Chapter 471: Section 258: Ghost Transformation
Cang Xu was only at the Black Iron Level, but he had to face an enemy at the Golden Level.
The gap in life levels made resistance extremely difficult for him.
The intense mental pressure caused Cang Xu to fall into self-doubt, “Was it a mistake to risk my life for the benefit of the Ghost Ship?”
“Should I have been more cautious and not so aggressive?”
Cang Xu felt regret.
But immediately, he shook his head slightly and tried to shake off these negative emotions.
He understood very well: at such a critical moment, any negative emotion would only decrease his chances of survival.
In fact, Cang Xu had not anticipated finding himself in such peril.
At that time, boarding the Ghost Ship seemed his only option.
If he didn’t take the ship, he would have to face the pursuit of pirates. If the Ghost Ship and specters disappeared, he would be left behind as the only target. It was very likely that he would be casually killed by a mysterious figure at the Golden Level.
Stay calm.
Take a deep breath.
Cang Xu forced himself to calm down.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, “By relying on myself alone, the chances of surviving against a Golden Level enemy are slim. I really need to learn from the Little Prince!”
He coughed slightly and called out immediately, “Lord Ghost Ship, help me, I need your help!”
Though the Ghost Ship was not in front of Cang Xu, the whole ship belonged to it. According to Cang Xu’s guess, every move and every word of his could be quickly sensed by the Ghost Ship.
Otherwise, the Ghost Ship would not have been able to respond swiftly to the Little Prince’s call for help.
Sure enough, the Ghost Ship quickly replied to Cang Xu, “How can I assist you, Xu Jia?”
Xu Jia was an alias Cang Xu used at the Undead Gathering.
Cang Xu candidly explained his predicament, “You are aware of my situation, Lord Ghost Ship. I had just received the advancement inheritance of the Soul Vein, and presently possess three silver-level spirits, the mental burden is immense. I want to perform Reduction Technique and Reduction Technique as soon as possible, but these two spells require a lot of time and practice for me to master. Do you by chance possess any related Magic Scrolls? I could purchase them…”
Before Cang Xu could finish, a spatial fluctuation occurred in front of him.
The fluctuation quickly disappeared.
A Magic Book appeared out of thin air.
“This is a duplicate of my Magic Book, I’m lending it to you,” said the Ghost Ship.
Cang Xu was overjoyed. He had originally only hoped for a few Magic Scrolls, but he received an entire Magic Book.
“So, the price…” Cang Xu asked.
The Ghost Ship interrupted him again, “Use it first, don’t feel burdened, I won’t extort you!”
The generosity of the Ghost Ship was consistent, not taking advantage of the situation to demand a high price.
It could have done so, given Cang Xu’s current state of mind, he would have borne the high cost.
But it chose not to do that.
A Magic Book is a very common casting tool, similar to Magic Wands and Crystal Balls.
Yet, a Magic Book differs from other casting tools.
It can be considered a collection of an indefinite number of Magic Scrolls.
But where Magic Scrolls are destroyed after one use, a Magic Book has a certain reusability due to its capability to recharge.
The cost of producing a Magic Book varies greatly depending on the content, number of pages, materials used, etc.
For Undead Mages, it’s difficult to purchase Magic Books externally; they usually make their own.
True to its Undead Lineage, the Ghost Ship directly lent Cang Xu a Magic Book, and it was only a duplicate. This implied that it had at least two Magic Books, with the main one undoubtedly being more superior.
Cang Xu opened the duplicate of the Magic Book.
The first page was the Reduction Technique.
The next four pages were also the Reduction Technique.
The following five pages were the Reduction Technique.
These two spells together occupied one-tenth of the duplicate book, underscoring their importance to the practice of Undead Mages.
Without any hesitation, Cang Xu infused a small amount of Mana and communicated with it using his spiritual power.
The Mana consumption was not massive, its main function being to act as a trigger.
The Magic Book emitted a gray-white radiance, enveloping Cang Xu’s entire body.
Then, the power of the spell permeated into Cang Xu’s spirit.
First came the Reduction Technique, followed by the Reduction Technique.
Ah, such a delightful feeling!
Cang Xu almost moaned aloud.
His mental pressure had been immense, like a sick patient climbing a mountain with a heavy load, reaching the limit of his physical ability, yet walking along the edge of a cliff, where a slight mistake could mean utter destruction.
Now, the heavy burden on him had largely dissipated, and he felt much more relaxed; his previous condition had also greatly improved.
Cang Xu used the first ten pages of the Magic Book.
Five times the Reduction Technique, five times the Reduction Technique.
The former significantly reduced the burden on his spirit, and the latter lessened the erosion of negative energy on Cang Xu’s entire body and mind.
After the ten spells, Cang Xu released three silver-level ghosts.
He no longer felt the dizzy, negative sensations he had before.
It was very easy.
It seemed that even if another Silver Level were added, he could still control it.
Unfortunately, it could not be used anymore.
Cang Xu found that the first ten pages that had been used showed a gray-white color, needing a replenishment of mana and materials to “charge” before they could be used again.
Of course, forcing it to work was not impossible.
But by doing so, it would exhaust the Magic Book, turning it into a disposable consumable. Even if it was “charged” again in the future, it would not accept the charge.
This was not Cang Xu’s Magic Book, and he did not intend to take it to the point of depletion.
He continued to flip through the Magic Book.
Mid-Level Water Ghost Refining Technique.
This was the content of the eleventh spell.
Generally speaking, in spells, Low-level included Bronze Level and Black Iron Level. Mid-level was Silver Level and Gold Level. High-level went up to Holy Domain Level and Legendary.
Cang Xu immediately searched the related knowledge in the Advanced Soul Vein inheritance he had acquired not long ago.
“Mid-Level Water Ghost Refining Technique allows the transformation of a ghost into a Silver Level-Gold Level Water Ghost. But the main material needed must also be a Mid-level ghost.”
“Moreover, it is best that the ghost’s life information contains abundant Water Nature. The more Water Nature in the ghost’s bloodline, the higher the success rate of the spell for transforming the Water Ghost.”
“And the bloodline of an Undead Life is mostly the remnants of life information before death, so the pre-death bloodline often determines the direction of the ghost’s transformation.”
Upon finding this information, a realization dawned on Cang Xu.
“Undead life forms are transformed from the basis of all other lives.”
“The transformation of Undead life forms, whether it involves soul veins, corpse veins, or bone veins, should be performed by considering the material’s properties.”
“It is not transformed at will.”
Cang Xu felt a surge of eagerness.
He held three Silver Level ghosts in his hand; undoubtedly all were Mid-level, suitable for this spell.
But there was a key issue—
“Do any of my three Silver Level ghosts include a Water Nature ghost?”
“If they do not contain Water Nature or have very low Water Nature, the refining technique might likely fail. Even if successful, the combat power of the Water Ghost created will be very low.”
“Because this is a development path unsuitable for them and does not fully utilize the potential in their lives!”
Cang Xu was stumped by this issue.
Because it involved detecting bloodlines, within the entire group of survivors, only Zi Di could reluctantly do this.
Cang Xu could not manage it under the current circumstances.
“Perhaps the Magic Book contains a spell for detection?” Cang Xu had a thought and began to look through the subsequent contents.
Ghost Horse Refining Technique.
This was a spell for transforming horse-like ghosts, which, once refined, could serve as mounts for Undead Mages.
Ghostly Refinement Technique.
The higher the allure of the Undead life, the greater the probability of successful refinement, and the stronger the force.
Starvation Ghost Refining Technique.
Gluttonous Bloodline, Enduring Hunger Bloodline, and other related life forms that have transformed into ghosts can generally be refined.
Frozen Ghost Refining Technique, Scapegoat Refining Technique, Shield Ghost Refining Technique, Naughty Ghost Refining Technique…
Many pages of the book were spells for transforming ghosts.
The latter part of the Magic Book was about Soul Vein attacks, defenses, teleportations, and other spells.
“No Support Magic that can probe a ghost’s qualifications…” After flipping through the Magic Book completely, Cang Xu felt somewhat disappointed.
His mood quickly calmed, and he thought logically, “Not right, just because the Magic Book does not have it, does not mean the Ship Ghost doesn’t have it!”
“Since there are ghost transformation techniques, it means that this area of research is very thorough; it’s impossible not to have a Support Magic for detection.”
“Previously, the Ship Ghost could see through my essence with one look, knowing that I had made some modifications to my own body.”
“Moreover, he even rejected my request for a deeper Undead Inheritance, the reason being unsuitable qualifications!”
“This means, he has the means to measure qualifications!”
With this thought, Cang Xu called out loudly again, seeking help from the Ship Ghost.
The Ship Ghost directly admitted that there was such Support Magic, which could to some extent measure the qualifications and potential of an Undead life. However, he could not give this to Cang Xu, because even a Magic Scroll could let Cang Xu glimpse some secrets of this type of spell, thereby obtaining crucial insights.
This was a higher level of core inheritance, needing to be treated with great caution.
The Ship Ghost was willing to help Cang Xu, the Little Prince, and others, but the degree of help was not endless; the Ship Ghost had a firm bottom line in his heart.
Cang Xu sighed, as feelings of helplessness and despair due to inadequate qualifications resurfaced in his mind.
Thus, he requested the Ship Ghost’s help to measure the qualifications of the ghosts.
But the Ship Ghost still refused him, “I apologize, currently we need to remain concealed, hide ourselves in the ghost fog, and delay time. Xu Jia, this kind of spell takes a long time to cast and involves a substantial amount of my spirit, and I cannot conceal my aura, which will lead to our being exposed.”
“Perhaps, you can wait until this crisis is over, and once I am free, I will naturally help you.”
This path was also blocked.
Cang Xu shook his head in his mind, rejecting the Ship Ghost’s last proposal.
He would not entrust his survival to luck. Nor would he be overly conservative, leading to a decrease in his survival probability.
“These three Silver Level ghosts must be transformed!”
“Since it is impossible to measure qualifications, why not consider this from a different angle?”
“What kind of ghost do I most need?”
Cang Xu’s eyes shimmered with calm and wisdom.