A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 125 Great True Word Technique: Mandala

Faced with Zhou Minlan's question, Zhou Qi, who had arrived a week earlier to be in charge of the investigation, knew the answer: "Originally, this old temple was intended to have a wall built around it."

"It's just that the priests who manage this place have changed, which caused the appointment to be late. All the major construction teams went to other old temples to start work first. Only after they finished working on the old temples in other towns can they get their turn here."

"I heard that the Old Japanese Church has become a VIP guest of all the construction teams in the vicinity, with orders coming in one after another, and they are simply too busy to keep up."

"Clergy? Replacement?" Zhou Minyan quickly grasped this key point; his intuition told him it was important: "Why was there a change between the previous and current clergy?"

"Where did the priests go?"

Zhou Qi took out his notebook and quickly flipped to a later page: "I have exchanged intelligence with colleagues from other townships."

“The priests in the old temples in other areas are all outsiders and there has been no change. Only in Xiajiawan is Xia Zhenghong, a former teacher at Xiajiawan Township School, the current priest.”

"I tried to find out the specific reason, and many villagers said that when the black dragon attacked, Xia Zhenghong led everyone to recite the name of Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun, which saved everyone in the town."

"The former priest was moved by Xia Zhenghong's piety. After inquiring and inviting him, Xia Zhenghong finally agreed to become a part-time priest, teaching at the school every morning and coming over to manage the old temple from noon to afternoon."

"As for that former priest whose name we do not know, I'm sorry, I've been staying in Xiajiawan, and my colleagues in other areas haven't seen him either, so we have no relevant information at the moment."

Zhou Minyan also began to examine the temple: "And what kind of person is Xia Zhenghong?"

Zhou Qi flipped through his notes again and quickly reported his characteristics: "Graduated from a key normal university, gave up the prosperity of big cities, returned to his hometown to teach, and is very popular with the people."

“I secretly observed him in town. He was clearly not a mixed-race person. His mental state, physical condition, and friendliness towards people showed no signs of being a mixed-race person, let alone the sorrow of blood.”

Zhou Minyan rested his chin on the back of his right hand, summarizing the intelligence. In the other towns, priests led people to chant the names of the saints, but an unexpected incident occurred in Xiajiawan.

How could Xia Zhenghong, an ordinary person, lead a group of people to chant his name and drive away the next generation of demons?

Of the two possibilities envisioned by the Zhou family's think tank, the possibility of collective hallucination can now be ruled out. If Xia Zhenghong were truly an ordinary person, there would be no reason for him to allow the entire town to see hallucinations.

However, the fact that the old religion had the means to expel the next generation of beings more than thirty times in multiple locations further demonstrates that it was unfathomable and mysterious.

In any case, we absolutely have to go in and take a look.

"Minlan."

"Understood." Zhou Minlan's eyes suddenly emitted a crimson-gold light, strangely distorting the light around the three people, and the three figures gradually disappeared.

Then, one meter ahead, three almost realistic human figures miraculously appeared.

The three illusory figures had extremely vivid facial expressions, not at all stiff, making it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake unless someone familiar with them came forward.

The Great Mantra - Mandala: In the East, mantras are called "Great Mantras." Mandala is a type of mantra that can create various illusions of light and shadow. If mastered, it can be made to look completely real.

This is a Word of Power not recorded in the Kassel College Word of Power serial number list. In a sense, it is even more useful than Word of Power No. 69, "Netherworld Illumination".

While the Dark Illumination can achieve invisibility, the Mandala can achieve even more complete invisibility, leaving no trace of black smoke. In addition to invisibility, it can also create illusory human figures to deceive the enemy.

Zhou Qi's eyes showed envy. Is this the Great Truth Technique of the main branch members?

It's truly unbelievable; it's far superior to his Great Truth Mantra, which can only detect targets at short range.

With Sanhuan in front and the three of them close behind, the three well-trained members of the Zhou family deliberately made their footsteps out as they passed through the old temple gate.

The interior is quite straightforward; upon entering, one sees a three-meter-high altar with only a mysterious symbol on it.

Below the altar were many strange offerings.

Unlike the common chicken, duck, and pig heads found in China, the offerings here are mostly incense, candles, and even perfume, with no trace of meat. However, the wine used for the sacrifices is still present.

Apart from that, there are only six pillars supporting the main beam, and two side hall entrances can be seen on the left and right. There is nothing else, making it completely different from other temples.

Zhou Minyan frowned subconsciously. Other temples would at least lay out a straw mat or a few prayer cushions for people to kneel and kowtow to. Did this place only require people to stand and pray?
"Are the three of you here for tourism?" Xia Zhenghong asked with a friendly expression, carrying a few incense sticks in his hand as he walked out from the side hall on the left.

Since leading his fellow villagers in chanting the name of the Heavenly Venerable to drive away the evil dragon, Xia Zhenghong's faith in the Heavenly Venerable Fusheng Xuanhuang has grown rapidly.

Most people survive when facing death because of divine protection; this is how it is for those who escape death.

Even though he has to come to the old temple every day and doesn't have a single day off, Xia Zhenghong is happy to do it.

Although it was clearly just an illusion generated by the mandala, under Zhou Minlan's manipulation, the three figures realistically turned their heads left and right and looked at each other.

Knowing Zhou Minlan's abilities, Zhou Minyan deliberately bent his knees, lowered his height, and hid behind the illusion, saying, "Yes, we're taking advantage of the upcoming National Day holiday to come out and play."

"A dart thrown randomly at a map, landing wherever it lands, that's where you'll end up as a tourist destination... Master? Could you tell us about the history, stories, and legends associated with this temple?"

Zhou Minyan's voice, after being deliberately relaxed, was no longer so serious and solemn, and sounded very familiar.

Xia Zhenghong waved his hand, holding incense and candles: "Hey, I'm not a Taoist priest, and this isn't a Taoist temple."

"I am a few years older than you, so you can just call me Brother Xia. Our Tianzun Temple doesn't have any historical stories, it's just that the Heavenly Venerable Fusheng Xuanhuang will protect us."

Perhaps because the chanting at the old temple didn't quite suit the locals' habits, after a few weeks, everyone had gotten used to calling it the Temple of the Heavenly Venerable because they chanted "Fu Sheng Xuan Huang Tian Zun" so often.

Xia Zhenghong did not make any changes either, and simply changed the name as usual, since the name of the temple was not within the scope of the doctrine's restrictions.

Xia Zhenghong is quite flexible; he does whatever is convenient for the general public.

As for the Heavenly Venerable's blessing, it is not false propaganda. Ever since the evil dragon was driven away, the whole town has spontaneously come to worship the Heavenly Venerable every day.

Some people were horrified to discover that when they asked the Heavenly Venerable for protection, a gray mist would appear in the darkness, and an unimaginably terrifying phantom would stand above the mist, calmly replying that it had already protected them once.

This must be a real deity! It's not fake!
Even Xia Zhenghong, who has always been a staunch believer in science, was fortunate enough to see a magnificent phantom above the gray fog after reciting the name of the revered one, and thus completely converted to the old religion, becoming as devout as a saint.

Everyone in Xiajiawan instantly became believers, and were incredibly fanatical. No matter how many times they prayed and how many times they knelt and kowtowed, the phantom did not respond, and only then did they gradually calm down.

Xia Zhenghong took this opportunity to guide everyone, saying that as long as they do good deeds regularly or make more contributions to the old religion, they will always receive the blessing of the Heavenly Venerable again.

Everyone thought about it and agreed. The Celestial Venerable had already protected them once. How could people be so shameless and ungrateful?
Why do they keep asking the Heavenly Venerable to take care of them?
As a result, the atmosphere in Xiajiawan changed dramatically. Doors were left unlocked at night, and lost items were not picked up on the road. It was as if the ideal of Great Harmony, the dream of Confucianism, had been achieved overnight.

Feeling the changes that the Celestial Venerable had brought to his hometown, Xia Zhenghong became even more devout, sincerely grateful to the Celestial Venerable and thankful for the old religion.

So, faced with three strangers who were destined to leave, Xia Zhenghong also wanted to try his hand at proselytizing and try to promote the belief in the Heavenly Venerable: "Why don't the three of you pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable?"

"It's really effective; you might even receive the blessing of the Heavenly Venerable."

　Thanks to Chen Pozhan, Yu 0, Muxiong Forest, Zhinian Zhang, 2024050874_CA, Yinyuan, Zhou Zichang, height approx. 75cm, Yu'an Haze, Zhonggui_bD, Mozhu_Bc, 20191210221359643, Huli13, Genyuan Yue, 1301502033532817408, 20221201225125403, 20181002180844927, Bohe Zhuang Kele_bD, Qingyang de Fengkuang, Youge Sothos_aE, Potato, 20210817214746743, Shi l Le l Lei, 20191225203244277. Time waits for no one! Thank you so much for your votes, everyone! (List of usernames follows: Silver Star, February Flowing Green, 20201019152250895023503, 20230718094449242, Golden Shark, Strangers Meeting You 697, Forgive Me, 20240616214459362, Lost Myself_bB, True Summer, Drinking Too Much Coffee, Evolt, Crown World, Like This Star Is Not Yesterday_Ca, Lazy Youth, 20210725113226370, 20230109193438461, 776216, mm941120, yuchenshuidi, Night Feather Butterfly)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)