Necromancers are frantically stationing troops in the apocalypse.

Chapter 1050, Boiled Eggs
The morning mist had not yet dissipated in an undeveloped area on the west side of the island.

A circular stone formation covering nearly a thousand square meters has been erected on the flat ground.

The twelve stone pillars, covered with runes, are arranged in a radial pattern. Each pillar is densely covered with runes, and the broken parts are connected by liquid gold.

Mercury-like liquid flames flowed through the crisscrossing patterns on the ground, converging towards the three-meter-tall bronze furnace in the center.

"This scale..." Wu Heng squinted at the formation, which was comparable to a football field, and couldn't help but think of the ancient magic formation that stirred up the ocean at the bottom of Rift Island.

Huge and spectacular.

Moreover, some of them resemble the altars used in ancient movies for sacrificial ceremonies.

Construction of this formation began when Wu Heng was in the second stage of his cultivation, since Wu Heng's cultivation speed was much faster than planned.

The Empress also made preparations in advance.

Inside the formation, the skeleton array masters conducted a final check, while the ordinary skeletons piled various materials into the central furnace.

“The cultivation of the third stage, ‘Heavenly Mandate Body,’ is essentially using heaven and earth as a furnace.” The goddess manipulated the puppet, dressed in a black embroidered robe, “These materials are merely the catalyst; what truly needs to be refined is yourself.”

Wu Heng's eye twitched as he looked at the furnace. "Are you sure an ordinary professional can withstand it?"

The lady glanced at him and said, "There's no danger for you."

"You're convinced that I can be resurrected after I die, aren't you!" Wu Heng sighed, taking off his robes. "Keep an eye on the surroundings. If the people see their island lord being struck by lightning with his bare bottom, my reputation will be ruined..."

"Don't worry, this place is so far from the residential area, who's going to look at you?" the empress said impatiently.
"I'm talking about wandering knights and beast tamers." Wu Heng stripped down to only his shorts.

The lady continued, "The pants are off too, they'll burn away in a bit."

Wu Heng turned his back. "I'm not kidding you. I'm preaching now, and my reputation is very important. Watch closely."

The empress glanced at him and said, "Go, I understand!"

Wu Heng walked naked into the formation. Once he sat down cross-legged, all the skeletons retreated to a safe position.

The empress lay on her side on a recliner in the distance, elegantly crossing her long legs, while a skeleton stood beside her holding a lace parasol.

"Light the fire!" the Empress said softly.

Flames suddenly rose from the altar.

Liquid flames surged along the array patterns, instantly engulfing Wu Heng in the center of a fire ring with a diameter of thirty meters.

Meanwhile, dark clouds gathered at a visible speed, and lightning condensed into giant, python-like plasma within the clouds.

Wu Heng calmed his mind and began to circulate his internal energy.

Crimson lines raced wildly across his body, frantically absorbing the raging energy around him. His hair turned to ash, and countless blood vessels burst and reformed beneath his skin.

Click~!

Dark clouds overhead, and the first bolt of lightning struck down, covering Wu Heng's body.

Then, the second, the third... layers of lightning fell, engulfing the figure in the middle.

……

Island owner's mansion.

The women each prepared their own cultivation plans.

Just then, the door opened, and Xiao Xiao skipped in, followed by Lilith, who was wearing a gorgeous black dress and lace gloves, as they slowly walked into the living room.

All the women were taken aback, then bowed in unison, "Leader Lilith!"

Lilith's expression remained unchanged, her voice indifferent, "You're welcome."

Xiao Xiao shook Lilith's hand and said, "Sister Lilith, I want to see the effects of the Body Refining Technique."

The women narrowed their eyes, but no one spoke.

The Body Refining Technique is a secret technique of the Island Lord's Mansion, and it has not been revealed to outsiders except for those who maintain close relationships with Wu Heng.

Lilith glanced at the group and said softly, "Wu Heng knows I'm here. Viola, you've completed the first stage of cultivation. Demonstrate it for me and let me see the effect."

Viola nodded.

Lilith couldn't possibly lie about this, and she was just testing the waters.

"Chief, this way please." The witch Viola gestured for the training ground to proceed.

Although both are heroes, Lilith's status is much higher than Viola's.

Lilith has been a hero for a long time and has a high reputation in the world. Countless women take Lilith as their role model.

The group went to the training room together.

Viola walked to the center of the training field, took off her coat, and stood opposite Philippa.

Once both sides were ready, Philippa, wielding two blades, charged forward quickly, while Viola simply stood still.

When the blade was three inches from her skin, crimson patterns appeared all over Viola's body, and her skin instantly shone with a metallic sheen.

Bang~!

Amidst the piercing clang of metal, Philippa's dagger was knocked away.

Where Viola was struck, only a fleeting white mark remained.

Philippa continued his attack, his twin blades falling relentlessly, the clanging of metal echoing throughout the training ground.

Lilith's pupils contracted slightly in the distance.

Although Philippa's level is not high, Viola's skin defense is indeed astonishing.

Moreover, according to Wu Heng last night, there are no restrictions on occupation.

It is indeed somewhat special.

"Leader Lilith, is it ready?" Viola returned, having put on her coat. "The effect of the first stage is to enhance the skin's defense."

Lilith nodded. "Okay, that's fine."

Then, the group returned to the living room together.

Xiao Xiao asked, "Does Sister also need to cultivate?"

Lilith said, "I'll discuss it with your uncle when he gets back."

"Oh!" Xiaoxiao nodded.

After sitting in the living room and drinking tea for a while, Lilith stood up and said, "Alright, I'll leave now. When Wu Heng comes back, have him call me."

"Yes, leader!" the men bowed.

After Lilith left.

Sanera looked at Xiaoxiao with some curiosity, "Xiaoxiao, did Wu Heng agree to Chief Lilith's request to learn the Body Refining Technique?"

Since she's come to see the results, it means we've agreed that she can practice the Body Refining Technique.

Little Xiao swung her legs, looked at the people who had gathered around, thought for a moment and said, "Yesterday, Sister Lilith gave me a very expensive gift. Uncle probably felt embarrassed, so he told Sister Lilith about the cultivation technique, hoping that she could become more powerful too."

After saying that, he nodded, "Yes, that should be it."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt it made sense.

Moreover, the technique is divided into three stages, with the first stage increasing skin defense.

Nothing much happened.

Benny, who was watching a movie while reclining on a deck chair not far away, glanced over here.

Thinking to myself, "From now on, you'll all be family."

Sanera nodded and said, "Alright, let Wu Heng decide when he gets back. You all continue your training and don't waste any time."

The group nodded and began preparing their respective training plans.

……

To the west, the training ground.

The sunlight in the sky was swallowed up by the rolling thunderclouds, and the entire sky was transformed into a boiling furnace.

In the center of the fire ring, several meters in diameter, Wu Heng stood like a condemned man nailed between heaven and earth.

The pale blue lightning bolts intertwined with the crimson flames, each strike clearly illuminating his collapsing body, which then rapidly repaired itself.

This cycle just kept repeating itself, collapsing again and again, and recovering again and again.

Despite the continuous damage, Wu Heng gritted his teeth and persevered, hoping to break through to the third stage as soon as possible and achieve the effect the Empress had described.

The fire rings and lightning strikes lasted for three or four hours. The materials in the formation gradually ran out, the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, and the flames gradually died down.

Wu Heng slowly stood up, his body enveloped in white mist.

As he took a step, the charred crust on his body peeled off like broken porcelain, revealing the regrowth of skin underneath.

"How is it?" the Empress asked.

"It felt like being thrown into a meat grinder and tossed around for three days," Wu Heng said, exhaling a puff of black smoke. His voice was hoarse as he asked, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Is this how you train?"

The empress tapped his chest with the tip of her doll's finger. "Don't worry, if you persevere, you'll definitely reap the rewards."

"Okay! Shall we practice again today?" Wu Heng asked.

"Today's training has been sufficient. Let's continue tomorrow!" The Empress said, standing up. "Go back now. Leave this to the skeletons."

Wu Heng finished dressing, grabbed her arm, and cast the Teleportation spell, causing the two of them to disappear.

……

Island owner's mansion.

Ripples spread across the center of the courtyard, and the figures of Wu Heng and the Empress appeared.

The fireplace in the front courtyard still emitted towering flames, and the wood elf sister 'Eluria' sat cross-legged in the flames, gritting her teeth and persevering, the runes on her skin flickering like her breath.

Wu Heng and the Empress entered the living room together.

The women in the house all looked over, and when they saw Wu Heng's appearance, they were all stunned.

Philippa exclaimed first, "Wu Heng! You... how did you turn into a boiled egg?"

Wu Heng scratched his head. "You're the boiled egg!"

I just came back from the ravages of lightning and fire. My hair, eyebrows, and even eyelashes were all burned off and haven't grown back yet.

But it will grow back very quickly; it should be almost healed by evening.

Philippa chuckled, ran over and put his arm around his shoulder, comforting him, "It's okay! Your boiled egg isn't ugly at all, it's the best-looking, whitest boiled egg I've ever seen."

"Thank you." Wu Heng walked over and sat down on the sofa.

The catwoman Robe brought over tea, and Sanera asked, "How's the third stage going? I saw lightning striking the spot where you were training."

Wu Heng took a sip of tea. "I'm not feeling well. You should wait until you reach the Hero stage before proceeding to the third stage!"

“We’re still a long way off!” Shanera said.

At this moment, Minnie handed him a chilled towel and wiped the dust off his face. She then said, "Chief Lilith came this morning. Sister Viola demonstrated the results of the first stage of the Body Refining Technique to her. The chief seemed very interested and said she would come to practice tomorrow."

“I know.” Wu Heng took out his phone and glanced at it. Sure enough, there was a message from Lilith.

The content is very simple, and the Body Refining Technique seems quite good. I will come over tomorrow to try practicing it.

Wu Heng quickly replied with an "OK".

Then he said, "Lilith will also come to cultivate tomorrow."

“Okay!” Minnie nodded.

She is in charge of purchasing materials; with one more person, one more batch of materials needs to be ordered.

After finishing their business, the women inquired about the intensity of the third stage of cultivation.

Actually, you can tell a bit from Wu Heng's appearance.

That's pretty bad.

If even a hero like him has become like this, wouldn't ordinary professionals be in even greater danger?

After chatting with the others for a while, Wu Heng got up and went upstairs to take a shower.

……

In the bathroom.

In the misty steam, Wu Heng rested his head on the edge of the bathtub and opened the Faith value panel.

[Faith: 19412/50000]

The growth rate remains rapid.

"At this rate..." Wu Heng squinted, "I'll be able to break through to the Hero level this year."

The Kingdom of Yeko has expelled the Papacy's personnel and established churches of the Spirit Revelation Church in various places, in addition to the Wood Elf territory and the area surrounding Luntam City.

There are already quite a few churches.

However, Wu Heng still intends to focus its development primarily on the zombie world.

Unlike the other world, information travels very quickly in the zombie world, allowing doctrines to spread rapidly even without the need to build churches.

In particular, the population is much larger.

"We'll have Li Yahong increase her investment and try to shorten the time even further."

Thinking of the Papacy, Wu Heng was somewhat puzzled.

After killing the three heroes of the Holy See, no further news came from them.

It's not hard to figure out, actually.

They're just quietly continuing to produce heroes.

The Vatican wants to delay, and they're dragging their feet too.

Once I become a god, none of them will survive.

Moreover, given his current strength, even if the Holy See were to add three more heroes, they would only be delivering the corpses of heroes to him.

In particular, he has now unlocked the second stage of the Body Refinement Technique.

In the first stage, they could kill religious leaders with a flurry of punches; in the second stage, they would only become more formidable.

"I don't know when the third phase will be successful."

Although the effects of the third stage overlap somewhat with the characteristics of the hero, there is still some anticipation.

After taking a short bath, Wu Heng got up and left the bathroom.

……

The next day, in the morning.

Wu Heng completed the third stage of his training for the day and returned to the island lord's mansion with his freshly baked 'boiled egg' appearance.

In a training area within the courtyard, Lilith sat cross-legged in the center of a fireplace.

Wu Heng glanced at it but didn't pay much attention to it. Lilith was a hero like him, and she was more experienced and more adaptable to various environments. This kind of training shouldn't be a problem for her.

He returned to the living room, greeted the women in the house, and went upstairs to wash up.

After soaking in the bathtub for a while, the bathroom door opened, and Minnie walked in carrying a new set of clothes. "Master, Miss Letili is here."

"Hmm!" Wu Heng stepped out of the bathtub.

Minnie's face flushed slightly as she helped him get dressed.

Wu Heng touched her face. "What's wrong? It's not like we haven't seen each other before. Why are you blushing?"

"I've never seen you bald before." Minnie looked up and winked mischievously.

Wu Heng flicked her nose and then reached out to fasten the buttons on his clothes.

After getting dressed, go downstairs.

The blonde, blue-eyed elf 'Ladyly,' the local head of the Serpent's Emblem Foundation, sat on the sofa chatting with Sanella, dressed in a light blue long gown.

Upon seeing Wu Heng emerge, Lady immediately rose and bowed, "Chief."

"Yes, sit down." Wu Heng smiled and sat down opposite him.

Lady said, "My lady, the main reason I came here is to bring you the two items I purchased last time. Miss Minnie said you needed them urgently, so I brought them to you personally as soon as I arrived."

He then handed over a spatial ring, which Wu Heng took and examined its contents.

With a raised eyebrow, he revealed 22 sides of the [Shadow Mirror] and 17 [Light and Shadow Cubes].

The Serpent Emblem Group is quite efficient.

(End of this chapter)