Lord of Rot

Leech suddenly woke up in bed.

The sky outside the window was still dark.

Surprisingly, he didn’t feel too mentally exhausted.

’After becoming a Transcendent, my rest and sleep quality have improved quite a bit.’

He used his Spiritual Power to search for the Water Nymph on the coast but couldn’t find her. It seemed she had left to explore the great sea.

’She should be fine. If anyone’s in danger, it’s probably others.’

Recalling the Water Nymph’s powerful Spiritual Power, which could be used as a direct offensive weapon, Leech set aside his worries.

If the Water Nymph couldn’t handle it, he certainly wouldn’t be of any help either. It was better to let her explore on her own.

’Checking the time... it should be about ready.’

Leech closed his eyes, and his Spiritual Power delved into the underground castle in the cape’s cavern.

He happened to find Aina, who was planting Ghost Finger Grass with the Red-haired Earthlings. A thick, toxic mist already floated around the Magic Potion, which was growing well.

Leech first entered Aina’s body to communicate with her for a moment.

”A new companion has woken up?” Aina showed a rare trace of interest.

Leech said, ”Interested? Then let’s go take a look together.”

The Corpse Ghost, carrying two consciousnesses, headed for the castle.

The coffin lid had been pushed aside, and a figure was sitting inside.

This was the way of Corpse Ghosts made from Griffin Grass—low intelligence, sluggish behavior, and no impulse to act.

Leech looked at the coffin through the eyes of Corpse Ghost Aina.

A mature woman with red hair and a slender figure slowly turned her head to look at him.

There were distinct golden patterns on her neck.

The red hair was a side effect of the Extraordinary Magic Potion.

”And you are...?” Leech really couldn’t stop himself from asking.

Was this sexy, mature, queen-like woman sitting in the coffin really the same person as the Necromancer whose chest had drooped into the shape of a butterfly? There wasn’t the slightest resemblance at all.

’This must be the effect of the Extraordinary Magic Potion again.’

Leech suddenly thought that Griffin Grass could open up an unexpected market. For example, it could turn some dying old nobles into youthful figures with firm skin and hot bodies.

But there was a high probability that their bodies wouldn’t be able to handle it, and they would die from the pain before their grand transformation was successful.

Rather than her transformation from a butterfly to steamed buns, Leech was more concerned with the knowledge inside the Necromancer’s mind.

His consciousness invaded.

Leech quickly flipped through the Necromancer’s entire life.

Her original name was Ah Yamei.

Her identity was a Necromancer, but unfortunately, she was not a Transcendent.

On second thought, it made sense. The most basic trait of a Transcendent was a body stronger than that of an ordinary person. If Ah Yamei had been a Transcendent, she couldn’t have had her head so easily plucked off by Aina at close range.

Ah Yamei had mastered many types of Undead Magic, such as raising zombies, raising skeletons, voodoo, creating Witch Demons, and so on. In addition, she had the mental fortitude essential for a Mage, and... Teleportation Magic!

The Teleportation Magic came from an ancient Human Skin Scroll that Ah Yamei had acquired by chance.

It only stated that enough fresh blood could open a teleportation gate, and it could only directionally teleport fixed objects.

The Magic was incomplete, and part of it wasn’t even written in Lu Leiyi. Ah Yamei had combined it with the sacrificial techniques of tribal priests who worshipped an Evil God. She had noticed that during their rituals, the offerings would genuinely vanish into thin air—a clear sign of Space Magic. By merging these concepts, she managed to barely replicate the Teleportation Magic.

The condition for its use was that a large amount of fresh flesh and blood had to be prepared each time.

The final result was quite good; the Magic worked properly. It just required preparing a large amount of flesh and blood each time.

The principle behind the Teleportation Skill was not difficult to understand: place an anchor on an object, then, when needed, use a sacrifice of flesh and blood to open a teleportation gate. The anchored object could then pass through the gate.

The Magic was specific in nature. The anchor was crucial; an object without an anchor had a high chance of being torn apart by the teleportation gate when passing through.

This Magic was not complete; it had to be used with an anchor to determine the location.

But for Leech, this was indeed the first teleportation technology that could potentially be used in combat.

With sufficient preparation, it wouldn’t be impossible for a massive army to appear by his side in an instant.

But considering the terrifying consumption of flesh and blood, summoning a few dozen targets would probably require hundreds of cattle. The phrase ”a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood” couldn’t even begin to describe it.

Large-scale teleportation for battle was likely impossible.

However, Leech could use this method to temporarily solve the problem of not being able to keep powerful Corpse Ghosts with him.

Like the Corpse Demon Giant Lizard—if he had this Magic, it wouldn’t have to wander around outside trying to look cute with a pot on its head.

Even Leech himself could become an anchored target. When he was in danger, he could have the Corpse Ghosts use the Magic from the safety of the cavern to summon him back. The premise, however, was that he had to ensure he wouldn’t get snapped in half with a CRUNCH, like that one Undead Bone Dragon.

Speaking of which, it was a pity that Ah Yamei had placed the Bone Dragon’s spatial anchor on its head. After the Space Gate snapped the Bone Dragon in two, who knew where the Teleportation Skill had tossed the other half of its body. It was highly likely now wandering in the void.

Otherwise, Leech would have had another powerful Bone Dragon under his command.

Even if the combat power of an Undead Bone Dragon couldn’t compare to a real Giant Dragon, or even a living Two-Legged Flying Dragon, it could still crush the vast majority of Transcendents.

Leech could only sigh with regret in his heart.

Leech had only taken a quick, cursory look at the Necromancer Ah Yamei’s memories.

She had once been a merchant’s daughter. After her father’s business failed, he sold her to a nobleman to pay off his debts. Selling one’s own children to cover debts was not an uncommon practice. As long as it could be exchanged for money, even selling one’s own father was considered normal—otherwise, where would the saying about a ”Silver Moon daddy” have come from?

But the nobleman didn’t want Ah Yamei for any unspeakable, shameful acts. He was researching Undead Magic and needed fresh corpses.

And the freshest corpses, of course, were those freshly slaughtered.

Ah Yamei was very clever. After quickly assessing her situation, while the other boys and girls who had been bought as test subjects were still crying and struggling, Ah Yamei had already proactively chosen to submit to the nobleman and become his accomplice.

She would drag out the wailing boys and girls and watch with her own eyes as the nobleman cast his spells.

She watched as a living person’s flesh and blood exploded, leaving only a skeleton standing alone, which then, with a CLATTER, collapsed into a pile of bloody bones on the ground.

After successfully securing her position as a little helper, Ah Yamei strove to better herself. She frantically and secretly learned the nobleman’s magical knowledge. Fortunately, her talent was immense. The nobleman mistakenly thought something was wrong with his own methods, when in reality, he was simply not talented enough.

Ah Yamei took advantage of the time the nobleman spent slaughtering the young test subjects to rapidly improve. She succeeded in making a discarded corpse stand up and transform into a Skeleton Soldier.

With a Skeleton Soldier at her command, that very day, when the nobleman wasn’t paying attention, Ah Yamei used the Skeleton Soldier to launch a surprise attack, killing him from behind. She then turned him into a second Skeleton Soldier.

The nobleman had spent years and years in this place because researching as a Necromancer was forbidden. This was why Ah Yamei could kill him without worrying about repercussions.

After killing the nobleman, Ah Yamei did not let the others go. She knew very well that if her identity as a Necromancer was exposed, only a dead end awaited her.

For the sake of her future safety, she had to ensure that no one knew she understood Undead Magic.

And so, amidst the terrified screams of the other boys and girls, Ah Yamei killed them all and used their corpses to create her skeletons.

Relying on these skeletons, she slowly grew stronger. It was a pity she had no teacher; her progress to this day was entirely due to her talent and luck.

For a long time after that, Ah Yamei wandered the continent. The tempering between life and death made Ah Yamei understand more and more that she could not underestimate her opponents. She always made a habit of being fully prepared before a battle, because a single moment of carelessness could mean death.

She hated the feeling of death.

Decades passed in the blink of an eye. Ah Yamei’s body began to age. She didn’t want to die just like that, so she prepared to transform herself into the legendary Witch Demon. But the lore of the Witch Demon was too mysterious and strange. Even after Ah Yamei killed scholars who had studied corpses and immortality, she couldn’t find much in their literature about how to become a Witch Demon or live longer.

As her life was about to end, during the Red Moon last year, Ah Yamei gritted her teeth and chose to transform herself into a Witch Demon. In the end, she became the figure Leech had first seen.

Loose, sagging skin was draped over her bones like a bedsheet, and her face was even more terrifying than that of a ghastly white Skeleton Soldier.