Chapter 504: Cang Xu – Watch Me Fleece Charming Blue Goddess

Two souls, bound by the links of the chain, formed a mysterious connection.

Yet the moment was fleeting. As the fishman struggled desperately, his furious roars causing the pale blue chain to sway violently, tiny cracks began to form on its surface.

Within seconds, the cracks multiplied until they reached their limit.

Snap.

With a soft crackle, the chain shattered, dissolving into a pale blue mist that swiftly dissipated in midair.

Cang Xu’s body swayed, while the fishman’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed unconscious.

The divine spell Soul Link had failed!

Cang Xu steadied his emotions and calmly assessed his condition: “The backlash from a failed divine spell is far weaker than that of a regular spell.”

“If the target resists too fiercely, the soul link will fail. This outcome was within my expectations.”

Unlike other divine spells, the information granted by the divine blessing regarding Soul Link and related divine spells was concise and not exhaustive.

Yet Cang Xu possessed extensive undead heritage, whose teachings contained profound insights into souls.

Knowledge was a magician's wellspring of power.

Though he had pursued dual paths and become a clergyman, Cang Xu's essence remained unchanged - he was a magician!

As Jian Gui had stated, Cang Xu was an exceptional magician, embodying the finest qualities of his profession.

Through this knowledge, even without explicit mention in the divine blessing, Cang Xu deduced other crucial aspects of soul linking.

Thus, he deliberately exposed his true form to provoke the fishman, facilitating a test to uncover the limits of this divine spell.

His first attempt at soul linking failed; the bond snapped. Yet, in truth, his experiment succeeded!

“The divine spell Soul Link consumes not only the divine power within my body, but also my mental strength.”

“Should the link break midway, the souls of both parties endure turmoil, suffering mental damage.”

"In practical terms, my soul foundation is vastly stronger than the fishman's, so I could withstand it. My spirit plummeted from its peak, but only slightly. The fishman, however, suffered severe soul trauma. His spirit collapsed, triggering his body's self-preservation mechanism, causing him to collapse and lose consciousness on the spot."

“As a bronze level missionary, the total divine power within me can sustain nearly 20 uses of the divine spell Soul Link.”

“But my mental strength only allows me to cast the Soul Link 10 times consecutively.”

"As an iron level necromancer, my soul has been cultivated, granting me greater mental fortitude than a typical magician of the same level. Thus, the divine spell Soul Link is unique, it consumes more mental energy than divine power."

A single experiment yielded vast insights for Cang Xu.

After a minute's rest, he proceeded with subsequent trials. The subjects' levels gradually increased, from bronze to iron, then to silver level.

After several rounds of testing.

The fishman from the Da Ji Clan landed on the metal floor, thrashing wildly and screaming frantically.

In his perception, the Snow Pear Octopus' tentacles had wrapped around his entire body, slowly tightening to strangle him.

At the critical moment, Cang Xu arrived and gently stroked the octopus tentacles.

The next instant, the tentacles miraculously released their grip.

The fishman of the Da Ji Clan stared at Cang Xu, exclaiming in delight, “Lady Qi Miao!”

Qi Miao was indeed the priestess of the Da Ji Clan, being only iron level. Cang Xu had assumed her identity through the Deceptive Disguise spell.

Cang Xu addressed the fishman: “I have successfully converted and received a divine blessing. Next, I shall preach to you. You must cooperate fully. Failure will mean I cannot save you a second time."

The tribe's fishman nodded urgently.

With their full cooperation secured, Cang Xu cast his first divine spell: the Missionary Mark.

This spell consumed the least divine energy and had an almost instantaneous casting time.

A faint glow flickered, and the mark was imprinted upon the fishman's souls.

Next, Cang Xu cast the divine spell Soul Link.

The fishman cooperated fully, creating a remarkably stable bond.

Divine spell - Spiritual Sound Sermon.

The divine power within Cang Xu diminished slightly, while his mental energy depleted even faster. The teachings of the Charming Blue faith stored in his memory, along with his profound understanding of them, flowed through the Soul Link, pouring deep into the fishman's soul.

Within seconds, the fishman grasped the essence of the Charming Blue faith, achieving an understanding equal to Cang Xu's own.

“Next, I shall guide your prayer,” Cang Xu declared.

The fishman nodded fervently.

Divine spell -Spiritual Navigation.

As Cang Xu performed the divine spell, the image of the Charming Blue Goddess automatically appeared in the fishman's mind. The fishman's spiritual energy flowed like water seeking its lowest point, pouring into the divine image, transforming into faith, and being offered up.

“Keep your prayers going!” Cang Xu reminded him.

Kneeling on the ground, the fishman prayed incessantly, his expression deeply pious and tense. Yet genuine faith could not be feigned; his devotion remained merely superficial.

Conversion was difficult. No matter how well one performed outwardly, one could not deceive one's own heart.

Divine spell - Synchronized Conversion!

Cang Xu unleashed the most crucial divine spell.

The faint blue glow emanating from the soul chain linking the two suddenly blazed brilliantly.

Divine power surged ceaselessly from Cang Xu, flowing through the chain into the depths of the fishman's soul, violently reshaping it.

The fishman felt intense agony, but he endured it, persisting in his prayers.

His level of faith began to deepen rapidly, but after mere seconds, it halted.

Cang Xu immediately halted the divine spell, panting heavily.

He also actively severed the soul link between them.

Freed from the burden, the fishman's trembling body steadied. Just as he lifted his head, he met Cang Xu's stern gaze. Startled, he immediately resumed his prayer without pause.

Cang Xu sighed inwardly, concluding: "Among all divine spells, the Synchronized Conversion Spell consumes the most energy. Its effect is also the most wondrous, it synchronizes the faith of both parties."

“The reason the effect wasn't pronounced is because my own faith in the Charming Blue Goddess is merely that of a casual believer.”

Since he and the fishman were on equal footing, Cang Xu could only offer minimal guidance to the latter.

Even so, seeing the small changes revealed the larger truth. Judging by the depth of the fishman's deepening faith, this divine spell was extraordinary!

“To test the true power of this divine spell, I must first forge memories to deepen my own faith before casting it on the fishman.”

“However, this kind of divine spell cannot be used frequently.”

“It consumes not only divine power and mental energy, but also my soul's foundation!”

Cang Xu keenly sensed his soul foundation had weakened slightly. He surmised the principle behind Synchronized Conversion lay in forging a soul link to rapidly reshape the target's spirit.

A clergyman's lifelong cultivation involved their body and mind being nourished and transformed by divine power, gradually molding them into a form fit to bear that power and fulfill the deity's will.

Synchronized Conversion essentially accelerated this divine power transformation process, condensing what would normally be a lengthy journey into the single minute it took to cast the spell. This compression made the transformation violent, causing the target to endure intense agony.

The template for this soul reshaping was the caster's own soul.

When Cang Xu's soul was heavily referenced, it also suffered damage, causing its essence to dissipate and transform into a form of nourishment that fed the fishman's soul.

A sudden thought struck Cang Xu: “Isn't this using my soul as a spell-casting material to transform and enhance the fishman's soul?”

“How does this cultivation method differ from my use of soul crystals to appease the ghost body's appetite while nourishing my own soul and enhancing my foundation?”

“Essentially, they are identical.”

“The only difference is one uses soul crystals, while the other directly consumes my soul.”

“If I were to use soul crystals instead of my soul, wouldn't the effect be even better?”

Cang Xu's thoughts diverged, leading him to a crucial question.

Soul crystals were processed materials, craftable only by necromancers who mastered the technique.

This method was recorded within the intermediate soul aspect inheritance.

Cang Xu paid a heavy price to obtain it by sheer luck from Jian Gui.

Soul crystals were pure soul essence, devoid of any memory impurities. Every ghost possessed a hunger to consume. Feeding on other souls caused memory confusion; in severe cases, it transformed them into monsters saturated with negative energy, their sanity utterly lost.

But consuming soul crystals avoided this pitfall. Without foreign memories, there was no conflict or alteration of self-awareness.

“No, perhaps that's not it!”

“Soul crystals lack memory, yet memory is the cornerstone of faith.”

“By fabricating memories, I can deepen faith to a certain extent.”

“Through Synchronized Conversion to reshape a target's soul, my own memories of worshipping the Charming Blue Goddess should be a crucial factor!”

“Though my memories remain intact, it is precisely this memory that can guide others, deepening their faith in the Charming Blue Goddess.”

A thread of contemplative light flickered in Cang Xu's eyes: “In that case, my need for soul crystals grows even greater.”

The Synchronized Conversion divine spell was the most crucial tool for proselytizing; its use would inevitably become frequent.

The more Cang Xu used, the greater the toll on his soul. Fortunately, soul crystals could replenish his soul. Naturally, the demand for soul crystals grew ever greater.

“Thankfully, I've already mastered the method of crafting soul crystals...”

After pondering, Cang Xu outlined a systematic process: craft soul crystals, cast the Deceptive Disguise spell along with a series of divine spells, successfully proselytize to gain divine favor, then expend that favor to obtain targeted divine blessings... This entire cycle would create a positive feedback loop. While the Charming Blue Goddess lay in slumber, he could continuously fleece the faith system to strengthen himself!

With joy in his heart, Cang Xu shared his conclusions with the fishman youngster.

The fishman youngster immediately understood: “So the undead spell I need to practice next is Soul Crystal Creation.”

Cang Xu remained sealed and unable to cast spells, but the divine spells of the Charming Blue Church were permissible.

The reason was obvious, the sealer, Zhou Zhang, was the archbishop of the Charming Blue Church.

Therefore, Soul Crystal Creation could only be performed by the fishman youngster.

“Time is limited. I must convert as many fishmen as possible to gain greater divine favor.”

“I have a better idea...”

"After successfully converting these captives from the Da Ji Clan, we could release them. These very people will be my strongest justification for participating in the next teleportation blood sacrifice!"

Cang Xu's voice trembled with excitement, his eyes gleaming.