Chapter 456: Jian Gui’s Self Rescue Plan

The next day, Jian Gui once again summoned the necromancers.

While engaging in superficial conversation, he secretly inquired about the progress of fabricating their memories.

Xiao Wang Zi muttered under his breath, “This is way too difficult! I worked all night and didn't even reach 5%."

Qi Ling echoed, “Given this level of difficulty, it truly lives up to being an advanced necromancer bloodline inheritance.”

If both magicians struggled, Ku Feng's progress was even lower, a mere 2%.

Yet someone lagged behind him: Cang Xu.

Cang Xu suspected Jian Gui had tampered with the inheritance content, so he didn't rush his practice but merely pondered it.

Since connecting with the fishman youngster, Cang Xu's mindset had undergone significant changes.

Jian Gui reassured everyone: “Forging memories is like performing surgery on your own soul. It requires extreme precision to avoid self-harm, or else it easily leads to confusion in self-awareness.”

"Even for me, having practiced this inheritance for years, creating a completely fabricated memory alone takes at least a week. Of course, this doesn't mean seven days and nights without sleep, but rather with normal rest periods."

"Then what should we do? My greatest fear is that another blood sacrifice will begin before we successfully fabricate our memories," Xiao Wang Zi expressed his deep concern.

Qi Ling analyzed, “While blood sacrifices occur frequently, the special ones that transmit believers inside aren't like that. They happen at intervals.”

Xiao Wang Zi perked up at this and hurriedly asked how long the interval was.

Qi Ling answered him.

“At most two or three days. That's nowhere near enough!” Xiao Wang Zi clutched his large skull, looking utterly helpless.

Jian Gui chuckled softly, “It's far too early to despair.”

"Forging memories on our own would be painstakingly slow. But don't worry, I have specialized tools. This alchemy apparatus not only speeds up memory fabrication but also creates memory crystals. With memory crystals, we can directly overwrite our original memories instead of tampering with our souls."

"Among the techniques I previously taught you is the Memory Switching Spell. Combined with this spell, we can relatively freely toggle between the ‘disguised’ and ‘true self’ states. This prevents prolonged disguise from turning us into someone else entirely, losing our true selves."

Ku Feng frowned, quietly objecting: “But how can we use the alchemy device in our current state?”

Qi Ling added: "The reason we can gather freely now is likely because Zhou Zhang and the others are deliberately letting us be. They want us to discuss endlessly without results, plunging us all into despair to increase the likelihood of conversion."

For this challenge, Jian Gui had a solution prepared.

He didn't beat around the bush, stating directly, “In our current predicament, it's impossible to openly use this alchemy device.”

“But once we reach the Ocean Mother Nest, things will be different.”

"At that point, isolated from the outside world, I can break free from the restraints binding me, gaining some freedom of movement. I will swiftly remove the restraints binding you. With that, we can operate the memory crystal making device."

Cang Xu heard these words and doubt immediately took root in his heart.

He himself lacked the ability for such covert communication, but fortunately, the next moment, Xiao Wang Zi voiced the concern weighing on his mind: “Doesn't the Ocean Mother Nest house a saint level sea beast? If we do this, we'll likely be devoured by the saint level sea beast!"

Jian Gui looked at him: “A low-intelligence saint level sea beast is still better than facing the saint level Zhou Zhang.”

“In truth, the enemy we should fear most is Charming Blue Goddess!”

“Because the Ocean Mother Nest was remodeled by her.”

"However, this deity fell into slumber long ago. Even if we utter her divine name, it won't trigger any response."

"This Ocean Mother Nest was personally transformed by her. That saint level sea beast serves as her guardian beast, aiding her in guarding the Ocean Mother Nest while assisting in the completion of the blood sacrifice."

"If she is conscious, any slightest change within the Ocean Mother Nest will be instantly perceived."

"Facing any other deity, we will be doomed. But with the slumbering Charming Blue Goddess, we still hold a sliver of hope!"

Cang Xu remained silent, yet a realization dawned upon him as he listened.

His thoughts drifted back to Weeping Pine Island, where he had first encountered Jian Gui and the others.

On Weeping Pine Island, he attended his first gathering of the undead. He clearly remembered the terms of the deal proposed by Jian Gui.

One task was to gather intelligence on the various aspects of the Charming Blue Goddess, while the other was to find new ways to contact the War Merchant.

The survivors possessed the capability to accomplish both missions. This left a profound impression on Cang Xu.

"Jian Gui wants to gather intelligence on the Charming Blue Goddess. This clearly isn't his own initiative. Behind him lies the orthodox undead faction, and likely even the will of You Shen. Those orthodox necromancers are almost all blasphemous priests. These blasphemous priests have probably already set their sights on the Charming Blue Goddess. They likely intend to strike against her."

"Charming Blue Goddess has slumbered for years due to severe wounds. To the blasphemous priests, she is a perfect target."

"As a member of the undead orthodoxy, Jian Gui must have access to some hidden intelligence. Therefore, he now possesses profound knowledge about the Ocean Mother Nest and this blood sacrifice."

Jian Gui began to reveal his true plan: "Charming Blue Goddess is now in a state of deep slumber. The Ocean Mother Nest, personally modified by her, is guarded by the saint beast. Zhou Zhang and her believers are conducting this grand blood sacrifice here precisely because of the Mother Nest's unique properties. The offerings from the blood sacrifice are absorbed and processed by the Mother Nest with near-perfect efficiency. The vast majority of this nourishment is channeled directly to the Charming Blue Goddess's true body."

“Most of the harvest is absorbed by her, while a small portion is retained to empower the saint beast, Zhou Zhang, and other devout believers.”

“Even this minuscule fraction of the harvest represents an unimaginable boost for most transcendents.”

"If we act alone, forging memories is nearly impossible. You've all experienced its difficulty firsthand."

"Therefore, to save ourselves this time, we must cooperate fully! Once we teleport into the Ocean Mother Nest, we'll have a brief window for action."

Ku Feng realized with a start: “You mean when the saint level sea beast hunts those sacrificial sea beasts?”

“Correct.” Jian Gui nodded slightly.

This intelligence had been deduced through his own reasoning and later corroborated by information gathered by Qi Ling. Jian Gui could even roughly estimate the exact duration of this window.

He continued, “Based on my calculations, we're still slightly short on time to complete a full fabricated memory.”

“Therefore, we must delay the saint level sea beast's advance.”

“Fortunately, by that time, we will have partially restored our combat strength. We can use our summoned creatures to wage a war of attrition, buying crucial time for you.”

“At the final moment, even I, as a gold level being, can barely hold my own against the saint level sea beast.”

"To conserve time as much as possible, we must consult and collaborate to fabricate a false memory. Each of us completes a segment, and by layering our contributions, we can dramatically accelerate the overall progress. I will personally oversee the final consolidation and refinement."

Xiao Wang Zi widened his eyes: "So we'll all share one fabricated memory? Is that truly feasible?"

“Rest assured,” Jian Gui affirmed. "As an orthodox undead, I've long studied the methods our masters used to defy the gods. Even a normal deity couldn't possibly inspect every believer's entire memory. Of course, during a major festival, multiple believers simultaneously possessing identical memories remains a significant flaw."

"But Charming Blue Goddess is slumbering. A sleeping deity cannot perceive this flaw.  As I mentioned before, her slumber is our greatest opportunity."

"Therefore, as long as a single false memory covers all of us, we can pass the test of faith."

At this point, Jian Gui's tone grew wistful: “Among all deities, the Charming Blue Goddess excels most in deception and disguise. Now it seems fate is truly wondrous and ironic. The Charming Blue Goddess, master of deception and disguise, will be deceived and outwitted by us!"

These words ignited the necromancers' fighting spirit.

Ku Feng chuckled, his voice brimming with anticipation: "Deceiving a deity skilled in deception and disguise? How thrilling!"

Jian Gui sighed, scanning everyone present: "The situation now should be quite clear to all. In short, unless we receive reinforcements or some extraordinary, unforeseen event occurs, this is our only chance to survive. I urge everyone to seize it with all their might!"

The necromancers obeyed with solemn resolve.

Cang Xu was no exception.

His expression was unwavering, yet his thoughts churned beneath the surface.

Though this gathering yielded no new inheritance content, it proved immensely valuable nonetheless.

For he had finally grasped why Jian Gui had defied his principles, voluntarily imparting fragments of the advanced undead inheritance.

Cang Xu had previously worried that Jian Gui might tamper with or manipulate this inherited knowledge. Now, however, that possibility seemed unlikely.

For he needed the necromancers to collaborate seamlessly in crafting a complete fabricated memory. If he were to tamper with it, Jian Gui would not only betray others but also himself.

Yet regarding Jian Gui's other words, Cang Xu remained deeply suspicious.

“When time is critical, Jian Gui would likely sacrifice others without hesitation!”

“He'll undoubtedly use the first fabricated memory he creates on himself!”

"Can the same fabricated memory truly aid others? Can this be a deliberate lie spun by Jian Gui? Does he intend to use this deception to make everyone serve him, ultimately benefiting only himself?"

"Sharing a single fabricated memory among so many carries risks. If I were Jian Gui, the safest and most secure path to survival would be abandoning and sacrificing others to preserve only myself!"

After the battle at the Underworld River, Cang Xu understood Jian Gui's true nature all too well.

This Jian Gui would resort to any means to ensure his own survival.

“But the others remain completely unaware.”

It had to be said, Jian Gui's methods were highly covert. His usual demeanor was impeccable, greatly benefiting Xiao Wang Zi, Qi Ling, and Ku Feng.

These three, gathered around Jian Gui, still harbored not a shred of suspicion toward him.

“What a bunch of naive fools! Hard to believe they're all necromancers,” Cang Xu sighed.

Under these circumstances, he couldn't unite the others to guard against Jian Gui.

“Had it not been for the battle on the Underworld River, I wouldn't have understood Jian Gui's true nature so thoroughly.”

“Perhaps there's another reason. That is, Jian Gui and I share many similarities. We're both cold-hearted, capable of calmly weighing pros and cons!" Cang Xu couldn't help but recall his recent struggle, the fierce internal conflict that ultimately led him to decide to sell the deepest secret to secure his own survival.

“If the commander hadn't appeared in time...”

A wave of lingering fear and bitterness washed over Cang Xu once more.

Yet his subsequent conversation with the fishman youngster would radically shift his perspective.

Cang Xu realized this peril concealed an immense opportunity!

Thus, after Jian Gui dismissed the others, Cang Xu returned to its shack.

“Lord Jian Gui, I've been thinking. If we all master the operation of the memory crystal making device, it would greatly benefit our current plan!” Cang Xu declared.

Jian Gui looked at Cang Xu with surprise and suspicion.

The method Cang Xu was using to communicate with him now was none other than the secret method they had used before!