Traveling through the second dimension, the joy system encourages me to laugh heartily!

But in World One, the situation is quite different.

The magic here is strictly limited by the goddess. The strongest magical shield that humans can cast can only cover about a hundred meters. A giant barrier like that of Fengwolei, which covers the entire city-state, is unique in the known records.

The Yalan Cult even boldly proclaimed that this barrier could isolate all "impure things" and was completely harmless to humans, but any demon that came into contact with the barrier would die instantly.

For thousands of years, this has been regarded as irrefutable proof of the goddess's protection!

But now it seems that this was just false propaganda by the Yalan religion.

After all, the demons have already infiltrated the sect and even taken the throne of the leader.

For Chen Ming, the problem was even easier to solve.

He first cast a divine invisibility spell on himself to prevent being seen by passersby after entering the city.

As the incantation was completed, his body began to become transparent. It was not just visual invisibility; this magic could make him immune to detection magic below the god level, and could even elementalize his body, eliminating collision volume.

Simply put, it is invisible, inaudible, olfactory, and intangible...

Then, he teleported directly into the pale gold magic barrier, successfully infiltrating the city without anyone noticing.

After passing the first stage, the real challenge begins.

Chen Ming stood on the street in Fengwolei, looking around.

Unlike other cities in the world, the streets here are paved with pure white stone and are spotless; the buildings are mostly in the style of palaces with domes or spires, and the walls are carved with exquisite religious reliefs; the air is filled with the fragrance of incense and flowers, and the melodious sound of bells can be heard in the distance.

There weren't many pedestrians on the streets, most of whom were dressed in simple white robes, their expressions peaceful and serene. They spoke in hushed tones, their steps unhurried, and the whole city exuded a tranquil atmosphere of seclusion.

No one noticed that an uninvited guest had already invaded.

Following the information provided by Niman, Chen Ming flew towards the Grand Cathedral in the center of the city.

Intelligence indicates that Yalan Garula is inside the Grand Cathedral, and an hour later, she will be performing her weekly bathing ceremony in the Grand Cathedral's large bath.

It was an ancient ritual that used a bath filled with holy water to enhance the power of a priestess, one of the secret rituals passed down for thousands of years by the Yalan religion.

At that time, no one will be by her side, and the priestess must listen to the goddess's revelations in complete solitude.

Guards, attendants, and other clergy members would traditionally retreat outside the bathing area.

In other words, that was the perfect time to kidnap someone!

If she missed this opportunity, she might never get to see herself alone again. As a priestess, Yalan Carola's daily life was strictly protected. In public, she was always guarded by at least twelve paladins, and in private, she was attended by several senior nuns. Only during the short hour of the bathing ceremony was she truly alone.

Therefore, Chen Ming did not want to raise the enemy's vigilance.

If the enemy goes on high alert, these kinds of loopholes will be plugged first, and the demons might move Galura to a more secluded location; in the worst-case scenario, they might even kill her outright...

To avoid this bad ending, Chen Ming chose to sneak in rather than force his way in – although with his strength he could easily break through the magic barrier, defeat the guards, and forcibly take Carola away, the cautious Chen Ming did not want to take any risks.

Thinking this, Chen Ming had already flown to the front of the Grand Cathedral. It was a majestic white building with a main tower that was a hundred meters high pointing straight to the sky. A huge crystal was embedded in the top of the tower, emitting a soft light.

Not only were two paladins stationed at the entrance, but patrols of temple guards also frequently passed by. They wore silver-white armor, had longswords imbued with holy light hanging at their waists, and had solemn expressions.

Maintaining his god-like stealth, Chen Ming completely ignored the fully armed paladins and temple guards, entering through the main gate with impunity.

Their eyes, sharp as eagles beneath their helmets, were completely unaware of the almost nonexistent presence passing between them.

After entering the Grand Cathedral, Chen Ming constructed a three-dimensional path in his mind based on the detailed map he obtained from Niman.

The cathedral's interior is quite complex: the main prayer hall, side chapels, reliquary rooms, clergy living quarters, archives, training grounds... the layered buildings resemble a maze. Without a precise map, even experienced stalkers could lose their way.

His target was the Great Baths, located deep within the Great Cathedral—an area that, theoretically, was reserved for Arlan Carolus and the nuns.

Since it wasn't time for Yalan Garula's bathing ceremony yet, Chen Ming wasn't in a hurry to get going.

He remained invisible as he moved through the corridors, observing everything inside the sacred building. The corridors were carpeted in deep red, and the air was filled with a mixture of incense, burning candles, and a faint floral scent. Every twenty steps stood a pair of magical lamps, emitting a soft, milky-white glow.

The corridor is lined with portraits of past leaders, all depicted with solemn expressions, holding scepters, and wearing halos. The most recent portrait shows the 267th leader of the Yalan Church, Saint Elvia XIV, with a benevolent smile.

Besides these items, Chen Ming also encountered many graceful nuns along the way.

They were all dressed in the standard attire of Aryan nuns: pure white robes, pale gold belts around their waists, and thin veils. The veils were so thin that they vaguely concealed their faces, yet did not completely cover them—a deliberate design that maintained a sense of religious mystery while subtly revealing the beauty of the wearers.

Despite the veils obscuring their faces, Chen Ming was still able to see their detailed information through the system's identification function:

Name: Elena

Age: 17

Height: 160 cm

[Weight]: 52 kg

Overall Appearance: 85

[Power Bank]: 3

[Status]: A devout fanatic...

[Favorability]: 0

-

Name: Veronica

Age: 16

Height: 165 cm

[Weight]: 55 kg

Overall Appearance: 88

[Power Bank]: 6

[Status]: Faith has begun to waver...

[Favorability]: 0

-

Name: Cassandra Campbell

Age: 18

Height: 170 cm

[Weight]: 56 kg

Overall Appearance: 91

[Power Bank]: 19

[Status]: Filled with resentment...

[Favorability]: 0

……

Chen Ming appraised everything along the way, secretly marveling at the experience.

Their overall appearance scores are generally above 80 points, and some even exceed 90 points!

As expected of the holy site of the Yalan religion, most beautiful young women in the world dream of coming here to become nuns serving the goddess. They may come from noble families or be commoners with rare beauty, but without exception, they all undergo rigorous selection to enter this temple. Beauty, figure, and devout faith are all indispensable.

However, when he saw another data column displayed on the information panel, he frowned.

These nuns all have a number of power banks!

What caught Chen Ming's attention even more was a pattern: the more attractive the nun, the more power banks she tended to have.

Cassandra Campbell wasn't an exception—he continued his journey and encountered several more groups of nuns, with similar experiences. Those nuns with an overall attractiveness score of 90 or higher often had double-digit numbers in their "power bank" (a measure of online banking ability); while the nuns with an overall attractiveness score of 80-89 had single-digit numbers.

Chen Ming was initially puzzled by this, because according to the doctrines of the Yalan Church, nuns should remain pure, serve the goddess for life, and not have romantic relationships.

While there have been precedents of nuns leaving the monastery to marry, these involved extremely strict procedures, and once disrobed, they could never return to the temple. These nuns, however, were clearly still practicing, and their "power banks" (i.e., their past relationships) were far from pure…

Chen Ming's doubts were quickly answered.

Just as he was passing a fork in the road leading to the large bathhouse, something unusual appeared ahead.

A man walked around the corner—this was the nuns' bathhouse, where men were supposed to be prohibited from entering, yet there was a man here.

He appeared to be around fifty years old, overweight, with a round, oily face, and wore a magnificent white robe with gold trim—the attire of a high-ranking priest of the Yalan Church. He swaggered around, his hands behind his back, his eyes scanning every nun he encountered as if selecting merchandise. The lewdness and greed in his gaze formed a jarring contrast with his sacred robes.

What shocked Chen Ming even more was the reaction of the nuns who passed by.

Upon seeing men in the nuns' bathhouse, they showed no surprise. Instead, they reflexively stopped, quickly retreated to the wall, lowered their heads, and crossed their arms in front of their chests—this was the standard etiquette of a subordinate of the Yalan Church when meeting a superior.

The high priest nodded in satisfaction and began his inspection.

He walked up to a nun, reached out, and roughly lifted her veil. It was a young face with a system score of 82, looking no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. The priest stared for a few seconds, shook his head, lowered the veil, and moved on to the next one.

The second nun, with an overall appearance score of 85, was revealed by the high priestess once more. This time she lingered for a little longer, but ultimately shook her head and gave up.

The third, the fourth… He scrutinized the nuns' faces as if selecting fruit at a market. The nuns, their veils lifted, were expressionless, their eyes vacant, as if they were already used to this.

Finally, he stopped in front of the ninth nun.

This nun has an overall appearance score of 90 points. Her name is Mary, she has 12 power banks, and her status bar shows that she is in a state of despair and numbness.

This time, the high priest didn't immediately lower his hand. He stroked Mary's chin with his fingers, carefully examining her face, and then asked, "How old are you?"

Mary's voice was calm and even, as if she were reciting scripture: "Just turned eighteen..."

"Hmm..." The high priest clicked his tongue, "She's still pretty, but she's a bit too old..."

He seemed to hesitate, but quickly muttered to himself, "Never mind, those young girls who have just joined the church are not for me. Only high priests and above are qualified to enjoy them... You're the one. Come with me!"

"As ordered."

Mary answered without hesitation; she even bowed slightly to show her compliance.

Then, the high priest grabbed Mary's wrist and practically dragged her toward a door to the side. It was a lounge room next to the corridor, the kind of room usually used by clergy for short rests.

Chen Ming followed into the lounge and made the high priest disappear without a trace—after all, the other party was here to enjoy himself, so it was normal for him to be missing for a few hours, and it wouldn't affect his infiltration and rescue operation.

To his surprise, Sister Mary, who witnessed the high priest's death and annihilation, was not afraid at all. Instead, she was overjoyed and wept, kneeling down to thank the goddess for her divine punishment.

Seeing this, Chen Ming felt pity and decided to help her to the end, so he teleported her to the Half-Mountain Manor. Although the manor was deserted, there were plenty of supplies left behind, and with the help of agricultural robots, it would be enough for Mary to live a self-sufficient life.

After this incident, Chen Ming finally understood why the nuns had so many power banks.

The nuns' object of service changed from God to the church's higher-ups—coming here to toy with the nuns became a leisure activity in the daily lives of the higher-ups…

Moreover, this is probably not an effect that came about after the demons became the leaders.

Judging from the numb reactions of the nuns and the practiced movements of the high priests, this corruption has existed for a long time. It has become institutionalized and normalized, a tacitly understood rule within the Yalan Church.

Religion can gather money and power, and money and power can corrupt people and attract more corrupt people.

As far as Chen Ming knew, no matter how orthodox a religion was, it would become like this once it grew in size. After all, he had seen this kind of thing several times in the main world.

For example, Buddhism, the religion that advocates the emptiness of the four elements, has a monk named Shaolin Temple who appears to be a highly respected monk, but secretly has 51 lovers, 174 illegitimate children, and personal assets worth trillions...

For example, Christianity, the church that spreads love and forgiveness, saw at least 21.6 minors abused by Catholic clergy in France alone between 1950 and 2020; one in five clergy members were pedophiles. The situation is equally serious in other European and American countries…

As for Islam, it's even more outrageous. The forced labor of women into slavery is nothing new. What's most horrifying is that they even attempt to legalize, standardize, and institutionalize this crime through religious theory, taking verses from the Quran out of context to create a theological basis for their atrocities...

Therefore, in any religion, there will always be those who are addicted to desires!

It seems that the Yalan religion established by the goddess has deviated from her original intention and has become a tool for those in power to enslave the lower classes and satisfy their own desires!

This relieved Chen Ming, who had been worried that he might accidentally injure the clergy of the Yalan Cult while slaying the demons.

So he walked on thin ice the whole way, after all, you have to consider the owner before you beat a dog!

Now it seems he was overthinking it; he can now go all out and slaughter everyone...

Chapter 330: Mirle

The Yalan Cult has been turned into a mess by corrupt officials. Even if Chen Ming accidentally kills all the clergy, he is just cleaning up the house for the goddess.

At worst, we can help the goddess establish a new church as compensation after everything is over.

It's no big deal!

After regaining his composure, Chen Ming remained invisible and continued along the road leading to the bathhouse.

He soon arrived inside the bathhouse.

Even with Chen Ming's extensive knowledge, the sight before him couldn't help but move him slightly. This place was less like a bathhouse and more like an underground palace.

The dome is twenty meters high and inlaid with thousands of luminous gems to simulate the starry sky; eight exquisitely carved white jade pillars support the entire space, and the pillars are engraved with the myths and epics of the Yalan religion; the pool is about half the size of a standard swimming pool, with steam rising from the surface, and the bottom of the pool is covered with smooth pebbles of various colors, which gleam with a warm luster under the illumination of the magic lamp.