Chapter 73: Unexpected News

“What a powerful effect this is. I’ll call this poison ‘Deadly Potion.’ Looks like I need to find time to name all the other poisons as well. Formula Three Poison—I truly don’t know what to say about that.” Liu Zhi could only shake his head at his initial laziness.

However, his attention was quickly diverted. After successfully crafting the Deadly Potion, another prompt appeared quietly before him.

[Requirements met for the secondary profession—Poisoner branch of Alchemist: Master 10 poison formulas (14/10), create 3 poison formulas (15/3), master 1 extraordinary poison formula (1/1). Would you like to take the position of Poisoner?]

“I’ve met the requirements already? Then let’s do it. Now is as good a time as any.”

As soon as Liu Zhi made his choice, the notification regarding the Poisoner profession popped up.

[Successfully appointed as Poisoner. Based on your abilities, you are rated as Apprentice Poisoner (Apprentice, Ordinary, Elite, Extraordinary), Level 1.]

[Poisoner attributes per level: Agility +0.1, Constitution +0.1, Spirit +0.2]

[Poisoner Skill: Poison Making—The Poisoner’s skill lies in creating poisons, blending various materials to produce specific quantities. The effectiveness of the poison scales with the Poisoner’s rank (Apprentice +0%, Ordinary +10%, Elite +20%, Extraordinary +30%).]

“It’s a shame I’m only an Apprentice Poisoner. If only I could become an Ordinary Poisoner.”

Muttering to himself, Liu Zhi began to pack up everything at the scene, making sure to gather all the materials from this session. Then, taking his time, he carefully named each of the fourteen ordinary poison formulas he’d previously created, ensuring there would be no more embarrassing names like ‘Formula Three Poison.’

With everything sorted, Liu Zhi left, bringing along four walking corpses carrying the Stone Drum, and returned to the Underworld Palace.

The moment he entered, the four corpses suddenly lost all control, charging in one direction with the Stone Drum in tow. Liu Zhi was startled—he had expected the Stone Drum to dissolve into light and merge with the palace, just like the previous two items. But clearly, this was different. What was happening?

Before he could fully react, the four corpses rushed toward the southern side of the palace, heading straight for the mist.

Liu Zhi hurriedly stopped them. At the very moment he intercepted the corpses, they petrified rapidly, becoming the drum stand for the Stone Drum, positioned at the southernmost end of the palace’s central axis. The Stone Drum rested atop this stand. After emitting a strange glow, it slowly became part of the Underworld Palace.

“What in the world is going on here?” Liu Zhi curiously tapped the Stone Drum, but nothing happened.

As he examined the drum, a cluster of white light emerged from the mist, crashed into the drum, and then a translucent white soul appeared behind it, drifting slowly into the palace.

“What’s this?” Liu Zhi was stunned, then delighted as realization struck: the Stone Drum could attract wandering souls from the mist, drawing them into the Underworld Palace as its inhabitants.

“This is a wonderful thing. Very good—you’ll stay here from now on.” Liu Zhi gently patted the drum, his spirits high as he listened to the sound produced by souls striking it.

From what he could see, the Stone Drum would sound once every minute. That meant over a thousand souls would enter the palace each day. Whether he used them to create undead or as crafting materials, it was a windfall for Liu Zhi. Over time, even without situating his palace in some important part of the Underworld, he could claim to control a great city.

As Liu Zhi grew more excited, the drum sounded again. This time, the soul that drifted from the drum was no longer a generic template but that of a native warrior. Normally, Liu Zhi wouldn’t pay this much mind—after all, he was in South America, and the death of some natives was nothing unusual. But when he looked at this soul, he couldn’t help but stare—a bullet wound was visible in the center of the warrior’s brow, clear evidence of a fatal gunshot.

Such a death was rare; Liu Zhi had yet to meet anyone with such precise marksmanship up to now. Yet, his lingering gaze had an unexpected effect.

[Notification: Rival has died. New rival being generated, generation time 30… Error. New rival already generated. Rival’s strength has increased one tier.]

[Notification: Rival has entered the pursuit mode. Please be on alert!]

[Notification: Due to rival refresh error, according to Regulation DF-009, upon defeating this rival, the rival system will terminate and no new rivals will be generated.]

[Notification: Due to the rival’s death, the associated reward transfers to the key figure who caused the rival’s emergence. Please address this promptly.]

Liu Zhi stared at the notice, then at the soul with a bullet hole in its brow. He was at a loss for words.

Was this his intended rival? Had someone already eliminated him on Liu Zhi’s behalf?

How was this possible? And more importantly, what happened to the promised ninety-day sabotage phase? Why had it suddenly jumped to the pursuit phase?

At that moment, the soul with the bullet wound seemed to notice Liu Zhi. It stood before him, neither advancing nor retreating.

Liu Zhi regarded the figure for a moment, then finally asked, “What’s your name? How did you die?”

“Parker. Serpentstrike Tribe. Demon-Slaying General. Underworld Passage…”

Perhaps because Parker was dead, or perhaps because the bullet had destroyed part of his mind, his memory lasted only a few minutes. No matter what Liu Zhi asked, his answers were limited to these few phrases.

From his words, Liu Zhi could only infer a few things: a figure called the Demon-Slaying General had appeared, and they had used the Underworld Passage to come here. Beyond that, Parker knew nothing more.

Resigned, Liu Zhi let Parker depart. He noticed that as Parker left the vicinity of the Stone Drum, his face gradually shifted, becoming a generic template before vanishing into the palace’s air.