The instant Damon uttered "Devour," a swirling purple-black mass of energy enveloped Fang Gu's body.
The weakened black robe tried to flee, but Beelzebub was faster, devouring the robe within a single second.
Fang Gu's body and the battle robe vanished under Damon's grasp in the blink of an eye, shocking everyone who witnessed it.
"What happened?" Mo Fan was the first to ask. "Where did the battle robe go?"
Zhang Xiaohou, Su Xiaoluo, and Liu Ru were equally confused, but Damon did not explain. He was struggling to suppress the excitement surging within him.
"It's…" Damon was about to fabricate an excuse when the altar suddenly trembled.
The black space began to twist, spiral, and warp, with cracks opening out of nowhere. A violent wind swept down from above.
Mo Fan raised his head and saw a massive black cloud formed entirely of zombies. They spun like a tornado, wailing and groaning in agony.
"The altar is rotating… does this mean the Dark Abyss is about to shift in space?" Liu Ru asked.
Judging by the time, dawn had already arrived. This was the final moment for the Dark Abyss to shift elsewhere. Since the Ancient King had planned to resurrect himself, the inner city was the most ideal destination. As the supreme ruler of the undead kingdom, he would never allow living humans to remain within his domain.
"What?" Damon was startled, but he did not panic. He turned to face the four of them.
"The black robe is sealed. I've sealed the Ancient Emperor for good," Damon blurted out.
"Then what about the undead and the Abyss?" Zhang Xiaohou asked anxiously.
"I have a plan. It might take some time, but I can stop the shift and the undead," Damon said as he stood up, wiping the black blood from his hands.
"Just trust me," Damon added as he moved forward and sat down upon the throne.
The four had no choice but to trust him. They could not imagine how Damon intended to accomplish this, but none of them spoke up.
Damon was the only one present with upper-tier cultivation and the experience to match. They had countless questions, yet all they could do now was place their faith in him and hope his plan succeeded.
Seated upon the Blood Emperor Throne, Damon closed his eyes and sent his consciousness into Beelzebub, where he saw the black robe floating in the void.
The battle robe itself possessed no strength of its own. It was merely a vessel containing the Ancient Emperor's endless energy and corrupted soul—something that twisted anyone who wore it.
It had no consciousness or inherent power, which was why, even in the original timeline, Zhang Kong had been able to fight against it and dominate the undead empire.
Taking a deep breath, Damon initiated the process of devouring the battle robe.
Envy's Hand was itching.
[Element Undead: Origin Acquired]
[Emperor of Qin Acquired]
Two unique traits from the battle robe were absorbed, followed by a majestic soul essence that burned brighter than the sun.
An Emperor-level soul essence belonging to the Ancient Emperor Ying Zheng now rested within Damon's inventory, along with Emperor-level magical energy—not of one, but five different elements.
[Undead: Origin]
[Origin Series Undead Element]
[Description: The first Undead element ever birthed, created, and founded by the Emperor of Qin, Ying Zheng]
[Effects: Absolute Authority
Any undead below the user's cultivation level shall recognize you as their master, granting absolute loyalty unless controlled by another being of equal standing]
[Emperor of Qin]
[Chosen by the stars, the sun of the Qin Dynasty. You are the absolute emperor of this world]
[Effects:
1) Blood of Qin: Wisdom and physical strength increase with cultivation
2) Master of Abyss: Complete authority over the Dark Abyss, the Emperor's White Palace, and its treasures]
The moment the traits were absorbed, a massive upheaval occurred within Damon's spiritual world. Space trembled as an earthquake tore through it, and a small light-blue burst appeared in the distance.
Overshadowed by the massive star cosmos of blazing fire and golden light, the small light-blue stardust emerged beside the silver and golden-black nebula.
'Undead Element!'
Damon had awakened his sixth element—the Element of Undead, necromancy.
Seeing the light-blue stardust, Damon froze for a moment. As he reviewed the trait descriptions and sensed the presence of this new unique element, his thoughts raced.
Honestly, he had not expected benefits this immense. His sole purpose for coming to Xi'an had been profit. When the opportunity arose to confront a weakened emperor, Damon greedily chose to devour him and claim his power.
Yes—Damon had been lying. He never truly had a plan to stop the Dark Abyss.
His real goal was to obtain the power of an emperor.
Once he succeeded, he intended to apologize, claim the plan had failed, and escape the Dark Abyss with everyone else.
It was selfish. With millions of lives at stake, it was undeniably wrong—but Damon was no saint.
He bore no responsibility to save the world or play the hero. He had come for his own greed, to reap benefits, and that was exactly what he had done.
As for the plot, Xi'an, Mo Fan, and everything else? He did not care. Everyone was on their own in this world.
There was no plot armor to save him, no destined salvation. In a cruel world like this, all he could do was survive and seize every opportunity for himself.
'That was what I was thinking… but…'
As Damon examined the trait descriptions and felt the power surging through him, another idea formed.
A way to save the people of Xi'an appeared in his mind.
He might be selfish, and everything he had done so far had been for his own benefit—but if there was a way to save Xi'an…
"I think I should give it a try," Damon muttered to himself as he stared at the undead stardust.
From his inventory, the massive energy he had devoured from the battle robe emerged. He released only the Undead Element energy, letting it flood freely into the small stardust.
Forcefully ascending ranks.
That was the solution Damon arrived at.
Now that he controlled the Dark Abyss, there was no reason to rush. With the Abyss under his authority, the destruction of the inner city had already been halted.
The only remaining problem was the tide of undead.
With the newly acquired Origin Series element, Damon planned to use its Absolute Authority to the fullest. With countless commanders and even monarch-level undead roaming the land, the only way to save the city was to seize control of them all.
It was possible with his new element, but as a freshly awakened power, it could not dominate everything at once. Instead, Damon planned to use the Emperor's energy to forcibly raise his cultivation to the Forbidden Rank.
From Novice Tier.
Directly to Forbidden Rank.
It sounded impossible—unbelievable.
And under normal circumstances, it was.
But not for Damon.
With enough energy available, he could break through every boundary and ascend straight to the Forbidden Rank if he wished.
Such forced cultivation would normally destroy one's foundation and cripple a mage permanently. But with Envy and One with Element working together, it became possible.
The process was inefficient—wasting five to seven percent of the energy—but even that loss was insignificant compared to what remained.
Novice Tier.
Primary Rank.
Intermediate Rank.
Advanced Rank.
Super Rank.
Within hours, Damon reached the Super Tier in the Undead Element—yet he did not stop. He continued cultivating, releasing all the remaining energy at once.
The journey from Super Rank to Forbidden Rank was anything but short. It felt endless as power poured relentlessly into the light-blue star cosmos.
Finally, Damon reached the level he desired—
—and went beyond.
Forbidden Curse!
***
A/N:
So how was it?
What reached forbidden Curse fast?
Hey with his gift and the opportunities present do you think so?
About the future if he had already reached forbidden Mage?
Hah don't worry, honestly the future opponents and powers are of forbidden Mage levels with Mo Fan barely surviving in majority even with demon element so I don't think it would tilt the balance not to mention this was OP fic from the start