Chapter 454: Seabed Shadow
The instant he received the legacy of the blasphemous ritual, Cang Xu felt an overwhelming surge of gratitude toward Jian Gui.
As a descendant of Founder You Shen, Jian Gui demonstrated the true responsibility of the undead orthodoxy at a critical moment. He had risked violating principles to secretly disseminate the legacy of the advanced soul aspect, solely to increase the survival odds of the necromancers.
Beyond gratitude, he felt profound astonishment.
Cang Xu never imagined he would acquire the blasphemous ritual's legacy under such circumstances!
According to his prior assumptions: the method for crafting soul crystals resided within the intermediate soul aspect inheritance, while the blasphemous priest's legacy belonged to the advanced soul aspect inheritance.
Given the principles Jian Gui had previously demonstrated, Cang Xu would first need to demonstrate sufficient talent to qualify for the intermediate soul aspect inheritance. Then, he would have to complete certain tasks to prove his loyalty. Only then could he be accepted by the orthodox necromancers. Of course, this process would inevitably involve extensive covert investigations.
Cang Xu hadn't even met the first requirement yet.
Even if he had, this would undoubtedly be a long-term, large-scale endeavor. It would consume immense manpower, resources, and time from Cang Xu.
Beyond that lay even greater risks.
For Cang Xu could never join the undead orthodoxy under his true identity. The secrets and interests of the Mystifying Monster Island far outweighed any intermediate or advanced soul aspect inheritance.
They were far more critical. Critical enough to threaten Cang Xu's very life.
Under these circumstances, Cang Xu unexpectedly obtained a blasphemous priest's legacy, even if only a fragment of it, which was enough to fill him with astonishment.
After imparting the inherited knowledge to everyone, Jian Gui dissolved the gathering.
Cang Xu returned to his own dwelling.
It was a makeshift shack, similar to Jian Gui's abode, hastily constructed from coral.
Cang Xu sighed deeply, "Fate is truly unpredictable. I failed to secure the intermediate soul aspect inheritance yet unexpectedly gained a portion of the advanced knowledge ahead of schedule. But..."
His expression darkened slightly.
The earlier gratitude and excitement faded significantly.
The pressure of survival now loomed heavily.
Today, Cang Xu witnessed a unique blood sacrifice. At the necromancers' small gathering, he had also confirmed intelligence, learning part of the truth concerning the Ocean Mother Nest.
Cang Xu had no confidence in his own conversion.
“For now, my greatest hope for survival lies in fabricating memories, becoming a blasphemous priest to deceive and manipulate Charming Blue Goddess, Zhou Zhang, and the others.”
“But the crucial question remains - what is Jian Gui's true intention?”
Having served as a noble steward for many years, Cang Xu had witnessed countless schemes and plots. When contemplating matters, he instinctively interpreted others' motives with the utmost suspicion.
The previous battle at the Underworld River had also left an indelible impression on him.
In that conflict, Jian Gui had manipulated Cang Xu, generously lending him the supplementary volume of the spellbook. Then, using that duplicate, he forged his own life essence. Unbeknownst to Cang Xu, he disguised Cang Xu as himself, causing the gold level assassin Wei Ying to mistake Cang Xu for Jian Gui. Wei Ying struck to kill Cang Xu. Had the dragonman youngster not provided Cang Xu with a decoy puppet beforehand, Cang Xu would have died.
Not only Cang Xu, but in subsequent battles, Xiao Wang Zi was also used by Jian Gui as bait, luring Wei Ying out once more.
This time, however, Jian Gui acted far more discreetly, leaving Xiao Wang Zi oblivious afterward.
Yet Cang Xu etched this experience and its lessons deep into his heart.
Cang Xu pondered, his doubts growing.
"When I previously sought the intermediate inheritance from Jian Gui, he upheld his principles, revealing a fierce determination to defend them. Why would he suddenly abandon those principles, even proactively imparting advanced inheritance to outsiders?"
“When facing existential threats, Jian Gui will resort to any means to preserve himself, treating those around him as pawns and sacrificial offerings.”
“Under these circumstances, his voluntary imparting of the blasphemous ritual's secrets is highly suspicious!”
Jian Gui's inconsistent behavior defied logic.
Every believer harbored profound loathing for the blasphemous priests. This was evident the day Zhou Zhang publicly interrogated Jian Gui at the golden altar.
Such hatred ran deep in their very bones.
For Jian Gui to now willingly impart knowledge of the blasphemous ritual, if Zhou Zhang and the others discovered this, his fate would be grim. He might even be executed on the spot!
“Would he risk such consequences merely to increase others' chances of survival?” Cang Xu shook his head silently.
That's clearly impossible.
Cang Xu began to seriously doubt the reliability of this particular segment of the inherited knowledge in his mind.
Carrying this doubt, he sat cross-legged on the sand, eyes slightly closed, and began to silently delve into the matter.
Not long after, he slowly opened his eyes. Though his doubts remained unresolved, he couldn't hide his delight.
It was the joy of discovering true knowledge.
“So, the core of the blasphemous priest still revolves around soul transformation.”
The reason blasphemous priests could conceal themselves from the gods lay in a breakthrough in a crucial technique: memory alteration.
Necromancers forged their own memories to craft the image of devout believers.
They convinced even themselves, thereby deceiving the gods as well. Mistaking necromancers for their most pious or fervent believers, the gods often bestowed blessings without restraint.
The essence of memory alteration was, in truth, a technique for reshaping souls.
“The foundational legacy of the necromancer soul aspect includes the Soul Summoning Spell, capable of transforming recently departed souls present at the scene into ghosts.”
"Within the elementary soul aspect inheritance lies the technique to reshape these spirits, transforming them into myriad forms. Beyond this, there are also the Burden Alleviation Spell and Karma Removal Spell. These two spells form the core of the elementary inheritance, targeting the necromancer's own soul."
"The intermediate soul aspect inheritance contains methods for crafting soul crystals. This unique artificial resource is clearly a major breakthrough achieved through deep research into souls. Soul crystals are pure, memory-less essences of souls. Reaching this stage indicates that the ancient necromancers already possessed methods to completely erase memories."
"In the advanced inheritance, the necromancers' ability to modify their own souls becomes even more profound. Magicians can perform highly intricate surgical procedures on their own souls. They can directly fabricate memories and imbue them into themselves. This constitutes the foundational technology for blaspheming the gods."
"So then, the means by which deities discern their believers lies within the soul. Deities should be able to peer into a believer's memories, using them as proof. Necromancers, the magicians, forge memories, essentially tampering with the soul itself to alter this proof, thereby deceiving the gods. No wonder... Necromancers have become the scourge of all, targeted by nearly every faction!"
The Soul Summoning Spell of the foundational lineage, the elementary inheritance's ghost modification spells, the Burden Alleviation Spell and Karma Removal Spell, the soul-crystal technology within the intermediate inheritance, and the memory-forgery techniques of the advanced inheritance...
At this point, Cang Xu had fully grasped the core framework of the soul aspect inheritance!
“This must be the sequence and developmental trajectory of Founder You Shen's soul research.”
“What earth-shattering ingenuity this represents.”
Cang Xu glimpsed the essence through a narrow window, profoundly sensing the Founder You Shen's extraordinary genius in that moment. It made him feel like an ant gazing up at a giant.
Cang Xu tentatively used his spirit to secretly modify his own soul.
"Just as Jian Gui said before, it can indeed be modified covertly. In this regard, the undead still hold an advantage as a newly emerging faction."
Cang Xu's brow furrowed slightly, for he simultaneously sensed constraints and restraints.
Evidently, while the technique for fabricating memories wasn't entirely blocked, it remained severely impacted by the external restriction.
“However, directly altering one's own soul... even if forged memories are acquired, there remains a significant drawback.”
The inheritance provided by Jian Gui explained this drawback quite clearly.
That drawback was memory confusion.
If the fabricated memories were too realistic, they could easily cause the necromancer to develop a distorted self-perception. This could lead the necromancer to lose recognition of their true self, or even come to fully believe the false memories, rejecting their authentic identity.
To address this flaw, Founder You Shen developed the Memory Switching Spell.
The Memory Switching Spell was also one of the most crucial components within the advanced inheritance knowledge obtained by Cang Xu.
When employing the Memory Switching Spell, the necromancer could either block or activate the fabricated memories.
Upon activating the fabricated memories, the necromancer would genuinely believe themselves to be the fabricated persona, thereby ensuring the purity of their faith. This increased the success rate of deceiving the gods.
Upon deactivating the fabricated memories, the necromancer immediately recalls his true identity, guaranteeing accurate self-awareness.
To Cang Xu's regret, the inheritance provided by Jian Gui did not include the memory crystal making device.
Cang Xu reasoned: ‘Memory alteration can be performed directly on oneself or applied to other targets.’" The memory crystal making device is the tool for this. Using it makes memory alteration more convenient, precise, and efficient."
"It's like when humans first ate with their hands. After inventing cutlery, handling foods like steak became far more convenient and efficient."
“So, back to that crucial question!”
“What exactly is the hidden danger within this inheritance? What trick is Jian Gui employing?"
Cang Xu was certain Jian Gui had his own agenda.
The situation was dire.
Zhou Zhang's purpose was obvious, and Cang Xu lacked confidence in his ability to convert successfully.
Though he had obtained the advanced inheritance, Cang Xu dared not blindly alter his own memories. Until he uncovered Jian Gui's hidden tricks, the survival odds he boosted through cultivation weren't his own—they belonged to Jian Gui.
“Another moment of life and death...”
Cang Xu sighed.
His experiences on Mystifying Monster Island had taught him to endure such immense survival pressure while maintaining inner calm.
But this calm couldn't alter reality, couldn't break through this deadlock.
“What other options do I have to cling to in hope of rescue?”
“Wait for the Twelve Saints like Doctor Sui Shi to come to my aid?”
“Ba Qi and Lady Sea Snake are members of the Fire Beard Pirates. Perhaps they have reinforcements?”
“No, none of these are reliable...”
Cang Xu pondered long and hard, arriving at only one possibility.
The secret of Mystifying Monster Island!
It involved the divine artifact, especially the Mermaid Fairy Tale ,the very core artifact of the Charming Blue Goddess. If this secret were revealed, Zhou Zhang would surely be tempted, granting Cang Xu a temporary reprieve.
“Besides that, there's... the Bloodcore!”
Once the secret of the Bloodcore was exposed, the entire world would be tempted. Cang Xu was utterly certain of this.
“I... I could use these secrets to bargain for my life...”
The moment this thought surfaced, Cang Xu immediately stifled it.
Magic flames bloomed in the seawater, mingling with the golden altar's light. Through the crude shack, it illuminated Cang Xu's back.
His silhouette swayed left and right on the sandy seabed, dancing with the flickering magic flames.
Amidst the swaying, the thought Cang Xu had just suppressed surfaced once more.
“Use these secrets to buy myself a chance at survival?”
He crushed the notion again.
Yet swiftly, the same idea stirred to life, like his own shadow cast upon the sand before him.
Crush, emerge, crush, emerge...
After this repeated cycle, the thought grew stronger than before, suddenly filling his mind until it consumed his thoughts entirely!
At the same moment, the image of the dragonman youngster appeared in his mind.
In an instant, the previous thought vanished without a trace.
But the next instant, the thought sprouted again and began to rapidly grow.
It was becoming impossible to suppress.