Lu Jun came back to his senses. As he walked, he asked Han Ji about the situation in the Ancient Capital.
At this moment, Han Ji, the Chairman of the Magic Association, did not dare to be negligent. He sighed and said, "The situation is very bad. The undead have become active again, and attacks on humans happen from time to time."
"If it were like before, when the undead were only active at night and occasionally attacked the city, it wouldn't be much of a problem. But ever since the battle of the Ancient Capital's Fiend Abyss, those attacking undead no longer fear sunlight and now appear during the day."
"They seem to have gained intelligence. They even understand tactics, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. By the time patrol teams arrive, the undead are already gone, leaving not even the victims' corpses behind. There was even a village that was completely massacred."
Hearing this, Lu Jun's gaze sharpened. "A village massacre?!"
"That's right." Han Ji took a deep breath and said, "Open attacks are easier to deal with, but the hidden dangers are exhausting to handle. The people of the Ancient Capital are already in panic. Many are moving away and fleeing to relatives in other regions. The local economy is paralyzed, and it's on the verge of becoming a desolate, empty city."
Lu Jun understood. The Fiend Abyss incident had already left a deep psychological shadow on the people. Now that disasters were happening again, once bitten by a snake, they feared ropes for ten years, so they fled one after another.
"But in such a vast world, with chaos approaching, where can they really hide? The coast faces the Pacific Ocean Empire. Within three years, the Ancient Capital will actually be the best place to live. They'll probably come back."
He slowly shook his head. But the massacre of a village was indeed horrifying. He didn't know which Undead Monarch's faction had done it, but the main culprit could not be spared!
However, Lu Jun had intelligence from the Nine Nether Queen. He would not blindly trust either humans or undead, but instead listen to all sides. Calmly, he asked, "I also heard that some hunters are grave-robbing. What's going on with that?"
Han Ji thought for a moment and replied, "It is indeed happening. However, the tomb raiders come from all over Jiuzhou, and it's hard to suppress them completely. We are already doing our best to control it."
"The locals of the Ancient Capital, because of the undead, hold great reverence for ancient tombs. Even if undead no longer appear at night, they wouldn't walk at night. So it's most likely not locals committing these acts."
"Only outsiders, now that there's no undead guarding the nights, have become bold."
Lu Jun nodded thoughtfully. "So it's indeed true."
In his view, this problem was easy to solve. First, restore the presence of undead at night. As long as they don't attack the city, anyone seeking death could simply be fed to the undead.
Second, he would personally meet the Eight Great Undead Monarchs. Any monarch that attacked humans would be crushed to ashes, putting an end to the bloodshed.
Finally, Lu Jun turned his gaze toward the Egyptian Undead Empire, gathering forces to launch a counter-invasion, resolving the bloodthirsty nature of the undead. After all, blocking was not as effective as redirecting.
"Day belongs to humans, night belongs to the undead, peaceful coexistence."
Lu Jun pondered. During the Ancient Capital incident back then, he had left in a hurry and hadn't completely resolved the hidden dangers.
There was no helping it, when he transformed into the Undead Emperor, the cost had been too great, and his own strength was relatively hollow. Facing the Eight Undead Monarchs, he lacked the confidence to command them.
But this time, returning to the Ancient Capital was different. Lu Jun's cultivation was now heaven-reaching. Even if he ascended to godhood form, what if all eight monarchs attacked together? He would suppress them all.
At his current level, did it even matter whether he was the Ancient King?!
"Still, this is only a delaying measure. As humanity migrates westward and the population surges, it will inevitably encroach upon the undead forbidden lands."
Lu Jun murmured. The only solution was to expand territory!
He regarded the undead restricted zones as his own reserved land.
His gaze turned toward the vast territory from the Hexi Corridor to the Western Regions. In the past, it had been lush and full of life, but now desertification had rendered it lifeless vegetation destroyed, soil eroded, rivers turning muddy and yellow.
"Restore the land and water, recreate the Loess Plateau and the Western Regions."
Lu Jun recalled the wild ambitions of his youth, his eyes narrowing slightly as his thoughts entered his personal space, where a yellow, sun-like Earth Core floated, its surface dim.
This Earth Core, containing both Earth and Fire elements, required absorbing massive amounts of natural elemental energy to return to its peak, a long process.
Coincidentally, the Western Regions and the Ancient Capital suffered from excessive Fire Element concentration, which was the root cause of their drought.
If Lu Jun were to set up an array to gather the vast Fire and Earth Elements in this region and channel them into the Earth Core, it would not only accelerate its recovery but also alleviate the drought in the west.
"Then I can use my weather-controlling talent to set up a water cycle grand array, along with a spatial transfer array, drawing moisture from the eastern Pacific Ocean Empire to the west, recreating water and land."
Lu Jun's ambitions surged. In this way, the scorching plains in the northwest near Dunhuang would become history, transforming into a lush and vibrant frontier oasis.
Of course, the actual implementation was far from simple, for example, balancing the life and death energy of the land, and maintaining equilibrium among the four basic elements.
But having studied magic arrays diligently under Principal Xiao, he could overcome these one by one. Moreover, his sister Lu Mei's mastery of reorganizing earth, fire, wind, and water to evolve chaos would also be crucial.
"One step at a time."
Lu Jun's thoughts flickered. Beside him, Han Ji continued, "I heard from Chief Hua you want a piece of land to establish the Military Strategy Office. Which area do you want?"
Hearing this, Lu Jun shook his head. "Forget it. The Ancient Capital has developed for a long time. All the good locations are already occupied by major factions, and the disputes involved are too troublesome. I'll carve out a territory for myself within the undead forbidden lands."
"Uh… this…"
Han Ji hesitated, unsure whether he should stop him. There was one thing Lu Jun was right about, the great clans and powerful elites in the inland regions had long divided up every part of the Ancient Capital. For outsiders, even opening a small gap was difficult, and it would inevitably lead to bloodshed.
The old mage said seriously, "If you're confident, then go ahead. If it doesn't work, you can settle for something lesser. You are the benefactor of the Ancient Capital, I will risk my life to support you."
"Haha, it's fine. If there's trouble, I won't hold back."
Lu Jun smiled and nodded. Then he turned to Jun Yaojin and Lu Weixi and instructed, "You two are proficient in the Light Element. Stay in the outskirts of the Ancient Capital, recruit a group of members, secure land, and go to the Zhao Clan's commerce guild—they will provide the funding for construction."
The two had no objections. Lu Mei hesitated and asked, "What about you, Lu Jun? Where are you going?"
"I'm going to meet some 'old' subordinates."
Lu Jun's gaze grew distant as he looked toward the depths of the undead restricted zone of the Ancient Capital.
Hearing this, Lu Mei understood and asked solemnly, "Do you need my help?"
"No need."
Lu Jun politely refused. Acting decisively, he didn't rest at all after arriving in the Ancient Capital and immediately set off. With a thought, he drew a Space Element constellation and performed a Void Blink, heading toward the Fiend Abyss.
He intended to find the Eight Great Undead Monarchs, identify the new undead faction attacking humans, and eliminate it in one sweep.
Buzz—Buzz—Buzz!
After several flashes, Lu Jun drew closer and closer to the Fiend Abyss. Wearing the Ancient King's Armor, he felt a faint pull guiding him.
Boom suddenly, his vision went dark. A surging black-red aura of blood and death rushed toward him, distorting his consciousness as terrifying voices of resentment filled his ears.
This familiar wailing of millions of vengeful souls was precisely the outer layer of the Fiend Abyss.
Once he passed through this layer, it would be the sleeping palace of the Ancient King!
For additional chapters
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