An Unexpected Turn

The next morning, Lin Yun packed his things early and continued on his way.

After a night of meditation and rest, his magical power had recovered to around seventy or eighty percent, and he felt much better. Bebe was even more energetic. First thing in the morning, he darted into the woods, caught two plump wild rabbits, and crouched in front of Lin Yun, chirping nonstop as if waiting for praise.

"Alright, alright. I know you're amazing." Lin Yun smiled and rubbed his little head. He cleaned the rabbits, roasted one for breakfast, and saved the other for the road.

Sunlight streamed through the canopy, and the mist in the woods gradually cleared. Birds sang back and forth, bringing the forest to life. Lin Yun's mood brightened along with the weather—he'd be back at the academy in another day.

As he walked, he planned what he would do once he returned. He needed to find a way to get seventh-level spells from the other elements. He had to keep delving into the Earth Element magic Doehring had taught him, and he couldn't neglect Dark Element magic either... Then there was his cultivation in the Swallowed Star World. He had to improve his physical strength as soon as possible, or he wouldn't be able to unleash the full power of his Spiritual Force.

Cultivation in both worlds demanded a great deal of time and effort. He needed to plan his schedule carefully.

Bebe was perched on his shoulder, his little head nodding as if he were dozing off. The sun felt warm on Lin Yun's skin, and even he was starting to feel drowsy.

Just then, a faint sound came from up ahead.

Lin Yun stopped and listened closely. The noise came and went, like metal clashing, mixed with a low growl—much like the "ho ho" sounds the Corpse Demons had made the day before.

Bebe woke too. His little nose twitched repeatedly as he let out a low warning sound.

Lin Yun frowned and released Wind of Perception.

The feedback made his heart tighten. About five hundred meters ahead were more than a dozen familiar, chilling auras, identical to those of the Corpse Demons from yesterday. Among them were also several faint life signs, moving quickly as if trying to escape something.

Someone was under attack by Corpse Demons.

Lin Yun hesitated, then decided to go take a look. It wasn't because he wanted to meddle; he wanted to find out where these Corpse Demons had come from. The appearance of undead creatures in the outer reaches of the Magic Beast Mountain Range was already abnormal.

He suppressed his presence and cautiously moved forward.

After passing through a dense stand of trees, Lin Yun reached the edge of a relatively open clearing. He hid behind a large tree and peered out to observe.

A battle was taking place in the clearing.

On one side were seven or eight mercenaries wearing leather armor and carrying weapons. Their equipment wasn't particularly good, but they worked well together and were clearly experienced adventurers. Their leader was a burly, middle-aged man wielding a broad-bladed greatsword. Each swing made the air whistle.

On the other side were twelve or thirteen Corpse Demons, exactly like the ones that had attacked Lin Yun the day before. Their grayish-white skin, empty eye sockets, flickering green flames, and sharp claws and fangs were enough to make anyone shudder.

But what puzzled Lin Yun was that these Corpse Demons fought very differently from the ones he had faced yesterday.

Yesterday, those Corpse Demons had thrown themselves at him in a frenzy, fighting to the death. These ones were attacking the mercenaries too, but they were clearly holding back. Instead of going for the kill, they used their claws and bodies to drive the mercenaries back and knock them down.

"What's going on?" Lin Yun wondered.

After watching for a while, he noticed something even stranger.

The mercenaries knocked down by the Corpse Demons weren't killed. The demons pounced on them, pinning them down with their claws, then spat a cloud of grayish-white mist from their mouths that enveloped the mercenaries' faces. The moment the mist covered them, the mercenaries stopped struggling and their bodies stiffened, as if controlled by some force. Then they staggered to their feet and followed the Corpse Demons in a certain direction.

"They're taking them alive." Lin Yun's heart sank.

The mercenary captain had apparently realized it too. His swordsmanship grew fiercer and fiercer as he tried to break through, but there were too many Corpse Demons, and they neither felt pain nor feared death. He couldn't get through.

"Lao Liu! Xiao Zhang!" the captain shouted to his companions, but the only answer was their fading cries.

One mercenary after another was knocked down and enveloped in grayish-white mist. Then they stiffly rose to their feet and followed the Corpse Demons into the depths of the forest like walking corpses.

Lin Yun stood behind the tree, his fingers gripping the trunk tightly.

He should help them. But his magical power had only recovered to around seventy or eighty percent, and his Light Element magic was only half restored. Yesterday's fight had already proven that Light Element magic was the most effective against Corpse Demons. Spells from other elements could only drive them back temporarily, not kill them for good.

Besides, he had a more pressing question: why were the Corpse Demons taking people alive? Was someone controlling them?

If he rushed in and alerted whoever was behind this, he might never find out.

Lin Yun gritted his teeth and made a difficult decision: he wouldn't intervene yet. He would follow the Corpse Demons and see where they were taking their captives.

The mercenary captain was the last to fall.

He was the strongest of them and cut down three or four Corpse Demons by himself, but the fallen creatures soon staggered back to their feet and joined the attack again. In the end, three Corpse Demons tackled him at once. Grayish-white mist covered his face. His struggles weakened and then stopped altogether.

The captain stiffly rose to his feet. Along with the other controlled mercenaries, he lined up and followed the Corpse Demons into the depths of the forest.

Once they had gone some distance, Lin Yun quietly followed.

He didn't dare get too close, afraid the Corpse Demons might notice him. These undead creatures sensed the world differently from ordinary magical beasts. They relied not on sight or smell, but on the auras of living things. Lin Yun used Wind Element magic to wrap his aura and minimize what escaped, keeping about two hundred meters between them as he trailed far behind.

The Corpse Demons proceeded at an unhurried pace, heading deeper into the Magic Beast Mountain Range. Lin Yun grew more and more puzzled. They were already in the central region of the mountain range. Farther in lay the haunts of seventh- and eighth-level magical beasts. Who would control Corpse Demons out here?

After about an hour, the terrain ahead grew steeper. The dense woods thinned out, replaced by jagged rocks and sheer cliffs. The Corpse Demons turned into a narrow valley, where towering cliffs on either side blocked out most of the sunlight.

Lin Yun paused at the entrance to the valley and carefully observed his surroundings. Wind of Perception told him that an extremely dense, chilling aura lay deep within—far stronger than the auras of the Corpse Demons.

He took a deep breath and cautiously entered the valley.

The valley was even deeper than Lin Yun had imagined.

After about fifteen minutes, the Corpse Demon party came to a halt. Lin Yun hid behind a huge boulder and peered out.

At the end of the valley was a sheer cliff, with a huge opening in its face, three or four meters tall and more than two meters wide. The entrance was pitch-black; he couldn't make out what lay within. But waves of chilling air poured from it, making the area much colder than outside.

The Corpse Demons stood in two lines on either side of the entrance, as if guarding something. The controlled mercenaries went into the cave one by one and disappeared into the darkness.

"So there really is someone controlling them from behind." Lin Yun mused.

He watched for a while and saw that, aside from the dozen or so Corpse Demons, there were no other guards at the entrance. But they were positioned so cleverly that they sealed it off completely, leaving almost no gaps to slip through.

Lin Yun frowned and began to consider what to do next.

A frontal assault was out of the question. His magical power hadn't fully recovered, and his Light Element magic was only about half restored. Besides, he had no idea what was inside the cave. Charging in would be too dangerous.

But he wasn't willing to simply turn back. He had finally found the Corpse Demons' lair, and still knew nothing about what was inside.

After thinking it over, Lin Yun decided to find a concealed spot and watch for a while to see if he could uncover more clues.

He looked around and spotted a hollow in the cliff on the right side of the valley, partly hidden behind vines and just large enough for him to squeeze into. He quietly made his way over and slipped inside, using the vines to conceal himself. From there, he had a clear view of the entrance, while the Corpse Demons were unlikely to notice him.

Bebe crouched on his shoulder, his little nose twitching repeatedly as he warily watched the entrance.

Time passed, minute by minute.

The sky gradually darkened, and the valley grew even colder. The green flames in the Corpse Demons' eye sockets stood out in the darkness, like a dozen will-o'-the-wisps drifting about.

About an hour later, something finally stirred inside the cave.

A figure in a black robe emerged. He was thin, and the hood's shadow concealed his face. He carried a bone-white staff topped with a dark green gem that glimmered faintly in the dark.

Lin Yun's pupils contracted slightly.

A Necromancer.

Doehring had once explained the signs of a Necromancer in detail: black robes, a bone staff, and a chilling aura. These people practiced Necromancy and specialized in controlling the dead and Corpse Demons. They were enemies of the Radiant Church and were hated by everyone on the Yulan Continent.

Lin Yun hadn't expected a Necromancer to be hiding deep in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

The Black-Robed Man stood at the entrance, apparently counting the Corpse Demons. Then he murmured a few words, and the creatures turned around in unison and went into the cave.

The entrance was now empty.

But Lin Yun didn't act right away.

He needed more time to observe. He had to learn how strong the Necromancer was, what lay inside the cave, and why he was taking the mercenaries.

Doehring had once said that Necromancers were considered invincible among those of the same level. They were not only skilled at summoning undead creatures, but also well versed in Soul Attack and Soul Enslavement. A Necromancer's combat power far exceeded that of an ordinary mage of the same level. If Lin Yun rushed inside, his soul might be controlled, and he would become a new Corpse Demon.

Lin Yun was now a Level Seven Mage, but he only knew seventh-level attack magic of the Earth Element. He didn't know a single seventh-level spell from any other element. His Light Element magic countered Necromancy, but he had only reached the sixth level in it. He had no guarantee of defeating a true Necromancer.

He had to outwit him, not overpower him.

Lin Yun took a deep breath, calmed himself, and continued observing.

The Black-Robed Man stood at the entrance for about fifteen minutes, seemingly waiting for something.

Lin Yun watched his every move, trying to find useful clues.

The Black-Robed Man's magical fluctuations weren't especially strong—probably somewhere between the seventh and eighth levels. A dense aura of the undead clung to him, and the air around him had grown cold and damp.

The bone staff in his hand was covered in densely packed magical runes. The dark green gem at its tip flashed with an eerie light now and then. Lin Yun could sense the extremely powerful Necromancy it contained. It might be the Necromancer's main Magic Artifact.

The Black-Robed Man murmured a few words, then turned and went into the cave.

Lin Yun waited about half an hour. Once he was sure the Black-Robed Man hadn't come back out, he quietly emerged from his hiding place and approached the entrance.

He didn't go inside.

He carefully surveyed the area outside, memorizing the entrance's position, the surrounding terrain, and the valley's exits. Then he quietly returned to his hiding place.

Venturing inside would be unwise. What he needed now was information—more information.

Lin Yun closed his eyes and began meditating to recover his magical power. He decided to keep watch there for the night and see whether he could observe anything else useful.

Bebe crouched beside him and quieted down too, his little eyes fixed on the entrance.

Night slowly deepened.

The valley was pitch-black, with only the occasional flash of green light at the cave entrance. A few distant howls echoed in the night wind, lending the silent forest an eerie atmosphere.

Around midnight, movement stirred in the cave again.

The Black-Robed Man came out once more, followed by several Corpse Demons. They carried a crude stretcher made of branches and vines. Someone lay on it—or rather, a corpse.

Lin Yun looked closely and saw that the corpse's skin had turned grayish-white, just like a Corpse Demon's. But there were no flames in its eye sockets, and its body didn't move.

The Black-Robed Man walked to a clearing outside the cave and began chanting a spell. Dark green light poured from the gem at the tip of his bone staff and enveloped the corpse.

The corpse began to tremble.

Then two eerie green flames appeared in its eye sockets.

It slowly stood up, stiffly turned to face the Black-Robed Man, and bowed its head as if in salute.

A new Corpse Demon had been created.

Lin Yun's heart sank.

So this was how the Corpse Demons were made. The captured mercenaries would probably become new Corpse Demons too.

The Black-Robed Man nodded in satisfaction, then turned and went into the cave. The newly created Corpse Demon followed him and disappeared into the darkness.

Lin Yun leaned against the cliff and closed his eyes, his thoughts racing.

The Necromancer was powerful and ruthless. He wasn't taking people alive for any other reason than to make more Corpse Demons. If left unchecked, his forces would keep growing, and sooner or later he would become a major threat.

But Lin Yun had no confidence that he could defeat him now.

A frontal assault was out. That left outwitting him.

Lin Yun needed to find the Necromancer's weakness. He couldn't stay in the cave forever; sooner or later he would come out. To deal with a Necromancer, he had to strike like lightning before the man could react. Otherwise, if he got the chance to respond, Lin Yun would be facing an endless army of undead.

Lin Yun opened his eyes, determination flashing in them.

He decided to keep watch and study the Necromancer's routine, looking for the right moment to strike.

Bebe seemed to sense his resolve. He rubbed his little head against Lin Yun's cheek and chirped twice, as if to say, "I'll stay with you."

Lin Yun stroked his little head, then closed his eyes and resumed meditating.

The night grew darker, and the valley fell silent.

The distant howls had stopped. Only the occasional gust of wind stirred a few withered leaves into a spin.

Lin Yun sat cross-legged in the hollow, his breathing slow and steady. His magical power gradually recovered, and his Spiritual Energy grew steadily stronger.

Tomorrow, he would have to keep watching.

And perhaps the day after that as well.

He needed patience. During his month in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, he had learned the most important lesson of all: sometimes, waiting took more courage than fighting.