8 Clearing Of The Mind
AU Note: Don't forget to vote for me.
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[Knock knock, it's party time. Did you really think no one will notice a rift opening right behind a city?]
Multiple thunderous snapping sounds rang inside Yuan Ming's head as several connections disappeared. He didn't think someone would come after him so soon, especially when he was…very careful.
Yuan Ming unfortunately didn't know most of he was doing. If he knew that the rift would alert the cultivators, he wouldn't have summoned the Necropolis. Being dumb was bad for health.
He didn't want to lose his new-found army. Without wasting any time, Yuan Ming closed his eyes and teleported out of the Necropolis.
Once he opened the his eyes, the first thing he saw was the broken blue dome in the sky. The roaring sounds of flame devouring flesh, attracted his ears as he focused towards its origin.
There, he saw an amalgamation of dozens of Ghouls idiotically charging into a torrent of blue flames. The flames were hot enough to crack the floor. The rotten bodies of the Ghouls however, burned to ash.
"KRAAAAAAAA!!! "
Yuan Ming's howl ripped through the air and forced back the tide of flames back to its creator. The Ghouls took this as a chance to escape and run beneath the floating Necropolis.
The flames died out as a stout young man revealed himself. His ethereal white robe fluttered in the wind as the dozens of charms on his body interfered with Yuan Ming's control of his essence.
The chiseled face of the youth first morphed into fear, and then to surprise. His mouth opened. But unfortunately, Yuan Ming couldn't hear him.
Yuan Ming's vision went blurry as he tried his best to focus but failed to. The reason was the numerous charms on his opponent's body. Due to them, he couldn't even sense the man's power level!
[You're very dumb. Actually, this should serve as an opportunity for you to learn.]
One thing he noticed in the man's eyes was the intense focus he had on the hovering Necropolis. He was likely planning on robbing it.
The man nonchalantly walked forward without any pre-emptive measures which fully showed just how much of a threat he took Yuan Ming to be.
Yuan Ming cautiously watched him, but didn't attack. He knew the man was arrogant, so he waited for him to show an opening.
A few moments later, the man opened his mouth and started talking again. But this time, Yuan Ming wasn't still and instead, slashed at him.
The speed at which he leaped was faster than a sprinting gazelle. The claw he used to attack was more powerful than Rank 2, but unfortunately…
The man smirked and swung two fingers towards the claw closing in on him. When the jade slip between his fingers touched Yuan Ming's claw, it burst apart.
"BAM!"
The man's eyes widened as a strong recoil twisted his two fingers and repelled his hand with great force. But that was…all. His legs didn't even move when Yuan Ming attacked him at full strength.
Yuan Ming panicked as a blinding white light swallowed the arm he used to attack. A few cracks spread throughout the light as it vanished, but his arm had also disintegrated! All that was left of his arm was a stump.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! "
Hate. A burning hatred inflamed Yuan Ming's soul as he glared at the devious bastard. He wanted to devour him whole, but he was too powerful…
A burst of calming energy spread throughout his body as he cooled his mind. He understood that he wouldn't be able to escape unless he sacrificed his current army.
Losing the army would be detrimental, but it wasn't worth his life. After all, what use would an army be if he couldn't live to command it?
Yuan Ming's head trembled as he growled at the man and simultaneously commanded the Ghouls to flank him.
The man opened his mouth once again, but was interrupted when Yuan Ming bolted away from him. He only laughed and lazily started to follow after him but was shocked when he saw an entire batallion of Ghouls block his path.
Each and every one of them blocked the path according to Yuan Ming's commands. Since the man held command over fire, they stood separated. After all, the fire could spread over to them.
Yuan Ming at the moment was sprinting as fast as he could. He marveled at the racial benefits of the undead, an almost unending stamina. He evaded the trees on his way flexibly and winced over his dead slaves. Unfortunately, not even one was left after a few minutes had passed. The stronger ones — the ranked ones — had died long ago.
Yuan Ming wanted to move the Necropolis somewhere else, but the information he had, told him he couldn't. The only thing he could do was send the Necropolis back to the Dead Nether. All of the sacrifices his were in vain. He even ended up losing an arm!
He focused his mind on the floating Necropolis like he had done before. But instead of teleporting there, he commanded it go back to the Dead Nether. A soft buzzing voice rang out in his ears as it successfully returned there.
Yuan Ming wanted to slap himself. The amount of dumb shit he'd done surprised him. The haziness in his brain cleared as he sprinted through the marsh.
A burst of refreshingly dense Spiritual Essence hit him as he scowled. The stump on his right shoulder leaked black liquid onto the marsh water.
[The control on your soul has been returned. I apologize for the earlier problems, but they were necessary. I was actually pretending earlier.]
The whispers went unnoticed as Yuan Ming swore to never listen again. He was kind of irritated and angry from being looted clean, so he stubbornly ignored the whispers.
[You have to rebuild your forces and expand upon it as quickly as possible! Do you think you can deal with billions of demons from the Legion by yourself? Your mortal memories should've returned. So, I think you know that this is human territory.]
'Legion? What Legion? '
Yuan Ming questioned the whisper. His head was surprisingly light as he felt like something lodged inside his brain for the past few days had been expelled.
[You'll understand soon. The memories of the Plague Lord will soon be absorbed by you.]
'I've had enough of you! Don't you dare order me again. '
Suddenly, Yuan Ming saw a cave entrance and dashed inside. The air inside was rancid and damp but he didn't care — once he was inside he lied down and tried to hide his essence.
He gripped his head and banged it against the floor in rage. The anger he felt for being so idiotic was mind-numbing. Every emotion he felt was intense after he became an undead!
Now that the fog interfering with his mind had disappeared, he felt as if he could've planned more. Building his new stronghold anywhere near human territory would surely arouse interest. After all, even he himself attracted the attention of a righteous sect. According to the same logic, an undead army and a Necropolis would obviously attract the entire region!
He turned his neck and began to lick the stump on his right side. The bitter black liquid he was ingesting was own his blood. He couldn't bear to lose any.
[I hope you've learned your lesson. Don't build your bases insides human territory next time.]
[You can easily regrow your arm. Just that you'll need a Necropolis to do so.]
Yuan Ming growled and escaped deeper into the cave. He decided he'd exit a few days later…
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AU Note: In case you haven't noticed yet (unlike my readers at webnovel), every chapter up to chap 9 is part of book 1, which is aptly named [Book One – Prologue]
Yes, the prologue is that long. After this chapter, the story begins. The kingdom building will hopefully start from the next chapter.
