Time passed slowly.

The crowd outside the entrance to the Land of Buried Bones gradually thinned out.

Some of the Dungeon Masters who had originally waited around to watch the spectacle entered dungeons, while others formed parties and headed to different lairs, leaving only a scattered few lingering by the railings.

The bearded burly man dozed off against a stone tablet. The young man in the hood hadn't left either; he simply leaned against the railing, flipping through an electronic manual and occasionally glancing up in Su Mu's direction.

The night deepened, and an ash-white mist slowly drifted out from the depths of the Land of Buried Bones, condensing into a thin layer of frost outside the entrance.

Far off toward the city walls, the glow of runes meandered like long dragons, casting a chilly, ethereal blue light against the dark sky.

11:59 PM.

Su Mu opened his eyes.

He didn't check the time; an intuition deep within his soul space told him that a new day had arrived.

It was a subtle sensation, like an invisible door in his soul space being pushed open a crack, allowing a warm breeze to rush in from outside.

He sat up straight, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness deep into his soul.

Meditation.

This time, he didn't test the waters cautiously as before, instead unleashing his pull directly.

The points of light within the soul space...

No, those points of light were no longer scattered stars—they had converged into a river.

A warm, brilliant river composed of Soul Power surged from the deepest recesses of his soul space, flowing steadily into his Soul Power pool.

【+50 Soul Power】

【+50 Soul Power】

【+50 Soul Power】

【+50 Soul Power】

【+10 Soul Power】

Five notifications flashed in one continuous stream.

All within less than a minute.

Su Mu opened his eyes; his Soul Power pool was completely full.

Exactly two hundred and ten points—not a single point more, not a single point less.

He stared at the "210/210" on the System Panel for a few seconds, the last trace of uncertainty in his heart dissipating.

Meditating once a day could directly restore his Soul Power to full capacity, and it only took a single minute.

Soul Power that other Dungeon Masters spent hours or even an entire day to recover took him merely a minute.

This was truly "cheating."

Su Mu didn't dwell on the thought.

He immediately projected his consciousness into the dungeon space and got down to business.

First, embed the Corpse King card.

Taking out the E-rank card shimmering with an eerie green light, he willed it forward. The card transformed into a streak of light and shot into the dungeon space, landing precisely atop the newly formed mountain to the left of Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Embedding cost: 30 points of Soul Power. His Soul Power pool dropped from 210 to 180.

The Corpse King appeared at the mountain's peak.

A five-meter-tall skeleton giant, eerie green flames burning within the gaps of its bones, looking virtually identical to the Corpse King inside the dungeon.

Upon landing, it stood blankly for a moment before lowering its head, standing as motionless as a statue.

Su Mu glanced at the System Panel.

No change whatsoever.

Rank E, Level 1, its attributes remained unchanged.

He wasn't surprised.

It had been the same when Little Drill-Wind was embedded into Lion Camel Ridge. The key lay in naming.

Gathering his Soul Power, Su Mu fixed his gaze on the new mountain and spoke in a deep voice, "This mountain shall be named White Tiger Ridge."

【-10 Soul Power】

At the foot of the mountain, a greenish-gray stone tablet slowly rose, three large characters carved upon it glowing with a dull luster.

Yet the Corpse King Larva's System Panel still showed no change.

Su Mu frowned slightly.

He recalled how it worked with Little Drill-Wind... first name the mountain, then name the minor demon.

The mountain's name was the backdrop; the demon's name was the true anchor.

He looked toward the five-meter-tall skeleton giant at the summit.

This thing was far too different from the White Bone Demon in the original story.

A Western fantasy-style skeleton giant with soul flames burning in its bone joints looked like a generic minion from an undead dungeon no matter how one viewed it.

And what was the White Bone Demon?

She was a corpse demon Cultivated from skeletal remains on White Tiger Ridge that had absorbed the resentment of heaven and earth, a Demon King capable of three transformations who toyed with Tang Sanzang.

But right now, this card was all he had.

Su Mu took a deep breath and declared in a solemn voice, "This demon shall be named... Corpse Demon White Bone Spirit."

【-10 Soul Power】

The moment the words fell, the skeleton giant shuddered violently.

The eerie green soul flames surged upward, churning turbulently inside its skull.

The illustration on the card began to shift, transforming from a vague skeleton giant into a more defined silhouette.

Su Mu checked the System Panel.

【Name: Corpse Demon White Bone Spirit】

【Rank: D】

【Level: 1】

【HP: 8000/8000】

【ATK: 550】

【DEF: 280】

【Agility: 480】

【Combat Index: 5350】

【Skills: Bone Claw Tear (Deals 1.8x damage to a single target, 10s cooldown), Command of the Dead (Increases ATK of nearby skeleton creatures by 10%, 20m range), Skeleton Reassembly (When HP falls below 30%, absorbs surrounding bones to restore 15% life, 60s cooldown)】

【Remarks: A skeleton born from absorbing resentment on White Tiger Ridge. Its current form has low compatibility with the concept of "White Bone Demon"; growth is limited.】

Rank D.

Just like Little Drill-Wind before, naming it boosted its rank by one tier.

Yet as Su Mu looked at this System Panel, his brow remained furrowed.

Rank D attributes might be decent for an ordinary Dungeon Master, but for him, it was far from enough.

What's more, the remarks stated clearly: "low compatibility, growth is limited."

The problem lay in its appearance.

The Corpse Demon White Bone Spirit before him was still a five-meter-tall skeleton giant.

Eerie green soul flames burned within its joints, prayer beads dangled from its arms, and vestiges of skeletal wings still remained on its back.

Put inside an undead dungeon, this creature wouldn't look out of place at all; but placed into Journey to the West, it was worlds apart from Lady White Bone, who was supposed to be "fair as the moon and flowers, kaleidoscopic in her transformations."

Su Mu closed his eyes, recalling the description of the White Bone Demon in the original Journey to the West.

"

First, the demon transformed into a maiden with a face fair as the moon and flowers—words could hardly describe her delicate brows, bright eyes, white teeth, and rosy lips—carrying a blue earthenware pot in her left hand and a green porcelain flask in her right, heading straight from west to east toward Tang Sanzang.

Next, she transformed into an eighty-year-old woman...

Finally, she transformed into a white-haired old man...

Three transformations, all three seen through at a single glance by Sun Wukong.

But Tang Sanzang couldn't see through them, Zhu Bajie couldn't see through them, and neither could Sha Wujing.

The White Bone Demon's terror had never been her combat prowess, but her "transformation" and "disguise."

Su Mu opened his eyes and looked at the skeleton giant.

"Too ugly," he muttered to himself.

He got to work.

Soul Power flowed from his fingertips, drifting toward the White Bone Demon's body like slender ribbons of light.

Step one: compress its frame. A five-meter-tall skeleton giant was far too massive; the true form of the White Bone Demon should be a humanoid skeleton, not a gigantic beast.

Soul Power permeated every bone, compressing and reshaping the pillar-thick skeleton inch by inch.