Chapter 423: Chapter 422: Plucking Feathers from a Flying Goose, Holy Relic
The Levake Port Cathedral isn’t simply majestic in appearances, but is also one of the sixty-four Sacred Temples established by the Supreme Court on the West Continent.
As a matter of fact.
Levake Port itself is also quite unique.
Its geographical location is exactly west of the East Continent, and located in the Outer Sea beyond Levake Port are countless islands.
Many of these islands are inhabited, and they form an island chain alliance known as "Sky Wolf."
Unlike the Supreme Court’s absolute control over the West Continent.
The Sky Wolf island chain is situated over the Outer Sea, almost out of the Supreme Court’s control, and difficult to reach.
Most people in the Sky Wolf chain have little to do with the Supreme Court and, even if they do, they don’t hold a good impression of it. Quite a lot of them are even considered by the court to be ruthless heretics.
There are believers of the Supreme Church among the islanders.
But unlike the West Continent where at least eight out of ten people are believers.
Only approximately one out of a hundred people in the island chain is a believer with no significant influence. The believers on the islands are more simple and consequently more numerous.
The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, which is a good thing.
But living on an island, it is far more difficult to make ends meet than in the resource-rich inland areas.
When you can not even fulfill your basic needs, what is there to talk about faith?
The Supreme Court established the Sacred Temple in Levake Port with the intention of reaching the Sky Wolf Island Chain, and they are still trying hard to this day.
Unfortunately, it’s still unknown whether such ambitions can be fulfilled.
The total strength of the Sky Wolf island chain, which has tens of thousands of islands, is much weaker than that of the whole West Continent. However, if one disregards the Supreme Church and views it from the perspective of a kingdom or an alliance, their total strength surpasses any force in the West Continent.
The Supreme Church wants to control them, but it’s not that simple.
Setting that aside.
Because the "Saintess" had arrived, all the important figures of the Sacred Temple had gone to the port. Li Jing didn’t face any difficulties infiltrating the Sacred Temple.
Of course.
Even if those important figures were present, unless the "Saintess" herself came, it wouldn’t be a big deal for Li Jing, with the help of Silent Shadow, to enter the Sacred Temple.
Once in the Sacred Temple.
After taking a look around, Li Jing quickly found the sanctuary where the scriptures of the Sacred Temple were stored.
The scriptures, the sanctuary.
It sounds high-end and atmospheric.
In reality, the scriptures are books that record how to use Holy Power and various Divine Arts, and the sanctuary is a place for devout followers of the Supreme Church to learn and advance.
Every church stronghold has its own scriptures and sanctuary.
This includes, but is not limited to, assembly facilities such as Sacred Temples and Churches.
Among these, the scriptures stored in the Sacred Temple are of a more complete kind.
As this is a Sacred Temple, existing for the sake of radiating the Sky Wolf Island Chain, the sanctuary of the port in Levake is exceptionally large. It is also the largest building of the Sacred Temple complex.
Upon finding the location, Li Jing was somewhat shocked.
He didn’t know beforehand that this would be such a special Sacred Temple.
What he didn’t expect was.
The sanctuary here was so big that it surpassed the size of the hall of worship which the believers frequented...
Looking around.
The vast sanctuary has three floors, each of which is cast in the style of a large palace.
How many religious documents related to the Faith System would be located in such a large sanctuary?
As he stood near the sanctuary, Li Jing carefully observed the surroundings, with furrowed brows.
It’s not just that the big shots of the Sacred Temple have gone to welcome the "Saintess", but a large majority of the Temple Knights have also been relocated.
Li Jing hardly saw anyone on his journey from the entrance to the sanctuary.
However, near the sanctuary, he could see a large number of Temple Knights standing guard, fully prepared.
Normally, a place like the sanctuary would be unconditionally open to all believers. Irrespective of whether they have talent or not, as long as they believe in the Supreme God, they have the right to enter any sanctuary under the church’s control.
There is no doubt that there would be guards at the sanctuary, but not so many.
What made Li Jing more puzzled was.
Based on his strong Primordial Spirit perception, he could confirm that there was not a single person in the vast sanctuary at that moment.
This situation was, needless to say, rather intriguing.
Thinking to himself that he hadn’t seen any regular believers when he entered the Sacred Temple, it was obvious that the entire Sacred Temple was temporarily restricted from entry and exit. Li Jing realized that the situation was not simple but didn’t feel like thinking too much about it.
In order to impersonate a church believer using the Mirror Flower, Water Moon illusion of Smoke Eye, he couldn’t just master a couple of Divine Arts.
If he was going to learn, he might as well learn several.
If discussing the Divine Arts of the Faith System, he himself was also quite interested.
Although he was uncertain about what was going on, since there was no one in such a large sanctuary, this was quite convenient for him!
Originally, he planned to just borrow a few books to read, but now...
He glanced at the large group of Temple Knights guarding the outer perimeter of the sanctuary. Li Jing reached out to touch the front door of the sanctuary, and his Primordial Spirit’s perception began to extend.
The next second.
He, along with the entire sanctuary, entered the Little Universe World.
Under the cognitive interference of Silent Shadow, none of the Temple Knights on the scene noticed Li Jing’s blatant arrival.
But with such a large sanctuary gone, they couldn’t ignore it even if they wanted to.
Not to mention anything else.
With the tallest building in the entire Sacred Temple disappearing out of thin air, the giant shadow it was supposed to cast on the ground naturally also vanished.
Right then.
The moment the sanctuary was taken away by Li Jing, the Temple Knights who were standing in the shadow of the sanctuary were collectively taken aback, puzzled as they turned to look behind them.
Upon looking, everyone on site was stunned.
For a moment.
They thought they were seeing an illusion.
But soon, someone reacted.
Their sanctuary...
Had been stolen!
...
A few minutes prior.
At Levake Port.
After a brief meeting, "Saintess" Wina, accompanied by several big shots from the Sacred Temple, went ashore by using Sky Control.
Dormant within her is a six-winged angel. She doesn’t need to actively disclose her true identity. With a slight mental movement, anyone who is sufficiently devout to the Supreme God can easily sense what kind of existence she is.
At that time, the big shots present all knew her origin.
They were surrounded.
Those in charge of the Sacred Temple in Levake Port were more devout and humble than each other.
The Messenger of God’s Descent does not actually exist in the West Continent.
What exists are just some legends from a thousand years ago.
But today.
They have encountered a real Messenger of the God’s Descent!
Wina is filled with the glory of the Supreme God.
What confuses all those present is.
Why did Wina choose to descend on the outer periphery of the Sky Wolf Island Chain rather than directly onto the West Continent, and why was the Present Supreme Church from the Big World her first contact?
Is it a hope that the Holy See and Church will "bond" without any grudges, or...?
Not only were there many powerhouses from the Levake Sacred Temple present, there were also some charlatans from the Present Supreme Church following behind.
To the Supreme God.
These charlatans were quite devout.
Without devotion, they wouldn’t be able to raise their cultivation level.
But, at the same time, they are extremely greedy for the power they now hold.
Not just those present.
The entire Supreme Holy See is like this, and so too is the Present Supreme Church.
Although the two sides have successfully "bonded", they are actually quite wary of each other.
A happy family?
It doesn’t exist.
After all, fundamentally, they are not of the same world.
Saintess Wina’s conduct has caused the senior officials of Levake Sacred Temple to speculate, and the charlatans from the Present Supreme Church are also guessing what Wina’s intentions are. At the same time, they are pondering whether they have the opportunity to use the name of God’s messenger to ride on the head of the Holy See and bring back enough benefits to the present world.
As everyone harbours their own schemes, Wina, who has landed and stands still, gazes at the depths of the port Sacred Temple and speaks indifferently.
"Is the Holy Relic that was lost and found half a month ago ready? Why can’t I sense its presence?"
In response to her voice, the highest-ranking cardinal around, dressed in red, quickly tries to ingratiate himself.
"In advance, madam Saintess entrusted the Church to pass on the instructions, and we naturally prepared it properly. The Holy Relic is now stored in the Sacred Temple’s Sanctuary, guarded by our temple’s strongest and most devout Temple Knights Army to ensure that nothing goes wrong. The reason why the Saintess can’t sense the presence is because the pope himself has sealed the Holy Relic."
As he spoke, the bishop pointed to the tallest sanctuary in the Sacred Temple complex like he was presenting a treasure.
"Saintess, that is our temple’s Sanctuary, and the Holy Relic is in it right now."
"Hmm."
Wina nodded and said.
"This Holy Relic is extremely special and is crucial to our journey to the Sea of Death. I will remember this credit for your temple."
As she spoke, she flicked a pure glow with her fingers.
The cardinal saw this and was slightly stunned, but then his face showed ecstatic joy as he put his hands together in prayer.
At the same time, the glow softly melted into his forehead.
Immediately .
His aura surged.
He, who was originally only in the mid-stage of the Seventh Realm, ascended a major realm on the spot, successfully stepping into the Eighth Realm.
The power surging around him made him feel elated.
Everyone around, whether they belonged to the Levake Sacred Temple or the Present Supreme Church, looked at Wina with increasing awe, as well as jealousy.
God’s messenger is indeed God’s messenger.
With a flick of her fingers, she created an Eighth Realm powerhouse!
This!
It’s simply a miracle!
If she is not stingy and flicks her fingers more...
Just as everyone was itching to flatter Wina, the Sanctuary in the far distance disappeared from everyone’s sight as if it had never existed.
? ? ?
Everyone present, including Wina, was filled with question marks.
The next second.
Everyone present collectively exploded.
Wina, the Saintess, was the first to lose control, revealing a phantom with six wings behind her and swiftly taking to the sky.
The others followed closely behind her.
The Temple Knights Army, which was responsible for clearing the port and preventing irrelevant people from approaching, and some believers who came to admire the Saintess’ holy glory, were initially surprised at the sight of Wina ascending into the sky and the appearance of the six-winged phantom behind her. Then, without exception, they all knelt down devoutly in prayer.
Only those who greeted and escorted her to Levake Port had felt Wina’s holy might before.
The others did not know her identity beforehand.
But now they do.
The real Messenger of God’s Descent has appeared!
However, it’s a pity.
At this point, Wina was too busy to respond to the prayers of the Temple Knights and the believers.
Wina, being the first to arrive above the Sacred Temple, looked down with a stern expression.
Those from the Church and Holy See who arrived after her also had extremely ugly expressions.
The cardinal who had just received the "Holy Grace" rubbed his eyes hard with disbelief on his face.
If possible...
How he wished he was seeing things!
"Can you give me an explanation?"
The cold voice echoed, accompanied by an indifferent gaze, making the cardinal feel as if he was in an ice cellar.
An explanation?
What explanation could he give?
Not to mention that he was just with Wina.
A large sanctuary has disappeared mysteriously, what could he know?
Just as he was about to force a response, Wina ruthlessly waved her hand.
The next second.
The strength newly formed in him that just promoted him to the Eighth Realm rapidly decayed, and he was restored to his original level.
The cardinal was stupefied on the spot.
Everyone present, including those from Levake Sacred Temple, couldn’t help but feel a bit of schadenfreude. However, they all kept a straight face and dared not show it.
"Find! Spare no cost to retrieve the Holy Relic!"
Saintess Wina coldly huffed.
Everyone’s eyes exchanged glances with each other and unanimously turned to the cardinal who only managed to achieve the Eight Realm a few minutes ago and was now back to the Seventh Realm.
These people are all cunning.
Such a large sanctuary was stolen just like that.
Not an ordinary person could pull off such a feat...
This matter couldn’t be easily cleared up and even if it could be, it might not be easily solved.
Whoever takes over this mess will be in trouble.
Seeing everyone, even his own Sacred Temple members, defaulting him to be the unfortunate scapegoat, the cardinal’s face turned ashen, but there was nothing he could do.
Who asked him to be the highest-ranking person in the Levake Sacred Temple?
...
Meanwhile.
Within the Little Universe.
Li Jing placed the Sanctuary at the western boundary of the Little Universe, far away from the centre, and pushed the door to enter.
As soon as he entered.
Li Jing saw a vast amount of books.
The book collection here is not as extensive as the Tianque Palace Library, but there are definitely hundreds of thousands of volumes.
Most of the Divine Arts that the Supreme Holy See possesses are likely recorded in it.
He glanced around. A thought flashed in Li Jing’s mind.
Then the smoke-eyed girl who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old quietly appeared.
Li Jing spoke upon seeing her.
"There’s no use in me learning divine arts, right?"
"In order to learn and control divine arts, the smoke eye must use my magic mirror to influence the power within the host’s body and change it to holy power. It’s enough for you to rest, let the smoke eye learn," replied the Smoke Eye cleverly.
"Alright, thank you."
Li Jing nodded.
Seeing Smoke Eye, unexpectedly obedient, walk away, he was moved.
At first, he had created the Smoke Eye to deal with an issue from Jiang Yini’s house.
All it did was assist in concealing his aura.
Nowadays,
Smoke Eye had become one of his most reliable spirit weapons.
She did not only master Qingyuan’s Mysterious Skill but also controlled one rule.
That was not all!
Smoke Eye could not only change his internal power through ’Mirror of Illusions’, but she could also learn other magic skills on his behalf, allowing him to experience other systems freely.
This spirit weapon was extremely convenient!
Li Jing learned spells by taking advantage of the status bar.
The only spell he learned by himself was a cultivation method.
Now, he didn’t even need to do that, just let Smoke Eye learn anything.
Watching the Smoke Eye, who seemed like a quiet girl next door, casually pull out a book from a shelf, Li Jing didn’t bother her. He walked towards the second floor of the sanctuary.
Going out now, he might run into that "Saintess".
It’s better to stay in the Small Universe for a while, then come out after Smoke Eye’s learning has made progress.
If there was nothing to do, flipping through some books was also not a bad idea.
Books on the first floor were not being considered by Li Jing.
In the entire sanctuary,
The first floor was the most spacious and had the most books.
But there was no need to flip through them to know that the first floor contained basic divine arts.
Why look at the basic stuff?
Just let Smoke Eye turn them over slowly.
He wanted to look at the more powerful stuff.
Compared to the first floor, the collection of books on the second floor was visibly less.
Li Jing randomly picked a book from a shelf, opened it, and then silently put it back.
Yes.
The words were in common language and could be understood.
But he couldn’t understand their implications at all.
Looking up at the third floor of the sanctuary, Li Jing moved towards the stairs.
There were very few books on the third floor.
He estimated there were fewer than a thousand.
Compared to the second floor, there was a huge difference.
Just as he was thinking about whether to find another book, his attention was attracted by a wooden box on a desk in the middle of the third floor.
From a distance, there was nothing special about the box.
However, talismans were attached to the upper and lower parts of the box, on which was printed the divine text unique to the faith system.
What is this?
Li Jing frowned, stepped forward to the desk and opened the wooden box.
As he did, a particularly holy aura rushed at his face, revealing a uniquely designed feminine scepter.
Seeing the scepter, Li Jing was slightly stunned.
The holy aura that leaked after the wooden box was opened was extremely powerful, even stronger than his three Level Eight Immortal Artifacts, but this scepter clearly looked handcrafted.
Note,
It was handcrafted.
Not made by refining.
Can a handcrafted object be so extraordinary?
Surprised and doubtful, Li Jing naturally thought of the Holy Temple Knights who stood guard outside the sanctuary.
Obviously,
What the Holy Temple Knights were guarding was this scepter.
This thing...
Could it be the one meant to be given to the Saintess?
Thinking about this, Li Jing couldn’t help thinking about the holy relic that the Supreme Church had recovered half a month ago.
This scepter...
Could it be the holy relic that floated out from the Death Sea?
Just as he was wondering, sounds came from the stairwell behind him.
Li Jing turned his head subconsciously upon hearing the sound.
What he saw was Jiang Yini, walking up from downstair with a strange look on her face.
Seeing this, Li Jing blinked.
"Yini, why are you here?"
"Just came to have a look,"
Jiang Yini said, and then found it weird.
"Did you accidentally discover this sanctuary?"
"No, I moved it directly from the Holy See at Levake Port in the West Continent where I landed."
Li Jing replied truthfully.
"..."
Jiang Yini.
The Small Universe was large now.
But it wasn’t vast enough to be endless.
Jiang Yini easily discovered that Li Jing had suddenly moved such a large sanctuary, while she was studying the Heritage Stele in Qingyuan Fairy Palace.
She didn’t know that this was a sanctuary at first.
She knew it after coming here.
Before, she wanted to ask Smoke Eye downstairs about it, but seeing her reading her book so attentively, Jiang Yini decided not to bother her and went upstairs to find Li Jing.
Through this mutual questioning, she was dumbstruck.
Li Jing had completely followed the principle of making full use of every opportunity!
He even robbed the Supreme Church’s sanctuary?
What’s the use of robbing this thing?
Could it be that he wanted to change his faith to the Supreme God and learn the divine arts of the faith system?
While she was speechless, Jiang Yini’s attention was naturally drawn to the scepter radiating a holy aura, she frowned and asked.
"This scepter...?"
"It could be a Holy Relic."
Li Jing replied.
I’m not sure at the moment, but it should be very important to the Supreme Church."
"..."
Jiang Yini.
The term Holy Relic also exists in the present world.
It is usually used by the Supreme Church to describe some ancient and powerful objects, or those blessed by the gods of the Supreme God System.
For the Supreme Church, these things are extremely important.
The kind that they would get anxious if anyone touched them.
Li Jing has been in the West Continent for less than half a day, not only did he seize a sanctuary, but he also took the Holy Relic?
Momentarily silent, Jiang Yini rubs her brow and chooses to turn and walk downstairs.
Her intention was to merely ask a question.
She neither intends nor is able to interfere with what Li Jing does.
The Supreme Court is not the same as the Supreme Church in the present world, so any offence has no bearing on Longyu’s international relations; they can let him jump around as he pleases.
In any case, with his abilities, no matter what, he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
Just as Jiang Yini was about to walk away without saying a word, Li Jing quickly called out.
"Yini, wait."
?
Jiang Yini paused, turning back to face him.
"Now that you’re here, I need to borrow some things."
Li Jing said.
"Borrow something?"
Jiang Yini tilted her head, puzzled.
As she was going to ask what he meant, Li Jing smiled.
"I encountered some interesting situations. Later, I need to disguise myself as a Eurasian and join the Supreme Church. The other party has a high cultivation level, so they might not be fooled by my magic skills or appearance changing talisman. I need to make it a bit more realistic. You love dressing up, don’t you? Do you have gold color contact lenses and hair dye in your storage space?"
Hearing his words, Jiang Yini paused.
The things Li Jing wanted, she indeed had them.
Reminiscing about the past, she was quite rebellious.
Despite her mature and generous demeanor now...
When she was young, she was a bit of a troublemaker.
So..
What’s Li Jing planning by disguising himself as a Eurasian and joining the Supreme Church?
She originally had the Heritage Stele to comprehend. She wasn’t interested in what was happening in the West Continent.
But with Li Jing’s actions, she couldn’t help but feel a bit curious.
However, she didn’t ask any further.
What’s happening outside is nowhere near as important as comprehending the Heritage Stele, right?
Anyway, if Li Jing encounters anything good outside, he will definitely stuff it into the Little Universe.
If there was any opportunity, it would most likely end up like Qingyuan Fairy Palace, being moved in entirely.
She could just lie in the Little Universe waiting for an opportunity to come knocking at her door. There was no need to venture outside and join Li Jing in his madness.
Given her present abilities, she couldn’t keep up with Li Jing.
She casually took out the gold color contact lenses and hair dye that Li Jing requested. Jiang Yini batting her beautiful eyes, she took out a few sets of black stockings unopened, smiling teasingly.
"Well, wouldn’t you want to disguise yourself more thoroughly and pretend to be a woman?"
Upon hearing her words, Li Jing’s mouth twitched. He took the items, and with a thought, sent her back to the Qingyuan Fairy Palace.
Cross dressing was not an option.
However, these black stockings...
He could give them to Liu Sisi later.
When they first met, his wife always carried these stockings.
After they confirmed their relationship, probably considering not to stimulate him, Liu Sisi switched to the pure look.
Once he had stored his tools for the job and the bonus black stockings from Jiang Yini, Li Jing’s gaze once again fell on the scepter, his eyes turning gold.
Activating the Eye of True Vision.
Li Jing suddenly realized that there was an incredibly powerful force residing inside the scepter.
This power is definitely Holy Power.
But it doesn’t originate from the faith of the Supreme God System.
The faith absorbed by the Supreme is a pure-white Holy Power.
However, the power residing inside the scepter was a dark gold color.
Thinking that this scepter might be a Holy Relic from the Sea of Death found and recycled by the Supreme Church, especially considering the Sea of Death in the legends of the West Continent resulted from the conflict between the Supreme Church and a God Envoy of the War Worship God, with Li Jing’s suspicion, Longxu was soon summoned from Qingyuan Holy Land.
Catching Longxu off guard by transporting him to the Sanctuary, but soon after, Longxu was attracted by the scepter in the wooden box, showing an expression of disgust.
Upon seeing this, Li Jing asked a question.
"Do you recognize the power hidden inside?"
"I do."
Longxu nodded.
Just as he was about to continue speaking, Li Jing waved him off.
"Alright, there’s nothing more you need here, you can go back."
"..."
Longxu.
The next second, he was sent back by someone.
After sending Longxu off, Li Jing picked up the scepter to take a closer look.
The situation seemed to become more and more interesting.
With Longxu’s identification, it can be confirmed that this scepter doesn’t belong to the Supreme Court, but to the War Worship God that was wiped out tens of thousands of years ago.
This War Worship God was the mastermind that destroyed the Qingyuan Fairy Palace where Longxu resided.
The forces of the East Continent were destroyed by the Divine Court of the West Continent.
The Qingyuan Fairy Palace wasn’t the only one to suffer a devastating blow.
It’s not hard to guess the reason.
Largely, it’s about spreading the doctrine of God in the East Continent...
Isn’t that what the Supreme Church’s plan for their Eastern Expedition was about?
The War Worship God obviously failed back then, but success wasn’t far from them.
With even the Qingyuan Fairy Palace housing a super powerful figure like Longxu being destroyed, the forces of the East Continent might also have suffered major losses.
I guess the final result was a shared loss.
The War Worship God retreated to the West Continent after suffering losses, while the Supreme Church took advantage of the situation, quickly rose to power, and defeated them.
That’s probably how it went.
Yeah, so this begs another question.
Why would the Supreme Court want to give the Holy Relic of the War Worship God to the Saintess?
