Chapter 441: Rescued Due to Unexpected Events

Seeing the captives remain silent, Zhou Zhang said nothing further. Instead, she signaled with her eyes to the gold level octopusman, Jiu Hua Bi, standing nearby. 

Jiu Hua Bi immediately understood Zhou Zhang's intent. With a wave of his hand, he directed the others to escort the sea beast herd onto the altar.

Thus, under the prisoners' gaze, a blood sacrifice commenced.

Though the fishman youngster hiding within the Ocean Mother Nest had witnessed such rituals countless times, it was the prisoners' first encounter.

They watched the entire process from start to finish, their eyes wide with astonishment, feeling the immense power of this hybrid formation blending magic and divine text.

The captives finally understood why such immense power lay concealed within White Hair Trench.

“As a saint level archbishop of the Charming Blue Church, she intends to hunt sea beasts here on a massive scale, sacrificing them to her deity.”

“The beast tide in White Hair Trench is their perfect opportunity to gather ample offerings for the blood sacrifice.”

"We're utterly doomed. Captured by these people, we're being forced to convert. Refuse, and we'll likely be sacrificed!"

“Life or death?”

“Convert or not?”

The captives faced an agonizing choice.

At that moment, one captive spoke up first: “I’ll convert!”

All eyes instantly focused on him.

People quickly recognized the one declaring conversion as the highest level necromancer among them -the gold level Jian Gui.

Zhou Zhang's expression remained unchanged as she tilted her chin slightly. The octopusman behind Jian Gui immediately moved to support him to his feet.

Jian Gui was finally free from kneeling.

He raised his head to look at Zhou Zhang on the altar, bowing slowly as he introduced himself: “Archbishop of the Charming Blue Goddess, Zhou Zhang of the saint level... I am Jian Gui, the direct heir to the orthodox necromancer lineage...”

Jian Gui stated his identity and revealed his teacher was one of the Twelve Saints. Finally, he invoked the name of You Shen. This legendary figure, renowned throughout the world for founding the necromancer faction, was a true superstar!

Jian Gui passionately expressed his viewpoint: the necromancer orthodoxy and the Charming Blue Church were not adversaries; cooperation between the two was entirely possible.

Yet these words did nothing to soften the expressions of his enemies. Instead, the disgust and suspicion on many faces only deepened.

Zhang Yu Wan snorted coldly, fixing a piercing stare on Jian Gui: "Necromancer orthodoxy? So, you're a blasphemous priest, are you?"

With those words, a torrent of murderous intent surged toward Jian Gui from all directions.

The hatred between blasphemous priests and the various religions and their believers ran deep, their conflict utterly irreconcilable, a complete and utter enmity!

Jian Gui hastily clarified that while he belonged to the orthodox necromancer faction, he was not a blasphemous priest.

He further emphasized: While many blasphemous priests existed within the orthodox undead faction, not a single one had ever dared to offend the Charming Blue Goddess.

This much was true.

At least to Zhou Zhang's knowledge, no necromancer had ever desecrated her sacred faith.

Jian Gui concluded with a solemn oath: Even if he gained such power in the future, he would never dare to offend the Charming Blue Goddess. To prove his sincerity, he declared he would convert on the spot, join the Charming Blue Church, and become the world's first gold level necromancer to worship the goddess! Moreover, when the opportunity arose, he would preach to other necromancers.

These words moved many believers.

Zhou Zhang stared at Jian Gui for a long moment before speaking in the Universal Language: “All things should worship my Lord, and necromancers are no exception. Jian Gui, if you truly can spread the Goddess's faith among necromancers, I shall reward you according to your merits.”

"I will believe you for now, but you must prove your faith to us later. Do not be a cunning fox or jackal."

"I hope you truly believe in my Lord. Should we discover you deceiving us, even with You Shen standing behind you, you shall pay an unimaginably heavy price."

Jian Gui hastily pledged he would keep his word and devote himself wholeheartedly to the worship of the Charming Blue Goddess. He was already eager to learn the relevant prayers and perform his very first prayer.

Yet deep within, Jian Gui sneered inwardly: "If Founder You Shen truly stood behind me, would you dare repeat those words just now? Zhou Zhang!"

Circumstances dictated his attitude. Jian Gui chose outward obedience while secretly seeking an opportunity to call for aid.

During the previous battle, his focus had been entirely drawn to Ba Qi, leaving him utterly unprepared for the Opportunistic Deception Spell. This left him unable to even make the gesture to send a distress signal.

Even if he had sent one, the chances of receiving rescue at the level of the Twelve Saints were slim.

That battle on the Underworld River had been more a matter of good fortune for Jian Gui. One of the Twelve Saints, Doctor Sui Shi, happened to be nearby and could receive his distress signal.

With Jian Gui as an example, Xiao Wang Zi and the others immediately understood what they must do.

It had to be said, necromancers possessed remarkably flexible faith boundaries.

Xiao Wang Zi, whimpering softly, feared death intensely. He dreaded never seeing his parents again.

But before Xiao Wang Zi could speak, another voice piped up first: “I too shall convert to the great Charming Blue Goddess!”

All turned to see who had spoken. The speaker was unexpected; it was Ba Qi.

Though Ba Qi held his own beliefs, his faith ran shallow, at best, he was a casual believer.

After becoming a prisoner, Ba Qi swiftly accepted his reality and chose submission. This likely stemmed from his past experience being imprisoned in the Abyss Hanging Tower.

With the two most powerful gold level captives having both declared their conversion and demonstrated their allegiance, the remaining prisoners swiftly followed suit: each expressed their willingness to convert.

Thus, these individuals were helped to their feet, though the shackles around their wrists and ankles remained fastened.

Zhou Zhang issued further orders. She instructed priests of the Charming Blue Church to lead the captives, teaching them the church's prayers and ritual protocols. They were also tasked with guiding the captives to settle here, overseeing and managing their daily lives.

To be spared like this, freed from the threat of death, felt almost unbelievable to Cang Xu and the others.

“They just let us go like that?”

“She actually believes we've converted?”

“The Charming Blue believers around us are looking at us strangely. There must be something fishy going on!”

If he could speak to them directly, the fishman youngster would tell them: 'You're thinking far too simplistically! Next, you'll be transported to the Ocean Mother Nest. The saint level sea beast within the Mother Nest will be the most rigorous test of your faith. The slightest deficiency in faith will see you ruthlessly slaughtered, becoming one of the blood sacrifices.'

But for now, the fishman youngster heaved a huge sigh of relief.

If Zhou Zhang had tried to execute the prisoners in public, the fishman youngster would be forced to break out of the Ocean Mother Nest and attack them with the Deep Sea Monster Fish in an attempt to save Cang Xu.

He could never stand by and watch his comrade die horribly.

That was utterly beyond him.

For the fishman youngster, this turn of events was undoubtedly the best possible outcome!

Thanks to the intelligence he'd gathered earlier, he had already guessed Zhou Zhang's next move.

“Once Cang Xu is teleported in, I can rescue him.”

“When he's brought aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish and sees me, he'll be shocked, right?” The fishman youngster smiled, anticipating that moment.

"I set out from Snow Bird Harbor originally to rescue Lan Zao. I failed to save Lan Zao and ended up trapped in Ocean Mother Nest myself. Now, by some twist of fate, I'm going to save Cang Xu."

In that moment, the fishman youngster felt the capriciousness of destiny.

“Ah, I wonder how Lan Zao is doing now?”

Lan Zao was doing quite well.

He swam freely through the ocean.

Through days of training, he had grown quite familiar with his new life form.

He constantly practiced breathing through his gills, striving to make the action instinctive.

Before this, he had “accidentally” encountered Ba Qi, enduring a trial. After falling into the water, Lan Zao had fallen unconscious, ceasing his gill breathing.

This was a weakness. Following Shuang Tu's reminder, he was now actively working to improve it.

Ba Qi's infused battle qi allowed Lan Zao to complete his energy transformation in minimal time.

Now, Lan Zao practiced the Air Pressure battle qi technique.

Battle skill -Air Cannon.

Lan Zao slowed his swimming pace, covertly contracting his muscles to compress the air sac within his body. The stored compressed air was immediately forced out in a mass, traveling through his windpipe into his mouth.

From the outside, Lan Zao's Adam's apple rolled, followed by his cheeks suddenly bulging.

Seizing the moment, Lan Zao opened his mouth and fired an air cannonball.

The projectile flew dozens of meters before exploding with a boom.

Lan Zao assessed that its destructive force should rival that of an iron level cannonball.

However, since the test was conducted deep underwater, the sea surface remained perfectly calm.

After fully converting his battle qi, Lan Zao's previous injuries had completely healed.

Currently, he was focusing on mastering the Air Cannon battle skill.

It must be said that the study materials provided by Shuang Tu have been immensely beneficial to him.  Combined with his bloodline and battle qi technique being highly compatible, Lan Zao's cultivation of this battle skill has progressed rapidly.

He has now fully grasped it. Immersed in his training, he gradually lost track of time until Shuang Tu teleported over to find him.

Shuang Tu addressed Lan Zao: “Your training session is over, Hen Fa.”

“Lunch is ready for you.”

Lan Zao nodded his thanks to Shuang Tu.

He understood clearly: his rapid progress these past days stemmed partly from his bloodline and diligence, but equally from Shuang Tu's comprehensive support. This included daily nutritional feasts, magic cuisine. Not only were they delicious, but they were perfectly suited to his current needs, providing him with abundant nourishment.

Just as Lan Zao was planning to continue training after lunch, Shuang Tu continued, “After lunch, you should rest for a while. Don't train at all this afternoon. You need to conserve your energy.”

"I'll introduce you to someone. He'll take you down to an underground cavern to participate in a wild duel."