Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 417 Divine Deal
After a secret and arduous journey, Chen Mo, led by a guide, finally emerged from the dense, oppressive forest that seemed to have no end, and arrived at a secret base of the White Deer Restoration Society.

Here, he met his important target on this trip, the "White Teeth" priest whose teeth were not white at all.

This is a cave formed by natural rock walls. Huge vines hang down from above like curtains, intertwining with the surrounding wildly growing bushes, twisted branches, and messy weeds to form a seamless barrier.

Without someone to guide you, it's difficult to spot even when you're very close.

Several Restoration Society fighters, hiding in the bushes beside the cave, saw the old cat Daryl, bowed silently, and pulled open the vine door at the cave entrance, revealing the dark cave entrance behind it.

A cold, damp atmosphere wafted out of the cave.

The cave was narrower than I had imagined. After passing through a passage about six or seven meters long, the space opened up slightly, revealing a natural stone chamber of about fifteen square meters.

Several stalactite formations at the top slowly seep out cool water droplets, which fall into the rough cup below, making a crisp "drip-drop" sound. Magic lamps flicker on the wall, casting dappled light and shadow on the rough rock face.

The stone chamber was very simply furnished. A large stone served as a table, and several small stones served as stools. Against the inner wall, a platform slightly raised above the ground was built with mud, covered with a thin layer of dry grass and simple bedding, which served as the bed.

At this moment, sitting by the stone table was the old man whose body was slightly hunched.

Just as the liaisons had described, the priest looked to be only in his forties, with an unusually thin body. He was wrapped in a gray cloth short jacket that had been starched until it was faded and had dark patches on the elbows. The lining of the jacket was empty, as if it were just a skeleton wrapped inside.

The old high priest's skin was unnaturally pale, not the pampered pallor of a nobleman, but a near-transparent, bloodless white. In the dim light of the magic lamp, his exposed skin even gave the illusion that it was faintly glowing.

But his eyes ultimately betrayed his age; they were extremely weathered pupils, the color of his irises a deep, grayish-brown, as if the depths of his eyes held the marks of time.

"Greetings, Your Excellency, or perhaps I should address you as 'Agent of the Cyber ​​Gods'?"

White Fang stood up, bowed slightly, and spoke in a gentle and steady voice, carrying the composure unique to someone who had long held a high position.

Interestingly, this was the first time the old man had revealed this trait. Before this, whether facing the elderly and children of the Restoration Society or the liaison officers of the Han Hai Territory, the old man always acted like a harmless scavenging old man.

Only when he met this lord, the true superior in his eyes, did a certain noble quality seem to be suddenly awakened in his bones.

Chen Mo returned the greeting and followed suit, saying, "Hello, High Priest White Fang, or rather, should I address you as 'The Forgotten One of the Seven-Eyed God'?"

High Priest White Fang chuckled, "Call me whatever you like, Lord. I'm an old man buried to the brim, and to receive your care before I die is already the greatest fortune of all. What god? You are my god!"

The words sounded very nice... but Chen Mo didn't believe a single word of them.

This old man, in the words of Blue Star, is a devout charlatan with a deep-seated faith, plus a complete and sophisticated egoist!
When Chen Mo first sent people into the White Deer Plain, he had in-depth contact with this old man. At that time, the old man was grateful for the lord's support for the Restoration Society and adopted a "know-it-all" attitude, providing a lot of "valuable" information about the internal structure of the Mist Moon Divine Court, the operating principle of divine grace, the mechanism of divine punishment, and so on.

Based on the information provided by the old man, Chen Mo, with the support of Dongxia, secretly established the Starry World Religious Affairs Administration Bureau, appointing himself as the director and leaving the old man a highly influential chief advisor position.

However, Chen Mo quickly realized the problem: although most of what the old man said to Han Hai was true, he had also been very selective in what he said.

He said a lot of things that were detrimental to the divine court, but he didn't say a single word that was detrimental to the gods or himself.

Meanwhile, the old man refused to go to the Vast Sea and secretly hid in the mountains of the West White Deer Plain.

Despite repeated invitations from Han Hai, the old man always declined, repeating the same excuse over and over again: "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, Lord!"

"With my old bones, I'd be of no use in the vast ocean. But staying here, I can still treat the wounded children of the Restoration Society and repay their kindness!"

"Leaving is just...too much to bear!"

Having said all that, Chen Mo couldn't press the issue, and so it dragged on until now.

However, after spending more time with them, I always felt that something was amiss.

After much deliberation, Chen Mo decided to take advantage of this trip to visit the Restoration Society's base in person and have a chat with the old man.

"White Fang... Master!" Chen Mo chose a compromise, first testing the waters slightly: "This name really doesn't reflect your image and temperament. I wonder what I should call you?"

The old bishop chuckled: "A man on the verge of decay, whose name he has long forgotten, is not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning! The lord may call him whatever he wishes."

"A name is just a label. If you call me, I know you're calling me, isn't that enough? Why bother about whether it's White Teeth, Black Teeth, or Toothless?"

That old fox!
Chen Mo shook his head helplessly and decided to get straight to the point, bringing up the topic of inviting the old man again: "Master Baiya, Bailu is a bitterly cold place, and with frequent wars, it is by no means a good place to recuperate."

"I would like to ask you to move to the Vast Ocean, or even to Xuan Shui City, where you can find a safer environment, a more comfortable life, and more comprehensive research conditions."

"So as not to waste the master's talent!"

Upon hearing this, the old man's calm smile remained unchanged, but he kept shaking his head: "I am deeply grateful for the Lord's kind invitation, but..."

Xia Yuanfeng, who had been sitting quietly behind the lord, suddenly spoke up, interrupting the White Fang High Priest's impending predicament.

There are some things that the lord cannot say himself; someone else has to say them. That's what his subordinates do.

“Master White Fang! The lord has spoken with Moon. As long as you go to Han Hai, Han Hai will send ten times the number of healers, a hundred times the amount of medicine and medical equipment, and a thousand times the amount of nutritional supplies and gold, silver and copper coins. This is much better than you working alone.”

"Now everyone in the Restoration Society is eagerly waiting for you to agree. I suppose you wouldn't be so heartless as to take such good care of the elderly, weak, women and children of the Restoration Society!"

The high priest's smile looked somewhat stiff.

In the past, if an old man didn't leave, it could be considered saving someone's life; now, if he still refuses to leave, it's considered taking advantage of someone...

The old man slowly took out a small earthenware pot from under the stone table and poured a cup of water for Chen Mo. The water was clear and cold when it came out of the pot, but it suddenly started to steam when it entered the cup, obviously because the old man had used some kind of heating magic.

Chen Mo didn't move, while High Priest White Fang poured himself a cup and drank it all in one gulp.

"...I am ashamed, I am truly ashamed."

"My lord has keen insight, and his subordinates are full of talented people. Please forgive this old man for not being clear before!"

"Yes, the old man longs to leave, but he truly cannot!"

Backed into a corner with nowhere to retreat, the old man finally revealed some of the truth.

“My lord, I am an ‘punished person’ recorded in the records of the Misty Moon Divine Court. I am listed at the front of the Divine Court’s black book. I must stay away from those hyenas of the Divine Court!”

"If we get too close to them, the Temple Knights of the Tribunal will probably come running right away."

"The old man is really afraid of dying! At his age, he can't withstand their 'purification' methods!"

Chen Mo adjusted his monoriminated glasses, and several lines of tiny data streams flashed on the inside of the lenses. The latest version 2.3.7 of the micro-expression and physiological indicator detector analyzed the data and provided a relatively credible conclusion.

Chen Mo remained silent, while Xia Yuanfeng opened his notebook and continued to press, "What exactly happened? Please explain in more detail, Master!"

What happened? Simply put, after the "White Fang" bishop lost in the political struggle and fled the area controlled by the Divine Court in a sorry state, the victors of the Misty Moon Divine Court naturally tried to eliminate him without any mercy.

They invoked divine grace in an attempt to uncover the hidden "White Fang."

At this point, the divinity of the "Seven-Eyed God" becomes apparent.

You might call it evil, but that's clearly not the case, because White Fang was merely a loser in an internal power struggle, not a blasphemer. Deep down, he still maintained a considerable degree of piety towards the Seven-Eyed God. Therefore, the Seven-Eyed God "justly" rejected the Divine Court's request to directly track and locate White Fang's high priest.

But to call it benevolent is clearly not the case! The Seven-Eyed God showed no intention of upholding justice for a devout believer or punishing the false accuser. On the contrary, it unceremoniously accepted the large amount of precious offerings and the depletion of its divine grace offered by the victorious side, and then gave a compromised, reduced-quality "response"—

A tracking mark with strict triggering conditions is roughly equivalent to being placed on a "special wanted notice" by the Divine Court!
"As long as any priest wielding a sacred artifact of the Divine Court gets within a certain range of me, the artifact will immediately sound an alarm, exposing my whereabouts." "At that time, my opponents will certainly not hesitate to send several squads of Temple Knights to tear the old man to pieces!"

That finally makes sense; the old man wasn't being kind or compassionate, he was simply afraid of dying.

The influence of the Seven-Eyed God covers most of the Starry Continent. In any human city or orc camp, there may be priests from the temple active.

Back when the barren, pioneering territory of the Vast Ocean Territory had just been established, Farrell of Rainbow Holy City quickly arrived.

In comparison, the West White Deer Plain was indeed an extremely clever place to settle down.

Even the orcs who controlled the plains couldn't find the Restoration Society's base, so naturally other factions couldn't either.

The Restoration Society's extremely cautious approach meant that even their limited trading activities for survival supplies had to be conducted far from their hideout. Even if there were priests carrying sacred artifacts in the caravan, it would be difficult to find the old man's hiding place.

To put it bluntly, in the eyes of the mid- to high-ranking priests of the temple, the old man White Fang was like a big red name, the kind that could be seen on the minimap.

As long as he hides deep within the folds of this mountain range like a subterranean mole, maintaining a safe distance from densely populated areas outside, he can evade the detection of the Divine Court.

"If I were to go to the lord's territory, it would be like walking into a trap for myself, and it would only cause trouble for the lord. I can't possibly ask the lord to drive out all the priests in the territory for the sake of a mere old man like myself."

Chen Mo turned to look at Liu Shuang.

The little girl seemed to be getting sleepy, nodding her head like a chick pecking at rice.

In the past, people would turn to Liu Shuang when they lacked military strength, but now they turn to Liu Shuang even when they can't decide on matters of civility.

Forget it, I'll just ask him again myself.
"Do you know the exact warning range of this sacred artifact?"

“The warning distance varies depending on the level of the sacred artifact!” White Fang took another swig of water, wiped the water droplets dripping onto his robe with his sleeve, and said in a low voice, “The low-level sacred artifacts that the temple usually carries can detect a range of about ten arrows. If I enter that range, I am in danger of being discovered!”

"If it's a mid-to-high-grade sacred artifact, you'll need to reach even further, but the exact distance varies depending on the person and the artifact..."

"So, the master doesn't not want to leave, but is afraid of not finding a safe place?"

High Priest White Fang nodded.

"But next, Han Hai will eventually reclaim West White Deer. Once the orcs are driven away, the temple priests and the caravan of the Seven Luminaries Garland will definitely roam around just like they did in East White Deer. Where will Master White Fang hide then?"

"Even if I lived in constant fear hiding in this remote mountain valley for the rest of my life, I'm afraid it wouldn't be safe!"

High Priest White Fang was silent for a moment, then forced a stiff smile. "We'll talk about the future later. This old man might not even live to see the day you mentioned!"

A brief silence fell over the stone chamber. The glow of the magic lamp gradually dimmed, as if the auxiliary magical materials were running low. The light flickered, casting incredibly long shadows on the walls.

After sitting on the broken stone bench for a long time, Chen Mo inevitably felt a bit of back pain, so he simply leaned against Liu Shuang and immediately felt much more at ease.

The young lord then crossed his legs and changed the subject to a more sensitive one.

“Bishop White Fang, I would like to ask you a question.”

"Please speak, my lord!"

Is there a necessary and absolute relationship between divine gifts, or so-called divine grace, and faith?

"Or, is it possible for someone who has absolutely no faith in God to obtain and use divine grace through some 'compliant' means, such as performing proper offerings and sacrifices?"

This question clearly crossed a line, and White Fang's face immediately darkened.

"My lord, how could you think that? Faith is the bridge connecting to the divine realm, the channel through which we draw divine grace!"

Well, as a person from Dongxia, it's perfectly normal to think this way.

The gods of Dongxia are roughly equivalent to laborers, wish-granting devices, lottery machines, and placebos!

In a sense, the gods of Dongxia were actually the embodiment of a certain powerful figure. Offering sacrifices to the gods and asking for blessings or feedback was similar to bribing the powerful.

Of course, those who throw ten or eight dollars into the box and pray to the gods to bless them with a million-dollar annual income are out of the question. Which god can withstand such a test?

Moreover, this money never reaches the hands of the gods; the abbots and masters still have to contribute to social and economic growth.

From this perspective, when Chen Mo was studying the gods, his first reaction was not to develop some kind of devout faith, but to think about whether he could engage in limited cooperation!
These are things one can think but not say, and Chen Mo has his own explanation for facing Bai Ya.

"Isn't the fact that Bishop White Fang is so devout, yet he is driven to hiding and living in constant fear by the violent institutions under God's authority?"

The old man raised his eyebrows, his slightly cloudy eyes fixed on the handsome young lord before him, who already held considerable military power and had become one of the most renowned figures on the continent. He couldn't tell whether the other man was mocking him or showing disdain for the Divine Court.

When he spoke again, the old man's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"My lord, what you say makes some sense. Under the gods, all beings are equal. The faithless are ants, and the devout are just bigger ants."

"However, without faith and the mark of divine grace, one cannot open the passage to the divine realm, and thus cannot make offerings to the gods."

Chen Mo chuckled: "Isn't this a coincidence? Bishop White Fang, you have the channels, but you lack the spiritual support of believers. Relying on yourself alone, the divine grace you use is becoming less and less, and you can't make ends meet!"

"We in Hanhai have plenty of people, or rather, potential supporters of the gods, but we lack channels to communicate with them."

"If we cooperate, wouldn't it be a perfect match?"

The old man finally couldn't hold back any longer.

With an agility far beyond his years, the white-toothed old man sprang to his feet and screamed hysterically, "You, you're trying to establish a separate divine court?"

Just as the old man lost his composure, Liu Shuang, who had been dozing off, suddenly opened her eyes.

With a slight movement of his arm, the group felt a blur before their eyes, and Chen Mo had been moved behind Liu Shuang, where he was firmly protected.

The young prince's pupils narrowed slightly, and two tangible gazes locked onto High Priest White Fang, as if the surrounding air had dropped several degrees!
In the shadows of the stone chamber, Xia Yuanfeng silently placed his hand on the pistol at his waist, his body slightly turned to the side, blocking the path to the cave entrance. Meanwhile, Old Cat Daryl pressed himself against the cave wall in a panic, barely daring to breathe.

"take it easy……"

Chen Mo calmed the murderous young prince, then turned to the white-toothed old man whose expression had changed, and replied nonchalantly, "What do you mean by establishing a separate divine court?"

"These Seven-Eyed Gods aren't the private property of Misty Moon. If they can make offerings to them, why can't we?"

"Besides, I'm about to visit Wuyue. Maybe I can reach a win-win solution with Wuyue!"

"Let the gods be the gods, the misty moon be the misty moon, and the vast ocean be the vast ocean. Isn't that a good thing?"

Chen Mo slightly raised his chin, and Xia Yunfeng immediately took out an official document stamped with the seal of the Lord of the Vast Sea from his shoulder bag, stepped forward, and laid it flat on the stone table, right where the White Fang High Priest could reach it.

"How about it?"

"High Priest White Fang, will you accept the position of Special Advisor to the Bureau of Religious Affairs, or not?"

(End of this chapter)