Immortality begins with Swallowing the Stars.

Chapter 3 Necromancer

pain……

Lu Jing felt a sharp pain as soon as he regained consciousness.

It felt like a red-hot iron skewer had been pierced into my chest, and my internal organs seemed to have shifted.

"Damn it! What kind of trick is that door playing now!" Lu Jing muttered to himself as the pain subsided slightly, his heavy breathing filling the air.

Last time, when he first descended upon the Panlong World, his soul possessed a slave's body. He was not only whipped and beaten every day, but also almost died from what appeared to be some kind of evil ritual.

Lu Jing endured the immense pain and sat up, only to be met with a scene of scorched earth and corpses scattered everywhere.

"Is this... a battlefield?"

Lu Jing suddenly pressed his temples in discomfort as countless fragments of memories rushed in, giving him the illusion that he was about to burst.

Heim Town...Sean...Kingdom of Hess...Holy Legion...Kingdom of Rune...Year 8743 of the Magnolia Calendar...

Level 1 Warrior?

Lu Jing, ignoring his wound, beamed with joy.

Thank goodness, the cheat code finally took pity on me.

Lu Jing felt the muscles within his body, which, despite being severely injured, still possessed immense power. He clenched his fist, and the knuckles cracked.

"Even if I don't gain anything further, as long as my injuries heal and I return with all the power of this body, I can still reach the level of a martial artist. Even as a beginner warrior, I will be far superior to ordinary people, and I will no longer be helpless against monsters."

Lu Jing suppressed his joy and shook his head slightly: "It's not enough. The conditions for opening the gate next time will definitely be more difficult. I don't know how long we'll have to wait. This time, we still need to try our best to make enough money."

Logically speaking, the best way to become stronger in the Panlong world is to study at a warrior academy or a magic academy.

But putting aside his age and lack of talent, he has the physical attributes to back it up.

The mechanism of the mysterious gate's descent follows the law of balance, making it impossible to gain an advantage with a small investment. His strength and talents in the main world of Swallowing Star are roughly the same, and his physical body in this other world will not differ too much. He cannot replace or digest the soul of a powerful being.

He was lucky last time; even a slave was still an adult. If it happened to an infant, that would be truly unlucky. By the time the infant grew up, his body in the Devouring Stars Main World would have long since rotted away, leaving only a skeleton.

The most important thing is time.

He could only gain about ten hours in the main world of Swallowed Star, which translates to thirty or forty days in the Panlong world. He only had a little over a month to improve his strength, so he couldn't take the righteous path.

Lu Jing struggled to his feet, gripping the blood-stained longsword. Gazing at the distant sunrise, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Hey, revenge is a dish best served cold. It's the year 8743 of the Magnolia Calendar. I didn't expect it would actually be ten years since I last descended upon the Panlong World. Last time you forced me to return early, so I'll settle the score this time! Cough, cough..."

Lu Jing smiled bitterly, clutching the gruesome wound on his chest. No wonder he was able to descend into this body; the original owner was indeed on the verge of death.

"This won't do. The injuries will take a long time to heal naturally, and during that time I won't be able to move at all..." Lu Jing frowned, hardened his heart, and focused his mind on the blood-red door deep in his soul.

Then, an extremely pure and ethereal power descended from the other side of the door, and countless buds of flesh slowly sprouted from the horrific, almost heart-revealing wound on his chest, writhing wildly.

……

In the main world of Swallowed Star, in Lu Jing's bedroom, in complete darkness, Lu Jing lay unconscious on the bed. His once full muscles began to atrophy, his chest cavity collapsed, and his whole body seemed to shrink. In just a moment, he became skin and bones, his breath weak, as if he were dying.

In the bedroom separated by a wall, Lu Shengnan, who was tossing and turning without being able to sleep, suddenly froze.

What was that sound?

The girl's eyes widened. The eerie noise that had just come from the next bedroom seemed like a hallucination because it had only lasted so short, giving her an urge to go to the next bedroom and see what had happened.

Then he remembered Lu Jing's solemn instructions that unless it was an extremely urgent matter, he should not intrude or disturb him, as it would cause him to go berserk.

Lu Shengnan nervously bit her nails: "My brother has collected a lot of books related to ancient martial arts before. Yes, he must be practicing some kind of martial art. He'll be fine."

Now, Lu Jing is not only one of her two remaining close relatives, but also the pillar of support for her and her brother. If he were to fall, it would be like the sky falling and the earth collapsing for her.

……

Panlong World.

"Truly wondrous!" Lu Jing stroked the skin on his chest that was beginning to scab over.

That mysterious gate not only allows his soul to descend to another world and reap the power he gains there, but it can also transfer the power he possesses in the main world of Devouring Stars to that other world.

Anyway, he didn't plan to stay in the Panlong World for long this time. No matter how weak his body was in the main world, as long as he could last for ten hours, that would be enough. It was essentially just a matter of transferring money from one hand to the other.

Even though his physical body in the main world was almost completely drained, his injuries had not yet healed, and he could only be considered to have basic mobility.

But he was not disappointed. This proved that the body of this first-level warrior was indeed far stronger than his original body. It was likely comparable to a formal warrior in the Swallowed Star world. The two might have different combat strengths in different universes, but their levels should be the same.

Having regained his mobility, Lu Jing did not rush to leave the battlefield. Instead, he stood quietly amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, seemingly waiting for something.

Before he drew upon his own power to heal his injuries, he spotted a group of people emerging from the distance. Their armor shone brightly in the morning sun, clearly belonging to the Holy Legion of the Kingdom of Hess.

The Kingdom of Hess belongs to the Holy Alliance. This battlefield is a large-scale battle between the Kingdom of Hess and the neighboring Kingdom of Rune, which belongs to the Dark Alliance. A first-level warrior like him can only be considered cannon fodder.

According to the original owner's memories, after each battle, the victors would come to clean up the battlefield—finish off enemy soldiers, collect the personal belongings of the dead and wounded, and salvage armor, etc.

The battle that injured the original owner occurred yesterday evening. The battle ended after nightfall, so the victorious Holy Legion of the Kingdom of Hess did not come to clean up the battlefield until dawn.

"Sir, he's still alive!"

A group of soldiers surrounded Lu Jing, whose face remained calm, and a tall officer rode up to Lu Jing on horseback.

The imposing aura that swept over him startled Lu Jing. The officer in charge of cleaning up the battlefield must be at least a level six warrior.

After Lu Jing announced his squadron, the officer looked him up and down, a hint of disdain and murderous intent flashing in his eyes: "No serious injuries, faking death to avoid battle, that's desertion! Take him away to the military law team for processing!"

"My lord!" Lu Jing knelt on one knee, then looked up and shouted, "I have important news to report to the Commander-in-Chief!"

The tall, imposing officer scoffed, "Want to see the Commander-in-Chief? Wishful thinking! The Commander-in-Chief is not someone a lowly soldier like you can possibly meet."

The commander of the Holy Legion of the Kingdom of Hess is appointed by the king, and a supervising officer is also appointed. The supervising officer is dispatched by the Holy Alliance's "Holy City" in the north, which is the capital of the Kingdom of Fenlai.

In terms of power, the warlord representing the Holy See is superior to the legion commander.

"The news I need to report concerns the necromancer!"

Lu Jing showed no fear and shouted out the speech he had already rehearsed countless times in his mind.

"What?!" A hint of surprise flashed in the tall officer's eyes as he looked Lu Jing up and down with a peculiar gaze, while the other soldiers exchanged bewildered glances: "What is a necromancer...?"

……

Half a month later, in the capital city of Hess.

Four knights escorted a carriage as it traveled down Keyan Street.

Looking out the car window at the street scene, Lu Jing showed no signs of nervousness about facing the high-ranking figures from the Vatican.

As he expected, after several rounds of investigation, the high command of the Holy Legion still sent him to the royal capital, Hess City, where the overseer of the Holy Legion was also preparing to receive him.

The Yulan Plane has three particularly unique types of magic: the Pope of Light's "Great Prophecy," the High Priest of the Yulan Empire's "Life Magic," and the extremely rare "Necromantic Magic."

In fact, most people have never even heard of necromancy, especially under the rule of the Holy Alliance. The Church of Light treats necromancers no differently than heretics—to exterminate them!

The fact that Lu Jing, the lowest-ranking soldier, could mention necromancers is the biggest anomaly.

As a legion actually controlled by the Holy See, the Holy Legion naturally adopts a "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free" attitude when it comes to matters related to necromancy. In any case, if Lu Jing lies, he will certainly not have a good ending.

"As expected of the city known as the second largest city of the Holy Alliance, Hess City is indeed prosperous." A smile appeared on Lu Jing's lips, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through time and look towards some unknown place: "Even the riot in the Monster Mountain Range more than a thousand years later did not destroy this city, but instead made it even more prosperous."

Anyway, he could accept returning to the main world now. The rest depends on whether he can win the gamble. As long as there is no danger to his life, Lu Jing can naturally remain calm.

Before long, Lu Jing was taken to the tallest church in Hess City, which was also the official residence and residence of the high-ranking officials of the Holy See in the Kingdom of Hess.

"The Holy Legion's Overlord, Lord Steller, requests an audience with you!"

Lu Jing frowned upon being informed that the warlord wanted to see him. "Stellar... why does that name sound so familiar?"

In a spacious hall, a young man of average height, with short, silver hair as sharp as steel needles, cold eyes, and a thin build, stood on the steps looking down at Lu Jing, who had just entered. His gaze paused for a moment before he looked away.

Lu Jing looked up at the two people on the steps, especially the thin young man on the left, and suddenly realized: "Sterler, that's right, it should be him. In the original novel of Panlong, he was a special-grade deacon of the Holy See of Light, a peak Saint Realm expert. This should be his younger days. I didn't expect that the commander of the Holy Legion of the Kingdom of Hess was him."

The middle-aged man standing next to Streller, resembling a lion, roared, "You're that deserter Sean from the battlefield? You claim to have information about necromancers, and Streller has personally summoned you. If you dare lie to him, your soul will suffer the cruelest torment for eternity!"

Lu Jing ignored the middle-aged man's threat and respectfully laid out the pre-prepared explanation.

To be precise, it's a mix of truth and falsehood.

The necromancer wasn't something he made up. When he descended upon the Panlong World last time, he possessed a slave and was bought by a nobleman in Blood Orchid City of the Rune Kingdom. There was indeed a necromancer hidden in that nobleman's manor. The necromancer seemed to have suffered some kind of incurable injury and needed to absorb a large number of souls. Therefore, the nobleman kept buying slaves to have the necromancer heal.

Lu Jing's first journey to Panlong was prematurely ended because of this necromancer.

Lu Jing's origins were fabricated as that of a slave who escaped by chance and came to the Kingdom of Hess to become a soldier.

This wasn't just empty talk. The slave part was based on his previous experience in the Panlong World. The experiences of the two bodies had been merged. In short, Lu Jing was confident that no flaws would be discovered in a short time.

"The Kingdom of Rune, Blood Orchid City?" The lion-like middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the pensive Schleier and said with some concern, "My lord, although Blood Orchid City is on the border of the Kingdom of Rune, it is still under the rule of the Dark Church. The Dark Church's churches and the Dark Knights are stationed there. The two countries are currently at war, and the defenses are very tight. Even if we find and kill that necromancer, it will probably not be easy for us to escape."

The Church of Light is hostile to necromancers, but they are not insane. Necromancers are few in number, but they do exist. The Dark Alliance has indeed sheltered a few necromancers, and the Church of Light has not done anything to them.

Lu Jing had naturally anticipated the reaction from the Holy See, and calmly continued to deliver his prepared remarks.

"What?! A person with a pure soul?!"

This time, not only was the lion-like middle-aged man shocked, but even the usually silent Steller was somewhat moved.

(End of this chapter)