Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1723: Burial

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"Thank you for sparing their lives," Jonathan said. "We will reform them through hard labor. We’ll make sure their strength now serves to protect the innocent."

"Are you certain about this?" Lucifer asked, glancing at Maria.

"Yes, don’t worry," Maria replied. "Even if I die, the new rules I’ve carved into their souls will remain."

"That’s not what I meant..." Lucifer sighed. "And I don’t even want to imagine a world without you."

"Ah... haha, sorry," Maria giggled. "I overthink things sometimes."

"You do," Lucifer agreed. "But will these people ever truly change?"

"I don’t know," Maria shrugged. "What matters is they’ll be forced to help us and fight as our allies and soldiers. If they fall in battle, they’ll simply rise again as Undead and keep going."

"Hah... I didn’t even need to ask," the dragon laughed.

Once everyone had been healed, Jonathan explained their new situation. They reacted with anger and tried to fight back, but an invisible energy stopped every violent movement. When they turned to insults, Maria silenced them with a wave of her hand.

The only one who accepted his fate quickly was the Golden Core expert from the Iron Fist group, the man Lucifer had battled. Though he had fought in a berserk rage, he remembered most of the duel and recognized the dragon as his former opponent.

Surprisingly, despite their differences, Lucifer connected with the burly martial artist named Zhao Tiezhu, an Elder of the Iron Fist Sect. Zhao accepted his new role as a "prisoner" and even spoke with Lucifer about their fight, offering advice and insight into what the dragon had realized.

Maria watched the exchange with a soft smile, finding Lucifer’s sudden warmth endearing.

Eventually, the Blood Demon Sect’s main building burst into flames. Jonathan’s holy fire engulfed the structure, causing it to collapse slowly.

This was a burial rite practiced in some Murim cultures: when a sect was nearly wiped out, survivors burned the compound with the bodies inside, granting the fallen eternal rest together.

Unfortunately, because their souls had been taken, true peace was impossible.

Little Black, Wu Lieng, Kim Hua, Sheng Mei, Liu Nan, and Qin Hao wept silently as their home crumbled and burned. They had no place to return to without the people they had lost.

As Sect Master, Wu Lieng declared the Blood Demon Sect officially dissolved.

"So many memories..." Sheng Mei whispered.

"And we’ll never go back to those days," Liu Nan sighed.

"Why... why must the heavens be so cruel...?" Qin Hao cried.

"Rest in peace," Kim Hua finished his prayer. "We will find your souls, no matter what."

"And we will set you free," Wu Lieng promised.

They remained until the entire building collapsed into a mountain of ash.

Then Emeraldine stepped forward, sprinkling spiritual essence and seeds across the ruins.

Grass, flowers, and small trees sprouted from the ashes.

Though the souls were gone, everyone left behind a fragment of themselves upon death: a trace of Soul Essence, Mana, or Ki. Emeraldine allowed that lingering energy to live on in these plants.

"One day, this place will become a beautiful garden," she said softly.

"Thank you... truly, thank you so much," Wu Lieng wept, placing a large stone he and his disciples had carved.

Every name of the fallen sect members was etched upon it, a small memorial for their lost friends and family.

"Meow..."

Little Black, now in his small cat form, padded toward a tiny sapling. He sensed the faint presence of his owner, Feng Xian.

He purred, rubbing his face against the leaves and licking them gently.

"Don’t worry, Little Black," Wu Lieng said, stroking the cat’s head. "We’ll find your master’s soul, no matter what."

"Mereow..." Little Black climbed onto Wu Lieng’s shoulder.

"Hoho, you’re still the same cat," the old man chuckled. "Let’s go to our new home, Little Black. It’s a wonderful place. Plenty of kids for you to scare too, haha."

With that, everyone returned to Kunlun through Maria’s shadow teleportation. They appeared in front of the towering Pagoda, where many disciples still trained and sparred.

Some glanced toward the horizon with worry.

"We’re back!" Maria announced. Dozens of disciples rushed toward her.

"Sect Master! Sect Master!"

"Bad news!"

"Please do something!"

They panicked. Maria raised a hand to calm them.

"What’s wrong? Explain slowly," she said.

"A group of Cultivators and Martial Artists appeared outside!"

"The Elders went to hold them off, but the fight continues!"

"The barrier you created protects us well, but we’re worried!"

"Ah, yes, I can sense it now," Maria nodded. "I can even see through the barriers. The Ghostly Mist didn’t alert me because it wasn’t urgent. The formation has done its job. Stay here. We’ll handle this quickly."

"T-Thank you!"

The disciples watched Maria soar off, leaving the others momentarily confused.

She pierced the ghostly mist and emerged outside.

There, the White Mist Immortal staggered under relentless blows from another Immortal wielding twin swords of ice.

Over twenty more Cultivators and Martial Artists surrounded them, all radiating powerful Frozen Ki. Behind them, armies of Frost Martial Beasts prowled the forest, freezing everything around the mountain yet failing to breach the formation.

"Give it up, fool!" the blue-haired Immortal laughed, his glowing green eyes firing freezing beams at the Rakshasa. "Why fight when you cannot win?!"

"I won’t...!" the Rakshasa roared, bloody tears streaming down his face. "I promised to protect these children! They’re all I have left! I won’t let you touch them! I won’t let them suffer the same tragedy you inflicted on the Blood Demon Sect!"

"Since when did you grow a spine?!" the Immortal bellowed, kicking the Rakshasa’s face and shattering frozen flesh. "You’re nothing but a filthy Rakshasa now! Obey the Murim Alliance and open the gates!"

The other Elders of the White Mist Sect struggled just as fiercely as their former Sect Master. Blood streamed from their wounds, and frost encased half their bodies, yet they refused to abandon their sect.

They fought to the bitter end. Maria watched with quiet surprise. Despite the hostility they had shown her and her companions, these elders truly loved and cherished their home.

Their sincerity was unmistakable.

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