Chapter 1 Dawn

The sunlight tore through the inky night, and glorious rosy clouds appeared in the east.

Just yesterday, the Western Alliance had been shaken by an event that shocked everyone.

All ten of the elders on God Mountain were declared dead, and the Divine Emperor replaced the original Grand Elder, becoming the sole king of the Western Alliance.

This sudden upheaval left countless people dumbfounded.

No one had imagined that God Mountain, which had always been high above, looking down on all things, and regarded as a sacred place on earth, would announce its disappearance in such a short period of time.

This earth-shattering event had kept countless people awake last night.

But no matter what earth-shattering events had occurred yesterday, the sun still rose as usual today.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, causing Qiao Yu to open his eyes.

The first thing he did upon waking was to reach out and touch his *jù*, and when he felt it, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, I can still feel it. Professor Shen didn't turn me into a necromantic body."

The feeling of surviving a disaster filled Qiao Yu with immense relief.

Only when his attention returned did he finally feel the waves of pain coming from his body.

He felt as if his body had been run over by a train; everything ached terribly, and there wasn't a single place that didn't hurt.

"Damn... that dog really went for the kill!"

Qiao Yu grimaced in pain. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

"You're awake? Looks like that Emperor-tier healing mage is pretty skilled."

Shen Jianshu, holding a thermos cup, stood next to Qiao Yu and asked.

"What happened to your injuries? Did you destroy God Mountain?"

"Of course not. I told you I was just there to offer my regards. By the time I got to God Mountain, those elders were already mostly dead."

"As for my injuries..." Qiao Yu revealed a grin full of gritted teeth. "I have to thank my good uncle, who's rotten from head to toe!"

"Bai Shiyan? You ran into him? And you managed to escape from him?" Shen Jianshu was somewhat incredulous.

He had personally fought Bai Shiyan before, and that guy was as freakish as a monster.

"I wouldn't have been able to escape, if it weren't for this thing I inherited from God Mountain!"

Thinking of this, Qiao Yu finally showed a knowing smile, displaying the Void Domain Gate to Shen Jianshu.

"Hmm, so that's how you escaped to my office that day?" Shen Jianshu asked.

Qiao Yu nodded, then seemed to remember something and quickly spoke. m..oΓg

"Oh, right! Professor Shen, we don't need to target the Western Alliance anymore. I've settled things with the Divine Emperor!"

"What do you mean by settled things?" Shen Jianshu took a sip of hot tea, his expression somewhat puzzled.

"Oh, I mean I signed a necromantic contract with the Divine Emperor, the kind with a master-servant relationship."

Before Qiao Yu could finish speaking, Shen Jianshu sprayed a mouthful of hot tea directly onto his face.

"Cough cough! Cough cough cough!"

"What did you say? You signed a necromantic contract with a living person?" Shen Jianshu's eyes widened.

"Yeah... yeah, what's wrong with that?" Qiao Yu reached out and wiped the tea off his face. Judging from Shen Jianshu's reaction, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Shen Jianshu gave him a strange look.

"It's not a big deal, except that signing a necromantic contract with a living person is also a violation of taboos, just like casting a necromantic forbidden spell. You'll be dragged into the necromantic world."

"Ah?!" Qiao Yu was stunned. "Professor Shen, why didn't you tell me sooner!"

"You didn't ask... and I didn't expect you to be such a blockhead. The contract is literally called the 'Necromantic Contract,' and you still used it on a living person. What were you thinking?"

Shen Jianshu sighed and shook his head.

"But don't worry too much. If other necromancers were dragged into the necromantic world, they would definitely die, because their necromantic spells would all be useless there. But you're different from other mages; your physical body is extremely strong, so you have some ability to protect yourself."

"I'll try to open a gate from the outside to rescue you. It'll take about three to five days. During that time, as long as you don't cause trouble and don't provoke legendary undead creatures like the Purgatory Corpse King in the necromantic world, you should be relatively safe."

Shen Jianshu patted Qiao Yu on the shoulder, signaling him to relax.

Qiao Yu's face immediately turned into a bitter gourd. The necromantic world, the world of the dead—could that be a good place?

"Professor Shen, how long do I have before I'm dragged into the necromantic world?" Qiao Yu asked, looking up.

"3." Shen Jianshu raised three fingers.

"Three days? That's not bad. My injuries should be almost healed by then." Qiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

But then Shen Jianshu put one finger down.

"2."

Qiao Yu: "..."

"1."

As soon as Shen Jianshu finished speaking, a black hand reached out from the void behind Qiao Yu, the same hand that had snatched the necromantic contract that day.

But this time, the target was Qiao Yu!

Qiao Yu gave Shen Jianshu a resentful look, and then he was dragged into the necromantic world by the large hand.

Shen Jianshu was a little worried.

"That kid is too much of a troublemaker. I hope he doesn't get dragged too deep..."

Shen Jianshu sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began searching for Qiao Yu in the vast necromantic world.

At this time, Qiao Yu was being dragged by that large hand, flying deeper into the necromantic world.

After entering the necromantic world, the surrounding scenery changed dramatically.

The entire sky and earth were a depressing blackish-red, like dried blood.

The air was filled with a putrid and rancid stench, emanating from something unknown.

The surrounding scenery rushed past. Qiao Yu saw countless skeletons, undead giant kun swimming in the sky, and charging headless knights.

The undead creatures that he had summoned to fight in the past were everywhere in this world.

"Hey, buddy, where are you taking me?"

Qiao Yu asked the large hand, but no one paid any attention to him. The hand was like a machine on an assembly line, dragging Qiao Yu deeper and deeper.

As they went deeper into the necromantic world, the undead creatures around them became more and more powerful.

Qiao Yu even saw two Netherworld Bone Dragons fighting each other.

After flying for an unknown amount of time, the large hand finally released Qiao Yu, who fell towards the ground like a rabbit dropped from the sky by an eagle.

He circulated his Emperor-tier power, trying to make himself fly for a short time, but it had no effect at all.

This place seemed to be an air-restricted zone!

But what about the Netherworld Bone Dragons and the undead giant kun that were flying in the sky just now? Was it only living things that were restricted from flying?

Without time to think, Qiao Yu crashed into the blackish-red rock with a loud bang, creating a large crater in the shape of the character 木 (wood).

"That hurt... damn it."

Qiao Yu grimaced and crawled out of the crater.

He was already injured, and the fall had torn open many of his wounds.

After resting for a while, Qiao Yu finally had time to look around at his surroundings.

As soon as he raised his head, he saw a stone tablet in front of him, exuding an aura of ancient desolation.

And on the stone tablet were engraved two large, blood-red characters—"Shishan" (尸山, Corpse Mountain)!