Plague Lord (2)

A pair of vibrant crimson eyes encased in bone stared at Xue'er. The intensity of the stare and the rotting stench coming from the horrendous fiend. It was abhorrent to look at, but the crippling fear she had of it was even more intense.

Yet the regret and disgust filling her made her willingly beg for death. She didn't wish to live.

The decaying fiend snarled at her. Xue'er in reaction started to shake, but kept her bearing and knelt on the ground.

"Please… kill me. I can't live with regret like this. You're a beast, why don't you EAT ME! "

The monster shook its head and softly growled. Like it was trying to communicate, but the girl took it as taunting and began crying.

She understood that she was in front of a horrific spirit beast. One that could understand human language. Otherwise how could it blow apart the old man in one hit?

"Regret is all I have left…Brother Yuan was all I had in this world, yet I betrayed him. I was the one that forcefully made him come here — I didn't want to be poor anymore, so I willingly came to the old man's house…"

"I could've resisted back then…but no. I'm…really greedy… i-I…"

"KRAA!! "

The beast's rotten face morphed in fury as it howled. It's voice was so powerful that the cottage began to shake while all of the windows broke into pieces. The girl in the meanwhile screamed in pain. Her ears began leaking blood.

'GRAAA!!

The crawling beast lifted one of its arms and swiftly slashed her face. Her eyes and lips were torn off and thrown onto the wall due to its sheer force. A slight slash from the beast dug so deep that it pierced her skull bone.

Hunger. That was all the beast felt. It snarled and began feasting on their corpses. All the other feelings it had were nullified!

Was he even human anymore?

The hair, the teeth, the intestines — everything was devoured in a few moments. Every drop of blood that fell on Yuan Ming's body was absorbed.

At the end of the meal, a sudden emptiness devoured him mind as he felt…'free'.

[This...is 'ascension'. You have fully assimilated with the Plague Lord's soul. It has accepted you.]

[What you have seen…is the true face of the Mortal World. It is nothing to mull over.]

[I shall be your guide. But hurry for now before it's day, find shelter. Your body will dissipate in the light…]

Yuan Ming's aching head was calmed by an external force. He swung his head and looked at the body of the old man, and lifted him up on his body and left the cottage. He might not find food later, so he saved the man's body.

Since sunlight would hurt him, the best place to hide would be a…cave. One dug out by the beasts…

Yuan Ming hurriedly crawled through the farm. Due to him being careful of someone spotting him, he crawled. He didn't want to fight against someone and waste his time. Something about the sunlight scared him…

The light from the lit lamps illuminated the clean dusty farm, and Yuan Ming. So he crawled away as fast as he could. The dead body on his back occasionally leaked blood, but was absorbed instantly by his body.

Yuan Ming felt like something inside him had changed after the blood entered his body. The old man was a cultivator, maybe that's why he was feeling like that?

He stood up and threw the bloody body on his back, and began running once again. His legs didn't tire nor did they break when he hit rocks and trees, they were like steel. Tempestuous wind went by him as he zipped past the forest and entered the mountain range.

It was obvious that morning would come soon, the sun was already visible on the horizon and sparkling rays of light at him. Drowsiness enveloped him as he saw a big cave in front of him.

He quickly ran inside and found himself in an elaborate cave system with water dripping from the ceiling. A purple light flashed in his eyes as he dropped on the ground.

Yuan Ming went silent. The body he was carrying through, slumped on the ground. Soon, ants came, enticed by the rotten smell and attacked Yuan Ming and the old man's body.

…

…

…

…

As soon as noon hit and the earth began to warm, Yuan Ming woke up with intense burning in his cranium. He opened his eyes to a ray of white light falling on his head.

He instantly woke up and crawled to a dark corner. His head felt light, but more comfortable than before after he moved. He could see filthy maggots and ants crawling around the spot where he slept. Fortunately, when he combed his back using his hand he didn't find any bugs.

"Craa…Gghgh… "

Yuan Ming didn't even open his mouth! Where was the sound coming from?

He looked towards where he put the old man's body and discovered that he was still alive. Just as he was about to kill him he noticed the abnormalities on the man's body.

His body was rotten and leaking putrid pus — the fibers of muscle holding his flesh together were pulsating. The Taoist robe he was wearing was ruined and drenched in blood and filled with jungle ants. They were eating him.

The old man's navel was leaking cold blue light. Yuan Ming felt a strange lust towards the blue leaking essence. A mystical resonance to the dead man however, stopped him from devouring him whole.

The man's rotten and disfigured face moved, "Grraa…" as he submissively bowed and kept still before him.

Yuan Ming's bones rattled as he began shaking. A strange feeling invaded his body as he…inherited knowledge.

The man was now his 'slave'. A plague bearer of minimal rank — it wasn't human anymore. Judging by its essence levels, it was at the peak of Rank 1.

Bits and bits of information seeped into Yuan Ming's soul. He now knew that his body held a disease; a disease so powerful that it could revive the dead. Unfortunately, without their souls. Anything he would kill with his own hands would turn into the undead.

But the main thing that he ended up learning was the language of the dead. Seems like even animalistic growling had meaning behind them…

‹You…can you speak?›

A few organized and clean guttural sounds left Yuan Ming's mouth. In his mind, he could hear his own sounds translate into words.

As of yet, Yuan Ming didn't know why he couldn't speak or make sounds normally. He didn't lack a tongue, so why?

Unfortunately, the undead man had no reaction as it paced its head back and forth.

‹Can't you hear me? If you do, look at me!›

This time, he commanded with the muscles on his face frowning. Seeing a lower-tier undead disobey his commands made him weirdly angry.

The undead old man remained unresponsive. Furthermore, it stood up from its bowing-position and stared at him.

[You cannot command undead of equal or higher power. He showed his respects earlier since you're of noble lineage.]

‹Then…you are of no use to me!›

Yuan Ming growled and hit the chest of the undead, splitting it into two in one blow. He ignored the maggot-infested entrails of the man and picked up the blue orb hidden inside his navel.

Yuan Ming, even if he had turned into a monster, he was still somewhat human. So he was slightly excited after he learned that his current body was so powerful that it could blow a Taoist to pieces. Furthermore, it was always his dream to be someone powerful.

Along with the knowledge about the language of the dead, he came to know about how he could become more powerful. The undead are similar to beasts, but unlike them they can't cultivate.

‹The only way I can…become powerful is through eating the living and devouring their life-essence. Who knew…I'd become something like this…›

He pinched the orb; it was slightly tough to the touch. He knew what to do with it!

Yuan Ming put it in his mouth, and devoured it in one gulp. Immediately, his chest began throbbing intensely as he looked towards his Core.

The black orb's speed has increased as it began to release threads of flesh that immediately meshed with his body. A swarm of blue and chilling energy came and tried to envelope the orb, but was devoured by it instead.

A chilling aura came out from Yuan Ming's body as he felt his bones encase themselves in cold frost. Although, the orb he swallowed wasn't that powerful that it would freeze him. It soon disappeared and left Yuan Ming like he was before, but he felt like something new was inside him now.