Build a safe house in a bizarre world

The team continued to advance into the heart of the dead forest.

Jiang Ning also noticed that as they went deeper, the temperature around them was lower than on the outskirts, and the stench of decay in the air became more and more pronounced.

Even though those eerie corpses had dried out, they still exuded an unsettling aura of death.

The ground beneath my feet had become soft and damp, giving me a strange, unsettling feeling when I stepped on it.

The entire forest, or rather the entire mountain forest, was shrouded in absolute silence. There were no birdsong, no insect chirps, and not even the cawing of crows.

Staying in this environment for a long time makes even normal breathing feel somewhat suffocating.

Fortunately, the journey was smooth, and apart from the obstacles posed by the terrain, no accidents occurred.

At this moment, another huge, fallen tree appeared ahead of the group. Its thick trunk lay across the road, surrounded by dense, tangled thickets of thorns, making it difficult to pass.

Led by Yu Niu, several young men stepped forward with simple axes and began to hack and clear the area.

Jiang Ning observed from the side, his gaze sweeping over the two strangely long-dead corpses nearby, and a thought stirred within him.

He brought up the [Heavenly Craftsman] interface.

As expected, once outside the altar's territory, defensive structures cannot be built here, but the [Tool Encyclopedia] is still lit up, allowing for on-site crafting.

However, since they cannot access the resources in the village warehouse, they must use local materials.

Jiang Ning called over the two people beside him and asked them to follow him back a short distance along the way they came.

He remembered that when he passed by earlier, he saw two protruding, dark brown rocks with special patterns on their surfaces, which were clearly the "black stones" needed for the current project.

The three quickly returned to the spot, used their pickaxes to quickly dig out a few black stones of suitable size, and then returned to the place where they had cleared the path.

At this time, Yu Niu and his group were still struggling with that big tree, and their progress was slow.

Jiang Ning took the freshly forged black stone, walked to the two strange corpses, brought up the interface again, selected the blueprints for the "Mountain Cleaver" and "Lumberjack Axe", and chose to forge "2" based on the available resources.

The interface shimmered with light, and the black stone in his hand and the gray Tai Sui remaining on the corpse automatically turned into wisps of black smoke and dissipated.

The next moment, two brand-new machetes and logging axes appeared out of thin air on the ground in front of Jiang Ning!

This scene, set in the silent, deep forest, appeared exceptionally surreal.

The young people who were working were dumbfounded, and even Yu Niu stopped what he was doing and stared blankly at him.

Jiang Ning himself secretly sighed, realizing that having a cheat program was indeed convenient.

I wonder if the other legendary "master craftsmen" can also make tools anytime, anywhere without needing a workshop, just like him?

At least they certainly don't have such clear operation and an illogical interface as we do.

With the new tools, efficiency immediately became different.

With the specially crafted new axe in hand, it felt much easier to work with; the seemingly tough dead wood was quickly broken down and cleared by the sharp blade.

The road was cleared in no time.

Yu Niu stroked the newly assigned machete with great delight; the blade gleamed coldly.

He looked at Jiang Ning with a simple, honest expression, his eyes shining with anticipation:

"Young master, this knife... can it kill those ghostly things?"

Jiang Ning shook his head: "These are just tools for use. They're not powerful enough to deal with the supernatural. To effectively kill them, you need specially designed weapons or treasure-level equipment."

Upon hearing this, Yu Niu's face showed a hint of disappointment, then he scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, his voice lowered, yet still carrying a lot of stubbornness:

"Then... young master, in the future... could you find a way to get me a weapon that can kill them? I want to kill them quickly and thoroughly."

These words surprised Jiang Ning and the others.

Then, a similar spark ignited in the eyes of others.

After all, who wouldn't want to personally avenge themselves against these monsters that bring endless terror?

Jiang Ning looked at them and nodded seriously:

"There will definitely be opportunities in the future!"

Yu Niu gave a heavy "hmm," as if he had received a promise, and became even more energetic. He turned around and charged ahead like a tireless bull to clear the way.

The procession continued onward.

This time, we hadn't gone far when we came to another small, relatively flat open space.

However, the sight here made everyone's heart tighten.

Because the number of strange corpses on the open ground has increased significantly.

Even more striking is that at the end of this clearing, behind the trees, a narrow entrance and a pitch-black interior cave suddenly appear.

What made Jiang Ning's pupils shrink and his scalp tingle was that outside the cave entrance, there were several strangely shaped remains scattered around!

They were much larger than the surrounding low-level, bizarre corpses, with thicker bones and more grotesque or peculiar shapes.

Some of them vaguely show twisted human limbs, while others resemble the skeleton of some mutated ferocious beast, with faint, eerie patterns even visible on their surfaces.

"hiss......"

Someone in the group gasped, and everyone instinctively held their breath; the scene fell silent.

"I'll go take a look!" Yu Niu, that hothead, was the first to react and rushed forward.

Jiang Ning didn't stop them; instead, he immediately followed, whispering, "Be careful, keep up!"

The group approached the cave quickly and cautiously.

As you get closer, the oppressive feeling of these massive skeletons becomes even more pronounced.

Their bones were noticeably denser and harder, and the eerie aura they retained was stronger.

Unlike those dazed, distorted beings known as low-level eerie "wandering spirits and monsters."

The shapes of these skeletons subtly suggest a more advanced, or rather, "evolutionary" form of strange creatures.

Jiang Ning felt a slight chill.

This may be what humans call a first-tier weirdo, which is a kind of weird soldier that can be called a "yin spirit and evil spirit".

They have initially acquired strange and unique abilities, with astonishing destructive power, unpredictable and mysterious cores, and are difficult to restrain. Some can even ignore physical attacks.

Before my eyes, there were three skeletons, suspected to be first-tier monsters, lying dead!

The cause of death is unknown.

Jiang Ning didn't have time to investigate the reasons in detail; this was often accompanied by opportunities.

He immediately crouched down and began searching the chest cavity, skull, and other parts of the first skeleton where the "core" might be hidden without hesitation.

The others were still somewhat stunned, still reeling from the shock of the skeletons.

Soon, Jiang Ning pulled out clumps of sticky, black flesh from the skeleton—"Black Tai Sui"!

These strange creatures that have reached a higher level no longer have the low-level grayish-white Tai Sui left behind in their remains.

Jiang Ning bit her lower lip lightly and continued to quickly and carefully examine the entire skeleton.

However, there were no rare beads or anything else that looked like dropped items.

Jiang Ning frowned, feeling somewhat disappointed.

Shouldn't the drop rate be even higher for higher-level monsters?

Something went wrong. We've gone quite deep into this place; it's impossible for anyone else to have touched the body.

Then it can only mean that nothing was lost.

Jiang Ning clapped his hands, stood up, and walked towards the second skeleton.

Even after a thorough search, the only result was still the Black Tai Sui.

Jiang Ning's mood sank as he looked at the last skeleton, which was the most grotesque and resembled some kind of multi-legged beast.

"Never mind, it's a matter of probability."

He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and began to investigate.

This time, when he felt a depression below the back of the skeleton's neck, he touched a cool, rounded texture!

Jiang Ning paused, a look of surprise instantly appearing on his face.

Yu Niu, who had been watching him intently, was the first to react. He almost shouted out loud, but managed to hold it in and just forcefully swung his fist.

The others noticed as well, and their faces showed a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

Jiang Ning composed himself and carefully pulled the thing out.

A grayish-white bead, similar in size to the previous Tier 1 rare treasure, with a texture that seemed a bit warmer and smoother.

"It's only a Tier 1 rare treasure, isn't that a bit low? Shouldn't a rare treasure of this level be downgraded to Tier 2?"

Jiang Ning muttered a low grumble, but the smile on his face was genuine.

Something is better than nothing!

Without hesitation, he immediately brought up the [Heavenly Craftsman] interface, selected to activate the extraordinary treasure, and the following information appeared:

[Successfully activated Tier 1 "Exotic Treasure"]

[Obtained: Architectural blueprint "Bone Barricade"]

[Description: A Tier 1 defensive structure, constructed from specially treated, bizarre skeletons pieced together.]

[It carries a faint, eerie aura, which has a certain restraining effect on lower-level eerie entities of the same origin. Its structure is sturdy, and the sharp bone spikes at the front end possess excellent piercing and blocking capabilities.]

[Requires for crafting: 50 catties of Black Tai Sui, 1 complete skeleton, and 10 pieces of Yin Wood or Black Stone]

"Defense building blueprints!" Jiang Ning's eyes lit up.

Although it is just a basic "barricade", once it can be built, it can form an outer defense line in key locations. Combined with arrow towers, the defensive capability will be further enhanced.

Jiang Ning closed the interface and looked at the several strange first-order remains on the ground and the scattered Black Tai Sui.

"Collect all these black jujubes, but be careful!"

Jiang Ning gave the order, then turned to look at the deep, dark cave entrance.

"This place is not simple. After we finish collecting the materials, we'll explore the area around the cave entrance briefly, but not deep enough. We should be ready to retreat at any time."

The results of this pioneering exploration have far exceeded expectations.