After Li Si's upgrade, Zhang Nu turned his attention to enhancing his own abilities.
.
[You've sacrificed a Level 3 Hero's Soul. 218 talent points gained!]
[You've sacrificed a Level 3 Hero's Soul. 203 talent points gained!]
[You've sacrificed a Level 3 Hero's Soul. 221 talent points gained!]
[......]
In one go, he sacrificed a total of 463 Level 3 souls. Finally, he had amassed 100,000 talent points.
[You've activated the Level 4 Talent "Spatial-Temporal Dragon"!]
Each of the three Level 5 talents was extraordinarily potent, and after careful consideration, Zhang Nu settled on "Spatial-Temporal Dragon."
Though Zhang Nu already possessed "Spatial Manipulation" and "Time Control" as time and space attributed talents when he was Level 4, he believed that having just these two was not enough to be truly powerful. Now, with the activation of this new talent, Zhang Nu gained access to the "Spatial-Temporal Dragon" mode, a transformative and a bloodline skill. It significantly amplified his control over space and mastery over time.
As Zhang Nu felt the surge of the new power awakening within him, he immediately enveloped his body with the force of space and time.
Li Si and the other guards in the hall were taken aback when they realized that the presence of the Demon King, who had been standing right there, suddenly seemed to vanish.
"What in the world...?" Li Si observed slight distortions in the Demon King's body, as if there were occasional fluctuations, similar to a glitch in a projection signal.
As the archpriest and a master of spatial magic, Li Si quickly comprehended that the Demon King had not merely concealed his aura; he had genuinely shifted himself out of this dimension. Using his formidable spatial abilities, the Demon King had erased his presence from this spatial level.
At this very moment, the Demon King was practically invincible. No matter the means used, physical or magical attacks, regardless of their strength or power, all would pass harmlessly through the Demon King's body. If one could not even land a hit, what purpose would the attack serve, no matter how powerful it might be?
The Demon King now existed in a state of both presence and absence, presenting only a spatial projection before their eyes.
Li Si was utterly astounded! What an astonishing mastery over space! Even as a highly skilled expert in spatial magic, he could not help but feel a profound sense of admiration and awe at the Demon King's abilities.
In the next instant, Zhang Nu unleashed the power of time.
Everything froze in its tracks. The burning flames, the insects in the corners, and even the Demon King's guards, all were trapped in a suspended moment, as if time itself had come to a standstill.
Time... had stopped?
Utilizing his ability to manipulate time, Zhang Nu could usually control the flow of time within a certain range. However, bringing time to a complete standstill was an unprecedented feat, bordering on the realm of the impossible.
Yet, at this very moment, the world lay absolutely motionless. As if the entire world's tapestry had been momentarily frozen, akin to a single frame in a vast tapestry of existence.
However, Zhang Nu soon realized that, despite the world being frozen, he himself was in a state of inertia. He felt as if his body had ceased to exist, as though his essence had transcended the confines of the physical realm, providing him with an ethereal sensation.
The "Spatial-Temporal Dragon" talent allowed him to conquer temporal resistance, enabling his thoughts, consciousness, and soul to momentarily transcend time. Even in a realm of absolute stagnation, he could continue to contemplate and think independently.
Alas, he was not yet capable of truly transcending time itself.
As the immense forces of temporal resistance enveloped him, Zhang Nu's power and corporeal form were unable to overcome the overwhelming hindrance, sealing him into a state of absolute immobility.
Despite the setback, Zhang Nu could not suppress his excitement. The activation of this talent had unveiled the potential to surpass the barriers of time!
Now that he could resist some degree of temporal resistance, he could not help but wonder if, as his strength continued to grow, he could eventually confront even longer and more formidable resistance.
Perhaps, in the near or distant future, he would traverse the boundless expanse of the spatial-temporal void. He would soar amidst the frozen threads of time. Worldly barriers would cease to hold him back, and the confines of the past and future would no longer be beyond his grasp.
Shaking his head, Zhang Nu quickly snapped out of his reverie. He knew that such a feat was too distant and challenging, even for a deity. Regardless, the activation of this talent not only strengthened his spatial-temporal abilities but also granted him formidable resistance against temporal magic. It allowed him to remain composed and unfazed amidst warped spaces and chaotic time.
However, given the current situation, the timing was not quite right for thorough testing. Zhang Nu decided to stop and did not fully explore the extent of this ability.
"Not bad at all!"
"Truly impressive!"
"This talent seems to significantly enhance both spatial-temporal abilities and resistance."
"In the future, even spatial-temporal traps or attacks would hardly pose a threat to me!"
Among all magic resistances, spatial-temporal resistance was the rarest. With this talent activated, Zhang Nu gained powerful spatial-temporal resistance, enabling him to overcome spatial-temporal hindrance, rendering common spatial-temporal techniques ineffective against him. Now, not only elemental magic but also curses, necromancy, and spatial-temporal magic. All these rare magic types had become useless against him.
The Great Dragon Demon King was becoming a nightmare for spellcasters, step by step.
After completing the talent activation, Zhang Nu left the Demon King's Castle with several blueprints in hand, setting out to find suitable construction sites.
During the process of conquering the Chaotic Forest, Zhang Nu opened dozens, even hundreds, of treasure chests. As a result, he now had a large pile of Level 2 and 3 blueprints. While most of these blueprints were ordinary and unremarkable, there were a few that held significant construction value.
Apart from the mid to low-level blueprints, there were also a few high-level ones. Among them were three Level 5 blueprints: the "Evil God Cultivator", the "Resurrection Altar", and the "Training Tower".
For now, he decided to set aside the construction of the Resurrection Altar. Its cost was too exorbitant, requiring a substantial amount of souls, and even if built, its current effectiveness would be limited.
Instead, he focused on the Evil God Cultivator and the Demon King's Training Tower, both of which held more value for construction in comparison. Zhang Nu chose to start with the Evil God Cultivator. However, considering its ominous name, he decided to place it near the White Bone Mausoleum rather than directly within the city.
"Would you like to construct the Evil God Cultivator? The construction will cost "Blueprint: Evil God Cultivator" x1, gold x5 million, dark gems x2000, undeath gems x2000!]
"Yes!" Zhang Nu confirmed, paying the required materials.
As the earth trembled, a peculiar structure emerged from the magical formation. The building resembled a gothic castle covered in tentacles, some of which seemed to possess a life of their own, giving an unsettling feeling. After conducting further research, Zhang Nu finally understood the true purpose of the Evil God Cultivator.
The Evil God Cultivator, a Level 5 building, had a straightforward function: "Synthesis"! It could merge different creatures together, with the main subject retaining memories and personality, while the other creatures would be sacrificial offerings. However, this process of biological synthesis was notably uncontrollable, and nobody knew what kind of monstrous creatures might be created.
Curious about its capabilities, Zhang Nu brought a Warmonger Royal Guard and a Level 4 Greater Beholder Lord to the Evil God Cultivator and threw them in.
[Main subject: "Infernal Draconian Warmonger Royal Guard". Material: "Greater Beholder Lord". Proceed with the synthesis? This synthesis will cost 100,000 gold!]
After some hesitation, Zhang Nu eventually confirmed the synthesis.
[Synthesis in progress!]
[Estimated completion time: 45 minutes...]
Inside the Evil God Cultivator, numerous peculiar tentacles continuously emitted beams of light, as if undergoing a complex industrial manufacturing process.
"Quite intriguing!" Zhang Nu had never seen anything like it before. He waited in the cultivation ground for over forty minutes.
Suddenly, the door of the Evil God Cultivator swung open, releasing a strange aura, and he received a related notification.
[Cultivation successful!]
[You have obtained "Demon Eye Infernal Royal Guard"!]
The royal guard walked out, seemingly not changed much. Intrigued, Zhang Nu checked its attributes.
[Demon Eye Infernal Royal Guard] Level 5 lord unit. 1500 HP, 1000 MP, 170 Strength, 159 Constitution, 176 Agility, 148 Will. Loyalty 100%(Locked). Fatigue 10%. Hunger 10%
Skills: Instant Summoning (Talent), Eye Demon Unleash (Talent), Beholder's Beam (A rank), Raging Dragon Qi (B rank), Eye of Detection (B rank), Slow Ray (B rank), Inferno's Might (B rank), etc.
"A Level 5 lord?" Zhang Nu was greatly surprised. Two Level 4 lords could merge into a Level 5 lord? Even more astonishingly, this Level 5 lord retained almost all the abilities of both the beholder and the royal guard. It possessed the powerful melee and constitution of the royal guard, as well as the terrifying insight and long-range attack abilities of the beholder, complementing each other perfectly.
Quickly calculating the cost, Zhang Nu realized that an Infernal Warmonger Guard cost less than 200,000 gold, and summoning a Level 4 Greater Beholder Lord cost the same. The synthesis fee was only 100,000 gold.
In total, it cost less than 500,000 gold.
This was the true value of the Evil God Cultivator. It could merge two or more different creatures into one, showcasing the maximum hybrid advantages by taking the strengths of each and making up for their weaknesses.
Just by fusing with one beholder, its strength had improved significantly. Zhang Nu could not help but wonder what effect it would have if he simultaneously merged ten or more creatures.