/*unedited*/

A few hours before the gathering of the cultivators…

A bloodied letter was sent to the gates of the Snowpeach town. All the soldiers can see is a lone undead dog holding the letter on its mouth. They didn't attack as the undead creature seems docile and is walking towards the gate. When it reaches 50 meters it stopped and drops the letter on the ground. Then the dog suddenly fell on the ground and stopped moving altogether.

n.o.body moves and just watched the dog and the letter with extreme vigilance. They didn't know what kind of tricks the necromancer is up to, but they would not lower their guard down. Suddenly a cultivator in his 30's jumps out of the gate and approached the letter cautiously. He has already scanned the area of more than 200 meters and found no undead creatures except for the unmoving dog.

He carefully picks up the letter and immediately flew towards the gate in one leap. Seeing that the letter is addressed to the town's mayor, the man didn't hesitate to scan it. After finding that there are no anomalies in the letter he quickly sent it to the mayor.

When the mayor receives the letter his face suddenly showed a stunned expression. His mind is in turmoil upon discovering that the necromancer is issuing a challenge to him.

"My son… My son is still alive! We… I… I need to rescue him." the mayor muttered.

But then a voice disrupted his thoughts.

"Mayor… it's a trap to lure you out. I don't know what's the grudge between you and the one who is causing this ruckus but I think you should come clean with this matter to us." A young woman suddenly appears from the shadows in front of the mayor.

She has already scanned the letter and learned of its content after the mayor opened it.

"You… I… I mean Princess, I'm sorry for not noticing you." the mayor stammered.

He didn't expect that the princess would show herself right at this moment.

"Su Aw… I heard of this name. He was cast out and was wanted by the kingdom because you reported him as a devil cultivator right?" Princess Xinge Lee said as she stood there looking at the mayor with her hands crossed under her ample chest.

"But from my investigations before coming here, I think this has got to do with your son's uncontrollable demeanor. I think you got you just deserve it if you ask me. But since that man has killed many people already then we have to make a move. But still I will say this to you; we will not be responsible for your son's demise. Our only goal is the necromancer." She said as she turns around and left.

Then a man suddenly walks out of the shadow and followed after her.

When the two were out and walking along the corridor, the man suddenly asked in a hushed tone.

"Mistress, what is your plan?"

Before Xinge Lee replied a blooming smile appear on her pretty face.

"I wanted to capture that necromancer fellow."

"Capture? Why? It would be very dangerous right?" the man asked with a knitted brow.

"Uncle Ang, what do you think of his power? Are you not curious about how can 1 man able to control thousands of corpses? I wanted to cut him up and see how he ticks." The woman's beautiful face suddenly contorted showing a hideous grin.

Upon hearing her words, Shadow Ang, the man following her suddenly feel s.h.i.+vered running down his back. He already knew how vicious this little princess could be. He has seen her torture and experiment on humans and beasts alike like a demon. She didn't care about the screams and the wailing of her victims.

Xinge Lee is the daughter of one of the king's concubines of lower status. And since her mother is of low status, she would always be bullied by her older brothers and sisters. That was until the day they discovered her talent. At the age of 5, she is able to reach the peak stages of the body refining realm. By the age of ten, she reached the peak of the spirit refining realm.

As a child, it is almost impossible for this to happen because of their naïve thinking and low understanding. But Xinge Lee is different, she is a genius.

When she reached the age of 15, she was able to break through the core refining realm in one go and reach the gold core realm, this is due to her secret which only her most trusted confidant knows. And the man following her is that trusted confidant, Shadow Ang.

Under her house is a huge labyrinth where many experiments are being done to augment and strengthen her cultivation. She did not spare any less effort in cultivating along with redefining and tampering her own dantian.

If people would discover this they would call her mad. How can someone sacrifice their own cultivation just for the sake of knowledge? But Xinge Lee is different; she would always prioritize knowledge over her own cultivation. But because of this, her power increase more significantly than others. And she calls this technique, self-augmentation.

This is also one of the reasons why when she heard of the necromancer, she was ecstatic and immediately volunteered to go.

…

In the undead village of Yong…

The gloomy atmosphere coupled with the dark mist covering a wide range area makes a small village looks like a graveyard rather than a village.

In a small hut atop a hill lays a man wrapped by red vines which seems like living veins. The vines have inserted themselves under the man's skin and in a motion of as if sucking or pumping something. His eyes are all white and his body slowly twitches every now and then and only inarticulate moaning sound can be heard escaping his mouth, while the foam is constantly forming on the side.

Then slowly, thick red and black veins started to bulge from under his skin. The man is suffering from intense pain but he could not do anything about it. He may want to choose death over this torture, but he cannot even control his own body. This man is Long Xilong, the son of the mayor of Snowpeach town.

Outside the hut stood a man wearing a long black cloak covering his body and even reaches to the ground, this man is the necromancer Su Aw.

His eyes are currently closed while his figure ramrod straight. Every now and then his eyelids would tremble and his brows would crest.

Deep within his mind, images of two people laughing and loving each other flashes back repeatedly. As if a broken movie which rewinds and forwards then jumps from scene to scene. He can clearly see the beautiful feature of her face, her blush, her smile, and her serene laughter. Right now those happy memories are coming back to him as he slowly absorbs the dark Qi surrounding his being.

Though dark Qi should invoke killing intent and blood l.u.s.t to a person, but to Su Aw it is different. Dark Qi for him invokes his happiest memories making him want to have it more.

After some time, Su Aw's eyes slowly open as a glint of power filled his body.

"I once again advanced. This time n.o.body can defeat me. I will let them taste blood, and I will conquer all the land of Wu! Kekeke…" Su Aw shouted.

Then his eyes sharply turn towards the hut where Long Xilong is currently being tortured both mentally and physically.

As Su Aw drowns himself from the feeling of getting his revenge, at last, a figure suddenly appears from within the mist. Wearing a black body tight cultivator's robe, a figure of a woman slowly approaches him. The woman's walking pace is like that of a normal human not like those who are undead or zombies who are unable to control or move smoothly. Her skin is pale as if blood has been drained from it. Her temperament is cold and her face is expressionless.

Instead of amber red which is normal to zombie cultivators, her eyes are pitch-black. Like a wormhole that would suck a person's soul whenever one would look into it.

With the beauty and elegance of the woman, one could not even differentiate her action between living and the undead. But the only thing that's evident that she is not a living person anymore is the beating of her heart, as deep on her chest it is already hallow.

Her body is also covered with st.i.tches, which just shows that the woman has suffered a brutal death.

As she walks towards Su Aw, his head turns towards her figure and a mix of emotion immediately filled his eyes. This woman has stayed with him, through life and death.

Though he was angry upon reading her memories and her thoughts, however, he recognizes her love for him which is genuine. And as her friend, he could not forgive those who killed her along with his wife.

Then the woman stood in front of him silently, and then a smile suddenly cracked on her pale lips.

"You're back!" Mer Li said in a hoa.r.s.e voice which made Su Aw show a smile.

Both are already aware of their circ.u.mstance and beauty is not in their eyes anymore. They are now driven by a different path, a path that would lead the whole of Wu in destruction.