Chapter 134: People from Yuandu? God of Worship? |
The two chatted extensively about this topic, allowing Su Chen to learn many past historical matters of the four cities.
"Our Yingfeng is the strongest, possessing one hundred and twenty-five subordinate cities. Yuandu is second, governing only roughly a hundred. Lieyang is next, and Tianqing is the weakest."
"The number of cities represents the resources that can be mobilized and the talents that can be birthed—" Bu Siqi explained.
"What was the name of the deity Yuandu worships again? It seems to be called... called... Crimson... Exalted..."
"Called what!?" Su Chen was struck with profound astonishment. This name, "Crimson Exalted"... was way too similar to the abbreviation of the Great Exalted's name!
Of course, it was also very similar to the name of this planet.
Bu Siqi fell into recollection, "...I've forgotten what exactly it's called. I haven't been in contact with them for a very long time. Furthermore, their belief is different from the fanatical worship of the Evil Gods; it's treated more as a source of guidance."
Su Chen had already restrained his emotions. His question just now was merely a subconscious reaction to hearing this name come out of Bu Siqi's mouth.
Crimson Exalted... perhaps it represented this planet, or perhaps it pointed directly toward the Crimson Flame Responding Thunder Great Exalted!
'Mhm—no, that's not right. Black Buddha clearly possesses its own consciousness. Additionally, Yuandu's belief doesn't seem to resemble the fanatical, zealous worship of the Evil Gods either.'
'Perhaps during their era of ignorance, they acquired this name from some unknown place and subsequently treated it as their guiding light—' Su Chen pondered over many possibilities. His curiosity regarding Yuandu had undeniably climbed to its absolute peak.
Moreover, Yuandu also had the [Spirit Adept] profession that he required for the [Unsullied].
It was a pity Yingfeng was far too distant from Yuandu. Within a short period of time, it would still be very difficult for him to come into contact with them.
"Fortunately, Old Teng's little life has been preserved for the time being. Once Teacher returns, everything will be much easier to handle."
Lastly, Bu Siqi couldn't help but sigh emotionally, additionally reminding Su Chen, "I heard you were almost ambushed by a Priest of Black Buddha this afternoon. It's best if you don't go out randomly these days."
"Nine times out of ten, Chu Xuan was murdered by this Meng Qi. I have no idea if they have any other methods."
"Alright." Su Chen agreed, escorting Bu Siqi out the door to see him off.
The abrupt incident incited by Meng Qi's death could be considered temporarily suppressed.
By the second day, the Adjudication Court ordered Su Chen and the others to conclude their investigations within Yingfeng City and withdraw their teams.
Simultaneously, a strict gag order was issued to every single person present that night. With Core Seeds dying one after another, it was truly a massive scandal.
However, there were no walls in this world that didn't leak. Some matters ultimately still spread out, attracting the attention of all parties. The three departments of the Security Bureau gloated in the Adjudication Court's misfortune, finding it rare to see the Adjudication Court make a spectacle of themselves so frequently.
Yet, certain rumors spread so unimaginably bizarrely—like saying a Believer of Black Buddha had personally come to their doorstep to identify the spy—that practically no one believed them.
...
"That Teng Liang is actually fine?"
In a hidden location somewhere in Yingfeng, complex patterns were engraved upon the ground, crisscrossing and intertwining toward the central pillar, flickering with a certain light intermittently.
Upon the central pillar astonishingly rested a multi-faceted crystal. A milky-white substance flowed within it, and the voice was originating precisely from inside:
"Are their Core Seeds merely decorations? Or is it because Meng Qi had no backing, so it doesn't matter even if he died!?"
"The Adjudication Court seems convinced that your physical shell has a problem, and they are currently conducting further investigations," a Faceless Man reported in a low voice.
"How could they possibly have seen through it!?" The voice within the crystal contained raging fury. After remaining silent for a moment, he spoke again: "It's all because of that guy named Su Chen. To be targeted by Black Buddha indeed proves he isn't simple."
"To think such an interesting matter actually exists in this tiny, remote place."
"Divine Son—" the Faceless Man explained in a low voice, "Based on the fragmented sentences we managed to learn, it seems a Believer of Black Buddha entered the Adjudication Court and... identified you."
"A Believer of Black Buddha?" The voice addressed as Divine Son was stunned. "They... identified me?"
He completely hadn't expected to hear such unimaginably bizarre news from the mouth of his subordinate.
"So they also knew I cast my consciousness down to steal—" His heart tightened, but upon changing his train of thought, he sensed something was wrong. "That was just a corpse; what use is there in identifying me?"
"No, that's not right! It was to absolve that Teng Liang of his crimes! The other party is already Black Buddha's person!"
Reaching this deduction, his heart tightened once again. Having flaws discovered by Black Buddha was even more dangerous, even though it sounded slightly more acceptable than being discovered by a native.
"Divine Son, there is another piece of news." The Faceless Man continued reporting, "Right around the time your physical shell was discovered, Teng Liang's Junior Brother, that Su Chen, led a team to eradicate the Black Buddha Cult's old lair within the city. A Priest was captured."
The crystal flashed with bright light, falling into completely stunned silence.
'Could it be that Teng Liang wasn't Black Buddha's person? Otherwise, they definitely would've notified them in advance and leaked the news.'
The situation had grown even more complex; he couldn't grasp a single clue no matter how he tried to untangle it.
How could such a chaotic situation exist in this place?
Teng Liang... Believer of Black Buddha... Su Chen... the exposure of his identity... there were far too many intersecting lines! It seemed like they were all intertwining together, yet simultaneously seemed completely unrelated to one another!
"Additionally, based on the latest intelligence... out of the ten-city blood sacrifice, only two cities succeeded," the Faceless Man added.
"Only two cities succeeded!?" The voice suddenly pitched higher. "Truly a group of absolute trash! Forming a united front is indeed the most foolish method possible!"
"Then what do we need to do now?" the Faceless Man inquired.
The voice sank into silence once again, carrying an unspeakably stifling frustration. The reason he had so decisively disconnected from that physical shell was precisely to avoid that Teng Liang damaging his body.
Under normal circumstances, he still had a chance to retrieve it. Naturally, it wouldn't be to resurrect as Meng Qi; he would use it as a foundation, expend some price, and undergo a complete face-swap once again.
But now, the Adjudication Court had already suspected he had a problem. That corpse would likely be strictly guarded, making it extremely difficult to retrieve.
It felt like he had been backed into a dead end. Attempting to forge a new body like Meng Qi's from scratch would take at least three years! Where the hell would he find three years to waste!?
"If it weren't for this Nether Mist, why would I need to go through so much trouble!?" he said furiously.
...
Deep within the Adjudication Court, a massive metallic cylindrical structure stood. Its surface was covered in a matte anti-corrosion coating, and the pillar's body was densely packed with longitudinal heat-dissipation fins.
Three circular dish antenna arrays surrounded the middle section. The base portion was spliced together from hexagonal armor plates, while massive blades engraved with symbols expanded outwards from the very top.
At this moment, the blades were slowly retracting. Chong Jingtian walked out from within, his expression grave.
"What did they say?" Jiang Shumo, who was waiting outside, immediately hurried forward.
Chong Jingtian frowned. "Yu Xingyao said they are also investigating the Evil God Cults, and they have discovered certain matters."
"Even if they investigate the Evil God Cults, what right do they have to poke their noses into our Yingfeng's territory!?" Jiang Shumo scoffed contemptuously. "What exactly did they discover?"
"They said it's not something that can be explained clearly in just a sentence or two. Yuandu will dispatch people to come over and explain it face-to-face," Chong Jingtian said. "Under the guise of friendly sparring and cultural exchange, to avoid alerting the other two cities."
"They want to dispatch people over, and they even want to hide it from the other two cities?" Jiang Shumo was surprised, asking doubtfully, "The last time they came was already three years ago. Could they be plotting something secretly in the dark?"
"Although Xia Hanshi's side did discover traces of people from Yuandu, they indeed lent a helping hand; it's hard to say definitively." Chong Jingtian couldn't be certain. "I must notify the Council of Elders regarding this matter."
Mentioning Xia Hanshi, Jiang Shumo also muttered, "Old Xia's nose is truly a bit too formidable. The places he picked genuinely had massive problems."
"No wonder he was able to grasp the problems residing within Meng Qi."
Hearing this, Chong Jingtian asked, "What did you discover from Meng Qi's corpse?"
"I was just about to report to you." Mentioning this matter, Jiang Shumo's expression grew significantly heavier. "Initially, we conducted our tests according to standard procedures, but completely failed to find any clues. Although his flesh-and-blood structure deviated slightly due to professional reasons, it absolutely couldn't be linked to the Evil Gods."
"However, later on, possessed by a sudden whim, I took Chu Xuan's flesh-and-blood structure and compared it with his. Astonishingly, they were practically identical!"
Chong Jingtian's expression changed. A flesh-and-blood structure... was the bodily changes brought about by the various classes a living organism had acquired.
Furthermore, because the intensity of the classes differed, and the number of stacked advanced classes differed, it would result in all sorts of various deviations.
Under normal circumstances, this was practically useless, because it would frequently change due to the degree of Class Development.
However, this time was completely different. The chaotic flesh-and-blood structures of both Meng Qi and Chu Xuan were actually completely identical!
This implied that the classes both sides had acquired were identically matching. It even meant their class acquisition times and the completion degree of their acquisition requirements were completely matching!
However, Meng Qi's classes had long been recorded in their files; it was completely impossible for them to be identically matching.
"Xia Hanshi's intuition was right; he genuinely had a problem. To think those Believers of the Faceless Ghost can actually reach such a terrifying degree!" Chong Jingtian's expression was exceedingly ugly. "Yet we completely failed to discover anything at all!"
It was only because not much time had passed since Meng Qi had 'devoured' Chu Xuan, resulting in practically zero increase in Class Development. Otherwise, his flesh-and-blood structure would have changed ages ago.
This also meant they couldn't possibly use this method to uncover a second 'Meng Qi'!
"I believe Meng Qi should be an isolated anomaly," Jiang Shumo said instead. "Since Meng Qi genuinely had a problem, then what Teng Liang stated is nine times out of ten the truth. He indeed committed suicide, or perhaps, it was to perfectly preserve his physical body—"
"This isn't our first time dealing with the Faceless Ghost either. It's impossible for them to easily achieve things up to this degree."
Chong Jingtian understood this logic, yet remained heavily laden with worries. Raising his head, he looked at the ceiling. "Why exactly would those Evil Gods cast their gazes upon this place!?"
"Black Buddha's Divine Blood... what exactly are they trying to do!?"
The series of events that had transpired recently gave Chong Jingtian a suffocating feeling, as if an incoming storm was slowly gathering on the horizon.
"If it truly comes down to it, let's propose asking for reinforcements," Jiang Shumo hesitated.
Chong Jingtian's expression changed slightly, yet he shook his head, "Let's wait a bit longer to see."
【Azure Thunder Sovereign: 5%】
【Mystic Holy Hand: 9%】
【D-Rank Crouching Tiger Body Forging Method - Master: 5%】
【D-Rank Sanskrit Sound Void-Shattering Meditation Method - Master: 15%】
"Phew..." Su Chen exhaled a breath of stale air as he stepped out of the gravity room. Glancing at the single-digit numbers on the panel, he couldn't help but shake his head.
There had been quite a lot of matters recently, so he hadn't spent much time on Class Development.
Checking the time, he tidied himself up briefly before heading out the door, making his way toward the Adjudication Court's Guest House.
"...I am not leaving! Where the hell is that old bastard Chong Jingtian!? Back then, when I wanted to leave, he wouldn't let me leave. Now he wants me to leave, but I ain't leaving!"
Before even entering the main hall, Su Chen heard a burst of noisy clamor. Sang Hanhai was pointing right at an inquisitor's nose and cursing, "Tell that old bastard to come out and respectfully escort me out! He better give me a proper explanation!"
"Elder Sang, Elder Sang—" The moment Su Chen entered the door, he called out.
"It's you kid." Sang Hanhai restrained his expression, sneering coldly, "Did Chong Jingtian tell you to come? That old bastard sure knows how to shrink his head into his shell."
"The Chief asked me to apologize on his behalf," Su Chen said helplessly. "The recent events have also left the Chief overwhelmed and buried in work; he genuinely cannot extricate himself."
"Can't extricate himself, or doesn't have the guts to show his face!?" Sang Hanhai cursed loudly. "I came with the kindest of intentions to help you all with class acquisitions, yet I ended up trapped here for over half a month! The people outside who don't know the truth probably think I died inside the Adjudication Court by now!"
"Yes, yes, exactly—" Su Chen repeatedly echoed in agreement. Seeing him acting like this, Sang Hanhai reigned in his emotions and waved his hand. "Don't bother wasting your effort. If he doesn't come, I'm not leaving."
Su Chen said tactfully, "I came to ask... when will that Saint Word Stone arrive?"
"The Saint Word Stone..." Sang Hanhai's expression shifted slightly, his brows knitting together. "Calculating the time, it should be soon."
He inevitably felt somewhat troubled. He was also waiting to verify the bizarre characteristics residing within Su Chen's body; it was indeed impossible for him to stay stuck here forever.
"Slippery kid!" Sang Hanhai pointed at Su Chen. "Chong Jingtian hides and refuses to show his face, yet you're surprisingly considerate."
Su Chen sighed helplessly, lowering his voice: "A massive incident occurred in the lower-tier cities. These past few days, the closed-door meetings haven't stopped for even a moment. I genuinely am not lying to you."
Sang Hanhai frowned. It wasn't exactly that he necessarily had to curse at Chong Jingtian; he just felt thoroughly displeased internally.
"Forget it. I'll give you face, kid." Sang Hanhai swept a glance over him, deciding to leave.
"I'll see you out—" Su Chen followed behind.
In reality, the staff of the Class Decoding Department had practically already finished packing their things. Likely, after cursing for another few days, Old Sang would indeed depart.
"I heard that over in Yuandu, they actually worship deities."
Su Chen's words were abrupt. Astonished, Sang Hanhai cast a glance at him. "You know about it too?"
"Know what about what?" Su Chen froze.
"The fact that Yuandu is dispatching people over." Sang Hanhai was suspicious. "If you didn't know, why would you suddenly care about Yuandu out of nowhere?"
Yuandu was dispatching people over? Su Chen indeed hadn't expected this, unable to resist asking, "Why so suddenly?"
"Who knows? Supposedly, quite a lot of people are coming. Most likely, they're going to secretly compete and pit themselves against us in various aspects again."
Seeing Su Chen didn't answer his question, Sang Hanhai didn't mind either, recalling, "The last time they came, your Adjudication Court's Core Seeds and their Holy Church's Saints fought a few matches; both sides had their wins and losses."
"I heard they recently nurtured a 'Chosen Son'. Wonder if he's coming or not."
Su Chen didn't care about these things, asking again, "Will they have people who acquired the [Spirit Adept] class coming?"
"You're still hanging onto that?" Sang Hanhai was astonished, laughing involuntarily. "Who knows if they will? Perhaps."
"Right, what did you ask earlier? The deity they worship, right?" Sang Hanhai pondered slightly. "It should be called the Crimson Thunder Great Exalted, I think."
'Crimson Thunder Great Exalted...' Su Chen's heart trembled slightly. It was far too similar to the 'Crimson Flame Responding Thunder Great Exalted'! Are they genuinely worshipping this profession!?
"However, it's merely a pretext used to gather the hearts of the people. It's not like the Evil Gods; it won't bestow them with any abilities whatsoever."
"They still worship it even without any benefits?" Su Chen harbored many doubts. This place wasn't his previous life; this was a world with genuine world-destroying, heaven-shattering powers. Without any benefits, one might as well worship themselves rather than a deity.
Sang Hanhai shook his head. "Perhaps there are benefits we don't know about."
After seeing off Sang Hanhai, Su Chen's imagination ran wild on his way back.
Upon this vast earth, the Crimson Flame Responding Thunder Great Exalted was definitively not an entirely unknown entity after all!
(End of this chapter)
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