Jason entered the Netherworld less and less often because the undead under his command no longer significantly improved his strength.
This trip was purely on a whim.
Lumba has gotten even stronger.
In the previous chaotic battle, because Lumba was skilled in defense, he was only seriously injured and forced to return to the Netherworld.
Later, Jason consumed the Blue Jade Fruit, and a portion of his Divine Power was once again transferred to Lumba. Now, the light of his soul is no longer as dim as that of a newly ascended Saint-level undead.
The Soulfire of the undead in the Saint-level will transform into soul light, which looks like a tangled mass of rays, and the undead's own talent will be reflected in the color of the soul light.
Besides Lumba, Jason's strongest subordinates are the Twin-Sword Skeleton and the Corpse Dragon. Both are at the peak of level nine. The Twin-Sword Skeleton has already comprehended a certain amount of the Edicts of Destruction, while the Corpse Dragon is on par with the former due to his talent.
There are also undead archers, zombies, Corpse Magus, all of whom are level nine, early stage.
The rest of the undead are all level eight. The group that Lumba led in the early days was all at this level. As undead, their aptitude is not very high, and the chance of an undead breaking through to the Saint-level Realm is extremely low. Undead also need to comprehend "momentum" to break through to the Saint-level. This is a limitation of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, which undead cannot avoid.
"I may have very few opportunities to come to the Netherworld in the future, so I want to take this opportunity to improve the strength of my army."
As Jason interacted with other Saint Magus, he learned that after Necromancy broke through to the Saint-level, their Soulfire in the Netherworld gained the ability to cast Necromancy —a gift from the Laws of Heaven and Earth.
Of course, its magic comes from the undead that have made a pact with it.
Theoretically, Lumba's magical power is limited, and he cannot provide much magic power for Jason to cast spells while fighting. However, Jason has comprehended the Edicts of Death, so even if Lumba does not participate in the battle, Jason's magic alone can defeat most of the undead in the Saint-level.
"A group of Dark Knight passed by nearby a while ago. I could sense that their leader was a Early-stage Saint-level. At the time, I didn't attack because I was afraid of losing too many troops." Lumba already had enough wisdom and a high degree of initiative.
Jason's undead army was still relatively small, far from what a Peak Saint Necromancy should be like. Lumba had been avoiding conflict with the army led by the Saint-level undead during this period.
Five days of tracking, five minutes of fighting.
With Jason's current strength, he could simply throw dozens of Bone Spear and pin an entire elite Dark Knight army of over fifty to the ground.
Undead that haven't made a pact with Necromancy have a much lower cap on the number of other undead they can subdue. This Dark Knight army, being an elite force, only has about fifty members.
"If only you had water magic, I could just freeze them and subdue them without needing any recovery time," Jason said.
Lumba possesses an affinity for both earth and fire, and wields three types of magic: death, earth, and fire. Jason can only use the Power of Death to cast spells.
"With this Dark Knight helping you manage the army, I feel much more at ease."
The difference between Dark Knight and Dark Warrior is that Dark Knight possesses management experience imprinted on their soul during their lifetime, giving them strong leadership abilities. Jason's undead army has always lacked a qualified commander.
"Master, this Dark Knight said he encountered a very strong enemy earlier, a Saint-level Skeleton Archer, who is not far away." Lumba spoke with the leader of the Saint-level Dark Knight and obtained this information.
"Surround him."
"This skeleton archer is interesting," Jason remarked, looking at Lumba's torn shoulder.
It was a skeleton archer at the Early-stage Saint-level, who showed no signs of comprehending the Profound Mysteries, but the war bow in his hand was a Divine Artifact with the lightning attribute.
Jason gave his opponent no chance to continue attacking; the power of the Divine Artifact war bow was such that none of Jason's undead could withstand it.
Bone Spear rained down on the skeleton archers and their minions, their arrows offering no defense. The archers were instantly riddled with thorns, and the surrounding low-level undead were also rendered helpless.
The Early-stage Saint-level was utterly powerless against Jason.
Jason easily subdued his opponent and learned about the origins of the Divine Artifact war bow.
"I found it." The skeleton archer's answer was simple and straightforward.
Okay, it makes sense to find a Divine Artifact in the Netherworld. There are plenty of refining materials of similar quality to "Black Yu" around, but we can only look at them and not get them.
When Necromancy summons undead, they can only summon the undead themselves, including the undead and their innate weapons, armor, and mounts. All undead are sent back to the Netherworld after the summoning ends or the undead perishes.
Any artifacts made with materials from the Netherworld, or any found Divine Artifact or Interspatial Ring, are not within the scope of the summoning—they are not recognized by the Netherworld.
Therefore, the subdued Saint-level Skeleton Archer can only use this Divine Artifact war bow in the Netherworld. Jason summoned it to the Yulan Continent, where it can only use the bone bow and arrows it was born with.
"If we could bring some materials to the Material Plane, we'd be rich!" Jason exclaimed, a sentiment shared by most Necromancy —though Necromancy who lived in the Higher Planes didn't have this problem.
Jason glanced at his undead legion: three Saint-level; three undead with the potential to break through to Saint-level —a dual-sword skeleton, Corpse Dragon, and Corpse Magus; and nearly forty level eight and nine undead. He barely reached the passing grade for a Saint-level Necromancy.
"From now on, this undead legion will be up to you to develop. The undead have their own laws, and it's better for you to control this army than for me to interfere. Perhaps some of you will become Deity-level in the future and rediscover your true selves. At that time, we might be able to have a chat."
Jason gave some instructions to Lumba and the other core undead, then returned to the Yulan Continent.
For Jason now, the undead legion isn't very useful. After all, in a place like the Netherworld, Peak Saint undead with sufficient talent has a much higher probability of breaking through to the Deity-level than the Saint-level beings in Saint-level Material Plane.
Only those at the Saint Realm Middle Stage can be controlled by Necromancy for extended periods.
Jason's sister, Lucy, has broken through to the Saint-level, becoming a Saint Warrior.
Unexpectedly, the highly anticipated elder brother Barek, was surpassed by his youngest sister, and not in magic, but in warrior level.
Lucy broke through to the Saint-level in Bloodshadow Valley, and immediately came to find Jason afterwards.
"What I've grasped is the Darkness Element Profound Mysteries, 'Shadow,' but I haven't gained any insights into the Edicts of Death." Lucy discussed her recent reflections with Jason and Veronica: "Since breaking through to the Saint-level, my perspective has changed. Looking back now, it really wasn't worth it to fight to the death with my elder brother over worldly power."
"Profound Mysteries of Shadow" refers to the Shadow Doppelganger Technique that Bebe comprehended in the original work. Shadow Clone is a part of "Shadow Profound Mysteries," which also includes abilities related to stealth.
Jason comforted him, saying, "Some things you just have to experience. It's a way of understanding life. This experience will be of great help to you in your future cultivation."
For those born in the Material Plane, their cultivation potential is essentially set before reaching the Saint-level. This is because their experiences before reaching the Saint-level shape their personality and habits, and assuming their innate talent remains unchanged, personality and habits have the greatest impact on their cultivation.
"I intend to go to Rhine City to succeed my father," Lucy said.
"Why?" Jason asked, puzzled.
"Father also has the potential to break through to the Saint-level; he's currently an Eighth-level Warrior. My elder brother and I made a pact that whoever breaks through to the Saint-level first will be the next emperor, giving Father the opportunity to attempt to reach the Saint-level."
Jason hadn't expected such an agreement between Lucy and Barek, but for the Saint-level, it wouldn't be a big deal; Lucy was more than capable of being a competent monarch.
"Your sister-in-law and I will attend your coronation ceremony."