152: The Forest of the Dead Expansion

In the high sky, the circling black wind gradually receded.

It carried countless newborn Wind-Bone Demons, along with the vast life force it plundered, transforming into a dark torrent that poured entirely into Li Ke’s mouth.

Whoosh...

Li Ke’s figure spiraled down from the receding black wind, landing steadily on the disintegrating remains of the giant Tree Herder.

Around him, centered on the blood-red tree, an area hundreds of meters in radius became cold, dead, and devoid of any life.

All the trees that touched that aura instantly turned into black dust that crumbled at a touch, raising a cloud of ethereal black ash with a single gust of wind.

Li Ke turned his head, his gaze falling upon the Golden Armor Corpse standing motionless beside him.

He could clearly feel that within this incredibly heavy and powerful body, the Death Qi had condensed to a terrifying degree.

Extreme Yin Corpse Sha

One of the most orthodox and terrifying abilities of the Zombie Dao.

It represents the terrifying Death Qi they have accumulated over countless years; once expelled, it has the effect of suppressing the Five Elements and damaging Magic Treasures.

This was originally an ability that zombies on the Zombie Dao could only gradually master after Cultivating to the realm of a Flying Yaksha.

It is said that wherever a Flying Yaksha passes, Extreme Yin Corpse Sha follows Li Ke a shadow, Li Ke a Forbidden Domain, earning it the title of “Restraint of All Laws.”

He never expected that his Innate Guardian Corpse would already touch upon this threshold at the Golden Armor Corpse level, although for now, it was only a single breath...

Li Ke smiled faintly, his gaze falling back on the dark golden cuticles and scales covering the Golden Armor Corpse’s body.

A strange metallic luster slowly flowed over them, Li Ke molten gold.

An indestructible and unperishing Concept slowly emanated from its body.

“This is...”

Li Ke closed his eyes slightly, his Divine Soul sensing the information transmitted from the Golden Armor Corpse.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, a look of admiration appearing in them.

The Golden Armor Corpse had indeed awakened its second Divine Ability!

Gold Property Imperishable

This Divine Ability can smelt the Qi of countless metals and irons between heaven and earth, turning them into its own use to continuously strengthen itself.

Theoretically, as long as there is enough metal for it to devour, its body can infinitely approach true indestructibility.

The terrifying regeneration of Tai Sui Guarding Corpse...

The indestructibility of Gold Property Imperishable...

The current Golden Armor Corpse possesses both the might of orthodox zombies and the vitality of the Living Corpse Path; it can be said to be both rigid and flexible, Yin and Yang in harmony, with infinite potential for the future...

“Ho...”

At this moment, a pure sense of hunger came from the Golden Armor Corpse’s consciousness.

“Go.”

Li Ke nodded slightly.

The next moment, the Golden Armor Corpse’s figure suddenly sank, Li Ke a huge rock falling into water, instantly merging into the shadows on the ground and disappearing without a trace.

A moment later, a terrifying sucking sound faintly came from the direction of the Blood Copper Ore Vein in the distance.

Massive amounts of copper-gold Qi were frantically extracted by an irresistible force, flowing into the depths of that shadow.

Li Ke no longer paid attention.

He slowly walked to the completely withered blood-red tree.

He reached out and directly plunged his hand into the dry trunk, digging out a section of tree heart as warm as jade.

This strange Tree Herder had lived for at least three thousand years, and its tree heart contained an extremely sinister and vast life force.

It was perfect for refining and using as the pole for the Soul Summoning Banner.

“Crack... crack...”

The moment Li Ke took out the tree heart, the entire body of the Tree Herder beneath his feet, along with a large expanse of the surrounding tree sea, let out groans of unbearable strain.

They decayed, disintegrated, and collapsed at a visible rate, turning into dust on the ground within a few breaths.

And at the core where the Tree Herder had completely dissipated, a thumb-sized, golden, peculiar seed lay quietly.

The surface of the seed was covered with naturally formed, mysterious patterns that seemed to contain some profound truth of life.

“This is...”

“A Tree Herder seed?”

Li Ke slowly picked up the seed.

He could feel that this seed contained a unique life rule.

He calmly put it into his sleeve.

The next moment, Li Ke flicked his sleeve, his figure transforming into countless black Qi humanoids, intertwining as they flew into the sky, heading towards the Manor.

...

Along the way, the boundary of the Whispering Forest had expanded.

The dense tree sea had enveloped most of Charles Manor, even connecting with the Soul Summoning Forest behind the castle.

“Oh?”

Li Ke’s mind stirred, and his figure stopped above the Soul Summoning Forest.

He observed the direction, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly.

“It’s just right for expanding the Soul Summoning Forest.”

Previously, he had always worried about the Soul Summoning Forest expanding too quickly.

Once it overflowed the boundaries of Charles Manor, the countless Souls gathering there could attract unnecessary trouble.

But now, Charles Manor had completely bordered the Whispering Forest.

He could directly let the Soul Summoning Forest spread towards the Whispering Forest.

Anyway, that forest was already teeming with distorted creatures and frequent strange occurrences.

Even if some anomaly occurred, it could be attributed to natural phenomena.

Whoosh...

Li Ke no longer had any qualms and directly activated his Devilish Qi.

Streams of black Qi humanoids detached from him, entering various nodes of the Soul Summoning Forest Li Ke swimming fish.

“Crack, crack, crack...”

The entire Soul Summoning Forest immediately emitted countless tiny, grating sounds of growth.

Some withered Yin wood slightly extended its branches, and the cold, gray mist permeating the forest began to silently spread towards the dense jungle outside the Manor.

Outside the Manor, the originally lush trees, upon contact with the gray mist, quickly lost their luster and began to show subtle signs of wilting, as if stained with a layer of Death Qi.

In a short while, most of the Devilish Qi in Li Ke’s body was consumed.

The area of the Soul Summoning Forest had also expanded several times over, covering most of the Manor.

Li Ke was about to stop, but then a sudden inspiration struck him.

He took out the golden Tree Herder seed from his sleeve.

He flicked his finger.

Whoosh...

The seed transformed into a golden light, accurately landing in the very center of the Soul Summoning Forest.

At the same time, Li Ke activated a Magic Treasure, performing a spell that complemented the Soul Summoning Forest, the Devilish Earth Nourishment Technique, to link the Qi of the Soul Summoning Forest with the Qi of the seed.

Having done all this, he stood high in the sky, silently observing.

As soon as the golden seed landed, it immediately took root and sprouted under the activation of the Devilish Earth Nourishment Technique.

Countless fine golden roots spread outward Li Ke a spiderweb, quickly connecting with the entire underground root system of the Soul Summoning Forest.

Indeed.

The trees that were being eroded by the gray mist and gradually wilting clearly stopped their wilting progression.

Even the Yin wood that had long since withered in the Soul Summoning Forest began to show a faint, almost imperceptible trace of vitality.

The natural expansion rate of the Soul Summoning Forest showed clear signs of accelerating...

“This is...”

A thoughtful expression appeared on Li Ke’s face.

Using the Tree Herder’s tree-controlling talent to control the Soul Summoning power of the Soul Summoning Forest.

With the combination of the two, life and death achieved a strange balance, turning into a self-cycling, continuously growing Soul containment ground.

“The cycle of Yin and Yang in the world, the flow of all things, how wonderful it is...”

Li Ke suddenly spoke from inspiration.

“This is the Dao.”

The next moment, Li Ke’s figure turned, and he floated down towards the castle.