The Dark Realm, Evernight Domain.

In this silent world without distinction between day and night, many people who seem dead but are still alive lie buried deep within.

Although their initial identities varied—nobles, commoners, warriors, scholars... after undergoing "Sublimation," they all share only one common name—Vampires.

"Blood Clan" is the title they use to flaunt themselves, carrying an air of nobility and solitude.

But among those who fear and despise them, the more derogatory common term circulating is "Vampire" or "Ghoul."

Ever since the mysterious mage named Salacha secretly took over this ancient castle and gradually became the de facto ruler of the Dark Realm, those traditionalist old-school Blood Clan nobles, clinging to their pride, have collectively "buried" themselves in the lifeless cemetery surrounding the castle's periphery.

They escape this new era they cannot comprehend nor control through long slumber.

The ancient castle is no longer as bustling as before.

But in the last few days, this silent castle has quietly undergone some changes.

Someone presumptuously visited these nobles, whether slumbering or still walking the castle halls. In just two or three days, the castle has visibly "come alive."

In the shadowy corridors, empty halls, and even on the semi-circular balconies that never see sunlight, one can hear the hushed conversations of the Blood Clan.

"Viscount George, is there any more of that green blood from yesterday? I think... that Viscount would be very interested."

On a semi-circular balcony of the castle, a blond nobleman inquired in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of urgency.

It was simply too astonishing.

As a vampire who had lived for nearly a century, Niles considered himself to have tasted countless delicacies and fine wines. He had even been fortunate enough to drink the blazing hot blood of a giant.

But he never imagined that, even now in this nearly eternal, numb existence, there could be a type of "blood" that could give him such a powerful shock.

That cool, smooth texture, that life energy that seemed able to nourish his long-dried soul essence, that unique and intoxicating flavor... all of this made his heart, silent for too long, tremble with excitement once more.

For a moment, he even experienced the vivid sensation of being alive again, something only the living possess.

The vampire named George showed a rather troubled expression. He cautiously glanced around, lowering his voice even further. "Mr. Niles, you should know how popular this Life's Blood is within the castle. Some of the old ones are even willing to wait for it, not returning to their coffins..."

Niles' breathing became rapid, and he immediately declared, "I have gold coins, quite a few gold coins. Are fifty gold coins enough? If not, I'll go find more. Grandmother still has some."

George helplessly patted his shoulder, his tone tinged with sympathy. "Regrettably, my dear Niles, just yesterday, your grandmother, the esteemed Lady Margaret, spent almost all of her savings to reserve several future batches of 'Life's Blood.'"

Seeing Niles' face instantly fall, he changed his tone and whispered, "If you are truly in urgent need, perhaps you could try queuing to reserve the next batch, though the wait might be a bit long..."

"Good! Good! I'll reserve it! I'll reserve it now!" Niles, as if grabbing a lifeline, nodded hurriedly, afraid that being a second too slow would make him lose this precious opportunity.

Similar private transactions were quietly occurring in various large and small shadowy corners throughout the castle.

A mysterious green gel called "Life's Blood," as if possessing magic, rapidly became popular within the small circles of vampire nobles, becoming a harder currency more sought-after than Virgin Blood.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The crisp, rhythmic sound of shoe soles hitting the stone floor echoed in the castle's main corridor.

A young man wearing a dark apprentice mage robe, with a purple crystal pendant symbolizing night and secrecy hanging around his neck, emerged.

It was none other than Salacha's apprentice, Dunlan.

Dunlan keenly sensed the subtle change in the castle's atmosphere.

He deliberately slowed his pace, his eyes sweeping every corner. His gaze lingered on the vampire nobles huddled together whispering, who fell silent the moment they saw him pass by. His brow furrowed slightly.

"Ahem, greetings, Mr. Dunlan," the vampire noble hurriedly bowed.

Dunlan merely gave a light "Hmm" before leaving.

Only after his figure was completely swallowed by the darkness at the corridor's end did he cross a narrow stone bridge connecting to the main keep and enter the high tower standing independently on the cliff.

"Hum..."

As he stepped inside, the dark blue magic lamps embedded in the walls lit up in sequence, their cold light guiding him up the spiral stone staircase.

Finally, he arrived before a seemingly ordinary, heavy wooden door.

Dunlan took a deep breath, raised his hand, and gently knocked on the door with his knuckles, speaking respectfully, "Teacher, it is Dunlan. May I inquire if you have returned?"

Dunlan stood silently waiting outside the door for a moment. The only response was the door's own silence and the magical hum emanating from the stone walls.

Just as he thought his teacher wasn't there and was about to turn and leave...

"Creeeak..."

The heavy wooden door automatically swung inward a crack. Surging black mist, like living tentacles, extended out and gradually swallowed him.

Dunlan only felt his vision go dark, followed by a dizzying sensation of weightlessness.

By the time he regained his senses and steadied himself, he found he was no longer inside the high tower, but in an ancient, dilapidated academy lecture hall.

On the simple stone podium at the front of the hall, a figure stood with its back to him.

The figure was indistinct and unstable, as if composed of flickering shadows and fragmented light. Its specific form was completely unclear. He could only feel a calm gaze fixed upon him.

Dunlan dared not be negligent and hurriedly bowed deeply.

Knowing his teacher's temperament—his greatest aversion being meaningless pleasantries and verbosity—he went straight to the point. "Reporting, Teacher. Viscount Casimir returned to the Evernight Domain the day before yesterday and brought back the response from the undead forces in the Eastern Swamp."

"They did not directly refuse your proposal, but... they set a condition."

"They demand that we first provide them with three thousand gold coins as 'assistance.'"

The indistinct figure on the podium remained silent, as if pondering, or perhaps simply indifferent.

After a long while, just as cold sweat began to bead on Dunlan's forehead, a voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation sounded in his mind.

"Granted."

Just one word.

The moment the voice fell, Dunlan felt his vision blur again. The surroundings of the ancient lecture hall receded like a tide. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He was back in front of that heavy wooden door, as if he had never left. Everything just now seemed like an illusion.

He looked down and saw that he was now holding a scroll imprinted with strange runes, though he didn't know when it had appeared.

Unfurling it, he was pleasantly surprised to find it was a new formula for a Bloody Scroll.

He hurriedly stored the scroll close to his body, then quickly descended the high tower's spiral staircase.

In truth, a doubt had always lingered in his heart.

His own mysterious and unpredictable teacher never seemed to truly care about anything—whether it was the Goblin Army at the pass, the undead forces in the Eastern Swamp, or these vampire nobles in the castle with their various schemes... He seemed like nothing more than a cold observer.

Like a phantom shadow, seemingly not fully existing in this world, yet stubbornly wanting to permeate his "influence," like scattering seeds, into every corner around him.

He even faintly suspected that his teacher might not care at all whether these Blood Clan members betrayed him, nor about the final outcomes for those undead or goblins.

Just like the Corruption of Morgul, he seemed solely obsessed with creating chaos.

Dunlan dared not think too deeply, much less reveal these thoughts.

He quickly left the high tower. Only when the feeling of being watched that lingered in his heart gradually faded did he let out a sigh of relief.

He straightened his somewhat askew mage robe cloak, and his face swiftly regained its usual composed demeanor, transforming back into the "noble apprentice" in the eyes of the vampire nobles, representing Mage Salacha's will.

A smile appeared on his face as he beckoned a blood thrall waiting in the shadows and instructed, "Go inform Viscount Casimir that the Teacher has approved his request. Have him gather the gold coins as soon as possible to complete the negotiations with the Eastern Swamp side."

...

By the time Casimir and Zoran returned to the Eastern Swamp with carriages laden with gold coins and supplies, three days had passed.

The carriages broke through the perennial mist over the lake, appearing on the peaceful lakeside forest path.

With the arrival of summer, the swamp entered its most prosperous season of the year.

The ferocious piranhas in the lake seemed to have retreated to the deeper waters, gradually replaced by some even more peculiar aquatic creatures.

They were a type of fluorescent jellyfish that emitted a dark blue, dreamlike glow.

They drifted slowly like starry lanterns reflected on the black lake surface, adding a touch of mysterious and magnificent color to this originally sinister body of water.

With the continuous expansion of the Slime Kingdom's territory, this lake and its surrounding forest paths had long been designated as part of the domain, no longer allowing human adventurers and mercenary groups to enter freely.

Casimir and Zoran had also undergone layers of inspection and confirmation by the Poison-stinger Wasp patrols and slime outposts before being permitted to enter this area.

To their surprise, seemingly for their convenience, in just three days, the most difficult-to-traverse section of swamp forest leading to the castle deep in the swamp had been paved with a solid, level, hardened stone road.

The carriages traveled exceptionally smoothly on this new road, free from the earlier jolting.

The construction capabilities of these slimes were even more astonishing than they had imagined.

Who knows where that Undead Lord found these slimes. They both felt like trying to abduct one.

Before long, the carriages smoothly reached the end of the forest path, the periphery of the fortress.

Chests of incredibly heavy gold coins and sealed magic scrolls were carefully unloaded by the vampire servants.

The waiting slime transport teams and large beetle porters immediately stepped forward, methodically transporting these "spoils of war" back to the castle.

And Casimir and Zoran received the "Life's Blood" they had been yearning for.

After completing the transaction, the two couldn't wait to take their leave. Driving their now-empty carriages, they swiftly disappeared into the mist of the forest path from which they came.

Chen Yu stood on the city wall, calmly waving a bony hand in the direction of their departure.

Only after their figures completely vanished from sight did he suddenly "contract," instantly transforming from his small skeleton form back into his round, green slime body. Then, he eagerly bounced over to the treasury.

Little Flower had just finished writing the treasury entry records. Seeing Chen Yu approach, she happily bounced a few times and reported in her soft, sticky voice, "So many shiny gold coins, over three thousand, and lots of scrolls that look really powerful."

"Huh, these vampires are being surprisingly generous this time," Chen Yu said, looking at the small mountain of gold coins and the tightly sealed supplies beside them, his small eyes flashing with surprise.

He had a feeling these two guys might have made quite a profit by reselling his gel.

But whatever.

Getting the gold coins and supplies was the important thing.

He shook his body, tossing the suspicion aside.

He had finally gathered a large sum of funds, enough for him to splurge... ahem, enough for the kingdom's development for a good while.

"Little Flower, notify Tulk. Have him organize some personnel to follow Anvil and prepare to go to Ironboot Town for trade."

Tulk was the lizardfolk who had recently passed the shaman trial.

There was no other choice. Besides the dwarf Anvil, the lizardfolk were currently one of the few humanoid intelligent species in their territory.

If a group of slimes were to drive carriages themselves, swaggering into a human town of the White Horse Kingdom with gold coins...

Chen Yu didn't dare imagine that scene. It would probably cause an immediate uproar in the kingdom.

"Mhm, mhm, I'll go find Tulk right now," Little Flower nodded vigorously with her body, then pattered away from the treasury.

Watching Little Flower depart, Chen Yu withdrew his gaze. His small eyes fell upon his status panel.

[Qi Training Lv.7 → Qi Training Lv.8]

[Split Proliferation Lv.5 → Split Proliferation Lv.6]

[Gel Mimicry Lv.3 → Gel Mimicry Lv.4]

Not long ago, his cultivation level had broken through.

His mana limit had increased considerably. Not only did he gain one more Doppelganger, but he could now equip three talents at once.

It might come in handy in certain specific situations.

But the most important thing was that he was now very close to Foundation Establishment.

In Xu Xuan Heaven, a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator was already a figure capable of founding a sect, establishing a lineage, and passing down their teachings.

Even within a top orthodox sect like the Three Origins Sect, a Foundation Establishment cultivator was qualified to serve as a peak master or a teaching elder, eligible to participate in the Ancestral Hall meetings to decide on the quota for the Outer Sect Disciples' Ascension Assembly.

Wherever their edicts reached, the cultivation families and mortal dynasties attached to the sect would obey without question.

The corresponding rank in Zeyarila was the Transcendent tier.

The legendary starting point for many famous heroes recorded in the histories of various nations was often stepping into the Transcendent realm.

The prestige of a Transcendent could attract many knights, rangers, and war priests to follow them, enough to earn them a noble title within an empire or a city-state alliance. Their will could even influence the rise and fall of a kingdom.

Simultaneously, after magical creatures break through their life's shackles, they undergo a fundamental transformation, ascending to the Gold Tier.

Such magical creatures have already transcended the category of ordinary monsters. In the Common Tongue, they are more commonly referred to as "Lords."

They typically occupy areas rich in mana or elemental energy, ruling over vast territories and numerous magical creature minions. Their very existence is enough to define the danger level of a region. They are the perennial nightmares topping the bounty boards of adventurer guilds in various countries.