Chapter 16

Faced with Crag's doubts, Philin first went to the temple and obtained Ang's approval, then brought all the management personnel to Ang's luminescent moss field.

"Originally, it was like this, using different substrates, gravel also served as a drainage channel, draining excess water. Oh, such a simple method can allow two things with different humidity requirements to grow in the same field, it's really amazing." Crag was utterly convinced.

"Lord Philin, the owner of this field has planting skills far beyond ours. Is he a Druid? Can he help us manage and improve our fields?"

"You're dreaming." Philin laughed with satisfaction: "You can't stay here for long. Quickly look, record the details, and then leave. I have already designated this area as a restricted zone. Without permission, even I can't enter."

He was indeed clueless about technology, and often felt stifled by Crag's professional questions. Now, he finally had a chance to turn the tables. Look, Crag isn't better at everything.

Everyone was startled upon hearing this. There was actually a restricted area in the dungeon that even Lord Philin couldn't enter at will?

At this moment, a soldier ran over to Esk and reported: "Sir, an epidemic has broken out in the upper city. Several people have diarrhea and vomiting, and a corpse was found in the water pool."

Upon hearing about the upper city, Esk's expression immediately turned serious. He asked, "Have you isolated and sealed it off? Where is the corpse?"

The upper city was the wealthy area, the highest part of the slope just inside the dungeon. Water flows downhill, so the higher the elevation, the cleaner the water.

In this dark, damp, and sunless dungeon, the drainage system was inadequate, and human and animal waste and various domestic sewage flowed freely. The lower the area, the worse the hygiene conditions, and the more frequent the outbreaks of epidemics.

The dungeon already had a mature response plan: isolation and lockdown, followed by treatment by mages, which could usually control the epidemic in a short time.

However, what worried Esk was that this epidemic occurred in the upper city, which had the best hygiene conditions. The sewage would inevitably flow downhill to the lower city. There were only a dozen cases discovered so far, but the number of latent cases was unknown.

A group of people hurried to the location in the upper city where the corpse was found. A bloated corpse lay on the ground. Lina glanced at it and turned away, feeling nauseous.

Philin carefully examined it and exclaimed, "The time of death should only be two days. How could it have decayed so much? There's no residual soul, something is strange."

Hearing Philin's words, Lina forced herself to turn back and, after a moment, said, "My lord, can you open his abdomen?"

After the abdomen was opened, everyone's faces changed: "Demon blood? It's those bastards from the Demon Valley."

The appearance of the Demon Valley and the epidemic put the entire dungeon on high alert. All living beings were placed under home quarantine, and no one was allowed to leave their residence. Only undead creatures could move freely.

This was far more effective than the response to an epidemic in a human society, as undead creatures were immune to the plague and could maintain the functioning of society.

Ang noticed that the temple had become quiet. Everyone was isolated at home, and no believers came. The Undead Temple returned to its former silence.

Only the Silver Skeleton continued to sweep the floor as usual, keeping the temple spotlessly clean.

The only change was that since Ang had formed a soul core, the Silver Skeleton would stop its work and stand straight, holding the broom and bowing respectfully whenever it encountered Ang.

Ordinary skeletons and zombies would flee when they encountered a soul stronger than their own, but only those with ingrained rules would show such behavior.

Ang tried to communicate with it but could only get simple responses like "clean" and "quiet." Normally, the Silver Skeleton should have some intelligence and be able to communicate, but it was not the case.

With no one around, Ang didn't mind. He preferred the quiet. The area around the temple had undergone significant changes, all covered with dense luminescent moss.

Initially, he wanted to plant it within the temple's range, but it would be swept away by the Silver Skeleton and wouldn't last a night.

Due to good care and a suitable environment, the luminescent moss grew well, spreading and soon filling the space around the temple.

After the lockdown, Ang had more time to tend to the luminescent moss. Unfortunately, the soil around the temple was scarce, and the little that was there was just accumulated dust, with complex components and no nutrients, unsuitable for planting crops.

But it didn't matter; the luminescent moss could still grow. The minotaur family could even eat moss, so luminescent moss could be considered a food source.

Luminescent moss doesn't need soil or sunlight. Ang simply found stone slabs, stacked them in layers, and planted the moss between the layers.

The dungeon lacked many things, but stone slabs were abundant. Some areas had shale geology, and a single strike could produce a neat stone slab.

He built a seven- to eight-layer rack, planting the luminescent moss between each layer. The moss would glow on its own and grow without light, as long as the humidity was maintained.

On these stone slabs, Ang planted the most robust, fastest-growing, and largest plants he had selected.

Selecting seeds was the most basic skill in planting. If he didn't understand this, he wouldn't have been able to farm for a thousand years, and the seeds would have degenerated long ago.

As Ang quietly planted the moss, a hurried footsteps approached. A boy of about fifteen, carrying a four- or five-year-old girl in his arms, ran barefoot, his feet bleeding from stepping on sharp stones.

But the boy seemed to feel no pain, running with all his might toward the temple. Behind him, four or five skeleton soldiers, armed with weapons, were chasing him, ready to catch and kill him. They had received orders to kill any living beings running around.

The temple was in sight, and hope flickered in the boy's eyes. He murmured, "Save my sister, O Undead God."

As he spoke, a flame of soul, at least ten times thicker than a normal person's, shot toward the distant altar.

However, faith alone couldn't transcend physical limitations. Just as they were about to enter the temple's range, the skeleton soldiers caught up and swung a blade at the boy's back.

Ang was drawn to the thick soul flame. Seeing the boy about to be struck, he instinctively shouted, "Ow!"

He didn't know why he shouted "ow"; it might have been influenced by the constant "ow"ing of the small zombies. He just wanted to stop the skeleton soldiers.

The sound, transmitted through the soul, made the skeleton soldier about to strike freeze, looking at Ang in terror. A king with a soul core, about to become a Gold Skeleton, was enough to scare these low-level skeletons to pieces.

A figure, not much slower than the sound, charged out, shouting "ow," and slammed into the frozen skeleton soldier, sending it flying and shattering it.