A dark, silent abandoned underground tunnel.Footsteps echoed.
The man, with his neatly combed hair and dressed in fine clothes, carried himself with an air of elegance.
"Good evening, everyone."
"I come to you with a sincere heart, seeking to negotiate."
In the darkness.
Shadows quietly emerged.
They took up advantageous positions, guarding the exits at both ends, before slowly closing in.
The man was surrounded.
"The Skinner..."
A shadow was the first to speak, "You've messed with us before, and yet you dare to seek us out?"
"I'm here to discuss a partnership. The reputation of the Silent Church is well-known, worthy of being my ally," The Skinner said with a smile.
"Just you?" the shadow asked.
"Don't be like that. Well then, let me start with a gift," The Skinner said.
He opened his briefcase.
Inside, there was a pulsating heart.
"The traitor that your church has been hunting, I've had the pleasure of dealing with him. I thought about it and realized his heart might be something you desire—"
"After all, you enjoy making sacrifices like this."
"I offer it to you as a sign of respect."
The shadows stared at the heart, slowly coming to understand.
He had said he came with "a sincere heart to negotiate"—he had been referring to this heart.
"What do you want?"
the shadow asked.
"We're planning a trip to the Great Tomb, and I'd like some of your people to assist us in creating a diversion," The Skinner said.
"No," the shadow refused flatly, "It's one thing to mess with mortals, but entering the Great Tomb would immediately alert the powerful masters at the front lines; it's bound to fail."
"We only need a few of your experts," The Skinner said.
"Each of our brothers is precious, we can't use them as pawns for you," the shadow replied.
"I'm undertaking a significant endeavor. In the future, when it's spoken of, the Silent Church's contributions will be acknowledged, and you will be in a more advantageous position on the labor market," The Skinner said.
"We won't be involved in your business," the shadow stated emphatically.
The Skinner sighed and said,
"You hide underground like mice, living too cautiously, without romance or an artistic heart—do you only wish to scrape by for life?"
"We have our own ideals," the shadow said.
"But when it comes to taking action, you're worse than the robbers who hold up banks, worse even than lovers in the throes of passion," The Skinner said.
He threw the briefcase to the ground and turned to leave.
"Wait."
The shadow stopped him.
"What is it?" The Skinner asked.
"Skinner, only we can kill our own cultists. You not only killed him, but you consumed him. That was wrong," the shadow said.
The Skinner froze, his eyes widening as he said,
"You lost dozens of lives and still couldn't catch him; I solved this problem for you, and now you want to kill me?"
"We just happen to have over twenty of our best here today, you won't escape," the shadow said.
"I always thought you were mad, but it turns out you're idiots," The Skinner sighed.
He grasped the unseen wires in his hands.
The shadows converged.
A fight was imminent.
Suddenly, a red light materialized in the void.
In a flash.
All of the shadows were instantly decapitated.
The smell of blood was pervasive.
The Skinner hastily retracted the wires, crouched on the ground, and bowed respectfully,
"Oh, my master, for such a trivial matter, there was no need for you to act personally."
Yun Ni floated in mid-air, her body radiating a deep red aura, releasing waves of power like fierce winds.
She looked expressionlessly at the bodies on the ground and said,
"There's been a change of plans; we're not going to the Great Tomb."
"Ah? Master?"
"Prepare yourself. I am about to create a barrier that will shield us from the scrutiny of all the mighty beings in this world. Moreover—"
"You go and find a way to jam cell phone signals."
"Master, what is this about?"
"The secret of the destroyed sculpture can no longer be concealed."
"You and I are out of options. We must do something within three days—"
"Capture or kill Shen Ye."
Yun Ni lifted her head, gazing into the void of darkness.
Her gaze seemed to pierce through everything, directly observing the crimson planet suspended in the cosmos.
...
Still at the Human Territory's secret passage.
Honestly, emerging from here time and again would eventually raise suspicions among those who are paying attention.
But—
Now, with "Stellar Shift," I can set two more points!
Shen Ye exited the secret passage to find snow falling outside.
The steep highlands were blanketed in white.
In the midst of snow and wind.
Only a few scattered soldiers patrolled the area.
As soon as Shen Ye appeared, they saw him.
"It's Brother Peiqi!"
"Haha, long time no see, Saint Peiqi!"
A few soldiers greeted from a distance.
The corners of Shen Ye's mouth twitched slightly.
Long time no see?
It had only been a day!
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"Yeah, long time no see—it's really crappy weather today," he continued the conversation.
"Come to our tent for something to eat and drink?" a soldier invited.
"I still have a mission to take care of, maybe next time, brothers," Shen Ye responded.
"Alright then, wish you all the best," the soldier patted his shoulder.
"Goodbye, and I wish you all the best as well," Shen Ye said.
"Goodbye."
With a jolt, Shen Ye soared into the sky and quickly disappeared into the vast snowstorm.
The soldiers turned away, admiring Saint Peiqi's strength, and buried their heads to continue their patrol duties.
After flying for a while, Shen Ye landed behind a wind-sheltered rock.
He reached out and pulled out a note.
When a few soldiers had gathered around to make small talk, one of them covertly signaled "I love you" with his hands, then patted himself, while slipping the note to him.
—It was someone from the Shadow Brotherhood!
Shen Ye unfolded the note, which read:
"Prince Norton will be put under house arrest upon his arrival in the imperial capital, and will be executed after the departure of the delegates from the three nations."
... Surely not.
The Emperor wants to kill his own son?
Shen Ye recalled Prince Norton's previous words, as well as his urgent and anxious demeanor and actions.
Perhaps there truly was a problem within the royal family.
"What do we do now?"
The Great Skeleton asked.
"For the next few days, I'll be accompanying Madame Daisy, representing the Undead on the way to the human capital—I'll have to let her know that I'm leaving ahead of schedule," Shen Ye said.
"Then, once you've taken care of that, I will help you advance your Whispers of the Dark by one rank, and then we're off to Hell!"
"Is that so?" Shen Ye was surprised.
"Nonsense, you helped me gather all the materials, so of course, I have to help you," the Great Skeleton said righteously.
"Great! I'll go sort out the Dark Night Ros Dance Troupe first, and then find a secluded place!"
Shen Ye took off again, crossing over mountains and through valleys to arrive at Undead Town.
"Hey, Great Skeleton, is there such a thing as a messenger job among the undead?"
"Yes, those flying undead are quite happy to do that kind of work, as long as you pay them enough."
Shen Ye then went to the town's post office, got paper and ink, and wrote a letter to Madame Daisy.
It was to say that he was sorry for prematurely sensing the pathos in the dance routine, and that he would set out ahead of the troupe to continue his understanding of dance and song. He would head to the human Royal City and wait there to meet her in a few days.
After writing the letter, he handed it to a skeletal vulture and paid six Bone Coins.
"Don't worry, I guarantee it will reach the elegant and noble Madame Daisy," the skeletal vulture bowed slightly.
"Then I'll be counting on you," Shen Ye said.
The skeletal vulture spread its wings and flew away.
Shen Ye immediately left the town and continued flying, landing in a mountain range amidst the snowstorm, where he found a cave.
The cave was dry and warm.
A bear was sleeping.
"Shh, we are outsiders, let's not disturb its hibernation," Shen Ye whispered.
"But whatever advancement you're about to undergo will definitely wake it up," the Great Skeleton said with difficulty.
Shen Ye approached and patted the bear.
"Roar?" the bear looked up, eyes bleary with sleep.
"It really wasn't in deep sleep," Shen Ye sighed. Searᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Smack!
He struck the bear on the neck with a Hand Blade.
The bear passed out.
"Remember, let's try not to disturb its hibernation; it's not easy for it either," Shen Ye said in a lowered voice.
"It's having an even harder time now," the Great Skeleton sighed.
That said, the two quickly got to work setting things up.
A rudimentary altar was completed.
A variety of Nightmare Crystals and materials were meticulously placed by the Great Skeleton, who also inscribed an intricate and elaborate Rune Array.
It instructed Shen Ye to stand in the center of the altar and began chanting long and obscure spells.
"Do I need to do anything?" Shen Ye asked.
"No need, the materials are all prepared, but the spell is very long, so you'll have to stand there for a while," the Great Skeleton replied, then immediately resumed chanting.
Bored from standing, Shen Ye simply took out his phone and started binge-watching a show.
One episode finished.
Then he watched another.
Are you kidding me, this spell is so lengthy?
He looked up, and the Great Skeleton was still chanting relentlessly.
Sigh.
This skeleton really doesn't have it easy.
He continued binge-watching.
After another episode, suddenly there were bursts of text in the void.
Wait—
This wasn't a comment section!
Lines of tiny glowing letters appeared out of nowhere:
"Your 'Whispers of the Dark' has successfully advanced."
"You have gained a new effect."
"Whispers of the Dark."
"Intermediate (Evolutionary)."
"Using the corpses of sentient beings or divine spirits as a medium, their souls must answer your call, crawling up from Hell or Purgatory to truthfully reveal what they know; only then will their souls find rest."
"—Continued advancement will become the foremost of the Three Divine Skills of the Undead Race!"
The advancement was a success!
The intermediate Whispers of the Dark could now control the corpses of divine spirits, forcing even the gods to answer his questions!
And this time, the skill's status in the industry was clearly laid out.
The foremost of the Three Divine Skills of the Undead Race.
—This was insane!
All the light and commotion on the altar vanished.
The Great Skeleton sat down with a thud, leaning against the bear, panting heavily:
"I don't care, I want some spicy crayfish."
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