Chapter 168: Damn That Charm!

Sheng Cheng, beneath a certain ancient cathedral, in a spacious underground space.

As the headquarters of the Shepherd, an organization that has not been established for long but possesses ample funds and which countless people wish to join for various purposes.

Bishop Qiao En sat in his office, flipping through ancient books provided by His Holiness.

He hoped to find the true heritage left behind by Sheng Cheng from these books.

Unfortunately, he had gained nothing during this period.

If not for the stigmata remaining on his palm clearly telling him that everything was not a dream.

He might have thought he had lost his way between reality and the Dream Realm, mistaking the angel in his dream for reality.

Knock, knock!

"Come in."

Bishop Qiao En heard the knocking, and without looking up, he simply replied.

Immediately, the wooden door, inscribed with numerous runes, slowly opened, and a priest wearing a black robe embroidered with red line patterns walked over with a determined gaze.

After saluting Bishop Qiao En, he placed a thick stack of documents on Bishop Qiao En's desk.

For the sake of tradition and to prevent leaks, and also to accommodate some personnel in the department who could not adapt to computerized operations.

The Shepherd department used paper documents most of the time.

"Bishop, this is the investigation report on the one thousand two hundred and fifty abnormal incidents reported by various churches this week."

"Among them, one thousand two hundred and forty-nine were judged to be caused by the patients themselves."

"Hmm?"

Bishop Qiao En nodded slightly and then suddenly let out a sound of surprise:

"And what about the one remaining case?"

"It was a local church priest who accepted a bribe and forged evidence."

A flash of anger crossed the black-robed priest's eyes:

"We have already taken him to the dungeon."

"Strip him of his grace and transfer him to the relevant department for processing."

As Bishop Qiao En said this, he could feel the black-robed priest's dissatisfaction and unwillingness.

It was just that... the current Holy Church could only be considered the largest branch of the Western Church.

It was long past the time a thousand years ago when its word was law.

And nowadays, they still hadn't found their own extraordinary heritage, so in many cases, they still had to follow the old ways.

He waved his hand, signaling the black-robed priest, who was loyal to the Holy Lord, to withdraw.

Bishop Qiao En sighed and looked at that stack of documents.

After the Shepherd was established, besides taking their blood and waiting for the angels to descend.

Naturally, they were not doing nothing.

At the very least, Bishop Qiao En's old profession, abnormal incident investigation, still had to continue.

And as extraordinary events appeared in various places and caused a craze on the internet.

Bishop Qiao En discovered that incidents in the Ouluoba region where people claimed to be possessed by demons, or dreamed of demons and were threatened, had also increased sharply!

Regarding this, Bishop Qiao En, who had rich exorcism experience, naturally understood.

In an era when the extraordinary was not manifest, there would always be patients who, after watching related movies or books, would have a mental breakdown and believe they were possessed by demons.

Not to mention now, when the existence of the extraordinary had been confirmed.

It was just that, up until now.

Bishop Qiao En had not yet encountered a single case of a truly meaningful demonic invasion.

"The recent events are becoming abnormally frequent; there must be quite a few of them that are the work of major intelligence agencies."

"There shouldn't be a shortage of priests and nuns who have been bribed or threatened during this time either."

"Damn it!"

Thinking of his own powerlessness, Bishop Qiao En couldn't help but grab at his hair, which had already turned quite gray.

Immediately, he had no heart to look at that stack of documents, instead standing up and passing through a secret door behind the wall, entering a hidden underground passage.

In this passage, he could rely on one-way glass to observe the training of the Shepherd reserve personnel in various underground spaces.

After realizing that extraordinary power truly existed in the world.

As Sheng Cheng, which possessed a vast foundation of mystical knowledge, it was naturally impossible to do nothing.

Even if he knew it was filled with intelligence personnel from other factions, there was no other way.

In these underground rooms.

Priests or nuns were training according to different cultivation methods.

Some, after performing cumbersome rituals, sat cross-legged and visualized angels.

Others, after long periods of fasting, stared at candles or inscriptions or statues representing angels while continuously chanting spells.

Still others had even restarted the Holy Spirit sect cultivation method that had been ordered banned hundreds of years ago.

Compared to the Holy Spirit sect, other cultivation sects were mere child's play.

Because this sect looked like evil sorcerers, and practiced like evil sorcerers.

It was a cultivation faction that dealt with the undead and the devils in hell.

Data revealed in the ancient records of Sheng Cheng showed.

The great Sheng Cheng relied on the power of several saints from this faction to preserve its vitality during several major upheavals and win the opportunity for the other side to compromise.

It was just that... hundreds of years ago, the last saint of the Holy Spirit sect had an accident while summoning an ancient existence, and on the verge of death, left a last testament, causing the then-His Holiness to announce a cultivation ban.

From then on, this cultivation method was shelved, until now, when it was taken out again.

There is no help for it, judging by the extraordinary data left in the Sheng Cheng at present.

This cultivation method is the most mysterious, and because the era is relatively recent, it is also recorded in the most detail.

Not only are there incantations and methods for how to communicate with the undead and summon ancient existences.

It also leaves behind the cultivation experiences and reflections of multiple saints.

If this is also fake... wouldn't that mean the hundreds or thousands of priests and even bishops who practiced this method hundreds of years ago... were all lying!

If it were before, Bishop Qiao En would certainly have been inclined to agree with His Holiness: that is exactly what they did.

Because this was the result of the combined effects of the interests and the zeitgeist of that time, which is not incomprehensible.

But now, even if it is the power of taboo, Bishop Qiao En hopes that someone can truly master it!

Thinking this.

Bishop Qiao En suddenly paused slightly.

It was the sacred music he had heard that night reaching his ears.

Realizing something, Bishop Qiao En trotted back to his room.

With trembling hands, he took the blood sample inventory out of the low-temperature safe.

And Su Ping, who finally remembered that he hadn't collected the blood sample from this bishop.

After galloping across the seabed riding Da Hei, he summoned spirit mice, cast invisibility talismans on them, and let them scout the Sheng Cheng.

Seeing that Bishop Qiao En was so sensible, having immediately prepared the samples upon hearing his hint.

Su Ping smiled slightly, activated the Pot Heaven, and sent an invitation to this Bishop Qiao En.

In the blink of an eye.

Bishop Qiao En, having accepted the invitation, appeared in the black mist beneath the Dharma Array.

In the black mist, he could not see or hear anything.

However, he did not panic; he simply set down the samples, took two steps back, and closed his eyes to recite the passages from the scriptures about not looking directly at, not listening to, and not blaspheming the gods...

Bishop Qiao En felt that the darkness before his eyes was the angel's protection for him!

After all, he was still just a mortal; looking directly at a divine existence might cause him wounds that would be difficult to heal.

In the black mist, Su Ping took out the Bloodline Slate.

With a movement of his Divine Sense, the small test tubes in the samples left by Bishop Qiao En were opened, and drops of fresh blood converged into a small river of blood that merged into the Bloodline Slate.

Then, this time... the Bloodline Slate finally emitted light.

Su Ping watched this light, his heart stirring.

Because the Spirit Body that appeared in the Bloodline Slate was displayed as a Natural Affinity Spirit Body.

In the Cultivation World, this Spirit Body belongs to the slightly less rare type of Spirit Body.

There are cultivators with such Spirit Bodies in the Chiyuan Immortal Sect.

According to rumors, that Elder who solved the problem of large-scale farming of space-void mice possessed an advanced version of this Spirit Body.

Su Ping did not hope for an Elder-level figure like that to help him work.

Having a low-grade Natural Affinity Spirit Body that could speed up Spirit Field planting time and improve planting efficiency would be enough.

It just so happens that as the Pot Heaven expands, the two additional mountain peaks have quite a bit of empty space besides the main buildings.

Bringing back some Spirit Soil and Spirit Water from the Cultivation World, combined with the more abundant Spirit Qi in the Pot Heaven.

Opening up dozens of acres of Spirit Fields to ensure his own Spirit Rice freedom is still a possibility!

Even if he were a bit bolder, he could grow some Spirit Plants—vegetable-type Spirit Plants grown without the pollution of Evil Qi.

Presumably, they would be quite popular in those large Markets, right?

Those high-and-mighty Inner Sect and true-disciple cultivators—do they really not want to taste other Spirit Object-type foods besides high-grade Spirit Pills, Spirit Rice, and Spirit Wine?

"You have done well; you have not forgotten your duty."

Su Ping spoke slowly, and with the help of a spell, his voice resonated directly in Bishop Qiao En's mind.

At the same time, he moved his supernatural hand.

A Cross Stigmata appeared on Bishop Qiao En's forehead.

Along with the appearance of this stigmata.

Su Ping used his Divine Sense to help Bishop Qiao En clear a large number of blockages in his body, and guided the surrounding Spirit Qi to pour into the other party's body through the position of the stigmata on his forehead.

He also guided the contents of a Jade Slip recording a Side-Door Path technique into Bishop Qiao En's mind.

This allowed him to instinctively begin breathing and exhaling according to the Jade Slip's contents, accepting the body's transformation by Spirit Qi and the rapid growth of his Divine Soul after its first stimulation.

At this step, Su Ping nodded slightly, confirming that this effort had not been in vain.

Although Bishop Qiao En was a bit old, he at least possessed an inferior Spirit Root.

With his own assistance, he could barely be considered to have entered Qi Refining.

He now had the qualifications to learn and use that Side-Door Path spell.

It was just that it wouldn't do for him to return to a place without Spirit Qi.

After thinking for a moment.

Su Ping took out a ring-pendant-style Dharma Artifact.

With a movement of his Divine Sense, the Spirit Gathering Array in this Low-grade Magical Artifact was changed into a Spirit Storage and Slow Release Array.

Although it lost its original few minor functions.

It gained the effect of slowly releasing stored Spirit Qi.

The power was not high, but it was just right for satisfying the needs of a Loose Cultivator's Trick in an environment without Spirit Qi like Water Blue Star.

He merged this Low-grade Magical Artifact, now filled with Spirit Qi, directly into Bishop Qiao En's chest.

Immediately, a Ring Stigmata also appeared in the very center of this Bishop Qiao En's chest.

After finishing all of this.

Su Ping informed him of the identification numbers of the people with a Spirit Body that he had found through multiple tests.

Only then did he watch as Bishop Qiao En, who was closing his eyes in immense gratitude, disappeared into the black mist.

In the underground space, inside the bishop's room.

After Bishop Qiao En felt that he had returned.

Only then did he dare to open his eyes, seeing the familiar layout of the room.

He did not immediately get up to call for anyone, but instead stood up and rubbed his head, which was aching incessantly from being forcibly infused with knowledge.

He slowly looked toward the mirror.

Immediately.

This nearly sixty-year-old bishop froze.

He in the mirror.

His complexion was ruddy, and his skin was fair and lustrous.

His eyes held a bright light, and his whole person... had recovered to how he looked at forty.

Even more vigorous and filled with a damn charm than he had been back then!