Don't disturb the sorcerer's scientific research

Chapter 181 has arrived, but...

The trials of the Moon Mother Goddess Cult are drawing to a close.

The following days were relatively calm, except for the first two days when it was a bloodbath.

After everyone they could arrest was put into solitary confinement, the sect appeared peaceful.

They pretended to respect and love each other, and studied the doctrine together.

At least that's true for priests.

The newly recruited female adventurers, while outwardly friendly and approachable, secretly began fiercely reporting on each other and searching for flaws in order to gain the chance to receive blessings.

After all, the high priest said that not every child who finds their way will receive a blessing.

Who wouldn't want to obtain that kind of powerful strength? Although they were unwilling to admit it, they all knew in their hearts that with their own talents, they probably wouldn't be able to reach that level in their lifetime.

The hope of changing one's life is worth striving for by all means.

In contrast, Jia Xiu's side seemed somewhat indifferent to worldly affairs.

The illusion of Jasmine, controlled by Bubu, has been successfully imprisoned in the solitary confinement room, waiting for the right moment to rescue the other unfortunate sacrifices.

It can only be said that the local believers are too ruthless, not even sparing fools.

Mia had absolutely no interest in competing for the blessing; with her promising academic future ahead of her, she would be crazy to accept such an ambiguous blessing.

She now spends all her time reflecting and correcting her mistakes, pondering which aspect of her prophetic abilities went wrong.

The result was that there was a very high probability of divine power, but what I ended up seeing was a strange and unusual artifact.

Jia Xiu believes that artifacts of divine quality also qualify as divine power, but Mia disagrees.

Mathematics must be rigorous.

Leaving aside whether a divine artifact can directly equate to god-level power, it's not even certain whether that platform qualifies as a divine artifact.

For this reason, Mia has been obsessively checking her previous calculations.

I've made myself a bit depressed.

Ram remains safe.

He became the last man not to be locked in solitary confinement.

Others tried every possible method, not only feigning madness but even impersonating boxers, devising methods more radical than real boxers, yet they still couldn't escape their fate.

As it turns out, helping others box doesn't end well either.

Only Ram, despite being monitored by several priests, was not caught red-handed and did not even have the opportunity to make a false accusation. After several unsuccessful attempts, they had to give up.

Just when Jia Xiu thought he was about to have a peaceful ceremony, the high priest spoke to him privately on the eve of the ceremony.

To be honest, I was a little nervous. I thought I had been exposed. Jia Xiu was prepared to unleash a whole bunch of healing spells as quickly as possible.

In the high priest's room, Jash, dressed as Priestess Samantha, wore a fake smile.

The hands behind his back started to glow green.

"Priest, what brings you here?"

The high priest had a serious expression on his face, which was quite handsome but looked like he deserved to be punched.

The silent and tense atmosphere lasted for several seconds, so long that Jia Xiu began to consider whether he should strike first.

Finally, the high priest spoke, "Priestess Samantha, your performance was very good."

Hearing the high priest's words, Jia Xiu finally breathed a sigh of relief, having almost been exposed at the last moment.

“During this period, you demonstrated a full and flexible understanding of the doctrine.”

Jia Xiu listened with his head down.

This "flexibility" is quite subtle.

As he had suspected, to succeed in this sect, one must not only practice its doctrines but also know how to adjust them according to one's own understanding.

The most fanatical believers cannot become leaders of a sect.

"I intend to groom you to become the next High Priest."

Upon hearing this, Jia Xiu was taken aback for a moment, then immediately realized that he should act honored and delighted at this moment.

"Really? High Priest? Can I really do it? I will certainly not let you down and will never disobey the guidance of the Mother Goddess."

If he keeps this up, he could become the leader of this sect if he stays undercover for a few more years.

The high priest continued, “Of course you can. I have been observing you for some time, and you are capable of undertaking this responsibility. On the day of the ceremony, the scales will prove your contribution.”

They've completely stopped acting; they're openly stating that the balance needs to prove whose contribution it is.

"However, you will need some time to learn. In the next few years, I will teach you how to become a qualified priest and explain to you the dangerous knowledge of the Moon Mother Goddess Cult that only priests can master. This knowledge is too important to be kept secret and can only be mastered by the high priest."

Jia Xiu felt as if the high priest was entrusting his affairs after his death.

Indeed, religious leaders typically do not have a term of office; they are replaced whenever they die.

However, the high priest did not look like an elderly person on the verge of death.

Perhaps it borrowed some function from that base to maintain its appearance, but it couldn't slow down the aging of its bodily functions. It will die of old age whenever it's supposed to.

I don't know if she didn't understand it, or if the base's capabilities were limited.

And now at least one thing has been confirmed: the high priest does indeed possess a great deal of knowledge that neither believers nor priests know.

That makes things easier. After the ceremony is disrupted tomorrow, the sect will collapse on the spot, the high priest will die on the spot, and then it will be time for the dead to talk.

Jia Xiu had many questions about the things inside the sanctuary.

“However,” the high priest suddenly changed the subject, “before that, you have one more task to complete.”

"Your command."

"Tonight, you will activate all the derivatives we have buried in the forest."

"All of them?" Jia Xiu was a little surprised.

"Yes, all of them. During the ceremony, there must be the most urgent crisis and the most grand scene, so that the believer who receives the blessing will have the opportunity to demonstrate his power and will be more loyal to the sect."

The high priest spoke slowly.

There was a hint of weariness in her voice, and only then did Jia Xiu realize that beneath her youthful appearance might indeed lie an aged body.

"Moreover, it's time to replace our derivatives with a new batch. You'll understand when that happens."

You'll understand then?
Jia Xiu frowned, but quickly understood.

Understood. This town can only support a limited number of vampire derivatives. After all, as vampire derivatives, they ultimately need blood. And these derivatives have been used for who knows how many years. They were transformed, not bitten by a proper vampire, so their recovery ability is limited, and they probably have a lot of old damage on their bodies. So now we've decided to exchange the old for the new.

The last remaining value of the old offerings was used to create an effect: the previous offerings in the sarcophagus in the sanctuary were transformed into new derivatives, and then the adventurers from the ritual were stuffed into the sarcophagus as new offerings.

That's quite thoughtful.

This cycle repeats itself endlessly, generation after generation, harming countless people.

The Adventurers' Guild is so large, yet they don't do anything productive; all they do is make money. If they could provide any protection for lower-level adventurers, or even just send out a higher-level team to investigate when adventurers go missing in a row, they would certainly do something.

The town of Çachdis shouldn't have been able to operate for so many years.

Purely treating low-level adventurers as mere consumables.

"Alright, that's all. Don't be too happy or too proud. Be a good follower of the Mother Goddess and get back to work."

The high priest waved his hand and said finally.

"Yes."

Jia Xiu bowed and left the high priest's room.

She's really messed things up. It's time to confront her, and she's trying to train "Priest Samantha" to be the next priest, still acting like a follower of the Mother Goddess. She's been deceiving people so much that she's even started to believe it herself.

Where is the Mother Goddess? Why don't you bring out a Mother Goddess and let him follow her? Jia Xiu walked into the forest, quite dissatisfied.

Tonight is destined to be another sleepless night.

This sect buried the remains quite scattered, with considerable distances between them, so they had to be dug up one by one.

Physical labor.

In the dark forest, Jia Xiu dug at the coffin while pondering whether tomorrow's tactics might need some adjustments.

I originally thought that all I needed to deal with were these believers, but now there are quite a few derivatives.

We absolutely cannot let the high priest give out the blessing. If the believers can deal with the demigods and then disrupt the ritual, the adventurers will already be inside the sarcophagus.

We need a way to resolve the issues of believers and their derivatives without harming the "sacrifices".

Jia Xiu plunged a shovel into the soil and caught his breath while holding onto the handle.

Derivatives, although they are not very bright, do not affect their vampire instincts.

In other words, when not under command, one is completely unable to resist the temptation of blood.

So, suppose we control the High Priestess, preventing her from giving orders, while causing all the believers present to bleed, while the adventurers remain unaffected.

In this way, the derivative can devour the believers, and the believers who have been blessed are afraid of being sucked blood.

It's more efficient than relying on a few of them and Bubu to do it themselves.

The believer was devoured, and a flashbang finished the job, bringing everything to an end at the ritual site.

reasonable.

The only challenge seems to be getting believers to bleed together.

Jia Xiu thought about it and realized that it might not be impossible...

The next day.

The day the Mother Goddess awakens and descends.

In front of every house in the town of Çachdis, a candle was lit.

The entire town is populated by believers in the Mother Goddess, and her awakening is naturally the biggest festival here.

The lit candles weren't plain; they were decorated with various patterns, giving them a festive feel.

This made it difficult for Jia Xiu to stay calm whenever he thought about what he was going to do to the Moon Mother Cult.

Tonight is destined to be a night of both joy and sorrow.

The ceremony was naturally scheduled for the evening.

Since she's called the Mother Goddess of the Moon, holding the ceremony during the day feels a bit disrespectful to that name.

However, Jia Xiu suspected that the reason for holding the ceremony at night was simply because the derivative beings could not come out during the day.

The ceremony took place in the castle's garden.

To be precise, it was the castle's original garden. According to the tradition of castle construction, this location was usually a garden, but because the Moon Mother Cult did not plant anything, it is now an empty space.

At the very center of the open space stood the High Priest, with Jassiu playing the priest Samantha beside him.

Before the ceremony officially began, the high priestess used her "scales of the Mother Goddess" to weigh everyone's performance in the trial.

Unsurprisingly, Priestess Samantha performed the best.

Jia Xiu also had to put on a show of surprise and emotion, and give a brief speech.

During his speech, Jia Xiu suddenly thought about the award ceremonies he had watched. Did the winners know in advance that they were going to win?

They must have worked really hard performing all night.

Besides the high priest and Jiaxiu, there was a circle of wooden stakes, with offerings tied to them.

According to the priests, those who violate the doctrine must be punished with blood.

Each priest is responsible for two stakes, and the blood sacrifice is performed when the ceremony reaches the corresponding stage.

Then Jasmine realized that only the high priest was allowed to enter the sanctuary, and that the offerings were supposed to be placed in the sarcophagus.

So, in the dead of night, the high priest had to carry them into the stone coffins one by one, in secret.

It's even harder to keep going now.

No wonder she was sighing all day yesterday; she was exhausted just thinking about the work she had to do today.

Beyond the offerings and priests were the believers, each with a complex expression; they truly did not know who would have the chance to receive the blessing.

Further outside were the townspeople who had come to watch the spectacle.

They were part of the atmosphere group, chanting strange prayers.

This set of prayers was also taught to new believers, but only the pronunciation was taught, not the meaning. It was in a completely incomprehensible language, just like when the priests sang it on the first night they arrived here.

Jia Xiu had reason to suspect that he didn't know what this meant.

The prayers were chanted three times, and the full moon hung in the sky, bringing the atmosphere of the ceremony to its peak.

The high priest began to perform a dance that resembled a shamanistic ritual.

It has a strong cult vibe.

Suddenly, screams erupted from the outermost crowd.

Some of them saw swarms of demigods climbing up the walls of the ancient castle.

"Don't panic! The Mother Goddess will bring us salvation!"

The high priest shouted loudly and raised his long staff.

According to the script, at this moment, the priests will cut open the sacrificial offerings and bleed them dry. A miracle will occur, blessing and empowering many believers, and enabling them to turn the tables on the progeny.

However, there is a variable in the script.

The high priest raised his long staff, chanted incantations, rolled his eyes, and acted like a charlatan.

Jia Xiu could clearly sense that the magic was fluctuating, and the source was the sanctuary beneath the castle.

A small portal opened, radiating a scarlet light, and the top of the base, along with the bone carvings, appeared at the scene of the ceremony.

At this point, it was the priests' turn to draw their knives.

The derivative body was getting closer and closer, and the most critical moment had arrived.

The priests took up their daggers, and the sacrifices struggled desperately, but they were tightly bound and their mouths were gagged, so they could only make muffled noises.

The high priest's shamanistic performance reached its climax, his incantations rising eight octaves.

Right at this critical juncture.

"Snapped!"

A flash of white light appeared on the base.

A small guardian engraving has been triggered.

In an instant, the dazzling light converged into a pillar of light, piercing through the clouds like a ladder to heaven, illuminating the night as if it were daytime.

A figure, seemingly human, could be vaguely seen within the light.

The high priest was shocked. What was going on? How could it have really descended?

The priests were shocked. What was going on? They hadn't even offered the sacrifice yet, so how could it have descended?

The adventurers were also surprised. It seemed that whether the descent occurred or not was none of their business. Could they please be put down?

The believers were shocked. Putting aside the fact that a bright light shouldn't be something the Moon Mother Goddess should have, how come the humanoid figure in the bright light looked like a man?
(End of this chapter)