As if sensing something, Zhang Nu extended his left hand and a dark crimson mist materialized from the void, eventually condensing into a tangible object within his palm.
It was a peculiar object, roughly the size of a soccer ball, with a red-black coloration. From its structure, it resembled a heart.
Without needing to look, Zhang Nu already knew what it was.
[Fragment of the Evil God] Orange quality special item. Assimilable.
[The Evil God Fragment is extremely powerful. After absorbing the fragment, you will gain the power of the Evil God. However, your talents, bloodline and physique will be permanently affected. You may lose some of your existing abilities. Please make the choice after utmost consideration.]
This was none other than the "Heart of the Ancient God," which had suppressed the corrupted monarchs' tomb for three thousand years in the Thunderclap City.
As expected, the Heart of the Ancient God was an Evil God fragment.
Due to its divine nature, it was nearly indestructible and could only be sealed away.
If the Demon King or a Hero obtained an Evil God fragment, they could choose to harness and absorb it, thereby gaining immense power while also bearing the related side effects.
Activating his information gathering ability, Zhang Nu delved into a more detailed understanding of the object.
[Source of Corruption] a fragment from the primordial Evil God known as the "Source of Calamity." This malevolent god had once unleashed horrifying cataclysms across the continent, resulting in immense casualties and requiring the sacrifice of numerous powerful individuals from ancient empires to seal it away.
Zhang Nu discovered that this Evil God fragment had a different origin compared to the "Eye of Death".
The Eye of Death originated from a being known as the "Eight-Eyed Evil God." Possessing eight eyes, each eye represented a distinct power, with the Eye of Death primarily embodying the power of death.
However, this particular Evil God fragment hailed from another Evil God known as the "Source of Calamity."
It was rumored that this very god was the very source of various terrifying disasters and calamities. When the Evil God was defeated, it was fragmented and sealed away in multiple pieces. Each fragment represented a specific calamitous power derived from the Source of Calamity.
Each power was unique in nature.
This particular Evil God fragment was named the "Source of Corruption."
This fragment harbored an immensely contaminating power of Evil God capable of corroding the mind, soul, and physical form of living beings.
Zhang Nu speculated.
After obtaining the Heart of the Ancient God, the leader of the Divine Sword Heroes Guild could not resist the allure of the Evil God fragment and chose to absorb it directly. This explained why, upon killing the Level 5 Hero, Zhang Nu was able to acquire the Evil God fragment from his body.
However, such an action was incredibly risky and reckless.
While the Evil God fragment could greatly enhance the power of a Hero or Demon King, it also came with significant side effects that were irreversible.
Acquiring the Evil God's innate abilities would undoubtedly impact one's personal growth and innate talents. Not only would the physical body undergo severe distortions, but even the mind could be influenced, potentially undermining future growth potential.
Continued absorption of Evil God fragments could lead to two possible outcomes.
If one chose to absorb only fragments from the same Evil God, they would eventually undergo a complete transformation, becoming the specific Evil God themselves upon collecting all the fragments.
However, if fragments from different Evil Gods were absorbed, allowing the unrestrained influence of various powers of Evil Gods on the body and soul, the eventual result would be a grotesque, twisted, and unrecognizable monstrosity or an unpredictable mutated Evil God, or even potentially leading to their outright collapse and dissolution of their form.
Zhang Nu disliked the unknown and uncertainty.
He desired to be in control of his own transformations.
Therefore, after obtaining the first Evil God fragment, he refrained from immediate consumption. Instead, he patiently waited until he activated the "Dragon God Bloodline" and fortified his own foundation before assimilating it.
In doing so, although he could not experience a rapid surge in power, he preserved all his growth potential and innate talents, while also avoiding bodily instability and distortion.
Moreover, with such a solid groundwork established, Zhang Nu could now absorb different Evil God fragments without hesitation.
[Evil God Fragment assimilated successfully!]
[Your maximum HP +2000!]
[You've activated a new talent: Source of Corruption!]
While the HP boost was of secondary importance, the controlled essence of the Evil God's power became a unique innate talent. Typically, innate talents tend to strengthen alongside overall growth and development.
Therefore, upon absorbing the Evil God fragment, with each subsequent level-up, Zhang Nu's Evil God power and attributes would be further enhanced.
[Source of Corruption] Talent skill. Upon activation, grants immunity to all toxins and curses, allowing the conversion of his own HP into Evil God power, enabling the use of abilities like "Corrupted Blood."
Similar to the Eye of Death, the description of Evil God's talents was vague. The Evil God talent obtained from the fragment was an ability that could continuously grow and be developed, unrestricted to a single skill.
"So this is the Corrupted Blood!"
Zhang Nu converted a portion of his HP, causing a mist of blood to materialize in his palm. Although inconspicuous in appearance, the Evil God power it contained could corrode the mind, soul, flesh, and even magical items, resulting in effects such as sealing, cursing, and harm.
Impressive!
Yet another formidable ability!
With this power, Zhang Nu's ability to incapacitate his foes became even more potent. He could easily render powerful equipment properties ineffective, deprive mages of their spellcasting abilities, and cause the physical bodies of warriors to crumble, leaving them defenseless. It was truly terrifying.
Several hours later, Zhang Nu received a victorious report from the Bloody Fortress.
True to expectations, Zhang San, Li Si, Long Yi, and the others did not disappoint the Demon King. They emerged victorious against an entire empire legion, decimating at least half of their forces.
Taking the time to thoroughly analyze the gains, Zhang Nu was astounded.
In this battle alone, the amassed amount of gold was a staggering 11.87 million!
Despite some casualties and damages sustained by the Bloody Fortress, even after accounting for the necessary repairs, the net income from this battle still soared into the tens of millions of gold coins!
It was an extraordinary achievement.
In addition to this substantial financial windfall, Zhang Nu obtained 2 Level 5 souls, 8 Level 4 souls, 55 Level 3 souls, 267 Level 2 souls, and 76 skill stones.
The Divine Sword Heroes Guild was utterly vanquished! From the leader, Su Wenhao, down to every single member of the elite corps, none survived!
This formidable Hero guild, alongside the colossal empire legion, met their ultimate demise at the Bloody Fortress.
The outcome of this battle would undoubtedly send shockwaves through the forest, further elevating the Demon King's reputation.
It was not difficult to imagine that even the empire would be shaken by the news. At that time, not only the Grand Duke Bachor in the southern region but even the emperor himself would begin to take notice of the situation in the Chaos Forest.
For the Demon King, this confrontation with the empire had only just begun. Zhang Nu felt extremely satisfied with the gains from this battle.
He took out a staggering sum of 6 million gold, preparing to buy the second teleportation tower blueprint from the Succubus Queen, Han Kexin. This blueprint was of great importance to him, and he wanted to secure it as soon as possible.
Han Kexin was taken aback and exclaimed, "Are you kidding me? It's only been a few days! How did you manage to raise such a large amount of money in such a short time?"
Although Zhang Nu was a wealthy landowner, it was still astonishing to gather such a significant amount of money in such a short period.
Zhang Nu replied impatiently, "Enough chit chat, let's make the trade."
But Han Kexin halted him, saying, "Hold on a moment."
Zhang Nu asked, "What's the matter? Are you planning to raise the price?"
Han Kexin scoffed, "Hey, I'm a renowned Demon King. I wouldn't stoop so low to do something like that."
"Then what are you waiting for?"
"I'm thinking of lowering the price by 1 million gold."
Upon seeing this, Zhang Nu felt surprised and immediately asked, "Heh, so what are the conditions? Don't tell me you have suddenly discovered your conscience."
The Succubus Queen, Han Kexin, replied, "Hmph, you better examine your own conscience first. My conscience is intact. Why would I have a need to discover my conscience?"
She continued, "Here's the deal. Once your teleportation tower is built, how about we establish a mutual connection and positioning?"
As it turned out, the Succubus Queen wanted to connect her territory with Zhang Nu's teleportation tower.
In doing so, whenever Zhang Nu used the teleportation tower, he could easily visit the Succubus Queen's domain.
Likewise, the Succubus Queen could use the teleportation tower to visit the domain of the Abyssal Dragon King. This arrangement would deepen the cooperation between the two Demon Kings.
In the future, Zhang Nu could develop his resources in the underground world through the Succubus Queen, while Han Kexin could access the continent through the Abyssal Dragon King for resource acquisition.
Although the territories of the two Demon Kings were extremely far apart, they could not possibly compete or encroach upon each other.
However, connecting their territories through the teleportation tower still required a high level of mutual trust, as one should always be cautious.
After careful consideration, Zhang Nu felt that it would not be a major issue. Despite the Succubus Queen being a top-tier Demon King, the gap between her and himself was quite significant. If he was not afraid of her, then he had little reason to worry.
As long as they established specific agreements and implemented necessary teleportation security measures, the two Demon Kings could cooperate seamlessly, with the benefits outweighing any potential drawbacks.
"No problem!" Zhang Nu continued, "So, how many teleportation tower blueprints do you have?"
The Succubus Queen replied, "None left. I only had three, and I planned to use one myself. I sold the other two to you."
So that's how it was.
If she was not in dire need of money, the Succubus Queen would not have sold them.
For a Demon King, the more teleportation towers, the better. A single teleportation tower can only be used for one-way regional teleportation.
It was no wonder the Succubus Queen willingly reduced the price by one million gold to obtain the teleportation coordinates from Zhang Nu's side.
The transaction was completed, with Zhang Nu paying 5 million gold coins and successfully acquiring the second teleportation tower blueprint. It was definitely worth it for him.
Considering his current territory's profitability, 5 million gold only amounted to approximately five days' income, while an additional teleportation tower held significant value.
Of course, the construction cost of teleportation towers was extremely high.
One of the main reasons the Succubus Queen sold two blueprints was that she did not have sufficient gold and resources. Building a tower was already a considerable stretch for her. Even for Zhang Nu, it was not a small expense. The total cost of constructing a tower exceeded the price of the blueprint itself.
After careful consideration, Zhang Nu decided to build one teleportation tower next to the Darkness City and construct a small teleportation fortress specifically for the tower.
As for the arrangement of the other teleportation tower?
Unlike regular buildings, teleportation towers did not need to be within the territory. They were allowed to be built anywhere. Zhang Nu certainly would not place it within the Chaos Forest. The Chaos Forest was not too large, with a total area of over five million square kilometers. It was not necessary to build a tower in such a close range. It should be placed outside the Chaos Forest.
The Thunder Empire and the Sunset Empire were both unsafe options and did not align with his interests. Although they had high military value, Zhang Nu's current military strength was sufficient for self-defense, but launching an offensive against an empire would be too strenuous. Additionally, the transportation capacity of a Level 4 teleportation tower was limited.
After pondering over the options, Zhang Nu made a decision. He would place it in the Azure Water Federation.