36: Chapter 36: Devouring Four Worlds

The conquest of the Shadow Demon Realm had just come to an end, and Su Bai returned to the Creators Association without a moment's rest.

Su Bai walked to the operation terminal and pressed his hand onto the sensing area.

[Welcome to the Conquest System]

[Current List of Conquerable Worlds (Tier 4):]

Only four names remained on the list.

He clicked on them one by one to examine them.

[ID: 15023 World Type: Alien Civilization Residual Race: Stone-skin Clan Estimated Number: 6,000-8,000 Danger Level: A]

[Description: Rock-type alien race; their skin can transform into hard stone armor. They possess immense strength and extremely high defense. Breeding cycle is approximately five years. Medium intelligence. Tolerance to negative energy environments is unknown.]

Stone-skin Clan.

He clicked confirm.

[ID: 15031 World Type: Spiritual Civilization Residual Race: Wraiths Estimated Number: 10,000+ Danger Level: A-]

[Description: Pure soul bodies, no physical form, capable of shifting between ethereal and material states. Unique breeding method; they evolve by devouring their own kind. Extremely cunning and very difficult to capture. Nine recorded invasion attempts: six defeats and three draws.]

Wraiths.

Su Bai's eyes lit up.

Spiritual entities naturally had a high adaptability to Yin Qi.

If he could subdue them, they might become the Underworld's second major vassal race.

He continued looking down the list.

[ID: 15047 World Type: Beast Civilization Residual Race: Shadow Leopard Estimated Number: 4,000-5,000 Danger Level: A]

[Description: Shadow-type magical beasts; extremely fast and skilled in stealthy assassination. Adult individuals are generally Tier 2, elites can reach Tier 3, and leaders are Tier 4. Breeding cycle is approximately two years.]

Shadow Leopard.

Fast speed and strong combat power, but their breeding cycle was much longer than that of the Shadow Demons.

One generation every two years could not compare to the Mushroom People's one generation every three months.

Su Bai felt it would definitely be difficult for them to survive, but his primary goal for this trip was to harvest Power Of Faith, so he didn't care.

If they died, they died.

Su Bai did not hesitate and clicked confirm directly.

[ID: 15062 World Type: Elemental Civilization Residual Race: Frost Elements Estimated Number: 3,000-4,000 Danger Level: A]

[Description: Elemental creatures condensed from pure frost energy. No physical form, cannot be Branded, cannot reproduce. They dissipate immediately upon death.]

Su Bai was a bit pleasantly surprised looking at this description.

Elemental creatures could be used to feed the Ghost King or Black and White Impermanence, helping them rapidly increase their strength.

Moreover, the world where Frost Elements lived must contain a vast amount of ice-attribute energy.

After devouring it, it might even form new terrain in the Underworld.

He clicked confirm.

[Conquest Targets Locked: 15023, 15031, 15047, 15062]

[Continuous Conquest Mode Activated]

[Warning: Continuous conquest will significantly consume your stamina and unit energy. Do you wish to confirm?]

Su Bai looked at the warning, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

Consumption?

His units didn't need rest.

The Underworld Soldiers knew no fatigue, the Soul-Hooking Ghosts required no sleep, and the hero units had just gotten into the spirit of things in the Shadow Demon Realm; they were currently thirsting for more combat.

He clicked confirm.

[Continuous Conquest, Beginning]

...

The first world: Stone-skin Realm.

Under a grayish-brown sky lay an endless rock wasteland. Countless massive stone statues moved slowly across the wasteland, their bodies composed of hard rock. Every step they took left deep footprints in the ground.

Stone-skin Clan.

When Su Bai's Underworld army stepped into this world, those stone statues all turned their heads in unison, staring at the uninvited guests with hollow rock eyes.

“Roar!!!”

The Stone-skin Chief leading them let out a heaven-shaking roar. The five-meter-tall rock giant was the first to charge toward the Ghost King.

Then, he stopped.

[Ghost Kings Pressure] was released at full power.

The pressure of a Tier 4 Ghost King was even stronger than it had been in the Shadow Demon Realm.

The Stone-skin Chief's rock body froze in place, deep fear surfacing in his eyes.

He felt as if his soul were being grasped by an invisible hand, liable to be crushed at any moment.

As for the ordinary Stone-skin Clan members, they were already kneeling on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

The battle had ended before it even began.

Su Bai stood at the edge of the battlefield, watching this scene with a calm expression.

This was the terror of a Tier 4 Ghost King.

Facing enemies of Tier 3 and below, pressure alone was enough to make them lose their fighting capacity.

He raised his hand.

[Brand]

A grayish-white light swept across the entire battlefield.

Five thousand three hundred Stone-skin Clan members were marked with the Brand of the Underworld.

The remaining thousand-plus had already been killed while resisting.

[Devouring Complete]

[Obtained Power Of Faith: 720 points]

[World Diameter Expansion: 408 km → 446 km]

[New Map Generated: Stone-skin Wasteland]

...

Wraith Realm.

This was a world of pure spiritual entities.

There was only eternally drifting grayish-white mist. Within the mist, countless translucent wraiths wandered, letting out shrill wails.

The Ghost King frowned the moment he stepped into this world.

There were too many wraiths.

Moreover, they had no physical forms; the impact of the Ghost King's pressure on them was far greater than on physical creatures.

Furthermore, the Ghost King had more than just pressure.

He raised his hand.

[Ghost Domain] expanded.

Within the domain, the movements of all wraiths slowed down by thirty percent simultaneously.

At the same time, Black and White Impermanence moved.

White Impermanence still wore a smile, but every time his funeral staff struck out, a wraith's soul would be shattered.

Black Impermanence had a ferocious expression; his soul-locking chain snaked through the mist. Every time it touched a wraith, that wraith would let out a shrill scream before being dragged by the chain toward Hall of Impermanence.

The Ghost Bride transformed directly into red mist, entangling herself with those wraiths. Her Resentment Absorption was surprisingly effective against spiritual entities.

Sadako stood in place, Curse Spread transmitting through the mist, plunging those wraiths into endless terror.

The Slit-Mouthed Woman guarded the passage entrance, but this time, not a single wraith could escape there.

The battle lasted for two hours.

Of the eight thousand-plus wraiths, three thousand were killed and five thousand were Branded.

[Devouring Complete]

[Obtained Power Of Faith: 840 points]

[World Diameter Expansion: 446 km → 498 km]

[New Map Generated: Ghostly Mist]

...

Shadow Leopard Realm.

This was a pitch-black forest.

In the forest, countless pairs of eerie green eyes flickered in the darkness; those were the eyes of the Shadow Leopards.

They were natural assassins, fast as lightning, capable of tearing an enemy's throat in an instant.

But this time, they had met their nemesis.

Sadako's Curse Spread transmitted through every leaf and blade of grass in the forest. Before those Shadow Leopards could even launch an attack, they were devoured by fear and fell into madness.

The Ghost Bride's red silk threads silently wound around the tree trunks, weaving into a massive web. Those Shadow Leopards trying to flee crashed headlong into the web, becoming entangled in the threads and unable to move.

Black and White Impermanence didn't even need to act; they just stood at the edge of the battlefield, watching the Ghost King perform alone.

The Ghost King transformed into his Ghostly Qi Avatar, like a black hurricane sweeping through the entire forest. Wherever he passed, Shadow Leopards fell one after another; none were a match for him.

The battle lasted for forty minutes.

Of the four thousand three hundred Shadow Leopards, two thousand were killed and two thousand three hundred were Branded.

[Devouring Complete]

[Obtained Power Of Faith: 650 points]

[World Diameter Expansion: 498 km → 538 km]

[New Map Generated: Shadow Jungle]

...

Frost Element Realm.

This was a world of pure ice and snow.

Sky-filling snowstorms, endless glaciers, and those elemental creatures condensed from pure frost energy.

Frost Elements had no intelligence and no emotions, only instinct.

They would not fear and would not surrender; they would only fight until death.

The moment the Ghost King stepped into this world, he felt that bone-piercing chill.

It was a pure, extreme cold.

But the Ghost King only narrowed his eyes slightly, a trace of coldness flashing through his golden vertical pupils.

“Kill.”

This time, he acted personally.

His Ghostly Qi Avatar shuttled through the ice and snow; with every strike, a Frost Element's core was shattered.

Black and White Impermanence joined forces to attack. White Impermanence's funeral staff specialized in striking souls; although the Frost Elements had no souls, their pure energy cores were equally fragile before the funeral staff.

Black Impermanence's soul-locking chain snaked through the wind and snow like a black dragon. Every time it coiled around a Frost Element, the sound of an energy core being crushed followed.

The Ghost Bride's red silk threads were exceptionally conspicuous in the ice and snow. She wove the threads into a net, catching those elements trying to flee, and then Sadako's Curse Spread eroded through along the threads.

The Slit-Mouthed Woman still guarded the passage entrance, but this time, her scissors were put to use. She collected the residual energy crystals from the Frost Elements whose cores had been shattered, piling them into a heap.

The battle lasted for an hour.

Three thousand seven hundred Frost Elements—total annihilation.

Zero captives.

But Su Bai was not disappointed.

He walked to the pile of energy crystals, crouched down, and picked one up.

The crystal was transparent throughout, glowing with a faint blue light. Holding it in his palm, he could feel that pure energy surging.

[frost core: A crystal containing pure frost energy. It can be absorbed by yin-attribute units like the Ghost King to significantly increase their strength. It can also be used to construct ice-attribute buildings.]

Su Bai nodded in satisfaction.

He stood up and raised his hand.

[Devouring Beginning]

The ice and snow began to shatter.

Those glaciers, those snowstorms, that eternal expanse of white were forcibly torn apart, devoured, and converted by the grayish-white Yin Qi.

[Devouring Complete]

[Obtained Power Of Faith: 890 points]

[World Diameter Expansion: 538 km → 628 km]

[New Map Generated: Extreme Cold Ice Plains]