Chapter 85: The Suddenly Rising Graveyard Demon

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The Suddenly Rising Graveyard Demon

After briefly entrusting the remaining matters to the Corpse Witch, Gu Su withdrew his gaze. He turned and walked straight toward the area on the Graveyard Demon’s west side, where the Kobold corpses were piled.

These Kobold corpses had already been neatly sorted by the Skeletons on duty.

The corpses of common Kobolds were piled to one side, while those of the Kobold Warlocks and Kobold Warriors were laid out separately, the boundary between them distinct and clear.

Gu Su glanced at the mountain of corpses but didn’t bother bending down to get an exact count. He simply waved at a nearby Skeleton on standby and crisply issued an order.

"Put the Kobold Warlocks in burial pit number three, and the Kobold Warriors in Level 2 burial pit number one."

’He knew perfectly well that the corpses of Kobold Warlocks and Warriors were high-quality materials for Soul Summoning Magic Series Skeletons and Walking Dead.’

’Mixing them in with the regular Kobolds for Soul Summoning would be a tremendous waste.’

’Only by handling them separately could he maximize the value of each corpse, not wasting an ounce of its potential.’

But just as the Skeletons were about to move the corpses, the ground suddenly began to shake violently without warning.

The tremor was incredibly violent. The ground swayed unceasingly, and the loose stones at his feet tumbled about. Even the nearby pile of corpses shook, nearly knocking Gu Su off his feet.

Gu Su quickly steadied himself and instinctively scanned his surroundings, soon noticing something strange.

The Graveyard Demon under his control had somehow grown much taller.

The nearby trees, which had originally been level with the Graveyard Demon’s outer walls, were gradually sinking from view. Soon, only the top halves of their canopies remained visible, creating a bizarre sight.

’What in the world is happening?’

Startled, Gu Su instantly lost all interest in the Kobold corpses. His attention was completely captivated by the Graveyard Demon’s strange transformation.

He strode quickly to the perimeter wall. Using it for leverage, he agilely hopped onto a nearby, unused hydroponics rack in just a couple of moves. Planting his hands on top of the wall, he leaned his body forward and peered outside.

This time, he saw it clearly. Gu Su was now certain that his Graveyard Demon had indeed been raised a significant height—it was much taller than before. Looking down now felt like peering from the upper story of a building.

Gu Su was completely baffled. His brow furrowed deeply, his eyes filled with confusion.

After a moment’s thought, he quickly jumped down from the hydroponics rack and hurried toward the Graveyard Demon’s main gate, determined to find the source of this change.

As soon as he reached the main gate, Gu Su spotted the anomaly outside the Graveyard Demon.

On the previously flat ground, a gentle slope had appeared out of nowhere. It was covered with loose soil and a few dried grass roots, looking as if it had just been churned up from underground.

He walked over to the slope and looked back toward the Graveyard Demon, instantly taking in the full picture.

The Graveyard Demon had literally been thrust upward more than two meters from the ground. Its foundation was now buried deep in the earth, making it look incredibly stable. The newly added lower section of its wall, however, was so bizarre it sent a chill down the spine.

In other words, the Graveyard Demon’s outer wall, originally just over three meters tall, now stood at a total height of over five meters. It towered over the surrounding trees. The visual clash between the upper and lower sections of the wall was jarring, creating an indescribable sense of strangeness.

The upper section was unchanged: a crude but sturdy assembly of old iron sheets, scrap Wood, Deceitful Tree roots, and thick ropes all lashed together. Its uneven surface, stained with dirt and rotting leaves, still bore the rough marks of Gu Su’s own handiwork.

The lower section, however, was another sight entirely.

Countless dried vines, as black as ink, coiled tightly around the wall like a mass of writhing snakes. The vines varied in thickness. The thickest ones, as wide as a child’s arm, were covered in cracked fissures and dark brown mold spots. The thinner ones crisscrossed like iron wire, weaving a dense net across the wall’s surface.

The vines were not wrapped randomly; they followed the outlines of what looked like the windows of a dilapidated apartment building, all crammed together. Shards of concrete from the window frames were embedded in the crevices between the vines, their edges sharp. Remnants of white plaster were even visible.

Each vine was evenly coated in a layer of frost-like white Corroding Mycelium. This mycelium was fine and soft, like fluffy mold, and it spread along the contours of the vines. Parts of it had congealed into tiny white granules that emitted a faint, cold glow in the dim light. Getting closer revealed a foul odor, a mix of rotting leaves and must.

Even more horrifying, numerous scattered bones were faintly visible, concealed where the vines intersected and within the shadows of the building’s windows.

There were small finger bones, broken ribs, and half a shattered skull. The bones were yellowed, bearing the mottled scars of time. Dried vine fibers still clung to some of them, as if they had been forcibly bound and embedded into the wall. Fused with the vines and mycelium, they exuded a grim, deathly stillness.

No matter how he looked at it, this combination of vines, mycelium, and bone struck Gu Su as remarkably familiar.

Gu Su stopped walking. He fell silent for a moment as he rapidly searched his memory, and a hazy image slowly sharpened into focus.

’This can’t be that Vine Mansion, can it?’

Looking at the scene before him, a part of Gu Su remained in disbelief, but the evidence was undeniable.

Ignoring all the twisted and grotesque details, this new lower section really did resemble the Vine Mansion, as if it had been stripped of all its power.

Gu Su clapped his hands sharply, his thoughts falling into place. He then took off, quickly circling the exterior of the Graveyard Demon. As he ran, his fingertips occasionally brushed against the vines on the wall, feeling their hard, dry texture. There was no vitality in them; they were clearly long-dead.

The farther he ran, the more certain he became of his suspicion.

This new section of wall beneath the Graveyard Demon had clearly been stripped from the Vine Mansion. However, it had been devoured and remolded by the Graveyard Demon’s Yin Qi and Corroding Mycelium. The density of the vines, the thickness of the mycelium, the arrangement of the bones—everything was completely different from the original Vine Mansion. It had been thoroughly assimilated by the Graveyard Demon’s eerie aura.

After completing a full circle, Gu Su stopped and gestured to the sky, beckoning Crow’s Caw to come to him.

From the distant sky, Crow’s Caw spread its snow-white wings and dove down, its beating wings stirring a light breeze. Before it even touched the ground, Gu Su issued his command.

"Go take a look at the Vine Mansion."

After giving the order, Gu Su didn’t immediately return inside the Graveyard Demon. He remained in place, his gaze fixed on the vined wall at its base.

’The sight before him sparked a new line of thought. He began to wonder if this transformation had only given his Graveyard Demon taller walls, or if there was something more to it.’