Chapter 31: The Graveyard Demon’s Enhancement
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Gu Su wasn’t in the mood to carefully check every notification, nor did he immediately deal with converting the resources. He hurried into his Old Tent and eagerly pulled up the Graveyard Demon’s Attribute Panel.
He had already clearly felt the Graveyard Demon change just a moment ago, and checking on it was the one thing he wanted to do most right now.
Sure enough, as soon as the Attribute Panel appeared, the various stats came into view. They were completely different from before he’d set out, and the changes far exceeded his expectations.
A flicker of unconcealable surprise flashed through Gu Su’s eyes, and his breath caught in his throat.
[Name: Desolate Graveyard (Gray Quality)]
[Level: 0]
[Traits: Graveyard Demon (Gray, Degraded)]
[Resources: Gold Coins 3392, Yin Qi 9, Wood 42, Stone 5, Metal 50, Gemstone 2, Crystal 0, Mercury 3, Sulfur 0]
[Annex Buildings:
1. Deceitful Tree (Level 1): The graveyard’s defense core. Current Status: Repair Progress 51%
2. Old Tent (Level 1): The graveyard’s construction core and residence. Current Status: Intact
3. Yin Fire Heap (Level 1): Gathers Yin Qi, producing 500 Yin Qi every 24 hours. Current Status: Intact
4. Empty Tomb (1 Level 3, 2 Level 2, 3 Level 1): Placing a corpse inside automatically converts it into an Undead unit for the owner to control.
5. Gravepile (1 Level 1): Reinforces the Undead garrison and increases its population capacity. Placing a corpse inside automatically converts it into an Undead unit for the owner to control.
6. Tombstone (1 Level 1): Reinforces the Undead garrison. The type and number of resident Undead remain unchanged, but they are upgraded from ordinary to elite (Skeleton Attack +1, Defense +1, Life +3).
7. Broken Fence (Level 1): A basic defensive structure that can block low-level enemy invasions. Current Status: Intact
8. Earth-Binding Vein (Level 0): Allows the graveyard to move. Current Status: Inactive (Can be repaired by completing the corresponding quest).
9. Corroding Mycelium (Level 1): Can absorb items, aberrations, props, and buildings with Death, Yin Qi, and Undead attributes to expand the graveyard’s area. Current Status: Intact
10. Withered Wood Forest (Level 1): Produces Wood (1 unit/hour) and affects the Attributes of Empty Tombs within the forest. Current Status: Intact
11. Yin Soul Shop (Level 1): Items can be purchased at the shop for 2-10 Gold Coins (limit of 3 items per day, mostly with Yin Qi and Death Qi attributes). Current Status: Intact]
[Explanation: A Graveyard Demon that’s almost repaired. Keep it up!]
After a quick scan of the Attribute Panel, Gu Su had a clear picture of all the changes. The Graveyard Demon’s recovery speed was astonishingly fast; it was now over six hundred square meters in size.
It was only about two hundred square meters short of its full, standard size. ’At this rate,’ he thought, ’it won’t be long before the Graveyard Demon is complete, and it’ll no longer be some cheap knock-off.’
The withered trees gathered at the back of the graveyard weren’t just ordinary deadwood. The Graveyard Demon had collected them over time through some unknown means, eventually forming the new Level 1 Annex Building: the Withered Wood Forest.
It could produce a steady 1 unit of Wood per hour. The output wasn’t high, but it was a reliable source.
The two new Empty Tombs under the canopy of the Withered Wood Forest were not ordinary Level 1 Empty Tombs, either. They were unique variants, formed by the forest’s influence and fundamentally different from the others.
Just as Gu Su had seen, gravestones had already appeared before these two Empty Tombs, signifying that they didn’t follow the standard upgrade path.
Placing corpses into these two special Empty Tombs didn’t produce Ordinary Skeletons. Instead, it offered two distinct choices, each with a different purpose.
One option was the Ghoul. Its combat power was on par with an Ordinary Skeleton, offering no major advantages.
However, they possessed the Woodcutting Skill and could act as Undead Woodcutters, tasked with harvesting Wood from the Withered Wood Forest. This would effectively boost Wood production and solve his manpower issue for resource gathering.
[Ghoul (Level 0, Summoned Creature): Experience (0/100), Attack 1, Defense 1, Life 10, Skill: Woodcutting]
The other option was the Bone Beast, which allowed a choice between a Bone Dog and a White Crow. The Bone Beast’s greatest advantage was "multiple units from a single corpse."
A single ordinary corpse could be converted into two Bone Dogs or three White Crows without any additional Resources, making it extremely cost-effective.
[Bone Dog (Level 0, Summoned Creature): Experience (0/50), Attack 1, Defense 0, Life 5, Skills: None]
[White Crow (Level 0, Summoned Creature): Experience (0/50), Attack 0, Defense 1, Life 3, Skills: None]
Between the two, the Bone Dog was agile and had a keen sense of smell. It could patrol the perimeter of the Graveyard Demon, guarding against surprise attacks from low-level enemies and ensuring the territory’s safety.
But its weakness was also quite obvious: it had no Defense Power and would die in a single hit.
The White Crow was small and a skilled flyer, making it difficult for enemies to spot. It could be sent out to scout, reconnoitering enemy positions, resource nodes, and potential dangers, providing crucial intelligence for his scavenging expeditions and territorial expansion.
But due to its small size, the White Crow had no Attack Power. If it discovered something, it could only observe, not engage. That was also an issue.
Both had their unique uses and drawbacks, but either would be a welcome addition to Gu Su’s territory.
How he chose to use and allocate them would depend on his future needs. There was no rush to decide just yet.
The most important point, however, was that these particular Empty Tombs could not be converted into Tombstones, only Graveyards. They would have to win through numbers, as there was no such thing as an "elite" version for them.
This had been determined from the start and was an unchangeable fact.
But what surprised Gu Su the most—and what he was most interested in—was the Oil Centipede corpse that had vanished into thin air.
Just as he had guessed, the Oil Centipede’s corpse had been absorbed by the Graveyard Demon.
The reason for the absorption was simple. If the Oil Centipede could move while carrying a massive gas station in life, then it could certainly carry a Graveyard Demon in death.
This was the Graveyard Demon’s simple, straightforward logic.
Therefore, the disappearance of the Oil Centipede corpse was no accident; it had been successfully absorbed by the Earth-Binding Vein. This meant the repair quest for the Vein was already one-third complete, bringing him a huge step closer to his goal of making the Graveyard Demon mobile.
Based on the current repair progress, he just needed to find two Ghosts or Wandering Souls to act as energy conduits for the Earth Vein. After that, he would have to install a suitable propulsion system for the Earth-Binding Vein and supply it with enough power. Then, he could completely repair the inactive Vein and finally give the Graveyard Demon the ability to move.
Of course, if Gu Su didn’t want to follow the quest instructions, he could just find two more creatures similar to the Oil Centipede and bring their corpses back. That would work just as well.
However, Gu Su doubted he would find any other creatures nearby that could move while carrying such enormous objects.
When the time came, it would be better to follow the quest’s logic and search for the required materials.
Having understood all the changes that had occurred to the Graveyard Demon, Gu Su finally felt a sense of relief. He pushed open the flap of his tent and stepped outside.