Chapter 354: Priest and Wooden Staff

Xia Nan certainly recognized the holy emblem before him.

His experiences in Kalanfur and Niumu City had forced him to prioritize information about the gods of this world when he was urgently cramming knowledge about the other world.

And the "holy emblem," as the visual link between mortals and deities and the symbolized mark of the gods, was an important content that had to be mastered.

He might not be able to recite the evolutionary process of every holy emblem, the specific symbolic meaning of the patterns on them, or the stories hidden behind them.

But if it was just a matter of identifying the great existence represented by the holy emblem, Xia Nan believed he would not mistake any of the mainstream gods on the Aifala Dalu.

Right now, the holy emblem on the surface of the closed church door, with the pattern of "a rosebud surrounded by the rising sun," was certainly within his range of knowledge.

—【Goddess of Agriculture】 Chauntia.

Her divine domains include: "Agriculture," "Crops," "Gardening," "Summer," etc.

In different regions of the continent, due to local legends and customs related to her, she also has titles such as 【Mother of the Earth】, 【Guardian of the Wilds】, and 【Goddess of Grain】.

She is a powerful deity with an extremely wide range of faith.

To some extent, from the Frostmoss Highlands in the north to the Shoal Islands in the south, as long as you need to plant crops and have any act of sowing, you will inevitably come into contact with the divine domain of this god.

Almost all farmers on the Aifala Dalu can be counted as her pan-believers.

After all, who wouldn't hope for a good harvest in the coming year for the fields they worked so hard to cultivate?

Perhaps influenced by the divine domain itself, the personalities of the gods often correspond to a certain extent with the domains they master.

Just like the lively, bright, fickle, and playful 【Goddess of Luck】 Tymora; the enthusiastic, optimistic, and energetic 【Lord of Morning】 Luoshanda.

Chauntia, as the goddess of agriculture in charge of sowing and harvesting, with domains involving "Family" and "Hearth," is a great deity whom believers suffix with "Mother."

Her own personality, in the few divine manifestation events, also tends to be charitable and tranquil.

Commonly seen in various epics and widely spread images, she is a middle-aged woman full of life experience, kind-hearted, gentle, and virtuous.

In this case, the style of her sect and the conduct of the priests who believe in this deity often resemble the "Great Mother" they serve, full of patience, willing to pay selflessly for things on the land, and providing help to sowers.

Priests in small churches in some remote areas will even work in the fields with farmers in nearby villages, using the divine arts they have mastered to help crops grow, increase yields, or teach the more efficient farming techniques and crop knowledge they have learned in the church to farmers for free.

The reputation is very good.

This made Xia Nan, who mastered this knowledge, feel relieved after realizing the identity of the god represented by the Yangjiao Town church.

Although he didn't know why a malicious item like the pastel gem, which clearly had mental charm effects, could still circulate in the town under the premise of having a church and priests.

But regardless, since the priest in town was a believer of the 【Goddess of Agriculture】 "Chauntia," the situation shouldn't get any worse.

Perhaps he could even get some help from the other party.

Of course, he hadn't considered some more extreme possibilities, and he had even prepared for the worst in his heart.

But before things reached that point, Xia Nan felt he needed more information about this town and the gem currently circulating in the town.

His gaze swept over the closed church door, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Just then, the chatter of several farm women by the square drifted into his ears with the wind.

His heart moved, thinking of asking them for some information.

He recalled the thought that "intimidation" might be more useful than "persuasion."

His body paused, his aura suddenly became gloomy, and combined with his fully armed, dark-toned armor and his already sharp and cold facial features, it really gave people a sense of suffocating pressure.

But after taking only one step, looking at the simple farm women chatting and laughing in front, Xia Nan couldn't help but hesitate.

In the end, he silently retracted his aura.

"Forget it, I'll go back to the street and look for hooligans or black-market gangs, and then try 'intimidation' or 'physical persuasion'."

Xia Nan stood in place and adjusted his breathing, retracting his aura while trying to make himself look less aggressive, as if he were just an ordinary passing adventurer.

A polite smile appeared on his face, and he walked up.

"Good day, ladies." He stopped a few steps away and nodded slightly to them, "The weather today is truly cool and comfortable."

The women looked up at the black-haired adventurer who had suddenly come to talk, their eyes flashing with a hint of scrutiny for a stranger, but seeing his kind attitude, they relaxed a little.

The older one, with traces of wind and frost on her face, took the initiative to respond:

"Good day, sir."

"You are right. After all, there is the Goddess's protection here. Not only is the yield of crops very good every year, but there are also rarely any dangers like monsters in daily life."

"It is precisely because of this that we can sit here so leisurely."

"Praise the merciful Lady Chauntia."

Seeing that the other party seemed very talkative, Xia Nan sat down on the stone steps not far from them, maintaining an appropriate distance.

"Are you a believer of the Goddess of Agriculture?"

Referring to the two previous failed persuasion experiences, he wisely did not mention any information that might be related to the gem, just chatting as if talking about family affairs.

"Of course!" Talking about faith, a slightly younger woman next to him, whose expression had been a bit stiff because of the stranger's approach, became vivid and nodded repeatedly.

"Thanks to Grandpa Moxi's guidance, otherwise we might never have realized how generous and merciful the Goddess is in our lifetime."

"Grandpa Moxi?" Xia Nan showed a bit of confusion appropriately.

"Oh, he is the only priest in our Yangjiao Town."

Xia Nan's heart moved slightly, and he subconsciously glanced at the church, asking curiously: "Judging by your tone, this priest... should be a respected elder, right?"

Hearing this, the older middle-aged farm woman showed a sincere, unfeigned look of respect:

"Yes! Priest Moxi has been in our town for nearly forty years. Many of us grew up watching him. He is a truly merciful and wise gentleman, just like a patriarch to each of us."

"In some years when the harvest was not good, he organized everyone to help each other and shared the food in the church with everyone." The young woman added, her tone full of gratitude, "If it weren't for Grandpa Moxi, many people might not have survived that winter."

Xia Nan's perception was outstanding, and he could clearly detect that when discussing the old priest, the sincerity in the praise of the two women was by no means forced. ===== CHAPTER 355 =====