Chapter 130: Chapter 114: Soul Detaining Envoys, Black and White Impermanence
The Dice changed again. Its eighteen faces were blurry, but two of them were clearly printed with "One" and "Two."
It was looking more and more like a real die.
[Please name "Form Two."]
Zheng Xiu’s fingers traced the face with "Two" on it.
A small Engraving Knife appeared in his hand.
Zheng Xiu stared blankly at the "Engraving Knife" in his hand.
’No. Why did I subconsciously think this was an "Engraving Knife" and not a "Flying Saber"?’
He had wanted to "shoot" down the Blood Crow, and the moment he acted, it took this form.
’Is this the influence of the knife Sun Erming gave me, and his mention of "Divination"?’
’A kind of... psychological suggestion?’
Zheng Xiu frowned.
He had long felt that the Path was like a contagious disease. And Mystics were like the source of this disease, capable of influencing one another.
He never expected Sun Erming’s words to have such a great impact.
His casual mention of "Divination Sale," along with that Sculptor’s Engraving Knife, seemed to have implanted a model of an "Engraving Knife" into Zheng Xiu’s consciousness. When the moment was right and Zheng Xiu acted, the Dice and he merged as one, automatically taking the shape of an "Engraving Knife."
Setting aside his preconceived notions, the small Engraving Knife now held in his palm looked more like a Flying Saber.
In the scene where he shot down the Blood Crow, the Flying Saber thrown from Zheng Xiu’s hand had been like a bullet—a bullet for shooting birds.
’Xiao Zheng’s Flying Saber never misses, huh?’
Zheng Xiu told himself a little joke.
[Please name "Form Two."]
A line of small text appeared intermittently in the void, as if urging him on.
Zheng Xiu ignored it.
After careful consideration, Zheng Xiu decided on a name for [Form Two].
"Jing Hong!"
[Name successfully assigned.]
[Deceitful Object: Jiazi, currently possesses two forms.]
["Surprise Cage" challenge has been triggered.]
[You may view the details after consulting the "Inner Rulebook."]
Huh?
Ever since his last "heart-to-heart" with the Riddle Arm.
Zheng Xiu understood that somewhere in the gray fog outside the Heart Prison, a mysterious existence was hiding.
The Riddle Arm had come from the depths of the gray fog, left behind a few strange riddles, then returned to the depths. It came and went in a flash without so much as a goodbye. Damn it.
Now, whenever text appeared, Zheng Xiu didn’t want to pay it any mind.
But this time, Zheng Xiu’s curiosity overcame his apprehension.
The white-covered [Inner Rulebook] appeared on the Game Table.
The last time, he had pulled the great treasure that was the [Heaven and Earth Sword Intent] from the first page of the [Inner Rulebook]. But after that, flipping further, the rest of the pages had all been blank. Zheng Xiu cried foul and hadn’t bothered to look at the [Inner Rulebook] since.
Now, on the pages of the [Inner Rulebook] that had been blank ever since the [Heaven and Earth Sword Intent] was removed, lines of text had appeared once more.
These were the New Rules.
’Why can’t it just display the text in front of my eyes like usual?’
Zheng Xiu wondered.
But after carefully examining the New Rules, Zheng Xiu’s breath hitched. He vaguely understood why.
The reason, if one were to spell it out, was simple: you can’t just put cheating out in the open.
It had to be said covertly.
[Challenge: Surprise Cage.]
[Trigger Condition: Number of inherent Deceitful Object forms is greater than one; number of equippable Traits is greater than one.]
[Challenge Content:]
[Using the Deceitful Object will add a challenge Restriction.]
[Each use of the Deceitful Object will activate a "Surprise Combination."]
[While in the "Surprise Combination" state, within the countdown timer, the power of the Deceitful Object’s various forms will be massively increased.]
[Successfully completing the challenge may increase Fitting.]
[If the challenge is failed, the Deceitful Object will self-destruct when the countdown ends. The Incarnation has an extremely small chance of surviving the self-destruction.]
[Once the "Surprise Cage" challenge is activated, it cannot be stopped by any means before Fitting reaches its maximum value.]
[Please proactively challenge yourself.]
Zheng Xiu read it all in one breath.
The "Rules" recorded in the [Inner Rulebook] had a completely different style from the "Table Rules."
After carefully reading and understanding the "New Rules," it dawned on Zheng Xiu.
’Isn’t this what they call a "Restriction"?’
The rules and Restrictions of a Path Mystic Skill were not set in stone.
Following the established rules allowed one to continually delve deeper into the Path, pushing open door after door within it, peeking into the unknown worlds behind them, and walking to the very end of the Path.
A "Restriction," however, was a method to amplify a "Miracle Technique" to varying degrees.
The greater the Restriction, the more absurd the "Miracle Technique" a Miracle Master could display.
And this new "challenge" was clearly a type of Restriction.
’No, or rather, this is the true face of the "Dice."’
[Deceit Jiazi] appearing before Zheng Xiu in the form of a "Dice" was as if it were saying that "randomness, variability, uncertainty, and unpredictability" were the true way to use this Deceitful Object.
The "Surprise Challenge" meant that once activated, each time he used the Deceitful Object, its form and Traits would be randomly matched. The resulting combination might not be what Zheng Xiu would have chosen, but no matter what it ended up being, it would be accompanied by a "massive" boost.
Massive?
How massive?
’Just give me a number. Isn’t the definition of "massive" subjective?’
This vague phrasing made Zheng Xiu suspicious.
Given his distrust of the "Riddle Arm," Zheng Xiu had every reason to suspect that "a tiny bit" could be deceptively substituted for "massive."
Squinting, he glared at the [Inner Rulebook] before him. Zheng Xiu didn’t activate it rashly.
He first left the dungeon.
For others, "traveling day and night" might be a figure of speech, but for Zheng Xiu, it was quite literal.
