Chapter 689: Section 476: Cang Xu: I am a devout Mei Lan Believer
Deep Sea Monster Fish.
In a specially arranged cabin, Cang Xu slowly opened his eyes.
“Where am I?” he looked around, confusion in his gaze.
But soon, streams of memories began to surface in his mind, helping him understand his situation.
“My name is Duo Yu, and I am a fisherman.”
“Since childhood, I have devoutly worshipped the Charming Blue Goddess, a faithful believer of my lord.”
“In a sea disaster, I was captured by an evil Undead Mage and became his experiment, finally being transformed by his nefarious spells into an undead!”
“Even though I can no longer be considered alive, I still yearn to return home. My spouse must be waiting for my return. My son and daughter-in-law, and my newly born grandson…”
“My lord, please be merciful and save me.”
The cabin contained only a single bed and a statue.
The statue depicted a mermaid holding a magic wand, her fish tail standing amongst the waves, her visage meticulously crafted, her gaze cast into the distance, exuding an inviolable majesty.
It was indeed the statue of the Charming Blue Goddess.
Cang Xu kneeled, his face filled with sincerity, and he began to pray.
“My lord, the great Charming Blue Goddess!”
“Thou art the mighty Sea God, possessing infinite wisdom and power.”
“I beseech thee to save me, have pity on me, help me lift the seal on my body so that I may regain my freedom and return to safety.”
“As thy lamb, I deeply feel thy kindness and grace, believing that thou wilt guide me and grant me the strength to stand up and bravely face all the challenges that fate has in store for me.”
“I shall serve thee for a lifetime, even though I have become an undead creature, it shall not hinder my loyal faith in thee!”
…
Cang Xu prayed again and again.
After several repetitions, divine power descended from nowhere, entering his body, soothing his weary spirit, returning it to its peak state!
Cang Xu’s heart was profoundly shaken, and he wept tears of joy.
“The Goddess has noticed me!” he was so excited he almost roared out.
Considering he was still imprisoned, he had to forcefully suppress his emotions, bowing his head and continuing to pray.
“Time is running short, I must go to the Alchemy Cabin, otherwise, that evil Undead Mage will surely become suspicious,” the fabricated memory reminded Cang Xu, making him reluctantly end his prayers.
He stood up, took a few steps, and approached the cabin door.
The moment he opened the door, his pupils shrunk to pinpoint size, and he was completely stunned.
Like a tidal wave, true memories surged forward, and the fabricated memories paled in comparison, immediately becoming dubious.
Cang Xu was dazed for nearly ten seconds before he finally regained his senses.
The two sets of memories clashed, causing his head to ache violently, and a strong sense of dizziness overtook him, forcing him to kneel and retch continuously.
At first, he was extremely doubtful, thinking that the evil Undead Mage was tampering with his memories, trying to turn him into another person.
However, soon, a strong subconscious feeling emerged deep within him, insisting that the second set of memories was the real truth.
Finally, when he remembered being captured, meeting the Fishman youth inside the Deep Sea Monster Fish, and recalling their plan to make use of fake memories to desecrate the Goddess, did he fully understand.
“I’m awake!” Cang Xu, trembling, used the metal walls to stand up.
He called out for the “Commander.”
The Fishman youth was sitting in the pilot’s cabin. As Cang Xu emerged, he noticed him.
But the Fishman youth, being cautious, didn’t show himself but instead used the intercom to ask Cang Xu some questions.
These were questions they had intentionally set up to verify Cang Xu’s memory recovery.
Cang Xu answered them very accurately and swiftly.
Only then did the Fishman youth truly appear, inquiring with concern about the prayer.
Cang Xu said, “I succeeded.”
“The most challenging part was the ‘awakening,’ returning to my true self. In this phase, both the Memory Switching Technique and the Subconscious Reminder Skill played a vital role.”
Cang Xu had designed the Memory Switching Technique as the act of “opening the cabin door, stepping out of the cabin.”
Thus, the moment he left the cabin was when he started to recover his true memories.
The two sets of memories continued to clash, with the true memory trying to override the fake one, causing chaos in Cang Xu’s mind. At this critical moment, the strong subconscious helped Cang Xu confirm which memory was real, significantly shortening the time for his recovery.
And that was precisely the function of the Subconscious Reminder Skill!
Cang Xu looked at the Fishman youth, his tone uplifted, “Our fabricated memory passed the test, with no issues. After my prayer, I also received a Divine Blessing. My spirit had been exhausted due to research and casting both spells, sinking to rock bottom. But now, my spirit has fully recovered, at its peak state.”
The Fishman youth nodded, exhaling a breath of relief.
Cang Xu’s successful prayer meant the first trial was a resounding success, signifying several things.
Firstly, the Charming Blue Goddess was indeed gravely injured and had fallen into a deep slumber, allowing the fake memory to pass.
Secondly, even though the Deep Sea Monster Fish was endowed with Deception and Disguise Skill and Anti-Intelligence Prophecy Skill, it could not deceive the Charming Blue Goddess. Even in her weakened and slumbering state, she was still able to bestow a Divine Blessing upon Cang Xu.
Third, Cang Xu had not gained the favor of the gods.
The reason was simple, Cang Xu had prayed many times, but only his spirit had been restored.
Compared to other believers, they had gained much more. Some had their Transcendent Levels promoted, while others obtained a wealth of combat experience.
However, this situation had been anticipated in the secret communications between Cang Xu and the Fishman youth.
“It’s very likely your identity as an Undead that’s causing the gods to treat you differently,” the Fishman youth sighed.
No deity would look favorably upon an Undead Mage.
Cang Xu shook his head; it was a helpless situation.
The key now was that they had no way to resolve this.
Perhaps using the Deception and Disguise Skill could be a solution, but from the first experiment, there was a significant chance of failure.
But it was still worth a try.
After all, the Pearl Bubble had already overflowed from the Divine Artifact.
The second prayer experiment.
Cang Xu woke up alone in the cabin.
The cabin contained a single bed, a statue of the Goddess Mei Lan, and a mirror.
Through the mirror, Cang Xu saw his own appearance — a merman.
In search of better prayer results, the Fishman youth directly disguised Cang Xu’s appearance as a mermaid, making him closely resemble the image of the Goddess Mei Lan.
And to match this appearance, the Fishman youth had also used the alchemy device to slightly adjust the previously forged memories.
“I am a mermaid, named Duo Yu.”
“I have worshiped the Goddess Mei Lan from a young age, a devout Believer of my lady!”
“I’ve been persecuted, falsely accused by a priest of the Sea Abyss Sect and imprisoned here. Only if I convert will he let me go.”
“But how could that be possible!!”
“I will never convert, even if that damned priest has laid deadly traps on me, which will cause me to explode when the time comes.”
“Damn it, my extraordinary power has been sealed by him, and I simply can’t escape on my own!”
Cang Xu clenched his teeth in silence.
In the forged memory, he had tried many times, all ending in failure.
“Just destroy this statue, and I’ll let you out and extend the time, delaying your moment of explosion,” the priest of the Sea Abyss Sect’s words resounded as if still ringing in his ears.
Cang Xu didn’t do it; he clenched his teeth tightly, knelt before the statue of Goddess Mei Lan, and began to pray.
“My lord, the Goddess I worship with all my heart.”
“You are the Sea God, You rule the seas and marine life.”
“You are the god of deception and disguise, capable of deceiving enemies and impersonating all things.”
“I deeply feel Your might and majesty and will follow Your path for life. Please grant me the strength to break free from these shackles, to solve the crisis of my impending doom!”
“Please protect me; let Your glory shine upon my life. My God!!”
Cang Xu sourced his prayer words from his forged memories.
But in reality, they were carefully designed after discussions between him and the Fishman youth.
Both the first and second rounds of prayer involved requests like “releasing the shackles” and “solving deadly crises.” The purpose was clear, to use the Divine Blessing of the Goddess Mei Lan to solve the seals planted on Cang Xu by Zhou Zhang and the Undead backdoor planted by the ship ghost.
However, this time, although Cang Xu once again received a Divine Blessing, it didn’t affect the Holy Seal or the Undead death traps; instead, it allowed Cang Xu’s Divine Office to go from non-existent to becoming a monk.
And with the acquisition of the monk’s Divine Office, Cang Xu also gained access to various doctrines of the Charming Blue Sect, standards for cultivation, and prayer, among others.
After Cang Xu opened the door, he regained his memories once more.
When he looked back at the mirror in the cabin, his mermaid image had vanished without a trace, reverting to his original appearance.
Such is the nature of the Deception and Disguise Skill.
Cang Xu’s true memory was aware of this truth, so when he awoke, the Deception and Disguise Skill was non-existent to him.
After conversing with the Fishman youth, he sighed, “With too few samples, we are unable to infer much from the two instances of Divine Blessing.”
Cang Xu said, “Regardless, the mermaid disguise didn’t have a clear effect. Just as we had guessed before, the Deception and Disguise Skill might fool Zhou Zhang, but it certainly cannot fool the Meilan God!”
“We have spent quite a bit of time, and I feel there is no need to test the Deception and Disguise Skill again. It’s time for me to guide you, the squad leader, in meditation.”
A hint of hesitation flashed across the Fishman youth’s face, but eventually, he nodded and left with Cang Xu to enter the Meditation Room.
Divine Blessing, often just referred to as such, is essentially dispensed according to the deity’s will.
The main considerations are the degree of Faith and the quality of the believer.
After two prayer experiments, the Deception and Disguise Skill is highly improbable to hide from the Goddess Mei Lan.
Therefore, from the perspectives of the Fishman youth and Cang Xu, the most effective method to enhance the degree of Divine Blessing is to improve one’s ability!
For others, this method would be a pipe dream.
But the Fishman youth, who possesses the Blood Core, is special, and so is Cang Xu, who benefits from the Bloodline Purification Array.