Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 332 Stealth Assistance: High Priest White Fang Asks the Gods (Part 3) Bonus Chapter
Even with the highest level of vigilance, Moon completely let his guard down in the face of such unexpected supplies.

This was not just about delivering life-saving food and providing great help to the camp; it was also about the powerful persuasiveness of the method of delivery itself.

According to Moon, we blindfolded them and led them on such a roundabout route to prevent them from knowing the exact location of our forward base.

As a result, they simply raised their hands and delivered food and medicine to us within minutes.

If they really had ill intentions, wouldn't it be easy for them to summon a group of orc wyverns or greenskins, or silver-winged pegasus from the temple?

Of course, there's another point: Moon only spoke with the leaders of each department.

The moment Moon saw the airdropped supplies, he realized that his meager manpower and possessions were not worth anyone's attention, given that the supplies could be transported across Qishan in such a miraculous way.

Brothers, can you earn enough for these few minutes of money after a year of hard work and toil?
What is there to worry about?

Now, whether from a moral or logical standpoint, or from the perspective of the actual balance of power, Lord Chen Mo must be the leader of the "White Deer Restoration Society"! He must cling to this powerful figure, and do so as quickly and sincerely as possible!
With trust established, things went much more smoothly from there. Moon personally led the team, escorting the Han Hai squad and the precious grain with great enthusiasm back to the "White Deer Restoration Society" headquarters located deep in the valley.

Of course, the procedures still had to be followed—the eyes were still blindfolded, and they still went around in circles a few times. Mu En rubbed his hands together and explained to Chen Yuanfeng with a slight apology, "It's the rule, hehe, the old rule, just going through the motions, please bear with me."

Chen Yuanfeng nodded calmly, actually appreciating this kind of caution.

After traversing the winding, narrow passages of the natural cave, and passing several checkpoints and outposts, they finally arrived at their destination—a quiet chamber located deep within the cave, which had been carved and renovated by human hands.

Here, they met their main target – the "White Fang" high priest.

In Chen Yuanfeng's understanding, this should be an old man with a full head of white hair, weathered by time, perhaps wearing a faded, patched, worn-out priest's robe, holding a scripture or a staff in his hand, revealing a set of snow-white teeth when he speaks.

But unfortunately, it's all wrong!

According to Mu En, this high priest came to the White Deer Plain more than fifty years ago. At that time, he was already a high-ranking priest of the temple, so he would naturally not be young. If we calculate it this way, he should be at least eighty or ninety years old.

However, he looks like a middle-aged man in his forties, who is slightly thin.

The clothes were a sleeveless short jacket made of gray cloth, revealing two fair arms that stood out even in the dim light of the cave. Upon closer inspection, the skin was indeed radiantly white.

And her teeth aren't white at all!

This detail left a deep impression on Chen Yuanfeng, so much so that much later, when the two had become completely familiar with each other and could communicate openly, he couldn't suppress his curiosity and took the opportunity to ask the priest about the origin of the title.

At that moment, the high priest revealed a sly smile.

"You're running for your life, young man. Shouldn't you be making some cover for yourself?"

"Even if someone spreads my name, they'd never guess it's me just because they hear 'White Fang' or 'Old Guy'!"

Well, now I know where Moon learned his cunning from.

Back in the quiet room. Thanks to prior communication with Mu En, the "White Fang" high priest was clearly aware of the feat of the Vast Sea Territory sending a large amount of life-saving supplies, as well as the general situation of the important talks that were about to take place between the two sides.

"To send these supplies at this time of impending freezing weather is truly a blessing that has saved countless lives!"

"Ask me anything you need to know. If the old man can remember anything, he will answer it to the best of his ability!"

Chen Yuanfeng signaled everyone in the quiet room to leave, then turned on his communication equipment, took out a metal box about the size of a suitcase, and skillfully unfolded, connected, and started it.

Inside the lid, a smooth, deep black screen lit up, emitting a faint electronic beep.

Chen Yuanfeng pressed the call button, and the call was connected a few seconds later.

To ensure the success of this long-distance communication across the Qishan barrier, the information support team of Hanhailing specially mobilized two of the latest [Penglai IV] type high-altitude communication relay airships to build a stable signal bridge in the high sky on both sides of Qishan. When Chen Mo's face appeared on the screen and his voice came through the loudspeaker, the "White Fang" high priest, who had been smiling and calm, suddenly widened his eyes.

The high priest leaned forward slightly, his slightly cloudy eyes fixed on the screen. He raised his finger slightly, as if he wanted to touch it and see how such a lifelike human figure was hidden behind the mirror, but he quickly realized that it was just a video.

"This...this is..."

"This is the realm of the gods!"

"May I ask, which living deity are you acting on behalf of?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The exchange between the two sides unfolded in a subtle and gradual atmosphere, and was generally frank and friendly.

To Chen Mo's slight surprise, the "White Fang" high priest was not, as he had initially guessed, a heretic who had lost faith and abandoned the gods. On the contrary, the old man remained a devout follower of the "Seven-Eyed God," maintaining reverence and devotion to the deity in his heart.

He can even still invoke a portion of the divine grace that belongs to him.

However, without the offerings from his subordinates, and struggling to survive himself, the old man was constantly in a state of financial deficit, so he could no longer provide any support to the territory.

Because of the betrayal of the White Deer Kingdom by the Mist Moon Divine Court and the damage done to Razor Fortress, it was obviously difficult to cultivate faith in the "Seven-Eyed God" among the members of the Restoration Society. Therefore, the old man never preached here and simply regarded himself as an ordinary psionic healer.

As for why they were hunted down by the Divine Court...

The old man didn't hide anything, but simply described the reason for the matter.

This has nothing to do with faith; it's purely a political struggle among the high-ranking officials of the Divine Court.

"White Fang" has already reached the highest position in the Divine Court, the level of a crowned bishop. The next step up would be the position of the chief holy seat, the number one person below the God-Emperor of the Divine Court.

This position is usually chosen from among the crowns of the seven holy cities, and unless one loses divine favor, once one becomes the Holy Throne, it is almost equivalent to being the prime minister of the divine kingdom for life.

The competition for this position is fierce, as you can imagine.

In the era of "White Fang," the death of the previous Holy See sparked a fierce struggle within the temple.

At that time, "White Fang" was highly experienced and had a powerful background. He had won the support of the four holy city lords and seemed to have victory in his grasp. Then, he suffered a fatal attack from his opponent.

The specific details are still unclear because the two sides are not yet on the same level. "White Fang" did not elaborate to Chen Mo. In short, this originally ambitious and powerful temple crowned bishop, who was only one step away from the pinnacle of power, was completely defeated in the political struggle, his future was ruined, and he had no choice but to flee the Misty Moon Divine Court in a sorry state and hide in the chaotic White Deer Plain.

After a brief initial exchange, Chen Mo asked the first question from his notebook.

"In your opinion, what exactly are 'gods'? And...where do they exist?"

High Priest White Fang gave a wry smile: "My lord, gods are the embodiment of rules, seeing through everything in the world and giving order to all things. They are beyond our comprehension and description. I truly cannot answer your question!"

"As for the location of the gods, I can only say that the gods are omnipresent!"

Well, he's just like any other charlatan.

Chen Mo had some doubts; these charlatans themselves didn't know either.

He posed a second question: "What exactly is divine grace, and how can it be obtained?"

This question clearly surprised the old man. He even paused for a moment before asking in return, "Young man, did the 'living deity' behind you not tell you anything? What power did you use to achieve this 'miracle' of crossing Qishan and communicating with me in real time?"

Chen Mo scratched his head: "Well, my style is a little different from that of the Seven-Eyed God. I just want to know about the Seven-Eyed God's divine grace."

The old man remained silent for a moment, seemingly carefully organizing his thoughts, pondering how to explain the rules of his own god to a believer of an "other god".

"Within the system of our Lord, the Seven-Eyed God, there is a complete and unique set of core techniques, namely 'Devoted Prayer,' 'Divine Sense,' and 'Divine Guidance.' "The so-called 'Devoted Prayer' is the only ritual for believers to offer to the gods. It requires mobilizing one's own spiritual energy, and in a focused state of mind, condensing the most essential and purest part of one's spiritual energy into a special energy called 'Spiritual Source,' and then offering it to the gods through the prayer ritual."

"Divine inspiration is the exchange of the spiritual energy offered for divine grace, which is stored in the present world and guided by divine grace when needed."

"Finally, when believers need to use the power of divine grace in the world, whether it is to heal wounds, promote crop growth, perform divine magic, or strengthen themselves, they need to use the technique of 'divine grace guidance' to 'exchange' the 'divine grace' stored with the gods into actual effects according to specific rules and proportions, and bring it down to the world."

As a seasoned charlatan, the old man's words were quite clear.

If this were on Earth, it could be roughly understood as the relationship between a worker in country A and a boss in country B.

Workers in country A work hard and offer their spiritual energy to their bosses, while bosses in country B receive country B's currency, which is considered divine grace.

Because the currency is not universally accepted, workers in country A cannot spend this money directly; they can only rely on divine intervention to temporarily store it in their accounts.

When workers need food, such as when their families are starving, they must rely on divine guidance to exchange the currency of Country B for food from their boss and receive it. This is considered the final realization of value.

After digesting the information briefly, Chen Mo eagerly moved on to his final core question.

What is divine punishment? How can it be avoided?

The old man frowned, seemingly somewhat surprised.

"Divine punishment is the punishment that the gods impose on the starry world. The gods are magnanimous, and even those who are treacherous or blasphemous are usually not punished by the gods, unless... you disrupt the transmission of the spiritual source!"

The old man's explanation was also very clear.

Don't even mention not believing in God. Even if you defecated or urinated on a statue of a god, the god wouldn't even glance at you.

The old man even said that people who don't believe in God can still receive divine grace as long as they can send spiritual energy to the gods through sincere prayer.

Clearly, the gods of this world truly open their doors wide and teach without discrimination.

However, if you interfere with the flow of spiritual energy, the gods will be displeased.

Unhappy as I am, because the Starry World itself has a "divine barrier" that prevents the gods from interfering with the real world, let alone killing people.

Otherwise, wouldn't the world be at peace if the gods simply used their mischievous hands to kill all the non-believers?
Therefore, for true divine punishment to descend upon the world, three conditions must be met simultaneously.

First, because of someone or something, serious and enormous damage was caused to the Starry World, causing the Starry World to abandon its protection.

Secondly, if someone files a complaint, someone, usually a believer or high-ranking clergy member of the deity, must report this serious "sin" and the specific information of the target to the deity through "divine intuition".

This can be interpreted as someone needing to 'file a complaint,' and the gods accepting the 'lawsuit.'

Third, when someone guides divine grace, the gods will send down divine punishment.

These conditions are actually quite stringent. It can be understood that for an international criminal, firstly, his home country must give up protecting him; secondly, someone must report his crimes; and finally, there must be funding and channels to invite Interpol to arrest him.

Therefore, since the birth of the various races on the Starry Continent, the records of divine punishment can be counted on two hands.

But this doesn't mean Chen Mo can ignore it.

Chen Mo is afraid of death.

He is now the only link between Earth and this world, and he fears that if he dies, there will still be many things left unfinished!

Therefore, it is essential to understand this divine punishment mechanism.

The old man, seeing the young lord's slightly anxious gaze, slowly gave his answer.

"The simplest way is to have faith in the gods and offer them spiritual resources."

"When you have divine grace, you can use it to offset divine punishment!"

Indulgences, you mean!
Chen Mo suddenly understood. Ultimately, what the gods wanted was spiritual energy and profit, not some compassionate and selfless being.

As long as the benefits are enough, even if you blow up the entire Misty Moon Divine Court, the gods won't bother to even glance at it. That's roughly the idea.

Of course, besides the simple method, there is a slightly more complicated one: seeking the protection of other deities.

This was also something that the "White Fang" high priest was quite puzzled about. Logically speaking, since Chen Mo could mobilize divine grace so easily, he shouldn't be unaware of this.

Okay, now Chen Mo knows, but it's useless. The industrial god behind him is slightly lacking in this aspect.

With maximum attack power, its defense against this bizarre divine punishment is almost zero.

It seems necessary to consider the issue of choosing a deity...

The conversation lasted a long time, and with the explanation of this former high-ranking official of the Divine Court, Chen Mo gained a more concrete understanding of the gods of the Starry Continent.

In theory, gods all have so-called divine duties, which are their respective areas of expertise. For example, the gods of the Elf race seem to have a deep connection with the World Tree and are known as the Goddess of Life and Moonlight.

Later, the World Tree fell, and the god was greatly weakened. According to the old man, he had not given the elves any decent positive feedback for many years.

There are also some minor deities whose existence is uncertain. Looking across the Starry Continent, the Seven-Eyed God stands out, while the beliefs of the Beastmen, the Moon-Dwelling, the Sky-Dwelling, and the Sea-Dwelling each have their own merits, and other miscellaneous gods are barely surviving.

As the conversation drew to a close, Chen Mo extended a warm invitation to the "White Fang" high priest, offering him abundant resources, a safe place to live, and excellent conditions in exchange for settling and taking up a position in the Han Hai Territory. He also offered a series of attractive positions and benefits.

The old man said he would think about it.

Almost immediately after hanging up with "White Fang," Chen Mo eagerly sent back to Blue Star all the detailed reports he had just recorded and organized regarding the divine system, the mechanism of divine punishment, the power structure of the Starry Continent, and his contact with the "White Deer Restoration Society" and the "White Fang" chief priest. He then submitted these reports to the [Compassionate Voyage] Engineering Department of the Eastern Xia side, requesting analysis and guidance.

The response from the other side was very quick.

Following an emergency meeting, Dongxia sent an appointment.

We hereby appoint Comrade Chen Mo as the head of the Religious Affairs Administration Bureau of the Starry World, to oversee all religious beliefs and affairs arrangements within the Starry World.

Main responsibilities include:

1. To be fully responsible for conducting systematic and continuous investigation and research on existing religious sects, deity belief systems, and the mechanism of converting spiritual energy into divine grace in the Starry World, and to establish and continuously improve a religious intelligence database covering the entire Starry World, along with a dynamic risk assessment model.

II. Based on the findings of the investigation and research, formulate and dynamically adjust religious policies and action guidelines that conform to the actual situation in the Starry World and serve my country's overall strategic interests. Ensure that all of my country's activities in the Starry World are conducted on the premise of fully understanding and adapting to the local deities' rules, and minimize potential risks and other religious conflicts.

Third, responsible for establishing official and non-governmental communication channels with the major deity belief systems and their representative organizations in the Starry World. Guiding, coordinating, and supervising our personnel's various religious-related activities within specific areas, and actively exploring and attempting to establish a sustainable cooperation model that aligns with the core interests of both parties.

Fourth, this study delves into the intrinsic connection and underlying logic between deity worship and the generation, transformation, and transmission of spiritual energy, analyzing its profound impact on the social structure and civilizational development of this world. It aims to provide authoritative decision-making references and theoretical support for my country's long-term existence, strategic layout, technological integration, and civilizational interaction in the interstellar world.

This appointment is effective from the date of issuance. All relevant departments and personnel in Dongxia must unconditionally and actively cooperate with Comrade Chen Mo in carrying out his work, provide all necessary support, and jointly safeguard and expand our country's legitimate rights, strategic security, and national interests in the Starry World.

Chen Mo gently shook the appointment letter in his hand.

Come, gods of the starry world... Comrade, I am now under orders to carry out faith management.

We can have a proper talk now!
(End of this chapter)