Beginning the Inheritance

Deep within the Magic Beast Mountain Range, in a hidden valley, Lin Yun found a naturally formed cave.

The entrance to the cave was obscured by vines and shrubs; had it not been for Bebe's keen sense of smell, he would never have discovered it. The opening was narrow, only wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways, but once inside, the space opened up significantly—a stone chamber about ten zhang square. Several cracks in the ceiling allowed faint light to filter in, illuminating a flat rock in the center of the room.

"This will do." Lin Yun looked around and nodded with satisfaction.

The location of the stone chamber was deep, far from the main paths of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, and there were no traces of high-level magic beasts nearby. Most importantly, the rock here contained a special mineral that could faintly insulate against the leakage of magical aura. While not one hundred percent foolproof, it was the best place he could find.

Bebe jumped down from his shoulder, circled the stone chamber, sniffed around with his little nose, and then let out two "ji-ji" sounds, as if saying, "This place is not bad."

Lin Yun smiled, took several crystal cores from his Space Ring, and set up a warning spell at the cave entrance. If any person or magic beast approached, he would be the first to know. Then, he arranged several simple concealment arrays around the stone chamber to minimize the diffusion of necromantic aura.

Everything was ready.

Lin Yun sat cross-legged on the rock in the center of the stone chamber and took the black Stone Stele out of his Space Ring.

The Stone Stele was only the size of a palm, cool to the touch, with a rough, uneven surface covered in dense, tiny runes. Those runes did not look like any known language; they were more like some ancient imprint, emitting a faint black light in the dim stone chamber.

That black was special—not the gloomy black of Dark Element magic, but a profound black that seemed to swallow all light. Staring at it for too long gave one the illusion that their soul was being sucked inside.

Bebe seemed wary of the Stone Stele; he jumped down from Lin Yun's shoulder, crouched in the corner of the stone chamber, and stared at the stele with his little eyes unblinking, emitting low hissing sounds.

"It's alright, Bebe." Lin Yun soothed, "Just help me guard the entrance."

"Ji-ji." Bebe chirped, turned, and ran to the entrance, crouching on a rock to watch the outside vigilantly.

Lin Yun took a deep breath, placed the Stone Stele in front of him, closed his eyes, and slowly probed it with his mental energy.

The moment his mental energy touched the Stone Stele, Lin Yun's consciousness was violently dragged into a strange space.

It was a boundless darkness.

Not the darkness of night, but an absolute, pure darkness without a shred of light. Lin Yun felt as if he had sunk to the bottom of the deep sea, with endless water pressure surrounding him, squeezing his consciousness.

Then, something began to flow in the darkness.

It was not wind, nor water, but a more essential existence—the power of death. It flowed slowly through the darkness like an invisible river, silent and soundless, yet omnipresent. Lin Yun's consciousness was swept into it, drifting forward along the river of the power of death.

He saw death.

Not a specific scene of death, but death itself—the end of all things, the conclusion of life. He saw flowers wither in autumn, saw beasts die in the cold winter, saw an old man take his last breath on his bed, saw a warrior fall on the battlefield with blood soaking the earth. Countless images of death surged like a tide, each one so real it was suffocating.

Lin Yun felt his consciousness being torn apart.

The pain, despair, and unwillingness in those images of death cut through his soul like countless sharp blades. He wanted to scream, but could make no sound; he wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to go. The river of the power of death wrapped around him, carrying him deeper.

Then, he saw the other side of death.

The withered flowers bloomed again in spring, the dead beasts turned into soil to nourish new life, the old man's soul left his decaying shell, and the warrior's blood made the land more fertile. Death was not an end, but a beginning in another form.

Lin Yun suddenly remembered what Delin had said.

"The Law of Death is one of the three supreme laws. It does not govern destruction; it governs reincarnation. All things must die if they are to live, and only through death can there be life. Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of life."

At this moment, he vaguely touched the essence of the Law of Death.

The river of the power of death no longer caused him pain. He began to distinguish the different tributaries within the river—some were pure endings, some were processes of transformation, and some were the resting places of souls. Each tributary corresponded to an aspect of the Law of Death, and each contained infinite mysteries.

He did not know how much time had passed—perhaps days, perhaps weeks—before Lin Yun withdrew from that strange state.

He opened his eyes and found himself drenched in cold sweat, but his mind was exceptionally clear.

The black light on the Stone Stele seemed to have dimmed slightly.

"So this is the Law of Death..." Lin Yun muttered, a flash of realization in his eyes.

The inheritance was not over.

After resting for a while, Lin Yun probed the Stone Stele with his mental energy again. This time, what he saw was not the river of the power of death, but the soul.

The soul.

The most mysterious part of a person is precisely the soul.

From the perspective of the Law of Death, the soul was no longer an abstract concept, but an existence that could be perceived, analyzed, and even touched. Lin Yun "saw" his own soul—it was a sphere condensed from countless points of light, each point representing a memory, an emotion, a segment of experience. The points of light were connected by energy lines as thin as spider silk, forming an extremely complex network.

His soul was brighter and more solid than that of an ordinary person. Those points of light were dense and orderly, and the energy lines were thick and resilient. This was the result of three lifetimes of accumulation and the refinement of the Small Cauldron.

And at the core of the soul was a more dazzling light—that was his true self-consciousness, the source of all memories and emotions, the foundation of why "Lin Yun" was Lin Yun.

The power of inheritance within the Stone Stele began to guide him, teaching him how to perceive the soul, how to touch the soul, and how to influence the soul.

He learned "Soul Perception"—projecting his own soul power outward to perceive the existence of other souls within a certain range. This perception was deeper than mental energy detection; not only could he see the location and intensity of a soul, but he could also perceive the soul's emotions, memory fragments, and even the "color" of the soul—kind souls were warm, pleasant colors, evil souls were cold, dark colors, and the souls of undead creatures were a dead, gray void.

He learned "Soul Soothing"—using soul power to touch another soul and smooth out the pain and chaos within. This technique was particularly effective on undead creatures, as most undead were driven by resentment; if one could soothe their resentment, one could weaken or even disintegrate them.

He also learned "Soul Barrier"—constructing his own soul power into a line of defense to resist external Soul Attacks. This was a lesson he had learned in his battle with Morton, and now he finally had a systematic method.

These were only the basics of the basics.

The inheritance in the Stone Stele told him that when Necromancy was practiced to a deep level, one could even achieve "Soul Extraction"—pulling the soul of the deceased out of the corpse, or "Soul Refining"—refining the extracted soul into pure soul power for one's own absorption. This was the most powerful means of a Necromancer, and also the most dangerous. Those powerful Necromancers in history had all increased their strength rapidly by absorbing the souls of others.

But the inheritance also contained a stern warning: absorbing the souls of others would make one's own soul impure and cause it to be eroded by the resentment of the dead. Only a Necromancer with an extremely powerful soul and an extremely firm will could control this power. Attempting it rashly would only turn one into a mindless undead.

Lin Yun did not intend to take this path for now. He chose another way—letting his soul grow naturally through comprehending the Law of Death. This path was slower, but safer and purer.

After mastering the basic applications of the soul, the inheritance entered the next stage—Undead Summoning and Undead Enslavement.

These were the most widely known means of a Necromancer, and also the most superficial manifestation of the Law of Death.

Undead Summoning is the process of communicating with the Undead Realm through the power of the soul to summon creatures from that realm into the present world. The Undead Realm is the supreme plane under the Law of Death and the final destination for the souls of all the deceased. Countless undead creatures reside there—from the most common Skeleton Soldier and Corpse Demon to the powerful Undead Knight, Bone Dragon, and even the legendary Undead Monarch.

The key to summoning lies in the strength of one's soul power and the depth of one's insight into the Law of Death. The stronger the soul power, the higher the level of undead one can summon; the deeper the understanding of the Law of Death, the more stable the summoning process becomes, and the more obedient the summoned undead will be.

When Lin Yun first attempted to summon, he only succeeded in calling forth a lowest-level Skeleton Soldier. It was a humanoid creature pieced together from a few white bones, with a faint Undead Fire flickering in its eye sockets; it couldn't even stand steadily and would fall apart after taking two steps.

He did not lose heart. He tried again and again, failing time after time. Collapsed skeletons, rotting Corpse Demons, zombies missing limbs... after every failure, he would carefully analyze the reason—was the output of soul power unstable? Was his insight into the Law of Death not deep enough? Did he mispronounce a syllable in the summoning incantation?

By the second month, he was finally able to stably summon a level-six Corpse Demon.

That Corpse Demon was more complete than the ones he had encountered in the Magic Beast Mountain Range; its grayish-white skin was covered in a thin layer of bone armor, and the Undead Fire in its eye sockets was much brighter. It stood before Lin Yun, motionless, waiting for orders.

"Attack." Lin Yun issued his first command.

The Corpse Demon swung its sharp claws, leaving three deep gouges on the stone wall.

"Defend." The second command.

The Corpse Demon retracted its claws, crouched down, and turned its bone armor toward the direction Lin Yun indicated.

"Vanish." The third command.

The Corpse Demon's body turned into a ray of gray light and disappeared into the air—it had been sent back to the Undead Realm.

Lin Yun nodded with satisfaction.

Undead Enslavement is another branch entirely.

Undead Enslavement does not involve summoning creatures from the Undead Realm, but rather refining the corpses of the deceased in the present world into undead creatures. Corpse Demons, zombies, and Skeleton Soldiers—these are all products of Undead Enslavement. Compared to Undead Summoning, the advantage of Undead Enslavement is that it can be mass-produced without requiring a continuous consumption of soul power to maintain existence; the disadvantage is that the created undead creatures are weaker than summoned undead of the same level, and they require corpses as materials.

Lin Yun did not rush to try Undead Enslavement. On one hand, he had no ready-made corpses to experiment with; on the other, he felt that Undead Enslavement involved binding the souls of the dead, which was morally difficult for him to accept. Perhaps he would use it in the future, but not now.

The inheritance lasted for nearly three months.

During these three months, Lin Yun was almost completely isolated from the world. Every day, aside from meditating to restore his physical strength and mental energy, he would study the inherited knowledge within the Stone Stele or practice various techniques of Necromancy. Bebe would go out hunting every day, bringing back small animals like wild rabbits or pheasants and placing them before him.

His understanding of the Law of Death underwent a qualitative leap during these three months.

Initially, he felt that death was an end. Later, he felt that death was part of a cycle. Now, he had a deeper understanding—death is not a passive acceptance of an end, nor is it a simple cycle. Death is a power, a power that can be understood, utilized, and even mastered.

Just as life has life force, death also has death force. Death force is not evil, nor is it dark. It is merely a power, neutral just like the powers of the Fire Element, Water Element, and Wind Element. The key lies in the person who uses it.

And the soul is the core of the Law of Death.

Undead Summoning and Undead Enslavement in Necromancy are merely the most superficial manifestations of the Law of Death. They are like Fireball or Wind Blade in the seven elemental magics—merely entry-level techniques. The true mystery of the Law of Death lies in the soul itself.

What is a soul? Where does it come from? Where does it go? Why can it carry memories and emotions? Why can it cultivate and grow? These questions had only vague answers in the basic theories of Necromancy, but through the inheritance, Lin Yun began to form his own understanding.

The soul is a projection of life within the Law of Death.

Every life, from the moment of birth, leaves a projection in the Law of Death. This projection records everything about the life—memories, emotions, experiences, and will. When life ends, this projection detaches from the physical body, becomes an independent soul, and returns to the embrace of the Law of Death.

Therefore, when Necromancy is cultivated to a deep level, what one can achieve far exceeds the imagination of ordinary people—it is not just summoning or enslaving the undead, but being able to touch the essence of the soul and even change the trajectory of the soul.

Of course, that is a matter for the distant future.

For now, Lin Yun has only just begun.

The light on the Stone Stele had completely dimmed. It was no longer the deep black that seemed to swallow all light, but had become an ordinary black stone, and the runes on its surface had become blurred and indistinct.

The inheritance was still ongoing, but the core part had ended. The rest required him to comprehend and practice on his own.

Lin Yun returned the Stone Stele to his Space Ring and stood up.

His body was somewhat stiff from sitting cross-legged for so long, but his soul was many times stronger than it had been three months ago. His soul power was more condensed, and his insight into the Law of Death was more profound.

More importantly, he had a brand-new understanding of the soul itself—an understanding that was not knowledge from books, but an insight carved deep into his soul.

Bebe ran over from the cave entrance, leaped onto his shoulder, rubbed its little head against his cheek, and chirped twice, its voice filled with concern.

"I'm fine." Lin Yun stroked its little head and smiled. "I feel great."

He walked to the cave entrance and looked at the gray, hazy sky outside. Mist filled the mountain forest, obscuring the distant scenery. But he knew that this mountain range held everything he needed—quiet, seclusion, and distance from the prying eyes of the Radiant Church.

He still had too much to digest and too many insights to settle.

The inheritance of the Stone Stele had only given him a key; he still had to walk the true path step by step himself.

Lin Yun turned back into the stone chamber, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.

Bebe curled up beside him, its small body rising and falling, and it soon fell asleep.

The stone chamber returned to tranquility, with only the occasional sound of insects from outside the cave and the faint, lingering glow from the Stone Stele.

The inheritance had ended.

But the true cultivation had only just begun.