When Tao Yu produced the incendiary bottle, the mass of black mud immediately straightened up, not daring to move an inch.
Instead, it twisted desperately, trying to appear cute and ingratiate itself.
"Your original form was indeed pitiable, but unfortunately, you are not it..."
Tao Yu knew from Park Ji-hyun that this lump of flesh had fallen from Nam Sang-won's body and had taken possession of a researcher, then directly 'resurrected.'
But from its actions and behavior, it was no longer the original Nam Sang-won, but the monstrous part that Nam Sang-won had suppressed with his own will.
One that had lost control following the collapse of Nam Sang-won's will.
"We, are, the, same, kind..."
Without a body to support it, this mass of black mud, eroded by the Shadow Force, struggled to form a mouth and spoke with difficulty.
"Don't claim relations recklessly, the malice in you is all too clear."
Tao Yu's heightened Spirit Perception could feel the intense emotional fluctuations of this mass of flesh.
Indeed it had relaxed its malice toward him, but inexplicably, there was a destructive, brutal emotion similar to wanting to annihilate the world—far more intense than that of a deranged killer.
Tao Yu's Spirit Perception is no mind-reading ability!
It is at most used to determine if someone is lying, and it only works on ordinary people.
It would need to be at the level of that psychopath to be distinctly felt.
But now, this black mud before him is completely different.
Like a torch in the darkness.
It's an emotion that humans cannot possess — a poor man's 'evil of this world.'
If it were in this world, then it would be a slayer of humankind, but if placed in the Abyss, it might likely gain the Abyss's favor and become a 'Fortune Thief.'
'Fortune Thieves' are also valuable, can be sold to the company.
Although they might not be as valuable as a 'Chosen One,' they are still a source of income.
But how to 'safely' store it is something Tao Yu is hesitant about.
A regular oil drum?
He does not know if it could be fully sealed, and he cannot afford to watch it all the time.
However, seeing the traces of erosion by the Shadow Force on the other party, Tao Yu thought of a good place for it.
He then turned and waved to Park Ji-hyun,
"Drive the car up to the front."
Upon hearing this, Park Ji-hyun understood that Tao Yu had some matters he didn't want her to know.
Even with one hand fractured, she managed to drive the car away, not attempting to flee.
Watching Park Ji-hyun park the car far away by the bridge, Tao Yu's shadow twisted, and shortly after, Wino slowly emerged from it.
"You previously seemed to want to get close to nearby corpses; is it simpler to possess a corpse?"
"Yes..."
A deep voice replied.
Tao Yu told Wino to leap onto the mass of flesh.
"Then try attaching to this."
Following that, Tao Yu watched as the black lump of flesh climbed up Wino's body, then entered through the mouth and nose.
If he were in the outside world, Tao Yu wouldn't be able to sustain such intense, continuous consumption.
He would have to extravagantly consume Qi Replenishing Pills or even Nutrient Paste.
But here, with the continuous replenishment of free energy and the transformation through [One Proof Forever Proof], Tao Yu could keep going 'ora ora' without restraint.
Continuous high-frequency strikes landed on Wino again and again.
That piercing cry from the soul side didn't stop for a moment.
But all resistance was futile; zombies are inherently bodiless souls—mere shells. Plus, with the essence-blood cage that Tao Yu had inscribed and infused into the zombie's core, no matter how much they struggled, they were trapped within it.
Tao Yu bombarded the spot for a full fifteen minutes, crushing the smallest will of the opponent into dust, much like how Meditation Technique refines, grinding it over and over.
In the end, only a purified, cleansed spiritual force remained.
"This is..."
Tao Yu felt this spiritual force complement the zombie, and using some techniques from the [Art of Corpse Refinement], directly accomplished the replenishment for Wino!
"Zombies are soulless creatures; following the idea of [Corpse Refining Art] to continue strengthening, one could capture soulful but bodiless Vengeful Spirits and integrate them for another round of enhancement. But I only possess the Corpse Refining Art and not the art of commanding ghosts, so it could only serve as a decoration. Now, however, it has paid off..."
The progress of Tao Yu's [Corpse Refining Art] surged, and with a heavy investment of his willpower at a high multiple, it quickly advanced to lv4.
His control over the zombies became even more intuitive.
"Truly a blessing in disguise. Yet even in this world, if I were to drive it with full power, it would be nearly too much, as before. Luckily, as long as I have time to catch my breath, I can recover quickly..."
Tao Yu felt his body ingest and exhale free energy, his spirit rapidly rejuvenating with the nourishment of Qi-Blood, feeling quite satisfied.
The monsters in this world also had their limits of recovery, and Nam Sang-won had outright collapsed.
But with the effect of a second Deification along with the Basic Breathing Technique, it was a different story altogether!
Tao Yu took out a code-locked box from the armored car while reveling in Wino's changes, his face wearing a slight smile.
Wino's strength now far outstripped Cao Shaolin.
Allowing it to confront the muscular monster from before, it now had a method to kill the adversary!
Afterwards, Wino once again transformed into a shadow, slowly merging into Tao Yu's own shadow.
A spark flickered in Tao Yu's eyes, and he thought to himself,
"If zombies can merge into shadows and the equipment they wear can too, as well as support some small accessories, then..."
While thinking this, Tao Yu drew out the Colossal Lizard's Fang and placed it above his own shadow, then let go.
The next moment, the dagger sank as if into a quagmire, sticking into the shadow. As the shadow moved slowly, the dagger steadily sank deeper until it disappeared entirely!
Wino, now having part of the Demonization deformation ability, used his body as a container to forcibly absorb the Colossal Lizard's Fang!
"It's a pity, though, that deformation has its limits. Otherwise, if it could be done in the manner of a pie crust, imagine how much could be wrapped up..."
Tao Yu sighed with some regret. He sensed that if he were to take the Blade of Profit from Da Hei later, that would be close to the limit—it felt as though it was stuck in from the top of the head.
Now, the Colossal Lizard's Fang seemed to be wrapped by deformation inside the belly.
This was also because the Corpse Refining Art had risen to lv4, and manipulation became more intuitive—changes could be made even within the shadow. Otherwise, he might have to summon it out each time before stuffing it back in.
"I can't have the deformation be too severe; the available space is still quite limited."
Tao Yu closed his eyes to feel carefully, and made some related judgments.
"At least it's better than before; it's somewhat practical now..."
Then Tao Yu carried the box and walked towards the distant armored vehicle.
"Let's leave this one here, finish what needs to be done, and then drive it back to transport people..."
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