Chapter 716: Chapter 716: Mutual Destruction
Ethan looked back at Vel´Kha´Lems. "I thought you would attack me."
"I am still intrigued by what you are," the Lich replied, his glowing eye sockets fixed on Ethan. "I can still smell the Void Nightmare bloodline inside you, but there is another lineage alongside it that is equal or perhaps even more powerful. I do not understand. I have never heard of anything so powerful."
Ethan walked over to the central altar and sat down casually on one of the large stone steps. "And if I am a human? Will you kill me?"
"I do not see any fear in you," Vel´Kha´Lems countered, his skull tilting. "You could have maintained your nightmare form and left this place, yet you revealed yourself. Why, human?"
"I have plans for your army," Ethan said flatly. "I do not possess the power to break your seal and free you right now, but I can help you massacre everything on the surface. I have my own objectives, and it turns out your goals do not interfere with mine. I can help you."
"What do you seek, human?"
"Before I tell you, I want to know why you treat the Void Nightmares as your masters," Ethan demanded.
"You carry their blood but you do not know?"
"I have no idea. I do not know much about the undead either."
"The entities of the Void are ancient sovereigns," Vel´Kha´Lems explained, his deep voice rattling the stone. "We, the undead, must obey them. Only when an undead reaches a certain threshold can they speak as equals with the beings of the Void."
"What level do you need, and what level do you have right now?" Ethan asked.
"Everyone below the King of the Dead is considered a common corpse," the Lich stated. "I am merely a simple undead. I have not reached the realm of a King of the Dead to speak as an equal."
Ethan chuckled softly at the monster’s definition of a ’simple’ undead. "Now I can tell you what I seek. I want to utterly destroy the sects dominating this region, and I want to use your legions to do it. While I infiltrate their ranks from the inside, you will harvest the vital essence you need to free yourself, and my objectives will be fulfilled. What do you think?"
Vel´Kha´Lems remained silent for a moment, the dark aura around his skeletal hands pulsing slowly. "A collaboration between a human vessel carrying the highest sovereign bloodline and a sealed general of the sea... It is an unprecedented metric. How do you plan to guide my legions without raising suspicions among your peers?"
"The high command on the surface believes this mountain is simply an ancient resource outpost," Ethan explained, leaning back against the cold altar. "I will return to them alone. I will tell them that the original vanguard breached the deep seal, unleashed an uncontrollable plague of primitive monsters, and was completely slaughtered. I will guide their main armies directly into your jaws under the guise of an investigation."
The Lich’s jaws stretched into a hideous grin, his cackling laughter echoing through the colossally vast chamber. "They will march straight into my domain, thinking they are reclaiming a frontier outpost, only to provide the massive mountain of fresh cultivator blood I require to corrode these divine seals."
"Exactly," Ethan said, his amethyst eyes flashing with cold calculation as the black tattoos on his skin settled. "You get your vital essence to break your confinement, and I get to bury the Crimson Sect and the northern factions using a borrowed blade. Do we have an agreement, Vel´Kha´Lems?"
The massive Lich bowed his hooded head once more, his skeletal hand pressing flat against his ribcage. "Your strategy aligns perfectly with my hunger, human noble. Command my outer legions as you see fit. Let the surface world bleed."
Vel´Kha´Lems reached into his dark robes and pulled out a heavy, obsidian ring carved with ancient runes, handing it to Ethan. "Take this. With this ring, you will be able to command my legions."
Ethan slipped the cold ring onto his finger. "Good. How will you collect their blood essence from down here?"
"Do not worry," the Lich replied, a dark rattle in his throat. "As long as my legions kill them, I can absorb their essence across the distance."
"Then let it be so," Ethan said.
He turned and walked back up the massive stone steps, leaving the central hall. As he passed the remaining hordes of skeletons and zombies, they no longer tried to attack him. Instead, they shrank back, trembling with the same instinctual fear they had shown when he was in his nightmare form.
Ethan smiled, speaking internally. "Everything is prepared to begin, hehe."
[Before you unleash the attack, we should study these entities] Crul suggested, his voice serious. [You are the first person since the Emperor of the Dead to have an opportunity like this.]
"That reminds me," Ethan said, his amethyst eyes scanning the stone floor of the corridor.
Spread out across the ground were dozens of dark, shimmering puddles. The priceless Water of the Dead was pooled casually along the rocks, looking like common rainwater after a storm. Ethan pulled several high-grade alchemical bottles from his spatial ring and began filling them, sealing the dense, necrotic liquid inside.
[What do you intend to do with that toxin?] Crul asked.
"With everything that has just unfolded, I have formulated a massive layout," Ethan replied, a chilling smile touching his lips as he stored the bottles. "We will continue focusing on our ascension... but what do you think would happen if someone strategically leaked information regarding this location? After these divine potions suddenly manifest in the upper markets, the major factions will swarm this valley in mass."
Ethan let out a low, dark chuckle that echoed down the long, shadowed tunnel. "Would that not be the easiest way to ¿weaken them all? Hehe..."
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From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.
Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.
Body Refinement Realm
Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement
Spiritual Gathering Realm
Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation
Spiritual Core Realm
Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)
Spiritual Soul Realm
Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion
Golden Core Realm
Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction
Spiritual Sea Realm
The Melting Tide / The Tidal Horizon / The Sea Mist Ascension
Dao Manifestation Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Spiritual Transcendence
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
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Sword mastery levels
Sword Intent.
Sword Aura.
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