Another World: When a Necromancer Possesses the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls

[Severe energy deficiency...]

[Core rune damage: 17.8%... Stable.]

[Soul Power Reserves: 320/10000... Maintaining basic existence...]

[Strong demand for soul power detected... Repair core... Replenish soul power reserves...]

Cold, mechanical fragments of thought, yet tinged with a primal yearning, flooded into his mind. The overall structure of the Myriad Soul Banner remained intact, its core undamaged, but the immense strain of the journey had nearly depleted its stored soul power, and currently, there was no soul within it. It needed to devour souls to repair itself and replenish its strength! The remaining soul power was barely enough for it to sustain its devouring and soul power transfer.

The messages constantly transmitted to my mind reflected the current situation of the Myriad Souls Banner. The current Myriad Souls Banner is different from before. In the past, it was impossible to communicate with it, but now it can be communicated with through mental power!

"Absorbing souls...replenishing soul power..." Li Xingyao muttered to himself. The Myriad Soul Banner needs soul power to repair, to strengthen summoned creatures, and to revive them! And the source of soul power is souls!

"Is this my way of initiating slaughter, the Scourge of the Undead? As expected, even in a different world, magical artifacts and necromancers are still evil beings."

His gaze involuntarily drifted to the undead space shrouded in gray mist within his sea of ​​consciousness. In the center of this space, a faint blue flame burned silently, and behind that flame, he could clearly perceive the "Wall of Sighs," a barrier of pure death concepts, that stretched between the undead space and the world of death!

On the other side of the wall lies an endless world of death, filled with billions upon billions of souls! It is a vast and boundless ocean of soul power!

"What's that saying? Power itself is neither good nor evil; it's all about the person using it." Li Xingyao didn't want to become a monster in this life.

A crazy idea ignited in his mind like wildfire: if he could communicate with the world of the dead and summon the undead, then... could he also, through some means, draw upon the vast, unclaimed soul power of the world of the dead and transform it into the soul power needed for the Myriad Soul Banner?! Or even further, devour the souls of the world of the dead!?

The thought made his breathing quicken. If he could do it, then repairing the Myriad Soul Banner and replenishing his soul power would no longer be a problem! His growth rate would be unmatched! Moreover, he wouldn't need to kill anyone; after all, in both his lives combined, the largest living creature Li Xingyao had ever killed was a crayfish! He hadn't even killed a chicken.

The heart is not as good as action!

Li Xingyao immediately sat cross-legged, his consciousness sinking into the realm of the dead, focusing all his attention on the single, eerie blue flame in the center. This was the "lighthouse" connecting the world of the dead. He tried not to summon outwards, but to draw inwards! To absorb!

Mental energy, like the most precise probe, carefully touched that faint blue flame, attempting to sense the soul fluctuations of the world of death through it and guide them into the Myriad Soul Banner!

hum...

The eerie blue flames flickered violently! The gray mist at the edge of the undead space began to churn! An immense, suffocating, cold, and deathly aura of soul power seemed to be faintly touched through the Wailing Wall!

However, the next moment!

boom!

An overwhelming and irresistible will of death, like a slumbering ancient beast being disturbed, erupted from behind the invisible wall of sighs! Cold, vast, and with an absolute annihilation that crushed all life, it crashed down on Li Xingyao's mind and consciousness like billions of icebergs collapsing at the same time!

"Ugh!"

Li Xingyao felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. He let out a muffled groan, his body swayed violently, and his face instantly turned ashen! His mental energy cracked like fragile glass, and intense pain exploded from the depths of his brain. His consciousness was almost torn apart and assimilated by this pure will to die!

The Myriad Souls Banner trembled violently, its surface radiating a dark light that forcefully blocked the oncoming will of death. At the same time, Li Xingyao felt a surge of pure soul power flow into his damaged mental energy, quickly soothing the terrible pain and cracks.

He was panting heavily, his back soaked with cold sweat, still shaken. In that instant, he felt like an ant trying to shake Mount Tai, utterly insignificant and vulnerable in the face of true death!

"No... that's too reckless." Li Xingyao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his mind gradually calming down. The soul power of the world of death was indeed vast and boundless, but the death will contained in that world itself was too terrifying. With his current mental strength and the weakened state of the Myriad Soul Banner, forcibly absorbing it would be tantamount to courting death.

However, this attempt was not entirely fruitless. It at least proved one thing: it is possible to communicate with the world of the dead and influence its soul power! The only questions are: how to resist the backlash of the will to die, or… find a more "gentle" approach?

His gaze returned to the ground—where three skeleton warriors still stood silently.

A more realistic and feasible solution came to mind: hunting!

Hunt down star beasts and mutated creatures in the real world, and even... enemies from other worlds! Absorb their souls and transform them into nourishment for the Myriad Soul Banner! This is currently the safest and most direct source of soul power!

He stood up and walked to the three skeleton warriors. The eerie blue sparks in their eye sockets burned calmly, and under the blessing of the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls, they possessed an indescribable "spirituality" that was more than ordinary undead skeletons.

"Soon..." Li Xingyao muttered to himself, "Once I can freely enter and leave the wilderness, and even enter other worlds... your 'food' will be endless."

Because of the government's protection of new talent, minors under the age of 18 are not allowed to leave the city before completing basic vocational training.

"No, that's not what I was thinking just now. Was I influenced by the World of Death? Or by the Myriad Souls Banner?" Li Xingyao calmed down and realized that his thoughts were inconsistent with what he had been thinking before. I should have been using the World of Death to repair the Myriad Souls Banner, so why did I suddenly want to obtain souls through killing!

"I'll keep some records from now on, and write down my thoughts so that I won't be unaware of this situation in the future."

Li Xingyao got up and poured himself a drink. After returning to the cultivation room, he meditated for a while to recover his mental energy. Then he started thinking again about how to harness the power of the World of Death.

Since direct absorption didn't work, how about a roundabout approach? Li Xingyao reconnected to the Netherworld, and his spiritual energy re-entered the blue flame. Instantly, he reappeared in the world of the dead.

As far as the eye could see, countless undead wandered in this vast world. Li Xingyao's gaze locked onto those ordinary skeleton warriors.

Mobilizing his stellar energy, Li Xingyao summoned the targeted skeleton warrior, and the ordinary skeleton warrior appeared smoothly in the undead space. Immediately, with a thought, the power of the Myriad Soul Banner enveloped the skeleton warrior. Silently reciting "devour," the skeleton warrior vanished in an instant.

In Li Xingyao's perception, a ball of energy appeared within the Myriad Soul Banner, and vanished the instant it appeared. At the same time, a surge of soul power appeared within the Myriad Soul Banner.

Soul Power +10! This was the information that came back to Li Xingyao in his mind.

"Success!" Li Xingyao was extremely excited; his roundabout plan had worked. Now he could use star energy to restore the Myriad Soul Banner, and with its restoration, other powers should manifest in the future.

"Looks like the skeleton warriors I summon every day will finally have a place to go."

李星耀压下激动的心情，换算了一下自身的星能。120星能可以召唤4次普通的骷髅战士，可以获得40灵魂之力。回想之前召唤，那股灵魂力量应该是20点。所以召唤一只特殊骷髅战士需要30星能+20灵魂之力。

I glanced at the undead space again. It was 10 square meters, and it would take 20 skeleton warriors to fill the entire space.

"This is really a headache. From now on, my daily cultivation will not only involve increasing my star energy, but also absorbing soul power to restore the Myriad Soul Banner."

Li Xingyao glanced at his smartwatch; half the morning had passed. Instead of immediately beginning meditation to recover from his earlier losses, he continued summoning ordinary skeleton warriors to devour them.

After devouring three more skeleton warriors, Li Xingyao prepared to meditate and restore his star energy. Suddenly, he realized that he had only been cultivating through meditation. Could he incorporate soul power into his practice?

Without hesitation, Li Xingyao tried to communicate with the Myriad Soul Banner while entering meditation. The Myriad Soul Banner responded with information: meditation progress 6%... feasible! Moreover, the Myriad Soul Banner also provided the meditation progress. He then tried to infuse his soul power into himself.

Ten minutes later, Li Xingyao finished meditating and glanced at the time. "Meditation time has been shortened by two-thirds. Soul power does have an effect on meditation." He checked the soul power consumption; it was about 5 points.

"Five points of soul power can increase meditation speed by two-thirds. Based on the previous time of meditating four times a day, I can now meditate 12 times a day. The increase in star energy has gone from 4 points to 12 points a day, which is three times faster!" Li Xingyao felt his head was a little swollen. Now he could take the final exam at the intermediate level!

"It seems that the development of the Myriad Soul Banner, the Netherworld, and even the World of Death should be prioritized. In terms of cultivation alone, not only the Super rank, but also the Legendary rank is within reach!"

Excited words rang out in the training room. A thirst for power surged within Li Xingyao's heart. The warmth of his family was his support, the secret of the Myriad Soul Banner was his ladder, and the path to the future began today as Li Xingyao prepared to strive forward in this world.