealth Mode] before downing it in one gulp.
A moment later, the potion took effect. Xia Zhi gritted his teeth and held on for two seconds before collapsing to the floor.
And then... there was no "and then."
If anything, it was a good thing he had activated [Stealth Mode]. Otherwise, Shenhe in the next room would have heard the noise and probably smashed through the wall to check on him.
Xia Zhi lay weakly on the floor, his vision blurry, his pajamas soaked with sweat.
Gasping for breath, he struggled to raise his hand and cast a [Divine Healing] spell on himself. After a while, he finally had the strength to sit up.
The system wasn't kidding—it said "excruciating pain," and it really was excruciating.
Next time, forget it.
Xia Zhi opened his character panel and saw that his maximum mental energy had actually doubled.
While the pain was terrifying, the boost was equally terrifying.
With his mental energy doubled, the number of incense sticks he could craft each day would also double, effectively doubling his income from that source.
It was worth it.
Xia Zhi shook his head, cast a [Warmth] spell to dry the sweat on the floor and himself, then left his room in [Stealth Mode].
He went downstairs, took a cold shower, washed his pajamas, dried them with [Warmth], put them back on, and returned to his room.
After completing his daily routine, he collapsed exhaustedly onto the bed and fell asleep.
In the dream world, he saw Little Shenhe waiting for him.
"Big Brother!"
Little Shenhe threw herself into his arms.
"Let's go! Let's go treasure hunting again tonight!"
Looking at her sweet smile, Xia Zhi felt a sense of healing in his heart.
Whether she was controlling things or not, as long as she was cute, it was fine!