23: The Mist

Castle, second-floor study.

The room was dimly lit, Li Ke another world.

Li Ke sat cross-legged, eyes closed, his mind completely immersed in the profound operation of the [Demon Summoning Scripture].

Suddenly!

His tightly closed eyelids twitched violently, uncontrollably.

A pure, cold, yet strangely active power, without warning, slowly flowed into his body along some mysterious connection!

Buzz!

Almost at the instant this power surged in,

The [Demon Summoning Scripture] within Li Ke's body began to operate at high speed on its own!

Li Ke a greedy black hole, it absorbed, refined, twisted, and polluted all of this external cold power...

In just a few breaths,

This cold power was completely transformed into the purest and most condensed Devilish Qi!

Immediately after, in Li Ke's Dantian Qi Sea,

The five drops of Devilish Qi that were originally slowly rotating suddenly accelerated!

A new drop of Devilish Qi, as black as ink, rapidly condensed into shape at a visible speed!

Boom!

A powerful aura fluctuation, far exceeding the previous one, spread out from Li Ke Li Ke an invisible ripple.

The air in the study paused slightly.

The flame of the oil lamp on the table flickered violently, almost extinguished by the invisible wave of Qi.

Qi Refining Sixth Layer!

Li Ke suddenly opened his eyes,

His eyes shot out brilliant light, Li Ke two black lightning bolts tearing through the gloom of the room!

He clearly felt that the total amount of Devilish Qi in his body had increased by nearly half compared to before!

This is...

The feedback from the [Innate Guardian Corpse]!

Li Ke's thoughts raced, and he instantly understood the source of this power.

According to the records in the [Yin Corpse Secret Canon],

The [Innate Guardian Corpse], refined with one's own essence blood and Divine Soul imprint as the core, has an extremely mysterious connection with its master that transcends ordinary understanding.

After the zombie devours flesh and blood, absorbs Evil Qi, refines Yin Souls, and absorbs moonlight and other energies, it undergoes its unique corpse transformation and purification.

Then, it feeds back a part of its essence to the master in the form of Corpse Qi Origin.

This feedback can not only enhance the master's cultivation,

But also subtly change the master's Physical Body, making it as powerful, tough, and immortal as a zombie.

It can be said that there is a truly symbiotic relationship between the [Innate Guardian Corpse] and its master.

The stronger the zombie, the more benefits the master receives, and the faster the cultivation speed.

Conversely, the higher the master's cultivation, the better they can refine the zombie and tap into its deeper potential.

It's just...

Li Ke frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

According to the records in the [Yin Corpse Secret Canon], the feedback power of the [Innate Guardian Corpse] would only gradually appear after the refinement was completely finished and the zombie actively hunted.

Although Baron Charles's "Yin Corpse Jade Bone" had supreme Aptitude, and was bolstered by a carefully arranged Corpse Nurturing Ground and various secret methods,

There was still a significant amount of time before the 49-day refinement period was complete.

Logically, it should still be in the critical stage of initial corpse evil condensation and corpse transformation.

It shouldn't be possible for it to provide feedback yet.

Could something have gone wrong with the Corpse Nurturing Ground?

Thinking of this, Li Ke dared not delay,

He immediately got up, quickly left the study, and walked towards the Hazelnut Forest behind the castle.

......

The Hazelnut Forest under the night was even more eerie than before.

The chill in the air almost solidified, so cold it seemed capable of freezing the Soul.

If an ordinary person were to approach rashly, they would likely be immediately frozen by the pervasive cold, or even die directly.

The area in the center of the forest was even more filled with surging Evil Qi, with faint black Qi swirling around, as if connected to the Nine Heavens underworld.

Devilish Qi circulated around Li Ke's body, ignoring the biting cold, and he walked directly to the tall mound where Baron Charles was buried.

His gaze swept over it, and he immediately noticed something unusual.

The soil on the surface of the mound showed clear signs of being disturbed!

Moreover, in the air, in addition to the strong Corpse Evil Qi, there was a faint trace of an unfamiliar aura remaining.

Li Ke's eyes moved slightly, and he slowly stepped forward and squatted down.

He stretched out a finger and gently prodded the disturbed, exceptionally dark soil.

His fingertip felt wet and sticky.

Soon, a piece of fabric with broken edges, covered in black mud and darkened bloodstains,

Was pulled out of the mud by him.

The fabric was coarse in texture but unusually tough, seemingly treated with some special process...

Li Ke pondered,

Combining the lingering aura in the air with the sudden feedback energy just now...

He roughly deduced the truth.

Apparently, just now, some inconsiderate fellow had secretly infiltrated the manor,

And, to his misfortune, happened to step directly on the head of this [Innate Guardian Corpse] that was about to take shape.

The result...

Naturally, he was treated as a late-night snack by the one in the coffin.

Judging from the remaining aura of this intruder and the intensity of the feedback energy,

This person was most likely a Clairvoyance, not particularly top-tier in strength, but definitely not weak either.

He didn't know what path he was on, but his luck was truly terrible...

Does this world also have a spearman path?

Li Ke held the tattered cloth and slowly stood up, a strange expression on his face.

He carefully examined the fragmented piece of cloth.

On the inner side of the fragment, near the edge,

He felt a cold, hard protrusion the size of a fingernail.

With a gentle flick of his fingertip,

A uniquely shaped, black metal badge fell into his palm.

The badge was entirely black, with a twisted, swirling Mist pattern engraved on its surface.

The back was etched with intricate patterns, Li Ke some kind of Spell imprint.

Li Ke rubbed it for a while, then slowly injected Devilish Qi into the emblem.

Buzz!

The badge vibrated slightly, and the Mist pattern on its surface seemed to come alive, slowly flowing.

A faint mental fluctuation entered Li Ke's Divine Soul through his fingertip.

"Welcome to the Mist..."

A moment later,

Li Ke digested the message, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Recorded in the emblem was an introduction to an organization called [Mist],

This was a huge black market trading network, spread throughout the shadowy corners of the world.

It recognized the emblem, not the person.

Anyone holding a [Mist Emblem] could participate in their regular or irregular secret trade fairs in various [Mist] branch cities or strongholds.

The scope of transactions was extremely wide, ranging from rare Materials, forbidden knowledge, powerful weapons and equipment, to various illicit intelligence information, and even hiring assassins, covering everything.

The information attached to the emblem also subtly mentioned several ways to contact the [Mist] organization to post or accept commissions.

Li Ke's eyes grew deeper.

It seemed this unknown visitor had taken on a task from the [Mist] to visit late at night.

Baron Harman...

Nine times out of ten, this was the method he had been brewing for half a month.

He didn't directly use the Bloodline Knight by his side, but chose to hire an assassin through the [Mist] with money.

He was more cautious than expected.

Looking at the [Mist Emblem] in his hand,

Li Ke's mind couldn't help but recall,

The bronze fragment he had found among Baron Charles's belongings, which recorded the [Southern Dipper Longevity Lamp Ritual].

Charles's notes seemed to have mentioned that

That fragment was also obtained in the [Mist],

It was something suspected to be from the cultivation world...

Li Ke's interest in this secret organization instantly piqued.