Spellcasting Gods

"Relax! I think you don't quite realize how special you are! The soul is the most essential thing about a person; it is the collection of consciousness, the terminal that carries memories and emotions. Under normal circumstances, the soul is unlikely to exist independently. But there are always some special individuals in the world who are born with a powerful soul."

As Zhang Cheng spoke, he inserted his fingers into the core of the other person's soul, sensing the foreign consciousness attempting to invade.

"A powerful soul?" Yelena clearly didn't understand the meaning of what she had just said.

"Yes! Haven't you noticed that something's been off about you these past few days?" Zhang Cheng hinted meaningfully.

Yelena frowned and pondered for a moment, then her face turned grim: "Damn it! Lately, I've been losing my ability to think and having strange hallucinations from time to time! What's going on?"

Zhang Cheng shrugged dismissively: "Nothing! Remember that interesting statue? The owner behind it is slowly invading your soul. But don't worry, I don't think she necessarily has malicious intent. Maybe she just wants to use you to talk to me face to face..."

"No! No! Drive it out of my soul!"

Although Yelena wasn't entirely clear on what a soul invasion meant, she instinctively felt a strong sense of crisis and screamed frantically.

“I’m sorry! Cleansing a soul from an invasion is no easy task. Besides, I’m also very interested in hearing the story of a Native American priestess from over a thousand years ago.”

After saying that, Zhang Cheng completely ignored Yelena's constant struggles and poured powerful magical energy into her, allowing another consciousness within her soul to devour it. In just a few seconds, it began to grow stronger and stronger, while constantly squeezing out the original owner's control.

Finally, the soul ceased all movement, floating foolishly in mid-air, emitting a mesmerizing silvery glow.

suddenly!

These silver rays of light exploded into countless points of light!

It then rapidly contracted, forming a female figure that was half human and half snake!

The ancient priestess first surveyed the luxurious decor of the hotel room before smiling and exclaiming in an ancient Native American language, "Incredible! I never imagined that humanity had developed to this extent during the more than a thousand years I was imprisoned!"

“Excuse me, although I don’t like interrupting people, I can’t help but remind you that the Inca Empire, which once lived on this land, has perished. It was wiped out by European colonists, with only a very few surviving.” Zhang Cheng explained in a slightly sarcastic tone in the ancient Native American language, with a smirk on his face.

"What? The Inca Empire is gone!" A cold glint flashed in the priestess's eyes.

“Yes! Not just the Inca Empire! The Aztecs and Mayans have also perished! The mixed-race Indians living on this land today have long forgotten their ancient traditions and the gods they once worshipped. I’m curious, how have you managed to maintain your power for so many years? Are there still large tribes in the rainforest who follow you?” Zhang Cheng calmly asked his first question.

Faith is a strange thing; in its most fanatical stages, it can even drive people to do extremely irrational things.

In particular, the Native American civilizations, which are known for their bloody sacrifices, have a history of many cruel and bloody large-scale sacrificial carnivals, with the largest number of sacrifices reaching 20,000 living people.

It is said that some prisoners, upon hearing that it was a sacrifice to the gods, willingly went up to the altar and dug out their own hearts with obsidian daggers.

Interestingly, this kind of fanatical belief usually has a peak period. After passing the peak, people quickly calm down and begin to think about whether it is really worth it.

The more secular and modern a society becomes, the less likely it is to maintain a fervent religious belief. Even if one is temporarily deceived by tempting words, one can quickly regain one's senses.

Therefore, it is almost impossible to maintain a group of nearly ignorant believers in the current civilized environment for a long time.

“Everyone has their own secrets, and I’m no exception. Besides, before we get down to business, aren’t you going to introduce yourself?” The priestess clearly noticed the statue on the table, her eyes revealing extremely complex emotions.

“My name is Zhang Cheng, you can call me Zhang.” Zhang Cheng gently picked up the statue, secretly observing the other party’s reaction.

The priestess deliberately feigned indifference as she introduced herself: "My name is Tassimma! A priestess of the Serpent God! It's a pleasure to meet you, powerful man."

"The Serpent God? I've never heard of that name before. And, dear Tassimma, tell me, what exactly happened to you?" Zhang Cheng plopped down on the sofa, ready to listen.

Chapter 0704 The Gods of the Incas

How much do you know about what happened to me?

The priestess, who called herself Tassinma, asked questions while looking around the room with curiosity at the various modern facilities and the bustling city she had never seen before.

For her, who had been imprisoned for over a thousand years, all of this seemed like a scene from a dream.

Perhaps, as the saying goes, when technology advances to a level that many people cannot comprehend, they see technology as equivalent to magic.

Clearly, San Juan, filled with skyscrapers, electric lights, cars, and massive ships, would have been enough to deeply shock the ancients who lived more than a thousand years ago.

Because in her time, the most magnificent buildings created by Native Americans—the pyramid temples—were only a few dozen meters high, and the urban population could not have exceeded 500,000, which was incomparable to the dense population of modern society, which often number in the hundreds of millions.

It's like a person from the 21st century suddenly arriving in a future world hundreds of years later; even a powerful user of supernatural abilities would be amazed and amazed.

Zhang Cheng sat in the chair, watching the other person's changing expressions with great interest. After a while, he smiled and said, "I don't know much about you. I only know from a few ancient murals that you once massacred your compatriots in a city and were then imprisoned by some unknown god. You must understand that with the arrival of European colonists, the entire Native American civilization system completely collapsed and broke down. Now, no one can even recognize what those knotted ropes recorded, let alone whether the Inca civilization invented a corresponding writing system."

In fact, there has been ongoing academic debate about whether the Inca civilization invented writing.

Some scholars believe that the extremely complex knotted rope system of record-keeping was, to some extent, equivalent to writing, but it was incomprehensible to anyone other than the highly educated Inca ruling class.

Some scholars believe that the Inca civilization, whether in terms of its ruling structure, astronomy and calendar, architecture, or handicrafts, could not have existed without corresponding written records. However, the written records were too fragile to survive.

In Zhang Cheng's view, neither of them mattered; what mattered was the unique supernatural power system that had been lost with the fall of the Inca Empire.

"I see... No wonder I felt the seal was getting looser."

The priestess's pupils displayed an eerie vertical iris, the kind only reptiles possess, and her face revealed undisguised schadenfreude.

It must be said that she possesses immense power. Even in her soul form, she can maintain a relatively stable external appearance and touch and pick up objects through the force field, making her practically indistinguishable from a living person.

"What, does the demise of the Inca civilization mean a good thing to you?" Zhang Cheng probed with interest.

Tassinma shook her head expressionlessly: "No! I just find it ridiculous. A bunch of fools who valued their faith above all else were ultimately abandoned without mercy by the god they believed in. They must have been extremely desperate and regretful at the time."

“Not entirely! As far as I know, some gods did choose to stay, wanting to help their followers escape the pursuit. But unfortunately, they were too weak, and without exception, they all died in fierce battles, some even being crafted into powerful magical artifacts. But overall, your point is correct; most gods abandoned the Native Americans, so it seems that faith was something dispensable in their eyes.” With that, Zhang Cheng pursed his lips, revealing a playful smile.

"Hahahaha! I think you don't understand the gods of this land at all, do you?" Tassinma laughed heartily for some reason.

"Oh? Then why don't you give me a brief introduction?" Zhang Cheng continued to steer the conversation.

He had a feeling that he would be able to get a lot of secrets about the Americas from the other party.

"I'll skip the introduction. You just need to know that, apart from a very few original gods, most of the gods we worship require faith, otherwise they will decline and fall into slumber. But what's interesting is that those gods who don't require faith, including the ancient creator god Pachacamak and the sun god Inti, have long since stopped responding to the prayers of their followers. No one knows where they went, and no one knows whether they are dead or alive. As for those gods who came into being later and required sacrifices from mortals, they are not worthy of being called gods at all; they are just mortals with great power like me."

When she said the last few words, the priestess's tone was full of contempt and disdain.

Zhang Cheng undoubtedly admired this attitude towards gods and echoed without hesitation, "That's right! So-called gods are nothing more than a group of special life forms with extraordinary power. As long as we can unravel their mysteries, we will surely be able to replace them, or even surpass them. My dear Tassinma, I think we should form an alliance to deal with those hidden gods and pave the way to the pinnacle of power with their blood and corpses."

"You want to kill a god?" The priestess, upon hearing such "treasonous" words, showed no fear whatsoever; instead, she smiled and curled her lips.

“Why not? In fact, I already have experience killing gods, though it was somewhat opportunistic. Look, this is what I got from them…” Zhang Cheng slowly raised his right hand, releasing a dazzling divine light.

Upon witnessing this, Tassinma's pupils contracted and dilated instantly. After about two or three minutes, she exclaimed in a trembling voice, "Divinity!!!! You actually stole divinity!"

“You have good judgment! This is indeed divine! Now tell me, do you agree to ally with me? I guarantee that as long as you can provide accurate information, I can not only release you from prison, but also help you complete your revenge.” Zhang Cheng extended an olive branch at the opportune moment.

Undoubtedly, he longed to learn more about the original supernatural systems and belief systems of the Americas, and he also needed a few cannon fodder to test how powerful the gods of this world were.

"Why should I believe you?" Tassinma asked, squinting her eyes.

"Hehe, no, you don't need to believe me, you just need to believe in the power I possess."

Did you know? The world is no longer the world it was a thousand years ago, and humanity is no longer the ignorant and foolish people we once were.

According to current opinion, the most important factor in determining the relationship between two people has never been promises or vows, but rather naked self-interest.

Think about it, is there a conflict of interest between us?

Obviously not. This means we have no reason to become enemies.

Think about it again, do we have common interests or common enemies?

It is very obvious that these are the so-called gods, so we have both common interests and common enemies.

Under these circumstances, what else do you need to worry about?

Zhang Cheng is like a notorious devil from the universe where the continent of Faerûn is located, using his eloquent and persuasive words to lure his opponents into the traps he has set...

Chapter 0705 The Proud Priestess

"Profit? Have humans fallen to this level?"

Tassinma was clearly uncomfortable with, or rather, disliked, this blatant way of talking; her brows were furrowed and her eyes revealed undisguised disgust.

Zhang Cheng chuckled and shrugged, retorting, "No! This isn't some kind of depravity!"

On the contrary, it tore off all the pretense of ethics and morality, allowing humanity to return to the most primitive and essential state of competition, instead of foolishly believing that it is the master of the world and the most beloved creation of the gods.

Do you know how Native American civilization became extinct?

Because they were too naive, they mistakenly believed that the European colonists were a group of friendly neighbors who even helped them gain a foothold in the Americas at crucial moments.

But how did these guys repay the Native Americans?

They instigated wars, slaughtered their benefactors, plundered wealth and land, and shamelessly established a day called Thanksgiving, both to commemorate the Native Americans who had helped them and to offer bounties on the scalps of Native Americans.

The massacres only stopped when the number of Native Americans was no longer enough to threaten the dominance of European settlers.

So tell me, do you prefer the former kind of cooperation—where people seem close on the surface but secretly stab each other in the back at the first opportunity—or do you prefer a more straightforward approach where we lay out our interests clearly and know exactly what each other wants?

How can ethics and morality be used to constrain the thoughts and behaviors of human society?

Hearing such outdated arguments, Zhang Cheng couldn't help but want to laugh.

Perhaps in ancient times, when the speed of information and knowledge dissemination was relatively slow, this social structure could barely be maintained. However, with the rise of the Age of Exploration and the strong influence of the Renaissance, the desires of many people in their subconscious were fully released.

In pursuit of power and wealth, European colonists attacked and occupied regions with relatively backward military technology in a manner that was almost inhumane, and did not hesitate to massacre millions of indigenous people.

Many people may think that the total number of deaths in the First and Second World Wars is already quite terrifying, but few people know that from the time Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa to India until the outbreak of the First World War, the number of indigenous people who died in the wars was far greater than the combined death toll of the two world wars.

Unfortunately, the essence of conflict between civilizations is the survival of the fittest. The strong can shout their voices even if they are just scratched, but the weak have no right to speak, even if they are disemboweled and nailed to a cross.

Faced with such a cruel reality, who would still believe that ethics and morality can restrain a person's behavior?

Let alone ethics and morality, even the law often fails to restrain behavior; the only thing that can do so is force, overwhelming and awe-inspiring force.

Only when a person clearly realizes that doing something that infringes on the interests of others will come at a heavy price, or even death, will he subjectively have the thought of stopping immediately.

Tassinma clearly sensed the sarcasm in Zhang Cheng's tone, and proudly raised her chin, replying, "We are children of the Sun God! We have sacred and noble blood flowing through our veins! We will never be like you fallen ones, willingly turning into greedy beasts. I can cooperate with you, but only if it's done my way."

"Your way?" Zhang Cheng raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Yes! My method is fair! You state your requirements first, and then I decide what you need to give in exchange. If both parties agree, the deal is done; if one party disagrees, the deal is void.” Tassinma succinctly explained her cooperation framework.

It must be said that although her way of thinking and values ​​are quite outdated, she is not stupid at all. She understands the danger of rashly forming a close alliance with a stranger, so she decisively chooses to maintain her independence.

Zhang Cheng squinted at the other person, and after a full minute, he nodded: "No problem! Do as you say! But before that, I need you to provide some basic information."

“No! As I just said, you ask for what you want, and then I'll decide what you'll offer in exchange. Important intelligence is never free,” Tassinma quickly replied.

"Damn it! Fine, it seems I have no other choice. Tell me, what do I need in exchange for knowing about the Golden City?" A chilling glint flashed in Zhang Cheng's eyes, and he immediately feigned helplessness.

no way!

After all, the priestess in front of them, who was in a soul state, was merely a projection of consciousness. Even if they turned against her and used violent means, they could not guarantee that they would be able to obtain the relevant information.

At this stage, besides enduring, he really has no effective countermeasures.