Chapter 161: God’s Favor (I0)

Chapter 161: God's Favor (10)

"What in the world is happening?!"

In the temple, the divine servants were engrossed in prayer, their hands clasped together.

While the prayers of the players conjured a dreamscape, the prayers of the divine servants seemed as if they were genuinely immersed in earnest supplication.

The High Priest's voice filtered through the temple windows, reaching Xie Fangcheng's ears.

"Oh Almighty God, among the favored ones you have bestowed, there exists a follower lacking in devotion. He is malevolent, cold-hearted, desecrating the temple and ignoring admonitions. He is unfit to be your cherished one!"

The flickering candlelight rendered the deity statue less divine, instead imbuing it with a demonic countenance.

The High Priest listened intently, seemingly receiving a response from some unseen presence.

He nodded gravely.

"I understand."

With that, he opened his eyes, the gaze fixated on the statue before him brimming with fanatical fervor.

"Oh Almighty God, your devoted followers will surely purge the unworthy from your cherished retinue. Such an individual has no place amongst your favored!"

At his declaration, the priests filling the room rose to their feet, fixing their attention on the High Priest.

The High Priest approached the deity statue, sinking to one knee in reverence.

This posture was all too familiar to Xie Fangcheng; the residents of Qiming City who came to pray today adopted the same stance, slashing their fingertips to offer droplets of blood at the foot of the statue, disappearing without a trace upon contact.

However, instead of offering his blood to nourish the statue, the kneeling High Priest reached out, pressing a section of the floor beneath the statue.

A faint sound of a mechanism echoed, revealing a recess in the floor holding a chalice.

The chalice contained a pool of fresh, vibrant blood, seemingly freshly shed.

The High Priest retrieved the chalice, his assistant escorting two seemingly stupefied priests forward.

The High Priest forcibly opened the mouths of the two priests, pouring the contents of the chalice into their throats.

A horrific scream ensued, the priests who ingested the blood collapsed, their expressions distorted in agony, their voices soon faltering.

The bodies began to swell ominously, as if something was writhing and growing within them.

Swiftly, accompanied by a sickening 'pop', their flesh dissolved, revealing a grotesque transformation. In a blink, the corpses morphed into gigantic “Dream-Return Fish,” creatures known to burrow into the minds of players.

The enlarged “Dream-Return Fish,” now possessing mouths, voiced human speech.

"High Priest, that Zhang Daoan is truly terrifying, very difficult to control. Qi Chanyang seems easier to manipulate but is actually no less challenging."

"I am aware."

The two fish exhibited expressions of guilt and apprehension, their tone tinged with fear, "So... should we attempt to incubate them again?"

Clearly, the previous encounters with the two individuals left a deep psychological scar on the fish. They posed the question with notable anxiety, dreading an affirmative answer.

Fortunately, the High Priest shook his head, "No, let's not try those two terrifying subjects again."

Both fish sighed in relief.

The Captain of the Guards continued, "Since your incubation failed, find a 'sheep' to sustain you till the temple reopens, then choose a new host."

The fish nodded gratefully, quickly morphing into translucent blue ghost-like entities, and burrowed into the niches at the base of the deity's statue.

Having accomplished this, the Chief Deity's Servant turned to address his subordinates.

"The Divine One instructs us to expedite the gathering of the Chosen Ones. When they are presented, the 'heretics' will naturally be punished."

The faces of the deity's attendants relaxed considerably, as they engaged in conversations.

"For so many years, although each batch of Chosen Ones has brought us something new, not once have they fully assembled the Chosen Ones. Without them, the temple doors can't open. Has the Divine One forgotten us?"

"How could the Divine One forget? Surely, our devout prayers will be heard!"

"Isn't it time to replace some 'sheep' in the city? Their frequency of offerings at the temple has reduced; we've barely managed to accumulate two portions in such a long time. It's far too insufficient."

"No rush. Isn't the Chief Deity's Servant's incubation almost complete? We can replace them after it's successful."

"Ah, has the Chief Deity's Servant's incubation gathered enough divine power?"

The Chief Deity's Servant placed the cup back into the recess and closed the mechanism.

His expression relaxed: "Alright, let's go back."

With that said, the Chief Deity's Servant turned his head.

In a seemingly inadvertent glance, he caught sight of something.

The Chief Deity's Servant paused and abruptly turned back.

At the window, two faces were peering into the temple, and it was unclear how long they had been there.

The Chief Deity's Servant stiffened.

Jie Fangcheng turned to ask Zhen Dao'an, "If I take him down, can Wei Yuan be saved?"

Zhen Dao’an shook his head: "I don't know. The odds are likely against it."

Hearing this, Jie Fangcheng regretfully asked, "What should we do, then?"

"The entities in Wei Yuan and the others' minds are likely these very things, right? If we kill them here, they can't transfer their core essence. At the least, once the 'copies' in their minds are dead, they can't resurrect in the outside world."

Jie Fangcheng nodded decisively: "Alright."

With that said, he charged in.

Five minutes later, the screams inside the temple finally ceased.

Zhen Dao’an, who had been guarding the door, walked in. Jie Fangcheng wiped the sword in his hand and left one alive.

The High Priest clutched his stomach, groaning incessantly.

The Guard Captain's face was etched with horror, “Kill me, and you will remain ignorant about the 'God's Children'!”

Xie Fangcheng glanced at Zhang Daoan.

Zhang Daoan waved his hand nonchalantly, “Go ahead and strike. It's evident that he intends to deceive us.”

The recent conversation amongst the priests in the temple had already revealed a substantial amount of information.

They were the "Dream-Return Fish". The two fish that had infiltrated the minds of Zhang Daoan and Qi Chanyang had been killed, reflecting onto their "human" hosts as dementia.

Turning into demented beings... doesn't it resemble Wei Yuan's current state?

Zhang Daoan deduced that once the "Dream-Return Fish" nesting in Wei Yuan's mind successfully hatched, Wei Yuan would become one of them.

As long as the human host remained alive and consumed the fresh blood devoutly offered by the inhabitants, the "Dream-Return Fish" would regenerate to their original state.

Regarding the “Dream-Return Fish” that Xie Fangcheng caught bare-handed, there indeed was a priest in a corner with closed eyes, head tilted to one side, clearly unconscious.

The rescued dream-return fishes were directly killed in the players' dreams, but Xie Fangcheng caught the real entity, not killing it but selling it instead.

Perhaps because of this, the unconscious priest missed out on the reviving concoction.

Without any hesitation, Xie Fangcheng executed the High Priest.

He wondered why he couldn't detect any foul odor from these “people”.

Humans were merely their vessels, the real entities were nearing incubation within the players' minds; naturally, no foul odor would emanate from the human bodies.

After dispatching those individuals, Zhang Daoan first glanced at the time displayed on the wall.

"Let's head back for a rest. We can continue searching for clues about the creation of the God's Children tomorrow during the day."

"Ah, yes."

Xie Fangcheng, with a sword slung over his shoulder, chatted with Zhang Daoan beside him as they walked.

"Have you figured out how to clear the level?"

"Somewhat," Zhang Daoan responded precisely, "but we lack concrete evidence at the moment. We'll continue the search tomorrow."

This kid really was something.

The more Xie Fangcheng observed, the more he believed that Zhang Daoan was perfectly suited for work in the underworld, preferably within his own department, so he wouldn't have to worry about drafting reports anymore.

"It would truly be a waste if your intellect isn't utilized to its full potential," Xie Fangcheng couldn't help but remark.

Zhang Daoan paused momentarily before breaking into a smile.

He turned his head, about to say something, when suddenly his complexion changed.

"Watch out!"

Xie Fangcheng responded with a puzzled "Hmm", not sensing any danger.

Because this danger wasn't of a physical nature.

A seemingly small fish, its scales gleaming with a silver light - a "Dream-Return Fish", drifted down from the top of the temple and entered Xie Fangcheng's body in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Daoan hadn't anticipated this unexpected development. He reached out, attempting to extract the fish, but it was already too late. Expecting Professor Zhang with his low combat capabilities to catch a "Dream-Return Fish" was utterly delusional.

Xie Fangcheng involuntarily closed his eyes, his body stiffening as it fell backward.

Zhang Daoan quickly caught him, his vision blurring momentarily.

Upon reopening his eyes, he found himself standing in a land soaked in blood.

Ahead, a figure clad in a black robe, with long snow-white hair, wielded a massive black sword, standing not far away.

Realization dawned upon Zhang Daoan – he had entered Xie Fangcheng's dreamscape.