Chapter 2206: The Goddess
The goddess statue that had been kept in the temple was moved to the square. Although it was still covered, the cloth had been replaced with a prop. A layer of hazy mist enveloped the goddess statue, with faint golden light shining through, making it appear more divine.
The bell tolling was just the beginning of the Goddess's Birthday. From this moment on, the divine envoys, who usually did not show themselves, would conduct two sacrificial ceremonies to the goddess. The holy maidens' task was to perform the circumambulation ceremony at the same time. However, this circumambulation ceremony was somewhat different from the usual one. Six altars would be raised within the temple, and the holy maidens from the Holy City and the other five satellite cities would all perform the circumambulation activities on these altars.
These procedures were all heard from the believers. "Compared to the previous circumambulation ceremony, today's seems simpler."
The players didn't have to crowd the streets; they could watch from various buildings. The district players wouldn't stop them either, only deploying personnel and instruments in areas where players were concentrated—that's right, today the Holy City had restricted space props. Ordinary teleportation props and instruments couldn't function under the interference.
"I asked around. The previous circumambulation ceremonies were all done by walking, but today's is done by kneeling." The yellow-haired man pointed to the largest altar in the center. "Look, how inhumane. They even make pregnant women kneel."
The Holy City, including the satellite cities, had only about a hundred holy maidens. A small portion of them were pregnant. The holy maiden who had spoken with Xu Huo several times before was also on the central altar, while the reserve Ahai was on an altar to the left.
They performed prostrations around the altar, while the divine envoys sat in the center. The first sacrificial ceremony had already begun. The divine envoys, wearing wide robes and with their heads and faces covered, were praying in an obscure and difficult-to-understand language.
That could no longer be called a human figure. It was a humanoid shape carved all over with eyes and chaotic patterns. The entire head, including the face, was the same. Dense eyes would open and close from time to time. Even without launching any attack, it instinctively made people want to look away.
Xu Huo had looked up some past arrangements for the Goddess's Birthday. The process of communication between the holy maidens and the goddess basically consisted of a few fixed questions: either asking if the goddess was well, or inquiring about the future safety of the district, and then asking the goddess to bless all the holy maidens—as the hermaphroditic representatives of the holy maidens, they symbolized the hermaphrodite who founded the Goddess Cult. They were closer to the goddess than other believers, and unlike the full-time divine envoys who relayed messages, they were favored by the goddess.
As soon as the words fell, all the holy maidens on the altars changed direction, kneeling facing the temple gate.
Xu Huo spotted the female player from the outer zone who had told him about the baby-swapping truth among the crowd. Several other players were with her. Sensing his gaze, she looked up and gave him a faint smile, her calm yet strange demeanor no different from before under the goddess statue.
Of course, to others, the goddess's face was singular and always facing them. She was solemn and majestic, exuding a sacredness that made people dare not look directly at her.
There were sound systems on the streets, so the divine envoys' words could be accurately conveyed to the ears of all the believers. These people listened with rapt attention, as if immersed in a world isolated from the rest.
Then came the time for the holy maidens to communicate with the goddess.
In this fervent and enthusiastic atmosphere, time reached noon, also when the sun was at its strongest. Many believers were flushed and sweating profusely, but this did not dampen their enthusiasm. They didn't even plan to eat lunch, just making do with the dry rations they had brought.
Regardless of who bestowed the blessing, this "sweet rain" revitalized the citizens who had been worn out after a day's consumption.
The prop effect on the goddess statue was removed. After the hazy mist dissipated, the complete goddess statue was revealed. And this was not a simple statue. Originally, the sculpture was placed facing the front of the square, with its face also pointing in the same direction. But after removing the prop, no matter which direction one was in relation to the goddess statue, the goddess's face was always facing them, as if multiple layers of phantom images were superimposed on the statue.
The same went for the divine envoys and holy maidens on the altars. While others rested, they sat still in place.
Among the crowd, a few individual Super Evolvers or players relying on props to resist spiritual interference showed pained expressions the moment they saw the goddess statue and had to distance themselves from it.
The arrival of the blessing ceremony caused the entire city to erupt in cheers. Suddenly, heavy rain fell from the sky. They looked up, opened their mouths, and used both hands and mouths to catch the rainwater.
"This seems to be Evolution Potion." The yellow-haired man tasted a little. "So it's not the goddess's blessing after all, but a player's blessing."
The holy maiden who had spoken with Xu Huo stood up, looked at the goddess statue in the square ahead, then slowly knelt down again, and said, "Goddess above, your believer Xue Yi, along with one hundred and one holy maidens, kowtows in worship."
In Xu Huo's eyes, the goddess statue appeared in yet another form.
Xu Huo listened for a while, then saw the kneeling holy maidens stand up, walk half a circle around the altar, and then kneel down again.
Holy Maiden Xue Yi gazed calmly at the goddess statue and continued, "If you have heard our voices, please reveal your true form."
But this process was changed today.
However, the one on the central altar was an ordinary person.
Was it the spiritual power of the instance goddess dispersed on it, or the handiwork of the temple players?
Soon, time reached the afternoon. The second sacrificial ceremony and circumambulation activity began. During the process, the divine envoy on the central altar suddenly stood up, bowed his head, and requested the goddess's blessing.
"Pop! Pop!" The floating balloons in the high sky kept bursting in the high temperature, and fragments occasionally fell from above. As the fragments drifted, the eye patterns on them also swayed and shook. With a casual glance, these falling eyes seemed to be blinking.
Although they didn't know what they were going to do, the temple side had made plenty of preparations. Besides the ubiquitous local district players, several advanced players followed the divine envoys. Some were from this district, some from outer zones. Among the several divine envoys, except for the one on the central altar, the others were all equipped with props, making it difficult to tell at a glance whether they were players.
Xu Huo caught a piece. When it landed in his hand, he felt a faint spiritual power.
The yellow-haired man beside him also cursed under his breath, covering his eyes and stumbling backward. "I'm going blind! Is this the true power of the goddess?"
"This is nothing yet." Xu Huo's expression was calm. The goddess looked similar to the object he had seen in the Interrogation Hall before. The absolute spiritual intensity could force a person to receive a massive amount of information impact the moment they made eye contact—just forcibly stuffing things into a person's brain could cause brain damage to an advanced player in a very short time. In severe cases, they might fall into a coma or die on the spot.
It didn't even need a variety of complicated interference processes.