Chapter 512

"So, that monster initially had a physical form, and only became ethereal after joining the team?" Luo Jun stroked his chin. "It certainly does resemble the effect of Void Pass..."

"Shall we go back to that Black Shop and double-check the situation?" Sun Xiaowei asked.

"It won't work." Old Yuan shook his head. "The Black Shop is the same as the White Shop; once it's opened, it can only exist for one hour. After that, it's nowhere to be found."

"Regardless, this is an important clue." Luo Jun put away the paper. "Although we don't know what it's used for yet, as we understand this maze better, we'll eventually be able to piece together all this information!"

As they were talking, Luo Jun's ears twitched, and he turned to look to the side. He saw a doorway on the left flicker, and a figure appeared in the round hall.

It was Zhuge Zi. She didn't look as disheveled as Mao Xintong, but she had lost some weight.

Luo Jun keenly noticed that when the girl first appeared, she was quite tense; her eyes, movements, and even her entire aura exuded vigilance. However, when she saw the people inside the room, she visibly relaxed.

It seems you haven't had much of a break these past few days in the maze.

As Zhuge Zi approached, her eyes involuntarily drifted to the food Mao Xintong had left uneaten.

"Are you hungry?" Luo Jun greeted him warmly, "Come and have something to eat!" As he spoke, he took out another supply.

"It's alright..." Zhuge Zi said, but her stomach suddenly growled loudly.

"Don't be shy," Luo Jun laughed, unpacking the supplies and stuffing the food directly into her hands.

Zhuge Zi blushed slightly, thanked her, and sat down to eat.

I initially thought she was a cold and aloof young lady, but now it seems she might just be shy.

Whether it's due to her personality or because she wasn't that starving, Zhuge Zi ate much more elegantly than Mao Xintong.

After finishing her meal, the girl gave the group a slight bow and said, "Thank you."

"Don't be so polite. We're just exchanging information from the past few days," Old Yuan said with a smile. "The Talisman Paper is limited, so we need to use it sparingly. Now that we have the opportunity, let's discuss it in detail."

"My observations..." Zhuge Zi paused for a moment, "There's not much to mention. I was able to dodge most monsters and traps using my blinking ability, and I didn't encounter any real danger. The biggest problem was resupply."

"Didn't you find any belongings?" Sun Xiaowei asked.

"I found two," Zhuge Zi said. "I used one to exchange for supplies. I was lucky; most of it was food, enough to last a few days. And there's another one..."

"You're planning to keep the other one as a backup, right?" Mao Xintong nodded and said, "We've already received Old Yuan's message, so we might as well starve ourselves for another day... If I were as lucky as you and found two, I'd probably do the same."

Zhuge Zi shook her head. "No, without news from Old Yuan, I don't plan to exchange it."

"Why is that?" Ma Qiao asked curiously.

"Are you planning to get a hint?" Luo Jun guessed.

The relics have five functions: obtaining supplies, randomly unlocking temporary treasures, random teleportation, launching attacks, and obtaining hints. In Luo Jun's opinion, the hints are actually the ones that are truly helpful in clearing the game.

He currently possesses seven relics. As long as he has sufficient supplies and his basic survival is not a problem, he will try to save the relics for later, after gathering enough intelligence.

Since the relic's function clearly states that it will provide hints based on the current situation, it obviously won't give you duplicate information that you already know. Therefore, it's best to use this thing as late as possible.

"No..." Zhuge Zi denied, "If possible, I don't plan to use this relic."

"Huh?" The group was taken aback. "Why?"

Zhuge Zi sighed, took out an antique pocket watch from her pocket, pressed a button, the cover opened, the hands inside were still turning, and on the other side was a black and white photograph of a gentle woman.

"These are her belongings?" The group was taken aback; it was the first time they'd seen photos among her belongings. "Who is this woman?"

Zhuge Zi looked at the photo and sighed, "It's my Grandmother..."

"Your Grandmother?"

Everyone was shocked. "Then the owner of this relic is...?"

Zhuge Zi nodded. "It was my grandfather, Zhuge Gan."

Zhuge Gan, the former head of the Zhuge Family and the father of the current head of the family, Zhuge Ming, was also a Peak Expert and a pivotal figure in the cultivation world of Zhendan. If he were alive today, he would be nearly ninety years old.

"If I remember correctly, Little Gan went on a mission about ten years ago and never came back." Old Yuan sighed, "I never expected that he would perish here..."

"It was also more than ten years ago, could it be that it was a mission with Caroline?" Ma Qiao felt that he had found a key clue.

"How is that possible..." Mao Xintong glanced at him. "Caroline is from the Federation, Zhuge Gan is from Zhendan, how could they possibly do a mission together?"

"Uh..." Ma Qiao looked embarrassed.

"But if we've fallen at the Peak, do we really still have a chance to get out?" Sun Xiaowei became pessimistic.

"Don't worry, Old Yuan also had Peak strength... Just because he wasn't at his Peak before doesn't mean we can't either," Ma Qiao comforted him, while Luo Jun, standing beside him, also frowned.

Zhuge Gan died in this maze; this is not good news...

Tier A Mission, Peak occasionally enter. This labyrinth, which has existed for many years, is not surprising as it may have trapped and killed Peak -level players before, but there has been no evidence of that before. Luo Jun even held a sliver of hope that he might see Peak who has survived during the exploration.

After all, they can all obtain supplies through shops and monster cycles. Perhaps some of the Peak have survived in this labyrinth for decades and are still alive today, so they can offer them more advice.

But now, that illusion has been shattered...

It makes sense. It's been almost a week since they got here, and Luo Jun's Dice of Heavenly Secrets haven't refreshed yet, meaning less than three hours have passed outside... So, by that logic, the person trapped here a decade or so ago might have lived for hundreds of years; they'd either died of exhaustion or old age by now...

It seems there's little hope of surviving predecessors, Luo Jun sighed. "But speaking of which, we've found a Peak Hundred Treasure Box?" Ma Qiao looked at the pocket watch in Zhuge Zi's hand. "Maybe there's some powerful magic weapon inside that can help us break this deadlock!"

When Zhuge Zi heard him say he was going to open the relics, she subconsciously put them back.

"Oh dear, sister, we can't take the relics we found here out of the house. Contributing them might save everyone's lives..." Ma Qiao continued to persuade. Old Yuan glanced at him, "If there really was a magic weapon in the Hundred Treasure Box that could break the deadlock, Little Gan would have used it already. Why would it be our turn?"

This sentence awakened everyone.

Yes, the owners of these Hundred Treasure Box have all been trapped and died here, let alone a random treasure inside...

"That's hard to say..." Ma Qiao pursed his lips. "Just like the final items in two shops, you can only leave when you combine them. Maybe there really is a powerful treasure in Senior Zhuge's Hundred Treasure Box, but it's useless to him alone. However, if combined with one of our abilities or treasures, it could have a miraculous effect!"

"The probability is too low..." Sun Xiaowei shook her head. "A Peak Hundred Treasure Box must have at least twenty or thirty slots. Even if there are treasures like you say, we still wouldn't be able to draw them..." As she spoke, she glanced at Zhuge Zi, who seemed to be deep in thought, "Besides, her granddaughter is clearly not willing either."

"Wait... maybe there really is!" Zhuge Zi's eyes suddenly lit up. "There's something in Grandpa's Hundred Treasure Box that might be helpful to us!"

"Huh?" Mao Xintong was taken aback. "Weren't you reluctant to part with Grandpa's belongings?"

Zhuge Zi shook her head. "This one is different..."

As she spoke, Zhuge Zi opened her Hundred Treasure Box and took out a small booklet.

The error-free version can be read at 69 Book Bar! 6=9+shuba is the first site to publish this novel.

"This is..." Everyone gathered around to look and discovered that it was a Fine-level Treasure Item.

Zhuge Zi explained, "This is called Life Diary. It has an unlimited number of pages. From the moment you receive it, it absorbs a Breath Vital Energy every day at midnight and automatically records the important events you experienced the previous day. Of course, you can also make some additions yourself, but in general, it can be considered a complete record of your life."

"What does this have to do with Senior Zhuge's Hundred Treasure Box?" Ma Qiao asked.

"This one was a gift from my grandfather on the day I reached the Body Refinement Realm," Zhuge Zi said, stroking the diary with a nostalgic expression. "And my grandfather himself also had a Life Diary that accompanied him for many years."

"I see!" everyone exclaimed in realization. If they could open Zhuge Gan's Life Diary, they would definitely obtain a lot of information about the maze, which would certainly help them leave this place!

No wonder Zhuge Zi said this was different. Compared to an heirloom that can't be taken with you, being able to see the last experiences of your grandfather's life is a greater comfort.

But the problem now is, how do we extract it?

Consuming this relic will randomly grant you one of its treasures. "Random" means it's entirely based on luck; you might only get one out of dozens—the probability is extremely low...

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Sun Xiaowei asked, "Does anyone have any magical artifacts that can enhance luck?"

"Luck-based treasures are very rare," Old Yuan shook his head, "And almost all of them are consumables."

"I have one, but it might not work..." Mao Xintong raised her hand and said, "Luck is a very mysterious thing, especially the judgment after using a Noble Phantasm. Sometimes being lucky doesn't mean you'll get the result you want most."

"For example, when drawing for this Noble Phantasm, we might want the Life Diary right now, but if we increase our luck, we might draw an Epic-level or even Legendary Treasure Item, but then we might not draw the Fine-level Diary."

"That makes sense..." Old Yuan nodded and said, "Little Gan is at his Peak after all. The Hundred Treasure Box should contain mostly high-level treasures. This diary might be the lowest grade one. If we really use the luck enhancement effect, we might not be able to draw it at all..."

"What should we do then..." Sun Xiaowei frowned, glancing back at Luo Jun: "How about we let our junior come? He's always been lucky; maybe he can get it."

Luo Jun, whose name was called, was taken aback. He had been planning to make a move, but the problem was, as others had said, the probability of winning was too slim. If he won on his first try, would it arouse suspicion?

The truth is more concerning than lies. Without the Dice of Heavenly Secrets, Luo Jun could simply draw one without hesitation and be happy with his luck if he won. But with the Dice of Heavenly Secrets and knowing he could win, he inevitably becomes hesitant and cautious in such situations.

But now, faced with possible clues, he can no longer afford to be suspicious.

"Then let me give it a try..." Luo Jun took the pocket watch. He'd used the dice several times in the past few days, and now he had four chances left: one for advanced correction, three for Intermediate Modification, and one for refreshing. He estimated the difficulty of drawing the diary was over 95 points; he should be able to succeed...

With that in mind, he activated the Dice of Heavenly Secrets.

"Take out your Life Diary!"

"Ding, this event is Mandatory Event and cannot be determined. The number of dice rolls is reduced by one."

What?!

Luo Jun was stunned. Mandatory Event? In other words, this Hundred Treasure Box didn't contain Life Diary?

How could this be...? Could it be that Zhuge Zi mistook the belongings? Impossible, even if they look the same, there's a picture of her Grandmother inside... So, did Grandpa destroy the diary before he died? That's possible. If I were ever in mortal danger, I'd probably delete my browsing history on my deathbed too...

However, there is another possibility...

Luo Jun frowned, sighed, and handed the belongings back to Zhuge Zi: "I think you should handle this yourself."

Zhuge Zi was slightly taken aback when Luo Jun said, "No matter who it is, you'll have regrets if you don't pull out Grandpa's diary. This opportunity can only be given to you."

Zhuge Zi was silent for a few seconds, then nodded, said thank you, took the pocket watch, took a deep breath, and chose to activate it.

The pocket watch transformed into a ball of white light, which then changed shape in Zhuge Zi's hand, eventually becoming a rectangle. When the light faded, she was holding Zhuge Gan's Life Diary.

"It... it was a success?!"

Zhuge Zi's eyes widened, and she was so excited she almost jumped up. Everyone around her cheered, but Luo Jun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, the result of the dice roll was Mandatory Event: either it was a certain failure, in which case there would be no Life Diary in the Hundred Treasure Box, or it was a certain success, in which case there would be only one diary in the Hundred Treasure Box!

Regardless of the outcome, Luo Jun's Dice of Heavenly Secrets are useless here, so it's better to give this exchange opportunity to Zhuge Zi.

Now that the diary has been pulled out, everyone will only think that Zhuge Zi was lucky, and no one will associate it with Luo Jun.

Luo Jun, too, was filled with anticipation for the contents of the diary.

Zhuge Gan's Hundred Treasure Box must have contained all sorts of treasures, but the fact that only this diary remained shows that he knew he wouldn't live, and at the last moment, he threw away all the other treasures, leaving only this one for posterity.

This further suggests that there must be important information in this diary!

(End of this chapter)