Chapter 215: First Entering the Temple
Li Wei was a missionary ambassador and held a high position in both the imperial court and the Guiyuan Sect.
When his sedan chair stopped in front of the temple gate, he was immediately welcomed in by the temple attendants.
The temple has a total of eighteen floors.
On the first floor of the hall stands a statue of a god about three stories high.
The image of Guiyuan God is a man wearing a golden crown, a white robe, and with gentle and kind eyes.
Unlike the statues outside, the statues here are carved more exquisitely and delicately.
In the candlelight, the statue gleamed with gold and looked magnificent.
Lin Qingyue could tell at a glance that it was not gold-plated paint, but made of pure gold!
The statue is surrounded by a powerful and rich spiritual energy, which seems evil but not evil, like a god but not a god.
The old turtle raised his eyes and looked carefully, but when his gaze met the statue, he felt a strong sense of oppression suddenly enveloping him.
The statue's eyes clearly did not move, but for a moment, the old turtle felt that he had been seen through, and a sense of fear suddenly arose in his heart.
Are there really gods in this world?
"Don't be afraid. It's just a sculpture. It's just imbued with some power to interfere with people's thoughts. Just don't look at it."
Under the influence of this power, those who enter this place will feel the majesty and spiritual power of the gods. Those who believe will become more convinced. Even those who do not believe will be intimidated and gradually begin to believe.
However, Lin Qingyue knew clearly that this was just a trick that had been used to death in the world of immortal cultivation.
When Lin Qingyue was just starting out, he was a chivalrous man and his statue was carved and offered on the altar.
But she has very few followers, and the main reason is that her statue has not been blessed with any power. After being worshipped for a period of time, it is gradually forgotten.
Unlike those hypocrites, who have so many ways to steal the trust of other mortals.
The old turtle's cultivation is not strong enough, so it will be disturbed.
Although Dongfang Qi had practiced a little, his time was short and his foundation was not deep enough.
Lin Qingyue was afraid that he would be disturbed, and was about to give him a few warnings.
But he was already concentrating on looking at the statue, not feeling affected at all. His eyes only revealed a hint of contempt: "You're just bluffing, and you dare to call yourself a god?"
Lin Qingyue was a little surprised: "The power covering the statue is very strong, are you not affected at all?"
Dongfang Qi shook his head: "It doesn't seem to have any effect on me."
At this moment, an attendant in a white robe came over and said, "Ambassador Li, the Bishop wants to see you."
As he spoke, he glanced at the followers behind "Li Wei".
The old turtle wanted to take Dongfang Qi and Lin Qingyue to the upper floor as well, and asked, "These two are my trusted confidants. Can they accompany me to meet the Archbishop?"
The priest said, "The Archbishop only asked to see Ambassador Li. No one else is allowed to enter without being summoned!"
The old turtle wanted to argue again, but saw Lin Qingyue secretly shaking her head.
So the old turtle said, "You just wait here for me. Don't run around, or you'll offend the gods."
"Yes!" Lin Qingyue and Dongfang Qi responded obediently.
The old turtle carried Li Wei's body and walked up the stairs to the sixth floor under the guidance of the temple servants.
The sixth floor is where the archbishop receives his subordinates on a daily basis.
As soon as the old turtle stepped onto the sixth floor, he felt the floor beneath his feet had a very special feel.
He looked down and was immediately surprised - the entire floor, from the main hall to the corridor, and then to the floors of the connected rooms, was paved with gold bricks!
The golden ground, emitting a dazzling light, deeply hurt the old turtle's heart.
Along the way, the lives of the Guifang people were difficult, and most of them were poorly clothed and hungry.
But here, precious gold is being trampled underfoot.
They are clearly in the same country, under the same sky, but the temple and the people are separated as if they are two completely different worlds.
The Bishop of the temple was currently sitting on a chair inlaid with gemstones and agates. Even the golden nanmu table before him was covered in gold and inlaid with pearls.
Several beautiful girls of fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing thin and revealing gauze dresses, surrounded the archbishop, massaging his legs and back.
"Li Wei, you're still here to ask for an audience so late. What's the matter?"
The old turtle suppressed his anger and knelt down to kowtow. "Reporting to the Archbishop, I just received news. Feng State and Qi State have begun to mobilize their troops and are heading towards our Guifang State."
"Just for this?" The man sitting on the luxurious high seat sneered disdainfully.
He took a leisurely sip of the wine the beauty offered him and said, "The three great dynasties of the Central Plains, Qi, Feng, and Chu, will sooner or later be ours. I originally wanted to wait and see before launching an attack on them. I didn't expect them to be so impatient."
Li Wei continued, "Should we report this to His Majesty as soon as possible? That way we can make preparations early. And regarding the conscription of soldiers, should we also start preparing? Our country borders Feng State to the east, and there aren't many border guards. What if..."
"Don't worry. We have the gods' protection and divine soldiers' support, and we are invincible in every battle! Even if the Central Plains dynasties unite to attack, we have nothing to fear."
"As for His Majesty..." the bishop said disdainfully, "Our esteemed Majesty has been concentrating on cultivation according to the secret manual I gave him recently and has no time to attend to government affairs. There's no need to inform him of everything."
"Li Wei, do you have anything else to say? Why haven't you completed the task assigned to you yet?"
The old turtle knew that the errand he was referring to was the earlier task of gathering young boys and girls. Originally, the people had already been gathered and should have been delivered tonight.
But this so-called temple is obviously a fire pit.
When the old turtle took over Li Wei's body, he naturally would not send those children to the fire pit again.
"I was just about to report this matter to Your Excellency. We had originally gathered 40 boys and girls, but just this afternoon, I discovered that seven or eight of them had repeated high fevers and chills. I called in a doctor, and the initial suspicion is malaria."
"For the safety of the temple, I have no choice but to temporarily isolate those dozens of children. After a few days of observation, if they are all healthy, they will be sent to the temple."
Civilians are like ants, their deaths are not a pity, let alone those who carry infectious diseases?
Sure enough, the archbishop frowned upon hearing this. "What bad luck! Well, let's put this matter on hold for a few days. But if it's truly malaria, no mercy should be shown; kill if necessary. You should understand the pros and cons."
"I understand!"
The old turtle had already predicted the archbishop's attitude.
"Back off."
The old turtle wanted to delay for a while, but the archbishop had already gone to the back hall with his maid in his arms.
The attendants also urged: "Master Li, please go back!"
The old turtle had no choice but to retreat.
When I returned to the first floor, I saw Lin Qingyue and Dongfang Qi coming to greet me.
The three of them exchanged glances and then left the temple together.
It was not until they returned to Li's house and sent the outsiders away that the three of them began to talk.
The old turtle first recounted in detail what happened during the meeting with the Archbishop tonight.
"I followed your instructions and told Feng and Qi that they might launch an attack on Guifang. But the archbishop didn't seem nervous at all, and his tone was full of confidence. It was as if he was certain that even if a war broke out, Guifang would win."
"But in recent years, the Guifang Kingdom has been waging wars everywhere and building temples lavishly, leaving the treasury empty. Our people are struggling to make a living, and after years of war, the male population is dwindling. Meanwhile, the three kingdoms in the Central Plains are far wealthier and their armies are stronger."
"I really don't understand why the Archbishop is so sure of victory in this war. And what does he mean by the divine weapon he mentioned?"
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