Chapter 997: The Way of Redemption Lies Within

"Why did you arrange for that Eastern priest to be among those grave robbers? Isn't he the core of your plan?"

Sarah quietly came to the bishop's prayer room where Drummond was. The sacred triangle representing the Holy Trinity here had been removed, leaving only a silver lamp above Drummond's head. He knelt under the silver lamp, having just finished his prayer.

"I know that the mages of the Orange Light of Seeking Knowledge are greedy and arrogant, and have no respect for the three creator gods, but I devoutly believe in the three great gods, so you shouldn't disturb me when I am praying!" Drummond said lightly.

"Moreover, the knowledge of grave robbers is not shallow."

"One of the core majors of Miskatonic University, archaeology, originates from this, and even the core knowledge that your archaeology department has not yet mastered, they possess. They are closer to the end of the Dao path than you!"

Sarah frowned slightly. Although she had just enrolled and did not have much identification with Miskatonic University, as one of the cores of the inheritance of extraordinary knowledge in the Western Continent.

The inheritance mastered by Miskatonic University can be called the collection of Western occultism, not to mention its core major.

Folklore—Occultism.

Archaeology—Secret History.

Theology—Religious Studies.

These three majors were the core majors of Miskatonic University when it was founded, until they were surpassed by the booming mechanical engineering, astronomy, and mathematics in the fourth era.

Now Miskatonic can be called the core major, there are only nine, covering mechanical engineering (creation), astronomy (astrology), mathematics and logic (secret rituals and magic), chemistry (alchemy), natural history and medicine (life), folklore (occult), archaeology (secret history), theology (religion), political science (governance).

And Amon's implication is that one of Miskatonic University's core majors, archaeology, is far behind the core inheritance of those grave robbers in the Eastern Continent in some aspects?

Amon saw through the girl's doubts and smiled: "In the East, grave robbing is a complex profession composed of multiple Dao paths. Their brains are Feng Shui masters called 'Earth Masters'."

"This Dao path covers a complex inheritance of astrology, geography, and some secret ritual and occult elements. It is one of the five major inheritances of extraordinary sources in the Eastern Continent: Mountain, Medicine, Life, Appearance, and Divination!"

"Their hands and feet contain many inheritances such as True Martial, secret rituals, and art, comparable to the occult masters of Miskatonic folklore. They are called Gold-Touching Captains."

"And their souls are called Nine Nether Generals, a group of priests who are proficient in funeral studies!"

"They don't have high-level inheritances about fate and astrology, geography and qi, nor are they practitioners proficient in folklore and occultism, but they are a group of people who are close to death, close to death and destruction. Their origins are incomparably ancient."

Seeing that Sarah seemed to have realized something, Amon smiled: "That's right, what they study is an ancient extraordinary inheritance that even Miskatonic University regards as a taboo—Death!"

Sarah said solemnly: "Professor Gabo mentioned this inheritance. He said that our school, no, in a sense, the sect leader of the sect, is proficient in death studies, and this is the only thing he did not pass down in the sect. It is said that in addition to the Orange Light Book and the other six color light books mastered by the School of Seeking Knowledge, there are two hidden lamp books, one of which is the Undead Black Lamp Book that records the secrets of death!"

"You got it wrong!" Amon shook his head: "These are two books, or they are sub-volumes of one book."

"The Black Lamp Book is one of the nine lamps that make up the Color Light Book, recording the destruction of all things and the true death!"

"The Undead Black Scripture is one of the two sacred scriptures of one of the oldest civilizations in the world, born on the banks of the Nile, the Daoist Yangshen Dynasty. But you got at least part of it right, they are all related to death. Even, the grave robbers of the Eastern Continent, the archaeologists of the Western Continent, and the priests of the Daoist Yangshen Dynasty all keep a sacred inheritance—that is, the most mysterious one among the Twelve Sichen—Corpse!"

"So, the 'Xuanjun Seven Chapters Secret Scripture', the 'Undead Black Lamp Book', and the 'Undead Black Scripture' each record a part of the secrets about the Sichen of Corpse—Xuanjun."

Sarah realized: "The 'Xuanjun Seven Chapters Secret Scripture', isn't that the scripture possessed by that Xuanzhen Sect Leader?"

"Wait, the Xuanzhen Sect seems to believe that the Lamp Father worshipped by the Holy Church and the Undead Lord worshipped by the ancient Daoist Yangshen Dynasty are one body."

Amon shook his head: "Don't be one-sided, don't be one-sided in recognizing greatness!"

"In a sense, this may be true, or it may not be. If you specialize in archaeology, you know that many ancient civilizations in the world worship the two great incarnations. One of the most sacred scriptures of the Daoist Yangshen Dynasty, which is the same as the 'Undead Black Scripture', is the 'Sun Golden Scripture'. The Daoist Yangshen worshipped by the Daoist Yangshen Dynasty, look, the sun hanging high in the sky, isn't it the greatest lamp?"

Sarah retorted: "But the ancient Daoist Yangshen Dynasty didn't think that the Daoist Yangshen Ra and the Undead Lord Osiris were one... Oh! No, the Undead Lord you mentioned is not Osiris, but Atum!"

Sarah opened her mouth wide.

Amon smiled: "Yes, the history of the Daoist Yangshen Dynasty is too long, spanning three eras. Don't forget that I was also 'Amon'!"

"The Daoist Yangshen Ra, his identity in secret history is very complex."

"In the first era, He was once the great creator Lamp Father, and also the Undead Lord Xuanjun. In the second era, all Sichen abandoned their status in mythology and returned to heaven. Their priests replaced their incarnations in the world and were honored as Named Ones. I was one of them!"

"In the second dynasty era, I made a deal with an outsider, but he eventually usurped my identity, cast me into the abyss, and killed three Named Ones, casting them into the abyss. The last nine Named Ones ruled the Daoist Yangshen Dynasty and became the Nine Pillars of Gods!"

"In the third era, that usurper raised the throne, cast all the gods into the abyss, and his priests led a group of slaves to leave the territory of the sun and came to Jerusalem."

"There, he died, resurrected, and was finally honored by the entire Western Continent as..."

Sarah's face was pale, trembling all over, and she said tremblingly: "Savior!"

Amon shrugged, his expression without a ripple, and said: "So, the grave robbers of the Eastern Continent are not simple. They master knowledge that even I cannot 'know'. When I was Amon, the great Mingzun and the Named One of Xuanjun, I once knew, but now I have forgotten that knowledge—about the secrets of Xuanjun!"

Sarah raised her head, looking at Amon blankly, and muttered: "You were once the most dazzling sun in the sky. What else could make you trade things you wouldn't hesitate to fall from the throne for?"

Amon's expression fell into silence, his vision was deep, as if crossing countless years, behind his eyes was something Sarah didn't understand at all.

For a long time.

Just when Sarah thought she would never get an answer, Amon opened his mouth slowly.

"Soul!"

"What?" Sarah raised her head suddenly.

"What Morah, Vasak, and Baal crave is the 'soul' that you mortals never understand or cherish!"

Sarah said incredulously: "You don't have a soul, but you have all been..."

"We have all been gods, but, yes, we don't have a soul!" Amon laughed lightly: "Remember what the Trinity Bible says? Everyone's soul comes from the radiance of the Lamp Father, but demons don't have souls. Yes, the Savior lied too much in this book, but this is true. The soul comes from the highest layer of the spirit world. The radiance of the Lamp Father falls on the mirror and becomes you. That light is the soul!"

"And we, the lords of the spirit world, gods, existences born in beautiful dreams and fantasies, can never have a soul!"

"Because you are part of the great spirit of the Lamp Father, and although we crave that light, we are too far away..."

"That outsider—the Savior used the thing you think is most ordinary and common, the soul, to lure us into falling, betraying, and becoming demons."

Amon showed movement and pain for the first time: "We lure you, we greedily covet you, we become demons who lure people to fall, all for your—soul!"

"I thought..." Sarah muttered: "Our souls are already the currency of demons, your most ordinary collection."

"What do you think the soul is?"

Amon asked back: "So many invisible arts, so many secret rituals and occultism, haven't you noticed the sanctity of the soul? If violence can seize a person's soul, then I guarantee that there will be no living person in the world in the next second! Only original sin and falling can pollute the soul, can let a soul enter our kingdom for a short time, but any spirituality, secret rituals, and invisible arts cannot harm a person's soul."

"We only lick the original sin on their souls, but cannot harm their sacred essence at all!"

"Haven't you discovered?"

"All secret rituals require your consciousness to participate, and all spells that interfere with human spirit have poor effects. We can only make you greedy, lazy, fearful, and increasingly deviate from the great Lamp Father, but we cannot control your brain or master your consciousness. Humans always have a chance of redemption. This is the greatest gift the Lamp Father gave you—the soul, and free will!"

"When occultism goes to the end, you will see a shining, sacred free soul!"

Amon's emotions were a little excited. He stood up from the long-backed chair, describing his helplessness and longing like a mortal, describing his desires and dreams, describing a shining thing.

"And we, the gods and demons you think are powerful and omnipotent, we cannot even deviate from your beliefs. Your desires and concepts can even shape us. You only need to have a thought to cast us from the spirit world into hell. Our thoughts, consciousness, concepts, and beliefs can all be shaped by the humblest mortals! Because we don't have a soul!"

Amon said tremblingly: "Now, do you still think our longing for the soul is insignificant?"

"But!" Sarah looked at Amon, who showed fragility and unwillingness for the first time, falling from the high chair of the demon god, sitting on the ground like a mortal.

She squatted in front of Amon and whispered: "But you also have emotions, joy and anger, I don't think we are any different."

"Although we are so similar..." Amon said softly: "But we still live in two worlds!"

Sarah suddenly exclaimed: "The Savior has a soul?"

Amon raised his head and stared at her.

She covered her mouth slightly and whispered: "Doesn't that mean—the Savior is also a mortal."

Amon spread his hands: "He comes from outside the world and possesses a truth that does not belong to this world. According to him, all life outside the world has a soul. We don't have a soul, not because the Lamp Father is too generous to you, but because the Creator is too stingy to us."

"This successfully made us feel resentful and commit a big mistake!"

Sarah pressed her temples, distressed: "Wait... say it slowly, all this is challenging my original cognitive world."

"There is a world outside the world."

"In addition to the three great creator gods, are there other creator gods?"

"Can the soul be created? This seems to be what you said before..."

Amon smiled, his eyes shining: "The Savior, he is a liar, a fool, a delusional person..."

Sarah opened her mouth, but didn't have the heart to say that if the "Savior" is a fool, then what are you who were deceived by him to lose all sanctity and greatness and fall into hell?

Amon seemed to see through her little thoughts, opened his hands to hug Sarah, and whispered in her ear: "The fact is, the Lamp Father is indeed supreme and good. All souls come from him, whether inside the world or—outside!"

"The Savior thought he saw the Lamp Father clearly, no... arrogance made him see only a little shadow of the Lamp Father, and he thought that was all the greatness."

"We are ultimately the creatures born in this world, closest to the spirit world! We were deceived, we were angry, and finally fell into ignorance and prejudice, but the Lamp Father still gave us a pair of bright eyes, far brighter than outsiders. So we can see that not long ago, a great power fell into this world. It comes from outside the world, outside the universe, from before everything was born."

"That power is called—Domination! Authority! Rule!"

"Although I only touched a little of its secrets, it made me sure that the Savior provoked the wrong person! The world outside the world and our world itself were created by the same great existence."

"He killed the former tyrant who ruled the universe and gave the soul to everyone!"

"Remember—it's 'human'!"

Sarah saw Amon so close, her tongue was dull for a while, and she subconsciously took two steps back.

Amon smiled and sat back in the high-backed chair: "Long-accumulated knowledge and paths allowed me to condense something called a Dao Seed. And my pain and confusion, my countless years of luring humans, licking the power called 'original sin' on your souls, finally made me more and more like a human!"

"At that moment, I heard the voice of the Creator, the Lamp Father. I have forgotten what He said, but I felt His mercy and kindness, the blessing He gave to all creatures in the world who are willing to become humans and have souls. A kind of thing called—Yuan Shen? Ape God? It should be the essence of the original god!"

"The original god?"

"It means having the qualifications to become a god..."

"Becoming an original god, you can have a soul!" Amon said firmly.

He raised his head, his tone complex: "But to become an original god, you must first have a soul!"

"Ah?" Sarah's eyes went black, a little confused.

Amon laughed like a human: "No, not as you think, is this a paradox?"

"According to my understanding, have a 'heart' that wants to be a person, and then get the sincere, unregretful love of a person with a soul. Then... he can also share the soul of the person who loves him, and at that moment, I can achieve the original god and obtain my own soul!"

"This is the path of true love."

Amon held a purple crystal from his heart, emitting pure light.

At this time, a huge, falcon-like crow broke into the prayer room, quacking: "Amon, take back your purple light of true love! She is mine, mine!"

Sarah was dizzy from the huge amount of information, watching the crow god Morah tear off Amon's face, revealing his goat head.

"I'm a little confused!"

Sarah held her forehead and muttered: "Is this also the revelation the Lamp Father gave you? About true love and the soul!"

Amon picked up the desk lamp beside him, gave the crow a hammer, and then straightened his tie.

Hearing Sarah say this, he turned back and smiled: "Of course, the revelation of the Lamp Father is everywhere. It is precisely because of the outsider that we understand that the three creator gods—at least the Lamp Father is the world and everything outside the world, the creator of all existence and non-existence. So our world, history flows with the will of the Lamp Father. This will will be expressed in the form of fate, and will even fall under the pen of some writers."

"For example, many scriptures in the Eastern Continent, such as the 'Tao Te Ching'..."

"So..." Sarah's eyes lit up: "The path of true love originates from..."

"'Andersen's Fairy Tales'!" Amon said confidently: "The Little Mermaid! Haven't you read it? I think all children should have read this book!"

Sarah recalled that there seemed to be some things in the fairy tale of the Little Mermaid. Although the mermaid is beautiful, she has no soul. Getting the prince's love can have a soul, so although she turned into foam, she got redemption.

So the ending of the Little Mermaid is actually a perfect ending.

It is not a love brain, but a saint who longs for the love of the Lamp Father more than human love.

Sarah was speechless for a while, whether it was the head of demons, the path of the most powerful demon god Amon, actually a fairy tale written by a fairy tale writer.

Or Amon is actually a little mermaid longing for love.

Both are full of a mockery of fate and a deep sense of disharmony!

The crow Ramor was smashed, feathers flying, dying, and only then did he recover, flapping his wings and shouting: "Liar! He didn't get the revelation of the Lamp Father from any fairy tale at all, but because of the 'Color Light Book'!"

"The seventh lamp, the purple light of true love!"

"It is the way of color light that makes us sure that there may be a path of redemption in it!"