Marcus held the fluttering Corpse Demon Nether Soul carefully between his fingers, steadying the faintly struggling mass of mist before opening its information panel to examine it closely.

—

Corpse Demon Nether Soul: Injured soul of a thousand-year corpse demon.

Three thousand years ago, a Frenzied Digger Corpse roaming the third level of the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb accidentally unearthed a thousand-year corpse demon that had been cultivating deep beneath the earth. Its long seclusion was violently interrupted, and the sudden disturbance caused severe energy deviation. Unable to maintain control of its cultivation and facing destruction, the corpse demon abandoned its thousand-year demonic body and released its wounded soul. In desperation, it seized the body of the Frenzied Digger Corpse, forcibly possessing it and transforming into the creature later known as the Corpse Soul Digger Demon.

Driven into madness by the loss of its original body, the newly formed Corpse Soul Digger Demon lifted its treasured weapon, the Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Hoe, and unleashed a brutal massacre upon the Frenzied Digger Corpses inhabiting the third level. The chaos did not last long. The Armored Turtle Champion, which periodically patrolled the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb, discovered the rampaging monster and suppressed it with overwhelming force.

With its strength drastically weakened after possession, the thousand-year corpse demon stood no chance. After suffering a crushing defeat, it was forced into submission and ordered to remain at the entrance of the third level, leading the Wailing Wandering Soul King together with the Shovel Bricklayer Ghosts as eternal guardians.

—

What Marcus now held was the remnant of that existence itself. The Corpse Demon Nether Soul could only be obtained if players defeated the Corpse Soul Digger Demon within the first five kills while possessing the Advanced Gathering skill. Miss that window, and the opportunity vanished forever.

The soul carried powerful Dark and Corpse attributes and could be used for forging weapons, crafting equipment, alchemy, or numerous other high-level applications.

Marcus stared at the drifting soul in disbelief.

He had actually obtained a monster’s soul. And not just any soul, but one aligned with the Dark attribute.

’Completely unexpected.’

His thoughts immediately jumped to something stored in his backpack. Without hesitation, he opened his inventory and took out a black pet egg wrapped in faint mist: the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat pet egg.

This egg required a very specific condition to hatch. It had to devour the soul of a Dark-attribute monster of at least Tier 7.

The Corpse Demon Nether Soul satisfied the attribute requirement. The only question was whether its rank was high enough. Marcus hesitated for barely a second before dismissing the doubt. Opportunities like this did not come twice. Since he already possessed a monster soul, there was only one reasonable choice.

’Let’s try it.’

He slowly brought the drifting soul closer to the egg. When the distance shrank to less than half a meter, the previously motionless pet egg suddenly trembled.

A faint black glow leaked from its surface, pulsing like a heartbeat. The reaction was immediate and unmistakable. It felt less like awakening and more like hunger, as though the egg had discovered an irresistible meal after a long starvation.

At the same time, the Corpse Demon Nether Soul reacted violently. The mist twisted and struggled, attempting to slip free from Marcus’s grip as if sensing imminent danger.

Marcus’s eyes lit up.

This was exactly the instinct described in the pet’s lore. The Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat survived by devouring souls. If the egg reacted this strongly, then the soul in his hand was undoubtedly high level.

He stopped hesitating. Marcus pressed the Corpse Demon Nether Soul directly against the egg.

A surge of black light erupted instantly.

The glow expanded outward before collapsing inward, forming a spinning vortex that dragged the soul toward the egg. The mist-like spirit rotated wildly around the shell, resisting for only a few seconds before being pulled completely inside. Within three breaths, the Corpse Demon Nether Soul vanished, devoured entirely by the pet egg.

Then the change came.

The egg blazed with dark radiance, shining like a miniature black sun. It slipped from Marcus’s hands and rose into the air, hovering silently before him.

"It’s hatching," Marcus muttered, unable to hide his anticipation.

Above the floating egg, swirling darkness condensed into a phantom silhouette. A sleek black cat gradually formed within the light, its body elegant and lean, its fur pure midnight. Two eerie blue eyes opened, glowing with cold intelligence. Its tail flicked lazily, and when it parted its mouth, rows of small, pristine fangs gleamed with predatory sharpness.

The creature looked both beautiful and unsettling, an unmistakably dangerous little beast.

Marcus watched without blinking, excitement building in his chest. Seconds passed, then a full minute. The egg remained intact.

The phantom image flickered, its outline growing unstable before dissolving into drifting fragments of darkness. The surrounding light weakened and slowly flowed back into the egg, leaving the air empty once more.

Marcus exhaled slowly as realization set in.

The energy from the Corpse Demon Nether Soul had not been enough.

It had pushed the egg close to hatching, but ultimately fell short.

The glow faded completely. The egg lost its levitation and dropped back into Marcus’s waiting hand. The attempted hatching had failed.

"A shame," he murmured.

Still, when he examined the egg more closely, he noticed a difference. A faint stream of dark energy now circulated beneath the shell, pulsing softly under the crystal illumination of the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb’s third level. The egg no longer felt dormant or lifeless. Something inside had clearly awakened.

At least it wasn’t wasted effort. That small change was enough consolation.

Marcus stored the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat’s egg back into his inventory and lifted his gaze. The monsters he had defeated earlier were already beginning to respawn, their figures reforming in the distance. He had no intention of wasting time farming them again.

He urged Blackie forward, guiding the mount through the narrow passage watched by the three sentinels until he arrived before the strange black light barrier marking the entrance to the third level of the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb.

Before stepping through, he paused.

’Safety first.’

Goldie was recalled. Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna and Vixen Queen Camillo refreshed several fading buffs, layers of light briefly surrounding the party. With the Sea Demon Soul leading the way and Pebble following close behind, Marcus approached the barrier.

Light flashed.

The world distorted for a brief instant as he crossed into the third level.

The moment his vision stabilized and he began surveying the unfamiliar surroundings, danger struck.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

A violent gust tore through the air and slammed directly toward the Sea Demon Soul.

’Ambush.’

Marcus barely registered what was happening before an icy chill pierced his body. Damage numbers erupted above his head, as well as above Pebble and the Sea Demon Soul. Though the monster’s aggression had been drawn to the Sea Demon Soul by Frosty Mockery, the attack covered a wide area, dragging Marcus and Pebble into the blast radius.

The first hit alone stripped away three thousand health.

"Holy crap!"

"That’s insane!"

Marcus shouted, genuine shock breaking through his composure.

After defeating the three guardians on the previous level, every buff he possessed was still active. His ultimate skills, Battle-Wolf’s Fury and Dragon Soul Aegis, remained in effect, and the Monarch Squad formation passive, Aegis of the Gods, was boosting his combat efficiency by ten percent.

He had entered the third level at full strength.

And yet a single attack still dealt this much damage.

The realization settled heavily in his mind. Even though he had expected stronger enemies here, knowing the monsters should exceed level fifty, experiencing their power firsthand was something entirely different. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The third level of the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb was far more dangerous than he had imagined.