Beyond the Necrotic Marshlands lies a forest unlike any other. Instead of wood, the trees seemed to form from the bones of ancient creatures. Massive femurs and ribs intertwine to create pale, ivory thickets.
The ground beneath these "trees" were carpeted in a fine dust of crushed bones, seemed to be the remnants of those who once lived here. Every now and then, ghostly figures drifted through the forest, barely visible, their whispered cries echoing through the stillness. This was the inner region of the Valley of Sunless Dusk, the Bone Forest!
At this moment, a dark silhouette of a ship emerged from the poisonous fog of the marshlands, parting the fog on its way toward the dark gray shores of the bone forest.
On the eerie ghost ship, Jacob stood at the front with Blackwell as he casually sipped on his soul wine while looking at the bone forests with narrowed eyes.
"Since you decided to choose this path, let me give you some advice; the undead here have evolved into various forms, each more terrifying than the last, with the valley serving as their eternal sanctuary.
"The deeper you go, the more powerful they become, especially the undead in the inner regions, in comparison the riffraff of the Necrotic Marshlands are nothing but children.
"The ones you should look out for the most are the Necrofiends. They were actually once alive and were all necromancers who came here to find treasure, but greed got the best of them, and now they are slaves of the Valley of Sunless Dusk.
"Don't look down on them for they to become a necromancer. One needed a spiritual nebula, so even the weakest Necrofiend is a Tier-1 Fable Legendary Rank!
"Those wretched creatures now exist in a state between life and death without any intelligence of their own. Their decaying bodies are stitched together with death magic, animated by dark, necromantic forces. They stalk the valley, hunting for intruders or new souls to feast upon.
"Lastly, they hunt in packs and as tenacious as ghosts. Once they spot their prey, they'll never let go unless you have an extremely powerful stealth ability on the level of laws!
"But one can still live or at least have a chance to survive if they encounter the Necrofiends. However, if someone is unlucky enough to stumble upon the territory of a Wraith Lord, hehe, they might as well commit suicide." Blackwell solemnly stated with a lingering fear in his voice.
Jacob was startled as he couldn't help but ask, "Why?"
Blackwell replied in a grave tone, "How should I put it? The Wraith Lords are the ethereal rulers of the valley, governing from crumbling fortresses made of obsidian and bone.
"They'll be clad in flowing robes of shadow, their translucent bodies drift silently through their domains, and they can communicate with the lesser undead through telepathic commands, Necrofiends included. Their mere presence drains life from the air and can extinguish the life force of anyone who comes too close.
"If not for the mysterious restriction on them that won't allow them to leave their respected domains, people like me wouldn't be dead the moment we enter this place because those things can detect any invader that didn't belong to the valley from miles away.
"As for why we called them 'Lord,' that's because each Wraith Lord is a Legendary Lord State undead, and the closer you get to the Wailing Peaks, the more are the chances of you encountering those Wraith Lords.
"Trust me, when I was bold enough to step in the Wailing Peaks, I was unlucky and encountered a Wraith Lord, and I'd nearly lost my life that day, and if not for a lifesaving trump card, I would've been another Necrofiend under that Wraith Lord's command."
Astounded, Jacob looked at Blackwell, and the drunkard ghost seemed very agitated when he recounted his encounter with the Wraith Lord. Jacob knew he was telling the truth, and he couldn't help but become solemn.
'Just what is this guy after? He seemed very familiar with this place yet carefree. At the same time, he helped others and led them here without asking for anything in return.
'Did he seriously want to live here, or he's just afraid of death and waiting for something to clear the way forward? What a peculiar guy, and I'm looking forward to what he's after...'
"Thank you for your remainder. I'll keep this in mind." Jacob plainly said, becoming silent.
This startled Blackwell, who mused, 'Just where did his confidence come from? There isn't a sliver of fear in his voice, and his aura is also very strange. I can't determine the actual rank of his soul despite my innate soul sense...'
At this moment, the ship finally reached the shore and stopped in midair. Jacob merely nodded at Blackwell before he jumped off the ship, his faint, cold voice ringing, "I'll remember this favor!"
Blackwell watched Jacob's figure bolting into the bone forest like a phantom, and he couldn't help but smack his lips, "What a fearless guy... but he might be just ignorant. Who knows what it'll be? Only time will tell. But whatever the case is, I'll drink a sip if you fail, just like I'll always have!"
The ghost ship faded away in the fog like a nightmare, and Blackwell's hollow yet melancholic voice drifted away like the wails of the dead...
Jacob paid attention to Blackwell's actions, and when he saw that Blackwell wasn't following him or using any tricks, he was slightly surprised. But since that drunkard ghost didn't seem to be seeking its own doom, Jacob didn't care about him anymore as he carefully treads deeper in the forest while using his eyes of judge to detect anything unusual.
But except for the faint wails drifting in the air, Jacob didn't find anything, and he couldn't be happier since his goal was to find a place to dig a secret underground chamber and live there
peacefully.
Although the location of his choice was somewhat questionable, since this place was a forbidden region, he didn't mind it at all; in fact, he was happy about it.
After traveling for a few hours, Jacob was pretty deep in the forest. He slowed down as he looked around and found a thick bone tree that was quite huge compared to the others. He had already examined the ground, and he knew digging here would not be easy. Even a quasi-legend would not be able to damage this place, but this only made it more optimal. Jacob then made an aura sword with his fire mana and directly cut the ground. He succeeded without any resistance, so he continued, as his speed was extremely quick, and he didn't cause any commotion at all.
Soon, Jacob was ten meters deep in the group. He found that the deeper he went, the more solid bones there were, and he couldn't help but wonder just how many living creatures were buried here. Furthermore, the bones were becoming shockingly tougher the deeper he went, and he had to use more mana to continue.
Nonetheless, Jacob continued, and he even had Autarch control a puppet he had made in the path of legend to cover the opening so no one knew he was there. Afterward, he had Autarch discard the puppet far away from this location. As for the excessive soil and bones, he stowed them all in a separate space ring.
After three days, Jacob was over a hundred meters deep in the bone forest and had opened a vast cavern with rooms and a hall. Although it was crude, for Jacob, it was perfect! Afterward, he spent some time recovering his mana. Once he was in his peak state, his flaming eyes flared as he waved his sleeve, and on a stone bed, a small, delicate, and cute figure
appeared!