Chapter 162: No deal!

Humans are mostly conformists.

As social animals, contact with surrounding people is inevitable, and the pressure from the group and the pursuit of a sense of identity also force people to change their own views and deliberately cater to them.

Even for those professors and scholars who have read many books and are knowledgeable, it is inevitable.

Not to mention, the 【Sheep-Deer Statue】 itself has carving techniques and expressive imagery that are worth praising.

Under the crazy pursuit of the noble class who symbolize power and wealth in Niumu City, ordinary people, even if they didn't like it originally, will gradually change their minds after repeated impacts of public opinion.

And for those "smart people" who possess sufficient thinking ability and firm concepts and are not carried away by the public, it is naturally impossible to sing the opposite tune in public just to show their difference, often just watching silently.

Xia Nan had never seen Jamie's mentor and didn't know which category the other party belonged to.

But in the situation where the statue itself did not show obvious abnormalities and had been circulating in the city for a long time, and many high-level professionals had been in contact with it.

It is not surprising that the other party does not believe that a "countryside" adventurer like himself who just came to the big city from River Valley Town has no problems.

To a certain extent, the violent reaction of the Jeff family is the abnormal one.

If it weren't for the encounter in the "Fairy Wind" general store and the eerie description on the attribute panel that made Xia Nan confirm that the 【Sheep-Deer Statue】 indeed had something strange.

He might even feel that he was making a fuss and wantonly consuming the trust Jeff and the others had in him.

Now, the wood carving has been returned to Jamie's mentor, and the crisis floating on the surface has been lifted accordingly.

Next, it was the turn of the Moon God Church.

It didn't make the group in the hall wait too long.

Not long after Jeff arrived, accompanied by a sound of relaxed footsteps coming from the inner hall.

Led by the nun, a middle-aged man wearing sacrificial robes came into everyone's view.

He had an ordinary appearance, a gentle smile on his face, and his features were nothing special, and he could even vaguely see some wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

He looked like just a middle-aged man who could be seen everywhere on the road.

But unlike the vast majority of humans in the Pan Yun Province, this human priest had a particularly eye-catching silver hair.

It was by no means the elderly hair color that appeared naturally with age, nor was it an ugly color that was inconsistent with his own image after being dyed with special pigments in a barbershop.

But a more natural luster that reflected the moonlight and invisibly matched his identity as a priest of the "Moon God" Selene.

The edges of the pure white robe were inlaid with silver edges, and the texture was delicate and soft, obviously expensive, but perhaps because it was late at night and in a hurry, there were no other obvious decorations on his body.

Only a necklace with a holy emblem hanging around his neck:

That was a pair of human female eyes surrounded by seven silver stars in the darkness.

The necklace swayed slightly as the body moved, and looking at the holy emblem under the night sky, it actually gave people an illusion of being watched.

Xia Nan couldn't help but avert his gaze, not daring to look again.

"Lord Isidore, these are the gentlemen."

The nun stopped and introduced to the priest named "Isidore."

"I know the whole story." Having already learned the situation reported by everyone through the nun, the silver-haired priest had a gentle smile on his face, and there was no displeasure after being disturbed late at night.

"Please rest assured, everyone, under the moonlight, the holy brilliance of the goddess shines on Niumu."

"Nothing will happen."

His words were slow and firm, combined with his identity and dress as a priest, plus the magnificent church he was in right now.

It made people believe in it unconsciously.

It can be clearly found that as soon as the words fell, the last trace of anxiety of several people including Jeff dissipated accordingly.

Gods, and their agents in the mortal world, for the people of this world, when it comes to supernatural power, naturally have an indisputable authority and a very high status.

After comforting Jeff and the others, the priest turned his head again, looked at Xia Nan, and said with a smile:

"As for the situation mentioned by this gentleman... although I am a little embarrassed, I have also been in close contact with a few statues through some channels a few days ago."

"I didn't find the phenomenon of the mind being unnaturally eroded as you said, and the goddess didn't give any warning."

"I can certainly understand your mood, and I also strongly encourage this behavior of reporting situations that may involve 'cultists' and 'evil gods' to us or the law enforcement officers."

"But..."

The priest showed a hesitation on his face, his tone dropped significantly, he deliberately lowered his posture, and said in a low voice:

"I heard that you are an adventurer."

"No offense intended, in fact, I have many friends who have been or are currently in this line of work, but you should also have some experience."

"Being in a high-pressure environment full of danger for a long time, and fighting with ferocious monsters at a high frequency, is a huge consumption for both the body and the spirit."

"Before I came to Niumu, I had received many professionals who were exhausted by their adventure careers."

"They might be reliable teammates in the team and qualified parents in the family, but at other times..."

"Forgive me for speaking bluntly, they might not be 'normal people' in the universal sense."

The priest leaned forward two steps, and his voice was even lower.

"If you feel too tired after an adventure, or feel that some kind of problem has occurred at your psychological level."

"For example, being too obsessed with something, or suddenly feeling that the attitude of surrounding people toward you has changed abnormally."

"Perhaps you can consider coming to the church for a few prayers, and the goddess will point the way for the lost."

"Thank you." Xia Nan nodded slightly and politely declined, "Praise the Silver Lady."

He certainly understood what the other party meant.

It was nothing more than suspecting whether he had any psychological problems, thereby misjudging the wood carving itself.

Regarding this, Xia Nan felt that he was very normal.

Even coming from a modern peaceful society, let alone gunfights, even bare-handed fights were only two insignificant disputes of spirit during his student days.

But after crossing over, he should be considered to have adapted quite well.

In more than a hundred days, not to mention how senior a professional adventurer he is, at least he has obtained a professional level and also understands a lot of relevant knowledge.

His performance in the Mist Forest has also gradually become seasoned from his original greenness and immaturity.

There is pressure, of course, but after being completely familiar with it, compared to the time when he stayed up late and worked overtime under the threat of unemployment in his previous life, it didn't exceed too much.

Perhaps there is also the reason that he is living a second life?

As for the mental aspect...

Xia Nan feels that his psychology is very healthy.

The ambiguous and blurred information on the attribute panel also suggests that the 【Sheep-Deer Statue】 indeed has problems, and there is no misjudgment.

But since the priest in front of him said so, he doesn't intend to refute it.

It's best if there's nothing wrong, and if there is... he has already warned them.

"Well, although it is most likely just a false alarm, the existence of deeply hidden evil objects cannot be ruled out."

Priest Isidore turned his body and walked toward the altar in the center of the back of the church.

"For the sake of safety, please let everyone bathe in the brilliance of the goddess; under the shining of the holy light, evil spirits have nowhere to hide."

"Presumably in this way, you can also feel more at ease."

Hearing what the other party said, the originally silent scene couldn't help but become quiet.

Jeff and the others didn't whisper, but closed their mouths and lowered their heads piously.

The priest stood still behind the altar, his eyelids drooping slightly, and his hands folded and placed lightly on the holy emblem on his chest.

His lips moved, chanting prayers.

Hum—

Visibly to the naked eye, the light spots that were originally gently floating like thin gauze under the moonlight of the dome fluctuated suddenly.

Reflecting each other with the moonlight, emitting bright and brilliant light.

As if stirred by some invisible thing, it turned into an illusory stream of light composed of silver light, surging toward the crowd.

A flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in his mind.

Xia Nan stared at the countless light spots in the air in front of him, and a gray light flashed in the depths of his eyes suddenly.

——【Gravity-Sensing Vision】

In an instant, the whole world lost its original color, leaving only the most essential black and white.

The priest's swaying sleeves, the slightly swaying candlelight, and even the silently opening and closing lips of the nun on the side...

Dense gravitational ripples collided and intertwined like ripples in water.

And where Xia Nan's attention was focused, those silver light spots surging and rushing under the action of divine arts, which looked like illusory things without substance on the surface, actually emitted tiny ripples in his vision.

And unlike other things, the ripples stirred up by the silver light in time and space actually fit each other invisibly, showing a strange regularity, combining countless light spots together to form a huge and blurred...

"Hiss!"

The back of Xia Nan's head suddenly twitched, and dizziness mixed with severe pain emerged accordingly.

【Gravity-Sensing Vision】 was forced to interrupt.

Color filled the world again.

And at the same time, translucent text familiar to him also appeared before his eyes.

"Proficiency +1"

"【Gravity Control】 lv1: (3/100)"

"..."

He felt sudden in his heart.

Before he had time to think too much, the next second, the silver light like mist brushed his cheeks.

A strange cool stream seeped into the skin, wrapped the spirit, and nourished his physically energetic body and slightly depleted mind.

In the blink of an eye, the mental power consumed because of using 【Gravity-Sensing Vision】 was replenished and became full again.

Deep breath.

Xia Nan stood in place, looking forward.

There, on the flawless white altar, the priest in a white robe with silver edges stood quietly, reflecting the huge glass flower window behind him.

The silver-white hair strands moved without wind, as if they had merged with the moonlight falling on his shoulders.

The night was deep.

Sending Xia Nan and his party out of the church.

Priest Isidore walked alone in the wide corridor inside the church.

The quiet and cold moonlight shone on his face, and no fatigue could be seen.

A simple purification divine art, for him whose professional level was already close to transcendence, was no more laborious than reciting the doctrine of the main god once.

And the rule domain controlled by 【Moon Maiden】 Selene, whom they worshiped, also kept these clergy members full of vitality at night.

To a certain extent, for Isidore, the bright moonlit night made him feel more relaxed and excited than the daytime with sufficient light.

"Knock, knock, knock."

He did not return to his room.

He came to a room used to entertain guests inside the church and knocked on the door gently.

"Please come in."

A male voice with a calm tone came from the room.

Turning the handle, Isidore pushed the door open.

What appeared in his sight was a man with a refined appearance, wearing an indigo ramie robe, whose specific age could not be seen clearly.

At this moment, the other party was crossing his legs, leaning on a luxurious recliner padded with goose down, which should not have appeared in this church, in an extremely comfortable posture.

A simple wooden staff leaned diagonally against the wall beside him, and he was holding a hardcover book thicker than a brick in his hand.

Vaguely, one could see on the surface of the book cover, with fancy and complicated strokes, a string of gilded book titles printed in Elvish:

"Silver Leaf and Unicorn Mane, Detailed Explanation of Wood Elf Classical Carving Techniques"

"Back?"

Cornell didn't raise his head, turning the pages in his hand leisurely.

"Hmm." Nodding slightly, Isidore poured himself a cup of hot tea and sat opposite the mage, "A few citizens scared by rumors."

"Rumors? About that missing Spore Druid?"

"How is that possible, with that person chasing behind, he shouldn't come back." The priest shook his head and replied.

"They think the wood carving is a creation of an evil god."

"Oh?" Cornell raised his eyebrows slightly and snapped his fingers.

The ring on his finger flashed with silver light.

The next second, a statue of a standing human body that looked like a sheep and a deer appeared in his hand.

He stared and examined it carefully for a few seconds, but couldn't see anything at all.

"It's ugly, but 'evil object'... it shouldn't be."

"Of course not!" Priest Isidore snatched the wood carving and replied angrily, "I don't think any evil god can hide himself so well under the eyes of the goddess."

"Why are you so stingy, we've been friends for so many years, lend it to me to observe for two days, you won't lose anything."

Looking helplessly at the priest who snatched the wood carving back, Cornell spread his hands.

It was just a casual mention, and he didn't take it to heart at all.

Just as the priest said.

Niumu's Moon God Church, although far inferior to the "House of the Moon" in Deepwater City, is at least a large church that sits in one side, and can often be watched by the goddess.

This statue has also been popular in Niumu for so many days; if there was really any problem, the goddess would have already issued an oracle for people to deal with it, and it is impossible not to know.

And he also didn't detect the fluctuation of magic particles on the statue, and it couldn't even be called an enchanted item.

Nothing to worry about.

It's impossible for everything to be like the "gravity device" in the goblin lair, possessing the rare characteristic of abandoning magic particles and operating independently.

Just an ordinary carving.

His luck has never been that good either.

"Are the materials for the resurrection ritual ready? There are not many days left for the Moon Feast."

"Of course." Cornell patted the pocket on his waist lightly with his finger wearing an iron ring, "Enough for two lives."

"But seriously, name a price, my mentor might really like this wood carving. When I return to Huan Cai City, I can take out whatever you want for you."

"No deal!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 163 =====