The Evolution Compendium
Chapter 43: The Ancient Forbidden Items, Is Jiang Qiuyun the King of Scrolls? (Please favorite, follow, and read~)

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: The Ancient Forbidden Items, Is Jiang Qiuyun the King of Scrolls? (Please favorite, follow, and read~)

"Extract!"

Chu Yi didn’t care what the silly sculpture was thinking.

He eagerly looked at Gao Peng’s corpse, wondering how many materials could be extracted!

[Spirit Core\*17]

[Unknown Organs\*1]

[Blood-Eroding Insect Eggs\*20]

[Tender Bear Paw\*1]

[Eerie Human Skin\*1]

[Strange Antlers\*1]

...

Because Gao Peng had grafted parts from many Pet Beasts, Chu Yi managed to extract a wide variety of materials.

Even the Spirit Core of a Beast Tamer was included!

This shocked Chu Yi.

This isn’t some ferocious and brutal Limb-Attaching Demon; this is clearly a walking treasure trove of materials!

The Spirit Cores alone far exceeded the amount Chu Yi would use in a single blast from his cannon. Among them, there were 8 Silver-grade Spirit Cores!

What a saint! Chu Yi couldn’t help but shed tears. Such a kind soul, coming all this way just to deliver materials. Even my own mother hasn’t treated me this well.

He fed one Spirit Core to Bika, then glanced at the Dragon Sculpture cowering in the corner, an idea forming in his mind.

"Come here."

He beckoned with his hand.

The Dragon Sculpture hesitated for a moment but, under duress, finally waddled over, looking very much like an Earth Worm.

"From now on, you listen to me. Understand?"

Chu Yi toyed with a Spirit Core the size of a pigeon’s egg. Its pure white spiritual nature shimmered with a beautiful light, causing the Dragon Sculpture to stare intently and gulp.

This stuff is really addictive, the Dragon Sculpture thought.

"Be good and listen, and there will be plenty of rewards for you," Chu Yi said.

"CHIRP." (Don’t I, your Lord Dragon, have any pride?)

The Dragon Sculpture hesitated repeatedly.

My master wasn’t in any real danger anyway, it thought. And just for putting in a little effort, I get tasty rewards—Bah! This is called payment. I’m just working for this damn man.

Thinking this way, the Dragon Sculpture gleefully accepted.

Thus, through a combination of carrot and stick, it naturally became Chu Yi’s number one lackey, happily munching on the Spirit Core it had gotten for free.

"This silly sculpture..." Chu Yi smiled and patted Bika’s head. The little fox affectionately rubbed against his hand.

Working for Eldest Master Chu? He’d probably trick you out of your very pants.

This act was equivalent to Chu Yi seizing control of the Dragon Sculpture from Jiang Qiuyun.

Even if Chu Yi were to abandon Jiang Qiuyun, the Dragon Sculpture would not turn against him—or rather, it wouldn’t dare to.

Strength was fundamental.

He had let the Dragon Sculpture witness this to lay the groundwork for the possibility of Jiang Qiuyun turning on him in the future.

"Devour, devour, devour!"

After extracting all the materials, Chu Yi extended his Ghost Hand, consuming the residual Souls in each grafted organ.

As the Ghost Hand reached its limit, a vast amount of spiritual essence was refined and infused into his entire body. Chu Yi absorbed it all, reaching the fourth tier of the Red Copper rank, advancing one full tier.

Spirit Cores could also enhance cultivation. However, refining even a rice-grain-sized one would take seven to eight days.

Chu Yi guessed this was because a Beast Tamer’s spiritual essence was shared with their Pet Beasts; it wasn’t entirely his own, after all. It was as if he, Chu Yi, were the other man, inserting himself as a third party into a couple’s relationship; that would naturally take a few days of preparation, wouldn’t it?

"AWOO?"

Suddenly, Bika growled alertly at a lump of flesh, its body instantly covered in Flame Armor. Its three tails of fire danced like long dragons, poised as if facing a formidable enemy.

"What’s wrong, Bika?" Chu Yi refocused.

A grey-white shadow began to coalesce in his left hand. As his Soul corrosion increased, he could now wield a sliver of the power leaked by Ghosts and Gods.

Before Chu Yi could react, the lump of flesh writhed, and a fleshy orb bound by sinews squeezed out.

Inside it, a spark of light flickered, resembling a beating heart.

"What is this?"

Chu Yi was momentarily stunned. He gestured for the Dragon Sculpture to go forward and test the dangerous object while he pulled Bika behind him for cover.

"CHIRP?!" The Dragon Sculpture cried out in alarm.

This maneuver thoroughly spooked the Dragon Sculpture.

Looks like it can be extracted for materials, Chu Yi thought, peeking out and attempting to use his extraction ability.

A strand of eerie energy descended, enveloping the fleshy orb.

[You are extracting a high-dimensional material.]

A line of fragmented text appeared.

[Current Progress: 2%...]

The progress bar crept slowly upward.

High-dimensional material? I’ve never heard of such a thing, Chu Yi grew increasingly uneasy, suddenly recalling the pursuit mission. Could this fleshy orb be a Forbidden Item? And that escaped Evil God Cultist... could it be the Limb-Attaching Demon I just killed?

Ha, impossible. Absolutely impossible. Chu Yi didn’t think it could be such a coincidence. The Bloody Wilderness is so vast, and a large contingent was dispatched. How could I have coincidentally run into them?

That was what Chu Yi had initially thought.

But then, the fleshy orb began to tremble. Like a Divine Tree, its root-like tendrils writhed, and one by one, eyeballs within it slowly opened. They swiveled around before finally fixing their gaze on Chu Yi.

Chu Yi: "..."

THUD!

At that moment, the fleshy orb shuddered violently and then exploded in a shower of bloody blossoms, as if it had gone mad.

A massive amount of fresh blood splattered everywhere. Various limbs twitched and spasmed, accompanied by horrifying sounds of chewing and the grinding of sharp teeth.

This was the very thing that had caused Gao Peng to transform into that bizarre creature.

[Current Progress: 15%...]

"SCREECH!"

The Dragon Sculpture shrieked, unleashing a bolt of purple lightning that struck the fleshy orb.

However, the next moment, the lightning bolt turned into what looked like purple noodles and was slurped up cleanly by the fleshy orb, which even seemed to lick its lips.

It can devour any attack? Lightning is ineffective, Spiritual Strikes are ineffective... This is... a Forbidden Item?

Chu Yi set up his Spiritual Giant Cannon and fired a shot using Jiang Qiuyun’s delicate hand, but it only produced smoke without inflicting any damage. It was useless.

Its defense was terrifyingly high.

The real danger had never been the Evil God Cultist, but this Forbidden Item!

So-called Forbidden Items were sources of contamination, varying in strength and unidentifiable by normal means.

Every appearance of a Forbidden Item heralded a storm of blood and carnage, causing immense disasters. In history, one such item had even destroyed a large city with a million inhabitants, turning the entire populace into Undead. The resulting radioactive pollution was extremely severe, and the city has yet to be reclaimed.

Got to run.

Chu Yi activated his Star Bracelet, calling the Federation for backup and hoping to earn some merit.

Simultaneously, he wrapped an arm around Jiang Qiuyun’s waist. Bika then picked them both up, heading towards the off-road vehicle.

At this moment, a cloud of dust billowed in the distance. A column of tracked armored vehicles was rapidly approaching.

"Radiation levels are 18.5 times over the standard! Forbidden Item detected! Initiate recovery protocol!"

"Suppressive fire! Squad 247, advance!"

"Understood!"

Three vehicles detached from the main convoy, their crews summoning Pet Beasts as they formed a triangular encirclement around the radiation source.

"SCREECH!"

A loud cry drew everyone’s attention.

"Wait, is that... a Dragon Sculpture?"

"Archive data indicates that’s Knight Jiang’s Dragon Sculpture, a dragon-type Pet Beast, War General class, Fifth Stage, Second Tier!"

"The Forbidden Item’s seal is broken, which means Knight Jiang must have slain the Evil God Cultist! Knight Jiang has earned great merit!"

A group of officers immediately focused their attention on the Dragon Sculpture.

As expected of Knight Jiang; she’s a woman who’s no less capable than any man, daring to slay an Evil God Cultist alone and achieve such great merit.

Some officers who knew her better wore puzzled expressions.

Knight Jiang, that slacker who always goofs off at work, is actually participating in such a major mission for the first time? And she actually managed to achieve something meritorious? So, Knight Jiang only appears to be a slacker on the surface, but in reality, she’s secretly working hard? A total tryhard!? Secretly grinding away to amaze everyone?

Meanwhile, the Dragon Sculpture, fiercely protective of its master, ignored the officers’ shouts. Instead, it landed and began running on its two claws, trailing behind a fox.

The crowd: "..."

"Wait, that fox... Why haven’t I ever seen it before?"