With everyone well-fed and rested, Chen Zhou opened the panels for the Yin-Wind Lumberyard and the Wailing Mine to begin assigning tasks.
Both buildings had specific staffing requirements: one needed wood spirit roots, and the other required earth spirit roots.
Since he didn't have the materials to unlock the Test Immortal Stone yet, he couldn't perform an optimal distribution based on stats. Chen Zhou could only resort to the most basic method: clicking on each villager one by one to test their compatibility.
Perhaps it was because ordinary people were naturally born with mixed spirit roots—meaning they possessed all elements simultaneously. While such talent offered no benefit for cultivation, it allowed them to be assigned to various types of work.
Almost all the villagers were capable of performing both jobs. Chen Zhou decided to split them evenly, while the few who were only compatible with a single building were placed in their respective roles.
A handful of people were more peculiar; they couldn't perform either job.
This indicated that these individuals lacked both earth and wood spirit roots. Shitou and Hong Ling were among them.
Chen Zhou made a mental note of them. Compared to those with mixed spirit roots, these people likely possessed purer spirit roots, which was by no means a bad thing.
There were plenty of miscellaneous tasks in the territory to give them.
For instance, continuing to expand the territory's boundaries, managing the population, preparing food, setting up tents, and so on.
Once more buildings were constructed in the future, the spirit root requirements would no longer be limited to water and earth; there would eventually be a job suited for everyone.
After settling the new villagers, Chen Zhou finally found the time to organize the rewards from his side quest.
Shitou had brought back a total of 48 snake demon corpses. Excluding the one they had just eaten, 47 remained.
Among them were 33 zero-stage snake demons. Through the efforts of the netherflames, they were dismantled into 410 units of ordinary flesh, 390 units of ordinary blood, and 520 units of ordinary souls.
There were also 14 first-stage snake demons, yielding 260 units of first-stage flesh, 250 units of first-stage blood, and 300 units of first-stage souls!
First-stage materials could even be dismantled further; each unit was roughly equivalent to ten units of ordinary materials.
Additionally, he obtained 48 sets of snake bones and essence blood.
Chen Zhou dismantled his original Bone Snake and used 49 sets of snake bones and essence blood to re-summon a Bone Snake ghost servant.
According to the conversion ratio for bone material, this new Bone Snake already possessed a structural strength exceeding 1,000 units of ordinary bone material, becoming the strongest combat force under Chen Zhou’s command once again.
Chen Zhou proceeded to dismantle all the first-stage souls, converting them into 3,000 ordinary souls. After the netherflames delivered the materials to the warehouse, he chose to perform a sacrifice.
The Bone Ghost Servants had been working tirelessly in the Living Dead Secret Realm for days, accumulating another massive haul of materials.
【Current Progress Grade: Umbral Grade】
【Forging Bones Progress: ordinary flesh 4000/10000】
【Painting Skin Progress: ordinary blood 2000/10000】
【Refining Body Progress: ordinary soul 500/10000】
He invested 6,000 units of flesh to max it out, 5,000 units of blood, and 4,500 units of souls.
The progress surged instantly.
【Current Progress Grade: Umbral Grade】
【Forging Bones Progress: ordinary flesh 10000/10000】
【Painting Skin Progress: ordinary blood 7000/10000】
【Refining Body Progress: ordinary soul 5000/10000】
Furthermore, upon obtaining over a hundred units of first-stage materials, the mall simultaneously unlocked new items.
Second-stage Blood-Inducing Pills, Flesh-Reconstitution Pills, Soul-Shaping Pills, bone swords, and bone armor were now available, each requiring 5 units of the corresponding material to exchange.
Chen Zhou had tasted the sweetness of war profiteering.
Fifteen days of diligent pioneering wasn't as productive as killing a few giant demonic beasts!
'It seems I need to find an opportunity to wipe out Lakeglow Ridge in one go.'
'The soul count is currently the biggest bottleneck. If I can make another fortune, the sacrifice progress for the Umbral Grade should be complete.'
Chen Zhou made his decision. He would let his followers rest for two days, then have the young leaders take the team to dismantle the snake demons' nest.
After organizing the basic materials, Chen Zhou rubbed his hands together and turned his gaze toward the final item.
【Earth Grade Lottery Ticket】
This was arguably the greatest harvest from the side quest!
"With a lottery ticket of this high grade, it has to give me something good!"
Chen Zhou clicked to draw.
An interface far more prestigious than the previous Mysterious Grade lottery appeared before his eyes. Countless items that looked high-end flashed in succession before finally slowing to a stop.
It was a building radiating a sinister aura, which materialized beside the Bone Altar in an instant.
The structure was a platform standing amidst a thick, lingering black mist, constructed entirely from twisted, dark black rock.
The platform was an irregular octagon. At each corner stood a withered black bone pillar, topped with a translucent flickering blue flame. Within the flames, the faint, struggling silhouettes of human figures could be seen.
【General-Summoning Platform】
【Grade: Earth Grade】
【Special Building】
【Domain of Myriad Filths: The dark green miasma emanating from the General-Summoning Platform resonates with evil spirits, weaving a network of sinister power within the territory. Any evil spirit placed in ordinary buildings, provided their stage does not exceed the 6th stage, can receive nourishment from this domain, slowly increasing their abilities.】
【Withered Bone Knocking Decree: Take one withered black bone pillar from the octagonal platform and sacrifice a portion of a target evil spirit's source material. The target evil spirit will then emerge from the black bone pillar. If its stage does not exceed the 6th stage, it will be bound by the pillar's curse power and temporarily serve the summoner until the contract power is exhausted or the spirit is defeated.】
【You have unlocked a special building for the first time. You have gained one free use of the Withered Bone Knocking Decree!】
【Note: This summoning will not produce an evil spirit higher than the 6th stage. Please use it with peace of mind.】
【^_^】
Chen Zhou studied the General-Summoning Platform for a long while.
It was indeed a fine treasure, worthy of being a special building.
Two unique abilities. To put it simply, one was a passive aura that boosted the abilities of evil spirits in the territory, and the other was an active summon that provided a laborer as long as it wasn't above the 6th stage.
The system's prompt also confirmed that using the summoning ability carried risks.
If the target exceeded the 6th stage and wasn't bound by the General-Summoning Platform, it would be no different from seeking death.
Chen Zhou didn't believe for a second that all evil spirits were as sensible and easy to talk to as he was.
It seemed he would need to be cautious in the future. Until he could be one hundred percent certain of the level of the evil spirit behind a sacrificial item, he would resolutely refrain from using the Withered Bone Knocking Decree.
However, there was no reason to hesitate with the free draw provided by the system.
"Evil God! Activate!"
He wanted to see what kind of laborer his first draw would bring.
The effect of the Withered Bone Knocking Decree activated.
The blue flames atop a bone pillar suddenly shot up three feet high. Within the flames, a curled-up gray shadow appeared, and a sharp, thin squeaking sound echoed faintly from the fire, like a wail of pain from being burned.
A slight vibration came from the General-Summoning Platform, followed by a finger-wide black crack splitting open on one of the bone pillars with a snap.
A foul-smelling yin wind poured from the crack, accompanied by the sound of claws scratching against rock.
Shortly after, a rat the size of a peanut suddenly lunged out of the crack. It let out a sharp shriek as it landed, and the pale black miasma surrounding it condensed into tiny black mist whirlpools on the ground.
The rat was entirely grayish-black and extremely miniature, but its eyes were blood-red, radiating a defiant and fierce intent.
"Which suicidal fool dared drag your Lord Rat to this godforsaken place?!"
Rate on N.U.
