Han Shuo and Trunks returned to the Valley of Sunshine.
Gilbert, Emily and Phoebe had already returned to the shop that housed the Place of Extreme Water. They were anxiously waiting for Han Shuo, afraid that something might have happened to him.
"Are you all right? I didn't think that old Ferguson would also be a member of the Rainbow Sickles mercenaries. Luckily, his main target wasn't us, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to return with Gilbert so easily," Emily exclaimed upon seeing Han Shuo's safe return, a trace of fear lingering in her heart.
"Mm, contrary to what you think, Ferguson was very concerned about tonight's events. There is no way that the Rainbow Sickles mercenary band will take the losses they suffered tonight lying down. We have to be more careful!" Han Shuo understood that the Rainbow Sickles mercenaries were not weak; the reason for the chaos in the valley was that none of their high-level experts were present. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to cause such a massive disturbance.
"What happened after that?" Phoebe and the two others had left early, so they were unaware of what had happened later. She couldn't help but inquire after seeing Han Shuo come back safe and sound.
"Nothing of importance. After you left, I also escaped under the cover of the chaos," Han Shuo replied.
Han Shuo's mind and heart were filled with constant pleas from the distant Dark Forest. With nothing else to discuss, Han Shuo could no longer resist his curiosity and said briefly, "There shouldn't be any problems during the day. Everyone has been working hard all night. As long as the sky hasn't completely cleared, take a short break!"
The moment these words left his mouth, Han Shuo hurried back to his room. He cast a spell and the little skeleton that had been faithfully guarding him appeared before him, bone dagger in hand.
Han Shuo gave a command and pulled out the magical sticks that led to the Cemetery. He set up the formation and hastily stepped in, activating the formation with his mental power.
A brilliant flash of white light blinded him as the scenery around him changed radically in the blink of an eye. Han Shuo stepped out into the Hall of Death, his eyes greeted by mounds of dirt rising from the ground. Under the murky darkness of the sky, the dense earth element continued to gather in this bastion of extreme earth.
Like the tempestuous currents of the ocean, the ground trembled softly as if it were made of waves. One by one, the mounds of earth bulged and dissipated as the solid earth became as soft as sand. There was a deep hole in the centre as the dirt seethed, as if a giant mudfish was twisting and tossing.
The cemetery of death was protected by a special boundary. Without the Eye of Darkness that Han Shuo held in his hand, there was no way for anyone to enter or leave this place. The moment the Earth Elite Zombie was born, it followed its instincts to search for Han Shuo.
As it turned out, Han Shuo's current location, the Valley of Sunshine, was not too far from the Dark Forest. Therefore, the moment the Earth Elite Zombie sensed Han Shuo's presence, it immediately tried to get closer, but was unfortunately blocked by the barrier. Irritated at not being able to leave, the zombie had stirred the ground as if it wanted to use its special abilities to leave the cemetery through the ground.
However, it was obvious that the cemetery was indeed a wonderful place with wondrous powers. Despite being a favoured son of the earth and having the ability to travel through the earth at will, the earth elite zombie could not overcome the restriction. This proved that the Cemetery's status as a sacred ground for necromancers was not a name given in vain.
"Come out!" Han Shuo shouted as soon as he stepped into the cemetery.
Immediately after he spoke, a slightly yellow shadow abruptly emerged from the ground in the centre and stood stiffly in front of Han Shuo.
It was still an ordinary zombie warrior, but its appearance had changed considerably after being refined by the secret arts of demonic cultivation. The original dark green of its face had faded to a yellow pallor, and its entire body was covered in armour slicked with yellow oil. A faint light flickered through it, and a thick sense of earth spirit emanated from the armour.
The yellowish armour had slowly formed after the Earth Elite Zombie had absorbed the Earth Qi of the land and mixed it with several unusual materials that Han Shuo had provided. The earth elite zombie had refined the mixture along with his body, and so the amor covered his entire skin. The body's durability was far greater than before, and he could use the earth qi to form all kinds of attacks. He could also fly through the earth to hide his movements or suddenly attack enemies.
The Earth Elite Zombie was 180 centimetres tall with an ordinary, unremarkable face. At this time, his face was split open in a wide grin, revealing a strange smile that was a bit simple. It was looking at Han Shuo with delight. Like the little skeleton, the Earth Elite Zombie had a soul, but it couldn't communicate directly with Han Shuo. It could only use the mysterious connection between the two to communicate. The earth elite zombie grinned broadly at Han Shuo and waved his huge hands around, calming the ruts in the earth and restoring calm to the area.
"Alright, I know your skills, stop showing off!" It was like a mischievous child wanting to show off its abilities. Han Shuo understood that the Earth Elite Zombie had just formed, and its intelligence was quite low. He would have to continue to infuse it with knowledge so that it would understand more.
The Earth Elite Zombie moved its lips after Han Shuo spoke and leapt into the centre of its hiding place with a twist of its body. The ground shook slightly as the Earth Elite Zombie reappeared, clutching three vaguely shifting shadows.
"Oh, the three Yin Demons have formed as well!" Han Shuo was surprised and immediately activated the magical yuan in his delight. He sent a beam of black light towards the vague shadows and shouted, "Yin Demons, take your places at my command!"
As the black light struck the three indistinct shadows, strands of black aura appeared around them, making their forms clearer and more distinct.
They had long tails, sharp fangs and were the size of vicious, wild monkeys. All three had two sharp horns and a pair of meaty, bat-like wings. Their faces had evil, deep green eyes that sparkled with a terrifying, merciless light. This was the true form of the Yin Demons.
As their forms became clear, they flew out of the hands of the Earth Elite Zombies and through the air like lightning. Their forms shimmered between tangible and ghostly, changing shape in the air at will and emitting soul-crushing howls as they moved.
The three Yin Demons circled around Han Shuo once and with a thought, entered his body through the back of his neck and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Han Shuo then smiled and shook his body. Four Han Shuo's appeared out of thin air. Apart from his own body, the other three were formed by the Yin Demons. They were truly incredible.
The Earth Elite Zombie didn't have the slightest idea what had happened and was obviously confused. He just stood there and stared at Han Shuo.
After a while, the earth elite zombie grinned shyly and moved his stocky figure to stand next to Han Shuo on the left. It extended a left index finger to point at Han Shuo, meaning "I've found you!
There was a wonderful connection between the two, so Han Shuo didn't find it strange that the earth elite zombie could identify him. As he watched the Earth Elite Zombie look at him with a sincere smile, Han Shuo's thoughts moved again as the three Yin Demons transformed back into three beams of black light and returned to Han Shuo's body.
Han Shuo continued to practise, quickly transforming the three Yin Demons into replicas of himself. He repeated this a dozen times until he had a solid grasp of the technique.
It took the Earth Elite Zombie quite some time to identify Han Shuo, but as Han Shuo continued to practice, the Earth Elite Zombie used the connection between the two to instantly identify the real Han Shuo as soon as the replicas appeared.
Thinking that Han Shuo was playing a fun game with him, the Earth Elite Zombie continued to identify the real Han Shuo without getting tired or bored. It kept grinning with a silly, honest grin and didn't have the cold ruthlessness that a zombie should have. This made Han Shuo a little worried about whether the zombie could evolve quickly or not.
Han Shuo was not Chu Cang Lan, so he could not take this zombie warrior with him wherever he went and attend all sorts of events. Therefore, Han Shuo thought for a moment and decided to send the Earth Elite Zombie back to the dimension he'd come from.
He wasn't worried about the Earth Elite Zombie's strength. After being refined by his secret arts, the Earth Elite Zombie was sure to become a very useful assistant to him. However, he'd just been born from the earth and seemed a bit naive and simple. It would have to grow quickly.
The little skeleton seemed to have grown into a strong, omnipotent presence in the other dimension; even Han Shuo wasn't sure how strong the little skeleton was now. Eventually, there would be enemies to hide from, so it might actually be a very good idea to send the Earth Elite Zombie back home.
"I'm going to introduce you to a friend. He has my presence on him, you'll definitely like him." Han Shuo thought for a moment and smiled at the earth elite zombie.
Han Shuo then used his connection with the little skeleton to chant an incantation, summoning the little skeleton. When he arrived, the little skeleton and the earth elite zombie stared at each other in silence.
The small skeleton's purple eye glowed with life, and he seemed quite interested in the earth elite zombie. He walked up to it and reached out with a gleaming white hand bone to pat the honest zombie's shoulder, and used the other hand to pound his own chest, making a hand gesture at Han Shuo.
He seemed to be saying, 'I'll take care of him, don't worry!