Just became an evil god and was summoned by the saint.

Chapter 177 A Very Eloquent Celia

Ross wasn't quite sure about the newly formed Protoss Tree.

According to records, each time the original Star Spirit Tree bloomed, it would trigger a war among the powerful.

The main source of the war was those eighth or ninth-rank Saint-level mages who had not yet become gods.

There were even rare participants who were not yet gods at the tenth rank.

They desperately desire to condense a divine personality to prove their doctrine. Condensing a divine personality requires two things: faith and authority.

These people either lack faith or lack authority.

Faith is up to the individual, while authority is consolidated through the Star Tree.

At least in the records, most of the laws of authority are condensed by the Star Spirit Tree, and only a small part are condensed by individuals.

However, this is all background information. In the era of Ross's arrival, the Celestial Tree had already turned from golden to crimson. The Abyss eroded the earth, and the Celestial Tree permanently stopped growing and flowering, emitting endless demonic pollution.

“The Star Spirit Tree used to be a sacred place for pilgrims, not a forbidden area. The only reason it is now considered a forbidden area is that its surroundings have been polluted and powerful monsters have been born inside.”

Ross needs to confirm whether the pollution is naturally carried by the new generation of Protoss Trees or is residual pollution from the previous generation of Protoss Trees.

But there's no rush. Let Celia catch up with her adoptive mother today, and she can also learn some interesting stories about Celia's childhood from Vanessa.

The Temple of Star Ash has only three clergy members: Vanessa and two deacons, a man and a woman, who are about twenty-five or twenty-six years old and much older than Celia.

Celia once held the position of deacon in the temple, but this position was abolished after she was chosen by the Holy Court as a candidate for saint.

At this moment, the two remaining deacons looked at Celia with curiosity, observing the various changes that had taken place in her over the past year.

A year ago, Celia was still very naive, but now she seems more mature and confident.

“Mom Vanessa, I’m coming back this time, but school won’t start until March. I plan to stay here and help everyone until then.”

Vanessa smiled and shook her head: "You don't need to help with anything. This is a small place, and we're not usually busy. Just do whatever you want. I heard that even on holidays, candidates for sainthood have to work hard, otherwise they'll be outdone by others."

Vanessa paused, then asked, "What did you do at school that improved the Holy See's evaluation of you?"

Celia scratched her head and lowered it shyly: "I didn't do anything special. I just blew up a heretical stronghold, took the mentors to deal with two other strongholds... and incidentally reported three high priests of the temple so they could be put on trial."

Vanessa nodded at the beginning, but paused at the end, and asked in surprise, "Report the High Priest?"

Celia nodded. "I went to three places in total. The high priests in those three places were all bad people. One was indifferent to the lives of ordinary people for the sake of political achievements, one colluded with heretics, and one cultivated pearl rosemary. I reported them to the law-enforcing knights and the judge priests, but I don't know how they were judged afterward."

The female assistant priestess stared in disbelief: "You went to three towns on missions and brought down the high priests of those three places?"

The male assistant priest blurted out, "You're not going to report High Priestess Vanessa too, are you?"

Celia's smile vanished, and she snapped, "What are you talking about? Vanessa's mother is so kind and gentle, how could I possibly report her?"

Vanessa laughed and said, "What if I also did those illegal things that the high priest did?"

Celia got stuck.

After a long pause, she hesitated before saying, "I will try to persuade her, but... I believe Vanessa's mother would never do such a thing."

"Why?" Vanessa's smile remained unchanged.

“Because the Temple of Star Ash is very poor, if Vanessa’s mother did those things, she wouldn’t have kept her clothes until they were faded from washing and wouldn’t have replaced the deacons every year or two.”

These words caused not only Vanessa's smile to vanish, but also the smiles of the two deacons.

Ross almost lost his composure. "Celia, you're so good with words."

Vanessa tapped Celia's forehead. "What are you talking about? Are you implying that only high priests who break the commandments can become wealthy?"

“While it’s not absolute, it’s mostly true.” Celia rubbed her forehead, insisting, “So I believe Vanessa’s mother would never do those things.”

Vanessa was both amused and exasperated: "Okay, you guessed it. I really can't do those things, otherwise I would have given you a wealthy childhood long ago. The Star Ash Temple might have to rely on little Celia for support in the future!"

"No need for later, it can be done now."

As she spoke, Celia rummaged through her bag and pulled out her purse, pouring out the gold coins with a clatter.

The golden expanse left the two assistant priests speechless, their eyes wide with astonishment.

Even Vanessa was surprised.

Where did you get so many gold coins?

"I got it by selling scrolls and upgrading the Puppet Heart, as well as as a reward from the school for conquering the Ancient Ruins."

The amount of gold coins poured out was 240.

Celia put the 12 gold coins in another wallet, intending to use them on the road, but nothing happened, so she didn't need them.

These gold coins are not a reward from the school; the school's reward hasn't arrived yet. They were given to me by Benovia.

Vanessa picked up a gold coin, rubbed its patterns, and felt the faint anti-counterfeiting magic emanating from it, confirming that it was a minted gold coin.

She exclaimed in surprise, "The rewards for conquering the ruins are this much?"

"That ruin is one that hasn't been breached for a hundred years. It's called the Lost Lighthouse. We just broke through it during our trial a couple of days ago, which is why the school is giving us a reward. Ishtar will also give us a reward, which is said to be several hundred gold coins."

Celia spread out the gold coins with a grin.

"So, Vanessa, we're rich now!"

Vanessa shook her head, and under the pained gazes of the two deacons, carefully collected the gold coins one by one and put them back into her purse. "These are all the money you worked so hard to earn. The temple doesn't need them. The temple is well-sufficient with the funds allocated by the Holy See and donations from believers."

“It’s okay, Vanessa Mom. Earning gold coins is easy for me now. I can earn 200 gold coins in a month or two. Don’t worry about saving money for me.”

Celia waved her hand, refusing to accept the gold coins.

As she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and said, "Speaking of which, I remember Vanessa's mother saying that you are a third-tier mage, and I can easily earn this much at the second tier. Vanessa's mother should be able to earn even more, so why is the Star Ash Temple so poor?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes at her and said irritably, "I'm asking you, how did you earn all these gold coins?"

"The 200 gold coins were a reward from the school, and the 40 gold coins were what I earned by upgrading the mercenary's magic puppet and selling scrolls."

"Most of them are one-time rewards, and these kinds of rewards are not so easy for the high priest to obtain."

"But I still have 40 gold coins that I earned from selling scrolls, which is a very stable source of income."

Vanessa was both amused and exasperated: "Scrolls aren't that easy to make. If I were to draw them, I'd be lucky to get one out of 100."

"Huh?" Celia was stunned. "But how could I have more than ninety?"

“That shows how amazing Celia is.” Vanessa gently patted Celia’s head. “Your mother Vanessa doesn’t have those talents, and most people don’t either. Otherwise, the scroll would be priced at 20 copper coins instead of 20 silver coins.”

　The transitional plot makes me prone to writer's block, so I'm writing slowly. The next chapter will be about the Star Spirit Tree Forbidden Land, so things should be faster then.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)