《Damn, I Awakened With A Horror System!》 Chapter 1: Died without knowing why. Outside the mall in Laguna, beside the famous park where many people could be seen walking around. A man smiled foolishly outside the game shop as he stared at his hand, which was holding a new famous game console he freshly bought from the shop with some of his savings. "Sigh, I spent 3 years of my hard-earned money to buy this console. Fortunately, it would be worth it." Leo muttered in a low voice as he sighed deep within. Today is his birthday, February 20, 2025. Since he just turned 25 today, Leo decided to enjoy himself slightly by spending some of his savings. Although it was a bit heartbreaking for Leo, in order to enjoy this particr day, he reluctantly bought the console he had always yearned for a couple of months ago. Hehehe, Sigh. Leoughed and sighed at the same time, not knowing whether he should be happy or sad at the prospect of finally buying what he wanted with his savings. Still, I should y all day in order to make my money''s worth. Shaking his head, as he readied himself to grab a taxi to go home and enjoy his newly purchased console... when suddenly, from out of nowhere, the sound ofmotion from the distance caught his attention. Loud shouts and angry screams from countless people resounded from the park nearby, dozens of meters away from him. "A protest?" He silently thought, a bit curious about themotion. As he was pondering whether he should gossip and approach themotion in the distance, a sudden deafening sound of a seemingly gunshot rang inside themotion, followed by the loud horror shrieksing from the people and the chaotic sounds of marching and running. "Wha...what is happening?" Leo thought,pletely overwhelmed by the sudden change and chaos that took ce in the distance. "Isn''t that just a protest? How could there be someone holding a gun!?" Standing in his original position, Leo could see people running in his direction. Their faces clearly showed confusion, fear, anger, and panic as they ran away from the park at a hurried speed. He even saw a child at the age of 8 crying in the corner, dearly holding a stuffed toy toward his chest while shouting and calling for his parents. Shaken greatly, Leo doesn''t have time to organize his thoughts as he instinctively approaches the crying child in the distance, intending to help. "Damn! Irresponsible parents!" He cursed angrily. Pushing away the people in his way, Leo slowly but surely shortened the distance between him and the child. As he was approaching the child, in the corner of his eyes, Leo saw countless people fall to the ground, getting stomped by the panic crowds passing them as they cried for help. He even saw a blooded figure running for his dear life, but only to get pushed towards his doom. Bang! Bang! Bang! As he almost reached the child, three consecutive shots of the gun resounded in the chaotic park. Raising his head, Leo instinctively looked at where the sound of the gun originated. In an instant after turning his head toward the direction of the park, Leo''s dark brown eyes instantly constricted, and his heart beat fastened at an rming rate. Dozen meters away from him. Men covered in ck clothes and wearing ck devil masks were walking leisurely towards his general direction; in their hands were rifles and revolvers in different categories, which still could be seen spewing smoke. Every second they advanced, they would raise their guns toward the running crowds, shooting indiscriminately. While doing so, their eyes would reveal a euphoric expression, clearly enjoying what they were doing. Damn! Damn! Damn, mad people!! Leo cursed inside his head as he, without wasting time, ran toward the crying child in the corner in panic. He never expected that his birthday present would be this unexpected and unforgettable. ... Reaching the side of the child, Leo immediately squats down and carries the crying child before dashing away from the dark-suited guys. He didn''t even know why or how he managed to do it in an instant, but the strength he shows currently seems iparable to normal standards. If he could think properly, he would learn that this phenomenon is called adrenaline rush. Dashing with all his might, Leo breathed quickly as his back became drenched with warm, sticky sweat. At some point, the child that he was carrying stopped crying and just buried his little head toward his chest. "Hah, huff... don''t worry, I will make sure that you will find your parents," he said while gasping, making the child in his chest less afraid but still tremble asionally. The dark-suited guys in the distance were still firing their guns indiscriminately around them... While doing so, one of the mask guys seemed to notice something and stared at the rushing figure of Leo in the distance. Raising his revolver with one hand, he fired at the fleeting figure with disdain clearly written on his eyes. Bang! Bang! "What the?!" Leo, who was running for his dear life, almost stumbled as he nced at the hole in the ground less than meters away from him in pure horror; he knew that the bullet was directed at him. Almost hitting him! "Why me!" He almost cursed at the masked guy a dozen meters away from him; fortunately, he managed to swallow his words, or else they might put their attention towards him. "So warm..." As he was rushing with all of his might, the innocent voice of the child he was carrying entered his ears. Although the child''s voice is low, with how close the distance is, he still manages to hear his little voice. "Warm?" Confused, Leo asks the child while gasping for air. "Warm," the child replied, clearly having no idea where the warm liquid came from since his eyes were tightly closed. Shaking his head, Leo didn''t pay attention to the child as he gritted his teeth and rushed in a random direction. ... After a full minute of running in a random direction, Leo''s strength and adrenaline seem to evaporate as he slows down. Although he could still hear the sound of the gunfire in the distance, it was already far away from them. He could assume that they are safe for a moment. Without any strength anymore, Leo slowly put the child on the ground... Thi... This! He didn''t even put the child on the ground when Leo eximed inside his head as he saw the child''s clothes covered in red and warm, sticky blood. Even his stuffed toy was covered with blood to the point that blood was leaking from it. Without thinking about it, Leo already guessed what happened. Greatly shaken, Leo tilted his head down and looked at his chest, which at one point became covered in fresh blood, making his mind greatly shaken as he slumped slowly toward the ground, weakly facing the clear blue sky. "I see... I... got hit by the bullet..." He mumbled weakly as he saw the sky seemingly darken for a moment before a crack appeared and revealed a dark void devoid of any light. Instantly engulfing his vision. "Is that Nirvana?" He thought weakly, as his eyes blurred beforepletely bing dull. "Brother?" The child asks as he stands up and approaches Leo, shaking Leo''s body in an attempt to wake him up... *** Unknown to the people, above one of the tall buildings, a man wearing a dark windbreaker looked down toward the ground, silently watching the unfolding chaos with great interest. Interest in a way of watching how pathetic the people below were. A minuteter, as if feeling something, the man''s lips curled up slightly before gazing at the distance where Leo''s bodyy lifeless on cold ground in silence. "He''s already dead? I didn''t expect one of the future powerhouses would die just like that." What could I say? "Pathetic..." The man mumbled in disdain before gazing toward the sky full of cracks, revealing a darkest void devoid of any light, before continuing to watch the chaos below. Chapter 2: Apocalypse At the start, only a dark line simr to a thick thread could be seen in the silent sky. At first, for a couple of minutes when the dark thread appears in the sky no one seems to notice it. Only when the sound of cracking and shattering like a porcin vase did people start ncing towards the sky. Like a fragile ss falling toward the concrete floor, the clear blue sky revealed a crispy cracking sound followed by the opening of a fissure that led towards the darkest secret beyond the Blue''s understanding. Immediately enveloping the Blue with darkness that never allows the Sun lights to illuminate the world''s surface... Again. ... In an instant, chaos spread toward the''s surface. People around the world ran like headless chickens, hiding inside their houses and bunkers, away from the sight of the sky... Away from the fissure... Of course except toward a certain park in Laguna where chaos started a few minutes ago. Beneath the sea and beyond the fissure Creatures and Beasts from one''s nightmare crawl up and fly below toward the panicked civilization. Brandishing their sharp ws and opening their gapping mount full of sharp teeth, killing an unimaginable amount of humans in their wake like livestock on a farm. At the same time, as humans began to feel helpless and devoid of any hope for survival, a panel of from unknown origin appeared in all of the human''s sight. Granting them the ability of basic survival. However, even though they receive a gift from the sky, the poption of the Blue drastically plummeted in a single day, leaving less than 3 billion of the original poption behind. Worse of all, it is still plummeting every single day! Fortunately, in the middle of helplessness, groups of beings with unimaginable power that were capable of moving mountains and seas appeared, lending a hand toward humanity... Temporarily allowing them to breathe. However, for how long could they maintain their temporary haven? *** In an instant, days and months passed by. To be exact a total of 150 days quickly passed by from when the apocalypse hit the Blue. In a normal dpidated park in Laguna that was devoid of any kind of life, a wisp of dark smoke rose from the cold earth below. Quickly forming a ck wisp of a circle figure. After an unknown period of time, the ck wisp of smokepletely materialized in the form of an incorporeal circle of ck gas and began to wander around the area, curious about everything it saw. ... "Where am I?" Leo confusedly asked as he began to wake up from the deep slumber within the endless darkness and great gray fog of emptiness. At first, Leo had no recollection of his existence and memory from his past life. It only keeps shing inside his head for a while before quickly being forgotten afterward as he wanders in the dpidated park. As time passed by, the image started to rey inside his memory, engraving deep within his very soul until he managed to grab his very existence andpletely woke up in a very familiar and unfamiliar ce. The life of the past and the life before he died, the feeling of happiness and the feeling of weakness, and... The way he slumped to the cold floor facing the darkness above... Until his eyes turned lifeless... "Sigh. Indeed, I really died." Leo sighed as he opened his imaginary eyes, scanning his surroundings with great interest. The familiar wrecked mall in front and the overturned stall from the nearby park reminded him of this ce. The ce where he died. Although it is the same ce, he still noticed some differences between the two. The ground was full of cracks and shrub that was growing from the gap, the familiar mall that was originally a tall establishment but was now destroyed almost in its destruction, and the gloomy atmosphere and the big dark fissure above the sky... The difference between the two is too big! "This ce ispletely dead. Is this the ce or world of the dead? No wonder people often saw ghosts where people died." Sigh... I hope the child ispletely safe... if not then my selfless death is totally useless. He silently thought as he began to roam around to see if he could find a fellow dead that he could ask. Soon after half an hour of roaming around, Leo''s imaginary brow furrowed. In the past few minutes, he roamed around Leo didn''t find anything worth worthy of his attention. He didn''t even find a single soul! "Am I alone here? Is this my punishment for using my hand every single lonely night?" Leo couldn''t help but worry about himself. Although he was already dead, being alone here without someone to talk to would slowly turn him crazy. This is impossible, there should be someone here! Concerned for his well-being, Leo immediately rushed and passed through the solid building in front of him. Quickly entering the destroyed establishment and inspecting every nook of the ce. Passing through every solid thing is the specialty of a ghost, making his job to inspect every corner easier! Soon, after checking every ce and corner inside the big mall, Leo finally heard a weak squeak not far away from him. This! Overjoyed, Leo immediately gushed towards the source of the sound, quickly passing through the obstacle in front. Soon, in his line of sight, Leo finally saw something small moving in the short distance, signifying a life. "Hahahaha, I knew that there was someone here!" Leo thought happily as he instinctively rushed toward the small moving fellow. ... Squeak? The dark brown rat was usually doing his usual business, finding food to survive and feed his little child at home when suddenly the temperature in the surrounding area began to plummet at an rming rate. Squeak, Squeak? Confused by the sudden change, it raised its small head to look at the dark surroundings to find the source of the changes but only to find nothing. Squeak? Finding nothing, the dark brown rat was prepared to go back on its usual business when suddenly a dark smoke came out from the cemented ground below before quickly materializing and forming a dark entity in front of it. "HELLLO LITTLE THING!!!" Not even a second passed by when a deep voice from the dark entity that seemed to scratch the little soul of anyone who could hear it entered the little rat''s ears. SQUEAK!!?(Ghosttt!!?) Due to surprise and great horror, the rat''s eyes rolled back to its little head before stiffly falling to the ground, shivering slightly before bing still. Ehh!? Dead? [ Ding congrattions upon scaring someone...] ... Chapter 3: System of Horror. Ehh!? What! Leo''s mouth turned agape as he stared at the dead body of the dark brown rat on the ground in puzzlement. He never expected that he would scare someone to its death. Besides that, how could there be a living being here? Isn''t this nirvana,herworld, or hell? "Don''t tell me, this is the real world!" Leo''s assumption shook his very core greatly. The vision of him seeing the fissure opening in the sky before he died is still fresh inside his mind. He just thought that it was the thing people saw before they died... He never thought that it might be real! If that is the case then what really happened here? What is that fissure above the sky? Why there''s no human around? As one question after another question entered his thoughts, when suddenly, a loud sound of metal hitting metal rang and echoed inside his head waking him up from his deep thoughts. Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully scaring someone for the first time! You have received 100 horror points! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon scaring someone to death at your first hunt! You have received 1000 horror points and aplete bind to the system! ] Ding! [ You received 1 Exp point! ] Wha...what is this!? Leo was startled by the sudden loud sound inside his head, followed by the great awestruck upon seeing the familiar panel that he usually read in fantasy novels that appeared in his very line of sight. "A system?" Curious and thrilled, Leo stretched the ck smoke on his body like a tendril and touched the screen of light in his line of sight only for the tendril of smoke to pass through it. "Hahaha! Indeed it is a System!" Leoughs out loud. His hand passing through the panel of light is a testament that he was right that this was indeed a system! With excitement building up inside him, Leo manipted the system based on what he read so far from the fantasy books he read. Sure enough, the panel in front of him changed and began to show his current information. ... Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion ___ Attributes ___ Level: 1 ( 1/10 Exp ) Health: 10/10 Mana: 10/10 Strength: 0.1 Speed: 5 Magic Power: 8 Soul Power: 15 ] [ Tree Talent ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory ] ... ''Woah, who would expect that I will gain a system one day?'' Seeing theckluster information about him where the only ones worth mentioning are his high soul power, strength, and innate skill, Leo shook his head in great disappointment. As a ghost, it is already expected that his soul power would be high and his strength to be non-existent. If he guessed correctly, the maximum stats for him who was currently level 1 should be around 10 in every attribute, while having a soul power attribute should be exclusive to a ghost. That is why having 5 in speed and 8 in Magic power is a disappointment in his opinion. It is already a wonder how he got 15 points in his Soul power while being at level 1! Again, shaking his head in disappointment, Leo decided to check his Innate skill. Hoping that it will be a cool skill somehow. ... [ Mind Corrosion: Passively release a strange aura that plummets the temperature in the surrounding area of 5 meters in diameter around the host. Those who were within the area would fall into a state of constant panic, anxiousness, fear, and anger. Note: The strength of the Mind corrosion is based on the Soul Power of the host! ] ... Gaspp! Leo gasped loudly upon reading the description of his innate skill, he didn''t expect that it would be this good. The power to corrode the mind of beings around him passively seems extra powerful in his opinion. Imagine having a powerful enemy yet they run like a dog due to fear. Even if they didn''t run, theirbat power would be disrupted if they fell under the effects of his innate skill! Moreover, as a ghost, Leo expected that a mere physical attack would do him no harm at all! Only magic attacks might affect and damage him! He was almost unkible! Sigh... However, unfortunately, the skill is passive making everyone near him fall under its effect... And his strength is negligible. Even if they couldn''t kill him, he could also not injure the other party. "Sigh... Hmmp, so what I''m a ghost anyway. Who would be willing to get near me?" Thinking about this, Leo''s mood instantly restored to normal before again continuing to inspect his system. Surprisingly other than his Tree Talent the other three are currently locked or empty. Without any other choice, Leo opened his skill tree to see what it was all about. Soon, after opening the Skill Tree, a list of tons of skills built like a parallel pyramid appeared in his line of sight, almost causing him to feel dizzy. At the very top(bottom) of the pyramid was a single skill shimmering with dark gloomy light that stood silently, waiting for someone to touch it. Curious, Leo clicked the skill in the middle part of the pyramid just to get declined due to the reason of being locked. In able to unlock the other skills, he needed to learn the first skill first and increase his strength before unlocking the other skill to reach the middle part. Without any choice, Leo navigated through the bottom list and clicked the single lonely skill at the bottom. Soon, information about the skill was presented to his imaginary eyes. ... [ Invisibility (Locked): Enter the Invisibility mode in exchange for mana! Activation: 0.1 mana per second. Cost: 10 horror points! Note: A must-skill for a ghost! ] ... Without thinking too much, Leo purchased the skill reducing his horror points from the original 1100 to 1090 points. Ding! [ Sessfully learned Invisibility (Lvl 1) ] After unlocking the skill Leo didn''t immediately check its effects and just browsed above the skill tree. Sure enough, above the Invisibility skill another two new skills shimmering with dark gloomy light entered his sight, waiting to be unlocked. Ding! [ Do you want to learn the skill ??? and ??? ] ... Chapter 4: Finally Home... ... Instantly after clicking the two new skills shown on the Tree Skill, the panel in front of Leo instantly changes and shows the description of the skills. Ding! [ Mist of Illusion (locked): Release a constant stream of fog in the surrounding area that obstructs the vision of beings within the area of effects. Beings who inhale the fog for a set period of time would start hallucinating ( The effect depends on how high the soul power of the host is! ) Activation: 2 mana. An additional 0.1 mana would be consumed every second if the skill is still activated. Cost: 25 horror points. Note: The user could partially control the illusion based on what the user wants, but it would cost Mana! ] Ding! [ Jinx (locked): Staying in the same ce/beings for some time would reduce their luck for a small amount. Activation: Passive. Cost: 25 Note: Staying for a longer period of time would greatly reduce the target''s luck! ] ... Leo''s imaginary lips twitched upon seeing the description of the new two skills in the Skill Tree. A skill that could cast Illusion and a skill that brings bad luck. "Great I''m indeed a ghost withoutbat abilities! A ghost that is destined to be lonely!" If Leo had legs, he would probably go to the corner right now, crying while hugging his legs. s, it is unfortunate for him. With a heavy heart, Leo bought the two new skills from the system before checking the above of the two skills to see if there were some new skills avable. Unfortunately, this time, Leo needed to increase his level to level 2 In order to unlock the first skill from the third floor of the pyramid to purchase it. Bored, Leo closed his system and again continued to roam around the silent mall, hoping to find someone to talk to. But this time he would be careful enough not to scare them to death. Activating his invisibility, Leo''s whole body of smoke slowly turned transparent beforepletely disappearing inside the dark mall. Leo upon entering invisible mode quickly passed through the solid wall beside him, resuming his haunting for any sign of life. *** Time quickly passed by. Soon, a total of 5 days silently passed by when Leo woke up from the dpidated park. Life has been hard for Leo in the past few days of spending his time scanning and inspecting the surrounding area outside the mall. Other than the small animals, mostly rats that he found. Leo failed to find any presence of humanoid beings in the surroundings of the mall. Hahhh! Sighing deeply. If not for the unexpected gains that he earned in the past few days he would probably turn crazy right now. However, thinking about his encounter with the little creatures he met so far, Leo couldn''t help but still feel depressed. "Who would have thought that those little creatures are all weak-willed!" "Even if I didn''t do anything to them, they would immediately die or faint upon seeing me!" "I even stayed for a while to wait for the fainted to awaken but only for them to die inexplicably. Am I that Ugly and Unlucky?" Crying inside his head, Leo opened his character panel with a heavy heart to see his gains from the past few days of his little interaction. ... [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion ___ Attributes ___ Level: 2( 3/20 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 2 Health: 12/12 Mana: 15/15 Strength: 0.2 (0.1) Speed: 6 Magic Power: 9 Soul Power: 19 (2) Skills: Invisibility (Lvl1),Mist of Illusion (Lvl1), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 1) ] [ Tree Talent ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory ] ... [ Horror points 2240 ] ... Other than the increase in his stats, horror points, and level. Leo sessfully learned/unlocked another skill from the Skill Tree upon upgrading to Level 2! Moreover, the skill he learned is quite impressive. A skill that passively increased his soul power and strength by a good small amount! [ Constricted Soul (Lvl 1): Increase the soul power by 2 and strength by 0.1 for every skill level. Upgrade skill: 100 horror points. Note: The first step towards every sessful ghost. ] Upon reading again the description of the skill, Leo''s mood freshened up a little. Although he found out that he could upgrade his skills by consuming his horror points. Leo decided not to upgrade them for the time being since it would be awkward for him if he spent all his horror points upgrading all of his current skills but was unable to unlock the further skills in the skill tree due to theck of horror points. Sighing deeply, since he could no longer increase his horror points in this dpidated ce Leo decided to implement his n. Today, since he couldn''t find anyone here in the mall and park Leo decided to move to another ce to continue his journey to find a human living being! With ast and long single nce at the dpidated park, Leo turned his head toward the north and started to embark on his new journey. ... Laguna is a big province in the Philippines that covers a totalnd area of 1,900 Km2 and had 30 cities under it before the apocalypse hit the Blue... With more than tens of millions of residents living here before. As for now, Although Leo didn''t estimate the distance he already passed by, he was sure that the ce seemed muchrger than before! "Wierd, did thend expand? Or did the Earth expand?" Confused by the increase in distance, Leo continues his journey. On the way, he would often stop for a while to sightsee the surroundings before again continuing on his adventure. After an unknown time of him traversing thend, Leo finally stops in front of an old one-story house in front of him with mixed emotions. Memories upon memories sh inside his head as he gazes at the ordinary house in front of him with a heavy heart. Sigh... Sighing deeply, Leo mumbled in a weak and shaky voice, "How long it has been? I... am finally home..." Leo said in a teary voice as he passed through the door in front of him in silence. Unknown to him, meters away from him, a humanoid shadow silently watches everything that transpired... Before again slipping towards the building on its back. ... Chapter 5: Zombie (1) Upon entering his house Leo immediately noticed the dusty atmosphere inside. Due to his absence for an unknown time, all of his furniture and things were already covered by thick brown dust and the ceiling was full of gray spider webs. Coughing weakly, as if he inhaled a huge amount of dust. Leo familiarly entered his room to see if some of his things had gone missing. After minutes of inspecting, Leo let out a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, the thing is still here, If not, I would probably die of embarrassment if someone saw this!" Shaking his head with a weak smile upon thinking about the use of the thing. Leo passed through the cab and was prepared to check his kitchen when suddenly a loud sound outside attracted his attention. Surprised and expectant, Leo instantly abandoned the idea of examining his house and immediately entered his invisibility mode before diving toward the solid wall beside him. Quickly passing through the wall, exiting the old house. Unknown to him, on the ground meters away, in the corner of his bed where light couldn''t illuminate, a console covered by dry red bloody silently in there... waiting for someone to pick it up. ... "What happened?" Leo asked inside his head as he watched the building opposite his house crumble towards the ground. Destroying the surrounding walls and buildings in the process. Fortunately, it didn''t affect or damage his house, or else, he mightpletely lose his rationality here. Disappointed that the sound didn''te from a human being, Leo silently approached the now-copsed building. The dust from the copsed building still hung in the air, drastically reducing the visibility of Leo. Without having the ability to see what was inside the dust of the smoke, Leo was forced to wait outside and let the dust calm down. Soon, after a couple of minutes of waiting, the dust of smoke slightly calmed down. Although it still hindered his sight, seeing 3 meters away was not a problem for him. However, even though he could already enter and inspect the copsed building, Leo still decided to wait for a while. Soon, as he was patiently waiting, a weak grunting sound suddenly came from the destroyed building in front of him followed by the heavy sound of debris falling toward the ground. "Does that sounde from a human!?" Shocked and confused, Leo without any doubt heard the weak voice inside. Excited about the prospect of finally seeing a human being again, Leo directly rushed into the cloud of dust without hesitation. However, before he could sessfully enter the destroyed building, Leo saw a silhouette of a human being struggling to walk in his direction, causing him to halt. Is that really a human? Leo almostughed out loud upon finally meeting a human after a long time when suddenly, he noticed something strange/off about the approaching being. Squinting his imaginary eyes, Leo concentrated on the slow-moving fellow in the distance. Soon, after the smoke of dust calmed down once again, Leo''s eyes that were staring into the silhouette suddenly constricted. Walking toward his direction. Leo saw a human being with missingrge chunks of meat on its neck and a protruding bone on its left foot, walking in his direction... Struggling. He even saw some dark fat worms wriggling around the figure''s neck, happily snacking on what was left of the human flesh. "That... That is not a human! That is a Zombie!" Leo, upon seeing the iplete figure, suddenly has the urge to bend down and puke everything in his soul. Unfortunately, being a ghost doesn''t allow him to do that. Feeling the great horror within him, Leo turned around and Immediately rushed toward his home, hoping that the zombie wouldn''t notice him and go away... Away from him. "I hope the zombie couldn''t see me and eat my soul... wait a minute." As he was rushing toward his home a sudden thought appeared inside his head causing him to halt mid-air. "Do zombies eat souls?" Leo thought. Although no one answered him, he knew that zombies don''t eat souls. As a dead walking flesh, Zombies crave flesh and blood, not souls. Turning around, Leo again fought the urge to bend down and puke and slowly approached the zombie in the distance, still having his invisibility activated. Soon, before he could approach the zombie in the distance, Leo suddenly saw a panel appear on top of the zombie''s head. Showing a sign of Level 2. "Level 2? Zombies could actually upgrade their level!?" Do I gain more EXP if I kill this zombie? "So what should I need to do to this zombie? Should I scare him to death?" Leo thought but quickly disregarded it, how could he make this brainless zombie afraid? Still, Leo tried to scare the struggling zombie in the distance but only to get ignored by it. ... Looking at the Silly ck circle of smoke that suddenly appeared in front of him, the zombie grunted a little before continuing to move forward, causing the ck circle of smoke in front of him to disperse in the surrounding area. Ding! [ Health reduce by 1! ] [ Health 11/12 ] What! "Did I just get injured upon being passed by the zombie!?" Shocked, the dispersed ck smoke quickly converges at one point beforepletely forming a newplete circle of ck smoke. The only difference between before he got hit by the zombie and now, is that the luster of smoke lessened considerably. "How could I get injured upon being passed by a zombie!?" Leo wanted to curse to the fissure above. The thought of being an almost immortal ghost instantly popped up like a bubble inside his head. He thought that as a ghost he would not be affected by a mere physical attack. Who would have thought that ghost is extremely fragile? A simple touch instantly disperses his smoke and injures him! Fortunately, the zombie simply passed through him, if not, his health would probably reduce drastically. ... "Still, how dare this mere walking dead flesh injure me!" Angered by his carelessness... Leo decided to put the me on the innocent zombie. Pledging to the fissure above to make the zombie pay for injuring him. Chapter 6: Zombie (2) In an instant, another two hours quickly passed by. Leo floated behind the zombie in silence. Completely vex. He already scared the zombie and made its luck bad, yet after two hours of waiting nothing of the sort happened... The only worth mentioning was that the zombie stumbled and fell to the ground minutes ago. "F*ck, how could this zombie be so lucky. Should I rely on my horror points to increase the level of my Jinx?" Other than his Jinx passive skill, Leo couldn''t think of anything that could affect and kill the Iplete Guy. "Sigh. I didn''t notice that being a ghost is actually difficult." Leo ces his imaginary hand below his imaginary chin, fighting the urge to upgrade and spend his horror points in order to deal with the zombie. As he was pondering about the possible option he could do in able to kill the zombie in front of him without spending his horror points. Another sound of grunting echoed in the distance. Don''t tell me... Leo quickly nced toward the intercross of the street meters away. Sure enough upon focusing his imaginary eyes, Leo caught sight of a staggering figure/zombie in the opposite street. This time,pared to the zombie beside him, the zombie in the distance doesn''t have any arms. "F*ck, another zombie!? I could not even deal with a single one yet another one appeared!" "This could not do." Gritting his teeth in impatience, Leo decided to go all out. Of course, he didn''t n to upgrade his Jinx for a while, afraid to really kill everyone he met due to them being unlucky. Opening his character panel, Leo decided to bet his luck on one of his skills the "Mist of Illusion". In essence, the zombie in front of him is still made of human flesh. In able to function even a little, it needed its brain to be functional reasoning for its brain to be its weakness. Since the zombie beside him requires its brain to function, it is also required to take/breathe air for a while even if it''s a little to make its brain functional. The only problem with using this skill is the consumption of mana, Leo has no idea if his mana pool is enough to cause the zombie besides him to hallucinate. If not, then he could only rely on his horror points to deal with the zombie. "It should be working," Leo grumbled as he activated the skill, causing his mana to instantly reduce by two leaving him with 13...no, 12.9 mana points as it constantly reduces his mana by 0.1 per second if he didn''t deactivate the skill. At the same time after activating the skill. mist of gray fog immediately gushed out inside his body, instantly making the surrounding area foggy. GRUNNTT? Upon seeing the sudden appearance of the fog, the zombie beside Leo looked around in puzzlement. Upon seeing that no sign of a living being around, the zombie again grunts and continues walking forward. *** How long has it been since I started following this Zombie around? Leo asked himself, looking at the fissure in the sky with dull eyes. Yesterday or another yesterday, Leo remembered that he cast his skill "Mist of Illusion", to the zombie beside him. Surprisingly, the result of the skill was out of his expectation. Itpletely failed! Although they need air to function, the air they inhale is too little every time they breathe causing him to run out of mana before the Mist of Illusion affects the zombies! Yes, Zombies. Leo didn''t know the reason why, but the zombie (without arms) he met before decided to tag along with them! Are they going to create a horde one day? Sign... Nevermind. This is really problematic. Leo muttered to himself as he opened his skill tree with a heavy heart, directly upgrading his Soul Constriction to the maximum level in one go! Ding! [ Upgrading the Soul Constriction to level 2 would cost 100 horror points. (ept/Declined) ] Ding! The skill Soul Constriction sessfully upgraded to level 2! Ding! The skill Soul Construction sessfully upgraded to level 4! [ Upgrading the Soul Construction to level 5 (max) would cost 1000 horror points. (ept/Declined) ] With a bleeding heart, Leo epted the deal and upgraded his skill to level 5, instantly reducing his original 2,240 horror points to 390 horror points. Upgrading his Soul Constricted skill from level 1 to level 5 (max) cost him a total of a staggering 1,850 horror points! Once poor again, Leo checked the new description of the skill upon upgrading to the maximum level. Ding! [ Constricted Soul (Lvl 5): Permanently increase the soul power by 10 and strength by 0.5. Upgrade skill: None. Already on maximum level. Note: The first step towards every sessful ghost. ] ... [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion ___ Attributes ___ Level: 2( 3/20 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 2 Health: 12/12 Mana: 20/20 Strength: 0.6 (0.5) Speed: 6 Magic Power: 9 Soul Power: 27 (10) (Increase mana by 5 every 20 soul power.) Skills: Invisibility (Lvl1), Mist of Illusion (Lvl1), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5) ] [ Tree Talent ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory ] ... Seeing the high increase in his soul power and the additional increase in his mana pool, Leo smiled at the zombies with malicious intent. With the new increase in his stats, he was quite confident dealing with the two zombies around. Without wasting enough time, Leo instantly activated his Mist Illusion skill which heavily rely on his soul power for its strength. Instantly after activating the skill, a thick gray of miasma appeared in the surroundings, encircling the two zombies within. "Hahahaha! Let me see if I could deal with you two!" Leoughed crazily as he waited for the skill to take effect on the zombies beside him. When that happened, it would be the real start of the show. *** Author Note: It is been 5-6 days since the WPC started and It''s also been 6 days since I started to upload my new novel. Although there might be some minor problems with the grammar, If you find some please remind me so I can avoid the problem in the future. Chapter 7: Killing A Zombie! "Hahahaha! Let me see if I could finally deal with you two!" Leoughed crazily as he waited for the skill to take effect on the zombies beside him. When that happened, it would be the real start of the show. With his current mana pool, his skill "Mist of Illusion" couldst for more than three minutes, by then he was sure that the two zombies beside him would fall under its effect! Giggle... Giggling about the thought that the zombies would be gone by today, Leo started to watch the zombies beside him with interest. He wanted to see what kind of effect would bring the skill to the zombies! ... Soon, 20 seconds passed by... Every five seconds, the zombies inside the white mist would intake a small amount of mist. Entering their nostrils and quickly traveling to their brains. Grunt? Leo stared at the zombie beside him with great expectation, although not much major happened in thest 20 seconds after the skill was activated Leo could feel that the mist already started to sip inside their brain. He even saw the zombies exchanging a couple of nces with each other... Although it was weird to see them exchanging nces, the excitement inside Leo didn''t subside even a little bit. Soon another minute passed by and Leo''s mana pool further decreased by another 6, leaving him with only 10 mana points in his mana pool. However, although his mana continuously decreasing, Leo doesn''t seem to notice it since his whole attention is focused on the two zombies in front of him. He didn''t know what kind of things they were currently seeing that caused them to droll while looking at each other. However, only one thing is for sure, they finally had fallen under the skill effect! GRUNTT!!? *** It had been a minute since the gray mist appeared, the two zombies as usual looked around in confusion before continuing on their journey. Grunt? The zombie with an iplete neck suddenly grunts. The mist in the surrounding area suddenly receded beforepletely banishing in its line of sight. Revealing the clear blue skies in the sky... That was devoid of fissures or gloominess that the present holds. The air carried a certain amount of vitality causing the iplete zombie to greedily inhale the air as its blood started toe back to life... unbeknownst to the iplete zombie, as seconds passed by, as it intake arge amount of air, the color of the surroundings became more vivid. At the same time as the iplete zombie was greedily inhaling the air, the zombie (without arms) beside him suddenly changed its appearance without him noticing or to be exact he noticed it but he waspletely focused on absorbing the vitality in the air... As if he was addicted to it. Grunt? At one time, the iplete zombie suddenly stops inhaling the mist as it notices that the vitality seems to vanish in the air and move inside the human beside him. GRUNTT! Greatly angered. Seeing the suddenplete appearance of a human beside him, the zombie without any question instinctively opened his disgusting red dry mouth and bit the armless zombie''s neck aggressively. Surprised by the sudden attack, the armless zombie didn''t have time to evade causing it to fall toward the ground, on top of him was the iplete zombie gnawing on its neck aggressively. Leo who saw everything that happened couldn''t help but to divert his gaze away from the zombies. Fighting the urge to flee and puke. He couldn''t help but feel a deep chill inside him as he started to wonder what they saw that caused them to eat each other. "I should use this skill with great caution," Leo thought heavily. GRUNTT!! Gruntttt... Upon hearing the intense sounds behind him, Leo closed his imaginary eyes and covered his imaginary ears in fear and disgust at seeing their action. Although it ispletely useless since he is in incorporeal form, it lessens his fear by quite an amount. Soon, another minute passed by. The grunting sound behind him lessened drastically and was reced by another sound of gnawing flesh. However, although the iplete zombie began eating the armless zombie, Leo could still hear the armless zombie grunting... Indicating that it was still alive. "That was scary! This skill is crazy!! How could they eat each other!?" With a newfound fear in his Mist Illusion skill, Leo impatiently waited for another 2 minutes to finally hear a notification that indicated that the armless zombie was finally dead... really dead. Sighing in relief, Leo checked the notification that suddenly appeared in his line of sight. Ding! [ Congrattions for contributing to killing a Level 3 zombie! ] + 3 exp! [ Congrattions for Indirectly killing a monster for the first time! ] + 1000 horror points! ... Ohh? Leo raised his brows in surprise upon seeing the additional horror points that appeared on the rewards. ''Doing almost anything for the first time seems to grant me additional rewards." After pondering for a few seconds, Leo decided to increase the level of his Mist Illusion skill by one, costing him 50 horror points in the process. Making his stash of horror points back to 1,340 horror points! Satisfied about the little increase in his skill strength, Leo nced at his back (to the dead zombie on the ground) in curiosity. Gulp! With a single nce, Leo shuddered instantly as he immediately closed his imaginary eyes and diverted his gaze away. Although he didn''t manage to see everything, just a single nce from behind already made him shudder. The iplete zombie didn''t ever spare a bone! Soon, after a full 5 minutes of waiting, the effects of the skill finally wore off... The zombie who has woken up from the hallucination didn''t even look confused or dazed when the armless zombie suddenly vanished beside him as it again continued moving forward without any direction... "Sigh, although they are zombies(monster), I still felt pity for their intelligence," Sighing deeply, Leo again floated behind the zombie, continuing following its journey to find a real human living being. *** Chapter 8: Horde Leo opened his eyes as he scanned the surrounding area in puzzlement. He just rested his mental health for a while, yet after just two hours of resting, the sound of a seemingly giant marching in their direction woke him up. Although he was not required to sleep, as a former human he still wanted to in order to maintain his humanity. Looking beside him, he immediately saw the iplete zombie banging his head towards the wall. Surprisingly, even if he m his head towards the wall it was still intact... In fact, he even saw the wall crack slightly every time it banged its head toward it. "What happened?" Leo thought as he nced toward the gloomy horizon, in the far distance on the road, from the ssless building he was currently in. Squinting his eyes, Leo saw a discernible many small figures walking in their direction from the distance. "F*ck where did theye from!" Leo suddenly shouted inside his mind. Even though the horde is still far away, Leo knows what they are. Zombies! Hordes of zombies! Probably at hundreds! Leo stared heavily into the iing zombies. He didn''t know what they were up to, however, he could feel that they were up to no good. Don''t tell me... Is it a coincidence or not? Leo''s eyes widen at the possible guess that suddenly came out inside his head. ''Yesterday, the iplete and armless zombies were moving in the same direction... The same direction where the horde ising.'' "Don''t tell me they could track humans/living beings down!" Leo excitedly thought as he, atst, could finally meet a human being! However, after a few seconds, his smile didn''tst long upon seeing hundreds of zombies in the distance. ''What is the point of finally meeting one when they are going to die on the same day I met them?'' However, would I be willing to let the chance slip off? I have been waiting for days and months, why would I let them die and give up? Leo''s eyes flicker with a glint as he passes through the wall beside him. The iplete zombie, after mming its head toward the wall, finally manages to destroy it and starts to walk into the horde. *** As he unhurriedly makes his way to the horde in the distance, Leo opens his interference to check his progress and to upgrade one of his skills. [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion ___ Attributes ___ Level: 2( 8/20 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 2 Health: 12/12 Mana: 20/20 Strength: 0.6 (0.5) Speed: 6 Magic Power: 9 Soul Power: 27 (10) (Increase mana by 5 every 20 soul power.) Skills: Invisibility (Lvl1), Mist of Illusion (Lvl2), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5) ] [ Tree Talent ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory ] ... Ding! [ Do you want to upgrade the Level 2 "Mist of Illusion" to Level 3 "Mist of Illusion." ? ( ept/ Delined).] - 200 horror points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading the "Mist of Illusion" to Level 3! ] Ding! [ Mist of Illusion (level 3): Release a constant stream of white fog in the surrounding area that obstructs the vision of beings within the area of effects. Beings who inhale the fog for a set period of time would start hallucinating ( The effect depends on how high the soul power of the host is! ) Activation: 1 mana. An additional 0.1 mana would be consumed every second if the skill is still activated. Upgrade cost: 400 horror points. Note: The user could partially control the illusion based on what the user wants, but it would cost Mana! ] *** Soon, after flying for 5 full minutes, Leo finally could clearly see the hordes of zombies walking toward the unknown. Hundreds of walking flesh, red-stained tattered cloths, empty eye sockets, dangling limbs, and protruding bones. Leo could even faintly see the fat white worms munching on what was left on the open injuries of the zombies. If Leo has a nose and could smell right now. Without a doubt, he would find the smell divine. With a grave expression, Leo floated above the horde (Less than a meter away) before activating his level 3 "Miss of Illusion" skill. "I just hope that they would act simr to yesterday''s iplete zombie. Falling under the effects of the skill before killing each other." Just as Leo activated the skill, a sudden unexpected fast blur appeared on his back. It is so fast that he only notices it toote. Feeling the great danger brought by it, Leo turned his head only to see the fast-approaching sharp ws like a dagger heading toward his body. Swishh!! Without time to react, the sharp w entered Leo''s body, unimpeded before dispersing the ck smoke in the air. Ding! -5 health... Ugh!! Leo groaned in pain, as his body/soul started to converge in one ce. However, before the smoke couldpletely merge into one, the familiar fast blur from earlier again appeared beside him. It was so fast that Leo didn''t even manage to see the appearance of the attacker. This time, feeling the impending death, Leo forces himself to think and activates his invisibility skill before diving toward the ground... Boom! Crack! Just after entering the ground, the concrete above him cracked and was destroyed due to the attack of the attacker. Ding! -2 Health points! Ugh! Leo gritted his imaginary teeth in pain as he rushed forward, away from the horde... For some reason, Leo couldn''t dive too deep into the ground, he could only dive up to 5 meters before charging/bumping into a solid wall. After moving away under the ground for a minute without deactivating his invisibility skill, Leo finally emerges from the ground. Entering one of the buildings. "What the f*ck, what kind of entity is that! I almost died." Leo gasped inside his head as he peeked outside the building, only to see the horde still moving in one direction. "Who just attacked me!?" Leo asked inside his mind as he scanned the horde of zombies on the ground. Most of their levels range from 1 to 4, asionally he could see some levels 5 and above zombies on their mids but their number is only minority. After scanning their levels, Leo sighed deeply in disappointment. He still could not find who attacked him earlier. *** Chapter 9: Hunting for Experience! ... Resting and at the same time tailing the horde of zombies for a couple of hours Leo finally manages to heal his soul. Bringing his health back to maximum. Sighing deeply in relief, Leo still didn''t abandon his n to kill some of the zombies within the horde. Although it is quite dangerous, in able to save his hope and to gain strength(Exp) he strengthens his resolve and approaches the zombies at the back of the horde. This time, learning from his previous mistake he silently activated his invisibility skill in advance before floating cautiously toward the marching zombies in the distance... As for going/hiding to the ground before activating his skill "Mist of Illusion", Leo already tried that but unfortunately, it never worked. Although he could still activate the skill underground, the gray mist only remained underground (couldn''t prate the ground) not affecting the zombie above ground. Cautiously approaching the zombies on the back of the horde while maintaining a close distance toward the ground. Ready to slip under it if someone attacks him, Leo slightly at ease finally releases his "Mist Illusion" skill. Shhhh... At the back of the horde, a sudden cold white thick mist appeared out of nowhere, quickly enveloping an area and lowering the vision of the zombies within. Grunt? grunt... Grunt!! The zombies as usual, brainless, looked at the surroundings in confusion for a moment before continuing forward. Soon, 10 quick seconds passed by. Leo''s mana pool already decreased at an rming rate. 0.2 mana per second due to using two skills consecutively! Even though his mana has already been reduced by 3 points Leo seems not to mind. With his "Mist Illusion" skill being upgraded to level 3 the strength of the skill increases by a good amount. Hehehe, just a little more... In an instant, another 30 seconds passed by. As Leo started to get confused as to why there were still no changes toward the zombies inside the mist, a sudden thud sound entered his senses. Thud... Ssh, ssh... "What the heck?" Leo''s imaginary eyes widened as he stared at the zombie on the ground meters away from him. Its face carried a silly smile as it suddenly moved like a fish out of water, causing the zombie on its back to trip over it and fall to the ground. Like a domino effect. The zombies within the "Mist of Illusion" started to act strange. One of the zombies suddenly dances in hip-hop, while one of the zombies detaches its dangling arm on its shoulder just to use it like a sword, stabbing the other zombie with his bone before eventually stabbing its head. Heck, he even saw someone punching their fellow zombie like he was punching a punching bag. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Level 3 zombie! ] +5 Exp! [ Congrattions on killing a monster on your own for the first time! ] + 1000 horror points! "What..." Leo''s mouth created a big O-shape upon seeing the strangeness that was currently happening around him. The strangeness quickly escted and created chaos within the skill. Causing more and more zombies to fall deeper under the effect of the skill! *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully killing a Level 4 zombie] Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting in killing a Level 3 zombie! ] +5 Exp points! +3 Exp points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon upgrading to level 3! ] Leo who was watching everything unfold in front of him, suddenly came back to his senses when the familiar metal hitting metal rang inside his head. "Did my level increase?", Surprised, Leo nned to open his interface to see the increase in his stats when suddenly, a dangerous feeling gripped his soul. Not Good! I didn''t notice that I ran out of Mana! Shocked upon noticing that his "Invisibility" and "Mist of Illusion" skills deactivated on their own. Leo who was feeling quite empty, immediately rushed and dived toward the ground. Just as he dives toward the ground, someone or something big hits the concrete above him, leaving a huge pit in the ground. -2 health. "F**k how could he/she be fast!?", Leo groaned in pain as he rushed to the building a hundred meters away from the horde. Emerging from the ground, Leo first scanned his surrounding area beforeing out. Looking at his ck smoke color that was reduced by a little, Leo sighed heavily. ''I should carefully watch my mana consumption. If I''m in the middle of the battle and lose all my mana without me noticing it, I might... really die.'' "Still, who the f**k is that monster that always hits me!'' Leo curses inside his head. Gritting his teeth in anger, Leo prayed that he wouldn''t know who had attacked him just now or else... Sigh, this couldn''t continue, my mana consumption is too much... Even my 20 mana points couldn''tst long after activating two of my skills. After pondering for a while, Leo decided to directly upgrade his "Invisibility" to Level 3 and his "Mist of Illusion" to Level 4. He remembered that upgrading his skills not only increased their strength by amount but also lowered their mana consumption after activating! ... Ding! [ Do you want to upgrade your skills "Invisibility" to Level 3 and "Mist of Illusion" to Level 4? (ept/Declined) ] "ept!'' -550 horror points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading your skills "Invisibility" to Level 3 and "Mist of Illusion" to Level 4! ] *** Ding! [ Invisibility (Level 3): Enter the Invisibility mode in exchange for a meager amount of mana! Activation: 0.1 mana per 1.5 seconds. Upgrade cost: 200 horror points! Note: A must-skill for a ghost! ] Ding! [ Mist of Illusion (level 4): Release a constant stream of white fog in the surrounding area that obstructs the vision of beings within the area of effects. Beings who inhale the fog for a period of time would start hallucinating ( The effect depends on how high the soul power of the host is! ) Activation: 1 mana. An additional 0.1 mana would be consumed every 1.5 seconds if the skill is still activated. Upgrade cost: 800 horror points. Note: The user could partially control the illusion based on what the user wants, but it would cost Mana! ] Chapter 10: Types of Ghost. *** [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion ___ Attributes ___ Level: 4( 10/40 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 6 Health: 18/18 ( Increase by two per Level ) Mana: 25/25 ( Increase by five every 2 Levels ) Strength: 0.6 (0.5) Speed: 7 ( Increase by one per Level ) Magic Power: 12 ( Increase by one per Level ) Soul Power: 33 (10) ( Increase by two per Level ) Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 3), Mist of Illusion (Lvl4), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1) [ Tree Talent ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory ] ... Horror points - 2500 ( Gains for killing 10 zombies for the first time! ) ... Leo smiled slightly upon seeing his improvement in the past few days of ying hide and seek with that d*mn monster while killing zombies in the process. Too bad he still couldn''t see the other party''s appearance due to its speed. He even suffered too much yesterday, almost costing him his life due to his carelessness! Fortunately, It wouldn''t be long and he would be able to kill dozens of them! As for why he was confident in himself, Leo quickly checked the new skill he received from the Skill Tree when he upgraded to Level 4! [ Decayed Aura: Decreased the Vitality of beings around the host for a small amount causing them to quickly get sick and worsen their hidden injury. It also reduces the healing speed of the being in the surroundings of the host! Activation: Passive Upgrade cost: 250 Note: Don''t be surprised, you''re a ghost remember? ] Leo smiled lightly upon reading the note below as memories regarding ghosts resurfaced inside his head. It already be his hobby for the past few days, reviewing his memory to keep his sanity in check. Although it is notmon, in his memory he often saw a post and notes regarding the existence of Ghosts on the inte in the past. After a being dies people often believe that their souls are either going to heaven or hell to receive their punishment and rewards for the deeds they did when they were still alive. However, it is also believed that there are some rare cases where the deceased soul harbored deep resentment and will, causing them to create an anchor to the Earth that caused them to be unable to rest eternally and go to either heaven or hell. Those souls who were stuck on Earth thus be a ghost, evil entities, or spirits. Ghosts, in essence, often carried deep desires and regrets that they wanted to aplish when they were still alive. Although not too dangerous and would not initiate to hurt someone. People still felt deep fear in their presence. Since they are ghosts who often carry deep desires and regrets, people often see them in some ce, doing the things they regret and desire when they are still alive. The mostmon ghosts in the Philippines that he heard so far before the apocalypse are "The white Lady at Balete Drive", "Child Spirit in Call Center", and "The Headless Priest." On the other hand, Evil Spirits also known as Evil Ghosts are infamous for their presence that brings "Bad Luck", "Disease," and, "The Aura of Death" to anyone close to it. Instead of carrying desires and regret... They carried deep resentment towards anything that made them remember their darkest past... As for what their past is, only those Evil Ghosts know. Leo remembered in one of the posts that Evil Spirits were created due to their intense emotions of Anger and Resentment before they died... While thest one which is called "Spirits". Leo actually doesn''t have much knowledge regarding this one. He only knew that they have a very... Very strong soul! They also didn''t rely on Desires, Regrets, and Intense Resentment to stay on Earth at all. They solely rely on their soul power to establish an anchor to Earth and stay! ... Stay forcefully... Sigh... "Am I a Ghost, Evil Entities, or Spirits?" Leo pondered as he ced one of his tendrils below his(Circle ck Smoke) in habit. Truth to be told, Leo really had no idea what kind of Ghost he was. He is neither a Ghost nor an Evil Spirit, Although he has both characteristics of the two Ghosts, Leo doesn''t have desires or regrets nor does he have deep enmity and hatred to be one of those. As for Spirits, Although he had 15 points of soul power at the start, Leo believed that it was still far from the real stats of real spirits! "Sigh... Am I having an identity crisis?" Leo joked to himself as he stared at the fissure in the sky before casting his gaze toward the horde of zombies hundreds of meters away. "How long it would take for us to finally meet a human being? My hopes are slowly crumbling down..." Leo sighed deeply within... After thinking for a while, Leo activated his invisibility skill before floating toward the horde. Hopefully, after killing dozens of zombies they would finally reach their destination. *** Ding! Ding! Ding! +11 Exp points! [ Congrattions on sessfully killing your first 10 monsters! ] + 2 Free Stats points! Leo deactivated his "Mist Illusion" skill as he familiarly slipped to the ground before finding a building not far away to hide. Upon emerging to the ground, Leo again deactivated his "Invisibility" skill before sighing in relief and began resting. Checking the notification he just received, Leo''s smile widens a little as he obtains free attribute points for killing 10 zombies for the first time! "Hahaha, who would have thought that "Decayed Aura" are zombies nemesis?" Leoughed out loud as he remembered how the zombie''s injury worsened as time passed by. Although the process is quite slow he''s still satisfied with its effect. Still, the speed of my killing rate for the past few days is still too small. It''s almost been a week since Leo started tailing the hordes, yet, so far he only managed to kill 10 of them while he managed to injure dozens of them. ''I stillcked an offense skill... as for the "Mist of Illusion" Although its effect is amazing, the hallucination is random.'' Leo silently thought although he could manipte the hallucination to a certain extent, doing it cost him mana points! He already tried using it yesterday on the zombies... and the effect is that he almost died because he suddenly and identally ran out of mana in the middle of activation! ... Chapter 11: Survivor from a far. ... sh! Cling! Spark flew up as a short sword emitting a weak white light shed toward the bronze-skinned zombie at the front. However, surprisingly, the sh only leaves a shallow wound on the zombie''s body. Feeling nothing, the bronze-skinned zombie continued its attack, raising his hand to swipe while asionally opening its mouth wide in an attempt to bite the attacker. Unfortunately, with the speed of the attacker, it always manages to evade the zombie''s attack in time. Die! sh! Soon after minutes of intense fighting, the sharp sword finally prated the head of the bronze zombie, leaving a hole in its head that was gushing with gooey white fluid. Thud! +10 Exp points! Seeing that the bronze-skinned zombie is finally dead, the young man at the age of mids 20 and wearing light armor wiped the sweat on his forehead. With a grave look, he cast his gaze toward the far distance in the north. There, he saw hordes of hordes of zombies walking in his general direction. With a heavy heart. ncing for a second time, the young man turned around and rushed toward the south without looking back. "Where did those zombiese from?" He thought for a while as he fastened his speed, moving to the high building thousands of meters away. As soon as he reaches the front of the building, the young man slightly bends his knees and jumps, causing the concrete below him to dent slightly. With a single jump, the young man reached the rooftop of the building. With a light move, he descends to the floor of the rooftop and immediately looks at the corner of the rooftop. "What is the situation in the North-West?" The young man said in a deep voice, not hiding the grave expression on his face. As soon as he finished speaking an exhausted voice entered his ears. "Not good... there are thousands of zombies heading towards our camp. Although most of them are below level 20 there are a couple of them that reach the Foundation Level 1 and above." Pausing slightly to catch his breath, the exhausted voice continued. "How about the north?" The young man sighed deeply upon hearing the news before replying. "It is the same as the North-West... What should we do? Do we need to relocate?" "No, It is useless. It is best if we reduce their number as much as possible before they reach the settlement." Thinking for a moment, the young man nodded his head gravely before dashing towards another direction where theirpanions were investigating. *** Leo transverses silently inside the hordes of zombies while his "Mist of Illusion" is still activated. It has been 4 days since he received the free 2 attribute points from his first 10 kills of the zombies, so far life is still boring for current Leo. His only hobbies so far are his memories from the past, his progress, and watching zombies fall under the effect of his skill (Watching them act strangely. ). Although he was quite tired and bored, he still harbored hope inside him. Ding! +4 Exp points! As he was pondering deep within, a sudden sh of light caught his attention. Meters away from him, Leo saw that besides the really dead zombie(Literally dead) a white scroll came out from within, giving off a sh of weak light in the surroundings. Curious about the sudden appearance of the scroll, Leo approaches the light before extending his tendril and lightly touching the scroll with it. Ding! [ Congrattions upon receiving a white skill scroll! Please check your inbox for information! ] "Ehh?" Upon touching the scroll, Leo was startled to notice that the scroll banished to the thin air as if it never existed in the first ce. If not for the notification that appeared in front of him, he would even believe that he was under the effect of his skill! Surprised upon seeing something new, Leo immediately opened his interface before locking at the inventory below. Ding! [ Build up Stamina (Umon) - Increased the stamina of a being by 2 per level of the skill. Activation: Permanent. Upgrade Cost: 1 Skill Point! Note: A skill that is umonly found upon killing stamina-based beings! ( Couldn''t be learned.) ] "Wait... I could find skills by killing monsters?" Leo''s imaginary mouth gaped a little upon learning the simple fact. However, instantly upon seeing the note below, his anticipation of finally having a chance to learn a new skill vanished into thin air. "What kind of scroll is this? Why couldn''t I learn this skill!!" Leo cursed inside his mind when he saw the "Couldn''t be leaned" on the note. It is because I''m a ghost? Isn''t this too unfair? Infuriated that he couldn''t learn the skill, Leo closed the inventory of the system as he inhaled arge amount of air to calm his nerves down ( Don''t ask me, he did it mentally ). As he was prepared to deactivate his "Mist of Illusion" skill and slip underground to go to the building to rest, a sudden sound of sparks followed by a loud thud entered his senses. Looking at the front horde, Leo could faintly see themotion happening there. Bang! Thud! As if something entered the senses of the zombies around him. The zombies around him instantly seem to get injected with adrenaline and suddenly rush towards the origin of the sounds. Ding! -2 health points! -2 health points! "What the..." Leo''s soul body suddenly got dispersed to the surroundings when the zombies beyond him identally hit his body of smoke. He still didn''t even manage to converge when another zombie ran into the smoke. Damn, what is happening! Leo cursed inside his head as intense pain hit him when his smoke got dispersed. Gritting his imaginary teeth, Leo rushed underground before moving to one of the nearest buildings in the surroundings. Sighing in relief, Leo emerges to the ground before floating to the top of the house. He wanted to find out what kind ofmotion was happening in the front line of the hordes. Floating unhurriedly, Leo moved from house to building, slowly approaching the front of the hordes where the fight sound originated. Using it to hide his presence as his mana still had not recovered. Soon, after minutes of cautiously approaching, Leo finally could see themotion that was happening in front. *** Author''s Note: Dadadan... Finally, I managed to upload 11 chapters in a couple of days of my new novel! Thank you all for supporting my novel! ... Chapter 12: Above Normal Level ... What the... Just as Leo phrases through the wall, a loud clinging sound suddenly echoes near him followed by the sparks hitting his soul body. Although the attack is not directed at him, Leo still took quite a damage. -5 health Leo groaned in pain as he immediately retrieved his body and phrase back through the solid wall before quickly activating his "Invisibility" skill. ''What is that?'' Leo takes a deep breath mentally as he calms down his aching soul. Just as he nned to take another look outside, the solid wall beside him suddenly crumbled as a huge object/being was smashed through it. Shocked by the sudden intrusion, Leo stared at the gravel meters away from him where the being got smashed to the floor. Lying there, a pale yellowish human simr to a cadaver could be seen lying there quietly, Its full white eyes devoid of irises and emotionlessly stared at the ceiling of the building, its thoughts were unknown. Raising its arms, Leo could see the sharp nails that almost reached 12 inches long revealing a metallic gleam as it stood up unhurriedly. "What the..." [ Hunter Zombie: Foundation Level 5 ] Leo stared at the information that appeared on top of the head of the zombie in shock and horror. "Shoot... is that the one who always hit me!" Just as Leo turned around to flee, afraid that the zombie would notice him, a sudden fast figure suddenly appeared in front of the yellowish zombie and hit it, causing it to take a step back. Boom! Bang! "What the... Don''t fight here!" Leo shouted inside his head as he quickly phrases through the wall beside him. Moving through the wall, Leo didn''t forget to take a nce behind him to see the attacker of the zombie. Tilting his imaginary head, Leo saw a two-meter gray wolf brandishing its ws toward the zombie''s body in the fastest way, but only leaving shallow wounds in the process. Ding! Ding! Ding! sh! Sparks of fire flew towards the air as the wolf shed at the zombie in front of him. The zombie overwhelmed raises its sharp nails and swats the wolf in front of him in vain. Fast! Leo''s imaginary eyes constricted upon seeing the speed of the wolf. Every time the zombie''s sharp nails approach the body of the wolf, the wolf would slightly, unimaginably tilt its body to evade. Wait... What, that is not a wolf but a cat! Leo suddenly curses inside his head upon seeing the description on the top of the seemingly wolf in astonishment. [ Household Cat: Foundation Level 7 ] "F**k, how could be that a household cat! "That is fuc**ing two-meter tall wolf! It is better to say that this is a dominator cat!" Leo silently cursed as he moved forward to the nearest rooftop building, not far away from the fight, afraid that they would hit him identally. He wanted to see how the fight between the two would end. *** Floating above the rooftop of the building near the fight, Leo stared gravely at the ruble in the distance before casting his gaze toward the mindless zombies in the surrounding area. With seemingly red eyes that were aze, dozens of zombies rushed toward the two-meter cat that was currently fighting the yellowish zombie in the ruble, but only to get crushed by the ws of the cat as if they were a piece of paper. He even saw a Level 10 zombie get cut in half without clearly seeing how the cats moved. "..." Leo felt shivers inside him, thinking how would he survive if the cat attacked him... ''Wait why am I thinking that, I could only barely manage to escape that yellowish zombie''s attack, yet, I still wanted to add that cat to my problem!?'' Shaking his head, Leo suddenly saw a sh of weak green light amidst the surge and attack of the zombies. ''Green scroll?'' Leo thought instinctively as he saw a green scroll lying on the ground not far away from the two-meter cat and the yellowish zombie. Quite tempted, Leo lowered his altitude, only two meters away from the ground as he stared at the green scroll in the distance. "White(umon) scroll is not learnable for me but what about the green one?" Leo asks inside his head as he hesitates whether to risk himself to get the scroll or not. He still didn''t forget that hecked an offensive skill. Although he still could kill zombies for a while, his skills "Mist of Illusion" and "Decayed Aura" are not dependable since their effect is either random or slow. Gritting his teeth, Leo decided to risk it as he opened his character panel to upgrade some of his skills. ... [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion ___ Attributes ___ Level: 5( 38/50 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 10 Health: 20/20 ( Increase by two per Level ) Mana: 25/25 ( Increase by five every 2 Levels ) Strength: 0.6 (0.5) Speed: 8 ( Increase by one per Level ) Magic Power: 13 ( Increase by one per Level ) Soul Power: 35 (10) ( Increase by two per Level ) Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 3), Mist of Illusion (Lvl4), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1) [ Tree Talent ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory ] ... [ 2,500 horror points! ] ... Ding! [ Do you want to upgrade your "Invisibility (Level 3)" and "Mist of Illusion (Level 4)" to Level 5? Note: Upgrading the two would cost 1,400 horror points! ( ept/Declined ) ] Sighing deeply Leo didn''t hesitate further as he immediately upgraded the skills. Bringing his original 2,500 horror points to 1,100 points. Still not done, Leo used his 10 free attribute points, directly increasing his soul power to 43 and speed to 10 ( Causing his mana to increase by another 5 points). *** Ding! [ Invisibility (Level 5): Enter the Invisibility mode in exchange for a meager amount of mana! Activation: 0.1 mana per 5 seconds. Upgrade cost: Already at maximum! Note: A must-skill for a ghost! ] Ding! [ Mist of Illusion (level 5): Release a constant stream of thick white fog in the surrounding area that greatly obstructs the vision and senses of beings within the area of effects. Beings who inhale the fog for a short period of time would start hallucinating ( The effect depends on how high the soul power of the host is! ) Activation: 0.5 mana. An additional 0.1 mana would be consumed every 3 seconds if the skill is still activated. Upgrade cost: Already at maximum! Note: The user could partially control the illusion based on what the user wants, but it would cost a small amount of Mana! ] Great! ... Chapter 13: Level 10 and Class Job! (1) Not bad! Leo grins slightly upon feeling the increase in his soul power and skills. Without further ado, Leo instantly activated his max level "Invisibility" skill as he gushed toward the green scroll on the ground, leaving a ck trail of smoke behind. 100 meters. 70 meters. 30 meters. After seeing that the green scroll was only 10 meters away from him, Leo instantly activated his "Mist Illusion" skill, quickly encircling the area with thick gray fog along with the countless zombies, the fighting yellowish zombie and cat inside. Before the upgrade of the "Mist of Illusion" skill Leo could only release the smoke up to 5 meters away from him but now that he already upgraded it to the maximum level enclosing an area of 10-15 meters is not a problem at all! Soon, just as the gray mist appeared in the surrounding area, the reckless zombies seemed to calm down a bit as if their senses decreased by amount. Although they calm down a bit, they still continue moving/marching toward the two-meter cat in the distance. As for the fighting Cat and the Yellowish zombie, Although they notice the sudden appearance of gray fog, they are too focused on fighting each other to care about the surroundings. Causing them to directly ignore the insignificant threat of the fog. Leo upon arriving two meters away from the scroll unhindered, excitedly manipted his ck smoke of tendril toward the green scroll. 2 meters... 1 meter... 0.5 meter... The excitement within him couldn''t be contained anymore when the green scroll was within his reach. Smiling within, as soon as he was about to grab the green scroll on the ground a zombie with a single eye identally hit his body causing his body to disperse. Ding! -2 health. "Damn, It''s already within my reach!" Leo cursed inside his head as he forcefully fastened the process of converging the smoke that he only learned right now. ''Damn, it is actually possible? Why didn''t I try it earlier?'' Leo thought, ming his ipetence. Quickly forming his body back, Leo immediately touched the scroll on the ground with his ck tendril. Soon, after anxiously waiting for 4 seconds, the sound of notification finally rang inside his head followed by the disappearance of the green scroll on the ground. Ding! [ Congrattions upon receiving a green skill scroll! Please check your inbox for information... ] Smiling happily, Leo was about to slip underground when suddenly a sound of the wind entered his senses followed by the fast-flying figure of the yellowish zombie passing through him. Swish! Thud! As if someone cut all its strings, the zombie flew lifelessly toward the distance before heavily hitting the ground. Surprised, Leo stared at the lifeless yellowish zombie on the ground, his imaginary mouth was wide agape. He never expected that the strong zombie would die just like that. Isn''t that too fast? Not even 3 minutes passed by! As he was feeling scared shitlessly inside a sudden string of notifications rang inside his mind,pletely waking him up in the process. Ding! [ Congrattions for slightly contributing to killing a Foundation Level 5 zombie! (Weakening his senses, causing weak hallucinations, and lowering his sight/vision.) ] + 500 Exp Points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon upgrading to Level 6! ] [ Congrattions upon ... ] [ Congrattions upon ... ] [ Congrattions upon upgrading to Level 10! ] [ Sessfully unlocking the Job/ss, please choose the ss/job carefully since changing it would be extremely hard! ] Ding! [ Congrattions for sessfully assisting in killing a foundation beast for the first time! ] +10,000 horror points! ... Wha...what! Leo shouted inside his mind, couldn''t believe that he received a huge amount of Exp and Horror points in one go. Not only that... ''Hahaha... Now he''s dead, he''s finally dead. I could finally be slightly at ease when hunting zombies in the future!'' Leo happily dances inside his mind as he slips underground, quickly running in the distance. Seems to forget the reason why he was killing the zombie in the first ce. As he was running Leo heard another couple of notifications inside him, indicating that he contributed to dozens of zombies'' deaths. Due to that, Leo received another amount of Exp and Free attribute points for assisting 10 deaths for the first time. *** Emerging from the ground and entering the familiar building, Leo heaved a sigh of relief, calming down his boiling soul. It could be said, that this was the very first time he felt alive for the past few days! After a full minute of organizing his thoughts and grinning crazily, Leo finally managed to calm down and immediately summoned his character panel. Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: (!!!) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion ___ Attributes ___ Level: 10( 126/200 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 12 Health: 28/30 ( Increase by two per Level ) Mana: 24/45 ( Increase by five every 2 Levels ) Strength: 0.6 (0.5) Speed: 15 ( Increase by one per Level ) Magic Power: 18 ( Increase by one per Level ) Soul Power: 53 (10) ( Increase by two per Level ) Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 5), Mist of Illusion (Lvl5), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1) [ Tree Talent ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory ] ... Horror points: 11,100. ... Gasping inwardly, Leo stared at his character panel in a stupefied manner. The digit of attributes, the high number of his soul power, and horror points. ''Gosh, I''m rich and strong!'' Sighing deep within with mixed emotions, Leo clicked the new addition on his character panel in anticipation. "Would I finally get a ss?" As soon as he clicked the job ss, the screen in front of him changed a couple of times before showing a long list of choices that caused Leo to gasp. Ding! [ Due to the action of the host for the past few days and thepatibility of the body, The system decided to show several possiblepatible ss choices for the host! Please choose carefully! ] *** ~~~ss choices~~~ Side of Horror ( Rare ) - A rare ss specialized in causing unrest and chaos in your territory. People within your presence would inevitably feel horror within. (Increase your soul power by 3 at every level!) Night Watcher ( Rare ) - No one escapes from the sight of a silent night. ( Increase your Speed, Health, and Soul Power by 1 at every level! ) nter of Nightmare ( Epic ) - A nter of nightmares and harvester of death and horrors... Harves... *** Note: Every ss would bestow skills to the host depending on their grade! The ss also has a miniature skill tree! Chapter 14: Choosing a class job. Leo almost got dizzy looking at the long number of list in front of him. If he had time and decided to count the possible list of ss jobs avable in front of him, he would be horrified to find that the number almost reached a hundred! Isn''t this ridiculous? I''m just but a lonely ghost yet they give me a lot of possible ss jobs? Taking a deep breath, Leopletely ignored the Rare and below-rank rarity as he directly looked at the Epic and above ss jobs avable. Decreasing the number of avable sses in front of him to a dozen. The following choices are. ~~~ss choices~~~ Neutral Primordial Witchcraft (Common(Upgradable)) - A ss job that specialized in six paths. The Life and Death, Healing and Curses, and Potion and Puppetry... nter of Nightmare ( Epic ) - A nter of nightmares at dawn and a harvester of death and horrors at night. (Increase your Soul Power by 3 and Magic Power by 1 at every level!) ck Witch ( Epic ) - A whisper to death and a deep hatred within. A ss job that specializes in dark magic. (Increase your Soul Power by 5 at every level!) Deste Star (Unique) - Misfortune follows thy heart and soul... As you''re destined to be alone. ( Unique Unluck attribute unlocked. Increase your unlock and Soul Power by 3 at every level! ) Deprive of Life (Unique) - A specialized ss job that follows the soul of death. ( Unique Soul Storage attribute unlocked. Increase your Soul Storage and Soul Power by 3 at every level! ) Deity of Land (Legendary) - A pure strong soul that walks towards thend. Also known as the Guardian of Land, Stream, and Mountain. ( Unique Divine attribute unlocked. Increase your overall Stats by 1 at every level! Except for the Divine attribute! ) Hunter of Dead (Legendary) - ... ... Seeing the myriad of choices in front of him even though he already reduced the number of ss jobs avable. Leo couldn''t help but massage his imaginary brow before carefully reading the advantages and disadvantages of the ss jobs one by one. Sigh... Troublesome. Soon, after a couple of hours of reading, Leo took a deep sigh of relief upon finally finishing reading all the ss jobs avable in front of him. It could be said that most of them have their unique specialties and disadvantages. However, although some of them are unique in their own way, Leo still ends up eliminating most of them before locking in the 4 ss jobs in the choices, respectively the Neutral Primordial Witchcraft, nter of Nightmare, Diety of Land, and Soul Necromancy. Thinking about it carefully, Leo decided to eliminate the "Deity of Land" ss job for various reasons even though it is a Legendary ss job. First of all, although Leo could acquire/unlock the "Divine" attribute in his character panel which is impressive. The system tells him that in order to increase his divine attribute stats by one, he at least needed to gain 1,000 loyal and devoted beings under him. In this kind of dpidated ce, where could he find beings that he could trick into bing his followers!? That alone already weakened the overall strength of this ss job! Second of all, since it is also known as the Guardian of the Mountain etc, etc, Leo could feel that he would be required to Guard a specific region which is, in his opinion very exhausting. Completely reasoning for him to eliminate the ss from his choices. Soon after deliberating for a while, Leo also eliminated the "nter of Nightmare" on his list. Although he suspects that he could earn horror points with this ss job, Leo is not really fond of killing. Besides that nting at dawn and harvesting at night seem quite tiring and need a lot of patience which hecks the most. Who knows, it might take him a lot of time if he decided to nt a nightmare at a high-level being. Following that, Leo ignored the "Soul Necromancy" ss job. Although the "Soul Necromancy" sounds great, Leo could guess that it requires souls in able to maximize the job. How could he, a soul entity kill other souls for the sake of the ss job? If possible he would not kill a fellow soul. Shaking his head, Leo stared at the only ss job avable in his choices the "Neutral Primordial Witchcraft". Although it is only amon ss job right now, the upgradable note beside the grade is quite tempting to his eyes. In addition, although Leo wasn''t aware of the upper limit of the ss job, just the note below that says that it specializes in six paths... Leo could already assume that its upper limit was likely to be Epic-Legendary at most! ... Sigh, It''s decided then. Sighing deeply, Leo didn''t hesitate any further and opened his imaginary eyes, deciding to choose the job ss. Ding! [ Choosing "Neutral Primordial Witchcraft" wouldn''t allow you to change to another ss in the future. Choosing "Neutral Primordial Witchcraft" as a job. (ept/Declined). ] Gritting his imaginary teeth, Leo pressed the ept button as he stared at the changing panel in front of him in nervousness. Ding! [ Changing the ss to "Neutral Primordial Witchcraft" please wait a minute! ] As soon as he pressed the ept button in front of him, Leo''s soul body suddenly jerked as pain abruptly drilled inside his head. Countless inspirations and unknown knowledge miraculously and mysteriously appeared inside his head... Filling every corner of it, making his mind extremely chaotic. Ughh!!! Aghh!!! Leo shouted loudly as unidentified energy emerged from his soul body, making the building he was currently in release an invisible pressure in the surroundings. Causing the zombies walking nearby to instinctively avoid the ce. Soon, after a full 5 minutes of intense pain, Leo opened his imaginary eyes. Ding! [ Congrattions upon acquiring the ss job "Neutral Primordial Witchcraft(Common(Upgradable))! ] [ Neutral Primordial Witchcraft (Common(Upgradable)) - A ss job that specialized in six paths. The Life and Death, Healing and Curses, and Potion and Puppetry... Increase Soul Power and Magic Power by 2 at every level! Upgrade ss Requirement: Create 500 potions and 100 Basic Puppets! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon acquiring the "Potion Knowledge (Level 1)" and "Puppetry Knowledge (Level 1)" skills! ] *** [ Puppetry Knowledge (Level 1) - Basic knowledge of Puppetry. Include the creation of low-level Puppetry that doesn''t havebat ability! Activation: Permanent. Upgrade Cost: 500 horror points! Note: Creating a basic puppet requires materials! ] Ding! [ Potion Knowledge (Level 1) - Basic Knowledge of creating potions (including the materials). The knowledge includes the creation of low-level potions! Activation: Permanent. Upgrade Cost: 500 horror points! Note: Crating potions require a huge amount of materials! ] ... Chapter 15: Skill that gives physical body! Sigh... "I thought it would be good, but what the f**k! How could I create Puppet and Potion? I don''t even have a body! A physical body!" Leo weeps in the corner while holding his imaginary legs as the only useful thing about his ss job is giving him additional stats upon increasing his level! Although upgrading his ss seems very simple which only required him to create 500 potions and 100 basic puppetry, as a ghost without a physical body, creating a potion and puppet is simply impossible! D*mn you system! ... After crying for a while, Leo weakly looked at the ceiling above before casting his gaze toward the fissure in the sky. The silent gloomy sky filled with cracks and darkness from beyond, the marching and groaning of the zombies as they walked to the unknown, and the sound of weak wind caressing the trees and buildings as it passed. Sigh... "Although my ss seems useless, I could still gain skills from my original tree skill. Since I upgraded to Level 10 I could probably learn 3 new skills." Right... I almost forgot you. Almost forgetting something, Leo opened his panel and pressed the inventory to retrieve the green scroll he had gotten earlier. Ding! [ Wisp of Poison (Elite) - Release a green mist of poison in the air that could cause internal damage to the being who inhales it. (Inhaling much poison would increase the damage effect of the poison) Activation: 5 Mana. An additional 0.2 mana would be consumed if the skill is still activated. Note: A mix of 5 poisons that cause internal bleeding, diarrhea, itchy ness, sore throat, and weakness. Inhaling too much might cause death! ] [ Learning the "Wisp of Poison (Elite(Level 1))" skill would cost 500 horror points! Would you like to learn the skill? (ept/Declined) ] Ehh??? "Finally! Although it is not a direct offensive skill it still could be considered an offensive skill!" ept! Ding! [ Congrattions upon learning the "Wisp of Poison" Elite (Level 1) skill! ] Leo''s mood drastically improves upon finally getting an offensive skill. Without further ado, Leo immediately epts causing his horror points to decrease by a hundred. Happy about the gain, Leo then began to check the skill tree. If he remembers correctly, he could unlock new skills every 2 levels, starting from Level 2 to Level 10. Soon enough, after clicking the tree skill Leo immediately saw three new skills glowing with gloomy dark light. Silently waiting for him to learn. Unhurriedly, Leo began to check the skills one by one, again hoping to unlock new offensive skills! ''It would be cool if I unlock Fireball.'' Ding! [ Nightmare - Staring at a sleeping/dreaming target in the middle of the night could cause them to experience a nightmare. There''s a small probability of causing sleep paralysis. Activation: None, only work at sleeping target. Skill Cost: 200 horror points! Note: A long time ago there was a rumor that there were a group of ghosts that caused sleepless nights in a small vige in the Philippines. ] Ding! [ Weak Telekinesis - Moving light object using the soul power of the host. The higher the weight, the higher the soul power required is! Activation: 5 mana. Skill Cost: 250 horror points! Note: "Look the ball just move!" ] Ding! [ Physical Body of Soul - In the correct time and in the correct ce where the spiritual is at its thickest, the host would gain a non-permanent body. Activation: Correct Time, Correct ce, and Thickest Spiritual. Effects: Gain a Physical body that couldst for 6 hours! (The physical body contains 10% strength and 20% durability based on soul power.) Skill Cost: 500 horror points! Note: Legends that Spirits could gain a physical body when the spirituality in certain ces is at its thickest. ] Gulp... Leo stared at thest skill avable on the skill tree dumbfounded. He just read it and re-read it a couple of times to ensure that he didn''t read it wrongly. Stunned, Leo just stared at the screen in front of him without moving, having no idea how to react. "D...did I really have hope... to get my own physical body?" ''I... Could I still have hope to experience cold?... and how my arms touch things while not identally phrasing through it?... I...'' Leo for the first time after being a ghost for a couple of weeks stuttered in his thoughts. After staring at the screen for a couple of minutes, the sound of a seemingly sobbing vengeful spirit echoed inside the building. *** At the same time, a hundred kilometers away from Leo''s location, on the rooftop of an old wrecked building, a group of people formed a circle under the moonlit. The familiar young man, wearing light armor while holding a sheathed sword on his right arm looked at the surrounding people gravely. "Did you all get the mission, right?" The young man said as his sharp eyes scanned the faces of people around him. Seeing that no one objects, the young man takes a deep breath as he starts exining the mission. "Our mission is simple, Ignore zombies below Level 15 and kill all those above that level, including the foundation zombies... Our mission is extremely dangerous and would take a while since we needed to travel for tens of kilometers to clean the strong zombies." The young man paused for a second to catch his breath before continuing. "If somehow, you got bitten by the zombies immediately approach the "Healing Priest" to get cleansed. "Moreover, you also needed to protect the "Healing Priest" with your life! If she dies then surviving would be hard for us." Hearing those words, especially the word bitten, the expression of the people in the group couldn''t help but turn graved as they looked at the woman in the group who was holding a white 2-meter-long staff, identifying the only "Healing Priest" in the group. Seeing the attention she gets, the only "Healing Priest" in the group nods shyly towards them. "Please take care of me." Hearing those words, the people in the group nodded to her as they cast their gaze toward the young man, signaling to him to continue. After exining and answering the questions of his teammates, the young man along with his group stood up as they unhurriedly walked toward the north. Signaling the start of their mission. ... Chapter 16: Trying new skills! After calming down, Leo stared at his 9,650 horror points in silence after purchasing the new 3 skills on his skill tree. ''I''m back at less than 10,000 horror points. It''s really hard to umte horror points.'' Sighing deeply, knowing that his horror points would soon decrease greatly. Leo opened his tree skill, nning to upgrade the certain skill to the maximum level. "Although it hurts seeing my horror points decrease by huge amounts. Having a physical body is a must!" Ding! [ Upgrading the "Physical Body of Soul" to Level 2 will require 500 horror points! (ept/Declined) ] Ding! [ Upgrading the "Physical Body of Soul" to Level 3 will require 1000 horror points! (ept/Declined) ] [ Upgrading the "Physical Body of Soul" to Level 4 will require 2000 horror points... ] [ Upgrading the "Physical Body of Soul" to Level 5... ] Ding! Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading the "Physical Body of Soul" to Level 5 maximum! Ding! [ Physical Body of Soul - In the correct time and in the correct ce where the spiritual is at its thickest, the host would gain a semi-permanent body. Activation: Correct Time, Correct ce, and Thickest Spiritual. ( The requirements of the activation of the skill were halved ) Effects: Gain a Physical body that couldst up to8 days! (The physical body contains 60% strength and 80% durability based on soul power.) Skill Cost: Already at maximum level! Note: Legends that Spirits could gain a physical body when the spirituality in certain ces is at its thickest. ] ... Having the urge to cry again, Leo looked at the description of the "Physical Body of Soul" in pure happiness. Although it could onlyst for 8 days, having a possible physical body is already great. ''Hah... Unfortunately, I don''t have any idea when I could possibly gain a physical body.'' Shaking his head to drop the unnecessary and negative thoughts inside his head. Leo stared at his 2,150 horror points in stillness, hesitating whether to upgrade his skills or not. After pondering for a while, Leo slightly closed his eyes and sighed. Sigh... "Never mind, I might need to save up some horror points in case I find some useful scroll outside." Smiling lightly. Finally, in the mood to continue his journey to find humans and also to earn horror points while increasing his strength in the process, Leo stared at the marching zombies in the distance dangerously, his imaginary lips curled upward. Wanting to try his new skills, Leo immediately turned invisible as he passed through the ss window in front of him, flying toward the marching zombies in excitement. Here Ie!! *** Swishh... Green smoke filled the air as small stones with weights of no more than 100 grams flew toward the zombies in the distance, hitting them hard, especially their heads. Tong! Groan. A zombie without a lower jaw got hit by the flying stone only to got stumble for a while before continuing to move forward. Soon, only after 5 seconds passed by when thest stone hit the jawless zombie''s head, another flying stone followed and hit its head again causing its head to swell a little as the zombie fell toward the ground. Thud! Groann... Not long after, stone after stone struck the head of the jawless zombie. Causing its head to finally crack and eventually die due to the stones. Ding! +5 Exp! Hah... Leo imaginary takes a deep breath upon finally killing the zombie with his "Telekinesis" skill. Although he managed to kill the jawless zombie in less than 50 seconds, Leo is not satisfied with the skill. Not only does it consume a huge amount of mana that almost causes his mana to dry down. Its power itself is also not that great! Moreover, It is too hard to manipte things! "Unfortunately, I don''t have a knife. It would be a greatbination if I had a knife while using my "Telekenitic" skill on it." Sighing slightly, Leo didn''t immediately activate his "Telekenitic" skill again as he spread his "Wisp of Poison" around the zombies in the short distance. Soon, after waiting for a long while, a zombie beside him suddenly scratches its face, leaving a bloody mark on its face... With a sticky green liquid pouring down its cheek, the zombie continued scratching its face. Groann... Irritated that the itchiness didn''t vanish, the zombie''s sharp nails prated the thin skin on its face as it furiously scratched it. Causing some of its skin to fall off to the ground... Gulp... "All my skill is crazy... Always makes me feel shiver whenever I see their effects!" Leo thought inside his head as he cast his gaze toward the zombie inside the area of green mist. Although they remained unaffected by the skill, Leo could vaguely feel that some of them had already begun to show strangeness. Some of them began to groan with difficulty and others started to scratch their skins. As for the other effect of the poison, Leo couldn''t see their internal organ if it was bleeding nor check their strengths if they already weakened. Soon, another minute passed by. Leo''s mana pool already dropped by less than 10 as he patiently waited for the effects of the skill to be deeply rooted in the zombie''s body. Good enough, not long after his mana dropped by 8, the first zombie finally dropped to the ground as it puked green disgusting liquid and impure blood with a mixture of flesh on the ground. It puked a couple of times before its body stopped moving. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Level 8 zombie! ] +8 Exp! +100 horror points! (Higher-level zombies had high intelligencepared to low-level ones!) Ehh!? ''I could finally increase my horror points again?'' Indeed, although the level 8 zombie is still brainless, it has already begun showing signs of intelligence. Unfortunately, they are still dumb. Trying to see if he could really gain horror points after killing a Level 8 zombie and above Leo shrinks the area of his "Wisp of Poison" skill, only focusing on one Level 8 zombie in the distance. Soon, before his mana reaches 1 point, the Level 8 zombie finally copses to the ground, shaking slightly before finally stops moving. Its eyes although dull, show signs of fear. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Level 8 zombie! ] +8 Exp! +100 horror points! "Indeed, hahaha. I could finally start earning horror points!" Leoughed out loud as he passed through the ground, quickly moving towards the small hut in the distance. Intending to take a rest before continuing his hunt! *** Chapter 17: Soul Eating Crow (1) Soon, a couple of hours silently passed by. In an intersection between the road in Laguna, a pale ck wisp could be seen floating silently beside the dead zombies below... Its figure radiates an indescribable aura as it deeply stares at the corpse below. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing the Level 11 zombie! ] [ Congrattions upon killing the Level 10 zombie! ] +22 Exp! +10 Exp! +150 horror points! +200 horror points! "Cough... Cough.." Leo coughed weakly as he gravely looked at the motionless zombies on the ground, his smoke color faded a lot. Feeling the slight burning pain in his soul, Leo immediately plunged toward the ground, quickly moving toward the nearest building to heal his soul. "Cough... Who would have thought that Level 11 and 10 zombies are much smarter than Level 9 zombies? Especially that level 11 zombie, I got caught off guard by its skill." Remembering the sh of sharp nails that suddenly pierced through his soul body earlier in the fight, Leo could still remember the pain he experienced earlier. He didn''t expect that zombies''bat abilities were quite fatal! Taking a deep breath, Leo excitedly opened his inventory to see the items he got from the fight. Upon opening, Leo immediately saw a bronze knuckle flickering with weak light appearing in front of him. Ding! [ Common Knuckle (Common) - Item that increases the damage of the user. Strength: +3 Endurance: +1 Note: Couldn''t be worn by the host! ] "As expected, being a ghost prevented me from using items." Hehehe. However, so what... Leo sneered inside his head as he directly upgraded his "Telekic" skill to Level 3, costing him 1,200 horror points. Upon sessfully upgrading the skill, Leo cast his "Telekic (Level 3)" skill toward the knuckle on the ground. Soon, after casting his skill Leo saw the bronze knuckle on the ground vibrate slightly before began to float around in speed. After upgrading his skill to level 3, the speed of him controlling the knuckle was much faster than before. In happiness, Leo manipted the knuckle to do aplex move but only to feel a slight heaviness on his soul. Unperturbed, Leo slowly increases theplexity of the movement as the pain also slowly increases as well. After the knuckle''s speed reaches 25 meters per second, the feeling of heaviness and pain in his soul reaches its peak, causing him to groan in pain as he slows down the maniption of the knuckle. "Is this my current limit?" Leo frowned as he slowly moved the knuckle down toward the table nearby. Feeling that the pain in his soul vanished as he deactivated the skill Leo sighed in relief as he retrieved the knuckle, moving it to his inventory. "Finally, I got my first weapon. Dealing with zombies outside will be easier in the future." Leo mumbled in a low voice as he began to rest. ... Soon, after two full hours of resting, Leo stretched his imaginary body as he opened his character panel only to see that he finally recovered, both in health and mana. Passing through the solid wall beside him, Leo appeared on a dpidated road where only the sound of wind was present. Puzzled, Leo gazed at the destroyed buildings and cars in the surrounding area, devoid of any zombies. "I got left behind?" Leo muttered in a low voice as he rushed toward the direction where the zombies went. Soon after flying for 5 minutes, Leo finally saw the back of the hordes. With his non-stop hunting in thest few days, the hordes in the distance were reduced by dozens of amount. Although, it seems a little, killing dozens of zombies is already great. However, even though they were reduced by a dozen, the number of zombies is still in the hundreds. Quickly entering his invisibility mode, Leo quickly retrieved the knuckle on the inventory before using his telekic skill to prevent it from dropping to the ground. Soon, after he got used to the knuckle, Leo immediately manipted the bronze knuckle to hit the level 3 zombie 5 meters away from him. Swish... Bang! With a loud bang followed by the crisp sound of cracking bone, Leo saw the knuckle slightly prate the zombie''s head before losing its momentum. With a thud, the innocent zombie copses to the ground,pletely dead. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Level 3 zombie! ] +2 Exp! [ Congrattions upon killing a zombie with a single blow! ] +1000 horror points! "Sweet." Leo grinned upon reading the notification that appeared in front of him. Retrieving the bronze knuckle on the ground with his "Telekic" skill, Leo again rushed toward the closest zombie in the surroundings as he manipted the knuckle towards their head. ... Bang! Bang! Bang! "Hahaha, now that I got a goodbination, how could you a brainless being fight me!" Leoughed out loud as he manipted the knuckle to hit the zombie''s head meters away from him, at the same time evading the sharp nails approaching from behind. In able to lower his consumption of mana, Leo turned off his "Invisibility" skill earlier, causing the zombie to be able to see him. However, although the zombies could now see him, most of them decided to ignore him, only those level 8 in the surroundings decided to attack. Since as a ghost without vitality, Leo already knows from before that most of the zombies wouldn''t attack him if he didn''t take the initiative to attack them first. The only reason he activated the skill before was to evade the senses of the foundation-level zombie and zombies beyond level 15 when he was hunting. Now that the foundation zombie is dead and he can''t see any level-15-above zombie in the surroundings, Leo decides to cut off his mana consumption. Bang! Bang! Bang! [ Congrattions upon killing a level 9 zombie! ] [ Congrattions upon killing a level 10... [ congrattions upon killing... Ding! +9 exp points! +10 exp points! +22 exp points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading to Level 12! ] Seeing that the zombies attacking him are finally dead, Leo retrieves the knuckle on the ground. Smiling lightly, seeing that he actually upgraded to the next level, Leo nned to open his character panel to see his new stats when suddenly a feeling of danger gripped his soul. "D*mn, what now!" Upon feeling the danger, Leo instinctively activated his invisibility skill before plunging toward the ground. With how familiar he was with escaping, Leo only took a second to enter the ground. Sneering inside his head, knowing that he once again escaped sessfully. Leo nned to rush to the distance to rest when suddenly the concrete above him was shattered by something sharp before hitting his soul body. I''m dead. Chapter 18: Soul Eating Crow (2) AHHGGG! Leo shouted inside his head. The feeling of his soul being torn apart by something sharp almost made his mind copse in pain. With a silent tearing sound, a small part of his smoke detached from his body, causing Leo to free himself from the clutch of the unknown attacker. Ding! -5 health. Deep in pain, Leo coughed inside his head as he rushed forward, away from the danger above. However, he only moved away for 10 meters when suddenly the concrete above him caved in as the familiar sense of dread gripped his soul. "Don''t tell me It could locate my location!" Leo''s imaginary eyes constricted in horror as he instantly activated his "Wisp of Poison" in desperation, hoping that the being above him would feel some danger and leave him alone... s, only 3 seconds passed by when Leo activated the skill when the familiar sharp object pierced his soul, tearing another part of his soul again. AGHhh! ... cough... cough... -4 health Leo''s mind was in chaos after part of his soul was ripped apart. Feeling that his life was really in danger this time, Leo activated his two skills "Mist of Illusion" and "Wisp of Poison" at the same time, trying to buy some time to open his character panel. Since the concrete above him was destroyed, the "Mist of Illusion" and "Wisp of Poison" quickly filled up the area above through the copsed concrete. Due to being the only way through the above. The two skill was quite focused on the attacker above, causing its senses to be severely obstructed. Losing its means to track its target, the attacker didn''t leave, instead, it attacked the concrete below him randomly. Trying to hit its target by luck. ... [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft(Common)) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion ___ Attributes ___ Level: 12( 13/400 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 14 Health: 25/34 ( Increase by two per Level ) Mana: 34/65 ( Increase by five every 2 Levels ) Strength: 0.6 (0.5) Speed: 17 ( Increase by one per Level ) Magic Power: 24 ( Increase Mana by 5 every 20 Magic Power!) Soul Power: 61 (10) ( Increase by two per Level ) Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 5), Mist of Illusion (Lvl5), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 1), Nightmare (Lvl 1), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 3), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 5). ss Job Skills: Potion Knowledge (Lvl 1), Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl1). [ Tree Talent ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory ] ... Horror points 4,500. ... Bang! Bang! Bang! Concrete and stones flew into the air, as the attacker randomly attacked the ground. Trying its best to unravel the hiding soul within the ground. Cough... -1 health point. Leo coughs weakly as some sharp rock hits his soul. Knowing that the concrete above him would copse at any time, Leo didn''t hesitate any longer as he put all his free attribute points toward his soul power, pushing his soul power to 75 points! It''s still not enough... Fearing that the increase in his strength was still not enough, Leo''s eyes revealed a furious glint as he directly upgraded his "Weak Telekinesis" skill to Level 5. Ding! -3,200 horror points! [ Congrattions upon upgrading the "Weak Telekinesis" skill to Level 5! ] Again? Leo frowned as he slightly moved forward upon feeling something wrong above him. Sure enough, after moving 2 meters away from his earlier position, a sharp ck object pierced through the concrete above him toward his previous location, creating a huge hole. Frowning upon noticing that even with his "Mist of Illusion" skill, the attacker could still track his location, Leo rushed toward the ground. "It''s either that the attacker has a high-level Tracking skill or It was a high-level beast/zombie in the first ce... probably both, reasoning my skill effect to reduce greatly." Whatever it was, since hiding couldn''t solve his current crisis and would only drain his mana points by buying time, Leo decided to face the other party head-on. It''s either we both die or the attacker dies! Emerging from the ground, Leo''s senses immediately caught the figure of the attacker, causing his eyes to constrict slightly. "What the h*ck!" Standing in front of him. A 2.5-meter bird with pure ck feathers and a beak that gleamed with dark metallic luster that wasparable to a metal stared at him with greed and great hunger. As if seeing a delicacy, the bird in front of Leo squawks loudly, creating a high-pitched sound that causes Leo to feel dizzy... Due to the dizziness or due to the squawks of the ck Crow, the two skills of Leo deactivated on their own. Ding! -2 health point. Gritting his teeth, Leo stared and focused at the notification that appeared on top of the head of the bird, showing its species name and level. [ Soul Eating Crow - Level 15 ] "F*ck, you''re only level 15 yet you dared to bully me!" With a furious shout, Leo opened his inventory to retrieve his bronze knuckle before manipting it with his maximum level "Weak Telekinesis" skill. Swish! With a loud swish sound, the bronze knuckle beside him suddenly vanished into thin air as it flew toward the ck crow at a speed that even Leo had a problem to follow it with his senses! The speed almost reached a staggering 60 meters per second! Caught off guard, the ck crow could only watch in shock at the sudden appearance of the bronze metal beside it before hitting his folded ck wing hard! Boom! CAW!! Feeling the intense pain on its right wing, the ck crow screeched deafeningly, injuring the soul of Leo in the process. Ding! -5 health "Cough... you peace of bird!" Although in pain, Leo still managed to reactivate his "Mist of Illusion" and "Wisp of Poison" skills for the second time, slightly obstructing the senses of the Crow. Without letting the chance slip off when the crow was slightly obstructed by the mist, Leo instantly manipted the bronze knuckle to hit the right wing of the crow! Boom! Crack! With the loud sound of bronze knuckles hitting flesh, followed by the sound of the crisp sound of cracking bone, the ck Crow in front of Leo released a deafening cry. Already expecting the situation, Leo moved back for a couple of meters. Weakening the damage he took in the process. Ding! -0.2 health! ... Chapter 19: Soul Eating Crow (3) Distancing himself from the injured crow, Leo took an imaginary deep breath as the deafening cry of the crow slightly damaged him. "Shit, what kind of cheat skill is this! How could it use it every time!" As Leo was about to manipte the bronze knuckle to damage the crow again, a sudden sharp gush of wind materialized in front of the ck Crow, pushing the "Mist of Illusion" and "Wisp of Poison" out of its surroundings! With a loud screech, the sharp gush of wind quickly flew toward Leo''s direction. Leaving a sharp mark on its wake. sh! sh! "Shit!" Without thinking too much, Leo instinctively dives toward the ground, causing him to sessfully evade the sharp wind above. "Fortunately, I''m smart..." Before Leo could sigh in relief, the sharp metallic beak of the ck Crow pierced through the concrete above him, tearing another part of Leo''s soul. Ahh! You... -5 health points. Gritting his teeth in anguish, Leo cast his skill toward the 250-gram stone in the short distance, making it fly toward the ck Crow above him in an Instant. Bang! Being hit by a stone at a very fast speed, the ck Crow''s mind momentarily bes nk, causing its beak to loosen up slightly. Using the opportunity, Leo quickly escaped from the sharp beak of the ck Crow as he quickly rushed away from it. Sure enough, Leo only moved away for 6 meters when suddenly a loud sound of screeching from behind him hit his soul body. Ding! -2 health points! [ Health 10/34 ] "Why they are too slow!" Leoined inside his head as he again threw another stone toward the right wing of the ck Crow, nning topletely wreck its right-wing! Swish! Sck! Unfortunately, before the stone could hit the ck crow, the familiar sharp gust of wind materialized on its body, deflecting the stone in the process. Caw!Caw! Seeing that the stone didn''t hurt him, the ck Crow''s eyes revealed an expression of surprise and understanding before looking at Leo in the distance with contempt, as if Leo''s little trick wouldn''t work for him anymore. "F*ck, why are you looking at me like that!" Leo cursed inside his head upon seeing how the ck Crow deflected his attack. Never expected that it was much smarter than the zombies! Knowing that all his skills were now useless against the ck Crow, Leo couldn''t help but to panic as countless thoughts appeared inside his mind on how to buy some time! At the same time, as Leo was thinking of a solution the ck Crow in the distance slowly opened its metallic beak widely causing the wind in the surroundings to crazily surge inside its beak. "Wha... What now!'' Swishhh! The wind slowly constricted, creating a dense ball of wind on its beak, after a second of constriction the ck Crow released a weak caw, instantly making the ball of wind fly toward Leo''s location at a fast speed. Feeling the horror in the quickly approaching ball of wind Leo quickly moved aside, narrowly avoiding the constricted ball of constricted wind. However, although Leo manages to evade the ball of wind, some of its sharp air-like des hit his soul body. sh! sh! -5 Health points! [ Health 5/34 ] ... Leo''s body of smoke was already extremely thin as a lot of his color faded away. Floating weakly, Leo stared at the ck Crow in the distance in horror and great anger. "..." Although he managed to injure the other party, other than its broken right wing and bump on its head the ck Crow was rtively fine. Sighing deeply, ready to sacrifice himself to die with the ck Crow in the distance, when suddenly a collective groan echoed in the surrounding area. "Finally..." Upon hearing the sound of groaning and marching. The ck Crow felt a sense of danger in its soul as it suddenly raised its head and tilted it toward its back. Caw!! Sure enough, after looking at its back, a deep sense of chill hit its soul as it quickly tried to p its wings to escape but to no avail. Caw!! Knowing that it couldn''t fly away, the ck Crow screeched deafeningly toward the rushing zombie in the distance. Screeched! High-pitch sound traveled into the void, quickly hitting the rotting bodies of the rushing zombies in the distance. Unfortunately, the desired effect didn''t appear on the rushing zombie, it only made them momentary pause before continuing on their rushing. Soon, after 5 seconds of Screeching, the first zombie appeared beside the ck Crow. Opening its decaying mouth, the Level 8 zombie greedily bit the middle body part of the ck Crow but only to get pushed back by the sudden materializing of the sharp wind! Swish! Unfortunately, unlike Leo''s fragile soul body, the body of the level 8 zombie is quite tough causing the sharp wind to only leave a shallow mark/wound on its body. Soon, after the wind lost its power, the zombies in the surrounding area again rushed toward the ck Crow in the middle. Quickly preventing it from escaping. Opening their decaying mouth while some use their sharp nails to wound the ck Crow''s body, the zombies start their feasting. CA! With a loud cry, the ck Crow shook its bloody body to no avail... ... Leo didn''t know what was currently happening above him... Earlier, upon seeing the rushing zombies in the distance Leo immediately dived toward the ground, quickly slipping away from the chaos that would happen. As for the ck Crow, although he would not see how the hateful bird would die, Leo knew that it was almost impossible for the bird to escape. As for using its two feet to escape... Hehehe. How could a being who was used at flying use its feet to escape? Even with its increase in intelligence Leo doubts that the ck Crow could get used to its feet easily. Sure enough after rushing for two minutes Leo suddenly heard a notification inside his head. Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting in killing a Soul Eating Crow Level 15! ] +25 Exp points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting in killing a bird for the first time! ] +1000 Horror points! ... Chapter 20: Soul Shrieking! ''That Little? I almost died earlier, yet you only gave me 25 exp points!" Seeing the notification that tells him that the ck Crow is finally dead, Leo suddenly stops on its track. "Wait..." As if thinking of something... With a silent swoosh, Leo immediately bes invisible as he turns around, quickly traveling back to where the ck Crow died. As for the reason why, Leo actually wanted to see if the dead ck Crow released a skill scroll or item after it died. Quietly emerging from the ground, Leo quickly scanned the surrounding area with his soul senses. Soon enough, meters away from him, Leo quickly saw the iplete flesh of the hateful crow on the ground, being feasted by the zombies. ''Snort... Unfortunately, I don''t have a physical body, or else... I will surely spit on your dead body in anger!" ... The sharp nails of the zombies pierced through the dead Crow''s body as they clenched their hands, tearing part of its flesh before shoving it into their bloody mouths while some of the zombies directly tore the deceased body of the crow by their decayed mouth. Sighing deeply, already gotten used to their disgusting method, Leo quickly surveyed the ground close to the deceased body to see if there were scrolls or items on the ground. "Ehh? Is that..." Soon, after looking for a while beside the dead crow in the distance, Leo finally saw a flickering blue scroll lying there silently. Amidst the chaos in the surroundings, only the blue scroll flickering with weak light seems peaceful. Entranced by the beauty of the scroll, Leo adeptly maneuvered his faint ck tendril. Evading the feasting zombies at the same time advancing toward the blue scroll on the ground. Soon, while holding his breath, Leo''s tendril of smoke finally touched the scroll on the ground. Ding! [ Congrattions upon getting a Blue Skill Scroll! ] After anxiously waiting for 7 seconds the blue scroll beside the dead crow finally vanished into thin air, followed by the confirmation of the system that he got the scroll. Without wasting time, Leo quickly/excitedly dives toward the ground, moving toward the nearest building in the distance. "Sigh, that was dangerous." Leo wiped his imaginary sweat on his imaginary face as he emerged from the ground before directly opening his character panel to retrieve the blue scroll. Ding! [ Soul Shrieking (Rare) - One of the mostmon offensive skills of a soul, ghost, and being focused on soul power! Activation: By focusing soul power on the host mouth before shrieking! 5 Mana points! Learning Cost: 1,000 horror points! Note: The power of shrieking depends on the soul power of the host! (Could control the power of "Soul Shrieking" by manipting the amount of soul power!) ] "Hahahaha, Isn''t this the skill of that damn bird!" Upon seeing the description of the skill, Leo immediately danced inside his head in happiness. He could never forget the feeling of his soul shivering in pain after getting hit by the skill! It could be said that Leo suffered the most from this skill alone! If the Soul Eating Crow didn''t have this skill Leo would be quite confident that he would be on par with the crow! Of course, it is only possible if the crow is bedridden when Leo faces it! Laughing inside his head crazily, Leo directly chooses to learn the skill, instantly reducing his horror points by a thousand. Ding! [ Congrattions upon learning "Soul Shrieking (Rare)" level 1! ] -1,000 horror points! "Now we''re talking." Sighing deeply within, upon seeing that the 1,000 horror points he risks with his life vanished into thin air like a bubble, Leo shook his head as he began to rest. I will try the new skillter after I recover... *** As Leo was peacefully resting in his current abode. Tens of Kilometers away from his current location, a group of shadows quickly traversing the silent forest was moving under the sight of the fissure above. After half an hour of non-stop running, the group of shadows suddenly stopped on their track, quickly forming a formation as they warily scanned the surrounding area. "Who is there?" A robust man holding a white heavy shield shouted at the silent forest, quickly scanning the surrounding area, ready to give protection to his group if the hidden party had malicious intent towards them. After patiently waiting for a couple of minutes, the forest in front of them suddenly stirred as a 5.9-foot man wearing a ck dark suit with a long de on his back and a short dagger on his waist stepped forward. Revealing his figure to the wary group. "Shadow Assasin!?" The robust man blurted out in surprise as he warily scanned the other party up and down. What could a shadow assassin possibly do in this ce? The robust man silently thought as information about the shadow assassin appeared inside his head. Although not much powerful, a shadow assassin is a rare ss job with powerful concealing and assassination skills. He only noticed the other party''s existence due to the skill that the other party used earlier. "It''s none of your concern." The Shadow assassin nonchntly said, breaking the silence between the two parties. Hearing the voice of the Shadow Assassin, the robust man and his group couldn''t help but frown as the other party didn''t ce his gaze toward them. "Formation!" The robust manmanded as he quickly raised his heavy shield toward the Shadow Assassin. "Not our concern? You, upon arriving here are already our concern!" With a shout, the heavy shield of the robust man suddenly lights up, quickly enveloping his group with an invisible shield. Attack! Swish! Upon hearing themand, a woman holding a green staff raised her hand toward the Shadow Assasin, quickly releasing an air sh that instantly flew toward the other party. Swish! As if like a domino effect, the people in the group quickly followed the woman and released an offensive skill toward the Shadow Assassin in the distance. Air Wave! Shadow Bullet! Boom! Surprised that the other party was quite decisive and didn''t hesitate to attack, the Shadow Assassin quickly entered through the shadow, instantly concealing his presence and existence toward the group. ... Chapter 21: Materialization of Art! Swish! A 1.5-meter-long sharp de made of pure wind horizontally shed toward the tree in the dark forest, splitting the tree into two followed by the loud sound of it hitting the ground. BOOM! The group behind the back of the robust man couldn''t help but reveal a grave expression upon seeing that the de didn''t hit anything. Did he run off? The robust man mumbled in a low voice as he surveyed the surroundings for any kind of anomaly. After waiting for 5 minutes, the robust man was about to lower his guard when suddenly... sh! On the back of his group, a sharp dagger shockingly materializes into thin air, quickly heading toward the neck of a young woman. Surprise, the woman showed a horror expression in her eyes as she didn''t have time to evade the fast-approaching dagger. Ding! However, before the sharp de shed the young woman''s neck a thin barrier suddenly appeared, blocking the de from the other party. Mana Bullet! Bang! Bang! Not giving the other party a chance, upon seeing that he finally appeared, a tall man with thick brows pointed his pointed finger toward the Shadow Assassin, shooting a consecutive mana bullet. The Shadow Assassin squinted his eyes, seeing that his attack failed he quickly turned into a shadow before vanishing in the group''s line of sight, sessfully evading the approaching mana bullet in the process. Boom! "I didn''t expect that you have a Rare ss job. If you just told me earlier then we would not have needed to fight." The arrogant voice of the Shadow Assasin echoed in the silent forest, quickly entering the senses of the robust man. Frowning deeply, the group scanned the surrounding trees in an attempt to find the origin of the voice. Unfortunately, after craning their neck, they didn''t find the Shadow Assassin. After another few seconds of waiting, the voice of the Shadow Assassin again echoed in the silent forest. "Since you have strength... Nah, never mind. If your destination is the front... then beware of Soul Eating Crows. That is all." With a weak swoosh, the forest in front of the group silently stirred as the presence of the Shadow Assassin vanished. ... "Soul Eating Crow... I see." The robust man as if thinking of something, mumbled in a low voice, his face showing a delighted expression. After minutes of pondering, the robust man raised his head beforemanding his group to move forward... toward the front. Since there are Soul Eating Crows in the front. Then the chances of finding survivors would drastically increase. *** Leo opened his eyes after a long rest, finally feeling refreshed and recovered. Closing slightly his eyes, the image and memories earlier quickly yed inside his head. The danger and the risk of almost being dead shed inside his head. Sigh. If not for the timely appearance of the zombies I would probably be dead right now. Shaking his head, Leo stretched his soul body/smoke for a couple of minutes before passing through the solid wall beside him, quickly emerging from the familiar silent road. Did I get left behind again? Leo quickly thought as he warily nced toward the sky, seeing that there were no bastard birds (Soul Eating Crows) above him, Leo secretly sighed in relief as he began moving forward. I better quickly catch up, if not, then another bastard bird probably will appear! Sigh... However, before Leo could move from his current position, in the building in front of him a little head suddenly poked out from the hole in the wall, quickly scanning the surroundings area. Seeing that there was no one in the surrounding area, the child seemingly 10-12 years old dusted off the dust on his blue robe as he quickly stepped outside from the hole of the building. Again seeing that there was no one in the surrounding area, the child hurriedly opened his little backpack on his back and immediately took out a biscuit and shoved it to his little mouth... "Nom...nom..." "Thi...this!'' Leo''s eyes quickly widened as he scanned the child on the ground, his mind quickly processing the thing he was currently seeing. "Am... Am I still dreaming?" Couldn''t believe of what he was seeing, Leo wiped his imaginary eyes as he looked at the information that was floating above the child. Ding! [ Human Child - Level 18! ] "A human being! Finally Hahahaha!" Leo smiled in relief inside his head upon getting the confirmation that the child in the distance was a human being. A real living human being! Feeling that the weight on his heart was finally lifted. Leo nned to approach the child in the distance but suddenly stopped mid-air and hesitated. Right, I don''t have a physical body. If I suddenly appeared in front of the child with my soul body, he would probably shout and attack me! Shaking his head, feeling aggrieved, Leo decided to watch the child for now. ... After stuffing another biscuit into his mouth, the child dusted his hands as he took out a white chalk from the void. Ssss.. Getting the white chalk in his hand, the child again looks at the surroundings warily. Upon seeing no one, the child bends slightly and begins drawing on the wall beside him. What! Leo who was watching meters away couldn''t help but exim. Where is your mother? How could you draw in this dangerous ce? Besides, that is clearly vandalism! Leo thought angrily, trying to fight the urge to appear beside the child and scold him. Knowing that it was not good to appear, Leo took a deep breath to calm his imaginary nerves down as he decided to see what the child doing. After seriously vandali... drawing on the wall for a couple of minutes, the child finally put down the white chalk as he dusted his little hands. Smiling lightly, feeling satisfied with his work, the child raises his two hands towards his drawing and mumbles in a low cute innocent voice. "Materialization of Art!" Swish! Swish! Just after mumbling those words, the hand of the child releases a weak blue light toward the wall, causing the drawing to light up as well. The drawing of the child quickly detached from the wall as it quickly swelled up and gained a physical body... Chapter 22: Almost Invincible skill! The drawing of the child quickly detached from the wall as it quickly swelled up and gained a physical body... Soon, after 5 full seconds, the creature finally stabilizes its body as itnds on its four feet. It is quite ugly, well what could I expect from a child? Leoined deep within as he looked at the cartoonish white figure of a seeming cat, licking its 6 fingered paws. Focusing slightly, Leo stared at the information that appeared on top of the cartoonish cat in astonishment. [ Semi Living Cat - Level 15! ] What the... What in the avocado is this? Although, It is quite ugly, the skill that the child uses is really shocking. In just a couple of minutes, he already created a level 15 being. A level 15 being! How shocking is that! Since its information told him that it was a level 15 creature then itsbat ability should be at level 15 at most! If Leo has this skill then doesn''t that mean he could earn exp by vandalizing around? Wait... Not good! As he was staring at the child in amazement. The child after retrieving his pointed hand from the wall suddenly panted heavily before falling towards the ground. With a pale face, the child quickly took out water from his little backpack before drinking thirstily. Moew? After quenching his thirst, the child took out a biscuit from his backpack before unhurriedly eating it. Seeing that the child was fine, Leo couldn''t help but sigh in relief as his worry disappeared a little. ... After resting for a while the child''s pale face recovered a little as he unhurriedly stood up and dusted his blue robe. After dusting his clothes the child petted the cartoonish white cat beside him. "Let''s go." The child mumbled in a weak voice as he began to move forward where the zombies went. Leo, seeing them move forward, silently began to tail them from behind. "Did he survive on his own? However, with his skill, it should be possible." Leo began to ponder as he silently followed the child. If what he thought was the truth, then Leo couldn''t fathom how hard it was for a kid to survive alone. If not for him being a ghost and instead having his own physical body, Leo would not know how would he survived for a week in this ce! Heck, even being a ghost and having the perks of having a system Leo still struggles to survive then what about the child? At the same time as he was pondering, countless thoughts and understanding suddenly appeared inside his head. It is like how the question didn''t appear in the past but suddenly entered his head when he least expected it. It''s also like how he was about to fall asleep in the night yet thoughts mysteriously appeared on his mind preventing him from sleeping. Does the child also have a system and it is not unique to me? No, it is not right, if the child has the same system as me... then why not draw and let his drawing fight for him? He would gain "drawing points" by doing that, simrly to how I gain horror points by scaring beings. Indeed, my system is probably unique... Or... Sigh, I don''t know what to think anymore... Never mind, if my system is unique or not I don''t care at all! The current thing I care about the most is to meet more humans and to gain a physical body! ... After walking cautiously for half an hour, Leo due to having a high altitude, instantly saw the zombies in the distance. Surprisingly, the number of zombies seems to have increased drastically from before. If he assumed the number, he could easily guess that the number increased by a hundred! More than a hundred than before! No wonder, no wonder I didn''t meet the child before. Leo silently thought. If he guessed correctly then the child was from the other horde, he only met the child due to the zombies creating one new big group. Although it rarely happened, Leo already experienced this thing a couple of times when following the hordes in the past. Soon, another minute passed by. The child meters away from him finally saw the back of the hordes. The nearest zombie in the horde was only ten-fifteen meters away from him. Upon seeing the zombie, the child and the cat immediately hid behind the trash can nearby. Slightly poking his head, the child did a headcount toward the zombie in his line of sight. 1, 2, 3... 4, 8? "Kitty there are 8 zombies around... All of them are lower than our number (Lower than their Level)." Meow? The cartoonish cat meowed to the child as it tilted its head slightly. As if understanding what the cat meant, the child nodded slightly and pointed toward the zombies in the distance. "Kitty, attack them but if you feel slight danger run, ok?" The child whispered to the ear of the cat weakly as he petted its head. Meow? As if understanding what the child meant, the cat stretched its body slightly before suddenly vanishing beside the child. Thud! Only a second passed by when the cartoonish cat vanished when a loud thud suddenly sounded in the front. Surprised and amazed, Leo looked at the dead zombie in the distance in silence. Due to the things happening in an instant, Leo only saw a fast blur appearing beside the Level 4 zombie before it suddenly copsed toward the ground. As he was pondering deep within him, another thud sound entered his senses again followed by another copsing zombie. ''This is too fast! If not for the drawback of his skill I''m afraid that the child would be invincible.'' Soon, after whole minutes of watching in amazement, all of the zombies near the child already died in the hands of a cartoonish cat. Meow~~ With a proud meowing, the cartoonish cat instantly appeared beside the child. "Kitty you''re the best!" The child giggled cutely as he petted the cat''s head before continuing to move forward. Chapter 23: Class job that leans on art. Time flew fast, in the blink of an eye another three days silently passed by. In the past few days, Leo started following the child, all of his hours watching the child never felt boring like before. Although only three days had passed by, Leo already had an idea of what kind of skills the child often used. Surprisingly and unsurprisingly every time the child used a skill he would mumble its name, weakly or loudly. Hehehe, boys... Shaking his head with a weak smile hanging on his face, Leo began to think about the skills of the child. One of the most used skills that the child uses is called "Brush of an Artist". Upon activating the skill, the child would summon a white chalk from the void, using it to draw and vandalize around. As for its effect, Leo doesn''t have any clear idea... Yet. "It is probably still low level that''s why he could only summon a chalk from the void. If he manages to maximize the level, then it would be a brush." Followed by "Materialization of Art", "SketchBook", and "Army of Doodle". If Leo guessed correctly, then the child has a ss job that leans on being an "Artist". Leo slightly shook his head upon remembering the "SketchBook" skill of the child. When he first sees the sketchbook that the child summoned from the void, his first reaction was actually to appear beside the child and scold him loudly. "You actually have a sketchbook yet you vandalize around!" Fortunately, he managed to calm down his nerves in time, if not... he might scared the child to death! Unsurprisingly, the child could directly use the "Materialization of Art" towards the drawing on his sketchbook. Meaning that he could directly use his "Materialization of Art" in the midst of battle without needing to draw around! Sigh... Unfortunately, the child''s "SketchBook" currently only has 3 pages. As for the "Army of Doodle", It is actually a group of a dozen stickmen withbat ability of level 5. Still, even though the group only has abat ability of level 5, it would be tricky to deal with if they encircled the target. Shaking his head with a smile, Leo followed the child inside of one of the abandoned houses. Cautiously opening the door to avoid making noises, the child bent his knees and whispered to the cartoonish cat beside him. "Kitty, look if there are monsters inside if you didn''t find anyone insidee back to me, OK?" The child whispered in a hushed tone as he gestured toward the cat to enter the house. Meow~~ Getting themand, the cat slowly entered through the gap in the door, checking the door, room, and bathroom if there was danger inside. After waiting for a short minute, the cartoonish cat poked its head through the gap in the door, meowing to the child outside. Meo~ "There is no one inside? Great!" ... Seeing the child enter the house, Leo floated behind as he passed through the solid wall, entering the dusty room. Meters away from him, the child upon entering the house, dropped his little backpack on the couch as he started touring inside the house in curiosity. Meow? Shhhh... The child gestures to the cat to quiet down as he carefully opens the fridge and drawer to get some supplies. Seeing bottled water and biscuits/bread in stic packages the child smiles widely before stuffing it into his little backpack. Meow? "Yes Kitty, there is also some canned food here." Petting the head of the cartoonish white cat, the child pushed one of the sardine cans toward the cat, gesturing to it to use its w to open it up. Meow? "Yes that''s yours, eat it up..." After finishing eating, the child summoned his "SketchBook" to draw. Soon after, the child yawned slightly as he moved toward one of the rooms. Lyingfortably on one of the beds, the child cuddled the cat as he sleepily whispered to its ears. "Kitty, wake meter if there are sounds outside, OK." Meow~~ Hearing the confirmation of the cat as it nudged his face softly, the child finally closed his eyes, instantly falling asleep. ... Sigh... Seeing that the child finally fell asleep, Leo silently passed through the ceiling above him. Emerging from the ceiling, Leo quickly scans the surroundings to see if there are some zombies around. Upon seeing that the surroundings were empty, Leo quickly dashed toward the direction of the horde. "Now, It is time for me to hunt..." Leo mumbled in a low voice, as he quickly traversed the road, leaving a dark trail of smoke behind. *** WAAaaaa!! Leo shrieked loudly as he mysteriously materialized on the back of a Level 6 zombie. The zombie upon being hit by a mysterious force, felt his brain turn into a mash as he stood nkly on the road beforepletely copsing on the cold road. Thud... Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a level 6 zombie! ] +4 exp points! Seeing the familiar notification of the system, Leo massages his non-existent neck, feeling a slight ache after using the "Soul Skrieking" skill by full force. Still, curling his lips up, Leo again entered his invisibility mode as he silently snuck up behind one of the zombies. Imagining that 70% of his soul power going to his throat before focusing and constricting it to his throat for 5 seconds, Leo opened his mouth widely as he directly screamed into the zombie''s ear. WAaaaHh!! In an instant, a seemingly silent scream passed through the void, directly appearing inside the zombie''s head, destroying and turning its brain into a mash. Copsing to the cold cement, the zombie''s mouth releases a foam of bubbles before bing still. Ding! +6 exp points! [ Congrattions upon killing 10 zombies with a single hit for the first time! ] +2 Free attribute points! "Ouch," Leo silently yelped as he touched his imaginary throat in pain. How could that bastard crow use this skill without pausing? Does a soul-eating crow''s throat made of metal? Sighing slightly due to unfairness, Leo again continued his hunting. Determine to increase his level by 1 before the child wakes up from his sleep. Chapter 24: Fifty thousand horror points! Bang! Thud! Leo manipted his bronze knuckle, hitting the level 8 zombie meters away from him. At the same time as he was hunting the level 8 zombie, wisp of white thick fog emerged from his soul body blocking the sight and senses of the zombies outside and inside of the mist. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Level 8 zombie! ] [ Congrattions on assisting in killing a Level 7 zombie! ] +6 exp! +5 exp! +250 horror points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading to Level 14! ] "Finally! Upgrading 2 levels in just 5 hours!" Leo smiled brightly as he opened his character panel in excitement. Thebination of his skills "Mist of Illusion", "Wisp of Poison", and "Weak Telekinesis" skill are really effective in dealing with low-level zombies (Lower than him) in addition Leo also often uses the "Soul Shrieking" skill, causing his killing efficiency to increase drastically! In just short 5 hours Leo surprisingly hunted almost 60 zombies below level 10! Satisfied with his current strength, Leo looked at his skill tree in anticipation. Hoping to unlock new cool skills! Unfortunately, upon opening his skill tree, Leo didn''t see the ominous light that indicated that he could learn the skill instead he only saw the ( Level 15 ) attached beside the next skill. "So, I could unlock new skills after upgrading to Level 15? It''s also the same level where I could learn two new skills in my ss job." Not bad, 3 new skills after upgrading to level 15! ... [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft(Common)) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion ___ Attributes ___ Level: 14( 2/500 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 6 Health: 36/38 ( Increase by two per Level ) Mana: 27/75 ( Increase by five every 2 Levels ) Strength: 0.6 (0.5) Speed: 19 ( Increase by one per Level ) Magic Power: 30 ( Increase Mana by 5 every 20 Magic Power!) Soul Power: 83 (10) ( Increase by two per Level ) Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 5), Mist of Illusion (Lvl5), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 1), Nightmare (Lvl 1), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 5), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 1). ss Job Skills: Potion Knowledge (Lvl 1), Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl1). [ Tree Talent ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory ] ... Horror points 3,700. ... Closing his character panel, Leo again summoned his bronze knuckle to continue his hunting when suddenly he noticed some cracks on his bronze knuckle. Although it is still little, it can be seen that his bronze knuckle wouldn''tst long. Thinking about how he used the bronze knuckle to hit and crack the tough skull of the zombies, Leo slightly felt guilty about his bronze knuckle. Sigh, it is reasonable for amon item to notst long. Especially if I use it toughly. "Still, it is hard to find items, especially light items." Leo sighed deeply. Although there are lots of knives/items in those abandoned houses, their durability is actually too low. Besides that, those knives couldn''t even leave a mark on a zombie''s body above level 7! Not in the mood to hunt again upon seeing the crack on his only item, Leo decided to go back to the side of the child. Activating his invisibility skill, Leo plunged toward the solid concrete below before rushing toward the specific abandoned building in the distance, where the child slept. ... Emerging from the ground while his invisibility was still activated, Leo did a quick scan on the bed meters away from him. In an instant, Leo saw the cartoonish white cat beside the sleeping child, its white little eyes often scanned the surroundings as its vignce was always at its peak. On the other hand, the child on the bed was sleeping peacefully, cuddling the cat softly. Smiling lightly, Leo passed through the solid wall beside him, quickly entering the s to rest. Although he badly wanted to approach the child and touch it with his tendril to feel its heat, Leo still maintained some distance to avoid affecting the child''s luck. Besides that, Leo was also afraid to affect the child with his innate skill! An innate skill that could affect the process of thought of being near him! Sigh...being a ghost is really hard. Floating through the air as he was resting, Leo opened his character panel and clicked the shop on the system. It''s been a week or a couple of months since he woke up as a ghost, it is also the time when he got the system. Other than his character panel, skill tree, inbox, and inventory, the shop was still locked. Having no idea how to unlock the shop, Leo always clicks it every day to see if there are some changes. Ding! [ Shop: Need to spend a fifty thousand of horror points to unlock! Current Horror points spent: 22,350/50,000 horror points! ] Still none? Leo was about to close the system when suddenly, in the corner of his eyes, he caught the information about how to unlock the system. Wait... What! 50,000 horror points! "Damn, How would I spend 50,000 horror points! It''s not like I have the skills to upgrade!" Other than his usefulbat skills, most of Leo''s skills are actually useless or skills that he didn''t want to upgrade. Besides even if Leo has the skills to upgrade, where could he get the less than 30,000 horror points? Shaking his head, feeling slightly depressed, Leo closed his character panel and snorted. Soon, only two minutes passed by. Leo opened his eyes in irritation as he directly opened his character panel to spend some horror points. Sigh... Never mind... I really hate the feeling of curiosity! Leo sighed as he upgraded his "Soul Shreiking" to Level 2, costing him 2,000 horror points. After spending 2,000 horror points Leo saw the number in the shop increase by 2,000. [ Shop: Need to spend a hundred thousand of horror points to unlock! Current Horror points spent: 24,350/50,000 horror points! ] Now, happy? Leo mumbled to himself as he directly closed his panel before closing his imaginary eyes to rest. The feeling of curiosity already disappeared... ... Chapter 25: Come forth "ARACHNID" Soon, in an instant, another two hours passed by. Leo was dozing off in his memories as he was resting when suddenly out of nowhere a soft giggle entered his imaginary ears. Slowly opening his eyes, Leo saw the silly face of the cartoonish white cat ying with the child in a blue robe at the corner in the distance. Throwing a paper folded to create a simple paper ball, the cartoonish cat foolishly gets the paper ball with its mouth before passing it to the hands of the child. Giggle... After ying for a couple of minutes, the child reaches for one of the biscuits in his little bag before eating it unhurriedly. "Kitty, we need to kill more zombies to reach Level 20 to gain skill points... If we upgrade "Permanent Art" to level 2 then we could create a permanent dragon!" The child said in a childish voice as he stuffed a small biscuit into his mouth. His eyes burst with anticipation and yearning. Meow? "Hehehe, yes, yes, we will y with the dragon after I draw it..." Meow. Meow~? The cartoonish white cat meowed as it tilted its head slightly. Clearly have no idea what a dragon is. ... Floating near the ceiling, Leo pricked his imaginary ear as he listened to the weak mumble of the child. Hehehe, dragon? ...I also want one. Raising his brows in surprise upon hearing what the child said, Leo couldn''t help but stare at the child seriously. It seems that his ss job is not simple. To create a permanent conscious being by drawing? Leo silently thought as he stared at the ying silly cartoonish cat in the corner. After watching the child and the cat for the past two days, Leo already knew that the cartoonish cat was capable of individual thinking. Although it was surprising, Leo still could think it was possible. However, it''s just that he didn''t expect the child could still create another one! Based on what the child said, he could create another one after upgrading his skills by skill point! "Sigh... Sometimes I envy the luck of others. Why can''t my ss job be awesome like the kid?" Leoined deep within as if the one who chose his ss job was not him. Shaking his head thinking that he could still upgrade his ss job after gaining a physical body, Leo''s mood was inexplicably restored. ... Soon, after finishing eating. The child put the backpack on his back as he familiarly and vigntly scanned the outside. Seeing that the alley and road were empty of zombies, the child carefully opened the door, letting the cartoonish white cat to go first outside before following it. "Kitty, do you know where the zombies go?" "Meow-" The cat scratched its little head with his little paw before turning his head toward the south. Pointing its six-fingered faw toward the south, the white cat meowed to the child. "Great... Let''s beat monsters!" Smiling brightly, the child petted the cat''s head for a while before moving toward the south. "( ?_? )" Leo. Leo speechlessly looked at the conversation between the cat and the child. That''s it, you believe the cartoonish cat just like that? Leo couldn''t help but shake his head as he followed the child and the cat from the distance. However, surprisingly, the cartoonish white cat could actually pinpoint the general location of the hordes. Although Leo knew the general location where the horde went, the cat seemed to have the ability that could locate the location of the horde. "Those Permanent Arts of the child could actually learn a skill or they have skills on their own?" Leo pondered as he silently observed the cat, again surprised by the capability of the child''s skills. *** Leo couldn''t help but frown after following the child and the cat for a quarter of an hour. It''s already been 15 minutes since they started following the traces of the hordes yet until now Leo still hasn''t seen any zombies in the distance. "What happened here? Why there are no zombies around?" Leo silently thought. Unfortunately, the reason why Leo hadn''t seen any zombies right now was actually his fault. Due to him hunting most of the low-leveled zombies earlier that prevented high-leveled zombies from increasing their walking pace (it''s the subconscious reaction of the zombies whether they are high or low-level zombies to form hordes!). It caused the high-level zombies to fasten their pace since the low-level zombie that prevented them from fasting their pace was already dead. "Did we get lost or did we go in the wrong direction? Sigh... This is the white cat''s fault." Soon, another thirty minutes passed by. As Leo was thinking about how he could leave a hint to the child that they might have gone in the wrong direction a sudden weak marching sound entered his senses. Raising his head toward the distance, Leo could faintly see moving figures of zombies as they marched forward. Although they are faster than low-level zombies, it is actually not much... only 2-3 times the speed. Still, in just a couple of hours, they actually walked for almost 14-16 kilometers! Finally seeing the zombies in the distance, the child bent down slightly before summoning his white chalk from the void. Silently drawing toward the ground the child opened his arms and pointed toward his drawing on the ground. "Wake up ''Army of Doodle'' " Just as the child mumbles those words, the concrete below him seems to crack as figures of sticks begin to crawl out from the cracked floor. Dozens of stickmen that almost reached 1.5 meters, holding different weapons ranging from stick swords, shields, and bows began to march forward. Toward the marching zombies in the distance. Still not satisfied with his Doodle Army, the child summoned his "SketchBook" from the void. Opening the third page of the book, the child stretches one of his little arms toward the paper before using his "Materialization of Art" skill. "Come forth, ck Arachnid..." Shhhhh. What the... Leo raised his head and stared at the summoned figure of the child in pure awe and horror. Chapter 26: One Man Army! "Come forth, ck Arachnid..." As soon as the child muttered the words, the third page of the book suddenly expanded by a significant amount. Instantly expanding by 5 meters in length and 3.5 meters in width. Swirling of white and ck smoke resurfaces above the page, creating the atmosphere of a portal to the other world in Leo''s mind. Soon, after 5 seconds of waiting, a crisp clicking sound resounded in the swirling smoke, followed by 5 meters-long sharp ck legs breaking from the churning smoke. This... Not long after, another leg surfaces from the swirling smoke, followed by another one... And one. Click... Click... Soon, after 30 seconds of clicking sounds, the body of the ck Arachnid finally resurfaces from the third page... Finally materializing to the world. In an instant, the thick seemingly metallic mandibles of the 6.5-meter-tall ck Arachnid created a loud deafeaning sound as it surveyed the zombies in the distance with its 8 small beady eyes. On its back, an automatic machine gun could be seen, rotating at low speed. Leo who was floating meters behind, couldn''t help but p his imaginary forehead upon seeing the ck Arachnid... To be exact, upon seeing the little machine gun on its back. It''s already cool... Yet the gun suddenly appears. "Do children are always the same? I remember back then I also loved adding guns to my drawings." [ ck Arachnid (5:59) - Level 15 ] The child upon seeing the arachnid resurface, finally closed his "SketchBook", showing a proud look on his pale face. The sketchbook, feeling that its purpose is already served quickly vanishes into the thin void. Slightly gasping for air, the childmanded his little army and the ck arachnid beside him. Attack! With a low shout, the doddle army and the arachnid, rush toward the zombies in the distance. Creating an image of a ck and white army. Meow? "No, kitty... You should protect me, OK?" The child weakly said before he petted the white head of the cartoonish cat. Staring at his army he revealed a little smile on his face. ... The ck Arachnid, Due to its high level and speed, instantly closed the distance between It and the zombie. With a loud nging sound of its mandibles, the arachnid raised its front sharp legs piercing the body of the zombies on the back of the hordes. Swing... Sck... Not done with its attack the ck Arachnid released an audible cry as the little machine gun on its back instantly fired toward the surrounding zombies, quickly creating holes in the zombie''s body in the short distance. Bang! Bang! Roar! After killing a couple of zombies, the arachnid heard a low groan in the distance. Raising its 8 beady dark eyes to find the origin of the roar, the arachnid instantly saw the zombies turn their heads toward it in unison. With a unison groaning, the zombie as if hearing amand, madly rushed toward the ck arachnid location. Bang! Groan... Ratata...tata... Sounds of battle echoed in the apocalyptic road, as dozens of stick armies began attacking the zombies in the distance. Although they are quite weak, their weapons could still leave a shallow wound on the zombie''s body. Not losing out on the battle, the zombies began to counterattack using their strong and tough bodies. One of the level 8 zombies raises his sharp hands as it pierces the thin body of the stickman, instantly killing it. Destroying the body of the stickman, the level 8 zombie nned to attack another one when suddenly a consecutive sound of a machine gun entered its ears. Bang! Bang! With a thud, the level 8 zombie fell to the ground, having a huge bullet hole in its head. Leo floated above the ground, looking at the chaos that was currently happening in the distance in awestruck. Shifting his gaze to the hiding child and white cat in the distance, his eyes couldn''t help but reveal brilliance. "It''s a one-man army!" Feeling his imaginary blood boil in excitement, Leo plunges toward the ground, silently appearing in the middle of the battle. With a low shout, Leo activated his "Wist of Poison" that he had just upgraded to level 3 which cost him 600 horror points! In an instant, after activating the skill, wisps of green smoke silently spread in the distance as it entered the body of zombies quietly. As for the army of the child, due to being made of non-flesh, the skill didn''t affect them in any way. Although Leo wanted to activate his "Mist of Illusion" skill, he decided not to since it might affect the army of the child. It might also disrupt the Art''s momentum. Silently summoning his bronze knuckle, Leo began reaping the life of the injured zombies, also wanting to gain extra experience points! With how many the number of zombies in the distance, Leo is not afraid that the child can''t increase his Level to level 20 even though he stole some kills! Thud! Thud! Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a level 9 zombie! ] +5 Exp points! +150 horror points! [ Congrattions upon killing a level 8 zombie! ] Ding... Ding... Countless notifications rang inside his head as he reaped the lives of zombies in the surroundings. It''s too many to the point that he decided to ignore the sound. As he was about to manipte his bronze knuckle to kill the injured zombie meters away from him, a sudden loud crashing sound resounded in the distance. Boom! Shifting his gaze, Leo stared at the ck Arachnid in the distance in shock, he noticed that one of its legs got twisted in an unimaginable way. [ ck Arachnid (3:43) - Level 15 ] [ Armored Zombie - Level 16 ] This! Squinting his eyes, Leo saw that ten meters away from the arachnid, a 2-meter-tall zombie with green metallic skin unhurriedly walked toward the direction of the arachnid. Every time it walked, the solid concrete below it cracked slightly, indicating the unimaginable weight of the zombie. This is bad... Leo thought, quickly moving toward the metallic zombie in the distance, wanting to help the ck Arachnid. If he let the metallic zombie kill the Arachnid, then this party would be over in an instant...Instantly cutting his increasing exp points! Silently creeping beside the metallic zombie, Leo focused most of his soul power on his throat as he opened his imaginary mouth widely. After 5 seconds of constricting the soul power on his throat... WAAAhhh! A deafening audible sound instantly pierced through the metallic zombie''s head. Directly damaging its soul... Seeing the metallic zombie mysteriously pause on his step, the ck Arachnid didn''t let the chance slip off. With a clicking sound, the machine gun on its back consecutively fired toward the zombie''s head. ng! ng! Unfortunately, the bullets didn''t even leave a mark on the metallic zombie''s body. Knowing that the gun wouldn''t affect the other party, the Arachnid raises his sharp long feet prating the zombie''s body. Ding! In an instant, the sharp feet of the Aranchid pierce deep within the body of the metallic zombie! ... Chapter 27: Big Boss Appeared, Time to evacuate. Not able to retract its sharp feet from the body of the zombie, the Arachnid opened its metallic mandible widely, biting the head of the Level 16 zombie aggressively. Crack! With the intense sound of cracking, the head of the zombie split into two due to the intense pressure of the mandibles. In an instant, a white mush of gooey flesh leaks out from the zombie''s head. Quickly killing it. Ding! [ Congrattions upon heavily assisting in killing the Level 16 zombie! ] +32 exp points! +500 horror points! Seeing the notification appear, Leo quickly scanned the dead body of the metallic zombie. Seeing no items materialize from the zombie''s dead body, Leo clicked his imaginary tongue in disappointment before immediately dashing toward the injured zombies in the distance. Manipting his knuckle at a speed that reaches almost 60 meters per second, Leo reaped the lives of injured zombies every second. Ding! Ding... Ding! [ Congrattions... ] Soon, after killing less than 30 level 8 zombies, his bronze knuckle finally couldn''t handle the pressure as it cracked into two pieces beforepletely falling to the ground. Ehh? It finally broke... Without items to manipte Leo could only watch the chaos happening in the surroundings as he silently spread his "Wisp of Poison", slightly increasing his exp bar per second. Watching from above, Leo quickly notices that most of the army of doodles of the child already perished, leaving only 8 behind. Ding! Ding! Soon, another minute passed by. Looking at the fighting Arachnid in the distance, Leo quickly saw that another one of its legs had gone missing. Only leaving it with 6 workable legs. Sighing deeply, Leo silently cast a scan on it. [ ck Arachnid (1:56) - Level 15 ] Only 2 minutes left. Leo silently thought as he again scanned the surrounding area. Quickly scanning the dead zombies on the ground, Leo instantly saw some scrolls and items beside the dead bodies on the ground. Hehehe... With arge grin, he quickly rushed towards the lying items and scrolls on the cold ground, instantly manipting his tendril of smoke to touch the items. Ding! [ Congrattions upon getting the Umon item! ] [ Congrattions upon getting Green Scroll! ] [ Congrattions... ] Opening his character panel, Leo quickly retrieved one of the items in his inventory. Ding! [ Silver Knuckle (Umon): A tough knuckle forge from thepressed bone of a level 10 zombie! Strength: +5 Stamina: +3 Note: Could crack someone''s bone upon contact! ] Smiling widely upon seeing the description of the item, Leo quickly manipted the Silver Knuckle toward one of the zombies in front of him. Swish. With a loud swish sound, the silver knuckle instantly appeared beside the zombie, quickly hitting the zombie''s head. Crackkk... In the blink of an eye, after hitting the zombie''s head, a loud crack instantly resounded as the knuckle directly pierced through its head. Exploding the zombie''s head like a watermelon. Shoot. Leo shouted inwardly as he evaded the approaching piece of flesh from the exploded head. Greatly surprised at the strength of the silver knuckle. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a level 7 zombie! ] +4 exp points. Hehehe, I could now insta kill a level 7 zombie... *** [ Weak Telekinesis ( Level 5 ) - Moving light object using the soul power of the host. The higher the weight, the higher the soul power required is! Activation: 1 mana. Skill Cost: Already Maximum! Note: "Look the ball just move!" ] *** As Leo was reaping the lives of injured zombies like a cabbage. The ck Arachnid was busy firing toward the zombies in his surroundings as it asionally used its sharp legs to pierce the head of the zombies. Sometimes, it would use its metallic mandibles like a de, instantly beheading zombies below level 10. As it was ready to prate the body of a level 11 zombie with its sharp legs in front of it, a sudden booming sound resounded in the distance followed by a sharp object piercing through its body. Spack... Click... Click... With an audible scream, the spider''s 8 small ck beady eyes quickly looked at the huge hole in its body before looking at its attacker in great anger. Unhurriedly retracting his hand from the body of the arachnid, the extremely pale zombie looked at his hand in interest... Instead of blood or flesh, the zombie''s hand was filled with ck dark ink. Grooaann? The zombie''s pale ck eye looked at the Arachnid in front of him as it tilted his head slightly, obviously confused that the being in front of his is not made of flesh. GRAONN!! With an angry groan, feeling that he had been cheated, the pale zombie clenched his fist and punched the arachnid''s body causing the arachnid to fly away... Boom! Hearing themotion, Leo suddenly felt a tingling premonition inside his soul body as he quickly nced at the flying body of the arachnid before shifting his gaze toward the extremely pale zombie in the distance. With a grave expression, Leo quickly looked above the pale zombie. [ Zombie (Mutated) - Level 19 ] Instantly, upon seeing the information of the pale zombie, Leo''s imaginary eyes couldn''t help but constrict as sweat imaginarily poured on his back. F*ck, a boss finally appeared. Leo cursed inside his head as he, without hesitation, quickly plunged toward the ground, afraid that the pale zombie would notice his existence. Although he didn''t know if the pale zombie could see through his invisibility, it was still best if he distanced himself from it. Since he was extremely fragile, a single idental hit from the level 19 zombie might reduce his health by a quarter! The Party is over... With a quick thought, Leo abandoned the ck Arachnid as he quickly approached the location where the child and cat hid. However, after he emerges from the ground, Leo doesn''t see the familiar figures of the child and the cat where they hide. "???" Leo. Puzzled, Leo quickly looked into the distance only to see the faint figure of the child and the cat running far away from the chaos... Completely didn''t hesitate to leave his summon behind. "...." Leo. "F*ck no wonder he could survive till now!" With a quick swoosh, Leo rushed toward the child''s location. Leaving an invisible trail behind. Chapter 28: Advancement... After entering one of the abandoned houses, the child instantly dropped onto the floor as he gasped for air slightly, on his face a little silly grin could be seen. "Kitty we did it! My Level increased to level 20, we could finally create another permanent art!" With a suppressed excited voice, the child hugs the cartoonish white cat as he kisses the silly cat''s face. After minutes of excitement, the child finally calmed down a little as he took out some bread before staring toward the void in stillness. Knowing that the child is probably looking at his character panel, Leo silently passes through the wall beside him, suppressing the building anticipation and excitement within his soul. Silently floating in the air, Leo grinned widely as he opened his character panel... "New skills, hehehe..." Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion ___ Attributes ___ Level: 16( 103/700 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 10 Health: 41/42 ( Increase by two per Level ) Mana: 17/80 ( Increase by five every 2 Levels ) Strength: 0.6 (0.5) Speed: 21 ( Increase by one per Level ) Magic Power: 36 ( Increase Mana by 5 every 20 Magic Power!) Soul Power: 91 (10) ( Increase by four per Level ) Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 5), Mist of Illusion (Lvl5), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 3), Nightmare (Lvl 1), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 5), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 2). ss Job Skills: Potion Knowledge (Lvl 1), Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl1). [ Tree Talent! ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory! ] ... Horror points: 23,450 ... "Two levels... Not bad" As Leo was about to open his skill tree, he suddenly noticed the number of his horror points below. Wai...wait, this! How could my horror points suddenly increase by more than 20,000 points? Leo, although directly saw that he upgraded by 2 levels, it is actually not exaggerated due to how many zombies he killed and assisted earlier... However, upon seeing his horror points, Leo couldn''t help but feel that this was too much! Although it''s not bad having many horror points, the point is that he had no idea how he managed to gather this much! "Tell me I will immediately do it!" Unfortunately, the system couldn''t talk to him or tell him the reason. Without anything to do Leo decided to check his Tree skill, since he upgraded to level 15 it meant that he could learn another skill from Skill Tree and another two from his ss job. Without much suspense, Leo directly clicks the information of the only ominous light on his skill tree. [ Soul Scan: A skill that was much more advanced than a normal scan. It could directly and vaguely see the stats/skill of being 5 levels lower than the host. Activation: 5 mana points! (Only could activate 3 times a day! ) Skill Cost: 2,000 horror points! Note: It could scan beings with the same or higher level than the host but it can only show data vaguely! ] "The legendary scan!?" Leoughed out loud deep within upon seeing the new skill. He always wondered why he could only see levels and species of beings back then when he scanned them, he didn''t expect that those scans were actually degraded versions. Now that he has scan skills... He would be able to hunt lower-level monsters more effectively, without being afraid of getting caught off guard by their strengths. Ding! -2,000 horror points! Without much surprise, Leo quickly purchased the skill before opening his ss job panel. nning to see what kind of new skill he could get from his ss job! "Hopefully, The skill would be useful for me even without having a physical body!" Ding! [ Mana Thread (Technique): A technique that could allow/teach the user to precisely control their mana to an intricate level! like a thread! (Training with the technique could increase the user''s Magic Power based on mastery of the skill!) Activation: Based on the user! Skill Cost: 500 horror points! Note: Controlling mana could be beneficial to the host! ] Ding! [ Extraction (Technique): One of the based techniques for Potionist, Alchemist, and Herbalist. It allows the user to extract the essence of herbs and materials! Activation: Based on the materials and host mastery of the skill! Skill cost: 500 horror points! Note: It couldn''t extract the living being essence! ] "Technique, this is new..." Leo falls into deep thought upon seeing the two new skills from the ss job. This is also the first time he needed to learn the skills at a deeper level in able to reduce the mana consumption of the skill. If he could guess correctly, then this skill actually couldn''t be upgraded by horror points based on the description of the skills... "Although I hate studying... It is still good to have this skill, I could slowly study it every day when I feel bored." Feeling that it was feasible, Leo without thinking too much, directly brought the skills. -500 horror points! -500 horror points! In an instant, after purchasing the skills, a buzzing sound directly resounded inside his head followed by a huge influx of knowledge regarding the two skills. Groan. His smoke soul body began to twist intensely as he suppressed the urge to scream. Due to the influx of knowledge, Leo''s head was in chaos... "Ugh..." Soon, after 5 minutes of intense pain in his head, Leo slowly opened his imaginary eyes as he scanned the surroundings in puzzlement. Where am I? Who am I? What am I? Leo questioned himself in confusion. The knowledge brought by the skills caused his mind to be overloaded with knowledge, causing him to be in a state of disarray for the time being. As Leo''s mind was in chaos due to the influx of knowledge, a slight buzzing sound resounded in the room next to him followed by gentle light sweeping in the surroundings. Feeling the gentle breeze hitting his soul body, Leo''s mind suddenly felt refreshed as his chaotic mind began to calm down. Throb. Throb... At the same time, as his mind began to reorganize, a sudden throbbing sounding from his soul body began to resound in the surroundings. Throb... "What is this?" Chapter 29: Advancing to Foundation Realm! As Leo was baffled about the sudden throbbing of his soul body another sweep of unknown breeze entered the room, making his soul extremely rxed andfortable. Throb. Throb... "What is this feeling?" Leo mumbled in a low voice, as a strange feeling of excitement began to appear deep within him. After seconds of confusion, a sudden feeling of seemingly enlightenment arises from his mind. Perfect time... Perfect ce and... Rich Spirituality!? "Don''t tell me... "I see, I seem to understand." Leo silently thought, never expecting the opportunity to gain a semi-physical body woulde from the child next door. Although he had no idea what the child was currently doing, the feeling of dept silently sprouted inside him. Without wasting enough time, afraid that the perfect time, ce, and rich spiritual vanish, Leo quickly opened the skill. Ding! [ Physical Body of Soul (Level 5) - In the correct time and in the correct ce where the spiritual is at its thickest, the host would gain a semi-permanent body. Activation: Correct Time, Correct ce, and Thickest Spiritual. ( The requirements of the activation of the skill were halved ) Effects: Gain a Physical body that couldst up to8 days! (The physical body contains 60% strength and 80% durability based on soul power.) Skill Upgrade Cost: Already at maximum level! Note: Legends that Spirits could gain a physical body when the spirituality in certain ces is at its thickest. ] ... "Quickly, Activate!" Swish... Swish. As soon as Leo activated the skill, dark ominous smoke quickly surged from the void as it frighteningly enveloped his soul body tightly. Making a ball of dark smoke float through the air, giving a sense of mysteriousness and dread... Leo who was inside the dreadful smoke felt his soul''s body begin to freeze along with his thinking capability and consciousness. Cold... So cold. Leo slowly thought before his consciousness began to fade into the darkness. Only the churning ball of smoke, constricting his soul body is present. At the same time when Leo fell deep asleep. In the next door, the child and the cartoonish white cat were currently surrounded by gentle white light. Their mind is buzzing around as their life order is advancing by one grade. Although the child''s eyes are closed, his mind is extremely active as he is currently looking at the notification that appears in front of him. [ Advancing to Foundation-Level 1... Please calm your mind and use your unique technique to advance sessfully! ] Ding! [ Upgrading "Permanent Arts" to level 3 upon being enlightened... ] [ Permanent Arts (Unique( Level 3))- A unique technique that could borrow the (???) of (???) in able to create a being from one''s mind, imagination, and blood. Beings created by blood and mind have their own consciousness and are able to learn skills and level up on their own! Activation: 95% of mana and 10% of blood essence. (Only 2 Permanent Arts could be created for now.) Upgrade cost: 5 Skill points! Note: Permanent Arts are immortal. If the being created by art dies, the host could revive them by paying a significant amount of price. ] "Dragon, wake up..." The child mumbled in a childish voice as he took out an old folded paper from his backpack. It''s unknown how long the paper existed but with its current condition, it might be destroyed if he put a little force to it. "I just drew this dragon earlier yet the paper already looked old..." Feeling that the time was right, the child unfolded the paper as he activated his permanent art toward it. Permanent Art... Arise! In an instant, after activating the skills, the vitality from the surrounding area quickly surged toward the old paper on the ground. With green thick light that flooded towards it, the old paper began to float as it consumed greedily the rich vitality entering towards it. Although it greedily consumed the rich vitality, some of it still leaked out from the old paper, silently entering the room next door. Swish... Swish... At the same time, as the vitality converges in their location, zombies kilometers away from them suddenly raise their heads in unison. Sniffing the air greedily, the zombie''s eyes lit up as they quickly gazed toward the location where the vitality converged. With a groan of madness, the zombies quickly rushed toward the origin of the anomaly... ... At the same time, when the zombies show drastic action. 3 Kilometers away from the child and Leo''s location, a robust man holding a heavy shield along with his group raised their brow in unison as they felt a slight change in the air. "This!? Advancing toward Foundation level?" A woman holding a green staff asked confusedly as she waved her hand, instantly summoning a sharp de made of air, hacking the level 16 zombie in the distance into two. "It''s not a zombie nor monster that was advancing... It is a human!" The robust man''s eyes lit up before knocking the foundation-level zombie in front of him with his heavy shield. Although the person advancing is quite far from them, based on the surging energy from the surroundings, the robust man could easily guess that the one advancing is a human... On top of that it should be a talented human! Usually, if the one advancing is a zombie, instead of vitality the thing he/she would attract is undead energy and dead aura! On the other hand, if it was a monster who was advancing, the energy he would attract would be demonic energy, monster energy, and demonic aura! While human attracts unique energy based on their technique! Some foundations humans attract the 5 elements while others attract unique elements! "Quick, we need to find the advancing human and bring him to the town! Based on the energy, he/she should have a rare ss job at least!" Without wasting enough time, the group used their skill toward the foundation-level zombie in front of them without holding back. Bang! Swish! ng! In an instant dozens of skills and weapons bombard the foundation zombie''s body, overwhelming it with skills. Soon, after less than a minute of bombardment, the zombie''s body and flesh lifelessly fell to the ground... Battered by overwhelming skills... "Quick, let''s go!" Without looking back the group quickly moves toward the location of the converging vitality. Chapter 30: Physical Body. The feeling of freezing soul cold quickly faded as the thick dark smoke dispersed to the surrounding void. Waking from the seemingly eternal darkness, Leo unhurriedly and slowly opened his dark brown eyes. Thud. Ughh! In an instant after opening his eyes, Leo directly fell to the ground as he scanned the surrounding area in puzzlement. "I..." Leo muttered in a hoarse voice as he examined his hand in longing... "This feeling... How long did Ist experience this feeling... It is cold, I like it." Leo smiled as his vision began to blur. In his eyes, a sparkle of water could be seen silently flowing down toward his cheek. Standing with difficulty as his legs were shaking uncontrobly, Leo wiped the tears on his face with his left shoulder before looking at his naked body with a smile. "Buddy, it''s been a while..." Swish... As he was being sentimental, a cold breeze suddenly hit his naked body... Feeling the cold breeze suddenly licking his marbles below, Leo''s physical body couldn''t help but shiver as he hurriedly opened the drawer to find clothes to wear. Although it is nice to feel his physical body for a while, it would do him no good if he got sick due to his carelessness. "This one would do... And also this one... Perfect!" Soon, Leo wears the long dark sweatpants and a dark shirt that he found in the drawer... "Not quitefortable but it would do for now." Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion Physique: Soul Body ___ Attributes ___ Level: 17( 23/800 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 12 Health: 64/64 Mana: 85/85 Stamina: 76/76 Strength: 57.6 (0.5) (Increase health by 10 and speed by 2 every 20 of Strength points!) Speed: 26 Magic Power: 40 Soul Power: 95 (10) ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 5), Mist of Illusion (Lvl5), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 3), Nightmare (Lvl 1), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 5), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 2), Soul Scan (Lvl 1). ss Job Skills: Potion Knowledge (Lvl 1), Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl1), Extraction (basic mastery), Mana Thread (Basic mastery). [ Tree Talent! ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory! ] ... Horror points: 20,450 ... "???" Leo. Wait what, my level increased by one? How could this happen? Leo''s mind felt confused as he stared at his character panel in a daze. As he was getting more and more confused by the sudden increase in his level, a sudden groaning and marching/rushing sound echoed outside the house. "Not good." Feeling something was wrong, Leo instinctively rushed toward the wall to pass through but only to get his body to bounce back as the wall in front of him cracked slightly. Augh! Thud... "Ouch," Leo said as held his head in pain... I forgot that I''m not a ghost anymore. ... Standing in a tip-toe manner, Leo opened the door carefully, avoiding creating noise. Creakk... Poking his head between the gap in the door, Leo gasped slightly upon seeing the shining figure of the child sitting in a cross-leg manner and the cat outside. He could feel some unknown energy entering their body and toward the floating paper beside the child. This? Leo silently thought as he inhaled deeply, causing some of the strange energy to enter his body. In an instant, after inhaling the energy, Leo could feel some strange power entering his soul. Strengthening it slightly in the process. Ding! +2 exp points! +2 exp points! +2... "What! I could gain exp by inhaling this strange energy!" Leo wanted to shout in surprise upon seeing his exp bar increase by a little every second. However, as he nned to inhale another mouth full of the unknown energy, the sound of groaning outside increased. Hesitating slightly, Leo decided to go outside to see. Silently activating his invisibility skill, Leo slipped toward the door, quietly exiting the house. *** A decaying body of flesh and dozens of iplete bodies between level 10 to level 19 could be seen rushing toward the lonely house in the distance. Their eyes revealed ecstasy and madness as they inhaled a huge amount of vitality carried by the air... Not satisfied by the amount of vitality they get from the air, they want to rush toward the direction where the vitality goes. Raising his head across the direction of the house, Leo immediately saw dozens of mad-rushing zombies across him. Without further ado, Leo instantly activated his "Mist of Illusion" skill and "Wisp of Poison" skill, instantly mixing toward the vitality that the zombie inhaled... Of course, Leo prevented the two skills from entering the house. Although it sounds amazing, Leo could control the two skills freely after leveling it to level 3! In an instant, after activating the skills, a thick fog of white with a mixture of green instantly encircles the house, causing the zombies to slow down as their senses are greatly affected by the skills. Seeing this, Leo calmly and excitedly took out the silver and bronze knuckles from his inventory. Wearing the silver knuckles and bronze knuckles on his arms while he manipted the one bronze knuckle with his "Weak Telekic" skill, Leo felt a slight increase in his strength. Strange... Leo thought as he controlled the knuckle to hit one of the rushing zombies, causing it to get knocked back before falling to the ground with a thud. Not giving the other party a chance, with his invisibility activated, Leo rushed beside the fallen zombie before punching its head with his full force. Crack! Boom! With force, Leo''s silver knuckles instantly pierced the level 12 zombie''s head, instantly popping its head like a watermelon before his knuckle hit the concrete below. Feeling the flesh of the zombie''s body tainting his newly worn clothes, Leo stood up as he stared at his hand in amazement... To be exact at his strength in amazement. "Why they are too weak?" Leo silently thought as he looked at the rushing zombie in the distance. Unfortunately, he doesn''t know that the reason his strength is quite high is because of his focus on increasing his soul power in the first ce... And that the zombie he just killed is only level 12... Chapter 31: Rewards for killing the first 100. Leo slightly gasps for air as he punches the level 15 zombie on its head, causing it to slide backward. Bang! Although it falls back meters away, the level 15 zombie instantly stood up before rushing again toward Leo. "Damn... This is too hard." Leo wiped the sweat on his forehead as he punched the zombie again on its head. As he was about to deliver another punch to the zombie''s head, a level 16 zombie with long legs like a horse and sharp ws like a dagger suddenly appeared beside him with a whoosh... Quickly stabbing its sharp w toward Leo''s body. Cling! Leo''s eyes instantly constricted as he watched the approaching ws in horror, gritting his teeth Leo decisively abandoned the flying bronze in the distance as he quickly took out another bronze knuckle from his inventory before manipting it toward the ws of the zombie. Barely deflecting the ws of the level 16 zombie! Although Leo''s action seems slow, it only happened in an instant! Boom! Sliding meters away due to the force of the ws, Leo wiped the trace of blood in his mouth. On his face, a deep frown could be seen. "My stamina would notst long..." Leo silently thought as his gaze turned grim, it had already been a while since he started fighting yet the phenomena in the air still continued. Although it gives him a lot of experience points to the point that he was only short away to level 18, the pressure he bears is not so simple. In a short while when he gained his physical body, he already managed to kill less than 25 zombies in levels 10 to 17. Unfortunately, even though he gains a lot of horror points and exp the problem of his physical body begins to show up. Theck of Stamina! In just half an hour of him fighting the zombies, Leo''s stamina already dropped by 2/3 of the amount! More than 50 points of his stamina! There are pros and cons of having a physical body! It''s unlike my skills that only cost a little bit of my mana! Leo gritted his teeth as he tilted his body slightly to avoid the iing ws of the level 16 zombie in front of him, at the same time he threw a punch in its head in retaliation with all his strength... Boom! Being hit by the silver knuckle, the Level 16 zombie groans slightly in pain as it stands up before stomping toward the ground, instantly vanishing on its original location, only leaving a dent in the ground. "F*ck off this couldn''t do!" Leo cursed out loud upon seeing the speed of the zombie as he took out all his skill scrolls on his inventory. The scrolls he saves and scrolls that he can''t be used when he doesn''t have a physical body! Ding! "Learn all the skills! I don''t care about the cost!" Ding! -550 horror points! [ Congrattions upon sessfully learning "Build up Stamina ( Umon Lvl 1)", "Sharpened ws ( Umon Lvl 1)", and "Hidden Strenght (Common Lvl 1)"! ] +2 stamina! +1 strength! Feeling the slight increase in his strength and stamina Leo''s eyes could help but to lit up as without hesitation instantly increased the level of the two skills to level 5! Ding! -5,250 horror points! [ Congrattions upon upgrading the "Build Up Stamina" and "Hidden Strenght" to level 5! ] +8 stamina! +4 strength! Feeling the fatigue slightly receded, Leo roared loudly before dealing a blow toward the level 15 zombie head... Crack... With a cracking sound, the head of the level 15 zombie bleeds with green disgusting liquid. Although its head already cracked, the level 15 zombie groaned madly, still nning to bite the human in front of it. Bang! Crack! Unfortunately, before the zombie could bite the human in front of him a consecutive hard punch hit its head, causing its head to have a deep dent on it before itpletely fell to the ground. +30 exp points! +500 horror points! "Huff~" Leo took a deep breath upon finally seeing the level 15 zombie''s lifeless body on the ground. Shifting his gaze toward the long-legged zombie in the distance, Leo quickly rushed toward it, intending to also crack its head with his knuckles. As for his bronze knuckle in the distance, Leo was currently manipting it to hinder the zombies ( Low-level ones) from approaching him and the house. It could be said, that he was fighting two groups at the same time! Although he had no idea how he could do it, Leo med this on his high soul power! ... Soon another minute passed by. With another punch from Leo, the long-legged zombie finally died under his silver knuckle. Swish! Boom! Panting greatly, Leo bent down slightly as he picked out the item that materialized beside the dead body of the long long-legged zombie. "Huff~ I couldn''t... underestimate zombies below my level." Leo couldn''t help but gasp deeply as he remembered his fight with the long-legged zombie earlier. If not for the "Mist of Illusion" skill that weakened its senses and gave the zombie some hallucination effects in addition to the "Wisp of Poison" that corroded its internal organ, Leo wouldn''t be able to kill it at all. Shaking his head slightly as he manipted his bronze knuckle to hit the zombies in the distance, Leo quickly scanned the item he got from the level 16 zombie. Ding! [ Swift Boots (Elite): Fashionable dark green boots that increase speeds. Speed: +10 Skills: Stamina consumed by running -10% Note: Of course, it increases speed, It''s boots after all. ] Fortunately, it is not another knuckle. Without further ado, Leo instantly wears the dark green boots... Jumping slightly, feeling the significant increase in his speed, Leo with a swoosh sound instantly rushed toward the zombies in the distance. Bang! Bang! Boom! Soon another 2 minutes passed by. As Leo was about to continue killing the zombies in the distance a sound of notification suddenly appeared in front of him. [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading to level 18! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing your first 100 kills! ] +1 Medalion of the Forceful upgrade! +2 attribute points! +1,000 horror points! [ Medalion of the Forceful Upgrade (Unrated!) Effects: Forcefully increase the level of a skill. Note: You could upgrade the maximum leveled skill! ] ... Chapter 32: Meeting Humans. As Leo was fighting the zombies with all his might. Hundred meters away from his location, a group of humans in different clothes stopped in their tracks. Raising their head toward the thick Mist of white and green smoke in the distance, the robust man unhurriedly dropped his heavy shield toward the ground, causing the ground to crack and cave due to its weight. "Mr. Rnd, my senses/skill couldn''t prate through the fog. Although I couldn''t see what was currently happening within, I could hear fighting from within the fog... An intense one." A man with an exquisite wooden bow on his back seriously said toward the robust man beside him as he unhurriedly held his wooden bow. Upon hearing the words, the robust man closed his eyes slightly, seemingly pondering about something before casting his gaze toward the weakening vortex of vitality in the distance. As if he made off his mind, the robust man again unhurriedly took out the shield he dropped before seriouslymanding his group. "The one advancing to the Foundation realm at least had a rare ss job, you should be aware of how important it was for the town. "If they are a survivor and didn''t belong to any settlement, we need to make them join our side!" "Yes!" The group collectively shouts, before instantly rushing toward the thick fog in the distance... Soon, the group reached the outeryer of the fog. Only less than a meter away toward the white-green fog. Frowning slightly as they hack the surrounding zombies outside the fog, a woman holding a 1.5-meter-tall green staff slightly raised her hand as she touched the white-green fog of smoke in front of her. Gazing toward her hand, the woman saw the green fog drill toward the pores on her hand, toward her nails, quickly entering her internal organ... Although things happened fast, the woman didn''t panic at all. "Poison?" She mumbled weakly. Although her voice is quite weak, the people around her still hear her voice. "Dangerous?" The robust man asks as he smashes his shield toward the approaching level 16 zombie, instantly crushing its head. "Yes, but it needed a lot of time to affect and kill a foundation-level beast." The woman answered unhurriedly. "I see, Kristine gust of wind." The robust man gestured toward the girl in the distance before pointing toward the fog behind him. *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Level 16 zombie! ] "Huff~~" Leo sighed in relief upon feeling that the number of zombies within the fog decreased by a huge amount, instantly decreasing the pressure he was bearing. As he was about to continue killing the rest of the zombies within the "Mist of Illusion" skill, a sudden strong gust of wind blew his two skills off. Instantly clearing the vision of the zombies meters away from him. "F*ck!" Cursing loudly, Leo was about to increase the quality of the mist in the surrounding area when out of nowhere, a group of humans appeared in his vision. Ehh!? Not knowing what to do, one of the humans in the group raised his hand toward Leo''s location before mumbling in a low voice. "Cleanse, Heal." In an instant, a weak gentle light blooms above Leo''s head, instantly healing the scratch on Leo''s body. Feeling rejuvenated, Leo warily nced toward the group in the distance, having no idea if he should be thankful or not. Ding! [ -10 in all stats due to being cleansed... ] Ding! [ Due to having a physical body, the deduction on stats is getting revoked. ] Leo sighed in relief upon seeing the debuff on his character panel vanish instantly before casting his gaze toward the humans approaching warily. Although they help him resolve the zombies in the surroundings, their motive is unclear. With how chaotic and dangerous life is, trusting other humans without knowing them first is equally dangerous when facing other high-level zombies. Silently thinking to himself, Leo decided to cast his "Soul scan", toward one of the approaching humans. Ding! [ Kristine (Human)- Foundation Level 8 ] ss Job: (???) ___Attributes___ Health: 132/132 Qi: (???) Stamina: 60/80 Strength: 65 Speed: 42 Qi Power: (???) Skills: (!!???!) ... Instantly, upon seeing the stats of the woman in the distance. The dark brown eyes of Leo instantly constricted as sweat began to appear on his forehead. "Damn, even that teenager girl might defeat me in a second!'' As Leo was about to enterbat mode, ready to enter his invisibility mode if the other party showed malice toward him. The group slightly raised their hand, signifying that they didn''t mean harm. "We didn''t mean harm, we only approached due to the vitality drawn by the air and due to the zombies...h~... h~..." A young man wearing a bronze monocle said calmly toward Leo as he took a quick nce toward the house behind Leo. Seeing that he couldn''t see the one who was advancing, the young man looked back at Leo as he silently scanned him. Ding! [ Human - Level 19 ] ''Only step from advancing to the Foundation Level 1, based on his clothes there''s a huge probability that he was a survivor. ''Even his weapon, those weapons could only be got by killing zombies..." The young man silently concluded. Nodding toward his group, the young man again looked at Leo before continuing. "Are you a survivor?" "Survivor???" Leo stared at the group as he tilted his head slightly. F*ck! Is there a different kind/type of survivor? Since I''m alive doesn''t mean I''m a survivor... Seeing that Leo didn''t reply and knowing that his question was quite inappropriate and not on point, the young man pped his forehead in embarrassment before rephrasing his words. "I mean, are you part of any settlement?" "Settlement?" Leo asked in confusion before finally understanding what the other party meant. "No, I didn''t even know that there are settlements out there... I only survive by following the back of the horde..." *** As they were asking Leo question after question, the phenomena above finally weakened beforepletely vanishing. The robust man, feeling that the one advancing finally finished her/his advancement, quickly cast his gaze toward the house behind Leo... To be exact toward the door behind Leo. Creak... ... Chapter 33: Importance of Potion Master. Creak... In an instant after opening the door, the head of the little child poked out warily. Seeing the humans in the distance, the child releases a weak surprised gasp before scanning the group one by one. Meow? "Shhh." The blue-robed child gestured toward the cat beside him to be silent as he looked at the particr human in the distance in delight. "Sister!" He delightedly shouted before running toward the teenager in the distance. Hearing the voice of the child, Leo and the group cast their gaze toward the running child in unison. "Roy? Roy, I finally found you...sob." Kristine, the teenager upon seeing the familiar child in the distance, sobbed happily as she instantly vanished in her current location before appearing beside the child. Catching the running child toward her arms. "Sob... Sob... Are you okay, did anything hurt? Sob... Sebastian, can you cast Heal and Cleanse toward my brother?" The teenager cried as she asked the man in the distance to cast skill toward her brother. Not knowing what to do, Leo awkwardly distances himself from the group as he watches the man cast his healing and cleanse skills toward the child in the distance. Ehh? That cat... As he was watching the reunion of the sister and brother, Leo caught sight of the white cat beside the child. Surprisingly, the appearance of the white cat changed greatly from thest time he saw it. Other than its cartoonish figure that bes more realistic, its original one pure white tail that was devoid of any impurities bes two! As if feeling that someone was staring at it, the grey irises of the white cat looked at Leo''s figure in the distance before meowing slightly. "???" "Are you thanking me?" Leo instinctively thought as he stared at the gratification in the eyes of the cat. Scratching his head slightly, Leo nodded toward the white cat. Weird... "Do you know him?", As Leo was staring at the white cat, the robust man who was holding a heavy shield, unhurriedly approached Leo before asking. "... No, but I tailed behind them after meeting him a week ago." Leo honestly replied to the robust man meters away from him. Although he wanted to lie and create a good reason and image toward them. Leo decided to be truthful since he was not aware if there were some skills that could pinpoint if someone was Lying or not. Hearing Leo''s words, the robust man''s brows furrowed slightly before nodding afterward. "I see, are you really not part of any settlement?" "Sigh, I''m not, I only survive by following the back of the horde... Then I saw the child weeks ago when another horde appeared... " The robust man''s eyes lit up upon hearing Leo''s words. "Since you''re not part of any settlement, why not join ours?" "Can I?" Leo said. Although he was still wary about the other party, upon seeing the teenager and the child in the distance, he knew and there are huge probability that they were not bad. Besides that, Leo''s first n in the first ce is to meet humans... In addition, Leo was not willing to be alone again. "Yes, but we need to know your usefulness to the town. Don''t misunderstand my words, but we really need something that could help us to face the monster or to help us to increase our strength to protect the town." Leo nodded his head as he began to ponder about his options... Thinking about something else that could be beneficial to him at the same time might help the other party''s town, Leo''s eyes couldn''t help but to light up. Isn''t this great? Two birds with one stone. Raising his head slightly as he looked directly at the robust man beside him, Leo replied in an unconfident voice. "I have a ss job that leans toward Potions and Puppets, would that count in?" Ehh? "Your ss job leans on Potions? "Hahaha, Great, truly great, I didn''t expect that we would get another potion master to the town!" The robust man suddenlyughed out loud as he pped the heavy shield in delight, causing Leo to jump backward in wariness. Seeing Leo''s sudden action and wariness toward him, the robust man awkwardly smiled as he cast an apologetic gaze toward Leo. Although the robust man was previously wary that Leo was a spy or probably part of another settlement earlier. However, upon hearing that Leo''s ss job leaned toward Potion making/creation, the suspicion toward Leo suddenly vanishes into thin air. What is potion-making? A potion that could grant buff upon consumption for a period of time! Heck, there are even some cases in which some potions can permanently increase stats! It could be said that the strength of their town would increase by a huge amount if they managed to convince Leo to join their town! Since potion masters could increase the overall strength of any settlement by level, who would be willing to use him as a spy? Besides that, the robust man also knew that having a job that was inclined toward potion-making meant that Leo at least had a Rare ss Job! Since there is also puppetry, doesn''t that mean he might have an epic-ss job? Thinking of this, the robust man''s eyes lit up as he was more determined to make Leo join their town. *** After minutes of crying, Kristine patted the head of Roy as she stood up, "It''s good that you''re okay... Oh, you reach foundation level 1?" Kristine yelled slightly as she looked at his brother in surprise. Hearing the voice of his sister, Roy pumps his chest proudly before petting the white cat on the ground. "Kitty said that if not for the big brother there, we would not advance peacefully." "Brother?" ... Author''s Note: Good day everyone, It''s already been more than half a month since I started writing this new novel of mine. As you all can see, I''m not really that good at English so I hope that if you find any error in my words please let me know so I can improve... That''s all, again I would like to thank you all for appreciating my work! Chapter 34: Using the Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! "Extraction" Leo bends his knees slightly as he ces his left hand toward the fallen zombie, on his right hand a little empty bottle can be seen. Upon muttering in a low voice, the skin of the green zombie on the ground shivered slightly as green essence began to flow out from its mouth, slowly extracting green essence from its body. After minutes of extracting, Leo quickly used his "Telekinesis" skill to manipte the green essence toward the empty bottle before closing it. Huff~ I didn''t expect extracting to be exhausting, not only did it take a huge amount of mana, but it also took a huge toll mentally. Leo sighed heavily as he stood up before using his soul scan toward the green essence in the bottle. Ding! [ Zombie Essence (50%): A good material for countless potions... Suitable for concocting strength, stamina, and health potion... ] Leo read the long exnation of the "Green Essence" attentively. Surprisingly, it already exins the best use of the materials and how he could further increase the usage of the materials. It is because of Soul Scan? Leo silently thought. "Already done?" The robust man approaches and asks as he nces at the green liquid in hands of Leo in an awkward manner. Nodding slightly, the robust man again asks. "Is that a material for potion concoction? I didn''t expect that... Zombies could be used as a material." "Do... you really need to use that as a material?" Rosa asked as she shuddered slightly at the thought of drinking a potion made of zombie''s remains. Hearing those words Leo smiled slightly as he looked at Rosa who was holding a 1.5-meter-tall green staff before replying. "Yes, it is one of the best materials to create strength, stamina, and health potion that couldst for days at best after consumption... "It is also one of the materials used to create a Permanent Increasing Potion for strength and health." Leo paused for a second before continuing, "I even learned that you could directly consume foundation level 5 zombies'' bodies to permanently increase your strength, stamina, and health by 1. However, it is best if I concoct it to create a potion..." Ding! +1,000 horror points! Obviously shuddering, upon hearing Leo''s voice, the group couldn''t help but gulf in horror as they stared at Leoplicatedly. It''s already been two days since they managed to find Leo and Roy, and it''s already been two days since they found Leo was quite strange. Although they knew that Leo didn''t mean what he said and all he said was true regarding potion materials. They found Leo''s mind was quite... Terrifying and slightly twisted. To be exact, Leo always thinks something strange that usually sane people wouldn''t think. There is even one instance in which Leo wanted to strip a zombiepletely naked to study it inside and out. Fortunately, they managed to convince Leo not to do it. Smiling slightly upon seeing the increase in his horror points, Leo put the bottle in his inventory before unhurriedly standing up. ''I didn''t expect that scaring people is more profitable than killing level 8 zombies. Not only that, it is also much easier to scare them than killing zombies!" Still, unfortunately, Leo would not be able to upgrade his ss job to umon for a while. Since in able to create a potion, Leo needed a lot of materials, a good environment, tools, and fire. With that, the only option left for him is to rely on the town of the group... However, a new problem arose after that. Leo learned that it would take them 15 to 20 days for the group to go back to the town! Besides that, if they meet unfortunate circumstances along the way, it would take much longer to reach the town! Leo only has 6 days left on his "Soul Body Skill" before reverting back to a ghost! Sigh, I''m saving this for unexpected but I didn''t expect that I would use this for my problem. Leo sighed mentally, nning to use the Medallion of the Forceful upgradeter. Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion Physique: Soul Body ___ Attributes ___ Level: 19( 363/1100 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 16 Health: 78/78 Mana: 95/95 Stamina: 92/92 (10) Strength: 62.6 (0.5) (Increase health by 10 and speed by 2 every 20 of Strength points!) Speed: 40 (10) Magic Power: 46 Soul Power: 103 (10) ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 5), Mist of Illusion (Lvl5), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 3), Nightmare (Lvl 1), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 5), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 2), Soul Scan (Lvl 1), Hidden Strenght (Lvl 5), Build up Stamina (Lvl 5)... ss Job Skills: Potion Knowledge (Lvl 1), Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl1), Extraction (basic mastery), Mana Thread (Basic mastery). [ Tree Talent! ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory! ] ... Horror points: 21,250 ... Soon, another 3 hours passed by. After killing quite an amount of zombies (didn''t exceed level 20) the group silently slipped inside one of the destroyed buildings to rest for a while. Knowing that the time was right, Leo distanced himself from the group at the pretense of resting as he took out the Bronze Medallion from the system. ''Hopefully, it would increase the days by a huge amount.'' Ding! [ Do you want to use the Medallion of the Forceful Upgrade (Unrated!) to upgrade "Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 5)" to Level 6? (ept/Declined)? ] Without hesitation, Leo pressed the ept button as he closed his eyes. In an instant, after using the medallion, Leo felt a sudden strange feeling inside him as if some restrain broke down causing his soul body to integrate toward his physical body in a deeper level. ''Fortunately, there''s no strange phenomenon." After waiting for a couple of minutes the strange feeling within him slowly receded as the familiar sound of notification rang inside his head, causing Leo to open his eyes in relief. Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading the "Physical Body of Soul" to Level 6! ] [ Physical Body of Soul (Level 6) - In the correct time and in the correct ce where the spiritual is at its thickest, the host would gain a semi-permanent body. Activation: Correct Time, Correct ce, and Thickest Spiritual. ( The requirements of the activation of the skill were halved ) Effects: Gain a Physical body that couldst up to24 days! (The physical body contains 60% strength and 80% durability based on soul power.) Skill Upgrade Cost: 2 Medallion of Forceful upgrade! Note: Legends that Spirits could gain a physical body when the spirituality in certain ces is at its thickest. ] ... Chapter 35: An Exchange, Real Dragon. "Haa... The upgraded skill didn''t fail me. unfortunately, it is still not enough. I need to find a way to earn another 2 medallions!" "Hundred first assist is one of the ways but it would only earn me one medallion..." As Leo was contemting on how to earn another medallion, Roy, the child who was holding the familiar white cat began to approach him from the distance. Seeing this, Leo has no choice but to stop on his thinking as he changes his usualzy posture to a formal one. "Brother, do you want biscuits?" Roy said in his innocent voice as he took out one of the biscuits from his little backpack before handing it to Leo. "..." Leo. Does he think that I was a child??? Surprised and not knowing what to do, Leo received the biscuit as he stared at the child and the cat, standing expectantly, waiting for apliment. "Ehm, Thank you," Leo said with a smile as he pocketed the biscuit toward his inventory. Although he was originally a ghost, having a physical body requires him to replenish himself in able to fill up his stamina and to function his body perfectly. After pocketing the goods, Leo notices that the child is still staring at him with hesitation. Confused, Leo couldn''t help but to ask. "Do you need any help?" "Ahm, Brother do you have extra skill scroll? I would like to exchange it for items... It is for the dragon." "Dragon?" Leo asked in surprise and confusion, he noticed that back then, he didn''t see any dragon besides the child. He originally thought that the child had not started drawing a dragon yet. However, based on the child''s expression, he probably already created a dragon back then... It''s just that he didn''t notice it before. "Hehehe, yes dragon! I have a dragon!" The child slightly pumped up his chest, showing a proud look on his face before retrieving something from his pocket on his blue robe. Soon, on his little palm, a white snake with white glittering scales and little wings on his back revealed itself toward Leo. "This!" Leo gasped as he stared at the ck reptilian eyes of the snake... "Is not that winged snake?" Hearing those words, the child revealed a hint of annoyance on his face before retorting. "Hmmp, sister also said the same, however, this is really a dragon... It''s just still baby!" "Hehehe, indeed it''s a dragon," Leo scratched his chin as he looked at the cute expression of the child before casting his "Soul Scan" toward the white snake on the child''s palm. Ding! [ Dragon (Infant) ( 5% blood essence ) - Level 1 Innate Skill - Dragon Might Physique - (???) ____Attributes____ Health: 20/20 Mana: 25/25 Stamina: 15/15 Strength: 12 Speed: 9 Magic Power: 20 ] ... Instantly, upon casting his soul scan, Leo''s expression turned grim as he cursed inside his mind. ''F*ck, It is indeed a dragon! Not only that, its strength and stats are much stronger than me when I was still level 1 and 2!" Massaging his brows for a while, Leo sighed in defeat as he again cast a gaze toward the child. "Can, I touch it?" He said smiling. Although he was smiling weakly, deep within him, a hint of excitement could be seen. As if he would be able to aplish one of his dreams in this lifetime. ''I felt slightly envious, who would have thought that I would be able to touch a dragon in this lifetime!" Leo childishly giggles inside his mind as he approaches his right hand toward the small snake excitedly. However, before his hand could touch the body of the little snake, the snake angrily hissed at Leo''s hand as it cast its dark ink eyes toward Leo in disdain... As if telling him not to touch it with his dirtied hands. With a flick of its eyes, the white snake instantly slithers toward the child''s body, quickly hiding in one of its pockets. Indeed, it is a dragon. "Ehmm..." Leo retracts his hand in embarrassment beforeughing awkwardly. Seeing the little dragon hide in his pocket, the child scratches his head before saying to Leo. "Sorry brother, my little dragon is just... Shy." ... Shaking his head, clearly not holding a grudge toward the little snake, Leo took out three scrolls from his inventory. The three scrolls are respectively "Build up Stamina", "Sharpened ws", and "Wisp of Poison". Since Leo already learned the skills, all the simr scrolls that he got from killing zombies in the past few months go into his inventory. Bing useless as time passed by. Although it might be useful to exchange the scrolls for items in the townter. Since the child initiated to trade with his item for his scrolls, Leo has no problem with it. Besides that, he also has a lot of knuckles in his inventory that he could exchangeter if he doesn''t have any skill scrolls. "Here, you can choose one of the scrolls for one item." Excitedly getting the scrolls in the hands of Leo, Roy beamed at Leo before asking the little snake in his pocket to choose from the three scrolls. Hiss? "Hehehe, little Dragon, if you want all of them don''t be shy." The child giggled slightly as he looked at the eyes of the white snake. After minutes of conversation between the child and the little snake, the snake hissed at the child, causing the child to nod seriously before looking at Leo. "Brother, we decided to choose the Sharpened ws and Build up Stamina." Saying those words the child took out a silver sword and a green ne on his inventory, giving them to Leo in exchange. Seeing that Leo epted the items, the child giggled slightly as he took the two scrolls before running in the distance excitedly. On his back, a white cat could be seen strolling toward the running child. Shaking his head with a smile, Leo looked at the items in his hand in interest, using his soul scan to scan the items. Ding! [ Silver Sword (Umon) - a sharp and swift sword. Perfect for sword apprentices to use! Strength: +4 Comprehension of sword: +10% Note: Practicing with the sword would increase your speed inprehending how to use swords! ] Ding! [ Ne of Vitality (Elite) - A rare ne that was hard to find. Stamina Recovery: +10% Mana Recovery: +15% Health Recovery: +20% Note: It''s a ne that is almostparable to a Rare item! ] ... Chapter 36: Household Cats, Level Stages. Smiling widely upon reading the description of the items, Leo immediately wears the green ne to his neck. With a silver chain connected to the seeming drop of green vitality in the center of the ne, Leo happily fidgets it with his finger. Hmmm... I didn''t expect that I would get this item in exchange for somemon and umon skill scroll... It''s really good to chea... to trade with children. Shaking his head with a weak smile, Leo closed his eyes to rest, restoring his vitality for an amount every 2 minutes. ... Soon, another 3 hours silently passed by. Feeling that someone was shaking him slightly, Leo groaned reluctantly before unhurriedly opening his eyes only to see Roy beside him. Did I sleep? I didn''t notice that I would fall asleep... Leo silently thought, he didn''t expect that the "Extraction" skill would be much more mentally consuming than he expected, causing him to fall into deep sleep without him noticing. Fortunately, nothing bad happened when he was sleeping. Stretching his body in satisfaction, Leo patted the head of the child beside him as he approached the group in the distance. With the addition of him and Roy, the total number of the people in group increased from the original 8 to 10. With the robust man who was holding a heavy shield was the strongest, reaching foundation level 18, almost reaching the perfected peak of the foundation level while the weakest was level 19 which is him, Leo. In the past few days of interaction with the group, Leo learned quite a few things regarding the hierarchy of powers in terms of levels. Currently, there are a total of 4 known stages to the path of immortality (also known as Life stages) in the town and the nearby settlements... Respectively the Mortal Levels, Foundation Levels, Core Formation Levels, and Nascent Soul Levels. In addition to that, every Level Stage/Life Stage is divided into four categories, known as Early stage (Level 1-5), Middle stage (Level 6-10), Late stage (Level 11-15), and Peak stage (Level 16-20). With him as level 19, Leo''s stage could be considered as at the Peak of the Mortal realm, only a step away from the early stage of the Foundation realm. If he manages to increase his level to 20 then Leo will be able to initiate advancing, causing his strength to be greatly strengthened and at the same time he will be able to gain cultivation techniques suitable for him after sacrificing items and skills that he didn''t need to the system. As for how could that happen or why it''s necessary, the group has no idea regarding of that. However, good enough, the cultivation technique they get could increase their exp and levels after umtion and after practicing the skill. Thinking of it deeply, Leo now notices the usefulness of the cultivation technique and the problem regarding with killing monsters to gain exp to advance. First of all, the higher the level of the person, the higher the exp they require to advance to the next level. Although Leo was only currently at level 19 in the Mortal Realm, in able to increase his level he needed to umte/gain almost 2,000 exp to advance... Not only that, killing zombies below his level would inexplicably lessen the exp he will gain! Second and thest possibility he notices is that after a person reaches a terrifyingly high level, where he could find an enemy to increase his exp? "Even if someone manages to find an enemy at a higher level, who could say that he/she will be able to kill the other party?" Shaking his head to dump the unnecessary thoughts inside his head, Leo approaches the group in the distance, nodding to them slightly in the form of greeting. "Five minutes to prepare, after that we will continue our journey." The robust man said to Leo as he took out one of the water bottles in his inventory before tossing it to Leo. Nodding toward Mr. Rnd, Leo hid the bottle in his inventory waiting for the 5 minutes to pass by. Soon, after waiting for a while, a man holding an exquisite wooden bow approached the group from the distance. "Jake, did you find anything?" Rosa asked instinctively as she took a small bite from the bread in her hand. Jake, sighing deeply, heavily nodded his head before coughing to catch the attention of the group. "Household cats, 15 in number, fortunately, most of them only reach early of foundation stage while a few of them reach mid of foundation stage..." Hearing those words, the group''s expression instantly turned dark but instantly turned back to normal when they didn''t hear the presence of thete-peak stage of the foundation realm beast present on the enemy''s side. "Household cat?" Leo asks Kristine beside him in confusion. Turning her head toward Leo, Kristine exined with a serious expression. "It''s the normal household cats before the apocalypse but they suddenly transformed, bing much more smarter and dangerous in the apocalypse... "Unlike zombies, household cats know how to think with intelligenceparable to a 10-year-old child... Other than that, they are also swift and flexible, if you''re not on guard you might die without knowing why." Hearing the exnation, Leo couldn''t help but remember the foundation level 5 household cat that he met in the fast( Chapter 12 ). With how fast its speed on attacking the foundation zombie back then, Leo admitted how scary they werepared to a zombie. ... After seeing the serious expression of Leo, Kristine beside him couldn''t help but release a soft giggle before saying to Leo. "Hehehe, don''t worry even if there are 20 of them, without having a high-level foundation beast they wouldn''t be able to touch our clothes." Surprised, Leo couldn''t help but to ask, "Why?" "Because of Mr. Rnd," She smiled slightly as she secretly pointed toward the robust man in the group. Seeing the mischievous side of the teenager, the group smiled weakly as Mr. Rnd stared at Kristine sternly causing the teenager to hide behind his brother before acting like she didn''t see anything. Sigh... Seeing this, Leo''s lips curved up slightly, as his nervousness lessened considerably. With a curious gaze, Leo nces toward the robust man. ... Chapter 37: Battling the group of felines, the silent arrow. Leo sighed helplessly as he stood up on the rooftop of the 4 story building. Besides him were the white cat, Roy, and the familiar man holding an exquisite wooden bow. Jake, who was holding his exquisite wooden bow, looked a hundred meters in front of the building with seriousness, waiting for the group to signal for attack. Approaching the edge of the rooftop, Leo tilted his head downward to watch the familiar 7 figures of humans approaching the 15-two-meter tall feline in the distance. Although he wanted to join the hunt and increase his exp in the process, the group decided to leave him beside Jake and Roy due to his low level. Although they have Mr. Rnd to rely on, protecting him and at the same time fighting 15 foundation-level beasts is too much. It also might cause unexpected troubles if they get caught off guard. Hence, Leo obediently joined Jake on the rooftop to watch the fight. "It''s starting." Leo silently thought as he saw Mr. Rnd raising his left hand high above. Gesturing toward the building they were currently in. "Finally." Seeing the signal, Jake curled the corner of his lips upward as he held the wooden bow tightly before pulling the strings of the bow with all his might. Closing his left eye, Jake pointed the bow toward the unprepared feline a hundred meters away in the distance before mumbling in a low voice. "Silent arrow, Precise Hit." In an instant, after mumbling those words, Leo beside him could see the empty wooden bow suddenly had a dark arrow in it. Surprised, although he could see the dark arrow, Leo couldn''t feel its existence... as if it didn''t exist at all. Silent swish! Lowering his breath and stabilizing his posture, Jake finally released the hardly-pulled strings on his finger, causing the dark arrow to instantly disappear in the exquisite wooden bow without releasing a bit of sound. Ding! Thud! "What!?" Following the weak dull sound, Leo stared at the fallen feline in the distance in shock and awe. Even the 14 felines stared at the now-dead feline in confusion... having no idea how it suddenly died. As they were confused by the sudden death of their kin. Kristine who was hiding meters away from the feline waved her hand gently, instantly shooting dozens of wind des toward the group of unprepared felines. Swish! Attack! Following Kristine''s attacks, Rosa held her 1.5-meter-tall green staff highly before nting/stabbing it toward the ground vertically... Instantly caving the concrete below. Vine Imprisonment. In an instant, thick green vines suddenly materialize below the feet of the felines, locking them into their current position. Causing them to be unable to evade the approaching wind des in time. sh! sh! With loud tearing sounds, the wind des leave deep wounds within the body of the Early Foundation beasts, instantly leaving one of them incapable of standing... as for felines at the level of Mid Foundation it only wounded them shallowly. Hiss! With a loud cry, the felines shook the vine on their feet, instantly destroying it in a matter of seconds. Hissss! Casting a dangerous and hateful stare toward the people in the distance, one of the Mid-Foundation felines quickly stepped into the shadows in the surroundings... Instantly vanishing from the senses of the group. "Careful, someone entered the shadows!" Rnd who was at the front of the group suddenly shouted before hitting his heavy shield toward the ground. Raising his left hand, he heavily struck the back of the shield causing the shield to slightly lit up with weak blue light. Reflect and Bounce! In an instant, a sound wave that seemingly bend the space and travels toward the void was instantly released by the shield, directly causing the shadow in the surroundings to get twisted, forcing the Mid-Foundation feline out. Vine Imprisonment! "A Chance!" Seeing the reappearance of the feline, a man wearing a monocle quickly pointed his pointed finger toward the feline, shooting consecutive dark bullets. Shadow bullets! Feeling the danger of the approaching bullets, the Mid Foundation feline nned to evade but only to notice the vine below its feet, restraining his movement. Bang! Hiss! As the group was focusing their firepower on the Mid Foundation feline, a sudden whooshing sound generated beside them... Soon the body of an Early Foundation beast appeared, raising its sharp ws toward one of the group... Swish... However, before the Early Foundation feline could strike the other party, an invisible dark arrow quickly prated its temple, taking its life in an instant. ... Sigh... That arrow is dangerous. Leo silently thought as he nced toward Jake beside him before focusing on the fight on the ground. In a short minutes of fighting, with the perfect understanding and trust between the group, they easily reaped the lives of 3 Early Foundation and one Mid Foundation feline, causing the number of the enemy to drop to 11. With another swipe of Kristine''s hands, a 3-meter-long wind de horizontally flew toward the felines in the distance, killing the injured Early stages feline in the process. ... "Surprised?" Jake, beside him suddenly said toward Leo as he again pulled the string of his wooden bow toward the felines, ready to release it if he was given another chance. "Yes, they are all too... strong," Leo replied numbly, not hiding the surprise on his face. Even if he faced the weakest feline in the enemy he might not be able tost for a minute before dying horribly... Then as for the group below, he might die within a second... "Hehe, not really, it is just that there are no high and peak foundation felines in that group... "If we, unfortunately, met a peak level feline in the foundation realm, then we might suffer casualties...", Jake paused for a moment before releasing the strings of his bow, killing another Early foundation beast before continuing. "Worse is that we will not be able to kill it due to its speed." "Even if there are 3 peak foundation humans in our group?" Leo couldn''t help but ask in shock, not believing that they wouldn''t be able to kill a single peak feline if they met it by chance. Seeing the same shocked expression on the face of Leo, Jake revealed a weak smile before nodding. "Yes, although we have 3 peak foundation realms in the group, the feline can still escape... Since none in the group focused on speed." ... Chapter 38: Extraction! Leo took a deep breath upon hearing Jake''s exnation, fallingpletely silent as he watched the fight below. Soon, after 15 minutes of waiting, without unexpected events urring, the group finally finished thest feline in the enemy. "Let''s go and collect our spoils," Smiling widely, not waiting for Leo to reply, Jake directly jumped toward the edge of the rooftop, using the air to glide toward the group on the ground. Seeing this Leo hesitates slightly before deciding to use the stairs along with the child. Although he also wanted to experience jumping from the building, he had no idea if his body could handle that. Besides that, my body might be mince if I decided to jump down from this height... Reaching the group after minutes of walking, Leo stared at the corpses of feline on the ground. The soft fur of the cat and the packed muscles behind it that even a bodybuilder would be ashamed of, their sharp ws that almost reach 8 inches in length, and sharp fangs like a dagger. Sigh, Indeed my pitiful precious body wouldn''t survive if I faced them, fortunately, I didn''t join them on the hunt. Leo thought thankfully before bending beside the feline and at the same time, he took an empty bottle from his inventory. "What kind of materials could I extract from this feline?" Since it''s not within the knowledge he gets from his level 1 "Potion Knowledge" skill Leo could assume that it''s at least at the level of Umon materials. "Sigh, I still need to upgrade the skillter to avoid missing/neglecting materials that I met in the future." Extraction. Sighing deeply, Leo focused his mind as he activated the extraction skill. With glowing eyes and the feeling that his hand was in control of the internal body of the feline. Leo quickly scanned its internal body and followed his instinct, injecting his mana toward the marrow of the feline before forcing it outside its body. Along the way of forcing the liquified marrow outside of the body, some of the blood and impurities of the feline got mixed with the marrow causing its color to change with a hint of red. Now! Shouting inwardly, Leo instantly activated his maniption technique (Telekic skill), guiding the liquefied marrow toward the empty bottle before closing it. "Huff~ It is really ufortable using this skill." Panting slightly Leo unhurriedly cast his "Soul Scan" toward the marrow liquid with a hint of red on his hand. Ding! [ Liquified Marrow (Umon) (62% pure) - An extracted marrow from the body of a Foundation-level beast and got tainted by impurities in the process of extraction... Could be used in a concoction of Permanent Speed Stats and Speed Boosting Potion... Note 1 - Safe to Drink directly! Note 2 - Upon consumption, it could increase the speed stat by 1 permanently! Note 3 - Due to impurities, it can only be consumed once a week! ] Eh, it could increase speed by 1 permanently!? "This... This is too great!" Seeing the effects of the marrow, the first thought in Leo''s head is actually to get all the marrow and hide it, not telling its effect on the group so he could enjoy all the benefits of the marrow by himself. But... However, thinking of it deeply, Leo shook his head and decided to tell it openly. Although he was quite tempted by the marrow. If he hid the truth he would always feel guilty and uneasy... Although Leo wanted to hide the spoil (Marrow of the cat) and use it to his advantage to increase his stats Leo decided not to. Even though it was quite tempting, even if he managed to hide the truth for a while, sooner orter they would be able to learn the truth. Besides that, It''s just a passing thought that came to his mind that he really did not want to do. He just thinks that it''s necessary to think since it might give him few advantages. Who knows, they might not really care about the Cat''s Marrow at all. Although the possibility is small, after all, it was only an umon material, It is not worth it to fall out because of it. Thinking of this, Leo approached Mr. Rnd in the distance who was looking at their spoils of war (A single skill scroll and 2 sharp dark daggers with a length of 1 foot/12 inches.) telling him the materials he got. "What! It could increase the speed stat by 1 permanently!" Upon hearing the exnation of Leo the eyes of the group inexplicably lit up as they stared at Leo like they found a treasure, causing Leo to feel ufortable. "Good, good, since there are 15 corpses here we could get at least one per person." Mr. Rndughed out loud as he patted the back of Leo, almost causing Leo to stumble. "Damn, it is heavy!'' Leo cursed inside his head, feeling the weight of Rnd''s hand. Sigh, fortunately, my worry is unnecessary. However, I still needed to see their character for a while before I could trust thempletely. After resting for a while, Leo continued using his extraction skill toward the corpses of the feline on the ground, slightly increasing his mastery of his "Extraction" skill by amount. Unfortunately, it would probably take a while before he could level it to level 2! Soon, after extracting the 8th corpse of the feline, a sudden notification rang inside his head. Ding! [ Congrattions upon extracting 10 materials for the first time! ] +2 free attribute points! Seeing this, Leo smiled slightly before continuing on his extraction. ... As Leo was activating his Extraction skill toward the 9th corpse of the feline on the ground... a sudden problem urred. Leo''s brow instinctively creased as there were no reactions/changes toward the corpses in the ground after using his "Extraction" skill toward it... "Did I fail? Why did my Extraction skill didn''t work in this corpse?" As he was puzzled about the strange phenomenon in his skill a new notification appeared in front of him. Ding! [ Extraction failed! No essence is found! ] "What? I''m sure that I didn''t extract the essence of these corpses yet. Why they are no essence found?" No, that''s not right... Chapter 39: A little trick to gain horror points! "What''s wrong?" Rosa asks curiously after seeing the visible frown on Leo''s face. "My Extraction skill didn''t work on this one," Leo replied as he approached the 10th corpse of the feline in the distance. Taking a deep breath, Leo activated his skill toward it. Unlike the 9th corpse, after activating his skill toward the 10th corpse the familiar feeling of being in control of the internal body/organ of the feline instantly came to him. "Indeed, there''s a problem with the 9th corpse." Focusing on the marrow of the feline, Leo quickly manipted it toward the empty bottle in his hand, instantly filling it with liquified marrow. Ding! [ Liquified Marrow (Umon) (69% pure)...] Not bothering about the notification Leo quickly put it on his inventory before approaching the rest of the corpses of the feline. ... Sigh... "There are problems with the 3 corpses of the feline, my extraction skill didn''t work on them." Leo sighed deeply after finishing his extraction of the materials before telling the problem to the group. Scanning the corpses in the distance, other than the 12 withered corpses of the feline (due to the extraction of the essence) the group could see that the other 3 corpses of the feline werepletely fine. Without any hint of withering. "There''s no need to worry, if I guess correctly, it''s the corpses that dropped items and skill scroll..." Rnd said. "Although I have no idea what is the exact reason, I assume that it''s probably due to the scroll and items that they dropped." "I see," Nodding slightly, Leo has no choice but to believe the exnation of the group. Smiling slightly, with a hint of excitement, Leo took out the 12 bottles filled with white marrow with a hint of red in varying degrees, cing them on the chair they got from the abandoned building. "This is all the extracted materials..." Leo exined a little before ncing at the eyes-lit-up group. p... p... "Hehehe... Great, great, let''s all get one!" Rnd said happily as he passed the other bottle toward the group, only each getting one and leaving the rest to Leo. As for the reason why, Rnd said that they could only use it once per week so it''s better to give it to Leo. With how long a single week was, the group believed that they would be able to meet and hunt felines by then! With his action, the eyes of Leo couldn''t help but show a slight appreciation before nonchntly putting the two bottles inside his inventory. Ding! [ Liquified Marrow (High - Umon) (72% pure) - An extracted marrow from the body of a Foundation-level beast and got tainted by impurities in the process of extraction... Can be used for concocting a Permanent Speed Stats and Speed Boosting Potion... Note 1 - Safe to Drink directly! Note 2 - Upon consumption, it could increase the speed stat by 2 permanently! Note 3 - Due to impurities, you can only consume one per 4 days! ] Indeed, the higher the purity is, the higher the effect would be! Of all the marrow he extracted, the one on his hand is the highest purity! While the rest are all under 70% purity. 50% of the purity was equivalent to low-level umon materials, 60% is considered at mid-level, while the 70% on his hand is considered high-level materials based on the system analysis! It could be said that after upgrading his "Potion Knowledge" to level 3 (costing him 6,000 of horror points) Leo''s knowledge regarding potion had gotten deeper! Although not much it is still much better than before! Causing him to be able to know the grading system of every material based on its purity! Above the high-grade material is 80% (Peak-(Grade) material!) while 90% is almost considered the perfection of any material. Feeling that the horror point he spent was worth it, Leo stared at the group who was smiling widely after drinking the extracted marrow. Based on their expression, Leo could assume that the marrow effect was sessful. Unscrewing the cap of the bottle, Leo without hesitation drank the liquified marrow, instantly gulping it... In an instant, after entering his stomach. Leo suddenly felt a strong burning sensation inside his body, quickly and silently spreading around his body before strengthening some part of it in the process... Ding! +2 speed. As he was engrossed about thefortable feeling that was sweeping inside his body, a sudden sound of notification entered his consciousness followed by the quickly receding feeling of heat inside him. Sighing regretfully, Leo opened his eyes before looking at his character panel in delight. Indeed, it increased by two! "Unfortunately..." "Unfortunately what?" Kristine who was already done drinking her bottle happened to hear Leo''s mumbling. Due to curiosity, she asks. Hearing Kristine, Leo''s eyes curled up as a mischievous thought passed through his head. Quickly hiding his expression Leo revealed a look of disappointment on his face before looking at the empty bottle in his hand. Sigh... "Unfortunately zombies have a lot of impurities in their bodies due to their decayed body, or else we might have a few extra umon materials that could increase our strength stat permanently... Sigh... Look, there are still some flesh of them here... I really hate these impurities." Again, Leo shook his head in disappointment before taking out the essence of the zombies he extracted back then. Unscrewing the bottle, Leo took a whip of air from inside, directly showing it to Kristine beside him. "Augh... Cough... Are you...cough... joking right?" Kristine asked angrily as she almost puked upon thinking about drinking that bottle of green liquid with some visible flesh of zombie mix within. Ding! +1,500 horror points. Suppressing the smile on his face, Leo shot a confused expression on his face before looking at the angry teenager beside him. Scratching his cheeks as if confused as to why Kristine was angry with him, he replied weakly. "Why? Is there something wrong? Is not that good that we can get other umon materials that could increase our stat permanently?" "Cough... are you previously from mental!?" She angrily said, quickly turning around, afraid to see Leo''s action of smelling the essence of the zombie. Although she already turned around, she still couldn''t help but shiver slightly. Ding! +1,000 horror points! ... Chapter 40: Further utilization of Extraction skill! "It''s not a good joke you know?" Rosa frowned slightly as she nced at the bottle in Leo''s hand. Seeing the glint in Leo''s eyes as he seriously studied the green essence with the mixture of flesh inside the bottle fervently... Rosa couldn''t help but gulp nervously. "Wait... Don''t tell me he''s not joking around?" ...Is he really from mental before the apocalypse? She couldn''t help but suspect Leo. ... Leo didn''t bother nor hear the voice of the woman beside him at all since all his attention was currently preupied with the green essence on his hand. Earlier as Kristine was walking away, he was about to put the essence on his inventory when suddenly, out of nowhere, a brilliant thought passed/appeared through his mind. "Why not use my Extraction skill toward this green essence... I could extract the impurities that way!" With shining eyes and the feeling of a wise aura enveloping his body, Leo activated his extraction skill toward the green essence on his hand. Sure enough, after activating his "Extraction" skill toward the bottle, a feeling of being in control of the liquid inside the bottle resurfaces within him. It indeed works! Feeling enlightened, Leo carefully forced out all the flesh inside the bottle. Due to it being in solid(semi-solid) state Leo easily forced it all out outside in no time. After forcing all the tidbits of flesh outside, Leo then began to manipte the little dust(stone) inside causing his mind to feel a slight headache due to the hardness of the job... Soon, after a minute of maniption, Leo''s forehead began to drip with sweat and his back also began to feel cold. Sigh... I could manipte dust if I''m focused and careful enough, however and unfortunately, If I got distracted for a little... my control of the dust would disappear causing me to start from the beginni... Damn! Leo suddenly cursed inside his head when the dust slipped under his control causing him to start again. Again... F*ck I failed, Again! Again... Failed... Again! Soon, 10 minutes passed by. Sighing deeply after sessfully forcing all the little dust(stone) inside the green essence, Leo slumped to the ground as he wiped the sweat on his forehead. "Hahaha! I seeded!" Leo upon using his soul scan toward the bottle in his hand suddenlyughed out loud causing the group to look at him in confusion. [ Zombie Essence (Common - High) (75% purity): A good material for countless grade 1 potions... Suitable for concocting strength, stamina, and health potion... Note 1: You could drink it safely! Note 2: Consuming the Zombie Essence directly could increase the strength stat by 1 permanently! Note 3: It can only be consumed once per 4 days! ( If you consume other unprocessed materials, It is best/safe if you wait for two days before consuming this! ) Note 4: Due to the unique physique of the host, he could consume different unprocessed material twice per 4 days! (Only work if the materials have 70% and above purity!) ] "Still, unfortunately, the blood and essence of the zombie already got mixed together... Increasing its purity to another level is almost impossible." With Excitement building inside him, Leo turned his head toward the dumbfounded group that was probably shocked due to his previousugh. Approaching the group happily, Leo said loudly. "Look, look, I seed. We can now get permanent strength stat upon consuming this zombie essence!" Leo didn''t care about their awkward and bit of disgusted look as he exined the bottle in his hand. "Not only it could increase strength stat by 1 permanently! We could also drink this every 4 days! "Not bad right, If you want this I can give you this one as a form of tester." Without thinking too much, Leo tossed the bottle containing the green liquid (zombie essence) to Mr. Rnd in front of him. Cough! "Ahhem, this..." Clearing his throat as he stared at the battle in his hand, Rnd couldn''t help but shudder slightly at the thought of drinking it as he tossed the bottle back to Leo. "Since this is... the fruit of yourbor, it only made sense for you to... TASTE it." "Right, it made sense." "True... You... really deserve it..." "+1." The group unisonlymented before looking at Leo curiously if he would really drink the bottle filled with zombie essence just to increase his stats by 1. Although it is really tempting to increase their stats by one, drinking the essence of zombies is already beyond their morals. "I see, thank you!" Leo upon hearing Mr. Rnd, immediately unscrewed the cap of the bottle before directly drinking the green essence inside without showing a sign of disgust. Although Leo knew what was running inside the mind of the group, he remained unaffected by it as he drank all the liquid within the bottle. Having spent most of his time within the horde of zombies (Daily seeing the wriggling worm inside them), being dead once, having a ghost body and mind/thought of a ghost, and being in the venge of death in the past. Leo''s disgust is already at the level of minimal! "Gosh, he really drinks it!" Buaack! "The taste is not bad." Seeing Leo''s blissful expression upon consuming the essence of the zombie as if he drank something good. Except for the child who was covering his eyes and Rnd, the group couldn''t control their body anymore as they bent slightly, holding their stomach before puking to the ground. Buackk! Ding! +11,500 horror points! (Seeing Leo''s blissful expression gives them chills!) [ Congrattions upon scaring a group for the first time! ] +1,000 horror points and additional +1 free attribute points! +1 strength! Feeling the slight burning sensation on his muscles and the feeling of a slight increase in his strength, Leo''s eyes lit up further. "3 stats in a single... I mean 4 days! If I did a simple calction I almost could gain a 21-24 increase in my stats every month and approximately 252-288 a year!" This... Wouldn''t I be invincible by then? Indeed my choice of choosing this ss job is correct! *** Author''s Note: I finally uploaded my first 40th chapter! I''m deeply thankful for all of your support! Chapter 41: Sudden Appearance. Jake wiped the corner of his mouth before taking a water bottle from his inventory, not forgetting to cast an angry and disbelieving look toward Leo before washing his mouth with water. After a mouthful of water, Jake was about to curse and scold Leo when suddenly the expression on his face contorted as a familiar seemingly tingling sensation passed through his body, causing his expression to instantly turn dark. "This is bad..." Caw! Just as he was about to notify his group about the feeling that something/someone was approaching their location at an rming rate... When suddenly out of nowhere, cries of dozens of birds resounded from the far sky in the distance. Feeling that his soul shiver slightly after hearing the cries of the birds, Leo immediately raised his head toward the horizon in horror. In an instant, Leo saw ck dots of dozens of birds in the distance, pping their ck long wings toward their general direction. Although the birds were still hundreds of meters away from them, the familiar deep feeling of danger and horror within his soul reminded him of the particr hateful bird from the past. "Soul Eating Crow!" "Soul Eating Crow..." Leo and Rnd unisonly said with grave and serious expression. Exchanging with a deep look, Rnd quickly turned around beforemanding his group. "Quickly hide toward the building!" "Choose the high building and quickly hide within!" Scrambling around, Leo closely followed the rushing group toward the 7th-story tall building in the short distance. Quickly entering inside, the group instantly shut the door and window up, nketing the surroundings in weak darkness (Only enough for them to see in a short distance). Caw! Caw... Screech! As the second passed by, as they held their breath in anxiousness, the sound of the cries of the bird magnified by amount, causing the expression of the group to contort in pain... Ding! -0.1 health. "Don''t make noise, just bear with the pain." "Sooner orter, after they didn''t find the target they will immediately go away..." Rnd said in a hushed tone as he stared at the concrete above him with a dark expression. Damn Soul Eating Birds! If not for their huge number, the ability to fly, and could attack from a long distance Rnd would probably fight them off. Not only that, the thing that they hate the most about this "Soul Eating Crow" is their ability to directly attack the soul of the target! Causing his shield and defense to be useless! In addition, their soul damage can also increase and stack if they release it unisonly toward the target! Caw!!! Screech! Flying high above the ground, the dozens of "Soul Eating Crows" while pping their dark wings that expanse at least 3-4 meters wide, gaze toward the buildings in the ground in confusion... Caw? CAW! Caw! Screech... Caw! Not seeing their initial target, the Soul Eating Crow''s unison cried as they unisonly opened their sharp beak widely... nketing the surroundings in silence. ... Leo and the group who was hiding in one of the buildings suddenly felt/heard the silence above them as the feeling of great danger instantly gripped their heart. In particr, Leo''s dark brown eyes instantly constricted as a terrifying guess appeared on his head. Due to his having a "Soul Screeching" skill, Leo was extremely familiar with how it works... "COVER your ears, QUICKLY!" Leo almost shouted as he hurriedly said to the group before covering his ears with two hands and bending to his knees... Increasing the distance toward the sky. Surprised at Leo''s outburst, the group didn''t ask him for the reason as they quickly followed Leo''s action, directly slumping to the ground while covering their ears... As soon as they all covered their ears... Above the sky, the dozens of dark crows in unison, let out an extremely loud screeching sound to the point that it was almost inaudible... CAWWW! CAWWW!! Augh! Thud... The group let out an inaudible cry of pain as they slumped to the ground, squirming to the extreme. Their orifices, especially their mouth, ears, and eyes began to bleed, slightly dyeing the floor with thick crimson-red blood... The feeling of their brain and soul being squished by the sound hit them so hard! After squirming for a while, one of the people from the groupy unconscious on the ground, not able to handle the stabbing pain in his soul. Although the group saw the pathetic figure of their groupmate, they couldn''t do anything due to the immense pain... They are also fighting not to fall unconscious! After tens of seconds of indescribable cry from above, the Soul Eating Crow suddenly paused as they scanned the ground for any sign of living beings... Augh... Did it finally end? Leo opened his eyes in pain as he scanned the contorting expression of the group, due to the blood, Leo''s eyes could only see 2-3 meters away from him... Sighing deeply, feeling that the cmity finally passed by, Leo was about to stand up when suddenly the hair in his body suddenly stood up... Followed by the deep chills settling on his soul. CAAAAWWWWW!!! CAWWW! Thud... Thud! Caught off guard by the second loud screech of the crows in the sky. Leo and the group immediately fell toward the ground and began to squirm in pain. Like a thousand of thin needles stabbing deep within their bodies... The pores in their body began to excrete blood. Further dyeing the ground with blood. Augh!! Roy, the child, not able to bear the pain of the second screech of the crow, directly fell unconscious... Followed by Kristine and another one... Soon, In a short span of ten seconds. 7 out of 10 people directlyy unconscious on the cold ground as their bodies sometimes spasm... "Damn ck Bird! Sooner orter I would exterminate your race!" Leo after mumbling those words weakly, finally sumbed to pain before directly falling unconscious to the cold floor. ... Meow? The white cat, seemingly unaffected by anything, approaches the unconscious child, licking its face in concern. Meow? Seeing that the child didn''t respond, the gray irises of the cat revealed a cold glint as it looked at the concrete above, as if its eyes could see what was happening outside. Chapter 42: Waking Up. Cough... Cough... "Ughh... This pain." Leo opened his bloodshot eyes as he looked at the familiar concrete ceiling above him, pondering before gazing toward the rays of weak lighting from the outside, shining through the gap of the ck curtain. Augh! Damn ck Crows! I would eradicate your race in the future!! Sitting with great difficulty as he grimaces in difort, feeling the severely aching muscles around his body. Leo scanned the surrounding area with a sour expression, only to see the unconscious group on the cold ground, their chest heaving up weakly as dry blood could be seen on their face. Further scanning the room, Leo soon met the shining gray eyes of the white cat, as it stayed beside the child, guarding it toward the unexpected. Upon inspection, Leo noticed that it was clearly weakened based on its extra pale color and slightly dull gray eyes. How long has it been? Leo sighed deeply, thankful that they managed to survive the ordeal as he looked at the dark red stain on the floor, using it as his reference to tell the time. Unfortunately, he was not well versed in this as he just came up with random guesses. "I see, based on the dryness of the blood, I probably fell unconscious for at least 3 hours..." Leo thought silently, as he weakly stood up and began to approach and examine the body of the group, trying to see if they sustained grave injuries after falling unconscious. Sigh... Fortunately, no one died. After observing the group for a couple of minutes, Leo let out a sigh of relief feeling the tension in his heart diminish a lot upon seeing that all of them were breathing and seemed fine. "Still, based on the color of their faces, they would probably need to rest for a while to fully recover the loss of their blood." Unfortunately, If I just could create a potion right now, It might save us a lot of time by fastening their recovery... Without anything to do but to wait, Leo took out a biscuit from his inventory to eat before decided to open his character panel. Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion Physique: Soul Body ___ Attributes ___ Level: 19( 633/1100 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 19 Health: 78/78 Mana: 95/95 Stamina: 92/92 (10) Strength: 63.6 (0.5) (Increase health by 10 and speed by 2 every 20 of Strength points!) Speed: 42 (10) Magic Power: 46 Soul Power: 103 (10) ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 5), Mist of Illusion (Lvl5), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 3), Nightmare (Lvl 1), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 5), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 2), Soul Scan (Lvl 1), Hidden Strenght (Lvl 5), Build up Stamina (Lvl 5)... ss Job Skills: Potion Knowledge (Lvl 3), Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl1), Extraction (basic mastery), Mana Thread (Basic mastery). [ Tree Talent! ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory! ] ... Horror points: 27,750 ... Seeing his current stats, Leo directly fell silent, the previous satisfaction upon seeing his stats greatly diminished as he remembered his weakness earlier. Pondering for a second, Leo directly upgraded his Soul Shrieking to level 5 and Soul Scan to level 3 costing him a staggering 15,750 horror points. Although Leo wanted to upgrade his Potion Knowledge and Puppetry Knowledge directly to level 5, the weakness and slight injury on his soul and body caused him to halt his n... Since the forceful putting of a huge influx of knowledge inside his mind/brain might worsen his injuries. Shaking his head in disappointment, Leo began to spend his free attributes points, spending 8 to his speed and 11 to his soul power. Instantly increasing his speed from the original 42 to 50 and soul power from 103 to 114. Following that, Leo then saw his strength and stamina fluctuate slightly before increasing by a small amount! Since his strength and stamina were rted to his soul, it also increased after he increased his soul power! "My overall strength increased by amount... Unfortunately, it is still far from satisfactory." After arranging and checking his character panel, Leo nodded slightly in contentment before raising his head and scanned the surrounding area. Sigh... Seeing that the group was still unconscious, Leo then silently took out the bottle of Marrow Essence on his inventory, nning to increase its purity and also practice his "Extraction" skill to pass the time. Extraction... With glowing eyes, the crystal clear liquified marrow on the bottle magnified by times in front of his eyes, as the familiarity of being in control of the liquid naturally came to him... In an instant, Leo saw small particles (with the sizes of small sand to dust) that shouldn''t have been within the liquified marrow floating inside of it. Extract... Extract. Controlling and enveloping the dust with weak invisible mana, Leo cautiously and carefully takes it out outside the bottle before again continuing the process repeatedly... Failed, again, and Extract. Failed... Again... Extract... Cough... After minutes of careful extraction of the impurities, Leo coughed slightly before taking a sigh of relief as he began to check his final product. Although the bottle still contains a hint of red,pared to earlier, it was less noticeable... I still couldn''t extract the blood... Ding! [ Liquified Marrow (Umon) (72% pure) - An extracted marrow from the body of a Foundation-level beast and got tainted by impurities in the process of extraction... ] "72%, it is still too little..." Leo shook his head in disappointment, putting the bottle into his inventory before taking the other bottle and continuing to extract the impurities within. As Leo was processing the 2nd bottle... ... Cough... Cough... Where am I? Who am I? Jake opened his red eyes with difficulty as he eyed the unconscious group on the cold ground in puzzlement before finally looking at the ceiling in a daze... After minutes of momentary confusion, Jake''s eyes lit up as the fog in his head began to clear up. "I see, my skill and my sense of being a watcher failed me... In the end... I almost lost our lives..." Sigh... I should have upgraded my scan skills first before upgrading my offensive skills... Now that we suffered from being caught off guard, it''s already toote to regret my past actions. Chapter 43: Someone killed the Crows? Jake closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, calming his disappointed heart. "With my perception skill, I only managed to catch the existence of the Soul Eating Crows after they were only 500 meters away from us. Although it seems far away, with their ability to fly and their level, reaching us in a few seconds is reasonable...'' Even though Jake knew that it was not entirely his fault since it was only a matter of time before the Soul Eating Crow found them, the feeling of ming himself still passed and rested in his mind. Sigh... "Ohh, you''re finally awake?" Leo suddenly spoke as he eyed the bloody face of Jake for a second before looking at the bottle in his hand seriously. "How long has it been since I fell unconscious?" Jake asked Leo as he eyed him with surprise, never expected that he would be the first one to wake up... Or probably, he never fell unconscious in the first ce... However, it''s very unlikely since... Suddenly thinking about the pain he experienced earlier, the corner of Jake''s eyes twitched violently as he grimaced in pain silently, starting to feel the aching muscles on his body. "I don''t know, it''s probably an hour or a day, but it''s likely at least 3-5 hours." Leo ponders slightly before answering. Thinking for a while, Leo took out a water bottle and bread from his inventory, giving it to Jake who was struggling to sit up in the distance. As Leo was about to sit up again toward his previous seat after giving Jake the bread, a familiar deep voice of Rnd from the corner of the room entered his ears. "Cough... Can you also give me one?" Rnd coughed slightly as he closed his eyes, feeling that the surroundings were spinning around, causing him to be unable to ess his inventory. "And also please help me to sit down..." *** "Sigh, much better...Thanks a lot!" Rnd sighed in relief as he thanked Leo in the distance, his eyes still closed as he tried to stabilize his mind. "Did you find anything outside?" Seeing the relief on Rnd''s face, Jake who was drinking the water in the distance asked Leo seriously. Due to his mind also slightly spinning around, making him dizzy, Jake couldn''t use his skill sessfully(couldn''t use his skill by 100%), causing him to be unable to detect life outside. Ehh? Scratching his head, feeling slight embarrassment upon noticing that after waking up that he never checked the situation outside, Leo replied in a weak voice. "I... Still didn''t check the situation outside since I also just woke up from being unconscious." Cough... Cough... " ( O - O ) " Jake. Spewing the water in his mouth surprised by the carelessness of Leo and knowing that Leo was just finding a reason, Jake couldn''t help but stare at Leo''s face in disbelief. "Did you really... survive on your own in the past?" Jake asks in doubt and suspicion. Knowing that he made some mistakes, Leo''s cheeks noticeably redden slightly as he coughs up weakly before standing up. Cautiously approaching the window, Leo slightly lifted the curtain with his left hand, slightly poking his head enough for him to see the scenery outside. This... In an instant, after seeing the situation outside, Leo couldn''t help but instinctively gasp in shock and puzzlement as he stared at the lying figures on the ground. The familiar pure dark wings that span up to 3-5 meters in length are now broken, their dark eyes simr to an abyss that stripped of vitality, and the long deep wound on their neck as if a long sharp object shed through it. 1... 2... 5... Leo counted in shock as he took a long deep breath. "Who could kill those 5 Soul Eating Crows!" Although Leo has no idea about the current level of the dead crows outside, his experience after fighting the level-15 Soul Eating Crow in the past told him that the dead crow outside is at least at the Foundation Realm! Jake who was eating the bread that Leo gave him while staring at Leo''s figure in the distance, immediately noticed the shock and oddity in Leo''s face. What happened? Misunderstanding the expression of Leo, thinking that Leo saw something worse, Jake gritted his teeth in pain as he forced his body to stand up... Slowly approaching the window as his face contorted in pain, Jake immediately peeks through the gap in the curtain. "They are dead? Other than zombies with sickle hands and Household cats with sharp ws like a dagger... Who could kill these flying beasts?" Unlike Leo, the look on Jake''s face remainedposed as he calmly analyzed the situation outside the building. With how chaotic the world was, there are a lot of things that couldn''t exin... It''s highly likely that other monsters caused this. After pondering for a while, Jake silently shook his head as he made his way toward his previous location, continuing his resting in an attempt to recover the loss of his blood. Seeing that Jake seems not surprised by the mysterious death of the crows outside, Leo''s shocked mind begins to calm down as he takes ast nce outside before moving toward his previous location. Hesitating slightly for a while, Leo raised his head and directly looked at Jake meters away. "Could we retrieve those crows? I might get materials that can boost our stats permanently... Besides that, I also need materials to create a puppet... their beak, feathers, eyes, and talons could do." Jake replied as he took a deep breath, "Wait for the group to wake up, or wait till I recover..." "Cough... there''s no need, I will just cast my skill toward you and you could retrieve the corpse outside on your own." Just as Jake finished speaking, Rnd at some point, opened his eyes and replied toward Leo in the distance. Pausing slightly to get used to the difort he was currently experiencing, Rnd then said. "But you need to make it fast since my skill has a time limit... 2 minutes at most." ... Chapter 44: Baited by Feline. After pondering for a while, Leo nodded slightly. "Two minutes is already good, It wouldn''t take me that long to retrieve those corpses." "Good, then it''s decided then," Rnd replied as he coughed slightly. Closing his eyes, Rnd did some quick hand motions, releasing an intense fluctuation of mana in the surroundings before eventually pointing his hand toward Leo. Shield Guarding... Swish... In an instant after finishing the hand symbol, the hand of Rnd glowed with intense pure blue light before quickly vanishing toward Leo''s body. Ding! [ Sheild Guarding (1:59)- A skill that was almostparable to a blessing. It''s a divine shield technique that grows with the realm of the caster. Effect 1: Could withstand the attacks of the Peak- Foundation realm for a while... Effect 2: Boost the overall stats by 5% for the duration of the skill! Note: Don''t worry Daddy got you. ] This... In an instant, the feeling of his strength being increased by a lot suddenly put Leo in euphoria. Although it is only a 5% increase, with his current stats that were more than 200 points overall, Leo could feel that he almost has the strength that could rival an Early Foundation realm beast. "With the shield that could withstand Peak Foundation beast, It is no wonder they trust him very much." ... "Thanks." Feeling assured of his safety upon seeing the effect of the skill. Leo took a deep long breath as he immediately made his way toward the door of the building. Not wasting time, Leo nodded toward Jake and Rnd as he opened the door slightly, only enough for his body to move outside. Two minutes at most, the farthest corpse of the crow is at most 80-90 meters away from the building... Not to mention that it would take a while to move them toward my inventory. Dashing toward the nearest corpse of the crow, Leo cautiously stared at the surrounding building and at the sky to ensure that there were no monsters in his sight. In a short instant, Leo instantly touched the nearest ck crow on the ground as he eyed the surroundings to ensure that he would not miss the possible drops. After 8 seconds. Ding! [ Acquired 1 Early Foundation Corpse... ] Seeing the corpse vanish in front of him, Leo didn''t stop to read the notification that appeared as he immediately dashed toward the nearest corpse in the distance. Due to his speed attributes already reaching 52 points, Leo could travel at 35 - 50 meters/second at his top speed (Depending on the terrain) causing him to instantly reach the next corpse. Still no drops? Leo sighed in disappointment as he lightly touched the broken dark wings of the crow... Touching the seemingly metallic dark feather of the deceased crow while waiting for his system to put the body in his inventory, Leo''s eyes couldn''t help but reveal a sh of excitement as he gazes at the feather in fascination. Indeed, this corpse is perfect for me to create my first puppet! Leo excitedly mumbled under his breath as he patiently waited for the body to disappear, soon after waiting for nearly 10 seconds, the sound of notification finally rang inside his consciousness... Ding! [Acquired 1 Early Foundation Corpse... ] 3 to go... ... Soon, in just a short span of 50 seconds, Leo already picked up the 3 corpses of the crows. Currently, he was only waiting for the 4th corpse to enter his inventory before nning to rush toward the 5th corpse in the distance before going back to the building. With still having a minute on his shield before vanishing, Leo was quite confident that there wouldn''t be any idents that would ur after retrieving the 5th corpse. "Unfortunately, I didn''t find any drops, it would be good to get some free spoils in the process..." Ding! [Acquired 1 Early Foundation Corpse... ] Swish! Not bothering to look at the notification, Leo instantly rushed toward the distance upon seeing the crow vanish in front of him. "Hmm? It is muchrger than the deceased crows earlier..." Upon reaching the side of the crow, Leo immediately notices the difference between this crowpared to earlier corpse. Not only does its wingspan reach 8 meters in length, but even its feathers reveal a hint of red luster hidden by its ck color. If not for him being close to it, he would probably not notice it. "It''s probably a Mid-Foundation level beast before it died..." Leo took a deep breath as his eyes gleamed with an excited look. Touching the body of the crow, Leo''s eyes began to wander around the surrounding area to see if there were drops. Still none? Are drops really so rare? As Leo was about to shake his head in disappointment, when suddenly his eyes caught the glint of the purple scroll hidden in the corner of the building meters away from the corpse of the crow. This... If the scroll hadn''t coincidentally shed with weak purple light when his head turned toward its direction, Leo probably would missed it out. "That was a purple scroll! A purple scroll!" Leo''s eyes shined brightly as he stared at the purple scroll in the distance with greediness. Based on his knowledge of the ssification of the scrolls. Gray Scroll is considered a (Common grade), Pure White (Umon grade), Green is an (Elite grade), above Green, is Blue (Rare grade), and Purple should be an (Epic grade)! What is an Epic skill? Although Leo has no idea about the price of the purple scroll, based on his current skill, he still hasn''t managed to get one! As for his Skills that came from his skill tree, Leo didn''t bother to think since all of them were ungraded... I need to get that scroll! Ding! [ Acquired 1 Middle Foundation Corpse... ] After seeing the mid-foundation crow vanish in front of him, the burning greed within him couldn''t contain anymore as he immediately darted toward the purple scroll in the distance. Swish! Stretching his hand to get the purple scroll on the ground, Leo was about to shout in excitement when suddenly, in the corner of his eyes, he saw the shadow of the building suddenly twisted intensely as a two-meter-tall feline silently stepped out from it. Its eyes, concealing the cunning look within it, directly stared at him yfully. Not good! Bang! Chapter 45: Fighting the feline. Clenching the purple scroll in his hand tightly, Leo only saw the feline in the short distance vanish as it suddenly appeared beside him in a blur. Boom! ng... Without having time to think, a blue light suddenly shed in his body causing him to be momentarily blinded by its light. What happened? Leo absentmindedly thought as his body suddenly flew toward the trash can in the distance like a lifeless kite. Boom! Crashing toward the trash can as his body rolled for a while until it stopped, Leo released a consecutive coughing sound. Cough... The shield activated on its own, what... Happened? Although there were no visible wounds on his body since it was protected by the invisible shield casted by Rnd, the damage dealt by crashing toward the ground didn''t activate the shield, causing him to fall in a slight daze. Ding! -1 health! Not good, it''s a trap... The feline deliberately put the purple scroll in the corner of the building waiting for someone to get baited by it! Leo couldn''t help but feel chills deep within from the realization. If not for the shield of Rnd, he would probably be seriously injured right now. Fortunately... Forcefully standing as he releases a weak cough, Leo immediately puts the purple scroll on his inventory before taking out the sword given to him by Roy. His expression was dark as he stared at the unhurriedly approaching feline in the distance before casting his gaze toward the shield. [ Sheild Guarding (0:52)- A skill that was almostparable to a blessing. It''s a divine shield technique that grows with the realm of the caster... ] "Only less than a minute left... I couldn''t seek help from the building since most of them were still unconscious while Jake and Rnd probably had nobat ability right now..." "How idiotic, I should have waited till they all awakened before getting the corpse of the crows. Although it would be much more decayedter and I wouldn''t probably gain much more materials, it is still safe..." Feeling slightly regretful for his choices/actions, Leo took a deep breath as he gazed toward the feline before taking out most of his bronze and silver knuckles from his inventory. Swish... Without hesitation, Leo clenched the knuckle on his hand before throwing it toward the feline. Snort... ng! Looking at the fast-approaching bronze knuckle in disdain, the feline flicks its paw, causing the knuckle to get hit before falling toward the ground lifelessly. Seeing that his knuckle got deflected, Leo was not disappointed at all as he again threw another bronze knuckle toward the feline... ng! Followed by silver knuckles and another... ... Hiss!!! Seeing the 5th knuckle approaching its direction, the unhurriedly walking feline finally got annoyed as it suddenly twisted its body, directly vanishing from its location before appearing beside Leo. Swish... Upon seeing the feline materialize beside him, Leo didn''t panic at all as he immediately activated his "Mist Illusion" and "Wisp of Poison" skills causing the feline to be caught off guard, reasoning to its senses to instantly drop drastically before Leo silently vanishing in its line of sight. "Invisibility." sh! After entering invisibility mode, Leo took a deep breath as he raised the iron sword in his hand as he shed it down toward the caught-off-guard feline intensely. Hiss! "Sess! F*ck wait..." With a loud cry, the sword leaves a considerably deep wound on the feline body, causing the feline to release a deep mournful cry as it suddenly swiped its paw toward the origin of the iron sword. ng! Boom! Seeing the invisible shield sh with blue light, directly deflecting the damage from the ws of the feline. Leo''s body slid backward causing his invisibility to be inactive as his body became visible again in the eyes of the feline. Ding! -1 health (The shockwave from the paws of the feline traveled through his body, slightly injuring him in the process.) Seeing that his invisibility turned off on its own, Leo cursed inside his head as he immediately activated his invisibility skill. "Damn skill, you didn''t show your weakness in the description from before! Who would have guessed that you would turn off on your own!" ... [ Sheild Guarding (0:46)... ] 46 seconds left, I should find a way to kill the feline before the shield vanishes... If I could just drag the time... Leo silently thought as he circled the feline in the distance. If he could just drag the time, Leo''s sess rate of killing the feline would definitely increase since most of his skills are good at getting an advantage in long fights. Getting to the back of the feline, Leo took a deep breath as he focused most of his soul power on his throat... Causing his throat to expand visibly... 1,2,3...5. After 5 seconds of contracting the soul power in his throat, Leo stared at the cautious feline who was looking at its surrounding area in hopes of finding him as he opened his mouth widely... WaaHhhhh! Feeling a sudden danger from behind, the feline tried to evade... Unfortunately, due to his senses being suppressed drastically by the fog, it couldn''t evade the inaudible sound in time as its body convulsed intensely followed by its mind bing momentarily nk. Chance! Not letting the chance slip off under his watch, Leo raised the iron sword in his hand as he shed it toward the front legs of the feline... sh! Again! sh! shing its front legs two times, Leo could slightly see its pure white bone hidden within its cut flesh, leaving a deep wound on its front leg. Again, raising his iron sword, nning to sh the feline for the third time, when suddenly... HISSS! The eyes of the feline came back to life before suddenly releasing a loud mournful cry toward Leo as it opened its mouth widely, revealing the sharp teeth like a dagger within. This... Gritting his teeth, Leo didn''t care about the approaching mouth of the feline as he decisively delivered a sh toward the wounded legs of the feline! "I want you to BECOME CRIPPLE!" sh! "Now! Telekinesis!" After seeing the wound of the feline deepened, Leo manipted the three knuckles in the air, behind the feline... With the "Mist of Illusion" being activated, the feline never expected that the knuckles it deflected earlier would be floating behind it. BOOM! Hitting the head of the feline heavily, causing its mouth with sharp teeth like a dagger to miss his body by centimeters... Leo immediately distanced himself away from the feline. Chapter 46: Rewards! Killing a Foundation Beast for the first time! Pant... Pant... Leo panted heavily as he distanced himself from the wounded feline. Silently activating his invisibility skill again, Leo''s body instantly bes transparent beforepletely vanishing within the thick white-green fog... "30 seconds left... I need to end this quickly..." Feeling slightly restless, Leo rushed again behind the feline''s body as he opened his mouth widely, nning to use his "Soul Shrieking" skill toward it... MEOWw! However, unfortunately, as if the feline already anticipated Leo''s attack, it suddenly twisted its head toward its back as it suddenly roared loudly. Almost causing Leo''s eardrums to burst. Boom! In an instant, a shockwave of sounds quickly traveled toward Leo''s location, disrupting his shrieking and invisibility skills in the process. "Damn, it even has roar skill." Leo cursed out loud as he covered his left ear with his empty left hand. Although he covered his ears tightly, a trace of flowing blood still could be seen, especially on his unprotected right ear. -3 health points! -1 health point! Seeing that the feline still hadn''t nned to retract its roaring skill, Leo decisively and angrily manipted the floating knuckles in the distance toward the throat of the feline. "You''re too loud!" Roaa... Choke... Choke... Caught off guard due to his suppressed senses, the bronze and silver knuckles quickly traveled inside its throat, instantly stopping and forcefully disrupting its skill. Cough... The feline coughed uncontrobly as its face was covered with tears and snot. Leo could even see its face slightly turning red, clearly having a hard time to breath. Chance! Without approaching the feline, Leo''s eyes lit up as he manipted the rest of his knuckles, quickly hitting the coughing feline in the distance. Bang! Bang! Boom! Meo... Boom... Not being able to cry in pain, the knuckle hit the body of the feline back and forth. Causing it to be covered with injuries. 20 seconds left... Seeing that the timer of the shield was ticking down, Leo frowned as he felt that the damage he dealt was still far from enough. Quickly activating his invisibility skill, Leo dashed toward the side of the feline as he shed the iron sword on his hand horizontally... sh! Due to the knuckles hitting its body back and forth and the knuckles that were moving inside its throat, the feline had no time nor ability to evade the iron sword that shed toward its body... Causing its body to have an additional deep wound in it. ... Not giving the feline time to recover, Leo opened his mouth widely as he released a loud inaudible cry beside the feline. WaAHHhh! Boom! Feeling the tearing pain within its soul, in addition to the countless injuries on its body, the feline''s mindpletely goes nk as it suddenly falls to the ground with a loud thud... Still not dead? Seeing that the feline''s chest was still heaving up slowly, Leo dragged his exhausted body as he approached the head of the feline. Pant... Pant... Raising his sword high with his two hands, Leo stabbed the head of the feline with all his might. Sck... "Huff~ again!" Not satisfied with the stab, Leo again raised the iron sword before again stabbing it toward the head of the feline. Sck... Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing an Early Foundation beast (Household Cat)! ] +220 Exp points! [ Congrattions upon killing an Early Foundation beast for the first time! ] +5,000 horror points! +1 free attribute! +1 Medallion of forceful upgrade! "Finally, Huff~ finally, you''re dead." Leo catches a long deep breath as he touches the body of the feline lightly... As he was waiting for the body of the feline to enter his inventory, a sudden sh of blue light appeared, followed by the materialization of the blue scroll beside the body of the feline. This... Blue scroll! [ Acquired corpse of Early Foundation level beast! ] Slightly feeling his exhaustion vanish, Leo excitedly approached the blue scroll on the ground. Picking it up before deactivating his two skills, instantly clearing the thick white-green fog in the surrounding area... Gazing at the surroundings, other than the crimson blood and the deep ravine and crack on the ground, there''s not much indication of their previous fight if he stood from a distance. There''s still 10 seconds left before the shield vanishes... I should quickly go toward the building and digest the scrolls I got. Excitedly dashing toward the familiar building in the distance. Leo gently knocked on the door before slightly opening it only to meet the eyes of Rnd, Jake, and Crisanta... What''s wrong? Leo''s smile quickly disappeared as he noticed that the expression of people inside was not good. Sigh... Shaking his head, Rnd stood up from his seat, clearly already recovered from his injury as he stared at Leo with a deep look. "It''s good that you''re back... But you should be careful next time..." "If you faced beasts above your level, you should seek help immediately... Although we know that you''re thinking about our well-being, it''s still unwise for you to face something/someone above your level." Patting the shoulder of Leo, Rnd turned around and signaled toward Crisanta from the distance. Nodding slightly, Crisanta slightly smiled at Leo before chanting in a low voice. "Heal, cleanse, and recovery..." Swish... In an instant, as Leo was dumbfounded and had mixed feelings within him, a triple light of green, white, and, brown entered his body, quickly healing the damage he took from the fight with the feline. I see, so Crisanta is a healer... No wonder I didn''t see her attacked in the past. ... "Thank... You. I will remember your advice." Leo said toward Crisanta and Rnd, not knowing what to reply. Although he wanted to reassure them with his word that he would remember their advice, Leo decided not to since it was best if he just showed them in action instead of his words that he remembered their advice. Besides that, he really doesn''t know what to reply. It''s not that he waszy to think, but it was just that he was mentally exhausted from the earlier fight. Taking a deep breath as he sat down toward the corner of the room, feeling exhausted not physically but mentally, Leo closed his eyes in an attempt to recover his mental energy. "I will check the two scrollster after I recover, I should be able to gain something nice." Chapter 47: Unlocking the shop! Buzz... Buzz... After resting for a couple of hours, Leo suddenly woke up due to the sound in the building. Unhurriedly opening his eyes, Leo immediately saw the group eating in the distance while beside him was Roy who was ying with his little dragon and white cat. "Brother you''re finally awake?" Roy suddenly raised his innocent brown eyes before continuing to y with the white snake on his palm, tickling it with his pointed finger. Hiss... Hisssss. (The snake twisted its body as it released a hissing sound.) "Hehehehe, aren''t you naughty earlier?" Smiling lightly upon seeing the smile on the child''s face, Leo took a deep breath as he took a water bottle from his inventory. As he was unhurriedly drinking and eating the bread that Roy gave him, Leo saw Kristine in the distance curiously ncing at him a couple of times before hesitantly approaching. "Hehe, Leo I heard from Jake that you were quite careless earlier." "Hmm... What?" Leo stared at Kristine in surprise before ncing at Jake''s guilty expression in the distance. His mouth... I didn''t notice that he was gossipy... Sigh. Sighing deeply Leo nodded awkwardly toward Kristine as he took a bite from the bread in his hand. "Yes, fortunately, I have "Guardian Shield" casted on me that time." "You have... Guardian Shield?" Kristine paused for a while as the corner of her lips suddenly twitched, on her forehead, a little vein could be seen throbbing. "I see, I should not have believed that liar." She said as she took a long deep breath, forcefully calming her nerves. "Liar?" Leo asked confusedly. "Hmpp, yes, Jake said that you fought a Mid-Foundation feline on your own without any help... He even spread that you only barely killed the beasts while your body was covered with severe injuries." That... That was clearly a b*llsh*t! Leo couldn''t help but curse inside his head as his eye twitched, fighting the impulse to show an ugly expression. Gazing toward Jake, Leo saw thetter''s back facing him, clearly acting like nothing happened. He even heard a weak whistle from Jake''s location. Sigh. Forget it. Leo silently thought as he continued conversing with Kristine. ... After minutes of conversation with Kristine, seeing that Kristine finally was walking away, approaching toward Jake''s direction. Leo finally let out a sigh of relief as he excitedly took out the blue scroll that he got on the corpse of the feline earlier. Ding! [ Silent As Breeze (Rare) - A skill that allows the user to gain speed at the same time allows the user to transverse thend silently. Effect 1: Gains 2 speed attribute points permanently per level! Effect 2: Allow the user to gain knowledge on how to move silently... Learning Cost: 2,500 horror points. Note: One of the infamous skills of the hunter. ] This skill fills up one of my weaknesses! It is really worth being called a Rare skill! Smiling widely, without much hesitation, Leo immediately learned the skill as an amount of knowledge directly filled his head. Ding! [ Congrattions upon learning "Silent As Breeze" Level 1! ] +2 Speed! -2,500 horror points. "I see, following the flow of air and bing light as a feather... Silently appearing and silently vanishing like a wind..." Leo mumbled under his breath. Looking at his feet, his eyes couldn''t help but reveal a glint of light. If he wanted to, he would be able to move without releasing a bit of sound right now. He also noticed that the skill could slightly hide his aura. "It''s a perfectbination with my invisibility skill!" Although no one could see him after bing invisible, the sound he produced when he moved under the skill is not silent and could possibly reveal his location... It could be said that the fight earlier is one of the proofs of this. If not for his "Mist of Illusion" skill that could weaken the senses, his invisibility skill probably would have been useless in the fight with the feline earlier! "The Rare skill is already great, then how about the epic one?" Under his anticipated look, Leo excitedly took out the epic scroll in his inventory, instantly attracting the attention of the group in the distance. However, surprisingly, after looking at the scroll in the hand of Leo, the group weakly shook their head as they continued what they were doing. "He was too lucky to gain an epic scroll, even I haven''t gained one." "What can we do? He already joined our group and besides that, his strength is also could be considered our strength..." "Sigh, I''m quite curious what kind of epic skill is that... I remembered that Rnd''s also has an epic protection skill." "Hmmpp... He needed to treat uster for making us worry... Besides that, Jake really knows how to speak nonsense." Under the gaze of the group, Leo remained unaffected as he stared at the description of the Epic scroll in front of him in a daze. Ding! [ Necromancy (Epic) (Technique (Early)): The Art of Death and the beginning of new life. A skill that could create soldiers made of bone... Effect 1: Could create/summon a permanent skeleton soldier using the mana of the host. (The summoned soldier could gain skill, increase its level, and gain a ss job like most of the beings!) Number of Permanent Skeletons: (0/2) Learning Skill Cost: 7,500 horror points! Note: Skeleton soldiers have independent thoughts. ] The... Leo stared at the description of the Epic Scroll in shock. It''s not because he found the skill strong but on the contrary, he found it quitecking. "Fortunately, it was quite simr to the white cat and dragon in the distance. They both have individual thoughts! "The only problem is that I needed to wait for them to grow up in able to help him." Learn... Ding! [ Congrattions on learning Necromancy (Epic) Early mastery! ] -7,500 horror points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon spending more than 50,000 horror points in total! Finally Unlocking the Shop in the system! ] ... Ding! [ New Features added to the system! "Combine!"] [ Combine (Features): Combine two skills to create a brand new skill! Note 1: Couldbine 2 techniques or 2 Cultivation techniques to create a new and stronger technique! Note 2: Combining skills/techniques will cost horror points! (The cost depends on the grade of the skills/techniques beingbined!) Lock: Please spend a hundred thousand horror points to unlock! Current spent horror points: (0/100,000) ] Chapter 48: Undead Skeleton. "I almost forgot about the shop..." Leo mumbled under his breath as he closed the notification panel. With a bated breath, Leo spread his hand toward the concrete floor as he silently whispered. Summon Skeleton... Swish! 1 second, 2 seconds... 5 seconds... Ding! [ Please use the skill on soft ground. ] Ehh... It didn''t work? Sighing slightly, Leo walked outside the building as he found soft ground outside, where the lonely tree could be seen standing up lofty. Under the watch of the curious group, Leo again spread his hand toward the ground as he silently whispered. Summon Skeleton Soldier... Swish! In an instant, after muttering those words, a sudden huge baleful aura began to emit from the ground followed by a small mound slowly rising. Soon... The mound began to cave and break as a small skeleton hand pierced through the soft soil... Not long after, under the anticipated watch of Leo, a small white skeleton rises under the ground. Parting the soil away. nk! Holding a worn-out sword and having a height of 1.25 meters, the skeleton head issued a nking sound as its hollowed eye socket shone with purple light, scanning the surroundings in puzzlement. Its white bone with a hint of rot in it,mon to an old skeleton in a cemetery twisted slightly as it walked toward Leo. Scanning Leo up and down with its purple me eyes. This? Ding! [ Skeleton Soldier Species: Undead Innate skill: None Physique: Body of Bones ______Atrributes______ Level: 1 (0%) Free attribute: 0 Health: 12/12 Mana: 10/10 Stamina: 20/20 Strength: 7 Speed: 5 Magic Power: 2 ______Skills______ Intelligence (Umon lvl 1), Stab (Common lvl 1), Sword Mastery ( Umon lvl 1) ] Ding! [ Body of Bones (Physique) - Unafraid of poison and gue. Have a certain resistance toward the curse. Note: The only worth specialty of Skeleton ] Ding! [ Intelligence (Umon lvl 1) - Gain Intelligence simr to a 5-year-old child! Note: A rare skill that should not appear in the mids of low-level undead! ] "Is this it?" Leo''s head felt dizzy after seeing the character panel of the skeleton soldier in front of him. Feeling slight anger due to the uselessness of the skill. Although it has unique characteristics like Intelligence and Body of Bones, he notices that its stat is far from satisfactory. It couldn''t probably even defeat a monster at the same level! Sigh... Although the skill is the same, the difference between the two is like mud and heaven. Shaking his head in disappointment, as Leo was about to close the panel, a sudden notification appeared in front of him. Instantly getting his attention. [ Spent 1,000 horror points to mutate the Skeleton Soldier. Note: Due to the unique energy of Horror points, mutating the skeleton soldier is possible! ] This! I could even use horror points to mutate things. [ Note: The system could only mutate undead beings or beings with affinity to darkness under the host.] "I see," Although Leo could only mutate beings under him, he was not disappointed at all on the contrary he was extremely relieved. Having the ability to mutate beings under him is already great! Besides that, since they are under him, he could always ensure their loyalty! He doesn''t need to worry about being stabbed at the back like certain novels that he read in the past! "ept!" -1,000 horror points! Without hesitating too much Leo epted the deal, causing his horror points to reduce by a thousand. Swish! In an instant, after epting the deal, the Skeleton Soldier in front of him instantly got covered by ck light followed by the intense bale aura surrounding it (much more intense than before). nk... nk... Engulfed by a baleful aura for minutes, Leo notices that the intensity of light receded as time passes by. Soon, after another 5 whole minutes of waiting, with a nking sound of bones, the bale aura surrounding the skeleton instantly surged toward the skeleton in the middle, instantly vanishing toward the body of the ck skeleton within. Ding! [ Mutation sess. The Skeleton Soldier changed to Skeleton of Horror! ] Ding! [ Skeleton of Horror Species: Undead Innate skill: Eyes of Nightmare Physique: Body of Bones ______Atrributes______ Level: 1 (0%) Free attribute: 2 Health: 15/15 Mana: 10/10 Stamina: 25/25 Strength: 9 Speed: 7 Magic Power: 5 Soul Power: 10 ______Skills______ Advance Intelligence (Rare lvl 1), Stab (Common lvl 1), Sword Mastery ( Umon lvl 1), Laugh of Nightmare (Rare lvl 1) ] Ding! [ Eyes of Nightmare (Innate skill) - Staring at the ck med eyes of the Horror Skeleton could make the enemy feel intense fear, causing them to make mistakes in the middle of a fight. ] ... [ Advance Intelligence (Rare lvl 1) - Gain Intelligence simr to a 10-year-old child! Note: A rare skill that should not appear in the mids of low-level undead! ] ... [ Laugh of Nightmare (Rare lvl 1) - Laughing and nking its lower jaw with the use of soul power could induce the target to fall under the effect of muddle-headed. Note: "D*mn did that zombie justugh at me!?" ] "Great! Now I feel worse." Leo said with a deep sigh, quite satisfied with the upgrade. Although it''s much stronger than before, Leo couldn''t help but feel slight sadness within him due to the fact that the attributes of the undead were much better than him when he was level 1! Seeing the skeleton that was emitting a weak baleful aura, brandishing its white sword toward the tree, Leo slightly felt amused. Right, I could still summon another one, I should summon it right now. ng! ng! After summoning another Skeleton of Horror, Leo smiled in amusement as he watched the two slightly dark skeletons clumsily brandishing their sword toward each other. nk... nk... Thud... Ehh? Due to the carelessness, the 2nd skeleton twisted its lower body too much, causing it to fall to the ground with a thud. Seeing this, the jaw of the first skeleton he summoned created a nking sound,ughing toward the other skeleton in the distance as it pointed its boned finger toward it. nk... nk... Angered that the older skeleton wasughing at him, the 2nd Skeleton rolled its dark me on its eye socket toward the skeleton as it ran toward Leo in the distance. Looking at Leo affectionately, the 2nd skeleton tagged Leo''s hand before pointing toward the 1st skeleton. This? Chapter 49: Shop Items. Upgrading the Body of Soul! This... "Hahahaha, what''s that, a child?" Kristine and Jake, who were watching in the distance couldn''t help but release augh. Adding to the dark expression of Leo as he held the hand of the little skeleton, Jakeughed so hard to the point that he almost cried in joy. "Indeed it''s an epic skill, only epic skill could create a daughter/son from scratch... HAAHAHA." Kristine had not even finished speaking when she suddenlyughed out loud. Clearly happy with her joke. Jake upon hearing Kristine, further cried in joy as he held his stomach in pain. Seeing the twoughing in the distance, Rnd shook his head helplessly before gazing toward the two skeletons in amusement. It is indeed worth being called epic skill/technique. ... Shaking his head, holding the hands of the two skeletons, Leo entered the building as he sat down in the corner. Holding his chin with his hand while pondering... Seeing that Leo was in a daze the two skeletons beside him quietly slipped off as they approached the white cat in the distance. "I still have corpses of the crow on my inventory, fortunately, it would not decay inside so I am not rushing to extract the materials... As for now, I should check the shop first." Opening his character panel, Leo directly locked on the shop at the bottom of his panel. Pressing the shop, the panel in front of him suddenly changes, showing a number of boxes of items and prices below. "Ehh, there were only a couple of items avable?" Leo mumbled in a low voice as he began reading the item in his shop. ______Shop______ 1. [ Medallion of Forceful Upgrade: Forcefully upgrade a skill by one level! Price: 1,000 horror points! ] 2. [ Upgrade Card: Upgrade level by 1. Note: Could only be used toward the host undead summon, beast summons, familiar, etc... Price: 100 horror points for levels 1-5 (Depends on the level of the summon. The higher the level, the higher the price is!) ] 3. [ Skill Upgrade Card: Could upgrade the summon monster skill by 1. Price: 500 for Common skill! (The price depends on the rarity of the skill! )] 4. [ Little Enlightment: A one time use card that could increase the mastery of the techniques! Price: 10,000 horror points! (1 stock per 5 days!) ] 5. [ Inferior Permanent Speed Potion: Consuming the potion could permanently increase the speed stat by 1. Note 1: There are no impurities in the potion, the consumer can consume a number of potions without the fear of negative effects! Note 2: A single being could only consume 10 Inferior Permanent Speed Potion in his lifetime. Consuming further wouldn''t give an additional increase on stat. Price: 1,000 horror points! ] 6. [ Inferior Permanent Strength Potion... ] 7. [ Inferior Permanent Magic Power Potion... ] 8. [ Inferior Permanent Soul Power Potion... ] *** This... Although the number of items in the shop is limited... All of them are extremely valuable! Not to mention number 1 to 4 goods, just the inferior permanent potion is already crazy! If Leo had 40,000 horror points right now, then Leo''s overall attributes would directly increase by 40 points! It is alreadyparable to Early Foundation level beast and human! Sigh... Unfortunately... Horror points: 12,000. With his current horror points, he wouldn''t be able to buy much. "Sigh, I should try my best to scare them to earn extra horror points!" However, before then, I should upgrade my necessary skills first! Smiling happily, Leo directly purchased 1 Medallion of forceful upgrade in the shop, causing his horror points to decline by a thousand points. Ehh...The price, It increase? Surprisingly, after purchasing the item, the price of the Medallion of forceful upgrade in the shop increased by 500. "Sigh, so you''re ying the scarcity on me huh? Fortunately, I already somehow expected it." Shaking his head, his happy mood unaffected, Leo opened his skill panel directly upgrading his "Body of Soul" skill. Ding! [ Do you want to upgrade your "Body of Soul" level 6 to level 7? (ept/Declined) Upgrading the skill would cost you 2 Medallions of forceful upgrade. ] Without hesitating Leo directly pressed the ept button as he immediately closed his eyes to let the skill upgrade his body for a while. *** As Leo''s body was undergoing the process of baptism, already forgotten the two skeletons. The two slightly dark skeletons approached the white cat with two tails in the distance. nk... nk... Moving their lower jaws as if talking, the 2nd Skeleton suddenly raised its left hand, nning to touch the cat''s white purr in pure curiosity... ng... However, before he could touch its purr, the white cat suddenly raised its paw, deflecting the 2nd skeleton''s hand. nk? The purple mes on its hollow eye socket suddenly widened a little as it stared at his hand in surprise. ncing at the white cat in front of it, the skeleton suddenly felt wronged. nk... nk! Seeing this, the 1st skeleton suddenly inexplicably felt angry toward the white cat as it brandished its sword toward the white cat''s body. Swish! However, unfortunately, with its agile speed, the white cat suddenly vanished before the sword hit its body, before materializing on the head of the 1st skeleton. nk! nk! Seeing that the cat had vanished in front of it and feeling the weight above its skull, the 1st skeleton raised its empty hand, intending to catch the body of the cat on its head only for him to miss. Swish... nk! nk! (You! Just you wait!) The 1st skeleton issued an angry cry as it rushed toward the white cat in the distance. Brandishing its sword left and right, leaving a mark on the concrete and wall. However, after minutes of brandishing its sword, the 1st skeleton still hadn''t managed tond a hit on the cat''s white body... Meoww~~~ Feeling that the dark skeleton is somewhat amusing, the white cat shows its butt toward the 1st skeleton, sessfully infuriating it. ng... ng... ng...(Yo...you!) Seeing that the 1st skeleton is being bullied by the cat, the 2nd skeleton immediately rushed to help, brandishing its sword to catch the infuriating white cat. Chapter 50: Reaching level 20 accidentally! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading the "Physical Body of Soul" to Level 7! ] [ Physical Body of Soul (Level 7) - In the correct time and in the correct ce where the spiritual is at its thickest, the host would gain a semi-permanent body. Activation: Correct Time, Correct ce, and Thickest Spiritual. ( The requirements of the activation of the skill were halved ) Effects: Gain a Physical body that couldst up to72 days! (The physical body contains 10% speed, 60% strength, and 80% durability based on soul power.) Skill Upgrade Cost: 3 Medallion of Forcefull upgrade! Note: Legends that Spirits could gain a physical body when the spirituality in certain ces is at its thickest. ] ... Huff~~ Leo exhaled turbid air from his mouth as he unhurriedly opened his eyes. The feeling of his body being weightless leaves him in a daze as if his weight suddenly decreases by half, moreover, he can visibly see/feel the fine line of muscles beneath his shirt. Although not much, his body can be considered a semi-athletic before the apocalypse starts. In addition, with more than a hundred points in his soul power attribute, Leo''s speed increased by more than tens of points... Not only that, even the duration of the skill increased by 300%! A whole 48-day increase in duration! "If I suddenly feel the correct time, ce, and thick spirituality I could re-start the skill... that way the duration would reach its peak, back at its start!" It could be said that I really gained an almost permanent body! Smiling foolishly, Leo patted the muscles on his abdomen as he scanned the surroundings... ... This... Scanning the surroundings, Leo immediately saw the overturned table and furniture in the building, followed by the deep mark of the de in the wall and concrete... In the further distance, Leo saw the two darkish skeletons slumping on the ground, on top of them was the white cat resting its paw on the skulls of the skeletons. What happened? As he was puzzled by the things that happened around him, Rosa approached his location worriedly. Although he had no idea why, Leo could feel the deep worries of the other party. "Are you okay?" Rosa asks worriedly as she inspects Leo''s body. "Yeah, why??" Hearing Rosa''s inquiry, Leo''s confusion further deepened. "You... Sigh, your skeletons suddenly madly charge toward the cat, swinging their sword in the surroundings. Fortunately, they are still level 1 and their stamina is limited... "However, that''s not the point, the thing is that you suddenly fall unconscious and release arge amount of ufortable aura... No, I mean you summon a huge amount of ufortable aura." Pausing slightly, Rosa again asks worriedly. "Are you okay?" "Yes, sorry for making you all worry. The aura is rted to one of my skills... I didn''t expect that it would release an aura after upgrading it." Leo replied dumbfounded, not expecting that there would be a phenomenon after upgrading his "Physical Body of Soul" to the next level. Fortunately, it didn''t cause trouble. However, if I needed to upgrade it to the next level I should find a ce far away from the group to ensure that it wouldn''t affect them or make them suspicious. Shaking his head, Leo stood up as he approached the two little skeletons in the distance. "You two... I just sit down for a while yet you already caused trouble?" Leo seriously said as he flicked his finger toward the head of the two skeletons, causing them to flinch a little due to pain. Eh, wait something is wrong... Seeing that the color of their skeleton deepened a little and the me on their eye socket became much more vibrant, Leo silently activated his scan skill toward them. Ding! [ Skeleton of Horror - Level 5 ] [ Skeleton of Horror - Level 5 ] "What! How could they upgrade by 4 levels in an instant!?" Widening his eyes as he gaped toward the little skeleton, Leo immediately checked their panel. Ding! [ Skeleton of Horror Species: Undead Innate skill: Eyes of Nightmare Physique: Body of Bones ______Atrributes______ Level: 5 (6%) Free attribute: 10 Health: 23/23 Mana: 20/20 Stamina: 35/35 Strength: 13 Speed: 9 Magic Power: 6 Soul Power: 14 ______Skills______ Advance Intelligence (Rare lvl 2), Stab (Common lvl 3), Sword Mastery ( Umon lvl 3), Laugh of Nightmare (Rare lvl 1) ] Ding! [ Due to the energy that the host gathers after upgrading the skill "Physical Body of Soul" to Level 7, the skeletons unconsciously circte the energy toward their body, causing them to upgrade by levels! ] "So does that mean..." Thinking of something, Leo immediately opened his character panel in anticipation. [ Level: 20( 350/1200 Exp ) ] Sure enough, Leo immediately saw that his level increased from the original level 19 to level 20, causing him to reach the peak of the mortal realm. If he umtes more exp (best if he maximizes the exp bar) he could start initiating advancing toward the next realm, that way he would be an Early Foundation Establishment human! An Early Foundation human strength is much stronger than the mortal realm is! Almost 1.5 to 2 times stronger than the level 20 mortal! It could be said that an early foundation-level humans/beasts could trash humans at the peak of the mortal realm without using much effort! Of course, Leo''s strength is an exception since he has the help of a unique system, and "Physical Body of Soul" which drastically increases his attribute points in an unbelievable way. Speaking of advancing, he remembers that he could sacrifice items, skills, and materials toward the altar that would materialize in the middle of advancement. After sacrificing things, the system will grant/bestow him a suitable cultivation technique with equal value to the things he sacrifices! "So the valuable the sacrifices, the valuable the cultivation technique is... Huh." "Fortunately, I have a lot of knuckles and unnecessary items in my inventory. Besides that, I still have time to umte more sacrifices." "There''s also the inferior potion in the shop, if I bought them all my overall stat could further increase by 40." Thinking of this, Leo couldn''t help but be overly excited as he began to ponder on the spot, causing the ck skeleton and Rosa near him to be puzzled. "Did he be muddle-headed again?" ... Chapter 51: Items, new skill "Restrain!" At the same time, in an unknown ce, miles away from the surface of the ground, a castle from untold time could be seen standing wearily in arge cold cave... Enveloped by the dark humid ce. Inside the castle, a big medieval round table made from pure stone could be seen, circling by 10rge stone chairs that were seated by silhouettes of beings that werepletely enshrouded by darkness. "How it is, how many champions did we manage to kill?" A being, with a figure that reach 5 meters tall (even being seated) cast a look at the silhouette in the surroundings as he said those words in a heavy voice. Kekeke... "I manage to kill Elise the "Bishop", tsk... tsk... I didn''t expect that wh*re would actually beg for mercy before she died... HEHEHE." An irritating sound of seemingly grinding metal resounded in the 2nd seat on the right of the giant figure,ughing irritatingly as he imagined the scene in his mind. After the irritating sound finishesughing, an innocent voice of a child follows, speaking weakly to the surroundings. "Hmmm... I managed to kill King the "Blood Magician" and Rence the "Wind Archer", is that good? Although Rence isn''t among the Champions he was not far from one" "Hmmm, Leo the "Mad Sword" is also dead, I managed to kill him before the apocalypse started..." Not long after the child finished speaking, thezy voice of a man wearing a windbreaker resounded in the dark castle, instantly issuing silence within. "That Mad Man?" One of the shadows asks in a surprised tone. "Hmm... Hmm... There are only two madmen in the champions, one is the "Mad Sword" and the other is "Mad Saber"." The Lazy voice slowly said, confirming the other party''s guess. "I see, I didn''t expect that madman would die like this. A pity..." Beside of the giant figure, the voice of an old man resounded, carrying a deep pity in his voice. Sighing deeply, he asks in a questioning voice. "So other than the three champions, did someone manage to kill one?" "No?" Seeing that no one replied after 10 seconds of silence, the old man said regretfully. "It''s already expected, although the apocalypse is still in its early stage, killing the future powerhouse is not that simple. Besides that, our ability and time are greatly suppressed by the power of time... In addition to the old fogeys and ns on Earth that we need to avoid, we could not openly use our abilities..." "Indeed, we only have a month left before we get forcefully summoned back, after that we will no longer have a chance to kill the other future powerhouse." "Hmm, I suggest that we should prioritize finding other champions before theypletely grow up." One of the silhouettes interjected. Hearing the suggestion, one of the figures at the end of the table(opposite the giants'' seat) raises his hand slightly before saying. "Wait... I remembered that the Saber and Sword Pce would show its body in 28 days... We might have a chance to kill Mad Saber by then!" "Good, then Mad Saber is yours..." The Giant silhouette nodded slightly before retracting his gaze from the table. "Hehehe, then Mad Saber is mine." After hours of discussion, the group stood up one by one beforepletely vanishing into the cold castle... Leaving only the silence behind. *** sh! sh! Ding! [ Your Summoned Horror Skeleton sessfully killed a level 8 zombie! ] +2 exp! +300 horror points! Horror Skeleton1: +10 exp! Horror Skeleton2: +10 exp! Seeing that the zombie in front of them was finally dead, the 2 little horror skeletons issued a nking sound of victory as they retracted their sword from the body of the dead zombie on the ground. "They are almost at level 10. Will they receive a ss job like a normal human or it would normallye after they reach level 15 like most of the beasts?" Leo silently thought as he nced at the dark skeleton in the distance before looking at the group far away. In just two days after getting his epic skill, the group already traveled tens of kilometers away. Much farther than their previous speed. It could be said that the Soul-Eating Birds probably cleaned the way in the surrounding area back then, causing them to encounter little to no beastspared to the previous week. "We are almost there." Suddenly, as he was thinking, the voice of Jake on his back entered his ears, causing him to instantly wake up from his reverie. "Wait... We are almost near the settlement!?" Hearing the voice of Jake behind him, Leo''s eyes lit up as he asked Jake excitedly. Although he was already used to this damned ce where his life is always in danger, the prospect of finally meeting more humans and having a ce to call home excites him. Hmm? Seeing the expression of Leo, Jake couldn''t help but scratch his cheeks confusedly, thinking that Leo probably misunderstood his words. "No, Unfortunately, we are still far away from the town... But we will reach the endless forest by the end of the day. "If we transverse the endless forest for 2-3 weeks, then we will be quite close to the town." Leo "???" Two to three weeks? Endless forest? Quite close by then? Seeing the dark face of Leo, Jake chuckled slightly, remembering that no one exined how far their town was. Smiling slightly, Jake exined. "You should be aware that thend expands drastically when the fissure appears above right?" "Endless forest is one of the products of Earth''s expansion. Not only does the Endless Forest hide countless unknown ferocious beasts within it, but its space and area are also unknown. "Speaking of which, the town is also within the Endless Forest." "I see..." Leo speaks in disappointment before he falls silent. It would probably take a while before I upgrade my ss job. Since I wouldn''t be able to upgrade my ss job, I should start focusing on preparing and advancing toward the Foundation realm... Good, I could try to trade with the group, they probably have lots of unnecessary items on them. "Ohh, right. Do you still have extra skill scroll or items that you can trade?" "Hmm" Hearing the Sudden inquiry of Leo, Jake nodded slightly with lit-up eyes. "Are you readying materials for advancement?" "Yes, I might advance in two days." Feeling that the time was right since Leo was already stuck at level 20 in the past few days, Jake took out items and skill scrolls on his inventory before tossing them to Leo one by one. "I don''t need anything, but if you have extra soul permanent potions. Cough... I will ept it dly." "As expected.'' Feeling the corner of his lips twitch, Leo reluctantly took out a bottle containing a dark substance that was asionally releasing a blue sparkling light, before handing it toward Jake with a heavy heart. Other than Strength, Speed, and Magic Power Permanent Potion which was rtivelymon, the Soul Potion that increases Soul power permanently could be said rare/extremely rare. Not only does the sole current source of the soul potione from the soul-eating birds which are harder to kill, but the process of extracting the material is also twice to thrice harder than other materials are. Besides that, the group also noticed that theirprehension, six senses, and reactions also increased slightly after increasing their soul power stats, instantly causing them to feel ted! Hence, after learning that, the group started to eye Leo''s Soul Potion happily, causing Leo to feel helpless. Although he could buy Soul Potion from the system shop, Leo doesn''t want to expose his unique system to the group. Sigh... epting, the scrolls and items in his hand (which didn''t exceed Elite grade) Leo began to check the items and skills one by one. Hoping to find something useful. Ding! [ Wind Arrow (Elite) - Condense a Wind arrow that carried an intense pration effect... ] [ Mana Shield (Umon) - Summon a shield of mana that deflects physical and magic power... ] [ Ring of Wind (Elite)... ] ... Hmmm!? Surprisingly after checking the description of the 6 items that Jake gave him, Leo found that 3 of them were extremely useful in his current stage... Two skills and one item, respectively Restrain (Umon), Mana Shield (Umon), and Ring of Wind (Elite Item). ... [ Restrain (Umon) ( Lvl 1) - Restrain the effect of the passive skill of the user, causing its effect to be restrained and greatly weakened (Only work at the skill below Rare). Activation: 1 Stamina per minute. Cost to Learn: 500 horror points! ] [ Mana Shield (Umon) (Lvl 1) - Summon a shield of mana that both deflects and weakens physical and magic damage (The power of the summoned shield depends on the magic power of the caster). Activation: 5 mana per minute. Cost to Learn: 750 horror points! ] [ Ring of Wind (Elite Item)- A ring that increases the resistance toward the Wind element, it also increases the wearer''s sensitivity toward the wind. +5 speed. +5% recovery. ] Other than the Restrain (Umon) skill that was extremely useful toward his uncontroble passive skill that focuses on being Jinx and giving nightmares, the Mana Shield could only be said as a bonus. Although Mana Shield is not that useful to the current him since its power is entirely connected to his magic power (which is not too strong), Leo ns to learn it andbine it in the future after unlocking the "Combining" feature of the system! Bybining this skill in the future, Leo has high hopes to greatly strengthen it! Chapter 52: Achieving Foundation Realm. Wearing the silver ring with a hint of green aura on it, Leo immediately felt the improvement in his speed. Besides that, he also felt a slight cooling sensation on his body, as if the wind embraced him. "Not bad right?" Seeing the surprised look on Leo''s face, Jake smiled slightly before gulping the Soul Strengthening Potion on his hand. "Indeed, This is a good item." Leo nodded as he was satisfied with the function of the ring. Putting the other items in his inventory, Leo approaches the little dark skeletons in the distance before moving toward the group. "Leo It''s your time to shine!" Kristine giggled slightly as she pointed at the dead zombies on the ground. Looking at the dead foundation zombies killed by the group, Leo sighed before taking an empty bottle from his inventory. "Time to work." *** Soon, In a blink of an eye, another two days passed by. In order for Leo to advance without any hups, the group decided to halt their journey, causing them to not enter the Endless Forest. After preparing the materials and maxing his exp bar, Leo finally was on the verge of breaking through the Foundation realm. Only the thin barrier between the Mortal realm and the Foundation realm was present. With a little mental effort, Leo will be able to crack it without any worries. Ding! +30 exp! +300 horror points! "Finally..." Leo retracted the knuckles on the head of the level 18 zombie on the ground as he began to sense the magical feeling brought by maxing his exp. Although not much, he started to feel that his life force increased by a small amount before finally stopping due to the thin barrier present between the mortal and foundation realms. "Are you finally advancing?" Seeing the strange and satisfied expression of Leo, Rnd asks in his usual deep voice. "Yes." Leo nodded slightly, before gazing toward the nearest building in the distance, nning to advance inside in order to avoid disturbance. With the help of the group and his inquiry regarding advancing toward the foundation realm, Leo already learned the things he needed to do and the things that he should avoid when advancing. It could be said that Leo was confident that he would advance toward the Foundation realm without much problem. The only worth looking forward to is the cultivation technique that he would get after sacrificing items and scrolls toward the altar that would materialize in the middle of advancement! Based on the things he learned so far, the cultivation technique is divided into different grades and levels. Respectively from the lowest grade which is, the Mortal grade, Transcended grade, Earth grade, and Heaven grade. With each grade being divided into 4 different small tiers, respectively the Low, Middle, High, and Peak. The higher the level is, the higher its cultivation effect and strength is! Not only that, but cultivation techniques also hold the secret of breaking through higher cultivation realms! It could be said that the higher the cultivation technique is the higher the cultivator can achieve in the future! "Then go, we will guard you from outside." Rnd nodded beforemanding the group to watch for beasts and zombies that would approach during Leo''s advancement. "I see... Thank you!" Entering the building alone, Leo unhurriedly sat down cross-legged in the middle of the room, taking a deep breath and calming his nerves down. "I, Finally will advance toward the Foundation realm," Leo mumbled under his breath before opening his character panel excitedly. Ding! [ Level: 20( 1200/1200 Exp ) ] Ding! [ Detected that the host already reached the maximum exp possible. Initiating advancement (Yes/No)? ] Seeing the notification appear, Leo took a deep breath before unhesitatingly pressing the Yes button. Swish! Swish! In an instant after initiating the advancement, the temperature around Leo began to drop drastically, instantly reaching a freezing point. Creating a humid, dark, and cold ce. Still not done, wave after wave of thick gray fog began to uncontrobly leak on Leo''s body, from his orifices to his pores, causing the environment around Leo to be foggy. Not aware of the things happening around him, Leo closed his eyes as he entered a state of meditation. With the help of the system and the specialty of advancement, Leo immediately felt the unique resonance in his mind, causing him to enter and peek inside his mind. Inside his mind, a dark barrier simr to a dam could be seen holding a huge amount of crystalline liquid that was emitting a weak dazzling light as it illuminated Leo''s mind. "This... I''m inside my mind barrier... And that liquid should be the mana. "If I break the barrier and let my mana advance to a higher form of energy then it will be Qi." Qi is a higher form of mana. To be exact, abination of mana and vitality before forming a sole energy called Qi. Not only Qi is much stronger than mana, but Qi also provides a huge amount of vitality to the cultivator. After advancing toward the Foundation realm, the mana inside the cultivator will transform into Qi, causing an overall growth in the strength of the cultivator. Moreover, the strength of the skills of the cultivator after using Qi will increase by a huge amount! Based on the information he gathered, the skill that used Qi as energy is 2-3 times stronger than using mana! Besides that, after transforming his mana into Qi, the normal human/cultivator''s lifespan will increase by 50 - 100! Almost double the normal lifespan of humans! Feeling the anticipation bubbling inside him, Leo controlled the mana inside his mind before beginning to attack the thin barrier that was stopping him from advancing toward the next stage. Bang! Bang! Crack! In just a short minute after attacking the thin barrier, the sound of cracking ss resounded inside his mind as the barrier began to crack under his watch. Like a spider web, the crack of the barrier began to erge under the attack of mana. Instantly causing the barrier to enter an instability. Seeing that the barrier was on the verge of copse, Leo calmly controlled the mana before again controlling it to attack the barrier. Soon, after 30 seconds of attacking... Crack... Crack! BOOM! Chapter 53: Advancing, the Greedy Altar. Boom! The thin barrier couldn''t resist the attack of mana anymore. Under the heavy attack of the mana, the barrier issued a crispy cracking sound simr to a breaking thin ss before it finally copsed with a boom! Under Leo''s watch, the mana breaks free from the barrier before instantly shing with brilliant pure white light, blinding Leo''s senses and illuminating his mind with blinding light. Followed by breaking through the thin barrier, Leo''s consciousness entered a magical state. The feeling of tion/bliss within him erupted without hindrance. One by one, the cells on his body began to absorb the Qi that sessfully transformed from mana, strengthening every aspect of his body and vitality. Besides that, Leo''s soul began to experience a subtle change, bing more solid and much darker in the process... ... Boom! Outside of the building, at the same time when Leo destroyed the barrier between the Mortal and Foundation realms. A sudden loud booming sound resounded above the sky, followed by a dark looming cloud. Forming a spiral of darkness above the building where Leo was advancing. Crackle... Boom! Boom! Lightning began to sh by above as it illuminated the surrounding building with blue and dark light. "This..." Rnd, Jake, Kristine, and the group raised their head in unison. Greatly shocked by the sudden appearance of the phenomenon above. Although they already expected that a strange phenomenon would appear if Leo advanced toward the Foundation realm, the urrence of thick dark clouds that almost swallow the sky is beyond their current understanding. Since Leo has a ss job that leans toward potion, the phenomenon that they expected to appear is rted to life, wood, or fire. But who would expect that... "Why this..." Kristine eximed as she stared at the rolling clouds above in fright. The group still hasn''t awakened from their confusion when the ground suddenly quakes, causing a small crack to emerge. Not long after the earth finished quaking, a strange small flower with a dark color body and a maroon-colored flower simr to a rose began to bloom one by one. Enveloping the surrounding area in the blink of an eye. "This... Isn''t this a Grave Dark Roses!?" Seeing this, Rosa''s eyes constricted slightly. Her head was full of confusion and puzzlement, not understanding the things happening around her. Grave Dark Roses, a strange flower that consumes a dead aura and little vitality to grow... They were usually found in graves and ces with rich dead aura and slight vitality. Hence they were called Grave Dark Roses. Althoughmon, however, appearing as a phenomenon in Leo''s advancement... "What is really happening..." Rosa''s face showed puzzlement and fright as she stared at the sole building in the distance that was not affected by the phenomenon in the surroundings. ... Inside the building. Feeling that the advancement of his soul and realm slowed down, Leo exhaled arge mouthful of turbid air as he unhurriedly opened his eyes. In an instant, after opening his eyes, an altar of unknown origin began to materialize in front of him, causing Leo''s expression to turn serious. "The altar..." Leo mumbled under his breath as he began to take out items and skill scrolls from his inventory one by one. Tossing the Bronze knuckle toward the altar. Leo instantly saw the knuckle burned with cold blue light before vanishing in his line of sight. Although somewhat surprised, Leo quickly regained his calm before tossing the items toward the altar one by one... After minutes of tossing items and skill scrolls toward the altar, Leo showed a slight change in his expression before taking out bottles that contained potion materials that could increase stats permanently. "For the better future!" Gritting his teeth, with slight hesitation, Leo began to toss the bottle toward the altar, causing the altar to vibrate slightly. ... Bang! sh! "Finally." After sacrificing most of the items in his inventory (other than the soul-strengthening potion) Leo heaves a sigh of relief, ready to finally finish the sacrifice when suddenly, a sound of notification resounded inside his head. Ding! [ Detected that the host almost finished sacrificing items to gain a cultivation technique. Do you want to spend 10,000 horror points as a sacrifice to increase the grade of the cultivation technique? (Yes/No) ] "..." Leo. "This..." Leo''s eyes almost pop up after reading the notification. He couldn''t fathom and understand how horror points could be used as a sacrifice. However, even if he didn''t know how and why it was possible. Since it could increase the grade of the cultivation technique he would get after sacrificing it. Leo didn''t dawdle at it for too much... "ept!" Not hesitating at all, Leo immediately epted. In an instant, after epting the deal, a baleful and dark aura,ing from an unknown space began to flow out from Leo''s body before flying toward the altar at an rming speed. The altar, as if sensing something good began to greedily swallow the baleful and dark aura Leo released. -1,000 horror points. -1,000 horror points. -1,000 horror... Leo''s horror points began to decrease by a huge amount every second as the altar swallowed it whole greedily. Making the surrounding air buzz due to the altar not letting a single horror point to slip under its swallowing. -1,000 horror points. Ding! After a whole ten seconds of swallowing, the altar suddenly halted, causing the surroundings to regain its silence. ... .. . "That''s it? Where is my cultivation technique?" Leo stared at the empty altar in doubt and confusion. After waiting for minutes. As Leo was about to curse toward the altar. The altar which was silent awhile ago suddenly released a weak buzzing sound before booming with intense ck light. Quickly swallowing Leo''s body. This! Caught off guard, Leo could only close his eyes as he patiently waited till the light retracted. "I already, spend most of my savings... If you don''t give me something good, believe it or not, I will do my best to destroy you!" ... Chapter 54: Undying Soul Conqueror! ng! Hearing the nging sound in the altar in the short distance, followed by the retraction of light. Leo took a deep breath before unhurriedly opening his eyes. Bling! After opening his eyes. In the middle of the altar, a seemingly thick book with a dark color cover and paper made of unknown wood appeared in his line of sight. Its smell almost decayed hit his senses, causing Leo to frown. "This... It doesn''t look good." Leo frowned as he stared at the old ck book on the altar. With how old the book looked like, Leo was afraid that it would naturally destroyed after touching it. As he was hesitating whether he would touch the book or curse at the altar, the altar after sessfully sending the book, released a low buzzing sound before vanishing in Leo''s sight. F*ck, he escaped so fast! "This altar... Looks like a scam." Leo sighed deeply as he touched the ck book on the ground. Since the system said that its grade would increase after sacrificing horror points, then this book should be at least Low - Transcended grade. Even if it''s only a transcended grade, it will still allow him to step into the Core Formation realm in the future right? Feeling the cold invading energy after touching the book, Leo unhurriedly began to read its title. "Low-Immortal grade; Undying Soul Conqueror." "Immortal grade... This, above the heaven grade!?" Leo''s somewhat disappointed heart vanished in an instant as he eximed in surprise after seeing the cultivation technique grade. Although the words used by the cultivation technique weren''t familiar to him, Leo still managed to understand it without any hindrance due to the connection between him and the book. Thepatibility and the altar huh... Leo mumbled under his breath as he assumed the reason behind it. Touching the cover of the book, Leo began to read the cultivation technique, hoping to learn the first part of it so he could finally end the advancement. In order for him to finally advance, he still needed to circte the Qi inside his body with the help of the cultivation technique! "Soul is eternal and undying. Without the use of strange technique, even after a being dies, its soul will still continue to exist and reincarnate... forever." "Although it is eternal, the soul is extremely feeble. Without the protection of the body, the soul will be corroded by time before finally weakening and reincarnating." "However, after strengthening the soul to the limit, and solidifying it, it could escape and resist the corrosion of time and exist forever without the need to reincarnate!" ... Closing the book after reading the first part, Leo silently put the cultivation technique on his inventory, his head full of confusion and understanding. Although he understands the first part of the cultivation technique, the meaning of the words that it contains is extremely profound and hard toprehend. It could be said that after reading the first part, Leo only managed to grasp 10% of it. "So I just need to follow the instructions and circte the Qi inside me..." Leo thought as he closed his eyes, focusing his mind as he began to feel the Qi hidden inside his body... Time passed by. Little by little, Leo began to guide the Qi inside his head, slowly circting it toward his body before moving it toward his heart. With the ability of the heart to pump blood, a small amount of Qi hidden inside it began to circte inside his body. Causing his body to strengthen by an amount every time the Qi circtes inside his body. Seeing that he finally achieved the first step, Leo moved toward the second andst stage. Making his soul resonate with his Qi, achieving a mutual strengthening in the process! "This is the hardest and easiest part of the cirction technique of Undying Soul Conqueror. "Having a high cultivation technique has its disadvantages and advantages. Fortunately, with my soul power, it''s easy for my body to resonate with the Qi." In addition to that, Leo didn''t forget that his body is a product of his soul skill! Causing the difficulty to decrease by another huge amount! Feeling a little excited about the things that would happen after advancing, Leo began to resonate with the Qi inside his body. *** Swish! Swish... Boom! After achieving the basic resonating with his Qi, Leo''s body immediately releases a cold aura in the surrounding area, further decreasing the temperature in the room. Followed by resonation, Leo''s aura began to spike up, before finally stepping toward the Foundation realm! Boom! Ding! [ Congrattions to the host upon advancing toward the Foundation realm! +1,000 horror points! +10 free attribute points! +1 small enlightenment ticket! ] "I finally advance! I finally became a real Foundation realm human!" ... Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion Physique: Soul Body ___ Attributes ___ Level: 1 Early Foundation( 0/2,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 12 Health: 120/120 Qi: 100/100 Stamina: 100/100 Strength: 105 Speed: 65 Qi Power: 100 Soul Power: 225 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 5), Mist of Illusion (Lvl5), Jinx (Lvl1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 1), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 7), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 3), Hidden Strenght (Lvl 5), Build up Stamina (Lvl 5)... ss Job Skills: Potion Knowledge (Lvl 3), Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl3), Extraction (basic mastery), Mana Thread (Basic mastery). [ Tree Talent! ] [ Store ] [ Inbox ] [ Inventory! ] ... Horror points: 13,000. ... "This strength and stats." Leo''s eyes almost pop up after seeing the ridiculous increase in his overall stats after advancing toward the foundation realm. Other than that, Leo also noticed that the mana on the character panel vanished and changed to Qi! The higher form of energy! "Not only that but also my soul power increased by more than half." "With my current strength, I might be able to fight normal mid-foundation realm without falling into a disadvantage!" Chapter 55: Extreme Hell Fire and Divine Fire of Life! At the same time when Leo sessfully advances toward the Foundation realm. Outside of the building. The group solemnly stared at the retracting ck clouds in the sky. Their expression revealed a slight puzzlement before sighing in relief upon realizing what happened. "He advances smoothly?" Jake yawnedzily as he nced at the silent group. Surprisingly, when Leo was advancing toward the foundation stage, not a single beast nor zombie approached their location. Further deepening their confusion. However, thinking about the things that happened in the past few days, the group decided to me the absence of zombies and beasts on the soul-eating birds. "What do you think about the grade of his ss job and cultivation technique?" Kristine who happened to be beside Jake asks in curiousity. With howrge the phenomenon Leo attracts when advancing to the foundation realm, Kristine believes that Leo at least has an Epic ss job... "Hmm, based on the phenomena that happened, I guess it is at least Rare... But there''s a huge probability that it''s an Epic ss job. As for the grade of the cultivation technique, I don''t have any idea." "Ehh, you also think so?" Kristine eximed before continuing. "However, although it seemsckingpared to when Mr. Rnd advanced, the earth quaking earlier is beyond my knowledge. "Besides that, those strange flowers that you will only see at the graveyard didn''t retract nor vanish after Leo advanced." "(O _ O)" Jake as he looked at the sea of flowers in surprise. "Indeed, it didn''t vanish." *** Sitting crossed legs on the ground, Leo smiled happily for a while before frowning upon realizing the required exp to upgrade. "Sigh... Just the lowest level at the foundation realm required 2,000 exp points to advance. "Then advancing further probably required much more experience points. Fortunately, I finally gained a cultivation technique!" Even If Leo didn''t kill beasts and zombies to gain exp in the future, he would still be able to advance after sessfully umting enough Qi inside his body. The only problem is that umting Qi through cultivation would probably take much more time than killing foundation beasts and zombies. "Right, it is probably different for me since I got an Immortal cultivation technique. It should be quite faster than others who rely on killing to advance and level up." Again, regaining his spirits, Leo excitedly opened his character panel before locking at the skill tree below. Finally remembering that he still has another 3 skills to learn upon finally advancing toward the foundation realm. "One skill from the skill tree and two from the ss job." Feeling a little expectant, as if he was opening a gift, Leo checked the description of the lonely dark light on his skill tree in anticipation. ... Ding! [ Domain of Strangeness (Level 1) (Iplete skill) - Construct an iplete domain using one''s soul power and imagination. Domain has the ability to lock space, preventing beings who entered the domain from escaping easily. Activation: Mental power and Soul power, 5 Qi per second. Effects: Inside the domain, Increase the caster''s overall attributes by 5% Skill Cost: 5,000 horror points. Requirements toplete the Domain: Entered Core Formation realm, Upgrade the skill to level 5! Note: Entering a domain is not different frommitting suicide. ] "Woah, Domain... (He doesn''t know what domain is but the sound of it makes the Mc feel good.) "I really don''t know what domain is... But the effect of this skill should be really good based on the description of the skill. Not to mention that it was also iplete." If the skill waspleted, Leo was quite confident that it would be one of the scary skills in his arsenal. "Well, the only problem is that it would take a while toplete the skill." However, it''s still a good Start. Leo mumbled happily under his breath as he directly purchased the skill, instantly reducing his horror points by 5,000. ... Ok, Next! Ding! [ Extreme Hell Fire (Lvl 1) (Technique) - An extreme Fire that originated from the depth of the hell. It could burn and corrode anything into dust. Activation: Required to have 120 strength, 1 Qi per second. Effect: Burn anything. Note: Although it could burn anything. Burning beings and items above the caster level will take time (depending on the difference in strength between the two)! ] Ding! [ Divine Fire of Life (Level 1) (Technique) - A strange Fire that originated from the origin of life. It could heal beings and have negative effects on unholy beings and objects. Activation: 1 Qi per second. Effect: Heal anything! Note: Although it could heal anything, healing beings above the caster level will take a lot of time, based on the difference in strength and life order. ] This! A fire that could burn anything and a fire that could heal anything! "Why does it sound like a perfect partner?" Leo mumbled under his breath as he summoned the fire on life on his left hand. In an instant, after activating the skill, Leo''s hand flickered slightly before a small fire made of pure and holy light, unblemished of filth materialized on his palm. Instantly releasing a heat wave that dispels the cold temperature in the room. "This feelsfortable..." A weak moan escaped from Leo''s mouth as he touched the white firefortably. As if he was bathing in a cold spring in the middle of summer. Sigh... Unfortunately, with my current strength, I couldn''t summon the Hell''s Fire. "I wonder how strong it is." Taking a deep breath, Leo deactivated the Life fire as he stood up unhurriedly. Noticing that he had taken a lot of time to advance. "It''s time to meet the group and continue our journey." ... "Hmm, how is it?" Seeing the satisfied smile on Leo''s face, Rnd who was also bored from waiting/guarding outside asked Leo in his usual heavy voice. "I feel much better and stronger than before... Thanks a lot for helping me to advance smoothly." Leo smiled happily as he waved his hand toward Roy in the distance upon seeing Roy stare at him curiously. "Hmm, I see, then try your best to adapt to the sudden increase in strength. "After you finally control your strength, we will continue our journey." "Got it!" Leo nodded his head heavily before moving toward Jake, Roy, and, Kristine in the distance. ... Chapter 56: Birth of Rebellion. The stubborn skeleton. Boom! Leo punched the head of the bronze zombie approaching him heavily, leaving a deep dent in its bronze head in the process. GROAANn! Not giving the zombie a chance to counterattack, Leo clenched his left fist before punching the zombie''s head consecutively. Boom! Boom! Bang! Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Level 18 zombie! ] +25 exp points! +250 horror points! Indeed... "Sigh... The experience gained after killing beings below my realm decreased a lot." Gasping for air, Leo stared at the little increase on his exp point in a deep thought. Although Leo already expected this to happen, the exaggerated decrease in exp gain after killing beings below his realm still surprises him. Never expected that the reduction almost reaches 90%. Sigh. Shaking his head, Leo kicked the dead bronze zombie on the ground toward the approaching zombie in the distance, causing them to lose bnce before stumbling toward the ground. Not giving them a chance to regain their footing, Leo and the two dark skeletons beside him rushed toward the zombies. Killing them within seconds. sh! Bang! Thud! nk (Huff~)... After a while. Seeing that the zombies are finally dead, Skeleton #1 sat on the zombie it killed before assuming a posture of exhaustion. It looked at Leo pitifully as its ck-purple me eyes flicked slightly to show how exhausted it was. "Stand up! Don''t look at me like that, you two still needed to level up till 15... "Besides that, If you want to act, don''t act like that. Did you forget that you''re skeleton? Skeleton''s stamina is almost unlimited!" "Now stand up and continue!" Leo stared at Skeleton #1 strictly as hemanded it while the corner of his lips twitched violently. Days ago, in able to speed up the process of getting used to the sudden increase of his overall strength after advancing, Leo decided to follow the group''s advice to fight zombies. Since he decided to use the zombies as a training partner, Leo pulled his two dark little skeletons in the process. Causing their level to level up drastically. Instantly bringing them to level 13. Only a little away from level 15! However, as the skeletons were about to level up to 15... Leo didn''t expect that after only making them kill zombies for 8 hours (without rest) one of the skeletons began to show signs of rebellion. ... CLAnk, nk! (Hearthless summoner! I''m not going... Not going!) Number 1 Skeleton raised his head up and away from Leo as it rolled its me-purple eyes away from him. "You really are stubborn huh?" Seeing this, Leoughed maliciously as his eyes flickered with a dangerous glint. Raising his hand, Leo summoned a weak pure white me on his hand before showing it toward the Lazy dark skeleton in the distance. k? (Wha-what are you nning to do heartless summoner?) Skeleton #1 stared at the pure white me on Leo''s hand warily, It could feel the ufortable and disgusting aura emitted by the pure white mes. "Heheheeh, guess?" "-CLannkk... (D-don''t approach me, my bone sword is much more sharper than before.) " Upon seeing that Leo was approaching it unhurriedly with an evil smile hanging on his face. Skeleton #1 swings his bone sword dangerously in Leo''s direction, its skeleton face finally shows a fearful expression. "nk...nk! (You... You can''t enve the skeleton race!)" Skeleton #1 nks its lower jaw as if gritting its teeth. Hiding the fear within it, skeleton #1 released a loud nking sound before running in Leo''s direction angrily, swinging its bone sword left and right. "Ehh, this kid really is stubborn." Leo scratched his cheeks, feeling a slight headache upon seeing how stubborn this skeleton was. Not only this one is mischievous andzy, but it is also extremely stubborn. Sigh... Readying himself to teach the skeleton a good and unforgettable lesson, Leo stretched his hand forward, preparing himself to wee the skeleton''s attack. ... "What''s up with them?" Rosa, Roy, and the white cat watch the drama unfolding in front of them, in the distance with mixed emotions. Watching the dark skeleton rushing toward Leo with a dignified expression. Meow~? "Hmm, don''t worry, I will not make you work for 8 hours straight," Roy said childishly upon hearing the white cat beside him, patting its head before looking back at the dignified dark skeleton in the distance. Boom! nk! With an angry roar, the skeleton, after reducing the distance between it and Leo by 5 meters, suddenly increases its pace, causing a blur to appear in its original location. Swish! Soon, In the short seconds after increasing its pace. The skeleton almost reaches Leo''s position. "Hehehe, you''re really stubborn... huh?" As Leo was about to hit the skeleton heavily upon entering within his reach. The skeleton which was within his reach, suddenly stopped on its track, causing Leo to also halt in pure confusion. "Ehh?" cing the bone sword on his side, the dark skeleton suddenly kneeled down to the ground before slowly kowtowing in Leo''s direction. nk...nk... ( I give up Almighty Summoner... I mean Necromancer. ) The skeleton made a loud nking sound of surrender as he faced Leo with its pitiful eyes. (ncing from time to time at the white me in slight fear.) "(o_o)" Leo. "(o_o)" Rosa, Roy, and The white cat in the distance. "[ ''-'' ]" #2 skeleton as it looked away from skeleton #1 in embarrassment. "Where is your dignified expression earlier!" They thought in unison as they stared at the kneeling skeleton. ... .. . "Sigh... Forget it, I''m really soft-hearted. "However even if you surrender just like that, I will still punish you heavily." Leo speaks awkwardly as he faces the dark skeleton on the ground, wondering where it got/learned its personality. nk? nk! (There''s still punishment!?) The dark skeleton on the ground eximed, thinking if it made the right choice not to stab the heartless summoner earlier. Flick! "What kind of rebellion are you thinking?" Leo flicked his finger toward the head of the dark skeleton upon seeing the glint in its eyes. "Now for punishment, kill one hundred zombies!" nk! Skeleton #1. "[ T - T ]" ... Chapter 57: Birth of Sinful Skeleton (1). Ding! +50 exp points! [ Congrattions to Skeleton #1 and #2 upon sessfully leveling up to level 15! Unlocking the evolution stage! ] Ding! [ Due to the uniqueness of the technique and the mutation of the skeletons, the skeleton needed to increase their realm to the foundation realm to gain their ss job! ] ... nk... nk~ (I couldn''t feel my bone anymore [ T-T ], dumb summoner.) Skeleton #1 slumped toward the cold ground as itined deep within. Looking at the fissure above, the dark skeleton began to think that being a skeleton was not good. nk... (If I could just stab the heathless summoner to death... Then life would be much more meaningful.) "Hmmm, what are thinking? Get up we are already done here." nk!? (Done here? Do you still want us to continue to work!?) Skeleton #1 eximed upon hearing the heartless summoner''s words. "Ohh, you still want to work?" nKK! (Of course NOT!) "I see, so let go, It''s time for you two to evolve!" Leo said as he read the notification that appeared unhurriedly. Although it is a pity that they wouldn''t gain their ss job right now, the words "Evolution" seem much more exciting than choosing a ss job. nk? CLank? (Evolve? Does it mean bing much bigger and stronger?) #1 Skeleton''s purple-med eyes began to light up as he began to imagine the scene of stepping on the body of the heartless summoner beside him in excitement. Just the thought of it makes the skeleton bones tremble in excitement. nk... (Sigh...) Seeing the expression of Skeleton #1 beside it, Skeleton #2 couldn''t help but shake its head in helplessness. With how clear the expression of Skeleton #1 beside it, Skeleton #2 could easily see its thoughts. Cnk. (Poor Skeleton). ... Seeing the two dark skeletons obediently standing in front of him, Leo releases a sigh of relief before finally opening the shining evolution below their level. Ding! [ Unlocking the Evolution stage! Please select the evolution carefully since it couldn''t be retracted nor changed (At the same level) after choosing! ~~~ Evolution Choices ~~~ 1. [ Skeleton Swordsman (Umon) - A further developed skeleton who focused on the path of sword techniques. Attribute Increase (After Evolution): Speed+10, Strenght+10. Additional passive skill: Sword Master (Umon): Aptitude and Affinity toward sword +20%. ] 2. [ Undying Shield Skeleton (Rare-Epic) - A skeleton that was beaten up by reality before evolving into something new. Attribute Increase: Further increase HP by 200 points, Stamina +25, and Strength +10. Additional passive skill: Resistance (Rare): resistance to damage +5%. Addition active skill: Guard (Rare): increase resistance by 5%-10%. ] 3. [ Skeleton Hell Bound Chain (Epic-Legendary): A strange Skeleton race born from the deepest prison of hell. Born bound by heavy chains and have the ability to seal things... Attribute Increase: Qi power +10, Qi Storage +25, Health +150, Stamina +25, Speed -25. Additional Passive Skill: Seal (Ungraded): Upon dying, the Skeleton Bound Chain would seal its vitality and soul in its chain, before again recovering its bone body after some time. Additional Skill: Void Chain (Epic): It could manipte its chain to attack and defend. Upon hitting the target, the Chain would leave a small seal on the target''s body, causing the target''s strength to decrease by an amount. ] 4. [ Mutated Horror Skeleton +1 (Ungraded): A further mutation of Horror Skeleton. In its early stage, It consumes and absorbs horror energy causing it to mutate. Attribute Increase: Qi power +10, Soul power +15, Qi storage +25, Health +25, Stamina, Speed, and, Strength +10. Additional Passive skill: Believer of Darkness (Ungraded): Increase attribute at Night and ces full of chaos and fear by 5-20% (Depending on the intensity of chaos, fear, and darkness). Additional Active skill: Seed of Sin (Ungraded): It could nt a seed of chaos within someone''s consciousness, causing to amplify the target''s negative thoughts and sinful desires. ] ... Gulped... Leo gulped loudly upon seeing the evolution choices of the two skeletons in front of him. Followed by astonishment and shock as he looked at thezy Skeleton #1 and the evolution choices in the system. Not understand where the Bound Chain Skeleton evolution came from. nk? nk? (Is the evolution really that bad?) Skeleton #1 looked at the expression of Leo, not knowing whether the heartless summoner was shocked due to how bad or good the evolution choices were. "Hehehe... It''s really bad. Really, really bad evolution... Sigh." Leo revealed a disappointed expression before continuing. "See, if you just followed mymand earlier and killed more zombies then you would probably get a good evolution. "Fortunately, I''m still here, I could still modify your evolution and make it much more stronger!" Due to them both not being able to see their evolution choices, Leo took the chance and scolded Skeleton #1 in the process. Of course, he also took the chance to show off. Skeleton #1 "nk? (That amazing?)." Skeleton #2 "nk, nk! (Almighty Necromancer is really amazing!)" "Hehehe, look at Skeleton #2, He''s much more obedient and works harder than you! "Besides that, why are you asking with a question mark? Are you really doubting my ability as your creator/summoner?" nk nk (I misspoke Almighty Necromancer, I misspoke). Skeleton #1 shook its head hurriedly. Afraid that it would anger the heartless summoner, causing the summoner to choose ame evolution for its advancement. "I see, that''s good. Let''s continue then..." ... After, preparing and long deep thinking, Leo decided to choose the Mutated Horror Skeleton +1 for evolution instead of the Epic to Legendary Skeleton Bound Chain. Although both have their advantages, the reduction of 25-speed on the Skeleton Bound Chain disappoints him. With the current speed attributes of the dark skeletons, after their speed was reduced by 25, their speed would beparable to a turtle''s speed. With how dangerous life was, a speed like that would surely kill them! If not now then in the future! Due to those thoughts, Leo decided to select the Mutated Horror Skeleton +1 for evolution. "Are you two ready?" "nk! nk! (Yes!)" Skeletons #1 and 2 heavily nodded their bone head, showing determination as they waited for evolution to happen. "Ok, then I will now choose the evolution!" ... Ding! [ Selecting the "Mutated Horror Skeleton +1 (Ungraded)" as the evolution of Skeletons #1 and #2. (ept/Declined). Note: After selecting the evolution you won''t be able to retract or change your choice. ] "I know, ept!" ... Chapter 58: Birth of Sinful Skeleton (2). Ding! [ Initiating Evolution! ] Swish! Leo''s sight blurred slightly as an intense darkness swallowed the two dark skeletons in front of him. Feeling the intense aura radiated by the darkness, Leo couldn''t help but take a step back, meters away from the darkness. Buzz... Murmur... Kill, plunder, chaos... Darkness. Spread horrors and make thend wail... A river made of blood is the true beauty... "This!" Followed by the darkness, a murmur, seeminglying/originating from the abyss entered his consciousness, tempting him to do unimaginable things. Fortunately, it didn''tst long before being drawn toward the darkness in the distance. Huff~ "What is that." Leo breathed deeply in an attempt to calm his nerves down. His forehead was filled with cold sweats as he slowly regained his senses. Showing a slight fear and excitement as he stared at the purend of darkness in the short distance. "How envious. Their evolution seems much more cooler than being a wisp of pure darkness!'' Leo revealed an envious look as he watched the darkness slowly forming a small sphere. Enveloping the two skeletons within. "This, Leo what is happening!?" As Leo was getting envious, a sudden shocked voice eximed on his back. Causing him to be taken aback. Tilting his head to the right, Leo saw Kristine and Jake running toward his location in a rush. "No worries, my two skeletons are evolving!" "Evolving my ¡ïss! What kind of evolution is that? It''s almostparable to the phenomenon caused when someone is advancing toward the foundation realm!" "It''s..." As Leo was about to reply to Jake''s inquiry, a sudden change took ce in the sphere of darkness in the distance, causing his attention to focus on it. The sphere suddenly throbs, causing the environment to rustle. Following that, the sphere that enveloped the two skeletons began topress and shrink in size. Slowly forming a humanoid darkness. Swish! Swish! Boom! Not long after. With a loud booming sound, thepressed darkness blew up with shes before drowning the surrounding area in instant darkness before also instantly retracting. This! Due to the sudden change of events, Leo, Kristine, and Jake get momentarily blind before regaining their sight after seconds of recovery. Leo who was the first to get his senses back immediately stared into the distance with shock and awe. Standing ten meters away from him were two pure dark skeletons with a height of 1 meter. On their foreheads, was a purple crystal embedded deep within their skulls, shining with weak purple light. On their arm, was a sword made of crystalized bone, and a hilt made of rotten wood shed with weak darkness. Their empty socket flickered with pure darkness while looking at him calmly. "Woah..." Instead of fear upon being stared at by their eyes made of pure darkness, Leo showed shock and longing as he stared at their cool evolution. "The badass look, their dark skeletons that could easily blend with shadows, and their swords that carry a hint of rotten and darkness... How cool!" Leo felt his blood rush as he approached their location before examining the two skeletons'' whole bodies. Touching their bone head, Leo felt a cold shiver enter his body, giving him a sense of slightfort. Touch, touch, touch. Sck! As he was touching the cold body of the Skeletons to his heart''s content, Skeleton #1 suddenly hit his hand away, causing Leo to be startled. nk! nk! (Why are you touching that part! Not only you are heartless... but you also want to molest the Skeleton race!) "Ehh, Skeleton #1? I almost couldn''t recognize you! You be much more handsome!" The corner of Leo''s mouth twitched violently, praising and patting the head of Skeleton #1 calmly to hide his embarrassment. nk? (Do I?) "Yes, you really look cool right now!" Skeleton #1 is still easy to fool. Hearing the Heartless Necromance''s praises, Skeleton #1 created a happy sound before starting to inspect his body. Already forgotten his n earlier before evolving. ... Ding! [ Mutated Skeleton of Horror +1 Species: Undead Innate skill: Eyes of Nightmare, Believer of Darkness (Ungraded), Seed of Sin (Ungraded). Physique: Body of Sin ______Atrributes______ Level: 15 (8%) Free attribute: 10 Health: 75/75 Qi: 50/50 Stamina: 50/50 Strength: 30 Speed: 25 Qi Power: 20 Soul Power: 45 ______Skills______ Advanced Intelligence (Rare lvl 3), Stab (Common lvl 5), Sword Mastery ( Umon lvl 4), Laugh of Nightmare (Rare lvl 2), Sword Aura (Rare lvl 2), Sharpness (Umon lvl 3). ... D*mn, the increase in their stats... Leo eximed inside his head, before looking at their two skills curiously. Wanting to try their effects to see how good it was, however... "Unfortunately, there are no live targets here." Shaking his head in disappointment, Leo looked at the approaching Jake and Kristine in the distance before again shaking his head in further disappointment. "This... These two is really Skeleton #1 and #2?" Kristine asked in curiosity as she looked at Skeleton #2''s changes before finally staring at the empty eye sockets of Skeleton #2. However, after looking at it directly, Kristine immediately paused and suddenly felt an unprecedented chill wash over her back, instantly causing her to look away in slight fear. "What is that?'' She thought in slight horror, feeling that she was directly looking at the abyss earlier. There''s no life nor death there, only the endless darkness that swallows everything. "Wait, I almost got scared by them? Epic skill is really worth of being an Epic skill!'' Quickly regaining her calm and senses, Kristine again looked at the Skeletons in front of her. Learning her lesson, she avoided looking at the eyes of the Skeletons. "This... Leo, are you not really nning to switch to the dark side right?" Jake nces at the dark skeletons before jokingly speaking to Leo. Deeply wondering whether Leo really liked dark stuff. "Ehh, of course not... It''s just that this evolution is the highest grade in the choices causing me to choose this." Leo smiled slightly before exining. "Hmm, I see... Oh right, I just want to tell you that we will enter the Endless Forest today. Since you can already control your strength, then there''s no reason to further dy our journey." Jake said with a smile as he patted the cold skull of Skeleton #2, making the skeleton roll its eyes(Although not visible). "Got it," Leo replied, also patting the head of angry Skeleton #1. ... Chapter 59: Entering Endless Forest, Natural Treasures. "Thi... This." Leo''s eyes almost popped up as he gawked at the towering trees in the distance. Even if they were still quite far away from the endless forest, Leo could already see the endless trees that almost reached/pierced the sky. With a height that easily reaches 15-30 meters, Leo doesn''t know how or where they originated from. "That... is the Endless Forest!?" Leo asks Rosa beside him for confirmation. (Although he already has guessed within him he still wanted to confirm his thoughts.) "Yes, I was also shocked when I first saw it," Rosa replied as she also gazed toward the distance, her thoughts were unknown as she revealed a weak smile on her face. *** Soon, after another 10 minutes of walking, they finally arrive at the periphery of the Endless Forest. The smell of the woods and the freshness of the air that was different from the decaying smell of the city immediately hit their senses, causing them to release afortable sigh of relief. Huff~. "We finally arrive." Rnd heavily said as he surveyed the forest solemnly, his thoughts were unknown as he constantly eyed the towering trees in the distance. "Jake, what do you think?" After minutes of stillness, Rnd finally speaks, breaking the silence in the process as he asks Jake who happens to be beside Skeleton #2. "Hmm... other than insects at the level of 15 and below. I couldn''t detect any life forms within the area of 750 meters that could be a threat to us." Jake calmly said as he patted the skull of Skeleton #2, clearly enjoying the cold energy it released. "Hmm, understood, Let''s go," Rndmanded before moving to the front, holding his heavy shield as he steadily moved forward as if it weighed nothing. Although they are still on the periphery of the Endless Forest, the group still maintains a cautious stance. Since being a little careful is nheless always good. ... That... As they entered the Endless Forest... After just walking for 15 minutes, Leo in the middle part of the group suddenly paused in his tracks before looking at the strange purple-brown root in the bushes in the distance. "What happened?" Sebastian, wearing his usual bronze monocle, asks Leo in puzzlement upon seeing his eyes staring at the bushes in the distance. "Please wait a minute... I probably found something useful/good." Leo replied loudly, causing the group to halt and look at him in confusion, wondering what kind of goods Leo found. Not bothering about the look of the group, Leo approaches the protruding purple-brown root on the ground, carefully removing the soil and sand sticking in it without damaging its roots. After minutes of removing the soil, the body of the purple-brown root was finally revealed in front of the curious group. Its ginger-like body with a smell refreshing to one''s senses that slightly removes the fatigue, appeared under the parted soil. Still not finished, Leo meticulously took the purple-brown ginger on the ground. Grab... Seeing that he finally gets the purple-brown root, Leo reveals a satisfied smile akin to getting his sry as he carefully dusted the ginger. "Finally done!" Ding! [ Congrattions upon unearthing your first natural treasure! +2 free attribute points! +1 potion form! ] Ding! [ Potion Form (Common-Umon): Gain a singleplete form that ranges frommon to umon grade. ] Eh, this reward is new. Did the system get an update after I advanced to the foundation realm? Simr to the novel I read in the past? "What is that?" As Leo was thinking deeply, the curious group hurriedly asked Leo as they stared at the ginger on his hand in pure curiosity. "Oh, It''s an Earth Ginger. A Ginger that absorbs Qi and Nutrients of the Earth to grow, one of the main materials for Enhancement Strength and Stamina potion." Leo replied calmly. Although they could still rely on Natural strength potion materials like zombie essence to increase their strength by one. Consuming it further would slowly make/cause the body to reject some of its nutrients. Although it would still increase their strength afterward, they needed to consume more than one bottle of zombie essence to increase their strength by 1! That''s why, creating a potion from several natural treasures is necessary in the long run. Not only it''s stronger than natural materials, but it''s also much easier to digest than the former! "Woah, I didn''t expect that purple root to be that amazing!" Kristine eximed in surprise as she remembered that she had also seen this Earth Ginger from before. Regretting the fact that she didn''t get those purple roots in the past. ... "Ohh, Isn''t this Silver Leaf Origano?" "And this one Is Happy Fruit!?" "D*mn, an entire fruit of Devil Fruit!" "This... Wind Mango!?" Leo eximed as he began to farm/harvest inside the forest, making the group dizzy as they constantly watched Leo move from time to time. Of course, the group didn''t mind Leo''s behavior/actions since they also got lots of benefits from Leo''s harvest. (One of the fruits Leo harvests increases their perception by a small amount upon consumption!) If not for Leo, the group would probably not dare to casually touch/pick the nts and fruits inside this forest, since they have no idea if the fruits are edible or not. They even remembered that lots of humans died before when the apocalypse started due to them consuming the wrong and poisonous fruits. *** Soon, another half a day passed by... After moving for a while, as Leo was pleased with his harvest, Jake at the front of the group suddenly halted as he gestured toward the group to stop. "What is it?" Rnd asked solemnly as he slightly raised his shield, guarding toward the surroundings. "I think I detected a group of insects, at least at the foundation realm 700 meters away... "It''s just that, they vanish within my senses before I can track/locate them..." Jake solemnly said in puzzlement before bing dazed for a while (Probably checking his character panel). "This... I see. Leo don''t try to harvest for the time being and sticks to the group." Rnd nodded his head before looking at Leo seriously. Hearing this, Leo nodded his head, epting themand as he tried his best not to look at the surrounding trees and bushes in the distance. Afraid that he wouldn''t be able to control the urge within himself and rushes to collect the natural treasures in the surroundings if he sees one. A single natural treasure is almost equivalent to a single process potion... and a process potion is a necessary material to upgrade his ss job! It''s already been months, yet he was still stuck at the lowest level of ss job! Leo was slowly losing his patience! As the group was moving within the silent forest slowly and cautiously, the ground which was normal before suddenly issued a quake, making the group slightly puzzled before looking at the surroundings warily... Boom! "UNDER THE GROUND!" ... Chapter 60: Forest Centipedes (1). Hearing the loud shout from Jake, Leo quickly grabbed the stunned two skeletons beside him, before jumping away from the ground. Crack... Boom! Gravel and soil flew into the air as thick sands began to hover in the atmosphere, restricting their vision for a couple of seconds before instantly getting cleared by the wind. Showing the body of the insect to them... This... Showing a shocked expression, Leo stared at the 2 meters-long dark brown body of a seemingly snake in the distance. No... It''s not a snake, but to be precise, it was a 2-meter-long centipede! Click... Click, click! The Centipede created a clicking rhythmic sound as it began to move its hundred legs that were akin to daggers. Seeing the humanoid species in front of it, the centipede makes a sound simr to augh as it charges toward the nearest humanoid creature in its sight. Click, click. "F*ck, do you think that you can eat me easily!" Due to the drastic changes and also being shocked by the sudden appearance of the centipede, Rosa couldn''t help but utter the F word as she raised her staff high above before stabbing it toward the soft ground. Restrain! Swish! Swish! Instantly, thick roots covered with sharp long thorns emerged from the ground, entwining the body of the centipede, creating a grinding sound as the roots tightened their coiling. The long thorns embedded its body, greatly wounding the brown segmented body of the centipede and at the same time restricting its movement. TSSSS! (Sound created by Centipede upon feeling pain.) Click... Click! "That''s what you get for..." Rosa was about to heave a sigh of relief when suddenly, the ground again trembled (Much stronger than before) as another 8 simr centipedes broke from the ground. Making the group''s expression solemn. This... Kristine waved her hand in the distance as she hid the body of Roy behind her. Calmly summoning dozens of sharp des made of air, before shooting toward the centipedes in the distance. sh! sh! Swish... Unfortunately, with speed that was much faster than feline, other than the restrained centipede in the distance, the rest of the centipedes managed to evade the sharp wind de easily. ... Ding! In the distance, as Leo entered his invisibility mode, he immediately used his soul scan to scan the nearest centipede in the group. Ding! [ Forest Centipede (Rare)- Foundation Level 6 ] Innate Skill: Burrow (Elite). ___Attributes___ Health: 200/200 Qi: 75 Stamina: 100/100 Strength: 85 Speed: 100 Qi Power: 50 Skills: Coiling (Umon), Acid (Rare), Earth Absorption (Rare), Earth Blessing (Umon) ???, ???. ] [ Burrow (Elite): Burrowing under the soil easily. Moving under the ground unimpeded and at the same time increases speed stat by 10! ] [ Acid (Rare): Spit a corrosive acid from its mouth. Its acid could easily melt metal! ] [ Earth Absorption (Rare)(Passive): Absorbing the Qi and Energy of Earth could increase its overall recovery by 20% ] [ Earth Blessing (Umon)(Passive): Increase health recovery by 10% passively. ] ... This... "Watch out for Acid and Borrow! They could Spit acid through their mouth and increase their overall recovery under the ground!" Leo''s shouts reverberated in the forest, causing the group to nod their heads in understanding as they focused on dealing with the enemy. Seeing this, Leo again entered invisibility, leaving the two dark skeletons standing confusedly in the distance, not knowing what should they do. ... Boom! Click, click, CLICK! Back to Kristine, seeing that the centipedes easily evade the dozen wind-de. Roy behind Kristine, quickly summoned his sketchbook from the void, immediately flipping its pages before stopping at 3rd page. "Arachnid! Come out!" Shouting in his cute childish voice, the sketchbook instantly flew away from his arm, being suspended in the air before quickly erging by a hundred times! Click! Click! Followed by that sound, the huge 2-meter-long ck sharp feet of the arachnid came outside the sketchbook, causing Kristine and the Centipides in the distance to pause for a while. This... Kristine mumbled absently, as she stared at the giant arachnid summoned by his brother in dumbfounded. ( First time seeing Roy using his sketchbook that directly summoned a tall Arachnid from it.) Moreover, its strength almost matches her! Ding! [ ck Arachnid (5:00)- Foundation level 2! ] Still not done, Roy spread his little arm, retracting the sketchbook that was suspended in the air before using his other skill "Doddle Army". In an instant, upon activating the skill, the soft soil under him cracked before slightly erging. Crack! Crack... Crack! Parting the soil away, a white thin arm simr to a stick man rises from the ground, followed by one and another. Soon, in the blink of an eye, dozens of stickmen holding different weapons ranging from shields, swords, and bows, encircled Roy and Kristine in the middle. Ensuring their safety as they faced the direction of centipedes. Ding! [ Doddle Men (7:30): Mortal level 15-20! ] Finally summoning his Army. Roy''s legs suddenly bend down, gasping in exhaustion as the white cat hurriedly supported him. "Are you okay!?" Kristine upon regaining her senses, finally saw her exhausted brother before hurriedly helping him. "Hmm." Roy nodded his head slightly as he stared at the chaos happening in the distance. ... Boom! Boom! Shadow Bullets! Vine Entanglement! Dozens of thick roots grew from the ground as they tried to coil the body of the approaching centipedes in the distance to no avail. With the numbers and speed of the enemy, Rosa couldn''t concentrate on one, causing her attention to be divided. Shield Ergement! Seeing that Rosa failed to stop the Centipedes, Rnd immediately raised his shield in front of the group, using the skill attached to his shield, instantly erging the shield by 2.5 times. Boom! Caught off guard by the sudden ergement of the shield, the fastest centipede heavily collided with the shield, causing Rnd and the Centipede to pause in stillness as if Rnd was an unmovable mountain. Not letting the chance slip off Sebastian quickly pointed his pointed finger toward the body of the centipede as if his hand were made of gun. Overload Shadow Bullet! Bang! A ball of darkness with a diameter of 6 inches, shoots toward the body of the centipede in an instant, caving the body of the centipede before creating a huge hole in its body. TSSSS! Tss, tsss!!! ... Chapter 61: Forest Centipede (2). TSSHH! Tsss... The Centipede thrashed and twisted its long body violently in pain, making the ground quake and cave in due to its strength and weight. Swish! Bang! As the centipede was violently twisting its body, hitting the surrounding environment indiscriminately, a sudden swift and dark long object hit its temple before quickly vanishing within. Thud... Not long after the long object prated its temple, the centipede paused on its twisting. Its posture was strange as it suddenly stopped moving before finally falling toward the ground with a thud. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Forest Centipede (Rare)! +200 exp! ] Seeing this, Jake loosened his grasp from the string of his wooden bow. Before again ncing toward the approaching centipedes in the distance then finally looking at his group (to check their current situation). "Good thing, there were still no wounded in the group for the time being. "Sigh... Those centipedes were really annoying, I couldn''t hit them urately." Jake mumbled under his breath. Not only these centipedes were much faster than felines, but their senses and perception were also above the former by a level! If Jake shoots an arrow at those unupied centipedes, there''s at least a 90% chance that they will be able to evade his almost invisible attack on time! While 9.99% is that he will miss the designated target, only leaving them a wound in the process. Tsk! Ehh... Weird, where is Leo? Seeing the two dark skeletons (ying dead on the ground in the distance), The corner of Jake''s mouth inexplicable twitched before finally noticing the absence of Leo. "Don''t tell me he entered invisible again?" ... Boom! Cl-click! "Jake! You idiot, are you just going to stand there and watch!" Cristina shouted, casting a buff and healing spell toward the group as she eyed the dumbfounded Jake in the distance, not knowing what was currently happening inside Jake''s head. *** Boom! "Did you finally finish casting the skill?" In the distance, meters away from the chaos. As the two dark skeletons continued ying dead on the ground, the weak voice of Leo suddenly resounded behind them, almost making them jump in fear and shock. C-nk... nk... (Y-yes, but it will take some time to bloom ¡Á2). "Good, then we will wait and see its effect in a while. But for now, continue to y dead... since your current strength would not be able/enough to wound the enemy" The weak voice of Leo again resounded inside the skeleton''s ears before again vanishing after a while. With a flicker of darkness in their eyes, the skeleton continued lying on the ground, as if nothing had happened. ... Click! Click! Boom! "This wouldn''t do. If we continue like this, we will be exhausted before we can kill them all." Crisanta speaks loudly while fully activating her healing skill on the wounded man beside her. Although they could still hold on for a while, their efficiency in killing the centipedes is too slow... Moreover, if the centipedes got seriously wounded, they would immediately borrow under the ground before again emerging with full health after minutes of resting! Boom! Swish! Swish! TSSS! "Tsk, It misses again by a few inches!" Jake clicks his tongue in annoyance as he again pulls the string of his bow with strength. Panting slightly before calmly eyeing the centipede in the distance. As he was patiently waiting for the chance to appear, the ground beneath him suddenly trembled before another centipede emerged from the ground. Click! Shocked and frightened, Jake couldn''t react on time, when suddenly, the two-meter-long centipede coiled/entwined around his body. Click! ng! Fortunately, before the centipede tightened its coiling, a flickering and transparent shield materialized around Jake''s body. Creating a sharp scraping sound as it withstands the dagger-like feet of the centipede. "F*ck, this feels disgusting!" Jake cursed loudly, trying to disperse the fear and dread he was currently experiencing... Taking a deep breath to suppress his emotion, Jake took out a silver short dagger from his inventory before stabbing the body of the centipede repeatedly. Tsss! TSSS!! Feeling the pain and knowing that it wouldn''t be able to destroy the shield in a short time, the centipede immediately and cleverly loosened its coil before diving to the ground in an instant. Quicking borrowing under the earth. "D*mn, this is f*ck*ng annoying!" Jake cursed loudly upon seeing the centipede quickly vanishing under the earth, not able to stop it in time. Gritting his teeth in anger due to not being able to get his revenge, Jake quickly pulled the string of his wooden bow. Shooting toward the centipede in the distance without caring whether it hit the centipede or not. Swish! Swish! Sure enough, most of the arrows shot by Jake missed. (Only a small amount of arrows managed to hit, wounding the centipedes slightly.) ... Soon, another 2 minutes pass by. The ck arachnid summoned by Roy had already vanished due to the limit of time, only leaving him with 10 doddle army at level 20 as his guard. Fortunately, the ck arachnid managed to kill one of the centipedes earlier before vanishing, reducing the pressure and stress the group was currently experiencing in the process. With the 4 centipedes killed by the group earlier, there were only 5 centipedes left on the enemy''s side. However, although there were only half of the enemy left, the Qi and Stamina of the group already entered the dangerous stage, causing their expression to start to turn dark and ugly. Boom! "D*mn this insect!" Rnd panted heavily as the centipede collided with his shield, causing his feet to slide backward due to the centipede''s strength and weight. "Huff~ Shadow... Bullets!" Seeing the chance, Sebastian fired dozens of ck bullets toward the centipede, causing its body to dent as wounds began to show on its body. TSSS! Swish! Thud! Finally killing another one, Jake breathed deeply as he again pulled the string instinctively before firing toward the centipede in the distance. ... nk... nk? (Heartless summoner, are you still not nning to help them?) "Shhh... Shut up, you don''t know anything. Besides that, you should focus on speeding the blooming of the seed within the enemy first!" Leo replied in a hushed voice as he wiped the forming sweat on his forehead, extremely anxious and restless as he watched the group in the distance. It''s not that he didn''t want to help the group in the distance nor he was afraid to fight the enemy. It''s just that most of his skill... Most of his skill doesn''t discriminate between friends and enemies! Other than the weak telekinesis skill... All of Leo''s skills might kill the group first before killing the enemy! Not to mention that weak telekinesis is almost not useable since he just sacrifices all of his items on the altar when he advances toward the foundation stage! ... Chapter 62: Seed of Madness. Feeling regretful upon noticing itte, Leo could only clench his fist tightly as he watched the group suffering in the distance. nk... nk. (Heartless summoner, it''s already ready! We only need a single thought to make the seed bloom!) "Great, then we will wait and find the best opportunity to kill them all in one fell swoop!" Leo gritted his teeth as he spoke in a hushed tone, finally feeling slightly relieved upon hearing the confirmation of the skeletons. Although they were still currently at level 15 (with an ability to fight beyond their level without falling into a disadvantage), their Seed of Sin skill was quite simr to his Life Fire technique! Both ignore the levels and have certain effects on a higher life form! Not to mention that the Seed of Sin affects one consciousness! What is consciousness? Although Leo was not clear about it, he knew that it was one of the hardest parts to protect other than the soul! ... Click! Click! Seeing that all of the centipedes were already exhausted (simr to the group) and again readying to dive toward the earth to increase their natural recovery rate. Leo knew that it was the right time, so without further ado, Leomanded the dark skeleton on the ground to activate the skill. "Now! Make it bloom!" sh! The darkness in the eye sockets of the skeletons shed slightly, further deepening their darkness as their body released an indescribable aura. Seemingly making the surroundings strange and inexplicable. At the same time, in the distance, as the centipedes were about to borrow underground, their eyes flickered slightly before pausing in their tracks. Causing the group puzzled about the sudden cease of action of the centipedes. "A chance!" Jake shouted as he gaspingly pulled the string of his bow, steadily targeting the temple of the centipede in the distance. Swish! Clink! However, before he could release the string of the bow, the centipede''s eyes shed with a glint before looking at him with red bloodshot eyes. Almost scaring him in the process... Clink! Clink! F*ck, that red eyes! If Jake remembered correctly, those red bloodshot eyes were quite simr to a greatly angered being who was staring toward his archenemy in anger... As if it wouldn''t rest until he killed and dissected his enemy into countless pieces. "This..." Click... Click! As Jake was feeling frightened deep within, the centipede that was about to borrow under the ground suddenly released an inaudible sound before rushing madly toward Jake''s location. "F*ck!" Jake shouted. This... Seeing this, instead of feeling pity toward Jake, the group''s eyes lit up one by one. Although they had no idea what was happening, the madness that the centipedes were showing was good for them. ... "F*ck, f*ck, f*ck... Don''t target me! I didn''t do anything to you''ll, I did just kill two of your kind and wounded all of you, yet you can''t keep your calm and decided to kill me for good!!!" Jake shouted angrily, as his body suddenly drew an arc in the horizon upon being hit by the tail of one of the centipedes, spewing blood as he flew in the distance. I''m dead. *** "I guess... Your skill is a sess..." Leo awkwardly said toward the dark skeletons upon seeing the flying and cursing Jake in the distance. Having a guess as to why those centipedes suddenly targeted Jake in the distance with dense killing intent in their eyes. Amplifying emotions and sin... Since Jake killed a number of them and wounded all of them to different degrees, the centipedes probably already wanted to kill Jake back then. It''s just that with the blooming of the Seed of Sin within them, their emotions suddenly amplified to the highest degree before erupting. Causing them to ignore the iing skill in their direction as they charge toward Jake with redden/bloodshot eyes, hellbent on killing Jake even if they exchange their life for it! nk... nk... (Holy necromancer, this skill is really powerful! Should we share it with the group so we can fight better in the future?) nk! nk... (Yes, yes, we could just nt the Seed of Sin behind the back while the group faced the enemy! Isn''t that perfect?) The skeleton''s eyes shed slightly as they advised Leo. Already starting to imagine the beautiful scenes they would cause in the future. Sign, I suddenly missed when their "Advance Intelligence" skill is still level 1... Looking at the cursing Jake in the distance, Leo shook his head firmly before saying. "No, we can''t reveal this skill. It''s one of your innate skills after all... If we disclose this to them then you two will be an easy target in the future." ... Boom! Boom! With renewed vigor, the group cast all their skills toward the centipede in the distance, creating a huge sound of explosion as it greatly damaged the bodies of centipedes in the process. Huff~ Gasping heavily, Rnd activated all of his shield skills toward the bloodied Jake in the distance. Hoping that it would hold on until all of the centipede dies. Gurgle... (How... Did I provoke you all?) Jake almost choked due to the blood in his mouth, feeling wrong and aggrieved as he watched the shield flicker with intense light. The centipedes kept spitting acid toward the shield enveloping him, causing the temperature around him to increase greatly! Almost burning his skin and hair! Tsss! "I suddenly envied Leo''s invisibility... F*ck he''s probably cheering on the side while eating popcorn!" He aggrievedly thought as his eyes finally rolled backward before finally losing consciousness. ... Boom! TSSSS! THUDD!! "Finally, they finally all died!" Sebastian said with relief, panting heavily as he waved his hand in numbness... Taking a deep breath, Sebastian approached the dead body of the centipede, kicking it weakly to relieve his anger. "Hey, don''t destroy the body, we still need them whole for Leo to extract them and make them into a potion... "Besides that, I would be much more happier if I drank them as a material in revenge," Kristine said to remind Sebastian. "Speaking of which, where is Leo?" Thinking of it carefully, she never felt the existence of Leo from the beginning till the end when the centipedes appeared earlier. "Don''t tell me... He died without us noticing!" Kristine immediately concluded as her face immediately turned pale. ... "Hey, what are you talking?" ... Chapter 63: Whithered Fruit, Grade 1 Natural Treasure! (1) "Hey, what are you two talking about?" The voice of Leo suddenly resounded behind Kristine, as a humanoid figure from the unknown quickly materialized beside her. AHHH!! Greatly shocked and horrified, Kristine suddenly released a loud shriek, making the ears of Sebastian and Leo to be momentarily deaf. "Y-you, ghost..." Kristine stuttered as she looked at the pale face of Leo beside her... Her knees almost became soft as her body trembled in fear. "F*ck, I''m still not dead! Besides that, I almost be deaf due to your shout!!" Leo unconsciously speaks loudly, feeling his ears and head buzz. "D*mn, does she have Innate "Soul Shrieking" skill?'' ... "Ehh, then... That''s good." Regaining her senses, Kristine couldn''t help but heaved a sigh of relief upon noticing that Leo in front of her was really alive and kicking. Even having no sign of wounds or scratches on his body. "This... Don''t tell me your "Invisibility" skill reached a high level?" Kristine couldn''t help but ask in curiosity upon remembering that Leo has invisibility skills. Although she had never seen Leo earlier in the fight, Kristine never thought too much of it. As a Potion Master, she and the group really never expected Leo to fight. In addition, It''s also a good thing for them if Leo just watches from the side and lets them fight. Since it might bring them trouble if they needed to watch Leo (to prevent him from falling into danger) and at the same time fight the centipedes. ... Cough... "I feel much better." Leo took a deep breath as he massaged his temple in slight pain. Finally freeing himself from Kristine''s endless inquiry. Looking at the bloodied figure of Jake in the distance, Leo couldn''t help but feel a slight pang of guilt within him since it was basically half his fault as to why Jake became like this. Sigh, I couldn''t let him learn about the Seed of Sin... If he identally learns about it, he might do his best to hack the skeletons into powder. Cough... Upon reaching the side of Jake, Leo coughs slightly to gain the attention of Crisanta who happens to be beside Jake, healing Jake with all her might. Although Crisanta was already visibly exhausted, she still kept casting her healing skill to Jake (to quicken Jake''s recovery). "You should rest first and let me handle the healing." "You... Healing?" Hearing Leo behind her, Crisanta raised her exhausted eyes as she replied. (Due to exhaustion, her head couldn''t think carefully, causing her tote react.) Ehh... Did I hear wrongly? ... "Y-you have healing skills? Then why didn''t you approach much earlier!" Finally reacting, Crisanta blurted out as she faced Leo doubly. Quite angered due to the fact that Leo only approached her when she almost healed up all of the wounded people in the group! "Ehh, Sorry... I''m quite panicking earlier." Leo couldn''t help but feel embarrassed upon noticing his mistake, only noticing that he had healing skills upon feeling guilty seeing Jake''s bloodied figure. Looking at Leo doubtedly, Crisanta sighed deeply as she shook her head wearily. "Never mind, My Qi is already running low anyway." Crisanta deactivated her healing skills as she made a way for Leo. Staying behind as she curiously watches Leo''s action. Divine Fire of Life. Leo silently thought, opening his palm as a pure white me began materializing on his hand. Taking a deep breath, Leo erged the me by fueling it with his Qi, instantly reducing his Qi by 10 as he let the pure white fire engulf the unconscious Jake. Swish! In an instant, the pure white me engulfed the whole body of Jake, making his body light up with holiness. In just a short second, the blood on Jake''s body began to burn out/evaporate, making his body clean again, devoid of any redness brought by wounds... Following that, his superficial and deep wounds began to close one by one, making his extra pale face regain a little bit of color. T-this... What kind of healing ability is this!? Crisanta eximed as she stared at the white me in Leo''s hand in shock. Although Crisanta was only watching from the side, she could still feel the great vitality emanating from the pure white fire on Leo''s palms. Just within its presence, she could feel her fatigue and weariness decreasing by amount every second! "Don''t tell me, this is the technique he gets when he masters parts of his cultivation technique!" She thought in shock and wonder. Wondering what kind of cultivation technique Leo gets after advancing to the foundation realm for him to get this skill. In apocalypse, it''s a basic knowledge that the cultivator would get/gain a corresponding technique/skill upon mastering part of the cultivation technique. A new single technique after reaching a new height! (Gaining 1 technique at every advancement of life form!) It''s just that, she never expected Leo to quickly master part of his cultivation technique in just a short amount of time! In addition to the vitality released by the me, his cultivation technique grade is at least Low-Earth Grade! "This..." Sigh... It''s great that there is another healer in the group. ... Soon, after his Qi was reduced to 50, Leo sighed in relief as he unhurriedly retracted the me on Jake''s healed body. Huff~ "Although it has great healing ability, it consumes arge amount of Qi," Leo said as he sat down, ignoring the dead centipedes on the ground as he regted his breathing. Circting the cultivation technique within him, Leo slowly began to recover his missing Qi. Although not much, Leo recovers 1 Qi every 5-10 minutes, and 12-6 Qi in an hour. Sigh... After 30 minutes of cirction, Leo opened his eyes before unhurriedly walking toward the corpses of Centipedes in the distance. Familiarly taking an empty bottle from his inventory, Leo began to extract their blood essence one by one. Quickly filling 5 bottles with one corpse. With 8 corpses in total, Leo surprisingly gains 40 bottles of their essence, making his potion stock finally plenty. ... Holding a bottle filled with heavy brown essence, simr to thick mud, Leo silently cast a soul scan toward it. Ding! [ Forest Centipede Essence (Rare - High) (Grade 1 material) (75% purity): A good material for countless rare grade 1 potions... Suitable for concocting strength, stamina, and health potion... Note 1: You could drink it safely! Note 2: Consuming the Forest Centipede Essence directly could increase the strength stat and Health point by 1 permanently! Note 3: Increase Earth Affinity by 1% for a week! Note 4: It can only be consumed once per 4 days! ( If you consume other unprocessed materials, It is best/safe if you wait for two days before consuming this! ) ] ... Chapter 64: Whithered Fruit, Grade 1 Natural Treasure! (2) "Increasing affinity by 1%?" Leo asks in confusion, having no clear idea about what affinity is. Ding! [ Consuming 100 horror points to get the basic exnation of Affinity. (ept/Declined) ] "Ehh, System, did you learn a new business idea?" Leo couldn''t help but ask in surprise, never expecting that his silent system would suddenly appear after seeing an opportunity to gain horror points. But... "Didn''t you often give an exnation in the past for free?" Well, although not often, the system really gives him some exnation for free in the past...It is just that. Sigh... "Well, never mind, I guess it''s fine since the system only wants 100 horror points." After seeing that it wouldn''t cost too much, Leo immediately epted, causing his horror point to decrease by 100. Ding! [ Affinity basically determines how suitable a being/cultivator is in certain elements. Having a high affinity for certain elements like "Earth" allowed the cultivator to easily learn and master Earth-rted cultivation techniques and skills in the shortest time possible. In addition, having a high affinity for certain elements like "Earth element" allowed the corresponding techniques and skills released/cast by the cultivator who has a high Affinity on Earth to increase its effectiveness by a margin (based on affinity). ] Ding! [ Due to that, testing one affinity in certain elements is one of the ways to test the mortals'' talent in cultivation! ] "(O - O ) " Leo. ... "Woahh, then this material is... Really amazing!" Leo eximed after minutes of silence and contemtion. The effect of the essence of the Centipedes to increase one''s affinity to Earth''s elements even for a while is really shocking... Then... what about if he makes it into a potion? Could he make the increase in affinity permanent? This... Just the thought and idea of it makes Leo''s blood boil, making his eyes glow further. Smiling dazedly, Leo could already imagine his future days would be amazing. Hehehe... "nk... nk... (Even by just standing here in the distance, I could already feel the disgusting thought of the Heartless Necromancer.)" Skeleton #1 thought as it stared at his id*ot master in the distance in shame. The smile of the Heartless necromancer as he stared at the void almost made it scared. Making it wonder, who was currently the scariest and strange between the two. "nk... nk... (Although I hate to say this, I''m really scared of and for my master''s mental health.)" Skeleton #2 created a nking sound using its lower jaw as it stared at its master worriedly. Noticing that its master always bes dazed every while and then... Wondering if it should call Crisanta in order to check its master''s mental health. *** Soon, after hours of resting. The group started to be active upon recovering some of their lost health and Qi. "Hmm, Leo, what are you doing?" Opening her eyes, Rosa caught the figure of Leo in the distance, dismembering the body of the centipede as if he were looking for something. Curious, Rosa approached Leo, only to see him holding a brown withered fruit in his hands. Surprisingly the withered fruit was still intact even if it directly came out from the stomach of the centipede. This... Vitality? She thought as she stared at the withered fruit that was releasing/emitting vitality. Although it''s already withered, the vitality it releases is surprisingly abundant. Ding! [ Do you want to consume 250 horror points to gain information about the fruit? (Yes/No?)] "ept," Leo hesitated slightly before eventually epting since he could feel that the whithered fruit''s energy was helpful to him. There''s a mysterious instinct,ing deep in his soul that tells him that consuming the whithered fruit would be beneficial to him. Ding! [ Earth Vitality Ginseng: An extremely rare grade 1 natural treasure that could only be found in a ce abundant with Earth Qi! It took a total of 5 years of constantly absorbing Earth Qi to mature! Effect upon consumption: Increase Earth and Wood affinity by 2%, Soul and Body defense by 1%, and Strength by 2 permanently. Effect 2: Increase the Qi inside the body by an amount! (Only effective below Nascent Soul realm!) Note 1: A being could only consume 2 raw Earth Vitality Ginseng in its lifetime! (Could consume an extra one if the Earth Vitality Ginseng was processed into a potion!) |le|mp|yr Note 2: The effects are greatly weakened due to being withered! ] "This fruit... I need to find where it originated!" Leo thought firmly after reading its effect! Its ability to directly increase one''s affinity and soul defense is hard to pass by! Moreover, it could also be used to increase one''s realm by a small amount or probably increase one''s level directly after consumption! "We need to find this fruit!" Leo seriously said as he looked at Rosa beside him. "This... Is this really important?" She replied as she looked at Leo''s serious face in surprise. It could be said that this is her first time seeing Leo act like this. Since that is the case, then this fruit should be really important. "Yes." "I see, then you should share its effect on the group." Rosa nodded slightly, also quite curious about the effect of the withered fruit for it to cause Leo to act determined. "Indeed." ... Walking toward the resting group in the distance, seeing that they already almost recovered from the battle earlier. Leo took out the withered fruit on his inventory before showing it to Rnd. "This... What is this?" Rnd upon feeling the abundant vitality of the withered fruit, asks Leo curiously. Simrly to Leo, he could feel his instinct screaming to him to snatch the withered fruit in Leo''s hand and consume it in one go. "This is Earth Vitality Ginseng, an extremely rare grade one natural treasure that I found inside the body of the corpse of Forest Centipede..." Leo patiently exined, not forgetting to point out how important it was to them. ... "This... Are you really sure that it could increase the Qi inside one''s body? And it was effective below the Nascent Soul realm!" After hearing Leo''s exnation, Rnd couldn''t help but be excited, to the point that he almost shook Leo''s body. If what Leo said is true, then he might have a chance to break through toward the Core Formation realm after consuming the fruit! A realm that was hard to break through! With his talent alone, it would probably take him half a year to naturally break through! Even if he didn''t manage to break through toward the next realm after consuming the fruit, Rnd believes that he would be much closer to the next realm! Besides that, just the increase in Soul and Body defense alone makes the Earth Vitality Ginseng worth the trouble! ... Chapter 65: To the Southeast! Underground Cave (1). Augh... Jake groaned in pain as he forcefully opened his eyes, the feeling of his body as if it had been beaten up for hours made his eyes tear up. "waterr... I need water..." He whispered in a raspy tone, feeling his throat burn due to dryness. "You''re finally awake?" Leo retracted his Divine Life of Fire on Jake''s body as he took out a water bottle from his inventory. Lifting Jake''s head carefully, Leo assists him in drinking water. Carefully tilting the bottle to prevent Jake from being choked. "Huff~ much better." Jake sighedfortably, feeling the itchiness of his throat subside. Finally slightly at ease, having time to think again, the face of Jake suddenly turned ugly upon remembering the events that happened earlier. The feeling of being burned alive by acid, being chased like a rat, and being tossed around like a toy makes his eyes release an uncontroble amount of killing intent. "Did... those Forest Centipedes all die?" Jake asks Leo beside him, concealing the hate within. His eyes release a dark glint, causing Leo to feel ufortable as he unconsciously avoids the gaze of Jake. "... Yes," Leo replied weakly, not knowing what emotion should he show. (Normal for humans who feel guilty but don''t want to show it). Not waiting for Jake to reply and also feeling guilty, Leo took out 3 bottles of a seemingly Mud Essence of Forest Centipede in his inventory before giving it to Leo. "This is the essence of the Forest Centipede, It''s much more advanced and rare than a zombie and feline essence." "I see thanks..." Jake received the bottle in slight happiness before againpletely silent. Beside him, after giving the essence, Leo stayed still, also falling into deep silence. ( ''-'' )Jake. ( ''-'' )Leo. ... "Do you need anything?" "Ohh, right, I almost forgot about that... Rnd wants to know where the general direction of the centipedes was when you first detected it." "Detected?" Jake asks confusedly as he racks his brain, trying to remember where he first detected the Centipedes. This... "Although I couldn''t pinpoint their exact location earlier, I detected them first at Southeast..." Jake speaks unhurriedly as he carefully scans his memory. "Great! Then we will start moving toward the Southeast after you fully recover!" Hearing the hint where to find those Earth Vitality Ginseng, Leo revealed a smile as he patted the shoulder of Jake in happiness, making thetter face pale due to muscle pain. ... Soon, after resting and recovering for a day, Leo and the group already recovered most to all of their Qi, causing them to start their journey toward the Southeast of the Endless Forest. Walking between his two dark skeletons, Leo began to sightseeing in the endless forest, not letting a single herb and root miss the opportunity to be a part of his potion in the future. Sck! As he was busy harvesting leaves of the tree they identally passed by, a sudden weak force hit his shoulder, causing him to get interrupted. "Are you really going to make the tree bald?" Seeing that Leo almost made the little tree in front of the group bald, Kristine couldn''t help but weakly punch Leo on his shoulder. Feeling pity toward the almost bald tree. "Ehh, but it would recover its leaves naturally after a month of recuperating." "I see, but still, you should take pity on the tree. It spent most of its lifetime growing leaves yet you will just pluck it all!?" Hearing Kristine''s words, Leo couldn''t help but scratch his cheeks in confusion. He felt that what Kristine said made sense but at the same time not. Weird, didn''t trees grow fruits just for beings and animals to pluck and eat? Then leaves should be the same... Still, looking at Kristine''s determined expression, Leo could only shake his head with a weak smile as he withdrew his approaching hand from the tree leaves, slightly feeling pity not getting all those moonlight leaves. Fortunately, with my current stock, it should be able tost for months or years if I use 1-2 leaves per day... Moonlight Leaves is actually not that useful in terms of concocting potions or making puppets, but instead, it''s actually a kind of good tea that could boost one''s focus on cultivation after consumption! Although not much, it could at least boost cultivation and memorization by 10-20% based on his mood and the quality of the leaves! Sigh... Nevermind... ... As the group was about to continue their journey, the bushes at the short distance (10 meters away from them) suddenly moved and shook violently, making the group instantly be wary. This... "Jake!" Rnd shouted loudly as he stared at Jake sternly. As the only one who had the ability/skill to detect the life force of beings in the surroundings. Since Jake didn''t inform them of this one, Rnd assumed that Jake let his guard down. Although he might appear extra stern right now, Rnd thinks that this was necessary since they almost died earlier due to not being cautious enough. "This... My detection skill was always active, yet there are no signs of beings approaching our location." Facing the stern look of Rnd, Jake could only shake his head helplessly since his skill really didn''t detect any beings around them. Getting ready for a fight, the group watches the bushes in the distance warily, still feeling quite tense due to the fight yesterday. "Wait... Why not cast spells and catch the other party off guard?" Feeling the tense aura emitted by the group, Leo couldn''t help but voice out. "Ehh, It makes sense, but what if it was a human being?" Hearing Leo beside her, Rosa couldn''t help but be stunned. Wondering why she never thinks of it. "Then we should really bombard it with spells since it''s weird for a human to hide in a bush," Leo suggests as his eyes radiate with wisdom. Looking at the bush in the distance that suddenly stops moving at one point upon hearing Leo''s suggestion. "This..." The group suddenly wasn''t in the mood to fight. ... nk... nk... ( What did this group expect from the heartless Summoner?) Knowing how heartless his summoner was, Skeleton #1 isn''t really that surprised that the heartless summoner coulde up with malicious and disgusting idea. Besides that who would suddenly kill someone (Other than the heartless summoner) without knowing whether the other party has malicious thoughts about you or not? nk... (We should not let the heartless summoner live for long.) ... Chapter 66: To the Southeast! Underground Cave (2). Sck! "What are you mumbling about?" A crisp sound echoed in the surrounding area as Leo weakly (but with enough force) pped the ck skull of skeleton #1. Making thetter cry as it held its skull in pain, creating a weak nking sound as itined deep within. As Leo was about to flick his finger toward the skull of skeleton #1 upon seeing the glint in its eyes, the bush in the distance again issued a moving sound, causing him to halt. Swish! A secondter, a white small furry figure appeared in the group''s sight, causing the group at a loss for what to do. This? A rabbit? They thought in unison as they stared at the small rabbit in the short distance in surprise. The rabbit, as if smelling something, created a low cute squeaking sound as its pink slightly wet nose twitched violently. As if sensing something, the white rabbit''s big ck round eyes stared at the group curiously. How cute... Rosa, Kristine, and Roy stared at the white rabbit with soft smiles, their eyes shined brightly as they couldn''t help but approach the white rabbit in the distance. ... Swish! However, before they could move/step forward, the rabbit who was looking at the group curiously, suddenly vanished in their line of sight. Boom! Rnd who was feeling that something was wrong suddenly felt chills deep within him upon seeing that the rabbit vanished with a blur. Raising his shield, Rnd was about to inform the group when suddenly, he felt a heavy force hitting his shield... This... Boom! His body instantly flew backward before hitting the big tree on his back, causing the tree to sway slightly before his body slowly slid down. Ding! - 5 health! ... F*ck, F*ck... I''m out of here! Leo thought as he watched Rnd''s helpless figure fly in the distance before quickly and silently activating his invisibility skill. Since Rnd couldn''t even protect himself from the attack of the rabbit, then Leo was sure that he would lose/die without scratching/wounding the other party''s body! nk! nk! (F*cking heathless summoner, he vanishes quickly after seeing tough beast!) Seeing that the heathless summoner vanished in its line of sight without informing them, Skeleton #1 quickly tagged the hand of Skeleton #2 beside him before he slumped toward the ground lifelessly. nk... nk... (For the future of the Skeleton race!) Skeleton #2 created a nking sound before following skeleton #1 on the ground... ... Boom! Seeing that the tough humanoid figure flew in the distance after being hit by it, the ck eyes of the rabbit revealed a glint as he eyed the rest of the humans in the distance. This... Seeing that the rabbit materialized in the distance, Leo quickly took the chance as he immediately cast a soul scan toward it. Ding! [ Silver Moon Rabbit (Rare Mutated +1) - Foundation Realm level 16! Innate Skill: ??? ___Attributes___ Health: 125/125 Qi: 420 Stamina: 73/75 Strength: 100 Speed: ??? Qi Power: 420 Skills: Superior Speed (Rare), Moon Light (Rare), ???, ???, Superior Senses (Epic). ] [ Superior Speed (Rare): Speed permanently Increased by 15 points. It could move at a fast speed without creating a sound or moving the air in the surroundings! ] [ Moon Light (Rare): Recovery under the moonlight increases by 100%. Further increasing speed by 10 and creating an Illusion of itself as it moved under the moonlight! ] [ Superior Senses (Epic): Could sense almost everything in its surroundings. It''s almost impossible to assassinate it without using an epic invisibility skill! ] ... F*ck! Seeing the epic skill of the Silver Moon rabbit, Leo''s eyes constricted slightly as he hurriedly scanned the surroundings in panic. F*ck, f*ck, f*ck! I''m dead. Sure enough, the thing that scared him the most happened. In the distance, the ck eyes of the white rabbit stared at his invisible figure with interest, its pink nose twitched slightly toward his direction. Stumping slightly the ground under it with its white hind legs, the figure of the white rabbit instantly vanishes in Leo''s sight before appearing in mid-air in front of him. Swish! Twisting its body in mid-air, the white rabbit instantly hit Leo''s body with its hind feet, causing Leo to fly in the distance. Boom! Bang! Ding! -10 health! "Cough, cough!!" Leo coughed heavily as his invisibility skill deactivated on its own. Feeling his chest be heavy, Leo stood up in difort as he took a deep breath to calm his hurting chest. That hurts! Leo thought as he coughed repeatedly. "Are you okay!" Seeing that Leo got hit by the white rabbit, the group immediately ran toward Leo''s direction to avoid Leo from being targeted again. "Cough, I''m fine..." However, before he could continue speaking... The white rabbit that was nowhere in sight suddenly materialized on his shoulder, causing Leo to feel chills deep within. Moving its nose toward Leo''s face, the white rabbit twitched its pink nose as it sniffed on Leo''s scent. This... Leo didn''t move, letting the rabbit snift his scent as his forehead began to form sweat. Cursing deep within, Leo eyed the white rabbit on his shoulder without moving. nk...nk! (Go little rabbit, you can do it! Kill the heartless summoner!) Skeleton #1 thought and cheered happily as it watched the heartless summoner suffer on the side. As for it nting seeds of sin toward the white rabbit, Skeleton #1 has already given up. It''s not that it didn''t want to help the heartless summoner, it is just that every time it nned to nt a seed of sin toward the rabbit, its instinct was always screaming at it. If it just tried to activatey the skill toward it, there''s at least a 100% possibility that it would die. Although it knew that the necromancer could pay a hefty price to revive it. With the hidden personality of the heathless necromancer, it would probably take forever for him to revive it. ... "F*ck," Leo cursed again as the wet nose of the white rabbit touch his cheek, making him feel extra anxious. Squeak, squeak? As he was feeling anxious inside, the white rabbit created a cute squeaking sound as it faced Leo curiously. Its eyes revealed confusion, eying Leo as if asking a question. Squeak? ... Chapter 67: To the Southeast! Underground Cave (3). nk, nk. Seeing that the white rabbit was still not killing its master, skeleton #2 mustered all its courage as it approached its master''s side steadily before whispering in its master''s ears weakly. "Eh... Are you sure?" Leo couldn''t help but utter in surprise as he silently peeked at the rabbit on his shoulder stiffly. nk! (Yes!). "Then let''s try it." Taking a deep breath, since he couldn''t think of any other solution without risking his safety, Leo could only risk it and decided to follow Skeleton #2 words/suggestion... Taking a deep breath, Leo slowly retrieved a seemingly withered fruit from his inventory before showing it to the white rabbit on his shoulder. ... Squeak! In an instant, seeing the withered fruit on Leo''s arm, the ck eyes of the white rabbit instantly shone brightly. Instinctively twitched its nose as it sniffed in the direction of the withered fruit, staring at it with intense desire. Squeak, Squeak! It squeaked excitedly as it pointed toward the withered fruit on Leo''s hand before pointing toward it. Its gesture is self-evident as it wanted the withered fruit on Leo''s hand. "This... You want this?" Leo asks in confirmation, only to see the white rabbit on his shoulder anxiously nod its little head up and down. "Then, if I give it to you, you will still attack us?" Hearing Leo''s question, the rabbit hesitated slightly, its eyes revealing pity before shaking its head decisively. "Then it''s settled then." Unhurriedly giving the withered fruit toward the white rabbit on his shoulder. Leo watched the rabbit open its mouth excitedly, revealing a densely packed of sharp long teeth enough for any carnivores to feel ashamed and inferior... "F*ck!" Leo almost froze in shock and fear upon seeing this, before quickly regaining his senses as he wiped the forming sweat on his forehead instinctively. Engulfing the withered fruit in one go, the white rabbit created a low squeaking sound akin to satisfaction before hoping down on Leo''s shoulder. Moving in the distance, the rabbit suddenly halts before looking at Leo and the group. Hesitating slightly, it suddenly gestured toward the group to follow it, waving its little white paw cutely. Squeak, Squeak! ... "This..." Not knowing what to do, Leo could only exchange nces with the group, but only to see them also looking at him, equally confused. "What do you think?" After a minute of silence, Rnd wiped the dirt and dust on his shield as he asked Leo for his opinion. "I... I think that there''s no harm if we follow it," Leo truthfully answered. Based on the earlier action of the rabbit. Although it could kill him countless of times and at the same time flee/escape without getting wounds, the rabbit only wounded him, without having a hint of intent to kill him at all. Then... It''s probably that the scent of the Earth''s Vitality Ginseng attracted it toward them. Moreover, its intelligence is also quite highpared to other foundation-level realm beasts. ... "Indeed, we also think so." Kristine, Rosa, and Roy voiced out one by one, still not forgetting the cuteness of the rabbit in the distance. If the rabbit just didn''t open its small mouth earlier then the white rabbit would be perfect! Then so be it... Moving forward, Leo was about to lead the group when he suddenly remembered something Important... Pausing on his step, Leo turned around and faced Rnd before saying. "Ehh, I think it would be best if you move in the front..." Leo said awkwardly before moving toward the back of the group. His face was expressionless as the group stared at him with mixed emotions. Not thinking too much about it, Rnd moved toward the front as the group and began to follow the white rabbit. *** Soon, after half an hour of walking, the group arrives at a seemingly tall mound. (Upon apocalypse, a mound on Earth easily reaches about a 100-meter tall and 250-meter in diameter. ) Due to the towering trees and bushes that almost reached 3 meters which restricted their vision, the group only noticed the mound after approaching it. ... Weird... The group thought upon reaching halfway to the top of the mound. As they advanced further, the group began to feel their fatigue reduced by a small amount as they advance. The Qi in the mound was also dense, almost creating a thin fog in the environment as it restricted their vision a little, making the group want to sit down and cultivate for a while. "The Qi here is denserpared to the town..." Leo and the group exchanged nces as they continued following the rabbit, quite curious about where it wanted to lead them. Upon reaching the top of the mound, the rabbit immediately paused as it twitched its nose, sniffing the air as it looked at the horizon in puzzlement. Squeak? Squeak? It scratched its head with its paw, as it sniffed again, however instead of sniffing the air, it began to sniff the ground. Squeak! Soon, after sniffing around, the rabbit suddenly released an excited squeaking sound as if it finally found its destination. Jumping around, the rabbit began to move forward with fast speed, leading the group toward the back of the mound... Due to their speed, it only took them a short while to travel toward the back of the mound. ... This... A cave? How weird... Leo silently thought as he stared at the big entrance of the cave ( 2.5 meters tall and 3 meters wide) in amazement. Followed by that, Leo and the group stared at the densely packed stctites on the ceiling of the cave that were continuously dripping with water droplets, in its surroundings (inside the cave) a thin mist of Qi slightly obstructed their vision. "How dense." Compared to the Qi outside, the Qi inside of the cave could be said almost 2-3 times as dense as outside. "Jake, did you detect something?" Rnd asks in a hushed tone as he examines the interior of the cave with concealed excitement. "I can''t detect lifeforce inside, but it''s best to increase our guard since there might be beasts inside that are simr to the rabbit." Jake replied as he again activated his detection skill, only to shake his head in disappointment after not detecting anything. "I see, then don''t separate from me." Rnd slightly raised his shield as he reminded the group on his back, before warily following the rabbit inside the cave... ... Chapter 68: Deep of the Cave, Late Foundation Vine! (1) Tap, tap, tap... The sound of heavy unhurried footsteps echoed inside the silent cave as darkness slowly enshrouded the surrounding environment as the group advanced further deep within. The cold dense mist slowly but surely wrapped their bodies, instinctively causing Kristine to shiver involuntarily. Fire, me. Sebastian and Leo mumbled under their breath as they both summoned me on their palm. Instantly illuminating the damp cave with different lights, at the same time increases the temperature in the atmosphere. Compared to the normal red me on Sebastian''s palm, the me on Leo''s hand could be considered strange... It was a pure white me that was devoid of any filth, instantly lighted and warmed the surroundings up, simr to an overheated white bulb. ... This... "Moonlight flowers?" Leo eximed, causing his voice to echo in the dark cave, instantly making the group startled before staring at him angrily. Giving them an apologizing look, Leo again stared at the endless sea of pure silver flowers in the ground. Due to the mes they summoned, the metallic leaves of the moonlight flowers reflected the light in the environment, creating a paradise within the silent cave. Squeak... Squeak... Seeing the beautiful light in the environment, the white rabbit''s eyes revealed a brilliance as it familiarly approached the moonlight flower in the distance. Opening its mouth full of sharp teeth, it munches the silver flower in one go, creating a crispy metallic sound as the flower bes a powder in its mouth. Gulp... "No wonder that its teeth are so sharp..." The group silently thought as they gulped in unison, not daring to think what would happen if the rabbit bit them. Soon, after minutes of munching, as if finally quenching its hunger, the rabbit gestured toward the group before continuing to move forward. However,pared to its earlier speed, the rabbit moved much more carefully as it asionally scanned the surrounding environment warily. ... "How long has it been since we entered this cave?" Kristine couldn''t help but ask the group beside her anxiously. If she guessed correctly, they probably already traveled tens of kilometers away from the entrance of the cave. Her original cheerful mood had already begun to vanish as she stared at the cute rabbit in the distance regretfully. Shhh... As Kristine was about toin again, Jake suddenly covered her mouth as he gestured toward the group to be quiet as he pointed toward the distance solemnly. Due to him being the detector of the group, having the skill "Good eyesight" is a must, causing him to be able to see further with ritypared to the group. Soon, after moving forward for about 20 meters. Leo and the group''s eyes immediately constricted upon seeing tens of corpses lifelessly lying on the ground. Pieces of meat, parts of bodies, and iplete bodies of beasts are scattered around the cold stony ground of the cave. "This..." Scanning further, the group notices the dead body of a seemingly 3-meter-long snake in the distance. Its body has a huge hole in it as some of its flesh is missing. "Forest Centipede!!" Rnd speaks in a solemn tone, as his brow instinctively furrowed upon seeing many corpses on the ground. Just this alone, he could almost imagine the intense battle that took ce inside this cave. Bending slightly, Leo touched the slightly warm flesh blood that created a mini puddle on the ground, causing him to feel chills upon guessing something. "This blood is still warm, the battle ended at least half an hour ago," Leo said in a hushed tone as he solemnly scanned the dark cave, increasing the fuel of Qi on his white me to lighten the surroundings up. In an instant, the me lightened further, showing the sight/scene of the surrounding area with much clearer details. "F*ck!" Upon seeing the scene, Leo immediately revealed a shocked expression... As far as he could see, corpses of different kinds of monstrous insects and beasts unfolded in their line of sight. The view earlierpared to now is almost thrice as bloody and gory! In the distance, sticky crimson blood originating from countless corpses formed a small fond. Creating a strange sight as its strange scent began to waft in the air due to the sudden change of temperature brought by the sudden increase of heat. aRgH!! Kristine and Rosa couldn''t stomach the scene anymore as they bent to their knees before puking heavily. Their face was covered with snot as they closed their eyes in disgust... At the same time, the face of the group paled to different degrees. Only Leo could be said quite fine upon seeing this scene. However, even though he was still quite fine, the slight disgust in his eyes couldn''t be hidden. Squeak, Squeak... The rabbit, upon seeing the pale face of the group, suddenly created a squeaking sound before continuing forward, as if everything that it sees is normal in this cave. "..." Without any choices, the group could only swallow their uncertainty and saliva as they followed the rabbit deeper into the cave. ... In the blink of an eye, the group further advanced for about a thousand meters. The group noticed that the further they went, therger the cave seemed to be. Although they still didn''te across any ferocious beasts on the way, the corpses that they passed by could be said to almost reach hundreds, causing them to be extra cautious as they moved forward. Squeak squeak... Soon, as the group was getting tense little by little, the white rabbit in front of them suddenly squeaked, looking at them solemnly as it pointed toward the dark front before gesturing a shing motion to its neck, then slumping toward the ground lifelessly, its big ck eyes were wide open as it even makes its tongue lifelessly rest on its white cheeks. This... Ppft... The tense group watched the action of the cute white rabbit in front as they couldn''t help but giggle slightly... However, knowing that it''s not appropriate, they immediately stop as they stare at the acting rabbit on the ground before looking at the dark cavern in front with a grave look. "You mean that there''s a powerful beast deep inside?" ... Chapter 69: Deep of the Cave, Late Foundation Vine! (2) "You mean that there''s a powerful beast deep inside!?" Leo asks gloomily, feeling quite tired upon hearing that they would probably face a powerful beastter. Based on the action of the rabbit (shing its neck surely earlier in its y), Leo could already guess that even the white rabbit wouldn''t be able to defeat the other party. What a headache... However, we already followed it for hours, and going back without gaining anything would be a hassle... Besides that, based on the thickness of Qi in the atmosphere, Leo could guess that there was something good in this cave. ... Hearing Leo''s question, the lifeless white rabbit on the ground immediately sprung into the air, before nodding toward Leo like a chicken peaking into its food. Still not finished, the rabbit revealed a determined look as it punched the air back and forth (As if doing some shadowboxing). "I see, do you know what it looks like?" Leo again asked as he nced toward the expression of the group helplessly. The group revealed expectation and satisfaction as they watched the rabbit acting in the distance. F*ck, although it looks... Really cute, don''t show those weird expressions! Squeak? Hearing Leo''s question, the rabbit revealed a puzzled look as it looked at the ceiling with a nk look, going to its memory, trying to remember the disgusting beast it met before. Squeak... Squeak? (I don''t know.) Soon, after a while of momentarily nk, the white rabbit shook its head confusedly, clearly not remembering what the beast looked like. Although it couldn''t remember the beast''s appearance, it still tried to show the ability of the beast based on its memory. ... "Slow speed, countless long arms simr to tentacles, tremendous speed of recovery..." "F*ck, are you sure it''s a beast that you met not an abomination!?" Leo cursed as the white rabbit demonstrated the skill of the beast with its action in difficulty. Based on the rabbit''s exnation, it could only escape using its superior speed after meeting the beast deep within the cave. Although the rabbit said that the speed of the enemy was pitifully slow, the group decided to ignore it. How is that useful? If Leopared their speed with the rabbit, the rabbit would probably say that their speed is also pitifully slow. "Should we follow it?" Leo could only sigh heavily as he asked the group for their opinion. "This..." Thinking of it deeply, feeling quite regretful if they retreated without giving it a try, the group decided to risk it and fight the beasts within... With their number, the group believed that they should be able to fight it and retreat without casualty... Sigh... "Let''s go!" Rnd said as he began to lead the group deeper into the cave. The rabbit knowing that it will be dangerous onward, suddenly vanishes in its original location before appearing on Leo''s shoulder. Creating a low squeaking sound as it sniffed Leo''s Scent. "This..." Leo without having the ability to extricate the rabbit on his shoulder, helplessly sighed as he let it do what it wanted. ... Click, Click! Bang! Roaarr!! Boom! Soon, after walking for a while, the sound of intense battle slowly resounded deep within the cave, causing the group to halt their movement as they tensely eyed therge opening in the distance. ... Eying the group, Rnd nodded his head firmly toward them before moving forward. His gesture was clear, indicating the group to ready for an intense fight. Boom! Swish! However, the group only advanced for about tens of meters when suddenly... A sound of whistling air entered their senses before a huge unknown beast hit the wall near them heavily, causing a slight quake in the surrounding area, conveying the weight of the beast. RAaawRR! Shaking the gravel in its surroundings, the beast slowly but surely came back to its feet. Although there were some deep wounds on its body it still roared angrily toward the cave, its eyes revealed a slight fear before finally bing determined in a matter of seconds. Boom! Stumping its hooves, the beast propelled itself forward, creating a small crater on the ground as it moved unhindered even under the grievous wound on its body. Although it saw the group in the distance, it didn''t stop nor tried to kill them, instead, it chose to ignore them and focus on the beast deep inside the cave. ROARR... Ding! [ Armored Boar (Elite): Foundation level 18! Innate Skill: Earth Armor (Elite) ] ... [ Earth Armor (Elite): Coat its body with Heavy Earth Qi akin to bronze armor, causing its defense to increase by a huge amount! Effect: Physical and Qi resistance +25% ] ... "What kind of enemy did it meet!?" Leo thought, slightly stunned upon seeing its huge health and innate skill that increased its defense drastically. Although it''sparable to a tank, its enemy still manages to heavily wound it... Boom! Bang! As they hesitated if it was good to join the chaos or wait till all of them injured each other, the wailing of the beasts and battle in the distance continued... Creating a tense atmosphere as they could imagine the intense battle urring in the depths of the cave based on the sound they created. Squeak! Squeak! As they were waiting, a sudden strange scent wafted in the air, causing the group, Leo, and the rabbit to be stunned... This...What kind of vitality is this!? + 0.1 Exp! + 0.1 Exp! + 0.1 Exp! Just a single whiff of the fragrance instantly caused Leo''s exp bar to fluctuate, increasing by a small amount every second as his fatigue began to decrease... "Earth Vitality Ginseng! This is the effect of Vitality Ginseng! "Besides that, in able to create a scent that almost fused in the air, it should be at least at dozens!" Leo eximed, almost sure of his guess. Hearing Leo''s voice, the eyes of the group lit up as they stared in the front with deep desire. Since just a single breath of fragrance caused their exp to increase, then what would happen after they consume a whole fruit of Earth Vitality Ginseng? A direct increase in level and realm? ... Chapter 70: Deep of the Cave, Late Foundation Vine! (3) Feeling anxious as the scent of Vitality Ginseng in the air magnified by amount as time passed by, the group began to ready themselves for the inevitable battle. "We can''t wait any longer, If we didn''t take the initiative, we might miss the chance to get the Earth Vitality Ginseng!" Without hesitating any further, the group rushed forward, deep into the cave where the sound of battle originated... Summoning arge me in order to illuminate the environment... Boom! Thud! Upon entering, the group immediately saw the figures of countless beasts lifelessly lying on the surrounding ground. Their wounds were in varying degrees and their eyes carried dull indignation as they stared at the distance. In the further distance, the figure of the Armored Boar could be seen, lying weakly on the ground as its chest heaved up and down heavily... Not far away from it, dozens of vines simr to long tentacles could be seen hitting the surrounding beast heavily. Its vines simr to iron whips leave deep wounds on anything it hits. This... The group thought as they instinctively halted their movement. The sticky fluid of crimson blood added to the mud under their feet began to stick on their shoes and stephens ( A kind of footwear in Asia) adding weight to them as they scanned the surroundings in momentarily stunned expressions. After a short second of being dazed, Leo regained his senses as he instinctively scanned the vine with his soul scan. Ding! [ Demon Vine (Epic): Level ??? Innate: ??? ] ... This... Core formation realm! Leo horrifiedly thought as he instinctively stepped back... Knowing that he would die immediately if he fought that thing. Heck, even if it was an elitete foundation beast, he wouldn''t win even if there were two of him! Not to mention the epic Core Formation realm... "F*ck! That is Core Formation Demon nt!" Jake shouted as he stared at the vine demon in the distance with a fearful expression, making the group''s expression grave... ... Without hesitation, the group was about to retreat when suddenly, Rosa frowned as she examined the demon vine in the distance. Feeling that something was amiss, she hurriedly gestured to the group to stop before pointing toward the vine demon in the distance, her expression wasplicated as if she was hesitating about something. "... It seems that its attack power iscking and it was also injured..." She said as she scanned the iplete body of the vines. Although the vine looked strong outside, its nt body was greatly injured and was missing some vines... "Let''s go, who cares whether it was injured or not, even if it''s on itsst leg we could still not fight it without suffering CASUALTIES!!" Rnd almost shouted upon seeing the group''s hesitating face upon hearing Rosa. Although the demon vine looked really injured, Rnd stillmanded the group to retreat without any hesitation... Due to him almost reaching the core formation realm and knowing the capability of the core formation realm (based on past experiences), he knew that if they faced that enemy the chances of them dying were higherpared to their chances of killing it... Since the difference between the Foundation realm and the Core Formation realm is almost the same as the small mound and mountain! Even if the mountain was shed in half, it was stillrger than a mound by a dozen times! ... "Let''s go!" C-Crack! Bang! Boom! However, before the group could move, the figure of the demon vine in the distance began to change drastically. Its dozen vines which could only reach 10 meters away from its roots began to transform. At first, sharp thorns that easily reached 10 centimeters began to appear on its vine body, followed by the size of its vine beginning to erge drastically from the original 10 meters to 25 meters long. ROaarr! Seeing the Demon Vine''s drastic changes, the beasts attacking it instinctively step back in fear before quickly releasing a loud angry roar as if their reasoning were stripped to them... Again... Boom! Boom! In an instant, the cave was thrown into chaos... ... C-Crack! In the mids of the chaos, a loud cracking sound echoed in the cavern as the stones, stctites, and stgmites began to fall and shatter one by one. In the next seconds, countless beasts began to storm at the entrances of the cave... Entrapped by the allure of the scent/fragrance inside the cave which at some point increases drastically... Causing the group to not be able to escape in time and could only hide in the corner of the cavern as they watched the bloody event unfold in front of their eyes, holding their breath, afraid to make noise... ... "I n to activate my skills that could create fog in the surrounding area, helping us to hide..." Leo whispered to the group, not waiting for them to reply as he immediately activated his "Mist of Illusion" and "Wisp of Poision" skills... Instantly nketing their surroundings with gray-green fog, making the beast fall momentarily nk before regaining their senses and following the strong scent in the distance. Although the mist could weaken the beast''s senses, the fragrance in the front is much stronger... Causing the Fog to not be able to mask the smell. Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting in killing a Fire Boar (Elite) - Foundation level 8 ] +50 exp points! Ding! Ding! ... "This... This skill could suppress senses?" Jake couldn''t help but ask Leo beside him upon detecting that the beasts slowed down within the fog. Although they could not see what was happening to the other side and within the fog, Jake''s detection skill was still working fine, allowing him to feel/detect the beast within the fog. (Leo controlled the fog to maintain a 3-meter distance away from the group to avoid them from inhaling the fog) "Yes, but it would affect anything within the fog, whether they are enemy or not..." Leo replied in detail upon seeing the doubt in Jake''s eyes, probably wondering why Leo never used this skill in the past. Boom! Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting in killing a Mud Frog (Umon) - Foundation level 3 ] + 20 exp points! Ding! +30 exp points! +50 exp points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon leveling up! +20 Qi Storage!, +5 Qi power!, +6 Soul Power, +2 Speed, +1 Strength!, +5 Health!, +5 Stamina! ] ... Chapter 71: Mist of Illusion level 6! Ding! "I actually... level up!" Leo eximed excitedly inside his mind as he watched his exp fluctuate slightly before increasing again by amount every second. Moreover, the increase of stats after leveling up... Swish! Boom! Leo''s thought was interrupted when a huge figure flew past them, hitting the wall behind the group. Grrr... Roarr! The beast roared angrily, shaking the dust and stone on its body before again rushing toward the demon vine in the distance, not giving a nce toward the human''s meters away from it... However, before it could move forward, a swift ck arrow hit its head, prating its skull before falling to the ground lifelessly. Thud! This... The group eximed before looking at Jake questioningly. "What? There is chaos at the front, even if we shout here, they probably wouldn''t notice it," He reasoned as he again raised his arrow, waiting for another wounded beast to enter their sight. With how chaotic the battle in the distance was, in addition to the allure and scent of Vitality Ginseng, and the ability of the fog to weaken the beast''s senses and conceal their presence... The probability of the beasts noticing/finding them is almost null, making him believe that it''s quite safe to reap exp in the process. Moreover, if the battle ends and the beasts don''t find any more targets in the surrounding area, there is a good probability that they will hunt them... Since that is the case, Jake decided to lower their number before it happened and increase his exp in the process. "I see, hehe," Kristine giggled weakly, hiding the ufortable feeling inside her as she raised her hand toward the fog, toward the sounds of the battle, summoning dozens of wind des before shooting/firing indiscriminately. ... Swish! With the loud sh happening in the distance, the beast didn''t hear nor notice the sound of the approaching wind des on their back as they continued attacking the demon vine with all their might... Causing their body to suddenly receive a shing wound on their backs without them noticing it. sh! sh! Ding! [ Congrattions... ] "Indeed, they didn''t notice it..." Kristine finally slightly at ease, continued to release wind des toward the distance... *** Boom! In the distance, the Demon vine continued trashing its thick vines, causing the area to turn into a seemingly wastnd. Every time it thrashed its vines, wide and deep crevasses formed, followed by the blood of dozens of beasts filling the crevasses with crimson thick blood... On the seemingly artificial river, blood unceasingly flowed, carcasses and flesh parts swept away by waves created by windst caused by battle... Gulped. Leo, who could see clearly beyond the green-gray fog couldn''t help but gulp in fright, feeling slight chills creeping on his back upon seeing the sight unfolding in the distance. It''s just what I expected on the battlefield and in the war... Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting in killing 100 beasts! +1,000 horror points! +2 free attribute points! +1 Medallion of Forceful upgrade! ] Bloody and sweet... ... Leo mumbled under his breath as he opened his character panel, upgrading his "Mist of Illusion" skill to the next level... Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading the "Mist of Illusion" skill to level 6! ] Ding! [ Mist of Illusion (Lvl 6): Release a thick stream of fog in the surrounding area that obstructs the vision and senses of beings within the area of effects. Effect: Beings who inhale the fog for a set period of time (depending on the difference in life level) would start hallucinating. In addition the higher the soul power of the caster, the easier it is to affect the being who inhales the fog! Activation: 0.5 Qi. An additional 0.1 Qi would be consumed every 10 seconds if the skill is still activated. Cost of Upgrade: 2 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! Note: The user could partially control the illusion based on what the user wants, but it would cost extra Qi! ] Rumble... In an instant, at the same time the upgrade finishes... The surrounding void issued a slight instability followed by a loud rumble and weak quaking of the ground... Next, a wave of thick white fog akin to water breaking through the dam instantly swallowed every corner of the cavern, making every beast except the Demon Vine halt in their attacks... A single inhale of fog caused the beasts in the cavern to suffer from mild hallucinations, causing their sight to blur and create mistakes due to the fusion of reality and unreality. This... Leo mumbled under his breath upon seeing the strange sight that unfolded in front of his eyes... The feeling of the fog gave him was natural as if he could control it at ease. Compared to the past when he would often encounter difficulties in manipting the fog... After upgrading, Leo could control the fog as if it were an extension of his hand. "This feeling... Don''t tell me that I could now manipte their hallucination much more easily!?" Leo thought excitedly before trying to feel and manipte the things they were seeing within their head. ... "Let''s give it a try..." Slowly, Leo closed his eyes before mentally manipting the fog inside those who inhaled the fog... "It was extremely taxing to mind..." he thought, feeling a slight headache as he gave them a simple order. Unfortunately, I couldn''t manipte the fog to destroy their brain since it was just a fog... It doesn''t have a physical capability and is quite close to nothing but a gas with color... RROaarr!! In an instant, after nting a cue inside their brain, the eyes of practically all the beasts within the cavern turned bloodshot as they stared at the Demon Vine with dense killing intent! Unlike previously when their only goal was to find where the scent originated and consume it if fate allowed them... Now, with the help of the fog inside their brain, Leo silently changes it a little into something strange. "Killing the Vine Beasts that were preventing them from getting the divine fruit even in exchange for their lives!" (Of course, there is no divine fruit. Leo just let them hallucinate that beyond the Demon Vine, there was a fruit that instantly allowed them to be invincible after consuming it!) ... Chapter 72: The Chaos Unfold, Fight the Demon Vine! (1) Grrrr... Click, click! ROOaarr!! Different kinds of roars echoed in the almost enclosed cavern as the beast created a rhythmic sound of footsteps as they charged toward the demon vine aggressively. Thud, thud, thud! (Sounds of footsteps.) Some of the beasts upon reaching their desired distance immediately halt their advancing before hastily casting all their skills toward the Demon Vine... Boom! Swish! Spitting acid, fireball, electric shock, and different kinds of spells began to bombard the vine, causing it to twist its vine in pure agony... Still not done, beasts that focus on closebat began to bite, sh, and w the wooden body of the demon vine, erging its wound in the process. Although some of the beasts were caught in the middle of the bombardment of spells by the beasts behind them, the beasts close to the Demon Vine never wavered, on the contrary, they continued wounding the Demon Vine''s body even if they were greatly injured... Dying while giving their best to injure the beast. ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting in killing 250 beasts! +2,500 horror points! +4 free attributes! +1 Medallion of Forcefull upgrade! +1 Seed of Unknown nt (Grade 1)! ] ... Leo didn''t give a nce at the notification that appeared in the corner of his sight nor did he smile for a bit after the sessful cueing, instead he just continued staring at the distance solemnly. His back was drenched in sweat and his eyes slowly turned bloodshot, on his forehead, a visible throbbing vein could be seen... "I... could only hold for a while. This headache..." Leo mumbled silently, feeling his head turning heavy and dizzy. Although the demon vine was slowly umting injuries, the beasts entering the cave were slowly decreasing. Although their number was stillrge, sooner orter, it was bound to stop. "Leo, are you okay?" Kristine, seeing the sweat on Leo''s forehead, couldn''t help but ask worriedly. Due to the thick fog hindering their vision, the group didn''t see the strange thing happening in the distance nor realize that there were some changes in Leo''s fog... Although the fog seemed much thickerpared to earlier, the group didn''t think too much of it. "Huff~ I''m fine, I''m just slightly mentally tired..." Leo spoke weakly as he nted cues in some of the beast''s head. After nting some cues on the beast''s head, Leo tilted his head, looking at the group that was casually casting spells toward the sound of the battle mindlessly. Slowly umting exp points every casting of spell... ... Ehh, this... As Leo was about to continue manipting the hallucinations. In the corner of his eye, he noticed that near his feet, a small brown root slowly broke from the ground, then before expanding forward rapidly... F*ck! What is this!? Slightly frightened, Leo was about to destroy the root when suddenly, behind him, Rosa with half-closed eyes stared at him intently before telling him that it was a spell of hers. Swish... In the blink of an eye, around the cavern, a small root broke from the ground one by one, then slowly growing as time passed by... After a minute of growing, the root began to grow leaves and flowers after a while. Endless Flower, Death of the Ground... Rosa mumbled under her breath before opening her eyes abruptly as she gently held her staff... Her heaving chest speaks loudly about how hard it was to cast this spell. Although Leo has no idea about the effect of the spell, with how long it takes for Rosa to cast this spell, it should be quite amazing... right? As Leo was about to ask Rosa about the effect of the flower, a sudden loud boom in the distance caught his attention, followed by a notification appearing in his line of sight. Boom! Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting 10 beasts to their deaths! ] +75 exp points! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading to the Foundation level 3... ] ... Howfortable... Leo thought upon feeling that his headache alleviated slightly, followed byfortable energy flowing within his body brought by leveling up. Pondering slightly, Leo decided to put all of his free attribute points toward his strength, instantly making his strength into 120! Bang! Clenching his fist, Leo excitedly punched the ground, instantly causing a fist mark to appear beneath him, caving the soil below. This! This is what you called strength! Hahaha! Leo smiled contently before watching the unfolding chaos in the distance with great interest... Feeling that the Demon Vine''s death is already set since it was slowly umting grievous injuries as time passed by. Although it had an amazing recovery, with dozens of beasts dealing damage toward it... Its high-speed recovery couldn''t keep up with the pace of the injury it took every second! *** Trashed... Trashing! The trashing of the vines in the distance began to be heavy butcked the necessary force to deal sufficient damage to the beasts encircling it. If the Demon Vine had consciousness, then it probably already entered the so-called "Mental exhaustion" with its current condition, causing its vine tock the agility it had earlier. Swish! Thud!! Somehow, as if feeling that it would die if it didn''t change the situation around. The Demon Vine immediately retracted its vines from the surrounding area before wrapping them tightly one by one toward its body, creating a huge ball of roots and vines in the end... Swish! Throb... Throb... In an instant after wrapping its body. Inside the tightly wrapped vines, a loud throbbing sound began to reverberate, forming a sound wave as it traveled inside the almost enclosed cavern unhindered. Sck... Thud... Upon hearing the throbbing sound... All of the beast''s blood boiled followed by their eardrums rupturing in unison, dyeing their ears with blood. Some of the weak beasts below the Mid-Foundation realm (Level 5 below) instantly died due to their brain turning into mush. "Ugh!" Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting in killing 30 Beasts! +1,850 exp points! ] ... At the same time, due to their distance from the Demon Vine, the group only suffered mild dizziness and headache, causing them to groan ufortably. ... Chapter 73: The Chaos Unfold, Fight the Demon Vine! (2) Throb. Throb. Soon after 3 minutes of deafening sound waves, the sound released by Demon Vine slowly receded before finally ending, restoring the peace inside the enclosed cavern... The previous thick fog in the surrounding area was visibly thinned due to the interference of the sound that drilled toward Leo''s mind. Sigh. Heaving in great relief, Leo didn''t forget to curse toward the vine before dismissing the fog that enveloped the figure of the groups. With the natural ability of the fog to weaken the senses of being within it, it sessfully weakened the effect of the sound they receive... Although the sound still affected them heavily. Nheless, their condition was all better than his. Feeling the lingering headache in his head, Leo slowly opened his eyes with a grimace as he stared at the distance in shock and great dumbfounded. Gulped... What kind of skill is this!? In his line of sight, almost all of the beasts inside the cavern copsed over the cold ground lifelessly. Their faces were covered with blood and their orifices were flowing with crimson water. Except for some mid-foundation beasts andte-foundation beasts, the rest were all dead! This! Although some beasts were still alive, their brain seemed to receive a huge shock and damage, causing them to stare nkly toward the void. Thud... Thud... Further away, the Demon Vine finally rxed its vines as it unfolded its body toward the cavern weakly. Although it managed to kill most of the beasts in the cavern and make the live one incapable of battle, the damage it took could be said equal to the waves it released. Even though it is the one who releases the skill... a skill of this caliber that could kill almost all of the being close to it also has its own downsides. Without an extremely strong physic and constitution, the demon vine was bound to die if it didn''t stop on time, since in able to effectively cast this skill, the violent sound waves first needed to course inside its root body before sessfully releasing outside... Causing its root body to first bear the brunt of the sound waves before the beasts in the cavern! ... It was greatly weakened and injured... "We need to kill it before it starts to recover!" Leo shouted toward the group as he unhesitatingly rushed toward the Demon Vine in anger, not forgetting the fact that the headache he was currently experiencing was caused by it! (It''s probably due to the waves earlier that caused his brain to suffer from headaches causing him to be unable to think carefully!) "F*ck, Leo get back!" If you want to kill that demon vine, you should first let Rnd blunt its damage! (In short, make Rnd your meat shield!) Jake shouted before pulling the string of his exquisite wooden bow with great force... Quickly aiming toward the demon vine''s body even though he still felt that he had not recovered from the earlier shock. ... Taking a deep breath, Jake started to calm his mind down as he aimed toward the main body of the vine with great precision. Fire Arrow! He silently thought. Swish! In an instant after thinking of the skill, on the greatly pulled string of the bow, a sudden yellow light materialized followed by an intense wave of heat emitted by it. Swish! Crackle! shes of light instantly illuminated the surrounding cavern as Jake released the grip of his finger on the string of the bow, propelling the fire arrow forward in a swish. Blubb... Every time the arrow passed by. The blood on the surrounding ground boiled followed by the airwaves it created... Parting the artificial blood river in the process before finally and instantly hitting the body of the demon vine in the distance. BOOM! Upon the collision, the arrow created a loud deafening sound of explosions, before instantly engulfing and burning some parts of the vine''s body, causing it to whipped its vine in agony and anger. Never expected that there would be still someone capable of moving after releasing that skill. ... Whipped, Whipped! As the Demon Vine was trying its best to eradicate the fire on its body by twisting its root body on the groundboriously... When suddenly, a distance away from it, a ck fire with a diameter of 1 foot flew toward it slowly. Causing the vine to slow down its whipping... Strangely, the fire didn''t carry the intense and destructive heat that the fire should have nor the lighting effect of normal fire or the normal speed of a fireball had... Instead, the ck fire gave off an intense chill aura toward the surrounding atmosphere as it slowly approached the body of the demon vine in the distance. Trashed!! Crackle...Sizzling!! Feeling that something was amiss, the demon vine momentarily ignores the fire on its body before it swings its vine toward the approaching ck fire with force. Bang! Bang! Unfortunately and shockingly, when the tip of its vine touches the cold ck fire. Its thick vine instantly withers before burning visibly. Sizzling... Still not done, the ck cold fire on the tip of its vine slowly but surely crept forward its body, enveloping it slowly as it burned its vitality every second. TRASHED... TWIST!!! Instantly, its root body released a crisp sizzling sound akin to burning woods as the ck fire slowly scorched it. ... Falling into deep pain, the vine twisted its body to put the ck fire off... However, instead of weakening the fire it only caused it to spread further, causing the ck fire to envelop its whole being in the process. "Huff~ This..." Leo dumbfoundedly stared at the burning Vine in the distance, not expecting the hellfire to be this potent and destructive... "But... The Qi it consumes.'' Huff~ Gasping heavily to catch his breath, Leo began to feel his Qi quickly leaving/flowing outside his body, reducing by 1-2 every second as it fueled the ck fire in the Demon Vine''s body... Ding! -1 Qi... -2 Qi... Soon, after just half a minute of fueling, Leo''s whole storage of Qi was finally dried, instantly causing him to fall greatly weakened... F*ck! Not now! ... Chapter 74: Killing the Core Formation Vine! F*ck! Not now! At the same time, after Leo''s Qi ran out. The ck fire on the demon vine''s body slowly retracted before finally vanishing after half a minute of burning... Revealing the charred body of the vine. Although its body was wholly charred, nheless, the vine was still alive and kicking. D*mn huge vitality! Sizzle... Cra-crack! The charred body of the vine releases a loud cracking sound as it begins to move its vine under the group''s surprised look... Making Leo''s back drenched in sweat and fright as he weakly stared at it, unable to move or to be exact greatly weakened upon losing all the Qi inside his body. Swish! Not giving Leo time to think, the demon vine raises its thick vine before whipping toward Leo''s body, releasing a piercing sound as its vine parted the air in an instant. "F*cking idiot!" Jake, in the distance, shouted... Boom! Smoke and dust flew into the atmosphere as blood sshed everywhere, making Jake unable to see what was happening inside, instantly causing his eyes to constrict... Already thinking/assuming the worst. "F*ck, f*ck! He''s a f*cking idiot!" He loudly cursed as he released/fired dozens of fire arrows toward the demon vine angrily. Making its figure bath in fire and agony! ... Cough... Cough! -3 health! "That was close..." Leo coughed upon inhaling arge amount of dust as he stared at the flickering shield enveloping his body in relief. Although it managed to defend itself from the attack of the vine, the shield was covered in fine cracks. Boom! Using the distraction caused by Jake, Leo took the chance to escape, slowly dragging his exhausted body outside the reach of the vine. Boom! "Are you okay?" "Fortunately, yes." Rnd asks Leo in passing... Upon seeing that Leo is safe, he and the group, immediately charge toward the greatly weakened vine in the distance. Not giving it a chance to catch its breath. Roar! With a deafening roar, Rnd took great strides forward as he raised his shield toward his chest. In an instant, the shield flickered a metallic glint before quickly erging multiple times, almost reaching 2-3 meters as it shielded the group from the vines. Boom! The vine tried to whip the humanoid insect (Rnd) to death but only for its vine to collide with a seemingly metallic mountain, creating a thud sound as the vine couldn''t advance further. Huff~ "This... It was... really greatly weakened?" Rnd gravely thought, feeling that his hand be numb and heavy upon taking the demon vine''s attack head-on... Wondering if he could take its vine if it was in perfect condition. Arise arachnid! Meters away on his back, a metallic clinking sound resounded followed by the sight of a huge 2-meter tall ck thin legs prating the charred vines of the demon nt that hit Rnd''s shield. The ck Arachnid, upon pinning the vine with its feet immediately opened its mandible before biting the vine with great force, cutting/splitting it into two. Thud... pped! Boom! Upon cutting the vine into two, the ck arachnid was suddenly thrown into the distance as one of the nt''s vines hit its metallic body, caving its back slightly as the arachnid flew in the distance. Seeing this, the group one by one, began to release/cast skills toward the vine... "Wind des!'' sh, sh! Kristine summoned a dozen "Wind des", inflicting great damage toward the body of the vine and at the same time, increasing/strengthening the fire burning on the vine''s body. BANG! Bang! Following that, a huge dark bullet of almost 6 inches in diameter hit the body of the vine demon, making dozens of holes in its charred body... ... Thud! p! Twist!! Greatly angered, the vine instantly used all of its vines to m and whip the shield that prevented it from killing the humanoid insects attacking it, totally abandoning its defense as it pped the shield angrily. Aughh! -3 health! -5 health! -4 health! Ughh! Under the unending attack of the vines, Rnd''s legs began to slide backward, creating a small pit on the ground due to the pressures of the heavy vine... "Crisanta! Heal!" He shouted upon seeing that his health was reducing every second under the relentless attack of the vine. Shing... Instantly, after shouting, a warm green glow blossoms under his feet before instantly swallowing his entire body, healing the damage he took from the relentless attack of the vine. Ding! +5 health! -4 health! +5 health! -3 health! *** Thud! Soon, after 5 whole minutes of fighting, the Demon''s Vine body couldn''t take the bombardment of spells anymore... Its charred iplete and greatly damaged body lifelessly fell toward the cavern with a thud. Huff- Huff~ "Huff~ fi-finally, it is finally d... Dead!" The group directly slumped toward the ground, grasping air with difficulty as they stared at the seemingly void, directly looking at something. ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting in killing a Core Formation being for the first time! ] Ding! [ Due to the reason of being the biggest contributor to killing the Core Formation realm being, the notification above changes and you be the one who killed the core formation realm! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Core Formation realm being for the first time! +25,000 horror points! +10 Free attribute points! +2 Medallion of Forceful upgrade! +2 Little Enlightment! +1 Book (Grade unknown)! ] ... "Wait... What!?" Seeing the new notification that appeared in front of him, Leo''s exhausted and weary face instantly revealed a beam of smile. Never expected that the kill of the Demon Vine would go to his! "Wait did I forget something?'' He thought feeling that something was not right. This...F*ck, where is the white rabbit! I remembered that it was beside me earlier! Leo''s eyes immediately scanned the surrounding area in suspicion, trying to find the small figure of the white rabbit but only in vain. "Don''t tell me..." F*cking white rabbit! It already went toward the Earth''s Vitality Ginseng! No wonder the scent in the air weakened considerably! ... "Wake up, someone was stealing our Earth Vitality Ginseng!!!" ... Chapter 75: The Earth Vitality Ginseng. Squeak, Squeak~~ Further away, deeper toward the cave, a melodious squeaking sound of the white rabbit could be heard. Its big round eyes glued to the grass in the distance with great tion as it sniffed the fragrance drifting through the air with delight. Squeak... The cavern was covered with a yellow glow-like sunset as mist with intense scent permeated from the inside. Making the already ted rabbit to further be much more excited... Rubbing its two little paws in anticipation, the rabbit quickly hopped forward, instantly arriving beside the small grass before immediately digging the ground underneath it. Squeak, squeak! Soon, after just 10 seconds of digging, a small healthy yellow ginger revealed in front of it. Emitting a yellow brilliance akin to gold which makes the eyes of the white rabbit shine... Squeak~~ Without further ado, feeling the intense desire within it, the white rabbit quickly opened its mouth revealing the sharp dense teeth within as he quickly bites the ginseng. Nom~nom~ Upon biting, the eyes of the white rabbit shone in delight, savoring the taste for a while before eating the ginseng in one bite! Swish! In an instant, upon consuming the ginseng, the body of the white rabbit instantly releases a white glow, enveloping its whole body for tens of seconds before retracting. Squeak! It squeaked loudly, clenching its paws cutely before punching the void with a swish! Boom! Boom! Surprisingly, even though its paws were extremely small, every time it punched the air, the surrounding void would create a crisp sound! Squeak! Squeak! Feeling that its strength has increased greatly, the white rabbit immediately squeaks excitedly before gazing at the 5 dozen pieces of grass inside the cavern with delight and happiness. *** F*cking rabbit, I''m going to skin it alive! The group thought in unison as they immediately rushed toward the deepest part of the cave. Their earlier exhaustion seems forgotten as their blood boiled just the thought of the white rabbit eating their fruits ofbor in delight! Charging with intimidation, the group soon entered the deepest part of the cave, immediately seeing the glow-like sunset in the surroundings as they halted their movement before quickly scanning the cavern with pierced expressions... Not forgetting to block the only exit of the cavern. Squeak... Squeak!? "The audacity!" In an instant, the cavern seemed to experience a time freeze, as the group and the white rabbit stared at each other for an unknown period of time... On the mouth of the rabbit, a yellow plump ginseng could be seen dripping with yellow essence toward its gaping mouth... While on its white face, a fearful and guilty expression was present. Squeak¡Ö. It squeaks fearfully as it stares at the group with pleading eyes, while secretly taking a small bite of the Earth vitality ginseng on its mouth. (Between fear and eating, the white rabbit chooses to eat in fear.) ... "How many ginseng did you EAT!?" Leo asks solemnly, his eyes revealing a dense amount of killing intent as he unhurriedly opens his palm, summoning a candle me of pure darkness... Instantly instilling fear toward the white rabbit in the distance. Although the ck me was too small in its eyes, with its epic senses, the white rabbit couldn''t help but shiver in fear. It was so sure that its white cute fur wouldn''t be able to defend itself upon touching that fire. It would instantly burn its fur into ashes! Squeak¡Ö¡Ö Just the thought of it, the white rabbit squeaks in fear before reluctantly spitting the plump ginseng out its mouth. Drippings with saliva and having different degrees of bite marks, the white rabbit tearily approaches Leo before patting/cleaning the plump ginseng carefully before putting it toward the ground (less than a meter away from Leo''s feet). ... Squeak... Seeing this, Leo felt a slight pang of guilt inside him but it quickly vanished upon seeing that the white rabbit hesitantly took another small bite from the plump ginseng before retreating into the distance. "Yo-you... Are you really challenging my patience!?" Couldn''t contain the anger within him anymore, with a deafening shout, Leo angrily charges toward the white rabbit in the distance. Making the white rabbit fearful as it kneeled on the ground, not daring to move a bit to avoid angering Leo further... At the same time, it nced toward the group that blocked the entrance of the cavern regretfully. Squeakkk¡Ö (T- T ). ... After a while... "Dig! Dig all of them! I don''t want to see a single grass and ginseng missing!" Leo sharply stared at the digging white rabbit in the distance, its little white face had snot and tears on it as it dug the ground weakly. Squeakk~ ( Y -.Y) nk... nk... As Leo and the group were staring at the white rabbit in the distance with mixed emotions. Behind them, toward the entrance of the cave, a slow nking sound resounded in the silent cave followed by 2 ck skeletons entering the cavern... On their arms, the group could see scrolls glowing with different colors and items glinting with addicted lights. nk... nk (Heartless... I mean God Necromancer these were some of the items we got on the battlefield... We still need to go back to find items! ) Skeleton #1 created a nking sound as it, without hesitation dropped the items and scrolls toward the ground. Hiding the dissatisfaction it was currently feeling deep within. nk! (This!) ncing forward, Skeleton #1 was about to go back to the battlefield to work but suddenly halted upon seeing the scene in front of it. The sight of the white rabbit digging toward the ground with snot and tears covering its face as the hearthless necromancer stared at it sharply instantly caused it to have mixed emotions. Although it didn''t have a single idea of what the white rabbit did, the feeling of brotherhood silently blossomed within it. nk... "What are standing there? Go back to work!" As Skeleton #1 was about to approach the white rabbit in the distance, when suddenly, the stern voice of Leo entered its ears, making Skeleton #1 snort in dissatisfaction before going outside. ... Chapter 76: Consuming Vitality Ginseng, Advancing toward Core Formation realm! (1) Seeing the skeleton exit the cavern, Leo immediately retracted his gaze before looking at the items and scrolls on the ground in anticipation. "Hmm, 10 items and 7 scrolls. Moreover, there are a total of 5 rare and 10 elite items/scrolls!" "Not bad, not bad! Hahaha." Laughing loudly, the group began to encircle the items and scrolls on the ground. Looking for something useful for themself. Although they were intently looking at the items on the ground, they didn''t forget to watch the white rabbit in the distance, not giving it a slight chance to escape! Eh, These two were quite good! Leo thought as he picked up one blue scroll and one elite item on the ground, revealing a wide smile as he checked their description. ... Ding! [ Earrings of Calm Forest (Elite) - Elite earrings that use the Essence of Green Owl (Elite) to forge, causing it to have a calming effect that boosts memorization and cultivation by degrees! Mental Recovery: +10%! Mental Strength: +15%! Soul and Qi Power: +2! Note: Knowledge is Power! ] Ding! [ Qi Bullets (Rare): fired a bullet made of violent Qi! Caster could add its unique Qi energy to the Qi bullets to mutate it into something new! Activation: 1 Qi per bullet! The caster could fuel more Qi in the bullet to make its strength, size, and speed increase! Cost: 1,000 horror points! Note: If the caster has Fire Qi (or other Qi), the Qi bullets would gain fire elements (or other elements), causing its effect to be different but stronger! ] ... "Finally, a skill that wouldn''t affect anyone in the surroundings after activation!" Leo eximed within his mind as he spent 1,000 horror points to learn the skill! Ding! [ Congrattions upon learning Qi bullets (lvl 1 (Rare))! ] This... Seeing that Leo gets one of his desired skills without hesitation, Sebastian couldn''t help but reveal a bit of disappointment before picking one Rare skill from the ground. [ Semi-Condense Soul (Rare): ... ] One by one, the items on the ground decreased before finally vanishing after a while. Revealing satisfaction upon gaining something useful, the group then stared at the almost 5 dozen plump vitality earth ginseng on the ground, forming a small mound while glowing with addicted yellow light as its scent wafted to their nose. Squeak~ ( It''s already done, finally! huhu~(T-T )). The white rabbit cried bitterly as it reluctantly parted with the yellow plump ginseng on its little paws, clenching its paws helplessly as its snot flowed from its nose. One, Two, Three, 48 ginseng, great there''s no ginseng missing! Seeing that not a single ginseng was missing, Leo tossed a single ginseng toward the crying white rabbit in the distance, instantly causing its mood to recover as it took a small bite of the ginseng on its paws. Nom~nom~ ( T ~ T). It cried as it revealed bliss on its white face as it nibbled the ginseng carefully. (Probably afraid that it would consume it in one go). Shaking his head upon seeing the changes in the white rabbit''s mood, Leo then proceeded to check the description of the nt. Ding! [ Earth Vitality Ginseng: An extremely rare grade 1 natural fruit that could only be found in a ce abundant with Earth Qi! It took a total of 5 years of constantly absorbing Earth Qi to mature! Effect upon consumption: Increase Earth and Wood affinity by 4%, Soul and Body defense by 2%, and Strength by 5 permanently. Effect 2: Increase the Qi inside the body by a considerable amount! (Only effective below Nascent Soul realm!) Note 1: A being could only consume 2 raw Earth Vitality Ginseng in its lifetime! (Could consume an extra one if the Earth Vitality Ginseng was processed into a potion!) Note 2: Extremely helpful below Core Formation Realm! ] ... "Indeed, it''s much more effective than the withered one..." Leo thought as he distributed the ginseng toward the group, each having 4-vitality ginseng on them... However, after just a second passed by, thinking of it carefully, the group decided to give the extra two vitality ginseng to Leo in exchange for one potion created by it. Since a person can only consume two raw vitality ginseng in their lifetime, having an extra one is useless. It''s better to let Leo make it into potions so they can still take advantage of it. "OK, but I can''t guarantee that I can create it into potions," Leo reminded seriously as he epted the vitality ginseng before putting it in his inventory. *** Sigh... Finally. Holding the Vitality ginseng in his hand, Leo and the group, without hesitation took a single bite of the ginseng... This... Instantly, the yellow juices of the ginseng flowed onto their tongue, bursting with sweet liquid before flowing through their stomachs. Soon, after a while, the warm energying from the essence of the ginseng began to flow within their stomach and then toward their bodies, cleansing the parts in the process before proceeding into their hearts. Ding! [ Congrattions upon leveling up to Foundation Level 5! ] Knowing that he sessfully leveled up, Leo showed an excited expression before excitedly eating the ginseng with bliss. ... Swish! "I-I''m finally about to advance toward the Core Formation realm. All of you, it''s best to go out here right now!" Rnd upon consuming the second ginseng, finally revealed a bright smile on his face, different from his usual serious expression as he spoke toward the group. "Then, we hope you seed!" The group nodded before immediately going outside. Seeing that the group already exited from the entrance, Rnd without further ado, immediately sat down in a cross-legged manner, circting his cultivation technique to its fullest extent as he began taking out materials from his inventory one by one. Preparing himself for the inevitable advancement! *** Sigh... "He''s finally advancing to the Core Formation realm! If Rnd advances sessfully then the number of Core Formation realms in the town would be 9! "Moreover, after he advances, the rest of our journey could be said safe!" Rosa said excitedly as she stared toward the cavern with longing in her eyes. It''s been a long while since the apocalypse appeared yet she was still stuck at the High-Foundation realm! "How long it would take me to advance toward the Core Formation realm?" She silently thought as she stared at the two plump ginseng in her hand... "No... It probably wouldn''t take long for me to advance since we already have a personal potion master in our mids. "With us making a good connection with him earlier, it''s only a matter of time before we advance!" ... Chapter 77: Consuming Vitality Ginseng, Advancing toward Core Formation realm! (2) Boom! Boom! Thunder rumbled behind the group (where Rnd was advancing) as countless lightning streaks slithered toward the entrance of the cavern, making the group have no choice but to move away from the cavern where Rnd was advancing. Swish! Boom! Followed by the unending rumble of thunders, the Qi inside the cave began to be violent as it slowly surged toward the deepest cave, causing the cave to be much more disordered and dangerous. This... Stay with m_vl_em_p_yr "Is this the phenomenon caused by advancing toward the Core Formation realm? How scary!" Jake asks in rm as he stares at the entrance, toward the deepest part of the cave where lightning streaks can be seen wrecking everything it touches. The lightning covered everything in his line of sight, reducing even stone into dust. Boom! Boom! As if the lighting was still not enough, another rumble of lightning that was much stronger the before rang inside the cave, deafening their senses as their eyes couldn''t help but be dizzy. This... The group''s expression began to turn solemn before turning into worry upon feeling their body slightly turning numb from the lightning even though they were far away from the origin of the phenomenon. Then, what about Rnd inside? Could he handle the lightning? Just the thought of it, they couldn''t help but be anxious. ... Boom! Boom! Soon, another 3 minutes passed by. The blood on the ground already turned dry as the corpses of countless beasts in the cavern suffered different types of burn degrees while some of the weakest beast corpses already turned into ashes... Dispersing through the wind as if they never existed in the first ce. Seeing this, Leo felt regretful for not prioritizing the materials first... Now, that the lightning is wreaking havoc within the battlefield, Leo doesn''t know how many materials are still usable after the phenomenon subsides. "What a pity...'' He thought as he stared at the dancing/blinding lightning streaks in the distance in slight fear. Although they had already retreated for more than 50 meters, Leo could still feel the dangerous sensation brought by the lightning, as if a single touch of it was enough to greatly injure him. "Would I also experience this phenomenon after I break through to the Core Formation realm?" ... C-cra-crack, Boom! In the blink of an eye, another 10 minutes pass by. The group already be used to the numbness brought by the lightning as they watch the phenomenon happening in the distance with slight ease. Since the phenomenon is still not retracting and is still ongoing, then Rnd should be still inside and alive. It could be said that they were only waiting till the lightning retracted to be sure that Rnd advanced sessfully. Boom! Bang! Crackle... Crackle... ... "Finally!" After hours of breaking through, the lightning began to slowly retract itself... followed by flowing and gushing Qi toward the cavern where Rnd was advancing. Enveloping the cavern with dense Qi to the point that the Qi was almost liquified, enough to make/create an artificial river of Qi that was suspended in the atmosphere. Witnessing this, the group was tempted to sit down and cultivate on the spot... but fortunately, they managed to hold themself, afraid that they would disturb Rnd if they absorbed the Qi in the surroundings. "How envious," Kristine spoke in a low voice as she stared at the pure white glistening Qi in the air as it slowly moved toward the cavern with shining eyes. Shake... Shake. The cavern quakes intensely, creating a dusty atmosphere as more and more dense Qi begins to surge toward where Rnd is advancing. At the same time, the surrounding area suffered a unique suppression that caused it to vibrate, making the stones above crack continuously. "This... is this the pressure of Core Formation realm!?" The group thought in unison, feeling the heavy pressure that swept toward them unintentionally. Their backs were covered with sweat and their head started to suffer from mild dizziness. Although they knew that the pressure was not directed at them, just being grazed off it was enough to make them suffer. Throb! Throb! Throb... After an unknown period of time of suffering from the pressure, a loud throbbing sound echoed in the silent cave followed by the withdrawal of the intense pressure in the atmosphere... Making the group sigh in relief as they gasp and breathe air at a higher pace than before. Looking/staring at the deepest cave in anticipation upon knowing that Rnd already advanced sessfully. "HAHAHA, I Finally advance!" Soon enough, a loud deafening sound resounded within the cave as Rndughed loudly under the scrutiny of the group, moving toward them unhurriedly. Crack... Every time Rnd took a step, the ground under him issued a cracking sound before finally caving due to his weight. The air vibrated in his everyugh as Rnd''s physique carried an indescribable aura on it, causing the group unable to retract their gaze from it. It is also worth mentioning that the shield that Rnd always carried on him where nowhere to be seen. ... "How is it? What kind of things changes happen to you after you reach the Core Formation realm?" "Did your defense increase by a huge amount? Did you learn a new technique?" "Maybe you gain something new? How about lifespan?" In an instant, question after question rang inside Rnd''s head, drowning him with questions to the point that it made him dizzy. "STOP!" Feeling that it was enough, Rnd couldn''t help but shout loudly, deafening the senses of the group momentarily. "One question at a time!" *** Soon, after half an hour of asking and questioning, the group couldn''t help but utter/gasp in surprise and fright as they stood in the cavern absentminded. Although Rnd only learns/grasps some parts of the ability of the Core Formation realm. Any one of these abilities is enough to make them feel chills. Currently, Rnd only grasped 5 of the changes after he reaches the core formation realm (Except for the abilities he learned on his cultivation technique and ss job.) Respectively, the Core, Lifespan and Natural Recovery, Divine Senses, Life Bound Item, and... ... Chapter 78: How Scary A Core Formation Is? Respectively, the Core, the Lifespan and Natural recovery, the Divine Senses, the Life Bound Item, and the Iplete domain called the Unbreachable Shield! The Core of/on the cultivator''s body after advancement toward the Core Formation realm could be said the advanced utilization of Qi! After reaching the peak of the Foundation realm, the Qi inside the cultivator''s body and heart couldn''t advance anymore due to them filling the cultivator''s body with Qi... So in order to advance, the cultivator needed to create a small sphere made of pure and purified Qi in certain parts of their body (depending on the cultivation technique they practiced), making it the core of the cultivator. At the start, the Core of the early stage of the Core Formation realm only took a gaseous form, followed by the liquefied in the middle stage, solid in thete, and tempering the Core at the peak stage! Although Rnd is still in the early Core Formation realm, just the purified gaseous core inside him is enough to dominate everyone below the Core Formation realm! As for the lifespan and natural recovery of the cultivator at the Core Formation realm... The normal lifespan of a normal Core Formation realm cultivator is about 5-7 hundred years old! Almost 4 times the normal lifespan of a Foundation realm cultivator! Moreover, their natural recovery is also 5 times higher than the foundation realm is! Besides that, they also gain a strange ability called Divine senses. A Divine senses that was almost simr to the white rabbit epic senses but twice weaker! After activating the divine senses with mental power, the core formation realm cultivator could almost see 10 meters in diameter with 360¡ã in great detail at the start! H*ck, they could even see behind the wall or deep on the ground with only the use of their Divine senses! It''s almost impossible for someone below the Core Formation realm to assassinate them. ... "Then there''s also the Life Bound item, an item that could grow with the cultivator... Even if it was destroyed, it could still recover after some time..." "How amazing!" The group stared at the void, pondering deep within, thinking that they only managed to kill the demon vine earlier due to luck. If the group guesses correctly, then the Demon Vine also just entered the Core Formation realm earlier, causing it to be unable to control its power greatly and learn its natural ability. However, even though it is still not at its peak, it could still kill hundreds of beasts without dying! *** nk, nk... Skeleton #1 broke the silence as it dropped the items and scrolls it found on the battlefield to the ground. This caused the group to wake up from their fantasy as they shook their head before looking at the items/scroll on the ground with a smile. Quite impatient and wanted to increase their strength so they could advance in the shortest time possible. Eh, There are 2 Epic skills here! How lucky! Leo thought as he touched the surfaces of the purple-shining scroll before proceeding to check their description. It could be said that they were extremely lucky today, not only did Rnd advance toward the core formation realm today, but every single one of them increased by at least 2 to 4 levels! Besides that, just the Vitality Ginseng alone is already enough! Ding! [ Augmented (Epic): Increase the function of items and some skills by controlling and feeding the Qi toward the designated items/skills! Activation: 2.5 Qi per activation! It would consume extra Qi depending on the rarity of the item and skills that the caster wanted to augment! Cost: 5,000 horror points! Note: The caster could explore the other function of this technique! ] Ding! [ Sword Art "Three shes" (Epic): A skill that contains 3 profound sword arts that have different kinds of effects! This sword art also has the mysterious ability to cleanse the Qi after practicing, making the Qi much purer and stronger! Activation: Depends on the Swordsman! Cost: 7,500 horror points! Note: It''s rmended to learn the basics of the sword before practicing this skill! ] ... Unfortunately... Seeing this, Leo shook his head in disappointment, not quite impressed with the effect of the skill. Although the Sword art seems pretty good. Leo''s specialty is not on physical attack and confrontation, instead, he likes to hide behind, making the enemies'' senses to be gravely affected before using his telekic ability to finish them off! As for the Augmented epic skill, although he was quite tempted to learn it, the skill seems much more suitable to Roy... His materialization and augmented skillbination seems perfect. After he learns it, his materialization skill strength might experience a quantitative change! "Eh? Strange...'' After passing the scroll toward the group, a sudden feeling of emptiness arises within him, it appears suddenly but also vanishes after passing the scrolls. "I still probably didn''t recover from the earlier fight." He reasoned as he retracted his gaze from the scrolls before looking at the equipment on the ground. "I already have a ne, earrings, boots, sword, and knuckles... Hmm, I think this would do!" Leo revealed delight on his face as he picked up a ck bracelet on the ground. The bracelet seems to originate from the cosmos as it flickered with silver light akin to moonlight, in the middle section of the bracelet a small pure silver stone that was asionally releasing a weak white light could be seen. ... Ding! [ Cosmos Bracelet (Rare (Growable)) - A Bracelet with an unknown stone embedded in it. It''s unknown how the stone managed to appear on the bracelet but it has a mysterious effect on a cultivator! Cultivation Speed: +10% Qi and Soul Power: +5% Effects: Bath under the first ray of the morning light (for 10 minutes) and bath under the star and moon could cleanse and strengthen one''s Qi and Soul! Upgrade Requirements: Let the Cosmos Bracelet absorb 100 energy/Qi of pure Yin and Yang! Note: The power of the cosmos is ever and always mysterious! ] Tsk, tsk, I don''t understand anything of this. Leo clicked his tongue in disappointment, feeling that his knowledge was not enough to understand the description of the bracelet. However, although the effects of the bracelet seem ordinary/above average... With the "Growable" tag beside the bracelet that was simr to his ss job and in addition to the ability to cleanse and strengthen one''s Soul and Qi... Leo didn''t hesitate further before finally wearing the bracelet on his left hand. ... Chapter 79: Practicing the Mana/Qi thread! In the blink of an eye, another 3 days quietly passed by. Inside the cave, in order for Rnd to get used to his new profound strength and for the group to recover and reach their peak condition, they decide to stop and rx for a while, causing them to spend an additional 3 days within the cave. Shing... Boom! Light shed by followed by the sound of a weak explosion spreading toward the silent cavern. Cough, cough. Coughing intensely upon inhaling arge amount of dust, Leo pans his hand in the surroundings, instantly scattering the dust toward the atmosphere. Below him, the ground seems to suffer an intense burning, making it look extremely ck and charred. D*mn! How could practicing the "Mana/Qi thread" skill could be extremely hard!? Not only it was extremely hard to practice but every time he failed, the mana thread would immediately explode, making Leo extremely annoyed as his face became extremely messy as time passed by! Again! I will not stop until I achieve a small mastery of this technique! I don''t believe that I will still fail after another 20 tries! Leo thought, on his face, a determined look appeared. If he didn''t learn this skill, the advancement of his ss job would be dyed. It''s something that Leo wants and must avoid! Sigh. "Sigh, if this skill is not required to create a puppet, I will never use/practice this skill. Not only does it take arge amount of Qi to practice, but it also consumes one''s mental energy." F*ck! What am I thinking again? Oh, right I should start practicing this skill! Leo shook his head to disperse those unnecessary thoughts inside his mind. Focusing his eyes on his pointed finger, Leo began to manipte the Qi inside his heart and body, controlling the Qi to go to his pointed finger... Shing! In an instant, his pointed finger glowed with white light akin to a glow stick as it momentarily blinded his eyes. "This is the part... Where the difficulty could be said 10¡Á than the previous step " Leo thought solemnly before molding the Qi on his finger into a thin thread. Although it seems so easy if Leo thought of it... However, in truth molding a Qi was never been easy. In an instant, another minute passed by. Leo''s head already bes slightly dizzy as the Qi on his finger bes thinner (onlyrger than his pinky finger), although it seems thinner than before, the Qi thread is still far from the technique satisfactory and requirements in able for it to be usable in creating a puppet! Soon, finally unable to hold on, the Qi on his fingertip instantly became unstable before popping with ck smoke followed by a weak explosion that covered Leo''s face. Ding! -1 health! Ding! [Congrattions upon slightly increasing the host control and mastery of Qi! +1 Qi power! +2 Qi Storage! ] ... Cough... Cough, cough! "F*ck, I give up!" Leo cursed under his breath as he weakly slumped toward the ground, although the increase in his Qi power and Qi storage was quite addicting, Leo''s Qi already ran out. He could only start cultivating or wait for the natural recovery of Qi (which is 5 times slower than cultivating) in able to practice the thread skill again. Sigh... Looking at the ceiling of the cavern for an unknown period of time, Leo heaved a sigh of helplessness before sitting cross-legged on the ground. Closing his eyes, Leo began to follow the way of his cultivation technique, doing rhythmic breathing but at the same time not. At one point, he would start snoring but after a while, he would start taking arge deep breath of air... Unknown to him, after a quarter of an hour of cultivating, a wisp of white warm air began to enter his nostril, going to his lungs before circting over his body. Soon, after cirction, the Qi entered his heart... Resting in there as it channels a minute amount of Qi toward his body... Using the heart''s ability to pump blood for the Qi to be circted in his body on its own. 1 Qi recovered... 1 Qi recovered... 1 Qi recovered... ... Huff~ Leo unhurriedly opened his eyes as he exhaled mist through his mouth. Surprisingly, although he didn''t sleep throughout his meditation Leo felt extremely energized and his mental energy recovered as if he sleptfortably for 8 hours. "How long am I cultivating?" He wondered as he stared at his storage Qi which was now fully recovered. nning to go toward the nearest group in the distance to ask about time, when suddenly, out of the blue, the sound of metal hitting metal echoed inside his mind. Ding! [ Congrattions upon cultivating for 5 hours straight! +2,500 horror points! +2 free attribute points! +1 Small Enlightenment Stone! ] "Haha, great!" Now, I have 3-4 small enlightenment stones on me! I remembered that I was still quite far away from gaining basic mastery of my cultivation technique... Should I use one to try its effect? Leo thought after seeing his inventory slowly umting enlightenment stones. ... Ding! [ Enlightenment Stone (small)- Allow a being to gain enlightenment in almost everything! The lower the grade a being wanted to gain/learn the higher the enlightenment stone effect is! Note: A mysterious stone that was born in the depths of the cosmos. ] ... "Let''s try one." Upon deciding, Leo excitedly took out a seemingly ordinary stone in his inventory, examining its figure in confusion and anticipation. If not for the small energy (almost undiscernible to one''s eye) that was revolving around the stone, Leo would think that the stone in his hand was just a normal feeble on the ground. So how could I use this? Should I just hold it in my hand and begin pondering my cultivation technique? Without other options, Leo could only firmly grasp the stone in his left hand before excitedly closing his eyes, beginning to ponder the profundity of the Low-Immortal "Undying Soul Conqueror" cultivation technique... ... Chapter 80: Using the Enlightenment stone! Sigh, it didn''t work. Soon, after minutes of pondering/delving into the cultivation technique... Leo couldn''t help but utter a sigh of helplessness upon feeling that his mastery of the cultivation technique hadn''t increased a bit. Although he could feel that his mind seemed to be much more clearer than before, it was still not to the point where he could gain enlightenment in the shortest time possible based on the description of the stone. Sigh... Opening his eyes, Leo again examined the little stone in his hand, contemting how he could use it. "System? Any idea how could I use it?" Leo asks within his mind, but only to hear the usual silence within him. ... "Sigh, never mind, I should just continue practicing the Mana/Qi thread... Growl (Sound of a hungry stomach.) "However, before that, I should eat first!" Leo changes his mind after hearing his stomach rumble. Putting the stone in his inventory Leo began cooking the flesh of the beasts they killed before. Taking it out before summoning a normal fire on his hand... Sizzle, sizzle... Soon, after just 5 minutes of grilling the beast''s meat, a mouthwatering fragrance began to drift into the enclosed cave, instantly causing his stomach to release another intense sound ofining... "Wait a minute, it''s still not done..." Leo speaks to himself as his mouth begins to drip with saliva. Wiping the forming saliva on the corner of his mouth, after another minute of cooking... Seeing that the meat was finally perfectly cooked under his me, Leo, without even letting the meat cool down immediately started eating. "Nom... I really will never get tired of eating this meat every day!'' He thought. Although he didn''t add any spices to the meat, just the meat of mutated beasts alone is enough! It could be said that its natural vor/taste is heavenly! ... Burp... Leo releases a loud burp after finishing eating the grilled meat, wiping the grease on the corner of his lips after drinking. Sigh... This is what you called life! He eximed before again starting to practice his Qi thread. Summoning the Qi on his fingertip, Leo manipted it to be thin but only for it to explode after reaching the width of his little finger. Boom! Waving his hand to dispel the smoke, Leo slightly coughed before again continuing practicing, already getting used to the process of failure. Although it was really annoying to fail countless of times, however every time Leo saw the improvement he made, the annoyance he felt would immediately vanish and change into pleasure! Again! Leo thought before continuing again... And again! Summoning the Qi outside his body, making it simr to a thin thread but with enough/strong durability, enough for the Qi to pierce the materials of the puppet. Failure after failure, Leo repeated the process for an unknown period of time. His eyes were already tired, but they carried and hid a satisfaction deep within. Soon, after another 10 minutes, Leo again manipted the Qi on his body to his fingertip. The process was smooth as the Qi on his finger began to thin with stability. Soon, after another minute, the Qi on his pointed finger already be half of the width of his little finger... before finally exploding after another minute. Ding! [ Congrattions upon mastering the Qi Thread to small mastery! +4 Qi storage! +2 Qi power! ] Ding! [ Qi Thread level increase to (Level 2)! ] ... "Huff~ So tired!" Leoy on the ground, gasping heavily for air as he tilted his head to the side, looking at the groups in the distance who were cultivating. Hmm, why didn''t I try it before? Staring at the group that was circting their cultivation technique in the distance silently. Watching as they inhaled an amount of Qi every second, a sudden idea emerged in Leo''s mind. Feeling excited about the probability of his thought, Leo immediately took out two Enlightenment stones from his inventory, holding them tightly in his hands as he hastily closed his eyes. "I should try circting the cultivation technique..." Leo silently thought as he began to breathe based on his cultivation technique. Closing his eyes, in addition to following the cultivation technique, Leo began to delve into the profoundness of the cultivation technique. ... Take a long deep breath... feel the energy within one''s body and surroundings... absorb them before making them resonate to one''s soul... Strengthening, condensing, cleansing... make one''s Qi achieve a qualitative change, allowing it to gain a minute amount of soul power and after that, the strength of one''s Qi will increase drastically. Fill everything with Qi, fill the Body with Qi, fill the veins with Qi... Fill the heath with Qi... Make the Qi part of a being, and so make the Qi part of the soul... Everything has a soul... Has soul? Leo falls deeper and deeper toward theplexity of the low immortal cultivation technique, making him feel the bliss and death within him. The higher and the deeper his understanding of this cultivation technique is, the higher the fear he was feeling. Making him curious about the creator of this technique... Believing that there was a huge probability that it was not a human being who created this. ... Huff~ "I seem to understand what it meant but at the same time not," Leo mumbled under his breath as he unhurriedly opened his eyes, reflecting the grey irises within. If someone stared into his eyes, they would probably fall into a daze, making them fall under the illusion of looking at their own reflection. His previous pure dark eyes change into gray upon mastering the first part of his cultivation technique! Ding! [ Congrattions upon gaining a small mastery of your cultivation technique and learning the "Eyes of Death and Soul (Unknown)"! +5,000 horror points! +5 free attribute points! +10% shop discount (One time use!)! ] Ding! [ Eyes of Death and Soul (Unknown (lvl1 )): An eyes that could pry and see the Soul and Death Energy in great detail! Allowing the user to gain knowledge of Death and Soul to the deepest degree! Activation: Passive! Passive Effect: Increase theprehension of Death and Soul cultivation techniques/skills by 200%! Increase Soul Power by 10! Upgrade Requirements: Gain a deeper mastery of its usage! Note: One of the most mysterious eye techniques of the ****realm? ] ... Chapter 81: Eyes that could see ones soul! Leo closed and opened his eyes upon feeling that something was not right. It''s not that he became blind or his sight became blurry, but instead, he seems to see something that he couldn''t see in the past. The figure of the group in the distance, the two skeletons, and the white rabbit that had been staring at him since the day he hid the vitality ginseng in his inventory... In his line of sight, he could see different kinds of light glowing on their temple. Although he couldn''t pry further, the color of their temple was still easy for him to discern. Take the white rabbit which was closer to him as an example. If Leo focuses on its forehead, he can see a glowing silver with an asionally flickering starlight on its temple. "What is this?" Leo thought in pure confusion. Upon gaining enlightenment in his cultivation technique, Leo was quite aware of what the soul looked like. Although not too much, he knew that the soul didn''t and wouldn''t show color (Based on the first page/foundation page of his cultivation technique), his eyes should only see their nd ck-and-white soul. "Don''t tell me... Did I make an error in the cirction of my cultivation technique?" Assuming it, Leo couldn''t help but be extremely anxious. However, after thinking about it carefully, Leo was sure that he never made a single mistake when he was meditating... "Then why did this happen?" Unfortunately, if Leo just read further, toward the Immortal Soul Conqueror, he would have easily learned the true meaning and color shown on every being''s temple. *** "F*ck, I give up, if it''s a failure so be it!" Leo speaks in annoyance, covering his eyes to see if it would revert back to normal or if the error would be corrected. After a while, Leo could only sigh in helplessness as he gave up on trying to correct the error in his eyes. Tilting his head, seeing the head of the white rabbit poking from the hole in the ground, looking at him with its big ck eyes in curiosity. Leo couldn''t help but want to explore the ability of his eyes. Taking a plump vitality ginseng from his inventory, Leo gestured toward the white rabbit to approach him. "Come here,e here, I will give this plump and juicy ginseng to you..." Eh, I felt like some kidnapper tricking a child... Leo shook his head with a smile, hiding the amusing thought within him as he watched the doubtful eyes of the white rabbit in the distance. Although it remained doubtful, the dripping saliva on the corner of its mouth betrayed its wary expression. Sooner, probably thinking that it could escape easily if the being in front of it had malicious thoughts toward it, the white rabbit began to approach Leo with unhurried steps. Sniffing the ginseng with its pink wet nose, the ck eyes of the rabbit revealed excitement and pleasure as it slowly touched the body of the ginseng on Leo''s hand as if it was holding something precious. Squeak? "Yes, this is yours, but you need to eat the ginseng in front of me," Leo said as he squinted his eyes toward the temple of the rabbit. Squeak! Hearing the confirmation, the rabbit jumped in excitement before nodding its head seriously as it soon began nibbling the ginseng in front of Leo. ... "Indeed, It''s soul but at the same time, there is something mysterious added toward it." Leo mumbled quietly as he inspected the silver glow on the rabbit''s temple. Behind the glow, Leo saw the ck and white sphere (Soul) of the rabbit. Surprisingly, the silver glow from the rabbit''s temple originated from its soul, causing Leo to fall into confusion. "But what is the silver glow on the temple of white rabbit meant?" Leo massaged his brows, feeling the headacheing after looking at the silver glow for 10 minutes straight! Making him close his eyes as he regted his breathing, calming his mind before unhurriedly opening his eyes again. Sigh... There are a lot of things to learn, I still haven''t mastered the Qi thread yet there''s another one to learn. Leo shook his head as he gave up learning the mystery of his eyes for now, nning to first master the Qi thread before thinking about it. ... Boom! Soon, another 2 days passed by. In the past few days, Leo managed to further deepen his mastery of the thread skill, only making it as thin as a charger cord before exploding due to instability. Ding! [ Congrattions upon gaining a basic mastery of the Thread Qi (Level 2)! +2,500 horror points! +2 free attribute points! +1 Qi Power! ] ... Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion Physique: Soul Body ___ Attributes ___ Level: 5 Early Foundation( 128/6,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 15 Health: 150/150 Qi: 198/198 Stamina: 150/150 Strength: 125 Speed: 75 Qi Power: 148 Soul Power: 275 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 6), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 6), Jinx (Lvl 1), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 1), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 1), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 7), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 4), Hidden Strenght (Lvl 5), Build up Stamina (Lvl 5)... ... Horror Points: 58,000! (Leo still hasn''t used his horror points since they entered the cave.) ... "Great! My strength has increased greatly in the past few days!" Leo clenched his fist in excitement, seeing and feeling the increase in his overall statpared to when he was still at foundation level 1! Now, if he further leveled up, he would be a Mid-Foundation realm being! After filling the Qi inside his heart, it will be the peak of the early stage of the foundation realm, then the middle stage will be filling one''s vein with Qi! Further is filling one''s muscles and bones with Qi! And then purifying the Qi at the peak! After that, the next stage is the Core Formation realm! "Hahaha, I could already see the corner of the core formation realm! It wouldn''t be long and I will also be a core formation being!" Leoughs out loud, causing the white rabbit to stare at him strangely, wondering if the humanoid being in front of it finally suffered brain damage due to the explosion he caused for the past few days. ... Chapter 82: Leveling An Epic Skill! Soon, another week passed by. It''s already been 3 days since they left the cave, continuing their journey deep within the Endless forest, battling beasts in their wake. Although they already traveled for almost half a hundred miles, the group still couldn''t see their destination. Fortunately, although they still seem far away from the town, the benefits they gain as they advance deep toward the Endless Forest could be said pretty good! It even helps Leo to sessfully advance further, sessfully attaining the Mid-Foundation realm (level 6)! Moreover, it''s worth mentioning that the white rabbit decided to follow them (Probably couldn''t forget about the taste of the vitality ginseng), making the group amuse as they abuse its cuteness. Pinching/squeezing its fluffy face for a while and often, causing the white rabbit to question its little life. Although it could easily escape if one of the group approached it, the bait they offer toward it is hard to refuse, causing it to feel helpless. ... "nk... nk... (I''m tired...)" Skeleton #1 nks its lower jaw as it drags the corpse of a 3-meter yellow bird with its thin skeleton hands. Pausing for a while toin before continuing. Hearing/seeing this Skeleton #2 shook its skull in disappointment, wondering when its skeleton brother would change or when would it give up plotting toward their master. nk, nk... (Master this is thest corpse of those birds.) Skeleton #2 dropped the corpse of the yellow bird not far away from Leo, looking at the yellow liquid on Leo''s arm as Leo manipted it toward the empty bottle in his other hand. "I see, good... How about skeleton #2?" Leo asks as he examines/analyzes the bottle in his hand, not ncing at them as he deeply ponders about the possible and further usage of the Extraction skill. nk... (Still dragging that corpse.) "You mean that corpse? Didn''t he drag that same corpse 10 minutes ago? "Don''t tell me... Thatzy b*stard!" Leo''s nose began to spew smoke as the corner of his lips twitched violently, on his forehead a veins could be seen wriggling slightly, a testament to how angry he was. Taking a deep breath, Leo calmly put the bottle on his inventory before walking toward the skeleton bathing in the sunlight in the distance unhurriedly, on the corner of Leo''s mouth a strange smile could be seen. Although the smile seems bright and friendly, if someone focuses on it, they would immediately find it strange. "Skeleton #1 are you tired?" Leo asks in concern, as he smiles brightly toward the skeleton on top of the yellow bird, lying on it as if it were a bed. nk... (Yes...) Skeleton #1 speakszily and half-dreamingly, not recognizing Leo beside it due to it staring at the sunlight. "I see, you are really tired... "Tired of living!" Leo shouted angrily as he directly kicked skeleton #1 in pure anger. Boom! Not letting it stand, Leo rushed toward its direction in an instant before beating it with kicks and punches. Making it cry in pain as it held its body(Skeleton) dearly... nk... nk! (MAMA MY SKELETON CRACK! IT REALLY CRACKS! ) "Who is your mother!" Leo''s anger further erupted upon hearing the skeleton #1 beneath him. Punching it even harder for more than half an hour before stopping after his Stamina reduces to 50. Patting his clothes from dust, Leo finally retracted his fist from the body of Skeleton #1. "There is no next." Seeing the greatly beaten skeleton on the ground, Leo sneered before dragging the yellow bird in the distance, continuing his extraction of materials. ... nk... nk... (That Heartless Necromancer! Sooner orter I will be able to free myself!) Skeleton #1 cried as it stared at the figure of Leo in the distance in determination. nning to practice to increase its strength so it could step on the face of the heartless necromancer in the future... before making Leo its ve. nk... nk... (Hehehe...) ... Staring at the greatly beaten skeleton in the distance, Skeleton #2 could only sigh mentally. nk... (It''s bad, his brain really and already copsed from the beating.) It silently thought, shaking its skull helplessly before moving and practicing its sword skills in the distance. Wanting to stay away from Skeleton #1 before it gets infected with its stupidity. *** Huff~ finally! Leo eximed upon feeling that his mastery of the Extraction technique skill increased drastically, making it much easier to remove the impurities! Almost causing him to jump in joy! It could be said that it was one of the technique skills that he wanted to upgrade the most (other than the Qi thread skill )! Now after spending almost half a month of using this skill without missing a day, Leo finally managed to upgrade it by one level! Discover what''s next on m-vl-em,py-r Further allowing him to cleanse the essence of materials to a higher degree! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading the Extraction skill level 1 to Extraction skill level 2! +1,000 horror points! +2 Qi power! +5 Potion form (ranges from umon (grade 0) to rare (grade 1)! +2 free attribute points! ] Leo just gave a single nce toward the notification that suddenly appeared in the corner of his eyes before putting his whole attention on the bottle filled with yellow essence in his hand, quite excited about the changes brought by his extraction skill after upgrading it to level 2! Ding! [ Morning Bird Essence (Rare - High) (Grade 1 material) (81% purity): A good material for countless rare grade 1 potions... It could also be used as a substitute formon grade 2 potions! Note 1: You could drink it safely! Note 2: Consuming the Morning Bird Essence directly could increase the Qi power stat by 3 permanently! Note 3: Increase Fire Affinity by 2% for a week! Note 4: It can only be consumed once per 3 days! ] T-This... It indeed bes much more effective! In addition to that, it''s also much easier to digest and it could also be used in some grade 2 potions! "This is really great! It will make the advancement of my ss job in the future much easier!" ... Chapter 83: Training ones Combat Ability! "This is really great! It will make the advancement of my ss job in the future much easier!" Leo thought as he fiddled with the bottle in his hand. Although his advancement in the future will be smoother, it''s not to the point that he will advance without experiencing countless failures. It''s just that the higher the purity of the materials used in creating the potion, the lower the chances of chaos happening when he starts mixing and processing them with countless materials, making the probability of failing lower. Moreover, it will also allow the potion purity to increase further after processing it! Making its effect much more effective than the normally created one! ... "Are you done?" "Yes..." Leo replied as he packed his things up before following the group, continuing their journey as they advanced further deep within the Endless Forest. Although Rnd already entered the Core Formation realm, the group still remained vignt as they moved at a normal pace. Often scanning the surroundings for potential threats. Since the deeper they traveled within the Endless Forest, the higher the level of the beasts they encountered. Compared to the beasts in the outer realm of the forest where their level ranges from the Mortal realm to the Mid Foundation realm (with asionally Late Foundation realm appearing) the beasts they encountered yesterday till now were at least in the Foundation realm with a couple of beasts that already reach the peak of the Foundation realm! Fortunately, even if 10te foundation beasts encircle them, with Rnd in their mids, the chances of casualties happening are almost zero! It could be said that upon seeing how Rnd cracked the skull of the Late Foundation beasts yesterday with only the use of his shield... Leo couldn''t help but instantly want to advance toward the Core Formation Realm! In his eyes, the Core Formation realm being is like a tall mountain! It will not fall even if a hundred beasts attack it! *** Soon another 3 days passed by. In the silent forest, the sudden sound of battle resounded. Boom! Bang! Leo''s body slides backward, creating a long trail on the ground as a beast with the appearance of a red bear ps its burning paw toward Leo''s body... Causing the indiscernible shield to appear around him. Boom! -2 health! Leo coughed slightly as he pointed his pointed finger toward the body of the bear in the distance, summoning a gray bullet on his finger before shooting it toward the bear in a sh. Bang! Bang! Roarr! Hearing the Bear roar in pain, Leo raised the iron sword in his other hand, charging toward the bear with a determined look as he heavily shed toward the beast''s unprotected body. sh... sh, sh... Due to the pain it was experiencing, the bear couldn''t react on time as it instantly received countless sword marks on its body, dripping with blood, its eyes were bloodshot as it roared in anguish. Roarrr! ... Soon. Greatly weakened, It could only swipe its paws weakly, trying its best to drag Leo to its inevitable death. However, unfortunately, Leo wouldn''t allow such a thing to happen... Without hesitation, he instantly distanced himself from the weakened bear before raining it with his Qi bullets, finishing it off after minutes of releasing/shooting bullets. Roarr! With a roar of unwillingness, the fear in the bear''s eyes became nd as it slumped toward the ground lifelessly, causing the dust to be disturbed as it dispersed in the environment. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Red Spirit Bear (Foundation level 10!) +2,500 horror points! +75 exp points! ] Huff~ "The 5th kill this day!" Leo mumbled under his breath as he gasped for air. Nodding his head toward the group in the distance, Leo dragged his exhausted body toward the corpse of the bear. In the past few days, due to the overwhelming strength of Rnd, the group could only watch in the distance helplessly as Rnd finishes the beasts approaching them within a short period of time, causing the group unable to increase their exp and level in the past few days. Making them helpless and angry about their incapability. So in able to prevent Rnd from getting all the exp points, instead of fighting in the front, the group decided to let Rnd protect them from behind as they fought the beasts approaching them. Making the former speechless as the group abused his shield and protection skills as they fought beasts to their heart''s content... ... "Hahaha, now it''s my turn!" Seeing that Leo finally killed the bear, Jakeughed happily as the next beast that they would encounter would be his. Feeling excited as his hands began to itch from watching the group fighting beasts one by one. Holding his wooden exquisite bow in his hand, Jake leads the way toward the deep forest, hoping for beasts to approach their location in an instant. ... "Hmm? I almost forgot about that." Leo thought as he put the essence of the bear on his inventory before he opened his character panel. Focusing on the shop at the bottom of the panel, almost forgetting the fact that the item he needed the most finally got stock after days of waiting. Opening it Leo began to excitedly spend his horror points... ______Shop______ 1. [ Medallion of Forceful Upgrade: Forcefully upgrade a skill by one level! Price: 2,500 horror points! Stock: 1 (refreshes every week!) ] 2. [ Upgrade Card: Upgrade level by 1. Note: Could only be used toward the host undead summon, beast summons, familiar, etc... Price: 100 horror points for levels 1-5 (Depends on the level of the summon. The higher the level, the higher the price is!) ] 3. [ Skill Upgrade Card: Could upgrade the summon monster skill by 1. Price: 500 for Common skill! (The price depends on the rarity of the skill! )] 4. [ Little Enlightment: A one-time use card that could increase the mastery of the techniques! Price: 10,000 horror points! Stock: 0 (1 stock per 5 days!) ] 5. [ Inferior Permanent Speed Potion: Consuming the potion could permanently increase the speed stat by 1. Note 1: There are no impurities in the potion, the consumer can consume a number of potions without the fear of negative effects! Note 2: A single being could only consume 10 Inferior Permanent Speed Potion in his lifetime. Consuming further wouldn''t give an additional increase on stat. Price: 1,000 horror points! ] 6. [ Inferior Permanent Strength Potion... ] 7. [ Inferior Permanent Magic Power Potion... ] 8. [ Inferior Permanent Soul Power Potion... ] 9. [ Potion Form (Common (Grade 0-1))... ] ... Chapter 84: The Skeletons Finally advance! (1) Ding! -2,500 horror points! Leo held secretly the Medallion of Forceful Upgrade in his hand, putting it on his inventory before again looking at the shop. 1. [ Medallion of Forceful Upgrade: Forcefully upgrade a skill by one level! Price: 3,000 horror points! Stock: 0 (refreshes every week!) ] ... The price increased again. Leo thought before looking toward the price of the potion below, remembering that he only consumes 5 bottles (per attribute) due to theck of horror points in the past. "Now with my 72,000 horror points, I could again increase my strength after buying all of the potions!" Leo smiled eerily as he closed his character panel for the time being. Pondering on what skill to upgrade, walking beside the two dark skeletons as they followed the group. "Hmm, Skeleton #2 when will you advance toward the Foundation realm?" As he was pondering deep within, the corner of his eyes happened to nce toward the skeleton beside him, wondering when would the two advance. Thinking about it carefully, it''s almost been two weeks since the two evolved and upgraded to level 15... With the battles they experienced over the past week, it should be about time for the two of them to advance. Moreover, he still remembered that they would gain a ss job after advancing toward the foundation realm! Wait... Is it possible that they would gain a cultivation technique after they advance? nk, nk~ (I''m still away by level to advance, master.) Skeleton #2 said as it scanned the surrounding environment in fascination. "How about you?" nk... (I''m only away by 100 exp points.) ... "Hmm, I see, even if you''re still far away from the foundation realm it''s okayy, it''s not like you canpare to... wait what!?" Leo paused slightly, ready tofort thezy skeleton #1''s fragile heart and scold it in the process when suddenly... He heard that it was only away from the foundation realm. No, Impossible... nk... (really impossible.) Skeleton #2 thought, doubting its senses if it was working properly or not. Leo coughed slightly as he checked the character panel of Skeleton #1, extremely doubting that it was speaking the truth. [ Mutated Horror Skeleton#1 (+1) - Mortal Level 19 ( 1,000/1,100 exp points! ] This, it''s real! Does skeleton #1 get possessed without me knowing/noticing? Although it''s impossible for Skeleton #1 to get possessed, Leo still couldn''t help but check the figure of Skeleton #1 from time to time, trying to see if it ate something wrong. ... nk... (Hehehe, stupid necromancer, now did you see the greatness of the skeleton race?) Looking at the doubtful face of Leo beside it, Skeleton #1 squinted the darkness in its eyes, enjoying the look in the heartless necromancer''s eyes. With how it spends most of its time secretly nting the seed of sin within the beasts they encounter. In addition to the secret it learns in the past few days regarding the seed of sin, Skeleton #1''s level/exp points have increased drastically in the past few days. If not for avoiding the senses of the heartless necromancer beside it, Skeleton #1 would surely have advanced toward the foundation realm days ago! It''s just that he decided to hide it from the stupid necromancer to make him rack its brain, causing him to feel a headache after not discovering how it managed to increase its exp without doing anything! nk, nk (Rack your brain all you want! Hehehe... You wouldn''t know the other secrets behind the Seed of Sin other than me...) nk, nk, nk! (Evilugh) ... Sck! "Are you hiding something from me?" Leo ps the skull of Skeleton #1 upon seeing the glint in its eyes. The usual glint that would only appear if it was nning or plotting something bad. nk... (No...) Skeleton #1 quickly denied it as it shook its head hurriedly. "Then so be it, I want you two to advance today." Squinting his eyes as he eyed Skeleton #1, wanting to see if its expression would betray its thought, Leo said strictly. Quite excited about the prospect of their ss job. Since they have strange evolution, then their ss job wouldn''t be half bad, right? *** "Ehh, you''re two dark skeletons will finally advance toward the foundation realm?" Hearing Leo''s request to let the two dark skeletons fight the next early foundation-stage beasts for them to maximize their exp bar, the group couldn''t help but rub their chin in amusement and anticipation. Other than beasts and humans, this is clearly the first time that they would be able to observe a Skeleton that would advance toward the Foundation realm up close. Moreover, the skeleton is also a summoned being. Making them wonder what kind of phenomenon it would attract if it advanced. "Sure, no problem," Rnd nodded his head, not hiding the curiosity in his eyes. ... Boom! Bang! Soon, in just a single hour of trekking, the group finally encountered a lonely early foundation beast in the distance, instantly letting the two dark skeletons handle it. nk! (For the skeleton race!) Knowing that the heartless necromancer was watching from behind, Skeleton #1 released a loud nking sound, akin to a roar as it rushed toward the Forest boar with his dark bone sword. Swinging left and right as it silently nted a seed of sin toward its consciousness. Arriving beside the boar, the two dark skeletons immediately swing their swords, nning to injure the legs of the boar... Boom! Unfortunately, the boar wouldn''t halt and let the skeletons wound it as they pleased. Stumping its hind legs the boar charged toward Skeleton #1, instantly making the skeleton in front of it fly toward the distance as a seemingly shield protected its skeleton body from its tusk. Roarr! Seeing that the Boar halted its movement upon attacking Skeleton#1, Skeleton #2 took the chance as it swung its bone sword beyond the sight of the boar. Swish! Swish! After swinging his bone sword consecutively, Skeleton#2 immediately distances himself, perfectly evading the tiny root that was emerging from the ground... Boom! ... Chapter 85: The Skeletons Finally advance! (2) Boom! Green roots quickly rise from the ground, instantly slithering toward Skeleton #2 to restrict its movement but only for it to split into countless pieces upon being hacked by Skeleton''s bone sword. Swish, swish! nk... Creating a low nking sound, the voice of the two dark skeletons quickly traveled toward the forest, before drilling toward the ears and consciousness of the forest boar in the distance. In an instant, the boar froze on its track, its eyes revealed confusion before changing into fear... Its body couldn''t help but tremble as if it was facing something unimaginable. Laugh of Nightmare... The two dark skeletons thought in unison, fully activating the skill as theyughed eerily, nking their lower jaws in fun as they approached the forest boar in the distance. Soon, reaching the side of the trembling boar, the sword of the two dark skeletons glows with silver light, fully enveloping the sword as it increases its sharpness to the peak! sh, sh! With a sh, thick crimson blood blossoms in the atmosphere, as it is suspended in the air for a couple of seconds before dyeing the grass in the surroundings red. Roarr! Roaring out loud. The boar intensely shook its head, finally ridding of the effect of theugh of the nightmare. Staring at the two dark skeletons near him with inconceivable expressions... In its eyes, a deep sense of fear could be seen. Roaarrr! With a bloodied figure and deep wounds on its front hindlegs, the boar knowing that it was impossible to kill the two dark disgusting undead skeletons in front of it, tried to escape, nning to stay away from the skeleton it would see in the future... nk! (Charge!) However, as if the two dark skeletons could discern its thoughts they instantly intercepted its way, making the boar helpless as it began fighting the two skeletons desperately. nk! (Bloom!) Seeing that the mental condition of the boar they were fighting was extremely unstable, the two dark skeletons instantly activated their seed of sin, making the consciousness of the boar copse! Bang! Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing an Early Foundation Forest boar! +300 exp points! ] ¡Á2 Ding! [ Congrattions to Skeleton #1 and #2 upon maximizing their exp bar (Mortal)! ] *** [ Mutated Skeleton of Horror +1 Species: Undead Innate skill: Eyes of Nightmare, Believer of Darkness (Ungraded), Seed of Sin (Ungraded). Physique: Body of Sin ______Atrributes______ Level: 20 (100%) Free attribute: 2 Health: 72/100 Qi: 36/75 Stamina: 25/75 Strength: 45 Speed: 35 Qi Power: 30 Soul Power: 70 ______Skills______ Advanced Intelligence (Rare lvl 4), Stab (Common lvl 5), Sword Mastery ( Umon lvl 4), Laugh of Nightmare (Rare lvl 3), Sword Aura (Rare lvl 3), Sharpness (Umon lvl 5). *** "Finally..." Leo silently looked at their character panel, quite impressed about their overall stats that almost reached 200 points. It could be said that when he was still at level 20, his over attribute only reached 220 due to the free attributes that he gained from the system and shop. However,pared to him, the two skeletons never rely on anything to reach their current stats. It''s their potential that allowed them to gain these crazy stats! "Now, I''m bing more and more expectant about their ss job." Leo wondered, even if the two dark skeletons only gained an epic ss job, Leo would already and still be satisfied. ... "Are you two ready?" Leo asks as he gives them materials in case the greedy altar materializes when they are advancing. Looking at the items Leo took out, the group couldn''t help but look at the two dark skeletons enviously. In the mids of the materials, there were at least dozens of essence potions in addition to other fruits, herbs, and two Earth Vitality ginseng... Gulped... Seeing the two plump vitality ginseng that Leo took out, the white rabbit in the distance heavily swallowed its flowing saliva, considering whether to silently steal the ginseng when the group''s attention sways away from it or not. "Rabbit, don''t think about it." Seeing the shining eyes of the rabbit beside it as Roy followed its sight, Roy couldn''t help but giggle as it reminded the silly rabbit. Squeakk~ ( ~?~ ). ... nk! (Yes!)¡Á2 Skeletons #1 & #2 nodded heavily, the darkness in their eyes revealed determination as they strangely sat down on the ground in a cross-legged position. Seeing that everything is finally set, Leo and the group distance themselves (at least 50 meters) afraid that they would be caught in the phenomenon that the skeletons would attract when they advanced as they watched in the distance attentively. Boom! The heaven rumbled as darkness swallowed the sky, hiding theplete darkness beyond (the fissure). In the environment, the vitality seemed to enter a chaotic state, stripping the life around, making the luster of everything to be nd... Following that, an intense aura that rose from the ground instantly swallowed the two dark skeletons, making their silhouettes unclear... Ding! Far away, as Leo was watching the skeletons advancement attentively, a sound of notification echoed in his consciousness, making him distracted as he didn''t have a choice but to look at the notifications. [ Congrattions upon upgrading your Necromancy (Epic) to level 2! +1 talent in Necromancy! +2 Soul Power! ] Ding! [ As the Summoner of the Skeletons, the caster has the ability to choose their ss job! ( Due to their unique condition (Entering their mind barrier) the caster gained the right to choose their ss job! ) Note: Although they could still choose a ss job after advancing toward the Foundation realm, the unique energy of the phenomenon they attract might increase their probability of gaining a high-level ss job! ] ... This... After reading the notifications that appeared, Leo''s heart couldn''t help but skip a bit, quite nervous as he immediately opened the ss job column. ~~~ss choices~~~ Side of Horror ( Rare ) - A rare ss job specialized in causing unrest and chaos in your territory. People within your presence would inevitably feel horror within. (Increase your soul power by 3 at every level!) Harbinger of Chaos ( Epic ) - Everywhere you go chaos and death follow you... you can''t save anyone nor save yourself since you''re the harbinger of chaos. (Increase Strength, Speed, and Qi power by 1! Increase bad luck by 0.1 per level! ) Sin of Corruption... ... Chapter 86: The Skeletons Finally advance! (3) ~~~ss choices (2:30)~~~ Side of Horror ( Rare ) - A rare ss job specialized in causing unrest and chaos in your territory. People within your presence would inevitably feel horror within. (Increase your soul power by 3 at every level!) Harbinger of Chaos ( Epic ) - Everywhere you go chaos and death follow you... you can''t save anyone nor save yourself since you''re the harbinger of chaos. (Increase Strength, Speed, and Qi power by 1! Increase bad luck by 0.1 per level! ) Sin of Corruption (Unique) - You''re the source of corruption, you carry corruption and consume corruption... No kind of curse could affect you at the same level! (Increase Soul Power and Qi Power by 2 per level!) Sword Saint (Epic) - A being that stood at the peak of the sword... Your Qi carried sharpness that could pierce and slice through everything! (Increase Strength and Speed by 2 per level!) ... This... Three ss jobs that are beyond rare grade! Leo eximed, immediately eliminating the Side of Horror (Rare) in the choices. Upon deep pondering, Leo also decided to exclude the Harbinger of Chaos (Epic) from the selection. Although it was an epic ss job, nheless, upon seeing the bad luck at the bottom of the description, Leo immediately eliminated it without hesitation. Do you think you can fool me? I''m still quite troubled with my jinx (level 1) skill yet you wanted to add another problem? Thinking of him and the two little foundation-level Harbinger of Chaos walking side by side, causing everyone they passed by to suffer from bad luck, Leo couldn''t help but gulp loudly as he secretly wiped the forming sweat on his forehead. It''s interesting but at the same time scary... Wait, although my jinx level is still at level 1, it is possible that... it was the cause and reason for the things that happened to us in the past few days? Meeting the Forest Centipedes on the first day upon entering the Endless Forest, Fighting the Demon Vine the next day, etc, etc... Indeed, our luck in the past few days is just bad... Not just bad but extremely bad! "F*ck, this is the fault of that shitty altar! If it just swallowed the skill and didn''t spit it out, the bad luck wouldn''t spread!" Leo couldn''t help but panic, feeling that everything made sense now. I should try my best to find a way to suppress the skill! Although he has "Restrain Skill (level 5)", the skill appears that it couldn''tpletely suppress his passive skill, since in the end, it was only an umon skill! ... Sigh... Leo, calm down, although your restrain skill couldn''t restrain it perfectly, it''s not to the point that the people around you suffer from bad luck greatly. Leo consoled himself as he immediately focused on the choices in front of him, afraid that the skeletons in the distance would finish their advancement before he chose their ss job, causing the choices to disappearpletely. Choosing the perfect ss job for them (based on his opinion), Leo immediately epted, making the panel in front of him sh before vanishing. Ding! ... Boom! Soon, after another half an hour of watching the phenomenon happening in the distance, the ck clouds in the sky began to fade, unveiling the ck fissure above... Following that, the darkness enveloping the two dark skeletons slowly began to withdraw... beforepletely revealing the two skeletons'' figure to the curious group. The skeleton''s height which was 1.3m/4.26ft previously instantly became 1.4m/4.59ft after advancing! In addition, the texture of their bone became much more metallic, devoid of any corroded white present in the old bones as it shed in a silver glow! Moreover, the darkness in their eyes deepened further and their bone sword got slightly longer and sharper! This... ... [ Mutated Skeleton of Horror +1 Species: Undead ss Job: Sin of Corruption (Unique) Cultivation Technique: (High-Heaven) Fiendish Emperor! Innate skill: Eyes of Nightmare, Believer of Darkness (Ungraded), Seed of Sin (Ungraded). Physique: Body of Sin ______Atrributes______ Level: Early-Foundation Level 1 (0%) Free attribute: 12 Health: 150/150 Qi:110/110 Stamina: 110/110 Strength: 75 Speed: 65 Qi Power: 75 Soul Power: 125 ______Skills______ Advanced Intelligence (Rare lvl 4), Stab (Common lvl 5), Sword Mastery ( Umon lvl 5), Laugh of Nightmare (Rare lvl 3), Sword Aura (Rare lvl 5), Sharpness (Umon lvl 5). ss Job Skills: Untainted by Curse (Epic lvl 1), Corruption (Unique lvl 1) ... [ Untainted by Curse (Epic level 1): You wouldn''t be affected by any curse at your level! Activation: Passive! Note: Can weaken the curse above the user by an amount (depending on the difference of the level!) ] Ding! [ Corruption (Unique level 1): Release a strange energy that corrupts anyone who absorbs it! Causing them to make mistakes and destroy their consciousness if they absorb the energy for a longer amount of time! Activation: 1 Qi per 5 seconds! ] *** "It''s not that bad." Leomented as he nodded his head, hiding the satisfaction within him as he inspected the new appearance of the two dark skeletons in the distance... No, it should be silver skeletons from now on! ... nk... (This strength...) Skeleton #1 clenched his fist, feeling the endless force flowing within its bone in fascination, causing its confidence to inte. nk, nk? (Could I finally make the heartless summoner my ve?) It thought strangely, feeling that the start of the skeleton race climbing toward the peak to be the strongest race finally appeared. nk... (Then it''s decided, I will make the heartless summoner be my first ve!) nk, nk! (Hahahaha!) Skeleton #1ughed loudly, causing the surrounding void to tremble, making the group cover their ears in irritation. "Skeleton #1 Stop!" Leo shouted. Although the two silver skeletons in the distance looked the same, just based on the actions of the skeleton in the distance, Leo immediately knew that it was skeleton #1 who wasughing. nk, nk! (Shut up and watch the greatness of the Skeleton race!) Skeleton #1 replied as itughed loudly, standing steadily as it grasped the silver bone sword beside it... ... Chapter 87: Fight the Necromancer! nk, nk! (Shut up and watch the greatness of the Skeleton race!) Skeleton #1 replied as itughed loudly, standing unhurriedly as it grasped the silver bone sword beside it... Swinging its silver bone sword left and right before pointing it toward the heartless necromancer in the distance. nk! ( Be my ve idiot necromancer or else! ) Skeleton #1 dered as it slit its imaginary throat with its bone finger. ... This... System what kind of scam are you? Didn''t you tell me that the Summoned Skeleton wouldn''t betray its summoner!? Leo thought angrily,ining about the fact that the system made a wrong judgment. Ding! [ System was never wrong... However, thest time the system created that judgment was when they were still below the foundation realm! ] "F*ck, so does that mean the Corruption ss Job is problematic?" [ ... ] Seeing this, Leo felt that his assumption was correct, never expecting that ss jobs could bring negative effects on the skeletons. nk, nk! (What, are you not willing to be the ve of the Skeleton race?) "Y-you! Are you really testing my patience!?" Knowing that the only thing he could do now was to beat the skeleton to make ite back to its senses. Leo sighed helplessly as he wore his silver knuckles, slightly stretching his arms before instantly vanishing in his original location. Swish! nk! (Hahaha!) Seeing the fast-approaching Leo, Skeleton #1ughed eerily, fully activating itsugh of nightmare skill, causing the group who was watching in the distance in interest to cover their ears in pain... nk! (Hahaha!) In an instant, the surrounding void trembled as a strange aura began to scatter in the surrounding environment, making trees, grass, and everything be strange... As if they transform into something unrecognizable. Seeing everything that unfolded in front of him, Leo remained unperturbed not affected by Skeleton''s #1 skill by a bit, as he charged toward it steadily! Entering his invisibility mode, Leo revealed a strange smile on his face as rushed toward the side of the puzzled Skeleton #1... Hehehe, got you! Leo thought with a smile as he punched the silver skull of Skeleton #1, not holding his strength as the air whistled creepily! Boom! Leo punched, however, the expected feeling of hitting something never came to him... This... Ding! -10 health! Looking below him confusedly, he saw the darkness in the Skeleton''s eyes glint with a smile as a silver sword pierced through his abdomen. The pain didn''t instantlye to him due to the sudden and unexpected change of events (it''s probably that his brain still didn''t pick up the thing that was happening, causing the feeling of pain to be dyed). It only appeared after 3 seconds upon knowing that he made a grave mistake. Boom! Swinging his arms, Leo hit the skull of Skeleton #1, instantly causing the silver skeleton to fly in the distance as it grasped the silver sword tightly. Spluck! Groan... -2 health! "You, did you study my behavior and my skill in the past few weeks?" Leo couldn''t help but ask with a solemn look, never expecting that he underestimated Skeleton #1 too much. If not for the sudden gaining of the "Sin of Corruption" ss job of Skeleton #1 that caused its mind to be unstable, Leo wouldn''t know that it was secretly plotting toward it. F*ck, it was much smarter than me! nk, nk! (So what! It''s not my fault that you''re easy to read! Not only that you are a dumb necromancer, but you''re also silly!) Skeleton #1ughed as its silver sword glowed with dark light, illuminating the surroundings with a bizarre aura. Seeing this, Leo retracted the Divine fire that was fiercely burning/healing his wounds before instantly summoning a thick gray fog that swallowed his whole being and the surroundings in an instant. nk, nk! ( What! Do you really think that you can hide within this fog of yours? ) Seeing this, Skeleton #1 revealed contempt in his eyes before shing his glowing silver sword in the air consecutively, instantly parting the air, followed by the fog dispersing through the atmosphere... Revealing the empty forest... nk? Boom! Knowing that the heartless necromancer again entered his invisibility state, Skeleton #1 revealed a wary expression on its skull face before it scanned the environment carefully. However, just as it was about to tilt its skull to the side for a better view, a sh of light entered his senses, followed by a loud banging sound. Bang! Red sparks spread in the atmosphere as the gray Qi bullet hit the silver skeleton of Skeleton #1, making it cry in pain as it mentally calcted where the bullet came from. Dashing toward where the bullet originated, Skeleton #1 suppressed the pain it was experiencing as it spread its sword aura in the surroundings (7.5 meters in diameter), instantly splitting the grass and leaves into countless pieces upon being grazed by his sword aura... At the same time, meters away from Skeleton #1, Leo''s invisible state quickly deactivated on its own upon being grazed by the skeleton''s sword aura, causing his body to suffer from countless cuts. Ding! -1 health. -1 health. -1 health... "F*ck! Are you really forcing me to do this!?" Leo shouted angrily as he stared at theughing Skeleton in the distance irritatedly. nk! ( Guess...) Hearing Leo exim, Skeleton #1 stared at him calmly, revealing a mysterious smile on its eyes as it flicked its finger unhurriedly. nk... ( Bloom... ) F*ck, don''t tell me! Impossible, I know how his Seed of Sin works! I''m sure that he was still not activating his seed of sin earlier... In an instant, an unprecedented anger bloomed within him as his eyes began to turn crimson and bloodshot, the feeling of irritation within him reached its peak... To him, only killing the Silver Skeleton in front of him could alleviate his burning anger! It''s a strange feeling of craziness yet at the same time he felt unrestrained! Restrain, deactivate! Kill EVERYONE! Leo crazily thought, before instantly spending tens of thousands of horror points as he crazily upgraded his Passive Debuff skill! Ding! [Congrattions upon Upgrading your Jinx to Level 5! ] Ding! [ Jinx (Level 5): Everyone within your presence would suffer from intense bad luck! Activation: Passive. Upgrade Cost: 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade Note: You''re finally the Jinx! ] ... Boom! Chapter 88: The Sin of Craziness! [ Congrattions upon Upgrading your Jinx to Level 5! ] Ding! [ Jinx (Level 5): Everyone within your presence would suffer from intense bad luck! Activation: Passive. Upgrade Cost: 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade Note: You''re finally the Jinx! ] ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon upgrading your "Decayed Aura" and "Nightmare" Level 1 to Level 5! ] ... [ Decayed Aura (Level 5): Decreased the Vitality of beings around the host passively, causing them to decay alive! It also reduces the healing speed of the being in the surroundings of the host! Activation: Passive Upgrade cost: 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! Note: Don''t be surprised, you''re a ghost remember? ] ... [ Nightmare (Level 5)- Staring at a sleeping/dreaming target in the middle of the night could cause them to experience a nightmare. There''s a good probability of causing sleep paralysis. Activation: None, only work at sleeping target. Skill Cost: 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! Note: It''s said that 1 percent of death every year is caused by Nightmare! ] ... Boom! In an instant, a thick aura of deathing from the depths of Leo''s body began and rapidly spread toward the surrounding environment. Trees, leaves, and grass began to decay at visible speed, causing them to wither and copse in a short period of time. This. The group''s eyes showed confusion and fear as they watched the seeming death of everything unfold in front of their very eyes... Having no idea why everything turned into this. At first, they only thought that Skeleton #1 and Leo were exchanging moves to check the new skills of Skeleton #1 after advancing to the Foundation realm, but... Who would have thought that... "What the h*ck is happening right now!?" ... "Leo!" The group shouted as the visible decaying aura began to spread at visible speed, swallowing the life force of anything it passed by... Dyeing the surroundings with gray and ck, akin to a dpidated ce where you wouldn''t be able to see a hint of life within it. "F*ck, he couldn''t hear us!" Jake shouted as he gritted his teeth in anger. Firming his wavering heart, Jake began to approach Leo in the distance at a hurried pace, not caring about the dark aura. Boom! However, before he could close up the distance between them, Jake who was rushing toward Leo, suddenly and coincidently tripped over the protruding small rock beneath him, causing his nose to hit the ground first. "D*mn luck!" Jake eximed before nning to again rush toward Leo in the distance only for Rnd to grab his body before immediately retreating. "We can''t approach him," Rnd said, not letting Jake to speak as he nced at the figure of Leo in the distance with his usual serious and heavy look. *** "HAHAHA!" Within the ce where life isn''t allowed to exist, the crazy loudugh of Leo resounded, easily reaching the ears of the dumbfounded Silver Skeleton in front of him... Skeleton #1 stood dumbfoundedly on his spot, staring at the heartless necromancer''s figure in puzzlement and horror. nk, (This, you''re hiding your ability!) It cried in fear and horror, never expecting the skills that the heartless necromancer showed in the public previously to be only 15-25% of his overall strength! Although it already half-expected that the necromancer would hide some of his skills/ability, it''s not to the point that... Enjoy exclusive content froNovelBin Crack, crack... Under the corrosion of Decay and the area of bad luck, the silver skeleton of Skeleton #1 issued a cracking sound followed by dust from its silver bone slowly dispersing through the air. nk... (This...) Skeleton #1 stutters in pure fear, feeling that death has begun to approach his whole being. Even if he was just an undead skeleton, the feeling of death still frightened him. nk! (Stop!) It shouted tearily as it deactivated his "Seed of Sin" regretting the thing it did... *** Cough... What happened? Leo thought as he massaged his temple in great pain, feeling that it was throbbing violently and being pierced with countless knives repeatedly. nk, nk! (Don''t...) Forcefully opening his eyes upon hearing the familiar voice in the distance, Leo immediately saw the silver skeleton near him, trashing and twisting its body around violently. Moreover, the hue of its skeleton body greatly faded, as some parts of its bone were iplete. In addition to that, the darkness in its eyes faded a lot. "Serves you right!" Leo angrily thought upon remembering everything. However, even though he was extremely furious, seeing the pain the skeleton was experiencing and looking at withered surroundings, Leo immediately activated his restrain skill. "Look what have you done!" Leo slightly kicked the skeleton toward the distance, greatly angered but at the same time worried... Even though he already activated his restraining skill, the passive skill couldn''t be restrainedpletely as it still continued to leak out from his body with a considerable amount! Fortunately, the restrain skill isn''tpletely useless as it greatly weakened his passive skill! (Almost leaving the passive skill to level 2! ) ... [ Restrain (Umon) ( Lvl 5) - Restrain the effect of the passive skill of the user, causing its effect to be restrained and greatly weakened ( Work greatly at the skill below Rare). Activation: 0.1 Stamina per minute. Upgrade Cost: 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! ] ... "D*mn, I just bought it earlier yet it will immediately consumed!" Leo grumbled under his breath as he immediately used the Medallion of Forceful Upgrade to upgrade the "Restrain" skill, not forgetting to vow that he would make the life of Skeleton #1 much harder from now on! Ding! [ Due to the skill reaching its peak ability, the system forcefully upgraded its grade to Rare (level 1) in exchange for 2,500 horror points! (ept/Declined)? ] "This, system why didn''t you tell me about this?" Leo''s eyes widened as he stared at the notification that appeared in front of him in surprise, not forgetting to question the system. [ ... ] "Sigh, never mind..." ept... Without further ado, Leo immediately epted causing his horror points to further decrease by 2,500 points! Slightly making his heart bleed upon noticing that his horror points decreased by 10,000 points without him knowing/noticing. [ Restrain (Rare) ( Lvl 1) - Greatly restrain the effect of the passive skill of the user, causing its effect to be restrained and greatly weakened ( Work greatly at the skill below Epic). Activation: 0.01 Stamina per minute. Upgrade Cost: 5,000 horror points! ] ... Chapter 89: The Death of Skeleton #1. "Huff~ much better." Leo signed in relief after upgrading the new restrain (rare) skill to level 5. Finally feeling that his passive debuff skill reverted to its original status, simr to before when they were still at level 1! Now, where''s that skeleton!? Leo''s eyes glinted sharply as he scanned the dpidated environment with a frown... In an instant, Leo immediately saw the battered figure of Skeleton #1 far away, not moving a bit as it appeared lifelessly lying on the ground. Its silver skeleton lost its hue significantly, causing its usual metallic glint of silver to vanish and turn rusty in Leo''s eyes. Surprisingly, as minutes slowly passed by, the missing bone fragments of Skeleton #1 slowly recovered under his watch, followed by its silver hue... "It seems that it lost its consciousness..." Leo thought as he stared deeply at the figure of Skeleton #1 on the ground. Pondering deeply, Leo eventually shook his head before moving away... Toward the group in the distance. nk... (Did he finally go away?) Hearing the weakening sound of the footsteps of the heartless necromancer, Skeleton #1 couldn''t help but nk (sigh) in relief as his eyes shed with darkness. nk, (You really think that you can enve the skeleton race? Dream on! ) Taking the chance off upon the necromancer was nowhere in sight, Skeleton #1 without hesitation dashed toward the endless forest, escaping without looking back... nk! (Hehehe, I''m finally free!) Itughed loudly as it dashed toward the unknown, the farther it traveled the safer it was! ... Soon, another 5 hours passed by. The light in the sky already vanished and was reced with pure darkness... Inside the deep forest, the sound of insects and birds began to fade away one by one, slowly but surely... instantly shrouding the dark forest in death silence... In addition to the canopy and swaying grass and leaves in the environment, it created a sense of eeriness in Skeleton #1''s mind. Huff~ nk! (I should be safe by now, the hearthless summoner wouldn''t be able to find me!) Skeleton #1 thought with a hint of guilt within it as it scanned the surroundings warily, having no idea where its skeleton legs brought it. ... Soon, after 5 minutes of scanning, feeling that everything seemed normal from its perspective, the skeleton was about to sit down and rest for a while when suddenly in the darkness far away... Away from its current location. A pair of eyes, glowing with crimson bright red stared at its figure silently... Causing Skeleton #1 to feel deep chills that instantly washed all over its silver skeleton. nk... (This...) Not even a minute passed by when another pair of gluttonous crimson eyes entered its senses, simrly hiding beyond the darkness as it intently following the every move of the silver skeleton... After that, another pair appeared, followed by another and another... Instantly filling the dark forest with floating crimson insatiable eyes. Gripping tightly its silver bone sword to the point that its skeleton hand began to issue a cracking sound due to the force it used, Skeleton #1''s body couldn''t help but shiver in fright. Staring in fear at those floating eyes... And those floating eyes also stared at its dark eyes, as if they could pry into its deepest secret and soul. Gulpped... Grrrr... ... Soon, the sound of the hungry growl resounded in the dark silent forest as a heavy rushing movement sound resounded behind the running Skeleton #1... The grass being stepped on continuously rustles behind, as countless unknown beasts/creatures charge and chase its figure, followed by wind caressing its bone body... nk, (Faster, I need to go back!) Skeleton #1 cried in fear as it ran headlessly into the depths of the forest, regretting the fact that it fled far away from the group. Whistle... As he was scanning the surrounding darkness desperately for a spot to hide, a sudden swishing sound emerged beside it as a mouth filled with sharp fangs reflected on the skeleton''s dreaded dark eyes. nk! (No!) Boom! *** In his desperation, Skeleton #1 immediately abandoned its right arm upon being gnawed by the unknown beasts, as the skeleton without hesitation fled toward the distance, using the slight confusion it caused after abandoning its right bone arm in an instant. Rustle... Rustle... nk! (Go away!) Skeleton #1 ran in desperation and fear as it at one point already thrown its bone sword away in order to lessen its burden (its weight)... In order to run much faster... In order to shake the beasts behind it. However, as if fate was ying with it, in the direction it was running, a pair of red crimson eyes appeared, staring at its bone body hungrily... nk... Without any surprise and suspense, the beast pounces on the skeleton''s body before gnawing on its bone hungrily. Cring~ Crack... The sound of scraping sound echoed in the dark forest, as the feeling of sharp long teeth akin to a grinder began grinding its silver bone, causing the skeleton to roar in pain. CLANK!!! Activating all its skills in desperation to shake the beasts off its body... But only... In vain. ... Soon, the beasts chasing it also appeared one by one, as they began to share the bone with themselves. Tearing the bones of the silver skeleton in front of it... As Skeleton #1 watches all of this happening/unfolding in front of its eyes in great despair. nk~ (N-no... Please Don''t~) It criedstly, before finally, after a while of resisting, the darkness in the eyes of Skeleton #1 finally became nd beforepletely vanishing in the silent night. Altering the sound of desperation to a happy gnawing sound in the dark forest, before fixing its usual death silence after a while. The one''s happy skeleton was finally dead... *** Authors Note: Huhuhu, I finally almost uploaded 90 chapters in less than 2 months! Although I didn''t win the previous Dec WPC, I''m still thankful that my novel is doing pretty well... (^-^ ). Again, I would like to thank you all for the support! Chapter 90: Its Nothing but a pipe dream. Sigh. Revealing pity in his eyes, Leo couldn''t help but sigh deeply... Shaking his head before mumbling in a low voice. "I''m really soft-hearted." Staring at the figure of Skeleton #1 twitching violently on the ground as it created a nking sound of horror from time to time, Leo silently retracted his gaze from it before again fully activating his restrain (rare) skill... Causing the twitching of the unconscious silver skeleton on the ground to weaken visibly before finally stopping after a while. Ding! [ Congrattions upon causing a horror inside one''s dream for the first time! +1, 000 horror points! +2 free attributes! ] Ding! +2,500 horror points! (Gain from the horror of Skeleton #1) This... Nevermind. "Since you dare to make a move to your summoner and also nning to make me your ve... "Then I will cast a nightmare toward you every night... Hehehe," Seeing the horror points he gained after casting his nightmare skill, Leo began tough creepily as he stared toward the skeleton on the ground with glinted/smiling eyes. Soon, afterughing for a while, Leo again fell silent before asking the system inside his mind. "How is it system?" Ding! [ Host could spend 5,000 horror points to again cast a brand toward the souls of the two skeletons, causing them to be unable to betray you for the time being! Note: Only possible due to you being their summoner and due to the horror energy that you gave them at the early stage! ] "Would they still betray me in the future?" Seeing this, Leo again asks the system in confirmation, wanting to avoid future possible trouble. Ding! [ Yes, but they at least needed to advance toward the Core Formation realm in addition to the unstable factors brought after advancement... Before they could betray you again! ] "I see, then it''s good!" Hearing this, Leo nodded his head in slight satisfaction before gazing toward the peeking Skeleton #2 in the distance. Compared to the problematic Skeleton #1, Skeleton #2 seems fine and stable in Leo''s perspective. It didn''t attack nor betray him for the time being which is good. However, in able to prevent further problems from arising, Leo still purchases the brand, instantly reducing his horror points by another 5,000... Only leaving him with less than 30,000 horror points. "Sigh, I should find a way to earn Horror points since this number wouldn''tst long... Huff~, the feeling of poverty hit me again!" *** Soon, another three days silently passed by. Leo dragged the still-unconscious body of Skeleton #1 with a thin rope connecting them as the group advanced further, toward their destination... Entering deeper and deeper toward the endless forest. Surprisingly, after the short ident that happened in the past few days, the group didn''t and never mentioned a single thing about it. They merely asked about their well-being for some time and reminded him to be careful in the future before again continuing their journey. Although it was surprising yet at the same time scary, the group didn''t think too much about it since every single one of them probably had a hidden ability under them that they never showed in public. (in case...) nk... (What happened). Skeleton #1 quivered slightly as it stared at the canopy in silence, feeling dreaded and fearful as the time passed by... Confused about everything that happened, feeling that it died countless times but at the same time not. nk... (Didn''t, did I die?) Skeleton #1 created a low confused nking sound, instantly attracting the attention of the group... Causing them to momentarily halt their movement as they stared at the silver skeleton on the ground (behind Leo) in silence. Feeling a hint of sympathy within them even though they have no idea what really happened. However, since it took/endured the madness of Leo three days ago, then it probably suffered a lot... ... nk~ (N~no...) In an instant, seeing the pale face of Leo, Skeleton #1 couldn''t help but shriek loudly akin to a being being butchered alive, causing Leo to feel a slight hint of guilt toward it. Although Skeleton #1 is wrong this time, Leo probably overdid his punishment, causing it to instinctively feel fear after seeing him. Still... "There''s no next time, I hope you won''t plot and make mistakes in the future..." Leo said as he untied the rope on his waist, approaching Skeleton #1 before patting its head slowly. Seeing this, Skeleton #1 instinctively avoids the approaching hand of Leo in pure fear, still not forgetting the face of Leo when the Seed of Sin blooms within him. ... "This..." Seeing this, Leo awkwardly retracted his hand, smiling weakly before standing up. I probably overdid the Nightmare... Did he dream of me in his nightmare? If that is the case, then it makes sense. Leo shook his head as he moved toward the distance, letting Skeleton #2 help to calm down Skeleton #1. *** nk... (I... Sorry) Soon, after half an hour offorting, Skeleton #1 weakly approaches Leo, apologizing for what it did previously before hurriedly running toward the distance. Although it sincerely apologizes to him, Leo only notices the deep fear hidden in its eyes as it quivers slightly before it runs toward the distance to avoid him. ... Sigh... I didn''t know if what I did was correct or wrong. Life is... really confusing and full of mistakes, I thought everything I did makes sense... But I seem to overdid everything. I thought my life was set upon gaining a system... But, sigh... I just noticed that everything I did had consequences. "It''s really confusing." Leo shook his head as he stared above the fissure, contemting about the countless mistakes he had made in the past few weeks, feeling slightly lost. "Huff~ mistakes are mistakes and future is future... I should do my best to avoid creating the same mistakes in the future to avoid this ufortable feeling from happening again!" Leo eventually shook his head, nning to practice the thread skill to bury the distracting thought within him. ... Chapter 91: The Town Within the Endless Forest. Gulped... Leo gulped the red essence on his hand, showing a blissful expression on his face upon feeling thefortable warm energy sweeping through his muscles as they slightly temper it... strengthening it in the process akin to a warm massage. Ding! [ +2 Strength! ] Soon, after minutes of the blissful feeling, the energy slowly dissolves within him causing him to sigh in disappointment... Sigh. "Another 2 days to wait." Leo thought as he nced toward the group in the distance before looking at the practicing silver skeletons far away. Quite expectant and worried about something... It''s been almost a month since they entered this endless forest yet they still couldn''t see the corner of their destination. It''s probably that thend expand again! He assumed before silently mumbling, "However... We should be close to the town." *** "We were almost there! "We will be arriving at the town/vige in a couple of hours at the very least!" Crisanta excitedly eximed as she pointed at the tree with a huge "X" symbol written on it, finally sighing in relief upon seeing signs of human existence... Thinking that she could finally take afortable bath after a couple of months of transversing the wilderness! Feeling surprised, Leo approaches the tree due to curiosity as he sees small written words below the "X". "The Town of Hope?" Leo thought deeply... If it was from the past when the apocalypse hadn''t started yet, then Leo would think that it was a bit of cringe, however, but now... The one who writes this... Seems desperate and hopeful. Leo couldn''t help but sigh deeply, seemingly affected by the emotion hidden within the words. Knowing that they might not be far away from the town, Leo''s eyes almost redden as he remembered the time he spent in that dpidated ce alone. Waking alone, wandering alone, and scaring alone... Well, that''s not right, I still managed to make some rat friends in the past... Although they died coincidentally after talking with them for a while... Leo smiled weakly upon remembering those gold days as he followed the excited group in the front, slightly distracted. *** Soon, after another 3 hours of walking. The signs of human existence further increase as they advance further, causing Leo''s heart to beat faster in great anticipation. Soon, as he was pondering deep within, Leo suddenly noticed that the group, at one point, stopped on their track as they gazed toward the unknown... Due to them facing their back to him, Leo couldn''t see their expression. This... Feeling his heart beat faster, Leo increased his pace, instantly reaching their side. Immediately Leo stared in the direction they were looking... Only for him to also be dumbfounded after a second. Wait, This! Looking beyond, Leo''s mouth couldn''t help but gape widely, to the point that he could probably fit an egg inside. "Are you all calling this a town!?" F*ck, that is not a town but instead a f*cking kingdom or city! Leo cursed loudly within him as he stared at the horizon in great shock. Within his sight, Leo could only see towering walls! Walls made of pure stone, standing for about 5-6 meters with a considerate thickness enough for 3 people walking side-by-side above it, encircled arge span ofnd as it heavily protected what was inside! H*ck, although they were still far away, Leo could still see the towering and glistening building within the wall! Outside the wall, Leo could see arge number of farms and crops, enough to feed thousands of people! As the farmers walked within the field, doing their jobs as they used strange abilities for a while and then... Summoning clouds and rain, light and darkness... "This... Am I still on Earth?" Leo pinches Skeleton #1 beside him, causing thetter to cry in pain as it swats Leo''s hand away from it. nk! (Why me!) Itined in its usual voice as it continued staring at the towering wall in the distance in pure amazement. ... "This, I thought that I would only see this thing in fantasy novels or other worlds, but who would have thought that..." "Yehhey! We''re finally back! Roy let''s go, Let''s meet Mom and Dad! "They would be extremely happy after learning that you''re still alive!" As Leo was mumbling to himself (As usual), the voice of excited Kristine resounded beside her as she excitedly tagged the hand of Roy before dashing toward the towering wall in the distance. "Tsk, not even saying goodbye," Jake speak weakly. Although it was too weak, with the senses of the group, they still managed to hear it. "It''s fine, Miss and Mister Toress already give up hope within them upon not finding Roy after a couple of months... "They would probably cry in joy for countless nights after they learned that Roy was still alive." Saying this, the group couldn''t help but fall into deep silence, probably thinking about something as their eyes revealed longing and pity. After a minute of silence, feeling that the mood wasn''t right, Sebastian changed the topic with a slight smile. "Oh right, Leo isn''t familiar with the town, it''s best if we introduce him to the mayor!" "Wait, mayor?" Hearing Sebastian, Leo revealed confusion on his face as he again asked them. Although it seems to make sense, wouldn''t it be better to just register as a normal citizen without meeting the mayor? "Yes, are you surprised?" "Well, yes..." "I see, I mean it''s not that exaggerated if we point out that you have a ss job that leans on creating potions," Sebastian said before further exining. "If I remember correctly, there were only like 5-6 potion or alchemist masters in the town when we left. With more than tens of thousands of residents in the town, we alwaysck potions and pills! So you, joining the town is worth celebrating!" Sebastian exined as his eyes shone slightly. With the contribution they make just by inviting Leo to join them... It''s at least enough to get some rare materials, pills, and skills! Making him much closer to the Core Formation Realm! Not to mention the connection they created in the past months! ... Chapter 92: I Choose This! (1) (If you hate chapters without fighting and full of dialogue it''s rmended to skip this chapter (^-^ ). ) ... Approaching the town, Leo stared at everything with relish, feeling everything was a new and novel experience for him... Soon, the group stopped as they arrived at a seemingly heavy 3-meter-tall silver gate, connected to the towering wall. As Leo was mesmerized by the grandiosity of the gate, one of the guards holding a 2-meter trident slowly walked toward them... Slightly further away, behind the guard, a youngdy wearing silver sses silently tailed. "Rnd you''re finally back!? It''s been a while since Ist saw you... I thought you already died out there." The guard casually jokes. "Indeed, you should treat meter," Rnd replied with bitter smile, remembering that he really almost died in the past few weeks. "Ehh, this... Your level..." Feeling that something was amiss, the guard revealed a shocked expression on his face as he silently scanned Rnd up and down. Couldn''t believe that Rnd advanced from thete foundation stage into the Core Formation realm within 3 months! "Indeed, I advance toward the Core Formation realm by pure luck!" "Then, you probably encountered something good out there, you should treat me with 1 bottle of Foundation pillster!" Hearing this, the guard revealed a hint of envy before quickly coughing out loud upon noticing the unfamiliar face behind Rnd. Although there were tens of thousands of residents in the town, to the point that he couldn''t remember everyone he met... Just the wandering eyes of Leo as he stared around everything as if he juste out from the outside of civilization... The guard could already guess that Leo was probably a survivor out there. "This is?" He asks, quickly changing his voice into deep as he exchanges nces toward the youngdy behind her. "Ehh, oh right, this is Leo... A Potion Master We luckily met him along with the brother of Kristine!" This... "I see, then you should register here before entering..." Hearing this, the guard secretly gave Rnd a thumbs-up, before listing the entry of the group toward the town. Without further ado, the group immediately entered the town. ... nk... (Wow...) Upon entering, Leo, the white rabbit, and the two silver skeletons instantly halted as they marveled at everything they saw with glittering eyes. The tall buildings made of pure stone, the countless shops close to the entrance, the road made of clean te... And the loud sound of civilization! The civilization was full of energy! "Sob, we finally arrive~" Leo, the two silver skeletons (Even though they have no idea why), and the white rabbit hug each other and then cry... (The white rabbit only cries due to the smell of the herbs in the shop near it... Feeling that it arrive in heaven!) "I don''t want to destroy your tears of happiness but people start looking at us." "Who cares! Let us cry for a while!" Leo replied with a loud voice, feeling that the horror points were slightly waving toward him! Huhuhu (T-T ), my horror points finally could increase... Looking at the energetic people around him, Leo''s corrupted heart couldn''t help but beat faster. (Well, It''s just the thought of the Mc, He might not do it.) *** Soon after an hour of walking... The group silently arrives at the seemingly ordinary wooden hut, causing Leo to feel strange as he stares at the towering building made of stone in the surroundings and the lonely wooden hut in the front... Knock, knock... Rnd, seemingly not bothered about the strangeness of the hut, immediately advanced before weakly knocking on the wooden door of the small wooden hut. "This... I thought we were going to the mayor?" Leo couldn''t help but voice out upon seeing the small wooden house in the front, not thinking that this was the mayor''s house. "Yeah, this is the house of the mayor..." Jake replied, however, before he could exin further, the door in front of them created a creaking sound before opening fully. Creak... ... At the entrance of the door, an old man wearing a familiar bronze monocle appeared, staring at the group quietly as he squinted his eyes... "Hmm, Sebastian you finally decided toe back? I thought you died out there..." The Old man speaks with a hint of anger in his voice as he stares at Sebastian that was secretly hiding behind Rnd. However, upon feeling the subconsciously aura released by Rnd (normal to newly advanced cultivator) the old man''s expression slightly softens but still gives a stern stare at Sebastian. "Hmm, not bad, Rnd advanced by realm but my idiot grandson didn''t... And this is?" The Old man speaks before inviting the group inside. Seeing this, Leo hesitated. With how little the wooden hut was, the house probably couldn''t contain them all. "Don''t worry, just enter," Seeing the hesitation in Leo''s eyes, Jake shows a look of understanding as he enters the door without hesitation. Sigh... Nevermind. Taking a deep breath, Leo entered the house bringing the two skeletons and the rabbit with him. ... "This, what kind of sorcery is this!?" Opening his eyes widely, Leo couldn''t help but exim in surprise, looking at the unending in in pure dumbfounded. Everywhere he looked, Leo could only see green vibrant grasses and therge expanse of unending space. In the short distance, Leo could even see some Ungraded and Grade 1 nts casually nted on the ground, while further away, Leo seemed to see a small mountain... "Hmm, this is my folded space, myplete domain." The Old man caressed his beard upon hearing Leo exim, feeling slightly happy upon seeing the shock on the child''s face. "Domain?" Didn''t I have one? Leo finally calmed down upon hearing the Old man, never expecting that this was the product of one''s domain. Thinking of one of his skills, Leo couldn''t help but be expectant. Wondering if his iplete domain would also look like this. Sck! As Leo was deep in thought, a sudden loud sound echoed from the front, causing him to be puzzled as he tilted his head upward. In an instant, Leo saw Sebastian being tossed by the old man toward the sky, making Sebastian cry in fright before vanishing in the group''s vision. "Cough, sorry about that. "A child like that really needs to be punished after they make their parents worried countless times." Seeing this, the group only nodded their head in understanding before following the old man toward the distance... ... Chapter 93: I Choose This! (2) ( If you hate chapters with pure dialogue andck exciting parts, please skip this chapter (^-^ ) ... "Hmm, so you''re saying that you have a ss job that leans on Potion and Puppetry... Although Potion Master is extremely rare, I still know their capability and skills, however, this is my first time hearing a ss job that creates Puppet." The Old man paused for a while as he unhurriedly took a sip from his tea, silently looking at Leo''s face before continuing. "Can I see some of your products?" "Yes, no problem, but I only have potion essence on me. I still haven''t started creating process potions and puppets." Leo sighed, dispelling the pressure he was feeling within. Although the old man seems normal, Leo''s soul and instincts are sending a great warning to him... Not to do something bad/malicious. Taking a bottle of essence from his inventory, Leo carefully gave it to the old man before exining its function in great detail, pointing out its advantages and disadvantages without hiding a thing. ... "Ohh, this is actually surprising! I didn''t expect that you already surpassed some of those old bones and arrogant brats from the potion and pill towers. More than 70% of purities..." "Are you telling me that you still haven''t created a process potion?" Examining the liquified essence on the bottle in his hand, the old man couldn''t help but reveal a slight anger upon seeing how Leo put the essence on this dirty bottle. If he just put it in a clean bottle like the jade bottle, then its purity might increase by at least 1%! "Eh, I... don''t have time to create potions in the wilderness, besides that I alsock materials and items to create potions..." "Hmm, never mind, you could go to the Potion and Pill towerster to get your desired items... Besides that, I will also offer free materials and a house for you... What do you think?" Caressing his white beard, the old man smiled, casually offering Leo benefits. "This... Do I have to do anything?" Hearing this, instead of being happy, Leo instead asks seriously, quite wary as he stares at the Oldman in front. "Hmm, nothing else, you just have to create at least 100 potions and sell them to the Potion and Pill towers monthly... As for the earnings, it would go all to you!" Hearing this, Leo didn''t hurriedly reply as he pondered deeply, feeling quite suspicious within since all of this seemed extremely good. Find your next adventure on m_v l|e-NovelBin Seeing this, the Old man smiles slightly before exining, "There''s no need to feel suspicious, It''s just that the number of potions and pills are always short in stuck." "I see, then I ept..." "Good, now, the thing you need the most should be basic knowledge and residence right?" Thinking slightly, the old man unhurriedly stood up before taking a stack of paper from the void, causing Leo to feel surprised and curious as the old man gave it to Leo. "See if any of those houses suit your preferences." Hearing this, without further ado, Leo immediately looked at the list on the paper. There, Leo saw theplete description of all the houses avable... From the sizes and locations, and even things that he couldn''t understand like the array formation presented on every house and other unfamiliar functions. ... "This, I think this one suits me better!" Soon, after minutes of pondering, Leo pointed at one at the bottom of the choices, causing the Old man and the group to look at him strangely... "Eh, are you sure that... you want this one?" Rosa behind him couldn''t help but awkwardly ask in confirmation upon seeing the house and location Leo chose. "Yes, I think it''s perfect! It''s both peaceful and away from the distraction of civilization! Not to mention that it''s the perfect ce for the two silver skeletons!" Leo nodded his head heavily as his eyes revealed an eerie light within. Feeling that the horror points woulde naturally to him if he chose this ce. Not to mention horror points, but just staying there alone, Leo''s strangeness and creepiness would instantly increase to the highest degrees! "I see, but I will inform you that it''s outside the wall. Not only that, but it''s also far away from it! In addition to that, beasts also asionally entered that ce, so staying there is quite dangerous!" Pausing for a while as he stared at Leo seriously, the old man again continued. "Now, you still want that ce?" *** Exiting the wooden house behind him, Leo couldn''t help but take a long deep breath, dispersing the intense pressure within his mind. Slightly trembling upon seeing/feeling the annoyed stare of the Old man behind. "Sigh, I really didn''t expect you to choose that ce, I just hope that you don''t extract the essence of the corpses in that ce or make them into puppets!" Jake shivered slightly at the thought of it, feeling that Leo chose the graveyard/cemetery for that reason. Creating essence with the corpse of a human, after that make them into puppets... Rosa also thought, instinctively moving away from Leo. Since Leo uses and often extracts the essence of the zombies, then using the corpses of humans seems not that exaggerated. Of course, they were just joking within them... However, if it''s Leo... We should watch Leo and prevent him from falling deep into the abyss! ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon scaring someone! +500 horror points! ] Hmm, Wierd, what is happening within their mind? Leo couldn''t help but think as he nced at Jake and Rosa who instinctively moved away from him. Feeling that they were thinking something inappropriate on his back. However, without any proof, Leo could only shrug his shoulder in helplessness as he closely followed Rnd in the front... Quickly moving toward the huge tower in the distance. As they were moving forward, Leo''s eyes often wandered around as he could see things entirely new to him. In particr, one of the shops caught his attention... ... Chapter 94: This Cemetery is Bad (1). This... Potions? Leo thought as he curiously moved toward the shop, forgetting to inform the group as he was too curious about the process potions. Looking beyond, Leo couldn''t see anyone nor the seller of the shop... Aren''t they afraid that someone would steal this thing/potion? Squinting his eyes, Leo silently cast a soul scan toward it, quite curious about how special the process potion was. Ding! [ Healing Potion ( Ungraded - High) (65% purity): A normal potion that greatly increases one''s recovery, it could also heal disease (Common Disease) such as headache, loss of blood, etc... Note 1: You could drink it safely! Note 2: Consuming it would increase one''s recovery by 250% for a quarter of an hour! Note 3: Permanently Increase health recovery by 1% (Maximum 3%). Note 4: It can only be consumed once a day! ] This... "This is actually not bad, it could at least bepared to the Forest Centepide''s health recovery for a while!" ng! ng! As Leo was intently staring at the potions in the shop, the door beyond the shop opened causing the metal dream catcher above the door to create sounds. "This, how can I help you?" A young woman wearing a strange ck robe appeared. On her hands were the familiar Healing potions that Leo saw in the shop. "This... I want to ask how much is this healing potion?" Leo asks as he points toward the red bottle... Wait, f*ck, I don''t have money nor any idea what kind of currency they use! Leo panics inside upon realizing his mistakes, trying to find the figure of the group in the distance but only for him to be extra lost... "Damn, how idiotic of me! How could I find them in thisrge ce? They probably didn''t notice me... How careless." Sigh, is this the feeling of those children who identally separated from their parents inrge crowds? As Leo was secretly panicking inside, the voice of the young woman in front of him suddenly entered his senses. "This ungraded healing bottle costs 10 earth gold, while the other Potions range from 15 earth gold to 100 earth gold." "How about it sir? If you don''t have too much I can at least lower the price by 10%." The young woman smiles as she arranges the bottle in the shops, waiting for Leo to reply patiently. "This... I don''t have money." After minutes of silence, Leo finally mustered his courage as he spoke embarrassingly. Seeing this, the young woman still retains her smile, hiding the frown within her before again speaking. "Then what about this... How about trading?" "This, then alright." Leo couldn''t help but sigh in relief upon hearing the seller opposite him before taking out one of the essence bottles in his Inventory. Smiling slightly, Leo carefully gave the bottle to the woman. "This... Sir, do you think that I''m a fool!?" Seeing the dirty bottle in Leo''s hand (Due to them overusing the bottle in the wilderness since they couldn''t find any other bottles there, the bottle appeared battered, dirty, and old ) the young woman''s face couldn''t retain her calm anymore as she angrily stared at Leo''s face. Does he really think that I''m an idiot? How could this dirty old bottle be traded for 10-earth gold!? She thought as she crossed her arms... "This... Miss, I think you misunderstood, the liquid inside is the essence of the Fire Boar." "Fire Boar, are you an idiot! Who would put an essence of Fire Boar in this dirtied bottle!?" Hearing Leo''s reasoning, the young woman almost spit fire from her mouth, not believing the scammer in front of her for a bit. "Ehh, Me..." Leo speaks weakly due to embarrassment, only noticing now how really unconvincing the bottle is. ... "Hmmpp..." The young woman harrums as she casually uses her scan toward the bottle. If she sees that it is just some random liquid that you could get anywhere, she would immediately call a guard to arrest this scammer in front of her to prevent others from being his victim... This... Ding! [ Fire Boar Essence ( Grade 1 - Elite) (71% purity): An essence that could increase one''s attribute stats upon consumption! It could also be used for creating fire element potions such as fire-resistant potions, etc, etc... Note 1: You could drink it safely! Discover hidden tales at m,v l''e-NovelBin Note 2: Upon consuming, permanently Increase strength by 2! Note 3: It can only be consumed once per 3 days! ] This... this is my first time seeing this! The woman eximed within her mind as she read the description of the bottle in her hand from time to time. After pondering for a while, she finally calmed down, taking a deep breath before looking at Leo''s eyes straight. "Are you telling me that you made this?" "Yes, why?" "Hmm, nothing, this one cost at least 20 earth gold on market price. Although this seems godly in normal people''s eyes, the disadvantage of this potion is extremely severe. "If people rely too much on this kind of Potion, their bodies would slowly umte impurities causing their advancement in the future to be cut off." This... This time, it''s Leo''s turn to be dumbfounded, clearly only hearing the secret disadvantage of his potion for the first time. Although he has arge amount of knowledge regarding potions inside his head, it''s still not to the point where he could be regarded as all-knowing regarding potions. "Well, but it could still be consumed once per two weeks to be extremely safe... Besides that, this could be also used as materials in some potions. "How about it, if you have more beasts essence on you, I could buy it for 30 earth gold per bottle?" ... "I..." "Leo, where did you just go? We almost went to the guard to post some missing person... Did you know how worried the two silver skeletons were after noticing that you suddenly vanished into thin air?" As Leo was about to ept the offer, the sound of Jake from the distance suddenly caught his attention, causing him to pause as he looked at them with an apologizing smile. ... Chapter 95: This Cemetery is Bad. (2) "Let''s go, we still need to get the materials and items from the tower before going to your house." "This, okay." Nodding his head, Leo immediately exchanged the essence of the Fire Boar with the Healing potion of the seller. Not giving the seller a chance to speak since Jake immediately dragged him toward the distance. "Wait, your 10 earth gold!" The young woman shouted, however since the ce was crowded and full of boisterous sounds, the voice of the young woman didn''t manage to reach the retreating silhouettes of the buyer, causing her to feel slightly lost... Lost in a sense of possible business. "A pity, I didn''t manage to create a connection... Sigh, I just miss the chance of getting more money." Right! Since he was the one who created this essence, then there''s a chance that he was a new recruit of the town! I could still meet him in the tower! The disappointed eyes of the seller lit up again as she held the dirty bottle in her hand, on her face, a cunning smile silently crept up. ... "This is the Potion and Pill tower?" Leo mumbled as he stared at the 5-story tall building made of pure white unknown stone in surprise. Amazingly, when the light hit the stone, it would instantly reflect it, causing Leo''s eyes to instinctively close. How inconvenient... He thought before looking at people entering the building. Following the group to the reception area, Rnd immediately presented the token given to them by the Old man, making the expression of the receptionist change. "This... How can I help you?" The receptionist politely asks, not forgetting to take a couple of nces toward the group to prevent mistakes from happening in the future. "Can you give him every single item used in concocting potions? Elite items would suffice. Continue reading on m|v-l''e -NovelBin "Besides that, also give him materials, a book, and some potion form that range from ungraded to grade 1," Rnd said directly, clearly not wanting to stay much longer in this ce. "Got it! Please wait for a moment." The receptionist replied politely, knowing that the people she met seemed to have status, she immediately rushed toward the inventory without wasting time. ... While waiting, Leo''s eyes began to wander around in pure amazement. Sniffing the air slightly Leo could already smell the fragrance of herbs and materials in the whole building, making him unconsciously smile as he felt that the advancement of his ss job was within his reach. On his arm was the little white rabbit, sniffing its pink nose in the surrounding area as it tried to escape from Leo''s grasp from time to time. Unfortunately, Leo wouldn''t allow such a thing to happen to avoid causing trouble. "How about it? This ce is amazing right?" "Yes, it''s not bad," Leo unconsciously replied as he stared at the approaching old man exiting one of the doors within the building. The old man upon hearing this, smiled slightly as he continued the thing he was doing. Soon, after another quarter an hour of waiting, the rush sound of footsteps echoed inside the building, as the familiar receptionist moved with speed. Her face was slightly covered with sweat and her hair was slightly messy from rushing. Smiling brightly, the woman took a deep breath before saying. "Sorry for the wait, It took time to arrange everything. Huff~ please follow me..." The woman smiled as she led the way toward one of the rooms. Upon entering, Leo immediately saw items used for concocting potions on the ground, releasing a fragrance of brand-new as Leo silently cast his soul scan toward one. Ding! [ Cauldron (Elite) - An item that could withstand high-intensity fire, it could also help to further cleanse the purities of natural treasure on the potions! Effect 1: Could withstand up to 500 degrees Celsius! Effect 2: Decrease the difficulty and chaos happening when you mix materials! Effect 3: Slightly increase the purity of potions made by this cauldron! Note: An item created by advance grade 1 forger! It''s one of the best-grade ones out there! ] "This is not bad!" Leo eximed, showing a bright smile upon gaining elite items for free. Without further ado, he immediately put the items inside his inventory one by one, not caring about the twitching eyes of the receptionist and the group. Soon after putting all the items inside his inventory, Leo patted his arms in satisfaction, feeling that it was the right choice to choose that ss job. "Now that you are done, we should immediately go to your residence so you can already start to settle down." Rosa slightly massaged her temple, quite impatient to take a bath. Although she could just leave them here and go to her home, In able to further deepen their connection to Leo, she and the group decided to help him for a while... Hmm... Nodding his head, feeling that he already troubled the group enough, Leo thanked the receptionist before following the group toward the graveyard outside the towering wall. After walking for about 3 hours, Leo began to notice that the houses they passed by began to diminish as the weeds on the road began to increase... until he was finally unable to see the road due to lush grass covering the road. Soon, after another half an hour of walking, the group finally saw their destination... The rusty metal gate covered with dark green vines greeted their eyes, followed by old bricks full of cracks, creating a weak wall that could probably copse if someone touched it with force. In the surrounding environment, countless lush grass that easily reached meters... almost covered everything, a testament that no one visited this ce for a while. This... Further away, gray old stones (niches) formed a symmetrical formation, creating and adding a creepy ambiance to the ce. "This... do you really n to stay in this forbidden ce~~alone," Rosa asks in a slightly trembling voice. Although she already gained abilities above normal being, she still couldn''t help but feel spooked upon thinking of staying in this ce... Alone. "This... This ce is perfect!" On the contrary, upon seeing this ce, Leo revealed a bright smile. Understanding that this cemetery is probably a ruin of the past civilization. The atmosphere here feels and full of energy! ... Chapter 96: This Cemetery is Bad. (3) After staying for another 1 hour, the group immediately left, leaving Leo alone in the depressed cemetery... Although they still tried to convince Leo to choose another ce to stay... However, after seeing Leo''s determined and shining eyes as he stared at the cemetery as if he were in love, the group could only leave reluctantly. Sigh... "We are alone again," Leo heaved a deep sigh as he watched the silhouettes of the retreating group in the distance, patting the head of Skeleton #1 & #2 in slightly lost expression. "Let''s go, we still need to slightly tidy the cemetery, the scarier it was the better!" Seeing that the silhouettes of the group vanish within his sight, Leo''s slightly sad expression instantly vanishes into thin air before being reced by a wide smile. Taking three shovels from his inventory, Leo gave the two to the silver skeletons before pointing toward the soft ground. "This is your job for the afternoon, as for me, I would tidy the house in the center of the Cemetery!" ... The size of the cemetery outside the town is not that big nor small, it could be considered average, only reaching the diameter of 1.5 miles, the normal size of a cemetery on Earth before the apocalypse arrive. Taking long strides within the niches inside the cemetery, Leo soon arrived at the seemingly old house... This is worse than those dpidated buildings I passed by months ago... Leo silently thought as he stared at the 2 story-tall wooden ck house in front of him with a weak smile on his face. Even from afar, Leo could already feel the moistureing from the old dark woods used to create this house... Above... countless gray old cobwebs covered the ceiling as the open window above created a slight jarring sound due to the wind pushing... The dark curtain within silently dances with the wind... Creak, creak... Retracting his gaze from the window, Leo began to move forward, weakly steeping toward the wooden stair outside the wooden house as it created an annoying creaking sound. As if it would copse anytime soon... ... Crrreeeaaaakkk. The loud creaking sound echoed within the serene cemetery as Leo carefully pried the wooden door open... In an instant, thick clouds of dust greeted his face, causing him to inhale arge amount of it as he immediately released an intense coughing sound. Cough, cough... F*ck, cough... Panning his hands to disperse the dust in the atmosphere, Leo, with much difficulty, opened his eyes after a while as he stared at the interior of the house with reddened eyes. At first, the dust that umted throughout the house entered his senses, followed by run-down (old) objects and furniture all scattered around the floor. Further away, on the sofa, Leo saw an old skeleton lifelessly slumping toward it. "Yes, clearly no one cleaned this house for a while..." As he was about toin to the management of the town since no one even visited (cleaned) this ce for a long time, Leo suddenly paused upon noticing that something was wrong with the thing he saw earlier. Again carefully scanning the interior of the house... Leo''s eyes instantly widened as he stared at the sofa in the distance. "Fu~F*ck, there''s a corpse here!" He horrifiedly eximed upon finally noticing it... ... Soon, after finally calming down, Leo took out a long branch from his inventory. (Don''t ask me why, my imagination tells me to add a branch in this scene.) Creak, creakk... Slowly approaching the corpse/skeleton on the sofa, Leo slightly pokes it with the branches in his hand. His feet were tense as he was ready to dash out if the corpse suddenly jumped or dashed toward him. Cmon... Soon, after 3 minutes of poking, finally believing that the skeleton was really dead, Leo finally calmed down. Sigh, the world probably has long forgotten you... Leo thought as he put the branch inside his inventory, approaching the skeleton before taking it outside... Carrying it in a princess manner, Leo began to dig the ground beside the wooden house, burying it there after another hour as he made a simple epitaph "Unknown Skeleton" written on it. Patting his hands to remove the soil that stuck on his hands, Leo again entered the house... Finally starting to clean it. ... "Huff~ Finally!" Leo heaved a sigh of exhaustion upon finally slightly cleaning the house. Although it was still far away from being cleaned, all of the dust within the house was already swept away. Find more chapters on m_v l|e-NovelBin In addition to that, he also already neatened and threw away furniture and objects that he couldn''t use or had already broken by the passage of time. Growll (Sound ofining stomach.) "I should fill my stomach first before continuing..." Looking above, Leo could already see the orange light grazing toward the canopy, threatening to set down toward the west, nning to rest for a good hours before again rising. It''s worth mentioning that, even with therge fissure above, although no one could see the sun at its peak, people could still see its body in the early morning and noon before it set... ... Visiting the skeletons where he left them earlier, Leo saw them practicing their swords as they battled/paced with each other... Fighting above the human eternal resting ce as they carefully avoid damaging it. (Practicing the control of their strength) In the distance, beside the two pits/holes enough and perfect for a human being to be buried alive, the white rabbit could be seen nibbling an unknown fruit happily. "Stop, it''s time to rest..." Leo spoke with a loud voice, causing the two silver skeletons to halt in their tracks. Taking beast meat on his inventory, Leo summoned a fire on his palm before creating a small bonfire enough to disperse the cold temperature in the surroundings, before finally start roasting the meat with a watering mouth... *** "Huff~ are you sure that no one was living here?" Chapter 97: Hes not human (1)! Bush and grass rustle in the middle of the night, as the nd light of moonlight illuminated the canopy above. On the other side of the cemetery, two silhouettes of humans rushingly and panicly exited the forest beyond... As if they were escaping from something... Bloodied or to be exact covered in light injuries, the two humans'' pale faces scanned their back warily, afraid that the thing they escaped to managed to tail them. "Huff~ Thankfully." Soon, after 5 minutes of constantly being in a state of tension, the two humans heave a sigh of relief, noticing that the beasts didn''t chase them further. Huff. Sitting down on the ground in exhaustion, the two men catch their breath as they scan the surrounding environment instinctively. "This... Cemetery?" One of the men grasps his wounded shoulder as he stares at the tomb meters away from him solemnly. Couldn''t remember this ce a bit from his memory. "We probably got lost or unconsciously changed our direction when the beast chased us earlier." The other man said, taking a water bottle from his inventory before gulping it down unbothered... ... This is strange. The strange smell of the grave in addition to the cold temperature brought by the night lingered through the atmosphere as it silently wafted toward their senses, causing them to feel ufortable. Moreover, with the darkness shrouding the entire ce, they couldn''t help but feel extra strange. Although they have abilities and senses above normal humans, they still couldn''tpletely pry nor see through the darkness... Only allowing them to clearly see 5 meters away from them. "This ce feels off, we should try to find humans and ask for the direction of the town!" The man, after finishing the bottle of water, immediately stood up as he nned to advance deep into the cemetery in hopes of finding a human. Not giving the other man a chance toin, the man moved forward, above the niches... Unbothered to respect the dead. ... "Gulped... That was amazing!" Leo patted his belly in satisfaction. Looking at the silver skeleton dancing/ying around the fire strangely before looking at the white rabbit in the distance... Eh, where did it go? Leo scanned the surroundings upon not finding the figure of the white rabbit... shrugging his shoulder helplessly, Leo could only stare at the dancing skeletons as he pondered deeply. "Hmm, I should increase the mystery and strangeness of this cemetery to give people an ufortable feeling, however, to do that..." Leo pondered before activating his mist of illusion skill, weakening/restricting its level to level 3 as he manipted it to cover the surrounding environment. The gray fog instantly covered the cemetery, adding a hint of cold energy within. In addition to that, it also restricts one''s vision. If people look from afar, they would instinctively sense the strangeness, as if something malicious was hidden beyond and within the ce. ... As the two humans were advancing within the cemetery, unhurriedly and warily. They began to notice the gray fog began to thicken within their vision. Causing their heart to beat at a slightly faster rate, increasing the tension inside their consciousness as their body instinctively be cautious. Although it was strange they didn''t question each other, thinking it was normal... Crack... Boom! As they were moving forward, beneath their feet, the concrete suddenly issued a loud crisp sound before copsing, causing the man grasping his wounded shoulder to fall below the pit. Due to the fog, exhaustion, and tension he was experiencing the man didn''t notice that he stepped on one of the graves... Bang! Cough, cough... He issued a loud coughing sound as he opened his eyes wide awake. The pit wasn''t that big nor small, in fact, it was a perfect size for him... If he justy down peacefully... Below him, the wounded man saw the skeleton figure of the unknown human, it still retained some of its hair while some of its decaying flesh still stuck to its bone... Causing its disgusting smell to waft on his nose. Under his knees, the man felt that something was wriggling violently. Tickling the man in a strange way... Gulp... Gazing below, the man couldn''t help but feel chills within him upon seeing countless white maggots wriggling lively within the flesh, some of it sticking to his body while some wriggling toward his wounds. F*ck! AHHHHH!!! ... The loud sound of horrified cries with a mix of angry shouts reverberates within the serene cemetery... Breaking the silence in thend of death. "Who is that?" Surprised, Leo looked at where the sound originated, not expecting that there would be people in this cemetery at this time. Ding! [ Congrattions upon scaring someone within your territory for the first time! +5,000 horror points! +4 free attribute points! ] +2,500 horror points! (From scaring) ... Not even ncing at the notification that suddenly appeared in the corner of his eyes, Leo immediately rushed toward the origin of the sound. Behind him, the two silver skeletons curiously tagged along... ... "What happened!?" The man above the pit worriedly asks upon hearing the loud horrified shout below... ncing below the man couldn''t help but feel anxious. Unknowingly, the gray fog filled the pit, causing him to only see the silhouette of his friend... Not moving a bit... As if he lost his consciousness. F*ck! The man above cursed under his breath. Firming his heart, he carefully moved toward the pit as he nned to check the condition of his friend. Crack, thud! The sound of a cracking bone entered his senses as he identally stepped on the skeleton below. Under his weight, some of the wriggling maggots became paste of meat, causing the smell in the atmosphere to be much more unbearable... "Cough, what the h*ck!" He covered his nose as he tried to wake his wounded friend. Unfortunately, probably due to his injuries, even after shaking his body violently he still didn''t wake up. "F*ck this luck! This day is really unlucky for us!" He cursed as he carried the unconscious body of his friend on his back. Looking above, bending his knees as he nned to jump up... When suddenly the man paused in his tracks as his eyes constricted greatly upon seeing the thing above the pit... Staring at their figure calmly as its body was covered with fog... ... Chapter 98: Hes not human! (2) Explore more stories with m,v l''e-NovelBin The wind whistled as it swayed the grass and leaves around, causing the surroundings to be much more colder. However, even if the temperature of the ce entered a freezing point, the back of the man still produced sweats as he stared above the pit with constricted fearful eyes. A fog of silhouette stared at him silently with those gray lifeless eyes, as if those eyes could directly pry toward his/their soul. Even with the breeze of the wind, the fog around the figure never dissipates... nk... nk. As the man''s eyes remained nk, staring above while feeling horrified within, a sound of nking sound broke the silence. Quickly traveling in the silent cemetery before drilling to the man''s horrified consciousness. Above the pit, the pure darkness, full of corruption and horror, stared at the man yfully... nking their lower jaw akin to a yfulugh as the darkness within their sockets dances through the night. N~no... Staring at it, he could feel the unprecedented horror bloom within him... As if he could feel the death waving toward him. "G~Ghost!" With ast stroke of sanity, the man shouted fearfully as his eyes finally rolled on the back of his head, falling toward the broken coffin unconsciously. Thud! Ding! [ Congrattions upon scaring sessfully! +2,500 horror points! ] ... This... "What did you two do!?" Leo, upon hearing the horrified shout of the man after seeing the two silver skeletons beside him, immediately stared at them as he scolded them angrily. "Good! We just arrived in this ce yet we almost scared humans to death!" Leo angrilyughed as he flicked his finger toward the skull of the two skeletons, causing them to hold their skull in pain, feeling wronged since they didn''t do anything. "Go! Get the two out of the pit carefully, then try to fill the pit with soil! "Sigh, what a headache..." Leo massages his brows before deactivating his "Mist of Illusion" skill upon realizing that it is still activated. Soon, after carefullyying the two men beside the pit, Leo immediately summoned his Divine fire of life, quickly dispelling the humid and cold atmosphere before healing the injured bodies of the two. As he was healing them, Leo didn''t forget to scan them with his "Soul Scan." ... Ding! [ Jerome (Human)- Foundation Level 2 ] ss Job: (Earth Master (Elite)) ___Attributes___ Health: 53/125 Qi Storage: 21/120 Stamina: 10/80 Strength: 80 Speed: 45 Qi Power: 65 Skills: Earth Maniption (Rare), Earth bullet (Umon), (??!?!) ] Ding! [ Carlos (Human)- Foundation Level 4 ] ss Job: ( Martial Saint (Elite - Growable)) Physique: ??? ___Attributes___ Health: 62/150 Qi Storage: 5/180 Stamina: 21/125 Strength: 125 Speed: 60 Qi Power: 75 Skills: Martial Body (???), Inner Strength (Rare), Martial Genius (??!?!) ] ... Where did these twoe from? Leo thought as he stared at their closing injuries, pondering whether to drag their bodies toward the town or not. However, remembering that it took him 3 hours to travel from the town to the cemetery in addition that it was already nighttime, Leo could only give up... "Sigh, this is quite troublesome." ... "Alright! Help me to carry their bodies toward the house." After 10 minutes of healing, Leo ordered the skeletons to carry one of the unconscious men, while he carried the other one on him as he moved toward the house. In the middle of the night, the figures of the group carrying humans that appeared lifeless toward the center of the cemetery were seen by the white rabbit... Nibbling the dark fruit on its paws, watching everything unfold in the distance with interest. Nibble, nibble... ... "Huff~" Leo heaved a heavy sigh of relief as heid the bodies toward the room on the 2nd floor of the wooden house, causing the old bed to creak intensely due to their weight and the oldness of the wooden bed. Crereakk... Closing the door behind him, Leo carefully moved toward the first floor, where the ufortable sofa was as he slumped toward it tiredly. Closing his eyes, Leo began to rest his exhausted mind, nning to rest normally tonight (not cultivating) since he still had a lot of jobs to do tomorrow. "I remembered that I still needed to find a ce where I could concoct potions, this house wouldn''t do since itck space..." He thought before finally falling asleep without him noticing... *** Creakkk... The wooden floor created an annoying creaking sound as the white rabbit carefully and warily stepped inside the house through the window. Sniffing its pink nose, it began to move within the shadow as it transverse within the house... Before finally arriving at a seemingly ordinary door hidden within one''s normal sight. Squeak! It squeaked excitedly before entering with fast and careful strides... Attracted toward the things hidden within. *** Soon, in an instant, the night silently passed by... As the sun on the horizon began to illuminate the humid cemetery... "This... Where am I?" Upon waking up from the unfamiliar environment, the man (who lost consciousness first) stared at the unfamiliar ceiling in lost, remembering all the things that transpired yesterday. Everything seems surreal and unimaginable in his mind... "I probably fell asleep yesterday without me noticing... And everything that happened is all just a dream/nightmare." Right, that should be the case! He firmly believed as he tilted his head to the side... Seeing that his friend seems fine without a hint of injuries on his body, the man releases a sigh of relief before carefully standing up. Creakk... This! Frightened by the sudden sound, the man quickly sprung to his feet as he scanned the surroundings in panic... Only to see nothing... Only to see the old pieces of furniture neatly ced in the corner table of the room. Other than the table full of furniture and the wooden bed in the other corner, the man couldn''t see anything inside the room. "Huff~ did I just scare myself?" He thought as he stared at the old wooden floor beneath his feet, slightly feeling afraid as the image and scene within his nightmare appeared inside his mind. Creakk... "Ohh, you''re finally awake?" AHHH! ... Chapter 99: Creating Process Potion! (1) Ding! +500 horror points! Ehh? Leo stared strangely at the frightened pale face of the man on the floor, confused about how they easily frightened... "Are you okay?" Breaking the silence between them as he scratched the back of his head, Leo asked worriedly, thinking if this man''s head suffered from falling yesterday. "Huff~ Yes, and... you are?" The man upon seeing that it was a human being, immediately heaved a sigh of relief... Before his face turned slightly red after a while, feeling embarrassed due to his action earlier. "Leo, the current owner of this ce... and you are?" "Jerome and the one on the bed is Carlos." The man said as he smiled weakly. ... Soon, probably due to the earlier outburst of the man, the other unconscious man also woke up, holding his head in slight pain as the event yesterday kept reying inside his mind... Causing him to shiver weakly from fright as he immediately scanned the environment suspiciously, only for him to heave a sigh of relief upon seeing his friend fine without a hint of wounds over his body as he was talking to a stranger. Wait, this... As he was about to retract his gaze, the man''s eyes instantly revealed a deep sense of fear as he saw the stranger''s gray nd eyes, remembering the figure yesterday... Covered in thick fog within the darkness as it stared at them emotionless. "You two should be hungry, It''s perfect since I''m currently roasting meat," Leo said before excusing himself upon seeing the afraid expression of the man in the bed, not wanting to further disturb the two. *** "Your wound still notpletely healed?" Seeing that the expression of Carlos seems off. Jerome couldn''t help but ask worriedly, remembering that Carlos seemed to suffer more injuries yesterdaypared to him. "Who is that?" The man didn''t reply, instead, he asked him about the stranger earlier. "This... he said he was Leo, the current owner of this ce," Jerome repeated what Leo said earlier, also quite confused and suspicious... However, he didn''t think too much about it since his stomach just issued a hungry growl. Growl... "Let''s go, I remembered that we still hadn''t eaten since yesterday." Stepping outside the room, feeling quite annoyed due to the creaking sound of the wooden floor, Jerome silently scanned the interior of the house as he descended the stairs... Quite surprised upon noticing that this ce appeared extremely old. With the abilities of humans after the apocalypse, it was an easy feat to create a stone house by inviting an "Earth Master" or humans with "Carpenter" as their ss job... However, why would the owner not renovate this house? "Sigh, I suddenly felt that I suddenly went back to the time when the apocalypse had yet to descend." Jerome weakly smiled upon remembering those old and peaceful days when his only worry was to earn money... Shaking his head Jerome unhurriedly stepped outside the wooden house, quite curious about where they were. This... In an instant, a chilling breeze swept and enveloped his body as he stared at the countless niches encircling the lonely house... Epitaph from an unknown age greeted his eyes, as the gray stone (tomb) formed a strange sight... Below, he could see vibrant green yet lifeless grass enveloping the ground followed by an unknown maroon flower that swayed lively above those graves... "Don''t tell me, it''s not a dream!?" Jerome suddenly felt like he was about to puke upon remembering the disgusting sight yesterday... he felt that something was wriggling inside his stomach as the scene yesterday reyed inside his mind. "Carlos, the thing yesterday... Is it not a dream?" Jerome asks with a trembling voice as he forces himself not to puke. Closing his eyes as he deeply breathes the morning air to forcefully calm his shaking stomach. "Yes." Carlos replied in one word before moving toward the distance, where thick smoke could be seen moving above the horizon. Although he felt wary toward Leo and also quite sure that the silhouette he saw yesterday was him... His reasoning told him that Leo didn''t mean harm and it was just his wild imagination from yesterday night that scarred him unconsciously. "Maybe it''s due to the exhaustion and tension from escaping the beasts, causing me to hallucinate yesterday... How could there be a ghost?'' Although a lot of things change after the apocalypse, he still hasn''t met a single ghost after countless months, making him assume that ghosts don''t exist in this current time. Moreover, even if there were ghosts in this world, with the appearance of inhuman abilities, powers, and skills who would still feel and be afraid of them? Shaking his head with a wry smile, burying these unnecessary thoughts in the back of his head. Carlos advances within the cemetery as he soon arrives at the location where Leo can be seen roasting meats. This... His heart suddenly skipped a beat as he saw that beyond Leo... He could see two holes with considerable depths enough for coffins (for an adult) to fit beneath/below perfectly. "These two pit?" Carlos asks with a nervous smile, still feeling an instinctive fear within him. "Yes, I just dug those two pits yesterday..." Leo replied unconsciously, not thinking/pondering too much about the question as he was too focused on cooking. ... Yesterday, we also arrived yesterday... What a coincidence... The corner of his lips twitched violently as he slightly moved away from Leo, not knowing whether Leo was teasing him or not. "Done! Sorry for the wait!" Leo smiled brightly before passing the roasted meat to Carlos and Jerome. *** Soon, in an instant, after eating, the two men immediately bid farewell to Leo upon asking for the direction of the town. It''s unknown to him why, but Leo could feel that they were inexplicable avoiding him. Waving his hand as he stared at the retreating silhouettes in the distance. Leo shook his head with a smile, not a bit curious or angry as he moved toward the distance where he left the two silver skeletons. ... Chapter 100: Creating Process Potion! (2) "It''s time to create a process potion!" Leo eximed with an excited expression pasted on his face as he began taking out the items/objects used for creating potions within his inventory. cing it on the sculptedrge wooden table created by the two silver skeletons earlier after chopping arge tree since morning... Leo sat down toward the green grasses on the ground before cing the ck three-legged cauldron in front of him. Below the cauldron, Leo carefully ced a wide seemingly stove in the bottom center of the cauldron... Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin Releasing a me at the size of a fingernail. Sigh... "Unfortunately, I could only start creating potions outdoors," Leo mumbled weakly as he gazed above, taking a deep breath as he enjoyed the smell of nature... Thinking that creating potions as he asionally looked/stared at the nature and niches around seemed not that bad. So what kind of potion should I create first? Leo excitedly thought as he opened his inventory, taking stacks of potion forms within... "Oh... I almost forgot them.'' Remembering that he still has some random potion form that he hasn''t used, Leo also takes them out. [ Potion Form (Common-Rare) ( Ungraded-Grade 1): Gain a singleplete form that ranges from Common to Rare grade. ] ¡Á7 Ding! [ Do you want to open ¡Á7 random Potion Form ranges from Common to Rare? (Agree/Declined)? ] Without further ado, Leo immediately opened the Potion Form. Instantly causing the Potion Form within his grasp to release an intense blinding light that ranges from gray to blue... Momentarily blinding his eyes. Without other choices, Leo could only close his eyes as he covered them with his free palm... Ding! [ Congrattions upon gaining! +3 Common Ungraded Form! +2 Elite Ungraded Form! +1 Rare Ungraded Form! +1 Umon Grade-1 Form! ] Ding! [ Healing Potion Form! (Ungraded - Common) Increase one''s health recovery upon consumption! Ranges from 100-500% based on the purity and grade of the potion! Increase the permanent health recovery by a small amount... Ingredients: 3 leaves of vitality tree, 5 drops of essence from vitality (physical) beasts, 1 bowl of clean water... ] *** This... "Well, it''s not bad..." Although he said that, the faint hint of disappointment in his eyes is still hard to conceal, feeling that his jinx acts again since he only gains 1 Grade-1 potion form. Moreover, it was only at Umon Grade! Never mind, I should start creating potions so I could immediately sell them... I need money to build a ce to create potions! ... Cleaning the natural materials he needed to create the most simple potion the "Healing Potion", Leo fed the stove below with his Qi, causing its me to increase drastically! Almost to the point of enveloping the ck cauldron with fire... "What the..." Seeing this, Leo immediately cut his connection toward the stove below, causing its me to weaken gradually before stopping with fingernail size after a minute. "This is more troublesome than I thought, I almost failed at the first step!" Fortunately, Leo still hadn''t put the materials within the cauldron, or else... they would probably be dust/ash right now. "First, I should control the me, 50 degrees at the first minute to heat the leaves before extracting its impurities... After that, add the clean water to dilute the essence of the vitality leaves..." Leo memorized the steps as he began to feed the stove with a minute amount of Qi, causing its temperature to fluctuate between 60-80 degrees Celsius... Making Leo''s forehead crease due to the difficulty of controlling the temperature of the fire. Only after further reducing the Qi he feeds by at least 50% did the cauldron''s temperature stop at 49-53 degrees. Sighing in relief, Leo then threw the 3 leaves into the cauldron, instantly causing it to release ck smoke before visibly melting into a green-yellowish paste. Seeing this, Leo was about to add the clean water to the cauldron when suddenly... The control of his Qi unconsciously weakened due to multitasking, causing him to feed extra Qi toward the stove! Instantly increasing the temperature to 75 degrees! Burning the green-yellowish paste to ash! "This... I failed!" Leo covered his nose in disgust due to the unpleasant smelling from the burned paste within the cauldron. Immediately putting the fire off, Leo began to clean the inside. Sitting in a cross-legged position, Leo didn''t immediately choose to continue as he began to ponder/think about the mistakes he made earlier... Reying the scene inside his mind as he saw a minute amount of errors and missteps in his action. Changing the position of the materials of the "Healing potion" within his reach, Leo took a long deep breath before again continuing. ... "Another failure! I add too much water!" Boom! "Now Itcks water, causing the materials to burn easily! Again!" "Again!" Time silently passed by. The sun which had just risen earlier couldn''t be seen anymore by the naked eye as it was already hidden behind the fissure... Upon countless failures, Leo sadly noticed that the materials he used to create healing potions had already been reduced by half... Yet, he still hadn''t managed to sessfully create one! Sigh... Sighing deeply, Leo again cleaned the interior of the cauldron as he retracted the Qi from the stove. "This ss job is too much!" He eximed, not expecting that creating potions could be this difficult... Staring at the graveyard and forest with lost expression... Feeling exhausted physically and mentally, Leo again instinctively pondered about the reason for his countless failures. "I''m stillcking in terms of controlling Qi! If I just could control the Qi I fed toward the stove to a higher degree, the difficulty of creating the Healing Potion would at least decrease by a third!'' "In addition, there''s also the impurities within the materials..." Sigh, life is really troublesome! Leo sat with difficulty as he began to recover the Qi he spent from practicing earlier... Closing his eyes, Leo began to circte his cultivation technique, absorbing Qi in the environment as he circted it around his body before resting it toward his heart. +1 Qi! "This..." Chapter 101: Cultivating, The unrest! This... Just by cultivating for 3 minutes, Leo''s Qi already recovered by 1! Although it''s not that much, Leo could already feel that circting Qi inside this cemetery is much faster than outside, almost half much faster! "Is there something wrong with this ce? Weird, the Qi here isn''t that densepared to that cave but the cirction of Qi here is much faster...'' Leo thought before continuing to circte his cultivation technique, nning to check the graveyardter to see if there was something that could increase one''s cirction of cultivation technique hidden here. +1 Qi! +1 Qi! Soon, after cultivating for hours, Leo''s Qi already recovered by more than half... Expelling the air within his lungs, Leo unhurriedly opened his eyes, smiling slightly before stretching his body. Your next journey awaits at m v|l-e''-NovelBin "I should continue practicing creating Healing Potion before checking the cemetery." Again, feeding the stove below the cauldron with Qi, Leo began tossing the leaves within... Melting it into a paste as he began focusing on creating potions. *** Soon, In the blink of an eye, another 3 days of attempting/creating a "Healing Potion" silently passed by. The stack of Leo''s materials (herbs) for creating the healing potion already entered a critical rate, only leaving him dozens of materials enough for another 10 tries. Although he still didn''t manage to create the basic healing potion, the progress and improvement he made could be said astonishing. It could be said that Leo could already control the fire on the stove with much more ease! In addition to that, Leo only failed at theter steps of creating the potion! If Leo could pass thest stage of creating the healing potion, then the potion would beplete! *** Boom! ck smoke filled the interior of the cauldron as a weak explosion echoed within... Opening the cap of the cauldron, Leo immediately covered his nose, avoiding the impending doom of the disgusting smell of the burned materials entering his nostrils. Cough... "I failed again!" Sighing in disappointment, Leo started to clean the cauldron as he began to ponder the reason for his failure... Repeating the process and steps within his mind, feeling a slight headache upon seeing nothing. "There should be mistakes somewhere. "If it''s not on the process and step of the potion... Then there should be a problem with materials!'' Thinking that it was possible, Leo began to check the materials used in creating healing potions one by one... wondering whether there were some problems with the materials. F*ck! All of them were fine! "What kind of ss job is this!?" Leo couldn''t help but curse loudly upon seeing that all of the materials used for creating healing potions were in perfect state/condition! Massaging his temple, Leo took a long deep breath, calming his mind before again continuing to create potions in the hope that he would seed! Ding! Soon, after a while, following the steps of the potion form carefully, a strange smell began to waft toward his nose, making his mind extra calm as he opened the lid of the cauldron with anticipation. "It didn''t explode nor turn into ash or burn! It should be sessful!" This... Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully creating a process potion (Ungraded) for the first time! +2,500 horror points! +2 free attributes! +1 Qi and Soul Power! +5 Potion Form! (Ranges from Common-Epic (Ungraded))! ... Ding! [ Healing Potion ( Ungraded - Medium) (61% purity): A normal potion that greatly increases one''s recovery, it could also heal disease (Common Disease) such as headache, loss of blood, cough, etc... Note 1: You could drink it safely! Note 2: Consuming it would increase one''s recovery by 220% for a quarter of an hour! Note 3: Permanently Increase health recovery by 1% (Maximum 5%). Note 4: It can only be consumed once a day! ] (The Potion Form that came from the system is much more better than the normal potion form out there!) ... "HAHAHA, I finally seeded! I finally created my first potion!" Leo eximed loudly as he did a strange dance of victory above the niches, almost bing teary upon finally seeding! Soon, feeling slightly tired, Leo finally sat down on the ground before checking the red healing potion on the bottle... Reflecting the reason for the sess. I see, so the weight and the right amount of materials used were also counted. "Well, It makes sense..." Leo smiled wryly, although he understood the simple reason within, the meaning of it still didn''t make sense... "My intelligence is still not enough... I''m really an idiot." Shaking his head with a weak smile, Leo again continued practicing, not letting the feeling of sess slip under his watch. ... Soon, another 2 hours of nonstop creating healing potions silently passed by. The sun was already on the far west, dying thend with orange hue as the sun threatened to set down. Within the damp and gray Cemetery, Leo could be seen staring at the 5 red healing potions on the ground in silence. Although he still wanted to continue creating healing potions, the materials and herbs used to create one already run out... Causing Leo to feel helpless as he silently put all the potions inside his inventory. "I couldn''t create healing potions for now, I should try to create other potions tomorrow." Leo mumbled in a low voice, standing up before hiding the cauldron and items within his inventory. nning to rest for tonight before continuing tomorrow... After filling the potion necessary to upgrade his ss job, Leo then would start creating the puppets! After that... There''s no after that, he would immediately upgrade his ss job to an umon grade! Just thinking of it, Leo''s usual calm heart couldn''t help but beat at in slightly faster rate in pure anticipation. H*ck, even his soul couldn''t help but tremble in excitement! Sigh... "However, after upgrading my ss job to umon... In able to upgrade it to rare, I might suffer too much to upgrade it!" Thinking of it, the smile that hung on Leo''s face immediately faded... Feeling slightly depressed. ... Chapter 102: The Unrest Within the Town, Death Every Night! (1) As Leo was happily practicing and cultivating within the area of the cemetery. Miles away from him, inside the town... An invisible tension hung above the sky as the humans above the high stone wall could be seen always surveying the ground area seriously... As if they were wary of something. Below, dozens of guards could be seen marching back and forth within and outside the town. Their bodies are always tense as they inspect every possible ce that could be used for hiding within the town. Discover hidden content at m,v l''e-NovelBin Unfortunately, after half a day of inspection, they never find their target... Causing their expression to further turn solemn as unease silently gripped their hearts. "We couldn''t rest! If we didn''t find the murderer we wouldn''t be able to rest peacefully!" "How are you all going to sleep at night knowing that there was a possible murderer outside!?" A Core Formation guard stared at his subordinates with a furious expression upon catching themzying around, never expecting that they would still y around even though they just found 5 human corpses within their territory. "But... The wounds on the corpse''s body weren''t made by humans. It should be the beast who killed them..." One of the guards rebuts. Hearing this, instead of the expected outburst, the Core Formation guard couldn''t help butugh angrily to the point that veins appeared on his neck, scarring the guard shitlessly. Approaching the guard that rebutted it, the Core Formation guard, without further ado, heavily punched the body of the guard, causing thetter to puke with blood... "You''re fired! Such an Idiotic excuse! "Do you think that the high wall that surrounded this town is only for SHOW!!!" He shouted as he tossed the guard outside the barracks, not caring whether it was still alive or not... "Now go! If I still find you allzying around, there''s no need for all of you to stay here!" The Core Formation guard bellowed as he watched the guards frantically rush outside... Finally alone, the guard couldn''t help but massage his brows, quite troubled and uneasy about the strange deaths. ... "They still haven''t caught/found the murderer?" Rnd''s face directly turned dark upon seeing the frantic and strict movement of the guards around, also feeling ufortable upon hearing the news earlier... Catching one of the guards that he passed by, Rnd asks "Where did you find those corpses?" "This..." Feeling the heavy arms of Rnd, the guard panicked within before finally replying upon noticing that he couldn''t see through the Level of the human opposite him. "On the west, near the stream..." Boom! The sound of a crisp loud explosion suddenly resounded within the town as ck smoke instantly appeared on the horizon above... Quickly dyeing the west with ck smoke. This... *** Boom! Cough, cough... A weak sound of explosion resounded within the silent cemetery followed by the intense sound of coughing... Retracting his connection within the stove, Leo immediately saw the ck ash within the cauldron as he began cleaning it. "D*mn, who would expect that making the Ungraded umon potion could be this hard! "Almost twice as Ungradedmon potion!" Leo couldn''t help butin within, feeling the absurdity of the increase in difficulty. Although the difference in grade could be said "Little", the spike in the difficulty could be said crazy! Upon cleaning the cauldron, Leo immediatelyy on the grass, both physically and mentally exhausted as he opened his character panel to see his improvement in the past week. Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion Physique: Soul Body ___ Attributes ___ Level: 6 Mid Foundation Realm( 1,028/7,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 18 Health: 150/155 Qi: 23/220 Stamina: 75/155 Strength: 128 Speed: 75 Qi Power: 151 Soul Power: 283 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 6), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 6), Jinx (Lvl 5), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 5), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 5), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 7), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 5), Hidden Strenght (Lvl 5), Build up Stamina (Lvl 5)... ... Horror Points: 42,600! ... Ding! [ Neutral Primordial Witchcraft (Common(Upgradable)) - A ss job that specialized in six paths. The Life and Death, Healing and Curses, and Potion and Puppetry... Increase Soul Power and Magic Power by 2 at every level! Upgrade ss Requirement: Create 500 potions and 100 Basic Puppets! ] [ Potions (10/500), Basic Puppets (0/100) ] ... "This is not bad." Although his level didn''t increase in the past week, the improvement in his overall stats (thanks to the free attribute points from the system rewards) could still be seen. Swish, swish! As he was deeply pondering, looking at his ss job that was still far away from upgrading to the next level, a sudden sound of grasses being stepped on echoed from the far distance... "Who?" Leo confusedly thought as he warily gazed toward the distance, immediately standing up as he took out the knuckles inside his inventory... only for him to halt midway upon seeing the fast-approaching Jake in the distance. This... "What happened?" Leo frowned upon seeing the anxious expression on Jake''s face... Feeling worried as he spected the reason behind it. "Don''t go to the town in a few days or weeks..." Jake gasped for air as he nced toward the cauldron beside Leo before looking at Leo''s face as he asked for water. "Why?" Tossing a water bottle to Jake, Leo again asks in curiosity and worry... Feeling quite impatient as he watched Jake unhurriedly gulp the water. "Huff~ much better! Oh right, I almost forgot, just don''t go to the town! A lot of strange things happened within thest few days... Herbs and Fruits in the town mysteriously disappear one by one... and then there is also a murderer walking around the town, they still can''t find him/her after countless days!" "Besides that, beasts from the depths of the endless forest began to approach the town! So it''s best if you stayed here for a while!" Jake gasped for air as he said all those words in one breath... Feeling thirsty, Jake again gulped the water within the bottle. ... Chapter 103: The Unrest Within the Town, Beasts Tide! (2) In a couple of days that passed by, the number of deaths within the town drastically increased by 12! Causing the atmosphere within the town to intensify... People walked under endless worry, as herbs and crops within the town also mysteriously and drastically decreased in the past few days. However, even though almost a week already passed by, they still haven''t caught the perpetrators. Within the cemetery, after Leo sends Jake back. Leo still continued to do his things as he began creating other potions... The Stamina Recovery Potion! Since he already has healing potions within him, then the next should be Stamina Recovery Potions which is one of his weaknesses! As for the Qi recovery, all those potions that could help one to recover Qi are at least High-Ungraded (grade) potions! Just the difficulty alone wouldn''t allow the current him to create it! Besides that, he alsocks the necessary potion form to create one! ... Sigh, Indeed, Fortunately, I choose this ce... Although the things happening within the town were quite worrying, Leo didn''t bother too much about it. With how many Foundation and Core Formation realm guards within the town, his help wouldn''t count much. It''s better to stay here in the peaceful and nd cemetery to practice his potion-making... Focusing on upgrading his ss job in the shortest time possible. ... Soon, another two days quickly passed by. Jake, after selling Leo''s healing potion (which he actually bought all) took out all the materials and herbs within his inventory before giving them to Leo one by one. "All of these materials cost more than 13 earth gold and 25 earth silver... "As for the healing potions, I managed to sell them all for 15 Earth Gold each," Jake said as he passed the 106 Earth gold and dozens of Earth silver to Leo, couldn''t help but click his tongue in amazement due to how easy it was for potion masters to earn Earth gold. It could be said that Earth''s gold is one of the highest currencies after the apocalypse arrived... Not only Earth gold could be used for creating items with high durability, but it could also contain Qi within them as if they were batteries! ss jobs like Forger, Formation Master, Gem Maker, etc, etc, loved Earth gold since it could help them on their ss job! Causing it to be the highest currency in the current world! Moreover, Earth''s currency is divided into different levels, from highest to lowest! 1 Earth Gold is equivalent to 100 Earth Silver, and 1 Earth Silver is equivalent to 100 Earth Bronze! 2 Earth Bronze is enough to buy bread! ... "Thanks a lot for the trouble! Is there news about the town?" epting the earth''s gold, Leo''s face couldn''t help but reveal a bright smile as he silently passed the new potion he created to Jake for running his errand. [ Stamina Recovery Potion ( Ungraded (Umon) - Medium) (65% purity): A normal potion that greatly increases one''s stamina recovery, it could also fasten the healing of light injuries! Note 1: You could drink it safely! Note 2: Consuming it would increase one''s recovery by 250% for an hour! Note 3: Permanently Increase Stamina recovery by 1% (Maximum 5%). Experience exclusive tales on m v|l e''-NovelBin Note 4: It can only be consumed once a day! ] "This... This easily costs at least 20 Earth Gold on the town! This is too precious, I couldn''t ept it!" Jake said as he, without hesitation, put the potion inside his inventory, on his face a hint of slight hesitation could be seen. Seeing this, the corner of Leo''s eyes couldn''t help but twitch uncontrobly as he immediately and silently drank the tea (using the moon leaves he got from the wilderness) causing his mind to be calm and clear. Fortunately, I got almost all of those leaves back then... Or else my progress wouldn''t be half! He silently thought, feeling pity that he didn''t get the main tree of the moon leaves... As he was being distracted by his thoughts, Jake who was satisfied with Leo''s gift began to talk about the news from the town... "It''s much worse than the past few days, the mayor already lockdown the town, and only those guards and farmers could go outside the periphery of the town... If not for my ss job and unique skill that could sense living beings from afar, I probably wouldn''t be able to go out." Jake said, slightly pumping his chest as he revealed a smug smile on his face... "I see, how about the beasts? Did they further approach the town?" Not seeing the smug face of Jake since he was busy arranging the materials and herbs Jake bought from the town, he again asked. This... Seeing this, Jake could only shake his head, slightly helpless before replying. "It''s not a problem for now, only those beasts at the Early Foundation stage dared to approach the town..." "I see..." *** After a few hours of conversation, Jake bid farewell to Leo before setting toward the town in a rush... Seeing this, Leo waved his hands before again busying himself with creating potions. The more potions he created, the faster he could advance his ss job! The higher the level of his ss job, the higher his strength and skill number is! Rustle... Soon, after just an hour of creating potions, a sound of rustling grasses echoed behind him... Not thinking too much, thinking that Jake had forgotten something, Leozily asked. "Did you forget something..." Bang! Swish! This... Feeling that something was amiss as his soul sent a message of danger within him. Leo immediately abandoned the cauldron he was using as he, with force, jumped toward the sky... Not even a second passed by, an earth thorn that was enough to impale arge ox emerged from the ground... Instantly impaling his previous location. This... What the!? Leo immediately nced toward the origin of the thorn in the distance, only to see a huge brown pangolin, staring at him with reddened eyes... Seeing that the earth thorn didn''t manage to impale the human in the distance, the pangolin released a loud angry cry as it began rolling toward Leo at a fast speed... As it was rolling, a thorn slowly began to materialize around its body, impaling the soft ground in its wake... Causing Leo''s eyes to widen in shock, feeling cold upon imagining the scene of those sharp thorns prating his body. "This beast, could they just mind their own business!" Without further ado, Leo immediately activated his Mist of Illusion skill... ... Chapter 104: The Unrest Within the Town, Terrifying Curse! (3) In an instant, thick gray fog consumed everything in the surrounding cemetery, restricting everyone''s vision and senses within, making the pangolin halt due to the sudden changes... However, after the initial confusion brought by the fog, the pangolin issued another loud cry of madness as it began rolling around... Quickly approaching Leo''s location. "This... You''re not following the script!" Leo eximed, not expecting that the pangolin could detect his location! Without any other choices, Leo rushed outside the cemetery, wanting to avoid further damaging the ce. Besides that, he also wanted to use the thick trees within the forest to restrict the movement of the brown pangolin... Boom! Feeling that the Earth below him vibrates at an rming speed, Leo, without hesitation, immediately leaps forward, almost avoiding the Earth thorn that suddenly emerges from the ground in a sh... Sck. His skin below cracks and splits, blossoming with crimson blood as a small amount of earth enters the wounds. The sharp shard of earth wretched havoc within his feet, bringing him a lot of pain... Causing him incapable of movement as he dropped toward the ground with a thud. "AHHH!" Crying in pain... Leo greeted his teeth, forcefully opening his teary and bloodshot eyes as he could only helplessly watch the pangolin, closing the distance between them. The thorn enveloping the body of the pangolin easily pierces through everything as it moves toward his direction unhindered. *** This, am I going to die... Again? Leo thought in despair as the thorns ball body of the pangolin was about to collide with him, again smelling the fragrance of death... Quite sure that he would die or at least be incapable of fighting if the heavy body of the pangolin collided with his pitiful precious body. It took me a lot of effort to reach my current stage, I... I''m unwilling to die just like that! In the face of death, Leo seems to regain hisposure as he remembers all of the skills within him in just split seconds... Forcing his mind to calcte the best way to avoid death... I could only gamble... Leo signed softly, having no choice but to activate the skill that he never used... He never knew what its effect was, but within all his skills, he only saw hope in this one. (As for the debuff passive skills, Leo didn''t choose it due to the fact that the skill needs time to show its effect!) "Land Of Despair, Domain of Strangeness..." Bang! In an instant, before the body of the pangolin collides with him, the void between the two cracks like a porcin vase as endless darkness swallows their whole being... Not giving them time to react... *** This... Leo opened his eyes wide as he scanned the familiar environment in bewilderment, not expecting that he would again appear in this ce. The dpidated park appeared in his vision as it still retained its usual lifeless appearance... the overturned table and garbage from untold times could still be seen scattered around the ce as cracks within the concrete and grass that grew within swayed with the wind. Tilting his head to the side, Leo instantly saw the half-destroyed mall, making the painful past rey within his mind... Above the sky, the familiarrge fissure still showed the darkness and empty void beyond... Ding! [ Domain of Strangeness: Land Of Dispair (Level 1) (Iplete skill) - Construct an iplete domain using one''s soul power and imagination. Domain has the ability to lock space, preventing beings who entered the domain from escaping easily. Activation: Mental power and Soul power, 5 Qi per second. Effects: Inside the domain, Increase the caster''s overall attributes by 5% Skill Cost: 5,000 horror points. Requirements toplete the Domain: Entered Core Formation realm, Upgrade the skill to level 5! Note: Entering one''s domain is not different frommitting suicide. ] Ding! [ Each Domain has each unique abilities and effects that the caster needs toprehend themselves! ] ... This feeling... Leo slightly closed his eyes, feeling his overall stats elevated by amount as he hurriedly took out a Healing bottle within his inventory... Drinking it in an instant as he summoned the Divine Fire of Life to heal the wounds on his feet. Where is that pangolin? As he was healing his wounds, Leo couldn''t help but ask within his mind, beginning to inspect the surroundings to find the traces of the pangolin... However, after looking around for a while, still not finding the despicable pangolin, Leo could only give up as he sat down on one of the stone chairs in the park. "System, upgrade the Domain to level 3." Without anything to do, Leo could only inspect the possibilities of his iplete domain, wanting to find what kind of changes it would bring after upgrading it twice. Ding! [ Upgrading the Domain of Strangeness: Land Of Dispair (Level 1) (Iplete skill) to Level 2 would cost at least 15,000 horror points! (ept/Declined)? ] "This... 15,000 horror points! System are you sure that you''re not scamming me!?" Leo eximed, feeling that this system had begun to change... Changing in the wrong direction! [ Everything has its price... The lower the grade of the skill, the lower the price it would consume after upgrading! ] This system... Find more chapters on m_v l|e-NovelBin Seeing the reply from the system, Leo could only sigh helplessly as he clicked the ept button. Although he was still not aware of the capabilities of this domain, just the ability of it earlier that saved his life... was already enough for the investment. Seeing that his horror points decreased by 15,000, Leo''s face revealed a hint of helplessness, causing his anger regarding the pangolin to increase drastically. ... Soon, after minutes of waiting, the dpidated park finally issued an intense shaking... akin to a strong earthquake as the crack on the ground instantly erged within his sight... Following that, grass akin to wheat field began to crazily grow beneath the ground, hiding the concrete below as it slowly reached meter in height before stopping... Dyeing the surrounding park in strange sight as it carried a hint of strangeness on it... The fissure above remained untouched but the light within the surrounding atmosphere changed into an intense orange hue, akin to afternoon light... Increasing the strangeness of the ce in one''s mind. This... ... Chapter 105: Domain of Strangeness, Wheel of Despair! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading the Domain of Strangeness to Level 3! ] Ding! [ Domain of Strangeness: Land Of Dispair (Level 3) (Iplete skill) - Construct an iplete domain using one''s soul power and imagination. Domain has the ability to lock space, preventing beings who entered the domain from escaping easily. Activation: Mental power and Soul power, 3 Qi per second. Effects 1: Inside the domain, Increase the caster''s overall attributes by 7.4% Effects 2: Wheel of Despair (Click to show the description! ) Effects 3: ?#*"?#* Effects 4: ?#*"!?# Skill Cost: 15,000 horror points. Requirements toplete the Domain: Entered Core Formation realm, Upgrade the skill to level 5! Note: Entering one''s domain is not different frommitting suicide. ] ... Ding! [ Wheel of Despair: Every Despair that the host experiences and every despair that the host''s enemy experiences would be branded/imprinted in Domain memory, forming a wheel of despair... Every Despair had its ce in the wheel! Spinning the wheel would allow the prisoner within the domain to experience random despair! Despair affects reality, body, and soul, if they died when they were experiencing the random despair, they would also die in reality! Note 1: Beings with a higher level or realmpared to the caster could reduce or ignore the effect of Wheel of Despair! Note 2: Currently, Despair Wheel only has 10 dispair memory! ] ... This... Leo stared dumbfoundedly at the notification that appeared, reading it several times beforeughing in despair, feeling that the system was ying tricks with him. Although only the people trapped within the Domain would experience the despair, is there really a difference between them and him? How despairing it was to watch the despair he experienced in the past reyed countless times in front of him, within the domain? It would feel like he was watching an alternate reality where everyone suffered the same despair! "Hahaha, how exciting and despairing!" Leoughed in unhappiness before unhurriedly summoning the Wheel of Despair. Clearly couldn''t wait to see it. In an instant, after thinking of it, a ck-and-white roulette suddenly materializes beside him. Its size was not that big, only the size of 12 inches in diameter as it was divided into ten perfect parts... Above it was the familiar arrow pointed toward one of the parts. Inspecting further, Leo saw words written in every part of the roulette as some blurry image kept reying within. F*ck! They even record the words! He cursed within himself before reading the words/lists within the roulette in slight anger. "The Despair of Death, The Despair of Eternal Loneliness, The Despair of the Cursed one, The Despair within thend of living Death, The Despair of Betrayal, The Despair of..." "System are you serious right now? What kind of joke is this!?" Leo almost cursed toward the system upon seeing the list, he couldn''t help but feel helplessness within him... Having no idea if it was a good choice to upgrade this skill or not. Just the list alone, he could already tell that most of the list on the Wheel of Despair was rted to his memory of the despairing past... The Despair of Death should be pointing toward his death in the past while The Despair of Loneliness should be the months he spent alone wandering around without any hope... As for The Despair of the Cursed One and The Despair within the Land of Living Death, they should be connected to the enemy''s experience of the debuff passive skill while the other is the feeling of being surrounded by Living Death (Zombies)! How ironic... ... Ding! [ The Domain is a product of one''s imagination, skill, and affinity... All of it is only possible due to the host. ] "Get lost! I don''t want to talk to you for a while." Leo said as he began to find the aura of the pangolin within the domain, with the increase of the level of the domain, the connection of the domain and Leo deepened considerably... Soon after a while, Leo finally caught the aura of the earth pangolin. Surprisingly the pangolin wasn''t on the surface of his domain, instead, it seems that it was imprisoned beneath the domain. "This, so I need to roll this roulette for the pangolin to experience one of the memory despair?" Leo seems to grasp something as the roulette beside him conveys a strange feeling/emotion toward him. Having no choice, Leo could only follow the instinct within him, grasping the corner of the roulette before spinning it with force. Click, click, click... The roulette began to echo with a clicking sound within the silent domain as the arrow above kept hitting the protruding nail on the edge of the roulette... As time passed by, the spinning roulette began to slow down, before finally stopping after a while. Ding! [ Despair of Madness! ] Boom! In an instant, the domain issued drastic changes. Everything within Leo''s sight copses as the pangolin silently emerges in the middle of the domain, watching everything copse in despair... Thend and sky copse as the corpses of countless beasts begin to materialize around... Severed limbs and bodies were scattered in the environment, making a scene akin to an endless ughter. An artificial river filled with crimson blood began to fill everything as countless angry roars of unwillingness began to echo within. Above the horizon, a dozen thick green vines that almost swallowed the sky began whipping toward the ground, causing/creating an intense earthquake as it hit the body of the pangolin... Heavily. "This... Isn''t this the Demon Vine that we fought within that cave!?" Leo dumbfoundedly thought as he stared at the familiar thick vine in the sky with a serious expression, couldn''t help but remember the helplessness he experienced in the past... However, was the image of the Demon Vine within my heart and mind... is always this high? However, thinking that the Demon Vine was the first Core Formation realm beast he ever met, it should probably make sense that he thinks highly of it... Ding! +1,000 horror points! +1,500 horror points! +2,000 horror points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon scaring a being inside your domain for the first time! ] ... Chapter 106: Killing a Late Foundation Beasts alone! Huff~ Leo heavily gasps for air, holding his knees in exhaustion as he scans the familiar surrounding forest... After trapping the Earth Pangolin within the Domain of Despair for about 2 and a half minutes. Leo sadly noticed that after almost consuming his mental and soul energy, he was forcefully evicted/ejected by the domain, causing him to appear within the familiar ce. Huff~ What kind of vitality is that!? Leo eximed as he stared at the bloodied and mangled figure of the Earth Pangolin in the short distance in pure shock. Although it got trashed and whipped by those dozens of thick vines within the domain nonstop (for almost 2 minutes), it still managed to survive! Ding! [ Earth Mutated Pangolin (Elite Mutated +2) - Foundation Realm level 12! Innate Skill: Body Armor (Elite +2)! ___Attributes___ Health: 25/200 Qi: 12/320 Stamina: 8/150 Strength: 150 Speed: 100 Qi Power: 175 Skills: Earth Thorn (Elite), Thorn Body (Elite +1), ???, ???, Deflect (Rare +1). ] ... [ Body Armor (Elite +2): A Body akin to an Elite Armor, it''s resilient to beating! Effects: Permanently Increased health by 25, Physical defense by 5%, and stamina by 10! ] [ Thorn Body (Elite +1): Form and create an earth thorn that surrounds its body, increasing its defense and damage upon colliding with objects and beings! ] [ Deflect (Rare +1): Deflect an amount of physical damage toward the attacker... Note: It''s only effective if the attacker attacks the body of the caster head-on! ] ... This... No wonder it still managed to survive till now! It''s a natural-born tank! Not only that the Pangolin''s level was much higher than his, but its health and skill were also crazily good! "Fortunately, in the end, it was still beaten to the point that it was mangled!" Feeling proud of himself, Leo took out an iron sword within his inventory before stabbing the body of Earth Pangolin in the distance... Putting much force on his every stab to release the anger within him. Although he was perfectly fine right now, the feeling and smell of death still lingered within his mind, not forgetting that he almost died earlier. sh! Stab! Sck! Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a being above your level by 5 for the first time! +5 Free Attribute! +2, 500 horror points! Experience more tales on m v|l e''-NovelBin +2 Small Enlightenment stone! ] Ding! +250 Exp! ... Huff~ Finally! Leo releases a heavy sigh of relief, wanting to immediately lie down on the ground to rest... However, thinking that he was still outside the cemetery. Leo forces himself as he moves forward, afraid that another beast appear and attack him. "I almost forgot, where are those skeletons?" Leo almost cursed within himself upon noticing that something was wrong. How could the pangolin reach his side without alerting those two silver skeletons first? Withrge strides, Leo immediately rushed toward the cemetery, instantly transversing the niches below as he finally saw the figure of the two silver skeletons in the distance... Boom! sh! Sparks flew into the air, followed by silver blood dyeing the vibrant grasses on the ground... Surprisingly, the grass that was grazed by the silver blood instantly turned into ashes in instant, only leaving charred earth below. sh! Wounding the legs of a seemingly silver deer in the distance, the two silver skeletons exchange nces at each other before again rushing toward the deer... Their eyes revealed a rich darkness within as theyughed maniacally, causing the deer to fall into confusion. However, the next second, before the swords connect to the silver deer''s body, a light suddenly blooms on its antler, enveloping the surrounding environment with pure white light... Dispelling the humid air in the surrounding environment before eroding the darkness in the two silver skeletons'' eyes. nk!!! (AHHH!!!) Caught off guard, the two silver skeletons release a loud nking cry before immediately distancing themself from the deer in the short distance. nk! Gritting their lower jaws, the two silver skeletons instantly and fully activated their sword aura, creating an area of pure sharpness that slices through everything. The deer, upon seeing this, didn''t hesitate too much as it rushed madly toward the two silver skeletons in the distance... Fighting bloodily without caring for its life. Boom! Bang! ... Ding! [ Silver Yang Deer (Elite): Early Foundation level 4 ] "That''s all?" Seeing the attributes of the deer, Leo immediately revealed disdain in his gray eyes upon noticing that it was weaker than him... However, even though that was the case, Leo still took it seriously, helping the two silver skeletons with all his might before finally killing it in minutes. Ding! +100 exp points! ... "Did you see other beasts that entered the cemetery?" Leo asked as he dismembered the body of the deer, nning to hide it within his inventory for food stock. nk... nk, (Yes, two earlier but we managed to kill them all!) Skeleton #2 nodded his head, showing a proud expression on its skeleton face as it pointed toward the distance. Following the lead of the two skeletons, Leo immediately saw therge pit in the corner of the cemetery... Within, he saw beasts in the Early Foundation realm, lifelessly decaying within. This... "I see, good job! However, if you kill beasts in the future, you two should call me less we wasted those materials and essence..." nk! (Understood!)¡Á2 The two silver skeletons heavily nodded their head, engraving Leo''s words within them. ... Soon, seeing that the two silver skeletons were finally walking toward the distance... Leo''s face instantly changes, showing a worried expression, feeling unease within. "The beast already starts entering the cemetery... This is bing troublesome!" Leo thought as he moved toward where he left the cauldron earlier... Feeling that the peaceful day of only focusing on creating potions was finally slowly slipping under his grasp. As for going to the town to avoid the things happening here... Leo immediately denied the possibility, feeling that the town seemed much more chaotic than this ce. Since they still hadn''t caught the killer after couple of days, Leo felt that the security within the town was extremelycking... Feeling that he wouldn''t be able to create potions there peacefully. "Sigh... I should quit creating potions for the time being, instead, it''s best if I start creating puppets!" "Puppets that can increase the security of the Cemetery!" ... Chapter 107: Creating Puppets! (1) Leo didn''t immediately start creating puppets, instead, he began taking out materials/items that he umted over time within his inventory. cing it on the sculpted table that the skeletons created in the past as he began studying them one by one... From the teeth of the canines to the nails and feathers of Soul-eating birds, instantly filling the table with decaying skeletons and corpses of different kinds of beasts. Making the ce quite sinister, as Leo''s body seems to release a Mad aura akin to a mad scientist... "Now what kind of puppet should I create?" Leo thought unhurriedly, taking out hundreds of Earth''s Gold within his inventory before cing it in one of the bottles... It would be the main battery of his puppets, the main source where they get their energy! Moreover, he also needs to sculpt it with inscriptions! Creating an Order within the puppet''s mind that they will follow! However, in able to do that, he first needed the ability of the Qi/Mana thread! As for how it works, Leo already had an idea within him. Creating inscriptions using Qi threads is quite simr to how Formation masters create their formations! The only difference is that the formation is countless timesrger than the inscription is. In addition to that, Formation Master also uses the environment to their advantage! Taking one of the Earth''s Gold on the bottle. Leo took a deep long breath, drinking the tea that he had brewed earlier using Moon Leaves as he began manipting the Qi within his body, summoning it to his pointed finger before thinning it into threads... At the same time, he ensured the durability of the Qi... Ensuring that it could prate through solid objects, unhindered. Unfortunately, with his current control of Qi. It only allows him to thin the Qi with a sizeparable to 25 stands of hairs coiling to each other. "It''s still far away from the satisfactory set by the system, but it would and should work for creating a basic puppet!" Leo calmly thought, exhaling turbid air within as he began carving the Earth Gold in his hand... His gray eyes never wavered as he wholly focused on carving inscriptions, reying the puppetry knowledge within his mind as he slowly followed the step carefully. Soon, minutes silently passed by. The cold breeze again careless the sweating body of Leo as he manipted the Qi thread to a great degree... slowly sculpting it to his desires and orders... The Earth''s Gold on the other hand, under the nonstop pration of his Qi thread begins to slowly transform... The beauty within it slowly unfolds as it radiates with weak fluctuation of aura. ... Puff~ Finally it''s done! Leo eximed as he inspected the oval (earth gold) in his hand in interest, revealing a proud expression upon finally finishing inscribing it! "Next should be creating the puppet''s body!" Leo happily thought as he drank the tea beside him in one gulf. Sitting down on the ground Leo unhurriedly closed his eyes, circting his cultivation technique to recover the Qi that he spent/lost earlier... *** As Leo was peacefully creating puppets within his little territory. Far away, toward the town, chaos was secretly brewing... The number of beasts that were eyeing the town began to spike in numbers, slowly umting their strength within the depths of the forest as they were waiting for the opportunity to strike... Although the beasts were stillcking the Core Formation realm in their mids, the number ofte-to-peak foundation beasts already entered more than 100, enough to threaten the safety of the town. Moreover, it''s worth mentioning that the corpses found in the town secretly reach a staggering number of 20! Making people afraid of going outside their houses! In addition to that, the herbs and fruits continue mysteriously disappearing one by one, day by day... A problem within the exterior and interior, intensifying the unease within their mind. *** Enjoy exclusive chapters from m-v l''e|-NovelBin Opening his eyes, Leo exhaled a turbid air within him, checking his character panel only to see that his Qi already recovered by half. Unhurriedly standing up, Leo began stretching his muscles which became his hobby after finishing a long time of sitting in cultivation. "Now it''s time to make the body of a puppet!" Leo excitedly thought, clearly couldn''t wait to create his first-ever puppet. It could be said that so far, the creation of his first puppet was going smoothly, making him believe that making a puppet is much easier than creating a process potion. Now, I could begin stitching up materials within the puppet, making it ideal for my mind and preferences... Using his Qi thread, Leo began to connect countless materials into one, slowly stitching it up using his Qi... After that, Leo created or to be exact connected the Earth Gold that he inscribed earlier toward the Qi thread within the puppet... If he didn''t connect the Qi thread toward the Earth Gold in the middle of creating the puppet, the Qi thread that was connecting all materials into one would slowly vanish without the support of the battery (Earth Gold). Huff~ After using his Qi thread for two long hours, Leo finally retracted his pointed finger from the puppet in front of him, heaving a heavy sigh of relief... "This... I couldn''t believe it, I actually seeded on my first try!" Leo revealed a bright smile on his face as he stared at the ck crow in front of him in happiness, never expecting that he would be able to do it on his first try. Ding! As he was about to cast a "Soul Scan" toward the crow puppet, the familiar sound of metal hitting metal echoed within his consciousness, widening Leo''s smile as the expected notification of the system finally appeared. "This is it, the reward for the first time of creating a puppet!" Leo thought in anticipation as he began reading the notification with great excitement. Ding! [ Congrattions upon... Creating your first failed puppet! +2,500 horror points! +2 Free attribute points! +1 Medalion of Forceful Upgrade! ] This... *** Chapter 108: Creating Puppets! (2) This... Upon seeing the notification, the first thing that popped up in Leo''s mind was that the system was making fun of him. Hehe, so funny... Chuckling slightly, Leo smiled as he unhurriedly opened his character panel, checking the progress of his ss job with slight unease within him. [ Potions (15/500), Basic Puppets (0/100) ] "This, zero... Impossible, how could this puppet be considered a failure!?" When he was making the puppet, he was quite sure that the Qi thread was stable, besides that the inscription should also be fine since it didn''t explode. Feeling angry within him, Leo scanned the crow puppet with "Soul scan" wanting to see if he really failed. Ding! [ Crow Puppet (Failed Product) - Mortal Level 10: A bird puppet that couldn''t fly due to the error in inscriptions, its left eye was blind and its right leg was also paralyzed. Innate skill: Dead Object (Umon) ______Atrributes______ Health: 25/25 Mana: 25/25 Stamina: 25/25 Strength: 25 Speed: 10 Qi Power: 30 ______Skills______ Monitoring Eyes (Common) ] ... [ Dead Object (Umon): It''s literally a dead object, it wouldn''t release an aura nor people would think that it could move! Activation: Passive! ] [ Monitoring Eyes (Common): Increase one''s sight to a higher degree... Activation: Passive! ] ... "F*ck! No wonder it was a failed product, It''s no different from a mangled bird that manages to survive!" Sigh, did I just waste my 6 hours of creating puppets earlier? Leo signed regrettably, ready to destroy his first product with his fist... However, before his fist collides with the crow puppet, Leo''s fist suddenly stops, taking a deep breath as he slowly retracts his arm. Sigh, never mind... Although it was regrettably a failed product, Leo still spent 6 hours of his focus and sweat creating it, causing him to feel pity toward himself and the puppet. "I could still reminisce about the past after seeing your figure in the future..." Leo mumbled to himself as he began feeding the Earth Gold within the body of the crow with Qi, filling it after 5 minutes of spending 25 Qi. In an instant, after filling it up with Qi, the ck beady eyes of the Crow puppet immediately glinted with darkness... Before hoping toward Leo using its one functional leg. Meow? This... *** "You''re indeed a failed product! Why would you roar with meow instead of caw like crows!?" Leo, instead of being angry, revealed an amused expression on his face, feeling that the failed product was extremely strange. Meow, meow... "Go on, I still need to create more failed pupp... I mean, create more puppets!" Meow? Seeing that the ck crow didn''t n to leave his side, Leo could only shrug his shoulder helplessly before burying himself in creating more puppets. asionally, he would check/inspect the body of the ck crow to see the mistakes he had made earlier, avoiding it in the process as he carefully inscribed the Earth Gold in hand... Ding! [ Congrattions upon creating a Crow Puppet (Failed Product)... ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon creating another Crow Puppet (Failed Product)... ] *** "I give up! I still couldn''t create a simple and functional basic puppet!" Leo weakly said as he directly slumped toward the cold ground, gazing at the moon that was silently peaking on the horizon as it illuminated the cemetery with silver light. Rustle... In addition to the canopy above and the rustling sound of leaves created by the winds, Leo suddenly and inexplicable feels calm. After a moment of momentary peace, Leo tilted his head to the side, staring/looking at 4 strange dark puppet crows in the distance... All of them were his failed products. Most of them couldn''t fly, while one of the puppets waspletely blind. H*ck there was even a bird that moved like a snake! Slithering its body in a strange way! ... "Sigh, It''s already night, I should continue doing it tomorrow." Leo thought as he put all the materials within his inventory before dragging his exhausted body toward the wooden house far away. Behind him, the failed puppets began to follow him in strange ways... If someone saw this, although they had no idea what was happening, they would inexplicably feel chills within them. Squeak... Creaakkkk... Opening the door of the wooden house, Leo suddenly halted on his movement as he stared into the distance in surprise. Meters away from him, he could see the white rabbit, holding a little brown sack with his little paw warily... Within he could smell the fragrance of different types of fruits and herbs. "This, where did you get all of that!" Leo solemnly asked as he stared at the white rabbit strictly... His eyes revealed a dangerous glint as he felt that something was wrong with the white rabbit. Although he was too busy with his things in the past few days, he still noticed the often strange disappearance of the white rabbit... Feeling that it was doing something immoral behind his back. Squeak... Squeak... The white rabbit, upon hearing Leo, immediately shook its little head anxiously, unconsciously hiding the sack behind its back although it helped a little to hide it. "I don''t believe you! Where did you get all of that!? Do you think I didn''t check the surroundings of the Cemetery after I arrived here?" "You wouldn''t be able to find fruits and herbs in the surrounding miles of the Cemetery!" Leo''s suspicion of the white rabbit began to increase as he saw the hesitation within its ck round eyes, it often scanned the surrounding environment for an escape! ... This... Feeling that the energy the white rabbit gave off was somewhat strange, Leo silently cast a "Soul scan" toward it. Ding! [ Silver Moon Rabbit (Rare Mutated +2) - Foundation Realm level 18! Innate Skill: ??? ___Attributes___ Health: 150/150 Qi: 460 Stamina: 68/80 Strength: 105 Speed: ??? Qi Power: 460 Skills: Superior Speed (Rare), Moon Light (Rare), ???, ???, Superior Senses (Epic), Blink (Epic). ] [ Blink (Epic): Speed permanently Increased by 10 points. Teleport in short distance (at least 10 meters) unhindered for spending 25 Qi! ] ... "This... The white rabbit was really doing something bad behind his back! If not, how could it increase its level by 2 in a short period of time!? Moreover, it''s already close to level 19!'' Leo''s eyes further squinted as he eyed the white rabbit in the distance, determined to unveil its secret! ... Chapter 109: Unveiling the Secret, The Culprit (1) Squeak. Seeing that Leo is determined to find its secret, the white rabbit reveals a squeaking sound of determination as its body suddenly glows with silver light... The next second, another two white rabbits materialize beside it. Confusingly, there''s no difference between the three white rabbits, causing Leo to fall under confusion. However, looking at the single brown sack behind them, he could assume that they couldn''t create illusions other than them. The rabbit could only create an illusion of itself! "Are you really not going to confess?" Leo asks seriously as he ponders whether to activate his Domain or not. However, thinking that the white rabbit never tried something malicious toward him in the past few days even though he waspletely alone here without the help of the group... Leo decided to give up the idea, wanting to unveil its secret without killing. Squeak... The white rabbit shook its head as it shed with silver light, instantly consuming everything in the surroundings with intense silver light... Causing Leo to close his eyes due to pain. This... Soon, after a second, the silver light slowly retracted, showing the empty house devoid of any white rabbits or brown sacks beyond. "It managed to escape!'' Leo thought solemnly before revealing a weak smile on his face, moving toward one of the ces. "Hehehe, unfortunately, if you just left that sack... You might be able to escape. However, why are you hell-bent on dragging the sack? The smell of herbs is extremely strong, especially to the senses of potion maker!" Leo chuckles as he follows the fragrance of the herbs, pointing toward the kitchen of the wooden house. Ehh? There''s no one here? Leo raised his brows in surprise upon seeing that the kitchen was empty, however, after sniffing the air within, the faint fragrance of the herbs immediately entered his senses... Weird... He silently thought as he followed the scent below, beneath the wooden table... "This, a hidden room/bunker?" Leo thought upon seeing a metal handle connected to a wooden door on the floor. Moving the table away, Leo stared at the small door frame on the floor in surprise... If not for the white rabbit, he believed that he might not be able to see it after months of staying here. "So, this is where it goes every time it disappears huh?" ... Thud... Pulling the metal handle, the door on the floor slowly opened, revealing theplete darkness within, the depths of it couldn''t be seen... On the side, he could slightly see the broken woodendder that the old owner of the house used to descend (Although uncertain, Leo thinks of it that way). Summoning the pure white me within his palm, Leo shot it toward the depths, illuminating the surrounding space as it descended slowly... Soon after a second while, the me created a low popping sound akin to a bursting balloon upon hitting the ground below, causing Leo to sigh in relief upon learning that it wasn''t that deep. "At least 2.5 meters, it should be fine if I jump within..." Leo thought as he took a deep long breath, bending his knee slightly before jumping below the pit without hesitation. Thud. The soft earth below caves in due to the force and weight of Leo, slightly causing him to lose his bnce before his butt hit the soft ground beyond... Crackkkk... Suddenly, upon hitting the ground beyond him, a crisp sound of something breaking entered his senses, causing him to jump in shock. Immediately summoning his Divine me of Life, Leo quickly looked at his back only for his gray eyes to constrict greatly. Beyond him, on the ground that was covered in thick dust and soil, Leo could see a protruding cracked white skeleton... Silently consumed by time. However, if it was the only thing he saw, Leo wouldn''t have reacted exaggeratedly... Beyond or the be exact, in the whole surrounding of this dark cave, he could see the densely packed skeletons being buried by dust... Forming a small mountain of gray skeletons. This... This cemetery is not simple! Leo suddenly felt chills within him, quite sure that the skeletons around could number at least tens of thousands. Couldn''t imagine what kind of secrets it hid in the past... ... Crack. Crack. As Leo was carefully moving forward, the soil or to be exact, the skeletons buried beneath his feet continuously issued a cracking sound, increasing the uneasiness within Leo''s consciousness. "This is Madness, This cemetery couldn''t umte that much bones... If I guess correctly... No, there''s no need to guess, I''m sure that this ce was a ughterhouse in the past! And the cemetery above is just a facade/disguise!" "This is sickening..." Leo thought as he walked forward into the depths of the cave, quite curious about where the cave would lead him. ... Read thetest on m_v-l''e|-NovelBin Squeak... Squeak~~ A hundred meters away from Leo, within the cave, the white rabbit excitedly gnaws the fruit within its paws, revealing a relished expression on its face. Crack... Squeak! As it was eating its fifth fruit, a sudden sound of cracking sound echoed meters away from it, causing it to pause on its eating as it stared in the distance warily. "A rabbit?" A man with maddened eyes stared at the white rabbit in the distance with killing intent within... On his hand, a severed head of a woman could be seen, dripping with blood as it leaves a trail behind. "You... Don''t tell me you''re the culprit behind the disappearance of those fruits and herbs in the town?" The man, as if thinking of something, revealed an amused expression on his face as he unhurriedly scanned the level of white rabbit meters away from him. Hmm, level 19 of the Foundation realm! "This... No wonder they haven''t caught you." The manughs heartily as he releases the severed head from his grasp before rushing toward the white rabbit in the distance with dense killing intent... Unfortunately, you saw me... I couldn''t let you live even if you''re a beast! Bang! *** Chapter 110: Unveiling the Secret, The Murderer (2) Bang! Squeak! Seeing this, the white rabbit consumes the fruit on its paw in one go before jumping away with the brown sack in its grasp... sh! Red shes of light slightly illuminated the surrounding cavern as the man, holding his two long knives that length up to 8 inches, sliced through the previous direction of the white rabbit. "Hehehe, little one, your speed is quite fast..." The man giggled irritably. Brandishing his two knives, the man''s body began emitting an aura of destruction, causing the surrounding void to tremble... "Haha..." Boom! Vanishing in its previous location with a loud boom, the man suddenly appeared in the side of the surprised white rabbit, smiling creepily as he stabbed his knives toward it. sh... Sck! Juices flew through the atmosphere as the fragrance of herbs and fruits began to fill the cavern. Meters away, the white rabbit stared at its brown sack that was sliced in half emotionlessly before looking/staring at the destroyed fruits that were scattered through the ground after a second. "Hehe, this is fun! You managed to evade my de after using my skill!" Hearing this, the white rabbit slowly raised its little head, staring at the perpetrator of all of this... Earlier it was just minding its own business, eating fruits happily in this quiet ce. It''s one thing that the man opposite it wanted to kill him, but to destroy all its fruit... The audacity! SQUEAK! The white rabbit released a loud sound of angry squeak (although it still sounds cute) as it stared at the man meters away from him with killing intent. Vanishing from its location quietly, the white rabbit materialized on the back of the man as it, without hesitation, opened its mouth full of sharp teeth before ripping the flesh off the man''s back in one bite. "AHH! You little!" The man revealed a shocked expression on his face, gritting his teeth, not expecting the speed of the white rabbit... Swish! Suddenly brandishing the knife toward his back as he gritted his teeth, the white rabbit again vanished in his line of sight. "F*ck! What kind of speed is that!?" He cursed under his breath as the aura of destruction around him intensified, making the ground he was stepping in... to issue a cracking sound, as the bones beneath him couldn''t withstand his aura. Now, where is that rabbit!? The killing intent on the man''s eyes intensified as he scanned the surrounding cavern in great anger, gripping his knives tightly, ready to cut the rabbit in half if it approached him! Squeak! Suddenly, a squeaking sound resounded on his back... Smiling victoriously, the man twisted his body in unimaginable ways, gripping his knife as he sliced the white rabbit on his back using his left knife. sh! The smile on his face widened upon seeing the shocked expression in the white rabbit''s eyes... Sessfully splitting it into two as its body vanishes with a slight sh of silver light. "This! Not good, an Illusion!" Nibble! In an instant, as he was feeling a great shock within him, the sensation of pain suddenly attacked him asrge chunks of meat vanished from his right arm. Your next chapter is on m v|l-e''-NovelBin "AHHH! YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SH*T!" A loud angry cry echoed within the cave, traveling toward the depths in an instant... *** "This..." As Leo was unhurriedly transversing the dark cave filled with bones, the sound of an angry cry entered his senses, causing him to feel chills within upon feeling the wrath of the voice... Hesitating slightly, whether to give up finding the white rabbit or not... The sound of a loud explosion again echoed toward the depths, causing Leo''s expression to waver, feeling that the white rabbit was within. "Sigh, never mind, I wouldn''t be able to sleep at the cemetery if I didn''t unveil the secret of this cave!" Leo thought as he fully activated his mist of illusion skill, consuming everything with thick gray fog as it lowered the temperature in the surroundings to a terrifying degree... Like water that breaks through the dam, the fog traveled forward at terrifying speed, instantly reaching the cave where the rabbit and the madman were fighting... Further increasing the white rabbit''s advantage due to its epic senses. *** This... The man creases his brows, looking at the gray fog that enveloped the environment, causing his senses to decrease by the amount... "Damn, another strange skill!" He cursed, already thinking of giving up and fleeing upon realizing that he couldn''t beat the despicable rabbit... Crack... Rushing toward the unknown, not wanting to spend another minute fighting the rabbit, the man with a speed that almost reaches 30 meters per second (his speed decreases due to his wounds) charges forward. Squeak? On the other hand, the white rabbit, upon seeing the familiar gray fog, immediately revealed a slight fear in its big ck eyes... Not hesitating a bit as it rushed toward the unknown depths of the cave. ... "This, a human?" Leo squinted his eyes upon seeing the approaching man in the distance, noticing that it was greatly wounded due to how it moved... With a wary expression, Leo silently activated his invisibility skill before activating his soul scan toward it. Ding! [ ??? (Human) - Foundation Level 18 ] ss Job: ( Apostle of Devil (Epic)) Physique: ??? ___Attributes___ Health: 64/200 Qi Storage: 50/480 Stamina: 71/200 Strength: 150 Speed: 100 Qi Power: 150 Skills: Life Sacrifice (Epic), Devil Dances (Epic), Massacre (Rare), Scent of Living (Rare)??? ] ... [ Massacre (Rare): Upon killing a being in the same species, increase the overall stats by 1! Killing would recover the host''s health and stamina by 20% ] [ Life Sacrifice (Epic): Sacrifice a living being (same species) toward the devils in exchange for a considerable amount of exp! ] [ Scent of Living (Rare): Could smell the scent of being far away from the caster of the skill (at least 200 meters) Activation: Passive! ] ... "This, I could smell the scent of a human!" The man upon reaching 15 meters away from Leo, suddenly revealed a creepy smile, changing his direction as he shed his knives toward the direction of Leo... Without hesitation. ... Chapter 111: Unveiling the Secret, The Chaos (3) This... Leo''s breath almost halted upon seeing this, feeling scared within him as he watched the de approach his location at astonishing speed... Never expected that someone would try to kill him without any kind of hesitation. Fortunately, probably due to the wounds that the other party suffered. The man''s speed is much slower than his by at least 20%, allowing Leo to evade the knife in time... F*ck, what kind of craziness is this! Leo shouted within his mind before deactivating his restrain skill, causing his debuff passive skill to unleash their full might inside the cavern... A ck visible aura instantly swept toward the surroundings as the bones beneath his feet slowly turned into a white powder, making their footing unstable. The man, upon missing his designated target, began shouting in a deranged state, releasing an extremely intense aura of destruction that swept toward the void. Ding! -2 health. -2 health. This... Feeling the pain brought by the aura of the man, Leo immediately jumped backward, instantly increasing the distance between the two by 10 meters... "F*ck, are you serious!" Leo shouted toward the man, still couldn''t believe that the man on the other side wanted to kill him. "Hahaha, is this your first time that someone wanted to kill you? Don''t worry, your sacrifice would help me in the future." The man, upon hearing this, revealed a smile on his face, not expecting that the man he met was quite silly... Feeling that his luck was finally turning to good since the white rabbit didn''t show up. With the rabbit''s speed, it should have already reached their current location. However, since it didn''t show up, then it only means that it didn''t pursue him. "What a good luck! Not only that the white rabbit didn''t pursue me, but I also met a sacrifice on my way!'' HAHAHA! The manughed heartily as he rushed toward Leo with fast speed, brandishing his knives as it released a rich aura of death. sh! Reaching the side of Leo, the man''s lips curled up further, causing its expression to turn unnatural and creepy as it waved its knife vertically toward Leo''s neck. Boom! However, before the knife could connect to Leo''s neck, a pure dark me suddenly appeared/materialized between them, before instantly swallowing the man''s face... AHHHH! Sizzle, sizzle... Caught off guard, the man immediately wailed as it rolled toward the ground in pure agony, trying its best to put the me off but only in vain... Seeing this, Leo didn''t hesitate further as he again summoned his Extreme Hell''s me, shooting it toward the man on the ground with a pale face... Lighting the underground with fiendish dark light. Huff~ Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a being with 10 levels higher than yours for the first time! +10,000 horror points! +5 attribute points! +1 Medium Enlightenment Stone! ] Pant~ pant~ Leo panted heavily, watching the twitching human being burn in front of him with a pale expression... Sizzle... The smell of burnt appetizing flesh drifted to the enclosed underground cave before entering Leo''s nostril, causing Leo to bend his knees down in disgust... The next second, finally unable to handle the disgust within him, Leo puked everything in his stomach. BUAACHHKK... Saliva flowed down toward the corner of his lips as he stared at the charred human body meters away from him in aplete daze, feeling that everything that happened today seemed unreal or just a dream. However, feeling the movement in his stomach and the pain in his skin, he knew that... It was all real. He killed a human being! "No, this is not my fault, if I didn''t kill him... He would kill me instead!" "That''s right it''s not my fault, there''s no need to feel disgust..." "Just think that it was just a beast in humanoid form..." BUAAHCK! He again pukes heavily causing snots to drip from his nostrils, making breathing much harder. *** Feeling that he couldn''t stay any longer in this ce, Leo dragged his weakened body back toward the cemetery... Fighting the urge to remember the scene of the burning body of the man inside his mind. Huff~ Closing the door on the floor, Leo covered it with a big stone that he got from the outside before cing the wooden table back. "There''s no need to think about what happened earlier. Tomorrow you would go back to your usual self as those memories will be buried within the depths of your consciousness... Never to resurface again." Leo weakly mumbled under his breath, closing his eyes before finally falling asleep. Creak... Creak. *** Meow~ Opening his eyes, Leo stared above, at the wooden ceiling in daze for a couple of minutes before unhurriedly standing up... exiting the wooden house as he gazed at the horizon in deep thought. Taking fruits within his inventory, Leo unhurriedly began eating them as he walked toward the cemetery inplete silence... Enjoying the morning breeze as he stared at the peaking sun on the horizon with a weak smile. However, due to the dense canopy above, he couldn''tpletely see its figure. "Ohh, I remembered that I still have a lot of Enlightenment Stone inside my inventory. I should use them all before again continuing to create puppets!" Leo thought as he exhaled excitedly. Taking out the unassuming enlightenment stone within his inventory, Leo sat down on the ground before contemting the knowledge of the inscription... Delving toward its depths as countless inspirations began to appear inside his mind. "The inscription is divine, it''s the basguage of heaven and earth... In its lowest form, it could evoke the power of nature, allowing things to gain abilities that surpassed the set limitation of itself. Nature is heartless yet benevolent, making inscription extremely hard to grasp, without experiencing the goodness of life and suffering of heart a being might not be able to grasp it in their lifetime... Ding! [ Congrattions upon gaining enlightenment on the way of life nature! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon learning Inscription level 1! ] Ding! ... Chapter 112: The Rule, The Quasi, and The Dao (1) Ding! [ Congrattions upon learning a skill on your own for the first time! +5,000 horror points! +5 free attribute points! +1 Medallion of Forceful upgrade! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon learning a Rule on your own for the first time! +10,000 horror points! +10 free attribute points! Read thetest on m_v-l''e|-NovelBin + 1 Medium Enlightenment stone! ] ... [ Inscription (Unknown) (Basic level 1): Learn thenguage of Heaven and Earth! Permanently gain 10 Soul power, Qi power, and Qi storage for every skill level! Note: One of the Ancientnguages of Heaven ] [ Life Nature (Rules) ( 5%): One of the derived Laws of Nature, the unbreakable rule of nature and the ultimate Law of Nature... ( It''s simr to how humans/beings need to breathe to survive. Breathing is like a rule to humans, if they go opposite it, they will inevitably die! ) Effects: Increase lifespan by 20,prehension by 25%, and overall potential by 2.5! Note: Rules are the main ingredients to create an iplete domain! ] ... This... Leo exhaled, opening his eyes as he stared toward the surrounding environment strangely, feeling that everything around him be new and novel to him... As if he could now see things that he wasn''t able to see previously. "The Rule of Nature, the Life Nature." Leo mumbled under his breath,pletely understanding the reason behind this... "The experience of suffering and happiness of one being, understanding before going beyond, the evolution of one''s mentality..." This... is this the feeling of reborn that the old people often talk about in the past? Leo smiled wryly upon feeling that it was possible, if the old people in the past really experienced a lot of things, then it was possible to gain the epiphany of Life Nature... "So it was one of the main ingredients for the domain huh? "I''m quite curious about the rules within the Domain of Strangeness from the system." Maybe it''s the rule of despair or emotion, maybe illusion. ... Sigh. Leo shook his head, feeling that his mind was wandering again toward the unknown. Taking another small enlightenment stone from his inventory, Leo again continued delving and contemting the creation of puppets, wanting to increase his knowledge to speed up the advancement of his ss job. Since he still had 8 Enlightenment stones within him, 5 small and 3 middle-grade stones, Leo wanted to divide them into 3... 3 for puppets (already used one earlier), 3 for potion making, and 3 for his Cultivation technique, a perfect distribution for some perfectionists like him! *** Knowledge and inspiration filled Leo''s mind as he tightly grasped the small enlightenment stone on his right hand. Every second passed by, his knowledge regarding the skill and the cultivation technique deepened by amount, making him feel the true happiness of learning. From the mistakes that hemitted when he was making potions and puppets... Then toward the mysteriousness of his immortal-grade cultivation technique. Unknown to him, as his knowledge regarding his cultivation technique continued to deepen, the Qi within his body began to boil... followed by the Qi in the environment surging toward his body... Cirction on its own as it was increasing his cultivation level by an amount every second. Ding! +100 exp! +100 exp! +100 exp! *** In the blink of an eye, another 10 hours silently passed by. The stone in Leo''s hand silently crumbled into powder as the breeze of air carried it toward the unknown. Opening his eyes, Leo exhaled arge amount of visible ck air, causing the grass meters away to decay in a matter of seconds. "This feeling, it was addictive!" Leo clenched his fist, feeling that his strength had increased greatly... In addition to that, he felt that the basic puppetry and potion knowledge skills within him changed greatly, or to be exact evolved into something higher. Ding! [ Advance Puppetry Knowledge (Level 1) - Advance knowledge of Puppetry. Include the advanced creation of low to middle-level puppets that have basic and advancedbat abilities! Activation: Permanent Knowledge! Upgrade Cost: 10,000 horror points! Note: Creating an advanced puppet requires lots of materials! ] Ding! [ Advance Potion Knowledge (Level 1) - Advance Knowledge of creating potions (including the materials). The knowledge includes the creation of low to mid-grade potions! Activation: Permanent Knowledge! Upgrade Cost: 10,000 horror points! Note: Crating potions require a huge amount of materials! ] ... "Indeed, they be advanced knowledgepared to the previous basic knowledge." Leo smiled widely upon reading their description... Not only does it include the knowledge of materials above ungraded grade, but it also includes the correct way to create the basic potions and puppetry! Although not guaranteed, it would still allow him to step further into creating potions and puppets! "Now, creating potions and puppetry is not that much of a problem, the only problem right now is time and materials... However, with money, materials could easily be acquired!" Sigh, I don''t know why I didn''t use the enlightenment stone in the past few weeks... Silly me. He shook his head before finally checking his character panel... Seeing that his level increased greatlypared to earlier. ... Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Wisp/Ghost Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion Physique: Soul Body Rules: Life Nature (6%) ___ Attributes ___ Level: 9 Mid Foundation Realm( 7,958/10,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 0 Health: 185/185 Qi: 320/320 Stamina: 185/185 Strength: 150 Speed: 100 Qi Power: 175 Soul Power: 300 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 6), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 6), Jinx (Lvl 5), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 5), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 5), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 7), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 5), Hidden Strenght (Lvl 5), Build up Stamina (Lvl 5)... ss Job Skill: Advance Potion Knowledge (Lvl 1), Advance Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl 1)... ... Horror Points: 108,900! ... "This... It''s much stronger than the level 18 man from yesterday! Not only that, but my soul power also entered a staggering 300 points!" This, is this the feeling of being invincible in the same realm? Leo joked to himself as he inspected the changes on his body... ... Chapter 113: The Potion and Puppetry! Soon, another 3 days silently passed by. Within the cemetery, Leo widely smiled as he began feeding the Earth Gold within the crow puppet in front of him with dense Qi. After 3 days of consecutive failure in creating the puppet, having small degrees of error within their inscription. Leo was finally quite confident that the puppet in front of him was sessful! Without any hint of error within. Ding! Seeing that the ck beady eyes of the puppet crow in front of him lit up. Leo silently retracted his palm, cutting the connection within them as he patiently waited with anticipation in his eyes. Ding! [ Crow Puppet (Basic-Medium grade): A basic bird puppet that has little ws. It could follow basicmands and have basicbat ability! Moreover, its flying speed is also quite fast! Innate skill: Dead Object (Umon) ______Atrributes______ Mortal Level 13: (Couldn''t Increase.) Health: 50/50 Mana: 50/50 Stamina: 50/50 Strength: 25 Speed: 35 Qi Power: 35 ______Skills______ Skill: Monitoring Eyes (Common), Aura Restrain (Umon), Piercing w (Common), Sharp Beak (Common) ] ... [ Restrain Aura (Umon): It wouldn''t release an aura even if it uses a skill below rare grade, making it harmless in one''s eye. Activation: Passive! Note: A good basic skill for a new inspiring assassin! ] ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon creating your first basic puppet! +5,000 horror points! +5 free attributes! +1 Basic Puppet Blueprint! ] ... "This, I finally seeded! HAHAHA!" Leoughed excitedly as he inspected the ck crow on the table. The ck crow shook its head as itbed its metallic feathers using its sharp beak,pletely acting like a normal crow in his memory... Caw! Looking at Leo, the ck crow cawed loudly before it pped its metallic wings at a low speed as it flew toward Leo''s shoulder... Resting there as it asionally scanned the environment. "Hehehe, you really work finepared to the failed product from the past few days!" Leo''s smile widens beforepletely changing into a frown after a second, remembering the dozens of failed products that he made in the past few days. Almost filling/making the atmosphere of the cemetery strange as countless brain-dead birds/crows moved within the cemetery strangely. Although it''s not that exaggeratedpared to his first 4 creations, nheless, every one of them has strange ws... Some of them bark while some run using their feet akin to a dog. Sigh... If I hadn''t spent hours creating every single one of them, I would probably destroyed them long ago. "Fortunately, It will change from now on since I already created my first basic puppet!" Leo thought, dispelling the negative thoughts that umted within his mind in the past few days before taking out the unassuming blueprint from his inventory. Quite curious about what kind of reward the system gave him. (He''s talking about the blueprint within.) "I should try creating other puppets, I already be sick of creating crow puppets non-stop." Leo weakly thought, feeling quite tired after seeing his failed crows that almost filled every corner of the cemetery. Ding! [ Do you want to open the random Blueprint (ranges from basic low to basic peak!) ¡Á1? (ept/Declined) ] "ept." Ding! [ Congrattions upon getting a Doll (small) (Basic-High) puppet blueprint! ] Ding! [ Doll (small) blueprint: An assuming normal doll that moved in the silent night. Peaking through the ck curtain, silently watch you sleep...] ... This. "System, tell me the truth, are you depressed?" Leo mumbled weakly as he read the description of the blueprint, feeling that the system manipted it... System, "..." Never mind, at least it''s not a bird. Leo shook his head before taking out materials within his inventory, checking if all the materials needed to create the doll were present in his inventory. "Hmm, hair... I could use the hair of beasts, check... As for the feet, I could use the long nails and teeth of the canines for recement." "Good, everything is present!" Leo sped his hands as he arranged all the materials on the table, taking an Earth gold from the bottle before beginning to inscribe it based on the blueprint of the doll... Focusing greatly, not wanting to create another strange failure. *** Within the town, miles away from Leo''s location. Inside one of the building barracks on the corner of the town. The familiar Core Formation guard could be seen walking back and forth within one of the rooms anxiously, his brows greatly furrowed as the air of unease filled the building. Soon, after waiting for a while, a guard suddenly knocked on the closed door before hurriedly entering without waiting for permission. "How is it? Did you find anything?" The Core Formation guard, upon seeing the person who entered the room, immediately questioned it. "Reporting, we didn''t find any corpse within the town! We already checked everywhere but we still haven''t found any corpse!" This... Instead of feeling relieved, the Core Formation realm guard''s unease increased, feeling that something malicious was brewing in the darkness. With the sudden disappearance of the killer four days ago after killing and dismembering the body of a woman... His traces suddenly vanished into thin air, never again killed in the past few days, causing the citizens within the town to heave a sigh of relief. However, the Core Formation realm guard never felt the same, without capturing and killing the murdered with his own hands, he would never feel safe! "Go back, don''t lower your guards, maintain the tight security within the town!" He shouted, scarring the guard opposite him as the guard immediately scrambled outside. "Sigh, the leader is still persistent." The guard silently thought, feeling that it was unnecessary to find the murderer further. In his opinion, someone within the higher-ups already killed the murderer, it''s just that they don''t want to be in the highlights so they hide their contribution. "Simr to those novels I read in the past! The Mc often appeared weak but secretly dealt with the problems within his territory!" The eyes of the guard couldn''t help but release a brilliance, walking hurriedly toward his post as his mind wandered toward his impossible dream. ... Chapter 114: The Unassuming Normal Doll. Huff~ Finally, I managed to finish creating this doll. Leo silently wiped the forming sweat on his forehead, smiling in satisfaction as he stared at the 18-inch tall white doll in front of him... Its doll face was pale white, carrying a hint of innocence within, in addition to its big ck eyes... Moreover, its hair was made/created using the pure ck strands of the feathers of the mid-foundation realm Soul-eating crows, adding a hint of metallic beauty within! On the other hand, its sharp feet akin to daggers that could dig holes in one''s body were created using the teeth and nails of a canine... Making it blinding and dangerous in one sight. Experience new stories on m v|l e''-NovelBin "I surely couldn''t give it to a child as a gift." Leo silently mused as he gazed at the darkness above, already couldn''t see the sun on the horizon as the darkness slowly shrouded the gray cemetery. Sooner orter, there might be a small amount of fog that would appear due to cold temperatures brought by night, weakly hindering one''s senses as it increases the creepiness of the ce. "Time really flew past quickly, I just started creating this doll in the peak of morning... Yet, after finishing it suddenly bes night." Leo slightly shook his head, nning to finish what he was currently doing before eating dinner, then after that, he would again start another round of night cultivation. Crack! After filling the Earth Gold within the doll, the dead eyes of the doll instantly revealed brilliance, before creating a cracking sound as it slowly stood up. Ding! [ Doll (Small) (Basic-High grade): A basic doll puppet with ws. It could follow basicmands and have basicbat ability! Moreover, its movement speed is also quite fast and strange! Innate skill: Dead Object (Umon) ______Atrributes______ Mortal Level 18: (Couldn''t Increase.) Health: 100/100 Mana: 100/100 Stamina: 75/75 Strength: 50 Speed: 55 Qi Power: 50 ______Skills______ Skill: Monitoring Eyes (Common), Laugh of Little Nightmare (Elite), Peircing Legs (Umon), Silent Movement (Elite) ] ... [ Laugh of Little Nightmare (Elite): An innocentugh of a nightmare. Drilling into one''s consciousness, making those who heard be anxious and uneasy, causing them to reveal a w! Activation: Passive! Note: A good basic mental attack! ] [ Silent Movement (Elite): Move without creating a noise, simr to a wind that suddenly appeared without you noticing. Activation: Passive! Effects: Permanently increase the speed by 5 per skill level! ] ... This stat... "Good! The safety of this cemetery began to increase by amount every day!" Leo smiled widely, thinking of the scene of the cemetery having hundreds of puppets withbat ability! Hiding toward the dark as they silently killed those malicious beasts that approached him! "Great, however, it''s best if I make an advance puppet!" Advance puppet isparable to the Foundation realm beast while Basic puppet is onlyparable to the Mortal realm beasts! If he manages to create one, then the safety of the cemetery is almost set! ( Each puppet grade was divided into four categories, from lowest to highest. Basic-low grade puppets were equivalent to mortal-level (1-5), Medium grade puppets (6-10 level), High-grade puppets (11-15 level), and thest, which is the Peak-grade puppets were equivalent to level (16-20) of the said realm. ) However, it would probably take a while to make one. Leo shook his head, burying the thoughts behind his mind as hemanded the doll on the table to guard the cemetery. The doll, upon hearing this, slightly nods its head in understanding... Bending backward, piercing its four limbs on the ground, the doll, created a low innocent giggle before rushing toward the distance using its four limbs... Immediately vanishing within Leo''s dumbfounded sight as it entered the unknown darkness. This. Seeing this, Leo almost jumps backward due to fright, not knowing what kind of strange thing he again made. "This... System did you bring me a failed blueprint?" Leo asks with doubt. Ding! [ System never gives failed product, the reason behind all of this is the small error you made on the inscription within the doll. ] "So it''s all me along?" Leo sighed helplessly, patting his chest as he took out meat from his inventory, having already forgotten the scene of the charred body in the past few days as he began roasting it. *** Almost miles away from Leo, on the corner of the cemetery, toward the far west, the two silver skeletons could be seen walking in the darkness... Transversing the cold cemetery as they followed the instinct within them... nk, nk! (This ce is strange, cultivating within this ce is almost 5 times faster than the outside...) Skeleton #1 nks weakly toward Skeleton #2 beside it, moving toward the unknown distance, stopping for a while to circte their cultivation technique to pinpoint the origin of this strange speed. nk... (Is this really okay not to report this to the master?) Skeleton #2 replied, feeling ufortable within. nk, nk! (What are you talking about, it''s not like we were betraying the heartless... I mean the master! Master was too busy with his own business, we can''t afford to disturb him! Besides that, we don''t have any proof that could point out that something was really wrong with/in this ce!) Skeleton #1 retorted before moving forward with fast speed, not giving Skeleton #2 beside it with enough time to think. Soon, after another 10 minutes of non-stop walking, Skeletons #1 and #2 stop in front of an ordinary and unassuming old grave. Beneath, they could see small cracks appearing within the stone tomb, running toward the deep unknown... nk, (This should be the ce.) Skeleton #1 muttered under its skull, feeling that the speed of the cirction of the cultivation technique suddenly increased drastically in this ce. Raising his bone sword, Skeleton #1, without hesitation, sliced the concrete tomb beneath horizontally, before another one vertically... Causing the tomb to copse with a boom... nk... (This...) Skeleton #1 couldn''t help but halt in his movement as it stared toward the unknown depths with mixed emotions. ... Chapter 115: The Underground Passage. Darkness envelops the unknown depths, not allowing a single speck of light from the moonlight to enter. Within, the expression of the two silver skeletons couldn''t help but be more solemn, feeling that something or someone was tempting them to enter the ce... As if someone was staring at them from the depths with malicious intent, manipting their desires to enter and explore the ce. nk... (The feeling of abyss.) Skeleton #1 instinctively thought. Although it had no idea why that thought suddenly appeared inside its mind, the intense longing silently bloomed within its consciousness. Staring at the darkness below, the Qi within their bones began to circte on their own, boiling as their exp began to increase by a small amount every second they stayed in the ce. nk... (Let''s go back, let''s report it to the master.) Skeleton #2 tagged the hand of Skeleton #1, causing thetter to nod its skull in understanding, shaking the lingering desire within it as it silently followed Skeleton #2 in the distance... Retreating toward the center of the cemetery, the two silver skeletons quickly vanished under the silver moonlight. Meow~ As soon as they left, the beady eyes of the ck crow within the darkness, hiding beyond one of the concrete niches, instantly shed with rich dark light. Staring toward the silhouettes of the two silver skeletons before again bing lifeless after a while. As it stayed near the periphery of the pit of the unknown darkness, some of the energy within the pit slowly entered its puppet being... Slowly tempering the materials within, as its energy/level also slowly but surely increased by a small amount mysteriously. *** Knock, knock. As Leo was staring at the wooden ceiling above... letting his mind to wander from the forgotten past before nning to cultivate after a while... (A normal urrence for people in the middle of the night.) A sudden knock from the wooden door interrupted his thoughts, causing him to feel dissatisfied within as he unhurriedly stood up from the sofa... Walking toward the door as the old wooden floor beneath him echoed with an irritating creaking sound. "D*mn, It''s already in the middle of the night! Who has the audacity to interrupt my rest!? "Do they have nothing to do!?" Leo grumbled under his breath as he opened the door hastily, causing the skeleton hand to miss the door frame by inch as its hand hit the face of the heartless necromancer with a crisp sound. Knock! nk... (This.) Skeleton #1 stared dumbfoundedly at its skeleton hand before slowly raising its skull to look at the gray eyes of the heartless necromancer, causing its heart to skip a bit even though it didn''t have them. nk~ (It''s a~ an ident...) The voice of Skeleton #1 quivered slightly as it avoided the eyes of Leo instinctively, slowly feeling that the temperature in the surrounding environment began to decrease by amount every second as they stayed still. "What is it?" Leo asks coldly, staring at Skeleton #1 with squinted eyes, causing thetter to shiver in fright. nk, nk~ (Master, we find something strange in the corner of the cemetery... We don''t know what it is but it made us two ufortable and tempted.) Seeing that the atmosphere seemed not right. Skeleton #2 shook its head, ming Skeleton #1 for its carelessness as it hurriedly reported their strange findings to Leo. ... "Don''t tell me," Leo''s expression instantly changed upon hearing the description of Skeleton #1, feeling that the pit was connected to the underground passage beneath them. Feeling that the cemetery bes much more high and mysterious in his mind as if it is being shrouded by thick fog... Hiding unimaginable secrets within. Of course, it''s probably just the product of his imagination, but being cautious and a bit adventurous seems fun in his opinion. Besides that, doing puppetry and potions for countless days nonstop slowly became much more nd in Leo''s mind... It was sad to say, but he was slowly bing bored! Still, recalling his findings from days ago... At the same time remembering the feeling of close death and the charred figure of the man, his heart inexplicable beat faster in slight excitement... Causing his gray eyes to twinkle in anticipation. ... No, this is bad! My heart is being contaminated by them! Leo thought as he stared warily at the two silver skeletons in front of him, feeling that their corruption increased considerablypared to thest time he saw them. Unconsciously moving away from them, Leo coughs slightly before asking them in a serious tone. "I see, then immediately lead the way, I still need to cultivate and make puppets tomorrow." Skeleton #1 "nk, (Then master, please follow us.)" *** Soon, after walking for almost half an hour, the three finally reached the corner of the pit, causing Leo to raise his brows in surprise as he stared at the darkness below... Simr to the two silver skeletons beside him, he could also feel that circting his cultivation technique in this ce was much faster than inside the house... Moreover, the feeling of something or someone summoning/tempting him to go within the unknown depths of the pit also blooms within his mind, making him extremely wary. This... Summoning the white me within his palm, Leo, without hesitation, shot the white me toward the pit, illuminating the space within as it descended slowly, before finally andpletely vanishing within his line of sight after a while. "There''s no sound of the familiar explosion?" DING! As he was pondering deep within him, whether to jump down or not... A sudden loud notification rang within his consciousness, almost making him jump toward the pit in pure fright. System, what the f*ck! He cursed loudly within his mind as he slightly patted his chest, calming his mind down before checking the notification that appeared. Ding! [ Congrattions upon finding a natural cultivation ce (affinity with death and life) for the first time! +25,000 horror points! +10 free attribute points! +5 natural treasures (ranging from ungraded-low to grade-2 high!) ] "This, system, do you know this ce?" Reading the notification that appeared, Leo instantly beamed, knowing that they might have hit the jackpot. ... Chapter 116: Natural Cultivation Sight/Place. "This... System do you know this ce?" Ding! [ Spending 5,000 horror points for the basic information of natural cultivation ces/sights? (ept/Declined?) ] "The H*ck, why did it suddenly be 5,000 pointspared to the 100 horror points that I spent in the past when I asked you a question?" Leo couldn''t help but ask doubtfully, feeling suspicious toward the system as it began to scam him with his hard-earned horror points... Ding! [ The Difficulty of the question is quite high, causing the price to also be high! (It means that the system needs more horror points to answer your question!) ] "F*ck, what kind of logic is that!" Leo couldn''t help but shout loudly, thinking that the system was really scamming him with his horror points. Since it already knew the answer to his question, why not answer it for free? Isn''t that good? Helping each other is always good! Sigh... Never mind, get the 5,000 horror points quickly before I get angry! Leo said toward the system as he clicked the ept button, causing his horror points to instantly decrease by 5,000 points, making him sigh in helplessness. Ding! [ Natural Cultivation ces were ces that were rich in natural Qi (With their certain elements). It was formed or born after countless years ofpressingrge amounts of Qi and Elements within the earth! Moreover, natural cultivation ces could birth to natural treasures (herbs or fruits) depending on the element of the ce, making the cultivator with high affinity with the certain elements (of the natural cultivation ce) reap much higher amounts of benefits within the ce! Note 1: If the natural cultivation ces were rich in death Qi, then a cultivator who had a great affinity on the death element and cultivation technique that was rted to death... could speed his cultivation speed for almost a dozen within the ce! (Work the same on other elements) Note 2: However, if someone with a high affinity on the life element cultivated in Natural Cultivation ces with Rich Death Qi, then the speed of their cirction of the cultivation technique would lower drastically! ] This... "We really hit the jackpot!" Leo shouted excitedly, feeling that the Core Formation realm was waving toward him! With his low-immortal cultivation technique and in addition to his affinity toward life and death energy, then if he cultivated in this ce... It would at least increase by probably more than 5 times! "Quick, let''s go!" Leo excitedly said as he, without hesitation, jumped toward the unfathomable darkness, causing the expression of the two silver skeletons behind him to change greatly... Thinking that Leo couldn''t control the desire within him as he jumped toward the seeming abyss. nk! (This... No, we need to follow master!) Seeing that the silhouette of Leo quickly vanished within its sight, Skeleton #2 anxiously grabbed the skeleton hand of Skeleton #1 before jumping toward the pit without hesitation... CLANNKK! (Ahhh!) Read new adventures at m_v-l''e|-NovelBin Caught off guard, Skeleton #1 could only cry in unwillingness as they both descended toward the unknown at a fast speed. *** Descending toward the unknown depths, Leo could feel that the pit began to expand within his senses as he asionally held toward the corner of the earth to reduce the speed of his descent... Making sure that he wouldn''t die from silly reasons like falling. Thud! After a minute of descending, a thud sound weakly echoed within the darkness as Leo held his butt in slight pain... Ugh, It hurt slightly. The feeling of his flesh beingpressed in an instant due to falling from heights almost makes Leo cry, making him feel the stinging pain for a while. Unhurriedly raising his head, Leo quickly scanned theplete darkness in the surroundings, trying to see what kind of ce the natural cultivation ces were... However, unsurprisingly, he couldn''t see a thing due to theplete darkness shrouding the ce. How silly. Shaking his head with a weak smile, Leo summoned a white me toward his palm, instantly causing the darkness to quickly retreat as the fire illuminated the space within... "This... I''m correct, the ce is really connected to the passage on the house." Leo''s eyes couldn''t help but widen as he stared at the familiar sight in front of him inplete dumbfounded... The familiar bones that almost formed a small mountain could be seen scattered on the environment of the cave passage as ck thick water akin to ink could be seen covering the sight beyond the ground... However, even though Leo couldn''t see the beyond of the ink, he already knew that it was still the countless bones of deceased humans... Making his skin crawl in chills just thinking of how many humans really died in this ce. Thud... As he was pondering within himself, trying to think of possible exnations/reasons regarding this ce, the sound of falling skeletons resounded behind his back... Causing him to be distracted as he gazes toward the two silver skeletons behind him. nk, nk! (This ce... The skeleton race, who KILLED you all!?) Skeleton #1 upon finally getting to his feet, stared at the countless bones in the surrounding ce in pure puzzlement... before its expression changed into great despair and enraged in the next second. Seeing this, Leo couldn''t help but cover his face with his free palm in helplessness, not knowing whether to cry orugh. nk! (Idiot, they were really dead! They just dpose and be bones!) Skeleton #2 hit the skull of Skeleton #1 hardly using the scabbard of its bone sword, causing thetter to hold its skull in pain. nk, nk, (Then it''s good, I thought someone was targeting the skeleton race!) ... Sigh... The skeleton probably wouldn''t change... Leo thought before moving in a random direction. Although he badly wanted to sit down and begin cultivating to strive to advance toward the Core Formation realm in the shortest time possible... The description of the system tells that there should be natural treasure within this ce (Natural Cultivation ce) that could help a being/cultivator with the same affinity to advance further... Making him determined to find them for his own use! ... Chapter 117: Grade 1 treasure, Fruit of Undead! (1) The passage beneath the cemetery runs out like the branches of a tree. Everywhere they went, they would see countless intersections that lead to the unknown... The ck ink liquid beneath them slowly increases, already reaching Leo''s above-heel as he moves toward the unknown direction... Dyeing his feet with ck as it slightly hindered his movement due to its stickiness that stuck to his soles as he moved. As he entered through another intersection, Leo would immediately carve a symbol within the earth and bones in the surroundings, ensuring that they wouldn''t get lost if they decided to go back... ... Continue reading on m|v-l''e -NovelBin "The concentration of Qi increases again." He mumbled under his breath as he could see a dark smoke that roamed within the passage unhindered, moving back and forth unconsciously, tempting their being to absorb it. "System, what is this?" Leo asks within his brain, unable toprehend the thing in front of him. Ding! [ 500 horror points... (ept/Declined)? ] Ding! [ The dark smoke is a thick strand of Death Qi, due to its thickness it bes visible to one sight. Note: Absorbing it would greatly increase the Exp of being below the Core Formation realm, it also has other benefits! ] Reading the notification that appeared in the corner of his eyes, Leo revealed an excited expression on his face, asking the two silver skeletons behind him to absorb the ck smoke in front as he started circting the Qi within him... Inhaling arge amount of ck smoke, Leo began manipting them to circte within his body, causing his body to release a hint aura of rot before reverting back to normal in a while... In the process of healing, the muscles and bones within him also got tempered, making it slightly strongerpared to before! Soon, after a while, the death Qi eventuallynded in his heart, circting within his body as the heart pumps an amount of it... Ding! +500 exp points! +0.001 Death Affinity! This, the exp gained is almost equivalent to killing 2te-foundation beasts! Leo eximed as he gazed at the ck smoke in the distance, showing a hint of greed within his heart as he moved toward it unhindered... Again circting his cultivation technique as he absorbs them within his body one by one, causing his Qi to boil and increase as time passes by! Ding! [ Congrattions upon leveling up to level 10! +20 Qi Storage!, +5 Qi power!, +6 Soul Power, +2 Speed, +1 Strength!, +5 Health!, +5 Stamina! ] Soon, after absorbing all the dark smoke in the environment, Leo''s level increases by one, finally reaching the peak of the middle stage as he stands up with a bright smile... "I finally reached level 10! I could finally learn 3 new skills from my ss job and skill tree!" Leo thought happily as he continued moving toward the unknown depths of the passage, nning to learn the 3 new skillster after he explored the ce. However, as he was about to enter one of the passages... In the corner of the passage, behind one of the forming small mountains of bones, a sudden dark glint appeared in the corner of his eyes, approaching his body at rming speed! Boom! Thick death energy suddenly shrouded the ce, corroding the bones in the surrounding area as if they were grazed by acids... This... Quickly distancing himself, Leo solemnly stared at the corrosive darkness in front of them before ncing at his burned hands upon being grazed by the unknown smoke. Scanning toward the ce where he first saw the dark glint earlier... Leo''s eyes couldn''t help but reveal a surprise, not expecting that a beast was living in this kind of ce. Tens of meters away from him, a ck beast standing on its four limbs was staring at them with reddened eyes... Its thick tail almost reached 2 meters long swayed toward the void, parting the air with crisp sound as it threatened to part the ground. Under its four limbs, Leo and the skeletons could see the sharp nails of the beast akin to long knives, piercing the skull and bones beneath unhindered... "This... isn''t this a rat!?'' Leo thought as he stared at the 2-meter-tall ck rat in the distance in surprise. Feeling that it was different from the rats he met in the past (especially the rats he met in the park). Without further ado, Leo silently cast a soul scan toward it as he exchanged nces with the two skeletons behind him, causing their expression to change in understanding. Ding! [ Dark Mutated Rat (Rare Mutated +2) - Foundation Realm level 14! Innate Skill: Unhindered by Darkness (Rare +2)! ___Attributes___ Health: 198/200 Qi: 345/360 Stamina: 138/150 Strength: 175 Speed: 115 Qi Power: 175 Skills: gue (Rare), Corrosion of Darkness (Rare +1), ???, ???, Madness (Rare +1). ] ... [ Unhindered by Darkness (Rare +2): Could perfectly see through the darkness and see through death Qi. Effects: Permanently Increased darkness affinity by 2, Decay -10%. ] ... SQUEAKKK! Squeaking loudly, the rat charges toward Leo with all fours, greatly angered upon noticing the absence of the ck smoke in the surroundings... Opening its mouth, the rat revealed its grinding sharp teeth beyond as it spat a disgusting green liquid toward the humanoid beings in the distance. Seeing this, Leo didn''t panic at all as he summoned a pure ck me of destruction within his left palm... shooting it toward the approaching green liquid with equal speed. Boom! Upon collision, a loud booming sound resounded within the cave followed by a disgusting smell/fragrance quickly wafting toward the environment. Ding! -2 health points! -2 health... -2 health... This... poison! Leo quickly thought as he covered his nose before distancing himself from the fast-approaching rat... As he was moving backward, Leo raised his right pointed finger toward the rat, consecutively shooting a fast dark bullet that silently and quickly prated its dark body. SQUEAAKKK! Feeling the deep pain within its body, as the dark bullet corroded its within, therge rat rolled toward the ground, twisting its body in unimaginable ways as it released a green fog within its mouth... Quickly shrouding the ce with toxic gasses. ... Chapter 118: Grade 1 treasure, Fruit of Undead! (2) Sizzle, sizzle. -1 health point! -2 health points! Cough, cough... Leo coughed intensely upon inhaling a huge amount of air, feeling that his lungs burned to the boiling point due to the corrosive properties of the green gas. Cough... Pointing his pointed finger toward the twisting ck rat on the ground, Leo was again about to shoot a consecutive ck bullet to finish the rat off when suddenly... The two silver skeletons beside him suddenly charged toward the ck rat meters away, brandishing their bone swords as they glowed in sharp silver light. Squeak! Sensing that danger was approaching its body at an rming speed, the rat gritted its teeth, creating an intense annoying sound that echoed to the passage as it quickly retreated toward the distance, toward the ce where Leo first saw it... This... Seeing this, the two silver skeletons and Leo immediately chase the retreating rat, not giving it a chance of survival. ... nk, (It''s finally ready, bloom!) Skeletons #1 and #2 nk their lower jaw,ughing madly as they both clench their left skeleton palm toward the running ck rat in the distance... Thud... In an instant, after clenching their skeleton fists, the ck rat in the far distance immediately halted its movement, raising its head high before staring at their figure with ferocious eyes. Squeak! Without further ado, it angrily opened its mouth, spitting multiple green acids toward them. Spew, Spew, Spew... Not waiting till the green acids hit the designated target, the rat tensely bends its hind legs, kicking the ink-ck water beneath it before vanishing in its location... moving toward the humanoid figure in the distance with eyes full of killing intent. "Great! I don''t know if you both really use your "Seed of Sin" skill or if you two secretly learned a new skill that could greatly anger a being!" Leo casually joked as he fired dozens of ck fireballs toward the approaching acid, not letting them explode near them to avoid further inhaling huge amounts of poison... Boom! The loud sound of an explosion resounded in the distance, followed by the heat wave that traveled deep within the passage, moving at a fast speed as it dispersed the humid air in the surroundings... Moving at a fast speed, the rat used the bigmotion created by the light of the explosion as it silently crept behind Leo in silence. Raising its left front limb high above as its nails weakly glinted with metallic light, the rat''s eyes squinted slightly as it quickly waved its paw toward Leo''s unprotective body. Swish! Feeling that the victory was within its sight, the ck rat licked its teeth in happiness, only waiting for its nail to prate the body of the human in front of it before eating it for dinner... However, before the nail prates the body of the being in front of it, the ck rat''s smile instantly faded before being reced by shock and fear... Looking at the figure in front of it, that at one point was looking at him with a gentle smile... Squeak? The rat''s dark eyes constricted greatly before an unprecedented pain and weakness hit its consciousness, weakly tilting its head below, the rat looked at the iron sword that perfectly hit its heart in fear, not understanding the thing that unfolded in front of it... Eventually, it fell toward the ground with a loud thud, its eyes were empty as its life force quickly flowed out from it. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing your first 10 foundation beasts! +2,500 horror points! +4 free attribute! +1 Medallion of Forcefull Upgrade! ] Huff~ "Do you really think that you could approach me without me noticing it?" Leo revealed a mocking smile on his face as he weakly kicked the corpse of the ck rat. Taking out an empty bottle within his inventory, Leo began extracting its essence out of its body, before finally hiding its corpse for further purposes after a while. This... Again readying to continue exploring the ce, Leo and the two silver skeletons were about to enter one of the passages after leaving their traces behind when suddenly... In the corner of his eyes, toward the far distance where the rat had escaped earlier, he saw a small dark green vine that was growing within the skull of a human, weakly swaying in the wind. "Don''t tell me..." Leo thought in anticipation as he hurriedly rushed toward the small mountain of bones in the distance, causing the skulls and bones beneath his feet to issue a cracking sound as he instantly arrived beside the vine. Upon arriving, Leo surprisingly discovered that hiding within the skull, he could see 5 small identical red berries that were releasing a small amount of ck strange fragrance within... Making Leo''s stomach grumble upon smelling it. "This fruit, just the smell of it makes me tempted." Leo silently thought as he cast a soul scan toward it in anticipation. Ding! [ Undead Berries (Grade 1-Rare Mutated +1): An extremely rare grade 1 natural fruit that could only be found in a ce abundant with Death Qi! Due to the additional elements it consumed, it suffered from good mutation, causing its effectiveness to increase drastically! Effect upon consumption: Permanently increase Death and Life affinity by 1, and Soul and Qi power by 5! Effect 2: Greatly increase the Qi inside the body by a considerable amount! (Only effective below Nascent Soul realm!) Note 1: A being could only consume 2 raw Undead Berries in its lifetime! (Could consume an extra one if the Undead Berries were processed into a potion!) Note 2: Extremely helpful below Core Formation Realm! Note 3: Could mutate beasts with Death and Life element, probability (Extremely Low)! ] This... It''s much better than the Earth Vitality Ginseng! Moreover, it could also mutate beasts with a small probability upon consumption! Leo thought excitedly, knowing how scary beasts that mutated furtherpared to their peers, one of the prime examples was the mutated white rabbit that they brought from the wilderness. Just the speed of the white rabbit alone... already allowed it to escape from the grasp of the Core Formation vine! It could be said that a mutated beast at the early stage of the Foundation realm alone could give a normal being at thete stage of the Foundation realm enough headache! ... Chapter 119: Unexpected Mutation (1). Feeling a deep anticipation within, Leo gave the two red berries to the two silver skeletons beside him, causing their expression to change with desire as they could feel their being sending a hint to them to immediately consume the fruit. nk! (Thanks!)¡Á2 Continue reading on m|v-l''e -NovelBin The two silver skeletons upon receiving the berries, immediately consumed them in one go, causing their skull to be smeared with rich red with a hint of ck juices, making its fragrance waft toward the surroundings as it flew out from the gaps of their skull... A secondter, after chewing the fruit into a paste, the juices slowly seep through their bones, causing the two silver skeletons to nk their lower jawfortably. Ding! [ Congrattions to Skeleton #1 and #2 upon upgrading to level 6! ] "This, they didn''t manage to mutate further... A pity." Leo disappointedly mumbled under his breath upon seeing that the two silver skeletons didn''t mutate, thinking that the probability of mutation was much lower than he expected. However, thinking that the two silver skeletons are mutated beings to begin with, he could only assume that the two probably needed a higher-grade natural treasure or much more luck to mutate again. Sigh, it''s still quite disappointing that they didn''t mutate. Leo casually thought before eating one of the red berries... In an instant, the rich tinge of spiciness assaulted his taste buds upon chewing the fruit, making his face red as gray smoke visibly emitted out of his body... Following that, the sense offortable feeling swept to his body before the energy of the fruit circted on its own... As if it was finding something. This feeling... Leo strangely thought as he instinctively sat down toward the bones beneath him. Closing his eyes, Leo began circting the energy within his body, following the instinct within him as he began guiding the energy toward his very soul. Not even a second passed by upon guiding the energy toward his soul, a dense energying from an unknown origin suddenly enveloped his whole being... Tempering his soul and soul body in the process, making his soul much more denserpared to before! Ding! [ Congrattions upon mutating and sessfully bing a Mutated Wisp! +5 in overall attributes! +1 potential! New skill learned "Fire Ball (Umon +1)"!] "This, f*ck! Did I just mutate!?" Leo stared at the notification that appeared in front of him in pure dumbfounded, almost forgetting the fact that he was still considered a beast or half-beast. Nheless, it was still quite surprising that he mutated instead of the two silver skeletons beside him! Making him feel that his species is far inferior than the two. Sigh, I forgot that my species still doesn''t show evolution choices after I advanced toward level 15 when I was still mortal... It''s probably inferior to the skeleton race... Leo shook his head in amusement, feeling disappointed and amused due to the fact that he wasparing himself to the skeletons. Not thinking too much, Leo again consumed one of the berries... Ding! [ Congrattions upon consuming a Mutated grade 1 natural treasure! Affinity of Life and Death permanently increases by 1! Soul and Qi power permanently increase by 5! ] "Well, expecting too much leads to disappointment..." Leo sighed before entering one of the passages, continuing their exploration in hopes of finding more natural treasures! ... Boom! Boom! Soon, another hour quickly passed by. In the depths of the unknown, the loud consecutive sound of an explosion could be heard reverberating in the almost enclosed passage... On Within, Leo and the two silver skeletons could be seen facing 3 early foundation realm mutated ck rats in the distance... Visibly on the backs of the rat, a small healthy green bush bearing little ck fruits could be seen swaying along with the airwaves caused by explosions... Making Leo''s heart skip a bit due to nervousness. Spew, spew, spew. "F*ck, although they were only at the early stage of the foundation realm, their abilities perfectlyplement each other!" Leo cursed under his breath as he narrowly evaded the green acids that quickly flew toward his direction, flying past him before hitting the bones behind his back, causing them to instantly dissolve due to intense toxicity... Huff~ Twisting his upper body, stretching his right hand far beyond his back as if he was about to throw something. Leo quickly summoned a greatlypressed Hell Fire on his right hand, consuming 20 of his Qi, before throwing it toward the preupied ck rat in the distance in a blur. Swish! Boom! In an instant, as the ck rat was about to spew another round of green acids toward Skeleton #2 in the distance, a sudden unprecedented danger gripped its being, making its body extremely tense as it jumped to the side without hesitation... However, unfortunately, it was toote by a second... Boom! A loud sound of explosion rang within its consciousness as an extremely vicious ck fire swallowed its face whole alone... In the next second, the ck thick skin of the rat quickly burned due to the me, instantly burning its eyeballs before burning its skull followed by its brain... Soon, a crisp sizzling sound weakly resounded within as a disgusting fragrance filled the almost enclosed passage, causing Leo to cover his nose in disgust. Thud. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing... +200 horror points! +75 exp points! ] "One down, two to go." Leo thought before rushing toward the two ck rats in the distance, hiding the surprise within himself... It''s unknown why, but the two ck rats began focussing on dealing with Skeleton #1 earlier (although it was the first time they met), leaving Skeleton #1 dumbfounded as it began cursing the two non-stop... Causing the two rats to be further enraged to the point that they didn''t even notice that their brother just died earlier... nk! (Why focus on me! There''s my master in the distance! He was meaty and deliciouspared to me you silly rats!) As Leo was about to help Skeleton #1 deal with the two rats in the distance... He suddenly and immediately halted upon hearing the curse of Skeleton #1, shaking his head before quietly retreating to the back, nning to watch Skeleton #1 suffer. "Sigh, I think it''s good to let Skeleton #1 practice hisbat ability... What do you think?" nk, (Yes, Master is wise...) Skeleton #2 nodded its skull, hiding the slight fear within it as it continued watching the silver skeleton suffer in the distance. ... Chapter 120: Unexpected Mutation (2)! Thud, thud... [ Congrattions upon killing 2 level-4 foundation realm beasts! +500 horror points! +120 exp! ] Sighing in relief, Leo silently retracted his palm, dispelling the lingering ck mes from the corner of his fingertips as he unhurriedly approached the body of the scorched rats in the distance... nk! (Give me my hand back!) Skeleton #1, upon seeing that the two despicable rats were finally dead, instantly waved its bone sword toward their corpse angrily, cutting the mouth of the rat open as it tried to find its missing skeleton arm within... nk, nk! (There are lots of skeletons and bones in the surroundings, yet you decided to eat mine! Bad rat! ) Skeleton #1 angrily cursed, connecting the missing skeleton arm toward its body as it kicked the corpses of the two rats, still angry due to the fact that they targeted him since the beginning. "Enough, I still need to extract their essence for future usages..." Leo shook his head, patting the angry skull of Skeleton #1 beside it before taking out a bottle within his inventory... again starting extracting the corpse''s essence. Ding! After a couple of minutes of extraction, Leo finally nodded his head in satisfaction, instantly filling 10 bottles within his inventory, making the corpses of the three rats look extremely drained... "Huff~ I still couldn''t get used to the exhaustion brought by the extraction skill...'' Leo sighed in slight exhaustion, wiping the forming sweat on his forehead as he hid the bottle filled with dark essence within his inventory before moving toward the little bash in the distance... Not caring about the corpse of the ck rats due to the reason that their body was burned beyond recognition... (Unable to use it as materials due to that!) "The second natural treasure that we find this day... Hopefully, it will allow you two to mutate!" Leo excitedly eximed as he used his "soul scan" skill toward it, quite expectant about the effects of the fruit. Feeling that it was much more effectivepared to the Undead Berries earlier since the three beasts were protecting it! Moreover, those ck rats earlier were quite something...pared to the first beast they met in this ce! "They were more troublesomepared to thete foundation realm ck rats!" Ding! [ Essence Dark Berries (Grade 1-Rare Mutated +2): An extremely rare natural fruit that could only be found in a ce where thousands of lives died! Due to the additional elements it consumed, it suffered from good mutation, causing its effectiveness to increase drastically! Effect upon consumption: Permanently increase Death affinity by 1.5, increase Soul and Strength attribute by 5! Effect 2: Greatly increase the Qi inside the body by a considerable amount! (Only effective below the Mid-Nascent Soul realm!) Note 1: A being could only effectively consume 2 raw Undead Berries in its lifetime! (Could consume an extra one if the Undead Berries were processed into a potion!) Note 2: Extremely helpful below Core Formation Realm! Note 3: Could mutate beasts with Death and Life element, probability (Low)! ] ... Huff~ "Indeed, it was much stronger than the Undead berries earlier!" Leo breathed in the fragrance of the fruit within the bush, showing a smile as he began harvesting them... Counting the fruits within his palm, Leo''s smile quickly widened as he stared at the ten little ck fruits within his palm. "Here, you can consume the two fruits in one go." Leo said as he stared at the skeletons in anticipation, wanting to see if they would mutate further or not... Seeing the brilliance within Leo''s gray eyes, the two silver skeletons couldn''t help but gulp in nervousness, knowing that Leo wouldn''t stop until they achieved mutation... Feeling that they would again work nonstop for hours and only would stop if the heartless necromancer achieved his goal! nk! Nodding their head seriously, determined to mutate, the two silver skeletons simultaneously opened their jaw, popping the ck fruits within before chewing them into a paste. Boom! In an instant, after the juices seeped through their bones, the void within the passage immediately issued a tremble before an unendless amount of ck smoke (Death Qi from unknown) enveloped their whole being. Seeing this, the corner of Leo''s mouth silently crept up, smiling creepily as he carefully watched the mutation of the two silver skeletons in the distance, anticipating the changes that they would take after the mutation finished. "Hehe, after they mutate to +2, I will let them capture that white rabbit... HEHEHE." Leoughs creepily, wanting to see the reaction of the white rabbit after it faces the mutated +2 skeletons. ... Ding! [ Mutated Skeleton of Horror +2 Explore more at m,v l''e-NovelBin Species: Undead ss Job: Sin of Corruption (Unique +1) Cultivation Technique: (High-Heaven) Fiendish Emperor! Innate skill: Eyes of Nightmare +1, Believer of Darkness (Ungraded +1), Seed of Sin (Ungraded +1). Physique: Body of Sin +1 ______Atrributes______ Level: Early-Foundation Level 6 (27%) Free attribute: 0 Health: 175/175 Qi:250/250 Stamina: 175/175 Strength: 100 Speed: 95 Qi Power: 100 Soul Power: 175 ______Skills______ Advanced Intelligence (Rare lvl 5), Stab (Common lvl 5), Sword Mastery ( Umon lvl 5), Laugh of Nightmare (Rare lvl 4), Sword Aura (Rare lvl 5), Sharpness (Umon lvl 5), Decaying touch (Rare +1). ss Job Skills: Untainted by Curse (Epic lvl 1), Corruption (Unique lvl 1) ] ... [ Decaying Touch (Rare +1): Deprived one''s vitality upon touching, using their life force to the caster''s own good. Effects: Heal the damage created by Decaying Touch. ] ... "This, HAHAHA!" Leoughed loudly upon seeing their character panel. Although they were still weaker than the white rabbit, their strength could bepared to beings who just entered thete-foundation realm with normal to umon-ss jobs! Moreover, most of their skills also strengthened drastically! Making their overallbat ability increase! "Great, now it''s my turn! Hopefully my Mutated Wisp race change to Mutated Wisp +1!" Although the probability was quite low, the expectation within his heart couldn''t be hidden. Since the two silver skeletons mutated further, then doesn''t that mean that his chances of mutation are much higher than theirs? Hehehe, mutated +1, here Ie! Leo thought before consuming 2 ck fruits without hesitation... ... Chapter 121: The Puppet Demon, Pure Despair of an Ant! Ding! [ Congrattions upon consuming 2 natural treasures! Death affinity +3! Soul and Strength +10! ] "This, I didn''t mutate further?" Leo thought as he opened his eyes filled with disappointment, not expecting that he would fail. "Sigh, never mind, we should continue exploring this ce, we might find more natural treasures by then. There''s still time before morning.'' Leo shook his head as he buried the negative thoughts within, nning to retreat in the morning to create more puppets beforeing back at night to again continue the exploration or for pure cultivation... Gazing toward the two passages in front of him, Leo began to ponder, thinking whether to go to the left side or the right direction. Hmm... As he was about to choose a random direction, a sudden thought/inspiration struck his mind, making his expression change into anticipation. Hmm, this is a good idea! If it seeds then it would change my perspective of this skill! "Skeleton #1 choose a random direction," Leomanded as he silently deactivated the restrain skill within him, causing the indiscernible bad luck to instantly spread in the environment, making the ce to be more strange and ufortable. nk! (I choose right!) Skeleton #1 casually and nervously chooses, pointing to the right passage in confusion, not knowing why Leomanded it. "Great, then let''s go to the left!" nk? (Ehh? This, then why did you ask me if you will not choose the direction I choose!?) Skeleton #1 thought angrily, raising its skull before turning away from Leo''s direction... However, it didn''t dare to voice its dissatisfaction, afraid that the heartless necromancer would go mad again. Hearing Skeleton #1, Leo immediately activated his restrain skill, restraining his debuff passive skills before moving toward the left passage without hesitation, feeling that his brain was extremely bright right now... Since Skeleton #1 was just grazed by bad luck right now, then choosing the right passage/direction should be an extremely unwise move in Leo''s opinion, feeling that they would experience something bad/horrifying if he chose that direction. As for what kind of bad luck it was, he didn''t have the desire and courage to know. *** "This!" They haven''t even moved far away from the entrance of the left passage when suddenly... Leo suddenly eximed within his mind as he halted on his track, staring at his side in pure shock, feeling that fate was ying tricks with him. Meters away from him, he could see that the thick wall that was separating the right passage to the left passage was utterly destroyed, running toward the high ceiling above, showing the scene beyond. "This, f*ck! So even if I choose a random direction, It would all lead in the same direction!" Leo thought anxiously, feeling that the experiment of his jinx skill was not a good idea! "Let''s retreat, I don''t have a good feeling about this!" Boom! ng, ng, ng... However, before they could retreat toward the entrance of the passage... A sharp, hard, and heavy sound, simr to metal/heavy chains, striking one against another echoed within the environment, striking fear toward the beings who were hearing it. This... Leo''s heart instantly skipped a bit, feeling an unprecedented danger within his soul, not allowing him to process his thoughts properly as his body suddenly became extremely tense and heavy... "This pressure, it was a dozen times stronger than Rnd is!" Leo terrifyingly thought, stiffly trying to tilt his head to the side but only in vain, as if he was experiencing sleep paralysis... But the only difference between the two is that he was not sleeping! ng, ng, ng... As they were bathing under extreme/intense pressure. The feeling of despair within them slowly umted as the sound of the chain slowly approached their direction... Leo took a deep breath, slowly forcing his head to tilt toward the origin of the sound, making his neck create a low cracking sound as he slowly tilted it under the great pressure. Creak. "This..." In an instant, after tilting his head to the right, Leo''s gray eyes constricted greatly, showing an unimaginable shock and horror within. *** Time slowly passed by... The ck ink water continuously drips from the stctites above, destroying the ufortable silence within... Following that, the heavy cold breathing from the unknown devil swept toward Leo''s pale face, making Leo''s eyes constrict further, feeling that he would lose consciousness in the next second. Although it was extremely cold, Leo''s face waspletely dyed with cold sweat as he stared at the figure that suddenly appeared in front of him in pure fear... (Their distance wasn''t even 5 centimeters apart!) The figurecks the normal features of humans, it doesn''t have eyes nor a nose, and even its lips are tightly shut by thick nylon... Above its head, two protruding horns curled up into a circle, its sharp corner silently pressed into Leo''s forehead, causing a trace of crimson blood to drip from the wounds above. Gulped... Leo gulped, trying to move his stiff body or open his mouth to speak... But unfortunately, they didn''t listen to him. He could only stare at the devil in front of him in pure helplessness and despair, waiting for the judgment of the being opposite him... Waiting for the silent death toe. ... "System... Cast a Soul scan toward the being opposite me!" Soon, after another minute of waiting, Leo anxiously asked the system within his mind, wanting to see if he could find an opportunity to escape the current cmity in front of him. Ding! [ Devil Puppet (Damaged) (Trancended-High grade): A Trancended Devil puppet that umted damage due to the passage of time. It could followmands at a higher degree and have advancedbat ability! Moreover, it has certain basic intelligence within! Innate skill: ??? ______Atrributes______ Find exclusive stories on mvl Core Formation Real Level 19: (Extremely Damage, causing its level and strength to decrease!) Health: 200/2,500 Qi Storage: 200/2,500 Stamina: 200/2,500 Strength: ??? Speed: ??? Qi Power: ??? ______Skills______ Skill: Devil Eyes(???), Abyssal Dance (???), ???, ???, Energy Cirction (Epic+1). ] *** Chapter 122: The Chained Puppet! The Knowledge of Bloodline! This... A puppet, how? Leo thought in confusion and surprise, staring at the motionless devil in front of him, not believing that it was, in fact, a puppet... The cold breath of it still lingered through his skin to the point that even its dreadful smell entered his nostrils. As Leo was pondering on the spot, not daring to move a bit as he was afraid of the puppet in front of him... A sudden nking sound of gears moving echoed within the passage, followed by the devil puppet moving backward. ng, ng, ng... It slowly moved, creating and causing the ck ink water beneath to ripple as it dragged the heavy chain that was connected to its two feet in the far distance... ng... Soon, after another 5 minutes of being motionless, the silhouette of the devil puppet finally vanished in Leo''s sight, causing him and the two silver skeletons to drop toward the wet ground in pure exhaustion... Exhausted both mentally and physically. nk, nk, ( I already said that we should go to the right side...) Skeleton #1ins as it weakly lies down on the wet ground, touching the severed bones beneath to calm its terrified mind. Readtest stories on mvl nk! (Idiot brother, the both-way leads in the same direction!) Skeleton #2 angrily said, couldn''t maintain its usual calmness as it asionally took a nce toward the unknown darkness, afraid that the devil would again appear! "Let''s go, we can''t stay here in this ce!" Leo said as he forcefully stood up... In an instant, the feeling of his legs wiggling as he forcefully took a step forward appeared within him, making his expression turn unnatural, causing the two silver skeletons on the ground to giggle slightly. "Do you find this funny? What if I told you two that we will face that devil earlier and you two will be the vanguard... you two will still find this funny?" This... nk, nk! (No, it''s not like that, we were extremely shocked to the point that we started hallucinating!) nk! (Y~yes, master, believe Skeleton #1 this time!) The two silver skeletons immediately said, afraid that Leo would really do what he said. ng, ng... As they were bickering with each other, the familiar sound of the chain being dragged along... again resounded within the passage, greatly scaring the three. "F*ck, quick!" Leo after saying that, without hesitation, rushed toward the exit of the passage, leaving the two silver skeletons astounded behind... nk! (This, master didn''t hesitate to leave us alone!) nk... (Idiot, quick let''s go!) *** Huff~ "Fortunately it didn''t chase us further... "If I be Core Formation realm in the future, I will do my best to kill that devil to disassemble its parts!" Leo heavily gasped for air, holding the earth beside him to support his exhausted body as he casually said to himself... Pondering as he was quite curious about the being who created that transcended puppet, feeling that its realm was above the legendary Nascent Soul Realm! Gazing above, toward the exit of the passage, Leo weakly sat toward the ground, quite relieved that they could finally exit this ce. Huff~ I should recover my Qi first before going back to the surface... Leo silently thought, sitting in a cross-legged manner before closing his eyes as he started to circte the cultivation technique within... Swish... In the next second, wisps of ck Qi began to appear within the environment before entering Leo''s body and pores at a fast speed... Almost to the point of enveloping Leo''s figure in dark light. Ding! +1 Qi! +1 Qi! +1 Qi! Every minute he absorbed and circted the death Qi within himself, Leo''s Qi storage began to recover in speed. Moreover, deep within his soul, a slow process of changes was happening. The Death Qi within him slowly and unconsciously began moving toward it, slowly dyeing his soul in pure darkness... Slowly causing its aura to have a hint of ferociousness within. Huff~ Soon, after another 4 hours of circting his cultivation technique, Leo suddenly spat out a dark sticky liquid in his mouth, causing the ink-ck water in the distance to sizzle with toxicity... Unhurriedly opening his gray eyes, Leo stared at the dark blob that he spat in confusion, not knowing what it was... "However... I feel much better after I spat out that liquid.'' Leo mumbled under his breath as he examined his soft skin akin to the skin of a newborn baby in surprise... Moreover, even though the surrounding environment was shrouded in darkness, he could still perfectly see within 10 meters away from him, making him wonder what kind of changes happened to his soul body. "System, do you have any Idea what happened to my current body?" Leo asked in confusion, wanting to confirm if there was no side effect or strange thing happening within his body. Ding! [ Answering the question would cost the host 5,000 horror points. (ept/Declined)? ] "ept." Leo immediately epted, clearly not in the mood to bicker with the system. Ding! [ It''s rted to the mutation that happened to you earlier! Completely elevating one''s race and potential took time to show... To the beasts and humans, mutating further to their potential would lead to their bloodline upgrading or strengthening further, causing the umted toxins and impurities within their bodies to be expelled outside. ] This... I see, no wonder the white rabbit was hell-bent on eating natural treasures. It was desperate to increase its bloodline! Leo mused, feeling that his knowledge increased again by a small amount... Thinking of something, he again asks the system. "Then, how about the +1 and +2 at the end of the grade of the beasts?" Ding! -500 horror points! [ Their potential upgraded further beyond their born race grade, making them stronger than their peers... but it''s stillcking to upgrade their potential above their grade causing their grade to have mutated +1 or +2 at the end of their race! ] "This... I understand, no wonder. "Then, what is the grade of my species?" Ding! [ Wisp race is graded tomon-umon grade... ] Leo, "( o_o )" ... Chapter 123: Farming Spiritual Trees and Grasses! (1) The sun silently rises in the east, peaking through the canopy above as its morning light illuminates thend below, slowly dispersing the cold fog in the environment. Within the corner of the cemetery, toward the darkness within the open pit that leads toward the unknown abyss, a weak sound of falling earth weakly echoed within, making one''s scalp tingle upon imagining the unimaginable scene happening toward the darkness. As if some corpse were silently making its way toward the surface of the earth! Boom! Soon, in the next minute, a dirtied hand filled with sticky mud peaked through the side of the pit, tightly holding the corner of the ruined concrete on the side as it dragged the heavy body toward the surface of thend... Huff~ "Finally, the smell of the familiar cemetery... I miss you all." Leo said toward the niches in the surroundings before calmly staring at the fissure above, quite regretful that they only gained two types of natural treasures earlier. "Don''t worry, there''s still a lot of chance in the future!" Leo reminds himself but it only helps a little since he still feels a hint of regret within himself. nk, nk... Seeing that the two silver skeletons finally managed to exit the pit, Leomanded them to guard the pit as he began moving toward the center of the cemetery, wanting to continue creating puppets and potions... As Leo''s silhouette slowly vanishes in the sight of two silver skeletons in the distance... Behind them, the eyes of the failed crow puppet silently sh with dark light before again reverting back to normal in the next second as it continues absorbing the leaking energy from the pit. *** "Oh right, I still haven''t learned the 3 new skills of my ss job and skill tree... It''s better to check them now before I start creating potions." Leo sat down on one of the niches near the wooden house as he excitedly opened his character panel, checking his ss job and skill tree, hoping that he would gain a good offensive skill. However, as he opened his ss job, a sudden notification appeared in front of him, causing him to be speechless. Ding! [ Please upgrade your ss job to umon in able to unlock further skills! ] This... What the... "System, what kind of sh*t is this!?" Leo cursed, couldn''t believe that he wouldn''t be able to learn the two new expected skills from his ss job. Ding! [ It''s the set restriction of the ss job, not mine. ] The system exined, no longer replying as it ignored Leo''s further inquiry. "@*"#$"*#% System!" Leo couldn''t help but curse out loud, feeling that life was really challenging his patience. Although he was confident that he would be able to upgrade his ss job to the umon grade, it would at least take him 4 months to upgrade it! When that timees, Leo probably already entered the Core Formation realm! Making the further skills on the ss job to be locked again, since it would again require him to upgrade his ss job to elite grade before he could again unlock the skills! It''s the unending cycle of difficulties and despair set by the ss job! ... Sigh, so be it! It will only strengthen my determination to upgrade my ss job. Taking a deep breath and calming his mind down, Leo could only helplessly give up as he silently opened his skill tree. Ding! [ Devourer of Emotion (Unknown) - Devourer of negative emotions, feeding onto one''s being''s despair and sin to strengthen one''s soul and level (Depends on the difference of life level). Activation: By absorbing the lingering negative emotions within the host victim! Learning Cost: 5,000 horror points! Note: One of the main skills of a ghost who gained enlightenment in the way of death life.] "Another strange support skill..." Leo mumbled under his breath, again disappointed that he didn''t gain an offensive type skill or even a defensive skill. Shaking his head, Leo quickly spends 5,000 horror points to learn the skill, standing up before moving in the distance... nning to start creating potions for today. *** Ding! Days quickly and silently passed by within the area of the cemetery... In the center of the nd ce, Leo could be seen creating potions nonstop... Making his mastery of potion-making advance by leaps and boundspared to thest few days he exited the passage. It''s worth mentioning that the necessary time to create potions was slowly decreasing as his mastery toward creating certain potions increased, causing the number of his stack potions to increase in number! Moreover, after he finishes creating potions... At night he would again start descending toward the passage to explore the ce or to use it as a cultivation ce, making his exp bar increase drastically after spending a night cultivating in that ce. .... Soon, without him noticing it, another week silently passed by. Gazing at the dozens of doll puppets in front of him (ranging from mortal-level 15-20), Leo couldn''t help but nod his head in satisfaction, feeling that his efforts finally paid off. "Okay, disperse toward the corners of the cemetery... Immediately report to me if you find suspicious beasts that entered the periphery of the ce." Click... Hearing Leo''smand, the dozens of doll puppets stiffly nodded their heads, bending backward as they quickly vanished in Leo''s line of sight. Finally, I''m alone again... Jake still hadn''t visited me in the past few weeks, did the beasts finally start attacking the town? Leo worriedly thought, feeling that it was possible... However, although he was worried for the safety of the town, Leo still didn''t n to exit the cemetery for the time being, wanting to only focus on advancing his ss job and realm to make his life more peaceful. "I''m only 6 levels away from advancing toward the Core Formation realm! I need to increase my cultivation time!" When I advance toward the Core Formation realm, I can start exploring the nearby forest! ... Chapter 124: Farming Spiritual Trees and Grasses! (2) Leo thought as he silently peeked at the necessary exp required to upgrade toward the next level... Ding! [ Foundation realm level 14: (3,675/15,000 exp) ] This... 15,000 exp points? How long it would take for normal people to advance toward the Core Formation realm!? Leo eximed inside his mind, feeling sorry for the normal people in the town, feeling that the chances of them advancing toward the Core Formation realm in this lifetime were extremely bleak. "Sigh, fortunately, the skeletons managed to find a natural cultivation ce... If not, it will probably take me years to advance!" Just thinking of relying on killing beasts to advance by level, Leo''s head couldn''t help but be dizzy... Feeling that it will be filled with danger and fright if he depends on that to advance. "This is probably the reason why having a high-grade cultivation technique and affinity is necessary in the long run!" As for those cultivators who relied on killing beasts to advance by level, Leo could only salute them in respect! ... Finally finishing with his antics, Leo excitedly took out the 5 natural treasures within his inventory (reward from the system), wanting to create/start a small farm using them. Although he had no idea/knowledge regarding farming, Leo still decided to create one to pass the time off... Moreover, after tasting the benefits of the spiritual fruits and herbs, Leo already long decided to create a farm after he exited the passage. It''s not that he doesn''t have other things to do, it''s just that he already bing bored from creating the same puppets and potions after a while. It''s good to do other things than entirely focusing on upgrading his ss job and advancing toward the Core Formation realm to prevent his mental health from suffering defects! Ding! Looking at the 5 saplings and grasses on the table in front of him, Leo revealed an anticipation within his eyes as he directly cast his "soul scan" toward them. ... Ding! [ Inferior Land Tree Peaches (Grade 1-Rare): A fruit tree that could slightly increase the Qi within the environment. It took 10 years to fully grow and bear fruits! Note: Its fruit contains benefits to the cultivator beneath the Core Formation realm! ] "This one looks bad, it would at least take ten years to fully grow, by then I probably have long surpassed the Core Formation realm." Next... Ding! [ Extreme Yin Grasses (Grade 1-Umon): Grasses that feed from the extreme yin of the surrounding environment and moon energy! It calms beings mind within the surrounding area. Note: After fully grown, it could be used as potion materials and food ingredients!] "Hmm, this is new. Although it doesn''t have an effect on increasing the Qi in the environment, it could at least be used as food ingredients!" Again, next one! Leo thought in anticipation as he cast his soul-scan skill toward the next sapling, feeling the long-lost excitement within him reignite as if he were opening gifts. Ding! [ Graveyard teris Tree (Grade 1- Rare (Growable)): A famous graveyard tree that grows by absorbing the death energy within the corpse, also known as the house of ghosts and dead. It grows a pure small ck sphere fruit that could increase the yin Qi in one''s body! Note: It''s a tree that even a Core Formation realm being was scared of! ] This... "A tree that could increase its grade!" Leo almost jumped up in happiness as he stared at the green sapling in front of him with a hint of gentleness, feeling that he finally hit the jackpot! Moreover, it was a perfect nt for the cemetery! ... Manipting the saplings with his maniption technique, Leo silently moved toward the distance, dragging the saplings through the air as he began nting them in different ces. Arriving at the wooden house in the center of the cemetery, Leo began digging the soil beside the house, nting the Inferior Land Tree Peaches within in order to increase the Qi in the surroundings... Wanting to rely on the tree in the future to be his cultivation device. As for the Arateris tree, Leo casually nted it toward the dense niches/tombs in the west, making it hard to notice due to its size. "Finally, I already nted it all." Cleaning the soil that sticks through his fingers, Leo silently heaves a sigh of satisfaction, nning to check the situation of the skeletons on the pit when suddenly... The sound of notification rang within his consciousness, causing his brows to rise in surprise. Ding! [ Congrattions upon nting natural treasures for the first time! Reward: unlocking a special section on the shop! ] "This... a new reward?" Leo thought in surprise as he immediately opened the shop... Sure enough, after opening the shop, Leo instantly saw the changes. Ding! ... [ Shop Categories 1. (Normal Shop) 2. (Tree and Seed Shop!) 3. (Locked ???) ] ... This... Instantly, upon pressing the "Tree and Seed" in the shop categories... The panel in front of him quickly vanished in his line of sight before being reced by a huge amount of different varieties of spiritual nts and seeds (Ranging from Ungraded-low to Grade 1-unique)... Causing Leo to gasp in surprise as his eyes shined in pure amazement... However, upon seeing the changes, Leo immediately and instinctively cast his gaze towards the price, hoping that he wouldn''t need to burn his pocket to buy them. "Huff~ Thankfully!" Leo heaves a sigh of relief upon seeing that the lowest price of a nt in the shop only costs 300 horror points while the highest, which is a Grade-1 Unique spiritual nt actually costs a staggering 25,000 horror points! "However, it''s still enough for me to start making a small farm if I focus on nting the cheapest nt in the shop," Leo thought before checking the cheapest nt in the shop. Ding! [ Stinky Flower seed: A shrub-type spiritual nt that requires a total of 3 months to grow. Upon growth, it would produce a super stinky purple flower that makes low-level mortal beasts to instinctively avoid it. Cost: 300 horror points! ] ... Okay, I regret saying that. ... Chapter 125: Advancing toward level 15! Evolution Choices. (1) Ding! [ Congrattions upon advancing toward level 15! Unlocking Evolution Choices! ] Leo unhurriedly opened his eyes, slowly exhaling turbid air within as he was being greeted by the unendless darkness that swallowed the expanse. Seeing that his level increased by one, instead of the familiar happiness within him, he only felt calm, devoid of any emotion... His emotions didn''t fluctuate a bit, feeling bored of anything. (A normal feeling for people who were devoid of goals in life. Waking up to continue living... Only waiting to die...) "I need to talk and converse to humans like a normal being... "This is the thing I wanted to avoid the most when I was still a ghost, the feeling of slowly bing crazy due to being alone." Leo sighs heavenly, opening his character panel to see what kind of evolution choices were presented to him. Hoping that it was at least as good as the two silver skeletons... However, thinking that wisp is onlymon to umon races, his hope is not that high. "It''s already good if there were Rare or Epic in the choices, I''m not that choosy.'' Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Mutated Wisp/Ghost { Evolution! } Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion Physique: Soul Body Rules: Life Nature (6%) ___ Attributes ___ Level: 15 Late-Foundation Realm( 100/16,000 Exp ) ] *** Seeing the improvement he made in the past weeks, Leo slightly nodded his head in satisfaction as he excitedly pressed the evolution beside his race. Quite expectant due to the fact that his strength would again issue significant changes after the evolution. Ding! [ Please choose wisely, upon choosing an evolution, you wouldn''t be able to change it back! ] "I know, I know, there''s no need for a reminder," Leo waved his hand as he began reading the evolution choices in front of him. ... ~~~ Evolution Choices ~~~ 1. [ Malicious Entity (Elite) - A soul entity that was clouded by hatred and despair, feeding to the agony of beings to strengthen its soul! Attribute Increase (After Evolution): Soul Power+10, Qi Power+10. Additional passive skill: Malicious Thought(Elite): Amplifying Negative thoughts of the beings in the short surrounding area, making feeding on agony much easier. ] 2. [ Wandering Soul (Rare) - A Soul that was not attached to anything, it couldn''t be trapped by spells and formation below Epic Skill! Have the ability to resist the trapping of Epic Skill by amount! Attribute Increase: Soul Power +25. Additional passive skill: Unrestrained Soul (Rare): resistance to trapping +5%. Addition active skill: Wandering (Rare +1): Teleport to a short distance by 5-10 meters unhindered. ] 3. [ Mutated Wraith (Epic): A mutated ghost that could attach to things/items, making them their physical body... At its peak, it could possess a living being! Attribute Increase: Qi power +10, Qi Storage +25, Health +100, Soul Power +25, Speed -10. Additional Passive Skill: Physical Seal (Epic): Seal part of one''s soul in items/things, making it the extra body of the soul... Even if the soul dies, it could still revive in the items/things where you seal part of your soul! Additional Skill: Parasite (Epic): It could consume an amount of the energy of beings/items close to it for its own uses... ] 4. [ Demons/Low-Level Entity (Ungraded): A type of Spirits that enjoy causing fear and feed off of fear... Their information isn''t that clear since people/beings who unluckily meet them died... Attribute Increase: Qi power +20, Soul power +20, Qi storage +20, Health +50, Stamina, Speed, and, Strength +15. Rule of Unknown Fear: Learn the Basic Rule of Fear after choosing this evolution! ] ... This... Leo stared at the choices in front of him in pure surprise, not expecting that there would be 2 choices that exceeded the Rare grade from the evolution choices. Moreover, every single one of them looks good! "It''s either Mutated Wraith or Demon/Low-level Entity..." Leo deeply ponded within himself, the skill of Mutated Wraith to revive himself after he died is extremely tempting to him... In addition, it also had a good support skill that could be used to fasten his absorption of energy in the surrounding area... Although it''s probably not that much, it''s still helpful in any case... On the other hand, the Demon/Low-Level Entity was quite mysterious in Leo''s mind. The note below the description of the species already tells him its unspeakable strength... Moreover, to learn a new rule that could be used to construct a domain... Just thinking of the benefits he gains after learning the Rule of Life nature, Leo couldn''t help but rub his hands in anticipation. Rule of Unknown fear and horror points, aren''t the two quite perfect andpatible with each other? "It''s decided then, it''s the Demon..." Ding! [ Upon choosing, you would not be able to retract your choice... (ept/Decline)? ] "ept..." In an instant, after epting... An unprecedented darkness originating from the unknown space swallowed Leo''s whole being, enveloping it tightly, to the point that even the surrounding darkness paled inparisonpared to the darkness shrouding Leo''s being... Like a sharp de that could stab someone to death, the darkness began to drill into his physical body, slowly shredding his skin into powder, followed by his muscles and organs, before finally grinding his bones into nothingness... Causing Leo''s soul to cry in pure agony and despair... "This... AHHHH!!!" Heavy pitched sound akin to a devil screaming resounded within the passage, making the rats that were slowly approaching due to the phenomenon caused by Leo''s evolution instantly flee in panic... toward the depths of the darkness. ... "Gasp, gasp, Ahhhh!" Soon, another hour of pure agony and despair quickly passed by. Within the sphere of pure darkness, Leo''s dark soul could be seen twitching in unimaginable ways, crying and screaming every second that passed by as the dark energy forcefully drilled toward his soul... Slowly changing his soul into something new. He doesn''t even have thoughts of dying, his mind only revolves around the unending pain... He couldn''t think of anything! ... Chapter 126: Evolution Choices, Losing Ones Physical Body! (2) Ding! Experience new stories on mvl [ Congrattions upon sessfully evolving toward Demon/Low-Level Entity! ] Gasp... Gasp... The sound of the familiar notification keeps resounding in Leo''s consciousness, making one''s senses momentarily deaf as the thick ck smoke finally vanishes within his soul... However, even though that was the case, Leo''s sense of sight never left the ceiling above, as if his sense of reasoning still hadn''te back to him after finally evolving... The sense of pain and dread that he experienced earlier keeps repeating within his nerves, making his shadow body twitch uncontrobly as he asionally releases a heavy gasp of pain... Soon, after another hour of twitching. Leo''s body slowly calmed down, grabbing the skull beside him as he unhurriedly sat up... However, before he could sessfully sit up, his hand, which was grasping the skull beside him suddenly passed through toward it, causing him to again fall toward the cold wet ground... Sshing the ink-ck water toward the surroundings as it silently created a ripple... This... "No~ this, give me my physical body back!" Leo shouted shrilly, causing the void to tremble under his voice as he gripped his hand akin to a shadow with force. (Due to his unstable mentality, Leo couldn''t think properly, causing him to react in unexpected ways.) "I~ I don''t want to revert back to being a ghost!" Leo shivered in fear and unknown, the scene of him being alone again resurfaced within his mind... Feeling that the past despair again slowlying to him. If he were given another chance, he would never choose to evolve his race nor try to mutate it, s, there were no medicines for regrets... He could only cope with it as he slowly descended into the abyss. *** Above the pit, toward the corner of the cemetery, three beings shrouded by darkness slowly approach the eternal resting ce, moving within the shadows as they avoid being seen by moonlight above... "Is this the ce?" One of the silhouettes silently whispered toward the being near him as he gazed at the fog that slowly enveloped the cemetery in the front... Wearing a dark robe that covered the upper body of his face, the corner of his dry lips slowly curled upward in nervousness... "Yes, we will meet in this ce often, this is a perfect ce since no one was living in this cemetery... Moreover, it''s far away from that town." One of the silhouettes calmly said as he constantly scanned the cemetery in satisfaction, feeling that it was the perfect ce to be their hideout. "I see, then we need to inform the other group after we explore the ce." The other silhouette interrupted as he hurriedly summoned a de in his left hand. Within the shadow, it silently released a rotting smell that quickly transversed the surrounding atmosphere... Under the veil of the dark robe, the man''s eyes quietly shone with dangerous glint, as he smiled with cruelty... Although the other silhouette said that there was no living being in the cemetery, he could smell traces of human activity within... Making his bloodlust jump in joy upon finally tasting the blood of another being after months of traveling. With a thought, he excitedly walked toward the cemetery that was quietly shrouded by gray fog... Causing his figure to quickly vanish within the sight of the two as if he was being consumed by the ce. "Let''s go, you go to the west while I go to the east part..." Nodding his head, the silhouette with dry lips quickly vanished with the wind... Crossing the silent forest as it quickly rushes toward the west. *** "I need the perfect time, I need to find the perfect time!" Leo''s shadow eyes revealed madness within, standing up as he examined his shadow body which was entirely different from his wisp/ghost form. Compared to the dark wisp, his being was purely made of shadow acting as his main body... His shadow body could extend simrly to the wisp/ghost form and could also pass through toward things/walls that had at least half-meter of thickness... Moreover, after focusing the density of his shadow body toward certain parts of his being, it could touch physical things, giving it the advantages of both ghost/spirit and semi-body. "I need to find the perfect time or create a perfect time to condense my body again!" Leo thought, his mind slowly calming down but it still carried a hint of madness within. Staring above the pit, Leo manipted his shadow body as he slowly ascended from the pit, having an idea of where he could find the perfect ce. "I only gain my physical body thanks to the child advancing... Since that is the case, I will go to the town! No one can stop me!" ... Swish! Gazing toward the surrounding ce before looking at the astounded and fearful expression of the two silver skeletons in the short distance... Leo silently manipted his shadow as he weakly patted their skull, causing the two skeletons to flinch in fright, wanting to avoid the demon in front of them but only in vain. "Good job, keep guarding this ce. "Don''t be fearful, I will soon recover my body... Hehehe" Seeing their eyes filled with inconceivable fear, Leo''s unstable mind began to fluctuate in anger, causing his shadow body to release intense darkness before again being suppressed as he forcefully calmed down. Sigh... Sighing with a heavy voice that could make a being shiver in fear, Leo activated his mist of illusion skill, instantly shrouding the cemetery with thick gray fog... Wanting to avoid beings seeing his current figure. Although he had invisibility skills, cultivators didn''tck skills that could pry toward invisibility... Making him choose the Mist of Illusion skill due to the fact that it could suppress one''s senses. *** "This is great, you want to y hide in sick... Hehehe, this would be fun!" The man halted on his track as he gazed toward his environment which was constantly being shrouded by gray fog, smiling wickedly as he felt that hunting a being who was good at hiding was fun... Gripping the rotting de on his palm, he unhurriedly transverses thend. *** Chapter 127: Who is the prey? "This fog.'' On the west side of the cemetery, the silhouette touches his dry lips as he scans the surrounding environment in nervousness, feeling that someone was staring at him behind the fog... Swish! Summoning a gush of wind, the man tried to clear the thick fog in the surrounding area, but only for it to be quickly filled and shrouded the ce in the next second... "This ce isn''t simple." The man thought as he warily walked above the niches, often scanning around to avoid being ambushed if there were beings here. Click, click... As he was advancing toward the unknown distance, an irritating clicking sound akin to a clock ticking resounded behind his back... Causing the figure to stop immediately. "This, who''s that!" The man instantly looks at his back as he instinctively summons a sharp wind that instantly shoots toward the origin of the sound. The air whistled dangerously as the fog parted its figure due to the intense wind, showing the empty sight beyond as the sharp de made of air hit the ground and created deep crevices... Boom! A small explosion resounded within as the wind de, upon serving its purpose, dispersed in the surroundings... In an instant, after the wind de vanished, the fog again enveloped the ce, causing the man unable to see further as the cold energy of the fog seeped under his nerves. "Empty, there is no one?" He thought dumbfounded, feeling that his senses were ying tricks on him, however, as a cultivator that reached the Mid-Foundation realm, he knew that it was impossible for his senses or mind to hallucinate. It only means that there''s something wrong with the fog! "A fog that could cause a being to hallucinate?" He solemnly thought as he summoned an airwave below his nostrils, not allowing the thick fog to enter within as it filtered it with his little skill! Click, click... Hehehehe! However, before he could sigh in relief upon noticing the problem within the fog, another clicking sound resounded beyond the fog followed by the innocentugh of a child... Although it was heavenly to one''s ears to hear an innocent childughing... In the middle of the night and nowhere, within the damp and nd cemetery, hiding beyond the thick fog... Even a Core Formation realm being will find this strange and quite chilling! "This, get out if you dare!" The man''s angry shout reverberated within the fog as he cast a skill that pushed the thick fog ten meters away from him, nning to catch the perpetrator who was making fun of him! Then if I catch him/her, I will skin him/her alive! "This..." *** "Little one where are you~?" A thousand meters away from the western part of the cemetery, the man holding a rooting de smiled wickedly as he moved within the fog unhindered, transversing thend as he often careless the dirtied niches covered in thick moss... Readtest stories on mvl His eyes squinted in a smile as he gazes at the slowly unfolding wooden house in the distance... In a ce where niches were amon sight, the two-story tall wooden house appeared extremely out of ce... Causing the man to feel a strange excitement within him. "Knock, knock, are you there?" The man smiled, asking in an irritating voice as he knocked heavily on the wooden door, causing it to creak intensely due to the force he used... However, surprisingly, it didn''t get destroyed by his strength, making his expression turn into a slight surprise. Creakkk... Prying the door open, the man unhurriedly stepped inside, causing the wooden floor beneath him to creak annoyingly... The empty s/room greeted his eyes followed by the old couch in the center of the room, above the couch, he could see a metallic crow silently standing on there, facing the door as if it was expecting something... making him smile strangely upon remembering the past. Tightly gripping the rooting sword on his arm, he silently transverses the ce... Only the sound of the creaking sound keeps resounding within as it also slowly quietens down upon finding the perfect bnce of his weight... Creakkk. Arriving on the second floor, the man began checking the room one by one in bloodlust, but only in vain upon finding nothing... "There''s still no one, hehe... However, the strange smell of the being within the ce still lingers through the atmosphere...'' The man thought with a smile, slowly losing his patience as he moved toward the kitchen on the first floor, slowly dragging his body as he looked at the heavy stone below the table in the distance... Clearly hiding something beneath. Found you! *** Huff~ The scene of the night and niches, I really love it all! Unfortunately, I couldn''t smell the strange smell that wafted toward the atmosphere!! Leo irritatingly thought, feeling that his shadow being was far from being perfected... "I need to gain my body fast!" As he was moving unhurriedly toward the direction of the town, the grave grass beneath his shadow body slowly withered due to his strange energy, making it extremely pale in one''s sight... Swish... Swish. Wind breeze traveled above the niches, causing the grasses to rustle in sound, making the fog create a wave of strange beauty akin to ocean water that was disturbed by the wind. Meters away from him, Leo could see a being covered in a ck robe, walking slowly within the thick fog, constantly scanning the surrounding area in wariness, clearly not able to see Leo''s shadow being in the distance... A human! A being with a physical body! Leo enviously thought, began missing the warm temperature brought by the physical body to one''s soul, missing the senses of smell and touch given by the physical body... Gripping his shadow hand harshly, a strange thought silently sprouted within his soul mind, making his thoughts fluctuate negatively, wanting to possess the body of the being in front of him! No, to be exact, he wanted to destroy the physical body of the being in front of him! "Since I don''t have a physical body! Then... No one can have it!" *** Chapter 128: We Shouldnt Enter this Place! "Since I don''t have a physical body! Then... No one can have it!" Kekekeke... An eerieugh that could send shivers down one''s soul quickly transverses the ce, quickly drilling toward the mind of the wary man in the distance, causing his expression to turn pale as an unprecedented headache attack his consciousness... This, whom!? His eyes greatly constricted under the veil of his robe as he stared at the thick fog in the distance (the origin of theugh) in nervousness and fear... Unable toprehend the ability to cause his consciousness to feel unprecedented danger just by hearing itsugh. "This ce, we need to exit this ce quickly!" The man thought solemnly as he clenched his right fist tightly, causing the grass beneath him (within 20 meters in diameter) to suffer intense mutation as they instantly grew up to two-three meters in height... Instantly obstructing the vision within as it hides his figure. Swish... "Kekeke, I hate beings that have physical bodies..." As the man was about to cast another defensive skill toward himself, an irritating voice akin to a demon''s whisper resounded behind his back, causing his back to be drenched in sweat as he instinctively pierced the soft soil below with his free hands. Entangle... In an instant, behind his back, the soil beneath quickly parted away as thick roots filled with sharp brown thorns scattered throughout the environment, finding something to coil around but only in vain... "This..." The man, feeling that his thorn didn''t catch a thing, quickly tilted his head to the back in fear... Feeling that he was slowly losing his mind toward the unknown. Gazing toward the short distance, he seems to see a thick shadow dancing under the moonlight before quickly vanishing within his line of sight... As if he was just seeing things. "Kekekek, how envious... I really like the sight of the physical body, its skin glistened under the light if it was moist... And the smell of being if it was charred ck." "Kekeke... It smells delectable simr to pig meats but much richer!" Leoughs crazily. The pain he experienced when he was evolving still bothered his whole being, in addition to the sudden loss of his physical body and the sudden changes in his mentality... It could be said that he was momentarily out of his mind! Summoning a ball of me from his shadow body, Leo casually fired it toward the vines and grasses in the distance, burning them into ashes as it slowly unfolded the body of the hiding man in the short distance. "Some parts of your body were already burned, but I still couldn''t smell YOU!" He irritatingly thought as his shadow body began inting in exaggerated size, almost swallowing the surroundings in pure darkness... This... Parts of the man''s robe suffered from the intense burning of fire, revealing the charred skin behind... Staring at the darkness beyond the fog, the man''s body couldn''t help but issue a shiver, feeling despair within as he stared at the erging shadow in the distance... Swallowing the fog within, recing it with pure darkness as it stared at him filled with killing intent. "Y~you can''t kill me! I''m the envoy of devils!" "Devils? Hehehe, who cares I''m the demon itself!" Leo said as he engulfed the human in front of him with his shadow body happily! Fully deactivating his restrain skill as his debuff passive skill began to drill within/toward the body of the man within him... Making its skin blister with green disgusting puss due to his decaying aura! In addition to the unique death energy within him and the jinx skill, his decaying aura''s strength and effects strengthen drastically, causing the man to cry in pain and despair! AHHH! His skin blob before exploding after a while, sshing a yellow-green liquid toward the surrounding shadow... Following that, the muscles beneath his skin slowly wither, turning dark in color before being stripped with vitality akin to dried meat... AHHH! With ast cry of desperation, the beings'' inward organs turned into a paste, dyeing the ground with decaying flesh with a smell beyond one''s understanding... Even the grass beneath moved away due to the breeze as if they were disgusted by it. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a being! +100 exp points! +10,000 horror points! ] "Kekeke, Now we are the same, we both don''t have a physical body... HEHEHE..." Leo touches the flesh on the ground, focusing his shadow being toward his hands as he slowly drags it toward the unknown... Feeling happy upon finally touching the flesh of humans. ... Caw, caw! As he was about to exit the periphery of the cemetery, moving toward the town with inconceivable excitement within, a ck puppet crow,ing from the far horizon flew toward his direction with hasten speed, stopping in front of him before cawing emotionlessly. Although he couldn''t understand its cawing, the connection within them conveyed its intention, causing Leo''s imaginary face to contort with killing intent upon understanding what it meant... "Someone was killing my creation! The puppets that I spent hours and days creating with my previous physical body!" "Who DARES!" *** Boom! "Hehehe, you little sh*t! Where do you think you all are going!" The man''s dry lips curled up slightly in pure anger, within his veil, his bloodshot eyes with a hint of fear within still could be seen... Enjoy exclusive content from mvl After being desperate earlier, hearing theughs of the dolls in the whole environment as his mind began/slowly to copse due to intense fear... After bursting out with a fourth of his Qi, he finally moved the thick fog far away for at least 50 meters, causing him to finally catch the figures of the moving dolls within the niches. Their metallic hair that dropped toward the ground as they moved in their four limbs backward still made him shiver in fear... Not forgetting how they stared at him with those reddened eyes. Making him swear to destroy them all with all his might! *** Chapter 129: The Devils Blessing. "You DARE!" Dozens of severed limbs made of puppets scattered throughout thend, their ck metallic hair fluttering through the atmosphere, shining with dangerous glint as the light from the moon hit its being. Staring at his destroyed creation, numbering up to tens, Leo''s demonic eyes couldn''t help but reveal a crimson glint... Shining beyond his shadow body as he stared at the humanoid being in the distance dangerously, making the man tremble in fright even though he had no idea why. Your journey continues at mvl "Do you know what have you DONE! Do you know how lovely they are!?" Leo''s demonic whisper quickly transverses the fog, making them quiver as it reaches the man''s side in an instant. Upon hearing the voice that could make one''s mind corrupted, the eyes of the man constricted greatly, scanning the surrounding fog in fright as he gripped his robe with force. "Hehehe, so you were the one who created this piece of sh*t, they couldn''t evenst long with my de..." Releasing the grip on his robe, the man licked his dry lips, mocking the being who created this doll as he hid the fear within him. What a sh*t, he let this garbage doll to fight me... It only means that the human who created this is not that confident with hisbat ability. Moreover, he could assume that creating dolls was the main ss job of the being hiding in the dark, making his physicalbat abilitycking... Even if he was a level/minor realm higher than him, he was quite confident that he could kill him with a little effort. However, in able to do that, he first needs to lure the other party out. "What, are you just going to hide beyond the fog? Are you just going to watch this garbage get destroyed one by one?" "Do they look lovely to you? However, in my eyes, they all look simr to garbaGeee..." Hearing the mocking of the other party, Leo remained silent, hiding meters away as he just stared at the being in the distance quietly. Although that was the case, the intense fluctuation of his shadow body couldn''t be hidden... Making them extra heinous under one''s eye. "Did you ever experience the feeling of unending despair?" After half a minute of silence, Leo calmly whispered through the wind. Unlike the previous times when his voice often changed to maddening and shrill-like screaming akin to a demon, his voice right now appeared chillingly calm... Making the man in the distance suddenly feel ufortable and strange. What does he mean? ... "Did you ever experience the feeling of unending despair?" "Did YOU ever experience the feeling of unending DESPAIR?" "Did YOU EVER experience the feeling of unending DESPAIR!?" Seeing that the man didn''t reply to him after a minute already passed by... Leo asked again and again, making his voice reverberate through the distance. His calm voice slowly deforms under his unending question as it slowly turns unbearable to one''s ears. His shadow body continued to fluctuate under the moonlight as he stared at the being in the distance, waiting for it to reply... Meters away, the severed heads of the dolls lifelessly stared at the mentally suffering man in the distance, opening their lower jaw as theyughed innocently... Watching the suffering with gusto. Their innocent voice drilled toward the man''s head irritatingly, making his mind nk as he clenched his fist tightly, making it extremely pale due to force. "STOP!" With an angry shout, he summoned dozens of air des that quickly hacked through the heads of the dolls in the surroundings... Making them momentarily stop before again continuingughing after a while, as if they didn''t take any damage at all. This, stop! Please, all of you stop! *** "Kekeke, You really still haven''t experience despair, isn''t it?" Leo''s eyes curled up slightly, understanding the difference between being who experienced suffering and not... Since he was also the same... "Don''t worry, I will help you... I''m sure you will love it, HAHAHA." Leo''s crazedugh resounded within, as he without hesitation activated his domain... Feeling expectant about how the being would fare after experiencing those despairs? "Iplete Domain, Land of Despair!" Boom! In an instant, after uttering those words with a squinted maddened smile, the void between him and the man shattered with familiarity as the familiar darkness swallowed their whole being... Not giving the man time to react at all. ... "Iplete Domain... Impossible!" The man''s eyes revealed great despair within as he directly slumped toward the ground lifelessly, staring at the unfamiliar field filled with wheat unconvincing... Knowing that death only was awaiting him here... Further resisting was futile. How could a being at the Mid-Foundation realm fight a Core Formation realm being? The answer is that it was impossible... (Iplete Domain could only be learned by Core Formation realm being... That was the main basic knowledge that was circting when the apocalypse appeared. Although there were some cases that cultivators at the Foundation realm managed to learn/unlock a domain on their own, their number didn''t exceed ten! Moreover, most of them have at least reached the peak foundation realm, or their affinity and ss job at least was graded epic and above, making them almostparable to half-step Core Formation realm cultivator! ) That''s why even if he assumes that the other party was only at the Foundation Realm, the difference between the two could be said as high as Mount Apo. "Kekeke, Already giving up? Unfortunately, we still haven''t started the fun..." Wheel of Despair... Leo mumbled under his breath, materializing the ck and white wheel beside him as he read the word/text on the choices out loud... Making sure that the man on the ground would hear it. "Despair of Unchosen, Despair of Dying, Despair of Decayed Body... "Ohh, this one is new, it probably came from the human earlier... I still like it when I drag his inwards, it slightly feels warm." This... Hearing the voice of Leo, the eyes of the man further constrict, knowing that the man the demon was talking to is one of his partners... ... Chapter 130: Creating a Scarecrow! Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a being! +10,000 horror points! Find your next read at mvl +100 exp points! ] The void within the familiar domain began to crumble under Leo''s watch, instantly expelling their being toward reality. Appearing within the familiar cemetery as the silver moonlight shone toward their beings... Meters away from him, theplete figure of the man slowly unfolds toward the world... Its brown skin devoid of any innards (organs and skeletal frame) appeared in the doll''s lifeless sight, making one''s stomach churn as the man''s skin face still showed the unprecedented horror within even though itcked eyes and mouth... And evenck soul! AUGHH! Not long after, a painful high-pitched cry resounded within the cemetery, causing the grass and forest to rustle ufortably as the shadow being (Leo) held his shadow head in pure pain and agony. Due to him spending almost 3/4th of his mental energy earlier in order to operate the domain... Leo''s sanity slowly came back to him, making him groan ufortable as an intense pain assaulted his consciousness. (Simr to angry people who spend most of their energy shouting/fighting for several hours, causing them to be inexplicably calm/clear after being tired.) "I killed someone... again?" Leo thought, feeling calm and tired as he stared at his shadow body with mixed emotions, understanding what it meant to learn the "Rule of the Fear of Unknown" after choosing the Demon evolution. Feeling resentful as the system didn''t rify things to him before he evolved... Ding! [ Rule of the Fear Unknown (10%): The knowledge of fear toward the unknown, making a being perfectly integrated with horror beyond grasp. Effects: Resistance toward fear, paralysis, horror, and negative mental attacks increases by 5%. Permanently increase mental energy by 25! Note: One of the highest rules within the Dao of Horror and Despair! ] ... Sigh. "I need to deal with the corpses first before I n how to gain my physical body back..." Leo thought as he stared at the skin/corpse of the man in the distance strangely before gazing toward the utterly destroyed doll (beyond saving) in the surroundings angrily, not expecting that his hard work creation in the past week would be gone just like that. Fortunately, since he already created them, the number within his ss job parameter wouldn''t decrease at all, causing him to heave a sigh of relief. "Still, how dare you to destroy my lively creation!" *** Dragging the skin toward the unknown, a strange idea suddenly pops up within his shadow head, making him feel strange, fearful, and excited due to the prospect of it. "System, is there something wrong with the evolution? Why do I suddenly feel corrupted... My mind seems tempting me to do something unimaginable and malicious toward living beings around me..." Leo couldn''t help but ask, feeling a deep sense of chills within as he could feel that something dangerous was blooming within his consciousness... Tempting him tomit genocide. Ding! [ It''s the process of the sudden change in mentality... Having great strength that is beyond one''s imagination/grasp is both a blessing and a sin. Without a strong mentality, you would slowly lose yourself as you would slowly do the desires buried within your being. ] "This, are you telling me that my desire is actually to ughter beings!? And that the sudden increase in strength causes those buried desires to resurface!? "System are you crazy!?" Ding! [ No, that''s why I am telling you that having a strong mentality is a must for a cultivator! ] ... Hearing this, Leo heaves a heavy sigh of exhaustion, feeling that this particr day is extremely memorable. "I killed two human beings, I evolved and became a demon entity, the existence of the devils, the system said that I like to kill beings... Sigh, this day is really memorable, to the point it almost reces the memory of my birthday..." Leo thought as he unhurriedly dragged the skin of the human toward the carved table in the center of the cemetery, wanting to make it into a puppet. "It''s best if it could talk like a normal being so I would not need to go to the town just to check my mental health..." "I mean, I think there''s something wrong with my mind/mentality earlier since I still haven''t talked/conversed with normal human beings after weeks of arriving here... "As for those beings that I met in the past within the cemetery... Most of them wanted to kill me while others instantly avoided the ce upon seeing that it was a cemetery..." Sigh, never mind, I will create a human puppet first... ... Stretching his shadow body, Leo began taking out items within his inventory, cing them toward the sculpted table in front as he examined them one by one. Checking theirpatibility with the human skin within his grasp as he began nning how and what kind of materials he needed to include in creating it. As he was about to start creating the puppet, Leo suddenly halted, forgetting something as he quickly checked his character panel. Almost forgetting the fact that he already lost his physical body. My physical strength probably decreases drastically... ... Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Demon/Low-level Entity Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion Physique: Shadow Body! Rules: Life Nature (6%), Fear of the Unknown (10%) ___ Attributes ___ Level: 15 Late-Foundation Realm( 5,000/16,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 0 Health: 200/200 Qi: 500/500 Stamina: 200/200 Strength: 120 Speed: 100 Qi Power: 225 Soul Power: 350 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 6), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 6), Jinx (Lvl 5), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 5), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 5), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 8), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 5), Hidden Strenght (Lvl 5), Build up Stamina (Lvl 5), Iplete Domain (Lvl 5)... ss Job Skill: Advance Potion Knowledge (Lvl 4), Advance Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl 4)... ... Horror Points: 64,150! ... "As expected, attributes rted to the physical body decrease drastically..." *** Chapter 131: Scarecrow, Creating an Advance Puppet! "Kekeke, finally, I already made a puppet that resembles a human! A human that has a hint of intelligence!" Leoughed happily, dancing strangely as he inspected the human puppet in front of him with pride, not expecting that he would be able to create it! In front of him, a being thatcked a lower body (Only had a thick pole that supported its body) appeared in Leo''s sight. Its withered brown skin that was filled with unknown materials within slightly sways its upper body with the wind... Its eyes, made/created using a shirt ck button glinted under the moonlight, carrying a hint of intelligence within as it surveyed the surroundings in curiosity (although its eyes couldn''t move, Leo could feel that it was looking at the surroundings in curiosity). Wearing a green long sleeve that was old enough that even its color became nd in one''s sight, in addition to a strawed hat that could only be seen used by farmers under the intense heat of sunlight... The Scarecrow in front of him could be said perfect! The first perfect puppet creation in Leo''s perspective and vocabry! Kekeke... The scarecrow releases a strangeugh akin to a cry... Its voice carries a deep sense of agony as it happily moves its skins that seem to extend far enough... Enough and beyond human capability. Kekeke... Looking at its lower body, to the pole that pierces through the deep earth, restricting its movement and not allowing it to leave its birthce... The scarecrow released a helplessugh before staring at the shadow being in front of it pitifully, extending its hand to touch its being but only in vain. Kekeke~~ "Hehe, having a lower body is a sin, if you have it you will be curious about the world. "When that happens, there''s a huge chance that you will exit this cemetery..." Curiosity kills humans... ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon creating your first advance puppet (low)! +5,000 horror points! +4 free attribute points! +1 Medallion of Forceful upgrade! ] Ding! [ Creating advanced puppets will be converted to 10 basic puppets on ss job (upgrade requirements) parameters! ] ... Ding! [ Scare Crow (Medium) (Advance-low grade): A curse puppet created using the skin of a being with great despair within before it died. It has greatbat ability with a hint of intelligence, however, it doesn''t have legs. Innate skill: Curse Object (Elite) ______Atrributes______ Foundation realm level 5: (Could Increase a little by absorbing negative emotions.) Health: 200/200 Qi Storage: 200/200 Stamina: 175/175 Strength: 125 Speed: 100 (couldn''t move, speed of limbs movement.) Qi Power: 150 ______Skills______ Skill: Cursed Eyes (Elite), Scare Crow (Elite), Chain Limbs (Elite), Dead Object (Elite), Basic Intelligence (Umon) ] ... Stay tuned to §Þ?? [ Cursed Object (Elite): An object that enjoys the suffering of others. Passively release bad luck that affects the beings around it... Activation: Passive! Note: What do you expect in a cursed object? ] Ding! [ Scare Crow (Elite): Mentally and unconsciously influence birds'' minds to instinctively fear you! Activation: Passive! ] ... "Hehehe, good, good! You''re born great!" Leo''s shadow body greatly fluctuates under hisugh, greatly satisfied upon seeing its stat that could fight a mid-foundation beast head-on! (Of course, its weakness is also clear under one''s sight, if a peak mortal realm being with a mana bullet fought it head-on, then the chances of that mortal winning are quite high!) The only advantage of the scarecrow in front of him is to ambush and catch someone off guard... With its elite grade "Dead Object" skill, its ability to kill someone without them noticing is quite high, making it a danger to a being/cultivators without rare to epic senses skill! "Hehehe, I''m sure that no one would notice that you''re actually alive!" Kekeke... *** Dragging the scarecrow with his shadow body, Leo silently and hastily transverses thend, quickly reaching the ce where he nted his herbs as he pierces the softnd with the pole... Making the scarecrow giggle happily as it stared at the green small leaves that were silently protruding on the ground... "Your job is to watch and guard my little farm... Don''t let those insects approach and destroy it, understand?" Kekeke... "Great, I expect you to do a good job." Keke, ke?? "Don''t worry, don''t worry, I will reward you with an upgrade if my mastery of puppet creation increases by an amount." Kekeke~ Seeing that everything is set, Leo smiles with relief as he silently stares at the fissure above... Enjoying the darkness beyond before gazing toward the horizon in the distance, toward the location of the town. "Physical body, I hope I can quickly find the perfect ce and time..." Leo silently thought as he upgraded his invisibility skill to level 7 without hesitation, making its ability to hide his shadow figure increase drastically! Invisibility. In an instant, after activating his invisibility skill, Leo''s figure slowly bes transparent under the moon''s watch... Before finally bing invisible after a while. *** In the blink of an eye, another 2 and a half hours quickly passed by. The moon above already hides beyond the dark fissure devoid of any light, leaving the sky above with unprecedented darkness. Within the deep forest, dozens of beings/humans wearing long ck robes could be seen encircling a small table in the middle... Their expression within the robes was unknown as they stayed still for an unknown amount of time... As if waiting for something to appear. "They still haven''t shown up, they should be all dead by now..." One of the beings on the side (west) direction said with uncertainty, his tone carried a hint of anger within upon making them wait for a period of time. "They all reach the Foundation realm, while one of them reaches the peak stage of it... They should be still alive right now, it''s just that they were being hindered by something." "Hindered for 3-4 hours? Are you an idiot!?" The man earlier angrily interrupted, wanting to choke the being beside him to death upon saying/telling things without thinking. "A fight of peak foundation realm onlysts for a couple of minutes! If they were still alive then it only means that they were trapped within a domain or encircled by dozens of foundation realms! "If that is the case, is there a difference between being alive or not!" This... *** Chapter 132: Devils Apperance... "Fortunately, they already got tampered with "Devil''s Oath", even if they got tortured to death they couldn''t and wouldn''t utter a word regarding our ns." One of the beings in the east direction said, holding a wooden rosary in his palm as he asionally mumbled an iprehensible soundnguage beneath. "We already waited enough, let''s start. If the two suddenly arrived, just kill them without hesitation... "There are a lot of types of abilities and skills right now... we can no longer trust them after beingte for hours." The man calmly said as he unhurriedly approached the table in the middle of their encirclement. Taking out an item within his inventory, he carefully ced it in the middle of the wooden table... Bowing respectfully toward it before retreating toward his previous location. In an instant, after retreating, the item on the table silently unfolded toward the dark forest, revealing its bloody vicious figure toward the beings encircling it, making their heartbeat fasten unconsciously. Its red demonic figure (small statue made of unknown materials ) sitting on a throne made of bones appeared in everyone''s sight... "Your loyal followers, wee you, our Devil!" Bowing toward it like a loyal devotee, the statue began releasing a strange yet malevolent aura, quickly forming an inconceivable figure that was suspended through the atmosphere, staring at the humans/beings kneeling beneath it quietly... As if deep in thought. "Not bad, you all quickly reach your destination without any problems... Although some of you are missing, it wouldn''t affect the overall n." Beyond the expectation of all, that the devil should be speaking in a high-pitched voice akin to a devil-tempting whisper, the devil in the atmosphere speaks calmly and mildly... making one''s emotions be strange and ufortable due to the unknown. It''s a feeling that would appear if things beyond the beings'' expected expectations appeared... Simr to how they expected a fish to swim in water yet only to see them running under the scorching sun! Even if it was the era of apocalypse, people would still feel strange and ufortable upon seeing it! "It''s all thanks to the Devil''s protection." Hearing the praises of the devil above, all of the kneeling figures, unisonly said... Gulping weakly after finishing. "Hehehe, I still have too many things to do, quickly choose 5 beings that will receive my blessing so they could quickly reach the Core Formation realm... "After that, you should try your best to destroy or weaken the foundation of the town. As for how you n to do that, it''s all up to you." The Devilughed smoothly, releasing a strange aura that could calm one''s mind as he began waiting patiently. This... Hearing this, instead of the expected excitement, all of the kneeling figures couldn''t help but shiver in fright, their backs slowly got drenched with sweat as they quickly exchanged nces toward each other. Although they will receive unimaginable strength if they just raise their hands, the pain they would experience in the process of epting the blessing of the devil is beyond their imagination, making them unwilling. "This, I want to receive your blessing my lord." After a long momentary silence within the dark forest, a man, holding the familiar wooden rosary, weakly raised his left arm... Tilting his head down below as he weakly speaks, clearly afraid to look directly at the figure of the devil above. Huff~ As the kneeling humans in the surrounding area release a gasp of relief upon realizing that someone has taken a spot. The shrouded devil above releases a heartyugh, pointing its pointed finger toward the being with a rosary in the back, releasing a red malevolent thick aura (Qi) from an unknown void that quickly drilled toward the man''s being... Forcing its way as it entered through the man''s pores and orifices, making its skin bleed as it exposed the red twitching muscles beyond. AUGHHH... GULP, AHHH! Not long after, a painful shout, conveying the agony it was experiencing, resounded within the silent forest... as the man dearly held his wooden rosary in his hands. Its figure twisted in strange ways, slowly destroying the ck robe it was wearing as it cried in pure despair. "Good, good, I know all of you were courageous, who''s next?" As if the cry within the back was normal in its sight, the devil again asked the kneeling humans with anticipation, feeling that humans were really amusing yet decisive. *** Swish! Swish! Countless miles away, the crisp sound of countless dried leaves being stepped on by something, instantly breaks the silence within the endless forest. Gazing toward the dark stone wall that was shrouded by the lightless night, Leo''s lips slowly curled up with a smile... Still couldn''t get used to its grandiose appearance. "It''s been almost a month since I first saw you... I wonder if you could help me gain my physical body back?" Leo mumbled under his breath, gazing above the empty dark sky with longing as he quietly activated his invisibility skill, hoping that it would allow him to enter the town without being caught. "With its current level at level 7, it should be enough to escape the senses of the early stage of the Core Formation realm... "It''s even possible if it was a Core Formation realm at the middle stage thatcks skills rted to tracking and senses." Ding! [ Invisibility (Unknown) (Level 7): Enter the Invisibility mode in exchange for a meager amount of Qi! It has a certain ability to hide within the Divine senses of the Core Formation realm! Activation: 1 Qi per 25 seconds. Upgrade cost: 3 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! Note: A must-skill for a ghost! ] Taking an imaginary long deep breath, Leo quietly blended into the night as he quickly advanced toward the town... Stopping asionally to check the environment as he advances, hiding within the farm as he warily transverses thend. Read new adventures at §Þ?? (Although it helps a little since his invisibility was currently being activated, Leo feelsfortable using the farm to hide his invisible figure!) *** Chapter 133: Arriving, The Rule of Despair! "Hehe, the sight of civilization, how wonderful... even though it was already in the middle of the night, most of them were still active." Leo thought in exhration, sticking his shadow body to the side of the tall wall as he stared in the distance (night shop) in pure happiness. Discover hidden tales at §Þ?? The sight of it and the loud sound of the chaotic market still manage to reach his senses even though the distance between them reaches at least 300 meters apart... as if the darkness above couldn''t hinder their hope and excitement. ... After watching for a while, Leo''s initial excitement began to dry up before being reced by boredom. Although it was fun to watch their hope from afar, the happiness within him was slowly being filled/reced with envy, tempting his being to destroy their hope and happiness, causing him to shake his shadow head in denial... "Is this the feeling of the demon?" He thought, depressed as he gritted his imaginary teeth in determination... Wanting to quickly gain his physical body to suppress the malevolent feeling within him. Dragging his shadow body back toward the wall above, Leo took a longst nce toward the (night market) in the distance before unhurriedly transversing the wall, nning to go toward the silent housing in the far distance that was being shrouded by night... Feeling that something/someone was summoning him toward the ce. Although there were guards that were asionally walking above the wall, walking past Leo''s shadow figure, unaware of his existence since all of them only reached the early-peak foundation realm... Leo couldn''t help but sigh in relief, quite relieved that they couldn''t sense him, putting him at ease as he hurriedly transited the ce. ... "This ce, the residential area of the poor?" Leo quietly thought, quite surprised by his findings, not expecting that the life of the past would reappear in this apocalyptic era. The sight of waste that consists of countless beasts'' bones, decaying flesh of the unknown, and waste from the previous era scattered throughout the ce, appearing in his every line of sight. On the far left side of the residential area of the (poor), Leo could see drainage with ck dirtied water, constantly flowing through the unknown passage... he could even see the excreted of the beings getting carried by the wave. Making him unconsciously cover his nose as if he could smell its disgusting fragrance. "This should be impossible right? This is the era of superhuman yet... Their lives were worse than the past civilization." Leo pondered deep within, thinking that life was extremely unfair sometimes... Already having an idea why they remained in this sh*tty ce although they could have created one by themselves... "It''s either they couldn''t level up to level 15 in fear of dying or probably they only gain amon ss job... There''s also the probability that they have already passed their prime, not allowing them to fight anymore.'' The former could still be saved but thetter''s future could be said already set. Most of themon ss jobs only revolve around auxiliary skills that weren''t so useful, making their future extremely bleak. One of the prime examples is themon ss job (Builder)pared to Elite ss jobs (Earth Master), both could create/build houses, but the durability and speed created by Earth Master was above the builder by times! Moreover (Earth Master) also has offensive and defensive skills on its own that could fight against beasts to gain levels, unlike (Builder) which only has Common (Bush) skills for protection. How unfair... Leo mumbled under his voice, scanning for a while as he silently plunged toward the ground. Touching the soft soil in a matter of seconds as he gazed toward houses with mixed emotions. "Even their houses were only made of wood...'' He mumbled under his breath as if his house weren''t worse than theirs. "The town didn''t even pay attention to this ce, making the ce to be perfect for infiltration..." Walking toward the unknown direction, where fates brought him, Leo began seeing humans appearing in the corner of his sight as he crept/hid beyond the shadows of the ce... Their pale and thin appearance greeted/reflected within his senses as he immediately noticed the ball of ck under their eyes, a testament to theirck of sleep. Above their temple, Leo could see that their soul was slowly being consumed by death aura, conveying their slowly failing health... Sooner orter, probably in months, if they don''t change their lifestyle, there are huge chance that they will die. *** "The smell of despair..." Leo thought instinctively, feeling that the Qi within his shadow body began to boil, increasing slowly every second as he stayed in this ce. Above, the brewing despair that was imperceptible to one''s eyes and senses began to drill into Leo''s shadow being, causing him to groanfortably as if he were being submerged in cold water after standing under the scorching sun for hours. Ding! +10 exp! +10 exp! "Howfortable no wonder demons love and enjoy causing despair, unrest, and fear toward beings...'' ... Soon, after an hour of absorption, the despair above him already thinned out, causing Leo to sigh with regret, having no choice but to stop. Checking his shadow beings, it seems that they be much denserpared to before, enabling him to control his shadow body (At new heights) to a great degree! Ding! [ Congrattions upon absorbing despair for the first time! +1% Rule of Pure Despair. +4 free attribute points! +1 Stone of Unrestricted! ] Ding! [ Rule of Pure Despair (1%): The knowledge and feeling of pure despair. Despair from the past, present, and future... Giving up everything since there''s no hope. Effects: Nothing! (Needed to increase the mastery of the rule to 6% to gain the basic permanent boost!) Note: One of the highest rules within the Dao of Horror and Despair! ] *** [ Stone of Unrestricted (small): Unrestricted by Rules, ce, and Time! A one-time-use stone that could defy a single restriction! Note 1: Could be used to defy one of the restrictions within the Physical Body of the Soul! Note 2: It could also be used to escape a Core Formation realm domain and restricted ce for a single time! ] Chapter 134: Blaming Heaven... (This Chapter contains something that was not suitable for 18 below... If you''re one, please skip the chapter!) This... "I could use this to defy time? Making me gain the momentarily perfect time?" Leo ignored the note below that allowed him to escape a domain after using the Unrestricted stone, not caring a bit about it as his whole attention was directed at note #1. Truth be told, his highest priority right now was to find the perfect ce and time, as for the rich Qi/Energy for the usage of creating his physical body, Leo wasn''t that worried since he already filled the Earth Gold within him with Death Qi from the pit! Allowing him to easily gain rich and dense Qi after filling the requirements of the "Physical Body of the Soul"! Ding! [ Physical Body of Soul (Level 9) - In the correct time and in the correct ce where the spiritual is at its thickest, the host would gain a semi-permanent body. Activation: Correct Time, Correct ce, and Thickest Spiritual. ( The requirements of the activation of the skill were halved ) Effects: Gain a Physical body that couldst up to100 days! (The physical body contains 75% strength and 100% stamina based on soul power.) Skill Upgrade Cost: 10 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade and Trace of Rules (5-10%)! Note: Legends that Spirits could gain a physical body when the spirituality in certain ces is at its thickest. ] "Sigh, unfortunately, the requisite of upgrading it to level 10 is actually 10 Medallion of Forceful upgrade and a trace of Rule... I have a feeling that its overall effect would reach a new height after leveling it up!'' Closing the panel in front of him, Leo instinctively raised his head above, wanting to see if he still had time before the morning arrived. If he, unfortunately, hasn''t found/filled the requirements of the "Physical Body of Soul" when the morning arrives, Leo could only give up for today and retreat to the cemetery... Waiting till the darkness again shrouded the ce before infiltrating the town in hopes of gaining his physical body back! *** HELP! HELP! As he was hiding deep within the shadows, pondering deeply as he moved/advanced from time to time toward the unknown, a sudden high-pitched shouting from a woman, originating toward one of the dark alleys in the distance instantly reached Leo''s senses... Causing him to halt in his tracks as an amused expression appeared on his shadow face. "The smell of despair~?" He thought in great hunger, drooling akin to a starving dog as his shadow body couldn''t help but shiver in excitement. "F*ck, what was happening with me! This f*cking inferior species!" Shaking his head, Leo''s sense of reasoning slowlyes back to him, feeling a slight fear within as he took an imaginary breathing to calm his mind down, suppressing the ranging instinct within his consciousness... Gazing toward the alley, Leo''s figure slowly bes transparent under the shrouding of the darkness (he turned off his invisibility earlier to save Qi), rushing toward the alley in a blur. *** Please stop! PLEASE~ I beg you please~~ Within the ce where light couldn''t reach, a woman in herte twenties could be seen crying on the ground, kicking and punching the man above her in hopes for it to stop... Unfortunately, with the difference in strength, she couldn''t even manage to move the man, causing her to resist further. "Hehehe, little girl, stop resisting already, no one can hear you in this kind of ce..." The man lewdly said, showing the disgusting smile on his old face as he punched the face of the woman below him with force, before slowly lowering his pants... Please don''t~ Crying weakly as her head buzzed/spun due to the punch of the man above her, the woman could only cry in despair and helplessness, protecting her only dignity as the man tried his best to make his way. Read exclusive adventures at §Þ?? Staring at the fissure above that was devoid of any hope, she couldn''t help but me her luck... me the fissure above as to why the treatment between humans was extremely unfair... How could she awaken an umon ss job while others awaken an Elite one? She risks her life to advance to level 15, yet... Why is heaven so unfair? Tilting her head toward the side, toward the bread she manages to buy with her little daily wages, a gift for her little sister at home... The corner of her eyes began to leak with water, blurring her vision as he begged the man above her to stop... Sister, I''m sorry, you might not be able to see me tomorrow... *** "Kekeke, the smell of despair... "Wait, wrong script, the smell of injustice..." As the woman was about to close her eyes, about to give up hope and ept that she would probably die tonight... A malevolent voice,ing from the deep abyss, making their souls shiver, suddenly resounded behind the man''s back... Instantly causing them to pause as the man''s eyes greatly shrank. "Kekeke, why did you stop?" Leo said teasingly, causing the two to be confused as Leo unhurriedly touched the neck of the man with his shadow body... causing the man to be petrified on the spot as a cold tendril began to coil around his neck. "I..." Crack, Snap! With a snap of his tendril, the head of the man twisted to the side unimaginably, dropping in a strange way as his skin dearly held its head... Thud. The next second, the lifeless body of the man... lifelessly copses toward the body of the dumbfounded woman, causing her figure to drop backward due to the corpse''s weight. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing an Early Foundation realm level 1! +50 exp points! ] ... "Thi~this... I''m safe... I''m still alive! Th~thank you." Regaining her senses, the woman hurriedly said, looking toward the darkness in hopes of finding his savior but only in vain... Feeling regretful upon not finding her savior, the woman weakly stood up, taking a deep long breath as she began kicking the body of the corpse to release her anger... Huff~ Finally feeling exhausted after a while, the woman breathes a sigh of relief, approaching the bread in the distance so she could finally go home... This... A fruit!? She thought in surprise, staring at the fruit beside the bread on the ground, quite sure that it wasn''t there earlier. Don''t tell me! Ding! [ Earth Vitality Ginseng (Grade 1- Rare +2 )...] *** Chapter 135: Upgrading Telekinetic skill! Sigh, how unlucky. The sun slowly rises from the east, unhurriedly illuminating thend that was once shrouded by darkness... Causing the darkness to retreat as if meeting their mortal enemy. Gazing toward the town and therge farm that upied the epassingnd, Leo couldn''t help but be mesmerized by its beauty, silently watching the once fairytale from the past unfold in front of his very senses... How beautiful... Sigh, however, no matter how beautiful you are, your within still stinks. It''s really best to live in the cemetery... "Unfortunately, the first day of my finding is aplete failure, I haven''t even found one that filled one of the requirements..." Shaking his head, taking ast nce toward the town, Leo took a deep imaginary long breath as he hurriedly rushed deep into the forest, nning to rest within the cemetery and wait till the new night arrived. ... Soon, after transversing the forest for about 2 hours, Leo finally arrived at the periphery of the cemetery. The familiar nd niches greeted his eyes as the grasses below silently danced with the wind... The maroon flower that lives within the crevices of the tomb began to bloom one by one, absorbing the little thing left within to sustain their energy. Gazing above, the fog that often appeared on the eve of morning began to dissipate through the atmosphere, only leaving a damp feeling within... "I miss the feeling of the cemetery." Leo thought, irritated upon not feeling the warm temperature brought by the morning sun. Traversing above the niches, Leo quickly arrives at the dark pit, catching the scene of the two silver skeletons dragging a long heavy log, using it to cover the hole that leads to the unknown. nk~ (Ma~master you finally arrive.) Upon seeing the sudden appearance of the shadow in the distance, Skeleton #2 shakily said, unustomed and ufortable to the sudden change of its master. Moreover, its instinct was sending an intense danger signal toward it... Telling it to avoid the unknown being in the distance immediately! "Hmm, did someone find me in my absence?" nk... (No master...) ... nk! nk? (This! Heartless master, is this your new appearance? How scary and cool! My instinct almost screamed at me earlier upon seeing your figure!) Skeleton #2 hasn''t even finished speaking when suddenly... Skeleton #1, upon seeing Leo''s shadow figure in the distance, couldn''t help but shriek in excitement, hurriedly dropping the log on its skeleton hands before rushing toward them at hastened speed... Began inspecting the shadow figure of Leo in great detail and with enthusiasm, causing Leo''s senses to spin in dizziness due to it. nk, nk (This darkness, this dense death energy, and shadow body that could blend in the darkness... Master when will I again experience evolution?) Skeleton #1 hurriedly asks, feeling itchy all over its skeleton body, wanting to again experience the bliss and the increase of strength after evolution. "This, I don''t know... You probably have a chance after reaching level 15, but it''s uncertain." nk! (A chance! It means it''s possible!) Hearing this, the darkness within its eye socket shone in dark light, conveying the excitement within its being as it clenched its fist. nk! (Then I will work hard to gain good evolution choices!) Without giving Leo a chance to speak, skeleton #1 immediately rushed toward the distance, leaving Skeleton #2 dumbfounded as it gazed toward the log in the distance... Noticing that everything skeleton #1 did was just a facade, it just wanted to escape from its job! nk! (F*ck!) *** Shaking his head, Leo smiles amusedly, sitting in a cross-legged manner as he begins taking out materials within his inventory, nning to focus his mind on creating/making potions. Although theck of the physical body will hinder his capability to create potions considerably, it''s still not on the point ofplete failure or extreme difficulty... It will only make him vexed in a while due to being unustomed to/of having no physical body. Huff~ The energy of my shadow body has a harmful effect on herbs, although it was not instant, it would still lower their effects by amount every second my shadow body touches it. I could only manipte it with my telekinesis skills... However, controlling the fire also took amounts of my mental energy, not to mention creating and processing the materials... Hopefully, my mental energy was enough... Shing. Fire instantly blossoms under the cauldron, heating its exterior at considerable speed. Taking a deep breath mentally, Leo began manipting the materials on the table with his telekic skill, causing them to float before gliding within the cauldron. Pop... "F*ck, another failure!" Soon, an hour quickly passed by. Within the cemetery, Leo''s shadow body could be seen twisting irritatingly, grumbling under his breath as his face grimaced impatiently. "This, Telekinesis skill wouldn''t do, I need to level it up!" Gritting his imaginary teeth, Leo took out an unassuming brown Medallion within his inventory, grasping it within his shadow as he wavering upgraded the skill. Ding! [ Upgrading Weak Telekic (level 5) skill to Telekic (Level 1) cost one Medallion of Forceful upgrade? (ept/Decline)? ] "ept!" Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading Weak Telekic (Level 5) skill to Telekic (Level 1)! ] Ding! [ Telekinesis (Level 1) - Moving objects using the soul and mental power of the host. The higher the weight, the higher the soul and mental power required is! Activation: 0.1 Qi per use (depends on weight). Skill Cost: 2,500 horror points! Note: "Look the ball just move!" ] ... "This, It''s still not enough. System, upgrade it to level 4!" [ Upgrading Telekic (level 1) skill to Telekic (Level 4) costs 12,500 horror points! (ept/Decline)? ] "Just deduct it already!" Ding! -12,500 horror points! Ding! [ Telekinesis (Level 4) - Moving objects using minute amount of soul and mental power of the host. The higher the weight, the higher the soul and mental power required is! Activation: 0.1 Qi per pound of weight (depends on weight). Skill Cost: 20,000 horror points! Note: "Look the TRUCK just levitated!" ] ... Chapter 136: Delving Deep Within... Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully making a Vitality Potion (63%)! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon creating your first 50 potions! +5 free attribute points! +1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! +10,000 horror points! ] "Great! Although it was a little hard to create potions without a physical body, this would work for now!" Leo thought in satisfaction, inspecting the brown-red thick liquid within the bottle as he unhurriedly stood up... Although he could still continue creating potions for a couple of hours, Leo could already feel that his mental energy had already been reduced by half, causing him to reluctantly stop since he still had nster... If he spends all of his mental energy on concocting potions, there is a huge probability that hisbat abilityter would suffer a decline, not allowing him to easily infiltrate the town at night to find an opportunity to gain his physical body back! "There''s still 4 hours before night arrives, and another 6 hours before midnight appears... I could use the rest of the hours to cultivate within the pit or explore some of its ces/passages!" "If I luckily encounter a Spiritual Fruit and Herbs within, I might have a chance to mutate again and gain a morefortable body/physic even without gaining my physical body back!" Like a bottle of ck ink that drops to a clean white canvas, Leo''s thought instantly gets filled with expectation, causing his shadow body to shiver in anticipation as he instantly rushes toward the distance... ... Descending toward the familiar darkness, blending toward the surrounding shadows thatpletely hide his figure... Leo finally hit the ground, causing the bones beneath to crack slightly due to his light weight... "Howfortable, I didn''t notice that this ce wasfortable in the past after I evolved..." Leo mumbled under his breath, feeling his being screaming within him to sit down and cultivate on the spot. Although he hadn''t summoned a me to illuminate the surroundings of the passage, Leo could almost perfectly see through the darkness, making his hatred toward his shadow body lessen considerably. "Although I suffered too much after and in the middle/process of evolution, I couldn''t deny the fact that some of its function was above the human physical body." It could be said that both have their own advantages and disadvantages... It''s just that I preferred having a physical body more instead of this. Staring toward the passage they chose (enter) in the past, Leo amusedly shook his head, feeling that he still couldn''t beat that Core Formation puppet even though his strength increased drastically. (Purely in Soul Power and Qi.) Sigh, I should explore a new tunnel/passage for today... Upon deciding, Leo didn''t hesitate further as he began moving toward one of the dozens of tunnels within... Taking a deep breath, Leo prayed to the Goddess of Luck above, hoping that he wouldn''t encounter danger. *** Squeak? Squeaak! As he was advancing deep within, Leo often and asionally met ck rats on his way, making him pause in wariness as he hid his figure with invisibility. Staring toward the ce they originated, Leo casually scanned the ce with his senses, trying to see if they were protecting Spiritual nts or Herbs in their territory... "Still no?" He thought, staring at the ck rats with disdain, feeling that they failed their race within upon not having a natural treasure... Shaking his head, Leo was about to enter one of the passages in the distance to continue his exploration when suddenly, within the corner of his eye, he caught another figure of a ck rat exiting one of the passages... If it was just a normal rat, Leo wouldn''t think too much about it... However, the rat that just entered the ce was extremely strange from Leo''s perspective. Although it was still far away from his current location (50 meters apart) Leo could already feel the strange aura it radiating. Its eyes which appeared piercing to one''s senses scanned the ce unhurriedly, advancing with its 3-meter tall stature, causing its beneath to crack continuously under its weight... Surprisingly, although its weight couldpare to a ton, it moves quite quickly, as if its weight didn''t even hinder it by a bit. ... "This... A mutated ck rat! Moreover, it should be on +2 or Epic race grade at least!" It should be hiding a Spiritual fruit above grade 1! Leo''s eyes shadow couldn''t but glint under his invisibility, quite wary as he didn''t immediately approach the figure of the rat... "What kind of skill are you hiding?" Leo quietly thought as he scanned it with his Soul Scan. Ding! [ Mutated Death Rat (Epic): A Rat that consumed a mysterious fruit, causing its life order to evolve above its natural grade! Innate skill: Unhindered by Darkness (Rare), Decaying Aura (Epic). Physics: Decaying Body (Epic). ______Atrributes______ Foundation realm level 18! Health: 300/300 Qi Storage: 500/500 Stamina: 300/300 Strength: 250 Speed: 100 Qi Power: 200 ______Skills______ Skill: Corrosive Saliva (Elite +2), Advance Senses (Rare +1), Advance Strength (Elite +2), Shriek (Elite +2), ???, ??? ] ... [ Decaying Aura (Epic): Passively releasing a strange aura that had a harmful effect on living beings! It could slowly lower/reduce the health and strength of the beings near it until they eventually die! Activation: Passive! ] Ding! [ Decaying Body (Epic): Unaffected by Decaying aura! It could slowly increase its strength and Level by consuming treasure/corpse that was rich in "Decaying" Energy! Activation: Passive! ] ... "This skill... Its epic skill is useless to me!" Leo''s eyes further glinted, feeling that the Goddess of Luck finally smiled at him... Although he was not too sure that his shadow body could resist its decaying aura, his other skill could! Moreover, with his other skills that counter its other skills, Leo couldn''t help but rub his shadow hands in anticipation, smiling deviously as he began waiting for the ck rat to lead the way, toward its suspected natural treasure... Then after that, I could kill it and get its corpse for further use! An Epic creature for creating puppets and potions! Hitting two birds with one stone! ... Chapter 137: Fighting the Epic Grade Rat! (1) Squeak? Squeak! Upon seeing the Epic ck rat, the surrounding rats, as if meeting an abomination, immediately dispersed toward the surroundings, concealing the fear within their eyes as they hastily left the cavern. Squeak... Seeing this, the epic ck rat revealed disdain in its nd eye, approaching the towering bones in the far distance as it began consuming it inrge amounts. Opening its mouth that reveals the horror hiding within, it easily consumes tens of kilograms of bones in one go, creating a grinding and cracking sound that irritatingly resounds in the surrounding passage. "Gulp, Its aura, it''s slowly increasing.'' Leo ponders within the darkness, staring at the figure in the distance patiently... Akin to a predator that was waiting for its victim to lead the way toward its nest. ... Soon, after dozens of minutes or probably an hour of waiting, the Epic ck rat suddenly releases a loud burp, expelling arge amount of corrosive gasses within its body that corroded the bones in its front... With a satisfied squeak, it began dragging its heavy body toward one of the unknown passages, causing the ck ink water beneath to create a heavy wave, making the ground quake slightly every time it took a step. "Finally..." With an excited expression (Although it couldn''t be seen in his shadow face), Leo began tailing the epic ck rat in the far distance... maintaining a 25-meter distance between them to avoid being discovered/detected by it. Squeak... With great familiarity, as if already taken the path for an inconceivable amount of times, the ck rat moved within the passage unhindered, not pausing a bit as it just dragged its heavy body toward the unknown depths. As they advanced further, the water beneath Leo began to increase in height... Although he couldn''t feel it due to his semi-physical form and lightweight that didn''t allow him to submerge in the thick water, the 3-meter-tall ck rat in the distance was noticeably smaller than earlier due to its body starting to submerge beneath (0.33 meters)... Causing its speed to decrease considerably due to the thick sticky ck water hindering some of its movement. Squeak!? Soon, after moving for a while, at least half an hour, the epic ck rat suddenly released an anxious squeak, snipping the surrounding darkness as it immediately squinted its nd eyes toward the water beneath... That at one point, already reached its knees (0.66 meters). Chomp! The next second, a feeling of itch,ing from its sole appeared within its senses, causing it to squeak angrily and irritatedly... Squeak! Not even a second passed by, another one chomped on its front legs, followed by another and another... Began continuously biting/chomping toward its submerged lower body in unison, causing it to stomp its legs angrily... Thud, Thud! Water began to part ways, showing the empty ground beneath and some unknown paste before being instantly filled again by water... Thud! Still not done, it submerged parts of its face toward the dark ink water beneath it, resisting the pain it was experiencing before exhaling/expelling arge amount of corrosive gas with a mixture of acidic saliva beneath... In an instant, the temperature of the ck water in the surrounding darkness began to increase with speed, followed by blobs of bubbles filled with corrosive green gas beginning to explode within 50 meters of diameter... Slowly filling the atmosphere with corrosive fog. Pop... Pop... Pop... Countless sounds of popping bubbles resounded in the darkness, as the ck ink water continuously created waves that rippled toward the unknown. After a while of seemingly failed attempts to kill the creatures hiding within the water... A small insect that resembles a brown fish (having a length of 6 inches) slowly resurfaces within the water, parts of its body were missing (melted) due to the corrosive properties of the gas... (Although it could have been safe if it just retreated on time, it was unlucky to get caught off guard by the ck rat.) Simr to a trigger, the corpses of the brown insect began to resurface the water, filling the surroundings with their insect bodies. This... "This is the first time I have seen this creature..." Leo thought gravely, fortunate that they didn''t explore this ce in the past, or else, he might suffer gravely due to theck of knowledge... Seeing that one of the insects, close to him was still struggling to survive... Leo simply cast a soul scan toward it before killing it with a flick of his shadow body. Ding! -0.01 health (Due to the lingering corrosive properties of the ck rat. Although he was currently a shadow being (demon) thatcked a physical body, his current form could be said part semi-body and incorporeal, causing him to still receive a small amount of damage. ) +10 exp points! ... Ding! [ Unknown Insect (Elite +1): A normal insect that absorbs traces of Death Qi, causing it to suffer mutation and changes in its life order... Innate skill: Sharpen Teeth (Elite +1) ______Atrributes______ Foundation realm level-1! Health: 8/100 Qi Storage: 38/50 Stamina: 20/100 Strength: 75 Speed: 75 Qi Power: 75 ______Skills______ Skill: Dive (Elite +1), Whirlpool weaken (Elite), Water Bullet (Umon), Chomp (Elite +1) ] ... [ Chomp (Elite +1): Passively increases its biting force by times, making it the ideal weapon for little devourers... Activation: Passive! ] "This... They are too weak," Leo couldn''t help but mumble, however looking at their corpse that amounts to dozens or hundreds, Leo could only weakly swallow his words, feeling that it was really troublesome if he faced them with his physical body... Moreover, their number probably amounts to thousands beneath the surface of the waters! ... Soon, after minutes of exhaling beneath the water''s surface, the Epic ck rat finally halted its action, breathing heavily as it revealed a satisfied expression on its disgusting face... Shakings its body intensely before continuing its journey toward the depths of the passage... "I underestimate it! Its intelligence is quite highpared to its counterpart..." Leo thought solemnly as he again began tailing it. *** Chapter 138: Fighting The Epic Grade Rat! (2) Ssh~ Thick ink water that was denser than mud sshed toward the environment, creating waves that almost reached a meter in height as it heavily crashed toward the towering bones in the distance... Causing it to quake slightly before finally falling apart due to the disturbance. Squeak! Dozens of meters away from it, the eyes of the ck rat were noticeably turned crimson red as it angrily squeaked toward the being in front of it... Its face which was fuming with smoke could be seen asionally ncing at the humanoid''s back, toward the huge tree in the distance, toward the ck fruit it was bearing anxiously. Although it was still unripe, the ck rat could feel that it would be ripe soon! And if that happened, it would attract the beasts in the surrounding passage! One or ten beasts were not a problem with the ck rat''s current capabilities and strength, however, if their numbers entered twenties and above, then it would really be troublesome! "Kekeke, sorry little guy, you could only me your luck for being unlucky." Leoughed maniacally, sniffing the atmosphere in satisfaction as if he could already smell the spiritual fruits in the far distance. Staring back at the Epic ck rat meters away from him, Leo weakened the restraint of his debuff passive skill, causing an intangible curse to spread toward the environment... Although the effect wouldn''t be instant, it would slowly increase his advantages as they prolong the battle. Boom! Boom! Summoning dozens ofpressed Hell Fire on his shadow body, Leo continuously fired it toward the ck rat in the distance, causing the air to cry in pain (release an intense swishing sound) as the atmosphere began to twist intensely due to its high temperature... Squeak! Revealing fear within its nd eyes, the epic ck rat stomped its front legs toward the water beneath it, slightly obstructing Leo''s vision as some of the hell fire collided with the sshed ck ink water in the atmosphere... Causing them to blow up mid-air. Boom! Boom! "F*cking Intelligence! Its intelligence was already high!" Seeing this, Leo couldn''t help but curse under his breath, feeling that his intelligence dropped by an amount upon not being able to take down the rat easily. Unfortunately, I couldn''t activate my domain! He again cursed, although he could capture the other party and force it toward his domain, removing the advantage of its home ground... Leo was unwilling to activate it since the two of them would be forced to enter the domain, making the tree and the fruit in the far distance free for the other beast to take! He was simply unwilling to abandon the fruit! ... Squeak! Squeaking angrily, the ck rat opened its mouth, spitting acids that were as big as a small ball (3.5 inches in diameter) toward Leo with fastened speed... Spew, spew. After spitting its tenth acid ball, the ck rat again roared, releasing its decaying aura toward the surroundings, causing the bones beneath it to age crazily. Ding! -0.01 Health. -0.01 Health. Tsk, although the damage is too small, it still has effects... Leo ponders in an instant as he begins shooting the ck rat in the distance with dozens ofpressed Hell me with a mixture of Dark Bullets in the mids, slowly reducing its health by amount. Although Leo''s advantage was quite clear, the sound within the surrounding passage began to increase, a testament that beasts began to notice their battle... "This is not good, they will notice the spiritual fruit..." Leo thought, activating his Mist of Illusion skill in full power, instantly shrouding the passage with thick gray fog with a hint of darkness within, suppressing the senses of the creatures that entered the ce considerably... However, although that was the case for the other beasts, the senses of the Epic ck Rat in the distance weren''t effective by a bit. Rushing toward Leo, using the slight opportunity when Leo was upied by the noises outside of the passage, it swiped its paws toward Leo''s shadow being with force. (A distance of 25 meters to a Foundation realm being is like a distance of 1 meter to a normal being.) Swish! Boom! The air whistles intensely, visibly parting the wind as the heavy paw of the ck rat heavily hits the surface of Leo''s body, causing it to dissipate through the air as if it were just a product of gas. Ding! -10 health. Shocked, the epic ck rat stared at the dissipated shadow that was slowly condensing into another humanoid form in front of it. Starting to feel ufortable and fearful upon being unable toprehend the thing unfolding in front of it. Kekeke... Smiling wickedly, feeling that the density of his shadow being decreased by a small amount, Leo instantly activates his Extreme Hell me, not letting the chance in front of him slip off as he consumes 75 of his Qi. SQUEAAKKK! SQUEAKK! Ding! -5 health. -5 health. Feeling the unprecedented pain within its body, the ck rat directly falls toward the ground, intensely twisting its body in an attempt to put the me off... Making the ground and the ink water beneath to tremble... Sizzle, sizzle. Still not done, Leo began raining it with Dark bullets and condensed me, making the me it managed to put off ignite again. "Kekeke fear and despair, I didn''t expect that even beasts could feel a deep and rich fear/despair! "The taste, although it was a little inferiorpared to human despair, it was still a rare delicacy!" Leoughed crazily, squinting its eyes in happiness as he watched the epic ck rat twist its body unimaginable... Crying in despair, the ck rat still manages to spew a number of acids toward Leo''s being, making Leo slightly irritated even though he only suffered small damage... Spew! Thud! Soon, after struggling for another period of time, the epic ck rat finally stops resisting, weakly twitching on the ground as its eyes already rolled on the back of its head... *** Chapter 139: Tree Of Ten Thousand Souls! The smell of burned decaying flesh began to hover throughout the space, blending toward the surrounding fog as it continuously drifted deep into the terrain. Sizzle... The sizzling sound of it as its muscle memory asionally twitched under the high temperature of the ck me unfolded into the short distance, making the shadow being close to it smile with a hint of madness... Sighing with intoxication, Leo''s shadow being could be seen visibly quivering in excitement, shaded by dark light as he asionally "releasing" a high-pitched giggle. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing an Epic Grade being/race for the first time! +5,000 Horror points! +6 Free Attribute points! +1 High Enlightenment Stone! ] +250 Exp points! "Kekeke, I almost forgot that I still have use of your body. Sigh, I got lost in excitement causing some of your parts to bepletely charred... However, with your size, losing some of your parts is not a problem.'' Squinting his shadow eyes, Leo immediately touches the charred body of the Epic ck Rat, waiting for a while before finally hiding its corpse within his inventory. "Hmm, I gained a High Enlightenment Stone, I could use this to elevate my understanding of my Cultivation Technique or one of my Rules... "The Rule of Life Nature is a good choice since it could elevate my mentality and mental energy by quite a good amount..." Shaking his head, burying those distracting thoughts behind his mind, Leo shifted his gaze toward the 5-meter tall tree in the distance, to be exact, toward the dark fruit it was bearing. Although the ce has never been grazed by the sunlight outside, it still managed to prosper under this abandoned cave/passage, attesting to how really different the world is right now... Its brown body with a hint of darkness in it almost upied the center of the ce, as its thick brown roots ran deep down toward the unknown ink-ck water... Above, its leaves that have a hint of decay in them could be seen swaying healthily... Ding! [ Grade-2 (Still Growing) Tree of Ten Thousand Soul (Epic) - A tree that absorbs the decaying body of tens of thousands of beings to grow, bearing fruit after again absorbing another thousand decaying bodies! Note: Its fruit has miraculous effects! ] ... "This, a Grade 2 spiritual tree that was still in its growing stage! Then doesn''t that mean it could still increase its grade!?" "Peak of Grade 2 or Grade 3 spiritual tree?" Leo''s mouth turned agape in surprise, not expecting that his luck finally turn into better... "Or probably the luck of the epic ck rat is just bad.'' Feeling ted, Leo shifted his gaze toward the ck fruit meters above him. "This..." In an instant, after seeing its plump ck figure, Leo''s instinct began screaming toward him to quickly consume the fruit! The temptation within couldn''t be hidden anymore as he unhurriedly plucked it away from the tree... Upon touching, the sensation of being electrified by a low voltage instantly courses through his shadow being, causing him to moan uncontrobly... *** [ Fruit of Thousand Souls and Decay (Grade 2-Epic): A Fruit that should only appear in the depths of the Underworld, consuming and absorbing the energy of the soul within to attain its perfect growth! Effect upon consumption: Permanently increase Death and Life affinity by 5, and Soul, Mental, and Qi power by 20! Effect 2: Greatly increase the Qi inside the body by a considerable amount! (Only effective below the Late-Nascent Soul realm stage!) Effect 3: There''s a small chance of mutation and gaining an understanding of the Rules of Decay! Note 1: A being could only consume 3 raw Thousand Souls and Decay Fruits in its lifetime! (Could consume an extra one if the Thousand Souls and Decay fruit were processed into a potion!) Note 2: Extremely helpful below Core Formation Realm! ] ... This... "It''s effects... It''s much better than grade 1 spiritual fruit by dozens!" Leo stared silently toward the void for an unknown period of time, reading its description in surprise as he carefully held the fruit within his grasp... After a while, finally sighing in slight exhaustion, Leo unhurriedly opened his imaginary mouth as he consumed the fruit in one go. Gulp~ The dark fruit quickly slid down toward the unknown darkness, not giving feedback for its taste before dissolving in an instant within his shadow being... Its rich juices that contain a glimmer of gray within, quickly fuse with Leo''s very being, traversing his physics before entering his soul... Sending shivers to Leo as he quickly sat down on the ground, closing his eyes as he followed his instinct. Ding! +50 exp points! +50 exp points! +50 exp points! The Qi within him began to boil in excitement, increasing the exp and Qi it contained by amount every second... Following that, the dark ink water beneath began to crazily surge, releasing a dense ck smoke (Qi)ing from unknown depths that instantly concealed Leo''s being, enveloping him tightly as it quickly decreased in density (Due to Leo''s absorption ). *** Huff~ Soon, after an hour of being engrossed in the process of mutation, Leo releases a gasp of satisfaction, unhurriedly opening his gray shadow eyes as he begins checking the changes in his shadow form... His shadow being which was much denser than before greeted his eyes. Unlike previously when his form seems always about to dissipate toward the surroundings, this time, his being appeared much more solid (Although notpletely since he still retained the uniqueness of being in semi-physical form)... Moreover, he could control his body much more easily as if he gained a deeper understanding of it, allowing him to focus his shadow being in some parts in a short period of time... Freely shifting in physical and incorporeal form, making his future enemy confused and caught off guard due to the unexpected! "This ability is great for creating feint..." It would surely cause my future enemies to have a headache upon being unable to deal with my form... However, I still prefer a physical body! ... Chapter 140: Mutated to Mid-Level Entity! Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Demon/Mid-level Entity Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion, Sinful Desire! Physique: Shadow Body! Rules: Life Nature (6%), Fear of the Unknown (10%), Despair (1%) ___ Attributes ___ Level: 16 Peak-Foundation Realm( 13,246/17,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 10 Health: 220/220 Qi: 520/520 Stamina: 220/220 Strength: 125 Speed: 110 Qi Power: 250 Soul Power: 375 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 6), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 6), Jinx (Lvl 5), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 5), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 5), Weak Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 9), Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 5), Hidden Strenght (Lvl 5), Build up Stamina (Lvl 5), Iplete Domain (Lvl 5)... ss Job Skill: Advance Potion Knowledge (Lvl 4), Advance Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl 4)... ... Horror Points: 73,200! ... Ding! [ Sinful Desire (Unknown): Increasing the desire of one''s being in exchange for strength. The stronger the desire of the host, the stronger the overall strength of the host was! Effects: Increase overall stat by 1-5% depending on the strength of the desire! Activation: Passive! ] ... "My overall strength increases by almost 10% after the mutation!" Leo mumbled under his breath, feeling the newfound strength coursing through his being... Although there''s no familiar "mutation" at the beginning of his race on the character panel, the "Low-Level Entity" behind the race name quietly changes into "Mid-Level Entity" after the mutation... Causing him to ponder about the real meaning of the grade within the entity... Sigh... Shaking his head, Leo reluctantly nces toward the huge tree in front, sighing deeply before deciding to leave, noticing that he already spent countless hours within the passage. "Unfortunately, I couldn''t take the huge tree with me... This is the perfect ce for it to grow." Hopefully, when Ie back to this ce in the future, you already bear another fruit. *** Arriving at the familiar dark ce, where the surrounding passage/cavern could be seen being filled with countless gray bones and skeletons, in addition to the huge pit above that leads toward the outside of the forsaken ce... Leo couldn''t help but heave a sigh of relief, finally rxing his shadow body as he weakly smiled. "It''s a pity that the night already passed by, I should cultivate for now and strive to reach level 17. "I onlyck less than 4,000 exp points to advance toward the next level..." Feeling that midnight had already passed by, Leo could only sit down helplessly... Closing his eyes as he began circting his cultivation technique. Swish. The air within the passage rustles weakly, bringing difort to one''s being as the temperature in the surrounding void begins to decline in speed... Bringing forth waves of dark smoke toward Leo''s being. Ding! +10 Exp points! +25 Exp points! +10 Exp points! Surely and slowly, Leo''s exp began to increase in number, slowly umting toward his expected desires... Making the distance between levels 16 and 17 to be small every second. *** Boom! Boom! A hundred miles away, toward the depths of the Endless Forest, a burly man filled with dense explosive muscles within... Hiding beyond his gray shirt, could be seen continuously punching a Peak-Foundation realm beast in his front, leaving a deep dent in the beast''s body, causing it to cry desperately as it tried to escape in vain. Thud... Soon, finally unable to cope with the damage it took, the beast finally and eventually fell toward the ground with a thud, dyeing the grass beneath with crimson blood as its life force quickly flew out outside its being. Making its eyes that were clouded with fear turn lifeless... Ding! [ Congrattions upon... ] "This... Is this the strength of the Core Formation realm being?" The burly man stared at his fist in surprise before unhurriedly grasping the wooden rosary hanging on his neck in silence, feeling that the pain and despair he endured to reach his current stage was not that painful anymore. "I could finally exact my revenge..." p, p, p. "As expected for someone who dares to ept the strength of the devil." While he was being emotional within himself, a sudden round of apuse resounded behind his back, causing his expression to instantly revert back to being cold. "What is it?" His deep voice that carried strength quickly transverses the ce, creating a sense of suppression that stems from his cultivation stage... Making the noise within the forest to momentarily stop. Hehe... "It''s finally time to keep our vow. "We can''t drag this anymore, we need to create a foolproof n." The man chuckled slightly, unaffected by the suppression of the burly man... Upon rying the information, he immediately walked toward the west direction, shaking his head in amusement before finally vanishing within its depths. Sigh, It''s indeed finally time... Seeing that the man finally vanished within his senses, the burly man couldn''t help but stare at the fissure above in silence, his expression was unknown as he reminisced about the untold past. "Don''t worry, it won''t take long... I will make sure that everyone will apany you deep within the hell." Gritting his teeth in anger, his brown eyes revealed intense determination, sighing weakly as he unhurriedly walked toward the west. *** Boom! [ Congrattions upon advancing toward level 17... ] "Huff~ How many days had passed by?" Exhaling turbid air from the unknown, Leo unhurriedly opened his eyes, stretching his shadow body as he gazed above the pit, feeling that it was time to again visit the town... "The desire to gain physical body began to bother me, although it slowly increased my overall attribute points (Thanks to Sinful desire), the emotion within me began to disturb my mind..." Although it''s not to the point that it would trouble his cultivation (circting of cultivation technique), it''s still quite troublesome... asionally making him ufortable since the thought of it often appeared in his mind. "The fragrance of the cemetery, the feeling of tasting foods again, the sensation of heat brought to one''s skin... I miss them all." ... (The Sin of Jealousy...) Chapter 141: The Beginning of Nightmare-1 (Day 1) ... [ The Beginning of Nightmare Day-1 ] February 20, 2025... The blue sky above was clear with clouds, causing the heating from the sun to illuminate the ground freely... Although it was hot, reaching 29 degrees Celsius, the dots of countless people walking below were still visible above. In the chaotic park, countless people could be seen happily walking around, their faces carried mixed emotions as they walked within... Unhindered by the heat of the sun as they enjoy their time. "Mom, Mom, look! There''s a clown there!" Holding tightly the brown teddy bear in his left hand, a child at the age of 5-6 pointed toward the park opposite them happily, the innocence within his ck eyes was apparent as he looked toward anything in curiosity... "I see, do you want to buy a balloon?" Seeing the smile on her son''s face, the woman sweetly smiled, pointing toward the countless balloons the clown was holding as she asked her son softly. "Yes! I want the red big one!" Hearing her mother, the child immediately jumps in excitement, causing his chubby cheeks to wiggle slightly, giggling as he tightly held the hand of her mother. Impatient yet leisurely walking toward the clown in the distance, the eyes of the child wandered around, gazing toward the far horizon in amazement... happening to see humans exiting a gray ban from afar... Their faces were covered in devil masks as they carried heavy backpacks with them, wearing thick dark jackets even though the temperature in the ce was quite high. However, due to his innocence, the child only smiled and waved at them before rushing toward the distance excitedly. "Hello, how much for the red balloon?" *** In an instant, another hour happily passed by. The child''s face was covered in dried yet wet ice cream, hiding under the veil of the ceiling above as his eyes gazed toward the small car in the distance... the smile with a hint of sweetness and childish within couldn''t be concealed as he asionally released a soft giggle. "Do you have fun?" Seeing that the eyes of her son were pasted on the little car in the distance, the woman only softly smiled, taking a wet napkin from her bag as she softly wiped the sticky ice cream on the corner of her son''s lips. "Yes! It''s so fun! We ride in big cars and also watch cartoons! I even met Hulk that looked like Shriek!" Giggle. "Hulk that looked like Shriek, Puff~" The woman softly giggled upon hearing how her son depicted the cosy event earlier... Feeling pity toward the person who takes lots of effort to cosy Hulk. A whileter, the woman''s face instantly turned strange, slightly holding her tummy as the cold breezeing from the electric fan above grazed her skin. "This... Araw, Mom needs to go to the bathroom, can you watch our food for a while?" The woman said, holding her tummy as it released a weak sound of rumbling. "Okay, Mom!" The child said as he licked the ice cream on his hand in delight. "Good boy, remember that don''t listen to any strangers okay? If someone asks you to follow them don''t believe them understand?" "Yes, Mom." The child absently replied as he focused on the ice cream in his front, ncing toward his mother who was hurriedly vanishing within his line of sight as he gazed toward the horizon. *** "THERE''S NO GOD!" "What do you know! You are just an atheist!" The people in the park couldn''t help but nce toward the distance in unison, seeing that a number/crowd began to form in afar... The sound of seemingly quarrels and disputes began to travel quickly in the atmosphere, reaching the far distance. However, all of them didn''t think too much about it, feeling that it was quite normal for people to easily get angry under the intense heat of the sun... They just slowly approach it due to their curiosity and to gain new information to share with others. (It''s usually easy for people to get irritated upon being under the intense heat of the sun after minutes.) "This, a protest?" Tens of meters away from the child, a man holding a newly purchased console could be seen staring at the far distance in curiosity, slowly approaching forward, also wanting to gossip... "Son, do you still want fries?" Exiting thefort room (Cr) in the far distance, the woman approached her son, quite satisfied that her son didn''t be anxious after leaving for a while. "Mom, they are walking toward that noise..." The child didn''t reply, just pointing toward the far distance in curiosity, wondering why people were walking in that direction. "Hmm..." Hearing the faint sound of arguing in the far distance, the smile on the woman''s face instantly vanished before being reced with solemnity. Raising her head, she could already see that the people in the far distance slowly bing anxious... Staring toward the unknown in slight fear and anger... As she was pondering within, the crowd in the distance suddenly released an angry and fearful shout, instantly turning chaotic as some people rushed forward, while others immediately retreated... Causing some people to fall toward the ground upon being pushed by the panic crowd. "This..." Shaken, she saw a woman and a small child being pushed identally by the man behind her, causing them to fall toward the ground heavily as the child within her grasp cried in pain... "Araw don''t leave this ce okay? I will help them..." She solemnly said to her son before rushing toward the distance without hesitation, intending to help the child and the woman in the far distance... With the distance of her son toward the chaos/riot happening in the distance, he wouldn''t be exposed to any danger... Moreover, people wouldn''t hurt an innocent child. *** Author''s note: I already uploaded 140 chapters yet the beginning of the apocalypse was still unclear... (I decided to create chapters rted to the beginning of the apocalypse as the story progresses... since the MC only awakened after 2 months of being wisp...) Chapter 142: The Beginning of Nightmare-2 (Day 1) Bang! Bang! Bang! The sounds of piercing bullets echoed within, causing the beings around to momentarily pause, staring at the origin of the sound a while before releasing an intense shrieking sound... The sight of the being, bathing in his own blood as the concrete below absorbs its thickness appeared within their eyes, causing them to be terrified, shocked, and puzzled. "Wha~WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!" An old woman near the corpse suddenly shouted toward the masked man in the distance, pointing toward him angrily as she became hysterical. The next second... Bang! A bullet pierced through her head, leaving a gaping hole that started leaking a pink substance, a mixture of blood and flesh of brains, making some beings who were terrified to move suddenly bend their knees down, puking everything within them... ... Madness issued within, as the park became more chaotic. The sight of the woman in the distance, holding a crying child within her grasp instantly got buried within the horrified crowd as the sound of bullets began to echo afar. The sound of panic, angry shouts, and crying instantly filled the ce as the child silently stared into the distance, toward the direction where her mother went in pure dumbfounded... Watching how her mother vanished in his line of sight in puzzlement and fear. "Mom!" He shouted in a loud voice, but no one managed to hear it... The chaotic sound in the atmosphere buried his little yet innocent voice, not allowing it to travel the far distance, causing his emotions to be unstable. Affected by the atmosphere within, the sight of countless people being stepped on, crying helplessly as they covered their heads, entered his young senses... Mom~ The child tightly held the brown teddy bear within his grasp, shouting as warm salty tears began to flow in the corner of his eyes. "Mom! MOM!" ... Bang! Bang! "D*mn! Irresponsible parents!" A man in the distance angrily mumbled under his breath, advancing toward the chaos as he lightly pushed the people away from his path. Looking at the far distance, he could faintly see the silhouettes of humans wearing ck clothes... Above, on their face, a dark mask defecting evil... hiding their appearance beyond. Holding different caliber of guns as they indiscriminately shot/fired toward the surroundings, bathing the ground with crimson blood as he could faintly hear theirughter that reverberated toward the unknown. Damn! Damn! Damn, mad people! Reaching the side of the child, slightly ncing at the brown teddy bear it was holding, the man immediately squatted down, carrying the crying child on his chest before dashing away toward this ce. ... "Hah, hah, don''t worry I will make sure that you will find your parents..." The manfortingly said while gasping for air heavily, making the child in his chest less afraid, but still trembling asionally due to fear. "Mom... My mom is still in that ce~" Araw weakly said, but his soft yet trembling voice didn''t manage to reach the man''s ears... Helpless and crying, he could only bury his face toward the man''s cold yet soaked chest... Findingfort as he began praying for the safety of her mother. Bang! Bang! "Why me!" As he was tightly closing his eyes, a sudden angry yet weak voice entered his senses, feeling that the man was extremely angry yet didn''t dare to speak, he only continued rushing toward the unknown distance as his movement slightly became unstable. "So warm..." Araw suddenly said, feeling that the cold yet soaked sweat on the man''s chest was slowly being reced with sticky and warm liquid. Tightly closing his eyes, he could smell its metallic with a hint of fishy fragrance within... "Warm?" A confused yet weak voice entered his senses. "yes, Warm." Araw again replied, feeling that the sound in the surroundings was slowly bing silent. Although they could still hear the faint screaming and sound of guns being continuously fired toward the unknown, it''s undeniable that they were safe for the time being... However, to ensure their safety, the man still continues running for a whole minute before finally stopping in one of the alleys. Gasping heavily as he unhurriedly put Araw on the ground. Thi...This! ... "Indeed, I got hit by the bullet..." The man in front of the child weakly fell toward the ground, facing the sky above as his chest visibly became dyed in thick crimson red... Staring toward the unknown as his brown yet ck eyes slowly lose their focus. "Is that nirvana?" Hestly spoke in confusion and relief as his eyes eventually became nd and lifeless, followed by the weak movement of his chest that at some point... finally stopped moving, Indicating that his life finallyes to an end. "Brother?" Araw innocently speaks, holding his brown teddy bear that is now dyed in crimson blood, approaching Leo as he weakly shakes his corpse. "Brother?" He again asked, his voice slowly turned dry as his eyes became blurry, feeling sad all of a sudden... As he was again about to shake the corpse on the ground, a sudden sound of cracking akin to a porcin vase resounded above... Causing him to pause as he slowly raised his head, showing his pale appearance covered in blood. *** Cra~Crackkk! The sky continuously issued a crack simr to a thin ss that directly fell toward the solid ground, unfolding the dark void beyond, devoid of any light that momentarily swallowed every being''s vision... In the next second, countless ck small dots, originating from the long fissure above, instantly consumed the sky, quickly erging within every being''s vision as they directly dived toward the ground... Boom! "Kekeke, we finally managed to enter this ce!" A loud sound akin to an explosion, immediately echoed within one of the schools, filling the ce with dust and smoke as it covered the deep pit within... The next second, an irritatingugh,ing from one''s nightmare resounded deep within the pit, causing the students that approached due to curiosity to instantly be afraid... "Good! A delicacy already presented itself!" Swish! *** Chapter 143: The Brewing of Despair... Huff~ "I''m slowly approaching the level 18 mark... "I onlyck 5,000 exp points to advance, unfortunately, I could only increase my exp by 1,000-1,200 per day... And that is if I focus solely on circting my cultivation technique at night. "On the other hand, I could gain at least 1,500-2,000 exp per day if I consumed spiritual fruits to further the umtion of Qi within me." Pondering as he lightly touched his imaginary chin, as if thinking, he again weakly mumbled to himself. "It would take me at least half a month to a month to advance toward the Core Formation realm. If I could get another grade-2 spiritual fruit, the speed could be shortened by days. "Unfortunately, my luck these few days was quite bad." Leo exhaled turbid air toward the surrounding darkness, nonchntly stretching his shadow physics before rushing outside the forsaken pit. Staring at the darkness above before slowly shifting his gaze toward the tall canopy that further shrouded thend in darkness... Leo leisurely began traversing the damp cemetery, advancing toward his farm in the afar. In the past few weeks after nting his spiritual herbs (that only cost 1,500 horror points each from the system shop), within the cemetery. Leo could see their drastic growth every day... since he asionally gives them nourishment (using decaying flesh of beasts for them to absorb ) causing their growth to fasten by leaps and bounds... Not to mention that they were only ungraded to low grade-1 spiritual nts yet the nourishment he gave them was the corpse ofte to peak foundation realm beasts! Although they were already dead, their flesh still carried Qi within them! Ding! [ Congrattions upon learning themon skill "Basic Farming (Level-1)"! ] Ding! [ Basic Farming (Common): The basic knowledge of farming. Gaining the basic knowledge and ability on how to nt, care, and, harvest the nts and herbs. Effects: Increase the speed, quality, and quantity of the spiritual herbs and nts within your care by 1%! (Only work below grade-2 spiritual nts!) Upgrade cost: 50 horror points! ] ... "The second skill I learned on my own... But its effect is not worth mentioning." Leo weakly smiled, still happy upon gaining free skill using his own effort. Although it was only amon grade skill, if he used his Forceful Medallion toward it, the skill grade could still increase to the next level, making its ability increase greatly... The only problem is if he was willing to spend one for this. Sigh. "This is the problem of loneliness, it makes my mind think/ponder regarding almost all of the small matters." Shaking his head, Leo casually spent less than a thousand horror points to increase the skill level to level 5, making its presence felt even though it was little. Chapter Discover: Ding! [ Corpse Flower (Grade-1mon) (Growing): A spiritual nt that absorbs corpse energy to grow, It could help beings that have a high affinity toward Death to slightly strengthen their physiques upon long-term consumption. ] ... Kekeke~ Seeing the familiar figure of Leo, the Scarecrow uttered an irritatingugh of joy, waving its upper limbs that were akin to a long rope as it touched the shadow being 3 meters away from it... Unfortunately, after the initial hindrance, its limbs directly pierce through Leo''s body, causing its excitement to instantly vanish. Kekeke? -0.1 health. "HAHAHA, Great, keep up the good work! You kept those little things healthy!" Feeling slightly bad, Leo shook his head with a smile, taking out a bottle of "Pure Strengthening Potions" from the shop, costing him 1,000 horror points per bottle as he casually tossed it toward the puppet. Watching its dark yet stic face smiling under the veil of darkness, being slightly consumed by small bugs as its slightly decaying smell drifted toward the atmosphere... Leo unhurriedly squinted his eyes, watching it consume the bottle in bliss. Kekeke... +1 strength! "Indeed, he was the only one on my current creation/puppets that could drink potions and digest thempletely... "Or probably the potions in the shop were quite special, nheless, I still found a way to increase its strength above its natural level!'' Kekeke! "Yes, indeed your strength increases by a bit." Kekeke? "Yes, I will reward you with those if you keep those bugs away from the farm." Kekeke! Hearing Leo''s confirmation, the Scarecrow saluted in a strange manner, making one''s skin crawl with chills upon seeing its button eyes that revealed rich emotions within. *** Bidding his farewell, Leo immediately rushes toward the depths of the Endless Forest, travelling at a fast speed as he moves toward the direction of the town... With his current speed, his every movement only issued a blur under the veil of the darkness, creating a weak rustling sound before instantly vanishing within the senses of the ufortable mortal beasts. Huff~ Soon, in the blink of an eye... Leo quickly halted his movement, staring at the clearing in the far distance in solemnity, silently gazing toward the dark town on the horizon... The familiar farm that epasses a huge mass ofnd entered his senses, their vibrant yet gloomy leaves that weakly rustle with the wind make his expression slightly turn dark. Shifting his gaze above, toward the invisible atmosphere, he could see thick inconceivable dark clouds looming above... Every second passed by its thickness and darkness were slowly expanding and increasing within his sight, causing his instinct to scream toward him to absorb its energy... Absorb their despair and fear, making it part of his strength. "The Despair and Fear... Kekeke~ someone was secretly spreading chaos within the town." Leo silently thought, quite surprised about how the thickness of the inconceivable clouds above increased dozens of times in the span of a few weeks. Although he already absorbed the despair above 8 days ago, sessfully giving him thousands of exp in the process, the size of it quickly reverted back in just a few days, making him quite excited as the taste of it still lingers in the corner of his being. "Although I don''t have any idea about your n, I hope that you created more despair and fear... Helping me too quickly achieve breakthrough." Heughed madly within the shadows of the forest, causing his being to twist malevolently as he silently activated his invisibility skill... Rushing forward in pure excitement and bloodlust. "Since I couldn''t escape my race (the disadvantage it brought) I will dly embrace it!" ... Chapter 144: The Demon of Dispair... The smell of sweat, piss and different kinds of waste wafted toward the unknown, fusing to create an unbearable fragrance that filled the atmosphere. Gazing toward the ground, toward the far distance, Leo could already feel the tense atmosphere within. The sight of the scrawny/malnourished resident (Lower ss) entered his senses as they dragged their exhausted body toward the dark alleys... Their eyes, depraved by hunger could be seen eyeing everything within their sight... Not letting even the waste escape... "Tsk, tsk, what do the people within the higher-ups think? Their true colours began to show up as time passed by..." Leo joked to himself, although he had a faint feeling within him that they were equally facing a detrimental crisis within the depths of the Endless Forest... Even though the reason was unknown... He still couldn''t help but disdain them upon choosing someone not capable of running the town. "It''s probably due to the riot of the beasts within the depths of the Endless Forest.'' "It''s said that there were unknown abominations hiding there that could threaten a Nascent Soul realm, causing most of the powerhouses to be missing within the town to deal with the problem... "Hehehe, No wonder someone was stirring trouble behind..." Gazing toward the indiscernible clouds above, Leo couldn''t help but giggle excitedly, sitting above one of the ceilings as he secretly licked the corner of his lips. Gulping inaudibly, he began absorbing the thick despair and fear in the atmosphere, causing the smoke to churn greatly before rushing towards Leo''s being. "Kekeke, the taste of the despair and fear..." Leo mumbled toward himself, sensing everyone''s despair and fear as he began studying them in depth. Causing him to fall under dazedness as his being continued to absorb and enjoy the thick dark clouds above, slowly solidifying them into energy (Qi)... Making his exp fluctuate before increasing slowly yet steadily. "Indeed... Every single one of them carried different fears within their heart, pointing toward indescribable, weakness, and future... But it''s undeniable that all of their fears stem toward the unknown. "The unknown brought by the future, the unknown of indescribable, the unknown reason of weaknesses... All of it brings fear, It could be said that the unknown is one of the main rules of fear." "Fear deprives beings of natural thought, causing them to create more mistakes, causing them to create more sins... Inevitably making them fall deeper and deeper until they couldn''t and wouldn''t be able to resurface above... again." "Fear and Despair... I seem to understand something yet not, their profundity runs deep toward the unknown... Understanding a little of it greatly shows how little my existence was!" Not to mention that, they were only Rules of the Dao! How profound the Dao is? Sigh... "I might not be able to touch the corner of it even if I spend most of my life studying it." Leo sighed deeply, feeling his desire toward the physical body vanishes like smoke, making his mind iparably clear before being strongly reced by the desire to understand the Rule! Or the be exact the Dao! "I want to understand what Dao is! I want to understand the vastness of the Dao!" He eximed within his being, swearing toward the fissure above toprehend the profundity of the Dao from now on! Staring above, clear of any disturbance brought by the indiscernible Fear and Despair, Leo shifted his gaze toward the notification that appeared in the corner of his sight... Reading it with a clear mind. Ding! [ Rule of the Fear Unknown (25%): The knowledge of fear toward the unknown, making a being perfectly integrated with horror beyond grasp... Effect 1: Inexplicably cause being around you to feel a deep sense of fear (Could release and restrain anytime)... Effect 2: Resistance toward fear, paralysis, horror, and negative mental attacks increases by 10%. Permanently increase mental energy by 50 and Soul power by 5! Effect 3: Could be used to create a Domain! (The basic requirement of creating a Domain is 20% understanding of a single Rule!) Note: One of the highest rules within the Dao of Horror and Despair! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon advancing toward level 18! ] ... "Understanding 20% of the rule would bring great changes... Not only toward the mentality but also toward the invisible path." Leo weakly thought, feeling that his shadow being integrated parts of the Rules heprehended... Making it more sinister in one''s sight and senses. Shifting his gaze toward the distance, he suddenly squinted his eyes before speaking in a deep voice akin to demon whispering, bringing dread to one''s soul. "How long do you n to observe me?" Although his invisible skill deactivated on its own earlier due to his absorption of despair, it''s still hard for beings below the Core Formation realm to notice his existence, causing Leo to raise his imaginary brow in surprise upon noticing that someone was watching him earlier... Moreover, it was only at the Foundation realm. As for its realm, it''s currently unknown. "Hehe, what are you?" A deep yet strange voice, trying to conceal the instinctive fear within but only making it sound worse resounded in the darkness... His silhouette slowly unfolded within the distance as the long ck robe covered its whole being, not allowing Leo to see the man''s true appearance. How familiar, their robe is too simr. Leo silently muses, smiling wickedly before replying. "I''m the Demon..." "The Demon of Dispair and Fear..." *** Ding! [??? (Human)- Foundation Level 16 ] ss Job: Follower of the Devil (Rare) Physique: ??? Rule: Rule of ??? ___Attributes___ Health: 225/227 Qi Storage: 412/422 Stamina: 138/152 Strength: 127 Speed: 82 Qi Power: 102 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Elite), Spying Eyes (Rare), Instinctive Desire (Epic)... ] Ding! [ Spying Eyes (Rare): Greatly increase one''s sight, allowing the caster to see toward the darkness with clearness and great detail... Could pry toward the wall with a thickness of less than a meter! Activation: Passive! ] Ding! [ Instinctive Desire (Epic): Increase one''s desire, in exchange the caster of the skill would gain an increment in overall stats! Chapter Explore: Current Increment: 1% Activation: Passive! ] ... Chapter 145: Entering others Domain! "Demon of Fear and Despair?" The robed man mumbled beneath his breath, hiding the expression within as his right hand moved toward his back, grasping something unknown as his body became iparably tense. Gazing at the shadow being in the distance, the instinctive fear within his being couldn''t be hidden, showing the hesitation yet determination that carved through his bones. "How unlucky, I got discovered although my invisibility was wless... Unfortunately, I couldn''t let you live." The man revealed pity on his pale lips. It''s unknown if he pitied himself for being unlucky or pitied Leo in the distance. Since Leo discovered him, even if it''s unknown if Leo was a resident of the town or a traitor like themselves, he couldn''t risk their n... He couldn''t risk letting the higher-ups within the town notice their schemes. "This is actually my first time using this skill... I hope your sacrifice is worth it." Taking a deep breath, hiding the fear within his being as it was being reced by deep anticipation. The man raised his head, revealing his crimson eyes under the veil of the ck robe as it stared at the humanoid shadow in the distance in silence. "Iplete Domain... Crimson Moon!" Swish! In an instant, after muttering those words in a deep yet excited tone, an invisible and ufortable force instantly sweeps towards Leo''s dumbfounded being in the far distance as red yet soft light instantly illuminates the ground. Raising his head, Leo could see that the previous dark fissure above suddenly vanished like smoke, being reced by a crimson-red full moon... Full-blooded to the point that the moon seems bleeding greatly. Shifting his gaze toward the ground, the familiar humans, walking under the veil of darkness above, vanished at one point, shrouding the ce inplete and ufortable silence... Making the ce seem abandoned and forsaken by life. "An independent space, interesting... Maybe all domains have their own independent spaces." Leo inspects the surroundings with great interest, not feeling a bit anxious upon entering others'' domain. It''s not that he was confident in himself, but he also has a domain of his own... Moreover, the strength of his domain is not that weaker than the robed man opposite him (he assumes it based on the difference of their level). The only difference between their domain is their strange effects on the beings within their control! *** "It''s said that only geniuses with a high affinity toward their certain elements have a small chance of learning and creating their own iplete domain below the Core Formation realm... "A Foundation realm being who managed to create one had at least the strength of a Quasi-Core Formation realm. "Since most of the Core Formation realm cultivator already entered the depths of the Endless Forest... Does it mean you were only at the Foundation realm?" The robed man muttered weakly to himself, feeling the instinctive fear within him lessened considerably. As for the thought that the being opposite him also manages to create a domain itself, it never crosses his mind... Since the effort he spent on learning and creating a domain is not something that others could follow, causing him to believe that it was almost impossible... "If I''m wrong then I could only me it on my luck.'' Reaper... The man speaks slowly and deliberately, raising his left hand as a scythe slowly materializes within his grasp, its sharp de above was covered in blood, dripping with crimson at it corroded the ceiling below... Its wooden ck handle, releasing a smell of decay and rot instantly travelled toward the far distance... emitting an intense malevolent aura that even Leo, couldn''t help but be serious. "Scythe of terror..." The man mumbled in understanding, gazing toward the shadow being in the distance as his eyes revealed the crimson eyes beyond... Madness reflected within as hisplete being slowly changed under the crimson moon, bing slightly taller and leaner in the process, making it strange to one''s sight as two little horns protruded outside his head... Making his figure not different from a monster. Swish! Swish! Waving the scythe left and right, revealing a crisp sound on its wake... The man upon gaining basic familiarity with the scythe suddenly released augh of madness. Howling toward the crimson moon above as the crimson light shone on his being before gripping the weapon in his hand with closeness... The man, after a while, finally speaks in a maddened state. "I see... I see, I understand! "I greatly understand!" The manughed before suddenly waving his scythe toward the shadow being in the distance. This... In an instant, the void seems to tear apart (being cut down like paper), showing the darkness beyond, being ripped by the scythe before moving toward Leo in a sh. A hint of danger suddenly rang within Leo''s soul, as he, without hesitation, dashed toward the side... However, as he began to move, a red tendriling from the unknown below began to restrict his movement, causing his speed to slow down... Boom! Ding! -10 health! The corner of his shadow body was cut apart, separating away from his main body before dispersing toward the atmosphere like smoke... causing his denseness to decrease. "His domain could slow beings down? Restriction?" Leo''s mind quickly processes the information he got, not a bit affected by the damage he took as he immediately activated his Invisibility and Mist of Illusion skill in full power, instantly shrouding the ce in thick grey fog as it hindered the senses of the ck robe man within... Perfectly hiding his figure as he advances in hastened speed, manipting his shadow being as his arm instantly turns simr to a spear... "Hehehe, you might not know this, but everything within my domain was within my sight." The man suddenly said, tilting his head toward the side, toward Leo as he waved his scythe in full force, causing the void to copse as it grazed the corner of Leo''s being... Ding! -25 health... *** Chapter 146: Devil and the Demon... Ding! -10 health! [ Health 200/240 ] "Hahaha, what! Are you just going to run and evade all the time!" The manughed crazily, chasing Leo (with speed that almost reached 150 in stat) akin to a cat chasing a rat... Waving his scythe toward Leo''s being, making part of Leo''s shadow dissipate toward the atmosphere as the tear toward the void began to heal at an iparable speed. "His speed is slow, probably only at 110, yet, how could it/he escape every time my scythe was about to cleave toward its/his body!'' Not to mention that the domain was restricting its movement! Making every move consumes more stamina than usual! As the man was slowly losing his patience, the shadow being in front of him suddenly twisted its upper body in an unimaginable way, smiling wickedly toward him as a pure dark meing from unknown origin suddenly consumed his sight... Boom! This! The man suddenly and instinctively waved his scythe, opening a void devoid of any light as the me entered through it... however, even though he reacted in an instant (thanks to the effect of the domain), some of the mes still touched his skin, causing it to ignite before creeping toward his being at a fast speed. "Kekeke, Extreme me of Hell... It wouldn''t turn off until the being/thing it was burning became ashes." Leo lightly exined, wanting to create chaos in the man''s mind. (Rule of Fear 101: Understanding things also creates fear, the more unimaginable it was, the more fear it could bring...) Ding! +250 horror points! Knowing that he sessfully nted the seed of fear toward the man''s mind opposite him. Leo didn''t wait any further, summoning dozens of condensed dark mes before shooting them toward the anxious man in the distance. Swish, swish! Seeing this, the man retreated in hastened speed, leaving a blur as he appeared in the far distance. Taking a deep breath, grimacing as the ck me continued to burn his hand, the man suddenly released his grasp toward the scythe on his other hand, pointing unhurriedly toward Leo before clenching it with force. "Restriction, Moons eyes!" In an instant, the ce momentarily darkened... before being reced with an iparable thick red light... as if everything was dyed in blood, making Leo''s mind extremely ufortable as everything within his sight seemed toe alive, beating slowly within his senses akin to innards... The crimson moon above revealed a slit vertically, slowly opening within as thick blood began to fill its corner, revealing apletely ck eye devoid of any irises as it directly stared at Leo''s being... Emotionlessly, as if staring toward an ant... This... Still not done, the ceiling he was stepping to began to leak with sticky blood,ing alive as it began creeping toward his shadow being, restricting his movement countless times than before. Following that, the body of the robed man in the far distance began to erge, releasing an intense and baleful aura as the horn on its head doubled in size... Protruding upward diabolically... In addition to the burning of dark mes around its body, its appearance bes much more devious in Leo''s sight. Sigh... "Unfortunately, with my current strength, I could only maintain this form for about 2 minutes before the domain copsed due to theck of energy." The devil (Robed man) speaks regretfully, sighing deeply as he grasps the now 1.2-meter tall scythe that was suspended in mid-air with force, creating a low creaking sound, a testament to his current strength. Staring at the struggling shadow in the far distance, the devil smiled weakly, lightly tapping its feet as its silhouette suddenly vanished in its location... Only leaving a faint swishing sound in the atmosphere. The next second... The devil slowly materializes beside Leo, smiling weakly before muttering in a low yet high-pitched voice, making one''s mind irritated as he shes the scythe toward Leo''s shadow body without hesitation... Making the void tremble under his might. "Thank you for helping me understand my domain." The devil speaks with confidence, feeling that victory was within his grasp... However... ... "Kekeke, is that so?" Leo''s struggling figure suddenly stopped, looking at the devil beside him as he squinted his eyes in a smile, feeling that everything was already set ording to his n. Boom! Before the scythe cleaves toward Leo''s being, expected to hack it into two before dissipating within the domain... The space between them suddenly copses, causing the domain to issue intense quaking as the familiar ce begins to crumble under the watch of the crimson moon above... After the destruction of the ground, a wheat field, epassing thend, instantly appeared within, followed by the familiar dpidated park in the distance, making the expression of the devil twisted in an ugly way... Swish~ The crimson moonlight gently illuminated the wheat field on the ground as it ufortably swayed under the rustling of the wind, making it much more forbidding toward one''s senses... "Kekeke~ are you surprised? Are you happy with my present? "Now do you feel despair? The despair of being toyed around? Hehe~ hehe~" Leoughed in deranged behaviour, feeling the dense despair slowly fill the atmosphere above, making the devil in the distance instinctively step back in fear and denial... Hehe, isn''t this the perfect form to make being fall under the great sense of despair? Make them feel that everything is within their grasp, making them feel that the victory is already set at the very beginning. Unfortunately, I didn''t attend acting ss before the apocalypse arrived, I could have made my acting earlier more believable, to give more feeling to the man in the distance that I was giving it all and I was struggling greatly! "Kekeke, The despair... How does it feel? "The feeling of finally winning after giving it all yet only to understand that your enemy was only toying with you from the very beginning?" How despairing~ How painful it was~ Moreover, losing means losing life~ The sudden thought of losing life probably will make him feel more despair and fear! *** Chapter 147: Theres no Victory, but only the sense of helplessness. "This... Domain, Impossible!" The devil gritted his teeth in anger, feeling a deep sense of fear and despair all of a sudden. Knowing that the chances of him escaping within this domain are extremely slim. If the demon opposite him just activated his domain from the very beginning, then he could still use his iplete domain to find/create a loophole to escape. However, now that he already spent most of his Qi and energy to fuel his domain for countless of minutes, his Qi already entered a dangerous (low) state! Attempting to escape further already became much more problematic, to the point that it was almost hopeless! Ding! +2,500 horror points! ... "Kekeke~ what? Do you now understand that escaping further is futile? "Do you now feel that death is already close?" Kekeke~ Sigh... Leoughed and sighed at the same time, feeling bored all of a sudden, a drastic change of emotion upon seeing that the other party didn''t react too much... Didn''t react based on his expectations. The expected begging and threatening didn''t appear, causing him to curse the novel he read in the past, feeling that everything it contained was a lie without any sense of reasoning at all! Shaking his head with regret, Leo shifted his gaze toward the crimson moon above before finally staring toward the devil in the far distance, smiling in anticipation as he began to speak in a low yet deep tone... Unveiling the tone of a demon... "Kekeke~ never mind, your scythe should be the exclusive item of your domain right?" Leo suddenly asks, making the devil in the far distance reveal an extremely wary expression... Causing its devil heart to skip a beat as a sudden ufortable feeling swept to his being, shrouding it inplete darkness. "Kekeke~ Let me guess, your domain should be rted to Blood Moon right? "Or to be exact, rted to blood? It''s the Rule of Blood or ughter... It should be the rule you use to construct/create your domain! "Sigh, unfortunately, the enemy you meetcks flesh and blood, making the effects of your domain unable to show its full capability. "However, don''t worry, we could still have fun even though your domaincks the Excitement part!" Leo suddenly spread his shadow being in a crazed manner, causing its size to increase by amount, nketing the ce in darkness as part of his being covered the vision of the crimson moon above. Kekeke~ Wheel of Despair~ A fleeting voice, akin to a demon whispering suddenly entered the senses of the devil in the far distance, causing his crimson eyes to constrict greatly as the hair of his body suddenly stood up... Followed by the intense feeling of dread that gripped his whole being, making his back tense and covered in cold sweats. Kekeke~ In an instant, a roulette... dyed in ck and white slowly materialized beside Leo''s shadow being, suspended in mid-air as the crimson light weakly shone toward it, faintly showing the scenes that caused the devil''s red skin to crawl up in chills. "This..." "Kekeke~ right, this is the uniqueness of my domain... It could be said that your life heavily depended on your luck from now on!" "But, hehe~ I doubt that you will be lucky after spending much time with me.'' Leo thought, showing a malevolent smile that sent shivers toward the devil in the distance. After pausing for a while, he again continued. "As you can see, the scene on my roulette depicted different types of scenes... and any of those scenes would be reality within this very DOMAIN! "Making the being within to experience the scene pointed by the arrow above the roulette..." Leo exined unhurriedly with great detail, not forgetting to point out the dreadful parts of his domain so he could nt more fear toward the devil in the distance. Ding! +2,500 horror points! +2,500 horror points! *** Click, click, click... The sound of seeming judgment kept resounding within the devil''s senses. Gripping his bloody scythe tightly, the devil kept shing toward Leo''s location but to no avail... The slithering or red tendril that kept attempting to restrict the movement of the shadow but only for it to always mysteriously fail and miss by an inch made the devil more disparate... Causing him to feel a deep sense of helplessness as he greeted his teeth in pure fear. Teetering in a thin rope of death and life as the feeling of dread began to intensify within his being. Click~ click ~ click! [ Despair of Madness...] "Kekeke~ Game over~" Leo, upon seeing that the spinning of the roulette on his side already halted, unhurriedly tilted his head toward his back, smiling with squinted eyes... Feeling that the devil''s luck really ran out upon getting this despair. Boom! The next second... an iparable darkness, originating from the unknown quickly swallowed everything in sight, covering the presence of the crimson moon above as thick dense smoke started to linger in the atmosphere. The aura of the abyss seems to have appeared within as dark ink water began to fill the ground, making one''s movement slow down as it slightly sticks to one''s sole... akin to thick glue. "This, what is this! Keep this thing away from me!" As Leo was reminiscing about the dark past, the devil in the distance began to shout in horror... The familiar thick smoke began to drill toward its being, slowly and unhurriedly shredding its red skin... Slowly unfolding the twitching muscles beyond... The pain could be said iprehensible, beyond one''s understanding... It couldn''t be described by word or there are no such words to describe the pain he was currently experiencing. The devil''s reasoning began to slip under his grasp, only being reced by deep agony and despair... Making him wish to die, making him wish not to exist. "Kekeke~ How familiar, the smell of despair and pain!" Leoughed out loud, not far from crying... Smiling wickedly as dense pain reflected toward his eyes, feeling that this domain kept reminding him of the painful past. ... Chapter 148: Upgrading Domain to Level 6! Nooo! An ethereal voice, akin to a wraith shrieking resounded within the silent domain, making the darkness tremble in pure horror before continuing its course of action. The devil''s muscles and bloody innards had already been ripped apart by the dense darkness in the surrounding void, causing the thick ck smoke to begin targeting its white glistening bones... Slowly corroding it with decay, grinding it into power as the devil cried in pure agony! Sigh... Looking at the faint soul floating in the distance... The only thing left behind by the devil''s being, Leo sighed deeply, manipting his shadow body as he heavily hit it like a whip... Parting the atmosphere apart, creating a crisp sound as the soul of the devil quickly disperses toward the unknown. Making it unable to reincarnate further... if its myth exists. Since he already destroyed its very soul! Boom! In an instant, upon killing his enemy, the void quickly issued an intense trembling, copsing under his watch as his being appeared or to be exact, forcefully ejected toward the familiar ceiling... As if everything that happened before was all but an illusion. ... "The gloomy darkness, the despair and fear in the atmosphere that got filled again at one point..." Leo silently mused, his thoughts were unknown as he shifted his gaze below. The familiar humans below appeared within his senses as their bodies silently slumped toward the far corner of the alley, within the darkness where light couldn''t illuminate/reach them, slowly being approached by flies as the colour of their souls already faded away... Signifying their death. A death where the stomach was empty... It''s painful yet they were unwilling... Sigh... Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a being within their domain for the first time! +2,500 horror points! +5 free attribute points! +1 Small Enlightenment stone! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon making a being fear your existence for the first time! +5,000 horror points! +4 free attribute points! +1 Medium Enlightenment stone! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a soul for the first time! Making them cease to exist! +10,000 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +2 Medallion of Forceful upgrade! ] "The reward is much more generous than I expected. Just the 15 free attributes alone could increase my lowest stat by 10%." Pondering slightly, Leo decided to put all of his free attribute points toward his speed, making it reach 140 in number. In an instant, an unprecedented weightlessness appeared within his senses, crawling within his very being, strengthening the aspect of his speed and dexterity by amounts... Making the transformation of his shadow body much faster than before, allowing it to change form in almost an instant. Kekeke~ Leo instinctively released augh, causing the temperature of the surroundings to drop considerably as he watched his hands change form from time to time... From a sword to a spear, and spear from a whip. "This ability of the demon is really... Great!" Shaking his head, staring above the slowly lightened sky, Leo revealed a disappointing look, activating his invisibility skill as he began rushing toward the depths of the forest, toward the nd cemetery... Toward his home... Wanting to continue creating potions and puppets in the hope of quickly advancing his ss job! *** Within the depths of the Endless Forest, a small cottage could be seen silently standing within the shielding of trees, being shrouded by the canopy above as the shadow lightly hides its structure. Whenever beasts approach the ce, they would instantly and mysteriously die under the influence of the unknown or they would immediately flee away... Far away from its location as if facing something unimaginable. Swish! Within the cottage, a being, covered in a ck robe could be seen silently staring at the dozens of lightened candles in his front... Not moving a bit akin to a corpse. Not long after, a weak breeze of air suddenly entered the ce, moving toward one of the lightened candles on the far end as it silently extinguished its me... causing the being to blink his eyes deliberately as he stared at the nd candle in the far side in silence. "Alvin died. Someone actually was hiding within that town." He muttered under his old voice, making him touch his goatee as his figure suddenly vanished within... Making the lightened candles inside sway slightly with the wind before reverting back to their previous appearance. *** Ding! [ Do you want to upgrade your Iplete Domain of Despair to level 6? Note: Upgrading your Domain of Despair to level 6 would cost you 3 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! (ept/Declined)? ] Leo hesitated for a while before eventually epting, costing him 3 Medallions of Forceful Upgrade as the system fell into deep silence (Focusing on upgrading the Domain). Ding! Soon, after waiting for 10 full minutes, Leo''s domain finally upgraded under his waiting, making his smile widen, silently carrying madness within as he immediately opened the skill, wanting to see the changes it bought after upgrading beyond level 5! Ding! [ Domain of Strangeness: Land Of Despair (Level 6) (Iplete Domain) - Construct an iplete domain using one''s soul power, mental power, and imagination. Domain has the ability to lock space, preventing beings who entered the domain from escaping easily. Activation: Mental power and Soul power, 1 Qi per second. Effects 1: Inside the domain, Increase the caster''s overall attributes by 12% Effects 2: Wheel of Despair (Click to show the description! ) Effects 3: Land Of Forbidden! (Click to show the description!) Effects 4: ?#*"!?# Skill Upgrade Cost: 5 Medallion of Forceful upgrade and 25% understanding of Rules under the Dao of Despair and Horror! Requirements toplete the Domain: Entered Core Formation realm, Upgrade the skill to level 5! Note: Entering one''s domain is not different frommitting suicide. ] ... [ Land Of Forbidden: Within the domain of strangeness, slowly restrict one''s soul, making the enemy''s overall attribute continue dropping every second. Sessfully attaining the despair of losing one''s power and the ability to resist! Effects: Decrease overall stat by 0.1% per second! Note: The true despair is to watch everything you have slowly vanish in front of you. ] ... Chapter 149: Filling the 100 puppets (1)! Reading the changes and the new addition of the "Land of the Forbidden" in his domain, Leo couldn''t help but widen his smile, feeling that the addition of the restriction within his domain woulde in handy in the future. He might even manage to fight a weakened Core Formation realm head-on in the future! Kekeke, what a dream... Leo joked to himself, feeling that he was slowly bing a battle freak, a thing that he wanted to avoid the most! Gazing at the peeking sun on the horizon, Leo slowly squinted his shadow eyes, quite mesmerized by its beauty as its sunlight reflected the slowly dissipating fog within the cemetery, shining toward the nd grasses toward the ground, causing the vapour within its body to glimmer in light... "This is the way of life..." Leo slowly and weakly mumbled under his breath, shaking his head to get his attention back before continuing to contemte. "A 0.1% reduction in overall stat per second... 1% for every ten seconds and 6% for every minute... "Sigh, I''m really good at prolonging the fight! "Wait, no, it''s not that I''m good at prolonging the fight! But the f*king system doesn''t even give me any offensive skill at all!" Leo suddenly curses upon noticing the problem, noticing that the system never gives him any proper offensive skill except for the iplete domain from the very beginning! No, the iplete domain couldn''t even be said to be a pure offensive skill, It only looks like it but it actually heavily relies on my experience and my enemy''s experience of despair! It''s already a miracle that I could experience that despair, if not, then the choices within the wheel of despair would probably empty right now! (Well, probably not empty at all, but the choices within the Wheel of Despair would probably be like "Despair of Being Unlucky" or "Despair of Being Alone" which sounds nd!) Not to mention that jinx skill heavily supported it, making my enemy be unlucky to choose some of the worst despair! Invisibility, Mist of Illusion, Jinx, Decayed aura, Nightmare, etc... "F*ck, any one of those is only support skill! I don''t even know how I managed to survive for this long! "System, are you really not secretly nning to kill me!?" Ding! [ It''s the set rules of your species from the very beginning not mine! Besides that, I couldn''t give a lowly wisp/ghost race an "Op" skill at the very beginning or else it would be beyond one''s expectation and your lowly species wouldn''t be able to contain or use the said skill! ] This... Seeing this, Leo''s imaginary veins couldn''t help but pulse/twist crazily, feeling that the system was looking down on him! No, the system was literally looking down toward the wisp/ghost race! "What do you mean by lowly species? I didn''t even manage to find a wisp/ghost after existing for a long time! "It only means that ghosts are at least Elite or Rare species/race!" Ding! [ Not finding one doesn''t qualify the race to be a Rare species! Besides that, ghosts are only an umon race. The reason you couldn''t find one is because that the ghost/wisp soul power is oftencking! Making their existence unstable, causing them to die immediately upon being grazed by something! ] This... Leo''s mouth turned agape upon reading the system reply, feeling quite shocked upon hearing the secret... Not expecting that their race was quite pitiful... "Then does that mean... That my situation is quite rare?" Leo probed further, wanting to understand if there was something special within his existence/being... Feeling that he, awakening after 2 months of roaming around in that familiar dpidated park without any sense of reasoning is quite suspicious. Ding! [ The system isn''t omniscient, the system only awakens after you scare someone for the first time... You probably consume a spiritual fruit identally, causing your Soul Power to increase by amount, making your existence stable as time passes by... ] *** "Huff~ I see, good, so it''s unknown." Leo took a deep breath, burying those distractions behind the back of his mind as he began taking out the corpse of the Epic ck rat within his inventory, nning to create puppets to fill the 100 requirements of his ss job. Ding! -0.001 health. "This... It still carries an amount of its decaying aura, how scary..." Seeing that a small part of his shadow being dissolved through the atmosphere, Leo carefully retreated his palm, summoning an iron sword within his inventory as he began butchering the body. Swish! Flesh and yellow disgusting fuss instantly dyed the ground, causing the nd grasses below to quickly dissolve/melt due to its toxicity... As time passed by, its disgusting fragrance began to fill the atmosphere, being carried by the soft breeze as it slowly filled the cemetery... Making the beasts that were attempting to approach the ce quickly retreat and flee. Sizzle~ Huff~ After a while, finally finished butchering the body of the Epic ck rat, carefully removing its important parts using his telekic skill. Leo leisurely summoned a ball of red mes beside him, shooting it toward the unimportant parts of the corpse as it began burning under his watch... Causing it to create a crisp sizzling sound as its toxicity/smoke began to travel within the cemetery, slowly hiding its structure within the hazy smoke... Causing a hint of its decay to continue lingering within some ces, making it much more ominous to one''s eye. "Finally, what kind of puppets should I create with these materials? I could create 5 dolls first using some of its not-so-important materials... "Although they would carry a hint of decay within them, it will surely increase the horror factor of the cemetery." Stretching his shadow being, Leo unhurriedly sat down toward the charred ground as he began carving the earth gold on his other hand, slowly manipting and engraving it toward his expectations and preferences... Trying his best to avoid creating mistakes. "I could let them retain their strange movement..." *** Chapter 150: Filling the 100 puppets (2)! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully creating your first 50th puppets! +5,000 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +1 small Enlightenment stone! ] Huff~ Leo wiped off the imaginary sweat on his shadow forehead, feeling exhausted upon finally creating the 5th doll/puppet for the day... Consuming most of his Qi and mental energy in the process of creation. "Although I only created 5 dolls, it almost took me almost half a day to finish creating it all..." He mumbled under his breath as he gazed toward the almost setting sun on the far horizon, painting thend in dusk colour, causing the sleeping insect to start creating those irritated sounds of nature again! Shifting his gaze toward the sculpted wooden table in his front, toward the 5 dolls he created, Leo couldn''t help but smile creepily, feeling quite chills deep within his being even though he was the one who created them. Hehe~ Hehe~ Their innocentugh keeps resounding within his senses upon filling their core (Earth Gold) with Qi as their crimson eyes that glimmer under/within the darkness curiously scanned the surrounding cemetery with unprecedented coldness. Their white yet extremely realistic pale faces, almost simr to a child''s face were covered in swollen rotten tissue, slowly expelling a yellow disgusting liquid with a mixture of tidbits of red decaying flesh within... Instinctively causing someone to feel disgusted. Although it kept expelling those disgusting liquids, it never stopped by a bit, as if the doll''s body contained an infinite amount of them... Making one''s stomach churn just by thinking of it. Ding! [ Doll (Small) (Advance-Low grade): An advanced doll puppet with small ws. The creator used Epic materials to create its being, causing its grade to be advanced! Moreover, it retained some of the basic skills of the materials it uses! Innate skill: Dead Object (Elite), Decaying Flesh (Elite+2)! ______Atrributes______ Foundation Realm Level 3: (Couldn''t Increase.) Health: 120/120 Qi Storage: 120/120 Stamina: 100/100 Strength: 75 Speed: 75 Qi Power: 75 ______Skills______ Skill: Monitoring Eyes (Umon), Laugh of Little Nightmare (Elite +1), Piercing Legs (Umon), Silent Movement (Elite), Poison (Umon) ] ... [ Decaying Flesh (Elite +2): Its body was tainted by decay, making everyone near it subconsciously be affected, making their beings suffer from weakening and degeneration! Activation: Passive! Note: An attack that was hard to counter! ] [ Poison (Umon): Coat its body with poison, causing the damage it inflicted to carry an amount of poison! Activation: Passive! ] ... Kekeke~ This, it''s an advanced grade! An advanced puppet! I finally advanced from beginner puppetry to advanced puppetry! "Although it heavily relies on Epic materials to reach its current grade, nheless, its strength still reaches the Foundation realm!" Pondering for a while, Leo''s smile faded a little, noticing that there was a problem with its character panel. "System, why can''t its level increase like the Scarecrow?" Ding! [ Consume 2,500 horror points to answer the question. (ept/Decline)?] "ept!" Ding! [ One of the basic requirements for a being to increase its natural level is to gain consciousness, soul, and intelligence... As for the Scarecrow, the lingering resentment within its skin forms/leaves a small and weak soul imprint within, causing its consciousness to be born. (With the addition of the materials and inscription the creator used to create its being, forming a temporary vessel, it managed to stabilize its soul in pure luck...) ] This! "You mean that it was, the Scarecrow was literally alive!" Leo showed a shocked expression on his shadow''s face, greatly surprised upon learning that it was actually alive! Shifting his gaze toward the Scarecrow in the far distance, Leo seems to notice a faint ck colour within its temple (Soul)... It''s just that it perfectly blends with its colour, causing him to be unable to notice it from the past... He needed to focus for a while just to capture its faint soul. Ding! [ Yes! ] "It means, I created my first being?'' "Wait, no, it''s probably not that exaggerated, I probably just managed to create it due to coincidence and great luck..." ... Patting his chest, still feeling proud of himself although it was just a pure coincidence... Leo leisurely shifted his gaze toward the dolls on the wooden table, lightlymanding them to watch the cemetery from now on! Giggle~ With a soft giggle, akin/simr to a yful child, the 5 dolls suddenly twisted their back, bending as they stood using their four sharp limbs. Giggle... As if not satisfied with the way that their hair almost touched the ground, the 5 dolls suddenly twisted their head... Creating a crisp sound within the silent cemetery, causing their heads that almost touch the ground to revert back from being normal... Making Leo almost shout in pure surprise and slight fear. Giggle~ Nodding slightly toward the dumbfounded Leo in front of them, the 5 dolls created a low clicking sound as they, without hesitation, rushed toward the depths of the cemetery at a hurried pace... Quickly vanishing within Leo''s sight as their silhouette blended toward the far shadows. "Huff~ I almost had a heart attack although Ick it!" Leo patted his chest in relief, still feeling a lingering fear within him as he lightly nced above. Seeing that the sun already vanished within his line of sight, shrouding the sky in purple nd light, a testament that the night almost arrived... Leo unhurriedly stood up from the charred ground, stretching his shadow being as he began to contemte whether to enter the town or just focus on something else for tonight. However, upon thinking that he killed a devil yesterday within the town, Leo could only helplessly give up his n, feeling that it was unwise and extremely risky to enter that town for a while after killing someone. "They were probably eying the town right now, wanting to catch the being who killed theirpanion... So they could silence him/her for good..." Of course, the prerequisite is that the being (Leo) still hasn''t told someone about their n... (Although he really had no idea about their n was, it''s still better to be cautious than sorry...) *** Chapter 151: Filling the 100 puppets (3)! Entering the forsaken pit, Leo unhurriedly sat down on the ground, feeling the cold ink water beneath, directly touching and sticking to his shadow being. Although hecked the physical senses, his soul seemed to feel it. Taking a deep breath, Leo leisurely took out a small Enlightenment Stone within his inventory, clenching it within his shadow hand as he began to contemte the Rules of Life Nature, delving toward its depths and profound knowledge, slowly unveiling and understanding its vastness. "I should increase my understanding of it to increase my mental energy and elevate my mentality... "Although my mind seems perfectly fine right now, I often notice that I am constantly making mistakes and oversight small things in my surroundings. "It might not affect me for now, but it''s unknown for the future... This demon body''s disadvantage is quite high." ... The vastness of Rules and Dao... Closing his eyes, Leo began to feel that hisprehension increased dozens of times, causing the things that he wasn''t aware of and things that he often did not think about... suddenly emerge and erupt within his consciousness, making his mind extremely clear as he began to absorb its knowledge/vastness simr to a dry sponge... Slowly making it part of his being. Slowly, by focusing on the Rule of Life Nature, Leo began to understand its vastness, making him feel minuscule and non-existent, making his desire to understand it wholly, from its Rules to Dao begin to increase... Causing his shadow being to fluctuate due to curiosity and pure excitement, understanding that there was a huge world out there. "The Rule of Life Nature... It could only be understood by experiencing andprehending how the world revolves, how life revolves, and how emotion revolves. "It carried all the traces of Rules to exist, but wouldn''t allow someone to understand all the Rules upon learning its profundity... "It''s the necessary Rules to keep the world to continue its course of action... The rules to make little things possible... The highest Rule below the Dao of Nature, The Dao of Nature..." *** Boom! In an instant, a seemingly loud explosion resounded within his consciousness, making him dumbfounded and dazed, staring within as if he could feel and see a vibrant forest and countless life forms that epass the unending void... The feeling of warm freshness akin to bathing within the unknown womb, blossomed inside his mind, making his being groaned in pure bliss... However, before he could continue delving deep into the feeling of pleasure, the enlightenment stone within his grasp crumbled like a powder, slowly falling toward the ground before gradually being dissolved by the thick water. "This..." Leo abruptly opened his eyes, staring at the silver powder which was constantly being dissolved beneath him in pure regret, feeling that he grasped something important yet not... Making his emotion uncertain as he nced at the notification that suddenly appeared within the corner of his sight. Ding! [ Congrattions upon seeing the corner of a Dao for the first time! +25,000 horror points! +12 Free Attribute points! +2 Large Enlightenment Stone! ] Seeing this, Leo didn''t think too much nor wait any further... as he hurriedly took out arge enlightenment stone within his inventory, closing his eyes as he again continuedprehending the Life Nature... Wanting to grasp the thing he just experienced and missed! ... Huff~ Soon, another four hours quickly passed by... Staring at the pure darkness in the environment inplete silence, Leo couldn''t help but again sigh in great disappointment, feeling great pity upon being unable to again feel that strange yet blissful sensation, understanding that he missed something unimaginable. "I almost understand the immensity of the Dao yet... I missed it due to being unlucky! "F*king Jinx!" Leo couldn''t contain his dissatisfaction anymore as he began to fire dozens of condensed mes toward the distance, causing the void to tremble as the water beneath began to boil... Slowly, the thick ck smoke began to obstruct his vision as the ink-ck water beneath began to evaporate at high speed, causing his dissatisfaction to increase further upon being unable to see the afar. Helpless, he could only give up as he sat down on the hot yet wet ground, trashing his shadow limbs asionally upon thinking about what he missed... "Fortunately, My Life Nature increases by the amount... If not, I might have thought of killing someone." Shaking his head, Leo casually summoned his character panel as he began checking the improvement of his Life Nature. Ding! [ Life Nature (Rules) ( 29%): One of the derived Laws of Nature, the unbreakable rule of nature and the ultimate Law of Nature... ( It''s simr to how humans/beings need to breathe to survive. Breathing is like a rule to humans, if they go opposite it, they will inevitably die! ) Effects: Increase lifespan by 30,prehension by 50%, and overall potential by 3! Note 1: Rules are the main ingredients to create an iplete domain! Note 2: The basic requirement to create aplete Domain is to understand 50% of a Rule before creating/integrating it toward a Domain! ] ... "Great but still regrettable..." Leo weakly mumbled under his breath, feeling that his absorption of Qi in the surrounding environment seemed to increase by a small amount, making his emotions slowly revert back to normal. Moreover, the increase inprehension could be said extremely useful, making his understanding of things (even without using the enlightenment stone) much easier... Instantly making him one step away from normal cultivators. Sigh... "Unfortunately, I already spent all of my Enlightenment stone just toprehend the Rule of Life Nature... I could only try to umte Enlightenment stone again before using it toward other Rules and Skills.'' Staring at the darkness above, Leo unhurriedly closed his eyes, helplessly could only start cultivating to increase the umtion of Qi within his being... Wanting to strive to break through toward the Core Formation realm before nning to infiltrate that town again, so his safety could increase greatly even if those devil''s followers/spawn were waiting for him inside... *** Chapter 152: Filling the 100 puppets (4)! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully creating your first 100 puppets! +10,000 horror points! +5 Puppet Blueprint! +6 Free attribute points! ] Huff~ "Finally, after creating puppets for 8 days non-stop! I finally managed toplete one of the requirements to upgrade my ss job!" Leo exhaled deeply, releasing a ck smoke that decayed the surrounding ground, feeling a bit emotional upon finally creating his 100th puppet! Staring at the seemingly abnormal rat puppet in his front, Leo couldn''t help but click his tongue in wonder, feeling that using the epic ck rat corpse for its base (materials for creation) was the best choice he made so far! It could be said that it was one of the strongest puppets he created so far! Not thinking too much, Leo casually cast his "Soul Scan" toward it, instantly showing its character panel in front of him... Not hiding a single bit of information as its description unfolded in his very eyes. Ding! [ Ground Rat (Advance-Middle grade!): A fast doll puppet created using an Epic ck Rat corpse as its main material, causing thepatibility between the two to almost reach perfection! Making its grade and strength to retain some of the materials it uses! Innate skill: Decaying Flesh (Rare!) ______Attributes______ Foundation Realm Level 7: (Couldn''t Increase.) Health: 150/150 Qi Storage: 150/150 Stamina: 150/150 Strength: 85 Speed: 100 Qi Power: 85 ______Skills______ Skill: Monitoring Eyes (Umon), Silent Movement (Elite), Poison (Umon), Digging (Elite +2), Corrosive Spit (Rare) ] ... [ Corrosive Spit (Rare): Its bodily fluid carried unprecedented toxicity within, making almost everything in touch suffer from intense burning/melting, it could also inflict a small amount of poison within their being! Activation: Passive! ] ... "Not bad, I''m still improving even though it was quite slow." Sighing slightly, Leo leisurely shifted his gaze toward the ck rat in his front... Clearing his imaginary throat, Leo casuallymanded it, nning to make it guard the cemetery from now on! Simrly to all the puppets he created! Squeak! Hearing this, the ck rat immediately releases a high-pitched squeak, brandishing its front limbs, digging the earth beneath it with swiftness. Soon, after half a minute of digging, the ck rat finally vanishes within Leo''s senses as it begins moving underground at high speed! "Now, what should I do right now?" Leo thought in pure boredom as he stared at the fissure above that revealed its darkness beyond, noticing that its size and cracks seemed to increase by amount. Although he didn''t often gaze at the above, his memory as a Peak Foundation realm never failed him, causing him to instantly notice that its size increased by amountpared to thest time he checked it. "Weird... How could the crack above suddenly increase all of a sudden?" *** Boom! Within the depths of the Endless Forest, weeks away from the town and the nd cemetery. Dozens of humans could be seen facing hordes of beasts within, numbering thousands as they continued summoning destructive skills... Causally firing toward the far distance, never caring about the uracy since they all knew that it would inevitably hit a beast. "Damn! My Qi already ran out! Do any of you still have Qi replenishment pills!?" Jake''s loud shout resounded within the chaotic ce, making some beasts near him inexplicably step back in fear, a testament to his high cultivation realm that goes beyond the Foundation realm. Gripping his exquisite wooden bow within his grasp, his blooded finger continued to pull its thick silver string, materializing a wind arrow within as he hastily shot it toward the silently approaching beast within his side. "Cough, Cough... I still have one." One of the wounded men in the far back weakly spoke toward Jake, taking out a bottle within its inventory as he tossed it toward Jake at hastened speed. Quickly catching it with his free hand, Jake heavily nodded toward the wounded man in the far distance as he immediately opened the bottle before consuming the pill inside in one go. "Huff~ I shouldn''t have listened to that old man, although my strength has increased greatly in the past week, the risk I take is much higher than the benefits I get!" Cursing under his breath as he endured the pain his fingers were experiencing, Jake kept firing toward the far distance, reaping dozens of lives every second as he often activated some of his skills to avoid being ambushed. *** Soon, another hour of unending ughter quickly passed by. Thick puddles of crimson blood began to form beneath the hundred carcasses of the beast, dyeing the chaotic forest in red as the loud sound of battle continued resounding toward the far distance. Clutching his wounded palm, Jake was no longer able to pull his wooden bow, feeling a great pain within his being as he could only use some of his basic offensive skills... Making his ability to kill/reap lives decrease drastically. "F*ck, where is that old man! Could he already perished within the grasp of that Serpent!?" Jake cursed loudly, causing the expression of the humans beside him to instantly turn ugly and dark. "Jake you bastard! Shut your f*king mouth!" Rosa on the west side, being covered by thick brown roots, acting as her protection, suddenly shouted toward Jake upon hearing his disgusting voice... Wanting to immediately move toward Jake''s side just to strangle him to death. Boom! Summoning a thick root covered in long sharp thorns within her side, she casually manipted it to hit/whip the beasts in her front, causing their body to separate into two due to its brute force. Huff~ This couldn''t do, my Qi almost already run out... That old man was still not done dealing with that Nascent Soul Serpent? She thought gravely within her mind, feeling that they wouldn''tst long for another hour if this continued... Although she knew that the Old man wouldn''t die in the grasp of the newly ascending Serpent... Their situation is quite different, making their heart sink slowly as their hope begins to dwindle. "Unfortunately, if we just dragged Leo into this mess, we could use his Gray Fog skill (Mist of Illusion skill) to buy more time... Unfortunately.'' Crack, Crack... As she was regretting their choice, a sudden loud crack, originating from the unknown resounding from the far distance, revealing an unknown space as the figure of an unassuming Old man appeared within their sight... Causing the unfolding chaos below to pause momentarily. "I heard someone cursing behind my back." Boom! *** Chapter 153: Creating Potions in Bulk! Meow~~ Warm light slowly illuminated the once-darknd, making the dark puppet crow above the abandoned wooden house to issue a loud caw, weing the peeking sun on the far horizon. The thin damp fog that weakly obstructs one''s vision began to dissipate toward the unknown upon being grazed by sunlight, unfolding the structure it was concealing within... The rusty gate, that stood for countless unknown decades appeared in one sense... Beyond it, innumerable grey and nd tombstones, a resting ce for the dead, could be seen covering the epasses of the farnd... A normal sight of humans wouldn''t be able to see its far end. Huff~ Within its center, a being, made of pure malevolent shadow could be seen eying the ck cauldron on its front silently... Its thoughts were unknown as it didn''t move even by a bit. Beneath it, it''s worth mentioning the absence of vitality. A clear distinction toward its surroundings. Making one feel strange upon seeing it. "I should focus on creating potions from now on, It''s best if I start creating high-ungraded potions." Leo thought leisurely, manipting a small amount of his Qi as he began providing the smallmp below with it, slowly heating the interior of the cauldron, readying it for processing potionster. Opening his inventory, Leo unhurriedly took out a white folded paper within, casually opening it before reading what was inside with a serious expression. Ding! [ Limited Time Strength Potion Form! (Ungraded - High) Limitedly increase one''s strength upon consumption by 5-10% (depending on the purity of the potions) for at least 15-30 minutes! (Only effective below the Core Formation realm!) Increase permanent strength by 0.1 upon consumption... Ingredients: 3 inches of Ginger Earth root, 5 drops of essence from vitality (physical) beasts, 1 bowl of clean water, 1 Spoonful of beast marrow... Creation Process: Heat the cauldron to 100 degrees (Celsius)... Stir well all the ingredients within... Wait till it bes golden brown... ] Reading the creation process of the potion seriously the corner of Leo''s shadow mouth couldn''t help but convulse/twitch suddenly, feeling apprehension regarding the potion form he read. "This... System are you sure that you give me a potion form, not a cooking recipe?" Leo abruptly asks, feeling conflicted, unable toprehend the reason behind the creation process of the potion form. Ding! [ System rewards are always 99.9% authentic... ] "F*ck, then doesn''t that mean there''s at least 0.1% that you could give me a failed product!" Seeing that the system retained his silence, Leo felt that he hit the spot, suddenly feeling hesitation whether he should continue creating this potion or not... However, thinking that he could give upter upon noticing/learning that it was really a failed and fake product, Leo could only helplessly start creating the potions. Taking a deep breath and focusing his mind, Leo began taking out the materials within his inventory, using his telekic skill to manipte the materials, multi-tasking as he carefully watched the fire below the cauldron. "Root of the Earth Ginger, clean water, and the 5 drops of essence vitality..." Leo weakly mumbled under his breath, carefully opening the lid of the cauldron before tossing all the said materials within... Soon, after another minute, the materials in the interior of the cauldron slowly melted due to the intense heat, expelling an alluring smell outside as it silently unfolded the golden thick liquid within... Making Leo''s shadow being bath in afortable feeling as he again tosses inside the rest of the materials. "Now, stir well and wait till it bes golden brown. "So far there''s been no problem in cooking... I mean creating/processing the potion, it should be sessful if I continue being careful..." Exhaling mentally, Leo slowly began mixing the process potions with his Telekic ability (Using a spoon of course), making it thick and more condensed in the process, making him mesmerized by its sight. Soon, finally seeing that the liquid finally became golden brown in colour, Leo immediately cut off his connection with themp below, making the temperature decrease slowly as he instantly manipted the potion within to enter the bottle he readied earlier. Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully creating an Ungraded-high potion for the first time! +1,000 horror points! +2 free attribute points! ] Huff~ "Sess!" Leo raised his shadow arms above, holding the bottle within as he eximed in pure excitement, feeling that the drastic increase in his mental energy andprehension helped him greatly in creating the potion on his first try! Although it looks easy outside, creating an ungraded-high potion is actually hard! Almost twice the difficulty of creating an ungraded-mid potion! Just the multi-tasking and controlling the fire alone already makes it harder. Not adding to the fact that the perfect timing of putting the necessary materials within and following the steps... It could even make an experienced Potion Master troubled by making it! Hiding his excitement, Leo squinted his eyes toward the bottle within his shadow palm as he quickly scanned it with his soul scan... Ding! [ Limited Time Strength Potion ( Ungraded - High) (65% purity): An ungraded potion that could increase one''s strength for a limited time! Note 1: You could drink it safely! Note 2: Limitedly increase one''s strength upon consumption by 7% for 18 minutes! (Only effective below the Core Formation realm!) Note 3: Permanently Increase strength by 0.1 upon consumption (Maximum 5). Note 4: It can only be consumed once a day! ] (The Potion Form that came from the system is much better than the normal potion form out there!) "This is great! I could use it in a certain scenario and caught my enemy off guard! "I believe that even the town doesn''t have this kind of potion on them, or probably that the stack is extremely small in number... Making it much more important and rare!" Thinking of this, Leo immediately hid the bottle inside his inventory, taking another batch of materials within before continuing to create potions... However, before he could toss the materials toward the interior of the cauldron, a sudden thought struck his mind, making his eyes shine brightly due to its probability... "Wait, what if I create potions in bulk? "Creating dozens of potions in one go?'' *** Chapter 154: Fighting A Core Formation realm beast (1)! "Maybe it''s possible... "Maybe I could really create 5 potions in one go!" Simr to a dark ink that directly fell toward a clear water, the thought of it quickly blossomed within Leo''s mind, making his being fluctuate in pure anticipation and excitement. If I could seed, then the advancement of my ss job could fasten by dozens of times! Clenching his imaginary fist, Leo began taking out materials within his inventory, pondering deeply as he slightly changed the form of the potion. (Purely adding the amount of materials in creating the potion.) "I could first double the amount of Materials I used when I was creating the potion to try the possibility... "I also needed to slightly change the course of creating the potion and the amount of clear water I put in... "Moreover, I should increase the temperature by an amount, allowing the materials inside to boil and melt in the right time and consistency." Slowly adding the Qi toward themp below, increasing its mes and size, Leo began to feel the temperature of the ck cauldron increasing, making its temperature remain at 120 degrees Celsius before he hurriedly tossed the clean water and a total of 6 inches of Earth Ginger root within... Following his instinct and knowledge regarding advanced potion-making within his head, Leo started adding the rest of the materials one by one, making the cauldron tremble due to instability... Causing Leo to feel a slight amount of pressure within... However, seeing that the cauldron was still not exploding nor releasing an unbearable smell with the familiar mixture of thick dark smoke within, Leo couldn''t help but release a heavy sigh of relief... Continuing mixing the ingredients as he carefully measures his actions. *** Huff~ Soon, after 30 minutes of constantly dancing within the thin line of failure and sess, Leo finally cut his connection toward themp below, immediately heaving a deep sigh of relief and exhaustion as he unconsciously examined the golden brown liquid within the cauldron... Not hiding his wide grin, Leo carefully and hurriedly manipted it toward the two bottles hovering beside him... Filling them without leaving a gap within! Ding! [ Congrattions upon creating 2 potions! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon gaining a slight understanding of potion creation! +2,500 horror points! +5 free attribute points! ] "Huff~ It was a sess! I could finally elerate my potion creation! The hope to increase my ss job is finally within my grasp!" Kekeke~ Hahaha! Laughing in a deep yet deranged tone for a long while, subconsciously causing the void in his surroundings to tremble in fear, Leo was about to again continue creating potions when suddenly... Boom! Out of nowhere, a heavy familiar suppression,ing from the unknown ce, suddenly materialized in the surrounding environment, Instantly causing him to halt all of his movement... Making his shadow being fluctuate in instinctive horror as an illusion of seemingly silver light consumes his sight... Blinding him momentarily. "This, an enemy!?" He thought, feeling a deep sense of dread blossom inside his consciousness, causing him to remember the suppression and the scene of the Core Formation realm Demon Vine they met in that cavern. The bloodbath within and the hundreds of corpses that form a small mountain in the distance, in addition to their thick crimson blood that created a small artificial river of seemingly madness within... were still fresh inside his mind. Just the thought of it makes Leo''s shadow being tremble in fear... "This, Is this the feeling of dread and pure fear? How fascinating..." Gritting his teeth, Leo was about to rush toward the forsaken pit in the far distance to hide, wanting to use its darkness for his advantage when suddenly... the suppression within the environment surprisingly and abruptly vanished like a bubble, causing his expression to be uncertain and puzzling. This... Stiffly shifting his gaze toward the far distance, Leo seems to faintly see the streaks of silver lightning sh within his senses, dancing throughout the atmosphere in a short second before instantly vanishing toward the depths of the cemetery, making his wary expression be more uncertain. "Don''t tell me, it''s not an enemy but someone who just stepped toward the Core Formation realm!? "Causing them to instinctively release their suppression simr to when Rnd advanced!" Who? He pondered within, warily scanning the surroundings as he began to advance toward the depths of the cemetery, toward the wooden house, having a preliminary assumption about what transpired earlier within his mind. Just by thinking of that possibility happening... Leo couldn''t help but already feel a deep sense of jealousy and astonishment within. Although it would make sense if his guess was right, it would still be a great surprise for him if that really happened. ... Creak, creak... The familiar annoying sound of creaking emerges within his consciousness as the wooden nk beneath him begins to dent due to its lightweight and its oldness, adding to the anxiousness he was currently experiencing... Creaakkk~~ Entering the house with great familiarity, Leo swiftly advanced toward the kitchen in the corner, immediately moving the wooden table and the stone away, unfolding the passage beneath to his very own senses... Sizzle~ In an instant, the sight of dancing lightning appeared within his senses, increasing the conjunction within his heart, slowly changing his expression into solemnity and darkness. "Indeed, the white rabbit was currently undergoing advancement toward the Core Formation realm... Moreover, with the look of it, there''s a huge probability that it will seed..." Kekeke~ It wouldn''t hold a grudge, right? Leo thought with uncertainty, feeling that with its intelligence and their connection, the chances of it happening were quite nil... Moreover, there''s really no grudge between the two, they were just small disagreements upon catching the other party off guard, upon catching that it was hiding/stealing a bunch of spiritual fruits that originated from that town... Kekeke~ Nevermind. Smiling wickedly, hiding the slight panic behind his mind, Leo took a deep breath, calming his chaotic thoughts before jumping into the passage without hesitation... Crack! ... Chapter 155: Fighting A Core Formation Realm Beast (2)! Crack. "Sigh... I never thought that I would step in this forsaken ce again ..." Leo casually thought, staring at the cracked bones beneath him inplete silence, reminiscing about the first time he stepped in this ce and the first time he killed a human being. Raising his head toward the depths of the passage, Leo''s expression slowly became tense, halting as he scanned the surroundings stiffly. Due to the lightning in the far distance, Leo didn''t need to summon mes to clearly see the surroundings... Allowing him to get a clear picture of the ce, still making him wonder how many beings were buried in this cemetery. "And be forgotten..." (Although his senses allowed him to see clearly at night, it''s not to the point that it wasparable to when it was morning.) ... Sizzle~ Sizzle~ Ding! -0.1 health. -0.1 health. Tongues of silver lighting flickered toward the surroundings, dyeing the environment in mesmerizing light as some of it lightly touched Leo''s being, making parts of his shadow scatter toward the atmosphere... Vanishing into thin air. "How ufortable." Mumbling under his breath, feeling a numb sensation sweep toward his being, slowing his thought process by a small amount. Leo unhurriedly began to move forward, suppressing the ufortable feeling he was experiencing, wanting to observe the advancement of the white rabbit in the distance... Since he was already at the peak of the foundation realm, Leo wanted to gain a deeper understanding of how to break through toward the Core Formation realm... and watching a being advancing toward it should be the best choice for him to learn. Although he already gained a preliminary understanding of how to break through toward the Core Formation realm (thanks to the help of Rnd), it''s still better to gain a deeper knowledge regarding it... Allowing him to gain the best advantage and also avoid unnecessary risks when he attempted to advance in the future. "It''s better to be cautious than sorry.'' *** Squeakkk! Within the depths of the seemingly catbs... Thick silver lightning streaks could be seen heavily striking the body of the white rabbit within its centre unceasingly, causing the white rabbit to cry in agony as its white glistening fur began to fall from its body, revealing the charred physics beyond... Within the environment, the grey skeletons and bones of countless deceased have already be pulverized under the unending assault of the lighting, unfolding the nd ground beneath... While far beyond the onught of the lightning, some bones with enough durability already be charred ck... Making the scene not different from hell and the judgement of heaven... Squeal! Squeaking loudly, a thin silver barrier, shining akin to a moonlight slowly materialized around its body, weakening the lightning that entered toward it before hitting its body with force. Boom! Squeak... However, although the force weakened considerably, the damage it took couldn''t be said a little... Moreover, its injury began to umte every second, making its vision blur as it gritted its teeth in pure determination. Squeak! (For more spiritual fruits! For the spiritual fruits!) It shouted loudly, fueling the Qi it was feeding toward the silver shield by amount, causing it to reveal brilliance that travelled toward the afar, making its ability to weaken and withstand the lightning increase by times... However, at the same time, the Qi within its body began to reduce at fast speed... Making it anxious and panicked, yet didn''t recede its action, continuing to fuel it with Qi as madness reflected within its big ck eyes. Boom! *** "I couldn''t advance further, I could only watch from this distance." Leo thought seriously, hiding behind the small mound in the far distance as he gravely inspected/observed the thick lighting streak in the stretch. Squinting his eyes, he seems to see a small figure within its centre, bathing within the lightning as its roar (squeaking) of unwillingness and determination weakly travelled toward his senses... Making his expression change as he instinctively took a step back in fear. "The suppression of the Core Formation realm cultivator toward beings below it..." Clenching his imaginary teeth, Leo took a deep breath, opening his eyes wide awake as he began watching everything with an engrossed expression... Not letting a single scene slip under his watch as his mind began to process everything he saw at high speed. Feeling that it was still not enough, he hurriedly took out a small enlightenment stone within his inventory, clenching it within his grasp as his mind andprehension directly increased by dozens of times... Making countless ideas emerge within his mind, showing the mistakes of the white rabbit to be reflected in his very eyes... as the little changes of lightning, its advantages and disadvantages be clear within him. "The white rabbit probably didn''t prepare anything toward its inevitable breakthrough... "Causing its breakthrough to be unstable and filled with risk. "Moreover, its mentality seems not good or in perfect condition. I could see that it often made mistakes when it was releasing its Qi to defend itself from the lightning." Pausing slightly, pondering deep within as the lightning streak suddenly hit parts of his shadow body, causing it to dissolve and dissipate toward the surroundings, Leo again continued. -1 health! +0.001 Soul! "I see... I understand..." "The silver lightning damaged one''s physique but it also tempered it in the process... It''s both a punishment and a reward for a cultivator. "Sessfully advancing would allow someone to gain an inhuman physique that was at leastparable to an Umon to Elite materials." (Based on his calction and the little streaks of lighting that tempered his soul. Although the lighting was muchrger than the lightning he met in the entrances of the passage/catbs... Compared to the lighting that drowned the little figure of the white rabbit in the distance, it could be said that it was a hundred timesrger than the thing that just hit him!) "However, I don''t even have physical body to begin with... Would I be able to resist that lightning? "Probably not, I still need a physical body in the end." *** Chapter 156: Fighting A Core Formation Realm Beast (3)! "However, I don''t have a physique to begin with. Would I be able to resist that lightning? "Sigh... probably not, I might still need a physical body in the end." Aplicated expression suddenly appeared within his shadow face, feeling that fate really knew how to y with life. Who would expect that after ridding his desires of the physical body after the long arduous process, he would immediately learn that it was still necessary in the end? How could he deal with the sudden change of events? ... Huff~ "No, it''s notpletely hopeless. I could still use other means simr to the barrier and shield skills... However, the consumption of such skills (Qi) would make it extremely risky with a low probability of seeding. Sigh. Sighing deeply, Leo was about to reveal disappointment within when suddenly... a sudden thought emerged within his mind. "This... I almost forgot I could still create a potion that increases the Qi''s natural recovery!" Thinking of it, Leo''s eyes couldn''t help but reveal rich darkness within, feeling excited all of a sudden... However, the next second, his expression reverted back to normal, feeling that the increase in recovery might not match the consumption of the Qi. "It''s still wouldn''t work." "Sigh... I suddenly envy Rnd who was good at using a shield and skill that protected one''s body...'' Shaking his head in regret, Leo stared at the lightning in the atmosphere, noticing that the intensity of it was slowly decreasing as time passed by. *** Boom! Squeak! (For the spiritual fruit!) The white rabbit within its centre weakly squeaks toward the surroundings, slowly unfolding its battered and charred figure toward the receding lighting in the atmosphere. Weakly shaking its small body, an amount of dried yet burned kes of its skin directly fell toward the ground, showing the squirming flesh beyond... which began leaking with rich crimson blood... Grimacing, the white rabbit unhurriedly and strangely sat on the ground, calming its mind as it began to follow the instinct within its being. Swish! In an instant, the surrounding void began to churn intensely, as rich Qi, originating from the unknown depths of the catbs began to surge toward the ce... Filling its every nook. Closing its eyes, the rabbit began to crazily absorb the rich Qi that slowly gathered within the ce as it began elevating its state and Qi! Causing its being to begin emitting a natural pressure that could only be found on a Core Formation realm being! Swish~ Swish~ Slowly, its small figure began to erge due to the unceasing absorption of Qi from the surroundings, making its figure look bloated as its wound began to heal at visible speed... Followed by that, its fur, which was now silver, glistening with metallic texture began to grow at a swift speed, quickly hiding its real figure beyond... ... Squeak! Soon, after an unknown period of time consuming/absorbing the Qi within the forsaken ce, its being suddenly released a silver brilliance, instantly shrouding the ce inplete blindness before receding in the next second... Quickly unfolding the figure within. Its previous height which was only 0.5 in meter, instantly became 1 after the advancement, making its strangeness apparent to one''s eye... Its silver yet soft fur that glistened under the weak light, drastically elevated its look (cuteness) by times, making beings that saw it unconsciously lower their guard... In addition to its metallic texture, Leo was quite sure that it could even deflect amounts of physical damage that hit it. (As for the magic ability/skill, Leo was not quite sure, however there''s a probability that it was included...) *** Gasp~ Hiding the tense sensation within his being, Leo couldn''t help but gasp heavily, feeling a deep sense of danger and dread from the white rabbit in the far distance. Gritting his, he secretly and instinctively cast his soul scan toward it, wanting to gauge its current strength and ability after reaching the Core Formation realm! Ding! [ Silver Moon Rabbit (Epic +1) - Core Formation Realm level 1! A being that was identally enlightened by the Moon. identally grasping the corner of its rules when it was still in the Mortal realm, causing it to mutate unpredictably... Moreover, In order to increase its natural life order, it consumed 100 different kinds of spiritual fruits and herbs, identally creating a new species. Innate Skill: ??? Physique: ??? Rules: ???, ??? ___Attributes___ Health: ??? Qi Storage: ??? Stamina: ??? Strength: 250 Speed: ??? Qi Power: ??? Skills: Superior Speed (Rare), Moon Light (Rare), ???, ???, Superior Senses (Epic +1), Blink (Epic), Bless by the Moon (Epic), Origin of New Race (Unique)... ] ... Ding! [ Bless by the Moon (Epic): Increase the overall stat by 5%-10% under the moonlight... Effect: Permanently Increase speed by 25 and affinity to Yin by 5! ] Ding! [ Origin of New Race (Unique): The creator of the new race, the ancestor of it! Effect 1: Emit a natural suppression toward beings of the same race, causing them to treat you with unprecedented respect... Effect 2: Permanently increase one''s talent by 5! Note: It would be a shame if the ancestor''s talent is too weak... ] ... "This..." Seeing the character panel of the white rabbit in his front, Leo''s eyes suddenly constricted, making his being fluctuate a bit, couldn''t believe what he was seeing... "It''s all nk, it''s all nk except for its 250 attributes on its strength..." Leo weakly mumbled under his breath. Since he could only see the attributes of its strength... he already knew that most of its attributes at least surpassed 250 in points! How high those numbers were? Even with his current attributes stat, Leo was afraid that only his Soul power could contend with it! Making him realize/learn the gap between the two... The gap between the foundation realm and the core formation realm. Not adding to its crazy skills, Leo could feel that he would immediately die within seconds if he fought that current rabbit! "How unfair!" "I want to quickly advance toward the Core Formation realm!'' *** Squeak! In the distance, the silver rabbit unhurriedly opened its eyes, exiting the engrossing state it experienced, feeling a deep pity within its being... Squeak! (It''s much more addictive than eating spiritual fruits and herbs!) Sighing audible, the silver rabbit shook its big head before shifting its gaze toward its little paws, beginning to sense its newfound strength... Feeling that it could defeat its previous state in just a matter of seconds. Squeak! Boom! *** Chapter 157: Fighting A Core Formation Realm Beast (4)! Boom! The Silver Rabbit suddenly throw a consecutive punch toward the void, instantly causing a loud explosion to echo within the catbs... Making the atmosphere dent due to its strength and speed. Squeak! Squeaking excitedly, feeling the unending strength coursing through his whole being, the white rabbit couldn''t help but clench its little paws with force... Crying emotionally upon understanding that all of its effort wasn''t in vain. Squeak~ Sniff~ In the process of crying... its pink nose instinctively sniffs toward the atmosphere, restraining its tears from falling as it suddenly shifts its gaze toward the mound in the distance... Smelling the rich fragrance of death and decay that was not present earlier, making its expression turn solemn... Feeling surprised, it quickly hides its expression within. Squeak! (Who!) It squeaks loudly as it suddenly releases an unprecedented pressure, making Leo''s invisible figure to gulp nervously. Taking a deep long breath mentally, knowing that the rabbit already knew of his existence, Leo steeled his mind, hiding his anxiousness as he unhurriedly unveiled his being... Making his transparent shadow begin to unfold itself. Swish! Swish! However, as he was about to speak to the white rabbit from afar, wanting to congratte it upon sessfully advancing toward the Core Formation realm... A sudden premonition emerges within his consciousness, causing him to duct/dive toward the ground abruptly. Swish! Boom! This! A sh of silver light flickered in the corner of his senses as the mound behind him suddenly crumbled toward the ground... Causing the debris and dust to momentarily cover the ce before finally slowly unfolding the sight beyond... Making Leo speechless as he stared at the silver rabbit far beyond in puzzlement. "Thi~this, f*ck, are you trying to kill me!" He shouted in an enraged tone, unable toprehend why the silver rabbit suddenly wanted to kill him! Squeak!? (Kill you!? Coming from a stranger who was secretly observing my advancement from a distance!) The silver rabbit rebuked, revealing a blur behind as it suddenly vanished within its previous location... Moving at a fast speed that even Leo''s senses were unable to capture its shadow. Swish! Having no choice, Leo could only helplessly follow the premonition of his instinct as he dashed toward his side without hesitation... sh! -10 health! "F*ck, I''m Leo! Have you already forgotten about me!?" Seeing that part of his shadow was being cleaved apart, Leo shouted hurriedly, feeling a sense of dread blossom within his consciousness... Squeak~ Squeak!? (Leo? Keke~ I know his smell very well...) Hearing this, the silver rabbit revealed a sneer on its face, staring at the shadow being in front of it with contempt as it summoned a 1-meter-long silver boomerang beside it... Causing the temperature in the surroundings to drastically drop by amount. Gleaming in silver soft light, its appearance was not different from a small version of a waxing crescent moon... Suspended in mid-air as it began to rotate at a fast speed, cutting the air with crisp sound as it began to hurl toward Leo''s location in an instant... "F*ck! Is that its soul-bound weapon!?'' Leo cursed within his being, feeling like an idiot upon forgetting the fact that he didn''t have a physical body! Understanding why the silver rabbit suddenly treated him like an enemy! "F*king idiot! How could I forget it? This species, this race!" Leo horrifiedly thought, feeling that the disadvantages of his species began to reveal in front of him... "It''s what they called blinded by desire? Having rich desires would make someonemit mistakes and oversight..." Cursing within his mind, Leo instantly activated his mist of illusion skill, causing the silver rabbit in the distance to waver, using the chances he created as he dashed toward the side... Still not done, he slowly deactivated his restrain skill, causing the imperceptible bad luck to quickly creep toward the silver rabbit being. Squeak... (This...) As if sensing something, the silver rabbit scanned the surroundings warily, instinctively stepping back but only in vain! Couldn''t rid of the ufortable feeling and premonition that appeared within its senses. Squeak... (This feels familiar, the familiar sense of unknown dread...) It squeaked (mumbled) under its breath, starting to waver as the resemnce of Leo toward the shadow being in the distance was quite high... However, the next second, it suddenly shook its head... Squeak, Squeak? (Illusion, imitation, or copying ability?) It thought, not easily fooled by the other party''s acting as it waved its silver boomerang toward the invisible being in the distance... Making the wind instantly part away as it travelled at a swift speed... Hacking everything in its way! (As for killing the other party using its physical capability, the silver rabbit didn''t entertain that thought. First of all, its control over its physical ability is still incontroble, making mistakes appear unpredictable... Not wanting to create risk toward its being... Second, what if it was really Leo? Just the thought of it already makes it subconsciously lower its firepower...) Ding! -15 health! -15 health! "F*ck, I already said that I was Leo!" Leo''s invisible being instantly unfolds within the thick grey fog, watching parts of his shadow being dissipate/mix toward the surrounding void! Gritting his teeth in anxiousness, Leo began to entertain the thought of using his domain... but hesitated instantly upon remembering that the silver rabbit was now at the Core Formation realm! Knowing that his domain little tricks wouldn''t work on thetter, instead, it would only further increase the risk of him dying! "What should I do?" Thinking deeply as he dodges the fast-approaching boomerang in the distance... -10 health... Leo suddenly opened his mouth widely, focusing his almost 500 attributes point soul power within his shadow throat before shrieking toward the silver rabbit in the distance loudly... Wahhh! In an instant, the surrounding void trembled as an indescribable power quickly hit the consciousness of the silver rabbit from afar, catching it off guard as it slightly staggered to its little feet... "This, a chance!" *** Chapter 158: Fighting A Core Formation Realm Beast (5)! "This, a chance!" Leo''s eyes suddenly glinted under the veil of darkness above, quickly rushing forward as he again began focusing the "Soul Power" within its shadow throat,pressing it greatly for seconds... After reaching 30 meters away toward the staggering figure of the silver rabbit, Leo quickly opened his mouth, revealing the ominous sight beyond, making the upper body of his shadow extremely bloated. WAAaahhh!!! Squeak! (Ahh!) An irritated voice prated its consciousness, shaking it greatly to the point that even its Epic Senses became inactive... However, although it seemedpletely hopeless, its realm which was above Leo wasn''t for show... Gritting its teeth, causing a grinding sound to resound within the almost enclosed catbs, the silver rabbit gripped its silver boomerang with force, forcefully opening its bloodshot eyes before hurling/firing it toward the shadow being in the distance. Squeak! (Illusion!) Swish! Swish! In an instant, the boomerang hurling toward his direction suddenly split into three (same size), causing it to almost cover Leo''s every possible escape root... Making him feel a deep sense of danger loomed toward his being as his back slowly got covered in cold shadow (sweats)... "This, f*ck! I''m just kidding earlier, I didn''t mean to attack you!" He shouted in a panicked voice, rushing toward the side as he watched the boomerang approach at a fast speed... Wanting to find a corner to hide but only in vain! "I''m dead..." Leo thought in despair as he watched the boomerang hit his being... ... Puff~ In an instant, a loud puffing sound resounded within his mind, instinctively causing him to flinch in fear and dread... however, the expected dispersing of his shadow didn''t appear, only making the boomerang that hit his body dissipate in soft silver light... Vanishing within as it slightly illuminated Leo''s dark and puzzled look. "This... Illusion!?" He thought with a dark expression, gritting his imaginary teeth as he began to manipte his being... However, the next second... Sigh~ Silently staring at the recovering silver rabbit in the distance, Leo slightly tosses an Earth Vitality Ginseng toward its general direction before quickly retreating toward the entrance of the catbs... Knowing that the chances of him winning against it were extremely slim. Besides that, even if he wins, killing the silver rabbit is simply not worthy in his opinion... It would even make him feel a deep sense of regret. ... Squeak? Soon, after a minute of stabilizing its consciousness, the silver rabbit unhurriedly opened its slightly reddened eyes, staring at the Earth Vitality Ginseng in the distance with mixed emotions as it leisurely held it within its little palm. Patting the dust that stuck toward the spiritual herbs-plump body, the silver rabbit silently took a bite from it before hopping into the unknown depths of the catbs inplete silence... Suddenly feeling a strange emotion well up within its being... Making the happiness brought by its advancement toward the Core Formation realm vanish into thin air... Pondering if its choice is correct or not. Squeak... (It''s only for the benefits, there''s no emotion included...) *** Huff~ "I can''t believe that I managed to survive upon fighting a newly advanced Core Formation realm beast! "No, I managed to survive fighting against a new and weakened Core Formation realm being!" Creakkk... Covering the passage beneath him with the familiar heavy stone and the same old wooden table, Leo couldn''t help but heave a heavy sigh of relief... Still couldn''t believe the thing that urred earlier. Although it was really not that incredible since his strength was naturally above the Peak of Foundation realm (with the system asionally giving him free attributes), which is almostparable to the strength of the Quasi Core Formation realm being... Nheless, he still managed to retain his pitiful life against the (Epic) Core Formation realm rabbit, making it worth the celebration! Still, who would expect that this ability would turn out to be extremely useful in certain scenarios? Feeling that the skill has great potential, Leo didn''t hesitate further as he immediately upgraded it with 1 Medallion of Forceful upgrade. Ding! [ Upgrading the "Soul Shrieking (Level 5)" skill to "Compressed Soul Shrieking (Level 1)" would cost a 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade and 1,000 Horror points! (ept/Declined) ? ] "ept!" Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully gaining a new skill "Compressed Soul Shrieking (Rare+2) (Level 1)" skill! ] Ding! [ Compressed Soul Shrieking (Rare +2) (Level 1) - One of the mostmon andprehensive offensive skills of a soul, ghost, and being focused on soul power! Activation: By focusing soul power on the host mouth before shrieking! 5 Qi points! Upgrade Cost: 5,000 horror points! Note 1: The power of shrieking depends on the soul power of the host! (Could control the power of "Compressed Soul Shrieking" by manipting the amount of soul power!) Note 2: It mutated further, causing its ability to greatly strengthen! ] ... Nodding his head in satisfaction, Leo immediately upgraded it toward Level 5, costing him another 25,000 horror points in the process. Making him feel a pinch upon seeing that his horror points decreased by almost a third... As he was about to check its new information, a sudden notification appeared in front of him, instantly making his imaginary brow raise in surprise. This... Ding! [ Congrattions upon spending 100,000 horror points (a total of 150,000 horror points due to unlocking the shop)! Reward: Unlocking "Skill Fusion" features of the system! ] Ding! [ Skill Fusion (Feature): Combine two existing skills to create a new single skill! Note: Combining two skills would consume horror points! Moreover, afterbining, the feature would enter a cooldown (Depending on the grade youbined!). ] ... "I... I almost forgot about this!" Leo eximed within his being, almost forgetting about it, again ming it on his pitiful and failed species... Excitedly opening it... a ck gleam quickly blinded his senses before unhurriedly unfolding an ancient metallic cauldron within, making him slightly gasp upon seeing its intricate design... That even his current cauldron appeared nd when hepared it... "System, are you selling me this cauldron?" Ding! [ Yes, 5,000,000,000,000,000,000 horror points are required to purchase the Ancient Heavenly Cauldron! ept getting a loan (Yes/No!) ] *** The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 159: Skill Fusion Feature! "Gulped, Never mind..." Leo audibly gulped, secretly cursing within his mind upon seeing that the system was offering him a loan... Feeling that the system was slowly falling toward the dark side- the deepest side. Besides that, how many zeros present are there, isn''t the system trying to scam him with his hard-earned horror points? Should he already start haunting the houses within the town to EARN a small amount of horror points? "Huff~ maybe I should also start creating and selling puppet dolls to earn...'' Still, would his potion-making enter a quantitative change after using that good-looking cauldron? Sigh... Taking a deep breath, shaking his mind. Leo began to ponder on the spot, thinking slightly before deciding to drag two skills toward the cauldron. "I should trybining high-ranked skills first since the feature would enter cool-down afterwards." Opening his character panel, Leo began to browse down, toward all of his skills, looking for suitable skills tobine... Wanting to use the opportunity to strengthen his arsenal of abilities. "Mist of Illusion, Invisibility, Telekinesis, Necromancy... "Huff~ there are a lot of skills within which is some of them that I really didn''t use often... I should list down the things that Ick the most. "Other than offensive skills, I alsock protection skills, self-boosting skills, speed skills, and talent skills... There''s also the healing skills." As if sensing something, Leo couldn''t help but momentarily pause, contemting for a while before suddenly cursing in a deep voice... D*mm! Ick everything except support skills! What kind of arsenal of skill is this!? "Should I start crying in the corner now or should I curse to the fissure above and the system?'' *** Huff~ "I really need to gain physical body to buy skills within the town, or maybe I could also try to steal some even if it was onlymon to umon skills... "Or else I wouldn''t notice how would I die in the future." Burying those thoughts behind his back, Leo focused on the thing he was doing, dragging his iplete domain and the (Epic) Necromancy within. Ding! [ Fusingpatibility (60%)... The cost of Fusing the skills is 1,000,000 horror points and 2 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade... Cooldown 100 days... Note: Failure tobine the skills wouldn''t allow the user to recover the cost of the fusion of the skills. ] "This, 1 million!? I couldn''t afford it! Moreover, what is the deal upon failing the fusion!?" Crazily shaking his head in an unimaginable manner, Leo quickly retrieved the skill within the cauldron, afraid that the system would go crazy and decided to fuse it before offering him another loan! Although he really wanted to fuse Epic skills and see if he would gain a Legendary skill afterwards, Leo can only helplessly abandon the thought... He was simply poor right now, to the point that he didn''t even have a physical body! Huff~ "Let''s try "Build up Stamina" and "Hidden Strength" skills first. They should only cost a little since they were only at Common to Umon skills." Ding! [ Compatibility of fusing the "Build up Stamina" and "Hidden Strength" skills (89%). Cost of Fusion: 5,000 horror points! Cooldown: 5 days! Note: Failure tobine the skills wouldn''t allow the user to recover the cost of the fusion of the skills. ] "Great! Let''s continue!" epting the deal, the lid of the cauldron suddenly closed up with a loud bang! Shaking with great instability as if about to erupt for 10 minutes before slowly quieting down... Following that, Leo seems to notice that the cauldron''s intricate design slowly bes nd- a testament that it already entered a cool down. Creakkk... With building anticipation, Leo stared at the slowly opening lid of the panel, unfolding a weak green light within that shed toward his senses... Causing him to close his eyes for a second before recovering. Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfullybining a skill, and gaining a new skill "Strong Physique (Elite +1)!" ] Ding! [ Strong Physique (Elite +1) (Level 1): A skill that tempered one''s body, increased its talent by a small amount, and considerably strengthened its foundation... Effects: Per skill level, permanently increase the strength and stamina by 2, physical talent by 0.2, and strengthen its foundation by amount! Activation: Passive Upgrade cost: 750 horror points! Note: One of the Elite skills that almost reaches the qualification to enter Rare rank! ] This... Upon checking the skill, Leo immediately felt small changes within his shadow physiques, tempering it slightly, making its density increase by the amount... "Did I mutate?" He thought in surprise and suspicious, feeling that his race had increased by amount yet not. [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Demon/Mid-level Entity (5%) ] There are indeed new changes. The meter on the back of the race should be my progress to advance above my race... Not hesitating too much, Leo immediately upgraded it to level 5, making the progress of his race increase to 20%, allowing him to see the corner of his mutation... "Would I be able to get rid of the disadvantage of my race or it would worsen after I mutate further?" *** Taking a deep long breath, feeling that he was thinking so far, Leo unhurriedly moved toward the center of the cemetery... Gazing above silently as he passed by toward his creation one by one... Click, Click... Laugh of little nightmares echoed within niches in his surroundings, giving off a feeling that someone was peaking toward his shadow being beyond the concrete closed tombs... Above, the unceasing cries and caws of ck crows kept resounding toward his ears, making one''s mortal mentality copse upon hearing it for hours... staring at the ground with reddened eyes, resting in tall canopies as it hid their figure perfectly... Beneath the ground, Leo asionally could feel small movements within, making him nod in satisfaction upon seeing the changes within the cemetery... "I should focus on creating potions in these few days. After I advance toward the Core Formation realm and upgrade my ss job, I will then give the town a visit!" Finally deciding about his course of action in the future, Leo leisurely took out his ck cauldron, cing it in his front before taking the materials out within his inventory(spiritual herbs and fruits), cing it neatly within his reach before starting to ready himself for another non-stop of potion making... "I''m going to create 50 potions this day before I start cultivating to umte more Qi!" Thinking of it, Leo began to provide Qi to themp beneath as he started creating potions... Focusing as the sound of his puppets resounded within. *** Deep within the Forest, tens of miles away from the town. Trees silently shrouded thend, making it dark within the senses of the beasts within... In its centre, a small wooden hut being covered in an ominous aura was silently standing within... Adding a sense of mysteriousness to it as it was being encircled by trees. Beneath it, countless decaying bones of different beasts, imperceptible to one senses were slowly being consumed by time... ... Swish! "We can''t dy anymore, we need to fasten our development. "My intuition was slowly sending me a premonition of danger and dread... "If I guess correctly, they already dealt with that newly ascended serpent." The voice of an old man quickly resounded within the enclosed hut, causing the lit-up candle in the short distance to sway slightly- threatening to extinguish... "I see, but we can''t actually deal much more damage within... That Peak Core Formation realm being was secretly guarding that town! "With its senses, it would immediately notice it if countless humans within that town suddenly died within a short period of time!" A burly man weakly replied, holding a wooden rosary in his palm as red crimson blood slowly taints it... Above, his upper body was noticeably wounded, showing his battered flesh beyond. "Indeed, that''s why we need to take a risk. "Although we don''t have a Peak or Upper stage of the Core Formation realm within our number, we could still at least stall him for 5-10 minutes using an Early to Middle stage of Core Formation realm..." "But..." "There''s no need to change my mind, although it would be extremely risky toward the being who would stall that Peak Core Formation realm being... We don''t have much choice. "Besides that, that Devil''s patience was slowly running out." Shaking his head, the old man said, sighing deeply before staring at the weak mes of the candle in his front- his thoughts were unknown as he slowly clicked the handle of the wooden chair... "How about the escape route?" After a long while, his old voice again travelled within the hut... Hearing this, one of the ck-robed men beyond the wounded burly man instinctively steps forward, arranging his thoughts before replying in a deep yet ethereal voice. "Yes, we luckily discover a deep catb within the town. It has countless passage that leads toward different exits and unknown depths... "Unfortunately, weck time and there are also countless ferocious beasts within, we can only note some passages..." *** Chapter 160: Readying ones self! Toward the Core Formation realm! Ding! [ Congrattions upon creating your first 200 potions! +7,500 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +5 potion form! (Ranges from upgraded to grade 2!) ] Sigh... Sighing in relief, Leo carefully manipted the ck liquid (potion) toward the carved wooden bottle he created, filling it wholly before hurriedly closing the cap. Revealing a satisfied smile not far from malevolent, Leo thought unhurriedly as he began putting the items and materials into his inventory. "If I continue doing this, I will be able to upgrade my ss job in a week... It''s also the same time when I would fill my exp and reach the peak of the Foundation realm..." "I''m only waiting for the cooldown of the fusion feature so I canbine the Qi Shield (Umon) and Resilient (Umon) for protection against that lightning..." He leisurely wonders if it would be enough to save him from unceasing lightning. If he was still not satisfied nor felt safe after gaining that skill, he might use one or two Medallion of Forceful upgrades to increase its capabilities. "Moreover, I should also try creating self-boosting potions like stamina, strength, Qi recovery, etc... It''s best if I readied every one of those.'' "Unfortunately, I couldn''t find much spiritual fruits within that forsaken pit... So I could increase my stats even if it was little." Shaking his head, Leo was about to drag his exhausted body toward the forsaken pit to cultivate when unexpectedly, one of the ck crows above rapidly flew toward his direction... Staring at him with those dead nd eyes before cawing loudly, causing the connection between the two to give him signals- allowing him to understand its message and emotions even though not too clearly. "You saw beings kilometres away from the cemetery?" Leo speaks after minutes of difficulty tranting the puppet''s thoughts... Only understanding how minimal the intelligence andmands basic puppets could send andprehend. I should note down it so I can avoid it in the future... Caw! Hearing Leo''s demonic voice, the ck crow puppet nods its little head in confirmation... pping its wings so it could maintain its low altitude before pointing its little beak toward the South direction. "Opposite direction of the town?'' Leo ponders slightly before asking, "Where? How many?" Caw! Caw! "I see, good job..." Upon gaining basic information, Leo weakly patted the head of the ck crow using his shadow hand, feeding its core with rich Qi before vanishing within its senses- entering invisibility, leaving a weak breeze of wind behind. Swish. Caw? The ck crow puppet caws in confusion before unhurriedly flying toward the canopy above after a while... Resuming its previous scanning. *** "Are you really sure that there''s no living being within the cemetery? But... I identally heard from Jake a month ago that they have a friend living in there?" A man in the back weakly said, silently gazing at the fog that began to shroud the structure in the far distance in slight fear... Gulping audibly as if he could feel that someone was staring at his being with malicious thoughts. "There should be no one living in the cemetery right now... Imagine, who would choose to live in this forsaken and dangerous ce? Can you imagine you living in this ce ALONE? "Heck, even a Core Formation realm cultivator might think twice if someone offered them to live in this kind of ce..." A man with thick brows waved his sword in his front, cutting the thick tall grasses on their way. After finishing cutting weeds and wild grasses, the man again continued speaking. "The town''s situation was not right right now, I could even feel the tension and oppression within just by walking within the roads... I''m afraid that something was secretly brewing trouble within, and it''s not good for us cultivators with only so-so abilities and strength..." "This... you also felt the same? I thought I was the only one feeling that way, I almost thought that I was gifted or awakened a bad*ss skill on my own." A teenager at the age of probably 15-17 speaks in a loud voice, interrupting the man with thick brows as he slightly waves his 1-meter-tall baston in regret and denial. "You still hadn''t gotten rid of that book? I already told you that it wouldn''t do you good, now look how your character changed..." Shhh! As they were bickering on the back, the man with thick ck brows suddenly halted in his tracks, cing his pointed finger toward his thin lips- gesturing toward them to quiet down as he scanned the ce in wariness... ... Still not moving? After a momentary silence thatsted for minutes, the man''s thick brows furrowed into a frown, his thoughts were unknown before mumbling weakly toward the people on his back. "Did you feel it? Someone was staring at us..." This... Upon hearing this, the four humans behind hurriedly scanned the tall trees in their surroundings in iparable wariness, gripping their weapons tightly- readying themselves for the inevitable battle... Whoosh~ Time slowly passed by, a weak sound of rustling leaves entered their senses, causing them to be tense as they looked at the silent forest in front of them strangely- slowly making their senses deaf due to its peacefulness... However, after waiting for almost ten minutes, the five of them couldn''t help but reveal a deep puzzled expression, exchanging nces as they stared at the man with thick brows in suspicion. "Roy, are you deliberately scaring us?" Khael at the back couldn''t help but utter in a weak voice, almost wanting to shave Roy''s thick brows so he could read his expression clearly... (of course, it''s purely due to revenge.) "Why would I? You all should be aware of my premonition, it never gives me an inurate feeling..." Roy speaks deliberately, also feeling a sense of suspicion regarding his skills. "Did my perception mistaken earlier?'' He thought, couldn''t help but eye the slowly setting sun on the far horizon, feeling a forbidding sensation that slowly crept toward his being- making him feel extremely ufortable... "Roy, Roy, are you listening to us? It''s already getting dark, we need to find a ce to stay for tonight!" The teenager impatiently said, thinking that Roy was just too tired causing his senses to be inurate. "This, why not... we go back to the town?" ... "This..." "What? Seriously!? It took us 3 to 4 hours of walking to reach this ce so we could avoid what was happening within that town yet you want to go back!? Are you crazy!? "Moreover, you should be aware that most of the beasts within the Endless Forest only start hunting at night!" Andress, a middle-aged man in his early thirties almost shouted toward Roy''s ears, momentarily causing Roy to be deaf as he instinctively covered his ears in slight pain... Grimacing, he rebuked, "F*ck, my premonition was telling me not to enter that cemetery. What should I need to do? Enter that ce so I couldmit suicide!?" This... The four couldn''t help but be stunned, unable to find the right words to counter what Roy just said... Falling deep into silence after minutes, Khael sighed softly before speaking in a mild tone. "We have 1 Peak Foundation realm within our group while the rest reach the middle stage at the very least... Moreover, most of the Core Formation realm cultivators within the town entered the depths of the Endless Forest..." Pausing for a while to take a deep breath, Khael again continued. "Those Core Formation realm beings aren''t that stupid to not check the surroundings of the town for possible danger before entering that ce... Even if there''s a Core Formation realm being within the cemetery, it should just enter that realm. "With our number, we should be able to hold it at the very least, isn''t it? "Besides that, every ce is equally dangerous right now! The town feels dangerous, the Endless Forest also feels dangerous, then now the cemetery..." Sigh... Khael sighed, unable toplete his words as he looked at the four with equally mixed emotions... Shaking his head, he shifted his gaze toward the far distance, silently staring at the cemetery that was slowly being shrouded by darkness- making his heart skip a bit although unknown. "I see, I understand, I just felt ufortable and stressed earlier causing me to shout..." Roy heaved a deep sigh of helplessness, apologizing to the four before unhurriedly moving forward- gazing at the old rusty gate as they unhurriedly stepped within... *** "Kekeke~ Interesting, there''s still someone who could notice my existence even though my invisibility already entered level 7? Even that devil spawn couldn''t detect my existence after I entered invisibility...'' Leo thought in amusement, gazing toward the silhouettes of the 5 humans behind one of the concrete niches in silence... Thinking of something, Leo revealed a deep malevolent smile within his shadow face, feeling excited all of a sudden upon finally having a chance to earn horror points! A long-term way to earn horror points! *** Chapter 161: Way to gain Horror points! Click, Click. Thick white fog shrouded their vision, hindering their senses by the amount in the process. Slowly, the temperature in the surrounding environment began to plummet, entering their soles- sending shivers toward their being. Gazing toward the silent canopy above, Roy couldn''t help but shiver slightly- sensing that a dozen beings were staring at their figure in silence, their thought was unknown as if they still hadn''t decided how they were going to attack the group. Click, click... "Did you hear that clicking sound?" Andress suddenly halted, focusing his Qi toward his ears as noises began to enter his senses, filtering as the small noises of unceasing clicking sounds entered his ears- almost akin to all hearing. "Found you..." He thought with a creepy smile before dashing toward the far niches, not concealing his movement as the air parted away. "Wait!" Khael in the back couldn''t help but shout, caught off guard by the sudden running of Andress as they immediately followed him. However, unnoticeable, as they were focusing on something else, the fog within the cemetery began to thicken at an rming speed, making it difficult to discern everything 3 meters away from them. *** "Hehehe~ Caught you!" Andress smiled wickedly, immediately dashing toward the grey niches in his far front as he looked at its concrete back in hastened speed... However, in an instant, upon looking at the thing in the back of the niches, where the origin of the clicking sound came from, Andress''s dark-brown eyes abruptly constricted- feeling deep chills that ran through his bones, staying there as it sent a shiver to his very soul. "This, there''s no one here..." He mumbled in slight fear... The expected beasts and humans didn''t greet his eyes, instead, a doll with a meter height and seemingly realistic porcin face, lifelessly facing the sky, not moving a bit, appeared in his very senses. Invisibility or Illusion? He thought, scanning the surroundings with extreme vignce- not giving the doll on the ground a nce, thinking that it was only the garbage of the past civilization. Swish... "Did you find anything?" Seeing that Andress was not moving a bit, frowning on the spot as he often gazed toward the unknown, Khael asked in a serious yet weak voice. "No, but..." Click... Click... Andress still hadn''t finished speaking when the familiar sound of clicking resounded within his senses, causing his expression to change as he again rushed toward the depths of the cemetery. "This," Helplessly, Khael could only follow the back of Andress, forgetting the fact that the other three still hadn''t caught toward them. ... "F*ck, where are those two!?" Roy, the teenager, and a man in leather armour couldn''t help but curse under their breath, scanning the nearby niches that were akin to a maze, being shrouded in thick grey fog- in loss. "This is bad, we got separated... I should have listened to my premonition to not enter this ce!" Roy gritted his teeth in anxiousness, feeling that his premonition of danger was slowly increasing, to the point that he could almost smell his death! "It shouldn''t be that grave right? You are just feeling extremely anxious." The teenager said, waving his baton in swift speed, summoning a gale of wind that pushed the fog in the far distance, allowing them to discern things 15 meters away from them. Quickly gazing toward the horizon, the group seems to see a silhouette of shadow that was rapidly rushing deep within the cemetery, making their expression change as they immediately give it a chase. "Khael, Andress wait!" They shouted in unison... Unfortunately, probably due to the unknown interference, fog, or the humidity of the ce, the silhouette couldn''t hear them as it continued to move toward the depths of the cemetery- leading them to the unknown. "F*ck!" Soon, the silhouette of shadow slowly vanished within their sight as the thick fog again hindered their vision, making their expression grave as they could only see the nd grass meters away. "Drake, waved your baston again so we could see the distance!" The man, wearing leather armour, hastily said, feeling that the thick fog kept churning around them... making him feel that something was moving within it- making his skin crawl just by thinking of it. "Huff~ on it!" Hearing this, Drake immediately waved his baton, again summoning a gale of winds that instantly pushed the thick fog away, making the short distance clear in their sight... Slowly unfolding the old wooden house in their front- making them doubt their senses since they were quite sure that they hadn''t seen it earlier. "This, is there really someone living in this forsaken ce?" Drake mumbled in confusion, staring at the ominous old house in slight fear. The dark mold that grew due to the humidity of the ce almost covered the house- making it extremely dark and fragile in their senses. Following that, the strange smell,ing from the unknown, simr to the decayed flesh of animals unhurriedly wafts toward their senses, inexplicably making their stomach churn. "Gulped... Unknown skeleton?'' Roy gulps audibly, staring at the niches beside the house inplete silence. Unlike the other niches within the surroundings that were built using concrete and cement, it was the only one built using soil... As if the person just dug a pit within without care before throwing the corpse inside, before again covering it with soil. "Let''s enter, there really might be someone living in here." The teenager said with a wavering expression, steeling his courage as he stepped toward the old wooden stair in front of the house. Creak... Creak. In an instant, the annoying sound of creaking entered his senses, drilling toward his consciousness as it increased his unease, making his chest beat at an rming rate as he moved forward in uncertainty. Knock, Knock! "Hello?" A crisp knocking sound reverberated within, breaking the serenity of the ce, followed by the deep voice of the adolescent asking... Patiently waiting for a reply but only in vain. "Did your skill detect living beings within?" After waiting for another minute, Drake helplessly turned his head toward his back, staring toward the two before asking in doubt. "No, I can''t detect anything within this fog, as if it restrained skills that rely on senses..." Hearing Drake''s inquiry, Roy unhurriedly shook his head, frowning heavily as worry filled his head- feeling that Khael and Andress were in grave danger. "I see, then let''s see if there''s something useful within," Drake said unhurriedly, without waiting for a reply, he pried the door open, revealing the sight within. *** "Huff~ Andress wait! The other three still haven''t caught up to us!" Khael panted heavily, staring at the lifeless doll meters away before ncing toward the dark yet pale expression of Andress in front of him... His eyes were visibly constricted under the veil of darkness, trembling slightly as unprecedented horror was present within... Staring toward the porcin doll above the niches in doubt and fear. "There''s still no one here, there''s no human nor beast hiding in here... "Don''t tell me, the sound originated within the tomb itself!" He thought, unable to extricate the possibilities within him, nting seeds of fear within his consciousness as he pondered whether to take a look beyond/beneath the tomb. Unable to get rid of that thought, Andress quickly clenched his fist, swinging his fist downward with enough force without hesitation, destroying the concrete tomb in the process. Boom! A loud sound of explosion resounded toward the far distance as countless pieces of rubble from destroyed concrete flew toward the faces of the two- making them instinctively flinch yet they didn''t close their eyes in the process... Staring at the dust without blinking, wanting to see what was beyond... Wanting to catch the thing that caused their unrest and fear. Cough, cough... In an instant, upon seeing what was beyond the tomb, the two couldn''t help but release an intense sound of coughing... Covering their nose as disgust was instantly reflected in their eyes. Gazing downward, the two immediately see the open casket, exposing the decaying being within as its smell quickly wafted toward their senses... Within its wrinkled skin, they could faintly discern the slowly moving fat white maggots, munching happily as it created a low gnawing sound, making Andress who was good at hearing gulp audibly. Unable to bear the sight, he quickly turns his head toward his back, feeling his stomach seethe as he begins throwing up- expelling everything within as its smell begins to mix with the disgusting smell of decaying flesh... Increasing the ufortable feeling he was experiencing. Click... Click... "This, again..." Wiping the saliva within the corner of his mouth, Andress expression quickly changes into grim, hearing dozens of sounds of clicking within the surroundings as the faint innocentugh,ing from an unknown abyss weakly entered his senses... Making his heart skip a beat as an unprecedented sensation of horror gripped his being, making him shiver as regret shed within his mind... *** Horror 101: (Different from Despair and Fear 101.) "Unknown and inexplicable is much more scarier than reality and present..." Chapter 162: An experience Demon! Horror Points! Ding! [ Andress (Human)- Foundation Level 8 ] ss Job: The Listener (Rare) Rule: Rule of Sound (1%) ___Attributes___ Health: 150/150 Qi Storage: 248/260 Stamina: 132/150 Strength: 80 Speed: 85 Qi Power: 110 ____Skills____ Skills: Swift Senses (Elite), Listener (Rare), Qi Bullets (Umon), Air Wave (Umon)... ] Ding! [ Listener (Rare): Passively Increase hearing by thrice the normal pared to peers). Allows one to faintly hear the sound and noises within a weak restricted area, moreover, focusing Qi to one''s ear could increase hearing by at least 5 times (depending on of the amount Qi the user used!) Activation: Passive! ] ... Deactivating his Soul Scan, Leo slowly revealed a malevolent smile within his shadow face, finally getting most of the information of the group who entered hisir as he deliberately rubbed his shadow hands in anticipation. "Kekeke~ It''s time to earn horror points!" Thinking of it, he began sending small information to all of his puppets within the cemetery, instantly making their eyes turn crimson as they started at the depths of the cemetery, toward the groups in unprecedented silence. *** Hehe, Hehe. Click, Click. As Khael and Andress were staring at the casket beneath the ground inplete silence- asionally coughing as they covered their nose in disgust, the body of the porcin doll on the ground suddenly twitched. Releasing a weak cracking sound as it unhurriedly stood up, showing its innocent yet pale face as it smiled toward the back of the two... Hehe~ Hehe~ In an instant, a strange innocentugh that shouldn''t have appeared in this kind of ce echoed behind their back, sending chills toward their souls as they stiffly turned their heads beyond. The next second, the sight of the moving doll instantly reflected on their constricted ck irises, watching it bending toward its back as its little hand pierced through the soil... Its dark eyes which carried innocence within stared at their being curiously as it released a weak giggle of happiness... Although it lookspletely harmless on normal asions, the two couldn''t help but shiver in fright, unable toprehend the horror unfolding in their eyes. Giggle~ Still dumbfounded, the doll suddenly twisted its head 180 degrees, releasing a soft chuckle before rushing toward the two, making the two panic as they instinctively ran into the unknown distance due to fear. (Fear makes being unable to process thoughts properly.) As they were running, Andress who had good hearing, again detected dozens of clicking noises beyond the thick fog, making his face extremely pale as he could discern the silhouettes of dozens of dolls in the surroundings- chasing them at a swift speed that wasparable to 90 stats of speed! "F*ck, f*ck, f*ck! Are we going to die today!?" He cursed consecutively under his breath, making the air within his lungs unstable and insufficient, causing him to begin gasping for air. Shifting his gaze toward Khael beside him, he could see thetter''s pale face weakly mumbling under his breath, making a quick hand gesture as he summoned several Ice shards in the atmosphere. Swish! Swish! Pointing toward his back, the ice shards quickly hurled themselves toward the doll chasing them, making the temperature around plummet by a small amount as the fog seemed to slow down on its churning... Hehe, Click... Seeing this, the doll releases a curious smile, slightly bending its limbs downward before jumping into the depths of the fog, making its silhouette directly vanish within their sight- causing the ice shards to miss its target by an inch. (The inscription on their core is extremelycking, causing their emotion hard to reflect) "F*ck! What kind of abomination is that!?" Andress heavily breathes, cursing in a loud voice before summoning a weakened fireball (due to the dampness of the ce) to illuminate the surroundings... However, unfortunately, the fire was much weakerpared to the crimson eyes of the dolls chasing them, only allowing them to sense 4 meters away from them- amplifying their fears and making their thoughts more chaotic. Click, Click. As they were running in an unknown direction- shouting for help, hoping for their separated group to hear their pleas... A sudden whooshing sound appeared within their senses as one of the dolls opened its mouth toward their flesh, revealing its sharp teeth beyond one''sprehension- approaching them at hastened speed. On its face, the rotten flesh within began to excrete with yellow disgusting puss- mixed with decaying flesh as its smell wafted toward their nose. "This... I''m..." Andress stared at the fast-approaching doll in fear, making his thoughts nk as dread gripped his being- causing his movement to slow down as his eyes trembled in pure horror, again smelling the fragrance of long-forgotten death. Boom! Yet... Before the doll chomped off Andress''s pale flesh, expected to rip it off as a fountain of crimson thick blood should consume everyone''s sight, an ice shard as big as an adult fist suddenly struck the doll''s small body- making its figure fly toward the thick fog, vanishing within their sight, due to the intense force. "Huff~ Th-thanks a lot..." "F*cking thanks a lot! Why are just staring at the doll earlier? Are you just waiting for death!?" Khael interrupted, angrily ring at Andress as he again summoned dozens of Ice shards through the atmosphere, pausing slightly before shooting toward the visible approaching doll behind them in hastened speed. Hehe, HEhe, HEHE... As they were slowly getting used to the chasing dolls in their surroundings... The dozens of dolls beyond the thick grey fog suddenly discharge a loud innocentugh in unison, amplifying the effects of "Laugh of Little Nightmare" before hurriedly drilling toward the consciousness of the two... Boom! Immediately, the two stagger in their tracks as their vision begins to spin at a fast speed- feeling unprecedented dizziness as they can''t even move by a step. "This a soul offensive skill... or a mental attack? Soul Shrieking?" Khael slowly thought, shaken as he desperately shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the effects of the skill but only in vain... Thud... Thud. Soon, the next second, he weakly fell toward the ground, mouth foaming as his stomach churned due to the intense headache, greatly squinting his eyes as he weakly stared at the silhouette of approaching dolls in the distance... (Although his vision didn''t work fine, the sounds of their approach allowed him to know that they were closing at a fast speed.) "This, are we going to die just like that? A single mistake instantly causes our lives?" He gaspingly mumbled, suddenly regretting their choice earlier. "We should have listened to Roy, we shouldn''t have entered this forsaken ce!" With ast thought, ncing toward the weakened figure of Andress on the ground, his consciousness slowly cked out, falling into the deepest darkness that didn''t allow the sunlight to shine. ... Ding! +5,000 Horror points! +5,000 Horror points! [ Congrattions upon scaring beings for the first 50 times! +5,000 horror points! +6 attribute points! +1 Medium Enlightenment Stone! ] Keke, Keke~ "2 down, 3 more to go..." Leoughs in a deep malevolent voice- silently staring at the unconscious humans on the ground as the dolls encircle their beings, giggling innocently as they curiously poke their bodies with their limbs... Leaving light wounds on their body as they began slowly bleeding- expelling blood that gradually dyed the beneath in thick crimson red. "Keke~ don''t kill them yet, I still need them for the experimentter..." Leo quicklymanded them upon seeing their sadistic nature (of course he was the one who inscribed their being)... Before immediately shifting his gaze toward the depths of the cemetery, toward the direction of the old wooden house with a demonic smile pasted on his shadow face, making it harrowing to one''s sight as his figure quickly blends toward the surrounding environment. Swish. Subsequently, a gale of wind emerged in Leo''s previous location before also vanishing in an instant... *** Creak... "There''s nothing worth mentioning in here, it seems that no human is living in here..." The teenager whispered to the man beside him as he slightly opened the door of the room on the second floor, gazing at the ce that was already eaten up by dust as he lightly waved his hands toward the surroundings- collecting the dust using his skill before expelling it toward the half-open window. "The dust should at least amount for months." He spoke as he moved forward, squinting his eyes as he stared at the lonely wooden bed in the corner of the room... Sigh~ After minutes of failed findings, Drake regretfully sighed, shaking his head as he dragged his slightly exhausted body to the first floor, gazing at Roy who just exited the kitchen- only to see him shake his head in regret, concealing the slight fear within its eyes... Unfortunately, probably upied by thought, the teenager and the man wearing leather armour didn''t notice that something was amiss in Roy''s expression... "What is wrong within that ce, what was hiding beneath that table... I just smelled death, A death without a chance of survival... "How scary... the despair...'' *** Chapter 163: Empire Puppet? "Roy, are you okay?" The man asks in concern upon seeing that Roy retained silence for a couple of minutes, noticing that his eyes look uneasy as they asionally nce in the direction of the kitchen. "I, yes... I''m fine, don''t worry." Regaining his senses, Roy took a longst nce in the direction of the kitchen before unhurriedly gazing toward the two. Pondering for a second before silently peeking at the outside, beholding the darkness beyond- quietly mixing with the thick grey fog as it greatly hindered their vision, as if someone was deliberately locking them within the ce. "We need to find Andress and Khael, I don''t have good feelings toward this ce- this very ce." He added with bated breath, staring at the eyes of the two with seriousness as he began to move forward... Not waiting for their reply as he was desperate to escape this ce- wanting to avoid meeting the thing beneath the kitchen, hiding within this house. Making him feel as if an enormous being was silently peeking toward their beings beneath the earth- salivating as if couldn''t wait to consume their lives, flesh, and souls! ... Creak, Creak. Upon stepping outside, the cold energy within the fog quickly entered their pores, making them quiver in coldness as the teenager''s teeth began to uncontrobly chatter. me. Muttering within his mind, the man wearing leather armour summoned a me within his palm, slightly dispersing the cold energy within their body as it slightly illuminated the short distance, unfolding the wet yet nd grasses on the ground followed by silhouettes of countless niches in the far. Caw! Slowly, in a short period of time, the sight of a slow slithering ck crow entered their senses, making the group halt as they started toward it in bewilderment... "This! What kind of crow is this?'' They thought in unison, exchanging nces toward each other before again ncing toward the failed crow on the ground- not knowing what to do as they halted for seconds... Only the flickering of the red mesmerizing me exposed that time was still running. "Puff~ This, how pitiful this crow was!" After a minute ofplete silence, the loud chuckle of the teenager breaks the momentary serenity of the ce, bending his knees slightly as he pokes the figure of the ck crow in fun- causing the crow to stare at Drake''s figure with murderous intent. "Puff~ this crow wants to kill me, Hehe~" Seeing this, Drakeughed out loud, not noticing that the expression of the two behind him slowly turned unnatural, staring toward afar in aghast as their body slowly became stiff in trepidation. "Drake..." Roy weakly called, not blinking as he warily stared at the countless pairs of eyes beyond the fog, feeling deep chills within his being upon noticing that their number almost reached 30s! Meow~ The next second, another crow, strangely hopping using its single leg appeared within their vision- making the expression of the group ugly, not knowing whether tough or cry due to the strangeness of the things... Unfortunately, probably due to the eyes staring at them, they could only helplessly conceal their expression. "This, what should we do? Should we hack them all?" The man wearing leather armour weakly whispered to Roy beside him, clenching his fist, ready to destroy the two ck crows if they showed malice. Meow~? As Roy was hesitating whether to destroy them or not- a sudden premonition appeared within his consciousness, making his eyes shrink as cold sweats poured down his back. "Don''t!" He replied with gritted teeth, unfolding the twitching vein within his forehead as if suppressing something... Meow~~ Seeing this, the ck crow shook its little head in regret, staring at them with a profound look as it pointed its beak toward the far distance- gesturing toward the three to follow it. Not waiting for the three, the ck crow began hopping toward the far distance, cawing asionally as it often nced toward its back. "This, should we follow them?" The teenager said with a conflicted expression- staring at the slithering ck crow in the far distance in amusement. Gupled... "Y~yes..." Looking at the eyes beyond the fog, still staring at them with those emotionless glints- Roy gritted his teeth, suppressing his instinct to escape as he weakly began to follow the ck crows in the distance... Praying above to protect them. *** "Hmm, there''s something wrong within that failed crow of mine...'' Leo thought as he shifted his gaze toward the meowing crow in the front of the group- feeling that something was amiss with its being as he could detect a fleeting soul within its puppet body. Although it was extremely faint, nheless, it was still a real soul, a genuine soul! Frowning, Leo didn''t hesitate further as he immediately cast his "Soul Scan" toward it- wanting to see what kind of changes happened to its being causing it to generate a soul. Ding! [ Crow Puppet (Living Failed Product) (Nurturing a Soul) - Mortal Level 17: A failed puppet that identally grazed by death and life Qi for countless days- due to unstable factors and intense luck, it managed to generate a weak feeble soul! Innate skill: Dead Object (Elite!) ______Atrributes______ Health: 50/50 Death Qi: 50/50 Stamina: 50/50 Strength: 40 Speed: 50 Qi Power: 35 ______Skills______ Monitoring Eyes (Common), Death Ray (Elite), Eyes of Vitality (Elite), Basic Intelligence (Common) ] ... [ Dead Ray (Elite): Focused an amount of condensed death Qi toward its eyes before firing toward its target! Activation: 10 Death Qi! Note: Hitting by it would make the target''s body enter a hastened erosion, dealing considerable damage and slowing one''s health recovery! ] [ Eyes of Vitality (Elite): Could discern one''s natural life order by looking at the target''s vitality. Moreover, it could also used to pry beyond walls, making one discern the living beings beyond! Activation: Passive! ] *** "This, Death and Life Qi could possibly generate life!? System, is this really possible?" Leo asked within his mind, feeling suspicious regarding the possibility of that happening... However, if that was really possible, then Leo could have said to hit the jackpot! He could even start creating living puppets with a certain amount of intelligence within, causing them to move on their own without him needing tomand them! "I might even... create my own puppet empire!'' Just thinking of it alone already makes Leo''s hand itchy- wanting to create more puppets, possibly thousands! Ding! [ Consuming 5,000 horror points to answer the question. (ept/Delined)?] "ept!" epting the deal, Leo didn''t forget to curse within his mind, helplessly watching the fifth of his earnings today vanish like that. "Unfortunately, I couldn''t scare them too much or else my n will be nought." Ding! [ Yes, although the chances of that happening are extremely slim, it''s still possible... (to be precise "nothing is impossible".) Mutated Qi or to be exact Qi that carried elements within them have certain rules (of that particr element) fused toward them... Making it possible to create life, understand the rules by absorbing the Qi, and possibly discern the corner of its Dao... However, the probability of that happening is almost 0.1 to 2%. Depending on it to create life, understand the rules, and grasp the corners of the Dao''s is extremely unwise! Moreover, the lives they created depending solely on them were always imperfect, causing their lifespan and talent to be extremely limited (at least notparable to low-level species/race!)... However, puppets or items grazed by life are different. ] Leo slowly read the notification that appeared in front of him, unhurriedlyprehending the information it held- making him feel that the current world carried a vastness of knowledge and secrets that he couldn''t reach with his current stage... Making his desire to increase his life order and realm stage much stronger, filling him with urgency that he couldn''t exin. Ding! [ Desire of the Dao increases by an amount! +0.1% overall attributes (non-permanent)! ] ... Sigh... Even the Nascent Soul realm cultivators might be unaware of this... How fascinating. Leo thought, deciding to let most of his puppets stay within that forsaken pit to try their luck from now on. Although the chances were extremely slim, if there were hundreds of puppets within that pit, it was inevitable that some of them would be luckily grazed by life and death Qi, causing them to generate soul on their own. Even if that didn''t work, then thousands or ten thousand puppets should be! he didn''t believe that the jinx skill would hinder his luck, luckily... Shaking his head, burying those thoughts behind his mind for now. Leo leisurely shifted his gaze from the lucky little ck crow in the front toward the tense humans in the distance- watching them warily moving toward the unknown location, smiling lightly as he wondered what kind of expression they would make upon seeing his present. "Hopefully, they wouldn''t run upon seeing it." With lingering thought, Leo''s being in the far distance, beyond the thick fog quickly bes transparent, vanishing within the sight of the world... Only leaving with nothing. *** Chapter 164: The Horror Within, the Existence of Devils! Within the depths of the cemetery. Roy could be seen clenching his fist now and then as they quietly tailed the two ck crow puppets in their front- clearly hesitating whether to destroy them for good or not. Sigh. However, unfortunately, although his premonition of death decreased drastically in the past 10 minutes of following the crows, it''s still present within his consciousness, causing him to helplessly drop the thought- lest he created a mistake and they really die within this ce, then be forgotten in the future... *** Swish~ Darkness already consumed thend as the niches in the surroundings seemed to create a harrowing sight- in addition to the ndness of the ce, making the scene much more forbidding. Slowly, as their eyes wandered around, the faint writing within the niches, covered in thin soil often entered their vision, telling them their names, time of birth, and death- often carrying epitaphs of words on how the deceased died. Their silhouettes (niches) often flickered within the sight of the three, vanishing beyond the thick grey fog and darkness before again appearing after a while, causing the restlessness and anxiousness they were experiencing to increase by folds... Making them feel that everything around them was alive and breathing. Swish. The canopy above rustles with the wind as the silence of the insect that should have appeared on the eve of the night never came, making one''s mortal senses deaf due to the strange peacefulness of the ce. Throb, throb, throb... Slowly, their chest began to beat at an rming rate as they followed the crows toward the unknown, toward the seemingly inevitable death, yet they couldn''t halt nor escape- halting means death, yet following could prolong their life and strive for luck to survive. "Mom, I want to go home...'' The teenager thought in fear. His initial curiosity and amusement as he gazed at the slithering crow already vanished minutes ago, moreover, the sweat on his forehead and back already umted. Although the ce was extremely cold, to the point that he asionally shivered, his body still continued forming sweats... ... Kekeke~ Soon, after minutes of walking, a sudden deep devil-likeugh entered the ears of the three, making them momentarily halt as they gazed toward the origin of the sound- greatly shaken. Gritting their teeth in panic, the armoured man, without hesitation, increased the Qi he provided toward the me on his palm by twice the amount, causing it to increase drastically- illuminating the farnd in the process... Swish! In an instant, the scene of a small farm slowly unfolds within their shocked eyes, followed by the fragrance of upgraded to grade-1 herbs drifting to their nostrils, making them heavily breathe in bliss- forgetting their current situations momentarily. Keke~ Keke~ This... Stiffly lifting their head, the sight of a dark scarecrow, slowly waving its stretchable arms toward their location, directly reflected within their squeezed irises- making their beings cold as their subconsciousness reacted on their own. "F*ck!" Cursing out loud, the armoured man immediately waved the mes within his palm, firing it toward the scarecrow at breathtaking speed, instantly igniting its figure, making itparable to a humanoid torch! KEKE! KEEEKEEE! With a loud cry, the scarecrow unimaginably twisted its upper body in pure agony, crying in high pitch tone as it tried to put the scorching me off its body but only in vain- instead, it only made the matter worse, causing the me to wholly envelop its being! Crackling, Sizzle~ Slowly, its decaying yet wrinkled skin began to melt down, falling off toward the ground as it burned some herbs beneath it- making them slightly charred before being extinguished by the dampness of the atmosphere... Followed by its buttoned eyes beginning to burn simr to hard stic, making the agony reflected within its eyes more unbearable. Huff~ Huff~ Breathing heavily, unable to ascertain the abomination on their front, the man, wearing brown leather armour was about to finish off the scarecrow in the short distance by firing consecutive mes toward it, when suddenly... Beyond their senses, a cold yet dreadful voice resounded within the dark environment- drilling toward their consciousness, making their body seem heavy as if they were wearing cold armour that weighed hundreds of pounds. "Keke~ If I were you I would turn off that fire immediately, or else I might not guarantee you to survive and see the day tomorrow." Leo malevolently enunciates beyond the grey thick fog, unhurriedly manipting his shadow arm to create a long sharp spear- ready to kill the beings in the short distance if they still tried to kill his first sessful puppet... The first living puppet within his creations who had a genuine soul! "This, who...'' Hearing this, Roy frantically scanned the surrounding environment, abruptly feeling that his chest was about to jump outside his body as his premonition was sending him countless rms- almost deafening his senses as he clenched his fist with force... Ready to fight for a slim chance of survival although he knew that it was almost impossible! His premonition had never failed him! ... "This... The natural pressure of the Core Formation realm! A being at the stage of the Core Formation realm was really living in this kind of ce... "This, we are dead, we are really dead this time! "We entered the territory of a Core Formation realm cultivator without asking for permission!" The fear of death began to consume the thoughts of the teenager, making his body tremble involuntarily. His face already pale white began to think at hastened speed, wanting to find a solution for possible survival. "This, why not...'' Knowing that beings who chose to live in this kind of ce often have problems within their minds- a sudden brilliant thought emerges within his feeble consciousness, causing his eyes to light up with a glint, feeling that a chance of survival appeared within his being. "Oh, almightly Core Formation cultivation, I want to sacrifice the two plump beings within my side for a chance of my survival. "If you want, I could even be your servant, cleaning this damp cemetery for you my lord! "If it still does not work, I could find a pure and youngdy for the lord almighty!" The teenager abruptly bends his knees before kowtowing in all directions, causing the expression of the two beside him to instantly contort, not knowing whether tough or cry. "We are almost close step to death yet you want to make the being who was about to kill usugh? "This child is beyond saving, I should have burned those manhuas in the past... Sigh, unfortunately, it was toote now. His personality already changed toward the worst!'' Trying their best not to p their forehead in disappointment, the two quietly thought within their minds... Waiting for the being suspected to be a Core Formation realm cultivator to quickly kill them all, wanting to escape this embarrassing situation! ... This... Ding! [ Congrattions upon being revered by someone for the first time! +5,000 horror points! +4 free attribute points! +1 Medium Enlightenment Stone! ] Leo stared back and forth toward the notification that appeared in front of him and toward the kowtowing teenager in the distance- speechless, to the point that he had forgotten his beautiful n to continuously earn horror points! "This, how could I continue scaring them when his being revered me?" He thought, not knowing what to do as silence again slowly enveloped the ce... Even the cry of the scarecrow in the short distance already stopped at one point! "Keke~ how amusing, besides that who told you that I nned to kill you all?" Thinking for a while, finally unable to bear the silence within, Leo again unhurriedly spoke in a deep voice, subconsciously making his voice soft as it travelled toward the senses of the three. ... "F*ck, not n to kill us all? Then doesn''t that mean he still ns to kill some of us if he is dissatisfied?'' Roy cursed within his mind, his initial excitement upon hearing parts of the unknown being words instantly vanished upon hearing the "all" word at the end of the sentence- almost driving him crazy due to the restless premonition within him. However, opposite the feelings of Roy, the teenager''s eyes further glinted, revealing a brilliance within as if he could already smell the dew of the vibrant grasses and leaves tomorrow- upon being grazed by the morning light. "My lord, so you already tell that I''m safe? "So what kind of job do you want me to do my Lord? Should I clean this cute scarecrow or should I begin sweeping the dry leaves within the cemetery?" The teenager enthusiastically speaks, not waiting for the unknown being to reply as he approaches the scarecrow in the short distance... Making the expression of the two behind him be more dumbfounded. Throb... However, upon reaching 5 meters away from the scarecrow, the teenager''s eyes quivered slightly, fighting the urge to step back and shout as he resisted his instinct... Grimacing, he forcefully smiled as he stiffly continued walking... Walking anxiously toward the seemingly Devil in the short distance. *** Chapter 165: Business Minded, First Follower? "F*ck, isn''t this a skin of a human being! A genuine skin of a f*cking human being!'' In an instant, the reddened yet withered skin of the scarecrow reflected within his eyes, instinctively making him imagine the scene when the almighty Core Formation realm cultivator created it. A living being crying in excruciating pain within a dark concealed room as the unknown being was carefully skinning it alive with a small tweezer, slowly separating it from its flesh, revealing the twitching muscles beyond, frowning to enhance its focus as the thick blood that dyed its hand already became dry due to long hours of skinning... After that, he began slowly stitching it, filling the exterior of the skin with unknown materials- maybe adding severed limbs within for fun. "Probably the core formation realm being was humming a song when he was doing it... "Also probably showing a hint of joy on his face as the cry of the tortured being was reverberating to his ears. "This, I couldn''t anger this Core Formation realm being!'' Feeling that he was threading in a thin rope- falling toward the abyss if he made a mistake, the teenager began cleaning the ground of the farm, smiling forcefully as he carefully removed the charred parts of the scarecrow and the herbs beneath. ... "Keke~ don''t feel afraid, that being deserves it. Who told him to be a devoted believer of the Devil and tried scheming to destroy the town? "Moreover, it even tried to kill me upon noticing their plot? Unfortunately, I didn''t receive much information on his mouth before he died... "Still, I really like how devil''s spawn cry in agony and despair." Leo exined unhurriedly as his imperceptible figure moved from time to time, causing the beings who heard his demonic voice to instinctively feel extreme anxiety- feeling the anger that ran toward Leo''s physique reverberating toward their consciousness, influencing them as if the demonic voice of Leo carried unprecedented temptation within. "Devil!? The devils began to target the town!?" Hearing this, the eyes of Roy and the man wearing leather armour changed abruptly, making them tense upon remembering the scene of the town before they left- feeling enlightened upon hearing that the devil spawn was scheming toward the town. "No wonder, the situation in the town abruptly changed when the Nascent Soul being preceding within entered the depths of the Endless Forest to deal with those beasts." Roy sighed, unknown whether thankful that he left the town before the devil''s spawn began executing their scheme or sigh due to them being unlucky. Escaping the impending danger within the town but only to enter another equally threatening den... Just thinking of it, Roy couldn''t help but again issue a long heavy sigh of helplessness. ... "Keke~ yes, you all seem aware of the existence of the devil, making further exnation unnecessary. "Since you all escaped from the town in this kind of dangerous time, I guess you all were finding a ce to hide. Did I get it right?" Knowing where the next sentences were about to get, the expression of the three couldn''t help but be gloomy- wanting to deny the unknown being words but couldn''t get the courage to speak to. "Keke~ Why not stay in this ce for a while? You might not know but I''m extremely hospitable being... "It''s quite perfect actually, I already got tired talking to my puppets and toward the decease within the cemetery all day long~ "It might be different if I talk to normal human beings... It would surely ease my boredom~" Sure enough, the thing that they wanted to avoid the most resounded within their ears, making their expression nk as theyughed mindlessly... Their mind seems to have already copsed just by looking at the things around them... They couldn''t fathom how they were going to stay with those disgusting puppets and nd niches around them all day long. It would probably make them also crazy, right!? *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon scaring a being for consecutive 10 times for the first time! +5,000 horror points! +6 free attributes! +1 Medallion of Forceful upgrade! ] Seeing that the three didn''t reply after a couple of minutes of momentary silence, Leo grinned demonically before continuing- thinking that he could set rent daily so he could earn extra money. (of course, the basic currency would be horror points!) Keke~ I didn''t expect that I was a little natural at doing business... "Keke~ great seems you all ept... You can use the old wooden house for your current residential area, besides that, carry those two with you..." nk~ nk~ Upon uttering those words, the sound of crisp clinking akin to moving bones suddenly resounded within the dark environment- beyond the thick grey fog that greatly hindered their vision, causing the three to instantly shift their gaze toward the origin of the sounds. Soon, slowly, the sight of the 2 silver skeletons, carrying two bloodied figures began to unfold toward their sight- exiting the thick fog as their empty sockets glint with ferocious darkness beyond one''s imagination, making them gulp audible as they immediately scanned the two beings that the silver skeletons were carrying. "This... My Lo~Lord, did you kill them, did you really kill them?" Seeing the battered figure of Andress and Khael, to the point that he could almost not ascertain their identities, the teenager couldn''t help but ask in a soft voice- concealing the dread within his being as he carefully approached the two. "Keke~ unfortunately, no. I just punish them upon destroying one of my puppets..." "Then it''s good. Fortunately, they were still alive... My lord what I meant is, that they really deserve to be beaten, who told them to destroy those beautiful beings!" The teenager said loudly, secretly wiping the forming sweat on his forehead as he silently gazed at the pale rotten face of the doll in the short distance, cursing within his mind on how good he was at acting! "Huff~ I almost made a mistake earlier, such an id*otic person!'' ... "Is he serious?" Roy lightly shook his head upon hearing the whisper of the man beside him, silently gazing at the teenager who was seriously tending the wounds of the two in the distance- clearly also unaware if the teenager was earnest on pleasing the unknown being or just pretending to survive. However, thinking of the behaviour of the child in the past few days, there''s a good chance that it was the former. Sigh... "Never mind, we had no other choice- every ce was extremely dangerous, we could only gamble for luck... Hopefully.'' "Hopefully, the Goddess of Luck above us grazed his pity toward our pitiful being...'' *** Soon, quietly watching the departing silhouettes of the three men, carefully carrying the heavy bodies of the two unconscious men toward the old wooden house in the far distance. Leo leisurely retracted his gaze, looking at Skeleton #2 on the ground as he secretly gestured toward it. nk. (Understood.) Understanding what his master wanted to convey, the silver skeleton lightly nodded his silver skull toward the surrounding darkness- nking weakly before unhurriedly and secretly began tailing the 5 humans in the distance. nk, nk (How about me heartless... Almighty Necromancer?) Skeleton #1 created a crisp nking sound, staring at the humans in interest before shifting its gaze toward the shadow beside it- clearly also wanting to join the fun... "You? The pit still needed someone to guard it. Besides that, you will switch with Skeleton #2 every 2 days to observe the humans in case they want to leave the cemetery without giving their rent... "Moreover, you two still needed to focus on cultivation and quickly strive to advance toward the Core Formation realm!" Leo said with a frown, knowing that it also started bing bored from guarding the pit all day long. Although its strength increases daily by absorbing the death Qi of the ce, it''s still unsatisfied with how life works... (It''s a normal behaviour of sentient beings, they often do not cherish the thing they currently have and often wish for something that wasn''t present in them.) nk. (Yes.) Skeleton #1 nks in a low voice, half disappointed as it begins to drag its skeleton body toward the pit, sighing at how hard the life of skeletons was. Shaking his head in amusement, seeing the flickering eyes of Skeleton #1 in the far distance, Leo smiled leisurely as he scanned it with his soul scan, wanting to see its progress in the past weeks. Ding! [ Mutated Skeleton of Horror +2 Species: Undead ss Job: Sin of Corruption (Unique +1) Cultivation Technique: (High-Heaven) Fiendish Emperor! Innate skill: Eyes of Nightmare +1, Believer of Darkness (Ungraded +1), Seed of Sin (Ungraded +1). Rules: Rule of Undead Synergy (4%) Physique: Body of Sin +1 ______Atrributes______ Level: Late-Foundation Level 12 (29%) Free attribute: 0 Health: 200/200 Qi: 340/340 Stamina: 200/200 Strength: 120 Speed: 100 Qi Power: 115 Soul Power: 190 ______Skills______ Advanced Intelligence (Rare lvl 5), Stab (Common lvl 5), Sword Mastery ( Umon lvl 5), Laugh of Nightmare (Rare lvl 5), Sword Aura (Rare lvl 5), Sharpness (Umon lvl 5), Decaying touch (Rare +1). ss Job Skills: Untainted by Curse (Epic lvl 3), Corruption (Unique lvl 3), Creature of the Abyss (Epic lvl 1) ] ... [ Creature of the Abyss (Epic): Gain basic immunity toward the corruption of the abyss, making one''s mentality and being unaffected upon being grazed by its aura! Effects: Mental Energy and Soul Power permanently increase by 10 ] *** Chapter 166: Upgrading the Planting skill with Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! "Ehh, this little fellow managed to grasp a rule?" Leo revealed a stunned expression on his shadow face, not expecting that thezy Skeleton #1 was lucky and talented enough to grasp a rule on his own. If Skeleton #1 continued increasing its understanding of the rule itprehended, then there''s a good chance that it could create an iplete domain on its own even though it still hadn''t stepped toward the Core Formation realm! "This, why do I suddenly feel that it was much more talented than I am?" Leo thought, although his aplishment right now seemed above Skeleton #1 by folds, Leo waspletely aware that most of it, was thanks to the system care! If there''s no system, then the only rule he mightprehend right now is the Rule of Life Nature! Moreover, his understanding of it might be less than 10%! "This, I couldn''t continue like this! I needed to finish upgrading my ss job in the shortest time possible!" Leo thought in determination- afraid that skeleton #1 would again entertain the thought of making him its ve upon closing the gap between the two. Huff~ "Cultivate for tonight before creating potions in the morning, after that, earn extra horror points to fuse skills and strengthen it!" Gazing at the darkness above, Leo quietly observed its empty beauty for a while before leisurely shifting his gaze to his character panel- checking his horror points, or to be exact, wanting to check how many horror points he earned from scaring the 5 earlier. Ding! [ Horror points: 95,000 ] Keke~ Not bad, it could at leastst for weeks. Seeing this, Leo revealed a rare smile on his face that was akin to a malicious grin, feeling that scarring others was more profitable than doing dozens of aplishments and first-times... Shifting his gaze toward the badly burned scarecrow in the distance, Leo shook his head in disappointment, feeling that it was really naive to let the man earlier burn his body. "Well, I couldn''t me it since it was literally a newborn, its being still hadn''t suffered a setback. "Moreover, its intelligence was almostparable to a 5-year-old child..." Again shaking his head, Leo unhurriedly took out a healing bottle within his inventory before hurriedly tossing it toward the scarecrow- attentively watching it blissfully drink the liquid as its badly burned skin began to recover at a slow yet visible speed. Keke~ After seeing that its wound was not already grievous, Leo leisurely bought a permanent speed potion within the shop, spending 1,000 horror points in the process before giving it to the scarecrow. Keke? "Just ept it, however, help me scare the five humans earlier if you have a chance! We still need to earn horror points to get more potion like this!" Keke! (Understood!) Nodding his head, Leo slightly waved his shadow hands as he began harvesting the herbs he nted weeks ago, putting them within his inventory before opening the shop within the system- nning to buy another batch of herbs to nt. "Low-ungraded nts could no longer satisfy me, I should try nting herbs that range at least High-ungraded to grade 1 nts." With a quick thought, Leo immediately searched for the spiritual nts within the system, wanting to find nts that grow quickly but at the same time quite helpful toward the Foundation and Core Formation realm. It''s best if it could increase stats even if it was one per fruit! ~~Spiritual Tree, Seed, and Herbs Shop~~ 1: Snake Vine (High-ungraded): A vine that hasbat ability equivalent to peak mortal realm! Upon its peak, it would bear a small fruit that could increase the Qi of cultivators below the Core Formation realm! Cost: 2,500 Horror points per vine! 2: Sweet Cmansi Bearing Tree (High-ungraded): A famous ungraded tree that grows little vibrant green fruits! Its fruit carried potent properties that could be used for healing internal wounds! Cost: 3,000 Horror points per sapling! 3: Bane Gumam (Low-grade 1): A mesmerizing flower that carries poison within, a single whiff of its flower could instantly kill a Mortal being and make a foundation realm cultivator paralyze for hours! However, to beings who had poison elements within them, consuming its flower would strengthen their ability and strength by amount! Cost: 5,000 horror points per sapling! 4: Spiritual Profound Potato... ] Soon, after scrolling for a couple of minutes, Leo finally settled toward the three spiritual herbs he found with difficulty, sighing in relief as he again read their description seriously- to ensure that he didn''t pick the wrong one. Ding! [ Giant Spiritual Moringa (Middle-grade 1): A spiritual herb that contained unimaginable wonders within. Its single giant leaves could sustain a mortal being for days, helping them increase their cultivation speed, natural recovery, and Qi recovery by amount! Cost: 7,500 horror points per sapling! ] - 15,000 horror points! Buying it immediately with little hesitation, Leo immediately took out the sapling within his inventory in excitement- making his shadow being fluctuate a little in the process. In an instant, the thick brown tree body, which was as thick as one''s shoulder immediately and mysteriously appeared within his grasp, almost making his body tilt forward due to its unexpected weight... Huff~ Shifting his gaze upward, the green vibrant leaves, as big as one''s adult fist instantly greeted his sight, making his senses twitch upon sensing its beneficial effects on his being. This... "Amazing! Even though it was only a sapling, it could already increase my cultivation speed by amount!'' Leo eximed within his mind, couldn''t hide his excitement as he immediately began nting it within the reach of the scarecrow. Although it was not that exaggerated, nheless, it could still increase his cultivation speed by more than 2%- making his abyssal eyes glint in satisfaction. Moreover, it was only at its early stage of growth! Leo expected that its effect would increase by amount after reaching its peak! Shaking his head, again focusing on the shop, Leo hurriedly read the two herbs'' descriptions, buying it immediately upon ensuring of their effects. "2 yellow morning berries and 1 sapling of purple starlight fruit... Costing almost 20,000 horror points, fortunately, it would greatly help me in the future (based on their descriptions)." Slightly stretching his shadow being, Leo leisurely opened his character panel before scrolling toward the skills below, deciding to upgrade his nting skill toward the next level with the help of Medallion of Forceful Upgrade- wanting to increase its effectiveness in order to hasten the growth speed of his spiritual nts. "It would be a great loss for me if I entered the Nascent Soul realm yet the herbs that I nted still hadn''t ripened..." Ding! [ Upgrading Basic Farming (Common) to Intermediate Farming (Umon) would cost 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! (ept/ Declined)? ] "ept..." Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading Basic Farming (Common) Level 5 to Intermediate Farming (Umon) Level 1! ] Ding! [ Intermediate Farming (Level 5) (Umon): The intermediate knowledge of farming. Gaining deep knowledge and ability regarding how to nt, care, and harvest nts and herbs. Effects: Increase the speed, quality, and quantity of the spiritual herbs and nts within your care by 10%! (Only work below grade-3 spiritual nts!) Upgrade cost: 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade and 5,000 horror points! ] ... "It''s stillcking, but it would do for now..." Leo thought, wanting to upgrade the skill to reach Rare rarity at the very least but only to give up the thought upon seeing that his medallion of forceful upgrade already entered zero in number. "Sigh, If I wanted to upgrade it to the Rare level, I at least needed to wait for more than a week to umte medallions... "Well, I could upgrade it much earlier if I was lucky enough to obtain a medallion of forceful upgrade... However, with my luck, I wouldn''t rely on that..." Gazing toward the niches in the far distance, musing with his thoughts, Leo weakly sighed under his breath, shaking his shadow head as he dragged his body toward the forsaken pit... "There''s so much thing to do, however, I needed to prioritize my strength and strive to quickly reach the core formation realm. "Based on the reactions of the humans earlier (leaving the town to avoid the chaos within), the town''s situation already entered a dangerous state. "If I still haven''t reached the core formation realm this week, there''s a good chance that my jinx skill would make everything within my reach suffer... Including me." ... Crack... The sound of crisp bones cracking continuously echoed within the darkness as Leo''s being hit the ground. Surveying the surrounding void, Leo silently curled his lips up, feeling the familiar energy (Qi) within the surroundings- making his instinct to scream toward himself to absorb its vastness. "I need to increase my understanding of my cultivation technique... I remember that increasing my knowledge regarding it greatly helped me increase my absorption of Qi in the surroundings." Unhurriedly sitting down on the cold wet ground, Leo immediately took out a small Enlightenment stone from his inventory, closing his senses as he began delving toward its vastness- causing the passage to again enter its previous serenity... *** Chapter 167: Reaching the very peak of the Foundation Realm! Caw! Caw! Caw! The loud sound of crow cawing, originating from the tall canopy above, quickly resounded within the dark and nd cemetery, greeting the slowly rising sun on the far horizon- dissipating parts of thick grey fog on the tranquilnd as its heat quietly grazed parts of its vastness. Within the damp wooden house, deep within the cemetery. The bloodshot eyes of the three humans hurriedly gazed at the ball of the floating me above the far horizon upon seeing its yellowish light lightly illuminate the exterior of the room, heavily sighing in relief upon finally seeing the light of the day- causing their restless and panic being to calm down drastically. "We survive... we survive upon staying in this ce for a night!" The teenager weakly mumbled under his breath- half dazed due to theck of sleep as he lightly clenched his semi-paralyzed palm, almost couldn''t believe that everything transpired yesterday night. Although the unknown being already gave them his assurance of safety, their paranoia didn''t allow them to easily trust any stranger. Moreover, in addition to the environment they were currently in and the craziness of the unknown being (based on their perspective), their wariness reached its peak! Causing them to immediately wake up upon hearing the slightest amount of noise- hence to their current state... "Should we leave this ce and find a new ce to hide?" Upon momentary silence, the man wearing leather armour speaks in a deep hushed voice, gazing toward the two unconscious men on the bed in the corner of the room before unhurriedly shifting his gaze toward the haggard yet pale faces of the two. "Sigh... Where to go? We survive a night in this ce, it only means that it was doable to hide for a while in this kind of ce. "Besides that, did you notice any beasts that entered this forsaken ce?" Roy asks with unprecedented seriousness, his gaze not leaving the rising sun as he ponders cautiously... Deducting the best oue for them. "This, no..." After thinking for a second, the teenager and the man shook their head in unison, also sighing in conflict. "Indeed, the core formation realm cultivator couldn''t protect the vastness of the cemetery every time... It only means that some of his puppet''s strengths reach at least the Foundation realm! "That alone already makes this ce safe!" Roy replied in a heavy tone, unable to understand why he still hadn''t heard of a particr being that could create a moving puppet within the town. "Did the Nascent Soul being within the town want to hide the being residing within this ce to catch the future enemy off guard?'' He lightly thought, couldn''t fathom how those powerhouse minds work. However, without enough proof, Roy could only guess blindly- wanting to find reason even though it was unclear. *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon scaring beings for 100 times in a single night! +10,000 horror points! +10 free attribute points! +2 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! ] Huff~ Within the forsaken pit, where lights weren''t allowed to illuminate. Dense amount of rich darkness could be seen hastily surging toward a single location, creating a sphere of anomaly beyond one''s knowledge as the being within it hurriedly absorbs its unprecedented energy... Huff~ Within, the continuously heavy sound of breathing, akin to countless cries of souls quietly spread toward the innumerable passages that lead to the unknown- making the curious abomination within to hurriedly scramble without a thought. +10 exp! +10 exp! +10 exp! Slowly, the Qi, or to be exact, the sphere of darkness enveloping the unknown being began to shrink in size- slowly unfolding the shadow being within its centre as the Qi (darkness) visibly entered its gaping mouth... Circting within its unknown physique before resting within its illusionary core- increasing the umtion of its Qi in the process... +10 exp! Ding! [ Congrattions upon reaching the very peak of the Foundation realm! +5,000 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +1 High Enlightenment Stone! ] Boom! Abruptly opening his eyes, the void seemed to suffer a momentary stillness before a loud imaginary sound resounded within the enclosed passage, pushing the ink-ck water beneath forward- creating a wave that rippled toward the far distance. Huff~ "Finally, I finally reach the peak of the foundation realm! "I could even immediately initiate advancing toward the Core Formation realm if I circte my Qi for a while!" Leo eximed within his being, feeling that he could focus all of his Qi toward his illusionary core any time he wanted to start breaking through above his realm... However, Leo doesn''t n to do that yet since he still hasn''t prepared enough! He stillcks the confidence to endure and face the unending onught of lightning that would appear in the middle of his breakthrough! "Keke~ There''s no rush, it''s better if I prepared more so I could avoid unnecessary risk.'' Leo thought with a demonic grin, unable to hide the fluctuation of his shadow being due to pure anticipation upon thinking of the changes he would gain after advancement... He concluded that his strength would at least increase by folds upon advancement (based on his guess upon watching the advancement of the white rabbit)! Smiling foolishly, Leo leisurely opened his character panel to see his current attribute stats- wanting to see the difference after he advances toward the Core Formation realm, for futureparison. Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Demon/Mid-level Entity (20%) Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Common)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion, Sinful Desire! Physique: Shadow Body! Rules: Life Nature (31%), Fear of the Unknown (15%), Despair (3%) ___ Attributes ___ Level: 20 Peak-Foundation Realm( 20,000/20,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 0 Health: 250/250 Qi: 600/600 Stamina: 250/250 Strength: 140 Speed: 120 Qi Power: 275 Soul Power: 400 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 7), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 6), Jinx (Lvl 5), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 5), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 5), Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 9), Condense Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 6), Strong Physique (Lvl 5), Iplete Domain (Lvl 6)... ss Job Skill: Advance Potion Knowledge (Lvl 5), Advance Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl 5)... ... Horror Points: 100,500! ... "Keke~ Great! Two of my attribute stats actually entered above 250 in number! "Moreover, my soul attribute even entered the staggering 400 in amount!" Leo excitedly thought as he casually examined his half-solid soul in anticipation- making him clench his shadow palm in eagerness upon noticing that he almost gained the physical embodiment of the soul, the literal physical body of the soul based on the knowledge of his cultivation technique! A physical body that didn''t rely on the "Physical Body of the Soul" skill to materialize! Exhaling softly, calming his surging emotions within. Leo began to summarize the new knowledge he had learned from his "Undying Soul Conqueror" cultivation technique... Making him fall into deep thought before finally mumbling under his voice... *** "I actually didn''t manage to fullyprehend the first parts of my cultivation technique, almost causing me to miss the chance of gaining a physical body!" Fortunately, I use a couple of enlightenment stones toward it, increasing myprehension by levels! Perfectly allowing me to delve toward its vastness before I advance! Leo thought thankfully- pausing for a while before again continuing speaking in a low voice, leisurely letting the cold ink-ck water beneath him seep toward his being. "The first step toward the materialisation of the soul... "Making the soul dense that even a mortal being was able to discern it (100 soul power attributes). "Condense and Shrink the soul power toward the surface of the soul, causing it to be able to interfere with the material world, although a little. (250 soul power attributes). "Upon condensing the soul, making one''s soul manifestation clear- slowly began to temper it using external force... until one''s soul achieved a corporeal form, sessfully attaining the physical embodiment of the soul that was almostparable to a normal physique! (500 soul power attributes.)" Moreover, upon tempering the soul, he would still retain the advantages of being a soul species and some of the advantages of having a physical body! Making his being and strength above the normal standards of humans and soul species in the same realm! Sigh. "There are a lot of secrets within this cultivation technique, making me wonder whether the one who created it was also a soul being or an immortal.'' ... ncing toward the depths of the passage, letting his thoughts wander for a good while. Leo unhurriedly stood up from the ground, causing the ink-ck water that stuck to his shadow being flow downward, unhindered. "Huff~ It''s morning again, I should start creating potions to upgrade my ss job, "It''s best if it advances toward the umon grade before I start breaking through toward the core formation realm!" Leo thought in determination as he rushed toward the surface of thend, leaving a blur behind his previous location, making the wind part away... *** Chapter 168: Upgrading the Class Job to Uncommon Grade (1)! Thick grey fog (almost turning into liquid due to Leo''s high soul power) silently shrouded the ce, greatly hindering the senses of beings within in the process. Perfectly hiding Leo''s figure in its centre, as he quietly gazed toward the ck cauldron in his front. On his face, a dark gloomy look could be discerned. Although his shadow face was dark to begin with due to his shadow physique, his current face appeared much more darker than usual. "This... I already run out of materials to process and create into potions! "Huff~ This f**king Jinx! I onlyck 100 potions to upgrade my ss job yet, I coincidentally ran out of materials when it was about to advance!" Leo cursed within his mind, heavily signing as he gazed at his almost empty inventory before stiffly shifting his gaze toward the messy yet clean sculpted table in a short distance. Huff~ Pondering slightly, feeling that he finally needed to re-stack herbs and get rid of the umted potions within his inventory. Leo unhurriedly stood up, hiding the cauldron and items within his inventory before silently gazing toward the nd niches in the surroundings, taking a long deep breath as he began to move in the direction of the old wooden house at a hurried speed... Causing the fog behind to churn greatly as a weak breeze lightly parted its density. *** "This, potions? Where did these potionse from? "Moreover, based on the colour of the liquid within the bottles, there should be at least 3 different types of potions!" Andress suddenly eximed in pure puzzlement and greed upon seeing the 20 potions perfectly aligned beside the entrance of the wooden house- swiftly calcting within his mind how much Earth Gold he would earn if he sold them all within the town... "With these, I could at least earn 400 earth gold if I sell them all, enough to buy a house in the inner realm of the town!'' He thought, feeling his palm slowly be itchy as he silently cast his scan toward it- instantly making his mouth turn agape upon seeing their quality... Hearing themotion he created, the 4 bored yet sleepless humans within the house immediately rush toward his location, also bing silent as they stare at the potions on the ground with desire. "Indeed, moreover, their quality seems high...'' Roy thought, secretly wiping his exhausted eyes to ensure that he was not imagining things nor beginning to hallucinate due to theck of sleep. As they were hesitating whether to hide the bottle within their inventory and make them their own, the sound of the familiar demonic voice,ing from the depths of the unknown, suddenly resounded within their consciousness. "Keke~ Help me sell the potions toward the town and buy the herbs and spiritual fruits within the list... the more, the better. "In addition, try to buy defensive skills within, Common to Elite Rarity skill would suffice." Seeing the glint in the eyes of the 5, unable to conceal their greed under his deliberate prying... Leo suddenly released a light chuckle, causing the expression of the five to abruptly freeze, making their faces instantly be pale as if remembering the things that transpired yesterday night. However, the next second, upon the momentary silence, the teenager suddenly spoke in gusto, unfolding the forced smile on his face. "This, My lord, you''re the one who created these potions? "No wonder they all look high in quality! Moreover, I didn''t expect that master''s ss job actually included potion-making!" He uttered in pure excitement, smoothly changing his way of identifying the suspected core formation realm being from the previous "My Lord" to "Master" in a matter of seconds- with reverend reflected within his eyes, making the expression of the 5 (including Leo) to be dumbfounded. ... Revealing an amused expression on his shadow face upon hearing the exaggerated praises of the teenager... Leo deliberately began releasing his soul power toward the surroundings (at least 100 in soul power), instantly causing the void to suffer an unprecedented suppression, seemingly warping the ce as if it couldn''t resist the pressure he was emitting. Mysteriously making his aura exhibit a small pressure akin to the natural pressure released by a newly ascended Core Formation realm being as he began to speak in a cold yet emotionless voice. A thing that he learned upon meticulously observing the advancement of the silver rabbit days ago. Making him conclude that the origin of the pressure released by high-level beings was rted to soul power. A thing that makes sense upon understanding that "Soul Power" stats were rare, to begin with. At least Leo still hadn''t seen a being who had soul power on their stats other than him and his two adorable silver skeletons. "You two, the teenager and the man with thick brows, would go to the town. "I need the materials and skill before the night arrives... Or else, Keke~" Leo slowly uttered in his demonic voice, making his voice that carried weak suppression to quickly envelop the ce- causing the 5 to immediately feel an unprecedented coldness within that quickly crept toward their being and bones... Followed by its malicious message that entered within their consciousness, activating their instinctive fear. At the same time, in the distance, the thick grey fog beyond began to churn greatly, slowly unfolding the sight of almost a hundred puppets within, all staring at them with those lifeless and cruel eyes... Making their expression crumble under the intense pressure they subconsciously release. "This, almost 30 of the puppets on the opposite side have the strength that could at least rival any normal Foundation realm beings! This... this ce is horrifying! We couldn''t provoke the being in this ce!'' The group thought in dread, finally able to glimpse some of the strength hidden in this forbidden ce! Knowing that they had no choice, Roy and Drake gritted their teeth in fear, building their courage as they epted the demand of the unknown being with helplessness. ... "Keke~ don''t worry, I don''t n to take advantage of you two." Seeing their helpless expression, Leo suddenly spoke, retracting the soul power within the surroundings as he casually tossed 2 healing potions toward the two... Instantly making the expression of the two became momentarily stiff upon being caught off guard, not expecting that the being would suddenly throw something in their direction, almost making them shout in fear due to the misunderstanding. Ding! +2,500 horror points! Regaining their senses, the two secretly exchanged nces, unfolding the relief within their unfocused eyes as they immediately hid the potions within their inventory. "Do~ don''t worry master, we will immediately buy the thing you wanted!" The teenager patted his chest in happiness upon obtaining a potion for free- almost couldn''t believe that he easily gained one just by running an errand! "How amazing! If I was in town, it would probably take me at least 5 to 7 days of saving just to buy 1! However, I almost died due to a heart attack earlier upon the unknown being tossed the potion towards me! How embarrassing!'' *** Soon, finally seeing the slowly vanishing silhouettes of the two beyond the rusting gate at the entrance of the cemetery, Leo leisurely retracted his gaze as he began to move toward the depths of the cemetery... Not a bit anxious that the two would run off with his hard-created potions... However, even if he made a mistake and guessed incorrectly, then the three human beings in the old wooden house don''t need to continue living. "Keke~ after killing those three, then I just need to find them within the town before also finishing them off. "No, that was too easy, it''s best if I torture them first before killing them off for good! Maybe I should also try to get their skin so I could create another scarecrow... "Nheless, I wouldn''t believe that they would still dare to exit the town if they stole my potions. Keke~" ... This... In the far distance, deep within the silent forest, minutes away from the cemetery. Roy suddenly halted on his track as cold sweats began to trickle down his back, feeling that his premonition was acting again, sending him a signal of dread. "Are you okay?" Seeing that Roy halted on his track, the teenager beside him asked in concern, not able to see the fear within the eyes of thetter. "Huff~ yes, I probably justck sleep." Regaining his senses. Roy lightly shook his head, nodding slightly before continuing moving forward- entertaining the thought of noting back but only for him to helplessly sigh upon remembering that the three were still within the cemetery- being held hostages by the unknown being. Besides that, with the things he saw earlier, he could already ascertain that the being was really a part of the town... Moreover, the being probably held a high position within (based on the being cultivation realm and ss job that was suspected to include potion making) Huff~ even in the town, there were only 7 humans who could create potions and pills... Making every one of them an important asset to the town. *** Chapter 169: The Beginning of the Nightmare 3 (Day-1) The Beginning of Nightmare 3 (Day-1) Blood silently dyed the epasses of thend, creating a small puddle of thick crimson that seeped towards soft soil on the ground... Making the current Earth to beparable to a living hell. Within the dpidated park, countless bodies could be seen lifelessly lying on the ground, their eyes wide open as their rich emotion that carried dread, pain, and puzzlement still reflected within their nd eyes. Their bodies, which were still excreting flesh blood even though they were already dead unfolded towards the fissure above that revealed the unimaginable darkness beyond one''s knowledge. ... Rustle~ Twitch, Twitch. Soon, after an unknown period of time, a sudden cracking sound suddenly reverberated within the ce as the dead bodies on the cold ground began to unimaginable twitch. Creating rhythmic sounds as their stiff body slowly began to stand up one by one, making beings that were still alive, nearby, begin to shriek in horror and fear, making the original chaotic ce more chaotic- unable toprehend the thing that was unfolding in their very eyes... Feeling that the Earth was about to copse, not in a reasonable way but beyond their imagination. In addition to the things that were happening within their sight. Above, toward the far horizon, unknown beings and beasts that could only be found in one''s nightmare and ancient books began to appear within their senses. Their beings naturally exude a ferocious and baleful aura as they casually destroy establishments within their way, not affected by normal guns as they eye every being with greed and desire... Laughing happily as they start reaping lives within their reach, treating everyone''s life equal to an ant, consuming their flesh and bones with bliss, making everyone run mindlessly... Although it was in vain. ... "Brother... We need to hide, quickly wake up." Within one of the alleys, Araw could be seen holding his bloody brown teddy bear dearly, weakly shaking the lifeless body of the man on the ground with a teary voice, staring at the fissure above in fear. "Mom, where are you I''m scared...'' Twitch~ twitch~ Soon, as if his prayers were being heard by an unknown God, the lifeless man on the ground suddenly issued a consecutive twitching, groaning in a disordered voice as it slowly used its stiff arm, pushing the concrete beneath it to slowly raise its heavy body. Groan! "This, brother you are finally awake! Quick, we need to hide away from this ce!" Seeing that the unknown man was slowly standing up with great difficulty, the child revealed relief on his innocent face, taking a swallow deep breath as he stared at the appearance of the man opposite him. In an instant, the unknown man''s unfocused yet nd eyes began to move slowly under the sight of the child... Followed by the sticky white saliva that had a mixture of blood in it, dripping from the corner of its mouth before sticking towards its bloody shirt reflected to the eyes of the worried child. Groan~ "Brother, are you okay? Mommy said if someone was unwell we immediately needed to call a doctor..." Araw uttered in concern, instinctively stepping backwards upon seeing the strange behaviour of thetter. Although he wanted to approach the brother who he deemed good, there was an elusive voice within his mind that told him to run away, stay away from the human in front of him! Groan~ Crack, Crack. Slowly, the sounds of continuously cracking bones resounded within the alley... as the stiff moving corpse of the man unhurriedly gazed in the direction of the child in the short distance with great desire. Opening its bloody mouth, revealing the bleeding gums within, the corpse suddenly released a grotesque yet horrifying sound, making the child''s face instantly turn pale as his lips slightly tremble, turning purple in the process... "Bro-brother..." The child mumbled weakly under his breath, stepping backwards (two times in a row) as he gripped the bloody brown teddy bear within his hands in conflict. As he was hesitating whether to approach the being in the distance or just run away, the corpse''s stiff body suddenly moved forward in an unstable way, sluggishly walking akin to a being carrying a hundred pounds of weight before slowly gaining its bnce, causing its speed to increase drastically in the process... Although it was still notparable to a man''s walking at a hurried pace, however, in the child''s perspective, the man''s speed was considerably fast! ... Throb, Throb, Throb. Fear gripped the being of the child, causing his young mind to be nk in the process- eyes wide awake as he stared at the groaning man that he deemed good hurriedly opened its bloody mouth, slowly approaching his tender flesh, beholding the unknown instinctive desire that shouldn''t appear in this current era. "Bro-brother..." He weakly mumbled unconsciously, wanting to wake up from this realistic nightmare of his but only in vain, gulping as he could only helplessly watch the approaching man in his front... Unable to move due to the unknown fear that stemmed within his being. Boom! However, before the gaping mouth of the corpse ripped parts of the child''s tender flesh, only inches away from it, a sudden metallic gleam suddenly shed within the corner of the child''s face, followed by the sound of metal hitting a solid substance... Causing the corpse''s skull to issue a crisp cracking sound as some of its blood with a mixture of thick sticky flesh sshed toward the child''s dumbfounded face- causing his innocent yet pale face to carry a bloody aura within. ... "Damn! What was really happening in this world!? Did the government finally go mad and decide to release a virus that would destroy the world!?" An angry voice suddenly resounded beside the dumbfounded child, making the child''s eyes twitch a little as he regained a bit of his senses- stiffly gazing at the man on the ground, toward the empty scalp on its head, twitching violently as it begins to stand up with great difficulty in pure dread- he didn''t know what really dread was but the feeling within his young being allowed him to understand the corner of it. Groan~ Hearing the familiar groaning sound of the corpse in the distance, the man stiffly shifted his gaze toward the origin of the sound- feeling despair and depressed upon seeing that it was again moving toward their direction... as if nothing had happened. "F**king durability!" The man cursed loudly, holding the metal bat in his right hand as he immediately carried the unmoving child in his left arm, swiftly moving toward the closed door in the far distance of the alley- knowing that he wouldn''t be able to kill the corpse off within a short period of time, besides that, he was also not ready to kill a being, even though it was a corpse! "Besides that, how could I kill a corpse!? It was dead to begin with!'' Boom! Widening the gap between the moving corpse and him. The man, upon reaching the front of the closed door in the far distance of the alley... Immediately raised his left foot before heavily kicking the door, causing his body to tilt backwards due to the intense force he used- almost causing them to fall towards the concrete ground on their back, fortunately, he managed to control his bnce in time... "F*ck, this door was locked!" He cursed within his voice, not forgetting to throw a nce toward the approaching corpse in the distance before again issuing another round of kicking toward the closed door. Boom! Boom! Soon, after kicking the door for another 6 times, the man heavily gasped for air, giving up for a while as he tried to recover his stamina- gritting his teeth with force as he stared at the closed door in despair. Gasp~ Not knowing what to do, the man slowly put the metal bat beside the concrete wall nearby, sighing heavily as he reached the doorknob with his free hand... Turning it over with suspense building within his being. Click! Soon, in an instant, the closed door issued a weak clicking sound before opening slightly, causing his eyes to immediately discern some things hidden within the interior of the building- making his mouth gape due to surprise. "This... F**cking luck! "No, f**cking idiocy, It was open to begin with!" He cursed in embarrassment, trying to conceal the redness of his face as he immediately entered the building, not forgetting his bat before closing the door with a boom... Boom! At the same time, upon entering the ce, the building opposite them suddenly crumbles due to unknown reasons- causing thend to issue a quake, making the corpse and the man nearby stumble... "This..." Swish! Swish! The man still hadn''t finished speaking when suddenly, his senses managed to hear a swishing sound within the atmosphere... Followed by the intense sound of an explosion that sends waves toward the environment, making him and the child within his shoulder to be momentary deaf. *** Chapter 170: Breaking Through Toward The Core Formation Realm (1)! Leo happily received the materials, herbs, and spiritual fruit he needed from the silver hands of Skeleton #2. In addition to the 6 scrolls of defensive skills that ranged frommon to elite rarity and the hundreds of earth gold within the small container, Leo couldn''t help but nod his shadow head in satisfaction. "Huff~ Finally, I could finally upgrade my ss job tonight or tomorrow morning! "I could finally learn two new skills! Hopefully, it was not about creating potions or something that required production!" Leo thought emotionally, to the point of almost crying upon remembering how hard it was to satisfy the requirements of his ss job... remembering that it almost took him months just to have the opportunity to finally upgrade his ss job to the umon grade! Wiping his imaginary tears, Leo leisurely set his gaze toward the dazed expression of Roy and the teenager in the short distance in pure puzzlement... Their thoughts were clearly upied since they arrived within the cemetery earlier. Huff~ Noticing this, Leo amusedly shook his head, not a bit curious about the things that they see and experience within the town as he casually reasoned within his mind. "Keke~ even if the town was destroyed, who cares? The only thing that matters to me right now is to advance toward the Core Formation realm andprehend the vastness of the Dao! "Moreover, with how the devil spawn schemed with great difficulty, it already shows that their current strength was stillcking in order to fight the weakened town head-on! "Keke~ still, even though theyck the ability to destroy the town, they would be able to at least kill hundreds of citizens within... "Sigh... No matter how the situation turned, it would only benefit me in the end!" Thinking of this, Leo''s shadow physique couldn''t help but fluctuate greatly in pure excitement, already missing the blissful taste of the despair and fear of the beings within the town- almost causing his shadow physique to salivate just by reminiscing of its unforgettable taste. ... nk, nk? (Master, are you feeling alright?) Seeing that his master was again smiling foolishly on his own, upied within his own world, not caring about the baleful aura he was unconsciously releasing toward the surroundings. Skeleton #2 helplessly interrupted his master''s dream, popping it akin to a balloon, causing Leo''s shadow face to darken by an amount (blushing in embarrassment). Cough, Cough. "I''m fine, go back and continue observing the humans, if they n to escape, immediately find me within the centre of the cemetery... "Oh, by the way, switch to Skeleton #1 tomorrow morning so you can cultivate within the pit. Try to achieve the peak Foundation realm soon!" Leomanded seriously, waving his shadow tendrils as he hurriedly began traversing the silent cemetery, stepping above the countless niches, making the grasses on the ground sway slightly as unknown energy grazed their surface- making their nd being slightly be much darker and nd in the process... As if life already abandoned them... *** Huff~ Taking a long deep breath, not hurried to create potions toplete the requirements of his ss job to upgrade. Leo unhurriedly took out the defensive skill scrolls within his inventory, instantly illuminating the short distance in white, grey, and green weak light- nning to learn them all before trying tobine the skill with the mostpatibility. "I need something that could deflect an amount of the lightning that would appear when I was breaking through above my realm. "Something that was not too strong to the point that it wouldn''t allow the lightning to hit the surface of my physique, nor too weak that it would risk my being or kill me in the process... "I just need the right amount so I can temper my soul when the timees!'' Pondering within his mind, Leo began to read all the skill scrolls within his grasp with seriousness- manipting his shadow arm to split into 6 small tendrils for a better view. Ding! [ Shield of Light (Elite): Envelop one''s body with dazzling light that could withstand a small amount of damage. It also has the effect of momentarily blinding the enemy if they were staring at the user''s figure when you activated the skill! Effect: Create a shield that could withstand damage below your stage... While could deflect some of the damage taken in the same and above realm. Activating Cost: 5 Qi per 10 seconds... ] [ Intense Vitality (Elite): Increase the basic recovery of the user''s health, vitality, and stamina by a small amount, achieving the basic qualification to be called undying by the mortal''s perspective! Effect: Passively increase the recovery of health, vitality, and stamina by 0.1% per second! ] ... Other than the elite defensive skills, there was also the Wind Shield (umon) that could redirect physical and magic offensive skills, making them miss the target inexplicable. Although it couldn''t deflect fast-approaching and heavy offensive skills, nheless, it was still good at the early stage... Followed by the Guard (umon) skill that could summon a seemingly imprable aura, weakening the offensive skill that entered the area of its effect... To the point that some of the offensive skills would lose their firepower upon finally hitting the user of the skills. Followed by two Common defensive skills called Defensive Stance and Fish Scale, other than slightly increasing their skin durability and deflecting some damage, the two were actually not even worth mentioningpared to the four! "System, learn all the skills..." Ding! [ Learning Shield of Light (Elite), Intense Vitality (Elite), and other 4 skills would consume 1,450 horror points! (ept/Declined)? ] ... "Just deduct it already!" Leo said impatiently, couldn''t help but raise his voice due to the anticipation building within his being... Ding! -1,450 horror points! [ Congrattions upon learning the... ] Seeing that he sessfully learned the 6 defensive skills, Leo didn''t hesitate further as he immediately opened the Fusion feature of the system- instantly unfolding the flickering ancient cauldron within, beholding its ck metallic glint that carried unprecedented beauty, that even his elite cauldron couldn''t bepared by its percentage. "Huff~ How beautiful and ancient...'' Leo unconsciously muttered within himself as he stared at its exterior in pure fascination, feeling that every image of the cauldron carried an amount of rules within them or probably the understanding of the Dao... However, without fully seeing its exterior and feeling its texture, Leo had no idea how to ascertain his guess. "Well, I could try to buy it in the system. But, the premise is... that I manage to earn an unknown amount of horror points to purchase it." Shaking his head, feeling that he again became upied by something that he shouldn''t contemte about, Leo began to seriously consider what skill tobine- staring at their description as he deeply pondered. "The Guard (Umon) skill is the best option within the defensive skills that I had, since it could weaken the lightning that would appear in my advancement before it hit my shadow physique (which is half soul entity) to temper it... "The only problem is that the skill strength is quite weak, not to mention that fusing two skills to create a high-level skill would lead to a random result. "It will only be unpredictable what kind of defensive skill the Fusion will create." As for using the medallion of forceful upgrade to upgrade the rarity of the skill, Leo didn''t entertain that thought, or to be exact, he thought that it was better to use it toward the fused skill, making the skill defensive capability to enter a quantitative change. Not to mention that gaining a medallion of a forceful upgrade takes time... which he mightck at the current moment, reasoning for him to choose the best way to use it! ... Soon, after a while, without any other option, Leo could only drag the Guard (Umon) skill and Intense Vitality (Elite) skill toward the interior of the cauldron- wanting to see thepatibility of the two. "If the sess rate was high, then I would settle with these two... I think that their fuse skill was quite goodpared to thebination of the other skills." Ding! [ Thepatibility of fusing the "Guard (Umon)" and "Intense Vitality (Elite)" skills were (91%). Cost of Fusion: 7,500 horror points! Cooldown: 7 days! Note: Failure tobine the skills wouldn''t allow the user to recover the cost of the fusion of the skills. ] "Eh!? This, thepatibility of the two was actually much higher than the previous fused skill!?'' Leo eximed, not expecting that thepatibility of the two would actually entered above 90%- making him heave a sigh of relief, feeling that the Fusion of the two skills wouldn''t fail... However, upon remembering his jinx skill, Leo suddenly released a sigh of helplessness before unhurriedly praying toward the Goddess of Luck above, wanting to graze him with the corner of her authority to avoid the small chances of failure. "I hope it was a sess..." "Although I suddenly feel that I was jinxing myself, I hope that the Fusion will be a sess!" *** Chapter 171: Breaking Through Toward The Core Formation Realm (2)! "ept..." Leomanded in his deep demonic voice, causing the ck exquisite cauldron to abruptly close with a loud bang! Momentarily deafening Leo''s senses in the process. Shake~ Shake~ Slowly, as time passed by, the ck cauldron within the system began to tremble in an unstable yet crazy manner, causing Leo to stare at it in anxiousness- often feeling that his jinx skill was sending its imperceptible energy toward the interior of the ck cauldron... Making it much more unstable in his imagination. "If it fails, I will me it on the jinx skill and upgrade my "Restrain" skill even though it would cost me my hard-earned medallions..." Leo casually joked to himself, wanting to ease his anxiousness but only in vain! Soon, after staring at it with his seemingly bloodshot senses (imaginary eyes) for more than 10 minutes, Leo finally heaved a heavy sigh of relief upon seeing that it began to cool down- taking a full minute before bing still as its heavy lid began to open slowly, deliberately as if teasing Leo. ... "This, it''s green again? Elite rarity? However, with the richness of the colour, there''s a huge chance that the skill grade entered Elite +1 in rarity..." Leo mumbled under his breath as he peaked toward the rich green light within the interior of the cauldron, almost forgetting to breathe as he patiently and anticipatingly waited for the sound of the system notification to appear. Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfullybining a skill, and gaining a new skill "Guardian of Vitality (Elite +2)!" ] Ding! [ Guardian of Vitality (Elite +2) (Level 1): Passively weaken the offensive skill (magical and physical attack) that entered the area of its effect... Turning the deprived energy stolen from the energy of the offensive skill into health and stamina that passively recovers the host''s physique... Effects: Upon activation, passively recover the host''s health and stamina by 0.1% per second. Activation: 5 Qi per second! Upgrade cost: 1,000 horror points! Note: One of the Elite skills that almost reaches the qualification to enter Rare rank! ] ... "It''s better than the 6 defensive skills earlier, but... I''m afraid that it was still far from enough.'' Seeing this, Leo shook his head in disappointment, feeling that its defensive capability was stillcking, causing him to hesitate slightly as he immediately upgraded the skill to level 5... After that, he hesitantly took out a bronze medallion within his inventory, clenching it with his shadow tendril as he upgraded the skill above its natural limit. "System, upgrade..." Ding! [ Upgrading the Guardian of Vitality (Elite +2) (Level 5) to Deterrence (Rare +1) (Level 1) would cost 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! (ept/Decline)? ] Seeing the notification that appeared, Leo''s shadow being momentarily halted, not expecting that the skill would jump from the expected Rare rarity to Rare +1 unexpectedly... Making his eyes curve demonically (in instinct) as he hurriedly epted in pure anticipation. "ept!" Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading the Guardian of Vitality Level 5 to Deterrence (Rare +1) Level 1! ] Ding! [ Deterrence (Rare +1) (Level 1): Release a natural pressure that enveloped the area of 5 meters in diameter, making offensive skill that entered the area weaken considerably, making their firepower diminish before hitting the physique of the host! Moreover, it also has the effect of slowing down those who entered the area, as if they were wearing armour that weighed hundreds of pounds! Effects: Upon activation, passively recover the host''s health, mental energy, and stamina by 0.12% per second. Activation: 5 Qi per second! Upgrade cost: 5,000 horror points! Note: It could be said that mutated Rare skills almost touch and contain the minute understanding of the rules! ] "This... Although it was stillcking, the skill should work for now. "No, in fact, it was perfect for my current situation!'' Leo eximed in his mind, immediately consuming 12,000 horror points to upgrade the skill to level 5 in one go! Making his horror points drop from the previous 100 thousand to 80 thousand in the blink of an eye! Making his illusionary heart break like a fragile ss, feeling that spending horror points was much easier that earning it! Huff~ "Don''t worry, If I sessfully advance toward the core formation realm, I will haunt more beings to earn more horror points!" Closing his character panel, Leo silently gazes toward the red moon on the far horizon, thoughts unknown as he quietly behold its bright silver yet dark mesmerising light- watching its light quietly consume thend... Making his restless being slowly calm down, causing his thoughts to inexplicably clear up as he shifted his gaze toward his shadow physique. "Now, it''s time to upgrade my ss job..." He weakly mumbled under his breath- his initial excitement upon finally having a chance to upgrade his ss job suddenly vanished within his being, causing his focus to increase by folds as he unhurriedly took out the herbs and spiritual fruits within his inventory. Seriously checking their quality one by one, wanting to ensure that his ss advancement wouldn''t be interrupted due to unnecessary and small mistakes. "I already gained the potion form of the "Qi Recovery Potion" within the system (the potion form came from the rewards days ago), in addition to the mental and stamina recovery potion form that I got weeks ago... "It''s best if I created 10 each per potion in case an ident took ce when I was advancing. "Moreover, being ready would decrease the risk that I would face when I start breaking through." Looking at the plump star fruit within his grasp, exuding a tantalizing smell toward the environment, Leo amusingly put it toward the wooden table in his front. *** Soon, finally cing the seemingmp beneath the cauldron, Leo began to feed it with Qi, causing its me to increase drastically as the cauldron interior began to heat up- making it scalding to one''s physical senses as the surrounding environment seems to twist due to its high temperature. Huff~ Taking a deep long breath, increasing his concentration to its peak, Leo unhurriedly tossed the yellow leaf that was shimmering in low sunlight toward the interior of the cauldron, causing it to immediately release a sizzling sound as its impurities began to evaporate into thin air- only leaving with a single droplet of pure yellow liquid within. Seeing this, Leo decreased the Qi he was feeding toward themp below, causing its temperature to diminish before he quickly manipted the clean water throughout the atmosphere to fly toward the centre of the cauldron- mixing the golden droplet and the boiling water with a spoon that he manipted using his telekic abilities, making the water to retain a colour of yellowish as the droplet vanish within... Still not finished, Leo suddenly increases the me below the cauldron as he immediately tosses the plump star fruit within before abruptly and heavily closing its lid- afraid that its potent properties will escape from the gap... 10, 9, 8... 1 second. Upon counting down to ten, Leo abruptly opened the lid of the cauldron before tossing all of the materials within, one by one, making the legs of the cauldron slowly sink beneath the soft soil, a testament to the weight of the materials within. ... Soon, after 10 full minutes of carefully manipting his Qi toward the seemingmp below and greatly focusing on creating and processing the potion, Leo hurriedly cut down his connection with themp... Gasping slightly as he opened the lid of the cauldron, staring at the liquid of starlight within, silently creating mesmerising waves that could trap the senses and soul of mortal beings within. Ding! [ Congrattions upon creating a Grade-1 (Low) potion for the first time! +5,000 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +5 potion form! ] Not giving a nce toward the notification that appeared in the corner of his senses, Leo carefully began to manipte the liquid inside the cauldron toward the wooden bottle in his grasp... Before hurriedly closing its cap afterwards. "Indeed, creating a grade 1 potion isn''t that hard, the only problem about creating it is that the materials needed were almost more than half of the materials needed to create an ungraded potion." Smiling softly, gazing towards the surrounding darkness that was constantly being enveloped by thick grey fog, Leo cast a soul scan toward the bottle within his grasp- wanting to see its effect for better usage. Ding! [ Qi Recovery Potion! (Grade 1-Low) (71% purity): A potion that greatly increases the natural recovery of Qi. Moreover, it also has the ability to slightly heal one''s injury and alleviate one''s fatigue! Note 1: You could drink it safely! Note 2: Consuming it would increase one''s Qi recovery by 300% for a quarter of an hour! Note 3: It can only be consumed once a day! ] "As expected, it was better than most of the ungraded potions that I created, however, the effect that could increase the stat permanently isn''t present in this one...''" Leo ponder within his mind,feeling that the difference in Peak Ungraded potion and Grade-1 potion isn''t that high. In fact, if he manage to create an ungraded potion with 90% in purity, Leo believed that the ungraded potion could surpassed this one in terms of effect! Huff~ "There''s no need to think further about it, your current goal for now is to create hundreds of potions!'' Sighing softly, Leo began to clean the exterior of the cauldron- taking a breathe before again continuing creating potions. *** Chapter 172 Breaking Through Toward The Core Formation Realm (3)! Drizzle~ Drizzle~ The unceasing sounds of water droplets falling from the high altitude, rhythmically hitting the vibrant leaves of the canopy above, soaking thempletely before the umted droplets... finally fell from their tips resounded toward the epasses of thend... Hitting the ground with soft sounds, making them sticky as time passed by as its rich yet cold fresh fragrance began to fuse with the surrounding environment- making one''s senses be extremely active as the cold energy brought by the rain slowly drilled into their being. Beneath, the puddles of water began to flow toward the unknown, entering the gaps of the earth before eventually entering the cracks within the countless concrete niches below- making the smell of the rotting flesh within, from the past civilization, slowly spread towards the nd surroundings. ... Within its centre, a small flickering red me, originating from themp beneath the familiar cauldron slightly illuminated the damp environment, making its heat shroud the short distance- creating a mist of smoke due to its high temperature. Beyond, different kinds of spiritual fruits and herbs could be seen mysteriously floating throughout the atmosphere, unaffected by the rain as their surfaces remained dry... as if an imperceptible umbre were shielding them from the onught of the natural phenomenon... of the heaven above. Swish. Not even a second passed by, a spine-chilling, dark long tendril suddenly grasped a silver spiritual fruit from the atmosphere, clenching it softly before vanishing with a blur, followed by the audible sound of closing the lid that silently reverberated toward the distance. Boom! As if the unknown being''s action enraged the sky, the dark clouds above abruptly released a loud booming sound, followed by thick lightning that momentarily blinded the ground... Making the unceasing cawing of the wet ck crows within the branches of the tree above, hiding beyond one''s vision, halted momentarily. (It''s just a coincidence, don''t think too much about it...) ... "A little more, just a little more.'' A whisper that seemingly originated from the deep abyss weakly resounded within the damp cemetery- being weakened by the heavy rain above yet still managing to resound in the far distance... Causing the two sounds to fuse, making one senses to mistakenly hear it... Making its sound simr to a weeping soul that craved warmth. So, Cold. Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully creating your first 500 potions! +50,000 horror points! +12 free attributes! +1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! +Chance of understanding a certain rule! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully filling the requirements of your ss job! +10,000 horror points! +6 free attributes! +1 peak enlightenment stone! ] ... Leo''s ferocious eyes abruptly lit up with unprecedented darkness as he carefully manipted the potion toward the bottle that mysteriously appeared within his shadow tendril (arm)... Humming in a cold yet dreadful tone, causing the temperature in the surrounding environment to plummet drastically- creating a mist of cold energy in the process as his tense physique began to loosen up. "It''s earlier than I expected, however, creating potions while gazing at the damp environment on the eve of morning isn''t that bad... "It greatly helps in improving one''s mood...'' He mumbled under his breath. Taking a quick nce toward the churning ck clouds above before hurriedly opening his character panel. Ding! [ Neutral Primordial Witchcraft (Umon (Upgradable)) - A ss job that specializes in six paths... The Dao of Life and Death, The Rule of Healing and Curses, and the understanding of the Potion and Puppetry... upon reaching its peak, it''s possible to create a lifeform on your own! Effects: Increase Soul Power by 3 and Magic Power by 2 at every level! ss Upgrade Requirement to Elite Rarity: Kill 50 beings by only relying on curse skill and heal 100 beings by only relying on Witch Doctor Abilities! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon gaining the "Way of Dark Magic" and "Archives of Witch Doctor" skills! ] ... Ding! [ Way of Dark Magic (Level 1) - Gain the Basic Knowledge of Dark Magic, the Language of the Dead, and the Karma of Revenge... Allowing one to sessfully Curse a being to its death! Activation: Permanent. Upgrade Cost: 1,000 horror points! Note: Death as the Start and Life as an End! ] Ding! [ Archives of Witch Doctor (Level 1) - Gain the Basic Knowledge of Healing, the Language of Life, and the understanding of the corner of True Origin... Allowing one to sessfully Heal a being from its deathbed! Activation: Permanent. Upgrade Cost: 1,000 horror points! Note: Life is the beginning while Death is the End! ] ... "Another two support skills? Am I really destined to be an almighty support figure?" Leo casually joked to himself, pausing for a while before abruptly closing his eyes upon feeling a mysterious force suddenly materialize within his being, increasing his soul attribute by a staggering 40 as unknown knowledge kept flickering within his consciousness... Drilling toward its depths, making him unable to forget those scenes and knowledge, slightly altering his mood due to unexpected pain... Huff~ "I almost forgot that knowledge would mysteriously appear within my mind upon gaining those skills... However, the pain this time was actually twice as painful when I was receiving the potion and puppetry knowledge! "The unknown is really scary, I wonder who created these wonders that allow a being to easily master a skill upon getting them..." Shaking his head, Leo unhurriedly opened his eyes, mulling to himself as he began to re-arrange his thoughts- delving deep toward the knowledge that suddenly appeared within his mind as he nkly stared at the droplets that unceasingly collide toward the surface of leaves above... "Dark magic and Death Qi, there seems to be a connection between the two... they both corrode life force, making life rot beyond one''s imagination. "However,pared to Death Qi that could be used by beings who had affinity on the Death element. The energy contained by the Dark Magic was unpredictable, chaotic, and full of conflict in nature, making absorption almost impossible... "In fact, absorbing it might lead to injuries! Since the energy it contains would inexplicably sh towards the life force within one''s physique upon absorption. "Huff~ In the worst case, it might even lead to the death of the being!" Taking a deep breath, pausing for a while as he carefully delved toward the knowledge within his consciousness, he again continued. "As for the Archives of Witch Doctor, its meaning is self-exnatory, making it easy to understand..." *** Sigh... Upon digesting parts of the knowledge within his consciousness, Leo unhurriedly opened the skill tree of his ss job- wanting to see when he would be able to learn a new skill, wanting to descern if it was an offensive skill even though the chances wasn''t that high! Ding! Soon, in an instant, the sight of the inverted pyramid appeared within his senses- being consumed by darkness, as the only 6 flickering lights that could be extinguished at any time could be faintly discerned on its top. Following its order, Leo eventually locked his gaze toward the two skills on its far side. Their figure was faintly concealed by darkness, however,pared to the other skills beneath the floor of the pyramid, the corner of the two skills could still be seen... "I see, I will be able to unlock the two skills after I advance toward the Core Formation realm (Level 1)... "Huff~ I guess, it was finally time to break through.'' Leo sighed deeply within his being, hiding the cauldron within his inventory as he silently dragged his physique toward the forsaken pit in the far distance- wanting to advance within the ce... *** Haha~ "Haha~ All the higher-ups within the town already went crazy! They didn''t even care about the life of us mortals at all! "The thousands of residents within the town would all die and thend would be filled with rotten corpses if nothing changed... "I even saw a young man eating a rotting arm within one of the dark alleys...'' They are all crazy! No, they were all lunatics! Roy hugged his knees fearfully as he spoke mindlessly within the corner of the room, his eyes unfocused as he tried to forget those nightmarish scenes within his mind, but only in vain... Feeling that the town became more and more unfamiliar when the Nascent Soul being entered the depths of the Endless Forest. Looking nkly outside, gazing toward the dark clouds above, shrouding thend in ufortable darkness, Roy couldn''t help but remember the scene he saw hours ago- sending chills toward the depths of his soul as he uncontrobly shivers in fright. Although he was with Drake at that time, his premonition ability and other senses skills allowed him to sense morepared to the teenager, making him aware of what kind of dread the town was facing. Just the driednd outside the town already makes his being uneasy... "Fortunately, I was smart enough to not sell those potions in bulk... or else, people with malicious thoughts might already following us within this ce. "Hehe, why I am scared? Even if they follow us, they might not survive in this forbidden ce for a night. "Huff~ Don''t worry, you''re safe for now, you all are safe for now.'' He mumbled under his breath as his heavy dark eyes (due to stress andck of sleep) finally closed in exhaustion, sleeping tensely as the cold energy outside seeped into his being, calming his chaotic thoughts in the process... *** Discover more stories at empire Chapter 173 Breaking Through Toward The Core Formation Realm (4)! Ssh! Thick water instantly rippled toward the depths of the forbidden pit as Leo''s shadow physique quietly collided with the wet ground, making its cold and unknown energy quickly seep within his being. Sizzle~ Sizzle~ On the surface of his physique, tendrils of pure dark lightning, swaying under the veil of darkness, could be faintly discerned, lightly illuminating the environment in dreadful light- signifying his inevitable breakthrough. Crack... Observing the familiar darkness and the countless grey bones beneath the ck ink water for a while, Leo unhurriedly sat down on the ground, immediately closing his eyes to recover his lost energy, before he attempted to break through- so he could advance in his optimal condition. ... Ding! +2 Qi (recovery)... +2 Qi (recovery)... Huff~ Soon, after hours of cultivating. Leo finally opened his eyes, taking a deep long breath as he carefully took out the three potions within his inventory, opening their cap before drinking them all without hesitation. Gulped... Ding! [ Congrattions upon drinking Qi, Health, and Stamina recover potions! Effects: Passively increase the basic recovery of the Qi, Health, and Stamina by 400% in 1 hour! ] *** Seeing this, Leo didn''t immediately attempt to advance toward the core formation realm, instead, he began to check the materials within his inventory one by one. From the remains of the Epic ck rat (mainly its bones), in addition to the materials that came from the deceased corpse of the Core Formation Demon vine that they killed months ago, followed by the flesh of the foundation realm beast from the past that he killed, and a couple of Earth Gold that numbered up to hundreds... Although it might seem that the thing Leo was currently doing wasn''t rted to his advancement... In fact, it was extremely necessary for him... At least, it was necessary for the creation of his Soul Bound Weapon! A weapon that would grow with the cultivator''s every advancement! Even if it was destroyed in the battle, it would still slowly recover within the soul of the cultivator! Making them eternal... ( However, if the cultivator dies, his Soul Bound Weapon will also be destroyed in the process...) *** When he was advancing toward the core formation realm, there were 4 factors that he needed to achieve before finishing his advancement. First is creating the gaseous core within his soul, making the Qi within him much more condensed and heavy in the process- making the skill used by the Core Formation realm being drastically increase in effects and strength, enough to thrash most of the Foundation realm cultivator with little to no effort! Followed by Soul Bound Weapon, which would be created using the materials he readied himself and with the help of the tempering of the lightning that would appear in the middle of his advancement... Although the created weapon would be randomized since its creation was out of his control, nheless, it was sure that thepatibility between him and the weapon would be perfect! To the point that he would feel that the weapon was simr to the extension of his limbs! Third is the Tempering of his Soul... Followed by the creation of the Domain using one''s understanding of the Rules! Although Leo already had a Domain of Despair on his skill panel... The one who created it was ultimately not him but the system, making him believe that it was possible to create another domain on his own without relying on system help... Possibly allowing him to gain 2 Domains at the Core Formation realm! Although it was unheard that the Core Formation realm cultivator could have two domains on his own, Leo still wanted to see if it was possible! If he managed to create a new domain on his own, then his strength would be naturally above the new ascended Core Formation realm being! Or probably might allow him to fight a being above his realm! "Keke~ even if I failed, it wouldn''t cost me too much... In fact, it would only make me half disappointed!'' *** Crackle~ Crackle~ In an instant, upon closing his senses, the streaks of dark lightning within the surface of his physique began to increase in number, greatly illuminating the almost enclosed passage as the water beneath him slowly evaporated due to the high temperature it contained. -0.1 Health... -0.1 Health... Boom! Slowly, as time passed by, dark dense smoke, formed from the condensed innumerable Death Qi, originating from the unknown depths of the passage, slowly entered Leo''s being, circting within his shadow physique before entering toward the depths of his ck soul, toward his illusionary gaseous core- making the core slightly vivid in the process... Not affected by the slight sess that urred within his soul, Leo continuously absorbed the Qi in the environment, making the ce instantly shrouded by thick dark clouds as lightning kept flickering within its centre... Not different from the scene of heavy storms... as the ck lightning began to materialize within the passage, drilling from the depths of the void as they began to strike Leo''s being- causing parts of his shadow physique to disintegrate toward the atmosphere. However, although he began to take damage, his natural healing abilities which were strengthened by folds due to the effect of healing potions began to kick in- making the lost luster of his physique recover in an instant... At the same time, the illusionary gaseous Core within his being slowly bes more vivid and alive in the process, but still away from the threshold of being called the Gaseous Core of the Core Formation realm being... ... Crackle~ Crackle~ Time slowly passed by... The thick ck lightning that kept materializing within the atmosphere, intertwining dreadfully within the darkness, almostparable to the thumb of an adult began to continuously hit the surface of Leo''s physique, causing its luster to diminish by amount as his health began to waver- as his natural recovery couldn''t keep up with the damage he took! However, even though that was the case, Leo''s senses were still tightly closed, not caring a bit about his surroundings as he stared at the depths of his soul, unceasingly absorbing the Qi within the environment, making them churn within his physique as they crazily circted to his whole being... Strengthening his physique and soul in the process before proceeding toward his half-illusionary core- making its luster more natural as it began to materialize within, exiting its previous illusionary state as it began to be real! ... Boom! Not even a second passed by... when Leo''s core was about to materialize within the reality, a thick bolt of ck lightning, almost as thick as a child''s thighs suddenly struck his shadow head, leaving him in daze as the tendrils of ck lightning instantly forced its way toward his soul... Hitting his gaseous core as it slightly tempered it in the process, making it carry an amount of its destructive nature. "This... Indeed, lightning is both a punishment and a reward.'' Leo instantly thought, slightly lowering his guard as he let the lightning strike his physique, slowly reducing his health but at the same time, making his gaseous core much heavy and realistic! Huff~ Ding! -5 Health! -5 Health! "Enough...'' Seeing that his health was already reduced by third, Leo immediately activated his Deterrence skill, summoning a faint yellow light that instantly shrouded the area of 7.5 meters in diameter, causing the ck lightning that entered the area to slowly lose its thickness before finally hitting the surface of his body... Moreover, the energy that was deprived from the ck lightning began to heal Leo''s physique at visible speed, making him mentally nod his head in satisfaction. ... Ding! "Huff~ finally, it was done!" Leo heaves a sigh of relief upon finally seeing his illusionary core within his ck soul be gaseous, giving him the feeling of heaviness and destruction, seemingly carrying a hint of destructive properties from the ck lightning as its surface churned and flickered with faint lightning... Boom! Seemingly feeling that Leo''s core already took form, the lightning within the void issued a loud booming sound, deafening Leo''s senses, making the ck ink water beneath him evaporate in an instant, as its strength began to increase by folds... From the initial thickness of a child''s thighs, the lightning thickness abruptly increased by twice, sending a danger signal to Leo''s soul as it began to bombard his physique... Seemingly enraged as it often releases a loud rumble... ... Experience new tales on empire Boom! Boom! Ding! -2 health! +3 health! -2 health! +3 health! Leo''s health keeps fluctuating, decreasing before increasing in the next second, making his health again full after 10 minutes... Knowing that it was again time to anger the lightning, Leo began taking out the materials within his inventory, tossing them one by one toward the churning lightning above the void as he began feeding it within his Qi... Watching it slowly deformed within his senses as some parts of them began to liquefy, unceasingly being hit by ck lightning as if it was a separated segment of Leo''s physique... Seeing that his Soul Bound weapon gained all the attention of the ck lightning. Feeling that he was being ignored, Leo unhurriedly took out the Peak Enlightenment Stone within his inventory, gazing above the churning lightning as he began toprehend its vastness- wanting to gain a preliminary understanding of it... *** Chapter 174 Achieving the Core Formation realm, Scale of Revenge! (1) Boom! Boom! Crackle~ The sound of the unceasing churning of the ck lightning keeps echoing within the dark passage, illuminating the surrounding environment in dreadful light, as it continuously smites the silver yet ck liquid within, slowly molding it in the process... "I see, cultivation was going beyond the natural set order by the heaven... Making heaven unable to tolerate the existence of cultivators- wishing them death upon opposing its set rules! "Every time a cultivator is advancing above its natural life order, he/she will experience the wrath of heaven- making heaven send its punishment toward its being, beginning to bombard the said cultivator to its death... "However, heaven is also partial... No, it was not partial at all, to be exact the energy that it could only use, both contained the destructive and creation properties of it, making cultivators that manage to survive from its onught to experience quantitative change toward their being... Strengthening their overall ability in the process... "Although heaven might notice it, he was helpless toward it." Sigh~ Leo''s senses moved slightly as he stared at the dense dark lightning, intertwining unceasingly above him in an engrossed expression...pletely concealing the materials that he threw toward it beyond its churning dark clouds, making him unable to guess what kind of Soul Bound Weapon would appear. Boom! Shifting his gaze toward his ck tendril, Leo immediately saw the peak enlightenment stone within his grasp slowly lose its radiance- consuming all of its benefits as it began to crumble within his grasp, turning into silver powder as it slowly fell towards the charred ground. Sigh~ Sighing in a deep dreadful tone, Leo again unhurriedly took out an enlightenment stone within his inventory. However,pared to the peak one that he used earlier, the one he just took out was much smaller than thetter by fourth... Making him feel dissatisfied yet helpless as he hurriedly shifts his gaze toward the lightning above him. ... "This, why not...'' Beholding the destruction above the passage, a sudden thought materializes within the depths of his consciousness, making him hesitate a little as he suddenly throws the enlightenment stone within his grasp toward the enraged lighting above... Making the lightning momentarily pause from its unceasing onught, seemingly unable toprehend the thing that just appeared and transpired right now. ( Although his action seems rash, Leo ispletely aware that everything around him are in fact materials, the only distinction between the materials is their usefulness and effectiveness... Since he was not the one who was forging his Soul Bound Weapon, Leo didn''t care about the headache the heaven would experience just to create his weapon... It''s even better to make its head ache so it will forget him and make his advancement smooth!) Churn~ After churning in puzzlement for a while, the ck lightning finally striked the enlightenment stone mid-air, instantly turning it into silver dust before fusing it toward the unknown metallic liquid above... Molding it slowly as Leo''s Soul Bound Weapon began to materialize within, creating a faint connection toward Leo''s soul- making him aware that his weapon was about to be born! *** Boom! Time flew fast... Leo''s senses already doze off upon staring above for almost half an hour, almost forgetting the fact that he was still in the middle of his advancement due to the lightning''s constant disregarding... Making him amused upon thinking of it. Shing! Not even a second passed by, still staring above as he tried toprehend its secrets... a sudden, intense silver light, abruptly shed within the almost enclosed passage, catching him off guard, causing him to instinctively close his senses- blinded by the thing that suddenly materialized above as his dark soul, hiding within him, slowly being tempered by lightning, senses something unimaginable... A feeling of closeness simr to a kin suddenly blooms within his being, making his tightly closed senses abruptly open, staring at the bloody item that appeared within his line of sight, floating freely, unhindered by the ck lightning in the surroundings as it quietly dyed Leo''s face in bloody light- unfolding his mixed expression due to its unexpected and unique contour. Using the time when the ck lightning above was still condensing its might before again trying to unceasingly bombard him to death, Leo immediately shifted his gaze toward the item in his front... In an instant, a thick metallic iron smell in addition to the extremely rich fishy fragrance hit his senses, instinctively making him frown as he stared at the greatly tilted ancient silver bnce scale in his front- being corroded by time (in his perspective). Although it was newly made, its surface which should be glimmering in silver glow was nowhere to be seen, instead, its body was covered in ck old mold, as if it was left attended within a damp atmosphere for a couple of years as mutated mold began to grow within its being. On its greatly tilted te, on the right side of the silver scale, a sight that could send shivers to mortals quickly unfolded in front of his very senses, beholding its sadistic madness as he squinted his imaginary eyes in the process. Watching the bloody innards slowly slithered within the te, seemingly alive as the ancient scale bnce often shook due to its weak movement- making Leo''s consciousness seethe due to unknown reason. In its centre, Leo even saw a small hearth, bathing in sticky blood, beating rhythmically as it makes one''s emotion fluctuate due to the frequency it was unconsciously releasing. *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon receiving your first Soul Bound Weapon the "Scale of Revenge"! +5,000 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +1 item tempering (low)! ] Ding! [ Item Tempering (Low): Tempering one''s item using the host Qi and a faint of sun essence, making the item''s strength and effects to experience a quantitative change! Possibly allowing it to go beyond its grade! Note 1: Only working toward the items below the Rare Rarity rank! Note 2: Could strengthen the strength of the new Soul Bound Weapon! ] ... Boom! As Leo was about to check its description, wanting to gain a preliminary understanding of the silver scale bnce, a sudden sh of dark light flickered within the corner of his senses, suddenly striking his shadow physique as parts of his body dissolved toward the surroundings. Boom! Still not recovering from the lightning that suddenly collided with his being, another two consecutive booming sounds resounded within his consciousness, hitting his lower body as his long dark tendrils that happened to be in the way instantly disintegrated in the process... Ding! -25 health! "D*mn, the firepower of the lightning suddenly increases by folds!'' Leo cursed within his mind, taking out a different healing potion within his inventory as he immediately consumed it in a short second- activating his Deterrence skill with all of his might as he began to temper his physique, or to be exact, his soul... Making the luster of his shadow body shift back and forth, from the initial rich darkness to bing nd in a matter of seconds, making the environment to be filled with his dissolved physique, making him grit his teeth due to the agony he was experiencing, almost causing him to lose his rationality... Unfortunately, due to the things that he experienced in the past, greatly influenced by the pain and horror he underwent when he evolved further, Leo managed to hold the tiny bit of his sanity... Allowing him to continue the tempering of his Soul, based on his immortal cultivation technique. ... Slowly, his incorporeal soul began to flicker within the unceasing onught of the ck lightning, darting from incorporeal to corporeal form, making his soul have a hint of heaviness in it- making it more alive and vivid in the process... Revealing the true nature of his soul. Slowly dispersing his shadow physique as his hidden soul within began to unfold in the surrounding environment- releasing a confusing aura that both contained the reality (corporeal) and illusion (incorporeal), making the lightning within the void be enraged further, seemingly noticing the abomination it created. Feeling cheated, the heaven... again increase its might by another level, making the damage Leo took suddenly increase by folds... Making his soul feel threatened as his health recovery couldn''t contend with the damage he took. However, at the same time, the speed of his soul being tempered by ck lightning also increases drastically, to the point that he will be able to finish its tempering in just ten minutes if the lightning continues sending its might toward his being. ... Ding! -25 health! +20 health! -25 health! +20 health! This... "It''s still not enough, I might die first before I could sessfully temper my soul! Moreover, I still need time toprehend rules before creating my own domain!'' Leo gritted his teeth in agony, resisting the urge to release a grotesque cry as he hurriedly took out a Medallion of Forceful Upgrade within his inventory... Clenching it within his grasp as he hurriedly upgraded the Deterrence skill. Ding! [ Upgrading Deterrence skill Rare+1 (Level 5) to The Dying Immortal skill Rare+3 (Level 1) would cost 2 medallions of forceful upgrade and 5,000 horror points! (ept/Declined)? ] "F*CK, ept already!'' Leo cursed within his mind upon seeing that his health already entered below a hundred, causing him to finally panic as unease gripped his soul. Ding! [ Please wait a minute... Still upgrading... ] "F*CK*NG SYSTEM! Seriously, right now!?" *** Chapter 175 Achieving the Core Formation realm, Rule of Hatred (2)! [ Please wait a minute... Still upgrading... ] "F*CK*NG SYSTEM! Seriously, right now!?" Seeing the notification that appeared within the corner of his sight, Leo couldn''t help but exim within his mind, cursing the ancestor of the system if it had one unceasingly before anxiously shifting his gaze toward his decreasing health. From the initial 200 plus, Leo''s health right now already decreased to 80 points! Allowing him to again smell the long-lost fragrance of Death. However,pared to his first death when he luckily reincarnated as a ghost/wisp, Leo was unaware of what would happen if he died again! "There''s a huge chance that I will really die for sure! I haven''t even heard in my two lifetime that a dead ghost would again be a ghost upon dying!" Leo thought with a pale face, again cursing the system within his mind as he resisted the onught of the ck lightning with his full force- watching his health helplessly enter beneath 60 as he began praying to all of the gods he knew... Heck, even some Demons and Devils he knows, he prayed toward them one by one, with sincerity at that! "Who cares about face!? Life is much more important than that! "Could the face be eaten!? Well, technically yes! But at least it couldn''t save life!" He reasoned within his mind as he began praying toward the 6th God he knew- with an ugly expression as he didn''t forget to continue the tempering of his soul... bringing it closer topletion, toward the physical body of the soul! *** In an instant, another 5 minutes of pure agony silently passed by. Within the churning storm of pure lightning, Leo could be seen silently staring at the void, staring at his decreasing health in dread... Often gazing toward his system, waiting for the familiar notification to appear but only in vain. Ding! -10 health! +9 health! Feeling that his mentality was about to crumble, about to ept his inevitable death upon seeing that his health already entered the 20 points in mark... A sudden sound of the familiar metal hitting metal, loudly echoed within his consciousness, bringing him back from his previous hopeless situation to a life full of hope- not forgetting to curse the system behind its back due to it scarring him to death... Even scarier than the nightmare he had when he was a child, a nightmare that hid beneath the deepest consciousness of humans, a nightmare that he didn''t even dare to remember! (Every human has a hidden nightmare buried within their being, it''s either their biggest fear and horror, or something that urred that almost makes them lose their reasoning or even make them crazy... However, due to the survival instinct of one''s physiques and mentality, humans physique instinctively forget those memories... Allowing one to live normally as they hide their maniac desires within their being... Waiting to be triggered by something... Waiting to be released...) ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading your Deterrence (Rare +1) skill to Dying Immortal (Rare +3)! ] In an instant, the soft glow that covers the 7.5 meters in diameter suddenly shrinks in size, bing small in the process as its soft glow bes vibrant green in colour, making Leo''s battered soul within the churning lightning slowly heal in the process. Moreover, the pain that he was enduring in the process of being hit by lightning alleviated by an amount... Giving him time to breathe as a hint of fresh fragrance that could only be found in nature assaulted his senses- making him sigh in relief upon seeing that his health was slowly increasing, making the feeling of dread within his being distance itself. Boom! Closing his eyes, Leo began to focus on tempering his soul, wanting to finish it so he could begin creating his own domain, then finish his advancement afterwards- already got tired from the unceasing onught of lightning, only wanting to lie down on the ground or continue creating puppets within the silent cemetery. Sigh... "Who would have expected that advancing toward the Core Formation realm is much more tiring than fighting a Core Formation realm being!'' Leo sighed wearily as he unhurriedly shifted his gaze toward his nowpletely tempered soul, unfolding his naked body as it glistened with pale yet dead aura within the almost enclosed passage, quite simr to a newly deceased corpse as it exuded an unprecedented cold energy, making him sigh upon finally ridding his status as a Demon... Although in appearance only, as his race miraculously advanced from the previous Mid-Demon to High-Demon unknowingly! ... Boom! Boom! Being hit again by the same thick dark lightning, Leo immediately notices the difference between the two! Compared to a pure soul (without being tempered), the damage he took right now drastically dropped by at least 10%! Making him feel that he was wearing a thin imperceptible armour that passively decreased the damage he took! "How amazing... Moreover, it was only one of the advantages of tempering my soul!'' Leo eximed in surprise, causing his grey eyes to curve upwards, smiling chillingly as he finally gained his physical body back! Although it wasn''t a pure physical body since it was only the physical manifestation of his soul, nheless, the difference between the two isn''t that visible to the naked eye! Finally allowing him to be able to meet a human being again! Without causing them to feel scared and horrified! "Keke~ how amazing, I could finally visit the town without needing to hide within the dark... I could now finally start doing normal things that normal people do!'' Keke~ Keke~ *** Laughing maniacally, feeling that the might of the lightning was slowly losing its power, a testament that advancing toward the Core Formation realm is almost within his grasp, Leo immediately opened his character panel, retrieving the reward that the system gave him earlier as he abruptly closed his eyes. Ding! [ Using the chance of Understanding toprehend certain Rules...] Ding! [ Please select a rule that you want toprehend! ] "System, I want toprehend a Rule that was rted to Death! If it wasn''t possible then Life could also work!" Leo thought, wanting to grasp some Rules that were rted to Life and Death- wanting to understand its corner beforepletelyprehending its vastness in the future... If it was possible of course! Ding! [ You only have 30 minutes toprehend the Rule of Inevitable Death... Pleaseprehend it carefully... ] In an instant, upon seeing the notification that appeared in the corner of his consciousness... A sudden change urred within his mind, momentarily shrouding it in pure darkness before retracting in the next second, unfolding a mysterious yet mesmerizing sight that he wouldn''t forget in his lifetime... A space, dyed in dark and white hue suddenly unfolds itself within his consciousness, epassing its vastness that even his senses weren''t able to discern its end. Boom! The next second, as he was wondering how and when he would be able toprehend the Rule of Inevitable Death, the space within his mind suddenly shook, sending waves of deafening explosion as Leo silently behold the slowly materializingnd within... Filling every nook of his consciousness as Life began to bloom within its epassing, swaying even though the spacecked air, gaining Leo''s attention. However, upon setting his gaze toward the vibrant life- they suddenly decay within his senses, rotting before dying... Then bing powder afterwards, causing him to be speechless. "This... they died, they suddenly died!? Did my Jinx and Decaying skill kick in again!?'' He thought in pure dumbfounded, staring at the nd powder that silently swayed in the empty atmosphere, moving slowly before eventually falling toward the emptynd, drilling within the depths of the soil as it quickly vanished within Leo''s senses... "F*CK, does this mean it already ends? How could Iprehend the Rule of Inevitable Death when life already died!? "HAH! I''m done, I''m going to upgrade my Restrain skill after I sessfully advance!'' Leo cursed within his mind, wanting to find a thick wall just to kick it into pieces- wanting to release the pent-up anger within his being but only in vain, almost making his nostril erged due to the smoke it was exuding. Ding! [ Congrattions upon...prehending the basic rule under the Dao of Anger, the Rule of Hatred 1%! ] ... Huff~ Huff~ "Huff~ calm down Leo, think of beautiful things that you experienced in the past... Just don''t look at the notification that appeared in the corner of your senses, just ignore it." Gentle light illuminated Leo''s face, silently unfolding the throbbing vein in his forehead- closing his eyes tightly, taking an irregr deep breath as he tried to suppress the boiling anger within his being... Feeling that his chance toprehend a Rule and Make it into a domain suddenly vanishes just like that... Still... "F*cking jinx and Decaying aura! I really wanted to find the system just to beat... Just to talk nicely with it!'' "Who told it to add those skills of pure abomination!'' Leo thought, feeling that his understanding of the Rule of Hatred suddenly increased by the amount, making his reduced anger revert back... Making the throbbing vein on his forehead pulse crazily, as if it was about to explode at any second. *** Unknowingly, beneath thend within his consciousness, a small grass silently blooms, swaying slightly as new life again grazed its being. *** Chapter 176 Achieving the Core Formation realm, The seed of Rules! (3) Ehh? Seemingly noticing the countless small buds of life growing within his consciousness, Leo immediately shifted his gaze toward the vastnd beneath him- feeding Qi toward his Restrain skill to reduce the effects of his debuff passive skill... Wanting to avoid the ident earlier. ... "Being born only to wait for death... Experiencing countless hardship and emotions before transcending one''s life." Countless thoughts and ideas shed within his mind as he silently watched the vibrant grass quickly grow with his senses, watching it experience the drought, watching it experience the rain... Beholding its being enduring the heavy storm, beholding its being sway under a soft breeze... Watching it quickly be old before dying due to its limited life span. "I see, without elevating one''s natural life order, then mortal beings could only die due to their limited lifespan..." Leo pondered deep within him, gazing below as he quickly saw a small mouse being born under the ashes of grass, squeaking innocently as it stared around it in pure curiosity... Experience more tales on empire Beholding again another cycle of unending death... the inevitable one. Watching the rat grow up, experience every emotion before dying due to starvation, before bing a powder afterwards. *** Slowly, Leo''s thoughts inexplicably be clearer as he continues watching the unending death within his consciousness... in a cold-blooded manner, already bing numb from watching death unfold in his very senses for countless times... Seemingly only waiting for inevitable death to im the life below... Grasping the corner of its meaning, unhurriedlyprehending its core reason as he keeps absorbing its vast knowledge. "Elevating one''s life order, going beyond the set order of heaven... The Inevitable death...'' "Keke~ are you hinting me that going beyond the natural set order of heaven would lead beings to inevitable death?'' "Or you are hinting me that the rule of Inevitable Death was born due to the natural set order of heaven?'' Leo chuckled in a soft voice, feeling tired all of a sudden upon gainingrge amounts of knowledge in just a short span of time... Unable to process them all quickly as it leads to him having a slight headache. Ding! [ Congrattions uponprehending a rule under the Dao of Death, the Rule of Inevitable Death 10%! ] ... [ Rule of Inevitable Death (10%): The Rule of the Inescapable Death. One of the major rules under the Dao of Death! Gaining a basic understanding of death, allowing one to have a basic intuition of danger that includes death, making one able to escape and decrease the chances of Death! Effects: Permanently increase the host Death affinity by 2.5! Note: Mastering a certain rule would basically allow a being to go beyond its rule and fuse with its rule! ] ... Uponprehending the rule for a full 30 minutes, the space andnd within his consciousness suddenly shook loudly, cracking simr to a thin mirror as it burst into small fine pieces, nketing the ce in familiar darkness- kicking Leo out within his mind as he appeared in the familiar passage, being bombarded by an unending streak of lightning... Although it couldn''t touch the surface of his physique due to the green aura that weakened its might. Staring above at the weakening ck lightning, Leo heaves a sigh of relief before again closing his eyes tightly- starting to create his domain based on the instinct that suddenly emerged within his being. Knowing that the creation of heaven (after its punishment) was unconsciously guiding him in creating his domain. Leo began to follow its lead, closing his eyes as he began to create a seed within his being, an empty yet withered seed that exists in incorporeal form- slowly filling it with hisprehension and understanding of certain rules, filling it with its vastness as its surface slowly began to emit an aura of death... Followed by its discharging of faint aura, the surface of the seed slowly bes smoother, as its withered figure slowly begins to expand in size, making it rounded in the process. ... Unhurriedly, Leo''s understanding of Inevitable Death fills the interior of the seed, making its figure plump as its size which wasparable to a sesame seed emitted an intense aura of Death... affecting his physique in a good way as it slowly tempered it in the process! "It could create a new domain, but its strength might not be able topare to my Domain of Despair...'' He thought as he nced toward the weakening lightning above him that might dissolve in a few minutes... "This... The creation was still flowing toward my being?'' (Since the lightning still hadn''t dissipated, it was still sending a hint of creation to Leo''s being.) *** Feeling enlightened, Leo hurriedly created a new seed within the depths of his being, using the remaining creation that lingered in the atmosphere as he quickly fill it with his understanding of the rule of Life Nature. "How amazing, so it means that a being could create at least two to three domains when they were advancing toward the Core Formation realm! "The only thing that holding them back is theirprehension of rules! Although they might learn a number of Rules, the percentage theyprehend might not be enough to create it into a new domain!'' Leo thought, feeling excited all of a sudden as he began to fill the seed with hisprehension of Life''s Nature... Making it release an unfamiliar aura as its size instantly expands by folds! Compared to the "Seed of Inevitable Death", the size of the "Seed of Life Nature" was at least 5 timesrger than thetter! Causing him to conclude that it has a connection to the difference of percentage heprehended in different rules! With how high hisprehension regarding the rule of Life Nature, he should have already half expected it! *** Ding! "Huff~ Finally, I couldn''t fill it any longer...'' Leo sighed softly, feeling that he already fed all of his understanding of the two rules toward the two seeds within him- quietly beholding their plump figure as they subconsciously tempered his soul, physique, and being... Causing him to feel an unprecedented euphoria that he cannot describe, making his strength increase by a little every second. Although his overall strength was increasing every second, it was simr to a drop of water that fell toward a vast ocean! It''s almost non-existent! "Keke~ however, the increase of strength would slowly umte within my being... to the point that it would show its effect after an unknown period of time... "Even if it shows after months, years, or decades, who cares? The only thing that was important was that my strength was constantly increasing!'' Laughing within while the lightning in the atmosphere coincidentally churns in weak sound that sends ripples toward the unknown depths of the passage... Seemingly unwilling as its might begin to dissolve within the void... Leo again closed his mind, carefully guiding the two seeds within his being toward his gaseous core, entering its depth that was churning with weak lightning, dyeing thepressed Qi in its surface with ck and green colour. "This...'' Watching things that he couldn''t exin unfold within his soul, Leo''s mouth couldn''t help but gape slightly, seemingly understanding something, yet, at the same time not. "They seem to be helping each other grow... The seeds make my Qi contain a minute of their understanding, making the Qi more dangerous and unpredictable in the process... "While on the other hand, the Qi help the seeds to temper their shells, making my understanding within the interior and exterior of the seed to be solid!" This... "Wait! There''s still an extra seed within my core!'' Leo suddenly eximed upon discerning the small figure of grey seed, hiding in the corner of his gaseous core, seeing its being that was emitting an intense baleful aura- causing him to fall silent as he began to ponder within... "The Domain of Despair?'' *** Boom! At the same time, outside his mind, the lightning within the atmosphere churned loudly for thest time, umting itsst-ditch effort to kill the advancing being below it... Before dissolving afterwards. Instantly shrouding the passage in familiar pure darkness as the thick ink ck water that evaporated earlier began to fill the beneath, surging from the unknown depths as it again filled the dpidated ce with sticky puddles... Its unprecedented coldness instantly seeps into Leo''s physical manifestation of the soul! Instantly causing his naked yet pale body to subconsciously shiver, making his eyelids twitch before abruptly opening... Disying his cold yet emotionless grey eyes beyond! Ding! Boom! Not even a second passed by, toward the unknown depths of the passage, a loud gushing sound entered Leo''s ears, attracting his attention as he behold the thick dark fog (Condense Qi), simr to water that broke through a dam instantly filled every nook of the ce... Before entering his pores inrge quantities, transforming his being or to be exact, making it transcend its natural life order- making his unknown lifespan increase byrge amounts... Causing him to groan in bliss. *** Chapter 177 Drastic Increase In Strength! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully stepping toward the Core Formation realm! +10,000 horror points! +10 free attribute points! +2 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! +2 Peak of Enlightenment Stone! +1 Item Tempering Stone (Mid)! ] Readtest stories on empire ... Huff~ Opening his eyes, Leo unhurriedly breathes deeply, inhalingrge amounts of air as the fragrance of the underground enters his nostrils- finally allowing him to smell the fragrance of the forsaken pit, the fragrance of the intense cold rotting smell. "How fragrant, I really miss this kind of smell... "Even my senses of touch work perfectly, not different from a normal physical body... and its taste, it''s really gross...'' Leo thought as he secretly licked the tip of his pale fingers upon touching the wet ground, immediately spitting it into the distance upon tasting the simr rich taste of sour sweat. Upon recovering, Leo pondered slightly, touching his chin as he stared at the erged passage in the surroundings- greatly amazed at how destructive the ck lightning was, still feeling a slight fear within his being upon remembering the close death earlier... Again wanting to curse the system within his mind onest time, but decided not to, to avoid destroying his mood. ... Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Demon/High-level Entity! Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Umon)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion, Sinful Desire! Physique: Physical Body of the Soul! Rules: Life Nature (33%), Fear of the Unknown (15%), Despair (3%), Hatred (1%), Inevitable Death (11%)! Iplete Domain: Domain of Unpredictable Death (Level 1), Domain of Reality Distortion (Level 1)! Complete Domain: Domain of Despair (Level 6)! ___ Attributes ___ Level: 1 Core Formation realm ( 10/22,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 25 Health: 500/500 Qi: 1250/1250 Stamina: 500/500 Strength: 325 Speed: 300 Qi Power: 500 Soul Power: 1,000 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 7), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 6), Jinx (Lvl 5), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 5), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 5), Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 9), Condense Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 6), Strong Physique (Lvl 5), Dying Immortal (Level 5)... ss Job Skill: Advance Potion Knowledge (Lvl 5), Advance Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl 5)... ... Horror Points: 145,000! ... Keke~ "As expected, my attribute points increase by at least 3 times!'' Leo eximed with mixed emotions, feeling that the strength he could muster was about 5 times stronger than in the past due to his Qi containing a minute amount of his understanding of Rules- making the skill that uses Qi as their main source of energy strengthen drastically. Boom! Clenching his fist, Leo casually throws a punch toward the void, instantly causing the air to dent, exploding loudly due to them unable to react and parted in time- creating an intense gale of wind that greatly shook the environment. Swish! Beholding the umted dust on the ceiling of the passage slowly fell towards the atmosphere before eventually shrouding the ce, Leo couldn''t help but gape his mouth, opening slightly as he stared at his fist in pure amazement. "Huff~ No wonder... No wonder the white rabbit stared at its fist for couple of seconds upon throwing a punch toward the void!'' "The sensation brought by the sudden increase of strength, it was just addicting!'' Leo excitedly thought, slightly panning his hands toward the environment, instantly causing the dust that lingered within the atmosphere to disperse, again clearing the ce as the only thing that remained was the ink-ck water beneath him... Creating a wave that rippled toward the unknown. *** "Huff, it''s too cold!" "I''m naked and my little Leo down there was feeling cold...'' Leo shivers uncontrobly upon sitting on the cold ground for minutes, feeling that the cold yet sticky ink-ck water beneath him slightly touches his balls and the unknown... Instantly making his being cold as he instinctively shifts his gaze downward. "How embarrassing...'' Blushing slightly due to shame upon thinking that someone just touched his balls. Leo immediately stood up, taking out clothes within his inventory as he hurriedly wore them... Hiding his pale physique beyond the nd clothes before rushing toward the surface of thend... Wanting to inspect his newfound ability there while feeling the energy brought by the moon and the sun. (mainly to satisfy his desire to feel the surroundings with his senses.) *** Boom! -nk? (Ma-master?) Skeleton #2, who happened to be cultivating within the periphery of the forsaken pit, suddenly stood up upon seeing the figure that emerged from the pit... Seemingly unable to muster his courage to speak as an instinctive desire to kneel down abruptly emerges within his being, making him at loss and puzzled on what to do. nk!? (Dont tell me... Master advance toward the Core Formation realm!?) Upon pondering for a while, a sudden thought emerges within his consciousness, causing the ck me within his eye sockets to dance in excitement... Making him jealous but at the same time happy. nk! (Congrattions on the smooth advancement, Master!) "Keke~A small matter... here, a potion that could increase the speed of Qi cirction." Leo chuckled slightly before manipting the bottle within his inventory toward the silver skeleton in the distance- unable to use his physical capabilities, afraid that he wouldn''t be able to control his strength... (A normal situation that often happens due to the sudden increment of strength, making him unable to control his strength in great detail that might lead to unnecessary idents...) ... Seeing that Skeleton #1 received the potion without much ident, Leo didn''t wait for thetter to reply as he immediately dashed towards the centre of the cemetery... Instantly creating a small crater beneath his previous location as his body suddenly vanished like a smoke that dissolve within the atmosphere... "F*CK, I just intended to run a little! I didn''t mean to fly!'' Leo cursed within his mind as he helplessly watched his body uncontrobly propel itself toward the far distance, couldn''t control the strength he had used earlier, causing him to seemingly fly... Boom. The next second, a small sound of explosion resounded within the centre of the nd cemetery as Leo''s head hit the ground first, drilling a hole in the soft earth beneath, causing some soil to enter his nostrils. Cough! Cough! "Huff~ it''s much more problematic than I expected! I should have stayed within the forsaken pit to get used to my strength first... "s, my excitement didn''t allow me that!'' Leo thought in slight regret, pondering deeply before taking out the Silver Scale Bnce within the depths of his being- instantly causing the ce to be dyed in bloody red hue, seemingly making thend alive as he could feel that they were slithering in low frequency... Making his senses of touch detect a sticky fluid that slightly touched his lower body (due to him sitting in a cross-legged manner) as the fragrance of rich metallic yet fishy smell that was much more fragrant than earlier intensely hit his senses... Causing Leo to frown as he inspects the slow slithering innards (Intestines) moving within the white-stained te. Ding! [ Scale of Revenge (Soul Bound Weapon) (Elite (Growable)): A Soul Bound Weapon that goes beyond the natural order of the world. It carried a trace of creation andprehension, causing its growth to be unpredictable... A Scale that bnces things but only to make it more chaotic! Blood for Blood, Injuries for Injuries, and Life for Life! Effects 1: umte the damage one''s took, putting it toward the empty te on the left until the two be bnced... Before releasing it (equally the damage the host took) toward the enemy that damages the host- exacting revenge in the true sense! Effect 2: Allow one to perceive the weakness of the enemy! The longer the battlests, the easier it is to perceive their weakness! Effect 3: (Unlock upon reaching the Nascent Soul realm or upon upgrading the Soul Bound Weapon!) Note: A weapon that was forged using mutated lightning and unknown materials! ] ... "Hmm... A support Item.'' Leo revealed a thoughtful expression on his face, curving his lips upwards as he took out an iron sword within his inventory, pointing it toward his left palm as he began putting force toward it... Click~ "Huff~ even my defence increases drastically, even the Elite weapon has a hard time damaging my tempered soul!'' Leo thought as he finally saw a small wound appear on his palm upon putting a lot of effort. In an instant, upon inflicting a small wound toward his palm, the empty te on the other side of the silver scale shook slightly, flickering with red weak light as a drop of blood appeared within its centre... "Keke~ how amusing, so how could I exact my revenge?'' Inspecting the blood within the silver te, Leo couldn''t help but fall into deep thought, grasping the bnce scale that was floating in his front as he examined it in great detail... Making his hand wet and sticky in the process as the heat of the blood entered his being... *** Chapter 178 The Curse and The Healing! "Howfortable...'' Leo thought as the feeling of heat entered his senses, giving him the sensation of long-lost heat, making the corner of his lips curl up further... Suddenly giving him the feeling that he has be old due to the sudden change of moods that often appear in those old and withered relics. Slick~ Slick~ "Exact the Revenge...'' Leo suddenly muttered within his consciousness, breaking the momentary silence as the silver scale bnce in his hand shook intensely- beholding the slithering of Intestines quickened within the silver tter, as the rhythmic sounds of heartbeats drastically increased in frequency. Followed by the intense bloody aura that shrouded the ce, the drop of crimson ck blood (product of his tempered soul) on the other te of the scale emitted with pure ck smoke- evaporating visible before vanishing in his line of sight. -1 health! Sizzle~ Sizzle~ At the same time, when the crimson-ck blood vanishes within the tter, a small visible wound mysteriously appears on Leo''s pointed finger... oozing with droplets of blood that slowly fall toward the ground, making the ground charred due to its unknown properties! "This... How amazing! This silver bncing scale was simply a divine item! "It could actually damage one''s soul and physical body unknowingly!'' Staring at the healing wound on his pointed finger, Leo''s eyes couldn''t help but reveal a dangerous glint- a sigh that would only appear when a strange thought emerged within his insignificant mind... Causing his body to shiver slightly upon noticing that it was really a perfect item for him! (Regretfully, his shadow physique is no more... A man, shivering in excitement seems perverted in my perspective T-T.) With thebination of his "Dying Immortal" skill, Leo''s ability to prolong a fight in order to umte more flesh toward the empty tter... was simply devious in his opinion! "No, let''s use demonic or demonious to describe its ability. Although the word might not exist... I couldn''t stand using "devious" to describe what I felt! Experience more tales on empire "Demon and Devil are different entities!" ... "Eh? Wait, why did I suddenly utter those words?'' Leo suddenly paused upon feeling the unknown hatred surge within his being, making him dumbfounded due to the intense feelings that suddenly appeared, still presented within his bones as it heavily affected his emotions... Feeling an instinctive hatred toward the Devils although he hadn''t even met one... As if they were destined to be an enemy- fighting one''s to death upon meeting it. "The disadvantages of High Demon Entity?'' He muttered in a weak voice, not expecting that the disadvantages would be like this... It''s not as troublesome as he expected! "It''s better than having an intense desire that causes someone to be blind just to achieve his goal...'' Shaking his head, feeling that he was again bing upied by something that he shouldn''t ponder about. Leo unhurriedly unsummoned the silver bnce scale in his front, instantly causing it to be incorporeal before drilling toward his being- hiding within its depths, waiting for it to be summoned again... Huff~ "I''m going to upgrade itter with the "Item Tempering Stone" after I gain preliminary knowledge of my current ability." Upon deciding his course of action, Leo again opened his character panel, opening his Skill Tree on the system as he hurriedly clicked the flickering darkness below- signifying that he could finally learn a new skill from the system! Ding! [ Cursed Item (Locked): One of the main skills of Red Spectre... Cutting one soul, feeding it with dense Death Qi, Hatred, and Pain before fusing it toward a certain item! Making the item carried a curse that would affect beings unknowingly, causing them to suffer from countless ailments, bad energy (luck), and at worst death! Activation: One''s Qi, Soul, Hatred, and Pain! Cost: 2,500 horror points! Note: A skill that was hard to detect! ] Reading the description of the skill with unprecedented seriousness, Leo couldn''t help but fall silent, remembering certain knowledge of his past- not expecting that spectre was really active in the past civilization when the apocalypse still hadn''t arrived. Remembering the certain items that he often carried when he was a child, making him suffer from countless ailments even though the reason was unknown... Even causing him to be unlucky just by within its radius. Although they suspected the item to be cursed, without sufficient knowledge and understanding of the unnaturalness of the World, they could only suspect it without certainty. "Keke~ It seems much scarier than I expected... How could be the toy that I just picked up randomly might turn up to be a cursed Item?'' "How many lives of its victims did it manage to destroy before I unluckily picked it up?'' "Am I talented in the aspect of curse energy when I was still in my childhood?'' Leo couldn''t help but ask himself, causing his mind to go wild- making him imagine things that he should not as he again fell into deep dazed, making the ck crows above the canopy, looking at his location in interest to reveal puzzlement. Caw, Caw? (Why Master was smiling foolishly?) Meow~ (I heard from Skeleton #1 that it was due to daydreaming, he said that the master loves to daydream!) Caw? (Daydream?) Meow~ Meow- (It''s the term they use when beings often imagine things that they shouldn''t or things that were impossible to happen.) Failed Crow #1 patiently exined toward the lucky crow beside it (luckily being grazed by Life and Death Qi, causing it to develop a small amount of Soul, hence causing its intelligence to be born)... As its gaze never left the ground, wondering what kind of unimaginable thoughts were running within the mind of its creator. ... Hmm? Seemingly hearing the faint sound of unceasing meowing and cawing above him, toward the far canopy thanks to his enhanced senses. Leo couldn''t help but raise his eyes, instantly gazing toward the general direction of the two little crows beyond the thick branches... Revealing a grey glint on his eyes, causing themunication between the two to instantly quieten down... Caw- (Shit! The master seems to notice us!) Hearing this, Failed Crow #1 didn''t nce at the ck crow beside it, instead, it continued speaking (meowing) with determination reflected in its fish eyes. Meow! (That''s why we need to protect the cemetery at all costs, even though it might cost us our lives! Do you understand!) It meowed, as if teaching the ck crow beside it, not daring to look beneath it, afraid that the master was looking at its pitiful body with malicious intent- probably thinking about how he could recycle its parts to create it into new puppets! *** Huff~ "Is there a problem with my senses of hearing?'' "I think I just heard someone ndering my capability as a Demon Entity...'' Leo thought as he unhurriedly pricked his ears, trying to clear them if some dust or soil entered them earlier, causing his senses to not work properly. ... Shaking his head, Leo unhurriedly learned the "Cursed Item" skill in the system, instantly reducing his horror points by 13 thousand upon upgrading it to level 5- making him sigh upon seeing the familiar sight of reduction unfold in front of him. Ding! -25,000 horror points! Still not done, Leo hurriedly opened his ss job panel- clicking the two new learnable skills on the skill tree as hurriedly learned it... before also upgrading it to level 5 afterwards. Instantly decreasing his horror points from the initial 140,000 to 102,000 in the blink of an eye, making his heart bleed as he helplessly watches it decrease... *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon learning the "Curse" and "Healing" skills! ] Ding! [ Curse (unknown) (Level 5): Cursed one''s enemy using one''s blood, intense emotions, and Qi. Making them suffer from unescapable ailments and misfortune! The longer you curse the higher and stronger the effects of ailments and misfortune the enemy would experience! Activation: One''s blood, Qi, and emotions or 5 Qi per second! Upgrade cost: 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! Note: It could be used inbat or cursing someone in the far distance! ] Ding! [ Healing (unknown) (Level 5): The basic origin of life magic... Allowing one to heal ailments, damage, misfortune, and curse one experience! Activation: 5 Qi per second! Upgrade cost: 1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! Note: A skill that contains the basic understanding of the Rule of Healing! ] ... "Sigh, I''m already used to it, I already expected that I would learn another 2 new support skills... "Well, the curse skill probably entered the category of quasi-offensive skill since it could be used duringbat... However, I still probably needed to prolong the fight for it to be able to showcase its effect.'' Sigh~ "It''s really hard to survive as a ghost, too much disadvantage and little advantage.'' Leo sighed deeply, releasing a smog of darkness that corroded the nd grasses in the short distance as he silently gazed at the peeking sun on the far horizon... nketing thend in a yellowish glow as it dissolves the cold atmosphere within the cemetery... unfolding its serenity toward the vicious world. *** Chapter 179 Not Invited Guess... "Is this the ce?" Within the periphery of the cemetery, behind one of the tall vibrant bashes, a tall man, wearing a light camouge armour, suddenly whispered toward the middle age man beside it. His gaze never left the metallic rusty gate of the cemetery as he often inspected the surroundings with unprecedented cautiousness... "Hehe, yes, I saw it with my own eyes... The two who spent dozens of Earth Gold to buy countless spiritual herbs and fruits entered this ce. "Although they deliberately buy from different shops within the town, my senses as a Thief (his ss job) never failed me!" The middle aged manughed in suppressed maniac tone, unable to hide the glint in his eyes as he secretly licked the corner of his lips, clenching the hidden dagger on his side with force... "Keke~ unfortunately, if the one yesterday wasn''t on the high foundation realm, I wouldn''t need to call for help to finish the two off... "Sigh... Hundreds of Earth Gold vanish within my grasp in a blink of an eye.'' He thought in regret as he secretly nced at the other 5 humans, hiding in the far distance in dissatisfaction- knowing that he needed to divide his gains into 7 parts after killing the two off. "Well, I could secretly kill some of the cannon fodder, lessening the dividend in the end... "Keke~ after I bought a Foundation realm pill toward the tower, I could speed up my cultivation speed by times before finally stepping toward the Core Formation realm!'' ... Swish... "Don''t try to do something malicious, I could smell your disgusting thoughts distance away~" As the middle aged man was happily entertaining his thoughts, the voice of an alluring woman suddenly resounded within his back, making his sense of smell detect a fresh yet cold fragrance, causing his body to freeze as an intense inappropriate desire suddenly surged within his being... Making him clench his teeth in slight fear, suppressing the desire within him as he lightly turned his head towards his back, forcing a smile before replying in a mild yet cold tone. "It''s probably your hallucination, I''m not that crazy yet to fight a being in the same realm... Moreover, I don''t like to fight a woman." "Hehe~ men really know how to lie, you don''t want to fight me, yet, the thing beneath was already excited to find some action..." A woman in a red thin dress, revealing her long white legs as she gazed toward the lower body of the middle aged man, spoke yfully... Curling her red thick lips as she unhurriedly licks the corner of it... Making the middle aged man gulp uncontrobly. "Violet, stop ying, we didn''te here to y." Just as the middle aged man seems finally unable to control his urge, a deep yet thick voice weakly resounded in the far distance, making the atmosphere twist due to the pressure he was unconsciously emitting- a testament that he was on the very peak of the Foundation realm. A step away toward the Core Foundation realm! "You should be aware how important the resources for us, we needed them to prepare for our inevitable advancement... We can''t make a mistake.'' He added, using an unknown method that allows him tomunicate with the woman, directly to her consciousness- enabling him to secretlymunicate without someone hearing it. "Tsk... Unfortunately..." Upon hearing it, Violet shook her head regretfully, pouting as she nced toward the middle aged man, toward his lower body in destain... Gesturing at her little hand, as if measuring how little it was, instantly causing the middle aged man to grip the dagger hidden within him as visible smoke (Qi) oozed toward his nostrils- a testament to how angry he was... "Keke~ don''t worry, after we finished the two with hundreds of Earth Gold on them... I will pin you down toward the concrete niches, enjoying your body before killing you off... You slut.'' Imagining the beautiful scene within his pitiful mind, the middle aged man unhurriedly releases his intense grip on the dagger, shooting a nce toward the woman, snorting as he quickly hides the dangerous glint within his eyes. Smirking mentally before shifting his gaze toward the huge man beside the woman, feeling the dangerous aura it was exuding as he subconsciously increased his wariness. "5 peaks of foundation realm and 2 high stages of foundation realm, I didn''t expect that the idiot would invite too many...'' He thought as he secretly nced toward the man beside him before staring at the countless niches beyond the rusting gate, feeling uncertain all of a sudden as unease crept into his being... Smelling a rotting smell as it inexplicably makes his stomach churn. *** Your adventure continues at empire "This feeling...'' Roy suddenly stared at the far distance, unfolding the dark circles under his eyes as the feeling of danger suddenly emerged within his being. It''s simr to little dots that umted into something bigger, making the danger slightly inferior when he just arrived in this forsaken ce... Allowing him to conclude that the source of danger was beneath the strength of the Core Formation realm being... "A being at the peak of the foundation realm? Moreover, their number seems above 3-5... It''s beasts or humans?'' "I hope they don''t harbour malicious thoughts... Or else, death would only await them...'' He thought before ncing toward the direction of the kitchen, toward the thing it was hiding beneath the big silver rock with depression clearly written on his face... Feeling that the being hiding within the unknown was staring toward his physique, salivating since its gaze never left his body even a second... Making him feel helpless upon noticing that he never provoked the being before, yet, it was teasing him yfully! "Sigh... Unfortunately, I''m still far away from the illusionary Core Formation realm, or else, I don''t need to shiver in one corner in fright... Afraid to die due to mistakes and idents. "Huff~ this ss job is both a blessing and a curse.'' Sighing deeply, Roy stared at the rising sun on the far horizon in deep silence... Waiting for the show to unfold within the nd cemetery, wanting to see how long they wouldst until they sumbed toward the unknown despair... *** Caw! Caw! Caw! Hmm? Hearing the unceasing caw above him, Leo unhurriedly raised his head, closing his character panel as an amused expression appeared on his pale face... Not expecting that a number of not invited visitors would suddenly appear outside the cemetery. Feeling excited all of a sudden upon feeling their rich malicious desire from afar, a desire that could bepared to at least tens of mortals... Probably allowing him to have his fill. "Keke~ as expected, it''s inevitable that there would be someone being attracted by riches and resources...'' Leo thought, not that surprised that a number of beings would be attracted by the Earth Gold or Potions that the two sold toward the town previously... It''s just that, he didn''t expect that it would take them some time to finally enter the cemetery... To the point that he almost forgot about it. Smiling demonically, unfolding his curled eyes upon thinking of something interesting. Leo chuckled slightly, causing the nd grass in the short distance to instinctively twist their body, unable to resist the imperceptible might that he was emitting as waves of grey fog oozed within his pores, instantly nketing the distance... Rolling forth akin to a wave of water that quickly enveloped the ce. "Mist of Illusion.'' He lightly muttered under his breath, unhurriedly gazing toward the thick fog in the surroundings, feeling their huge changes due to his high soul power and the certain rules that grazed their being thanks to his Qi... Allowing them to contain madness, death, uncertainty, and horrors within the grey fog... Making beings that inhale and stay within the fog for certain period of time to suffer from the unknown. In addition to the ability to make one senses oppressed, Leo was quite confident that even a Core Formation realm being would suffer within this ability of his! "Keke~ I hope they canst till I manage to master and control all of my abilities... Or else, It would take me some time to gain great control of my strength!'' Stretching his physique, Leo unhurriedly walked towards the unknown, not rushing to reach the side of his visitors, afraid that he would again lose control of his strength- again propelling his body uncontrobly. "It would be awkward if I uncontrobly reached the side of my visitors... I don''t want to be aughing stock yet.'' ... Caw... "Hmm...'' Stopping in his tracks, the huge man hurriedly shifted his gaze upward, toward the tall canopy above as the feeling of being spied on emerged within his consciousness... causing him to be tense as he tried to find the origin of it but only in vain... Swish, Swish! At the same time, waves of thick grey fog,ing from the centre of the cemetery suddenly enveloped the ce, catching them off guard as their senses suddenly decreased by amount... Making them pause as the feeling of danger crept toward their being... "This!'' *** Chapter 180 A Mist of Illusion That Contains Traces of Rule! Click~ Click~ "Carlos, did you hear that?" The man, wearing light camouge armour, suddenly halted in his tracks, stepping above the concrete niches as he carefully observed the surrounding environment... being constantly consumed by thick grey fog in unprecedented wariness. "This...'' Soon, upon not hearing the expected reply for a couple of seconds, the man shifted his gaze toward his back, toward the previous location of the middle aged man in puzzlement... Only for him to freeze on the spot, eyes constricted upon seeing nothing, unable to see the expected faces of the middle aged man and the others, instead, the thing that greeted his senses was the dense fog that shrouded the epasses of thend. "This... How is that even possible, they simply vanish without me noticing! "No, I needed to find them quickly!'' He thought in anxiousness before rushing toward the opposite direction, the general direction where the rusty metallic gate stood silently- wanting to see if he could find the silhouette of the group so he could lessen the risk if there were danger within the cemetery. ... Huff~ In an instant, another 5 minutes of unceasing running quickly passed by. Within the centre of the nd yet dead silent cemetery, a man could be seen running in a full circle, within the area of 50 meters unknowingly as dread and despair painted his being... Making the grass nearby sway in an unstable manner due to the gale he created, panting heavily as chaotic thoughts began to fill his mind. Followed by the fear of the unknown, creeping toward his consciousness, simr to thick roots that were quickly rushing toward the depths of his soul... Staying there calmly, slowly deepening his unease. "No, this doesn''t make sense, why I couldn''t find their silhouettes! "I... I need to exit this ce immediately!'' *** Hmm... At the same time, in the far distance. Seemingly feeling that something was off, not noticing the pressure of the woman behind him. The huge man hurriedly gazed toward his back, gazing toward and beyond the thick grey fog that unknowingly shrouded the ce- making him unable to see meters away as his senses of direction seemed to malfunction, causing his pure ck brow to furrow before easing in the next second. "Mental Barrier...'' Using his mentality, an imperceptible cubic-like shield instantly shrouded his being, pushing the thick grey fog 2 meters away from him, allowing him to discern the nd niches and the maroon flower growing within its cracks in the short distance. However, even though that was the case, the figure of the woman and the other 5 never appeared in his vision... Making his being feel uneasy but managed to calm down in the next second due to his strong belief in his strength. A being at the very peak of the foundation realm could at least escape within the grasp of the early stage of the Core Formation realm being if he was careful enough! "As expected... This ce isn''t simple at all.'' "Eyes of Prying.'' He calmly thought, covering his eyes with his right hand before muttering in a low voice, causing his ck irises to deepen in colour as if he could discern things that mortal beings were unable to perceive. Instantly making his senses able to pry another 1.5 meters deeper into the grey fog, allowing him to behold some movement within, seemingly able to see the shadows of countless humans (childs) staring at his huge figure before being engulfed by fog in the next second... Momentarily giving him the deep sensation of intense chills that instantly drilled into the depths of his bones, causing his figure to pause, shivering slightly as he lowered his right hand. "Illusion? No, Illusion wouldn''t work for me, at least it needed to be cast by the Late or Peak stage of the Core Formation realm topletely affect and engulf me... "Moreover, there''s no Late to Peak Core Formation realm being in the town at the moment since they all still haven''te back from the depths of the Endless Forest." Of course, except for the very Peak of the Core Formation realm that was residing within the town at the moment, protecting it from possible destruction... However, it''s impossible for the being to exit the town just to troll beings beneath him (them)... Moreover, he even heard from some higher ups that the being was on closed cultivation for already a month, wanting to ascend toward the illusionary Nascent Soul realm to be an Immortal that could move thend! "Then... I couldn''t fathom what was happening right now, it didn''t make sense!'' He thought in unease, as he pondered on the spot, thinking of the best course of action possible to escape the current predicament... but only to give up halfway due to theck of information. Click~ Click~ Hehe~ Hahaha~ As he was thinking, a sudden soft rhythmic sound akin to countless moving gears... Followed by high pitch yet innocentughs, drilling to one''s consciousness... suddenly resounded within the depths of the fog, making his being tense as horror momentarily reflected in his eyes, freezing for a while before hurriedly swinging his left hand toward his side with force, causing the thick fog to churn crazily- an instinctive movement of his that he set using one of his mental skills. Immediately summoning a 12 inch brown wand from the void (inventory) as it emitted a weak glow of light... Lightly illuminating his darkened face as he hurriedly gazed toward the origin of the sound. "Mental Piercing.'' Instantly mumbling in a low voice, the atmosphere around the huge man suddenly suffered from intense pressure, twisting crazily as an almost incorporeal spear, 2 meters in length slowly materializing from the depths of the void... Floating for a millisecond before swiftly traversing the grey fog as it instantly hits the ce where the clicking sound originated! Boom! In an instant, an inaudible sound instantly resounded within the tranquil ce, ringing loudly within one''s consciousness but at the same time, it didn''t release a sound toward the exterior of the mind! Making the sound of countless clicking abruptly halt, as if they just suffering from something unimaginable. "Sess!'' Feeling that his skill hit something, the huge man slowly revealed a grin, easing his tense physique as he hurriedly rushed toward the direction where his skill struck- nning to capture the being that was spying on him, asking it some questions before killing it for good! This... However, upon arriving at the location where his skill struck, the huge man revealed deep puzzlement on his face upon seeing nothing... Only seeing the crazily twisted grasses beneath due to the effect of his unique skill. Causing him to experience unprecedented doubt and uncertainty, making him feel that he just experienced intense hallucination but at the same time not. "Did I miss? No, the feeling of hitting something couldn''t be fake... Moreover, even if I hit a Core Formation realm being, it would at least make him/her pause for 5 seconds at the very least due to his consciousness being unstable. "As for the foundation realm, it''s almost certain that they would fall unconscious or pause for at least half a minute to recover from a mental attack.'' ... Ding! [ Unknown (Human)- Peak of the Foundation Level 20 ] ss Job: ( Mental Caster (Rare +1)) Innate Ability: Mental Prodigy. Iplete Domain: Mental Domain. ___Attributes___ Health: 200/200 Qi Storage: 486/500 Mental Storage: 221/250 Stamina: 156/175 Strength: 100 Speed: 100 Qi Power: 175 Mental Power: 225 Skills: Mental Barrier (Rare), Mental Piercing (Rare), Eyes of Prying (Elite +2), Advance Consciousness (Rare +2), Replication (Rare +2)... ] ... Ding! [ Advance Consciousness (Rare +2): Increase the process capability of mind by 50%, allowing a being to use skills much more easier and smoother in the process... Moreover, it would increase the capability of the host toprehend rules and skills rted to the "Mind" on his own! Other Effects: Increase the recovery of Mental energy by 100% and mental power by 10! Activation: Passive! ] Ding! [ Replication (Rare +2): Allow one to copy a skill that he saw and greatly analysed, effectively using it with strength that almost reaches 70% to 100%... Activation Cost: Consume 10% above the normal activation cost of the skill you copy. Note: Replication skill could at least copy 3 skills! ] ... "Keke~ The Soul Search and Eyes of Soul, even the deepest secret of one''s being couldn''t hide under my prying...'' Enjoy new stories from empire (Eyes of Soul: The mutation of his eyes when he first advanced toward the Foundation realm.) Leo revealed a mocking smile on his pale face, watching within the tall nd canopy above- staring beneath him as the figure of the 7 entered his senses perfectly, allowing him topletely see their description, skills, and secrets with his grey irises (except the rule theyprehend). "Keke~ now, let''s test my skills one by one, I can''t wait to see the changes they took... "I hope I can control my strength well, or else... They might die due to idents.'' *** "Keke~ idents, it was quite fun upon thinking of it...'' Chapter 181 The Thief... Laughing in a deranged manner, Leo unhurriedly curved his pale lips, opening his palms as dozens of items (mostly knuckles) suddenly materialised around him- falling simr to weightless leaves, unhurriedly entering the thick grey fog beneath before vanishing within his vision in a blink of an eye. "Telekinesis...'' Beholding this, Leo''s smile further widens as a maniacal desire abruptly reflected within his grey irises, unfolding his deepest desire that he wanted to bury within him but only for it to surface again due to the instability in his consciousness that appears in the middle of his breakthrough. The pain, horror, uncertainty, hatred, and despair that he experienced earlier trigger the deepest horror, hiding within the depths of his consciousness that he wanted to forget... Causing his mind to suddenly enter a half-crazed condition! Making him want to vent his negative emotions toward his surroundings, wanting to bring horror, despair, and pain toward the beings around him! "Kekeke~'' (It only appears now due to the small damage he took mentally! Due to his connection toward the doll beneath, the mental piercing it took unconsciously affected his mentality! Making his seemingly stable mind to instantly crumble!) *** Swish! Boom! Seemingly sensing an intense feeling of dread that originated from the above, Carlos, the middle-aged man who has a ss job as a "Thief" suddenly ducked toward the nd ground, perfectly evading the fast-approaching unknown object above him as it heavily mmed toward the concrete tomb nearby. Bang! Pulverizing it into a powder, causing some of its debris to heavily hit his physique as small fine wounds appeared within his body... Oozing with a trickle of blood before falling toward the ground beneath. "This... Who!?" He thought in slight fear as his constricted brown eyes hurriedly and instinctively scanned his surroundings... only for him to see the tranquil fog beyond as if the thing that just urred earlier was simply a product of his imagination. Taking out the dagger hidden within his being, reflecting a dangerous glint as it leaves a faint mark on the ruined environment- a testament to its unprecedented sharpness... The man gazed toward the surroundings vigntly. ... Swish! Soon, in an instant, a bronze metallic gleam suddenly entered the corner of his senses, causing him to frown before evading with great precision and agility... "Huff~ Steal!'' Seeing that the item finally passed his figure, the middle-aged man hurriedly pointed his left palm toward it, squinting his eyes as he hurriedly mumbled under his breath, instantly causing his palm to release an indescribable attraction as the item in the far distance noticeably slowed down! Beholding this, the middle-aged man revealed a light grin on his face, hiding it in the next second as he began to feed a hundredth of his Qi toward his skill, causing the attraction to increase further as the item within the atmosphere began to twist its body frantically- seemingly wanting to escape the imperceptible hand holding its metallic body but only in vain! Making its attempt to escape from his grasp slowly be futile, causing its movement to quieten down before unhurriedly making it fly toward his direction... Making his emotions fluctuate as the excitement within his being could no longer be contained... Swish! However, before the itempletely entered his reach, the fog behind him suddenly churned, giving him a dangerous sensation as another metallic bronze gleam emitted within... Exiting the thick fog before hitting his back in a matter of milliseconds. Crack, Crack! -10 health! In an instant, the sound of cracking bones resounded within his consciousness, making his expression change as a trickle of blood flowed toward the corner of his lips. Hurriedly shifting his gaze toward his back, the man couldn''t help but loudly curse within his mind, discerning that the thing that just hit his physique again entered within the depths of the fog... Not even allowing him to see its corner! "F*ck, don''t even let me capture you!'' Gritting his teeth, the middle aged man viciously ignored the damage he took, increasing the Qi he fed toward the skill, making the attraction increase by folds as he hurriedly grabbed it! Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully stealing an Umon item, the "Bronzes Knuckle"! ] Seeing this, the middle-aged man revealed a ferocious look on his face, wounding his thumb without hesitation before sshing it toward the surface of the bronze knuckle within his grasp, dyeing it with thick crimson blood before mumbling with a devious grin... In addition to the blood on his face, it further increases the savage aura he was subconsciously releasing! "Maniacal Steal...'' He thought in an enraged tone, using one of the main abilities of the Thief (Rare) ss as the crimson blood within the knuckle visibly boiled, releasing a disgusting smell that wafted toward the environment before evaporating slowly within his senses... Making his smile widen as his strength would surely increase by the amount for 2 hours. Ding! Stay updated through empire [ Congrattions upon stealing the "Decay Aura (passive)" skill from the previous owner of the item! Note: The stolen skill could only be used for 2 hours (couldn''t be cancelled) before it forcefully goes back to its previous owner...] Ding! [ Decayed Aura: Decreased the Vitality of beings around the host for an amount every second, causing them to enter the state of sickness, withering, weakening, and decreasing lifeforce! It also reduces the healing speed of the being in the surroundings of the host! Activation: Passive! Note: Due to its uncontroble strength, it often affects one''s physique with an unceasing amount of Decayed aura! ] F*ck, I''m dead... Cough, Cough! In an instant, upon seeing this, Carlos''s throat suddenly became itchy, to the point of unbearable as he began to cough violently, making him sense a burning sensation within his chest... Furthermore, his skin slowly bes dry, seemingly withering as he could sense the blood within his vessel slow down... "Cancel the skill, how could I cancel the skill!?'' He thought, beholding the nd grasses in the surroundings began to wither one by one, followed by the soil beneath him cracking due to theck of nutrients... However, unfortunately, the ability of his couldn''t be cancelled upon activation... He could only wait till the time limit of the "Maniacal Steal" skill entered zero before the skill went back to its previous owner... Deactivating in the process naturally. "Who would own such a skill? Do the owner of this skill want to die!? "Maybe he was suicidal by nature!?'' Ding! -3 health! -5 health! Seeing his decreasing health, the middle aged man couldn''t help but reveal dense despair on his face, feeling deep chills and horror as desperation began to sprout within his being... Anxiously gazing toward the thick grey fog that shrouded the ce, not allowing him to sense any further by a meter... As if the being was deliberately locking them within the ce... The man couldn''t help but clench his fist, opening his character panel before taking out healing potions within his inventory that he had saved with difficulty. Gritting his teeth, he abandons the wavering sensation within him as he hurriedly gulps the potions, slightly easing the dryness of his throat as his decreasing health slows down. However, even though that was the case, it only prolonged his agony by another 30 minutes... Still not enough for him to pass and survive the 2 hours mark. "This skill is simply a curse! This was the epitome of madness! "I... I could onlyst for more than one hour, I needed to find others for help...'' He desperately thought before rushing toward the depths of the fog, not caring about the direction he took since the only thought that was running through his mind was to survive! Survive his current predicament and escape this damn ce! This damn forsaken ce! "I shouldn''t get blinded by money...'' *** Hmm? Ding! [ Your skill "Decayed aura" was stolen for 2 hours... Making you unable to use the skill for two hours... until the skill was returned...] "Keke~ It could actually be stolen? Moreover, how unlucky he was to manage to steal that skill?'' Seeing the soul of the middle-aged man begin to be consumed by dark energy, causing it to slowly darken in the process- a testament to his inevitable death. Leo smiled wickedly, squinting his eyes akin to a crescent moon as a dark glint momentarily illuminated within. Unhurriedly retracted the items that were floating around the man, not wanting to finish the man off easily- wanting to slowly watch his desperation and agony, wanting to smell the fragrance of his dense fear and despair... Wanting to see what would he do in the face of inevitable death. "Keke~ The sight, it''s much more interesting than I expected... "I didn''t expect that watching a being slowly sumbed to the pit of unending despair was... Extremely exciting and fulfilling...'' *** Ding! [ Maniacal Steal (Rare +2) (Unique skill for Thief): Sacrifice one''s flesh and blood toward the item you have stolen, allowing you to steal one of its owner skills for a period of time... Upon activation, it couldn''t be cancelled. Activation: Flesh or Blood and Item you stolen... Effect: Momentarily steal a skill or two for two hours (It could even steal skills from ss job...). ] *** Chapter 182 The Madness... Bang! Bang! Thick crimson blood with a mixture of tidbits of squirming flesh suddenly spilled around within the corner of the cemetery, dyeing the ground with its horrifying sight... A sight that could even send shivers toward the mind of those beings who were born with malicious sanity. Twitch~ Twitch~ On the ground, in the not so far distance, a gory scene that could only be found within the depths of the hell unfolded its mesmerizing beauty toward the world, toward the silent emotionless crow above as its defying smell began to fuse toward the thick grey fog in the surroundings. Furthermore, its intact lower body... a pale pair of legs that were soaking in blood, twitched slowly although its upper body was iplete, enough to make one''s mortal mind copse... To the point that even their sanity might vanish within the depths of their consciousness... Probably even make their fragile minds copse, causing their physique to die of natural causes. Other than that, its flesh, mostly that came from its internal organ scattered around in a symmetrical yet beautiful way, making the scene quite simr to a pious devil holding a sacrificial ritual toward its unknown god- wanting to please "Him/Her" with the significant sacrifice that it found. ... Swish! Soon, as time seemed to stop by within the horrifying yet beautiful ce, the fog in the west direction suddenly churned, destroying the momentary serenity of the ce as a being with an extremely pale face, dyed with a dry maroon that was suspected to be blood, came out from the depths of the fog... Gasping heavily as the fear of his being couldn''t be concealed. Seemingly gaining his senses, the man hurriedly stared at his back, as if scared of something as he quivered in pure anxiousness... "This, they didn''t pursue me? Did they finally decide to leave this pathetic life of his?'' Easing his tense body, the man couldn''t help but heave a deep sigh of relief upon finally managing to escape the countless abomination dolls that were happily pursuing his life... Finally shaking off the dense feeling of dread that consumed his physique as he tensely surveyed the surroundings... Only for the colour of his face to instantly be drained with blood as he beheld the madness that was currently happening within the distance. Beholding the ck crow slowly consuming the flesh of a greatly mutted being, tearing its fibre and flesh, consuming its innards in an unhurried manner as its emotionless eyes inspected the scattered flesh around... As if inspecting a delicacy, finding and choosing the most tender parts before also eating it with relish. Caw- Caw- "This... Roderick, Roderick died. He died just like that.'' He thought in despair upon seeing the familiar brown leather shorts that the corpse was wearing, seeing its legs twitch slowly although his lifeforce already left his being as if it couldn''t ept the fact that it died just like that... The fact that it died due to the unknown. ... Buwack! Feeling his stomach churn violently as he stared at the nightmare that was unfolding in front of him. Aghast, the man could no longer contain the disgust within him as he hurriedly bent his knees, coughing violently as tidbits of yellowish, nauseating semi-solid food heavily sshed toward the ground. Making its disgusting fragrance instantly wafted toward his nostrils as the lingering taste of it stuck to his cavity... Making his sight blurry as tears uncontrobly flow from the corner of it, followed by the sticky snot that dyed the lower part of his nostrils... Making his appearance sickening. Swish! As he was busy dispelling the lingering taste within his mouth, a sudden crisp sound resounded beyond his back, not allowing him to respond as it heavily struck the back of his head... Making his senses numb before unprecedented dizziness afflicted his consciousness. Swish! "I...'' He sluggishly thought as another sensation of cracking bone resounded within the nd cemetery, making him feel frightened as blood began to umte inside his throat... Causing him to choke as its metallic taste fused with the lingering puke within his mouth. -10 health! Still hadn''t recovered, another metallic glint appeared within the corner of his sight- making him grit his teeth, as he sluggishly moved his body away from its trajectory, attempting to evade but only in vain as his current control over his body lessened drastically due to the instability within his mind! Bang! -10 health. -15 health. -13 health. Soon, a barrage of metallic items continuously bombarded his physique, making it slowly deform in the sight of the world as his flesh and blood began to dye the ground, making him confused and puzzled as the sensation of pain began to emerge within his being... Slowly giving him back the momentary loss of sanity and reason as the feeling of dread began to creep toward his being. Waking himpletely as the sight of his greatly mutted right arm greeted his vision... Followed by its peeking pure white bone that was already tainted with red. "I... I need to survive, I can''t die, I don''t want to die here!'' He slowly thought in desperation as he hurriedly activated his defensive skill, creating a sphere made of wind around him, lessening the damage he took by the amount... Giving him a slight amount of time to take out a healing potion within his inventory. However, as he was about to drink the potion on his quivering hand, a sudden piercing sound resounded within his fragile mind followed by unprecedented pain that caused him to yelp in an uncontroble manner. Further dyeing thend in crimson as an iron sword suddenly prated his thigh, embedding deep within as the potion within his grasp dropped toward the wet ground... Ding! -25 health! Health: 50/200! [ Afflicted by bleeding, causing one''s health to reduce by the amount (based on the blood host was losing)... Continuously decreasing health until the being died due to the blood lost or upon being healed...] -1 health... *** Ding! +5,000 horror points! +5,000 horror points! +7,500 horror points! Ding! [ Congrattions upon bringing despair for the 50th time! +5,000 horror points! Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire +6 free attributes! +1 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! ] In just a matter of 30 minutes, 2 beings already died within Leo''s deliberate control, making his being filled or to be exact causing his malevolent desire to decrease by amount. Although it helped a little, it still allowed him to maintain his original goal, the goal of gaining basic control of his strength! "Keke~ to finish or to not? To watch his suffering or not?'' Leo squinted his eyes, moving slowly as he smiled wickedly, visibly moving his ten fingers in swift speed, creating a blurry figure as a gale of wind visibly panned the thick grey fog in the surroundings... Subconsciously making them move away from his physique, creating a strange magical sight within. At the same time, the items under his control began to move at hastened speed, making them much deadlier in the process as most of their surface was already dyed with thick crimson blood due to the damage they inflicted on the 7. Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Foundation Level 19 being! +5,000 horror points! +250 exp! ] Hmm? Seeing the notification that suddenly appeared within the corner of his senses, Leo hurriedly used his divine senses (A skill that was heavily connected to the strength of one''s soul. He gained it upon advancing toward the Core Formation realm.) Instantly allowing him to perfectly sense things that were happening 200 meters away from his current location, giving him the basic sensation of all seeing... At the same time, he began to feel that his Qi and Mental energy were decreasing by a single percent every second, making him conclude that he could only use the skill for about 2-3 minutes at most if he consumed a recovery potion and wear other items that increase his recovery. Soon, In an instant, the sight of a withered corpse entered his divine vision, making him grin demonically upon smelling the fragrance of hatred that drilled toward its withered being, a hatred that was richer than the negative emotion within the scarecrow when he first created it! Making him excited as he could finally create another perfect puppet... A puppet that carried soul within, a puppet that was capable of thinking on its own! "Keke~ what a surprise! Is this my gift upon advancing toward the core formation realm? "If it does, then I thank the Goddess of Luck above!'' He thought in anticipation as he hurriedly manipted the corpse to fly toward his location, grabbing it carefully with his pale hands as he excitedly sniffed its rotting fragrance... Making his physique quiver in excitement as he unhurriedly cast his soul scan toward it. Ding! [ Withered Corpse of a Peak Foundation realm being (Curse Item): A Corpse that died due to the intense corrosion of Decaying Aura... Before it died, it carried densely negative emotions such as Hatred, Pain, Unwillingness, and Despair... ] *** Chapter 183 The Withered Puppet... Ding! +5 exp points! +5 exp points! Absorbing the imperceptible despair and fear that escaped from the gaps of the withered corpse, Leo revealed an intoxicated expression on his face, curling his lips as he slowly opened his eyes... Finally gaining a bit of his senses as his consciousness slowly regains its usual tranquillity and serenity. However, although that was the case, the cruelty in his eyes was still present as he was unable to conceal the coldness within- making beings who looked at it feel instinctively fear toward their souls... Furthermore, his being was subconsciously releasing a negative imperceptible aura, mainly containing decay, bad luck, and death energy that slowly corroded the things around him. Slowly making the soil beneath him dry and withered due to theck of nutrients and water within them- dying and evaporating due to his debuffed passive skill that he couldn''t control... ( Their strength and effectiveness increase by another level due to the elevation of his Qi and Life Order- making his Restrain skill unable topletely suppress them, making its effect thrice stronger than when he was still at the very Peak of the Foundation realm! ) Ding! [ Congrattions upon deepening one''s understanding of Rule! Understanding of Life Nature +2%! ] "Huff~ I see, desires are also part of Life Nature. Although it was not dependent on it, it still carried traces of its understanding... Since Life Nature requires everything to function properly. "Experiencing everything, beholding everything, and understanding everything... Everything is essential, nothing is worthless as they are all required to maintain bnce." He lightly ponders deep within as he can sense that the seed of Life Nature within his gaseous core, hiding deep within his soul momentarily revealed a brilliance... Increasing the Qi it contained by a small margin as the surface of the seed of Life Nature cracks a little- stopping afterwards upon feeding it all of theprehension that he justprehends. "I just felt that the strength and effects of my domain corresponding to the Life Nature suddenly increased by at least 2%.'' "Moreover, is the next evolution of the Seed of Rule... is the Tree of Rule?'' "This, don''t tell me... I needed toprehend 100% of certain rules to make it into an illustrious tree, before ascending toward the Nascent Soul realm!?'' Leo eximed within his mind, could already imagine how difficult it was to advance from the Core Formation realm toward the illusionary Nascent Soul realm. Just learning a single percentage of the rules heprehended already makes him helpless, then what about if someone wanted toprehend aplete rule? In addition to that, the higher the percentage oneprehended, the slower one''s progress would be! Huff~ Of course, his guess might turn out to be incorrect... although unlikely, since he knew that one of the main abilities of Nascent Soul beings is theirplete domain! A Domain that was above Iplete Domain by folds! (Based on its strength and capability.) With the increase of the strength and effects of his domain that he just experienced right now, Leo was quite sure that Completing a Domain was rted to one''s understanding of Rules! "Fortunately, I have a system to help me... or else, increasing my understanding of rules to 100% would be extremely, extremely challenging.'' ... Huff~ "Wait, why am I thinking so much? Didn''t I just break through toward the Core Formation realm? Moreover, a day didn''t even pass by when I advanced! It would take me a long while before I reach the peak of the realm before thinking of ascending..." Shaking his head emotionlessly, feeling that he again be upied with something that he shouldn''t currently think about. Leo hurriedly hid the withered corpse inside his inventory, oozing with death Qi from his nostrils as he began to drag his body toward the gravely injured man- wanting to break off his mind, causing it to copse so he could gain the best benefits from it before finishing it off... However, upon reaching its side, Leo regretfully noticed that its consciousness was already on the verge of copsing as its life force was already leaving its body at hastened speed- a testament that its death was not that far... "Tsk, tsk, a pity." Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Leo instinctively swung his hand toward the direction of the being, only for him to be speechless upon remembering that he already rid his shadow physique... Ridding his ability to transform his limbs into other types of weapons! "I... forgot.'' He thought, hiding his embarrassment within before hurriedly pointing his pointed finger toward the temple of the man, licking the corner of his dry lips upon seeing the flesh beneath as dark light suddenly materialised from the tip of his pointed finger... shing momentarily, consuming their vision as a weak cracking sound abruptly echoed in the short distance... ... Thud! [ Congrattions upon killing a Foundation level 14 realm being! +2,500 horror points! +125 Exp points! ] Keke~ Seeing the pink leaking flesh, slowly flowing from the gaping hole in the head of the man in front of him. Leo didn''t show any kind of remorse nor show a hint of smile or disgust on his pale face, instead, he lightly bent his knees, grabbing the wet left foot of the corpse as he slowly dragged it toward the distance, toward his next victim with light smile... (He didn''t have any idea why he suddenly grabbed the foot of the man and decided to drag it... It just, he just wanted to drag it due to an unknown reason... Making his heart inexplicably happy as if he juste back to his childhood.) Leaving a long trail of wet crimson toward the surface of the nd grasses beneath as Leo''s figure leisurely entered the depths of the thick grey fog, slowly vanishing from the sight of feasting crows as their emotionless yet cold beady eyes eyed the remaining flesh in the surroundings... Cawwing dreadfully before continuing their postponed feasting. *** Bang! Bang! Rippled appears within his vision as a number of items unceasingly struck the surface of his mental barrier, causing him to grit his teeth in pain as some of its force affected his physique... Slowly damaging it due to the intense surge of force that couldn''t be defended by his mental barrier. Ding! -4 health! -2 health! -3 health! Beholding his slowly decreasing health, diminishing by a small amount every second, the huge man couldn''t help but release a loud bellow, causing the thick grey fog to churn greatly as the items that kept hitting his imperceptible shield momentarily stopped... before also continuing in the next second. "Show yourself if you dare! You f*cking coward!" He cursed in a deep voice, greatly angered by his inability to counterattack. Moreover, his health was already reduced by a tenth, yet, the enemy who caused all of this still didn''t show itself or to be exact he couldn''t see its figure due to the thick fog that shrouded the environment- greatly hindering his vision to a great extent! "This couldn''t continue or else... my mental energy would be fully consumed and my physique would be vulnerable from the floating items in the atmosphere!'' "If that happens, would I still be away from death?'' Upon thinking of it, the huge man couldn''t help but reveal rich anxiousness on his face, suppressing the unease within his being as his mind began to process above its natural speed... Analyzing everything around him, wanting to unveil its secrets to avoid his current predicament! "Should I use those skills? "But using those skills that I managed to Replicate with great difficulty would make my advancement much harder... to the point that the risk of death would increase drastically...'' Stay tuned with empire He thought in hesitation, flinching from time to time due to the trembling of his consciousness- a testament that his mental barrier was about to crumble from the unceasing onught of the items around! Making his face deadly pale as he clenched his fist with force... ... "F*CK! This is simply a great loss, I shouldn''t believe that thief words! If I managed to survive this time, I will surely skin him alive before feeding him to the savage dogs within the forest!'' Bang! -3 health! Soon, finally epting his fate, the huge man revealed a deep helplessness on his face, opening his two palms, as if epting the blessings of heaven as a huge incorporeal book,pletely covered in metallic bronze, suddenly materialized in his front... Floating mid air as it unhurriedly opened itself toward the nd cemetery, unfolding its brown paper that exist in different dimension... Facing the pale face of the huge man, finally allowing him to heave a relief... "Replication... Bless of The Wind!'' *** [ Bless of the Wind (Epic +1) (One time uses): Momentarily gain the affinity of wind, allowing one to gain the permanent effects of having a Wind Shield that instinctively activates itself when the host encountes a danger... Moreover, it also allowed a being toprehend the basic rule of Wind, the Rule of Gale! Activation: Permanent! Effect: +5 Wind affinity, +50 speed, +10 strength, and +10 wind resistance... ] Chapter 184 The Unfortunate... In an instant, a gale of cold yet soft wind enveloped the man''s being, entering through the gaps of his pores, prating his physique as he slowly began to sense a newfound strength that elevated his speed by an amount... Instantly allowing him to possess a speed that wasn''t that far from the normal speed of a Core Formation realm being! In addition to the sphere of wind that asionally churned around him, passively protecting him from the possible danger, the man couldn''t help but sigh softly under his breath, couldn''t rid the regret in his eyes upon using the weakest skill he managed to replicate with great difficulties and danger... "Huff~ The skill that took me weeks to analyse and replicate with difficulty vanished like that... "It would take me another week to months in able to get a chance to copy another epic skill... Moreover, in able to replicate a skill that could protect me when I decided to advance toward the Core Formation realm, the price that I will need to pay was quite hefty!'' Sighing deeply, gritting his teeth due to intense anger, the man hurriedly nced toward the ticking time below the skill he replicated, instantly beholding the 10 minutes mark that already started decreasing every second... Knowing that time was tight, the man hurriedly took out a speed boosting pill inside his inventory, gulping it in the next second as his speed drastically increased by another 10%, instantly making his speed and reflexesparable to a newly ascended Core Formation realm being! Huff~ Slowly squinting his eyes, the huge man decisively deactivated his Mental Barrier, instantly making his decreasing mental energy suddenly halt... As the imperceptible shield shielding his physique from danger vanishes in the blink of an eye... ... Swish! At the same time upon deactivating his barrier skill. The huge man abruptly and instinctively tilted his head toward the side, perfectly evading the approaching knife pointed behind his back, passing through the empty void before vanishing within the thick fog... Swish! Sighing in relief, not hesitating further, the man immediately rushed toward the depths of the grey fog- wanting to find the exit and escape this forsake ce of the dead for good! Understanding that fighting an enemy that he couldn''t see and perceive is an extremely unwise choice... However, if he managed to analyse the skill that was hindering one''s senses and vision in great detail, then finding the being would be as easy as flipping one''s hand. "Unfortunately, analyzing a skill took at least days at minimum... for me to gain preliminary knowledge regarding it.'' As for his otherpanion, the huge man didn''t care about her... Moreover, with her ability, the chances of her escaping were much higher than him! ... Swish! Swish! Creating a gale of wind under his soles, making his speed much swifter as he easily evaded the sharp items that attempted to hit his physique- causing his tense expression to slightly ease... The huge man couldn''t help but reveal a disdain on his face, seemingly able to sense the dark expression of the being controlling the items upon seeing him easily evade the weapon it controlled... Making him slightly happy although he couldn''t exact revenge for the loss he suffered! Keke~ As if sensing the disdain from the huge man, the floating items within the atmosphere suddenly vibrate- creating a wave of gale as their speed suddenly increases by a notch, catching the huge man off guard as an iron knuckle hit the wind shield that was passively protecting his body, caving greatly before being deflected by his mental barrier that he momentarily activated... Dyeing his forehead with cold sweat as fear instantly reflected from his irises. "F*CK! This is not the ability of normal a Peak Foundation realm!'' "Don''t tell me, a Core Formation realm being was hiding in this forsaken ce!?'' Thinking of it, the huge man couldn''t help but curse under his breath, feeling that it suddenly became tricky... Knowing how hard it was to face a Core Formation realm being. Moreover, with their divine senses that were akin to all seeing to a certain extent, catching the other party off guard was simply a dream! "I hope that the area of his/her divine senses was quite small... Or else, the chances of me escaping this ce is almost impossible.'' He mumbled within his mind before using one of the mental abilities that heprehended himself, increasing the aspect of his instinct- allowing him to gain basic premonition of danger so he wouldn''t be caught off guard! *** Boom! Soon, after running and evading for more than a minute, the irises of the man suddenly constricted- feeling his instinct abruptly send res toward him as he immediately summoned the incorporeal metallic book from the void, opening its pages hurriedly before activating the skill within its second page... "Replication... Light Descend...'' In an instant, the time momentarily stops- making the scene of the items floating around mesmerizing in one''s senses. After ten seconds, the temperature around began to rise, making the thick grey fog around twist violently, as if about to evaporate in the next second- making the visibility much lower in the process... Followed by that, the nd grasses that epass the area of 50 meters around him began to wither one by one, making their appearance simr to decayed yet crispy leaves. Around, the cracks within the countless concrete niches began to widen one by one, releasing a dry smell that no one could describe- causing one''s stomach to churn although the reason was unknown. Ding! [ Light Descend (Epic +1) (One time uses): Momentarily summon a light that wasparable to the corner of a Sun, causing around to suffer from intense heat and drought... Moreover, it inexplicably makes attacks that target the host weakened by an amount, akin to nts losing water... Activation: (None) Effect: +5 Light affinity, +25 speed, +10 strength, and +10 heat resistance... Note: Only work for 10 minutes. ] ... Seeing this, the huge man didn''t hesitate further before rushing into the far distance, still couldn''t rid of the intense premonition of danger within his being... Making his mind extremely active due to the impending doom he was sensing within his consciousness, as if even with 2 weakened epic skills... he wouldn''t be able to escape the disaster that would strike him! Kekeke~ As he was racking his brain, hesitating whether to also activate the third skill that he replicated or not, a dreadfulugh that originated from the unknown depths of the abyss, negating most of the temperature summoned by his second replicated skill suddenly resounded within his senses- drilling within his consciousness, bringing him unprecedented horror that he couldn''t exin nor describe... This... What kind of abomination is this... Seemingly gaining a bit of his sense, the huge man stiffly raised his head toward the far horizon, instantly beholding the figure of an extremely pale man that was not different from a cadaver that hadn''t been soaked in formalin, exiting the fog beyond as he leisurely dragged a seemingly toy that he found from the alley... Soaking in crimson blood, leaving a trail of fishy smell as some of its flesh visibly dangled around, making the surrounding grasses sway upon being grazed by its squishiness- making the irises of the huge man in the distance greatly constrict, unable to think further as he beholds the madness unfold in front of him... Making his huge figure shake in fear as he instinctively took a step back. Gulping audibly as he suppressed the urge to throw up on the spot, knowing that it would cost him his life if he did that... "This, this is madness... No, he was simply the epitome of madness!'' Gritting his teeth, he immediately faced his back, nning to run in the opposite direction so he wouldn''t need to face the madman in the far distance... Unfortunately, upon tilting his head toward his back, the huge man immediately abandons his wishful thought, seemingly seeing death upon discerning countless red eyes staring at his pitiful figure... Salivating as if couldn''t wait to consume his flesh... "Keke~ I thought online delivery already ceased to exist when the apocalypse arrived... "I didn''t expect that foods often deliver itself toward my little abode... Moreover, I didn''t even need to pay for it!'' Leo whispered wickedly, hacking one of the limbs of the being he was dragging before tossing it toward the huge man in the distance... Causing him to instinctively evade as the bloody limbs fall toward the nd ground tens of meters away... Making the countless crimson eyes hidden within the thick fog glint dangerously, making the void churn as the abominations began to flock toward the severed limbs... Feasting toward it, consuming it all in a matter of seconds- sending unprecedented chills toward the huge man as he beheld the twisted dolls consume the flesh with their mouth, seemingly unaware of what they were doing since he could sense their innocence... *** Chapter 185 The Mental Master... "I... This is a misunderstanding, w-we were just passing by." The huge man anxiously said, secretly ncing toward the surroundings- seemingly calcting the best ce and time where to escape... Unfortunately, with the situation he was currently in, escaping without suffering injuries seems impossible. "I... I need to create a chance. I don''t have the ability to fight a Core Formation realm being yet!'' He thought as the voice of the man suddenly resounded in the distance, causing him to be tense as he instantly raised his guard. "Keke~ Indeed, I believe you. However, do you ever believe in fate?" "Fate?" "Yes, Fate... Since you coincidentally entered this ce, then isn''t your fate to be the nutrition of my puppets? Keke~ If you can''t ept that fact, then maybe you''re destined to be one of the beings under the grave~" Leo yfully replied, unconsciously releasing an unknown aura that subconsciously make beings around him to easily trust and believe him- making the expression of the huge man twist, feeling that he was currently hearing the voice of a demon, tempting him to believe the taboos it was telling... "Mental attack?'' Shaking his head, forcefully snapping his consciousness awake. The huge man trembled slightly, opening his palm as an intense imperceptible aura emanated from it- travelling toward the void, toward the far distance as the eyes of beings around him momentarily dim... "Mental Shock!'' In an instant, the sensation of being hit by countless metal hammers mentally (Due to his connection toward his puppets) emerges within Leo''s consciousness, causing his eyelids to twitch violently- making him unable to control his physique as it unconsciously quivers... Seeing this unexpected oue, understanding that it should only make a Core Formation realm being pause for half a second yet the being opposite him seems to suffer from the unknown... The huge man didn''t hesitate further, using the opportunity he had created as he dashed toward the side of the extremely pale man in the short distance- opening his mouth slightly, mumbling in an incoherent voice as the colour of his eyes deepened by amount, making it mysterious in the process. "Knowledge pursuer... Mental Piercing!'' Still not done, the void around him twisted violently, summoning the familiar incorporeal spears which seemed more corporeal as they momentarily suspended within the air... Pointing toward Leo before abruptly hitting his pale physique in a matter of milliseconds- vanishing in an instant, entering his consciousness, wreaking havoc within as Leo''s eyes instantly opened... Bloodshot akin to crimson as the red vein around his eyes was visible to the naked eye! AHHH! Opening his mouth, Leo shouted in pure agony and pain, feeling that his incorporeal brain was being shredded by thousands of knives- making the corner of his lips ooze with ck sticky blood (a product of his soul), causing the huge man in the short distance to unconsciously grabbed his hair with force... Due to his current physique that was purely based on his soul, Leo''s shout could be said akin to a weakened version of his Soul Shrieking skill! That at least carried 10% of its strength if he unconsciously used it! ... "F*ck, what kind of skill is this!'' The huge man thought in agony, grabbing some of his hair that detached from his scalp- making his head wet and sticky as he forcefully opened his eyes. Gritting his teeth to the point that blood began to leak from his gums as he shakily spread his arms- summoning the metallic book from the void, opening it as he stopped at the third page of the book. "Replication... Dawn of Misfortune.'' Blinding his eyes with the thing written on it, the man, without hesitation, activated the only skill left within the book... Instantly, causing the surroundings to be shrouded in an intense ufortable aura, as if Death cast its gaze toward the nd ce. Ding! [ Congrattions upon being afflicted by Misfortune! -10 Luck! ] Hearing the notification rang within his consciousness yet unable to see it due to his unstable vision. Leo groaned ufortably, wanting to use some of his skill but inexplicably unable to, feeling that something was hindering him from sessfully activating his skill! Without any choice, knowing that he underestimated his enemy, Leo decisively deactivated his Restrain skill... Instantly making the void tremble as the weather above the atmosphere instantly bes dark- making the huge man in the distance raise his guard (although not too much since he thought that it was rted to the third skill "Dawn of Misfortune" that he activated!). ... Boom! Boom! Dark looming clouds shrouded the firmament above, dyeing thend inplete darkness as the streak of lightning unceasingly shed within the clouds. Tack~ Tack~ Soon, in an instant, ck droplets of water, seemingly carrying misfortune, cmity, and disease began to fall from the sky... Quickly soaking thend, corroding the surface it hit as everything around suffered from the unknown... Beholding this, the huge man instinctively raised his head, seeing that the thick grey fog unfolded the view of the sky- making his eyes reveal a grim expression as his basic premonition began to send a hint of danger toward his being... Bending his knees slightly, the man immediately dashed towards the distance, using the opportunity when the pale man was still hadn''t recovered to escape- understanding that the skill he replicated only worked for ten minutes before vanishing toward the void. Swish! However, he just distanced himself for about 50 meters from Leo when the earth beneath him suddenly caved in! Weakened due to being soaked by rain, causing the man inexplicably fell toward the ground, rolling for a couple of meters before stopping! Making him daze for a couple of seconds due to the misfortune he just experienced- unable to fathom how his luck suddenly decreased by amount. "Coincidence? However, the chances of me stepping toward the hollow earth were too small!'' The huge man instinctively thought as he hurriedly gazed toward the afar, only for him to suddenly quiver in fright and horror upon beholding the cold grey eyes of the man in the far distance, staring toward his physique in unprecedented coldness... Making his consciousness to feel naked, seeming able to see his deepest secret and fear as he couldn''t help but audibly gulp... Still, hadn''t a second passed by, he saw the man slowly raise his left palm toward his direction... Smiling wickedly as he lightly clenches it. Ding! -5 health! This... *** "Telekinesis...'' Leo mumbled under his breath, suppressing the feeling of difort within his head as he pointed his palm toward the direction of the huge man- clenching it in the next second, causing the man''s left foot to suddenly suffer a small dent. "Keke~ unfortunately, the Qi of living beings instinctively counter the Qi within the telekic skill, causing its power to be reduced by at least 80%'' Keke~ Seeing the dumbfounded yet contorting expression of the huge man in the distance, the smile on Leo''s face further widened... Giggling slightly as he again clenched his fist, slightly adding Qi toward it as the dent on the man''s foot further deepened- seemingly experimenting as he asionally increased the Qi within the skill. Shing! However, as Leo was about to manipte the man''s other foot- nning to cripple it so it wouldn''t be able to escape, a sudden intense headache emerge within his consciousness, causing his skill to deactivate on its own as the huge man in the far distance suddenly vanishes within his senses... "Mental Illusion?'' Seemingly understanding what just transpired, Leo''s expression again changes, from the initial yful expression to a cold one as the thick fog around him begins to churn crazily- a testament to his current mood. Without wasting time, Leo immediately activated his Divine senses, instantly allowing him to perfectly sense and see 200 meters away from him- instantly discerning the blurry figure of the huge man 120 meters toward the north (Due to his mental skill that allowed him to be imperceptible to one''s senses), unsteadily running in the far distance, unable to disy his terrifying speed due to the slight dent on his foot... "Hehe~ Run! Run until you can!" Seeing this, Leo shouted in an enraged yet amused tone, instantly allowing the sound to travel in the far distance, causing the expression of the huge man to darken but didn''t flinch as he continued to run... Knowing that stopping by milliseconds might cost his life... Keke~ However, unfortunately, escaping from this forsaken ce seems a pipe dream for him as his body inexplicably and mysteriously begins to suffer different sizes and kinds of wounds... Slowly dyeing his body in crimson as he slowly loses his ability to move... "How?'' He thought slowly, gazing at his back with difficulty as he slowly saw the figure of Leo leisurely walking toward his direction. On his hand, a silver bnce scale, emitting a dense ck smoke, appeared within his senses... Followed by the innards of the unknown, slowly slithered within one of the tes in low frequency... As the scent of a familiar metallic smell heavily hit his dazed senses... *** Chapter 186 The Calamity. Gurgle- The sound of blood boiling echoed within the nd cemetery as the sight of the huge man, lying down on the cold ground, bathing in its own sticky blood reflected to Leo''s sight... Silently watching it gasping for air with difficulties, beholding the wounds on its body mysteriously widen as the ck blood within the scale decreases by amount. Unfolding its white bone beyond his squirming flesh, reflecting the agony within. Wanting to finish its own life so it could escape this misery of his but only in vain. He could only patiently wait for the inevitable death, bathing in despair and misery as he watched the churning clouds above, feeling its numbing droplets of cmity hit his being. "How sad... I didn''t expect that my life after gaining hope is... Actually fragile... Huff~ I miss the peaceful life before the apocalypse arrives...'' He slowly thought, revealing a serenity in his eyes before being reced by intense unwillingness in the next second. Feeling deep fear and uncertain, seemingly began to see the blurry figure of death deliberately waving its rotting scythe toward his battered being... ... Slowly, time ticked by. The man''s struggle slowly began to weaken as his sight visibly became blurry, moving his lips slowly as if wanting to beg for mercy but only in vain... As sounds couldn''t escape his throat since thick blood blocked its passage. "Keke~ Sweat for sweat, blood for blood, misery for misery... This is the Scale of Revenge." Seeing that life force began to leave the body of the huge man, Leo smiled slightly as he lightly raised the ancient silver scale in his hand... Watching his dark bloodpletely evaporate within the te, leaving no stain behind as it unfolded its wlessness. Soon, upon finally seeing that the bloodpletely evaporated within, Leo unhurriedly revealed a bored expression on his face... Understanding that his short fun was finally over. Explore more stories at empire Huff~ Taking a deep long breath, enjoying the imperceptible despair and misery the man emitted in hisst minutes within the atmosphere, tasting its tenderness yet addicting taste, causing his Qi within his gaseous core to boil- increasing the amount of his Qi by amount, almost filling 10-15% of his experience points in the process... Leo unsummoned the silver scale in his grasp, licking the corner of his lips as he finally consumed all the energy within the atmosphere... Only leaving the cold breeze of air beyond. ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a being at the Very Peak of the Foundation realm! +7,500 horror points! +6 Free Attribute points! +2 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! ] Hearing the notification rang within his consciousness. Leo wasn''t in a hurry to check it, instead, he immediately activated his Divine Senses, wanting to see if his not invited visitors were still within his reach... Unfortunately, other than the man in his early twenties who was close to death, exactly 200 meters away from him, fighting skeleton #1 and #2 with despair written on his face... Leo hadn''t managed to catch the existence of the other two, the woman and the teenager, making his expression change upon understanding that they managed to escape from his deliberate control and maniption! Moreover, upon asking his puppets that shrouded every corner of the cemetery... He learned that they simply vanished within their vision when he was still dealing with the huge man! "Keke~ Sigh. Unfortunately, they were smarter than I expected... "However, not smarter enough to outsmart my pitiful IQ...'' Although the two managed to escape his grasp, Leo didn''t reveal a disappointment on his face, instead, he unfolded a wicked and cunning smile. Laughing in a suppressed demonic voice as he slowly retrieved two items that were floating toward the void... Items that he secretly stole from the bodies of the two when they were upied by his manipted items! A red ruby earring that was flickering with maroon light upon being reflected by lights and a pure ck ring that emitted a dark me! Ding! [ Blood Earring (Rare +1) (Growable)- A mysterious earring that was forged using the boiling blood of hundreds of beasts that at least reach the Foundation realm! Causing it to carry the traces of the Rule of Boiling Blood! Health Recovery: +20% Qi Recovery: +20% Stamina Recovery: +20% Effects: Upon being inflicted by a sharp weapon, decrease one''s blood bleed! Note: It''s an earring that could elevate its own grade upon consuming thousands of different types of blood] Ding! [ Ring of Handoff (Rare)- An item that was forged within the depths of the volcano. Tempering for 7 days, melting for 7 days, and being hammered by 7 days... Causing it to carry unprecedented high temperatures that could melt the skin of the Core Formation realm being! Health Recovery: +25% Fire Resistance: +10% Effects: Increase theprehension of beings who have a great affinity toward fire to fire rted skills! Note: It''s purely created for beings who have an affinity for fire elements! ] *** Keke~ Beholding their unique beauty as he secretly caressed their surface, feeling the aura, scent, and Qi of the previous owner still linger deep within them. Leo couldn''t help but feel deep anticipation within- remembering the new skills he gained from his upgraded ss job, finally having a chance to behold its horror and unprecedented beauty! "I will try the Curse skillter upon disposing this corpse. "I hope that the skill I spent too much effort to achieve was worth it...'' ... Bending his right "knee" slightly, grasping the foot of the corpse beneath him. Leo began to move forward, slowly dragging the corpse toward the far distance where he nted his small farm- nning to make the corpse of the huge man be a nutritions of his nts, wanting to use it to fasten their growth... Probably also thinking of increasing their quality by amount. Although not certain, he believed that it was still possible to increase their grade if he used the right materials and nutritions for the spiritual nts... Maybe the chances were better if he added high-graded corpses as their nutrition. "Keke~ I''m quite extravagant, using the corpse of a foundation realm being to fasten the growth of grade-1 nts...'' Thinking of it, Leo couldn''t help but smile, revealing his pearl-white teeth beyond, causing his mood to recover as he finally had the time to celebrate his advancement... Wanting to share his happiness with the beings around him, but unfortunately halted upon noticing that he already killed most of his not invited visitors... *** Huff~ "F*ck! My precious earring, it vanished without me noticing!'' In the far distance, miles away from the location of the nd cemetery, a voluptuous figure of a woman could be discerned moving swiftly within the depths of the Endless Forest, revealing a blur as it left an alluring scent behind... Making beasts that identally inhale her fragrance reveal intoxication on their face. Swish! Soon, hiding under the veil of the canopy above, the woman finally halts, breathing a deep sigh of relief upon escaping that forsaken ce as the expression on her face changes to regret... Understanding that the huge man already died within as the connection he created using one of her skills was instantly broken. "Sigh~ Unfortunately, my ticket to advance toward the Core Formation realm died just like that after weeks of nning... Moreover, the earring that could increase its grade also vanished! "This is simply a loss! Uneptable!'' Thinking of it, the woman couldn''t help but grit her teeth in anger. Wanting to take her revenge but unfortunately unable to do so due to theck of strength... However, although she was currently helpless, the thought of it continued to linger in her mind... Drilling within its depths as just the thought of it made her anger surface. "I need to find someone stronger... It''s best if he could help me advance toward the Core Formation realm so I could exact my own revenge! "Hehe~ Just you wait!'' Smiling deviously, the woman was about to run toward the direction of the town when suddenly her throat became irritated, causing her to cough slightly as she panned her hand toward her nose... "Weird, I suddenly cough although I''m perfectly fine... Does the thick fog not only weaken one''s vision but also weaken one''s immunity?'' Cough~ Not thinking too much, the woman coughed out loud as she continued rushing toward the town. Beginning her n on how to take her revenge as she asionally releases a cough or two... Rustle~ Rustle~ Unknown to her, above the atmosphere, an imperceptible energy began to drill toward her orifices- entering toward the depths of her body, fusing toward her Qi as it slowly dyed her illusionary core that only appeared when a being reached the very peak of the foundation realm ck... Making her soul affected in the process as noticeable dark energy began to loom around it, slowly attempting to dye it with a baleful aura before nning to reap her life without her noticing! *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully Cursing someone! +5,000 Horror Points! +6 Free Attribute Points! +1 Book of Understanding of a Dark Witch! ] Chapter 187 Chaos Within the Town, Cursing for the First Time! (1) (Please Skip If You''re Below 20!) Huff~ Upon nting the corpse beneath his spiritual fruits and herbs, Leo lightly patted his palms, removing the sticky dirt within... Sighing softly before revealing an excited expression on his pale face, finally had time to experiment with his newfound skills as he unhurriedly took out the ck cauldron within his inventory... Beholding its metallic glint as he lightly feels its surface. "Keke~ Who would have thought that... I would still use you even though I finally upgraded my ss job?'' Smiling, akin to a devious (demonic) grin, Leo unhurriedly tossed the red ruby earring into the interior of the cauldron, producing a crisp clicking sound in the process... Pausing momentarily to delve within the knowledge he acquired when he gets the "Way of Dark Magic" skill to ensure that he wouldn''t make a mistake before continuing. "An intense negative emotions, items of the person who I wanted to curse (best if it contained her/his Qi, scent, and spirituality), and dense Death Qi or Curse Qi... "Moreover, there''s also the ritual, it''s needed to gain the augmentation of the environment- allowing the curse energy to travel towards the far distance so it could enter the physique of the victim... "Other than that, it''s best to curse at 12:00 am to 3:00 am when spirituality and Yin energy are on its thickest...'' Although one could curse anytime, if one wanted to increase the chances of the probability and potency of the curses, it''s best to curse using the best materials and time... Allowing one to basically gain the help of the environment he was currently in to increase one''s sess! In the past, people often thought that the reason why "Witch" who focused on dark magic did their witchcraft at night was mainly to maintain their secrecy... Although their guess was half correct, the main reason for it was actually to gain the assistance of the night! Where Yin energy, Spirituality, and the damp environment were on its thickest- basically allowing them to momentarily elevate their abilities by amount! Continue reading at empire Making their sess, curse strength, and its effect more formidable in the process... Exacting the best oue possible! Huff~ "Although it was daytime right now, I could use the Yin energy within the cemetery that umted at one point... "In addition to the Death Qi within the pit- the effectiveness of my curse might not be different than the boon given by the night!'' Thinking of it, Leo couldn''t help but feel excited within, gazing at the yellowish ball of light on the far horizon- telling him that the time was already at noon as he began feeding Qi toward the seemingly gasmp beneath the cauldron... Causing its exterior to heat up, making its metallic surface to carry a hint of redness on it. Pausing slightly, Leo grabbed the corpse of the man beneath him (killed by skeletons #1 and #2) as he unhurriedly extracted its blood- filling the interior of the cauldron by tenth as it slowly began to boil due to its high temperature... Causing its indescribable smell to waft toward Leo''s senses, inhaling slightly upon catching the scent of fear and dread that drilled toward its physique. Shing! Still not done, Leo took out a ck dagger within his inventory, smiling lightly beforemencing to chop the five fingers of the corpse''s right hand, causing blood to spill in the short distance, dyeing the nts nearby as they sway in happiness... Weighting them with his silver scale before tossing it toward the cauldron upon getting the right amount. Sizzle~ Sizzle~ In an instant, the rhythmic sound of thick blood boiling echoed in the far distance as the fingers within visibly melted due to its unprecedented temperature... Expelling the impurities within, making the blood more crimson in the process... Beholding this, Leo unhurriedly spread his palm, slightly opening his mouth as he began to utter an incoherent sound, causing the temperature around to mysteriously plummet as the me beneath the cauldron suddenly changed from the original colour of yellowish red into bluish purple- carrying coldness in it that could send unexinable chills towards one''s physique upon being grazed by its me... However, although that was the case, the blood within the interior of the cauldron continued boiling... As if the changes happening around were only but a product of one''s illusion. ... Huff~ "Mamatay... Kang... Panget... Ka!" Taking a deep breath, Leo didn''t even nce toward the changes happening around, already aware of it due to the knowledge he currently possessed... Continuing to utter the mysterious knowledge within his mind as he began tossing his Qi that carried traces of Inevitable Death (Rule) toward the boiling blood... Makings its colour change, carrying a hint of darkness and rot within as its iprehensible scent fused toward the surrounding fog. Swish~ Swish! Soon, upon tossing the twentieth of his Qi within the interior of the cauldron, the liquid within suddenly released a weak brilliance of darkness- consuming his sight, causing the grasses beneath to rot visibly upon being grazed by its aura. Furthermore, the skin of the corpse beside him suddenly bes charred dry, to the point that its weight visibly lightens... ... Boil... Sizzle~ Seemingly noticing the movement within his cauldron, Leo abruptly opened his eyes, timely beholding the crimson ck liquid within rapidly evaporating toward the atmosphere- transforming into imperceptible energy that only he could see, flying toward the far horizon, toward the direction of the town as it quickly vanished within his sight... Causing him to be at loss due to the sudden changes of events... "Is it sess or not? I''m still not done with my ritual, I''m still not starting my dancing (a segment of the ritual) to please the demon which is basically me... "Sigh~ system, you''re really a scam!'' Leo thought, dissatisfied upon being interrupted by the unexpected oue, feeling that the system deprived him of his little happiness... However, as he was about toin toward the system, a sudden sound of notification rang within his consciousness, causing him to be startled as he hurriedly read the information it carried. Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully Cursing someone for the first time! +5,000 Horror Points! +6 Free Attribute Points! +1 Book of Understanding of a Dark Witch! ] Hmm? "It seeds? That easy!? Then, how am I able to see its potency?" ... Soon, understanding that he wouldn''t be able to see its effect, Leo regretfully shook his head... Cleaning the interior of the cauldron before tossing the ck ring within, wanting to curse the other party so he will receive equal treatment! Because equality is good! "Keke~ Although I couldn''t see its effect... I didn''t expect that the process of cursing was actually fun... I should curse beings often when I have free time!'' *** Boom! Boom! Hours away from the nd cemetery, within the protection of the high grey wall, within the town... The unceasing sounds of explosions followed by angry cries of countless residents within chaotically resounded toward the deste atmosphere... Spreading fear, panic, and despair toward one''s being as chaos swiftly shrouded thend... Unfolding the destroyed establishment, rubbles of concrete, and greatly caved ground toward the face of the setting sun... Showing the might of beings who emotionlessly cast their transcended abilities toward thend without care for lives... Quickly dyeing the epasses with hundreds of corpses. Eyes wide open, showing despair, shock, and unwillingness within its ndness that was deprived of life- a testament that they died in puzzlement, having no ability to save their lives although unwilling. "HAHA! Kill! Kill! KILL ALL THE HUMANS TO PLEASE THE DEVILS!!" Suddenly, above the tall wall, an irritatingugh akin to grinding metal echoed in the far distance- causing the panicked people around to grit their teeth, covering their ears in pain as visible blood flowed through the gap of their palms... Causing them to instinctively raise their eyes as they gazed above, instantly beholding the dreadful figure of the devil. Skin red as dry blood greeted their eyes... Followed by its distinct horns that pointed toward the fissure above, as if wanting to defy the rule of heaven. On his arms, the sharp pointed nails, almost simr to short daggers, instantly send chills toward their being- making some tremble due to its dangerous glint, causing them unable to move due to the unknown fear that stems deep within their soul... "Keke~ That''s right, trembled beneath and sacrifice your pitiful life toward the Devils!'' The devil, upon seeing the blood bath beneath, revealed a devious grin on its face, summoning a red me on his palm as he casually tossed it toward the running human in the far distance, instantly causing its body to ignite- shouting in agony as me consume its body, making beings that saw its figure to further tremble, reflecting within their eyes how it slowly turns ashes... Before being carried by gale of unease as the only thing it left behind was the charred ground... Beholding this, the humans revealed a horrified expression on their faces, covering their mouths before shouting afterwards- issuing another round of chaos. *** Chapter 188 Chaos Within the Town, The Devils Spawn! (2) Thick ck smoke filled the sky as the smell of burning flesh fused toward the surrounding void, making one''s stomach churn as it couldn''t contain its disgusting smell. On the ground, the charred yet cold bodies of countless corpses scattered around, making the scene akin to apocalyptic war as dry blood stained the surroundings. Boom! Boom! Within the centre of the town, above the exquisite tower that was simr to the exquisite buildings built in the Renaissance era... A being unfolded his bat-like wings, floating in high altitude, holding a silver trident in his right hand as he faced the middle-aged man, wearing a blue cold robe that reached its feet in the distance- revealing a smile akin to mocking as he slowly opened his mouth, revealing its spike like tongue beyond before speaking in maddening tone. "Keke~ Augustine, it''s really worth it to sacrifice hundreds of lives just to force us out? "Do you think that the old man wouldn''t me you upon seeing what kind of things you did in his beloved town?" Hearing this, the expression of the middle-aged man didn''t change a bit, only revealing a cold expression that he always had as he slowly raised his head- gazing straight to the crimson eyes of the devil before replying in unprecedented coldness, causing the temperature around him to decrease drastically as the visibility within diminish by amount... As if even the atmosphere began to freeze due to the aura he subconsciously released. "It''s necessary, I wouldn''t be able to catch the traitor if I didn''t do that... If the old man mes me... I wouldn''t harbour a thought..." "Besides that, no one will befortable upon knowing that venomous snakes managed to infiltrate one''s house, isn''t it... Veronica?" He suddenly said, making the smile of the devil above widen as the man slowly shifted his gaze toward the ss windows of the tower- momentarily pausing before hurling an ice shard toward the specific window... Pop- Ripple~ However, the expected explosion and the bursting of the window into countless fine pieces of ss didn''t ur, instead, the surface of the ss window unfolds a ripple- consuming the ice shards toward its mysterious depths before vanishing in a matter of seconds. Hehehe~ "As expected of the Ice King... However, how did you know that I was the traitor?" Soon, the alluring sound of the woman, evoking one''s deepest desire abruptly echoed toward the surroundings- causing the man to furrow his white brow as the slender yet soft limbs of the woman slowly emerged from the surface of the fragile ss... Coming from the unknown as its scene that could instinctively cause a mortal to be petrified due to its inexplicably unfold toward the fissure above. Soon, upon fully emerging from the sses, the woman lightly opened her red lips, mumbling an incoherentnguage- summoning countless sses from the void that scattered toward the far distance... Reflecting the eve of sunlight, causing them to be blinding to one''s eyes. "Because you''re an idiot, that''s why..." Seeing this, the man in the blue robe speaks seriously, his expression never changes a bit as he slowly unfolds his palms, having no ns to exin how he determined that she was a traitor since he deemed it idiotic. Swish! In an instant, upon opening his palms, the cold gale of winds akin to a petrifying blizzard swiftly materialized from the unknown void, instantly shrouding the ce, consuming everyone within the epassing of the buildings (at least 150 meters in diameter) in prating coldness... Creating a thinyer of ice within the surface of the concrete road... As the vibrant grasses nted within their corner be cold solid. Furthermore, even the innocent residents who were running for their lives, within its area of effects couldn''t escape the cmity- making beings below the Foundation realm slowly be ice frozen... Killing them in a matter of seconds that even their expression hadn''t managed to change due to the sudden change of the event. "Keke~ you''re much more suitable to be devil than some of us..." Beholding this, the devil above revealed an amused expression on its face- hiding the difort within as his altitude dropped by a little due to the obstruction from the blizzard, shivering slightly as the gleam of its crimson eyes deepened... "Keke~ I just need to stall him for 10 minutes right?'' *** Hearing this, the Ice King didn''t bother to reply, instead, he hurriedly activated his divine senses, instantly allowing him to pry 1,000 meters away from his current location- instantly allowing him to discern the chaos unfolding within the town, seeing the destruction of the devil spawn cause... As the 3 Core Formation realm being that was left to the town to protect it began to battle the enemies. "At least 8 Core Formation realm. 1 at thete stage, 2 at the middle, and the rest were at the early stage...'' Ice King seriously thought, eying the Late Core Formation realm devil above before unhurriedly shifting his gaze toward Veronica who was unexpectedly and surprisingly at the mid stage of the Core Formation realm... Making his expression slowly turn grim upon understanding what they were up to. "Stalling for time?'' Although he was above them by a realm, currently at the very Peak of the Core Formation realm, In able to finish the two off it would still take him time, at least 5 minutes at the best... A thing that he couldn''t allow if he didn''t want the town to crumble! ... "Huff~ unfortunately, I didn''t manage to step toward Nascent Soul in time... "However...'' However, although that was the case, the Ice King revealed a light smile on his face, an opposite expression that he always portrays, causing the two to suddenly feel unease within as the premonition of danger gripped their soul... Taking a deep breath, suppressing the urge within their being to run, the Devil spawn and the woman exchange nces toward each other, nodding slightly before rushing toward the man beneath... Not caring about the chills brought by the intense blizzard toward their physique as they simultaneously cast their skills... "Mirror of Countless Forms.'' Soon, upon closing the distance toward the Ice King, Veronica suddenly raised her left smooth hand, seemingly holding an imperceptible item within as she suddenly motioned a sh toward the man... Instantly causing the void to tremble as the blizzard that perfectly aligned on her motioned sh visibly parted away- making the scene mesmerizing yet mysterious at the same time. Swoosh~ (Sound of Intense snow blizzard.) Frowning his white brows, the Ice King lightly tapped his feet, causing his physique to elevate toward the atmosphere... Flying above afterwards upon being carried by the intense blizzard, timely evading the imperceptible attack that leaves long gashes toward the cold ground... However, just as he distanced himself from the ground, the back of his skin suddenly perceived heat from behind... Followed by the premonition of danger as he hurriedly clicked his thumb toward his middle finger, immediately producing a crisp sound as a thick wall of ice, almost had meter of thickness swiftly materialized on his back. Sizzle~ Sizzle~ Obstructing the ming trident of the Devil spawn, creating a sizzling sound as the thick wall of ice swiftly turns into liquid... before evaporating afterwards as it lightly hindered the vision of the Devil... Swish! Swish! As the Devil was about to retract its trident, knowing that its attempt to catch the other party off guard already be ineffective... countless ice of shards, as long as short daggers suddenly emerged from the hot fog in his front, making his expression change slightly as arge mirror, almost as big as his figure appeared in his front- timely blocking the fast approaching ice shard... Causing him to heave a sigh of relief as he hurriedly unfolded his bat like wings, revealing a blur as he vanished in the sight of Ice King. "As expected of Core Formation realm being, they are all hard to deal..." ... "Eyes of Deprived Heat...'' The Ice King weakly mumbled under his breath, blinking hurriedly as the colour of his irises became deeper, causing beings who identally stared at his eyes to freeze as if their soul became petrified by the unknown... Still not done, he leisurely stretches his right hand toward the void, seemingly grasping something as he slowly retracts his hand... Unfolding an exquisitely sculpted ice staff within- further lowering the temperature around, to the point of almost reaching absolute zero! Above the staff, a ball of flickering blue light reflects the face of the Ice King- instantly elevating his figure, making him much more colder and glorious in the process. "Staff... Of the Cursed Cold...'' Instinctively mumbling the name of his Soul Bound Weapon within his mind. The Ice King hurriedly gazed toward the floating mirror above the atmosphere... Lightly waving his staff toward their direction, causing them to be frozen solid before bursting into fine powder afterwards... before being carried by the gale of wind in the next second... Buwack! *** Chapter 189 Chaos Within The Town, The Familiar Scent Of Despair! (3) Buwack! In an instant, the figure of a slender woman... suddenly ejected from the destroyed mirrors above, unfolding her blooded figure toward the Ice King as some ice shards prated parts of her physique- creating shallow wounds all over her petite and soft body, dyeing her white dress in crimson that be frozen solid in the next second due to the intense blizzard... as she suddenly puked blood from her mouth, taking quite a damage due to her skill being forcefully cancelled... Not caring about the wounds she takes, Veronica hurriedly stretches her hands toward the void, taking out a ss potion that was filled with thick green essence inside- retreating in the distance as she uncorks the cap of the bottle, gulping the liquid within afterwards as the wounds on her body visibly healed. Huff~ Shifting her gaze, she instantly saw her allies, the Devil Spawn above the Ice King... His figure was aze as he hurriedly swung his silver trident, causing the blizzard that was hindering his vision to evaporate in an instant... However, as if already aware of what was happening, the Ice King lightly gestured toward his back, materializing an Ice Wall that again hindered the Devil''s spawn trident... Followed by a weak audible sound as the figure of two-meter-tall Ice Golem, coalesces from the intense blizzard suddenly appeared from the back of the Devil... Swinging its fist asrge as one''s head, parting the void as it swiftly travelled toward the back of the Devil! "This...'' ... Boom! In an instant, a loud sound almost akin to an explosion instantly resounded toward the far distance- making one''s senses momentarily blind as hot fog abruptly hindered their vision... Slightly tilting his head toward his back, the expression of the Ice King slightly turned dark, beholding a thick mirror (almost had a thickness of two feet) timely deflecting the attack of his Ice Golem- causing the surface of the mirror to ripple as fine cracks appeared on its centre... Hmmp! Sneering, Ice King hurriedly raised his staff of the cursed cold, defending from the approaching trident- causing the trident glow to weaken as intense cold energy began to drill toward its metallic being, causing the Devil spawn to grit its teeth in cold agony as he swiftly opened his free left palm... "Fire of the abyss...'' Mumbling weakly under his breath, summoning a ck zing me with a hint of red hue in it... Surprisingly, the me didn''t carry the expected heat, instead, it made the premonition of the Ice King tingle... Making his physique cold as danger gripped his cold soul... Watching how the Devil spawn swiftly tossed the ck me toward his direction. ... "What is that?" He questioned under his breath, as he hurriedly stepped backwards, wanting to escape from the way of the zing me but only in vain due to their short distance... Quickly burning the imperceptible veil that passively protected his body, causing the surface of his physique to burn... Before bing charred afterwards as the blizzard quickly makes his wounds cold. Furthermore, upon being grazed by the me, the Ice King instantly feels the intense agony within his bones... Seemingly being corrupted by the unknown as his thoughts suddenly be disoriented... Instantly making his figure look dazed in the eyes of the two! "Not good... a mental attack!'' He slowly thought as he sluggishly raised his hand, beholding the blurry figure of the two that were swiftly rushing toward his direction, bombarding his physique with skills as his passive protection skill weakened their might by amount- Making his figure suffer from superficial wounds, hurriedly retreating with all his might as he activated one of his skill... "Cold Mind...'' Swish! In an instant, a cold sensation enveloped his being, sweeping within, making his temperature much colder as the zing corruption within his mind directly calmed down- making his blurry and sluggish thought recover... as he instantly beholds another approaching ball of me toward his direction. Seeing this, he immediately tapped his feet, instantly vanishing within the blizzard as the me missed his physique by meters... However, before the Ice King could ease his expression, a sudden long gush of wound, tearing his muscle and almost exposing his bones suddenly appeared toward his left chest... Causing his expression to twist as pain reflected in his eyes- gritting his teeth as he hurriedly patted his exposed wound, causing it to freeze, avoiding the problem of losing blood in the process... Huff~ Hurriedly scanning his environment, the Ice King quickly saw the invisible figure of Veronica, retracting her hand from the shing motion she had earlier as she visibly retreated toward the back... Making him unable to pinpoint her exact location even though he already used his divine senses! "Countering a divine senses with divine senses?'' He lightly thought, materializing a weak glow of blue from the unknown as it visibly stuck to his wound... Slowly healing it as his frozen yet injured flesh began to revert back to normal. *** Boom! Boom! Keke~ "Die! Kill! Plunder! Please the Devils!" Three hundred meters away from the periphery of the intense blizzard, a battle quietly unfolds toward the setting sun... Beholding the crimson puddle on the surface of the concrete road as the rhythmic yet chaotic sounds of countless hurried and panicked footsteps echoed toward the far distance. Blooded figures and incapacitated parts (mostly limbs and heads) roll toward the ground, painting thend in horror as immorality seems to have been stripped away from it... As if Death again decided to walk towards the Earth, as hundreds of residents of the town died in a matter of short 5 minutes. In the short distance, meters away from the centre of the chaos, a child, barely at 6, motionlesslyy on the ground, eyes empty as a forest centipede (beast) slowly feasts its innards- making the scene seem peaceful as the rule of the jungle unfolds to everyone''s senses... Making them remember that strength is everything and weakness is a great sin! ... "Die already... You f*cking monster!" sh! sh! In the distance, the sound of an axe cleaving the air weakly resounded toward the senses of the Devil spawn, evading the sharp metal in a timely manner as if he could pry toward the short future- making the enemy opposite him enraged as it shouted angrily... Increasing the size of the red hue aura that weakly shrouded its physique, making its speed increase further as the devil spawn finally couldn''t maintain hisposure... Boom! Soon, a red fog that carried an intense bloody scent wafted toward the senses of the man, huffing heavily, catching his breath as he hurriedly gazed at the hateful spawn in the distance, beholding the deep injuries he inflicted as he finally revealed a weak smile of victory... "Caught you..." Not giving the other party time toprehend the meaning of his words, the man with axe hurriedly opened his mouth, uttering an iprehensivenguage as the space between the two suddenly cracked- consuming the two in a matter of seconds as darkness momentarily blinded their senses. "Domain of Savage Land...'' *** Hmm... "The familiar smell of despair...'' Within the centre of the nd cemetery... A ranging fire could be discerned, enveloping the ck cauldron within its centre as bubbling blood could be seen on its interior- evaporating afterwards, bing imperceptible to one''s senses as it flew toward the atmosphere... Leaving only the ck ring within. Leo, upon smelling the familiar fragrance... couldn''t help but helplessly abandon the thing he was currently doing, raising his head as he savoured the scent within the atmosphere- causing his instinct to scream within his consciousness to follow its trail... Making him aware that chaos was currently unfolding in the unknown distance. "Keke~ isn''t that the direction of the town? How fascinating, although the distance between the two was almost tens of miles apart (almost 45 miles)... their despair still managed to reach this far ce... "Did those Devil Spawns finally begin their scheme?'' Feeling curious deep within, Leo unhurriedly extinguished the me beneath his ck cauldron- hiding it within his inventory as he slightly raised his head... Mumbling weakly, causing half of his puppets to create a clicking sound as they began marching toward the direction of the town... "The more chaotic it was, the better... Keke~ I hope that their despair is enough to upgrade my level once...'' Thinking of it, feeling excited all of a sudden, Leo quietly activated his invisibility skill, causing his figure to fuse toward the surroundings before vanishing in the face of the world. *** Soon, another 5 minutes quickly passed by. Within the raging blizzard, the expression of the blue-robed man became frosty, further lessening the temperature around as ice unceasingly formed within the atmosphere- raining toward the silhouette of the two as the zing fire within the surface of the Devil Spawn''s skin weakened drastically, to the point that the me around him extinguished from time to time! Furthermore, their health unceasingly decreased by 0.5 every second, making their expression grave as the sensation of coldness gripped their soul- slowly freezing it, affecting their overall strength negatively... However, although that was the case, the two still didn''t show sign of escaping- hellbent on stalling time as they didn''t let the Ice King have a chance to activate his Divine senses, countering it in a timely manner, causing the expression of thetter chillingly cold... *** The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 190 Chaos Within The Town, The Complete Domain! (4) "Keke~ Unfortunately, I still need to take out that item...'' Knowing that the time was dire, the Devil''s Spawn hurriedly took out an item within his inventory, causing his surroundings to darken as if night nketed the ce- making the intense blizzard inexplicably calm down as the face of the Devil''s Spawn abruptly be twisted... Seemingly resisting the difort and pain within his being as he forcefully unfolds a wry smile on his face, making the woman in the distance to instinctively retreat. In the distance, upon seeing the strange phenomena happening in his environment, the Ice King subconsciously increased his grip on his staff- eyes wide open as he stared at the dark skull, emitting a weak soul fire on its empty eyes sockets, beholding the intense baleful aura it was releasing as the snowkes it grazed mysteriously vanished... Making his expression grave as his premonition began to send a signal to his being- an unprecedented danger that exceeded the thing he encountered in the past! "What is that!?" "Keke~ First time seeing this? It''s a unique item that was hard toe by, An item that usually exceeded its grade as it carried mysterious effects and strength within... To the point that it even affects its wielder negatively... "Behold the Cursed Item crafted by the Devils!" Beholding the puzzled expression of the Ice King, the Devil Spawn revealed a weak smile on its face. His red skin began to darken due to the baleful aura that drilled toward his pores (one of the negative effects of the cursed item), making him sustain corruption that originated from the abyss- gritting his teeth as he hurriedly cast his scan toward the item... Still hadn''t gained preliminary knowledge regarding it since the Devil told him that prying toward its secret could damage one''s mind! (As expected of a Cursed Item, even knowing its effects might bring misfortune to one''s being.) ... Ding! Your journey continues at empire [ Skull of Abyss (Rare +1) (Cursed Item) - An item that was forged within the depths of the abyss. Created using the soul and hatred of the deceased, the me within the depths of the abyss, and the skull of a Demon General... Causing it to carry unprecedented prowess and curse within its being... Effects 1: Release an intense baleful aura that could affect anyone within its area of effect (could even affect the user of the item), making their ability to decrease by amount! Effects 2: Increase one Magic Power, Soul Power, and Strength by 50! Effect 3: Able to use the "Hatred of the Cursed Soul" (2x a day). Note: A cursed Item that negatively affects being around it unconditionally...] *** Feeling that the baleful aura began to affect his physique, the Devil Spawn hurriedly pointed his palm toward the Ice King, mumbling within his consciousness as the me within the skull''s empty socket deepened- causing its area of effect to increase in size as an eerieugh, seemingly originated from the deepest parts of the abyss, echoed toward the consciousness of the Ice King... Making him pause on his track, floating within the intense blizzard in the distance as his expression abruptly turned twisted... Ding! [ Inflicted by the "Hatred of the Curse Soul"...] This... In an instant, upon hearing the sound of notification ring within his consciousness, Ice King''s skill momentarily halted as the feeling of intense danger gripped his cold soul... Making his thoughts disorderly as the colour of the back of his hand instantly turned dark! Ding! -15 health! Beholding this, unable to determine what kind of skill the Devil Spawn uses since his "Cold Mind" skill was unable to revert his thoughts back to normal... Ice King gritted his teeth, wavering as he stared at the fast approaching figure of the zing abomination in the short distance- clenching his Ice Staff as it released countless Ice spears within the atmosphere... Shooting toward the Devil, nning to impale its red physique but only in vain due to his disoriented thought that affected his uracy. "Keke~ Why not use your Domain? At least it would increase your abilities by amount..." Discerning the wavering expression within the eyes of the Ice King, knowing what was happening within its mind, the Devil Spawn advice- releasing a skill, tempting one''s mind to believe the words that escape his crimson lips akin to thenguage of the devil''s...n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Further deepening the wavering in the Ice King''s irises, making the smile of Devil Spawn''s face widen... "Keke~ That''s right... activate your iplete domain so we two would vanish in the face of the town... When that happens, Veronica would be free to join the fun- further destroying the foundation of the town... Hehehe~'' (Note: Iplete Domain could only contain a single enemy within due to its instability... Withoutprehending 100% of a certain rule, the domain capacity is only limited to 1 enemy!) ... "Sigh, I didn''t n to activate my domain since I''m still unaware of its effect... Since that was the case, I could only hope that time wouldn''t divert that too much..." Sighing deep within, unable to conceal the wavering and regret on his cold face, the Ice King unhurriedly gazed toward the two... Visibly frowning as he instantly activated his domain, the domain that he deemed to be on far with the newly ascended Nascent Soul realm being! Allowing him to have a strength equal to a Quasi Nascent Soul realm Cultivator- causing the smile within the face of the Devil Spawn to freeze, seemingly unable toprehend what he just heard as he swiftly beholds his figure, Veronica, and the Ice King vanish within the ce... Only leaving the frozen still scene behind... "Complete Domain, Ice City!'' *** Boom! In the blink of an eye, the vision of the three momentarily darkened as they were forcefully dragged towards the unknown void... Instantly causing them to perceive the intense coldness that drilled toward their bones and soul... Making their physiquenguid as if the unprecedented coldness was tempting them to sleep. Opening his eyes, the sight of the city, buried in thick white snow instantly greeted the Devil''s Spawn senses... Followed by the gloomy atmosphere above, as snowkes, as big as one''s hand began to slowly fall from the firmament above. This!? Shifting his gaze toward his side, the face of the Devil''s Spawn instantly crumbles, beholding the figure of the fear stricken woman beside him (Veronica), trembling in unprecedented coldness and dread... Unable to maintain hisposure as his thoughts began to be filled with horror. "Impossible... Iplete Domain couldn''t amodate more than 2 beings (the user of the domain and the enemy) or else, it would be extremely unstable- leading to the injuries of the owner of the domain!" "This... Don''t tell me, you alreadyprehended 100% of a certain rule!" As if lightning struck above his head, the Devil Spawn couldn''t help but show a shocked expression on his face, unable to believe that the Ice King managed toprehend 1plete rule- it''s already certain that he would achieve a Nascent Soul realm if he survives the onught of the heaven tribtion! Although he wasn''t aware of the prowess a Quasi Nascent Soul realm cultivator hold... The Devil Spawn knew what kind of horror a Complete Domain contained! Unlike Iplete Domain that is something he could easily escape by countering it with rules... Complete Domain was simply built differently! It was akin to a smallplete world that could exist within the depths of the Soul of Cultivators! Moreover, its strength and effects were folds stronger than the iplete domain! Making it impossible to cancel by beings below the Nascent Soul realm! Furthermore, it contains its own time, space, andnd, making it quite different from the reality... A day within aplete Domain might be seconds, hours, days, or weeks in the outside world! Making it a perfect ce to grow one''s own resources on their own! As for its other advantage, the Devil Spawn was currently unaware of it due to hisck of knowledge... He might only learn it if heprehended 100% of his rules! However, unfortunately, it was still far away from him... Making him helpless just by thinking of it. ... "Indeed, unfortunately, I still hadn''t gained a preliminary knowledge regarding the difference of time within this ce and the outside world... Making me hesitant to activate it." The Ice King slowly spoke, pointing toward their figure as the gloomy atmosphere above began to crazily churn... Making the expression of the two to be grave as thousands of ice shards, emitting sharpness within unfold above their head. Still not done, Ice King slowly stretched his right hand toward the void, making it tremble as swirling white light appeared to the senses of the two, making them tense as a 3 meter tall tower... Pure white in colour slowly emerged from its unknown depths... releasing a pale blue aura that seemingly slowed down everyone who entered its area of effect! "Domain exclusive item: White Tower!'' *** Chapter 191 Chaos Within the Town, The Real Despair! (5) Outside the Complete Domain, in the far distance, within the edge of the towering white wall... A being, shrouded in thick grey fog could be discern quietly staring at the chaos happening below- toward the epasses of thend, spreading his pale white arms wide, gesturing his pointed fingers as if orchestrating something, humming a cold tone as he enjoyed the view from high above... Watching the beasts enter through the destroyed gaps of the pristine wall, killing humans in their perimeter as they began to feast on their corpses and remains... Quietly watching how humans scramble toward the unknown direction, akin to headless chicken... And beholding how those little and hateful devil spawns hurriedly caused destruction on their way. Kekeke~ Unhurriedly shifting his gaze toward the firmament above, the pale being couldn''t help but slowly curl his lips upwards, discerning the churning darkness that was imperceptible to one''s normal senses above... Making him trembling in excitement- suppressing the voice within his being, whispering to him to absorb its nutrients, feeling that he will only be disappointed in the end upon learning that it was still not enough to elevate his existence capability by amount. "Keke~ still not enough... Never enough... "As expected of the Devil Spawn, they allck the capability to cause unrest, fear, and despair! They are all idiotic! "Keke~ Fortunately, your daddy is currently here, I will help you gain more animosity!" Stay updated through empire Smiling further, Leo weakly whispered toward the empty void beyond, causing the silent puppets (number up to 70) behind him to suddenly create an annoying sound of moving gears... as their crimson yet nd lifeless eyes darted toward the town, salivating upon seeing the corpses of humans and moving beast scattered around. Advancing ferociously afterwards upon hearing what their creatormanded-ughing instinctively as a mysterious aura began to emit from their stitches bodies... Subconsciously making their surroundings darken as death Qi began to permeate toward the blooded atmosphere (the unusual colour of the sky when the sun was about to set down toward the horizon- seemingly dyeing the firmament in crimson red). "Keke~ don''t forget to be careful alright? I will cry if any of you die!" Leo said teasingly, waving his pale hands akin to worried parents, causing some of his puppets who were luckily grazed by Death and Life Qi to roll their eyes as they hurriedly rushed toward the town- seemingly afraid that the heartless creator (They heard from skeleton #1) could discern their thoughts. Seeing the vanishing silhouettes of the puppets, Leo unhurriedly retracts his palm. Gazing toward the distance, toward the unfolding battle of the Core Formation realm beings... 400 meters away from his current location in great interest- wanting to immediately join the fun and reap the benefits afterwards, causing his excitement to deepen as his physique couldn''t help but issue another tremble. However, although that was the case, he still refrained from moving from his current location, pondering as he often shifts his gaze toward the sky from time to time, discerning the imperceptible clouds slowly increasing in size- calcting within his mind if it was enough to increase his level by at least 2 to 4... Moreover, he also wanted to use the chance to deepen his understanding of his rule of Despair and also wanting to learn the rule of Fear if possible! ... "Keke~ Soon... soon.'' Leo weakly shook his head, slightly regretful as he silently activated his invisibility, hiding within the nearest ceiling as he watched the unfolding battle in the distance... Knowing that with his current level, it might be risky if he shows himself toward the two! Huff~ Pausing for a long while, Leo silently shortened his distance toward the unfolding chaos, approaching as he halted exactly 200 meters away from the intense battle. Smilingly lightly as he hurriedly cast his "Soul Scan" toward the Core Formation realm being (Devil Spawn) from afar- again feeling the familiar hatred emerge within his consciousness as his reasoning seems to decrease by amount... Tempting him to immediately join the battle and execute the disgusting spawn into countless pieces for good! Ding! [ Unknown (Quasi Devil)- Early stage of the Core Formation realm Level 5 ] ss Job: ( Plundered of Blood (Rare +1)) Innate Ability: Sin of Bloodlust Iplete Domain: Infinite Sea of Blood ___Attributes___ Health: 323/505 Qi Storage: 626/1005 Stamina: 364/505 Strength: 355 Speed: 305 Qi Power: 255 Skills: Blood Bath (Rare +2), Blood Curse (Rare), Basic Blood Maniption (Elite +1), Aura of Blood (Rare +1), Weakened Fire of Abyss (Elite +2)... ] ... Ding! [ Blood Bath (Rare +2): Increase one''s overall stats upon inflicting damage and being wounded, the more you and others bleed the higher the attribute stats you get (Max 100 in every attribute)! Furthermore, it also allows one to easily perceive the rules of blood! Effects: Increase one''s overall stats depending on the blood in the surrounding environment! ( Current boon +5 in overall stats!) Activation: Passive! ] Ding! [ Blood Curse (Rare): Upon digesting the blood of your enemy... Your enemy would instantly experience random disease, making theirbat prowess to weaken by amount... Moreover, the more blood you digest the higher the potency of the curse! (Might lead to enemy''s death upon consuming 1 litre of his/her blood!) Other Effects: Passively Increase the host affinity to Blood by 1.5! Activation: Passive! ] "Keke~ the Blood Devil...'' *** Click~ Click~ In the far distance, hidden beyond the rubble of the building, a white doll, devoid of any emotion could be seen swiftly traversing thend... Its body bent to its back as its four limbs that were akin to short daggers fiercely pierced through the soil beneath... Its head that was twisted beyond one''s recognition often surveyed its surrounding environment- eyes wide open, wanting to find any sign of life to reap and consume! Hehe~ Haha~ Soon, seemingly finding something, the eyes of the doll suddenly lit up (darken),ughing innocently, releasing an imperceptible attack that could cause beings who identally heard it to instinctively feel fear within their being... Swish~ In an instant, upon jumping above the destroyed concrete, the innocent smile on the doll''s face quietly widened, reaching the corner of his patch ears, making its current innocent face carry a hint of cruelty within... Quietly beholding the 3 humans, 2 middle-aged men harassing a helpless woman beneath them (upon knowing that their lives might end in the next seconds or hours, the two, not hesitatingly unfolded their disgusting desires toward the face of the fissure above, abandoning their morals as theymit their little heinous crime)... Assaulting its petite physique so it couldn''t resist their desire, followed by parting her legs wide before smiling widely- akin to getting their sry followed by their huge bonus! "No~" The woman''s weak begging voice echoed toward the ears of the two, further deepening their excitement as they secretly licked the corner of their dry lips, lowering their pants to ready themselves for inevitable action... Hehe~ Haha~ However, as they were about to ravish the petite body of the woman, a sudden innocentugh of the child echoed toward the unknown distance... Causing them to instinctively pause as itsugh drilled toward their mind- making their eyes waver as fear momentarily reflected within. With the things currently happening within the town, where corpses could be seen scattered around the almost ruined ce... Hearing the sound of an innocent childughing certainly evokes fear in one''s mind! "Whe-where..." One of the men stuttered as he hurriedly exchanged nces toward the other man beside him, inspecting the rubble behind as the silhouette of a seeming child instantly entered their vision... Sitting above the copsed building, not moving a bit as she stared at their figure in silence...n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Causing the two to be enranged as one of the men hurriedly buttoned his shorts before rushing toward the suspected child- wanting to kill it and silence her forever. Swish! This!? However, upon shortening the distance between the two, the man couldn''t help but slow down on his track- revealing puzzlement on his face as he beheld its porcin body... Making his physique cold as doubt crept toward his being, unable to recall seeing the white doll earlier. "Did I miss something due to the intense excitement?" He thought as he forcefully grabbed the body of the doll, causing its lifeless irises to momentarily flicker before reverting back to normal in the next second as the man hurriedly tossed it toward the direction of the other man. Seeing this the man hurriedly stretched his right hand, attempting to catch it before destroying it afterwards so they could finally continue what they were doing... Swish! However, as the doll entered his reach... The doll''s little yet horrifying body suddenly twisted mid-air, making the eyes of the three instantly consumed by fear as the doll''s sharp limbs swiftly pierced the body of the man- spilling blood toward the face of the woman beneath as they quietly behold how the abomination retract its little arms, holding innards within as it hurriedly consumed it akin to a hungry child... Curling its eyes up, smiling upon tasting a delicacy. Ding! [ Your Doll puppet instilled intense fear and dread toward other beings! +3,000 horror points! ] Ding! [ Your Doll puppet killed a Mortal Level 20 being! +1,000 horror points! +25 exp points! ] *** Chapter 192 Chaos Within the Town, Deepening Ones Understanding! (6) Ding! +25 exp points! +2,500 horror points! +100 exp points! +5,000 horror points! In an instant, 5 minutes passed by. Beholding his increasing horror points and exp points, Leo couldn''t help but curl his lips upwards... Sitting cross legs as he stared at the firmament above, inspecting the churning imperceptible energy within inplete silence. Its size increases by at least 10% when he released his puppets- making him believe that those Devil''s Spawns are really idiotic andck the capability of thinking! (Two words with the same meaning, pointing out how Leo hated the Devil within his bones and being!) "Keke~ Demon absorbed fear and despair to elevate their existence and capability... "However, on the other hand, the Devil absorb death and desire- making them bloodthirsty and sinful... As expected of abomination.'' Sneering within his mind, Leo unhurriedly closed his eyes, activating his Mist of Illusion skill- instantly causing his body to release a thick grey fog, almost turning liquid to the point that Mortal realm beings movement would be hindered within if they entered its area of effect, making the Core Formation realm being fighting in the distance to momentarily halt before continuing their battle... Due to their Elevated senses that they gain upon advancing toward the Core Formation realm, in addition to their Divine senses that allow them to perfectly see their environment... The effect of suppressing one''s senses of the Mist Illusion Skill was weakened drastically- making them disregard the one who activated the skill as they focused on each other. Seeing this, Leo didn''t care whether the other party got affected or not, his only goal was to hide his figure within the fog when he was absorbing the imperceptible energy above- not knowing whether the devil spawn could detect the imperceptible movement if he absorbed it... Sighing deeply, taking a long deep breath, Leo unhurriedly shifted his gaze toward the town beneath... Closing his eyes tightly as he began absorbing the imperceptible energy within the atmosphere, causing the environment to darken by amount as an ufortable aura instantly nketed thend- beings who were unluckily closer to Leo suffered from negative effects, making their emotions fluctuate crazily... to the point that their consciousness began to waver, making them slightly insane in the process. Ding! +5 exp points! +10 exp points! +20 exp points! ... Seemingly detecting something, Leo furrowed his brows, began to understand things that he couldn''tprehend in the past, making his expression change as he began to delve within the particles of the imperceptible energy... Comprehending the vastness and emotions within the despair and fear energy- causing Leo''s mind to momentarily detect and sense their fear, despair, and helplessness... Causing his lips to curl upwards, feeling an unknown delight resurface within the depths of his soul as his certain rules began to increase in percentage- also allowing its seed of rules to increase in size as he could faintly feel the strengthening of his Domain. "Strange... The sensation of shockment is also a type of fear. Feeling fear but in negative and positive ways... "Shock originated due to the unknown and unknown bring fear to one''s senses... It makes sense but at the same time extremely confusing." Leo paused for a second, consuming the vast knowledge akin to a sponge, taking a moment of break before continuing to consume the fear and despair above... "It could be said that fear and despair originated from the Unknown, the Inevitable, the beyond one''sprehension and morality, and helplessness upon understanding something... "The Unknown, the Inevitable, and the beyond one''sprehension and morality is self-exnatory, but it contains a huge amount of knowledge that was hard toprehend... To the point that it was confusing and might cause misunderstanding in one''s mind- causing the difficulty ofprehending the said rule to increase drastically! "As for Helplessness upon understanding something... Humans tend to be fearful uponprehending the vastness of the unknown- understanding how little their pitiful existence was, understanding that they could die just by understanding their existence... "Making them helpless, followed by intense despair that drilled toward their consciousness- filling them with mysterious urgency to advance... that eventually and always lead to fear and horror..." Ding! +100 exp points! [ Congrattions upon upgrading to Level 2 of the Core Formation realm! +10 Soul Power!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om +10 Qi Power! +6 Speed! +6 Strength! ] (The mortal realm gains 5 attribute stats per level (Minimum if its ss job wasmon grade), while the foundation realm gains 10 attribute stats per level... on the other hand, a Core Formation realm being could gain 20-25 attribute stats per level!) Hearing the sound of the familiar notification ring within his consciousness, followed by the strange yet addictive sensation that wrap toward his being- making his almost corporeal physique rx as an unknown energy began to slowly temper it, strengthening slightly in the process as his gaseous core hidden deep within his soul thicken by a small amount... Enjoy exclusive content from empire Leo couldn''t help but release a moan, unhurriedly exhaling, expelling a small number of impurities within his soul as his pale physique began to carry a hint of redness within, making it look slightly alive in the process (although not too much since he still looked like a walking corpse)... ... Huff~ Again closing his eyes, not caring about the slight changes within his strength, Leo continued absorbing the energy above... Slowly increasing his exp points as he again delved toward the vastness of his Rules of Despair and Fear... Making him engrossed in the process as he hurriedly took out a Peak Enlightenment Stone within his inventory- making the atmosphere darken further as the imperceptible energy above began to surge within his being... swiftly entering his pores before drilling toward his soul and gaseous core- tainting it slightly with their aura as the thick grey fog within the atmosphere began to carry a hint of nightmare within! Inside Leo''s consciousness, sparks ofprehension and understanding began to unceasingly materialized within, filling every corner of it as Leo desperately absorbed its knowledge- making his understanding of the Despair and Fear rule increase by 3% in a matter of seconds! Making his head ache slightly as his level again increases by 1 upon absorbing for a while- decreasing the size of imperceptible dark clouds above by 40% since the other 10% he absorbed just now got refilled by the negative emotions of beings within the town. Causing him to smile in the midst of pain and exhration... Understanding that he hit the jackpot! Moreover, the sound of his increasing horror points unceasingly resounded within his mind, filling his being with excitement that he couldn''t exin- seemingly falling deeper toward the depths of the abyss upon entertaining the thought of torturing humans mentally and physically to further increase his level, strength, and horror points! "Keke~ such a dangerous and exciting thought... Unfortunately, I could only kill the sinners for now since I have no idea if there were skills that could pry toward the past or skills that detect the sin of beings...'' Shaking his head, slowly opened his eyes as he stared at the still unfolding battle in the distance... Leo hurriedly consumed the fear above, couldn''t contain the itch within his being to y that abomination (the devil spawn)- feeling that his race was craving for its blood and core, wanting to use it to elevate his existence although the reason was unknown... Although he was currently at the High level of his Demon Entity race, Leo hadn''t gained a single skill from his species upon upgrading- sensing that something was missing within his being, causing him to be iplete... Making him conclude that it was rted to the Devil''s blood, physique, or core- seemingly discerning an imperceptible lock within his being that suppressed his whole capability as a High Demon... "Simply amazing, did the hatred of demons toward devils run through their genes? Or someone deliberately alters the Demon''s genes, causing them to feel instinctive hatred toward Devils?'' Leo couldn''t help but think, grasping his hand with force as he forcefully snapped his uncontroble instinct, making him sigh in relief as he increased the Qi he fed toward his mist of illusion skill by amount... Increasing the dosage it carried as he slowly discerned that the two beings began to inhalerge amounts of its fog, entering their beings before stopping within their minds... Staying there as if waiting for someone to trigger its effect. Curling his lips upwards, feeling enlightened, Leo hurriedly took out a bronze medallion within his inventory, grasping it within his palms as he hurriedly upgraded the Mist of Illusion skill to level 7! Ding! [ Upgrading the Most of Illusion skill level 6 to level 7 would cost 2 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade and 2,500 horror points! (ept/Declined)? ] "ept..." Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading your mist of illusion skill to level 7! ] ... Ding! [ Mist of Illusion (Lvl 7): Release a thick stream of fog that was akin to water in the surrounding area, obstructing the vision and senses of beings within the area of effects. Moreover, the fog could be tainted by rules, making its effect carry a minute amount of their effects! Effect: Beings who inhale the fog for a set period of time (depending on the difference in life level) would start hallucinating. In addition the higher the soul power of the caster, the easier it is to affect the being who inhales the fog! Activation: 0.5 Qi. An additional 0.2 Qi would be consumed every 10 seconds if the skill is still activated. Cost of Upgrade: 2 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade! Note: The user could partially control the illusion based on what the user wants, but it would cost extra Qi! ] *** Chapter 193 Chaos Within the Town, The Illusion! (7) In an instant, the fog within the void issued an intense quaking, seemingly unfolding the destruction of the world as its colour became tainted by thick red and ck- its density that was akin to thick sticky water, hurriedly spread around him (200 meters in diameter)! Lightly hindering the movement of beings within its area of effect up to 10%! Furthermore, A Core Formation realm Divine senses area of vision actually got suppressed, decreasing by at least 10 meters in diameter! Feeling a minute of knowledge appear within the corner of his consciousness, guiding him on how to use its skill to a greater mastery... Leo began to add Qi toward the red and ck fog around him, quickly traversing thend, secretly approaching the physique of the two Core Formation realm being in the distance as it quietly drilled toward their nostrils... Drilling toward their head and consciousness, slightly altering their vision to revert the sight of red and ck fog to grey... Making them not notice the changes that were happening around them! ... Seemingly feeling a strange sensation within their being, the two Core Formation realm cultivator in the distance momentarily halt their intense fight, exchanging dangerous stares toward each other- thinking that the dangerous feeling earlier came from the other parties! Never entertaining the thought of being attacked by a third party since Leo slightly altered what they were seeing! (He altered it so that they would only see their enemy in their front and nothing else! He altered their thoughts, thinking that no humans nor beast dared to approach 200 meters closer to them in fear of being affected by their life-threatening battle!) Curling his lips upwards, feeling that his Qi was reducing by 10 points every second by maintaining their slight hallucination, Leo unhurriedly took out a recovery potion within his inventory- gulping it afterwards, causing his natural recovery of Qi increased by at least 500%! Reducing his consumption by at least half as he again closed his eyes- falling deeper within the embrassed of certain rules, engrossed as he began delving within its vastness, causing his seed of rules to slightly crack as nd green with a hint of darkness within slowly unfold in the depths of his Gaseous Core! A small single grass, swaying under the touch of his Qi, emerged from the cracks of his seed of rules! Causing them to carry its hint of understanding- elevating their strength considerably as his physique and foundation got tempered by a bit! Although he wasn''t aware what kind of boon would be tempering one''s foundation would bring to a cultivator... Leo at least was aware that it would only bring him benefits and nothing else! "Keke~ I almost forgot that I also had a skill that could tempered my foundation by amount... Unfortunately, it was only Elite grade- I couldn''t feel its effect within my being!'' ... Boom! Soon, after another 5 minutes, upon absorbing all the imperceptible energy above, Leo''s consciousness seemingly exploded with intense bright lights- illuminating and filling its every corner as he could feel his soul strength increase considerably! Delving within his Core... discerning the gaseous Core almost turning into liquid substance- a testament that he was only away from the middle stage of the Core Formation realm, Leo instantly saw the illusive seed of Despair within... Its plump and baleful seed, exuding helplessness in the surroundings void could be seenpletely covered in huge and fine cracks- slowly being separated by two as a small sprout, having two small and tender nd leaves emerging from its inside... Making his head spin just by staring at it for a while- filling his mind with indescribable knowledge that he managed toprehend with difficulties... Allowing him to understand that it was an iplete rule that carried minute traces of Dao of Despair upon he managed to increase his understanding of it by at least 50%! Instinctively causing him to salivate, feeling that the desire within his being strengthened drastically- making his overall stats increase by 1% as hisprehension seemingly improved by a small amount! (Due to the skill he gained when he was still a Mid-Demon Entity.) Ding!N?v(el)B\\jnn [ Congrattions uponprehending 50% of the Rule of Pure Despair for the first time! +25,000 horror points! +12 free attribute points! +2 Stone of Restriction! ] Ding! [ Rule of Pure Despair (51%): The knowledge and feeling of pure despair. The Despair of the Inevitable, the Unknown, and the Understanding... Helplessness deep within, drilling toward one''s consciousness, making one''s mind crumble that leads to pure Despair... Effects 1: Instinctively cause one''s enemy to feel deep despair, causing them to make mistakes! Effects 2: Passively Increase the affinity to darkness by 1.5... Increase Soul Power, Qi Power, and Mental Fortitude by 25! Note: One of the highest rules within the Dao of Horror and Despair! ] *** "Keke~ Good... Good...'' Leo thought excitedly, unfolding a smile on his face as his being exuded a minute amount of the rule of Pure Despair, causing the ceiling he was staying in to darken, caving slightly as if it couldn''t maintain its very existence... Akin to a consciousness having a mental breakdown before crumbling toward despair... Falling deeper before ceasing to exist. Huff~ Exhaling arge amount of red fog, Leo hurriedly began to control the rule he was emitting, retracting it deep within his physique as he could sense that he could freely release it if he wanted to! Moreover, he could even infuse at least 10% of the rule of Pure Despair toward his skills, Qi, and physical attack... Making it carried the rules negative effects, increasing his overall strength in the process! "With my current level at the very peak of the early stage... In addition to my Complete Domain of Despair that I never use and the Rules that exceed the 50% mark... "I could at least fight an Elite (ss job rarity) Middle stage of the Core Formation realm without falling into a disadvantage...'' Stretching his physique, pausing for a while as he watches the still fighting Core Formation realm beings in the distance- unconsciously exhaling a huge amount of red thick fog as they further fall within the control of the illusion and hallucination... Leo subconsciously rubbed his pale hands in anticipation, unfolding a grin within his face as glint momentarily shed within the corner of his grey irises-ughing in a suppressed tone yet couldn''t conceal its demonical sensation that instantly travelled toward the far distance, making the two unconsciously tremble in fear as their instinct began to scream at them... Feeling that an unknown being, filled with malicious intent was staring at their physique- salivating akin to a hungry soul... as if it couldn''t wait to consume their flesh, being, and nd soul! Enjoy more content from empire *** "Who?'' The Devil spawn instinctively thought, hurriedly scanning the thick grey fog around as an intense sensation of dread gripped his soul- couldn''t believe what he was feeling... A feeling that he could only sense when he was facing that unknown being! A feeling that he couldn''t get even when facing a being at the Peak of the Core Formation realm! Churn~ Trembling slightly, eyes constricted as fear slowly gripped his consciousness. The Devil spawn frightfully behold the trembling void in his front- crazily surging as the figure of his enemy slowly vanishes within his sight... Instantly nketing his surroundings inplete darkness before unfolding the crimson hell in his front... giving him the sensation of intense heat that slowly and deliberately burned his physique and soul. Followed by that, the sight of the unending fire greeted his vision, making his fear increase drastically as he stiffly tilted his head below... Causing him to instantly see the figures of uncountable burning sinners beneath, unfolding their burning flesh and rotting bones beyond as countless demonic maggots could be seen freely feasting within... Filling his vision as their chaotic cry of repentance abruptly drilled within the depths of his consciousness, making his eyes bloodshot as he couldn''t help but grit his devil-like teeth... To the point of bleeding... However, although that was the case, the nightmare in front of him didn''t retract, never waking him from this unspeakable nightmare, making him believe that this was all real! Causing him to feel deep despair and horror, hearing the loud drum within his chest, beating at rming speed as negative thoughts began to fill his consciousness... "Did I die? Did I already die... Causing me to arrive in hell?'' "How''s this possible? How could I die just like that!?'' He thought slowly, believing that he already died... Yet couldn''t ept it due to him unable to recall his death- filling his being with desperation and despair as he slowly beheld his physique slowly descending toward the eternal zing me, unable to escape as an imperceptible force forcefully manipted his being... Teasingly as it deliberately slowed down... Ding! +5,000 horror points! -20 Qi! +5,000 horror points! +5,000 horror points! -40 Qi! Hearing the notification ring within his consciousness, Leo''s emotions didn''t fluctuate a bit... Summoning the Extreme Hell me within his left palm as he watched the devil spawn in front of him slowly get consumed by it, squirming in pain as its eyes reflected unprecedented despair and helplessness within... *** Chapter 194 Chaos Within the Town, Battle of Despair and Desires! (8) Boom! Boom! Ding! [ Congrattions upon inflicting 100 damage to a Core Formation realm being without him noticing it! +7,500 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +1 medallion of forceful upgrade! ] ... Soon, upon the Devil''s Spawn health decreased by 50%, an intense fluctuation of blood Qi suddenly emitted from his being, creating an intense wave of gale that heavily pushed the thick red and ck fog away... Pushing Leo by meters as he beholds the squirming being beneath him suddenly opened its crimson eyes... Concealing the fear it experienced earlier as it was reced by hatred and anger... Releasing a bloodied brilliance as Leo''s desire abruptly increases by fold- causing his thoughts to be interrupted as the figure of the Abomination on his front ballooned... Ripping with muscles, creating small sounds of explosion within the atmosphere as he could decipher its physical strength increased by quite an amount. Furthermore, his overall stats increase by a small percentage due to the blood he shredded! "YOU! Who are you!?" Seeing the figure of the unknown human in his front as the silhouette of the familiar Core Formation realm being that he battled earlier could be discerned writhing in pain and agony in the far distance, eyes tightly closed as it often inflicts injuries to itself- knowing that it also falls under the horrifying nightmare that the being secretly employed earlier... The Devil''s Spawn couldn''t help but instinctively step backwards- feeling the unknown anger that stemmed within the depths of his being, emerging as it slightly clouded his thoughts. However, although that was the case, the fear that he experienced earlier allowed him to suppress the anger within his physique- creating a newfound despair that he couldn''t exin and fathom... "How hateful... This species actually had this disadvantage!'' Thinking of it, knowing that he couldn''t flee since they still hadn''t achieved their goals. The Devil''s Spawn gritted his teeth, swiftly motioning a sh with his right hand as the familiar silver trident appeared within his grasp- facing the unknown being in his front as he slowly behold the rotting silver bnce scale materialized on its back, suspended within the atmosphere, causing him to instantly smell the familiar thick metallic scent of blood... making him extremely wary upon seeing a unique soul bound weapon... At the same time, the feeling of uncertainty emerged within his being, not knowing what kind of effects it contained- understanding that the being in his front was much more dangerous than the normal Late Stage of the Core Formation realm! "D*mn, I hate this kind of enemy the most! They all carried mysterious abilities that make being fall under their trap without them noticing it!'' *** "Keke~ Wonderful, the despair and fear you were subconsciously releasing was times higher than normal beings... To the point that I couldn''t wait to torture you~'' Seeing the faint evident fear within its soul. Leo weakly mumbled under his breath, unfolding a wide grin on his face as he hurriedly used his iplete domain- beholding the expression of the Devil''s Spawn warp in the distance as theplete darkness abruptly shrouded their environment... Consuming their figure afterwards as their senses of surroundings seemingly vanished momentarily. ... "Domain of the Unpredictable Death..." A weak whisper that could prate one''s soul instantly resounded in the environment- making the Devil spawn to quickly survey its surroundings with unprecedented wariness. This... In an instant, the sight of the abandoned and rotting psychiatric hospital greeted his eyes, creating a perfect circle that subconsciously imprisoned beings inside the building... Making him feel the annoying eternal silence within- making his mind extremely chaotic to the point of turning him slightly insane! Churn! Shifting his head above, the ufortable churning ck clouds, nketing the firmament above- not letting a single light prate its being unfold within his eyes... Subconsciously causing him to clench his fist due to the unknown as his premonition began to kick in- sending him cryptic signal that he couldn''t exin and fathom... "What kind of domain is this? It doesn''t carry the intense environment that causes the user capability to increase within (simr to the Ice domain that increases the capability of the Ice King skills within (only rted to ice element skills!))... "Nor carries a life-threatening danger that makes the enemy who entered the ce experience torment...'' He slowly thought as he attempted to spread his Divine senses but only in vain- giving him the sensation of imperceptible restriction that heavily restricts his abilities...n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "A domain that restricts beings who entered it by degree?'' Knowing that he couldn''t stay in this kind of domain, the Devil spawn hurriedly used his iplete domain- wanting to create a loophole to escape but unfortunately unable to considering his weakened and injured physique... Only allowing him to alter the environment, weakening the suppression within his being and at the same time, allowing him to enjoy the benefits of his domain! "Iplete Domain, Sea of Unending Blood!'' Blob~ Blob~ In an instant, upon activating his domain, the environment around him abruptly issued a small cracking, akin to fine ss, quaking slightly as thick crimson blood slowly emerged from the void, unhurriedly filling the surrounding ce with its sticky substance... Making the abandoned and rotting psychiatric hospital be more horrifying to one''s mortal sight as the churning ck clouds above carried a hint of forbidding red within- creating sounds of booming thunder as red crimson droplets began to fall toward the ground, dyeing the building in crimson and nd darkness... As the soft soil beneath absorbed its nutrients... Swish! Followed by that, a weak gentle wind slowly blew toward the atmosphere, lightly hitting his charred yet wet physique, causing him to feel unprecedented coldness within- making his eyes constricted as a strange notification appeared in front of him... A thing that he never expected considering that he just activated his own domain! Ding! [ Being hit by ailment, decay, and dehydration... causing your Health to decrease by 1 every second! Note: Upon not escaping or finding a way to neutralise the negative effects in 2 and a half minutes, the damage you will take will increase by 50%! ] Ding! [ Overall attribute stats increase by 7.5% upon entering your domain! Furthermore, your skills strengths and effects that are heavily focused or rted to blood affinity increase by 25%! ] -1 Health points! -1 Health points! -1 Health points! "D*mn!" *** Above the damp abandoned building (3rd floor), being shrouded by shadows as his grey burning eyes could only be faintly discerned within. Leo slowly retracted his gaze from the window, toward the direction of the Devil''s Spawn in the middle of the opening as he shifted his gaze toward the notification that appeared in the corner of his eyes... Grinning uncontrobly as malevolent aura began to crazily fluctuate around him, making the blood that seeped from the gaps of the door and windows to instinctively retreat in fright... Making him further smile... to the point that it bes ufortable to one''s eyes! Ding! [ Domain of Unpredictable Death: Land Of Insanity (Level 3) (Iplete Domain) - Construct an iplete domain using one''s soul power, mental power, and imagination. Domain has the ability to lock space, preventing beings who entered the domain from escaping easily! Activation: Mental power and Soul power, 2 Qi per second. Effects 1: Inside the domain, Increase the caster''s overall attributes by 10% Effects 2: Land of Unpredictability (Click to show the description! ) Effects 3: ?#*"!?# Effects 4: ?#*"!?# Skill Upgrade Cost: 4 Medallion of Forceful upgrade and 25% understanding of Rules under the Dao of Despair and Horror! Requirements toplete the Domain: Upgrade the Skill to Level 5 and Comprehend 100% of certain rules! Note: Entering one''s domain is not different frommitting suicide. ] ... [ Land Of Unpredictability: Within the domain of Unpredictable death, restrict one''s Divine senses by 50-70%, making the enemy unable to pry further... Moreover, upon staying within the domain for certain time, the enemy would slowly experience random things that could threaten one''s life if he/she was not careful and strong enough... Perfectly killing one due to Unpredictability! Effects: Randomly cause the enemy to experience a life-threatening situation every 10-20 seconds! (Depends on the difference of strength and soul power!) Note: The true despair is the unknown... ] *** "A domain that needs time to showcase its full capabilities?'' Leo slowly thought, caressing the silver scale within his grasp as he again shifted his gaze toward the devil below- eyes filled with fear as it began to check the room of the asylum one by one, desperately finding him in hopes of escaping its current cmity as swords mysteriously flicker in the surroundings environment (the random unpredictability), coincidentally falling and pointing toward his injured physique as it often inflicts wounds on it... Unfolding the flesh beyond as it often squirmed- healing slowly before being injured again due to the disease that covered his being... Ding! +2,500 horror points! Experience tales at empire +3,000 horror points! +2,500 horror points! "Keke~ the fear he was exuding was still not enough... I should increase it for better fulfilment." Beholding this, Leo revealed a mischievous smile on his face, opening his pale lips before mumbling under his breath, using the Curse skill that he gained upon advancing toward level 1 of the Core Formation realm- releasing an intangible energy that secretly drilled toward the physique on the devil below... Causing its soul to get tainted with darkness. *** Chapter 195 Chaos Within the Town, Battle of Despair and Desires! (9) Ding! -1.5 health! -1.5 health! "Damn it, what now!?'' Seeing that the damage he took every second suddenly and mysteriously increased by another 50%... although the time limit of 2 and a half minutes still hadn''t arrived, the devil spawn couldn''t help but issued an enraged shout! Hurriedly taking potions within his inventory before gulping it down in a matter of milliseconds... (Due to the Devil''s Spawn strengthened physique, they could consume two simr potions a day, unlike humans who could only consume one in order to avoid umting toxins within their physique!) Increasing his recovery by an amount, making him recover 1 health every second. Although it was still not enough to recover the damage he took, it would be enough for him to find the hateful bastard! Swish! Unsummoning his silver trident, the Devil''s Spawn hurriedly pointed his left palm toward the unknown, seemingly grasping something as a bloody dagger, reaching 10 inches in length, suddenly and mysteriously appeared within his palm, subconsciously releasing an intense metallic smell... to the point that breathing became challenging to one''s senses... ... "Domain Exclusive Weapon: The Blooded Dagger... "Boiling Blood and Crimson Fog...'' The Devil''s spawn unconsciously mumbled under his breath, using his skills as the blood in the surrounding environment bubbled tumultuously, akin to boiling water as it swiftly evaporate toward the atmosphere, consuming the rotting psychiatric hospital in a matter of seconds... Making it forbidding and mysterious to one''s sight. "Hehe~ Caught you~'' Soon, after 5 seconds of waiting, evading the protruding sword beneath, the eyes of the Devil''s Spawn suddenly issued a sharp glint- swiftly ncing above the certain window within the second floor, shing a baleful grin full of malicious intent and desire as he hurriedly dashed toward its direction... Grasping the dagger within his grasp as the veins in his arms be visible to one''s sight. *** In a certain room, on the second floor of the rotting building, beside the ss stained window... Leo''s eyes suddenly revealed a glint of surprise within, hurriedly tilting his head toward his back, gazing at the quickly evaporating thick blood as it fused toward the damp environment- creating a weak fog of crimson that slightly yet instantly caressing his physique, making his brows unconsciously raise as he could feel faint energy that slowly entered his being... Making his corporeal blood slow down, causing his actions and movement to be slightly disoriented. Ding! [ Hit by Curse blood, overall attribute points decrease by 1%! ] ... Boom! Not even a second passed by when he got afflicted by a strange ability, the tightly wooden closed door in the short distance abruptly opened- unfolding the view outside as the shadow of the Devil''s Spawn illuminated the inside,ughing crazily as its crimson eyes stared at Leo''s pale physique with unprecedented coldness, warping the environment as thick crimson blood began to seep from the tattered wall full of ck molds... As if alive, the blood swiftly began to surge toward Leo''s direction, making thetter''s expression cold as he hurriedly summoned his extreme hell me on both hands, feeding tens of Qi toward it, causing its temperature to be unprecedented cold as it evaporates the blood that approaches his location in an instant (2 meters away)... Boom! As Leo was busy dealing with the blood, the figure of the Devil''s Spawn suddenly appeared on his beyond! shing its bloody dagger (horizontally) toward the back of his neck! Releasing a blurry line of red as it seemingly connected to Leo''s flesh! ng! However, the expected sound of ripping flesh didn''t echo toward the short surroundings... Instead, the familiar sight of the silver rotting scale emerged from Leo''s back at one point! Perfectly deflecting the fast-approaching dagger, causing the scale to heavily hit Leo''s head... as small wound could be discerned within his scalp, slightly oozing with thick dark blood! Ding -5 health! Causing his mind to be slightly disoriented, causing the Qi he was feeding toward his extreme hell me to decrease by a huge amount! ... Blob~ Blob~ Sure enough, the blood that couldn''t approach his being earlier quickly lunged to his feet, heavily restricting his movement as he could feel their minute amount enter his pores... quickly entering his veins and blood vessels... Slowing down his thought process as his overall attribute points decrease by another 2%! Furthermore, an intense feeling of pain quickly emerged within his being, ripping several parts of his flesh as blood began to umte within his innards- making him grunt ufortably as ck thick liquid uncontrobly flowed from the corner of his pale lips! Drip~ Drop- Behind him, the ancient rotting silver scale, floating within the red atmosphere suddenly issued a weak quiver, making the slithering within to hasten by amount, releasing an imperceptible aura that agitated beings close to it. Followed by that, its right silver te, unstained by any dirt and impurities suddenly created a couple of ck droplets within, filling 20th of it, causing the squirming flesh on the other te to hasten their movement... as the scale slightly tilted due to the newfound weight... Making the Devil''s Spawn to momentarily shift its gaze toward it, causing his being to suddenly feel ufortable within as he continued swinging his bloodied dagger... Swish! Beholding this, Leo immediately activated his Mist of Illusion skill, making the void around him crazily churn as thick red and ck fog quickly emerged within his physique- pushing the figure of the Devil''s Spawn who was in mid-air meters away, hitting the nd wall in the distance in the process... 3,2... 1... Boom! At the same time, upon hitting the wall behind him, the concrete ceiling above the Devil''s spawn suddenly vibrated, caving slightly before copsing toward his charred figure- making the debris of the concrete coincidentally hit Leo''s physique in the short distance... creating shallow wounds around his body as the blood within his silver scale increase by 2 droplets! Keke~ Not caring about the slight damage he took, Leo hurriedly pointed his two pointed fingers toward the rubble- applying 10% of his Rule of "Pure Despair" toward his Qi bullets as it hurriedly hurled itself toward the block of stones! ... Groan... Bang! Bang, Bang! Within the rubble, feeling the pain coursing through his charred physique, the Devil''s Spawn couldn''t help but issue a heavy grunt- hurriedly mumbling within his breath, clenching his right palm as thick crimson blood immediately appeared beneath him, quickly corroding the unknown concrete above him in an attempt to free himself! (Leo''s domain was created using 50% of his certain rule, soul power, mental power, and imagination... Causing it to carry its traces, to the point that it could damage the physique of Core Formation realm beings! Simrly, the items within the domain of other cultivators could damage one''s enemy. (Depends on the percentage of the rule theyprehended. The higher the rule, the solid one''s domain was!)) However, before the Devil''s Spawn couldpletely corrode the concrete around, a weak quick sound, akin to the crisp sound of parting air abruptly echoed within his consciousness... Followed by the intense pain that he immediately feel within his lower and upper body- making him scream in agony, feeling an unknown energy slowly corroding his innards, sending distress toward his mind as negative thoughts slowly sprout within... Boom! AHHH!!! Shouting loudly, finally corroding most of the concrete that was restricting its physique, the Devil''s Spawn swiftly shed his dagger toward the direction of Leo- feeling an unknown fear slowly sprout within its consciousness, causing its physical prowess to waver slightly as Leo leisurely deflect it with his silver scale... Still not finished, Leo unhurriedly opened his mouth, unfolding his bulging throat within as an inaudible yet deafening shout abruptly echoed within the Devil''s spawn mind, causing his consciousness to shake greatly- making it unstable as cracks could be discerned above, making the Devil''s spawn unable to moved nor think... Staggering greatly as his senses be blurry and nd... "Keke~ A chance!'' Beholding this, Leo unfold a malicious smile on his face, concealing the pain his throat was experiencing as he hurriedly points his pointed finger toward the Devil''s spawn head, not forgetting to use his Rule of Pure Despair, causing its effect and strength to drastically increase... Before releasing his dark Qi bullet! Boom! ng~ Explore more stories with empire Unfortunately, probably due to coincidences, the Devil''s spawn metallic horn luckily managed to deflect the attack! Causing sparks and tongues of mes to fly toward the atmosphere... Slightly illuminating the ce as the shock expression of Leo could be faintly discern within... ... "F*cking luck! How''s that even possible? "I''m almost shooting at point nk! At f*cking points nk!'' Cursing within his mind, Leo again fired another Qi bullet, finally hitting the head of the Devil''s spawn as it visibly caved in! Creating a loud sound of cracking bones as blood began to leak from its wounds! *** Bang! Bang! Ding [ Congrattions upon killing a Core Formation realm being... +2,000 exp points! +5,000 horror points! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Core Formation realm being on your own for the first time! +20,000 horror points! +12 free attribute points! +2 peak of enlightenment stone! ] ***N?v(el)B\\jnn Chapter 196 Chaos Within the Town, Complete High Demon Entity! (10) Squirm~ Beholding the twitching physique of the Devil''s Spawn beneath, convulsing as dark liquified flesh could be discerned oozing from the hole on its head... Leo unhurriedly bends his front "knee", taking out an iron sword within his inventory as he shes it toward the neck of the devil spawn... Ssh! Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a... ] Not caring about the notification that suddenly rang within his consciousness, Leo hurriedly took out the ck cauldron within his inventory, shing the wrist of the corpse beneath as he swiftly began collecting its crimson blood... Quickly filling the interior of the cauldron by tenth of its size as Leo began to cut its charred chest open... Retrieving a pure ck yet slimy heart as big as one palm within, slightly tainting his mind with desire to consume it upon grasping it with his pale hands! Gritting his teeth, suppressing the intense instinct within him, Leo immediately tossed it toward the interior of the cauldron... Knowing that it contained huge amount of impurities that he couldn''t casually consume, or else, his cultivation talent might degrade by an amount- causing his absorption of Qi in the surrounding area to decrease considerably! Furthermore, it might be more problematic in the future if the toxins within his body umte- probably causing his cultivation to be stuck in a certain realm, cutting his future advancement in the process! ... "Keke~ unfortunately, I don''t have a potion form that could strengthen the effects of the Devil''s spawn heart and blood upon processing it into potion... so the advancement ofpleting my race would be more perfect in the process... "To the point that the hatred within my being upon meeting a devil, clouding my judgement by amount might vanish as well.'' Taking a deep breath, anticipating what kind of new abilities he would gain uponpleting his race. Leo hurriedly summoned a ball of me (Fireball) beneath the cauldron, making its metallic ck surface to be tainted by red luster as the blood and flesh within its interior... began to slowly bubbled... Blob~ Blob~ Seeing that the blood began boiling within, Leo hurriedly activated his extraction skill, taking out the toxic bubbles that slowly resurfaced within the interior of the cauldron, as he carefully yet hurriedly manipted it toward the distance... Slightly causing his imperceptible hands (Telekinesis skill) to slowly got corroded by it in the process! Cra-Crack~ Soon, upon the dark bubbles hit the ground... the concrete it hit began to swiftly liquify, releasing a rich disgusting smell of puke that quickly fused toward the surrounding atmosphere, making one''s mortal stomach crazily churn in the process... turning into liquid in the next second due to the unknown properties it contained! ... Blob~ "Keke~ Finally, it''s done!'' Soon, upon processing the blood for more than a minute. Leo unhurriedly revealed a malicious grin on his face, silently manipted the congealed blood and flesh toward the empty bottle he readied... Feeling deep anticipation within his being as the intense desire, running deep within his bones and genes could no longer be concealed! Huff~ Taking a deep breath, knowing that the time finally arrived. Leo hurriedly gulped the congealed liquid within the bottle- instantly entering his throat, making him unfold a twisted expression within his pale face upon tasting the disgusting taste of rotting with a mixture of puke within... Silently lingering within his mouth as he suppressed the urge to take out a water bottle within his inventory... ... Swish~ Not long after, upon consuming the congealed liquid for more than a minute, an intense feeling of coldness suddenly enveloped his being, freezing his soul, mind, and physique in the process... as visible cold smog began to ooze from the surface of his pale skin... Making his grey irises deepen considerably as the feeling of the imperceptible lock, hiding within his being began to loosen up. Crack~ Shaking slightly for more than half a minute before cracking afterwards- causing Leo''s physical body to release an intense darkness that momentarily consumes the surrounding environment. Depriving light, not allowing a mortal being within to see a single thing within its surroundings... akin to losing one''s sight. Silently nting fear, despair, and horror within their being... Instinctively making everyone sumb to the eternal darkness... Deprived of any hope. *** Huff~ Huff~ Read new chapters at empire "This feeling... Is this the strength of theplete High Demon Entity? It was... quite strong!'' Leo instinctively thought within his mind as he hurriedly shifted his gaze toward his shadow beneath, feeling that it became more darker and richer in the process. Moreover, at the same time, he could faintly sense that something unimaginable was hiding within- waiting for him to let it escape so it could bring destruction and despair to the face of the world... Making him slightly fearful in the process... seemingly discerning that someone was staring at his physique from beyond the shadows! As if... His shadows be alive! *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon advancing to High Demon Entity! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon learning Shadow Shackles (Rare) and Shadow Spike (Rare +1)! ] Huff~ Beholding this, Leo''s expression suddenly and uncontrobly bes morefortable- revealing a weak smile afterwards, feeling that his overall strength increased by arge amount, bestowing him almost 200 attribute points for free! Distributing to all of his attributes fairly. Almost giving him the illusion that he could fight a Peak of the Core Formation realm without being helpless. "Keke~ Such a dangerous thought, I should abandon it before it brings harm to my being." Slowly shaking his head, waking from his engrossed experience, Leo leisurely read the description of the two new skills he gained- wanting to gain preliminary knowledge regarding them so he could use them to their full potential! Ding! [ Shadow Shackles (Rare): Manipte the shadows within the surrounding environment (at least 50 meters) to forcefully restrict the movement of one''s enemy or group... Causing their movement to momentarily halt or be hindered by 0.1-10 seconds. Activation Cost: 10-100 Qi (Depends on the strength of the enemy!).] Ding! [ Shadow Spike (Rare +1): Manipte the shadows beneath one''s physique (at least 50 meters) creating a sharp spike made of shadow that has the ability to prate one''s body and soul! Activation Cost: 10-100 Qi (Depends on the strength of the enemy!).] ... This... "A direct offensive skill... My fourth offensive skill!?'' Feeling shocked upon reading the Shadow Spike skill, not expecting that the High Demon Entity race would actually grant him an offensive skill, Leo couldn''t help but almost tear up... Choking slightly, feeling that his three offensive skills would no longer feel lonely, almost entertaining the thought that they would bring his capabilities to another level! Making him finally able to engage in a head-on fight without deliberately buying time so most of his skill could start affecting his enemy or weaken them in the process! Finally allowing him to enjoy the beauty of battling enemies in the same realm head-on! Bathing with blood, flesh to flesh, prating one''s physique using one''s physique... The true barbaric battle in Leo''s mind! ... "Keke~ I could finally fight a Core Formation realm being head-on without the needing to hide within the shadows... Making the effects of the Scale of Revenge be more evident in the battle.'' (Although he might bleed by doing that since he felt that he stillcks an offensive skill that could deal more damage... Leo felt that it was necessary in order to bring more surprises toward his enemies (mostly despair and fear) due to the unpredictability of his skills... Moreover, bleeding more might be an advantage to him instead of being a disadvantage due to his rotting silver scale!) "Hehe~ when they thought that I already showcased all of my abilities. It will be the time for them to realize that they fall under my trap! "They wouldn''t expect that instead of head-onbat... My mastery lies in prolonging the fight!'' Thinking of it, couldn''t help but slightly tremble due to sheer excitement... Leo hurriedly checked the description of his Race, wanting to see the changes it took- wanting to see if there was a hint that could help him advance further toward his race.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om *** Ding! [ Demon High-Level Entity (Ungraded): A type of Malicious Entity that enjoys spreading fear and despair... consuming fear, horror, and despair to strengthen their capabilities and level! Furthermore, theyck physical bodies, causing them to often discern living within one''s shadow- waiting for the night to arrive before travelling toward the unknown so it could spread their desires... Attribute Increase: Qi power +50, Soul power +50, Qi storage +100, Health +100, Stamina, Speed, and, Strength +25. Rule of Unknown Fear: Learn the Basic Rule of Fear after choosing this evolution! ] ... "As expected, it didn''t show anything. However, the attributes that I gained almost doubled when I first became a Low Demon Entity...'' Feeling a slight regret coursing within his being, Leo silently activated his Invisibility skill, hiding the corpse of the Devil''s spawn within his inventory before deactivating his domain... Instantly making him arrive in the familiar ce as the familiar sight of pure destruction again greeted his grey irises... *** Chapter 197 The Real Scheme... Cra-crack. In the far distance, within the perimeter of the seemingly Ice Land. Above the gloomy atmosphere, a ck crack running within the depths of the space could be seen spreading upwards... Unfolding the white world beyond as the familiar blooded figure of the High Core Formation realm Devil slowly exited the ce... Gaspingborly as he shifted his gaze toward the broken ck skull within his grasp, releasing a weak unknown pressure that evaporated the snow that approached its area of effect... Followed by that, the frost that stuck within the surface of his purple skin (due to the low temperature he endured earlier) began to liquefy- evaporating afterwards as a weak me began to resurface around his physique... Bringing him back the lost warm temperature. "Sigh~ unfortunately, I could only leave Veronica within thatplete Domain of the Ice King to buy us some time. "A pity, but it''s necessary to sacrifice someone for the greater good.'' Your journey continues with empire Shaking his head, feeling pity upon sacrificing someone who has already stepped within the rank of the Mid-stage of the Core Formation realm... The Devil''s Spawn weakly shifted his gaze toward the far distance, sensing that two of the Core Formation realm being within their side already died... Making his expression change abruptly as the feeling of urgency began to emerge within his being... Understanding that they were already running out of time. Huff~N?v(el)B\\jnn "Don''t worry, your sacrifice wouldn''t be in vain...'' Shifting his gaze toward the centre of the town, faintly hearing themotion happening within. The Devil''s Spawn, without hesitation, hurriedly dashed toward its direction- leaving a long trail of me behind as his wings began to release a weak smoke... pping crazily as the Devil''s spawn figure created a gust of wind beyond. *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon scarring 250 beings in a single day using your puppets... +10,000 horror points! +12 free attribute points! +1 Medallion of forceful upgrade! ] Beholding the deaths within his way, Leo slowly curled his lips upwards, leisurely walking toward the centre of the town as he casually lotted the shop he passed by- making him sense that his blood... or to exact, the blood within his race began to jump in excitement, akin to a dog finally escaping the entrapment of his enclosed house. Furthermore, as he was walking, he also slowly absorbed the lingering despair left within the atmosphere, increasing his Qi although a little in the process- making him umte an amount of it as the corner of the Mid stage of the Core Formation realm bes more clearer within his mind! "Keke~ The feeling of shopping and sightseeing, it could indeed make someone feel alive!'' Leo happily thought as he casually manipted themon to elite scrolls (number up to 20) within the destroyed building in the far distance to fly toward his direction... Hiding it within his inventory before continuing sightseeing- taking the things he deemed interesting as he often killed the beast feasting within the remains of seemingly humans within his way. Taking their remains, so his cemetery could add additional new blood beneath them. "Oh right, I also needed to fix those broken tombs, it''s best if I gain a skill that could manipte Earth to a certain extent...'' ... Swish! As Leo was pondering on the spot, walking for a while as he continued looting the shop in his way... a sudden tingling sensation suddenly spread on the back of his head, making him smile in amusement as he weakly activated his Divine Senses- instantly allowing him to have a vision akin to a fly! Perfectly making him see everything around him without suffering from migraines. Allowing him to behold the figure of the Late Foundation realm devil... hurriedly shing its sharp and long ws toward the direction of his head, attempting to kill him in the shortest time possible... as its semi-transparent figure unhurriedly unfolded itself toward the face of the world. "Interesting, an invisibility skill that could hide one''s aura and life force?'' ... "Keke~ instead of running away, you still dared toe back just to loot the shop! The minds of humans were really pathetic!" Mumbling in a crazed manner, eyes bloodshot as the Devil spawn was waiting for his sharp ws to prate the head of the human in his front- waiting for the crimson blood to spilled around the area, wanting to extinguish the mysterious hatred that suddenly emerged within his being. Cling~ When suddenly, out of nowhere, a pale hand, devoid of any roseness that should be present in every living being, casually deflected his hand, making his crimson eyes constrict greatly as his long devil-like tail, that was sharper than a dagger hurriedly and instinctively hurl itself toward the physique of the unknown human in his front. Hoping to catch the enemy he underestimated off guard, reaping its life in the process but only in vain! "Keke~ I caught another devil..." ... This... Hearing the yful voice of the seeming demon in his front, unknowingly making his mind copse as an indescribable fear and despair quietly crept within his being... The Devil''s spawn couldn''t help but sense deep chills within his soul. Hurriedly about to activate all of his escape skills... when suddenly, in the corner of his eyes, the shadow beneath him suddenly twisted- warping within his very senses as it abruptly coils toward his physique, disabling him of any movement, making him fearful as he stiffly shifted his gaze toward the pale human in his front... Instantly staring at its cold grey irises that could evoke one''s deepest nightmare upon staring at it for a certain period of time, making the hair on his body subconsciously stand up as the feeling of dread began to emerge within his mind... Beholding how the seeming demon on his front unfolds a wicked smile on its extremely pale face- opening its left palm as pure ck me, as small as fingertips materialized within. Unconsciously releasing an intense coldness that quickly invaded his being although it was still far away from him- making him understand how dangerous it was, instantly causing him to feel deep regret and hatred within his being... ... "N-no!'' Sensing this, the devil''s spawn couldn''t help but instinctively beg within his mind, unable to open his mouth due to the unknown restriction that enabled him of any kind of movement- only allowing him to horrifiedly watch the unknown me erged within his irises, hitting his lower body as an intense pain, tearing and cooking his flesh within... instantly spread within his being... Making his expression twist as salted tears, snot, and disgusting saliva began to unceasingly flow from the orifices on his face... Making his face look adorable in Leo''s eyes as he slightly increased the Qi he was feeding toward his extreme hell of fire! *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a being... +2,500 horror points! +150 exp points! ] "Keke~ How beautiful!'' Seeing the charred corpse of the Devil spawn in his front, lifelessly slumping toward the ground, facing the fissure above as its lifeless crimson eyes began to fade due to the intense me that was still raging within its corpse- Leo blissfully inhaled the imperceptible agony within the atmosphere, gulping it akin to delicacy as his Qi increase by a little... Making the corner on his race, within his character panel increase by 0.5%, allowing him to understand the requirements to upgrade his species to Peak level Demon Entity! "Keke~ Don''t tell me... After the Peak Demon Entity would be the Demon of Baron or Baron of Fear and Despair? "However, unfortunately, in able to advance, I probably needed at least 200 of Late Foundation realm Devil''s Spawns to upgrade my race to the next level.'' Feeling the difficulty of it, Leo couldn''t help but slightly shake his head, feeling dissatisfied upon thinking of how demanding it was... Understanding that it was probably much more difficultpared to the requirements of creating 500 potions by folds! Huff~ "Since it was quite difficult, I should try my best to hunt the little devils within the town...'' Taking a deep breath, hiding the corpse of Devil spawn within his inventory, Leo silently activated his Mist of Illusion skill- instantly spreading the miasma of ck and red fog toward the epasses of thend, making beings within its area of effect to suddenly feel lost and fear due to the unknown effects it carried... *** Boom! Boom! Within the centre of the town, almost a mile away from Leo''s current location, the unceasing sound of explosions reverberated toward the far distance... Unfolding the intense battle that was currently urring above, making the concrete ground beneath slowly be tainted and dyed with thick crimson blood... as countless humans, adorned by cold weapons could be seen lifelessly lying on the ground, bodies were iplete as their remains could be discerned scattered around. "This... Is this your n all along!" *** [ Knowledge of Despair 104: Agony is basically the physical pain of Despair... The feeling of agony, to the point that someone wanted to im his/her life just to escape the current pain he/she was experiencing... but unfortunately unable to... Making him/her feel the intense Despair in pure agony...] Chapter 198 Upgrading Invisibility to Level 7! "This... Is this your n all along!" An enranged tone, enough to send chills down one''s spine abruptly echoed toward the far distance, creating a faint illusion of destruction toward the firmament above as the Early stage, Core Formation realm Devil Spawn in his front unfolds a mocking smile on its face- opening its disgusting mouth as it weakly mumbled under its breath, using a skill that increase its speed and flexibility by amount. "Keke~ How could we truly weaken this town foundation without killing those beings with Elite and Above rarity ss? "Don''t tell me, you''re really idiotic enough to believe that we were killing those poor yet useless humans within the periphery of the town just for fun?" Speaking with a mocking voice, casually evading the enranged attack of the human in front of him, the devil''s spawn spun the red spear within his hands, creating a sharp whirl of wind that shredded everything that entered its area of effect (tornado)- affecting the lower ground as the injured beings beneath, couldn''t help but issued a loud cry of agony, causing their physique to tear apart in the next seconds, killing tens of them in the process... Beholding this, feeling the intense anger bubbling within his being, the man again tried to activate his domain but to no avail, sensing that something was hindering his domain from unveiling its might... Causing him to show a sign of helplessness as he could only fight the Devil''s Spawn in his front with all of his might! "Keke~ can''t activate your domain?" Seeing the helplessness within the eyes of his enemy,prehending the thing it wanted to do but unfortunately unable to, the grin on the Devil''s Spawn face visibly widened- releasing 10% of the unique rules heprehended toward the surrounding environment, creating imbnce within the space and void, not allowing the iplete domain to unfold and open its unique space. Since an iplete domain was always unstable in nature. Creating interference to restrict the activation of one''s domain bes easier if someone manages toprehend a unique rule that could restrict the environment, space, time, and void by certain amount! Rendering the activation of the Iplete Domain almost impossible! As for the Complete Domain, they don''t have that kind of problem since the instability of their iplete domain already vanishes uponpleting it! Allowing them to activate theirplete domain even within the interference of aplete rule! *** As the two beings were crazily fighting above, leaving pure destruction in their wake. The colour of the atmosphere began to change- slowly being tainted by ck and red as the darkness beyond the horizon began to nket the epassing of thend. Setting the sun down as the hue within the firmament above began to darken- signifying that night finally arrived... Hiding the colour of the thick miasma within its ckness, making it almost impossible for the mortal''s naked eye to see! Boom! Beholding the unfolding battle from the distance, Leo quietly drank the potion within his inventory, increasing the recovery of his Qi by folds before secretly taking out his umted Medallion of Forceful Upgrade (numbered 15) within his inventory... Stay tuned to empire Pondering on the spot as he decided to increase the level of his Mist of Illusion and Invisibility skills to the next level- wanting to see if he could suppress and escape the detection of Divine senses in certain degrees. Ding! [ Upgrading Mist of Illusion skill to Level 8 and Invisibility to Level 7 would cost you 5 Medallion of Forceful Upgrade and 7,500 horror points! (ept/Declined?) ] Huff~ "ept." Seeing the price he needed to pay in order to upgrade his skills, Leo wavered slightly- epting afterwards upon cating himself, believing that his investment would definitely pay off in the near future. Moreover, having a skill that could escape the Divine Senses by certain degrees (although not certain) might increase his capabilities by folds- allowing him to catch his enemy off guard and assassinate them if fate allows it. Keke~ Just by thinking of it, the feeling of regret within his being upon spending his hard-earned medallion of forceful upgrade decreased by more than a half- making his expression ease slightly as he waited for the upgrade to finish... ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon upgrading your Mist of Illusion skill to level 8! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon upgrading your Invisibility to Level 7! ] Soon, in an instant, upon hearing the familiar heavy metal striking another metal within his mind, creating a crisp yet annoying sound of ding. The sensation of grasping something... yet at the same time not abruptly emerge within his mind- seeminglyprehending an impressive amount of knowledge within the corner of his consciousness but only for it to vanish in the next second... Making him feel at loss as he hurriedly shifts his gaze toward his translucent skin (due to Invisibility), sensing that it bes more blurry and translucent even with his sight. As if... he was ceasing to exist! Making him slightly fearful In the process! Furthermore, even with his Divine Senses, he couldn''tpletely sense his figure... Only allowing him to see a faint being, moving slowly within the centre of the night... Akin to the hallucination that no one could be certain! Churn- Still not done, the mist of illusion skill that epasses thend of 200 meters in diameter suddenly expanded by another 50 meters... Hurriedly enshrouding thend by 250 meters in diameter, making everyone within to easily get lost due to the interference of illusion. Furthermore, its thick red and ck miasma bes lighter in colour, making it hard to perceive by normal eyes... yet perfectly hindered the senses of the beings within its area of effect... Increasing its capability to induce illusion by at least 50%! This... Gasping in pure amazement, knowing how valuable the two skills had be upon the sessful upgrade- Leo couldn''t help but issue a weak giggle, jumping from the roof he was currently hiding in before leisurely walking toward the unfolding battle in the distance... Secretly looting the items of the corpse beneath, hiding it within his inventory as he slowly absorbed the imperceptible energy within the atmosphere. Eyes were wide open, not leaving the figure of the two above as he was waiting for an opportunity to arrive- wanting to take down the Devil''s spawn without spending too much effort... Besides that, he still needed to hide his identity so no one could suspect him of anything regarding of what happened here. Not wanting to be med for not helping the town to fend off the Devil''s Spawn! Moreover, he already looted lots of shops in his way! In essence, he was basically a criminal and a thief! "Keke~ how could a criminal help beings in dire straits? Although others might do that, I''m different...'' ... Swish- Boom! Above, the Devil''s spawn hurriedly shed its crimson spear that carried the buff of the wind within toward the human in his front, causing its speed to drastically increase in the process, leaving a blur and trail within the void as it sessfully hit the physique of the man- causing its body to uncontrobly plunge toward the ground, creating a deep crater in the process! A chance! Seeing this, the devil''s spawn immediately opened his left palm, creating an intense gale filled with razor sharp winds within as he hurriedly pointed it toward the fearful humans in the distance- making the humans show intense fear and puzzlement on their faces before being shredded by imperceptible wind in the next second. Causing Leo who was watching the unfolding battle in the short distance to show amusement on his face, grinning from ear to ear as he swiftly materialized behind the devil''s spawn... Making thetter unfold a shocked expression on its face, unable to conceal the fright it was experiencing as he watches a dark bullet, carrying an unknown rule within, hurriedly approach its being... "This... I couldn''t escape! Our distance is too close!'' Feeling the impending doom, not expecting that the situation would flip just like that. The Devil''s Spawn suddenly felt an intense pain within his chest- unfolding a huge hole within, being tainted by ck as unknown energy began to invade his physique, making him weakened and disoriented in the process... Causing his skills to momentarily deactivate on their own as the sensation of another intense danger gripped his soul. Furthermore, his thoughts slowly be chaotic, making him easily fearful as the nightmare of the past (things that he desperately wants to forget) begins to mysteriously resurface within his mind- causing him to release a rich imperceptible energy of fear and despair toward the atmosphere! ...n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Keke~ My second Devil spawn..." Leo weakly whispered toward the ears of the devil''s spawn, sessfully nting fear and despair within its now feeble consciousness as he again fired another 2 Qi bullets toward its body- sessfully drilling toward its physique as the shadow of the sky abruptly warped within the senses of the greatly shaken devil... Abruptly coiling around its body as it restricted its movement by seconds... Making it crazily shake its weakened physique in an attempt to escape but only in vain- making him feel despair within his being upon smelling the familiar scent of Death! *** Chapter 199 Illusion and the Reality! Followed by that, sharp spikes made from pure shadows, radiating intense malice within their being swiftly extended from the void, hitting the Devil''s spawn battered physique- ripping its left shoulder in the process due to its unprecedented sharpness! However, although its body already suffered from severe injuries, the Devil''s spawn was still alive! Furthermore, although its breathing and heartbeat slowed down, it still retained itsbat ability that could rival a Core Formation realm being! ... Huff~ Gritting its teeth, suppressing the intense agony it was experiencing, the eyes of the Devil''s spawn emitted a weak vicious light, hurriedly staring at the grey eyes of Leo in the distance as an imperceptible mental attack heavily hit thetter consciousness. Making Leo to abruptly feel the intense desire to lie down on the ground, bathing in the darkness as he watch the dark sky unfold above, not wanting to move by a bit... Causing the Soul Shriek he was readying to unleash be interrupted, damaging his throat in the process due to its formidable strength... Huff~ "Blood Sacrifice.'' Feeling that the coiling of the shadow within its physique loosened considerably, the Devil''s Spawn hurriedly ripped the dangling flesh on its left shoulder- opening its bloody mouth, unfolding the chilling sight beyond as it swiftly consumed its broken arm... Healing the wounds on its body visibly- only leaving light wounds in the process... Although its overall strength weakened by 10% due to the wounds he sustained and theck of a left shoulder, its life was temporarily out of danger! Swish! Hurriedly shifting his gaze forward, the eyes of the devil''s spawn instantly constricted- unable to see the figure of the despicable human in the short distance, as if everything that happened was just the product of his illusion! Even with his Divine senses that could envelop a distance of 100 meters, he still couldn''t sense its very existence... Making his expression to be wary as the figure beneath the caved earth began to show signs of movement (his earlier enemy). "Suffering Illusion.'' Mumbling under his breath, finally activating the skill he had been casting for almost 10 seconds, the dark atmosphere beyond began to twist under the sight of the Devil''s spawn eyes- making it feel unprecedented danger within its being as he was unable to evade in time... Instantly causing him to feel loss as his sense of reality seemingly vanishes within him... Making him unable to sense reality within the illusion, as the core formation realm human beneath motioned a sh toward the void- taking out a 7-coloured sabre within, subconsciously creating an illusion around the environment- deepening the Devil''s spawn confusion! Boom! In the next second, as the Devil''s spawn was dealing with the illusion within his mind, a pain that he couldn''t understand nor fathom suddenly emerged within his being- worsening the injuries in his physique as the illusion within his eyes weakened considerably... Allowing him to gain his rity as the flowing blood, within the long and deep injuries within his chest instantly greeted his crimson irises. Ding! -100 Health points! Beholding his health already reduced by more than half, only leaving him 25% of his original health, the Devil''s spawn couldn''t help but shiver in fright- staring at the fast-approaching sabre within his front, subconsciously slowing down his cognition upon seeing their blinding lights! Again being attack by another illusion! Boom! Ding! -40 Health! Fortunately, due to the pain in his chest, he managed to awaken in time, able to twist his upper body midair as the sword that was approaching his neck, nning to chop it down in the process missed by inches... Leaving another deep wound to his left chest, unfolding the ck ribs beyond! "Gale-'' Using the opportunity when the new pain still hadn''t registered through his head... The devil''s spawn hurriedly opened his left hand, releasing apressed gale of winds that pushed their beings apart... Giving him time to breathe as the corner of his lips swiftly mumbled to itself- releasing a huge tornado with 25 meters in diameter, destroying the ground beneath as the movement within the atmosphere became hindered considerably! Further hindering the vision within due to its unique colour. Gasp- Taking a deep breath, the Devil''s spawn hurriedly took out a healing potion within his inventory, drinking it in a matter of milliseconds, making his expression slightly contorted upon sensing the impurities within his being increased by a small amount! Although he already umted an amount of impurities within his being (upon drinking 4 healing potions in a matter of a single day), the Devil''s Spawn didn''t care about it at the current moment- understanding that he was in dire straits right now, having a high chance of dying due to blood lost! Comprehending that having impurities within his being is better than dying! Furthermore, there is probably a spiritual fruit or potion that could cleanse the impurities within his being... Although uncertain, he was sure that it existed somewhere! ... Retreating by at least 50 meters, wanting to buy more time so his wounds could heal by the amount... The devil''s spawn hurriedly activated his divine senses,pressing it to 50 meters in diameter so he could lessen the consumption of his Qi and Mental energy- wanting to avoid the enemy hiding within the shadows! Understanding that it was waiting for a good opportunity to again heavily strike his physique! Huff~ Taking a deep breath, not noticing any movement within his divine senses, the Devil''s spawn hurriedly opened his left palm- wanting to activate one of his main skills to hinder the movements within the atmosphere... Churn~ When suddenly, out of nowhere, the environment around him abruptly yet slowly bes blurry within his crimson eyes- making him crazily shake his head in an attempt to awaken himself but to no avail. Unable to determine if he had fallen toward another illusion or not. Feeling that the inflicted wounds of the enemy earlier carried potent poisons within, causing it to finally affect his being after minutes of coursing through his physique... Making him be weakened in the process. (Just his spection since he wasn''t able to determine what kind of skills affected his body!) ... "Keke~ an illusion within your senses and an illusion within your brain... You can discern and awaken yourself if you have fallen within the illusion of reality (senses) by understanding what is the truth and not. "However, what if the illusion directly came from your brain? The answer is... it will be extremely difficult to extricate oneself from it... "Since... it was the origin of insanity.'' Pointing his pointed finger toward the direction of the Devil''s Spawn, 45 meters away from it- unable to move forward, afraid that its divine senses would awaken it (he didn''t want to rely on his luck), Leo hurriedly fired a consecutive Qi bullet, swiftly tearing the gale apart as some of the bullets coincidentally missed the Devil''s physique by inch... Only allowing 5 bullets to drill toward its body as its health finally hit zero- signifying that another Core Formation Devil died within his hands! Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a Core Formation realm being level 4...] Swish! Sensing the tornado within the atmosphere began to weaken (upon the Qi and connection within the Devil''s spawn corpse abruptly got cut off), Leo hurriedly rushed toward the falling corpse in the distance- wanting it to be materials in creating puppets and cursing beings... Using the sin itmited for medium! Not forgetting to absorb the intense imperceptible energy within the atmosphere that the Devil''s spawn releases earlier, causing his race to fluctuate a little as it increases by another 2.5%! Bringing it to 3%! ... 10 meters, 8 meters, 5 meters... "Keke~e here to daddy!'' Your journey continues at empire Smiling widely, unable to conceal the smile on his pale face, Leo was finally about to touch the corpse in his front when suddenly... Out of nowhere, an intense heat, burning the particles around suddenly emerged beyond his back, from the far distance as a ball ofpressed me, almost turning white (due to its high temperature) heavily hit his back! Ding! -50 health! -1 health, -1 health! Sizzle~n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Creating a crisp sizzling sound of burning as Leo forcefully gritted his teeth, grasping the corpse within his front as his body uncontrobly propelled forward- instinctively activating his invisibility as his figure immediately fused toward the dark environment... understanding that the being who just released the fire skill toward his physique wasn''t at the Early stage of the core formation realm! (Based on the damage he took and how his premonition of danger reactedtely!) "F*cking coward! Just you wait!'' Leo thought to himself, concealing the pain he was experiencing as he hurriedly hid the corpse within his inventory- adding Qi toward his mist of illusion skill, increasing the suppression of one''s Divine senses within its area of effect as he hurriedly looked above, toward the direction of the fireball that hit his physique in great anger- concealing the hatred within his being as he began contemting how he could take his revenge! *** Chapter 200 Fighting A Late Stage Core Formation Realm Devil! (1) Above, the crimson eyes of the Devil''s spawn, holding the familiar silver trident as zing yellowish me could be seen raging on its cold physique, murderously stared at the vanishing figure of Leo in the distance- unable to conceal the hatred within his being due to the fact that the abomination takes the falling corpse of the devil spawn within, making his n to consume its corpse to recover some of his loss health and strength upon fighting the Ice King earlier Impossible. (Using "Blood Sacrifice" skill that requires the flesh and blood of the devil to heal the damage one''s took. Although the flesh of humans and beasts also work, the healing that the Devil''s flesh could give is at least times higher than thetter...) "Do you think you can escape within my sight!?'' Sneering inwardly, the Devil''s Spawn hurriedly spread his divine senses, instantly epassing thend of 450 meters in diameter, allowing him to sense everything that was urring inside as he hurriedly focused on the general direction of where Leo became invisible... (His divine senses got suppressed by the mist of illusion skill, causing its area of effect to be reduced by 50 meters in diameter.) This... However, the expected sight of the invisible abomination didn''t reflect within his Divine senses, instead, the only thing he could discern was the hindering of the weakening tornado within... Causing his expression to be reced with unprecedented seriousness- not expecting that there was a being here who was good at hiding and escaping the Divine senses of others. ***n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om In the afar, almost 200 meters away from the Devil above. Leo silently beheld its huge bat-like wings, heavily pping toward the atmosphere, subconsciously pushing his mist of illusion away- making them unable to drill toward its mind to affect its consciousness. Understanding that his attempt to slightly manipte the Devil''s vision would be impossible, Leo releases a weak sigh of disappointment,prehending that his mist of illusion skill would always carry its limitations. However, although that was the case, he still hadn''t given up the thought of revenge, unfolding a mysterious smile on his face as he hurriedly cast his soul scan toward the figure in the distance- wanting to gain preliminary knowledge of its strength so he wouldn''t be caught off guard by some of its skills! Ding! [ Unknown (Low Devil)- Late stage of the Core Formation realm Level 12 ] ss Job: ( zing Desires (Epic)) Innate Ability: Bless of me... Iplete Domain: The Corner of the Abyss ___Attributes___ Health: 428/700 Qi Storage: 680/1600 Stamina: 402/700 Strength: 500 (400) Speed: 375 (325) Qi Power: 375 (325) Corruption Force: 250 Skills: me Aura (Rare +2), zing Physique (Rare), Intermediate Fire Maniption (Rare +1), Aura of Abyss (Epic +1), Burning Desires (Epic +1) Condense Fire Ball (Elite +2), Blood and Flesh sacrifice (Rare)... ] ... Ding! [ Aura of Abyss (Epic +1): Release the corruption of the abyss, making beings around you to slowly be tainted by madness- causing their reasoning to weaken drastically and amplifying their desire in the process... Furthermore, the skill cast by the enemy would be weakened due to the interference of the aura of the abyss! Effects: Release an Imperceptible aura that shrouded the distance of 50 meters in diameter, causing beings who entered its effect to be tainted- weakening their skill by up to 10-50%! Activation: 5 Qi every second! ] *** This... F*cking stats! Beholding its stats, the first thought that emerged within Leo''s mind was actually to escape- feeling that even with his current level, it would be extremely dangerous to fight that hatefulplete devil! Still couldn''t rid of the scene within his mind when he faced the newly ascended Epic Silver Rabbit within that forsaken ce! Understanding that fighting a Devil with an Epic ss job that reaches the Late Stage of the Core Formation realm is extremely risky! Moreover, they are not some normal Core Formation realm beings that had Rare ss job under them... Usually, ss jobs that exceeded the Rare rarity always carried unknown skills under them, making them formidable, to the point that they could fight a being above their natural life order! ... "F*cking luck!'' Gritting his teeth, Leo was about to leave the town, nning to go back to his lovely nd cemetery to enjoy his loots... when suddenly, the corner of his eyes managed to glimpse toward the corner of the Devil attribute stats- causing him to instantly halt, hesitating on the spot as he understands that the Devil above was currently on its weakened state... Making him tempted to kill it before it couldpletely recover,prehending that a situation like this is hard toe by. Furthermore, this is actually the first time he saw aplete devil! A devil whopleted the transition of race and sessfully became one! "Keke~ If I luckily managed to kill him, the evolution meter beside my race would at least increase by 10% (at minimum) upon absorbing its negative imperceptible energy! "Just that alone already makes the difficulty of upgrading my race lessened considerably...'' Akin to a nk canvas, devoid of any impurities within before being tainted by thick ink, the thought of it began to consume Leo''s mind, making him feel an intense itch within his being as he hurriedly opened his character panel... Wanting to distribute the free attribute points he umted so far, seeing if he could lessen the gap between their strength so he could decide whether to assassinate the cute devil above or not... ... Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Experience more on empire Species: Demon/High-level Entity! Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Umon)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion, Sinful Desire! Physique: Physical Body of the Soul! Rules: Life Nature (35%), Fear of the Unknown (51%), Despair (4%), Hatred (2%), Inevitable Death (20%)! Iplete Domain: Domain of Unpredictable Death (Level 3), Domain of Reality Distortion (Level 2)! Complete Domain: Domain of Despair (Level 6)! ___ Attributes ___ Level: 5 Core Formation realm ( 4,860/30,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 125 Health: 359/550 Qi: 1625/1625 Stamina: 428/550 Strength: 355 Speed: 330 Qi Power: 550 Soul Power: 1,050 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 8), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 7), Jinx (Lvl 5), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 5), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 5), Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 9), Condense Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 6), Strong Physique (Lvl 5), Dying Immortal (Level 5)... ss Job Skill: Advance Potion Knowledge (Lvl 5), Advance Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl 5)... ... Horror Points: 445,000! *** This... "My attribute points are actually much higher than a Devil at the Late Stage of the Core Formation realm!? "Furthermore, I still hadn''t used the free attribute that I gained!'' Beholding his current attribute points,pletely different from when he was still at the level 1 of the Core Formation realm, Leo couldn''t help but doubt if he was currently seeing an illusion or not. Pinching his pale cheeks with force in an attempt to awaken himself from the suspected illusion, but only for him to flinch afterwards due to the pain... (The pain from the burning wounds on his back and the pinch he created.) "Indeed, I''m not hallucination...'' Taking a deep breath, calming down his chaotic thoughts, Leo unhurriedly shifts his gaze toward the firmament above... Instantly beholding the figure of the Core Formation realm human (earlier) gazing at the burning Devil in the distance with great malice... Causing the atmosphere above to crazily churn- creating countless illusions within the reality, visibly confusing the Low-Devil in the process. "Keke~ Go on... Fight to death, I hope both of you weakened each other so killing the Devilter would be much easier.'' Revealing an anticipation within his eyes, Leo hurriedly distributed his free attribute points toward his Speed (50), Soul Power (50), and strength (25)... Causing him to instantly sense the mysterious force,ing from the unknown void again entered his physique- tempering his muscles, bones, and soul in the process, causing him to slightly close his eyes in intoxication... Akin to bathing in the warm embrace of the sun, dispelling the cold energy the night brought to one''s physique and soul. Huff~ "The feeling of increasing one''s strength is really addicting." Muttering within his heart, Leo slowly closed his character panel... again staring above, beholding how the Core Formation realm human began to crazily attack the devil... Releasing intense light within the surroundings as unending illusion began to consume the epasses of the sky. Fortunately, with his eyes of soul (the permanent skill attached to his irises), the effect of illusion on his mind decreased considerably, allowing him to faintly discern the unfolding battle above. *** Boom! Showing intense signs of confusion within his crimson eyes, the Devil spawn hurriedly activated his me Aura- instantly covering the distance of 75 meters in diameter with raging me, allowing him to perfectly sense if someone entered its area of effect... Furthermore, even if the Core Formation realm human in the distance releases a skill from the far distance, his senses and premonition as a Low-Devil would allow him to evade with precision- making him sense its general direction afterwards, allowing him to counteract if fate allows it! "After I kill you, I will consume your corpse to further heal my physique!'' *** Chapter 201 Fighting A Late Stage Core Formation Realm Devil! (2) Boom! Soon enough, as he had expected, the flickering sensation of danger suddenly emerged within his mind- causing him to curl his lips upwards as he slightly tilted his upper body mid-air... Sessfully evading the attack on time as the projectile of the unknown passes through his physique. "Caught you!'' However, before he could rush toward the general direction of the human in the distance... A sudden pain mysteriously appeared within his consciousness- making him puzzled and lost, unable toprehend the thing that just urred right now. This... Lightly touching the certain part of his physique where the pain originated, the Low-Devil instantly felt the warm yet thick sticky liquid within his palm... Understanding that he took damage through the unknown method. ... Huff~ Beholding the damage he inflicted, the human in the distance issued a strange movement- kept creating illusions within the atmosphere, perfectly integrating them toward the reality as he slightly spoke in an unhurried tone, wanting to nt more chaos within the mind of the Devil in the distance so he could further deceive its senses of reality! "Huff~ You probably had misconceptions... The art of illusion isn''t about deceiving one''s sight, but rather, it is about deceiving one''s senses, reasoning, memory, and soul. "An illusion was about recing the reality with inconceivable!" ... As the pain was coursing through his being, a voice filled with unprecedented coldness within suddenly echoed from the unknown direction- filling his head with chaos and doubt... Unable to extricate himself from the annoying illusion...Comprehending the shorings of the devil race. Other than their weak soul, their mental energy was alsocking, making them prone to soul and mental attacks! "F*CK! This guy is actually much harder to deal withpared to that Ice King! "If I''m only at my peak condition... I would easily kill you!'' *** Grasping the Rotting Silver Scale on his left hand, Leo silently stared above, inspecting the movements of the two, discerning their skills and actions on a deeper level- wanting to glean their weaknesses and disadvantages, slowly increasing his knowledge on how the Core Formation realm beings fight... Understanding that he extremelycked the experience of fighting an enemy head-on. "I should use that stone to increase the capability of my Scale of Revenge...'' Feeling bored from watching the fight above, still unable to see the perfect opportunity to heavily strike the Low-Devil... Leo unhurriedly took out a gleaming stone from the void, releasing a heat of radiance toward the surroundings as it slowly burned his hand. Frowning, lightly grasping it within his arms, Leo silently cast his Soul Scan toward it. ( A new reward from the system that he gained when he created his Soul Bound Weapon...) Ding! [ Item Tempering Stone (Low): Tempering one''s item using the host Qi and a faint of sun essence, making the item''s strength and effects to experience a quantitative change! Possibly allowing it to go beyond its grade! Note 1: Only working toward the items below the Rare Rarity rank! Note 2: Could strengthen the strength of the new Soul Bound Weapon! ] Ding! [ Using the Item Tempering Stone to the Soul Bound Weapon "Scale of Revenge" in order to upgrade its capability to Rare Item... (ept/Declined)? ] ... "ept.'' Not hesitating at all, Leo immediately used the gleaming stone in his hand. Instantly beholding the stone forcefully extricate itself from his grasp- floating within the atmosphere, turning into golden liquid in the next second before attaching itself from the surface of his rotten scale... Churn~ Deepening the molds that stained its being, making it more ancient in the process. Furthermore, the disgusting yet bloody innards within the one silver te be more lively- increasing their activities, slithering within akin to a worm being bath in rock salt... Throb~ Throb~N?v(el)B\\jnn Hearing the soft sound of a beating heart, subconsciously producing an annoying rhythmic voice of madness, Leo slowly shifted his gaze toward the centre of the silver stained te- instantly beholding a small crimson hearth being coiled by therge and small intestines, slowly being split into two (vertically)... Unfolding the sharp teeth akin to a grinder beyond... Slurping the excess blood that the innards produce within their being, transforming it into an energy that Leo couldn''t fathom. Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading your soul bound weapon "Scale of Revenge" to Rare rarity! Unlocking its unique skill "Sweet Revenge" in the process! ] Ding! [ Sweet Revenge (Unique skill of Soul Bound Weapon): Upon inflicting damage to one''s enemy, umte green droplets of blood that could heal one''s physique (could be used to others). A single droplet of blood could heal at least 10 health points! Note: Revenge is about inflicting agony on one''s enemy to heal one''s scar...] ... "This... It makes sense but It feels annoying at the same time. How do I always gain support type skills!? "This is basically my 4th healing skill! Furthermore, I could activate them all at the same time!'' A skill that unconsciously weakens the attack that hit my physique and at the same time heals it (Deterence skill), a holy me that could heal the damage within one''s physique cleansing the poison and negative effects in the process (Origin me of Life), and a skill that passively increases the recovery of health... Find adventures on empire "F*CK! I had too much skill... to the point that I often forgot to use some!'' Feeling that he was again departing from the reality, Leo hurriedly shook his head, waking up as he began absorbing the imperceptible energy above, seriously staring at the still unfolding battle in the distance... Grinning demonically as he could faintly see his opportunity slowly drawing closer. Beholding some of his mist of illusion skill began to enter the Devil''s nostril... Allowing him to faintly sense the connection with his ck and red fog within the Devil in the far distance. Feeling that it was still not enough, Leo increased the Qi he was providing to his mist of illusion skill by 1.5 Qi per second... Increasing its strength and capability by at least 25%! Instantly filling every nook of 250 meters in diameter with almost invisible mist, making the senses of beings within its area of effect further suppressed. Unfortunately, probably due to them wanting to reduce their consumption of Qi, they still hadn''t activated their divine senses to their full extent, making them unable to sense the abnormality around them... Allowing the miasma to sessfully enter their nostrils, deliberately helping the illusion of the Core formation realm being human in the distance to further invade the consciousness of the Low-Devil. *** Cra-crack. Within the Domain of pure white, where thick snow could be seen filling everything in sight. The bloodied figure of Veronica, suffering from the intense coldness brought by the Ice Domain could be discerned facing the Ice King in her front... Hurriedly activating her iplete domain, instantly causing the space around her to slightly quiver- summoning thousands of different kinds of mirrors within the unknown void as it instantly filled the atmosphere above. Crack~ Unceasingly cracking due to the hail of ice shards that the environment created, ensuring that the ability of her iplete domain would be suppressed drastically! Gritting her teeth, understanding that her time is nearing, Veronica unfolds a weak deprecating smile on her face- raising the imperceptible dagger in her hands as she, without hesitation, plunges the dagger toward her cold heart. "Unfortunately, I wouldn''t be able to behold how the town crumbled, I wouldn''t be able to see how could I take revenge for Andres...'' "Forbidden skill, Life Sacrifice.'' With a fleeting voice, the irises of Veronica in the distance slowly bes nd, showing a weak smile of pity toward the shocked face of Ice King in the distance as her body begins to crack down, akin to a thin ss that identally falls toward the concrete ground, creating thousands of shards around the environment... Ding! [ Congrattions upon assisting in killing a... ] Unable toprehend the thing that just urred right now, having doubt in his mind yet does not have a choice but to believe upon seeing the notification emerge within his front. The Ice King was about to deactivate hisplete domain when suddenly, in the corner of his eyes, he noticed that the mirror above the atmosphere was still there... Making him pause as a strange feeling suddenly emerged within his being. Cra-crack~ Not even a second passed by, the thousand mirrors above began to ripple under his wary watch, beholding how their fragile being began to be tainted by thick crimson red. Dripping with blood as the epasses of the whitend slowly became tainted by it, weakening his control over hisplete domain as the sharp shards of the broken mirrors began to fall from the firmament above- creating superficially wounds around his body as the blood within the broken ss slowly entered his bloodstream... Making them boil as intense pain and agony suddenly emerged within his innards... Allowing him to understand that the falling shards of the mirrors above carried potent poison within. *** Chapter 202 Fighting A Late Stage Core Formation Realm Devil! (3) "Keke~ It''s finally time.'' Staring at the bloodied figure of the human in the firmament above, understanding that its Qi already entered a dangerous level upon seeing how unstable his illusion above was.N?v(el)B\\jnn Leo, without hesitation, triggered the miasma within the minds of the two, making their brain seemingly altered as the expression on their face instantly froze up. Halting mid-air, pausing their cognition momentarily as they began to fall from the atmosphere above. Swish! Not letting the chance he conjured off escape his grasp, Leo immediately rushed toward the side of the Low-Devil, conjuring Qi bullets within his five fingers that instantly piercing its crimson physique! Still not done, beholding that the eyelids of the Low Devil in his front began to twitch. Leo hurriedly opened his expanding throat, unfolding the pure darkness beyond, furtherpressing his soul power within before releasing the loud yet inaudible shriek that seemingly originated from the depths of hell! AHHH! Instantly causing the crimson eyes of the Devil to snap open as the small blood vein within its irises could be seen throbbing painfully... Reflecting the agonizing pain that drilled within its consciousness, further weakening its resistance to mental and soul attacks! ... Ughh! Reeling back from the me aura that the Low Devil subconsciously activated and at the same time feeling the intense pain within his throat, Leo couldn''t help but release an ufortable groan, hurriedly taking out his rotting silver scale within the void as he hurriedly cast his Deterrence skill. Enveloping the surrounding environment in a soft glow of green as the charred wounds on his back began to heal. Allowing him to breathefortably as the me that touches his physique bes more bearable. Feeling pity within his being, understanding that his me of Extreme Hell might deal little damage to the burning physique of the Devil in his front. Only leaving him with a limited amount of offensive skills to use... Leo slightly mumbled under his breath, beholding how the nail within his hands became extremely sharp, glinting with a metallic gleam as he hurriedly motioned a sh toward the dazzled physique of the Low-Devil in his front. (The second offensive skill he gained when he was still at the dpidated ruin of civilization...) Swish! As his glinting nail was about to prate the body of the devil in his front. The devil''s physique suddenly tilted mid-air, perfectly evading Leo''s attack in the process- causing Leo to feel shock within his being as he stared at the muddled eyes of the devil at his side! Comprehending that its body could move on its own using the instinct within its being! The defense mechanism of a Devil''s mind! "This... A skill for self protection when the user was unconscious?'' Mumbling under himself, Leo immediately pointed his palm toward the physique of the Devil, releasing a baleful aura as a Qi bullet, asrge as a cannonball slowly emerged within his palm... Making the void tremble as he, without hesitation, fired it toward the retreating devil- making the eyes of the devil further twitch, attempting to wake up from the illusion and the damage he took within his soul but only in vain! Boom! As the physique of the Devil was unconsciously dodging toward the side. The Qi bullet that was swiftly approaching its physique suddenly exploded, abruptly lighting the dark atmosphere above with unprecedented darkness as its light abruptly shrouded the Devil''s body- consuming it in a matter of milliseconds as the energy and rule attached within the Qi bullet silently drilled toward its physique. Slowly making it withered and parch, almost simr to a dry corpse that was deliberately left outside in the middle of the day! Furthermore, with the damage the low devil took, it would at least weaken its overall strength by another 10-20%! Making the danger it poses to Leo decrease drastically! ... "Augh... YOU!" Finally opening his bloodshot eyes, beholding the battered appearance of his body. The low devil, enranged, roared angrily toward the sky, releasing an intense heat that melted the air within the atmosphere, making Leo and the unconscious human beneath feel their skin prickled... Making Leo''s expression slightly changed upon seeing his health decreasing by 0.5 every second, understanding that his Deterrence skill couldn''tpletely fend off a crowd skill from a weakened Devil. Allowing him to sense the horror of a Late Stage being of the Core Formation realm with an Epic ss job under it! Comprehending that he wouldn''t be able to kill the low devil on his own without suffering consequences, Leo immediately activated the healing skill he gained when he upgraded his ss job to umon- creating a wooden illusionary altar from the void, releasing a soft glow of light that envelop the surrounding environment of 25 meters in diameter... flying toward the direction of the blooded human beneath as it slowly healed its physique! Seeing this, the low devil hurriedly summoned a condensed white me within his arms, nning to destroy the illusionary altar, hindering the healing of the human beneath in the process but only in vain! Keke~ With a low mockingugh, Leo hurriedly intercepts the zing ball of fire in the distance- entering the area of his Deterence skill, instantly causing their size to decrease drastically before hitting his physique! Burning his skin in the process, creating a strange fragrance that fuses within the atmosphere! Squirm- Followed by that, the floating silver scale behind Leo suddenly issued a weak sound of throbbing, creating a tone of madness that instantly drilled toward the consciousness of the Devil above! Causing him to momentarily pause its action as the empty te within the silver scale created 3 droplets of ck blood within! Read thetest on empire Beholding this, not letting the chance slip off under his watch, Leo hurriedly fired dozens of Qi bullets toward the Devil, infusing a minute amount of his rule toward them as they created a natural pressure of ominous within them, shrouding the short distance with foreboding aura. Huff~ Instantly waking up from the unexpected influence of the silver scale, the Devil, instantly waved his left hand horizontally. Summoning a thick wall of me that instantly dissolved the Qi bullets that hit its surface. Making Leo''s attack ineffective! *** "D*mn! How annoying, If I could only control the projectile of the Qi bullets... Control? "This... Why not...'' Seemingly thinking of something, Leo''s eyes suddenly glinted, unfolding a profound look within his eyes as he secretly activated his Telekic ability! Coating the bodies of the Qi bullets with imperceptible hands, making Leo''s head slightly dizzy in the process as he immediately began to change their direction mid-air... Catching the Devil in the distance off guard as he beholds the Qi bullets drilled to the side of his physique! Cra-crack~ In an instant, the crisp sound of cracking bones instantly echoed toward the far distance, making the expression of the devil above change- losing his control in the next second as the thick wall of me became unstable in Leo''s sight! A chance! Unfolding a smile on his face, Leo was about to fire another round of Qi bullets toward the devil in the distance when suddenly, within his consciousness, a dark seed, hiding within its depths, weakly blooms- instantly spreading chaos and madness within his mind, making him clench his head in pain as pure ck blood could be discerned flowing from his ears and eyes! ... "Aura of Abyss.'' In the distance, the devil lightly mumbled under his breath, finally activating the "Aura of Abyss" that drilled toward Leo''s consciousness earlier, the skill that he activated before arriving in this ce! Gritted his teeth, taking a deep breath to suppress the pain within his being, the devil hurriedly motioned a sh toward the void, taking out the familiar silver trident within the depths of his soul... Burning with unprecedented high temperature, further melting the atmosphere above! Sizzle~ Not wasting any time, the devil... hurriedly rushed toward the direction of Leo, not forgetting to shoot a nce toward the unconscious human below, wanting to avoid being ambushedter. "Die!'' Soon, in an instant, upon closing the distance between him and Leo, only 5 meters apart from each other. The devil slightly unfolded a victorious smile on his face, hurriedly striking his trident toward the unprotected physique of Leo, wanting to prate it before burning it down with zing mes- being slightly hindered by the light (Deterrence skill) that shrouded the physique of Leo in the process... Although that was the case, the Devil''s face didn''t change a bit, understanding that its weakening effect was extremely limited- only dying his attack by 2 seconds at most before he could severely injure the being in his front! sh! Seeing that his trident was only inches away from the physique of the human in his front, the eyes of the devil further deepened, showing a malevolent glint within his eyes... Beholding how the trident finally pierces the pale body of the human in his front! Watching how its thick crimson blood sshed toward the atmosphere, dyeing the dark firmament with red- heavily hitting his senses with the thick familiar scent of blood! "Keke~ DIE! DIE YOU LOWLY HUMAN!'' *** Chapter 203 Fighting A Late Stage Core Formation Realm Devil! (4) "Keke~ DIE! DIE YOU LOWLY HUMAN!" Laughing madly, the Devil hurriedly used his certain rule, making the me within the surface of his trident drastically increase- instantly releasing an intense light that momentarily lightened the centre of the town! Furthermore, the imperceptible miasma around began to evaporate toward the unknown, vanishing in a matter of milliseconds before being filled again by another one... Grinning, waiting for the notification of the death of the being in front of him to echo within his mind. The Devil, couldn''t help but suddenly show puzzlement within his crimson eyes, feeling that something was amiss upon not hearing the familiar notification after burning the physique in front of him for 10 seconds- making it unrecognizable as its charred skin began to fall toward its body, before bing ashes afterwards... This... Seeminglyprehending something, mumbling under his breath, the sight before him slowly crumbled, cracking simr to a fine mirror... Unfolding the reality in front of his eyes as he couldn''t help but show horror within his face! *** Cough~ cough~ Below, the bloodied figure of the human releases an unceasing sound of coughing, dispelling his unconscious double (illusion) beside him, sessfully deceiving the senses of the Devil earlier! Allowing it to believe that he was still unconscious from the damage he took! Cough~ Weakly pointing his palm toward the atmosphere above, the blooded human silently beholds the illusion he created slowly crumbling under his eyes, spitting out the fear-stricken Devil, buying Leo some time to recover from the madness that inflicted his being! ... Huff~ Taking a deep breath, calming his chaotic thoughts down, Leo couldn''t help but secretly wipe the forming sweat within his forehead, unable to dispel the murderous thoughts within his consciousness- tempting him to unleash the destructive desires hidden within his being! Fortunately, with the things that he experienced so far, he managed to temporarily reign the intense desire flowing within his mind, making his head ache slightly as he hurriedly consumed the green blood hidden within his Scale of Revenge! Healing the damage he took when the low devil in the short distance unleashed its rule that was rted to mes! Mending the burned skin that fell off from his physique earlier! Making his figure a new, instantly recovering its pale characteristics! ~ Beholding the concealed fear within the eyes of the devil, finally escaping the illusion that the human below casted, Leo unfolds an enranged yet wicked smile on his face... Hurriedly gripping the floating silver scale within the atmosphere, causing the puddle of ck blood within its silver te to swirl- releasing an intense scent of metallic blood as the devil silently beheld the ck blood within began to evaporate within the thin air... Sending him an intense premonition of danger that originated from the unknown, making him retreat in the distance in the hope of escaping the impending doom but only in vain! Ssh! Not even a second passed by, a sound of ripping flesh abruptly echoed toward the far distance, separating the shoulder of the devil toward its physique through the unknown method- making the bloodied man beneath unfold a shocked expression on his face. Blood and pain abruptly reflected within his crimson eyes, slowly beholding how his flesh and bones suddenly and abruptly separated from his physique. Unable toprehend and fathom that thing that just urred, sending intense chills within the depths of his soul and being... Quite sure that the human in its front hadn''t used a skill that could chop his shoulder in a matter of milliseconds! Furthermore, the flesh of a Late Core Formation realm Low-Devil could rival a Rare rarity metal at the very least! Even the Ice King wouldn''t be able to separate his shoulder from his physique without chopping it a couple of times! "This... Did I fall into another illusion?'' Ding! -50 health! *** Enjoying the imperceptible energy that the low devil unconsciously released in the distance, feeling that his gaseous core was already approaching its limit, finally seeing the corner of the mid-stage of the Core formation realm. Leo silently decreased the Qi he was feeding to his restraint skill, still hadn''t seen its miraculous effect since earlier-prehending that the luck of a Core Formation realm being is much stronger than he expected. At least much stronger than Foundation realm beings! Churn~n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om In an instant, upon deliberately weakening his restraint skill... a dark aura (jinx), imperceptible to one''s sight instantly gushed from Leo''s physique, eroding the fate of being within its area of effects- making their luck slowly dwindle in the process as the me within the surface of the devil''s physique mysteriously weakened. Furthermore, the separated shoulder of the devil within its grasp mysteriously slipped under his hands... Making him startle as he beheld how its shoulder swiftly flew toward Leo''s direction! Making its n to consume it in able to recover some of its lost health be impossible! Instantly draining the colour on its crimson face as he hurriedly took out a healing potion within its inventory, drinking it in a matter of milliseconds- frowning as his eyes never left the sight of the human in his front! Discover exclusive content at empire "Keke..." Laughing in a mocking voice, Leo leisurely grabbed the floating shoulder within the atmosphere, hiding it within his inventory as he hurriedly cast Qi bullets within his hands, summoning tens of dark balls within that hurriedly hurled themselves toward the direction of the Devil- making the expression of the Devil to be reced by pain as he hurriedly evaded the approaching projectiles! However,pared to earlier, Leo''s control over his Qi bullets that were coated by his telekic ability became more profound, making them swirl within the atmosphere- causing the eyes of the devil to be dazzled as bullets began to heavily hit his physique! AHH! Drilling within the wounds of his shoulder! Causing him to release a grotesque cry that instantly resounded toward the far unknown distance- making the chaos within the town momentarily halt as they unisonly tilted their head toward the direction of the unknown! Before continuing their actions afterwards upon not seeing anything... *** "Just you wait. I will ensure to kill you two in the future!" Soon, upon being bombarded by Qi bullets for almost 5 seconds, beholding that his health was further reduced by 10%, only leaving him with less than 25% on his health... The devil, understanding that he wouldn''t be able to kill the two abominations on his front, hurriedly turned his physique toward his back, summoning a zing me within his soles as he instantly retreated with great speed. Catching the two off guard- leaving a trail of smoke beyond as Leo hurriedly tried to chase but only in vain! Unable to catch up due to his pathetic speed! Although his speed almost rivals the attributes of the devil, Leo''sck of skill that momentarily boosts his speed still makes his basic attributes pathetic! Not allowing him to catch the battered and weakened figure of the Devil! "F*CK! That devil still managed to escape even though it was greatly weakened!'' Cursing within his mind, Leo couldn''t help but feel helpless,prehending that his current skills wouldn''t allow him to kill a weakened real Devil! Making him feel the intense urgency to grow stronger! Understanding, that he stillcks the necessary skill to protect himself! "Huff~ I stillck offensive skills and skills that boost one''s speed... I should ponder upon getting back toward the cemeteryter.'' Pondering deep within his mind, catching a glimpse of the blooded human beneath slowly floating toward his direction, clearly wanting to thank him for the assistance earlier... Leo hurriedly activated his invisibility skill, not wanting to waste time on senseless conversation, immediately rushing toward the sound of the weak chaos in the distance to see if he could kill some Quasi Devils- wanting to increase the perimeter beside his race. ... "This...'' Seeing that the pale figure of the human above slowly mended with the surrounding void. Henry, the blooded human being beneath suddenly felt lost. Could only silently stare at the dark firmament above, thoughts were unknown as he lightly sighed in helplessness. "Huff~ I didn''t expect that the town was still hiding a tramp card within... It''s just that, they all seem cold by nature.'' *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon gaining someone''s admiration for the first time! +1,000 horror points! +4 free attribute points! ] "Ehh, did that guy suffer from an unexpected head injury?'' As Leo wasmanding all of his puppets to retreat toward the depths of the Endless Forest, toward the nd cemetery where they called home... The familiar sound of heavy metal hitting another metal suddenly echoed within his consciousness, making him puzzled as he stared at the bloodied human in the far distance- unable to fathom how serious the injury it took that caused its mind to be mentally unstable. Shrugging his shoulder, Leo took a deep breath, taking a longst nce toward the almost ruined town, beholding the corpses of beasts, humans, and devils scattered around the ce. Making him sigh as he finally rushed toward the far distance. "The cemetery is still the best...'' *** End of Volume 1: The Madness. Chapter 204 Entering Mid Stage of Core Formation Realm! Soon, in a blink of an eye, 3 days hurriedly passed by. Tap... Tap... Within the ce where the light wasn''t allowed to illuminate, where thousands of bones could be seen floating around- being caressed by the soft dark wind that slightly corroded their surface. The thick ck water beneath unceasingly created waves toward the unknown, creating a ripple that disturbed the far distance- causing a soft sound to silently echo within the enclosed catbs.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Within its centre, a pale being, being shrouded by thick shadows could be discerned absorbing the think Qi above the atmosphere, creating a whirl of baleful wind as the thick dark Qi around visibly entered its pores- drilling toward its pale physique before entering the depths of his soul, coursing within for a while before finally entering his gaseous core in the centre. Making it denser to one''s sight, releasing an ufortable aura with a mixture of different rules within- churning loudly as it began to condense in one direction, slowlypressing as its weight began to drastically increase, causing fine cracks to appear within the surface of Leo''s gaseous core! Taking a deep breath, Leo forcefully focused his senses toward the Qi around his core,pressing it slowly as he beholds how it bes more liquified- causing it to instantly send feedback toward his being, slowly increasing the resilience of his physique, mental, and soul by an amount! ... "Sess!'' Eximing within his mind, Leo silently beholds the pitiful yet pure liquid within his core, groaningfortably upon feeling that his physique, mental, and soul attributes increase drastically- signifying that he finally entered the threshold of the Mid-stage of the Core Formation realm! A being at Level 6! A being with skin as resilient as Elite to Rare rarity metal! Making his physique momentarily glint with metallic luster toward the dark atmosphere above before reverting back to its usual colour! Ding! [ Congrattions upon entering the Mid stage of the Core Formation realm! +10,000 horror points! +12 free attribute points! +2 High Enlightenment Stone! ] Huff~ Exhaling turbid air within his lungs, corroding the bones in the short distance, Leo slowly opened his pale grey eyes- inspecting his physique in great detail, beholding that the wounds he sustained days ago alreadypletely healed, finally expelling the residue of rules that manage to enter his physique days ago when he fought that Late Stage of the Core Formation realm Devil. Underestimating the capability of a Devil, causing him to experience intense agony in the past few days- making his n to study the things that he looted within the town be postponed since he had no choice but to cultivate to expel the traces of me rule that unceasingly burn his physique, muscles, and bones... Making his hatred toward the Devil increase drastically to the point that he couldn''t wait to curse its physique every day! "Keke~ Fortunately, it wouldn''t take long... I will surely curse you day and night!'' Slightly stretching his body, finally had time to ponder about the things that urred within the town... Leo couldn''t help but release a weak sigh of helplessness, having no idea what kind of things were currently happening in that ruined town upon he left, quite curious if the group that entered the depths of the Endless Forest finallye back or not- wondering what kind of expression would they show upon seeing the scattered corpse of humans and beast around. Sigh~ "Unfortunately, I wasn''t present when that happened... "I wanted to see if they would release intense despair and fear within their being- further helping me to shorten the distance toward the next level..." Shaking his head, burying the regret within his being, Leo slowly took out the skill scrolls within his inventory, numbering up to 30 that rarity range from the Common to Elite grade... In addition to the 5 Rare skills that he gets from the corpses of the beasts he killed within the town, Leo currently has 35 skill scrolls! A staggering number! Making the corner of his lips unconsciously curl up, feeling that plundering from the shop is much more profitable than killing beasts! Furthermore, even if he focused on hunting beasts for the whole day within the depths of the Endless Forest, he wouldn''t probably gain 10 skill scrolls- understanding that the drop rate of the skill scrolls from the corpse of the beast is pitifully small! Probably not allowing him to gain one even if he killed 10 beasts (due to his luck)! Grasping the glowing skill scrolls within his hands, Leo carefully read their description one by one, wanting to see if he would gain skills that hecked- also nning to see if he could find skills to fuse, causing the skill capability to increase drastically... (The cooldown of the skill fusion already ended earlier.) Soon, after an unknown period of time reading, Leo leisurely hides the 32 skill scrolls within his inventory, only leaving him with 3 scrolls within his grasp. A single blue and 2 green skill scrolls, shing with a weak glow of blue and green that slightly illuminated the pale face of Leo- making him sigh in dissatisfaction upon only gaining 3 skills that could help his strength to increase by amount. "At least it was better than nothing...'' Weakly mumbling under his breath, Leo silently focused on the three scrolls within his hands, grasping them with force as hemanded his system to hurriedly learn the skills. Ding! [ Learning Mental Spike (Rare), Assistance of the Wind (Elite), and Lightning Step (Elite) would cost you 10,000 horror points... (ept/Declined) ] ... Swish~ Seeing this, Leo didn''t hesitate further as he hurriedly epted the deal- causing the imperceptible horror points hidden within the depths of his physique to uncontrobly fly toward the unknown void as the scrolls within his grasp suddenly evaporated... Unable to see the thing that was urring, Leo patiently waited... Staring at the familiar ce in boredom, carefully caressing the corroding grey bones beneath- feeling that time really flew fast... To the point that he had almost forgotten the memories when he first arrived in this ce, causing him to feel lost and empty all of a sudden. "Time is really merciless, it could easily make beings forget the agony, pain, and happiness that they experienced in the past... Burying toward the depths of their soul, until they slowly faded within. "Beholding how time flew fast, I inexplicably feel fear within my soul- understanding that my memories would also slowly fade when time passed by. Although it might not happen today, it will surely happen in days, weeks, and years... "It''s inevitable to the point that I suddenly feel deep helplessness within my being...'' Discover hidden tales at empire Weakly mumbling under his breath, Leo silently feels the rule of Fear, Inevitable Death, and Pure Despair hiding within his soul, within the depths of his liquified core slowly resonate toward his mind- making the cracks within their seed of rules increase slowly as the poking leaves within their apart seed be more vibrant and alive, further increasing the rules attach within his liquified Qi by amount... Causing its natural strength to increase by at least 20%! Ding! [ Congrattions upon deepening your understanding of the rules that were rted to fear by 5%! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully learning the Mental Spike (Rare), Assistance of the Wind (Elite), and Lightning Step (Elite) skills! ] *** "How unfortunate, it wasn''t rted to the time rule... I thought it would be the time when I was about to ascend in heaven in one go.'' Shaking his head, feeling disappointed upon not getting the thing he expected, Leo heaved a soft sign of relief. Opening his character panel, directly upgrading the new skills he learned to level 5 before reading their description one by one- wanting to gain deep knowledge regarding the skills so he wouldn''t forget nor have no idea how to use them when the timees. Ding! [ Mental Spike (Rare (Level 5)): Create a 2 inches long needle made of pure mental energy that could ignore and bypass physical defenses- drilling toward the mind of the enemy, wreaking havoc within, causing their casting to be hindered in the process... Activation: 10 mental energy and 10 Qi. (Couldn''t cast two Mental Spike at the same time!) Effect: Damaging one''s mind, causing their thoughts momentarily hindered. ] *** "It''s a good skill but I doubt that it could affect the thoughts of the Peak stage of the Core formation realm being after using it... "At most, it could only give them a slight headache." Understanding that every time a cultivator at the Core Formation realm advances by stage, the resilience of their soul, physique, and mental defence would also increase based on their strength... Leo just slightly nodded his head upon reading the Rare skill description, not that impressed by its capability to deal damage. "Still, if I used my "Compressed Shriek" skill first to weaken and create instability within their mind, causing their mental defence to decrease considerably... The Mental Spike might give me unexpected surprises upon using it." *** Chapter 205 Fusing Skills, Light Steps. Opening his character panel, Leo immediately locked his gaze toward the "Skill Fusion Feature" below. Silently staring at the mesmerizing and extricate surface of the ancient ck cauldron, pondering how he could gain it without spending a single horror point- still couldn''t rid of the thought that its surface carried traces of all the rules and Dao within. Sigh~ Signing softly, dragging his two new Elite skills, Leo leisurely tossed it inside, beholding how the lid of the cauldron swiftly closed with a loud booming sound- loudly resounding within his senses, deafening it momentarily as the familiar notification unfolded in his front. Ding! [ Thepatibility of fusing the "Assistance of the Wind (Elite)" and "Lightning Step (Elite)" skills is 80%. Cost of Fusion: 7,500 horror points! Cooldown: 4 days! Note: Failure tobine the skills wouldn''t allow the user to recover the cost of the fusion of the skills. ] "An 80%patibility isn''t that bad. Considering that my restraint skill already entered (Rare +3) rarity yesterday after using medallions of forceful upgrade to forcefully increase its capability... "The jinx skill temporarily wouldn''t be able to affect everything around me if I didn''t deliberately weaken my restraint skill.'' Unfolding a smile on his face, feeling that the debuff passive skills would no longer trouble him. Leo, without hesitation, epted the deal. Instantly reducing his horror points by 7,500... causing the ck exquisite cauldron in his front to fluctuate crazily, sending waves of chaotic wind toward the surroundings- consuming the imperceptible horror points that Leo releases. Followed by that, the sound of churning lightning, deafening his senses, began to unceasingly echo toward his ears... Giving him the illusion that an intense battle was currently unfolding within the interior of the cauldron, making him slightly tense and expectant about the new skill he would get. Boom! Soon, after waiting for an unknown period of time, the deafening sound of an explosion suddenly resounded in Leo''s mind- making it slightly unstable as he instantly beheld the charred scroll within the centre of the cauldron, making his face ck as faint premonition suddenly emerge within his being. Ding! [ Congrattions upon failing to fuse the two skills for the first time! +1 Low Charred Scroll! ] Ding! [ Charred scroll (Low)- A failed skill scroll that could give random skill toward the user. Chances of getting certain rarity skills: Common (50%), Umon (25%), Elite (15%), and Rare (10%). Note: It''s too random to the point that it could bestow a curse skill that negatively affects one''s physique, mentality, and soul! ] ... This... "System,e here, I just want to peacefully talk to you...'' Seeing that the extricate design within the surface of the cauldron began to fade- a testament that it was currently on cooldown. The face of Leo couldn''t help but instantly darken, feeling that the system did something about the probability of the fusion causing it to eventually fail. Couldn''t believe that his luck would be that bad. Furthermore, considering that the fusion in the past few days was sessful even though that the jinx skill couldn''t bepletely suppressed... Leo was inclined to believe that the system was doing something behind his back, causing his luck to decrease somehow! Ding! [ System: ..I.. ] "F*ck, what does that even mean!" Seeing this, the corner of Leo''s lips couldn''t help but twitch, feeling that his anger was increasing drastically... Making him grit his teeth as he read the new notification that emerged on his front. [ It means that luck wasn''t on your side. Don''t me the system for being unlucky! ] *** Feeling helpless, Leo ignored the notification that kept shing within the corner of his eyes- carefully grasping the charred scroll within his hand, caressing its rough surface before hurriedly ripping it afterwards, causing it to disintegrate within his palm as intense darkness momentarily shrouded his vision. Twinkle~ Followed by that, specks of dark light, releasing intense uncertainty within suddenly entered Leo''s being, coursing within for a while before vanishing toward its depths- making him puzzled about the strangeness of activating the charred scroll. Although there were notes below that mentioned that the charred skill scroll could give a Curse skill to one''s being (if unlucky). Leo wasn''t too worried regarding that, with his newly upgraded restraint skill he was sure that he could somehow handle it... Causing him to gamble in the hope of gaining a random skill that he could use. "It''s good if it was a skill that could give the system a body... So I could talk to him and give him some bruise in the process...'' As he was entertaining the thought of beating the system, feeling that it was deliberately giving him a hard time for not giving him good offensive skills since day one, the familiar sound of heavy metal hitting another metal loudly echoed within his head- making Leo rub his hands in anticipation as he hurriedly checks the description of the new skill. Ding! [ Congrattions upon gaining a "Light Steps (Elite +1)" skill from the charred scroll! System Note: Not bad, your luck still suck! ] Ding! [ Light Steps (Elite +1) (Level 1): Making one''s step as light as a feather, allowing one to step above the water without sinking, and allowing one to fall from the high ground without sustaining injuries! Furthermore, running or moving using the skill wouldn''t create a loud sound- making infiltration or escaping silent. Activation: 1 Qi per 5 seconds. Effect 1: Permanently increase one''s speed by 10 points! Effect 2: Upon activation, further increase the speed by 20 attribute points! ] ... "This... the skill is not that bad, at least much better than the two skills earlier." Nodding his head, feeling that it would work for now, Leo leisurely upgraded the skill to level 5- further reducing his horror points by 2,500 and at the same time increasing the capability of the skill by 250%! Making the initial 10 free attribute points on speed increase to 25 points!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Furthermore, the effect #2 of the skill upon activation further increases to 50! Allowing him to gain 75 free speed points once he fully activated the skill! Unfortunately, the consumption of the skill also increases, burning 1 Qi for every 2 seconds, only allowing him to use the skill for 10 minutes max! ... Taking a deep breath, Leo silently activated the skill, wanting to gain mastery over it so he wouldn''t lose control (due to the sudden increase in speed) upon activating it in the near future. sh~ In an instant, upon activation, traces of weak light slowly gather under his soles, giving him the sensation of unprecedented weightlessness, making the rippling current under his feet inexplicably quite down- a testament to its good effect of making one weight as light as a feather... Furthermore, his gliding ability mid-air also drastically increased! Boosting hisbat ability mid-air by an amount! ... Soon, after a couple of minutes testing his skills, Leo unhurriedly deactivated the skill, instantly extinguishing the soft light beneath as his weight reverted back to normal (20kg), creating waves within that travelled toward the far distance- disturbing the inhabitants within as he slowly sits toward the wet cold ground. "Keke~ it''s finally time... I finally have spare time to curse! "Hehe~ Do you think leaving traces of your rules to others'' physique is funny? Well, it is, but the premise is... that I was the one who did it! "I am the only one qualified to make others feel fear and despair! Just wait a little longer you lowly devil, I will ensure to make your life a living hell... ... "Wait, I forgot that devil lives in hell, he would probably love that. "Since that was the case, then I will ensure that your life would suffer an intense agony!" Kekeke~ Kekeke~ Grinning demonically, Leo excitedly took out the ck cauldron within his inventory, cing it in his front as he slowly cleaned its exterior-ughing in a deranged tone as the hatred hidden within his being slowly resurfaced within his consciousness... Slowly clouding his judgement, making his eyes glint with malicious intent as he hurriedly fed themp beneath with his liquified Qi, instantly causing its me to illuminate the far distance- evaporating the ck ink water beneath as its dark fog slowly and slightly shrouded the enclosed space... Making the scene especially forbidding to one''s sight. Stretching his hand toward the void, Leo slowly took out a withered yet crimson shoulder within his inventory... Curling his pale lips slightly upon sensing the faint fear and despair that drilled toward its bone, making him unconsciously happy as the image of the devil beholding its shoulder mysteriously separated under its eyes resurfaced within his mind... Lessening the anger within his being... But still not enough to extinguish it. *** In the far distance, in the depths of the Endless Forest, hundreds of miles away from the nd cemetery. The familiar figure of thete stage of the Core formation realm Devil could be seen suddenly halting on his track- warily inspecting the tall canopy above as the intense premonition of danger suddenly emerged within his mind. Making his expression change drastically as the feeling of the unknown appeared within his being... Making his still gravely injured physique bend down as dark blood with a mixture of flesh and live worms within suddenly came out from his mouth... Instantly causing his eyes to constrict in pure horror upon seeing the wriggling worm beneath... Unable toprehend the things that were currently happening within his physique. "This...'' *** Chapter 206 Renovating the Cemetery. Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully cursing someone! ] Finally seeing the expected notification appeared in front of him, Leo hurriedly extinguished the me below the cauldron. Beholding the withered shoulder within slowly losing its skin, creating a dense Imperceptible dark smoke that flew toward the unknown... unfolding the rotting muscles beyond as he hurriedly hid it within his inventory. Still want to use it as a medium for future hexing. With how resilient the devil''s arm was against the me, Leo concluded that he would still be able to use it for dozens of times, enough to ensure that the devil would suffer agony worse than death. "Hehe. It''s best if it dies in the end, so the requirements of upgrading my ss job increase by one.'' Releasing a weak chuckle that softly echoed towards the depths of the catbs, sending chills toward the dark rats that happened to be near his location. Leo unhurriedly stared toward the passage on his right, leading toward the unknown direction... Smiling lightly as he began to advance forward, remembering something that could increase the security of the cemetery above by folds if he managed to subdue the being. *** Click~ Click~ Soon, after minutes of walking, the familiar sound of moving gears suddenly echoed towards the far distance, causing Leo to suddenly halt on his track as he subconsciously held his breath, attempting to lower his presence as his back softly touched the damp wall behind. Tensely tilting his head towards the origin of the sound, the sight of the nd devil (puppet) instantly reflected in his grey eyes. Causing his illusionary heart to momentarily halt its beating as sticky cold sweat uncontrobly forms above his pale forehead. Sensing the dangerous aura it unconsciously releases. Instinctively making him think that it was fold strongerpared to the weak devil that he fought. Focusing his eyes... Its damaged surface, which was full of cracks, slightly unfolding the rotting flesh beyond, silently appeared within his vision- a testament that it was still in its weakened state. Following that, the thick metal chain, covered in countless inscriptions, slightly hindered its movement... Unceasingly creating waves that rippled towards the unknown, annoyingly and unceasingly echoed in Leo''s head- making him grit his teeth in annoyance as if its frequency could affect one''s mind. "This is bad; he seemed to recover by an amount when Ist saw it.'' Gulping inaudibly, Leo silently activated his invisibility skill, causing his figure to immediately vanish within the dark environment before casting his soul scan towards the slowly advancing puppet in the distance, causing the color of his eyes to deepen as a weak, nd me slowly materialized from his irises. Making it mesmerizing and mysterious to one''s sight, giving everyone the sensation of being observed to the deepest level. Not allowing secrets to escape.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Ding! [ Devil Puppet (Damaged) (Trancended-High grade): A Trancended Devil Puppet that umted damage due to the passage of time. It could followmands to a higher degree and have advancedbat ability! Moreover, it has certain basic intelligence within! Innate skill: ??? ______Atrributes______ Core Formation Realm Level 19: (Extremely Damage, causing its level and strength to decrease!) Health: 300/2,500 Qi Storage: 500/2,500 Stamina: 300/2,500 Strength: ??? (500) Speed: ??? (500) Qi Power: ??? (500) ______Skills______ Skill: Devil Eyes(???), Abyssal Dance (???), Chain Maniption (???), ???, Energy Cirction (Epic+1). ] *** "F*ck, its strength really recovered by amount. Furthermore, its current overall stats umted to 1,500 points! "With its unknown skill that is suspected to be epic and above, itsbat ability could at least rival a being at the very peak of the core formation realm!'' Cursing within his mind, Leo slowly retreated toward the distance, clearly having no intention of rashly fighting the devil puppet. Knowing that most of his skills would be ineffective to its physique. Understanding that he wouldn''t be able to affect its mind nor damage its mentality to gain the advantage that he usually does to his previous enemy. Furthermore, with its unknown skill, he doesn''t have the confidence to fight it head-on! "However, I also couldn''t let it go unattended, I''m afraid that it would fully recover someday and wreak havoc above.'' Feeling helpless, Leo went back towards the entrance of the catbs. Pondering deeply on how he could sessfully subdue the puppet without risking his life. Unfortunately, after hours of thinking, Leo was unable toe up with a good idea. Other than greatly increasing his strength in order to subdue the devil without risking his life or learning skills that could greatly hinder one''s movement, Leo couldn''t think of anything else! (Of course, he entertained the thought of increasing his knowledge regarding puppetry in order to see the puppet''s weakness... However, considering its high grade that reached the unknown transcended grade, Leo was quite sure that his medallions of forceful upgrade would not be enough to gain knowledge that gives him deep insight regarding the damaged puppet!) Sigh~ "A pity, domain couldn''t be used to inanimate and lifeless beings, or else...'' *** Soon, upon sensing the shifting of the temperature within the damp atmosphere, Leo concluded that the day finally arrived, making him sigh as he lightly tapped his feet- summoning a weak glow of light beneath his soles, causing his weight to decrease drastically as his physique suddenly propelled itself above the hole! Boom! With a weak sound of parting air, the pale figure of Leo, being covered with dirt and dark ink water, suddenly fell beside the spine-chilling hole, causing a dent to appear beneath the soft earth. Gently removing the soil that stuck to his back, Leo slowly inspects the surrounding environment before eventually raising his head towards the canopy above... Staring at the mesmerizing sight above, reflecting his cold physique with warm sunlight that silently pierced through the gaps of the leaves- making him dazed as he silently enjoyed the scenery for a couple of minutes. Making his somehow agitated mind inexplicably calm down, bringing him rity as he unhurriedly took out the shovels within his inventory. nning to fix the destroyed tombs that urred due to the intense battle in the past few days- sighing in regret upon not finding a skill that could manipte the earth. "Fortunately, I could ask my tenants for advance payment. "I will make them clean the cemetery for me.'' Thinking that it was feasible, Leo began to advance toward the centre of the cemetery. Moving unhurriedly as he examined the damage his cemetery took, slowly feeling that its previous appearance that could evoke fear in one''s mind was slowly being reced by destion. Making him dissatisfied as he unconsciously increases his pace. ... Soon, after a while, the sight of the wooden house slowly being consumed by ck mold appeared in Leo''s sight. Being encircled by tens of his doll puppets, creating a puddle of addicting yellow puss around them as their unpleasant smell began to waft toward the far distance. Knock~ Knock~ Knocking on the wooden door, creating a rhythmic sound of horror, Leo waited patiently. Increasing his senses as the faint sound of movement could be faintly discerned inside, causing Leo''s lips to instinctively curl up upon smelling the fear and uncertainty within the depths of their bones. Creeaakkk~ Soon, after waiting for a minute, the loud sound of the creaking, opening a wooden door, abruptly resounded toward the far distance- destroying the eternal silence within as the figure of an extremely pale being, with big, dark circles under its tired eyes appeared in Leo''s senses. Looking below, Leo notices that its left hand was hiding behind its back. Clearly grasping a sharp weapon behind him as the figure warily scanned its surroundings. "What''s up? how''s staying at my ce?" Leo awkwardly spoke. Due to him not having a normal conversation for months, Leo almost forgot how to normally engage in conversation with others... Hearing the ufortable voice of the other party, David warily stared at the pale being in front of him. Instantly causing his premonition skill to crazily ring within his consciousness- making his eyes tremble as thoughts crazily ignited within his mind, essing the current situation as he spoke chokingly. "I-it''s nice, just like what you said... Your puppets are extremely hospitable." Thinking of the things that they have experienced in the past few days, feeling that he has already seen the dark side of the world. David couldn''t help but tremble slightly, further opening the door as he invited Leo inside, understanding that angering the being in his front would be extremely unwise. Seeing this, Leo slightly nodded his head. Staring beyond, as the sight of the 5 beings, clearlycking a couple nights of sleep, appeared within his vision- slightly making him feel guilty, although a little, thinking that he should order his puppets to serve them meat sometimes. Understanding that farming horror points in the future would be hard if his tenantsck the necessary nutrition to feel fear. "Besides that, I also need to time scaring them... 2-5 hours a day should work.'' *** Chapter 207 New Feature Unlock! Horror Scenario! Within the town. The stained blood had already long dried, dyeing the ce with rich maroon color... Making the sight not different from an apocalyptic scene that was abandoned long ago. On the ground, the corpses that withered due to the passage of time still could be seen scattered around the ruined ce, making their rotting smell linger within the atmosphere as the mortal beings who luckily survived the ordeal don''t have a choice but to cover their nose in disgust. In the far distance, a desperate voice, carrying pain and guilt within, could be faintly heard... Making the passing humans to have mixed emotions within their being, tilting their heads below as they fasten their movements, having already gotten used to the sight of suffering in the past few days. To the point that their face already looks nd from the outside, as if emotions couldn''t move them anymore. ... "This... It''s all gone. M~mom, d~dad..." Seeing the familiar rotting corpse in his front, slowly being consumed by bugs and maggots. The man trembles crazily, feeling weak all of a sudden, taking out a sharp dagger within his inventory before decisively stabbing himself a couple of times. Bleeding before dying afterwards, having no time to feel the pain in his physical body due to his decisiveness.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Understanding that dying was better than living upon losing all of his hope. Not willing to spend another time in this pathetic world full of misery... ... Above, seeing the scene within the town, the eyes of the Nascent Soul being couldn''t help but darken. Clenching his fist with force as an intense aura, enough to bend anything around radiated from his old physique. The feeling of happiness upon killing the newly ascended serpent within the depths of the Endless Forest vanished just like that, being reced by intense anger as theplete rules that heprehended immediately oozed from his being... Enveloping the less than 5,000 residents that survived the ordeal, making the wounds they took, physically to mentally, visible heal under his deliberate control. Tilting his head toward the distance, beholding the corpse of the crimson humanoid being, oozing madness to its bones although it already died for days. The eyes of the Nascent Soul constricted drastically, gritting his teeth as an intense aura subconsciously emitted from his body, further shrouding the ce as the firmament above seemed to freeze in time- dyeing the ce in silence as his eyes unfolded an intense killing intent within. "The Devil race!!!'' *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon fixing the destroyed tombs within your territory! Reward 1: The horror scenario (Feature) was finally unlocked! Reward 2: 1 star permanent increase in a certain scenario! ] Hearing the familiar sound of notification within his mind. Leo momentarily paused on his track, causing his shovel to hit Skeleton #1 who was moving beside him. Making it painfully touch his shoulder upon being grazed by Leo''s ufortable aura. Secretly pointing his middle finger toward Leo before cursing on its head. Leo, unaware of what was happening in the mind of the silver Skeleton beside him, hurriedly opened his character panel. Locking his gaze toward the new feature as he hurriedly clicks its description. Ding! [ Horror Scenario (Feature): It''s a unique ce within the reality that umted fear and despair throughout the span of time. Upon umting a lot of fear within a single or whole ce, it would slowly fuse toward the ce- making it carry traces of a unique aura that could evoke fear in beings around it. Furthermore, upon umting a certain amount of fear and despair, the ce could instinctively create special effects (illusion, trap, mimicking, etc...) in order to harvest fear and despair on its own! Current Scenario: The nd Cemetery, The Corner of Abyss, and Under the Wooden House. ] "This... System, can you exin it to me in great detail?'' Understanding what it meant but unable toprehend its full potential due to theck of information, Leo couldn''t help but ask his system. Wanting to gain deeper knowledge regarding the new feature in order to avoid mistakes. Ding! [ Exining would cost 10,000 horror points! ] "ept.'' Ding! [ A Horror Scenario was basically a domain that exist within the reality. Born from fusingrge amounts of fear and despair toward the ce that essentially carried the rule of Horror, Fear, and Despair within them. Making them carry the advantages of what the domain had! ] *** Feeling shocked, understanding how mysterious a domain was, Leo couldn''t help but gasp loudly. Couldn''t help but inspect the nd cemetery within the surroundings, carefully staring at the countless tombs within, unable to feel the fear that the system said. Helpless, Leo decided to check its description on the system. Still couldn''t believe that it entered the basic requirement to be called a Horror Scenario by the new feature! Experience tales at empire Ding! [ The nd Cemetery: A ce of death, homing thousands of corpses within. In the morning, countless crows could be heard unceasingly cawing above, being shrouded by thin mist, only showing their beady emotionless eyes that preyed toward flesh... Horror Star Rating: ¡ï (It was supposed to be a half-star but I couldn''t find a "Half-star".) Requirements to upgrade: 100 sensations of sincere horror, fear, and despair (0/100). Note: A new horror scenario that ascended weeks ago, causing its ability to evoke fear toward beings extremely weak. ] "That''s all?'' Feeling disappointed upon reading its nd description simrly on how nd the ce was... Leo hurriedly checked the other Scenarios within the system. Wanting to see the difference between the three before deciding where he would spend the other rewards that he gain from the system. [ Under the Wooden House: Below the rooting wooden house, within a forgotten cemetery, a secret that was hidden from the world was slowly fading with the passage of time... It''s said that countless mournful wails that originated within its depths often resound when the nightes, making beings who identally heard it go crazy when the day arrive. Horror Star Rating: ¡ï¡ï Requirements to upgrade: 1000 sensations of sincere horror, fear, and despair (0/1000). ] Ding! [ The Corner of the Abyss: ??? (Unable to see due to the host''s low level) Horror Star Rating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Requirements to upgrade: 100,000 sensations of sincere horror, fear, and despair and deaths of thousands of sentient beings within (0/100,000) (0/100). ] ... "Great, now we were talking!'' Retrieving his other rewards from the system, Leo immediately clicked toward the highest star scenario within the new feature of the system- wanting to increase its grade by another 1 star in able to further increase its capability, making his absorption of Death Qi toward the catbs increase drastically, elevating his cultivation speed considerably in the process! However, upon pressing the add button beside the scenario. The expected increase of the star didn''t ur, instead, the deafening silence... followed by the annoying sound of notification loudly rang within his consciousness. Making him sigh in helplessness, as if already half expected that a problem would ur upon trying to upgrade the highest scenario within the system. Understanding that the system would again give him restrictions in order to make his life hard. Hard as hell! "As expected, the system wouldn''t allow my strength and advantage to increase easily.'' "System, what is it now?" Ding! [ ces that don''t belong to you and ces that you hadn''t explored by at least 50% of its space wouldn''t be able to upgrade... ] ... Understanding that he wouldn''t be able to upgrade the two scenarios other than the nd cemetery, Leo slowly takes a deep breath. Shaking the regret within his being as he helplessly upgrades the scenario of the nd cemetery. Increasing it from its natural half-a-star grade to 1.5 stars. At the same time, upon adding the star toward the nd cemetery, the earth beneath him visibly bes brown-ck in color, bing vibrant in the process as dark moss and unknown nd grasses, capable of making one''s mood down visible grow around the surroundings- causing the 5 humans within to halt on their movement, feeling a strange premonition within their being as they gulped audibly. Following that, in the epasses of thend, dark pits reaching unknown depths could be seen appearing in the corners of the cemetery- making beings who identally look toward its depths instantly feel ufortable within their being, nting a seed in their consciousness that someone was staring from the other side. Akin to a vengeful corpse that was tempting them to explore the ce devoid of light! Crack~ Crack~ Still not done, the earth around visibly quiver. Cracking afterward as rotting bones, being careless by cold wind could be faintly seen slightly emerge from the soft ground- giving a scene to one''s mortal mind that they were crawling out from the soil! Furthermore, the newly made and old concrete tombs be scarier in Leo''s sight... Giving him the sensation of the unknown upon seeing the epitaph, slowly being covered with green dark moss. As if... He faintly saw his name on the old epitaph. *** Chapter 208 Grazed by the Undead Rules! Ghouls. Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading the nd Cemetery Scenario to 1.5 stars! Please choose two skills below to integrate into the nd Cemetery scenario! ] Ding! ~~~~~ Skill Choices ~~~~~ 1. Summon Little Skeletons: Cold bones slowly emerge from the soft soil when night arrives, roaming thend of death and dragging beings toward the afterlife. (Gain 25 little Skeletons upon choosing this option.) 2. Summon Red Spectre: Died harvoring intense hatred toward its being, killing everything that reminds it of its past life. Other than basicbat ability, it was also good at cursing and hexing. Hard to control. (Gain 1 Red Spectre upon choosing this option.) 3. Summon Ghouls: Spirits that managed to escape from beyond, entering the living world just to consume life force. With their superior speed, they could kill a being without them noticing it. (Gain 5 ghouls upon choosing this option.) 4. Illusion: A permanent skill that would attach to the scenario upon being chosen. It could create an illusion that was hard to extricate upon falling toward its depths. ... Seeing the choices appear in his front, Leo falls into deep silence. Pondering on his mind as he began thinking of their advantages and disadvantages. After contemting for a while, Leo decided to exclude the Little Skeletons from the choices. Although gaining 25 skeletons in a single go seems a huge advantage to his nd cemetery. Leo was quite aware of their inferior strength. Even if they evolved just like the two silver skeletons simrly when they were still at level 1, their strength would be still inferior to the two since their name includes "Little" on their name! Following that, he also removed the Red Spectre from the list. With its clear description, Leo understands how troublesome the spectre would be upon remembering and seeing things that remind him/her of his/her painful past. Making it hard to control- afraid that it would wreak havoc within the cemetery when the time arrived. Huff~ "How troublesome, fortunately, the illusion would work perfectly fine for the cemetery... "Furthermore, with the addition of ghouls, the safety of the town would again increase by an amount!'' ... Ding! [ Choosing the "Summon Ghouls" and "Illusion" skills for the nd Cemetery scenario. (ept/Declined)? ] Distancing himself from the working and curious group, Leo slowly advanced toward the corner of the cemetery. Finding a silent ce as he hurriedly and excitedly pressed the ept button within the system. Couldn''t wait to see the appearance of the creature he would summon. Quite curious about their skills since it would be his first time seeing them. Cra~crack~ In an instant, upon touching the ept button of the system, a cold ufortable wind suddenly swept within the area of the cemetery. Reducing its temperature by 5 degrees as lights momentarily be vibrant within, making the working group halt as they rubbed their tired eyes. Wondering whether they were seeing things or theck of sleep already started to affect their mind. Making them silent as they deliberately took a deep breath, calming their anxious heart as they continued on what they were doing. ... Crack~ Crack~ Staring beneath, the sound of cracking earth loudly resounded to Leo''s ears. Making him instinctively step back as the earth below, feet away from him began to cave in. Copsing afterwards, consuming the earth toward its unknown depths as an intense dark energy began to ooze from the pit. Causing Leo to unconsciously frown as rooting dark hands, unfolding the sharp nails within, being coated by crimson and maroon flesh began to grab the the nd grasses around. Pushing their rooting physique out from depths of the dark pit as their figure finally unfolds to Leo''s curious eyes in the distance. A lean rotting physique that almost reaches 1.6 meters in height, could be seen standing on all fours in the short distance. Releasing a malevolent aura as its dark pupils that could pry toward the darkness directly stared at Leo''s pale physique in the distance. Salivating as their sharp teeth that was akin to a meat grinder unfolded toward the ce, releasing an intense stench that couldn''t be exined, unconsciously sending chills to one''s mortal mind. "Umm... Hello?" Seeing their hunger, Leo couldn''t help but mumble. Unconsciously taking a light breath as he cast his soul scan toward their figure. ... Ding! [ GhoulN?v(el)B\\jnn Species: Undead Innate skill: Eyes of Darkness Physique: Inhuman ______Atrributes______ Level: 1 (0%) Free attribute: 2 Health: 20/20 Qi: 20/20 Stamina: 25/25 Strength: 10 Speed: 15 Magic Power: 5 Soul Power: 5 ______Skills______ Basic Intelligence (Umon lvl 1), Flesh Eater (Elite lvl 1), Midnight Madness ( Rare lvl 1), Intermediate Senses (Elite lvl 1) ] ... Ding! [ Inhuman (physique) - A physique that was akin to a Elite metal. Increasing their defence, strength, and speed drastically. Permanent Effects: Permanently gain an additional 1 attribute point toward the speed and strength upon advancing by a level (It didn''t consume the free attributes nor the normal increase in stats upon upgrading). ] Ding! [ Midnight Madness- When the night arrived, where the Yin, dark, and death Qi were at their thickest, drastically increase the overall attribute stats for two hours... Effects: Increase overall attribute stats by 5-10% when midnight arrives. ] ... Beholding their attribute stats that were shockingly higher than the two skeletons when they were still at Level 1, Leo couldn''t help but rub his hands in excitement. Anticipation could be discerned on his grey irises as he silentlymunicated with the system inside his consciousness. Wanting to evolve the ghouls that were silently and slowly approaching his location, clearly wanting to bite his pale physique due to curiosity... Growll~ Ding! [ Consuming 10,000 horror points to mutate the 5 ghouls with fear and despair aura... (ept/Declined)?] Swish~ As he was about to ept the deal, the ghoul in the short distance suddenly jumped from its location, propelling its physique forward as it opened its rotting mouth- sshing saliva around, creating a sizzling sound upon being hit by its toxicity. Smiling slightly, feeling that ghouls look like cute dogs from the previous era. Leo leisurely releases a quarter of his aura... Instantly bending the atmosphere around as an intense weight, enough to thin a sphere metal suddenly emerged within the body of the ghouls, instantly making them fall toward the ground with a boom... releasing a cracking sound afterwards due to the mysterious weight that was pressing to their physiques. "Good, just lie down for a while until the mutation finishes." Seeing their behaviour, Leo slightly shook his head, taking a deep breath before continuing conversing with the system. "Would they betray me after the mutation?'' Find adventures on empire Ding! [ Not until they advance to the core formation realm. However, if your strength was above theirs when they advanced to the core formation realm, you could buy a restriction from the system- restricting their desire to betray you. [ Furthermore, after you advance to the Nascent Soul realm, they would be restrained again, making them unable to betray you until they reach the same realm. ] Nodding his head in understanding, Leo didn''t hesitate further as he epted the deal. Instantly reducing his horror points by 10,000 as the familiar sphere of darkness, originating from the unknown space, hurriedly consumes the unmoving figure of the ghouls. Not allowing him to see their mutation even with his fully activated divine senses- making him curious about the origin of the energy that can restrict the divine ability of a Core Formation realm being. ... Soon, upon waiting for a couple of minutes, the sphere of darkness in the short distance slowly shrinks in size. Allowing him to faintly discern the silhouettes within, crazily squirming inside the enclosed space as they unconsciously absorbed thest energy around. Growll~ Breathing heavily, the now mutated ghouls sluggishly stood up, growling in pain as they slowly unfolded their rotting pale physique around. Staring at their slightly altered appearance, where the only difference was the colour of their physique that now turned pale and their irises that had deepened in colour. Leo nodded his head in satisfaction, feeling the savage aura that was hidden within their bones as he hurriedly cast his soul scan toward them. Ding! [ Mutated Ghoul Species: Undead Innate skill: Eyes of Pure Darkness Physique: Inhuman ______Atrributes______ Level: 1 (0%) Free attribute: 2 Health: 25/25 Qi: 25/25 Stamina: 30/30 Strength: 15 Speed: 20 Magic Power: 5 Soul Power: 10 ______Skills______ Intermediate Intelligence (Elite lvl 1), Flesh Eater (Elite lvl 1), Midnight Madness ( Rare lvl 1), Intermediate Senses (Elite lvl 1), Flesh Predator (Rare lvl 1) ] ... Ding! [ Flesh Predator - A being that mastered the art of preying flesh. Gain an extensive knowledge of the weakness of the flesh, increasing the ability to hunt beings with physical bodies! Furthermore, improved the control of one''s flesh by 5 folds! Allowing one to fight physically beyond one''s imagination! Permanent Effects: Permanently gain an additional 5 attribute stats to speed. ] *** "How amazing, just the Flesh Predator skill alone was enough to elevate thebat ability of the ghouls by twice! "Not to mention that their innate ability is also elevated by a grade!" *** Chapter 209 Finally, A Normal Day. Patting the massive bodies of the ghouls in his front, marvelling at the cold energy that they were subconsciously releasing. Leo lightly touches his chin, pondering as countless names begin to resurface within his mind. Thinking of good names to bestow on his pets. "Hmm, Whitey would be a good choice but their pale rotting physique would make it unsuitable.'' Racking his brain for a while, feeling a slight headacheing up upon unable to select from the unendless name within his mind... Leo couldn''t help but release a heavy sigh of helplessness. Shaking his head slightly as he decided to pick a name that he could easily remember. "All right, ghouls probably wouldn''t care about the name I give them, so I could choose an easy yet unforgettable one. "I should just temporarily name them Ghoul #1 to Ghoul #5... When their intermediate intelligence reaches level 5, where their thoughts already allow them to think for themselves at a deeper level. I would let them decide on their name. "I''m really smart.'' p~ p~ pping his pale hands, feeling satisfied with his train of thought. Leo unhurriedly opened his character panel, scrolling down on the shop as he selected the permanently boosting attribute potions within. Buying 25 bottles per attribute points (100 bottles in total), instantly reducing his horror points by a staggering 100,000! Only leaving him with more than 300,000 horror points in his ount in the process! Huff~ Taking out the stack of potions within his inventory, Leo divided it into 5 parts. (25 potions per part, each containing 5 different potions from different attributes.) *** Soon. Smiling with anticipation, Leo hurriedlymanded the 5 ghouls in the short distance to consume all the potions. Making him grin as he beholds their overall attribute points increase by 25! Making theirbat ability not weaker than a normal Late Stage of the mortal realm! "Investing in my dogs wouldn''t be that bad... With their attribute points that were far above their peers, their future prospects were bound to be great!'' Sigh~ "However, spending a hundred thousand horror points in one go... was actually much worse than fighting a Devil at the Late Stage of the core formation realm. "It both hurts.'' *** Growll~ Soon, uponmanding the ghouls to hunt smaller prey outside the nd cemetery and the periphery of the endless forest in able to increase their level... Leo began to advance toward his farm in the far distance, humming a cold luby as he leisurely took out the 2 corpses of the core formation realm Quasi devil within his inventory- intending to use them to create new scarecrows, using them to protect the new farm he was nning to build.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Keke! Seeing the familiar figure of Leo approaching from afar. The lonely figure of the scarecrow, being shrouded by vibrant nts that highly contrast with its nd surroundings, couldn''t help but release a high-pitched sound of excitement, making the corner of Leo''s eyes twitch. Feeling pain within his head as he fights back the urge to cover his ears. "Ok, that''s enough... I know that you were too excited upon seeing your handsome master. But please, refrain from shouting like a girl who met her best friend in the park after an hour of separation." Shaking his head, removing the lingering voice within his head, Leo unhurriedly took out a potion within his inventory, shaking it slightly before tossing it toward the grinning scarecrow in front. Keke? (A potion?) "Yes, it''s a potion that momentarily elevates the speed of cultivation upon consumption... Cultivate first, I still need to create new puppets." Smiling slightly, sensing that the spiritual nts and herbs were growing healthier under the care of the scarecrow. Probably would mature in just a matter of days or a week which was beyond his imagination. Leo nodded his head in satisfaction, feeling that it was really a wise choice to create the scarecrow back then. Hmm... "However, the speed of their maturing is really beyond my imagination, to the point that I feared that something was going on beyond my back.'' "System.'' Feeling ufortable upon being unable to understand what was happening with his nts, wanting to ensure that his nts wouldn''t suffer from sudden withering or unnatural causes. Leo couldn''t but ask the system. Ding! -1,000 points! Ding! [ The reason for their sudden growth is rted to the nd Cemetery Scenario... Not only did the capability of the cemetery increase drastically upon being upgraded by a star. But the quality of the things inside its area of effect also improved by an amount. Including the concrete niches, soil, grasses, etc... ] ... Reading the information on his front, Leo couldn''t help but heave a sigh of relief, feeling that the new feature of the system was much more magical than he expected. Wondering if it was the new upgrade of the system when he advanced toward the core formation realm. "Wait... I seem to have forgotten something.'' As he was pondering within his mind about the new changes within the system, Leo suddenly paused on his track, eyes widening as his nose abruptly spewed smoke- enranged upon understanding why he suddenly felt that something was amiss... "F*CKING SYSTEM! You deduct 1,000 horror points even though I didn''t ept the deal! "Is this your f*cking upgrade upon I reach the core formation realm!? Don''t tell me you were deducting horror points from my ount without telling me!?'' Finally understanding why his horror points were losing tens of numbers every hour without him spending a single thing. Leo couldn''t help but loudly curse. (He just noticed it now when he wasn''t upied by anything. Allowing his mind to wonder...) Ding! [ System Tip... ] Seeing the reply of the system, Leo''s pale eyes couldn''t help but momentarily cken... Making the atmosphere around unconsciously shift as the pitiful scarecrow nearby shivers in coldness and fright. As he was entertaining the thought of summoning the system into reality or allowing it to upy the body of the corpses within his hands so he could peacefully talk to it, a new notification appeared within his senses, further deepening the killing intent within his being... To the point that he almostprehends the vastness of the rule of killing intent. Ding! [ I''m getting tips per hour so I could donate it in order to save the poor and orphans. ] "Son of a... Who would believe you? A system that gives skills that focus on... "Wait, that makes sense. No wonder you only give me support skills...'' *** "F*CK! I almost believe you! All of the support skills you gave me carried madness within them! "Furthermore, just the Domain of Despair alone tells me about your ck-hearted character!'' Ding! -25 horror points for unconsciously tipping the system. ... Soon, after a quarter of an hour quarrelling with the system, Leo heaved a deep sigh of helplessness. Unable to stop the system from tipping itself for every hour. Fortunately, it only deducts 25 horror points from his ount per hour, or else... Sigh~ "I just hope that the day woulde when I could bombard the system with my unending skills... Unending support skills.'' Shaking his head, burying the destructive thoughts behind the back of his mind. Leo hurriedly manipted the corpses of the Quasi devil on the ground with his telekic ability. Moving toward the corner of his farm before finally focusing on creating puppets. Returning the silence within the environment as the shivering figure of the scarecrow finally calms down. ... Ding! [ Scare Crow (Medium) (Advance-peak grade): A curse puppet created using the corpse of a Quasi devil that reaches the core formation realm. It has greatbat ability with a hint of intelligence, however, it doesn''t have legs. Innate skill: Curse Object (Rare) ______Atrributes______ Foundation realm level 19: (Could Increase a little by absorbing negative emotions.) Health: 300/300 Qi Storage: 300/300 Stamina: 200/200 Strength: 150 Speed: 125 Qi Power: 175 ______Skills______ Skill: Cursed Eyes (Elite), Scare Crow (Elite), Chain Limbs (Rare), Dead Object (Elite), Basic Intelligence (Umon), Corroding Coil (Rare) ] ... [ Chain Limbs (Rare): Limbs that could extend toward the far distance, allowing it to fight beings from afar. Furthermore, the movement of limbs and their defences improved drastically, making it hard to pierce and tear. Your adventure continues at empire Activation: Passive! ] ... Soon, after an unknown period of time creating puppets. Leo slowly nodded his head as he stared at the two scarecrows in his front, staring at their slightly crimson physique and long limbs in satisfaction. Unlike the first scarecrow that he created, the two in his front had an additional pair of arms growing on their back. Allowing them to move using their extra arms around, albeit slowly. Removing the restriction on their movement for better guarding the farms. "Huff~ Finally, I''m done!'' Slightly sighing in exhaustion, feeling mentally exhausted upon tinkering with their core in able to pull out their potential. Leo sat down on the ground, staring at the sun above inplete silence before beginning to absorb the Qi around his surroundings- wanting to recover his lost Qi before starting shopping within his system. *** Chapter 210 How to Farm 101. A soft breeze that carried the scent of nature silently caressed the ndnd beneath. Giving it a hint of life that unconsciously calmed the minds of the beings around. Above, the dark fissure, devoid of any light could be discerned hiding the figure of the sun behind. Lowering the heat and light that thend received, slowly shrouding it in nd luster. Huff~ Within the corner of the nd cemetery, where unknown creatures that were beyond one''s understanding could be seen roaming around, enough to make one''s mortal mind copse upon seeing their grotesque figure. Leo slowly opened his eyes, exhaling turbid air from his lungs before unfolding a smile on his pale face. Feeling extremely energetic upon cultivating for 2 hours. "Not bad. Not only did I recover the lost Qi I spent, but my liquified Qi also increased by a small amount!''n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Stretching his pale physique, seeing that his doll puppets were already done priming thend (50 meters in diameter) in the distance. Leo revealed a satisfied expression on his face. Discover stories at empire Taking a light breath as he excitedly opened his character panel, eyes lit up as he began browsing the unending list of spiritual fruits, seeds, and herbs in the system shop. Understanding that spiritual nts below grade 2 had little effect on his physique, Leo decided to focus on grade 2 and above spiritual nts in the shop. Reading their description seriously, wanting to find nts that were suitable for living in a ce abundant in death, yin, and undead energy... Not wanting to waste horror points due to mistakes. "Sigh~ nting really needs careful consideration... "I couldn''t just grow spiritual nts within the cemetery without considering thepatibility in energy." Huff~ "nting a spiritual nt that focuses on aspects of life within the ce abundant of Death Qi would drastically lower their growth speed and quality. "Making the effort and horror points that I spend to go waste... Furthermore, I would need to start again, wasting time in the process." Mumbling weakly under his breath, Leo slowly scrolled through the unending choices in his front. Caressing his chin slightly in order to look cool in the eyes of the curious puppet in the short distance. ... Ding! ~~Spiritual Tree, Seed, and Herbs Shop~~ 1: Great Snake Vine (Low-Grade 2): A thick vine that hasbat ability equivalent to the peak of the foundation realm! Upon its peak, it would bear a small fruit that could increase the Qi of cultivators below the Middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm! Cost: 10,000 Horror points per vine! 2: Dead Tree Bark(Middle-Grade 2): A hollow tree that could house a corpse within its body. Upon absorbing all the nutrients from its victim (depending on their level), they would release a sap full of death Qi! Consuming the sap could corrode the life force of living beings and could greatly help beings with a high affinity for death elements. Cost: 15,000 Horror points per sapling! 3: Tree of Nether (High-Grade 2): A tree that unconsciously consumes the death Qi around in order to create a fruit of death... Consuming the fruit of death could cleanse the physique of beings below the Nascent Soul realm, causing their talents to increase by a small amount. Cost: 50,000 Horror points per sapling! 4: Grass of Nether (Mid-Grade 2): A stalk of nts that manages to survive and mutate within the Netherworld, making their resistance to death energy drastically increase. Upon being consumed directly, it could permanently increase the resistance of a being to death energy... Furthermore, there''s also a little probability of awakening a skill rted to death! Cost: 25,000 Horror points per stalk! ... Soon, after scrolling for half an hour, pondering carefully as he removed the spiritual nts that weren''t suitable to grow inside the nd cemetery. Leo quietly stared at the 4 spiritual nts that he decided to buy. Couldn''t help but release a soft chuckle just by reading their impressive information... Making him wonder how could the system get all the spiritual nts that exist through the unknown void and space. Furthermore, he even saw a spiritual nt that managed to reach the 7th Grade! A spiritual nt that cost a staggering 2 million horror points! "Hehe~ Maybe the system was a farmer in his past life...'' He seriously thought inside his head, believing the conjecture he blindly created. Fortunately, the system couldn''t hear his thoughts (without him allowing it) or else... The system will probably change the tip it gave to itself every hour by a staggering amount! Making an excuse that would anger Leo greatly. *** Huff~ "I again got upied with my thoughts... "I should start nting now before the sun sets toward the horizon... since I still have things to do when the night arrives. "Furthermore, I still needed to curse that lowly devil, preventing it from having a good and peaceful life!'' Shaking his head, concealing the hatred within his being that suddenly resurfaces upon thinking of that low devil. Leo again stared at the system in his front, pondering slightly before buying 2 Great Vine Snakes within... Ding! -20,000 horror points! In an instant, after his horror points were reduced by 20 thousand. Two small green vines, as long as a ruler (12 inches) magically appeared on his right palm... Slithering lively as they tightly coiled around Leo''s shoulder. Making Leo revealed a soft smile on his pale face upon feeling their strength, sensing that their current strength surprisingly reached the peak stage of the mortal realm! Considering that they were still at the early stage of their growth, having a strength that could rival a peak mortal realm was beyond Leo''s imagination! Sigh~ "Unfortunately, their movement was greatly restricted by their race. Making theirbat ability extremely limited. "Furthermore, they couldn''t leave the ground for an extended period of time... or else they will slowly weaken before dying afterwards due to theck of sustenance that they could only get on the ground.'' Leisurely walking toward the corner of his new farm, Leo slightly bent his front knee, parting the soil below as he carefully nted the little vines, instantly making them quiver in excitement upon feeling the abundant Qi within the earth. Seeing their lively figure, Leo slowly shook his head. Again staring at the system shop as he spent 105,000 horror points, buying 2 Dead Tree Barks, 1 Tree of Nether, and 1 stalk of Grass Nether. Only leaving him with 205,000 horror points on his ount, making his heart tighten inexplicably upon seeing his horror points reducing at unprecedented speed! "Sigh~ shopping is indeed fun but at the same time horrifying upon seeing your wallet go from initial full to empty!'' Sighing slightly, Leo began to nt the saplings and the stalk of grass that emerged from the void with a heavy heart... Taking out the thick ck water that he personally got from the forsaken ce (pit) as he began watering the new spiritual nts that he nted. *** Soon, after a quarter an hour. Leo lightly patted his hands, removing the soil that stuck to his fingers as he stared at the setting sun on the far horizon. Dyeing thend in an orange hue, illuminating the cemetery with its mesmerizing light as the sounds of cricket and crows, began to resound within the peaceful ce... Making Leo pause for a moment as he began to appreciate its beauty. "The beauty of nature...'' Seemingly sensing something, Leo silently took out a Peak Enlightenment Stone within his inventory. Tightly grasping it in his arms as he began to sense the rule of Life Nature from the far horizon. Absorbing its vastness as his gaze never left the setting sun- making his physique glow slightly as soft heat began to emit from his pale physique, a huge contrast from his usual cold aura that he always released! "Experiencing everything... I seem to understand the hidden meaning of it. Not only do I need to experience the desires of life and the emotions of life... But I also need to understand the beauty of nature. "The beauty of nature and the cruelty it was hiding..." ... Swish! Beholding the crumbling stone in his hand, losing its original luster before turning it into a powder that falls toward the ground. Leo silently retracts his gaze from the horizon. Exhaling slightly as the heat around his body hurriedly vanished, reverting back to its previous coldness that was simr to a corpse! Ding! [ Congrattions upon deepening your understanding of the Life Nature by 6%! ] Ding! [ Life Nature (Rules) ( 42%): One of the derived Laws of Nature, the unbreakable rule of nature and the ultimate Law of Nature... ( It''s simr to how humans/beings need to breathe to survive. Breathing is like a rule to humans, if they go opposite it, they will inevitably die! ) Effects: Increase lifespan by 50,prehension by 50%, and overall potential by 3! Note: Rules are the main ingredients to create an iplete domain! ] *** Chapter 211 Cultivating, Using All of His Enlightenment Stone! (1) Darkness slowly shrouded thend as the cold wisp of energy began to ooze from the depths of the earth. Making the epasses of thend colder due to the absence of light. Keke~ In the depths of the unknown pit, where thousands of withered bones could be seen floating everywhere. Leo could be discernedughing in a deranged tone within the center of the enclosed space, eyes curling up demonically as he hurriedly lit up the gasmp below his ck cauldron... Discover exclusive tales on empire Tossing bloody materials within, causing it to gurgle rhythmically as bubbles of impurities began to filled its interior. Transforming into gas that filled its space, making Leo unconsciously cover his nose. Soon, upon expelling all the impurities within the cauldron, Leo then tossed the withered arms of the low devil inside. Beholding its fibre of muscles decreased by a small amount, fusing with the crimson blood inside as an imperceptible smoke began to waft toward the unknown void. Entering an unknown space, travelling at speed beyond Leo''sprehension as it flew toward the Depths of the Endless Forest. Everywhere it passed by, it would leave a lingering aura around- making the leaves, trees, and grasses it identally grazed by lose their original luster... As if their life force were forcefully stripped from them, causing them to be shrivelled. *** Swish~ In the deep crevices of the cliff, the low devil abruptly opened his eyes, releasing intense malice within his being as ck blood with a mixture of bugs seeped from the corner of his mouth. Following that, the inaudible sound of an explosion resounded within the depths of his soul, making his eyes bulge as blood began to ooze from its corner- causing him to groan in pain and anger due to the sudden damage he took in his soul. "Damn! Who would have thought that I, a low devil would encounter a mental demon!'' He cursed inside his mind, feeling that his cultivation technique suddenly deviated from its original course, making his solid core chaotic in the process as the zing Qi within his body began to wreak havoc inside... Shredding small parts of his innards as crimson with congealed blood mixed within slowly flowed from his orifices- dyeing his being in a thick metallic smell of blood... as the ground beneath began to sizzle due to its corrosive properties that he only learned right now. "This is not normal... Did a mysterious rule infiltrate my physique when I fought those beings within that town? "It''s the Ice King, the Illusion Master, or that Pale human?'' As he was experiencing pain that he couldn''t understand nor fathom within the depths of his being and soul, his brain began to process at a high speed, falling into deep contemtion as memories that happened 4 days ago began to resurface within his mind. Carefully thinking about what kind of spell or rules hit his physique previously. A divine spell or rule capable of working for days- hiding within his body, making him feel agony twice a day without allowing him to find its origin... Buh~ "It''s not the Ice King nor the Illusion Master, they bothck rules capable of hiding themselves with my advance senses... "Then, it''s only the Pale human doing! I still haven''t seen him using his rule when I fought him previously! Furthermore, he was the strangest among the beings within the town at that time!'' Although he hadn''t fought that pale being for a long time, just by seeing his appearance, there would be a strange feeling emerging within his being. It''s the unknown anger, hatred, fear, and killing intent that he couldn''t exin... As if, he was destined to be his enemy! "Moreover, his sets of skills and spells are just confusing... Other than the unknown scream that he only used for one time that was capable of shaking one''s soul, he only had the Qi bullets for his main offensive skill. "Of course, he might have other offensive skills that he hadn''t used... However, considering the situation back then, hiding offensive skill was very unlikely!'' Buwack! As he was pondering within himself, another sensation of pain suddenly emerged within his innards, making his eyes widen as arge amount of blood uncontrobly gushed from his mouth- choking him in the process due to his air canal being filled with liquid, not allowing the air to flow freely. "This is bad... I need to hurry, I need to meet the others before it''s toote!'' Soon, after feeling that his condition finally calmed down, the devil hurriedly packed his things up. Taking a deep breath, calming his anxious heart as he gazed toward the unknown depths of the clip... Unfolding his bat-like wings as he weakly glided toward the ground- suppressing the unease within his being that always malfunctioned after fleeing that town. Boom! Hitting the soft ground, caving thend below, the low devil releases a weak sigh of relief... Staring at the far distance as he started to run at low speed. ... "Ohh~ Nice, I meet a Devil on the way!" However, before he could move, a voice that carried unprecedented sharpness within suddenly echoed toward his blooded ears, making him pause in his tracks as his passive premonition began to send a loud signal to his consciousness- making him momentary deaf as he hurriedly concealed the fear that emerged within his being. "Who?'' He instinctively thought, suppressing the urge to summon mes within his physique, avoiding rashly attacking the other party in hopes of gaining an advantage... Wanting to escape from the unnecessary risk of death. Gulping audible, the devil hurriedly tilted his head toward the side, toward the origin of the voice as the silhouette of a being, holding a wooden saber in his right hand appeared within his vision... Its white robe, devoid of impurities silently fluttering with the wind, entuated the entric aura that was exuding from its lean physique... Followed by his long hair that was bun tied, perfectly enhancing his otherworldly appearance that could make a woman envy due to its perfection. In addition to its wooden sandals that could only be found in the old era, the devil was quite sure that the being opposite him was a real madman. "Indeed, it was a devil! And at the Late Stage of the Core Formation realm on top of that! "Furthermore, it was badly injured! A perfect practice partner for my newly created saber skill!" The man, not noticing the odd expression of the devil in the distance due to the blood covering its face, grinned happily. Revealing the pearly white teeth behind as he increases the grip on his wooden saber. Releasing a sharp aura that covered the far distance. Mysteriously cutting the leaves nearby, making the expression of the devil momentarily turn dark before reverting back to normal. "How unlucky!'' Unfolding a forceful smile on his ugly face, the devil opened his mouth, revealing the sharp fangs behind before speaking toward the man opposite him. "Isn''t this too much? Fighting a being that you just met without thinking about the consequences? "Although I''m currently in a weakened state, I could still muster a strength simr to a peak middle stage of the Core Formation realm." Hearing the annoying voice of the injured devil in the distance, the man only revealed a weak smile on his face. Making the devil feel deep chills within his being as he beholds how the man slowly raises his wooden saber above. "Hehe~ Who cares, I just wanted to try my newly created technique. Furthermore, I smell the blood of humans on you." Boom! *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully Cursing! Effects: Mental Demon and Decreasing the Victim Luck momentarily! ] Ohmm~ Seeing the notification appear in front of him, Leo hurriedly cut his connection toward themp below.N?v(el)B\\jnn Unfolding a silly grin on his pale face, imagining the difficulties that the low devil was currently experiencing inside his head. Hiding the dissatisfaction in his being upon not being able to behold its suffering. Huff~ "However, it''s already good that the system could show me what kind of effects that the devil received from the curse. "Allowing me to not overthink things due to theck of information.'' Feeling in a good mood, Leo hurriedly hid the items within his inventory. Sitting in the cold wet ground, staring at the dark and damp environment for a while before taking out the enlightenment stones within his inventory. Grasping two within his hands as he slowly pondered about the things, skills, and knowledge that he wanted toprehend or increase his mastery over to... Althoughprehending rules was good, Leo noticed that his mastery of his skills and knowledge was falling behind... Making hisbat ability decrease by the amount and his use of them be unsatisfactory. The best example of that is when he fought the low devil within the town. If he could just weaken the "Compressed Soul Shriek" skill, to the point that it wouldn''t damage his throat upon using it once, then he could use it a couple of times in a fight. Making him create more opportunities after momentarily shaking the souls and minds of his enemies! *** Chapter 212 Cultivating, Using All of His Enlightenment Stone! (2) Ding! [ Congrattions upon deepening yourprehension of your skills and technique in great detail for the first time! +10,000 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +1 Medallion of Forceful upgrade! ] Seeing the crumbling enlightenment stone within his grasp, turning into dust before being carried by the soft gust of wind. Leo slightly shifted his gaze toward the far distance, unfolding a confused look in his eyes. Momentarily losing his sense of self, emotions, and, rationality due to the unending insights that unceasingly materialized in his mind after using tens of his enlightenment stones in just a matter of hours... Filling his mind with chaotic knowledge that ranged from spells, skills, and techniques... to the point that his soul could no longer bear nor keep up digesting them. Making him appear at loss. A being that currently couldn''t control his soul and physical body due to the overload that was urring inside his head. However, with instinctive motion, his soul and mental energy began to fluctuate inside his being. Attempting to adapt itself from the knowledge inside his mind. Integrating it slowly, allowing Leo to grasp a little of his sanity as light began to appear in his dull eyes. ... Gasp! "F*cking knowledge! No wonder smart people were prone to losing their sanity!" Soon, after 2 hours of lifelessly staring toward the void... Leo''s eyes suddenly flickered, gasping heavily as cold sweats began to form all over his body. Followed by the sensation of being paralyzed that suddenly consumed Leo''s being, unable to move due to his overloaded soul! Making him grit his teeth in frustration, wanting to move his limbs forward but they just wouldn''t listen to him! "System you f*cking traitor! You didn''t tell me that using numbers of Enlightenment stones in a short span of time would bring danger to me!'' Out of anger, Leo cursed the system inside his head a thousand times, throwing profanity without care... Hiding the panic within his being as he unceasingly tried to move his physique but to no avail! Ding! [ Using that amount of Enlightenment stones wouldn''t cause the host life, reasoning for the system to not remind you least I interrupted your enlightenment. ] "You F@*#"*#@!'' Reading the notification that emerged in his front, Leo couldn''t help but feel waves of unprecedented anger resurface within his being, swiftly climbing through his head as the circuit on his illusionary brain finally copsed. Couldn''t cope with the knowledge and anger at the same time. Leo lost his consciousness, causing his pale physique to hit the wet cold ground below. Nose submerged as ck bubbles began to unceasingly pop up... Creating a funny sound that reverberated toward the far distance. Fortunately, with his physique that was beyond the norm, Leo wouldn''t die even if he slept under the water for a couple of days. It would only make him ufortable after a while upon waking up. Ding! [ Hehe. Deserved for being greedy... Fortunately, after the host wakes up, the host brain will finallypletely digest the knowledge that heprehended. [ By then, the hostbat ability would increase further by at least 25-50 percent... ] The systemughed mechanically... *** At the same time, within the depths of the Endless Forest. The blooded figure of the low devil could be seen rushing toward the far distance, running for his life as he hurriedly consumed his two detached and bloodied wings on his hand. Alleviating the serious injuries on his chest, caused by the wooden saber. Mending the flesh within as it finally stops the bleeding. Swish! Still not done, the low devil hurriedly took out a yellow fruit with a crimson line running through all its edges within his inventory, concealing the hesitation on his bloodied face as he hurriedly consumed it... Instantly recovering his lost Qi, cleansing it further as it bes purer in the process. "This is bad, who would have thought that I would run into a madman in this kind of ce? "Furthermore, the spiritual fruit that I was reserving for my advancement toward the Nascent Soul realm was already gone! "How unlucky..." As he was gritting his teeth, ming his bad luck on the fissure above the sky, the familiar scent of refreshing nature suddenly wafted to his nose... Causing his eyes to tremble in fear as the familiar figure of the fast-approaching wooden saber appeared in the corner of his sight! Silently cleaving the air apart, emitting an unprecedented sharpness within that could cut a mortal being just by looking at it! Swish! Gritting his teeth, the low devil hurriedly activated his zing aura. Instantly releasing an intense gush of hot wind that slowed the movement of the man meters away... Giving him time to retreat and evade the dangerous wooden saber. "Ooh- you recovered by amount?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "What a relief. I thought that I wouldn''t be able to practice my saber techniques to my heart''s content upon seeing your condition previously..." Instead of feeling panic, the man in the short distance released a sigh of relief. Patting his chest slightly in order to show how worried he was. Staring at the healing wounds of the low devil in the distance with warm smile. Understanding that he could practice his saber technique for hours if the devil in his front recovered by at least 10% of its lost strength. Beholding the silly expression of the madman in the distance, the low devil couldn''t help but slightly tremble, sensing the unknown fear within his being deepened by the amount. Although he had no idea why he suddenly felt that way, he knew that the human in his front, suitable to be Devil than himself, was currently staring at his being akin to a predator looking at its prey. "You forced me! Since that''s the case, let us both die! "Iplete Domain: Corner of Hell!" Continue your story on empire Boom! *** Ughh! Groaning painfully, Leo unhurriedly opened his tired eyes, staring at the familiar dark ceiling above as the figure of skeleton #1, sitting on the cold ground in the short distance, cultivating seriously appeared within his vision... Making him feel a trace of warmth in his cold soul before being reced by anger upon remembering how the system tried to kill him! Remembering how it hides the information from himself, almost costing him his dear life in the process! Ding! [ 1st. You didn''t ask! 2nd. You didn''t pay! 3rd. You didn''t ask and pay! ] "F*ck! Didn''t you always reduce my horror points without my consent!? Furthermore, you have the ability to deduct horror points on my behalf! "Why not deduct it before telling me the information!?" Ding! [ The host told me earlier that getting things without consent is bad... You just said it earlier on the farm, 5 hours earlier exactly... ] ... Helplessly staring above the ceiling, feeling that life was extremely hard. Leo decided to forget the things that just urred. Although it made him panic earlier, he knew that the system was just teasing him! Furthermore, with his current abilities, he has no idea how could he beat the illusionary figure of the system! Causing him to eventually grit his teeth in anger. Having no choice but to endure the teasing of the system! Huff~ "Fortunately, this ce was always being guarded by my puppets and the two silver skeletons... Not allowing a single beast to approach this ce. "Furthermore, other than the beings in the depths of the unknown passage, no one could pierce my defence, making me safe even though I lost consciousness here for an unknown period of time.'' Taking a deep breath, feeling that he needed to vent the anger within his being, Leo began to advance toward the depths of the dark cave. Travelling inplete silence, activating his only movement skill as his weight drastically decreased... Furthermore, the glow under his soles bes harder to discern due to his mastery over them! Making its capability not different from a rare skill although its rarity was only at the elite grade! Swish! Soon, upon seeing the destroyed wall in the distance, Leo suddenly halted on his track. Lowering his presence to an unprecedented degree before silently activating his Invisibility, making his figure fuse within the atmosphere as his aura also slightly changed in the process. Integrating within the surroundings. Making his aura no different from an unmovable wall! ... ng! ng! In the distance, the annoying sound of sharp, hard, and nonresonant sounds simr to two pieces of heavy metal striking each other suddenly reverberating within the almost enclosed space. Making Leo frown slightly upon feeling the slight headache within his head. "His strength recover again...'' He mumbled with a dark expression, taking a deep breath as he hurriedly deactivated his restraint skills, allowing his debuff passive skills to silently spread towards the far distance... Covering the ce with their imperceptible aura, hastening the corrosion of the nd bones within its area of effect. Hmm? "As expected of a puppet, theyck premonition... "Of course, there''s a probability that due to the passage of time, the puppet premonition got heavily damaged causing it to no longer work. "Nheless, it''s a good advantage on my part!'' *** Chapter 213 Fighting the Devil Puppet! (1) Gulped- Drinking the Qi Recovery potion on his hand. Leo slowly took a deep breath, clenching his pale fist with force, readying himself for the inevitable battle. Understanding that he couldn''t wait any longer upon seeing his Qi already reduced by 10%. (Solely by running his invisibility and movement skill for minutes.) "Unfortunately, I don''t know if my debuff passive skills already affected the other party''s physique or not... "Sigh~ I already somehow expected it considering its mysterious and high origin... But still, the puppet''s luck is pretty good.'' Secretly and slowly, Leo began to move forward, toward the devil puppet in the distance, pondering deep within himself about the best offensive skills to use. Abandoning the thought of using the Extreme me of Hell in order to avoid destroying the parts of the puppet in the distance, clearly wanting to get hold of itsplete and mysterious materials! nning to tinker with its core in order to make it part of his puppet army! ... Soon, upon shortening the distance between them by 10 meters. Leo slowly opened his mouth, converging 10% of his soul power within,pressing it greatly before dashing toward the direction of the devil puppet in the distance... Wahhh! Instantly emerging within its side, Leo immediately released the soul shrieking skill within his throat! Shouting a deafening yet inaudible sound that travelled toward the intricate core of the devil puppet. Causing it to create a nking sound as it suddenly reeled back from shock, making it momentarily pause afterwards due to the damage it took on its feeble soul. "As expected, since my puppets could generate their own soul upon being luckily grazed by the Life and Death rule within this ce. "Then the devil puppet who hibernates in this ce for an unknown period of time certainly managed to generate its own soul!'' Beholding this, Leo slowly unfolds a smirk on his pale face, pointing his pointed finger toward the physique of the devil, point nk, wanting to damage its physique in order to gain an advantage. However, before he could fire the Qi bullet on his finger, the heavy chain of the devil puppet suddenly moved on its own... Instantly and heavily whipped his pale physique, creating a long horizontal red line on his chest as he uncontrobly flew toward the far distance... Catching him off guard as he bes confused due to the sudden changes of events! Unfortunately, Leo doesn''t realise that although the soul of the devil puppet was currently confused by hispressed soul shriek, the puppet''s core was capable of moving its body. It''s basically the mechanical life of a puppet, allowing them to move without needing a soul! "F*CK! How would I know of that!? I thought that their soul would be connected to their core! "Making their whole body confused if I shake their soul which is basically hiding on their core!'' Gritting his teeth, feeling the intense pain within his soul body, Leo hurriedly activated his invisibility skill. Fusing within the environment as he hurriedly closed his distance toward the devil puppet. Swish! Swish! Silently beholding it unconsciously brandishing its chains toward the surrounding environment- creating deep crevices on the ground as the thick ink ck water sshed toward the distance... Not giving Leo a chance to further close his distance toward it, avoiding suffering the same agony of the inaudible shriek! ... Bang! Bang! Bang! Without a choice, Leo could only fire dozens of Qi bullets from afar, greatly lowering his uracy while some of the Qi bullets that luckily approached the puppet''s physique got deflected by its thick chains... Not allowing Leo to gain an advantage by damaging its body! Unfolding a dark expression on his face, Leo hurriedly stretched his hand toward the void, retrieving his rooting silver scale within as the flesh innards on the right silver te could be seen slithering lively... Still not done, Leo activated his telekic ability. Manipting things within his vision as they heavily flew toward the puppet in the distance, making the devil puppet hasten the speed of his chain as the Qi within its core could be seen reducing at high speed. Swish! Seemingly noticing the plot of the pale being in the distance, wanting to reduce its Qi and Stamina in order to lower itsbat abilityter. The devil puppet suddenly halted its action, lightly tapping its feet as it hurriedly stepped backwards, sessfully evading the approaching debris with a mixture of sharp weapons hidden in their minds in the process! nk~ nk~ Opening its mechanical mouth, the devil puppet abruptly released an annoying nking sound that swiftly echoed in the enclosed space... Creating a rhythmic tone as the colour of its eyes suddenly glowed under the veil of the darkness... Staring at the imperceptible pale physique in the far distance, smiling wickedly as an imperceptible skill suddenly attacks Leo''s consciousness! nting the familiar sensation of intense desire within the depths of his mind! making him momentarily in dazes as he fought back the intense surge of emotion within his being! "F*ck... the effect of the Devil''s eyes!'' Leo sluggishly thought, feeling an intense desire to lie down on the ground. The desire to feel the coldness of the ck ink water beneath before closing his eyes to slumber. Sleeping for days and months, enjoying the apany of the eternal silence! The Intense Desire of Sloth! ... Soon, due to the conflicting emotions within his mind. Leo''s invisibility deactivated on its own, unfolding his pale figure toward the devil puppet in the distance... Clearly watching how the pale being crazily shook its head in an attempt to get rid of the negative desires that consumed its being but to no avail! Click~ nk~ Gripping the heavy chains on its hands, the devil puppet immediately motioned a sh toward Leo''s direction, instantly causing the heavy chains it controlled to fly from its side toward Leo''s direction at high speed! Wuh-Psshh~ (sound of a whip upon hitting their target.) Akin to a whip capable of parting the atmosphere above, creating a sonic boom that travelled toward the far distance, the heavy chain heavily hit the empty spot in the distance. Creating waves of ink ck water that flew toward the ceiling above- creating an artificial rain within afterwards due to the gravity. Huff~ "That was close! Luckily, my movement skills lowered my weight considerably, allowing me to travel toward the far distance with just a light tap on my feet!'' Taking a long deep breath, concealing the fear that momentarily emerge within his mind upon almost being hit by the heavy chains of the devil puppet. Leo hurriedly inflicted a self wound on himself, creating a trickle of ck blood as the desires within his body momentarily got reced by pain...n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Ridding his sluggish movement in the process as he hurriedly took out a potion bottle capable of increasing one''s focus within his inventory, uncorking its cap before drinking it afterwards. ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon drinking a calming mind potion! +20% cultivation speed and focus... ] Soon enough, the soothing sensation, akin to a cold breeze of air that identally grazed one''s body in the middle of the summer, suddenly emerged within Leo''s head. Increasing his control over his emotions by a fifth, allowing him to disregard the effect of the Devil''s Eyes of the devil puppet in the process. Pointing his pointed finger to the fast-approaching devil in the distance, Leo''s eyes visibly deepened, focusing 10% of his Rule of Life Nature on the Qi bullet on his finger... Fusing the twopletely as unknown light could be seen momentarily flickered within... "I hope that the effect of Life Nature is not that bad when it fused to skills... Even if its ability isn''t that strong, damaging the physique of the puppet in the distance is enough.'' Leo mumbled under his breath, hoping for something good to happen. Although this is his first time using the rule of nature to fuse with his skills in order to increase their capabilities, it wouldn''t be that bad considering that it was one of the main rules under the Dao of Nature! Even if its capability might not be as strong as his rule of fear, it would still allow him to damage the devil''s physique by amount! Hopefully... *** Bang! Upon seeing that the devil puppet already shortened the distance between the two of them, only 20 meters away from him, Leo immediately released thepressed Qi bullet on his hand... Feeding it another 20 Qi as it hurriedly hurled itself toward the devil puppet. Swish! Lights of unknown origin, flickering within, could be seen within the hurling Qi bullet, leaving a thick trail of smoke behind. Dyeing the atmosphere with a strange aura, causing the devil puppet in the far distance to momentarily halt its movement. Seemingly sensing the strange aura it was emitting. The devil puppet, without hesitation, hurriedly manipted its heavy chains within its surroundings, flying toward its figure as it swiftly andpletely enveloped its mechanical body... Boom! *** Chapter 214 Fighting the Devil Puppet! (2) However, the expected collision of chains and the Qi bullet didn''t ur, instead, the Qi bullet that was about to hit the puppet''s chain suddenly became transparent. Turning incorporeal, phasing through thick chains before hitting the physique of the devil puppet! Boom! Caught off guard, the devil puppet couldn''t summon a defensive posture in time, causing the Qi bullet to heavily hit its chest. Unfortunately, due to unknown reasons, the damage the devil puppet received was lower than Leo''s expected, making him release a sigh of disappointment. Bang! Bang! "Since one bullet couldn''t damage its physique, then two or more should do!'' Pointing his ten fingers toward the puzzled devil puppet in the distance, Leo immediately fired another round of Qi bullets that was tainted by 10% of his rule of Life Nature toward it... Causing them to mysteriously flicker with different lights within the atmosphere as they hurled themselves toward the figure of the devil puppet... Tainting the atmosphere with mixed aura that could cause confusion to one''s mind due to theplicated rules they were carrying! nk! Beholding the fast-approaching Qi bullets within the atmosphere, the devil puppet hurriedly manipted its heavy chains. Trashing toward the ground, causing the earth and water beneath to fly toward the atmosphere- momentarily being suspended within as some Qi bullets hit their debris, causing them to explode mid-air. Boom! Surprisingly, some of the Qi bullets that collided within the atmosphere exploded with different colours and effects... Some consumed the debris with toxicity upon colliding, some froze the short area of diameter upon hitting, while others consumed the objects nearby with its unprecedented darkness that leads toward the unknown upon being hit! Releasing a random effect within that made Leo surprised and excited! "The Dao of Nature that contains everything within! Considering that the rule of Life Nature was one of its top rules, then it''s not surprising that it could also create random effects when fused to skills!'' Suppressing the anticipation within his being, Leo fully activated his telekic skill, manipting the zing Qi bullets that were heading toward the chains of the devil puppet... Heavily changing their trajectories in the process, evading the debris on the way as they sessfully and secretly closed their distance toward the devil puppet to at least 10 meters! Keke~ Smirking to himself, Leo closely watched the first Qi bullet to sessfully hit the back side of the devil puppet in the distance. In an instant, the Qi bullet explodes, instantly releasing an intense gush of wind des after the collision. Creating havoc in the short distance, pushing everything away by meters as the physique of the devil puppet abruptly received shallow wounds all over its mechanical body! Still not done, not letting the opportunity escape his grasp. Leo hurriedly manipted the 5 Qi bullets hidden within the stctites above, diving downward at fast speed before heavily hitting the body of the puppet! Creating a random effect, making the physique of the devil puppet fall toward the ground as sticky liquid hurriedly covered its body, making movement extremely hard as the wounds all over its body widen considerably... nk! Gritting its teeth in anger and pain, feeling that some of its intricate parts slowly bing injured and destroyed, causing itsbat capability to decrease by an amount. The devil puppet hurriedly manipted its chains, shouting loudly as their size suddenly and visibly increased by folds! Making the gluey substance that was covering its body be ripped apart by the chains, allowing it to gain its movement! Raising its knee toward its chest, the devil puppet heavily stepped forward. Creating a loud yet strange sound that echoed toward the far distance! Still not done, it mysteriously swipes its other foot forward, then silently motioned a sh toward the atmosphere with its right arm... nk! (Abyssal Dance!) Beholding the strange movement of the devil puppet in the distance, Leo suddenly feels a little dizzy, making his sight spin around as his control over his Qi bullet suddenly vanishes. Boom!N?v(el)B\\jnn Causing them to fly randomly before hitting the ground and ceiling! Shaking the stctites above as some of them heavily fell toward the ground. Creating waves in the process that travelled toward the unknown depths of the catbs! ... As Leo was trying his hard to extricate himself from the mental attack of the devil puppet in the far distance. The chains of the devil puppet unknowingly and abruptly coil toward his feet, tightening their grip as their minimal sizes suddenly revert back to their usual size. "This is bad...'' Boom! Without giving Leo time to struggle, the chains abruptly flew toward the ceiling above before diving downward at unprecedented speed. Causing Leo who was on the end of the chain to hit the ground first! Generating a breaking sound of bones as he could feel his imaginary bones on his nose broke due to his face hitting the ground first! Ughh! Ding! -10 health! Still not done, the other chain of the devil puppet heavily whipped toward the buttocks of Leo, wreaking parts of his shorts in the process, revealing the pale yet red smooth skin toward the darkworld. ... Ding! -25 health! +25 health! Unable to extricate himself from the tight grip of the chains of the devil puppet in the far distance, Leo hurriedly activated his "Dying Immortal" skill... Instantly covering the short distance of 5 meters in diameter with the vibrant green light, making everything within its area of effects bath in the abundant life force. Furthermore, the wounds that Leo received from the whips of chains slowly heal under the care of the green light! Making his body anew as his health slowly recovers to its peak! Beholding this, understanding that the damage it inflicted to the humanoid being in the far distance couldn''t cope with its healing skill. The devil abruptly yanked the chain on his hand, causing Leo''s figure to uncontrobly fly toward the devil puppet''s direction! Opening its fist, the devil puppet hurriedly manipted its hand, turning it into a sharp weapon that was simr to a trident... Glinting with metallic luster as he waited for Leo''s figure to approach its area of effects before skewering its pale physique, greatly injuring it in the process! ... Gulped! Seeing this, Leo sluggishly activated his telekic ability to himself, making his trajectory shift slightly as the trident grazed through his feet... Creating a long gush of wounds on his right foot in the process as the light green glow hurriedly attempted to mend the injuries he received. Standing up unsteadily, watching the fast-approaching trident approach his pale physique. Leo instinctively activated his Mist of Illusion skill, making the void tremble as a thick almost imperceptible miasma emerged within his being- momentarily pushing the physique of the devil puppet in the short distance as its velocity drastically decreased... Making its strength and speed decrease by amount, causing Leo to have time to evade its trajectory. Boom! At the same time, when the trident passes his pale physique. Leo hurriedly pointed his right palm toward the body of the devil puppet beside him, summoning a huge Qi bullet in his hand, feeding 50 Qi on it as it abruptly and heavily hit the mechanical body of the devil puppet! Experience new tales on empire Visible caving its body as its figure uncontrobly flew toward the far distance, making the coiling of the chains under Leo''s feet loosen, allowing him to extricate himself from its grasp! ... Keke~ Releasing an annoyingugh of pain and irritation, feeling that he already gets ustomed to some of his elevated skills upon gaining good mastery over them... Leo''s eyes visibly darkened, closely watching the devil puppet in the distance, slowly inspecting its physique as its dark and feeble soul appeared within his vision. Calcting within his mind how he could weaken it before nning on how to restrain its physique for good... "Keke~ If I couldn''t find a solution after half an hour, then I could only slowly weaken it by destroying some of its parts in order to subdue its mechanical body... "Unfortunately, I couldn''t use my scale of revenge rashly... I''m afraid to identally destroy its core by doing that.'' Shifting his gaze toward the floating silver scale beside him, watching how the dark blood on one of the silver tes had already been filled by 5th. Leo couldn''t help but shake his head in regret... Feeling that the fight would have already ended minutes ago if he could just use his soul bound weapon against the other party. Unfortunately, due to his desire to get hold of the devil puppet''s core and its mechanical body, he couldn''t use a skill with high destructive capability. Making the fight extremely hard in the process... As for his Iplete Domain, Leo already tried to use them to the devil puppet but to no avail. Comprehending that the soul of the devil puppet in his front was still notplete, making it half dead and half alive in iplete domains eyes... Causing him unable to trap it inside his domain. *** Chapter 215 Fighting the Devil Puppet! (3) "Shadow Shackles.'' Seeing that the devil puppet was again issuing the strange movement of his. Leo immediately pointed his palm toward the moving devil puppet in the distance, clenching it in the next second as the shadows behind the devil puppet could be discerned twisting crazily... Following that, thick tendrils of darkness, akin to thick chains that originated through the unknown realm abruptly coil toward its mechanical physique... Momentarily halting its movement in the process, destroying its rhythm and the attempt to use its abyssal dance skill before it sessfully broke from the restraints of the shadows! Boom! At the same time, when the devil puppet broke from the restraints of the shadows. A sharp object suddenly hit its back, making it stagger on its feet as another shadow bombarded his side. Crippling away some of its surface materials as the rotting flesh hidden within the depths of its mechanical body began to unfold toward the damp catbs. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire This... Seeing the familiar rooting flesh within and the familiar scent it was releasing. Leo''s heart couldn''t help but beat at an rming rate, clouding his mind in slight anger as the desire to consume the rooting flesh abruptly emerged within his being. Feeling that by consuming the flesh, his species would further evolve, making his capability much stronger than the current him. "The flesh of the devil... Furthermore, its grade and cultivation realm was much higher than the low devil that I met in that town." Weakly mumbling under his breath. Leo hurriedly took a long deep breath, suppressing the raging desire within his body as he hurriedly took out a "Medallions of Forceful Upgrade" within his inventory. Understanding that he could no longer prolong the fight, afraid that a mistake or an ident would appear in the mids of their battle, causing him to be unable to get the mechanical physique of the devil puppet in the process.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "I couldn''t afford to let the devil puppet escape now. Not when I see it concealing a corpse of a high-level demon inside its mechanical body!'' "System, upgrade "Shadow Shackles" and "Qi Bullet" skills quickly!'' Ding! [ Upgrading Shadow Shackles and Qi Bullet skills would cost the host 3 medallions of forceful upgrade and 10,000 horror points! (ept/Declined)? ] ... -10,000 horror points! -3 Medallions of Forceful Upgrade! Ding! [ Please wait for the upgrade to finish... ] Soon, upon epting the deal. Leo hurriedly stepped backwards for a couple of meters, sessfully evading the approaching chains of the devil puppet in the distance, watching how its heavy chain created deep crevices in his previous location. ... Boom! Boom! Seeing that its enemy be more nimble as their battle passed by, not attempting to damage its physique as if waiting for something, the eyes of the devil puppet again deepened in colour... Instantly releasing a glint of unknown light that hurriedly travelled toward the far distance, toward the evading Leo at high speed! "Keke~ Are you nning to nt that disgusting desire again in my mind?" However, upon hitting the pale figure of Leo in the far distance. the devil puppet unknowingly halts on its movement, feeling an intense premonition of danger on its body upon seeing that Leo''s pale figure in the far distance suddenly vanishes like smoke... As if, everything that just urred right now was an illusion! As the devil puppet was panicking inside, the pale figure of Leo silently and suddenly emerged meters away on its back. On his hands, a small double coloured Qi bullet, carrying the profundities of 2 rules within its being could be seen releasing intense pressure toward the atmosphere above... Twisting the space around the area as Leo slowly unfolded a smirk on his pale face, feeling an intense excitement coursing through his being due to the unknown effects that the Qi bullet was carrying upon sessfully upgrading above its natural level! "Keke~ The rule of Life Nature and the Rule of Inevitable death... I wonder what kind of effects they would produce when fused together.'' ... nk! Upon feeling the strange shift of atmosphere behind him, the devil puppet hurriedly tilted its head behind its back, only for it to behold the strange Qi bullet, alternating between two colours of green and ck swiftly erging within its emotionless irises. Understanding that it couldn''t evade in time, the devil puppet hurriedly raised its chains toward its front, nning to cover its body with its thickness in order to lower the damage it would receive. Boom! In an instant, upon collision, the rule of Inevitable death quickly invaded the puppet''s mechanical circuit, ignoring the thick chains protecting its body as it began to erode the physique of the devil puppet! Furthermore, the rule of Life Nature slowed down its cognition by an amount, akin to a being wearing down by time, making its thinking capability slowly wither in the process... ... "Shadow Chains.'' Seeing this strange effect of his Qi bullet, Leo didn''t show a hint of a smile on his face... Being reced by unprecedented seriousness as he immediately pointed his left palm toward the devil puppet in the far distance. Clenching his fist with force as he watches the shadows around transform into thick ck chains that coil around the physique of the devil puppet... Causing the devil puppet to crazily shake its physique in an attempt to escape the restriction of the shadows but to no avail! Furthermore, upon being upgraded by his medallion of forceful upgrade, the thick shadow chains of his gain the ability to slowly weaken the strength of beings it managed to catch! Whether it was alive or not! "Keke, who would have expected that upgrading the skill of high Demon would give me surprises?'' Leo thought, taking out a yellow fruit within his inventory before hurriedly consuming it, causing his Qi to recover by 7.5% as he continued feeding Qi to his shadow chains... Slowly weakening the struggle of the devil puppet in the distance as time continues to pass by. *** Soon, upon another 2 minutes of unceasingly feeding Qi to his "Shadow Chains". Leo''s Qi was further reduced by another 25%, only leaving him with 55% of his Qi, making him slightly frown as he stared at the greatly weakened devil puppet in the short distance. Slowly approaching its mechanical physique, Leo leisurely took out the materials within his inventory, cing it closely toward the still struggling devil puppet in front as he unhurriedly ced his palm toward its head. "Keke~ I hope it works.'' "Extraction.'' Leo weakly mumbled with a smile before activating his extraction skill. In an instant, upon activating the skill, the interior mechanical parts and the corpse hidden within the physique of the devil puppet hurriedly entered his vision. Following that, the intricate core, circuits, and inscriptions within its being slowly unfold to his grey eyes. Making him feel slightly dizzy upon unable to understand andprehend its vastness and secrets. Shaking his head, momentarily closing his eyes in order to extricate himself from staring further toward its intricate design. Leo began to focus his mind on its chaotic Qi that was hidden within its core... Fully activating his Extraction skill as he slowly manipted its chaotic Qi outside its body, dispersing it toward the damp atmosphere afterwards. aankkk! Instantly causing the devil puppet to shout in pure agony upon feeling its soul that was hidden within its core slowly being ripped apart by Leo''sck of skill... Making its struggle to be much stronger in the process. Unfortunately, as if already aware of what would happen, Leo calmly yet hurriedly increased the Qi he was feeding to his shadow chains by an amount, further strengthening their effects. Making the attempt of the devil puppet to escape unsessful. "Shhh, don''t be frightened, it''s not that bad actually, the pain is only at the level of the bite of an ant..." Leo reassured before continuing to extract its chaotic Qi. Slowly weakening the devil puppet in the process as its Qi hidden within its core unceasingly decreased, making its movement greatly slow down as the flickering on its eyes also began to waver. ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon defeating a Peak Stage of the Core Formation realm on your own for the first time! +10,000 Horror points! +12 free attribute points! +2 Peak Enlightenment Stone! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon getting hold of a Trancended grade puppet for the first time! +50,000 horror points! +24 free attribute points! +5 puppet design (ranges from advanced to great puppet!) ] Soon, after emptying its core with Qi. Leo instantly saw the emotionless eyes of the devil puppet flickered slightly before dying down- a testament that it couldn''t move due to its core being emptied by Qi. "Huff~ Finally, I finally get my hand on this unknown puppet!'' Clenching his fist in excitement, Leo finally deactivated the shadow chains that were coiling around the mechanical body of the devil puppet, causing it to fall toward the ground lifelessly, sshing the ink-ck water toward the distance in the process... *** Chapter 216 Upgrading Ones Race! Peak of Demon. (1) Caressing the exposed rooting flesh of the lifeless devil puppet in his grasp, Leo couldn''t help but gulp with desire. Suppressing the raging instinct within his being as he hesitantly hides the body of the devil puppet on his inventory.N?v(el)B\\jnn However, unfortunately, probably due to its half-alive and half-dead status, Leo couldn''t put the mechanical body of the devil puppet in his inventory. Making him sigh in helplessness as he could only manipte its body with his telekic ability... Making its body glide through the damp and dark atmosphere as it closely followed Leo''s figure toward the depths of the cave. "There should be a spiritual nt hidden in this cave, I wouldn''t believe that the devil puppet could recover on its own with only its weakened capabilities...'' Leo lightly thought, already entertaining the thought that something helped the devil puppet''s reasoning to its fast recovery. Although it was possible for it to rely on its own ability to slowly recover, its ability to jump from the early stage of the core formation realm to the peak stage of the core formation realm in a span of a few weeks was beyond his imagination. Not all beings have the help of the system! ... Hmm? As he was traversing the depths of the catbs, Leo suddenly halted in his tracks... Sensing the sudden surge of Qi on his current location. Frowning he looked below his feet, toward the depths of the ck ink water beneath him as the sensation of thick death and life Qi, caressing his soles appeared within his being. Making him reveal a cold smirk on his pale face as he leisurely bends his front knee. ... "Keke~ Found you. Who would have expected that you were hiding in the depths of the water?'' Soon, after taking a deep long breath. Leo, without hesitation, suddenly deactivated his movement skill, making his weight revert back to normal, instantly causing his body to slowly submerged toward the ink ck water beneath. Ssh! In an instant, the cold water, capable of prating the depths of one''s soul touched Leo''s physique, drenching his whole body in the process as the unprecedented darkness devoid of any light reflected to his vision. Unable to see the depths of the dark water nor his surrounding area, Leo immediately spread his divine senses, allowing him to perceive objects and lifeforms 50 meters in diameter. "As expected..." Soon enough, upon spreading his divine senses toward his surroundings. Exactly 45 meters below him, a small tree with unknown colour and appearance appeared within his divine senses... Making him clench his fist in anticipation upon feeling that his premonition was again sending him a strange signal to hurriedly consume the small unknown fruits connected to its branches. Fortunately, probably due to the devil puppet guarding the ce previously. Other than 5 fruits missing within the branches that were probably eaten by that devil puppet... Leo managed to obtain 7 unknown fruits from the unknown tree branches! Making him smile with glee as he hid it within his inventory! Ding! [ Fruit of Underwater Demon Tree (Grade 3-Low): A Fruit that could only be found in the depths of a death sea where Yin and Death energy were at its thickest. In order to mature, they consume thick death and life force within their surroundings. Effect upon consumption: Permanently increase Death and Life affinity by 5, and Soul, Mental, and Qi power by 25! Effect 2: Greatly increase the Qi inside the body by a considerable amount! (Only effective below the Peak-Nascent Soul realm stage!) Effect 3: There''s a small chance ofprehending the rules rted to Death and Life! Note: A being could only consume 3 raw Fruit of Underwater Demon Tree (Could consume an extra one if the Thousand Souls and Decay fruit were processed into a potion!) ] ... "Jackpot! I finally got my first Grade 3 spiritual fruit!'' Suppressing the anticipation within his being, Leo hurriedly swam toward the surface of the ink ck water. Activating his movement skill, causing his weight to decrease drastically before he hurriedly dragged the mechanical body of the devil puppet toward the entrance of the catbs. Huff~ Soon, after 5 minutes of running, upon arriving at the familiar ce where the exit from this forbidden ce could be seen above the ceiling... Leo, feeling exhausted, directly slumped toward the cold wet ground, staring at the hole in the ceiling for good minutes. Calming his thoughts down as the lingering excitement and desires within his being slowly vanished toward the void... Being reced by the deafening silence that unceasingly echoed toward Leo''s consciousness. Allowing him to deeply ponder about the intense fight earlier. Although he made some small mistakes earlier, solely on the dyed activation of some of his skills, Leo concluded that the fight earlier was much better than he expected. He didn''t expect that he, as a newly advanced mid stage of the core formation realm could actually defeat a peak stage of the core formation realm puppet without destroying its mechanical body! Making him assess his truebat ability and strength... "Sigh~ don''t think too much, the reason why you managed to defeat that puppet was because it was greatly weakened. "Furthermore, it doesn''t have ess to Rules and Domain, making itsbat ability weaker than a normal Peak stage of the core formation realm.'' ... Sighing deeply, feeling that his guess makes sense, Leo wearily sat on the ground, not caring about the cold water that touch his butt due to his destroyed short as he hurriedly took out the unknown fruit within his inventory. Soon, upon retracting his hand from the depths of the void, the tantalizing fragrance, enough to move the souls of immortals abruptly waft toward the almost enclosed cave... Waking the skeleton #1 from its deep cultivation in the distance as it stared at the fruit that was akin to a dark mango within Leo''s grasp... Making the corner of its jaw water due to the intense desire within its being, understanding that it would surely mutate if it consumed the fruit in Leo''s hand. -nk? (Heartless mas... I mean, Master do you need help to check the fruit whether it was poisonous or not?) Unable to suppress the instinct within the depths of its silver bones, Skeleton #1 couldn''t help but speak to Leo. Hoping that its master was tired enough to believe its nonsense and allow it to consume one of those strange fruit. ... Hearing the incoherent voice of Skeleton #1 in the short distance, Leo silently stared at its being, quietly activated his soul scan skill as he stared at its current level and stats. "Hmm, not bad, currently at level 18 of the foundation realm... Skeleton #1 was probably working hard behind my back.'' Leo thought, unaware that his reputation with his puppets and residents above already got tainted due to the mouth of Skeleton #1. Pondering slightly, feeling that he couldn''t rush on consuming the Fruit of Underwater Demon Tree on his hand in order to hastily increase his level... Afraid that his foundation would be damaged and feeble, causing his advancement in the future to be filled with dangers and difficulties. Furthermore, he also noticed that his level and realm increased at a swift speed, causing hisbat ability and instinct tog behind. Not allowing him to fully unleash hisbat ability due to theck of experience... Leo nodded slightly before replying to Skeleton #1 in the short distance. "Sure, call skeleton #2 above so the both of you could mutate at the same time." *** Crack~ Soon, after 5 minutes of waiting, Leo finally saw the two silver skeletons drop from therge hole above, hitting the ink nk water beneath as cracking sounds of bones could be heard within... Destroying the nd bones beneath them due to their weight that reaches 30 kilograms. 7.5 kilograms came from their silver sword behind their back. nk. (Master.) Seeing the pale figure of his master, Skeleton #2 hurriedly issued a bow of respect, not even taking a nce toward the mesmerizing fruit within the hand of his master- a testament that it could suppress its desires and instinct better than Skeleton #1 in the short distance. Nodding his head in satisfaction upon seeing how respectful skeleton #2 ispared to skeleton #1 in the short distance... Leo secretly shook his head, deciding to bury the annoying thoughts behind the back of his mind before he casually tossed the two dark fruits to the two silver skeletons in the short distance. Beholding how their expression changed slightly under his deliberate prying, closely watching them distance themselves from him before they hurriedly consumed the dark fruit in their grasp in one bite... Unfolding a rich expression of ecstasy on their silver skull as the familiar darkness, originating from the void and the unknown depths of the ce abruptly consumed their beings. Forming arge sphere of pure darkness that fully encased their being within... Creating a sound of grinding as they began to rotate at a fast speed around their physique. *** Chapter 217 Upgrading Ones Race! Peak of Demon. (2) Churn- Forming arge sphere of pure darkness that fully encased their beings within... Creating a sound of grinding as they began to rotate at a fast speed around their skeletal figure. Slowly tempering their nd silver bones in the process, making them much more resilient and heavy than before. Furthermore, an unknown rule could be faintly felt drilling toward the depths of their bones, making their race akin to a god to one''s mortal eyes. A skeleton that exists and contains a rule within their beings! "This...'' Sensing the anomaly within the dark sphere in the distance, Leo couldn''t help but be stunned, feeling that life was really unfair sometimes... Understanding that the two silver skeletons would surely be a skeleton that beings would feel jealous of upon understanding that they carried rules within their beings upon evolving! Something that he hadn''t seen so far in this kind of nd ce! ... Ding! As he was staring with a gaping mouth toward the constricting dark sphere in the distance, the familiar sound of heavy metal striking toward another heavy metal abruptly echoed within his consciousness... Waking him up from his jealousy as he hurriedly stared at the sudden notification that emerged from the corner of his eyes. Causing him to be speechless afterwards upon reading the absurdity it contained. Ding! [ Due to the silver skeletons'' current unique situation, instead of mutation, an evolution choice would be presented to them... Please choose an evolution for them carefully! ] Ding! ~~~ Evolution Choices ~~~ 1. [ Great Skeleton Swordsman (Rare) - A further developed skeleton who focused on the path of sword techniques and creation. Attribute Increase (After Evolution): Speed+20, Strenght+20. Additional passive skill: Sword Master (Elite): Aptitude and Affinity toward sword +25%. ] 2. [ Haunting Skeleton (Epic) - A skeleton that enjoyed feasting on beings'' negative emotions and desires. Attribute Increase: Further increase HP by 100 points, Soul Power +25, and Qi Power +10. Additional passive skill: Haunter (Epic): resistance to dark magic +5%. Addition active skill: Nightmare of one''s Heart (Epic): Amplified the fear of one''s being drastically... ] 3. [ Hell me Skeleton (Epic-Legendary): A strange Skeleton race born from the deepest prison of hell. Born within the periphery of the hottest mes... Attribute Increase: Qi power +20, Qi Storage +25, Health +100, Stamina +25, Speed +25. Additional Passive Skill: Weakened Hell me (Ungraded): Summon a crimson me that is capable of burning one''s physical body, soul, and mental energy... Additional Skill: Hell Landscape (Epic): Momentarily summoned the illusionary corner of the hell to the Hell me Skeleton''s current location, allowing itsbat and healing ability to drastically increase... ] 4. [ Advanced Mutated Horror Skeleton (Ungraded): A further mutation of Mutated Horror Skeleton. As the new variant of the skeleton race, their data was extremely limited, but their overall potential could be said equal to or not much higher than the legendary race... Attribute Increase: Qi power +20, Soul power +25, Qi storage +25, Health +25, Stamina, Speed, and, Strength +20. Additional Passive skill: Dark Side (Ungraded): An ability that momentarily allows the Advanced Mutated Horror Skeletons to transform their body into pure shadows... Making them invulnerable to most physical attacks. Additional Active skill: Flower of Sin (Ungraded): After the seed of sin blooms within one''s consciousness, the advanced mutated horror skeletons could further worsen the victims'' mental health with the "Flower of Sin". Making them extremely unstable in the process. ] ... "What the actual... Isn''t this too unfair!? Isn''t their next evolution would be when they advance toward the Core Formation realm!'' Seeing their evolution choices, Leo couldn''t help but let out a loud shriek in his mind. Feeling that the goddess of luck was too biased to his silver skeletons... Making him feel that his heart was breaking apart upon seeing that their evolution choices carried an Epic, Legendary, and Unknown grade within their midst. Furthermore, it''s too unfair considering that they both only stayed within the town for almost a month yet their strength also increased drastically! As if, they also have a strange system helping them! ... Huff~ "Fortunately, they still hadn''t created a domain on their own, or else, I would surely pry their mouth open and see what kind of secrets they were hiding from me.'' Taking a deep breath, suppressing the jealousy and destructive thoughts that resurface within his consciousness. Leo hurriedly read the choices in his front, hardly suppressing his desire to click the first choice as he hurriedly chose thest option... Afraid that he could no longer control himself, reasoning for him to hurriedly decide and click the unknown grade evolution. Since it was the upgraded version of the mutated horror skeletons, then it should be at the very least on the same level if not higher as their current species... Making Leo believe that he made the right choice. "Just you wait, I''m also upgrading my species after the two of you were done evolving... "Keke~ fortunately, I found aplete corpse of a high unknown devil. It should be enough to upgrade my species by one.'' *** Churn! Soon, after an unknown period of time staring toward the pure darkness in his front. Leo silently beholds the silhouette of the two silver skeletons slowly erging within his vision, consuming every ounce of the dark energy shrouding their visages as their figure finally unfolds within his senses. In an instant, their height that drastically increasespared to their previous size. Now at the current 1.6 meters in height instantly reflected to his cold and jealous eyes... Following that, their glinting silver bones, intensely emanating with coldness that slightly froze the ink ck water beneath, hurriedly spreading toward the far distance. Swish~ Sending weak chills to Leo''s soul as he stared at their pure ck zing eyes, capable of trapping the souls of mortals that indirectly and directly stared at it... Killing them slowly due to the unknown energy and curse it was carrying. Furthermore, Leo could slightly feel an unknown rule uncontrobly oozing from their physique every time they moved... Deepening the jealousy he was experiencing.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Huff~ "This is bad, the effect of the "Devil Eyes" was still not worn off!?'' Hurriedly shaking his head, snapping himself from the negative thoughts that uncontrobly surfaced within his mind, Leo silently activated his soul scan. Wanting to see the current attribute stats of the silver skeleton in the short distance. Ding! [ Advance Mutated Skeleton of Horror Species: Undead / Skeleton ss Job: Sin of Corruption (Unique +1) Cultivation Technique: (High-Heaven) Fiendish Emperor! Innate skill: Eyes of Nightmare (Ungraded +2), Believer of Darkness (Ungraded +1), Seed of Sin (Ungraded +1), Flower of Sin (Ungraded), Dark Side (Ungraded). Physique: Body of Sin +1 Rules: Way of Undead (25%) ______Atrributes______ Level: Peak-Foundation Level 18 (27%) Free attribute: 0 Health: 300/300 Qi: 300/300 Stamina: 275/275 Strength: 150 Speed: 150 Qi Power: 175 Soul Power: 250 ______Skills______ Advanced Intelligence (Rare lvl 5), Stab (Common lvl 5), Sword Mastery ( Umon lvl 5), Laugh of Nightmare (Rare lvl 4), Sword Aura (Rare lvl 5), Sharpness (Umon lvl 5), Decaying Touch (Rare +1). ss Job Skills: Untainted by Curse (Epic lvl 3), Corruption (Unique lvl 3) ] *** "Not bad. Much better than the attribute stats of the Mental Master that I killed in the past. "Unfortunately, the difference within their attribute stats wasn''t that high..." Leo weakly mumbled under his breath. Staring at their attribute stats for a good full minute before he gazed toward the two silver skeletons in the short distance. Watching them slowly adapt to their current strength, doing their best not to identally tripped toward the cold ground due to identally using their newfound strength. "I guess, I will wait for them topletely control their strength before asking them to showcase their new abilities and skills to me... In order to gain preliminary knowledge of the weaknesses and advantages of their skills... "So we wouldn''t get off guard when we suddenly need to cooperate together on killing strong enemies.'' Pondering slightly, Leo leisurely manipted the mechanical body of the devil puppet in the atmosphere... Contemting deeply on how he could take the withered corpse within without destroying the mechanical body of the devil puppet. ... Soon, after another 10 minutes of deep contemtion, upon unable to find a good solution to his current problem... Leo could only helplessly touch the protruding withered flesh of the unknown devil within the destroyed surface of the puppet. Taking a deep long breath as he silently activated his extraction skill. nning to extract the little blood that mysteriously survives through the unknown period of time within the body of the corpse. Hoping that it would be enough for him to upgrade his race level even by one! Swish! In an instant, upon activating the extraction skill, the interior (innards) of the withered corpse abruptly entered Leo''s consciousness. Making him slightly dizzy due to the unknown aura it contained. Gritting his teeth, forcefully focusing his mind, Leo hurriedly scanned its whole body, trying his best to find the blood that he found earlier with swift speed... Feeling that every second he was inspecting its body, his mind was slowly being filled with indescribable knowledge that he couldn''t understand and fathom. Making his consciousness heavy in the process... *** Chapter 218 Upgrading Ones Race! Peak of Demon. (3) Huff~ Manipting the floating napkin within the atmosphere, lightly removing the forming sweat on his pale forehead that slightly hindered his concentration. Leo couldn''t help but let out a deep sigh of exhaustion, eyes constricted as he carefully manipted the 10 drops of diluted blood within the withered corpse of the unknown devil in his grasp... Feeling that some unknown rules, entity, or object was mysteriously hindering his progress, making him frown in vexation due to his slow progress. Fortunately, he was already close to removing the blood within the body of the devil... Making him grit his teeth in determination as he could faintly feel his opportunity appear within his grasp. An opportunity to upgrade his species above its current level! Making his overall ability to increase by at least 50% if that happened! Keke~ "However, it was really surprising how a dead being from the unknown past could pose a problem to me. "I even suspect that its realm was beyond the Nascent Soul realm..." Unfortunately, most of its nutrition already withered due to the passage of time, leaving only at least 5-10% of its past glory. Although it gives Leo a slight advantage, making it much easier to consume due to its Rules and Dao already dissipated toward the world. Leo still couldn''t help but feel a slight regret within his being. A normal behaviour of beings, simr to how they get the third prize on a free raffle yet still feel unsatisfied upon not getting the highest rewards instead. *** Tap... Tap... Soon, after another ten minutes of fully using his extraction skill. Leo finally managed to extract the blood of the devil''s corpse from its withered being, manipting it toward its mouth where he used his telekic ability to carefully take it... cing it into an empty bottle. Closing its cap afterwards before he slumped toward the cold ground, breathing heavily as the sensation of the ink ck water lightly touched his being, cooling down his exhaustion as his body slowly began to rx. Finally exiting his tense mode as he enjoys the tranquillity of the ce, digesting the knowledge he gains upon using the extraction skill against the unknown devil, increasing its level by another 1 in the process... Making him feel a faint sensation that it was about to advance toward its next rarity if he managed to upgrade it by another level. Huff~ Sitting with difficulties, Leo slowly crossed his legs, calming his mind down as he began to cultivate peacefully. Wanting to recover his lost Qi in order to get back to his peak condition before attempting to advance his species'' grade by consuming the devil''s blood. Although he could advanced by now, Leo wanted to avoid creating the same mistakes that could make his mental health damaged and unstable, causing him to again plunge into deranged status... Already learned from experiencing it a couple of times, making him feel slightly embarrassed just thinking of the strange actions he did in order to calm his nerves down. "I suddenly had the urge to bury my head under the water and shout in embarrassment...'' *** Ding! Soon, after 5 hours of cultivating within the forsaken ce, Leo slowly opened his eyes, reflecting the darkness within as he slowly exhaled the impurities that umted within his lungs due to the long hours of absorbing Qi. Crack~ (Satisfying sounds of cracking bones.) Stretching his pale physique. Leo unhurriedly shifted his gaze toward the far distance, toward the two silver skeletons that were now doing strange movements just to get ustomed to their current strength. Further away, he even saw his puppets that managed to awaken their intelligence and soul upon being grazed by luck, watching with great interest... asionally releasing a dreadful sound of an innocentugh, cawing, and meowing upon beholding the two silver skeletons'' difficulties. Causing Leo to unconsciously reveal a horrifying smile on his pale face upon feeling that this life wasn''t that bad, feeling that this ce is where he truly belongs. ... "Now where are we again?'' Waking up from his reverie, Leo hurriedly concealed the smile within his face, being reced by anticipation as he carefully took out the bottle that contained the blood of the devil''s corpse within the void. Holding it within his right hand with unprecedented care as he slowly uncorked its cap, instantly causing his being to release a dangerous vibe that hurriedly spreads toward the far distance upon sensing the familiar sensation within the depths of his soul! The sensation of familiar yearning, coursing through his illusionary veins upon seeing the opportunity to increase his species above its grade again! Huff~ Taking a deep breath, calming his ranging desires that slowly surfaced within his mind, attempting to cloud his judgement again. Leo, without hesitation, hurriedly drank the blood in the bottle in his hand... Entering his mouth in the next second, causing his face to contort in disgust upon tasting the rotting metallic liquid within the blood, lingering within his taste buds for a good while before the blood slowly entered his illusionary stomach! Soon after, the intense sensation of heat and coldness abruptly emerged within his being, making him feel that half of his body was being bathed in hell while the other half was being soaked in the depths of Antarctica. Causing his physique to unceasingly release an unending mist of heat and cold that hurriedly consumed the enclosed space... Making the two silver skeletons and the puppets in the far distance curiously shift their gaze toward Leo''s Location. *** At the same time, hundreds of miles away from the location of the nd cemetery, within the centre of the town... The Nascent Soul realm being, the current mayor of the town, silently gazed toward the newly established house and glistening walls in the far distance. Beholding how the almost destroyed town days ago already looked new after just days of construction, marvelling how magical spells could be on constructing and creating sturdy houses and walls with swift speed. Unfortunately, with almost 2,000 deaths that urred when they were not present, the current town looks empty and depressing to his old brown eyes... Making him sigh in weakness and regret upon not finishing the newly ascended white snake, within the depths of the endless forest in the shortest time possible so they coulde back in time before the cmity strikes, stopping the impending doom in the process. "Sigh~ Unfortunately, there are no medicines for regret...'' ... Knock~ Knock~ As the old man was silently mulling to himself, a sudden knock on the door awakened him from his deep thoughts, causing him to leisurely raise his head toward the door before casuallymanding the being outside to enter the room. Creak~ "Hmm- Sebastian, did you finally discover who greatly injured thete stage of the core formation realm devil that night? "Alleviating the disaster within the town and causing the number of deaths to decrease in the process?" Seeing the familiar figure of his grandson entering the room, the old man hurriedly asked, still couldn''t rid of the thought of that mysterious pale person that greatly helped the town that night. Wanting to add him to their mids if it was possible, understanding that a being at the mid-stage of the core formation realm capable of posing a great threat to a devil that almost reached the peak stage of the core formation realm was a true genius! Furthermore, with the limited number of offensive skills it used that night yet still managed to greatly injure the devil with the help of an early stage of the core formation realm human from the town... The old man concluded that it was possible that the pale being still hadn''t shown its full capability in that battle! Causing him to feel that the pale man''s strength could rival an Elite being at the very peak of the core formation realm equally! ... "This...'' Hearing his old man''s question, Sebastian couldn''t help but show aplicated look on his face. Clearly hesitating whether to divulge his guess or not. However, upon thinking of it carefully, couldn''t find others that greatly matched the pale figure''s appearance other than the man in his memory... Sebastian could only helplessly sigh, burying the doubt in the back of his mind before replying to his old man. "I don''t know if it was the one we were finding or not, but based on the witness testimonies, the appearance of the pale man greatly matched Leo." "That name sounds familiar..." Hearing his grandson, the Nascent Soul realm being couldn''t help but raise his old brows. Delving within his memory in an attempt to remember the source of familiarity but only in vain! Sigh~ Soon, upon seeing that his old man was having a hard time recalling the person. A normal urrence since the old man only met the guy one time and it''s already been more than a month since that happened... Sebastian again opened his mouth, taking a light breath before speaking. "It was the man who was living in that cemetery, the man with a ss job that focused on Potion and Puppetry making." ***n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Chapter 219 Upgrading Ones Race! Peak of Demon. (4) "That guy with grey irises and above average appearance?" Hearing Sebastian, the Old man couldn''t help but leisurely caress his long beard. Delving into his memories as the image of the young man, unconsciously emitting cold energy within its being appeared within his mind... Making him feel that thed was extremely strange due to his choice to stay within that nd and dpidated cemetery instead of living in this lively town. Sigh~ "Unfortunately, if he just lived within the town, then he could earn a lot of money just by selling potions...'' ... "Old man, should we ask him to live in the town from now on?" Seeing that his old man was again lost to his thoughts, Sebastian couldn''t help but speak, snapping the Nascent Soul being awake from its deep thoughts in the process. Waving its slightly wrinkled hands toward Sebastian beforezily shaking its head. "There''s no need. Although it was regretful that the cemetery was far away from the town, making him unable to arrive in time when the disaster urred... "Being part of the town is already enough, no need to make him do beyond his wishes..." Pausing slightly to catch his breath, the old man unhurriedly took out an old book within the void, lightly patting the illusionary dust that stuck to its wooden cover before abruptly tossing it toward Sebastian. Making thetter stretch his hand to catch the fast approaching book... making him sigh in relief afterwards upon seeing that it wasn''t damaged due to the strength his old man used. "This? A General Knowledge for Cultivator?" Weakly mumbling to himself upon seeing the familiar words on the wooden cover of the book, Sebastian couldn''t help but unfold a confused look toward his old man in the short distance, unable toprehend what it wanted and understand the reason behind his action. Since he already read and memorized this book a couple of times in the past... Years ago when he was still an innocent teenager... Reading this again wouldn''t help him in any way, it would only make him remember his childhood where life only revolved around finding love. ... "Old ma..." However, before he could fully open his mouth to ask his old man about his action, a sudden angry sound of harrumph escaped from the thin lips of his old man... Making him scratch his head in confusion, understanding that he somewhat angered his old man due to an unknown reason. "You idiot! Of course, it wasn''t for you! It was for Leo so he could gain deeper knowledge regarding cultivation! "Furthermore, he also needed to understand that rashly increasing his realm and level could lead to countless problems... That''s why it was necessary to strengthen one''s foundation in every realm! Sigh~ "Fortunately, most of the beings below the Core Formation realm rely on killing beasts in order to increase their realm and level, making their foundation somewhat solid due to it... "If not, I''m afraid that most of them would die when they attempted to advance toward the Core Formation realm." Sighing slightly. Sebastian again scratched his head in confusion, hiding the book within his inventory before asking the question that bothered him upon hearing what his old man said. "Then, why don''t we publish this book within the town so the residents could gain basic knowledge regarding cultivation?" Hearing his grandson''s inquiry, the old man didn''t immediately reply, instead, he shifted his gaze toward the towering wall in the far distance, asionally shaking his head in regret... Beholding how the yellowish sunlight illuminated the epassing of thend, warming the sorrowful atmosphere that lingered within the atmosphere in the process. Huff~ Taking a light breath of vexation. The old man, after watching the town in silence for minutes, finally replied to Sebastian on his back. "It''s not that I don''t want to, but the higher-ups from the various provinces forbid beings below the core formation realm within the towns to gain basic knowledge regarding cultivation... "They wanted to go back to the time when they were still in control of all powers within the world." *** Gasp! Gasping loudly, Leo unhurriedly opened his eyes, revealing the dangerous glint within that instantly pushed and dispelled the thick mist that shrouded the almost enclosed cave. Making the curious silver skeletons and puppets to immediately look at his unfolding figure in pure curiosity. However, upon being unable to detect the changes in Leo''s appearance, other than his much darker hair and somewhat strange vibe that he unconsciously emits, Skeleton #1 and the puppets unisonly shake their head in pure disappointment... Feeling that Leo wasted their precious time for nothing. ... "Keke~ I again, finally upgraded my species to another level!" Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully upgrading your species from "High Demon" to "Peak Demon"! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon gaining a basicprehension of the rule of shadows! A rule that was under the Dao of Darkness! ] Clenching his fist, not caring about the notification that emerged within the corner of his consciousness...n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Leo unhurriedly closed his eyes, faintly sensing the mysterious and unknown strength coursing through his whole being, making him extremely excited upon sensing that his overall strength had increased by at least 30%! With his current strength right now, Leo highly doubted that the low devil that he met in that town would have the capability to escape his grasp! Of course, he was talking about its weakened status. As for the low devil''s peak condition, Leo concluded that he could at least fight it head-on without falling into a disadvantage! Making him feel satisfied with the drastic increase in his strength! As for beings at the peak of the core formation realm with ss jobs that were below the Rare rarity, Leo felt that he could kill them in just a couple of minutes without difficulties! "If I further deepened my mastery over my skills, technique, and strength, then mybat ability would further increase by at least 5-10%! "Almost making me invincible below the Nascent Soul realm!" ... Keke~ Keke~ Cough... Cough! Laughing for a couple of minutes, feeling that he was about to ascend to the illusionary immortal world due to his strength that was capable of fighting above his realm. Leo, who wasughing demonically suddenly choked on his own saliva, causing him to release an intense sound of coughing, making the disappointed beings in the far distance immediately unfold an interesting expression on their face... Making Leo, who managed to catch their annoying expression to suddenly unfold a dark stare in his grey eyes- immediately releasing an intense hatred that warped the surrounding shadows, making them churn dangerously toward the direction of skeleton #1... Causing them to immediately flee toward the surface of thend upon realizing that they anger their heartless creator! *** "Ungrateful bastard! Just wait until I finish what I''m currently doing! "I will ensure that you all will love my tinkering of your coreter!" Leo shouted angrily, watching them unfold a rare expression of fear on their porcin and rotting faces as they hurriedly rushed toward the hole in the ceiling. Exiting the forsaken ce at a swift speed... Allowing him to sense a rare sensation of fulfillment upon sessfully scaring them all. Unfortunately, he didn''t know that the only reason they fled with fear reflecting within their nd eyes was because of the rumor Skeleton #1 spread... Lowering his reputation toward the inhabitants of the nd Cemetery, to the point that just hearing his name, all of his puppets would think of a certain boss who often dismantles useless puppets just to re-use their functional parts in order to create another new one! ... Shaking his head, deciding to momentarily bury the anger in the back of his mind. Leo immediately rubbed his pale hands in anticipation, unfolding a wide smile on his pale face as he hurriedly opened his character panel... Wanting to see his current overall attribute stats upon upgrading his species to Peak Demon! Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Demon/Peak-level Entity! Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft ! (Umon)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/ ??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion, Sinful Desire! Physique: Physical Body of the Soul! Rules: Life Nature (55%), Fear of the Unknown (52%), Despair (5%), Hatred (5%), Inevitable Death (22%), Shadows (5%)! Iplete Domain: Domain of Unpredictable Death (Level 3), Domain of Reality Distortion (Level 3)! Complete Domain: Domain of Despair (Level 7)! ___ Attributes ___ Level: 6 Core Formation realm ( 5,520/32,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 12 Health: 650/650 Qi: 1800/1800 Stamina: 650/650 Strength: 375 Speed: 350 Qi Power: 575 Soul Power: 1,075 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 8), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 7), Jinx (Lvl 5), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 5), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 5), Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 9), Condense Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 7), Strong Physique (Lvl 5), Dying Immortal (Level 5)... ss Job Skill: Advance Potion Knowledge (Lvl 5), Advance Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl 5)... ... Horror Points: 210,500! *** Chapter 220 A Sudden Visit. Keke~ "Great! My overall attribute stats were much higher than that weakened low devil! "The only difference between us is ourprehension of certain rules. If I guess correctly, I bet that his rule that was rted to me almost reached the staggering 70-80%! "Making his strength equivalent to the peak stage of the core formation realm!" Taking a deep breath, enjoying the rotting fragrance of old flesh and worms that linger within the stctites above and the water beneath... Leo unhurriedly closed his character panel, leisurely gazing toward the damp atmosphere in his surroundings, slowly sensing the temperature within that began to drop due to the passage of time above the surface. Pondering deep within himself regarding his next course of action. Other than increasing his overall strength and realm, Leo decided to finally start nning on how he could advance his ss job to Elite rarity. He remembered, that he would learn another two new skills if he managed to upgrade it into Elite grade! Unfortunately, killing 50 beings by solely relying on the "Curse" skill was full of uncertainty and difficulties in his opinion... Since he would never know when the curse energy would finally erupt within the victims being before eventually reaping their lives due to inexplicable reasons. Furthermore, a single session of cursing almost takes an hour and at least 10% of his overall Qi in the process. Making it extremely costly, causing his progress so far to be extremely slow... Other than cursing the low devil, Leo was still cursing the unknown woman and the man who escaped within his grasp before the disaster in the town struck. Costing him at least 4-5 hours a day just for Cursing them!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Sigh~ It''s really hard to be a good person... Making me always treat my victims equally." In addition to that, other than killing 50 beings by solely relying on cursing, Leo still needed to heal 50 beings who were on the verge of death! Making the requirements to upgrade his ss job much harder when he upgraded it into an "Umon" rarity! Unfortunately, he couldn''t injure a living being, making it on the verge of death before healing itpletely since the system wouldn''t count it in! Not allowing him to cheat his way through the sess! ... Huff~ "I guess I could only wait for another opportunity to arise. "Unfortunately, my Qi already ran low when the fight between me and the low devil ended, if not, I could at least increase the meter of one of my ss job requirements by healing those greatly injured mortals..." Although Leo could heal the greatly wounded beings at that time by spending all of his Qi, he decided to abandon that thought previously, wanting to leave some of his Qi in case an ident suddenly arose... Allowing him to have the ability to protect himself from the unexpected. "Still, as a being with thoughts, I couldn''t help but slightly regret my decision back then..." Shaking his head, burying those negative thoughts behind his back, Leo leisurely manipted the devil puppet on the ground, unfolding an evil smile on his face as ns began to form within his mind... Allowing him to increase the requirements of one of his ss jobs if he sessfully applied the n in his mind, although uncertain. "Keke~ I guess I would finally visit the town after days of absence..." *** "Strange... Do any of you could feel that the cemetery suddenly changed somehow? It felt extremely gloomy but at the same time lively?" Gazing at the faint mist that lightly shrouded the rusting gate of the nd cemetery in the far distance, Jake who was holding an exquisite and glinting wooden bow in his left hand- a testament that it was his Soul Bound Weapon when it slowly became incorporeal as it hurriedly drilled toward his lean physique... Couldn''t help but ask the group beside him, showing confusion on his head as he unhurriedly scanned the ce with the elevated senses of an Archer. This... However, surprisingly, as if being covered by imperceptible thick mist, Jake couldn''t pry toward the depths of the cemetery. Only allowing him to perceive 25 meters beyond the rusting gate, making him unfold an interesting look on his face as a conclusion emerged within his mind. "An array that could greatly restrict one''s senses? Hehe, Leo probably was hiding something within that he didn''t want strangers to know... "He probably got a wife! And dozens on top of that!" Boom! Jake hadn''t even finished speaking yet when suddenly, a fist abruptly hit the back of his head, causing him to lose his bnce in the process as his face heavily hit the soft ground below. "I already got enough of your nonsense! Of course, it''s to avoid the prying of the Core Formation realm beings!" Retracting her fist from the atmosphere, Rosa unfolds a wide smile on her face, finally managing to exact her revenge regarding what Jake said when they were still fighting the unending beast''s tide within the depths of the Endless Forest. Patting her fist lightly in order to show Jake how she felt disgusted upon touching the back of his head, causing thetter to snort to himself before mumbling weakly under his breath. "That old woman, her strength drastically increased when she advanced toward the Core Formation realm..." ... "What did you just say? Who is the old woman!? I''m still in my twenties! Myte twenties!" Unfortunately, with the elevated senses of a Core Formation realm being, Rosa still managed to hear what Jake just said, causing her to summon her almost 2-meter staff from the void- clearly wanting to teach Jake a good lesson that he wouldn''t forget. Cough! "Stop already, we came here to visit Leo not to destroy his ce." Unfortunately, before Rosa could smash her staff toward Jake''s head, the thick hand of Rnd suddenly stopped the descending staff with ease... Making Rosa grit her teeth angrily as she beholds Jake in the short distance unfolding a smug smile on his face. "Hmmp, just wait until we leave the cemetery, I will ensure that no one can guess your appearance when we return to the town." Snorting in vexation, Rosa hesitantly unsummoned her green staff, showing a savage glint within her eyes as she watched Jake''s every move... Clearly wanting to find a good opportunity to bash his head without allowing him to escape. *** Sigh~ "Hurry up, we still need to go back to the town before the night arrives... "I''m sure, you all don''t want the same thing to happen again to the town when theyck the manpower since most of the core formation realm beings entered the depths of the Endless Forest." Seeing that Rosa still harbour anger within her eyes, Sebastian couldn''t help but interrupt, causing the atmosphere within to quiet down momentarily as they all nodded their head in understanding afterwards... Couldn''t help to remember the scene of the town when they all went back from the depths of the Endless Forest. *** Hehe~ Haha~ Seeing the depressing atmosphere that hung above the heads of the group. Kristine, who happened to be beside Roy was about to open her mouth to speak in order to lighten the mood when suddenly, out of nowhere, an innocentugh that originated from behind the rusting gate of the nd cemetery abruptly reverberated toward their direction... Causing them to pause on their tracts as they instinctively raised their guards. Feeling strange all of a sudden as a slight fear emerged within their consciousness due to the strange effects that the innocentugh carried. This... Immediately activating his senses skill, Jake who was staring toward the direction of the rusting gate couldn''t help but unfold an incredulous expression on his face. Beholding a small being with a height simr to a 1-year-old child walking toward their location... Walking toward them slowly and strangely, as if it was still not used to walking with its two feet. Hehe~ Haha~ Exiting the mist that slightly shrouded its being, the group finally saw the porcin figure and extremely pale face of the doll. Making them pause in slight fear as they behold how its face began to crack under their watchful eyes... Watching how the hole on the child''s porcin face began to ooze with rotting flesh, dyeing the ground with its madness. In addition to its almost realistic appearance, to the point that they began to doubt if it was really a living being or not. The group couldn''t help but feel that their stomach began to churn upon smelling the disgusting scent it was releasing- causing them to unconsciously gulp before they hurriedly covered their nostrils. "Hehe~ Hello! Are you... the guess of... my master?" Seeing that the beings in the far distance began to take out their cold weapons, the doll puppet hurriedly spoke with difficulty... Resisting the urge to flee upon sensing their strong aura that was only below his master, making the doll puppet unable to control her body in the process, causing it to react on itself... Hence, making her excrete the flesh hidden within her little being. *** Chapter 221 What Kind of Madness is This! Ding! [ Doll Puppet: Foundation Realm Level 7 ] "This... A puppet with strength that could rival a mid stage of the foundation realm!" Seeing the incorporeal information floating above the doll puppet''s head upon using his scan skill, Jake couldn''t help but loudly exim. Couldn''t believe that a seemingly small puppet with the appearance of a small child had the capability not lower than mid stage of the foundation establishment realm! Since its info tells him that it was at the level 7 of the foundation realm, then the doll puppet on the short distance should have the minimum strength that could rival a mid stage of the foundation realm! Making him feel that life is truly unfair sometimes, remembering how many beasts he killed with extreme difficulties in the past just to reach his current realm, yet only to learn that the puppet in front of him who was born probably less than a month already had reached the Foundation realm! "Wait... Your master is Leo right?" "Yes... that heartless creator... Is my master..." Hearing Jake''s question, the doll puppet stiffly nodded its little head, causing its little cute bangs to flutter with the wind as some of her excreted rotting flesh unconsciously flew toward the distance... Hitting the vibrant grass nearby, causing them to hurriedly wither before dying eventually due to the toxicity it carried. Seeing this, Roy unconsciously gulped, taking out his sketchbook within the void as he hurriedly drew the figure of the doll puppet within... Wanting to use it as a reference for the far future. "What are you doing? Don''t ever try to draw and materialise that doll puppet that could excrete flesh within her porcin face!" Seeing that his little brother was seriously drawing toward his sketchbook while often ncing toward the scary doll puppet in the short distance, Kristine couldn''t help but seriously whisper toward Roy''s little ears... Couldn''t help but imagine the scene of a paper like doll that was unceasingly excreting ck ink from her face whileughing innocently... Making Kristine shook her head in the next second due to the chilling scene that emerged within her consciousness... Could already imagine that his little brother would summon dozens of that kind of doll when a battle suddenly arose. ... "How... rude, I will... tell that to the heartless masterter... that you feel disgusted with his lovely creation..." Upon hearing what Kristine just said, the doll puppet in the short distance slowly unfolds an angry expression on her pale porcin face. Causing Kristine to show a slight panic expression as she beheld the doll puppet hurriedly nodded toward their direction, as if inviting them toward the depths of the nd cemetery before suddenly bending toward its back... Using its four limbs before dashing toward the depths of the nd and obscured cemetery. Catching the group off guard as they showed mixed expressions on their face, couldn''t help but faintly feel the madness that was hidden beyond the rusting gate of the eternal resting ce, wafting toward the atmosphere... Lightly grazing their physique with its unknown energy, feeling that countless eyes from the unknown beings were staring at their figures from afar. Salivating as if they couldn''t wait to consume their flesh and soul. ... Huff~ "Let''s go." Seeing that the group was hesitating whether to enter or not, Rnd who was on the front of the group couldn''t help but release a weak and deep chuckle... Feeling happy upon noticing that countless core formation realm beings were feeling afraid of a mere puppet that barely reached the mid stage of the foundation realm! Sigh. "However, based on the information that we gain from the survivors that night, they saw countless unknown puppets roaming within the shadows of the town that night... "Reaping the lives of the Quasi Devils that reached the Foundation realm within, saving some lives in the process.'' Upon remembering the certain rumor from the survivors, Rnd couldn''t help but unfold a strange expression on his face. Pondering deep within as he lightly opened the rusting gate of the nd cemetery... Creakkk~N?v(el)B\\jnn Watching the faint mist grazed toward their physiques as the countless and stacking tombs of the dead greeted their vision... Unable to see the cemetery''s end due to it hindering their sight, making them feel strange since they hadn''t noticed it when they visited the ce previously. Furthermore, the exaggerated epitaph, beyond their imagination, enough to send an adult crying upon reading their text appeared within their vision one by one... Making them subconsciously read the words written on the nd and old concrete, deep within their minds with unprecedented seriousness. "Jane Margaret, Born on January 10, 1996 and Died on February 28, 2025... Reasons for Death: Eating the flesh of zombies due to extreme hunger, causing her to get sick and eventually die due to food poisoning..." "Leonito Andress, Born on March 3, 1985 and Died on February 27, 2025... Reasons for Death: His left arm got eaten by a zombie while his right arm got twisted beyond one''s recognition... Causing him to die in agony and the extreme loss of blood..." "Jacklyn Mendes... " "This... They all die in this year, how did Leo manage to retrieve their body?" Crisanta who was at the back of the group, couldn''t help but unconsciously mumble to herself upon seeing the rows of epitaph solely rted to beings that died this year... Suddenly feeling an unknown sadness bloom within her being upon remembering her family members and friends who died when the apocalypse arrived... nting an unknown seed within her mind that unconsciously makes her emotions unstable. *** "This is crazy, how could Leo achieve all of this in just a single month?" Sebastian who was carefully inspecting his surrounding environment... hurriedly suppressed the unease within his being upon sensing countless puppets toward the canopy above, hidden within their dense and thick branches as the puppets'' illusionary eyes trace his figure. Giving him a slight pressure although he already reached the mid stage of the core formation realm! Allowing him to ess that there were at least 50 beings with strength that could rival a Foundation realm being staring at his figure! Although he could fight 50 foundation realm beings at the same time, killing them all would pose a difficulty to himself! Furthermore, there is a good chance that he would receive some injuries in the process of killing them! Hence, this made him feel incredulous at how amazing this ce waspared to the corner of the town! It was almost a tenth of the overall current strength of the town! Easily making Leo be an important figure in the town if his Old man managed to learn about all of this! ... nk- As the group was being upied with their thoughts, a sudden sound of the familiar nking bones echoed from the far distance. Making them raise their head in unison as the figure of a glistening silver skeleton, grasping a long bone sword in its left skeletal hand as it leisurely approaches their location appeared within their vision... Causing their brows to unconsciously raise as a sudden guess emerged within their mind. "Skeleton #2?" "Skeleton #2?" Raising his skull toward the group, essing andparing their aura toward his master, Skeleton #2 couldn''t help but nod his head in acknowledgement, feeling that they all reached the illusionary core formation realm. Although their aura was quite weaker than his master''s, the difference in strength wasn''t that too far, causing his zing eyes to glint with ambition... Wanting to advance toward the core formation realm in the shortest time possible. nk, nk! (Yes, thank you for visiting my master... Unfortunately, he was still in the mids of his cultivation, causing him to momentarily be unavable.) nk... (However, he would be done in just a few minutes. If you all could wait, I will dly be your guide...) Using his faint soul power, connecting toward their illusionary soul, the emotionless voice of Skeleton #2 suddenly resounded deep within their consciousness... Making their eyes widen upon being caught off guard, only experiencing this newfound ability for the first time. "Telepathy? No, it shouldn''t be telepathy, I couldn''t detect the mental energy within my mind... How amazing!" The group thought, feeling that the little skeleton that they watched grow suddenly became unfathomable within their eyes. nk, nk. (It''s not a skill, it was the basic usage of soul power. If you want, I could teach you allter when we were waiting for master...) nk- (However, for now... Please follow me toward my master''s farm to wait, I knew that you all would like the fresh scent that the nts were releasing.) Understanding that the scent of the rotting flesh wouldn''t be liked by humans, Skeleton #2 hurriedly dragged the curious group toward Leo''s farm within the corner of the nd cemetery... Not giving them time to disagree as Skeleton #2 hurriedly began to move... Couldn''t wait to show the group his master''s hobby. *** Chapter 222 Basic Usage of Soul Power (1). "Keke~ They finally show themselves? How long has it been since Ist saw them? "It''s finally time to visit the town I guess..." Beholding that the boiling crimson blood within the cauldron began to evaporate at a swift speed, transforming into something dreadful that hurriedly fused toward the void before transversing the space at unprecedented speed as it rushed toward the depths of the endless forest. Huff~ Leo couldn''t help but slightly exhale in exhaustion, sensing that 11 percent of his overall Qi had already been consumed solely by cursing the low devil, feeling the satisfaction coursing through his being upon seeing the notification that emerged within the corner of his eyes. Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully Cursing the Low Devil! Curse Effects: Considerable lowering his luck and giving him multiple diseases for 6 hours! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon sessfully Cursing for 10 times! +10,000 horror points! +2 medallions of forceful upgrade! +2 high enlightenment stones! ] "Sweet, I didn''t expect that cursing beings could give me a much higher rewardpared to the other first time experiences!" Leo thought with a slight smile hanging on his face, unhurriedly extinguishing the me under the cauldron before hezily retrieved the withered shoulder of the low devil within its interior using his telekic ability... Grasping it with his left hand before leisurely tossing it toward the void, watching it enter and vanish within his senses, feeling pleased upon finishing his daily illusionary quest. "I should curse the devilter at night in order to celebrate my good mood... "It''s really hard to be happy in this kind of days." Soon, upon cleaning his cauldron and putting it within his inventory, Leo began to stretch his stiff muscles... Checking hisplexion in order to ensure that the group wouldn''t notice that something was amiss with his physique. Understanding that he still hadn''t gained his physical body back yet. Although his physique right now looks exactly the same as a normal living physique, there''s still some difference between that real living physique and him... Since his body contains rich death, yin, and undead energy that often oozes from his physique from time to time! Fortunately, if the group managed to notice that something was strange with his physique, he could me it on one of his skills, passive skills, or cultivation techniques. Heck, he even could me it on his strange environment and ident when he was creating potions and puppets! Making it more believable since he knows that there were no beings within the town that had ss jobs that focused on puppet creation! (He learned itst month when the town mayor told him that they still hadn''t encountered a being with a puppet-rted ss job!) ... Swish! Activating his movement skill. Leo lightly taps the ground with his feet, instantly causing his physique to abruptly hurl toward the hole above the ceiling, exiting the forsaken ce of pure darkness, leaving a faint trail of chaotic energy behind. Huff~ Taking a deep breath, inhaling the rotting scent that lingers within the ce. Leo unfolded a smile on his face, gazing at the setting sun on the far horizon as he began to move toward the corner of the nd cemetery, toward his farm where the group should be waiting... *** This...n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Is this the basic utilisation of soul power? How amazing! "Who would have thought that I could use it like this!" Sensing his soul power spreading toward the short distance, Jake couldn''t help but exim loudly... Unable to hide his amazement upon experiencing speaking toward the group''s mind directly! Furthermore, upon spreading his soul power, he could faintly sense the strength of the individual soul, allowing him to faintly discern their overall strength! In addition to that, he could faintly catch everyone''s unique aura that their soul was unconsciously releasing... Giving him a basic ability that could recognise being even under a unique skill of disguise! Although it wasn''t certain, he could at least detect a disguise skill under the Epic rarity... nk- nk~ (It''s indeed amazing, but all of that was only the basic usage of soul power. There''s still the intermediate usage of soul power and the high usage of soul power that I learned on myself!) nk- (Of course, I only learn all of it thanks to the inspiration that I gain from my master''s actions!) Seeing the brilliance in everyone''s eyes, Skeleton #2 lightly raised his skull, finally able to showcase his unique talent to the group! A talent that leans on soul mastery! "Then doesn''t that mean that Leo knows how to utilise his soul power further than you?" Hearing the emotionless voice of Skeleton #2 on everyone''s head, Sebastian couldn''t help but ask... Secretly ncing toward the devil scarecrow in the short distance, watching it wave its long limbs toward the group, greeting them all akin to an innocent child. If not for its hateful origin, created using the skin of the Quasi Devil and the disgusting way it was created, Sebastian would dly inspect its being in pure curiosity. Unfortunately, just remembering the scene within the town that night and imagining the scene of how Leo created it under the concealment of darkness, Sebastian readily abandoned the thought of approaching its figure due to the slight fear that mysteriously appeared within his being. A strange effect of the forsaken pit that subconsciously affected the surfacend due to its high capability, affecting one''s mind secretly without them knowing... To the point that Leo was also unaware of this. *** nk- (This... Of course, master''s talent regarding soul was above mine by folds, to the point that he could damage one''s physique just by relying on his soul power!) "I see, then I will ask Leoter to teach us some of his tricks in order to increase our strength even by a little!" Hearing Sebastian in the short distance, Skeleton #2 couldn''t help but momentarily freeze, remembering that he still hadn''t taught his master the things he learned by utilizing his soul power... Remembering that his master was busy with his own schedule, causing him to be unable to speak with thetter... To the point that he had already forgotten about it and only remembered it today due to the group''s inquiry. ... Hmm... "They were utilising their soul power? Interesting...'' In the far distance, under the concealment of his invisibility skill. Leo quietly inspects the group from afar, beholding them using their soul power under the teaching of Skeleton #2. Using his eyes'' uniqueness as he beheld the group''s ethereal soul power spreading toward the short distance, connecting toward the other group''s soul as he could faintly feel them sending information toward each other. "Interesting." Finding it quite fun, Leo hurriedly tried what the group were doing. Hurriedly manipting his soul power with ease as he beheld it travelled toward the far distance, abruptly connecting toward the group''s soul as countless and deafening sounds began to bombard his mind! Making him close his eyes in slight pain upon hearing all the group thoughts within his mind in unison, causing him to hurriedly cut the connection between them... Huff~ "That sure hurt. However, I didn''t expect that I could use my soul power like that... I guess I was really busy in the past few days causing me to neglect some things." Leo leisurely thought, watching his imperceptible soul power begin to transform under his deliberate maniption. Changing it into countless shapes, coating his pale physique with it, and focusing it on certain parts of his body. "Keke~ How novel, I could imbue soul damage to my physical attacks if I do this... "Unfortunately, the consumption of Qi was quite high, reducing 2 of my Qi every second if I used my soul power outside my physical body." Although he could only imbue faint of his soul power to his physique by coating it with his soul energy, it would still increase his capabilities by quite an amount! Furthermore, with the strange effects of soul power that could ignore one''s physical defense... If Leo attack beings with his physical body while being coated by his soul power, his enemies would surely get caught off guard, instantly giving him an advantage in the long run! *** Huff~ Soon, after 5 minutes of ying with his soul power, gaining preliminary knowledge on how he could use it... Leo hurriedly retracts his soul power within the environment, concealing it within the depths of his core before he unhurriedly approaches the group in the far distance. Deactivating his invisibility skill as his pale physique abruptly materialized toward the world, causing the light of the setting sun to illuminate his pale being... Allowing the group to notice his presence from afar, causing them to immediately shift their gaze toward his direction in unison. Curious about Leo''s current strength and also wanting to verify if Leo really was the pale being that night, Sebastian secretly activated his scan skill... Making his eyes deeper in colour as he seriously gazes toward the approaching being in the far distance. Ding! [ *+#- Error -#+* ] *** Chapter 223 Basic Usage of Soul Power (2). "This... an error? How?'' Seeing that his scan skill was incapable of detecting Leo''s current level, Sebastian couldn''t help but unfold a shocked expression on his face. Pondering deep within his mind, as assumption immediately forms within his mind. "A utilization of soul power? The intermediate one?" Sensing that Leo was being coated by the imperceptible soul energy, Sebastian unfolded an interesting smile on his face... Already quite sure that Leo was the being who intercepted the low devil from further destroying the foundation of the town that night. "However...'' Followed by that, the sensation of doubt began to appear within his being, quite suspicious regarding how Leo managed to achieve the Core Formation realm in just a matter of less than two months! "Is it rted to his ss job that leans on potion making? or it''s due to his unknown cultivation technique? Probably it was both... "How enviable..." Shaking his head, seeing that the group began to inspect Leo''s pale physique, quite worried about his well-being and how cold his body was. Sebastian leisurely stretched his hand toward the void, retracting it in the next second as the wooden book could already be seen in his grasp. Carefully fixing the monocle on his left eye, Sebastian unfold a smile on his face before unhurriedly approaching Leo in the short distance, waving his hand that was grasping the wooden book toward Leo''s direction before unhurriedly tossing it toward thetter... Causing the group to unfold a knowing expression on their face upon seeing the familiar book hurling in the air. ... Hmm? Seeing the wooden book within the atmosphere, approaching his location at considerate speed, Leo unfold a confused look in his eyes... Using his telekinesis skill as he manipted it toward his direction, grasping it within his right hand as he weakly read the faint words written on its thick cover. "A General Knowledge for Cultivator?" ncing toward Sebastian with a questioning look. Only to see thetter gesture toward him to open the wooden book.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Leo sighed slightly, feeling helpless and confused before he unhurriedly unfurled the pages of the book, reading a couple of its pages in a matter of short minute... Couldn''t help but unfold a shocked expression on his face afterward due to the refined and high information it contained. "This... This information is too precious, are you really giving me this?" "Hehe~ all of the newly ascended Core Formation realm being on the town has a copy of it, don''t worry too much... Just ept it in order to deepen your basic knowledge regarding cultivation." Understanding Leo''s worry, Rosa who happened to be close to Leo abruptly opened her mouth... Exining how she received the same book when she advanced toward the core formation realm within the depths of the endless forest. Then began to speak on how she managed to survive the unceasing onught of the lightning on her advancement. Slightly boasting her impressive understanding of Rule and so on... Causing Leo to unfold a strange expression on his pale face due to Rosa''s barrage of unending words, feeling that his ears were about to pop up after minutes of listening to Rosa. *** Soon, after another 2 hours of conversation. The group finally bid farewell to Leo, exiting the nd cemetery afterwards upon seeing that the sun already vanished from the far horizon, dyeing the firmament above with a rich orange hue as pure darkness began to appear toward the far East... Making Leo heave a deep sigh of exhaustion upon beholding the disappearing silhouettes of the group from the rusting gate of the nd cemetery. Feeling fortunate that the group didn''t ask him too many questions regarding his swift cultivation speed. Furthermore, they seemed not to notice that something was amiss with his physique! Allowing him to save some of his mental energy froming up with lies that they would forcefully believe! Huff~ Unfolding a weak smile on his face, sensing that the Yin energy within the area of the nd cemetery began to drastically increase due to the help of the lightless night... Leo began to retreat toward the depths of the nd cemetery, wanting to enter the forsaken pit before reading the wooden book that Sebastian gave him! Furthermore, other than that, Sebastian also gives him some of the bones of the Nascent Soul Snake that his Old man killed within the depths of the endless forest! Making him extremely excited upon getting his hands on high-level materials! Understanding, that the chance for him to create a puppet beyond the advanced grade finally arrived! A puppet with capabilities that are not weaker than a Core Formation realm being! "In addition to that, I also needed to go to the town twice a week in order to do my job... "Fortunately, Sebastian readily epted my request to build a clinic within the town... Making the difficulty of finding gravely injured being drastically reduced." ... Boom! Pitter... Patter... (Sounds of water droplets.) Thick water hurriedly sshed toward the void, creating ripples that travelled toward the unknown distance, destroying the eternal silence within the ce as Leo lightly patted the cold water that stuck to his physique due to his abrupt descent... Swish! Summoning a ball of me in the next second, making the temperature in the short distance increase drastically, evaporating the liquid within his wet clothes in the process. "Finally!" Feeling satisfied, Leo excitedly took out the wooden book within his inventory. Could already feel the anticipation coursing through his being as he began to read the information it carried seriously... Focusing on the knowledge it contained as he hurriedly became engrossed in its exnation and vastness. Clearing some of his doubts regarding cultivation and gaining knowledge that he wasn''t previously aware of. Furthermore, he began to understand realms beyond his level and the mysterious abilities they could use and muster! Making him feel insignificant upon understanding the strength they carried! In addition to that, he alsoprehends how he could further utilize his current strength, technique, and skills... Making hisbat capabilities slightly higher in the process! Huff~ "Other than that, I also gained deeper knowledge of how I could deepen and hasten myprehension of certain rules...'' *** "I see, I understand now... I didn''t expect that there''s too much realm beyond the Core Formation realm, to the point that I couldn''t see its end... "Sigh~ how amazing and depressing at the same time!" Closing the wooden book in his grasp before putting it inside his inventory. Leo''s eyes could be faintly discern releasing an intense brilliance of wisdom as he stared at the damp and dark atmosphere, feeling enlightened uponprehending the knowledge that the book contained! Pondering deep within himself, feeling that he needed to slightly change his ns upon reading the book. ... Keke~ "As expected, above the Core Formation realm is the Nascent Soul realm, followed by the Soul Formation realm and Void Amalgamation realm.'' As for whaty beyond the Void Amalgamation realm, Leo was currently unaware of it since the book didn''t specify them... It only told him that there are still realms beyond the Void Amalgamation realm! Causing him to overthink for a while due to his intense curiosity. Soon, shaking his head upon being unable toe up with guesses. Leo hurriedly focused his mind on the specialties of every realm... Wanting to imprint it within the depths of his consciousness in order to ready himself when the time came. "Nascent Soul realm, I didn''t expect that other than theplete domain that could umte more than one living being inside them... The space within theirplete domain was also 10 timesrger than that of the iplete domain! "Furthermore, upon advancement, they would also gain a soul-bound beast egg! An egg that contains an unknown beast inside them! "Not only the beasts were extremely loyal to their master, but they were also extremely intelligent! Although notparable to an adult, their intelligence could still rival a 13-15 year old child!" Taking a deep breath, calming his nerves down due to the sheer excitement, Leo again continued. "Unfortunately, in order topletely hatch the egg, a being needed to at leastprehend 2plete rules! Making it extremely challenging topletely hatch the soul-bound beast egg in the process!'' ... Huff~ "No wonder I didn''t notice the mayor''s pet that time. He probably wascking the basic requirements to hatch his soul-bound beast egg.'' Momentarily pausing, still arranging his thoughts as he instinctively gazed toward the unknown depths of the passage. Leo again continued. "Followed by the Soul Formation realm. Other than the drastic increase in soul, mental, and physical prowess after advancement, they would also form their unique pces based on the threeplete rules theyprehended...'' As for the usage of the unique pce, the book didn''t exin it further... Only allowing him to understand that the Soul Formation realm being could use their unique pces andplete domain at the same time! Creating dreadful effects that he would only learn if he stepped into that realm! *** Chapter 224 Unexpected Meeting (1). As for the Amalgamation realm, aside from being stronger than the Soul Formation realm by folds. Leo waspletely aware of the unique abilities they could muster. Making him sigh in emptiness upon being unable to wholly understand the said realm. Akin to watching an anime but only to meet an intense cliffhanger in the end... Worse is, it doesn''t have the next episode! Causing him to overthink the possible abilities they hold. Sigh~ "Never mind, I should focus on my current situation first. "I should find a way to increase my foundation before attempting to increase my level and eventually advancing toward the Nascent Soul realm in the future!" Pondering deep within himself, Leo leisurely closed his eyes as he began to delve within the depths of his soul, staring at the outer shell of his multi-colored liquified Core. Following the instructions within the wooden book that could help a being determine whether their foundation was solid or not. Leo began to behold the thin surface of his core, giving him the sensation simr to a feeble ss that was about to crumble upon being caressed by the wind... Allowing him to understand that his current foundation was extremely weak! Greatlycking inparison to the other normal cultivator''s core! If he doesn''t find a way to strengthen his foundation, then the chances of him safely advancing to the Nascent Soul realm are almost nil! To the point of almost impossible! If he remembered correctly, not only would the peak of the Core Formation realm would face and summon the unending onught of the heavenly lightning which was times stronger than when they advanced toward the Core Formation realm! But they would also summon the mysterious Mental Demon that was capable of deceiving one''s mind, soul, and heart! If a cultivator didn''t manage to extricate themselves from the Mental Demon in time, then death only awaited them! There''s no chance of survival at all! Sigh~ "As expected, It was bound to happen due to me heavily relying on consuming negative emotions just to upgrade my level... "Furthermore, It''s not even a week''s time when I advanced toward the Core Formation realm, yet I was already at the mid-stage, the peak of Level 6 of the Core Formation realm! "Onlycking 3,000 exp in order to advance to level 7!" ... "I guess, I needed to experience more head-onbat in order to strengthen my foundation. "Furthermore, I also needed to deepen myprehension regarding my cultivation techniques and skills... Compressing my liquified core till the outer surface of it began to be thick..." Hmm? Weird... Taking a deep breath, hurriedly opened his eyes. Leo unfolded a strange expression on his pale face as he examined the rotting skull that suddenly grazed his physique due to the ripple that unceasingly urred within the unknown depths of the passage. Making the color of his eyes deepened as he activated its uniqueness, immediately allowing him to sense the dangerous aura that was oozing from the far direction... Causing him to be curious regarding the thing that was transpiring in its direction... Churn~ Boom! In an instant, Leo still hadn''t decided whether to check the thing that was happening in the far distance or not, when suddenly, out of nowhere, a weak sound of explosion resounded within the unknown depths of the passage... Following by the intense quaking within the almost enclosed cave he was currently in as the stctites above crazily shook under his confused eyes. Watching some of them fall toward the wet cold ground as they created waves of thick water that sshed toward the environment... Destroying the serenity of the ce as chaos began to take the lead. ... Swish~ Bang! Evading the sharp stones that were falling from the ceiling above... Leo hurriedly activated his invisibility skill, frowning slightly as he rushed toward the direction where he sensed the intense fluctuations of Qi and Rules. Feeling confused regarding how the Core Formation realm beings managed to enter this ce without him noticing...N?v(el)B\\jnn As for the thought that the one fighting was the inhabitant of this ce, the possibility of that happening was quite small. Since so far, he hadn''t noticed the presence of Core Formation realm beings within the diameter of 10 miles away from the entrance of the forsaken ce! Not only did Leo often scout the ce to ensure the safety of the nd cemetery above, but Leo was also aware that the rules of the unknown beings were harnessing is extremely hard toprehend in this kind of ce where only the Rules under the Dao of Life, Death, and Darkness were present! If his senses were not ying tricks on him, the rules that the beings were using were rted to blood, me, ice, and moonlight! Making him believe that they somehow entered this ce from the other entrances that he wasn''t aware of! ... sh! Soon, upon entering the passage where the origin of the explosion could be loudly heard, an intense bright light, capable of momentarily blinding one''s vision suddenly appeared from the far distance... Instantly consuming the darkness within the damp atmosphere as Leo hurriedly and Instinctively closed his eyes. However, although that was the case, his thin eyelids only weakened the light he could see by a considerate amount, still blinding him in the process... Causing him to grit his teeth due to the difort he was experiencing and the intense coldness that the light carried. Frozing the sweat and water within the surface of his body in the process. Huff~ Feeling ufortable upon losing his sight, Leo hurriedly attempted to activate his divine senses in order to see the figures of his possible enemies in the far distance but only in vain! Further deepening the crease on his forehead upon feeling that his divine senses were somewhat suppressed in this kind of ce, only allowing him to sense the silhouette of the two within his mind which helped him a little... Boom! Squeak! (How dare you steal my precious spiritual fruit! I''m just waiting for it to mature yet you ate it when I''m pissing in the far distance!) Squeak! (Uneptable! You need to pay for it with your life!) *** Chapter 225 Unexpected Meeting (2). "This... Isn''t that the voice of the silver rabbit!?" Hearing the familiar squeaking of the silver rabbit reverberating within the almost enclosed space. Leo, hidden using his invisibility skill, couldn''t help but unfold a shocked expression on his pale face. Unable toprehend how the silver rabbit that should be within the catbs under his wooden house managed to reach this far ce while chasing the suspected quasi-devil... Furthermore, based on its angry yet cute voice, Leo concluded that the Quasi Devil did something bad toward the silver rabbit causing it to chase him with intense determination written on its fluffy face. ... "Damn! Who would have expected that there would be a beast hidden in this kind of ce!? "Furthermore, It actually reached the early stage of the Core Formation realm!" Grasping his wounded shoulder, using his exclusive healing skill toward it. The Quasi devil couldn''t help but curse under his breath, summoning an intense zing me that was capable of bending the fabric of space toward the atmosphere before hurling it toward the fast-approaching rabbit in the far distance...N?v(el)B\\jnn Evaporating the liquid on its way, burning the atmosphere within as he unfold a wicked smile on his crimson face, expecting that the silver rabbit could no longer evade due to the uniqueness of his skill. Squeak? (That''s all?) Sensing the extreme danger the me was emanating due to his passive epic senses. The silver rabbit unfolds a look of destain on its face before abruptly vanishing from its location. Traversing thend akin to streaks of moonlight as it mysteriously phases through the trajectory of the me... Causing the quasi devil''s eyes to widen in shock and disbelief upon being unable toprehend the thing he just saw. First time seeing a skill that was capable of phasing through skill! "This... What kind of monster are you!" Squeak! (I''m a rabbit you dumb*ss!) Boom! Summoning a silver boomerang within the void, releasing a streak of moonlight on its sharp surface toward the environment, the silver rabbit releases a loud sound of squeaking... Squinting its big round eyes before throwing his soul bound weapon toward the wounded quasi devil in the distance. Chuckling slightly in anticipation, couldn''t wait for the devil to get sliced into two with his weapon! ... Swish! The crisp sound of parting air resounded within the damp atmosphere, dyeing thend with its weak glow as the seemingly crescent moon swiftly approached the quasi devil. Reflecting the solemn look on its crimson face as it hurriedly swiped his right hand toward the side, gritting his teeth, suppressing the pain within his being as a ball of flesh suddenly emerged from the void. Soul Bound Weapon: Flesh Ball! Boom! Shouting inwardly, the floating ball of flesh on his front suddenly expanded, forming a 2-meter tall crimson liquified wall on his front as it blocked the boomerang... Causing the silver rabbit to sneer in dissatisfaction as it lightly raised its cute little paw. Making the falling Cresent boomerang hurriedly fly toward its direction. Huff~ Taking a deep breath,manding the wall of blood in front to revert back to its original size... The quasi devil, hurriedly grabbed the floating flesh within the atmosphere, hesitating slightly before lightly biting the corner of it, surprising the silver rabbit in the short distance as it beholds the wounds on the quasi devil visibly healed. "You hateful beast! You just force me to consume an amount of my soul bound weapon! "Do you know how long it would take for it to fully recover!" Releasing an intense malice on his crimson physique uponpletely being healed... The quasi devil hurriedly manipted the flesh of blood within his grasp, turning it into a sharp bloody dagger that oozed with a thick metallic scent that wafted toward every corner of the cave. Instantly invading the senses of the silver rabbit, causing its sense of smell to be impossible to use! Furthermore, it could faintly feel that there was something within the scent that was harmful to one''s physique, making the silver rabbit''s epic senses tingle weakly. Swish! Seeing that the core formation realm rabbit in the far distance seems upied with its thoughts. The quasi devil silently dashed toward its location, unfolding a cruel grin on his face as dark light could be faintly discerned under his soles. Increasing his overall speed by amount and at the same time lowering his presence! ... "Haha~ Die!" Soon, upon closing the distance between him and the silver rabbit, the quasi devil hurriedly shed his bloody dagger toward its head,ughing menacingly as he beheld the fear written within the big eyes of the silver rabbit... Couldn''t help but tremble in excitement upon feeling that the victory was within his grasp! Swish! However, surprisingly, the expected sensation of collision and the intense blooming of flesh and blood didn''t reflect in his grinning eyes... Instead, the figure of a silver rabbit in his front began to dematerialize toward the atmosphere. Akin to a mirage that began to evaporate toward the unknown upon being disturbed by external objects. "This is bad... an illusion!" Eximing within his mind, the eyes of the quasi devil suddenly constrict greatly, feeling his premonition tingling within him as the silhouette of the silver rabbit abruptly emerges behind his back. Grasping the familiar Cresent boomerang on its paw before motioning a sh toward his direction. Parting the atmosphere within as its soft and cold glow reflected his constricted crimson eyes, unfolding the fear and shock hidden within it! Again feeling the familiar sensation of death gazing toward his crimson being... SLASH! Boom! In an instant, upon collision, the thick crimson blood with a mixture of chunks of meat sshed toward the atmosphere, dyeing the cave with its metallic smell as the figure of the quasi devil uncontrobly hurled toward the solid wall in the short distance. Heavily crashing toward it, destroying the solid wall in the process as some of its debris scattered around the area. Furthermore, the dust that originated from the destroyed wall hurriedly filled the terrain, hindering everyone''s sight from seeing the bloodied figure of the quasi devil. Not allowing them to see if it was heavily injured from the silver rabbit''s surprise attack or not. *** Chapter 226 Unexpected Meeting (3). "Woah, the silver rabbit''sbat ability sure was scary... To the point that it could easily thrash a being 3 to 4 levels higher than it.'' In the far distance, the Imperceptible figure of Leo could be faintly discerned gazing toward the physique of the silver rabbit in pure amusement. Activating his soul scan skill as some of its descriptions and techniques reflected in his grey irises... Making him gasp from time to time regarding its changes upon not seeing it for about two to three weeks. Other than the changes on its previous level that surprisingly increased by two, Leo also noticed some new skills under its character panel. Ding! [ Illusion (Rare): Create an illusion that could deceive one''s mind, soul, and physique... Achieving wondrous effects in the process. Activation: 5-10 Qi, depending on how intricate the illusion was! ] In addition to that, it also learned a concealing skill and an offensive skill that were suspected it gained from consuming an unknown spiritual fruit. Although the skill wasn''t on the same level as its rare illusion skill, the effects of the two skills were also pretty good. Increasing its disposal in the process! Furthermore, itsprehension of its rule also increased by about 10%! Almost touching the 30% mark which was as good as being at the middle stage of the core formation realm! "As expected of a being that managed to evolve into a new race! "Its talent alone was enough to prove that it was the ancestor of its race!" Taking a deep breath, Leo secretly licked the corner of his dry lips, unfolding a cruel look in his eyes before lightly shaking his head. Couldn''t help but unfold a pity within his grey irises upon being unable to tame the silver rabbit in the past. Making him feel regretful upon losing a possible good pet. "Hopefully, it was still not toote to trick our little buddy. I still need a powerhouse to watch the nd cemetery when I go to the town in the next three days..." Although his silver skeletons have abat ability not weaker than a newly ascended Core Formation realm, their overall stats still couldn''t rival an elite being with at least ss jobs that go beyond the elite rarity! Making him feel hesitant to leave the cemetery on them.N?v(el)B\\jnn Furthermore, with skeleton #1 character, he could only count on skeleton #2 to closely watch the nd cemetery! This causes him to be desperate to find a loyal being who would watch the cemetery in his absence. "Unfortunately, I still hadn''t tried creating a puppet that hasbat ability that could rival a Core Formation realm cultivator... "However, with its high level, I probably wouldn''t be able to finish it in time. Only wasting my precious time in the process." ... Boom! As Leo was pondering deep within himself... in the far distance, within the destroyed rubles of the wall, a loud sound of explosion suddenly resounded. This was followed by intense pressure that suddenly shrouded the ce, weakening one''s movement due to its intense pressure, making the silver rabbit unfold a shocked expression on its big round eyes. Couldn''t believe that the hateful being still managed to release a dangerous aura even though it already severely injured its physical body! Squeak- (This! How hateful!) Soon enough, after the dust that lingered within the atmosphere was cleared away by the breeze that the pressure created, the figure of the quasi devil, devoid of any wounds on its physical body appeared under the senses of the two beings (the silver rabbit and Leo)... Making their eyes widen as they stared at the reduced "Flesh Ball" within the grasp of the quasi devil. Understanding that it again consumed part of his soul bound weapon in order to heal the injuries it took... Making the rabbit''s effort and surprise attack to be futile. This causes the silver rabbit to unfold a solemn look on his fluffy face. Squeak! Squeak! (So what, you''re soul bound weapon is already useless anyway! You could no longer effectively use it inbat with its current size!) Unfortunately, although it managed to wholly heal the injuries it received, the power of the quasi devil''s soul bound weapon also decreased drastically... Making it almost useless inbat due to its ipleteness. Allowing the silver rabbit to gain an advantage in their fight, achieving the expected win in the process! *** Swish! Swish! Not giving the quasi devil in the far distance enough time to think, the silver rabbit hurriedly flung its boomerang toward its direction, clenching its paws in the next second as the boomerang suddenly split into three parts... Creating three small versions of it that hurriedly hurl toward the quasi devil''s direction! Squeak! (Illusion!) Still not done, the silver rabbit viciously mumbled under its breath, causing the three boomerangs within the atmosphere to triple in numbers! Furthermore, surprisingly, every single one of them carried traces of the silver rabbit''s unknown rule... Making them extremely dangerous upon collision! "F*cking beast! It could even intelligently use its skills!" Gritting his teeth, knowing that he couldn''t evade in time due to the limited size of the passage and the boomerang covering his escape route... The quasi devil hurriedly summoned countless zing mes toward the atmosphere- hurriedly hurling them to the closing boomerangs in an attempt to stop them in their tracks or change their trajectory in order for them to miss his physique. As for attempting to destroy them, the thought of that didn''t even appear within his consciousness. Knowing that in order to damage a soul bound weapon, it''s needed a being at the high stage of core formation realm to bombard it with his/her offensive skills for couple of times! A testament to how high the durability of a soul bound weapon is! "Tsk- unfortunately, the silver rabbit didn''t dare to approach my location, causing me to be unable to activate my iplete domain! "Destroying his advantage in the process." Boom! *** Chapter 227 Hiring A Core Formation Realm Guard (1)! Soon enough, as Leo had expected, after fleeing and begging in desperation for almost a quarter of an hour. The lifeless and iplete body of the quasi devil lifelessly fell toward the ground, creating a soft sound that entered the ears of the happy silver rabbit. Squeak! (Hmmp. No one can get my spiritual fruits without paying for their lives!) Gripping the 1-meter-long boomerang on its paw, the silver rabbit releases a cute squeak, raising its long legs before heavily kicking the body of the quasi devil... Causing it to cave in due to the strength the silver rabbit''s legs carry! Releasing all of its grievances to its lifeless body, still feeling anger upon the spiritual fruit that it had been watching for almost a week vanished like that due to this hateful thief! Sniff~ Taking a light breath of relief and vexation, the silver rabbit unhurriedly sniffed the air within the atmosphere with its pink wet nose, squinting its eyes toward the empty atmosphere before squeaking calmly. Squeak, Squeak! (Are you done watching, Leo?) "Keke~ as expected of your Epic senses, just approaching your location and you would immediately know if someone was secretly prying on you." Deactivated his invisibility skill, the figure of Leo slowly outlined itself from the void, unfolding hispletely pale physique toward the vignt silver rabbit in the short distance. Seeing this, Leo only chuckled to himself, eyeing the corpse of the quasi devil on the ground before unhurriedly taking out a grade-two spiritual fruit within the void. "Hey buddy, do you want to trade that corpse with this spiritual fruit? I''m sure you don''t have uses with that corpse." Looking at the enticing dark fruit in Leo''s grasp and sniffing the tempting scent it was releasing, the silver rabbit couldn''t help but gulf in desire. Secretly clenched its cute little paw upon remembering that it still hadn''t eaten a spiritual fruit since yesterday, almost making him forget about its juicy taste. However, although desire was evident in its big round eyes, the silver rabbit still hadn''t replied to Leo. Clearly hesitating before looking straight into Leo''s eyes. Staring at Leo''s deep grey irises that reflected the corner of the abyss within before squeaking in a serious tone. Squeak, Squeak! (Do you think that you can fool me!? One spiritual fruit isn''t enough, I at least needed two!) Hearing the serious tone of the silver rabbit, the corner of Leo''s eyes couldn''t help but twitch crazily, not expecting that the silver rabbit already learned how to haggle the price. Furthermore... "I almost thought for a second that the silver rabbit would decline my request...'' "Good, then it''s decided then!" Taking out the same spiritual fruit within his inventory, Leo leisurely tossed it toward the excited silver rabbit in the short distance. Causing the silver rabbit to hurriedly vanish from its previous location, hurling its fluffy physique toward the spiritual fruit within the atmosphere before hurriedly grasping it within its little paws. Squeak! Nom~ Nom~ Not caring about the stupefied Leo in the short distance, the silver rabbit hurriedly nibbled the spiritual fruit within its grasp, unfolding an ted expression on its face as it relished the juicy and unique taste of the spiritual fruit... Crying pitifully upon finally tasting a new kind of spiritual fruit, causing the hidden sympathy within Leo''s being silently resurfaced. "This bastard, again trying to win people''s hearts with its acting!" Hurriedly shaking his head, ridding the negative and the forgotten emotions that suddenly resurface within his consciousness. Leozily approached the corpse of the quasi devil, bending his front knee and touching its now cold physique before hiding it within his inventory! Again getting his hands on Core Formation realm materials! Further strengthening the safety of his nd cemetery if he created it into a new puppet! ... "However, before that...'' Shifting his gaze toward the eating silver rabbit in the distance, Leo unhurriedly began to approach it, causing thetter to hurriedly hide the 1 and a half spiritual fruit within its back. Shooting a vignt on its fluffy face as it stared at Leo''s approaching figure... Squeak, Squeak! (What do you want? Don''t try to take my spiritual fruit back! I already put my saliva all over their surface!) This... "Do you think I''m that kind of person!?" Hearing the vignt voice of the silver rabbit, Leo''s pale lips couldn''t help but twitch, suppressing the urge to kick the face of the silver rabbit as he hurriedly took a long deep breath. Calming his being down before unfolding a light smile on his face, causing the silver rabbit to instinctively step back upon seeing this... Understanding that this is the face of those humanoid beings when they were nning something bad toward the others. ... Ding! [ Congrattions upon scarring someone! +1,000 horror points! ] "What the! I''m really that scary? To the point that even the silver rabbit feels slight fear toward me!'' Seeing the notification that suddenly emerged from the corner of his eyes, Leo''s smiling face suddenly became much colder, making him feel that his being was a curse! How could the silver rabbit be scared upon staring at his handsome face!? This is simply unbelievable! This was the fault of those debuff passive skills! I should have really upgraded my restraint skill to its maximum potential, to the point that no being would suffer from their debuff passive skills anymore! Huff~ "Keke~ don''t be afraid, I remembered that you currently don''t have a job. Do you want to guard the cemetery above?" Squeak? (Job? Guard?) In an instant, upon hearing Leo''s words, the silver rabbit immediately faces its back toward Leo''s direction before unhurriedly walking towards the depths of the unknown passage. Squeak! (Who do you think you''re!? How dare you ask a little beast like me to be a guard of your cemetery! Do I look like a fighter to you?) Mumbling toward itself, the silver rabbit immediately increase its pace, wanting to leave this scary cave where Leo resided...N?v(el)B\\jnn Wanting to avoid conversing toward thetter, understanding that Leo contained unknown trickery on himself! *** Chapter 228 Hiring A Core Formation Realm Guard (2)! Beholding the retreating figure of the silver rabbit. Leo didn''t show a panicked expression on his pale face, instead, he just lightly chuckled at himself before shaking his head with regret. "I see, unfortunately, I would probably need to find others who were capable of guarding my farm... "Sigh~ It''s really troublesome to nt and take care of the spiritual nts." Squeak? (Farm and Spiritual nts?) Faintly hearing the weak voice of Leo in the distance thanks to its epic senses, the silver rabbit suddenly paused on its tracks... Gulping the chunks of spiritual fruit within its mouth before pondering deep within itself. Delving toward its memories, finding where it heard the familiar word. Squeak~ (This... Isn''t that the farm where I stole some spiritual fruits in the past!) Soon, upon remembering the certain scene within its mind, the big round eyes of the silver rabbit suddenly released an intense brilliance of glow that was akin to moonlight. Hurriedly turning back, hopping its strong legs before dashing toward Leo... Retracting the excitement within its being before showing a serious look on its face. Squeak... (What kind of spiritual fruits you were raising?) "Uhmm... Grade 3 and below spiritual nts, there are also dozens of grade 1 spiritual nts that were about to mature in next week." Seeing this, Leo unfolded a knowing look in his eyes, understanding that he already piqued the silver rabbit''s interest and desires. "Fortunately, you didn''t ept my request, or else I will be required to share the tenth of the Spiritual FRUITS and Herbs that I harvest on the farm to you, for your sry..." ... Squeak~ Comprehending that it would be extremely difficult for it to find spiritual fruits within this kind of ce since most of them have already been upied by beasts. Furthermore, upon the spiritual fruit ripened and matured in this kind of ce, most of the beast would immediately consume them! Not allowing anyone to have a chance to steal from them. The silver rabbit unfolds a hesitation on its face, pondering whether to ept Leo''s deal or not. Although it didn''t know how many of the tenth of spiritual fruits within Leo''s farm were, the silver rabbit at least was aware that it was still not enough for its appetite. It clearly needed more! Squeak- (No, at least increase my sry! Make it twentieth of the harvest!) "This... Alright, I ept!'' "Keke~ As expected of the beast, although its intelligence wasn''t lower than a human, the knowledge it knows still wasckingpared to thetter...'' *** Soon, In an instant, after Leo was done guiding the silver rabbit within the area of his nd cemetery, making it more familiar with the ce it would safeguard from now on... Leo again descended toward the forsaken pit, taking the rotting materials within his inventory one by one before cing them on the wooden table in his front. Inspecting their quality carefully, removing the unusable and destroyed materials before tossing them toward the far distance... Causing the puppet resting within the ce to hurriedly rush toward it, consuming it in a matter of seconds before reverting back to what they were previously doing. Again shrouding the cave with its usual serenity... "Hmm, I could use some parts of the Nascent Soul realm bone in my new creation. Since every size of its bone was extremelyrge, I could at least create dozens of puppets when I used it sparingly. "Furthermore, I could also use the skin and flesh of the quasi devil in order to increase its power value and strength... "Causing its chances to reach the core formation realm drastically increase!" ... "However, before that..." Taking a deep breath, calming his excited being down, Leo unhurriedly stretched his pale arm toward the void. Grasping something within before hurriedly retracting his arm in the next second. Keke~ Gazing at the 4 intricate bronze medallions within his right hand, Leo''s lips slowly curled up, feeling the anticipation coursing through his being as he willed the system hidden within his consciousness. Wanting to upgrade his Puppetry and Potion knowledge to the next level in order to increase his chances of creating a Core Formation realm puppet!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Although it was really hurtful to transfer knowledge from the system directly to his illusionary brain, akin to being stabbed by countless knives to his head before viciously twisting every single one of them. This was the only way to further increase his knowledge regarding puppetry and potion with swift speed! "Keke~ Hopefully, my current soul power was enough to digest the knowledge of the two, or else, I would again stand in this damp ce for a couple of hours." ... Ding! [ Upgrading your "Advanced Puppetry and Potion knowledge" to the "Quasi Mastery of Puppetry and Potion knowledge" would cost 4 medallions of forceful upgrade and 10,000 horror points... (ept/Declined)? ] "System, is my soul power enough to support the knowledge of the two?" Ding! [... Yes, I guess so.] Feeling tense all of a sudden upon seeing the notification that appeared in front of him... Knowing that the hateful system wouldn''t reply to him normally since it wants to see him suffer. Leo couldn''t help but loudly curse within his mind, making him grit his teeth in anger as he immediately pressed the ept button within the illusionary panel in front. Readying himself from the inevitable suffering. Believing that he would only gain what he wanted through difficulties and pain! Ding! [ ... ] Soon enough, upon hearing the familiar sound of metal striking another metal within his consciousness. The sensation of countless ants, biting his brain immediately arose within his being. Followed by the endless stream of unknown knowledge that heavily bombarded his mind, making it more chaotic, drastically increasing the pain he was experiencing by folds! "AHHHH!" Shouting loudly, Leo unconsciously activated his "Dying Immortal" skill, slightly lowering the pain he was bearing in the process. Allowing him to slightly gain the traces of his sanity. With bloodshot eyes, Leo shakily opened his pale palm, summoning his Life Origin me as he willed it to hurriedly shroud his physique... *** Chapter 229 Quasi Masterery! Sizzle~ Soon enough, the pure white me, devoid of any impurities engulfs Leo''s figure, giving him a slight sensation of warmth within his being. Lowering the pain he was experiencing by at least a fifth in the process! However, although that was the case, Leo could still be seen crazily trembling on the wet ground. Disturbing the water beneath, creating waves that travelled toward the depths of the unknown passage. ... Soon, after another hour of enduring the intense agony of receiving knowledge within his mind. Leo slowly opened his eyes, breathingboriously as the lingering pain still coursed through his being. Feeling that his consciousness would have exploded in the next second if the knowledge hadn''t halted pouring into his mind. Huff~ "In the future, I wouldn''t attempt to upgrade my knowledge-rted skill if I hadn''t increased my soul power by another 200 stats... I almost feel Death was waving his scythe to my pitiful soul." After calming his chaotic thoughts, Leo unfolds a dazzling smile on his face, revealing the pearly white teeth behind his pale lips before chuckling crazily. Alreadyprehended how he could create a Core Formation realm puppet with the current materials he had. Furthermore, he also managed to glean strange knowledge that he could use inbat! Making him feel shocked at the absurdity of the knowledge he gained, never expecting that the puppetry and potion knowledge could be used in directbat upon increasing their mastery to a high level! "Keke~ I guess that my enemies would never expected this type ofbat style. "Who would have thought that I could hinder other''s actions by using my "Qi Thread" skill? Furthermore, I could also use them like sharp needles that were capable of prating the skin of the Core Formation realm cultivator! "Other than that, I also could create numbers of poison with my potion knowledge!" Pondering slightly, Leo couldn''t help but remember the words he heard before the apocalypse arrived. Making him feel that it really made sense uponprehending the knowledge he gained from his "Potion Knowledge" skill. "Keke~ Medicines could also be used as poisons sometimes." *** "Now, let''s start..." Weakly mumbling to himself, Leo began to carefully sculpt the ball of gold in his hand. Polishing it to be a perfect sphere. A product of countless earth golds that he melted in order to cleanse the impurities within and increase their weight and size in the process so it could contain more Qi within the object... Bing the artificial core of the puppet he was creating. Other than that, it could also ensure the smooth movement of the puppet, allowing them to fully showcase their abilities withoutgging. Tap- With a glow on his pointed finger, Leo manipted his Qi Thread with ease, easily carving inscriptions to earth gold within his hand without damaging the not intended parts. Seriously following the blueprint that he gains from the system, wanting to avoid creating mistakes. Not wanting to gain a strange puppet that would meow instead of cawwing. ... Huff~ "Finally, it was done!" Heaving uncontrobly, Leo instinctively looks at his character panel, only to see that 15 percent of his Qi has already been consumed just by inscribing the artificial core. Almost 5 times more than inscribing a normal earth gold. "As expected to my creation that goes beyond the advance grade!" Soon, after resting for half an hour. Mostly consumed in carefully inspecting the ball of gold in his hand in order to see if he created mistakes earlier. Leo began to take out the materials within his inventory, cing them toward the empty wooden table in the far distance before starting to stitch the beast''s separated parts. Slowly molding the puppet he was creating, making Leo''s lips uncontrobly curled up upon seeing his creation slowly beplete under his deliberate control. Feeling the strange fulfillment within his being upon thinking that he was about to create something grand! A puppet that could give nightmares to the beings within the depths of the Endless Forest! *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon creating your first High-grade puppet for the first time! +20,000 horror points! +12 Free attribute points! +2 High enlightenment stones! ] "Keke~ sweat!" Seeing the notification that appeared in the corner of his eyes, Leo immediately opened his character panel before putting all of his free attribute points toward his soul power. Lowering the swelling of his soul by a considerate amount. Causing him to heave a sigh of relief upon finally feelingfortable. Taking a deep breath, Leo excitedly shifted his gaze toward the puppet he created, couldn''t help but feel the deep anticipation within his being as he lightly touched the cold surface of the puppet. Its two-meter-long pale body, devoid of any limbs reflected to his grey irises. Followed by its cold and emotionless reptilian eyes that were releasing an ufortable coldness within, curiously sweeping around. Its uneven metallic scales, stitches using the scales of countless beasts, glint under the glow of themp in the short distance. Allowing one to understand that they could tank the attack of core formation realm cultivator due to the slight pressure they were emitting. Other than that, its face which was simr to a human, did a hissing sound toward the damp cave... Instinctively making one''s mind tremble due to the unique passive skill it carried. "Keke~ you will be the current and most horrifying puppet I created! You were bound to give this daddy his horror points!" Beholding the slithering snake with the face of the devil in the distance, Leo couldn''t help but release a deranged and maddenugh. Causing the puppets that were watching the show to unfold fear in their intelligent eyes, much more scared of theirughing masterpared to the abomination puppet in the distance. Since most of them were just born a month ago, they currently don''t know about normal standards in terms of appearance, causing them to be immune to the horror of one''s looks. In fact, they even think that the figure of the snake in the distance was much more normalpared to the face of their creator. It looks more horrifying than the snake and doll that was oozing with flesh on its pale porcin face! *** Keke~ Leo, clearly unaware of what was happening within the minds of his puppets in the far distance, unfolds a smile on his face before using his "Soul Scan" toward the human-faced snake. Wanting to glean its description and strength. Understanding its capability in the process! Ding! [ Devil Faced Snake (High-low grade): A snake puppet with a devil face. Created using countless materials, including the Nascent Soul Snake bones, the corpse of a quasi-devil, and the scales of countless beasts! Innate skill: Cold Blooded (Rare) ______Atrributes______ Core Formation realm level 2: (Could Increase a little by digesting flesh!) Health: 500/500 Qi Storage: 500/500 Stamina: 500/500 Strength: 300 Speed: 250 Qi Power: 250 ______Skills______ Skill: Abomination (Rare), Advance Slithering (Elite), Advance Coiling (Elite), Poisoned Pangs (Elite), Dead Object (Elite), Basic Intelligence (Umon)... ] ... Reading the information about his newly created puppet, Leo couldn''t help but show a slight dissatisfaction within his being. Although its basic stats could rival a normal core formation realm cultivator that reached level 4, overall it was still weaker than the newly ascended core formation realm! With theirprehension of rules and their iplete domain, destroying the Devil-Faced Snake within five minutes was possible... Making it almost useless in Leo''s eyes. Furthermore, other than its two rare skills, respectively the "Abomination" and "Cold Blooded", all of its skills only reach the Elite rarity! Deepening the disappointment in his being as he couldn''t help but shake his head. "A pity, but at least it could kill and hold beings below the Core Formation realm... "Maybe I could also let it handle cultivators at the core formation realm while I was battling others. "However, nheless, the help it could give was extremely limited." ... Soon, after pondering for a while yet couldn''t find a solution in order to increase itsbat ability, Leo eventually decided to let it guard the cemetery. Letting skeleton #2 be its guide as he cleaned the wooden table in the short distance. Pondering slightly before hiding the unused materials within his inventory. Ding! [ Congrattions upon scaring a being... [ Congrattions upon scaring a being... [ Congrattions upon scaring a being... ]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om +12,240 horror points! However, as he was taking out his ck cauldron within his inventory, nning to curse the low devil in order to relieve the disappointment inside him. The sound of five consecutive notifications loudly rang within his consciousness. Making him pause in pure confusion before hurriedly reading the information that pops up in his front. "This... What the!" *** 8 minutes earlier. Upon hearing his master''smand, Skeleton #2 hurriedly nods its silver skull, gesturing toward the reluctant snake in the distance before heading toward the entrance of the forsaken ce. Dragging the snake''s heavy physique toward the surface of thend, couldn''t help but heave a deep sigh of relief upon finally seeing the darkness above the firmament. nk, nk- (I don''t know why Master created a snake within that ce, he probably forgot that it would be hard for them to climb that hole.) Hiss~ Staring curiously around it, the human-faced snake beside skeleton #2 couldn''t help but hiss excitedly, slithering as it gazed toward the concrete tombs nearby. Relishing the feeling of yin energy that wasing beneath the earth, feeling that it was nourishing its being with their unknown properties. nk! (Wait! I still need to guide you before assigning your location!) *** Chapter 230 Human Faced Snake! nk! (Where did that snake go?) In an instant, after trying to chase the human faced snake for almost two minutes but to no avail, Skeleton #2 helplessly halted on one of the tombs in vexation. Although hisbat ability could rival those beings at the early stage of the core formation realm, his overall stats especially his speed, couldn''t keep up with their basic attributes that were further elevated in every level. Causing him to lose his sight to the human faced snake after chasing it for a while. ... Hissss! In the far distance, miles away from Skeleton #2, the long body of the human faced snake could be seen swiftly transversing the softnd. Excitedly looking around with curiosity, carefully inspecting everything as it often made a hissing sound. Unknowingly, after slithering for a while, the human faced snake exited the nd cemetery. Causing the nd and broken tomb within its vision to slowly dwindle in number. Furthermore, the grasses around began to increase in size, perfectly hiding its visage in the process. ... "This, are you sure that there were beings living in this kind of ce? Maybe you just misheard it from those core formation realm cultivators earlier?" shing the weeds on their way with his "Sharp Wind" skill. Jerome leisurely retracted his palm, looking at his friends beside him before inquiring them with serious expression. Still couldn''t believe that there would be beings crazy enough to stay in this kind of dpidated and forsaken ce instead of staying in the town. Although the town might not be safe, it''s still better than staying in this ce where ferocious beasts often roamed around. "You had already been asking me the same question 3 times! I already said that I heard it from Jake! "With how loud his mouth was, it''s almost impossible to not hear what he was saying. "Besides that, even if he was lying, it''s still better to make sure if there was really a potion master living in this kind of ce. "Don''t forget that we desperately need potions that could help us increase our chances to safely advance... With how limited the potion masters'' are within the town right now, it''s almost impossible for them to help us!" Furthermore, with the recent cmity in the town, two of the potion masters unfortunately meet their demise under the merciless onught of the quasi devils. Making potion masters within the town further dwindle in number. Hence, the price of potions increases drastically... To the point that even thete foundation realm beings couldn''t afford them. ... Taking a deep breath, Ker stared at his friends on his back, ensuring that they were carefully listening to him. With how chaotic the world is right now and how they behold the massacre that took ce that night, they were desperate to increase their strength. Understanding that they could only rely on themselves when the same situation recur again. "But, why they didn''t invite that being to the town instead of letting him stay in this ce?" Soon, seemingly noticed the loophole in Ker''s words. A man in his early twenties, holding a bronze spear in his right hand uttered in doubt. "Indeed that makes sense." This... "Who knows? With how the world is changing. It''s inevitable for some humans to prefer staying in a cold, dpidated, and gloomy cemetery..." "There''s also the probability that he has a skill that was suitable for using in that kind of ce..." ... Crunch- Hisssss~ As they were carefully advancing forward, conversing in a hushed tone, a sudden sound of dry branches that were being crushed under the unknown weight... creating a crispy tone within the silent forest, suddenly entered the group''s senses. Making them exchange nces toward each other as they hurriedly inspect the still dark forest... Being shrouded in damp mist and cold energy that wraps toward the nd trees and grasses around, slowly creating dew in the process. Hisss~ Soon, after a minute of standstill. Understanding that they couldn''t continue like this, Jerome abruptly motioned a sh toward the grasses around. sh! Summoning a sharp gale of wind that carried traces of certain rules within that hurriedly cut the nearby grasses. Unfortunately, Jerome''s intended purpose to clear the grass around backfired to them. Instead of clearing the way, unfolding the hiding beast in the process. The cut and separated parts of the nd grasses flew toward the atmosphere due to the air current his previous skill created. Greatly hindering their vision in the process... ... Hiss! The hidden beast, understanding that the vision of the group was greatly limited due to the sudden chaos they created, hurriedly slithered toward the back of the group. Eyeing the person that unconsciously separated from the group by meters before abruptly hurling its tail toward it. Manipting its size, causing it to increase by meters before hurriedly coiling around the man''s body. Tightening its grip to prevent its victim from escaping. Sensing the tail that abruptly coiled toward his waist, the man was about to shout in horror and fear when suddenly... The upper body of the seeming snake abruptly entwined his physique, covering his mouth in the process as the air that was about to escape his throat got stuck within. Bang... With an almost inaudible sound, the body of the man plummeted on the cold ground, eyes widening as he stared at the face of the hissing snake. Feeling uncontrobly fear and horror bloom through his consciousness as he stared at the crimson yet pale face of the snake that was highly simr to a human. Watching it unfold amusement on its monstrous cold eyes as its fork-like tongue lightly touched his pale and horrified face. Grrr! (Incoherent sound of agony.) Not even a second passed by, as the man was walking within the tightrope of losing consciousness caused by fear... and death due to the air not escaping his mouth and nose. The coiling of the snake further tightened, causing him to groan in pain as the air within his throat abruptly entered through different parts of his body... Making him feel like a balloon being squished by a child. ... "Ramon!" Finally noticing the absence of their friend after 5 seconds of chaos. Aris, who was holding a bronze spear in his hand hurriedly gazed toward the distance, watching the back of the pale snake tightly coiling around something. Making his eyes widened in shock and horror in the next second as he faintly discerned the face of the snake, causing his body to tremble slightly before biting the corner of his lip until it bled. Forcefully suppressing the horror he was experiencing as he hurriedly rushed toward the direction of the snake... Cra-crack~ Couldn''t help but curse under his breath in the next second as he could faintly hear the faint sound of cracking bones originating from the location of the abomination. Understanding that their time was limited, Jake and Ker hurriedly activated their long-range skill, filling the atmosphere with their destructive aura before hurling them toward the head of the snake. Wanting to avoid itsrge body in order to not hurt their friend inside. ... Hisss!!! Boom! Sure enough, due to it coiling the unknown man with its long body, the human faced snake couldn''t evade in time. Causing the offensive skills of the three to heavily hit its pale physique, making it hiss in pain as it decided to abandon the unconscious man it was coiling. Hurriedly slithered toward the tree in the distance, hiding above its canopy as it coldly eyed the four humanoids being beneath- readying for another round of battle. "Ramon!" Seeing that the snake fled toward the depths of the darkness, the group immediately rushed toward the battered figure of their friend. Couldn''t help but clench their fist in anger and shock as they behold how Ramon''s robust physique suddenly turned lean due to the coiling of the snake. Bending his front knee, Jerome tensely and carefully ced his pointed finger below Ramon''s nose. Sensing the faint heat it was releasing- signifying that Ramos was still alive although barely... Making him heave a sigh of relief.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Huff~ we needed to find a healer quickly! He wouldn''tst long with the destroyed bones within his body..." Howl~ (Sound of parting wind from above.) Raising his head, facing the anxious face of the group, Jerome hurriedly uttered in a slightly panicked voice. Couldn''t help but instinctively raise his head due to the strange noise that suddenly entered his ears... Pausing in the next second before unfolding a look of horror in his ck eyes. Beholding the descending human faced snake from above. Watching it open its mouth as its fork-like tongue viciously hissed in their direction. "This... Run!" With instinctive action, Jerome hurriedly carried the unconscious body of Ramon before dashing toward the far distance. Not caring whether it would worsen the injuries of his friend or not since he knew that it was better than dying under the sheer weight of that horrifying snake! At least, even if Ramon''s injuries worsen, there''s still a chance for him to survive! *** Chapter 231 Using the Archives of Witch Doctor for the first time (1)! Boom! Soon enough, after Jerome retreated for about 3 meters. The sound of heavy crashing resounded to his ears. Followed by the debris of earth hitting his physique, giving him a slight sensation of pain. Dust lingered within the atmosphere. With the addition of darkness that shrouded the epasses of thend, the vision of the group further diminished. nting uncertainty within their being as they hurriedly approached each other, understanding that they could reduce the chances of the abomination ambushing them if they watched each other''s back. "What kind of abomination is that!? This is my first time seeing so horrifying!" Ker, staring at the clearing atmosphere in the distance, couldn''t help but curse under his breath. Staring at the pale face of the snake, beholding how its expression changed from time to time. Showing a yful, vicious, and amusement from its dreadful face! Making his heart tremble slightly due to the instinctive fear hidden within his consciousness upon seeing something unexinable. Furthermore, its strength was unclear under his deliberate prying! His scan skill only shows that its level was between the very peak of the foundation realm and the early stage of the core formation realm. ... Hissss~ Seeing that the humanoid beings in the distance don''t have ns on further attacking it. The pale snake hurriedly manipted its size, further increasing it to 5 meters long as its face also began to stretch in a spine-chilling way... Causing them to slightly tear in the process as rotting flesh and dark disgusting blood began to ooze from the snake''s nonexistent injuries. Making the group hurriedly covered their nose and mouths, suppressing the desire to puke as they could sense that their stomach began to crazily churn upon watching the nauseating sight in the distance. Although they had experienced lots of horrible things in the past, the human-faced snake in the distance was beyond their imagination. It was simply born to portray the hidden horror within everyone''s heart! ... Boom! "F*CK!" Sure enough, with its elevated size. Merely flicking its tail was enough to reach their location. Causing them to hurriedly retreat before casting all of their offensive skills. Filling the damp atmosphere with different kinds of lights that lightly illuminated the surroundings... before hurling them at the human-faced snake in the next second. Fortunately, with minimal effort of hurling their skill, the chances of hitting the abomination in the distance were quite high. Causing their skill to instantly hit its pale physique as they behold how its uneven scale deflected some of their attacks. Making the look on their face darken slightly in the process. "Damnit! Don''t stop, just bombard it with offensive skills! "I don''t believe that we wouldn''t be able to destroy its protective scale after raining it with dozens of skills!" Boom! Hisssss! As they were busy bombarding the pale body of the snake, the soft earth beneath them suddenly caved in. Reasoning for them to lose their bnce as they behold dozens of earth spikes mysteriously emerge from the cold ground. Making their eyes widen in horror and fear as they instinctively jump away. However, with extra weight on Jerome''s shoulder, his movement was dyed and slowed by almost a second. Causing the earth spike to prate his soles, destroying the bones within as he couldn''t help but cry in pure agony and pain. Gritting his teeth, he forcefully snapped the spike that pierced his right sole. Using his uninjured leg to kick the emerging spike, causing his body to retreat due to the force he used. Huff~ "Are you okay?" Seeing the protruding bones on Jerome''s feet, Aris asked worriedly. Eyes not living the human faced snake in the distance as he took out a wound paste on his inventory before tossing it to Jerome. *** Spew! Showing amusement on its cold irises, the human faced snake opened its mouth. Revealing the spine-chilling scene beyond as bubbling toxicity could be faintly discerned umting from its throat. Gurgle- In the next second, under the wary gaze of the group. Dozens of thick saliva originating from the mouth of the snake hurriedly hurled toward their direction. Making their premonition tingle in difort as Jerome gritted his teeth before forcefully using his "Air Wave" skill. A skill that summoned an intense gale of wind from out of nowhere that was capable of uprooting a young tree. Sizzle~ Just as Jerome expected, after using his skill, the hurling saliva of the pale snake uncontrobly flew toward the far distance, hitting the thick trees behind the snake. Watching them swiftly corrode after being sshed by its toxicity, causing them to gulp in unison upon thinking what kind of scene would unfold if they got identally hit by it. "This... We need to retreat, that snake was clearly ying with us! "If it fully utilized its skills and body earlier on, then the chances of us surviving for minutes was almost nil!" Aris, noticing the rxed expression of the abomination in the far distance even after bombarding it with countless offensive skills, immediately understood that their chances of defeating thetter were almost impossible. Immediately speaking to Ker and Jerome beside him in a hushed panicked tone, couldn''t help but tremble slightly upon understanding that their life were already on the line. With possibilities of death if they hadn''t found a solution in time! "We can''t, we wouldn''t be able to go back in town on time. With its speed, it would be able to chase us after a minute of running. "This... W-why not leave here and let me buy you some time?" Shaking his head, feeling guilty upon dragging his friend into this kind of situation. Ker suggests to be left alone in order to buy his friends some time and hope to escape. "No, we might not die here... We needed to rush toward the cemetery and ask for help! That''s our only hope for survival!" Gritting his teeth, suppressing the pain that was coursing through his being, Jerome hurriedly spoke toward the group. Remembering the reason they came here in the first ce was to gain the help of the suspected Core Formation realm being on creating potions! Although potion master''sbat ability wasn''t that good, they often carried strange potions within them that were capable of increasing their capabilities above their natural order! Making them formidable in the process! *** Soon, after minutes of attempting to reach the cemetery. Boom! Dust filled the atmosphere as the battered body of Aris drew an ark within the sky, heavily hitting the soft ground in the next second. Trembling slightly in an attempt to stand up but to no avail! Earlier, in order to save the life of Jerome and Ramon from the fast-approaching tail of the snake, he uses his body to block the iing attack. Hence, to his current situation. Uggh- "I can''t feel anything... Everything feels numb..." He mumbled in half unconscious state, eyes blurry as he stared at the hissing snake in the distance. Beholding how it coiled toward the physique of Ker, tightening greatly as cracking bones could be faintly heard within. "We... Are we going to die in this kind of ce?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om He thought in regret before weakly shifting his gaze toward the almost disfigured body of Ramon whose situation was unclear and the bleeding Jerome nearby... Watching the fear in thetter''s eyes as it summoned countless offensive spells in the hope of saving Ker in the distance but to no avail, causing him to clench his fist due to how weak he was. nk- nk- As the group was bathing in the great sensation of despair, the body of the human faced snake in the far distance suddenly halted upon hearing the incoherent sound of nking. Showing slight fear within its eyes upon remembering themand of his master... However, due to its curiosity earlier, it had already forgotten about it. .... Beholding the clear emotion of fear within the irises of the abomination in the distance, the hope within Jerome''s eyes re-ignited. This caused him to hurriedly turn his head toward his back, hoping to gain the help of the being who identally entered this area. "This..." However, as if fate was teasing them. Upon tilting his head toward the origin of the nking sound on his back, his eyes immediately constricted. Beholding a silver skeleton that was constantly being shrouded by darkness, holding a bone sword in its left skeletal hand as it leisurely walked toward their direction. Its eyes, capable of trapping one''s soul inside emotionlessly sweep toward their beings. Probably contemting how it would kill them. "This is bad... It was a skeleton!'' Cursing within his head, Jerome was about to attack the being in the distance when suddenly, out of nowhere, a deep and emotionless voice mysteriously and imposingly resounded within the depths of his consciousness, making his eyes widen in shock in the next second. nk~ (If I were you, I wouldn''t provoke beings that you identally met. It might cost you and your friends lives in the process...) *** The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 232 Using the Archives of Witch Doctor for the first time (2)! "Wha-what are you?" Hearing the stuttering voice of the man nearby, Skeleton #2 just ignored him. Instead, he stared at the dumbfounded human faced snake in the distance before slowly approaching its location. nk- (Master is already on his way and I''m sure he wouldn''t like what you did to those humans.) Speaking emotionlessly directly toward the core of the snake. Skeleton #2 behold how its expression changes to slight fear in pure horror. Based on the inscription within its being, it could do what it wants but it''s taboo to anger the creator who made him. Failing to do so would lead to consequences that it surely doesn''t want to experience. Hiss! With evident trembling, the human faced snake hurriedly loosened its coiling toward the human inside it, reverting to its normal size as ity unmoving on the ground. Pondering how it could ease the emotions of his master upon arriving in this ce. As for escaping toward the depths of the endless forest, it currentlycks the consciousness, soul, and intelligence to do so... Making it choose based on the inscription that was imprinted to its artificial core. ... nk, nk~ (And you... You all are fortunate that no one entered the area of the cemetery yet, or else, no one would survive in your group. Of course, it was different if you all visited the cemetery in the daytime.) Soon, upon speaking those words. Within the canopy above, unceasing sounds of cawing immediately resounded within the silent forest. Rattle~ Followed by the sound of rattling grasses around the area... Making Jerome''s dark irises constrict greatly upon sensing the savage aura they deliberately emit. Even if he had no idea how many unknown beings were hidden within his sight, he could at least detect dozens of Foundation realm beings with his scout and senses skills.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "W-we didn''t know that, we only came here to ask the suspected potion ma-master hidden in this ce for assistance." nk- (You were searching for my master In this kind of time? Isn''t you all suspicious?) *** Swish~ Ding! [ Due to your human faced snake puppet scaring beings non-stop for almost 10 minutes, bathing in dense fear and despair of beings... it managed toprehend the corner of the Rule of Pure Despair on itself! ] Ding! [ Congrattions upon gaining a puppet that managed toprehend a rule on its own! +25,000 horror points! +24 free attribute points! +1 Chance toprehend certain rules or deepen one''s understanding of certain rules! ] "This, what kind of madness did that snake do!? I will let it do it for couple of times!" Traversing thend with swift speed, creating a crisp trail of wind in his every wake, Leo couldn''t help but unfold a confused look in his eyes. Couldn''t believe that the snake that he deemed useless gave him too much surprise after letting it outside for almost 20 minutes. "As expected, appearance alone could frighten beings. Even before the apocalypse arrived some beings already got scared upon staring at mirrors." Swish! Soon, after running for a while, the strange aura of the pale snake and Skeleton #2. In addition to the weak life force of suspected humans entered his demon senses. Making him change his courses before proceeding toward their location. Exiting the tall grasses that almost reached his head as the clearing in the distance entered his sight. "Hmm?" Shifting his gaze forward, the silhouette of the two-meter-long white snake, hissing on the ground dejectedly entered his grey irises, followed by the almost disfigured human beside it. In the distance, two other more humans, clearly unconscious, could be seen weakly heaving on the cold ground. Eyes on the back of their head as foam could be discerned bubbling from the corner of their mouths. Followed by Skeleton #2 frozenly staring at the injured man nearby, gripping its bone sword as if ready to strike at any second. ... Stay connected with empire "I, we only want to ask your master to help us with potions... Advancing toward the core formation realm without the help of potions is too... dangerous." nk- (I hope that you were telling the truth... Or else, you all don''t need to exist in this world.) Retracting his soul power within the consciousness of the man in front of him. Skeleton #2, hurriedly withdraws the pointing sword from thetter, hiding the cruelty on its eyes before facing the figure in the distance. nk, nk! (Huhu~ Master, you finally arrived, that snake''s speed was so fast that it vanished within my sight in the next second. I suggest that we recycle it!) Hisss~ Hisss! Hearing the words Skeleton #2 uttered, the human faced snake hurriedly shook its head, unfolding a tearful expression within its face that scared the dumbfounded Jerome in the distance. Not expecting that its tearful expression was much scarier than what they had seen earlier! "Keke~ there''s no need, I should have expected that High grade puppet was highly different from the advanced one." Leo reassured slowly, patting the head of the fearful snake as he couldn''t help but smile upon seeing another wave of horror points entering his ount. Feeling that his choice to create this puppet earlier was one of the best choices he made. "However, it''s really surprising that high grade puppets contained traces of intelligence within them although theyck soul. "Maybe I could create a real living being after I reach the very peak knowledge that the puppetry could give.'' ... Groan! Hearing the faint groan nearby, sensing the pure agony it was experiencing based on the sound it created. Leo hurriedly gazed toward the semi-unconscious man, couldn''t help but nod his head in acknowledgment upon seeing it still gripping the spear in its hand. Sigh- Sighing slightly, Leo leisurely approached the man, bending his front knee as he lightly touched its soft physique. Gasping afterwards upon not sensing the bones within its chest. "This... What are you nning to do to my friends?" "Shhh- just shout up for a minute, I''m sure you don''t want your friend to die from injuries right?" Upon uttering those words, Leo ignored the tense body of Jerome from afar. Mumbling within himself as he summoned a 1.5 meter tall wooden ward from the void. Materialization of the Healing Item: Wards of the Witch Doctor! In an instant, upon materializing within the atmosphere, the ward immediately releases a warm glow of pure light, containing vitality that shrouds the area of 5 meters. Although the ward''s healing capability wasckingpared to his other skills, it could ensure that the vitality of beings under it wouldn''t enter the critical rate. Ensuring one''s health stability. Furthermore, he also wanted to avoid directly healing the injured humans without aligning their bones first! Or else, they would retain their disfigured appearance in this lifetime! "I didn''t expect that the Archives of Witch Doctor woulde in handy in this kind of situation.'' Lightly touching the chest part of the man''s body with his pointed finger, Leo immediately activated his elevated extraction skill. Focusing his mind as he began to sense the bleeding innards of his patient. Sensing its almost pulverized bones that prated some of its organs. Taking a deep breath, Leo began to patiently manipte its small parts back to their previous and normal location. Healing them afterwards with a minute amount of his Life Origin me as he watches it mending toward its ribs... "It was fortunate that the life force of peak Foundation realm cultivator was extremely strong. "If mortal beings got hit in their chest even with 25 kilograms, the chances of them dying on the spot was quite high.'' ... Heaving a sigh of relief, Leo again focused on the bones that were embedded in the man''s organs. Carefully removing them, healing the bleeding parts of the organs before attaching the bones to their rightful ce. Ding! [ Congrattions upon healing a person on his deathbed for the first time! +10,000 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +1 High enlightenment stone! ] Ding! [Healing a person at his/her death bed (1/50)] Seeing the notification that emerged from the corner of his eyes, Leo couldn''t help but pause in his tracks, couldn''t help but show confusion on his face upon seeing it. "This... System, I thought that healing an almost dead person caused by my puppet wouldn''t count?" Ding! [ Normally, it wouldn''t count if you nned it or if your puppets and followers deliberately injured beings in order to help you advance your ss job... Since it was an ident, without detecting the host''s nning, it could be counted as saving one''s life. ] "I see...'' Understanding what his system meant, Leo didn''t waste any time as he immediately put all of his free attribute stats toward his soul power, further increasing it by 28 points! Although his soul power only increased by almost 2%, it still decreased the strain and pain on his soul upon gaining that knowledge. Reducing the difort he was experiencing in the process! *** Chapter 233 Comprehending the Rule of Destructive Lightning! (1) Caw! Caw! The sound of crows unceasingly echoed within the periphery of the nd cemetery, weing the rising sun in the far horizon of the firmament. As its light began to graze the epassingnd, pushing the darkness toward the other corner of the world. The dew that umted from the tips of the leaves began to fall toward thend. Giving nutrients to the waving grasses beneath as they began to sway under the illumination of the sunlight. In the far distance, hundreds of meters away from the nd and gloomy cemetery. The silhouette of a pale human, panting heavily under the glow of the wand that was gliding within the atmosphere, could be seen unfolding a slight smile on his cold face. Staring at the void whileughing, giving a sensation of madness to the beings that were currently staring at his silhouette. They couldn''t help but be tense upon thinking that the human probably lost its sanity upon tirelessly working for almost 2 hours! ... Ding! [ Healing a person at his/her death bed (3/50)] Seeing that the requirements of his ss job decreased by 3 in a matter of 2 hours. Leo couldn''t help but release an almost derangedugh, feeling that he had already seen the way to quickly upgrade his ss job toward the Elite rarity. Although it was unfortunate that the one human nearby wasn''t heavily injured, he still felt happy upon reducing the required numbers of his requirements. "Keke~ Since you all help me greatly, I will help you on concocting potions! You just need to give me the basic materials and I will lower my price by up to 50%! "However, for now, you need a good rest to recover the injuries you get." Staring at the three unconscious men on the soft ground, covered by different sizes of bruises and light injuries within their physique. Leo lightly shook his head in dissatisfaction. Couldn''tpletely heal them due to hisck of Qi and theck of nutrients within the bodies of the patients. Although they still look greatly injured right now, their injuries were actually not that grave. Hence, their life was currently out of danger. ... Soon, in an instant upon entering the area of the nd cemetery. The tense Jerome at the back of human faced snake couldn''t help but gulp upon feeling the gloomy atmosphere that hung above the cemetery. The canopy above, capable of stirring one''s mind, always cast its shadows toward the nd cemetery, hindering the sunlight from illuminating the cold ground- preventing the mist that hung within the atmosphere from dissipating. Followed by the sight of countless tombstones that were covered in ck flowers and weeds that grew from the gaps in the concrete. Giving him the imagination that they were relying on the corpse inside in order to sustain their lives. Rustle~ Not even a second passed by, while he was upied by his thoughts, a cold chilling breeze lightly touched his physique. Drilling toward his pores and entering his innards, lowering his mood in the process. This... Pausing slightly, Jerome mysteriously felt an unknown fear blooming within his mind. He didn''t know why and how, but he med it on the strange atmosphere of the ce, not to mention that he was currently sitting on the back of the abomination that almost killed them earlier! ... Caw! Seeing the familiar figure of Leo, the crow puppets above couldn''t help but release an intense sound of cawing before bing silent afterwards upon seeing the gaze of their master. Although they felt that their master''s moods right now were quite good, the instinctive fear within them, nted by the rumors of skeleton #1 still lingered within their consciousness. Making them want to avoid gaining their creator''s attention, afraid that he would notice theircking physique causing him to recycle them in the process! "Hmm... Strange, why do they all suddenly halt?" With a dark look, feeling that the opportunity to gain additional horror points slipped under his grasp. Leo raised his head, staring at the canopy above as he tried to find the hidden figure of his crows. Unfortunately, with how dense and thick the branches above were, he couldn''t sense their figure. nk~ (Master, where do we put those three unconscious men on the back of the snake?) "Just put them on the wooden house for now, I remembered that there''s still some extra room beside the room of Roy and his friends." nk- (Got it!) Soon, upon letting Skeleton #2 and the pale snake handle the rest, Leo went back toward the forsaken pit. Descending toward its cold ground before sitting in his usual ce. Closing his eyes afterwards upon finding the mostfortable position before again falling into another round of deep cultivation. Wanting to recover his lost Qi before cursing the three beings, respectively the man, violet, and the low devil... Ensuring that they wouldn''t have time to take their revenge, making their life a living hell in the process. ... Rustle~ In the unknown depths of the Endless Forest, where beasts at the very peak of the foundation realm could often seen roaming around. The bloodied and iplete physique of the low devil could be seen running forward with great difficulties, covering his wounded chest as he stiffly shifted his gaze toward his back. Beholding the weary figure of the familiar entric, wearing a maddening smile on its face. Still gripping that wooden saber of his as it asionally cut the grass on its way.N?v(el)B\\jnn Giving him much pressure upon feeling that the strength of its saber still hadn''t reduced, instead, he felt that it was much morepact than before! "Damn this Mad Saber! He still hadn''t given up after days of chasing!" Discover stories at empire Cursing within, the low devil hurriedly summoned a small fireball within the atmosphere, hurling it toward the Mad Saber on his back but to no avail! Unfortunately, with how low his Qi is right now. Unable to recover his Qi in the fast few days due to the damn Mad Saber, the capability and strength of his skills also suffered... Only retaining the basic strength of the newly ascended Core Formation realm cultivator in the process! Swish~ As he was being upied by the madman on his back. Unknowingly, meters away in front, a huge bird above the canopy suddenly excreted its dirt. Hitting the soft ground below in a matter of seconds as the low devil suddenly and identally steps into it, causing the low devil to slip! "This..." Beholding this, the Mad Saber unfolded a shocked expression on his face. Couldn''t help but ponder what kind of being the low devil had provoked in the past causing its luck to deteriorate into its minimal value. However, although he was quite curious about it, the Mad Saber didn''t let the opportunity in front of him pass. Clenching his wooden saber with enough force as destructive aura began to ooze from its corner. Unconsciously cutting the grasses nearby before he immediately motioned a sh toward the low devil in the distance. Crackle~ In an instant, the wind on the way of the low devil visibly parted away, creating a crisp sound as the imperceptible sharp aura collided with the tense physique of the low devil! ... Boom! Blood blossomed toward the sky, dyeing the grasses nearby with its thick color. Bathing them in its warm temperature for a while before eventually burning them in the next second due to the faint rule that was attached to the low devil''s blood. Thud! With a weak sound of a thud, the detached head of the low devil hit the cold ground, rolling for a couple of meters before stopping. Facing the rising sun on the far horizon as its yellowish light illuminated the low devil''s fearful expression. "This... I still died in the very end... I shouldn''t... step on that town in the first ce...'' With ast thought, the crimson eyes of the low devil lost their luster. Making the Mad Saber in the short distance unfold a light smile on its face before shing the still-standing body of the devil. Dicing it a couple of times in order to avoid it from rebirthing or surviving in the future- a testament to his high experience from non-stop fighting in this kind of ce. *** Ding! [ Congrattions upon killing a being by only relying on your Curse skill for the first time! +25,000 horror points! +12 free attribute points! +2 peak enlightenment stones! ] Ding! [ Killing beings by solely relying on your curse skill! (1/50) ] Leo, "???" Seeing the sudden notification that emerged from the corner of his consciousness. Leo hurriedly halted his deep cultivation, eyes widening as he re-read the notification twice. Unable to believe that one of the three beings he often cursed already died... Furthermore, it was actually due to the effects of his cursing! "This... who it is? Is it the low devil, the woman called Violet, or the unknown man?" *** Chapter 234 Comprehending the Rule of Destructive Lightning! (2) Ding! [ Congrattions on killing a being solely by relying on your curse skill! +5,000 horror points! ] Ding! [ Congrattions on killing a being solely by relying on your curse skill! +7,500 horror points! ] Ding! [ Killing beings by solely relying on your curse skill (3/50)! ] Still hadn''t a second passed by, when Leo was guessing about the identity of the first being that died under his unceasing curse. Another two simr notifications appeared in his front, making his brows raise in surprise. Not expecting that the Goddess of Luck began to take notice of his pitiful existence. "Isn''t this too much a coincidence? "Don''t tell me they all died while having each other nearby... Making their bad luck resonance with each other, summoning an earth-shattering catastrophe in the process?" Unable to think of another guess that made sense, Leo hurriedly abandoned those unnecessary thoughts. The only thing that matters to him right now is seeing his ss job requirements decrease in number! "Unfortunately..." Now that he doesn''t have beings under him to curse, Leo''s day from now on will be much more boring. Although he could still curse normal beings for fun, the damage they would receive from his curse skill was only a third of the effects that the low devil gained from his curse. Since in order to fully utilize his curse skill, the first requirement is to build hatred in his heart and that of his victim, followed by the karma between them that was built from hatred toward each other. Of course, he also needed an item from the victim that he/she had used for months. It''s also preferable if it''s the parts of the victim. "I guess I will help the four beings concoct their potions tomorrow. It would be fun to watch their advancement...'' Unfolding a deep anticipation on his grey irises, Leo again closed his eyes, continuing his postponed cultivation. Absorbing the dark mist from the surrounding environment. Circting it within his pale physique as he used it to slowly purify the liquified Qi in his multi-colored core. Finally starting to solidify his foundation. *** Currently, in one of the rooms of the wooden house. The injured Jerome stared at the man on his front, warily sizing it up and down as he couldn''t help but frown upon sensing a dangerous aura emitting from its being. As a peak foundation realm being with an epic ss job, it''s actually rare for him to sense danger from beings in the same realm. Since that was the case, it only meant that the person in front of him had at least a rare ss job that focused onbat or that the man was holding something that was enough to endanger his life! "Eh, are you the new tenant here? I didn''t expect that the owner of this ce would start doing a renting business... "Furthermore, I didn''t expect that there were beings crazy enough to rent the ce." Andress jokingly said, gazing at the battered figure of the three behind the injured man as he couldn''t help but reminisce. He remembered that their figure wasn''t that far from them when they arrived in this kind of ce. Following that, a sensation of pity appeared on his brown irises. Couldn''t help but mourn for them upon understanding that they would have a hard time adapting to this kind of ce. Although this ce was much safer than the town (in his opinion), the horror it held was much more fatal than the scheme of the quasi-devils. If not for its safer environment, Andress would never try to step into this forbidden ce, lest staying in this ufortable house for weeks! ... "This... are you also from the town?" Hearing the man in front of him, Jerome unfolds a surprised look on his face, never expecting that other humans were staying in this kind of ce other than the owner. Furthermore, based on what the man said, they should have been staying in this ce for more than a day! "Indeed, we arrived in this ce before the devil''s spawn started their massacre. "If I''m not wrong, all of the devil spawn within the town has already retreated... Then, why did your group decide to rent a room in this kind of ce?" Understanding the curiosity in the eyes of Andress, Jerome wore a regretful smile on his face before replying. "We wanted to purchase potions that would help us ascend toward the core formation realm. "Oh right, can you tell me the origin of the owner of this ce?" Quite curious about the owner of this ce, Jerome hurriedly asks the man on his front. Watching it unfold a mysterious yet horrifying smile on its face before speaking toward him with a hushed tone. Often inspecting the window outside, ensuring that no horrifying crows were eavesdropping on what he was talking about, or else he might get beaten by skeleton #2. ... Huff~ Within the unknown depths of the forsaken pit, being shrouded in eternal darkness. Leo slowly opened his eyes before hurriedly exhaling the impurities inside his body. Grazing the floating bones nearby as he beholds them corrode due to the impurities they carried... Making his eyes raise slightly in the process. If the thing that he just discharged right now were the normally umted toxin from his long hours of cultivation, then the bones nearby wouldn''t be corroded that much. Unfortunately, the impurities that he just exhaled carried the small amount of impurities that came from his unstable foundation, making its toxicity enough to injure a being at the early stage of the foundation realm. "This was unexpected; I thought I had already discharged all of the impurities within my body after I advanced to the core formation realm... "Yet, who would have expected that it was only a fraction of the impurities inside my body?" Huff~ "No wonder I couldn''t fully utalize my overall strength; some of the impurities were hindering my capabilities." Taking a deep breath, feeling that his unstable foundation was much more troublesome than he had expected. Leo hurriedly opened his character panel, browsing from his countless spells beneath as he locked his gaze toward his particr skill. A skill that he had almost forgotten. He only remembers it right now after noticing the problem with his foundation. "Found you!" Ding! [ Strong Physique (Elite +1) (Level 5): A skill that tempered one''s body, increased its talent by a small amount, and considerably strengthened its foundation... Effects: Per skill level, permanently increase the strength and stamina by 2, physical talent by 0.2, and strengthen its foundation by amount! Activation: Passive Enjoy more content from empire Upgrade cost: 2 medallions of forceful upgrade and 10,000 horror points!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Note: One of the Elite skills that almost reaches the qualification to enter Rare rank! ] ... "Indeed, it was the one that was responsible for increasing the meter beside my species in the past! "Unfortunately, with its low rarity, the ability of the skill to solidify my foundation was almost nil, to the point that I didn''t feel it previously!" Grinning to himself, Leo took out the bronze medallions within his inventory, numbering up to 14 as he began to ponder where he would spend them. Of course, he exuded the skills and techniques that would bestow knowledge on his mind upon advancing. Wanting to avoid bursting his consciousness. However, before he starts upgrading other skills, Leo focuses his attention on the skill in front that will greatly help him with his current problem. Ding! [ Upgrading the Strong Physique (Elite +1) to the Advance Physique (Rare) would cost 2 medallions of forceful upgrade and 10,000 horror points! (ept/Declined)? ] "ept." -2 medallions of forceful upgrade. -10,000 horror points. ... Soon, after the skill was upgraded to Advanced Physique, Leo immediately upgraded the skill to level 5 before again using his medallion of forceful upgrade to advance its rarity. Ding! [ Upgrading the Advance Physique (Rare) to the Advance Physique (Rare +2) would cost 3 medallions of forceful upgrade and 20,000 horror points... ] "ept!" Feeling a faint fang of pain within his chest, Leo hesitatingly pressed the ept button. Further reducing his wealth as he watched the skill begin to get consumed by intense light. Momentarily blinding his vision in the process. At the same time, when the skill was being upgraded by the system, a mysterious warmth began to course through his physique, making him feel that he was being cleansed from the very depths of his core. Unbeknownst to him, as he was enjoying the embrace of the warm energy. Impurities from the depths of his liquified core began to ooze from his open pores. Slowly excreting their disgusting nature from his being, making his unstable core slowly strengthen. Although it was still far from satisfactory, its unstable nature had already vanished. Being reced by a thin yet durable foundation that wouldn''t copse after being caressed by a slightly strong wind. Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully upgrading your skill from Advance Physique (Rare) to Advance Physique (Rare +2)! ] *** Chapter 235 Comprehending the Rule of Destructive Lightning! (3) Huff~ Leo slowly opened his eyes. Timely beheld the faint mist of darkness oozing from his nostrils as he lightly gazed at the kes of impurities that covered his pale physique. After his skill was sessfully upgraded earlier to Rare +2, he immediately increased its level to its maximum, making the sensation of warmth intensify within his being as countless impurities within his liquified core were discharged in the process. Making it purer and at the same time, strengthening his foundation by twice to thrice. Although it was still not enough, it could already rival cultivators with a somewhat solidified foundation. At least it wouldn''t copse if he made some small mistakes. Ding! [ Advanced Physique (Rare +2) (Level 5): A skill that greatly tempered one''s physique, increased its talent by a considerable amount, and strengthened its foundation... Effects 1: Per skill level, permanently increase the strength and stamina by 6, the physical talent by 0.4, and strengthen its foundation by a considerable amount! Effects 2: The effects of cultivating physical techniques and solidifying one''s foundation were double! Activation: Passive Upgrade cost: 5 medallions of forceful upgrade and 100,000 horror points! ] ... "It gained another extra effect." Leo thought with a smile. Other than increasing one''s speed of cultivating physical techniques, the speed of solidifying one''s foundation also doubled. Although not much, his cultivation speed would surely increase further since he doesn''t need to spend more time solidifying his foundationpared to other cultivators! Based on the book that he gained from Sebastian, solidifying one''s foundation mostly took a third of the Nascent realm cultivator time when they were still in the Core Formation realm! Signifying how time-consuming strengthening one''s foundation was! "Unfortunately, I couldn''t upgrade the Advanced Physique for now since it would cost almost half of my wealth. "Furthermore, advancing quickly might gain unnecessary attention that would lead to death if not handled carefully." Although Leo had already entered the mid-stage of the core formation realm, he knew that he was still not invincible. If he showed the capabilities of his system toward the world, there would be an unending stream of cultivators that would harbor desires toward his secrets. That would lead to a bloodbath and death in the end. Sigh~ "That was why I chose this ce in the first ce since it was too far away from civilization... "Furthermore, humans dislike stepping in this forbidden ce due to the ufortable aura that hangs within the atmosphere of the nd cemetery." ... Crack~ Upon standing, the kes of impurities within Leo''s physique began to crisply crack, falling afterwards as they fused toward the water beneath. Bubbling for a couple of seconds before vanishing toward the unknown. "I still have nine medallions of forceful upgrade; I should upgrade the capabilities of some of my skills." Caressing his chin, Leo began to browse toward his long list of skills. Falling into deep contemtion as light often shed into his eyes. Currently, Leo has more than 40 skills; most of them are focused on support, passive, and healing, while the rest consist of his offensive and movement skills, which add up to 8! Although he had that many skills, in actuality, he only used more than half of them, while the rest he had already forgotten them due to their uselessness. It''s not that they were too useless to use in his daily life; it''s just that their effects ovep with each other, and their capabilities couldn''t rival his realm. Hence, hebels them as useless. He was just waiting for the fusion in the system to cooldown before trying to recycle the skills into something new. "It''s best if I focused on some of my offensive, movement, and concealing skills.N?v(el)B\\jnn "However, with only 9 medallions of forceful upgrade left, I could only upgrade at least 3-5 skills.'' ... Soon, after contemting for almost half an hour, Leo decided to upgrade 4 of his skills. Respectively, the Shadow Spike, Invisibility, Light Steps, and Jinx skills! Although he hated to admit it, Leo often used his jinx skill inbat in order to gain an advantage over his enemies. Unfortunately, when he faced an enemy with cultivation that reached the core formation realm, the effects of his jinx skill weakened considerably. It was being hindered by rules that instinctively shroud their being! Furthermore, a core formation cultivator''s luck was times higher than that of foundation realm cultivators! Since they basically gained the bestowment of heaven upon surviving the onught of lightning! Hence, their luck is also elevated by an amount! ... Ding! -8 medallions of forceful upgrade! -32,500 horror points! In an instant, upon pressing the ept button within the system, 8 out of the 9 floating bronze medallions within the atmosphere mysteriously vanished within his vision. sh! Followed by the intense, bright light that emerged from the panel in front of him, blinding his senses afterwards. Not even a second passed by. When his skills began to advance beyond their levels, his being abruptly radiated a dreadful aura. Immediately expanding toward the far distance as everything it grazed over began to dpose at a swift speed. As if time elerated within its area of effect. Bringing everything to their inevitable death. Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully upgrading Shadow Spike to Shadow Spear! ] Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully upgrading Invisibility (Level 7) to Invisibility (Level 8)! ] Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully upgrading... ] Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully... ] Soon, upon hearing the familiar sound of notification within his consciousness, Leo again opened his eyes, immediately staring at the skill''s new description with seriousness. Reading them for 15 minutes before exhaling in relief. "Fortunately, the upgrade on the Jinx skill wasn''t that exaggerated." Other than the elevated Shadow Spike and Light Step that entered into new ranks, the Jinx and Invisibility skills only increase by one level... Making Leo heaved after understanding that its capability only increased by an amount. Now that his Jinx skill capability had increased, the bad luck within his body began to uncontrobly ooze again. Unconsciously affecting being around him in the process. Fortunately, his "Restraint" skill already entered the "Rare +3" rarity in the past week, making the effects of the jinx skill still manageable. It could only effectively affect being at the early stage of the foundation realm while it was under the restraint skill! *** Soon, in the blink of an eye, two days hurriedly passed by. Within the deserted ce, outside the area of the nd cemetery, the figure of Jerome, sitting in a crossed-leg manner, could be seen from afar. In addition to that, almost 50 meters away from him, dozens of beings, consisting of humans living in the nd cemetery and the puppets that gained souls, could be seen gazing toward Jerome with seriousness. Clearly wanting to behold how dangerous advancing toward the core formation realm was. Of course, they also wanted to gain experience in order to avoid mistakes from urring when they decided to advance toward the said realm. Crackle~ Crackle~ Hearing the faint crackle above. Leo and the two silver skeletons, sitting within the branches above the canopy, abruptly tilted their heads upward. Timely beholding the faint streaks of green lightning escaping from the gap in the void, waiting for the appropriate time to bombard Jerome''s physique. nk~ (Master, do you think he would advance toward the core formation realm?) Skeleton #2, sensing the dangerous aura that was oozing from the void, couldn''t help but ask tensely. "Yes, with the potion form he gave to me, he at least had an 80% chance of seeding. Furthermore, if he had items that could help increase his defense, then the chances would further increase." nk~ (too high!?) Hearing the heartless master beside him, Skeleton #1 couldn''t help but unfold a shocked expression on its skull. Feeling that he overestimated the heavenly lightning too much. nk~ (If that is the case, then the chances of me sessfully advancing were almost certain...) Bang! Skeleton #1 still hadn''t finished speaking when suddenly, the pale fist of Leo hit its skull, making it cry in pain before staring at its heartless master with anger. "Keke~ If you have a living physique, then the chances of you advancing are almost certain... "Unfortunately, you were basically an undead entity, and heavenly lightning always contains an effect of purification. "Meaning that surviving the heavenly lightning was quite low." Quite amused about the expression of skeleton #1, Leo seriously uttered. Shifting his gaze below afterwards as he watched the silhouette of Jerome slowly being shrouded by the faint mist of Qi. Sensing that its aura began attempting to break through the imperceptible barrier, a barrier that was hindering beings from sessfully advancing above their natural life order. nk~ (This... then master, how did you manage to advance toward the core formation realm?) Upon pondering Leo''s words, Skeleton #2 unfolds a confused look on its skeletal face, quite curious about how his master managed to step into the core formation realm. Wanting to gain inspiration from thetter to increase their chances. "Keke~ Simple, I just rely on potions and healing skills." *** Chapter 236 Comprehending the Rule of Destructive Lightning! (4) "It''s already starting." Leo weakly uttered, staring beneath as he sensed the aura of Jerome already breaking through the thin barrier. Visibly twisting the atmosphere nearby as the wind began to churn crazily around him- a testament to his cultivation technique that focused on the aspect of wind. Crackle~ Crackle~ Still, not a second passed. After his aura was on the verge of entering the core formation realm, the sound of crackling lightning, dyed in vibrant green, began to emerge from the gaps of the void. Visibly attracted to the scent of a forming gaseous core within the depths of Jerome''s body as they began to threateningly churn. Sending streaks toward the surface of Jerome''s body, only to be deflected by the thinyer of wind around him. Boom! Soon, feeling that the time was right. Leo, within the thick branches above the canopy, unhurriedly took out a seemingly ordinary stone from his inventory. Bewitch by the faint starlight that was faintly reflected from its surface as the sensation of calm coldness swept through his mind. Increasing hisprehension, albeit limited. "Keke~ It''s time to further deepen myprehension of heavenly lightning; I need it in order to weaken the lightning I will endure when I decide to advance toward the Nascent Soul realm." Clenching the low enlightenment stone within his palm, Leo shifted his gaze toward the tongues of green lightning within the atmosphere. Beholding them dangerously dance within the surroundings, charring everything they identally grazed before vanishing afterwards after they have done their purpose. "I see... They were bound to vanish and cease to exist after destroying anything within their path. It was the main job of lightn...'' Crumble~ As he was close toprehending an important part of a certain rule, the stone within his hand abruptly crumbled, causing him to exit the state of enlightenment as a cold light shed through his gray irises. Shifting his gaze below, he timely beheld the faint green mist entering the pores of Jerome. Based on that, he assumed that only 2 minutes passed by when he fell into deep enlightenment. "The higher theprehension, the faster the enlightenment stone crumbles." He mumbled, watching the green lightning that unceasingly tried to hit Jerome''s physique, but to no avail. Inspecting how the heavenly lightning moves for 1 minute before taking another low enlightenment stone from his inventory. Again falling into the euphoric feeling of gaining knowledge, wandering through the vastness of mind, rules, and dao. ... Heavenly lightning also had its own unique nature; however,pared to normal lightning, the heavenly lightning was times harder toprehend. Not only did they hide within the gaps of void all year long, only showing themselves when a being was about to ascend above their natural order. But heavenly lightning also contained traces ofprehension from heaven itself. Hence,prehending them was more challengingpared to the other rules. The difficulty alone could rival great rules under the Dao of Time, Space, Karma, and Destiny. Ding! [ Congrattions on failing toprehend a rule after using 5 low enlightenment stones! +5,000 horror points! +3 free attribute points! +1 peak enlightenment stone! ] Huff~ Staring at the crumbling stone on his palm, Leo couldn''t help but heave in disappointment. Shifting his gaze below as he beheld the thick streaks of green lightning bombarding Jerome''s physique. Finally starting to injure thetter, albeit slightly. Making the dark hair of Jerome stand up from being electrified non-stop. However, as time passed, the lightning spewing from the void began to increase in number and strength- making the protection within Jerome''s body waver non-stop, akin to a thinyer of paper that was being dissolved in water, about to copse at any second. ... Jerome, understanding that he couldn''t let the lightning heavily injure his physique or at least lower his health by 50%, immediately took out the unique potion Leo concocted. Uncorking its cap before drinking the tantalizing liquid inside. Emptying the bottle in the next second as his control over the wind was visible and slowly increased. Making the flickering wind within the surface of his body stable- further strengthening their protection of his physique by at least twice! Still not done, he took out different types of potions within the void before hurriedly drinking them, giving him the ufortable sensation of weightlessness as their properties began to take effect. Ding! [ Health recover +50% (29:59) ] [ Qi Recovery +50% (29:58) ] [ Lighting immunity +10% (59:59) ] [ Permanently increase health, Qi, and mental power by 25! ] Sensing that the damage he gets began to decrease, or to be exact, be more endurable, Jerome hurriedly closed his eyes, focusing his mind on creating the gaseous core within his consciousness. Gritting his teeth as he began to mold the Qi inside his body, elevating it above its grade as it began to carry some of his understanding of the rule. Making the Qi more heavy and dangerous in the process, dyeing them slowly in the mysterious hue of green. "How fascinating, so this is the realm above the foundation realm. No wonder we never had a chance to kill beasts at the core formation realm." ... Crackle~ Boom!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Beholding how the green lighting within the void bes restless, Leo slowly unfolds a smile on his pale face. Taking out a mid-enlightenment stone within the void before clenching it on his palm. Seriously staring at the streaks of lightning afterwards as he again falls into deep enlightenment. Making his mind extremely clear, devoid of any distractions, as the meaning of heavenly lightning began to flicker within his consciousness at a swift speed. Appearing and vanishing at the very next second, only allowing him to sense their corner but unable to grasp their rules. "It was still not enough; the mid-enlightenment stone was far from enough." Mumbling to himself, unaware of the strange expression of the two silver skeletons beside him, Leo took out a high enlightenment stone from the void. He clutched it into his other palm as hisprehension drastically increased again. Making the meaning of the lightning more clear within his consciousness... To the point that he could even taste it with just his thoughts andprehension. Destruction~ Energy and pure destruction~ Lighting was born just to give energy and destruction, vanishing afterwards upon finishing its job. However, although its nature was dire, lightning often gave light to the world. Of course, it needed the help of storms in order to showcase its unique side. Unfortunately, even if it tried to illuminate the world with its thundering noise, the beings who beheld it instead felt intimidated. They often think that it was a sign of omen instead of light. Sigh~ "How unfortunate; even rules couldn''t escape the criticism of the world." Leo mumbled under his breath, watching the thin tendrils of dark lightning that just emerged from the corner of his fingertips with a light smile. Slightly scorching the small parts of the branch he was currently in. Ding! [ Congrattions onprehending 1% of the certain rule "Destructive Lightning"! ] Ding! [ Destructive Lightning (Rules) (1%): One of the derived Laws of Heavenly Lightning, the destructive rule of lightning, and the ultimate destroyer... At its peak, it was capable of destroying the world! Effects: Increase the immunity to destructive lightning by 2.5%, the damage of lightning skills by 5%, and the affinity to lightning by 0.5 (Need at least 5% ofprehension in order to use its effects). Note: Rules are the main ingredients in creating an iplete domain! ] ... Seeing the notification that emerged from the corner of his eyes, Leo lightly clenched his fist, taking another enlightenment stone from his inventory as he continued deepening his understanding of destructive lightning. ncing below as he timely beheld Jerome taking out the materials he readied from the void, tossing them above the atmosphere afterwards as the lightning shifted their focus toward it. Bombarding it heavily as the materials swiftly liquified under the unceasing onught of the green lightning. Flickering with translucent light before being consumed by intense, bright light. Not allowing even the divine senses to see what was urring inside. Using this precious opportunity, Jerome hurriedly closed his eyes, circting his Qi toward his physique as the damage he obtained visibly healed under his deliberate control. Following that, traces of wind began to drill toward his pores before entering the depths of his physique, causing his flesh to elevate beyond its current level. Making them carry traces of wind in the process. A unique effect of his cultivation technique which could increase the reaction speed of his physique and the overall strength of his wind-rted techniques after fusing the wind to his body. Although its effect couldn''t rival those cultivation techniques above the Mid-Heaven grade, it would still increase hisbat ability and reaction speed by folds! Enough to intimidate beings in the same realm. Furthermore, after he reaches the very peak of integrating the wind into his flesh and being, Jerome would gain the ability to alter his physique between the formless wind and his corporeal body at will! Thus, gaining an almost invincible ability! *** Chapter 237 Combat Experience (1)! Shing! With a sharp sound, the streaks of lightning above hurriedly parted away, unfolding a green object within. Akin to a weightless feather, it slowly descended toward the ground before eventually ending up hovering above the head of Jerome. Its exquisite and sharp design, including its entrancing wooden hilt that reaches 6 inches in length, enhances its unique appearance. Followed by its 12-inch curved de that often changes from corporeal to incorporeal form, lightly reflected in Jerome''s green irises. Making Jerome gasps afterwards upon noticing that wind naturally forms within its surface. Allowing him to understand the highpatibility between them upon touching its sharp de. Soul Bound Weapon: Formless de. As he was engrossed in inspecting the formless de on his palm, the thick streaks of green lightning within the void, almost 3 inches in diameter, abruptly hit his physique. Scorching his shoulder in the process as he couldn''t help but utter a groan of agony. Compared to the lightning earlier, the strength of the green lightning that struck his body was almost folds than before! At least lowering his health by 7 every strike! Boom! Boom! Seeing that the heavenly lightning finally reached itster stage, Leo hurriedly took out a peak enlightenment stone from the void, clenching it in his right palm before further falling into the world of lightning. Crackle~ However, unknown to him, as he was engrossed in the process of enlightenment, his pale physique began to emit dark streaks of lightning, followed by the excretion of faint impurities that originated from his liquified core outside his pores. Since the destructive lightning was derived from the Dao of Heavenly Lightning, it naturally carried the traces of its effects. Hence, it was capable of cleansing the physique of those using it, albeit only by a little. However, although a little, its effect could umte as time passes by. Making beings envy its ability to cleanse one''s physique, mind, and soul! *** Ding! [ Congrattions on cleansing your physique for a certain amount of degrees! +10 overall stats! +0.5 overall talent! ] Ding! [ Congrattions on deepening yourprehension of the rule of destructive lightning! ] [ Rule: Destructive Lightning (5%) ] With a faint ck lightning coursing through the surface of his pale skin, Leo slowly opened his eyes, staring at the impurities that unknowingly covered his physique in pure disgust. Making his nose sting in the next second upon smelling its nauseating scent. Soon, finally unable to bear the smell, Leo covered his nose with Qi, filtering the air he was inhaling in the process. Huff~ Finally feelingfortable, Leo leisurely shifted his gaze below. Timely beheld the Qi within the surrounding environment, rushing toward the figure of Jerome beneath the clearing. Tightly enveloping his physique in the next second before entering his pores at a swift speed, further tempering his flesh... To the point that even elite materials and weapons would have a hard time wounding his body. Jerome, seemingly not caring about themotion around him, hurriedly and excitedly closed his eyes, delving toward the depths of his gaseous core before starting to form his seed of rules. Finally starting to create his unique iplete domain that solely belongs to him! ... Soon, in a blink of an eye, two hours passed by. With a low shout of anticipation, Jerome''s body suddenly emits an intense fluctuation of rule. Causing the wind to get attracted to his aura as they hurriedly form a sphere around him. As if protecting him from any kind of harm. Followed by his divine senses that uncontrobly sweep toward the far distance, allowing him to perfectly see anything within its area of effect. Giving Jerome the sensation of all-knowing, as he could even behold the things hidden beneath the soft earth. To the point that he could even sense a wiggling worm two meters beneath him. Churn~ Churn~ Sensing that Jerome had sessfully entered the early stage of the core formation realm, the green streaks of lightning within the void issued an explosive sound of regret before retreating back within the depths of the void. Making the crack within the void heal in the next second as the firmament above swiftly reverts to its previous gloomy hue. If not for the charred soil beneath and the destroyed trees nearby, the spectators in the far distance would think that they had just entered an illusion. ... Huff~ "Unfortunately..." Leo, upon seeing this, slightly shook his head, quite regretful that the heavenly lightning didn''t give him enough time to deepen his understanding regarding it. Currently, his understanding of destructive lightning has already reached 9 percent, onlycking another 1 percent in order to increase the effects of the rule on his being. If he managed to do that, then his survival capability would surely increase by a small amount. Unfortunately, since the heavenly lightning failed to kill Jerome, it doesn''t have any purpose in staying. Hence, it hurriedly hid in the depths of the void, again waiting for some hateful beings to attempt to advance beyond the foundation realm. "Unfortunately, the other humans wouldn''t be able to advance this week; they needed topletely heal the damage they took days ago before readying themselves for inevitable advancement." Seeing that Jerome had already started to consolidate his realm, Leo leisurely coated his body with his telekic ability. He glided through the atmosphere as he entered the area of the nd cemetery. Falling into deep thought as he began to n on what he would do tomorrow, remembering that he needed toe to the town in order to increase the speed of upgrading his ss job. "Sigh~ there''s too many things to do." ... In an instant, 20 hours hurriedly passed by. Within the center of the damp cave, the pale figure of Leo could be seen sitting on the cold ground, absorbing the Qi within the surrounding area as he circted it within his being. Letting it course through his physique before eventually moving toward his liquified core, increasing the droplets of liquid inside. Ding!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om [ Congrattions on stepping to level 7! +12 Soul Power! +12 Qi Power! +6 Speed! +6 Strength! ] Hearing the familiar notification inside his consciousness, Leo slowly opened his eyes, exhaling the umted impurities within his lungs before ncing toward the floating bones nearby. Lightly caressing their corroding parts before standing up. "So the time hase." He thought before exiting the forsaken pit. Huff~ Inhaling the rotting morning scent nearby, Leo slowly unfolds a smile on his face. Shifting his gaze toward the rising sun on the far horizon before leisurely moving forward. Toward the direction of the rusty gate of the nd cemetery, finally decided to go to the town in these kind of hours. With the distance between the nd cemetery and the town, it would take him at least 1 and a half hours of leisure walking in order to reach his destination. Hence, making him leave the cemetery early. Clearly doesn''t want to bete on his first day of work. *** Sizzle~ Sizzle~ "Explosionnnn!" "Wind de!" Within the perimeter of the town, a group of young kids, ages 13-14, could be seen fighting an earth boar meters away from them. Crudely summoning their offensive skills within the atmosphere before rashly hurling them toward the lonely beast in the distance. Causing some of them to miss their target by centimeters to meters in the process. Boom! Furthermore, even if some of the offensive skills managed to hit the body of the earth boar in the distance... With its high defense, capable of reducing the damage it took with its durable earth armor. The damage the kids could deal with was extremely limited. Hence, the skill that they just hurled only ended up charring the surface armor of the earth boar. "Light Spear!" Swish! Roar! (Cry of agony from the Earth Boar.) Fortunately, even though some of the kids'' offensive skillsck firepower, there are still some children bound to have a skill with good offensive capability. Allowing to greatly wound the Earth Boar in the distance. "Tsk, how many times have I told you? Don''t ever utter your skill name!" Meters away from them, a man in his early twenties, exuding an aura of the peak stage of the foundation realm, could be seen carefully observing the kids. Watching their every action as he mentally made a list. Grading them based on how they react and fight. As for their skills, he didn''t give it a thought. He would only start grading them when they received their own ss jobs. ... "Hmm?" As he was busy observing the battle of the kids in the distance, the man suddenly raised his brows, taking out a ck dagger within his inventory before swiftly killing the Earth Boar from afar. Not caring about the strange look the children were giving him, the man immediately shifted his gaze toward the depths of the endless forest. He increased his grip on his dagger before lightly opening his mouth. "Show yourself." *** The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 238 Combat Experience (2)! "Eh? Someone could actually see through my invisibility?" Seeing the sharp gaze of the man meters away from him, Leo couldn''t help but unfold amusement on his face. Never expected that his level 8 invisibility skill could still be seen by others. Furthermore, the one who had seen through his invisibility was, surprisingly, a being below the core formation realm! "Keke~ as expected, I couldn''t underestimate anyone that I met.'' Unable to suppress his curiosity, Leo used his soul scan skill, making his eyes glint with mysterious glow before staring at the man in the far distance. Ding! [ Rafael (Human)- Peak of the Foundation Level 19 ] ss Job: (de Master (Rare (Growable)) Innate Ability: Divine Eyes (Unique) Title: Sharp de (Elite) Iplete Domain: Domain of All-Knowing ___Attributes___ Health: 225/225 Qi Storage: 486/550 Mental Storage: 221/225 Stamina: 184/200 Strength: 125 Speed: 130 Qi Power: 175 Mental Power: 225 Skills: Mental de (Rare), Mental Sword (Rare), de Prodigy (Rare(Growable)), Cold Weapon Mastery (Rare), ???... ] ... Ding! [ Divine Eyes (Unique): A divine ability that could see through the illusion, disguise, and invisibility of beings around him. Moreover, this unique ability was capable of increasing the mental energy of the host, making his defense regarding mental attacks quite high! Other Effects: Increase the recovery of mental energy by 250% and mental talent by 5! Note: If the difference in strength was high, the effects of Divine eyes would weaken. Activation: Passive! ] ... This... "Man, his character panel was much cooler than mine! Not only did he have a unique Innate ability and Growable ss job, but it also had the unfamiliar title!'' Having no idea what titles could do, Leo hurriedly asked the system inside his mind, feeling excited upon finding something new. Ding! -5,000 horror points! [ Titles were unique forms of energy that were created using the strong belief of at least 100 beings... After being created, it would attach itself to the origin of the belief. Hence, giving the being a strange ability that is solely unique to him. Note: Although there could be simr title names, their abilities were vastly different from each other. Ensuring everyone''s uniqueness.] "Are you still not going to show yourself?" As Leo was about to ask the system a different kind of question, the rough voice of the man suddenly entered his ears. Making him sigh in helplessness before deactivating his invisibility skill. In an instant, his pale figure slowly outlines itself from the void, making the kids far away gasp in amazement and slight fear. Although they were not unfamiliar with concealment skills, the pale man''s ability topletely hide his physique within the environment seems more profound in their eyes. Furthermore, even their teacher''s prying eyes seemed unable to pinpoint the exact location of the pale man earlier! Making them understand that the capability of the pale man meters away from them was equal to or higher than their teacher! "What do you want? Why are you observing us?" "Observing? You probably misunderstood it; I just happened to pass by." Hearing the inquiring voice of the man, Leo couldn''t help but raise his brows. Unable toprehend why the man''s tone makes him extremely ufortable. As if he were facing his strict teachers when he was still in college. "I see, then you can go." The man replied coldly, visibly gripping his ck dagger with force, ready to strike if the pale man in the distance made a strange and suspicious movement. Understanding what was going on inside the man''s head, Leo just unfolded a weak smile on his face, nodding slightly before continuing to advance toward the direction of the town. "Sigh, I didn''t expect that the humans in the town would learn how to be cautious... to the point that they would directly point their de at strangers.'' He thought in silence as he took a quick nce toward the children on the back of the man, making them pale afterwards upon directly staring at his irises for milliseconds. *** Bustle~ (Sound of bustling crowds.) The cluttering and chaotic sound of civilization slowly entered Leo''s ears, making him unfold a strange expression on his face as he beheld how lively the people were. Never expecting that they would revert back to their livelyplexion in such a short period of time. Although it was good for them, he couldn''t get rid of the thought that beings should mourn for the humans who died in the tragedy for a long period of time. It would be best if they felt dispirited and empty for at least a few months. By then, he would be able to consume their sadness, anger, and fear. Feeding through their negative emotions to increase his exp points by the amount or at least increase his level by 1 or 2. With his current foundation, increasing his level by 1 or 2 in a single day would still be bearable to his foundation. Huff~ Taking a deep breath, Leo hurriedly shook his head, hiding the unnecessary thoughts behind his consciousness, before shifting his gaze toward the vibrant farm. Pausing in his tracks as he silently watches the farmers cast their unique set of skills. Showering the spiritual nts with abundant water that carried a hint of mana within, ensuring that the quality of the nts would remain high. "How fascinating! I should learn from them on how I could better take care of my spiritual nts." ...n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Sir, do you need anything?" Seemingly noticing the distracted pale man meters away, standing alone on the stone road as it stared toward the far horizon, thoughts unknown. A cute, innocent child, at the age of 6-7, curiously asks. Its big round eyes, capable of drawing out the happiness within everyone''s heart, directly stared at Leo''s gray irises without any trace of fear, clearly unaware of the horrors they hid. Beholding this, Leo unfolds a bright smile on his face, making the little child giggle innocently upon seeing his stiff expression. "Isn''t the farm beautiful? I just pause for a while to admire its ethereal beauty. "Kid, what''s your name?" Feeling interested in the kid upon unconsciously making him remember the scene of the day when he died, Leo unhurriedly stretched his left hand toward the void, retracting it in the next second as a porcin doll with an almost vivid appearance appeared in his grasp. "Uncle, my name is Vanessa but mother often called me little angel... Woah~ is that a doll?" "What a good name. Do you want this doll?" "Yes, but Mom tells me not to ept a gift from a stranger." Hearing the uncle in front of her, the child unfolds a hesitant look on its chubby face, unable to decide whether to ept the cute doll or not. "Hehe~ Well, it''s actually not a gift; I will just rent it to you for now. How does that sound? "Besides that, I couldn''t let the doll rot inside my inventory, right? It would make people feel strange if they identally saw me having a doll within my inventory." Seeing the hesitation on the face of the child, Leo smiled slightly before shaking his head... Chuckling with a soft sound upon realizing that his approach was inappropriate, as if he were some bad guy who was abducting innocent children from the streets before selling their innards to who knows? Well, he was definitely not a good guy, but he never entertained the thought of selling and abducting innocent and lonely children. Right, he surely wasn''t. ... "Uhm~ Ok then, thank you for the doll!" Finally, unable to decline the strange beauty of the doll, the child excitedly stretched her hands, holding the doll dearly within her grasp before inspecting the nd eyes of the porcin doll. Parting the doll bangs carefully in order to unfold its full innocent face. "So beautiful! From now on, I will name you Teresa!" Seemingly understanding the words of the child, the doll''s dark irises secretly and momentarily glinted. Reverting back in milliseconds after the child buried the doll''s face on her chest. Again thanking Leo before running in the distance. Clearly excited to show her doll to her busy mother from afar. Leo, seeing this, slightly shook his head with a smile. Turning his body toward the direction of the towering gate of the town before advancing. "Halt." Soon, as he was about to enter the thick gate of the town, a guard, at the middle stage of the foundation realm advanced forward. Approaching his location before stopping exactly 2 meters away from him. "Name?" Seeing the paleplexion of the man opposite him, the guard instinctively furrowed his brows before inquiring. Furtively ncing at the other guards in the distance after noticing that he had no recollection of the man''s appearance. "Leo Ricafrente." Leo, having a faint idea of what was happening, replied truthfully. Soon, after hearing the man''s reply, the guard leisurely opened his right palm, making the void tremble as an illusionary book materialized above his palm. Swiftly flipping it for a couple of minutes before heavily closing it afterwards. "There''s no resident in the town named Leo Ricafrente." *** Chapter 239 Meeting A Soul Entity For The First Time! "There''s no resident in the town named Leo Ricafrente." Hearing this, Leo couldn''t help but unfold a puzzled expression on his pale face. Although he had already expected this since he truly didn''t belong to the town, the thought that Sebastian and the group had forgotten this made him feel puzzled. At least they should have given the guards some notice regarding his possible appearance. Well, there''s also the probability that the guard only started this kind of inspection today. However, based on the expression of the guard opposite him, the chances of that urring were quite small. "This... Can you call Sebastian, Rnd, or at least Jake? They probably forgot to add my identity to the town." Using the demon''s unique capability, the Demon Whisper, Leo slowly speaks to the guard meters away from him. Transforming a small amount of his soul power before fusing it to his vocal cords, allowing it to carry a strange temptation that would secretly drill toward the consciousness of the beings below his realm. Making it harder to detect, as they would unconsciously and easily believe all of the words he said and uttered. Of course, the usage of the skill was quite limited; if he uttered a word that would endanger the life of the victim, the victim''s consciousness would start to struggle in order to get rid of the effects, waking them up in the process. Although he could just utter the words to the guard in order to let him pass, Leo decided to avoid that notion. With the unknown capability of the book within the grasp of the guard, he wouldn''t be surprised if they managed to track down his physique upon entering the town. Hence, making the situation more chaotic. Hmm. Feeling empty all of a sudden, the guard opposite Leo absent-mindedly nodded his head, turning his body toward the gate before hushedly speaking toward the guard nearby. Soon, after a minute of conversation, the guard entered the gate beforepletely vanishing from Leo''s sight. ... Huff~ Soon, after waiting for at least 10 minutes. The figures of Jake and Sebastian finally appeared in Leo''s vision, hurriedly exiting the thick gate of the town as they rushed toward his direction upon seeing him. Fixing the exquisite monocle on his left eye, Sebastian unfolds an embarrassed look on his face, scratching his head before apologizing to Leo. "I apologize for that; we actually wanted to register your citizenship earlier, but weck your basic information and appearance. Hence, the Book of Unforgotten couldn''t create your character."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Hearing this, Leo nodded his head in understanding, caressing his chin as he tailed behind the two. Soon, noticing the strangeness in Sebastian''s words, Leo asked in curiosity. "Book of Unforgotten?" "Yes, it was actually an Epic+2 item that my old man gained upon ying a Nascent Soul beast. It was capable of creating small books of lists... Other than that, its capability was only so-so." Sebastian replied before entering the gate of the town. Heading toward the two-story tall building near the entrance of the gate before pointing at the counter. "You can register your information first before we head to the ce..." *** Not long passed by, and after Leo filled in his basic information, respectively his name, age, and picture, the three of them then proceeded toward the north direction of the town. Walking and chatted for almost 10 minutes as they arrived at a seemingly ordinary stone building. Other than the chiseled wooden door and quite a good-looking sign above the building, Leo couldn''t see anything worth mentioning in the building. "Here we are; this is the only ce that fits your description. Not only is the ce not far from the gate of the town, but the owner of the building also died in the tragedy weeks ago. Hence, it has be unupied since then... "Some people actually tried staying here, but for some unknown reasons, they hurriedly fled the next day." Sebastian spoke with an ufortable expression pasted on his face, still feeling that Leo''s request was quite strange. Who would request a strange ce just to build a potion shop and a clinic? Wouldn''t it make sense if he requested some ce with a good ambiance? Furthermore, only a few people were passing by in this kind of ce, to the point that you would only see 25-50 people passing by every hour. "Sigh- Well, it''s not my problem anyway; my only job is to heed Leo''s request. Old man should need to give me some good items after this.'' Hearing Sebastian, Leo absently nodded his head; his eyes never left the building, as he could faintly sense the negative aura it was exuding. Other than that, he could also faintly feel a strange emotion bubbling within his being, an emotion that he couldn''t exin nor experience in the past. Unable to suppress the building curiosity within his being, Leo leisurely advanced, gripping the cold handle of the carved door before lightly pushing it. Sure enough, as he had expected, the sight of old yet clean furniture being covered in damp energy appeared in his vision... Making his brows furrow in the next second upon sensing the strange feeling within his being intensify. "It''s muchrger than I expected." Leo lightly mumbled under his breath as he caressed the empty L-shaped counter in the opposite direction of the door... Unconsciously sniffing the cold air within before shifting his gaze toward the empty ss case on the cab beyond the counter. "This ce was much colder than yesterday..." Lightly tapping the table on the left side of the room, Jake couldn''t help butment, feeling an inexplicable shiver running through his being upon sensing that the temperature of the building further decreased. Although this temperature wouldn''t affect his tempered physique, he still couldn''t help but feel ufortable due to the sudden changes in the temperature. ... Soon, after they were done with their business, Sebastian and Jake bid their farewells to Leo. Exiting the building as their silhouette vanished in the corner of the street. Huff~ "You cane out now." Feeling that the presence of the two had finally vanished within his senses, Leo lightly turned his head toward the corner of the counter, taking a light breath before mumbling weakly. With a glint in his eyes, he stared directly at the faint gray wisp that was slowly exiting the empty box beneath. Further lowering the temperature around as it unfolds its incorporeal body toward the room. Wisp~ (Incoherent sound.) Feeling the closeness between it and Leo, the wisp created an incoherent sound, akin to a shriek, that unconsciously made beings who identally heard it experience a slight headache in their heads. "An iplete ghost that was born due to the intense desire of the deceased... Furthermore, based on its color, it was about to dissipate in about a week." Understanding that the ghost was bound to die if he didn''t interfere, Leo leisurely stretched his hand toward the void, taking out a dark fruit within before tossing it toward the counter. Waiting for the ghost to consume it, wanting to behold how the ghost would stabilize its soul. Seemingly sensing that the fruit was beneficial to its existence, the gray wisp slowly descended within the atmosphere, coating the dark fruit as it slowly and visibly corroded under the unknown ability of the wisp. Slowly, as the fruit began to lose its luster and spirituality, the color of the wisp began to deepen. Making it slightly more corporeal than before. Although its soul was still far from stabilization, it wouldn''t easily die in a month. Making Leo unfold a slight smile on his cold face before casting his soul scan toward it. Ding! [ ??? (Wisp/Ghost): Early Stage of the Mortal Realm Level 3 Innate Ability: Corrosion ___Attributes___ Health: 15/15 Mana: 10/10 Soul Stamina: 10/10 Strength: 0.1 Speed: 3 Mana Power: 10 Soul Power: 15 Skills: Weakened Soul Shriek (Elite), Weakened Invisibility (Umon), Soul Scratch (Umon). ... "This is really unfair; this newly formed wisp actually had offensive skills!" Seeing the character panel of the Wisp, Leo couldn''t help but shake his head, feeling that the system really made his life a living hell. Soon, after branding the soul of the gray wisp with the help of the system, making it unable to betray him for a long period of time, Leo lightlymanded it to hide within the room behind the counter. Wisp~ Hearing this, the wisp excitedly creates a low, inexplicable shriek before phasing through the solid wall, making the temperature around the room revert to normal. Finally feeling the serenity of the room, Leo began to take out the stacks of potions within his inventory, cing them toward the transparent ss behind the counter before beginning to clean the ce. Using his telekic ability in order to speed up his work. Soon, seemingly hearing the chaotic noise on the other side of the room, the gray wisp curiously peeked its head through the solid wall. Making it shriek in the next second upon beholding the objects within the room slowly drifting toward the atmosphere. *** Chapter 240 First Costumer. Soon, another peaceful day silently passed by. Within the dpidated part of the town, a one-story-tall stone building could be seen standing alone, being shrouded in cold energy, as even cricket didn''t dare to approach. Inside, the figure of Leo, sitting in one of the wooden chairs of the shop, staring at the damp ceiling in pure vexation, couldn''t help but p his head in slight regret. Feeling embarrassed after his imagination didn''t reflect into reality.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The expected horror points that should keeping to his inventory while the customers'' bath in the ufortable and horrible aura of the shop as they were buying all of his potion stacks vanished within his mind, being reced by the scenery of solitude and loneliness as he would watch his potion rot with his own eyes day by day. "Hayst, I have already forgotten about the basic rules of the world due to prolong staying within the nd cemetery for more than a month." Wisp? "Yes, Ghost #1, you would go to my ce after we''re done here." Creakk~ As Leo was caressing the head of the gray wisp by coating his palm with soul power, the sound of creaking door echoed toward the enclosed space of the damp room, making Leo jump to his feet as he unconsciously and hurriedly fixed his shirt. Wanting to show a presentable appearance to his possible customers. "Quick, hide in the next room, we might have our first sale today!" Hurriedlymanding the gray wisp, Leo shifted his gaze toward the direction of the gaping door, staring at the head of a teenager that abruptly poked through its gap. ... The teenager''s eyes widened slightly as he stared toward the familiar figure inside the room, watching it unfold a stiff smile on its face before nodding toward him. "Come, can I help you with something? Do you require potions that could increase yourbat ability for a while, or your life was hanging in a thread and needed to be healed?" "What the... who would ask his consumer if his/her life was hanging in a thread? Do I look like injured?" Bang! Hearing the strange words of the familiar man in the distance, the teenager hurriedly closed the door before swiftly fleeing from the ce. Couldn''t help but feel that his luck premonition skill was acting strange today. Furthermore, it was actually the man who was observing them yesterday, making him believe that the man had some problem with his head upon seeing him having a shop in this kind of dpidated ce. (Luck Premonition: An innate skill of his that could give a vague sensation of where luck was currently in from time to time, allowing him to gain benefits from the ce or allowing him to escape dangerous situations.) ... This... Feeling confused, Leo couldn''t help but scratch his head, unable to understand norprehend why the child suddenly closed the door before fleeing the ce as if it had seen a ghost. "Ghost #1, did you poke your head through the wall again?" Shifting his gaze toward the solid wall behind the counter, Leo''s vision couldn''t help but momentarily darken upon seeing the gray ball of wisp poking its head from the ceiling. Finally, understand why the child suddenly flees without looking at his goods. Creak~ As Leo was about to scold Ghost #1 upon disobeying hismand, the sound of an annoying creaking door again entered his ears, making him seriously gesture toward the ghost before staring at the wooden door with a smile pasted on his face. Unexpectedly, the face of the familiar teenager again poked its head through the gap of the door, inspecting the room for a couple of seconds before further opening the door. Creakkk~ Sure enough, the annoying sound of the door again entered the ears of the teenager, making him hesitate slightly before deciding to decrease the force he used. Making the sound more bearable to his senses. In an instant, after opening the door halfway, the lighting from the firmament outside invaded the entrance of the building, allowing the teenager to further see the simplicity of the shop. "Oh, it''s you again. Do you finally decide to buy from my humble shop?" Leo, upon seeing this, only unfolded a gentle yet ufortable smile on his face, changing his approach as he uttered the words that he often read from the books. Seemingly effective, the teenager in the distance lightly nodded his head, shifting his gaze toward the unknown bottle of potions on the counter before slowly approaching them. "Is... is this potion authentic? I heard that there are some scammers out there selling some diluted potions in order to earn more Earth coins." Lightly tapping the bottle on the counter, the teenager couldn''t help but ask in curiosity, staring at the pale man beyond the counter in slight fear as his luck premonition began to send a slight signal of distress toward his consciousness¡ª a testament that the being opposite him couldn''t be angered. "Hehe~ I''m different from them since I was the one who created this potion." Seeing the wary gaze of the teenager, Leo couldn''t help but release a weak chuckle of amusement. Feeling that the teenager was somewhat interesting based on how it acted. Ding! [ Potion Bottle...] (A normal scan skill could only pinpoint the name of items without their exact information. If they managed to upgrade it to level 5, then using them to identify objects might give them vague information.) Using his normal scan skill toward the line of bottles on the counter, the child lightly shook his head, feeling helpless upon not sensing the imperceptible luck that guided his way toward this ce. As for what the pale man just said now, the kid didn''t show any surprised expression on his face, thinking that it was another trick of thick-faced sellers in order to cheat money toward inexperienced people. "Do you have potions that could help a Mortal Realm increase their cultivation speed?" Knowing that he couldn''t keep inspecting the ce without trying to buy anything, afraid that he would anger the strange man, the teenager asked with a weak voice. Although his request right now was quite simple, he knew that there was no such potion within the town. If there''s one, then the town would be filled with foundation realm beings right now. Furthermore, he was quite sure that the being opposite him didn''t know about it, since he saw the process yesterday of how the guard denied his ess to the town¡ª a testament that the being opposite him should be new to the town or he only came back from who knows? "Hmm, a potion that could increase the cultivation speed of being in the Mortal realm?" Pondering deep within himself, Leo hurriedly opened his character panel. Looking at the void absentmindedly as he began scrolling down at the dozens of potion forms within his inventory, feeling that he had a potion form that could greatly help beings below the foundation realm in order to hasten their cultivation speed. Since he only started creating potions when he achieved the mid-stage of the foundation realm, he dly abandoned the ungraded potion form since it wouldn''t help him increase his overall strength. Hence, they already rot inside his inventory. "Found it! An ungraded potion form that could increase one''s cultivation speed!" Stretching his hand toward the void, Leo took out a thin white piece of paper from his inventory, unfolding it before reading its description with seriousness. Ding! [ Cultivation Potion Form! (Ungraded - Elite) Increase one''s cultivation speed upon consumption! Ranges from 100 to 500% based on the purity and grade of the potion! Ingredients: 3 leaves of mana leaves tree, 1 root of blood ginger, 1 bowl of clean water... ] ... This... Seeing the thin white folded paper in Leo''s grasp, the luck premonition of the teenager suddenly red within his consciousness. Making him dumbfounded as he couldn''t help but stare at Leo. "Si-sir, what is that?" "This is a potion form. You still haven''t seen one?" Leo replied casually before taking out his ck cauldron inside his inventory, manipting the furniture with his telekic ability as he pushed them toward the corner of the room... Beholding this, the teenager couldn''t help but unconsciously step back. Slightly turning his body toward the wooden door of the shop in case something unexpected urred. He clearly still hadn''t seen a human creating a potion in person. Not caring about the attitude of the teenager, Leo began to feed a minute amount of his Qi toward themp below the cauldron. Making its me drastically increase in the process. Sensing the temperature of the cauldron stabilized to 80-90 degrees celsius, Leo then took out the stacks of herbs and leaves within his inventory. Carefully weighed them using his left palm before tossing them within the interior of the cauldron, making them liquified afterwards as their tantalizing smell slowly wafts toward the enclosed room. *** Chapter 241 Upgrading the Black Cauldron! Soon, after creating potions for about 10 minutes, Leo leisurely cut his connection toward themp below the cauldron... Causing its zing me to extinguish before he calmly opened the cauldron''s cap. In an instant, the tantalizing yet strange scent of the liquified herbs within the interior of the cauldron swiftly permeated through the enclosed space of the shop. Making the teenager instinctively sniff the air, causing him to groan in bliss upon sensing its beneficial effects on his body. Leo, unaware of what was happening to the teenager opposite him, unhurriedly took out dozens of empty bottles from his inventory. Using his telekic ability as he began guiding the blueish liquid toward the opened bottles within the atmosphere, dyeing the damp space inside the building with their mesmerizing blueish light. "Huff~ Finally, it was done." Heaving a light breath of relief, Leo leisurely manipted the bottles toward the counter of the shop before casting his soul scan toward one of them. Wanting to see if his created potion was passable in the eyes of the system. Ding! [ Limited Time Cultivation Potion ( Ungraded - Elite) (81% purity): An ungraded potion that could increase one''s cultivation speed for a limited period of time!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Note 1: You can drink it safely! Note 2: Limitedly increase one''s cultivation speed upon consumption by 350% for 18 hours! (Only effective below the Foundation realm.) Note 3: It can only be consumed once per 3 days! ] ... "Good, not bad for the first try! If I again created another set of it, its purity would probably increase by at least 3-5%." A not-so-bad leap of increased in Leo''s mind. Although the increase might not be high, it would still raise the capability of the potion by another 25-50 percent, enough to make any Mortal realm cultivator go mad if they learned about it. Usually, with the limited number of potion masters within the town and theirck of experience and knowledge regarding potions. The purity of their ungraded potions usually could only reach 50-75 percent, sometimes 79-80 percent if the goddess luck above grazed their beings with its aura. Hence, having a purity of 81 percent could already be regarded as a legend within the town. Unfortunately, Leo was currently unaware of it, or else he might use this to his advantage, allowing him to hasten his growth speed by folds. "Since you''re my first client today, I will give it to you for 25 Earth Gold. How does it sound?" Soon, after cleaning his beloved cauldron, Leo shot a nce toward the teenager near the wooden door, staring at its dumbfounded face as he couldn''t help but snap his fingers. Snap! Waking the teenager in the process as it slowly shifted its gaze from the dozens of new bottles on the counter toward the pale, mysterious man in the center of the shop. Couldn''t help but release a light gasp of shock as his luck premonition began pointing toward the dozen bottles in the distance, suddenly ignoring the thin white piece of paper floating above Leo. "Hey kid, are you okay?" Seeing the empty yet puzzled gaze of the teenager, Leo couldn''t help but ask in concern. Panicking inside as he began to ponder if his Jinx skill somewhat affected the mind of the child, causing it to rot somehow. "This couldn''t do; if people somehow learned about it, then my business would further degrade... Should I burn his body so no one would learn about it? "No, it''s not the solution either. Right! I should try to heal his mind!" Book of Tome: Imprinted Skills Thinking of it and feeling that his anxiety somewhat clouded his mind, not allowing him to think properly, Leo hurriedly summoned a tome from the void. Hurriedly flipping it over as he stared at one of its pages. "Advanced Healing." In an instant, upon mumbling the words within the pages, a bright green light suddenly emitted from the book within his grasp, transforming into a thick pir of light before shrouding the child nearby. Making the teenager''s eyes widen in shock before groaning afterwards, feeling an unknown warm energy coursing through his being as some of his impurities are excreted through his mouth. Dyeing the floor with disgusting gooey substance, recing the refreshing scent within the atmosphere with a nauseating smell. "This..." Ding! [ Congrattions on partially cleansing your body +5 overall attribute stats. ] ... "Are you okay now?" Seeing that the child finally reacted normally, Leo heaved a sigh of relief. Closing the ancient tome within his grasp as it hurriedly turned incorporeal, vanishing afterwards upon sensing that its purpose was already done. (The "Book of Tome: Imprinted Skills" was an epic skill that Leo gained after fusing two of his nonexistent skills. Creating a superb skill due to pure luck that has the capability of imprinting skills on its pages... Allowing him to use the skills imprinted within the pages of the book in an instant while only consuming 25% of their original cost. Unfortunately, after using the skills within the pages, they would immediately vanish toward the void, making the specific page empty again. Furthermore, with its current rarity, Leo could only imprint 1 epic skill and 10 skills with a rarity that ranges from rare +3 and below to the book. Only allowing him to fully use the skill in case of an emergency. As for why he used it toward the child in the distance, Leo was currently unaware of the reason, only ming it for the sudden anxiety that he felt.) "Ye-yes, I feel good right now. Thank you for your help." The teenager, seeing the disgusting liquid that he puked on the ground, couldn''t help but show an embarrassed expression on his face. Taking out a set of clothes from his inventory before attempting to clean up his mess. Unfortunately, as he was about to bend his front knee in order to clean the dirt on the floor, a strange force suddenly lifted the bubbling liquid beneath, drifting within the atmosphere before vanishing outside the door. Creak! ... "Done! This is the potion that you were asking for: 25 Earth Gold per bottle." Finally ridding the frightening scent that lingered within the room, Leo leisurely tossed a single potion bottle toward the teenager, making thetter panic a little before stretching his hand. Soon, upon hiding the bottle within his inventory, the teenager hurriedly took out a pouch from the void, taking out 25 Earth Gold within before putting it toward the table nearby. Bowing toward Leo''s figure before hurriedly exiting the shop, fleeing the ce at swift speed... To the point that his figure vanished in Leo''s senses in a short second. Ding! [ Congrattions on selling your first potion personally! +5,000 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +1 low tempering stone! ] "Not bad..." Soon, after one hour of staring toward the void, still hadn''t been visited by his next fated customer. Leo unhurriedly took out his ck cauldron within his inventory, caressing its rough surface as he couldn''t help but unfold a strange expression to himself. Other than his bronze knuckle that started rotting within his inventory, this ck cauldron of his was the longest item he was using... It began to thin due to his prolonged and non-stop usage. If he used it for another month, he believed that it would copse from exhaustion, making it cease to exist in the world. "Sigh~ I didn''t expect that I would grow fond of you." Leo mumbled under his breath, not caring about the strange nces the gray wisp giving him as he took out the tempering stone within his inventory. Compared to the enlightenment stone that was flickering with silver light, the tempering stone in Leo''s grasp was giving off a weak glow of sunlight. Furthermore, it was quite warm to touch, akin to being embraced by the morning sun after a cold night, capable of removing the lingering coldness within one''s physique. "Since it was low tempering stone, using it to my Soul Bound Weapon to further improve its strength was already useless. It''s better if I use it to my cauldron since I might not find another elite rarity cauldron in the town... "It would surely reach the rare rarity after upgrading it, allowing it to endure much higher temperatures in the process." Taking a deep breath, Leo hurriedlymanded his system with his mind, causing the tempering stone and the ck cauldron within his hand to vanish in an instant. Entering an unknown space as the system lightly asks him to patiently wait. Shing! Soon, after an unknown period of time, a bright, blinding light suddenly appeared in Leo''s front. Instinctively making his eyes close as he patiently waited till the burning light subsided. At the same time, as he was waiting for the intense light to vanish, a sudden sound of notification rang within his consciousness. Causing him to hurriedly look at the corner of his mind before reading the information it held. Ding! [ Congrattions on upgrading your ck Cauldron (Elite) to the Exquisite ck Cauldron (Rare)! ] *** Chapter 242 Exquisite Black Cauldron. Ding! [ Exquisite ck Cauldron (Rare) - An item that could withstand high-intensity fire, it could also help to further cleanse the impurities within spiritual herbs and fruits on the potions! Effect 1: Could withstand up to 1,000 degrees Celsius! Effect 2: Decrease the difficulty and chaos that happen when you mix various materials! Effect 3: Considerably increase the purity of potions made by this cauldron! Note: An item that was further upgraded by Tempering Stone! ] Slowly opening his eyes, the sight of a metallic cauldron immediately appeared in his vision. Its intricate design, which often flickered with a sharp metallic gleam, made Leo sigh in satisfaction. Furthermore, he could faintly discern some image within the surface of the cauldron, depicting a zing me that was roaring toward the sky, burning everything into nothingness. Just staring at it, Leo could sense an intense heat coursing through his skin, making his coldness somewhat dissipate toward the atmosphere. Behind him, the gray wisp, upon seeing the cauldron, immediately distances itself from it, creating a weak and shivering sound that showcases its fear toward the item. "Based on its description alone, the cauldron''s overall capability has at least increased by 300%, allowing me to create potions morefortably." Slightly caressing the surface of the cauldron, feeling the heat it was sending to his cold physique, Leo couldn''t help but unfold a gentle smile on his face. Hiding it within his inventory afterwards as he again stared toward the ceiling in emptiness. Again falling into the depths of loneliness, wandering toward the vastness of mind as he patiently waited for the fated person to enter his shop. "Comprehending skills into a deeper level, making their capability morepact and dangerous, allowing one to use them beyond their rarity." *** As Leo was pondering to himself, thinking about the mistakes he had made in the past, wanting to avoid them if possible. In the west-center of the town, in a garden behind a lofty, three-story-tall building. The familiar teenager could be seen sitting on the soft ground, heaving a light mist through his mouth and nostrils as he stared at the carved wooden bottle in his palm. "A potion that contains traces of luck¡ªat least my luck premonition tells me that it was beneficial to my body. "Furthermore, I also managed to cleanse my physique with the help of that strange man." The child weakly mumbled under his breath, hesitating slightly before eventually opening the bottle''s cap. Gulped! In an instant, after consuming the liquid within the bottle, the sensation of coldness quickly invaded his physique, coursing through his body before eventually resting within his brain. Causing the mana hidden within to circte faster than it had earlier, making the teenager gasp in surprise upon seeing his exp point begin to increase with every breath he took! If he had this potion when he just started cultivating, then he would probably have reached the middle stage of the foundation realm right now, allowing him to gain strength enough to at least protect his being! "How amazing. I should have bought at least 5 bottles within the shop earlier. "Unfortunately, just as I was about to buy another bottle, my luck premonition skill abruptly sent a signal to my mind to halt... "Making me flee in panic." Lightly shaking his head and burying the regret in the back of his mind, the teenager hurriedly closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath as he began to follow the basic cultivation technique for the Mortal realm cultivator inside his head. Making the mana within his mind slowly churn and increase in the process, umting through time before breaking through to the next level! Allowing him to close the distance between him and the early stage of the foundation realm! ... Ding! +1,500 horror points! Bang! "AHHH! Monster!" With a loud, booming sound of the closing door, the intense shrieking of a girl could be heard outside Leo''s shop before eventually dropping as the girl hurriedly fled the ce in fright. She even ends up using all of her movement skills in order to escape the horrible shop she just visited... Swearing that she would never step foot on this street in her life! "This..." Seeing what had just happened, Leo hurriedly removed the thick blood on his face, pping his cheek afterwards, as he didn''t know why he did that. Earlier, due to intense boredom, Leo decided to take out the materials within his inventory, including the corpse of Quasi Devils and the heads of the unfinished porcin doll puppet, cing them in the center of the room in order to create them into new puppets.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Wanting to use them for his shop so he could at least roam the town for quite a while without worrying about possible theft, satisfying his curiosity in the process. However, in the middle of dismantling the flesh of the quasi-devils, who would have thought that his next fated customer would suddenly open the door of the shop without saying anything? Hence, allowing her to see the floating innards and waste of the quasi-devil within the atmosphere while staring at his handsome figure, who was bathing in rotting thick blood with an extremely pale face. Although Leo tried to exin his side to the girl, the girl didn''t give him enough time as she suddenly closed the door... Then fleeing afterwards while shrieking in a loud voice. Hopefully, with how dpidated the ce was, no one would be able to hear her voice. "Maybe not. With the elevated senses of humans nowadays, they might hear a faint, incoherent sound if they were 500 meters away from her." *** "Lady, is this the ce?" "Ye-yes, this is the ce where I saw the pale man butchering countless bo-bodies." Upon hearing the reply of the disheveled woman opposite him, a guard wearing dark-rimmed sses couldn''t help but unfold a dark expression on his face, gesturing toward the 4 guards behind him as they slowly approached the wooden door of the shop. Gripping their weapons tightly in order to avoid being caught off guard and ready themselves for the inevitable battle. Knock, Knock! Knocking on the wooden door stiffly, the guards at the front couldn''t help but flinch, feeling the mysterious and intense coldness invading their physique, further deepening their wariness toward the suspected murderer inside the shop. "Hello, is there any..." Creakkk~ Soon, as they were about to lose their patience, causing them to hesitate whether to ask for backups or invade the ce rashly... The thick door in front of them suddenly created an intense, annoying sound, making them grit their teeth as they hurriedly pointed their weapons toward the slowly gaping door. ... In an instant, after the door opened to a certain degree, the light of the sun outside hurriedly illuminated the damp room, allowing the group to see a scene that they would never forget in their lifetime. "This... What kind of madness is this?!" With a chilling breeze caressing their horrified faces, the guard dumbfoundedly stared at the stitched limbs of countless humanoid beings in the distance, akin to a sea urchin that was quivering in excitement as they held clean clothes with their arms. Cleaning the crimson stains on the floor and removing the flesh that still sticks to it. Casually touching the innards of suspected humans before putting them into the mouths of the detached heads of the seemingly kids that scattered around the cold floor. Making them further horrified as they behold how the detached heads of the kids suddenlyugh innocently before consuming the flesh within their mouths, dyeing their faces with blood afterwards, making their appearance more innocent to the point that it became twisted... Bang! As they were quivering in dread and fright due to the unexpected sight in front, a loud sound of booming suddenly echoed within their consciousness, waking them up in the process as they stared toward their backs in intense fear. Unknowingly, as they were bathing in pure horror earlier, their bodies unexpectedly and mysteriously entered the building. Making them trapped inside since the door closed on its own! ... "This couldn''t do; we need to get out of here!" "We-we are all going to die! Huhu~ I shouldn''t enter this street..." "Mama!" Fear hurriedly consumed their thoughts, stripping them of their thinking capability or at least lowering it to a minimum as they hurriedly tried to open the wooden door, but to no avail. Even with 6 cultivators using their full strength, the door didn''t budge an inch; instead, it even managed to push some of them back! Catching them off guard as their butts hit the cold yet wet floor, draining the color of their faces further as they could feel the thick crimson blood wetting their clothes. Not even a second passed by, the sound of clicking echoed toward their ears, making them stiffly turn their heads toward the origin of the sound. In an instant, upon tilting their heads toward the side, the scene of rolling detached headsughing innocently while bathing in crimson blood and flesh appeared within their vision. "Mom, it hurts; I want to be home." It innocently muttered while unfolding a twisted smile on its face. *** Chapter 243 Unlocking The Horror Shop Feature! Hearing the detached head of the kid speak in pure agony while unfolding the rotting flesh that still hangs in front of its teeth, the eyes of the woman suddenly rolled toward its back, falling to the cold floor afterwards as a considerate amount of white foam oozed from the corner of her mouth. Twitching from time to time as the horror that she experienced still lingered within the depths of her dreams. Beholding this, one of the guards on the side couldn''t help but uncontrobly piss on his uniform, dyeing the cold ground with its disgusting fishy smell that hurriedly fused toward the thick and rotting metallic scent of blood within the atmosphere. Entering their nostrils in a few seconds, which further fueled the dread they were feeling. Increasing the beat of their heart at an rming rate, to the point that its faint sound began to reverberate in enclosed space. Completely losing their sense of rationality in the next second as the sound of their heart, which was about to escape their chest, loudly resounded within their minds, momentarily making them deaf before chaos consumed their thoughts. "This..." However, on the contrary, although the guard, who was wearing ck-rimmed sses on his suave face, was experiencing fear all over his body, he still managed to retain his basic thinking capability. Staring below, he couldn''t help but unfold a confused expression on his face. "Wh-why are they not attacking us?" Although they only entered the building for less than 2 minutes, it would still be enough for the suspected murderer and the abomination that was scattered around the room to kill them easily. Since killing a group that was consumed by fear and dread wouldn''t be that hard at all! Feeling that he grasped something important, the guard hurriedly summoned a blob of light within the atmosphere, instantly illuminating the damp room as the sight of the shop reflected on his irises. ... In an instant, the flesh, blood, and floating head of the red human within the bucket in the short distance reflected in his brown irises. Unfolding its noticeable single horn that lightly emerged within its bloodied forehead, allowing the guard to identify it as a quasi-devil, a race that they hated the most! "These are all quasi-devils and puppets created using unknown materials..." Understanding this, the guard immediately speaks toward his group, making them halt their chaotic movement as their somewhat pale faces stiffly look at the distance. Heaving a weary sigh of relief as their panicking minds slightly calmed down, although they still felt horrified and wary, their sanity finally rekindled within their being. Finally allowing them to carefully assess the surrounding environment with certainty. "Are you done shouting?" Seeing that the guards near the door finally halted their shrieking, Leo deactivated his invisibility skill, unfolding his pale figure toward the wary group in the distance beforemanding the detached heads of the dolls on the ground to roll toward him. Hiding them inside his inventory afterwards before fixing the mess the group created with his telekic ability. "Done, it''s finally clean!" Soon, after he was done, Leo lightly gestured toward the group to take a seat on the stained ck sofa in the distance, not caring about their wary expression as he gestured toward the stitched arms in the distance to brew some tea. ... The group, upon seeing the pale man gesture toward them, secretly nced toward each other, nodding afterwards as they dragged the unconscious woman toward the sofa. Although they really wanted to flee this abomination ce at swift speed right now, the close, unbudging wooden door wouldn''t allow them to escape. Hence, they could only pray to the goddess above to save their pitiful soul. Since the strange man didn''t kill them earlier, only giving them a slight heart attack, it would probably be fine to stay here for quite a while, right? Step~ Step~ As the guards were pondering deep within their thoughts, often staring at the pale man behind the counter, the sound of countless moving limbs suddenly echoed toward their consciousness... Making their bodies incredibly stiff as they stared at the stitched limbs of countless quasi-devils, holding a tray full of ceramic cups swiftly approaching their location. "This... I couldn''t stay here. I still don''t want to die!" Still feeling horrified by looking at it, the guard who pissed himself suddenly stood up, wanting to flee the ce, as he abruptly summoned his iron sword from his inventory. Tilting his body toward the side before swinging his sword toward the window nearby. Wanting to destroy it so they could escape this hellish ce before the abomination reached their location! Bang- However, as the sword was about to collide with the ss window that was covered by a thick, dark curtain, the body of the guard suddenly paused mid-air. Unfolding a horrified look in his eyes, the guard attempted to move his physique, but to no avail! It was like experiencing sleep paralysis where he couldn''t control his body while consciously awake! ... "Tsk, I''m already lenient enough for not punishing your intrusion into my shop; some of you even destroyed my furniture, yet I didn''t show any anger. "However, destroying the window isn''t within my patience..." Snapping his finger, Leo abruptly deactivated his telekic ability, causing the floating guard to fall toward the ground with a loud sound, making it flinch due to sudden pain within his buttocks. Beholding this, the guards who were sitting on the chair couldn''t help but gulp in unison, feeling an unprecedented fear within their minds upon understanding that they could die if they angered the pale man. With the ability to make a middle stage of the foundation realm immovable from a far distance, they already knew that killing them wouldn''t be different from killing an ant. Allowing them toprehend the difference between their strength and the pale man in the distance. Not caring about theplicated thoughts that were running through their minds, Leo stared at the notifications that appeared earlier when the woman lost her consciousness. Curling his lips upwards as he began to read them one by one. Ding! [ Congrattions on scaring countless beings! +15,000 horror points! +5,000 horror points! +8,500 horror points! ] Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully scaring a being within your shop! Reward: Unlock the hidden feature "Horror Shop"! ] Ding! [ Horror Shop (Feature): A feature that allows the host to construct his/her horror shop into something unimaginable. Furthermore, when your customers spend money toward your shop, 10 percent of the money that they spend will be converted to the horror points that would enter the host inventory. In addition to that, there are also unique items that customers could buy that came from the system... ] ... "This..." Unfolding a surprised expression on his face, Leo hurriedly opened his character panel, looking below before clicking the Horror Shop beside the features that were avable to him. In an instant, upon pressing the new feature, the panel in front of him suddenly churned, releasing a dreadful aura that only he could sense as he beheld it changing into something dark. Shing! (A sharp sound of withdrawing.) Soon, after waiting for 10 seconds, the darkness within the system hurriedly retracted, unfolding the familiar structure of the shop inside as he could even discern some movement happening within. "This... aren''t these the people who were currently in the shop?" Leo thought as he beheld the 5 gray dots and a single white dot within the s inside the system. Allowing him to understand that the new feature allows him to see how many people are currently within his shop.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Although this might not look useful right now, it might surprise him in the future if it could even detect beings under concealment skills. ... Sip~ Seeing that the humans in the distance finally started to calm down, drinking the tea that his new puppet created. Leo leisurely shifted his gaze toward the side of the new feature, staring at the long list of old and chilling furniture in surprise and puzzlement. "What the... who would buy this?!" In an instant, upon seeing their prices and descriptions, Leo couldn''t help but curse within his mind, unable toprehend how this system of his dared to sell those forbidden items. ~~~~Items Avable for Horror Shop~~~~ 1. Old Wooden Chair- A chair that was created a dozen years ago. Sitting in this old and worn chair while staring at the dark clouds above the firmament might evoke fear within the customer''s mind. Cost: 500 horror points! 2. Shadow Curtain- A thick curtain that makes the shop much darker and ominous. Although it couldn''t scare a being, it still helps to build a horrifying mood. Cost: 1,000 horror points! 3. Spider Web of the Goliath Spider- A thick gray spider web that could hold 10 kilograms. Although it could hardly restrict one''s movement upon sticking, it would still hinder their movement to certain degrees. Cost: 2,500 horror points! 4. Puddle of Crimson Blood... ] *** Chapter 244 Renovating the Shop. Seeing the guards exiting the shop in a dumbfounded manner, Leo leisurely retracted the soul power within his throat. Taking a deep breath of relief before fixing the mess within his shop. Earlier, in order to ensure that no one would hear and learn about the things that the guards experience here, Leo again used the strange ability of the peak demon. Tempting the guards and making them believe that everything they see isn''t something worth being afraid of. Furthermore, he alsomanded them not to spread any words regarding on what they saw, ensuring that the shop could still be visited by other fated beings. "Well, with the potions that I gave them, I''m quite sure that they wouldn''t be able to break themand hidden within the depths of their consciousness. "Unfortunately, this skill of mine was quite different from direct maniption... It needed a lot of patience and tinkering in order to achieve the effects that I wanted." Leo thought as he ced the potions on the counter of the shop, not expecting that bribing could work pretty well with the "Language of Demon". Although the effects weren''t certain, especially if the given item has no value and can''t pique the interest of the target, it could still increase the chances of making the target fall into his persuasion by at least 50 percent! Making the deceiving effects of the "Language of Demon" increase exponentially! Even enough to deceive a newly ascended core formation realm cultivator if he managed to bribe it with enough valuable items! "Now, where are we?" Opening his character panel, Leo again presses the new feature on the system, scrolling toward the bottom list of its shop before stopping toward certain items within with clear hesitation and anticipation pasted on his pale face. ~~~Items Avable for Horror Shop~~~ 1. Space Expansion (Low)- Expand the space inside your shop by 50 square meters, allowing you to store more merchandise inside your shop without making it look tight. Cost: 50,000 horror points! 2. Trick or Treat Candy Machine- A machine full of peculiar and different types of candies that could grant mysterious and different effects to those who consumed them. Cost: 25,000 horror points!N?v(el)B\\jnn 3. Detached Limbs (Servant)- An advanced puppet that knows how to scare and serve beings... ] ... "Space expansion is a must; having stayed in this small space for almost two days already allows me to understand the limitations of my shop... "If the size of the shop was just bigger earlier, I might use it to my advantage in order to deepen the fear the guards were experiencing... It would be best if we ended up ying hide and seek inside the shop..." Pondering about the things that he could do if the space inside the shop was bigger, Leo couldn''t help but darkly chuckle to himself, deliberately erging the shadows that covered the ce for extra special effects. Causing them to frightfully seethe within, akin to the thick branches of trees that hurriedly coiled around the furniture of the shop. Wisp~ In the ceiling of the counter. Seeing the strange yet dark expression of its master, the gray wisp hurriedly imitated Leo,ughing in the corner of the shop as its soul power began to ooze from its immaterial physique. Further lowering the temperature around as the shadow within began to slightly churn, resonating with its being. "Keke~ System, buy the low space expansion." Ding! -50,000 horror points! In an instant, after his horror points decreased by 50,000 points, the sensation of an intense earthquake suddenly appeared in the surrounding area. Visibly shaking everything within his line of sight, as he even saw some of his furniture being turned around... Being destroyed afterwards due to their fragility. After that, the space within the shop mysteriously and visibly began to increase in size, expanding toward the utmost distance. Making the ce more deste than earlier. Furthermore, the appearance of the wooden counter, the old s, the cold ground, the window, and the door of the shop began to elevate by amount, allowing them to carry a strange beauty that only he could sense. ... Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully expanding your shop! ] "How cold and beautiful..." Mumbling to himself, Leo stared at the stained tiles on the cold ground in pure amazement. Although he could discern that the color of the tiles was originally white, with the thick dust that umted on top of them and due to the passage of time, the tiles now look darker in color. Furthermore, it carried a strange scent within that could make sentient beings remember the old past, evoking the emotion of loneliness and destion within. "Keke~" Soon, after finishing his inspection within his expanded shop, Leo again opened his character panel, focusing on the list within the horror shop feature before buying 2 Trick or Treat Candy Machines and 2 Detached Limbs (Servants) within... Further reducing his horror points by 100,000. Only leaving him with 125,000 horror points within his inventory as he ced his newly bought machine beside his shop. ... "Huff~ Okay, Alex, you just need to be calm and buy another bottle of the potion." Outside Leo''s shop, the familiar teenager could be seen staring at the familiar building for about 10 minutes. Clearly hesitating whether to enter the shop or not. Although it was not a problem minutes ago, after seeing the disheveled appearance of the guards and the woman exiting the shop earlier, his luck premonition suddenly sent a distress signal within his mind. Instantly allowing him to understand that stepping toward the shop in that period of time would be disastrous to his being, possibly killing him if he wasn''t careful. Only after 10 minutes have passed by does the distress within his mind slowly calm down before being reced by an intense sensation of luck. If he wouldpare it to the luck that he experienced when he bought that particr potion earlier, then the sensation he was currently feeling was twice that of thetter. Making him understand that he couldn''t let the chance to increase his strength, even a little, pass by. "I should enter now before other cultivators manage to buy those potions." Weakly mumbling to himself, the teenager took a long, deep breath, summoning his courage before gripping the cold, dark door of the shop. Although the appearance of the door looked different right now, with how many unknown skills and techniques were circting in this new world, he didn''t find it strange; instead, he only felt that it was normal... Creakkk~ *** Chapter 245 Trick or Treat Machine (1). Swish~ In an instant, after opening the thick wooden door of the shop, the chilling breeze of the wind abruptly caressed Alex''s physique, making him shiver from the unexpected coldness that drilled toward his being. Making his innards quiver in difort, to the point that he couldn''t help but sneeze on the spot. Following that, the scene of the shop reflected in his bluish eyes, making them widen slightly as his gaze trailed toward the expanded space of the shop. Beholding the great change it took in just 6 hours of his absence. "This..." As he was being engrossed in inspecting the chilling changes of the shop, the sight of two severed limbs, beings consumed by countless white maggots, greatly twitching in the corner of the s caught his attention. Subconsciously making him step back in shock as he stared at their unknown being in pure horror... Their sharp, rotting ws, which reach a staggering size of 4 inches, capable of slicing through the solid walls of the shop, entered his eyes. Allowing him to understand that he would die within their grasp in an instant due to the intense signal that his luck premonition sent to his mind. Click~ Click~ Seemingly sensing his presence, the severed limbs suddenly stood up on their five fingers before hurriedly rushing toward his location with swift speed, making him extremely anxious, to the point that he couldn''t move his body due to the intense fear that shrouded his thoughts. "I... I, what the..." AHHH! He thought in a stuttering manner, unable to think properly as he watched the detached, rotting limbs jump toward his direction, grabbing his feet afterwards before dragging him toward the s. As he was being dragged away, the sensation of something slithering appeared on his right leg, making his sight momentarily nk as he saw a number of white, healthy maggots begin to lively slither within the surface of his skin. Seemingly finding the rotting ce within, so they could drill their little physique toward it before consuming the innards of their victim... ... "Oh, it''s you again?" Seeing the familiar figure of the teenager on the old sofa, Leo couldn''t help but unfold a surprised look on his pale face, not expecting that the teenager would again visit his humble shop after just 6 hours of buying that potion. Alex, upon hearing the cold voice of Leo, stiffly shifted his gaze toward the far counter, unfolding an ugly expression akin to crying on his disheveled face, still shivering upon remembering those disgusting maggots that crawled to his skin... To the point that some of them even unconsciously crawl toward his face before attempting to enter his mouth. Fortunately, his luck premonition was quite fast at sending a signal to his brain, hence allowing him to escape the disgusting situation. Gulped~ Gulping the forming saliva within his mouth, suppressing the churning of his stomach in the process, Alex hurriedly cast a wind-rted skill toward his physique, sending those still-wriggling maggots away from his body. Making him heave a sigh of relief in the next second upon finally sensing that no white, healthy maggots were wriggling within the surface of his skin! "I wa-want to buy another bottle of that potion." Feeling afraid and at the same time worried about the mentality of the pale man behind the counter, Alex ineloquently speaks, wanting to immediately buy those potions at the counter before fleeing this ce for good!N?v(el)B\\jnn Although he would eventually run out of potions before being forced to go back to this frightful shop in the future, the number of those potions would be enough for him to peacefully cultivate for days. Allowing him to not visit this shop for at least a week! "This... are you aware that you could only consume that potion once every two days?" Understanding that potions were really addicting, especially when the one who consumed them could feel their strength strengthening in every minute, Leo couldn''t help but seriously remind the teenager in the distance, not wanting his first customer to umte toxins in his being, cutting his future aspect in the process. "Wait, I can only drink one potion every two days?" Hearing this, Alex unfolds a confused expression on his face,pletely unaware of that knowledge. Due to the shortage of potions within the town and their staggering price that normal cultivators couldn''t afford, the potion masters within the town didn''t bother to tell their customers about the toxins that were hidden in every imperfect potion. There''s also the probability that the potion masters deliberately leave their customers in the dark, causing the potion stack to always be limited, hence drastically increasing their value in the process. "Well, actually, with your current level, you could at least consume 3 different potions that reach a staggering 75% purity every 3 days. "As for the same potion, you could only consume a potion with 80 percent purity every two days." ... "I see... then can I buy all the simr potions that I bought earlier? Comprehending the words of the pale man on the counter, Alex unconsciously creases his brows before speaking. Still wanting to buy all those potions so he could cultivate for a week without being disturbed due to theck of potions. "No, you can''t; you can only buy 3..." Hearing the teenager, Leo immediately uttered: Although the child might not drink the potion on the same day. A cultivator, especially in the Mortal realm, needed to strengthen its foundation before advancing toward the next level. In order to achieve that, the cultivator needed to fight every day to ensure that their foundation would be stable! With how the child red at his potion with those bluish eyes, Leo already knew what was going on inside his head. "He was probably thinking of relying on my potions in order to speed up his advancement toward the foundation realm. "Such a silly kid...'' ... "Sigh~ Okay, I will buy those three..." Soon, understanding that he couldn''t win with the owner of the shop, Alex finally relented, taking out 75 earth gold from his inventory before pushing it toward the cold counter. Taking the three bottles of potions that Leo handed before hurriedly hiding them within his inventory afterwards. Ding! [ Congrattions on selling three potions within your horror shop! +1,500 horror points! ] Sure enough, after Leo received the earth gold within the hands of the teenager, the sound of notification rang within his consciousness, making the corner of his lips curl upwards upon reading the information it held. Although the horror points he gained weren''t enough to fill the corner of his teeth, he still felt happy upon gaining horror points through selling. (A single earth gold was equivalent to 100 earth bronze; hence, Leo received 1,500 horror points from the system.) *** Chapter 246 Trick or Treat Machine (2). "This, a candy machine?" As Alex was about to grab the handle of the wooden door, ready to exit this mysterious ce before continuing his postponed cultivation, the ominous figure of two machines on the far corner of the shop suddenly caught his attention, making him halt in his tracks as he sized them up and down, quite curious about why a potion master would suddenly ce an old yet ominous item within his shop. Furthermore, it was quite far from the entrance of the shop, making it hard to be noticed by those who entered this ce. "If he wanted to sell candies, he should ce them outside the shop...'' The teenager instinctively thought before unconsciously approaching the machines in the far distance. In an instant, upon closing his distance toward the old items, the machine''s old and rotting bark, slowly being consumed by dark and green moss, entered his sight. Followed by its nostalgic scent that wafts toward his nostrils, invading his senses for a while as an irresistible desire abruptly blossomed within the depths of his being. It''s the familiar sensation that he often experienced in the past, a sensation that often gives him benefits and advantages. Other than his innate skill "luck premonition" he also had a physique called "Life Instinct". A unique yet not overpowered physique that allows him to understand what his body desires in order to strengthen itself and what it should avoid. Although the effects soundme, they actually allow him to be above the normal cultivators in terms of survivability and overall strength, making him on par with beings who had rare +3 ss jobs! "25 earth gold per candy, you can''t ask for a discount." Seeing that the teenager stopped in front of those Trick or Treat Machines, clearly curious about their contents, Leo couldn''t help but approach from afar. He also wanted to see what kind of effects their candies contained. "25 earth gold?! Sir, are you sure you were not scamming people?" "I surely not; as for the system, I clearly don''t know...'' Gulping the words that were about to escape his throat, Leo lightly shook his head, gesturing that he wasn''t scamming people. Although the price really looks exaggerated, to the point that it was alreadyparable to 1 high ungraded potion, Leo knew that the system wouldn''t scam him...N?v(el)B\\jnn Well, at least it wouldn''t give him items that were overly useless. With the system''s mischievous personality, the machine''s usefulness would be around 25,000 to 50,000 horror points. Other than that, there''s also the probability that the price of those items was above their original price; this would only happen if the system was in a good mood. "This... Nevermind, if the candy wasn''t that good, I would never buy it again!" Mumbling to himself, the teenager hesitantly took out his purse from his inventory, weighing it on his palm with mixed emotions before taking out 25 earth gold within. With the things he bought earlier, he was only left with 10 earth gold in his pocket, enough to at least sustain his being for a month. "Sigh~ I already spent all of my allowance for this month; if my mom learns about it, she will surely beat me..." Weakly mumbling to himself, wanting to gain the owner''s sympathy, Alex hesitantly handed the earth golds toward the hand of Leo. Deliberately slowing in order to show his hesitation, wanting to at least gain some discount. "Kid, what are you doing?" "Are you finally giving me some discounts?" Hearing Leo, Alex immediately unfolds a bright smile on his face, feeling that he seeded in his acting as he hurriedly retracted his stretched hand. However, before he could celebrate within his mind, the cold yet emotionless voice of the owner, capable of stirring one''s emotion, suddenly entered his ears, pouring cold water into his being as his smile retracted in an instant. "No, you need to insert the earth gold one by one into the machine''s slot in order to get your candy... Don''t show me that face; I''m only doing business." Staring directly into the eyes of the teenager, Leo couldn''t help but frown, scaring thetter greatly before immediately facing the candy machine. "Tsk... Doing business was really troublesome; it''s still easier to kill beings than deny customers from getting discounts...'' Thinking of it, Leo couldn''t help but momentarily release a strong blood lust, feeling ufortable all of a sudden upon being unable to do what he wanted. Compared to the area of the cemetery and the depths of the endless forest, he needed to carefully watch his actions in this town! "Sigh~ If not for the requirements of my ss job, I would hesitantly visit this town.'' ... "What is that?'' Alex thought to himself, feeling puzzled all of a sudden upon sensing that his luck premonition suddenly halted on sending a signal to his mind. Not allowing him to understand what it wanted to convey earlier. "Weird..." Weakly mumbling to himself, Alex slightly shook his head before continuing to insert the earth gold toward the slot of the machine. Unfolding a mixed expression on his face as the skin of his hand lightly grazed toward the damp moss that stuck toward its corner. Huff~ Sensing its cold yet ominous energy that drilled toward the flesh of his hand, making his movement slow in the process, Alex couldn''t help but grimace... Although he was hesitant, since his premonition didn''t send a signal of danger within his mind, he didn''t stop. Click! Click! Soon, after inserting all 25 earth gold toward the slot, the machine in front of him suddenly releases an annoying clicking sound, akin to countless droplets of water that unceasingly fall toward the stainless sink. Loudly echoing within the enclosed and damp space, making Alex''s heart slip a bit due to the strange rhythmic sound it was creating. (An instinctive reaction of humans if they were being subjected to intense anticipation, that often leads to anxiousness if the thing they were expecting still hadn''t arrived in a long period of time... causes them to overthink.) "This candy machine was malfunctioning?" Tic- Tic- (Sound of an object falling toward the ground.) As Alex was about toin to the owner on his side, a small ticking sound suddenly entered his ears, making his head tilt downward as the figure of a small dark bear, made of pure chocte, being covered by stic appeared in his vision. Ding! [ Congrattions on getting a bear chocte... ] *** The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 247 Trick or Treat Machine (3). Ding! [ Congrattions on getting a bear chocte... ] In an instant, after getting the dark bear chocte on the floor, the incoherent mechanical sound of the candy machine suddenly echoed toward the surrounding area. Making the teenager jump backwards in shock and surprise, never expecting that the old, almost malfunctioning machine would suddenly speak. Ding! [ Congrattions on getting a low bear chocte! ] "Eh, even chocte has grades?" Calming down, Alex couldn''t help but unfold a puzzled expression on his face. Slowly shifting his gaze from the machine toward the chocte in his grasp, suddenly feeling curious about its taste and effects. Since his instinct was strongly conveying its desire to consume the chocte within his grasp in an instant, it only meant that it contained something beneficial to his being. Enough to make him extremely curious about its origin and how it was made... "Is he really bored enough to create candies and choctes instead of creating potions?'' ... Misunderstanding the owner as a strange, mentally, and bored cultivator, Alex began to remove the stic that covered the bear chocte, unable to suppress the building anticipation within his being anymore as he immediately took a bite from it. Ripping the head of the bear chocte in an instant with his white teeth before entering his mouth... "This... So bitter!'' In an instant, after the chocte grazed his taste buds, the chocte mysteriously and immediately liquified, turning into a creamy yet sticky liquid that invaded his mouth. Its intense bitterness, which was akin to a bitter melon that was grounded into a paste before extracting its juices, drilled toward his taste buds, making him unfold a twisted expression on his young face upon being unable to tolerate its forbidden vor. As Alex was suffering from the intense aftertaste of the low bear chocte, a faint stream of hot smoke began to ooze from his physique, making Leo behind unfold a look of surprise on his cold yet pale face. "His aura suddenly increases by a small amount. Although it wasn''t that high, it''s still quite surprising since he only ate part of the chocte. "Furthermore, the smoke he was oozing was quite simr to...'' Pondering deep within himself, Leo suddenly felt a little resemnce toward the steam of hot energy oozing from the teenager''s physique toward the impurities that he excreted days ago. Although itcks the disgusting scent of impurities and the dark, ominous color that often could be seen from the impure substance within one''s body, he would never forget those familiar and intense toxic auras that he could only find in impurities. With the impurities that the teenager was currently excreting from his body, it would save him at least half of his time forging a solid foundation from the peak stage of the mortal realm to the early stage of the foundation realm! Furthermore, he might even elevate his foundation if he still focuses on killing beasts to gain experience points! Allowing him to gain advantages over his peers in terms of overall strength and cultivation speed! If Leo remembered correctly, when he excreted arge amount of impurities within his body, strengthening his foundation substantially in the process, he managed to gain deeper control of his body. In addition to that, the coursing of Qi within his physique became much more smoother! Making his skill much easier to manipte and release in the process. Furthermore, after a being reaches a certain threshold of removing the impurities within their body, their talent and overall stats will experience a quantitative change. Although not exaggerated since talent was given from birth, the being''s talent would still increase by a small amount, allowing him/her to walk further in the path of cultivation! "However, it''s really surprising for the system to sell this type of chocte... If I estimated its price correctly, it was about ten thousand horror points, 10 times more than the strengthening potion avable in the system shop.'' ... Ding! [ Congrattions on cleansing your physique by a small amount! +1 overall stats! ]@@novelbin@@ Soon, after 5 minutes of suffering from the lingering and disgusting taste of the chocte within his grasp, Alex finally heaved a sigh of relief. Gasp~ Gasping afterwards in pure shock upon seeing the notification that suddenly emerged in his front, he never expected that he would easily gain a small increment in his overall stats just by consuming the head of the awful chocte! If he wanted to gain these free attribute stats all by himself, he would at least need to upgrade his level by twice! A feat that would cost him an unknown period of time and effort! "This chocte is simply divine! "Furthermore, myplexion seems to improve a lot! At least, it bes more healthy and tough! "In addition to that, I still retained my previous level!" Since he was still at level 17, if he upgraded toward the next level, Alex concluded that he would still gain the extra attribute stats! Further strengthening his overall strength in the process! Although Alex had no idea how the owner of the shop managed to create this divine yet awful chocte, he knew the benefits it contained. It''s simply vast! "Well, I hope that there''s no limit on how many choctes I can consume, unlike those spiritual fruits that would no longer give attribute stats after consuming them three times.'' ... Suppressing his ranging thoughts, Alex hurriedly took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a while before directly consuming all the bear chocte in his grasp. Making his appearance twisted afterwards as he held his mouth tightly, suppressing his intense urge to puke on the cold ground in order to remove the disgusting liquid that invaded his taste buds in the process. Sizzle~ Sizzle~ Sure enough, after waiting for about a minute, the familiar stream of hot energy began to uncontrobly ooze from Alex''s physique, hurriedly spread toward the enclosed space of the shop, making the temperature within to warm up. Seeing this, Leo slightly opened the dark wooden door in the distance, using his telekic ability to guide those toxic gases outside the perimeter of his shop. Bringing back thefortable, damp atmosphere within the enclosed space of his building. *** Chapter 248 Invasion of the Beast Race (1)! Ding! [ Congrattions on further cleansing your physique! Overall attribute stats +2! ] Soon, after suffering for a quarter of an hour, Alex finally opened his eyes, gazing at his rosy physique in pure excitement and surprise. Although he currently had no ns to test the toughness of his physique, clearly afraid of pain, he knew that his current durability was times better than that of earlier! Probably enough to defend itself from the full attack of the mid-stage of the mortal realm! "This... I only had 10 earth gold left in my wallet. Sir, can I borrow some earth gold from you? I promise I will pay you back next week." Hearing the teenager utter toward him without hesitation, Leo immediately unfolds a dark look on his pale face, suddenly feeling an intense urge to beat the teenager until it sh*t on its pants. Fortunately, he managed to suppress his urge on time, or else, he might lose his first customer. "No. If you can''t afford the price, then I rmend you to exit the shop immediately... "Sigh~ do you think doing business was easy?!" ... Creak~ Boom! Soon, finally seeing the teenager exit his humble shop, Leo finally released a deep sigh of relief, gazing toward the setting sun through the gaps of his dark curtain in deep thought... pondering deeply about his next steps. Since he had already built the basic foundation of his shop, he could finally start looking for greatly injured beings before healing them with his "Witch Doctor Archives of Knowledge" skill. Slowlypleting his ss job requirements in the process. Furthermore, he also needed to begin looking for beings to curse. It''s best if they were quasi-devils or beings whomitted great sins in order to strengthen the effects of his curse. Although it was unclear, the bad karma that the victim created throughmitting sins could help to deepen and strengthen the effects of his curse, hastening their demise in the process. In addition to that, they would also experience a deep sense of agony every time he cursed them, satisfying his bloodlust. (Leo unconsciously gained this knowledge when he used countless enlightenment stones while he was still at the nd cemetery.) *** Click~ Click~ At the same time, beyond the long cracks of the fissure above, a huge eye, almost asrge as a 3-story-tall building, silently gazed at the huge mass ofnd beneath. Its serpent-like eyes, capable of obliterating a mortal in a single nce, squinted in pure excitement. Hissing in euphoria upon smelling the familiar scent of rich, vibrant life within the epassingnd below. However, although it could hardly suppress the intense desires coursing through its being, the cracks that lead toward the vibrant ce below would never allow him to enter. Well, he could actually enter the ce if he wanted to; however, the price that he would pay is his precious life... "Sigh~ This formation; I need to find a way to destroy this formation! I can''t let those fellows discover this ce...'' Huff~ "General, the cracks within the formation have finally stabilized; we can finally send a number of Nascent Soul realm beasts within without being subjected to the onught of the formation." As the being was silently gazing below, deeply pondering for a possible solution, a sudden, incoherent voice entered his consciousness, making his eyes flicker in excitement and anticipation in the process. In the past, due to the instability within the cracks of the formation, they could only send countless beasts below the core formation realm. Although they managed to kill more than half of the poption in just a short period of time, all of the beasts they sent eventually met their demise from those small ns. Since it was useless to send batches of cannon folders beneath anyway, his subordinates began focusing their resources on erging and stabilizing the crack within the formation. Unfortunately, even with almost a year of effort trying to decay the formation, they only managed to increase the size of the cracks by a small amount, still not enough to send beasts beyond the Nascent Soul realm... "Keke~ Since that''s the case, it would be best if I let those beasts decay the formation from inside... It would hasten the destruction of the formation that way." Chuckling to himself, the unknown being slowly retracted its gigantic eyes from the void, manipting his soul power with great mastery before sending amand to all of the beasts situated within the thick ck mist. "Keke~ It''s finally time; fill all your stomachs and find that item!" ROARRR!@@novelbin@@ CLICCKK~ SHHHH- With a chaotic roar, countless species of mutated beasts, beyond theprehension of the mortal mind, hurriedly rushed toward the erged crack beneath the sky. Unfolding their cruelty as all of their bloodlust began to materialize within the atmosphere, making even core formation realm beings tremble in fear if they beheld this. *** Crack~ Crack~ "This..." Hearing the familiar and ominous sound of cracking, akin to the porcin ss that was identally dropped on the concrete floor, all of the beings around the world raised their heads in unison. Unable to hide their rm as they beheld that the fissure above, devoid of any lights, began to visibly erge, making their hearts turn cold in the next second as countless ck dots slowly emerged beyond the erged crack... Although it was nighttime right now, with cultivators'' elevated senses, especially the core formation realm beings, they could perfectly see the fast-approaching dots above the sky. Making them extremely tense upon sensing several numbers of beings emitting an ominous aura that wasn''t weaker than Core Formation realm cultivators! Furthermore, there were also quite a few beasts that were emitting an intense bloodlust capable of twisting the atmosphere around them. Allowing the cultivators beneath to understand that they were in the illusionary Nascent Soul realm! "This... They were back..." "Hide! Hurry, let the children hide under the bunker!" "W-we are all going to die!" In an instant, the chaotic and anxious voice of countless humans resounded in the silent night, hurriedly drifting within the damp and dark space as it entered the ears of other beings. Further fueling the chaotic atmosphere within, making thend bathed in uncertainty and fear. Although most of them already had capabilities beyond the norm, the horror that they experienced when the apocalypse arrived still lingered within the depths of their consciousness... Instantly shrouding their beings in dread upon seeing the familiar scene descend with their own eyes. *** Chapter 250 Invasion of the Beast Race (3)! Thud... Followed by the soft sound of falling flesh, the eyes of the guards stationed on the top of the wall couldn''t help but constrict in shock and dread. Although they had already expected that some of them would die tonight at the hands of those abominations, they never expected that someone would immediately die in a matter of a few seconds! Furthermore, they couldn''t evenprehend nor see how the guard died! Making their hearts turn cold upon imagining that they would also die if they were in that guard''s situation! "Don''t just stand there! Attack! Do you all want your loved ones to die?!" With a loud shout, thete stage of the core formation realm guard suddenly vanished from his current location, traversing the battlefield at swift speed before arriving in front of the familiar eagle beast. Soul Bound Weapon: Wind Sword! In an instant, without giving the eagle beast enough time to react, the guard immediately summoned a feather-like sword from the void, shimmering with a weak green glow as soft yet sharp wind materialized around it, hurriedly slicing through the atmosphere before colliding toward the physique of the eagle! Ding! Unfortunately, although the eagle beast was caught off guard by milliseconds, it still managed to raise its sharp ws on time, rashly deflecting the attack of the human on its front as its body uncontrobly flew toward the far distance due to the intense force that the guard uses. Damaging its internal organs by quite an amount as traces of green blood ooze from the corner of its beak. *** "It was still not enough; with many beings inhaling the mist, the creation of it couldn''t keep up, making its effects and suppression degrade by a huge amount...'' Beholding this, Leo, above one of the ceilings of the tall building, further fueled his mist of illusion skill with his liquified Qi, making the creation of its mist hasten by folds, causing the imperceptible mist that shrouded the 1,000 meters in diameter to visibly thicken within his senses. Sure enough, with his delicate maniption, some of the beasts above, below thete stage of the foundation realm began to show signs of confusion, making them appear dazed and sluggish upon inhaling a considerable amount of his mist of illusion skill. Although Leo didn''t tinker with the scene that the beasts were seeing by activating the imperceptible mist that invaded their brains, just relying on the basic effects of his skill was already enough! At least it would increase the advantages of the guards above by folds! Ensuring that most of them would survive this invasion! Find adventures on empire "This... A chance!'' Unaware of what was urring within the minds of those abominations, the guards within the tall wall continuously poured their offensive skills toward the beasts and quasi-devils in the far distance, reaping countless lives in the process... Causing the weight of the sudden death of the guard slowly vanishes within their minds before being reced by intense killing intent. Furthermore, with the head guard holding the eagle beast on the far horizon, if this continued, they would be able to kill all of the beasts without suffering too many casualties! An already good exchange in their opinion! At least it was far from the death toll that appeared when those quasi-devils attacked the town weeks ago! Boom! ... SHRIEKKK! As the cultivators of the town began to gain momentum with the secret help of Leo, a sudden, ominous shriek, originating from the backs of the horde, echoed toward the far distance. Quickly traveling toward the void before abruptly entering the ears of the guards! "This..." Ughh~ In an instant, upon hearing the frightful shriek of the unknown beast, the guards above the tall wall suddenly suffered from intense headaches, causing their spell-casting to abruptly halt as they released a groan of pain in unison. "Soul Eating Birds!" Although they hadn''t seen the beast that attacked them, the familiar skill it used, capable of damaging and tearing one''s soul upon hearing its frightful shriek, allowed them to identify the beast that attacked them! Making the expressions of the cultivators turned grim upon understanding the threat they were facing! Even though they stillcked knowledge regarding the cultivation, techniques, and skills, they still knew that skills and abilities that were rted to the soul were extremely hard to guard against! To the point that only beings above the foundation realm had the basic durability against it! ... Keke~ Seeing the familiar figures of those ck abominations within the dark sky, pping their metallic wings with strong force as they eyed the cultivators below the town greedily with those beady eyes of theirs, Leo couldn''t help but unfold a devious grin on his face, summoning dozens of elite daggers within the void before coating them with his telekic ability... "Keke~ I almost forgot my vow to annihte your hateful species; I still hadn''t forgotten the scene when I almost died within your species'' grasp in the past. "Furthermore, it happened to me twice!'' Remembering the scene when he was still a dark, pathetic wisp, Leo''s expression suddenly twisted in an unimaginable way, couldn''t help but cover his face afterward due to the intense embarrassment he was experiencing. (This is the normal behavior of humans after remembering their shameful past.) Still remembering the mistakes hemitted in the past and how many times he almost died due to carelessness. Fortunately, other than him and the fissure above, no one saw the mistakes hemitted, making him sigh in relief afterward upon concluding that his shameful past would be buried deep within his consciousness... Before being forgotten for the rest of his life! "However, for now, I should kill those little birds; I couldn''t allow them to permanently destroy the souls of the cultivators below the core formation realm.''@@novelbin@@ Thinking of it and understanding the pain the soul-eating birds could give upon using their "Soul Shriek" skill, Leo hurriedly manipted the daggers within the atmosphere... Swish~ Using the countless skills the guards were releasing in order to hide the little figures of his daggers, allowing most of them to sessfully approach the physique of the soul-eating birds without them sensing it! *** Chapter 251 Invasion of the Beast Race (4)! sh! In the far distance, as the soul-eating birds were about to again use their soul-shrieking skill, a sudden metallic glint appeared within the corner of their eyes. Making their beady, emotionless irises constrict greatly as they behold how the metallic objects prated their heads, cutting their thick, metallic skin unimpeded before destroying their brains that were akin to tofu afterward...@@novelbin@@ Ding! [ Congrattions on killing a beast at thete stage of the foundation realm... ] [ Congrattions on killing a beast at the middle stage of the foundation realm... ] [ Congrattions on killing... ] Seeing the slight increase in his exp bar, Leo unfolds a slight grin on his pale face before retracting the countless daggers within the atmosphere, hiding them within his inventory in order to avoid being noticed by beings in the core formation realm. Although he wasn''t afraid of battle, Leo was quite aware that it wasn''t time to show himself; at least, he needed to wait till those core formation realm beasts and devils hiding behind the cannon fodders began their attack. Furthermore, his only priority right now is toplete his ss job requirements. As for solidifying his foundation, it could wait till he sessfully upgraded his ss job to Elite rarity! By then, he would be able to gain another set of skills that could increase his capabilities by an unknown amount! ... "Keke~ this was simply unexpected; I didn''t expect that a quarter of the beasts had already died in just 10 minutes." Licking the corner of his lips, a beast, with a human body and snake head stared at the cultivators in the far distance with intense desire, scratching the green scales on his face afterward upon seeing how their cannon fodders began to dwindle in number. Although it didn''t matter to them if all those cannon fodders died in the hands of those humans, it still bothered them after beholding how the human cultivators managed to easily kill the lower beasts without suffering many casualties. Furthermore, they could even sense beings, not weaker than them in terms of the cultivation stage, secretly eyeing them from an unknown location. Deepening their anticipation in the process upon imagining that they could finally feast on human flesh, allowing their cultivation stage to finally increase at hastened speed in the process! It could be said that in the early stages of beast cultivation, due to theirck of intelligence, most of them relied on consuming objects and life forms that were rich in Mana and Qi in order to elevate their realms and stages. They only managed to elevate their intelligence and awareness upon reaching thete stage of the foundation realm! Although it was still far from the basic intelligence of humans, it still allowed them to start absorbing the Qi within the surrounding environment in order to elevate their life order! Hence, using the human cultivators as a tonic was a great help to them! "Hisss~ Should we start taking action? I could no longer suppress the ranging instinct within my beings; I''m afraid that I would rashly move forward due to that." CAWWW! (Indeed, it was the same case for me; furthermore, we needed to hasten our speed before the Lord showed himself.) As the humanoid snake beast was busy entertaining himself, a sudden, incoherent voice entered his head, directlymunicating with him using their soul power¡ª a testament that the beast''s technique was far more advanced than the humans in this ce, considering that they still hadn''t learned to control their soul power. "Wait for a while; at least, let those cannon fodders dry the Qi''s of those cultivators... "Keke~ when that happened, we could freely feast to our hearts'' content without being subjected to unnecessary risks!" *** "This... I already ran out of Qi!" "Give me some recovery potion, quick!" Sure enough, as the beasts had expected, most of the cultivators within the town, especially those beings below the middle stage of the foundation realm, began to run out of Qi, making most of them anxious as they beheld the beasts within the atmosphere begin to rush toward their location with dense killing intent. Brandishing their sharp, glinting ws while unfolding their disgusting maws full of vicious liquid toward them, filling the atmosphere above with their beastly aura, which hurriedly drilled toward the consciousness of the cultivators below. Making some of them petrified due to the intense fear and dread, unable to move as they beheld the beasts plunge toward their direction with their shivering eyes. "I... I''m going to die~'' Swish! Swish! However, before the beasts could close their distance toward the cultivators below, a sudden, faint, crispy sound of parting air suddenly echoed toward the surrounding space... Making the beasts unfold confusion in their eyes before being reced by unprecedented ndness as they descend toward the ground lifelessly. Thud... With a heavy sound, the corpses of the beasts hit the ground, their faces facing the sky as the gaping hole within their forehead shows toward the confused cultivators and beasts around them. "Huff~ Fortunately, I wasn''tte.'' Seeing that only a few cultivators died from the unexpected attack of the beasts, Jake slowly caressed the exquisite wooden bow in his hand, pulling the silver string of it in the next second before firing toward the beast from afar. Swish~ Ding! [ Congrattions on killing a beast at the middle stage of the foundation realm! ] *** "They finally arrived..." Seeing the faint figures of the group 500 meters away from him, Leo unfolds a light smile on his face, hiding the countless floating daggers toward his inventory, before releasing a faint sigh of relief. Find adventures at empire "It was almost time; I could finally start my n...'' Thinking to himself, Leo stood up from hisfortable position before unhurriedly advancing toward the bloodied walls of the town, opening his character panel before putting all of his free attribute points toward his soul power, bringing it up to a staggering 1,350 points! Churn~ In an instant, upon the drastic increase of his soul power, Leo''s physique suddenly became more alive, gaining a hint of roseness on its paleplexion. Furthermore, he even felt that his basic defense increased by at least 2%! An already impressive increase in his opinion, to the point that it was almostparable to thete rare rarity material! *** Chapter 252 Invasion of the Beast Race (5)! Ughh! A countless groan of agony could be heard on the damp, cold ground inside the towering wall of the town. Due to the constant appearance of beasts and abominations above, it was inevitable that lots of cultivators would suffer injuries. Although it was painful, it was already fortunate that they were still alive right now. "We need more cultivators who have healing skills here! This one wouldn''tst long if we didn''t prioritize him!" In the far corner of the battlefield, a woman at the early stage of the foundation realm could be seen releasing a soft brilliance of vitality toward the bloodied man on the ground, watching helplessly as she beheld how her healing skill couldn''t heal the long gush of wounds on the man''s body. Although she managed to slow down the deteriorating health of the man, he wouldn''tst long due to her Qi quickly running out. "I~ tell my son that... I was sorry, I would no... longer be able to apany him..." Feeling that his life was about to end in seconds, the man weakly and shiveringly opened his mouth, muttering slowly toward the woman beside him with gratitude and regret. "Don''t worry, you still could be saved!" Hearing the familiar sounds of her patients beneath, the woman couldn''t help but utter chokingly, suppressing the fall of her tears before shouting toward the other healer in the far distance... Unfortunately, probably due to the intense battle that was unfolding in the sky, no one managed to hear her flee, making her grit her teeth in anxiety and anger. Finally feeling her weakness and uselessness. Statue of Life- As the woman was finally about to shout for help, a sudden, detached, and emotionless voice echoed toward her back, causing her eyes to constrict greatly before making her hair stand up in horror as she beheld the void, behind her twist crazily before unfolding the figure of a corpse... (She mistook Leo for being a corpse due to how pale his skin was.) Following that, on the hand of the corpse, a wooden statue of wheat suddenly yet silently materialized, releasing a refreshing scent of nature before emitting a soft glow of yellowish-brown that instantly caressed the body of the dying man... Further slowing the slipping of his life force by an incredible amount! "This..." Beholding this, the woman beside the man unfolds a shocked expression on her somewhat pale face, finallyposing herself as she finally notices that the corpse she suspected earlier was actually a living person! Furthermore, based on the technique he used, he was probably at the peak stage of the foundation realm at the very least! "You, don''t just stare there; clean the wounds of the victim before I heal himter." Seeing the dumbfounded expression of the girl, Leo couldn''t help but speak loudly, snapping the girl awake as he approached the bloodied man on the ground.@@novelbin@@ "Tsk~ Fortunately, I wasn''tte, or else he might die due to the blood loss." Muttering to himself, Leo suddenly took out dozens of puppets from his inventory, ranging from the early stage of the advanced puppet to the peak stage of the advanced puppet for protection... Wanting to solely focus his mind on healing the man on the ground, avoiding being disturbed by the beasts and quasi-devils in the process. Advance Qi Thread. Weakly uttering to his mind, Leo''s pointed finger suddenly emitted a thin thread of light, wavering within the atmosphere before drilling toward the skin of the man on the ground unimpeded. Swish~ With great mastery, Leo slowly but surely began to stitch the long wounds of the man''s innards, making the bleeding inside the man''s physique slow down to a great extent! Archives of Witch Doctor: Vitality! Still not done, Leo hurriedly controlled the liquified Qi, which carried the faint rule of Life Nature within his core, sending it toward the bleeding innards of the man afterward. Although its capability of healing couldn''tpare to his "me of Origin Life" skill, his Qi, which carried a faint understanding of life''s nature, was still able to stabilize the injuries of the man to a certain extent... Hence, allowing the wounded man tost for an hour without the risk of dying. "This... How amazing!" Seeing that the man''s vitality finally stopped leaking, followed by its heart rate stabilizing, the woman on the side of Leo couldn''t help but cover her mouth in pure shock, unable to hide her surprise due to how easy it was for the pale man to heal the innards of the man. Stay connected with empire Huff~ "Here, quickly drink this; I still need your healing skill to stabilize the man''s health when I was healing his body." Heaving a slight sigh of relief, Leo quickly tosses out a Qi recovery potion to the dumbfounded woman on the side... Taking a deep breath before raising his head toward the unfolding battle on the far horizon of the sky. Due to the arrival of the core formation realm cultivators, the battlefield bes more chaotic, causing more casualties to emerge on both sides. It could be said that the main reason for injuries and deaths on both sides was due to the skills, aura, and rules that core formation realm beasts and cultivators were releasing. Although it wasn''t focused on the beings below the core formation realm, just being grazed by the core formation realm''s Qi was already enough to injure their physique! Making them understand the difference between the foundation realm beings and the core formation realm beings. Shaking his head, beholding that the countless puppets he just released were hiding within therge corpse of the beasts, waiting for the enemy to close their distance toward him before ambushing them, Leo again stared at the weakened man beneath, opening his palm as a soft glow of green emitted from within. Archives of Witch Doctor: Advanced Healing. Muttering to himself, Leo began feeding the Advanced Healing skill with 2% of his liquified Qi, making the glow within his hands intensify before pointing it toward the unconscious man below. *** Chapter 253 Invasion of the Beast Race (6)! Gurgle~ Sure enough, after using his skill toward the unconscious man on the ground for about 5 seconds, the superficial wounds on the man''s body began to close at visible speed, making the speed of the flowing crimson blood slow down to a great extent. Furthermore, the opened and mangled flesh within the chest of the man began to crazily wiggle, akin to twisting fat maggots that were grazed by salt as they visibly filled its wounds, regenerating at swift speed before leaving kes of dried wounds afterward. Ding! [ Congrattions on healing a dying person back to life for the fourth time! +10,000 horror points! +6 free attribute points! +2 medallions of forceful upgrade! ] Ding! [ Healing a person at his/her death bed (4/100) ] Huff~ "5 percent of my overall Qi had just vanished just by healing one person... Fortunately, it was worth it." Heaving a deep sigh of relief, Leo took out a Qi recovery potion from his inventory before gulping it, causing his basic Qi recovery to hasten by at least 300% in the process! Although he doubts that his Qi recovery could keep up with his Qi consumption, it would at least allow him to heal more injured beings before he eventually runs out of Qi... Allowing him to add more to his ss job requirements! "Hey you, drag this man toward the town, then after that, help me find other injured cultivators and drag them toward a safe ce..." Speaking toward the woman beside him, Leo suddenly tossed out a number of potions, mainly potions rted to health recovery toward her, making the woman unfold a shocked expression on her haggard face before hurriedly hiding the potions in her inventory. "This... I understand. Thank you for your help!" Hearing the soft and weak voice of the woman and seeing her putting the unconscious man on her back, Leo lightly nodded his head before again blending within the damp and dark atmosphere, turning incorporeal in the next seconds beforepletely vanishing afterward... Swish~ With faint sounds of parting air, Leo hurriedly rushed toward the unfolding battle in the far distance, wanting to find other greatly injured beings in order to heal them, causing his ss job requirements to be fulfilled in the process. *** Blood Bath! Under the veil of darkness above, a core formation realm beast, with the appearance of an owl and a robust human body suddenly uttered in an incoherent voice, emitting an intense bloodlust within his body afterward, causing the thick, crimson blood, originating from countless corpses of human cultivators, beasts, and quasi-devils, begin to boil visibly... Emitting a high temperature that almost exceeds 100 degrees in Celsius before transforming into a thick red miasma that gushes toward the owl''s physique in the next seconds. Entering the owl''s orifices at high speed, making its aura visibly increase in the process! To the point that its realm suddenly broke through from its original middle stage of the core formation realm to thete stage of the core formation realm! Furthermore, the increment in its strength was still not stopping! Making the core formation realm cultivators of the town feel an intense pressure within their being! "Quick, stop him! We can''t let that abomination continue or else..." Swish~ Still hadn''t a millisecond passed by when the cultivator loudly shouted within the atmosphere, a sudden crisp, sharp sound echoed within the sky, leaving a long trail of darkness behind before heavily colliding toward the physique of the owl beast, making the casting of the owl skill suddenly halt as its body uncontrobly flew away for tens of meters before stopping. Ssh~ With a soft groan of agony, the thick crimson blood of the owl gushed from the wounds on its shoulder, unfolding a hole within that was clearly created by the unknown skill earlier. "WHOO??!! I''m going to kill you all!" With an enraged shout, therge, ck eyes of the owl suddenly turned crimson, hurriedly gazing toward the direction of the bloodied wall as he traced where the skill hade from earlier. Sure enough, after 5 seconds of using his innate skill, the enraged owl finally managed to catch the faint silhouette of the cultivator, holding an exquisite wooden bow in its palm beyond the bloodied wall of the town, gazing at his beastly figure with killing intent before again pulling the silver string of its bow. "You Damn!" Swish~ The owl was still not done speaking when a sudden glint appeared within his vision, swiftly erging under his watch before instantly hitting his physique! Creating another hole in his body in the process! Ughh! Wind de! As the owl momentarily lost control over his body due to the invading rules of the arrow, which began wreaking havoc within his innards, a sharp wind de with a length that reached a staggering 5 meters collided with his body, again creating a long gush of wounds that sshed toward the atmosphere, weakening the owl''s aura in the process! *** Ding!@@novelbin@@ Explore hidden tales at empire [ Healing a person at his/her death bed (6/100) ] Seeing that the wounded woman''s life force finally stabilized, Leo hurriedly activated his telekic ability, pushing the unconscious woman toward the early-stage cultivator in the far distance before gesturing toward them to take the healed ones toward the safe ce... Again activating his invisibility skill afterwards in order to find other wounded beings without gaining the beast''s attention, still nning to heal them before again looking at other injured beings. Boom! However, before Leo couldpletely turn invisible, arge figure of a beast suddenly and heavily hit the ground meters away from him, making the destroyed concrete and earth that the beasts created unconsciously hit his physique, causing his invisibility skill to deactivate itself. "An injured core formation realm?!'' Sensing the faint aura the beasts were releasing, Leo immediately used his "Shadow Spear" skill, making the darkness behind the struggling beasts churn crazily... Forming an almost imperceptible spears that instantly drilled toward the physique of the beasts! Fortunately, probably due to the great injury it received earlier, the beasts didn''t manage to cast a skill on time, hence, making the shadow spear prate its body unimpeded! Ding! [ Congrattions on killing a mid-stage of the core formation realm for the first time! +25,000 horror points! +12 free attribute points! +2 high enlightenment stones! ] Ding! +2,500 exp points! *** Chapter 254 Gaining the Beasts Attention! Thud... With a heavy thud, the robust physique of the battered beast uncontrobly fell backward, twitching for a good while before eventually ceasing any kind of movement¡ªa testament that it had already died from the unknown attack of the pale man that suddenly popped up from nowhere. Keke~ Beholding this, instead of feeling happy that he killed the beast without spending much effort, Leo''s expression couldn''t help but strangely turn grim. It''s not that he spends too much of his liquified Qi in order to activate his Shadow Spear skill, making the filling of his ss job requirements be hindered by arge amountter; instead, after he killed the Core Formation beast, he suddenly felt dozens of eyes, not weaker than the Core Formation realm, staring at his pale physique with killing intent... Allowing him to understand that the beasts finally noticed his existence, making him lose his chances to catch them off guardter if he decided to ambush them. "How troublesome..." Mumbling to himself, Leo suddenly manipted 10 percent of his liquified Qi, transforming it into unknown energy that hurriedly drilled toward the consciousness of the beasts and the quasi-devils that inhaled his imperceptible mist earlier. Since it''s already been a while since the beasts and the quasi-devils inhaled the almost imperceptible thick mist within the atmosphere, Leo''s mist of illusion skill had already managed to deeply root within their minds, only awaiting Leo''s maniption in order to trigger them. Furthermore, although the beings in the core formation realm still hadn''t inhaled arge amount of mist in order topletely fall under his mist of illusion skill effects, it was already enough to make them confused for a minute, increasing the advantages of the cultivators within the town to a great extent for a while! "Kill that guy; don''t let him enter invisibility again!" As the core formation beasts were shouting toward the countless beasts and quasi-devils around it... Unknowingly, behind him, a quasi-devil, at the very peak stage of the foundation realm, suddenly motioned a heavy sh toward his back, applying all of its Qi toward the attack, making its strength and speed increase many folds, to the point that it almost reached the strength of a newly ascended being in the core formation realm! Stay tuned for updates on empire Boom! Caught off guard, the core formation realm beasts couldn''t react on time, causing the skill of the quasi-devil to heavily collide toward his unprotected physique, creating a long gush of wounds on his back in the process.@@novelbin@@ Unfolding the twisted and mangled flesh behind him as his thick green blood continuously flowed from within, dyeing the atmosphere with its vibrant color as its metallic and fishy smell wafted toward the epassingnd. "You!" Weakly shifting his gaze toward his back, the eyes of the wounded core formation realm beasts suddenly constricted, unable to hide the fear and horror within his being as he gazed toward the chaotic yet spine-chilling scene behind his back. Boom! Tear! Under his terrified gaze, he beheld the beasts around him suddenly begin fighting to themselves, ripping the flesh of beings around them with their sharp ws and decaying fangs... Ripping countless lives in the process! Simr to the core formation realm beasts above, the cultivators of the town also show intense confusion on their faces, followed by excitement afterward as they didn''t let the opportunity in front of them slip under their watch. Although it was unknown why the beasts and quasi-devils suddenly started attacking each other, nheless, it was undeniably a great advantage for them! Making them unfold a horrifying grin on their faces before hurriedly casting their offensive skills and techniques toward the chaos that was unfolding in the far distance. Boom! Crackle~ Swish~ In an instant, the chaotic sound of explosions and burning bodies echoed within the damp yet dark atmosphere, followed by the cries of agony that originated from the countless beasts above, hurriedly resounding toward the space, making every being who was beholding the madness in the far distance unfold great fear in their eyes. At the same time, upon umting a certain amount of fear within their consciousness, the cultivators'' soul, physique, and mind slowly began to release an ominous and imperceptible energy that only Leo could see, or to be exact, only a high demon could discern... Keke~ Making Leo chuckles in a deranged tone afterward upon smelling the familiar and rich delicacy that hangs within the atmosphere, greatly suppressing his desire to directly absorb its nutrients as he rushes toward the distance under his Invisibility skill... Dragging greatly injured cultivators in the next second toward the depths of the town before again starting to heal them. *** Crackle~ ROARRR! Mangled flesh, thick crimson blood, and severed limbs slowly fell from the atmosphere above, dyeing the ground in pure madness as the countless corpses of the beasts and quasi-devils formed an artificial hill beneath. Furthermore, their burning smell and their thick metallic scent hurriedly wafted toward the surrounding environment, making those cultivators at the early stage of the formation realm suffer from mild toxicity, causing their overall strength to weaken by a certain amount! "This... Hold on! Wait for the Lord to appear!" Beholding that their number had already been reduced to hundreds, the familiar human-snake beasts uttered toward the subordinates around him, calming their reducing morale before taking out a bloodied talisman from the storage ring that was attached to his ear. Huff~ Taking a deep breath, the human-snake beasts finally tear the bloodied talisman within his grasp, manipting his core afterward before feeding 20 percent of his solidified Qi toward the burning talisman within the atmosphere. Crack~ (Sound of the tearing void!) In an instant, after the talisman burned throughout, the void around the ashes of the talisman suddenly churned, releasing an ufortable aura as a dark tear, devoid of any life, slowly appeared above the firmament. Following that, an ufortable aura, full of malice and hatred, oozed from within, making the unfolding fight around the town momentarily stop as they gazed in unison at the origin of the frightening aura in pure horror and dread. Although they still hadn''t seen the being who had just released that aura, they were all aware that they wouldn''t hold a candle to the other party''s strength! Making them tremble in fear in the process! *** Chapter 255 Fight of Nascent Soul Realm (1)! "Maapoy, you greatly disappoint me." Soon, after the void widened by tens of meters, a voice devoid of any emotions quickly resounded throughout the space, making the expression of the human-snake beasts below pale considerably upon hearing his familiar name. Although he was thankful that the Lord who received his summons wasn''t the barbaric fellow, it''s undeniable that his performance right now was below average, making his status toward the beast''s tribe decline greatly when he returned. "I deeply apologize, my lord; I greatly underestimated the cultivators within this backward water." Tear~ Staring above the void, the beasts and cultivators of the town horrifiedly beheld the glinting ws, almost reaching 5 meters in length, ripping the very fabric of space, further erging the tear within the void as the body of a gigantic beast, emitting a dangerous slowly exited it. In an instant, the robust physique of the beasts, generating a thunderous sound of lightning in its every movement, followed by its serpentine silver eyes and somewhat disfigured appearance, unfolded toward the town. Making beings, beneath the core formation realm, gasp in pain upon feeling that their physique suddenly suffered from tearing pain... Creating a light wound on their body by just beholding the Nascent Soul realm beast above. "This... the basic effect ofplete rules?!" Sensing the tingling sensation in his pale physique and the tangible existence of a certain rule that was forcefully drilling itself deep within his being, Leo couldn''t help but unfold amazement on his grey irises, suddenly feeling an uncontroble excitement blooming within his consciousness upon gaining a basic understanding about the effects ofplete rule! Although he was still far frompleting hisprehension regarding his rules, it was still a good thing to gain a basic understanding ofplete rules, allowing him to lessen the time in order to master them when that time arrived! Crackle~ Boom! As Leo was pondering to himself, healing an injured cultivator on his side while his thoughts drifted toward the far unknown, a sudden crackling sounds of lightning echoed toward the far distance, making the sky churn greatly, followed by the intense wind and pure dark clouds congealing above the dark firmament... Find your next adventure on empire Instantly shrouding the epassingnd into pure darkness with asional lightning streaks emerging from the dark clouds above, acting as a beacon of light momentarily, increasing the uncertainty within everyone''s mind in the process.@@novelbin@@ ... Tap, Tap~ (sounds of falling droplets of water.) Tap, Tap~ With a soft sound at the start, a droplet of cold, chilling liquid silently fell from the sky above, hitting the bloodied ground beneath in the next second before generating a weak tapping sound... Crackle~ Boom! With a mark of the start, the cold raindrops finally start falling at a swift speed, creating a cold atmosphere around as the tingling sensation it carried hurriedly drilled toward the physique of the beings within the silent battlefield, making their vision reduce by a considerable amount due to the hindrance brought by the pouring water above. Furthermore, even the divine senses of the core formation realm cultivators, beasts, and quasi-devils are reduced to a certain extent! Making the difficulty of seeing through the far distance increased drastically, to the point that using one''s elevated senses was better than using the divine senses. Epic Skill: Hurricane! Beholding the effects of his skill, the Nascent Soul beast nodded his demonic head in satisfaction, clenching his ws in the next second before feeding his transcended Qi toward the churning clouds above, further increasing its effects to corrode the senses of cultivators'' within the town. Furthermore, he even infused his iplete rules into it, making the rules it contained increase by 2! (A particr move that only a Nascent Soul realm being was capable of doing.) Swish! Ughh~ With the chaotic sounds of the wind, the cultivators, beasts, and quasi-devils on the ground, especially those foundation realm beings whocked the basic defense and durability, cried in pure agony and pain... Feeling an intense burning electricity coursing through their innards, drilling toward the depths of their beings before slowly scorching their bodies. With thousands of raindrops heavily striking the physique of every individual within the towering wall of the town, an early stage of the foundation realm, finally unable to endure the agonizing pain within his body, fell to the cold ground with opened eyes... Staring above with reluctance and deep pain before dying afterward. ... Ding! -1 health! +2 health! "How amazing, a skill that contained two different rules..." Sensing the invading rules toward his pale physique, Leo couldn''t help but utter in pure amazement, using his telekic ability as he hurriedly dragged numbers of greatly injured beings toward the depths of the town. Since they were quite far away from the bloodied wall of the town, where the unknown skill of the Nascent Soul beasts was wreaking havoc, the raindrops they received were quite few in number, hence the damage they received wasn''t that grave. Huff~ "System, open the horror shop." Staring at the gloomy building in front, Leo lightlymanded the system inside his mind, making the heavy yet old wooden door in the short distance create an annoying sound of creaking before slowly parting away, revealing the dark and damp environment beyond... Fortunately, with the great injuries that the beings within the atmosphere received earlier and probably due to the blood they lost, their vision was somewhat hazy, not allowing them to see the thick blood stain on the cold ground of the shop nor allowing them to behold the dozens of detached arms dragging unconscious cultivators toward the unknown location of the shop... Saving them from the unnecessary sensation of anxiety and horror in the process. ... Seeing that the shop managed to defend itself from the droplets of vicious rain outside, Leo let out a sigh of relief, manipting and cing the almost unconscious body of the cultivators toward the cold ground of the shop before summoning a totem skill within the void, ensuring that the vitality of the injured beings wouldn''t drop further. "System, open the horror shop panel..." Soon after, upon beholding that the life force of the injured being was somewhat stabilized, Leo hurriedlymanded the system, making the void in front of him churn as the familiar imperceptible panel appeared within his vision. *** Chapter 257 Fight of Nascent Soul Realm (2)! "It wasn''t good to fight here, do you agree?" Soon, after closing his distance toward the Nascent Soul Beast by 50 meters, the old man weakly uttered toward the space, causing the iplete brows of the Nascent Soul Beast to instinctively rise in the process before being reced by a wary expression in the next second. Complete Domain: Unbounded Space! Without giving the Nascent Soul Beast enough time to react, the old man abruptly activated hisplete domain, causing the space between the two to shatter in an instant before wholly consuming their figures... Making the beings beneath breathed out a deep sigh of relief upon seeing that the illusionary figure above vanished within the dark space. Although they weren''t the ones fighting, just being within the approximate range of the two Nascent Soul realm cultivators already gave them a lot of pressure, understanding that being grazed by their attacks and aura would spell doom to them if they were unlucky! "This..." Inside the unknown space of theplete domain, the Nascent Soul Beast couldn''t help but unfold a shocked expression on his disfigured face, gazing at the dark and infinite space, devoid of anything, in pure shock and slight fear! He never expected that he would be unlucky enough to face a being with extremely rare space affinity in this kind of ce. "This is bad; I need to exit this domain as soon as possible!" Complete Domain: Blood Castle! Knowing that he couldn''t stay in this kind of environment, the Nascent Soul Beast hurriedly activated hisplete domain, hoping to use its strength andplete rules in order to forcefully exit this space, but to no avail! Instead of creating a loophole within the rules of the owner of this mysterious,plete domain, the Nascent Soul realm beast only managed to summon a thirty-meter-tall castle, emitting an intense stench of blood as countless tendrils of seeming crimson blood vessels could be seen expanding throughout the infinity space. Drilling toward the very fabric of the void as if nting itself within the depths of it, making the bloodied castle in the distance suddenly pulse in the next second. Tud- Tud- (Rhythmic sounds of a heartbeat...) In an instant, the space around the castle suddenly created a wave that traveled toward the unknown void, disturbing the serenity within in the process, causing the concealed figure of the old man to unfold toward the cold irises of the Beast. Understanding that his concealment was hindered by the unknown rules of the Nascent Soul Beast, the old man decisively raised his soul-bound weapon, feeding 1 percent of his transcended Qi toward it before motioning a swing toward the direction of the beast! Bang! In an instant, without having time to form a defensive pose, a force capable of leaving a dent in a tall mountain silently collided with the robust physique of the Nascent Soul Beast, causing the beast''s body to uncontrobly hurl toward the direction of the castle before heavily crashing toward its sticky and hard metallic wall! Leaving a deep depression on it in the process as some of its crimson rumble hurls toward the depths of the unknown space,pletely vanishing afterward, leaving the castle wall iplete... Ughh- Beholding the deep gush of wounds on his robust physique, followed by the slowly wriggling flesh that swiftly covered the injuries within... The Nascent Soul beast couldn''t help but groan in deep pain, gritting his sharp teeth in the next second before forcefully extracting himself from the crimson wall of his domain. Cough~ Cough~ Coughing out loud in order to hide the pain that was about to escape his throat, the Nascent Soul Beast, without hesitation, hurriedly wore his Soul Bound Weapon on his right pointed finger. In an instant, after wearing the bloodied ring on his pointed finger, countless thorns, at least 3 cm in length, hurriedly materialized around the surface of the ring, instantly embedding themselves toward the flesh of the Nascent Soul Beast in the process, causing the beast''s aura to increase by a certain amount... Stopping after a while after the Nascent Soul Beast aura increases by at least 5 percent! Sanity Sacrifice! Still not done, the beast lightly mumbled to himself, causing his deep irises to visibly redden under the wary gaze of the old man, further deepening his ranging aura in a matter of milliseconds before instantly rushing toward the direction of the human cultivator in the distance! Swish~ Beholding this, the old man hurriedly swang his 1-meter-tall wand toward the space, making the space churn and tremble in the next second, causing the robust physique of the Nascent Soul Beast to slow down by a staggering 20 percent! Furthermore, the Nascent Soul Beast could even feel his weight increase by folds! Making his dexterity and overall speed suffer to a great extent! Domain Effects: Unstable Space!@@novelbin@@ Still not done, the old man hurriedly clenched his fist, using his transcended Qi secretly, before nting it toward the depths of space. Boom! Unaware of the action of the human cultivator in the far distance, thinking that it was the mysterious skill the cultivator used toward him in order to decrease his speed, the Nascent Soul beast hurriedly used his movement skill, restoring his speed in the process as he rushed toward the infinite space... Unaware of the slight trembling space around him, the beast heavily shed his glinting ws toward the human cultivator in the distance. BOOM! In an instant, as a long de, made of pure blood was about to leave his robust physique, nning to strike the human cultivator opposite him, the space on his front suddenly exploded, generating arge, dangerous force that collided with his physique, causing the skill he was about to hurl to be unstable in the process before also exploding in his disfigured face! Ugh! With a loud cry of pure agony, the Nascent Soul beast''s skin tore out visibly, unfolding the decaying muscles beyond as his flesh could be seen drying at visible speed! Furthermore, the glistening bones, with toughness not weaker than Peak Rarity Items, were ckened by a certain amount, showing the dangerous skill he just used! Fortunately, the old man managed to interrupt its skill identally, causing its skill to backfire on the beast! Stay connected with empire *** Chapter 258 Fight of Nascent Soul Realm (3)! Not giving the Nascent Soul realm beast in the distance enough time to recover, the old man again heavily swang his wand, causing the space around him to churn greatly as the fragments of broken space heavily collided with the flesh of the beast! Akin to a sharp ss that embedded itself toward the thin piece of white paper, the broken shards of space easily tear the thick hide of the Nascent Soul Beast. Causing the wounds it was enduring to further worsen, making some of its skin feel off as the corroded, ckened bones could be seen poking from its almost disfigured limbs. Furthermore, an unknownplete rule, derived from the Dao of Space, was drilling toward its very being, causing the space within his flesh to expand by quite an amount... Making him experience a hellish sensation of pain that is capable of driving his consciousness mad! Domain Exclusive Effects: Blood Lifeline! Weakly mumbling to himself, the bloodied castle on his back suddenly generated loud, explosive sounds of heartbeat, making the space degrade considerably as the blood vessels within its depths unfolded toward the infinite space of the human cultivator domain. Followed by that, a vibrant, crimson blood vessel almost 0.5 meters in diameter mysteriously and suddenly materialized toward the iplete castle on the back of the Nascent Soul Beast, slithering within the atmosphere for a few milliseconds before abruptly prating the back of the beast! In an instant, having no time to hinder the ns of the Nascent Soul Beast in the distance, the Old Man unfolded a shocked expression on his face as he beheld that the wound on the disfigured physique of the beast visibly healed under the care of the blood vessel. Furthermore, as time passed by, he could even faintly sense that his currentplete domain was weakening at a slow speed! Allowing him to understand that those pulsing vessels were slowly draining hisplete domain with nutrients before feeding it toward the wounded Nascent Soul Beast! "How wonderful... Unfortunately, you underestimated the rule under the Dao of Space." Weakly mumbling to himself, the Old Man suddenly waved his hands, delving within the depths of his soul before locking his gaze toward the vibrant nt, full of inscriptions within its dark countless leaves, inplete silence. Other than that, besides the vibrant nt, tworge seeds, fluctuating with intense aura of rules, could be seen releasing an unknown substance that was feeding the nt beside them, making the nt''s aura increase by a very small amount every second. Complete Rule: Rule of Expansion. Churn!@@novelbin@@ In an instant, after manipting theplete rule that the nt was containing, the space inside hisplete domain suddenly bes much darker, making one''s consciousness mildly suffer from losing one''s coordination. Furthermore, the space around them, seemingly containing extremely vtile energy, keeps tearing the space apart, further making the space unstable in the process. Snap- Snap- Unable to endure the sudden expansion of the space, the blood vessels that scattered around the deep space began to snap one by one... Causing the pulsing of the iplete castle to slow down, making the healing of the beast''s physique degrade to arge extent in the process! BOOM! As the Nascent Soul Beast was showing confusion and fear within his eyes, the unstable space beside him suddenly trembled, making his crimson eyes widen in the next milliseconds as he silently beheld it explode. "This..." Your next read awaits at empire ... Boom! Ding! [ Healing a person at his/her death bed (26/100) ] Beholding the increase in his ss job requirements, Leo tiredly wiped the forming sweat on his forehead, huffing slightly before taking out a tantalizing fruit from his inventory. "The numbers of beasts and quasi-devils were swiftly dwindling; it wouldn''t be that long when the cultivators of the town finished them off... "If that happened, I''m afraid thatpleting my ss job requirements would again slow down by a notch." Thinking of it, Leo emotionlessly gazed at the unconscious cultivators inside his shop, showing an amused expression on his face as he beheld them being dragged by countless detached hands toward the dark room in the far corner... Their clothes were being soaked in flesh and crimson blood as they left a long trail of blood in their wake. Furthermore, he could even see some beings continuously twitching for unknown reasons, giving him horror points from time to time in the process. (Leo''s passive "Nightmare" skill was unconsciously affecting the unconscious cultivators in the distance due to the assistance of his bad luck.) ... "It was time to find greatly injured beings again..." Soon, after his liquified Qi recovered to 75 percent, Leo hurriedly activated his invisibility skill, causing his pale physique to turn incorporeal in the next second before vanishing within the dark, damp room afterward. Creakkk~ With the annoying sound of opening doors, Leo silently exited his horror shop before rushing toward the sounds of the unfolding battle in the far distance... Opening his character panel in the way before putting all of his free attribute points toward his Soul Power, further increases its number by amount, to the point of almost reaching the staggering 1.4k points! If he remembered correctly, a newly ascended Nascent Soul realm cultivator with rare ss jobs under them only had 1,000 basic points on their lowest attribute... Making him almost jump in joy considering that his current strength might pose a slight danger to a Nascent Soul being! However, considering the difference between a cultivator whoprehended a perfect rule and those who did not, Leo eventually shook his head in slight disappointment, hurriedly ridding himself of the dangerous thoughts inside his head without hesitation. If he inted his belief that his strength could really pose a danger to Nascent Soul realm beings, he was afraid that he might endanger his pitiful life in the process... Hence, it was better to think that he was only slightly stronger than the beings in the same realm. "Well, if I entered the peak stage of the core formation realm and if I managed topletelyprehend the rules under me... "I might be able to fight a newly ascended being and greatly injured cultivator in the Nascent Soul realm!'' Thinking of it, Leo''s mood finally recovered, grinning slightly under the veil of his invisibility before using his movement skill, propelling his speed further, to the point that he could almost rival the speed of wind! Swish~ *** Chapter 259 Fight of Nascent Soul Realm (4)! "Mental Piercing..." Beholding a bloodied and almost disfigured human cultivator in the far distance that was about to be devoured by a quasi-devil, Leo, understanding that time was tight, immediately activated a skill that he never used. Manipting threads of his soul power into thin, solid needles for about a short second before hurling it toward the consciousness of the quasi-devil in the distance. Swish! AHHHH! In an instant, after the soul needle passes through the thick crimson skin of the quasi-devil, unimpeded, a loud, grotesque cry, full of pure agony, escapes the bloodied lips of the quasi-devil, making the almost unconscious human within his grasp unfold a relief on his battered face. The quasi-devil, unable to bear the pain that suddenly materialized within his consciousness, subconsciously dropped the body toward the cold ground, grabbing his poking horns on his head afterward before forcefully ripping it. Squirt- (Sounds of the sudden flowing blood.) Seeing the strange movement of the quasi-devil in the distance, Leo simply manipted the falling body of the cultivator toward his direction before again summoning dozens of soul needles within the damp atmosphere, feeding them with his liquified Qi in order to increase their efficiency before hurling them toward the twisting quasi-devils in the short distance. Thud! Ding! [ Congrattions on killing 250 foundation beings for the first time. +10,000 horror points! +12 free attribute points! +2 high enlightenment stones! ] Gazing at the notification that suddenly emerged in front of him, Leo only unfolds a light smile on his face before summoning a totem of life from the void, focusing all of its soft glow toward the greatly injured cultivator within the atmosphere, ensuring that its vitality wouldn''t enter the dangerous state until they reach his shop. "I finally found an injured being again; it was about time to retreat to the shop; hopefully, the other puppets managed to find some greatly injured beings within the battlefield when I was away..." *** Crackle~ Sizzle~ "This."@@novelbin@@ However, before Leo could rush toward the general direction of his shop, a sudden, dangerous premonition emerged within his consciousness, making his gray irises contract slightly as his pale physique instinctively kicked the soft earth beneath... Causing his body to be propelled toward the side at a swift speed! Boom! Not even a second passed by when Leo''s body left his previous location. A zing ball of magma, capable of melting the atmosphere around it, heavily struck the soft earth beneath... Creating a huge, zing dent in the ground in the process as the earth around it visibly melted under the intense heat it brought. Furthermore, even though Leo had already distanced himself from it by at least 5 meters, his skin still suffered from countless blisters¡ªa testament to the intense danger it contained. Considering that Leo''s physique right now could rival a rare rarity material, suffering light damage even though he was already quite far away was nheless frightening! "The greatly injured cultivator; I didn''t manage to save it..." Looking at the melting silhouette of a seemingly disfigured human in the short distance, Leo''s expression couldn''t help but turn dark, feeling an impulse to kill right now as his faint killing intent couldn''t help but ooze from his physique. It could be said that Leo spent some effort finding it, yet when he was about to take home his prize, it suddenly met its demise from the ambush of the other party. It was simply hateful! ... Huff~ Taking a light breath and suppressing the sudden urge that emerged within his soul, Leo raised his head toward the dark firmament, gazing at the disfigured beast, seemingly created by stitching countless abominations in pure hatred. "A beast at the Late Stage of the Core Formation realm." Mumbling to himself, Leo lightly swipes his pale left hand toward the void, causing the damp space beside him to churn crazily before ejecting an old, antique bnce scale afterward... Explore more adventures at empire Slither~ In an instant, seemingly smelling the light injuries within Leo''s physique, the twisting bloodied intestines on one of the scales te suddenly slithered toward the small beating heart within the center of the te at swift speed... Tightly coiling around it, causing the heart to release an unknown substance that hurriedly flew toward the empty silver te on its opposite. Soul Bound Weapon: Scale of Revenge! Seeing the strange soul-bound weapon that the pale human summoned, the stitched beast within the atmosphere couldn''t help but unfold a wary expression on his disfigured face before being reced by a sneer afterward upon sensing the realm of the human cultivator beneath. "A mere middle stage of the core formation realm; furthermore, he was also still far away from entering thete stage." Thinking of it, the beasts hurriedly plunge his left arm toward the void, clenching something from within before retracting it in the next second... Rustle~ In an instant, a bead full of chaos and dirt, deprived of any purity within, could be seen circling above the head of the beast, further deepening its ominous aura in the process. Furthermore, a dark mist, carrying dread and famine, began to ooze from the stitched physique of the beast, quickly filling the space around it as the objects and lifeforms it identally grazed visibly corroded under the unknown toxicity it carried. Shackle- Understanding that he couldn''t let the beast continue its skill, Leo, without hesitation, instantly activated his "Shadow Shackle" skill, causing the darkness beyond the beast to fluctuate greatly, forming into a heavy dark chain before attaching to the physique of the beast. Shadow Spear! Still not done, Leo weakly mumbled to himself, manipting his liquified Qi toward the shadows around him as an almost invisible spear quickly took form from the veil of the night, floating for milliseconds before hurling themselves toward the bound physique of the stitched beast at swift speed. Break! "Huff~ Wall of Magma!" Beholding this, the beast hurriedly suppressed the scent of horror that sprouted within the depths of his mind before forcefully snapping the thick chains of incorporeal shadows that entrapped his physique... Quickly spreading his grotesque hands afterward before manipting his solidified Qi with great mastery, using 1% of it as a thick wall made from burning magma, quickly materialized on his front, timely blocking the fast approaching spear, made of pure shadow in the process. *** Chapter 262 Fighting a Late Stage of the Core Formation Realm (3)! AHHHH! With a loud cry of agony, the stitched beast uncontrobly fell toward the charred ground, twitching crazily, akin to a fish being tossed to the dry earth, as he forcefully grabbed his head in pure pain. Furthermore, the rule that was attached to his physique deactivated on its own, unfolding his battered and wounded physique to the gray irises of Leo. "Keke~ it wasn''t time for you to die yet. Your life still has uses.'' Discover stories with empire Weakly mumbling to himself, Leo took out an elite dagger from his inventory, manipting it using his telekic ability before heavily shing it toward the arms of the beast¡ªdetaching it after swinging his elite dagger a couple of times. "Perfect... Keke~" With a soft, chilling chuckle, capable of making anyone who identally heard it experience dread due to how unusual it was... Leo grabbed the blooded arms within the atmosphere, hiding them within his inventory afterward as his pale physique slowly turned incorporeal, fusing within the atmosphere as the intense glow of life, originating from the ancient silver scale beside him, lightly grazed the being of the beast, healing its wounds slightly in the process, ensuring that the beast would be able to survive, although weakened. Since it would be hard to find greatly injured beings right now in order toplete one of his ss job requirements, Leo thinks that it would be best to change his course of action; filling his curse requirement first sounds promising considering that there are lots of core formation realm beasts and quasi-devils within the town. Although foundation realm beasts and quasi-devils would suffice to increase his curse requirements after killing them, solely by relying on his curse skill, their ability to survive was simply doubtful! To the point that they might not be able tost seconds when facing a Core Formation realm being! Meaning that his effort mighte in vain if they identally meet their demise even when he still hasn''t cursed them... Since that is the case, it was better to curse a Core Formation realm being. Although killing them by relying on his curse skill would take a lot of time, it''s still better than spending effort on unreliable foundation realm beings. *** "Why didn''t he kill that beast?!" Seeing this, the cultivators that managed to behold the battle in the far distance couldn''t help but unfold a shocked and doubtful expression on their faces, unable to hide their confusion as they gazed at the slowly vanishing figure of Leo in slight anger. However, after sensing the weakening life force of Leo and the intense injuries he received, in addition to the low Qi he probably currently had, the cultivators released a deep sigh of regret. Understand that it was better for the human cultivator to retreat right now instead of risking his life in order to kill the stitched beast. Furthermore, the human cultivator''s abilities had already far exceeded their expectations; it''s already good enough that he managed to greatly injure a beast cultivator relying on his middle stage of the core formation realm... As for killing the beast, they didn''t even harbor any hopes within their minds in the first ce, hence causing their disappointment to easily vanish. Boom! Crackle~ Hurriedly shaking their heads, burying the distraction in the back of their minds, the human cultivators hurriedly stared at the beasts and quasi-devils opposite them, again continuing their momentarily postponed battle. Again, causing the atmosphere above to be instantly filled with a dangerous and ominous aura, followed by countless techniques and skills capable of changing the very space and environment around which swiftly hurled toward their enemies, easily destroying the establishment and building on their way in the process. *** Boom! Leo, upon finally exiting the sight of the countless core formation realm beings within the atmosphere above, didn''t immediately retreat toward the location of his shop in order to recover his lost Qi; instead, he quietly hid within the rooftop of a two-story-tall building in order to ess the capabilities of the beasts and quasi-devils in the far distance. Furthermore, he was also studying the skills of the human cultivator of the town, wanting to glean more information regarding their overall strength so he wouldn''t be caught off guard if they suddenly became his enemies. Hmm?@@novelbin@@ Hearing the faint, familiar voice in the west direction of the town, Leo lightly shifted his gaze toward it, making the color of his irises deepen slightly in the next second, causing his vision to be elevated by at least 250%! "What are they doing?'' Beholding the faint silhouette of Jake, Sebastian, Rnd, and Rosa hurriedly traversing thend of death, Leo couldn''t help but instinctively raise his brows in pure curiosity... Standing up afterward before slowly approaching their location in order to understand their ns. ... Huff~ "Rosa, how far are you from activating that skill?" Deflecting the enraged attack of the quasi-devil using his thick, metallic shield, Rnd couldn''t help but ask Rosa behind him, unfolding a serious look on his face as a dome of light could be discerned flickering around his body. "It''s ready to activate a long time ago; it''s just that... nting more would elevate the effects of my skill by quite a bit." Weakly mumbling toward Rnd, Rosa unhurriedly touched the cold ground beneath with her bloodied palm, manipting her liquefied Qi inside her body before feeding it toward the hidden seed within the depths of the ground, instantly causing its roots to grow at an rming rate in the process. Shhhh~ In just 5 seconds of feeding her Qi, the thin, dark roots of the unknown nt within the depths of the earth silently spread toward the far distance, poking toward the surface of thend before absorbing the thick, crimson blood of countless corpses within... Making its growth further elevated in the process as some of the roots began to drill toward the disfigured and dismembered physique of the beast, quietly absorbing their flesh in order to strengthen their existence. "We are done here. Let''s go to the other location." *** Chapter 263 The Unknown Plant. "What the... this nt was able to consume even the faint rules of the deceased?!" Sensing the growing existence of the unknown nt beneath the depths of the earth by solely relying on his soul strength, Leo couldn''t help but raise his brow in surprise. Silently watching the almost non-existent roots drilled toward the countless corpses around it, sucking every nutrient avable on their flesh and blood... inside the innards of its victim. With every second passed by, the root aura and size slowly increased in every absorption it took, making its length to farther reach the chaotic battlefield¡ªslowly slithering within the cold, wet ground of the town before drilling toward the battered physique of the beast and quasi-devils, dead or alive. Fortunately, even though the nt''s life force continuously increased due to the countless corpses scattered around the town, the beings above the atmosphere, especially the core formation realm cultivators and the beasts, still hadn''t sensed anything strange on the ground. This further made Leo sense that something strange was going on with the unknown nts and roots on the ground. "No, I only probably notice their existence due to my intensely high soul power and due to the group''s strange action...'' Thinking of it, Leo couldn''t help but nce at the withering corpses on the ground, curling his lips slyly before waving his palm toward them, manipting 25% of his rule of "Life Nature" before feeding it toward the hidden roots within the innards of the corpses, making their existence mutate in an unknown direction, causing Leo to chuckle afterward upon sessfully integrating his rules toward the nts beneath. Stay tuned with empire "I see, I understand! So I could actually integrate two or more rules into a single skill with the help of others... "Keke~ cultivation knowledge is really vast! If I hadn''t seen Sebastian manipting his rule toward Rosa earlier, I wouldn''t have learned this secret." With the addition of his rule, the unknown nt beneath had already carried 3 different rules within its being, causing its existence to enter an unknown special state that could probably pose a danger to a nascent soul being at its peak! Although the chances of it entering its peak stage were too small due to theck of corpses around, it''s still quite surprising to know that a rare skill containing three rules could possibly injure a nascent soul realm being. Although Leo wasn''t aware of the full capabilities that a Nascent Soul being could muster, the danger the root gave him allows him to understand that it has already gone beyond the capabilities of the Core Formation realm. Hence, making him believe that its capabilities had already entered the Quasi, or Early Stage of the Nascent Soul realm! Ding! [ Congrattions on scarring a hundred beings in a single night! +25,000 horror points! +24 free attribute points! +1 attempt toprehend a rule! ] As Leo was engrossed in watching the growth process of the root beneath the cold ground, the familiar sound of the heavy metal striking another metal, loudly echoed within his consciousness, waking him up in the process as he gazed at the sudden notification that appeared within the corner of his mind in pure curiosity. "This...'' Soon enough, upon reading the information it contained, Leo couldn''t help but unfold confusion on his face, not remembering when he started scarring beings that night. Although some beasts experienced fear when he killed them earlier, their number was still far from a hundred, making Leo overthink as he lightly caressed his pale face in pain... Thinking that the beast probably got scared by his current appearance. "Am I that ugly?'' *** 5 minutes ago, in the dark and cold corner of the room, inside Leo''s horror shop in the far distance of the town. The countless unconscious bodies of the cultivators could be seen scattered around the floor, being drenched in thick crimson blood as some detached limbs swiftly slithered using their fingers... Creating a rhythmic sound of madness that silently resounded within the enclosed space. In addition to that, as night silently passed by, a cold light mist began to fill every nook of the building, making the vision of beings inside to be hindered by quite an amount, causing the furniture inside to be more illusionary as if they didn''t exist at all due to the hindrance of the mist. "This... where am I?" Within the depths of Leo''s horror shop, a weakened cultivator slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the dark ceiling of the enclosed building in pure silence as the memories of the past began to emerge within his mind. The sight of the beast and quasi-devils fighting over his battered and bloodied body slowly resurfaced within the depths of his consciousness, followed by the sensation of sharp teeth grinding his flesh and bones into powder that urred afterward...@@novelbin@@ The scent of blood and the decaying saliva still persisted within his nose, in addition to the cold sensation of death, before hepletely lost consciousness, making the face of the cultivator turn extremely pale in pure fear and agony. "Did... I die? How unfortunate..." Mumbling to himself, he weakly tilted his head toward the side, only to pause midway upon seeing countless cultivators lifelessly slumped toward the cold and sticky ground. "This, isn''t this the cultivator that got consumed by the beast when I was about to lose consciousness earlier?'' Click~ Click~ Still hadn''t recovered from the sudden surprise he experienced, a rhythmic and clicking sound suddenly resounded within the damp space of the unknown establishment, sending unprecedented chills within his being afterward as he beheld countless severed limbs, being drenched in crimson blood and flesh, quietly dragging a seeming corpse toward the unknown location. Vanishing beyond the thick mist that unknowingly emerged from the void afterward, causing the chill that he was experiencing to increase drastically. "What kind of abomination is that? Don''t tell me, I''m currently in hell?!" Seemingly losing his sense of mind momentarily due to the chaos that was urring within his mind, the weakened cultivator couldn''t help but grab his iplete hair in horror... Unable to ept the reality in front of him. (Probably couldn''t ept that he died, or probably due to the damage and trauma he received earlier, causing his thoughts to slow down.) *** Chapter 264 The Horror Within. Click~ Click~ "Don''t try to approach me; I will kill you all!" Hearing the familiar sound of bloodied fingers rhythmically hitting the sticky yet impured ground of the floor, the eyes of the cultivator couldn''t help but further constrict, forcefully standing up as he dragged his weakened body toward the far corner of the room. Eyes widen as he anxiously gazes at the silhouette of countless severed limbs beyond the thick mist, grabbing the seeming corpses of the cultivators on the ground before dragging them toward the unknown location¡ªmaking his hair stand up afterward upon beholding and smelling the fresh scent of blood originating within the surface of the limbs.@@novelbin@@ "This, are they killing the cultivators that they were dragging?!" Akin to a white paper devoid of any impurities within before being sshed by dark ink, the very thought of it hurriedly spread within the man''s head, making him grit his teeth in nervousness as he delved within his being in the process... Gazing at his infinitely small Qi in anxiousness. "This wouldn''t be enough; with my current weakened state, my overall strength could only rival those cultivators at the early stage of the foundation realm." Imagining the scene of him dying in this unknown hellish ce, being burned in the old pot as some bloodied limbs slowly cleaned his innards... The man couldn''t help but gulp, hurriedly taking out potions within his inventory, drinking them afterward as his basic health and Qi recovery increased by folds. Hugging his knees in the far corner of the room, using the veil of darkness in order to lower his presence as he silently stared at the bodies, lifelessly lying on the cold floor while trembling. Cough~ Cough~ As his mind was slowly being consumed by fear, a sudden, intense cough resounded close to him, making his eyes momentarily gain focus before gazing toward the bloodied yet pale face of the woman in the short distance. Making him sigh in relief afterward, as the fear that slowly corroded his mind receded by a certain amount, allowing him to grasp the slipping rationality back in his mind. (An instinctive reaction of one''s mind upon seeing that they were not alone... Although their chance of surviving might be low, having someone to apany them before they die could lower the fear one was experiencing.) Click~ Click~ As the man was sluggishly standing up, nning to approach and check the physique of the woman in order to ensure that she was free from any kind of mortal danger... The familiar sounds of countless abominations again resounded within his ears, making him momentarily pause in his tracks as his face couldn''t help but whiten in fright. "This is bad!'' Without hesitation, the man, afraid that the woman would attract the attention of those abominations if she continued coughing, immediately and forcefully covered the lips of the woman, taking a long, deep breath in pure anxiousness before quietly dragging the woman''s physique toward his previous location. Although the woman tried to fight back from the sudden action of the man, her still-weakened body,cking the necessary strength to escape the man''s grasp, could only helplessly get dragged toward the unknown location. Shh! "Don''t create any sounds; if they heard us, I''m afraid that both of us would die!" Whispering toward the ears of the woman and seeing her eyes begin to calm down, the man slowly released his arms from the pale physique of the woman, again gesturing to her to quieten down before pointing at the severed limbs that were constantlymoving under the veil of mist... Watching them drag the bodies of the cultivators toward the unknown ce in slight fear. "Wha... what are those? Are they beasts or quasi-devils?!" Finally beholding the vanishing silhouettes of the unknown lifeforms toward the unknown depths of the establishment, the woman couldn''t help but stutteringly ask the man beside her. Checking her physique afterward as she couldn''t help but gasp in surprise upon noticing that the injuries she received... before shepletely lost consciousness vanished like a bubble. To the point that no mark was left behind! "Don''t be surprised; I suspect that all of the cultivators here died from the onught of the beast and quasi-devils on the town. Your adventure continues at empire "In short, we are probably in the afterlife!" Click~ Click~ "This... Impossible, how could I die just like that?!" As the woman stared at the man opposite her in stupefaction, a sudden clicking sound resounded within their backs, touching their weakened physique with their cold, chilling hands afterward before dragging them toward the darkness. AHHH! *** Ding! [ Congrattions on further scarring beings! +5,000 horror points! ] Seeing that his horror points were slowly approaching their previous number, Leo''s pale lips couldn''t help but curl upward in pure happiness. Opening his character panel afterward before putting all of his free attribute points toward his soul power,pletely subsiding the pain within his soul due to the huge influx of knowledge that he received in the past. Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Demon/Peak-level Entity! Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft! (Umon)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal grade) Lifespan: 0/??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion, Sinful Desire! Physique: Physical Body of the Soul! Rules: Life Nature (62%), Fear of the Unknown (58%), Despair (8%), Hatred (6%), Inevitable Death (28%), Shadows (7%), Destructive Lightning (6%)! Iplete Domain: Domain of Unpredictable Death (Level 4), Domain of Reality Distortion (Level 4)! Complete Domain: Domain of Despair (Level 7)! ___ Attributes ___ Level: 8 Core Formation realm ( 2,432/36,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 0 Health: 458/675 Qi: 1,283/2,000 Stamina: 567/675 Strength: 380 Speed: 375 Qi Power: 600 Soul Power: 1,389 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 8), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 8), Jinx (Lvl 6), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 5), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 5), Telekinesis (Lvl 5), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 9), Condense Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 7), Strong Physique (Lvl 5), Dying Immortal (Level 5)... ss Job Skill: Advance Potion Knowledge (Lvl 5), Advance Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl 5), Archives of the Witch Doctor (Lvl 5)... ... Horror Points: 210,500! *** Chapter 265 Again Upgrading his Horror Shop. Ding! +2, 500 Horror Points! +1, 000 Horror Points! Again, seeing his horror points increase by thousands every minute, Leo reluctantly retracted his gaze from the unfolding battle on the far horizon, gazing at his now 230,000 horror points in surprise as the suspicion and guess within his mind became clearer. Although he wasn''t sure earlier due to how chaotic his mind is. However, after an hour of constantly seeing his horror points increase, even though he was already under the effect of his invisibility skill, Leo was already sure that the origin of the horror points came from his horror shop. This caused him to raise his brows in pure curiosity and happiness, as he never expected that simply letting those unconscious cultivators rest inside his shop would generate a lot of revenue! "They probably start waking up right now; with the memories and trauma they experienced in the past, there''s a good chance that their mentality wasn''t in a good state... "If they identally saw the detached limbs moving within my horror shop and the inexplicable furniture inside, it is quite certain that they would feel horrified." Feeling that he grasped the general situation inside his shop, Leo couldn''t help but unfold a twisted smile on his face, chuckling slightly before opening his character panel, gazing below before eventually pressing the Horror Shop feature beneath. Ding! [ Upgrading the low-level horror shop 1 star to the mid-level horror shop 1 star would cost 50,000 horror points. (ept/Declined) ] ... Seeing that the price in order to increase the level of his horror shop doubled, Leo didn''t hesitate further before pressing the ept button, instantly causing the imperceptible energy hidden within the depths of his soul to gush toward the depths of his consciousness... Being absorbed by an unknown force before vanishing afterward. Churn~ At the same time, as the imperceptible energy within him halted its oozing, the panel in front of him began to issue drastic changes, greatly churning within his vision as the panel of the horror shop visibly erged within. Furthermore, he could even point out the specks of lights shining brightly inside the system panel (humans), swiftly scattering around, running headlessly toward the unknown direction, seemingly horrified by the sudden changes that the establishment was experiencing as Leo''s horror points began to increase in the process. Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully upgrading your low-level horror shop 1 star to the mid-level horror shop 1 star! ] Ding! [ Effects: Horror Shop basic defense has already entered the mid-stage of the foundation realm! Furthermore, the ufortable aura that the shop was releasing strengthened by 50%, making beings at the mid-stage of the foundation realm enter a state of panic inside the establishment. In addition to that, the internal space of the shop increased by 50%! ]@@novelbin@@ Seeing that the upgrade finally finished after 2 minutes of waiting, Leo immediately opened the structure of his shop, gazing at the specks of lights that were running anxiously... inside the seemingly infinite space of his establishment, with a twisted grin pasted on his face. Thinking of something profitable as his deep gray irises couldn''t help but deepen in pure anticipation. "Keke~ Since I saved you all from the ws of death earlier, it would make sense if all of you paid me, right?'' Mumbling to himself with greed written within his eyes, Leo immediately opened the shop section in the "Horror Shop" feature with swift speed. Scrolling downward as he gazed at the countless twisted items within in pure excitement, akin to a little girl who was shopping at the mall for her dress! "Kele~ this would do... and this one... and that one." ... Soon after pressing a number of items within the horror shop, Leo re-read the descriptions of the items he chose one by one, wanting to ensure that no unrted items managed to slip his eyes. Furthermore, he also wanted to ensure that he didn''t make a mistake, causing several thousand of his horror points to get wasted in the process. Experience tales at empire ~~~~Items Avable for Horror Shop~~~~ 1. Detached Head: An advanced puppet created using the skull of an unknown beast. Although itcks offensive skills, its ability to deceive one''s mind is top-notch! Cost: 5,000 horror points! 2. Old Casket: The intense scent of decaying flesh and the sounds of growling could be heard inside it. Within its presence, beings below thete stage of the foundation realm could be affected by it unknowingly, making them lie inside the dark casket for eternity. Cost: 10,000 horror points! 3 Human-Faced Spider: A three-meter-tall spider with a human face. Often could be seen in the darkest ce or the depths of a cave. With its mandibles that were capable of tearing an Elite item apart and its web that could hinder the movement of an early stage of the foundation realm, it could be a good pet. Cost: 25,000 horror points! 4 Soul Lantern: Antern that could weaken the defenses of the soul and mind... "Great, it was perfect!" Mumbling to himself, imagining the chaotic scene that would ur inside his shop if he purchased these items, Leo couldn''t help but release a chillingugh, causing the temperature around him to drastically decrease, creating faint kes of ice around him in the process. "Keke~ System, I will buy them!" Aftermanding the system, Leo''s horror points were instantly reduced to 25 thousand, making his heart bleed a little before gazing at the horror shop panel in front of him in deep anticipation. Putting the items he bought in certain rooms of the shop where they could show their advantages, increasing his ability to earn horror points in the process! "Now, I only needed to wait till the item''s effects showed their wonders." Thinking that he had already spent some time staring at his character panel, Leo unconsciously raised his head, gazing at the multi-colored lights within the firmament as his gray irises directly stared at the fighting beings above. Licking the corner of his lips as he began to move forward, thinking about how he could get one of the beast''s limbs without exposing himself. "I could already smell the scent of my ss job advancement...'' *** Chapter 266 Untitled (1)! Cra-crackk~ As Leo was busy fumbling with the horror shop feature within the system, unbeknownst to him, above the dark firmament where light could be hardly seen, the void suddenly released a weak yet crisp cracking sound... Slowly shattering the depths of the space as some of its chaotic shards could only fall toward the ground, severing the physique of the beasts and quasi-devils beneath unimpeded, creating another bloodbath beneath. BOOM! Still hadn''t a second passed by when the fragments of spacepletely vanished within the depths of the corpses below. A deafening sound of explosion abruptly resounded above, creating an ominous wave of air that heavily swept around, destroying and flunging the lifeless bodies of creatures on the ground toward the atmosphere... Making some of them collide toward the establishment not far away from them, causing their bodies to be paste due to the force that the air wave carried. Followed by that, a bright light of red that momentarily blinded the creatures within the epassingnd of the town unfolded above the void... as the ten-meter-tall beast, enduring severe injuries within its body, heavily fell toward the towering wall of the town. Making the wall dent greatly as if it were made from thin aluminum, making the cultivators and beasts above the tall wall lose their bnce in the process as some of them, unfortunately, fall toward the ground¡ªbeing killed by the poking bones of corpses below due to their bad luck. Cough~@@novelbin@@ Your journey continues with empire Cough~ Coughing out loud, not caring about the injuries his physique received nor caring about the deaths around him, the Nascent Soul Beast slowly opened his disfigured arms, gazing at the burning talisman within his grasp in pain before gazing at the approaching core formation beast in the short distance with a glint in his eyes. "General, are you... This, general, what are you nning to do?!" As the core formation beast was about to take out the healing pills within his inventory, the Nascent Soul Beast below suddenly stretched his ws, creating a thick rope made of pure blood that hurriedly bound the physique of the confused and frightened beast... Ughh~ Still hadn''t recovered from the sudden blow of the Nascent Soul Beast below. A sharp w, capable of tearing the space apart, abruptly shed toward the beast''s neck, causing the beast''s life force to swiftly slip under his horrified eyes, creating a gurgling sound within his throat as the thick crimson blood continued to pour from within. Seeing this, the Nascent Soul Beast hurriedly opened his mouth, taking a light breath before starting to absorb the gushing blood of the beast, creating a loud sipping sound that quickly resounded within the town. At the same time, as the beast began to absorb the crimson blood of the corpse within his ws, some of his injuries began to heal at visible speed, making him sigh of relief, although his face still looked unsatisfied. "I need to heal my physiquepletely before that Nascent Soul cultivator breaks free from the restraints of the talisman. "How unlucky! I didn''t expect that beings with space affinity were too hard to kill! Furthermore, they could even fight beyond their current realm..." Thinking about the difficulties he experienced within that infinite domain of void, the Nascent Soul Beast couldn''t help but grit his bloodied teeth in anger. Manipting threads of blood with his fingers as he began forcefully dragging the fighting beasts, quasi-devils, and human cultivators around him... Killing them with a single swipe of his ws before absorbing their blood essence, further healing the grave injuries in his physique in the process. In addition to that, the dry Transcended Qi within his being began to show signs of recovering, making him grin madly as his eyes slowly turned red due to the unknown. Crackk~ ... Hearing the crisp sound of cracking within the atmosphere as he gazes toward the seemingly deranged Nascent Soul Beast in the distance, still continuing its bloodbath... Leo, hidden within the shadows of darkness, couldn''t help but gulp in excitement, using his telekic ability as he dragged his physique toward the air, slowly gliding toward the distance in order to prepare himself for the inevitable battle of the Nascent Soul beings in the firmament if it became vtile. "Keke~ it would be best if I managed to tear off some flesh of the Nascent Soul Beast in the process... "He would surely be great as a practicing target for my curse skill.'' Mumbling weakly, couldn''t rid himself of the dangerous thought that suddenly sprouted within his mind. Leo again activated his mist of illusion skill, wanting to see if he could affect the mind of the Nascent Soul Beast if it managed to inhale a lot of it. If that happened, he would surely gain a lot of advantages, allowing the difficulty of acquiring the flesh of the Nascent Soul Beast to decrease. "With the bones of the newly ascended snake within my inventory and the flesh of Nascent Soul Beast, there would be a good chance to create ate-stage advance puppet!" *** "YOUUU!" Above the atmosphere, upon exiting hisplete domain with great difficulties, the Old Man couldn''t help but gaze at the ground in anger, gazing at the corpse of dried humans, devoid of any blood essence, in pain. Swish~ Without hesitation, the old man immediately swang his wand, causing the space around him to churn greatly, shattering afterward before rushing toward the Nascent Soul Beast beneath. Hmmp! Harrumphing, the Nascent Soul Beast, threw the corpse with his ws toward the space above, causing the corpse body to shred in the next second as he kicked the ground beneath, wanting to use his unprecedented strength in order to distance himself from the approaching danger... "This..." However, unfortunately, as if expecting the action of the Nascent Soul Beast beneath, the space around the beast suddenly constricts, making his movement greatly hindered in the process. Boom! Sure enough, in the next millisecond, an imperceptible force, enough to destroy a small mountain, heavily collided with the body of the Nascent Soul Beast, making his physique uncontrobly hurl toward the far distance, vanishing within the horizon... Followed by the intense sound of an explosion that could be heard from afar afterward. *** Chapter 267 Untitled (2)! Beholding this and sensing the unprecedented heat that lightly grazed his physique, Leo again reactivated his invisibility skill, vanishing within the darkness before following the scent of blood that lingered within the atmosphere. Hmm? Raising his head, Leo couldn''t help but frown a little as the direction that the scent of blood was pointing was toward the periphery of the endless forest. Making his eyes glint a little as he could finally activate his "Jinx" skill without being afraid of making the human cultivators within the town suffer. As for the old man, Leo wasn''t that concerned about him; at least, with the current ability that it showed, its strength and luck should be above the Nascent Soul Beast by amount. "It would be fine if I just watched from afar, even if they sensed that someone was watching them... I''m quite sure that they wouldn''t be able to pinpoint my location. "In addition to the suppression of my mist of illusion skill and the existence of jinx, I could at least watch nearby without being detected.'' Grinning under the veil of his invisibility, Leo finally deactivated his "Restraint" skill, instantly causing his pale physique to release an imperceptible and ominous energy that hurriedly spread toward the far distance. Shhhh~ In his every wake, the soil, trees, insects, and grasses around him began to wither one by one, dying inexplicably as their nutrients could be seen vanishing within the thin void. Following that, an intense death energy began to drill within the depths of the earth, fusing with their very existence, ensuring that they wouldn''t be able to contain life for a long period of time. Hmm... "So this is death. How fragile." Seemingly gaining some essence of knowledge from the changes that ur around him, Leo''s rules of "Life Nature" and "Inevitable Death" increase by 1 percent... Making his liquefied Qi more heavy and condensed in the process. *** Bang! As he was engrossed in the process of delving within the rules of Inevitable Death and the Life Nature within his mind, a sudden force heavily collided with his physique... Making his eyes bulge a little as the taste of the metallic blood began to fill his mouth. Ding! -18 health points! Following that, the trees, bushes, and grasses around him crazily sway under the unknown force, uprooting and destroying some trees in the process. Swish~ Still hadn''t recovered from the sudden event that urred, a thin tendril of blood slithering within the atmosphere suddenly caught Leo''s attention, making his premonition ring loudly within his consciousness¡ªa testament to the grave danger that the blood tendrils contained. "Damn..." Cursing within his mind, Leo immediately used his movement skill, covering his soles with a green glow that reduced his weight astronomically. In addition to that, his basic speed stats were also elevated by at least 50 points, allowing him to dodge the tendril of blood on time! Swish! Bang! At the same time, as his physique retreated toward the distance, the tendril of blood suddenly plunged downward, piercing his previous location unimpeded, making the earth around it turn bloody in the next second due to the unknown properties it contained, causing Leo to feel unprecedented chills within his being upon seeing it. Although his physical defense was above his peers by grade, he was quite sure that he would sustain grave injuries if he was hit by it... Probably killing him if he wasn''t careful enough! Read thetest on empire "How amazing! No wonder those core formation beasts couldn''t survive long from the blood tendrils of the Nascent Soul Beast!" It was simply horrifying. To the point that he would probably not survive by a minute if he unfortunately faced him! *** Far away from Leo''s location, within the depths of the endless forest, the Nascent Soul Beast could be seen gazing at the human cultivator above with gloom. Manipting his threads of blood with great mastery before fusing hisplete and iplete rules toward it, causing the threads to create an ominous sound of humming within the atmosphere before rushing toward the human cultivator above with swift speed! Attempting to pierce its fragile physique before absorbing its blood essence in the process! Crisp~ In the second, the trees and grasses around the Nascent Soul Beast suddenly got cut into countless parts, falling toward the damp ground lifelessly before being corroded afterward due to the unknown rules that the Beast was deliberately releasing. Unfortunately, even with the attack speed that could rival the wind, the Nascent Soul Beast attack still hadn''t managed to ze the physique of the human cultivator above... as if the space around him was being locked down, not allowing anything to intrude on its space. Beholding this, the Nascent Soul Beast''s eyes couldn''t help but unfold uncontroble fear within as he began to consider fleeing. Understanding that fighting the monster above wouldn''t yield him good results, instead, he might even lose his precious life! Although he still had forbidden skills that he hadn''t used, the Nascent Soul Beast didn''t dare to casually use them since he was extremely aware of the consequences of activating them. To the point that his physique would endure great injuries after he finished using one of them, if he was unlucky, the injuries he sustained might be irreversible if left unattended! With his current situation right now, where his physique already received grievous injuries, the likelihood of thetter happening was quite high, allowing him to understand that the best choice for him is to flee! "If I could just absorb the blood essence of the human cultivator above... "Sigh~ unfortunately, he was too cautious." ... Hmm? Seeing that the Nascent Soul Beast below stopped attacking, the Old Man above couldn''t help but raise his brows. His eyes deepened as he started toward the physique of the beast... Pondering as he slowly raises his hands, preparing himself for the unexpected. Swish~@@novelbin@@ However, before he could fullypose himself, a blub of blood, with a stench that could make beings puke with a single whiff of it, abruptly invaded his vision, making his divine senses suffer greatly... as if being hindered by something that he couldn''t exin. "This..." *** Chapter 268 Untitled (3)! "This..." rmed, the Old Man immediately cast his space-rted skill, causing the thickness of space around him to amplify by a dozen times, making the ufortable scent of blood unable to reach his current location. Although he appeared like he was still in his current location, not moving. His existence was actually hidden within the unknown depths of space! It was near, yet also too far to reach! Boom! At the same time, as the Old Man managed to calm his throbbing soul, the blob of blood beneath suddenly multiplied in size, releasing an ominous energy that engulfed the surrounding area... Visibly making the objects and lifeforms it grazed began to corrode at a swift speed, liquifying into blood afterward before hurriedly fusing toward the still-increasing size of the blob within its center. "Don''t tell me." Feeling the tense atmosphere around him shift quietly within his transcended senses, the Old Man hurriedly waved his wand, causing the space around the blob of blood to constrict greatly, making the space within be limited in size. Furthermore, an almost imperceptible sphere, purely made of solid space, acting as a prison, makes the blob of blood beneath unable to increase in size nor able to absorb the blood essence outside the area of the constricted space that surrounds it... Making it bubble crazily, as if greatly angered about that skill that the human above activated. Throb- Throb- Without any choice, the blob of blood beneath suddenly shrank in size, making its blood essence focus on its center, slowly reducing in size every second as the energy within its center bes morepact and solidified in the process. This caused its energy to begin to elevate beyond its current level! Making the space around it slowly crack due to the unprecedented force it carried. Crackkk~ "This energy... It suddenly increases to thete stage of the Nascent Soul Realm! Not good!" Feeling an ominous premonition within his soul, the eyes of the Old Man suddenly constrict, fully manipting hisplete and iplete rules before enveloping the shrinking blob of blood on the groundground with it. At the same time, as he was slowly adding thickyers of solidified space around the blob of blood beneath, he began to slowly retreat in the distance, gritting his teeth greatly as he activated his divine senses, wanting to ensure that no human cultivator was near them, or else he might not be able to ensure his/her safety! *** Swish~ "This familiar sensation of dread... Not good!" Hundred of meters away from the current location of the Old Man and the shrinking blob of blood on the ground, the transparent figure of Leo could be seen silently advancing. Suddenly pausing on his tracks before gripping his throbbing chest in the next second. Although the reason was unknown, he could sense that his soul was sending an ominous sensation of dread to his mind, allowing him to understand that his life would probably cease to exist if he advanced further. "How unlucky; I still haven''t managed to get my hands on the flesh of the Nascent Soul Beast." Sighing in deep regret, Leo immediately activated his movement skill before rushing toward the direction of the town, wanting to exit this ce in an instant. Although he didn''t know where the dread was originating from, he could already assume that it came from the fight between the two Nascent Soul realm beings. Making his obsession further deepened due to his longing for strength, causing his overall stats to momentarily increase by 0.1%. (A skill that Leo gained after advancing and evolving toward theter stage of a Demon, increasing his overall stats for a certain amount every time his obsession with certain things deepened. Although the increase in strength has limits, it still allows him to gain strength beyond his current stage.) ... Crackle~ At the same time, as Leo was rushing toward the direction of the town, the thick blob of crimson blood, far away from the periphery of the endless forest, suddenly released a loud crackling sound... As if an earth-shattering thunder descended from the firmament above, shaking the ears of everyone that heard it, causing their minds to mildly suffer from momentary loss of control. Crunch~ (sounds of shattering ss.) Following that, the sound of shattering space resounded toward the far distance, making the heart of the retreating Old Man turn cold in the next second as he decisively abandoned his casting of spells toward the blob of blood... Hurriedly waving his hand before applying a number of defensive skills toward his being. Holding his breath with unease, he watched the blob of blood in the far distance radiate an ominous energy, loudly churning before visibly expanding by a thousand times, consuming everything around it crazily. BOOOMMMM! BOOOOMMMM! Not even a second passed by. Under the grave expression of the old man, the expanding blob of blood suddenly exploded, releasing an intense wave of air that uprooted the trees and earth nearby. Filling the atmosphere above with dust and chaotic rules in the process, hindering him from fully activating his divine senses. Furthermore, droplets of blood, being carried by intense waves of air, began to unceasingly fall toward the ground. Enjoy more content from empire This?! Caught off guard, some of the blood droplets directly fall toward the robe of the old man, sizzling crazily before corroding its outeryer. In addition to that, some chaotic rules, being carried by the blood began to drill toward the old physique of the old man, ignoring his protection skill as it began to course within his being... Dyeing his transcended core with a hint of redness in the process, causing the flow of his transcended Qi to be slightly hindered! Ding! -38 health points! "A unique skill; I didn''t expect that he was still hiding his Trump card!" Mumbling to himself, the old man hurriedly retreated toward the distance, lightly waving his palm toward the atmosphere above, intending to push away the blood with the intense gale that he summoned.@@novelbin@@ Unfortunately, his expected oue didn''t ur; instead, the droplets of blood leisurely pierced the wind, causing some of them to again fall toward the body of the old man, further making the coursing of his transcended Qi more stiff in the process! Ding! -40 health points! -39 health points! -42 health points! *** Chapter 269 Untitled (4)! Swish! As the coursing of his transcended Qi slowly became stiffer, a sudden figure materialized beyond the old man, being shrouded by a dark substance, carrying an intense rotting scent of blood as it visibly waved its glinting ws toward the old man''s physique, intending to inflict severe injuries in the process! Ding! Unfortunately, although the droplets of crimson blood could ignore the defenses of the old man, they could still at least defend themselves from the sudden attack of the beast. Creating a grinding sound of metal and ss in the process as some tongues of me flew toward the atmosphere. Lighting the dark surroundings lightly as the face of the beast unfolds toward the surprise eyes of the old man. "YOUU?!" With widened eyes, he stared at the cold, serpentine irises of the demonically handsome face of the beast... behind him in fright. Although he could hardly recognize the face of the beast, he knew that it was the beast that he just fought earlier, making him feel a deep chill within his soul upon seeing the drastic changes it took. Furthermore, he could even sense its overall strength elevating by a small amount every second! Although it was unstable and somewhat chaotic, its strength undoubtedly had already entered the quasi-peak stage of the Nascent Soul realm! Boom! As the old man was pondering deep inside his mind, unable toprehend how the beast managed to creep behind him without him noticing it... His old body suddenly hurled toward the depths of the endless forest, unable topletely defend himself from the earth-shattering strength of the Nascent Soul Beast as his robe finally suffered some minor damage. Boom! In the next second, the old man''s physique heavily collides with the towering tree in the far distance, creating a huge hole in it as it slowly fell afterward due to the force it received. Cough~ Swish! Coughing out loud, the old man still hadn''t recovered from the damage he received when his elevated premonition suddenly sent a distress signal within his consciousness, making his eyes constrict slightly as he immediately waved his right hand in front of him. Flicker~@@novelbin@@ Causing his figure to distort under the glinting, approaching ws of the Nascent Soul Beast, making the space around him crazily tremble before bing still afterward, reasoning for the glinting ws, carrying the stench of thick blood to only hit the empty space. "Teleportation skill! I should have expected that he had teleportation-rted skills... "Grrrr~ I need to quickly finish the battle before the negative effects of this skill kick in." Gritting his teeth in anxiousness, the Nascent Soul Beast''s divine senses hurriedly delved within the depths of his being, staring at the withering nt within before manipting the rules it carried... Summoning countless blood vessels with a diameter of 1 cm in the process. Lively slithering within the atmosphere before spreading to all directions, causing everything it grazed to inexplicably liquefy. "Hehe~ With my current strength, these little blood vessel capabilities had already entered the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. "If that old man didn''t show himself, I''m going to absorb the blood essence of the beast and human cultivators hidden in this forest. That way, I could at least weaken the aftermath of this skill." Laughing madly, the Nascent Soul Beast continued. "Keke~ If I''m lucky, I couldpletely negate the aftereffects of the skill and recover some of my lost health and transcended Qi..." Swish! With a maddened smile, the Nascent Soul Beast began to manipte the countless vessels of blood with great mastery, delving into the depths of the endless forest and killing every living being his blood vessels managed to find. Even if it was an insect or an ant, the Nascent Soul Beast didn''t spare them; understanding the meaning of a small number could make a difference if he umted thousands of them. *** Huff~ "Finally, away from the endless forest." Soon, after 5 minutes of traversing the forest with swift speed, the transparent figure of Leo could be seen gasping for air. He finally started to feel his stamina running out due to long hours of unceasing movement. It could be said that this was the first time Leo saw his stamina reduce to a pathetic number after he went beyond the mortal realm. Sigh- "I''m reallyzy back then..." Mumbling to himself, Leo unconsciously tilted his head toward the firmament above, still seeing some light that originated from the spells of the beasts, quasi-devils, and human cultivators hurling above... which often lightened the dark atmosphere. Furthermore, within the crevices of the bloodied wall of the town and the littered corpses on the wet, chilling ground, he could faintly see some crimson roses, swaying under the breeze of chilling air, silently growing within them... Making him feel amused upon sensing the death Qi, nutrients, and faint rules within the corpses on the ground hurriedly being dried by the crimson roses, making them more tantalizing to one''s eyes. Hmm... Curious, Leo silently activated his soul scan skill toward the same flower nearby, prying to the existence of the nt at a deeper level, wanting to see what the group was trying to achieve. Ding! [ Blood Sucking Rubiginosa: A nt-type life form that was born due to the unique skill of certain users and the three unknown rules it contained. Although its growth speed could be considered normal, by absorbing the blood essence and great tonics (nutrients) of a lifeform, its growth speed could increase by 10-100 times! (Depends on the quality and quantity of the nutrients it absorbs.) Current Realm: Quasi Nascent Soul (85%)! Find more to read on empire Innate Skill: Momentary Life (Epic), Advance Absorption (Rare), Comprehension of Life Nature (Rare +3), ???... Note: At its peak, it could hold a being beyond the Nascent Soul Realm by quite a while. ] Ding! [ Momentary Life (Epic): Sacrifice most of the user''s lifespan in order to increase the talent, overall strength, and growth of the user. Activation: Permanent. Effects: Permanently increase the talent by 5, overall strength by 10%, and growth by 500% of the user. ] *** Chapter 270 The Unexpected Death of The Nascent Soul Beast (1)! "Huff~ How unexpected! Did she gain a unique skill when she stepped into the Core Formation realm?" Retracting his gaze from the crimson roses on the ground, Leo lightly opened his character panel, gazing at his growing horror points in satisfaction before shifting his gaze toward the unfolding battle nearby. Sitting on the cold ground littered with withered corpses in excitement before starting to absorb the lingering fear, horror, and dread that hung above the dark firmament. Although his foundation was still far from satisfactory, Leo didn''t want to waste the imperceptible energy above, understanding that it would dissipate in a few days if it was left unintended. Swish! Soon enough, the imperceptible energy above began to churn crazily, swirling above Leo''s head ominously before gushing toward his orifices in a forceful manner, drilling within his being and coursing through his body before eventually resting within his multi-colored core.@@novelbin@@ In the process, it caused his liquefied Qi inside his core to boil crazily, slowly bing unstable but at the same time increasing by a small amount every second... Making his exp increase continuously. Furthermore, the negative emotions attached to the imperceptible energy began to invade Leo''s consciousness, drowning him in a momentary sense of dread, fear, and horror. Allowing him to sense different kinds of negative emotions at the same time, almost causing him to lose his rationality in the process. (Although it wasn''t a problem in the past. However, with umtions from thousands of beings with the foundation realm at the lowest. The imperceptible energy above was usually heavy and filled with intense obsession, making Leo''s soul and consciousness uncontrobly affected.) Fortunately, as a peak demon, his being has a natural resistance to negative emotions, allowing him to grasp the thin thread of his rationality as he begins to delve into the essence of those negative emotions. Find your next read at empire "Fear, horror, hatred, and dread¡ªit was all created due to uncertainty and the inevitable. "No one knows what the future holds, and no one is certain of the present; they might die now, in the next second, hour, or tomorrow without them knowing, making their minds always carry a tinge of fear. Although the beings might not notice it, the fear of uncertainty always hid within the depths of their consciousness..." Pausing for a while in order to re-arrange his thoughts, Leo continued. "In the end, everyone was dancing in the palm of fear. "Fear could drive beings into motivation, but it could also drive them into doing things that they couldn''t do or dare to do." ... Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully deepening yourprehension of the rules of Fear of the Unknown, Despair, Hatred, and Inevitable Death by 3%! ] Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully upgrading to level 9! ] In an instant, after 10 minutes of unceasingly absorbing the negative energy above the firmament, the sound of notification suddenly rang within Leo''s consciousness... Causing him to wake up from the euphoric sensation brought on by the negative energy as he immediately halted his absorption in panic. Although he still wanted to continue absorbing the energy above, Leo found that his foundation had already started showing signs of crumbling¡ªa testament that he had already reached his limits. Huff~ "Fortunately, the system woke me on time, or else I might not be able to control myself and continue to absorb the energy above until it ran out!" Wiping the forming sweat on his forehead, Leo lightly tilted his head upward, gazing at the imperceptible yet ominous clouds above in slight fear and regret. Although he had only absorbed 10% of its energy, the lingering thoughts present within it almost drove him crazy, making his pale face much more drained upon thinking about the consequences he would face if he hadn''t stopped on time. "This is simply contradictory; I almost turn insane due to the lingering thoughts attached to the negative energy above, but at the same time, I couldn''t help but feel a strange sensation of excitement coursing through my being..." Sensing his liquefied Qi within the depths of his being be thicker due to the drastic increase in his understanding of certain rules rted to fear and horror, Leo couldn''t help but clench his fist in excitement, gazing at his overall stats, which increased by more than 100 points in pure happiness. Other than that, he could even sense that the usage of the rules heprehended became much easier to utilize and fuse into certain skills, allowing him to use them without much effort. Making his capabilities and overall strength increase by a considerable amount. Although he was still not confident to face a nascent soul realm head-on, he was sure that he could fight a normal peak stage of the core formation realm without being at a disadvantage. Swish~ Excited to see the changes in his overall strength and wanting to solidify his shaking foundation in order to absorb more negative energy above the firmament, Leo immediately activated his invisibility skill, parting the wind in front of him as he madly dashed toward the direction of the still unfolding battle in the distance. Ripple~ At the same time, as he was staring at the physique of the beast and human cultivator in the distance, Leo took out his soul-bound weapon from the depths of the void, wanting to use it in case of something unexpected. ... Boom! ADVANCE WATER WHIP! Gazing at the bloodied beast in front of her with solemnity written in her eyes, a woman in her thirties, wearing a ck dress that often flickered with purple starlight¡ªa testament to its epic grade¡ªconjured countless water whips from the void. Slithering within the dark atmosphere, it created a crisp sound of parting air as it visibly moved within the woman''s side, causing the green, nted eyes of the three-meter-tall beast, holding a bloodied hammer that undeniably weighed a ton, to flicker dangerously. Although the damage that the woman inflicted on its thick hide was minimal, the pain that they could cause and the water that often drilled within his being every time the whip managed to create a small wound on his skin were simply unbearable! It''s like being invaded byrge parasitic lifeforms! Worse, he could feel them moving under his skin! *** Chapter 271 The Unexpected Death of The Nascent Soul Beast (2)! Dash~ Not wanting to suffer again from those thick water whips of the woman, the beast hurriedly dashes toward the distance, attempting to close his distance toward the other core formation beast far away in order to gain their help. Although it was somewhat embarrassing, it was better to be safe than sorry. At least he would be able to keep his precious life that way. Furthermore, he might be able to exact revenge on the woman if he managed to gain the help of others, allowing him to feast on her physique afterward, further strengthening his realm in the process! "KEKEKE~" (a cold chuckle.) However, the beast only retreated a hundred meters away from the woman when suddenly, a foreboding, dark flickering light entered his peripheral vision, making his scalp tingle and causing all of his hair to stand up ominously. "This?!" Following that, a pale figure, drenched in flesh and dried blood, slowly emerged from the dark void, grinning in a deranged manner as its gray irises, seemingly able to discern the secrets of his soul, stared at him emotionlessly and yfully... Behind the pale figure, an old and molding silver scale, gliding within the atmosphere, identally caught the attention of the beast, causing him to dazedly stare at therge and small intestines, crazily slithering within one of its tes in chills, silently beholding them ssh cubes of flesh and creamy blood toward the surroundings in the process. Gulp~ With just a single nce at it, the vision of the beast couldn''t help but spin slightly, feeling an intense urge to puke due to the overwhelming scent of rotting blood that suddenly assaulted his nostrils. In addition to that, he could even sense that the unknown entity in front of him was releasing an imperceptible and unknown energy that unconsciously affected his mind, making his heart turn cold in the next second as he beheld the pale figure slowly raising its palm toward his direction. EXTREME HELL OF FIRE. Hearing an incoherent sound enter his confused ears, a ck sizzling me, burning coldly and ominously, suddenly materialized in the right pale hand of the being in his front, erging within his crimson irises before colliding with his physique in the next second. Sizzle~ Sizzle~ AHHHHHHH!!! With a loud frightful cry, the beast suddenly woke up from his befuddled state, instantly dropping the heavy weapon on his grasp before heavily patting the spreading me within his physique, attempting to put the me out with his Qi and iplete rules but to no avail... Instead, the dark, cold me further spread within his being, slowly burning his thick hides and innards into charred ck! In addition to that, it began to invade his fragile soul! Burning them slowly, making the beast experience the agony of being burned throughout! Keke~ Leo, beholding that his controlled soul shriek and hell me skill sessfully caused the beast in front of him to suffer unbearable pain just by watching the negative energy its body was oozing, couldn''t help but chuckle, annoyed. Feeling slightly dissatisfied due to his inability to control his skills well. To be exact, he was only nning to hinder the movement of the beast earlier with his soul-shrieking skill and lower its health with his extreme hell of me before fighting it head-on in order to strengthen his foundation... However, who would have expected that he uncontrobly used more of his Qi and Soul energy to activate those skills? Hence, the current situation. "I couldn''t absorb more of that negative energy without stabilizing my current realm; just relying on the negative energy to increase my level by one already caused me to be like this!" Feeling that he wasted his time, Leo lightly waved his palm, retracting his extreme hell of me from the physique of the beast before gazing at the fast-approaching woman in the distance. ... Swish! "State, who are you?" The woman, seeing the unknown pale human beside the burned, wriggling beast, couldn''t help but ask warily. Her palm, holding something behind her back as she gazed at Leo intently, clearly ready to strike back if she sensed that Leo was harboring malicious thoughts. Although she had seen the action Leo took from afar, she hadn''t recognized Leo; at least, she hadn''t seen him from the town weeks ago, causing her to harbor doubt within her mind.@@novelbin@@ "Is he a new core formation realm cultivator that the town found? Or is he...'' As the woman was pondering deep within her, gazing at the wriggling and charred flesh of the beast as she hesitated whether to strike the beast first or question the suspicious man in the short distance, the pale being suddenly plunged his palm within the void, taking dozens of potion bottles within before tossing them toward her with such speed that she couldn''t react. "I''m a hidden potion master of the town; you should be aware of how special and important the identity of the potion maker is, right?" Lightly muttering within the atmosphere, Leo again faces the recovering beast beside him, not carrying about the thoughts and doubt of the woman behind before waving his right hand toward the charred physique of the beast... Causing the temperature around them to shift uncontrobly. Whoosh~ (sound of a chilling breeze.) In an instant, an invisible fluctuation, carrying mental corruption, suddenly spread within Leo''s surroundings, making the expression of the woman behind him change drastically. Enjoy exclusive content from empire "This..." Suddenly feeling a dangerous energy oozing from the pale physique of Leo, the woman couldn''t help but be stiff, hurriedly shifting her gaze toward the beast in the distance as she watched it begin to crazily twitch, mouth foaming as its crimson eyes could be seen turning white. With deep chills coursing through her being, understanding that she would also suffer the same consequences if she received that unknown skill of the pale human cultivator nearby, the woman silently watched the beast fall toward the ground... Visibly began to lose consciousness as its twitching began to weaken every millisecond. Groaning reluctantly and grotesquely for a while before finally losing sign of life; being killed without even knowing how. "Tsk, I again used a lot of strength; fortunately, there''s still a number of core formation beasts and quasi-devils within the battlefield; it would allow me to gain basic control of my strength if I managed to fight some of them." Ding! [ Congrattions on killing a mid-stage of the core formation realm beast! +3,256 exp points! +6 free attribute points! ] *** Chapter 272 The Unexpected Death of The Nascent Soul Beast (3)! Soon, upon hiding the corpse of the core formation realm beast within his inventory... Leo lightly shifted his gaze toward the woman behind him, watching her consume several potions in one go before descending toward the ground at low speed, sitting cross-leg on the bloodied ground afterward before starting to circte the Qi within her body. Sure enough, as the second passed by, the light injuries and fatigue she received from battling the core formation realm beast began to visibly heal, regaining the roseness of her cheeks in the process. "Such a careless being, who would recuperate within the battlefield? Is she not afraid of being disturbed or being sneak attacked by some core formation beast...'' Muttering in a low voice, Leo couldn''t help but heave a light sigh of helplessness, deciding to apany the woman for a while as he gazed toward the fluctuation of energy that originated in the distance. Pondering deep within himself as he spread his divine senses around him. Attempting to pinpoint where the strongest fluctuation of energy ising from. Since he couldn''t control his current strength well, he concluded that it was best to find a beast or quasi-devil with the highest realm within the battlefield. (Of course, it was only limited to the core formation realm.) Although it might put him at unnecessary risk, it was the only option he found in order to hasten the solidification of his foundation, understanding that he couldn''t always be overly cautious about certain things. "If I wanted to step into the Nascent Soul realm in the shortest time possible, it was necessary to take some risk.'' Pausing for a while, silently tilting his head upward as he started at the crack within the firmament that erged at some point in pure silence, Leo again continued. "If I stayed in the core formation realm, I''m afraid that I would lose the basic ability to protect my life." ... In the blink of an eye, another 3 minutes silently passed by. Sensing that the situation of the woman finally began to stabilize, the figure of Leo suddenly turned incorporeal within the dark atmosphere, vanishing akin to a bubble as a breeze of cold wind spread around. "Wait!" Beholding this, the woman cast a regretful expression on her face, sighing afterward before dashing toward the unfolding battle nearby, wanting to help the others in order to swiftly calm the chaos urring within the town. Although she really wanted to know the name of the human earlier, probably wanting to establish some connection so she could buy some potionster, the current situation didn''t allow her to do that. Further causing her to sense an inexplicable loss within her being. "What a pity..."@@novelbin@@ *** Swish~ Flying at a swift speed, Leo unhurriedly checks the system, swiftly scrolling toward the dozen skills below before pressing one of them. Ding! [ Upgrading your Invisibility skill to level 9 would cost 4 medallions of forceful upgrade and 15,000 horror points. (ept/Declined?) ] Seeing that the cost in order to upgrade his invisibility skill to the next level increased by 50%pared to when he upgraded it to level 8, Leo couldn''t help but lightly shake his head, sighing deeply before forcefully pressing the ept button. Although he still hadn''t met a being in the core formation realm that could notice his existence under his invisibility skill, Leo couldn''t be sure if he would remain undetected if he met some unique cultivators who unlocked some strange skills... Making him conclude that upgrading his invisibility skill would be for the best, further increasing his ability to slip off or sneak attack drastically in the future. Tap- Tap- In an instant, after pressing the ept button, a sudden heat emerged within Leo''s soul, carrying a strange warmth that hurriedly swept and coursed through his being, making the presence of his life force, Qi, and rules degrade to arge extent. To the point of being almost negligible by others... as if carrying the essence of being undetected. In addition to that, the energy that the jinx skill was unconsciously releasing and the other negative fluctuations that were oozing within Leo''s physique became more imperceptible to one''s naked eye and divine senses... Making them spread freely without the risk of being detected by any beings below his current realm! "This... I could even lower my presence in order to deceive others regarding my current realm. I didn''t expect that upgrading the invisibility skill to level 9 would make its ability increase by folds." Mumbling to himself with excitement, Leo couldn''t help but lower his presence to the early stage of the core formation realm, making him smile afterward due to the strange thoughts that suddenly emerged within his mind. Casually thinking that the newly upgraded invisibility skill would be handy in nting seeds of doubt within everyone''s mind. "Keke~ would the peak stage of the core formation realm experience despair and inferiority if an early stage of the core formation realm beat him/her?'' Swish~ Unable to hide the bubbling excitement within his being, Leo hurriedly deactivated his invisibility skill, only retaining its ability to lower his presence to the early stage of the core formation realm as he rushed toward the intense, fluctuating energy in the far distance. Hiding the twisted grin on his face as he lightly waved his left palm in front of him, summoning several mental piercings behind his back, readying himself to instantly hurl themter in order to make the unlucky enemy suffer from confusion. Sigh~ "Unfortunately, I couldn''t simply drag the beast or quasi-devil within my domain in front of another human cultivator. It would easily offend them that way. "At least, they would easily think that I was stealing their prey." If Leo wanted to maximize solidifying his fragile foundation, the best option for him would actually be to lock the enemy within his iplete domain. Fighting him/her without carrying about the disturbance from the outside world. "Unfortunately..." Although he didn''t care about the feelings of others, Leo wanted to distance himself from unnecessary trouble since he still needed humans (intelligent beings) in order to earn horror points. Discover hidden stories at empire Without horror points, Leo''s growth speed would surely suffer greatly. *** (Leo could earn horror points by selling products within his horror shop; he was simply afraid of losing possible customers.) Chapter 273 The Unexpected Death of The Nascent Soul Beast (4)! In the blink of an eye, 2 hours chaotically passed by. The dark sky, full of an ominous and dreadful aura, began to brighten up, turning slightly yellowish as the shadows that enveloped the epassingnd began to retreat toward the unknown side of thend. With a warm breezeing from the east, the coldness that lingered within the atmosphere began to vaporize at a swift speed, reced by a thick stench of blood that hurriedly spread around. Following that, the warm ray of sunlight starts to illuminate thend, unfolding the countless flesh and internal organs, severed limbs, thick crimson blood, and twisted corpses of the beasts and humans that scattered around the periphery of the town... Unfolding the dreadful and nauseous scene toward the surviving cultivators above. Causing them to sense an inexplicable sign of relief and dread within their beings... Lowering their heads afterward as they couldn''t help but remember theirrades who died within the maw of the beasts and quasi-devils earlier. Tick- Tick- (sound of liquefied droplets.) In the distance, seeing the grand scene of thousands of corpses and those crimson flowers that continuously grow from their orifices, swaying with the warm breeze, Leo couldn''t help but smile twistedly, holding a detached head that originated from the quasi-devil in satisfaction before shifting his gaze toward the depths of his being. Gazing at his stabilizing core in pure happiness... further deepening his twisted smile in the process. Ding! [ Congrattions on killing a Core Formation realm beast at thete stage! +3,527 exp points! +15,000 horror points! ] Ding! [ Congrattions on upgrading to level 10! +10 Soul power and Qi power! +6 Speed and Strength! ] ... "Keke~ leveling to level 10 and at the same time solidifying my foundation; it''s indeed much more stable to rely on killing beasts in order to elevate one''s level." Mumbling under his breath, Leo dispelled his activated skills before hiding the corpse of the core formation realm quasi-devil within his inventory, almost filling the space in the process. Still not done, understanding that he couldn''t simply waste the corpse on the ground, the pale figure of Leo began to descend downward, staring at the corpses scattered around before choosing some limbs and corpses that he deemed useful... Akin to a man shopping for his game set. Beholding this, the exhausted cultivators around couldn''t help but stare at him strangely. Although Leo''s action could be seen as smart, seeing him casually touching flesh and internal organs with his bare hands evokes a nauseous sensation in their stomachs, making the cultivators instinctively distance themselves from his location. Thinking that Leo was currently mentally... Swish~ "Huff~ Leo, do you know that we were finding you within the battlefields for quite a while?" As Leo was busy inspecting the goods on the ground, the exhausted figure of Jake appeared within his peripheral vision, causing Leo to stop in his tracks before casting his gaze toward the approaching figure. "It was to be expected; I never deactivated my invisibility skill when the battle started. With my capabilities, it was better to sneak attack those upied beasts, allowing me to help the others gain a slight advantage." Pausing for a while as he hid one of therge intestines of the beast within his inventory, Leo continued. "Other than that, I could easily kill those foundation beasts and quasi-devils without gaining the attention of those who reach the core formation realm, hence lowering the casualties by a considerable amount." Hearing this, Jake''s expression couldn''t help but be stunned, never expecting that Leo was much more considerate than he had expected. With his impression of Leo in the past, he expected that thetter would only kill beasts and quasi-devils to reap benefits, not caring about the well-being of the strangers around him. ... Feeling that he was judging Leo too much, Jake hurriedly shook his head before staring at Leo''s bloodied hands. "Huff~ Well, I actually came here to ask if you still have potions that could speed up the natural recovery of health, stamina, and Qi. If you still have them, I want to exchange them for some skill scrolls and items that we reap within the battlefield." Pausing in his tracks, Leo''s gray irises couldn''t help but widen, staring at the scattered corpse on the ground before loudly cursing in his mind. "Wait, why didn''t I see skill scrolls and items emerging from the bodies of the beasts that I killed? "D*mn Jinx skill!!!" Although the probability of the beasts and quasi-devils dropping skill scrolls and items was infinitely small, there should still be one appearing from the countless beasts he killed... Yet, after a couple of hours of killing and roaming around, he still hadn''t seen one! To the point that he had almost forgotten about their existence! "This f*cking Jinx, I knew that I shouldn''t have upgraded it to level 6! Not only that it didn''t help me acquire the flesh of the Nascent Soul realm beast, but it also reduced my luck by quite an amount!" Huff~ Taking a deep, long breath and calming his ranging thoughts down, Leo unhurriedly shifted his gaze toward the expectant Jake, taking out dozens of potions within his inventory before tossing them toward thetter. Beholding this, the smile on Jake''s face couldn''t help but widen, carefully catching the bottles one by one before hiding them within the void. After he was done, he immediately plunged his right hand toward the void, taking out a number of flickering scrolls within, ranging from gray to purple, before showing them to Leo with a mixture of satisfaction and regret. "This... are you sure you wanted to trade those epic scrolls?"@@novelbin@@ Staring at the three scrolls, flickering with mild purple starlight within the hands of Jake, Leo''s brows couldn''t help but raise, staring at the eyes of thetter for confirmation. "It''s fine, those epic skills were not suitable for me; it would only waste my skill points if I learned them." Unfolding regret within his eyes, Jake again continued. "With your 26 potions, I could at least trade 1 epic and 3 normal-rare scrolls to you." "I see..." Nodding his head in understanding, Leo immediately began to browse from the dozens of scrolls within Jake''s hands, prioritizing the epic skills first as he began to check their descriptions carefully. *** Chapter 274 Gaining A New Epic Skill! Soon, after carefully reading the descriptions of the skill scrolls for a couple of minutes, Leo couldn''t help but release a deep sigh of hesitation, pausing momentarily before grabbing four skill scrolls from Jake''s hands, ranging from elite to epic. "As expected, you really chose that skill scroll." Seeing the weak, flickering scrolls within Leo''s pale hands, Jake nodded his head in satisfaction, putting the remaining skill scrolls back within his inventory before bidding his farewell to Leo. Although the chaotic battle had just ended, he couldn''t be sure if there were still some beasts that identally survived the onught earlier, wanting to ensure that no abomination managed to slip under their watch so there would be no problem arising in the future. Furthermore, he also wanted to quickly distribute the potions to the other group, helping them quickly recover their overall strength. With the sudden invasion of the beasts and quasi-devils yesterday, it was uncertain if there was still another wave of them waiting in the dark... Hence, he felt that it was much safer to be prepared. ... Silently watching the retreating silhouette of Jake from the distance, Leo hurriedly shifted his gaze toward the skill scrolls within his hands, activating his soul scan skill before reading their descriptions one by one. Ding! [ Physical Foundation (Rare+2)- A unique skill that deals with the imperfections of one''s physical body, defenses, and stamina. Although it can''t elevate one''s appearance, it has the ability to strengthen the overall aspects of one''s body, allowing one to embark on the path of body cultivation. Activation: Permanent. Effects 1: Increase the physical toughness by 5% and elevate the strength, speed, and stamina by 10 points! Effects 2: Slightly solidify the foundation of one''s physique! Cost to Learn: 1,000 horror points! ] Ding! [ Intangible Body (Epic) - A skill that allows the body to momentarily transform into intangible form. Activation: 5 Qi per second. Effects 1: In intangible form, the user could bypass an almost enclosed space by simply slipping within some of their gaps. Effects 2: You can''t be trapped in ungraded to grade 1 formations. There are certain chances that you will be able to escape from grade 2 formations in an intangible state. Note: Upon being hit by mental, soul, and magic attacks, the user would be forced to exit the tangible state. Cost to Learn: 2,500 horror points! ] ... Other than that, Leo also gained two elite skills that focus on physical damage, bncing his arsenal of skills in the process. Although the effectiveness and usefulness of those offensive skills were quite limited, he was nning to fuse them when the fusion feature of the system cooldown, giving him the probability of increasing their rarity to rare. "Hopefully, my luck won''t turn bad when that time arrives." Taking a deep breath, Leo decided to learn the four skills on the spot, ripping the scrolls into pieces as the starlights that oozed from them hurriedly entered his being, coursing within before entering his consciousness afterward. Ding! [ Congrattions on learning the Physical Foundation (Rare+2), Intangible Body (Epic), Basic Physical Combat (Elite), and Metal Fist (Elite) skills! ] Ding! [ Due to the dozens of skills within the arsenal of the host, the system was limiting the number of skill slots for the host to 50. Furthermore, the price of learning the skills would also increase by 10 times, sessfully causing the host to think carefully before learning a skill on the spot. ]@@novelbin@@ "This..." Seeing the sudden notification that abruptly appeared from out of nowhere, Leo''s gray irises couldn''t help but widen, cursing within his mind loudly before calming afterward. Even though he understood the reason why the system was limiting his learning capabilities regarding skills, he still couldn''t help but feel a slight fang of dissatisfaction deep within. Comprehending that he would no longer be able to learn lots of passive skills without thinking about them in the long run. Although he had a fusion feature that would lower the number of his skills every while and then, the cooldown of the cauldron usually takes longer (depending on the skill grade). Sigh~ "It might be better this way, so I could focus my mind on some of my skills that I had almost forgotten. "With lots of skills within my arsenal, it was bound for me to forget some of them, causing me to be unable to fully utilize my capabilities in the middle of battle." *** Crackle~ BOOM! As Leo was pondering deep within himself, silently gazing toward the corpses around him as he asionally picked some flesh and limbs within, a sudden sound of crackling, akin to a thundering explosion, resounded toward the direction of the endless forest. Causing him to instinctively raise his head toward the horizon as he couldn''t help but stare at the bloodied being, gripping a severed head in its grasp as it fly toward the direction of the town at a swift speed. In the being''s wake, the space around him began to tremble, a testament to its still unstable aura. Ding! [ Congrattions on assisting in killing a Nascent Soul realm beast, although slightly. +1,256 exp points. ] Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully assisting in killing a Nascent Soul Beast for the first time! +50,000 horror points! +1 fusion skill cooldown ticket! ] As he had expected, after the being above entered the range of his divine senses, Leo immediately saw the haggard yet excited face of the old man, instantly causing his soul to send a distress signal within his consciousness¡ªa testament to the danger that the old man possessed. "This. His aura further increases." Compared to thest time he saw the old man, Leo was quite sure that the being above further deepened its realm. As to the exact extent, he waspletely oblivious to it. "Well, maybe I could ask for the skeletal and some innards of the Nascent Soul Beast corpseter. I''m quite sure that they would be happy if I traded them for dozens of grade 1 to grade 2 potions. "Furthermore, if I let them know that I saved dozens of lives earlier, they would surely give me somepensation... and some extra limbs of the Nascent Soul Beast would do that." *** Chapter 276 I Want To Pay You Back! "Yes, if you don''t believe me, you can check the outside." Nodding toward the strange man in front of her, the woman hurriedly and anxiously walked toward therge wooden door in the distance, touching its rough surface before pushing it with force. Creak~ In an instant, the warmth of the sunlight touches her petite body, bringing warmth and hope to her cold being as she gazes silently toward the familiar view on the horizon with mixed emotions. "I-indeed, I''m still alive. I could still apany my sister; she wouldn''t end up in the slum... "I never thought that the sunlight could beforting." Feeling relief, the umted stress within her body finally gushed out, akin to water breaking through the dam as the streaks of tears began to uncontrobly flow from the corner of her eyes. The burden of the thought that she would leave her sister alone in this damn world, fending for herself at a young age, vanished toward the void. "I could still see my sister grow into a finedy... I could still protect her and make her life happy." Soon, after a couple of minutes of silently staring toward the void, the woman wiped the corner of her eyes, retracting her gaze from the towering wall before staring toward the pale man on the counter of the shop. "I-I don''t know how I could repay you, respected master. I will never forget this favor! "If you have anything you want me to do, I will do my best to aplish it!" Hmm? Looking at the determination in the eyes of the woman opposite him, Leo''s brows couldn''t help but rise in surprise. Truth be told, he wasn''t expecting that the cultivators he healed today would repay him for the kindness he showed; the fact that they had helped him reduce the requirements for his ss job advancement was already enough payment for him. However, since someone offered their willingness to repay him, how could he heartlessly decline it? Touching his chin for a couple of seconds, pondering deep within himself as he eyed the woman opposite him, a sudden idea sprouted within his mind, making his eyes glow slightly due to the possibility of it. "This might work; however, I needed to see if her character wasn''t superficial.'' Without further ado, Leo''s gray irises suddenly deepened, glinting with silver light as he directly stared at the woman in front of him. Using the uniqueness of his eyes, the silver soul with a hint of yellow glow on its surface soon entered Leo''s vision. Unlike the souls of others, which often carried a hint of redness or darkness within them¡ªa testament to their soul always carrying a hint of malicious intent. The woman''s soul, although it showed instability under his prying eyes, still retained its purity. Meaning that the woman''s current intention was clear! "What is your name?" "A-Angelica respected master." "I see, then from now on you will work in this shop; you will be looking for the shop when I am away or when I am busy with something. As for your sry, I will give you a boosting potion per week and 2 Earth gold per month." Upon hearing this, the eyes of the woman suddenly widened, not expecting that she would gain a job instead of doing something that she despises and goes beyond her morals. Moreover, the sry was actually beyond her imagination! To the point that she began doubting if her ears were working perfectly. A single potion, even the diluted ones, already cost at least 5 earth silver in the market price, not to mention that the normal ones which cost at least 10 earth gold per bottle! Furthermore, she would also receive another 5 earth gold per month! It could be said that even after she reached the middle stage of the foundation realm, her monthly sry as a guard was only 2 earth silver per month, already enough for her and her sister to live quitefortably within the town. "However...''@@novelbin@@ Snapping from her thoughts, Angelica couldn''t help but stare in the distance, gazing at the moving flesh and detached limbs that were busy dragging a number of unconscious beings toward the dark corner of the shop in fear and fright. Stay tuned for updates on empire She couldn''t imagine herself staying alone in this shop with those abominations roaming around her; furthermore, the rich scent of a seeming mixture of vomit and piss kept assaulting her nostrils... Making her head spin slightly every time she inhaled. "Angelica, don''t hesitate anymore; this is for the future of your sister and you! You might regret it in a lifetime if you decline!'' Gritting her teeth in hesitation, Angelica finally exhaled a long, deep breath, focusing her mind before nodding toward the being in front of her. "Respected master, when could I start my job?" ... Soon, time passed by. After hiring Angelica an hour ago. Under Leo''s healing skill, the unconscious beings in the corner of the room began to wake up one by one. Fortunately, after they woke up, the cultivators only showed signs of confusion and slight fear on their faces for quite a while before they finally epted the fact that they were still alive under Leo''s demonic voice. It could be said that Leo''s control over his persuasion ability began to deepen after he used a couple of enlightenment stones days ago, making even core formation realm cultivators unknowingly affected by it if he spent some effort poisoning their minds. Unfortunately, he still couldn''t forcefully kill a cultivator with his words, or else he would gain another offensive ability. An extremely fatal ability on top of that! Creak~~ As Leo was lost in his thoughts, the wooden door in the distance suddenly issued a creaking noise, opening afterward as a man, oozing a dangerous aura around him, began to walk in Leo''s direction. Gazing at him with scrutinizing eyes as if inspecting his being before finally stopping 2 meters away from him. "Are you Mr. Leo?" Chapter 277 Unexpected Rewards. "Yes, and you are?" As if feeling the coldness within Leo''s gray irises, causing him to feel slightly uneasy, the man hurriedly shook his head before replying. "I apologize for my rudeness earlier. I''m Kristopher, and I came here due to themand from the mayor. He was calling all the core formation realm cultivators that helped repel those abominations." Hearing this, Leo unfolds an understanding on his face. Although the coldness within his irises was still present, it had already reduced by a considerable amount when he gazed at the man in front. Shooting a nce at Angelica beside him and seeing her nod her head inprehension, Leo then faced the man in the short distance, clearing his throat before advancing toward the direction of the wooden door. "Please lead the way." ... Soon, after following the man for a couple of minutes, the familiar wooden house that he saw when he first arrived at the town entered his vision. Even though they were still far away from it, Leo could already sense the instability and the dreadful aura of the wooden house releasing, ascertaining his initial guess that the old man''s current realm was unstable in a good way. Furthermore, he could feel that the wooden house began to change immactely, bing more solid and grandiose every second that passed by. Of course, the wooden house still retained its previous image; it''s just that the overall aura the house was unconsciously oozing was much more perfect than before... To the point that he could faintly feel that it was being covered by imperceptible rules that he couldn''t understand. With the sunlighting from the firmament, the wooden house glows imposingly under Leo''s sight, making him pause for a while in order to appreciate its beauty. "Let''s go inside." Read new chapters at empire Seeing the dazed look on Leo''s paleplexion, the man shows a knowing look on his face before pushing the door of the wooden house, unfolding the empty space beyond that didn''t contain anything. Taking a deep breath as he quickly hides the excitement in his eyes. A product of his anticipation due to finally being able to inspect a different domain withplete rules under it... Leo finally entered the wooden door, causing his pale figure to twist unsteadily beforepletely vanishing toward the void. Following that, the wooden door releases a light sound before closingpletely, as if containing consciousness on its own to know that no one would again enter its being. ... Plop~ With a sudden sensation of weightlessness, Leo''s feet hit the ground, his body shaking for a while before he finally regained his sense of bnce. With widened eyes, the familiar yet unfamiliar scenery on the far horizon immediately caught his attention. The sky, which was tainted by red, and the tendrils of ominous darkness that spread within the artificial firmament bathed him with unease. Following that, the brown soil on the ground, covered with vibrant grasses, gave him a strange sensation that he couldn''t exin. Although they looked normal under his probing, the uniqueness of his eyes still gave him a vague sensation that they contained traces of soul power. Of course, the amount they contained was infinitely small; if he hadn''t carefully sensed them, he might not have been able to notice their strangeness. "As expected of theplete domain, it was simply beyond the capabilities of the iplete domain. With traces of soul, they could actually support lifeforms within!'' Eximing within his mind, Leo''s gaze soon became attracted to the small pond in the far distance. There, he immediately saw the familiar and unfamiliar faces of the cultivators sitting at a round table and calmly gazing in his direction, as if they were waiting for their arrival for quite some time. Even though he was quite far from them, he could feel that most of them were proving his being, surely ascertaining his depths and capabilities... Unfortunately, most of them were bound to be disappointed since his restraint skill concealed most of his aura.@@novelbin@@ Only the coldness his body was unconsciously releasing gave them faint premonitions regarding his strength within their minds. "Leo, here!" Seeing Leo''s familiar figure approaching in the distance, Rosa immediately waves her left hand, smiling toward him before pointing at the empty chair beside her. Seeing this, Leo lightly nodded his head as a form of greeting before finally sitting between Rosa and an unknown man. As he did so, he lightly gazed toward the haggard faces of Rnd, Jake, and Sebastian beside Rosa. With a faint flicker of his gray irises, he could sense that the group''s aura was slightly unstable; however, he could feel that their overall strength was stronger when he met them earlier on the battlefield... Causing him to feel curious about the changes and opportunities that they received on the battlefield. Although the increase in their strength wasn''t exaggerated, it was still beyond his expectations. If he guessed correctly based on their aura, their level probably increased by 2¨C3 in the past night. Some of them directly step into the middle stage of the core formation realm, while most of them enter the peak early stage of the core formation realm. "It might be rted to those strange nts Rosa releases within the battlefield. Of course, I couldn''t rule out the possibility that they gained something precious from the corpses of the beasts and quasi-devils.'' ... As Leo was secretly proving the other cultivators within the round table with his advanced soul strength and the specialties of his irises, the old man in the high seat suddenly coughed out loud, instantly creating a thundering sound that instantly resonated within the souls of the cultivators, causing them, including Leo, to instinctively sit straight. "This sensation was simply monstrous!'' In an instant, after being frightened momentarily, all of the cultivators thought in unison. Feeling excited, envious, and horrified upon experiencing the trace of might that came from the mayor''s body. "Hmm, let''s begin. First of all, I would like to thank all of you for protecting the town... "Although some of those traitors abandoned the town in times of need, we still sessfully defended the town from the invasion of those abominations!" Chapter 278 Forbidden Items! (1) Upon muttering those words, the expression of the old man suddenly bes chilly. His body suddenly released a thick intent of killing, causing the cultivators around the round table to unfold nervousness within the depths of their eyes. Fortunately, it only urred for a short second before the dreadful intent vanished within the atmosphere, making them, including Leo, secretly release a sigh of relief. "Don''t worry; even if those traitors managed to escape alive, no one would dare ept them. "For now, we should start allocating the rewards based on everyone''s effort." Speaking with an aged voice, the old man lightly waved his palm, causing the space within the center of the table to distort, bing blurry and unstable for a while before unfolding a number of treasures within. Their vibrant colors mixed with the fishy and bloody scent on their surfaces cause the breathing of the cultivators to be slightly hurried, and their eyes turn red as they force themselves to calm down. "The first name I called could choose three items within the table, while the second and third could choose two. As for the rest, you could all get 1 item within." Saying this, the old man lightly closed his eyes, pondering deep within himself as if delving into his memories. Seeing this, the cultivators around, including Leo, could only wait patiently. Without anything to do, Leo could only stare at the items on the table in deep thought, feeling quite shocked upon noticing that most of the items on the table glow with purple light, while some of them have a hint of orange akin to a setting sun and thick darkness that course within their surfaces. Although he knew that purple light signified epic rank, the orange glow and darkness that carried malicious intent within were unfamiliar to him, making him assume that their rank probably went beyond epic rank! Since Leo noticed the strangeness of the items on the table, the cultivators around him also noticed their peculiarity, making their breathing hurried and their expressions change. It could be said that gaining an epic item was extremely hard considering the probability of it dropping. Based on their observation, they might only gain one if they kill 1,000 foundation realm beasts!@@novelbin@@ Even if that were the case, it was uncertain if those drops would be useful to them! However, who would have thought that the mayor had countless items and skill scrolls with him? This number alone could make those cultivators in the province go crazy! ... At the same time, as Leo and the cultivators inside theplete domain were patiently waiting for the old man to announce their contribution ranking. Within the unknown depths of the endless forest, gray fog could be seen mysteriously rising from the ground, hindering the scenery beyond certain areas and containing endless coldness even though the sun had already risen from the east. Experience exclusive tales on empire The devastation of countless gray tombstones, the deep indentation of the earth, and countless corpses that were scattered around form a hellish sight to the injured silver rabbit on the top of the iplete wooden house. Looking at the destroyed vegetation within the area of the nd cemetery, the eyes of the silver rabbit couldn''t help but unfold a rich killing intent, forming darkness above its bloodied head before staring at the hole, leading toward the forbidden ce in the corner of the cemetery with grave expression. Earlier, as the town was busy dealing with the sudden invasion, several abominations, numbering up to 50, suddenly entered this ce. Although their number was inferior to theirs by arge extent, some of the abominations carried an aura of the core formation realm. One of them even oozed an aura of thete stage of the core formation realm. Hence, causing 50% of the advanced puppets that Leo created instantly met their demise. Fortunately, with the advantage and strangeness of the cemetery, followed by the moonlight yesterday, and the mutation of its bloodline, the silver rabbit managed to greatly injure the abomination that reached thete stage of the core formation... Allowing them to tilt the battle toward their side. Unfortunately, before they can behead thete-stage abomination, it suddenly dives toward the forbidden ce, vanishing within. Squeak! Squeak! (I will hunt that guyter when the moonlight appears; how dare it destroy 60% of my precious nts!) Squeaking angrily to the point that it began to taste the metallic liquid within the corner of its tongue, the silver rabbit hurriedly took out a tantalizing fruit from the void, consuming it in an instant before starting to circte the cultivation technique within its consciousness. In an instant, silver light flickered around its body, forming a spectacle show as some of its light injuries began to heal at a visible speed. Squeak. (That idiot human, it''s been 4 days yet he still hasn''t returned. If he was here yesterday, I''m sure that we could have prevented the destruction of those spiritual nts!) At the same time, in the distance not far from the wooden house, the figure of the two silver skeletons could be seen sitting on top of the broken tombstone. Their wless skeletal bodies were covered byrge cracks, and some of their bones could be discerned as missing. Furthermore, their eye sockets, which were releasing a dreadful aura from the past, could be seen dimming to arge extent, flickering to the point that they were on the verge of extinguishing. However, although they were physically pathetic, their bodies were oozing dangerous vibes, making the dust around them tremble instinctively. As if even though they hadn''t consciousness, their material bodies were trembling in the presence of the two. Noticeably, between the two silver skeletons, several skill scrolls and items are attractively flickering with multiple lights. Most of them glowed with blue lights, while a small amount of them could be seen releasing a blinding purple light! Other than that, a dark robe with countless tendrils of flesh growing around its surface area and a pale face with empty eyes that was continuously howling in pain and agony within the back of the robe, releasing an ominous dark light, stood among the items and skills scrolls between the two. Ascertaining its uniqueness and dangerous vibes within. Chapter 280 Forbidden Items! (3) Unbeknownst to them, as their figures were slowly vanishing within the horizons. A blurry figure, as if existing between the corporeal and incorporeal worlds, hidden within the dark alley stared silently at the group''s silhouettes, especially toward the figures of Leo and Rosa with greed written within its eyes. Soon, after the three vanished within its sight, the blurry figure couldn''t help but lick the corner of its parched lips, unfolding a cold smirk within its face before mumbling in an incoherent voice. "They both don''t deserve to gain two items that exceed epic rank; how could they gain precious treasure with their limited strength?! "I don''t believe that they didn''t use their connection in order to gain the favor of the old man. Keke~ I heard that bastard grandson has a connection with them." With brewing killing intent in its eyes, the blurry figure shot a nce toward the wooden hut in the far distance, concealing the dissatisfaction within its heart before vanishing into the darkness beyond him. ... "This."@@novelbin@@ Pausing in his tracks, Leo couldn''t help but suddenly nce toward his back. His eyes instinctively frowned as he began to ponder himself. When he was busy talking to the two on his side earlier, he suddenly sensed forbidding within his being, as if something unpleasant was brewing behind his back. Read thetest on empire Furthermore, since his soul informed him about it, the danger it contained should have reached his realm. At least enough to threaten his life if he wasn''t careful. "Leo, are you okay?" Noticing the strange expression of Leo, the two show concern on their faces, hurriedly inspecting Leo with their senses to ensure that nothing is wrong with him. Only when they didn''t detect anomalies within Leo''s body did they both stop their probing, afraid that thetter would misunderstand their actions if they continued further. "I''m fine; I just remembered something trivial. Sorry to worry you both." "I see, I guess you were just tired from yesterday. Then we would no longer bother you; we will visit your when we have time." Bidding their farewell to Leo, the two unfold regret within their eyes before advancing in the opposite direction. Actually, their only goal in approaching Leo earlier was to give him the spiritual fruit as a gift, and in order to deepen their connection with him, they only decided to visit Leo''s shop on the spur of the moment. Since they all clearly haven''t recovered from the fatigue brought by the invasion yesterday... They concluded that it was best to postpone the unnecessary trip; they could do it in the following days when their condition finally stabilized. Understanding this, Leo nodded his head toward the two, waving his pale palm for a while before continuing to walk in the direction of his horror shop. Other than the fatigue that he was experiencing, he also needs to recover the Qi and mental energy that he spent yesterday Furthermore, he also needed to spend time familiarizing himself with the items that he acquired. In addition to that, he needed to create batches of potions and pills for the shop; it was the job that the mayor assigned to him in order to deepen the town''s foundation. "Sigh. Other than that, I also needed to go back to the cemetery. I hope that the abominations didn''t attack my home and my precious nts.'' Thinking of the spiritual fruits and nts that should have ripened in his absence, Leo''s eyes couldn''t help but involuntarily curl up, forming a crescent moon in pure happiness. It could be said that other than the increase in his overall strength and some rare urrences, he could only feel deep satisfaction after seeing his vegetation ripen. It was akin to a farmer watching the nts that he put his whole dedication into developing for a couple of months before finally bing ready to harvest. "Based on my estimation, those harvests would be enough for me to create potions for quite a while. Unfortunately, I stillck something in order to start creating potions that are helpful to the core formation realm." ... Soon, unknowingly, after pondering for quite a while, Leo finally arrived in front of his shop, touching his chin as he was still being upied by his thoughts. He only awakened from his thoughts when the sound of annoying creaking entered his senses. Raising his head, he instantly saw a pale man exiting the shop. Other than the evident fear in its eyes, Leo also notices the potion bottle in the hands of thetter... Clearly, he was one of the cultivators that he healed earlier. If he could guess correctly, Angelica, the woman he just hired, started to show her usefulness, using the gratitude of the beings he healed to sell the potions to them. Hmm? At the same time, as Leo was staring in the man''s direction, the man also saw his strange behavior. However, having no recollection of the strange human opposite him, the man could only nod his head politely as a form of greeting before running toward the far distance; he clearly couldn''t recognize the pale man that saved him yesterday. Seeing this, Leo released a light chuckle before entering his shop, not caring whether the cultivators he saved could recognize him or not. Huff~ "There''s too much to do; I should try toprehend a domain rted to time in the near future to see if I could slow the passage of time around me.'' ... Soon, after finding a dark, silent ce inside the horror shop, where shadows could be seen churning silently around, forming countless tendrils of ominous darkness that chaotically spread within the ceilings and the cold floor... In addition to the faint mist that always hindered one''s vision... Leo, who finally couldn''t conceal the building excitement within his being, let out an eerilyugh before hurriedly plunging his left hand toward the void. Grasping something within before retracting his limbs in anticipation. In an instant, after retracting his hand, an intense coldness, carrying an unknown corrosion, spread to his surroundings. The atmosphere suddenly gets contaminated by a repulsive scent as dark light reflects into Leo''s eyes. Chapter 281 Forbidden Items! (4) Other than that, there''s also the faint golden light of holiness that spreads into the surroundings, carrying afortable warmth that cleanses the impurities within one''s mind. "An epic forbidden item and an epic skill scroll that was contaminated by holiness...'' Looking at the two items in his hand inplete silence, Leo couldn''t help but remember their descriptions in his mind. The forbidden item was actually a normal item that was tainted by the chaotic rules, qi, and thoughts filled with the malice of the beasts that died. Their lingering obsession fused with the items or scrolls in the middle of their creation, causing the item''s strength to greatly increase; however, at the time, the items also carried negative effects that were detrimental to the user of the said items and skills. Simply put, it was a double-edged sword! The only thing that made it great was that the edge that was pointed toward the enemy was much sharper than the other side! To the point that a lower realm being could possibly kill a cultivator above its realm if the forbidden item or skill was used at the right time! As for the item that was contaminated by holiness, opposite to the forbidden item and skill scroll that was tainted by malice, it was created using pure rules and qi, making their strength increase by a considerable amount. In addition, they also carried faint traces of luck. Even though no one knows the full capabilities of luck, the basic uses of it are enough to make one''s overall failure decrease by a certain amount. Although not stronger than forbidden items in terms of overall strength, it was still beyond the capabilities of normal epic items! Furthermore, unlike forbidden items, items that were tainted by holiness didn''t contain negative effects! Allowing one to fully use them without any fear. "I wonder what would happen if I fused a skill that contained holiness and a forbidden skill." Feeling amused with his thoughts and curious about the result if he really fused them, Leo then excitedly read the description of the items within his grasp.@@novelbin@@ Wanting to see if he missed some information regarding them earlier. Ding! [ Mental Fortitude (Epic) - An epic skill that was grazed by pure rules that were rted to the mind. Activation: passive. Effects 1: Increase one''s mental resistance regarding skills that are rted to consciousness, desires, and thoughts by 2.5¡Á. Effects 2: Comprehension capabilities and talent regarding the mind domain would be permanently increased by 1. Cost to Learn: 25,000 horror points! ] Ding! [ Ring of Depravity (Forbidden Epic) - An item that slowly corrodes the consciousness of beings around it... Furthermore, it will slowly awaken the wickedness of living beings that were grazed by it, making them act without reasoning. Effect: Wearing the Ring of Depravity for 1 hour would slowly affect the consciousness of the wearer, causing his/her mind to be blurry before eventually being controlled by the ring. Note: A mysterious ring that was tainted by an unknown aura from an unknown ce. ] ... Staring at the nd silver ring that was continuously emitting a faint luster of ominous darkness on his palm before focusing on the sculpted small skull in its center that was oozing with red light, giving him the sensation that the ring was alive... Leo couldn''t help but frown in deep thought. He still couldn''t rid himself of the thought that he had chosen the wrong item. However, considering that the negative effects of the ring were rtively saferpared to the other forbidden skill from earlier, Leo could only hide his unease as he hid the forbidden epic item within his inventory. "I could only wear this item inbat; furthermore, I couldn''t wear it for more than an hour!" Imprinting this knowledge into his consciousness, Leo then chooses to learn the other item on the spot... Instantly reducing his horror points by a staggering 25,000 points, causing the skill scroll within his other hand to suddenly discharge a blinding radiance that hurriedly dispelled the filth lingering within the atmosphere. Following that, the skill scroll began to mysteriously float in front of Leo, turning into ashes after a few seconds before drilling into his consciousness with iparable speed. Akin to water breaking through the dam, Leo''s mind suddenly got swept by a huge amount of warm yet unknown energy, starting to repair and strengthen its foundation with swift speed. Furthermore, the lingering and chaotic negative thoughts secretly hiding within his consciousness that originated from his past trauma began to dissipate at visible speed, turning into something nutritious that further strengthened the foundation of his mind! Slowly, as time passed, the incorporeal barrier existing within Leo''s mind began to thicken¡ªa testament that the resistance of his mind drastically increasedpared to the past! "This... I could even feel my foundation stabilizing! Although it was still far away from my goal, it already reduced the time I needed by 25%!" With a hurried breath and shocked expression, Leo opened his eyes, gazing at his character panel with mixed emotion as he couldn''t help but be tempted to hurriedly fuse the Mental Fortitude skill with the others in order to increase its grade! Unfortunately, gazing at his skills, Leo could only shake his head in regret. Experience new stories on empire Knowing that he currently has no passable skills that he could fuse toward thetter. Well, even if he had them, if their grade didn''t meet his standards, he would only waste his precious attempt of fusing skills to get a slight increase in the overall strength of the Mental Fortitude skill. "I could only wait patiently till I found a passable one; for now, I should do my best to stabilize my realm so I could further absorb the lingering negative emotions within the firmament." Given the time, Leo knew that the negative energy within the atmosphere would fully dissipate in a week, making him sigh in regret thinking about how many levels he could increase if he fully absorbed them. Unfortunately, his current realm wouldn''t allow him to do that, or else he might explode due to indigestion. Chapter 283 Finally Returning. (2) Seeing this, the man licked the corner of his parched lips; his eyes revealed a malevolent desire as shards of broken mirrors began to materialize in the atmosphere behind his back. On their surface, crimson blood could be seen continuously oozing from the unknown, dying them with forbidding light as they filled the atmosphere with a fishy scent. Their ominous light even fused with the mist that Leo created earlier, making them carry a hint of redness within, which unhurriedly spread toward their surroundings. Leo, hearing this, didn''t bother to reply to the other party; he only stared at thetter''s face with dense killing intent. He recognizes him as one of the cultivators that he met within theplete domain of the old man yesterday. Back then, due to how many core formation realm beings were present at that time, he only nced at thetter before focusing on the items on the table. "However, I didn''t expect that he set his sight toward my rewards yesterday... I should have expected this." Feeling disappointed, Leo mumbled to himself, causing the void behind him to crack, revealing a fissure filled with darkness and filth as a wooden statue with the appearance of an old owl that emitted a green glow exited it. In an instant, the faint glow grazed Leo''s injured physique, causing his flesh to squirm chillingly as the gaping wounds he received began to close up at visible speed. Seeing this and understanding that he couldn''t lose his initiative, the man hurriedly released a low shout, which caused the shards of broken mirrors behind his back to threateningly shoot toward Leo at a swift speed... Creating a long trail of faint red as they approached Leo in the blink of an eye! Soul Bound Weapon: Scale of Revenge. Hurriedly taking the silver bnce scale from the void, Leo heavily and hurriedly swang the bnce scale toward the approaching shards, causing the shards to instantly reduce into powder upon collision. This caused the atmosphere to be filled with flickering dust, akin to red glitters as they slowly fell toward the ground. Seeing this, the man releases a cunningugh, eyes curving upward in pure happiness before clenching his left fist in the next second. Crackle~ Crackle~ In an instant, the descending powder of broken mirrors halted mid-air before emitting a huge and chaotic fluctuation of Qi, releasing a bright light of red afterward, which devoured everything in its surroundings before eventually exploding. Although all of this took a long time to describe, it happened in just a short second. Boom! With a thundering sound and heat that was akin to zing magma, the diameter of 1 kilometer from the center of the explosion was reduced to nothingless... Creating a huge wave of destructive gale that traveled toward the far horizon. The vibrant trees and grasses that swayed under the sun earlier vanished into the unknown as if they didn''t exist in the first ce. The earth that carried vitality and life also turned charred ck, leaving a huge clearing that was devoid of vitality, making the scenery akin to a ce abandoned by God. Cough! Stay connected via empire 500 meters away from the center of the explosion, the charred figure of Leo could be faintly seen coughing with difficulty. Noticeably, his left foot was missing as some flesh on his left arm fell toward the ground, turning into ck ashes upon colliding with the charred ground before being carried by the hot wind. Furthermore, all of his hair was gone, unfolding his charred bald head toward the zing sun above!@@novelbin@@ ... Tap- Tap- As the ce seemed to revert from to usual silence, the sound of water droplets reverberated within... Making Leo''s injured physique trembled slightly as he weakly tilted his head toward the scale of revenge beside him emotionlessly, which, at one point, became half full with congealed liquid. "Cough! What kind of skill is that?! If I hadn''t retreated on time when I sensed the fluctuations around me, the damage that I might have received would be much more grievous!" Feeling the long-lost emotion blooming within his consciousness, the familiar fear, and the sickening scent of death, Leo''s physique couldn''t help but tremble. At the same time, a strange sensation of excitement, which he almost couldn''t recognize, made the corner of his lips curl upward. For the first time in a couple of months, since he arrived in the town, he finally felt alive. Dying Immortal. Without wasting time, sensing the same enemy approaching from the far horizon, a green light filled with vitality bloomed around Leo, alleviating the suffering he was experiencing as some flesh began to grow from his body. However, as the skill helped him recover his lost health, the mass of his muscles began to reduce at a visible speed, making his figure look thin and sickly... Akin to a corpse as his paleness bes more evident. It was clear that the skill was using his flesh in order to heal and regenerate his iplete body! Leo, understanding the limitation of his skill, immediately took out a number of spiritual fruits within his inventory, consuming them in the blink of an eye, alleviating the hunger of his body as he eyed the approaching dot in the distance. As he did so, gloom appeared on his face. Although he intended to be injured in order to maximize the usefulness of his scale of revenge, he never expected the huge damage he received! It was far more outrageous than the damage he received in the past! Moreover, the realm of the one who caused this only reached thete stage of the core formation realm. Furthermore, based on his unstable aura, he should have just advanced toward the said stage! Although he was the one to be med for it, he knew how resilient his body was! "This is not right; the skill he just used was simply destructive. He shouldn''t have managed to greatly injure me after I retreated 500 meters before his skill erupted." Feeling shocked as doubts began to fill his mind, Leo''s figure hurriedly turned incorporeal, fusing within the dpidated atmosphere beforepletely vanishing in the face of the world. Chapter 284 Finally Returning. (3) In the next second, a sharp light, creating a narrow line, emerges within the back of the approaching cultivator in the distance. Making the expression of the cultivator freeze in shock and horror. His eyes dted into pin-point size as he immediately unleashed the rules heprehended, causing his skin to instantly turn bloody and crystallize as the sharp dagger that collided with his neck got deflected by him! sh! However, even though he sessfully deflected the huge forceing from the dagger, his neck still received a deep wound, unfolding the transparent flesh behind his crystallized skin. Furthermore, within the wounds, he could even sense the imperceptible rule that began to gnaw on his flesh, slowing his recovery speed to arge degree! "Y-you! How are you still alive?!" Feeling his innards tremble upon seeing the familiar figure materializing behind his back, the man couldn''t help but exim in horror! Never expecting that the cultivator with a ss job that revolves around potion making could survive under the onught of his skills, which even the peak stage of the core formation realm feared! However, although the man was greatly shocked, he still forced himself to calm down; his eyes became more serious and wary as he swiped his right hand toward the side... In an instant, the atmosphere around the man trembled violently, creating a heavy oppression that gushed and descended to the far distance. This caused Leo''s speed to decrease considerably, allowing the man to further distance himself from approaching Leo. "Come forth, Broken Mirror!" At the same time, as the man was increasing the distance between him and Leo, he suddenly extended his right hand toward the trembling void, taking out something within as a bright light, containing the scene of hell immediately reflected from the item within his crystallized hand! On the surface of the item, the scene of a mourning river, made from countless dark souls, could be seen creating a towering wave, acting akin to water as they continuously collide toward the shore, which waspletely made of corpses from different races! "This.'' Upon seeing this, Leo''s soul crazily sends a distress signal to his mind, making his face extremely pale as he immediately activates his "Dying Immortal" skill. Sure enough, just as the glow of skill enveloped his sickly body, a huge wave of corrosion, capable of erasing the existence of soul, body, and mind, heavily collided with his being... Causing Leo to puke a huge amount of dark blood and making his mind blurry. Furthermore, the qi within his being bes chaotic, causing more damage to appear within the interior and exterior of his body. Fortunately, due to his timely activation of the "Dying Immortal" skill, the damage he received was reduced by a considerable amount! Allowing the skill to instantly work on regenerating the damage he received after the enemy''s skill lost its energy. Snort- Unfolding a strange expression in his eyes, the man bes more determined to kill Leo opposite him, bing more sure of his assumption that Leo has items that are rted to defense. Furthermore, based on how Leo manages to survive under his sessive destructive skills, the grade of the defensive item should be at least within the range of the epic forbidden item! "I need to kill him in a short time! I couldn''t make a mistake!" With a devious look in his eyes, the man hurriedly rushed toward Leo''s direction, wanting to use the advantage his soul-bound weapon created earlier in order to kill thetter. In addition to that, he also took a yellow talisman within his inventory, feeding 5% of his overall qi toward it before attaching it to his armor. With it, his safety regarding ambushes increases drastically, allowing him to fully focus his mind on killing the apothecary! "Your treasures... It would be mine!" ... With a blurry gaze, Leo gritted his teeth in agony. The sensation of excitement, anticipation, and fear brews within his illusionary heart as he maniptes 25% of viscous blood within the silver bnce scale in his grasp. It could be said that he patiently waited for the other party to show his cards and filled the empty te in his soul-bound weapon before finally striking back! Although there were setbacks, the overall n was still on the right course. He wanted to see what would happen if he used a quarter of the congealed liquid within the scale in one go! Sizzle~ With a thought, the rotting silver scale on Leo''s side suddenly heated up, evaporating 25% of its congealed content at a visible speed, causing dark, nauseating smoke to ooze from it. Creating an ominous fog that momentarily filled the sky beforepletely vanishing in the next second, as if Leo had just tossed dark ashes within the atmosphere only to be carried by the wind in the next second. However, upon seeing this, the approaching man suddenly paused in his tracks, feeling a sudden sensation of danger devouring him as he hurriedly retreated in the distance. His eyes revealed wariness, fear, and confusion as he grimly started at recovering Leo, unable to understand what the other party had just done. "What have you..." As he just opened his mouth, wanting to ask the other party about the mysterious skill it just used, the man''s stomach suddenly bloated. Rumbling, akin to roaring thunder, could be heard from within, followed by the horrifying sound of creaking bones. Cough~@@novelbin@@ With pain coursing through his being, the man''s eyes revealed unprecedented fear and agony within... as his stomach, upon expanding by exaggerating size, finally ruptured under Leo''s anticipated gaze. Bang- Blood and flesh bloom within the sky, forming a spectacle yet bizarre scene as they reflect Leo''s excited eyes. Innards, especially the long pieces of intestines, flew toward the distance, akin to red confetti that scattered around the dpidated yet charrednd, giving them rich color and life... In addition to that, the cry, full of agony, reverberated within, making Leo''s ears prick up as if listening to a wonderful voice. Ding! Experience new tales on empire +10,000 horror points! Chapter 286 Broken Void. Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully killing a being at thete stage of the core formation realm! +2,250 exp. +10,000 horror points! +1 enlightenment stone. ] Hearing the familiar sound of notification reverberating within his consciousness, Leo shifted his gaze toward the mutted corpse on the ground. His eyes revealed a strange expression, carrying a hint of contemtion as his "front knee" kneeled in front of the corpse. Without disgust on his face, still retaining his emotionless figure, Leo plunges his right hand toward the flesh of the corpse, seemingly searching for something as the sticky fluid begins to stick to his arm. Following that, the corpse scent was repulsively magnified by folds, forming a light mist of green that engulfs Leo''s face due to how close he is to the corpse''s mutted body. Buack- (Noiseing from the lingering air inside the innards of the man, especiallying from its stomach.) Sensing a strange and solid object grazing his hand within the depths of the corpse''s body, Leo''s eyes suddenly lit up, making the scene quite bizarre and horrifying considering how he coldly smiled as he was fidgeting and examining the innards of the man. Amid his search for the solid object inside the body of the corpse, some of the bodily fluid of the man scattered around chaotically... Dyeing Leo''s dark clothes with yellowish pus; his scent bes more simr to the corpse in front of him. However, although that was the case, Leo didn''t bother about his smell; in fact, he didn''t even bother about how some yellowish pus began to enter his mouth. In his eyes, only the faint, flickering light within the innards of the man exists as he tries his best to pinpoint its exact location. "It should be the inventory space of the human. Although humans wouldn''t drop items and skill scrolls after they died, their inventory would still exist for a definite period of time inside their corpses... "It''s just that some of the items within would slowly vanish in the crumbling space of the inventory as time passes by. As if the items were decaying, turning into ashes before permanently vanishing with the dying inventory." Leo pondered as he recalled the information rted to the dying inventory within the corpse of the human that he had learned from Sebastian.@@novelbin@@ It could be said that those who had learned about this information did a good job of deliberately hiding it. Not only would it prevent chaos and distrust happening between humans, preventing them from hunting each other in order to gain the items within the dying inventory of their fellow races, but it would also allow those beings who know about the information to secretly manipte the dying inventory into their uses without gaining hatred from others. If not for the concern of Sebastian, Leo might not have learned it... Making him heave a sigh mentally due to how vicious the world was. ... "Found it!" Soon, after dismembering the corpse in front of him for a couple of minutes, a small dark stone with the size of a grain flickering with darkness as a vortex of gray smoke could be seen continuously swirling in its center, reflected from Leo''s gray irises. Its solid surface, which was harder than any rare materials he had seen, caused Leo to flinch in coldness, making his eyes glint strangely as even his body, which was always emitting coldness, couldn''t help but tremble from the strange aura the dying inventory was oozing. Furthermore, he could even faintly perceive an unfamiliar rule coursing through its surface! Unfortunately, due to his limited strength, he could only sense it but was unable to understand its mysteries. Discover exclusive content at empire "This is what inventory looked like..." Mumbling to himself, hiding the bubbling excitement within his being. Leo, after taking a deep breath, hurriedly swept his divine senses toward the flickering stone in his palm. In an instant, after his divine senses grazed the surface of the stone, his breathing suddenly became hurried; his eyes widened as he stared at the space inside of the dying inventory in shock. Under the probing of his divine senses, countless spiritual herbs, materials, items, and skill scrolls, forming a small mound in the center of the inventory, reflect within Leo''s mind. Although most of them were only below the epic grade, their quantity almost made him salivate, making him curious about how a core formation realm being could umte this huge amount of wealth. However, considering how many cultivators died from the invasion days ago, he could already form a guess inside his mind. Not to mention that those quasi-devils and beasts also drop items after they die. "Wait, this is..." As Leo was about to retract his divine senses from the dying inventory on his hand, a flickering wooden token under the countless materials caught his attention. Its dark surface often flickered with ominous darkness, faintly covered by dozens of lights, mostly green and blue above it, almost causing him to be unable to notice its peculiarity. He only felt its strangeness due to his premonition, making his heartbeat hasten due to pure anticipation. "An epic forbidden item! I didn''t expect that he had one of those. How lucky, I actually thought that he had chosen a skill scroll with destructive might.'' Unable to contain his curiosity, Leo, with a single thought, took out the wooden token inside the inventory with his divine senses, causing the stone in his palm to create a vortex of gray that instantly spat out the wooden token. Feeling its rough surface and sensing the huge amount of energy it carried, Leo activated his soul scan skill, instantly revealing the item''s information to his mind. Ding! [ Broken Void (Forbidden Epic) - Shattering the space, manipting its rules in order to achieve teleportation. Effect: After activating it, one needed to wait for 5 minutes in order to achieve a random teleportation... Causing one to appear at a random location up to 100 miles. (After activating, it couldn''t be canceled unless the one who activated it died.) Note: Well, the negative effects were evident. ] ... Chapter 287 The Dilapidated Cemetery. "An item that could allow one to teleport!" Leo was moved upon seeing the forbidden item''s description. Although its ability to teleport one randomly was quite risky and its time of activation was quite long, if he used it correctly, he could escape from any dangerous situation and certain death. "Sigh~ it''s just that I need to activate it before doing something risky; furthermore, the risk should be high enough to warrant me to activate this item." Thinking of it, Leo couldn''t help but recall the battle earlier, feeling that the man becamecent due to his realm, ending him from not activating the wooden token ahead of time. Hence, this causes the man his death. "I should imprint these experiences on my mind; I couldn''t repeat his mistake..." With a thought, Leo covered the materials inside the dying inventory with his divine senses, transferring them into his system inventory afterward before burning the empty stone with his extreme hell me. In the blink of an eye, a chilling me purely made of ominous darkness enveloped the dark stone, chipping its surface slowly, causing its glow to dim before itpletely turned charred ck after a minute of burning. Cra-crack! Under his gaze thatcks emotions, Leo then clenched his fist, deactivating the extreme hell me and, at the same time, making the charred stone on his palm turn into a powder, being carried by the wind afterward as its traces vanished with them. As for the mutted corpse on the ground, Leo decided to bring it along with him, nning to see if he could make it into a new puppet. With its realm, he might be able to create a puppet with strengthparable to a core formation realm, with a huge chance of reaching the middle stage and a small probability of reaching thete stage.@@novelbin@@ Even if it was the former, he would still be happy with the result. "I remember that I still have dozens of intact corpses inside my inventory; it should be enough to create numbers of puppets that have strengthparable to the core formation realm... "Unfortunately, I still had no idea how I could fuse rules with the core of the puppet." ... Soon, after an hour of traversing the endless forest, Leo finally arrives at the periphery of the nd cemetery... Only for him to halt on his location as seriousness reced his emotionless face. Within his line of sight, the scenery of destruction, epassing the cemetery and its periphery, entered his gloomy eyes. The mutted and iplete corpses of the quasi-devils and beasts were still on the ground, slowly decaying as the nd earth of the cemetery began to consume their essence... Causing the corpses to be filled with remnants of soil on their surfaces and be engulfed by the aura of decay, allowing the process of their decaying to hasten. Surprisingly, although the ground was littered with corpses, thendcked blood, as if the earth had already consumed them without missing a single drop. At the same time, the aura and bizarreness of the cemetery slowly increase as time passes by. Although the increase wasn''t noticeable to others, as the owner of the ce, Leo could sense the faint changes it was experiencing. Following that, their nauseating scent silently drifted to Leo''s senses, while the white maggots, lively wriggling within the rotting flesh of the corpses, reflected in his eyes. "As expected, the cemetery also didn''t escape the invasion." Although Leo''s expression was calm when he said those words, the anger within his eyes couldn''t be concealed. It could be said that most of his foundation was hidden in this ce, and them being destroyed could affect his cultivation speed by a considerable amount! "Those beings. I didn''t create them to let the enemy destroy this ce! If they couldn''t give a reasonable excuse, I will entertain the thought of recing them!'' With killing intent brewing within his consciousness, Leo began advancing toward the center of the cemetery. On his way, his emotions often fluctuate with instability upon seeing the devastation of the ce. He even paused in certain locations where his spiritual herbs were growing, only for him to behold that the herbs he was patiently waiting to harvest had be ttened... akin to a thin paper, as if something huge trampled them. In addition to that, he also saw a number of broken puppets motionlessly lying on the ground. Their core was broken, and their pieces scattered around the ttenednd. This scene alone lets Leo form an image within his mind, causing the killing intent within his consciousness to lessen considerably. nk- (Master...) Cra-crack! In the distance, two silver skeletons covered with cracks in varying degrees slowly approach Leo, creating a continuous sound of creaking that reverberates within the bleak cemetery. Their figures emit a baleful aura that caused the atmosphere around them to unconsciously twist, while their unstable realm spread around them, giving a sensation of weakness to those beings who saw them¡ªa testament to their injuries. As they slowly advanced, the dimming me on their eye sockets revealed fear and regret as they kneeled behind Leo obediently, who was still gazing at the dpidated farm in deafening silence. ... Soon, after an indefinite period of time trembling, being tortured by the coldness Leo was unconsciously releasing... A deep sigh of helplessness escaped Leo''s mouth; his eyes revealed calmness as he shifted his gaze from the remnants of his spiritual herbs toward the trembling skeletons behind him. After a moment of silence, Leo then opened his mouth before asking in his usual deep voice. "Tell me what happened; don''t hide any information from me." Tremble~ Hearing this, instead of feeling relieved, the two silver skeletons felt their consciousness sink further, feeling extremely uneasy upon seeing that their master didn''t show any anger on his face. Explore more at empire This is the first time they have seen this side of their master. It was calm without any hint of facade, yet they still felt that their being was being submerged into the depths of the cold ocean. It was simply tortuous and ufortable! ... Chapter 290 Finally Finding Traces. With smile hanging on his face, Leo approached the motionless puppet on the ground, carefully opening its flesh before cing the golden sphere inside. Humm¨C In the next instant, the beating sounds of flesh and bones began to reverberate within the inanimate puppet on the cold ground. Its flesh began to twitch irritably as its six-pointed limbs, akin to whips with lengths that reach 2 meters, began to chaotically move on their own. Its two heads, one facing the sky while the one submerged in the soil, began to create a giggling sound, akin to a demonic whisper that could move souls every time the connection between it and its core deepened. Twitch~ Their eyelids began to slowly open, revealing their pure dark eyes, whichck iris... Releasing the terror they contained as they began to stand on their mutated feet. "Death¡ªNo... Desires¡ª" Soon, after standing sessfully, the transcended puppet''s two heads suddenly halted their giggling; their faces, which stared in two different directions, suddenly revealed deep confusion, opening their mouths simultaneously, which revealed the dense, sharp teeth beyond that upied all the space inside as they grinned afterward. Giggling again before mumbling in a low yet deep voice, enough to shatter a mortal''s mind. Hearing this, Leo couldn''t help but reveal confusion on his face, quite sure that the puppet he just created had no ability to speak... Since the inscription on its core only epassesbat knowledge. Feeling quite curious and at the same time fearing that he created a mistake earlier and missed it, Leo hurriedly checked the description of the puppet. Ding! [ Two-Headed Puppet (Trancended-mid grade): A curse puppet created using the corpses of the core formation realm beasts and quasi-devils... The corpse''s lingering malice and obsession fuse into a single entity, generating a faint sign of intelligence.@@novelbin@@ Innate skill: Curse Object (Rare) ______Atrributes______ Core Formation realm level 8: (Could increase a little by absorbing negative emotions.) Experience more on empire Health: 500/500 Qi Storage: 500/500 Stamina: 500/500 Strength: 210 Speed: 150 Qi Power: 175 ______Skills______ Skill: Yin Eyes (Rare), Body of Malice (Rare), Limbs Formation (Rare), Dead Object (Rare), Intelligence (Elite)... ] ... [ Body of Malice (Elite): Greatly increase personal strength within the area filled with death, wrath, and decay by at least 25%... Activation: Passive! ] ... "It was simr with those scarecrows; they were allbeled as a curse puppet." Unlike normal puppets, curse puppets were born with faint intelligence, making their probability of forming a soul after being tainted by the traces of life and death rules within the forbidden pit increase by folds... Nevertheless, the probability of it happening was still infinitely small. Leo, upon seeing that the puppet in front of him didn''t have any problem, heaved a deep sigh of relief, coldly chuckling afterward as he began to send a mentalmand to the puppet. Death¨C Giggle~ Soon, upon imprinting numbers ofmand toward the core of the puppet, the puppet''s head, who was facing Leo, suddenly released a deep, ear-piercing giggle, waving its six limbs erratically before rushing toward the direction of the forbidden pit... In its wake, the cold earth suffered a dent, making the nd cemetery tremble slightly as they filled the small crater that the puppet created with soil, reverting to their previous appearance in the process. "Hmm... This is?!" At the same time, before the puppet vanished within the far horizon, Leo, who was about to go back to creating puppets, suddenly revealed confusion and doubt on his face, feeling that the one head of the puppet who was facing the back suddenly smiled toward his direction. Although its expression was quite faint, he could still feel the profound look it gave him. "Is it rted to them being a curse puppet, or there''s another reason that causes them to show signs of individuality? "Sigh~ my understanding of puppetry was still shallow." Thinking of this, feeling that puppetry creation contained vast knowledge and mysteriousness that he couldn''t grasp... Leo eventually shook his head, sighing deeply as he decided to bury those thoughts behind his mind; with his current realm, pondering regarding the vastness of puppetry creation would only affect him negatively. If his guess were correct, puppetry should be among the Dao''s... Making him believe that it was currently beyond his reach andprehension. "Well, with the difficulty of upgrading my ss job, there is a good chance that the six paths it entailed were extremely profound." Regardless, even if his guess would turn out incorrect in the future, the six paths his ss job contained should at least have traces of Dao on them, still making the ss job extraordinary. Retracting his gaze from the horizon, Leo then sat down, crossed-legged on the ground, as he closed his eyes. With rhythmic breathing, he then falls into the process of cultivating, starting to recover the spiritual qi that he had spent... Making the nd cemetery revert to its deafening silent state. *** Soon, time passes by. The brilliance within the sky had already vanished within the horizon for quite some time, weing the darkness that inevitably shrouded the epasses of thend. With its arrival, the mist that contained the stench of earth began to rise from the ground, making the trees and grasses that were swaying ominously within the forest start to be damp every time the mist grazed their existence. Rustle~ In the unknown location, where strangeness could often be experienced and where the cawing sound of the crows could often be heard, the pale figure of Leo could be seen exhaling dark smoke in his mouth. His eyes flutter slightly before opening afterward, revealing the gray irises within that contained the unknown depths that were akin to the abyss. "Finally done; I had already emptied my inventory with the corpses of the beasts and quasi-devils below the Nascent Soul realm." Mumbling to himself with exhaustion, Leo silently shifted his gaze toward the sky. It''s already been 5 days since he had returned to the cemetery; yet, he still hadn''t gained information regarding the hateful bastard that destroyed his beloved farm. It could be said that with his nonstop action, he had already created dozens of puppets that range from high-advanced to mid-transcended puppets... And most of them, without a doubt, hemanded them to help in searching the beast within the forbidden pit, making the search area increase drastically. "Unfortunately, that hateful beast probably ran toward the depths of the forbidden pit... making it hard to find. "Keke~ However, it would only prolong his life by quite a bit." nk! (Master, we finally found his traces!) Chapter 291 Intent of Misfortune. nk! (Master, we finally found his traces!) As Leo was about to take out his cauldron, nning to cast a curse toward the hateful bastard using the remnants of flesh that it had left, the anxious yet excited voice of skeleton #2 suddenly resounded within his mind. Making him halt his action as dense killing intent, almost turning corporeal immediately ooze from his being, making skeleton #2, who was hurriedly approaching his location, instinctively step back in horror. In the silver skeleton''s consciousness, its soul suddenly sends a distress signal within its mind, causing it to sense a heavy oppression and feel a certain death... As if creating a mistake would spell doom to it. nk~ (Master is bing more scary...) "Immediately take me to the location where you find its traces." Sweeping his cold gaze toward the trembling physique of Skeleton #2, Leo immediately vanished within his location, appearing beside the dumbfoundedtter as he immediatelymanded. Without further ado, fearing that he would anger his master, Skeleton #2 hurriedly led Leo toward the forbidden pit. With a single step, the two easily cover the distance of 50 meters, creating an intense gale of wind in their wake as they shortly reach the location of the forbidden pit in under a minute. Upon his arrival, Leo immediately notices the existence of the "Anomalous Eye" that he created a day ago beside the forbidden pit, floating within the atmosphere motionlessly as its dark and dense irises unhurriedly shrank toward his location after noticing his existence. Leo, without even needing to ponder, immediately understands that the anomalous eye was the one who had found the traces of that hateful beast... That''s why, without even pausing, he immediatelymanded the puppet to lead the way within the forbidden pit. Ripple~ Ripple~ Within the ce abandoned by the light, three figures, oozing with ominous pressure, suddenly descended from the sky... Causing the dark sticky fluids on the ground to send a ripple toward the far unknown, destroying the eternal silence within as they hit the ground. The rotting bones around, containing cracks and molds on their beings, began to wobble under the waves of the fluids, reasoning for some of them to collide with each other and eventually shatter into pieces before slowly submerging under the pitch-ck water... Causing their existence and traces to vanish within the face of the world. "It''s been a while; I didn''t expect that I would miss this ce. I hope those spiritual nts that were growing in this ce already have fruits growing on them." Enjoying the familiar scent of rotting and molds that were growing around, Leo''s killing intent reduced by quite an amount, gesturing toward the two to halt for a while as he hurriedly took out the cauldron within his inventory. To ensure that nothing would go wrong and in order to decrease the requirements of his ss job by one, he wanted to curse that hateful beast before he started to hunt it down... "It would be better if I became its curse; it would make the increase of the ss job requirements by one reasonable." As he thought of that, a dark, zing me exuding soul-striking pressure emerged on his hand, darkly illuminating the space around him by a little. Under the me''s illumination and presence, the surrounding environment suddenly suffered from intense coldness, making the pitch-ck water beneath boil unceasingly¡ªa strange urrencepared to the chilliness it was emitting. Soon, flickering his finger and sending a trace of me under the cauldron, the surface of the dark cauldron instantly turned metallic red under the intense temperature that the dark me contained... Making the temperature of its exterior rise drastically, to the point that it could melt metal and dissipate it into gas in a matter of milliseconds. Sizzle- Seeing this, Leo then tossed all of the flesh of that hateful bastard toward the center of the cauldron, causing them to visible melt under his gaze that contained anger and killing intent. Just the action of his already showed how hellbent he was to kill that beast in one go, not even saving some of its flesh for further cursing. Sizzle~ Blob- Two breaths hurriedly passed by. Under the intense temperature of the cauldron, the flesh of the beast finally liquefied, instantly turning pitch ck with a hint of redness with them... Their scent already carried a nauseating smell as Leo added his spiritual qi toward them, following the knowledge he had regarding cursing as he often added his understanding or certain rules to them in order to strengthen its effects. Blob- blob- Under their bubbling sound and the sshing of their essence toward the edges of the cauldron, the smiling eyes of Leo could be faintly discerned, showing how he enjoyed the thought of that bastard suffering agony that it couldn''t exin before it died under his merciless hands. Truth be told, it could be said that it was Leo''s first time mixing his hatred and killing intent with the cursing, although he had already cursed countless times. If he remembered correctly, based on the knowledge of cursing, the curse would be much more potent if the one who was cursing added his negative emotions toward it, transforming his hatred into torment... As for the exact information, the curse knowledge didn''t state it, making Leo lick the corner of his lips in pure curiosity and anticipation. Ding!@@novelbin@@ [ Congrattions on sessfully cursing! Stay connected with empire Effects as follows: Drastically decrease in luck, gue by mental demons, slight decay of the physical body, and soul being invaded by the aura of death! ] Ding! [ Congrattions onprehending a rule under the Dao of Curse, the rule of "Intent of Misfortune"! ] Ding! [ Intent of Misfortune (Rules) (3%): A thought from you could bring misfortune to someone. It could cause gues, bad luck, mental demons, and other misfortune to the origin of your hatred... Effects (locked): Increase the efficiency and overall strength of cursing by 25% and decrease the cultivator''s bad luck considerably! ] "This was unexpected; unfortunately, in order to unlock the rules bonus, I needed toprehend at least 5% of the said rules." Leo lightly thought. As for the description of the rule, Leo didn''t think highly of it since in his mind it was simply simr to his "Jinx" skill; it''s just that its range was quite high and the activation of it was troublesome. Chapter 293 The Strange Flesh. Soon, after a quarter of an hour. Leo released a cold sneer as he hurriedly opened his eyes. In just a few minutes of waiting, he felt that nine out of the dozens of mortal puppets he released met their demise¡ªbeing destroyed by an unknown force hidden deep within the different sections of the cavern. Of those 9, four of them died in different directions, while the other three and two simultaneously died in the opposite direction. Based on his calction and how those four puppets emit a cry for help before being destroyed, there''s a low chance that they met that hateful beast. As for the three and the two puppets that died simultaneously in different directions, they didn''t send a mental message through their faint connection, meaning that they died before they could have reacted. "Skeleton #2, go to the left direction where the two puppets died; if you meet that hateful beast, do your best to hold it for a couple of minutes." nk- (Then master, what if it wasn''t the hateful beast?) Hearing this, Leo coldly stared at Skeleton #2, revealing a smile afterward before replying. "Then it only means that it was a beast at the core formation realm. With their usual behavior, there''s a good chance that it was protecting a spiritual nt in the 2nd to 3rd grade. "You can kill it and find the spiritual fruits. Then wait for me till I finish hunting that hateful beast." Without waiting for the silver skeleton to digest the information he said, Leo immediately activated his movement skill, instantly summoning a faint glow on his soles as the sensation of weightlessness engulfed his physique. With killing intent perceptible emitting on his pale physique, Leo''s figure suddenly vanishes in his current location. Destructive gales containing hatred and killing intent gush around every time he advances... Destroying the serenity of the ce as the pitch-ck water beneath began to surge toward the epassing of the dpidatednd, grinding the floating bones into powder in the process. Soon, after traversing the narrow cave for more than a minute, approaching the cavern where the three mortal puppets lost their connection... Leo suddenly halted, retracting his killing intent toward the depths of his consciousness before activating his invisibility skill. If he could ambush the other party and greatly injure it before it could notice his presence, then it would drastically increase his chance of winning without being subjected to unnecessary risk. Although this form ofbat might make others hate him, it was still better than being greatly injured or dying just to bring down his enemy while maintaining the unimportant ego! "What ego? It couldn''t even increase my strength and safety!"@@novelbin@@ In an instant, after activating his invisibility skill, Leo''s physique suddenly turned incorporeal, hiding any fluctuation of spiritual qi and life aura that could pinpoint his exact location before his beingpletely vanished in the face of the stctites above. Still not done, Leo also readied his soul-bound weapon and took out a number of potion bottles within his inventory that were rted to basic recovery before drinking them, ensuring a prolonged fight without running out of mental energy, spiritual qi, and stamina in the midst of battle. ... In a ce abandoned by light, a heavy pressure descended from the sky, sweeping to Leo''s imperceptible being as the sensation of being restricted emerged within his mind. It was akin to being submerged in thick water, hindering his movement by at least 10%. "This." Surprised about the sudden event, Leo instinctively steps back, raising his head warily as he sweeps his gaze toward the far clearing of the dark cavern. Your next read awaits at empire In an instant, the scenery of a huge mountain purely made from countless rotting bones entered his dumbfounded senses, making Leo''s gaze darken by amount as fear couldn''t help but instinctively rise within his heart. Even without inspecting them, he knew that the bones came from countless human corpses¡ªa scary thought considering that he had no idea how many humans were sacrificed and in in order to form that kind of mountain. In addition to the countless bones that were scattered around inside this damn forbidden pit, at least hundreds of millions, or probably billions, of human corpses are needed in order to create this kind of hellish environment... Making him gulf in fear upon imagining what kind of existence is capable of doing that. On top of the mountain, Leo could faintly see a number of golden chains that were covered in dark moss, tightly coiling around the limbs of the thin, humanoid gigantic corpse above, causing the unknown corpse to be suspended mid-air¡ªoften swaying if a breeze grazed its being and releasing a soulful cry if it happened so. Surprisingly on the foot of the mountain, at least hundreds of meters away from Leo''s location, where debris of puppet materials lifelessly scattered around, a strange stitched flesh, covered in wounds andcking a lower body, was ferociously facing a blob of flesh opposite it. Dark blood oozed from its wounded physique as its countless limbs that were akin to sharp spears created an explosive sound within the atmosphere, twisting violently mid-air as it threateningly hurled toward the blob of flesh opposite it. However, probably due to the suppression that was imperceptible hindering their movement, the attack of the strange stitched flesh was rigid and slow, giving the blob of flesh an opportunity to evade in time. "Keke~ Found you!" Seeing this, Leo didn''t immediately attack; instead, he retracted his malicious intent deep within his consciousness as he slowly approached their location. Although he couldn''t wait to dissect that hateful beast, Leo still forcefully calmed down his chaotic thoughts as he couldn''t help but be doubtful and confused regarding the scene urring in the front. Based on his observation, the two hateful beasts in the distance were of the same origin; the smell of their being and the color of their souls were extremely simr to the lifeform opposite them, yet they were fighting each other with dense killing intent... Clearly hellbent on killing each other! "Is this a trap... or was it the strange effect of my curse? "I couldn''t exclude the probability that it was rted to the strange corpse above the mountain." Chapter 294 Gaining Individual Thought?! Upon slowly closing the distance between him and the two flesh without being caught, Leo, with a dangerous glint in his eyes, cast his soul scan toward the two... Wanting to gleam information in order to prevent himself from falling under their unknown and unexpected skills. [ Flesh Race (Upper Body): A unique race that was known for consuming the flesh of all beings. They have the unique ability to integrate the flesh and will of the beings they had consumed into their physique, creating a unique physique based on the flesh they had consumed. Innate skill: Flesh Eater (Unique) ______Atrributes______ Core Formation realm level 11 (15): Greatly injured! Health: 356/750 Qi Storage: 360/500 Stamina: 498/750 Strength: 325 Speed: 275 Qi Power: 310 ______Skills______ Skill: Limbs Maniption (Rare), Flesh Maniption (Rare)... ] ... [ Flesh Eater (Unique): Consume and integrate the flesh and will into one''s physique. The higher the grade of the flesh consumed, the higher the overall strength of the being... However, in exchange, digesting the will and flesh of higher-ranking beings contains unspeakable risk and would take a longer time. Activation: Passive! ] ... Seeing this, Leo couldn''t help but gasp in shock. This was the first time he saw a unique skill! Furthermore, it was an innate skill that could grow with the users realm, causing it to be useful even in thetter stage of cultivation! Other than that, he also managed to understand the origin of the two and how they ended up fighting each other! They were actually fighting for ownership of the body! One of them was the main body, which is the Upper Flesh, while the other one was the Lower Flesh, who gained individuality due to the main body being unable to digest the flesh it consumed in time, causing the lingering will within the flesh to mutate... Gaining opportunity and developing its individuality in the process! "This unique innate skill potential was extremely high, but the negative effects it held were simply... Twisted. "Nevertheless, the scariest one is the curse skill; if my guess was correct, then it was the reason why the flesh lower body became sentient." Leo thought as he secretly retracted his rare restraint skill. In an instant, the atmosphere around him changes in a subtle way, bing more heavy and ominous as the imperceptible aura of bad luck, decay, and other negative statuses spreads around at a hurried speed... Generating an invisible wave of foreboding that slowly filled therge cave. With their spread, the surface of the pitch-ck water beneath with an unknown depth began to freeze visibly, followed by the bones within the mountain starting to root at a slow speed. Although it was too slow, the molecr structure of the bones became more fragile as the aura of decay invaded them, increasing the probability of an ident urring if someone with considerable weight stepped on them. Ding! As for the two battling flesh within the foot of the bone mountain, although they had felt the subtle changes within the atmosphere, they were too focused on eliminating each other to be upied and distracted by other things. With their instinct only sending a weak distress signal to their consciousness, they concluded that the subtle changes within the atmosphere weren''t enough to pose a great danger to their beings. A precise intuition considering that Leo only had just retracted his rare restraint skill. "Keke~ With your greatly injured being, you would onlyst for a while before I could sessfully consume your flesh. "Don''t worry, I wouldn''t repeat your mistake; I will immediately digest your will and obsession before nning to consume the Great Demon corpse above... I will bring the main body toward its peak potential!" Releasing an unnaturalugh toward the dim ce, the abomination who gained sentient evaded the hurling limbs of the main body... Speaking in a mocking tone afterward, upon noticing the strength and speed of the main body opposite it started to show signs of weakness. Although it couldn''t normallypare to the main body in terms of realm and physical capabilities, however, due to the surprise attack it did earlier, the main body suffered grievous injuries, causing its strength to greatly decrease in the process. Unfortunately, a peakte stage of the core formation realm wasn''t easy to kill, or else the lower flesh might have already reced the main body and was starting to devour the heavenly corpse above the mountain. Snort- Experience new tales on empire "As a being born due to the lingering will and obsession, you speak too much." With eyes filled with resentment and anxiousness, the main body of the flesh bombarded the abomination opposite it with its long limbs, generating a crisp whipping sound within the atmosphere as the gray bones beneath them turned into powder upon being heavily struck by its countless limbs. In an instant, a white mist made from the dust of countless bones filled the atmosphere, hiding the chaotic battle within. "This... What did I do to be this unlucky?!" As the main body was thinking of a way to kill its damn lower flesh without suffering great injuries, the bones beneath it suddenly released a creaking sound, caving before suddenly disintegrating due to his weight! Caught off guard, the flesh body tilted toward the side, causing its hurling limbs to miss its target by inches as wounds with varying degrees appeared all over its being due to the lower body''s counterattack. "Just wait! I will hunt you sooner orter." Understanding that the chances of it killing the lower body were infinitely small due to the injuries and bad luck it was experiencing... The main body hurriedly dashed toward the direction of the corpse of the Great Demon above the mountain without hesitation. If it could consume and assimte the flesh of the great corpse into its being before the lower body could. Killing thetter would be as easy as squeezing an ant. The only thing that caused him to hesitate earlier was due to the heavy pressure hindering them. Furthermore, he couldn''t be distracted in the midst of assimtion with the flesh, or else it might generate another individuality! "I could only risk it!" Given the pressure that was increasing every time they approached the corpse of the Demon Lord. Compared to it, it would naturally take more time for its Lower Body to reach the top of the bone mountain. He would use this opportunity to hurriedly assimte the flesh and hope for the best!@@novelbin@@ Chapter 296 Bone Eating Worm. In the blink of an eye, one day silently passed by. Crack~ Within the cavern abandoned by the light, the soft sound of creaking bones silently resounded within. The white mist suspended in the damp atmosphere as the bones beneath continued to crack and disintegrate under the aura of decay. This caused the ground of the bone mountain to be covered in dust and fragments of gray bones. In the distance, at least 1,500 meters away from the foot of the Bone Mountain, the silhouette of Leo could be seen sitting with crossed legs on the white ground, eyes closed as he was trying his best to adjust his physique to the current pressure that was heavily pressing toward him. Compared to the weight he was facing yesterday on the foot of the mountain, the pressure his physique, mind, and soul were currently experiencing after reaching the 1,500-meter mark became 10 times that of yesterday... Causing the solidifying of his foundation to hasten drastically, to the point that he could already sense the barrier between the mid-stage of his current realm toward thete-stage of the core formation realm loosening slightly. Of course, even if he could already advance safety toward theter stage, he would probably choose to hold back. It would be better to make his foundation reach its limit before he advances toward the next stage, allowing his strength to reach beyond that of what the normalte stage of the core formation realm was capable of. Huff~ "My spiritual qi had already reduced by a third. "Fortunately, the debuff passive skills didn''t consume spiritual qi, or else I wouldn''t be able to retain my invisibility skill and would be already discovered by them." Raising his head above the bone mountain, Leo silently stared at the two hateful beings 500 meters away from him... Unfolding a knowing smile on his pale face upon seeing their slow advancement. Compared to yesterday, their speed already had dropped to 1-2 meters per breath... The reason they were still in the 2,000-meter mark was due to them deliberately slowing down in order to recover their lost spiritual qi and due to his debuff passive skills secretly affecting them. Making them unluckily stumble, lose their bnce, or step into old bones, causing them to often fall back by tens of meters every time bad luck strikes them. Unfortunately, probably due to their realm that was above him by a single stage or because the two of them were counted as a single entity, causing them to bear each other misfortune, the effects of the jinx skill were slowed down. It was still far away from his beautiful imagination that the jinx skill would cause the two to suffer greatly! "The strength of the Jinx skill became more and more insufficient as the realm of my enemy increased. "As expected, the higher their realm was, the higher their luck is."@@novelbin@@ Shaking his head, burying the thought of upgrading his jinx skill, Leo took out a grade-2 spiritual fruit within his inventory, consuming it in a matter of seconds as his spiritual qi began to recover at a swift speed. Soon, after his spiritual qi became full, Leo then opened his character panel, gazing below before checking the new skill that he had learned upon fusing his two existing rare skills yesterday. [ Evil Warding (Epic): An ability that could control beings'' malicious thoughts to a certain degree... Magnifying one''s hatred, anger, and killing intent by folds. Other than that, it could also partially suppress them. Activation: 50 spiritual Qi per hour! ] It could be said that the new skill he had gained was extremely special. It had entered the category of offensive and support skills that could greatly help him in certain situations. Unfortunately, he couldn''t cast it beyond a certain range, or else he would have already experimented its effects on the two hateful beasts on the front. "It was akin to the strengthened seed of sin skill of the two silver skeletons... "Not only was it better in terms of strength, but it would also immediately show its effects upon casting, unlike the seed of sin that needed some time to bloom." Thinking of it, Leo was about to continue grinding his foundation when suddenly, out of nowhere, the sound of an incoherent shout resounded in the far distance... Followed by the faint rules and earthquake that spread in the epassing area of the Bone Mountain. The faint figure of the two flesh, 520 meters away from his current location, suddenly released an intense red glow, akin to the thick puddle of blood that instantly filled the gaps of the bones beneath them. Faint light, carrying sharp intent, oozed from their figures as they heavily struck at the faint wriggling being that suddenly appeared several meters away from them... Causing fragments of bones and flesh to hurl toward the sky. "There''s an entity living in this mountain?!" Due to the distance between him and the unfolding battle and due to the suppression that limited the range of his divine senses, Leo wasn''t able to glean the information about the wriggling being that suddenly popped up out of nowhere... Making his expression solemn as he immediately rushes toward the direction of the unfolding battle without hesitation. If he couldn''t ascertain the species of that beast that was capable of surviving within this hellish ce, Leo wouldn''t be able to cultivate in peace in this ce in the future. Boom! Sshhhh~ "What kind of beast is this?!" Evading the maw of the seemingly bone worm in front of it with great difficulty, the Flesh race (upper body) couldn''t help but curse under its breath... Gritting its teeth as it attacks the gleaming white surface of the worm''s skin. Enjoy new adventures from empire Ding! Screech!!! In an instant, one of the sharp limbs of the Flesh race (upper body) pierced the bone skin of the worm, causing the worm to instantly release a sharp screeching sound that spread and shook the minds of the two flesh. Rumble~ (sounds of earth-shaking.) Surprisingly, after it cried out loud, the countless bones beneath the two flesh trembled agitatedly... Exploding afterward before unfolding another pair of white worms with lengths that easily reach 10 meters. Chapter 297 Covered In Thick Fog. Chapter 297 Covered In Thick Fog. White light shed as the two worms simultaneously opened their maws, unfolding the dense teeth within that were akin to a grinder... as balls of light, containing and umting unprecedented heat, began to form inside. The fragments of bones beneath issued a sizzling sound as their surface began to melt due to the intense energy that was forming within the mouths of the two worms. "F*ck!" @@novelbin@@ Sensing an intense threat from the ball of light forming in the maws of the two bone worms, the flesh race (upper body) curses under its breath. Its countless eyes that spread within the surface of its upper body suddenly constricted as they all turned bloody red in the next second¡ªreleasing an intense miasma of red, which contained an intense stench that momentarily filled the atmosphere. "Bloody intent!" Seeing the spreading miasma within the atmosphere, the lower body''s expression turned grave, evading the wounded Bone Worm in front of it before hurriedly retreating in the distance... Causing its distance from the mountain peak to widen considerably! "This... F*ck, I got fooled!" Sure enough, after the thick miasma vanishes within the atmosphere, the Flesh race (upper body) vanishes from its original location... Appearing 85 meters above as it continued to climb the bone mountain, leaving the lower body to fend itself under the surge of the enraged bone worms! Although the worms had noticed the existence of the climbing upper body in the far distance, their reddened eyes were only focused on the lower body, as if their minds were clouded by hatred as they put in their whole effort to kill the hateful life form near them... Screech!! Boom! Releasing the ball of light within their maws toward thetter. The sounds of the extreme explosion resounded within the cavern, causing the bones beneath to shake intensely and generate an intense shock wave that traveled toward the epassing of the cavern. Due to this, the hanging corpse above swayed ominously, creating a soul-striking sound that momentarily caused the beings close to it to feel an iparable pain within their minds... Making their consciousness unstable in the process. Being the nearest to the Demon Lord''s corpse above, the flesh race (upper body), which was already halfway to the peak of the bone mountain, directly fell toward the ground, twitching in agony as its orifices bled with blood and flesh. If its mind was clear at the moment, it would surely curse on how unlucky he was! ... At the same time, Leo, who was already 100 meters away from the bone worms, halted in his tracks, holding his head in pain as he couldn''t help but release a weak groan. Fortunately, due to his high soul power and with the help of his Mental Fortitude skill, the pain onlysted for a while beforepletely vanishing... It didn''t even manage to shake his consciousness before it lost its effects! Ughh- After recovering and stabilizing his mind, Leo then stared toward the wriggling beings above him, which were still suffering from the unprecedented pain, secretly approaching their location before casting his soul scan skill toward them... Unfolding a smile as he could no longer wait to glean their information. As for using the opportunity presented in front of him to kill the hateful flesh and the three white worms, Leo didn''t even think twice before abandoning that thought. First of all, attacking them would immediately cause him to exit his imperceptible state, making his presence known by the hateful beast above... And second of all, isn''t it better to make the two hateful beasts the bait? They would simply attract the attention of other hidden entities in this ce toward their beings, making it more safe and peaceful for Leo to cultivate in this ce. "With the help of the jinx skill, the probability of it happening will be high." He would simply use the two hateful flesh to sweep the hidden danger in this ce, killing the living entities in this bone mountain while injuring themselves in the process. If they died, so be it; at least he made their lives a living hell before they entered the underworld. Ding! [ Bone Eating Worm: A unique race that mutated due to the aura of the Demon Lord''s corpse. They had a unique hard exoskeleton that could protect them from the heavy pressure that the Demon Lord''s corpse exuded, allowing them to live near it. Innate skill: Bone Exoskeleton (Epic)! ______Atrributes______ Core Formation realm level 5: Health: 523/630 Qi Storage: 328/500 Stamina: 438/630 Strength: 355 Speed: 260 Qi Power: 400 ______Skills______ Skill: Bone Eater (Rare), Explosive Ray (Rare)... ] ... [ Bone Exoskeleton (Epic): Create a thick exoskeleton around one''s body that is capable of withstanding heavy pressure and damage without heavily impacting one''s innards... A normal early stage of the core formation realm wouldn''t be able to heavily damage it in a short period of time. Activation: Passive! ] ... Falling into deep thought upon seeing the information of the Bone Eating Worms in the distance, Leo couldn''t help but feel that the hanging corpse above the Bone Mountain was much more mysterious than he had initially thought. Furthermore, it was his first time hearing the term "Demon Lord", allowing him to sense its peculiarity. Since its existence alone could help lifeforms around it to mutate even in its death, its realm when it was alive should have exceeded the Nascent Soul realm, right? Furthermore, what kind of existence was capable of hanging its corpse in this kind of forbidden ce? Just thinking of it, Leo''s mind couldn''t help but be dazed, feeling that this ce was being covered in some sort of fog¡ªfilling it with uncertainty... Other than that, he also felt an intense sensation of curiosity within his being. "This cavern isn''t even the end of this forbidden ce... There should be something much more horrifying than the hanging corpse above. "With my current realm, I''m afraid that casually entering its depth would endanger my life." Boom! At the same time, as Leo''s mind was wandering toward the unknown, the chaotic sounds of the battle in the distance finally halted. The tens-of-meter-tall physique of the Bone Eating Worms fell toward the ground motionlessly, creating a quake that shook the bones around it in the process... Chapter 300 Late Stage of the Core Formation Realm (2)! Closing his eyes and sensing the raging qi within his liquefied core, Leo then began attempting to advance toward thetter stage of the core formation realm. Breathing the thick miasma around him into his physique before manipting them based on his cultivation technique. After that, he then gently guided them into his liquefied core as they visibly increased the quantity of his spiritual qi every second¡ªumting enough quantity before he could attempt to transition it into a solid state. If he sessfully reces the liquefied qi within his core with solidified qi, then Leo would finally step closer to thete stage of the core formation realm! It could be said that in order for the cultivator to advance toward thetter stage of the core formation realm, not only do they need to rece the liquefied qi within one''s core with solidified qi... But it also needed to further strengthen one''s core! Allowing one to bear the weight of the solidified qi without risking one''s life! Simply put, if one wanted to utilize and control a higher level of spiritual qi, his/her body should be able to bear its weight! Eak~ Soon, time passes by... Without any ident, the liquefied qi within Leo''s core finallypressed into solidified matter. Which abruptly oozed with a horrifying aura that swept toward every nook of his core... Causing the densely packed rules that heprehended in the past show signs of deepening. Making his core creak slightly due to the strength and pressure they contained before eventually calming down. With his current foundation reaching its limits, bearing the weight of solidified spiritual qi was much easier than he had expected. "Huff~ I didn''t expect that advancing would be this easy." In the next second, after his spiritual qi turns into a solid state, warm energy containing a huge amount of life force suddenly gushes toward his soul. Drastically strengthen its quality and quantity in the process as some of them be fuel for increasing the strength of his physique! Making his pale physique gleam with paleness under the veil of darkness as the pressure it naturally exudes increases by folds. Furthermore, the coldness his body contained became more horrifying, causing the pitch-ck water beneath to freeze visibly¡ªmaking it somewhat solid. In addition to that, the rotting bones floating around, swaying under the ripple of the water, also began to crack, being pulverized in a matter of seconds upon being subjected to Leo''s aura. "I finally reach thete stage of the core formation realm! The nascent soul realm was already within my sight!" Ding! [ Name: Leo Ricafrente Species: Demon/Peak-level Entity! Job ss: ( Neutral Primordial Witchcraft! (Umon)) Cultivation Technique: Undying Soul Conqueror (Low-Immortal Grade) Lifespan: 0/??? Innate Skill: Mind Corrosion, Sinful Desire! Physique: Physical Body of the Soul! Rules: Life Nature (63%), Fear of the Unknown (59%), Despair (10%), Hatred (8%), Inevitable Death (29%), Shadows (8%), Destructive Lightning (6%)! Iplete Domain: Domain of Unpredictable Death (Level 4), Domain of Reality Distortion (Level 4)! Complete Domain: Domain of Despair (Level 7)! ___ Attributes ___ Level: 11 Core Formation realm ( 59/42,000 Exp ) Free Attribute Points: 6 Health: 750/750 Qi: 2,250/2,250 Stamina: 750/750 Strength: 420 Speed: 400 Qi Power: 625 Soul Power: 1,500 ____Skills____ Skills: Invisibility (Lvl 10), Mist of Illusion (Lvl 8), Jinx (Lvl 6), Constricted Soul (Lvl 5), Decayed Aura (Lvl 5), Wisp of Poison (Lvl 5), Nightmare (Lvl 5), Telekinesis (Lvl 7), Physical Body of Soul (Lvl 9), Condense Soul Shrieking (Lvl 5), Soul Scan (Lvl 8), Strong Physique (Lvl 5), Dying Immortal (Level 6)... ss Job Skill: Advance Potion Knowledge (Lvl 5), Advance Puppetry Knowledge (Lvl 5), Archives of the Witch Doctor (Lvl 5)... ... Horror Points: 325,000! ... Compared to his strength before advancing, Leo could now sense that his current strength actually elevated by at least 35% even without using the ominous aura within his core... Enough to beat his past self without breaking a sweat! He could even feel that he could hold an early stage of the Nascent Soul realm cultivator for an hour without suffering grievous injuries. As for ying one, Leo thinks that he needs to at least reach the peak stage of the core formation realm in order to attempt that. "I should celebrate my advancement toward thetter stage; cursing the two hateful flesh should be enough." Unfolding a wicked smile on his face, wanting to test the effects of his solidified qi, Leo hurriedly took out the exquisite cauldron within his inventory... Caressing its rough surface with a gentle look on his face before starting to curse the two hateful beings using the flesh that he collected so far. "I wonder if my curse would only target one of them or would target them both; their situation was quite confusing." "However, if my curse manages to kill them both, I hope it counts as two kills." ... Your adventure continues at empire At the same time, far away from Leo''s current location, where waves of raging water could be seen unceasingly rising from the blue ocean¡ªcovering the azure sky with their might... An 8-foot beast filled with densely packed muscles... with six thick arms growing on its back, could be seen gazing at the stone altar below in deep thought. Letting the heavy water continuously ram toward the stone altar, causing the stone altar to let out a deafening thunderous sound that reverberated toward the firmament. Surprisingly, every time the sound filled the atmosphere, the crack above the firmament, which revealed the void devoid of any light, widened by a small amount... Making the fragments of seemingly sses above crack continuously¡ªTheir small parts slowly detaching before eventually falling toward the wide ocean below, which generated a thousand-meter-tall wave in the process... Eventually, the thousand-meter-tall wave would rammed toward the stone altar. Forming an unending cycle. "It''s still too slow. With this speed, we had no hope of destroying this huge formation even if we waited for hundreds of years." "Keke~ So what if that''s the case? Our only job is to erge the gap within the formation and let the army enter this lowly ce. As for destroying the formation, even themander had no way of destroying it, not to mention us!"@@novelbin@@ Hearing this, the 8-foot beast shook his head, not even rifying his thoughts toward the monster hiding within the depths of the ocean as he continued watching the stone altar below. Chapter 301 How Could I Be Unlucky?! Returning to the forbidden pit. Deep within the damp cavern, where the ten thousand-meter-tall mountain... purely made from rotting bone could be seen, the sounds of deafening explosions, followed by the cry of agony, reverberated within the enclosed cavern. The main body''s physique was covered in long gushes of wounds, and some of his limbs could be seen missing... His thick blood had already created a small pond beneath him as he gazed toward the 5 unknown beasts that suddenly popped up from out of nowhere with gloominess. Although they were only at the mid-stage of the core formation realm, the pressure heavily pressing toward his body prevented him from fully utilizing his strength. Hence, to his current situation. Boom! As they entered a deadlock situation, the fragments of bones beneath him suddenly trembled, giving him a dangerous sensation of danger as he decided to take the full brunt of the oing attack in his front in order to escape the danger beneath him. Sure enough, just as his bloodied body hurls toward the distance, the bones in his previous location suddenly cave in¡ªthen the bones fall into a seemingly abyss before unfolding arge sinkhole beneath! Slither~ Soon, the body of a humongous worm, with a length that easily reaches 20 meters, unfolds toward the horrified eyes of the main body (upper body). Making him drenched in dread as he couldn''t help but curse under his breath. Just the difference alone with the bone-eating worms that he met in the past few days already allowed him to understand that the worm that suddenly appeared beneath the white fragmented sand had already reached thete stage of the core formation realm! If he was at his peak, he could fight that humongous worm without being disadvantaged, even though he was subjected to heavy pressure... But now that he was heavily injured, fighting the 5 beasts in the distance was already difficult enough... Not to mention ate stage of the core formation realm beast! "This f*cking luck. It was the fault of that lowly lower body! "If it hadn''t gained individuality and separated from my body, this wouldn''t happen!" Cursing under his breath while panting heavily, the main body gazed toward the bloodied lower body, who was also facing a horde of mutated beasts in the far distance with hatred¡ªfeeling that his bad luck started when that hateful being was born with his flesh! If he could just go back in time, he would surely risk his life in order to kill that hateful bastard! Unfortunately, there''s room for regret... He could only face the danger in front while hoping for the best. ... Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully cursing! Effects as follows: gued by misfortune, Decay of the Life Force, and Soul being invaded by the aura of death! Time: 6 hours. ] Extinguishing the me beneath his cauldron, Leo couldn''t help but unfold the dissatisfaction on his face. Compared to his curse back then, the effects of his curse right now seem slightlycking in effects. At most, the strength of his cursing seems to decrease by at least 20%. A huge disappointment in his opinion. Sigh~ "I''m probably too happy with my advancement, causing my curse tock the necessary ingredients of hatred, anger, and intent. "Nevertheless, my curse would probably hinder them for quite some time, making their advancement toward the peak of the bone mountain troublesome." Hiding the cauldron within his inventory, Leo then began stretching his stiff physique, creating a creaking sound in the process that echoed around him. Exhaling a mist of ck miasma in his mouth, Leo''s somewhatzy eyes suddenly got reced by a deep look, touching his chin for a while as he couldn''t help but feel that he had forgotten something important. Click- Soon, after pondering for a while, the thing that he had forgotten finally emerged in his mind... Making his eyes widen as he couldn''t help but click his tongue in concern. "Indeed, I almost forgot about skeleton #2! "With its behavior, it should be searching me right now... Yet, I hadn''t even seen its shadow in the past few days!" Remembering that he had left the silver skeleton and the floating eye on one of the deep intersections of the cave, Leo couldn''t help but sense that something was amiss. Using his movement skill, he hurriedly rushed toward the direction where he had left them¡ªgenerating a wave of intense wind around him in the process that disturbed the slumbering beasts around him. Swish~ Soon enough, in just a couple of minutes traversing the damp cavern, Leo finally saw the lonely being floating within the atmosphere. Itsrge eyes filled with densely packed irises, carrying a hint of death energy, gaze around it with curiosity and deep loneliness, pping its wings unceasingly as if waiting for something. Other than the floating eyeball within the atmosphere, Leo couldn''t catch the existence of the silver skeleton around, causing him to sense a little sensation of anxiety... Strengthening the feeling within him that the silver skeleton met an ident when hemanded it to fight the unknown core formation realm being that destroyed his mortal puppets days ago!@@novelbin@@ "Did the silver skeleton don''t return when I was not around?" p- Seeing that the irises of the floating eyeball in front of him created a gesture that was akin to nodding, Leo couldn''t help but nod his head in silence... Experience new tales on empire Closing his eyes afterward, he then began to carefully sense the faint connection between him and Skeleton #2. Since he was basically the one who summoned skeleton #2, although there were strange changes that urred to the two in the past due to their strange mutation, the connection between them was still present... Although its effects were vastly different when he just first summoned them, it still allowed him to sense their general direction. Soon, after carefully delving and sensing the faint connection between him and Skeleton #2, Leo finally opened his eyes. "Wierd." He couldn''t help but show confusion on his face as he could feel that the aura of Skeleton #2 presented within their connection seemed vastly different from before. Skeleton #2''s aura seems to enter the peak of the middle stage of the core formation realm! "What kind of opportunity had he encountered?!" Chapter 302 A Level 5 Spiritual Plant (1)! Chapter 302 A Level 5 Spiritual nt (1)! With eyes filled with doubt, Leo followed the faint connection between him and Skeleton #2... Slowly traversing the pitch-ck water filled with fragments of rotting skeletons floating around while warily spreading his divine senses, ensuring that no beasts could approach them without his notice. As time passed by... As they began to explore and enter the depths of the cave, at least 5,000 meters away from where Leo hadst seen the skeleton #2... Earth Piranhas, which range from low-mortal to mid-stage of the foundation realm, began to appear below them, forming a school of fish that followed their every movement... Akin to a patient crow waiting for the corpse to consume. Just their existence alone already gives Leo a bad premonition within his soul, as if these piranhas were sure that he would die soon. "No. They were not waiting for me; they were actually waiting for the Anomalous Eye to die... "The audacity to have thought of consuming my lovely puppet! Should I kill them?!" However, considering that they were only mortal beasts, not enough to threaten his life even if there were thousands of them, Leo abandoned the thought of wasting his precious time to kill them... Continuing to focus his mind as he follows the faint connection within his soul. In the blink of an eye, an hour silently passed by. Feeling the dense death qi around him, almost turning into a congealed substance, Leo couldn''t help but inhale greedily. Smiling upon sensing them turning into solidified qi after entering his core, instantly causing his exp points to fluctuate before increasing by tens of points! +10 exp points! +12 exp points! It could be said that with his strength at thete stage of the core formation realm, a ten-point increase in every breath he took could be considered extremely past! It was alreadyparable to him killing a peak stage of the mortal realm beast! If not for the strengthening connection within his soul. Signifying that he was already close to the location of the silver skeleton¡ªLeo would likely spend a day cultivating in here, only leaving if his level increased by 1 or 2. "I could alwayse back here when I found that skeleton." @@novelbin@@ Speaking of which, Leo couldn''t help but be doubtful of how his obedient summon ended up entering the depths of the cave... Based on the beasts that he had encountered on his way here, where the norms already reached the mid-stage of the core formation realm, his silver skeleton shouldn''t be able to advance this far with his previous capabilities! At most, it would take Skeleton #2 a week if he was lucky and careful enough. "Sigh~ I will pry his mouth open when I find him! Does he think I have those precious treasures to revive him when he identally dies?!" nning to discipline the silver skeleton when he finds it and bring it back to the nd cemetery, Leo hastened his speed, not caring whether his imperceptible figure started oozing with a small amount of his aura as he unfolded a mysterious smile on his face... Although he was risking revealing himself to the beasts staying in these dangerous depths of the cave, Leo couldn''t control himself, feeling that the opportunity that skeleton #2 encountered was quite peculiar and special... Causing him to have thought of gaining a piece of it. Since he was its master, it was reasonable to get the leftover of his silver skeleton''s opportunity. At least they needed to pay back some of his destroyed spiritual nts! This way, his disappointment toward them would lessen considerably. With that thought in mind, Leo couldn''t help but sense a faint excitement blooming within his being... Further fueling his speed as his smile further deepened. ... Soon, another 15 minutes pass by... Without encountering danger on his way, Leo hurriedly halted on his location, deactivating his movement skill as he couldn''t help but shockingly stare at the rotting pavilion in the distance. With a height of 35 meters and an unknown length and width, followed by the walls that show heavy signs of corrosion, giving a deep sensation of ancientness... Leo could faintly imagine the grandiosity of the ce at its peak, making his soul sense a faint ominousness that he foundfortable. If he guessed correctly, someone with important status had stayed in this ce in the past, finally allowing him to understand how his silver skeleton managed to advance with swift speed in the past few days. "There should be some treasure inside that was rich in death energy. However, how could the other beasts lingering in this ce not take it?" Thinking of it, Leo couldn''t help but stare into his surroundings with doubt; although it was faint, he could sense a number of existences with energy that wasparable to mid-stage tote-stage of the core formation realm not far away from him. With them probably eyeing this ce, he was unable to think why they allowed the silver skeleton to enter the rotting pavilion. It could be said that skeleton #2 doesn''t have invisibility skills! Even if he manages to learn one, its effects should not allow him to step into this ce without being noticed! Shaking his head, finding his mind being upied by something that he could easily learn if he had met the silver skeleton... Leo then advanced with unhurried speed, taking a deep breath as he forcefully calmed down his chaotic emotion. "This?!" However, he had just approached the periphery of the pavilion when suddenly, a heavy suppression, three times stronger than the suppression that he bore within the bone mountain, pressed toward his being¡ªinstantly dispelling his invisibility in the process as the pitch-ck water beneath him created a ripple that spread toward the far distance. ROAARR! Sensing the presence of an intruder within their territory, several beasts roared in unison, releasing their aura simultaneously... which abruptly caused the atmosphere to crackle. Bending the space around as if they couldn''t bear the pressure that the several core formation realm beings were releasing. Chapter 305 Help! Someone Wants My Body! Soon, without Leo noticing the passage of time, another 2 days silently pass by. The pitch-ck water beneath already had long been disturbed as the wavering figure of Leo could be seen carefully stepping forward¡ªcreating a wave of 1 foot that hurriedly spread around, creating an oceanic sound before hitting the dark stone nearby. It could be said that after Leo''s figure continued to advance in the direction of the pavilion, erging the distance between him and the enraged beasts outside... The pressure that they formed in order to increase the weight his physique was bearing already vanished into thin air, instantly relieving his body from the unnecessary weight. With that, his speed increased considerably, allowing his figure to traverse the dampnd with a swift speed... Making the time in order for him to reach the pavilion decrease by a huge amount! Find more to read at empire "The pavilion was already within my touch! I hope that there''s no longer pressure pressing my pathetic body after entering the pavilion!" Right now, Leo was already staring at the pavilion meters away from him with pure excitement written in his eyes. Even though he still hadn''t entered the rotting pavilion in front of him, Leo could already feel the longing and desire within his soul, a sign that there was something good inside that could greatly boost his soul strength. Ding! +1 Strength! "The speed of the tempering of my physique already slowed down; I could only gain 1 increase in my strength every three hours." Gazing at his strength attribute, which had a noticeable increase of 27 points in the past few days, Leo couldn''t help but unfold a weak smile on his face... Raising his right foot with great difficulty afterward before stepping toward the entrance of the pavilion. Boom! In an instant, after his feet touched the dark stone in his front, the heavy pressure, which caused him difort in the past days, suddenly vanished into thin air... Causing Leo''s figure, which was unable to react to the sudden dissipation of the pressure, to hurl toward the stone wall in the distance... Heavily hitting the wall afterward due to his being unable to control his strength in time. Ughh! Pain transmitted to his mind as he couldn''t help but touch his head with a grimace... only for his eyes to widen in astonishment in the next second as he could feel a small swelling within his head. "This?!" With eyes filled with shock and confusion, Leo couldn''t help but stare at the stone wall in front of him in silence, unable to believe that there was no sign of dent or destruction on its rough surface. It could be said that with his current physique, only materials above the elite grade could withstand his idental outburst without suffering any damage! Just staring at therge wall in front of him that extends toward the far distance... Even with his superior senses, he couldn''t see its end; Leo couldn''t help but gulp instinctively. In an instant, he felt his throat drying in pure amazement as his mind couldn''t help butpute how much earth gold was needed in order to build this rotting pavilion. "If I unearthed this wall and ced it toward my nd cemetery, the defense of the ce would surely increase by folds!" "At most, no mortal beast could enter the area of my ntation without being noticed!" However, thinking howrge the stone wall in front of him was and how limited the space of the system was, Leo reluctantly abandoned that thought, causing him to heave a sign of regret due to hisck of skill. As for tearing the wall in front of him into pieces before putting them inside his inventory, Leo simply brushed that thought outside his mind. Not only would it take a long time for him to tear the thick wall in front of him into pieces, but it would also reduce his stamina and spiritual qi by a considerable amount. With the unknown dangers around him, further spending his stamina and spiritual qi to do something that wouldn''t increase his personal strength would be deemed extremely unnecessary¡ªit''s best to save it for something unexpected. Taking a deep breath, retracting his gaze toward the ck wall in front of him, Leo then silently inspects his surroundings. Swish~ Thick miasma, congealed due to the fusion of arge amount of death qi, drifted within the atmosphere akin to looming clouds¡ªlightly obstructing the scene forward. The wall that carried an amount of corrosion and decay persisted within the atmosphere, drilling toward the rotting woods on the pavilion in the distance, causing the small vitality they contained to slip under their degraded bark. Within the tiny gaps of the dark stone, small grasses, simr to the limbs of an octopus, could be often seen secreting a thick mucus, causing the ground near them to be covered by it. "This nt?!" Feeling the strangeness of them, as he could sense that they carried an amount of soul within their existence¡ªa testament that they carried basic consciousness within their being¡ªLeo couldn''t help but unfold a shocked expression on his face.@@novelbin@@ First time seeing real living nts (as for the living nts within the system shop, Leo still hadn''t bought one). Leo, without further ado, immediately cast his soul scan toward the spiritual nts near him, wanting to glean their mysterious existence. Ding! [ Vicious Secreting Octopus (Grade 2-Epic): A spiritual nt that mutated due to dense death qi around it, which nourished its existence all year around... Causing it to gain basic consciousness that allowed it to protect itself from its natural enemies. Effects upon consumption: Drastically increase the Death Qi inside one''s body. In addition to that, it also could cause the being who consumed it to slightly glean toward the rules of death, corrosion, and decay. Note: There''s a great chance of death if a being whocks death affinity consumes it.] Hiss! Gasping loudly, Leo''s eyes couldn''t help but glint with excitement, not expecting that the spiritual nts that were growing within the gaps of the stone, akin to useless grasses that he could normally see growing beside the road, would be a grade-2 spiritual nt! Chapter 306 Beyond The Pavilion. Since the grasses growing outside the pavilion were already this precious, Leo could no longer imagine what type of treasure this ce held. Although this ce seems untouched for hundreds of years, silently deteriorating due to the passage and corrosion of time, it should still hold some precious treasure, right? Huff- Feeling the anticipation within his being grow every second that passed by, Leo hurriedly spread his telekic ability¡ªwarping the atmosphere and enveloping the squirming spiritual nts in the surrounding area before unearthing them from their burrow. "Not bad; I already gained 38 spiritual nts just entering this ce." Putting the wriggling spiritual nts within his inventory, not caring about the mucus they were releasing to his direction, Leo then reactivated his invisibility skill... Making his pale figure instantly turn transparent,pletely fusing within the damp atmosphere in the next second before vanishing in the entrance of the pavilion. Feeling the familiar sensation of concealment enveloping his physique, Leo, with a wary expression on his face, then utilized his divine senses... In an instant, an invisible wave of soul power spread toward the far distance, shrouding an area of 100 meters in diameter as the scene and image inside its area of effects magically entered Leo''s mind, allowing him to see far beyond his normal senses... (currently weakened due to the unique restriction of the ce.) Sensing the dead objects inside the pavilion being corroded by the death and decay, followed by the eerie atmosphere within which silently and heavily lingered within the atmosphere... Leo couldn''t help but heave a deep sign of relief, opening his mouth before mumbling in a low voice. "I didn''t detect any movement within; there should be no living entity within the area of 100 meters." His stiff and wary expression eased a little as he moved forward. Although Leo had not detected any anomalies within the area of his divine senses, his body still moved with extreme caution, ready to defend and attack at any second if something unexpected urred. As he was moving forward, starting to traverse the beyond of the pavilion, Leo slowly noticed that within his divine senses, a building with a magnificent structure from an unknown era began to emerge... Untouched for countless years. Moreover, he could sense a number of spiritual nts growing within their gaps. Surprisingly, based on the fluctuations the spiritual nts were unconsciously releasing, Leo could already tell that their level mostly reached the 3rd grade! Experience exclusive tales on empire Something that even an early stage of the core formation realm being would surely fight for! "Calm down; moving forward with recklessness might endanger your life." Taking a deep breath and shifting his senses below, Leo then noticed the ground, which was littered with countless fragments of gray bones... Originating from countless corpses of beasts and humans thatpletely covered the sight of the ground. Underneath them, Leo could faintly sense the weak movements of unknown insects, causing him to instinctively halt on his location¡ªfocusing his mind in order to observe and catch the existence of the unknown beings.@@novelbin@@ However, due to the distance between him and the moving insects and the limitation of his divine senses, Leo was unable to catch a glimpse of their little figure, causing him to frown with gloominess as he further increased his guard. ... Thud... Thud... The almost inaudible sounds of faint footsteps silently reverberate within the dark space, destroying the serenity within as the imperceptible figure of Leo could be seen meticulously advancing forward. Other than him, the disfigured figures of 10 advanced puppets, with physiques noticeably being stitched from countless beasts, could be noticed in the front... Leading the way slowly and being used as bait for existence that would suddenly pop up on the way. Earlier, after noticing the lifeforms living underneath the fragments of countless bones, Leo decided to release dozens of puppets within his inventory, using the 10 of them to pave the way in the front while hemanded the 20 other puppets to spread within the surroundings. Although he wasn''t confident that the puppets would be able to face the dangers that were lurking within the shadows of the buildings in the distance, it would still allow him to notice their unknown existence if they decided to destroy the puppets... Even if they didn''t, the puppets would still allow his understanding of the ce to deepen considerably by transporting the image they scanned directly to his mind. It could be said that after an hour, after he had spread the puppets toward a random direction, 8 out of his 30 puppets had already met their demise... Allowing him to imprint the direction where the puppets had died inside his consciousness, causing him to safely transverse thend without meeting any ident. Sigh- "If only I was not afraid that attacking one of them would attract the attention of other beasts hiding in this ce, I already have reduced their numbers... "Allowing me to gain some materials for puppet creation." Compared to the shameless beasts that he had met outside the pavilion, Leo noticed that the weakest beings roaming within this ce actually reached thete stage of the core formation realm! He even managed to sense beings that had an aura of at least the peak stage of the core formation realm... As for beings that reach the Nascent Soul realm, Leo was lucky enough to not sense or meet any of them. Although he hadn''t met one, he was sure that this ce was concealing some of them¡ªmaking his movement extremely concealed as he even entertained the thought of forcefully upgrading his invisibility skill. Although he had no idea what drastic changes would ur after upgrading his invisibility skill beyond the tenth level, he was certain that he would at least be able to hide himself from the transcended senses of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. "Unfortunately, my resources were quite limited. If I upgraded my invisibility beyond level 10, then all of my medallion of forceful upgrade would be consumed." Taking a deep breath, sensing the hesitation within his being, Leo again checked the description of his invisibility skill... Falling into deep thought afterward upon seeing its exorbitant price in order to upgrade it. Chapter 308 A Tattered Books. ... The clock rotated, and the sun soon set down toward the west... Instantly shrouding thend with its eerie darkness, causing the trembling fissure above the firmament to be imperceptible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, 5 hours passed by. Within the depths of the earth, forgotten by time and light, silently being erased by the unending cycle of life, the pale silhouette of Leo could be seen beheading a disfigured beast on the ground... shing its neck mercilessly with a sword in his hands. Pinning it down on the ground forcefully without giving it a chance to struggle as he puts all of his strength into his swords. Swish- Soon... Thick blood of yellow, carrying a foul scent of puss, blossomed around the dpidated and iplete building¡ªmomentarily creating a fountain of vicious liquid that dyed Leo''s stained clothes... Drenching him with its flesh and stickiness in the process. At the same time, the head of the beast, detached from its neck, rolled forward a couple of times¡ªlifeless as its eyes, filled with dread and disbelief, stared at the horrifying silhouette that suddenly materialized within the shadows with dullness. Ding! [ Congrattions on assassinating a beast at thete stage of the core formation realm without creating much noise! +1,000 exp points! +2,500 horror points! +6 free attribute points! ] Huff~ "Sess!" Panting for quite a while, Leo hurriedly hid the corpse within his inventory before reactivating his invisibility skill. Raising his head, gazing at the iplete stone house in his front... Leo, with glinted eyes, advanced forward, carefully evading the protruding stone in the ground before gazing at the dark interior of the house. Due to the passage of time, only the corroded wooden bed and the stone table in the corner of the room remained fairly intact¡ªas for the broken objects scattered around the floor that was filled with ck moss, Leo didn''t nce at them as he moved forward with caution. Following the instinct of his soul as he stared at the tattered books on the stone table with halted breath... It could be said that if not for his soul that suddenly transmitted desire within his being an hour ago, he wouldn''t have dared to assassinate the beast near the house earlier and risk his being for exposure even if he had given courage. "It''s indeed the book." Sensing the intense desire within his soul while gazing at the tattered books in his front with doubts... Feeling that they might crumble in an instant if he touched it using a little bit of his strength. Leo, using his telekic ability, carefully prys the book open...@@novelbin@@ Rustle~ In an instant, the tattered books, filled with umted dust on their rough and old surface, float within the atmosphere¡ªshaking the dirt within their surface before opening under Leo''s anticipated expression... Unfolding their rich content to his eyes afterward. "This?!" However, in an instant, after seeing the content that the books contained, the eager expression on Leo''s face suddenly froze¡ªbeing reced by disbelief as he couldn''t help but sigh in disappointment and helplessness. "D*mmit! I couldn''t understand the text it contained. What kind ofnguage is this?!" Seeing the unfamiliar yet familiar text within the book, Leo could only shake his head¡ªrecognizing it as anguage quite simr but still different to the thing written on his cultivation technique. Without the help of a simr force that he had experienced when he advanced to the foundation realm, instantly allowing him to understand the meaning of the cultivation technique that he had received... Tranting the book in his front would surely take a long time. To the point that the knowledge it contained might no longer be useful to him when that time arrived. "Wait. Maybe it wouldn''t take me long to decipher thisnguage; I almost forgot that I had a system! "It''s just that... I don''t know if I could afford its price." Knowing that the system would often try to gain his hard-earned horror points in every possible way, Leo hesitated for a while before eventually asking the system. With his horror points that almost reach the staggering 350,000 points, asking the system to trante the books in his hand probably wouldn''t cost too much... Right? "I mean, it''s just like tranting 3 unknown books? The price probably wouldn''t be that exaggerated.'' Ding! [ Tranting 3 unknown books would cost you 150,000 horror points... (ept/Decline)? ] Sure enough, the thing that Leo feared came true. Looking at the exorbitant price that the system had set, Leo couldn''t help but grit his teeth in anger, cursing the great, great ancestor of the system within his mind before proceeding to punch the air in front of him in an attempt to cool down his head... Imagining that it was the imperceptible face of the system. "Why don''t just rob me instead?! A 150,000 horror points for tranting 3 books! Do you think that I''m picking horror points on the road?" Ding! [ Tranting damaged books wouldn''t cost too much. However, restoring and fixing the book content would be different... ] "This... I see, I''m just overreacting. Go on, take my 150,000 horror points away." Upon seeing the response of the system, Leo''s unpleasant expression suddenly reverted to its previous calm look... As if nothing had happened. It could be said that after checking numbers of buildings on his way, only this house contained something quite valuable. Furthermore, books that manage to survive this long in this kind of hellish ce... Are bound to be extraordinary. Hence, even if the system didn''t exin itself, sooner orter, he would be forced to spend his precious horror points to trante it due to his curiosity and the desire within his soul. Although it would make him heartbroken for a while, knowledge from an unknown past still tempted him... Who knows if it contained the secret beyond the current known realm? If that really urred, he would surely earn greatly instead of losing. "Sigh~ I need to work hard after I return to the surface..." Chapter 309 A... Technique?! ... After the system epted his hard-earned horror points, the 3 books within the atmosphere suddenly released a dark brilliance... Being consumed by miasma as the qi in the surrounding area surge toward their old surface. Shrouding the objects in pure darkness, making them quite indiscernible even under Leo''s superior divine senses. Churn- Soon, after an unknown period of time, the dark miasma that shrouded the books finally dispersed toward the environment, sweeping to the far distance before vanishing at one point... Instantly unfolding the wooden books, with covers made from an unknown type of dark metallic paper within. Feeling that the desire within his soul intensified considerably¡ªa testament that the value of the books in front of him increased due to the restoration of the system¡ªLeo''s breathing couldn''t help but hasten drastically. Immediately touching their soft surface as their scent, akin to sandalwood, prated his nostrils, giving him the rich sensation offort. With eyes filled with anticipation, Leo mumbled the finally intelligible words on the cover of the book... Unable to conceal his excitement upon understanding the meaning of their words. "Comprehensive knowledge regarding cultivation, Body Tempering Technique, and Earth Elemental Cultivation Technique..." "Two techniques that reach the mid-stage of heaven grade and a book that contained knowledge regarding the way of cultivation!" Sigh- "I wasted my precious horror points for nothing... Only the book that contained knowledge regarding cultivation could be regarded as important. "With my unique physique, body tempering wouldn''t work on me. As for the cultivation technique... Sigh~ it''s not that it wasn''t usable, but my current cultivation technique was higher and morepatible than this Earth Elemental cultivation technique is." Putting the two books within his inventory while shaking his head in dissatisfaction, Leo focused his mind on the remaining book in his front... Only to heave a sigh of relief afterward before eventually tossing it inside the system inventory. It''s not that the knowledge it contained disappoints him; in fact, it even exceeds his imagination... It''s just that reading andprehending a book often took hours... And casually reading it in this kind of ce is simply inappropriate. To the point that he might be attacked unknowingly if he was engrossed in reading the content of the book. "Furthermore, I still needed to look for Skeleton #2 and peek toward the two hateful flesh on the bone mountain... "If I sessfully kill them by solely relying on cursing, my ss job requirements would surely be lessened." Closing his eyes and focusing on the faint connection between him and Skeleton #2, Leo again advances toward the depths of the dpidated city... Casually spreading his unused puppets within his inventory toward the surrounding area while he carefully traversed thend filled with bones.@@novelbin@@ On the way, if Leo met an unusual beast, he would immediately circle the area to prevent himself from entering their den, preventing unnecessary conflict in the process... He would only halt on his way and y a beast if he had seen something worthy. Although not much, by doing it, Leo managed to gain spiritual nts and some treasures that he could exchange for something useful within the town. Making him feel that tracing Skeleton #2 is already worthwhile. ... Soon, after carefully traversing thend for an hour... The sight of the towering tree, almost touching the high ceiling of the cavern, entered Leo''s dumbfounded face. Even with his divine senses that could expand through hundreds of meters (under the suppression of the ce), he still couldn''t see the ends of it. Moreover, as he began to approach the unknown tree, Leo could sense that the spiritual qi around him began to increase in both quantity and quality... Almost turning into mist, slightly hindering his vision in the process. In addition to that, the faint connection between him and Skeleton #2 became more visible within his mind as he moved forward¡ªa testament that he almost reached the location of Skeleton #2. Raising his head, gazing at the faint silhouette of the humongous tree in the far distance, Leo couldn''t help but hasten his speed... Controlling his greed as he carefully spread his divine senses around. "Weird... I couldn''t detect any lifeforms ahead and within the surrounding areas." Feeling that something was amiss and noticing his soul suddenly be silent as if it suddenly disconnected from his mind, Leo halted at his location. Taking a deep breath before silently retreating backward. Churn~ Thwack!!! However, before Leo could retreat for dozens of meters, the ground underneath him, covered with rotting bones and objects from an unknown era, suddenly trembled¡ªparting afterward before revealing countless thin roots that instantly bound Leo''s figure. "Not good!" Feeling an intense danger descending to his being, Leo, without hesitation, burst out his strength, instantly deactivating his invisibility skill as dark, eerie mes containing terrifying coldness blossomed within his lower body... Sizzle~ In an instant, before the roots... Akin to thin threads pierced Leo''s pale physique, the dark mes spread on their thin beings, creating a crisp, sizzling sound as they burned under Leo''s gloomy eyes¡ªwrithing in pain before turning into ashes, which eventually vanished in the face of the world. "How could they detect me even though I''m under the concealment of invisibility skill?!" Rumble! Before Leo could ponder the question in his mind, the space around him again issued arge quake. However,pared to earlier, the disturbance underneath the ground was much higher than before! Making his heart skip a bit as he hurriedly retreated in the distance. "What kind of entity is this?!" Under the prying of his divine senses, Leo could see countless thin roots, akin to dark threads underneath the earth, moving toward his location at a swift speed! Giving him the illusion that countless thin worms, simr to tapeworms, were rushing toward his pale physique with greed, causing his skin to tingle in disgust and horror. Extreme Hell me! Gritting his teeth, understanding that he couldn''t afford to hold back, Leo immediately utilized 5% of his spiritual qi. In an instant, the temperature of the raging mes around him abruptly plummeted; their hue further darkened before spreading toward the ground with speed visibly to naked eyes. Creating an artificial hell that pulverized everything on its way! Chapter 312 Slaying Beast (1)! ... Ages passed by... Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire After recovering from the injuries he received from the roots, Leo decided to stay at the entrance of the pavilion for days. Wanting to use the heavy pressure that the ce was releasing in order to further temper his physique. Although it was slow, it still allowed him to gain free attributes without doing much. Moreover, he could cultivate while bearing the pressure of the ce, allowing him to kill two birds with one stone! Ding! +1 strength! Soon, without any ident, 2 days flew by. Leo exhaled a dark miasma within his mouth; his eyes fluttered for a moment before finally opening, revealing the deep gray irises within. "Sigh. The increase in my strength slowed down again; it could no longer give me a good boost." Although the speed of his physique tempering already had slowed down to a turtle crawl, it still allowed his strength to gain an additional 15 attributes in the past few days, almost equivalent to leveling up by ones! Unfortunately, the pressure pressing toward his physique was no longer enough to stress his body. Right now, it could only give him a certain amount of restrictions and a sensation of difort within his being, which was far from the pressure he was bearing days ago. "It was finally time." After hiding the regret within his mind, Leo''s eyes suddenly released a dangerous glint. He smiled wickedly before excitedly taking out the ck cauldron within his inventory... Still not done, he also took out a number of broken barks inside his system. Although the bark looks old and ancient, to the point that it might crumble if someone touches it with force, the aura it was emitting was quite special¡ªit contained an unknown rule within it that causes its vitality to be robust! "Kekeke~ I wonder if cursing a tree that gains consciousness would work? I couldn''t wait to curse my first Nascent Soul being!" Feeling an unknown excitement bubbling within his soul, Leo hurriedly activated his extreme hell me, controlling its quantity with great mastery before covering the cauldron with its coldness. Although the main attribute of the extreme hell me was extreme yin, its capability to burn everything in its path exceeds the capabilities of most mes that he had seen; only his life-origin me, which he had learned along with the extreme hell me, could counter its effects. Moreover, it has also the strange effect of burning souls! Making Leo curious about the effects it could have if he had used it in cursing.@@novelbin@@ "Unfortunately, I could only use a candle of its strength, or else it might melt my beloved cauldron due to its vicious me. "When would I again receive another Item Tempering Stone?" Leo thought. He couldn''t help but miss the mysterious effects of the item tempering stone; unfortunately, after a long period of time, the system still hadn''t rewarded him with simr items, causing him to almost forget the texture and image of the stone. If he remembered correctly, he only received that reward when his soul-bound weapon took form¡ªhe even used one of them in order to increase the grade of his soul-bound weapon toward the elite grade, which caused its overall effects and strength to be far abovepared to his peers. If his soul-bound weapon still retained its previous grade, Leo was confident to say that his overall strength would lessen by at least 25%... A reasonable deduction considering that soul-bound weapon was one of the specialty of core formation realm cultivators. "I might receive one if the grade of my soul-bound weapon increased to rare rank... Unfortunately, it would only happen when I break through to the Nascent Soul realm." Shaking his head, ridding the distraction within his mind, Leo then tossed the dark bark toward the still-opened cauldron¡ªinstantly causing it to liquefy under the intense coldness of the me as he injected his understanding of rules toward it. In addition to that, he began to remember the pain and agony he had experienced under the attack of the roots, condensing it into a seed of hatred before fusing it toward the liquid inside the cauldron... Causing the cauldron to react violently as it began to crazily shake under Leo''s sight. Sizzle~ Soon, an ominous aura, capable of freezing a mortal realm in an instant, enveloped the surface of the cauldron. Its bluish me reflected within Leo''s irises, making his maliciousness seem to deepen considerably under the illumination of its damp light... Smiling coldly, Leo finally finished his cursing by adding thest material within the interior of the cauldron. Shing! With a deep scent of death, the liquid within the cauldron began to evaporate at visible speed, turning into dark miasma filled with death before vanishing within the void¡ªtransforming into an unknown type of energy before rushing toward the direction of the tree! "Not bad, it was the best "Cursed" so far." Even though the ominous energy still hadn''t hit its target, causing the system to still not send a notification within his mind, Leo could already assume the strength of the curse by smelling it... Although it was not precisepared to the system, it still allowed him to measure its effects based on this. Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully cursing a Nascent Soul realm being for the first time! +10,000 horror points! +12 free attribute points! +2 peak enlightenment stone! ] Ding! [ Congrattions on sessfully cursing! Effects as follows: decrease in luck, decreasing the speed of cultivation, and soul being invaded by the aura of death! ] "I should have expected this. Cursing a Nascent Soul being to death seems impossible with my current realm." Seeing that the effects of his cursing were subparpared to when he was cursing a core formation realm cultivator, Leo couldn''t help but unfold disappointment in his eyes... Only to be reced by surprise in the next second upon reading thest notification sent by the system. "This! I finallyprehend the rule of "Intent of Misfortune" to five percent?!" Ding! [ Intent of Misfortune (Rules) (6%): A thought from you could bring misfortune to someone. It could cause gues, bad luck, mental demons, and other misfortune to the origin of your hatred... Effects: Increase the efficiency and overall strength of cursing by 25% and decrease the cultivator''s bad luck considerably! ] ... Chapter 315 Reforming the Bland Cemetery! Scenario Increase to Two Star! (1) ... Seeing the notification in front of him, Leo unfolds a grin on his cold face, chuckling softly before hiding the corpse of the main flesh inside his inventory, wanting to maximize its worth by creating it into a puppet. With the corpse grade, he should be able to create a puppet with considerable defense, increasing the defensive mechanism of his ntation if done correctly. It''s worth mentioning that after killing the main flesh, Leo''s requirements of killing beings by solely relying on cursing decrease by two, allowing thepletion of his ss job to the next grade to close by. Unfortunately, it was still far away from him. Based on his current advancement, increasing the grade of his ss job might take a year at minimum. If another horde of beasts attacked the town, the time it would take would probably decrease considerably. Just thinking of the skills he would receive if his ss job elevated to Elite grade, Leo couldn''t help but instinctively lick the corner of his lips. "This was my first time hoping that disaster would knock on my door; the only thing that worried me was that if my strength would be enough." Although his current strength could easily surpass an elite peak stage of the core formation realm, in the face of a Nascent Soul cultivator, his strength was still inadequate. Just fighting the roots of the Nascent Soul tree already makes him feel a deep sensation of helplessness, not to mention a Nascent Soul being that wasn''t restricted like the tree! If his guess was right, he could only hold an early stage of the Nascent Soul being for 5 minutes before being forced to flee. Of course, doing that would surely cost him half of his life... with the probably of him being killed on the spot if the being he faced had a unique and mysterious skill! ... "Theplete domain, "Domain of Strangeness," might allow me to hold for some time, but the consumption of Qi and mental energy isn''t something that the current me could bear." Even if he consumed potions beforehand, Leo had an inkling sensation that he could only use theplete domain for a couple of minutes. It could be said that the higher the realm of the enemy trap within the domain, the higher the consumption of the spiritual qi and mental energy was. Not to mention that theplete domain could trap more than one cultivator within, increasing the consumption further based on the enemy''s overall realm! "I need to find and learn skills that could increase the reserve of my spiritual qi. With the medallion of forceful upgrade, their usefulness would surely increase in my hands." Casting a deep nce toward the hanging corpse above the bone mountain, Leo, not daring to take a risk, immediately went back toward the nd cemetery. As for skeleton #2, suspected to be within the range of the Nascent Soul tree, since the connection between him and it was still not broken, he assumed that its situation was better than his¡ªwith its realm still fluctuating, increasing by a visible amount every second, to the point that it already reaches halfway toward the mid stage of the core formation realm, Leo decided to let it be. "Regretfully, I couldn''t take a peek at the current situation of Skeleton #2, or else the tree would immediately notice my existence... Even my invisibility skill couldn''t evade its senses." ... Upon exiting the forbidden cave, Leo immediately inspected the half-destroyed cemetery, looking at the damage they received with heartache. Fortunately, after the "nd Cemetery" scenario advances to 1 and a half stars, it gains the ability to restore itself, slowly reverting to its previous appearance of being gloomy and dpidated. The only regretful thing is that it couldn''t fix objects and lifeforms outside its jurisdiction, making the dead ntation be its nutrients instead. "I need to buy new spiritual nts and further increase the defenses of the nd cemetery. Sigh, the five mutated ghouls'' strength was still limited." Gazing at the familiar lean, rotting physique of the mutated ghouls, standing malevolently on all fours in the short distance and continuously releasing a malevolent aura originating from their souls ¡ª causing their surroundings to be subjected to depressive oppression. In addition to their dark pupils that could pry toward one''s inner fear, which often stares at moving beings around them ¡ª ensuring the safety of the nd cemetery... Leo couldn''t help but unfold a weak smile on his face, feeling gratified that he had this kind of honest worker. Working heavily for the safety of the nd cemetery, to the point that they didn''t even trust the puppets he had created, even though he was essentially their boss. Feeling curious about their advancement, Leo cast his soul scan toward them, instantly unfolding their information directly to his mind. ... Ding! [ Mutated Ghoul Species: Undead Innate skill: Eyes of Pure Darkness Physique: Inhuman ______Atrributes______ Level: Foundation Realm Level 6 (5%) Free attribute: 0 Health: 225/225 Qi: 215/215 Stamina: 300/300 Strength: 55 Speed: 70 Magic Power: 45 Soul Power: 50@@novelbin@@ ______Skills______ Intermediate Intelligence (Elite lvl 3), Flesh Eater (Elite lvl 3), Midnight Madness ( Rare lvl 4), Intermediate Senses (Elite lvl 3), Flesh Predator (Rare lvl 3), Life Absorption (Rare lvl 1) ] ... Ding! [ Life Absorption (Rare lvl 1)- An ability that could passively absorb the life force of the beings they injured, causing their enemy''s overall strength to continuously drop until they died. Note: Only work to beings within 10 meters. If the enemy exited the area of skill, the absorption of life force would immediately halt. ] "A new rare skill, unfortunately, its area of effects was quite small; with simple maneuver, beings could easily escape the effects of the skill. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire "Still, learning new offensive skills would surely increase their strength." Nodding his head in satisfaction, Leo then set his gaze toward the system, opening the shop panel before focusing on the uncountable list of items within ¡ª nning to buy grade 3 and above spiritual nts and herbs to grow. With his current realm, buying spiritual nts below grade three would hardly help him; instead, they would only cost him his hard-earned horror points and his precious time. Since that was the case, it was best if he spent his effort on spiritual nts that were helpful to the core formation and nascent soul realm. Chapter 318 Reforming the Bland Cemetery! Scenario Increase to Two Star! (4) Since he could only regret his actions in the past, Leo, upon shaking his head, immediately focused his mind on creating puppets. Taking out the materials he had umted from the forbidden cave¡ªfrom the corpses of the bone-eating worms that easily reach 10 meters in length, to the other mutated abomination originating from the bone mountain, and to the lonely mutted flesh race¡ªcreating a small mound of meat beside him. Tap- Tap- Tap- Their fresh blood continuously dripped from their still-fresh wounds, forming a pond beneath them that lightly reflected the canopy¡ªslowly being absorbed by the nd earth, causing the chilling grasses within the epassing of the cemetery to sway joyously under the illumination of the moon. Feeling the tion of the nd cemetery through their faint connection, Leo only unfolds a light smile, stretching his arms before starting to process the corpses of the beasts... Extracting their essence through his "Extraction" skill, nning to use them for potion concoctions in the future while leaving things that he might use in puppet creation. As for items that he didn''t consider usable, Leo would feed them to the nd cemetery and to his puppets that gained consciousness¡ªmaximizing the usefulness of the corpse to a great degree. With all of the corpses reaching the core formation realm, with a few of them even reaching the peak, a piece of their flesh could be considered a great tonic to foundation-level beasts, not to mention to his low-level puppets. Although most of the puppets who had gained soul and consciousness weren''tplete¡ªseemingly missing a trace of fundamental truths¡ªreasoning to their basic absorption of the spiritual qi present within the heavens and earth iparable to normal beings... Consuming the flesh of high-level beings would still help them significantly, allowing their level to increase by at least one or two uponplete digestion. ... Shing~ Shing~ Raising his pointed finger, a thread of spiritual qi, as thin as the threads of a spider web, materialized within its tips¡ªwaving within the atmosphere for dozens of seconds before dividing into 5 parts, further reducing their thickness before piercing the thick hide of the corpse in front of him with great familiarity. Although the threads of spiritual qi seem fragile to the naked eye, their sharpness and durability were actuallyparable to elite items, easily drilling toward the corpses in front of Leo without any hindrance! Stitching them based on his imagination, slowly forming an image of abhorrence. ... Unknowingly, time passed by. The moon above, which was illuminating the epassingnd, already vanished at one point, hiding beyond the fine cracks that slowly yet continuously widening¡ªsessfully plunging thend intoplete darkness. Beneath, within the ce filled with blurry epitaphs... Where the grasses often create a disturbing sound of rustling, the silhouette of a pale man could be seen seriously stitching the corpses around him. The small mound of flesh beside the man already dwindled to half, while the thick blood that was continuously dripping from their wounds previously already got sucked dry by the ndnd, only leaving pale corpses devoid of essence behind. Huff~ "A high-mid grade puppet, not bad for the start." Heaving a sigh of relief, Leo stared at the three-meter-tall puppet, with a physiqueparable to a tank in front of him, in satisfaction. Although he used almost half of the beasts'' corpses in order to create a puppet that specialized in defense, Leo still feels a strange satisfaction within his being... With this puppet, he would feel secure leaving the nd cemetery for a long period of time. "Unfortunately, I still had no idea how I could fuse myprehension of rules toward them; without rules, their potential and strength couldn''t be fully utilized." Looking at his puppetry knowledge skill that barely reached the quasi-mastery, Leo shook his head before focusing on the puppet in front of him... Ridding the thought of upgrading it to the next level, fearing that his mind might not be enough to cover itself from the huge influx of knowledge andprehension. To distract himself from the strong impulse of using his Medallions of Forceful Upgrade, Leo hurriedly cast his soul scan to his newly created puppet¡ªwanting to glean its information and see the skill it currently had. Ding! [ Meat Puppet (High-mid grade): A puppet created using several core formation realm corpses. It specialized in defense and had the basic ability to absorb some damage, allowing its durability to almost reach the Nascent Soul realm.@@novelbin@@ Innate skill: Damage Absorption (Rare) ______Atrributes______ Core Formation realm level 10: Health: 800/800 Qi Storage: 500/500 Stamina: 800/800 Strength: 275 Continue your journey on My Virtual Library Empire Speed: 225 Qi Power: 200 ______Skills______ Skill: Shock Absorption (Rare), Advance Defense (Elite), Earth Shaking (Elite), Stomp (Elite), Dead Object (Elite), Basic Intelligence (Umon)... ] Ding! [ Damage Absorption (Rare): An ability that passively reduces the physical damage one receives by 10-20%, while also reducing spiritual qi damage by 5%. If an enemy uses a unique rule, the reduction of the damage would plummet considerably. Activation: Passive! ] ... Nodding his head upon reading the skills of the meat puppet, Leo couldn''t help but feel envious of its health stats... Making him silent for a while. "Its health was higher than mine by more than 50. However, considering its other attributes, the puppet''s overall stats could only be discerned as average." Gazing at its attribute stats that were a bit higher than the silver rabbi, Leo''s satisfied expression instantly reverted to normal, lightly shaking his head beforemanding the meat puppet to start roaming the nd cemetery. Huff~ Taking a deep breath and regting his mind, Leo again starts processing the rest of the corpses, nning to create them into puppets in one go. *** sh~ At the same time, when Leo was busy creating puppets... Tens of miles away from the nd cemetery, a man, wearing a loose robe, could be seen holding a wooden saber with his left hand... Raising it above his head before casually swinging it toward the direction of the trembling beast in the distance¡ªswiftly cutting it into half with the faint sword qi. "Tsk. This beast at thete stage of the core formation realm didn''t even manage to temper my sword; I guess I could only find beings at the peak stage." Clicking his tongue in disappointment, the man shifted his gaze toward the far horizon, humming in a cold tone before continuing his journey. If he remembered correctly, the core formation realm devil that he met a month ago seemed toe from the same direction, making him curious about the reason why it fled that time. Remembering how he spent much time chasing the cultivator with red skin¡ªalmost taking him a couple of days¡ªthe man couldn''t help but lick the corner of his lips in excitement, causing the wooden saber he was holding to tremble slightly.