Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1084: Gifts from the Celestial Officials
The Theocracy has a total of twenty-two floors, the twenty-second floor is the solitary prison of the Eternal Pope; and the twenty-first floor is the residence of the Saint and her candidates, and no one may enter except for the election of the Pope.

Because the 18th ring is the prison of the Theocracy. Although generally no one would try to break into or escape from the Theocracy...but without special permission, ordinary people can only enter the 17th ring at most.

The five floors above are all forbidden areas, all called the "Holy of Holies". This is also the meaning of the Pope's crown, the "Most Holy of Holies" - from this floor up, anyone entering or leaving needs the Pope's permission.

The nineteenth ring is where the theocracy holds various important ceremonies, roughly equivalent to a large palace in human society. It is also called the "Altar of the Near Heaven" by the elves.

All the guests attending the wedding went up to this floor via the elevator.

As soon as they arrived at the 19th floor, the guests from human society were shocked—

They saw a glorious city.

It was a brilliant city that was almost entirely built in pure white, and it even hurt the eyes. Various buildings that reached the sky rose from the ground.

Huge bell towers, huge towers, huge pyramids, huge castles... Any building here is much larger than the outside. And the outside is layered with special decorations.

A large number of dark golden decorative patterns appeared on each building. Those who were a little knowledgeable would know that those patterns were the preservation techniques solidified by divine arts. This allowed this almost deserted city to maintain its best condition without the need for cleaning and maintenance, and the accumulated dirt could be removed instantly.

On this level, each building has a different decorative pattern - the pyramid is decorated with sun patterns, the clock tower is decorated with gears and pointers, and the castle is decorated with dragon scales...

Because each of these buildings corresponds to a star and a god.

Not only the Nine Pillars of God, but even the Celestial Masters and the Apostles all have their own temples of different specifications on this floor. All the temples in the world are concentrated on this floor. If you look down from above, you will see dots of light like stars in the night sky.

Therefore, no matter who you worship, you can enter the 19th circle and find the corresponding temple. Even those deceased gods have not demolished their buildings.

Even the Supreme Heaven, who was once an enemy of the elves and allowed giants to eat elves, has a temple of his own in the central area. And those gods who have risen from apostles to heavenly officials and even pillar gods can even see traces of the expansion of the building from small to large.

The placement of these buildings is also regular - who has a good relationship with whom, who is in opposition to whom, can all be seen from the metaphor of the placement. If the relationship between the gods changes, the ground at this level will even rumble and rotate, changing the orientation and relative position of the temple.

If the first ring is the one that feels like the "center of another world" where all races gather together, the third ring is the forest town that feels most dreamy and natural, and the eleventh ring is the most technological, full of metallic luster like the interior of a spaceship...

Then the feeling that the Nineteenth Ring gives people is that of a “holy city”.

The team, which was originally in a relaxed atmosphere, immediately felt a sacred pressure after entering this level. It was the pressure called "the thickness of history". The photographer in the team also took pictures carefully after obtaining Aiwass's permission.

Without a doubt, this is the first time that humans have the opportunity to enter the 19th ring. It may even be the last time.

There were hardly any people on the streets - or, rather, hardly any living people.

Glowing spirits wearing armor and holding holy swords patrolled the streets, while spirits wearing robes stood quietly at every corner. What they had in common was that the inside of the armor and robes were empty... You could only see a dark patch, but could not see what was inside.

"Are they... the apostles of the Candlemaker?"

Isabel asked with some confusion.

"That's it."

Aiwas nodded: "These are all phantom demons of light attribute."

The one who gave Isabel a more detailed answer was the unicorn Pansy under them: "Those devotees who believe in the candlelight... and those kind people who do not believe in the candlelight but also dedicate their lives to others, often enter the forest of eternal happiness after death. This is what you humans call the Kingdom of Giant Trees.

"As long as the soul is pure enough to be fished out of the source river by Sizhu, Xitiansi or Zhutiansi, it will enter this carefree world to live. Everyone in it is a good person who can devote himself to others, so everyone will get permanent peace and happiness..."

"I know," Isabel nodded, "Some people want to enter the Kingdom of Giant Trees after death, so they try their best to do good deeds."

"…But that may not work, kid."

Pansy sighed: "It is possible to improve the level of Tao through hypocrisy. As long as there are corresponding actions, you can get the recognition of Yuanhe.

"But to salvage it from the source river and share one's power to grant eternal life, that depends on the subjective will of the gods and pillar gods. Unless you do something good that makes them admire you, it is meaningless to the gods who can see the soul directly."

"Is such that."

Aiwass also nodded. "After all, it is the gods' freedom to share power or not. If a person pretends to be a good person all his life or has no chance to do bad things, then he is a genuine good person in the material world. But if you put in a person who has been pretending to be a good person all his life and just wants to enjoy happiness in the eternal world after death... then it will destroy the experience of other good souls after death, and make them bullied by evil people after death.

"So even though the Pillar Gods have enough power to share with all living beings, they will consider whether other apostles are willing, or their own moods and wishes. For example, it is said that there are nearly 330,000 apostles under the command of Sizhu, 6.66 million demons transformed by the Fallen Angels, and more than 600 high-level demons under his direct command... But Hengwo's dancers have never been less than ten people."

In essence, the kingdom of God in this world is like a private group of gods. As the only and eternal leader of the group, the gods can of course decide who to let in and who to kick out.

Anyway, if the Pillar God doesn't want it, there will be Heavenly Officials downstream to pick it up; if Heavenly Officials don't want it either, then there is no problem in sending it back to the furnace directly.

——But having said that, we still need to encourage people to do good deeds in the material world. Although doing good deeds will not actually make people go to heaven...

"As for those devotees, although it is a good thing to enjoy the eternal bliss forest... most of them have burning souls."

The unicorn Pansy's voice was like that of an intellectual and calm female elder, explaining to Isabel: "For them, it would be too lonely if they were given eternal life but only enjoyed themselves.

"So some people will join the Candlelight Vanguard Corps to conquer those unclean dead souls; while others will respond to the call and return to the material world to serve people."

"This is a fourth-level ritual spell, 'Holy Guardian'."

Aiwass said on the side: "I can do this too, but I don't have the chance to use it. You need to fast and abstain from sex for a month, and then chant for three days to permanently summon a holy spirit on the armor or robe. They will complete an order that will not anger them, and how much effort they will make and how long they are willing to stay in the material world often depends on the degree of justice or holiness of the matter...Usually this ritual is more common in guarding the vaults of banks. There will be one to three holy guards in the vaults of those large banks.

"And the number of these holy guards guarding the 19th ring is as high as 80,000. In order to protect the holy city, each of them can exert the peak strength of a fourth-level extraordinary person... They also guard the prison on the lower level, which is why there are almost no guards in the prison.

"In addition to defending the holy city, they will also help provide some services within their capabilities... For example, if you ask them for directions, they will directly lead you to your destination. Except that they can't speak, they are like gentle and reliable predecessors. This is a voluntary sacred mission - if they are tired or bored with the work, they will directly return to the dream world."

As Aiwass was speaking, he saw a holy guard holding a holy sword loosen his grip, causing the holy sword in his hand to dissipate into a point of light. He quickly hugged a photographer who was about to fall down the stairs. He then followed her and helped her carry the heavy equipment. "...In fact, they are indeed our predecessors."

Aiwass said softly.

With the help and guidance of the holy guards, the team moved much faster - those holy guards in robes would also cast spells to dispel fatigue, replenish physical strength, and increase movement speed.

Before the sun reached its highest point, the wedding procession entered a temple.

It was not far from the elevator - for it was in the very center of the Nineteenth Circle.

There are only three temples in the center, namely, the Candle Master, the Lord of Scales and Feathers, and Amber.

But unexpectedly, Sizhu's temple is the smallest among all the nine pillar gods - it is said that this is a clear request made by Sizhu. He does not want the temple dedicated to him to be too luxurious, and it would be best if it is the simplest among the nine pillar gods.

However, even so, this is a temple more sacred and glorious than the Candlemas Cathedral in Avalon.

As they entered the temple, they could hear melodious hymns.

——That is the song sung by the Saint Maiden Candidates.

Just listening to the song, you can feel your soul being purified.

In the middle of the church, there are three extremely long tables - those are the dining tables for the guests.

The mist fairy, shining with pure white moonlight, emerged from the hazy fog and guided the guests to their seats. She then quietly served behind the guests.

This is one of the gifts given by Wu Tiansi.

As most people sat down, the table suddenly emitted bursts of brilliant golden light.

Plates of huge, unimaginable, and extremely gorgeous food appeared on people's tables along with bursts of light. Then came bottles of divine wines - each bottle was a divine brew far superior to the Holy Tree No. 1, and now it appeared at everyone's fingertips as if it was free.

This is exactly the gift given by Yan Tiansi!
For this god who has authority over food and wine, the most appropriate gift is the wedding feast itself.

All of these foods were made by him personally - the host always liked to cook for his guests, and this was his first banquet after being promoted to the Heavenly Master. For guests who couldn't drink, there was the moonlight spring with white mist given by the Heavenly Master.

Every candle on the table was provided by the Candle God. Every candle had a sacred glow, and no matter how bright it was, it would not be dazzling - being illuminated by that light was the same as being illuminated by the illumination technique.

But most guests don't know the value of these things.

As all the guests were seated, the wedding host finally appeared.

People were immediately shocked - although they did not understand the gift from the Heavenly Master, they knew the identity of the illusory woman whose figure emerged from the void.

——That’s the modern Pope!

"...Will His Holiness the Pope come to preside over my wedding?"

Aiwass couldn't help but say, "Isn't this standard too high?"

The person he was originally looking for was Cardinal Galatea. As the mecha girl who had adventured with Aiwass, she and Aiwass had the closest relationship now.

"You have already found so many gifts from the gods, do you still need a mortal like me?"

Gray, whose eyes were now bright, just smiled: "Besides... I still owe you a huge favor."

Her amber disease was cured by Aiwass's self-sacrifice.

"Without you, I don't know what my situation would be like now. The Theocracy might still be in chaos... Don't be so quick to refuse. I know the cardinals too well. They all hold their own opinions. Without a unified opinion, everyone will use his own way to save the Theocracy."

The White Pope said so.

...That's true, Aiwass thought to himself.

Without Aiwass, the Church would still be in the midst of the disaster of trees and amber.

"Before, Isabel once told me... Compared to being crowned in Avalon, it would be more meaningful to be crowned at the wedding of the Theocracy and the Acting Pope.

“Although you are no longer the acting pope, you are stepping down early. How can I let the little queen’s expectations go unfulfilled?

"According to the rules of the Church, those who step down as Pope will become saints... and the standards of saints are no different from those of the Pope."

"…I have only been Pope for two months. Am I considered a saint now?"

Aiwass murmured softly.

"Although it has only been two months, your contribution to the Church and the world is no less than that of any other pope."

Gray said with a smile: "Let this wedding convey a concept to people.

"——Avalon and the Theocracy are a close family. There is no need to doubt this.

“This is the declaration I made.”

(End of this chapter)