Chapter 720: Section 507: Unsealing
Cang Xu’s face showed a strange expression.
Zhou Zhang’s attitude toward Undead Magic and Undead Mages had taken him by surprise.
Zhou Zhang smiled, discerning Cang Xu’s thoughts at the moment, "What’s so strange about that? Isn’t the reason the divine suppress the Undead Faction because they delve into the mysteries of the soul?"
"I have faith in our Lord, you need not doubt the steadfastness of my faith."
"Do you know what steadfast faith is?"
"It is when faith still exists and does not waver in the slightest after learning the truth about the world!"
"The divine collect faith, and the hidden aspects of the soul are almost no secret to Divine Officers at the level of bishop."
"The reason I was able to become a bishop is because, even after learning of these things, my faith remained unshakable."
That made a lot of sense.
Cang Xu nodded, convinced by Zhou Zhang’s argument.
Reflecting on it, Cang Xu suddenly said, "In that case, these new Charming Blue Divine Skills are not really suitable for widespread promotion."
"On one hand, the vast majority of low-level clergy are not Undead Mages and do not have the ability to cast such spells."
"On the other hand, forcibly promoting them would be very bad because delving into the mysteries of the soul could shake the clergy’s faith in themselves."
Many of the lower-level believers are not aware that they are making contributions. But if they mastered this series of Divine Skills, they would naturally understand that they too had made contributions to the divine, rather than the prior belief that everything was a gift from the divine.
Thus, everything the divine bestow upon the believers would no longer seem like gracious gifts without expectation, but more like a business transaction.
You give me your spiritual energy, and I give you Divine Power and Divine Arts in return.
This, of course, would lead to a strong impact on one’s own faith.
If they held firm, then the believer’s faith would be solidified, setting a firmer foundation for further progression. But in most cases, faith would waver and continue to slide, possibly relegating the believer to being a general believer for life.
Zhou Zhang looked at Cang Xu with an appreciative gaze, "You’ve understood this so quickly, you seem like a smart person. What else can you think of?"
Cang Xu was taken aback, then his face showed a look of surprise, "It is my Lord who has chosen me, His immeasurable magnanimity has allowed me, an Undead Mage, to become a missionary spreading His path, His majesty, and His benevolence."
Cang Xu suddenly realized: apart from high-level clergy, Undead Mages are the most suitable for this set of Preaching Divine Skills.
On one hand, Undead Mages have a strong Soul Essence and a natural ability to cast spells. On the other hand, Undead Mages are already aware of the truth about spiritual energy, faith, and exploitation, so most Undead Mages have developed a resistance and do not worship the divine.
"For Undead Mages to believe in the divine, the challenge is greater. But, just like Bishop Zhou Zhang, once the belief takes hold, that faith is extremely steadfast and can be tested over and over again!"
Seeing the look of realization on Cang Xu’s face, Zhou Zhang laughed heartily and patted Cang Xu on the shoulder, "No matter whether these Divine Skills were refined by our Lord or other followers, since our Lord has made them part of His divine blessings, it indicates a significant shift in our sect’s strategy."
"Actually, cooperating with the Undead Faction isn’t so bad."
"Our Lord was seriously injured and has fallen into a deep sleep, all because of the actions taken by the divinities of the Holy Bright Empire! Divinities of other powers stood by and watched, offering no help whatsoever."
"The great divinities suppress the Undead Faction only because the Undead Faction poses a serious threat to their own interests."
"Humph, under these circumstances, why shouldn’t we recruit Undead Mages as believers? After all, this is the predicament we’re in now."
Zhou Zhang muttered, revealing intense dissatisfaction.
Cang Xu listened, horrified.
Although he had improved to a certain degree, he was still fundamentally a low-level Transcendent. It was only after accompanying the ship ghosts that he was exposed to the sights of the middle and upper tiers. Even so, he was still a Black Iron Level, disguised as a Silver Level.
Zhou Zhang was not only at the Holy Domain Level, but also a high-ranking member of the Charming Blue Sect, and her few words revealed secrets of the world’s structure, secrets of the upper echelons!
After muttering to herself, Zhou Zhang, realizing she had said too much, stopped herself and encouraged Cang Xu a few times.
Realizing the other party wished to end the conversation, Cang Xu quickly asked, "Your Excellency Zhou Zhang, may I freely carry out my missionary work here?"
Zhou Zhang replied with a smile, "Of course, you can."
"As a missionary, proselytizing will grant you Divine Grace. With such Divine Skills, I believe Divine Grace will be easier to attain."
"I too was once a missionary. Looking back, if I had such a set of Divine Skills, it would have been wonderful!"
"Converting a Bronze Level will grant 1 Divine Grace, Black Iron Level will grant 10 Divine Grace, and converting someone at the Silver Level will yield a reward of 100 Divine Grace. Of course, this amount is just an average. The actual amount of Divine Grace depends greatly on the faith before and after conversion."
"But no matter what, this is quite beneficial for early-stage Divine Officers."
At this point, Zhou Zhang suddenly said, "I almost forgot, I can now remove the seal from you."
"Without the seal I placed, you can fully unleash the power of the Preaching Divine Skills."
"Do you have any Soul Crystals? If the Soul Crystal Manufacturing Technique for Synchronized Conversion is used frequently, it will wear on your soul. Therefore, it is best if you have a sufficient supply of Soul Crystals for replenishment."
Cang Xu was initially overjoyed, but then shook his head with a wry smile, "I don’t have many Soul Crystals on hand."
Zhou Zhang pursued further, "Do you know how to manufacture Soul Crystals?"
Even though Cang Xu had obtained the Middle-level Soul Vein inheritance from the ship ghost, he now shook his head without hesitation, "My contact with the ship ghost was for the sake of the Middle-level Soul Vein inheritance, which I have not acquired yet."
Zhou Zhang smiled encouragingly, "Then go and work hard at preaching, to make those Undead Mages our followers as well. Perhaps then, you might obtain the method to create Soul Crystals from the ship ghost."
A gleam flashed in Cang Xu’s eyes, "Lord Zhou Zhang, are you suggesting..."
By the time Zhou Zhang had turned and left, he dropped a line, "Such superior Preaching Divine Skill, of course, requires more Undead Mages to perform it, doesn’t it?"
After this incident, Zhou Zhang’s attitude towards the Undead Mages, such as the ship ghost, had changed.
Cang Xu watched Zhou Zhang’s departing back and keenly sensed this shift.
He rushed back to the vicinity of the Gold altar and found that, after some time had passed, the crowd from before had mostly dispersed.
The circle of Believers around the altar was there solely for prayers, kneeling ceaselessly.
"This return of mine has greatly impacted my past relationships. Zhou Zhang’s charge has received perfect progression, whereas the ship ghost’s side needs more maintenance."
Cang Xu wanted to find the ship ghost, but at that moment, a subconscious reminder within him suggested that it was best to rest in his own shack first.
Cang Xu temporarily suppressed the urge to search for the ship ghost and returned to his earlier humble abode.
Securing the shack’s door, he appeared to be praying, but in reality, the Memory Switching Technique had already been triggered!
Sections of memory that had been concealed were now recovering.
"So it turns out, I had hidden my real memories."
"And fabricated many others, placing them in various stages of my past life."
"All for the purpose of elevating my faith in the Charming Blue God."
"Indeed, doing so has raised my level of devotion to that of a devout believer. Precisely because of this, I was able to demonstrate a better effect of the Preaching Divine Skill in front of Zhou Zhang!"
These fabricated memories significantly increased Cang Xu’s recognition and closeness to the Charming Blue God.
Now, as the true memories emerged, they collided with the fabricated ones.
Immediately, Cang Xu performed the Memory Concealment Skill to hide each fabricated memory.
"Now, my degree of faith has returned to being general. However, this is the real me, and in such a state, I will be better prepared to confront the ship ghost!"
Cang Xu understood the source of the subconscious reminder that plagued his mind.
Before being transported back, he not only fabricated memories, but he also employed the Subconscious Reminder Skill, reminding himself to return to his shack after overcoming trials.
He set the Memory Switching Technique to the door of his shack.
These deliberate preparations and arrangements made before his return were now taking effect.
Cang Xu analyzed the situation in secret.
"To them, Ku Feng is dead, Qing Xin is also dead. Only a few dozen Fishmen from the Da Ji Tribe are left, having survived the transportation back."
"But in truth, they are all on the Deep Sea Monster Fish."
"Qing Xin and Ku Feng are being closely guarded, with multiple measures ensuring their safety. As for the other Fishmen, being much weaker, their movements are restrained and they’re under strict watch."
"The most crucial point is, all these captured Fishmen have been preemptively marked with the Missionary Mark!"
Apart from the Soul Crystal Manufacturing Technique, the Fishman youth was currently studying spells such as the Memory Concealment Skill and Memory Switching Technique.
Practicing the latter two aimed at manipulating the memories of the captured Fishmen, similar to Cang Xu, by hiding part of their true memories and adding false ones, thereby making them followers of the Charming Blue God!
As soon as they become followers, through the Missionary Mark, Cang Xu would be credited for their conversion.
During subsequent prayers, Cang Xu would gradually receive corresponding Divine Grace as compensation.
"In some sense, we’ve turned all the Fishman captives into Desecration Priests."
"Yet these captives are also ignorant and baffled."
Using the Memory Transformation Device to help preach was a good strategy conceived by Cang Xu during his time in the Ocean Nest.
While capturing the Fishmen, he also frequently employed Concurrent Deception Skill for assistance.
Cang Xu had a premonition: "The Preaching Divine Skill, Concurrent Deception Skill, Deception and Disguise Skill Array, Memory Crystal Manufacturing Device... Combining these, there must be an even better synergy. It’s just that time is limited, preventing me from delving further."
"Now, it’s time to meet the ship ghost."
Without a doubt, Cang Xu, returning in such a manner, had to regain the ship ghost’s trust again.
It was impossible for the ship ghost not to be suspicious of Cang Xu.
This was another test.
But Cang Xu was brimming with confidence!