Nephalem Project, Undead Secrets?

The popularity of the Undead Network allowed Chen Xu to briefly shift his focus away from the Angel and Demon experiments.

However, he soon threw himself back into his research.

Currently, the network's user base was primarily composed of transcendents at the epic-tier and below. Legend-tier users were few, and those at the mythic-tier could be counted on one's fingers.

Eternal-tier beings were busy comprehending the Dao and had no spare energy for leisure on the network.

On the other hand, the number of Dao Lords exceeded Chen Xu's expectations. It seemed this group, much like Li Taiji, had lived for so long that they spent every day searching for fresh entertainment.

After issuing a command to Miracle to keep a constant watch on all discussions involving the undead and Hell, Chen Xu turned back to his grand experimental undertaking.

He named this Angel and Demon fusion project "Nephalem's Dream."

In a game from his previous life, there was a powerful race with the blood of both angels and demons. They fought across worlds with explosive combat power, tearing from Hell to Heaven and leaving nothing but desolation in their wake.

Chen Xu wanted to create a race as powerful as the Nephalem to serve as his signature elite force.

Of course, as the Lord of the Undead, his creation would naturally be an undead version of the Nephalem.

At that moment, Chen Xu was engaged in constant trials and discussions with the Whispering Tree to determine which undead creature would serve as the base for the fusion.

“Great Lord of the Undead, based on my usual experimental experience, skeleton-type undead have the best plasticity, but they lack a certain spirituality compared to flesh-based ones,” the Whispering Tree said.

“Because the structure of flesh-based undead is inherently chaotic, uncontrollable mutations—mostly negative—usually occur after fusing new elements.”

“As for soul-based undead, fusion is a game of extremes. They are highly compatible with element-related fusion components, like certain ghost variants, but they show strong rejection toward other types. I have conducted numerous experiments but have yet to overcome this hurdle.”

Chen Xu placed great trust in the Whispering Tree's words.

It couldn't be helped; in the Slaughterhouse of the abominations, the naturally generated corpses and flesh only occupied two-thirds of the area. The remaining third was entirely composed of undead remains processed after the Whispering Tree's failed experiments.

Skeletons, ghouls... there was even the remains of a bone dragon.

Naturally, as a relatively refined race among the undead, both Chen Xu and Sindragosa forbade the Whispering Tree from using bone dragons as experimental fodder.

That unlucky bone dragon had accidentally lost its life when it was struck by an explosion from the laboratory while flying through the Undead Dao Court.

Because the explosion was so powerful, the bone dragon's remains were quite mangled. Even a puzzle master wouldn't be able to restore it, so it was tossed into the Slaughterhouse to be repurposed.

As for the soul-based undead—the ghosts—many that failed their experiments were sent to the Red and White Courtyard for re-employment. The courtyard was already overcrowded with ghosts, and they had begun brawling with one another.

Since Chen Xu had been busy, he hadn't noticed the situation in the courtyard. By the time he discovered it, the Vicious Ghosts transformed by the courtyard had already devoured more than half of their number. Once there was enough space, the infighting ceased.

Chen Xu noticed that the Vicious Ghosts who had engaged in cannibalism felt slightly stronger than the others. With the mindset of raising venomous insects in a jar, he tacitly allowed the Whispering Tree's experiments to continue.

In short, setting aside its actual research level, the Whispering Tree was definitely an expert when it came to the experience of failing and hitting dead ends.

Therefore, Chen Xu readily accepted its suggestion.

“So, you recommend using a skeleton-type undead as the base for creation?”

The Whispering Tree quickly swayed its long branches, its face showing rejection.

“Great Lord of the Undead, in your vision, the wondrous Nephalem is meant to be so powerful. I fear a skeletal body would limit its potential.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“Great Lord of the Undead, I wonder if you have heard of the concept of soul particles?”

“Soul particles? Of course I have. Why bring that up suddenly?”

Chen Xu had studied at the Balance School in Akhan. The school's library contained a wealth of transcendent knowledge regarding souls.

He had borrowed quite a few books back then, attempting to leverage his mental strength advantage by advancing his soul techniques.

Moreover, Zhang Jingping's work, 《Soul Particle Evolution Theory》, was the definitive text on the subject.

He had read it many times years ago. Although he hadn't put it into practice, he knew a thing or two about the theories involved.

“Flideng told me that not long ago, it met two experts in the field of souls. It greatly admires the soul attainments of one of them. It was Flideng who mentioned soul particles to me.”

“So Flideng told you.”

Chen Xu had dragged Flideng along specifically to let it learn something; he hadn't expected it to actually take it to heart.

“My Lord, soul particles are so miraculous. They allow a soul to change at will, even mimicking a physical body with a soul form. It is practically a universal substance.”

“Why don't we dismantle a large number of ghosts to obtain a vast quantity of soul particles? We can then use these particles to construct the dream creature we desire. Wouldn't that be magnificent!”

There was a hint of fanaticism in the Whispering Tree's voice, almost making Chen Xu think the old tree had been influenced by that mad professor, Aaron.

Meanwhile, the ghosts Chen Xu had assigned as assistants to the Whispering Tree were fuming. They threw down the miscellaneous items in their hands, pelting the Whispering Tree's trunk.

“That idea isn't entirely unfeasible,” Chen Xu said.

He had been impressed by Zhang Jingping's combat scenes back then—the divine ability to transform a soul body into all things was truly remarkable.

“But there's no need to use only ghosts as materials. We have a war with Hell coming up, and the more troops, the better. Let's do this.”

Chen Xu reached out and grabbed Flideng. His expression was cold as he stared at its slightly panicked face.

“You heard what was just said. My great cause requires a large amount of soul particles. Using only your kind is a bit inhumane, so I'll give you a chance.”

Chen Xu snapped his fingers, opening a spatial gate. On the other side was the Wanbao Pavilion merchant caravan.

“Take your ghost army and hunt those space pirates. Use their fresh souls to replace your own.”

Hearing Chen Xu's stern tone, Flideng shuddered. It released its mythic-tier peak aura, instantly gathering a large ghost army. Then, it charged into the spatial gate, with the rest of the ghosts following close behind.

Once the last ghost had passed through, Chen Xu closed the spatial gate, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

It seemed that the higher the intelligence of these undead, the more they feared death.

From the competitors who voluntarily gave up their territories during the Lord of the Undead competition to the ghosts and undead bone dragons under his command, this observation was becoming more and more consistent.

Interesting. Undead who are afraid of death.

Although low-tier undead were absolutely obedient to high-tier ones—never wavering even at a suicidal order—deep within their hearts, there was still fear.

Chen Xu didn't know if there was some secret hidden behind this, but his unique-tier intuition told him there was definitely something wrong.

Perhaps this was a secret buried within the Land of the Undead that had yet to be discovered.

However, he didn't have time to explore it now. There was plenty of time in the future; the secret would eventually be revealed.

The Nephalem Project had to wait for materials, so for now, he would help build a Natural Wonder for Li Taiji's Universe Martial World.

Just as Chen Xu was about to issue an order to Xuan Chu, a majestic dragon roar echoed.

“Wu!!!!”