Chapter 4: The Old Day Church
Xu Lie floated in a massive, unmanned factory.
This factory was extremely intelligent; apart from Xu Lie, there was no other life, yet the factory operated in an orderly fashion.
Countless strange assembly lines ran fully automatically, with all machinery engaged in production, processing, refining, discarding, and recycling, achieving a closed loop.
Within this vast, supposedly orderly factory, Xu Lie unexpectedly discovered something out of place.
There was a giant, grey-yellow gear, stuck midway through dozens of assembly lines, rotating at a constant speed, crude and relentless.
Completely at odds with the work of the dozens of assembly lines, each rotation of the grey-yellow gear caused varying degrees of distortion, damage, and destruction to different production lines.
In the distance, there were also chaotic gears and deep-red gears, crushing and damaging different production lines.
Gazing further, there was also a huge, pure black gear, a hollow gear filled with books in its center, and gears with twisted, uneven, and disordered shapes around them... These incongruous gears forcefully inserted themselves into various assembly production lines, and each time the factory operated and the gears collided, they caused mutual damage.
Slowly, Xu Lie began to get a headache; each time a gear scraped against a production line, his head ached once. Soon, Xu Lie was woken up by the pain.
Above the grey fog, countless massive stone pillars supported a magnificent palace with a hollowed-out center, and at the head of the ancient bronze long table sat Xu Lie's clone.
For ease of distinction, Xu Lie had already given him a new name—Bao Lie.
Bao Lie rested his elbows on the table, chin propped on the back of his hand, watching his main body with interest: “Awake? Did you divine anything interesting in your dream?”
“I also have the abilities of a Cryptologist; perhaps I can help.”
Xu Lie subconsciously raised a hand to touch his temples; his head didn't hurt now: “No need, it was a very simple dream, no difficulty in deciphering.”
“Roughly, it means that the nine great primordial substances are incompatible with the Dragon Race Universe, yet they are forcefully fused together, which is why the Sefirah are constantly restless.”
Xu Lie had previously prayed six times in a row, creating six clones, almost completely draining his spirituality and leaving his soul weak and listless.
He decided to hide in Sefirah Castle and sleep, and before sleeping, he used dream divination, a mystical art, to try and figure out the reason for the Sefirah's restlessness.
Even without advancing to Cryptologist and without enhanced observation and deduction abilities, such a straightforward dream was enough to explain many problems.
Xu Lie's spirits lifted; the Cryptologist potion had actually digested by one-fifth upon realizing the truth behind the Sefirah's restlessness—an unexpected pleasant surprise.
Seeing his main body fall silent mid-sentence, Bao Lie pondered the meaning behind the dream: “According to what you said.”
“Won't that lead to problems sooner or later? Either the nine great primordial substances can't hold up, or the Dragon Race Universe can't.”
“I always feel that no matter which it is, we won't have a good outcome.”
Xu Lie agreed: “So this problem must be solved. We need someone to mediate the conflict between the Sefirah and the Universe.”
Bao Lie's chin slipped from the back of his hand, and his head rested on his arm as he half-leaned on the bronze long table: “Then, main body, you do your best.”
“We clones can't control the Sefirah right now; at most, we can only calm them.”
Mediating the conflict between the Sefirah and the Universe?
That sounds like something a Sequence 7 clone couldn't get involved in.
Even if the main body became a god and could create Sequence 1 level clones, he might not be able to handle it.
Xu Lie glanced at Bao Lie, not wanting to speak. Never mind, never mind, this was his own clone; scolding him was like scolding himself.
To mediate the conflict between the Sefirah and the Universe, at least a true god would be needed, right?
Sequence 1 probably couldn't even intervene.
Where would he find nine true gods?
Even if he brought out all the so-called Four Sovereigns and eight brothers and sisters, he couldn't gather enough.
Besides, the Dragon Kings wouldn't trust Xu Lie; at most, they'd listen to it as a joke, then kill Xu Lie.
If the Dragon Race wasn't an option, then humans?
That would be even harder, right?
As for Xu Lie becoming a god himself and figuring it out? He was also worried he would go mad. Achieving true godhood for all nine Pathways alone might make him crazier than the ancient gods of the World of Mysteries.
“After thinking about it, it's still more appropriate to let others become gods,” Xu Lie finally concluded.
Bao Lie looked at Xu Lie in disbelief: “Main body, are you serious?”
It was no wonder he was so surprised; as a clone relatively close to the main body's thoughts, Bao Lie was well aware of Xu Lie's selfishness.
Xu Lie naturally also had the mindset of a transmigrator, hoping to keep his golden finger completely secret and not let anyone know.
He also hoped to monopolize the golden finger ability in this world, using it only himself, rather than sharing it with others.
That's why Bao Lie had this question.
Xu Lie, more than Bao Lie sitting at the head of the long table, seemed to be the master of this place, unconsciously tapping the table with his right index finger: “It's just choosing the lesser of two evils.”
“Monopolizing the mysterious system is certainly a wonderful thing. Who would want to share it if they could cheat alone?”
“But the problem at hand is, if you don't share it, a bigger problem might erupt in the future, even endangering yourself and the entire world.”
Bao Lie couldn't refute, but then he thought, what does this have to do with him?
If the sky were to fall, the main body would surely bear the burden. What connection did he, a small clone, have to it?
Bao Lie nodded furiously in support: “As expected of the main body, able to be so decisive and make a choice.”
A hint of confidence also appeared on Xu Lie's no longer sickly face, now that he had slept well: “Actually, if you think about it, it's not that bad.”
“If I can be the first to completely control the nine great primordial substances, then won't there be no problem?”
Even if he taught others to become gods, at most he would just have them come to work, mediate the conflict between the Sefirah and the Universe, and prevent the Sefirah from being completely taken away.
Bao Lie blinked, feeling a bit strange. In the future, he would train a true god to replace him in Sefirah Castle?
No, why did his mood suddenly become strange? Was this considered cuckolding?
Bao Lie ultimately didn't voice these words that would disrupt the discussion atmosphere: “For a true god, preparations need to be made in advance, right?”
“There must be no shortage of believers as anchors, and you'll also need to set up a church?”
“Yes, I've already thought of the name; it will be called the Old Day Church.” Xu Lie, currently in Sefirah Castle, his mind unaffected by the Sefirah's restlessness, was thinking rapidly.
“The world is destined to face an apocalypse. To safely pass through the great catastrophe of the Black King's revival, one only needs to believe in the Old Day Church to be saved. How about that?”
“Doesn't it sound great?”
Bao Lie's expression was difficult to maintain. Which world are we in, after all? Why is there an apocalypse everywhere?
“Also, you said one word wrong.”
Facing Bao Lie's confused look, Xu Lie corrected him: “It's not that I'm going to set up a church, but that you all are going to set up a church.”
He himself needed to grow, and also needed to be busy familiarizing himself with and controlling the Sefirah, as well as setting up a religion, recruiting people, and teaching others to become gods.
A series of busy tasks, immense pressure, Xu Lie decided—to continue making clones.
The main body would be responsible for growth and controlling the Sefirah; the rest of the matters, of course, would be handed over to the clones.
“Main body, you are truly naive.”