Saint Spirit world.
At the very center of this world, there was a divine mountain.
The central church of the Grand Empress was established at the peak of this mountain, surrounded by countless other mountain ranges.
——-she was the sovereign of all Deities, so this was a privilege she alone enjoyed.
At this time, resounding chimes of a bell rang across the entire cathedral.
Within the divine cathedral, eight Archbishops and three Cardinals were kneeling on the ground, devoutly praying to the statue of the Grand Empress.
It wasn’t until they recited an entire passage of redemption that they slowly stood up.
At this point, an old man clad in a pure white cloak descended from above.
Everyone bowed to greet him: “Greetings to the Pope, may you bask in her radiance, may you spread your solemnity to the world”
The old man swung his hand and replied: “No need for formalities. Her divineness’ Bell of Punishing Destiny had tolled, you must all quickly leap into action”
A Cardinal asked in confusion: “Your holiness, I remember the last time that the Bell of Punishing Destiny chimed was for the world-destroying war of countless years ago, what exactly happened this time?”
Around him, the other bigshots of the church also felt nervous.
——-the goddess’ Bell of Punishing Destiny would only toll on its own when something truly roused the Goddess’ wrath.
The Bell of Punishing Destiny had stayed silent for so many years, so what earth-shattering event had caused it to chime once more?
Under everyone’s watchful gazes, the Pope’s expression turned a bit strange.
He slowly replied: “There were eight Divine Scripts engraved onto the Bell of Punishing Destiny, each of which represented a certain calamity——- this was the triggering condition that her divineness had established in the past when she first created this bell. Once any of these eight calamities occurred, the bell would toll, and the corresponding Divine Script would glow to inform us of the situation”
Everyone nodded but felt even more confused.
This is something everyone knows about, so why did the Pope specifically mention it?
The Pope sighed, then continued: “When I came to examine the Bell of Punishing Destiny just now, I discovered an extra portion of Divine Revelation on the bell”
“WHAT!?” the group all exclaimed.
Never did they think that the Grand Empress would have already established a hidden Divine Revelation countless years ago.
What exactly had happened?
Everyone felt anxious.
Seeing that, the Pope knew that he had to explain this.
“Pay your heed, I shall now invite the descent of the Divine Revelation”
He displayed a solemn expression, reciting the words:
“Mortals search for a Deity they may serve during the Rite of Adulthood, but so do the hidden evil creature; its eyes wander between the Lord of Dawn and the Grand Empress, ultimately deciding to hide beneath the Empress’ protection”
“The evil creature shall not achieve what it wishes, it shall not be bestowed the Empress’ grace, instead, it would activate the prophecy upon the Punishing Bell, rousing the suspicion of all”
“Go, servants of the Goddess, seek out that evil creature, use the Eternal divine flame to purify it for eternity”
After he finished reciting, the Pope sighed, then continued: “Immediately arrange our manpower, head to the two great Empires, the nine Duchies, the hundreds of territories, the thousands of counties——- regardless of where that evil creature hides, you shall find it, then purify it”
“So was the revelation of the Empress!”
Everyone prostrated to the ground, loudly declaring: “As her divineness wishes!”
Right at this moment, the enormous church awoke like a beast of war, entering a state of unimaginable mobility.
Its great power was like that of tentacles, reaching to every corner of Saint Spirit world.
At another location.
Another region of this world.
An insignificant place on the map.
Ramon village.
In the largest building of the village.
“The Grand Empress? The Deity you wish to serve and worship is the Grand Empress?” the Viscount envoy asked.
His gaze upon Gu Qing Shan now contained a hint of scorn.
—–what a country bumpkin, declaring that he wishes to worship the ‘Grand Empress, Reneedol’.
How dare a mortal easily invoke the True Name of a Deity during such an informal occasion?
Fine, this kid should consider himself fortunate. The Grand Empress is the sovereign of all Deities, and according to the myths from the Age of Gods, this Deity had already left after forming her church, entering the boundless void to do something else.
The Divine Script and power she left behind might be powerful, but they are for mortals to use.
She is no longer in this world, so the words he said just now shouldn’t have been heard by the Deity.
“Indeed” Gu Qing Shan replied.
The Viscount envoy said: “Very well, I shall conduct the faith ceremony for you, but I must remind you to never invoke a Deity’s true name, only their titles——- only Deities may call other Deities that way. Such invocation by mortals might cause their wrath”
Understanding this, Gu Qing Shan appeared grateful and replied: “I thank your excellency for your guidance”
The Viscount envoy nodded.
—–although he’s a bumpkin, he’s at least a sharp one.
That’s a good thing.
The Viscount envoy opened his bag and carefully took out a book forged completely from metal.
Gu Qing Shan looked at the book in his hand, then at the other party’s book.
Aside from the fact that they were books on the same topic, these two objects were completely different.
The Envoy explained: “This is the real Handbook of Deities, which contains the guiding will of the Gods—- other than the churches, only the Viscount owns this copy within the entire viscounty”
Gu Qing Shan replied: “Sir Viscount is truly extraordinary”
The envoy chuckled, then said: “Come, put your hand on this book and recite the title of the Deity you worship. Devoutly pray, then you shall become the Deity’s worshipper”
Gu Qing Shan placed his hand on the book, recalled the specifics from his memories, then whispered: “Grand Empress above, I, a small and feeble being of this mortal world, desires to become your servant”
A moment of silence.
A flash of light suddenly appeared from the book and knocked Gu Qing Shan’s hand away.
Gu Qing Shan’s entire body was struck and sent backwards a few steps.
The Viscount envoy’s expression abruptly changed and shouted:
“Men! Gather!”
In an instant, eight fully-armored knights abruptly appeared.
They all exuded clear killing intent as they drew their weapons and surrounded Gu Qing Shan.
Crow wanted to draw her rapier, but Gu Qing Shan stopped her.
Observing the knights around him, Gu Qing Shan calmly asked: “Sir envoy, may I ask what’s happening?”
The Viscount envoy’s expression was as still as water and answered in a heavy tone: “Deities would not reject the worship of a mortal, unless they were evil entities wishing to pass as humans, which all Deities scorn”
Gu Qing Shan froze.
Glancing at his Soul Points value still reducing at a stable rate, he smiled: “Could there be some sort of mistake?”
——the Deities were now all dead, turned into the Laws of this current world.
They welcomed my offering of Soul Points and hoped that I would be able to help them, even giving me a blue sword-shaped pattern as proof of entry.
Then why did they judge me to be an evil creature?
It should be the exact opposite!
This makes no sense.
…Perhaps the issue lies with the Grand Empress.
I’m very well acquainted with Boss, so perhaps the will of Reneedol discovered this and rejected my worship.
With that in mind, Gu Qing Shan patted Crow’s hand and whispered:
“Money”
Crow took out her bag of coins and put it into Gu Qing Shan’s hand.
Gu Qing Shan tossed the bag of coins in front of the Viscount envoy, then said with a calm expression: “Sir envoy, as you said earlier, perhaps it was because I invoked the Goddess’ true name that I angered her. I want to try another Deity and prove my innocence”
The Viscount envoy caught the bag of money, silently squeezed it, then made up his mind.
Very well, since this matter had gotten evil creatures involved, it would be best to confirm beyond any doubts.
He stared closely at Gu Qing Shan, then slowly took out a pure-white stone from his bag.
“I am the chief pastor of the Viscount, so I do have the qualifications to conduct a final examination on you”
While he explained, the Viscount envoy tossed the pure-white stone to Gu Qing Shan.
“This is the Deities’ Stone of Examination, capable of checking the attributes of all living beings. If you truly are an evil creature, it will give out a clear indication, but if you are innocent, it shall display the potential of your faith”
“Rhode, this is the last chance for you to prove your innocence. Hold the stone tightly in your hand”
Without saying anything else, Gu Qing Shan squeezed the stone tightly.
A second later.
The sound of countless children devoutly singing a gospel resounded from the void of space.
An intense sound of explosion——-
A gigantic and holy pillar of white light erupted from Gu Qing Shan’s body, rising all the way to the sky through the roof of the building.