Chapter 298: The Camp Takes Shape
The place where Zhou Ming lived was located at the very core of Snake King Fortress—a seven-story circular stone tower.
Each floor was about five meters high and covered roughly one mu of area.
The first floor was used to receive guests. The second floor was where Aina and Tianqiong lived. The third floor was Zhou Ming’s usual living quarters. The fourth floor was his laboratory.
At this moment, having returned to the stone tower, Zhou Ming brought Tianqiong into the laboratory, preparing to investigate the cause of the other party’s spiritual mutation.
It had to be known that Tianqiong had undergone no cultivation whatsoever, yet his Spiritual Power was capable of interfering with the material level. Zhou Ming himself had only achieved such a feat after advancing to Transcendent Master.
Previously, due to limitations in his strength, he had been unable to conduct a detailed and in-depth study of Tianqiong’s spiritual mutation.
Now that he had advanced to Transcendent Master, he naturally would not let such an excellent research subject slip away.
“Uncle, danger?”
Tianqiong had followed Zhou Ming for a year and a half. Compared to when he had first arrived at the camp, his gloomy personality had somewhat changed.
However, when facing Zhou Ming, Tianqiong still could not help but feel fear, because he could sense the cold indifference buried in the deepest part of Zhou Ming’s heart.
It was like the group of people he had faced at Maple Leaf Ridge—cold-blooded in their disregard for life.
Without Catgirl Aina by his side, the fear in Tianqiong’s heart made him speak up in front of Zhou Ming for the first time.
Though his tone was somewhat off, the meaning was still generally understandable.
“It wasn’t dangerous originally. Unfortunately, you addressed me incorrectly.”
The word “Uncle” instantly made Zhou Ming feel somewhat defensive. With his current lifespan, converted to that of an ordinary human, he would still be considered a child.
Although he was somewhat surprised that Tianqiong had suddenly spoken, Zhou Ming still intended to teach him a harsh lesson.
Therefore, while conducting his research on Tianqiong, he exerted slightly more force, intending to leave him with a profound memory.
While Zhou Ming studied the cause of Tianqiong’s spiritual mutation, lively construction once again commenced within the camp, along with personnel deployment.
Naturally, Zhou Ming did not need to concern himself with such miscellaneous matters. They were mainly handled by Su Mei and the others.
This time, however, with the assistance of the Golden Flower Group, construction materials and equipment were transported into the Underground Cavern by the ton.
Jin Yushu personally oversaw the handover with Su Mei, constantly monitoring the materials required by Snake King Fortress. If supplies proved insufficient, she would increase the price and purchase them from other companies.
In short, she intended to seize this opportunity to thoroughly establish ties with Zhou Ming, thereby allowing the Golden Flower Group to advance even further.
Meanwhile, as Zhou Ming’s cooperation with Duanmu Ruibo and the others was finalized, news that there was a Passage into the Dark Domain near Qinghui Base became known to all.
However, with several Transcendent-level Experts acting as deterrence, few forces dared to harbor ulterior motives.
Of course, there was another main reason—Zhou Ming was willing to open the passage, requiring only a Thirty Percent Share of the harvest.
Although the fee was somewhat expensive, many northern forces were willing to bear it, because at least it granted them the opportunity to enter the Dark Domain.
It had to be known that passages into the Dark Domain were mostly concentrated in the Alliance’s southern region, and many of them were controlled by forces within the Dark Domain itself.
Thus, northern forces farthest from the Alliance’s south found it difficult to obtain resources from the Dark Domain.
The only disappointment was that the passage would not open until three months later. However, this also provided ample preparation time for many forces.
One month later, Zhou Ming gained a general understanding of the cause behind Tianqiong’s spiritual mutation.
The fundamental reason for Tianqiong’s mutation was that, during the Dark Card Organization’s human experimentation, he had witnessed his parents die tragically before his own eyes.
This psychological devastation caused intense emotional fluctuations within him. Coupled with the unknown effects brought about by the human experiments, it allowed him to awaken an ability similar to Psychic Power.
To obtain this information, Zhou Ming had forcibly hypnotized Tianqiong with his powerful Spiritual Power, extracting it from the depths of his subconscious.
During his research into Tianqiong’s spiritual mutation, Zhou Ming also gradually grasped the characteristic attached to his own Spiritual Power—erosion.
This erosion characteristic resembled a fusion of two different forms of erosion: the power of shadows and the erosive nature of Dragon Bloodline genes.
As he continued studying this erosive characteristic, a thought began to sprout in Zhou Ming’s mind.
…
Two months later, construction within the Underground Cavern was finally completed.
The interior of the cavern could be divided into three areas.
The first area was near the waterfall, mainly serving as a garrison zone for the Hunter Guild and other forces.
The second area was Snake King Fortress, located where the Dimensional Rift existed.
The third area was the Nightshade Circular Market not far beside Snake King Fortress, composed of two concentric circles.
The outermost ring consisted of taverns, inns, and other services. The middle ring mainly sold goods related to Beast Tamers and hunters. At the very center was the stall plaza.
The task of constructing the camp had been completed within the stipulated time and according to requirements. Su Mei immediately reported this good news to Zhou Ming.
“Finished? Just in time to test what I’ve researched these past two months.”
Before Su Mei could react, Zhou Ming’s figure appeared in the sky above the camp. A hundred-meter-long Spirit Molting Snake Emperor bloodline phantom condensed behind him.
Although Zhou Ming had done his utmost to restrain his aura to avoid harming ordinary people in the camp, his god-like appearance still caused uncontrollable fear in others.
Fortunately, Su Mei and the other senior leaders reacted in time, immediately leading people to maintain order and prevent chaos.
“Shadow, erosion.”
Accompanied by the hiss of the giant serpent, vast quantities of shadow energy particles gathered within the camp, forming a writhing shadow phenomenon around the bloodline phantom.
In the next instant, under Zhou Ming’s control, these shadows transformed into countless fine threads, spreading continuously across the camp’s ground, buildings, and surrounding rock walls.
Under everyone’s gaze, wherever these shadow threads passed, they left behind marks like branding irons—irrevocable imprints.
These imprints were runes. As the runes spread across the entire camp—and even throughout the entire cavern—
Large quantities of shadow energy particles gathered, enveloping the whole camp at a speed visible to the naked eye.
As time passed, the shadow energy particles became so dense that everyone could sense the agitation brought by their presence.
“Merge.”
Seeing the situation before him, Zhou Ming pressed his hand downward. Instantly, dim light flickered from the runes on the ground and buildings.
The gathered shadow energy particles were devoured in mere moments by countless runes, and finally the runes fused into the buildings themselves.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the camp’s buildings and ground transformed, dominated by a mysterious black hue.
“My Lord!”
“My Lord!”
…
The ordinary people in the camp did not know what Zhou Ming had done, but witnessing the power he displayed, they could not help but cheer.
Zhou Ming showed little reaction. He simply glanced around to confirm there were no issues before returning to the stone tower.
“My Lord, just now that was…”
As the Camp General Manager, Su Mei naturally needed to understand the cause.
After Zhou Ming returned to the stone tower, she came again to meet him, seeking clarification about what he had just done.
“You may understand it as me using Transcendent means to reinforce the entire camp. It can now withstand combat at the Professional Rank.”
“Additionally…”
Shadow gathered in Zhou Ming’s palm, forming a palm-sized token.
“This is the token to control the camp. You may draw upon part of its power. As for the specific effects, explore them gradually.”
With that, Zhou Ming waved his hand for her to leave first. After all, the method he had just used had imposed no small burden on him.