Cold Sect
As busy as always, Edrick quickly found himself outside of the bounds of his clan’s territory after bidding goodbye to Haoyu through the means of a lustful play. The Foppoof had seemed just as shy about it as the first time, acting as though he had no idea how it felt despite clearly wanting it.
Thus, the session was slow and gentle, as previously…
Currently, Anoteros was standing before what was essentially a crypt surrounded by flat lands completely overtaken by graves bearing nameless tombstones. The main building was a curious one, maintained yet aged and forsaken at the same time. The few vines that could be seen clinging to its structure had long since died, being nothing but dried husks refusing to crumble and be dispersed by the winds.
The stones were dusty, grey, and tainted by dark matter in certain areas–As though the very building was bleeding. All over the area, carrion birds were flocking together, forming massive and thick circles as they flew overhead. Clearly, they were thriving here.
The reason wasn’t obvious from this side, but Edrick was aware of how things went here. This was where the Sect Of The Old Decay was situated. This was the grounds of their sect, and hidden behind the great structure, tucked in between these ancient walls and a mountain that warped like a wave about to crash upon the architecture… There were piles and pits of corpses.
Disciples here had to work with many cadavers of all kinds, and as disciples did, they often failed or made mistakes, leading to unusable remains being dumped away most of the time. The carrion birds feasted, but more importantly, the putrefaction and condensation of so many corpses in one place would cause death force to manifest alongside other useful materials.
…Nothing was ever truly wasted here.
There were a few tinted windows lining the main body of the crypt, but they didn’t mean much. Most of this place was actually underground.
Standing by the scion’s side was Jingyi. The Headmaid was naturally nervous, but also determined. In this place, she could learn and become more valuable to her master. It was essential that she did her best and didn’t disappoint him.
Swiftly, an elder of the sect came to greet and guide them.
It was an old man without any distinguishable features apart from the fact that he carried with him a strong scent of lavender. Otherwise, his attire–While the usual style used by cultivators–Was far fancier than anything Anoteros had ever personally seen so far. It was a tasteful mixture of black, white, and grey, arranged into several complex patterns that definitely sold the necromancer aesthetic very well.
The elder led the way to the depths of the sect, where the temperature was cold. Edrick and Jingyi passed by several rooms containing disciples being taught how to dissect corpses, how to properly handle organs, and even how to concoct sedatives in case they had to work on ‘living material’.
Compared to Labyrinth Palace, the Sect Of The Old Decay had many more disciples. Not only were the qualifications required far less, but this sect was inherently more attractive overall. The typical cultivator here wasn’t one who cultivated the body or spells, but a craftsman first and foremost.
The way they were called differed, but ‘corpse puppets’ were handmade and specialised. A cultivator from the Sect Of The Old Decay would, more often than not, send their minions to do the job, whilst not even being in the same region as the person they were trying to kill. Ultimately, most of the cultivators here didn’t know how to fight at all. They were instead backliners, like tool refiners and alchemists.
Nonetheless, with the association to death this sect has, a true spell cultivator hailing from here was certain to be immensely dangerous. Though Anoteros was more interested in the craftsmen... He had briefly worked with a top disciple here to turn the Chen elder into an undead soldier, and despite the maker not being a true specialist just yet, the result had been very impressive.
The Sect Of The Old Decay could definitely make miracles happen, and from what he had heard, the deeper chambers were literally filled with thousands of obedient undead soldiers that could be deployed at a moment’s notice... And obviously, some of those corpses were especially powerful…
The young noble couldn’t yet gawk at them, however. He reached his destination, and the elder left him and Jingyi after closing ornate doors behind them. Inside, the sect leader stood up and walked up to Edrick, greeting him by taking his hands and lightly bowing.
“Welcome, Young Master, please take a seat”
They all sat around a table carved out of a bone, with the sect leader pouring some purple-coloured tea.
“This is our first meeting, Young Master. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kaeleanth, and I have been the leader of the Sect Of The Old Decay since before your Valdre, The Patriarch, took charge”
“I would first like to thank you for the great opportunity you offered to one of my trainees. The corpse you offered him was of a most exquisite quality, and he has made great progress since then, thanks to this”
Anoteros slightly raised his hand.
“It isn’t much. It is only natural for us to cooperate and be generous toward one another… I am very interested in how things work here, and would love it if you could spare some of your time to show me around. As long as it doesn’t bother you, of course”
As per usual, Edrick was polite, but accompanying his politeness was a specific kind of charming smile. This was because Kaeleanth was a woman, and naturally, one of his first thoughts was to seduce her.
…Even Wenxiong and Niediao might look at him weird for this one.
Kaeleanth was wearing a funeral mask, said to be an artefact born from another artefact owned by the sect, and her whole body was tightly and neatly wrapped in bandages that had a strong, floral, yet unidentifiable smell to them. Only a small amount of her long white hair peeked through the bandages.
Furthermore, she wore very stylish robes on top of it all. The patterns were similar to those of the elder, but her attire was more akin to clerical robes, detached from the usual style of cultivators... Even featuring a stole that was a part of the robes, rather than a separate piece of fabric.
Apart from the mask, tight bandages, and the loose robes… She wore nothing else–Which Anoteros found quite alluring.
Of course, the reason why even some of the more depraved members of his clan didn’t feel very inclined to get too close to Kaeleanth was because–As the leader of this sect–She was naturally way more extreme in how she cultivated.
The bandages were there to stop her from decaying during the day, and apparently, she had to take special baths every day to restore her body to normal, regardless of them. The bandages were only so she wouldn’t putrefy in the middle of the day.
This constant cycle of rot and rejuvenation was apparently the centerpiece of her main cultivation technique–But it was definitely just as torturous as it sounded... She wasn’t an undead. She was a living, breathing human woman. She felt it clearly when her body decayed.
…All of this did not stop Edrick from envisioning bedding her.
“I wouldn’t be bothered to be of service to you, Young Master”
“Very well then… Let’s get to the main subject. What do you think of my Jingyi?”