Saint Magus

"A level nine undead!"

Leian carefully scrutinized the high-level undead that had ambushed him, feeling genuinely surprised.

Under normal circumstances, high-level undead controlled vast armies of undead subordinates; he had no idea why this one was alone.

Furthermore, compared to the shabby appearance of the bleached skeleton he was currently possessing, this level nine undead was far more impressive. Its bones were a golden hue, and rather than feeling sinister, it actually looked quite sacred.

This guy must be a Golden Skeleton Archer from the Undead Realm. If I'm not mistaken, this golden skeleton should be far more powerful than the white one I'm possessing. If it comes to melee combat, I definitely won't have the advantage!

Normally, the stronger the soul fire, the stronger the undead body should be. However, Leian was only projecting his consciousness; he wasn't a true undead, and the white skeleton he possessed could not grow stronger alongside his soul.

Thinking of this, Leian abandoned any thought of fighting. Following the instincts he had gained upon entering the Undead Realm, he shifted his consciousness, and the soul fire within his skull suddenly transformed into a beam of light, shooting toward the Golden Skeleton Archer opposite him.

As Leian's soul power departed, the bleached skeleton instantly lost its support and clattered into a pile of bones.

The Golden Skeleton Archer had likely never seen such a thing, and its soul fire flickered violently in shock.

The next moment, as Leian's mental energy attached itself, the Golden Skeleton Archer's soul fire flared up with a "whoosh."

Inside the small golden skeleton, a battle of consciousness officially began.

From the moment he first possessed the white skeleton, Leian had instinctively grasped the enslavement ability of the Death Rule. Now, by possessing the Golden Skeleton Archer, he intended to enslave it.

Although this Golden Skeleton Archer was a level nine undead, it was significantly weaker than Leian's peak level nine mental energy.

At first, the two were deadlocked, but as time passed, Leian's consciousness gradually gained the upper hand. At a certain moment, Leian felt himself break through a barrier and completely seized control of the golden skeleton.

"So this is what it feels like to enslave an undead. It seems a bit different from contracting a Magic Beast."

Inside the golden skeleton, Leian's consciousness flowed slowly.

At this moment, although he was only possessing the golden skeleton, he could directly control the body to walk, or he could indirectly control its actions by enslaving the golden skeleton's soul.

Moreover, because he had directly enslaved its soul, the Golden Skeleton's memories were laid bare before Leian. After flipping through them, he learned that this fellow was named Delsen, and he had just led his army in a great battle against another level nine Black Knight.

Unfortunately, Delsen had been defeated. To avoid being Devoured, he had fought his way out of the Black Knight's grasp, which was why he was alone.

"Let's go, back to the battlefield to take a look!"

Leian was interested in the undead war and immediately controlled Delsen to head toward the battlefield.

In the vast sky, heavy, dark clouds shrouded the earth. White light flashed through the gaps in the clouds from time to time, accompanied by rumbling thunder, as if countless dragons were rolling within.

Along the way, Leian encountered several low-level undead wandering alone. Like Magic Beasts, these undead had a strict hierarchy. As a level nine Golden Skeleton, Delsen easily brought these low-level undead under his command.

"It seems that as long as I successfully enslave one or two high-level undead, I can possess an endless army of undead. This is much easier than I imagined."

Watching the undead troop growing behind him, Leian couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

When he arrived at the battlefield, Leian discovered that the Black Knight had already left. All that remained were layers of severed limbs and scattered gray mist.

When a cluster of gray mist drifted past him, Leian subconsciously controlled the Golden Skeleton to reach out and grab it to identify it.

"This is... Plague Aura!"

Leian's heart stirred. At this moment, he finally understood the meaning of the undead inheritance. No wonder Colin said the key to the undead inheritance lay in perceiving the Undead Realm.

Indeed, because all the methods of a necromancer came from the Undead Realm—here, there was plague, poison, curses, and so on.

As long as one thoroughly understood these things, one would naturally possess the corresponding methods; there was no need for them to be recorded, nor for others to teach them.

Having truly understood the meaning of the undead inheritance, Leian began to control Delsen to travel through the Undead Realm to broaden his horizons.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when a sense of exhaustion washed over him, Leian remembered to withdraw his consciousness and return to reality.

In the stone chamber of the canyon.

Feeling his nearly depleted mental energy, Leian smiled self-deprecatingly. Caught up in the novelty of his first time entering the Undead Realm, he had forgotten the time.

He suppressed the urge to summon undead and began to meditate to recover his mental energy.

Time slipped away bit by bit. At a certain moment, just as Leian felt his mental energy was about to recover, a tremor suddenly came from his soul.

"Hm? Is this... a breakthrough?" A look of surprise appeared on Leian's face.

At this moment, in his mind, his soul ocean suddenly roared, and the soul crystal glowing with seven colors was vibrating rapidly, as if some change was about to occur.

"Rumble—"

As the vibration frequency reached its peak, the entire soul ocean suddenly shook, and his tangible mental energy finally began to transform.

At this point, Leian could clearly feel that his mental energy was undergoing a qualitative change. Although the quantity was decreasing, it had become much more refined.

At the same time, the soul crystal began to shift.

When a tremor passed through his heart once more, Leian quickly controlled his consciousness to descend into the soul ocean. He saw a seven-colored orb hanging high above the vast, surging sea.

"A spherical soul?"

Seeing the form of his soul, Leian was truly shocked. Ever since he had been able to cultivate the Destruction Rule, he had speculated that he would likely have a sword-shaped soul, but he never expected it to be a sphere?

This sphere, could it also be considered a weapon?

Or perhaps, is this a Sword Pellet?

Leian guessed wildly, and although there were things he didn't understand, he didn't dwell too much on his soul form. Once he felt it wouldn't affect his cultivation of the Destruction Rule, he shifted his focus to his spiritual energy.

Upon reaching the realm of a Saint Magus, Leian felt that his entire being had undergone a fundamental transformation, as if his life had evolved to a higher level.

The next time I undergo such a qualitative change, it will likely only be when I become a god!

He thought to himself silently.

In the days that followed, Leian spent his time practicing Necromancy. Having reached the level of a Saint Magus, he was already considered a top-tier existence within the Undead Realm.

However, he did not deliberately seek out powerful Saint Realm undead to enslave or control, but instead devoted himself to researching plagues, toxic gases, and similar things.

After all, in the Panlong Universe, plagues and toxic gases were actually considered part of the Death Rule; researching these was equivalent to researching the Death Rule itself.