The weather forecast for today was supposed to be sunny with not a hint of clouds in the beautiful azure sky. And yet with one purchase of an item, the entire city of Shanghai was covered by a thick and grim heap of nimbus clouds that suddenly overtook the entire sky.
People who were outside felt a sudden chill about them as they rushed to their destinations. Seeking and possibly searching for anything that might chase away the apparent and distinct sensation that hung in the atmosphere.
It was a sickening feeling that led to the unrest within the city.
Bo Lifen cursed underneath her breath as she finally arrived at the premises of the Heavenly Jade Pavilion and wiped the cold sweat away from her forehead. It had been quite awhile since something around this level happened in the area of Shanghai.
Death filled the air.
Numerous flock of birds squawked and flew away from the general direction of Li Yang and the hospital. Unbeknownst to him, the CEO may have chosen the best possible place to summon the Necromancer's Circle of Death.
At a medical facility, no matter how white the walls were—a certain darkness and aura of death still brooded in its surroundings. Countless patients, before and even in the future, sickness and malady plagued and festered the area.
It was a conducive place, after all.
Beneath his footing on the rooftop, the trails and wisps of what may have been humans rose up and appeared before Li Yang.
A poltergeist rushed at him, howling and screaming—and it met the blade of his sword.
His own spiritual senses from being a cultivator was all that he needed to see the malicious ghost aura and qi that surrounded and rose around him. While they were all substantial in creating the Circle of Death, all those who still attempted to harm him soon met a quick death.
Or another death.
Dying twice possibly in that moment as the spirits, poltergeist and other unliving entities converged around him. They were unable to help themselves, as if something that were embedded in the centers of their beings were magnetized and called back forth to the circle of it all.
Where death began and was also the chance for a new life in death.
Somewhere in the hospital, a nurse about to cover a dead patient suddenly screamed at the sudden light that convulsed in one of their dying patient's eyes—as if this person was being filled by an unnatural strength that called for it to come.
Chunhua in her mother's room found nothing like that, her own mother's body just lying as if untouched by it all, but the little girl still covered her ears and tried to block out the sounds of numerous elements all coming together.
She had no idea where it had come from, or why it was happening at all, but she remained in place. The child fully aware that all of this was something she'd have to carry the burden of it all by herself.
The environment was plain horrific.
And yet this was what Li Yang needed to do.
He was in the center of it all.
A strange runic eerie green sundial-like marking ran through the rooftop and created strange channels of magic. Dark and unnatural energy ran through them similar to how one's energy flowed through the natural ley lines that existed in one's own body.
It was a mimicry of life.
An attempt of mocking and copying what real living was meant to be. The two of them were always opposites…
Or perhaps Death had always been just the other side of it all.
Regardless of it all, Li Yang was only there and waiting for the arrival of death-related entities to arrive—somebody, something that could lead him to the very same place where Luo Ju Di were to be.
He needed to find her.
Li Yang was prepared to do anything to find her.
And so the Heavens watched from above, not as all-seeing as they might have been, or choosing not to exert that much effort at all as they viewed through the lenses of a transmitter.
[ DatPeach: This is certainly what I've been waiting for! ]
[ The One Who Slaughters: To seek and attempt to reach the Duat… I wonder if it is fit for such a man as he is ]
[ The Observer 'Apache' Wonders At The Changes Of It All ]
[ The Observer 'Pomegranate' Is Silently Spectating ]
[ The Observer 'Sea Foam' Frowns At It All ]
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Chongming Island to Shanghai was approximately 90km away and took about nearly two hours if one were to travel via car. If there was anyone crazy to have attempted to do it by foot, then it was approximately eight hours away.
There was also a lovely ferry to ride on and that was what most people were inclined to take as they traveled across the east estuary of the Yangtze River.
To those who could afford an airplane ticket, then it was only three minutes away by flight.
Taiga couldn't exactly fly—the ages of cultivators on flying swords with their qi was something that had already long past them. If she were to ever have been alive to meet someone who was, then it may have been when she was nothing but a cub.
When the earth was young and the modern conveniences still hadn't fully sequestered the world for the individuals like her.
But that didn't matter to her.
To someone like Taiga, she could have been one of the people who did well in adjusting to their new environment. She placed the earpiece in her ear and spoke to the one at headquarters of Shen Society.
It was a little silly that her arrival seemed to match the sudden need for a higher-leveled cultivator amongst them.
"Yes, Taiga is confirming the big evil death cloud about three kilometers away. Taiga thinks she can do it on her own, but you can still send back up if you want. But whoever this person is will get a taste of Taiga's burning fists—okay, bye bye."
While Taiga was here to find Li Yang, it seemed like she still needed to do some cleaning up of bad guys! Well, a little bit of a gig never hurt Taiga's pockets and she needed to stop sulking after so much time.
The tigress spirit leapt from the next building onto the other as she made her way to the death cloud. Whoever that person was, they were surely going to be bound for a surprise!
Seriously, whoever was that uncool person was to start collecting the dead in Shanghai was absolutely none the wiser. They wouldn't know what hit them!
—-—-
Author's Note: DEATH! —Ahem, let's stop it right there. I'm not sure if we're going to head to Sung Jin-Woo, Death Monarch and all that. It's possible that Li Yang's skill set may head into that direction. But NOT advisable, you know? It's really hard to make anything new under the sun so tweaking and making notable changes are advisable to make the story fresh and different. Make sure to react violently if I were to head that direction xD Thanks for reading!