Chapter 144: The Shepherd's Responsibility (Please Subscribe)

Water Blue Star.

Daci Dabe Temple.

The representative of the Western Church from Ouluoba, after attending the Dharma Assembly that day, immediately rose to express his hope to request an audience with Grandmaster Yuan Ci.

Grandmaster Yuan Ci was also somewhat exhausted after presiding over the Dharma Assembly and had intended to close the doors and decline visitors, but after hearing of this representative's status, he hesitated for a moment before agreeing to the meeting.

This was because Grandmaster Yuan Ci had learned from his disciples that this Western Church representative was actually an Archbishop, a position of quite special status within that religious system.

He was one of the thirteen exorcists currently existing in the Western Church, and also the one with the most seniority among them.

It was rumored that he had always been deeply trusted and supported by the current His Holiness.

Furthermore, he was a candidate with the potential to become the next His Holiness.

Such a special status and position caused Grandmaster Yuan Ci's heart to stir, suspecting that the other party might be a member of the mysterious circle.

After all, in Grandmaster Yuan Ci's view, the Western Church also had a long history and deep foundations, and had possessed numerous believers throughout the ages.

If they did not have even a shred of mysterious foundation, how could they have developed into such a behemoth as they were today!

They would surely have long since had their right to speak usurped by other sects supported by other transcendent forces!

Moreover, historically, the Western Church had led numerous campaigns to exterminate witches and demons.

To Grandmaster Yuan Ci and others who had already come into contact with mysterious knowledge, this period of history also gradually appeared to have more hidden secrets in their eyes.

He even suspected that this history, which was culturally considered a dark age, was actually a war that arose due to conflicts between transcendent forces?

And the winner was, without a doubt, the Western Church, which was still able to send representatives today.

After his Entry, Grandmaster Yuan Ci also hoped to have more exchanges with true Cultivators.

It was just that, over this recent period, after probing his old friends, he had gradually discovered something.

In his original circle, he was truly the only one who was a true Cultivator!

Upon receiving the good news that Grandmaster Yuan Ci was willing to meet, Archbishop Qiao En could not help but show a polite smile to the disciple who had delivered the message.

Then, after tidying his attire, this Western Church Archbishop, who was also nearing sixty, refused the company of his attendants and followed the monk into the rear hall alone.

Archbishop Qiao En had come to visit Daci Dabe Temple with a mission.

As the primary religious sect with the largest number of followers on Water Blue Star at present.

The Western Church had initially been dismissive of the various miracles that had suddenly appeared in the East.

In their view, the tricks those Eastern counterparts were playing were things they themselves had played countless times hundreds of years ago.

They had even compiled and written many small stories that were difficult to distinguish as true or false to accompany them.

They had even spared no cost to build cultural structures that were considered wonders at the time.

Plus, they had caught a good era.

That was how they had their current foundation.

However, as there were more and more abnormal situations that could not be explained by current science.

Especially the divine punishment event that occurred in Nierbo, where it was rumored that someone had summoned a giant wolf from the sky to punish a general who had done all sorts of evil.

His Holiness and the bishops at the Western Church headquarters began to sense that something was wrong and felt the pressure from their allies.

Archbishop Qiao En had never imagined that he would encounter a patient disguised as an intelligence officer trying to test whether he could perform divine arts.

And he never expected that, after his Scarlet Cultivator Group captured an intelligence officer who had infiltrated the underground library of Sheng Cheng.

It would actually lead to even greater diplomatic pressure.

Almost every day, important figures would pull strings to find someone to ask him if he could hold a Miracle Mass to display miracles and cure terminal illnesses...

Archbishop Qiao En naturally refuted these widely circulated rumors firmly every single time.

And he kept emphasizing that things like the Miracle Mass had ceased to be a so-called tradition after the current His Holiness was elected.

Unlike the previous His Holiness, who was questioned for faking Miracle Masses to cure terminal illnesses and resurrect the dead, the current one had no record of holding a Miracle Mass at all.

Because of this, in the current Sheng Cheng, one could be appointed a Cardinal and possess the qualifications to become His Holiness even without ever holding a Miracle Mass.

If one wanted to be cured of an illness, besides maintaining piety toward the Holy Lord, one should believe even more in the doctor's instructions.

In this way, under the mercy and love of the Holy Lord, the Holy Mother, and the Holy Son, there might be a greater chance for terminal illnesses to be naturally cured and for one to receive a new life.

However, when Archbishop Qiao En saw the internal report regarding the Sakura Capital incident in Sakura Country from a subordinate who had rushed over.

Seeing that He Mao Chun Yi Lang, a suspected Yin-Yang Master, had truly summoned a protective Spirit Beast through a mysterious ritual.

And that the end of the incident outside Sakura Capital stemmed from a fox-masked Shrine Maiden and a palm strike that descended from the sky.

Archbishop Qiao En's worldview received an unprecedented shock.

After shouting "impossible" in his heart many times, he had trembled as he went to His Holiness's room to seek answers.

He was a firm believer in the current His Holiness, and while believing in the existence of the Holy Lord, he also believed that technology was a path of development approved by the Holy Lord, and even believed that they should abolish many ignorant regulations and false propaganda that shackled believers.

Only in this way could believers live better lives while their souls could be closer to the Holy Lord's paradise after death.

However... the anomalies appearing now seemed to be telling them.

The premise of what they had insisted on for most of their lives seemed to have a small error.

Outdated customs might also have their own logic.

The mysterious might not just be for uniting strength, but might also be real and true!

As a confidant of His Holiness for decades, Archbishop Qiao En learned the truth from His Holiness's own mouth.

That was, even the most noble person in Sheng Cheng, His Holiness who possessed the most secrets, did not actually possess any transcendent power.

Of course, Sheng Cheng had ancient books recording transcendent knowledge, and there were even many of them.

But... the problem was, no one knew which of these were real and which were painstakingly forged to cooperate with propaganda.

It was even more likely that they were all fake; after all, His Holiness himself had no relevant knowledge passed down, let alone others.

But, as the number one religious sect of the West.

To say that they truly had no mysterious foundation... others had to believe it too!

Judging by the increasing number of travelers in Sheng Cheng with ulterior motives.

They clearly do not believe it.

In fact, by the end of their discussions, Bishop Qiao En and His Holiness himself did not quite believe that their sect could be without some mysterious foundation.

After all, facts speak louder than words.

With the Western Church having such vast territory and so many believers, how could it be that their opponents possess it while they do not?

Therefore, there is only one truth!

Between the transcendent and the mortal, there exist two distinct sets of organizations.

The transcendent belongs to the transcendent, and the mortal belongs to the mortal.

It is just that while others have begun to appear, their own have left no trace at all.

Could it be that an accident occurred on the transcendent side, or was it due to turmoil that the most critical method of contact for the inheritance was lost?

These questions still weighed like a small mountain on the hearts of His Holiness and Bishop Qiao En.

After thinking it over repeatedly.

They decided, on one hand, to remain still to counter movement, using delaying tactics to deal with probes from all sides.

On the other hand, while sending people to various churches and monasteries to search for any transcendent beings of their own sect.

Bishop Qiao En would lead the way to the East to find fellow practitioners suspected of possessing transcendent power or support from transcendent beings, to see if he could find a breakthrough to contact their own transcendent side!

Bishop Qiao En went to many places where miracles were rumored to have appeared.

But none were as shocking as what he felt at the Dharma Assembly at Daci Dabe Temple.

From the moment that Grandmaster Yuan Ci began chanting.

Bishop Qiao En realized that the mental suggestion the other party brought him was even more intense than the mass scenes His Holiness created using the right time, place, and people.

This was no longer something human power could achieve; it could only involve the power of mysterious knowledge.

And from information known in advance through connections within the circle, Bishop Qiao En also learned that this Grandmaster Yuan Ci was the monk publicly recognized by all forces as the most likely to possess mysterious knowledge.

He was a true transcendent Cultivator!

High above Daci Dabe Temple.

An oval, airship-like unmanned aerospace carrier hovered there.

It was tasked with the heavy responsibility of monitoring and initiating nearby protection at any time.

In the temporary base outside the mountain, several intelligence officers watching the surveillance screen also revealed a hint of anticipation.

Like their colleagues outside, they were also quite curious about this Bishop Qiao En, whose background seemed extraordinary.

They also hoped to confirm the other party's true nature through Grandmaster Yuan Ci.

Unfortunately, out of respect for Grandmaster Yuan Ci, they did not set up equipment in the rear hall or other rest and living areas.

They could only watch the other party enter the room and wait quietly.

The conversation between Grandmaster Yuan Ci and Bishop Qiao En was very brief.

Mainly because Grandmaster Yuan Ci had already entered Qi Refining and had mastered the first layer of the Jinguangfojing.

After his five senses were enhanced, in just a few words, no matter how well Bishop Qiao En disguised himself.

No matter how much he feigned mystery.

Grandmaster Yuan Ci still saw through his true nature; he did not expose him on the spot, but merely shook his head slightly, mentioned the Bishop's poor health and blood deficiency due to his old age, and kindly wrote out a prescription.

Bishop Qiao En left the room with mixed feelings, holding the prescription.

He had already realized that this Grandmaster Yuan Ci must be a true transcendent being.

And because of this, he did not intend to discuss too much with him, who was merely a mortal.

He also subtly mentioned that he could communicate with people in the true mysterious circle over in Sheng Cheng.

But!

Bishop Qiao En smiled bitterly in his heart.

If he knew where the transcendent beings of Sheng Cheng were, would he need to travel so hard to find clues about them everywhere?

"Perhaps this prescription is worth a try."

With the mission failed, Bishop Qiao En shook his head slightly, then looked at the prescription in his hand; out of respect and trust for a transcendent being, he intended to give it a try.

And not long after Bishop Qiao En left.

A High Monk came to visit Grandmaster Yuan Ci and learned of Bishop Qiao En's true nature from him.

"Huh?"

"That Bishop Qiao En is really just an ordinary person?"

"Grandmaster Yuan Ci confirmed this face-to-face, so it shouldn't be fake."

"Spread the news; it's a perfect time to increase the stress test on Sheng Cheng and see if we can make them reveal their true trump cards!"

After a group of think-tank members learned the news, they immediately began simulations and offered suggestions.

As for Bishop Qiao En, he stayed with his entourage in a villa provided by a believer at the foot of the mountain, beginning to think about how to report today's findings to His Holiness.

"Holy Lord above, where exactly is the inheritance you bestowed?"

"Why, as those closest to the Holy Lord's position on earth, do we know nothing about it?"

Late at night.

Bishop Qiao En, who had been thinking too much, leaned against the sofa, and in his drowsiness, was just about to fall completely asleep.

Suddenly!

Bishop Qiao En felt a halo of light appear before his eyes?

He struggled to open his eyelids.

Immediately, he saw that white light seemed to have appeared in the room.

Yet he could not find where the light source was.

A dream?

Am I dreaming?

Bishop Qiao En thought to himself.

Suddenly, sacred music rang out in his ears.

His nose caught the scent of a floral fragrance he had never smelled before, yet it was extremely pleasant.

At the same time, a voice seemed to drill into his mind, as if asking him if he was still willing to fulfill his duties.

Then, afterwards.

Everything suddenly returned to its original state.

Only Bishop Qiao En, who had stood up with a swish, stared wide-eyed as he looked around the room in the darkness; after being bewildered for a moment, he still found it hard to distinguish whether he had been dreaming or had encountered a mysterious event.

"Wait!"

Bishop Qiao En suddenly felt a stinging pain in his palm.

He looked at his right hand and immediately discovered that a cross-shaped, scabbed wound had appeared on his palm.

He opened his mouth, then hurriedly knelt on the ground, clasped his hands together, gripped the cross around his neck, and began to give thanks.

He was now incomparably certain that he had encountered a revelation from the Holy Lord or the Holy Son.

As for the content of the revelation.

As he clenched his fist and made contact with the wound, beyond the pain, it also seemed to make him constantly recall that string of words.

Gradually, from the voice in his mind whose language he could not identify, he understood its meaning.

This voice was asking him:

An angel has already descended into the human world.

As a Shepherd of the Holy Lord, it is time to go and find the angel in the human world...

Then, under the angel's guidance, fulfill the responsibilities that a Shepherd of the Holy Lord ought to fulfill!

Responsibility!

The responsibility of being a Shepherd of the Holy Lord!

After Bishop Qiao En realized this point, he felt his entire body filled with vitality.

He was, of course, one hundred percent willing to fulfill his responsibilities.

He even wished he could leave here immediately and board a plane right now to return to Sheng Cheng to fulfill his duties.

Outside the window.

The invisible Su Ping felt the changes in Bishop Qiao En's emotions and revealed a smile.

Very good; it seems that while these people of the Western Church don't say it out loud, deep down they are very susceptible to this kind of apocalypse.

Things like voices in dreams, ceilings starting to glow, or wounds and a Mark suddenly appearing on the body.

These mysterious elements that frequently appear in their stories—after Su Ping borrowed them for use, he discovered that they indeed achieved the result of prescribing the right medicine for the illness.

There was no need for any specific character to appear, nor was there a need to provide bait; relying entirely on the other side's own imagination, the desired effect could be easily achieved.

This was also because Su Ping had happened to see this Bishop Qiao En when he came to Daci Dabe Temple to replace the Sealed Dharma Artifact.

After learning the other party's identity, Su Ping acted on the thought that since he was already here, he shouldn't miss the opportunity.

It counted as laying the groundwork in advance, placing the Invitation Letter at the wound on the other party's palm, thereby allowing the other party to feel the inquiry from the Invitation Letter whenever he clenched his fist.

He wanted him to remember to use his status after returning to help collect the blood of members of the Western Church.

And then, when he had time, he would summon the other party to collect a batch and see if any new Spirit Body laborers had been born.

If there were, then naturally that meant the angel in the human world had been found.

If not... then he would just have to keep at it and let the other party continue to work hard to find the angel.