Chapter 247: We Steal Souls from the Shadow Realm

To be honest, Gul'dan's abilities are still quite good; in the 6.0 Warlords of Draenor version, he can be said to perfectly embody the presence a intellect-type boss should have.

Gul'dan has a classic line: "It's you, the Burning Legion, who have failed, not me, Gul'dan."

You asked me to complete the task, and I did; I summoned Archimonde, but he was killed.

You told me to open the legion portal and let the Burning Legion descend; I did, and as a result, Kil'jaeden, you too were killed.

"Welcome to join Gul'dan; you'll find that following me is the wisest choice you'll ever make in your life." Luode smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth.

"Haha, I hope so!" Gul'dan let out a strange laugh.

"Kabuto! From now on, without my order, you are not allowed to control him again; just let him act freely." Luode said.

Although Gul'dan was granted the freedom to act, Luode did not allow him to dispel the Impure World Reincarnation technique on his own; the necessary restrictions must still be in place.

Yakushi Kabuto nodded and immediately lifted his control over Gul'dan, allowing him to move his body freely.

"Kekeke! This new body is not bad, except that this guy could control it at any time." Gul'dan said after sensing the power within his body.

This inexhaustible stamina and powerful pseudo-undead physique are both very effective.

"As long as you like it!"

"Lord Luode! There is another Zetsu body; who do you want me to resurrect?" Yakushi Kabuto asked.

This time, they brought two Zetsu clones; one was used to reincarnate Gul'dan, while the other remains unused.

"I want to conduct an experiment; your world has the Blissful Pure Land, which is the world where the dead reside."

Similarly, this world's Shadow Realm is where the dead dwell; that is why Gul'dan can be resurrected.

Because he has become a demon, his soul resides in the twisted void.

However, after ordinary living beings die, their souls go to the Shadow Realm and do not linger in the real world.

"I want to test whether, if a soul has already entered the Shadow Realm, it can be resurrected by you in this way." Luode said.

In the Naruto world, as long as you have the target's bodily tissue, it can serve as a medium for spirit summoning, calling the soul back from the Pure Land.

In the Azeroth world, could we also secretly bring back the souls of the dead from the Shadow Realm? "I haven't tried this before, but theoretically it should be possible; however, I've only just come into contact with two worlds, so it might fail." Yakushi Kabuto said.

"Anyway, give it a try!"

Luode began to think, which individuals' souls have entered the Shadow Realm but later appeared in the real world?

The most obvious example is Lightbringer Uther; according to the Shadowlands 9.0 storyline, Uther's soul went directly into the Shadow Realm after his death.

However, in the pre‑quest of the 7.0 version, Uther's soul appeared again at Uther's Tomb.

Even in the Wrath of the Lich King version, players are told they must have a Lich King.

This is also a manifestation of the glass‑shard's daily habit of consuming books; Uther has already entered the Shadow Realm, so logically he should not appear in reality.

As a result, his soul has appeared multiple times at Uther's Tomb, even giving players quests.

Another example is the Scarlet High Inquisitor Whitemane, this long‑legged lady, who was slain by players in the 60s.

By the time the 7.0 Legion Return version arrived, she directly became one of the new Four Horsemen; so how did her soul come back? Likewise, many NPCs existing as spirits are the same, their numbers are countless.

Back when Luode played the game, he encountered plenty of NPCs in spirit form.

Moreover, various ghost monsters endlessly spawn in the wild.

Therefore Luode judged that the Shadow Realm's control over reality should be weak; they accept souls that come over, and they do not pursue those that do not.

If the Impure World Reincarnation technique could truly summon Shadow Realm souls to Azeroth, they wouldn't be able to stop it.

Otherwise, the Jailer wouldn't be collecting so many souls in the Maw!

For this Impure World Reincarnation, Luode had already considered the candidate, selecting a special legendary paladin whose flesh was brought over specially by the Runti siblings. Gul'dan standing nearby also looked curious, eager to see how such a special necromancy is performed.

This necromancy made him drool; it is far superior to the crude spirit‑summoning technique he used when he created death knights back then.

The medium for summoning was handed to Yakushi Kabuto, the Zetsu body was placed in the center of the formation, and Yakushi Kabuto began forming seals, mobilizing his chakra energy, then performed the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

The jutsu activated successfully and began to summon the dead's soul; a terrifyingly strong suction appeared, frantically consuming Yakushi Kabuto's chakra as well as fel energy.

It seems there is some obstruction, some barrier blocking the soul he is about to summon.

"Lord Luode, to summon this soul I need greater chakra." Yakushi Kabuto gritted his teeth and said.

In just a short while, his chakra had been drained by nearly half, and he had only preliminarily locked onto the position of that illusory soul; pulling it here would require far more chakra.

"I'll provide you with chakra energy." Luode directly activated his green Rinnegan, then placed his palm on Yakushi Kabuto's shoulder, began channeling chakra to him, and also started refining his own chakra.

With Luode's supplied chakra, Yakushi Kabuto had no more reservations and began to summon that illusory soul with all his might.

His soul seemed to have fractured; one part was quickly summoned over, while another part appeared to be in a very distant place! After spending a great deal of time and massive amounts of chakra energy—even Luode felt a strain—Yakushi Kabuto finally managed to summon the soul completely.

At that moment, in the Shadowlands, a special soul within the Ascension Fortress was inexplicably taken away by some unknown force.

"How strange! Part of his soul is wandering in this world, and it was easily summoned by me."

But most of his soul—over half—is in another place extremely far away; without your chakra, Lord Luode, I could not have summoned him at all.

Yakushi Kabuto wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "The amount of chakra consumed this time—if it were in our world now, we could probably summon an entire Impure World Reincarnation army!"

At this moment, the Zetsu on the ground began to change; the foreign soul was reassembled and infused into the body, and a tremendous golden energy burst forth.

After this golden energy exploded, both Yakushi Kabuto and Gul'dan instinctively felt a sense of disgust.

"What a disgusting feeling—what is this golden energy?" The holy light faded away, revealing a man with golden hair, a thick beard, wearing Lightbringer armor and wielding a warhammer.

"Hmph! Damn holy light! I never expected it to be you, Lightbringer Uther." Gul'dan snorted coldly.

Exactly! The flesh Luode provided this time is none other than that of the legendary paladin, Lightbringer Uther, who represents the just paladin and was the mentor of the Lich King Arthas.

Yakushi Kabuto, who was maintaining the seals nearby, glanced at Uther and then at Gul'dan, wondering, "So that golden energy is called holy light, right?"

At this moment, Uther had not regained consciousness like Gul'dan had; instead, he was in a dazed state.

His fragmented soul had just fully merged together; the Impure World Reincarnation technique is not mere necromancy but a special summoning art, so after being resurrected, his powerful holy light within remains.

"Lord Luode, if we ever need to summon souls from that place again, I estimate I'll need your help; my own chakra alone is insufficient." Yakushi Kabuto wiped the sweat from his forehead and said.

"This spirit‑summoning magic is amazing—completely different from other necromancy, and it's an energy I've never seen before." Gul'dan stared curiously at the resurrected Uther, watching the entire summoning ritual.

At this moment, Uther also seemed to have regained consciousness, looking around.

I, I am in the Ascension Fortress, no, I am in Arthas's tomb, I, I am guiding the warriors forward.

Go defeat the Lich King, eliminate the undead scourge! No! I am in the Ascension Fortress, I must undergo the ascension ceremony to become a noble ascendant; why, why do I have two memories!

Arthas's memory seems to have become somewhat confused; part of the memory shows that I am in a place called the Ascension Fortress.

He turned into a blue-skinned being, grew a pair of wings on his back, in order to erase all his memories and become the so-called ascendant.

But the other memory is about the world of Azeroth; it seems I am instructing the warriors here on how to achieve the elimination of the undead scourge, and his soul has been lingering near his own tomb.

Hehe! Alright! Dou will seal his consciousness, then let him continue to sleep in the coffin for me; this guy is of great use to me. Luode's mouth curled into a slight smile as he said.

Apothecary Dou nodded, summoned a huge coffin, then placed the revived Arthas inside, and afterwards used the scroll he carried to seal Arthas's coffin.

Luode has basically determined that to summon a soul from the Shadow Realm would consume a huge amount of spiritual energy.

But if the soul is not in the Shadow Realm, then using this technique would be as convenient as in the Fire Shadow world, and the consumption of spiritual energy would be basically the same.

(End of chapter)