Chapter 420: The “Traitor” Betrays Again

Necromancy magic harnessed pure negative energy, so they differed from dark magic.

Of course, lanternfish heads could still be crafted into death heads, though the success rate was far lower than with other skulls.

After consuming all his lanternfish heads, Cang Xu had only managed to create over twenty lanternfish death heads.

When he attempted to inscribe necromancy magic onto the fish heads, he discovered the engraving difficulty for undead magic models had also increased significantly. Moreover, the limited space meant only a few spells could be inscribed onto a single fish head.

By the time Cang Xu had five spell-casting lanternfish heads, he received some good news.

More accurately, the ghost ship's reconnaissance efforts had finally yielded results.

They had discovered the whereabouts of Qi Ling!

More precisely, the remains of a water ghost under Qi Ling's command.

Qi Ling commanded an army of water ghosts that had distinguished themselves during the Weeping Pine Sea Battle. When the scout ghost sent out by the Ghost Ship discovered it, only the legs of this water ghost remained.

The scout ghost brought the leg back to the ghost ship, where Jian Gui immediately cast a spell to confirm it bore Qi Ling's magic aura!

“We've finally found her!” Xiao Wang Zi exclaimed joyfully.

Ku Feng remarked, “Necromancers can only control ghosts within a certain range. Since the water ghost is here, it means Qi Ling must be nearby too.”

Jian Gui breathed a sigh of relief.

Their purpose in coming to the White Hair Trench was to rescue Qi Ling, the “traitor.”

But truthfully, Jian Gui wasn't certain if Qi Ling was even in the White Hair Trench.

Her presence here would be ideal. If not, the necromancers could still save her fishman tribe, freeing them from Lady Sea Snake's control.

Qi Ling cared most for her former clan. Once freed, her greatest burden would lift.

The remnants of the water ghost's leg slowly dissipated, vanishing into nothingness.

The ghost ship returned to where the leg had been found, using that point as a base to explore the surrounding area.

Soon, they uncovered new clues.

From the lingering traces of battle, they deduced that a small school of sardines had surrounded and killed the water ghost.

The sardines' racial magic inflicted damage on ghosts.

This particular water ghost, clearly a scout sent out by Qi Ling, had been surrounded by the sardine school. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, it met a gruesome end.

Its leg drifted with the ocean currents to a nearby location.

Armed with this new lead, Jian Gui dispatched countless ghosts to scour the surrounding area.

Subsequently, the group gradually gathered numerous valuable clues.

Finally, within a submerged mountain hollow, they discovered Qi Ling's fishman clan.

“Qi Ling must be nearby. She worries most about her people,” Xiao Wang Zi murmured. “Even though they've hurt her many times!”

Then, compelling evidence confirmed Xiao Wang Zi's hunch.

The group discovered Qi Ling's scouting water ghosts.

Not just one.

These water ghosts were scattered around the fishman tribe, concealed among the rocks.

Were it not for the faint aura of undead energy they emitted, the necromancers would have struggled to detect them.

The necromancers grew cautious.

They feared alerting the enemy prematurely and preferred to quietly pinpoint Qi Ling's exact location.

To conceal their presence, Jian Gui stationed the ghost ship at a distance while personally leading Xiao Wang Zi and his companions on foot.

Yet after searching covertly for a long time, they still hadn't found Qi Ling.

"Where on earth is she hiding? We've practically turned over every rock nearby." Xiao Wang Zi's patience was the most limited.

“The White Hair Trench has complex terrain. Perhaps there are hidden passages within the cliffs, or even internal caverns?” Ku Feng speculated.

Cang Xu pondered, "It's odd. If Qi Ling is nearby, then Lady Sea Snake shouldn't be far either. Unless Qi Ling breaks free from control, or Lady Sea Snake is overly confident in her methods... But if I were merely a pirate and water magician, I wouldn't presume to control a necromancer."

“Remember, the necromancer faction is a new one.”

Cang Xu voiced his opinion, believing Lady Sea Snake was most likely here too.

“If she's here, then where's her ship?” Jian Gui frowned.

Her flagship during the Weeping Pine Sea Battle had left a deep impression on him.

Xiao Wang Zi shrugged. "We already scouted the sea surface, didn't we? It's as empty as a field, nothing but water and wind."

The group faced a massive obstacle.

They simply couldn't detect Qi Ling, nor Lady Sea Snake who might be right here.

“Actually, this problem can be solved with just a little time.” Cang Xu's words instantly drew everyone's attention.

He didn't keep them in suspense, stating directly, “If we can't find Qi Ling, we can track those water ghosts.”

Ku Feng shook his head. "Even I know that ghost reconnaissance doesn't require returning to report. Necromancers can cast spells to see through a ghost's vision and access its memories."

Cang Xu smiled. "That's precisely the tracking method I'm referring to. We can capture a water ghost alive in secret. While Qi Ling casts spells to excavate the water ghost's memories, we employ tracking spells to pinpoint her exact location. I recall this spell being part of the intermediate soul aspect inheritance."

Jian Gui nodded. "Indeed, it's called the Soul Trace Spell. Its primary function is to discern the location of undead beings through subtle traces. Necromancers who master it often use it to discover and capture powerful or unique spectral entities within the Ghost World."

"It can also be used now to locate Qi Ling. After all, necromancers are undead beings themselves. When she casts undead spells to access the water ghost's vision or memories, that constitutes an undead trace. However, I cannot guarantee success, as I rarely employ this spell."

After hearing Jian Gui's explanation, Xiao Wang Zi and Ku Feng instantly understood.

Where could one find numerous powerful, unique undead beings?

The Ghost World, of course.

Exploring a plane like the Ghost World required a necromancer to be at least saint level; gold level was too risky.

Back then, Doctor Sui Shi had discovered Jian Gui's distress signal while exploring the Ghost World.

Following Cang Xu's suggestion, the group captured a bronze level water ghost alive.

This action carried inherent risk.

It risked alerting Qi Ling.

After escorting the water ghost aboard the ghost ship and examining it, Jian Gui made a new discovery.

When he reappeared on deck, he announced, “Good news.”

Xiao Wang Zi beamed. "So, the Soul Trace Spell worked? Tell me, where exactly is Qi Ling hiding?"

“In the sky,” Jian Gui replied.

"What?!" Xiao Wang Zi strained to widen his eye sockets, well, all he had left were eye sockets.

“I see,” Ku Feng realized.

Jian Gui continued, “There's always been a white cloud on the sea surface. The Fluffy Cloud is hiding within that cloud.”

“The Fluffy Cloud?” Cang Xu questioned.

Jian Gui knew about them: "It's the Powerless Pirates. They're also part of the Fire Beard Pirates. It seems they were invited here by Lady Sea Snake. That's the intel Qi Ling provided." 

This surprised the others. 

Xiao Wang Zi asked uncertainly, “Lord Jian Gui, you've made contact with Qi Ling?” 

“That's right. Qi Ling anticipated our arrival and rigged the water ghost. Through the water ghost, we can now communicate with her and exchange basic intelligence. That's the good news I mentioned!" Jian Gui declared.

It truly was excellent news!

Qi Ling's “betrayal” stemmed from having her vulnerabilities exploited, she had no choice. During the Weeping Pine Sea Battle, she clearly held back.

She also anticipated that Jian Gui and the others would come to rescue her, so she preemptively tampered with the scouting water ghost.

Cang Xu speculated: Perhaps her trust in Jian Gui stemmed from being summoned by him and serving as his alchemy assistant for many years, fostering deep familiarity.

Now, Qi Ling had secretly established contact with Jian Gui. With an “eye” within the enemy's ranks, the situation for the necromancers immediately turned favorable.

“The Fluffy Cloud is hiding within the clouds. How can we strike?” Xiao Wang Zi fretted.

“It's difficult,” Jian Gui shook his head, “My ghost ship cannot fly yet.”

Cang Xu's heart stirred. He keenly discerned a secret in Jian Gui's words, could the ghost ship actually fly?

“I'm useless in aerial combat,” Ku Feng admitted, “Only the ghost army can maintain combat effectiveness.”

“Exactly,” Xiao Wang Zi lamented, clutching his massive head. "My skeleton archers pose no threat to the Fluffy Cloud. My skeleton magicians are too few, and worst of all, my ramhorn skeleton turtle fleet is utterly useless!"

Among his skeleton forces, the most formidable were those ramhorn skeleton turtles. Their current numbers had more than doubled since the initial expansion.

Cang Xu advised, “We must lure them into the sea.”

“Mm-hmm, exactly!” Xiao Wang Zi nodded vigorously, “Luring them to the ocean floor would be ideal, then my heavy cavalry might finally prove useful.”

Ku Feng added, “We operate in the shadows while they're exposed. We can take our time strategizing.”

Jian Gui shook his head. "The pirates aboard the Fluffy Cloud aren't our only enemies. According to Qi Ling's intel, another pirate crew will arrive here for reinforcements in the coming days."

“The Heroism Pirates.”

“But according to the plan, they must first dock at Flower Skirt Island for several days.”

“So, we don't have much time left.”

“We'd better lure them down here soon!”

But how?

Xiao Wang Zi pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up: “I've got it!”

His head jerked up too forcefully, and with a crack, his skull separated from his neck.

His round, skull-like head bounced onto the deck.

Xiao Wang Zi's body scrambled over, crouched down, and reattached his head: “We can attack Qi Ling's clan!”

“That way, we'll lure those pirates down!”

Seeing everyone fall silent, Xiao Wang Zi pressed on: “Why do you think they're hiding in the clouds?”

“I don't believe they're lying in wait for us.”

“They're probably threatening and exploiting Qi Ling's clan to hunt sea beasts on a massive scale.”

"If we strike at the clan now, they'll be shocked and come after us. They'll think we're here for revenge—after all, Qi Ling betrayed us!"