Chapter 630: Section 417: Cang Xu: I Form a Group Alone!
The Fishman youth was suddenly informed by the Tower Spirit that the Divine Artifact, “Mermaid’s Fairy Tale,” had undergone unusual changes.
The anxious youth immediately rushed to the cabin, only to discover that this abnormal change was a good thing.
“The Pearl Bubbles have increased!” The Fishman youth, standing in front of the Divine Artifact, couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
Although his fish eyes were already quite large.
The Mermaid’s Fairy Tale is a Divine Artifact of the deity Mei Lan and appears as a large fan-shaped seashell.
Inside the half-open shell were multicolored Pearl Bubbles.
They were uniformly sized, completely transparent inside as if empty, with just a spherical bubble surface. However, these pearls could be pinched with hands and felt very hard.
The survivors had obtained this artifact from the underground Central Tower of Mysterious Monster Island.
They had used the Pearl Bubbles multiple times and constructed Deception Arrays to utilize the power of this artifact more effectively.
Deception and Disguise Skill proved immensely helpful to the survivors.
Without this spell and the artifact, the survivors would not have made it this far. It could be said that the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps owed its current scale to this artifact!
However, the rate and quantity of Pearl Bubbles produced by the Mermaid’s Fairy Tale had been steadily declining.
Initially, when the survivors obtained this artifact, the large shell was filled with layers of Pearl Bubbles. Now, they only covered a thin layer at the bottom of the shell.
The production of Pearl Bubbles had sharply declined.
The frequency with which the survivors used this Divine-level material was increasing with no signs of stopping.
Zi Di, Cang Xu, and others were worried about this and had warned the other survivors.
The reason for the decline in Pearl Bubbles was simple—the Mermaid’s Fairy Tale stored Mei Lan’s Divine Power, which was being continually consumed to produce the Pearl Bubbles.
However, Divine Power was a finite resource; the more it was used, the less it became. As Divine Power dwindled, so did the production of Pearl Bubbles.
Part of the reason the survivors were urgently seeking salvation from the Empire stemmed from this issue.
Mei Lan’s Divine Power could not be replenished, and as the Pearl Bubbles became fewer, a day would come when they could no longer aid the survivors.
Without this cover, the survivors would easily be exposed through prophecies or Divination, etc. At that time, their vast riches would prompt the Holy Bright Empire to act against them. Their cause, too, would be legally justified—hadn’t they killed priest Jia Sha on Mysterious Monster Island?
Even the Dragon-man youth had secretly killed the King of Flame Dragon!
However, now, within the large seashell before the Fishman youth, there were already two layers of Pearl Bubbles.
“The Mermaid’s Fairy Tale is only an artifact and does not produce Divine Power itself.”
“Divine Power is produced within the deity.”
“The increase in the production of Pearl Bubbles indicates that the reserves of Divine Power within the Mermaid’s Fairy Tale had increased.”
“How had the Divine Power in the artifact been replenished?”
The Fishman youth fell into deep thought.
He naturally thought of the Ocean Nest.
“Previously, the production of Pearl Bubbles had been steadily declining. The biggest difference now is that the Deep Sea Monster Fish is situated within an Ocean Nest.”
“Could there be Mei Lan’s Divine Power here?”
“Why would there be Mei Lan’s Divine Power here?”
“Is it because there is Mei Lan’s Divine Power here that the Mermaid’s Fairy Tale artifact suddenly mutated and transported us here?”
“Does the artifact have a consciousness to autonomously replenish Divine Power?”
The Fishman youth pondered this, and he distinctly felt that the transportation of the Deep Sea Monster Fish and the Fishmen coming in were two different matters.
“We must clarify the secret of transportation.”
“If we can only explore what is apparent with the artifact, then the Fishmen are the breakthrough.”
“I really hope to soon learn about the situations outside the Ocean Nest! But I must wait for the results from the precise eel drillers.”
“Ah, if only I could go through here directly.”
“There was indeed such an opportunity before, which could have allowed me to acquire this ability… Why didn’t I think of it back then?”
The Fishman youth reflected deeply, filled with regret.
What he referred to as the opportunity was to absorb ghosts, allowing the Blood Core to record their life information. After a certain level, the Fishman youth could also transform into a ghost through the Blood Core.
This was achievable.
Because quite early on, under the joint investigation of Cang Xu and Zi Di, the youth had discovered that the Blood Core could absorb Undead Life and record their bloodlines.
Bloodline, fundamentally, is life information.
Undead Life is a special form of life, dominated by negative energy, unlike the positive energy that drives most creatures.
But the youth had not done so.
“At that time, the number of ghosts Cang Xu controlled was limited. If I had used the Blood Core to absorb, it would greatly reduce his and Zi Di’s combat capabilities.”
“No, that’s just an excuse I’m using to deceive myself.”
“Actually, the reason I never considered it was because of my aversion to the Undead.”
The Fishman youth deeply critiqued himself.
As a normal living being, despite constantly reminding himself not to discriminate against any life form, due to the influence of the positive energy within him, he, as a normal creature, inevitably felt aversion towards the Undead.
Although he had done very well, not realizing the aversion and resistance that had developed in his heart while interacting with Cang Xu and Zi Di.
But now, the Fishman youth suddenly realized in his profound self-analysis.
He could accept Cang Xu and Zi Di because of their close connection with him, and it was because of this connection that he did not discriminate against them despite their Life Essence.
But the Dragon-man youth had never considered voluntarily transforming into an Undead Life.
And neither Zi Di nor Cang Xu had reminded him of it.
“If I could transform into a ghost, maybe I could directly pass through the walls and reach the outside of the nest.”
It was too late for the Fishman youth to regret now.
With Cang Xu and Zi Di not around, there were no ghosts available for the Blood Core to devour.
“Zi Di must head to the Ice Sculpture Royal Capital.”
“Cang Xu… where are you now?”
At that moment, Cang Xu stood on the rooftop of the stern tower of the Ghost Ship.
An underwater battle was underway.
Numerous ghosts swam continuously in the dark waters, as the Little Prince directed the deck’s skeleton archers, repeatedly carrying out long-range attacks.
And Cang Xu was being closely protected.
By his side floated many Death Skulls.
Their enemy this time was a school of lantern fish.
These were rare fish in the deep sea with both light and water attributes.
Water attribute Magic-like Skills were manageable, but the light attribute Magic-like Skills posed significant harm to the Undead Team.
“This is the toughest battle since entering the White Hair Sea Trench!” lamented the Undead Samurai, Ku Feng.
He charged alone into the midst of the lantern fish, displaying the stature of a Silver Level fighter.
Other Undead Mages in these days had multiplied their combat powers many times. Although Ku Feng was a fighter, his strength had also significantly improved.
He held bone knives in both hands, slashing and slicing continuously. Whenever he used a Combat Skill, he almost always managed to brutally kill the Magic Beast-level lantern fish.
“This is Ku Feng’s true combat strength!”
“In the chaotic battle on Twin Eyes Island, he never fully exerted himself. Such combat power would definitely be top-notch among the Silver Level.”
While observing the battle, Cang Xu also continuously made evaluations.
Cang Xu had a good judgment.
Whether it was his past identity as a Noble Housekeeper or his adventures after Mysterious Monster Island, he was familiar with many aspects of the Silver Level and could make accurate judgments.
Undead Magic—soul healing technique.
Cang Xu mentally activated the spell directly.
A Silver Level Death Skull next to him immediately generated magical fluctuations.
But it took a full half a minute before the soul healing technique was successfully released.
Ku Feng received healing, and his wounds quickly healed over. Gratefully, he glanced back at the Ghost Ship, thinking, “With Xu Jia’s healing Mage Group, I hardly have any worries. This battle is exhilarating!”
Once turned into Undead Life, most healing methods in the world become unusable.
If forcefully used, they would instead harm the Undead Life. After all, most healing methods are designed for normal living beings.
Undead and living beings are two extremes.
Undead Magic—Flying Bone Shield.
Undead Magic—Sliding Ghost Technique.
Cang Xu continuously cast spells, not only caring for the Undead Samurai Ku Feng but also looking after the Little Prince’s skeleton archers and the peripheral Ghost Army.
His casting was very simple, he didn’t need to act personally, merely needing to mentally control the Death Skulls around him.
These Death Skulls, modified by him, were inscribed with one or several Undead Spells, functioning like simplified, crude Magic Books.
Soon after, the lantern fish scattered heavily, led by a Golden Level leader, they rushed out of the ghost fog area and fled.
The ship ghost, controlling the Ghost Ship, did not pursue.
The White Hair Sea Trench was complicated in geography, inhabited by numerous Magic Beasts. Pursuing them would make the Ghost Ship a target for all. The risk of a reckless chase was significant.
“Thanks for your magical support,” Ku Feng said, returning to the ship and expressing his gratitude to Cang Xu.
The Little Prince’s skeleton archers also benefited, he holding the back of his head: “Xu Jia, I’m so envious of you. I’ve never seen anyone cast spells as conveniently as you.”
“You’ve scored big, you know?”
“The Flying Head Skill given to you by Doctor Corpse Dismemberer is really powerful.”
“That’s right,” the ship ghost also appeared, strongly agreeing.
Cang Xu had inscribed a Magic Model in the Death Skulls, and this was their first battle appearance.
What was the effect?
The reactions of the ship ghost, the Little Prince, and Ku Feng nearby explained it all.
“I never thought these Death Skulls could also cast spells!” The ship ghost walked up to Cang Xu, looking at these heads, awestruck.
Having the ability to cast spells was a complete value transformation for the Death Skulls!
“This must be the true power of the Flying Head Skill,” said the Little Prince, “Xu Jia, you can act as a Mage Group on your own now.”
(ps: Thank you all for your previous comments, after some days of reflection, the current adjustments are as follows. 1 Combine some subplots, striving to enhance the proportion of the Dragon-man youth. 2 Ensuring quality, posting as much as possible. There won’t be too many additional posts, as this narrative framework is still being mastered. Currently, it is temporarily set to add one chapter per 700 monthly tickets. If leave is taken in between, there will be additional posts at the end of the month.)