Chapter 669: Section 456: Ship Ghost’s Self-Rescue Plan
The next day, the ship ghost once again gathered the Undead Mages.
He conversed on the surface, while secretly inquiring about the progress of forging false memories.
The Little Prince muttered covertly, “This is too difficult! I’ve been trying all night and haven’t even reached 5% progress.”
Fin Spirit also responded, “Given the difficulty, it truly lives up to the high-level Undead Soul Vein inheritance.”
Both mages were on the same page, and Ku Feng’s progress was even less, at only 2%.
But there was someone who fared even worse, and that was Cang Xu.
Cang Xu worried that the ship ghost had tampered with the inheritance content and did not rush to cultivate, focusing only on speculating.
Since contacting the Fishman youth, Cang Xu’s mood had undergone great changes.
The ship ghost soothed everyone, “Forging memory is like performing surgery on one’s own spirit, and it requires an extremely fine level of control to avoid causing damage to oneself, otherwise it is very easy to end up confusing one’s self-identity.”
“Even for me, having practiced this inheritance for many years, it would take at least a week to forge a complete memory on my own—of course, this does not mean going without sleep for seven days and nights, but maintaining a normal daily rhythm.”
“What should we do then? My biggest fear is that the Blood Sacrifice will start again before we succeed in forging our memories,” said the Little Prince, deeply worried.
Fin Spirit analyzed, “The Blood Sacrifice is frequent, but the special Blood Sacrifice that can transport believers is not like that, it happens after a certain interval.”
The Little Prince’s spirits lifted upon hearing this and immediately asked how long the interval was.
Fin Spirit answered him.
“At most two or three days, that’s totally not enough!” The Little Prince lamented, clutching his head and seeming utterly helpless.
The ship ghost chuckled lightly, “It’s too early to despair now.”
“Forging memories all by ourselves is a very slow process. But don’t worry, I have a specialized tool here. This alchemy device not only allows us to quickly forge memories but can also create Memory Crystals. With a Memory Crystal, we can directly overlay our original memories instead of directly tampering with our spirits.”
“In the content I previously taught you, there’s a Memory Switching Technique. With this spell, we can also switch relatively autonomously between ‘disguise’ and ‘true self’ states, preventing us from becoming another person entirely and losing ourselves after an extended period in disguise.”
Ku Feng furrowed his brows and raised an objection in secret, “But in our current condition, how can we use the alchemy device?”
Fin Spirit also said, “The reason we can freely gather now is likely because Zhou Zhang and his followers are purposely indulging us. They want us to despair after fruitless discussions, increasing the chance of us changing our beliefs.”
The ship ghost already had a solution for this difficulty.
He did not keep them in suspense but spoke directly, “Our current situation makes it impossible to openly use this alchemy device.”
“But it will be different inside the Ocean Nest.”
“Once there, isolated from the outside, I’ll be able to break free from the restraints binding me, thereby gaining some ability to move freely. I will lift the restraints on you as quickly as possible so that we can control the Memory Crystal Manufacturing Device.”
Hearing this, Cang Xu immediately developed doubts.
But he was not capable of this kind of secret communication; fortunately, the Little Prince soon voiced his concerns, “Isn’t there a Holy Domain Level sea beast living inside the Ocean Nest? If we do this, we’ll probably all be eaten by the Holy Domain sea beast!”
The ship ghost looked at him, “A low-intelligence Holy Domain Level sea beast is better than facing Holy Domain Level Zhou Zhang.”
“In fact, the enemy we should be most afraid of is the Mei Lan God!”
“Because the Ocean Nest was transformed by Him.”
“However, this deity has been sunk into a deep slumber for a long time now. Even if we mention His divine name, it won’t trigger any reaction.”
“The Ocean Nest was personally transformed by Him, and that Holy Domain Level sea beast is His Holy Beast, helping Him guard the Ocean Nest and assist in completing the Blood Sacrifice.”
“If He were awake, any slight change inside the Ocean Nest would be instantly noticed by Him.”
“If it were any other deity, we would undoubtedly die. But it is precisely the slumbering Mei Lan God that gives us a glimmer of survival!”
Unable to speak, Cang Xu nevertheless reached an understanding upon hearing this.
He recalled the first time he met the ship ghost and others on Songfeng Island.
On Songfeng Island, he attended his first Undead Gathering. He clearly remembered the trade conditions proposed by the ship ghost.
One was to collect various information about the Mei Lan God, and the other was to find a new way to contact the War Merchants.
Survivors had the capability to complete these tasks, so these left a deep impression on Cang Xu.
“The ship ghost wants to collect information about the Mei Lan God, which obviously is not his own scheme. Behind him are the Undead Orthodoxy, and quite possibly the will of You Can. Those orthodox Undead Mages were almost all Desecration Priests. These Desecration Priests were probably targeting the Mei Lan God, possibly planning to make their move on Him.”
“Mei Lan God has been in deep slumber for many years due to severe injuries, making Him a perfect target for the Desecration Priests.”
“As a member of the Undead Orthodoxy, the ship ghost must also hold some secretive information, thus he now has a deep understanding of the Ocean Nest and this Blood Sacrifice.”
The ship ghost then revealed his true plan, “Now with Mei Lan God lost in slumber, His personally transformed Ocean Nest houses a Holy Beast guarding it. Zhou Zhang and others conduct major Blood Sacrifices here because of the characteristics of the Ocean Nest. The items sacrificed in the Blood Sacrifice are almost perfectly absorbed and digested by the nest. Most of this nutrition will feed the body of Mei Lan God.”
“Most of the yield is absorbed by Him, and a small portion is left over, empowering the Holy Beast, Zhou Zhang, and other devout believers.”
“Even such a small part of the yield is an unimaginably significant boost for most Transcendents.”
“If we act alone, it would be nearly impossible to complete the task of forging memories. You have all personally experienced the specific difficulty.”
“So this time, if we want to save ourselves, we must work together! Once we are transported into the Ocean Nest, we will have a short window of action,” Cang Xu stated, some realization dawning on him. “Are you referring to the time when Holy Domain sea beasts hunt those sacrificial sea beasts?”
“Exactly,” Ship Ghost nodded slightly.
He had arrived at this part of the intelligence by speculation, which had been confirmed by information collected by Fin Spirit. Ship Ghost could even roughly estimate the specific duration of this time.
Ship Ghost continued, “According to my estimate, we are still a bit short on time to create a complete Fake Memory.”
“So we need to stall the Holy Domain sea beasts’ progress.”
“Fortunately, by that time, we will have regained some of our combat strength, and we can use our summoned creatures to wage a war of attrition, buying us critical time.”
“At the last moment, as a Golden Level, I will also be able to barely withstand a battle with a Holy Domain sea beast.”
“To save as much time as possible, we need to consult each other and work together to forge a false memory. Each of us will complete a part, and the accumulation of our individual efforts will lead to a rapid overall progress. Ultimately, I will personally organize and perfect it.”
Little Prince made a wide-eyed gesture, “So, you’re saying, all of us will share the same disguised memory? Can that really work?”
“Rest assured,” Ship Ghost said with certainty, “As a believer in the Undead Orthodoxy, I have long learned many experiences of elders desecrating gods. Even a normal deity cannot inspect every memory of every believer. Of course, during a large-scale ceremony, having several believers with the same memory is still a significant flaw.”
“But the god Mei Lan has already fallen asleep. A sleeping deity cannot detect this flaw. As I’ve mentioned before, Mei Lan’s slumber is our greatest opportunity.”
“So, as long as a false memory covers all of us, we can pass the test of faith.”
At this point, Ship Ghost spoke with a tone of emotion, “Mei Lan is among the deities most skilled in deception and disguise. Now, it seems quite ironic and wonderful that Mei Lan, adept at deception, will be deceived by us!”
These words ignited the fighting spirit of the Undead Mages.
Laughing, Cang Xu was filled with anticipation, “To deceive a god skilled in deception? Quite exhilarating!”
With a sigh, Ship Ghost swept his gaze over everyone around him and said, “Everyone should be quite clear about the situation now. In any case, until we receive any support or something significant happens unexpectedly, this is our only chance to survive. I hope everyone will do their utmost!”
The Undead Mages listened intently, their expressions resolute.
Cang Xu was no exception.
His expression was firm, but inwardly, his thoughts churned.
This gathering, although not yielding new inheritances, had been massively enlightening for him.
He had figured out why Ship Ghost, contrary to principles, had chosen to pass on portions of the high-level Undead inheritance.
Cang Xu had previously worried that Ship Ghost might be tampering with this inheritance. Now, it seemed less likely.
Because he needed the cooperation of the Undead Mages to create a complete Fake Memory. If he tampered with this aspect, Ship Ghost would be sabotaging not just others, but also himself.
Still, Cang Xu maintained deep skepticism about Ship Ghost’s other statements.
“If it comes to a moment where we need to stall for time, Ship Ghost might sacrifice others without hesitation!”
“The first Fake Memory produced, he will certainly use it on himself!”
“Can the same Fake Agent really help others? Or is it just a lie by Ship Ghost to make everyone serve him, ultimately benefiting only himself?”
“Sharing the same Fake Memory among many is risky. If I were Ship Ghost, to ensure survival, the safest and most prudent method would be to abandon and sacrifice others, to save only oneself!”
After the battle on Nether River, Cang Xu understood the nature of Ship Ghost like the back of his hand.
Ship Ghost would use every means possible to ensure his survival.
“However, the others are still in the dark.”
It must be said, Ship Ghost was very covert in his dealings, and his usual behavior had benefited Little Prince, Fin Spirit, and Cang Xu immensely.
These three, revolving around Ship Ghost, harbored no suspicions towards him to this day.
“They are truly naive fools! It’s hard to believe they are all Undead Mages,” Cang Xu sighed.
Under these circumstances, he could not unite others to guard against Ship Ghost.
“Had it not been for the battle on Nether River, I wouldn’t have comprehended Ship Ghost’s nature so thoroughly.”
“Perhaps there’s another reason. Perhaps I see so much of myself in Ship Ghost. We are both cold, calmly weighing pros and cons!” Cang Xu couldn’t help remembering how not long ago, he struggled painfully, engaged in intense internal battles, eventually deciding to seek survival through a deal brokered by a vending machine.
“If it weren’t for the squad leader appearing just in time…”
A mix of fear and bitterness surged in Cang Xu’s heart.
Then, a communication with the Fishman youth drastically changed Cang Xu’s perspective.
Cang Xu realized that this peril held immense opportunities!
So, after Ship Ghost dismissed everyone, Cang Xu returned to Ship Ghost’s hut.
“Lord Ship Ghost, after some consideration, I think if we all know how to operate the Memory Crystal Manufacturing Device, it would be more advantageous for our plan,” Cang Xu said.
Ship Ghost looked at Cang Xu, visibly taken aback.
The way Cang Xu communicated with him, at that moment, was exactly the secret manner they had used in their previous exchanges.