The Lord of Glimmer plants the sun in the eternal night.

Tiger Bone Ghost's body was disintegrating at a visible speed, its grayish-white pubic hair falling out one by one and turning to ashes before hitting the ground.

The purple fleshy fold, resembling an upside-down anemone, slid out of its throat, fell to the ground, and withered rapidly in the light dust, turning into many black fuels of varying sizes.

To Jiang Chuan's surprise, the ghosts were not paralyzed by the death of their superior, but instead stopped flocking to Snow Eagle Ridge as if they had lost their leader.

The arrow towers no longer gathered light arrows, because there were no targets left.

This scene made Jiang Chuan sigh with regret.

The Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts posed little threat to their small camp because their low levels of vital energy and spirituality meant they couldn't attract much attention from the monsters.

So once the ghost leaves, the fifteenth of this month is considered over.

However, as Snow Eagle Ridge develops in the future, its population will definitely increase, which will certainly become a problem.

Jiang Chuan shook his head, deciding not to think about it too much for now.

He strolled to the edge of the sunlit area, squatted down, and examined the fist-sized, eerie red bead.

The surface of the bead is covered with fine lines, and it glows slightly in the light dust. It does not reflect the light of the fire spring, but rather a layer of red light shines through from the inside.

Jiang Chuan laughed. This thing was probably the most valuable part of the tiger bone monster.

He reached out and picked it up; the research manual trembled slightly, and then relevant information came through.

A single "Phantom Bead" can be used to modify a "Tool" for 10 Ether.

...

"Strange Treasure".

"nice one."

He put the beads in his pocket, intending to study them later.

At the same time, Ye Xuan's voice came from behind, trembling but with a hint of relief:

"Ah Shui... Is it... over?"

"Um."

Jiang Chuan glanced at the darkness outside the territory; the scattered changgui had vanished.

"At least tonight," he added.

Upon hearing this, Ye Xuan saw the Nightmare Fuel scattered across the territory, her tense nerves relaxed, and an excited and joyful expression quickly appeared on her face.

As soon as she approached, she noticed that Jiang Chuan's face was too pale, and immediately asked with concern, "A-Shui, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine, just a little exhausted. Xuan'er, go and turn those things into flint." Jiang Chuan said in a deep voice.

"Then Ah Shui, you should rest for a while."

Ye Xuan nodded. In her opinion, the battle just now was indeed too dangerous.

"hiss."

Jiang Chuan looked down at the wound on his forearm. The edges of the bloodstain had turned gray, and the skin had become dry and cracked.

Oh shit.

The old Yin White Tiger is also poisonous.

Fortunately, I'm not one to be trifled with either. The research manual has a basic node for 'Level 1 Monster Injury Treatment' on the [Medical] page that I can unlock.

With a little treatment, it shouldn't be a big problem.

that is...

I was just bumped hard.

Following Ye Xuan toward the fire spring, I felt aches and pains in my back.

"Physical fitness still needs improvement."

"..."

Soon, all the nightmare fuel on the ground was transformed into flint.

Tiger Bone Ghost brought him fifteen flints, and the other accomplices brought him a total of forty.

He was already very satisfied with having so much without using the Yin-attracting technique.

Despite his injury, Jiang Chuan was in a good mood.

Back inside the house, seeing that it only had 98 points of durability left, the first thing I naturally did was—

"Let's upgrade the durability of the wooden house first."

This saves on materials needed to restore durability while also upgrading it.

[House] [Level 2 Durability] —> [Level 3 Durability]

[Durability: 900/900]

...

"With such high durability, it's more than enough."

Jiang Chuan let out a soft sigh of relief.

Even if we encounter another high-level monster attack tonight, we don't need to be afraid.

Leaving behind the flint and ether used to build and activate the [Cultivation] page, he pondered how to modify the 'Phantom Bead'.

"Give it a try."

[Ether -10] [Ether: 14]

Please select the direction of modification.

【1. Attract Ghosts (Place in a well-lit area to attract level 2 ghosts.)】

2. Pimp (can transform ordinary corpses into level 1 Pimps, who are controlled by the Phantom Bead; number controlled: 2)

【3. Develop (Generates a special entity shadow of the holder, quantity: 1)】

...

"That's so perverted!"

Seeing these three transformation effects, Jiang Chuan immediately felt that his efforts to deal with this strange creature tonight had not been in vain.

He desperately wanted the ability to summon ghosts, which was even more effective than the ability to summon spirits, as well as the ability to control ghosts through prostitution.

But after thinking for a moment, Jiang Chuan decided on the third modification effect.

Isn't this just a second clone?

Although the specific intensity was not disclosed, Jiang Chuan was still willing to take the gamble.

As soon as Jiang Chuan had a thought, the red bead in his hand immediately underwent a change. Its surface gradually became smooth, the cracks disappeared, and it turned into a black sphere.

There seemed to be a clump of dark liquid inside, slowly flowing. It felt wonderful to the touch and had a slightly cool sensation.

【Phantom Bead】

【Function: Developing】

【Characteristics: None】

[Durability: 100/100]

...

"How do I use it?"

Jiang Chuan held the Puppet Shadow Pearl, lost in thought, unable to figure out how to use it.

If it's related to shadows, should it be placed on the shadow?

Jiang Chuan stayed inside the house, the light from the flint filling the room, making it impossible to see his complete shadow.

So Jiang Chuan went outside.

The light from the fire illuminated a complete shadow.

Jiang Chuan threw the black bead onto the shadow as an attempt.

Strangely enough, he just tossed it casually, and the potential energy wasn't as great as he had imagined, but the bead kept rolling until it reached the head of the shadow.

After a brief pause, it sank.

next moment.

To Jiang Chuan's astonishment, his shadow slowly coalesced, separated from his true form, and he actually stood up.

It has no facial features and no clothes.

It's just a simple solo shot.

"Um..."

Jiang Chuan felt that one more thing should be added: the lack of independent thinking ability.

He raised his hand, and his shadow raised his hand as well.

Without the imagined second perspective, it remains a shadow, following his actions.

"It may need an upgrade."

Jiang Chuan pondered.

However, to upgrade or modify this item, it requires more than just etheric energy; it also needs to be filled with additional, compatible materials.

It's a bit hard to find.

"Let's develop this simple thing first."

He tried to hand the big black gun to Shadow, and without any surprises, Shadow reached out and successfully took it, almost as if he were wearing equipment.

Then Jiang Chuan made an attack stance, and Shadow followed closely behind, whipping out a five-hit lightning whip.

"Hey, that's a good option."

Jiang Chuan smiled slightly. In the future, if he needed to confront someone head-on or act as bait, he could use his shadow to do it.

"Ah Shui, what's this?"

Hearing the noise, Ye Xuan thought the strange creature had returned and quickly peeked out to check, only to find two Jiang Chuan figures standing at the edge of the fire spring.

Upon closer inspection, she was startled to find that one of them was completely black.

"Hehe, this is my shadow," Jiang Chuan said, patting his shoulder.

At the same time, he was also thinking to himself whether he could get this guy to do some work.

For example, cutting down trees or mining.

The territory needs to be expanded, and the forest to the east needs to be cleared away. This task might actually be given to Shadow.

Just give him an axe and that will solve the problem.