Chen Zhou tried to sense the combat power of the Bone Snake and got a general idea.
If a standard Bone Ghost Servant was one unit of combat power, this Bone Snake was worth about two to three skeletons.
'From the looks of it, the strength of a ghost servant is directly proportional to the quality and quantity of the bone material used?'
He pondered for a moment, then tapped the interface and selected 【View Servant Info】.
【You have not unlocked the building "Test Immortal Stone". Detailed servant information cannot be viewed.】
Chen Zhou opened the 【Buildings】 panel instead.
He began searching through the densely packed icons for any sign of the Test Immortal Stone.
The types of buildings were numerous, but they were all at the most basic Yellow Grade.
To access higher-grade buildings, he would need blueprints to unlock them.
【Test Immortal Stone】
【Grade: Yellow Grade】
【Material Requirements: ordinary stone x 200, ordinary bone material x 200, lower-grade spirit stones x 200】
【Capable of calculating spirit roots and destiny, as well as viewing abilities and potential. It is a common tool required for measuring spirit roots during immortal sect recruitment ceremonies.】
Chen Zhou was speechless.
He stared at the requirement for "lower-grade spirit stones x 200," and his mouth twitched.
He was currently dirt poor. Forget about something that sounded as expensive as spirit stones; he didn't even have a single drop of ordinary bone material left.
He couldn't exactly dismantle his own Bone Altar to make up the numbers, could he?
Temporarily abandoning the idea of building a Test Immortal Stone, Chen Zhou jumped back to the 【Newbie Tutorial】 interface and accepted the second newbie task:
【Task Requirement: Complete one construction】
【0/1】
【Task Reward: Sky-Mending Stone x 2】
The building with the lowest material requirements was the Yellow Grade 【Well】.
It could only satisfy some basic water needs, though subsequent upgrades would allow for the raising of water ghosts.
The first build only required 5 units each of ordinary stone, ordinary wood, and ordinary iron ore.
Wood was plentiful in this forest, and stone was scarcer but still findable. The problem was the iron ore.
Where was he supposed to get that?
Chen Zhou rubbed his temples, feeling the task come to a grinding halt.
In frustration, he could only open the final 【Lottery】 interface.
When he had completed his first sacrifice earlier, the system had rewarded him with a Mysterious Grade lottery ticket.
'Gotta believe in the heart of the cards!'
Chen Zhou simply closed his eyes and tapped the button.
The icons on the interface skipped rapidly before finally coming to a slow stop on a dilapidated tombstone covered in cracks.
【Congratulations! You have obtained a minor secret realm exclusive to the Dead Man’s Forest—the Living Dead Secret Realm!】
In the next second, a physical tombstone manifested out of thin air, landing steadily beside the Bone Altar. Damp moss still clung to its surface.
【Notice: You may enter the secret realm to explore by touching the Dead Man's Stele. Good luck!】
【^_^】
Just as the lottery ended, the 【Personal Tasks】 panel flickered, and a new side quest popped up:
【Side Quest Triggered】
【Many legends are hidden within this Dead Man’s Forest—perhaps evil spirits, perhaps curses. They are dead, yet they are also alive.】
【Explore the Living Dead Secret Realm】
【Exploration Progress: 0%】
【Task Reward: To be determined by exploration progress】
Chen Zhou keenly caught the wording. "This Dead Man’s Forest"... was the forest he was currently in actually called the Dead Man’s Forest?
Were there many legends? Did that mean there were other evil spirits here besides him?
That was indeed very dangerous.
"I'm on a fresh account, don't mess with me."
Chen Zhou felt an instant surge of urgency.
A secret realm rewarded by the system sounded fraught with peril, especially since it came from a Mysterious Grade ticket.
However, leaving a secret realm unexplored wasn't his style, especially with a personal side quest on the line.
To be safe, Chen Zhou decided to let the Bone Snake lead the way.
The skeleton and the mood-setting netherflames would stay behind to guard the Ghost Domain. If the secret realm was crawling with danger and the Bone Snake was lost inside, he would still have some combat power left and wouldn't be completely out of cards.
Having made up his mind, Chen Zhou commanded the Bone Snake to slither toward the Dead Man's Stele.
The moment the Bone Snake's skull lightly touched the tombstone, it vanished in the blink of an eye.
It had successfully entered the secret realm.
After confirming the entrance was temporarily safe, Chen Zhou immediately established sensory sharing with the Bone Snake.
But in the next second, he was left dumbfounded by the sight before him.
A familiar stench of rot wafted into his nostrils through the shared senses.
"This... isn't this a damn zombie?"
What met his eyes was a dilapidated modern residential complex.
The wall plaster had peeled away in large patches, the iron doors and windows were rusted and pitted, and blackened, foul-smelling gore smeared the window glass.
A pervasive fog of green corpse poison mist filled the air.
A few hunched zombies wandered aimlessly through the toxic mist, raspy groans escaping their throats.
For a moment, Chen Zhou almost thought he had transmigrated back to his previous life.
But upon closer inspection, there were slight differences.
The corpse poison here was too concentrated, forming a mist that refused to dissipate. An ordinary creature would likely be infected and mutate within a single breath.
Among the wandering zombies, there was a mix of modern and ancient clothing, and some were even wearing Taoist robes.
One part consisted of the original inhabitants of this apocalypse.
The other part seemed to be explorers of the secret realm, though it looked like they had all been infected by the toxic mist the moment they stepped through the door.
A classic entry trap.
Chen Zhou had dealt with these monstrosities for several years in his previous life and was intimately familiar with their habits.
These things had powerful physical bodies but chaotic, mindless consciousnesses. They would only attack living beings with mindless frenzy.
They were sensitive to sound, and their weakness was the head.
Obviously, the Bone Snake did not fall into the category of a living being.
As a result, groups of zombies wandered past the Bone Snake, completely ignoring it.
This was good news.
Chen Zhou suddenly felt that if he had been an evil spirit in his previous life, he would have lived quite comfortably in the apocalypse.
Based solely on the ability to ignore both zombies and corpse poison, he definitely would have thrived.
His lament finished, Chen Zhou tried to maneuver the Bone Snake slowly, taking care not to disturb too many zombies.
After observing for a while, Chen Zhou picked out a lone female zombie.
The zombie’s head hung low as her hands flailed aimlessly in front of her. Her movements were relatively sluggish.
Like a true cold-blooded hunter, the Bone Snake silently coiled around the female zombie’s body.
The zombie only struggled futilely a couple of times. Her gaze remained vacant, devoid of any will to resist.
The Bone Snake continued to tighten its grip, its sharp bone spurs piercing the zombie’s skin. Inky gore dripped from the spurs.
'Attack the head.'
Chen Zhou issued the command in a low voice.
The Bone Snake lunged upward.
It had to be said, the bodies of zombies were truly tough. In his previous life, high-level zombies had even reached the point of ignoring some firearms.
It took about ten minutes, but while being as careful as possible not to make a sound, the Bone Snake finally crushed the zombie's skull.
Foul-smelling, yellowish brain matter splattered the ground.
Chen Zhou immediately commanded the Bone Snake to drag the headless zombie out of the secret realm.
He had a bold idea!
The mood-setting Netherflame Ghost Servant trembled with excitement as it looked at the mangled corpse of the zombie, appearing quite pleased.
The netherflame's flicker intensified for a moment before it hurried forward. A short while later, it had successfully dismantled the zombie’s corpse.
【You have obtained ordinary flesh x 0.9, ordinary blood x 0.1, ordinary bone material x 0.9】
Rate on N.U.
