Chapter 602: Section 389: The Current State of the Undead
During the Battle of Songfeng, Fin Spirit had become a traitor, joining the ranks of ship ghosts and others.
However, having reflected on the entire process, the ship ghost still decided to rescue Fin Spirit.
Fin Spirit had originally been formed through the ship ghost’s casting of the Soul Refining Technique, an Undying Life. Over time, the ship ghost had cultivated her into his alchemy assistant, and she had performed outstandingly, so he imparted more of the Undead Inheritance to her.
Their relationship had always been good, so when Fin Spirit pleaded for freedom, the ship ghost let her go.
During her lifetime, Fin Spirit was a Fishman and was devoted to her clan, determined to protect it even after becoming an Undead Mage.
But her own clan saw her as a great enemy and repeatedly put Fin Spirit in perilous situations.
The ship ghost intervened several times to help Fin Spirit and turned danger into safety for her.
Fin Spirit was truly “unrepentant even in death,” continuing to assist her clan time and again.
The Sea Snake Lady, having acquired some intelligence from somewhere, learned of Fin Spirit’s vulnerability and took control of Fin Spirit’s Fishman Clan, forcing Fin Spirit to become her internal spy.
Fin Spirit had no choice but to comply, but she also planned countermeasures, striving to regain her freedom.
On Songfeng Island, she openly revealed her identity as a mole and did not fight wholeheartedly against Cang Xu and others, thereby signaling her true feelings to ship ghost and his companions.
On the Ghost Ship,
the ship ghost and others stood at the bow.
The ship ghost spoke gravely, “Fin Spirit was compelled to become an internal spy out of desperation; her clan is her greatest weakness.”
“Therefore, we need not only to find Fin Spirit and her clan but also to attempt to rescue both.”
Both things needed to be done simultaneously.
Advancing one aspect prematurely would tip off the enemies and provoke countermeasures.
This could greatly impede the upcoming rescue mission.
“The journey ahead will require caution,” the Little Prince expressed with concern, “We could possibly encounter the Sea Snake Lady or even that Golden Level assassin.”
He was referring to Wei Ying.
Wei Ying had nearly annihilated the team of ship ghost and Cang Xu; had it not been for the timely arrival of the Great Healer who scared him away, the fate of Cang Xu and his companions would have been dire.
Wei Ying also possessed the Holy Emblem of the Shadow Walker, allowing him to quickly escape and shift into the Shadow Plane.
He was a very formidable enemy.
“Now, we don’t have the Great Healer with us,” the Little Prince lamented.
Though he understood that Fin Spirit had acted under duress and necessity, he still found the traitor detestable.
Were it not for the ship ghost’s insistence on a rescue, he personally would never have agreed to such a thing.
Cang Xu reassured the Little Prince, “We might not encounter Wei Ying.”
“They wouldn’t anticipate our next move.”
“The Sea Snake Lady, even if she has taken control over Fin Spirit’s people, might not come to supervise them personally. In fact, I believe her predicament isn’t favorable.”
The Sea Snake Lady’s Magic Pet was a Golden Level sea snake.
It had perished in the Nether River.
The Sea Snake Lady herself was merely a Silver Level Mage, having lost her most powerful card to play, she certainly faced a lot of pressure. Perhaps now, she was already too busy to fend for herself.
After all, there is fierce competition among pirates.
Even though the Sea Snake Lady was a member of Firebeard’s pirate group, that Legendary large pirate group was internally complex and fraught with fierce competition.
The Little Prince glanced at Cang Xu and sighed again, “Let’s hope so.”
Meanwhile, the Undead Samurai, Ku Feng, had a different attitude: “I actually hope to encounter the Sea Snake Lady. I still clearly remember the grudge from the Songfeng Sea Battle.”
Ku Feng always saw Songfeng Island as his home.
During the Songfeng Sea Battle, the island had suffered considerable damage. Now he was homeless, as the island, once a meeting place for the Undead Gathering, had been thoroughly exposed.
So, Ku Feng harbored significant enmity towards the Sea Snake Lady and Wei Ying.
“Alright, I will now fully control the Ghost Ship and dive into the depths of the sea. Prepare yourselves,” the ship ghost instructed before merging himself into the Ghost Ship.
Only in this “merged” state could he enhance the performance of the Ghost Ship significantly.
The Ghost Ship quickly submerged into the sea, and the mist above the sea gradually dissipated.
The Ghost Ship continued to dive deeper, and the pressure of the sea water rapidly increased.
Cang Xu and others had preemptively cast spells to protect themselves and resist the water pressure.
“The Ghost Ship is indeed impressive, but it is not a conventional Magic Energy Ship in the usual sense; it lacks comprehensive functions.”
“Essentially, it is an Undying Life.”
“Of course, it has a great potential to become an excellent Magic Energy Ship!”
Cang Xu’s understanding of the Ghost Ship had also grown considerably.
The Ghost Ship had almost no alchemy components, but it did have a Mana Pool.
Because the Ghost Ship itself came with a Mana Pool, unlike the Deep Sea Monster Fish, which was crafted by outsiders.
From a certain perspective, the Ghost Ship could be considered an Undead Mage.
But its intelligence was extremely low, only capable of acting on instinct.
Thus, it couldn’t fully utilize its capabilities. Only when the ship ghost acted as the “ship spirit,” fusing his intelligence with the power of the Ghost Ship, could it manifest its true power.
Like now, if it were the Deep Sea Monster Fish, Cang Xu and the others wouldn’t have had to cast their own spells to counteract the water pressure.
On this note, Cang Xu had also suggested to the ship ghost: should they first upgrade the Ghost Ship, truly turning it into a fully functioning Magic Energy Ship?
The ship ghost replied helplessly, “Turning the Ghost Ship into a complete demon energy ship is a long and arduous task. The Mana Pool of the Ghost Ship is imbued with negative energy, and almost all alchemy components on the market are incompatible with negative energy. Even among the Undead Orthodoxy, there are strong individuals who wish to enhance their Ghost Ships by commissioning Alchemists to design specifically for them, but the actual results are poor.”
As you know, a qualified alchemy tool needs to be extensively tested in practice.”
Even if alchemy components suitable for the Ghost Ship are designed, it still requires a lot of practice to discover inadequacies during use, and continuous improvement iterations are needed before a relatively mature alchemy component can be finalized.
This process requires a lot of time, as well as copious amounts of materials and manpower.”
A single powerful Undead mst alone couldn’t possibly sustain this.”
Ordinary alchemy tools involve the cooperation of countless people and forces, including various designers, users, sellers, etc., creating a large system of investment and returns.”
Undead Mages are already scarce in number.”
This faction has developed over a short period of time.”
Few Undead Mages possess a Ghost Ship.”
Consequently, Ghost Ships are even rarer.”
Among those Undead Mages who do own a Ghost Ship, only a portion of them consider enhancing their Ghost Ship and transforming it into a complete demon energy ship.”
These individuals are not clustered together but scattered far and wide.”
Their interest in this idea is also not firm, as they have their own problems, threats from the outside world, or stronger interests and hobbies.”
In summary, such are the realities of the Ghost Ships.”
Upon receiving this answer from the ship ghost, Cang Xu gained a deeper understanding of the living conditions of the Undead Mage community.”
He better understood why You Can had issued the task to actively spread the Undead Inheritance below.”
The number of Undead Mages was indeed too small.”
Many things can’t even begin to be discussed without people.”
Just like the massive project of upgrading the Ghost Ship to a complete demon energy ship, it requires a lot of people, a lot of time, and massive resources to truly develop.”
From this, Cang Xu also understood the ship ghost’s intention in rescuing the Fin Spirit.”
“The Fin Spirit’s Undead potential isn’t strong; reaching Silver Level is already the limit.”
“However, for the Undead Mages, even talents at Silver Level need to be cherished.”
“This might be why the ship ghost, upon first meeting me, offered support on his own initiative.”
Of course, Cang Xu would never forget how in the battle at Nether River, the ship ghost used him as bait to attract Wei Ying’s firepower, leading to his death!”
“The ship ghost belongs to the Undead Orthodoxy and is a direct follower of You Can.”
“Thus, he’s willing to proactively support some Undead seeds, to grow and strengthen the Undead Faction.”
“But at the same time, in moments of life and death, he will also use the Undead Mages around him for his own survival.”
“This is the ship ghost.”
Cang Xu’s understanding of the ship ghost could be said to be thorough.”
Thus, he also secretly cautioned himself: This time in rescuing the Fin Spirit, he must weigh the situation carefully. If the situation turns unfavorable, he must retreat immediately.”
After all, he isn’t part of the Undead Orthodoxy!”
And if he encounters a strong enemy, he must also be wary of the ship ghost.”
Once used, isn’t that enough?”
On the other hand, Cang Xu also coveted the Advanced Inheritance on the ship ghost. He needed to show his worth and get what he desired from the ship ghost, which was also urgently needed by the survivors.”
“Is this the White Hair Sea Trench? Wow, it’s really big!” the Little Prince exclaimed sincerely through spirit communication.”
The ship ghost responded, “This trench is 15,000 meters deep, about 3,100 kilometers long, and varies in width, being the widest at 70 kilometers and the narrowest around 30 kilometers.”
He seemed to know quite a lot about this trench.”
The ship ghost continued, “In the White Hair Sea Trench lives a unique species of coral insect. They parasitize on the surface of organisms, thriving and growing robustly.”
“The coral insects absorb the nutrition from their hosts’ bodies and their excreted waste accumulates, forming a type of white coral.”
“This coral is different from common corals; it is almost soft-bodied.”
“Therefore, when creatures in the trench move, the white coral on their bodies moves as well, looking from afar like white hair floating in the water.”
“That’s the origin of the name ‘White Hair Sea Trench.'”
Hearing this, Cang Xu felt a sudden impulse to collect, dissect, and research these
extraordinary coral insects.”
He was aware of the nature of corals.”
Corals are secretions from coral insects and also serve as their structural support.”
Coral insects typically feed on planktonic microorganisms, but the White Hair coral insects parasitize their hosts’ surfaces, absorbing their nutritional sustenance.”
“I really want to study this,” thought Cang Xu. Though an Undead Mage, he had always been intensely curious and eager to explore knowledge related to life forms.”
This was evident from his actions on Mysterious Monster Island.”
“It’s a pity this isn’t the Deep Sea Monster Fish. Also, I have important responsibilities. When will I ever have the free time to freely explore these mysteries?” Cang Xu deeply regretted.”
“Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!” Meanwhile, the Fishman Zhongyong spoke enthusiastically, his eyes fixed on a mysterious pearl before him.”
He was awakened by the Dragon-man youth.”
In the Deep Sea Monster Fish, he had the research environment that Cang Xu longed for.”
And he was researching a pearl he had obtained from a mysterious cave wall!”
“It looks like you’ve made a discovery?” the Dragon-man youth stood nearby.”
“Of course, I think I understand what this place is, squad leader,” Zhongyong replied excitedly.