Deep beneath the sea, all was pitch darkness.
The ghost ship, encrusted with seaweed and barnacles, glided through the ocean depths, grinding over the sand and gravel of the seabed and leaving vast plumes of murky current in its wake.
Specters drifted all across the hull, their pale light casting an eerie glow over everything nearby.
Anbaixiu stood on the deck, admiring the rare undersea scenery.
In all his years since transmigrating, this was the first time Anbaixiu had ever descended into the ocean depths. Truly, one never stopped learning until death—though who could have guessed that after dying and turning into undead, he would end up seeing even more sights?
At the moment, however, Anbaixiu had switched back to his skeletal body. The seawater flowing through the gaps between his bones felt pleasant enough, but this skeleton frame was simply too weak.
Mithral was sturdy, but a golem puppet crafted from mithral was not waterproof.
Seawater contained salt, which would corrode the surface of the components, and pitted gears were fatal to machinery.
The archives of the City of Alchemy did contain designs for submersible golem puppets, but unfortunately, the model Anbaixiu possessed was not one of them.
Helpless, Anbaixiu had no choice but to switch back to his skeletal body.
Once he made the swap, Anbaixiu felt rather uncomfortable. The difference in strength between the two bodies was simply too vast. Had he been merely a mage, it wouldn't have mattered much; but having acquired the power of a legendary ranger, Anbaixiu now had standards for physical strength and agility.
Speaking of which, this skeleton had been shaped with the help of the Rose of Decay, but it had been done in a rush and could only be considered a budget job.
When Phil the murloc saw Anbaixiu change his appearance, he had remarked in astonishment, "You can even change bodies? I truly envy you liches."
Not all undead could switch bodies at will. A zombie like Phil had a soul bonded tightly to his flesh; under ordinary circumstances, his soul would only perish alongside his physical form and could not exist independently.
"Traveling along the seafloor must be much slower. How long will it take to arrive?" Anbaixiu asked.
"Don't worry. I told the captain about the ambush, and she'll come meet us. It will take a day at most."
Hearing this, Anbaixiu set his mind at ease.
After gazing at the undersea scenery for a while, the novelty wore off. Anbaixiu retreated to the ghost ship's hold.
With time to spare, he could discipline the kuo-toa he had captured earlier and see if he could recharge the Golden Throne.
The kuo-toa still wore their dull-witted expressions, locked away in the ghost ship's lowest hold. When Anbaixiu appeared, they scrambled together into a panicked heap.
Anbaixiu was wiser this time. He had caught a heap of fish and shrimp from the seabed and tossed them in front of the kuo-toa.
"Eat up! Once your bellies are full, you work for me!"
The lich's fear aura flared out, leaving the kuo-toa trembling in terror, yet they still stuffed the food into their mouths.
Shivering all over while wolfing down the meat, the dim-witted kuo-toa underwent a shift in attitude toward Anbaixiu, and some began prostrating themselves before him.
The kuo-toa had a temperament much like sheep; once a leader emerged, the rest naturally followed suit.
Over a dozen kuo-toa prostrated themselves together before Anbaixiu, and the power of faith manifested once more, gathering toward him.
"So much?!"
Anbaixiu was thoroughly surprised. He had only just killed the redcap and stolen their worship, yet these kuo-toa showed zero resistance to switching deities. Their piety was completely unchanged from before.
This also proved that kuo-toa faith wasn't genuine devotion, but merely an instinct to seek a spiritual anchor. To many deities, this kind of faith was impure; absorbing it would only taint their divine power.
Anbaixiu didn't care, for he was no god. The power of faith wasn't channeled directly into his soul; instead, his legendary boon converted it into power for the Golden Throne.
As for whether the chair would be warped to match the aesthetic tastes of kuo-toa, Anbaixiu didn't mind. A chair was just a chair. If it turned out ugly, so be it, so long as its abilities remained intact.
To Anbaixiu's surprise, however, the Golden Throne showed no signs of taint or distortion.
He could feel the power of the Golden Throne growing. Faith was efficiently converted into gold, manifesting as relief carvings across the seat. The previously blurry patterns gradually came into focus, but their imagery was strange—not the structure of any magic circle, but more like a religious relief.
Countless silhouettes knelt upon the ground, prostrating themselves before an enormous figure and offering countless precious tributes.
"Ah, this... couldn't be a reflection of my innermost desires, could it?"
Didn't Anbaixiu love nothing more than sitting at home, waiting for people to bring him money?
It was very likely. After all, it was his legendary boon, inscribed with his greatest desire—it made complete sense.
Still, having it exposed so openly was rather embarrassing. If others saw it, might they misunderstand his character?
Never mind, that didn't matter. Better to take advantage of this time to convert more gold.
While Anbaixiu holed up in the hold farming faith, Phil the murloc had no such leisure. After the fierce battle, the ghost ship had sustained some damage, requiring repairs underway, which kept him thoroughly occupied.
The ghost ship traveled along the seabed for roughly twenty hours before finally arriving at an extremely deep ocean trench.
Phil hurried down to the lowest hold and called out to Anbaixiu, "Honored guest, we've arrived! Just ahead is one of our pirate crew's strongholds, and the captain is waiting for you there. Uh... what's this..."
In the hold, the kuo-toa were all floating in the water, bellies up.
Anbaixiu said to Phil, "It's nothing. They're just mentally exhausted. Help me release them later."
Having been forced by Anbaixiu to worship nonstop for twenty hours, the kuo-toa had long had their minds drained dry. Anbaixiu had also placed mental spells on them, so they would likely continue worshipping him automatically for a long time to come—the effect should last a year or two.
The kuo-toa's prayers were indeed remarkably effective, a hundred times better than Erha and Dahei.
Unfortunately, Anbaixiu's current home was settled deep beneath the desert, a place completely unsuited for raising murlocs. Digging out a massive lake and breeding fish and shrimp for them would be exorbitant; maintaining such a subterranean lake would cost a fortune.
Only when he found time to claim a territory of his own on the sea would Anbaixiu consider raising kuo-toa in bulk to top up his faith.
"Sigh, pay-to-win through faith still doesn't bring in money as fast as doing business."
Anbaixiu followed Phil back up to the deck. Between two undersea mountains overgrown with coral lay a narrow passage. Even Anbaixiu's perception could not penetrate it; it had likely been reinforced with a specialized magical barrier.
"This is one of our strongholds. The captain is already waiting inside."
Anbaixiu nodded and smoothed his magic robes. This Senior Mute was no ordinary figure, so he ought to mind his manners.
The ghost ship glided into the trench, passing through a viscous curtain of water, and the gloomy trench instantly transformed.
Jellyfish radiating iridescent light drifted everywhere, illuminating the vast cavern within. The dazzling spectrum of colors made the trench look like a wonderland, utterly defying expectations for an undead pirate stronghold.
Caves had been carved into the coral reefs on either side in staggered rows, from which numerous murloc undead poked their heads out. Spotting Phil's Swordfish, the undead murlocs let out throaty roars, as if welcoming his return.
The Swordfish moved past the coral caves and soon reached a massive harbor.
Over a dozen ghost ships were moored here, linked together like an island sunk beneath the sea. The largest among them was at least a hundred meters long—a true colossus of the deep.
The design of this ghost ship was remarkably peculiar. While the other ghost ships were tattered, battered, and encrusted with moss and barnacles, this massive vessel was entirely pristine, looking as fresh as if it had just been launched.
Had the ship's sails not been blazing with raging nether flames, Anbaixiu might have assumed it was a prize captured by the undead pirates.
Phil said excitedly, "That's our pirate crew's flagship! The captain is right there."
Anbaixiu extended his perception, hoping to locate Senior Mute, but before he could even draw close, he sensed an immense, crushing presence.
Something about this felt off.
From the flagship, a cool, aloof voice traveled across the hundred meters, ringing out with crystal clarity: "No need to search. I am right here. Come aboard my ship so we may speak."
Anbaixiu hastily retracted his perception. This Senior Mute didn't sound mute at all.
From quite a distance away, Phil brought the Swordfish to a halt and said to Anbaixiu, "Honored guest, please make your own way across. My ship cannot approach any closer."
Anbaixiu glanced around the flagship; sure enough, the other ghost ships all kept a distance of forty to fifty meters from the behemoth.
Anbaixiu said politely to Phil, "Thank you for your trouble along the way."
Taking his leave of Phil, Anbaixiu cast Misty Step, teleporting straight onto the flagship.
The moment his feet touched the deck of the colossal ship, the pressure—so vast it shook his very soul—became even more pronounced. Anbaixiu had to deploy a shield just to walk freely across the deck.
Across the immense warship, not a single figure was in sight—no zombie murlocs, no skeletal frames, nor any specters drifting about. There was only a slender figure standing at the bow, seemingly awaiting Anbaixiu's arrival.
Anbaixiu approached slowly. It was a woman with a slender silhouette, her flowing golden hair swaying up and down in the ocean currents. She wore a gown that seemed woven of mist, shifting its form constantly in the swirling waters.
As Anbaixiu drew nearer, the captain of the undead pirate crew turned around.
Her delicate features bore faint traces of scales, suggesting some siren lineage, yet on closer inspection, she seemed different. She lacked the pointed ears of a siren, appearing much more human.
The misty dress veiled her body, obscuring any other racial traits.
She smiled faintly at Anbaixiu and said, "You arrived faster than I anticipated. It seems that item is quite important to you. Should I address you as Little Brother Tiga, or was it Trazyn the Infinite?"
"You already know the fake name I only just used?" Anbaixiu said in surprise.
"Very little upon this sea escapes my knowledge. By the way, you may call me Aige. 'Mute' was merely my former name."
Anbaixiu fell silent for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Lady Aige, if you don't mind me asking... are you a god?"
Chapter 174