"What an interesting young man. Well, there's no time like the present. Your spiritual foundation is quite good; you already meet the most basic requirements for learning necromancy. Now, I'll teach you your first necromancy spell."
Before he could finish, Old Tang cut in. "Wait a moment."
The gray ball of light met Old Tang's gaze, and another faint, strange spark seemed to flicker in the air.
Old Tang spoke in the tone of someone discussing a fair deal. "You mentioned the Undead Half-Plane earlier. If I understood correctly, it's an independent plane of space that can help him better cultivate necromancy. Since he's already agreed to inherit your legacy, why not give him the right to use that plane as well? You're only a wisp of a remnant soul now, so you can't use it anyway. Leaving it to gather dust would be a waste."
The gray ball of light flickered violently. A hint of anger and indecision appeared on its indistinct face.
The Undead Half-Plane was an independent space forged from Electrolux's life's work. It held the undead creatures and magical resources he had amassed over many years.
Handing it over to a young man he had only just met, even one who had agreed to inherit his necromancy, would take tremendous resolve.
But every word Old Tang had said had struck home. It was true that Electrolux was now only a wisp of a remnant soul and couldn't use the Half-Plane. It was also true that leaving it to gather dust would be a waste.
Besides, he was living in Mu Chen's Sea of Consciousness. The stronger Mu Chen became, the safer the environment in which Electrolux could recuperate.
The Necromancer Holy Mage had lived for many years. He knew how to do the sums.
"Very well. Since I've already decided to teach you necromancy, I might as well give you the Half-Plane too. But remember this, young man: there are many undead creatures I subdued back then inside the Half-Plane. They recognize their master, not other people. Once you enter, if you can control them with necromancy, they'll be yours. If you can't, don't try to force it. Some of them are beyond what you can handle right now." Electrolux sighed and spoke in a grave voice.
Mu Chen nodded earnestly.
The gray ball of light began to glow—not with the faint flicker from before, but with a steady, blazing silver-white radiance.
The light grew brighter and more intense, until it finally transformed into a beam of silver-white light that shot out of the gray ball and plunged straight into the space between Mu Chen's brows.
Mu Chen's mind exploded.
It was a Spatial Imprint that opened a plane of space, using spiritual power as its medium to connect with Electrolux's soul imprint.
He could clearly sense the existence of an independent space. It hung in the gaps between the real world, surrounded by endless gray mist. Through the fog, he could make out jagged rocks, dry riverbeds, and the silhouettes of countless undead creatures.
The Undead Half-Plane.
From this moment on, Mu Chen had the right to use it.
Old Tang stood to one side with his arms folded, watching Mu Chen accept the Spatial Imprint with his eyes closed. He gave a slight nod.
"Then, let's begin," Electrolux's voice echoed in the Sea of Consciousness.
"Young man, first learn how to enter the Half-Plane. Activate the imprint with your spiritual power, then use your consciousness anchor to pierce the barrier between spaces. You might feel dizzy the first time you enter. Just endure it."
Mu Chen did as he was told. He focused his mind and slowly activated the silver-white Spatial Imprint.
A strange pulling sensation arose from the depths of his consciousness, as if an invisible giant hand had seized his soul and was trying to drag him out of his physical body.
He took a deep breath and didn't resist the force. Instead, he followed its pull and let his consciousness leap forward.
The world turned upside down.
The darkness before his eyes shattered into countless fragments, as if someone had smashed a block of obsidian into powder.
In the next instant, countless sights and sounds poured into his consciousness all at once: jagged gray rock walls, cracked black earth beneath his feet, the stench of decay and silence in the air, and countless hollow, ravenous gazes fixed on him from every direction.
He had made it.
He stood on a stretch of wasteland in the Half-Plane. Beneath his feet was hard black earth, and above him stretched a sky that was always gray and overcast. There was no sun, no moon, only endless gray clouds rolling slowly overhead.
The air was thick with the stench of death.
Something was moving in the distance.
Pale, hunched figures appeared and disappeared in the gray mist.
Eerie green Soul Fires burned in their eye sockets. Their joints clacked as they moved, every motion stiff and sluggish, as befitted undead creatures.
They were the Undead Skeleton Soldiers Electrolux had subdued back then. They were around the level of Soul Grandmasters, numerous and scattered across every corner of the Half-Plane.
Farther away, on the hills, other figures sat astride Skeleton Warhorses.
Soul Fires burned in the horses' eye sockets too, yet their four hooves made no sound as they trod across the ground.
The knights on their backs wore battered armor and carried Bone Spears or rusted iron swords. They sat ramrod straight, like statues frozen in place.
They were Undead Skeleton Knights, each with the fighting strength of a Soul Elder.
Mu Chen stood still, feeling the oppressive weight of this plane.
The air itself seemed heavy. Every breath carried the bitter taste of ash.
His Soul Power circulated thirty percent more slowly here than in the outside world, as if some invisible law were suppressing it.
But at the same time, he could feel a strange resonance. Some force in this space was silently responding to the silver-white imprint in his Sea of Consciousness.
"How does it feel?" Electrolux's voice sounded in his mind. The Necromancer Holy Mage could communicate with him directly through the spiritual imprint, more directly and clearly than Old Tang's telepathic messages.
"Heavy," Mu Chen said.
"That's normal. The laws of the Undead Half-Plane differ from those of the main plane. Your body and soul need time to adjust the first time you enter." Electrolux paused, his voice taking on a deeper meaning. "Now, I'll teach you the most basic Undead Summoning spell. Summoning is the cornerstone of the necromantic system. Without summoned creatures, you're a commander with no soldiers. No matter how advanced your necromancy is, you won't be able to cast it."
Mu Chen sat cross-legged. The ground was cold. The chill seeped through his clothes and into his skin, not like ordinary cold, but an icy gloom that crept upward from the depths of his bones.
He paid it no mind and focused on listening to every word Electrolux said.
"The essence of Undead Summoning is to use your own spiritual power and Soul Power as a medium to forge a contract with an undead creature from the Undead Plane. Once the contract is established, the undead creature will obey your will and heed your commands, fighting for you and even dying for you. It sounds simple, but the hardest part is establishing the contract. When an ordinary Soul Master tries to summon an undead creature for the first time, even a slight weakness in their spiritual power can leave them vulnerable to a backlash. Those creatures won't go easy on you just because I say so."