Chapter 570 The Origin of the Gospel Church
Is the Gospel House the true orthodox institution of Luoshan?
This statement truly surprised me, but I quickly pieced together the several clues in my mind. The God-God of the Gospel Academy, Huang Quan, was Ming Zhuo's former teacher; Yama, known as the Lord of the Gospel Academy, was also one of the three founders of Luoshan; and…
In the past, on the eve of the raid on the Humanitarian Affairs headquarters, when I asked Mingzhuo why he was so surprised by the scenery in Asaha's dream, Mingzhuo gave me a thought-provoking answer—the Gospel House building that appeared in Asaha's dream looked like Mount Luo from more than a hundred years ago to Mingzhuo.
I had initially suspected that the Gospel House might be a remnant force from the post-apocalyptic era of Luoshan. Although this suspicion was overturned upon discovering that this was not the post-apocalyptic era, it has now returned in another form.
I grabbed the head of this cultivator at the completion stage and then asked him telepathically, "Please tell me the details."
Now I don't need to fake the reflection of the moon in the water to establish telepathic communication with people. Rather, for most demon hunters who use soul power, telepathy is a very common skill. It's abnormal that I only slowly learned to activate it on my own after becoming the Great Impermanence.
Under the influence of the power of words, cultivators at the advanced stage could not conceal their thoughts. A large amount of information was transmitted to me through the communication, and in just two or three seconds, I understood the ins and outs of the matter.
The origins of the Gospel House can be traced back more than a hundred years to the time when Roshan completely withdrew from the afterlife.
The fortune teller's past prophecy of "the impending destruction of the afterlife" corresponds to the current event of "the afterlife being transformed into an apocalyptic era by Naraku's Gospel." At that time, the fate of Luoshan in the afterlife was entirely unknown. If the entire Luoshan population did not evacuate, they could only await their fate with unease.
Even under these circumstances, many people still choose to remain in the afterlife.
Although it sounds incomprehensible, with a deeper understanding of Luoshan culture, I've come to understand why. The people of Luoshan universally consider it an honor to freely enter and leave the world of the dead, and they worship the will that exists in the afterlife—the now-dying Naraku Will. So much so that after Luoshan severed its connection with the afterlife, this unfulfilled emotional need transformed the previously unpopular Mingzhuo into the most followed Da Wuchang (Great Impermanence) in Luoshan.
So at that time, there must have been many fanatics willing to remain in the afterlife to witness destruction. Even some of the most powerful and unpredictable beings chose to stay.
Is it really necessary to flee at the mere prospect of a "catastrophe capable of destroying the afterlife"? There are certainly others who would think that the Great Impermanence could accomplish something of the same scale given enough time. Moreover, since the Diviner has prophesied that "the catastrophe destroying the afterlife will also flow into the world of the living in the future," even evacuating to the world of the living might be pointless; this disaster is inevitable sooner or later. Therefore, it's better to nip it in the bud in the bud in the mortal realm.
So at that time, three great impermanences led their followers to remain in the afterlife: Yama, Tai Sui, and Huang Quan... Although it's a bit hard to understand why Huang Quan, a great impermanence known for his caution, would choose to stay and face the disaster, that's what he did anyway.
Those who remained considered themselves the legitimate successors of Luoshan and prepared for disaster. Initially, nothing happened in the afterlife; it was simply that it had inexplicably lost contact with the world of the living, and could no longer communicate with it. For a long time, some even suspected that the Luoshan forces outside had deliberately destroyed the portal between the two worlds. They tried countless methods but could not re-establish the passage between themselves and the world of the living, and so the long years passed.
The exact duration is unclear. Even before the apocalypse, time in the afterlife is far less precise than in the world of the living. After all, this is a world without sunrise or sunset, and as a spiritual spacetime, it lacks the strict precision of the material world in many aspects.
Then one day, the afterlife suddenly changed, transforming into a world after the destruction of human civilization. Naraku's will was replaced by Naraku's Gospel.
The remaining forces during this period experienced many major changes. The fragmented time and space, the apocalyptic anomalies that spread across the land, the omnipresent madness, and other terrifying phenomena caused a large number of casualties among the followers of the three gods. The survivors gradually lost their memories, even forgetting the important fact that "the time and space they were in was the afterlife," let alone identifying themselves as the orthodox followers of Luoshan.
The cultivator I captured is a rather senior figure, an old man who has lived for over a hundred years. His exceptional cultivation is his foundation, and his knowledge of the past is the reason he can now hold a high position in the Gospel Academy. Even so, he has actually forgotten most of the events and details of his past experiences, only vaguely remembering the basic outlines.
Through unknown means, Yama and Naraku Fubuki engaged in unknown negotiations, and upon their return, Yama changed the name of their organization to "Fubuki-in." Important items such as "blessings," which could help survivors survive in the "apocalyptic era," also began to appear in large numbers during that period. Fubuki-in was thus able to regain its footing as an organizational force in the afterlife.
Meanwhile, it seems that Yama learned a great deal of truth during his dealings with Naraku Fukuin. The reasons for the changes in the afterlife, and the existence of the apocalypse... He revealed these truths to the higher-ups at Fukuin, and the plan to exterminate humanity came into being afterward.
Today, most of the executors of the Evangelical Fellowship's extermination plan believe they are saving the world and their races by killing in the apocalypse, unaware that this is not even a world of the living.
The reason why the truth wasn't widely publicized might be partly due to the same reason as the Tai Sui Army: the collective psychological trend within the Gospel House was also very pessimistic. Living for a long time in a post-apocalyptic world, constantly being infected by madness, caused most people to harbor a twisted and morbid desire for death.
Moreover, even if the truth is revealed, as time goes by, people's minds will revert to ignorance under the influence of madness, identifying themselves as "survivors of the apocalypse"—this abnormal self-perception that comes from nowhere is probably an invisible spiritual suggestion that permeates the afterlife that is now simulated as the apocalypse, and is also a manifestation of madness.
"So this is the origin of the Gospel House..." I processed this information.
As for what this cultivator in the Chengjing realm previously thought—that "Luoshan erased their records"—things are probably not as he imagined.
The reason I haven't had access to related information in the past may be partly due to my ignorance, and partly because that information has been marginalized.
The reason for marginalization is probably not due to any political factors, but simply because it has lost importance. It's like in journalism, the most effective way to cover a hot news story is not through reporting regulations, but by using more and bigger hot news stories to divert public attention.
The stars in the sky actually exist during the day, but they are obscured by the sun's rays. Compared to the Great Impermanence beings who are no longer in Luoshan and their followers, people naturally pay more attention to those Great Impermanence beings who remain in Luoshan.
Of course, "while Luoshan was completely withdrawing from the afterlife, three great impermanent beings and their followers chose to stay"—this kind of event is not just a "hot news" but a "major historical event" that will surely leave a strong mark on history and be widely circulated among future generations.
However, Luoshan is quite different from secular society in this respect.
For secular society, events from over a hundred years ago are already history, enough to push back to the tail end of the Qing Dynasty. But for Luoshan, it's not like that. Most of the Great Impermanence figures are characters whose history begins a thousand years ago. Those like Mingzhuo, who have lived from the Tang Dynasty to the present day, are ordinary. There are also prehistoric Great Impermanence figures like Gua Tianshi, and Great Impermanence figures like Xuanming from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period. There are also many who have lived for over a hundred years at the Great Accomplishment level and the Accomplishment level.
Therefore, Luoshan is in a strange state of intertwining and confusion between history and modernity in a certain sense.
What seem significant to posterity as historical events may have been merely newsworthy headlines to those directly involved, their attention quickly drawn to other topics. Only after all the stars of the era have faded and all the hype has cooled can we truly assess the events of that time and prioritize them. In Luoshan's case, the event that occurred over a century ago is still in a phase of "not yet having returned to its rightful place"—at least that's my subjective assessment.
"Well then, let's get back to the main topic..." Number Seven looked at the cultivator in front of him, "Although you are not familiar with the technical data of 'Dushuo Mountain' and the fragments of the divine seal, you are still a high-level manager of the Yellow Springs Gospel Academy. You should know about some rooms where important items are stored and areas where entry and exit are prohibited, right?"
"This... I don't recall it. I mean it." The cultivator in the Chengjing realm looked distressed. "There are indeed certain areas that ordinary cultivators are prohibited from entering, but as a high-level manager, I can enter them. I really don't remember any of the things you're talking about..."
Number Seven frowned, muttering to himself, "Could it be that neither of those two items was kept at the Yellow Springs Gospel Institute? That doesn't make sense. At least something like the Divine Seal Fragment shouldn't automatically return to him upon his resurrection; he would definitely keep it carefully in his headquarters. The 'Dushuo Mountain' technology should also have been developed by him personally in his headquarters..."
After thinking it over, Xiaowan said, "Is it possible that he was misled by the consciousness of God and Man? The person who keeps the secret also needs to keep the secret of 'keeping the secret.' It's possible that there are indeed forbidden places in the Huangquan Gospel Institute, but because Huangquan doesn't want the people around him to know, the people around him are automatically made to know nothing under the influence of his consciousness."
“That makes sense… So, in your opinion, how should we uncover this secret?” Number Seven seemed to be relying on Little Bowl’s wisdom as well.
Xiao Wan answered directly: "We can just search his memories. An outsider can see things clearly. Even if he can't perceive his own abnormality, the person investigating his memories will definitely be able to spot the clues. As for the method of searching his memories, it's very simple. We can establish a communication channel with him, and then Brother Zhuang Cheng can use the power of words to command him to fully recall and transmit the map information about the Yellow Springs Gospel Academy in his mind."
"Hmm... It's a bit troublesome, but we can only use this method for now."
After nodding, Number Seven looked at the cultivator who had reached the completion stage, "Speaking of which... do you really know nothing? Before we search your memories, think hard again. Don't try to pull any of those boring tricks like 'as long as I try to stop thinking, I won't remember any useful information, and I won't be able to control myself from saying it.'"
She had only asked casually, but unexpectedly, the cultivator actually showed a strange expression of wanting to say something but holding back.
"Is there really such a thing?" I asked curiously. "Tell us about it."
"Well... I don't know if this answer counts."
Presumably, due to the ambiguity in the judgment, he didn't blurt it out under the control of the power of words. But now, hearing my command, he could only honestly say, "Mazao... the former personal disciple of the God of the Underworld, the demigod Mazao, her former room is a place we are forbidden to approach."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com