Chapter 502: Death Deception

Cang Xu smiled as he looked at the fishman youngster before him, offering heartfelt praise.

He knew at this very moment, the fishman youngster had undergone a pivotal transformation!

This metamorphosis was akin to the youth publicly declaring his identity on Mystifying Monster Island - no longer a paladin, but a beast knight.

It was also akin to the young man publicly proclaiming his justice during the battle of Snake Rat Island, affirming the righteousness of the path of redemption.

And now, within the Ocean Mother Nest, the fishman youngster had fully transformed from a beast knight into a mature mercenary leader.

This transformation was neither abrupt nor without cause. Before this moment, signs had been present all along—a gradual evolution built upon the foundational accumulation of quantitative change preceding qualitative transformation.

“Commander, you always manage to surpass yourself, breaking through your own limitations,” Cang Xu inwardly marveled.

In a way, Cang Xu placed more faith in the fishman youngster than the youngster had in himself.

In the Sheng Ming Empire's Count Qiang Kang's classic treatise, <Discourse on Ruler and Subjects>, there was a timeless maxim: The ruler chooses his subjects, and the subjects choose their leader!

Cang Xu had fully chosen the fishman youngster as his leader and had begun to assist him to the utmost of his ability.

This support wasn't mere obedience; it sprang from his heart, seeking every means to aid the fishman youngster.

Just as now, Cang Xu deliberately withheld information, granting the youngster a crucial opportunity for growth, and his wish was fulfilled as he witnessed the fishman youngster's personal breakthrough, seeing a more mature side emerge.

Having reached this point, Cang Xu held nothing back.

He addressed the fishman youngster: “Commander, we must indeed take action against these fishmen.  But this time, it is not to kill them, turn them into undead fodder, and harvest the bloodline of the Corpse-Hanging Tree.”

“There has been a welcome development...”

Cang Xu then revealed everything he had gained from his prayer to the fishman youngster, holding nothing back.

The fishman youngster was both astonished and delighted.

“I never imagined your prayer would yield such rich rewards!”

“The Opportunistic Deception... This divine spell is likely the very method Zhou Zhang used against you, enabling her to capture you and the human pirates like Ba Qi so easily.”

“Combined with the Missionary Mark, Soul Link, Spiritual Sound Sermon, Spiritual Navigation, and Synchronized Conversion, these divine spells complement each other in layers, offering immense aid to your missionary work.”

"The more missionary success you achieve, the greater the divine favor you'll receive. According to divine blessings, once your favor reaches a certain threshold, you may perform purposeful prayers—consuming favor to obtain corresponding divine blessing!"

Cang Xu nodded repeatedly. “Following this path, once we accumulate sufficient favor, we can use prayer to teleport the Deep Sea Monster Fish and quietly depart this Ocean Mother Nest.”

“In the future, when my clerical position advances further and I obtain the Resurrection Spell, after expending vast amounts of divine favor and power, I should be able to truly revive Miss Zi Di!”

The prospect Cang Xu described filled the fishman youngster with yearning.

The gods were omnipotent.

Every deity possessed resurrection techniques, capable of bringing the dead back to life.

Yet differences existed among them.

Certain deities possessed specialized divine duties, excelling in resurrection magic and achieving the same effect with lesser cost.

The Charming Blue Goddess's duty lay in deception and disguise, bearing no relation to resurrection. Yet with sufficient effort, she too could bring others back to life.

With communication established, Cang Xu urged the fishman youngster to act swiftly.

Their target remained the numerous fishmen of the Da Ji Clan.

Their original plan had been to kill these fishmen, craft them into undead materials, and use them to collect the bloodline of the Corpse-Hanging Tree.

The new plan was still to capture these fishmen, then have Cang Xu preach to them. The more fishmen who worshipped the Charming Blue Goddess, the greater the divine favor Cang Xu would gain.

The contrast between the two plans was stark. The latter was easier to execute, more likely to succeed, and offered a higher return.

How much Corpse-Hanging Tree bloodline could they realistically gather by killing fishmen and crafting undead materials? The outcome was predictably meager, and the process was cumbersome.

The fishman youngster immediately dispatched the Rubber Swallowers to target the fishmen of the Da Ji Clan.

Under his prior design, the Da Ji Clan's fishmen had already “mercilessly slaughtered” Cang Xu, not only tearing him into countless fragments but even devouring his remains.

This revealed the depth of their hatred for Cang Xu.

After all, Cang Xu was the instigator who proposed to Zhou Zhang that the entire Da Ji Clan participate in the teleportation blood sacrifice!

Without a doubt, had the fishman youngster not intervened, the Da Ji Clan would have suffered catastrophic losses in this teleportation blood sacrifice. Even if any survivors remained, they would number in the single digits, leaving the entire Da Ji Clan existing in name only.

After all, the faithful chosen for the teleportation blood sacrifice were almost universally unwavering in their devotion and confidence in their beliefs.  Thus, countless more believers met their end within the Ocean Mother Nest.

Among the Da Ji Clan, most of the Charming Blue believers were casual adherents, making it difficult for them to successfully endure the trials.

The Rubber Swallowers, disguised as seawater, emerged in droves. They approached the fishmen with ease, swallowing them whole in a single gulp.

The fishmen of the Da Ji Clan quickly noticed their companions mysteriously vanishing one by one.

They let out startled cries and instinctively huddled together.

Some fishmen, thinking themselves clever, shouted loudly, believing this was a test from the Charming Blue Goddess, urging their kin to pray fervently and ignore everything else.

Of course, others suspected this was a scheme by Zhou Zhang or a mysterious attack by the Snow Pear Octopus.

Even huddled together, the fishmen could hardly withstand the attacks of the Rubber Swallowers.

While the fishmen suffered, the fishman youngster and Cang Xu prioritized dealing with two heavyweight captives.

These captives were Ku Feng and Qing Xin.

Ku Feng had been chosen as the second candidate by the necromancers. Qing Xin, meanwhile, had been collectively selected by the human pirates as the first sacrifice.

Shortly after the fishman youngster attacked Cang Xu, the Rubber Swallowers, controlled by the tower spirit, swallowed both Ku Feng and Qing Xin.

The process went smoothly, without the slightest hitch.

On one hand, the Rubber Swallowers were all imbued with the Anti-investigation and Prophecy spell and Deceptive Disguise spell, disguising themselves as a mass of seawater. Drifting within the Ocean Mother Nest saturated with seawater, their disguise was flawless, leaving no trace of their presence.

On the other hand, Ku Feng and Qing Xin possessed no means to resist. Both were bound by a double seal cast by Zhou Zhang.

Swallowed by the Rubber Swallowers, they were carried deep into the depths aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish.

The Rubber Swallowers kept them securely within their stomachs.

To the captives' senses, the surrounding seawater tightly enveloped their bodies, rendering them utterly immobile. Meanwhile, the fishmen had all mysteriously vanished.

They had struggled, of course, attempting to free themselves.

Ku Feng fared somewhat better, after all, as a silver level fighter with a zombie body, he possessed considerable strength. Yet he still couldn't match the Rubber Swallower, who wielded extraordinary power as a silver level.

As a magician, Qing Xin possessed far less physical strength and stamina than Ku Feng, making escape utterly impossible.

Whether they attributed this mysterious predicament to the Ocean Mother Nest or Zhou Zhang no longer mattered.

“What should we do with these two?” the fishman youngster asked Cang Xu.

Cang Xu replied, “Commander, proceeding as we previously discussed seems the most prudent course.”

“And now that I've mastered the Opportunistic Deception, I can fully imbue these two with its power, making the entire capture operation absolutely foolproof!”

Moments later, Cang Xu and the fishman youngster arrived at the landing pod. Here, two Rubber Swallowers stood motionless.

Their bellies were distended, each holding Qing Xin and Ku Feng captive.

Standing before them, Cang Xu began casting the Opportunistic Deception divine spell.

What was unusual, however, was the Pearl Bubble clutched in his palm.

The Opportunistic Deception released smoothly, and the pearl bubble in Cang Xu's hand was simultaneously depleted.

Both the Opportunistic Deception and the Pearl Bubble originated from the Charming Blue Goddess, sharing an inseparable, interconnected lineage.

The divine blessing also contained information on utilizing other resources to assist in releasing divine spells.

After falling victim to the Opportunistic Deception, Ku Feng suddenly sensed a massive octopus tentacle piercing through the seawater and coiling around him.

With a slight tug, the tentacle instantly shredded Ku Feng into pulp.

His vision plunged into utter darkness.

Meanwhile, Qing Xin felt the spell sustaining her breathing and countering the oceanic pressure abruptly vanish. Massive seawater pressed in, instantly forcing her to cough up blood. Simultaneously, countless waves of seawater flooded her nose and mouth. Within seconds, Qing Xin suffocated to death.

The sensations of both captives converged within Cang Xu's perception.

As the caster of the divine spell, Cang Xu could perceive the sensory outcomes of its targets.

This was Cang Xu's first genuine use of divine magic. Through Qing Xin and Ku Feng, he unearthed two fresh, hot pieces of practical experience. Thus, he grasped the formidable effect of the Opportunistic Deception Spell.

“So-called ‘opportunistic’ means exploiting the current trend to deceive the target.”

“And the outcome of my deception is death!”

Before his demise, Ku Feng's greatest imagined adversary was the saint level Snow Pear Octopus. Thus, after being deceived by the flow, he imagined it was the octopus's tentacles that killed him.

Qing Xin herself bore a double seal, but as a human, she couldn't naturally survive long underwater, especially at the ocean depths. Thus, Zhou Zhang had also imbued her with additional spells. Yet she deeply distrusted Zhou Zhang. This inner anxiety amplified, manifesting as the cause of her death, suffocation.

Precisely because it flowed so naturally, everything appeared perfectly plausible to both targets. Thus, they harbored not a shred of suspicion.

Now both were dead.

Though they still breathe and show signs of life, they have fallen into a deep, comatose slumber.

This was precisely the outcome Cang Xu had programmed when casting Opportunistic Deception.

He only needed to set the desired result. Through the unfolding situation, the deceptive narrative would automatically manifest within the targets' minds. These deceptive narratives would inevitably lead to the outcome Cang Xu had predetermined.

Now, both Qing Xin and Ku Feng had been deceived into believing they were already dead.