Chapter 479: Section 266: Cang Xu Bloodline Mutation
Cang Xu’s bewildered gaze gradually cleared, and he remembered everything.
“I was used as an experiment by the Butcher Doctor.”
“My body… is gone.”
He cast his eyes downward, looking below.
Indeed, from the neck down was empty space.
He looked around and found himself lying on a bed. The scene was familiar—it was the cabin he had been in before.
Cang Xu took a deep breath and started checking his own condition.
He found that the erosion from the waters of the Nether River had completely disappeared.
He was no longer in mortal danger.
But his condition had plummeted to an all-time low since he was left with only a head.
“Damn, my storage bag was still on my chest,” thought Cang Xu with a sinking feeling as it came to him out of the blue.
Cang Xu’s storage bag was disguised as the skin of his chest and sewn into his flesh. While concealed, it was very convenient to access.
Now, as someone else took Cang Xu’s body away, his storage bag was lost too.
Inside the storage bag were all of Cang Xu’s accumulated possessions!
Among them were alchemy treasures he and Zi Di had purchased at the auction on Twin Eyes Island: a Fresh Water Bottle, a palm-sized compass, and a Golden Level Water Magic Book.
Before Cang Xu attended the Undead Gathering this time, the Dragon-man youth had specifically given him a Death Replacement Puppet as well.
“The Death Replacement Puppet has been used by me.”
“But the Fresh Water Bottle, the palm-sized compass, and that Water Magic Book are still in the bag.”
The Water Magic Book, though damaged and only two pages left, contained the spells of Water Serpent Skill and Fog Skill. Both spells were of Golden Level, Cang Xu’s trump cards.
It was a great pity to lose them.
In contrast to these losses, Cang Xu’s Bronze Shroud, which he already possessed, seemed insignificant.
Furthermore, there were many Magic Scrolls in the storage bag.
Zi Di had prepared numerous Magic Potions for Cang Xu as well.
Hard-earned spell materials such as fragments of Dead Sea shells, dried Ghost-Faced Mushrooms, and legs of Ghost Spiders, were gone.
Lastly, there was a large amount of food, water, and clothing—life’s miscellaneous necessities.
“Right, I was wearing five Fire Magic Rings on my fingers. There was also a Magic Bracelet on my wrist.”
“The Magic Recharge Mask was always on my face, so it wasn’t lost.”
Cang Xu tallied up his losses, his mood growing increasingly worse.
He fully felt the sorrow of the powerless.
As someone powerless, he couldn’t even control his own body, which was arbitrarily dealt with by the powerful and used as experimental material.
“I’m too weak, still too weak!”
Cang Xu roared inwardly, his desire to become stronger becoming more intense and urgent after this provocation.
However, the desire to become stronger was not enough on its own; potential was needed as well. And what determined potential was the bloodline of the lifeform.
“In the future, through the Bloodline Purification Array, through the Blood Core, I will enhance my aptitude, and I will become a true powerhouse.”
“Butcher Doctor, I will personally reclaim this humiliation!”
Cang Xu vowed secretly in his heart.
“Newbie, you’re awake!” Just then, the cabin door suddenly opened.
Skeleton Mage Little Prince, Wandering Warrior Ku Feng, and Ship Ghost walked in together.
The three of them approached Cang Xu’s bed.
Ku Feng said, “You’ve been unconscious for a whole day and night.”
Ship Ghost took out a zombie from his own storage device, and made it stand upright on the floor: “I’ve prepared this for you. Xu Jia, you’ll have to make do with it for now.”
Cang Xu weakly expressed his thanks.
Ship Ghost sighed, “No need to thank me. We’re comrades-in-arms; helping each other out is only right.”
The Undead Mages had jointly faced the previous harrowing battle and had thus fostered a bond of camaraderie.
Cang Xu looked around and asked, “What about my companion?”
Naturally, Cang Xu was referring to the Wind Element female Mage Qing Xin.
Little Prince replied, “When we found her, she was already unconscious. She’s been severely eroded by negative energy, and all her mana has been drained. She’s still unconscious.”
“We speculate that after we entered the Netherworld, her spirit might have been disturbed by the will of the Netherworld, falling into a coma and unable to maintain her mana shield, hence constantly suffering from the erosion of the negative energy.”
The Netherworld is a paradise for Undead Life and does not welcome normal life forms.
Ku Feng said, “Indeed, the Netherworld is not suitable for normal creatures, and the Nether River has the highest concentration of negative energy in the Netherworld. You needn’t worry too much, Xu Jia, Qing Xin’s condition has stabilized. Once we return to the Main Plane, her situation will improve significantly, and waking up shouldn’t be a problem.”
Cang Xu instinctively intended to nod, only to find that he could not even manage that motion.
He simply blinked to show he understood.
He then turned to Ship Ghost, “May I ask, where is the good doctor Fragments of the Dead? I’d like to see him… to thank him personally.”
Little Prince let out an “Ah,” “The good doctor Fragments of the Dead already left yesterday.”
“What?” Cang Xu was astonished.
Ku Feng chose his words carefully, reminding, “Xu Jia, your body has already become part of Fragments of the Dead’s collection. The chances of getting it back are slim.”
Cang Xu hastily said, “Not just my body, but my storage bag too! It’s sewn into my chest.”
With that, he looked at Ship Ghost with a plea for help in his eyes. Among the Undead Mages present, only Ship Ghost had the standing to seek help from Fragments of the Dead.
But Ship Ghost shook his head with a wry smile, “Cang Xu, I advise you not to get your hopes up. Fragments of the Dead is an Undead Mage of the Holy Domain Level, and if I could recognize the storage bag on your chest, how could he possibly not have seen it?”
“If he left without leaving your storage bag, it means that to him, this is trivial, not something he cares about. Even if I contact him now, he won’t come back just for this small matter.”
Cang Xu fell silent, suddenly overwhelmed.
Ku Feng consoled, “Actually, you’re lucky this time. You still have the most precious thing—your freedom, right? I was abandoned by Fragments of the Dead initially because I wasn’t gifted enough. Otherwise, I would’ve become part of his collection, just like the giant zombie he created from your body, forever bereft of freedom.”
Cang Xu slowly closed his eyes.
Ship Ghost said, “We have sailed long enough on the Nether River this time. Previously, Fragments of the Dead guarded us for a while, but considering the ever-present dangers of the Nether River, we’ll be heading back to the Main Plane as soon as possible. According to the plan, we’ll stay and recuperate for a while in one of my safe houses.”
Cang Xu heard a sense of parting in these words, and opened his eyes to inquire, “So, the future Undead Gatherings…”
Ship Ghost said, “Indeed, the location of the future Undead Gatherings will have to be changed, but we have not yet decided on the specific place. It’s too early to determine it now.”
“We’ve decided to give up completely on the shores of Songfeng Island.”
“There, we’ve leaked too much information. The enemy knows us all too well.”
An urgent emotion immediately arose in Cang Xu’s heart.
From Ship Ghost’s tone, he planned to send Cang Xu and Qing Xin back to the Main Plane and then part ways with them.
This wouldn’t do!
Cang Xu had taken the risk to approach Ship Ghost precisely to plot for the inheritance of the Undead that the latter possessed.
Be it the method of soul crystal fabrication or the techniques to use Memory Crystals, they were all things Cang Xu, no, all the survivors, urgently needed.
But if Cang Xu openly suggested staying to maintain contact with Ship Ghost, it would be too direct.
It might even arouse suspicion.
Cang Xu thought for a moment and immediately adopted a strategy. A touch of reluctance appeared on his face as he purposely asked Ship Ghost, “Your Excellency Ship Ghost, what are the chances that I could get my own body back?”
The ship ghost fell silent and then said sternly, “Xu Jia, I advise you to give up on this idea. Don’t joke with your own life. You’re just a Silver Level, and that’s the limit of your achievements. Your body is no longer your own. You traded with Doctor Shattered Corpse; he saved your life and your body is the payment.”
Cang Xu gave a bitter smile. “It’s not just my body, but also my storage bag. Inside is all my worldly possessions.”
Still unwilling to give up, he said, “How could I dare to oppose Doctor Shattered Corpse, but if it’s a trade, couldn’t there be a possibility?”
The ship ghost slowly shook his head. “You don’t understand Doctor Shattered Corpse very well. His obsession with his collection is very strong. Basically, he would not sell his collectibles. At least, I have never seen him do it once. Even if there were special circumstances in the future, and you did make a trade, the price he would ask for would certainly be far higher than the actual value of the item.”
“For you, such a trade would be very unfair, a loss not worth the gain.”
“Rather than that, my sincere suggestion is that you change your body.”
“For us Undead Mages, changing our bodies is a simple matter. Didn’t you also modify your own body before? In fact, you practiced the Soul Vein subsect within the Undead Faction. The flesh is not that important to you.”
Cang Xu sighed deeply, his face filled with a deep sorrow.
The Little Prince also bowed his head and sighed deeply.
He felt great sympathy for Cang Xu.
Not just the Little Prince, but Ku Feng and the ship ghost felt the same way.
They had fought against powerful enemies together and developed camaraderie as comrades-in-arms.
Cang Xu had been a great help to the ship ghost. Back on Songfeng Island, it was he who reminded the ship ghost, allowing him to see through Wei Ying’s trickery, summon the Ghost Ship, and resolve his own predicament.
But in the battle at the Nether River a few days ago, the ship ghost had thrown a copy of the Magic Book, using Cang Xu as bait.
At the time, the situation was urgent, and the ship ghost naturally wouldn’t have cared about the safety of others.
But now, their circumstances were safe.
Apart from sympathy for Cang Xu, the ship ghost felt guilty for having used him.
But in reality, Cang Xu wasn’t as attached to his own body as they imagined.
Not long after waking up, Cang Xu had already faced reality and accepted it.
The reason he was saying all this was to elicit others’ sympathy.
“But just these words are not enough,” Cang Xu, once a Noble Housekeeper, had interacted with all levels of society and understood human nature extremely well.
He deliberately looked towards a zombie.
This was the zombie that the ship ghost had just brought out, prepared as a new body for Cang Xu.
The zombie was also male, and its stature was almost the same as Cang Xu’s previous body, with its strength reaching the Silver Level.
In terms of Grade alone, Cang Xu had profited.
Because the Life Level of Cang Xu’s original body was only at the Black Iron Level. The Silver Level was an illusion created by his Deception and Disguise Skill.
As Cang Xu looked at the zombie, he said, “Ship Ghost, if I remember correctly, according to the records in the Soul Vein Inheritance—when transferring and grafting parts of someone else’s body, one must consider bloodline factors. If my mind and the bloodline of this zombie are inconsistent, they will interfere with each other and cause a bloodline rejection. Over time, bloodline rejection can lead to even more severe consequences.”
The ship ghost’s expression stiffened a bit and he nodded, “You remember correctly, that’s indeed the case. Therefore, finding a body that can be used for a long time is still difficult. You need to understand what your bloodline is now and what is the bloodline of the body you find.”
Cang Xu deliberately showed a troubled look: “To test the bloodline… Ship Ghost, really can’t you teach me the spell for detecting the bloodline of the Undead?”
“Although I have lost all my possessions now, as long as I go out and make contact with the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce, I can still offer a substantial reward.”
The ship ghost shook his head: “Sorry, that’s the bottom line of the Undead Orthodoxy. Inheritance cannot be passed on casually; it must go through dual assessments of qualification and loyalty. Especially now, when various powers are studying the Undead Faction, our early advantage is rapidly diminishing.”
Cang Xu sighed deeply and then asked, “Then, Ship Ghost, what exactly is my bloodline?”
Since the ship ghost had provided a body for Cang Xu, he surmised that he must have learned the specific details of Cang Xu’s bloodline.
However, the next moment, the ship ghost shook his head, “I’m still not clear.”
Cang Xu was taken aback.
The ship ghost said, “When you were unconscious, I had already used the spell for detecting the Undead bloodline on you. They were also present.”
“Our goal was to select a body suitable for you.”
“Then the result was beyond the expectations of all of us.”
“You are undergoing a bloodline mutation.”
Cang Xu slightly widened his eyes, showing an incredulous expression, “Bloodline mutation?”
He knew about bloodline mutations.
Of course, bloodlines would mutate.
Otherwise, how could there be so many bloodlines in today’s world?
However, bloodline mutation is usually due to reproduction between lives, leading to newborns containing different types of bloodlines.
The result of mixed bloodlines, other than disabilities, dementia, deformities, and death, was a very small part that might blend with each other to form new bloodlines.
Cang Xu’s situation was certainly not the reproductive kind.
He was experiencing a bloodline mutation due to external stimuli!
The ship ghost explained, “At first, you modified your body and became a living dead, half alive and half dead. This situation isn’t actually good because you didn’t fully transform into undead life. A large amount of your bloodline from before death still remains. Although this state of body can resist the erosion of negative energy, it also hinders the further growth of your strength.”
“In the previous great war, your body was soaked in the water of the Nether River. After you resurrected through the death replacement puppet, voodoo divine power also entered your brain. After that, the honored corpse healer took action and cast a spell on your skull, saving your life and also exerting a stronger influence.”
“All the above factors combined, and perhaps others we have overlooked, have caused unpredictable changes in your bloodline.”
Cang Xu paused before asking, “So, esteemed ship ghost, is the result of the bloodline mutation good or bad?”
“I can’t say; I’m unable to judge,” the ship ghost shook his head again, “I’m just an Undead Mage, not a priest from the Life Sect. Moreover, your bloodline mutation is still ongoing and far from over. Perhaps only when it ends, you’ll be able to know the final result.”
Cang Xu fell silent once more.
Ku Feng consoled, “Don’t worry, normal people who undergo bloodline mutation worry about their life safety. But Xu Jia, you are already an undead, the bloodline mutation won’t put you in a desperate situation.”
The Little Prince also said, “Your aptitude might rise or it may fall. Actually, I am quite envious of you, newcomer. Perhaps this could improve your aptitude to meet the standards for passing on the Undead Inheritance!”
Cang Xu showed not the slightest excitement.
For him, he had already had a better choice.
“Bloodline mutation improving aptitude has a very small chance,” Cang Xu said with a bitter smile.
This situation was a little unexpected, but it did not stop his plans from proceeding.
Cang Xu turned to the ship ghost with a pleading look, “Esteemed ship ghost, can you shelter me for a while?”
“I am full of anxiety and confusion about my future.”
“Only by relying on your power will I be more likely to obtain a body that is truly suitable for me.”
“And my bloodline mutation…”
The ship ghost did not respond immediately, but fell into contemplation.
The Little Prince and Ku Feng both looked at the ship ghost, showing great concern.
Finally, the ship ghost nodded, “Very well, in the coming period, you shall accompany me. However, I must clarify that we may still face battle ahead, and we might even confront that Golden Level Shadow Walker again.”
Cang Xu was taken aback, then quickly responded, “He is also my enemy, it’s their fault I turned out like this! Ship ghost, please let me contribute my strength too, even though it’s very insignificant.”
The ship ghost nodded; he was pleased to see Cang Xu channeled his hatred towards Wei Ying, rather than focusing on the Undead Orthodoxy member, the corpse healer.
Ku Feng wore a slight smile.
The Little Prince cheered, “That’s great, Xu Jia, we can fight the enemy together now.”
“We’ve discussed this already, after we rest, we’ll set out to sea to rescue the Fishman Tribe of the Fin Spirit.”
Cang Xu pondered, “I understand now, Fin Spirit didn’t genuinely betray us. Otherwise, on Songfeng Island, she wouldn’t have purposely revealed her identity as a traitor and then given up on fighting me.”
“Her weak point is her people. As long as we save the Fishman Tribe, Fin Spirit will be free too.”
The ship ghost said, “You’re right.”
The Little Prince hmphed angrily, “Even if she has her difficulties, I won’t forgive her. Betraying the ship ghost is wrong, an ingrate, hum! Submitting to the enemy, no backbone at all. If it were me, I’d be full of backbone, never yielding.”
Ku Feng teased, “Right, you have the most backbone, you’re all bones after all.”
“Hm?” The Little Prince was puzzled, unable to discern if Ku Feng was praising or mocking him.