Chapter 507: The Seal is Lifted

A flicker of surprise crossed Cang Xu's face.

Zhou Zhang's attitude toward necromancy and necromancers caught him off guard.

She smiled, reading Cang Xu's thoughts: "What's so strange about that? Didn't the gods suppress the necromancer faction precisely because they delved into the mysteries of the soul?"

“I worship my Lord. You needn't doubt the steadfastness of my faith.”

“Do you know what true steadfast faith is?”

“It is faith that endures without the slightest wavering, even after learning the world's true nature!”

“How the gods gather faith involves secrets tied to the soul. For a bishop level clergyman, there are scarcely any secrets left undiscovered.”

“And the reason I became a bishop is that even after learning these truths, my faith remained unshaken.”

These words held great weight.

Cang Xu nodded, convinced by Zhou Zhang's reasoning.

Now reflecting, Cang Xu suddenly remarked, “In that case, these new Charming Blue divine spells might not be suitable for widespread dissemination either.”

“On one hand, the vast majority of lower-level clergy aren't necromancers and lack the ability to cast such spells.”

"On the other hand, forcing their adoption would be disastrous. Because they touch upon the mysteries of the soul, they could shake the faith of the clergy themselves."

Many low-level believers were unaware they were offering themselves as tribute. But mastering this series of divine spells would make them realize they too contributed to the deities, rather than everything being solely divine blessing as they had previously believed.

Thus, everything the deity bestowed upon the faithful ceased to be unconditional grace and instead resembled a transaction.

'You give me your spiritual energy, and I repay you with divine power and divine spells.'

This, of course, would deliver a powerful shock to one's faith.

If stabilized, the believer gained steadfast conviction, laying a solid foundation for ascending to a higher level. But in most cases, faith would waver and steadily decline. It might well condemn the believer to a lifetime of being merely a casual believer.

Zhou Zhang regarded Cang Xu with a gaze of recognition: "You grasped this so quickly, clearly a sharp mind. Tell me, what else can you think of?"

Cang Xu paused, then a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes: "It is my Lord who chose me. With boundless magnanimity, She has made this necromancer a missionary to proclaim Her path, Her majesty, and Her mercy."

He suddenly realized: beyond high-level clergymen, necromancers were the most suited for this missionary divine spell.

On one hand, necromancers possessed profound soul foundations and innate spellcasting abilities. On the other hand, they long understood the truth behind spiritual energy, faith, and exploitation.  Thus, the vast majority of necromancers developed a rebellious consciousness and refused to worship deities.

"Converting necromancers to faith is far more difficult. But as seen with Archbishop Zhou Zhang, once their faith takes root, it becomes exceptionally steadfast, able to withstand repeated trials!"

Seeing Cang Xu's expression of sudden understanding, Zhou Zhang laughed heartily and slapped his shoulder. "Whether these divine spells were refined by our Lord or by other believers, the fact that our Lord can present them as divine blessings signifies a major shift in our church's policy."

“Truthfully, there's nothing inherently wrong with collaborating with the undead faction.”

"Our Lord was gravely wounded and plunged into slumber. all by the gods of the Sheng Ming Empire! The deities of other factions stood idly by, offering no aid whatsoever."

"The great gods suppress the undead faction solely because it poses a grave threat to their own interests."

"Hmph! Under these circumstances, why shouldn't we recruit necromancers as believers? We're already in this predicament anyway."

Zhou Zhang muttered under her breath, her discontent palpable.

Cang Xu listened with trepidation.

Though his innate talent had improved somewhat, he remained a low level transcendent at heart. It was only after accompanying Jian Gui that he glimpsed the vistas of the mid-to-high level world. Even then, he was merely an iron level pretender masquerading as silver level.

Zhou Zhang wasn't just a saint level cultivator; she was high-ranking within the Charming Blue Church. Her casual remarks revealed the world's true structure, the secrets of its highest echelons!

After muttering for a moment, Zhou Zhang realized she'd spoken too much. She cut herself off and offered Cang Xu a few words of encouragement.

Cang Xu sensed she wanted to end the conversation and quickly asked, “Lord Zhou Zhang, may I freely preach here?”

Zhou Zhang smiled. “Of course you may.”

"As a missionary, spreading faith earns you divine favor. With such divine spells at your command, I trust divine favor will come easily."

“I too was once a missionary. Looking back now, if only I'd possessed such divine spells back then. it would have been splendid!”

"Successful proselytizing yields 1 unit of divine favor for bronze level, 10 for iron level, and a whopping 100 for silver level. Of course, this figure represents only an average. The actual amount of divine favor granted depends heavily on the faith levels before and after conversion."

“But regardless, this offers substantial rewards for a new clergyman.”

At this point, Zhou Zhang suddenly interjected, “I nearly forgot, I can remove the seal now.”

“Without the seal I placed, you'll be able to unleash the full power of your missionary divine spells.”

"Do you have soul crystals? Frequent use of the divine spell Synchronized Conversion will drain your soul. Therefore, it's best to have ample soul crystals for replenishment."

Cang Xu first beamed with delight, then shook his head with a wry smile. “I don't have many soul crystals on hand.”

Zhou Zhang pressed, “Can you craft soul crystals?”

Though Cang Xu had already obtained the intermediate soul aspect inheritance from Jian Gui, he shook his head without hesitation. “My contact with Jian Gui was specifically for that intermediate soul aspect inheritance. I haven't secured it yet.”

Zhou Zhang smiled encouragingly. “Then strive to spread our teachings. Convert those necromancers into our believers. Perhaps then, you might obtain the soul crystal creation method from Jian Gui. Who knows?”

A sharp gleam flashed in Cang Xu's eyes. “Lord Zhou Zhang, are you suggesting...”

Zhou Zhang had already turned to leave, tossing back one final remark: “Such an exceptional divine spell of proselytizing naturally requires more necromancers to wield it, wouldn't you agree?”

Following this incident, Zhou Zhang's attitude toward Jian Gui and other necromancers underwent a shift.

Cang Xu watched Zhou Zhang's departing figure and keenly sensed this change.

He hurried back to the area surrounding the golden altar, only to find that the crowd from earlier had largely dispersed over the intervening time.

The circle of believers surrounding the altar remained kneeling solely for prayer.

"My return has severely disrupted my former relationships. Zhou Zhang's relationship with me has developed perfectly, while Jian Gui's requires more maintenance."

Cang Xu sought to find Jian Gui, but at that moment, an unconscious voice warned him: returning to his own shack to rest was the wisest strategy.

Suppressing his urge to seek out Jian Gui, Cang Xu returned to his previous humble dwelling.

Closing the shack door, he appeared to pray while secretly activating his Memory Switching Spell!

Segments of memory previously concealed now resurfaced.

“So, I had hidden my true memories.”

“I fabricated numerous false memories, implanting them into key moments of my past life.”

“All to bolster my faith in the Charming Blue Goddess.”

"This approach did indeed elevate my devotion to that of a devout believer. It was precisely this foundation that allowed my missionary divine spells to manifest such potent effects before Zhou Zhang!"

These fabricated memories had significantly heightened Cang Xu's recognition and closeness toward the Charming Blue Goddess.

Now, as the true memories surfaced, they clashed with the fabricated ones.

Cang Xu immediately cast a Memory Concealment Spell, hiding each fabricated memory one by one.

"This brings my level of faith back to mediocrity. But this is the real me. Only in this state can I better face Jian Gui!"

Cang Xu now understood the origin of the subconscious promptings in his mind.

Before teleporting back, he had not only fabricated memories but also cast a Subconscious Reminder Spell, instructing himself to return to his shack after passing the trial.

He had set the Memory Switching Spell to activate upon reaching the shack's door.

All these were deliberate preparations and arrangements made before his return, now taking effect one by one.

Cang Xu silently analyzed the situation.

"To them, Ku Feng and Qing Xin are dead. Only a few dozen fishmen from the Da Ji Clan survived the teleportation back."

“But in reality, they're all aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish.”

"Qing Xin and Ku Feng are under strict surveillance, with multiple layers of security ensuring their safety. As for the other fishmen, far weaker in power, their movements are also restricted and they are under strict guard."

"Most crucially, I have already imprinted the Missionary Mark upon these fishmen captives!"

The spells the fishman youngster was currently studying, besides Soul Crystal Creation, included Memory Concealment and Memory Switching.

His purpose in practicing these latter two was to manipulate the memories of the fishman captives. Just as he had done with Cang Xu, he would conceal parts of their true memories and implant fabricated ones, thereby converting them all into believers of the Charming Blue Goddess!

Once they became believers, the Missionary Mark would confirm Cang Xu's role in their conversion.

Through subsequent prayers, Cang Xu would gradually receive corresponding divine blessings as rewards.

"In a sense, we’re turning every fishman captive into a blasphemous priest."

"But these fishman captives remained utterly ignorant."

Using the memory fabrication device to aid his proselytizing, this was the ingenious plan Cang Xu conceived while at the Ocean Mother Nest.

During the capture of the fishmen, he repeatedly employed the Opportunistic Deception Spell to complement his efforts.

Cang Xu had a premonition: "The divine spells of proselytizing I've acquired, the Opportunistic Deception, the magic formation for the Deceptive Disguise spell, the memory crystal fabrication device... Combining these elements must yield synergistic effects. But time is limited, leaving me no chance to delve deeper."

“Now, it's time to meet Jian Gui.”

Undoubtedly, returning in this state, Cang Xu would need to earn Jian Gui's trust anew.

It was impossible for Jian Gui not to harbor suspicion toward him.

This was yet another trial.

But Cang Xu was brimming with confidence!