Chapter 189 Approaching the Divine (Part 11)
"Of course." The scholar began to suspect that the person in front of him was insane.
"Excuse me, what is the current era name?" Liu Sheng continued to ask.
"...Jiahe Thirty-Seventh Year." The scholar retreated a few steps.
He was convinced; this was indeed a madman.
Sure enough, to even claim to be literate was simply the talk of a madman.
However, in this world, there were too many madmen, and they could also kill people, so it was best to stay away.
He retreated a few more steps, preparing to flee.
Liu Sheng's heart, however, was even more shocked.
Jiahe Thirty-Seventh Year was precisely the year later referred to as "God Manifestation First Year"!
It was just that later generations only remembered "God Manifestation First Year," and Jiahe Thirty-Seventh Year was gradually forgotten; if Liu Sheng hadn't loved reading history books, she might not have known either.
Could it be that this illusion wasn't simply made up?
Could this be a segment excerpted from real history?
Just with the addition of the temple setting?
If that were truly the case, no wonder the scholar was so surprised.
Because women being able to read and write only began after Mingyuan Emperor ascended the throne, which was eight years from this moment.
In God Manifestation First Year, Emperor Xuanwen ascended the throne.
Six years later, Emperor Xuanwen passed away, and Mingyuan Emperor ascended the throne, taking "Phoenix Cry" as his era name and initiating the Honghu Plan.
In Phoenix Cry Second Year, the school system was reformed, and women were also allowed to enter schools.
These were Liu Sheng's thoughts in an instant; at this moment, her hands moved like lightning, and she grabbed the scholar who was trying to escape.
Ignoring his constant mumbling about men and women not touching, and violating propriety, Liu Sheng looked at him steadily and asked, "You still haven't told me where the bookstore is?"
"In... in, there's one I frequent in Sanyuan Ward in the north of the city, called Zhiliaozhai, but... but I haven't been there for a long time." The scholar answered tremblingly, then timidly asked, "Excuse me, Lady Hero, can you let me go?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Sheng smiled coldly, changing her grip from his sleeve to his collar, pulling him closer, her eyes filled with menace.
"I am not a Lady Hero."
Little Tentacle snaked out from behind her.
"Remember to call me—Earth Mother Adult." Liu Sheng said slowly.
"Yes, yes, Earth Mother Adult..." The scholar looked at Little Tentacle, his pupils constricting slightly.
However, just as he thought the crazy woman in front of him was about to make a move on him, the grabbed collar was released.
"Generally, I stay in this temple at night. If you encounter any trouble, you can come find me."
Liu Sheng pointed to the temple behind her, showing her teeth in what she considered a benevolent smile, and Little Tentacle subtly retracted, quietly waving to the scholar from behind Liu Sheng.
So the scholar stared blankly in Liu Sheng's direction, his face even paler with fright.
On the entire street, no one knew or cared what had happened to the scholar; they only saw him nodding like a sieve, then running away without looking back.
What is this doing?
Displaying a bit of Earth Mother Adult's "charm" and planting a seed.
Will he really look for you?
Yes, since it's before God Manifestation First Year, the world is full of anomalies, so he might encounter trouble.
And judging by his hurried demeanor and trembling legs when facing us, he probably experienced something before.
That makes sense.
Of course, from the moment Little Tentacle appeared, Liu Sheng had the world temporarily block "Little Assistant"; now it was released.
Fortunately, this "Little Assistant" was just a tool for the core rules to speak for themselves and communicate with candidates; it had no power itself, so it wasn't difficult for the world to deal with it.
The world had also said before that it couldn't easily interfere with the core rules, only slowly infiltrate them from subtle points.
For example?
Liu Sheng walked towards the north of the city while discussing with the world; there were still few people on the road, looking quite desolate and deserted.
At this moment, a myriad of thoughts grew like vines regarding this illusory world.
Yet, it was like the moon in the water, visible but impossible to grasp.
The core energy of this illusion is faith value. You also found that you couldn't use Spiritual Qi here, right?
Yes.
Liu Sheng had originally wanted to use a Spell to catch the scholar, but found that she had no cultivation whatsoever in her body.
Thinking that her persona was a "probationary priestess," and coupled with the fact that this era was before "God Manifestation First Year," she felt relieved.
At this time, Tang Country did not yet have Spiritual Qi.
Fortunately, Martial Skills that didn't require spiritual power could still be used, and with the help of the Soul-bound Little Tentacle, intimidating a defenseless scholar was as easy as flipping a hand.
The world continued: "So, we need to master and invade faith value, using 'our' faith to infiltrate, infect, and even subvert the core energy system of this world, thereby mastering the core rules."
"Please note, it is 'our' faith," the world emphasized.
Do you mean that when "our" faith has an absolute advantage, we can win however we want?
The world gave an affirmative answer.
Liu Sheng roughly knew what to do.
I'll still need your help then.
That's for sure; it's my honor. The world made a faint humorous remark.
As it spoke, cackling laughter echoed in Liu Sheng's mind.
We have no other demands, just to get first place.
Is this cheating?
No, right? This is just reasonable use of the rules.
Preach, preach, go now! Full of motivation!
Moreover, it's not so awkward, not so fragmented anymore; at least there's no need for a true Supreme God to speak for us.
We want to be traitors!
Xuan Thirty-Nine City was not large; relying on the map in her mind, Liu Sheng walked all the way to the north of the city.
She saw a tall archway standing not far away, with a plaque hanging on it that read "Sanyuan Ward."
Liu Sheng had originally thought there was a problem with the location chosen for the temple, as the street was too deserted, but she didn't expect it to be like this everywhere.
Sanyuan Ward should have been the commercial district of this "Xuan Thirty-Nine City," but at this time, there were only a few pedestrians on the road, and many shops were already closed.
The streets were littered with messy furniture, sundries, and rotting fruit and vegetable leaves; spirit money and talismans floated everywhere, and Liu Sheng also noticed some suspicious bloodstains on the ground, which had seeped into the bluestone and turned dark.
Many pedestrians looked flustered, hurriedly buying things and grabbing their baskets and bundles before running off, as if fearing even a moment's delay.
The vendors, on the other hand, peered left and right, looking ready to flee at any moment.
Are there city inspectors?
It's probably because of the rampant anomalies; everyone is afraid to even do business.
However, to go out and do business at this time, one must commend their courage.
After walking for a short while, Liu Sheng found Zhiliaozhai.
However, countless yellow talismans were plastered on the entrance, fluttering weakly in the wind, telling Liu Sheng that something had probably happened here and it was not a good place.
Should she go in?
Liu Sheng asked herself.
If she were truly just a probationary priestess, without cultivation or spiritual power, relying on a divine book and a few drops of holy water, she certainly wouldn't dare to confront the anomalies of this era at this moment.
But she was more than that.
So, she might as well go in and see; perhaps she could even find some rewards.
Since this was a "game."