Chapter 279: Section 67: Aspiring to Become a Desecration Priest
Cang Xu slowly opened his eyes.
Before him was the cabin of the Justice.
A slight turn of his gaze to the mechanical clock hanging on the wall, Cang Xu’s expression remained calm.
Meditation had ended.
Each day began on schedule and ended punctually.
An Undead Mage, too, was a Mage, growing their own mana through meditation.
...
Unlike fighters, Mages primarily absorbed external elements in their practice while fighters generated Fighting energy through their bodies.
From this point of view, the Earth Element Fighting energy technique practiced by the Big guy had some similarities with Mage’s meditation, as it could also absorb external elements. However, the element it absorbed was limited to Earth resources.
“All mana restored, mana capacity has increased by 0.1%.”
Cang Xu estimated.
A Mage naturally harbored mana within themselves, and the higher the mana capacity, the better.
“Since adopting the new meditation technique till now, the increase in capacity has become negligible.” Cang Xu sighed inwardly.
The meditation technique he was now using had been acquired from the secret chamber at the bottom of the sea.
The Justice Pirate Group were the ones who excavated the secret chamber, and the greatest beneficiary wasn’t anyone else but Cang Xu.
This meditation technique was far superior to the one Cang Xu had previously practiced. So, after he switched, every meditation session ended with an increase in his mana capacity.
However, as the number of meditation sessions increased, the incremental gains in mana capacity got smaller and smaller.
This time, an increase of 0.1% was actually the cumulative result of the past several weeks. For more than twenty days before that, Cang Xu’s mana capacity hadn’t budged in the slightest.
Although Undead Mages used different elements than mainstream Mages, as Transcendents, they were still bound by their bloodlines.
Cang Xu’s talent was very ordinary, and without surprises, Black Iron Level was his lifetime peak achievement.
“Hm? The ship is slowing down.”
Cang Xu sharply sensed the change in the Justice’s speed.
At the same time, he heard increasingly noisy water sounds.
He raised the curtain, looked through the round glass window.
A vast whirlpool dominated the sea surface, blocking the path of the Justice Pirate Group.
“We’ve reached the Sky Pillar Sea Eye,” Cang Xu exclaimed.
The radius of this Sea Eye was fifteen sea miles. It was fine at the outskirts of the whirlpool, but once one entered deeper into the Sea Eye, even Golden Level demon energy ships would be mercilessly swallowed by it.
Through the window alone, Cang Xu could feel the abundant Water Element emanating from outside the ship.
“I hope we can discover the temple of the God Mei Lan here.”
Cang Xu thought of the Mermaid’s Fairy Tale, whose Divine Artifact’s output of Pearl Bubble had been decreasing. It hadn’t kept up with everyone’s usage and consumption rate, and currently, the stockpile of Pearl Bubbles was down to only about a dozen.
Cang Xu was very clear about the current predicament of the Justice Pirate Group.
They had killed Golden Hook and revived the Big guy, but this had only made the situation of the Justice Pirate Group even more precarious.
“Bishop Hao Fu discovered the Big guy and Captain’s talents, and although his recruitment was unsuccessful, he turned to sponsorship instead. But from the way he sponsors us, it’s clear he hasn’t given up on trying to recruit us.”
“The attention focused on the Justice Pirate Group is increasing.”
“Once the news of Golden Hook’s death at the hands of the Captain spreads wide, the consumption of Pearl Bubbles will only intensify.”
The distance between the Justice Pirate Group and the precipice was rapidly shrinking.
Thump thump thump.
A knock came from outside the cabin door.
Cang Xu knew that his breakfast had arrived.
As the only Black Iron Level Mage, he enjoyed a number of privileges. For instance, his breakfast was delivered directly to his door at a fixed time by a dedicated person.
Cang Xu’s body, although transformed through Undead Magic, still needed to consume some food to maintain bodily functions.
Of course, he consumed much less than an average person. The breakfast before him was enough for his normal daily consumption.
The breakfast was sumptuous, and Cang Xu read his notes while eating.
If these notes were to fall into the outside world, they would certainly cause an uproar. Because these were the Alchemy notes of the War Merchant!
But Cang Xu frowned as he read.
“Sigh, I have no talent in alchemy; I’m not even half an Alchemist.”
The War Merchant’s Alchemy notes were too profound for him.
Yet he had to read them.
It was thanks to these Alchemy notes that he had been able to rig up the Array for Soul Crystals.
After breakfast, Cang Xu found himself with a throbbing headache.
He set aside the War Merchant’s alchemy notes.
Then, he opened another set of notes.
This time, his brows relaxed and his eyes revealed a sense of pleasure.
The notes were his own, the latest manuscript of his “Evolution Theory.”
“So far, I have combined all records of life alchemy from the War Merchant’s alchemy notes. The War Merchant truly lives up to his name—he has given me great inspiration.”
“However, ‘Evolution Theory’ is still far from complete.”
“The Life Sect is also continuously refining their work, with their focus on plants. Whether it’s hybrid rice or succulent grapes, both are products of their Divine Arts.”
“If I could get my hands on this part of their research, ‘Evolution Theory’ would undoubtedly become more perfected.”
“Perhaps I could try through Bishop Hao Fu’s connections?”
The old scholar wasn’t passionate about alchemy. And his interest in Undead Mages was just as lacking.
What truly interested him was the research and transformation of life.
To him, Undead Magic was merely a capability and a tool.
After briefly reviewing his own manuscript and making the necessary preparations, Cang Xu once again began tackling the War Merchant’s alchemy notes.
He discovered a section in the notes that detailed the analysis and records of the Memory Crystal Manufacturing Device, a technique he was currently very keen to master.
The Justice Pirate Group had one such device.
After the youth and his companions left Mysterious Monster Island, they salvaged it from the ocean floor aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish.
The device was originally given by the War Merchant to Zi Di, who used it to extract Zhenjin’s memories, eventually forming a Memory Crystal that was implanted into the young man’s body.
But due to the Pig Kiss facing a sea disaster, the Memory Crystal Manufacturing Device had once sunk to the depths of the ocean.
The technique of Memory Crystal was developed by the Ancestor of the Undead, You Can.
The fact that the War Merchant could also manufacture it took Cang Xu by surprise.
Cang Xu was very keen on mastering this technique.
Because he also wanted to become a Desecration Priest.
Desecration Priests emptied their own memories and created a set of False Memories, perfectly disguising themselves as devotees of deities, in order to steal Divine Power and secrets.
You Can initially used his status as a Desecration Priest to steal secrets of gods and spirits, thus founding the school of Undead.
“If I could become a qualified Desecration Priest, I could disguise myself as a devotee of the deity Mei Lan and indirectly gain control over Mermaid’s Fairy Tale.”
How to become a Desecration Priest, how to deceive gods, and so on—Cang Xu knew it very well.
This wasn’t knowledge he had originally possessed, but rather from a secret chamber on the ocean floor.
The owner of that secret chamber was a Desecration Priest as well as an Undead Mage. His notes had been perused by Cang Xu many times over, the content almost memorized by heart.
Engrossed in his research, the Mage found time flying by quickly.
When the Dragon-man youth’s summon interrupted Cang Xu’s train of thought, the old scholar emerged from the cabin only to discover that evening had arrived.
The Justice Pirate Group was drifting slowly around the outskirts of the Sea Eye.
Cang Xu entered the Captain’s quarters.
The Dragon-man youth handed him a piece of cloth.
This cloth was covered with written words, forming a long segment of intelligence.
Cang Xu swiftly glanced over it and his face immediately showed a look of surprise.
The intelligence spoke of Silver Island.
A Holy Domain Level admiral, shiny-faced and victorious, had defeated and captured Nai Le, the Rough Granny, and Spotted Poison, three of the Black Iron Level pirates, and had crushed their pirate groups.
As for Xie Ba…
He was the key figure in the battle at Silver Island.
He suddenly betrayed the others at a critical moment, striking against the three Golden pirates.
Had it not been for his treachery, at least one or two of the Golden pirate leaders might have escaped.
Although they were no match for shiny-faced in a fight, there was still a good chance of escape if they had fled with all their might.
After the battle, Xie Ba even revealed his identity—that he had long joined the empire’s spies, allying with the Imperial Navy!
“With this development, our risk has increased. If other pirates discover our spy identity, it could be disadvantageous for us,” Cang Xu analyzed.
The Dragon-man youth nodded slightly, “This might well be the empire’s intention. Xie Ba revealing his spy identity could be directed by the Empire, intended to sow distrust among the pirates. Lately, the conflicts between pirates over Divinity have become very frequent and intense.”
Cang Xu agreed with the Dragon-man youth’s analysis, putting down the cloth and asking, “Captain, have you summoned me for something specific?”
The Dragon-man youth then said, “We have discovered some Fishman villages below the Sea Eye, and we need you to go and investigate, employ some methods to gather some intelligence.”
“Understood, I will set off immediately.” Cang Xu immediately understood that the Dragon-man youth wanted him to use Undead Techniques to stealthily investigate and secretly gather intelligence.