Chapter 316: Unexpected Operation!

Indeed, it is faith.

Now, not only did Lei Dianzhen give an explanation, but Lei Dianying also gave her opinion.

Luo De, who still hadn't figured out the situation, looked at the statue the people of A Ru Cun had erected for him, feeling that sudden power that made his whole body feel comfortable, and frowned, saying, "You say this is faith?"

Hmm.

Lei Dianzhen, who understood faith better, explained to him: "Faith is a power that originates from humanity, and this is also a power we gods can obtain by fulfilling our divine duties."

Speaking of this,

Lei Dianzhen wore a strange expression and asked, "How did you obtain the power of faith?"

How would I know where to go?

Lin Ye replied helplessly, laughing and crying.

The power of faith in Teyvat is not that kind of illusory incense power.

But it truly exists.

After the Archon War ended, the situation of the Seven Archons standing separately was finalized by the Heavenly Principles.

With the aid of the divine throne, the Gnosis and other creations of Heavenly Principles can obtain humanity's wish power.

The seven gods who ascended to the positions of the Seven Worldly Rulers thus also gained the power to draw faith from humanity, thereby making themselves stronger.

In other words.

Luo De, lacking a divine throne and a Gnosis, theoretically could not obtain the power of faith.

But the fact is now right before our eyes.

Through the confirmation of these two gods, Lei Dianzhen and Lei Dianying, the power Luo De drew from the statue is the power of faith.

This is quite strange.

Not only were the two Electro Archons astonished, Luo De was also in a dazed state.

He is very clear about one thing.

That is, his body originally came from the divine light of the Flower God, so he indeed had a connection to the Dendro Archon's throne, but when the Great Merciful Tree King was revived, Apep forcibly severed his connection to the Dendro Archon's throne.

In other words.

Luo De theoretically should not be 'not correct'.

The leaves of the World Tree!

Thinking of this, Luo De's pupils involuntarily contracted.

If we were to say what connection he still has with the Dendro Archon now.

Then without a doubt it is that leaf of the World Tree.

Given that the Dendro Archon herself is the embodiment of the World Tree, then by this reasoning, Luo De, whose consciousness is fused with the leaf of the World Tree, has an even closer connection to the Dendro Archon than any divine throne or Vision.

No, that's not right.

Hasn't that leaf already been corrupted into my own likeness?

Luo De fell into thought once again.

Theoretically speaking.

The contaminated leaf should have no relation whatsoever to the Tiwatedalu continent.

However, Luo De's thoughts remain just thoughts.

When Lei Dianzhen confirmed that the faith power of A Ru Cun was indeed contained within the leaf of the World Tree, he had nothing more to say.

Such strange occurrences are not happening for the first time.

Luo De doesn't always find an answer, so he might as well not bother and let it develop freely.

Thus the next question.

It circles back to how the villagers of A Ru Cun came to have faith in Luo De! 'Didn't you find someone to preach to you?'

Lei Dianzhen asked curiously.

My ill repute in the desert probably spreads farther than my good reputation.

Luo De replied helplessly.

To be honest.

He also doesn't understand why faith in him has sprung up among the people of A Ru Cun.

Normally speaking.

What is faith? Faith is a peculiar power that arises from fervent pursuit of the gods.

Luo De doesn't think he can make people pursue him so fervently.

Especially the faith power in that statue has already reached the point where it can improve his own body—this is not just a matter of a day or two, nor is it the power of just one or two people.

Just then.

Paimon's voice interrupted the conversation between Luo De and Lei Dianzhen.

Huh! Luo De! Isn't that you!

That sentence was like a stone tossed onto the water's surface, instantly causing ripples all around.

Whoever was doing whatever, anyone who heard Paimon call Luo De's name turned their gaze toward him.

The sharp-eyed natives of A Ru Cun, upon seeing Luo De's face clearly, immediately shouted, "It's the Red King Divine Envoy! The Divine Envoy has returned!!!"

The desert peoples, who had already been drawn to attention by the name 'Luo De', immediately became agitated; those in front stood up and ran toward him briskly, while those behind shouted the name 'Divine Envoy' and crowded toward him frenziedly.

It was only this brief moment.

Luo De then keenly sensed that the faith power emanating from the statue had become denser than before.

Holy crap!

Luo De, with a twitch at the corner of his mouth, decisively grabbed Ying and Paimon and reminded: "Pay attention."

He finished speaking.

His figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye he vanished from the spot, leaving behind only the wails and cries of the fervent desert people.

Luo De and the three who had fled from the statue.

When he reappeared, he was already inside an empty house.

Still shaken, Paimon landed and immediately patted their chest, saying, 'Luo De, why are you so popular?'

Ying also looked at Luo De with the same expression.

Compared to Paimon, her eyes held more of a strange feeling: 'You said the Red King Envoy was just a name used to fool people, right? I don't think so.'

Her offhand comment.

But it left Luo De stunned again.

Yeah.

The Red King Envoy is just a name used to deceive people.

His so‑called Red King Envoy is merely a self‑proclaimed title, not a true Red King Envoy—how could it possibly reach the point of gaining the power of faith?

"Huh, where is this?"

While Luo De was pondering, Paimon had already flown around the room.

Soon.

She then noticed something odd: 'Luo De, this is a girl's home.'

Paimon's small size lets her see more than Ying, who is of normal height.

For example, an earring fallen on the floor and a mirror hidden away—all of these indicate that the house Luo De brought them to is a girl's residence.

This made Paimon curious: 'This probably isn't your home, right?'

"No."

Luo De shook his head: 'This is Kantisi's house; I have some things to ask her.' 'Kantisi?'

"Ah, that's the fierce young lady!"

Paimon recalled how Kantisi had driven out troublemakers at the village entrance, and involuntarily shivered, saying, 'Huuh—you're barging into Miss Kantisi's house like this; aren't you afraid she'll kick you out too?'

"."

Ying grabbed Paimon in one swift motion and covered her mouth, which never knew restraint.

What attitude does Kantisi have toward Luo De?

She has seen it with her own eyes and heard it with her own ears.

Anyway, what Paimon said definitely won't happen; Kantisi will never drive Luo De away, not even get angry—at most she'll just be startled.

And her premonition was confirmed by nightfall.

The news of Luo De's return to A Ru Cun quickly reached Kantisi's ears; after dealing with the chaos at the statue, she consulted a few witnesses and concluded that Luo De had indeed returned, but as soon as someone recognized him, he fled immediately.

Thus Kantisi set aside her affairs and personally searched every corner of the village for Luo De's trace.

No matter how she searched,

she could never find where Luo De was hiding.

After a day of exhausting effort with nothing to show for it, Kantisi finally gave up the idea of searching for Luo De.

The gap between them is too great.

If Luo De doesn't want to show himself, she could never find him.

Realizing this, Kantisi sighed, prepared some food, and returned home.

Then, upon entering the door,

she saw a familiar figure and a face so familiar it couldn't be more familiar.

"Hey, Kantisi, long time no see."

Luo De, who had waited a long time, waved at Kantisi and greeted her.

Ying and Paimon are not here right now.

Unlike Luo De, who has something to ask Kantisi, Ying and Paimon came to A Ru Cun to play, not to listen to Luo De and Kantisi chat.

Therefore, after accompanying Luo De in waiting for a while,

the bored duo then went out to play on the street.

Luo De, meanwhile, stayed here alone, waiting for Kantisi to return.

"Luo De, you've really come back."

Compared to the fervent desert people outside, Kantisi's attitude toward Luo De's return to A Ru Cun, though pleased, was not enthusiastic to the point of fervor.

"Hmm."

"I don't even feel like I know this place anymore, so I didn't dare go home—I came straight to yours instead."

Luo De smiled helplessly and voiced his worries.

"Uh."

Kantisi naturally understood what Luo De was saying.

Regarding the desert people's fervent worship of the Red King Envoy in A Ru Cun, which had even developed into a faith, she also shook her head and said, 'The person who erected your statue is a woman I don't know.'

"A woman?"

Luo De stared for a moment, many familiar faces flashing through his mind, then guessed, 'Could it be a green‑haired woman who keeps telling people she's my sister?'

"Indeed, it's a green‑haired woman."

"But she never said she was your own sister."

Kantisi recalled: 'I asked that woman for her name, but she didn't say; she only said the statue was erected for your benefit, and that you now have the qualifications to have her erect a statue for you, and that someday you'll learn the statue's benefits.'

"Not the Great Merciful Tree King!? From Kantisi's earliest words, Luo De overturned his previous guess: the person who erected his statue to gather faith was not the Great Merciful Tree King, but the long‑missing Grass Dragon King Apep!"

"This guy, what is she going to do?"

This name, which had vanished to the point that Luo De forgot it, suddenly reappeared, and it caught him completely off guard.

This made Luo De feel doubtful.

What is Apep trying to do by erecting a statue of himself to gather faith power? "No, that's not right."

"How could the villagers here treat me, uh, treat me like this?"

Luo De talked for a long time, but couldn't think of a word to replace "zealous faith".

He really couldn't figure it out.

The last time he returned to A Ru Cun, the desert locals' attitude toward the Red King Divine Envoy was somewhat better than that of Hope City and deeper parts of the desert.

But it hadn't reached such a zealous level.

Moreover, there was a small detail that Luo De hadn't noticed before, but now suddenly remembered.

That was when he was at the entrance of A Ru Cun.

The desert locals' zeal for the name 'Red King Divine Envoy' went so far as to not allow rainforest merchants to slander it.

Actually, Luo De had already faintly sensed a clue back then.

But he hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.

He simply thought the desert locals had finally come to their senses and knew to be grateful for what he had done.

But after seeing his own statue and realizing that faith power had been drawn from it, Luo De realized something was wrong.

Why would these desert locals suddenly generate such zealous faith power in me? Strange! There's something strange! There's definitely a cat-ness in here!

Could it be that Apep was up to something? But his various random thoughts were shattered in just a second by Kantisi.

"It was my order."

Kantisi smiled and said: "When you were in A Ru Cun before, didn't you once tell us that Ka Wei's father devoted his life to A Ru Cun, yet left no name behind, and even many in A Ru Cun don't know his contributions, and they've blamed the innocent Ka Wei for their hostility toward rainforest people—this is wrong. Anyone who has done service for the village should not be forgotten."

Luo De suddenly had a bad premonition.

Then Kantisi continued: "You too are someone who has contributed to A Ru Cun, and in terms of contribution, you exceed all the other villagers combined, so people must not forget you. That's why I, together with the village chief, set the day the Red King Divine Envoy arrived in A Ru Cun as an annual festival to be celebrated, compiled your deeds into a book to be studied as required reading for every child, and expelled the opposing radical faction. In short, the villagers must always remember the Red King Divine Envoy's contributions to the village, and must not allow them to be confused or slandered behind your back, which would cause a bad influence."

"I"

The premonition came true.

Luo De was both laughing and crying.

He had thought of many things.

Conspiracy, strategy, malicious intentions toward himself—he went through each guess, even guessing everyone who bore him a grudge.

The result was that he got such a laughable answer.

Because Kantisi didn't want the name 'Red King Divine Envoy Luo De' to disappear from A Ru Cun, or be slandered by the locals.

So she inadvertently caused the desert locals of A Ru Cun to develop a zealous worship of Luo De.

Luo De once said.

"Whether I am the Red King Divine Envoy doesn't matter; as long as the desert locals believe I am the Red King Divine Envoy, then I naturally am the Red King Divine Envoy."

And now.

That statement came true.

Under Kantisi's promotion, no one again questioned Luo De's identity as the Red King Divine Envoy, nor spoke nonsense about Luo De assisting the Dendro Archon.

The result of such purification was that the desert locals' zeal for the Red King Divine Envoy grew day by day, to the point that faith power—something only a god could possess—emerged.

After knowing the truth.

Luo De didn't know what to say, could only cover his forehead, and laughingly and tearfully accept this already-established fact.

(End of chapter)