Chapter 99: Changes in the Nether Palace (Please Add to Favorites)

Compared with the walls that had cost so much labor to build, little in the Underworld Palace had changed over these past few months. The mass grave still needed vast quantities of flesh and corpses to expand its grounds; otherwise, reaching level two would remain a distant dream.

The Alchemical Cottage was much the same. In these months, Liu Zhi had only managed to raise it to level two, and the greatest obstacle was not a shortage of building materials, but rather that he lacked both enough formulas and enough hands.

According to the cottage’s upgrade requirements, advancing from level one to level two demanded ten alchemical formulas stored inside it. That condition had already been satisfied in advance thanks to the spider silk formula from the Fate-Weaving Spider Woman.

But the leap from level two to level three was far less simple. The cottage had to have a resident alchemist stationed within it, and the number of formulas required rose from ten to thirty, with at least fifteen of them needing to be fully completed.

That was exactly what had blocked the cottage’s progress, leaving it forever stuck at level two.

By contrast, Becca’s Fencing Hall, used for training the Night Rapier Art, had advanced quite quickly. Though it could only ever rise to level four, it had already reached level three.

This dojo-like fencing hall occupied a relatively large area, yet in truth it was nothing more than a wooden hut with ten lanes for rapier practice, not even a proper place to rest or change clothes.

Still, it could let twenty undead or other creatures learn the Night Rapier Art at the same time. As long as they spent five days here, they could master its most basic form, no longer like the old days in the mass grave, when Liu Zhi had to pour experience points into the skeletons or walking corpses to force them to learn a skill.

Of course, if they kept studying here, then after about sixty days the creatures or undead trained here could learn the Z-shaped Secret Sword. As for the Evernight Sword Curtain taught at level-three Becca’s Fencing Hall, that depended on the trainee’s talent rather than on time.

This was precisely the fundamental reason Liu Zhi’s upgrades had stalled. To raise Becca’s Fencing Hall from level one to level two, he needed to train sixty subordinates who had mastered the Night Rapier Art.

The same was true for advancing from level two to level three, though the number was smaller: only fifteen subordinates who had learned the Z-shaped Secret Sword were required.

Now, moving from level three to level four was awkward indeed, because only five such people were needed, but the problem was that Liu Zhi had no way of knowing which of his subordinates could learn the Evernight Sword Curtain.

If he insisted on counting, perhaps only Videnina could be said to have that certainty. But even if she had four arms, could that really count as four people?

So in the end, Becca’s Fencing Hall could only remain in that embarrassing final stretch, unable to be forcibly improved, and still requiring Liu Zhi to provide at least three practice lanes so that the skeleton soldiers he believed might grasp the Evernight Sword Curtain could keep training there.

As Liu Zhi walked through the Underworld Palace, he did not turn his head once. He knew Videnina would always stand one step behind him on his left. In that position, should danger arise, she could instantly place herself before him, without interfering with his sword stroke.

Meanwhile, the Fate-Weaving Spider Woman relied on her six long legs to pace back and forth behind Liu Zhi. Only when he needed her would she stop and stand at his right side. Even then, she never remained quiet; instead, she would keep swaying her body there, as if being forced to stand still would cost her life.

“We have one day left,” Liu Zhi said. “We need to finish the final cleanup of the Underworld Palace. Send back every scouting unit that was dispatched into the gray fog. It doesn’t matter whether they found anything or not. Also, have them enter and leave through the southern gate. Once we have enough materials, I’ll build up the walls on the other sides as well. The gate will only be built on the due southern side.”

The Fate-Weaving Spider Woman nodded at once. “Understood. I’ll inform them. They should be coming back already anyway. Some of them went too far out; if they don’t return soon, they won’t make it in time.”

As she spoke, she drew a great deal of spider silk from her hair, examining each strand in detail. “This one belongs to the team sent out ten days ago. I think they went southeast to check for useful ore veins and the like. We need to call them back quickly. This one is...”

Liu Zhi glanced at her once, then paid no further attention. By now, he had reached the place where he had once discovered the giant serpent’s skeleton.

A great deal of serpent blood had been poured over it, and the great white bones had long since turned a deep red. Every time Liu Zhi came here, he could always feel an intense pressure radiating from the skeleton.

Still, he had tried several times to handle the giant serpent’s bones with the Soul Summoning Spell, and every attempt had failed to produce the slightest result. He did not know whether his method was wrong, or whether something else was still missing.

This time, he was about to leave the game. For most things in the Underworld Palace, Liu Zhi felt fairly certain about what would happen. But he could not be sure whether this giant serpent skeleton, or the half-lake to the east, would depart with him.

And he had a feeling that these two things would greatly improve his evaluation. That was why, for the past few days, he had kept circling this area, trying to determine the condition of both places, or at least hoping to make one final attempt before the end.

Standing before the giant serpent’s bones, Liu Zhi extended his left hand, and the Death Staff fell into it. He took it in his right hand instead, then loudly began reciting the incantation for the Soul Summoning Spell.

The spell, carrying Liu Zhi’s magic, flowed little by little into the giant serpent’s skeleton before him.

But the result was the same as always. The bones gave no response at all. After meditating to restore the magic he had spent, Liu Zhi could only head east with some helplessness.

By then, the lake that had once lacked water was no longer dry, because Liu Zhi had mastered the feathered serpent’s rain-control ability. Standing by the shore, one could see through the twisted waterweeds in the lake the faint outlines of scattered golden vessels and cold white bones.

As he had done by the giant serpent’s skeleton, Liu Zhi stood at the edge of the lake with the Death Staff in hand, again and again using the Soul Summoning Spell upon the water.

Because this spell targeted the entire lake, once Liu Zhi’s magic flowed into the water, the bones below gave not the slightest reaction.

Liu Zhi had long since grown used to the changes here. After pouring in all his magic, he stood by the lake and watched for a long while. In the end, he shook his head with resignation. The response here was even weaker than when he had once tried to take a single golden vessel from within.

With a sigh, Liu Zhi sat down to meditate. Tomorrow would be the day of departure. Then, he would come here one last time and try again. If it worked, so be it. If not, there would be nothing else to do.