That night, Xia Zhi took out a Golden Treasure Chest from his inventory.
This was the chest he had obtained from Miss Yelan when she broke through last time.
He hadn't opened it yet.
With nothing to do tonight, he decided to open it.
First, he used Mora to perform a divination on the table.
The result was auspicious.
Then he chose to open it.
A book about an inch thick appeared before Xia Zhi.
[Book of Spells]
Quality: Gold
Type: Auxiliary Item
Trait: Storage
Effect: Each page can store one spell. The quality of the spell cannot exceed the quality of the item itself. Tear out the page to instantly cast the spell stored on it.
Hidden Effect: When pages are missing, one blank page is automatically restored each day.
Recyclable: 100 points.
Xia Zhi held the book and flipped through it.
The pages inside were all blank.
He counted them.
The book had 50 pages, meaning it could currently store 50 spells of third-tier or below.
A very interesting item.
Xia Zhi gently pressed his hand on the first page and casually cast a [Dispel] spell.
A faint light was absorbed into the paper, eventually forming a mysterious pattern.
"Although its usage is similar to spell scrolls, it doesn't require paper and ink to create, making it much more convenient."
Xia Zhi tore out the page and threw it.
The page transformed into a bright light that rapidly expanded outward from its center.
Xia Zhi carefully observed.
This [Dispel] spell had no difference in effect compared to when he cast it himself.
Although it could currently only store third-tier spells, if it were evolved to Diamond quality, it could store fifth-tier divine spells.
At that point, its capacity would likely increase significantly from 50 pages, greatly enhancing its versatility.
In a fight, even someone like Zhu Zi or Ying'er, who had no combat experience, could stand by and tear pages to act as a makeshift divine caster.
The thought of that scene was quite amusing.
Xia Zhi smiled, then filled the remaining 49 blank pages with various Light Element utility spells, annotating their effects with a pen.
Thanks to [Tears of the Goddess], every time he used a skill, he gained 5 permanent mana points, so this also increased his mana pool slightly.
Though compared to meditation, it was just a small bonus.
Xia Zhi put away the [Book of Spells] and continued reading Detailed Explanations of Faith Power until Shenhe arrived.
The next morning, after waking up, Xia Zhi took out the [Book of Spells] to check.
Sure enough, a new blank page had appeared at the end of the book.
It had automatically restored itself.
Shenhe leaned over his shoulder, curiously looking at the book in his hand.
"Boss, what's this?"
"It's a new thing I made recently. It can store spells inside, and you can cast them by tearing out the pages."
"Huh?"
"Want to try it?"
"How does it work?"
"Just place your hand on this page and use elemental energy like you would in combat."
"Can I use Cryo?"
"Any element works."
Then, Shenhe also stored a [Spring Spirit Summoning] spell in the book.
---
At the Liyue Newspaper, Mona came as usual to submit her manuscript.
Her master's astrology orb had mysteriously broken, and the large sum of Mora she had earned from Yelan's divination had been spent on a new orb before she could even enjoy the interest.
Although, thanks to Xia Ci and Xia Zhen helping her negotiate, she still had some Mora left, it was only a matter of time before it ran out. So she still had to work hard every week to write articles to make a living.
"Editor Charlotte, I'm here."
"Miss Mona!"
"I've brought the manuscript for the astrology column."
"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Mona!"
"It's my job."
After submitting the manuscript and receiving her payment, Mona was about to leave when Charlotte called her back.
"Is there something else, Chief Editor?"
"Miss Mona, are you free for lunch? Let's go to Xinyue Kiosk together."
"Xinyue Kiosk…"
After eating Mr. Xia's cooking, Mona now found Xinyue Kiosk's dishes a bit lackluster. But since it was a free meal, it was still better than street food.
"I'm free."
"Great, let's meet at Xinyue Kiosk at noon."
"Okay."
At noon, in the luxurious private room, seeing the hesitant look on Charlotte's face, Mona asked curiously, "Is there something you want to ask me?"
"Yes… Actually, I've been thinking about prophecies these past few days."
"Prophecies?"
Mona was slightly taken aback.
"The prophecy I gave you about returning to Fontaine?"
"Yes!"
"Did something go wrong?"
Charlotte said seriously, "It's already come true."
Mona looked at her but frowned. "That's not right, is it? I said you'd return to Fontaine in the second half of this year. It's only January now, so there's still a long time before then…"
Charlotte shook her head. "Although the time hasn't come yet, the matter is basically settled because I've decided to leave the Steambird and will be working at the Liyue from now on."
"Huh?"
"It's a bit complicated…"
These weren't particularly secret matters, and Mona already knew that Charlotte had come to Liyue because she had offended someone in Fontaine.
Charlotte explained her recent encounter with Editor Euphrasie and her conversation with Lady Ningguang.
Mona fell into thought. "The decision you've made is quite reasonable. So, you'll be going to Mondstadt with Mr. Xia and the others soon?"
Charlotte nodded. "Yes, that's what Lady Ningguang told me."
Mona couldn't help but feel tempted.
Her original goal when coming down from the mountain was also to go to Mondstadt to find her master's friend and retrieve the box. This would be a great opportunity to travel with everyone!
Not that she wanted to freeload off Mr. Xia's cooking, but the journey was long and dangerous, and as a delicate young woman, it would be safer to have companions.
Mona nodded. "In that case, the prophecy about you has indeed come true."
Charlotte said, "That's why I think Miss Mona's astrology is truly amazing."
Mona humbly replied, "Not at all, not at all."
Charlotte continued, "Because of this, I've been thinking about another ancient prophecy that's been circulating in Fontaine for a long time, and it's been making me uneasy. So I wanted to ask Miss Mona to help verify its authenticity."
"What prophecy?"
"All Fontainians are born with sin that cannot be absolved.
Until one day, Fontaine's sea level will begin to rise, and the people burdened with sin will gradually be submerged by the waters…
In the end, everyone will dissolve into the sea, leaving only the Hydro Archon weeping on her throne. Only then… will the sins of the Fontainians be washed away."
Charlotte lowered her voice and slowly recited these lines.
After listening, Mona's expression gradually became serious.
She could sense that this prophecy didn't seem like something someone had made up.
"Miss Mona?"
Seeing her silent, Charlotte asked nervously.
"What do you think of this prophecy?"
Mona thought carefully and slowly said, "What I can tell you is that I'm an astrologist, and this prophecy concerns the fate of Fontaine and even the entire Teyvat. Confirming this would be equivalent to divining the fate of the entire world."
"Then…"
"This level of divination isn't something just anyone can do. If I could, I wouldn't be called an astrologist; I'd be a prophet. Conversely, it's vast and powerful, so it must have come from a powerful prophet. Its content concerns the fate of the world, so dismissing it as baseless would be wrong."
"A prophet… That sounds so impressive. Do such people really exist in the world?"
"They do. My master, for example, should be capable of such things, but I can't contact her right now."
In truth, Mona didn't dare to contact her, as her most precious astrology orb had been broken by her.
"I see…"
Charlotte looked disappointed.
Mona thought for a moment and said, "Actually, there are people in Liyue who might be able to do something similar."
"Oh?"
"Mountain Shaper is skilled in divination. With his abilities, he should be able to glean some insights into this matter."
"But I'm not very familiar with that adeptus…"
"There's also Mr. Xia… I don't know how skilled Mr. Xia is in divination, and I've never seen him perform it. But that night when I had a deep conversation with him, no matter what question I asked, he seemed to have an answer. He gave me an even more mysterious and knowledgeable impression than my master."
"Mr. Xia…"
"You're on good terms with Mr. Xia, right?"
"Yes, I often go with Lady Ningguang to his place for meals."
"Then you can go ask Mr. Xia. You might get an answer."
"I understand. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Charlotte muttered to herself, "Tomorrow is Thursday, and I need to go collect Xiangling's manuscript. I'll ask him when I visit the shop…"
Mona's ears perked up.
Thursday! That was the day she had gone last time! The shop had fried chicken and fries!
Mona coughed and said, "Editor Charlotte."
"Hmm?"
"I'm also very interested in this prophecy about Fontaine, and I've had some divination-related questions I wanted to ask Mr. Xia these past few days. Why don't we go together tomorrow?"
"Sure."