Chapter 297 – Epic Three-Star, Ashen King Bone

Mu Yuan swept through the goods brought by the mysterious merchant like a bandit, clearing out nearly everything.

This was an exaggeration, but not entirely.

He purchased over half of the items.

Indeed, the mysterious merchant’s stock was neither abundant nor refined enough. Even a Great Lord with modest financial resources could probably empty it… right?

Mu Yuan carefully examined the items before him. The most valuable among them was the Hero’s Token.

Next was the ‘Stealth Orb,’ a permanently usable item with top-tier practicality.

Initially, he hadn’t planned to include the Hero’s Token in his must-buy list. But now, with no shortage of equivalent items and plenty of “wealth” to spare, he went ahead and splurged.

He also acquired the Calamity-Inducing Demon Flower, which he had initially hesitated to purchase.

Additionally, he bought several ‘100% series’ items for Isloria to study.

He even purchased two Remnant Souls—one for the Black Knight (Outstanding One-Star) and another for the Mountain Rock Giant (Outstanding One-Star).

As for the Balrog Remnant Soul and the Gnoll Great Chieftain, both Outstanding Three-Star Remnant Souls, their prices were exorbitant. Since his money didn’t grow on trees, Mu Yuan ignored them.

“There are five Spatial Teleportation Scrolls. These scrolls are life-saving treasures—as long as the enemy doesn’t possess space-locking abilities, the user can even escape from under the nose of a Legendary Realm expert.”

“Three sets of Small Energy Storage Stones. These stones contain vast amounts of energy. Though unsuitable for cultivation, they can power various facilities. A single set can keep the Scepter of Heavenly Authority, which maintains the large-scale spell ‘Night Concealment Illusion’ day and night, running for ten days without worrying about energy depletion.”

“One set of the disposable formation base ‘Sacred Barrier.’ Once activated, it creates a protective barrier that fully covers the territory, leaving no blind spots above or below. This barrier can even withstand a limited number of attacks from Legendary Realm beings. Unfortunately, it’s a consumable item and lasts only a few hours.”

Beyond these, Mu Yuan also acquired numerous cultivation-related treasures.

「Baptism Rain (Special): Troops bathed in this rain will gain a small amount of Soul Power experience.」

「Tempering Bone Crystal Dust (Outstanding): A natural treasure. Refining and absorbing it significantly enhances one’s bone strength.」

「Body Refining King Fruit (Outstanding): A natural treasure. Consuming it notably improves one’s physique and muscular strength. Unsuitable for some special lifeforms.」

「Three-Dimensional Foundation Stone (Outstanding): Refining and absorbing it slightly enhances one’s three core attributes. Applicable to all lifeforms.」

「Divine Radiance Crystal Core (Outstanding): Absorbing it grants a large amount of Soul Power experience.」

These were all Outstanding-tier treasures. While individually, their value couldn’t compare to items like the Hero’s Token or High-Tier Remnant Souls, their advantage lay in quantity.

Watching this esteemed guest sweep through the merchandise, Qi Ye nearly burst into laughter.

However,

“Your stock here isn’t abundant enough.”

If any other Lord had said this, Qi Ye would have retorted without hesitation. But since the suggestion came from Lord Mu himself, Qi Ye could only agree: “You’re absolutely right.”

He could tell that this esteemed guest was still unsatisfied, visibly distressed by having wealth but nowhere to spend it.

Qi Ye felt the same distress.

If only he had more suitable goods—his performance metrics would surely skyrocket even further.Lord Mu was not so wealthy that he had money to burn; he was simply spending it as if it were free, which made the process rather enjoyable.

No, how could one call it freeloading when it came to crowdfunding? Feathers of the Wind King and Bones of Ashen Silence were genuine treasures, after all. In the short term, Asun and Bone Two wouldn’t be able to produce another batch of such by-products.

But he wasn’t entirely satisfied.

Though he could afford to spend now, the mysterious merchant didn’t have what he needed most.

“Why don’t you have a city defense array?”

This was the most urgent requirement for Tianyuan Territory at present. Of course, a true city defense array was a rarity—even Stone Ridge Town and many large territories lacked one.

For a city defense array to operate continuously, its energy consumption was staggering, and it required supporting facilities like an ‘Energy Well.’

For the vast majority of territories, building a city defense array? That was a luxury.

With that kind of money, one could buy numerous High-Tier Remnant Souls and cultivate many powerful experts.

“A city defense array? That’s no problem. I can arrange it for you on my next visit.”

Judging by the mysterious merchant’s demeanor, Mu Yuan had likely become a VIP client, hence the privilege of pre-ordering specific types of goods.

But Mu Yuan didn’t just want any city defense array; if given the choice, he wanted one ‘with concealment capabilities, capable of hiding the entire territory.’

“That’s a bit difficult. Our Mysterious Merchant Alliance naturally has all kinds of goods, but what we can offer for sale is restricted by rules. We’ll have to see the situation at that time…”

He said so.

He also mentioned that the price of ‘pre-ordered goods’ would carry a 50% to 100% markup compared to the ‘random goods’ from regular stock, and the number of pre-ordered items could not exceed two at most.

This was also a rule.

Whether it was due to regulations or the merchant being shrewd, Mu Yuan thought he could accept it. Compared to the price, whether he could obtain the urgently needed items was his main concern.

Thus, he pre-ordered another item from the mysterious merchant—the Miracle Blueprint: Energy Well.

Now, he just had to wait for the merchant to restock and return.

“When will Your Excellency Qi Ye return next?”

Mu Yuan asked.

Qi Ye understood that this lord hoped he would come sooner. Like his other regular clients, any lord who pre-ordered goods from him wished for earlier delivery.

This was probably a common trait among Miracle Lords.

“Very soon,” he said. “At most, it will take half a year; if shorter, less than three months, and I’ll bring the next batch of goods.”

Mu Yuan: “…”

Do you have some misunderstanding about fast and slow?

Three months? In three months, his Tianyuan Territory might be strong enough to punch legendary old fogies and kick legendary young prodigies.

“Three months? Is that long?”

Qi Ye murmured inwardly, but he couldn’t make it any faster.

Such were the rules.

Besides, three months to half a year wasn’t long at all; it had always been like this. None of his regular clients had ever complained about it being too slow.

But thinking of how this lord seemed to have no shortage of money, and that faster turnover meant better performance for himself, Qi Ye also felt it was slow—indeed, too slow.

Why couldn’t it be even quicker!

The mysterious merchant couldn’t stay for long. Soon, he bid farewell and headed out of the city, his figure disappearing into the suddenly thickening fog.”Notification: The special visitor ‘Mysterious Merchant’ has departed. The timing of their next visit is undetermined.”

“Notification: Increasing your territory’s Rank and constructing related Miracle Buildings can shorten the interval between the Mysterious Merchant’s visits.”

But there’s not even a shadow of either option right now. Relying on that is less realistic than hoping the Mysterious Merchant bro would step up and come knocking on his own.

…

Over the next two days, Deadbone, Dolai, and the others who had been out scouting the surroundings returned one after another.

Mu Yuan distributed the recently acquired treasures like ‘Bone-Forging Crystal Dust’ and ‘Body Refining King Fruit’ to his various Generals.

The Bone-Forging Crystal Dust was undoubtedly most suitable for Deadbone, Bone Two Three Four, and other skeletal Generals to use. When others refined the Bone-Forging Crystal Dust, at best it would improve their damage resistance. But for skeletal lifeforms, enhancing their bone strength was equivalent to boosting their lethality and combat power.

The Body Refining King Fruit was even rarer and unsuitable for most Generals in the territory.

Powerful beings like Deadbone, Tree Spirit Grandma, and Rakshasa couldn’t absorb its energy at all.

Dolai, with its Devour ability, could chomp down on it regardless of its physical form, but it didn’t need to temper its body.

Crunch crunch~

Uta took one bite and shattered the stone-hard Body Refining King Fruit, swallowing it down. Within seconds, scorching red smoke began steaming from his body, making him look like a charred person.

The red smoke grew increasingly dense, and his skin turned burning red like shrimp shell, sizzling audibly.

“Power! An endless surge of power is emerging!”

“Excellent! I’ll increase today’s training tenfold!”

Deadbone was more concerned with the special equipment ‘Stealth Orb.’ Clutching the orb, it headed straight out of the territory.

Concealing its aura, it witnessed monsters charging toward it along the way, only to rush past its side and head toward Tianyuan Territory behind.

The territory was like a giant lightbulb—even with a dull gray cover over it, light still leaked out. This light attracted monsters, completely exposing Tianyuan Territory’s location.

It also kept the territory in constant danger.

This was highly undesirable.

Unable to change the territory’s inherent situation, Deadbone could only think of ways to alter the external environment.

It thought this, tightening its grip on the dull gray orb in its hand.

After traveling over a hundred kilometers, a shadow of a sacred mountain manifested behind Deadbone. The vast land of the sacred mountain was contained within a few meters behind it, from which Abominations, Skeleton Riders, and Skeleton Generals emerged one after another, forming an elite squad of several dozen members.

These undead were its summons, yet they still carried the aura of ‘living beings.’

This aura was more like a mark, distinguishing ordered beings from chaotic monsters.

Soon, the elite squad encountered their first wave of monsters.

Three eight-to-nine-meter-tall ogres with deep blue skin and bulging muscles.

The ogres wielded large clubs, but in the next moment, they were torn apart by Abominations, bisected by Skeleton Riders’ swords, and turned into pincushions by Skeleton Generals’ Bone Spears.

What were once Elite monsters now didn’t even qualify as target practice for Deadbone.

And Deadbone wasn’t using them for target practice anyway.

It surveyed the surroundings. Under its control, the battle had ended quickly, but the commotion had been significant.

It had deliberately made a scene.

Sure enough, monsters were soon drawn to the area.

Some monsters foolishly charged forward, while others, sensing this group was not to be trifled with, turned and fled.Deadbone stood by observing.

He watched as monsters appeared in groups of three to five, over a dozen, or even dozens at a time, only to be swiftly cut down by the undead underworld gang.

“The Stealth Orb truly conceals our aura. Otherwise, fighting in the wild would only attract more and more enemies.”

Prudent as Deadbone was, he had conducted tests early on.

He had experimented and found that if battles weren’t ended quickly and they didn’t leave the area, what started as a small skirmish with a few dozen monsters could escalate into a full-scale war against hordes numbering in the thousands.

The Stealth Orb’s effect was quite reliable.

With this in mind, Deadbone moved to various locations, conducting 108 combat tests of varying scales, ultimately confirming that the Stealth Orb was relatively safe to use.

“This way, we can probe deeper to see if there are truly more powerful monster forces hidden behind large tribes like the Gnolls and Snakemen.”

…

Tianyuan Territory.

Lord Mu maintained his routine of “patrolling the territory via the lord’s vision” every half hour, continuously recording observations.

“Several days have passed since the Night Concealment Illusion enveloped Tianyuan, and the number of attacking monsters has begun to decline noticeably.”

“According to the Eye of Tianquan’s observations, no intelligent monsters have been detected secretly watching us yet. However, it’s hard to say how long this peace will last.”

Mu Yuan was preparing on two fronts.

First, he aimed to thoroughly investigate the surrounding areas. Once he ensured there were no hidden threats, he would immediately eliminate several large monster tribes.

Second, he continued advancing southward, hoping to one day find clues related to the Pioneer Group or Taixuan explorers.

Beyond these efforts, he needed to enhance the territory’s combat strength as much as possible.

Dolai couldn’t instantly become a legend, but if Tianyuan Territory’s overall power were boosted, it might be possible to confront legendary beings head-on.

It’s time to see your limits, Evolution Points.

Lord Mu turned his gaze to a specific area of the Skull Graveyard, where a robust figure sat atop an altar.

He pointed a finger.

Miracle Power spread.

「Prompt: Your troop ‘Bone Twenty-Three’ has evolved into the epic life form ‘Skeleton Lord’.」

Among the skeleton troops, Mu Yuan didn’t follow the naming order for evolution. Instead, he based it on their individual contributions.

Over time, these little skeletons, who once looked indistinguishable from one another, had developed their own styles, habits, and talents—though not entirely dissimilar, they were no longer carbon copies.

Each was an old skeleton with consciousness awakened for over half a year.

Bone Twenty-Three was one of the top performers among these veteran skeletons.

However, even excluding generals like Deadbone and Bone Two Three Four, the number of Skeleton Lords in Tianyuan Territory had now increased to eleven.

There were also six Ghost Generals.

Many of these Skeleton Lords and Ghost Generals were still at the early Third Order stage. At their peak, they could only contend with weaker Fourth Order BOSSes and couldn’t be considered true powerhouses.

But the territory projections of Skeleton Lords could easily resonate. When they performed ‘Body Integration’ with Deadbone, the explosive power unleashed was beyond Mu Yuan’s imagination.

Additionally,

“Excluding Seventeen, the number of Polar Star Archers has grown to five; three Fearless Warchiefs have emerged during this period; and five Holy Light Sages have appeared.”

“The number of Treant Lords has increased by two compared to before. Natural Spirits have evolved more frequently, with four new ones, bringing the total to seven.”

“And there’s one additional Frost Lord and one Wind King’s Wings.”The Tianyuan Territory was now experiencing a downpour of epic beings, though the vast majority of these epic lives had not yet reached high ranks, with a few even failing to break through the Third-Order Warlord Tier.

They could only be described as promising for the future.

“Evolving an epic being has become very simple for me. For major factions like the Deadbone or Human Race systems, saving up for two days is sufficient.”

“However, evolving an epic two-star would require me to accumulate resources for eight days, and to evolve an epic three-star, I would need to save for a full thirty-two days.”

A whole thirty-two days.

And that’s while being extremely frugal with Evolution Points, without evolving any elite units.

It’s quite a long time.

At first glance, the benefits of evolving epic two-star and epic three-star beings might seem somewhat low.

After evolution, Isloria couldn’t possibly defeat four of her previous selves. The same went for Deadbone and Dolai. Well, Dolai’s evolution benefits were somewhat greater – its usual improvements were minimal, unable to develop new tactical systems, relying entirely on major upgrades during evolution.

But in reality, this perspective is flawed.

Generals like Deadbone, Dolai, and Isloria are limited in number throughout the entire territory.

The biggest difference between epic one-star and epic two-star lies in potential. Only when epic lives step into the Legendary Realm and realize their potential can the gap between them become apparent.

Moreover, the current ranks of most elites in the territory lag far behind the first tier. Evolving them to epic status wouldn’t significantly boost the overall strength.

“So Deadbone, it’s time for your evolution.”

Mu Yuan declared.

…

Deep within the Skull Graveyard, west of Tianyuan Territory.

Mu Yuan had made thorough preparations.

He activated the Domain Jammer at maximum power and handed the Obscuring Pearl to Deadbone.

Deadbone reached out and gently pressed his hand against the ground.

Countless bone spikes emerged from the earth, spreading and intertwining, forming a nest in the blink of an eye.

Simultaneously, an invisible kingly aura spread out. Though it was pressure, it now seemed tangible as it was manipulated and shaped, covering the nest.

This was Deadbone’s preparation for itself.

Bone Seal! Bone Barrier!

Upon this barrier, it used sixteen additional support skills for reinforcement and enhancement.

Only then did it nod slightly.

“That should be sufficient.”

Isloria in the distance widened her eyes, “There’s no need for this much preparation!”

Making it look like a huge burial mound.

But when she glanced around, she realized the massive burial mound actually fit quite well with the environment.

Mu Yuan checked the time – midnight had arrived.

Then let’s begin.

「Ding~!」

The power of evolution poured forth like a breached dam, resembling a great river, a torrent, rushing toward Deadbone who appeared quite small in comparison.

The evolution of life requires numerous opportunities and sufficient time for even the smallest step forward.

And a single leap for an epic life requires the accumulation of countless small steps.

Some powerful beings climb to the Legendary God Soul Realm or Legendary Law Realm, refining their bodies through repeated breakthroughs, combined with countless opportunities and fortunes, before finally taking that step into epic status.

But Deadbone’s goal was epic three-star.

Yet it aimed far beyond just epic three-star.

Hum—hum—hum—!

A pillar of miraculous light shot into the clouds, and heaven and earth began to tremble and hum.

Countless dark elemental particles surged forward, like soldiers prostrating themselves around Deadbone.In the distance, across various locations of the Skull Graveyard, skeletons seemed to sense something. They knelt on one knee toward the direction of the Evolution Grounds, offering their highest reverence to their king.

Purple clouds drifted across the night sky.

A noble aura swept out in all directions.

The Domain Jammer hummed intensely, operating at its maximum capacity.

Time ticked by.

The light still shone; the purple clouds still drifted; the jammer continued its incessant humming.

After a long, long while, the light and clouds gradually faded.

A soft chime echoed in the ears.

“Ding!”

“Notification: Your Hero ‘Deadbone,’ bathed in the miracle of evolution, has advanced to Epic Three-Star lifeform, only a step away from Legendary existence.”

“Notification: During the evolution baptism, Deadbone’s ‘Undead Holy Mountain’ has expanded, and his talent ‘King’s Awe’ has been enhanced.”

“Notification: Using his talent ‘Death Siphon’ as a foundation, Deadbone fused it with the ‘Undead Holy Mountain,’ creating the special structure ‘Well of Death’ upon the holy mountain. Deadbone and the undead of the holy mountain can charge the Well of Death by slaying enemies. Simultaneously, the Well of Death can gather and contain the power of heaven and earth to a certain extent.”

Can structures be built on the Undead Holy Mountain?

Yes, they can. Bone Two had built itself a white bone palace within the Undead Territory, but doing so held no real significance. However, the ‘Well of Death’ that Deadbone had created had gained the acknowledgment of heaven and earth.

It could almost be considered a Miracle Building.

Truly worthy of my General, Deadbone.

At the same time, Deadbone utilized the miraculous power of the baptism to elevate the Ranks of a group of core undead within the holy mountain.

“Notification: During the miracle baptism, Hero Deadbone has awakened the Epic talent ‘Desolate Ash’ (Elimination) and the Epic talent ‘Desolate Kingbone.'”

Within the massive bone nest, Deadbone’s bones remained as lustrous as jade, but subtle changes seemed to have occurred.

Changes that sent shivers down one’s spine with a single glance.

——

“Desolate Kingbone”

“Description: Upon Awakening, Deadbone’s bones will undergo continuous transformation over time, ascending to Kingbone, possessing dozens of times the skeletal strength compared to before. With the enhancement of Kingbone, Deadbone’s basic three attributes will also see significant improvement. Additionally, the Kingbone contains the power of desolation, which has a touch-and-vanish effect, capable of extinguishing any armor, living beings, energy, or even intangible Domains it comes into contact with.”

“Note: The power of desolation cannot be restored through potions or Soul Sand; it can only slowly recover over time.”

Deadbone had not yet awakened, but Mu Yuan, possessing Lord Power, immediately took out the ‘new toy’ to test.

He borrowed the power of the Desolate Kingbone.

Not much.

Only half.

The power of the Desolate Kingbone was too domineering, and its level seemed excessively high; he could borrow at most half. Any more, and his skin would peel off, turning his entire body into a skeleton. Even so, Mu Yuan estimated he couldn’t borrow eighty percent of its power.

“Two possibilities: first, my Lord Power Rank is a bit too low, not powerful enough.”

“Second, the higher the grade of a skill or talent, the harder it is to borrow freely. The strong must ultimately forge their own invincible path.”

Yet even with only half, when a segment of bone pierced through the skin at Mu Yuan’s fingertip, a chilling aura of desolation and extinction permeated the surroundings.

He himself nearly shuddered.Dolai zipped back a hundred meters in an instant, exclaiming in alarm, “This can’t be eaten, this can’t be eaten!”

Mu Yuan looked left and right, feeling that the experiment with the Desolate Kingbone shouldn’t be conducted on just any random target. After a moment of thought, he retrieved a rare-grade Great Cleaver from his Storage Ring and lightly tapped the blade with the tip of his right-hand bone.

Sss—!

As if piercing through a thin film, he punctured a hole in the hard blade.

A gray substance clung to the edges of the hole, spreading steadily outward.

One second later, the entire machete snapped apart, the gray still spreading from the break.

Two and a half seconds later, the entire Great Cleaver vanished without a trace, while the gray that had fallen to the ground continued to spread.

Over a dozen seconds later,

Mu Yuan stared at the massive circular pit over forty meters in diameter before him, lost in thought.

6K

(End of Chapter)