Chapter 187 Approaching the Divine (Part Nine)
Inside the divine hall, the Dawn Priest swept away the dust from the incense table, offered three sticks of incense, lit candles, and replaced the fresh water, fruits, and pastries. Then, she knelt before the Buddha statue and recited the divine book.
This was her routine morning practice.
What did she do in the afternoon? It seemed to be missionary work outside?
She couldn't quite remember what she did in the evening either.
Her past, how she became a priest, and how she spent the past forty-odd years—all these memories were somewhat blurred.
In a daze, she felt as if her life had begun today.
However, perhaps this was because she devoted herself wholeheartedly to the Supreme God, her heart pure and free of other things, with all her past becoming like a bubble.
The only change in her unchanging life recently was that new young girl.
She was just a bit lazy, even falling asleep while copying the book...
She wondered how such a young girl could properly serve the Supreme God and spread the divine radiance for the Supreme God!
The Grand Divine Official actually wanted to use her! A mere inexperienced young girl!
Thinking back to herself... Huh? How did she get to this point?
The Dawn Priest was stunned, unable to recall any of these memories.
It wasn't until a large stack of parchment was held before her that she was pulled out of the quagmire of confused contemplation.
"Dawn Priest, I've finished one book," Liu Sheng said.
"So fast?" The Dawn Priest's eyes widened.
Although she thought Liu Sheng was lazy and slow, she didn't think she could finish so quickly, as she knew it wasn't easy to finish copying a book.
"Yes, the Grand Divine Official told me to go out and preach, and I thought that before that, I had to complete this task no matter what, even if it killed me."
Liu Sheng's words were comforting and pleasant, and the Dawn Priest was inexplicably touched.
But her nature was reserved, and she couldn't utter words of praise. She merely took the manuscript and carefully flipped through it page by page.
Liu Sheng knelt on a nearby prayer cushion, waiting quietly, and only then did she seriously examine the small, old divine hall.
After seeing this place, she became even more certain that their temple had very little funding.
The interior of the divine hall was very narrow, only a few steps wide, and the space could only accommodate a few people kneeling at the same time.
Flickering candlelight swayed around, intersecting with the dappled sunlight filtering in from the entrance, illuminating everything in the room.
Due to years of disrepair, the walls showed damp marks, and some areas of the bricks had even begun to fall off, revealing the gray earth behind them.
The floor was also just ordinary bluestone slabs, and some of the floor tiles were even broken and had not been repaired, or perhaps there was no money to repair them.
Several prayer cushions were placed on the ground; kneeling on them, one could look up and see the offering table, and the divine statue behind it.
In Tang Country, Liu Sheng had never seen a statue of the Supreme God, but in this illusion, it was clear that such a setting existed.
Due to the erosion of time, the face of the divine statue had become difficult to discern; the lines of the face had long since worn away, leaving only a few barely visible outlines of the eyes, nose, and lips.
However, even so, the divine statue still exuded a solemn and sacred aura, making people dare not look directly at it, yet unable to resist wholeheartedly worshipping, trusting, and depending on it, hoping to offer everything they had...
【You cried.】
Liu Sheng heard the world's words, raised a hand to touch her face, and her fingertips were wet.
【Is it because my setting is already that of a priest? So I would naturally believe in the Supreme God?】
【Yes, your character setting.】
【Will it affect me in reality?】
Liu Sheng lowered her head to wipe away her tears, concealing the deep cold light in her eyes.
【Yes, faith is a brand, carved on the Soul.】
【Parsed from the encoding in the 'Log'?】
【Yes, it should be said that the structure of "faith" is similar to a virus program, it is infectious, and if the infection lasts for a long time, it will form a Soul brand.】
【I think this is why so many candidates are put into this illusion. Is the "brand" of faith formed by connecting with the divine not enough?】
【Not enough. Your Senior Sister Nangong and Miss Wen, once they lose their cultivation, they lose their faith. There must be many other people like them.】
【So this time is like a patch?】
【According to the log, this Examination is a small patch test, and at the same time, it filters out the talents He wants.】
Liu Sheng understood a little in her heart; it seemed a large patch would be released later.
【Back to the infectivity of faith, this is the key to so-called missionary work, right?】
【When faith exists as a virus-like program, it can "infect" during interaction through specific trigger words, mediums, or actions.】
【Once "infected," the program can influence the infected target's thought patterns, forming a fixed faith model, guiding them to explore deeply or participate in more related religious activities, providing "Power Of Faith" to a higher existence.】
【With this explanation, I suddenly understand what the Supreme God wants, although I still don't know what its use is.】
Liu Sheng looked up at the blurred divine statue, and a chill suddenly rose in her heart, but this chill was quickly suppressed by the warmth and holiness brought by the Power Of Faith.
Liu Sheng now finally realized how terrifying the "Work Log" she obtained under the world's guidance was.
【But you no longer have the energy to enter the high dimension. The 'Log' I saw can only go up to the most recent maintenance, and I haven't had time to read the earlier content yet... The Supreme God was created a very, very long time ago.】
It seemed she needed to earn points well!
Liu Sheng finally had motivation.
...
The Dawn Priest was truly worthy of reciting this book every day; she finished reading the manuscript in less than half an hour.
"The handwriting is good, especially the characters towards the end, they've improved even further."
Upon hearing this, Little Tentacle showed off inside Liu Sheng's body.
"No errors or omissions, very accurate."
A hint of warmth finally appeared on the Dawn Priest's thin, stern face, knowing that Liu Sheng must have put effort into it to achieve such results.
"Good, come with me."
The Dawn Priest rose, holding Liu Sheng's copied manuscript, and walked out of the divine hall.
Liu Sheng quickly followed, tracing her steps through the side moon gate outside the divine hall, across the small courtyard, and to the living quarters in the back.
The few priests lived here.
The Dawn Priest said nothing, simply opened her own room door, and walked inside.
Although Liu Sheng was a bit confused, she knew that Dawn's personality was like this, so she silently followed.
When Liu Sheng left the Dawn Priest's room, she held a bound, handwritten divine book.
She hadn't expected the Dawn Priest to have such good skill in binding books.
At the end, she also asked Liu Sheng if she already had a spiritual name.
Liu Sheng replied, "Yes, it's called 'Earth Mother'."
"What?" The Dawn Priest thought she hadn't heard clearly.
"Earth of 'land', Mother of 'mother'," Liu Sheng explained earnestly. The more she said it, the less awkward it seemed than at first.
"Oh." The Dawn Priest made no comment, simply took out an embroidery needle with a cold expression and embroidered these two characters on the bottom left corner of the cover.
"Take it, this is your exclusive divine book." The Dawn Priest handed it to Liu Sheng.
The moment Liu Sheng touched the divine book, the attribute panel immediately popped out, almost slapping her in the face.
The "Test Assistant" also chimed in with a cold yet cheerful ding-dong.
"Congratulations! thirty-ninth xuan candidate, you have obtained your first item, 'divine book (handwritten edition)'!"
"You are the first candidate to obtain an item, receiving a skill reward: 'Binding'."