Witch Troupe and the Undead

"..."

"runaway?"

"..."

"They know nothing, yet they think it's because of their environment, believing that changing their environment, moving from the sea to land, will lead to success?"

"..."

"So you find yourself a useless piece of trash no matter where you are?"

"...Alright, it's getting late!" Leslie wrapped the blanket around herself, indicating that she wanted to end the topic and discussion.

"Brother Roach, you're quite skilled. How about you become an interrogator in hell after you die?" Black Horse said approvingly.

"Here, the soul doesn't simply dissipate after death. Even if it doesn't dissipate, it can only become an evil spirit or a vengeful ghost, and then be destroyed by a few burly adventurers using holy water and various weapons?"

"Yes, but if a hell mage or a hell demon guides you, before your soul dissipates or becomes undead, they can transform you into a hell spirit, and then you can be reincarnated as a hell demon."

Of course, demons and hell mages are not philanthropists. For hell mages, this means they have a way to go after death, instead of just disappearing into the world. For demons, however, it comes at a price. They won't do this unless they want a soul they like and have surplus resources.

The result of making a deal with a demon is usually not to become a new demon, but to become their soul currency or food. However, as a sub-lord of the sixth level, Black Horse can completely transform Roach's soul into a hellish spirit without paying too much of a price.

"First, you need to pull my soul out of my body. Second, you need to convince Livia." Roach spread his hands, indicating that since he didn't know what kind of contract he had signed, if he wanted to switch jobs, he would have to talk to his current boss about the penalty for breach of contract.

"Oh, never mind then." Black Horse indicated that he was just saying it casually. He didn't even have his own hellish team, so there was no point in becoming a hellish torturer. He would just be a redundant staff member! After resting for seven or eight hours, Weiwei finally regained her energy.

"Feel sorry……"

"Hmm~ It's okay," the little witch patted her head, indicating that it was alright.

"My purpose in joining the Alchemy Society was simply to learn, not for the treasures in the vault."

"Has anyone ever told you..." Roach's expression was somewhat strange as he faced Vivi's eager self-defense. "Is this kind of behavior usually called confessing without being asked?" If she were to reveal the specific names of the treasures in the vault, the effect of this confession would be even more obvious.

"So, you're really here to learn alchemy? Then why? Is it out of interest or...?"

"In order to create bloodline purification potions," Vivi nodded, indicating that her goal was to learn how to make bloodline purification potions. "In fact, I have already collected the materials, but I need a considerable level of alchemy skills."

"Why not find a master craftsman to refine it? Like Livia, for example~"

"Mmm-hmm-hmm!" The little witch nodded vigorously, looking at Vivi with an expectant expression.

"Um...it's mainly because the materials are very precious," Vivi said, explaining that she simply didn't trust others to refine the materials on her behalf. This kind of paranoia is no different from that of most dragon descendants and dragons. However, her worries were not entirely unfounded, because the probability of such a thing actually happening was not low.

"What is a bloodline purification potion?" Leslie looked at Titania, Titania looked at Roach, Roach shrugged to indicate that he did not know, and then looked at Livia.

After thinking for a few seconds, the little witch said in a flat, almost monotonous tone, "Bloodline purification potion is used to purify bloodlines, causing people to revert to their ancestral forms. It can make the bloodlines of divine nobles closer to their ancestors, thereby awakening more powerful abilities."

"Where are the materials?"

"Blood relatives' blood, ancestors' bones, and..." The little witch seemed to find it troublesome, so she took out a brick-thick book from her backpack, turned to this page, and then turned to a few more pages, holding a thick stack of pages between two fingers, indicating that this was all the materials she had.

"...It is indeed quite expensive." This means that Vivi needs to obtain the blood of a blood relative, that is, the blood of a true dragon from the same family. This is still considered good, since dragons do not value their own blood very much. If you have the right connections, getting some dragon blood is not a problem, as long as you don't go there carrying a bucket.

However, the ancestral bones are a big problem. These ancestral bones don't refer to grandparents or anything like that, but rather the skeletons of the ancestors of this dragon family. This means you need to find and invade the ancestral dragon tomb of a dragon family, and then get some bone powder or dragon teeth from the bones of their ancestor—the progenitor dragon.

Other divine blood nobles only need to dig up their own ancestral graves. Apart from their own psychological barriers, there are not many obstacles. As for the dragon descendants... ancestral graves aside, the teeth of a progenitor dragon are usually materials for making artifacts, much like orange rare materials in some games.

Unless the NPC who will do the work for you won't embezzle the materials, you can't trust anyone. It's best to learn alchemy yourself and do it yourself. Moreover, if you can get this material, it means that Vivi knows the location of an ancestral dragon tomb. The dragon tomb contains countless treasures buried with dragons throughout their lives. Their bones, scales, and even the herbs growing inside are all treasures.

This information alone was enough to get her locked up in the basement. Luckily, the treasures in this world don't have any special effects that make them shine brightly, otherwise she would have been robbed by the horse-headed demon that the witch was riding.

Faced with the witch's gaze and its bewitching allure, Vivi finally obediently took out the materials she had stored in a spatial material bag. The hundreds of magical potion ingredients made the little witch's eyes light up.

Livia counted the amount of materials needed on her little finger, then gave a rare smile that warmed everyone's hearts like a gentle sun.

"Clang!" A cast iron potion cauldron was placed on the ground, followed by a portable arcane furnace. Various mixing tools were displayed in abundance. The witch began to concoct potions with complete concentration. Various materials disintegrated on their own in mid-air, or were processed by fully automatic mortars, knives, and scissors. Soon, a pool of silvery-gray liquid appeared in the cauldron.

As about one-third of the dragon's blood was poured into the container, followed by two ounces of bone meal, "Bang!" The crucible exploded upwards in a cloud of colorful smoke, and a silver-gray dragon fled into the sky, only to be caught by a leaping medicine before it could fly too far.

The little witch used both hands to forcefully cover the falling medicine bottle. After struggling for a while, only a crystal-clear liquid, like a ruby, remained inside the bottle.

"finished"

"Only... less than half the ingredients were used?" Vivi was dumbfounded. Could it be that the recipe she obtained was fake, or had Master Livia's skill level reached this level?

"Yes, that's all we need!" Livia happily packed the extra materials into her small bag. "Everyone's happy!"

She was referring to the materials. After communicating with these materials, brewing potions was not difficult for her at all. Rather than saying that she was making them, it would be more accurate to say that she persuaded the materials to refine themselves into potions.

"Thank you..." Weiwei looked at the medicine bottle in her hand, but did not drink it immediately. The conditions for drinking the blood purification potion were quite strict, and the side effects were significant. It needed to be taken in a safe and quiet place, and of course, she had prepared such a place.

Given the concentration of her bloodline, as long as she drinks this potion, she can transform into a true dragon, instead of a half-dragon, half-human dragon descendant. Her lifespan will also become that of a dragon, approximately 2000 to 3000 years. This potion will not only increase her strength but also extend her lifespan.

Of course, she had no intention of getting the remaining materials back, because the bloodline purification potion could only be consumed once in a lifetime, and drinking it more than once would only kill her.

Chapter Sixty: Shadow Dragon

Vivi, now recovered, pushed aside the throne at the end of the hall, revealing the passage below. Layer upon layer of stone steps extended downwards, and the walls on both sides were carved with faceless statues depicting scenes of nobility, priests, and war. Their surfaces were mottled and covered with moss, filling the passage with a strange, putrid stench.

The oil lamp fixed to the horse's back swayed slightly with the black horse's movements, making the carvings on both sides even more sinister and eerie. The only sound in the passage was the monotonous footsteps of a group of people, as if they were going to extend all the way to the depths of hell.

Fortunately, it was just an illusion. When Roach added oil to the lamp for the second time, the stairs came to an end, and the stone door had been completely destroyed by the adventurers, revealing a wide stone bridge spanning the abyss.

This is the second level of the Black Abyss Cemetery. Stone bridges of all sizes crisscross the Black Abyss, connecting the broken and damaged steps and roads on both sides of the abyss. On one side of the road are severely damaged stone railings. From the exquisite patterns and the extinguished streetlights on both sides of the stone bridge, one can vaguely see some of the former glory and extravagance.

On the other side of the road are caves of all sizes. These caves are very well-structured, and some even have doors and windows. Corroded iron signs sway back and forth in the wind.

"This is... a cemetery?" Roach looked at the street near the entrance. The street had steps going up and down. It should have been a whole, but unfortunately, time had caused obvious collapse and damage to the roads and steps.

Structurally, Roach thought it was more like the commercial streets of an underground city. If the Black Abyss was considered a river, then it was clearly an underground city situated on both sides of the river, and they were currently in the commercial district above the city, with the caves serving as shops and markets adapted to the local conditions.

"The caves here have not been fully explored by adventurers so far, because many bridges have collapsed or been damaged, there are complex staircases on the roads, and the caves themselves may be layered. Therefore, after exploring the main road areas, some of the lower caves and markets have not been explored."

Leslie explained the information she had gathered about the Black Abyss Cemetery in Deathwhisper Keep and Hearthglen. As a bard, this was her main job in a typical adventure team: gathering information, arranging itineraries, and using her extensive knowledge to provide advice to her teammates. Her actual combat ability was not valued.

"Danger level: Medium" Although the ruins and the border wilderness use the same classification system, in specific terms, the same level of ruins and secret realms are still divided into areas with different levels of danger, which are divided into four levels: low, medium, high and deadly. These levels are based on the specific level of the ruins and secret realms.

For example, the "low-risk" areas within the "dangerous zone" simply mean there are fewer monsters and the frequency of attacks is lower. "Squeak~" The Kamaitachi jumped in front of the witch, letting out a loud squeak, its body slightly arched, assuming a jumping attack stance.

"Thud~ Thud~" The heavy flapping sound of wings came from the edge of the road. A giant bat suddenly took flight and pounced on the nearest target. Before the bat's claws could grab Livia, an agile shadow leaped onto its back. A crimson bone blade pierced the bat's back, pinning the weasel to it.

"Squeak~!" The bat let out a sharp scream, flying unsteadily. It was forcibly controlled by the Kamaitachi and crashed headfirst into a street lamp by the roadside, falling to the ground. "Squeak squeak~" The Kamaitachi chirped happily a few times, forcefully swinging its bone blade to cut open the large bat's body, and quickly tearing and eating it.

It's clear that these sluggish and enormous bats are among their usual prey. The weasel gnaws at the bats with a crunching sound, swallowing them along with their wings and cartilage. Usually, one large bat is enough for a pair of adult weasels to eat in one meal, or for a female weasel with up to four cubs to eat in one meal.

This means that if they don't want to starve, a pair of adult weasels must kill at least two large bats every day, and if there are many young, they need to kill three.

The "Cave Bat, a harmless monster" is only intimidating in size; its actual combat strength is comparable to that of a strong hunting dog. To the adventurers who dare to come down here, it is a completely harmless species.

"What's the next step?" "The adventurers have marked it. Look over there," Leslie pointed to the fluorescent flowers by the roadside. "Those are the markers, the Cave Night-Shining Flowers. They're not very useful, but their advantage is that they can grow anywhere and emit this pale blue light."

It's the best waypoint, and you don't have to worry about it being destroyed by monsters, because it grows here as if it's blending in with the surrounding environment without any sense of incongruity.

Since Roach and his companions weren't there for a simple adventure, the shops and houses along the roadside didn't attract their attention at all, except for Roach, who would occasionally glance at the surrounding architectural styles and dilapidated road signs because he had never seen an underground city like this before.

The second level of the cemetery is enormous, roughly the size of the entire Hearth City. The further down you go, the more exquisite the buildings become, and the more severe the damage.

Some parts are identifiable as having been damaged from the beginning, but many more clearly show signs of environmental destruction caused by later adventurers' battles with the monsters that inhabited the area.

The main monsters in the second level of the cemetery, besides the harmless giant bats and a small number of weasel families, are crimson shadow dragons and "wither beetles" hiding in caves and collapsed buildings.

The former would fly over the abyss and pounce on pedestrians on the road. It was called a "flying dragon," but in Roach's eyes, this monster was closer to the "Archaeopteryx," a bird-dragon covered in scales. Its forelimbs were curved like bird wings and covered with scarlet feathers, while its hind limbs were thick and had equally red claws.

As a [Disaster-level] monster, each Shadow Wyvern can take on a complete elite 6-person adventure team. This monster has thick skin and feathers that are as hard as iron. When Roach's Thorn Sword strikes its wings, it is as if he is hitting a solid shield.

She excels at gliding, jumping, and flying. Especially when she flies up and attacks with her scimitar-like claws, she can easily tear a rip in Vivi's clothes, revealing her round and delicate shoulder. If Vivi hadn't switched to her half-dragon form in time, her entire arm would have been transformed into a dragon claw, and she could have been ripped off her arm in one go.

Even with the dragon scales protecting him, three deep, bone-revealing wounds remained on his upper arm. "Be careful, these shadow dragons know at least two or three kinds of magic!"

"Why didn't you say so earlier!?" Roach decisively pulled out a crystal block and threw it on the ground. Almost the instant the spirit shield rose, a black whirlwind swept towards Roach like a blade.

These shadow dragons have extremely tough iron feathers, providing excellent defense against both blunt and sharp weapons. Only powerful piercing attacks, such as heavy crossbows or spears, can forcefully pierce through the iron feathers' protection and leave marks on the opponent's sturdy scales.

It can fly, has good mobility, physical and magical defense, and high damage reduction from blunt and sharp weapons. It can also use magic attacks, making it a genuine [Disaster Class]. Once it appears in the outside world, it is something that can cause serious disasters around towns. The weapons and combat skills of ordinary village militia are simply insufficient to deal with this kind of thing.

Even a single one is enough to wipe out a village of dozens or hundreds of households, and might even prevent the messenger from escaping. Fortunately, this kind of creature lives alone; if it lived in groups, it would be at least a "panic level" event.

Faced with the shadow dragon's piercing screams and swift, continuous attacks, Livia was somewhat at a loss. Gripping her staff, she looked around, unsure whether she should heal her companions, cast defensive spells, or unleash offensive spells.

"Gah!" The shadow dragon seemed to notice Livia, who was defenseless and exuded the sweet, milky scent of a teenage girl. It decisively abandoned Roch, who seemed difficult to deal with, and Vivi, who exuded a similar aura, and pounced on Livia.

"Hey buddy, this is a non-selectable target, you've crossed the line!" The black horse instantly transformed into a shadow and appeared in front of the monster, letting the sharp, pickaxe-like beak strike its head with a crisp "thud".

"Gah?" The Shadow Dragon was a little stunned, not understanding how this thing appeared in front of it, nor why its invincible beak strike could only produce a "thud" on this fragile head.

"Hellish Kick!" The black horse reappeared in the same spot as a shadow once more. This time, it turned around and kicked the shadow dragon away with its powerful hind legs, sending it crashing into the railing and adding another scar to the already dilapidated street.

It seemed that Livia finally understood what she was supposed to do. With a flick of her wrist, she drew a beam of light from the bell on her cane, and a sword of light struck the dragon. However, this weak magical attack only caused minor damage. The little witch was very powerful, but the magical power she released depended on the type of magic and the amount of energy available on site.

It's difficult to unleash any powerful spells relying solely on the light elemental effect provided by the bell. Fortunately, there's another thing that's plentiful here: in addition to magical attacks, she can also perform "magical" physical attacks.

Seemingly realizing that her spell had no effect, Livia angrily slammed her staff down, and the stones and twisted, abandoned iron railings on the ground instantly jumped up. The railings straightened and turned into javelins, and the stones bounced and pelted down on the shadow dragon that flapped its wings and took flight again.

"Livia!" Roach set up his high-level energy storm crossbow, stuffed a large piece of soul essence white amber into it as a substitute for essence dew, and transformed it into a spirit energy sword. Compared to other elemental styles, this energy sword has higher magical penetration and ignores physical defense, but... its destructive power has also become much weaker.

"Da da da da da!" The dense rain of energy arrows transformed into a vast expanse of silvery-white fire, but as if drawn by some force, they did not hit the flying dragon but instead circled around the team. The little witch raised her right hand, and the rain of energy arrows revolved around her palm, like a halo composed of stars.

The energy swords merged together, gradually enlarging from their initial shape, which could only be described as "arrowheads," until they finally became a true "energy sword."

Longswords made of silvery-white flames floated around Livia's palms. After Roach used up all his "magazines", a ring of silvery-white flame swords was floating around Livia.

"Now's the time!" The dark horse acted as a competent narrator, "Combined Attack! Soul Sword Array!"

"Hey~~Whoosh~!" The blonde loli witch's eyes sparkled as she excitedly clenched her fist. A streak of light flashed, and the shadow dragon, dazed from being hit by rocks and iron railings, was pierced through by a soul sword.

The spirit-material sword was completely unaffected by its iron feathers and scales. The sword scorched the flesh and blood in the area it pierced, and the intense pain and tearing damage originating from the soul caused the shadow dragon to struggle fiercely in mid-air.

Guided by the witch, more soul swords pierced through the shadow dragon, even though the damage from the soul swords was only soul burning and tearing effects, and their killing power against physical flesh was very weak.

However, the pain caused by being pierced by so many blades completely robbed the Shadow Dragon of the strength to flap its wings, causing it to fall like a weight. After a while, Roach and the others heard a dull thud coming from the lower level.

【Great Achievement: Five Swords of the World: Create five powerful and extraordinary sword techniques that do not require manual skill (different attributes and similar skills are not counted); 1/5】

【Soul Sword Array (tentative): Deals multiple blade piercing damage and corresponding elemental damage to the target. Can be used by companion: Livia】

"Damn~" Luo Qi muttered under his breath. What kind of powerful extraordinary sword technique does he not have to lift a finger? Well, in a sense, it is indeed powerful enough, since the power of something like the Secret Source Paradigm depends on the essence you pour in.

Roach used the white amber that the little witch had collected from countless soul essences on the battlefield as a substitute for the essence, and then the witch, as the user, condensed it into multiple lightsabers.

Of course, this also means that this thing can be replaced with other essences or crystals. For example, if it is replaced with the "Dragon Flame Condensation" that is naturally formed in the Dragon Tomb, the circular array around Livia will be a Dragon Flame Sword formed by the condensation of dragon breath. Its power is roughly equivalent to multiple linear dragon breaths bombarding each other. Even a real dragon would have to show its fear. Who can withstand this?!

However, Roach knew that this great feat of not having to lift a finger might correspond to the "Sword Technique of the World," which involves summoning the left and right attendants and a group of swordsmen to hack the enemy into mincemeat. But the problem was that Livia wasn't a swordsman or axemen that he could summon at will!

"Mmm, that was really fun!" The little witch looked at Roach with shining eyes, seemingly very excited about the combined attack they had just used. "Again, again~"

"Uh, there are no enemies now, and... I've used up all the magazines I made." Roach's Storm Crossbow has physical ammunition. Simply put, the "Energy Sword Rain" secret source paradigm uses silver alloy fragments as carriers to fill 8x8 boxes, and once they're used up, they're gone.

The paradigm is like a bullet, the carrier is like a gun barrel, and the essence is like gunpowder. Roach still has a lot of "gunpowder" on hand, but he has run out of gun barrels and bullets.

"Eh~" The blonde witch showed an extremely disappointed expression, her large emerald eyes seeming to say, "Child~ Mother is very disappointed in you."

“However, I have prepared other alchemical weapons,” Roach said, referring to the items in his backpack. They were all non-explosive, or at least not explosive. “But, since there are no enemies now, let’s not waste our resources.”

Unlike other girls her age, Livia, who has been alone for a long time, is a little... not very good at social communication, but she is still very obedient and listens to what people say.

"What a pity. The Shadow Wyvern's feathers, scales, beak, skin, bones, and wind elemental core are all excellent loot. I hope it didn't fall somewhere you can't find it." Leslie looked regretfully at the bottomless abyss below. A layer of purplish-black mist permeated the abyss, indicating that she had fallen into the third level, the area covered by the Netherworld Mist, which was also the bottom of this rift.

The fog not only obscures the path, but it also poses a threat to the mind and body of adventurers, causing them to weaken over time. Therefore, the exploration success rate is low due to the inability to explore quickly and the need to constantly dispel the fog and heal oneself. Finding the entrance to the fourth level is already the result of all these years of effort.

In this environment, it would be quite difficult to find the corpse of the fallen Shadow Dragon.

"That's not difficult. Just watch my methods." The black horse proudly unloaded its luggage, turned into a shadow and disappeared. After a while, it reappeared in the same spot, carrying a material bag in its mouth. "This bag can only carry this much stuff as I travel through the Dream Realm, so there's no way to carry the extra stuff."

The black horse cannot carry people, and supplies can only be stored in the spatial material bag made by Niel Riley. Small batches of potion materials are fine, but carrying large quantities of supplies is impossible.

The materials bag contained a wind elemental core, a very sturdy pale red feather, a small pile of scales, and a still-fresh dragon heart.

"This heart is edible, whether raw or cooked. It can enhance the user's natural defenses, but the effect is greatest the first time. After that, it's barely noticeable." The so-called natural defenses refer to the resistance of muscles, skin, and bones to impacts and cuts, excluding the effects of being hit by magic or physical fire.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of this…” Leslie gave the black horse a distrustful look. “Is this knowledge of demons?”

“No, this is the old master’s knowledge,” Black Horse did not hide anything. “In addition to researching potions, the old master also researched the effects of eating different parts of monsters. Well, not all monsters have this effect; at least only those of the disaster level do. Moreover, not all monsters are safe and harmless.”

Eating parts of some monsters not only won't bring any benefits, but will also cause great harm. "For example..." Black Horse glanced at Leslie with ill intent, "mermaid flesh is something that comes with a curse, as is unicorn flesh."

"By the way, not all monster body parts can be eaten directly; some require very complicated processing." "If I eat them, it probably won't have any effect, right?" Vivi smiled wryly and pointed to herself.

"Well, the stronger the creature's inherent qualities, the worse it will be if it eats this stuff. Similarly, the weaker the creature's inherent qualities, the better it will be. But because the creature's foundation is too poor, it's a complete waste." So the little fairy, Vivi, and Livia were excluded. Only Roach and Leslie needed this stuff.

Chapter Sixty-One: The Limestone Martial Saint (Magic Version)

The collapsed rocks and the half-collapsed cave formed a triangular area. A bright yellow cloth strip hung at the entrance, indicating that this was a temporary rest camp set up by previous adventurers. There was only a rope ladder connecting to a small section of broken corridor platform outside the cave.