Chapter 68: Great Graveyard and Elite Undead

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Great Graveyard and Elite Undead

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Gu Su squatted before the Yin Soul Shop’s simple cloth-covered stall, his gaze carefully sweeping over the three items that had refreshed today.

On the stall, a man-high black incense stick stood quietly. Its body was firm and glossy, with a few faint wisps of gray mist coiling around its surface. Getting closer, one could smell a heavy, earthy scent mixed with a faint trace of Yin Qi.

Beside it, a dark mass was slumped on the stall, looking like a solidified blood clot. Its surface had a faint oily sheen. It felt sticky, yet didn’t cling to the hand. Up close, one could faintly smell a hint of decay. This was clearly specially processed flesh.

On the far right was a palm-sized piece of scrap metal. Only upon closer inspection did one realize it was the remains of a Treasure Chest that had been brutally hammered flat. The body of the chest was covered in irregular dents, with tiny wood splinters and traces of rust still clinging to the edges. A faint spiritual gleam occasionally shone from the cracks in the chest, making one’s heart itch with anticipation.

[Tomb Incense (White): A special reinforcement incense for tombstones. Pitch-black like ink, it contains pure Death Qi. It can be directly lit to strengthen a Tombstone, upgrading a normal Tombstone into a Large Tombstone (Price: 10 Gold Coins).]

[Processed Flesh (White): Refined through a special process after being steeped in Yin Qi for a long time. Sticky and dark in color, it can be used to corrupt Low Tier mechanical or strange entities, causing them to lose activity or be tainted by Undead power (Price: 8 Gold Coins).]

[Deceased Treasure Chest Monster (White): The remains of a Level 1 Treasure Chest Monster killed by external force. Its shell has been hammered flat and solidified into scrap metal, but it still contains lingering Spiritual Qi. High probability of containing basic materials, low probability of yielding a Low Tier item. It all depends on Luck (Price: 6 Gold Coins).]

After seeing the Attributes and prices of the three items, Gu Su didn’t hesitate at all. He immediately took out his Gold Coins and placed them gently on the stall—these were all good things, and he wanted them all.

After paying the Gold Coins, Gu Su first picked up the black incense stick and strode toward a Yin Fire Heap burning with eerie green flames not far away.

He raised his hand and brought the incense stick close to the fire. The eerie green flame instantly licked the tip of the incense. The black stick didn’t produce thick smoke, but instead ignited with a small, pale gray flame, accompanied by a faint SIZZLE. The heavy, earthy smell and Yin Qi grew stronger, rising slowly with the flame and permeating the air of the Graveyard Demon.

Once the incense was burning steadily, Gu Su gripped its body, walked quickly to the front of the Tombstone, and firmly inserted the black incense stick into the dirt at its peak.

The moment the incense was inserted, the pale gray flame suddenly shot up. Wisps of gray smoke coiled down the stick’s body and slowly seeped into the Tombstone’s soil.

The next second, the Tombstone before him underwent a visible transformation.

The ordinary Tombstone, originally half a person tall, with dull, bare earth, bulged and rose at a visible rate, finally stopping at one and a half times a person’s height. The Tombstone’s outline became smooth and rounded. Its once-loose soil turned firm and black, as if saturated with Yin Qi, and gave off a faint sheen.

Even more strangely, small green sprouts slowly emerged from the Tombstone’s surface. In just a moment, they grew into a patch of dense green grass.

The grass was an inky green, with slender blades dotted with fine gray mist. It exuded the unique, eerie vitality of an Undead Territory, blending perfectly with the cold, grim atmosphere of the surrounding graveyard without seeming out of place at all.

[Influenced by the Tomb Incense, the Tombstone has been upgraded to a Large Tombstone.]

[Large Tombstone (Level 1): The type and number of resident Undead remain unchanged. Resident Undead are directly upgraded from normal quality to Elite Quality. They can automatically awaken their own unique Talents and Basic Combat Skills, and unlock access to professions.]

Looking at the system prompt that popped up, Gu Su instantly understood the core function of the Large Tombstone.

If the purpose of a Gravepile was to increase the residential cap for Undead and expand their numbers, then the Large Tombstone focused on strengthening the quality of individual Undead, making it a veritable Elite mansion for the Undead.

It couldn’t house too many Undead, but the power and status of every Undead within were comparable to that of an ordinary Minion, or even Boss Level.

If he could train them into different professions based on their awakened Talents and Skills, then form five or ten-man Elite Squads, they could carry out delicate missions that the Undead Army couldn’t handle, like precision strikes and covert reconnaissance. Their combat power would be nothing to scoff at.

At this thought, Gu Su couldn’t help but slap his thigh, his face full of regret.

’What a huge loss!’

All of his Elite Skeletons had been converted into Skeleton Warriors. If he hadn’t been in such a hurry to convert them, with the buff from the Large Tombstone, he could have assigned professions and cultivated Skills for each Elite Skeleton based on their Talents, unleashing even greater combat power.

’This is truly a loss of over ten billion!’

Gu Su muttered to himself, his tone filled with regret. However, the thought was fleeting, and he didn’t dwell on it for long. What was done was done, and more regret was useless. It was better to see what changes the upgraded Elite Undead had undergone.

Gu Su then raised his hand and summoned the five Elite Skeleton Warriors that were still inside the Graveyard Demon.

By now, these five Skeleton Warriors had already completed their quality transformation, becoming Elite Skeleton Warriors.

Their skeletons had now turned completely pure black. Their bones were smooth and lustrous, as if they had been steeped in Ink Jade, and a faint grayish-black halo coiled around their surface—the unique Death Qi blessing of an Elite Quality Undead.

The eerie green Soul Fire within their eye sockets had become deeper and more condensed. It no longer flickered weakly, but burned steadily, radiating a sharp glint.

Gu Su merely glanced at them and discovered that all five Elite Skeleton Warriors had automatically awakened Basic Combat Skills. Additionally, two of them had also awakened exclusive Talents, their combat power having taken a qualitative leap.

One had awakened the [Bone Blade Slash] skill. It could condense Death Qi into the patterns on its blade to launch a powerful slash, not only dealing extra Death Qi damage but also using the blade’s patterns to tear through an enemy’s defense.

Another awakened [Bone Shield Defense]. It could inject Death Qi into the patterns on its shield, activating a defensive effect for a short time to block a powerful attack and even reflect a small amount of damage.

A third awakened [Swift Assault]. It could increase its movement speed for a short time and use its sharp Bone Blade to launch a surprise attack, catching the enemy off guard.

A fourth awakened [Death-piercing Stab]. It could condense the Death Qi in its body at the tip of its blade, changing its original slashing attack into a stabbing one. This one also awakened the [Armor-Piercing] Talent; when attacking, it has a 15% chance to ignore a portion of the enemy’s defense, making it the bane of high-defense opponents.

The last one awakened [Bone Armor Blessing]. It could summon Death Qi to form temporary Bone Armor. Paired with a Bone Shield, this created a dual-layered defense, greatly enhancing its survivability and close-combat Endurance. It also awakened the [Endurance] Talent, allowing it to slowly absorb Death Qi from the air during battle to restore a small amount of its Life Value, significantly improving its sustained combat capability.

All in all, the Skills and Talents of these five were quite impressive.