Michael was just about to go with the next best option—smashing the creature’s skull with all his strength—when a thought struck him.
This undead... it wasn’t mindless.
It had consciousness. Intelligence.
So why not try something else?
While still gathering power into his right hand, Michael summoned one of the newest additions to his Legion.
[A/N: Yeah... once again, you guys came up with a cooler name than I ever could. I’m definitely not sulking. Nope. Not at all.]
Jester was a unique creature—one with a set of skills Michael had to admit were formidable.
He wanted to try something.
Naturally, he only dared because he had the strength to back it up.
If things got out of hand, he wouldn’t hesitate to summon a bigger threat. Leaving traces wasn’t a concern right now—this was more important.
"Jester, take over," he ordered calmly.
As expected of a taboo-born entity, even with its freshly awakened intelligence, Jester understood instantly.
Moments later, Michael watched as the lump of flesh on the ground began casting multiple skills in rapid succession.
[Parasite – Advanced Mastery]
Allows the undead to anchor its consciousness inside a host creature, living or dead.
Once embedded, it can assume full control.
The parasite can leave at any time, and the host may not even realize they were ever compromised.
[Mind Nest – Advanced Mastery]
Generates a psychic field.
Those within the field experience gradual Focus degradation, lowered mental resistance, and emotional disruption.
Extended exposure induces fatigue, poor judgment, and suggestibility.
Especially effective on groups, amplifying paranoia or fear.
The effect is subtle and builds slowly.
Can be suppressed or concentrated on specific targets.
[Consciousness Erasure – Advanced Mastery]Targets a creature’s consciousness.
At advanced mastery, Upon success, the victim’s consciousness can be wiped clean—rendering the body an empty vessel.
However, the last one made Michael frown a little.
[Memory Harvest – Advanced Mastery]
Upon contact with a corpse or stunned target, the user absorbs memories.
The fresher the mind, the clearer the details.
However, before he could react, a change suddenly happened.
The sitting undead—the Evil Cultivator—stirred.
Its body flinched once. Then convulsed, as if something foreign had been injected into its spine.
Michael’s eyes sharpened.
Jester had succeeded in disturbing its mind.
"...You dare..." Li Yang hissed, feeling an unfamiliar presence tapping at his thoughts—light, playful, chaotic.
Jester didn’t speak, but the impression it gave was eerie. Like a doll humming in the dark, tugging at the curtains of Li Yang’s mind with puppeteering hands.
It wasn’t a full takeover.
But it was enough to disrupt his concentration.
The spiritual chain binding him flared with power once more. Michael used the moment of distraction to act.
He vanished from where he stood.
And reappeared behind the undead, hand drawn back like a coiled hammer.
With that single word, Michael struck.
His palm slammed into the back of Li Yang’s head with force so precise, so overwhelming, that it shattered the air around it. A ripple tore through the space like a shockwave.
The undead’s protective spell shattered like thin glass.
Its head didn’t explode—though it nearly did.
...Moments before impact.
Inside the spiraling chaos of his mind, Li Yang was losing control.
His spiritual sense twisted. Foreign thoughts brushed against his soul like cobwebs—light, teasing, almost childlike... yet impossibly invasive.
"What is this madness...?" he growled internally.
The sensation was not sharp. But it was persistent.
The thing had no true voice, but its presence dripped mischief. It wasn’t attacking—it was playing.
"You think... you can toy with me?" Li Yang snarled aloud, clawing at the invading mind with sharpened will. He tried to flare his cultivation, to draw upon the vestiges of his Golden Core experience—but the energy didn’t obey. The chain inside him pulsed violently, anchoring him to the summoner.
Even though this brat had no true control over the great tool that had brought him here, he still had some control.
And that alone was troubling.
Li Yang’s ability to even attempt breaking the chain was due to his surface level refinement.
In the Xuanyan Great World, any foundation building cultivator would have rendered him helpless from the start.
Yet despite that flaw—despite the sheer weakness of flawed control—it still held.
He could feel it tightening when he pushed.
Responding to resistance.
Clamping down like a trap with teeth made of spiritual fire.
"...This boy," Li Yang muttered internally, grinding his spectral teeth, "he’s unskilled—but not powerless."
"You... really think you’ve won just because you landed one trick?"
Unfortunately, the thought came too late.
Li Yang’s thoughts shattered for a heartbeat.
Then returned—frayed, flickering... fading.
So this is it, he thought vaguely.
His last thought, before darkness swallowed him, was... unexpected.
"...Maybe I should’ve used a pseudonym when I killed that girl..."
Michael had held back at the last second, controlling his strike just enough to preserve the body. But even so, the impact bent the creature’s neck at a horrifying angle.
Jester vanished at some point.
Michael stepped back, breath steady but heart pounding.
"...Damn. I almost overdid it."
His recent advancement had pushed his strength past the point he could instinctively manage. He needed to recalibrate—or next time, there might not be a corpse left to raise.
The mental resistance was crushed.
The coffin pulsed softly in satisfaction.
The bond had disappeared.
The evil cultivator no longer existed.
But its body did though.
Michael exhaled and muttered under his breath, "Welcome to the Legion."
Immediately, a system notification blinked into view.
[Jester has successfully absorbed fragmented memories from target: Evil Cultivator, Li Yang.]
The first notification was something. But the second wave of notifications made his expression shift.
> [Jester has gained the following skills]
[Soul-Searing Palm – Intermediate]
[Crimson Lotus Steps – Basic]
[Thousand Vein – Basic]
[Nether Bind – Basic]
[Dark World Meditation – Basic]
[Formation Casting- Intermediate]
[Spiritual Cage Technique – Basic]
[Ghost Qi Convertion– Basic]