Just like how the ordinary people here used their loose clothing to hide the fact that they had been fooled by the Corpse Kings and devoured, the Eternal Kingdom also used its beautiful exterior to hide its underground.
Silver led Lu Yin underground.
Lu Yin was not restricted, and no one was watching over him. He could not escape from the Eternal Kingdom.
The underground of the Eternal Kingdom was dark, and zombies would occasionally wander about unconsciously, growling softly.
"Only Corpse Kings with intelligence are allowed to leave. Otherwise, they can only stay underground. Captain, this is where you'll be staying from now on." Silver beamed at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings and stared into the distance. There were many rune lines there, some of which were very large, some of which were very small, and some of which were constantly changing.
More importantly, the entire underground area was covered by a layer of rune lines.
Lu Yin raised a hand, and a black gas floated out.
What is this? "Silver looked at Lu Yin." This is death energy. Captain, you probably haven't come into contact with it before. It's a power unique to my Specter Clan, and its effects are surprisingly good when fused with a Corpse King. This is also why my Specter Clan was able to smoothly join the Neohuman Alliance without being transformed into a Corpse King. "
Lu Yin stared at the death energy in the air. Never come into contact with it?
No, not only had he come into contact with it before, but he could also suppress it. Back at the Sea King's Dome, he had ordered Faceless to deal with Feng Mo and the Bo Duo, and he had succeeded.
Back then, he had guessed that suppressing death energy might have something to do with the Arcane Art of Life and Death, but no one had been able to help him analyze the specifics.
Regardless, he could still suppress death energy.
Lu Yin subconsciously did not want to get close to Silver, as Silver was also from the Specter Clan. If he fought with him, the Specter Clan might discover that Lu Yin could suppress death energy, which would be troublesome.
"Right, there's one more thing to tell you, Captain. Your transformation is no ordinary transformation." Silver smiled like a fox. "Twelve years. You've experienced twelve years of brilliance, and the Neohuman Alliance is looking forward to it like never before. Unlike those who have been transformed, the Seven Skygods want to transform you into the most perfect combat weapon. Congratulations, Captain, you won't immediately be transformed into a Corpse King."
Lu Yin looked at Silver. "So?"
Silver opened his eyes and met Lu Yin's gaze. "So, this is your only chance to escape."
Lu Yin laughed. "Escape?
Are you kidding me?
This is the Neohuman Alliance's headquarters, and the invincible Seven Skygods are right next to us. You want me to escape? "
Silver looked at Lu Yin for a while, but then he smiled and waved his hand. "It's just a joke. Don't take it seriously, captain."
Lu Yin had never been able to understand Silver, as he had no idea what this person was thinking or what he wanted to do. That smile of his made Lu Yin's blood run cold.
The Eternal Kingdom was filled with an aura of death. Along the way, Silver had told Lu Yin many things about the Neohuman Alliance. Perhaps it was because he believed that Lu Yin would not be able to escape, or perhaps it was because he was lonely, but Silver had given Lu Yin a lot of information about the Neohuman Alliance.
Not all members of the Neohuman Alliance were Corpse Kings, as there were humans as well. This included the Dark Inquisition, which was formed by the Specter Race, as well as spies from the various powers.
There were many powerful forces in the Human Domain, and almost all of these forces had spies from the Neohuman Alliance.
This fact shocked Lu Yin, but it wasn't too surprising.
Humans were all afraid of death, and he was the same. In the face of life and death, there were very few people who could survive. Most people were selfish.
"Of the Seven Skygods, there's one person who's the most mysterious. Even I've never seen him before, and that's Bai Wushen," Silver said. "Not only is Bai Wushen the most mysterious of the Seven Skygods, but he's also the only one who has a list of all the humans who are loyal to the Neohuman Alliance. That list is called 'Eternal Life.'"
Lu Yin listened quietly.
"I've heard that Bai Wushen himself is a beauty. Who knows? Captain, if you succeed in your transformation and become the perfect combat weapon, then you might have a chance to meet Bai Wushen." Silver smiled.
Lu Yin calmly followed him.
Along the way, Lu Yin saw countless Corpse Kings.
During Earth's Apocalypse, no more than five Corpse Kings had been born, but here, there were at least 50,000 of them.
Some of these Corpse Kings were extremely powerful, and their rune lines were not much weaker than Lu Yin's. Some Corpse Kings even glanced at him, causing him to shiver.
"These Corpse Kings stay underground all year round to absorb the aura of death. Ghouls are the same. They're my favorite companions," Silver said with a smile. He didn't stop talking along the way.
In the distance, a blood-curdling scream rang out.
Lu Yin looked over, and his eyes trembled. Someone's here?
In the distance, a man was kneeling on the ground, trembling. His body was covered in countless scars of various sizes, and his hair had fallen off. Death energy had entered his body through his scars, and then spewed out through his nose.
The man was experiencing unimaginable pain, and he howled in anguish. His words were unclear, and he was sometimes vicious and sometimes crazy.
Lu Yin watched quietly. This person wasn't a Corpse King, but rather a normal person. This meant that he had been transformed by death energy.
Silver snapped his fingers and pointed at the man.
Several Corpse Kings rushed out from the surroundings and dragged the man away.
"I'm sorry, Captain, for letting you see a failed experiment," Silver smiled at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin fell silent.
Silver smiled and continued walking forward.
Not long after, he stood in place and glanced at Lu Yin before slowly retreating.
Lu Yin was puzzled when a pair of white eyes opened in front of him. They were pale and emotionless as they stared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin met the white eyes and felt his entire body go numb. Was this an innate gift?
The white eyes came from a sinister-looking Corpse King. The moment Lu Yin's body went numb, the Corpse King charged at him and punched out.
Lu Yin's body trembled as he broke free from the numbness. He raised a hand and slapped out, sending the Corpse King flying.
The Corpse King crashed to the ground and roared as its eyes turned from white to gray. The Corpse King transformed, and its aura became much stronger as it charged at Lu Yin again.
Lu Yin frowned, but he slapped the Corpse King to the ground again. The Corpse King raised its head and roared at the sky. Black death energy appeared from its body and transformed into a blade that slashed at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin slapped the Corpse King once more, and this time, he completely obliterated it.
Silver applauded from nearby. "As expected of the captain. My Specter Clan's eye techniques are useless against you."
Lu Yin calmly looked at Silver. "What do you mean?"
Silver smiled. "That was a weapon that was successfully transformed. It was originally an Explorer with decent aptitude. The first stage of transformation was successful, allowing it to use my Specter Clan's eye techniques. The second stage of transformation was successful, allowing it to cultivate the Corpse King Transformation. What awaits it is the third stage, which will allow it to regain its rationality. Once that happens, it will be able to roam the Human Domain and work for us.
"And this is your final outcome, Captain. I just wanted you to see what you would become."
Lu Yin looked at the shattered Corpse King. "What's the success rate of this experiment?"
Silver raised a brow. "About one in a million."
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. This one in a million did not refer to the one in a million of an ordinary person. Rather, it referred to finding a cultivator with excellent aptitude from a large number of cultivators. Among those with excellent aptitudes, there was a one in a million chance of success. The rest of the people would either turn into mindless zombies or become Corpse Kings.
He was beginning to understand more and more why the Neohuman Alliance was the universe's public enemy. Even the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy wanted to destroy them. This organization was simply too dark.
"If all humans are transformed into zombies by the Neohuman Alliance, then what's the point of your lives?" Lu Yin asked.
Silver smiled. "Why should we transform all of them?
We can leave some of them behind. Haven't humans learned how to rear food since the birth of intelligence? "
Lu Yin looked at Silver deeply. There was nothing else to say about this person.
"Captain, your thoughts will change once you're transformed. Let's go. Your transformation isn't outside." Silver gestured for Lu Yin to follow him.
Lu Yin followed him deeper into the ground.
The deeper they went, the thicker the death energy became.
The Corpse Kings they encountered also became stronger.
Silver brought Lu Yin to the deepest part of the ground, where a giant pit was located. The boundless death energy was surging out of the pit.
Silver looked at Lu Yin in astonishment. "Aside from the Specter Clan, anyone who approaches this place will be invaded by the death energy. Captain, I'm impressed that you can last this long."
Lu Yin was startled. He had forgotten that normal cultivators would not be able to ignore such dense death energy.
Silver had only mentioned it briefly and did not probe any further. No matter what secrets Lu Yin had, once he was transformed by the death energy, he would have no choice but to join the Neohuman Alliance. Given the Hall of Honor's methods, there was no way they would let him live. Silver was certain that Lu Yin was aware of this.
No matter how big the secret was, it would only benefit the Neohuman Alliance in the future.
There were no Corpse Kings near the pit, and the death energy entering one's body was not that easy to endure. Aside from the Specter Clan, anyone who absorbed the death energy would have to do it step by step. Otherwise, they would easily explode.
Lu Yin did not absorb the death energy near the pit, but rather thousands of kilometers away. Silver had only brought him here to take a look. In Silver's words, once Lu Yin succeeded in absorbing the death energy, he would unconsciously approach the pit. At that point, he would be close to success.
Death energy surged out from the pit, but Lu Yin did not know where it was coming from.
Lu Yin arrived at a spot thousands of kilometers away from the pit. There were quite a few Corpse Kings entrenched around the pit, and all of them were unconsciously absorbing the death energy.
"Captain, you can begin now. Don't make things difficult for me." Silver stood nearby and smiled at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin clenched his fists, and there was a look of unwillingness in his eyes. But in the end, he relaxed his hands and sat down as if he had accepted his fate. This moment would eventually come, and regardless of whether he joined the Neohuman Alliance or not, he would not be able to escape the fate of absorbing death energy.
Lu Yin would usually leave a backup plan behind. For example, during the border war, he had the jade that Mister Mu had given him, and during the battle with Nightking Zhenwu, he had the support of Leon's Armada. Under normal circumstances, he would not do anything that was not within his control.
However, on the path of cultivation, life and death were determined by the heavens, and no one could guarantee their own safety. He had encountered many dangers in Ironblood Weave, and he had even been killed by Nightking Zhenwu once. What had left the deepest impression on him had been his life or death calamity on Driftcharge Planet. That had been the first time he had truly felt how insignificant a person could be.
He had once sworn that he would not allow himself to be placed in danger that he could not control. However, this trip to the Mountain and Sea Realm might very well be the end of his journey.