Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 489 - 354: Inheriting Civilizational Legacy, Evolving into [Corpse Commander]!

Chapter 489: Chapter 354: Inheriting Civilizational Legacy, Evolving into [Corpse Commander]!

This meant that for his main body, this was an excellent Skill Material, a perfect foundation from which to deduce the Undead Mage’s Corrosive Poison Series Skill Tree. In that instant, countless inspirations surged through Fang Zhou’s mind. Based on his previous experience deducing the Skeleton Series Skill Tree, he was confident he could perfect the prototype of the Corrosive Poison Series Skill Tree in a short amount of time.

After all, the Undead Mage Pioneers had also tried to deduce some Corrosive Poison Series Skills, such as Touch of Corrosion, but the results were always unsatisfactory in terms of Skill Power, Spiritual Power consumption, and battlefield practicality. With the blessing of the [Corrosive Poison Incarnation] Skill, Fang Zhou believed it wouldn’t take long for him to turn all the inspirations about the Corrosive Poison Series Skill Tree in his mind into reality.

Fang Zhou let out a long sigh and then looked around the entire Dark Altar. With the demise of the Mutated Zombie, there were no zombies left on the altar. However, the black Crystal Ball that had once floated above the fierce zombie still hovered over the ashes, tirelessly operating and continuing to absorb the death aura from the Dark Altar and the entire Valley of the Dead.

Fang Zhou stepped forward and reached out to pluck the Crystal Ball from the air. As it fell into his hands, a cold yet powerful sensation instantly spread throughout his body. Immediately, a series of notifications refreshed on his attribute panel:

"Soul Power +100."

"Soul Power +100."

"Soul Power +100."

...

"Strength Attribute +5."

"Constitution Attribute +5."

"Agility Attribute +5."

"Spirit Attribute +5."

...

A powerful stream of information surged like a tide, with the dense data weaving a vast network in his consciousness like a tapestry of stars. After sorting through it all, he discovered that this harvest was extremely fruitful. Not only had he accumulated over one thousand points of Soul Power, but more importantly, all four of his main Attributes had increased by another 5 points. The increase to his Spirit Attribute was an especially rare enhancement for any Undead Creature.

The death aura within the Crystal Ball swiftly merged into Fang Zhou’s body, like refreshing rain on parched land. For Undead Creatures, death aura is their very source of life, just as life force is to the living. Stored within this Crystal Ball was the purest form of death aura, which explained why Fang Zhou was able to achieve such remarkable progress in such a short time.

Fang Zhou speculated that this pure death aura was originally meant to help that exceptionally powerful zombie complete its final evolution. However, fate played its tricks, and these precious resources ultimately ended up empowering Fang Zhou instead.

With the death aura from the Crystal Ball completely absorbed, Fang Zhou finally had the chance to carefully examine the once-powerful artifact. It was a deep, highly transparent black, about the size of an adult’s fist. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, flawlessly formed and clearly meticulously polished. It looked more like a priceless work of art than an ordinary item.

However, as the last wisp of gray mist vanished from within, accompanied by a crisp CRACK, the once-flawless Crystal Ball suddenly shattered in Fang Zhou’s bony palm. Immediately, a mysterious mark flew out from the broken sphere. Like an invisible hand, it pushed the mark directly into Fang Zhou’s Soul Fire.

Almost at the same moment, a new prompt appeared on his attribute panel.

"Detected analyzable legacy information. Analysis requires 100 Soul Power."

"Proceed with analysis?"

Fang Zhou’s Soul Fire leaped. Staring at the black crystal fragments scattered across his palm, a hint of amazement rose within him. I originally thought this would be a rare treasure and intended to carefully study its origins and uses. I never expected that without the fierce zombie and the four Mutated Zombies as hosts, the Crystal Ball would simply shatter into pieces. This sudden change left Fang Zhou completely unprepared.

He now stood before the ancient and mysterious altar, his mind filled with countless questions. What kind of existence, and for what purpose, laid out such a massive and complex ritual in this desolate, death-filled expanse of corpse hills? Was it merely to cultivate a single fierce zombie? How much time and energy would such a project cost? And what was the reasoning behind it?

Filled with doubt, Fang Zhou decided to try and interpret the mysterious information projected from the Crystal Ball. He unhesitatingly chose "Yes." A hundred points of Soul Power slowly flowed from his Soul Fire as if opening the floodgates of knowledge.

As the Soul Power was consumed, Fang Zhou felt a familiar surge of inspiration explode in his mind. His Soul Fire pulsed violently, and an inexplicable joy welled up within him.

It turned out that the black Crystal Ball and the entire mysterious altar beneath his feet were creations of the Naraku Civilization. In his previous education, Fang Zhou had learned from Instructor Su Xinyan that in all of recorded history, the Naraku Civilization was the Alien Race that had most thoroughly mastered Death Power. Their understanding and application of Death Energy reached the absolute pinnacle, so much so that even long after their civilization’s demise, their ruins were still regarded as priceless treasures.

The "Celestial Curtain Magic Bottle" that Fang Zhou possessed, as well as the powerful blueprint magic mastered by Golden Tier Great Undead Mages like Su Xinyan and Sandro—spells they were unable to cast for certain reasons—were all precious legacies passed down from the Naraku Civilization.

Although the Naraku Civilization ultimately failed to withstand the invasion of the Abyssal Demons and met its doom, their ruins still attract countless explorers and scholars to this day. No one has ever denied the power of the Naraku Civilization, especially in their use of Death Energy and the development of the Undead Mage Profession.

Fang Zhou had obtained some clues about the Naraku Civilization’s Undead Ruins in the Fierce Beast Mountain Range from senior students like Gu Yueyuan and Yue Pengfei. He had originally planned to seek out these ruins after his main body broke through to the Black Iron tier. However, fate had other plans. Before he could reach his goal, it was his Clone who discovered the ruins left by the Naraku Civilization’s Pioneers during this serendipitous exploration.

Standing before this ancient and mysterious Array Altar, Fang Zhou’s heart was filled with joyous surprise. Because the Array Altar had existed for so long, the information stored in the Crystal Ball was incomplete, but it was enough for him to infer its basic purpose. It was an experimental site used by the Naraku Civilization to cultivate Mutated Undead. The now-shattered black Crystal Ball had been the core of the entire facility.

According to the Naraku cultivation model, whenever a Mutated Undead was successfully bred, a specialized Undead Mage would use preset spatial anchor points to periodically return and enslave these rare and powerful creatures as their Summoned Creatures.

However, the original master of this Array Altar had likely perished in the war between the Naraku Civilization and the Abyssal Demons. As time went by, the Array Altar’s effects gradually weakened. Generation after generation of Mutated Zombies appeared, but their master never returned.

An unknown number of years passed. By the time Fang Zhou stepped into this canyon and discovered the hidden altar, the Naraku Altar’s life was already nearing its end. After enduring the ravages of time, it finally lost its function completely during the great battle between Fang Zhou and the Mutated Zombies. With the shattering of the Crystal Ball, all information came to an abrupt halt, leaving only broken ruins behind.

Despite the limited information, Fang Zhou was already quite satisfied.