"Hmm…" Necro's mind wandered as he captured hundreds more Demon Beasts with his Branches and Roots. "Now that I think about it, where is that Bai Ning girl? She didn't betray , did she?"
Seeing as he had yet to be surrounded and threatened to hand over the Power Essence, he doubted that to be the case.
"Well… hopefully she's okay."
Even though their personalities were completely different, that girl reminded him a lot of Yi Yu. He'd prefer that she remained safe and sound.
"Moreover, she's the only one I can use right now to obtain information related to Yi Yu…"
Suddenly!
A human presence appeared on Necro's radar, urging him to discern the identity of its owner.
"Oh, it's Bai Ning." He relaxed his sharpened Roots. "She's finally co back. I'm curious about what she has to say."
However, the mont she ca within walking distance of him, Necro could imdiately tell that sothing was wrong. The face she was making was…
"Is everything okay?" he asked. "Why are you making a face like sothing's bothering you greatly?"
"...Lord Tree…" Bai Ning began in a difficult tone, struggling to et Necro's gaze. "That… the one you wanted to look into. Yi Yu…"
"Yes? What about her??"
Necro had a really bad feeling.
And for so reason, he didn't want to hear the next words that ca out of her mouth…
Finally turning her head up, Bai Ning, through bitten lips, said, "Yi Yu… she died."
Necro's breath caught in his throat.
For a mont, ti seed to halt. The wind that rustled the ancient leaves fell silent, and even the faint chirping of spirit birds vanished, as if the world itself recoiled from the news.
"…What?" His voice was low. Disbelieving. Dangerous.
Bai Ning flinched.
"She was found at the edge of the Withering Lotus Swamp over a dozen years ago." She sharply spoke each word, like glass being forced past her lips. "They say… her body was discovered without clothes; signs of extre physical and ntal abuse were also present. She… she died a horrible death…"
Necro's fury bubbled up like never before, the air around him distorting with raw, untempered force. Bark began to peel from the trunk of the great tree behind him, roots shivering deep below.
"She was so kind," he whispered. "And yet there are those out there who'd do sothing like that to soone like her…"
"She had traces of soul-forging incense on her robe," Bai Ning added, her voice shaking now. "That scent… it only cos from the Hundred-Eyed Sect."
A silence heavier than steel fell between them.
The clouds darkened.
Necro slowly raised his gaze, eyes no longer warm, no longer human — but cold, clear, and ancient. Eyes like the roots of the world had opened within him.
"I see," he said with a darkened expression, each syllable reverberating with power. "The Hundred-Eyed Sect… Very well then."
OOOM!
"!!!"
The imnse power emanating from Necro was so great that even Bai Ning, who was in the Flesh Refinent Realm, buckled underneath the pressure. She looked up at the huge tree with fear-filled eyes, doing her best not to pass out from the suffocating feeling of oppression.
"Tell ," Necro ordered coldly, the imnse power from before disappearing as if it never existed. "Tell everything you know of this Hundred-Eyed Sect."
"Y-Yes, Lord Tree…!" Bai Ning replied with a trembling voice, still reeling from what she had just experienced.
Unbelievably terrifying!
Lord Tree was an existence straight out of a nightmare!
Without further delay, Bai Ning told Necro all that she knew of the Hundred-Eyed Sect.
From this lengthy explanation, he learned that they were an Evil Sect and that they were sothing akin to rivals of the Greenfla Sect. It was often that the disciples from both sides had scuffles with one another, always fighting over this or that.
However, for Necro, none of this mattered. He only wanted their nas and the strength of their strongest mbers.
"Half-step Qi Condensation Realm, Lord Tree," Bai Ning said nervously. "That is the Realm of their Sect Leader and Grand Elders."
Necro went silent, clearly expecting sothing else from Bai Ning.
"T-Their nas, oh yes! Well… to be frank, Lord Tree, no nas were revealed in the tragic report made on Direct Disciple Yi Yu. To , it seed that both the Greenfla and Hundred-Eyed Sects were quick to brush the whole matter under the rug."
Necro's countenance worsened, his killing intent surging like an unstoppable tsunami.
"Good, good," Necro said in a delirious tone, his sharp, terrifying features twisting devilishly. "I'll ensure that they get swept under the rug as well, never to be heard from again!"
RUMBLE!!
Tremors spread out from the monstrous tree, forcing Bai Ning even deeper into the ground.
"Return to the Greenfla Sect," Necro commanded with a seething tone. "Act like normal. Continue your days as you usually would."
*Drip!*
Squeezing out a droplet of Power Essence onto the scared girl, Necro said, "This is your reward for the information. Keep quiet until everything is done, and you'll receive three more droplets."
WAAA!
Ascended straight to the Peak of the Flesh Refinent Stage!
So easy!?
'If I obtain three more droplets, won't I directly advance to the Bone Refinent Stage!??'
"You can count on , Lord Tree!" Bai Ning bowed in reverence. "I'll make sure not to reveal anything about your lordship, or give any inclination of your future actions!"
"Then go," Necro shooed her off with a Branch. "I wish to be alone right now."
"Understood!"
After Bai Ning's departure, the wind blew ever harder, shaking Necro's canopy. The atmosphere turned lancholic, with a blue hue dyeing the mood.
"So you're dead, Yi Yu…"
A whisper echoed throughout eternity, one filled with an indescribable sadness. A… familiar sadness…
"You made promises of staying by my side forever," Necro continued with a low voice. "Promises you couldn't keep…"
It was uncertain who he was referring to.
Even he himself didn't know…
"This path… why did I start walking it again…? I… I don't rember…"
Then it hit him—like an explosion of realization.
"For power," Necro uttered, a resolute gleam shining. "It has always been for the sake of power. For greater strength. Only that way can everything be within my control."
Whether in his previous life or this one, that fact never changed.
"Such a lonely… lonely path…"
A sigh that carried with it countless millions of years' worth of solitude resounded through the barren landscape.
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