Chapter 364: Will of the Seven Stars

"Click—"

With a crisp sound, the chest shimmering in platinum light popped open.

Clouds of mist billowed from within, tinting the room a faint gray.

A few seconds later, everything settled. Only a chaotic vortex slowly spun in the center of the chest.

"2"

This time, the Platinum Box contained only two items.

Yan Jing felt no stir of emotion. Having opened these chests several times before, he knew fewer items wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Let it be something good."

Gripping his protective Peach Wood Charm in one hand, Yan Jing reached into the chest with the other and quickly pulled out an item.

It was something quite familiar.

[Item Name: Relatively Pure Source Liquid of Fear]

[Quality: Black-Orange]

[Tier Requirement: None. Cannot be used as a Ritual.]

[Effect: Induces a metamorphosis in the strength of an entity from the Fear pathway. Its high purity drastically improves stability. Drink it, and you will become fear itself.]

[Description: A product of the "Source of Fear." Though diluted, such high purity is incredibly rare. It is enough to drive any entity of "Fear" mad; under certain circumstances, they might even willingly gamble their lives for it.]

It was a black liquid sealed in a small, transparent bottle.

Tiny tentacles writhed and curled continuously within the fluid. Yan Jing was no stranger to this liquid.

He had drawn Fear Source Liquid once before, using it to upgrade the Fear Tree from purple to black-purple.

Except last time, the source liquid had the prefix "Extremely Impure."

This time, the prefix was "Relatively Pure."

It was clearly several grades higher.

The tentacles within the liquid were also different. Compared to the smooth, tiny tentacles from before, some of these had eyes growing on them, while others sprouted feathers.

They looked like certain marine creatures from the Triassic period, possessing a unique, bizarre beauty.

Yan Jing nodded in satisfaction. Behind him, the impatient Fear Tree had already jumped out on its own. It pressed two of its branches together, bowing repeatedly to Yan Jing like a begging puppy.

Amused, he released his restraint on it. Like a sudden gust of wind, several pitch-black Thorns bloomed and tightly bound the bottle of liquid.

In an instant, not a single drop of liquid remained in the bottle.

"Burp—"

Whether it was an illusion or not, Yan Jing vaguely heard the Fear Tree burp.

Immediately after, he sensed a surge of power flowing into his body, though it wasn't as obvious as last time. There was no feeling of metamorphosis.

Soon, the Fear Tree transmitted a thought to him: because the power was so massive this time, it would need two days to digest it.

Having figured out the situation, Yan Jing directly reached for the next item.

He didn't hold out much hope for this second one.

After all, the chest would only contain one "custom-tailored" item for the person opening it, and the Fear Source Liquid was clearly that guaranteed drop.

But soon, when he pulled the object out, he was somewhat shocked.

[Item Name: Lord of Execution's Shears]

[Quality: Black-Orange]

[Tier Requirement: Third Tier]

[Effect: As the Lord of Execution's Shears, they once severed countless unimaginable things, from the myriad worlds of the nine heavens to the River of Time. Unfortunately, they can only be used to cut two things now: either an enemy's neck, or the Lord of Execution's Silk Thread.]

[Description: An item that seized the fortune of heaven and earth. The Lord of Execution once held it to ascend to the absolute peak of Minhu, forging a legend for that era. However, due to time and the descent of the Source of Mutation, it eventually fell into decline. If not paired with other items of the Lord of Execution, its power will be greatly reduced.]

Yan Jing stared in disbelief at the large, rust-mottled iron shears before him.

He wasn't surprised by how good the item's effects were, but rather...

His luck was exceptionally abnormal today.

Clearly, compared to the Fear Source Liquid, this was the guaranteed drop meant for him in this chest.

So... he had drawn the Fear Source Liquid purely based on his own "skill"?

He gripped the shears. The icy touch felt almost alive, like a gleaming, cold spike trying to pierce into his mind.

"Snip, snip, snip, snip, snipping out a big painted face—"

An untouchable, illusory, towering figure surfaced before his eyes. The figure held these very shears, and the object being cut was a massive human face.

That human face bore a naturally imposing look between its brows. Even in death, one could faintly feel the majestic aura radiating from its features, like a Deity descending to the world. Yet, without a skull to support it, the face had gone flat, giving it an absurd, comical feel.

Listening to the tune the figure hummed, it didn't seem to take this face seriously at all.

Behind Yan Jing, a black light flashed. Several silk threads slipped out from his eyes and affectionately clung to his cheeks and neck, gently swaying and rubbing against him.

Compared to the Fear Tree, the Lord of Execution Silk Thread's way of begging was visibly much more dignified.

Yan Jing smiled helplessly.

"Take it. Wasn't it drawn for you anyway?"

"Woo-hoo—"

Yan Jing seemed to hear some sort of cheering. Then, the pitch-black silk threads wrapped around the shears in his hand and, in a split second, dragged them directly into his eyes.

Yan Jing only felt a slight sting. When he looked again, his hand was completely empty.

The illusory figure before him vanished as well.

He sensed the progress of the silk threads merging with the shears; it would also take about two days.

He stood up to get a glass of water, then took out the item from this batch that interested him the most.

[Item Name: Will of the Seven Stars (Tianji)]

[Quality: Orange-Red]

[Tier Requirement: None. Cannot be used as a Ritual.]

[Effect: The entity wearing the Will of the Seven Stars will gain the abilities of the deceased Seven Stars. The price paid is that they must obey you, the one who bestowed the will upon them, and their strength can never advance further.]

[Description: When the Seven Stars appear, the world descends into chaos. In truth, every region has its own Seven Stars, but because of differing eras, they exist in the past or the future, which is why you haven't noticed them. Rumor has it that if Seven Stars from different regions meet, one must die. The victor will claim the deceased's will and step toward a higher tier. Another rumor states that if you collect all the wills of the Seven Stars from a single region, then you, the bestower of those wills, can become the Lord of the Seven Stars. That's right, this world is one giant stamp-collecting game. Good luck.]

Yan Jing looked at the "Will of the Seven Stars" in his hand. They called it a will, but it was actually just a mask.

It had a red-and-gold face, with seven radiant stars drawn in the shape of a dipper on one cheek, making it look quite festive.

The Tianji Star, also known as the Lucun Star, represented wealth and nobility.

Looking at it this way, the mask was quite fitting.

The mask's limitations were massive, primarily the fact that the wearer's strength could never advance again.

This meant the item wasn't meant for people with exceptional talent. On the contrary, the lower the user's strength and the less potential they had, the higher the relative value they would gain from using it.

He pondered whether to bring this thing into the Inner World or leave it in the Surface World. If he brought it to the Inner World, who should he give it to?