Chapter 116: The Multi-Layer Development of the Corpse Demon

[Mutated Corpse Demon, Health Points: 100%, Status: Bloodthirsty]

[Ability 1: Corpse Poison]

[Ability 2: Corpse Balefulness]

[Ability 3: Corpse Body]

[Experience]

[April: Tormented]

[April: …]

Chen Xiyi looked at the Jiangshi that was tied up tightly.

This Jiangshi had been around for ten days since its transformation.

In these ten days, he had already finished building his Shelter.

After locking up all the experimental subjects, he began studying the Jiangshi.

From his observations, the Jiangshi was likely female when alive, as it was wearing women’s clothing.

Later on, during the process, Chen Xiyi introduced Ghost Qi from the Water Ghost, Baleful Energy from the Tiger Demon, and Demonic Energy, along with its own Death Qi and Yin Qi, causing the Jiangshi to mutate.

Even the Home Game recognized it as a Corpse Demon instead of a Jiangshi.

Compared to a regular Jiangshi, the Corpse Demon he developed himself had a stronger physical body.

It even had Corpse Balefulness, which was created by combining Death Qi and Baleful Energy—a gas similar to an area-of-effect pressure.

The Corpse Poison had even greater variability.

He hadn’t tested its original contagiousness, but it was more deadly.

The last ability, Corpse Body, was quite interesting.

It combined Death Qi, Demonic Energy, and Ghost Qi, resulting in a major mutation.

According to records, a Jiangshi’s body had stiffened muscles due to Death Qi, greatly increasing its defense but making it very rigid—hence the name “Jiangshi.”

But this Corpse Demon was different.

Chen Xiyi neutralized it with Demonic Energy and Ghost Qi, causing its defense not only to not drop but to rise while also gaining flexibility.

This could be seen from how the Corpse Demon could bend its joints.

Regular Jiangshi were stiff and straight, like poles.

As a result, its combat power had greatly increased.

“Roar~” The Corpse Demon roared at Chen Xiyi.

Thick Corpse Balefulness mixed with Corpse Poison burst out and rushed toward Chen Xiyi.

But as soon as the Corpse Poison and Corpse Balefulness emerged, Chen Xiyi collected them in a glass bottle.

“I originally thought that introducing Ghost Qi and balancing it with Yin Qi could make you develop intelligence, but it seems that didn’t work.”

“The Ghost Qi did increase your strength, but it didn’t help your brain. What a pity.”

He had also tried using an Alloy Helmet to remove the Corpse Demon’s Bloodthirsty state.

He suspected that the Bloodthirsty state was suppressing its intelligence.

But the Bloodthirsty state couldn’t be removed at all.

Clearly, for the Corpse Demon, this was a positive state rather than a negative one, or perhaps an unavoidable negative state.

Chen Xiyi took out a scalpel, pulled over an operating light, and cut open the Corpse Demon’s belly.

“Such tough skin. Even my armor-piercing scalpel with three sharp talismans is struggling a bit.”

“Honestly, if you weren’t brainless and if we weren’t in my territory, it might have been a tough fight to defeat you.”

A strong stench of decay instantly spread, but Chen Xiyi could endure it.

He casually placed the Eye of Qi Observation into the Corpse Demon’s abdomen and shone a flashlight inside.

With these multiple overlapping views, Chen Xiyi easily saw the Corpse Demon’s structure and the flow of Qi Mechanism inside its body.

“Overall, these Qi Mechanisms are quite amazing.”

“They are formless and immaterial, and can’t directly affect reality.”

“But when they form structures and attach to corresponding organic or inorganic matter, they produce surprising results.”

“It’s just a corpse, but combined with these formless, immaterial Qi Mechanisms, it becomes a unique life form.”

“This is no longer a change that follows normal logic.”

“Demons, ghosts, and monsters are somewhat understandable—they’re just leaps in evolutionary progress.”

“But Jiangshi, plant spirits, and the like are completely unscientific.”

Chen Xiyi carefully analyzed the Corpse Demon’s body, trying to find the sources of its three abilities.

Corpse Body was the most obvious.

Corpse Balefulness was in the throat area.

It seemed a special structure had formed there, using Yin Qi to combine Death Qi and Baleful Energy into Corpse Balefulness, which could then be spat out or emitted from the body.

When spat out, it took on a mist-like form and could carry Corpse Poison.

When emitted from the body, it acted as an intimidating ability.

This was a combination of Death Qi and Baleful Energy.

As for Corpse Poison, Chen Xiyi found it in the Corpse Demon’s two small fangs, fingernails, and corpse body.

These had also formed certain structures.

The amount in the fingernails and corpse body seemed small, with most concentrated in the five-centimeter-long fangs in its mouth.

These fangs not only contained Corpse Poison but also seemed to have retractable and suction abilities—likely for sucking blood.

“It seems the most valuable ability is Corpse Body, then Corpse Poison, and finally Corpse Balefulness.”

Corpse Balefulness was just a simple combination of Death Qi and Baleful Energy.

Whereas Corpse Body and Corpse Poison were formed by multiple composite factors.

“But one question remains: what causes a dried corpse to guide these Qi Mechanisms to form these abilities, even changing the bone structure of its face?”

Chen Xiyi peeled back the skin on the Corpse Demon’s face and even broke open part of the bone structure.

The two retractable fangs had caused major mutations in most of the facial bone structure.

If it were a coincidental result of corrosion, Chen Xiyi might believe it.

But this was clearly guided with intent.

Basically, every Jiangshi had Corpse Poison and this pair of fangs.

Their strength or toxicity might not match the Corpse Demon he had guided to mutate, but the structures were the same.

How did he know?

Various inherited texts described Jiangshi, and after repeated comparisons, their abilities were quite similar.

This was what puzzled Chen Xiyi.

“Could it be that humans already have hidden DNA for this?”

If it wasn’t due to external environmental factors, then it must be due to humans themselves.

Perhaps the Qi Mechanisms contained some corresponding code that, at the right moment, would integrate and guide evolution.

If it were really external environmental factors, then wouldn’t that mean the entire world was a result of artificial guidance?

“Such a large ecosystem structure—if that were true, it probably wouldn’t be a good thing.”

“Never mind, these matters are still far off for me.”

“But I can proceed with the next step of guided evolution for the Corpse Demon.”

The Qi Mechanisms Chen Xiyi used to create this Corpse Demon weren’t comprehensive—only Death Qi, Resentment Qi, Baleful Energy, Ghost Qi, and Demonic Energy, five types.

Actually, he could add more negative types of Qi Mechanisms like Resentment Qi, Killing Intent, etc.

This way, the Corpse Body ability of the Corpse Demon would gradually strengthen, and it might even develop new abilities.

Moreover, by doing this, Chen Xiyi could further investigate the mystery of how the Corpse Demon was guided in its evolution.

He wanted to know if this ability to evolve continuously using negative Qi Mechanisms had a limit.

Normally, a fully formed Jiangshi had little chance of further mutation.

To grow stronger, it needed to suck blood and absorb Yin Qi.

But this Corpse Demon wasn’t an ordinary Jiangshi—it was artificially guided and created by Chen Xiyi.

Combined with his dissection and analysis, Chen Xiyi could fully simulate the corpse transformation process for multiple mutations.

“Sigh~ If I further improve the structure of the Corpse Body, I should gain more insights.” After stitching up the Corpse Demon’s belly, Chen Xiyi picked up a bucket of blood plasma next to him and poured it into the Corpse Demon’s mouth.

After drinking the blood, the Corpse Demon immediately calmed down.

The wounds on its face and belly also began to heal gradually.

“It seems human blood isn’t necessary—these demon bloods are actually more suitable for the Corpse Demon.”

“Then why is it so fixated on human blood? Is it because it was transformed from a human, or does human blood contain some substance it needs?”

“I’ll note that down and test it later with other experiments.”

This blood was generously provided by the Water Monkey, Tiger Demon, and other demons.

Although he hadn’t started studying the remaining experimental subjects yet, they couldn’t just eat for free—they had to be put to use.

As for why Chen Xiyi was conducting such detailed research on the Corpse Demon, it was naturally because he was interested in its Corpse Body ability.

If a corpse could use Yin Qi and other Qi Mechanisms to transform into special abilities, then if he could research and create talismans or even more powerful spells, or even constant abilities like the Corpse Demon’s, he could completely elevate his physical fitness beyond that of an ordinary person.

The Corpse Body of the Corpse Demon included being impervious to blades and spears, immense strength, and even regeneration and healing abilities.

More importantly, this Corpse Demon wasn’t like the Jiangshi from the literature in Chen Xiyi’s previous life.

Instead, it was a species guided by the structuralization of Qi Mechanisms.

This meant Chen Xiyi could completely construct a layer of Corpse Body structure outside his own body using corresponding Qi Mechanisms.

It would be like an extra layer of constant armor ability.

This was much more powerful than the Pure Yang Golden Light Talisman from the Dragon-Settling Nine Chapters—the talisman that Cheng Zhen used when he turned into a little golden man.

Whether talismans or spells, they had a time limit.

Once the Qi Mechanism inside was used up, they would naturally disappear.

But Chen Xiyi’s plan for the Corpse Body structure was to simulate an Innate Divine Ability.

It would be like connecting to an energy cycle, sustaining itself through self-sufficiency.

If necessary, he could even create something like an exoskeleton armor for protection.

“To further enhance the Corpse Body, I need other types of negative Qi Mechanisms.”

“That’s a bit tricky—these types of Qi Mechanisms exist in specific places.”

“My Game Map doesn’t show them, so if I rely on the experience from inherited texts, it will take a lot of time.”

“But I could use this place’s Yin-gathering ability to lure some demons here. With a bit of luck, I might get some.”

The several types of Qi Mechanisms he used to cultivate the Corpse Demon were all extracted from the demons, ghosts, and monsters he captured.

After cleaning up the experimental site for the Corpse Demon, Chen Xiyi brought out the Tiger Demon and its Chang Ghost.

He planned to study the connection between the two, since the Corpse Demon was still recovering.

Further experiments would have to wait until the Corpse Demon had healed.

He had just secured the Tiger Demon and caught the Chang Ghost when he suddenly noticed someone approaching the area.

And they seemed hostile.

“Grave robbers? And with different factions? Your prefixes are quite something.”

“Sure enough, it’s similar yet different: Touching Gold, Opening Mounds, Mountain Moving, Ridge Breaking—all four great families of tomb raiding are here.”

Chen Xiyi narrowed his eyes as he looked at the four white dots on the Game Map, feeling a bit dazed, as if he had returned to his previous life when he read novels.

[Touching Gold Colonel: Wei Hong]

[Opening Mounds Officer: Cao An]

[Mountain Moving Taoist: Du Nan]

[Ridge Breaking Warrior: Yan Qi]

“Without some skills, they wouldn’t dare come.”

“So, doesn’t that mean four sets of inheritances are being delivered to my doorstep?”

“Even though they’re for tomb raiding, they must have relevant knowledge.”

“But what are they doing here? Could this tomb have some significance?”

“But aside from its good Yin-gathering effect, there’s only a bronze coffin here.”

“Surely they’re not here for the Guqin?”

This tomb didn’t even have any burial goods.

And from the prefixes of these four, they didn’t seem like the type who wanted burial goods.

It was more likely that they were lower-tier professions of Qi Refiners, coming here to seek the Qi Mechanisms to become one.

“So, how should I deal with these four?”

“Perfect timing—I’m short of experimental subjects for Yang Qi and Human Qi.”

Chen Xiyi’s gaze suddenly turned toward the Tiger Demon, sending a chill down its spine.