Chapter 453: Path of Blasphemy

The White Hair Trench.

Beyond the Ocean Mother Nest.

A blood sacrifice had been prepared.

Zhang Yu Wan drove a vast herd of sea beasts onto the golden altar. Bound and suppressed by the power of the magic formation, the beasts could not move.

Jiu Hua Bi stood at the foot of the golden altar, bellowing as he called out names one by one.

The believers whose names were called stepped forward in turn, circling the golden altar before kneeling down to begin silent prayers.

Ba Qi keenly observed: these believers had been meticulously selected, almost exclusively naga in race.

This differed from previous prayers.

In earlier rituals, believers gathered around the golden altar without regard to race or order, scattered casually. They prayed in various languages. Some withdrew silently after finishing, their vacated spaces swiftly filled by others.

They did not vie for position; to them, proximity to the altar held no bearing on the depth of their faith.

This unusual ritual drew not only Ba Qi but also Jian Gui, Lady Sea Snake, Cang Xu, and others.

By the time Jiu Hua Bi ceased calling names, over a hundred knelt at the altar's base.

The remaining believers maintained a distance from the golden altar, creating a gap of at least two hundred meters between them.

The blood sacrifice formally commenced.

The presiding officiant of the blood sacrifice was none other than one of the archbishops of the Charming Blue Church, the octopusman Zhou Zhang.

As the ceremony's host, she reaped the greatest benefits. However, being a saint level being with an inherently massive form, her enhancement was not particularly noticeable.

Yet there was no doubt: Zhou Zhang held the entire army in check. She was the core of the entire ritual, the most crucial figure, without question!

The gold level altar and the grand magic formation slowly activated, revealing magic lines and divine script that radiated surging energy and brilliant light.

Upon the golden altar, countless sea beasts were instantly dissolved.

Midway through the blood sacrifice, the accumulated radiance of the golden altar reached its peak, erupting with intense spatial fluctuations.

A strange light enveloped the area within a hundred meters of the altar, and the nagas kneeling on the ground instantly vanished from their spots.

"It's teleportation! Where were they sent?" Ba Qi's eyes widened; he had never witnessed such a phenomenon before.

Jian Gui and the others also witnessed this scene, their faces filled with astonishment and doubt.

The gathered believers, witnessing this, knelt en masse and began fervent prayers. Others turned their gaze toward the captives like Ba Qi and Jian Gui, their faces twisted into cold grins.

They tolerated these heretics precisely because they knew their fate.

If Ba Qi, Jian Gui, and the others converted, they would become one of their own, accepted into the faith. If they refused, they would become sacrifices, offering everything to the gods they worshipped.

The Ocean Mother Nest instantly erupted into chaos.

The saint level sea beast, Snow Pear Octopus, unleashed a bloodbath, feasting voraciously on countless sea monsters.

The naga believers had long since retreated to corners, praying fervently in terror.

The alchemy puppets dispatched by the fishman youngster were already fishing in troubled waters. Taking advantage of the naga and saint level sea beast's inattention, the Rubber Swallowers smoothly captured several naga believers.

Subsequently, these Rubber Swallowers quietly returned to the Deep Sea Monster Fish without alerting the saint level sea beast.

Alchemy Master Zhong Yong stood ready. Upon receiving the captives, he activated the horned cages, imprisoning them all.

These horned cages were Zhong Yong's latest creation, primarily crafted from the spiral horns of narwhals.

As the naga captives were thrown inside, countless spiraling spikes erupted from the cage, piercing deep into their bodies.

The excruciating pain jolted the prisoners awake.

But their attempts to struggle were futile.

The force unleashed by the spikes suppressed their supernatural abilities.

The test results were outstanding, prompting the fishman youngster to praise Zhong Yong repeatedly.

Zhong Yong was also pleased: “Your satisfaction is the greatest reward.”

He was indeed satisfied.

These past days, holed up aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish, his workload had been immense, yet he reveled in it, finding endless satisfaction.

For he had encountered countless alchemy blueprints, each ingeniously conceived and uniquely brilliant, leaving him in awe. Furthermore, vast quantities of alchemy materials awaited his refinement.

Wasn't this precisely the happy life he pursued?

The youngster began interrogating these naga believers.

With only himself remaining, he used his Bloodcore to absorb all the naga believers, transforming them into his own bloodline accumulation.

Through interrogation, the fishman youngster learned of Zhou Zhang's intentions.

“She truly does intend to spread her teachings.”

“That's why this teleportation didn't bring these prisoners aboard, they were sent directly into the Ocean Mother Nest.”

“For now, it's about letting Ba Qi, Jian Gui, and the others witness it firsthand, making them feel fear and pressure, forcing them to convert their faith to the Charming Blue Goddess in their despair.”

“Well then, Zhong Yong also needs more time to alchemize more powerful artifacts to capture Ba Qi, Jian Gui, and the others.”

The horned cages Zhong Yong had rushed to produce were mostly iron level, with only one being silver level.

Given his current abilities, he was still unable to forge a gold level one.

When the naga believers teleported back and appeared around the golden altar, the waiting undersea army erupted in boisterous cheers.

Seeing this scene, Ba Qi was stunned once more.

“They've teleported back again!”

“Wait, not all of them returned unscathed. There are some casualties.”

"Huh?"

Ba Qi nearly thought he was seeing things. To his astonishment, he discovered that the auras of the returned believers had universally strengthened. He remembered clearly that before teleportation, some believers had been merely low level transcendents, but now their life levels had directly ascended by one level.

Even those transcendent believers who hadn't gained a level upgrade possessed significantly denser life auras than before.

Upon the altar, Zhou Zhang surveyed the naga believers before turning his gaze to Ba Qi and the others.

The grim, bewildered expressions on Ba Qi's group caused a faint smile to curve Zhou Zhang's lips.

The gold level figures like Zhang Yu Wan and Jiu Hua Bi also watched the prisoners' reactions with keen interest.

The teleported believers merged into the crowd.

Cheers surged anew as the crowd surged forward. The remaining believers rushed to greet them, chanting the divine name and praising their Lord. Hands reached out to touch the naga believers' hands, shoulders, legs, feet, and other body parts. As if touching these believers' bodies could also bestow divine glory.

The naga believers, having endured rigorous trials of faith, now bore solemn expressions, radiating honor and nobility. The trembling, desperate prayers they had offered in the Ocean Mother Nest had been utterly forgotten.

For them, though teleportation to the Mother Nest carried mortal peril, the rewards far outweighed the risks.

Their power had surged dramatically, their renown soared to new heights, and their status ascended by more than one level.

As Ba Qi, Lady Sea Snake, Jian Gui, Cang Xu, and others watched the jubilant crowd, the shock fading from their faces gave way to a heavy, somber atmosphere.

Even the fishman youngster aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish, witnessing this scene through the magic projection, couldn't help but utter a heartfelt exclamation: "So many intelligent species gathered together, celebrating the same event. At this moment, racial barriers seemed nonexistent. So this is faith!"

Jian Gui silently retreated to his makeshift shelter, his mind churning with turmoil: “This place likely conceals another Ocean Mother Nest!”

Unlike Ba Qi, Jian Gui, a gold level magician, had spent his days in captivity observing.

Each time a ritual commenced, the magic formation would manifest.

Jian Gui attended each one, meticulously studying the magic runes, divine inscriptions, and the precise layout of the formation.

“Our founder once tasked us with gathering all intelligence concerning Charming Blue Goddess.”

“Though the Charming Blue Goddess slumbers, she can reshape the Mother Nest. By using it as a relay point, she ensures her own safety while deepening devotion and accumulating divine power!”

“Lord Jian Gui.” At that moment, Qi Ling's voice came from outside the shack.

Jian Gui summoned Qi Ling inside.

Qi Ling then relayed all the intelligence gathered during this period to Jian Gui.

Jian Gui confirmed his suspicions, and a wave of profound despair surged from his heart.

“Gather our people. I have words for them.” Jian Gui instructed Qi Ling, who promptly obeyed.

Though they were prisoners, the intensity of their surveillance had drastically diminished over time. By now, Jian Gui, Cang Xu, and the others could move freely within a small area.

Even gathering together wouldn't be stopped. It was like the treatment of prisoners in a jail.

On one hand, the saint level Zhou Zhang possessed formidable power. On the other hand, Jian Gui and others wore magic-suppressing shackles, severely limiting their ability to wield extraordinary abilities.

Soon, the necromancers, including Qing Xin, gathered in Jian Gui's makeshift hut.

Qi Ling sighed, “Who would've thought we'd reunite under these circumstances.”

Xiao Wang Zi snorted coldly, “And it's all your fault!”

Jian Gui replied, "You all witnessed today's ritual. This isn't a simple blood sacrifice. There should be a Mother Nest hidden here..."

Jian Gui voiced his conjecture.

Xiao Wang Zi froze.

Over the past few days, his sense of complacency had grown increasingly severe. He'd even considered putting on a show, feigning deep devotion to buy time until powerful reinforcements from the necromancer faction found them.

Jian Gui and his companions harbored no such illusions.

They hadn't sent out a distress signal. Even if they had, it was doubtful anyone would receive it. The battle on the Underworld River had been pure luck for Jian Gui!

Ku Feng realized: "I see. No wonder Zhou Zhang wanted us to convert. Whether the conversion succeeded or not, she stood to gain either way. The Ocean Mother Nest has been reshaped by the goddess, it's nearly impossible to deceive them with superficial faith."

Qi Ling's face darkened with worry, “Then our only hope now rests on the success of the transformation.”

Though she had been a fishman in life, she had never worshipped the Charming Blue Goddess.

In truth, had she been a devout believer, her soul wouldn't have lingered after death, she would have been immediately guided by the deity.

Jian Gui shook his head, “Faith isn't something you can just talk your way into.”

“You saw it yourselves, those naga believers were handpicked. Their devotion is undoubtedly at least devout level.”

“We need to convert successfully in such a short time, and become at least devout believers, to survive this deadly crisis.”

“The real trouble is, even if we convert out of fear of death, our faith won't run deep.”

His words plunged the necromancers into silence.

Cang Xu asked, “Then what should we do?”

“There's only one way,” Jian Gui's voice echoed in their minds, “We must use the means of a blasphemous ritual to disguise ourselves.”

“Blasphemous ritual?”

“I recall this being part of the advanced soul aspect inheritance.”

Xiao Wang Zi and Qi Ling responded one after the other.

They both possessed mastery of this covert communication method. Cang Xu, however, was encountering it for the first time, able only to listen, not speak.

The next moment, Jian Gui replied, “Given the urgency, a slight breach of principle is permissible.”

“To boost our survival odds, I intend to impart some aspects of the blasphemous ritual to you!”

The words barely left his mouth before Cang Xu received a vast trove of magic knowledge.

This knowledge materialized directly within his mind, as if conjured from thin air.

“The legacy of the blasphemous ritual!”

“The way to fabricate false memories!”